Ilya Ilyich Oblomov - main character novel of the same name Goncharova. An entire phenomenon of Russian reality began to be named after him. This is “Oblomovism.” What kind of person is this? How did he “distinguish himself” that he went down in history? Let’s try to figure it out. Oblomov is a gentleman, a landowner who lives off the labor of his serfs. This has always been the case in his life. Servants dressed him, fed him, looked after him, made his life comfortable and carefree .In the ancestral village of the Oblomovs - Oblomovka, all the inhabitants felt protected. Peace, carelessness and bliss reigned in the village. Little Ilya willingly absorbed the morals of Oblomovka. As an adult, he sees a dream. Oblomov's dream is a memory of childhood and at the same time - an image of an ideal the life of our hero. There we will find the reasons why Ilyusha became Oblomov, giving rise to “Oblomovism”. He was loved, caressed, cherished, pampered. He grew up kind, sympathetic, but incapable of any activity. The dream returns Ilya Ilyich to the serene time of childhood. The hero walks through life, but in fact he runs away from it, from reality to childhood memories. He did not know dangers, did not experience difficulties."300 Zakharov" is always at his service. He is a dreamer. He believes in fairy tales, where everything is resolved magically. And the way he is cut off from real life, then he believes that the same thing happens in life. Our hero does not know life and is afraid of it. Having moved to the city, he hides in apartments from life’s storms. He is impractical - and the clerk robs him (which will ultimately lead his estate to collapse) In love, he also turned out to be untenable. Something had to be done. After all, Olga fell in love with Oblomov for his good disposition, “dovelike character,” for his ability to understand and show high feelings. But Ilya Ilyich is not able to keep his beloved. One thought about that that he needs to look after, do something, terrifies him, and he lies down on his sofa (which has become a symbol of “Oblomovism”) and there he is at ease and at peace. Stolz’s attempts to somehow change his friend’s lifestyle do not lead to anything good they bring you in. Lying on the sofa in an old robe is Oblomov’s normal state. The bustle of the world tires him, his friends gradually leave. The ideal of life for the hero is also in unity with nature, family, dreams. And he found something that suited him completely. In Pshenitsyna’s house. He, one might say, returned to Oblomovka. Everything was done as with the wave of a magic wand. Delicious food, a glass of liqueur before dinner, a clean house, a loving woman. But the main thing is that she put in order the abandoned robe, (a symbol of “Oblomovism”, and everything returned to normal. Oblomov is a good person, the author claims .The makings of his nature are excellent. Kind, naive, dreamy, trusting, capable of deep feelings, but he lived a meaningless and, in general, empty life. He is an extra person. And he continued the gallery “ extra people"in Russian literature, begun by Pushkin and Lermontov. But Oblomov stands apart. Pechorin and Onegin were fighters by nature and character. Oblomov is not a fighter, but a senseless dreamer. Why is he like that? Education and way of life and also, the reluctance to work made the hero “smartly useless”, and all the forces of his nature remained unused. So what is “Oblomovism”? Inactivity, meaninglessness of existence, replacing real life with projects and dreams. Preference for active work, lying on the couch and the slow death of the soul and bodies. Such is our hero.
Thanks to Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov, the concept of “Oblomovism” appeared. With this word, the author designated the state in which his main character finds himself - smart, handsome, with a pure soul, who does not want to live the way most of his friends live. At the same time, Oblomov does not have “his own path” - he only dreams, makes unrealistic plans and does nothing at all. Life, youth, love pass him by, and it seems there is no force that would make him get up from the couch.
The debate about what Oblomovism is began immediately after the book was published and continues to this day. The source of these disputes lies, as often happens, in considering the phenomenon of Oblomovism from opposing points of view.
Oblomovism is a social evil
Since the novel was written in the era of transition from serfdom to capitalism, many contemporaries saw Oblomovism as a product of feudal relations, a brake on social development.
Dmitry Pisarev called Oblomovism “submissive, peaceful, smiling apathy,” and Oblomov called it pampered, spoiled, “accustomed to lordship, inaction and complete satisfaction of one’s physical needs.”
The prominent statesman Anatoly Koni even argued that the Oblomovs of his day “with their apathy, fear of any initiative and lazy non-resistance to evil nullify the glaring issues of life and the needs of the country.”
Oblomovism - the search for higher meaning
However, not all critics limited themselves to such a one-sided interpretation of the concept of “Oblomovism.” Many have tried to consider this phenomenon from a universal human perspective, to see in it something more than pathological laziness conditioned by social conditions. Thus, Goncharov’s contemporary, writer Alexander Druzhinin, argued that “it is impossible to know Oblomov and not love him deeply,” if only because “he is positively incapable of evil deeds.”
Already in Soviet time Mikhail Prishvin wrote about the novel “Oblomov”: “In this novel, Russian laziness is internally glorified and externally it is condemned by the depiction of dead-active people. No “positive” activity in Russia can withstand Oblomov’s criticism: his peace is fraught with a request for the highest value , to such activity, because of which it would be worth losing peace."
We agree with him and modern critics Peter Weil and Alexander Genis. In their book “Native Speech: Lessons in Fine Literature,” they describe Oblomov as “the only true person in the novel,” who does not want to put on the roles imposed by society, defending his right to remain just a man.
Introduction
Ivan Goncharov for the first time in his novel “Oblomov” introduces a new concept for Russian literature “Oblomovism”, which denoted a special social tendency, characteristic, first of all, of the Russian people, concluded in complete lack of will, apathy, constant laziness and excessive daydreaming, when illusions are replaced real life, and the person degrades. The word “Oblomovism” itself comes from the name of the main character of the work - Oblomov and his name native village- Oblomovka, which was the focus of everything that led to the gradual extinction of Ilya Ilyich as a person, his complete isolation from the world and final escapism. The portrayal of Oblomov and “Oblomovism” in Goncharov’s novel is a reflection of the process of gradual change, the “breaking” of a person who is instilled with unnatural values and desires, which ultimately leads to tragic consequences - the acquisition of a false meaning of life, fear real world And early death hero.
Oblomovka and “Oblomovism”
The roots of the appearance of “Oblomovism” in Oblomov lie in the childhood of the hero - Ilya Ilyich grew up in a distant village, literally cut off from the real world and the center of Russia - Oblomovka. The Oblomov estate is located in a picturesque, quiet, peaceful area, where the climate pleased with its moderation and tranquility, where there were no heavy rains, hurricanes or winds, a raging sea or majestic mountains, instead of which there were gentle hills, even the sky “huddles closer to the ground”, “to hug her tighter, with love: it spread out so low above her head, like a parent’s reliable roof, to protect, it seems, the chosen corner from all adversity.” Everything here promised “a calm, long-term life until the hair turned yellow and an unnoticed sleep.” death like this" Even the seasons followed each other according to the calendar, without destroying the crops with spring snows - everything in Oblomovka went according to its usual way, without changing for decades. In such a semblance of paradise on earth, Oblomov and the Oblomovites developed, protected even by nature from all sorts of hardships, experiences and losses.
People in Oblomovka lived from rite to rite - from birth to wedding and from wedding to funeral. The pacifying nature pacified their disposition, making them quiet, harmless and indifferent to everything: the most terrible atrocities in the village were associated with the theft of peas or carrots, and once found dead person from neighboring village, they decided to forget about it, since the lives of other communities did not concern them, which means the deceased is not their problem. A similar situation occurred with a letter from a neighboring estate, which described a recipe for beer, but the Oblomovites were afraid to open it right away, fearing bad news that could disturb the usual tranquility of the village. People in Oblomovka did not like work, considering it a duty and trying to get the job done as quickly as possible or even shift it onto the shoulders of someone else. On the estate, all the work was done by the servants, who, as can be seen from the example of Zakhar, were also not the most responsible and hardworking people, but at the same time remained devoted servants of their bar.
The days of the Oblomovites passed in calmness and idleness, and most important event there was a choice of dishes for lunch, when everyone offered their own options, and then everyone consulted, approaching the menu with particular seriousness: “caring for food was the first and main concern of life in Oblomovka. After the meal, everyone fell into a sleepy state, sometimes they carried on lazy, meaningless conversations, but more often they were completely silent, gradually falling asleep: “it was some kind of all-consuming, invincible sleep, a true likeness of death,” which little Ilya observed from year to year, gradually adopting parental behavior model and values.
Oblomov's childhood in Oblomovka
As a child, Ilya was an inquisitive, active child who tried in every possible way to understand the world around him. He wanted, like other children, to run through the fields, climb trees, walk where it was forbidden, or, climbing into the hayloft, admire the river and magnificent landscapes from above. Oblomov liked to watch animals and explore the surrounding area. However, overly protective parents, who from infancy surrounded Ilya with constant care and control, forbade the boy to actively interact with the world and study it, instilling in him completely different, “Oblomov” values and behavior patterns: constant laziness, unwillingness to work and study, lack of will and fear of the real. peace.
Deprived of the need to fight for his desires, receiving everything he wants at the first request, Oblomov became accustomed to idleness. He did not need to decide or do anything on his own - there were always parents nearby who “knew better” what their son needed, or servants who were ready to bring him any food, help him get dressed or clean his chambers. Ilya was raised as an exotic " indoor flower", protecting him with all his might from outside world and hiding in the peaceful nest of Oblomovka. His parents did not even demand academic success from their son, since they did not consider science to be something truly important and useful; they often left him at home on holidays or in bad weather. That is why studying at school, and then at the institute, became for Oblomov something like an instruction from his parents, and not the implementation of it of one's own will. Ilya Ilyich was bored in class; he did not understand how the knowledge gained could be applied in later life, in particular, in Oblomovka.
The destructive influence of fairy tales on Oblomov’s life
In the novel, Ilya Ilyich appears as a very sensitive, dreamy person who knows how to see beauty and subtly experience any manifestations of the outside world. In many ways, the formation of these qualities in the hero was influenced by Oblomov’s picturesque nature and fairy tales that his nanny told the boy. Myths and legends carried Oblomov into a completely different world - a fantastic, beautiful and full of wonders: “He involuntarily dreams of Militris Kirbityevna; he is constantly drawn in the direction where they only know that they are walking, where there are no worries and sorrows; he always has the disposition to lie on the stove, walk around in a ready-made, unearned dress and eat at the expense of the good sorceress.” Even in adulthood, realizing that “rivers of milk” do not exist, Ilya Ilyich “is sometimes unconsciously sad, why is a fairy tale not life, and why is life not a fairy tale.” That is why in Oblomov, that feeling of abandonment of a person in a terrifying and frightening world, instilled with fairy tales, continued to live in Oblomov, where you need to blindly make your way forward, neither seeing a goal nor a road, from which only a true miracle can save you.
Fairy, Magic world legends and myths become an alternative reality for Oblomov and already in adulthood he himself invents a fairy tale about future life in heavenly Oblomovka, about endless calm family happiness, prosperity and tranquility. However, the tragedy of Ilya Ilyich does not even lie in total escapism, fear of society, unwillingness to do anything and fight for his happiness, and not the understanding that he has already replaced real life with an illusory one. Before his death, for Oblomov, his dreams are more real and important than his son, wife, friend and people around him, even more important than himself, because in his dreams everything is in order with his health, he is full of strength and energy. However, Goncharov himself in the novel briefly gives the reader one of the explanations for this substitution: “or maybe sleep, the eternal silence of a sluggish life and the absence of movement and any real fears, adventures and dangers forced a person to create another, unrealizable one among the natural world, and to look for revelry and fun for the idle imagination or the solution to ordinary combinations of circumstances and causes of a phenomenon outside the phenomenon itself,” emphasizing that life itself should be a continuous striving forward, and not an endless sleep in the “comfort zone.”
Conclusion
The concept of “Oblomovism” in the novel “Oblomov” is introduced by Goncharov not as a single characteristic of the life motives and characteristics of the protagonist’s nature, but as a typical and especially attractive phenomenon for Russian society - the archetype of Emelya the Fool, lying on the stove and waiting for his finest hour. According to the author himself, this is “an evil and insidious satire on our great-grandfathers, and maybe even on ourselves” - a fairy tale that everyone wants to believe in, but which has nothing to do with reality, where in order to achieve heights it is necessary to rise from ovens and work, work on yourself. Using Oblomov as an example, Goncharov showed how a sensitive, dreamy person can be detrimentally affected by excessive care and guardianship, protection from stress and loss, leading to complete disappointment in real life and its replacement with illusions.
The characteristics of the concept of “Oblomovism”, the history of its appearance and the connection with the main character of the novel will be useful to 10th graders while preparing an essay on the topic “Oblomov and “Oblomovism” in the novel “Oblomov”.
Work test
I. A. Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov” was published in 1859, at a time when the issue of abolition of serfdom was extremely acute in the country, when Russian society has already fully realized the destructiveness of the existing order. Deep knowledge of life and accuracy of social analysis of characters allowed the writer to find amazing correct definition The way of Russian life of that time was “Oblomovism”.
The author's main task in the novel is to show how a person gradually dies in a person, how unadapted a landowner is to life, not accustomed to doing anything. The main qualities of the kind, sweet Ilya Ilyich Oblomov are his inertia, apathy, and aversion to any activity. True to the traditions of realism, I. A. Goncharov shows that these qualities were the result of Oblomov’s upbringing; they were born from the confidence that any of his desires would be fulfilled and no effort needed to be made for this. Oblomov is a nobleman, he does not have to work for a piece of bread - hundreds of Zakharov serfs work for him on the estate and completely ensure his existence. This means that he can lie on the couch all day long, not because he is tired, but because “this was his normal state.” He almost merged with his soft, comfortable robe and long, wide shoes, which he masterfully slipped into the first time, as soon as he dangled his feet from the sofa.
In his youth, Oblomov “was full of all sorts of aspirations, hopes, he expected a lot from fate and himself, he was always preparing for some field, for some role.” But time passed, and Ilya Ilyich was still getting ready, getting ready to start new life, but made no progress towards any goal. In Moscow he received a good education, but his head “was like a library, consisting of only knowledge scattered in parts.” Entering the service, which had previously seemed to him in the form of some kind of family occupation, he did not even imagine that life would immediately be divided into two halves for him, one of which would consist of work and boredom, which for him were synonymous, and the other - from peace and peaceful fun. He realized that “it would take at least an earthquake to prevent a healthy person from coming to work,” and therefore he soon resigned, then stopped going out into the world and completely shut himself up in his room. If Oblomov recognizes some kind of work, it is only the work of the soul, since dozens of generations of his ancestors “endured labor as a punishment imposed on our forefathers, but they could not love, and where there was a chance, they always got rid of it, finding it possible and due."
There were moments in Oblomov’s life when he thought about the reasons that prompted him to lead such a life, when he asked himself the question: “Why am I like this?” In the climactic chapter of the novel “Oblomov’s Dream,” the writer answers this question. He creates a picture of provincial landowner life and shows how lazy hibernation gradually becomes the normal state of a person.
In a dream, Oblomov is transported to his parents’ estate Oblomovka, “a blessed corner of the earth,” where there is “no sea, no high mountains, rocks, abysses, no dense forests - there is nothing grandiose, wild and gloomy.” An idyllic picture appears before us, a series of beautiful landscapes. “The annual circle is performed there correctly and calmly. Deep silence lies in the fields. Silence and peace of life also reign in the morals of the people in that region,” writes I. A. Goncharov. Oblomov sees himself as a little boy, striving to look into the unknown, ask more questions and get answers. But only caring for food becomes the first and main concern of life in Oblomovka. And the rest of the time is occupied by “some kind of all-consuming, invincible dream,” which I. A. Goncharov makes a symbol characterizing people like Oblomov, and which he calls “the true likeness of death.” From childhood, Ilya was accustomed to the fact that he did not have to do anything, that for any job there was “Vaska, Vanka, Zakharka,” and at some point he himself realized that it was “much calmer” this way. And therefore, all those “seeking manifestations of strength” in Ilyusha “turned inward and sank, withering away.” Such a life deprived the hero of the novel of any initiative and gradually turned him into a slave of his position, his habits, and even a slave of his servant Zakhar.
In his article “What is Oblomovism?” N.A. Dobrolyubov wrote: “Oblomov is not a stupid apathetic figure without aspirations and feelings, but a person who is also looking for something in life, thinking about something.” He is endowed with many positive qualities, and not stupid. There is a sad truth in his judgments - also a consequence Russian life. What are all these Sudbinskys, Volkins, Penkovs striving for? Indeed, is it worth getting up from the couch for the sake of the petty fuss that his former comrades are busy with?
In the spirit of the tradition created by Russian writers, I. A. Goncharov subjects his hero to the greatest test - the test of love. A feeling for Olga Ilyinskaya, a girl of enormous spiritual strength, could resurrect Oblomov. But I. A. Goncharov is a realist, and he cannot show happy ending novel. “Why did everything die? Who cursed you, Ilya? What ruined you? - Olga bitterly tries to understand. And the writer gives the answer to these questions, absolutely precisely defining the name of this evil - Oblomovism. And Ilya Ilyich was not the only one who became her victim. “Our name is legion!” - he says to Stolz. And indeed, almost all the heroes of the novel were amazed by “Oblomovism” and became its victims: Zakhar, Agafya Pshenitsyna, Stolz, and Olga.
The greatest merit of I. A. Goncharov is that he surprisingly accurately depicted the disease that struck Russian society mid-19th century, which N.A. Dobrolyubov characterized as “the inability to actively want something,” and pointed to social reasons this phenomenon.