The theme of the “little man” in the story by F.M. Dostoevsky "Poor people. Little Man" in the novel "Poor People" by Dostoevsky

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“Little Man” by F.M. Dostoevsky

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky is one of the most significant and famous Russian writers and thinkers in the world of the 60s of the 19th century. In his works he reflected the suffering of people from social reality. It was at that time that capitalism was developing, and people who could not exist in the conditions of difficult modernity found themselves in complete poverty. Dostoevsky's work is centered around questions of the philosophy of spirit - these are themes of anthropology, philosophy, history, ethics, religion.

Rarely has any Russian writer started his career so brilliantly. literary activity, like Dostoevsky. His first novel, “Poor People” (1846), immediately made him one of the most prominent representatives of the “natural school.” F.M. Dostoevsky explored the soul " little man", delved into it inner world. The writer believed that the “little man” did not deserve such treatment as shown in many works. “Poor People” was the first novel in Russian literature where the “little man” spoke himself.

The main character of the novel, Makar Devushkin, is a poor official, oppressed by grief, poverty and social lack of rights. He is the subject of ridicule and his only joy is distant relative- Varenka, the 17th orphan, for whom there is no one else to stand up for her except Makar. For her, he rents a more expensive and comfortable apartment. In order to buy flowers and sweets for her, he denies himself food. But this heartfelt affection makes him happy. For a poor person, the basis of life is honor and respect, but the heroes of the novel “Poor People” know that it is almost impossible for a “small” person in social terms to achieve this. His protest against injustice is hopeless. Makar Alekseevich is very ambitious, and much of what he does, he does not for himself, but so that others can see it, for example, he drinks good tea. He tries to hide his shame about himself. Unfortunately, the opinion of others is more valuable to him than his own.

Makar Devushkin and Varenka Dobroselova are people of great spiritual purity and kindness. Each of them is ready to give up their last for the other. Makar is a person who knows how to feel, empathize, think and reason, and this best qualities“little man” according to Dostoevsky.

The author shows the “little man” as a deep personality with a rich inner world. Spiritual world Makara Devushkin can be likened to a rapidly expanding universe. He is not limited in any way intellectual development, neither in his spirituality, nor in his humanity. Makar Devushkin’s personality potential is limitless. This transformation of the hero occurs despite his past, his upbringing, origin, environment, despite the hero’s social humiliation and cultural deprivation.

Previously, Makar Alekseevich did not even imagine that he had great spiritual wealth. His love for Varenka helped him realize that he, it turns out, could be useful and useful to someone. Happens extremely important process"straightening" human personality. Love opened Devushkin’s eyes to himself and allowed him to realize that he is a human being. He writes to Varenka:

“I know what I owe you, my dear! Having gotten to know you, I began, firstly, to know myself better, and I began to love you; and before you, my little angel, I was lonely and as if I was sleeping and not living in the world. ...and when you appeared to me, you illuminated my whole dark life, so that both my heart and soul were illuminated, and I found peace of mind and learned that I was no worse than others; That’s just it, I don’t shine with anything, there’s no gloss, I’m not drowning, but still I’m a man, that in my heart and thoughts I’m a man.”

These words sounded like a confession of faith, like a formula that explained and revealed the basic humanistic pathos of both the “natural school” and the entire work of Dostoevsky. Essentially, here his hero comes to deny the injustice of the social structure of society, which considers him only a rag and not a person. The main thing about the “little man” is his nature.

The “little man” turned out to be “big”. The dynamics of the unfolding of the spiritual greatness of the “little man” are unique. In the end, Makar Devushkin turned out to be a worthy hero of the novel, which, among other things, should be an example of “education of feelings.”

Makar Devushkin was the first revelation of Dostoevsky’s “great idea” - the idea of “restoration of man,” the spiritual resurrection of downtrodden and poor people.

Thus begins an entire era in Russian literature of the 19th century, associated with heightened attention to the inner world of man, which naturally led to increased socio-psychological analysis, to a sharp denunciation of the foundations of the autocratic serf system, which doomed “little people” to the role of humiliated and insulted.

2.2 Good and evil in the novel “Crime and Punishment.” Striving for a moral ideal

The theme of the “little man” continues in the novel Crime and Punishment. Here the “little people” are endowed with a certain philosophical idea. These are thinking people, but overwhelmed by life. For example, Semyon Zakharych Marmeladov. He enjoys beatings, and he trains himself not to pay attention to the attitude of those around him, and he is accustomed to spending the night wherever he has to. Marmeladov is not able to fight for life, for his family. He doesn't care about his family, society, or even Raskolnikov.

Dostoevsky describes a weak-willed man who drove his wife to consumption, let his daughter in with a “yellow ticket,” but while condemning him, the writer simultaneously appeals to people, asks them to show him at least a drop of pity, to take a closer look at him, whether he is really that bad. After all, he “offered his hand to the unfortunate woman with three children, because he could not look at such suffering.” He suffers most of all from the consciousness of guilt in front of his children. Is this “little man” really that bad? We can say that he was made this way by a society more indifferent and cruel than he himself in his drunkenness.

But still, the novel “Crime and Punishment” is a very bright work, although tragic. The writer expressed in it his innermost thoughts about the moral ideal of humanism.

The main character of the novel comes to a moral ideal after experiencing a lot of suffering. Tolstoy Dostoevsky moral hero

At the beginning of the work, this is a man who is disappointed in people and believes that only through violence can the desecrated goodness and justice be restored. Rodion Raskolnikov creates a cruel theory according to which the world is divided into “those who have the right” and “trembling creatures.” The first is allowed everything, the second - nothing. Gradually, this terrible idea captures the hero’s entire being, and he decides to test it on himself, to find out which category he belongs to.

Having coldly assessed everything, Raskolnikov comes to the conclusion that he is allowed to transgress moral laws society and commit murder, which he justifies as the purpose of helping the disadvantaged.

But much changes in him when feelings are mixed with the voice of reason. Raskolnikov did not take into account the main thing - his own character, and the fact that murder is contrary to human nature itself. Before committing a crime, the hero has a dream: he feels like a child who witnesses a barbarously cruel act - the beating of a cornered horse, which the owner beats to death in stupid anger. Scary picture evokes in little Raskolnikov a furious desire to intervene, to protect the animal, but no one prevents this senseless, cruel murder. The only thing the boy can do is scream his way through the crowd to the horse and, grasping its dead, bloody muzzle, kiss it.

Raskolnikov's dream has many meanings. Here is a clear protest against murder and cruelty, here is sympathy for the pain of others.

Under the influence of sleep, two motives for the alleged murder occur. One is hatred of the torturers. Another is the desire to rise to the position of judge. But Raskolnikov did not take into account the third factor - the inability of a good person to shed blood. And as soon as this thought occurred to him, he abandoned his plans in fear. In other words, even before lifting the ax, Raskolnikov understands the doom of his idea.

Having woken up, the hero was almost ready to abandon his plan: “God! - he exclaimed, “can it really be, really, I’ll take an ax, hit her on the head, crush her skull... I’ll slide in sticky, warm blood, pick the lock, steal and tremble; hiding, covered in blood... with an ax... Lord, really?”

However, the terrible theory wins. Raskolnikov kills the old money-lender, completely useless and even harmful, from his point of view. But along with her, he is forced to kill her sister, an accidental witness. The second crime is in no way included in the hero’s plans, because Lizaveta is precisely the one for whose happiness he is fighting. Destitute, defenseless, not raising her hands to protect her face. Now Raskolnikov understands: one cannot allow “blood according to conscience” - it will flow in a torrent.

A hero by nature a kind person, he does a lot of good to people. In his actions, statements, and experiences we see a high sense of human dignity, true nobility, and deepest selflessness. Raskolnikov perceives other people's pain more acutely than his own. Risking his life, he saves children from the fire, shares the last with the father of a deceased comrade, a beggar himself, gives money for the funeral of Marmeladov, whom he barely knew. The hero despises those who indifferently pass by human misfortunes. There are no bad or low traits in him. He also has an angelic appearance: “...remarkably good-looking, with beautiful dark eyes, dark blond, above average height, thin and slender.” How could a practically ideal hero become carried away by such an immoral idea? The author shows that Raskolnikov was literally driven into a dead end by his own poverty, as well as by the wretched, humiliated state of many worthy people around him. Rodion was disgusted by the power of the insignificant, stupid, but rich and the insulting position of the poor, but smart and noble in soul. It's a shame, but the hero's youthful maximalism and integrity, his pride and inflexibility did him a disservice and set him on the wrong path.

Having committed a villainous murder, the hero becomes seriously ill, which indicates the great sensitivity of his conscience. And before the crime, the good in his soul desperately fought against evil, and now he is experiencing hellish torment. It becomes very difficult for Raskolnikov to communicate with people; he seems to feel guilty before all of humanity. The warmer and more caring his loved ones treat him, the more he suffers. Subconsciously, the hero understands that he has violated the main law of life - the law of love for one's neighbor, and he is not just ashamed, he is hurt - he was too cruelly mistaken.

Mistakes need to be corrected, you need to repent in order to get rid of suffering. Way to moral life Raskolnikov begins with a confession. He tells Sonya Marmeladova about his crime, relieving his soul and asking for advice, because he does not know how to live further. And a friend helps Rodion.

Expressed in the image of Sonya moral ideal writer. This woman is love itself. She sacrifices herself for people. Realizing that Raskolnikov needs it, Sonya is ready to follow him to hard labor: “Together we will go to suffer, together we will bear the cross!..” Thanks to her friend, the hero gains new meaning life.

Dostoevsky leads Raskolnikov to the idea of the need to live in the present, and not by an invented theory, to express oneself not through misanthropic ideas, but through love and kindness, through serving one’s neighbors. Raskolnikov’s path to a righteous life is complex and painful: from crime, which is atoned for by terrible suffering, to compassion and love for those people whom the proud young man wanted to despise, considering below himself.

Main philosophical question novel - the boundaries of good and evil. The writer seeks to define these concepts and show their interaction in society and in the individual.

In Raskolnikov's protest, it is difficult to draw a clear line between good and evil. Raskolnikov is unusually kind and humane: he dearly loves his sister and mother; feels sorry for the Marmeladovs and helps them, gives his last money for Marmeladov’s funeral; does not remain indifferent to the fate of the drunk girl on the boulevard. Raskolnikov's dream about a horse beaten to death emphasizes the hero's humanism, his protest against evil and violence.

At the same time, he exhibits extreme selfishness, individualism, cruelty and mercilessness. Raskolnikov creates an anti-human theory of “two classes of people,” which determines in advance who will live and who will die. He justifies the “idea of blood according to conscience,” when any person can be killed for the sake of higher goals and principles. Raskolnikov, loving people, suffering for their pain, commits the villainous murder of the old pawnbroker and her sister, the meek Lizaveta. By committing murder, he tries to establish the absolute moral freedom of man, which essentially means permissiveness. This leads to the fact that the boundaries of evil cease to exist.

But Raskolnikov commits all crimes for the sake of good. A paradoxical idea arises: good is the basis of evil. Good and evil fight in Raskolnikov's soul. Evil, brought to the limit, brings him closer to Svidrigailov, good, brought to the point of self-sacrifice, brings him in common with Sonya Marmeladova.

In the novel, Raskolnikov and Sonya are the confrontation between good and evil. Sonya preaches goodness based on Christian humility, Christian love to your neighbor and to all those who suffer.

But even in Sonya’s actions, life itself blurs the line between good and evil. She takes a step full of Christian love and kindness towards her neighbor - she sells herself in order to prevent her sick stepmother and her children from starving. And she causes irreparable harm to herself, her conscience. And again, the basis of evil is good.

The interpenetration of good and evil can also be seen in Svidrigailov’s nightmare before suicide. This hero completes the chain of malicious crimes in the novel: rape, murder, child molestation. True, the author does not confirm the fact that these crimes were committed: this is mainly Luzhin’s gossip. But it is absolutely known that Svidrigailov arranged for the children of Katerina Ivanovna and helped Sonya Marmeladova. Dostoevsky shows how a complex struggle between good and evil takes place in the soul of this hero. Dostoevsky tries to draw the line between good and evil in the novel. But human world too complex and unfair, it blurs the boundaries between these concepts. Therefore, Dostoevsky sees salvation and truth in faith. Christ for him is the highest criterion of morality, the bearer of true good on earth. And this is the only thing the writer does not doubt.

Conclusion

Summarizing all of the above, we can conclude that in the works of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, psychological portraits heroes. It seems to me that this is due to the fact that the authors are trying to convey to the reader what one can be, what one can become under the influence of society and how, under this influence, people remain themselves and do not contradict their state of mind and moral principles.

In the works of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy we can observe how he depicts spiritual growth man and his fall. What significance does the inner world have for the author? How society, the morality of the environment and the actions of others influence a person.

In his work, Tolstoy touches on and reveals the most important problems in life - problems of morality. Love and friendship, honor and nobility. His characters dream and doubt, think and solve problems that are important to them. Some of them are deeply moral people, while others are alien to the concept of nobility. To the modern reader, Tolstoy's heroes can be close and understandable. Author's solution moral problems can still be used today.

The creativity of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky is centered around questions of the philosophy of spirit - these are themes of anthropology, philosophy, history, ethics, religion. In his works, Dostoevsky shows tragic fates"little people" What deep feelings a “little man” oppressed by poverty, lawlessness, and inhumanity is capable of, what kind, compassionate soul he can possess. In his works, the author reveals the enormous spiritual wealth of the “little man”, his spiritual generosity and inner beauty who did not die under unbearable living conditions. The beauty of the soul of the “little man” is revealed, first of all, through the ability to love and compassion. F. M. Dostoevsky protests against indifference and indifference to the fate of “poor people.” He argues that every person has the right to empathy and compassion.

The heroes of the works of these two great Russian writers are memorable and atypical, which, nevertheless, are written in a deeply realistic way. Pierre Bezukhov, Natasha Rostova, Nekhlyudov, Raskolnikov, Makar Devushkin are unforgettable images. But at the same time, it is not difficult to notice a significant difference in their work. If Tolstoy analyzes his characters and the events happening to them, then Dostoevsky, on the contrary, derives the entire logic of actions from psychological state their heroes. Thanks to these two writers, we can look at the 19th century from two sides.

Tolstoy focuses on the external side of events; for Dostoevsky, the inner feeling of a person is more important. Tolstoy’s morality is reminiscent of Kant’s: “Act in a certain situation in such a way that your choice can become a moral law for all people.” Dostoevsky believes that there are no identical situations, and a person always has to make a choice, and cannot rely on standard solutions.

Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky never met, although each of them dreamed of meeting each other.

And yet the meeting took place - at a distance, not in space - in time. They read each other's works. They admired some and protested against others. No effort was spared on critical analyses. Despite all the differences in their creative quests, they were united in the main thing - they believed in goodness and love, in the revival of man and humanity, in the moral progress of society through the free expression of the individual’s will.

List of sources used

1. Ethics. Basics general theory morality. Course of lectures Part one / P.E. Matveev / Vladimir State University - Vladimir, 2002.

2. Revelations about man in the works of Dostoevsky / N.A. Berdyaev/Vekhi Library, 2001

3. Russian literature and literary criticism/A.B. Esin / Moscow, 2003.

4. Psychological Dictionary./Ed. V. P. Zinchenko./Moscow, 1997.

5. Childhood. Adolescence. Youth./L.N. Tolstoy/ St. Petersburg, 2009.

6. Collected works in 8 volumes. Volume 6. Resurrection / L.N. Tolstoy / Moscow, 2006

7. After the ball./L. N. Tolstoy / Moscow, 2006

8. Childhood. Adolescence, Youth / L.N. Tolstoy/Moscow, 1993

9. So what should we do? / Tolstoy L.N. / Collection. op./Moscow, 1983.

10. Resurrection/L.N. Tolstoy/

11. Russian literature XIX century/V. I. Novikov/Moscow, 1996

12. War and Peace/L.N. Tolstoy/

13. Poor people/F.M. Dostoevsky

14. Crime and punishment/F.M. Dostoevsky

15. http:/mysoch.ru/sochineniya/dostoevskii

16. http:/soch.na5.ru

17. http://istina.rin.ru

18. http://ru.wikipedia.org

Innovation of Dostoevsky in the image of a “little” man

Completed by: Kurakova Sveta

Scientific director: Pislegina Elena Nikolaevna

Izhevsk 2011

Introduction

Main part

1 Small man in the work of F.M. Dostoevsky

Conclusion

Introduction

Relevance of the topic

The theme of the “Little” man is often used and explored in many works of Russian literature. But the relevance of this topic will never be lost. Its task is to reflect life common man with all his experiences, problems, troubles and little joys. In every time, in every era, there were, are, and will be such people, small people, thinking about such lofty things, about the eternal. Although small, they are people too. Sometimes they even turn out to be better than people those standing above them in society. I believe that a small person occupies an important place in society, even though he is small. That is why I turned to this topic.

Who is the “little” person?

“Little Man” is a type of literary hero that arose in Russian literature with the advent of realism, that is, in the 20-30s of the 19th century. A little man is a person of low social status and origin, not gifted with outstanding abilities, not distinguished by strength of character, but at the same time kind, does no harm to anyone, and is harmless. This is a character representing the lower strata of the social hierarchy.

The depiction of such a person, as a rule, testifies to the writer’s desire to express his humanistic attitude towards the fate of socially unprotected people, timid, financially poor. But such personalities are presented in the work in great psychological diversity: those resigned to their fate, trying to defend their dignity, even philosophizing.

Also, “Little” man is one of the main themes of Russian literature. It appeared during the formation of the realistic method. The “little” person is a social, ethical and psychological phenomenon. Many writers, creating the image of a “small” person, want to remind readers that the most ordinary person He is also a person worthy of sympathy, attention, and support.

Peter Weil very correctly defined: “The little man from the great Russian literature is so small that it cannot be further reduced. Changes could only go upward. This is what the Western followers of our classical tradition did. From our Little Man came the heroes of Kafka, Beckett, and Camus who grew to global proportions.

Soviet culture threw off Bashmachkin’s overcoat - onto the shoulders of the living Little Man, who, of course, did not disappear anywhere, simply disappeared from the ideological surface, died in literature.” The little man, who did not fit into the canons of socialist realism, migrated to the literary underground and began to exist in the everyday satire of M. Zoshchenko, M. Bulgakov, V. Voinovich, E. Popov, V. Pietsukh, M. Weller.

Almost always, those forgotten by everyone do not attract special attention from others. humiliated people. Their life, their little joys and big troubles seem insignificant to everyone, unworthy of attention. The era produced such people and such an attitude towards them. Cruel times forced “little” people to withdraw into themselves, to completely withdraw into their souls, which had suffered, with the painful problems of that period; they lived an unnoticed life and died unnoticed.

But it was precisely such people who sometimes, by force of circumstances, obeying the cry of the soul, began to fight against powerful of the world This, calling for justice, ceased to be a rag. Therefore, nevertheless, they became interested in their lives, and writers gradually began to pay attention in their works to some scenes from the lives of such people. With each work, the life of people of the lower “class” was shown more and more clearly and truthfully. Little officials, station guards, who had gone mad against their own will, began to emerge from the shadows. The first writer who opened the world of “little people” to us was N.M. Karamzin. “Little Man” is a type of literary hero that arose in Russian literature with the advent of realism, that is, in the 20-30s of the 19th century. The first image of a little man was Samson Vyrin from A. S. Pushkin’s story “The Station Warden.” Gogol continues the traditions of Pushkin in the story “The Overcoat”. In the story "The Overcoat" the idea humane treatment to the “little man”, which is hiddenly present in all Gogol’s works, is expressed directly and decisively.

The “little man” sinks, turning into a narrow-minded bourgeois. We observe this process most clearly in Chekhov’s stories “Ionych”, “Gooseberry”, “Man in a Case”.

“The Little Man” is one of the main themes of Russian literature.

It appeared during the formation of the realistic method. “Little Man” is a social, ethical and psychological phenomenon.

“Little people” are people of the lower classes, and their language is folk, in it there are vernaculars (“tidy up, old fool”), clerical words (“compasses”), the expression “I have something to say.”

The definition of “little man” is a true long-liver in school and university literary criticism. Devoid of scientific dryness, it is also convenient for exam topics. Therefore, it is natural that a certain semantic and emotional stereotype has developed that accompanies this expression. Even themselves literary heroes This is how they openly recommend themselves: “I, sir, am a little man” (Kuligin from A.N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm”), with the natural addition: “You can offend me!” This, it would seem, is the whole simple meaning of this name. But this is clearly a crafty simplicity, which, due to its many years, or even centuries of existence, turns out to be completely unproductive both for literary analysis and for living, explanatory writing.

I looked at different definitions of “little person.” Thus, a “little man” is a person of low social status and origin, not gifted with outstanding abilities, not distinguished by strength of character, but at the same time kind, not doing harm to anyone, harmless, humiliated by everyone, downtrodden. Both Pushkin and Gogol, creating the image of a little man, wanted to remind readers who were accustomed to admiring romantic heroes that the most ordinary person is also a person worthy of sympathy, attention and support.

1. Main part

1 “Little” man in the works of F.M. Dostoevsky

Dostoevsky's little man novel

The theme of the “little” man is also touched upon by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. Heroes of his stories Poor people , White Nights , Humiliated and Offended , novel Crime and Punishment - typical representatives of this group of heroes. Using the example of these heroes, all definitions can be confirmed little person.

F.M. Dostoevsky is not just a continuer of traditions in Russian literature, but becomes the author of one leading theme - the theme of “poor people,” “humiliated and insulted.” That is why Dostoevsky’s work is so integral thematically. Dostoevsky seems to be saying with his work that every person, no matter who he is, no matter how low he stands, has the right to sympathy and compassion.

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky is one of the most prominent exponents Petersburg period of Russian literature, a typical city dweller. In his works we will not find images of nature that so delight us in Turgenev and Tolstoy. The actions of most of his works, including such significant ones as novels Crime and Punishment. ,Idiot. , Teenager. , takes place in St. Petersburg. The writer leads his heroes through dirty streets and canals, gloomy courtyards and smoky staircases to residential apartments and taverns. St. Petersburg - not only the seat of the royal court and the highest nobility, but also the largest bureaucratic - bourgeois center in the country - showed striking, sharp contrasts of wealth and poverty, unlimited power and arbitrariness of senior officials and lawlessness, moral downtroddenness of the serving poor. From the first steps of his creativity, Dostoevsky proved himself to be a writer - urbanist , which in its own way continued the creative tradition of Gogol’s St. Petersburg stories.

Dostoevsky's first work, which immediately put him forward among the recognized writers of the Gogol movement - the natural school. In an enthusiastic review by V.G. Belinsky, it was said that the young writer, for the first time in Russian literature, depicted the fate of the “little man” as a social tragedy, and discovered deep humanity in a powerless and downtrodden individual. The story has a lot to do with artistic world Gogol and with the poetics of Gogol’s St. Petersburg stories.

“Poor People” (1846) is the first novel devoted to the theme of the “little man.” It consists of letters from a petty official, Makar Devushkin, and a poor girl, Varenka Dobroselova. They want to marry the girl to a man she does not love, but this is a marriage of convenience. Makar tries to dissuade her from this marriage, but he himself is not able to marry her because of his small earnings. Varenka is getting married after all. And the official begins to drink heavily, and comes to the conclusion that the poor man is more useless than old trash. The writer emphasizes the vivid contrast between the poverty of the heroes and their deep inner world.

Like many outstanding Russian writers, Dostoevsky already in his first novel “Poor People” addresses the theme of the “little man.” The main character of the novel, Makar Devushkin, is a poor official, oppressed by grief, poverty and social lack of rights. Like Gogol in the story “The Overcoat,” Dostoevsky turned to the theme of the powerless, immensely humiliated and downtrodden “little man,” living his inner life in conditions that grossly violate human dignity.

Dostoevsky himself wrote: “We all came out of Gogol’s “The Overcoat.”

The humanistic orientation of "Poor People" was noticed by critics. Belinsky enthusiastically greeted Dostoevsky: “This is an extraordinary and original talent, which immediately, even with his first work, sharply separated himself from the entire crowd of our writers...”.

Dostoevsky continued his research into the soul of the “little man” and delved into his inner world. The writer believed that the “little man” did not deserve such treatment as shown in many works, for example, in the novel “Poor People”. This was the first novel in Russian literature where the “little man” spoke himself.

The life around Varenka Dobroselova, a young woman who has experienced many sorrows in her life (the death of her father, mother, lover, persecution of low people), and Makar Devushkin, a poor elderly official, is terrible. Dostoevsky wrote the novel in letters, otherwise the characters would hardly have been able to open their hearts; they were very timid. This form of narration gave soulfulness to the entire novel and showed one of Dostoevsky’s main positions that the main thing in the “little man” is his nature.

For a poor person, the basis of life is honor and respect, but the heroes of the novel “Poor People” know that it is almost impossible for a “small” person in social terms to achieve this: “And everyone knows, Varenka, that a poor person is worse than a rag and gets no help from anyone.” He can’t get respect, no matter what you write.” His protest against injustice is hopeless. Makar Alekseevichi is very ambitious, and much of what he does, he does not for himself, but so that others can see it (drinks good tea). He tries to hide his shame about himself. Unfortunately, the opinion of others is more valuable to him than his own.

Makar Devushkin and Varenka Dobroselova are people of great spiritual purity and kindness. Each of them is ready to give their last for each other. Makar is a person who knows how to feel, empathize, think and reason, and these are the best qualities of the “little man” according to Dostoevsky.

Makar Alekseevich reads Pushkin's " Stationmaster" and Gogol's "The Overcoat". They shock him, and he sees himself there: “... I’ll tell you, little mother, it will happen that you live, but you don’t know that there’s a book next to you, where your whole life is laid out as if on your fingers.” . Chance meetings and conversations with people (an organ grinder, a little beggar boy, a money lender, a watchman) prompt him to think about public life, constant injustice, human relationships that are based on social inequality and money. The “little man” in Dostoevsky’s works has both a heart and a mind. The end of the novel is tragic: Varenka is taken away to certain death by the cruel landowner Bykov, and Makar Devushkin is left alone with his grief.

For all his extreme poverty, which morally suppresses him, for all his complete dependence and timidity before his superiors, Dostoevsky’s petty official not only recognizes, but also internally defends in himself, at the level of his concepts, his human dignity, his deeply hidden pride of a small, inconspicuous, but honest worker, whom he calls ambition . “I serve impeccably,” he writes, “sober behavior, never noticed in disorder. As a citizen, he considers himself as having his shortcomings, but at the same time having virtue. , my ambition is dearest to me. Having seen an organ grinder on the street who doesn't want to beg And even though he walks and toils all day, he is his own master, he feeds himself Devushkin writes about himself: So I’m just like this organ grinder....in my sense, in a noble, noble sense, just like he, I work to the best of my ability, as much as I can, they say.

In the consciousness of his unnoticed, but honest and useful work. Devushkin sometimes reaches the consciousness of deep contrasts social life, is afraid of this in himself as obvious freethinking , but cannot give up his thoughts. The fate of poor Varenka especially excites them in him. Why are you, Varenka, so unhappy... - he writes. - Why does this all happen, that a good person is in desolation, but someone else is asking for happiness? I know, I know, mommy, that it’s not good to think this, that this is freethinking...

However, everything that happens in the story with Devushkin shows how fruitless his secret freethinking and how deluded he is by his honest work ambition . After reading the story Overcoat sent to him by Varenka, he is amazed at the similarities between himself and Gogol’s miserable heroes, he also takes care of his boots and rejoices if he sews something new for himself. And he is outraged that now all this, comically depicted in the story, will become known to everyone and now all civil and family life yours is circulating in literature, everything is printed, read, ridiculed, re-judged! Yes, here you won’t even be able to appear on the street. He writes to Varenka about how kill his debts and bad situation and his clothes and how he is was burning , burned in hellfire , was dying when he was called to himself His Excellency to give a scolding for missing a line in an important paper that was rewritten.

immersion in oneself reflexes and to corresponding generalizations. He, a poor man, is demanding,” Devushkin writes about himself and others like him, “he looks at the light of God differently... but he looks around himself with an embarrassed gaze, and listens to every word, - they say not Do they talk about him there? What do they say, why is he so invisible? After the first letter to Varenka, he took office was there a radiance in your heart? When he decided to go borrow money, he was in the following mood: ....I didn’t want to look at anything, such sadness and melancholy attacked me! My heart is cold, my soul is dark... Even in the best moment of his life, when his boss gave him 100 rubles out of pity, he cannot help but suffer. Other than that, I’m calm, very calm,” he writes. - It just aches my soul, and I can hear my soul trembling, trembling, and moving in the depths.

With such a character and position of a lonely, elderly, poor official, it is quite natural that he suddenly awakened in him a tender affection for an also poor and offended young girl, who was even more exhausting daydreaming , who also has so many sensory experiences and painful impressions , A the soul so often asks for tears . How you appeared to me, how you illuminated my whole dark life, - the girl admits. All the more dramatic for both of them is the sudden separation, when Varenka is forced to agree to marry her offender, the landowner Bykov, and Devushkin is left alone again.

The characters' correspondence itself, in which there is so much sincerity and emotional changes and heartbreaks, represents best expressions inner world little people . The language of this correspondence is characteristic. Devushkin speaks in a stumbling, labored language with unnecessary repetitions and countless diminutives ( mommy ; idea ; my little heart ), conveying not only the affectionate tone of his speech, but also the bizarre habit of self-destruction.

Devushkin’s attitude towards Varenka is akin to Vyrin’s paternal feeling towards Duna; he is close to Pushkin’s hero in his ability to protect his neighbor, in his sense of self-esteem. The dignity of not only a person, but also a worker lives in him. From here come the threads connecting Makar Devushkin with other people, the desire to help the defenseless Varenka, saving her from poverty, protecting her from nasty attacks on her honor. To him, who lives in the house where people die like that , given the heart’s ability to help one’s neighbor. Much more than from the consciousness of his own poverty (he is ready to come to terms with it), he suffers from the inability to help his loved one, just another poor neighbor-official Gorshkov, a beggar child on the street.... Such a source of suffering elevates Devushkin, makes him, despite on his weaknesses, truly positive person, great little man . Gogol in Overcoats . Showed a terrible drama little man , Dostoevsky elevates it to tragedy.

“Humiliated and Insulted” - you can already guess from the title of the novel that we are talking about people of the same class as the little man, and maybe about them themselves. “The Humiliated and Insulted” (1861) - according to F. Dostoevsky’s definition, “a novel from St. Petersburg life” - a work that depicts the suffering of “little people”, sharp social contrasts contemporary writer life.

Crime and Punishment - a novel in which the “little man” is also shown. This painful theme permeates Dostoevsky’s entire novel.

This theme of the “little man” was continued in the social, psychological, philosophical novel-reasoning by F. M. Dostoevsky “Crime and Punishment” (1866). In this novel, the theme of the “little man” sounded much louder. Here it sounded even stronger. One after another, the writer reveals to us pictures of hopeless poverty. Dostoevsky chose the dirtiest part of old Petersburg, the cesspool of the capital, as the setting for the action. And against the backdrop of this landscape, the life of the Marmeladov family unfolds before us.

Which is published in Kotkov's magazine Russian Bulletin. During 1866. Before us again is St. Petersburg, but not the era of Belinsky and the writers, who came out in their creativity from Overcoats. , and post-reform Petersburg, where there is even more poverty, but where the poor suffer mainly not from self-important bosses, but from complete insecurity, from cruel lenders and cunning rich seducers. These new circumstances manifest themselves with great force and severity in the lives of the main characters of the novel - the poor student Rodion Raskolnikov, his sister, and the even poorer girl Sonya Marmeladova. Dostoevsky focuses on depicting the world of human suffering.

Not even poverty, but poverty, in which a person not only literally dies from hunger, but also loses his human appearance and self-esteem - this is the state in which the unfortunate Marmeladov family is immersed. Old Marmeladov, a heavy drinker, humiliates himself in front of the innkeeper for a glass of vodka; his wife proud Katerina Ivanovna, dying of consumption and sending her seventeen-year-old stepdaughter, the great sufferer Sonya, to sell herself on the street to St. Petersburg libertines; Marmeladov’s small children dying of hunger. Material suffering entails a world of moral torment that disfigures the human psyche. Dobrolyubov wrote to Dostoevsky: In the works of Dostoevsky we find one common feature, more or less noticeable in everything he wrote: this is the pain of a person who recognizes himself as unable or, finally, not even entitled to be a person in himself.

To understand the extent of a person’s humiliation, you need to delve into the inner world of the titular adviser Marmeladov. The mental state of this petty official is much more complex and subtle than that of his literary predecessors - Pushkin's Samson Vyrin and Gogol's Bashmachkin. They do not have the power of self-analysis that Dostoevsky's hero achieved. Marmeladov not only suffers, but also analyzes his state of mind, he, as a doctor, makes a merciless diagnosis of the disease - degradation of his own personality. This is how he confesses in his first meeting with Raskolnikov. Dear Sir, poverty is not a vice, it is the truth. But...poverty is a vice, sir. In poverty you still retain your nobility of innate feelings, but in poverty no one ever does... for in poverty I am the first to insult myself. A person not only dies from poverty, but understands how spiritually he is devastated: he begins to despise himself, but does not see anything around him to cling to that would keep him from the disintegration of his personality. Marmeladov despises himself. We sympathized with him, we are tormented by his torment and we bitterly hate the social circumstances that gave rise to this human tragedy.

Marmeladov’s cry from the soul reached enormous artistic persuasiveness when he noticed the ridicule of the tavern listeners: Allow me, young man: can you... But no, explain it stronger and more graphically: can you, but do you dare, looking at me at this hour, say affirmatively that I am not a pig? By emphasizing these words, the writer sharpens our perception and deepens his thought. Of course, you can call a drunkard who ruins his family a dirty word; but who will take upon himself the courage to condemn such a Marmeladov, who under the writer’s pen became a truly tragic figure! Marmeladov rebels against the loneliness to which a poor man is doomed in the jungle of a ruthless city.

Marmeladovsky cry - after all, it is necessary that every person could at least go somewhere - expresses the last degree of despair of a dehumanized person.

Looking at Marmeladov, Raskolnikov saw an old, completely tattered tailcoat with remaining buttons. Only one was holding on somehow, and he fastened it on, apparently wanting to avoid the appearance of decency:

They've already felt sorry for me more than once , - says Marmeladov to Raskolnikov. The good general Ivan Afanasyevich took pity on him and accepted him into service again. But Marmeladov could not stand the test, started drinking again, drank away his entire salary, drank it all away and in return received a tattered tailcoat with a single button. This button returns our thought to Devushkin, to the scene with the torn button in the office good general , who took pity on Devushkin. Belinsky called this wonderful scene the terrible truth. But there is no longer pity for this unfortunate man, but horror! - he says to the author Poor people. Marmeladov in his behavior reached the point of losing his last human qualities. He is already so humiliated that, unlike Devushkin, who retained his human dignity, he does not feel like a human being, but only dreams of being a human being among people.

The meeting with Marmeladov in the tavern, his feverish, delirious confession gave Raskolnikov the final proof of the correctness Napoleonic idea

The fate of this family is closely intertwined with the fate of the main character, Rodion Raskolnikov. The official Marmeladov, who has “nowhere else to go” in life, drinks himself to death out of grief and loses his human appearance. Exhausted by poverty, Marmeladov’s wife, Ekaterina Ivanovna, dies of consumption. Sonya is released onto the streets to sell her body in order to save her family from starvation. The fate of Raskolnikov’s family is also difficult. His sister Dunya, wanting to help her brother, is ready to sacrifice herself and marry the rich man Luzhin, whom she feels disgusted with. Other characters in the novel, including episodic figures of unfortunate people that Raskolnikov meets on the streets of St. Petersburg, complement this big picture immeasurable grief.

Raskolnikov understands that the cruel force that creates dead ends in life for the poor and a bottomless sea of suffering is money. And in order to get them, he commits a crime under the influence of a far-fetched idea about “extraordinary personalities.”

2 Innovation of Dostoevsky in the image of a “little” man

“White Nights” is Dostoevsky’s novel about poor, unhappy people, but these people have a deep and vulnerable soul. They are also the "little people" in their society.

According to Dostoevsky, the “little man” is aware of himself as “small”: “I’m used to it, because I get used to everything, because I’m a humble person, because I’m a small person; but, however, what is this all for?...” The main character of the “sentimental novel” “White Nights” (1848) is a “dreamer”. Realizing the horror of his situation, the “little man” tries to protect himself from a humiliating, gray life in dreams, daydreams, dreams. This, perhaps, largely saves his soul from constant humiliation. The heroes of the novel “White Nights” have spiritual beauty, sublime nobility, and poetic nature. “The Dreamer,” selflessly in love with a girl Nastenka he met on the street, selflessly helps her find her beloved and considers this love a great happiness: “May your sky be clear, may your smile be bright and serene, may you be blessed for a moment of bliss and happiness, which you gave to another, lonely, grateful heart.” These are the words of a “little man” devoid of love. Purity and selflessness elevate him.

“Mr. Prokharchin” - the image of a semi-poor official putting his money into an “old worn-out mattress” could have been suggested to Dostoevsky by the note “Extraordinary stinginess” about the collegiate secretary N. Brovkin, who hired “for five rubles in banknotes a month a very cramped corner of a soldier’s room.” on Vasilyevsky Island and ate “a piece of bread, with radish or onions, and a glass of water”; After Brovkin’s death, caused by constant malnutrition, the owner found “capital 1035 rubles 70 3/4 kopecks in silver” in his mattress, presented to the “local police.” Having connected the idea that arose in Prokharchin about the accumulation of capital with his tragic feeling of the precarious position of the “little man”, on whom formidable dangers are approaching from all sides every minute, such as exams, a “destroyed” office or turning him into a soldier for freethinking, Dostoevsky continued the development of that complex socially -psychological problems (in to a large extent associated with the ideas of utopian socialism), which was the focus of his attention already in “Poor People”

"Player" - full title: "Player. Novel (From notes young man)". The vicissitudes of love between the hero, who serves in the general's family as a home teacher, and the general's stepdaughter Polina are largely repeated complex history relations between Dostoevsky and Apollinaria Prokofievna Suslova. The author of "The Player" was also close to another passion of the protagonist - for the game. The image of the “player” created by Dostoevsky had a long literary pedigree. List of works of world literature in which the plot is developed gambling, can be infinite. Dostoevsky himself pointed out the connection of the novel with Pushkin's traditions. In this case, one must keep in mind not only the “Little Tragedies” he called, but also “ Queen of Spades". "The Gambler" is similar to "The Queen of Spades" by some details of the plot. However, Pushkin's Hermann is obsessed with a single passion, the desire for wealth, which will give him power over people; Alexey Ivanovich, having won two hundred thousand, immediately squanders it. And in this Dostoevsky saw the manifestation of a purely Russian character trait... But in the story Funny man's dream the writer opens up new facets of this literary type. Let's try to compare a typical “little man” and a funny man.

Small man Funny man

Low social status Poor, lives very meagerly. Occupies a low position. The author even conceals which one, apparently it is so small. Not gifted with extraordinary abilities Does not have any rare abilities or talents. But this is only at first glance. Inside he is very smart. Not distinguished by strength of character. It is not often possible to notice manifestations strong character, but still there was an incident where he shouted at the girl, showing the strength of his character. Kind kind. This is expressed in the fact that he loves all people even more than himself. He does no harm to anyone, harmless, and has never offended anyone. And he would hardly be able to harm anyone.

That is, Dostoevsky’s hero fully fits the description of the “little man,” but there are also significant differences in him.

In his story “The Dream of a Funny Man”, the main character of which is a certain “funny man” F.M. Dostoevsky shows new facets of the “little man”. His funny person just reveals the image of a small person. A funny person is not like everyone else, ridiculous, worthy of ridicule. He is not respected, it is difficult for him to communicate, he is considered stupid and has no self-esteem. He is poor. “I went up to my fifth floor. I live with the owners, and we have rooms. My room is poor and small, and the attic window is semicircular. I have an oilcloth sofa, a table with books on it, two chairs and a comfortable armchair, old, old, but Voltairean.” He lives, resigned to the fact that he is funny: “But now I’m not angry, now they are all dear to me, and even when they laugh at me - and then in some way they are even especially sweet.” And absolutely everyone laughed at him. He calls himself in words worthy of a low person: “How could I, a braggart and a liar...”, “Is it really my petty heart and my capricious, insignificant mind...” He knows about the despair that is characteristic of the lower strata of society: “among the very frightened children means despair. I know this sound." He is a typical "little man" in society. Few people know about him, and maybe even no one knows about him. Nobody cares about his opinion. He exists quietly in his own corner.

Dostoevsky wants to show us another, better side this man. The funny man is very " deep person“If he weren’t such a person, he wouldn’t have even thought of shooting himself. This person is very sensitive. For example, he experiences such a feeling as pride: “I have always been so proud.” Feels pain, both physical and mental. Feels pity: “if something very pitiful had happened, I would have felt pity,” “I remember that I felt very sorry for her.” He feels absolutely everything, and maybe even more than an ordinary person. “I can suffer, get angry and feel ashamed of my actions.” Questions arise in his head about a variety of things. He thinks about everything that worries him, and he cares about everything. He constantly talks about everything that worries him. His thinking is not like thinking ordinary person. He talks about things that are even difficult for some people to imagine. Even after his “death” he does not stop reasoning. After his act, he despises himself: “never and no torment, no matter what befalls me, can be compared with the contempt that I will silently feel.” When he rushed through space “with some creature unknown to me,” he was so proud that he was not afraid: “I assured myself that I was not afraid, and froze with admiration at the thought that I was not afraid.” He was pleased to realize that he experiences such a high feeling, not characteristic of a “little man”. Of course he is smart. This can be proven by the fact that he knows some aspects of astronomy and geography: “I have long since stopped seeing constellations familiar to the eye,” “Is this Sirius? - I asked,” “I knew that there were such stars in the celestial spaces, from which rays reach the earth only in thousands and millions of years,” “I already distinguished the ocean, the outlines of Europe,” “they make up the Greek archipelago on our land.” A funny man doesn’t want any more humiliation and victory over him: “and to live again according to someone’s irremovable will, I don’t want to be defeated and humiliated!” For the first time, flying in space, he felt that he was not despised, that they were not laughing at him. This made him again feel like a normal, real person worthy of living in this world.

The people he saw on another land amazed him. “I have never seen such beauty in a person on our land. Their faces shone with intelligence and some kind of consciousness that had already been replenished to the point of calm.” That is, the highest degree of beauty for him lies in the mind. But he understood that no matter how smart they were, they would never understand him, these people. They don't know the deplorable state of his land. On the land of these people, everything was so ideal that a funny person could not always understand it with his mind, but felt it with his heart. “It remained as if inaccessible to my mind, but my heart seemed to be imbued with it unconsciously and more and more.”

Waking up from his dream, the funny man was amazed at how his imagination could come up with all this. His position simply does not give him the right to think about such things. He doesn't deserve such thoughts. How could his heart discern all the truth in the world? “But was my heart alone capable of giving birth to that the terrible truth, which later happened to me: How could I alone invent it or dream it in my heart?” He cried when he learned the Truth. “He did not cry out, but cried; delight, immeasurable delight lifted my entire being.” He realized that Truth is not born in a test tube and is not proven mathematical formula, she exists. This Truth gave birth to a great desire to live in such a small and insignificant person. He thinks globally. Now he cares about every person! He wants all people on earth to be happy. “I don’t want and can’t believe that evil is the normal state of people.” The hero’s dream reflects his inner world, full of compassion for people, love for them, the desire to help the humiliated, suffering, just like him.

Thus, Dostoevsky shows the “little” person as a deeper personality than, for example, Samson Vyrin in Pushkin. Samson Vyrin is a little man, who certainly also has human soul, simple emotions that all people experience, he also knows how to think, although he is a small person, but he does not think about such global problems that touch a funny person to the core. He doesn't care about humanity or their fate. The main thing he worries about in life is his own only and beloved daughter. It’s even natural to think and worry about your loved ones. But such a life does not require any self-sacrifice than the life of a funny person. He sacrifices everything, lives not for himself, but for the sake of all humanity, for the sake of every person on earth.

A funny person is different from other “little” people. The writer wants to convey and show all the internal movements and experiences of his hero. In such a short story he reveals to us the whole soul of the protagonist. The author invites us to feel everything together with the hero, to experience everything with him and brings us to the idea that “little” people are individuals in the full sense of the word and their personal sense, their ambition is much greater even than that of people with a position in society. A “small” person is more vulnerable; he is afraid that others may not see him as a spiritually rich person. Their own self-awareness also plays a huge role. The way they feel about themselves, whether they feel like individuals, forces them to constantly assert themselves even in their own eyes. The funny man constantly asked himself whether he still had this or that feeling, whether he had lost his humanity, whether he remained a person. This is very important to him.

Various writers treated the “little” person differently. For Dostoevsky, such people evoke compassion. “Compassion is the most important, and perhaps the only law of human existence,” he believed. Compassion helps to survive, helps the “little man” to understand that, despite his baseness and worthlessness, someone needs him, someone cares about him, but this is very important for every person. In Dostoevsky, his “little man” knows how to reason. The word “reason” or “reasoning” itself is used very often in the text. A funny person always thinks. Although he understands his insignificance, he is also a philosopher who poses questions of the greatest importance to society. It doesn’t matter to him that he has almost no social status in society. The important thing is that he still wants to think and reason. He is concerned about questions such as high topics as the meaning of life. This is all that makes him a real full-fledged person.

Dostoevsky seems to be saying with his work that every person, no matter who he is, no matter how low he stands, has the right to sympathy and compassion.

F. M. Dostoevsky has repeatedly said that he continues the traditions of Gogol (“We all came from Gogol’s “Overcoat”).” N. A. Nekrasov, having become acquainted with the first work of F. M. Dostoevsky, handed over the manuscripts to V. Belinsky with the words: “The new Gogol has appeared!” F.M. Dostoevsky continued his research into the soul of the “little man” and delved into his inner world. The writer believed that the “little man” did not deserve such treatment as shown in many works, for example, in the novel “Poor People”. This was the first novel in Russian literature where the “little man” spoke himself. It’s the same in “The Dream of a Funny Man.” The whole story, this “little” man himself talks to us. He, without hiding a single detail, reveals his feelings to us. He says everything he thinks, leaving not a single word hidden. As a full-fledged person, he has his own opinion on every issue.

Dostoevsky was faced with an unusually difficult task - to express his position exclusively through the character of the hero, more precisely, through his word.

A funny person is a person who knows how to feel, empathize, think and reason, and these are the best qualities of the “little man” according to Dostoevsky. Not everyone has such qualities. You can hardly see them in a person with a high position in society. High position, money, power - all this spoils a person, so he cannot have such high qualities. And a person who doesn’t have this can only concentrate on himself. Because he has nothing but his soul.

The “little man” in Dostoevsky’s work has both a heart and a mind. He feels absolutely everything. He passes everything through his heart. Thinks with his mind.

“Little Man” is a microworld, it is a whole universe on a micro scale, and in this world many protests and attempts to escape from a difficult situation can be born. This world is very rich in bright feelings and positive qualities, but this micro-scale universe is subjected to humiliation and oppression by the huge universes. The “little man” is thrown out into the street by life. “Little people” according to Dostoevsky are small only in social status, and not in the inner world. Likewise, a funny person, after his sleep, breaks out of the routine in which he lived and begins new life. An optimistic life, full of faith in people.

The “little man” as depicted by Dostoevsky protests against social injustice. main feature Dostoevsky's worldview is philanthropy, paying attention not to a person's position on the social ladder, but to nature, his soul - these are the main qualities by which a person must be judged. The funny man in the work says: “The main thing is to love others as yourself, that’s the main thing, and that’s all, you don’t need anything else: you’ll immediately find how to get settled.” One of the main lessons of the work is that it is very difficult to love. Especially in our difficult world. Dostoevsky, through his hero, encourages people to love each other. F.M. Dostoevsky wished better life for the pure, kind, selfless, noble, soulful, honest, thinking, sensitive, reasoning, spiritually exalted and trying to protest against injustice; but a poor, practically defenseless, “humiliated and insulted” “little man.” His funny man wants all the people on earth to be happy. Especially when he learned the truth and can convey it to them. People usually don't believe it until they see it. And the hero says that if only they believed, they would have everything right away. And this is an old truth. But even he, a simple man, first needed to see everything first, and then believe it. And that is why he now calls on everyone to believe.

The most important and new thing in the character of a downtrodden person in Dostoevsky is his ability to immersion in oneself , to psychological introspection, reflexes and to corresponding generalizations. Such a person analyzes his own actions, actions, thoughts. It is important for him to understand himself.

That is, in comparison with other writers who explored this topic, the ability of the downtrodden man Dostoevsky to look into himself, the ability of introspection and appropriate actions is manifested here. The writer subjects the characters to detailed self-analysis; no other writer, in essays or stories that sympathetically depicted the life and customs of the urban poor, had such leisurely and concentrated psychological insight and depth of character portrayal characters.

If Pushkin saw in little man ability to protect one's dignity and elevated the nobility of the disenfranchised 14th grade martyr , and Gogol called on society to notice Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin in his humiliation and spiritual mortality, then Dostoevsky presented the reader with the inner world of a man who thinks deeply and sympathizes with the troubles of other inhabitants of the social bottom. His thoughts and spiritual complicity in the destinies of others are expressed in a sentimental form, but they have common sense. He worries with all his soul about the fate of every person on earth. It doesn’t matter the social status of this person, his character, his attitude to life. There are no hopeless people and situations; by saving another, you save yourself. A funny man wants to save everyone, so that everyone learns the truth that he himself once learned.

Dostoevsky is a brilliant writer who examines the sick sides of his contemporary society and paints vivid pictures of Russian reality. The images of “little people” created by the author are imbued with the spirit of protest against social injustice, against the humiliation of man and faith in his high calling.

Dostoevsky's worldview is based on one enduring fundamental value - on love for man, on the recognition of man's spirituality as the main thing. And all of Dostoevsky’s quests are aimed at creating better living conditions worthy of man.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I want to say that with this work I showed how F.M. Dostoevsky revealed the inner world of a common man, his feelings and experiences.

Dostoevsky was one of the first to understand and show the inconsistency and even distortion of the psychology of the “little man”, his not only external, but also internal downtroddenness. In the soul of the poor official, he saw not only a suppressed sense of self-worth, but also a desire to withdraw into his own little world.

In my opinion, N.V. Gogol’s appeal to all humanity with a passionate appeal to pay attention to little people who live next to us.

F.M. Dostoevsky showed enormous human torment, suffering and sorrow. But in the midst of such a nightmare, a “little man” with a pure soul, immeasurable kindness, he is great in moral terms, in his nature.

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Man!... That sounds... proud!

M. Gorky “At the Bottom”

“The Little Man” is one of the main themes of Russian literature. It appeared during the formation of the realistic method. “Little Man” is a social, ethical and psychological phenomenon.
In A. S. Pushkin’s story “The Station Warden,” Samson Vyrin evokes sympathy, pity, and compassion. The author wants to draw the attention of his contemporaries to him. “Little Man” by N.V. Gogol, main character the story “The Overcoat”, even “less” than the stationmaster A.S. Pushkin. Akaki Akakakievich is poor both socially and spiritually; he was completely overwhelmed by life. But Gogol began to study the inner world of the “little man,” although he presented him to us as an ordinary, downtrodden person almost no different from others.

The life around Varenka Dobroselova, a young woman who has experienced many sorrows in her life (the death of her father, mother, lover, persecution of low people), and Makar Devushkin, a poor elderly official, is terrible. Dostoevsky wrote the novel in letters, otherwise the characters would hardly have been able to open their hearts; they were very timid. This form of narration added soulfulness to the entire novel and showed one of Dostoevsky’s main positions that the main thing in the “little man” is his nature.

Makar Alekseevich reads Pushkin’s “The Station Agent” and Gogol’s “The Overcoat”. They shock him, and he sees himself there: “... I’ll tell you, little mother, it will happen that you live, but you don’t know that there’s a book next to you, where your whole life is laid out as if on your fingers.” . Random meetings and conversations with people (an organ grinder, a little beggar boy, a money lender, a watchman) prompt him to think about social life, constant injustice, human relationships that are based on social inequality and money. The “little man” in Dostoevsky’s works has both a heart and a mind. The end of the novel is tragic: Varenka is taken away to certain death by the cruel landowner Bykov, and Makar Devushkin is left alone with his grief.

The scene is “yellow Petersburg”, with its “yellow wallpaper”, “bile”, noisy dirty streets, slums and cramped courtyards. Such is the world of poverty, unbearable suffering, a world in which sick ideas are born in people (Raskolnikov’s theory). Such pictures appear one after another in the novel and create the background against which tragic fates“little people” - Semyon Marmeladov, Sonechka, Dunechka and many others “humiliated and insulted.” The best, purest, noblest natures (Sonya, Dunechka) are falling and will fall as long as painful laws and the sick society that created them exist.

Marmeladov, who lost his human appearance from hopelessness, became an alcoholic and killed by immense grief, did not forget that he was a man, did not lose the feeling of boundless love for his children and wife. Semyon Zakharovich Marmeladov was unable to help his family and himself. His confession in a dirty tavern says that only God will pity the “little man”, and the “little man” is great in his endless suffering. This suffering is taken out into the street in the huge, indifferently cold St. Petersburg. People are indifferent and laugh at Marmeladov’s grief (“Funny man!”, “Why feel sorry for you!”, “He lied”), at the madness of his wife, Katerina Ivanovna, at the dishonor of his young daughter, and at the beating of a half-dead nag (Raskolnikov’s dream ).

“Little Man” is a microcosm, it is a whole universe on a micro scale, and in this world many protests and attempts to escape from a difficult situation can be born. This world is very rich in bright feelings and positive qualities, but this microscale universe is subjected to humiliation and oppression from the huge yellow universes. The “little man” is thrown out into the street by life. “Little people” according to Dostoevsky are small only in their social position, and not in their inner world.

F. M. Dostoevsky opposes the endless moral humiliation of the “little man,” but he rejects the path chosen by Rodion Raskolnikov. He is not a “little man”, he is trying to protest. Raskolnikov's protest is terrible in its essence (“blood according to conscience”) - it deprives a person of his human nature. Also F. M. Dostoevsky opposes the social, bloody revolution. He is for a moral revolution, because the edge of the ax of a bloody revolution will not hit the one for whom the “little man” suffers, but precisely the “little man” who is under the yoke of ruthless people.

F.M. Dostoevsky showed enormous human torment, suffering and sorrow. But in the midst of such a nightmare, a “little man” with a pure soul, immeasurable kindness, but “humiliated and insulted”, he is great in moral terms, in his nature.

The “little man” as depicted by Dostoevsky protests against social injustice. The main feature of Dostoevsky’s worldview is philanthropy, paying attention not to a person’s position on the social ladder, but to nature, his soul - these are the main qualities by which a person must be judged.

F.M. Dostoevsky wanted a better life for the pure, kind, selfless, noble, sincere, honest, thinking, sensitive, reasoning, spiritually exalted and trying to protest against injustice; but a poor, practically defenseless, “humiliated and insulted” “little man.”

In preparing this work, materials from the site http://www.studentu.ru were used

The theme of the “little man” will be truly developed in Crime and Punishment. The desire to be “not small” gives rise to Raskolnikov’s well-known formula: “Am I a trembling creature or do I have the right?”, which again makes it possible to judge the meaning human destiny by earthly standards. In Raskolnikov, Dostoevsky depicted a protest against the fate of the “little man”, taken to the limit - in action, in consciousness, mental and physical state.

Meanwhile, the very feeling of protest is not highly valued by the author, therefore it is a hero like Lebezyatnikov, “an extremely vulgar and simple-minded little man” (“Now I respect you, because you were able to protest”), and “ Raskolnikov’s “protest” theory in the novel is assessed disdainfully (“a so-so theory”). Raskolnikov, who “managed to protest,” will be rejected in resolving the topic of the “little man.” Sonya Marmeladova, figuratively speaking, will preach evangelical morality to him, give him great book, which is the only salvation for the suffering “little man”: being a “little man” turns out to be much more difficult than “protesting”.

In the depiction of the Marmeladovs, the theme of the “little man” acquires semantic completeness. Already in the second chapter, on the “tenth” page of the novel, Semyon Ivanovich Marmeladov will appear preaching the coming transformation of an insignificant and sinful person. Semyon Ivanovich, like Akaki Akakievich, is insignificant in a demonstrative, grotesque way: a titular adviser, but already completely drunk, ragged, beaten and almost insane. Dostoevsky knows how to create the image of a truly fallen man; Marmelad's annoying sweetness, clumsy, florid speech - all the properties of a beer tribune and a jester at the same time - creates an image completely in the spirit of the Gospel tax collectors and harlots. Awareness of his baseness (“I am a born beast”) only strengthens his bravado: if a person is declared a sinner, then Marmeladov ceases to be ashamed of sin; there is neither self-justification nor blaming others for one's fall. Once touching on the ridiculous thesis that everything is to blame " social environment“ (“The environment is stuck”), Dostoevsky generally takes his hero away from the question “who is to blame?” This is how the world works, and Raskolnikov, who claims to be the role of Christ and Mohammed, needed just such a sinner in order to see himself not as a “trembling creature” , but a savior. Note that even in Pushkin, sympathy for the “little man" is fraught with error and sin; this motive is repeated by Dostoevsky in an extreme, exalted form: sympathy pushes Raskolnikov to murder, and Sonya Marmeladova to fornication. Before saving another - evangelically, "heal yourself": the "little ones" do not have the strength to fight, their destiny is precisely compassion, otherwise there is no need for a universal Savior. Perhaps this is what makes the theme of the "little man" so hopelessly tragic: suffering cannot be avoided by earthly means, and when Marmeladov talks about a certain “one such place where they would feel sorry for him,” then such a unique place turns out to be only God’s court. And when Marmeladov says: “I really want to suffer,” he accepts the fate of the “little man” and through suffering he wants not to just “improve” this lot, and get closer to God. Marmeladov’s entire parable about his fate has a pathetic moral, designed in evangelical tones and paraphrasing the words of Christ himself; Marmeladov believes in the future eternal life, where human vice is forgiven: “And now your many sins are forgiven because you loved a lot... Come out, drunken ones, come out, weak ones...”. Marmeladov sees the forgiveness and salvation of the “little man” not in the fact that he strives to avoid sin, but in the fact that these people realized their fall - and this is enough, sin has already been overcome in their souls. The last testament of the “little man”: “Lord, Thy kingdom come,” after which, in fact, Marmeladov can only die. And again we return to the fact that the “little man” is the hero of death, not life: life is monotonous and low; suffering and humiliation are inevitable, and this is the path to God; death is not only the resolution of insoluble knots, but also the last approach to Christ, this is the desire for crucifixion: “Crucify, judge, crucify,” Marmeladov will say. “The Little Man” should sooner or later proclaim such a manifesto in literature.

Dostoevsky shows the inevitably sinful state of the “little man,” whose only hope is the good Divine judgment. Dostoevsky introduces Christian idea directly into the consciousness of his hero, immerses him in the dialectic of the Orthodox worldview, which gives salvation and hope, but not for sinlessness and not for happiness, and especially not for earthly greatness (overcoming “smallness”). In “Crime and Punishment,” Dostoevsky no longer protests against the position of the “little man,” but shows that man is truly “little,” his destiny: to accept this world as suffering, to consciously read the Eternal Book and remember Svidrigailov’s legacy.

2.5. Reflection of the theme of the “little man” in the stories of V.M. Shukshina and
MM. Zoshchenko

The theme of the “little man” and his significance - in the broadest sense of the word -
is one of the most important topics many writers of the 20th century. One of them is V.
M. Shukshin is an author whose heroes are primarily “little people.” Whichever
No matter how much we open Shukshin’s story, we will certainly meet the eccentric inventor,
an inspired storyteller-liar, a self-taught artist, an illiterate writer. About
the author speaks to all of them great love, calling them “bright souls.” Let them
have done nothing for humanity, but their very dreams already characterize these people as
beautiful, bright and clean.

The main character of the story "Mille pardon, madam!" Bronka Pupkov has no consonance
with its own surname, a name is a very common sign of a “little person”, like
and the main character of N.V. Gogol’s “The Overcoat” Bashmachkin. The writer speaks about dissatisfaction with his name: “The child was baptized, and he cried and did
such a grimace, as if he had a presentiment that there would be a titular adviser. Hero
V.M. Shukshin’s story is also not delighted with his name: “The priest came up with a hangover.
I hit him, the maned gelding, once for that. This name needs a surname
suitable. And I am Bronislav Pupkov. Like roll call in the army, so is laughter.” Bronka lives in the village, knows the places well, and accompanies townsfolk on hunts.
Fellow villagers give him this description: “Bronka Pupkov... he is our expert in
these matters. You won't get bored with him. “And they smile somehow strangely.” But the main character is not
sad, tells his astonished listeners year after year the same story about
how he almost shot Hitler. The story is made up from beginning to end. But when
the wife once again reminds Bronka about this, he begins to get angry. And not just
to be angry, but also to suffer and worry. Why does he tell this story with tears?
in front of your eyes? Yes, because he doesn’t just speak, but “lives” it. lives in his soul
thirst for achievement, thirst for something big, beautiful, unusual, which is so unlike
his daily life. But his tragedy lies in the fact that he, the “little man,”
will never be able to live that bright wonderful life, which he invented for himself. That's why
he tries to believe his own story. It's easier for him. It even several times
They summoned me to the village council, told me of conscience, and threatened to take action. But Bronka does not give up, even if in his dreams he will be what he would like to become in life.
Zoshchenko’s stories continue the problematic of works about the “little man.”
However, this is a completely different view, a different interpretation of the old topic in the changed
conditions. Small, inconspicuous, accustomed to express himself " for the most part
prepositions, adverbs and, finally, particles that absolutely do not have
no significance,” the Gogol official was turned into a Soviet employee, for
for whom winning the lottery becomes the limit of earthly dreams, as in his time
new overcoat for Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin.

In order to present central character Zoshchenko's stories, it is necessary
“compose” his portrait from those small features that are scattered over individual
stories. Big topic Zoshchenko reveals himself not in one work, but in his entire
creativity, as if in parts.

Reading Zoshchenko's stories, we learn the psychology of a person accustomed to his
insignificant position in society, to the fact that his fate is nothing compared to
any instruction, order or paragraph. When a person is no longer treated
As a thinking, original person, he gradually loses his sense of self-respect. Hence his admiration for officials, obsequious ingratiation
before those on whom he depends, disbelief in the selflessness of his neighbor, etc. Driver Egorov from the story “ Fun game» suffers humiliating treatment from others
your billiards partner. As a penalty for losing, he offers to cut him off
mustache. Egorov agrees, and this seems wild to everyone present. It turns out that
the nature of the relationships between the players is “programmed” already by their place in the official
hierarchical ladder. Even their address to each other is indicative: Egorova to
to a partner - by “you” and by first name and patronymic; Egorov's partner - exclusively on a first-name basis
and by last name. The winner says: “The other one there makes the driver wait in the cold for three
hours. And I approach people humanely. This is the driver from our establishment, and I always take him
I'll take the heat. I don’t look down on him, but I play billiards with him as a friend.
I teach him and punish him a little. And now they’re picking on me - I just don’t understand.”

He really doesn’t understand, because he is convinced of his nobility. Interesting, really
imagine him with one of the higher-ups.
And what does that “little man”, in this case the driver, feel?
Egorov? What is going on in his soul? Is he worried or used to this kind of
rudeness that became natural in Soviet institutions? Or maybe he’s glad that
He is not forced to freeze outside and is taken “warmly”? Even if so, it's still this
joy is tragedy. The tragedy of a man who became a nonentity due to careless
and the insulting attitude of others towards him.

Wherever the “little man” goes, he always feels humiliated: in
store, clinic, residential office. Because they see him as anyone -
buyer, patient, visitor, but not a person. What remains for him? Resign yourself? Or
hate everyone and everything?

Gorky wrote that suffering “for many people has been and remains their favorite
profession. Never before has suffering aroused feelings of disgust in anyone.
Suffering is the shame of the world, and one must hate it in order to destroy it.”

Zoshchenko hated suffering. He tried his best to make fun of him in order to help
“little people” to overcome their slave position and feel respect for
to ourselves. And then - who knows! - maybe others will see in them not “small”, but
"big" people.

Conclusion.

The "little man" theme is found in literature XIX-XX centuries in connection with historical events of that time and evolves as the situation in social circles changes. And today there are people who say: “I am a small person. What is the demand from me? It's so convenient. This is not a rule, but it often happens in life that cruel and heartless people who insult and degrade the dignity of others end up looking weaker and more insignificant than their victims.

What is a “little man”? In what sense is “small”? This one is small
a person precisely in social terms, since he occupies one of the lower steps
hierarchical ladder. His place in society is little or not noticeable.

This man is “small” also because the world of his spiritual life and human
claims are also extremely narrowed, impoverished, surrounded by all sorts of prohibitions.
For him, for example, there are no historical and philosophical problems. He resides in
narrow and vicious circle their life interests.

Over time, the “little man”, deprived of his own dignity,
“humiliated and insulted” evokes not only compassion among progressive writers,
but also condemnation. “You live a boring life, gentlemen,” Chekhov said with his creativity
to the “little man” who has come to terms with his situation. And in the 21st century we see in,
that the “little man” is not so small, he is capable of actions that can save
not only his family, but the entire Earth. There are no small people, everyone lives and
experience, feel and suffer equally. Every person is an individual.

List of used literature:

Afanasyev E.S. About the fiction story by N.V. Gogol’s “The Overcoat” // Literature in
school. – 2002. - No. 6. – p. 20 – 24.
Bocharov S. Petersburg stories by Gogol // Gogol N.V. Petersburg stories. – M.:
Sov. Russia, 1978. – p. 197-207.

History of Russian literature of the 19th century. 1800 – 1830s/Under
ed. V.N. Anoshkina, S.M. Petrova. – M.: Education, 1989. –
448 p.
Lebedev Yu.V. Historical and philosophical lesson of Gogol’s “Overcoat” //
Literature at school. – 2002. - No. 6. – p.27 – 3.

Truntseva T.N. Cross-cutting themes in Russian literature of the 19th century. The theme of "small
person" // Literature at school. – 2010. - No. 2. – p. 30 – 32.
1400 new golden pages // Ed. D.S. Antonov. – M.: House Slavic book, 2005. – 1400 p.
Shukshin V.M. « Books build entire destinies” // Shukshin V.M. Collection
works in five volumes. - B.: "Venda", 1992. - Reissue - E.: IPP "Ural"
worker".

INTERNET RESOURCES

http://litraxixveka.ru/kritiki.htm
("Golden Age" in Russian literature)
http://malchel.narod.ru/karam.htm

("Evolution of the Little Man")

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