What are the problems in Russia to live well. To whom in Russia to live well is a problem

To the question What problems does Nekrasov pose in the work "Who should live well in Russia"? given by the author Mikhail Panasenko the best answer is The poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” is the central and largest work in the work of Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov. The work, begun in 1863, was written over several years. Then the poet was distracted by other topics and finished the poem already mortally ill in 1877, with a bitter consciousness of the incompleteness of what he had planned: “One thing that I deeply regret is that I did not finish my poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia”. However, the question of the “incompleteness” of the poem is highly controversial and problematic. It is conceived as an epic that can be continued indefinitely, but you can put an end to any segment of its path. We will treat the poem as a complete work that posed and solved the philosophical question - the problem of the happiness of the people and the individual.
The central characters connecting all the characters and episodes are seven wandering men: Roman, Demyan, Luka, the Gubin brothers - Ivan and Mitrodor, the old man Pahom and Prov, who went on a journey no more no less, how to find out:
Who is having fun.
Feel free in Russia?
The form of travel helps the poet to show the life of all strata of society in all its diversity and throughout Russia.
“We measured half the kingdom,” the men say.
Talking with the priest, the landowner, the peasants from the chapter “Happy”, Yermila Girin, our travelers do not find a truly happy, contented with fate, living in abundance. In general, the concept of "happiness" is quite diverse.
Deacon says:
That happiness is not in pastures.
Not in sables, not in gold,
Not in expensive stones.
- And in what?
“In kindness! ”
The soldier is happy
That in twenty battles I was, and not killed!
The “Olonchan stonemason” is happy that he is endowed by nature with heroic strength, and the servant of Prince Peremetyev is “happy” that he is ill with “noble gout”. But all this is a rather pathetic semblance of happiness. Ermil Girin is somewhat closer to the ideal, but He also “stumbled”, taking advantage of his power over people. And our travelers come to the conclusion that it is necessary to look for a happy woman among women.
The story of Matrena Timofeevna is full of drama. The life of a “happy” peasant woman is full of losses, grief, hard work. Bitter are the words of Matrena Timofeevna's confession:
Keys to female happiness
From our free will
abandoned, lost
God himself!
Isn't this a dramatic situation? Is it really impossible for peasant wanderers to find a truly happy person in the whole world, satisfied with his life? Our strangers are despondent. How much longer do they have to go in search of a happy one? Will they ever see their families?
Having met Grisha Dobrosklonov, the peasants understand that they have a truly happy person in front of them. But his happiness is not in wealth, contentment, peace, but in the respect of the people, who see Grisha as their intercessor.
Fate prepared for him
The path is glorious, the name is loud
people's protector,
Consumption and Siberia.
During their journey, the wanderers grew spiritually. Their voice merges with the opinion of the author. That is why they unanimously call the poor and still unknown Grisha Dobrosklonov happy, in whose image the features of Russian democrats are clearly visible: Chernyshevsky, Belinsky, Dobrolyubov.
The poem ends with a formidable warning:
The army rises - Innumerable!
The power in it will be indestructible!
This army is capable of much if people like Grisha Dobrosklonov lead it.

Introduction

The people are liberated, but are the people happy? This question, formulated in the poem "Elegy", Nekrasov asked repeatedly. In his final work “Who Lives Well in Russia”, the problem of happiness becomes the fundamental problem on which the plot of the poem is based.

Seven men from different villages (the names of these villages are Gorelovo, Neyolovo, etc. make it clear to the reader that they have never seen happiness) set off on a journey in search of happiness. In itself, the plot of searching for something is very common and is often found in fairy tales, as well as in hagiographic literature, which often described a long and dangerous journey to the Holy Land. As a result of such a search, the hero acquires a very valuable thing (remember the fabulous I-don't-know-what), or, in the case of pilgrims, grace. And what will the wanderers from Nekrasov's poem find? As you know, their search for a happy person will not be successful - either because the author did not have time to complete his poem to the end, or because, due to their spiritual immaturity, they are still not ready to see a truly happy person. To answer this question, let's look at how the problem of happiness is transformed in the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia".

Evolution of the concept of "happiness" in the minds of the main characters

"Peace, wealth, honor" - this formula of happiness, derived at the beginning of the poem by the priest, exhaustively describes the understanding of happiness not only for the priest. It conveys the original, superficial look at the happiness of wanderers. Peasants who have lived in poverty for many years cannot imagine happiness that would not be supported by material prosperity and universal respect. They form a list of possible lucky people according to their ideas: a priest, a boyar, a landowner, an official, a minister and a tsar. And, although Nekrasov did not have time to realize all his plans in the poem - the chapter where the wanderers would reach the king remained unwritten, but even two from this list - the priest and the landowner, turned out to be enough for the peasants to be disappointed in their initial view for luck.

The stories of the priest and the landowner, met by wanderers on the road, are quite similar to each other. In both, sadness resounds about the departed happy, satisfying times, when power and prosperity themselves went into their hands. Now, as shown in the poem, the landowners were taken away from everything that made up their usual way of life: land, obedient serfs, and in return they gave an unclear and even frightening covenant to work. And now the happiness that seemed unshakable dissipated like smoke, leaving only regrets in its place: "... the landowner sobbed."

After listening to these stories, the men leave their original plan - they begin to understand that real happiness lies in something else. On their way, they come across a peasant fair - a place where many peasants gather. The men decide to look for a happy one among them. The problematics of the poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” is changing - it becomes important for wanderers to find not just an abstract happy, but a happy among the common people.

But none of the recipes for happiness offered by people at the fair - neither the fabulous harvest of turnips, nor the opportunity to eat bread to the full, nor the magical power, nor even the miraculous accident that made it possible to stay alive - does not convince our wanderers. They develop an understanding that happiness cannot depend on material things and the simple preservation of life. This is confirmed by the life story of Yermila Girin, told in the same place, at the fair. Yermil tried to always do the right thing, and in any position - burgomaster, scribe, and then miller - he enjoyed the love of the people. To some extent, he serves as a harbinger of another hero, Grisha Dobrosklonov, who also devoted his whole life to the service of the people. But what was the gratitude for the actions of Yermila? You should not consider him happy - they say to the peasants - Yermil is in prison for standing up for the peasants during the riot ...

The image of happiness as freedom in the poem

A simple peasant woman, Matryona Timofeevna, offers wanderers to look at the problem of happiness from the other side. Having told them the story of her life, full of hardships and troubles - only then was she happy, as a child she lived with her parents, - she adds:

"The keys to female happiness,
From our free will,
Abandoned, lost…”

Happiness is compared with a thing unattainable for peasants for a long time - a free will, i.e. freedom. Matryona obeyed all her life: her husband, his unkind family, the evil will of the landowners who killed her eldest son and wished to flog the youngest, the injustice because of which her husband was taken to the soldiers. She gets some joy in life only when she decides to rebel against this injustice and goes to ask for her husband. That's when Matryona finds peace of mind:

"Okay, easy.
Clear in the heart"

And this definition of happiness as freedom, apparently, is to the liking of the peasants, because already in the next chapter they indicate the goal of their journey as follows:

“We are looking, Uncle Vlas,
unworn province,
Not gutted volost,
Izbytkova village "

It can be seen that here in the first place is no longer "excess" - prosperity, but "unwashed", a sign of freedom. The men realized that they would have prosperity after they got the opportunity to independently manage their lives. And here Nekrasov raises another important moral problem - the problem of servility in the minds of a Russian person. Indeed, at the time of the creation of the poem, freedom - a decree on the abolition of serfdom - the peasants already had. But they have yet to learn how to live as free people. It is not for nothing that in the chapter “Last Child” many of the Vakhlachans so easily agree to play the role of imaginary serfs - this role is profitable, and, what is there to hide, it is familiar, not making you think about the future. Freedom in words has already been obtained, but the peasants are still standing in front of the landowner, having taken off their hats, and he graciously allows them to sit down (chapter "The Landowner"). The author shows how dangerous such pretense is - Agap, allegedly flogged to please the old prince, really dies in the morning, unable to bear the shame:

"The man is raw, special,
The head is inflexible…

Conclusion

So, as we see, in the poem “Who Lives Well in Russia”, the problematic is quite complex and detailed and cannot be reduced in the final to simply finding a happy person. The main problem of the poem lies precisely in the fact that, as the journey of the peasants shows, the people are not yet ready to become happy, they do not see the right path. The consciousness of wanderers is gradually changing, and they become able to discern the essence of happiness behind its earthly components, but every person has to go through such a path. Therefore, instead of the lucky man at the end of the poem, the figure of the people's protector, Grisha Dobrosklonov, appears. He himself is not from the peasant, but from the clergy, which is why he so clearly sees the intangible component of happiness: free, educated, Russia that has risen from centuries of slavery. Grisha is unlikely to be happy on his own: fate is preparing for him "consumption and Siberia." But he embodies in the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" the happiness of the people, which has yet to come. Together with the voice of Grisha, singing joyful songs about free Russia, the convinced voice of Nekrasov himself is heard: when the peasants are freed not only in words, but also inwardly, then each person will be happy separately.

The above thoughts about happiness in Nekrasov's poem will be useful to 10th grade students when preparing an essay on the topic “The problem of happiness in the poem “Who lives well in Russia””.

Artwork test

The poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” occupies a central place in the work of Nekrasov. It has become a kind of artistic result of more than thirty years of the author's work. All the motives of Nekrasov's lyrics are developed in the poem, all the problems that worried him are rethought, and his highest artistic achievements are used.

Nekrasov not only created a special genre of socio-philosophical poem. He subordinated it to his super-task: show an evolving picture of Russia in its past, present and future. Starting to write “in hot pursuit”, that is, immediately after the reform of 1861 of the year, a poem about a liberated, resurgent people, Nekrasov infinitely expanded the original idea. The search for "lucky ones" in Russia took him from the present to the origins: the poet seeks to realize not only the results of the abolition of serfdom, but also the very philosophical nature of the concepts of happiness, freedom, honor, peace because without this philosophical reflection it is impossible to understand the essence of the present moment and see the future of the people.

The fundamental novelty of the genre explains the fragmentation of the poem, built from internally open chapters. United image-symbol of the road, the poem breaks up into stories, the fate of dozens of people. Each episode in itself could become the plot of a song or a story, a legend or a novel. All together, in unity, they make up the fate of the Russian people, its historical path from slavery to freedom. That is why only in the last chapter does the image of the “people's protector” Grisha Dobrosklonov appear - the one who will lead people to freedom.

The author's task determined not only genre innovation, but also the whole originality of the work's poetics. Nekrasov repeatedly addressed in lyrics to folklore motifs and images. He builds a poem about folk life entirely on a folklore basis. All the main genres of folklore are “involved” to one degree or another in “Who in Russia should live well”: a fairy tale, a song, an epic, a legend

The problematics of the work is built on the correlation of folklore images and specific historical realities. The problem of national happiness is the ideological center of the work!!!.The images of seven men-wanderers - a symbolic image of Russia, which started off (work not completed).

"Who in Russia to live well" - work of critical realism:

A) historicism(reflection of the contradictions of the life of peasants in the time of Uniform Russia (see above),

B) Depiction of typical characters in typical circumstances(a collective image of seven peasants, typical images of a priest, a landowner, peasants),

C) The original features of Nekrasov's realism- the use of folklore traditions, in which he was a follower of Lermontov and Ostrovsky.

Genre originality: Nekrasov used traditions folk epic, which allowed a number of researchers to interpret the genre "Who lives well in Russia" as an epic (Prologue, a journey of men across Russia, a generalized people's view of the world - seven men). The poem is characterized by abundant use genres of folklore: a) Fairy Tale (Prologue)

b) Bylina (traditions) - Saveliy, Holy Russian hero,

c) Song - ritual (wedding, harvesting, lamentation songs) and labor,

d) Parable (Woman's parable), e) Legend (About two great sinners), f) Proverbs, sayings, riddles.

The poem reflected the contradictions of Russian reality in the post-reform period:

a) Class contradictions (ch. "Landowner", "Last child"),

b) Contradictions in the peasant consciousness (on the one hand, the people are a great worker, on the other, a drunken ignorant mass),

c) The contradictions between the high spirituality of the people and ignorance, inertia, illiteracy, downtroddenness of the peasants (Nekrasov's dream of the time when the peasant "will carry Belinsky and Gogol from the market"),

d) Contradictions between strength, the rebellious spirit of the people and humility, long-suffering, humility (the images of Saveliy, the Holy Russian hero, and Jacob the faithful, an exemplary serf).

The image of Grisha Dobrosklonov was based on N. A. Dobrolyubov. The reflection of the evolution of the people's consciousness is associated with the images of seven men who are gradually approaching the truth of Grisha Dobrosklonov from the truth of the priest, Ermila Girin, Matrena Timofeevna, Savely. Nekrasov does not claim that the peasants accepted this truth, but this was not the author's task.

The poem is written in a “free” language, as close as possible to common speech. The researchers call the verse of the poem Nekrasov's "brilliant find". Free and flexible poetic meter, independence from rhyme opened up the opportunity to generously convey the originality of the national language, while retaining all its accuracy, aphorism and special proverbial turns; organically weave into the fabric of the poem village songs, sayings, lamentations, elements of a folk tale (a magical tablecloth treats wanderers), skillfully reproduce the fervent speeches of peasants drunk at the fair, and the expressive monologues of peasant speakers, and the absurdly self-satisfied reasoning of a tyrant landowner. Colorful folk scenes full of life and movement, many characteristic faces and figures - all this creates the unique polyphony of the Nekrasov poem, in which the voice of the author himself seems to disappear, and instead of it the voices and speeches of his countless characters are heard.

fairy tale motifs: in Prolog: social welfare(heroes, fairy-tale beginning “In what year - count, in what year - guess, chpor about happiness, everyday elements), magical( magic items) about Ivan the Fool, about animals( talking bird, fairy tale about the bird kingdom)

Songs: lyrical, social, ritual, author's cry

Pagan and Christian beliefs: wedding ceremony - braiding, ceremony after the wedding - sleigh ride, etc.

Peasant images are divided into 2 types:

Worked on the estate (Ipat, Yakov, Proshka)

Who is in the fields

On a psychological basis:

Serfs in the shower (Klim, Ipat, Jacob faithful, Yegorka Shutov)

Strive for freedom

Before proceeding directly to the analysis of "To whom it is good to live in Russia", we will briefly consider the history of the creation of the poem and general information. Nikolay Nekrasov wrote the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia". The fact is that in 1861 serfdom was finally abolished - many had been waiting for this reform for a long time, but after its introduction, unforeseen problems began in society. One of them Nekrasov expressed as follows, to paraphrase a little: yes, people have become free, but have they become happy?

The poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" tells how life went after the reform. Most literary critics agree that this work is the pinnacle of Nekrasov's work. It may seem that the poems are sometimes funny, somewhat fabulous, simple and naive, but this is far from being the case. The poem should be read carefully and draw deep conclusions. And now let's move on to the analysis of "Who in Russia should live well."

Theme of the poem and problems

What is the plot of the poem "To whom in Russia it is good to live"? "Pillar path", and on it there are men - seven people. And they began to argue about who is the sweetest of all to live in Russia. However, the answer is not so easy to find, so they decide to go on a journey. This is how the main theme of the poem is determined - Nekrasov widely reveals the life of Russian peasants and other people. Many questions are covered, because the peasants have to make acquaintances with all sorts - they meet: a priest, a landowner, a beggar, a drunkard, a merchant and many others.

Nekrasov invites the reader to learn about the fair and the prison, to see how hard the poor work and the master lives in a big way, to attend a merry wedding and celebrate the holiday. And all this can be comprehended by drawing conclusions. But this is not the main thing when we do the analysis "Who should live well in Russia." Let us briefly discuss the moment why it is impossible to say unequivocally who the main character of this work is.

Who is the main character of the poem

It seems that everything is simple - seven men who argue and wander, trying to find the happiest person. In fact, they are the main characters. But, for example, the image of Grisha Dobrosklonov is clearly highlighted, because it is this character, according to Nekrasov's plan, that reflects the one who will enlighten Russia and save the people in the future. However, it is impossible not to mention the image of the people themselves - this is also the main image and character in the work.

For example, when reading "Drunken Night" and "A Feast for the Whole World" one can see the unity of people as a people when a fair, haymaking or mass festivities take place. Making an analysis of "Who should live well in Russia", it can be noted that individual personality traits are not inherent in seven peasants, which clearly indicates Nekrasov's intention. Their description is very short, it is not possible to single out their character from a single character. In addition, men strive for the same goals and even argue most often at the same time.

Happiness in the poem becomes the main theme, and each character understands it in his own way. A priest or a landowner strives to get rich and receive honor, a peasant has a different happiness ... But it is important to understand that some heroes believe that it is not necessary to have their own personal happiness, because it is inseparable from the happiness of the whole people. What other problems does Nekrasov raise in the poem? He talks about drunkenness, moral decline, sin, the interaction of old and new orders, love of freedom, rebellion. Separately, we mention the problem of women in Russia.

For about fourteen years, from 1863 to 1876, the work of N.A. Nekrasov on the most significant work in his work - the poem "To whom in Russia it is good to live." Despite the fact that, unfortunately, the poem was never finished and only some of its chapters have come down to us, later arranged by textologists in chronological order, Nekrasov's work can rightfully be called an "encyclopedia of Russian life." In terms of the breadth of coverage of events, the detail of the depiction of characters, and the amazing artistic accuracy, it is not inferior to A.S. Pushkin.

In parallel with the depiction of folk life, the poem raises questions of morality, touches upon the ethical problems of the Russian peasantry and the entire Russian society of that time, since it is the people who always act as the bearer of moral norms and universal ethics in general.

The main idea of ​​the poem follows directly from its title: who in Russia can be considered a truly happy person?

One of the main categories of morality underlying the concept of national happiness, according to the author. Is fidelity to the duty to the Motherland, service to one's people. According to Nekrasov, those who fight for justice and "the happiness of their native corner" live well in Russia.

The peasants-heroes of the poem, looking for the "happy" one, do not find him either among the landowners, or among the priests, or among the peasants themselves. The poem depicts the only happy person - Grisha Dobrosklonov, who devoted his life to the struggle for people's happiness. Here the author expresses, in my opinion, an absolutely indisputable idea that one cannot be a true citizen of one's country without doing anything to improve the situation of the people, who are the strength and pride of the Fatherland.

True, Nekrasov's happiness is very relative: the "people's protector" Grisha "fate prepared ... consumption and Siberia." However, it is difficult to argue with the fact that fidelity to duty and a clear conscience are necessary conditions for true happiness.

In the poem, the problem of the moral decline of the Russian people is also acute, due to their horrific economic situation, they are placed in such conditions in which people lose their human dignity, turning into lackeys and drunkards. So, the stories of a lackey, the “beloved slave” of Prince Peremetyev, or the courtyard man of Prince Utyatin, the song “About an exemplary serf, Jacob the faithful” are a kind of parable, instructive examples of what spiritual servility, moral degradation led to serfdom of peasants, and before of all - courtyards, corrupted by personal dependence on the landowner. This is Nekrasov's reproach to the great and powerful people in their inner strength, resigned to the position of a slave.

The lyrical hero of Nekrasov actively protests against this slave psychology, calls the peasantry to self-consciousness, calls on the entire Russian people to free themselves from centuries of oppression and feel like a Citizen. The poet perceives the peasantry not as a faceless mass, but as a people-creator, he considered the people to be the real creator of human history.

However, the most terrible consequence of centuries of slavery, according to the author of the poem, is that many peasants are satisfied with their humiliated position, because they cannot imagine a different life for themselves, they cannot imagine how it is possible to exist in a different way. For example, the lackey Ipat, servile to his master, reverently and almost proudly tells how the master dipped him in the winter in an ice-hole and forced him to play the violin while standing in a flying sleigh. Kholui of Prince Peremetyev is proud of his "lordly" illness and the fact that "he licked the plates with the best French truffle."

Considering the perverted psychology of the peasants as a direct consequence of the autocratic serf system, Nekrasov also points to another product of serfdom - unrestrained drunkenness, which has become a real disaster for the Russian village.

For many men in the poem, the idea of ​​happiness comes down to vodka. Even in the fairy tale about the warbler, seven men-truth-seekers, when asked what they would like, answer: “If we only had bread ... but a bucket of vodka.” In the chapter "Rural Fair" wine flows like a river, there is a mass soldering of the people. The men return home drunk, where they become a real misfortune for their family. We see one such peasant, Vavilushka, who drank “up to a penny”, who laments that he cannot even buy goat shoes for his granddaughter.

Another moral problem that Nekrasov touches upon is the problem of sin. The poet sees the path to the salvation of the human soul in the atonement of sin. So do Girin, Savely, Kudeyar; not such is the elder Gleb. Burmister Yermil Girin, having sent the son of a lonely widow as a recruit, thereby saving his own brother from soldiering, atones for his guilt by serving the people, remains faithful to him even in a moment of mortal danger.

However, the most serious crime against the people is described in one of Grisha's songs: the village headman Gleb hides the news of emancipation from his peasants, thus leaving eight thousand people in the bondage of slavery. According to Nekrasov, nothing can atone for such a crime.

The reader of the Nekrasov poem has a feeling of acute bitterness and resentment for the ancestors, who hoped for better times, but were forced to live in “empty volosts” and “tightened provinces” more than a hundred years after the abolition of serfdom.

Revealing the essence of the concept of "people's happiness", the poet points out that the only true way to achieve it is a peasant revolution. The idea of ​​retribution for people's suffering is most clearly formulated in the ballad "About two great sinners", which is a kind of ideological key to the entire poem. The robber Kudeyar throws off the "burden of sins" only when he kills Pan Glukhovsky, known for his atrocities. The murder of a villain, according to the author, is not a crime, but a feat worthy of a reward. Here Nekrasov's idea comes into conflict with Christian ethics. The poet conducts a hidden polemic with F.M. Dostoevsky, who argued the inadmissibility and impossibility of building a just society on blood, who believed that the very thought of murder is already a crime. And I can't help but agree with these statements! One of the most important Christian commandments says: "Thou shalt not kill!" After all, a person who takes the life of his own kind, thereby kills the person in himself, commits a grave crime before life itself, before God.

Therefore, justifying violence from the position of revolutionary democracy, the lyrical hero of Nekrasov calls Russia "to the ax" (in the words of Herzen), which, as we know, led to a revolution that turned into the worst sin for its perpetrators and the greatest disaster for our people.