The letter is about which is stronger, good or evil. Essay on the topic of good and evil reasoning

Good and evil in the works of Russian writers were the center of attention. The writers reflected in their Works of Russian writers these moral categories by different means.

Pushkin touches on the theme of evil several times. In the poem "Anchar" the author believes that evil should balance good. Nature has set aside a place for evil at the edge of the universe. People who are driven by the thirst for power, wealth, envy (of the king) and fear (of the slave) became the spreaders of evil throughout the earth. These feelings are conductors of evil. Money can play a similar role in a person’s life. They make people lose noble knightly qualities, family ties, love (“ Stingy Knight"). They poison the creative process (“Egyptian Nights”). One of the main manifestations of evil is violence. Its use leads to tragedy. Pushkin denies it in the ode “Liberty”, in prose works"Dubrovsky", "The Captain's Daughter".
Power acquired through violence will not receive recognition from the people (“Boris Godunov”). A person who chooses the path of crime cannot be a creative person.

Genius and villainy are incompatible (“Mozart and Salieri”), Pushkin’s humanism lies in the conclusion that any Evil always punishable. He sees a good beginning in nature (“I visited again...”), in art (the image of Mozart, “The Poet”), in natural human feelings of love and friendship (“I remember wonderful moment", "October 19, 1827").

Lermontov's creative heyday occurred in a darker decade than Pushkin's. Lermontov developed the theme of evil more sharply. He divides evil into two types. Evil The author respects the romantic for its strength and awareness of doom. This is revealed in the cycle of poems about Napoleon and in the poem “The Demon”. Another evil comes from society. This is the evil of the “mocking ignoramuses,” high-society philistines who persecuted Pushkin (“The Death of a Poet,” “How often, surrounded by a motley crowd...”).

Pushkin writes bitterly about the crowd that does not understand the poet. Lermontov strengthens this motive (“Prophet”). For him, people of light are the bearers of evil. Lermontov's heroes, actively pursuing life, rush between good and evil (“Hero of Our Time”). Good in creativity Lermontov is concentrated in nature, where lyrical hero resonates psychological state("I go out alone on the road").

Gogol has a different concept. He put everything together Evil in Russia, contrasting him with faith in the spiritual revival of his homeland. Gogol gave pictures of evil from mystical images ancient evil (“Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”, “Viy”, “ Terrible revenge") to the point of evil in contemporary society. The spirit of demonism enters real people and intertwined with petty philistine evil. This is the story of the terrible portrait and the fate of the artist Chertkov, who exchanged his creative soul with money, who sold himself to the devil (“Portrait”). In "The Inspector General", "Overcoat", " Dead souls“The writer gives an extensive description of small but numerous evils, showing their danger to society and the human soul.

At Nekrasov's Evil has a specific social background. The real source of evil is serfdom. It allows the nobleman to live in idleness and disdain the people (“ Railway", chapter 3). Serfdom transforms spiritually free man into a slave (“Hey, Ivan!” and chapters from the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus',” “The Last One,” “About the Faithful Yakov, an Exemplary Slave”). Good in creativity Nekrasova also has a social connotation. The poet's goodness has a connotation of sacrifice (“The Poet and the Citizen,” “On the Day of Gogol’s Death,” “N. G. Chernyshevsky,” “A Knight for an Hour”). The poet sees the moral principles of Russian life in the people's soul:

Burned in slavery
The sun is free.
Gold, gold -
People's heart.

(“Rus”, song by Grisha Dobrosklonov from the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'”)

L. Tolstoy agrees with Nekrasov in his assessment of serfdom and violence against the individual. Tolstoy views the concepts of good and evil philosophically. If a person lives in harmony with the world around him and his own nature, then he was created for good (Karataev). If people lose their national roots and try to remake their human essence in order to rise above those around them, then they fall into evil. In War and Peace such characters are Napoleon and Kuragin. They are contrasted with Bolkonsky, Kutuzov, and Rostov, who are spiritually connected with nature and the people. Tolstoy considers war to be the greatest evil.

Dostoevsky talks about good and evil passionately. He reveals the origins of evil. Social side life is the background of the story about the struggle between God and the devil in the human soul. good and evil exist in the world in balance.

Raskolnikov (“Crime and Punishment”) suffers from social evil and chooses the most terrible form in the fight against injustice. Compulsory good, based on violence, degenerates into evil. Initially, Raskolnikov feels like a liberator of humanity from harmful bloodsuckers. But in the end it turns out that he “killed it for himself.” Sonya helps Raskolnikov make a paradoxical turn towards goodness. Sonya steps over herself for the well-being of others, keeping her soul pure. The path from evil to good lies through suffering, repentance, and purification of the soul. Raskolnikov experiences all this in the epilogue, and the light of truth is revealed to him. Dostoevsky leaves any deeply fallen person the right to repent and rise to the light from the depths of hell.

Good and evil in the works of Russian writers occupy important place, because these moral categories are decisive in the spiritual life of humanity. Classical literature sought to reveal the deadly nature of evil and protect the soul from its destructive influence.

Good and evil are two opposite elements that cannot exist without each other. If there were no evil, man would never know good, and vice versa. We begin to encounter the concepts of “good” and “evil” back in early childhood. For example, as a virgin we are told that the dog is evil, and we are already afraid to approach it.

A child’s introduction to the concepts of good and evil usually begins with famous fairy tales. Good in fairy tales defeats evil, despite the power and insidiousness of evil. This is how we begin to understand for the first time that it is bad to be evil, that only good deeds are truly valuable. And evil deeds are always punishable. Everything we do comes back to us, just like good always returns to a person with reciprocal good, and evil brings reciprocal evil to the one who created it.

As Leopold the Cat said, “Hurry to do good deeds,” in his song he sings that “it’s more fun for the kind to live in this world.” But is good always done for the good? It also happens that good turns from good into evil. For example, one friend may give you a write-off homework comrade. It seems he did good deed, but only if you do not take into account the fact that your comrade did not receive any knowledge.

If you look at the root of the problem, it will look something like this. The student easily got a good mark, it would seem that it did not matter, which was absolutely undeserved. But another time, he will also easily receive something else, given to him just like that out of good intentions: they will clean his dorm room for him, then they will cover up his absence from work. So a person will eventually get used to irresponsibility. He will no longer be able to answer for his actions and will bring evil to others, especially close people.

Every person, when deciding to commit some action, must think about whether it is for the good, even if at first glance this action is dictated only by the best intentions.

Along with the article “Essay on the topic “Good and Evil”” read:

The confrontation between good and evil in works of Russian literature

Author of the project:

10th grade student

Daria Sayapina

Lugobolotnaya Secondary School

Problematic question

How does it happen in life: does good or evil win?

Target

find out whether in all works of Russian literature there is a confrontation between good and evil, and who wins in this battle?

Tasks

• collect historical and literary information on the problem of the confrontation between good and evil in Russian literature

• explore a number of works of classical literature containing the problem of the struggle between good and evil

• make a comparison table

• prepare abstract material on the stated topic

• develop skills in working with different sources

• make a presentation of the project at the literary lounge

• take part in a school conference

My guesses

Suppose there were no evil in the world. Then life wouldn't be interesting. Evil always accompanies good, and the struggle between them is nothing more than life. Fiction is a reflection of life, which means that in every work there is a place for the struggle between good and evil, and good probably wins.

Social results survey

"Vasilisa the Beautiful"

Good has prevailed over evil.

Stepmother and her daughters

turned into coal

and Vasilisa began to live

happily ever after

with the prince in contentment

and happiness

"Ivan the Peasant Son and the Miracle Yudo"

“Then Ivan jumped out of the forge, grabbed the snake and hit it against a stone with all his might. The snake crumbled into fine dust, and the wind scattered that dust in all directions. Since then, all the miracles and snakes in that region have disappeared - people began to live without fear.”

“The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights” by A.S. Pushkin

Evil, the poet claims, is not omnipotent, it is defeated. The evil queen-stepmother, although she “took everything with her mind,” is not confident in herself. And if the queen-mother died from the power of her love, then the queen-stepmother dies from envy and melancholy. With this, Pushkin showed the internal failure and doom of evil.

"Eugene Onegin" A.S. Pushkin

Kind, pure and sincere Tatyana deserves happiness and mutual love, but Onegin’s coldness and arrogance destroy all her dreams.

• Dunya's kindness and sensitivity, embedded in her character by her loving parents, disappears under the influence of another feeling.

• Selfishness and lies destroyed the family, made Dunya unhappy, and led to the death of Samson Vyrin.

"Mtsyri" M.Yu. Lermontov

• Obsessive goodness turns around

for Mtsyri with suffering,

grief and ultimately death

"The Inspector General" N.V. Gogol

“Thunderstorm” A. N. Ostrovsky

Everything is against Katerina, even her own concepts of good and evil. No, she will never return to her old life.

But how can death be a victory over evil?

"Dowry" A.N. Ostrovsky

• An amazing girl carries within herself

good beginnings. Unfortunately,

Larisa dies... and her death -

this is the only worthy way out,

because only then will she

will cease to be a thing

“Crime and Punishment” F.M. Dostoevsky

The main philosophical question of the novel

- boundaries of good and evil

conclusion

Project prospects

Working on the project gave me the idea:

is there in the literature of the 20th century and in modern literature the concepts of good and evil, or in modern literature there is only the concept of evil, and good has completely eradicated itself?

Social significance of the project:

work materials can be used in literature lessons, extracurricular activities. The work requires continuation: studies of the problem of good and evil in the literature of the 20th century and in modern literature

literature school No. 28

Nizhnekamsk, 2012

1. Introduction 3

2. “The Life of Boris and Gleb” 4

3. “Eugene Onegin” 5

4. "Demon" 6

5. “The Brothers Karamazov” and “Crime and Punishment” 7

6. “Thunderstorm” 10

7. " White Guard" and "The Master and Margarita" 12

8. Conclusion 14

9. List of references 15

1. Introduction

My work will focus on good and evil. The problem of good and evil is eternal problem, which has and will continue to excite humanity. When we are read fairy tales as children, in the end, good almost always wins, and the fairy tale ends with the phrase: “And they all lived happily ever after...”. We are growing, and over time it becomes clear that this is not always the case. However, it does not happen that a person is absolutely pure in soul, without a single flaw. Each of us has shortcomings, and there are many of them. But this does not mean that we are evil. We have a lot of good qualities. So the theme of good and evil already arises in ancient Russian literature. As it says in the “Teaching of Vladimir Monomakh”: “... Think, my children, how merciful and merciful God, the Lover of Mankind, is to us. We are sinful and mortal people, and yet, if someone does us harm, we are ready, it seems, to immediately pin him and take revenge; and the Lord, the Lord of belly (life) and death, endures our sins for us, although they exceed our heads, and throughout our entire life, like a father who loves his child, he punishes and again draws us to Himself. He showed us how to get rid of the enemy and defeat him - with three virtues: repentance, tears and alms...”

"Teaching" - not only literary work, but also an important monument of social thought. Vladimir Monomakh, one of the most authoritative Kyiv princes, tries to convince his contemporaries of the harmfulness of internecine strife - weakened by internal hostility, Rus' will not be able to actively resist external enemies.

In my work I want to trace how this problem has changed among different authors in different times. Of course, I will dwell in more detail only on individual works.

2. “The Life of Boris and Gleb”

We find a pronounced opposition between good and evil in the work ancient Russian literature“The Life and Death of Boris and Gleb”, written by Nestor, a monk of the Kiev Pechersk Monastery. Historical background events is like this. Dies in 1015 old prince Vladimir, who wanted to appoint his son Boris, who was not in Kyiv at that time, as heir. Boris's brother Svyatopolk, planning to seize the throne, orders to kill Boris and his younger brother Gleb. Miracles begin to happen near their bodies, abandoned in the steppe. After the victory of Yaroslav the Wise over Svyatopolk, the bodies were reburied and the brothers were proclaimed saints.

Svyatopolk thinks and acts at the instigation of the devil. The “historiographical” introduction to the life corresponds to the ideas about the unity of the world historical process: the events that took place in Rus' are only a special case of the eternal struggle between God and the devil - good and evil.

“The Life of Boris and Gleb” is a story about the martyrdom of saints. The main theme determined and artistic structure Such a work, the opposition of good and evil, martyr and torturers, dictated the special tension and “poster-like” directness of the climactic murder scene: it should be long and moralizing.

He took his own look at the problem of good and evil in the novel “Eugene Onegin.”

3. “Eugene Onegin”

The poet does not divide his characters into positive and negative. He gives each of the heroes several contradictory assessments, forcing you to look at the heroes from several points of view. Pushkin wanted to achieve maximum lifelikeness.

Onegin's tragedy lies in the fact that he rejected Tatyana's love, fearing to lose his freedom, and could not break with the light, realizing its insignificance. In a depressed state of mind, Onegin left the village and “began wandering.” The hero who returned from the journey is not like the former Onegin. Now he will no longer be able, as before, to go through life, completely ignoring the feelings and experiences of the people he encountered, and think only about himself. He has become much more serious, more attentive to others, now he is capable of strong feelings, completely captivating him and shaking his soul. And then fate brings him and Tatyana together again. But Tatyana refuses him, since she was able to see the selfishness, the egoism that lay at the basis of his feelings for her. her soul.

In Onegin’s soul there is a struggle between good and evil, but in the end good wins. ABOUT future fate we don't know the hero. But perhaps he would have become a Decembrist, to which the whole logic of the development of character, which changed under the influence of a new circle of life impressions, led..

4. "Demon"

The theme runs through the entire work of the poet, but I want to dwell only on this work, because in it the problem of good and evil is considered very acutely. The demon, the personification of evil, loves earthly woman Tamara is ready to be reborn into goodness for her sake, but Tamara by her nature is not capable of responding to his love. The earthly world and the world of spirits cannot come together, the girl dies from one kiss of the Demon, and his passion remains unquenched.

At the beginning of the poem, the Demon is evil, but by the end it becomes clear that this evil can be eradicated. Tamara initially represents good, but she causes the Demon suffering since she cannot respond to his love, which means that for him she becomes evil.

5. "The Brothers Karamazov"

The history of the Karamazovs is not just a family chronicle, but a typified and generalized image of modern intelligentsia Russia. This epic work about the past, present and future of Russia. From a genre point of view, this is a complex work. It is a fusion of “life” and “novel”, philosophical “poems” and “teachings”, confessions, ideological disputes and judicial speeches. The main issues are the philosophy and psychology of “crime and punishment”, the struggle between “God” and “the devil” in the souls of people.

Dostoevsky formulated the main idea of ​​the novel “The Brothers Karamazov” in the epigraph “Truly, truly, I say to you: if a grain of wheat falls into the ground and does not die, it will bear much fruit” (Gospel of John). This is the thought of the renewal that inevitably occurs in nature and in life, which is certainly accompanied by the dying of the old. The breadth, tragedy, and invincibility of the process of life renewal were explored by Dostoevsky in all its depth and complexity. The thirst for overcoming the ugly and ugly in consciousness and actions, the hope for moral revival and initiation into a pure, righteous life overwhelm all the heroes of the novel. Hence the “strain”, the fall, the frenzy of the heroes, their despair.

At the center of this novel is the figure of the young commoner Rodion Raskolnikov, who succumbed to new ideas, new theories floating around in society. Raskolnikov is a thinking man. He creates a theory in which he tries not only to explain the world, but also to develop his own morality. He is convinced that humanity is divided into two categories: some “have the right,” and others are “trembling creatures” who serve as “material” for history. Raskolnikov came to this theory as a result of observations of contemporary life, in which the minority is allowed everything, and the majority nothing. Dividing people into two categories inevitably raises Raskolnikov’s question about what type he himself belongs to. And to find out this, he decides on a terrible experiment, he plans to sacrifice an old woman - a pawnbroker, who, in his opinion, brings only harm, and therefore deserves death. The action of the novel is structured as a refutation of Raskolnikov's theory and his subsequent recovery. By killing the old woman, Raskolnikov placed himself outside of society, including even his beloved mother and sister. The feeling of being cut off and alone becomes a terrible punishment for the criminal. Raskolnikov becomes convinced that he was mistaken in his hypothesis. He experiences the torments and doubts of an “ordinary” criminal. At the end of the novel, Raskolnikov picks up the Gospel - this symbolizes the hero’s spiritual turning point, the victory of the good beginning in the hero’s soul over his pride, which gives rise to evil.

Raskolnikov, it seems to me, is generally very controversial personality. In many episodes to modern man he is difficult to understand: many of his statements are refuted by each other. Raskolnikov's mistake is that he did not see in his idea the crime itself, the evil that he committed.

Raskolnikov’s condition is characterized by the author with words such as “gloomy,” “depressed,” “indecisive.” I think this shows the incompatibility of Raskolnikov's theory with life. Although he is convinced that he is right, this conviction is something not very confident. If Raskolnikov were right, then Dostoevsky would describe the events and his feelings not in gloomy yellow tones, but in light ones, but they appear only in the epilogue. He was wrong in taking on the role of God, in having the courage to decide for Him who should live and who should die.

Raskolnikov constantly fluctuates between faith and unbelief, good and evil, and Dostoevsky fails to convince the reader even in the epilogue that the gospel truth has become Raskolnikov’s truth.

So Raskolnikov’s own doubts were reflected in his searches, mental anguish and dreams, internal struggle, debates with himself that Dostoevsky constantly wages.

6. "Thunderstorm"

in his work “The Thunderstorm” also touches on the theme of good and evil.

In “The Thunderstorm,” according to the critic, “the mutual relations of tyranny and voicelessness are brought to the most tragic consequences. Dobrolyubov considers Katerina a force that can resist the skeletal old world, a new force brought up by this kingdom and shaking its foundations.

In the play "The Thunderstorm" two strong and integral character Katerina Kabanova, a merchant's wife, and her mother-in-law Marfa Kabanova, who has long been nicknamed Kabanikha.

The main difference between Katerina and Kabanikha, the difference that takes them to different poles, is that following the traditions of antiquity for Katerina is a spiritual need, but for Kabanikha it is an attempt to find the necessary and only support in anticipation of the collapse of the patriarchal world. She does not think about the essence of the order that she protects; she has emptied the meaning and content from it, leaving only the form, thereby turning it into dogma. Beautiful essence ancient traditions and she turned customs into a meaningless ritual, which made them unnatural. We can say that Kabanikha in “The Thunderstorm” (as well as Wild) personifies a phenomenon characteristic of the crisis state of the patriarchal way of life, and not inherent in it initially. The deadening effect of boars and wild animals on living life manifests itself with particular clarity precisely when life forms are deprived of their previous content and are preserved as museum relics.. Katerina represents best qualities patriarchal life in their pristine purity.

Thus, Katerina belongs to the patriarchal world - including all other characters. Artistic purpose the latter - to outline the reasons for the doom of the patriarchal world as fully and multi-structured as possible. So, Varvara learned to deceive and take advantage of opportunities; she, like Kabanikha, follows the principle: “do what you want, as long as it’s safe and covered.” It turns out that Katerina in this drama is good, and the rest of the characters are representatives of evil.

7. "White Guard"

The novel tells about the events of the years when Kyiv was abandoned by German troops, who surrendered the city to the Petliurists. Officers of the former tsarist army were betrayed to the mercy of the enemy.

At the center of the story is the fate of one such officer family. For the Turbins, a sister and two brothers, the fundamental concept is honor, which they understand as service to the fatherland. But in the twists and turns Civil War the fatherland ceased to exist, and the usual landmarks disappeared. The turbines are trying to find a place for themselves in a world that is changing before our eyes, to preserve their humanity, the goodness of their souls, and not to become embittered. And the heroes succeed.

The novel contains an appeal to the Higher Powers, which must save people in a timeless period. Alexey Turbin has a dream in which both Whites and Reds go to heaven (Paradise), because both are loved by God. This means that in the end good must win.

The devil, Woland, comes to Moscow with an audit. He observes the Moscow petty bourgeoisie and passes judgment on them. The climax of the novel is Woland's ball, after which he learns the Master's story. Woland takes the Master under his protection.

After reading a novel about himself, Yeshua (in the novel he is a representative of the forces of Light) decides that the Master, the creator of the novel, is worthy of Peace. The master and his beloved die, and Woland accompanies them to the place where they will now live. This is a pleasing house, the very embodiment of an idyll. This is how a person, tired of the battles of life, receives what his soul was striving for. Bulgakov hints that in addition to the posthumous state, defined as “Peace,” there is another highest state– “Light”, but the Master is not worthy of Light. Researchers are still arguing why the Master was denied Light. In this sense, the statement of I. Zolotussky is interesting: “It is the Master himself who punishes himself for the fact that love has left his soul. The one who leaves home or who is abandoned by love does not deserve the Light... Even Woland is lost before this tragedy of fatigue, the tragedy of the desire to leave the world, to leave life.”

Bulgakov's novel is about the eternal struggle between good and evil. This is a work dedicated not to fate a certain person, families or even groups of people somehow connected with each other - he considers the fate of all humanity in its historical development. The time interval of almost two thousand years, separating the action of the novel about Jesus and Pilate and the novel about the Master, only emphasizes that the problems of good and evil, the freedom of the human spirit, and his relationship with society are eternal, enduring problems that are relevant for a person of any era.

Bulgakov's Pilate is not at all shown as a classic villain. The procurator does not want to harm Yeshua, to cruelty and social injustice It was his cowardice that brought him on. It is fear that makes good, intelligent and brave people blind weapons of evil will. Cowardice is an extreme expression of internal subordination, lack of freedom of spirit, and human dependence. It is also especially dangerous because, once having come to terms with it, a person is no longer able to get rid of it. Thus, the powerful procurator turns into a pitiful, weak-willed creature. But the vagabond philosopher is strong with his naive faith in goodness, which neither the fear of punishment nor the spectacle of universal injustice can take away from him. In the image of Yeshua, Bulgakov embodied the idea of ​​goodness and unchanging faith. Despite everything, Yeshua continues to believe that the evil ones bad people not in the world. He dies on the cross with this faith.

The clash of opposing forces is most clearly presented at the end of the novel “The Master and Margarita,” when Woland and his retinue leave Moscow. What do we see? “Light” and “darkness” are on the same level. Woland does not rule the world, but Yeshua does not rule the world either.

8.Conclusion

What is good and what is evil on earth? As you know, two opposing forces cannot help but come into conflict with each other, therefore the struggle between them is eternal. As long as man exists on earth, good and evil will exist. Thanks to evil, we understand what good is. And good, in turn, reveals evil, illuminating a person’s path to the truth. There will always be a struggle between good and evil.

Thus, I came to the conclusion that the forces of good and evil in the world of literature are equal. They exist in the world side by side, constantly confronting and arguing with each other. And their struggle is eternal, because there is no person on Earth who has never committed a sin in his life, and there is no person who has completely lost the ability to do good.

9. List of references used

1. “Introduction to the Temple of the Word.” Ed. 3rd, 2006

2. Big school encyclopedia, Tomg.

3., plays, novels. Comp., intro. and note. . True, 1991

4. “Crime and Punishment”: Novel - M.: Olympus; TKO AST, 1996

1. Features of the interaction of good and evil in folk tales.
2. Changing the approach to the relationship between heroes and antagonists.
3. Differences in the relationship between positive and negative heroes.
4. Blurring the boundaries between concepts.

Despite the apparent diversity artistic images and characters, fundamental categories have always existed and will exist in world literature, the opposition of which, on the one hand, is main reason development storyline, and on the other hand, encourages the individual to develop moral criteria. The vast majority of heroes of world literature can easily be classified into one of two camps: defenders of Good and adherents of Evil. These abstract concepts can be embodied in visible, living images.

The significance of the categories of Good and Evil in culture and human life no doubt. A clear definition of these concepts allows an individual to establish himself in life, evaluating his own and other people’s actions from the point of view of what should and should not be done. Many philosophical and religious systems are based on the idea of ​​opposition between two principles. So is it any wonder that characters in fairy tales and legends embody opposite traits? However, it should be noted that if the idea of ​​​​the behavior of heroes embodying the evil principle changed little over time, then the idea of ​​​​what the response to their actions by representatives of Good should be did not remain unchanged. Let us first consider how victorious heroes dealt with their evil opponents in fairy tales.

For example, the fairy tale “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. The evil stepmother, using witchcraft, tries to destroy her stepdaughter, jealous of her beauty, but all the machinations of the witch turn out to be in vain. Good triumphs. Snow White not only remains alive, but also marries Prince Charming. However, what does the victorious Good do with the losing Evil? The ending of the tale seems to have been taken from a narrative about the activities of the Inquisition: “But iron shoes had already been placed on the burning coals for her, they were brought, held with tongs, and placed in front of her. And she had to step her feet into red-hot shoes and dance in them until she finally fell, dead, to the ground.”

A similar attitude towards a defeated enemy is typical of many fairy tales. But it should be noted right away that the point here is not the increased aggressiveness and cruelty of Good, but the peculiarities of the understanding of justice in ancient times, because the plots of most fairy tales were formed a very long time ago. “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” - this is the ancient formula of retribution. Moreover, heroes who embody the traits of Good not only have the right to brutally deal with a defeated enemy, but must do so, because revenge is a duty assigned to man by the gods.

However, the concept gradually changed under the influence of Christianity. A. S. Pushkin in “The Tale of dead princess and about the seven heroes" used a plot almost identical to "Snow White". And in Pushkin’s text, the evil stepmother did not escape punishment - but how is it carried out?

Then sadness took over her,
And the queen died.

Inevitable retribution does not occur as the arbitrariness of mortal victors: it is the judgment of God. In Pushkin’s fairy tale there is no medieval fanaticism, the description of which involuntarily makes the reader shiver; the author's humanism and goodies only emphasizes the greatness of God (even if He is not mentioned directly), the highest justice.

The “longing” that “took” the queen—isn’t it conscience, which the ancient sages called “the Eye of God in man”?

So, in the ancient, pagan understanding, representatives of Good differ from representatives of Evil in the ways of achieving their goals and the undoubted right to something that their enemies are trying to take away - but not at all by a kinder, more humane attitude towards the defeated enemy.

In the works of writers who have absorbed Christian traditions, the unconditional right of positive heroes to carry out merciless reprisals against those who could not withstand the temptation and took the side of Evil is questioned: “And count those who should live, but they are dead. Can you resurrect them? But no, don’t rush to condemn anyone to death. For even the wisest are not given to foresee everything” (D. Tolkien “The Lord of the Rings”). “Now he is fallen, but it is not for us to judge him: who knows, maybe he will still rise,” says Frodo, main character Tolkien's epics. This work raises the problem of the ambiguity of Good. Yes, representatives bright side may share mistrust and even fear, moreover, no matter how wise, courageous and kind you are, there is always the possibility that you can lose these virtues and join the camp of villains (perhaps without consciously wanting this). A similar transformation occurs with the magician Saruman, whose original mission was to fight Evil, embodied in the person of Sauron. It threatens anyone who wishes to possess the One Ring. However, Tolkien does not even hint at Sauron's possible reformation. Although Evil is also not monolithic and ambiguous, it is to a greater extent is an irreversible condition.

The works of writers who continued the tradition of Tolkien present different views on what and which of Tolkien's characters should be considered Good and Evil. Currently, one can find works in which Sauron and his teacher Melkor, a kind of Lucifer of Middle-earth, do not act as negative heroes. Their struggle with other creators of the World is not so much a conflict of two opposite principles, but rather the result of misunderstanding and rejection of Melkor’s non-standard decisions.

In fantasy, which was formed on the basis of fairy tales and legends, clear boundaries between Good and Evil are gradually blurring. Everything is relative: Good is again not so humane (as it was in ancient tradition), but Evil is far from black - rather, it is denigrated by enemies. The literature reflects the processes of rethinking previous values, the real embodiment of which is often far from ideal, and the tendency towards an ambiguous understanding of the multifaceted phenomena of existence. However, it should be remembered that in the worldview of every person, the categories of Good and Evil should still have a fairly clear structure. Moses, Christ and other great teachers said long ago about what is considered real Evil. Evil is the violation of the great commandments that should determine human behavior.