Courage and cowardice in everyday life. Arguments from the literature in the direction "Courage and cowardice" Materials in the thematic direction "Courage and cowardice"

Courage and cowardice are two different, opposite qualities, manifestations of character, which, meanwhile, are closely related. In the same person, both a coward and a daredevil can live. This issue has been raised frequently in the literature.

So, real heroism and courage were shown by the girls in the work of Boris Vasiliev "The dawns here are quiet ...". All the characters in the story - five fragile girls: Zhenya Komelkova, Rita Osyanina, Sonya Gurvich, Galya Chetvertak, Liza Brichkina and foreman Vaskov - are depicted in the struggle, giving all their strength in the name of saving the Motherland.

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It is these people who brought the victory of our country closer in this terrible war.

Another literary example is the story of Maxim Gorky "Old Woman Izergil", namely the third part of it - the legend of Danko. He was a brave and fearless young man who sacrificed himself for the sake of the people. He decided to help his people and took leadership over them in order to lead them out of the impenetrable forest. The path was not easy, and when people, having lost their fortitude, fell upon Danko, he tears his heart out of his chest to illuminate the path and give people the warmth and goodness that came from a burning heart. And when the goal was achieved, no one even noticed his death and that "his brave heart is burning next to the corpse of Danko." Danko saw the meaning of life in helping people.

And secondly, this is the problem of cowardice. In the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita" Pontius Pilate, out of fear, fear of condemnation, commits a terrible act, he sent an innocent man, the philosopher Yeshua Ha-Nozri, to be executed. The procurator did not listen to his inner voice. And cowardice in making the right decision became a punishment for Pilate. He will look for justification in his act, but will not find it.

Also not the best quality was shown by the hero of Nikolai Gogol's story "Taras Bulba" - Andriy. For the love of a woman, he was able to renounce everyone. Not forgiving his son for betrayal and cowardice, Taras Bulba kills him himself. Payback for Andriy was too expensive - his own life.

Updated: 2017-09-12

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Useful material on the topic

• Is it possible to argue that courage and cowardice are two sides of the same coin? Courage and cowardice. Composition of the Unified State Examination Arguments, examples from the literature

How not to act like a coward in a difficult situation? What can cowardice lead to? These questions seem simple at first glance. For some people, they are, as it were, not questions, they do not stand before them. The answers to them seem to them self-evident.

This text is devoted to the problem of human cowardice. And what could be the result if a person listens to this weak side of his personality.

The author reveals the problem posed by the example of Pontius Pilate and Yeshua Ha-Notsri. The procurator of Judea, fearing Caesar and not wanting to sacrifice his position and status, dooms an innocent person to death. But the hegemon is tormented by his conscience, he sees Yeshua in a dream, who says: "Cowardice is undoubtedly one of the most terrible vices." Pontius Pilate, unfortunately, only now understands that now, he "will go to any lengths to save the resolutely innocent mad dreamer and doctor from execution!"

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Excessive cowardice will never lead to anything good.

Many classics of Russian literature raise the problem of cowardice in their works. A. S. Pushkin, who wrote the novel in verse "Eugene Onegin", was no exception. In the novel, the episode is very revealing, where Onegin, out of fear of being condemned by secular society, goes to a duel with his close friend, Vladimir Lensky. As a result, he kills him and curses himself all his life for his cowardice.

This problem also worried such Russian writers as M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. He tells in his fairy tale "The Wise Gudgeon" how constant cowardice can affect life. The minnow's parents bequeathed him to live looking at both. The minnow realized that trouble threatened him from everywhere. He hollowed out a hole in which only he fit, and spent his whole life there, afraid and trembling. Too late, he realized that if everyone lived like him, the minnows would disappear and that he is not at all wise, but, as the fish say, a dumbass who eats nothing and is afraid of everything. In the end, the minnow disappears to no one knows where: after all, no one needs him dying, and even wiser. All his life he was afraid and trembled in his hole, as a result he lived a useless life and no one is warm or cold from him.

Thus, I can conclude that cowardice is a bad quality of a person, which can often cause an undesirable outcome. You need to get rid of cowardice by eradicating it in yourself. Nothing good comes from such a lack.

Updated: 2017-05-07

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Courage. What it is? I think that courage is decisiveness in thoughts and actions, the ability to stand up for yourself and for other people who need your help, overcoming all kinds of fears: for example, fear of the dark, of someone else's brute force, of life's obstacles and difficulties. Is it easy to be brave? Not easy. Probably, this quality should be brought up from childhood. Overcoming your fears, moving forward despite difficulties, developing willpower in yourself, not being afraid to defend your opinion - all this will help to cultivate in yourself such a quality as courage. Synonyms for the word "courage" - "courage", "decisiveness", "courage". Antonym - "cowardice". Cowardice is one of the human vices. We are afraid of many things in life, but fear and cowardice are not the same thing. I think that meanness grows out of cowardice. The cowardly will always hide in the shadows, stay aloof, fearing for his own life, betray in order to save himself.

People are brave and cowardly both in war and in everyday life. Let's look at some examples from the literature.

“One of the most important human vices is cowardice,” these are the words of one of the heroes of M. Bulgakov's work “The Master and Margarita”. The biblical chapters of the novel tell about the fifth procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, who “washed his hands” and did not take the liberty of passing an acquittal to the wandering philosopher Yeshua. Pilate was afraid to ruin his career, so he went against his conscience. There is no moral justification for his cowardice, for which he is severely punished: two thousand years of pangs of conscience have tormented the procurator.

The Bible chapters echo the rest of the novel's chapters, which tell about Moscow in the 1930s. Stalin's time, political repression - all this is hidden in the subtext of the work. At the heart of opportunism, cowardice, meanness of many heroes of the novel lies cowardice. The author wants to say that it was she who led to the fact that millions of people died in Stalin's camps and dungeons. “Cowardice is the main cause of meanness on earth” - one cannot but agree with these words of the writer.

A person must learn to cultivate courage and overcome cowardice from childhood. The writer Vladimir Zheleznikov also speaks about this in his story "Scarecrow". The heroine of this work, Lenka Bessoltseva, took on someone else's fault. Perhaps, at her age, this is also a bold act. After all, she is still a teenager, and this is the first serious test in her life. For her courage, Lenka endures a lot: a boycott of classmates, persecution - she is “chased” around the city - and even an execution: a stuffed animal in her dress is burned at the stake. And the one whose fault she took upon herself is a coward. Lenkin's classmate Somov, a handsome and successful boy, is afraid to break out of the "flock" of his own kind, to save Lenka, to confess his not so big fault. Cowardice leads to the first meanness in life. But the first meanness is the most difficult. Cross this line - and it will be easier to cross it every time. Zheleznikov's story teaches both children and adults to think about themselves, about their human qualities, about courage and cowardice.

Eduard Asadov has a poem "Coward". Its plot is simple. Two heroes, “a guy with a sports figure and a girl with a fragile stem”, collide in the evening with two “shouldered dark silhouettes”. The author tells how a guy who had just talked about his exploits, about how he swam across the bay in a storm, "began to unfasten his watch in a hurry." And the girl, the “sparrow soul”, burned the robbers with her own words, called them fascists, scum, showed by her behavior that she was not at all afraid of them. The brave girl managed to protect both herself and her boyfriend. "Sparrow Soul" turned out to be brave, and her companion - a coward. Asadov's poem tells about ordinary young people and makes you think about how each of us would act in such a situation.

In conclusion, I would like to say that this topic of the essay interested me, because courage and cowardice play a big role in our life, therefore it is so important to cultivate the best human qualities in oneself, to become brave and strong, not to be a coward.

As soon as the child begins to understand and evaluate his place in the team, he masters the concepts of courage and cowardice. And already at an early age, we understand that being brave is good, and being cowardly is bad, that courage is the ability to take decisive action in a difficult situation, and cowardice is avoiding these actions, fleeing. Is a brave person always right in his actions, how to distinguish genuine courage from ostentatious bravado?

In Russian literature there are enough examples of the bold actions of heroes, and vice versa, the actions of ridiculous bravado, from which no one benefits. In the novel “A Hero of Our Time” by M.Yu. Lermontov, in the story about Princess Mary, one of the heroes is the young cadet Grushnitsky. In the description of Pechorin, Grushnitsky appears as a person who clearly demonstrates some kind of courage that is not ours: “I saw him in action: he waves his saber, shouts and rushes forward, closing his eyes. This is something not Russian courage! On the one hand, Grushnitsky has the George Cross, and on the other hand, according to Pechorin, he is a coward. Is it so? It is enough to recall the scene of the quarrel between Grushnitsky and Pechorin, when the former cadet slandered the princess in order to take revenge, and Pechorin demanded an apology. He preferred to lie rather than admit in front of everyone that he actually slandered the girl. Because he was afraid of condemnation and of whom? A vile water society, ready to slander anyone, just to look like a hero in the eyes of others. Dragoon captain, who was the leader of this society. Even in the face of death, Grushnitsky “wraps himself in pompous phrases”, proclaiming nonsense: “There is no place for us on earth together ...” Lush and catchy, but why? To look! True courage would be to admit one's cowardice, the fear of appearing pathetic in the face of a pompous society proclaiming false values. But Grushnitsky is not capable of this.

In Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace, Nikolai Rostov considers himself a brave man. And it is. Yes, in the first battle near Shengraben, he was frightened by the approaching French and instead of opening fire, he threw down his pistol and rushed to run away like a hare. Tolstoy writes about it, without embellishment. Because it was the first fight. Courage is formed over time, subsequently Rostov will become a real officer, not only in battle, but also in life. When he lost a fabulous sum to Dolokhov, he confessed to himself the crime he had committed, vowed never to sit at the card table and make up for the entire loss to the family. And when fate brought him to Princess Bolkonskaya, he was able to quickly restore order among the rebellious serfs, putting them in their place.

Courage is a quality that develops over time, a person draws conclusions from unsightly acts committed under the influence of circumstances and never repeats them again. This is where real courage lies.

What is cowardice? Self-preservation instinct or vice? What feelings does a person experience who has deviated from the generally accepted norms of morality and committed an act of which he is ashamed in the future? F.A. Vigdorova reflects on these questions.

The author raises the problem of cowardice in his text. The writer illustrates the relevance of this problem. To do this, she quotes the Decembrist poet Ryleev, who wrote that "we are not afraid to die on the battlefield, but we are afraid to say a word in favor of justice." The author is surprised how many actions people sometimes do not perform precisely under the influence of momentary cowardice. Examples of such behavior are contained in sentences 16-24 of the text. The most terrible thing, according to the journalist, is to survive cowardice and betrayal in everyday life. A broken window, an accidental loss of a thing or an injustice seen ... How scary it is sometimes to make a confession about your own, even a minor offense!

It is impossible not to agree with the opinion of F. Vigdorova. To make a true confession, you need to be a brave and strong person. We are well aware of examples from A.S. Pushkin's story "The Captain's Daughter". Shvabrin performs cowardly acts throughout almost the entire work: he lies, dodges, becomes a traitor, caring only about his own good. Pyotr Grinev, on the contrary, retains his dignity in all circumstances. So, the main character, risking his life, declares that he will not swear allegiance to Pugachev.

We see another evidence of cowardice in the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov "A Hero of Our Time". Grushnitsky, shooting with Pechorin, knew perfectly well that the latter did not have a loaded pistol, but, nevertheless, he was shooting at a practically unarmed person. Fate severely punished the meanness of the young man killed in this duel ... Perhaps Lermontov thus wanted to express his position on this issue. Cowardice is the quality of a scoundrel, unworthy of life.

Cowardice and betrayal have always been side by side. I believe that it is impossible to be cowardly without committing a betrayal in relation to those who surround us. Perhaps someone justifies their cowardice, but the trauma, the pain from the cowardly behavior of friends or those whom we considered friends, will be quite strong and will remain in the soul for a long time.

Cowardice, and after it betrayal, destroys not only relations between people, but also destroys the person himself. And Frida Abramovna Vigdorova is a thousand times right when she asserts in the final lines of the text that there is only one courage. It does not have a plural, while cowardice has many faces.

Teacher's comment:

An essay about cowardice and betrayal is easy to write for an adult. Based on your life experience, it is easier to distinguish between good and evil. And how can a schoolboy cope with this, who has only a short life span behind him, and is still ahead? How to find in the text the problem that he will write about?

You can determine the topic using the question: what is the text about? And highlight the problem you are discussing. She must be alone. The text may contain several of them.

In the control version, the author clearly calls a spade a spade, so there can be no difficulty in choosing definitions. Here's what you can advise: decide what you will discuss - cowardice and betrayal or courage.

As you work on your essay, feel free to write emotionally. Let your spiritual impulses be reflected on paper. Because it is impossible to write about cowardice and betrayal in dry language. But do not get carried away with excessive expression, do not use big words. The essay is not a letter to your best friend, but a journalistic document.

If you can't focus on real life examples, look up literature. There are many examples of this in the literature. And be sure to make a plan, determine in what order you will write.

Source text for writing an essay:

(1) I knew a wonderful writer. (2) Her name was Tamara Grigoryevna Gabbe. (3) She once told me:

“There are many trials in life. (4) You can't list them. (5) But here are three, they are common. (6) The first is the test of need. (7) The second is prosperity, glory. (8) And the third test is fear. (9) And not only with the fear that a person recognizes in a war, but with the fear that overtakes him in an ordinary, peaceful life.

(10) What kind of fear is this, which does not threaten either death or injury? (11) Isn't he a fiction? (12) No, not fiction. (13) Fear has many faces, sometimes it strikes the fearless.

(14) “It’s amazing,” wrote the Decembrist poet Ryleev, “we are not afraid to die on the battlefield, but we are afraid to say a word in favor of justice.”

(15) Many years have passed since these words were written, but there are tenacious diseases of the soul.

(16) A man went through the war as a hero. (17) He went to reconnaissance, where every step threatened him with death. (18) He fought in the air and under water, he did not run from danger, fearlessly walked towards her. (19) And so the war ended, the man returned home. (20) To your family, to your peaceful work. (21) He worked as well as he fought: passionately giving all his strength, not sparing his health. (22) But when, on the slander of a slanderer, his friend was removed from work, a man whom he knew as himself, in whose innocence he was convinced, as in his own, he did not intervene. (23) He, who was not afraid of either bullets or tanks, got scared. (24) He was not afraid of death on the battlefield, but was afraid to say a word in favor of justice.

(25) The boy broke the glass.

- (26) Who did this? the teacher asks.

(27) The boy is silent. (28) He is not afraid to ski off the most dizzying mountain. (29) He is not afraid to swim across an unfamiliar river full of insidious funnels. (30) But he is afraid to say: "I broke the glass."

(31) What is he afraid of? (32) Flying down the mountain, he can break his neck. (33) Swimming across the river, he may drown. (34) The words "I did it" do not threaten him with death. (35) Why is he afraid to pronounce them?

(36) I heard a very brave man who went through the war once say: “It used to be scary, very scary.”

(37) He spoke the truth: he was scared. (38) But he knew how to overcome his fear and did what his duty told him: he fought.

(39) In a peaceful life, of course, it can also be scary.

(40) I’ll tell the truth, and I’ll be expelled from school for this ... (41) I’ll tell the truth - they will be fired from work ... (42) I’d rather not say anything.

(43) There are many proverbs in the world that justify silence, and perhaps the most expressive: "My hut is on the edge." (44) But there are no huts that would be on the edge.

(45) We are all responsible for what is happening around us. (46) Responsible for everything bad and for everything good. (47) And one should not think that a real test comes to a person only in some special, fatal moments: in a war, during some kind of catastrophe. (48) No, not only in exceptional circumstances, not only in the hour of mortal danger, human courage is tested under a bullet. (49) It is tested constantly, in the most ordinary everyday affairs.

(50) Courage is one thing. (51) It requires that a person always be able to overcome the monkey in himself: in battle, on the street, at a meeting. (52) After all, the word "courage" does not have a plural. (53) It is one in any conditions.

(According to F.A. Vigdorova *) * Frida Abramovna Vigdorova (1915-1965) - Soviet writer, journalist. (From FIPI Open Bank)

The material was prepared by Dovgomelya Larisa Gennadievna