Report of a wild thunderstorm. Dikoy and Kabanikha
The characterization of the Wild One from the play “The Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky is important for revealing the ideological meaning of the work. The image of this character must be analyzed to understand what the author wanted to show. Was this person invented or did he have a prototype? Why did Ostrovsky call him that? What traits did you give the hero? All this will be discussed in the essay.
Brief description of the Wild One from the play “The Thunderstorm”
Savel Prokofich Dikoy is a resident of the town of Kalinov, where the action of “The Thunderstorm” takes place. A merchant with a very large income. Money loves him, and it is extremely difficult for him to part with it. In his city, Dikoy is a respected person. He is considered an authority and is feared. The main reason for this is wealth. In Kalinov, Dikoy is the wealthiest resident.
Ostrovsky gives a rather meager description of the Wild. There is practically no description of this character's appearance. The reader can get an idea of the hero only by “observing” his behavior during the course of the plot.
Features of the image of the Wild
The image of the Wild One can be called complete. He is not characterized by any hesitation, doubt, or hesitation. He is not busy searching for the meaning of life, does not strive for any heights, and is not tormented by remorse. This is a bulldog man. He is confident in himself and in everything he does. He goes through life like a tank, not caring that he might crush someone along the way.
At the same time, Dikoy is completely uneducated and ignorant. Art, science, political and social processes are very far from him and are not interesting. Moreover, Dikoy considers all this empty, ridiculous, unworthy of respect, and even harmful. A rich man lives guided by prejudices or superstitions.
This is clearly manifested when Kuligin turns to the merchant for help in constructing a lightning rod. Residents of Kalinov are very afraid of thunderstorms, which is why this idea arises. However, Diko ridicules the idea of Kuligin and himself. He claims that a thunderstorm with thunder and lightning is a sign from God to people. A reminder that you need to live correctly. And it’s stupid to try to fight a higher power with the help of some kind of “poles and furrows.” The rich man does not accept any other opinion.
The only thing that matters to the Wild is money. If they got into his pocket, then Savel Prokofich would never part with them. Even Dikiy’s workers have to beg for wages. However, this does not always work out, and if it does, you will have to listen to a lot of abuse from the rich man.
The main trait of the Wild is rudeness. It can be traced throughout the entire work. Swear words constantly pour out of Savel Prokofich's mouth. He is absolutely not shy in his expressions, does not restrain himself, without any twinge of conscience he humiliates and insults his interlocutor. Calls everyone around him “parasites” and “asps”.
The merchant manifests himself everywhere as a rude and tyrant. However, his family gets the most. Boris Dikoy’s nephew was simply hunted down. And all because he depends on him financially. The moneybag's wife, driven to despair, ashamed of her husband's behavior, trembling in front of him, with tears in her eyes asks all her friends and relatives not to anger Savel Prokofich. However, it is difficult to fulfill her request even if desired. The Wild's aggressiveness is often unjustified. He may not like a person’s appearance, some of his words, a look - and the abuse begins.
The meaning of the image of the merchant in the work
For what purpose did the author introduce this character into his works? To understand the meaning of the image of the Wild in “The Thunderstorm”, you need to remember one more feature of this person. The richest and most respected man, Kalinov, is in fact an ordinary coward. Dikoy behaves boorishly only with those who cannot “fight back”, who are morally weaker.
If on the way you meet a person who is ready to fight back, the brawler and tyrant “puts his tail between his legs.” For example, the relationship between Dikiy and his clerk Kudryash. He is not at all afraid of his boss and can answer him with rudeness. For this reason, the merchant prefers not to contact the employee. The moneybags also treat the powerful and cruel Kabanikha with respect. Next to such people, the merchant’s aggressiveness disappears.
In the play “The Thunderstorm,” Dikoy is a representative of the “dark kingdom.” Moreover, its zealous guardian. Wild is the opposite of the “kingdom of light.” It wins, if a person does not bow his head, he can fight back.
The image of the Wild One, to whom the author even gave an eloquent surname, suggests such thoughts. Perhaps the character's flaws are somewhat exaggerated - there is hyperbole here.
The play “The Thunderstorm” by Alexander Ostrovsky presents a vivid picture of serf society at the end of the 18th century. The playwright introduces us to the world of the Russian Volga town of Kalinov, which has been living the same patriarchal measured life for centuries. This is the world of townspeople and merchants. Is he that good? Is there a lot of light in Russian patriarchal pre-bourgeois society?
Who is the “dark kingdom” based on?
Deprived of a positive vector of development, the urban community of the times of the disintegration of serfdom is socially sick to such an extent that Nikolai Dobrolyubov calls it the “dark kingdom.” He, by calling Ostrovsky “an expert on Russian life,” actually confirms the typicality of the images presented by the playwright. Dikoy and Kabanikha in the play “The Thunderstorm” really benefit directly from the suffering of others and in every possible way support the suffocating, antisocial atmosphere in society. The meaning of the “dark kingdom” they preserve is obvious: the transformation of human suffering into their personal wealth, into the capital of world-eating merchants. Both of the above-mentioned negative images are considered classic in Russian literature. They are revealed by the author with enormous artistic power. The topic of our article is the type of merchant Savely Prokofich Dikiy. Unfortunately, many critics emphasize its primitiveness. In our opinion, this is incorrect. In particular, it deserves attention that Savel Prokofich is at the same time both the ruler and the victim of the district “dark kingdom”.
Specifics of the image of the merchant Wild
The image of the Wild One in the play “The Thunderstorm” is typical of Russian society. This is a man who “made” a huge fortune, rising from the very bottom. The author does not give us a direct comment on this matter, but a thoughtful reader will discover this. According to the psychotype of a merchant. Let us explain our version. There was once a proverb among the people: “There is no worse lord for his Ivan.” The image of the Wild One in the play “The Thunderstorm” is a clear illustration of the validity of this idea. Savel Prokofievich, even having become the main tycoon of the city of Kalinov, cannot stop in his inertia of a kind of cyborg to make money by any means.
Savel Prokofich syndrome
Our task is to understand the image of the Wild One in the play “The Thunderstorm”. Imagine that you are an actor “stepping into this role.” How to do this in the shortest way? What do you recommend? Let's say you are chronically deprived of mercy. Imagine: having caused a person suffering and even ruined him, you do not experience any moral remorse. “When you get into character,” pretend that you don’t know the sense of responsibility to society... Did you feel it?
Agree, the terrible, destructive image of the Wild One in the play “The Thunderstorm” is typical and is often found in our society, only in other forms... In his rapid and continuous enrichment, he has one strange advantage over other people - he is not tormented by conscience. Savel Prokofich aggressively expands his living space, stopping only before two factors: before the Force and before the Authority. Let's consider the above compressed characteristics in more detail...
Merchant Wild's Mercy
As we have already mentioned, the image of the Wild One in Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” is not even the type of person who makes a deal with his conscience (Savel Prokofich simply does not have it). His moral principles are very vague, and following the rituals of the Orthodox Church is more reminiscent of a deal with God for the remission of sins than a sincere desire to harmonize himself and his relationships with society and with his family.
Every day his wife begs visitors not to anger him. After all, Dikoy cannot control himself in a rage; even his family hides from him in attics and closets.
Reflex Rage
Manipulating a person through fear is his comfortable state, which he is embarrassed to say openly. (Aloud, he says: “My heart is like that!”) The image of the Wild One from the play “The Thunderstorm” is a dangerous type of person who receives material gain while being in an inadequate state, bordering on schizophrenia.
It is in a state of consciousness altered by rage that he creates things that he often cannot explain later. Let us at least remember his story to his godfather Marfa Kabanova about the unfortunate little peasant petitioner who was almost “knocked to death.”
The episode when Dikaya talks about her uncontrollable rage in Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” attracts attention. The characterization he gave to himself is disingenuous. Everything is understandable: his fits of rage are initially selfish, they bring him money. After all, when he underpays hired people for work with a humiliating cry, then the principle works in his favor: “money saved is money earned!” Daily attacks guarantee daily extra profits.
Danger of mental disorder
He's worried about something else. Devoid of any spirituality, the image of Dikov in the play “The Thunderstorm” falls into a kind of vicious circle, reminiscent of Tolkien’s deceitful ring of omnipotence. He understands that the reflex “initiating rabies - receiving benefits” that he has developed over decades can play a cruel joke on him: completely drive him crazy and destroy him. This is precisely what he expresses concern about to his godfather, the merchant Kabanikha. Savel Prokofich himself no longer notices when the mechanism that turns on madness is triggered in him...
Why is the image of the Wild One presented sporadically?
A man terrorizing the city... The image of the Wild One in Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” is deliberately revealed by Ostrovsky in a non-systematic manner. During the course of the action, he appears only three times before the viewer of the play. And this is understandable. It is quite risky even for a classic to denounce his contemporaries - the powers that be.
What traits, not revealed by the author, may be inherent in Savel Prokofich? Most adult readers can easily imagine such a characteristic themselves. Let us provide only two key thoughts to this argument. Is it typical for modern people in power to have the psychotype of the chief merchant of the city of Kalinov? Does the average modern citizen have real rights in court?...
Conclusion
This, of course, is a sad truth, but a host of modern unscrupulous Wild merchants, apologists for the neo-version of serfdom, flash before us every day in the media. These are modern feudal lords, prospering among entire strata of society (as Pelevin aptly put it, working “for food”).
So, what features can complement the modernized image of the Wild One in Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm”? This practice, by the way, is demonstrated by theaters in Israel, where the modernized version of Gogol’s “The Inspector General” is going off with a bang. Let's turn on our imagination. What can help the Wild type in modern society “raise mud in the water”, make money more efficiently and instill their “ego”?
Let's answer briefly. Talent for inciting hatred between people and representatives of different nationalities. Absence of moral brakes when sanctioning murder (or murders). The desire to rake in the heat with someone else's hands, using your money as a tool.
Concluding our discussions, we note that such sociopathy really poisons the harmony of society, turning relationships in it into a “dark kingdom.”
At the time the play was written, society was ruled by heroes like the Wild One. His portrait is similar to hundreds of other wealthy merchants, drowning in a luxurious lifestyle, absolute ignorance. Such people dragged Russia to the bottom. Into the dark kingdom of stupidity, stupidity, medieval morals. The image and characterization of the Wild One in the play “The Thunderstorm” is negative. He is the true embodiment of the concept of tyranny. He is a prominent representative of wild morals and a harsh attitude towards people and life.
Savel Prokofievich Dikoy- a wealthy merchant in the city of Kalinov. Negative character.
Image and characteristics
The wild man is unpleasant, to put it mildly. This impression is given because of his terrible character. Wild’s wife, knowing that it is better not to anger her husband, begins every morning to tearfully address those around her:
“Fathers, don’t make me angry! Darlings, don’t make me angry!”
And so on every day. It’s easy to guess how she gets it from him if she disobeys or deigns to anger him. There is no talk of a happy, family life.
A wild typical portrait of a tyrant. I got used to feeling like the rightful ruler of the city. He is absolutely sure that he has the right to influence the fate of residents, brazenly interfering in their lives.
“If I want, I’ll have mercy, if I want, I’ll crush.”
Feeling power over people, he uses it to the fullest, doing whatever comes into his head. Dikoy knows for sure that his antics will go unpunished.
Rude and boorish. Speaking is a complete nightmare. Lots of swearing. Maybe he’s used to expressing himself this way, believing that his interlocutor will understand faster. You definitely won’t hear a kind word from him. Dikoy knows exactly who to yell at and where to remain silent.
Man of moods. You never know what mood he will be in today. However, he was not seen smiling. Always gloomy and embittered.
Not educated. I haven't read a single book in my entire life. The names of famous writers puzzle Savel. Doesn't know history. Not friendly with modernity. Considers science a waste of time. Stupidity, a ridiculous activity unworthy of respect. In a word, a wild man.
Conscious of actions. He is well aware that he is doing something wrong, but changing the situation or changing himself is not for him.
“I know what I’m doing is bad, but I can’t help it.”
Greedy for money. Money is the main thing in the life of Savel Prokofievich. Meaning and essence. If money gets into the Wild's pocket, he will never be able to part with it. The employees have forgotten what a salary is. As soon as someone asks to borrow some money, Dikiy begins to seethe internally.
“So if you even mention money to me, it will ignite everything inside me.”
When they try to reproach him with greed, Dikoy makes an excuse:
“Who cares about his own goods.”
It's a rare occasion when you can beg for it. But if you hear enough of this, it won’t seem enough.
Attitude towards women. Whoever gets it from Savel Prokofievich is the poor women. All aggression is directed at the female sex. The only woman whom the tyrant and despot is afraid of is Kabanikha. He respects her. Opinion counts. The woman feels stronger and more cunning. She herself has a character akin to his.
Selfish. According to the will, Dikoy owes his nephew the inheritance that Boris inherited from his grandmother. One of the conditions for receiving it is a respectful attitude towards your uncle. Such conditions are beneficial to the Wild. He takes advantage of this by forcing his nephew to work for him from morning to night. It's like he's free labor. Why not exploit a relative. At the same time, Dikoy constantly humiliates and insults his nephew. She constantly reminds him, as if making excuses:
“I have my own children, why would I give money to strangers? Through this I must offend my own people!”
Cowardly. Despite the fighting nature of the Wild, he is as cowardly as a hare. An ordinary thunderstorm can make him tremble. He associates it with the Lord's punishment, supernatural power. He tries to hide from her, fearing that heavenly thunder will strike him.
Self-assured. He goes through life straight ahead. Like a tank, it does not stop in front of obstacles along the way. He knows exactly what he is doing and is absolutely sure that he is doing the right thing. The opinions of others are indifferent.
Federal Agency for Education of the Russian Federation
Gymnasium No. 123
on literature
Speech characteristics of the characters in the drama by A.N. Ostrovsky
"Storm".
Work completed:
10th grade student "A"
Khomenko Evgenia Sergeevna
………………………………
Teacher:
Orekhova Olga Vasilievna
……………………………..
Grade…………………….
Barnaul-2005
Introduction………………………………………………………
Chapter 1. Biography of A. N. Ostrovsky……………………..
Chapter 2. The history of the creation of the drama “The Thunderstorm”…………………
Chapter 3. Speech characteristics of Katerina………………..
Chapter 4. Comparative speech characteristics of Wild and Kabanikha……………………………………………………………
Conclusion……………………………………………………
List of used literature……………………….
Introduction
Ostrovsky's drama "The Thunderstorm" is the most significant work of the famous playwright. It was written during a period of social upsurge, when the foundations of serfdom were cracking, and a thunderstorm was really brewing in the stuffy atmosphere. Ostrovsky's play takes us to the merchant environment, where the Domostroev order was most persistently maintained. Residents of a provincial town live a closed life alien to public interests, in ignorance of what is happening in the world, in ignorance and indifference.
We turn to this drama now. The problems that the author touches on in it are very important for us. Ostrovsky raises the problem of the turning point in social life that occurred in the 50s, the change in social foundations.
After reading the novel, I set a goal for myself to see the peculiarities of the speech characteristics of the characters and find out how the speech of the characters helps to understand their character. After all, the image of a hero is created with the help of a portrait, with the help of artistic means, with the help of characterization of actions, speech characteristics. Seeing a person for the first time, by his speech, intonation, behavior, we can understand his inner world, some vital interests and, most importantly, his character. Speech characteristics are very important for a dramatic work, because it is through it that one can see the essence of a particular character.
In order to better understand the character of Katerina, Kabanikha and Wild, it is necessary to solve the following problems.
I decided to start with the biography of Ostrovsky and the history of the creation of “The Thunderstorm” in order to understand how the talent of the future master of speech characterization of characters was honed, because the author very clearly shows the global difference between the positive and negative heroes of his work. Then I will consider the speech characteristics of Katerina and make the same characteristics of the Wild and Kabanikha. After all this, I will try to draw a definite conclusion about the speech characteristics of the characters and its role in the drama “The Thunderstorm”
While working on the topic, I became acquainted with the articles by I. A. Goncharov “Review of the drama “The Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky” and N. A. Dobrolyubov “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom.” Moreover, I studied the article by A.I. Revyakin “Features of Katerina’s speech”, where the main sources of Katerina’s language are well shown. I found a variety of material about the biography of Ostrovsky and the history of the creation of the drama in the textbook Russian Literature of the 19th Century by V. Yu. Lebedev.
An encyclopedic dictionary of terms, published under the leadership of Yu. Boreev, helped me understand theoretical concepts (hero, characterization, speech, author).
Despite the fact that many critical articles and responses from literary scholars are devoted to Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm,” the speech characteristics of the characters have not been fully studied, and therefore are of interest for research.
Chapter 1. Biography of A. N. Ostrovsky
Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky was born on March 31, 1823 in Zamoskvorechye, in the very center of Moscow, in the cradle of glorious Russian history, which everyone around was talking about, even the names of Zamoskvoretsky streets.
Ostrovsky graduated from the First Moscow Gymnasium and in 1840, at the request of his father, he entered the Faculty of Law of Moscow University. But studying at the university was not to his liking, a conflict arose with one of the professors, and at the end of his second year Ostrovsky quit “due to domestic circumstances.”
In 1843, his father assigned him to serve in the Moscow Conscientious Court. For the future playwright, this was an unexpected gift of fate. The court considered complaints from fathers about unlucky sons, property and other domestic disputes. The judge delved deeply into the case, listened carefully to the disputing parties, and the scribe Ostrovsky kept records of the cases. During the investigation, the plaintiffs and defendants said things that are usually hidden and hidden from prying eyes. It was a real school for learning the dramatic aspects of merchant life. In 1845, Ostrovsky moved to the Moscow Commercial Court as a clerical official of the desk “for cases of verbal violence.” Here he encountered peasants, city bourgeois, merchants, and petty nobility who traded in trade. Brothers and sisters arguing about inheritance and insolvent debtors were judged “according to their conscience.” A whole world of dramatic conflicts unfolded before us, and all the diverse richness of the living Great Russian language sounded. I had to guess the character of a person by his speech pattern, by the peculiarities of intonation. The talent of the future “auditory realist,” as Ostrovsky called himself, a playwright and master of speech characterization of characters in his plays, was nurtured and honed.
Having worked for the Russian stage for almost forty years, Ostrovsky created a whole repertoire - about fifty plays. Ostrovsky's works still remain on stage. And after a hundred and fifty years it is not difficult to see the heroes of his plays nearby.
Ostrovsky died in 1886 in his beloved Trans-Volga estate Shchelykovo, in the Kostroma dense forests: on the hilly banks of small winding rivers. The writer’s life for the most part took place in these core places of Russia: where from a young age he could observe the primordial customs and mores, still little affected by the urban civilization of his day, and hear the indigenous Russian speech.
Chapter 2. The history of the creation of the drama “The Thunderstorm”
The creation of “The Thunderstorm” was preceded by the playwright’s expedition to the Upper Volga, undertaken on instructions from the Moscow Ministry in 1856-1857. She revived and revived his youthful impressions, when in 1848 Ostrovsky first went with his household on an exciting journey to his father’s homeland, to the Volga city of Kostroma and further, to the Shchelykovo estate acquired by his father. The result of this trip was Ostrovsky’s diary, which reveals much in his perception of provincial Volga Russia.
For quite a long time, it was believed that Ostrovsky took the plot of “The Thunderstorm” from the life of the Kostroma merchants, and that it was based on the Klykov case, which was sensational in Kostroma at the end of 1859. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, Kostroma residents pointed to the site of Katerina’s murder - a gazebo at the end of a small boulevard, which in those years literally hung over the Volga. They also showed the house where she lived, next to the Church of the Assumption. And when “The Thunderstorm” was first performed on the stage of the Kostroma Theater, the artists made themselves up “to look like the Klykovs.”
Kostroma local historians then thoroughly examined the “Klykovo Case” in the archives and, with documents in hand, came to the conclusion that it was this story that Ostrovsky used in his work on “The Thunderstorm.” The coincidences were almost literal. A.P. Klykova was extradited at the age of sixteen to a gloomy, unsociable merchant family, consisting of old parents, a son and an unmarried daughter. The mistress of the house, stern and obstinate, depersonalized her husband and children with her despotism. She forced her young daughter-in-law to do any menial work and begged her to see her family.
At the time of the drama, Klykova was nineteen years old. In the past, she was brought up in love and in the comfort of her soul, by a doting grandmother, she was cheerful, lively, cheerful. Now she found herself unkind and alien in the family. Her young husband, Klykov, a carefree man, could not protect his wife from the oppression of her mother-in-law and treated her indifferently. The Klykovs had no children. And then another man stood in the way of the young woman, Maryin, an employee at the post office. Suspicions and scenes of jealousy began. It ended with the fact that on November 10, 1859, the body of A.P. Klykova was found in the Volga. A long trial began, which received wide publicity even outside the Kostroma province, and none of the Kostroma residents doubted that Ostrovsky had used the materials of this case in “The Thunderstorm.”
Many decades passed before researchers established for sure that “The Thunderstorm” was written before the Kostroma merchant Klykova rushed into the Volga. Ostrovsky began working on “The Thunderstorm” in June-July 1859 and finished on October 9 of the same year. The play was first published in the January issue of the magazine “Library for Reading” for 1860. The first performance of “The Thunderstorm” on stage took place on November 16, 1859 at the Maly Theater, during a benefit performance by S.V. Vasilyev with L.P. Nikulina-Kositskaya in the role of Katerina. The version about the Kostroma source of the “Thunderstorm” turned out to be far-fetched. However, the very fact of an amazing coincidence speaks volumes: it testifies to the perspicacity of the national playwright, who caught the growing conflict in merchant life between the old and the new, a conflict in which Dobrolyubov saw “what is refreshing and encouraging” for a reason, and the famous theater figure S. A. Yuryev said: “The Thunderstorm” was not written by Ostrovsky... “The Thunderstorm” was written by Volga.”
Chapter 3. Speech characteristics of Katerina
The main sources of Katerina's language are folk vernacular, folk oral poetry and church-everyday literature.
The deep connection of her language with popular vernacular is reflected in vocabulary, imagery, and syntax.
Her speech is replete with verbal expressions, idioms of popular vernacular: “So that I don’t see either my father or my mother”; “doted on my soul”; “calm my soul”; “how long does it take to get into trouble”; “to be a sin”, in the sense of misfortune. But these and similar phraseological units are generally understandable, commonly used, and clear. Only as an exception are morphologically incorrect formations found in her speech: “you don’t know my character”; “After this we’ll talk.”
The imagery of her language is manifested in the abundance of verbal and visual means, in particular comparisons. So, in her speech there are more than twenty comparisons, and all the other characters in the play, taken together, have a little more than this number. At the same time, her comparisons are of a wide-spread, folk nature: “as if he were calling me blue,” “as if a dove was cooing,” “as if a mountain had been lifted from my shoulders,” “my hands were burning like coal.”
Katerina’s speech often contains words and phrases, motifs and echoes of folk poetry.
Addressing Varvara, Katerina says: “Why don’t people fly like birds?..” - etc.
Longing for Boris, Katerina says in her penultimate monologue: “Why should I live now, well, why? I don’t need anything, nothing is nice to me, and God’s light is not nice!”
Here there are phraseological turns of a folk-colloquial and folk-song nature. So, for example, in the collection of folk songs published by Sobolevsky, we read:
It’s absolutely impossible to live without a dear friend...
I’ll remember, I’ll remember about the dear one, the white light is not nice to the girl,
The white light is not nice, not nice... I’ll go from the mountain into the dark forest...
Going out on a date with Boris, Katerina exclaims: “Why did you come, my destroyer?” In a folk wedding ceremony, the bride greets the groom with the words: “Here comes my destroyer.”
In the final monologue, Katerina says: “It’s better in the grave... There’s a grave under the tree... how good... The sun warms it, the rain wets it... in the spring the grass grows on it, it’s so soft... birds will fly to the tree, they will sing, they will bring out children, the flowers will bloom: yellow , little red ones, little blue ones...”
Everything here comes from folk poetry: diminutive-suffixal vocabulary, phraseological units, images.
For this part of the monologue, direct textile correspondences are abundant in oral poetry. For example:
...They will cover it with an oak board
Yes, they will lower you into the grave
And they will cover it with damp earth.
You're an ant in the grass,
More scarlet flowers!
Along with popular vernacular and folk poetry, the language of Katerina, as already noted, was greatly influenced by church literature.
“Our house,” she says, “was full of pilgrims and praying mantises. And we’ll come from church, sit down to do some work... and the wanderers will begin to tell where they have been, what they have seen, different lives, or sing poetry” (D. 1, Rev. 7).
Possessing a relatively rich vocabulary, Katerina speaks freely, drawing on diverse and psychologically very deep comparisons. Her speech flows. So, she is not alien to such words and expressions of literary language as: dreams, thoughts, of course, as if all this happened in one second, there is something so extraordinary in me.
In the first monologue, Katerina talks about her dreams: “And what dreams I had, Varenka, what dreams! Or golden temples, or some extraordinary gardens, and everyone is singing invisible voices, and there is a smell of cypress, and the mountains and trees, as if not the same as usual, but as if they were written in images.”
These dreams, both in content and in the form of verbal expression, are undoubtedly inspired by spiritual poems.
Katerina’s speech is unique not only lexico-phraseologically, but also syntactically. It consists mainly of simple and complex sentences, with predicates placed at the end of the phrase: “So time will pass until lunch. Here the old women will fall asleep, and I will walk in the garden... It was so good” (D. 1, Rev. 7).
Most often, as is typical for the syntax of folk speech, Katerina connects sentences through the conjunctions a and yes. “And we’ll come from church... and the wanderers will start telling... It’s like I’m flying... And what dreams did I have.”
Katerina’s floating speech sometimes takes on the character of a folk lament: “Oh, my misfortune, my misfortune! (Crying) Where can I, poor thing, go? Who should I grab hold of?
Katerina’s speech is deeply emotional, lyrically sincere, and poetic. To give her speech emotional and poetic expressiveness, diminutive suffixes are used, so inherent in folk speech (key, water, children, grave, rain, grass), and intensifying particles (“How did he feel sorry for me? What words did he say?” ), and interjections (“Oh, how I miss him!”).
The lyrical sincerity and poetry of Katerina’s speech are given by the epithets that come after the defined words (golden temples, extraordinary gardens, with evil thoughts), and repetitions, so characteristic of the oral poetry of the people.
Ostrovsky reveals in Katerina’s speech not only her passionate, tenderly poetic nature, but also her strong-willed strength. Katerina’s willpower and determination are shaded by syntactic constructions of a sharply affirming or negative nature.
Chapter 4. Comparative speech characteristics of Wild and
Kabanikha
In Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm,” Dikoy and Kabanikha are representatives of the “Dark Kingdom.” It seems as if Kalinov is fenced off from the rest of the world by a high fence and lives some kind of special, closed life. Ostrovsky focused on the most important things, showing the wretchedness and savagery of the morals of Russian patriarchal life, because all this life is based solely on familiar, outdated laws, which are obviously completely ridiculous. The “Dark Kingdom” tenaciously clings to its old, established. This is standing in one place. And such standing is possible if it is supported by people who have strength and authority.
A more complete, in my opinion, idea of a person can be given by his speech, that is, by habitual and specific expressions inherent only to a given hero. We see how Dikoy, as if nothing had happened, can just offend a person. He doesn’t regard not only those around him, but even his family and friends. His family lives in constant fear of his wrath. Dikoy mocks his nephew in every possible way. It is enough to remember his words: “I told you once, I told you twice”; “Don’t you dare come across me”; you'll find everything! Not enough space for you? Wherever you fall, here you are. Ugh, damn you! Why are you standing like a pillar! Are they telling you no?” Dikoy openly shows that he does not respect his nephew at all. He puts himself above everyone around him. And no one offers him the slightest resistance. He scolds everyone over whom he feels his power, but if someone scolds him himself, he cannot answer, then hold on, everyone at home! It’s on them that Dikoy will take out all his anger.
Dikoy is a “significant person” in the city, a merchant. This is how Shapkin says about him: “We should look for another scolder like ours, Savel Prokofich. There’s no way he’ll cut someone off.”
“The view is unusual! Beauty! The soul rejoices!” exclaims Kuligin, but against the backdrop of this beautiful landscape a bleak picture of life is painted, which appears before us in “The Thunderstorm”. It is Kuligin who gives an accurate and clear description of the life, morals and customs that reign in the city of Kalinov.
Just like Dikoy, Kabanikha is distinguished by selfish inclinations; she thinks only of herself. Residents of the city of Kalinov talk about Dikiy and Kabanikha very often, and this makes it possible to obtain rich material about them. In conversations with Kudryash, Shapkin calls Diky “a scolder,” while Kudryash calls him a “shrill man.” Kabanikha calls Dikiy a “warrior.” All this speaks of the grumpiness and nervousness of his character. Reviews about Kabanikha are also not very flattering. Kuligin calls her a “hypocrite” and says that she “behaves the poor, but has completely eaten up her family.” This characterizes the merchant's wife from the bad side.
We are struck by their callousness towards people dependent on them, their reluctance to part with money when paying workers. Let us remember what Dikoy says: “Once I was fasting about a great fast, and then it was not easy and I slipped a little man in, I came for money, carried firewood... I did sin: I scolded him, I scolded him... I almost killed him.” All relationships between people, in their opinion, are built on wealth.
Kabanikha is richer than Dikoy, and therefore she is the only person in the city with whom Dikoy must be polite. “Well, don’t let your throat loose! Find me cheaper! And I’m dear to you!”
Another feature that unites them is religiosity. But they perceive God not as someone who forgives, but as someone who can punish them.
Kabanikha, like no one else, reflects this city’s commitment to old traditions. (She teaches Katerina and Tikhon how to live in general and how to behave in a specific case.) Kabanova tries to seem like a kind, sincere, and most importantly unhappy woman, tries to justify her actions by her age: “The mother is old, stupid; Well, you, young people, smart ones, shouldn’t exact it from us fools.” But these statements sound more like irony than sincere recognition. Kabanova considers herself the center of attention; she cannot imagine what will happen to the whole world after her death. Kabanikha is absurdly blindly devoted to her old traditions, forcing everyone at home to dance to her tune. She forces Tikhon to say goodbye to his wife in the old-fashioned way, causing laughter and a feeling of regret among those around him.
On the one hand, it seems that Dikoy is ruder, stronger and, therefore, scarier. But, looking closer, we see that Dikoy is only capable of screaming and rampaging. She managed to subjugate everyone, keeps everything under control, she even tries to manage people’s relationships, which leads Katerina to death. The Pig is cunning and smart, unlike the Wild One, and this makes her more terrible. In Kabanikha’s speech, hypocrisy and duality of speech are very clearly manifested. She speaks very impudently and rudely to people, but at the same time, while communicating with him, she wants to seem like a kind, sensitive, sincere, and most importantly, unhappy woman.
We can say that Dikoy is completely illiterate. He says to Boris: “Get lost! I don’t even want to talk to you, a Jesuit.” Dikoy uses “with a Jesuit” instead of “with a Jesuit” in his speech. So he also accompanies his speech with spitting, which completely shows his lack of culture. In general, throughout the entire drama we see him peppering his speech with abuse. “Why are you still here! What the hell else is there here!”, which shows him to be an extremely rude and ill-mannered person.
Dikoy is rude and straightforward in his aggressiveness; he commits actions that sometimes cause bewilderment and surprise among others. He is capable of offending and beating a man without giving him money, and then in front of everyone standing in the dirt in front of him, asking for forgiveness. He is a brawler, and in his violence he is capable of throwing thunder and lightning at his family, who are hiding from him in fear.
Therefore, we can conclude that Dikiy and Kabanikha cannot be considered typical representatives of the merchant class. These characters in Ostrovsky's drama are very similar and differ in their selfish inclinations; they think only about themselves. And even their own children seem to them to be a hindrance to some extent. Such an attitude cannot decorate people, which is why Dikoy and Kabanikha evoke persistent negative emotions in readers.
Conclusion
Speaking about Ostrovsky, in my opinion, we can rightfully call him an unsurpassed master of words, an artist. The characters in the play “The Thunderstorm” appear before us as alive, with bright, embossed characters. Every word spoken by the hero reveals some new facet of his character, shows him from the other side. A person’s character, his mood, his attitude towards others, even if he doesn’t want it, are revealed in his speech, and Ostrovsky, a true master of speech characterization, notices these features. The manner of speech, according to the author, can tell the reader a lot about the character. Thus, each character acquires its own individuality and unique flavor. This is especially important for drama.
In Ostrovsky's "The Thunderstorm" we can clearly distinguish the positive hero Katerina and the two negative heroes Dikiy and Kabanikha. Of course, they are representatives of the “dark kingdom”. And Katerina is the only person who is trying to fight them. The image of Katerina is drawn brightly and vividly. The main character speaks beautifully, in figurative folk language. Her speech is replete with subtle shades of meaning. Katerina’s monologues, like a drop of water, reflect her entire rich inner world. The author's attitude towards him even appears in the character's speech. With what love and sympathy Ostrovsky treats Katerina, and how sharply he condemns the tyranny of Kabanikha and Dikiy.
He portrays Kabanikha as a staunch defender of the foundations of the “dark kingdom.” She strictly observes all the rules of patriarchal antiquity, does not tolerate manifestations of personal will in anyone, and has great power over those around her.
As for Dikiy, Ostrovsky was able to convey all the anger and anger that boils in his soul. All members of the household are afraid of the wild one, including nephew Boris. He is open, rude and unceremonious. But both powerful heroes are unhappy: they don’t know what to do with their uncontrollable character.
In Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm”, with the help of artistic means, the writer was able to characterize the characters and create a vivid picture of that time. “The Thunderstorm” has a very strong impact on the reader and viewer. The dramas of the heroes do not leave the hearts and minds of people indifferent, which is not possible for every writer. Only a true artist can create such magnificent, eloquent images; only such a master of speech characterization is able to tell the reader about the characters only with the help of their own words and intonations, without resorting to any other additional characteristics.
List of used literature
1. A. N. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm”. Moscow “Moscow Worker”, 1974.
2. Yu. V. Lebedev “Russian literature of the 19th century”, part 2. Enlightenment, 2000.
3. I. E. Kaplin, M. T. Pinaev “Russian literature”. Moscow "Enlightenment", 1993.
4. Yu. Borev. Aesthetics. Theory. Literature. Encyclopedic Dictionary of Terms, 2003.
In the play by A.N. Ostrovsky shows the image of S. Dikiy as a representative of a wild character. He can be called a tyrant, merciless not only to strangers, but also to his family and friends. Dikoy believes that no one should contradict him on anything; he considers all his words and actions to be correct.
Wealth gives him such power. This man is very greedy for money, so he does not assign a salary to any of his employees. When the time comes to pay, he pretends to be angry and shouts at the person who asks him for the money he earned. His employees even tried to complain to the official about him, but it was useless.
He calls Dikiy “warrior,” because in his house, in his own words, “there is a war going on.” Dikoy can speak out very frankly. According to his grandmother’s will, Dikoy must give Boris and his sister part of his inheritance. But the will contained a condition that the inheritance could be given if the nephews were respectful to their uncle. And so Dikoy takes advantage of this condition, pretends that he is not satisfied with Boris’s behavior, forces him to serve himself for free.
Wild can scold anyone except Kabanikha, since he believes that she is the only one who understands him, and can besiege him. Kabanikha was a representative of life principles, knew the laws, and for this reason, Savel Prokofievich behaved quietly in front of her. This woman believed that Dikoy was a weak person, since he himself sometimes suffered from his temper. Although he was a tyrant, he was afraid of moral laws. An example of this is his story to Kabanikha about how he scolded a man who came for money, and then asked him for forgiveness, bowing to him in public. And he respects Marfa Ignatievna, because she understands him. But sometimes Dikoy himself is not happy with his temper, but he can’t help himself. That’s why Kabanikha considers him a weak person. What they have in common is that they both belong to the patriarchal system, which they do not want to change.
The author gave his character the surname Dikoy, since it most clearly expresses the rude and ignorant character of the hero of the play. In this way, Ostrovsky clearly shows such a phenomenon as tyranny. Showing permissiveness, Dikoy considers himself the master of life. Even with his family, he behaves rudely, which is why his relatives are happy when he goes somewhere. They don’t know how to please the head of the family; they try not to anger him.
Merchant Dikoy and Kabanikha are to blame for most of the problems in the small town of Kalinov. If it were not for their character and their morals, then there would be more justice and less cruelty in the life of the city. Old morals and traditions prevail in the city, since their adherents are Dikoy and with him Kabanikha, who do not strive for changes in society, they do not need it. If change comes, they will miss the opportunity to influence the life of the city.
