Composition of the story by A. S. Pushkin "Shot"

"Shot" by A. S. Pushkin is the first work that opens his famous cycle "Belkin's Tale". These first prose works of the poet were written on behalf of a man who never existed - Ivan Petrovich Belkin. Mysteriousness and mystery distinguish all Pushkin's stories included in this cycle.

The plot of the "Shot" immediately grabs the attention of the reader. The unfinished duel between Silvio and the young count comes to an end in a few years. Everything ends well, but the dynamic events and unexpected plot twists make the reader pretty worried.

The unusual composition of the work contributes to maintaining the reader's interest. It consists of two parts, and each part has its own narrator, a direct participant in the events. The first half of the story is told to Belkin by Silvio himself. We see things from his point of view. According to Silvio, the young count is a frivolous and careless person who does not understand the value of life. The narrator, on the other hand, appears to the reader as a self-confident, courageous, experienced officer, but at the same time a person who is characterized by feelings of envy, vindictiveness and vindictiveness. Suffice it to recall his annoyance when a new young officer took the central place in the regiment, evoking friendly feelings among his colleagues and favor among the ladies.

Silvio's story is interrupted at the most tense moment, when he learns the news about his abuser. We can only guess how this duel will end. Thus, the author enhances the drama of events and maintains the interest of the reader.

The second part of the story is told by another participant in the duel - a young count who happily married and moved to live on the estate.

Before us is a completely different person, who has become older and wiser. There is nothing left in him of that frivolous young rake, as he seemed to us in the first part of the work. The reader's attitude towards this character changes in the course of the story. He understood the value of life, we see his fear at Silvio's gunpoint and sympathize with him. However, Silvio also showed himself magnanimously: he saved the young man's life, although he could have killed him. Both heroes, who seemed not very attractive at the beginning, turn out to be better and nobler in the end.

In the story "Shot" Pushkin chooses an unusual way of presenting the plot, dividing the work by him into two parts. The depiction of events from different points of view allows the reader to more objectively present a picture of what is happening, and the author to preserve the emotionality and liveliness of the narrative.

In this article, the Literaguru team will analyze Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin's story The Shot, which is part of the Belkin Tale cycle.

The story "Shot" was written in 1830 in the village of Boldino. The work consists of two parts. It is interesting to note that initially Pushkin did not want to write the second chapter - having finished writing the first, he made a note: "The ending is lost." However, two days later the writer creates a continuation of the story, and the work takes its final form on October 14, 1830.

The story "Shot" became the fourth in a series of "Belkin's Tale". It was based on a real case from the life of A. S. Pushkin, when the latter was challenged to a duel by his acquaintance, officer Zubov. Alexander Sergeevich was called by his friend to a duel, as the poet accused Zubov of dishonest playing cards. During the satisfaction, when the enemy took aim at him, Pushkin calmly ate cherries (later this moment will be reflected in the text of the story).

Genre, direction

As mentioned above, this work belongs to the genre of the story, the literary direction is realism. The hero Silvio at first appears before us as a romantic character, but by the end of the work we understand that we have not such a simple character as it might seem at first glance. The courage of his actions, liveliness and audacity in making decisions betray the hero's ardent disposition, which indicates his belonging to a realistic direction.

The genre of the work is a story, this is indicated by the volume of the book and the number of storylines in it.

essence

The narration is first conducted on behalf of Lieutenant Colonel I.L.P., then the retired hussar Silvio acts as the narrator, and then the count. I. L. P. describes to us the life of an army officer, which, in its cyclical nature, is not able to surprise a simple soldier. Among the acquaintances of the hero, a certain Silvio stood out, a well-aimed shooter, whose life was to some extent shrouded in mystery - no one knew either his income or fortune. At the same time, he had a rich collection of pistols at home, and the walls were riddled with bullets like honeycombs. He was a generous host - champagne always flowed like water in his house, and dinner consisted of two or three courses. Once, during one of these feasts, the guests persuaded Silvio to sweep the bank for them, which the hero usually did not like. Reluctantly, he agreed. At some point, officer R*** recently transferred to the regiment bent an extra corner, which caused discontent of the owner, and subsequently irritated R***, who threw a candlestick (shandal) at Silvio. The enraged man drove the offender out of the house, however, surprisingly, this case did not end in a duel.

I. L. P. is outraged by such a calm behavior of a friend, but in the end it turns out that Silvio needs to settle scores with one person - the future count, who at one time pressed the hussar, overshadowed him with his charm, intelligence, beauty and, therefore, became his rival . Having said flat rudeness to the enemy, Silvio provoked the count, and he slapped him in the face. In the end, a duel was scheduled.

In the duel, the count got the first shot, with which he managed to pierce the hussar's cap. But when the turn of Silvio came, the count behaved unceremoniously - he ate cherries and spit out the bones. This carelessness angered Silvio, and he postponed the duel until another time. Later, I. L. P. learned the continuation of this story from the count himself, who turned out to be a neighbor of the narrator. Silvio appeared to the count during his honeymoon and threatened to kill him. In fact, the hussar only wanted to frighten the count, show him his superiority and that it is necessary to respect the conditions of the duel, and to know that sooner or later he will have to answer for his insolence. Perhaps the request of the count's wife, Masha, played a decisive role here.

We see a deep transformation of the hero - from a romantic he turns into a real realist, ready to take a sober look at things and not afraid to achieve his goal - to put the offender in his place. At the end of the story, we learn that Silvio died a heroic death in the battle of Skulyany.

Main characters and their characteristics

The three main characters of this story - a lieutenant colonel, a count, a retired hussar - are at the same time its narrators. The central figure, of course, is the figure of Silvio. Waiting for an opportunity to avenge the insult to the count and regularly exercising in shooting, the hussar begins to see clearly only at the moment when, once on the territory of the enemy’s estate, the count again gets the first shot, and he pierced the picture hanging over the guest’s head with a bullet.

According to G. Makogonenko, there is a moral renewal of the hero; he understands how vulgar and low was his desire to kill a lucky opponent. The Count, in turn, at this moment must have appreciated how wrong he was, and that revenge is not the main goal in life. The lieutenant colonel acts as a kind of observer of the life of two people competing with each other.

Topics and issues

The story touches upon an important problem - defending one's own honor, restoring a good name in the eyes of others at the cost of murder. Is it worth it? The author answers unequivocally: honor is not worth a person's life.

the main idea

The point of the book is simple: you don't have to be cruel to prove yourself as a brave officer. One must act honorably, be noble, and at the right time be able to spare even the worst enemy, leaving him to his conscience.

According to G. Makogonenko, Silvio is alien to humility. For the hero, there is a more important goal in life - the battle for the freedom of the Greeks. A high goal contributes to spiritual renewal, enrichment of the individual. Revenge replaces generosity. This is the main idea of ​​the story.

What does it teach?

The work teaches nobility, composure in actions, the ability to restrain yourself in difficult situations, where everything can get out of your control.

Giving free rein to your ambition is appropriate during the battle on the battlefield, but when communicating with people - whether it be your inner circle or colleagues - you need to find a middle ground in everything.

Interesting? Save it on your wall!

Work "Shot" is included in the cycle of Pushkin's first prose collection entitled "The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin". It was written in the productive period of the poet's work - Boldin autumn. Pushkin completed work on The Shot on October 14, 1830, and the entire cycle was first published in St. Petersburg in 1831.

The story has a complex structure. It involves three narrators: Lieutenant Colonel, Count and Silvio. The fates of these people are intertwined, and the reader learns about the events from the point of view of different characters. This approach helps to reveal heroes images most objectively.

The story consists of two parts. In the center of each is a duel shot. The first part is devoted to the personality of the protagonist - Silvio. First, the lieutenant colonel talks about him, then the hero himself describes the events that make up the plot of the work. The reader will learn about the duel between Silvio and the Count from the narration of the latter.

In the second part of The Shot, the central figure is the count. The initial characterization, as the future neighbor of the lieutenant colonel, is given to him by Silvio. Then the lieutenant colonel himself shares his impressions of the new neighbors. At the end of the story, the count tells about the last meeting with Silvio, which took place during a duel. The events in "The Shot" constantly alternate with the memories of the characters, but this does not interfere with the perception of the work, the story is surprisingly easy to read.

Literary critics point to an interesting device used by Pushkin. At first glance, the work seems to be filled with romantic clichés. There is a mysterious hero with an intriguing name here. He is a former hussar, a great shooter. Jealousy, envy, revenge, a slap in the face, a duel, hatred, and even the heroic death of the protagonist are also present in the plot. But then it turns out that the romantic atmosphere of the story is just a beautiful candy wrapper. In fact, the work is deep realistic, and even with elements of the poet's autobiography.

Researchers of Pushkin's creativity believe that image of Silvio has its prototype. This is the well-known duellist and well-educated linguist Liprandi, whom Pushkin met during his exile in Kishinev. Liprandi, however, was not a hussar, but was related to military intelligence.

Episodes with a shot through cap and cherries at gunpoint are facts from the biography of Pushkin himself. In Chisinau, during a duel with Zubov, the young poet ate cherries and spit out the seeds. The new hat of Pushkin's second Delvig was shot by Kuchelbecker. Hurt by the ridicule of Alexander Sergeevich, he accidentally pulled the trigger. Delvig miraculously survived.

It is known that in his youth Pushkin was very fond of the romance of duels. He has about thirty fights to his credit. Most of them fall on the Chisinau period. Pushkin shot perfectly, from twenty paces he put another bullet into the previous one. Such an episode is also described in the story "Shot".

The images of the two opponents (Silvio and the Count) are similar in many ways. Both combine "youth, intelligence, beauty, the most frenzied gaiety, the most careless courage". The reason for Silvio's envy lies in poverty and not so noble origin. He hates the opponent who suddenly appeared and pushed Silvio off the podium.

Characters of heroes revealed in dynamics, which is contrary to tradition romanticism. This manifested the author's changed attitude to the ideals of turbulent youth. Mature Pushkin, like his characters in the second part of the work, understands the value of human life. Silvio does not kill his opponent. It is enough for him to amuse his pride, to see fear in the eyes of his opponent. Gradually, an image appears before the reader, far from an honest and noble romantic hero. The features of the mysterious, gloomy, generous and proud daredevil Silvio are complemented by malice, revenge, the desire to win at any cost. He lacks elementary decency to save the young wife of the count from the painful sight. The image of Silvio evokes different feelings in readers. Some consider his actions correct and fair, others are disappointed, indignant. There is no consensus among literary critics.

Finally, the scheme of the romantic work is destroyed in the last sentence, which refers to the death of Silvio. Pushkin, albeit indirectly, indicates the place and date of this tragic event. The image of a brave and proud duelist finally acquires real features.

The author's skill was manifested not only in the skillful use of romantic surroundings for philosophical reflections on honor and the meaning of life. The dynamics of the plot, the richness of the literary language and the inconsistency of the actions of the main characters constantly attract the attention of readers to the story "The Shot".

• "Shot", a summary of Pushkin's story
• "The Captain's Daughter", a summary of the chapters of Pushkin's story

The Belkin Tale cycle was created during the Boldino Autumn period in 1830. This was the period when, due to the onset of cholera, quarantine was announced for entry and exit to St. Petersburg and Pushkin was forced to spend the entire autumn until the end of quarantine at the Boldino estate. The stories were published in 1831. The publication was anonymous, that is, Pushkin attributed authorship to a certain Belkin. The cycle consists of five stories, which, allegedly, were once told to the author by the late Ivan Petrovich Belkin. These are the stories: “The Young Lady-Peasant Woman”, “The Undertaker”, “The Stationmaster”, “Snowstorm” and “Shot”.

The idea of ​​the cycle is that the author showed all the floors of Russian society, from top to bottom. Here everything is stated concisely and simply, there is not a single superfluous word. Pushkin does not explain the actions of his heroes, much less indulges in lengthy explanations of the motives for their actions. Nevertheless, the reader perfectly understands the motives of the actions of his heroes, with their advantages and disadvantages.

The characters of the stories are not bright individuals, like most of Pushkin's heroes. They are typical representatives of their environment. In the foreground they have a household side. But Pushkin's construction of the story, the development of the plot, the climax and happy denouement keep the reader's interest throughout the story.

Analysis of works

Shot

The plot of the story is quite simple. The hero of the story, Silveo, being a remarkable nature in everything that concerned the hussar daring, hated his no less worthy young rival. It came to a duel, during which his opponent showed such indifference to death that Silveo did not shoot, reserving the right to shoot. For many years he waited for the right opportunity for revenge, until finally he received the news of the marriage of his enemy. Appearing to him with a demand to realize his shot, he received complete satisfaction by humiliating him in front of his wife. In parting, he quite accurately shot at the picture, leaving a hole in it, which served as an occasion for memories.

The protagonist of the story is a personality, of course, strong and outstanding. But, all his virtues fade against the background of his envy of a more successful opponent. Envy, as you know, a man, especially a hussar, does not paint in any way. His dignity fades even more from petty vindictiveness. These qualities are all the more aggravated when he terrifies the count's wife by aiming at him. However, at the last moment, something stops him from killing. I think that the true reason is not so important, something else is more important, a person did not kill another person. It is quite possible that at this moment true human feelings woke up in the main character.

Such an ending is characteristic of that Pushkinian spirit, which gives so much spiritual warmth to Belkin's Tales. He convinces the reader without too much pathos to believe in the triumph of "good feelings" over the stupid and useless rules of society. The nobility of Silveo may seem spontaneous, but it is the quality of the soul that originally lived in him.

Blizzard

A kind of play of situations. Fatal and happy accidents, which play an important role in the story. The romantic heroine of the story, Marya Gavrilovna, agrees to a secret marriage with Vladimir, who was rejected by her parents. As a result of a fatal accident, more precisely because of a strong snowstorm, the heroine marries an unknown hussar. Vladimir goes to war with Napoleon and dies. As a result of a chain of happy accidents, the story comes to a happy ending.

In the characterization of the main character, the author immediately notes that she was brought up on French novels, which is why she is in love. It is possible that she liked Vladimir because she had read novels. This already testifies to the frivolity of her character, as well as to her romanticism. Vladimir does not lag behind Maria at all. Such a romantic. He is inclined to dream of a secret wedding, after which, in his opinion, the parents will be touched and will give them their blessing. His reasoning is somewhat reminiscent of one of Gogol's heroes, Manilov. When circumstances call for action, he is, by and large, incapable of anything.

The author does not hide his ironic attitude towards the characters with their passion for romantic fashion. But when war comes into play, things change. Any war opens the souls of people, leaving only the true. Romantic Vladimir dies heroically, becomes a hero. Burmin, for fun, married to an unknown girl, now looks at it differently and is looking for his unknown wife in order to marry his beloved. The best pages of the story are a description of the blizzard, the main character of the story, who played a fatal role for Vladimir and a happy one for Marya Gavrilovna and Burmin.

Undertaker

Here we find ourselves in an environment of merchants and artisans. The main characters here are the undertaker Adrian Prokhorov, his daughters and friends. Heroes are not preoccupied with romantic fantasies, they firmly walk the earth and solve earthly problems. Such as the upcoming rich funeral of the merchant Tryukhina, which may be intercepted by competitors. The death of a person for such as an undertaker is just an opportunity to earn money. Even in his sleep, he views his dead clients only in terms of their profitability. In the dead who came to visit Adrian, the author vividly reflected the social relations that existed at that time in society.

Pushkin's little man is the progenitor of Gogol's Akaki Bashmachkin. An official who can be beaten by noble passers-by. Confident that his daughter Dunya, stolen by a passing hussar, is abandoned by him, wishes her death. However, the opposite is happening. Hussar Minsky, who turned out to be a worthy man, married Dunya. The father's expectations were not justified, his daughter became rich and noble. However, the sophisticated reader understands that Samson Vyrin still lost his daughter. Vyrin's world and Minsky's world are separated by a huge pit, which he is unable to overcome. Dunya was able to step over it without hesitation only thanks to her blind love for Minsky and female spontaneity.

However, she did not have the courage to go further and step over the rules of the "decent" society in which she found herself. In fact, she abandoned her father. Her subsequent visit to the grave of her father is just an attempt to calm her conscience. If the end would have been as Vyrin suggested, then another story would have come out about an unfortunate gullible girl and a scoundrel-seducer, of whom there were many at that time. However, Pushkin is much deeper and more realistic. It would seem that the happy ending of the story leaves a tragic aftertaste.

young lady-peasant

This is the last story in the cycle. In many ways, it resembles a vaudeville story with dressing up. The characters here are also romantic, but their romanticism is born not from French novels, but from their natures. In addition, the romanticism of the heroes is active. They are fighting for their happiness, Alexei is ready to make a sacrifice for the sake of his beloved and give up his father's fortune.

The heroine of the story, Lisa, the daughter of a wealthy gentleman, disguised as a peasant woman, meets Alexei Berestov in the forest and the young people fall in love. Aleksey, sincerely considering Liza-Akulina a peasant, decides to marry her, despising social prejudices. A worthy decision for a young man, I must admit. Characterizes him from the best side. Respect for him is especially enhanced when he is ready to give up wealth for the sake of his beloved girl. This characterizes him not only as an honest and noble person, but also a brave one. The masquerade image of Liza helped to reveal the true feelings of the heroes when ordinary Russian people opened up in them.

The story "Shot" by A.S. Pushkin

One of the most profound in meaning, tragedy and plot construction is the story "The Shot". This is one of the stories included in Belkin's Tales.

From the first pages, Pushkin describes his main character, Silvio. He is 35 years old, he is single, retired for some unknown reason, although his hussar career was successful, he leads a reckless life. His main occupation and entertainment is shooting. And in this he succeeded. Shoots great.

His young friends respect Silvio very much, although they try not to conflict with him, knowing him as a desperate duelist, shooting at the top ten.

But once there was still a conflict. With an officer recently transferred to them. He greatly insulted Silvio, not knowing all his virtues and the danger to himself in the event of a duel. But duels. . . did not happen. The young officers were perplexed. Was Silvio afraid? Such a good duelist in the past, engaged in shooting every day, an authoritative young warrior and suddenly. . . The question remained open.

Unexpectedly, Silvio receives a letter, arranges a drinking bout and explains that he must immediately leave his haven. Silvio explains only to Ivan Belkin the reason why he did not challenge the offender to a duel, although all the youth longed for just that. He should have saved himself for another duel. For the sake of which he left everything: service, did not start a family, nailed to young officers, revels and burns life.

He had been waiting for this news for six years. He lived only for this and only for this. He trained daily so as not to lose his marksmanship skills.

And Silvio's story was like this. Six years ago he received a slap in the face and his enemy is still alive. That's how Silvio put it about who slapped him - the "enemy". Further, he tells Belkin that he served in the hussar regiment. He was a very pronounced "alpha male" (definition in a modern manner). He is always used to being the best. In service, revelry, duels. His comrades adored him, the commanders did not contact him. And everything suited him and brought a buzz (in a modern manner) from life.

But it so happened that a young man was transferred to his regiment. Silvio put it this way about him: "I never met a lucky man so brilliant!"

"Lucky" was young, smart, handsome, fearless, rich, bore a noble surname. And the championship of Silvio came to an end. After all, he was not rich, not noble, not handsome, not so lucky.

Silvio ceased to be the first. And fiercely hated the "brilliant" opponent. The young man was successful in everything, he was not upset that Silvio rejected his friendship, which he offered him. Successes in the service and successes with the women of the young rival brought Silvio simply to despair. Silvio became wildly jealous of the young man and was looking for a reason to quarrel with him.

Such a case has come up. Silvio at one ball, being jealous of his mistress for a rival, insulted the young count. For which he received a slap in the face and an invitation to a duel. Silvio with "inexplicable impatience" was waiting for the enemy. And he walked with a uniform on a saber, holding a cap filled with cherries in his hands.

Pushkin wonderfully conveyed the mood of both Silvio and the Count. Silvio was very agitated and angry, while the young count was calm and indifferent to the action. And again he is lucky. First shot for him. They cast lots. Silvio's opponent fired, but missed slightly. The shot was for Silvio. And he, as we know, was the best shooter in the regiment.

Silvio looked at the enemy, trying to catch even the slightest excitement in his behavior, because "his life was finally in my hands." But I did not see any (!) excitement and anxiety in his behavior. He calmly ate cherries and spit out the bones, which reached Silvio. This infuriated Silvio to the end! He wanted to lower him, humiliate him, see the fear in his eyes. After all, everyone knew that Silvio shoots very accurately. And this was his only advantage over the enemy. But the great shooter did not see fear in the eyes of the enemy! For the first time in his life he was discouraged. . .

And he decided to postpone his shot for an indefinite time, when the enemy would be vulnerable. The Count agreed. He didn't care at all.

Silvio envied the count so much, hated him so much that he decided to retire, retire to a remote place and. . . think of revenge. From then on, the purpose of his life was to wait for the right moment to take revenge on the count. Nothing and no one interested him anymore. He showed off in front of young officers, it gave him pleasure. He was "well done among the sheep." He was an authority for them, a daredevil, with a dark past, a desperate reveler in the present and a successful duelist in the past. The young officers knew perfectly well that he was practicing shooting every day and should not be brought to a duel. On it, he will defeat anyone. And he knew that there is one person in the world who is still better and more successful than him. And he waited for the moment of his triumph over him.

Then Silvio receives a message that the Count will marry a young and beautiful girl. Silvio on the same day is going to go to Moscow for revenge. Belkin has opposite feelings for Silvio. He is completely incomprehensible to such a long-term animosity towards the lucky count, Silvio's desire to kill him without fail before the wedding, destroying another life, the life of his young bride. He runs around the room like crazy. How he continues to envy the count, his marriage to a rich and lovely girl who certainly loves him. Fortune continues to smile on him just the same.

Several years have passed. Belkin moved to a poor village, took care of the household and missed the evenings. But he learned that a young mistress-countess with her husband was coming to a neighboring rich estate for the summer. And Belkin decided to get to know them better. The author describes the count as a friendly and open person with a beautiful appearance. The count is not arrogant, polite and friendly. Later, Belkin also meets the Countess, a rare beauty. The owners show him their home. Ivan Belkin notices one picture shot through with two bullets. And embedded one into the other.

During the conversation, the hosts and the guest suddenly find out that they all know the same person. Who has always shot well. . . They remembered Silvio. And the count begins to tell the story of his relationship with Silvio. At the same time, he calls himself a rake and guilty of their hostile relationship.

So how did Silvio get revenge on the count? He found him in the village. The Count and Countess were on their honeymoon. But Silvio decided to turn it into a nightmare for newlyweds.

Once the count returned to the estate before his wife, he was warned about a guest who did not want to disclose his name. Silvio was waiting for the Count. . . continuation of the duel. Silvio did not want to turn the duel into a clean kill, so they decided to do everything again. They threw lots. And again the first shot was behind the count. To which Silvio said with a grin: "You, Count, are devilishly happy." And this time, Silvio envied the luck of the enemy. The count fired and hit the painting. He himself did not understand how the enemy "forced him to do it." The count didn't want to shoot anyone. He was happy, loved, rich and satisfied with life. But there was one who never forgot him. And did not forgive luck in life. Silvio took aim at the count so as not to miss.

Then a frightened wife runs in and throws herself on her husband's neck. The Count tries to laugh it off, but he doesn't do it well. The woman rushes to Silvio. But he lists the "sins" of her husband: "He always jokes ... once he gave me a joking slap in the face, jokingly shot me through this cap, jokingly gave me a miss now; now I have a desire to joke ... "And he begins to aim at the presence of an unfortunate young woman! The Countess falls at Silvio's feet. The count insists on continuing the duel, but Silvio replies "nobly": "... I am pleased: I saw your confusion, your timidity; I made you shoot at me, that's enough for me. You will remember me. I betray you to your conscience." And yet, as he was leaving the room, he fired at the same picture, at the same place where the count's bullet had landed. And he hit her, almost without aiming, and disappeared. The count's wife fainted. And everyone remembers him forever.

Note, however, how many dishonorable deeds this man of honor has done. He put the blame on the count. After all, he was the first to insult the count, having received a slap from him. After all, he himself said that he hated the count and was looking for a reason for a duel. His only advantage was accurate shooting. The Count wasn't a good shot. Silvio himself called the count to a duel, he himself forced to shoot him, he himself postponed his shot for later, he himself arranged the continuation of the duel, he himself forced the woman to kneel before him, he himself shot at the picture, frightening the young countess to faint. He will be remembered forever. But not my honor. Even though they didn't blame him for anything.

He was never able to humiliate the count, he humiliated himself, putting an innocent young woman on her knees, did not apologize to her, shot and hit exactly the bullet in the picture. Gone away, playing "nobility". Somewhere deep inside himself, he realized that he would never be able to take revenge and humiliate the enemy. The count is happy and loved, the spouses will soon forget about him, they will live their lives, calmly and happily. But still he left them a reminder of himself, the "noble hussar", a bullet in the bullet in the picture.

He left in order to destroy himself, in order to destroy this pain-envy and pride in himself. Silvio died in a battle for incomprehensible ideals in a foreign country. After all, he was an excellent shooter and nothing more.

Pushkin, the greatest master of the description of human psychology. In the story, he showed how one of the deadly sins, envy, shatters the life of a good person. After all, he was a brave warrior. One of the best. A decent person. A man of honor. But envy turned him into a cruel murderer and a scoundrel, capable of bringing an innocent woman to her knees. His whole life has become hell. He trained his hand and eye for six years to kill for sure. And he wanted to kill only because the other was richer and nobler, luckier and more cheerful, handsome and women loved him more. And this tormenting envy itself ate him from the inside.

Sincerely,

Ludmila Kudryavtseva.