The realistic short story by P Merimee had a number of interesting compositional and stylistic features. Merimee is a master of psychological novels, in the center of his attention - inner world of a person, showing her internal struggle, evolution or, conversely, degradation. The writer’s hero’s internal struggle has always been determined by the person’s clashes with society and the environment, and has shaped his character. The dramas of the main characters of the short stories (Saint-Clair, Julie, Arsene, etc.) were born from the confrontation surrounding reality. This led to an interesting feature of Merimee’s short story: the great importance given to the events, one way or another determined internal conflict hero.
A prose writer's short stories are usually very dramatic. Any of his works can be made into a drama. The event that the author places at the center of the story most often had the nature of a catastrophe - murder, suicide, blood feud, the death of the hero, a change in his entire life. Saint-Clair (the hero of "The Etruscan Vase") is killed in a duel, Carmen (the heroine of "Carmen") is killed by Don Jose. In the short story "Lokis" the count murders his young wife. In the short story "Mateo Falcone" there is a bloody murder of a son by a father.
This is a kind of technique of keeping silent about the most important and significant things described in the work. This default concealed the author's real emotion, a sense of horror, and his assessment of what happened. What is depicted in the short stories “Carmen”, “Lokis” or “The Etruscan Vase” has always deeply worried the reader. The author usually hid his own assessment of events, so as not to diminish the impression of readers. By abruptly switching attention to something else, something unrelated, he forced me to think better about what had happened. As a result, the event itself became more tangible for the reader.
The dynamism, drama and intensity of action in Merimee's short stories determined another unique feature. This is the paucity of description, especially description of nature. The novelist is very stingy in description, because the focus of his attention is always action, drama, and the growth of dramatic conflict. Description played only minor role. Due to this special meaning in Merimee's works she acquired a detail - a separate small touch, which often replaced lengthy descriptions and characteristics.
Artistic features of Prosper Merimee's short stories:
The writer’s focus is on the inner world of a person, showing her inner struggle;
The event was determined by the hero's internal conflict;
A combination of psychologism and silencing techniques;
Dynamism, drama and tension of action;
- "stinginess" of descriptions of nature;
Use of artistic detail;
A hero with a strong character;
The image was revealed through one’s own actions and events, without the author’s assessment; - human character and psychology appeared as a result of certain conditions of existence; -elipsna (two-center) composition of the short story - a story within a story; - lengthy to exotic descriptions;
Introduction of the narrator, who was the second self of the author himself; -motives for murder, duel, torture, temptation, jealousy.
Prosper Merimee has repeatedly said that the key to a writer’s success was the ability to choose one, extraordinary one from the entire set of phenomena of existence. Novella "Mateo Falcone"- the first of the published short stories, which was a reproduction of such an extraordinary “find”.
Mateo Falcone's house was located near the maquis (part of the forest was burned to make way for a field). He was a rich man because he lived from the profits from the flocks of sheep that nomadic shepherds drove from place to place. He was no more than 50 years old. He skillfully wielded weapons, was a good comrade, and a dangerous enemy. He was married to a woman, Giuseppe, who first bore him 3 daughters and, finally, a son, to whom he gave the name Fortunato, the hope of the family and the successor of the family. The daughters got married successfully, and the son was only 10 years old.
One morning Mateo and his wife went to look at their herds. Fortunato, who wanted to go with them, was left to guard the house.
The guy was lying in the sun when he heard shots. He saw a man in rags, with a beard, barely moving because he was wounded in the thigh. It was the robber Gianetto Sanpiero. He asked Fortunato to hide it. The guy asked if he would give something in return? The bandit pulled out a five franc coin. Fortunato hid it in a pile of hay. A few minutes later, six shooters appeared, led by the baby’s relative, Teodoro Gamba. He asked the guy, he hadn't seen Jeanette. The guy didn't say what he saw, and that irritated the shooters. They even searched Mateo's house but found no one. Then Gamba showed the guy a silver watch and said that if he showed where the bandit was, he would give him the watch. The guy began to hesitate, his eyes lit up, and then pointed to the hay. The archers began to dig up the haystack, and Fortunato received an hour. The bandit was tied up, but then Mateo and his wife appeared on the road, they were returning home. Gamba told them about how they detained the bandit, about what his son had done. Mateo looked at the bandit, who called his house "the house of traitors."
The image of the hero of the short story by Mateo Falcone became the beginning of the writer’s long thoughts about the nature of the human personality, combining seemingly incompatible things. Few, but truthful features depict the portrait and character of Mateo - straight, courageous man, who was not accustomed to hesitate in doing what he considered his duty. He embodied a certain Corsican ideal of honor, where betrayal is the most deadly offense: “Only a man doomed to death could dare to call Mateo a traitor. He would immediately avenge such an insult with a blow of a dagger, and the blow would not have to be repeated.” It was the fact that his son, the “continuator of the family,” on whom Mateo pinned all his hopes, became the first traitor in their family, and led to a terrible act.
Mateo could not forgive the betrayal. And here Falcone is strong and true to himself. The murder of his only son did not happen in a state of passion, but sternly, calmly, with conviction: “Fortunato made a desperate effort to get up and fall to his feet, but did not have time. Mateo fired and Fortunato fell dead. Without even looking at the body, Mateo again moved along the path into the house “to take a shovel.” This majestic peace struck the reader even more. the author, this is his position.
Features of the short story "Mateo Falcone":
o focusing on exceptional highlights;
o heroes have a strong character;
o use of artistic detail;
o An unexpected ending provides a new rhythm to the entire action.
The image of Mateo did not complete Merimee's artistic quest. These searches continued and found expression in another unsurpassed short story by P. Merimee - “Federico”. The plot is very simple and interesting. Once upon a time there lived a young nobleman, Federico, handsome, slender, he loved the game, wine and women, especially the game. The hero never confessed. One day, Federico won against 12 young men from wealthy families, but quickly lost his winnings, and he was left with only one castle on the Caucasian slopes. There he lived alone for 3 years: he hunted during the day and gambled in the evening.
One day, Jesus Christ and the 12 apostles asked to stay with him for the night. Federico accepted them, but apologized and did not hide them properly. He ordered the tenant to slaughter the last goat and roast it.
This is a fantastic novella, which is built on a fairy-tale folklore basis, and reflects Merimee’s desire to seek the meaning of life outside of bourgeois everyday life. Picturesque, with a characteristic speed of action, the short story was perceived as a folk fairy tale, as a living conversational form.
The writer's journey to a heroic beginning, strong characters are palpable in the novella "Tamango" where the author criticized such a shameful phenomenon as the slave trade, and spoke out against slavery in general. However, the main theme of the work is not the exposure of the slave trade, but the revelation of the character of Tamango.
This image reflected Merimee's further reflections on human nature, and especially the conflict of high, heroic and base principles. The good and evil qualities of the hero are hidden here, but clearly exposed. He is power-hungry, cruel, ferocious and despotic. Tamango traded with his fellow tribesmen. But he also has significant human traits, which turned out to be in the hero’s irresistible desire for freedom, his pride and endurance, which he showed during the trials.
The ignorant mind of the savage turned out to be capable of quick and correct decisions, of subtle calculations, when Tamango started a riot on the ship. The evil savage usually did not drown out the real feeling of love in him when, forgetting about caution, he overtakes the ship that was taking his wife, or when, almost dying in a boat from hunger, he shared his last cracker with a woman. So, in the wildness of Tamango there is a certain sinister energy, courage, love of freedom, dexterity and even self-denial.
Merimee showed his heroes in such life clashes when they had to decide for themselves a question of enormous importance - either to save life, disregarding conscience, honor, personal moral principles, or to remain true to these principles but die. Heroic beginning in strong characters, which attracted the writer, was precisely that victory remained with moral principles.
Questions for self-control
1. Reveal the genre diversity and main themes of the works of realist writers.
2. Thanks to what creative discoveries did P. Merimee become a classic of French realism?
3. In what areas is P. Merimee’s connection with Ukraine revealed?
4. Why is P. Merimee called the master of the psychological novel? What is his skill?
Essay on literature based on the works of P. MerimeeEssay text:
To begin with, we note that the name of Prosper Merimee rightfully takes its place in the brilliant galaxy of French realists of the second half of the 19th century V. The work of Stendhal, Balzac and their younger contemporary Merimee became the pinnacle of French national culture in the post-revolutionary period.
The writer wanted to give an idea of cruel morals XIV century, without violating historical accuracy.
In 1829, P. Merimee began writing the short story “Matteo Falcone”. Merimee's short stories amaze with their emotional expressiveness and brevity. In the writer's short stories, exotic themes attract him. The cruel life of modern times forced him to turn to the depiction of passions, which became a sign of human originality.
It is worth saying that the central event of the short story - the murder of his son for betrayal - organizes the entire plot material. A short exhibition not only explains the origins of the maquis, but also characterizes Corsican customs, local hospitality and readiness to come to the aid of the persecuted. “If you have killed a person, run to the poppies of Porto-Vecchio... The shepherds will give you milk, cheese and chestnuts, and you have nothing to fear from justice...”
Matteo Falcone is a brave and dangerous man, famous for his extraordinary art of shooting, he is faithful in friendship, dangerous in enmity. His character traits are determined by the laws of Corsican life.
The author focuses on the fact that two years after the death of his son, Matteo remained the same; apparently, the murder of his son did not affect him in any way.
In the scene of Fortunato’s betrayal, almost every word is significant, as is the symbolism of the boy’s name, which allows us to imagine how much his father expected from him. At ten years old, the boy “gave big hopes", for which the father was proud of his son. This is evidenced by the intelligence and courage with which he made a deal, first with Giannetto, and then with Gamba.
In my opinion, Sergeant Gamba played the role of a fatal seducer; he is also a Corsican, even a distant relative of Matteo, although he has completely different personal qualities. He imagines a world in which profit and calculation suppress all natural impulses. A silver watch with a blue dial and a steel chain became a symbol of merchant civilization. This thing took the lives of two people. Sergeant Gamba can safely be declared guilty of Fortunato's death. The specifics of Corsian life, as well as the internal tragedy of the event, are revealed by the spare dialogue and laconic expressiveness of the action. Matteo, his wife Giuseppa, the bandit Janneto Sampiero, the maquis shepherds are people of one world, living according to their own internal laws. Opposed to this world are Sergeant Gamba, his voltigeurs with yellow collars - a sign of their eccentricity, the semi-mythical and omnipotent “Uncle Corporal”, whose son already has a watch and who, as Fortunatto thinks, can do anything. The spatial boundary of these two worlds lies between the poppies and the field, but the moral boundary can be overcome at the cost of betraying the moral laws of one’s world, which is what Fotunato is trying to do.
It seems to me that his action can be assessed in different ways. On the one hand, he betrayed Corsican laws and violated moral standards; but on the other hand, it is easy to understand him: he is still a child, he really liked the watch, and a jealous feeling of envy appeared, because the son of “Uncle Corporal” has such a watch, although he is younger than Fortunato. In addition, Gamba promised the boy that “uncle corporal” would send him a good gift as a reward.
Matteo punishes his son for such an act with death. That the sentence passed on Fotunato by his father was not the result of Matteo’s personal exaggerated ideas about the honor of the family, but expressed moral attitude to the betrayal of the entire people, is evidenced by the behavior of Giuseppa, who, with all her grief, recognizes Matteo’s rightness.
Reference material for schoolchildren:
Prosper Merimee is a famous French writer.
Years of life: 1803-1870.
The most famous works and works:
1829 - “Tamango”, short story
1829 - “The Capture of the Redoubt” (L’enlèvement de la redoute), story
1829 - “Matteo Falcone” (Mateo Falcone), short story
1830 - “The Etruscan Vase” (Le vase étrusque), short story
1830 - “The Backgammon Party” (La partie de tric-trac), short story
1833 - “The Double Fault” (La double méprise), short story
1834 - “The Souls of Purgatory” (Les âmes du Purgatoire), short story
1837 - “Venus of Ille” (La Venus d’Ille), short story
1840 - “Colomba”, story
1844 - Arsène Guillot, short story
1845 - “Carmen”, story
1869 - “Lokis”, story
"Djouman", short story
"Blue Room" (Chambre bleue), short story
1825 - “Clara Gazul Theater” (Théâtre de Clara Gazul), collection of plays
1828 - “The Jacquerie” (La Jacquerie), historical drama-chronicle
1830 - “The Discontented” (Les Mécontents), play
1850 - “The Two Inheritances or Don Quichotte” (Les deux héritages ou Don Quichotte), comedy
1827 - “Gusli” (Guzla)
1829 - “Chronicle of the reign of Charles IX” (Chronique du règne de Charles IX)
1835 - “Notes on a trip to the south of France” (Notes d’un voyage dans le Midi de France)
1837 - “Study on religious architecture” (Essai sur l’architecture religieuse)
1863 - essay “Bogdan Khmelnitsky” (Bogdan Chmielnicki)
Prosper Merimee. “Matteo Falcone”: the time of creation of the novella. The image of the narrator. Moral Lessons short stories
Prosper Merimee's novella “Matteo Falcone” is included in the 6th grade curriculum for the first time. This work, despite its apparent ease of perception and fascinating plot, is extremely complex in ideological terms.
The textbook's introductory article (pp. 258-260) can help in moving toward understanding the work. However, it can be supplemented by the history of 19th century France.
The first reading of the novella, in our opinion, can be done independently: it should be recommended as homework. A lesson discussion of the students' initial impressions will be followed by a word from the teacher and then a commented reading of the novel by the students, highlighting moral problems.
I. Prosper Merimee. “Matteo Falcone”: the time of creation of the novella. The image of the narrator
Discussion of primary perception
Children, as a rule, are not used to talking about their perception of a work and are often in a hurry (as is the habit of elementary school) to say what this work teaches us. But let’s not rush to conclusions and start a conversation specifically about the students’ personal perception of P. Merimee’s short story. The story captivates them, but the morals described seem completely incomprehensible.
It is advisable to hang a map of Europe on the board so that you can find and show the children the island of Corsica.
You can talk about the image of the narrator to children in a heuristic conversation, if there is enough time for this.
Teacher's word
Prosper Merimee was born in France in 1803, four years later than A.S. Pushkin, who was born in Russia. Eight years later, France and Russia came into conflict: in 1812 the Patriotic War. French troops were brought to Russia by Napoleon Bonaparte, who was considered the greatest commander. Russia won this war, and Russian troops entered Paris in 1815. Napoleon was exiled to the island of St. Helena, where he lived alone until the end of his days. The Bourbon dynasty was restored in France. Louis XVIII sat on the throne.
But the people who survived the Great French Revolution and took part in Napoleonic campaigns could not come to terms with the new order. Throughout France, educated people were intensely pondering the fate of their country and looking for ways to overcome the spiritual crisis in society. Among the writers who reflected in their works on the ways of development of society was Prosper Merimee.
At the end of the 20s, P. Merimee turned to the short story genre (see the definition of short story on p. 310, part 2 of the textbook). Some of Merimee's most famous short stories are “Carmen”, “Tamango” and “Matteo Falcone”.
It is no coincidence that the action of the short story “Matteo Falcone” takes place on the island of Corsica. Corsica is a mountainous island in the Mediterranean Sea. Mount Mont Cento reaches a height of 2706 meters. The mountain slopes are covered with Mediterranean bushes and forests. Corsica is a department of France, but it is inhabited not by the French, but by Corsicans - a people who speak various dialects of the Italian language. Most Corsicans are Catholics. Life on the island is different in that over the centuries a special, rather closed culture and tradition of rejection of the new has been created.
The entire island was divided into cantons, that is, into several regions, and elective power was concentrated in small towns. Cities were located mainly on the coast; mountainous areas were difficult to access.
During the years of P. Merimee's life, the French considered the Corsicans to be savages, but interest in the culture of this island was constantly maintained by the fact that the man whom many French admired, despite his defeat, Napoleon Bonaparte, was from Corsica. Some contemporaries of P. Merimee believed that it was wiser to return to primitive morals, which seemed simpler and even better than the morals of bourgeois society.
Describing an incident that occurred in Corsica, P. Merimee draws readers - his contemporaries - to thoughts about what foundations it is necessary to build human relationships, makes them think about moral principles actions and values human life.
We have just studied two of Belkin’s five Tales: “The Peasant Young Lady” and “The Shot.” “Belkin’s Tales,” created by Pushkin in the early 30s, and Merimee’s short stories, created several years earlier, are similar: firstly, these are short works with a sharp plot; secondly, they tell about unusual heroes and circumstances; thirdly, in both Pushkin and Merimee the author puts on a mask, as it were, he does not appear on stage himself, and the narration is conducted on behalf of the narrator.
When we read the short story “Matteo Falcone”, we clearly feel that it is not the author, not Merimee himself, who is speaking to us, but someone else - a person who has traveled, been to Corsica and is personally acquainted with Matteo Falcone and his wife: “When in 18... I visited Corsica, Matteo Falcone’s house was half a mile from this maquis.” We understand very well that we have a narrator in front of us when in the second paragraph we read advice to run to the maquis if you have killed a person: of course, the author is not serious could give the reader such advice.
It seems to us that this narrator is sitting among his acquaintances, perhaps fellow travelers on a long journey, and telling them about what he happened to see and learn, how he lived among peoples whose traditional way of life differs sharply from what the listeners are used to . Moreover, from the story it is clear to us that the listeners of this story were not in Corsica, because in the form of short remarks the narrator inserts information about the life and customs of Corsica - for example, he describes the home of a Corsican (“consists of one square room”) and the attitude of a typical Corsican towards a woman (“...no burden other than a weapon is unworthy of a man”, “The duty of a good wife is to load a gun for her husband during a battle”).
The intonation of the address to the listeners creates the effect of being in a circle of conversation: “If you go northwest from Porto-Vecchio into the interior of the island...”, “I must say that the Corsican farmer...”, “If you killed a man, run to poppies of Porto-Vecchio...", "Imagine a man of small stature, but strong...", "But they told about him that in Corte, where he took his wife from..."
The narrator does not tell us consistently and in detail about the customs of the Corsicans; he inserts the necessary information in between, as if it were known to everyone. But it is precisely this artistic technique that makes us seem to stumble over unexpected messages and read the novel with special attention.
II. Moral lessons of the novella
Commented reading
Reading full text The short story without commentary takes just over twenty minutes. If the teacher understands that there is not enough time to read the full text, then you can read the beginning and end of the work in class.
Children read the text. At the right moments, the teacher stops reading and comments on the text or invites them to discuss a question raised in the work.
We offer some necessary comments.
Comments
“It must be said that the Corsican farmer, not wanting to take the trouble to manure his field, burns out part of the forest: it is not his concern if the fire spreads further than necessary; whatever it is, he is confident that he will get a good harvest on the land fertilized with the ash of burnt trees.”
Slash-and-burn agriculture is a primitive method of land cultivation, common in areas of extensive agriculture. From the point of view of a modern person who looks at the earth as the common home of mankind, the phrase “it is not his concern if the fire spreads further” sounds savage. But even for a Frenchman two hundred years ago, when the word “ecology” did not yet exist, this approach to agriculture was predatory, crudely consumerist.
“…in a few years they reach a height of seven or eight feet.”
A foot is an old Russian and English unit of length equal to 30.48 cm.
“If you have killed a man, run to the poppies of Porto-Vecchio, and you will live there in safety, having with you a good gun, gunpowder and bullets; Don’t forget to take a brown raincoat with a hood with you - it will replace both your blanket and your bedding. The shepherds will give you milk, cheese and chestnuts, and you have nothing to fear from justice or the relatives of the murdered..."
The shepherds of Corsica feel like complete masters of the land on which they graze their flocks, and live according to unwritten but firm laws. They are free to live as they see fit, and they feel unity especially clearly when they are in opposition to someone (usually the official government and its representatives). Accordingly, they consider other people who are disliked by the authorities, that is, criminals, as their own.
A good gun, gunpowder and bullets are needed in order to be able to shoot game, which is found in abundance in the poppies.
“Matteo Falcone was quite a rich man around there; he lived honestly, that is, without doing anything, on the income from his numerous herds, which nomadic shepherds grazed in the mountains, driving from place to place.”
He lived honestly, that is, without doing anything - this phrase grotesquely describes P. Merimee’s contemporary situation in France during the time of developing capitalism, when many wealthy people lived on income from capital investments and believed with full confidence that they were living honestly. This is how they lived in the cities of France - it is not for nothing that French capitalism of that time is called usurious.
“Such unusually high art brought Matteo Falcone great fame. He was considered as good a friend as he was a dangerous enemy...”
In closed societies there is often a cult of power. The concept of a friend in such societies means that a person called a friend acts on your side in battle.
“His wife Giuseppa bore him first three daughters (which infuriated him) and finally a son...”
The position of a woman in a closed society based on male dominance is always humiliating. A man strives to continue the family line, to pass on his name, and only the man is considered to continue the family line, while the woman goes to her husband’s family and takes his last name, so she is not considered to be the continuer of the family line.
“The daughters were successfully married: if anything happened, the father could count on the daggers and carbines of his sons-in-law.”
Successfully married means married at the request and will of the father to people who hold the same views as Matteo Falcone himself. Accordingly, they are always ready to take the father-in-law’s side in the event of any conflict with the authorities or other force.
“He was a bandit who, having gone into the city at night to buy gunpowder, was ambushed by Corsican Voltigeurs.”
Voltigeurs are shooters recruited by the government to help the police; these are the same free Corsicans, but they acted on the side of the police, that is, the official government. Voltigeurs understand well those people who hide in poppies: after all, they themselves may find themselves or have once found themselves in their place.
“What will father say if I hide you without his permission?
He will say that you did well!”
Matteo Falcone, a man living next to the maquis, considered the area around his house an integral part of his domain, only he could dispose of it. He could consider the government’s intrusion into his territory without permission a personal insult. But the bandit was a Maquis man, he was being pursued, and Falcone would always hide the one being pursued.
“No, you are not Matteo Falcone’s son! Will you really allow me to be captured near your house?
Giannetto focuses on the Corsican boy's self-esteem, which is directly related to the right to completely control his territory.
“(It is known that in Corsica, more than anywhere else, kinship is taken into account.)”
Consanguinity is considered especially important in societies where the spiritual connection between people is poorly developed.
“The boy burst out laughing when he heard such a funny threat. He repeated:
My father is Matteo Falcone.
Sergeant! - one of the voltigeurs said quietly. - Don't quarrel with Matteo.
Gamba was clearly in difficulty."
If Matteo found out that his son was thrown into prison, he would kill everyone involved in the event, and this would correspond to the ideas of justice of the sergeant, the voltigeurs and Matteo. The voltigeurs knew this and were afraid to break the rules of the game.
"- ...son! “he said more contemptuously than angry.”
A person who breaks his promise for the sake of an expensive handout is not angry at: he is despised.
“Dear Gamba! I can't go; you will have to carry me to the city.
You just ran faster than a goat... However, buddy, we will make a stretcher for you from branches and your cloak, and Crespoli will find horses at the farm.”
The voltigeurs and the bandit have no personal scores: each of them honestly fulfilled the role he had chosen: the voltigeurs shot at the fleeing man, Giannetto returned fire. Now that the roles have been played, we are faced with people who behave like partners honestly playing the same game.
“The woman walked with difficulty, bent under the weight of a huge bag of chestnuts, while the husband walked lightly with one gun in his hands and the other behind his back, for no burden other than a weapon is unworthy of a man.”
“It is the duty of a good wife to load her gun for her husband during battle.”
The position of women in those days in Corsica was unbearable, from our point of view. But let’s not forget that in our time there are societies and countries where women are in a similar, humiliated position.
“-...We just covered Giannetto Sanpiero.
God bless! - Giuseppa cried. - Last week he stole our milk goat.
These words made Gamba happy.
Poor fellow! - Matteo responded. - He was hungry!
“This scoundrel defended himself like a lion,” the sergeant continued, slightly annoyed...”
Giuseppa responds as a hostess, and Matteo as a person who understands the situation of the bandit hiding in the poppies, who ran out of bullets. The sergeant closely monitors the reactions of the husband and wife and plays along with the owners.
“He killed one of my shooters and crushed the arm of Corporal Chardon; Well, it’s not a big problem: after all, Chardon is French...”
Corsicans treat the French with contempt as people of another nation, a different society, in which completely different orders, alien to the Corsicans, reign - in the opinion of the Corsican, of a lower level.
“- Damn it! - Matteo said barely audibly.”
The mention of Falcone's name in a report addressed to the prosecutor is perceived as a shame, as an exposure of Falcone in a deal with the authorities.
“Fortunato, seeing his father, went into the house. Soon he reappeared with a bowl of milk in his hands and, looking down, handed it to Giannetto.
Then, turning to one of the voltigeurs, he said:
Comrade! Let me get drunk.
The soldier handed him a flask, and the bandit drank the water brought by the hand of the man with whom he had just exchanged shots.”
The participants in the chase honestly played the roles they assumed; Fortunato took on the role of savior, but for the sake of money he changed his word, and this made him an outcast.
“Stuttering and crying, the boy read “Our Father” and “I Believe.” At the end of each prayer, Father firmly said “Amen.”
The Corsicans considered themselves Catholics, but their Catholicism was largely external, ritual, and did not affect the basic understanding of the world of the individual.
The prayers read by his son and the thought of Christ, whose main commandment is mercy, did not help him find love in his heart and forgive his son’s offense.
"- What did you do? - she exclaimed.
He did justice.
In the ravine. I'll bury him now. He died a Christian. I will order a memorial service for him.”
What is striking for us is the alienation from our own child with a complete lack of understanding that at the age of 10 a child cannot and should not bear adult responsibility for what he has done, because he is only learning to act correctly. Matteo dreamed of a son for many years, and was happy in his own way for 10 years. And now he kills his son without hesitation, instead of helping him never do that again through what has happened.
Literature lesson
on this topic
"The problem of honor and betrayal in Prosper Merimee's short story "Matteo Falcone".
6th grade
The purpose of the lesson:
To introduce the personality of the French writer P. Merimee, his short story “Matteo Falcone”, artistic features works
Form UUD:
Personal:
Ability to evaluate life situations people's actions from the point of view of generally accepted norms and values; perform self-assessment based on success criteria educational activities;
Regulatory:
The ability to determine and formulate a goal in a lesson with the help of a teacher; express your assumption (version) based on work with selective reading of the text work of art; make the necessary adjustments to the action after its completion based on its assessment and taking into account the nature of the errors made; work according to the plan proposed by the teacher;
Communicative:
Ability to express your thoughts orally; listen and understand the speech of others; be able to prove your opinion by giving arguments according to the text;
Cognitive:
Ability to process received information: find answers to questions using your life experience, knowledge acquired outside the subject course.
Planned results:
Subject:
Be able to determine artistic detail in the work;
Be able to identify the semantic and ideological-emotional role of key words in a work;
Be able to evaluate the actions of heroes.
Personal: be able to give self-assessment based on the criterion of success in educational activities; evaluate life situations and people’s actions from the point of view of generally accepted norms and values.
Metasubject:
Regulatory UUD: be able to determine and formulate a goal in a lesson with the help of a teacher; express your assumption (version) based on working with the text of the textbook; make the necessary adjustments to the action after its completion based on its assessment and taking into account the nature of the errors made; work according to the plan proposed by the teacher.
Communicative UUD: be able to express your thoughts orally; listen and understand the speech of others; be able to prove your opinion by giving reasons according to the text.
Cognitive UUD: be able to process the information received: find answers to questions using your life experience, knowledge acquired outside the subject course.
Lesson objectives:
Educational: summarize the knowledge gained in the process of studying the novel. Develop the ability to evaluate the actions of heroes.
Promote the development of coherent speech, working memory, voluntary attention, logical thinking.
Foster a culture of behavior when working frontally and working in pairs.
Lesson type: analysis of a work of art
Training and metodology complex:
Textbook “Literature” in 2 parts for the 6th grade of general education institutions. Author V.Ya.Korovina (part 2, section “From foreign literature”)
Presentation
Notebook
Individual projects (cluster)
Signal cards
Basic concepts: short story
Organization of space: front work, group work(in pairs)
Interdisciplinary connections: history, geography
Student actions: answering questions, working with a dictionary, reading with commentary, retelling the text
Diagnostics of lesson results (lesson summary):
Finish the sentence: after reading P. Merimee’s short story, I understood..., felt..., thought about...; when I read the short story “Matteo Falcone”, I wanted... (the “Unfinished Sentence” technique)
Homework: written answer to the question why the short story is named after Matteo Falcone
Equipment: text, computer, projector, screen, slides with illustrations for the work, portrait of the writer, evaluation sheets.
Whoever manages to betray once will betray many more times...
Lope de Vega.
During the classes:
I. Mobilization (involvement in activities)
Teacher.
Hello guys! Glad to see you. Today we have an unusual lesson, guests have come to us. Turn to them, smile and greet them. Is everyone ready for active work in class?
Please look at the presentation slide. Read the writer's name. Is he known to you? Have you read his works? ( slide 1)
Students
Yes, at home we read his short story “Matteo Falcone”
Teacher
Which work of which writer will we talk about today?
What main concepts does the writer discuss in his work?
Let's pay attention to the slide: before you is a poem by the Russian poet A. Yashin and the words of the Spanish playwright Lope de Vega ( slide 2). Let's read them expressively.
In our countless wealth
There are precious words:
Fatherland,
Loyalty,
Brotherhood.
And there is more:
Conscience,
Honor.
A. Yashin
Whoever manages to betray once will betray many more times... Lope de Vega
Why do you think we begin our conversation about the novel by a French author with these lines?
What are the key words of these statements? (honor and betrayal) Can we apply these concepts to the novel by P. Merimee? Formulate the topic of the lesson.
(“The problem of honor and betrayal in Prosper Merimee’s short story “Matteo Falcone” ( slide 3))
Write down the date and topic of the lesson
II. Goal setting
Formulate the goals and objectives of the lesson using the words “remember”, “learn”, “learn”
Students
Learn to analyze prose work, find the theme and idea of the story, express your thoughts about the characters’ characters and the reasons for their actions
III. Creating a problem situation (awareness of the insufficiency of existing knowledge)
Teacher
Did you like the novella? Was everything clear? Do you think it is necessary to know about the writer in order to better understand the meaning of his works? Why? Let's listen to the message about P. Merime.
Student message
Before you is the outstanding French realist writer, master of the short story Prosper Mérimée. He was born in Paris in the family of an artist and received an excellent and varied education. Study literary work Merimee began already in his youth, turning to the genre of drama, then writing historical works, but it was the short stories that brought P. Merimee the highest fame and popularity. slide 4.5).
IV. Communication (search for new knowledge)
Teacher
What genre brought the greatest fame to P. Merime? (short story) What is a short story? (student responses) I suggest looking into the dictionary of literary terms. (On the slide “Novella–”).
NOVELLA (Italian novella), small narrative genre, a type of story marked by the rigor of plot and composition, the unusualness of the event and an unexpected ending. ( slide 6)
Choose synonyms for the word “unusuality” (unusuality, uncommonness)
What is unusual, unusual in the plot of the short story we are analyzing?
In order to understand this, I propose to move to the 19th century. Today we will go to the island of Corsica in France. ( slide 7)
What is the setting of the novella? Find the description in the text.
In the depths of the island, among wild rocks and gorges, frequent shoots of trees cut down and burned by peasants form dense thickets - poppies. A person can pave a road through them only with an ax in his hands, and some poppies grow so large that they form impregnable jungles (read before mouflons)
This is the setting of the novel by P. Merimee. ( Slide 8,9,10).
What kind of people live here and what character traits do they have? Who are the main characters of the novel? At home you did clusters, which revealed the character of the main character of the novel by Matteo Falcone. How did you see him? (Groups defend their projects). (slide 11)
So, Matteo Falcone is a typical Corsican, able to shoot accurately, determined, proud, brave, strong, observes the laws of hospitality and is ready to help anyone who asks for it. We learn about this from the first part of the story; we also learned that Matteo has a long-awaited, only and very beloved son, hope and heir.
What was the boy's name? (Fortunato is the lucky one).
What story does the author tell us that happened to Fortunato? (retelling)
In which episode did Fortunato's character traits most clearly emerge? (story with Janetto)
Read the dialogue that took place between Giannetto and Fortunato, by role. (slide 12)
Think about the boy's words and actions. What traits of his character does the author reveal? (Smart; cunning; cautious; helped a person for his own benefit).
What did the boy come up with so that the gendarmes would not notice the person he hid? (cat)
How does the boy talk to the gendarmes? (He behaves confidently, calmly, tries to confuse them, is not afraid, even laughs).
Why does a ten-year-old child behave so confidently with the gendarmes? (His father is a very strong and respected man, many are afraid of him. The boy feels his strength and protection, which is why he behaves this way with the gendarmes).
So, this is the first part of the story about the boy. Group work: choose a title for the first part of the story about the boy. (Group reports).
What can you call part 2 of the novella?
Group work: choose a title for the second part of the story about the boy. (Group reports). (Betrayal).
Why did you call the second part of the story that?
Do you condemn Fortunato's action? Why?
Would his father Matteo have done this? Why?
How would the person we met at the beginning of the story (a man of dignity, honor, brave, proud...) react to such an act of his son? Who does he think his son is? (traitor) From whose lips does the father hear this terrible word? How are his feelings shown in the text?
(Students’ answers. Prove with text).
Conclusion: the father was very upset by his son’s act; there have never been traitors in the Falcone family.
How do you think the work will end? How will Fortunato behave and how will his father behave after the incident? After all, the house of the respected Matteo is now the house of a traitor!
Work in groups: I suggest you make your own assumptions. How do you think the novel will end? (Group reports).
View last scene film adaptation (21.20 and until the end)
Did you expect such a denouement?
A terrible thing happened: a father killed his only son, little boy, who is only ten years old.
Do you condemn Matteo's actions? (Students' answers).
I propose to raise signal cards (slide 13)
Whoever believes that Matteo is right and he could not have done otherwise raises a blue card.
Those who believe that Fortunato does not deserve such a cruel punishment, those who are on the boy’s side – the red one.
Let's try to step into the shoes of the heroes and understand them. Everyone who voted for Fortunato and raised red cards is writing questions on behalf of Fortunato to his father Matteo.
Those who raised the blue - on behalf of father to son
Held argument-conversation.
Conclusion: Who is Matteo Falcone: a hero or a murderer? .( slide 14)Man with enormous power will, an iron character, who managed to kill even his own son in order to punish betrayal... or a cruel murderer who, in order to preserve his good name, killed his little son?
(students' answers)
This question will probably remain open forever. It has been covered many times in the literature. For example, M. Gorky in “Tales of Italy” told a story about a mother and a traitor-son (slide 15)
Message-retelling
For several weeks now the city had been surrounded by a close ring of enemies shackled in iron... People were afraid to light lights in the houses, thick darkness filled the streets, and in this darkness, like a fish in the depths of a river, a woman silently flashed, her head wrapped in a black cloak.
A citizen and mother, she thought about her son and homeland: at the head of the people who were destroying the city, stood her son, a cheerful and ruthless handsome man.
The heart of the mother of the person closest to him lost and cried: it was like scales, but, weighing the love for her son and the city, she could not understand what was easier, what was heavier.
One day, in a remote corner, near the city wall, she saw another woman: kneeling near a corpse, motionless, like a piece of earth, she was praying.
The traitor's mother asked:
Son. The husband was killed thirteen days ago, and this one is killed today.
Now that he died honestly fighting for his homeland, I can say that he aroused fear in me: frivolous, he loved too much have a fun life, and it was fearful that for the sake of this he would betray the city, as did the son of Marianne, the enemy of God and people, the leader of our enemies, damn him, and damn the womb that bore him!..
Covering her face, Marianne walked away, and the next morning she appeared to the defenders of the city and said:
Either kill me because my son has become your enemy, or open the gates for me, I will go to him...
And here she is before the man whom she knew nine months before his birth, before the one whom she had never felt outside her heart - he is in silk and velvet before her, and his weapon is in precious stones. Everything is as it should be; This is exactly how she saw him many times in her dreams - rich, famous and loved.
His mother told him:
Come here, lay your head on my chest, rest, remembering how cheerful and kind you were as a child and how everyone loved you...
He obeyed, lay down on her lap and closed his eyes, saying:
I love only fame and you, because you gave birth to me as I am.
And he dozed off on his mother’s chest like a child.
Then she, covering him with her black cloak, stuck a knife into his heart, and he, shuddering, died immediately - after all, she knew well where her son’s heart beats. And, throwing his corpse from her knees at the feet of the astonished guards, she said towards the city: ( slide 16)
Man - I did everything I could for my homeland; Mother - I stay with my son! It’s too late for me to give birth to another, no one needs my life.
And the same knife, still warm from his blood - her blood - she plunged into her chest with a firm hand and also correctly hit her heart - if it hurts, it’s easy to hit.
V. Control
How are the stories told by P. Merimee and the Russian writer M. Gorky similar and different? (similarity - murder due to betrayal, difference - mother kills herself) Why does mother kill herself? (loves his son, cannot imagine life without him). Doesn't Matteo love Fortunatto? Why then decide to kill?
Is it possible, according to P. Merimee, to forgive betrayal?
What was abused in these stories? Why were these terrible murders committed? (for the sake of honor)
People have thought about honor at all times, believing that it main feature any person. The people reflected their views in proverbs.
What proverbs about honor does he keep? folk memory? (slide 17). Which of them can serve as an epigraph for today's lesson? Write it down.
Why is so much importance attached to honor?
Conclusion: Yevtushenko’s words ( slide 17)
Honor is the main feature of a person; it is a measure of his human dignity.
Teacher
Whose side is the truth on? The question remains open. At home you will reflect on two statements: the French writer A. Dumas, who said that “the greatest, most divine thing in a person is the ability to pity and forgive,” and Lope de Vega, who believed that “whoever manages to betray once, will betray many times.” will betray again...",( slide 18) and answer in writing the question why P. Merimee’s short story is named after Matteo Falcone. (slide 19)
Our lesson is coming to an end. Let's draw conclusions.
VI . Reflection:
Complete the sentence (slide 20)
After reading P. Merimee’s novella, I understood..., felt..., thought about...,
When I read the novella “Matteo Falcone”, I wanted...
If you liked the lesson, attach the flower to the vase
I found it interesting to be with you. Everyone worked well. See you again! (slide 21)
The name of Prosper Merimee rightfully takes its place in the brilliant galaxy of French realists of the second half of the 19th century. The work of Stendhal, Balzac and their younger contemporary Merimee became the pinnacle of French national culture in the post-revolutionary period.
The writer wanted to give an idea of the cruel morals of the 14th century without violating historical accuracy.
In 1829, P. Merimee began writing the short story “Matteo Falcone”. Merimee's short stories amaze with their emotional expressiveness and brevity. In the writer's short stories, exotic themes attract him. The cruel life of modern times forced him to turn to the depiction of passions, which became a sign of human originality.
The central event of the story - the murder of his son for betrayal - organizes all the plot material. A short exhibition not only explains the origins of the maquis, but also characterizes Corsican customs, local hospitality and readiness to come to the aid of the persecuted. “If you have killed a man, run to the poppies of Porto-Vecchio... The shepherds will give you milk, cheese and chestnuts, and you have nothing to fear justice...”
Matteo Falcone is a brave and dangerous man, famous for his extraordinary art of shooting, he is faithful in friendship, dangerous in enmity. His character traits are determined by the laws of Corsican life.
In the scene of Fortunato’s betrayal, almost every word is significant, as is the symbolism of the boy’s name, which allows us to imagine how much his father expected from him. At ten years old, the boy “showed great promise,” for which the father was proud of his son. This is evidenced by the intelligence and courage with which he made a deal, first with Giannetto, and then with Gamba.
Sergeant Gamba played the role of a fatal seducer; he is also a Corsican, even a distant relative of Matteo, although he has completely different personal qualities. He imagines a world in which profit and calculation suppress all natural impulses. A silver watch with a blue dial and a steel chain became a symbol of merchant civilization. This thing took the lives of two people. Sergeant Gamba can safely be declared guilty of Fortunato's death. The specifics of Corsian life, as well as the internal tragedy of the event, are revealed by the spare dialogue and laconic expressiveness of the action. Matteo, his wife Giuseppa, the bandit Gianneto Sampiero, the maquis shepherds are people of one world, living according to their own internal laws. Opposed to this world are Sergeant Gamba, his voltigeurs with yellow collars - a sign of their eccentricity, the semi-mythical and omnipotent "Uncle Corporal", whose son already has a watch and who, as Fortunatto thinks, can do everything. The spatial boundary of these two worlds lies between the poppies and the field, but the moral boundary can be overcome at the cost of betraying the moral laws of one’s world, which is what Fotunato is trying to do.
His action can be assessed in different ways. On the one hand, he betrayed Corsican laws and violated moral standards; but on the other hand, it is easy to understand him: he is still a child, he really liked the watch, and a jealous feeling of envy appeared, because the son of “Uncle Corporal” has such a watch, although he is younger than Fortunato. In addition, Gamba promised the boy that “uncle corporal” would send him a good gift as a reward.
Matteo punishes his son for such an act with death. The fact that the sentence passed on Fotunato by his father was not the result of Matteo’s personal exaggerated ideas about the honor of the family, but expressed a moral attitude towards the betrayal of the entire people, is evidenced by the behavior of Giuseppa, who, despite all her grief, was aware of Matteo’s rightness.
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