On February 19, 1861, a long-awaited reform took place in Russia - the abolition of serfdom, which immediately stirred up the whole society and caused a wave of new problems, the main of which can be expressed in a line from Nekrasov's poem: "The people are freed, but are the people happy? ..". Singer folk life, Nekrasov, and this time did not stand aside - from 1863, his poem “Who lives well in Russia” begins to be created, which tells about life in post-reform Russia. The work is considered the pinnacle in the writer's work and up to today enjoys the well-deserved love of readers. At the same time, despite its seemingly simple and stylized fairy tale plot, it is very difficult to perceive. Therefore, we will analyze the poem “Who Lives Well in Russia” in order to better understand its meaning and problems.
History of creation
Nekrasov created the poem “Who Lives Well in Russia” from 1863 to 1877, and some ideas, according to contemporaries, arose from the poet as early as the 1850s. Nekrasov wanted to present in one work everything that, as he said, “I know about the people, everything that I happened to hear from their lips”, accumulated “by word” over 20 years of his life. Unfortunately, due to the death of the author, the poem remained unfinished, only four parts of the poem and a prologue were published.
After the death of the author, the publishers of the poem faced challenging task– to determine in what sequence to publish the disparate parts of the work, tk. Nekrasov did not have time to combine them into one. The task was solved by K. Chukovsky, who, relying on the writer's archives, decided to print the parts in the order in which they are known to the modern reader: "Last Child", "Peasant Woman", "Feast for the Whole World".
Genre, composition
There are many different genre definitions of “Who lives well in Russia” - they talk about it as a “poem-journey”, “Russian Odyssey”, even such a confusing definition is known as “the protocol of a kind of All-Russian peasant congress, an unsurpassed transcript of the debate on an acute political issue ". Nevertheless, there is also the author's definition of the genre, with which most critics agree: the epic poem. The epic involves the depiction of the life of an entire people at some decisive moment in history, whether it be a war or other social upheaval. The author describes what is happening through the eyes of the people and often turns to folklore as a means of showing the people's vision of the problem. The epic, as a rule, does not have one hero - there are many heroes, and they play a more connecting than plot-forming role. The poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" fits all these criteria and can safely be called an epic.
Theme and idea of the work, heroes, problems
The plot of the poem is simple: “on the pillar path” seven men converge who argued about who lives best in Russia. To find out, they go on a journey. In this regard, the theme of the work can be defined as a large-scale narrative about the life of peasants in Russia. Nekrasov covered almost all spheres of life - during his wanderings, men will get acquainted with different people: a priest, a landowner, beggars, drunkards, merchants, a cycle of human destinies will pass before their eyes - from a wounded soldier to the once all-powerful prince. Fair, prison, hard labour on the master, death and birth, holidays, weddings, auctions and the election of the burgomaster - nothing escaped the writer's gaze.
The question of who should be considered the main character of the poem is ambiguous. On the one hand, formally, it has seven main characters - men wandering in search of happy person. The image of Grisha Dobrosklonov also stands out, in whose person the author portrays the future people's savior and enlightener. But besides this, the image of the people as the image of the main character of the work is clearly traced in the poem. The people appear as a single whole in the scenes of the fair, mass festivities (“Drunk Night”, “Feast for the Whole World”), haymaking. Accepted by the whole world various solutions- from Yermil's help to the election of the burgomaster, even a sigh of relief after the death of the landowner breaks out from everyone at the same time. Seven men are not individualized either - they are described as briefly as possible, do not have their own separate features and characters, pursue the same goal and even speak, as a rule, all together. The secondary characters (the serf Yakov, the village headman, Savely) are written by the author in much more detail, which allows us to talk about the special creation of a conditionally allegorical image of the people with the help of seven wanderers.
One way or another, the lives of the people are also affected by all the problems raised by Nekrasov in the poem. This is the problem of happiness, the problem of drunkenness and moral degradation, sin, the relationship between the old and the new way of life, freedom and lack of freedom, rebellion and patience, as well as the problem of the Russian woman, characteristic of many of the poet's works. The problem of happiness in the poem is fundamental, and is understood by different characters in different ways. For the priest, the landowner and other characters endowed with power, happiness is presented in the form of personal well-being, "honor and wealth." Peasant happiness consists of various misfortunes - the bear tried to bully, but could not, they beat him to death in the service, but they didn’t kill him to death ... But there are also such characters for whom there is no personal happiness apart from the happiness of the people. Such is Yermil Girin, an honest burgomaster, such is he who appears in last chapter seminarian Grisha Dobrosklonov. In his soul, love for the poor mother grew and merged with love for the same poor homeland, for the happiness and enlightenment of which Grisha plans to live.
From Grisha's understanding of happiness grows main idea works: real happiness is possible only for someone who does not think about himself, and is ready to spend his whole life for the happiness of everyone. The call to love your people as they are, and to fight for their happiness, not remaining indifferent to their problems, sounds distinctly throughout the poem, and finds its final embodiment in the image of Grisha.
Artistic media
The analysis of “Who should live well in Russia” by Nekrasov cannot be considered complete without considering the means artistic expressiveness used in the poem. Basically, this is the use of oral folk art - at the same time as an object of the image, to create a more reliable picture. peasant life, and as an object of study (for the future people's protector, Grisha Dobrosklonova).
Folklore is introduced into the text either directly, as a stylization: the stylization of the prologue as a fairy-tale beginning (the mythological number seven, a self-assembled tablecloth and other details speak eloquently about this), or indirectly - quotations from folk songs, references to various folklore stories (most often to epics).
Stylized as a folk song and the very speech of the poem. Let's pay attention to big number dialectisms, diminutive suffixes, numerous repetitions and the use of stable constructions in descriptions. Thanks to this, “To whom it is good to live in Russia” can be perceived as folk art, and this is not accidental. In the 1860s, there was an increased interest in folk art. The study of folklore was perceived not only as scientific activity but also how open dialogue intellectuals with the people, which, of course, was close to Nekrasov ideologically.
Conclusion
So, having examined Nekrasov’s work “Who Lives Well in Russia”, we can confidently conclude that, despite the fact that it remained unfinished, it still represents a huge literary value. The poem remains relevant up to the present day and may be of interest not only to researchers, but also to ordinary reader interested in the history of the problems of Russian life. “Who should live well in Russia” was repeatedly interpreted in other types of art - in the form of a stage production, various illustrations (Sokolov, Gerasimov, Shcherbakova), as well as popular prints on this plot.
Artwork test
Before proceeding directly to the analysis of "To whom it is good to live in Russia", we will briefly consider the history of the creation of the poem and general information. Nikolai Nekrasov wrote the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia". The fact is that in 1861 it was finally abolished serfdom- Many have been waiting for this reform for a long time, but after its introduction, unforeseen problems began in society. One of them Nekrasov expressed as follows, to paraphrase a little: yes, people have become free, but have they become happy?
The poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" tells how life went after the reform. Most literary scholars agree that this work- the pinnacle of Nekrasov's creativity. It may seem that the poems are sometimes funny, somewhat fabulous, simple and naive, but this is far from being the case. The poem should be read carefully and draw deep conclusions. And now let's move on to the analysis of "Who in Russia should live well."
Theme of the poem and problems
What is the plot of the poem "To whom in Russia it is good to live"? "Pillar path", and on it there are men - seven people. And they began to argue about who is the sweetest of all to live in Russia. However, the answer is not so easy to find, so they decide to go on a journey. This is how the main theme of the poem is determined - Nekrasov widely reveals the life of Russian peasants and other people. Many questions are covered, because the peasants have to make acquaintances with all sorts - they meet: a priest, a landowner, a beggar, a drunkard, a merchant and many others.
Nekrasov invites the reader to learn about the fair and the prison, to see how hard the poor work and the master lives in a big way, to attend a merry wedding and celebrate the holiday. And all this can be comprehended by drawing conclusions. But this is not the main thing when we do the analysis "Who should live well in Russia." Let us briefly discuss the point why it is impossible to say unequivocally who main character this work.
Who is the main character of the poem
It seems that everything is simple - seven men who argue and wander, trying to find the happiest person. In fact, they are the main characters. But, for example, the image of Grisha Dobrosklonov is clearly highlighted, because it is this character, according to Nekrasov's plan, that reflects the one who will enlighten Russia and save the people in the future. However, it is also impossible not to mention the image of the people themselves - this is also main image and the character in the work.
For example, reading " drunken night"and" A Feast for the Whole World "you can see the unity of people, as a people, when a fair, haymaking or mass festivities take place. Making an analysis of "Who should live well in Russia", it can be noted that personality traits personalities are not inherent in seven peasants, which clearly indicates Nekrasov's intention. Their description is very short, it is not possible to single out their character from a single character. In addition, men strive for the same goals and even argue most often at the same time.
Happiness in the poem becomes main theme, and each character understands it differently. A priest or a landowner strives to get rich and receive honor, a peasant has a different happiness ... But it is important to understand that some heroes believe that one does not need to have one's own happiness, because it is inseparable from the happiness of the whole people. What other problems does Nekrasov raise in the poem? He talks about drunkenness, moral decline, sin, the interaction of old and new orders, love of freedom, rebellion. Separately, we mention the problem of women in Russia.
The abolition of serfdom in 1861 caused a wave of controversy in Russian society. ON THE. Nekrasov also responded to the debate "for" and "against" the reform with his poem "Who Lives Well in Russia", which tells about the fate of the peasantry in the new Russia.
The history of the creation of the poem
Nekrasov conceived the poem back in the 1850s, when he wanted to tell about everything that he knew about the life of a simple Russian backgammon - about the life of the peasantry. The poet began to work thoroughly on the work in 1863. Death prevented Nekrasov from finishing the poem, 4 parts and a prologue were published.
For a long time, researchers of the writer's work could not decide in what order the chapters of the poem should be printed, since Nekrasov did not have time to indicate their order. K. Chukovsky, having thoroughly studied the personal notes of the author, allowed such an order as is known to the modern reader.
Genre of the work
"To whom in Russia it is good to live" refers to various genres- a poem-journey, the Russian Odyssey, the protocol of the all-Russian peasantry. The author gave own definition the genre of the work, in my opinion, the most accurate is the epic poem.
The epic reflects the life of a whole nation in crucial moment its existence - wars, epidemics, and so on. Nekrasov shows events through the eyes of the people, uses the means of the folk language to make them more expressive.
There are many heroes in the poem, they do not hold together separate chapters, but logically connect the plot into one whole.
The problems of the poem
The story of the life of the Russian peasantry covers a wide range of biography. Men in search of happiness travel around Russia in search of happiness, get acquainted with different people: a priest, a landowner, beggars, drunken jokers. Festivities, fairs, rural festivities, the burden of labor, death and birth - nothing escaped the poet's gaze.
The protagonist of the poem is not identified. Seven traveling peasants, Grisha Dobrosklonov - most of all stands out among the rest of the heroes. However, the main actor works is the people.
The poem reflects the numerous problems of the Russian people. This is the problem of happiness, the problem of drunkenness and moral decay, sinfulness, freedom, rebellion and tolerance, the clash of old and new, difficult fate Russian women.
Happiness is understood by the characters in different ways. The most important thing for the author is the embodiment of happiness in the understanding of Grisha Dobrosklonov. From here grows the main idea of the poem - true happiness is real only for a person who thinks about the welfare of the people.
Conclusion
Although the work is unfinished, it is considered integral and self-sufficient in terms of the expression of the author's main idea and his author's position. The problems of the poem are relevant to this day, the poem is interesting to the modern reader, who is attracted by the pattern of events in the history and worldview of the Russian people.
The first chapter tells about the meeting of the truth-seekers with the priest. What is its ideological and artistic meaning? Assuming to find a happy "at the top", the peasants are primarily guided by the opinion that the basis of the happiness of every person is "wealth", and as long as they meet "artisans, beggars, / Soldiers, coachmen" and "his brother, a peasant-bast-worker", there does not arise and thoughts to ask
How is it easy for them, is it difficult
Lives in Russia?
Clearly: "What happiness is here?"
And a picture of a cold spring with poor seedlings in the fields, and sad look Russian villages, and the background with the participation of the poor, suffering people - everything evokes disturbing thoughts about the fate of the people for the wanderers and the reader, thereby preparing them internally for the meeting with the first "lucky one" - the priest. Priestly happiness in Luke's view is drawn like this:
Priests live like princes...
Raspberry - not life!
Popova porridge - with butter,
Popov pie - with filling,
Popovy cabbage soup - with smelt!
etc.
And when the peasants ask the priest if the priest's life is sweet, and when they agree with the priest that "peace, wealth, honor" are the prerequisites for happiness, it seems that the priest's confession will follow the path outlined by Luke's colorful sketch. But Nekrasov gives the movement of the main idea of the poem an unexpected twist. The priest took the question of the peasants very seriously. Before telling them the "truth-truth", he "looked down, thought" and began to talk not at all about "porridge with butter."
In the chapter "Pop" the problem of happiness is revealed not only in terms of social ("Is the priest's life sweet?"), but also moral and psychological ("How are you - at ease, happily / Do you live, honest father?"). Answering the second question, the priest in his confession is forced to talk about what he sees as the true happiness of a person. The narrative in connection with the story of the priest acquires a high teaching pathos.
The men-truth-seekers met not a high-ranking shepherd, but an ordinary rural priest. The lower rural clergy in the 1960s constituted the most numerous stratum of the Russian intelligentsia. Usually, rural priests knew the life of the common people well. Of course, this lower clergy was not homogeneous: there were cynics, and bastards, and money-grubbers, but there were also those who were close to the needs of the peasants, their aspirations were understandable. Among the rural clergy there were people who were in opposition to the highest church circles, to civil authorities. It must not be forgotten that a significant part of the democratic intelligentsia of the 1960s came from the milieu of the rural clergy.
The image of the priest met by wanderers is not without a peculiar tragedy. This is the type of person characteristic of the 60s, the era of a historical break, when a sense of catastrophic modern life or pushed honest and thinking people the ruling environment on the path of struggle, or driven into a dead end of pessimism and hopelessness. The pop drawn by Nekrasov is one of those humane and moral people who live a tense spiritual life, observe the general trouble with anxiety and pain, painfully and truthfully striving to determine their place in life. For such a person, happiness is impossible without peace of mind, satisfaction with oneself, with one's life. There is no peace in the life of the “explored” priest, not only because
Sick, dying
Born into the world
Do not choose time
and the pop at any time must go where they call. Much harder physical fatigue moral torments: “the soul will get drunk, it will hurt” to look at human suffering, on the grief of a poor, orphaned, family that has lost its breadwinner. With pain remembers pop those moments when
The old woman, the mother of the deceased,
Look, stretching with a bony
Callused hand.
The soul will turn
How they tinkle in this hand
Two copper coins!
Drawing before the audience a stunning picture of people's poverty and suffering, the priest not only denies the possibility of his own happiness in an atmosphere of nationwide grief, but inspires an idea that, using Nekrasov's later poetic formula, can be expressed in the words:
Happiness of noble minds
See contentment around.
The priest of the first chapter is not indifferent to the fate of the people, nor is he indifferent to the opinion of the people. What is the honor of the priest among the people?
Who do you call
Foal breed?
... About whom you compose
You are fairy tales
And obscene songs
And all the bullshit? ..
These direct questions of the priest to the wanderers reveal the disrespectful attitude towards the clergy found in the peasant environment. And although the men-truth seekers are embarrassed in front of standing nearby a priest for the popular opinion so offensive to him (wanderers “grunt, shift”, “looked down, silent”), they do not deny the prevalence of this opinion. The well-known validity of the hostile and ironic attitude of the people towards the clergy is proved by the priest's story about the sources of the priest's "wealth". Where is it from? Bribes, handouts from the landowners, but the main source of priestly income is the collection of the last pennies from the people (“Live from the peasants alone”). Pop understands that "the peasant himself needs", that
With such works pennies
Life is hard.
He cannot forget those copper nickels that tinkled in the old woman's hand, but even he, honest and conscientious, takes them, these labor pennies, because "do not take, there is nothing to live with." The story-confession of the priest is built as his judgment on the life of the class to which he himself belongs, the judgment on the life of his "spiritual brethren", on his own life for collecting the people's pennies for him is a source of eternal pain.
As a result of the conversation with the priest, the men-truth-seekers begin to understand that “man does not live by bread alone”, that “porridge with butter” is not enough for happiness, if you have it alone, that honest man to live as a backbone is hard, and those who live on the work of others, falsehood, are worthy only of condemnation and contempt. Happiness based on untruth is not happiness - such is the conclusion of the wanderers.
Well, here's your praise
Popov's life
they pounce "with selective strong abuse / On poor Luka."
Consciousness of the inner rightness of one's life is required condition happiness of a person - the poet teaches the reader-contemporary.
