How do you understand the expression “little man”? The image of the “little man” in Russian literature A story about a little man in modern society

The image of the “little man” is characteristic of realism and is found in many works of Russian and foreign writers. They tried to use this technique to show the indifference of the state to ordinary, small people. In my opinion, a little person is a hero whose role in society is insignificant: an ordinary worker, employee or peasant. The elite of society did not like such people because they did not have enough funds and influence. Officials did not notice that it is thanks to these people that society is built, they are its strength.

The most famous example of a “little man” in literature is Samson Vyrin from “The Station Agent” by A.S. Pushkin. The hero of this work is a calm and good-natured man. Due to the long separation from his daughter, he slowly dies. But society and the state don’t care. They didn't even try to solve this problem. An inconspicuous person passed away, and no one even noticed. Pushkin tells readers that they need to be more attentive to others. It was Alexander Sergeevich who first introduced the concept of “little man” in literature.

In the novel “War and Peace” L.N. Tolstoy Tushin is not given much time, this is explained by the fact that he is the “little man” in this work. Everyone sees him as funny and awkward. However, in battle his best qualities are revealed: fearlessness, desire to fight. L.N. Tolstoy assures that one cannot judge a person right away, it is better to get to know him better.

Semyon Semenovich Marmeladov from the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" lives on the very outskirts of St. Petersburg in deep poverty. This hero is a drunken official who himself is aware of his worthlessness and uselessness. Marmeladov kills himself spiritually, he does not strive to rise in society, he gives up and dies. The tragic fate of this character, who is of no use to anyone anywhere, does not withstand all the tests. Semyon Semenovich's dream of benefiting society never became a reality. It seems to me that Dostoevsky depicted a huge number of people throughout Russia with the image of this hero. People avoid them, do not want to help, but no one knows the real reasons for their life. Such people are forced to drink themselves and degenerate.

The image of the “little man” is central in the literature of Russian realism. Describing the hard life of such heroes, writers tried to describe the real existence of ordinary citizens of that time, to provoke a protest to the state.

Bogachek A., Shiryaeva E.

Project "The image of the "little man" in the literature of the 19th-20th centuries."

Download:

Preview:

MBOU "Orangereininskaya Secondary School"

Project on the topic: “The image of the “little man” in the literature of the 19th – early 20th centuries”

Completed by students of grade 10 “B”

Bogachek Alexandra

Shiryaeva Ekaterina

Teacher

Mikhailova O.E.

2011-2012 academic year.

Plan:

“The Little Man” is a literary hero of the era of realism.

“Little Man” - a man from the people...became...a hero of Russian literature.

From Pushkin's Samson Vyrin to Gogol's Akaki Akakievich.

Contempt for the “little man” in the works of A.P. Chekhov.

The talented and selfless “little man” in the works of N.S. Leskova.

Conclusion.

Used Books.

Target : Show the diversity of ideas about the “little man” of writers of the 19th – early 20th centuries.

Tasks : 1) study the works of writers of the 19th – early 20th centuries;

3) draw conclusions.

The definition of “little man” is applied to the category of literary heroes of the era of realism, usually occupying a rather low place in the social hierarchy: a minor official, a tradesman, or even a poor nobleman. The image of the “little man” turned out to be all the more relevant the more democratic literature became. The very concept of “little man” was most likely introduced into use by Belinsky (1840 article “Woe from Wit”). The theme of the “little man” is raised by many writers. It has always been relevant because its task is to reflect the life of an ordinary person with all its experiences, problems, troubles and little joys. The writer takes on the hard work of showing and explaining the lives of ordinary people. “The little man is a representative of the entire people. And each writer represents him in his own way.

The image of a little man has been known for a long time - thanks, for example, to such mastodons as A.S. Pushkin and N.V. Gogol or A.P. Chekhov and N.S. Leskov - and inexhaustible.

N.V. Gogol was one of the first who spoke openly and loudly about the tragedy of the “little man,” oppressed, humiliated and therefore pitiful.

True, the palm in this still belongs to Pushkin; his Samson Vyrin from “The Station Agent” opens a gallery of “little people”. But Vyrin’s tragedy is reduced to a personal tragedy, its causes lie in the relationship between the station superintendent’s family - father and daughter - and are in the nature of morality, or rather immorality on the part of Dunya, the superintendent’s daughter. She was the meaning of life for her father, the “sun” with whom the lonely, elderly man felt warm and comfortable.

Gogol, remaining faithful to the traditions of critical realism, introducing his own Gogolian motives into it, showed the tragedy of the “little man” in Russia much more widely; the writer “realized and showed the danger of degradation of society, in which cruelty and indifference of people to each other are increasing more and more.”

And the pinnacle of this villainy was Gogol’s Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin from the story “The Overcoat,” his name became a symbol of the “little man” who feels bad in this strange world of servitude, lies and “blatant” indifference.

It often happens in life that cruel and heartless people who humiliate and insult the dignity of other people often look more pathetic and insignificant than their victims. The same impression of spiritual meagerness and fragility from the offenders of the petty official Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin remains with us after reading Gogol’s story “The Overcoat”. Akaki Akakievich is a real “little man”. Why? Firstly, he stands on one of the lowest steps of the hierarchical ladder. His place in society is not noticeable at all. Secondly, the world of his spiritual life and human interests is extremely narrowed, impoverished, and limited. Gogol himself characterized his hero as poor, mediocre, insignificant and unnoticed. In life, he was assigned an insignificant role as a copyist of documents for one of the departments. Brought up in an atmosphere of unquestioning submission and execution of orders from his superiors, Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin was not used to reflecting on the content and meaning of his work. Therefore, when he is offered tasks that require the manifestation of elementary intelligence, he begins to worry, worry, and ultimately comes to the conclusion: “No, it’s better to let me rewrite something.” Bashmachkin's spiritual life is also limited. Collecting money for a new overcoat becomes for him the meaning of his whole life, filling it with happiness in anticipation of the fulfillment of his cherished desire. The theft of a new overcoat, acquired through such hardships and suffering, becomes truly catastrophic for him. Those around him laughed at his misfortune, and no one helped him. The “significant person” shouted at him so much that poor Akaki Akakievich lost consciousness. Almost no one noticed his death. Despite the uniqueness of the image created by the writer, he, Bashmachkin, does not look lonely in the minds of readers, and we imagine that there were a great many of the same humiliated people who shared the lot of Akaki Akakievich. Gogol was the first to talk about the tragedy of the “little man,” respect for whom depended not on his spiritual qualities, not on education and intelligence, but on his position in society. The writer compassionately showed the injustice and oppressiveness of society in relation to the “little man” and for the first time called on this society to pay attention to the inconspicuous, pitiful and funny people, as it seemed at first glance. It’s not their fault that they are not very smart, and sometimes not smart at all. But they don’t harm anyone, and this is very important. So why then laugh at them? Maybe you can't treat them with more respect, but you can't offend them. They, like everyone else, have the right to a decent life, to the opportunity to feel like full-fledged people.

“The Little Man” is constantly found on the pages of A.A. Chekhov’s works. This is the main character of his work. Chekhov's attitude towards such people is especially clear in his satirical stories. And this attitude is unambiguous. In the story “The Death of an Official,” the “little man” Ivan Dmitrievich Chervyakov constantly and obsessively apologizes to General Brizzhalov for accidentally spraying him when he sneezed. “I sprayed him!” thought Chervyakov. “Not my boss, a stranger, but still awkward. I need to apologize.” The key word in this thought is “boss”. Chervyakov probably wouldn’t endlessly apologize to an ordinary person. Ivan Dmitrievich has a fear of his superiors, and this fear turns into flattery and deprives him of self-respect. A person has already reached the point where he allows himself to be trampled into the dirt; moreover, he himself helps to do this. We must give the general his due; he treats our hero very politely. But the common man was not accustomed to such treatment. Therefore, Ivan Dmitrievich thinks that he was ignored and comes to ask for forgiveness several days in a row. Brizzhalov gets fed up with this and finally yells at Chervyakov. “Get out!” the general, suddenly blue and shaking, barked.

“What, sir?” Chervyakov asked in a whisper, dying of horror.

Go away!! - the general repeated, stamping his feet.

Something came off in Chervyakov’s stomach. Seeing nothing, hearing nothing, he backed away to the door, went out into the street and trudged... Arriving mechanically home, without taking off his uniform, he lay down on the sofa and... died." This is what fear of higher ranks, eternal admiration and humiliation before them. To more fully reveal the image of his hero, Chekhov used a “speaking” surname Yes, Ivan Dmitrievich is small, pitiful, like a worm, he can be crushed without effort, and most importantly, he is just as unpleasant.

In the story “The Triumph of the Winner,” Chekhov presents us with a story in which a father and son humiliate themselves before their boss so that the son can get a position.

“The boss was telling the story and, apparently, wanted to seem witty. I don’t know if he said anything funny, but I just remember that my dad pushed me in the side every minute and said:

Laugh!…

... - Yes, yes! - Dad whispered. - Well done! He looks at you and laughs... This is good; Maybe he’ll actually give you a job as an assistant clerk!”

And again we are faced with admiration for superiors. And again this is self-deprecation and flattery. People are ready to please the boss to achieve their insignificant goal. It doesn’t even occur to them to remember that there is simple human dignity that cannot be lost under any circumstances. A.P. Chekhov wanted all people to be beautiful and free. “Everything in a person should be beautiful: face, clothes, soul, and thoughts.” Anton Pavlovich thought so, therefore, ridiculing primitive man in his stories, he called for self-improvement. Chekhov hated self-humiliation, eternal servility and admiration for officials. Gorky said about Chekhov: “His enemy was vulgarity, and he fought against it all his life.” Yes, he fought against it with his works, he bequeathed to us to “squeeze the slave out of ourselves drop by drop.” Perhaps such a vile lifestyle of his “little people”, their low thoughts and unworthy behavior are the result of not only personal character traits, but also their social position and the order of the existing political system. After all, Chervyakov would not have apologized so zealously and lived in eternal fear of officials if he had not been afraid of the consequences. The characters in the stories “Chameleon”, “Thick and Thin”, “Man in a Case” and many others have the same unpleasant character traits.

Anton Pavlovich believed that a person should have a goal, the fulfillment of which he will strive, and if there is none or it is completely small and insignificant, then the person becomes just as small and insignificant. A person must work and love - these are two things that play a major role in the life of any person: small and not small.

Nikolai Semenovich Leskov’s “little man” is a completely different person than his predecessors... In order to understand this, let’s compare the heroes of three works by this writer: Lefty, Ivan Severyanovich Flyagin and Katerina Izmailova. All three of these characters are strong personalities, and each is talented in their own way. But all the energy of Katerina Izmailova is aimed at creating personal happiness by any means. To achieve her goals, she resorts to crime. And therefore this type of character is rejected by Leskov. He sympathizes with her only when she turns out to be cruelly betrayed by her lovers.

Lefty is a talented man from the people who cares about his homeland more than the king and courtiers. But he is ruined by a vice that is so familiar to the Russian people - drunkenness and the reluctance of the state to help its subjects. He could have done without this help if he had been a strong man. But a drinking person cannot be a strong person. Therefore, for Leskov, this is not the hero who should be given preference.

Among the heroes belonging to the category of “little people,” Leskov singles out Ivan Severyanovich Flyagin. Leskov's hero is a hero in appearance and spirit. “He was a man of enormous stature, with a dark, open face and thick, wavy, lead-colored hair: his gray hair was so strangely cast... This new companion of ours, who later turned out to be a very interesting person, looked like he was in his mid-fifties; but he was in in the full sense of the word, a hero, and, moreover, a typical, simple-minded, kind Russian hero, reminiscent of grandfather Ilya Muromets... But with all this kind simplicity, it did not take much observation to see in him a person who has seen a lot and, as they say, “experienced.” He behaved boldly, self-confidently, although without unpleasant abandon, and spoke in a pleasant bass voice with a demeanor." He is strong not only physically, but also spiritually. Flyagin's life is an endless test. He is strong in spirit, and this allows him to overcome such difficult life vicissitudes. He was on the verge of death, saved people, and fled for his life. But in all these tests he improved. Flyagin, at first vaguely, and then more and more consciously, strives for heroic service to the Motherland; this becomes the spiritual need of the hero. In this he sees the meaning of life. The kindness inherent in Flyagin initially, the desire to help the suffering, ultimately becomes a conscious need to love his neighbor as himself. This is a simple person with his own merits and demerits, gradually eradicating these shortcomings and coming to an understanding of God. Leskov portrays his hero as a strong and brave man with a huge heart and a big soul. Flyagin does not complain about fate, does not cry. Leskov, describing Ivan Severyanovich, makes the reader proud of his people, of his country. Flyagin does not humiliate himself before the powers that be, like Chekhov’s heroes, does not become an alcoholic because of his insolvency, like Dostoevsky’s Marmeladov, does not sink to the bottom of life, like Gorky’s characters, does not wish harm to anyone, does not want to humiliate anyone, does not wait for help from others, does not sit idly by. This is a person who recognizes himself as a human being, a real person, who is ready to defend his rights and the rights of other people, who does not lose self-esteem and is confident that a person can do anything.

III.

The idea of ​​the “little man” changed throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Each writer also had his own personal views on this hero.

You can find commonality in the views of different writers. For example, writers of the first half of the 19th century (Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol) treat the “little man” with sympathy. Griboedov stands apart, he looks at this hero differently, which brings his views closer to the views of Chekhov and partly Ostrovsky. Here the concept of vulgarity and self-humiliation comes to the fore. In the minds of L. Tolstoy, N. Leskov, A. Kuprin, a “little man” is a talented, selfless person. Such a variety of views of writers depends on the characteristics of their worldview and on the diversity of human types that surrounds us in real life.

Used Books:

1. Gogol N.V. Collected works in 4 volumes. Publishing house "Prosveshcheniye", M. 1979

2. Pushkin A.S. “Stories by I.P. Belkina. Dubrovsky, Queen of Spades. Publishing house "Astrel, AST" 2004

3. Chekhov A.P. Stories. Publishing house "AST". 2010

4. Leskov N.S. All works by Nikolai Leskov. 2011

5. Gukovsky G.A. Gogol's realism - M., 1959

Nov 21 2016

The theme of the “little man” was first heard in “The Bronze Horseman” and “The Station Agent” by A. S. Pushkin. In general, the “little man” is like this: he is not a noble man, but a poor man, insulted by people of higher rank, driven to despair. Moreover, this person is not just unofficial, but a person who feels his Powerlessness in front of life. Sometimes he is capable of protest, to which a life catastrophe leads him, but the outcome of Protest is always madness or death. Pushkin discovered a new dramatic character in the poor official, and Gogol continued to develop this theme in his St. Petersburg stories (“The Nose,” “Nevsky Prospect,” “Notes of a Madman,” “Portrait,” and “The Overcoat”).

Life in St. Petersburg gave the young writer the opportunity to expand his circle of observations, as a result of which figures of officials began to appear next to the Images of Ukrainian peasants and landowners. St. Petersburg struck Gogol with pictures of deep social contradictions and tragic social catastrophes. It is in this terrible, Mad city that amazing incidents occur with the official Poprishchin, who became one of the first Characters of this type and, according to Belinsky, is “an ugly grotesque, a strange, whimsical dream of the Artist; this is the personification of a mockery of life and man, pitiful life, pitiful man.” It is here that there is no place for poor Akaki Akakievich - “a completely ordinary, ordinary, unremarkable person, almost not even a person, but a common place, a constant target for ridicule.”

Gogol's heroes go crazy or die in an unequal struggle with the cruel conditions of reality. Man and the non-human conditions of his Social existence are the main conflict underlying the St. Petersburg stories. One of the most tragic stories of this cycle is undoubtedly “Notes of a Madman.”

The hero of the work is Aksentiy Ivanovich Poprishchyn, a small official offended by everyone. He is a nobleman, very poor and does not pretend to anything. With a sense of dignity, he sits in the director's office and trims the feathers of His Excellency, filled with the greatest respect for the director. “All the learning, such learning that Our brother doesn’t even have an attack... What importance in the eyes... Not our brother’s match!

" speaks about director Poprishchin. In his opinion, a person’s reputation is created by his rank. It is the person who is decent who has a high rank, position, money, as Aksentiy Ivanovich believes. The hero is poor in spirit, his inner world is shallow and wretched; but Gogol did not want to laugh at his hero.

Poprishchin's consciousness is upset, and the question suddenly pops into his head: why is he a titular councilor? Thus, Poprishchin finally loses his mind and starts a rebellion, caused by the awareness of insulted human dignity. He thinks why “what is the best in the world, everything goes to either the chamber cadets or the generals.”

As the madness in Poprishchina intensifies, the sense of human dignity grows. At the end of the story, he, morally enlightened, cannot stand it: “No, I no longer have the strength to endure. God! what are they doing to me!.. What have I done to them? Why are they torturing me?

". Blok noticed that in Poprishchin’s scream one could hear “the cry of Gogol himself.” “Notes of a Madman” is a protest against the Unjust foundations of a maddened world, where everything is displaced and confused, where there is no reason and justice. Poprishchin is the creation and victim of this world. The cry at the end of the story embodies all the grievances and suffering of the “little man.”

Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin, the hero of the Story “The Overcoat,” becomes the next victim of St. Petersburg, a victim of poverty and tyranny. “Akaky represents in this absurd world both its innermost essence, and at the same time a Pathetic attempt to overcome the absurd,” as V. Nabokov says about him. Gogol, on the other hand, does not hide his ironic grin when he describes the limitations and wretchedness of his hero.

He emphasizes the typical insignificance of Akaki Akakievich: “the eternal titular adviser, over whom, as you know, various writers mocked and made jokes, having the commendable habit of leaning on those who cannot bite.” And suddenly such a person was overcome by an all-consuming passion to acquire a new overcoat, while the Power of the passion and its object are incommensurable. Thus, the solution to a simple everyday problem is elevated to a high Pedestal, which is Gogol’s irony. When Akaki Akakievich is robbed, in a fit of despair he turns to a “significant person.”

This “significant person” is a generalized image of a representative of power. The scene at the general’s most powerfully reveals the social tragedy of the “little man,” when the almost motionless body of Akaki Akakievich is taken out of the office of this “significant person.” But only the dead Akaki Akakievich is capable of rebellion, which emphasizes the social meaning of the conflict, and revenge: the ghost, in which the poor official was recognized, begins to tear off greatcoats “from all shoulders, without considering rank and title.” After this story, the opinions of critics and Gogol’s contemporaries about this hero differed.

Dostoevsky saw in “The Overcoat” “a merciless mockery of man.” And Chernyshevsky called Bashmachnik “a complete idiot.” But for Gogol, only the typicality of the destinies of the “little people” and the inevitability of their end in the conditions created by the Social Circle were important.

In “Notes of a Madman” the boundaries of reason and madness are violated, and in “The Overcoat” the boundaries of Life and Death are blurred. The death of the Shoemaker and the madness of Poprishchin are phenomena of the same order, which tell us about One thing: “only meanness, cruelty and the ability to grovel before the powers that be can help make a Career and ensure a carefree existence for those who are given over to the power of the exploiters and serf owners. Therefore, the fate of the “little man” is infinitely difficult, trying to make his way to life with the help of work, Honesty and patience.

“In both “Notes” and “The Overcoat,” we ultimately see not just a “little Man,” but a person in general. These characters represent to us people who are lonely, insecure, deprived of reliable support, and in need of sympathy. Therefore, we can neither mercilessly judge the “little man” nor justify him: he evokes both compassion and ridicule.

This is exactly how Gogol portrays him. Gogol raised social injustice and sympathy for the oppressed - ordinary people in his cycle of St. Petersburg stories with poignancy and persuasiveness. The theme was not only a cry of mercy for the fallen, but also a Protest against the system that gives birth to the “fallen”.

“Gogol raised the image of an oppressed person to the heights of real Poetry.” compositions: Victoria F

write an essay on the topic of whether the problem of a small person is relevant today

• This problem is relevant at all times. The theme of the “little man” was first touched upon in creativity
  A.S. Pushkin (“The Station Agent”), N.V. Gogol (“The Overcoat”),
  The heroes of the works of these outstanding writers became household names, and the theme became firmly established in literature.
  A.S. Pushkin turned his gaze not to the image of the kneeling man, but to the fate of the unfortunate man, showing us his pure soul, unspoiled by wealth and prosperity, who knows how to rejoice, love, and suffer. Evgeny, the hero of The Bronze Horseman, does not make great plans for the future; he is satisfied with a quiet, inconspicuous life. He also hopes for his personal, albeit small, but much-needed family happiness. But all his dreams are in vain, because evil fate bursts into his life: the elements destroy his beloved. Evgeniy cannot resist fate; he quietly experiences his loss. And only in a state of madness does he threaten the Bronze Horseman, considering the man who built the city on this ruined place to be the culprit of his misfortune.
  It often happens in life that cruel and heartless people who humiliate and insult the dignity of other people often look more pathetic and insignificant than their victims. The same impression of spiritual meagerness and fragility from the offenders of the petty official Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin remains with us after reading Gogol’s story “The Overcoat”. Akaki Akakievich is a real “little man”. Why? Firstly, he stands on one of the lowest steps of the hierarchical ladder. His place in society is not noticeable at all. Secondly, the world of his spiritual life and human interests is extremely narrowed, impoverished, and limited. Gogol himself characterized his hero as poor, mediocre, insignificant and unnoticed. In life, he was assigned an insignificant role as a copyist of documents for one of the departments. Brought up in an atmosphere of unquestioning submission and execution of orders from his superiors, Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin was not used to reflecting on the content and meaning of his work. Therefore, when he is offered tasks that require the manifestation of elementary intelligence, he begins to worry, worry and ultimately comes to the conclusion: “No, it’s better to let me rewrite something.” Bashmachkin's spiritual life is also limited. Collecting money for a new overcoat becomes for him the meaning of his whole life, filling it with happiness in anticipation of the fulfillment of his cherished desire. The theft of a new overcoat, acquired through such hardships and suffering, becomes truly a disaster for him. Those around him laughed at his misfortune, and no one helped him. The “significant person” shouted at him so much that poor Akaki Akakievich lost consciousness. Almost no one noticed his death. Despite the uniqueness of the image created by the writer, he, Bashmachkin, does not look lonely in the minds of readers, and we imagine that there were a great many of the same humiliated people who shared the lot of Akaki Akakievich. Gogol was the first to talk about the tragedy of the “little man,” respect for whom depended not on his spiritual qualities, not on education and intelligence, but on his position in society. The writer compassionately showed the injustice and oppressiveness of society in relation to the “little man” and for the first time called on this society to pay attention to the inconspicuous, pathetic and funny people, as it seemed at first glance. It’s not their fault that they are not very smart, and sometimes not smart at all. But they don’t harm anyone, and this is very important. So why then laugh at them? Maybe you can't treat them with more respect, but you can't offend them. They, like everyone else, have the right to a decent life, to the opportunity to feel like full-fledged people.

Attention, TODAY only!

The first Russian writer to touch upon the theme of the “little man” was Pushkin. His story “The Station Agent” is dedicated to the humble existence of the station agent Samson Vyrin. The story became the first of a number of works of Russian literature devoted to this topic.

In the poem “The Bronze Horseman,” Pushkin also touched upon the problem of the “little man,” but from a slightly different perspective. The hero of the poem, Eugene, is an ordinary resident of the great city. But this greatness is only one side of the coin. Pushkin himself spoke about

Petersburg - “a lush city, a poor city.” As magnificent as the city itself is, the people in it can be just as unhappy. Evgeniy, whose only desire is a quiet and peaceful family life, finds himself a victim of an inexorable element. His entire protest against the magnificent and arrogant city that ruined his love boils down to the fact that he, muttering something incoherently, shakes his hand at the Bronze Horseman. Peter the Great, as it seems to Eugene, is pursuing him. An allegory can be seen in this: the city suppresses its inhabitants, does not allow them to breathe freely.

The theme of the “little man” was continued by N.V. Gogol in his “Petersburg

Tales". The story “The Overcoat” is especially noteworthy in this sense. Its hero is the poor and modest official Akaki Akikievich Bashmachkin. Even his funny name speaks of the insignificant position of the official. Indeed, he has been working in the same place for many years, but he is not promoted. Yes, he himself does not strive for this. He is completely satisfied with his existence. The only thing that overshadows him is the constant mockery of other officials. They are accustomed to perceiving Akaki Akakievich as an object of ridicule, but he does not seek to position himself differently. Yes, it’s already too late: he’s over fifty. It is significant that a “significant person” calls him a “young man.” Bashmachkin did not become more respectable or representative over the years, he remained as pathetic as he was.

At first, “The Overcoat” is perceived by the reader as a funny story about a funny person, but gradually it develops into a real drama. Buying an overcoat may have been the only big and bright dream in Akaky Akakievich’s life. But life was not slow to destroy this dream, to trample it. The death of the official is directly related to the fact that his overcoat was taken away from him, because along with it his dream was also taken away. And the suffering of a “little man,” even if it is not noticeable to anyone, can be just as great as that of an outstanding person. No one knew how much Akaki Akakievich suffered, and hardly anyone would have believed that he was capable of feeling and crying. Life is not kind to “little people”. She subjects them to tests that they are unable to endure. So is Akaki Akakievich: he died not because his overcoat was stolen, of course, but because life crushed him and threw him to the side of the road.

Both Pushkin and Gogol showed the life of “little people” from the outside. Yes, they sympathize and empathize with their unsung heroes, but they still look down on them somewhat. Dostoevsky in this regard went further than them, since in the novel “Poor People” he showed the feelings and experiences of the “little man” in the first person. Makar Devushkin is very similar to Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin. He is just as poor, in the same rank, has the same funny, pitiful name. In fact, with his actions and outlook on life, he resembles a timid girl.

However, in one respect Makar Devushkin differs significantly from both Samson Vyrin and Akaki Akakievich. There is a kind of pride in him, what is called “the pride of the poor.” She forces him to hide his poverty. He barely makes ends meet, but he helps people poorer than himself: his neighbors, beggars on the street, which speaks of his spiritual nobility. Where does this pride, this nobility, this mercy come from in him? Where does such strength of love and respect for Varinka Dobroselova come from? Makara Girls can rightfully be called a “great little man.” Unfortunately, all those wonderful character traits that he possesses are shaded, lost behind his innate modesty and meekness. And life does not spare him either: his beloved, priceless Varika is taken away by the depraved landowner Bykov. The only way Makar can protest is through his letters, full of unbearable suffering. He will never resist through actions or deeds. This is the trouble with all “little people”: they meekly endure all the adversities that befall them, and this humility causes even greater misfortunes. Vicious circle.

Dostoevsky, probably more often than any other Russian writer, turned to the theme of the “little man.” Suffice it to recall the novel “Crime and Punishment.” “Little people” - Marmeladov and his family - suffer from poverty, hunger and humiliation, and cannot do anything about their situation. Whatever decision they make leads to shame, poverty or death. But there are still many such “little people” with their desires, passions, joys and troubles in Russia. All the writers who touched on this topic - Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Karamzin, Chekhov - sympathized with their heroes. But could they change their situation? Alas, the problem of the “little man,” humiliated by both people and life itself, will probably exist as long as Russia exists.

(No ratings yet)

Essays on topics:

1. Each work of N.V. Gogol remains relevant at any time. The writer’s story “The Overcoat”, written by Nikolai Vasilyevich in...