Probably every writer has a work in which he most fully and voluminously expresses his views on the problems that interest him. For F.M. Dostoevsky, the great master of psychological description of man, such a work was the novel “Crime and Punishment”.
In this novel, the story of a poor student Rodion Raskolnikov, who came up with a terrible theory according to which some people, classified as higher beings, can kill others, “trembling creatures,” for a good purpose, is brought to trial. Raskolnikov, of course, counted himself among the first. Having created this theory, he decides to test it in practice and kills the old pawnbroker and her sister. But it turns out that he cannot continue to live with such a heavy burden on his shoulders.
Horrified by Raskolnikov's theory, but at the same time seeing how far his soul has moved away from human warmth and light, the author introduces the image of a savior in the person of Sonechka Marmeladova. Dostoevsky was a humanist writer and believed that goodness should be effective, and not just present as some abstract sign or symbol. Therefore, Sonya begins to play an active role in the novel precisely at the moment of repentance of the protagonist, and it is to her that the main merit in the cleansing and transformation of Raskolnikov belongs.
Before this, Sonya had only occasionally appeared in sketches of St. Petersburg street life, first as a thought, as Marmeladov’s story in a tavern about a family, about a daughter with a “yellow ticket,” then indirectly - as a figure in Raskolnikov’s fleeting vision from “their world” on the street: some kind of then a girl, blonde, drunk, just offended by someone, then flashed a girl in a crinoline, a mantle, and a straw hat with a fiery feather, singing along with the organ grinder. All this is bit by bit the appearance of Sonya, this is how she will appear, straight from the street, at the bedside of her dying father. Only everything internal in her is a categorical refutation of the loud and beggarly attire.
Sonechka was forced to go on the “yellow ticket” by her life “among hungry children, ugly screams and reproaches,” with an unhappy drunken father and a “crazy with grief” stepmother. She “silently laid out” her first “earnings” - thirty rubles - in front of Katerina Ivanovna, and she “stood on her knees all evening, kissing her feet...”. Just as silently (“It’s not like this on earth, but there... people grieve for people, cry, and don’t reproach.”) Sonya gave her father the last thirty kopecks for a hangover. Shame touched her “only mechanically; real depravity has not yet penetrated a single drop into her heart.” The position of this girl in society, “unfortunately, is far from unique and not exceptional.” Before her, as Raskolnikov first believes, three roads are open: “throw into a ditch, end up in a madhouse, or... throw yourself into debauchery, stupefying the mind and petrifying the heart.” This is how the majority argues, only Lebezyatnikov - an adherent of the “new” life in the “communes” - looks at Sonya’s actions “as an energetic and personified protest against the structure of society” and deeply respects her for this.
Sonechka herself considers herself a “great sinner.” The thought of her “dishonorable and shameful position” had long ago tormented her soul to the point of “monstrous pain.” Timid by nature, Sonya knows that “it is easier to destroy her than anyone else,” that anyone can offend her “almost with impunity.” And therefore, through meekness and submission “before everyone and everyone,” he always tries to avoid “trouble.” Luzhin’s act, calling Sonya “a girl of notorious behavior” and vilely introducing her as a “thief,” makes the girl feel a painful feeling of helplessness - it becomes “too hard” for her. And yet, to Raskolnikov’s question: “Should Luzhin live and do abominations or should Katerina Ivanovna die?” - she replies: “But I can’t know God’s Providence... And who made me the judge here: who should live and who should not live?” Any person is not a “louse” for her.
Sonechka’s “insatiable compassion” for her neighbor and all-forgiving kindness are so great that she “will take off her last dress, sell it, go barefoot, and give it to you if you need it.” She “believes that there must be justice in everything... And even if you torture her, she will not do anything unfair.” Sonechka’s faith in God gives her vitality: “What would I be without God?” When Sonya “ardently and passionately” reads to Raskolnikov the chapters of the Gospel of John about the resurrection of Lazarus, she is overcome by a feeling of “great triumph” - as if she sees with her own eyes how “the dead man has come out.”
This inner spiritual core of hers, which helps preserve moral beauty, boundless faith in goodness and in God amazes Raskolnikov and makes him think for the first time about the moral side of his thoughts and actions. Rodion comes to Sonechka with a confession of committing murder in order to shift “at least part of his torment” onto her, and meets “her restless and painfully caring gaze”, sees only love. After all, Sonya only understands that he is “terribly, infinitely unhappy.” “There is no one more unhappy than you in the whole world now!” - she exclaims and throws herself on her knees in front of Raskolnikov, hugs and kisses him, promises to never leave him anywhere. At the same time, Sonechka does not feel “the slightest disgust, not the slightest disgust for him,” he does not feel “the slightest shudder in her hand.” Sonya only realizes that Raskolnikov is a blasphemer who does not understand anything (“You have departed from God, and God has given you over to the devil”), and invites him to “accept suffering and redeem himself with it,” “this very minute” to go to the crossroads and kiss the ground, bow to “the whole world” and say out loud: “I killed!” - “Then God will send you life again.”
At the same time, Sonya for Raskolnikov represents “an inexorable sentence, a decision without change” - “here it’s either her way or his.” Blessing him for future suffering, the girl puts a “common” cypress cross on Rodion’s chest, and when he begins to hesitate, she meets him with such a wild look that he cannot help but declare himself.
Sonechka visits Raskolnikov in prison, and then (using the money left to her by Svidrigailov) goes to Siberia for him. There she enjoys the love of all the prisoners, incomprehensible to Raskolnikov. The convicts bow to her, praise her and thank her for everything. For them she is “Mother, Sofya Semyonovna, mother... tender, sick!”, infinitely kind, understanding and compassionate. Sonya, who in her short life had already endured all imaginable and unimaginable suffering and humiliation, managed to maintain moral purity, clarity of mind and heart. It is not for nothing that Raskolnikov bows to Sonya, saying that he bows to all human suffering and grief.
The image of Sonechka absorbed all the world's injustice, the world's sorrow. She speaks in the novel on behalf of all the “humiliated and insulted.” It was precisely such a girl, with such a life story, with such an understanding of the world that Dostoevsky needed to save and purify the protagonist. After all, Raskolnikov is not an ordinary, run-of-the-mill criminal, but a person who is captured by an idea and who, due to his personal qualities, cannot abandon it without testing it in practice. Having decided to try, Raskolnikov mentally already divided all people into “trembling creatures” and “those with the right,” and therefore only a few, very few, could by that time influence his worldview. It was Sonya, who, according to the writer, embodied the Christian ideal of goodness, was able to withstand and win the confrontation with the anti-human idea of Rodion.
Sonya Marmeladova, a victim of the world of the Luzhins and Svidrigailovs and at the same time Raskolnikov’s new conscience, became the bearer of a new philosophy of confrontation and response to evil. This fragile girl, endowed with a sensitive, forgiving heart, is able to see other people's grief and empathize with other people's suffering. But it is wrong to see in Sonechka only humility in the face of the misfortunes of life; in her there is both activity and passion for rejection of vice, and strength, and active love for man.
Convinced of the religious brotherhood of the dispossessed and the possibility of resurrecting a person, she strives to save Raskolnikov and not only tells him of the need to atone for his guilt through popular repentance and suffering, but also encourages him to appear to people. It is her indestructible, active faith that becomes the source of the hero’s rebirth.
The author of “Crime and Punishment” assigns one of the main places in his novel to the image of Sonechka Marmeladova, since this image embodies both world sorrow and divine, unshakable faith in the power of good. Perhaps this image embodied the spiritual quest of F. M. Dostoevsky himself.
F.M. Dostoevsky - novel “Crime and Punishment”.
In the drafts of Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky notes: “Man is not born for happiness. A person deserves his happiness, and always through suffering. There is no injustice here, because vital knowledge and consciousness... are acquired by experience pro and contra, which must be carried on oneself.” The writer presents us with a sacrificial soul, a heroine who has accepted suffering, in the novel.
Sonya Marmeladova sacrifices herself and becomes a corrupt woman in the name of saving her family. Raskolnikov, having met Sonya, tries to find something related in their destinies. “You stepped over... you were able to step over. You committed suicide, you ruined your life... yours (it’s all the same!).” However, there is a significant difference in the life position of the heroes. Raskolnikov allowed himself to “bleed according to his conscience.” Sonya recognizes the value of the life of any person, regardless of his moral qualities. Crime is impossible for her.
If Raskolnikov’s theory initially involves harm to society, then Sonya only brings harm to herself. If Rodion is free in his choice between good and evil, then Sonya is deprived of this freedom. She is well aware of the vileness of her craft. She also thought about ending her life. However, she cannot even afford this.
“It would be fairer,” Raskolnikov exclaims, “a thousand times fairer and wiser it would be to dive head first into the water and end it all at once!”
What will happen to them? – Sonya asked weakly, looking at him painfully, but at the same time, as if not at all surprised by his proposal. Raskolnikov looked at her strangely.
He read everything in one look from her. Therefore, she really had already had this thought herself. Perhaps many times she seriously thought in despair about how to end it all at once, and so seriously that now she was almost not surprised at his proposal. She didn’t even notice the cruelty of his words... But he fully understood the monstrous pain to which she had been tormented, and for a long time now, by the thought of her dishonorable and shameful position. What, he thought, could still stop her determination to end it all at once? And then he fully understood what these poor little orphans and this pitiful, half-crazed Katerina Ivanovna, with her consumption and banging her head against the wall, meant to her.”
D. Pisarev says that “Sofya Semyonovna would also be able to throw herself into the Neva, but, throwing herself into the Neva, she could not lay out thirty rubles on the table in front of Katerina Ivanovna, which contains the whole meaning and the whole justification for her immoral act.” The position of the heroine is an inevitable result of the conditions of social life. Pisarev notes that neither Marmeladov, nor his daughter, nor their entire family can be blamed or despised. The blame for their condition lies not with them, but with the circumstances of life, social conditions, when a person has “nowhere else to go.” Sonya has no position, no education, no profession. In the family there is poverty, Katerina Ivanovna’s illness, her father’s drunkenness, the crying of unhappy children. She tries to save her family by doing small, private good. On her life's path, she is supported by meekness, humility, and faith in God.
The plot of Sonya Marmeladova develops the harlot motif in the novel. In the Gospel parable, Christ saved a harlot from people who were going to stone her. And the biblical harlot left her profession and became a saint. Thus, the biblical heroine always had freedom of choice. Dostoevsky's Sonya, as we noted above, is deprived of this freedom of choice. Nevertheless, this heroine cannot be called passive. Sonya is an active, active person. The profession of a prostitute is shameful, humiliating, disgusting, but the goals for which she chose this path, according to the writer, are selfless and holy. And here Dostoevsky sounds in a new way the motif of resurrection. The heroine considers her entire past life to be a dead dream. And only misfortune, the misfortunes of the family, force her to awaken. She is resurrected to a new life. “I myself was Lazarus who died, and Christ raised me.” These words are not in the final version of the novel; they were only in drafts of the novel. However, the motif of resurrection is also realized in the image of Sonya.
At the same time, this image develops in the novel the biblical motif of forgiveness and Christian love. Sonya Marmeladova evaluates people by their inner qualities, without attaching much importance to appearance or financial situation. Even a bad person, a scoundrel and a scoundrel, she is in no hurry to condemn, she tries to understand what is behind this external evil. Unlike Raskolnikov, she did not lose faith in people. The behavior of this heroine is controlled by all-forgiving, selfless love. And she saves not only her own family, but also Raskolnikov, who cannot bear the murder he committed. And this, according to Dostoevsky, is the true beauty of human action, the moral height of the individual. And maybe this was exactly what this heroine’s understanding of happiness was. Happiness is living for the sake of your loved ones. Sonya realizes her happiness through suffering.
So, in the image of Sonya Marmeladova, Dostoevsky expressed his belief in goodness, justice, and mercy. This heroine is the writer’s moral ideal.
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“Crime and Punishment” is one of many novels in Russian literature that raise a whole series of questions about man’s place in the world, his eternal search for meaning in life. Dostoevsky's heroes are in a constant struggle not only with their own feelings, but also with the surrounding reality, which is sometimes hostile and unfair. They certainly make a choice in favor of one path or another, complicated by obstacles of a material and moral nature. Often this is the path of spiritual crisis, mental anguish, mistakes and repentance. Dostoevsky's novel is the story of lost souls, rebellious, indomitable in their desire for answers, rebelling against internal and external lack of freedom, which forces them to make a variety of decisions. Each of the characters is presented to the reader as a bright, strong, original character who sets goals for himself, the value of which is determined by the inconsistency and depth of nature. Therefore, in this book we can find excellent arguments for the final essay.
- Rodion Raskolnikov is one of the central characters in the novel. He is poor, but extremely smart and educated. A miserable existence in hunger and poverty depresses him, because he sees in himself an extraordinary personality, a person endowed with remarkable abilities and the ability to influence the minds of others, less gifted. Hence his theory, unthinkable in its outward cruelty, according to which an “extraordinary” minority is allowed to commit murders with impunity, without the slightest sense of guilt. In this, Raskolnikov sees the highest justice and his natural destiny as a superman. His goal is to prove to everyone, and above all, to himself, that he is the very person who has the right to dispose of the lives of the “faceless masses.” Without realizing it, Rodion enters into a struggle between idea and life, in which the natural course of things still prevails over hasty theory, proving to the author the inconsistency of his own reasoning. However, the crime has already been committed, the choice has been made, and the hero, to achieve a ghostly, abstract goal, has used the most terrible of all possible means: murder. Awareness of what he has done distorts the sinner’s worldview, making his life a nightmare in which his soul experiences endless pangs of conscience, bowing under the weight of the crime committed. As you can see, the end does not justify the means, even if it is aimed at goodness and justice.
- Sonya Marmeladova is a heroine whose life path is complicated by an equally serious choice. Having lost her last hope of saving her family from poverty and hunger, she decides to sacrifice her own well-being and take up an “obscene craft.” At the cost of humiliation and suffering, she obtains the money necessary to feed her loved ones. On the one hand, the goal of such an act is external, material in nature, however, the act done by Sonya to achieve it is the result of a complex moral choice, in which the heroine’s fortitude and sacrifice were manifested. Out of love for her neighbors, she commits a serious crime against herself, but at the same time remains an integral person, ready to help anyone who needs her. Thus, her desire for goodness and love did not change from what she did for him. This means that the end justifies the means if a person sacrifices only his destiny for it.
- No less sincere and selfless in the novel is Dunya Raskolnikova, Rodion’s sister, who selflessly loves her brother and is ready to come to his aid, sacrificing her own well-being. She is well brought up and educated, but is by no means spoiled by life; on the contrary, she becomes a victim of yet another social injustice. By agreeing to the humiliating position of Luzhin’s fiancée, Dunya thereby hopes to improve the family’s plight and make life easier for her brother, who was forced to interrupt his university education and starve. She sees Rodion’s salvation as her main goal, so she is ready to accept and endure any difficulties, including marrying a man she does not love, sacrificing her own happiness. However, the heroine didn’t even think about the consequences of her decision, how could her brother accept such a terrible sacrifice? And she herself does what she fled from when she was a governess: she gives herself to an unloved person. Doesn't such a marriage humiliate her? This stubborn unaccountability of actions indicates that her goal is just a desire, a dream, not supported by thoroughness and responsibility.
- One of the most controversial characters in the novel is Arkady Svidrigailov, whom researchers call “Raskolnikov’s ideological double,” since he considers himself free from moral laws, as if embodying Rodion’s theory. Living in absolute idleness, Svidrigailov chases fleeting pleasures, in which he sees the ultimate goal of existence. Like others, he wants to find happiness and know joy, but he sees the meaning of existence, rather, in the satisfaction of base momentary desires, in the joy of possession. This desire for voluptuousness and excessive simplification of life corrupts the hero, creating the image of a cynical, immoral person, devoid of internal moral guidelines and conscience. Confessing to Raskolnikov in deceptions and meanness, he explains them by the desire for natural carnal joys, which constitute the purpose of life for him. This is his goal and, at the same time, a crime, the punishment for which will certainly follow the hero, embodied in nightmares, pangs of conscience, endless boredom and longing for sincere human feelings. Such goals and aspirations are perhaps even worse than their absence.
- “The end justifies the means,” says another hero of Crime and Punishment, Pyotr Luzhin. He is sure: you can rise yourself only at the expense of others, weaker ones, incapable of resisting. And this is also a unique theory, less abstract than Raskolnikov’s, which found concrete embodiment in the relationship between Luzhin and Dunya Raskolnikova. Attractive, well-mannered, wealthy Luzhin intends to save Dunya from poverty and help her cope with family trouble, so he proposes to her. However, behind the external nobility of feelings hides a cynical calculation, in which Dunya had to play the role of a poor bride, and in the future - a submissive, uncomplaining, endlessly grateful wife of a brilliant husband. Luzhin's vain and cowardly soul sees the girl exclusively as a servant, controlled and obedient. Under the imaginary height of feelings, Luzhin discovers a petty and vile goal: to exalt himself in the eyes of others, but at the same time humiliate the weak, subordinating him to his will. Interesting? Save it on your wall!
Immortal image
Some heroes of classical literature gain immortality, live next to us, this is exactly what the image of Sonya turned out to be in the novel “Crime and Punishment” by Dostoevsky. From her example, we learn the best human qualities: kindness, mercy, self-sacrifice. She teaches us to love devotedly and selflessly believe in God.
Meet the heroine
The author does not immediately introduce us to Sonechka Marmeladova. She appears on the pages of the novel when a terrible crime has already been committed, two people have died, and Rodion Raskolnikov has ruined his soul. It seems that nothing in his life can be improved. However, meeting a modest girl changed the hero’s fate and revived him to life.
The first time we hear about Sonya is from the story of the unfortunate drunken Marmeladov. In confession, he talks about his unhappy fate, about his starving family and gratefully pronounces the name of his eldest daughter.
Sonya is an orphan, Marmeladov’s only natural daughter. Until recently, she lived with her family. Her stepmother Katerina Ivanovna, a sick, unhappy woman, was exhausted so that the children would not die of starvation, Marmeladov himself drank away his last money, the family was in dire need. Out of despair, the sick woman often became irritated over trifles, made scandals, and reproached her stepdaughter with a piece of bread. Conscientious Sonya decided to take a desperate step. In order to somehow help her family, she began to engage in prostitution, sacrificing herself for the sake of her loved ones. The story of the poor girl left a deep mark on Raskolnikov’s wounded soul long before he personally met the heroine.
Portrait of Sonya Marmeladova
A description of the girl's appearance appears on the pages of the novel much later. She, like a wordless ghost, appears on the threshold of her home during the death of her father, crushed by a drunken cab driver. Timid by nature, she did not dare enter the room, feeling vicious and unworthy. An absurd, cheap, but bright outfit indicated her occupation. “Meek” eyes, “a pale, thin and irregular angular face” and the whole appearance betrayed a meek, timid nature that had reached the extreme degree of humiliation. “Sonya was small, about seventeen years old, thin, but quite pretty blonde, with wonderful blue eyes.” This is how she appeared before Raskolnikov’s eyes, this is how the reader sees her for the first time.
Character traits of Sofia Semyonovna Marmeladova
A person's appearance can often be deceiving. The image of Sonya in Crime and Punishment is full of inexplicable contradictions. A meek, weak girl considers herself a great sinner, unworthy to be in the same room with decent women. She is embarrassed to sit next to Raskolnikov’s mother, and cannot shake hands with his sister for fear of offending them. Sonya can easily be offended and humiliated by any scoundrel, like Luzhin or the landlady. Defenseless against the arrogance and rudeness of the people around her, she is unable to stand up for herself.
A complete description of Sonya Marmeladova in the novel “Crime and Punishment” consists of an analysis of her actions. Physical weakness and indecision are combined in her with enormous mental strength. At the core of her being is love. For the love of her father, she gives him her last money for a hangover. For the sake of love for children, he sells his body and soul. For the sake of love for Raskolnikov, she follows him to hard labor and patiently endures his indifference. Kindness and the ability to forgive distinguish the heroine from other characters in the story. Sonya does not hold a grudge against her stepmother for her crippled life, and does not dare condemn her father for his weak character and eternal drunkenness. She is able to forgive and pity Raskolnikov for the murder of Lizaveta, close to her. “There is no one more unhappy than you in the whole world,” she tells him. To treat the vices and mistakes of people around you this way, you have to be a very strong and integral person.
Where does a weak, fragile, humiliated girl have such patience, endurance and inexhaustible love for people? Faith in God helps Sonya Marmeladova to survive herself and lend a helping hand to others. “What would I be without God?” – the heroine is sincerely perplexed. It is no coincidence that the exhausted Raskolnikov goes to her for help and tells her about his crime. The faith of Sonya Marmeladova helps the criminal to first confess to the murder he has committed, then sincerely repent, believe in God and start a new happy life.
The role of the image of Sonya Marmeladova in the novel
The main character of F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment” is considered to be Rodion Raskolnikov, since the plot is based on the story of the hero’s crime. But it is impossible to imagine the novel without the image of Sonya Marmeladova. Sonya's attitude, beliefs, and actions reflect the author's life position. The fallen woman is pure and innocent. She fully atones for her sin with all-encompassing love for people. She is “humiliated and insulted”, not a “trembling creature” according to Raskolnikov’s theory, but a person worthy of respect, who turned out to be much stronger than the main character. Having gone through all the trials and suffering, Sonya did not lose her basic human qualities, did not betray herself and suffered happiness.
Sonya's moral principles, faith, and love turned out to be stronger than Raskolnikov's egoistic theory. After all, only by accepting the beliefs of his girlfriend does the hero gain the right to happiness. The favorite heroine of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky is the embodiment of his most secret thoughts and ideals of the Christian religion.
Work test
- Actions done out of mercy may seem absurd and senseless at first glance.
- A person can show mercy even in the most difficult situations
- Actions related to helping orphans can be called merciful
- Showing mercy often requires sacrifices from a person, but these sacrifices are always justified in some way
- People who show mercy are worthy of respect
Arguments
L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace". Natasha Rostova shows mercy - one of the most important human qualities. When everyone begins to leave Moscow, captured by the French, the girl orders that the carts be given to the wounded, and not carry her own things on them. Helping people is much more important for Natasha Rostova than material well-being. And it doesn’t matter to her at all that among the things that were to be taken away, the dowry is part of her future.
M. Sholokhov “The Fate of Man.” Andrei Sokolov, despite difficult life trials, did not lose the ability to show mercy. He lost his family and home, but could not help but pay attention to the fate of Vanyushka, a little boy whose parents died. Andrei Sokolov told the boy that he was his father and took him to his place. The ability to show mercy made the child happy. Yes, Andrei Sokolov did not forget his family and the horrors of war, but he did not leave Vanya in trouble. This means that his heart did not harden.
F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment". The fate of Rodion Raskolnikov is difficult. He lives in a miserable, dark room and is malnourished. After the murder of the old pawnbroker, his whole life resembles suffering. Raskolnikov is still poor: he hides what he took from the apartment under a stone, rather than taking it for himself. However, the hero gives the latter to Marmeladov’s widow for a funeral; he cannot ignore the misfortune that has happened, although he himself has nothing to live on. Rodion Raskolnikov turns out to be capable of mercy, despite the murder and the terrible theory he created.
M.A. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita". Margarita is ready to do anything to see her Master. She makes a deal with the devil, agrees to be the queen at Satan's terrible ball. But when Woland asks what she wants, Margarita only asks that they stop giving Frida the handkerchief with which she gagged her own child and buried him in the ground. Margarita wants to save a person completely stranger to her from suffering, and this is where mercy is manifested. She no longer asks for a meeting with the Master, because she cannot help but take care of Frida and get past the grief of others.
N.D. Teleshov "Home". Little Semka, the son of settlers who died of typhus, most of all wants to return to his native village of Beloye. The boy escapes from the barracks and hits the road. On the way he meets an unfamiliar grandfather, they walk together. Grandfather also goes to his native land. On the way, Semka falls ill. Grandfather takes him to the city, to the hospital, although he knows that he cannot go there: it turns out that this is the third time he has escaped from hard labor. There the grandfather is caught, and then sent back to hard labor. Despite the danger to himself, grandfather shows mercy towards Semka - he cannot abandon a sick child in trouble. One’s own happiness becomes less significant for a person than the life of a child.
N.D. Teleshov “Elka Mitricha”. On Christmas Eve, Semyon Dmitrievich realized that everyone would have a holiday, except for eight orphans living in one of the barracks. Mitrich decided to please the guys at all costs. Although it was hard for him, he brought a Christmas tree and bought fifty dollars worth of candy, given by the resettlement official. Semyon Dmitrievich cut each of the guys a piece of sausage, although sausage was his favorite delicacy. Sympathy, compassion, mercy prompted Mitrich to do this act. And the result turned out to be truly wonderful: joy, laughter, and enthusiastic screams filled the previously gloomy room. The children were happy from the holiday he organized, and Mitrich from the fact that he did this good deed.
I. Bunin “Lapti”. Nefed could not help but fulfill the wish of the sick child, who kept asking for some red bast shoes. Despite the bad weather, he went on foot for bast shoes and magenta to Novoselki, located six miles from home. For Nefed, the desire to help the child was more important than ensuring his own safety. He turned out to be capable of self-sacrifice - in a sense, the highest degree of mercy. Nefed died. The men brought him home. A bottle of magenta and new bast shoes were found in Nefed’s bosom.
V. Rasputin “French Lessons”. For Lydia Mikhailovna, a French teacher, the desire to help her student turned out to be more important than preserving her own reputation. The woman knew that the child was malnourished, which is why she played for money. So she invited the boy to play for money with her. This is unacceptable for a teacher. When the director found out about everything, Lydia Mikhailovna was forced to leave for her homeland, to Kuban. But we understand that her act is not bad at all - it is a manifestation of mercy. The seemingly unacceptable behavior of the teacher actually conveyed kindness and care for the child.