The moral quest of Alyosha Peshkov (based on the novel by A. M.

M. Gorky's "Childhood" is not only a confession of the writer's own soul, but also the first impressions of a difficult life, memories of those who are nearby during the formation of his character, this is an internal protest against the cruel mores of society and a warning how it is impossible to live, if you are human.

The writer truthfully tells about his own family and gives us hope for the revival of a kind, bright, human life. Alyosha Peshkov dreams about her throughout the story. He was lucky to be born into a family where father and mother lived in true love. After all, the most important thing in the life of a child is to live in a family in which you are not brought up, but truly loved. Alyosha's path after the loss of his parents was not sweet, but the charge of great love received in childhood allowed the boy not to disappear and not become hardened by human savagery, relatives alien to him. It’s bad when a person’s conscious life begins with the death of a beloved father, it’s even worse when after it you live in an atmosphere of hatred, where people confuse respect with fear, when they assert themselves at the expense of the weak and envy each other when they start a war for paternal good. The author does not hate those who crippled his childhood. Alyosha understood that his uncles were unhappy in their spiritual misery. The boy had a desire to leave home with the blind master Grigory and wander around, begging, just not to see drunken uncles, a tyrant grandfather and downtrodden cousins. He had developed self-esteem, he did not tolerate any violence either towards himself or towards others. Alyosha was always ready to stand up for the offended, he could not stand it when street boys tortured animals, mocked the beggars.

An example of kindness was his beloved grandmother Akulina Ivanovna, who actually became Alyosha's mother. With what love he talks about the Gypsy, about true childhood friends, about the freeloader Good Deed. In the perception of Alyosha, Tsyganok was associated with the hero of Russian folk tales. Grandmother and Tsyganok helped him learn to love and pity people, to see evil and distinguish it from good. Both kind and affectionate, with an open soul and a kind heart, they made the boy's life easier with their very existence. Grandmother, a great storyteller, introduced her grandson to folk art. A strange friendship began between Alyosha and Good Deed. Good Deed gave Alyosha advice, instilled in him a love of reading books. His experiments aroused curiosity in the boy, communication with him pushed the world for Alyosha far beyond the boundaries of home and family.

In addition to evil, greedy and unfortunate people, Alyosha saw kind and loving him. It was love that saved Alyosha in difficult life situations and forced him not to bend under a difficult and cruel world.

M. Gorky's "Childhood" is not only a confession of the writer's own soul, but also the first impressions of a difficult life, memories of those who are nearby during the formation of his character, this is an internal protest against the cruel mores of society and a warning how it is impossible to live, if you are human.

The writer truthfully tells about his own family and gives us hope for the revival of a kind, bright, human life. Alyosha Peshkov dreams about her throughout the story. He was lucky to be born into a family where father and mother lived in true love. After all, the most important thing in the life of a child is to live in a family in which you are not brought up, but truly loved. Alyosha's path after the loss of his parents was not sweet, but the charge of great love received in childhood allowed the boy not to disappear and not become hardened by human savagery, relatives alien to him. It’s bad when a person’s conscious life begins with the death of a beloved father, it’s even worse when after it you live in an atmosphere of hatred, where people confuse respect with fear, when they assert themselves at the expense of the weak and envy each other when they start a war for paternal good. The author does not hate those who crippled his childhood. Alyosha understood that his uncles were unhappy in their spiritual misery. The boy had a desire to leave home with the blind master Grigory and wander around, begging, just not to see drunken uncles, a tyrant grandfather and downtrodden cousins. He had developed self-esteem, he did not tolerate any violence either towards himself or towards others. Alyosha was always ready to stand up for the offended, he could not stand it when street boys tortured animals, mocked the beggars.

An example of kindness was his beloved grandmother Akulina Ivanovna, who actually became Alyosha's mother. With what love he talks about the Gypsy, about true childhood friends, about the freeloader Good Deed. In the perception of Alyosha, Tsyganok was associated with the hero of Russian folk tales. Grandmother and Tsyganok helped him learn to love and pity people, to see evil and distinguish it from good. Both kind and affectionate, with an open soul and a kind heart, they made the boy's life easier with their very existence. Grandmother, a great storyteller, introduced her grandson to folk art. A strange friendship began between Alyosha and Good Deed. Good Deed gave Alyosha advice, instilled in him a love of reading books. His experiments aroused curiosity in the boy, communication with him pushed the world for Alyosha far beyond the boundaries of home and family.

In addition to evil, greedy and unfortunate people, Alyosha saw kind and loving him. It was love that saved Alyosha in difficult life situations and forced him not to bend under a difficult and cruel world.

In the story "Childhood" Maxim Gorky portrayed his own image. The writer lost his father early and was forced to live in the house of his relatives, where a gloomy and bleak atmosphere reigned. Grandfather was distinguished by cruelty, other relatives - by greed and cowardice. In such an environment, the personality of the classic of Russian and Soviet literature was formed, but in this house he also found love and understanding. The characterization of Alyosha from the story "Childhood" by Gorky is the topic of this article.

From an early age, the writer learned the harsh truth of life. The reality of the life of the Russian people tormented him throughout the years. But still, even against the backdrop of an unsightly picture, he found something beautiful. Invincible faith in man guided him both in life and in creativity.

Grandfather

Before Alyosha got to the house of his relatives, he knew nothing about violence. His grandfather - his mother's father - was a man not only cruel, but also extremely unfair. He kept the whole house in fear. Children were punished here for any offense. And even if the child's guilt was not proven, he was severely beaten.

What is the characteristic of Alyosha from the story "Childhood" by Gorky? After analyzing the boy's actions, we can conclude that he differed from his relatives in his desire for justice and compassion for the grief of others. The atmosphere in my grandfather's house was unspiritual. The person and his experiences were not taken into account. Alyosha had every chance to become like one of the inhabitants of this gloomy dwelling. However, the injustice that he faced resulted in the desire to fight for his rights, contributed to the development of the best human qualities.

Grandfather was an outright tyrant. For any reason, he was furious. And over the years, greed began to develop in him more and more, which in recent years has taken pathological forms. The man in this house had no value. Material values ​​were above all. But, despite this, life next to such people has become a good school of life for Alyosha Peshkov.

Gregory

The characterization of Alyosha from the story "Childhood" by Gorky would be incomplete without a description of his attitude to this character. A blind master lived in his grandfather's house. And his uncles, who had an extremely meager intellect, regularly made fun of him. The ridicule of his blindness amused them. And their sons - Alyosha's cousins ​​- quickly adopted a similar way of entertainment from their fathers. The protagonist of Gorky's story not only did not imitate adults in this unsightly business, but from an early age began to understand how low his relatives were behaving. He felt compassion for Gregory. The characterization of Alyosha from the story "Childhood" by Gorky suggests that this hero had a beautiful noble soul that was not crippled even in a dark, soulless world.

Akulina Ivanovna

The author of the story describes the grandmother as "round, big-headed, with big eyes and a funny nose." This woman almost replaced his mother and became a person, thanks to whose kindness the boy's soul did not harden. Akulina Ivanovna was a poorly educated person, but gifted in her own way. She told many fairy tales and stories to her grandson. The tendency to use mythological plots and romantic motifs, which can be seen in Gorky's early work, may have been laid down in the writer's childhood. In addition, this woman had an extraordinary artistry. “She didn’t dance, but seemed to be telling something,” the author recalls in her work. Faith in God helped her overcome life's difficulties. And most importantly - the grandmother had fearlessness and courage, as evidenced by the fragment in the story, which depicts a fire in the grandfather's house.

Alyosha Peshkov is a personality in whose formation the struggle between good and evil played a special role. She was not open-minded. His wife did not respond to the cruelty and stupidity of his grandfather with such. But the boy, using the example of his grandmother, understood that evil can only be overcome with love and kindness. Alyosha Peshkov kept the image of this woman in his heart for the rest of his life.

gypsies

In the grandfather's house, in addition to his wife, sons and grandchildren, Ivan lived - a foundling, for whose appearance he was endowed with a characteristic nickname. He was handsome, dark-haired, like a gypsy. Everyone in the house treated him in a special way. Surprisingly, Gorky remembered his childhood to the smallest detail. The description of the events in the story and the people who influenced the formation of his inner world is proof of this. The image of the Gypsy is presented quite vividly in the story. It should be said that he received this nickname not only because of his external data, but also for his tendency to steal. Yet, oddly enough, Alyosha loved him precisely for his honesty. Ivan was a sincere person and became a true friend to our hero during his stay in his grandfather's house.

Good Deed

There was another person who played a significant role in shaping Alyosha's personality. It was a strange man called the Good Deed. He lived in a new house, which his grandfather bought after the old one burned down, he was distinguished by learning and disinterestedness. The boy liked to talk with him for a long time. And he was very upset when the Good Deed was expelled from the house. In the book, he called him one of the close ones from an endless series of strangers.

One of the main images in the writer's work was Alyosha. Gorky wrote "Childhood" in adulthood. But the bright and lively depiction of the boy's experiences suggests that the events of this period in the author's biography became decisive in his life and writing.

Images of Alyosha, grandmother, Gypsy and Good deeds in M. Gorky's story "Childhood". "Bright, healthy, creative in Russian life" 1. M. Gorky's story "Childhood". 2. The image of Alyosha, the main character of the story. Autobiographical character. 3. The image of a grandmother. 4. Gypsies. 5. Good deal. Russian writer, publicist and public figure Maxim Gorky (Aleksey Maksimovich Peshkov) can be called one of the key figures in Soviet literature. The story "Childhood" was created in the period between two revolutions: after the failed revolution of 1905-1907 and before October. This story is autobiographical, in it the writer offers the reader a description of his own childhood in literary processing. The most important, in our opinion, images in this work are the images of Alyosha, grandmother, Gypsy and Good deed. All of them are united by one thing: positive coloring and warm attitude of the author towards them. Among other things, these heroes influenced the formation of Alyosha's character. Alyosha, of course, is to a certain extent the prototype of Gorky himself in childhood. At least for this reason, the image of Alyosha needs careful consideration. What he really is? We meet Alyosha on the pages of the story at a dramatic moment in his life: his father died, and the boy cannot understand what is happening, why his mother, disheveled, is crying, his father is sleeping and seems to be smiling: “... my father is lying, dressed in white and unusually long ... a kind face is dark and frightens me with badly bared teeth. After the death of his father, Alyosha moved with his mother and grandmother to Novgorod, where his mother's family lives. In his grandfather's house, Alyosha encountered the dark life of a "stupid tribe": "Grandfather's house was filled with a hot fog of mutual enmity between everyone and everyone, it poisoned adults, and even children took an active part in it." Living in my grandfather's house was not easy. Grandfather, a cruel and greedy man, was also domineering and not very happy. Alyosha hardly finds a common language with him. Uncles are needlessly cruel. And it was easy for the boy only with his grandmother. Grandmother, “round, big-headed, with huge eyes and a funny, loose nose; she is all black, soft and surprisingly interesting, ”attracted the boy to her from the first meeting. He immediately reached out to this kind woman. The appearance of his grandmother made an indelible impression on Alyosha. As Gorky talks about himself, a little one: “Before her, it was as if I was sleeping, hidden in the dark, but she appeared, woke me up, brought me to the light, tied everything around me into a continuous thread ... and immediately became a lifelong friend, the most close to my heart." Grandmother - kind and affectionate - will always help and sympathize. “... She singsongly said: - Lord, Lord! How good everything is! No, you look how good everything is! It was the cry of her heart, the slogan of her whole life. The master, Gregory, spoke of her like this: “... she does not like lies, she does not understand. She looks like a saint... And Alyosha agreed with this point of view. Grandmother instilled in the boy a love of folk tales, hope for a good and bright life. Another important person in the life of the hero is Ivan, nicknamed Gypsy. Gypsy is an apprentice in Alyosha's grandfather's house. This is a "square, broad-chested, with a huge curly head" cheerful guy. The first acquaintance with him as a person happened to Alyosha under dramatic circumstances: his grandfather decided to flog him. Tsyganok, seeing that "grandfather went into a rage", began to put his hand under the rod. Tsyganok admits that he is "roguish". In the perception of Alyosha, Tsyganok was associated with the heroes of Russian folk tales: "I looked at his cheerful face and remembered my grandmother's tales about Ivan Tsarevich, about Ivanushka the Fool." Alyosha learned from his grandmother that Tsyganok was "a foundling, in early spring, on a rainy night, he was found at the gate of the house on a bench." The gypsy was indeed a swindler. He stole not out of poverty or greed, but because of the gallant prowess. It was interesting to him, and from the side of Alyosha's grandfather he did not meet with censure. Only Alyoshin's grandmother said that Tsyganok was acting badly, she was afraid that he might be caught and beaten. The gypsy died, he was crushed with a cross. Grandmother and Tsyganok were Alyosha's outlet in his grandfather's gloomy and cruel house. These two people helped him learn to love and pity people, to see evil and distinguish it from good. Both kind and affectionate, with an open soul and a kind heart, they greatly facilitated the boy's life with their very existence. And I would like to tell about one more person who played a role in the formation of Alyosha as a person. Alyosha met a man called Good Deed when his grandfather sold the old house and bought another one. There were many people in the house, but the boy was most interested in the Good Deed. This man got his nickname for the habit, whenever he was invited to drink tea or dine, to say: "Good deal." The Good Deed room was full of books and bottles of colorful liquids. “From morning to evening, he, in a red leather jacket, in gray plaid pants, all smeared with some kind of paint ... melted lead, soldered some copper things ...”. Good deal was a strange man. They did not like him in the house, they called him a sorcerer and a warlock. But Alyosha was interested in this man. A good deed was engaged in chemical experiments, was smart "and incredibly lonely. A strange friendship struck up between the boy and Good deed. Good deed gave Alyosha advice: "Real strength is in the speed of movement; the faster, the stronger." Soon Alyosha's grandfather kicked out Good deed from at home, the boy was upset by this, angry with his grandfather and grandmother. The main character spoke of friendship with a Good Deed: "Thus ended my friendship with the first person from an endless series of strangers in my native country, her best people. " So, thanks to the fact that in addition to evil, greedy and unfortunate people, stagnant in prejudice, Alyosha saw kind, smart, loving, he was able to become a Man with a capital letter.In childhood, he had a very acute perception of evil and injustice, and thanks to the loving people around him this feeling did not develop into resentment against the whole world around him.Alyosha was able to see that in any circumstances a person can remain a person without bending under a complex and cruel world.

Retelling plan

1. Alyosha Peshkov's father dies. She and her mother moved to Nizhny Novgorod.
2. The boy meets his numerous relatives.
3. Morals of the Kashirin family.
4. Alyosha learns the story of the Gypsy and becomes attached to him with all his heart.
5. One of the evenings in the Kashirins' house.
6. Death of a Gypsy.
7. The boy's acquaintance with the Good Deed.
8. Fire in the dyeing workshop.
9. Death of aunt Natalia.
10. The family is divided. Alyosha, together with his grandfather and grandmother, move to another house.
11. Grandfather teaches the boy to read.
12. Grandfather treats grandma rudely in front of Alyosha.
13. Fights in the Kashirin family.
14. Alyosha learns that grandfather and grandmother believe in God in different ways.

15. The boy is sad because he has no friends.
16. Moving to a new house. Friendship with a Good Deed.
17. Alyosha makes friends with Uncle Peter.
18. The boy gets acquainted with the neighbor's guys.
19. Alyosha's mother returns to her parents' family.
20. Difficult relationship between grandfather and his daughter (Alyosha's mother).
21. Alyosha goes to school.
22. Severe illness of a boy. Grandmother tells him about his father.
23. Alyosha's mother is getting married again and, leaving, does not take her son with her.
24. Mother and stepfather return, and then (already together with Alyosha) move to Sormovo.
25. Difficult relationship between mother and stepfather.
26. Alyosha, standing up for his mother, attacks his stepfather.
27. The boy lives with his grandparents again. They divided the property.
28. Alyosha, feeling sorry for his grandmother, begins to work. He gives her money.
29. The boy successfully passes the exam in the third grade.
30. Alyosha's mother dies. Grandfather sends his grandson to the people.

retelling
Chapter I

The chapter begins with a description of the experiences of the little hero-narrator connected with the death of his father. He cannot understand why this happened. The boy's memory was the funeral ceremony of his father, moving from Astrakhan to Nizhny Novgorod. The impression from the first meeting with the grandfather - Vasily Kashirin - and numerous relatives is indelible. The boy looked with curiosity at the house, yard, workshop (dyeing) of grandfather Kashirin.

Chapter II

Description of the life of a half-orphan boy in his grandfather's house. A story about hostility between uncles over an undivided inheritance. All this directly concerns his mother, Varvara Vasilievna. Alyosha received his first literacy lessons from Aunt Natalya, who taught him the prayer "Our Father ..."

On Saturdays, the grandfather flogged the guilty grandchildren. For the first time, Alyosha saw how his cousin Sasha was flogged by a red-hot thimble. The boy is proud of his mother, considers her strong.

Alyosha also managed to be guilty. At the prompt of Yashka, he stole a white tablecloth from his grandmother, deciding to see what it would be like if it was dyed. He dipped the white tablecloth into the paint vat. For this he was punished by his grandfather. First he whipped Sasha, and then Alyosha. Alyosha's grandfather struck him unconscious, and for several days he fell ill, lying upside down in bed.

Grandmother came to see him, then grandfather also looked in. He sat with Alyosha for a long time, telling him about his life. So Alyosha became friends with his grandfather. He learned that his grandfather used to be a barge hauler. Tsyganok came to Alyosha, talked about his life, taught the boy to be more cunning.

Chapter III

Alyosha recovered and began to communicate with Gypsy. The gypsy woman occupied a special place in the house. Grandfather treated him with respect, his uncles also did not slander, did not “joke” at him. But for master Grigory, they arranged something offensive and evil almost every evening: either the handles of the scissors were heated on fire, or a nail was stuck in the seat of a chair, or they painted their face with fuchsin ... Grandmother always scolded her sons for such “jokes”.

In the evenings, my grandmother would tell fairy tales or stories from her life, also like a fairy tale. The boy learned from his grandmother that Tsyganok was a foundling. Alyosha asked why the children were thrown up. Grandmother replied: from poverty. She would have had eighteen children if all had survived. Grandmother advised her grandson to love Ivanka (Gypsy). Alyosha fell in love with Gypsy and never ceased to be surprised by him. On Saturday evenings, when grandfather, having reprimanded the guilty, went to bed, Tsyganok arranged cockroach races in the kitchen; the mice under his command stood and walked on their hind legs; showed tricks with cards.

On holidays, in the grandfather's house, the workers arranged dances to the guitar, listened to and sang folk songs themselves.

Alyosha's friendship with Ivan grew ever stronger. The gypsy told the boy how once he was sent to the market for provisions. Grandfather gave five rubles, and Ivan, having spent four and a half, brought food for fifteen rubles. Grandmother was very angry with Gypsy for stealing at the market.

Alyosha asks the Gypsy not to steal anymore, otherwise he will be beaten to death. The gypsy in response says that he loves Alyosha, and the Kashirins do not love anyone, except for the “babani”. Soon Tsyganok died. He was crushed by an oak cross, which was supposed to be carried to the cemetery. Detailed description of the funeral. In the same chapter, the author recalls the first communication with the Good Deed.

Chapter IV

Grandmother prays for the health of the family, for the happiness of Alyosha's mother. The boy liked the grandmother's God. He often asks her to tell about him. Grandmother in the form of fairy tales tells about God.

Once Alyosha noticed that Aunt Natalya had swollen lips, bruises under her eyes, and asked his grandmother if her uncle beat her. Grandmother answered: he beats, he is angry, and she is kissel ... Grandmother recalls how her husband (grandfather Kashirin) beat her in her youth. Alyosha thinks that he often dreams of his grandmother's stories. One night, when my grandmother was praying in front of the images, she suddenly noticed that her grandfather's workshop was on fire. She woke up everyone, began to put out the fire, save property. When extinguishing the fire, grandmother showed the most activity and resourcefulness. After the fire, her grandfather praised her. Grandmother burned her hands and was in great pain. Aunt Natalia died the next day.

Chapter V

By spring, the uncles were divided: Yakov remained in the city, and Mikhail left for the river. Grandfather bought himself a large house on Polevaya Street, with a tavern in the lower stone floor. The whole house was filled with tenants, only on the top floor grandfather left one large room for himself and for guests. Grandmother busied herself all day around the house: she sewed, cooked, dug in the garden and in the garden, rejoicing that they began to live peacefully and quietly. With all the tenants, my grandmother lived amicably, they often turned to her for advice.

Alyosha spent the whole day spinning next to Akulina Ivanovna in the garden, in the yard, going to the neighbors ... Sometimes his mother would come for a short time and quickly disappear. Grandmother told Alyosha about her childhood, about how she lived with her parents, remembered her mother with a kind word, how she taught her to weave lace and other household chores; about how she married her grandfather.

One day my grandfather took out a brand new book from somewhere and began to teach Alyosha to read and write. Mom watched with a smile as the grandson shouted over his grandfather, repeating the names of the letters after him. The diploma was given to the boy easily. Soon he read the Psalter in warehouses. Interrupting reading in the evenings, Alyosha asked his grandfather to tell him something. And the grandfather recalled interesting stories from his childhood, adulthood, and kept teaching his grandson to be cunning, not simple-hearted. Often grandmother came to these conversations, sat quietly in a corner and listened, sometimes asked questions and helped me remember some details. Going into the past, they forgot about everything, sadly recalling the best years. Grandmother tried to calm grandfather, but when she bent down to him, he hit her in the face with his fist. Grandmother called grandfather a fool and began to rinse her mouth, clearing it of blood. To Alyosha's question, does it hurt her. Akulina Ivanovna answered: her teeth are intact ... She explained that grandfather was angry because it was difficult for him now, he was haunted by failures.

Chapter VI

One evening, in the room where Alyosha and his grandfather and grandmother were drinking tea, Uncle Yakov burst in and said that Mishka was rowdy; got drunk and broke the dishes, tore his clothes and threatened to pull out his father's beard. Grandfather got angry: they all want to "grab" Varvara's dowry. Grandfather accused Uncle Yakov that he had specially drunk his younger brother and set him against his father. Jacob justified himself offendedly. Grandmother whispered to Alyosha to climb up, and as soon as Uncle Mikhailo appeared, he told her about it. Seeing Uncle Mikhail, the boy said that his uncle had entered the tavern. Watching from the window, Alyosha remembers the fairy tales told by his grandmother and puts his mother in the center of these stories and fables. The fact that she did not want to live in her family elevated her in the eyes of the boy.

Coming out of the tavern, Uncle Mikhail fell in the courtyard, waking up, he took a cobblestone and threw it at the gate. Grandmother began to pray... The Kashirins lived on Polevoy Street for only a year, but this house gained a noisy fame. The boys ran along the street and often shouted:

They are fighting again at the Kashirins!

Uncle Mikhail often came drunk to the house in the evenings and made fights. The author describes in detail one of the pogroms perpetrated by the drunken uncle Mikhail: he injured his grandfather's hand, broke the doors, dishes in the tavern...

Chapter VII

Alyosha suddenly makes a discovery for himself after watching his grandparents. He understands that grandfather has one God, and grandmother has another. Each of them prays and asks him for his own.

The author recalls how one day the grandmother quarreled with the innkeeper. The innkeeper scolded her, and Alyosha wanted to avenge her for this. When the innkeeper went down to the cellar, the boy closed the work above her, locked them and danced a dance of revenge in the cellar. Throwing the key on the roof, he ran to the kitchen. Grandmother did not immediately guess about this, but then she spanked Alyosha and sent him for the key. Having freed the innkeeper, the grandmother asked her grandson not to interfere in the affairs of adults.

The author recalls with humor how his grandfather prayed and how he corrected him when he forgot the words from the prayer. For this, the grandfather scolded Alyosha. The grandfather, telling his grandson about the boundless power of God, emphasized the cruelty of God: behold, people have sinned - and they are drowned, they have sinned again - and their cities have been burned, destroyed; Here God punished people with famine and pestilence, and "he is always a sword over the earth, a scourge for sinners." It was difficult for the boy to believe in the cruelty of God, he suspected that his grandfather was deliberately inventing all this in order to inspire him with fear not of God, but of him. His grandfather's God aroused fear and dislike in him: he does not love anyone, watches over everyone with a strict eye, looks for and sees bad, evil, sinful in a person. He does not trust a person, he always waits for repentance and loves to punish. Grandma's God is a dear friend to all living things. Alyosha was disturbed by the question: how is it that grandfather does not see the good God? - Alyosha was not allowed to play outside, he had no friends. The boys teased him, calling him the grandson of Koshei Kashirin. For this, Alyosha got into a fight and came home covered in blood and bruises.

The narrator recalls how hard it was for him to look at the poor and blessed Grigory Ivanovich, the dissolute woman Veronica and others. Each of them had a difficult fate, as the boy learned from the stories of his grandmother.

There were a lot of interesting, funny things in the house of grandfather Kashirin, but the boy was choked by endless longing ...

Chapter VIII

Grandfather suddenly sold the house to a tavern keeper, bought another one. The new house was smarter, nicer than the old one. All the same, grandfather let tenants in. The audience was diverse: a soldier from the Tatars lived here, and two draft cabs, and a freeloader, whom my grandmother called the Good Deed.

Good Deed spent the whole day melting lead in his room, soldering some copper things, weighing something on small scales. Alyosha watched him, climbing onto the roof of the shed through the open window. No one in the house liked the Good Deed. Once, plucking up courage, Alyosha went to the door of the room and asked him what he was doing. The tenant did not recognize Alyosha. The boy was surprised, because he sat at the same table with him four times a day! But still he simply answered: “The grandson here…” The boy watched the actions of the Good Cause for a long time. He asked Alyosha not to come to him again ...

The boy recalls how, on rainy evenings, when his grandfather left home, his grandmother arranged the most interesting meetings in the kitchen, inviting all the tenants to drink tea. Good Deal with the Tatar played cards. Others drank tea, liqueur, and grandmother told different stories. And when one day the grandmother finished her story, Good Deed got worried and said that it should be written down. Grandmother allowed him to write it down, saying that she knew many more stories. In a conversation with his grandmother, Good Deed complained that he was left alone, and his grandmother advised him to marry. Alyosha began to go to the tenant, to communicate with him. Good Deed advised Alyosha to write down everything that grandmother tells, it will come in handy. Since then, Alyosha has become friends with Good Deed. He became necessary for the boy both in the days of bitter insults and in the hours of joys. Grandmother was worried that her grandson had been missing in the room at Good Cause for a long time. One day Alyosha saw Good Deed packing his things. Grandfather asked him to vacate the room. In the evening he left, and his grandmother began to wash the floors after him, clean the dirty room ... Thus ended the boy's friendship with the first person from an endless series of strangers in his native country - her best people.

Chapter IX

The chapter begins with a recollection that after the departure of Good Cause, Alyosha became friends with Uncle Peter. He looked like a grandfather - literate, well-read. Peter was very fond of cleanliness, order, often talked about how they wanted to kill him, shot him and wounded him in the arm. In conversations with Alyosha, Uncle Pyotr often talked about his wife Tatyana Lekseevna, about how much he suffered for her.

The author recalls how brothers came to visit them on holidays - the sad and lazy Sasha Mikhailov, the neat and omniscient Sasha Yakovov. And then one day, running along the roofs of buildings, Alyosha, on the advice of his brother, spat on the bald head of a neighboring gentleman. There was great noise and scandal. Grandfather flogged Alyosha for this mischief. Uncle Peter laughed at Alyosha, which made him angry. The narrator recalls another story: he climbed a tree because he wanted to catch a bird. From there I saw how one boy fell into the well. Alyosha and the brother of that boy helped the poor fellow to get out. So Alyosha made friends with the neighbor's guys. Grandfather forbade Alyosha to communicate with the boys. But despite the prohibitions, Alyosha continued his friendship with them.

On a weekday, when Alyosha and his grandfather were shoveling snow in the yard, a policeman suddenly came up and began to question his grandfather about something. It turned out that the corpse of Uncle Peter was found in the yard. All evening until late at night, strangers crowded in the Kashirins' house And shouted.

Chapter X

The author recalls how he was catching bullfinches in Petrovna's garden and suddenly saw a peasant bring someone on a troika of horses. Grandfather said that mother had arrived. Mother and son met with great joy. Alyosha looked at her for a long time—he hadn't seen her in a long time. Grandmother began to complain about her grandson that he was self-willed, did not obey. The grandfather began to scold his daughter for the child left somewhere. Grandmother stood up for her daughter, asked her grandfather to forgive her this sin. The grandfather, in a rage, began to shake Akulina Ivanovna by the shoulders, shouting that they would die beggars. Alyosha stood up for his grandmother, and the grandfather began to shout at him too.

In the evening, the mother said that Adesha was very much like his father. Alyosha recalls the joy of communicating with his mother, her affection, the warmth of her look and words. Mother teaches Alyosha "civil" literacy: she bought books, and Alyosha memorizes poetry. Alyosha told his mother that he remembered the verses he had learned: the words rhyme, others from memory. Mother is watching her son. He himself, it turns out, composes poetry.

The lessons of the mother began to burden the boy. But most of all he was worried about the fact that life was bad in the house of his mother's grandfather. Grandfather had something in mind for her. Mother did not listen to grandfather. The grandfather beat the grandmother. Grandmother asks Alyosha not to tell his mother about this. In order to somehow take revenge on his grandfather, Alyosha cut up all the images before which his grandfather prayed. For this, his grandfather whipped him. Soon the grandfather asked all the guests to vacate the apartments. On holidays, he began to invite guests, arranged noisy festivities, where they drank tea with rum.

The grandfather told Alyosha's mother that the boy needed a father. He wanted Varvara to marry master Vasily. Barbara refused.

Chapter XI

The mother became the mistress of the house. Grandfather became inconspicuous, quiet, not like himself. He was reading a mysterious book in the attic. When asked by Alyosha what kind of book this was, the grandfather replied that he did not need to know.

Now the mother lived in two rooms. Guests came to her. After Christmas, the mother took Alyosha and Sasha, the son of Uncle Mikhail, to school. Alyosha did not like the school right away, but his brother, on the contrary, was very pleased in the first days. But then he ran away from school, and Alyosha's grandfather, grandmother and mother searched for him for a long time around the city. Finally Sasha was brought home. The boys talked all night and decided that they needed to study.

Suddenly Alyosha fell ill with smallpox. Grandmother, sitting by the sick bed, recalled all sorts of stories. And she told how her daughter married Maxim Peshkov (Alyosha's father) against her father's will, how her uncles disliked him, and she and Varvara left for Astrakhan.

The mother began to rarely appear at the bed of her son. And Alyosha was no longer carried away by the stories of his grandmother. He was worried about his mother. Alyosha sometimes dreamed that his father was walking somewhere alone, with a stick in his hand, and a shaggy dog ​​was running after him...

Chapter XII

Having recovered from his illness, Alyosha went into his mother's room. Here he saw a woman in a green dress. It was his other grandmother. Alyosha took a dislike to the old woman and her son Zhenya. He asked his mother not to marry. But her mother did it anyway. The wedding was quiet: having come from the church, they drank tea sadly, then the mother went into the room to pack the chests.

Mother left the next morning. In parting, she asked Alyosha to obey his grandfather. Maksimov, my mother's new husband, was packing things in the wagon. The green old woman left with them.

Alyosha stayed with his grandfather and grandmother. The boy liked to read books in solitude. He was no longer interested in the stories of his grandfather and grandmother. In autumn, my grandfather sold the house, rented two rooms in the basement. Mother arrived soon: pale, thin. Her stepfather also came with her. From the conversations of adults, the boy realized that the house where his mother and stepfather lived had burned down, and they came back to their grandfather. A few months later they moved to Sormovo. Everything here was alien to Alyosha. He could not get used to life without his grandparents. He was rarely allowed outside. His mother often whipped him with a belt. Once Alyosha warned that he would bite her if she did not stop beating him.

The stepfather was strict with the boy, taciturn with his mother, often quarreled with her. His mother was pregnant and that made him angry. Before giving birth to his mother, Alyosha was taken to his grandfather. A grandmother soon arrived here with her mother and a small child.

Alyosha went to school. He took a dislike to the teacher and in every possible way harmed him. The teacher complained to his parents, and his mother severely punished Alyosha. Then the mother again sent Alyosha to his grandfather. He heard her arguing with her stepfather, jealous of him. The stepfather hit the mother. Alyosha took a kitchen knife and hit his stepfather in the side. The mother began to beat her son for this. The stepfather took the boy from his mother's arms. In the evening, when the stepfather left the house, the mother began to apologize to Alyosha.

Chapter XIII

Again Alyosha lives with his grandfather Kashirin. Grandfather, it turns out, shared the property with his grandmother. He gave the collected money in growth to his new friend, nicknamed Whiplash in the suburb. Everything in the house was strictly divided: one day the grandmother prepared dinner from the provisions bought with her money, the next day the grandfather bought the provisions. Grandfather began to count sugar and tea ... Alyosha was both funny and disgusted to see all these grandfather tricks. He himself began to earn money: he collected rags, paper, nails, bones from the yards and handed them over for salvage. I gave money to my grandmother. Then, with the other guys, Alyosha began to steal firewood. On Saturday evenings, the boys arranged holidays. At school, Alyosha was teased with a rag.

He successfully passed the exam in the third grade, received the gospel, Krylov's fables in cover and another book without cover, as well as a commendation sheet as a reward. The grandfather was very happy with the success of his grandson. Grandmother fell ill, and grandfather began to reproach her with a piece. Alyosha gave his books to the shopkeeper for fifty kopecks and brought the money to his grandmother.

During the holidays, Alyosha began to earn more. From early morning they went out with the boys to collect rags through the streets. But this life did not last long. The mother returned with her little son to his grandfather. She was seriously ill. Alyosha became attached to his brother. The mother was getting worse every day. Grandfather himself fed Kolya, sitting on his knees. Mother died in August. A few days after the funeral of his mother, the grandfather said to his grandson: “Well, Lexey, you are not a medal, you don’t have a place on my neck, but go and join the people.” And Alex went to the people.