“Who Lives Well in Rus'” is a work that is the apogee of Nekrasov’s writing. Work on the poem was realized 3 years after this significant event like the abolition of serfdom. It was this that determined the problematic of the book, through which the author expressed the entire life of the people, shocked by the freedom given to them. Below we provide summary of the text under consideration, chapter by chapter, and so that it is easier for you, dear readers, to navigate this difficult, philosophical, but incredibly interesting and amazing work.
Prologue
The story begins with the meeting of seven men from villages with meaningful names(for example, Dyryavina, Gorelova, Razutova, etc.), who wonder who lives happily in Russian land. Each of them puts forward his own version, thereby starting a dispute. Meanwhile, evening is already coming, the men decide to go get vodka, light a fire and continue to find out which of them is right.
Soon the question leads the men to a dead end, they start a fight, and at this time Pakhom catches a small chick, then the chick’s mother flies in and asks to be released, promising in return to tell about where you can get a self-assembled tablecloth. The peasants did everything as the warbler told them, and a tablecloth with all the dishes was spread out in front of them. They decided at the feast that until they found an answer to the question, they would not rest. And they went on the road to look for the lucky one in their miserable homeland.
Chapter I. Pop
The peasants begin their search happy person. They walk through the steppes, fields, past ponds and rivers, meeting different people: from the poor to the rich.
They meet soldiers, ask them their question, and in response they receive that “the soldiers are shaving with an awl, The soldiers are warming themselves with smoke - What happiness is there? " They pass by the priest and ask him the same question. He argues that happiness does not lie in luxury, peace and well-being. He says that he doesn’t have these benefits, that his son cannot master reading and writing, that he constantly sees crying at the coffins - what kind of prosperity is that? Pop explains that he used to attend rich weddings, and made money from this, but now it has disappeared. I ended up saying that it can be so difficult that you come to a peasant family to bury the breadwinner, but there is nothing to take from them. The priest finished his speech, bowed and wandered on, but the men were in confusion.
Chapter II. Country fair
Hot day. The men walk and talk to each other, noting that everything around is empty. They meet a pilgrim washing a horse on the river and find out where the people from the village have gone, and he replies that everyone is at the fair in the Kuzminskaya village. Peasants go there and see people walking.
They notice an old man asking the people for two hryvnias. I don’t have enough for my granddaughter to buy a gift. They also see the master buying boots for the granddaughter of a beggar. Everything can be found at this fair: food, books, jewelry.
Chapter III. drunken night
Seven men continue their journey, because the answer to the question has not yet been found. They hear the reasoning of various drunken peasants.
The attention of the seven peasants is drawn to Pavlusha Veretennikov, who writes down in a notebook all the stories, sayings and songs he heard from the peasants. Having completed the work, the guy began to blame the people for drunkenness and cheeky behavior, in response he heard that sadness would come and honest people would be sad if they stopped drinking.
Chapter IV. Happy
The men do not calm down and the search continues. So, they lure the people, shouting: “Come out happy! We'll pour some vodka! " Honest people gathered around and began to find out who was happy. In the end, they understand that happiness for a simple man is that at least occasionally he is completely full, and God helps in difficult times, the rest will work out.
Next, the men are advised to find Ermila Girin, before telling them the story of how all the people of Ermila collected money for the mill, how he later returned every penny, how honest he was with them. The travelers decide to go to Girin, but find out that he is in prison. Further, the story about this person is interrupted.
Chapter V. Landowner
On their way, the travelers meet the landowner Obolt Obolduev, who at first mistook them for thieves and threatened them with a pistol, but then started telling a story about his family.
He began to remember rich feasts, dream about servants, and his power, but now such a life is impossible. The landowner complains about the tedious years that have come, that he cannot live according to such a routine, and meanwhile the people empathize.
Part two
The last one. Chapter (I; II; III)
The men wander on, not giving up on their desire to find someone happy. They go out to the bank of the Volga and see a hay meadow in front of them. They notice three boats in which the master’s family sat down. They look at them and are surprised: serfdom They have already canceled it, but they still act as if there was no reform.
The gray-haired old man Utyatin, having learned about the will of the peasants, promised to deprive his sons of their money, and to prevent this from happening, they came up with a simple plan: they begged the peasants to pass themselves off as serfs, and in return, after the death of the master, they would give them the best meadows. Having learned that people remained in the power of Utyatin, he immediately became kinder and perked up. Everyone accepted their role, but Agap Petrov was unable to hide his dissatisfaction and complained to the landowner, for which he was sentenced to flogging. The peasants played a scene with him, but after such humiliation, Agap got drunk and died.
So the master threw a feast, where he praised serfdom, after which the hero lay down in the boat and gave up the ghost. The people rejoice that the prince died, the peasants began to wait for the fulfillment of their promises, but no one gave the meadows.
Part three
Peasant Woman: Prologue and Chapters 1-8
Continuing the search for a person who knew human happiness, 7 men decided to look for one among women. They are sent to a woman named Korchagina Matryona Timofeevna. From her the peasants learn a very sad and hard fate heroines. From the story, the men understand that only in her father’s house she was able to know happiness, and when she got married, she doomed herself to a difficult life, because her new relatives did not like her. True love feelings did not reign for long between Matryona and her lover: he left to work, and left his wife to take care of the household. Matryona does not know fatigue, she works day and night to support her family and her son Demushka, a ray of hope and joy in her difficult female lot. Del. Savely is watching over him - the only person who new family supported her. His fate is no easier: once he and his comrades killed the manager because he ruined their village. For murder, the man went to hard labor, from where he emerged sick and weak. His relatives reproached him for this.
One day a misfortune befalls him: the boy is eaten by pigs. Grandfather neglected to look after him. A real blow for a woman! She cannot forget her son, although other children have already appeared. One day she even accepts a spanking, helping her son out. He gave up the sheep to a hungry wolf out of pity, and they wanted to publicly flog him, an eight-year-old boy.
And here's a new problem! The husband is recruited, and there is no one to intercede. Then Matryona goes to the official to ask for her husband, because he is the only breadwinner for the family. She finds his wife, and the lady helps the peasant woman - the family is left alone. For this incident, the heroine was nicknamed lucky.
Now Matryona Timofeevna, as in former times, sacrifices herself for the sake of her growing children. Life is not easy for the “lucky one”. The constant struggle for her family, husband and children “shattered” Matryona Korchagina. As a result, she exclaims: “It’s no business to look for a happy woman among women!”
Feast for the whole world
The action takes place on the banks of the Volga, near the village of Vakhlachina. A great feast is organized here, where 7 men stop, looking for a happy man.
Here you can meet a wide variety of heroes who narrate their destinies. Everyone has a heavy load on their shoulders life events, which, like an unhealed scar, makes itself felt. They are given to reasoning about what life is, what the path of an ordinary peasant is and how the people live.
Epilogue. Grisha Dobrosklonov
A significant hero of this fragment is Grisha Dobrosklonov. The reader will also learn its rich history from the chapter “A feast for the whole world.” The writer ends the chapter under consideration with the hero’s reasoning about the fate of the people, about what will happen to them next. And all these thoughts began to pour out into songs about the people and Rus', the support of which he saw in the unity of people, because it contains great power, which is not afraid of the greatest adversity.
This is a happy person, because he lives for the sake of a high and pure goal - to alleviate the difficult lot of his compatriots. Although fate is preparing for him exile, exile, consumption, he is still ready to accept this burden for the sake of fulfilling his dream - the prosperity of his homeland.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!In Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” there is a very precise and touching image the priest whom the main characters meet. They ask him how he lives in Rus', and the priest begins his story.
The reader knows little about the priest’s appearance: only a huge hat, which he takes off when he makes the sign of the cross, and a stern face. He talks about his life willingly and with heaviness, because his life is very difficult. He runs a large church, where many peasants come to pray and ask the priest for God’s help. In addition to the church, the priest is also called to the house, and regardless of weather conditions and time of day, he works both at night and during the day. The priest experiences hardships of the people who turn to him, he takes their pain onto his soul, sincerely sympathizes and suffers because he is sometimes unable to help. It is especially difficult for him to attend the funeral of the family breadwinner, because the whole family is left without means of living.
Due to the fact that rich landowners have left the city and are unlikely to return, the church is experiencing better times, the priest receives very little money, but what he receives is very conscientious and even shameful for him. He would be glad to work for free, but he needs to live for something, that’s why he takes money from the hands of even poor peasants.
But what depresses the priest most of all is that the peasants treat priests poorly, joke about their daughters and wives, and make up sayings like “When you meet a priest, it’s not good.” Among other things, the peasants compose vulgar and mocking songs about priests and laugh at them in every possible way.
The priest is very patient, courageous and stoic about his life, he understands that the cross he bears is heavy, but he will carry it until he dies, because he is a servant of God, helping the peasants, this is his purpose.
It’s a pity that in today’s life there are few such people; for some reason everyone is used to complaining about life, forgetting that somewhere far away there are countries where people’s lives are ten times worse. I believe that it is necessary to approach every difficulty in life with full combat readiness, to try in every possible way to overcome the difficulty and rise above it, as the priest from the poem does.
Why is life good for the priest and why is it bad?
Essay about Pop (Who lives well in Rus')
Question about happy life and about people who have been wondering “it’s good to live in Rus'” for generations different years. Heroes Nekrasov's poem“Who can live well in Rus'?” to different historical eras were understood differently. The work, written in the nineteenth century, remains relevant today. A person strives to be independent of the circumstances that surround him. Everyone has their own concept of a “good life”. For some, “living well” means having an unlimited amount of money, for others it means the happiness of loved ones, for others it means a peaceful sky above your head. And let everyone have their own happiness, but it is not possible without love.
Love for your loved one, your family, the place where you were born.
Who helps ordinary peasants from Nekrasov’s poem, looking for happiness, answer the question about a good life in Rus', and those who directly live next to him.
It is the priest that the seven peasants meet first on their way. This is quite symbolic. In those distant times, the rural priest was considered the spiritual father of every born child, a person who blesses for good deeds, and escorts the dying person to the kingdom of heaven.
From the poem it is clear that the clergyman - rural pop, which has a fairly large income. The peasants are convinced that he is the one who will life is better It's good in Rus'. From the narration of the priest himself, it turns out that they are greatly mistaken.
The service of a priest is difficult; in any weather, he must go to the person who asks him for help: “Go wherever you are called!” He worries about people, tries to help them with the word of God.
At the same time, there is no due respect for him. People laugh at him, try to avoid him (a bad omen), so life is very difficult for him.
His income directly depends on his parishioners, mostly poor peasants. He lives on whatever they give him. His family does not have much wealth, nor do the peasants themselves who turned to him. But he cannot help but take money from the poor; then he himself will die of hunger. There are no rich people in his parish; the landowners have left for the cities.
The priest, who has heard the confession of other people more than once, in the poem seems to be confessing himself, only not before God, but before ordinary Russian peasants.
Perhaps it is no coincidence that the poet conceived the confession of a priest. The poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'?” - last piece N.A. Nekrasova. He wrote it as a very sick man, well aware that his days were numbered and his illness would not go away. With his poem he sums up his spiritual quest. For the poet, happiness is serving his people, freedom from censorship, and the prosperity of Russia.
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The work of Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov is dedicated to the deep problems of the Russian people. The heroes of his story, ordinary peasants, go on a journey in search of a person to whom life does not bring happiness. So who can live well in Rus'? A summary of the chapters and an annotation to the poem will help you understand the main idea of the work.
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The idea and history of the creation of the poem
Nekrasov’s main idea was to create a poem for the people, in which they could recognize themselves not only in the general idea, but also in the little things, everyday life, behavior, see their strengths and weaknesses, and find their place in life.
The author succeeded in his idea. Nekrasov collected for years required material, planning his work entitled “Who Lives Well in Rus'?” much more voluminous than the one that came out at the end. As many as eight full-fledged chapters were planned, each of which was supposed to be a separate work with a complete structure and idea. The only thing unifying link- seven ordinary Russian peasants, men who travel around the country in search of the truth.
In the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'?” four parts, the order and completeness of which is a source of controversy for many scholars. Nevertheless, the work looks holistic and leads to a logical end - one of the characters finds the very recipe for Russian happiness. It is believed that Nekrasov completed the ending of the poem, already knowing about his imminent death. Wanting to bring the poem to completion, he moved the end of the second part to the end of the work.
It is believed that the author began to write “Who can live well in Rus'?” around 1863 - shortly after. Two years later, Nekrasov completed the first part and marked the manuscript with this date. The subsequent ones were ready by 72, 73, 76 years of the 19th century, respectively.
Important! The work began to be published in 1866. This process turned out to be long and lasted four years. The poem was difficult to accept by critics, the highest authorities of that time brought down a lot of criticism on it, the author, along with his work, was persecuted. Despite this, “Who can live well in Rus'?” was published and well received by ordinary people.
Abstract to the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'?”: it consists of the first part, which contains a prologue introducing the reader to the main acting characters, five chapters and excerpts from the second (“Last One” of 3 chapters) and the third part (“Peasant Woman” of 7 chapters). The poem ends with the chapter “A Feast for the Whole World” and an epilogue.
Prologue
“Who can live well in Rus'?” begins with a prologue, the summary of which is as follows: meet seven main characters- ordinary Russian men from the people who came from the Terpigorev district.
Each one comes from their own village, the name of which, for example, was Dyryaevo or Neelovo. Having met, the men begin to actively argue with each other about who will truly live well in Rus'. This phrase will be the leitmotif of the work, its main plot.
Each offers a variant of the class that is now thriving. These were:
- butts;
- landowners;
- officials;
- merchants;
- boyars and ministers;
- tsar.
Guys argue so much it's getting out of control a fight starts- the peasants forget what they were going to do and go in an unknown direction. In the end, they wander into the wilderness, decide not to go anywhere else until the morning and wait out the night in a clearing.
Because of the noise, the chick falls out of the nest, one of the wanderers catches it and dreams that if it had wings, it would fly all over Rus'. Others add that you can do without wings, if only you had something to drink and a good snack, then you can travel until you are old.
Attention! The bird - the mother of the chick, in exchange for her child, tells the men where it is possible find the treasure- a self-assembled tablecloth, but warns that you cannot ask for more than a bucket of alcohol per day - otherwise there will be trouble. The men actually find the treasure, after which they promise each other not to part until they find the answer to the question of who should live well in this state.
First part. Chapter 1
The first chapter tells about the meeting of the men with the priest. They walked for a long time, and they met ordinary people - beggars, peasants, soldiers. The debaters did not even try to talk with those, because they knew from themselves that happiness common people No. Having met the priest's cart, the wanderers block the path and talk about the dispute, asking the main question, who lives well in Rus', asking, Are the priests happy?.
Pop responds as follows:
- A person has happiness only if his life combines three features - peace, honor and wealth.
- He explains that priests have no peace, starting from how troublesome it is for them to get the rank and ending with the fact that every day they listen to the cries of dozens of people, which does not add peace to life.
- Lots of money now It's hard for priests to make money, since the nobles, who previously performed rituals in their native villages, now do it in the capital, and the clergy have to live off the peasants alone, from whom there is a meager income.
- People don’t indulge priests with respect either, they make fun of them, avoid them, there is no way from anyone good words hear.
After the priest’s speech, the men shyly hide their eyes and understand that the life of priests in the world is not at all sweet. When the clergyman leaves, the debaters attack the one who suggested that the priests have a good life. Things would have come to a fight, but the priest appeared on the road again.
Chapter 2
The men walk along the roads for a long time, and almost no one meets them; they can ask who can live well in Rus'. In the end they find out that in the village of Kuzminskoye rich fair, since the village is not poor. There are two churches, a closed school and even a not very clean hotel where you can stay. It's no joke, there is a paramedic in the village.
The most important thing is that there are as many as 11 taverns here who do not have time to pour drinks for the merry people. All peasants drink a lot. There is an upset grandfather standing at the shoe shop, who promised to bring boots to his granddaughter, but drank the money away. The master Pavlusha Veretennikov appears and pays for the purchase.
Books are also sold at the fair, but people are interested in the most mediocre books; neither Gogol nor Belinsky are in demand or interesting to the common people, despite the fact that these writers defend interests ordinary people . At the end, the heroes get so drunk that they fall to the ground, watching as the church “shakes.”
Chapter 3
In this chapter, the debaters again find Pavel Veretennikov, who actually collects folklore, stories and expressions of the Russian people. Pavel tells the peasants around him that they drink too much alcohol, and for them a drunken night is happiness.
Yakim Golyy objects to this, arguing that a simple the peasant drinks a lot not from own desire, and because he works hard, he is constantly haunted by grief. Yakim tells his story to those around him - having bought his son pictures, Yakim loved them no less, so when the fire happened, he was the first to take these pictures out of the hut. In the end, the money he had saved throughout his life was gone.
After listening to this, the men sit down to eat. Afterwards, one of them remains to watch the bucket of vodka, and the rest again head into the crowd to find a person who considers himself happy in this world.
Chapter 4
Men walk the streets and promise to treat the happiest person among the people with vodka in order to find out who lives well in Rus', but only deeply unhappy people who want to drink to console themselves. Those who want to brag about something good find that their petty happiness does not answer the main question. For example, a Belarusian is happy about what they are doing here Rye bread, from which he does not have pain in his stomach, so he is happy.
As a result, the bucket of vodka runs out, and the debaters understand that they will not find the truth this way, but one of those who came says to look for Ermila Girin. We respect Ermil very much in the village, the peasants say that it is very good man. They even tell the story that when Girin wanted to buy a mill, but there was no money for a deposit, he raised a whole thousand in loans from the common people and managed to deposit the money.
A week later, Yermil gave away everything he had borrowed, and until the evening he asked those around him who else to approach and give the last remaining ruble.
Girin earned such trust by the fact that, while serving as a clerk for the prince, he did not take money from anyone, but on the contrary, he helped ordinary people, therefore, when they were going to elect a burgomaster, they chose him, Yermil justified the appointment. At the same time, the priest says that he is unhappy, since he is already in prison, and he does not have time to tell why, since a thief is discovered in the company.
Chapter 5
Next, the travelers meet a landowner, who, in response to the question of who can live well in Rus', tells them about his noble roots - the founder of his family, the Tatar Oboldui, was skinned by a bear for the laughter of the empress, who in return presented many expensive gifts.
The landowner complains that the peasants were taken away, so no more than the law on its lands, forests are cut down, drinking establishments are multiplying - the people do what they want, and as a result they become poor. He goes on to say that he was not used to working since childhood, but here he has to do it because the serfs were taken away.
Contritely, the landowner leaves, and the men feel sorry for him, thinking that on the one hand, after the abolition of serfdom, the peasants suffered, and on the other, the landowners, that this whip lashed all classes.
Part 2. The last one - summary
This part of the poem talks about the extravagant Prince Utyatin, who, upon learning that serfdom had been abolished, fell ill with a heart attack and promised to disinherit his sons. Those, frightened by such a fate, persuaded the men to play along with the old father, bribing them with a promise to donate the meadows to the village.
Important! Characteristics of Prince Utyatin: a selfish person who loves to feel power, therefore he is ready to force others to do completely meaningless things. He feels complete impunity and thinks that this is where the future of Russia lies.
Some peasants willingly played along with the lord’s request, while others, for example Agap Petrov, could not come to terms with the fact that they had to bow before someone in the wild. Finding yourself in a situation in which it is impossible to achieve the truth, Agap Petrov dies from pangs of conscience and mental anguish.
At the end of the chapter, Prince Utyatin rejoices at the return of serfdom, speaks of its correctness at his own feast, which is attended by seven travelers, and at the end calmly dies in the boat. At the same time, no one is giving the meadows to the peasants, and the trial on this issue is not over to this day, as the men found out.
Part 3. Peasant woman
This part of the poem is dedicated to the search for female happiness, but ends with the fact that there is no happiness and such will never be found. The wanderers meet the peasant woman Matryona - a beautiful, stately woman of 38 years old. Wherein Matryona is deeply unhappy, considers himself an old woman. She has a difficult fate; she only had joy in childhood. After the girl got married, her husband went to work, leaving his pregnant wife behind. big family husband.
The peasant woman had to feed her husband's parents, who only mocked her and did not help her. Even after giving birth, they were not allowed to take the child with them, since the woman did not work enough with him. The baby was looked after by an elderly grandfather, the only one who treated Matryona normally, but due to his age, he did not take care of the baby; he was eaten by pigs.
Matryona also gave birth to children afterwards, but she could not forget her first son. The peasant woman forgave the old man who had gone to the monastery out of grief and took him home, where he soon died. She herself, pregnant, came to the governor’s wife, asked for my husband back due to the difficult situation. Since Matryona gave birth right in the waiting room, the governor’s wife helped the woman, which is why people began to call her happy, which in fact was far from the case.
In the end, the wanderers, having not found female happiness and having not received an answer to their question - who can live well in Rus', moved on.
Part 4. A feast for the whole world - the conclusion of the poem
It happens in the same village. The main characters have gathered at a feast and are having fun, telling different stories to find out which of the people in Rus' will live well. The conversation turned to Yakov, a peasant who revered the master very much, but did not forgive him when he gave his nephew as a soldier. As a result, Yakov took his owner into the forest and hanged himself, but he could not get out because his legs did not work. What follows is a long debate about who is more sinful in this situation.
Men share different stories about the sins of peasants and landowners, deciding who is more honest and righteous. The crowd as a whole is quite unhappy, including the men - the main characters, only the young seminarian Grisha wants to devote himself to serving the people and their well-being. He loves his mother very much and is ready to pour it out on the village.
Grisha walks and sings that a glorious path awaits ahead, a resounding name in history, he is inspired by this, and is not even afraid of the expected outcome - Siberia and death from consumption. The debaters do not notice Grisha, but in vain, because this the only happy person in the poem, having understood this, they could find the answer to their question - who can live well in Russia.
When finishing the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'?”, the author wanted to finish his work differently, however near death forced add optimism and hope at the end of the poem, to give “light at the end of the road” to the Russian people.
N.A. Nekrasov, “Who Lives Well in Rus'” - summary
The poem by Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov “Who Lives Well in Rus'” has its own unique feature. All the names of the villages and the names of the heroes clearly reflect the essence of what is happening. In the first chapter, the reader can meet seven men from the villages “Zaplatovo”, “Dyryaevo”, “Razutovo”, “Znobishino”, “Gorelovo”, “Neelovo”, “Neurozhaiko”, who argue about who has a good life in Rus', and in no way cannot come to an agreement. No one is even going to give in to another... This is how the work begins in an unusual way, which Nikolai Nekrasov conceived in order, as he writes, “to present in a coherent story everything that he knows about the people, everything that happened to be heard from their lips...”
The history of the poem
Nikolai Nekrasov began working on his work in the early 1860s and completed the first part five years later. The prologue was published in the January issue of Sovremennik magazine for 1866. Then painstaking work began on the second part, which was called “The Last One” and was published in 1972. The third part, entitled “Peasant Woman,” was published in 1973, and the fourth, “A Feast for the Whole World,” was published in the fall of 1976, that is, three years later. It’s a pity that the author of the legendary epic was never able to fully complete his plans - the writing of the poem was interrupted by his untimely death in 1877. However, even after 140 years, this work remains important for people; it is read and studied by both children and adults. The poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is included in the required school curriculum.
Part 1. Prologue: who is the happiest in Rus'
So, the prologue tells how seven men meet on a highway and then go on a journey to find a happy man. Who lives freely, happily and cheerfully in Rus' - this is the main question of curious travelers. Everyone, arguing with another, believes that he is right. Roman shouts that the most a good life at the landowner's, Demyan claims that life is wonderful for the official, Luka proves that it is still the priest, the rest also express their opinion: “to the noble boyar”, “to the fat-bellied merchant”, “to the sovereign’s minister” or to the tsar.
Such a disagreement leads to an absurd fight, which is observed by birds and animals. It is interesting to read how the author reflects their surprise at what is happening. Even the cow “came to the fire, fixed her eyes on the men, listened to crazy speeches and began, dear heart, to moo, moo, moo!..”
Finally, having kneaded each other's sides, the men came to their senses. They saw a tiny chick of a warbler fly up to the fire, and Pakhom took it in his hands. The travelers began to envy the little birdie, who could fly wherever she wanted. They were talking about what everyone wanted, when suddenly... the bird spoke in a human voice, asking to release the chick and promising a large ransom for it.
The bird showed the men the way to where the real self-assembled tablecloth was buried. Wow! Now you can definitely live without having to worry. But the smart wanderers also asked that their clothes not wear out. “And this will be done by a self-assembled tablecloth,” said the warbler. And she kept her promise.
The men began to live a well-fed and cheerful life. But they haven’t yet resolved the main question: who lives well in Rus' after all? And the friends decided not to return to their families until they found the answer to it.
Chapter 1. Pop
On the way, the men met a priest and, bowing low, asked him to answer “in good conscience, without laughter and without cunning,” whether life was really good for him in Rus'. What the priest said dispelled the seven curious people’s ideas about his happy life. No matter how harsh the circumstances may be - a dead autumn night, or a severe frost, or a spring flood - the priest has to go where he is called, without arguing or contradicting. The work is not easy, and besides, the groans of people leaving for another world, the cries of orphans and the sobs of widows completely upset the peace of the priest’s soul. And only outwardly it seems that the priest is held in high esteem. In fact, he is often the target of ridicule among the common people.
Chapter 2. Rural fair
Further, the road leads purposeful wanderers to other villages, which for some reason turn out to be empty. The reason is that all the people are at the fair in the village of Kuzminskoye. And it was decided to go there to ask people about happiness.
The life of the village gave the men some not very pleasant feelings: there were a lot of drunks around, everything was dirty, dull, and uncomfortable. They also sell books at the fair, but they are of low quality; Belinsky and Gogol cannot be found here.
By evening everyone becomes so drunk that even the church with its bell tower seems to be shaking.
Chapter 3. Drunken night
At night the men are on the road again. They hear drunk people talking. Suddenly attention is drawn to Pavlusha Veretennikov, who is making notes in a notebook. He collects peasant songs and sayings, as well as their stories. After everything that has been said is captured on paper, Veretennikov begins to reproach the assembled people for drunkenness, to which he hears objections: “the peasant drinks mainly because he is in grief, and therefore it is impossible, even a sin, to reproach him for this.
Chapter 4. Happy
The men do not deviate from their goal - to find a happy person at any cost. They promise to reward with a bucket of vodka the one who tells that he is the one who lives freely and cheerfully in Rus'. Drinkers fall for such a “tempting” offer. But no matter how hard they try to colorfully describe the gloomy everyday life of those who want to get drunk for nothing, nothing comes of it. The stories of an old woman who had up to a thousand turnips, a sexton who rejoices when someone pours a drink for him; the paralyzed former servant, who for forty years licked the master's plates with the best French truffle, does not at all impress the stubborn seekers of happiness on Russian soil.
Chapter 5. Landowner.
Maybe luck will smile on them here - the seekers of the happy Russian man assumed when they met the landowner Gavrila Afanasyich Obolt-Obolduev on the road. At first he was frightened, thinking that he saw robbers, but when he learned about unusual desire seven men who blocked his way, calmed down, laughed and told his story.
Maybe before the landowner considered himself happy, but not now. Indeed, in the old days, Gabriel Afanasyevich was the owner of the entire district, a whole regiment of servants, and organized holidays with theatrical performances and dancing. He didn’t even hesitate to invite peasants to the manor’s house to pray on holidays. Now everything has changed: the Obolta-Obolduev family estate was sold for debts, because, left without peasants who knew how to cultivate the land, the landowner, who was not used to working, suffered heavy losses, which led to a disastrous outcome.
Part 2. The Last One
The next day, the travelers went to the banks of the Volga, where they saw a large hay meadow. Before they had time to talk to local residents, as we noticed three boats at the pier. It turns out that this is a noble family: two gentlemen with their wives, their children, servants and a gray-haired old gentleman named Utyatin. Everything in this family, to the surprise of the travelers, happens according to such a scenario, as if the abolition of serfdom had never happened. It turns out that Utyatin became very angry when he learned that the peasants had been given free rein and fell ill with a blow, threatening to deprive his sons of their inheritance. To prevent this from happening, they came up with a cunning plan: they persuaded the peasants to play along with the landowner, posing as serfs. They promised the best meadows as a reward after the master’s death.
Utyatin, hearing that the peasants were staying with him, perked up, and the comedy began. Some even liked the role of serfs, but Agap Petrov could not come to terms with his shameful fate and expressed everything to the landowner’s face. For this the prince sentenced him to flogging. The peasants played a role here too: they took the “rebellious” one to the stable, put wine in front of him and asked him to shout louder, for visibility. Alas, Agap could not bear such humiliation, got very drunk and died that same night.
Next, the Last One (Prince Utyatin) arranges a feast, where, barely moving his tongue, he makes a speech about the advantages and benefits of serfdom. After this, he lies down in the boat and gives up the ghost. Everyone is glad that they finally got rid of the old tyrant, however, the heirs are not even going to fulfill their promise to those who played the role of serfs. The hopes of the peasants were not justified: no one gave them any meadows.
Part 3. Peasant woman.
No longer hoping to find a happy person among men, the wanderers decided to ask women. And from the lips of a peasant woman named Matryona Timofeevna Korchagina they hear a very sad and, one might say, scary story. Only in her parents' house was she happy, and then, when she married Philip, rosy-cheeked and strong guy, a hard life began. The love did not last long, because the husband left to work, leaving his young wife with his family. Matryona works tirelessly and sees no support from anyone except the old man Savely, who lives a century after hard labor that lasted twenty years. Only one joy appears in her difficult fate- son of Demushka. But suddenly a terrible misfortune befell the woman: it is impossible to even imagine what happened to the child due to the fact that the mother-in-law did not allow her daughter-in-law to take him with her to the field. Due to an oversight by his grandfather, the boy is eaten by pigs. What a mother's grief! She mourns Demushka all the time, although other children were born in the family. For their sake, a woman sacrifices herself, for example, she takes punishment when they want to flog her son Fedot for a sheep that was carried away by wolves. When Matryona was pregnant with another son, Lidor, her husband was unjustly taken into the army, and his wife had to go to the city to seek the truth. It’s good that the governor’s wife, Elena Alexandrovna, helped her then. By the way, Matryona gave birth to a son in the waiting room.
Yes, life was not easy for the one who was nicknamed “lucky” in the village: she constantly had to fight for herself, and for her children, and for her husband.
Part 4. A feast for the whole world.
At the end of the village of Valakhchina there was a feast, where everyone was gathered: the wandering men, Vlas the elder, and Klim Yakovlevich. Among those celebrating are two seminarians, simple, kind guys - Savvushka and Grisha Dobrosklonov. They sing funny songs and tell stories various stories. They do this because ordinary people ask for it. From the age of fifteen, Grisha firmly knows that he will devote his life to the happiness of the Russian people. He sings a song about a great and powerful country called Rus'. Is this not the lucky one whom the travelers were so persistently looking for? After all, he clearly sees the purpose of his life - in serving the disadvantaged people. Unfortunately, Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov died untimely, without having time to finish the poem (according to the author’s plan, the men were supposed to go to St. Petersburg). But the thoughts of the seven wanderers coincide with the thoughts of Dobrosklonov, who thinks that every peasant should live freely and cheerfully in Rus'. This was the main intention of the author.
The poem by Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov became legendary, a symbol of the struggle for happy everyday life ordinary people, as well as the result of the author’s thoughts about the fate of the peasantry.
“Who Lives Well in Rus'” - a summary of the poem by N.A. Nekrasova
4.7 (93.33%) 3 votesThe main points of the teacher's story 1. The idea of the poem. “The people are liberated, but are the people happy?” - this line from “Elegy” explains N.A. Nekrasov’s position in relation to the Peasant Reform of 1861, which only formally deprived the landowners of their former power, but in fact deceived and robbed peasant Rus'. The poem was begun shortly after the Peasant Reform. Nekrasov considered its goal to be the depiction of the disadvantaged lower peasantry, among whom - as in all of Russia - there is no happy person.
For Nekrasov, the search for happiness among the upper echelons of society was only compositional technique. The happiness of the “strong” and “well-fed” was beyond doubt for him. The very word “lucky,” according to Nekrasov, is a synonym for a representative of the privileged classes. (Cf. “... but the happy are deaf to good” - “Reflections at the main entrance.”) Depicting the ruling classes (priest, landowner), Nekrasov first of all focuses on the fact that the reform hit not so much “with one end at the master”, but "different people like men."
2. The history of the creation of the poem and its composition.
The poet worked on the poem from 1863 to 1877, i.e. about 14 years. During this time, his plan changed, but the poem was never completed by the author, so there is no criticism consensus about her composition. The poet calls the wanderers “time-bound,” which shows that the poem was begun no later than 1863, since later this term was very rarely applied to peasants. Under the chapter “Landowner” there is a date set by the author - 1865, which indicates that before that the poet worked on its first part.
Dates of writing other chapters: “The Last One,” 1872; "Peasant Woman", 1873; "A Feast for the Whole World", 1877. Nekrasov wrote “A Feast for the Whole World” while already in a state of mortal illness, but he did not consider this part to be the last, intending to continue the poem with the image of wanderers in St. Petersburg. Literary critic IN.
V. Gippius, in the article “On the study of the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” back in 1934, wrote: “The poem remained unfinished, the poet’s intention was unclear; individual parts of the poem followed each other in different time and not always in sequential order. Two questions that are of primary importance when studying the poem remain controversial: 1) about relative position the parts that have come down to us and 2) about the reconstruction of the unwritten parts and, above all, the denouement. Both issues are obviously closely related, and they have to be solved together.” It was V.V. Gippius who found in the poem itself objective indications of the sequence of parts: “Time is calculated in it “according to the calendar”: the action of the “Prologue” begins in the spring, when birds build nests and the cuckoo crows.
In the chapter “Pop” the wanderers say: “And the time is not early, the month of May is approaching.” In the chapter " Rural fair“There is a mention: “The weather only stared at St. Nicholas of the spring”; Apparently, on St. Nicholas Day (May 9, old style) the fair itself takes place. "The Last One" also begins exact date: “Petrovka. It's a hot time. Haymaking is in full swing." In “A Feast for the Whole World” the haymaking is already over: the peasants are going to the market with hay. Finally, in “The Peasant Woman” there is the harvest.
The events described in A Feast for the Whole World refer to early autumn(Gregory picks mushrooms), and the “Petersburg part” conceived but not implemented by Nekrasov was supposed to take place in the winter, when wanderers would come to St. Petersburg to seek access “to the noble boyar, the sovereign’s minister.” It can be assumed that the poem could have ended with the St. Petersburg episodes.
You can invite students to conduct their own research work with the text and find in it Indications of the time sequence of parts. However, in modern publications, chapters are arranged according to the time they were written. Questions and tasks for discussing “Prologue” 1. What is the essence of the dispute between the men? What oath do they take at the end of the Prologue? (“Don’t toss and turn in little houses... until they find out... who lives happily and at ease in Rus'?”) 2.
Which folklore motives appear in the Prologue? (Fantastic elements of Russian fairy tales; numberSeven; folk signs related to peasant labor and life; puzzles; humanization of the natural world; stylistic manner of leisurely folklore storytelling, etc.) 3. What objective realities and names speak about the difficult life of a peasant in the post-reform period? 4. What is the plot and compositional role of the “Prologue” in the poem? Can we consider that “Prologue” is the author’s bid for a new image of the “encyclopedia of Russian life”, this time primarily the life of the people, peasants? Questions and tasks for discussing the chapter “Pop” 1.
Did the men find happiness in this chapter? Why does the priest himself consider himself unhappy? Is it so? 2. How does the chapter depict the situation of the peasants? What troubles befall them? 3. What words and expressions paint figurative pictures of the life of the priest and peasants? What's it like author's attitude to them? 4. What folklore elements can you see in the chapter? Questions and tasks for discussing the chapter “Rural Fair” 1.
What life circumstances, according to Nekrasov, prevented the peasants from being happy? 2. How do you see Pavlusha Veretennikov?
What is his lifestyle? What author's characteristics of this image did you notice? What is its compositional role in the chapter? 3. What meaning does the author give to the image of a bench “with paintings and books” at a fair? What is his attitude towards public education?
4. What mood does this chapter evoke? Why, despite adversity, did the Russian peasant not consider himself unhappy? What qualities of the Russian peasant do the author admire? 5. How is the folklore flavor of the poem reflected in the chapter? Conclusions. Nekrasov, following Pushkin and Gogol, decided to depict a broad canvas of the life of the Russian people and their main mass - the Russian peasant of the post-reform era, to show the predatory nature of the Peasant Reform and the deterioration of the people's lot.
At the same time, the author’s task included satirical image"highs", where the poet follows Gogol's traditions. But the main thing is to demonstrate the talent, will, perseverance and optimism of the Russian peasant. In its stylistic features and poetic intonations, the poem is close to works of folklore. The composition of the poem is complex primarily because the author's intentions changed over time, the work remained unfinished, and a number of fragments were not published due to censorship restrictions.