Victory and defeat over oneself are arguments. Victory and defeat in the novels Crime and Punishment and Fathers and Sons

Publilius Sir - a Roman poet, a contemporary of Caesar, believed that the most glorious victory is a victory over oneself. It seems to me that every thinking person who has reached the age of majority should win at least one victory over himself, over his shortcomings. Perhaps it is laziness, fear or envy. But what is victory over oneself in peacetime? So petty struggle with personal flaws. And here is the victory in the war! When it comes to life and death, when everything around you becomes an enemy, ready to end your existence at any moment?

Alexei Meresyev, the hero of Boris Polevoy's Tale of a Real Man, withstood such a struggle. The pilot was shot down on his plane by a fascist fighter. The desperately bold act of Alexei, who entered into an unequal struggle with the whole link, ended in defeat. The downed plane crashed into the trees, softening the blow. The pilot who fell on the snow received serious foot injuries. But, despite the unbearable pain, he, overcoming his suffering, decided to move towards his own, taking several thousand steps a day. Each step becomes torture for Alexei: he “felt that he was weakening from tension and pain. Biting his lip, he continued walking. A few days later, blood poisoning began to spread throughout the body, and the pain became unbearable. Unable to stand up, he decided to crawl. Losing consciousness, he moved forward. On the eighteenth day, he reached the people. But the main test was ahead. Alexei had both feet amputated. He was discouraged. However, there was a man who was able to restore his faith in himself. Alexei realized that he could fly if he learned to walk on prostheses. And again, torment, suffering, the need to endure pain, overcoming one's weakness. The episode of the pilot's return to duty is shocking, when the hero tells the instructor, who made a remark about shoes, that his feet will not freeze, since they are not. The surprise of the instructor was indescribable. Such a victory over oneself is a real feat. It becomes clear what the words mean, that the strength of the spirit ensures victory.

In the story of M. Gorky "Chelkash" two people are in the center of attention, completely opposite in their mentality, goals in life. Chelkash is a tramp, a thief, a criminal. He is desperately bold, bold, his element is the sea, true freedom. Money is rubbish for him, he never seeks to save it. If they are (and he gets them, constantly risking his freedom and life), he spends them. If not, don't be sad. Another thing is Gabriel. He is a peasant, he came to the city to work, to build his own house, to get married, to start a household. In this he sees his happiness. Having agreed to the scam with Chelkash, he did not expect that it would be so scary. It is clear from his behavior how cowardly he is. However, when he sees a wad of money in the hands of Chelkash, he loses his mind. Money made him drunk. He is ready to kill the hated criminal, just to get the money he needs to build a house. Chelkash suddenly feels sorry for the unfortunate, unlucky failed murderer and gives him almost all the money. So, in my opinion, the Gorky tramp conquers in himself the hatred for Gavrila that arose at the first meeting, and takes the position of mercy. It seems that there is nothing special here, but I believe that to conquer hatred in oneself means to win not only over oneself, but also over the whole world.

So, victories begin with small forgiveness, honest deeds, with the ability to enter into the position of another. This is the beginning of a great victory, whose name is life.

Official comment:
The direction allows you to think about victory and defeat in different aspects: socio-historical, moral and philosophical,
psychological. Reasoning can be connected both with external conflict events in the life of a person, country, world, and with the internal struggle of a person with himself, its causes and results.

Literary works often show the ambiguity and relativity of the concepts of "victory" and "defeat" in different historical conditions and life situations.

Aphorisms and sayings of famous people:
The greatest victory is victory over yourself.
Cicero
The possibility that we may be defeated in battle should not prevent us from fighting for a cause that we consider just.
A. Lincoln
Man is not created to suffer defeat... Man can be destroyed, but he cannot be defeated.
E. Hemingway
Be proud only of the victories you have won over yourself.
Tungsten

Socio-historical aspect
Here we will talk about the external conflict of social groups, states, military operations and political struggle.
Peru A. de Saint-Exupery owns a paradoxical, at first glance, statement: "Victory weakens the people - defeat awakens new forces in it ...". We find confirmation of the correctness of this idea in Russian literature.
"The Tale of Igor's Campaign"- a famous monument of literature of Ancient Russia. The plot is based on the unsuccessful campaign of the Russian princes against the Polovtsians, organized by the Novgorod-Seversky prince Igor Svyatoslavich in 1185. The main idea is the idea of ​​the unity of the Russian land. Princely civil strife, weakening the Russian land and leading to ruin by its enemies, make the author bitterly sad and complain; victory over enemies fills his soul with ardent delight. However, this work of ancient Russian literature tells about defeat, and not about victory, because it is defeat that contributes to the rethinking of previous behavior, gaining a new view of the world and oneself. That is, defeat stimulates Russian soldiers to victories and exploits.
The author of the Lay addresses all the Russian princes in turn, as if calling them to account and demandingly reminding them of their duty to their homeland. He calls them to defend the Russian land, "to block the gates of the field" with their sharp arrows. And therefore, although the author writes about defeat, there is not even a shadow of despondency in the Lay. The "Word" is as concise and laconic as Igor's appeals to his squad. This is the call before the fight. The whole poem, as it were, is turned to the future, permeated with concern for this future. A poem about victory would be a poem of triumph and joy. Victory is the end of the battle, while defeat for the author of the Lay is only the beginning of the battle. The battle with the steppe enemy is not yet over. The defeat should unite the Russians. The author of the Lay calls not to a feast of triumph, but to a feast-battle. This is written in the article "The Word about the campaign of Igor Svyatoslavich" D.S. Likhachev.
The "Word" ends happily - with the return of Igor to the Russian land and the singing of glory to him at the entrance to Kyiv. So, despite the fact that the “Word” is dedicated to the defeat of Igor, it is full of confidence in the power of the Russians, full of faith in the glorious future of the Russian land, in victory over the enemy.
The history of mankind consists of victories and defeats in wars. In the novel "War and Peace" L.N. Tolstoy describes the participation of Russia and Austria in the war against Napoleon. Drawing the events of 1805-1807, Tolstoy shows that this war was imposed on the peoples. Russian soldiers, being far from their homeland, do not understand the purpose of this war, they do not want to lay down their lives senselessly. Kutuzov understands better than many the uselessness of this campaign for Russia. He sees the indifference of the allies, the desire of Austria to fight by proxy. Kutuzov protects his troops in every possible way, delaying their advance to the borders of France. This is explained not by distrust of the military skill and heroism of the Russians, but by the desire to save them from senseless slaughter. When the battle turned out to be inevitable, the Russian soldiers showed their constant readiness to help the allies, to take the brunt. For example, a detachment of four thousand under the command of Bagration near the village of Shengraben held back the onslaught of the enemy, "eight times" outnumbering him. This made it possible for the main forces to advance. The miracles of heroism were shown by the unit of officer Timokhin. It not only did not retreat, but struck back, which saved the flank units of the army. The real hero of the Shengraben battle was the courageous, resolute, but modest captain Tushin before his superiors. So, largely thanks to the Russian troops, the battle of Shengraben was won, and this gave strength and inspiration to the sovereigns of Russia and Austria. Blinded by victories, preoccupied mainly with narcissism, holding military reviews and balls, these two men led their armies to defeat at Austerlitz. So it turned out that one of the reasons for the defeat of the Russian troops under the sky of Austerlitz was the victory at Shengraben, which did not allow an objective assessment of the balance of power.
All the senselessness of the campaign is shown by the writer in the preparation of the highest generals for the battle of Austerlitz. So, the military council before the battle of Austerlitz does not resemble advice, but an exhibition of vanities, all disputes were not conducted with the goal of reaching a better and correct solution, but, as Tolstoy writes, “... it was obvious that the goal ... of objections consisted mainly in the desire let General Weyrother feel, as self-confidently as schoolchildren, who read his disposition, that he was dealing not only with fools, but with people who could teach him in military affairs.
And yet, we see the main reason for the victories and defeats of the Russian troops in the confrontation with Napoleon when comparing Austerlitz and Borodin. Speaking with Pierre about the upcoming battle of Borodino, Andrei Bolkonsky recalls the reason for the defeat at Austerlitz: “The battle is won by the one who firmly decided to win it. Why did we lose the battle at Austerlitz? .. We told ourselves very early that we lost the battle, and lost And we said this because we had no reason to fight: we wanted to leave the battlefield as soon as possible. "We lost - well, run!" We ran. If we had not said this before evening, God knows what would have happened. And tomorrow we won't say that." L. Tolstoy shows a significant difference between the two campaigns: 1805-1807 and 1812. The fate of Russia was decided on the Borodino field. Here, the Russian people had no desire to save themselves, no indifference to what was happening. Here, as Lermontov says, "and we promised to die, and we kept the oath of allegiance in the Battle of Borodino."
Another opportunity to speculate about how a victory in one battle can turn into a defeat in a war is provided by the outcome of the Battle of Borodino, in which Russian troops gain a moral victory over the French. The moral defeat of Napoleon's troops near Moscow is the beginning of the defeat of his army.
The Civil War turned out to be such a significant event in the history of Russia that it could not but be reflected in fiction. The basis for the reasoning of graduates can be "Don stories", "Quiet Don" M.A. Sholokhov.
When one country goes to war with another, terrible events occur: hatred and the desire to defend themselves make people kill their own kind, women and the elderly are left alone, children grow up as orphans, cultural and material values ​​are destroyed, cities are destroyed. But the warring parties have a goal - to defeat the enemy at any cost. And every war has a result - victory or defeat. Victory is sweet and immediately justifies all losses, defeat is tragic and sad, but it is the starting point for some other life. But "in a civil war every victory is a defeat" (Lucian).
The life story of the central character of the epic novel by M. Sholokhov "The Quiet Don" by Grigory Melekhov, reflecting the drama of the fate of the Don Cossacks, confirms this idea. War cripples from the inside and destroys all the most precious that people have. It forces the heroes to take a fresh look at the problems of duty and justice, to seek the truth and not find it in any of the warring camps. Once at the Reds, Grigory sees all the same as the Whites, cruelty, intransigence, thirst for the blood of enemies. Melekhov rushes between the two belligerents. Everywhere he encounters violence and cruelty, which he cannot accept, and therefore cannot take one side. The result is logical: “Like a steppe scorched by fires, Grigory’s life became black ...”.

Moral-philosophical and psychological aspects
Victory is not only success in battle. To win, according to the dictionary of synonyms, is to overcome, overpower, overcome. And often not so much the enemy as himself. Consider a number of works from this point of view.
A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit". The conflict of the play is a unity of two principles: public and personal. Being an honest, noble, progressive-minded, freedom-loving man, the main character Chatsky opposes the Famus society. He condemns the inhumanity of serfdom, recalling "Nestor of noble scoundrels", who exchanged his faithful servants for three greyhounds; he is disgusted by the lack of freedom of thought in the society of the nobility: “And who in Moscow did not shut up lunches, dinners and dances?”. He does not recognize servility and sycophancy: "Who needs it: for those who are arrogant, they lie in the dust, and for those who are higher, flattery, like lace, was woven." Chatsky is full of sincere patriotism: “Will we ever rise again from the foreign power of fashion? So that our smart, peppy people, although by language, do not consider us Germans. He strives to serve the “cause”, and not individuals, he “would be glad to serve, it’s sickening to serve.” Society is offended and, defending itself, declares Chatsky crazy. His drama is aggravated by a feeling of ardent but unrequited love for Famusov's daughter Sofya. Chatsky does not make an attempt to understand Sophia, it is difficult for him to understand why Sophia does not love him, because his love for her speeds up “every heartbeat”, although “the whole world seemed to him dust and vanity.” Chatsky's blindness with passion can justify him: his "mind and heart are out of tune." The psychological conflict turns into a social conflict. Society unanimously comes to the conclusion: "crazy in everything ...". Crazy society is not terrible. Chatsky decides to "search around the world where the offended feeling has a corner."
I.A. Goncharov assessed the finale of the play as follows: "Chatsky is broken by the quantity of the old force, inflicting a mortal blow on it with the quality of the new force." Chatsky does not give up his ideals, he only frees himself from illusions. Chatsky's stay in Famusov's house shook the inviolability of the foundations of Famusov's society. Sophia says: “I am ashamed of myself!”
Therefore, the defeat of Chatsky is only a temporary defeat and only his personal drama. On a public scale, "the victory of the Chatskys is inevitable." The “past century” will be replaced by the “current century”, and the views of the comedy hero Griboyedov will win.
A.N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm". Graduates can reflect on the question of whether Katerina's death is a victory or defeat. It is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to this question. Too many reasons led to a terrible ending. The playwright sees the tragedy of Katerina's position in that she comes into conflict not only with Kalinov's family mores, but also with herself. The straightforwardness of Ostrovsky's heroine is one of the sources of her tragedy. Katerina is pure in soul - lies and debauchery are alien and disgusting to her. She understands that, having fallen in love with Boris, she has violated the moral law. “Ah, Varya,” she complains, “I have a sin on my mind! How much I, poor thing, wept, no matter what I did to myself! I can't get away from this sin. Nowhere to go. After all, this is not good, because this is a terrible sin, Varenka, that I love another? Throughout the play, there is a painful struggle in Katerina's mind between understanding her wrong, her sinfulness and a vague, but increasingly powerful sense of her right to human life. But the play ends with Katerina's moral victory over the dark forces that torment her. She expiates her guilt immeasurably, and escapes bondage and humiliation by the only path that has been opened to her. Her decision to die, if only not to remain a slave, expresses, according to Dobrolyubov, "the need for the emerging movement of Russian life." And this decision comes to Katerina along with internal self-justification. She dies because she considers death the only worthy outcome, the only way to preserve the higher that lived in her. The idea that Katerina's death is in fact a moral victory, the triumph of the real Russian soul over the forces of the "dark kingdom" of the Wild and Kabanovs, is also strengthened by the reaction of other heroes of the play to her death. For example, Tikhon, Katerina's husband, for the first time in his life expressed his own opinion, for the first time he decided to protest against the suffocating foundations of his family, joining (if only for a moment) in the fight against the "dark kingdom". "You ruined her, you, you..." he exclaims, turning to his mother, before whom he has trembled all his life.
I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons". The writer shows in his novel the struggle between worldviews of two political trends. The plot of the novel is built on the opposition of the views of Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov and Evgeny Bazarov, who are the brightest representatives of two generations that do not find mutual understanding. Differences on various issues have always existed between the youth and the elders. So here, a representative of the younger generation, Evgeny Vasilyevich Bazarov, cannot, and does not want to understand the "fathers", their life credo, principles. He is convinced that their views on the world, on life, on relations between people are hopelessly outdated. “Yes, I will spoil them ... After all, this is all pride, lion's habits, foppery ...”. In his opinion, the main purpose of life is to work, to produce something material. That is why Bazarov disrespectfully treats art, sciences that do not have a practical basis. He believes that it is much more useful to deny what, from his point of view, deserves to be denied, than to watch indifferently from the side, not daring to do anything. “At the present time, denial is most useful - we deny,” says Bazarov. And Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov is sure that there are things that cannot be doubted (“Aristocracy ... liberalism, progress, principles ... art ...”). He values ​​habits and traditions more and does not want to notice the changes taking place in society.
Bazarov is a tragic figure. It cannot be said that he defeats Kirsanov in a dispute. Even when Pavel Petrovich is ready to admit his defeat, Bazarov suddenly loses faith in his teaching and doubts his personal need for society. "Does Russia need me? No, apparently I don't," he reflects.
Of course, most of all a person is manifested not in conversations, but in deeds and in his life. Therefore, Turgenev, as it were, leads his heroes through various trials. And the strongest of them is the test of love. After all, it is in love that the soul of a person is revealed fully and sincerely.
And then the hot and passionate nature of Bazarov swept away all his theories. He fell in love with a woman whom he highly valued. “In conversations with Anna Sergeevna, he expressed even more than before his indifferent contempt for everything romantic, and left alone, he indignantly recognized the romance in himself.” The hero is going through a severe mental breakdown. "...Something...was possessed in him, which he never allowed, over which he always mocked, which revolted all his pride." Anna Sergeevna Odintsova rejected him. But Bazarov found the strength to accept defeat with honor, without losing his dignity.
So all the same - did the nihilist Bazarov win or lose? It seems that in the test of love, Bazarov is defeated. First, his feelings and himself are rejected. Secondly, he falls into the power of the aspects of life he himself denies, loses ground under his feet, begins to doubt his views on life. His position in life turns out to be a position in which, however, he sincerely believed. Bazarov begins to lose the meaning of life, and soon loses life itself. But this is also a victory: love made Bazarov take a different look at himself and the world, he begins to understand that life does not want to fit into a nihilistic scheme in anything.
And Anna Sergeevna formally remains among the winners. She managed to cope with her feelings, which strengthened her self-confidence. In the future, she will build a sister well, and she herself will successfully marry. But will she be happy?
F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment". Crime and Punishment is an ideological novel where non-human theory collides with human feelings. Dostoevsky, a great connoisseur of the psychology of people, a sensitive and attentive artist, tried to understand modern reality, to determine the degree of influence on a person of the then popular ideas of the revolutionary reorganization of life and individualistic theories. Entering into polemics with democrats and socialists, the writer sought to show in his novel how the delusion of fragile minds leads to murder, shedding of blood, maiming and breaking young lives.
Raskolnikov's ideas are generated by abnormal, humiliating conditions of life. In addition, the post-reform breakup destroyed the age-old foundations of society, depriving human individuality of connection with the old cultural traditions of society, historical memory. Raskolnikov sees a violation of universal moral norms at every step. It is impossible to feed a family with honest labor, so the petty official Marmeladov finally becomes an inveterate drunkard, and his daughter Sonechka is forced to trade herself, because otherwise her family will die of hunger. If unbearable living conditions push a person to violate moral principles, then these principles are nonsense, that is, they can be ignored. Raskolnikov comes to this conclusion when a theory is born in his inflamed brain, according to which he divides all of humanity into two unequal parts. On the one hand, these are strong personalities, "super-humans" such as Mohammed and Napoleon, and on the other hand, a gray, faceless and submissive crowd, which the hero awards with a contemptuous name - "trembling creature" and "anthill".
The correctness of any theory must be confirmed by practice. And Rodion Raskolnikov conceives and carries out the murder, removing the moral prohibition from himself. His life after the murder turns into a real hell. A painful suspicion develops in Rodion, which gradually turns into a feeling of loneliness, rejection from everyone. The writer finds a surprisingly accurate expression characterizing Raskolnikov's inner state: he "as if cut himself off with scissors from everyone and everything." The hero is disappointed in himself, believing that he did not pass the test for the role of the ruler, which means, alas, he belongs to the "trembling creatures".
Surprisingly, Raskolnikov himself would not want to be the winner now. After all, to win means to perish morally, to remain with your spiritual chaos forever, to lose faith in people, yourself and life. Raskolnikov's defeat was his victory - a victory over himself, over his theory, over the Devil, who took possession of his soul, but could not forever displace God in it.
M.A. Bulgakov "Master and Margarita". This novel is too complex and multifaceted, the writer touched on many topics and problems in it. One of them is the problem of the struggle between good and evil. In The Master and Margarita, the two main forces of good and evil, which, according to Bulgakov, should be in balance on Earth, are embodied in the images of Yeshua Ha-Notsri from Yershalaim and Woland - Satan in human form. Apparently, Bulgakov, in order to show that good and evil exist outside of time and for thousands of years people live according to their laws, placed Yeshua at the beginning of a new time, in the fictional masterpiece of the Master, and Woland, as the arbiter of cruel justice, in Moscow in the 30s. XX century. The latter came to Earth to restore harmony where it had been broken in favor of evil, which included lies, stupidity, hypocrisy and, finally, betrayal that filled Moscow. Good and evil in this world are surprisingly closely intertwined, especially in human souls. When Woland, in a scene in a variety show, tests the audience for cruelty and decapitates the entertainer, and compassionate women demand to put her in her place, the great magician says: “Well ... they are people like people ... Well, frivolous ... well, what ... and mercy sometimes knocks on their hearts ... ordinary people ... - and loudly orders: “Put on your head.” And then we observe how people are fighting because of the gold pieces that have fallen on their heads.
The novel "The Master and Margarita" is about the responsibility of a person for the good and evil that is done on earth, for his own choice of life paths leading to truth and freedom or to slavery, betrayal and inhumanity. It is about all-conquering love and creativity, elevating the soul to the heights of true humanity.
The author wanted to proclaim: the victory of evil over good cannot be the end result of social and moral confrontation. This, according to Bulgakov, is not accepted by human nature itself, should not be allowed by the entire course of civilization.
Of course, the range of works in which the thematic direction “Victory and Defeat” is revealed is much wider. The main thing is to see the principle, to understand that victory and defeat are relative concepts.
Wrote about it R. Bach in the book "Bridge Through Eternity": “The important thing is not whether we lose the game, but how we lose and how we change because of this, what we bring out for ourselves, how we can apply it in other games. In a strange way, defeat turns out to be victory."

1. M.Yu. Lermontov "Song about ... the merchant Kalashnikov"

The merchant Kalashnikov, standing up for the honor of his wife, goes to a fistfight with the guardsman Kiribeevich. He wins the battle, but dies at the hands of the executioner, because he refuses to tell the king about the reasons for his act. But Kalashnikov defended his wife's honor. And his death becomes a victory.

2. M.Yu. Lermontov "Mtsyri"

The protagonist runs away from the monastery where he has been all his life, because he considers it a prison. Three days at large became for him the replacement of a lifetime. Meeting with people, fighting with a leopard, thunder and lightning, contemplation of the beauty of nature - this is life for him - demonic freedom. He dies, but, in his opinion, he wins.

3. A.N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm"

Katerina enters into combat with the "dark kingdom" and dies, as she cannot withstand the onslaught of hypocrisy and falsehood. Her protest becomes the first signal for confrontation with this kingdom. Her death is a victory over general indifference and obscurantism.

4. I.A. Bunin "Clean Monday"

The main character of the story is a girl living an idle life filled with bright events. She is little understood by her young man, because he does not know how to listen. And the girl is looking for a way out of such a life. And her sudden departure to the monastery very clearly demonstrates the great inner work of the soul. By this act, she proves the victory of a pure, sublime, divine principle over the mundane, base, carnal. With her departure to the monastery, she saves her soul and conquers all base things.

5. E.I. Zamyatin "We"

The protagonist of the novel, having experienced love for the first time in his life, becomes a conspirator. But his primitive swarm consciousness is incapable of making the right choice, he calmly puts himself at the mercy of the guardians in order to avoid having to choose. Watching the torture of his recently beloved, he dryly, logically reflects on the irrational behavior of the girl. The United State here and now is victorious over D-503 and I-330, over the entire Mephi, but this victory is akin to defeat.

What is victory? What is defeat? Why do we sometimes fail or, conversely, win victories? Victory is success, achievement of the set goal, overcoming oneself and hostile circumstances. Every day we face all kinds of problems, obstacles and thorns. People are hindered by laziness, fear, self-doubt. That is why on the way to the goal it is important to show willpower, fortitude.

Let's turn to the novel, where the main character lost the battle with himself, with his laziness. He grew up in an environment where everything went on as usual, smoothly, calmly, measuredly. Ilyusha was always surrounded by care, attention, and that is why in the future he did not have enough independence. Oblomov's favorite pastime was lying on the couch. Days, months, years passed... But all "good" things come to an end, right? Problems fell upon Ilya Ilyich, which, if desired, could probably be solved, but he did not betray himself and did not do anything to correct the disastrous state of affairs. They say that love changes people, so it happened with Oblomov: he made an attempt to overcome himself. Thanks to his love for Olga, he: got up from the sofa, began to read, walk. However, he soon abandoned this idea, justifying himself by saying that he would not be able to give his beloved what she really deserves. Having found an excuse, the hero returns to his native sofa and his usual way of life. But his closest friend Stolz was able to achieve his goal, because his upbringing was harsh and, as life has shown, correct. Stolz overcame the fear of the big city and homesickness in order to take place in the big city and find his calling. He achieved career success and won the favor of Olga.

In the story of M.A. Sholokhov "The fate of man" is truly great. On his way, he experienced a lot of cruel blows of fate. In the civil war, he lost his family, was left completely alone. Pulling himself together, Sokolov passed the time of suffering: he received an education, then got a job, and after a while he got married. A friendly family, three children, that, it would seem, is happiness ... Everything collapsed in one moment. The war began, the hero was taken to the front. Captivity, hunger, exhausting labor, the death of comrades. At such moments, only the thought of a family, a home can warm the soul, only they can give hope for a brighter future. A shell fell into the house where his wife and his two daughters were, and on Victory Day Sokolov learned about the death of his son. It is difficult to imagine what a person feels in such seconds. Where does it get strength from? Despite everything, he continued to live, adopted a boy as lonely as himself. I think that anyone else would have broken by now, but not

"The most important victory is a victory over oneself" Final essay

Winning and losing are very closely related. These are the two most important components of the life path of every person. Without one, the other cannot exist. To ultimately come to victory, you need to suffer many failures, which are so common in our lives. Arguing about these two concepts, the quote comes in handy: "The most important victory is a victory over oneself."

The theme of victory and defeat is interesting for writers of different eras, since the heroes of literary works very often try to defeat themselves, their fear, laziness and insecurity. For example, in the novel by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment", the main character Rodion Raskolnikov is a poor but proud student. He has been living in St. Petersburg for several years, since he came to study at the university. But soon, Raskolnikov dropped out of school, because his mother stopped sending him money. After that, the protagonist first comes to the old pawnbroker in order to pawn valuable things from her. Then he has an idea to kill the old woman and take possession of her money. Having considered his intentions, Roskolnikov decides to commit a crime, but he himself does not fully believe in the possibility of its implementation. By killing not only the old woman, but also her pregnant sister, he defeated himself and his indecision, as it seemed to him. But soon the thought of the crime he had committed began to burden and torment him, Rodion realized that he had done something terrible, and his “victory” turned into a defeat.

The next vivid example of reflections on victories and defeats is Ivan Alekseevich Goncharov's novel Oblomov. The protagonist Ilya Ilyich is a Russian landowner, about thirty-two or three years old. Oblomov lay on the sofa all the time and when he began to read, he immediately fell asleep. But when he meets Olga Sergeevna Ilyinskaya, who awakens an interest in literature in the semi-literate Oblomov, the hero firmly decides to change and become worthy of his new acquaintance, with whom he managed to fall in love. But love, which carries the need for action, self-improvement, is doomed in the case of Oblomov. Olga demands too much from Oblomov, but Ilya Ilyich cannot stand such a stressful life and gradually parted with her. Ilya Ilyich discussed the meaning of life, understood that it was impossible to live like that, but still did nothing. Oblomov failed to defeat himself. However, the defeat did not upset him so much. At the end of the novel, we see the hero in a quiet family circle, he is loved, taken care of, as once in childhood. This is the ideal of his life, that's what he wanted and achieved. Also, however, having won a "victory", because his life has become what he wants to see it.

So, summarizing what has been said, we can draw the following conclusion: Each person is one way or another the main character of his life. Any small victory over oneself gives great hope in one's own strength. And rightly so, because only the one who defeated himself, who defeated his fear, his laziness and his insecurity, wins in this life.