What is the romantic hero of M. Gorky?
The romantic hero of M. Gorky's early prose is a strong, free personality (Loiko Zobara, the old woman Izergil, Larra, Danko). But he becomes a true hero when he fights for human dignity, is capable of self-sacrifice for the sake of people (Danko). Therefore, M. Gorky's ideal of a romantic hero is a person who loves other people, directing his kindness to active action in the name of people.
What is the difference between Danko and Larra?
Larra is a strong, brave, proud person. But he despised people, considered himself "the first on earth." He did not have a heart, a soul, so he was not able to love, to sympathize. Being rejected, he wanders the earth like a shadow, not knowing a shelter. Danko is also a strong and proud person. But he loves people, sacrifices his life for them, and this makes him a true romantic hero.
What brings Danko and Pavel Vlasov together?
Both heroes are selfless, capable of a feat for the sake of people's happiness, sacrificial.
What makes Foma Gordeev the "prodigal son" of the bourgeoisie?
Foma Gordeev is the son of a merchant who rebelled against the morality of the society around him. He wants to free himself “from the fetters of his wealth”, he is looking for the meaning of life, but he has no idea what he wants. His protest is spontaneous, emotional, he has no positive program. Breaking out of his circle, he remains a stranger to the circle of workers.
What features of M. Gorky's novel "Mother" allow us to consider it the first socialist realist novel in Russian literature?
M. Gorky's novel "Mother" reveals a completely clear position of the author in relation to the proletarian movement. The writer creates the image of an active hero, a revolutionary worker. It shows the straightening and growth of the personality under the influence of the revolutionary struggle. All these qualities are inherent in the works of socialist realism, which is called upon to depict reality historically concretely in its revolutionary development.
How is the problem of "fathers" and "children" solved in M. Gorky's novel "Mother"?
In M. Gorky's novel "Mother", the problem of "fathers" and "children" is solved in a completely new way. There is no opposition of ideologies of different generations. The mother understands that her son is right, believes in his good intentions, and joins her son's work herself. The ideas of the “children” help the “fathers” straighten up.
How is the question of truth solved in M. Gorky's play "At the Bottom"?
In the play "At the Bottom" Gorky gives three truths. The real truth, the truth of a fact, is the joyless, miserable life of people thrown to the bottom. Not the real truth, but the one that expresses the unrealized potential of a person, the ideal truth about a person - these are the words of Satin: “Man - that's the truth! Everything is in a person, everything is for a person!” The third truth is the need for comfort for people even in the most hopeless conditions. Its bearer is Luke.
Maxim Gorky's story "Old Woman Izergil". Romantic pathos and the harsh truth of life
From the literature of the XX century
We will continue the conversation about Maxim Gorky's story "Old Woman Izergil", compare the characteristics of the images of Larra and Danko, get acquainted with the concepts of "antipode" and "pathos", analyze the image of the old woman Izergil.
In the last lesson, we characterized the images of Larra and Danko, now let's compare them.
Comparative characteristics of the images of Larra and Danko
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The image of Larra |
The image of Danko |
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Origin |
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One of the people |
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Appearance |
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A 20-year-old youth, handsome and strong; eyes "cold and proud, like those of the king of birds" |
“a handsome young man”, “a lot of strength and living fire shone in his eyes” |
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Attitude towards people |
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Arrogance, contempt: "he answered if he wanted, or was silent, and when the oldest tribes came, he spoke to them as to his equals" |
Altruism: “He loved people and thought that maybe without him they would die. And now his heart flared with the fire of desire to save them, to lead them on an easy path. |
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deeds |
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Capable of killing |
Capable of self-sacrifice: “He tore his chest with his hands and tore out his heart from it. It burned like the sun, and the whole forest was silent, lit by this torch of great love for people. |
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The reaction of others |
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Larra's name means "outcast, outcast" |
Reaction to the feat was mixed. At first, "Everyone followed him together - they believed in him." Then "They began to reproach him for his inability to manage them." At the end "Joyful and full of hope, they did not notice his death" |
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The final |
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Doomed to eternal loneliness. “He has no life, and death does not smile on him. And there is no place for him among people ... That's how a man was struck for pride! |
Dies in the name of saving people. “The proud daredevil Danko cast a glance ahead of himself on the expanse of the steppe,” he threw a joyful glance at the free land and laughed proudly. And then he fell and died |
The heroes have only one thing in common: both are beautiful, young, and brave. Otherwise, they are opposite. Larra became the embodiment of selfishness, cruelty, cynical indifference to people (Fig. 1).
Danko (Fig. 2) became a symbol of heroism, a hero ready for self-sacrifice. Thus, the story is built on the antithesis, and the heroes of the work are antipodes.
Antipode(from other Greek “opposite” or “opposing”) - in a general sense, something opposite to something else. In a figurative sense, it can be applied to people with opposing views.
The term "antipode" was introduced by Plato in his Timaeus to combine the relativity of the concepts "up" and "down".
In the story "Old Woman Izergil", in addition to ancient legends, the author included a story about the life of the old woman Izergil herself. Consider the composition of the story. Memories of the old woman Izergil are compositionally placed between two legends. The heroes of the legends are not real people, but symbols: Larra is a symbol of selfishness, Danko is a symbol of altruism. As for the image of the old woman Izergil (Fig. 3), her life and fate are quite realistic. Let's talk about this in more detail.
Rice. 3. Old woman Izergil ()
Izergil is very old: “Time bent her in half, her once black eyes were dull and watery. Her dry voice sounded strange, it crunched like an old woman spoke with her bones. The old woman Izergil talks about herself, about her life, about the men whom she first loved and then abandoned, and only for the sake of one of them was she ready to give her life. Her lovers didn't have to be beautiful. She loved those who were capable of a real act.
“... He loved exploits. And when a person loves feats, he always knows how to do them and finds where it is possible. In life, you know, there is always a place for exploits. And those who do not find them for themselves are simply lazy, or cowards, or do not understand life, because if people understood life, everyone would want to leave behind their shadow in it. And then life would not devour people without a trace ... "
In her life, Izergil often acted selfishly. Suffice it to recall the case when she fled from the Sultan's harem with his son. The son of the Sultan soon died, which the old woman recalls as follows: “I cried over him, maybe it was I who killed him? ..”. But other moments of her life, when she truly loved, she was ready for a feat. For example, for the sake of saving a loved one from captivity, she risked her life.
The old woman Izergil measures people with such concepts as honesty, directness, courage, and the ability to act. These are the people she considers beautiful. Izergil despises boring, weak, cowardly people. She is proud that she has lived a bright and interesting life, and believes that she should pass on her life experience to the young.
That is why she tells us two legends, as if giving us the right to choose which path to follow: the path of pride, like Larra, or the path of pride, like Danko. Because there is only one step difference between pride and pride. It may be a carelessly spoken word or an act dictated by our egoism. We must remember that we live among people and take their feelings, moods, and opinions into account. We must remember that for each of our words, each of our deeds, we are responsible to others as well as to our own conscience. This is what Gorky wanted to make the reader think about (Fig. 4) in the story "Old Woman Izergil".
Rice. 4. M. Gorky ()
Pathos(from the Greek “suffering, inspiration, passion”) - the emotional content of a work of art, the feelings and emotions that the author puts into the text, expecting the reader's empathy.
In the history of literature, the term "pathos" has been used in different meanings. So, for example, in the era of Antiquity, pathos was the state of the human soul, the passions experienced by the hero. In Russian literature, the critic V.G. Belinsky (Fig. 5) suggested using the term "pathos" to characterize the work and the writer's work as a whole.
Rice. 5. V.G. Belinsky ()
Bibliography
- Korovina V.Ya. Literature textbook. 7th grade. Part 1. - 2012.
- Korovina V.Ya. Literature textbook. 7th grade. Part 2. - 2009.
- Ladygin M.B., Zaitseva O.N. Textbook-reader on literature. 7th grade. - 2012.
- Nado5.ru ().
- Litra.ru ().
- Goldlit.ru ().
Homework
- Tell us what the antipode and pathos are.
- Give a detailed description of the image of the old woman Izergil and think about what features of Larra and Danko the image of the old woman embodies.
- Write an essay on the topic: "Larra and Danko in our time."
The heroes of the early works of Maxim Gorky are proud, beautiful, strong and courageous people, they always fight against the dark forces alone. One of these works is the story "Old Woman Izergil". This story introduces us to two romantic legends that take place many thousands of years ago. Danko was a representative of one of the ancient tribes, Lappa - the son of a woman and an eagle. The similarity of the heroes is in their beautiful appearance, courage and strength, otherwise they are the complete opposite of each other, that is, antipodes. However, in the appearance of the characters there is a serious difference. Larra's gaze was cold and proud, like that of the king of birds. In Danko's gaze, on the contrary, "a lot of vultures and living fire shone." The people of the Larra tribe hated him for his excessive pride. “And they talked to him, and he answered, if he wanted, or was silent, and when the oldest tribes came, he spoke to them, how! with equals." Larra fell and killed, not at all regretting it, and for this people hated him even more. “... And he hit her and, when she fell, stood with his foot on her chest, so that blood splashed from her mouth to the sky.” The people of the tribe also understood that Larra was no better than them, although he believed that there were no others like me, that is, he was an individualist. When asked why he killed the girl, Larra answers. “Do you only use your own? I see that each person has only speech, arms and legs, and he owns animals, women, the earth ... and much more. His logic is simple and terrible, if everyone began to follow it, then on earth soon! there would be a pitiful handful of people fighting for survival and preying on each other. Understanding the depth of Larra's wrong, unable to forgive and forget the crime he committed, the tribe condemns him to eternal loneliness. Life outside of society creates in Larr a feeling of inexpressible longing. “In his eyes,” says Izergil, “there was so much longing that one could poison all the people of the world with it.” Pride, according to the author, is the most wonderful trait of character. It makes a slave free and strong, turns a nonentity into a person. Pride does not tolerate anything philistine and "common". But hypertrophied pride gives rise to absolute freedom, freedom from society, freedom from all moral foundations and principles, which ultimately leads to terrible consequences. It is this idea of Gorky that is the key in the story of the old woman Izergil about Larra, who,! being just such an absolutely free individual, he dies spiritually for everyone (and before! everything for himself), remaining to live forever in his physical shell. The hero found death in immortality. Gorky recalls the eternal truth: one cannot live in society and be free from it. Larra was doomed to loneliness and considered death for himself true happiness. True happiness, according to Gorky, lies in giving yourself to people, as Danko did. The people of the tribe in which Danko lived, on the contrary, “looked at him and saw that he was the best of all” for his high fortitude, courage and ability to lead people. After all, it was Danko who was not afraid to lead his tribe through the thicket, and throughout the journey he kept faith in the best. People, looking at him, believed in their salvation. Even when the people of the tribe became angry with him, “became like animals”, because of their fatigue and impotence, wanted to kill him, Danko was incapable! answer them the same. His love for people extinguished his irritation and anger. And for the sake of these people, Danko sacrificed his life, tearing his heart out of his chest, illuminating their path like a torch. Dying, he did not regret his life, but rejoiced at the fact that he had brought people to their goal. In the image of Danko, Maxim Gorky put the idealistic idea of a man who devotes all his strength to serving the people. And now his young and very warm heart flared up with the fire of desire to save the people of his tribe, to bring them out of darkness. He tore his chest with his hands and tore out his heart from it and raised it high above his head, illuminating the way for people with the bright light of his burning heart. Danko boldly led them forward. And people perked up and followed him "to the sea of sunlight and clean air." “The proud daredevil Danko cast a look ahead of himself on the expanse of the steppe,” he threw a joyful look at the free land and laughed proudly. And then he fell down and died." “People, joyful and full of hope, did not notice his death” and forgot about him, as one forgets about everything in the world. Larra was also ready to die, but not for the sake of people, but for himself, because the loneliness to which people doomed him was unbearable for him. But, even wandering alone, Larra could not repent and ask for forgiveness from people, because he remained just as proud, arrogant and selfish. The story "Old Woman Izergil" is dedicated to the problem of the purpose and meaning of life. An arrogant, proud and cruel person has no place among people. But it is also difficult for a person with high fortitude, a “burning” heart, full of love for PEOPLE and a desire to help them, to live among them. People are afraid of the power that comes from people like Danko, and do not appreciate it. In the story "Old Woman Izergil" Gorky draws exceptional characters, exalts proud and strong-willed people, for whom freedom is above all. For him, Izergil, Danko and Larra, despite the extreme inconsistency of the nature of the first, the apparent futility of the feat of the second and the infinite remoteness from all the living third, are true heroes, people who bring the idea of freedom to the world in its various manifestations. However, in order to truly live life, it is not enough to “burn”, it is not enough to be free and proud, feeling and restless. You need to have the main thing - the goal. A goal that would justify the existence of man, because "the price of a man is his business." "In life there is always a place for a feat." "Forward! - above! everything - forward! and - above - this is the credo of a real Man.
The writing
The heroes of Gorky's early works are proud, strong, courageous people who single-handedly enter the fight against dark forces. One of these works is the story "Old Woman Izergil".
The plot is based on the memories of the old woman Izergil about her life and the legends she told about Larra and Danko. The legend tells about the brave and handsome young man Danko, who loves people more than himself - selflessly and with all his heart. Danko is a real hero - courageous and fearless, in the name of a noble goal - helping his people - he is capable of a feat. When the tribe, seized with fear, exhausted by a long wandering through the impenetrable forest, already wanted to go to the enemy and bring him their freedom as a gift, Danko appeared. Energy and living fire shone in his eyes, the people believed in him and followed him. But tired of the hard way, people again lost heart and stopped believing in Danko, and at this turning point, when the embittered crowd began to surround him more densely in order to kill him, Danko tore his heart out of his chest, illuminating the path to salvation for them.
The image of Danko embodies a high ideal - a humanist, a person of great spiritual beauty, capable of self-sacrifice in order to save other people. This hero, despite his painful death, does not evoke a feeling of pity in the reader, because his feat is higher than such feelings. Respect, admiration, admiration - this is what the reader feels when he imagines a young man with a fiery gaze, holding a heart sparkling with love in his hand.
Gorky contrasts the positive, sublime image of Danko with the “negative” image of Larra - the proud and selfish Larra considers himself the chosen one and looks at the people around him as miserable slaves. When asked why he killed the girl, Larra replies: “Do you only use your own? I see that each person has only speech, hands and feet, and he owns animals, women, land ... and much more.
His logic is simple and terrible, if everyone began to follow it, then a miserable handful of people would soon be left on earth, fighting for survival and hunting each other. Understanding the depth of Larra's wrong, unable to forgive and forget the crime he committed, the tribe condemns him to eternal loneliness. Life outside of society creates in Larr a feeling of inexpressible longing. “In his eyes,” says Izergil, “there was so much longing that one could poison all the people of the world with it.”
Pride, according to the author, is the most wonderful trait of character. It makes the slave free, the weak - strong, the insignificance turns into a person. Pride does not tolerate anything philistine and "common". But hypertrophied pride gives rise to absolute freedom, freedom from society, freedom from all moral foundations and principles, which ultimately leads to terrible consequences.
It is this idea of Gorky that is the key in the story of the old woman Izergil about Larr, who, being just such an absolutely free individual, dies spiritually for everyone (and, above all, for himself), remaining to live forever in his physical shell. The hero found death in immortality. Gorky recalls the eternal truth: one cannot live in society and be free from it. Larra was doomed to loneliness and considered death for himself true happiness. True happiness, according to Gorky, lies in giving yourself to people, as Danko did.
A distinctive feature of this story is a sharp contrast, the opposition of good and bad, good and evil, light and dark.
The ideological meaning of the story is complemented by the depiction of the image of the narrator - the old woman Izergil. Her memories of her life path are also a kind of legend about a brave and proud woman. The old woman Izergil values freedom most of all, she proudly declares that she has never been a slave. Izergil speaks with admiration of love for a feat: "When a person loves feats, he always knows how to do them and finds where it is possible."
In the story "Old Woman Izergil" Gorky draws exceptional characters, exalts proud and strong-willed people, for whom freedom is above all. For him, Izergil, Danko and Larra, despite the extreme inconsistency of the nature of the first, the apparent futility of the feat of the second and the infinite remoteness from all the living third, are true heroes, people who bring the idea of freedom to the world in its various manifestations.
However, in order to truly live life, it is not enough to “burn”, it is not enough to be free and proud, feeling and restless. You need to have the main thing - the goal. A goal that would justify the existence of man, because "the price of a man is his business." "In life there is always a place for a feat." "Forward! - above! everything - forward! and - above - this is the credo of a real Man.
