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Essay on the theme of a small person. The image of the "little man" in Russian literature

"Little Man" in Russian Literature

love for to an ordinary person, the work of many Russian writers is imbued with pain for him.

Pushkin was one of the first to put forward the democratic theme of the “little man” in literature. In Belkin's Tales, completed in 1830, the writer not only draws pictures of the life of the nobility and county ("The Young Lady-Peasant Woman"), but also draws the attention of readers to the fate of the "little man".

Already in the stories of sentimentalists, especially in Karamzin (the story " Poor Lisa"), it was shown " small man". It was an idealized image, not very realistic.

Pushkin makes the first attempt to objectively, truthfully portray the "little man". The hero of the story "The Stationmaster" is alien to sentimental suffering, he has his own sorrows associated with the disorder of life.

There is a small postal station somewhere at the crossroads of carriageways. The 14th grade official Samson Vyrin and his daughter Dunya live here - the only joy that brightens up the hard life of the caretaker, full of shouting and cursing passing people. And suddenly she is taken to Petersburg, taken away secretly from her father. The worst thing is that Dunya left with the hussar of her own free will. Crossing the threshold of a new rich life she abandoned her father. Samson Vyrin goes to St. Petersburg to "return the lost lamb", but he is kicked out of Dunya's house, and in the end he receives several banknotes for his daughter. “Tears again welled up in his eyes, tears of indignation! He squeezed the papers into a ball, threw them to the ground, stamped them with his heel and went ... "Vyrin dies alone, and no one notices his death. About people like him, Pushkin writes at the beginning of the story: “Let us, however, be fair, we will try to enter into their position and, perhaps, we will judge them much more condescendingly.”

Life truth, sympathy for the "little man", insulted at every step by the bosses, standing higher in rank and position - that's what we feel when reading the story. Pushkin cherishes this "little man" who lives in grief and need. The story is imbued with democracy and humanity, so realistically depicting the “little man”.

In 1833, Pushkin's "The Bronze Horseman" appears, in which the "little man" with a tragic fate expresses a timid protest against the inhuman autocracy. “Good, miraculous builder! -// He whispered, trembling angrily, -// You already! .. "

The traditions of Pushkin were continued and developed by Gogol, Dostoevsky, Chekhov.

In the story "The Overcoat" the idea humane treatment to the "little man", which is hidden in all Gogol's works expressed directly and decisively.

Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin - "eternal titular adviser." The senseless clerical service killed every living thought in him. The only pleasure he finds in the correspondence of papers. He lovingly drew the letters in a clean, even handwriting and completely immersed himself in work, forgetting the insults caused to him by his colleagues, and the need, and worries about food and comfort. Even at home, he only thought that "God will send something to rewrite tomorrow."

But even in this downtrodden official, a man woke up when the goal of life appeared - a new overcoat. “He became somehow more alive, even firmer in character. Doubt, indecision disappeared by itself from his face and from his actions ... ”Bashmachkin does not part with his dream for a single day. He thinks about it, as another person thinks about love, about family. Here he orders new overcoat, "... his existence somehow became more complete ..." The description of Akaky Akakievich's life is permeated with irony, but there is also pity and sadness in it. Leading us into spiritual world the hero, describing his feelings, thoughts, dreams, joys and sorrows, the author makes it clear what happiness it was for Bashmachkin to acquire an overcoat and what a disaster its loss turns into.

Did not have happier than a man than Akaky Akakievich when the tailor brought him an overcoat. But his joy was short-lived. When he returned home at night, he was robbed. And none of the people around takes part in the unfortunate official. In vain Bashmachkin sought help from a "significant person." He was even accused of rebellion against superiors and "higher". Frustrated Akaki Akakievich catches a cold and dies. In the finale, a small, timid man, driven to despair by the world of the strong, protests against this world. Dying, he "badly blasphemes", utters the most terrible words that followed the words "your excellency." It was a riot, albeit in a deathbed delirium.

It is not because of the overcoat that the “little man” dies. He becomes a victim of bureaucratic "inhumanity" and "ferocious rudeness", which, according to Gogol, lurks under the guise of "refined, educated secularism." In that deepest meaning story.

Criminal indifference is shown by the highest Petersburg society to Captain Kopeikin (in Gogol's poem " Dead Souls"). It turned out to be callous, callous, not just to a small person, but to the defender of the Motherland, the hero of the war of 1812, the disabled person, who lost all means of subsistence ... No wonder further fate Captain Kopeikin is associated with a riot: a warning that the patience of the downtrodden and humiliated will someday end, that there is a limit to everything. And if the broad Russian soul rebelled, then woe to those who oppressed and offended the poor man.

The spirit of Gogol's "Overcoat" is imbued with Dostoevsky's novel "Poor People". This is a story about the fate of the same "little man", crushed by grief, despair and social lawlessness. The correspondence of the poor official Makar Devushkin with Varenka, who lost her parents and is persecuted by a procuress, reveals the deep drama of the life of these people. Makar and Varenka are ready for each other for any hardships. Makar, living in extreme need, helps Varya. And Varya, having learned about the situation of Makar, comes to his aid. But the heroes of the novel are defenseless. Their rebellion is "rebellion on their knees". Nobody can help them. Varya is taken away to certain death, and Makar is left alone with his grief. Broken, crippled life of two wonderful people shattered by harsh reality.

Dostoevsky reveals the deep and strong experiences of "little people".

It is curious to note that Makar Devushkin reads Pushkin's The Stationmaster and Gogol's The Overcoat. He is sympathetic to Samson Vyrin and hostile to Bashmachkin. Probably because he sees his future in him. So, Dostoevsky, the most complex and controversial realist artist, on the one hand, shows a “humiliated and insulted” person, and the writer’s heart overflows with love, compassion and pity for this person and hatred for the well-fed, vulgar and depraved, and on the other hand, speaks out for humility, humility, calling: "Humble yourself, proud man!"

Marmeladov from Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment" turns out to be a victim in a society of arbitrariness and lawlessness. This drunken retired official says to Raskolnikov: "In poverty you still retain your nobility of innate feelings, but in poverty, never anyone." Marmeladov explains his idea: “Poverty is not a vice, poverty is a vice,” for in poverty the feeling of human dignity is not yet perverted in the poor man himself; the beggar ceases to be a man, ceases to respect himself, humiliates himself, reaching the last degree of moral decline.

Further in the development of the image of the "little man" there is a tendency of "bifurcation". On the one hand, raznochintsy-democrats appear from among the "little people", and their children become revolutionaries. Nekrasov will say about Dobrolyubov: “What a lamp of reason has gone out!” On the other hand, the "little man" descends, turning into a limited tradesman. We most clearly observe this process in Chekhov's stories "Ionych", "Gooseberry", "The Man in the Case".

Teacher Belikov is not an evil person, but timid and withdrawn. In conditions when the formula was in effect: “If the circular does not allow, then it is impossible,” he becomes a terrible figure in the city.

Everything living, moving forward, frightened Belikov, in everything he saw an "element of doubt." Belikov could not arrange his personal life either. Seeing his bride on a bicycle one day, he was very surprised and went to explain to her brother, believing that it was not appropriate for a woman to ride a bicycle. The result of the conversation was a quarrel between Belikov and Kovalenko, after which the teacher died. The townspeople of Belikov gladly buried, but even after his death, the stamp of "Belikovism" remained on the inhabitants of the city. Belikov continued to live in their minds, he soaked through their souls

fear.

Over time, the "little man", deprived of his own dignity, "humiliated and insulted", causes not only compassion, but also condemnation among progressive writers. “You live boringly, gentlemen,” Chekhov said with his work to the “little man”, resigned to his position. With subtle humor, the writer ridicules the death of Ivan Chervyakov, from whose lips the lackey “Yourself” has not left his lips all his life. In the same year as "The Death of an Official", the story "Thick and Thin" appears. Chekhov again opposes philistinism, servility. Giggling, "like a Chinese", bowing in obsequious bow, collegiate servant Porfiry, having met his former friend who has a high rank. The feeling of friendship that connected these two people is forgotten.

Drawing images of "little people", writers usually emphasized their weak protest, downtroddenness, which subsequently leads the "little man" to degradation. But each of these heroes has something in life that helps him endure existence: Samson Vyrin has a daughter, the joy of life, Akaky Akakievich has an overcoat, Makar Devushkin and Varenka have their love and care for each other. Having lost this goal, they die, unable to survive the loss.

“Little people” are people of the lower classes, and their language is folk, it contains vernacular (“clean up, old fool”), clerical words (“compass”), the expression “I have something to say”. To enhance the emotional sound of the image, writers use indirect speech (for example, the story of the grief of the old caretaker is told in the third person, although he himself tells about what happened).

Chekhov, for a more complete description of the hero, uses the technique of a story within a story. Another person speaks about the hero, who knows him and evaluates his actions (teacher Burkin in the story "The Man in the Case", veterinarian Ivan Ivanovich in the story "Gooseberry"). All methods of depicting the characters are aimed at a deeper disclosure of the images of "little people".

In conclusion, I would like to say that a person should not be small. In one of his letters to his sister, Chekhov exclaimed: “My God, how rich Russia is! good people!" The keen eye of the artist, noticing vulgarity, hypocrisy, stupidity, saw something else - beauty good man. Such, for example, is Dr. Dymov, the hero of the story "The Jumper", a man who lives for the happiness of others, a modest doctor, with good heart, beautiful soul. Dymov dies saving a child from an illness.

So it turns out that this “little man” is not so small.

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

The most famous example of a “little man” in literature is Samson Vyrin from 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 do not care. They didn't even try to fix the problem. An inconspicuous person passed away, and no one even noticed this. Pushkin tells readers 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. Not much time has been devoted to Tolstoy Tushin, this is due to the fact that he is the “little man” in this work. Everyone sees him as funny and awkward. However, in battle, his best qualities: fearlessness, desire to fight. L.N. Tolstoy assures that it is impossible to judge a person at once, it is better to know him better.

Semen 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. tragic fate this character, who is nowhere needed by anyone, does not withstand all tests. The dream of Semyon Semenovich to benefit society never became a reality. It seems to me that Dostoevsky depicted a huge number of people throughout Russia in the image of this hero. People avoid them, do not want to help, and yet no one knows the real reasons for their life. Such people are forced to become an inveterate drunkard and degrade.

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

The "little man" theme modern world has not lost its meaning. On the contrary, in today's conditions it is enriched with new semantic shades, refracted not only in literature and art, but also in journalism, and makes itself known on television. The Constitution, as the main law of our society, is also based on the "little man", i.e. on a specific citizen of the country, guaranteeing him, in contrast to Gogol's Russia, rights and freedoms in a democratic state.
Summarizing the observations of philosophers, the conclusions of psychologists, art history theories in the lessons of social science, history, biology, literature, Orthodoxy, I notice the following. in an amazing way, in each of us, in the "little man", nature has laid two principles, two opposites, this indivisible pair of gene complexes that set the personality in motion, directing it towards self-realization. On the one hand, this is an “inferiority complex”, “the image of a small person”, “I-concept”. On the other hand, "narcissus", "Nietzsche's superman", Oedipus (or Napoleon) complex". They coexist in each of us, but they manifest themselves in different ways or are silent for the time being. And in various historical conditions they acquire peculiar characteristics, undoubtedly, being guided by the norms of morality and belonging to religion.
The human embryo has gone from the fusion of two cells to a creative thinker modern man who owns nanotechnology. This is, in my opinion, the biointellectual development of the “little man”, who, using the already invented wheel, awakens in himself a superman, the ability to make new discoveries.
There is also a socio-historical movement of society, and moral choice specific person. The following example can serve as an illustration of this.
The Garden of Eden ceased to be an idyll for the "little people" in it - Adam and Eve. Having passed the path of trials and hardships, God's punishment, God's commandments and human repentance, man has become the crown of nature. (We will not argue with Ch.Darwin's theory here). But as soon as the line of the superman was crossed, the conscience hurried to remind the kings of the earth and Christ, that moral category that distinguishes "animals with two legs" from quadrupeds.
Didn't each of us realize ourselves at least once as a small particle of the universal universe, didn't we think about our tiny vale in the vast ocean of events?!
And don’t we, like Gogol, try to know our destiny, we are tormented by doubts, we are looking for an ideal in life, we are disappointed, we turn to God, we live in hope, we think about the future of Russia and our own destiny?!
Others and life is not enough to understand its meaning. Others, resigned to fate, meekly, but honestly and righteously, carry their cross of the “little man”. Some find in themselves the strength to radically change or reach "known degrees." And only a few remain worthy of the title of Man. This topic is as old as the world, and at the same time acute, relevant in any developing society and in a single country.
I am shocked by the figures of a sociological survey conducted in 19 countries of the world. Over the past 10 years, they began to deceive (as ordinary citizens admit) by 10% more, and in Russia in particular.
To be an honest loser or enrich yourself in any way? In the modern world, the latter is increasingly chosen.
Yes, man is created for happiness, according to Korolenko, like a bird for flight. And even the smallest person.
Fate provides any of us with a chance to show diligence, perseverance, perseverance, enterprise in order to become successful and famous; the state helps and supports "little people" in small business.
But whether to let a ray of light into your soul or to worship the Prince of Darkness - we choose ourselves. And this, in my opinion, is the main contradiction of today's "little man". It is highlighted in the best possible way in domestic films " The night Watch and Day Watch.
Many heroes of The Barber of Seville, as well as the "little man" Fandorin (movie " Turkish gambit”), the fate of Russia excites much more than its own. With all the contradictions, the “little man”, even insufficiently treated by his homeland, still remains her true patriot. In this I see a paradox of modernity.
But in a moment of despair, it seems to me that Gogol's Russia and today's differ only in historical scenery. Officials still envy each other and compete in the field of bribes, but they are no longer taking them like greyhound puppies. In the journal "RF Today" No. 9, 2008, I found amazing fact: “The total amount of bribes in 2005 was almost 2 times the revenue of the federal budget Russian Federation!" This means that if these 326 billion dollars had not ended up in the wallets of bribe-taking bureaucrats, then it would have been possible to double pensions and salaries, double spending on science and culture, and build twice as much affordable housing. In other words, there would be much less problems in the country as a whole, as well as for each average "little person".
So it may seem, after reading this, that now Russia is one big Gogol " provincial city NN", where the average size of one "business" bribe is 135 thousand dollars; where more and more millionaires now dream of flying into space; where the “little people” of universities negotiate the amount of legalized “sponsorship” with the parents of future applicants. Where any adult knows how much and to whom to pay in order to obtain a driver's license; where scammers pretend to be social workers and cynically rob lonely pensioners. Such a comedy has long grown into a tragedy of the "little man". Leaving the provinces to work in Moscow, for example, he disappears, turns into a bum. And the TV show “Wait for me” turns out to be the only hope to find your family, home, homeland and even memory, your “I”, your own face again. The problem of Gogol's character who has lost his nose seems to be nothing compared to this mere trifle.
And how tenacious is Gogol's "Overcoat"! On the example of my parents, I know that for the last 2-3 years they have been dreaming of updating their jacket and fur coat. But, according to dad, it will happen in another two years, when he will be finally financially confident in my future. And how many of these "overcoats" will be bought belatedly, for the sake of the economic crisis, and how many will need to be abandoned, but kept human dignity… Maybe the strange ugly age continues even now?! When the career, honor, well-being of the family depend on those powerful forces that punish and pardon, raise high up and overthrow into the abyss, sow in the “little man” external reverence, awe, fear, as in Bashmachkin, and accumulate internal protest, denunciation, contempt for social inequality. I am sure that, unlike Akaky Akakievich, who is unable to create a bright, new, creative, today's "little man" is active, resilient, responsive, viable, knows how to enjoy life, brings true benefit to society. And most importantly, he is rich in Faith in Good, even if it is, as in the Russian proverb, "with fists."
N.V. Gogol also believed that the existence of man is meaningless. But, in his words, "the fragmentation of our young and flabby century, reinforced and aggravated by the Russian police-bureaucratic order, at every step threatened to overturn this faith."
To believe in one's own strength, to protect the "little man" from bureaucratic arbitrariness, to find like-minded people, to wake up the voice of the people today's TV viewers are helped by Alexei Pimenov's program "Man and the Law", new gear on NTV "Honest Monday".
But, unfortunately, the mercantile world of advertising poisons the souls of honest workers who cannot afford tours, beauty salons, chic furniture and clothes, expensive cars and housing. Other films trample on morality or are infinitely dimensionless, faceless, beginning to irritate "soap operas". They, although they make attempts to explore the moral foundations, spiritual qualities different social strata, but the form of melodrama in them is already inactive. There is a desire of a “small (untalented) director”, but wealthy, to realize his project, a pink dream, to make money on a cheap sensation. Isn't this a modern overcoat of Akaki, turned over by time, expensive, PR ?! Neither you artistic merit, nor artistic thought, one originality.
Russia, in my opinion, needs Gogol more than ever with his boldness of the plot, the mastery of one phrase, the overwhelming impression of the finale, and his deep sense of the stage. Gogol, whose laughter corrects every action, look, remark. Gogol, who did not die. Which on contemporary scene I would introduce the “situation of the auditor”, that is, the true Conscience that appeared to the heroes - corrupt officials, bureaucrats, politicians and ordinary people.
I see the deepest humanism of Gogol in the fact that, fulfilling the dreams of the “little man” in his Petersburg Tales, the writer gives them, who are waiting and not finding support from society, the hope that someday they will be happy, will not need in what. Terrible, warning sounds, continuing this thought, the theme of retribution, if we recall the ghost of Bashmachkin, who takes off his greatcoats from others. The notorious Mavrodi and Berezovsky, who found themselves in power, did not suffer the same fate of modern retribution?! Understanding the mournful irony of Gogol, I look to the future with optimism.
I define with my mind hidden meaning « speaking names» Modernity: Putin, Medvedev. I come to the conclusion that Gogol's and my Russia go their own way. unique p-u-t-e-m. But I do not agree with the writer's idea that "the future threatens the country with even greater fragmentation into the small interests of a handful of people," that only the fear of the "little man" is a manifestation of human community. An excellent example of the national community, Russian patriotism was a united Russia in difficult times for it, having earned its own holiday of National Unity. United Russia, as the leading party today, with its purely Russian symbol, m-e-d-in-e-d-e-m, supports the President of the country, who is leading all democratic changes in society.
I am not left indifferent to the publications in the local newspaper "Istoki" by K. Kravchenko about modern youth, their attitude to mother tongue, native land. Memories of "little people" - soldiers of Russia, nurses who defended Stalingrad, who broke the fascist hell Kursk salient who endured captivity, devastation, poverty, hunger. How important for us young people are these examples of steadfastness and unity of ordinary Russian people.
I find boundless faith in Russia and infinite pride in its "little man" in the patriotic lyrics of Prokhorov's poet V.M. Chursin:
"Will withstand the storms and winds
And from the ashes Rus' will be reborn…”,
“If only one would beat the key under the steep,
One birch rang in the wind ...
Rus' will take up the matter once again,
From evil spirits cleanse the spirit and body,
Like darkness - it doesn’t grow around, it’s prickly ... ”,
"Our guy
There is so much faith and strength
What gasps in fright
Overseas insidious army",
“I’m happy that I didn’t turn into a boor
And did not become a doormat,
Didn't betray, even offered, soul
Even at an inflated price."
How relevant is Gogol's phrase that " modern life so lost and strayed somewhere to the side that every norm here must be perceived as strange, and every strangeness and anomaly as the norm.
Gentlemen, adults who have power over small people, and you (forgive Gogol for supporting me in my question) “have you strayed somewhere to the side”? Isn't it your personal fault that someone's parents or children, our doctors and teachers, field and farm workers (to name them all) increasingly feel "dishonored humiliated"?
My conscious life is just beginning. What I want to become by profession, I have not yet decided: a translator, a lawyer, a psychologist. Not far off and my choice as a "little man" - what to become? I am sure that I don’t want to lose my best qualities, I don’t want to grow old in inaction and live in fear, I know that one cannot put up with the callousness and indifference of others, as well as their injustice. I love my land and my parents, I dream of being useful to Russia, and I am truly grateful to N.V. Gogol, who helped me, the “little man”, rethink the great values of life and highlight the main ones in them. Honesty, diligence, faith and patience - everything without which the "little man" of our time does not have the right to be called a citizen, patriot and simply a Man of the 21st century.
And I also want to believe that Great Russia will not leave unanswered any urgent question of any of her “little people”, devoted to her wholeheartedly.

The first of the Russian writers who touched on the topic of the “little man” was Pushkin. His story "The Stationmaster" is dedicated to a modest existence stationmaster Samson Vyrin. The story was 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 a great city. But this greatness is only one side of the coin. Pushkin himself spoke of

Petersburg - "a magnificent city, a poor city." As magnificent as the city itself, the people in it can be just as unhappy. Eugene, whose only desire is a quiet and calm family life, turns out to be a victim of an inexorable element. His whole protest against the magnificent and arrogant city that ruined his love boils down to the fact that he, muttering something incoherently, threatens the Bronze Horseman with his hand. Peter the Great, as it seems to Eugene, is pursuing him. This can be seen as an allegory: 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". Particularly noteworthy in this sense is the story "The Overcoat". Her 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. Yeah, he doesn't want to do it himself. He is quite satisfied with his existence. The only thing that overshadows him is the constant mockery of other officials. They are accustomed to perceive Akaky Akakievich as an object of ridicule, and he does not seek to put himself in a different way. It's already too late: he's in his fifties. It is significant that " significant person calls him “young man”. Bashmachkin did not become more solid, more representative over the years, he remained as miserable as he was.

At first, “The Overcoat” is perceived by the reader as funny story about funny man, but gradually it develops into a real drama. Buying an overcoat, perhaps, was the only big and bright dream in the life of Akaky Akakievich. But life was not slow to destroy this dream, trample it. The death of an official is directly related to the fact that his overcoat was taken away from him, because his dream was taken away along with it. And the suffering of the "little man", even if they are not noticeable to anyone, can be 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 does not spare "little people". She subjects them to trials that they cannot bear. So is Akaki Akakievich: he died not, of course, because his overcoat was stolen from him, but because life crushed him, 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 inconspicuous heroes, but still look down on them somewhat. Dostoevsky in this respect 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 Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin. He is just as poor, is in the same rank, has the same funny, pathetic name. In fact, with his actions and outlook on life, he resembles a timid girl.

However, in one Makar Devushkin differs significantly from both Samson Vyrin and Akaky 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 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 a force of love and respect for Varinka Dobroselova come from? Makar Girls on can rightfully be called a “great little man”. Unfortunately, all those wonderful character traits that he possesses are shaded, lost behind his innate modesty, meekness. And life does not spare him either: his beloved, priceless Variiyka is taken away by the depraved landowner Bykov. The only way Makar can protest is through his letters, full of unbearable suffering. 11o actions, deeds, he will never resist. This is the misfortune of all “little people”: they dutifully endure all the hardships that fall to their lot, and this humility causes even greater misfortunes. Vicious circle.

Dostoevsky, probably, most often than all Russian writers turned to the theme of the “little man”. Suffice it to recall at least the novel "Crime and Punishment". "Little people" - Marmeladov and his family - suffer from poverty, hunger and humiliation, and can do nothing with their situation. Whatever decision they make, it leads to shame, poverty or death. But there are many such “little people” with their desires, passions, joys and troubles in Russia to this day. All the writers who touched on this topic - Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Karamzin, Chekhov - sympathized with their heroes. But how could they change their position? Alas, the problem of the “little man”, humiliated by both people and life itself, will probably exist as long as Russia exists.

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Each work of N.V. Gogol remains relevant at any time. No exception and the story of the writer "The Overcoat", written by Nikolai Vasilyevich in ...

The image of the “little man” is a kind of generalized portrait of a petty official, not noble or well-born, but insulted by his superior colleagues. This is a disenfranchised person who is powerless in front of life and its circumstances. Enslaved by the state machine and eternal need, sometimes he is able to protest. However, the rebellion of the "little man" often has tragic consequences for him - madness, fall, death.

For the first time, the image of the “little man” is found on the pages of the famous “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” by A. Radishchev. We also find this image in the fables and plays of I. Krylov. It is worth recalling at least the images of Princess Podshchipa and Prince Slyunyaya. A. Pushkin did not bypass him with his attention (“ Bronze Horseman"," Stationmaster ").

But the theme of the “little man” sounded most vividly, fully and widely in the work of N. Gogol. And we are unlikely to be mistaken if we say that from the work of N. Gogol the image of the “little man” begins its procession through the pages of the works of the Russian classics XIX century.

It is no coincidence that the cycle of stories in the work of N. Gogol is called "Petersburg". The image of the "little man" is a product of big city. If A. Pushkin discovered in a poor official a new dramatic character of a rebel and accuser, then N. Gogol continued and deepened the same theme in the St. -nel. IN early XIX Petersburg was one of the most beautiful and richest European cities. But upon closer and more careful examination, a duality was noticeable. Russian capital. On the one hand, it was a city of luxurious palaces, parks, bridges, fountains, architectural monuments and structures that any European capital would envy. On the other hand, it was a city of deaf and eternally dark courtyards, miserable damp shacks, where poor officials, artisans and impoverished artists lived.

Struck by the picture of deep and insurmountable social contradictions, in his work N. Gogol sets against each other, as if pushing together two hypostases of the capital. For example, in the story "Nevsky Prospekt" we see a crowd of officials with their wives during a pre-dinner walk. But among all this mass of people there are no human faces, but only “whiskers ... passed with unusual and amazing art under a tie, satin sideburns, black as sable or coal”, mustaches “cannot be depicted by any pen, no brush”, thousands of different hats and dresses. There is a feeling that we were at an exhibition of toilets, hairstyles and artificial smiles. All these people are trying to impress each other not with their human qualities, but refined appearance. But behind this external elegance and brilliance lies something low, soulless and ugly. N. Gogol warns: “Oh, do not believe this Nevsky Prospekt! I always wrap myself tightly around my cloak when I walk on it, and try not to look at all at the objects I meet. Everything is a lie, everything is a dream, everything is not what it seems!”

And among all this self-satisfied smart crowd, we meet a modest young man- artist Piskarev. He is trusting, pure and in love with beauty. On Nevsky Prospekt, Piskarev meets a young beauty who seems to him the ideal of kindness and tenderness. And he follows the beauty, who brings him to her house. But the house turns out to be an ordinary brothel, where those very good-looking officials are drinking and carousing. They ridicule Piskarev's lofty feelings. The deceived artist dies. His death is the tragic result of a collision with a cruel and dirty reality. material from the site

With contempt and disdain, those around them also treat the petty official Poprishchin from the Notes of a Madman. After all, he "does not have a penny for his soul," and therefore he is "zero, nothing more." Poprishchin's job is to mend feathers for the director of the department on a daily basis. Charm luxurious life the nobility admires and suppresses the petty official. But in the general's house he is treated like an inanimate object. And this causes a protest in Poprishchin's mind. He dreams of becoming a general "only to see how they will get along ..." But here, too, tragedy triumphs - Poprishchin goes crazy.

wild manners bureaucratic world, where not a person is valued, but his position and rank, shows N. Gogol and on the example of the misadventures of collegiate assessor Kovalev in the story "The Nose" and in tragic history paper scribe Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin in the story "The Overcoat".

The image of the “little man” was further developed in the works of A. Herzen, N. Nekrasov, I. Goncharov, F. Dostoevsky, N. Leskov. Departing from the pages artistic classics at the beginning of the 20th century, the “little man” made a revolution and turned into the nominal owner of a huge country.

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