What is honor? Could she be more valuable than life? According to Dahl, honor is “the inner moral dignity of a person, valor, honesty, nobility of soul and clear conscience.” What if without a dictionary? In my opinion, honor is life principles human beings based on high moral qualities. For those who have this, for whom his good name is very important, loss of honor worse than death. I think that living by honor means living in accordance with your conscience. Despite its still small life experience, I have repeatedly addressed this topic, because its relevance is undeniable.
Many perceive honor not just as decent behavior. It seems to me that for such people it is a duty to the Motherland, loyalty native land. Let's remember a work of fiction where this topic is revealed. Among them is N.V. Gogol’s story “Taras Bulba”. The author shows the life of the Cossacks in the Zaporozhye Sich, their struggle for independence. Special attention attracted by the images of Taras Bulba and his sons.
The old Cossack dreams that his children will be real warriors, loyal to their fatherland. But only Ostap, Taras’s eldest son, adopts his father’s life principles. For him, as well as for Bulba, honor is above all. To die for the Motherland and faith is a duty and obligation for heroes. A young Cossack, having been captured, bravely endures torture and does not ask for mercy from his tormentors. Taras Bulba also accepts a heroic death worthy of a Cossack. Thus, for father and son, faith and devotion to the Motherland is an honor that is dearer to them than life and which they defend to the very end.
Often people were faced with a choice - to live without honor or to die with honor. The story “The Fate of a Man” by M.A. Sholokhov convinces me of the correctness of this point of view. Andrey Sokolov, main character works - a simple Russian soldier. He is a true patriot who, in the face of death, did not deviate from his principles. Andrei was captured by the Nazis, escaped, but was caught and sent to work in a stone quarry. One day a prisoner inadvertently spoke about hard work. He was summoned to the camp authorities. There, one of the officers decided to mock the Russian soldier and invited him to drink to the German victory. Sokolov refused with dignity, although he knew that he could be killed for disobedience. But seeing with what determination the prisoner defended his honor, the Germans, as a sign of respect for a real soldier, gave him life. This act of the hero affirms the idea that even in the face of the threat of death one must maintain honor and dignity.
To summarize and reflect on this topic, I became convinced that you need to be responsible for your actions and actions, that in any situation you need to remain a man of honor and not lose your dignity. And those life principles that a person professes will help him in difficult situation choose life or dishonor. My thoughts are consonant with Shakespeare’s statement: “Honor is my life, they have grown into one, and to lose honor is for me the same as losing life.”
Option 1:
We often hear from everywhere that there is nothing more expensive human life. I completely agree with this. Life is a gift that every person should accept with gratitude. But, often plunging into life with all its advantages and disadvantages, we forget that it is important not just to live life, but to do it with dignity.
Unfortunately, in modern world, such concepts as honor, nobility, justice and dignity have lost their meaning. People often behave in ways that make us ashamed of our entire human race. We have learned to fly like birds, swim like fish, now we just have to learn to live like real people, for whom honor is more valuable than our own lives.
Numerous dictionaries give different definitions of the word “honor,” but they all boil down to a description of the best moral qualities that are highly valued in a normal society. For a person who values self-esteem and his reputation, it is worse to lose honor than to die.
Many writers, including Mikhail Sholokhov, addressed the issue of honor. I remember his story “The Fate of Man” and the main character Andrei Sokolov, who for me is one of the best examples of a man of honor and dignity. Having survived the war, terrible losses, captivity, he remained a real person for whom justice, honor, loyalty to the Motherland, kindness and humanity became the main principles in life.
With trembling in my heart, I remember the moment when, in captivity, he refused to drink to the German victory, but drank to his death. With such a gesture, he even earned the respect of his enemies, who released him, giving him a loaf of bread and butter, which Andrei divided equally among his comrades in the barracks. For him, honor was more valuable than life.
I would like to believe that most people value honor more than life. After all, this attitude towards the key concepts of morality is what makes us human.
Option 2:
How often do we hear words such as “honor”, “honesty”, and think about the meaning of these words? By the word “honesty,” we most often mean actions that are fair to ourselves or other people. Missed a lesson due to illness, but didn't get a bad grade? It's fair. But “honor” is different. Employees often say “I have honor,” parents insist that honor must be cultivated in oneself, and literature says “take care of honor from a young age.” What is this “honor”? And what do we need to protect so much?
In order to answer the questions posed, it is worth looking into the literature and finding a lot of examples there. For example, A. S. Pushkin and the novel “ Captain's daughter" Alexey Shvabrin, the main character of the novel, easily goes over to Pugachev’s side and becomes a traitor. In contrast to him, Pushkin brings Grinev, who, on pain of death, does not step into the role of “dishonor.” And let’s remember the life of Alexander Sergeevich himself! His wife's honor turned out to be more important to him than his own life.
In the story “The Fate of a Man” by M. A. Sholokhov there is a real Russian warrior who will never betray his homeland - this is Andrei Sokolov. To his share, as to the share of everything Soviet people, he faced many trials, but he did not give up, did not slip into betrayal, but steadfastly endured all the hardships and hardships, without sullying his honor. Sokolov's spirit is so strong that even Müller notices it, offering the Russian soldier to drink German weapons to the victory.
For me, the word “honor” is not an empty phrase. Of course, life is an amazing gift, but we need to use it in such a way that subsequent generations remember us with respect.
Option 3:
Today, people are increasingly noticing that the concept of honor is being devalued. Especially it concerns younger generation, because it grew up in conditions of decreasing importance of conscience, honor, and hard work. In return, people have become more vain, selfish, and those who have retained high moral principles in themselves and their children are considered by the majority as strange, “unenterprising.” The material gradually moved to the fore. Is the expression “take care of your honor from a young age” outdated?
As you know, it is impossible to create a reputation for yourself as an honest and correct person in one day. This is a long process in which the inner core is formed in small actions. honest man. And when this core is the basis of a person’s existence, then the loss of honor is worse than death.
A striking example of how people give their lives for their honor, for the honor of their family, country and people is the dark time of the Great Patriotic War. Millions of young people gave their lives for what they believed in. They did not go over to the enemy’s side, did not give up, did not hide, no matter what. And today, after so many years, we remember and are proud that our ancestors defended their beliefs and honor.
The theme of honor is also raised in the work of A.S. Pushkin " Captain's daughter" Petrusha’s father wants to instill in his son a sense of officer’s honor and gives him to serve not “through connections,” but on an equal basis with everyone else. The same message is preserved in his father’s parting words to Peter before leaving for service.
Later, when Grinev must, on pain of death, go over to Pugachev’s side, he will not do this. It is this act that will amaze Pugachev and show the high moral principles of the young man.
But honor can be shown not only in war. This is what is a person’s life companion every day. For example, Pugachev helps Grinev save Masha from captivity, thereby showing universal honor. He did this not for selfish reasons, but because he firmly believed that even his ally could not offend a girl, much less an orphan.
Honor has no age, gender, status, or financial status. Honor is something that is inherent only to a reasonable person, an individual. And it’s really worth taking care of it, because restoring a tarnished name is much more difficult than living honestly and decently every day.
The value of human life is undeniable. Most of us agree that life is an amazing gift, because everything that is dear and close to us, we learned once we were born into this world... Reflecting on this, you involuntarily wonder if there is at least something more valuable than life?
To answer this question, you need to look into your heart. There, many of us will find something for which we can accept death without a second thought. Someone will give their life to save their loved one. Some are ready to die heroically fighting for their country. And someone, faced with a choice: to live without honor or to die with honor, will choose the latter.
Yes, I think that honor can be more valuable than life. Despite the fact that there are quite a lot of definitions of the word “honor,” they all agree on one thing. A man of honor has the best moral qualities, which are always highly valued in society: self-esteem, honesty, kindness, truthfulness, decency. For a person who values his reputation and good name, loss of honor is worse than death...
This point of view was close to A.S. Pushkin. In his novel “The Captain's Daughter,” the writer shows that the ability to preserve one’s honor is the main moral criterion of a person. Alexei Shvabrin, to whom life is more valuable than noble and officer honor, easily becomes a traitor, going over to the side of the rebel Pugachev. And Pyotr Grinev is ready to die with honor, but not to refuse the oath to the empress. For Pushkin himself, protecting his wife’s honor also turned out to be more important than life. Having received a mortal wound in a duel with Dantes, Alexander Sergeevich washed away the dishonest slander from his family with his blood.
A century later, M.A. Sholokhov, in his story “The Fate of a Man,” will create the image of a real Russian warrior - Andrei Sokolov. This simple Soviet driver will face many trials at the front, but the hero always remains true to himself and his code of honor. Particularly pronounced steel character Sokolova in the scene with Muller. When Andrei refuses to drink German weapons to the victory, he realizes that he will be shot. But the loss of honor of a Russian soldier frightens a man more than death. Sokolov's fortitude evokes respect even from his enemy, so Muller abandons the idea of killing the fearless captive.
Why are people, for whom the concept of “honor” is not an empty phrase, ready to die for it? They probably understand that human life is not only an amazing gift, but also a gift that is given to us for a short time. Therefore, it is so important to manage our lives in such a way that subsequent generations will remember us with respect and gratitude.
“You can kill a man, but you cannot take away his honor.”
Honor, dignity, consciousness of one’s personality, strength of spirit and will - these are the main indicators of a truly persistent and strong, strong-willed person. He is confident in himself, has his own opinion and is not afraid to express it, even if it does not coincide with the opinion of the majority. It is difficult, if not impossible, to break him, to subjugate him, to make him a slave. Such a person is invulnerable, he is a person. He can be killed, deprived of his life, but it is impossible to deprive him of his honor. Honor in in this case turns out to be stronger than death.
Let us turn to Mikhail Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man.” It shows the story of a simple Russian soldier, even his name is common - Andrei Sokolov. By this the author makes it clear that the hero of the story is the most a common person, who had the misfortune of living during the Great Patriotic War. The story of Andrei Sokolov is typical, but how many hardships and trials he had to endure! However, he endured all the hardships with honor and fortitude, without losing his courage and dignity. The author emphasizes that Andrei Sokolov is the most ordinary Russian person, precisely by this showing that honor and dignity are integral features of the Russian character. Let us remember Andrei’s behavior in German captivity. When the Germans, wanting to have fun, forced an exhausted and hungry prisoner to drink a whole glass of schnapps, Andrei did it. When asked to have a snack, he courageously replied that Russians never have a snack after the first one. Then the Germans poured him a second glass, and after drinking it, he responded in the same way, despite the tormenting hunger. And after the third glass, Andrei refused the snack. And then the German commandant respectfully told him: “You are a real Russian soldier. You are a brave soldier! I respect worthy opponents." With these words, the German gave Andrei bread and lard. And he shared these treats equally with his comrades. Here is an example demonstrating courage and honor, which even in the face of death the Russian people did not lose.
Let us remember Vasily Bykov’s story “The Crane Cry”. The youngest fighter in the battalion, Vasily Glechik, was the only survivor against an entire detachment of Germans. However, the enemies did not know this and were preparing to strike, gathering their best forces. Glechik understood that death was inevitable, but not for a second did he allow the thought of escape, desertion or surrender. The honor of a Russian soldier, a Russian person, is something that cannot be killed. He was ready to defend himself until his last breath, despite his thirst to live, because he was only 19 years old. Suddenly he heard the cry of cranes, looked into the sky, boundless, boundless, piercingly alive, and followed with a sad look at these free, happy birds. He desperately wanted to live. Even in such hell as war, but live! And suddenly he heard a plaintive purr, looked up again and saw a wounded crane, who was trying to catch up with his flock, but could not. He was doomed. Anger took possession of the hero, an inexpressible desire for life. But he clutched a single grenade in his hand and prepared for his final battle. The above arguments eloquently confirm the postulate stated in our topic - even in the face of imminent death, it is impossible to take away the honor and dignity of a Russian person.
3. "Victory and defeat". The direction allows you to think about victory and defeat in different aspects: socio-historical, moral-philosophical, psychological. Reasoning can be associated both with external conflict events in the life of a person, country, world, and with internal struggle a person with himself, its causes and results.
Literary works often show the ambiguity and relativity of the concepts of “victory” and “defeat” in different historical conditions and life situations.
Lesson on the topic "Preparing for an essay"
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Victory and defeat
ESSAY TOPICS
o E. Hemingway “The Old Man and the Sea”,
o B.L. Vasiliev “Not on the lists”
o EM. Remarque “On western front no change"
o V.P. Astafiev "Tsar Fish"
o "The Tale of Igor's Campaign."
o A.S. Pushkin “The Battle of Poltava”; "Eugene Onegin".
o I. Turgenev “Fathers and Sons”.
o F. Dostoevsky “Crime and Punishment.”
o L.N. Tolstoy “Sevastopol Stories”; “War and Peace”; "Anna Karenina".
o A. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm”.
o A. Kuprin “Duel”; " Garnet bracelet"; "Olesya."
o M. Bulgakov " dog's heart"; "Fatal Eggs"; " White Guard"; "Master and Margarita". E. Zamyatin “We”; "Cave".
o V. Kurochkin “In war as in war.”
o B. Vasiliev “And the dawns here are quiet”; "Don't shoot white swans."
o Yu. Bondarev " Hot Snow"; "The battalions are asking for fire."
o V. Tokareva “I am. You are. He is."
o M. Ageev “Romance with Cocaine.”
o N. Dumbadze “Me, Grandmother, Iliko and Illarion”
o . V. Dudintsev “White clothes”.
"Victory and Defeat"
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Official comment:
The direction allows you to think about victory and defeat in different aspects: socio-historical, moral-philosophical, psychological. The reasoning may be related both with external conflict events in the life of a person, country, world, and with a person’s internal struggle with himself, its causes and results.
In literary works The ambiguity and relativity of the concepts of “victory” and “defeat” are often shown in different historical conditions and life situations.
Guidelines:
The contrast between the concepts of “victory” and “defeat” is already inherent in their interpretation.
At Ozhegov's we read: “Victory is success in battle, war, complete defeat of the enemy.” That is, the victory of one implies the complete defeat of the other. However, both history and literature give us examples of how victory turns out to be defeat, and defeat turns out to be victory. It is about the relativity of these concepts that graduates are invited to speculate, based on their reading experience. Of course, it is impossible to limit ourselves to the concept of victory as the defeat of the enemy in battle. Therefore, it is advisable to consider this thematic direction in different aspects. Aphorisms and sayings famous people:
· - - Greatest Victory- victory over oneself. Cicero
· The possibility that we may be defeated in battle should not prevent us from fighting for a cause that we believe is just. A.Lincoln
· Man was not created to suffer defeat... Man can be destroyed, but he cannot be defeated. E. Hemingway
· Be proud only of the victories you have won over yourself. Tungsten
Socio-historical aspect Here we will talk about external conflict social groups, states, military actions and political struggle.
Peru A. de Saint-Exupéry belongs to a paradoxical, at first glance, statement: “Victory weakens the people - defeat awakens new strength in them...”.
We find confirmation of the correctness of this idea in Russian literature. "The Tale of Igor's Campaign"– famous monument literature Ancient Rus'. The plot is based on the unsuccessful campaign of the Russian princes against the Polovtsians, organized by the Novgorod-Seversk prince Igor Svyatoslavich in 1185. main idea- the idea of the unity of the Russian land. Princely civil strife, weakening the Russian land and leading to the ruin of its enemies, makes the author bitterly sadden and lament; victory over his enemies fills his soul with ardent delight. However, this work is about defeat, not victory. ancient Russian literature, because it is defeat that contributes to rethinking previous behavior and gaining a new view of the world and oneself. That is, defeat stimulates Russian soldiers to victories and exploits. The author of the Lay addresses all the Russian princes in turn, as if calling them to account and demandingly reminding them of their duty to their homeland. He calls on them to defend the Russian land, to “block the gates of the field” with their sharp arrows. And therefore, although the author writes about defeat, there is not a shadow of despondency in the Lay. The “Word” is as laconic and terse as Igor’s addresses to his squad. This is the call before battle. The whole poem seems to be addressed to the future, permeated with concern for this future. A poem about victory would be a poem of triumph and joy. Victory is the end of the battle, but defeat for the author of the Lay is only the beginning of the battle. The battle with the steppe enemy is not over yet. Defeat should unite the Russians. The author of the Lay does not call for a feast of triumph, but for a feast of battle. D.S. writes about this in the article “The Tale of the Campaign of Igor Svyatoslavich.” Likhachev. The “Lay” ends joyfully - with Igor’s return to the Russian land and the singing of his glory upon entering Kyiv. So, despite the fact that “The Lay” is dedicated to the defeat of Igor, it is full of confidence in the power of the Russians, full of faith in the glorious future of the Russian land, in victory over the enemy. The history of mankind consists of victories and defeats in wars.
In the novel “War and Peace” L.N. Tolstoy describes the participation of Russia and Austria in the war against Napoleon. Drawing the events of 1805-1807, Tolstoy shows that this war was imposed on the people. Russian soldiers, being far from their homeland, do not understand the purpose of this war and do not want to waste their lives senselessly. Kutuzov understands better than many that this campaign is unnecessary for Russia. He sees the indifference of the allies, the desire of Austria to fight with the wrong hands. Kutuzov protects his troops in every possible way and delays their advance to the borders of France. This is explained not by distrust of the military skill and heroism of the Russians, but by the desire to protect them from senseless slaughter. When the battle turned out to be inevitable, the Russian soldiers showed their always readiness to help the allies and take the main blow. For example, a detachment of four thousand under the command of Bagration near the village of Shengraben held back the onslaught of an enemy “eight times” outnumbered. This made it possible for the main forces to advance. The unit of officer Timokhin showed miracles of heroism. It not only did not retreat, but struck back, which saved the flanking units of the army. The real hero of the Battle of Shengraben turned out to be the courageous, decisive, but modest captain Tushin before his superiors. So, thanks in large part to Russian troops The battle of Schöngraben was won, and this gave strength and inspiration to the sovereigns of Russia and Austria. Blinded by victories, occupied mainly with narcissism, holding military parades and balls, these two men led their armies to defeat at Austerlitz. So it turned out that one of the reasons for the defeat of the Russian troops under the skies of Austerlitz was the victory at Schöngraben, which did not allow an objective assessment of the balance of forces. The entire senselessness of the campaign is shown by the writer in the preparation of the top generals for the battle of Austerlitz. Thus, the military council before the Battle of Austerlitz resembles not a council, but an exhibition of vanities; all disputes were not conducted with the goal of achieving the best and the right decision, and, as Tolstoy writes, “... it was obvious that the purpose... of the objections was mainly the desire to make General Weyrother feel, as self-confidently as schoolchildren reading his disposition, that he was dealing not only with fools, but with people who could teach him in military affairs.” But still main reason we see the victories and defeats of the Russian troops in the confrontation with Napoleon when comparing Austerlitz and Borodin. Speaking with Pierre about the upcoming Battle of Borodino, Andrei Bolkonsky recalls the reason for the defeat at Austerlitz: “The battle is won by the one who is determined to win it. Why did we lose the battle at Austerlitz?.. We told ourselves very early that we lost the battle - and we lost. And we said this because we had no need to fight: we wanted to leave the battlefield as quickly as possible. “If you lose, then run away!” So we ran. If we hadn’t said this until the evening, God knows what would have happened. And tomorrow we won’t say this.” L. Tolstoy shows a significant difference between the two campaigns: 1805-1807 and 1812. The fate of Russia was decided on the Borodino field. Here the Russian people had no desire to save themselves, no indifference to what was happening. Here, as Lermontov said, “we promised to die, and we kept the oath of allegiance in the Battle of Borodino.” Another opportunity to speculate on how victory in one battle can turn into defeat in a war is provided by the outcome of the Battle of Borodino, in which Russian troops won a moral victory over the French. The moral defeat of Napoleon's troops near Moscow was the beginning of the defeat of his army. The Civil War turned out to be such a significant event in the history of Russia that it could not help but be reflected in fiction.
The basis for graduates’ reasoning can be "Don Stories", " Quiet Don» M.A. Sholokhov. When one country goes to war with another, terrible events occur: hatred and the desire to defend themselves forces people to kill their own kind, women and the elderly are left alone, children grow up orphans, cultural and material values are destroyed, cities are destroyed. But the warring parties have a goal - to defeat the enemy at any cost. And any war has a result - victory or defeat. Victory is sweet and immediately justifies all losses, defeat is tragic and sad, but it is the starting point for some other life. But "in civil war every victory is defeat" (Lukian). The life story of the central hero of M. Sholokhov's epic novel "Quiet Don" by Grigory Melekhov, reflecting the dramatic nature of destinies Don Cossacks, confirms this idea. War cripples from the inside and destroys all the most precious things that people have. It forces the heroes to take a fresh look at the problems of duty and justice, to look for the truth and not find it in any of the warring camps. Once among the Reds, Gregory sees the same cruelty, intransigence, and thirst for the blood of his enemies as the Whites. Melekhov rushes between the two warring sides. Everywhere he encounters violence and cruelty, which he cannot accept, and therefore cannot take one side. The result is logical: “Like a steppe scorched by fires, Gregory’s life became black...”. Moral, philosophical and psychological aspects Victory is not only success in battle. To win, according to the dictionary of synonyms, is to overcome, overcome, overcome. And often not so much the enemy as yourself. Let us consider a number of works from this point of view.
A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit". The conflict of the play represents the unity of two principles: public and personal. Being an honest, noble, progressive-minded, freedom-loving person, the main character Chatsky opposes Famus society. He condemns the inhumanity of serfdom, recalling “Nestor of the noble scoundrels,” who exchanged his faithful servants for three greyhounds; he is disgusted by the lack of freedom of thought in noble society: “And who in Moscow was not silenced at lunches, dinners and dances?” He does not recognize veneration and sycophancy: “For those who need it, they are arrogant, they lie in the dust, and for those who are higher, they wove flattery like lace.” Chatsky is full of sincere patriotism: “Will we ever be resurrected from the foreign power of fashion? So that our smart, cheerful people, even by language, do not consider us Germans.” He strives to serve the “cause”, and not individuals; he “would be glad to serve, but being served is sickening.” Society is offended and, in defense, declares Chatsky crazy. His drama is aggravated by a feeling of ardent but unrequited love for Famusov’s daughter Sophia. Chatsky makes no attempt to understand Sophia; it is difficult for him to understand why Sophia does not love him, because his love for her speeds up “every beat of his heart,” although “to him the whole world seemed like dust and vanity.” Chatsky can be justified by his blindness by passion: his “mind and heart are not in harmony.” Psychological conflict turns into social conflict. Society unanimously comes to the conclusion: “crazy in everything...”. Society is not afraid of a madman. Chatsky decides to “search the world where there is a corner for an offended feeling.” I.A. Goncharov assessed the ending of the play this way: “Chatsky is broken by the quantity of the old force, having dealt it, in turn, a fatal blow with the quality of the new force.” Chatsky does not give up his ideals, he only frees himself from illusions. Chatsky’s stay in Famusov’s house shook the inviolability of foundations Famusov society. Sophia says: “I’m ashamed of myself, the walls!” Therefore, Chatsky’s defeat is only a temporary defeat and only his personal drama. On a social scale, “the victory of the Chatskys is inevitable.” The “past century” will be replaced by the “present century”, and the views of the hero of Griboyedov’s comedy will win. ]
A.N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm". Graduates may ponder the question of whether Katherine's death is a victory or a defeat. It is difficult to give a definite answer to this question. Too many reasons led to the terrible ending. The playwright sees the tragedy of Katerina’s situation in the fact that she comes into conflict not only with Kalinov’s family morals, but also with herself. The straightforwardness of Ostrovsky's heroine is one of the sources of her tragedy. Katerina is pure in soul - lies and debauchery are alien and disgusting to her. She understands that by falling in love with Boris, she violated the moral law. “Oh, Varya,” she complains, “sin is on my mind! How much I, poor thing, cried, no matter what I did to myself! I can't escape this sin. Can't go anywhere. After all, this is not good, this is a terrible sin, Varenka, why do I love someone else?” Throughout the entire play there is a painful struggle in Katerina’s consciousness between the understanding of her wrongness, her sinfulness and a vague, but increasingly powerful sense of her right to human life. But the play ends with Katerina’s moral victory over the dark forces that torment her. She atones for her guilt immensely, and escapes from captivity and humiliation through the only path that was open to her. Her decision to die, rather than remain a slave, expresses, according to Dobrolyubov, “the need of the emerging movement of Russian life.” And this decision comes to Katerina along with internal self-justification. She dies because she considers death the only worthy outcome, the only opportunity to preserve that highest thing that lived in her. The idea that Katerina’s death is in fact a moral victory, a triumph of the real Russian soul over the forces of the “dark kingdom” of the Dikikhs and Kabanovs, is also strengthened by the reaction to her death of the other characters in the play. For example, Tikhon, Katerina’s husband, for the first time in his life expressed his own opinion, for the first time decided to protest against the stifling foundations of his family, entering (even if only for a moment) into the fight against “ dark kingdom" “You ruined her, you, you...” he exclaims, turning to his mother, before whom he trembled all his life.
I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons". The writer shows in his novel the struggle between the worldviews of two political directions. The plot of the novel is based on the contrast of the views of Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov and Evgeny Bazarov, who are bright representatives of two generations who do not find mutual understanding. Disagreements on various issues have always existed between youth and elders. So here, the representative of the younger generation Evgeny Vasilyevich Bazarov cannot, and does not want to understand the “fathers”, their life credo, principles. He is convinced that their views on the world, on life, on relationships between people are hopelessly outdated. “Yes, I will spoil them... After all, this is all pride, lionish habits, foppishness...” In his opinion, the main purpose of life is to work, to produce something material. That is why Bazarov disrespects art and sciences that do not have a practical basis. He believes that it is much more useful to deny what, from his point of view, deserves denial, than to watch indifferently from the outside, not daring to do anything. “At the present time, the most useful thing is denial - we deny,” says Bazarov. And Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov is sure that there are things that cannot be doubted (“Aristocracy... liberalism, progress, principles... art..."). He values habits and traditions more and does not want to notice the changes taking place in society. Bazarov is a tragic figure. It cannot be said that he defeats Kirsanov in an argument. Even when Pavel Petrovich is ready to admit defeat, Bazarov suddenly loses faith in his teaching and doubts his personal need for society. “Does Russia need me? No, apparently I don’t,” he reflects. Of course, most of all a person manifests himself not in conversations, but in deeds and in his life. Therefore, Turgenev seems to lead his heroes through various trials. And the strongest of them is the test of love. After all, it is in love that a person’s soul reveals itself fully and sincerely. And here it's hot and passionate nature Bazarova swept away all his theories. He fell in love with a woman whom he valued highly. “In conversations with Anna Sergeevna, he expressed his indifferent contempt for everything romantic even more than before, and when left alone, he was indignantly aware of the romanticism in himself.” The hero is experiencing severe mental discord. “... Something... took possession of him, which he never allowed, which he always mocked, which outraged all his pride.” Anna Sergeevna Odintsova rejected him. But Bazarov found the strength to accept defeat with honor, without losing his dignity. So, did the nihilist Bazarov win or lose? It seems that Bazarov is defeated in the test of love. Firstly, his feelings and he himself are rejected. Secondly, he falls into the power of aspects of life that he himself denies, loses ground under his feet, and begins to doubt his views on life. His life position turns out to be a pose in which, however, he sincerely believed. Bazarov begins to lose the meaning of life, and soon loses life itself. But this is also a victory: love forced Bazarov to look at himself and the world differently, he begins to understand that in no way does life want to fit into a nihilistic scheme. And Anna Sergeevna formally remains among the winners. She was able to cope with her feelings, which strengthened her self-confidence. In the future, she will find a good home for her sister, and she herself will marry successfully. But will she be happy? F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment". Crime and Punishment is an ideological novel in which non-human theory collides with human feelings. Dostoevsky, a great expert on human psychology, a sensitive and attentive artist, tried to understand modern reality, to determine the extent of the influence of the ideas of revolutionary reorganization of life and individualistic theories that were popular at that time on a person. Entering into polemics with democrats and socialists, the writer sought to show in his novel how the delusion of fragile minds leads to murder, shedding of blood, maiming and breaking young lives. Raskolnikov's ideas were generated by abnormal, humiliating living conditions. In addition, the post-reform disruption destroyed the age-old foundations of society, depriving human individuality of connection with ancient cultural traditions society, historical memory. Raskolnikov sees violations of universal moral norms at every step. It is impossible to feed a family with honest work, so the petty official Marmeladov finally becomes an alcoholic, and his daughter Sonechka is forced to sell herself, because otherwise her family will die of starvation. If unbearable living conditions push a person to violate moral principles, which means that these principles are nonsense, that is, they can be ignored. Raskolnikov comes to approximately this conclusion when a theory is born in his fevered brain, according to which he divides all of humanity into two unequal parts. On the one hand, these are strong personalities, “super-men” like Mohammed and Napoleon, and on the other, a gray, faceless and submissive crowd, which the hero rewards with the contemptuous name - “trembling creature” and “anthill”. The correctness of any theory must be confirmed by practice. And Rodion Raskolnikov conceives and carries out a murder, removing the moral prohibition from himself. His life after the murder turns into real hell. A painful suspicion develops in Rodion, which gradually turns into a feeling of loneliness and isolation from everyone. The writer finds a surprisingly accurate expression characterizing Raskolnikov’s internal state: he “as if he had cut himself off from everyone and everything with scissors.” The hero is disappointed in himself, believing that he did not pass the test of being a ruler, which means, alas, he belongs to the “trembling creatures.” Surprisingly, Raskolnikov himself would not want to be the winner now. After all, to win means to die morally, to remain with your spiritual chaos forever, to lose faith in people, yourself and life. Raskolnikov's defeat became his victory - a victory over himself, over his theory, over the Devil, who took possession of his soul, but failed to forever displace God in it.
M.A. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita". This novel is too complex and multifaceted; the writer touched on many topics and problems in it. One of them is the problem of the struggle between good and evil. In The Master and Margarita, the two main forces of good and evil, which, according to Bulgakov, should be in balance on Earth, are embodied in the images of Yeshua Ha-Notsri from Yershalaim and Woland - Satan in human form. Apparently, Bulgakov, in order to show that good and evil exist outside of time and that people have lived according to their laws for thousands of years, placed Yeshua at the beginning of modern times, in the fictional masterpiece of the Master, and Woland, as the arbiter of cruel justice, in Moscow in the 30s. XX century. The latter came to Earth to restore harmony where it had been broken in favor of evil, which included lies, stupidity, hypocrisy and, finally, betrayal, which filled Moscow. Good and evil in this world are surprisingly closely intertwined, especially in human souls. When Woland, in a scene in a variety show, tests the audience for cruelty and beheads the entertainer, and compassionate women demand to put her in her place, the great magician says: “Well... they are people like people... Well, frivolous... well, well... and mercy sometimes knocks on their hearts... ordinary people... - and loudly orders: “Put on your head.” And then we watch how people fight over the ducats that fell on their heads. The Master and Margarita" - about man’s responsibility for the good and evil that is committed on earth, for his own choice life paths leading to truth and freedom or to slavery, betrayal and inhumanity. It is about all-conquering love and creativity, elevating the soul to the heights of true humanity. The author wanted to proclaim: the victory of evil over good cannot be the end result of social and moral confrontation. This, according to Bulgakov, is not accepted by human nature itself, and the entire course of civilization should not allow it. Of course, the range of works in which the thematic direction of “Victory and Defeat” is revealed is much wider. The main thing is to see the principle, to understand that victory and defeat are relative concepts. R. Bach wrote about this in the book “Bridge over Eternity”: “The important thing is not whether we lose in the game, but what matters is how we lose and how we will change thanks to this, what new things we will learn for ourselves, how we can apply this in other games . In a strange way, defeat turns out to be victory.”
Honor is more valuable than life
In childhood and youth, did we really think about the meaning of the words “honest”, “honest”? More likely no than yes. More often we said the phrase “it’s not fair” if one of our peers acted badly towards us. This is our relationship with meaning of this word were ending. But life more and more often reminds us that there are people who “have honor”, and there are those who are ready to sell their homeland to save their own skin. Where is the line that turns a person into a slave of his flesh and destroys the person in him? Why doesn’t that bell ring that the expert on all the dark corners wrote about? human soul Anton Pavlovich Chekhov? I ask myself these and other questions, among which one is still the main one: is honor really more valuable than life? To answer this question, I turn to literary works, because, according to academician D.S. Likhachev, literature is the main textbook of life, it (literature) helps us understand the characters of people, reveals eras, and on its pages we will find a great many examples of the ups and downs of human life. There I can find the answer to my main question.
I associate the fall and, what is even worse, betrayal with the Fisherman, the hero of V. Bykov’s story “Sotnikov”. Why strong man who initially made only a positive impression, became a traitor? And Sotnikov... I had a strange impression of this hero: for some reason he irritated me, and the reason for this feeling was not his illness, but the fact that he constantly created problems while performing an important task. I openly admired the fisherman: what a resourceful, decisive and courageous person! I don't think he was trying to impress. And who is Sotnikov for him to go out of his way for him?! No. He was just a man and did human actions until his life was in danger. But as soon as he tasted fear, it was as if he had been replaced: the instinct of self-preservation killed the man in him, and he sold his soul, and with it his honor. The betrayal of his homeland, the murder of Sotnikov, and an animal existence turned out to be more valuable to him than honor.
Analyzing the action of Rybak, I cannot help but ask myself the question: does it always happen that a person acts dishonorably if his life is in danger? Can he commit dishonest act for the benefit of another? And again I turn to literary work, this time to E. Zamyatin’s story “The Cave” about besieged Leningrad, where in a grotesque form the author talks about the survival of people in an ice cave, gradually driven into its smallest corner, where the center of the universe is a rusty and red-haired god, a cast-iron stove that consumed first firewood, then furniture, then... books. In one such corner, one person’s heart is torn with grief: Masha, Martin Martinich’s beloved wife, who has not gotten out of bed for a long time, is dying. This will happenTomorrow , and today she really wantsTomorrow , on her birthday, it was hot, and then she might be able to get out of bed. Warmth and a piece of bread became a symbol of life for cavemen. But there is neither one nor the other. But the neighbors on the floor below, the Obertyshevs, have them. They have everything, having lost their conscience and turned into females, into wraps.
…What won’t you do for your beloved wife?! Intelligent Martin Martinych goes to bow to non-humans: therezhor Andheat , but the soul does not live there. And Martin Martinych, having received (kindly, with sympathy) a refusal, decides to desperate step: he steals firewood for Masha.Tomorrow and everything will be! God will dance, Masha will stand up, letters will be read - things that were impossible to burn. And he will... drink poison, because Martin Martinych will not be able to live with this sin. Why does this happen? The strong and courageous Rybak, who killed Sotnikov and betrayed his homeland, remained to live and serve the police, and the intelligent Martin Martinych, who, living in someone else’s apartment, did not dare to touch someone else’s furniture in order to survive, but was able to step over himself in order to save the person dear to him , dies.
Everything comes from a person and is focused on a person, and the main thing in him is a soul that is pure, honest and open to compassion and help. I can’t help but turn to one more example, because this hero of the story “Bread for the Dog” by V. Tendryakov is still a child. A ten-year-old boy, Tenkov, secretly from his parents fed the “kurkuls” - his enemies. Did the child risk his life? Yes, because he fed the enemies of the people. But his conscience did not allow him to eat calmly and in abundance what his mother put on the table. So the boy’s soul suffers. A little later, the hero, with his childish heart, will understand that a person can help a person, but who, in a terrible time of hunger, when people are dying on the road, will give bread for a dog. “Nobody,” logic dictates. “I,” the child’s soul understands. From people like this hero come the Sotnikovs, Vaskovs, Iskras and other heroes for whom honor is more valuable than life.
I have given only a few examples from the world of literature, proving that conscience has always, at all times, been and will be honored. It is this quality that will not allow a person to commit an act the price of which is loss of honor. Such heroes, in whose hearts there lives honesty, nobility, in works and in real life, fortunately, a lot.