The problem of the poem is who lives well in Rus'. Analysis of the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” (Nekrasov)

The problem of national happiness in Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'”

Nekrasov conceived the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” as “ folk book" He began writing it in 1863 and ended up terminally ill in 1877. The poet dreamed that his book would be close to the peasantry.

At the center of the poem is a collective image of the Russian peasantry, the image of the guardian of their native land. The poem reflects a man's joys and sorrows, doubts and hopes, thirst for freedom and happiness. All major events The lives of a peasant fit into this work. The plot of the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is close to the folk tale about the search for happiness and truth. But the peasants who set out on the journey are not pilgrim pilgrims. They are a symbol of awakening Russia.

Among the peasants depicted by Nekrasov, we see many persistent seekers of truth. First of all, these are seven men. Their the main objective- find “man's happiness.” And until they find him, the men decided

Don't toss and turn in the houses,

Don't see your wives

Not with the little guys...

But besides them, in the poem there are seekers of national happiness. One of them is shown by Nekrasov in the chapter “ drunken night" This is Yakim Nagoy. In his appearance and speech one can feel his inner dignity, unbroken by any hard work, nor a powerless situation. Yakim argues with the “smart master” Pavlusha Veretennikov. He defends men from the reproach that they “drink until they stupefy.” Yakim is smart, he understands perfectly why life is so difficult for peasants. His rebellious spirit does not resign himself to such a life. A formidable warning sounds in the mouth of Yakim Nagoy:

Every peasant

Soul, like a black cloud,

Angry, menacing - and it should be

Thunder will roar from there...

The chapter “Happy” tells about another man - Ermil Girin. He became famous throughout the region for his intelligence and selfless devotion to the interests of the peasants. The story about Ermil Girin begins with a description of the hero's litigation with the merchant Altynnikov over the orphan mill. Ermila turns to the people for help.

And a miracle happened

Throughout the market square

Every peasant has

Like the wind, half left

Suddenly it turned upside down!

Yermil is endowed with a sense of justice. Only once did he stumble when he excluded “his younger brother Mitri from recruiting.” But this act cost him severe torment; in a fit of repentance, he almost committed suicide. At a critical moment, Ermila Girin sacrifices her happiness for the sake of the truth and ends up in prison.

We see that the heroes of the poem understand happiness differently. in different ways. From the point of view of the priest, this is “peace, wealth, honor.” According to the landowner, happiness is idle, well-fed, happy life, unlimited power over the peasants. In search of wealth and power, “a huge, greedy crowd is heading towards temptation,” writes Nekrasov.

In the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus',” Nekrasov also touches on the problem of women’s happiness. It is revealed through the image of Matryona Timofeevna. This is a typical peasant woman of the Central Russian strip, endowed with restrained beauty, filled with self-esteem. On her shoulders fell not only the entire burden of peasant labor, but also responsibility for the fate of the family, for raising children. The image of Matryona Timofeevna is collective. She experienced everything that can befall a Russian woman. The difficult fate of Matryona Timofeevna gives her the right to say to wanderers on behalf of all Russian women:

The keys to female happiness,

From our free will,

Abandoned, lost

From God himself!

Nekrasov reveals the problem of people's happiness in the poem also with the help of the image of the people's intercessor Grisha Dobrosklonov. He is the son of a sexton who lived “poorer than the last shabby peasant” and “an unrequited farmhand.” A hard life gives rise to protest in this person. From childhood he decides that he will devote his life to the search for national happiness.

About fifteen years old

Gregory already knew for sure

What will live for happiness

Wretched and dark

Native corner

Grisha Dobrosklonov does not need wealth and personal well-being. His happiness lies in the triumph of the cause to which he devoted his entire life. Nekrasov writes what fate had in store for him

The path is glorious, the name is loud

People's Defender,

Consumption and Siberia.

But he does not back down from the challenges ahead. Grisha Dobrosklonov sees that many millions of people are already awakening:

An innumerable host rises,

The strength in her will be indestructible!

And this fills his soul with joy. He believes in a happy future for his native land and this is precisely the happiness of Gregory himself. To the question of the poem, Nekrasov himself answers that fighters for people’s happiness live well in Rus':

If only our wanderers could be under their own roof,

If only they could know what was happening to Grisha.

He heard the immense strength in his chest,

The sounds of grace delighted his ears,

The radiant sounds of the noble hymn -

He sang the embodiment of people's happiness.

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The poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” occupies a central place in Nekrasov’s work. It became a kind of artistic result of more than twenty years of work by the author, in which all the problems that worried him were rethought. Nekrasov not only created special genre socio-philosophical poem, he subordinated it to his ultimate task: to show the developing picture of Russia in its past, present and future.

The poem was conceived as a “peasant epic.” Its heroes were ordinary Russian men. Nekrasov looks with hope at the seven truth-seekers who wished to unravel the secret of happiness and set off on a difficult journey. A whole string of characters passes before us. Each of them has its own story, but together they form a collective image of the Russian people. By drawing a generalized portrait, the poet strives to preserve in it personality traits such different and unique people. We see both mass folk scenes and the fates of individual heroes. Nekrasov often takes readers to places where large numbers of people gather. In one of the chapters we find ourselves at a village fair, a favorite peasant holiday. It's fun here, loud, drunken. But the picture of the holiday does not prevent the poet from coming to the disappointing conclusion that the happiness of the men is “hunchbacked with calluses, full of holes with patches.”

Nekrasov does not idealize the peasants. Among them there are those who are content and even proud of the position of a slave. The author of the work is merciless towards “people of servile rank”. " Real dogs“He calls the peasant, who boasts of his master’s disease gout, Ipat, the slave Utyatin, the faithful Yakov, “an exemplary slave.” Such people have long lost their sense of human dignity, and with it their national pride.

Nekrasov contrasts them with “people's defenders.” Yakim Nagoy appears first. This is a man-philosopher, he conducts a deep analysis of the situation of the people. The poet puts into his mouth a story about the lack of rights and economic dependence of the peasant on his “shareholders” - “God, the Tsar and the Master.” Yakim Nagoy himself lives as a bitter poor man, but he has a literary, creative soul. What he takes out of the burning house is not his hard-earned money, but “pictures.”

If Yakim Nagoy stands up for the people with his word, then Ermila Girin, being the headman, tries to protect the interests of the men. He is characterized by a people's mind and incorruptible honesty. Girin is respected among the peasants. He earned trust through justice and kindness. This man is having a hard time with his only offense against society - an attempt to protect his brother from being recruited at the expense of another peasant. Girin atones for his guilt with nationwide repentance.

Savely becomes the embodiment of the mighty forces of the people. The poet calls him a hero, returning us to ancient Russian epics. The story of Saveliy and his like-minded people reveals to readers the people's primordial dream of freedom and the right to dispose of the fruits of their difficult but glorious labor. This hero embodies the elemental principle. The poet shows that the patience of the people cannot be eternal; the moment will come when the men will cruelly and mercilessly take revenge on their oppressors. The consequences of a riot may become irreversible. Talking about the reprisal against the German Vogel, the author of the work warns that the fight against oppression could turn into a bloody drama for all of Russia.

He lovingly describes Nekrasov and Savely’s granddaughter, Matryona Korchagina. The peasant woman lived difficult life and grew old by the age of thirty-eight. The heroine is sure that “the keys to women’s happiness... are lost to God himself.” But she resists misfortune and fights injustice: she saved her husband from being recruited, was not afraid to turn to the governor’s wife, and put her back under the whip to protect her son Fedotka from beatings. Matryona Timofeevna combined in herself a man's strength of character and a gentle woman's soul.

Heroes such as Yakim Nagoy, Ermila Girin, Saveliy, Matryona, the seven truth-seekers, instill in the poet confidence that the people’s lawlessness will be short-lived, that “an innumerable army is rising, an indestructible force can be heard in it.” The poet connects the future of Russia with the liberation of the peasantry. Grisha Dobrosklonov, one of the few happy ones in the poem, knows that in any trials it is necessary to preserve “gold, gold, the heart of the people” - the key to the great revival of the Motherland.

Parallel to the image folk life rise in the poem philosophical problems the Russian peasantry and the entire Russian society of that time, since it is the people who always act as the bearer of moral norms and universal human ethics in general.

The main idea of ​​the poem follows directly from its title: who in Rus' can be considered a truly happy person?

One of the main categories of morality underlying the concept of national happiness, according to the author, is loyalty to duty to the Motherland, serving your people. According to Nekrasov, good for Rus' lives to those who fight for justice and “happiness of their native place.”

The peasant heroes of the poem, looking for “happy”, do not find it either among the landowners, or among the priests, or among the peasants themselves. The poem depicts the only happy person - Grisha Dobrosklonov, who devoted his life to the struggle for people's happiness. Here the author expresses, in my opinion, an absolutely indisputable idea that one cannot be a true citizen of one’s country without doing anything to improve the situation of the people, who constitute the strength and pride of the Fatherland.

True, Nekrasov’s happiness is very relative: “ people's defender“For Grisha, “fate was preparing... consumption and Siberia.” However, it is difficult to argue with the fact that fidelity to duty and a clear conscience are necessary conditions real happiness.

The poem also acutely addresses the problem of the moral decline of Russian people, who, due to their horrific economic situation, are placed in conditions in which people lose their human dignity, turning into lackeys and drunkards. Thus, the stories of the footman, the “beloved slave” of Prince Peremetyev, or the servant of Prince Utyatin, the song “About the exemplary slave, the faithful Jacob” are a kind of parables, instructive examples of what spiritual servility and moral degradation led serfdom peasants, and above all, serfs, corrupted by personal dependence on the landowner. This is Nekrasov’s reproach to the great and powerful in his own way. inner strength a people resigned to the position of a slave.

Nekrasov’s lyrical hero actively protests against this slave psychology, calls the peasantry to self-awareness, calls on the entire Russian people to free themselves from centuries-old oppression and feel like citizens. The poet perceives the peasantry not as a faceless mass, but as a creative people; he considered the people the real creator of human history.

However, the most terrible consequence of centuries of slavery, according to the author of the poem, is that many peasants are satisfied with their humiliated position, because they cannot imagine another life for themselves, they cannot imagine how they can exist in any other way. For example, the footman Ipat, subservient to his master, talks with reverence and almost with pride about how the master dipped him into an ice hole in winter and forced him to play the violin while standing in a flying sleigh. Prince Peremetyev’s lackey is proud of his “lordly” illness and the fact that “he licked the plates with the best French truffle.”

Other philosophical moral problem, which Nekrasov touches on, - sin problem. The poet sees the path to the salvation of a person’s soul in the atonement of sin. This is what Girin, Savely, Kudeyar do; Elder Gleb is not like that. Burmister Ermil Girin, having sent the son of a lonely widow as a recruit, thereby saving his own brother from soldiering, atones for his guilt by serving the people, remaining faithful to them even in a moment of mortal danger.

However, the most serious crime against the people is described in one of Grisha’s songs: the village headman Gleb withholds the news of emancipation from his peasants, thus leaving eight thousand people in the bondage of slavery. According to Nekrasov, nothing can atone for such a crime.

The reader of Nekrasov's poem has a feeling of acute bitterness and resentment for the ancestors who hoped for better times, but forced to live in “empty volosts” and “tightened up provinces” more than a hundred years after the abolition of serfdom.

Revealing the essence of the concept of “people's happiness”, the poet points out that the only Right way to achieve it - a peasant revolution. The idea of ​​retribution for the people's suffering is most clearly formulated in the ballad “About Two Great Sinners,” which is a kind of ideological key to the entire poem. The robber Kudeyar throws off the “burden of sins” only when he kills Pan Glukhovsky, known for his atrocities. Killing a villain, according to the author, is not a crime, but a feat worthy of a reward. Here Nekrasov’s idea comes into conflict with Christian ethics. The poet conducts a hidden polemic with F.M. Dostoevsky, who asserted the inadmissibility and impossibility of building a just society on blood, who believed that the very thought of murder is already a crime. And I can’t help but agree with these statements! One of the most important Christian commandments is: “Thou shalt not kill!” After all, a person who takes the life of someone like himself, thereby kills the person in himself, commits a grave crime before life itself, before God.

Therefore, justifying violence from the position of revolutionary democracy, lyrical hero Nekrasova calls Russia “to the axe” (in Herzen’s words), which, as we know, led to a revolution that turned into the most terrible sin for its perpetrators and the greatest disaster for our people.

"My favorite Russian poet, a representative of the good principles in our poetry, the only talent in which there is life and strength."
N.A.Dobrolyubov
Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov is a great Russian poet of the 19th century. The main theme of his work is the people. Nekrasov writes about the fate of the people, about their life, way of life, about the joys and sorrows of the people. Such a work is the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'?” This poem was written about the people and for the people. The poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'?” is a book about Russian life. His work N.A. Nekrasov began writing in 1863. And this work continued until the end of Nekrasov’s life, although it remained unfinished. Peasant reform from February 19, 1861 was supposed to end the existence of serfdom; free the ruined peasants, exhausted by hunger and backbreaking physical labor and abuse by the landowners; should have entailed a qualitative improvement in their lives. She should have, but didn’t; hope has not been transformed into a desired fact. The peasants who did not have land were doomed to even greater “slavery”; they again had to come to terms with their difficult lot (of land or an unhappy lot?). Only partially changed characters: “Now, instead of the master, the volost will do the fighting.”The poet openly without hints and omissions declares rural poverty, general drunkenness among embittered and work-weary peasants, their illiteracy and rudeness, baseness of views (“When will the peasant not carry Blucher and not my stupid lord - Belinsky and Gogol from the market?”). “Speaking” geographical names come to the aid of Nekrasov - Gorelovo, Neelovo, Neurozhaika and others; the people themselves, openly expressing their hopelessness in life (“The light is sick, there is no bread, there is no shelter, there is no death”):
In the chapter “Happy” Nekrasov talks about Yermil Girin, who stood up to defend the peasants. This is an intelligent person endowed with a sense of justice. Having become a peasant defender, Girin ends up in prison. The “hero of the Holy Russian” Savely had the same fate. A man of keen intelligence and powerful strength, he fights against slavish obedience and oppression. He understands the need for struggle and rushes at the oppressors with an ax in his hands. He suffers the same fate of a convict, but his spirit is not broken: “branded, but not a slave.” Yakim understands that the peasantry is a great force; he is proud to belong to it. He knows what the strength and weakness of the “peasant soul” is:
Soul, like a black cloud -
Angry, menacing - and it should be
Thunder will roar from there...
And it all ends with wine...
Yakim refutes the opinion that the peasant is poor because he drinks. He reveals the true reason for this situation - the need to work for “interest holders”.Everyone sees and understands happiness in their own way. If Agap, Yakim, Savely and others see him in protest and in struggle, then people like Klim, Ipat, Gleb are content with the small title of serf. The life of Matryona Timofeevna, like that of every peasant woman, is a hard lot and backbreaking work. “...It’s not a matter of looking for a happy woman among women,” Matryona answers the wanderers’ question about happiness.In the chapter “A Feast for the Whole World,” the author He shows us two paths: “one is spacious, the road is rough, a slave to passions.” Everyone follows this road, it is not difficult to follow. This road leads to wealth, career, power. And along the other “close” and “honest” road are people who are fighting for the happiness of the people. It is difficult to walk along it, and not everyone will choose this road. Therefore, the author ridicules people who choose the first road.
In the chapter “On Two Great Sinners,” Nekrasov calls for revolution. To the revolt of the peasants against the landowners. The image of Kudeyar is intended to justify the revolutionary struggle as a whole. Therefore, the legend acquired an anti-serfdom meaning.
At the end of the poem, Nekrasov draws the image of Grisha Dobrosklonov. This is a man of a new type, in whom everything that was hiddenly dormant in the souls of the peasants was embodied. Dobrosklonov belongs to the future, he looks forward, believes in the strength and power of “mysterious Rus'”:
You're miserable too
You are also abundant
You're downtrodden
You are omnipotent
Mother Rus'!..
In the image of Grisha Dobrosklonov, Nekrasov embodied his concept of happiness: it lies in the liberation of the people from oppression and in universal equality. The poem ends with a stern warning:
The army rises -
Countless!
The strength in her will affect
Indestructible!
This army is capable of much if it is led by people like Grisha Dobrosklonov.

Who can live well in Rus'? This question still worries many people, and this fact explains the increased attention to Nekrasov’s legendary poem. The author managed to raise a topic that has become eternal in Russia - the topic of asceticism, voluntary self-denial in the name of saving the fatherland. It is the service of a high goal that makes a Russian person happy, as the writer proved with the example of Grisha Dobrosklonov.

“Who lives well in Rus'” is one of latest works Nekrasova. When he wrote it, he was already seriously ill: he was struck by cancer. That's why it's not finished. It was collected bit by bit by the poet’s close friends and arranged the fragments in random order, barely catching the confused logic of the creator, broken by a fatal illness and endless pain. He was dying in agony and yet was able to answer the question posed at the very beginning: Who lives well in Rus'? He himself turned out to be lucky in a broad sense, because he faithfully and selflessly served the interests of the people. This service supported him in the fight against his fatal illness. Thus, the history of the poem began in the first half of the 60s of the 19th century, around 1863 (serfdom was abolished in 1861), and the first part was ready in 1865.

The book was published in fragments. The prologue was published in the January issue of Sovremennik in 1866. Later other chapters were published. All this time, the work attracted the attention of censors and was mercilessly criticized. In the 70s, the author wrote the main parts of the poem: “The Last One,” “The Peasant Woman,” “A Feast for the Whole World.” He planned to write much more, but due to the rapid development of the disease he was unable to and settled on “The Feast...”, where he expressed his main idea regarding the future of Russia. He believed that such holy people as Dobrosklonov would be able to help his homeland, mired in poverty and injustice. Despite the fierce attacks of reviewers, he found the strength to stand up for a just cause to the end.

Genre, genus, direction

ON THE. Nekrasov called his creation “the epic of modern peasant life” and was precise in his formulation: the genre of the work is “Who can live well in Rus'?” - epic poem. That is, at the heart of the book there coexists not just one type of literature, but two: lyricism and epic:

1. Epic component. In the history of the development of Russian society in the 1860s there was crucial moment when people learned to live in new conditions after the abolition of serfdom and other fundamental transformations of the usual way of life. This one is heavy historical period and the writer described it, reflecting the realities of that time without embellishment or falsehood. In addition, the poem has a clear linear plot and many original characters, which indicates the scale of the work, comparable only to a novel ( epic genre). The book also includes folklore elements heroic songs telling about the military campaigns of heroes against enemy camps. All this - birth characteristics epic.
2. Lyrical component. The work is written in verse - this is the main property of lyrics as a genre. The book also contains space for author's digressions and typically poetic symbols, means artistic expression, features of the heroes’ confession.

The direction within which the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” was written is realism. However, the author significantly expanded its boundaries, adding fantastic and folklore elements (prologue, beginning, symbolism of numbers, fragments and heroes from folk legends). The poet chose the form of travel for his plan, as a metaphor for the search for truth and happiness that each of us carries out. Many researchers of Nekrasov’s work compare the plot structure with the structure of a folk epic.

Composition

The laws of the genre determined the composition and plot of the poem. Nekrasov finished writing the book in terrible agony, but still did not have time to finish it. This explains the chaotic composition and many branches from the plot, because the works were shaped and restored from drafts by his friends. He himself is in recent months life was unable to strictly adhere to the original concept of creation. Thus, the composition “Who Lives Well in Rus'?” is comparable only to folk epic, is unique. It was developed as a result of the creative development of world literature, and not the direct borrowing of some well-known example.

1. Exposition (Prologue). The meeting of seven men - the heroes of the poem: “On a pillared path / Seven men came together.”
2. The plot is the characters' oath not to return home until they find the answer to their question.
3. The main part consists of many autonomous parts: the reader gets acquainted with a soldier, happy that he was not killed, a slave, proud of his privilege to eat from the master's bowls, a grandmother, whose garden yielded turnips to her delight... While the search for happiness stands still, depicts the slow but steady growth of national self-awareness, which the author wanted to show even more than the declared happiness in Rus'. From random episodes emerges big picture Rus': poor, drunk, but not hopeless, striving for a better life. In addition, the poem has several large and independent inserted episodes, some of which are even included in autonomous chapters (“The Last One,” “The Peasant Woman”).
4. Climax. The writer calls Grisha Dobrosklonov, a fighter for people's happiness, a happy person in Rus'.
5. Denouement. A serious illness prevented the author from completing his great plan. Even those chapters that he managed to write were sorted and designated by his proxies after his death. You must understand that the poem is not finished, it was written by a very sick person, therefore this work is the most complex and confusing of all literary heritage Nekrasova.
6. The final chapter is called “A Feast for the Whole World.” All night long the peasants sing about the old and new times. Grisha Dobrosklonov sings kind and hopeful songs.

What is the poem about?

Seven men met on the road and argued about who would live well in Rus'? The essence of the poem is that they looked for the answer to this question on the way, talking with representatives of different classes. The revelation of each of them is a separate story. So, the heroes went for a walk in order to resolve the dispute, but only quarreled and started a fight. In the night forest, during a fight, a bird's chick fell from its nest, and one of the men picked it up. The interlocutors sat down by the fire and began to dream of also acquiring wings and everything necessary for their journey in search of the truth. The warbler turns out to be magical and, as a ransom for her chick, tells people how to find a self-assembled tablecloth that will provide them with food and clothing. They find her and feast, and during the feast they vow to find the answer to their question together, but until then not to see any of their relatives and not to return home.

On the road they meet a priest, a peasant woman, the farcical Petrushka, beggars, an overworked worker and a paralyzed former servant, honest man Ermila Girin, the landowner Gavrilo Obolt-Obolduev, the deceased Last-Dutyatin and his family, the servant Yakov the faithful, God's wanderer Jonah Lyapushkin, but none of them was a happy person. Each of them is associated with a story of suffering and misadventures full of genuine tragedy. The goal of the journey is achieved only when the wanderers stumbled upon seminarian Grisha Dobrosklonov, who is happy with his selfless service to his homeland. Good songs he instills hope in the people, and this is where the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” ends. Nekrasov wanted to continue the story, but did not have time, but he gave his heroes a chance to gain faith in the future of Russia.

The main characters and their characteristics

About the heroes of “Who Lives Well in Rus'” we can say with confidence that they represent a complete system of images that organizes and structures the text. For example, the work emphasizes the unity of the seven wanderers. They do not show individuality or character; they express common features of national self-awareness for all. These characters are a single whole; their dialogues, in fact, are collective speech, which originates from oral folk art. This feature makes Nekrasov’s poem similar to the Russian folklore tradition.

1. Seven wanderers represent former serfs “from adjacent villages - Zaplatova, Dyryavina, Razutov, Znobishina, Gorelova, Neelova, Neurozhaika and also.” They all put forward their versions of who should live well in Rus': a landowner, an official, a priest, a merchant, a noble boyar, a sovereign minister or a tsar. Their character is characterized by persistence: they all demonstrate a reluctance to take someone else's side. Strength, courage and the desire for truth are what unites them. They are passionate and easily angered, but their easygoing nature compensates for these shortcomings. Kindness and responsiveness make them pleasant interlocutors, even despite some meticulousness. Their disposition is harsh and harsh, but life did not spoil them with luxury: the former serfs always bent their backs working for the master, and after the reform no one bothered to provide them with a proper home. So they wandered around Rus' in search of truth and justice. The search itself characterizes them as serious, thoughtful and thorough people. The symbolic number “7” means a hint of luck that awaited them at the end of the journey.
2. Main character– Grisha Dobrosklonov, seminarian, son of a sexton. By nature he is a dreamer, a romantic, loves to compose songs and make people happy. In them he talks about the fate of Russia, about its misfortunes, and at the same time about its mighty strength, which will one day come out and crush injustice. Although he is an idealist, his character is strong, as are his convictions to devote his life to the service of truth. The character feels a calling to be the people's leader and singer of Rus'. He is happy to sacrifice himself to a high idea and help his homeland. However, the author hints that a difficult fate awaits him: prison, exile, hard labor. The authorities do not want to hear the voice of the people, they will try to silence them, and then Grisha will be doomed to torment. But Nekrasov makes it clear with all his might that happiness is a state of spiritual euphoria, and you can only know it by being inspired by a lofty idea.
3. Matrena Timofeevna Korchagina – main character, a peasant woman whom her neighbors call lucky because she begged her husband from the wife of the military leader (he, the only breadwinner of the family, was supposed to be recruited for 25 years). However, the woman's life story reveals not luck or fortune, but grief and humiliation. She experienced the loss of her only child, the anger of her mother-in-law, and everyday, exhausting work. Her fate is described in detail in an essay on our website, be sure to check it out.
4. Saveliy Korchagin- grandfather of Matryona’s husband, a real Russian hero. At one time, he killed a German manager who mercilessly mocked the peasants entrusted to him. For this, a strong and proud man paid with decades of hard labor. Upon his return, he was no longer good for anything; the years of imprisonment trampled his body, but did not break his will, because, as before, he stood up for justice. The hero always said about the Russian peasant: “And it bends, but does not break.” However, without knowing it, the grandfather turns out to be the executioner of his own great-grandson. He did not look after the child, and the pigs ate him.
5. Ermil Girin- a man of exceptional honesty, mayor in the estate of Prince Yurlov. When he needed to buy the mill, he stood in the square and asked people to chip in to help him. After the hero got back on his feet, he returned all the borrowed money to the people. For this he earned respect and honor. But he is unhappy, because he paid for his authority with freedom: after a peasant revolt, suspicion fell on him about his organization, and he was imprisoned.
6. Landowners in the poem“Who lives well in Rus'” are presented in abundance. The author depicts them objectively and even gives some images positive character. For example, governor Elena Alexandrovna, who helped Matryona, appears as a people's benefactor. Also, with a touch of compassion, the writer portrays Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev, who also treated the peasants tolerably, even organized holidays for them, and with the abolition of serfdom, he lost ground under his feet: he was too accustomed to the old order. In contrast to these characters, the image of the Last-Duckling and his treacherous, calculating family was created. The relatives of the old, cruel serf owner decided to deceive him and persuaded the former slaves to participate in the performance in exchange for profitable territories. However, when the old man died, the rich heirs brazenly deceived the common people and drove him away with nothing. The apogee of noble insignificance is the landowner Polivanov, who beats his faithful servant and gives his son as a recruit for trying to marry his beloved girl. Thus, the writer is far from denigrating the nobility everywhere; he is trying to show both sides of the coin.
7. Serf Yakov- an indicative figure of a serf peasant, an antagonist of the hero Savely. Jacob absorbed the entire slavish essence of the oppressed class, overwhelmed by lawlessness and ignorance. When the master beats him and even sends his son to certain death, the servant humbly and resignedly endures the insult. His revenge was consistent with this humility: he hanged himself in the forest right in front of the master, who was crippled and could not get home without his help.
8. Jonah Lyapushkin- God's wanderer who told the men several stories about the life of people in Rus'. It tells about the epiphany of Ataman Kudeyara, who decided to atone for his sins by killing for good, and about the cunning of Gleb the elder, who violated the will of the late master and did not release the serfs on his orders.
9. Pop- a representative of the clergy who complains about difficult life priest The constant encounter with grief and poverty saddens the heart, not to mention the popular jokes addressed to his rank.

The characters in the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” are diverse and allow us to paint a picture of the morals and life of that time.

Subject

• The main theme of the work is Liberty- rests on the problem that the Russian peasant did not know what to do with it, and how to adapt to new realities. National character is also “problematic”: people-thinkers, people-seekers of truth still drink, live in oblivion and empty talk. They are not able to squeeze slaves out of themselves until their poverty acquires at least the modest dignity of poverty, until they stop living in drunken illusions, until they realize their strength and pride, trampled upon by centuries of humiliating state of affairs that were sold, lost and bought.
• Theme of happiness. The poet believes that a person can get the highest satisfaction from life only by helping other people. The real value of being is to feel needed by society, to bring goodness, love and justice into the world. Selfless and selfless service to a good cause fills every moment with sublime meaning, an idea, without which time loses its color, becomes dull from inaction or selfishness. Grisha Dobrosklonov is happy not because of his wealth or his position in the world, but because he is leading Russia and his people to a bright future.
• Homeland theme. Although Rus' appears in the eyes of readers as a poor and tortured, but still a beautiful country with a great future and a heroic past. Nekrasov feels sorry for his homeland, devoting himself entirely to its correction and improvement. For him, his homeland is the people, the people are his muse. All these concepts are closely intertwined in the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'.” The author's patriotism is especially clearly expressed at the end of the book, when the wanderers find a lucky man who lives in the interests of society. In a strong and patient Russian woman, in the justice and honor of a heroic peasant, in sincere kindness folk singer the creator sees the true appearance of his power, full of dignity and spirituality.
• Theme of labor. Useful activity elevates Nekrasov's poor heroes above the vanity and depravity of the nobility. It is idleness that destroys the Russian master, turning him into a self-satisfied and arrogant nonentity. But the common people have skills and true virtue that are really important for society, without them there will be no Russia, but the country will manage without noble tyrants, revelers and greedy seekers of wealth. So the writer comes to the conclusion that the value of each citizen is determined only by his contribution to the common cause - the prosperity of the homeland.
• Mystical motive. Fantastic elements appear already in the Prologue and immerse the reader in the fabulous atmosphere of the epic, where one must follow the development of the idea, and not the realism of the circumstances. Seven eagle owls on seven trees - the magic number 7, which promises good luck. A raven praying to the devil is another mask of the devil, because the raven symbolizes death, grave decay and infernal forces. He is opposed by a good force in the form of a warbler bird, which equips the men for the journey. A self-assembled tablecloth is a poetic symbol of happiness and contentment. “The Wide Road” is a symbol of the open ending of the poem and the basis of the plot, because on both sides of the road travelers are presented with a multifaceted and authentic panorama of Russian life. The image of an unknown fish in unknown seas, which has absorbed “the keys to female happiness,” is symbolic. The crying she-wolf with bloody nipples also clearly demonstrates the difficult fate of the Russian peasant woman. One of the most striking images of the reform is the “great chain”, which, having broken, “split one end over the master, the other over the peasant!” The seven wanderers are a symbol of the entire people of Russia, restless, waiting for change and seeking happiness.

Issues

• In the epic poem, Nekrasov touched on a large number of pressing and topical issues of the time. the main problem in “Who can live well in Rus'?” - the problem of happiness, both socially and philosophically. She is connected with social issue abolition of serfdom, which greatly changed (and not in better side) traditional way of life of all segments of the population. It would seem that this is freedom, what else do people need? Isn't this happiness? However, in reality, it turned out that the people, who, due to long slavery, do not know how to live independently, found themselves thrown to the mercy of fate. A priest, a landowner, a peasant woman, Grisha Dobrosklonov and seven men are real Russian characters and destinies. The author described them based on his rich experience of communicating with people from the common people. The problems of the work are also taken from life: disorder and confusion after the reform to abolish serfdom really affected all classes. No one organized jobs or at least land plots for yesterday's slaves, no one provided the landowner with competent instructions and laws regulating his new relations with workers.
• The problem of alcoholism. The wanderers come to an unpleasant conclusion: life in Rus' is so difficult that without drunkenness the peasant will completely die. He needs oblivion and fog in order to somehow pull the burden of a hopeless existence and hard labor.
• The problem of social inequality. The landowners have been torturing the peasants with impunity for years, and Savelia has had her whole life ruined for killing such an oppressor. For deception, nothing will happen to the relatives of the Last One, and their servants will again be left with nothing.
• The philosophical problem of searching for truth, which each of us encounters, is allegorically expressed in the journey of seven wanderers who understand that without this discovery their lives become worthless.

Idea of ​​the work

A road fight between men is not an everyday quarrel, but an eternal, great dispute, in which all layers of Russian society of that time figure to one degree or another. All its main representatives (priest, landowner, merchant, official, tsar) are summoned to the peasant court. For the first time, men can and have the right to judge. For all the years of slavery and poverty, they are not looking for retribution, but for an answer: how to live? This expresses the meaning of Nekrasov’s poem “Who can live well in Rus'?” - growth of national self-awareness on the ruins of the old system. The author’s point of view is expressed by Grisha Dobrosklonov in his songs: “And fate, the companion of the Slav’s days, lightened your burden! You are still a slave in the family, but the mother of a free son!..” Despite the negative consequences of the reform of 1861, the creator believes that behind it lies a happy future for the fatherland. At the beginning of change it is always difficult, but this work will be rewarded a hundredfold.

The most an important condition further prosperity is to overcome internal slavery:

Enough! Finished with past settlement,
The settlement with the master has been completed!
The Russian people are gathering strength
And learns to be a citizen

Even though the poem is not finished, the main idea Voiced by Nekrasov. Already the first of the songs in “A Feast for the Whole World” gives an answer to the question posed in the title: “The share of the people, their happiness, light and freedom, above all!”

End

In the finale, the author expresses his point of view on the changes that have occurred in Russia in connection with the abolition of serfdom and, finally, sums up the results of the search: Grisha Dobrosklonov is recognized as the lucky one. It is he who is the bearer of Nekrasov’s opinion, and in his songs Nikolai Alekseevich’s true attitude to what he described is hidden. The poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” ends with a feast for the whole world in the literal sense of the word: this is the name of the last chapter, where the characters celebrate and rejoice at the happy completion of the search.

Conclusion

In Rus', it is good for Nekrasov’s hero Grisha Dobrosklonov, since he serves people, and, therefore, lives with meaning. Grisha is a fighter for truth, a prototype of a revolutionary. The conclusion that can be drawn based on the work is simple: the lucky one has been found, Rus' is embarking on the path of reform, the people are reaching through thorns to the title of citizen. The great meaning of the poem lies in this bright omen. It has been teaching people altruism and the ability to serve high ideals, rather than vulgar and passing cults, for centuries. From the point of view of literary excellence, the book is also of great importance: it is truly a folk epic, reflecting a controversial, complex, and at the same time the most important historical era.

Of course, the poem would not be so valuable if it only taught lessons in history and literature. She gives life lessons, and this is her most important property. The moral of the work “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is that it is necessary to work for the good of your homeland, not to scold it, but to help it with deeds, because it is easier to push around with a word, but not everyone can and really wants to change something. This is happiness - to be in your place, to be needed not only by yourself, but also by the people. Only together can we achieve significant results, only together can we overcome the problems and hardships of this overcoming. Grisha Dobrosklonov tried to unite and unite people with his songs so that they would face change shoulder to shoulder. This is its holy purpose, and everyone has it; it is important not to be lazy to go out on the road and look for it, as the seven wanderers did.

Criticism

Reviewers were attentive to Nekrasov’s work, because he himself was an important person in literary circles and had enormous authority. Its phenomenal civil lyrics entire monographs were devoted to detailed analysis creative methodology and ideological and thematic originality of his poetry. For example, here is how the writer S.A. spoke about his style. Andreevsky:

He brought the anapest, abandoned on Olympus, out of oblivion and for many years made this heavy but flexible meter as common as the airy and melodious iambic had remained from the time of Pushkin to Nekrasov. This rhythm, favored by the poet, reminiscent rotational movement barrel organ, allowed one to stay on the boundaries of poetry and prose, joke around with the crowd, speak fluently and vulgarly, insert funny and cruel joke, express bitter truths and imperceptibly, slowing down the beat, in more solemn words, move into ornateness.

Korney Chukovsky spoke with inspiration about Nikolai Alekseevich’s thorough preparation for work, citing this example of writing as a standard:

Nekrasov himself constantly “visited Russian huts,” thanks to which both soldier’s and peasant speech became thoroughly known to him from childhood: not only from books, but also in practice, he studied the common language and from a young age became a great expert folk poetic images, folk forms thinking, folk aesthetics.

The poet's death came as a surprise and a blow to many of his friends and colleagues. As you know, F.M. spoke at his funeral. Dostoevsky with a heartfelt speech inspired by impressions from a poem he recently read. In particular, among other things, he said:

He really was in highest degree original and, indeed, came with a “new word”.

First of all, his poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” became a “new word”. No one before him had understood so deeply the peasant, simple, everyday grief. His colleague in his speech noted that Nekrasov was dear to him precisely because he bowed “to the people’s truth with all his being, which he testified to in his the best creatures" However, Fyodor Mikhailovich did not support his radical views on the reorganization of Russia, however, like many thinkers of that time. Therefore, criticism reacted to the publication violently, and in some cases aggressively. In this situation, the honor of his friend was defended by the famous reviewer, master of words Vissarion Belinsky:

N. Nekrasov in his last work remained true to his idea: to arouse the sympathy of the upper classes of society for the common people, their needs and requirements.

Quite caustically, recalling, apparently, professional disagreements, I. S. Turgenev spoke about the work:

Nekrasov's poems, collected into one focus, are burned.

The liberal writer was not a supporter of his former editor and openly expressed his doubts about his talent as an artist:

In the white thread stitched, seasoned with all sorts of absurdities, painfully hatched fabrications of the mournful muse of Mr. Nekrasov - there is not even a penny of it, poetry.”

He truly was a man of very high nobility of soul and a man of great intelligence. And as a poet, he is, of course, superior to all poets.

After the reform of 1861, many were concerned with such questions as whether the life of the people had changed for the better, had they become happy? The answer to these questions was Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'.” Nekrasov devoted 14 years of his life to this poem; he began work on it in 1863, but it was interrupted by his death.

The main problem of the poem is the problem of happiness, and Nekrasov saw its solution in the revolutionary struggle.

After the abolition of serfdom, many seekers of national happiness appeared. One of these are the seven wanderers. They left the villages: Zaplatova, Dyryavina, Razutova, Znobishina, Gorelova, Neelova, Neurozhaika in search happy person. Each of them knows that none of them common people can't be happy. And what kind of happiness does a simple man have? Okay, priest, landowner or prince. But for these people, happiness lies in living well, and not caring about others.

The priest sees his happiness in wealth, peace, honor. He claims that it is in vain that wanderers consider him happy; he has neither wealth, nor peace, nor honor:

Go - wherever you are called!

Laws formerly strict

They softened towards the schismatics.

And with them the priest

The income has come.

The landowner sees his happiness in unlimited power over the peasant. Utyatin is happy that everyone obeys him. None of them care about the people's happiness; they regret that they now have less power over the peasant than before.

For the common people, happiness lies in having a fruitful year, so that everyone is healthy and well-fed; they don’t even think about wealth. The soldier considers himself lucky because he was in twenty battles and survived. The old woman is happy in her own way: she gave birth to up to a thousand turnips on a small ridge. For a Belarusian peasant, happiness is in a piece of bread:

Gubonin has his fill

They give you rye bread,

I'm chewing - I won't get chewed!

The wanderers listen to these peasants with bitterness, but mercilessly drive away their beloved slave, Prince Peremetyev, who is happy because he is suffering from a “noble disease” - gout, happy because:

With the best French truffle

I licked the plates

Foreign drinks

I drank from the glasses...

After listening to everyone, they decided that it was in vain that they had spilled the vodka. Happiness is a man's:

Leaky with patches,

Humpbacked with calluses...

Men's happiness consists of misfortunes, and they boast about it.

Among the people there are people like Ermil Girin. His happiness lies in helping the people. In his entire life, he never took an extra penny from a man. He is respected, loved by the simple

men for honesty, kindness, for not being indifferent to men’s grief. Grandfather Savely is happy that he has retained human dignity, Ermil Girin and grandfather Savely are worthy of respect.

In my opinion, happiness is when you are ready to do anything for the happiness of others. This is how the image of Grisha Dobrosklonov appears in the poem, for whom the happiness of the people is his own happiness:

I don't need any silver

No gold, but God willing,

So that my fellow countrymen

And to every peasant

Life was free and fun

All over holy Rus'!

Love for his poor, sick mother grows in Grisha's soul into love for his Motherland - Russia. At the age of fifteen, he decided for himself what he would do all his life, for whom he would live, what he would achieve.

In his poem, Nekrasov showed that the people are still far from happiness, but there are people who will always strive for it and achieve it, since their happiness is happiness for everyone.