In 1866, the prologue of the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” was published. The great Russian poet Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov was one of the first to understand that the long-awaited abolition of serfdom did not improve the life of the peasants at all. The fact is that the peasants had to pay off the landowner, but they did not have the money for this. Therefore, Nikolai Alekseevich decides in his work not only to highlight the difficult, humiliated situation common people, but also show ways to solve the problem as he sees them.
One of the heroes of the poem is Savely, the Holy Russian hero.
He looks like an old man with a large untrimmed beard, looking like a bear. He was about a hundred years old. His fellow countrymen called him “branded, convict.” And he responded: “Branded, but not a slave!” The fact is that in their youth, as Savely recalls, they had a free life:
We did not rule the corvee,
We didn't pay rent
And so, when it comes to reason,
We'll send you once every three years.
But everything changed a few years later, when a German manager sent by the landowner Shalashnikov changed the order by cunning. As a result, the peasants fell into bondage, enduring backbreaking labor, corvée, quitrent, and even physical punishment. Savely says about this:
The German has a death grip:
Until he lets you go around the world,
Without leaving he sucks!
But it’s not for nothing that the Russian peasant in the person of grandfather Savely is called a hero:
That's why we endured
Yes, our axes
They lay there for the time being!
As a result, when an opportunity arose, the men, led by Savely, buried the German Vogel alive in a construction pit. For this, my grandfather was exiled to Siberia for hard labor. But he did not resign himself. Once he even ran away, but was caught and mercilessly beaten. Although Savely is already used to spanking. The main thing for him was not to break down morally, but to remain true to his convictions. Saveliy’s convictions consisted in the desire for a free life. It is no coincidence that his favorite word is “addai,” which was also loved by the seven wandering men, as well as the saying: “Unbearable is an abyss, endured is an abyss.”
With the image of Savelya, Nekrasov wants to show that the powerful force hidden in the Russian people is sleeping for the time being. One has only to wake her up, direct her to true path, and then the people will win their own happiness.
Effective preparation for the Unified State Exam (all subjects) -
The chapter “Peasant Woman” was created by Nekrasov on the eve of the second democratic upsurge, when true knowledge of the people’s environment, the essence folk character became especially necessary. What conclusions did the long-term study lead to? folk life Nekrasova?
Never before in any of the chapters of the epic “To Whom in Rus'...” has the author so inspiredly affirmed the idea that inexhaustible sources of moral beauty, perseverance, heroic power and love of freedom lurk in the people’s environment. The latter is revealed with particular force in the central episode of the chapter “Peasant Woman,” the story about Savely, the Holy Russian hero. It is completely natural that it is in the chapter characterizing the life of the peasantry, narrated by a peasant woman and closely connected with folk art, a semi-fictional (and so concretely real!) image of the “homespun hero” appears, Savelya - one of the best and most dramatic creations of Nekrasov’s genius.
From Matryona’s very first words about Savely, a feeling of his heroic power is born. The huge, “With a huge gray mane, / With a huge beard,” the hundred-year-old man not only “looked like a bear,” but his strength seemed “more terrible than an elk.” The epic, broadly generalizing meaning of the image of Savely is emphasized in the title of the chapter - “Savely, the hero of the Holy Russian.” What are the origins of the birth of this image and what place does it occupy in the development ideological plan poems?
The impulses that stimulated the work of Nekrasov’s creative imagination are very diverse. It is possible that the idea of introducing the image of a peasant hero into the chapter “Peasant Woman” was prompted by Fedosov’s laments. Thus, in the lament “About the Killed by Thunder and Lightning,” the image of Elijah the Prophet is depicted, who asks God for permission to shoot a fiery arrow into the white chest of a mighty peasant. Words of the poem:
What about the breasts? Elijah the prophet
It rattles and rolls around
On a chariot of fire...
The hero endures everything! —
an undoubted echo of Fedosov's cry.
But Nekrasov came not so much from the book as from life. As it was found out in one of the most interesting studies, the concept of the chapter about Savely is acutely journalistic. The events described in the chapter “Savely, the hero of the Holy Russian” unfold in the northwestern part of the Kostroma region, as evidenced by the names: Korezhina, Bui, Sand Monastery, Kostroma. It turns out that the choice of the location, so to speak, “Kostroma topography,” is not accidental in the poem. Arriving in the city (“Governor’s Lady”), Matryona stops in surprise in front of the monument to Susanin:
It is forged from copper,
Exactly like Savely’s grandfather,
A man on the square.
- Whose monument? - “Susanina.”
The fact that Savely is compared with Susanin has been noted many times in the literature, but scientific research has shown that the internal connection between the image of Savely and Susanin is much deeper and more complex than it seemed. It is in it that the secret of the birth of the image is hidden.
The Kostroma “signs” of the chapter have a special meaning. The fact is that Ivan Susanin was born in the same place, in the village of Derevenki, Buysky district. He died, according to legend, about forty kilometers from Bui, in the swamps near the village of Yusupov.
As is known, Susanin’s patriotic feat was interpreted in a monarchical spirit; love for the Tsar and willingness to give his life for him were declared to be traits expressing the very essence of the Russian peasantry. In 1851, a monument to Susanin was erected in Kostroma (sculptor V.I. Demut-Malinovsky). At the foot of a six-meter column, topped with a bust of Mikhail Romanov, is the kneeling figure of Ivan Susanin. When visiting Kostroma, Nekrasov saw this monument more than once.
With the plot of the chapter “Savely, the hero of the Holy Russians,” the action of which is concentrated in a remote bearish corner, deep in the Kostroma forests and swamps, the poet declares that even in the most remote side a man wakes up. This is also evidenced by the image of Savely - an epically generalized image of the Russian peasantry rising to fight.
In his poem, Nekrasov gives an unusually deep analysis of the characteristics of the peasant movement of his era, peasant Rus' in its strengths and weaknesses. The author of the epic draws attention to the heroic power of the “homespun hero” (Russian peasant), the seemingly difficult patience with it and the spontaneous nature of his rebellion. The Russian man is patient. Korezhin silently tolerates Shalashnikov’s teasing. ABOUT inner strength, pride (“These were proud people!”) is evidenced by this ability to restrain growing anger, to rise above beatings and torture:
Whatever you do, son of a dog,
But you can’t knock out your whole soul...
In this patience there is not obedience and slavish blood, but common sense and fortitude.
A kind of competition in strength and stamina takes place between the Korezhinites and Shalashnikov, and Shalashnikov’s brute strength is not able to defeat the inner tenacity of the men, the strength of their spirit: “You are a fool, Shalashnikov!” - the Korezhin residents mockingly declare, making fun of the master. However
Peasant patience
Enduringly, and with time
There is an end for him too
peasant "axes lie for the time being." Ordinary natures submit to evil, but the people's environment constantly puts forward people who stand up to fight it. These people begin to understand that excessive patience often develops into a habit and gives rise to the psychology of a slave. “To endure the abyss...” Savely formulates this thought, having taken the path of protest.
The Russian peasant is patient, but once he has made his decision, he is no longer afraid of obstacles. Pushed to the limit by the bullying of the “German manager,” the patient Korezhin residents, silently agreeing to settle accounts with the hated Vogel, show amazing determination and unanimity in actions. The initiative belongs to Savely. It was he who was the first to lightly push Khristyan Khristianych towards the pit with his shoulder. And this slight push, a spark, is enough for the flames of the people’s anger to flare up and begin to work in unison to the remark “Pump it up!” nine shovels...
Affirming the moral right of the people to fight, to deal with their oppressors, admiring the strength and determination of the Korezhinites, Nekrasov, however, also shows the doom of such outbursts of peasant anger. Savely and his comrades
To the land of the German Vogel
Khristyan Khristianych
Buried him alive.
Tavern... a prison in Bui-gorod,
...Twenty years of strict hard labor,
The settlement has been around for twenty years.”
By killing Vogel, the Korezhinites aroused against themselves the action of the force behind Vogel, terrible power autocratic-landlord state, which even heroes cannot cope with if they are alone. Old man Savely reflects:
Where have you gone, strength?
What were you useful for?
- Under rods, under sticks
Left for little things!
That’s why the Holy Russian hero likes to repeat: “To not endure is an abyss...” Yes, spontaneous and scattered peasant revolts will not lead to Izbytkovo village. Nekrasov knows this and yet speaks with enormous poetic inspiration about the power and love of freedom, about the enormous potential power of the Russian peasant’s anger.
Savely’s story contains the words:
Then... I escaped from hard labor...
The image of a peasant - a rebel, a people's avenger for centuries-old grievances - was originally conceived even more sharply. The manuscripts contain an episode that tells how Saveliy, having escaped from hard labor for the third time, “had a fair walk in freedom.” Wandering in the taiga in winter, he comes across a hut in which some hated officials were staying, and, carrying out his revenge, Savely burns his enemies.
It is generally accepted that the reason to refuse to introduce this episode into Nekrasov’s poem was due to concerns about censorship. But I would like to note something else. There is something eerie in the painted picture, casting an ominous glare, an ominous shadow on the appearance of Savely, contrary to Nekrasov’s concept of folk character. The Russian peasant is more complacent than cruel; thoughtful and deliberate cruelty is not characteristic of him. Yes, driven to the limit, in a fit of righteous anger, the Korezhinites bury Vogel in the ground. But psychological drawing here is different. The shovels of the Korezhin residents work under the influence of a spontaneous impulse, they carry out the will of the collective, although each of the participants in the massacre is internally embarrassed by the cruelty of this just (after all, they endured it for “eighteen” years!) will:
We didn't look at each other
In the eyes...
They came to their senses and “looked at each other” only when the deed was done. It seems that it was not a look at censorship, but an artistic flair that forced the poet to refuse to introduce into the final text of the poem the fragment “And the doors are covered with stones...”, which contradicts the humane foundations of the hero’s nature.
There is no force capable of breaking Savely. “Twenty years of strict hard labor, / Twenty years of settlement” only strengthened his natural love of freedom, expressed in the words: “Branded, but not a slave!” Having become a hundred-year-old man, all his thoughts are chained to the past, he reflects on the fate of the peasantry, “about the bitter lot of the plowman,” about the ways of struggle, and even in the monastery where he went, blaming himself for the death of Demushka, he prays “for all that has suffered.” Russian peasantry" True, at the end of his life Savely sometimes comes to bitter and bleak conclusions.
Be patient, long-suffering one!
We can't find the truth,
He says to Matryona, and mentally addresses the peasants with the words:
No matter how you fight, you fools,
What is written in the family
This cannot be avoided!
But fatalism and religiosity, so characteristic of the ideology of the patriarchal Russian peasantry, live in Savelia next to the unabated long life anger and contempt for those who are not capable of fighting:
Oh you Aniki warriors!
With old people, with women
All you have to do is fight!
The image of Savely is correlated in the poem not only with Ivan Susanin, but also with the images of the Russian epic epic. He is a Holy Russian hero. This poetic parallel affirms the heroism of the people and faith in their inescapable powers. It has long been established that in Saveliy’s characterization of the peasant (Do you think, Matryonushka, the peasant is not a hero?...) one can hear the echo of the epic about Svyatogor and earthly cravings. Svyatogor the hero feels immense strength within himself.
If only I could find the traction
That would lift the whole earth! —
he says. But, having tried to lift the saddle bag with earthly traction,
And Svyatogor sunk into the ground up to his knees,
And not tears, but blood flows down the white face...
In the poem:
For now there is a terrible craving
He raised it,
Yes, he went into the ground up to his chest
With effort! By his face
Not tears - blood flows.
The image of Svyatogor helps to express the idea of the strength and weakness of the Russian peasantry, of its powerful but still dormant forces and the unawakened, unformed state of its social consciousness. To the observation The comparison of the Russian peasant with Svyatogor is present in the poem as Savely’s reasoning. Savely, whose consciousness is characterized not by drowsiness, but by intense, many years of painful work of thought, the result of which was contempt for the Anika warriors who were not capable of fighting, the consciousness that a convict brand was better than spiritual slavery. Therefore, the figurative parallel of Svyatogor - the Russian peasant cannot in any way be extended to Savely himself, also a Svyatorussky hero, but of a different, not dormant, but active force.
(372 words) The heroes of N. Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” met on their way the “hero of the Holy Russian” Savely, whose image is of great importance in the work. He embodies the basic qualities of the Russian people, which distinguish them from all others. On the one hand, these properties are the key to happiness, and on the other hand, they are the curse of the common man.
At the time of the poem, Savely is already a hundred-year-old man. He lived a stormy life, which led him, proud and courageous, to humility and repentance. Being an ordinary peasant, he was completely subservient to the German clerk. The master sent him to manage his lands. Over the course of 17 years of activity, Vogel completely ruined his charges. The exhausting work and black ingratitude of the boss prompted Savely and other men to deal with the oppressor. In this situation, the phenomenal patience of the Russian people is demonstrated - they have endured terrible treatment for almost two decades! But here another one appears, dark side the souls of Russian people - the meaninglessness and mercilessness of rebellion, which A. Pushkin spoke about. They buried the living clerk in a hole that he ordered to be dug. Then the hero and his friends were sent to hard labor, which, despite all its torment, did not break the spirit of these people. Savely doesn’t give a damn corporal punishment: “The fighting there is bad,” he complains. It is also known that he escaped several times, and the punishment did not bother him either. This speaks of the courage, endurance and fortitude of a simple Russian peasant. His craving for freedom and inner independence amaze and make us admire him as folk hero. But after hard labor, life in the settlement and all the dramatic events, he comes to the most difficult test - pangs of conscience. They were awakened by the death of his great-grandson. Saveliy did not finish watching, and Dema was eaten by pigs. Then the strongman and the threat of the settlement begins to melt before our eyes and constantly disappears at the boy’s grave. He realizes his guilt not only before Matryona, but also before the entire Christian world for the blood that stained his strong hands. The unshakable moral foundation of his character makes itself felt when we see the scale of his repentance: he leaves the world for a monastery in order to completely surrender to grief and regret.
Saveliy's potential is enormous: he learned to read and write in prison, and had remarkable strength. But such heroes need to be given the right direction, because they themselves cannot complete their rebellion to the end, they cannot carry it out honestly and without unnecessary cruelty. Because people's defender is Grisha Dobrosklonov, who must persuade the people to do good, as follows from his last name.
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Who can live well in Rus'?
Savely - “the hero of the Holy Russian”, “With a huge gray mane, Tea has not been cut for twenty years, With a huge beard, Grandfather looked like a bear.” He was definitely similar in strength to a bear; in his youth he hunted it with his bare hands.
S. spent almost his entire life in Siberia in hard labor for burying a cruel German manager alive in the ground. Native village S. was in the wilderness. Therefore, the peasants lived in it relatively freely: “The zemstvo police did not come to us for a year.” But they resignedly endured the atrocities of their landowner. It is in patience, according to the author, that the heroism of the Russian people lies, but even this patience has a limit. S. was sentenced to 20 years, and after an escape attempt, another 20 were added. But all this did not break the Russian hero. He believed that “Branded, but not a slave!” Returning home and living with his son’s family, S. behaved independently and independently: “He didn’t like families, he didn’t let them into his corner.” But S. treated his grandson’s wife, Matryona, and her son Demushka well. An accident made him responsible for the death of his beloved great-grandson (due to S. Demushka’s oversight, pigs killed him). In inconsolable grief, S. goes to repentance in a monastery, where he remains to pray for the entire destitute Russian people. At the end of his life, he pronounces a terrible sentence on the Russian peasantry: “For men there are three roads: Tavern, prison and penal servitude, And for women in Rus' there are three nooses... Climb into any one.”
The reader recognizes one of the main characters of Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” - Savely - when he is already an old man who has lived a long and difficult life. The poet paints a colorful portrait of this amazing old man:
With a huge gray mane,
Tea, twenty years uncut,
With a huge beard
Grandfather looked like a bear
Especially, like from the forest,
He bent over and went out.
Savely's life turned out to be very difficult; fate did not spoil him. In his old age, Savely lived with the family of his son, Matryona Timofeevna’s father-in-law. It is noteworthy that grandfather Savely does not like his family. Obviously, all household members have far from the most best qualities, and an honest and sincere old man feels this very well. In his family of origin Savely is called “branded, convict.” And he himself, not at all offended by this, says: “Branded, but not a slave.
It’s interesting to observe how Savely is not averse to making fun of his family members:
And they will annoy him greatly -
He jokes: “Look at this
Matchmakers are coming to us!” Unmarried
Cinderella - to the window:
But instead of matchmakers - beggars!
From a tin button
Grandfather sculpted a two-kopeck coin,
Tossed on the floor -
Father-in-law got caught!
Not drunk from the pub -
The beaten man trudged in!
What does this relationship between the old man and his family indicate? First of all, it is striking that Savely differs both from his son and from all his relatives. His son does not possess any exceptional qualities, does not disdain drunkenness, and is almost completely devoid of kindness and nobility. And Savely, on the contrary, is kind, smart, and outstanding. He shuns his household; apparently, he is disgusted by the pettiness, envy, and malice characteristic of his relatives. Old man Savely is the only one in his husband’s family who was kind to Matryona. The old man does not hide all the hardships that befell him:
“Oh, the share of Holy Russian
Homemade hero!
He's been bullied all his life.
Time will change its mind
About death - hellish torment
In the other world they are waiting.”
Old man Savely is very freedom-loving. It combines qualities such as physical and mental strength. Savely is a real Russian hero who does not recognize any pressure over himself. In his youth, Savely had remarkable strength; no one could compete with him. In addition, life was different before, the peasants were not burdened with the difficult responsibility of paying dues and working off corvée. As Savely himself says:
We did not rule the corvee,
We didn't pay rent
And so, when it comes to reason,
We'll send you once every three years.
It was in such circumstances that the character of young Savely was strengthened. No one put pressure on her, no one made her feel like a slave. Moreover, nature itself was on the side of the peasants:
There are dense forests all around,
There are swampy swamps all around,
No horse can come to us,
Can't go on foot!
Nature itself protected the peasants from the invasion of the master, the police and other troublemakers. Therefore, the peasants could live and work peacefully, without feeling someone else’s power over them.
When reading these lines, fairy-tale motifs come to mind, because in fairy tales and legends people were absolutely free, they were in charge of their own lives.
The old man talks about how the peasants dealt with bears:
We were only worried
Bears... yes with bears
We managed it easily.
With a knife and a spear
I myself am scarier than the elk,
Along protected paths
I go: “My forest!” - I shout.
Savely, like a real fairy-tale hero, lays claim to the forest surrounding him. It is the forest - with its untrodden paths and mighty trees - that is the real element of the hero Savely. In the forest, the hero is not afraid of anything; he is the real master of the silent kingdom around him. That is why in old age he leaves his family and goes into the forest.
The unity of the hero Savely and the nature surrounding him seems undeniable. Nature helps Savely become stronger. Even in old age, when years and adversity have bent the old man’s back, remarkable strength is still felt in him.
Savely tells how in his youth his fellow villagers managed to deceive the master and hide their existing wealth from him. And even though they had to endure a lot for this, no one could blame people for cowardice and lack of will. The peasants were able to convince the landowners of their absolute poverty, so they managed to avoid complete ruin and enslavement.
Savely is a very proud person. This is felt in everything: in his attitude to life, in his steadfastness and courage with which he defends his own. When he talks about his youth, he remembers how only people weak in spirit surrendered to the master. Of course, he himself was not one of those people:
Shalashnikov tore excellently,
And he received not so much great income:
Weak people gave up
And the strong for the patrimony
They stood well.
I also endured
He remained silent and thought:
“Whatever you do, son of a dog,
But you can’t knock out your whole soul,
Leave something behind!”
Old man Savely bitterly says that now there is practically no self-respect left in people. Now cowardice, animal fear for oneself and one’s well-being and lack of desire to fight prevail:
These were proud people!
And now give me a slap -
Police officer, landowner
They're taking their last penny!
Savely's young years were spent in an atmosphere of freedom. But peasant freedom did not last long. The master died, and his heir sent a German, who at first behaved quietly and unnoticed. The German gradually became friends with the entire local population and gradually observed peasant life.
Gradually he gained the trust of the peasants and ordered them to drain the swamp, then cut down the forest. In a word, the peasants came to their senses only when a magnificent road appeared along which their godforsaken place could be easily reached.
And then came hard labor
To the Korezh peasant -
Threads ruined
Free life is over, now the peasants have fully felt all the hardships of a forced existence. Old man Savely speaks about people's long-suffering, explaining it by the courage and spiritual strength of people. Only the truly strong and courageous people can be so patient as to endure such bullying, and so generous as not to forgive such treatment of themselves.
That's why we endured
That we are heroes.
This is Russian heroism.
Do you think, Matryonushka,
A man is not a hero"?
And his life is not a military one,
And death is not written for him
In battle - what a hero!
Nekrasov finds amazing comparisons when talking about people's patience and courage. He uses folk epic, speaking about heroes:
Hands are twisted in chains,
Feet forged with iron,
Back...dense forests
We walked along it - we broke down.
What about the breasts? Elijah the prophet
It rattles and rolls around
On a chariot of fire...
The hero endures everything!
Old man Savely tells how the peasants endured the arbitrariness of the German manager for eighteen years. Their whole life was now at the mercy of this cruel man. People had to work tirelessly. And the manager was always dissatisfied with the results of the work and demanded more. Constant bullying from the Germans causes strong indignation in the souls of the peasants. And one day another round of bullying forced people to commit a crime. They kill the German manager. When reading these lines, the thought of supreme justice comes to mind. The peasants had already felt completely powerless and weak-willed. Everything they held dear was taken from them. But you can’t mock a person with complete impunity. Sooner or later you will have to pay for your actions.
But, of course, the murder of the manager did not go unpunished:
Bui-city, There I learned to read and write,
So far they have decided on us.
The solution has been reached: hard labor
And whip first...
The life of Savely, the Holy Russian hero, after hard labor was very difficult. He spent twenty years in captivity, only to be released closer to old age. Savely's whole life is very tragic, and in his old age he turns out to be the unwitting culprit in the death of his little grandson. This incident once again proves that, despite all his strength, Savely cannot withstand hostile circumstances. He is just a toy in the hands of fate.
SAVELIY, THE BOGATYR OF SVYATORUSSIAN With a huge gray mane, Tea, twenty years uncut, With a huge beard, Grandfather looked like a bear, Especially as if he were coming out of the forest, Bent over, he came out... Yes, grandfather couldn’t straighten up: he was already turning, According to fairy tales, a hundred years old. Grandfather lived in a special room and did not like the Family. He didn’t let me into his corner;
Savely's life turned out to be very difficult; fate did not spoil him. In his old age, Savely lived with the family of his son, Matryona Timofeevna’s father-in-law. It is noteworthy that grandfather Savely does not like his family. Obviously, all members of the household do not have the best qualities, but the honest and sincere old man feels this very well. In his own family, Savely is called a branded convict. And he himself, not at all offended by this, says: Branded, but not a slave.
It is interesting to observe how Savely is not averse to playing a joke on his family members: And they will annoy him greatly. They will joke: Look, we have matchmakers! Unmarried Cinderella to the window: instead of matchmakers, beggars! From a tin button, Grandfather fashioned a two-kopeck coin, threw it on the floor, and caught my father-in-law! Not drunk, the beaten one trudged in from the drinking establishment!
What does this relationship between the old man and his family indicate? First of all, it is striking that Savely differs both from his son and from all his relatives. His son does not possess any exceptional qualities, does not disdain drunkenness, and is almost completely devoid of kindness and nobility. And Savely, on the contrary, is kind, smart, and outstanding. He avoids his household, apparently, he is disgusted by the pettiness, envy, and malice characteristic of his relatives. Old man Savely is the only one in his husband’s family who was kind to Matryona. The old man does not hide all the hardships that befell him:
Old man Savely is very freedom-loving. It combines qualities such as physical and mental strength. Savely is a real Russian hero who does not recognize any pressure on himself. In his youth, Savely had remarkable strength; no one could compete with him. In addition, life was different before, the peasants were not burdened with the difficult responsibility of paying dues and working off corvée. As Savely himself says:
Nature itself protected the peasants from the invasion of the master, the police and other troublemakers. Therefore, the peasants could live and work peacefully, without feeling someone else’s power over them. When reading these lines, fairy-tale motifs come to mind, because in fairy tales and legends people were absolutely free, they were in charge of their own lives. The old man talks about how the peasants dealt with bears:
Savely, like a real fairy-tale hero, lays claim to the forest surrounding him. It is the forest with its untrodden paths and mighty trees that is the real element of the hero Savely. In the forest, the hero is not afraid of anything; he is the real master of the silent kingdom around him. That is why in old age he leaves his family and goes into the forest.
The unity of the hero Savely and the nature surrounding him seems undeniable. Nature helps Savely become stronger. Even in old age, when years and adversity have bent the old man’s back, remarkable strength is still felt in him. Savely tells how in his youth his fellow villagers managed to deceive the master and hide their existing wealth from him. And even though they had to endure a lot for this, no one could blame people for cowardice and lack of will. The peasants were able to convince the landowners of their absolute poverty, so they managed to avoid complete ruin and enslavement.
Savely is a very proud person. This is felt in everything: in his attitude to life, in his steadfastness and courage with which he defends his own. When he talks about his youth, he remembers how only people weak in spirit surrendered to the master. Of course, he himself was not one of those people:
Savely's young years were spent in an atmosphere of freedom. But peasant freedom did not last long. The master died, and his heir sent a German, who at first behaved quietly and unnoticed. The German gradually became friends with the entire local population and gradually observed peasant life. Gradually he gained the trust of the peasants and ordered them to drain the swamp, then cut down the forest. In a word, the peasants came to their senses only when a magnificent road appeared along which their godforsaken place could be easily reached.
Free life is over, now the peasants have fully felt all the hardships of a forced existence. Old man Savely speaks about people's long-suffering, explaining it by the courage and spiritual strength of people. Only truly strong and courageous people can be so patient as to endure such bullying, and so generous as not to forgive such an attitude towards themselves.
That’s why we endured, Because we are heroes. This is Russian heroism. Do you think, Matryonushka, “The man is not a hero”? And his life is not a military one, And death is not written for him In battle, but a hero!
Nekrasov finds amazing comparisons when talking about people's patience and courage. He uses folk epic when talking about heroes: The arms are twisted with chains, The legs are forged with iron, The back... the dense forests We walked through it and broke. What about the breasts? Elijah the prophet thunders and rides along it in a fiery chariot... The hero endures everything!
Old man Savely tells how the peasants endured the arbitrariness of the German manager for eighteen years. Their whole life was now at the mercy of this cruel man. People had to work tirelessly. And the manager was always dissatisfied with the results of the work and demanded more. Constant bullying from the Germans causes strong indignation in the souls of the peasants. And one day another round of bullying forced people to commit a crime. They kill the German manager. When reading these lines, the thought of supreme justice comes to mind. The peasants had already felt completely powerless and weak-willed. Everything they held dear was taken from them. But you can’t mock a person with complete impunity. Sooner or later you will have to pay for your actions.
The life of Savely, the Holy Russian hero, after hard labor was very difficult. He spent twenty years in captivity, only to be released closer to old age. Savely's whole life is very tragic, and in his old age he turns out to be the unwitting culprit in the death of his little grandson. This incident once again proves that, despite all his strength, Savely cannot withstand hostile circumstances. He is just a toy in the hands of fate.
