Genre and plot originality. Features of the genre of Chernyshevsky’s novel “What to do

Features of the genre of the novel “Crime and Punishment”

The genre uniqueness of this novel by F.M. Dostoevsky lies in the fact that this work cannot be absolutely definitely attributed to genres already known and tested in Russian literature, since it contains different style features.

Detective traits

First of all, formally the novel can be classified as a detective story:

• The plot is based on a crime and its solution,
• there is a criminal (Raskolnikov),
• there is a smart investigator who understands the criminal and leads him to exposure (Porfiry Petrovich),
• there is a motive for the crime,
• there are red herrings (Mikolka’s confession), evidence.

But none of the readers would even think of calling “Crime and Punishment” a simple detective story, because everyone understands that the detective basis of the novel is only an excuse for setting other tasks.

A new type of novel - psychological

This work does not fit into the framework of a traditional European novel.

Dostoevsky created new genre- psychological novel.

It is based on man as a great mystery into which the author looks into together with the reader. What drives a person, why is one or another capable of sinful acts, what happens to a person who crosses the line?

The atmosphere of the novel is a world of the humiliated and insulted, where there are no happy people, no unfallen ones. This world combines reality and fantasy, so a special place in the novel is occupied by characters who predict the fate of the hero differently than in a traditional novel. No, the protagonist’s dreams reflect the state of his psyche, his soul after the murder of the old woman, they project reality (a dream about killing a horse), they accumulate philosophical theory hero (Rodion's last dream).

Each hero is placed in a situation of choice.

This choice puts pressure on a person, forces him to go forward, to go without thinking about the consequences, to go only in order to find out what he is capable of, in order to save another or himself, in order to destroy himself.

Polyphonic solution of the figurative system

Another genre feature of such novels is polyphony, polyphony.

In the novel, people conduct conversations, pronounce monologues, shout something from the crowd - and every time it’s not just a phrase, it’s philosophical problem, a question of life or death (dialogue between an officer and a student, Raskolnikov’s monologues, his dialogues with Sonya, with Svidrigailov, Luzhin, Dunechka, Marmeladov’s monologue).

Dostoevsky's heroes carry either hell or heaven in their souls. So, despite the horrors of the profession, she carries heaven in her soul, her sacrifice, her faith and save her from the hell of life. Such a hero as, according to Dostoevsky, is subordinate to the devil in his mind and chooses hell, but in last moment, when the hero looks into the abyss, he recoils from it and goes to denounce himself. There are also heroes of hell in Dostoevsky's novels. They long ago and consciously chose hell not only with their minds, but also with their hearts. And their hearts hardened. Such is the case in Svidrigailov’s novel.

For the heroes of hell, there is only one way out - death.

Heroes like Raskolnikov are always intellectually superior to the rest: it is not for nothing that everyone recognizes Raskolnikov’s intelligence, Svidrigailov expects some new word from him. But Raskolnikov is pure in heart, his heart is full of love and compassion (for the girl on the boulevard, for his mother and sister, for Sonechka and her family).

The human soul as the basis of psychological realism

Understanding the human soul cannot be unambiguous, which is why in Dostoevsky’s novels (in “Crime and Punishment” too) there is so much left unsaid.

Raskolnikov names the reason for the murder several times, but neither he nor the other heroes can finally decide why he killed. Of course, first of all, he is guided by a false theory, subjugating him, tempting him with verification, forcing him to lift the ax. It is also unclear whether Svidrigailov killed his wife or not.

Unlike Tolstoy, who himself explains why the hero acts this way and not otherwise, Dostoevsky forces the reader, along with the hero, to experience certain events, see dreams, and in all this everyday confusion of inconsistent actions, unclear dialogues and monologues, independently find a pattern.

A huge role in the genre of psychological novel is played by the description of the situation. It is generally accepted that it itself corresponds to the mood of the heroes. The city becomes the hero of the story. The city is dusty, dirty, a city of crimes and suicides.

Originality art world Dostoevsky is that his heroes go through a dangerous psychological experiment, allowing “demons” into themselves, dark forces. But the writer believes that in the end the hero will break through them to the light. But every time the reader is stopped before this riddle of overcoming “demons”, because there is no definite answer.

This inexplicable always remains in the structure of the writer’s novels.

Materials are published with the personal permission of the author - Ph.D. Maznevoy O.A. (see "Our Library")

Genre and compositional features of the novel

I. Turgenev “Fathers and Sons”.

Home >> All works >> Turgenev I.S. >> Fathers and SonsGenre and compositional features of I. Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons”. Download the essay “Fathers and Sons” - this is a socio-psychological novel in which the main place is given to social conflicts. The work is built on the opposition of the main character - commoner Bazarov - and the rest of the characters. In Bazarov's clashes with other characters, the main character traits of the hero and his views are revealed.

Bazarov's main antagonist is Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov. A conflict between them immediately ensues. Already the portrait characteristic indicates that this is completely different people. When describing the appearance of Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich, the author uses a detailed portrait. Bazarov's appearance and demeanor reveal a true democrat in him. In his robe with tassels, one senses a disregard for social norms, perhaps a challenge. In describing the face, the author emphasizes “self-confidence and intelligence.” Bazarov does not take into account the conditions accepted in noble families; he behaves simply, uninhibitedly and in a way that is more convenient for him. The portrait of Pavel Petrovich speaks of his aristocracy: his appearance is “elegant and thoroughbred”, the desire, even in the village, to dress as befits in high society. While characterizing Kirsanov's manners, the author simultaneously reveals his views. So, during a meeting with Arkady, Pavel Petrovich “having performed a preliminary European “shake hands”... three times, in Russian, kissed him.” In this case, the author emphasizes the bizarre combination of Anglomanism and patriarchy.

One of the most important conflicts of the novel develops in the 10th chapter. The author called the dialogue contained in it a “fight” between Pavel Petrovich and Bazarov. During the dialogue, Bazarov behaves confidently and calmly, while his opponent behaves like a hot-tempered person who cannot restrain his emotions. The culmination of the relationship between Pavel Petrovich and Bazarov occurs in the 24th chapter, during a duel, from which Bazarov emerges victorious. Turgenev himself wrote about the role of this scene in the novel that it clearly proves the emptiness of elegant noble chivalry, since it exposes it in a comic form.

Despite the fact that the main place in the work is occupied by social conflicts, there is also a love affair, but, compressed by political disputes, it fits into five chapters. The culmination of the love affair is shown in the 18th chapter. Here there is an explanation between Bazarov and Odintsova, after which the author separates them until the end of the novel. However, despite the compactness of the love affair, it plays an important role in characterizing the character. Perhaps the fact that Turgenev forced his main character to fail in love is the writer’s intention to debunk Bazarov. The hero begins to express pessimistic thoughts, loses self-confidence, energetic activity is replaced by dreary boredom, the author notes that even his gait changes. Turgenev, as it were, leads the hero along a descending line, gradually depriving him of self-confidence and the necessity of his activities. In the scene of Bazarov’s death, the image of a dying lamp appears, which acts as an allegory of the hero’s fate.

In the epilogue of the novel, the author places a landscape that, according to Herzen, resembles a requiem. Here Turgenev sums up the final outcome of Bazarov's life, showing how his personality dissolves against the backdrop of eternal nature. “No matter what passionate, sinful, rebellious heart hides in the grave, the flowers growing on it serenely look at us with their innocent eyes: they tell us not only about eternal peace, about that great peace of “indifferent” nature; they also talk about eternal reconciliation and endless life...”

Thus, the landscape in the novel is an important means of reflecting the author’s position. With the help of a landscape, for example, Turgenev expresses his attitude to Bazarov’s statement that nature is not a temple, but a workshop, contrasting him with a poetic picture of a summer evening.

It should be noted that in the novel “Fathers and Sons” there is much less descriptions nature and lyrical digressions than in other works of Turgenev. This is explained by the very genre of the socio-psychological novel, in which main role play political disputes that are revealed through dialogue. It was with the help of dialogue that the author was able to reflect the ideological struggle, highlight the current problems of his time with different points vision. Dialogue is an important means of revealing the worldview of the characters.

The author also uses speech characteristics. In conversation, Bazarov is always brief, but his remarks are filled with deep meaning, they testify to the hero’s erudition and wit. Bazarov often uses proverbs and sayings, which, like his portrait, testifies to the hero’s democracy. Speech characteristics are no less important for revealing the image of Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov. Pavel Petrovich’s speech contains many specific words and expressions characteristic of the landowner vocabulary of the 19th century. The author himself explains the peculiarities of his speech: when the hero is angry, he deliberately says “efto” and “eftim,” deliberately neglecting grammatical norms, with the arrogance of a nobleman. “This quirk reflected the remainder of Alexander’s time.” Speech characteristics Pavel Petrovich says that this is a man of the “old century”.

Thus, all the artistic means of the novel are subordinated to its genre originality and are aimed at revealing its ideological content.

Extremely difficult. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the prevailing understanding was that it was an “adventurous-psychological” or “adventurous-philosophical” novel - an understanding that had some basis, but was clearly not enough. IN modern literary criticism In the West, Dostoevsky's novel is attributed either to the tradition of the picaresque novel (Chizhevsky's school) or to the tradition of the Gothic novel (J. Steiner). These convergences are untenable: the novel cannot be defined in terms of traditional poetics, cannot be understood by association with the literature of the 17th-18th centuries. Let's try to trace the genre evolution.

In his early work epistolary and confessional forms predominate. They attracted the writer because genre specifics assumed self-disclosure of the heroes.

He sought to show, not tell: he presented the word to the characters themselves, using the old literary conventions of “correspondence”, “memoirs”, “notes”, etc. In Dostoevsky’s great novel, the forms of self-disclosure of the characters are preserved and complicated. There is an intensified dramatization of the genre (a process common to the development of the novel, but especially pronounced in Dostoevsky).

The dramatic element in Dostoevsky's novels sometimes prevails over the narrative. Thus, in “The Humiliated and Insulted” the dialogue takes up on average two and a half times more space than the author’s narration. Confessional dialogues are especially important, in which the characters reveal their souls and their views. In the composition of all Dostoevsky’s novels, the key is the hero’s document or his direct confession, which grows into entire chapters: Raskolnikov’s article and his confession to Sonya, Hippolytus’ confession (inset literary work), the confession of Stavrogin, even printed in a foreign printing house, the Legend of the Grand Inquisitor and the autobiographical papers of Elder Zosima.

All these are rudiments of epistolary or confessional genre within an objective narrative. The most important dialogues in Dostoevsky's novels are very extensive and not at all stagey. Simultaneously with the increase in the ideological intensity of the novel, the role of plot acuity and entertainment increased. Dostoevsky was very concerned about the fascination of his works, he often quoted Voltaire’s saying: “All genres are good, except the boring.” Dostoevsky was undoubtedly fond of the adventurous novels of Alexandre Dumas, Feval, Soulier, Eugene Sue, and even Paul de Kock and studied with them.

More higher value for him was the adventurous psychological and detective novel of Dickens with its melodrama, magnificent painting of the city and sentimental reality. However, the plot devices of an adventure novel, all these retardations, silences, secrets, interruptions of action and predictions of disaster, acquire a different meaning in Dostoevsky, since they are associated with the adventures of ideas. Here they stimulate the ideological co-creation of the reader. One cannot reduce the originality of Dostoevsky’s novel to an adventurous philosophical genre, which originated in the 18th century (“Candide” by Voltaire) and received great development in the era of romanticism: perhaps its highest achievement is Melville's Moby Dick. There is a whole gulf between adventure-philosophical novels and Dostoevsky’s novel.

Balzac's philosophical novels are closest to Dostoevsky's novels, but Balzac retains the fantastic assumptions characteristic of philosophical romantic prose (a pact with the devil, pebbled leather, White Whale, etc.) and giving rise to symbolism raised above the everyday plane of reality. Dostoevsky has no fantastic assumptions (they are generally not typical for Russian literature), and we can only talk about psychological fiction. In 1916, Vyacheslav Ivanov, in his work “Dostoevsky and the Tragedy Novel” (collection “Furrows and Borders”) introduced the concept of “tragedy novel”. This concept, emphasizing the tragedy of Dostoevsky’s novels and worldview, the special dramatic nature of the construction, is largely correct. It has undergone a noticeable evolution, cleared of the mystical connotations of its original use and become a working term of Soviet literary criticism (for example, F. I. Evnin adheres to it).

Despite the widespread use of this genre definition, it is far from indisputable: for example, the concept of the tragedy novel is criticized by M. M. Bakhtin in the book “Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics.” The term tragedy novel should not be taken literally: Dostoevsky’s genre is not a “hybrid” of a novel with tragedy, but a novel with the features of tragedy, which are very clearly manifested in the concept of the whole, composition, in spatio-temporal relations, etc.: first just a novel. Engelhardt’s remarkably profound definition has already been given above: Dostoevsky’s novel is an ideological novel, a novel “about ideas,” in contrast to philosophical novels XVIII century. However this genre definition everything seems too broad: for example, T. Mann’s novels “The Magic Mountain” and “Doctor Faustus” are also ideological - Dymshits, etc.) Serious criticism of Bakhtin’s mistakes in Soviet science (A. V. Chicherin, G. N. Pospelov, etc.) does not at all cross out his great achievements. Bakhtin gave a more accurate description of Dostoevsky's novel and especially the new quality of its objectivity as a consequence of the interaction of multiple voices (points of view), developing without purposeful authorial deformation. The concept of polyphony has become almost generally accepted in Soviet science, although many scientists put their own meaning into it, departing from the original one or even simplifying it. Dostoevsky's original world was formed under the influence of various traditions. This is primarily the tradition of Russian socio-psychological prose and satire of Gogol.

The epistolary novel "Poor People" has a chamber plot, as does the sentimental novel "White Nights". Dostoevsky's further genre evolution is associated with the influence of the adventure novel and drama. Special meaning Apparently, Shakespeare had, and above all, Hamlet. But latently and imperceptibly, changes associated with completely different traditions accumulated in Dostoevsky’s work. His only book in hard labor was the Bible, an extremely complex and multi-component book. This multi-composition of the Bible, which historically developed as a result of the canonization of texts of completely different origins, was the prototype of Dostoevsky’s “polyphony”.

One cannot ignore the fact that the Gospel gives, as it were, a parallel biography of Christ from four different points of view (the differences in the positions of the evangelists have long been studied in special literature). Four stories about one fate mutually complement and challenge each other. Literary studies have established the enormous importance for Dostoevsky’s novel of such archaic genres as the medieval apocrypha and the lives of saints. A grandiose plan, partly embodied in latest novels Dostoevsky, is called “The Life of a Great Sinner” and was built (in the writer’s plans) according to the type of life. Another line of archaic influence is the poetry of Dante. Already contemporaries (Turgenev and Herzen) in connection with “Notes from House of the Dead"remembered Dante. Many critics have noted the strangely archaic nature of Dostoevsky's work (without noticing his innovation). The “archaic influence” on Dostoevsky’s work is due to: historical features development of Russian philosophical thoughts XIX century, and the radical “rebirth of the writer’s convictions,” which encouraged him to seek support outside the dominant literary tradition. According to him, the great ancient art it was larger in scale and at the same time more accessible and closer to the people.

In search of the national origins of literature and its long-lost universalism, Dostoevsky turned to spiritual folklore, apocrypha, legend, hagiography and allegorical vision. But only on this basis could Dostoevsky’s genre achieve that freedom, polyphony and tragic poignancy, which ensured his success. The essence of his evolution is that, simultaneously with the archaic influence, Dostoevsky experienced the exact opposite “modernist influence” associated with his school of journalism in 1861-1865. The writer was the soul of the magazines “Time” and “Epoch”, their actual editor. Journalism and the acute topicality of the press fascinated him; he used typical journalistic forms of presenting material in journalism and stories, in pamphlets and novellas. Revealing the point of view of his opponent, Dostoevsky not only criticizes it, but immediately provides for the possibility of an opponent’s objection and immediately gives new objections to this “anti-criticism” written by himself.

Dostoevsky's dialogization of narrative began in his journalism, already in the famous article “Mr.-bov and the question of art” or “Winter notes on summer impressions.” This is not the dispassion of an indifferent observer, but the shorthand of a journalist: in one of his little-known pamphlets against Katkov, Dostoevsky used the form of a “parliamentary protocol,” including remarks from the field and brief remarks about the behavior of the characters. This is satire in the form of a protocol, shorthand report: the author’s causticity leaves no doubt, but he “allows the enemy to speak out completely.” Criminal chronicles, all kinds of incidents,” a newspaper mixture, transcripts and court records merge into the style of Dostoevsky’s novel - in an originally developed and greatly modified form. This influence is due to the atmosphere of intensified journalism and the intensification of the ideological struggle in Russia in the 60s; Similar influences were felt in the work of Nekrasov and Shchedrin.

Dostoevsky strove to use the most common and widely known forms literature, familiar to the mass of readers, but not included in the system of contemporary fiction. It used equal rights newspaper and magazine forms of presenting material and forms of spiritual (especially hagiographic) literature, boldly mixing criminal chronicles with the Apocalypse, i.e. archaic and newspaper "modern". The polyphonism of his mature genre is determined by national-democratic and religious-philosophical tendencies, on the one hand, and topical social, critical ones, on the other. Dostoevsky's polyphonism was generated primarily by his historical era, the evolution of Russian philosophical and social thought, the struggle of humanism against autocratic-serfdom violence and capitalist “alienation” of the individual. Dostoevsky's novel in the 60s and 70s is at the same time related to Russian socio-psychological the novel and is fundamentally opposed to it.

Dostoevsky’s philosophical symbolization comes into sharp conflict with the task of objectively conveying reality, and the writer, with the greatest effort resolving this contradiction, invents new techniques, creatively using known (sometimes very disrespected, “sensational”), builds a novel whole with difficulty, with costs, sometimes with breakdowns. Inner balance Dostoevsky's novel is intense and extremely individual in nature: in fact, this genre is unique, all attempts to recreate it ended in failure. Dostoevsky's great novel is a symbolic-realistic and polyphonic hagiography, depicting the hero's catastrophe and subsequent death or rebirth to a new life

The tragic death of a hero can take the form of “martyrdom” (for example, the end of Prince Myshkin). The form of tragedy is not necessary for Dostoevsky’s novels: they can take on a shade of tragicomedy, satire, utopia, even an “educational novel” (“Teenager”); L.P. Grossman compared Dostoevsky's novel with a medieval mystery. Let us recall that tragedy as such can develop in any literary genre. Of the Russian classics, only Leo Tolstoy in “Anna Karenina” (the book can rightfully be called a tragedy novel) and Leskov in the story “The Enchanted Wanderer” (a realistic life, but with a clearly “stylized” ideology, which puts Leskova immeasurably lower than Tolstoy and Dostoevsky). Subsequently, the most fruitful influence of Dostoevsky’s genre was felt in the works of Garshin, early Gorky and Leonid Andreev. The novel “Foma Gordeev” is closer to the symbolic-realistic genre of Dostoevsky than “The Little Demon” by Sologub or the novels of Leonid Andreev. But overall genre variety The novel-life has not been repeated in world literature.

In 1823, Alexander Sergeevich began writing his famous novel"Eugene Onegin", while in southern exile. At that time, the poet was keen on the work of Byron, and the romantic motifs of the English poet’s poetry left their mark on Pushkin’s work at that time. But still, the work “Eugene Onegin” cannot be called romantic.

Genre originality of the novel

It should be noted that Alexander Sergeevich approached the question of defining the genre of “Eugene Onegin” with special attention. The definition sounded like “a novel in verse.” But this definition is not enough to analyze genre originality novel.

Despite the fact that “Eugene Onegin” was spoken of as a collection of motley chapters, it remains a full-fledged work in which Pushkin synthesized both elements of the epic genre and elements lyrical works. Traits that are inherent epic genre- that's two storylines, large volume and emphasis of the narrative on life path a certain personality, including the process of its development and final formation.

“Eugene Onegin” includes an objective depiction of life, a description of objects and everyday life that surrounded people at that time. This also applies to a genre such as epic. The lyrical genre of “Eugene Onegin” is manifested in the description inner world main character. Onegin comprehends the events that happened to him, and we know about his feelings and experiences. It was precisely these elements that helped Pushkin reveal main issue works from another side, create another life position, which would be different from other heroes.

But this added inconsistency to the main lyrical character, especially in view of the variety of functions of his image. Position lyrical hero appears in every chapter, and seems to act as a friend of the main character. And his position is rather vague; it is this that gives rise to the main contradictions in the work, but Pushkin ultimately decided not to change anything.

The transition from romanticism to realism

The lyrical hero in the role of the author plays the role of a chronicler of Onegin’s life, and constantly evaluates his actions and expresses his attitude towards his actions and thoughts. Pushkin creates the illusion of dialogue with the reader, he raises philosophical questions and issues literary character, thereby creating a transition from a romantic motif in Eugene Onegin to a realistic one.

Also, the illusion of conversation with readers makes the story easier and friendlier. Pushkin introduced lyrical digressions, to highlight the evolution of the narrative's views: from romantic to realistic. And peculiar, open ending indicates that the poet wanted to give a realistic quality to his novel.

The genre feature of “Eugene Onegin” lies in this - despite such an ending, Pushkin manages to create a holistic and complete work. Pushkin's innovation lies not only in the genre diversity of the work, but also in the composition of the work.

Features of the genre of the novel by N.G. Chernyshevsky “What to do?”

I. Introduction

The novel as a leading genre in Russian literature mid-19th V. (Turgenev, Goncharov, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy). Features of the Russian novel: attention to the problem of personality, focus on moral and ethical problems, a broad social background, developed psychologism.

II. Main part

1. All of the listed features are inherent in the novel “What is to be done?” At the center of the novel are images of “new people,” primarily the image of Vera Pavlovna. The author traces the formation and development of Vera Pavlovna's personality, the formation of her self-awareness, the search and acquisition of personal happiness. The main problems of the novel are ideological and moral, related to the establishment of the philosophy and ethics of the “new people”. The novel quite fully presents the social and everyday way of life (especially in the chapters “The Life of Vera Pavlovna in her Parental Family” and “First Love and Legal Marriage”). The characters of the main characters, especially Vera Pavlovna, are revealed by the author through the depiction of their inner world, that is, psychologically.

2. Genre originality of the novel “What is to be done?”:

a) “What should I do?” - first of all social novel, for him the problem of the relationship between the individual and society is extremely important. Outwardly, it is structured as a love novel, but, firstly, in the love story of Vera Pavlovna, it is precisely the connection between personality and living conditions that is emphasized, and secondly, the problem of love itself is for Chernyshevsky part of a broader problem - the position of women in society: what it was like what it is now and what it should and can be;

b) in the novel “What to do?” there are also features of a family novel: it traces in detail the household structure family life Lopukhovs, Kirsanovs, Beaumonts, down to the location of the rooms, the nature of daily activities, food, etc. This side of life was important to Chernyshevsky because in the problem of women’s emancipation, family life plays a very important role. significant role: only with its change can a woman feel equal and free;

c) Chernyshevsky introduces elements of a utopian novel into his work. Utopia is an image of a happy and devoid of internal contradictions life of people, usually in a more or less distant future. Such a utopian picture is presented by most of Vera Pavlovna’s Fourth Dream, in which Chernyshevsky describes in detail, down to the smallest details (palaces made of glass and aluminum, furniture, dishes, winter gardens, the nature of work and rest), paints a picture of the future happy life humanity. Utopian paintings of this kind are important for Chernyshevsky from two points of view: firstly, they give him the opportunity to express his social and moral ideal in visual form, and secondly, are intended to convince the reader that the new public relations are truly possible and achievable;

d) Chernyshevsky’s novel can also be described as journalistic, since, firstly, it is devoted to pressing problems of our time (“the women’s question”, the formation and development of the common intelligentsia, the problem of restructuring social order in Russia), and secondly, in it the author more than once directly speaks out about these topical problems, addresses the reader with calls, etc.

III. Conclusion

So, the genre originality of Chernyshevsky’s novel is defined as common features Russian novel (psychologism, ideological and moral issues, etc.), and an original combination in one work genre features inherent different types novel.