“Courage and cowardice” - arguments for the final essay

An essay in the context of this aspect can be based on a comparison of opposite manifestations of personality - from determination and courage, the manifestation of willpower and fortitude of some heroes to the desire to evade responsibility, hide from danger, show weakness, which can even lead to betrayal.

Examples of the manifestation of these human qualities can be found in almost any work of classical literature.

A.S. Pushkin " Captain's daughter»

As an example, we can take the comparison of Grinev and Shvabrin: the first is ready to die in the battle for the fortress, directly expresses his position to Pugachev, risking his life, under pain of death remained faithful to the oath, the second was afraid for his life and went over to the side of the enemy.

The daughter of Captain Mironov turns out to be truly courageous.

The “coward” Masha, who flinched from shots during a training exercise in the fortress, shows remarkable courage and firmness, resisting Shvabrin’s claims, being in his complete power in the fortress occupied by the Pugachevites.

Title character novel by A.S. Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin” essentially turned out to be a coward - he completely subordinated his life to the opinion of society, which he himself despised. Realizing that he is to blame for the impending duel and can prevent it, he does not do this, because he is afraid of the opinion of the world and gossip about himself. To avoid accusations of cowardice, he kills his friend.

A striking example of true courage is the main character of the novel M.A. Sholokhov " Quiet Don» Grigory Melekhov. The First World War caught Gregory and spun him into a whirlwind of stormy historical events. Grigory, like a true Cossack, devotes himself entirely to battle. He is decisive and brave. He easily captures three Germans, deftly recaptures a battery from the enemy, and saves the officer. Evidence of his courage - St. George's crosses and medals, officer rank.

Gregory shows courage not only in battle. He is not afraid to radically change his life, to go against his father’s will for the sake of the woman he loves. Grigory does not tolerate injustice and always speaks openly about it. He is ready to radically change his destiny, but not to change himself. Grigory Melekhov showed extraordinary courage in his search for the truth. But for him she is not just an idea, some idealized symbol of a better human existence.

He is looking for its embodiment in life. Coming into contact with many small particles of truth and ready to accept each one, he often discovers their inconsistency when faced with life, but the hero does not stop in search of truth and justice and goes to the end, making his choice at the end of the novel.

The young monk, the hero of the poem, is not afraid to completely change his life

M.Yu. Lermontov "Mtsyri".

The dream of a free life completely captured Mtsyri, a fighter by nature, forced by force of circumstances to live in a gloomy monastery that he hated. He, who has not lived a day in freedom, independently decides to take a brave action - escaping from the monastery in the hope of returning to his homeland. Only in freedom, in those days that Mtsyri spent outside the monastery, all the richness of his nature was revealed: love of freedom, thirst for life and struggle, perseverance in achieving his goal, unbending willpower, courage, contempt for danger, love for nature, understanding of its beauty and power. Mtsyri shows courage and the will to win in the fight against the leopard. His story of how he descended from the rocks to the stream sounds contempt for danger:

But free youth is strong,

And death seemed not scary.

Mtsyri failed to achieve his goal - to find his homeland, his people.

“The prison left its mark on me,” this is how he explains the reason for his failure. Mtsyri fell victim to circumstances that turned out to be stronger than him (a stable motif of fate in Lermontov’s works). But he dies adamant, his spirit is not broken.

Great courage is required in order to preserve oneself, one’s personality under the conditions of a totalitarian regime, not to give up one’s ideals and ideas, including in creativity, and not to submit to the situation. The question of courage and cowardice is one of the central ones in M.A.’s novel. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita".

The words of the hero of the novel, Ga-Notsri, affirm the idea that one of the main human vices is cowardice. This idea can be seen throughout the novel. The all-seeing Woland, lifting the “curtain” of time for us, shows that the course of history does not change human nature: Judas, Aloisia (traitors, informers) exist at all times. But the basis of betrayal is also, most likely, cowardice - a vice that has always existed, a vice that underlies many grave sins.

Aren't traitors cowards? Aren't flatterers cowards? And if a person is lying, he is also afraid of something. Back in the 18th century French philosopher C. Helvetius argued that “after courage, there is nothing more beautiful than a confession of cowardice.”

In his novel, Bulgakov argues that man is responsible for improving the world in which he lives. The position of non-participation is not acceptable. Can the Master be called a hero? Most likely no. The master failed to remain a fighter to the end. The Master is not a hero, he is only a servant of truth. The Master cannot be a hero, since he chickened out and abandoned his book. He is broken by the adversity that befell him, but he broke himself. Then, when he escaped from reality to Stravinsky’s clinic, when he assured himself that “there is no need to make big plans,” he doomed himself to inaction of the spirit. He is not a creator, he is only a Master, and therefore he is only given

Yeshua is a wandering young philosopher who came to Yershalaim to preach his teaching. He is physically weak person, but at the same time he is a spiritually strong personality, he is a man of thought. The hero under no circumstances gives up his views. Yeshua believes that a person can be changed for the better with good. It is very difficult to be kind, so it is easy to replace goodness with all sorts of surrogates, which often happens. But if a person does not chicken out and does not give up his views, then such good is omnipotent. The “tramp”, the “weak man” managed to turn the life of Pontius Pilate, the “almighty ruler” upside down.

Pontius Pilate is the representative of the authority of imperial Rome in Judea. This man's rich life experience helps him understand Ga-Nozri. Pontius Pilate does not want to ruin the life of Yeshua, he tries to persuade him to compromise, and when this fails, he wants to persuade the high priest Kaifa to have mercy on Ha-Notsri on the occasion of the Easter holiday. Pontius Pilate feels pity for Yeshua, compassion, and fear. It is fear that ultimately determines his choice. This fear is born of dependence on the state, the need to follow its interests. For M. Bulgakov, Pontius Pilate is not just a coward, an apostate, but he is also a victim. By apostatizing from Yeshua, he destroys both himself and his soul. Even after physical death, he is doomed to mental suffering, from which only Yeshua can save him.

Margarita, in the name of her love and faith in her lover’s talent, overcomes fear and her own weakness, and even overcomes circumstances.

Yes, Margarita is not an ideal person: having become a witch, she destroys the house of writers, participates in Satan’s ball with the greatest sinners of all times and peoples. But she didn't chicken out. Margarita fights for her love to the end. It is not for nothing that Bulgakov calls for love and mercy to be the basis of human relations.

In the novel “The Master and Margarita”, according to A.Z. Vulis, there is a philosophy of retribution: what you deserve, you get. Most big vice- cowardice - will certainly entail retribution: torment of the soul and conscience. Even in The White Guard, M. Bulgakov warned: “Never run like a rat into the unknown from danger.”

Taking responsibility for the destinies of other people, perhaps weaker ones, is also great courage. This is Danko, the hero of the legend from M. Gorky’s story “The Old Woman Izergil”.

A proud, “best of all” man, Danko died for the sake of people. The legend told by the old woman Izergil is based on an ancient tale about a man who saved people and showed them the way out of an impenetrable forest. Danko had a strong-willed character: the hero did not want a slave life for his tribe and at the same time understood that people would not be able to live in the depths of the forest for a long time without the space and light they were accustomed to. Mental fortitude, inner wealth, true perfection in biblical tales were embodied in outward beautiful people. This is exactly how the ancient idea of ​​a person about spiritual and physical beauty was expressed: “Danko is one of those people, a handsome young man. Beautiful

Always brave." Danko believes in his own strength, so he doesn’t want to waste it “on thoughts and melancholy.” The hero strives to lead people from the darkness of the forest to freedom, where there is a lot of warmth and light. Having a strong-willed character, he takes on the role of a leader, and people “unitedly all followed him - they believed in him.” The hero was not afraid of difficulties during the difficult journey, but he did not take into account the weakness of the people, who soon “began to grumble” because they did not have Danko’s fortitude and did not have a strong will. Climax episode The story became the scene of the trial of Danko, when people, tired of the hardship of the journey, hungry and angry, began to blame their leader for everything: “You are an insignificant and harmful person for us! You led us and tired us, and for this you will die! Unable to bear the difficulties, people began to shift responsibility from themselves to Danko, wanting to find someone to blame for their misfortunes. The hero, selflessly loving people, realizing that without him everyone would die, “teared his chest with his hands and tore out his heart from it and raised it high above his head.” Illuminating the dark path from the impenetrable forest with your

with his heart, Danko led people out of the darkness to where “the sun shone, the steppe sighed, the grass glittered in the diamonds of the rain and the river sparkled with gold.” Danko looked at the picture that opened before him and died. The author calls his hero a proud daredevil who died for the sake of people. The final episode makes the reader think about the moral side of the hero’s act: was Danko’s death in vain, are people worthy of such a sacrifice. What is important is the image of a “cautious” person who appeared in the epilogue of the story, who was afraid of something and stepped “on his proud heart.”

The writer characterizes Danko as the best of people. Indeed, the main character traits of the hero are mental fortitude, willpower, selflessness, the desire to selflessly serve people, courage. He sacrificed his life not only for the sake of those whom he led out of the forest, but also for himself: he could not do otherwise, the hero needed to help people. The feeling of love filled Danko’s heart and was an integral part of his nature, which is why M. Gorky calls the hero “the best of all.” Researchers note the connection between Danko’s image and Moses, Prometheus and Jesus Christ. The name Danko is associated with the same root words “tribute”, “dam”, “giving”. The most important words of a proud, brave man in the legend: “What will I do for people?!”

Many works of classical Russian literature raise the issue of fear of life in its various manifestations. In particular, many works by A.P. are devoted to the theme of fear and cowardice. Chekhov: “Fears”, “Cossack”, “Champagne”, “Beauties”, “Lights”, “Steppe”, “Man in a Case”,

“Death of an Official”, “Ionych”, “Lady with a Dog”, “Chameleon”, “Chamber

No. 6", "Fear", "Black Monk", etc.

The hero of the story "Fear" Dmitry Petrovich Silin is afraid of everything. According to the author of the story, he is “sick with the fear of life.” The hero, according to Chekhov, is frightened by the incomprehensible and incomprehensible. For example, Silin is afraid of terrible events, disasters and the most ordinary events. He is afraid of life itself. Everything that is incomprehensible in the world around him is a threat to him. He reflects and tries to find answers to questions that concern him about the meaning of life and human existence. He is convinced that people understand what they see and hear, but he poisons himself daily with his own fear.

In the story, he is constantly trying to hide and seclude himself. Dmitry Petrovich seems to be running away from life: he leaves his service in St. Petersburg because he experiences feelings of fear and apprehension, and decides to live alone in his estate.

And then Silin receives a second strong blow when his wife and friend betray him. When he finds out about the betrayal, fear drives him out of the house: “His hands were shaking, he was in a hurry and looked back at the house, he was probably scared.” It is not surprising that the hero of the story compares himself to a newborn midge, whose life consists of nothing but horrors.

In the story “Ward No. 6” the theme of fear also comes to the fore. The hero of the story, Andrei Efimovich, is afraid of everything and everyone. Most of all, he is wary of reality. Nature itself looks scary to him. The most ordinary things and objects seem frightening: “This is reality!” thought Andrei Efimovich. The moon, and the prison, and the nails on the fence, and the distant flame in the bone plant were scary.”

The fear of the incomprehensibility of life is presented in the story "The Man in the Case." This fear forces the hero to move away from reality. The hero of the story, Belikov, is always trying to “hide from life” in a case. His case is made of circulars and instructions, the implementation of which he constantly monitors. His fear is vague. He is afraid of everything and at the same time nothing specific. The most hated thing for him is failure to follow the rules and deviations from the regulations. Even insignificant little things plunge Belikov into mystical horror. “Reality irritated him, frightened him, kept him in constant anxiety, and, perhaps, in order to justify this timidity of his, his aversion to the present, he always praised the past and what never happened; and the ancient languages ​​that he taught , were for him, in essence, the same galoshes and an umbrella where he hid from real life." If Silin, out of fear of life, tries to hide in his estate, then Belikov’s fear of life forces him to hide in a case of rules and strict laws and, in the end, hide underground forever.

The hero of the story "About Love" Alekhine is also afraid of everything and also prefers to hide, secluded in his estate, although he had a good opportunity to study literature. He is afraid even of his love and torments himself when he overcomes this feeling and loses his beloved woman.

The fairy tale by M.E. is dedicated to the problem of fear of life. Saltykov-Shchedrin “The Wise Minnow”. The life of a minnow flashes before the reader, simple in its structure, based on fear of the potential dangers of the world order. The hero's father and mother lived long life and died a natural death. And before leaving for another world, they bequeathed their son to be careful, since all the inhabitants of the water world, and even man, in any

moment could ruin him. The young minnow mastered his parents' science so well that he literally imprisoned himself in an underwater hole. He came out of it only at night, when everyone was sleeping, was malnourished and “trembled” all day long - just so as not to be captured! He lived in this fear for 100 years, truly outliving his relatives, even though he was a small fish that anyone could swallow. And in this sense, his life was a success. His other dream also came true - to live in such a way that no one would ever know about the existence of wise minnow.

Before his death, the hero thinks about what would happen if all the fish lived the same way as he does. And he begins to see the light: the race of minnows would cease! All opportunities passed him by - making friends, starting a family, raising children and passing on his life experience to them. He clearly realizes this before his death and, deep in thought, falls asleep, and then involuntarily violates the boundaries of his hole: “his snout” appears outward from the hole. And then there is room for the reader’s imagination, because the author does not say what happened to the hero, but only states that he suddenly disappeared. There were no witnesses to this incident, so not only the task of living at least unnoticed was achieved by the minnow, but also the “ultimate task” - to disappear unnoticed as well. The author bitterly sums up the life of his hero: “He lived - he trembled, and he died - he trembled.”

Often anxiety and caring for loved ones help you become brave. Shows remarkable courage a little boy from the story of A.I. Kuprin " White poodle"In the story all the most important events related to the white poodle Artaud. The dog is one of the artists of the traveling troupe. Grandfather Lodyzhkin values ​​him very much and says about the dog: “He feeds, waters and clothes the two of us.” It is with the help of the image of a poodle that the author reveals human feelings and relationships.

Grandfather and Seryozha love Artoshka and treat him as a friend and family member. That is why they do not agree to sell their beloved dog for any money. But Trilli’s mother believes: “Everything that can be bought is sold.” When her spoiled son wanted a dog, she offered the artists fabulous money and didn’t even want to hear that the dog was not for sale. When they couldn’t buy Artaud, they decided to steal it. Here, when grandfather Lodyzhkin showed weakness, Seryozha shows determination and takes a brave action worthy of an adult: return the dog at any cost. At the risk of his life, almost getting caught by the janitor, he frees his friend.

The topic of cowardice and courage has been repeatedly addressed and modern writers. One of the most striking works is the story

V. Zheleznikov “Scarecrow”. A new student, Lena Bessoltseva, comes to one of the provincial schools. She is the granddaughter of an artist who leads a secluded lifestyle, which caused the townspeople to alienate him. Classmates openly make it clear new girl whose rules are here? Over time, she begins to be despised for her kindness and kindness, and her classmates give her the nickname “Scarecrow.” At Lena's kind soul, and she is trying in every possible way to establish contact with her classmates, trying not to react to the offensive nickname. However, the cruelty of children led by class leaders knows no bounds. Only one person feels pity for the girl and begins to be friends with her - Dima Somov. One day the children decided to skip class and go to the cinema. Dima returned to class to pick up the forgotten item. The teacher met him, and the boy was forced to tell the truth that his classmates had run away from class. After this, the children decide to punish Dima for his betrayal, but suddenly Lena, who has maintained neutrality all this time, stands up for her friend and begins to justify him. Classmates quickly forget Dima's sin and transfer their aggression to the girl. They declared a boycott on Lena to teach her a lesson. Cruel children burn an effigy symbolizing Lena. The girl is no longer able to withstand such oppression and asks her grandfather to leave this city. After Bessoltseva left, the children experience torment of conscience, they understand that they have lost a really good, honest person, but it is too late to do anything.

The clear leader in the class is the Iron Button. Her behavior is determined by the desire to be special: strong-willed, principled. However, these qualities are inherent in her only externally; she needs them to maintain leadership. At the same time, she is one of the few who partially sympathize with Lena and sets her apart from the rest: “I didn’t expect this from Scarecrow,” the Iron Button finally broke the silence. - I hit everyone. Not all of us are capable of this. It’s a pity that she turned out to be a traitor, otherwise I would have become friends with her... And you are all wimps. You don’t know what you want.” And she realizes the reason for this sympathy only at the very end, at the moment of farewell to Bessoltseva. It becomes obvious that Lenka is not like the others. She has inner strength, courage, which allows her to resist lies and preserve her spirituality.

Dimka Somov occupies a special place in the system of images of the story. At first glance, this is a person who is not afraid of anything, does not depend on others, and this differs from his peers. This is manifested in his actions: in his attempts to protect Lena, in the way he freed the dog from Valka, in the desire to be independent from his parents and earn money himself. But then it turns out that, like Red, he depended on the class and was afraid to exist separately from it. Fearing the opinions of his classmates, he turned out to be capable of repeated betrayal: he betrays Bessoltseva when he does not admit his wrongdoing, when he burns Lenka’s effigy with everyone else, when he tries to scare her, when he and the others throw her dress around. His outer beauty does not correspond to the internal content, and in the episode of farewell to Bessoltseva, it evokes only pity. Thus, no one from the class passed the moral test: they did not have enough moral basis for this, inner strength and courage.

Unlike all the characters, Lena turns out to be a strong personality: nothing can push her to betrayal. She forgives Somov several times - this testifies to her kindness. She finds the strength to survive all the insults and betrayals without becoming embittered. It is no coincidence that the action takes place against the backdrop of portraits of Lena’s ancestors, especially the brave General Raevsky. Apparently, they are intended to emphasize the courage characteristic of her family.

Courage and cowardice in extreme situations, in war.

The most clearly true qualities human personality manifest themselves in extreme situations, in particular in war.

Roman L.N. Tolstoy's "War and Peace" is not only and not so much about war, but about human characters and qualities that manifest themselves in difficult conditions of choice and the need to commit an act. Important for the writer are reflections on true courage, courage, heroism and cowardice as personality traits. These qualities are most clearly manifested in military episodes.

When drawing heroes, Tolstoy uses the technique of opposition. How different we see Prince Andrei and Zherkov in the battle of Shengraben! Bagration sends Zherkov with an order to retreat to the left flank, that is, where it is most dangerous now. But Zherkov is desperately cowardly and therefore jumps not to where the shooting is, but looks for the bosses “in a safer place where they could not be.” Thus, a vital order by this adjutant

not transferred. But he is handed over to another officer - Prince Bolkonsky. He is also scared, the cannonballs are flying right over him, but he forbids himself to be cowardly.

Zherkov was afraid to get to the battery, and at the officer’s dinner he boldly and shamelessly laughed at an amazing hero, but a funny and timid man - Captain Tushin. Not knowing how courageously the battery acted, Bagration scolded the captain for leaving the gun. None of the officers found the courage to say that Tushin’s battery was without cover. And only Prince Andrei was indignant at these unrest in the Russian army and the inability to appreciate true heroes and not only acquitted the captain, but called him and his soldiers true heroes days, to which the troops owe their success.

Timokhin, inconspicuous and unremarkable in ordinary circumstances, also demonstrates true courage: “Timokhin, with a desperate cry, rushed at the French... with one skewer, ran at the enemy, so that the French... threw down their weapons and ran.”

One of the main characters of the novel, Andrei Bolkonsky, had such qualities as pride, courage, decency and honesty. At the beginning of the novel, he is dissatisfied with the emptiness of society and therefore goes to military service, into the active army. Going to war, he dreams of accomplishing a feat and earning people's love. In war, he shows courage and bravery; his soldiers characterize him as a strong, courageous and demanding officer. He puts honor, duty and justice first. During the Battle of Austerlitz, Andrei accomplishes a feat: he picks up a banner that has fallen from the hands of a wounded soldier and carries away the soldiers running away in panic.

Another hero who goes through a test of his character is Nikolai Rostov. When the plot logic leads him to the field of the Shengraben battle, the “moment of truth” comes. Until this time, the hero is absolutely confident in his courage and that he will not disgrace himself in battle. But, seeing the true face of the war, coming close to death, Rostov realizes the impossibility of murder and death. “It can’t be that they want to kill me,” he thinks, running away from the French. He's confused. Instead of shooting, he throws his pistol at the enemy. His fear is not fear of the enemy. He is possessed by “a feeling of fear for his happy young life.”

Petya is the youngest in the Rostov family, his mother’s favorite. He goes to war very young, and his main goal is to accomplish a feat, to become a hero: “... Petya was in a constantly happy and excited state

joy at the fact that he is big, and in his constantly enthusiastic haste not to miss any occasion of real heroism.” He has little combat experience, but a lot of youthful fervor. Therefore, he boldly rushes into the thick of the battle and comes under enemy fire. Despite his young age (16 years), Petya is desperately brave and sees his destiny in serving the fatherland.

Great Patriotic War gave a lot of material for thinking about courage and cowardice.

True courage and courage in war can be shown not only by a soldier, a warrior, but also by an ordinary person, drawn by the forces of circumstances into a terrible cycle of events. Such a story of a simple woman is described in the novel by V.A. Zakrutkina “Mother of Man”.

In September 1941, Hitler's troops advanced far into Soviet territory. Many regions of Ukraine and Belarus were occupied. What remained on the territory occupied by the Germans was a farm lost in the steppes, where a young woman Maria, her husband Ivan and their son Vasyatka lived happily. Having captured previously peaceful and abundant land, the Nazis destroyed everything, burned the farm, drove people to Germany, and hanged Ivan and Vasyatka. Only Maria managed to escape. Alone, she had to fight for her life and for the life of her unborn child.

Further events The novel reveals the greatness of the soul of Mary, who truly became the Mother of man. Hungry, exhausted, she does not think about herself at all, saving the girl Sanya, mortally wounded by the Nazis. Sanya replaced the deceased Vasyatka and became a part of Maria’s life, which was trampled by the fascist invaders. When the girl dies, Maria almost goes crazy, not seeing the meaning of her further existence. And yet she finds the courage to live.

Experiencing a burning hatred for the Nazis, Maria, having met a wounded young German, frantically rushes at him with a pitchfork, wanting to avenge her son and husband. But the German, a defenseless boy, shouted: “Mom! Mother!" And the Russian woman’s heart trembled. The great humanism of the simple Russian soul is extremely simply and clearly shown by the author in this scene.

Maria felt her duty to the people deported to Germany, so she began to harvest from the collective farm fields not only for herself, but also for those who, perhaps, would return home. A sense of fulfilled duty supported her in difficult and lonely days. Soon she had a large farm, because Maria's plundered and burned farmstead

all living things flocked. Maria became, as it were, the mother of the entire land surrounding her, the mother who buried her husband, Vasyatka, Sanya, Werner Bracht and a complete stranger to her, killed at the forefront of the political instructor Slava. Maria was able to take under her roof seven Leningrad orphans who, by the will of fate, were brought to her farm.

This is how this courageous woman met the Soviet troops with their children. And when the first Soviet soldiers entered the burnt farm, it seemed to Maria that she had given birth not only to her son, but to all the war-dispossessed children of the world...

V. Bykov’s story “Sotnikov” emphasizes the problem of real and imaginary courage and heroism, which is the essence storyline works. The main characters of the story - Sotnikov and Rybak - behaved differently in the same circumstances. The fisherman, cowardly, agreed to join the police, hoping to return to the partisan detachment at the right opportunity. Sotnikov chooses a heroic death because he is a man with a heightened sense of responsibility, duty, and the ability not to think about himself, about his own fate, when the fate of the Motherland is being decided. Sotnikov’s death became his moral triumph: “And if anything else cared about him in life, it was his last responsibilities towards people.” The fisherman discovered shameful cowardice and cowardice and, for the sake of his salvation, agreed to become a policeman: “The opportunity to live has appeared - this is the main thing. Everything else will come later.”

Sotnikov’s enormous moral strength lies in the fact that he was able to accept suffering for his people, maintain faith, and not succumb to the thought that Rybak succumbed to.

In the face of death, a person becomes what he really is. Here the depth of his convictions and civic fortitude are tested. This idea can be seen in V. Rasputin’s story “Live and Remember.”

The heroes of the story Nastena and Guskov face a problem moral choice. The husband is a deserter, who became a deserter by accident: after being wounded, leave followed, but for some reason he was not given, he was immediately sent to the front. And, driving past his home, the soldier who fought honestly cannot stand it. He runs home, succumbs to the fear of death, becomes a deserter and a coward, dooming to death everyone for whom he went to fight, whom he loved so much: his wife Nastena and the child for whom they had been waiting for ten years. And the rushing Nastena cannot withstand the weight that has fallen on her. Not

endures because her soul is too pure, her moral thoughts are too high, although she may not even know the word. And she makes her choice: she leaves with her unborn child into the waters of the Yenisei, because it is a shame to live like this in the world. And it is not only to the deserter that Rasputin addresses his “live and remember.” He addresses us, the living: live, remembering that you always have a choice.

In the story by K.D. Vorobyov's "Killed near Moscow" tells the story of the tragedy of young Kremlin cadets sent to their deaths during the German offensive near Moscow in the winter of 1941. In the story the writer shows the “merciless, the terrible truth the first months of the war." The heroes of K. Vorobyov's story are young... The writer talks about what the Motherland, war, enemy, home, honor, death are for them. The entire horror of war is shown through the eyes of the cadets. Vorobyov draws the path of the Kremlin cadet Lieutenant Alexei Yastrebov to victory over himself, over the fear of death, the path to gaining courage. Alexey wins because in a tragically cruel world, where war is now the master of everything, he retained dignity and humanity, good nature and love for his homeland. The death of the company, the suicide of Ryumin, the death under the tracks of German tanks, the cadets who survived the raid - all this completed the reassessment of values ​​in the mind of the protagonist.

In V. Kondratyev’s story “Sashka” the whole truth about the war, which smelled of sweat and blood, is revealed. The battles near Rzhev were terrible, grueling, with huge human losses. And war does not appear in pictures of heroic battles - it is simply difficult, hard, dirty work. A person in war is in extreme, inhumane conditions. Will he be able to remain human next to death, blood mixed with dirt, cruelty and pain for the desecrated land and dead friends?

Sashka is an ordinary infantryman, he has been fighting for two months and has seen a lot of terrible things. In two months, from one hundred and fifty people in the company, sixteen remained. V. Kondratyev shows several episodes from Sashka’s life. Here he gets felt boots for a company commander, risking his life, here he returns to the company under fire to say goodbye to the guys and give up his machine gun, here he leads orderlies to a wounded man, not relying on them finding him themselves, here he takes a German prisoner and refuses shoot him... Sashka shows desperate courage - he takes the German with his bare hands: he has no cartridges, he gave his disc to the company commander. But the war did not kill his kindness and humanity.

Ordinary girls, the heroines of B. Vasiliev’s book “The Dawns Here Are Quiet...”, also did not want war. Rita, Zhenya, Lisa, Galya, Sonya entered into an unequal struggle with the Nazis. The war turned ordinary schoolgirls into courageous warriors, because always “in important epochs of life... a spark of heroism flares up in the most ordinary person...”.

Rita Osyanina, strong-willed and gentle, she is the most courageous and fearless, because she is a mother! She protects the future of her son, and therefore is ready to die so that he can live. Zhenya Komelkova is cheerful, funny, beautiful, mischievous to the point of adventurism, desperate and tired of the war, of pain and love, long and painful, for a distant and married man. She, without hesitation, leads the Germans away from Vaskov and the wounded Rita. Saving them, she dies herself. “And she could have buried herself,” Vaskov says later, “but she didn’t want to.” She didn’t want to, because she realized that she was saving others, that her son needed Rita - she must live. Willingness to die to save another – isn’t this true courage? Sonya Gurvich- the embodiment of an excellent student and a poetic nature, a “beautiful stranger”, who came out of a volume of poems by A. Blok, rushes to save Vaskov’s pouch and dies at the hands of a fascist. Lisa Brichkina...

“Ah, Liza-Lizaveta, I didn’t have time, I couldn’t overcome the quagmire of war.” But without any extra thought, she ran back to her own people for help. Was it scary? Yes, sure. Alone among the swamps... but I had to - and I went without a moment’s doubt. Isn't this courage born of war?

The main character of B. Vasiliev’s work “Not on the Lists” is Lieutenant Nikolai Pluzhnikov, who recently graduated military school. This is an enthusiastic young man, full of hope and believes that “... every commander must first serve in the troops.” Talking about short life lieutenant, B. Vasiliev shows how a young man becomes a hero.

Having received an appointment to the Special Western District, Kolya was happy. As if on wings, he flew to the city of Brest-Litovsk, hurrying to quickly decide on a unit. His guide around the city was the girl Mirra, who helped him get to the fortress. Before reporting to the regimental duty officer, Kolya went into the warehouse to clean his uniform. And at that time the first explosion was heard... And so the war began for Pluzhnikov.

Having barely had time to jump out before the second explosion, which blocked the entrance to the warehouse, the lieutenant began his first battle. He strived to accomplish the feat, proudly thinking: “I went into a real attack and, it seems, I killed someone. Eat

what to tell..." And the next day he was afraid of the German machine gunners and, saving his life, abandoned the soldiers who had already trusted him.

From this moment on, the lieutenant's consciousness begins to change. He blames himself for cowardice and sets a goal for himself: at all costs to prevent his enemies from capturing Brest Fortress. Pluzhnikov realizes that true heroism and feat require from a person courage, responsibility, and the willingness to “lay down his soul for his friends.” And we see how the awareness of duty becomes driving force his actions: you can’t think about yourself, because the Motherland is in danger. Having gone through all the cruel trials of the war, Nikolai became an experienced fighter, ready to give everything in the name of victory and firmly believing that “it is impossible to defeat a person, even by killing him.”

Feeling a blood connection with the Fatherland, he remained faithful to his military duty, which called him to fight his enemies to the end. After all, the lieutenant could leave the fortress, and this would not be desertion on his part, because he was not on the lists. Pluzhnikov understood that defending the Motherland was his sacred duty.

Left alone in the destroyed fortress, the lieutenant met Sergeant Major Semishny, who from the very beginning of the siege of Brest wore the regiment’s banner on his chest. Dying of hunger and thirst, with a broken spine, the foreman kept this shrine, firmly believing in the liberation of our Motherland. Pluzhnikov accepted the banner from him, receiving the order to survive at all costs and return the scarlet banner to Brest.

Nikolai had to go through a lot during these harsh days of testing. But no troubles could break the man in him and extinguish his fiery love for the Fatherland, because “in important epochs of life, sometimes a spark of heroism flares up in the most ordinary person”...

The Germans drove him into a casemate from which there was no second way out. Pluzhnikov hid the banner and came into the light, telling the man sent for him: “The fortress did not fall: it simply bled to death. I am her last straw...” How deeply Nikolai Pluzhnikov is revealed in his human essence in final scene novel, when he, accompanied by Reuben Svitsky, leaves the casemate. It is written if we turn to the analogy musical creativity, according to the principle of the final chord.

Everyone in the fortress looked with surprise at Nicholas, this

"the unconquered son of the unconquered Motherland." Before them stood an “incredibly thin, ageless man.” The lieutenant was "without a hat, long

White hair touched his shoulders... He stood strictly straight, throwing his head high, and, without looking away, looked at the sun with blinded eyes. And from those unblinking, staring eyes, tears flowed uncontrollably.”

Marveling at Pluzhnikov’s heroism, the German soldiers and general gave him the highest military honors. “But he didn’t see these honors, and if he did, he wouldn’t care. He was above all conceivable honors, above glory, above life, above death.” Lieutenant Nikolai Pluzhnikov was not born a hero. The author talks in detail about his pre-war life. He is the son of Commissar Pluzhnikov, who died at the hands of the Basmachi. Even at school, Kolya considered himself a model of a general who participated in Spanish events. And in war conditions, the unfired lieutenant was forced to make independent decisions; when he received the order to retreat, he did not leave the fortress. This construction of the novel helps to understand spiritual world not only Pluzhnikov, but also all the courageous defenders of the fatherland.

Courage manifests itself in all areas of human activity, in all situations. But is courage needed in love? It seems to me that the answer to this question is obvious.

A person in love will never take the first step towards his soul mate without courage. When people are about to get married, it seems like there’s nothing wrong with it, because it’s just a wedding and nothing special. But in fact, this is a huge act that requires courage from a person.

After all, you will spend the rest of your life with this person. But I want to say more: love is the reason for courage.

In the work "The Captain's Daughter" Petrusha risks herself to save her beloved Masha from Pugachev's gang. All that moved him at that moment was love. When a person loves, he is capable of enormous feats.

Another example is Gogol’s work “Taras Bulba”. The main character Taras responded to the cry of his son, who was executed. Yes, Taras risked himself, but he couldn’t even help his son, at first glance. But actually it is not. Ostap needed his father's support. And Taras Bulba showed it to his son, showing his boundless love for his son.

Courage isn't just needed to do great things.

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Love for people is an important moral quality of a person. For Danko, the happiness of people was more important than his own well-being. To lead people out of the forest, the hero sacrifices his life: he tears out the heart from his chest and lights the way for them. The goal of Danko, who committed, is truly noble. He helped people get out of the forest and start new life. But people did not remember the hero, and it was to him that they owed salvation.

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True love- these are the feelings of Pierre Bezukhov in relation to Natasha Rostova. He loved the girl already when Andrei Bolkonsky was her fiancé. But Pierre could not afford too much, because Prince Andrei is his friend. Pierre was guided by his high moral principles; the hero could not afford to commit. He supported Natasha in difficult times for her and was always ready to help. True love manifested itself in noble deeds Pierre. After all, the most important thing is respect for the person you love and the people close to him.

A. Kuprin "Garnet Bracelet"

Zheltkov, an unremarkable person, turns out to be capable of true love. Vera Sheina is the woman who became the meaning of his life. Being an ordinary official, Zheltkov understood that she, the princess, was not a match for him. But this did not interfere with real feelings. Zheltkov did not intend to win Vera Nikolaevna, did not interfere with her life. Love was the highest happiness for him. Zheltkov decided to take his own life so as not to disturb the object of his love. This is not cowardice, but a deliberate act. The hero passed away, thanking fate for having felt true love. Zheltkov gave Vera Nikolaevna the most expensive thing, which he had - a garnet bracelet.

V. Kondratyev "Sashka"

Sashka is in love with Zina and hopes that it is mutual. But he finds out that the girl already loves someone else. The hero regrets this, but does not condemn Zina. Sashka understands that this is an absolutely normal, justified act, especially in wartime. He respects the girl and accepts this situation as a matter of course, without interfering with her happiness.

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Ruth Morse is a source of inspiration, the best motivation for development and self-improvement for Martin Eden. Promising himself to achieve the love of a girl at any cost, Martin Eden began to read and study. Every day he became better. Soon Martin Eden overcame the gulf that separated him, an ordinary poor sailor, and Ruth, who belonged to high society. Love made the young man develop. He became one of the most educated people in society. But the love story of Ruth and Martin Eden ended tragically. Probably there was no real love after all.

Introduction
“Garnet bracelet” is one of the most famous stories of the Russian prose writer Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin. It was published in 1910, but for the domestic reader it still remains a symbol of unselfish, sincere love, the kind that girls dream about, and the one that we so often miss. We previously published this wonderful work. In this same publication we will tell you about the main characters, analyze the work and talk about its problems.

The events of the story begin to unfold on the birthday of Princess Vera Nikolaevna Sheina. They celebrate at the dacha with their closest people. At the height of the fun, the hero of the occasion receives a gift - a garnet bracelet. The sender decided to remain unrecognized and signed the short note only with the initials of the HSG. However, everyone immediately guesses that this is Vera’s long-time admirer, a certain petty official who has been inundating her with love letters for many years. The princess's husband and brother quickly figure out the identity of the annoying suitor and the next day they go to his home.

In a wretched apartment they are met by a timid official named Zheltkov, he meekly agrees to take the gift and promises never to appear in front of the respectable family again, provided that he makes a final farewell call to Vera and makes sure that she does not want to know him. Vera Nikolaevna, of course, asks Zheltkov to leave her. The next morning the newspapers will write that a certain official took his own life. In his farewell note, he wrote that he had squandered government property.

Main characters: characteristics of key images

Kuprin is a master of portraiture, and through appearance he draws the character of the characters. The author pays a lot of attention to each character, devoting a good half of the story to portrait characteristics and memories, which are also revealed by the characters. The main characters of the story are:

• – princess, central female image;
• - her husband, the prince, the provincial leader of the nobility;
• - a minor official of the control chamber, passionately in love with Vera Nikolaevna;
• Anna Nikolaevna Friesse– Vera’s younger sister;
• Nikolai Nikolaevich Mirza-Bulat-Tuganovsky– brother of Vera and Anna;
• Yakov Mikhailovich Anosov- general, military comrade of Vera’s father, close friend of the family.

Vera is the ideal representative high society both in appearance, and in manners, and in character.

“Vera took after her mother, a beautiful Englishwoman, with her tall, flexible figure, gentle, but cold and proud face, beautiful, although rather big hands and that charming sloping shoulders that can be seen in ancient miniatures.”

Princess Vera was married to Vasily Nikolaevich Shein. Their love had long ceased to be passionate and moved into that calm stage of mutual respect and tender friendship. Their union was happy. The couple did not have children, although Vera Nikolaevna passionately wanted a baby, and therefore gave all her unspent feelings to the children of her younger sister.

Vera was royally calm, coldly kind to everyone, but at the same time very funny, open and sincere with close people. She was not characterized by such feminine tricks as affectation and coquetry. Despite her high status, Vera was very prudent, and knowing how poorly things were going for her husband, she sometimes tried to deprive herself so as not to put him in an uncomfortable position.

Vera Nikolaevna’s husband is a talented, pleasant, gallant, noble person. He has an amazing sense of humor and is a brilliant storyteller. Shein keeps a home journal, which contains true stories with pictures about the life of the family and those close to them.

Vasily Lvovich loves his wife, perhaps not as passionately as in the first years of marriage, but who knows how long passion actually lasts? The husband deeply respects her opinion, feelings, and personality. He is compassionate and merciful to others, even those who are much lower in status than him (this is evidenced by his meeting with Zheltkov). Shein is noble and endowed with the courage to admit mistakes and his own wrongness.

We first meet Official Zheltkov towards the end of the story. Until this moment, he is present in the work invisibly in the grotesque image of a klutz, an eccentric, a fool in love. When long-awaited meeting finally it happens, we see before us a meek and shy person, such people are usually not noticed and called “little”:

“He was tall, thin, with long, fluffy, soft hair.”

His speeches, however, are devoid of the chaotic whims of a madman. He is fully aware of his words and actions. Despite his apparent cowardice, this man is very courageous; he boldly tells the prince, Vera Nikolaevna’s legal husband, that he is in love with her and cannot do anything about it. Zheltkov does not fawn over the rank and position in society of his guests. He submits, but not to fate, but only to his beloved. And he also knows how to love – selflessly and sincerely.

“It so happened that I am not interested in anything in life: neither politics, nor science, nor philosophy, nor concern for the future happiness of people - for me life lies only in you. I now feel that I have crashed into your life like some kind of uncomfortable wedge. If you can, forgive me for this"

Analysis of the work

Kuprin got the idea for his story from real life. In reality, the story was more of an anecdotal nature. A certain poor telegraph operator named Zheltikov was in love with the wife of one of the Russian generals. One day this eccentric was so brave that he sent his beloved a simple gold chain with a pendant in the form easter egg. It's hilarious and that's it! Everyone laughed at the stupid telegraph operator, but the inquisitive writer’s mind decided to look beyond the anecdote, because real drama can always be hidden behind the apparent curiosity.

Also in “The Pomegranate Bracelet,” the Sheins and their guests first make fun of Zheltkov. Vasily Lvovich even has a funny story about this in his home magazine called “Princess Vera and the telegraph operator in love.” People tend not to think about other people's feelings. The Sheins were not bad, callous, soulless (this is proven by the metamorphosis in them after meeting Zheltkov), they just did not believe that the love that the official admitted could exist..

There are many symbolic elements in the work. For example, a garnet bracelet. Garnet is a stone of love, anger and blood. If a feverish person picks it up (a parallel with the expression “love fever”), the stone will take on a more saturated hue. According to Zheltkov himself, this special kind pomegranate (green pomegranate) gives women the gift of foresight, and protects men from violent death. Zheltkov, having parted with his amulet bracelet, dies, and Vera unexpectedly predicts his death.

Another symbolic stone - pearls - also appears in the work. Vera receives pearl earrings as a gift from her husband on the morning of her name day. Pearls, despite their beauty and nobility, are an omen of bad news.
The weather also tried to predict something bad. On the eve of the fateful day, a terrible storm broke out, but on the birthday everything calmed down, the sun came out and the weather was calm, like a calm before a deafening clap of thunder and an even stronger storm.

Problems of the story

The key problem of the work is the question “What is real love? In order for the “experiment” to be pure, the author provides different types“love.” This is the tender love-friendship of the Sheins, and the calculating, convenient love of Anna Friesse for her indecently rich old man-husband, who blindly adores her soul mate, and the long-forgotten ancient love of General Amosov, and the all-consuming love-worship of Zheltkov for Vera.

The main character herself cannot understand for a long time whether it is love or madness, but looking into his face, albeit hidden by the mask of death, she is convinced that it was love. Vasily Lvovich draws the same conclusions after meeting his wife’s admirer. And if at first he was somewhat belligerent, then later he could not be angry with the unfortunate man, because, it seems, a secret was revealed to him that neither he, nor Vera, nor their friends could comprehend.

People are selfish by nature and even in love, they first of all think about their feelings, masking their own egocentrism from their other half and even themselves. True love, which occurs between a man and a woman once every hundred years, puts the beloved first. So Zheltkov calmly lets Vera go, because that’s the only way she will be happy. The only problem is that he doesn’t need life without her. In his world, suicide is a completely natural step.

⁠final essay on the topic: "Courage and Cowardice »

⁠

Courage is a quality that is not inherent in every person. It can motivate people to do different things, but at any moment it can turn into misfortune, grief and even death. Many writers and poets talk about courage in love, but everyone understands this quality and its manifestation in such a complex feeling differently.

Let us confirm what has been said with examples from fiction. So,

can be called a brave woman. Having been given in marriage to an elderly rich merchant at a young age, the heroine never knew what love was and was not happy. But life brings her together with a young worker, Sergei. Passion flares up between the characters, and while the husband is on the road, they see each other. The current situation can be looked at from different angles: on the one hand, adultery is a great sin, but, on the other hand, love is most often above any reason. And one can understand Katerina, who decided to take a bold action and wanted to fight for her happiness. But the heroine’s courage acquired dangerous traits. She decided not to be content with just a secret relationship, but went further: she killed her legal husband, so that Sergei would later take his place. Having committed a crime, Katerina did not stop there. In order to become a full-fledged mistress and the sole owner of a large fortune, the heroine, together with Sergei, goes to kill her father-in-law and her husband’s nephew. Thus, we see that for the sake of love, Katerina is ready to do a lot: to step over the laws of morality and humanity. And if we are able to understand and approve of her courage in the desire to love and be loved, then her further actions are impossible to accept.

I'm ready to do a lot for love and

A young girl, living with her grandmother in the wilderness because they are considered witches, falls in love with a master. This love is mutual. Ivan Petrovich Poroshin is ready to despise Olesya public opinion, although it is very difficult for him to imagine her outside the forest setting, outside her wild, free life. Olesya herself is constantly tormented by vague premonitions of tragedy. She wants to believe in a happy ending to her relationship with Poroshin, but she can’t. Despite this, the girl is ready to overcome her fear for the sake of love in order to prove to her man that she is capable of living among people and communicating with them. To do this, Olesya goes to a church full of people. But people do not accept the girl; they see her coming as a bad sign and brutally beat Olesya. The ending of the work is sad, since the lovers were not destined to be together. Angry villagers accuse the girl of destroying crops by a thunderstorm, so Olesya and her grandmother are forced to flee. Despite this, we admire the girl’s courage, her desire to follow love to the end. And although love was a tragedy for Olesya, we want to believe that she taught the heroine a lot, discovered in her qualities that may have been dormant until now, including courage. Olesya’s action proved the depth of her feelings.

Thus, courage in love can manifest itself in different ways among people. She forces someone to fight for their feelings, to prove that you are worthy of love. But sometimes this quality in achieving seemingly “legitimate” happiness forces us to abandon moral standards for the sake of a loved one. In any case, there is a limit to everything, and it is very important not to cross the line of what is acceptable in relation to the people around you, even for the sake of such an incredible feeling as love.