“Gogol Evenings on the Farm” - 35. N.V. Gogol. "Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka". 13. N. Gogol “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka.” Worship of the shepherds. 21. M I Gogol-Yanovskaya, nee Kosyarovskaya. 7. 14. 17. 9. Alley of Oaks.

“Biography of Gogol” - Gogol’s father served at the Little Russian Post Office. In 1849-1850, Gogol reads individual chapters of the 2nd volume " Dead souls"to his friends. In January 1848, Gogol went to Jerusalem by sea. In October 1850, Gogol arrived in Odessa. Gogol spent his childhood years on the estate of his parents Vasilyevka.

“May Night or the Drowned Woman” - Why does Hanna have bad feelings? Chapter 2 “Head”. And in places what poetry! Bolshie Sorochintsi in Ukraine. N.V. Gogol "May Night, or the Drowned Woman". Literature 5th grade. What do you think Ganna and Levko were like? The author especially valued Pushkin’s review. Levko tells Hanna the legend about the terrible house on the mountain.

“Gogol's Overcoat Stories” - “Little Man.” Bashmachkin is not burdened by his poverty because he does not know another life. And each of the stories represented a new phenomenon in Russian literature. Work was completed by: Samorodov. M.A., Sirotinin. S.A. The story "The Overcoat" describes not only an incident from the life of the hero. The idea. Criticism about the "Overcoat."

“Lesson of Gogol’s Overcoat” - N.V. Gogol - mother, February 2, 1830. The history of the creation of the cycle “Petersburg Tales”. Lepatiev gun. What associations does the reader have with The Bronze Horseman? G.A.Gukovsky. “The Overcoat” We all came out of Gogol’s “The Overcoat”... Letters. Memories. Let's compare " Bronze Horseman» A.S. Pushkin and “The Overcoat” by N.V. Gogol.

“Gogol’s Comedy The Inspector General” - Few true connoisseurs - educated and honest people - were delighted. The action in the play develops through the following stages: Homework. Postmaster Shpekin. Khlestakov. Make a poster for the play. Denouement is an event that ends an action. Celebration of the Mayor. And a few days later, in a letter to the historian.

"Overcoat".

The main idea of ​​"The Overcoat" is very sublime. It's safe to say that this small piece, in terms of the depth of the idea, stands above everything written by Gogol. In “The Overcoat” he does not incriminate anyone. Gogol speaks here with an evangelical sermon of love for one's neighbors; in the image of a hero he draws a “poor in spirit”, a “small” person, “insignificant”, unnoticeable and claims that this creature is worthy and human love and even respect. It was difficult to put forward such a “bold” idea at a time when the average public was still under the influence of the spectacular heroes of Marlinsky and his imitators, and all the more honor to Gogol that he decided to say his word in defense of the “humiliated and insulted” hero, without even being afraid put him on a pedestal.

The little man from “The Overcoat” - Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin, a low-ranking official, offended by fate and people, not endowed with any abilities except the ability to beautifully rewrite papers (see his description in the text of the work), is represented by Gogol as a person who is not only conscientious, but even with love he goes about his business. This business, rewriting papers, is the whole meaning and only joy of his lonely, half-starved life; he dreams of nothing else, strives for nothing and is incapable of anything else. When the hero of “The Overcoat” was given independent work in the form of a promotion, he was unable to complete it and asked to be left in the correspondence. This awareness of his spiritual impotence captivates the viewer and puts him in favor of the modest Bashmachkin.

Gogol "The Overcoat". Illustration by P. Fedorov

But Gogol in his story demands respect for this man, who, in the words of the Gospel parable, was given “one talent,” and this “talent” was not buried by him. Bashmachkin, according to Gogol, stands above gifted officials who occupy prominent positions but neglect their duties.

But not only respect for Bashmachkin, as a modest and honest worker, is what Gogol demands in his story, he demands love for him as a “person.” This is the high moral idea of ​​“The Overcoat”.

Without hoping that modern readers will be able to understand this work themselves and understand its “idea,” Gogol himself reveals it, depicting the state of mind of one sensitive young man who, thanks to his meeting with the “little man” Bashmachkin, understood the great feeling of Christian love for neighbors. Selfish and frivolous youth, in official uniforms, loved to make fun of the funny and unrequited old man. The hero of “The Overcoat” meekly endured everything, only occasionally repeating in a pitiful voice: “Leave me alone! Why are you offending me? And Gogol continues:

“And there was something strange in the words and the voice with which they were spoken. There was something in him that inclined to pity, that one young man, who, following the example of others, had allowed himself to laugh at him, suddenly stopped, as if pierced, and from then on, everything seemed to change before him and appeared in a different form. Some unnatural force pushed him away from the comrades with whom he met, mistaking them for decent, secular people. And for a long time later, in the midst of the most cheerful moments, a low official, with a bald spot on his forehead, appeared to him with his penetrating words: “Leave me alone! Why are you offending me?” And in these penetrating words other words rang: “I am your brother!” And the poor young man covered himself with his hand, and many times later he shuddered throughout his life, seeing how much inhumanity there is in man, how much ferocious rudeness is hidden in refined, educated secularism and, God! even in that person whom the world recognizes as noble and honest!

The little man Bashmachkin lived unnoticed and died just as unknown, forgotten... His life was not rich in impressions. That's why the biggest events in it were the terrifying realization that he had to buy new overcoat, joyful dreams about this overcoat, his delight when the overcoat was on his shoulders, and, finally, his torment when this overcoat was stolen from him and when it turned out to be impossible to find it... All these various feelings associated with the overcoat, burst into his existence like a hurricane and crushed him into a short time. The hero of “The Overcoat” died from the same insignificant reason as Gogol’s old-world landowners, and this happened for the same reason: his life was too meaningless, and therefore every accident grew to gigantic proportions in this empty life. What for another person living life to the fullest would be an unpleasant, but collateral circumstance, then for Bashmachkin it became the only content of life.

It should also be noted that Gogol’s “The Overcoat” is organically connected with the Russian novel of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Gogol had predecessors in Russian literature who also depicted little people. Among Chulkov’s works there is the story “Bitter Fate”, in which an official is depicted - the prototype of Bashmachkin. The same insignificant petty existence of the hero, the same sympathetic, humane attitude of the author towards him. And sentimentalism brought with it the preaching of love for a little person, and Karamzin made a great discovery in his “Poor Liza”: “even peasant women know how to feel.” Following his “Flor Silin, the virtuous peasant,” images of various little people, in whose hearts the authors revealed high feelings of love for people, for their homeland, and for their duty, have become favorites in our literature. Pushkin, in Masha Mironova and her parents, revealed a whole world of sublime feelings in the hearts of simple-minded Russian people. In a word, this humane, noble attention to those little people whom the crowd passes by indifferently has become a tradition of Russian literature, and therefore Gogol’s “The Overcoat” is organically connected with all previous Russian fiction. Gogol said in “The Overcoat” a “new word” only in the sense that he found the sublime in the “funny”, “pathetic” and managed to embody his idea as artistically as his predecessor in the 18th century, Chulkov, failed.

Gogol "The Overcoat". Audiobook

Gogol's story has great importance and for subsequent Russian literature. “We all came out of Gogol’s “The Overcoat!” - said Dostoevsky and, indeed, many of his stories, stories that are the most humane in mood, echo the influence of Gogol. All of Dostoevsky’s first works (“Poor People”, “Humiliated and Insulted”), all are the development of Gogol’s humane ideas embodied in his “The Overcoat”. Foreign criticism notes that one of the most characteristic features Russian literature must recognize the tendency to preach compassion for a fallen brother, or in general for the unfortunate, offended by fate and people. This is truly ours literary tradition, and in the history of the strengthening and development of love for the “little man,” Gogol’s touching “The Overcoat” occupies the most prominent place.

About the relationship of the image " little man"and "humiliated and insulted"

Now let us turn to the concept of the humiliated and insulted. The most prosaic interpretation of these two words can be found, for example, in explanatory dictionary S.I. Ozhegov and N.Yu. Shvedova, where the words “humiliated” and “insulted” are understood: humiliated, for example, is understood as downtrodden, oppressed by misfortunes, insults; offended as

expressing the feeling of insult or resentment experienced by someone.

Russian literature has more than once turned to the image of a “humiliated and insulted” person. It was first touched upon by A.S. Pushkin in the story “The Station Warden.” The image of Samson Vyrin and his misfortune cannot leave anyone indifferent. In Pushkin, a humiliated and insulted person is, first of all, a poor person, possessing all the qualities of the Russian character: simplicity, immense naivety, sympathy for all living things, deep soulfulness. He is insulted and humiliated, but nevertheless retains his nobility and sincerity.

This theme was continued by N.V. Gogol, who created the immortal image of Akaki Akakievich in “The Overcoat”. For him, a humiliated and insulted person - “... a creature not protected by anyone, not dear to anyone, not interesting to anyone, not even attracting the attention of a natural observer, who does not allow him to put an ordinary fly on a pin and examine it through a microscope...”. 2 In other words, a person about whom no one cares. He is insulted and humiliated by the state and those around him, but has no self-esteem and lives by petty interests. M.Yu. also turned to the image of an unnecessary “little” man. Lermontov, who contrasted Pechorin with the kind staff captain Maxim Maksimych. The best humanistic traditions are associated with this topic in Russian literature. Writers invite people to think about the fact that every person has the right to life and happiness.

Dostoevsky's work is diverse and rich in so many themes that it is difficult to single out the one that determines the motives of all his works. Most often they talk about the theme of “humiliated and insulted,” which is raised more than once in his stories and novels.

Dostoevsky returns to this topic with enviable tenacity, trying to highlight all the smallest details and nuances in it. There are two famous works Dostoevsky, which are dedicated to the “humiliated and insulted” are the stories “Poor People” and “Crime and Punishment”.

Humiliated and insulted in the novel “Crime and Punishment”

The motive of this theme can be seen especially clearly in the world-famous work “Crime and Punishment.” This novel is called psychological picture crime, painted by the author in such unexpected colors, with carefully thought out psychological nuances.

Poor student Raskolnikov kills an old money-lender. But the essence of this work is not at all in the skill of the crime, but in its ideology and motive. Behind the murder of Rodion there is something much more fundamental than the desire to steal, take personal revenge or free oneself.

His thoughts lead the reader to the conclusion that he could not have acted differently. His action is a direct consequence of the fate that he lives, the fate of the “humiliated and insulted.”

The circumstances in which the student is forced to exist are so depressing and cause him despair and contradictions that over time he becomes mired in confused and unbearable thoughts. Raskolnikov sees poor, outcast and suffering people around him, and he himself - bright example"humiliated and insulted."

There is no normal, satisfying life around him; people are already forgetting that they may not be hungry, that they can live clean and warm. The fate of his sister is the same, and this drives Raskolnikov into unbearable indignation.

He no longer worries as much about himself as he does about other people: about hungry and poor children, about his sister, about Sonya, whom life forced her to earn money in an inappropriate way, about Katerina Ivanovna, who did not even have anyone to turn to for help.

Psychological understanding of the humiliated and insulted

The present of these people is as dramatic and terrifying as their future, in which it is impossible to imagine enlightenment and joy. Only for Rodion alone the stories of these people evoke such feelings, while others smile, yawn and do not even try to understand the essence of their deplorable life.

Rejected and humiliated by society, people themselves no longer think about the fact that they deserve a better - nourishing and warm - life, since in the perception of other people there is no place for such thoughts, no one cares about them, no one wants to help them.

Revealing the picture of the life of the “humiliated and insulted,” Dostoevsky not only describes their existence, he immediately moves on to psychological understanding. The murder committed by Raskolnikov seems more like a natural result of what was happening than an unnatural one.

The writer wants not only to draw attention to such people, he wants everyone else to think about what this will lead to. But Dostoevsky does not justify the crime of his hero, no, he shows that such a path is unacceptable in order to correct the situation.

The theme of self-affirmation, which Dostoevsky raises in “Poor People,” continues in his next work, “The Humiliated and Insulted.”

The novel “Humiliated and Insulted” was first published in 1861 in the magazine “Time”. In the article “Forgotten People,” Dobrolyubov called Dostoevsky “one of the most remarkable figures of our culture,” and his novel “The Humiliated and Insulted” was the best cultural phenomenon of the year. N.A. Dobrolyubov noted that the new work of Fyodor Mikhailovich, like his first novel “Poor People,” belongs to the “humanistic” direction that N.V. Gogol, the founder of “ natural school"in Russian literature. “In the works of Mr. Dostoevsky,” the critic wrote, “we find one common feature, more or less noticeable in everything he wrote: this is pain about a person who recognizes himself as unable or, finally, not even entitled to be a person, a real, complete, independent person, himself.” The action of the novel “The Humiliated and Insulted” takes place in the 40s of the 19th century, but its bright anti-capitalist orientation indicates that Dostoevsky sensitively felt and realistically reproduced the political atmosphere of the 60s: the novel shows St. Petersburg with its glaring social contradictions and contrasts , talks about the controversy over the reforms introduced by the government, capturing the anxiety of a rising democracy about the fate of the humiliated and disadvantaged. It is in this strong point novel. “People whose human dignity is insulted,” wrote Dobrolyubov, “appear to us in the works of Mr. Dostoevsky in two main types: meek and bitter.” The meek are those who do not protest, but resign themselves to their humiliated position (Natasha Ikhmeneva, her parents, Ivan Petrovich). The bitter, on the contrary, want to challenge those who insult and humiliate them, they rebel against the injustice that exists in the world. But this protest is tragic, because it leads them to death, as happens with the teenage girl Nelly. This division of characters in the novel corresponds to two parallel storylines: the first is the story of the Ikhmenev family, the second is tragic fate Smithov. The first storyline continues the tradition of sentimental Russian literature of the 19th century century. Dostoevsky narrates that the daughter of the small landed nobleman Ikhmenev, Natasha, having fallen in love with the son of Prince Valkovsky, Alyosha, and not receiving parental blessing, leaves home to join him. And for this her father curses her. However, the flighty and frivolous Alyosha soon falls in love with the rich daughter of the countess and, at the insistence of his father, marries her. Humiliated and offended in her best feelings, Natasha returns to her poor parents, her father, after painful hesitation, recognizes her. All the forces of evil are falling on the Ikhmenev family. Natasha's father, Nikolai Sergeevich, is disgraced. Valkovsky accuses this kind, trusting man, who sheltered Alyosha in the house and brought order to the ruined princely estate, of fraud; he mercilessly expels Ikhmenev, who no longer needs him. Nikolai Sergeevich's suffering is aggravated by the conflict with his daughter: for him, Natasha's leaving home is a shame. Natasha’s mother experiences no less suffering, forced to endure both her daughter’s leaving home and her husband’s anger. But Natasha also suffers, whose love Dostoevsky portrayed in the novel as self-sacrifice. In the name of feelings for Alyosha, the girl forgets about her previous affections and sacrifices her own dignity. Dostoevsky highly appreciates Natasha’s love and sees strength of character in her actions. However, life does not bring Natasha happiness. She suffers both because her father cursed her and because of the prince’s treachery. But the direct culprit of the heroine’s suffering is none other than Alyosha. It was he who tore it away from a family disgraced by his own father; he deceived her with a promise of marriage and abandoned her at the insistence of her father for the sake of rich Katya. It would seem that there is every reason to condemn the culprit of Natasha’s drama, Alyosha, but Dostoevsky does not do this. In accordance with the code of Christian humanism, the writer “mitigates” guilt young man . The narrator, writer Ivan Petrovich, on whose behalf the story is told, looks at Alyosha with the loving eyes of Natasha, he does not see the selfishness of the hero’s behavior, and sometimes even admires, admires Alyosha and is inclined to interpret all the low actions of the young prince as a harmless manifestation of sweet childishness. The author makes his dishonored heroine, deceived by her lover, call for pity and forgiveness: “Don’t blame him (Alyosha), Vanya,” Natasha interrupted... “you can’t judge him like everyone else... he was raised wrong. Does he understand what he is doing?.. He has no character...” Here Dostoevsky quite clearly preaches the Christian idea of ​​forgiveness to our offenders, and this weakens the social urgency of the novel. The hypocrisy of this “Christian virtue” was subtly noticed by Dobrolyubov, from whom Alyosha did not arouse sympathy. Some modern critics highlight Alyosha’s sincerity and are even inclined to draw a line from this “barchuk” to the hero of the novel “The Idiot” - Myshkin or Alyosha Karamazov from “The Brothers Karamazov”, but such a parallel is not thorough. Sincerity itself does not protect a person from bad deeds, does not guarantee against selfishness, and does not make him impeccable. Yes, Alyosha is sincere and, perhaps, even kind, but, unlike Myshkin, there is selfishness and selfishness in him. And this is manifested in his attitude towards Katya and in his love for Natasha, when Alyosha convinces her to agree to his marriage with the rich heiress Katya. His words reveal an eerie logic: since Natasha loves him, that means she must love his happiness, that is, agree to his marriage with Katya. With the entire course of the plot, the author proves that if Alyosha had really been on Natasha’s side, if his love had been faithful, strong, devoid of selfishness, no one would have disturbed their happiness, and neither Natasha nor her parents would have become victims of Prince Valkovsky. However, as a moralist, Dostoevsky does not condemn Alyosha. On the contrary, in this case he preaches the idea of ​​forgiveness, making Natasha its bearer. But the modern reader, alien to humility and forgiveness, cannot look at Alyosha through the eyes of the heroine. He judges him by his actions and deeds. Our assessment of Alyosha differs from the author’s. Dostoevsky’s code of humanism also included such a concept as suffering. The writer was sincerely convinced that through suffering a person is purified. And therefore, in the Ikhmenev family, the question of active struggle against social injustice does not arise. Ikhmenev refuses social protest and calls for proud humility: “Oh! Let us be humiliated, let us be insulted, but we are together again, and let, now let these proud and arrogant ones, who humiliated and insulted us, triumph! “Dostoevsky attached great importance to this passive solidarity of all those who have gone through the crucible of suffering, who have come to terms with their disastrous, humiliated situation and are not looking for a way out in the struggle. Therefore, calling to go “hand in hand,” Ikhmenev turns to Natasha, whom he has forgiven. But this storyline of “The Humiliated and Insulted” is not the main achievement of Dostoevsky the realist. It is overlapped by another, completed in the epilogue, the story of Nellie and the entire Smith family. Old Man Smith with his dog Azorka, whose fate was “in some mysterious, unknown ways connected with the fate of its owner”; Nellie's mother, rejected by her father, begging on the streets of St. Petersburg and dying in a damp basement, and, finally, Nellie herself, suffering beatings from the bourgeois procuress Bubnova and all sorts of abuse from her clients - all these humiliated and insulted are depicted in the novel with even greater social sharpness. It is the tragic fate of Nelly, this proud, not childishly serious girl who went through all the torment and tyranny of earthly hell, excitedly told by Dostoevsky, that allows us to deeply reveal the blatant injustice of social relations. But Nellie is not passive, she cannot come to terms with and forgive her offenders. The girl is obsessed with revenge. Her rebellion against the prince and the conditions surrounding her is full of tragedy. Depicting the fates of Natasha and Nellie, the writer gives, as it were, two answers to the question about the behavior of a suffering person: on the one hand, passive, enlightened humility and, on the other, an irreconcilable curse on the entire unjust world. The novel “Humiliated and Insulted” had big influence on Russian society and on subsequent literature, since it aroused hatred of offenders who violate human dignity, and called for the education of true nobility.

The image of a little man in Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment”

F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment” describes an unusual crime committed by a poor student to test his terrible theory; in the novel it is called “blood according to conscience.” Raskolnikov divides all people into ordinary and extraordinary. The former must live in obedience, the latter “have the right, that is, not an official right, but they themselves have the right to allow their conscience to step over... other obstacles only if the fulfillment of their idea requires it.” Raskolnikov, having seen enough of the grief, the broken destinies of ordinary (“little”) people - the inhabitants of the St. Petersburg slums, decides to act, since he is no longer able to humbly observe the ugly life around him. Determination, a deep and original mind, the desire to correct an imperfect world, and not to obey its unjust laws - these are the features that do not allow Raskolnikov’s image to be classified as a “little people” type.

To believe in himself, the hero needs to make sure whether he is a “trembling creature” (that is, an ordinary person) or “has the right” (that is, an outstanding personality), he can afford “blood according to his conscience,” like successful historical heroes, or he won't be able to. If the test shows that he is one of the chosen ones, then one should boldly set about correcting the unjust world; for Raskolnikov this means making the life of “little people” easier. Thus, in Raskolnikov’s theory, the happiness of the “little people” seems to be the main and ultimate goal. This conclusion is not contradicted even by the confession that the hero made to Sonya: he killed not to help his mother and sister Dunya, but “for himself.”

From the above reasoning it follows that the theme of the “little man” is one of the main ones in the novel, as it is connected with both social and philosophical content. Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” sounded this theme even stronger and more tragic than Pushkin’s “The Station Agent” and Gogol’s “The Overcoat”. Dostoevsky chose the poorest and dirtiest part of St. Petersburg as the setting for his novel - the area of ​​​​Sennaya Square and the Kuznechny Market. One after another, the writer unfolds pictures of the hopeless need of “little people”, insulted and humiliated by the unscrupulous “masters of life”. The novel describes in more or less detail several characters who can certainly be classified as traditional type“little people”: the sister of the old pawnbroker Lizaveta, who in Dostoevsky becomes a symbol of the “little man”, Raskolnikova’s mother Pulkheria Aleksandrovna, Marmeladov’s wife Katerina Ivanovna. However, the most in a bright way in this row is, of course, Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov himself, telling his story to Raskolnikov in the tavern.

In this hero, Dostoevsky combined Pushkin and Gogol traditions in the depiction of “little people.” Marmeladov, like Bashmachkin, is pitiful and insignificant, powerless to change his life (to end drunkenness), but he retains, like Samson Vyrin, a living feeling - love for Sonya and Katerina Ivanovna. He is unhappy and, realizing his hopeless situation, exclaims: “Do you know what it means when there is nowhere to go?” Just like Vyrin, Marmeladov begins to drink out of grief, misfortune (he lost his job), fear of life and powerlessness to do anything for his family. Like Vyrin, Semyon Zakharovich is worried about the bitter fate of his daughter Sonya, who is forced to “step over” and go to the panel in order to feed Katerina Ivanovna’s starving children. The difference, however, is that the stationmaster's daughter was happy (with her love for Minsky), and Sonya is unhappy.

Dostoevsky built in the novel storyline Marmeladov family in such a way as to emphasize the tragedy of the image Semyon Zakharovich. Drunk Marmeladov falls under the wheels of a smart carriage through his own fault and dies, leaving his big family. He understands this well, so he last words addressed to Sonya, the only support for Katerina Ivanovna and the children: ““Sonya! Daughter! Forgive me!” - he shouted and wanted to stretch out his hand to her, but, losing support, he fell off the sofa...”

Katerina Ivanovna does not outwardly resemble the traditional “little person” who meekly accepts suffering. She, according to Marmeladov, is “a hot-tempered, proud and unyielding lady,” she fusses over the general for her husband, arranges “educational” scandals for her drunken husband, and brings Sonya with reproaches to the point that the girl goes to the panel to earn money for bread for the family. But, in essence, Katerina Ivanovna, like all “little people,” is broken by life’s failures. She cannot resist the blows of fate. Her helpless despair is manifested in her last insane act: she runs out into the street with her small children to beg and dies, refusing her final confession. When she is asked to invite a priest, she replies: “What? A priest?.. No need... Where do you have an extra ruble?.. I have no sins!... God must forgive anyway... He himself knows how I suffered!.. But if he doesn’t forgive, he won’t it is necessary!..” This scene testifies that Dostoevsky’s “little man” even reaches the point of rebellion against God.

Sonya Marmeladova - main character novel - outwardly very similar to the traditional “little man” who humbly submits to circumstances and meekly goes to death. To save people like Sonya, Raskolnikov came up with his theory, but it turns out that Sonya is only at first glance a weak character, but in fact she strong personality: seeing that her family had reached extreme poverty, she made a difficult decision and saved her relatives from starvation, at least temporarily. Despite her shameful profession, Sonya maintains spiritual purity. She endures with dignity the bullying of others about her position in society. Moreover, thanks to her mental fortitude, it was she who was able to support the murderer Raskolnikov, it is she who helps him find the right way out of the moral impasse from Dostoevsky’s point of view: through sincere repentance and suffering, return to normal. human life. She herself atones for her involuntary sins, and supports Raskolnikov in hard labor. This is how the theme of the “little man” unexpectedly turns in the novel Crime and Punishment.

Raskolnikov’s friend Razumikhin is not at all like the traditional “little man” - he is a very attractive, whole hero. Courage, common sense, love of life help Razumikhin to withstand all adversity: “He was also remarkable because no failures ever embarrassed him and no bad circumstances seemed to be able to crush him.” Thus, Razumikhin cannot be classified as “little people” “because it constantly resists misfortunes and does not bend under the blows of fate. A faithful comrade, Razumikhin takes care of the sick Raskolnikov, invites Doctor Zosimov to see him; Knowing about Porfiry Petrovich’s suspicions about Raskolnikov, he tries to shield the main character by explaining his friend’s strange actions with illness. A poor student himself, he takes care of Raskolnikov's mother and sister, and sincerely falls in love with the dowry-free Dunya. She, however, unexpectedly and very opportunely receives a dowry inheritance from Marfa Petrovna Svidrigailova.

So, in the literary type “little man” we can distinguish general signs: low rank, poverty, and most importantly, the inability to withstand life’s failures and rich offenders.

After Gogol’s “The Overcoat” (1842), Russian writers began to often turn to the image of the “little man” in their works. N.A. Nekrasov, acting as an editor, published in 1845 a two-volume collection “Physiology of St. Petersburg”, which included essays about people from the city slums and back streets of the capital: V.I. Dal portrayed a St. Petersburg janitor, I.I. Panaev - feuilletonist, D.V. Grigorovich - an organ grinder, E.P. Grebenok - residents of the provincial outskirts of St. Petersburg. These essays were mainly descriptive, that is, they contained portraits, psychological and speech characteristics"little people" Dostoevsky in his stories and novels offered a deep understanding social status and the character of the “little man,” which fundamentally distinguished his works from the stories and essays of the above-mentioned authors.

If Pushkin and Gogol’s main feelings towards the “little man” were pity and compassion, then Dostoevsky expressed a different approach to such heroes: he critically evaluates them. “Little people” before Dostoevsky were predominantly deeply and innocently suffering, and Dostoevsky portrayed them as people who were largely to blame for their plight. For example, Marmeladov, with his drunkenness, pushes his beloved family to death, blaming all worries about young children on Sonya and the half-crazy Katerina Ivanovna. In other words, Dostoevsky’s image of the “little man” becomes more complex, deepens, and enriched with new ideas. This is expressed in the fact that Dostoevsky’s heroes (Marmeladov, Katerina Ivanovna, Sonya and others) not only suffer, but they themselves declare their suffering, they themselves explain their lives. Neither Samson Vyrin nor Akakiy Akakievich Bashmachkin formulated the reasons for their misfortunes, but only meekly endured them, obediently submitting to the blows of fate.

For the humiliated and insulted heroes of Crime and Punishment, the worst thing is to lose self-respect and human dignity. Marmeladov discusses this in confession, and Katerina Ivanovna screams before her death. That is, Dostoevsky’s “little people” themselves refute the theory of Raskolnikov, who considered them only “trembling creatures”, material for the experiments of “extraordinary” people.

It is also important to note that it is Marmeladov, Katerina Ivanovna, Dunechka who help Dostoevsky reveal the theme of the little man. But the suffering of the humiliated and insulted is revealed most powerfully in the destinies of the Marmeladovs. Semyon Marmeladov is at the last stage of poverty and moral decline. “In poverty,” he says to Raskolnikov, “you still retain your nobility of innate feelings, but in poverty no one ever does. "In poverty, I am the first to insult myself. And hence the drinking!"

Can you also give examples from the text to confirm the insult to the hero’s moral sense?

“He drinks away not only his shoes, but even his sick wife’s scarf and stockings, begs the last thirty kopecks for a hangover from his daughter, who is forced to go to the panel, boasts about his evil fate in a dirty tavern to the jokes and ridicule of random drinking companions.”

The image of Marmeladov is indicative of Dostoevsky, in which he strives to reveal the inconsistency of human actions and consciousness. The author, from the position of an “outside observer,” reveals the image of Marmeladov; we recognize him through the perception of others and, above all, Raskolnikov. The confessing old official is perceived by us as a home-grown philosopher. So what did he like to talk about?

First of all, about your “feelings”, about yourself, about your family.

But there is some ambiguity in it, which is conveyed in portrait characteristics hero. Let us find in the text a description of Marmeladov’s appearance: “He was a man over 50 years old, of average height and heavy build, with gray hair and a large bald spot, with a yellow, even greenish face swollen from constant drunkenness and with swollen eyelids, from behind which tiny eyes shone. "like slits, but animated reddish eyes. But there was something very strange in him; in his gaze there seemed to be even enthusiasm shining - perhaps there was meaning and intelligence - but at the same time there seemed to be a flicker of madness."

There is a lot of unusual things in Marmelalov’s portrait. In the degraded old official, Dostoevsky notices a trait that deeply worried the writer - internal restlessness, melancholy.

Marmeladov is a man who has thought about his way of life, he is amazed by his own inhumane attitude towards loved ones, he is broken by the intensity of the suffering of his wife and children. In him lives a feeling that, Dostoevsky believed, every educated person has, and called it “self-punishment,” “the desire for the best and the impossibility of achieving it.”

“Allow me, young man,” Marmeladov turns to his interlocutor, “can you... But no, explain more clearly and figuratively: can you, and do you dare, looking at me at this hour, say affirmatively that I am not pig?"

This is what worries him: whether he deserves humane treatment from his wife and daughter, whom he himself is pushing to death.

He, weak, would really like to be pitied, accepted and loved for who he is: “I have the image of an animal, and Katerina Ivanovna, my wife, is an educated person. Even if I am a scoundrel, she has a high heart and ennobled feelings of upbringing fulfilled. And yet... oh, if only she had pity on me!"

He also considers himself guilty of Sonya’s tragedy, suffers from his weakness and helplessness, and believes that for this reason “his only begotten daughter... went with a yellow ticket.” "Sonya! Daughter! I'm sorry!" - he screams before dying.

Marmeladov is not able to resist hopelessness. After all, even the dumb Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin, in his dying delirium, begins to “blaspheme, uttering the most terrible words” that followed the address “your excellency.” A utopian dream matures in him that everyone gets what they deserve. There must be a place on earth where the unfortunate Marmeladov can go, there must be someone who will understand and take pity on all the “drunken, weak, and disorganized ones.” “After all, it is necessary that every person at least have somewhere to go.”

The reason for Marmeladov's fall is poverty, undoubtedly. This speaks of the moral decline of man, but also of the guilt of the man himself. Marmeladov began to drink again not because he became a beggar, but on the contrary, he became completely impoverished due to drunkenness.

Then the question arises, why can’t he rise “from the bottom”? Marmeladov himself answers: “I drink because I really want to suffer!” In a conversation with Raskolnikov, the hero calls himself a “pig”, “scoundrel”, “cattle”. Most likely, he belongs to the type of people who feel pleasure in their vice, in their fall. Tormenting himself, he experiences satisfaction in the state of a “pig”, “scoundrel”, “cattle”. Vice is ugly and satisfying at the same time.

How did Marmeladov's fall begin? He extended a helping hand to Katerina Ivanovna, who found herself “in hopeless poverty with three small children, because he could not look at such suffering.” The hero felt responsible for decision, didn’t touch wine for a year, “observed my duty.” This year, fate tested him in two directions: Katerina Ivanovna did not see the sacrifice made to her by her teetotaler husband, and “due to changes in the states,” Marmeladov lost his place. And the hero lost his temper and “then touched” the wine and went into all sorts of troubles.

So, Marmeladov “could not please” the “generous but unfair lady.” He made an effort and went with the most humble request for service to “His Excellency” after Sonya went out into the street for the first time. Everything changed at once: “Both of them, Katerina Ivanovna and Sonechka, just found out, Lord, it’s as if I’ve moved into the kingdom of God. It used to be that you lay there like cattle, only cursing. And now: they’re walking on tiptoe, trying to calm the children down: “Semyon Zakharovich is at the service.” tired, rest, shh!" They give me coffee before the service, they boil the cream!" Marmeladov is surrounded by attention and care, but a breakdown occurs after the first salary. They only need money: “Meanwhile... oh, if only she would take pity on me! Dear sir, it is necessary that every person should have at least one place where they would take pity on him!”

Family for a hero - main support in life, she can give him strength and patience to endure everything. And if Katerina Ivanovna doesn’t love him, doesn’t feel sorry for him, then everything loses its meaning, then “everything is over,” then it’s better to forget yourself in a tavern.

Marmeladov’s final breakdown can be explained as an emotional reaction to Katerina Ivanovna’s care, as a desire to experience the pleasure of his final fall.

This point of view is expressed by G. Pomerantz: “Marmeladov’s hope for salvation lies in his sinful consciousness alone, in humility.”

The tragedy of Marmeladov’s fate is that poverty and lack of will push the hero to drunkenness. The ecstatic madness in his eyes is a reflection of Marmeladov’s dream of supreme justice, which he drowns in wine.

The fate of Katerina Ivanovna is no less tragic.

But, if you think about it, what do we know about the heroine’s past? The first husband ran away, and Katerina Ivanovna was left “with three young children in a distant and brutal county... and remained in such hopeless poverty... that it is impossible to describe.”

The image of Katerina Ivanovna reveals the social and ethical theme in the novel - innocent suffering and its atonement. Understanding Marmeladov and forgiving him is not a problem for her. She is ready to forgive him, but what will happen to her children after her husband’s death?

“Confession and communion were over. Katerina Ivanovna again went up to her husband’s bedside. The priest retreated and, leaving, turned to say two words of parting word and consolation to Katerina Ivanovna. “Where am I going to put these people?” she interrupted sharply and irritably, pointing for the little ones. “God is merciful; hope for the help of the Almighty,” the priest began. “Eh! You are merciful, but it’s not up to us!” “This is a sin, a sin, madam,” the priest remarked, shaking his head. “And this is not a sin?” Katerina Ivanovna shouted, pointing to the dying man.” In this episode, Dostoevsky showed the limits of Katerina Ivanovna’s despair.
Ekaterina Ivanovna tries in every possible way to protect her human dignity. On the day of her husband’s funeral, her landlady kicked her out of the house for debt. The general, Marmeladov’s former boss, refused to help her. Katerina Ivanovna is surrounded by evil. And she decided to put her poverty and shame on public display, showing everyone to what extent the anger and indifference of people had brought her: “... she will take the children and go out into the street to carry a barrel organ, and the children will sing and dance, and she too, and collect money and go to the general’s window every day..." “Let them,” he says, “see how the noble children of an official father walk the streets as beggars!”

Marmeladov's death means the beginning of the death of the entire family. The transient consumption of his wife only emphasizes the objective inevitability of such an outcome. Dying, Katerina Ivanovna renounces God in favor of her children: “What? A priest? No need... Where do you have an extra ruble? I have no sins... God must forgive anyway... He himself knows how I suffered. .."

And the last words of the dying Katerina Ivanovna: “Enough! It’s time! Farewell, wretched man! The nag has gone! She’s torn!” she screamed desperately and hatefully and slammed her head onto the pillow.” The writer correlates the dying Katerina Ivanovna with the tortured nag from Raskolnikov’s dream, killed for the sake of mischief by a crowd of drunken men. The fate of a poor woman is similar to the fate of a kind, intelligent, hardworking animal. Dostoevsky great attention pays attention to the image mental life heroes, using such artistic details that make the characters in the novel alive, uniquely original, for example, “an old, completely tattered black tailcoat, with crumbling buttons,” of which “only one was somehow held together by Marmeladov.” Or blades of hay stuck to the hero’s dress and hair, and his sleeves torn at the elbows. Or the red spots on Katerina Ivanovna’s cheeks and her hoarse, gusty breathing. Or the figure of nine-year-old Polechka, “tall and thin, like a matchstick, wearing only a thin shirt, torn everywhere.” The girl hugs her little brother “with her long, dry hand, like a matchstick.” A match... a measure of Polechka's fate - it will flare up and immediately burn out.

The "little" Marmeladovs are at a dead end. They have “nowhere else to go.” Not only they, but also Dunya and Raskolnikov’s mother have nowhere to go. Dunya is smart and proud, generous and sympathetic, patient and noble, with a strong character and ardent heart, “condemned,” according to Raskolnikov, “to hang around as a governess.” She is forced to endure the insults of Svidrigailov’s “stupid and eccentric wife, to suffer from the oppression of her husband, to experience the “bad fame” spread about her “in all houses.”

Also, we ask the question “Why did Dunya agree to marry the scoundrel Luzhin?” It must be said that her pride was wounded by her dependent life with strangers. She suffered because of her brother's unfortunate fate. Dunya decided to commit moral suicide, believing that Luzhin’s financial stability would help her solve all her problems at once. Dunya will not sell herself for her own salvation, even from death, but will sell herself for her brother, for her mother: “Oh, here we, on occasion, will crush our moral sense; freedom, tranquility, even conscience, everything, we will take everything to the flea market Lose your life! If only these beloved creatures of ours were happy."

In the terrible commodity world, spiritual values ​​are distorted: love, having passed through selflessness, turns the most sacred into an object of sale and purchase, holiness into shamelessness. Raskolnikov, for whom Dunya sacrificed herself, throws it in her face: “You cannot respect Luzhin: I saw him and spoke to him. Therefore, you are selling yourself for money and, therefore, in any case, you are acting basely...”

The kind, the weak, the unrequited - everyone has the same fate in store.

It is also worth noting exactly how Dostoevsky describes the life of Dunya and Raskolnikov’s mother. She ekes out a miserable existence on a meager widow's pension, suffering from the fact that she is unable to alleviate the suffering of her children. Even Lizaveta Ivanovna, the obedient slave of her sister, ends her life tragically, “so quiet, meek, unrequited, willing, agreeing to everything.” The world is structured in such a way that poverty in it is not only misfortune, but also guilt and immorality.
Conclusion:

Dostoevsky considered his creative credo to be the need “with complete realism to discover the man in man.” He succeeded. The images of “little people” from the novels “Humiliated and Insulted”, “Poor People”, “Crime and Punishment” became one of the main themes of the writer’s entire work.

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky created a vast canvas of immeasurable human torment, suffering and grief, looked closely and insightfully into the soul of the so-called “little man” and discovered in it deposits of enormous spiritual wealth, generosity and beauty, not broken by the harshest living conditions. And this was a new word not only in Russian, but also in all world literature. Dostoevsky is a brilliant writer who examines the sick sides of his contemporary society and paints vivid pictures of Russian reality.

The images of “little people” created by the author are imbued with the spirit of protest against social injustice, against the humiliation of man and faith in his high calling. Dostoevsky's worldview is based on one enduring fundamental value - on love for man, on the recognition of man's spirituality as the main thing. And all of Dostoevsky’s quests are aimed at creating better living conditions worthy of man.

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