Heartlessness, spiritual callousness are the arguments of the Unified State Examination. "Hero of Our Time", M.Yu. Lermontov - indifference

The consciousness of life is higher than life, knowledge of the laws of happiness is higher than happiness - this is what we must fight with! F. M. Dostoevsky “Gray hospital fence, pointed upward; an outhouse for madmen, surrounded by a whole forest of burdocks”; a prison “surrounded by a stone wall” - this is Russian reality. Chekhov showed the madness and lawlessness that reigned not only in old Russia. The writer managed to depict the chaos that reached its climax during the years of Soviet power, during the period of the cult of personality, when the entire flower of the nation was thrown into the camps, when people walked day and night on pain of death. Let’s open the book and get acquainted with the inhabitants of Ward No. 6 and the people who they are surrounded. One of the patients is Ivan Dmitrich Gromov. He was a decent, considerate, well-educated and well-read man.

“He did not know any guilt behind himself and could guarantee that in the future he would never kill, set fire or steal,” but a constant sense of injustice and the understanding that all violence is met by society as reasonable and expedient force him to retire and avoid people . He develops a persecution mania. And, like any person who begins to understand life, people who recently admired him call him funny and abnormal and send him to an insane asylum. In the hospital, Ivan Dmitrich encounters Dr. Andrei Efimych Ragin. The doctor, although he came to the conclusion that his hospital was “an immoral institution and extremely harmful to the health of the residents,” was indifferent to the riots, consoling himself with the thought that “he lacks the character and faith in his right” to change something. Andrei Efimych rejoices at the discoveries of medicine, which in fact do not really help people.

Ragin is an intelligent person, capable of reasoning and philosophizing; but it’s scary that the conclusions he comes to allow him to calm his conscience. Andrei Efimych, having never experienced pain, meanness and deception, preaches that one must always be content, not be surprised by anything and despise suffering, find peace in oneself: “Free and deep thinking, which strives to understand life, and complete contempt to the stupid vanity of the world - these are two blessings greater than which man has never known. And you can have them, even if you live behind three bars.” Ragin calls for humility, humility, submission to society and fate. Yes! Many did just that: they abandoned their views, merged with the gray mass, allowed themselves to be beaten, not responding to the beatings “with neither a sound, nor a movement, nor an expression of the eyes.” But there are many examples of people resisting violence; their body could not stand it: they committed suicide, were forced to leave, but their soul remained unconquered.

In Russian literature of the 20th century, every name is a tragedy: Blok, Akhmatova, Tsvetaeva, Yesenin, Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn... But, as you know, everyone is rewarded according to their faith. And Dr. Ragin is no exception. When he himself encountered pain, insult, meanness caused by other people, he realized that a person is responsible for what he does, that sooner or later the time of reckoning comes. Ragin understood the pain of others and was horrified that he himself caused suffering, but for more than twenty years he did not know and did not want to know this.

Philosophical discussions about “true goods” no longer calmed his conscience. Soon Andrei Efimych himself finds himself in ward No. 6 and dies of apoplexy. In Chekhov, Ragin dies, which means the time of evil and violence also dies. His theory about the possibility of happiness achieved only by knowledge of the laws of happiness falls apart.

Today we are experiencing such an end - the end of a “beautiful future”, the time has come to pay for the Chernobyl stations, for the destroyed churches, for the lost culture. I want to believe that, having paid a terrible, bloody price, the price of human lives, we will put an end to the evil empire forever, that, having gone through, perhaps, more than one turning point in history, people will choose good.

07.09.2017

"After the ball", L.N. Tolstoy

Indifference

The colonel from the story is indifferent. A brilliant, helpful, loving and caring father for Varenka, with whom the main character of the work, Ivan Vasilyevich, is passionately in love, he is merciless towards the soldier, subjected to a terrible punishment - beating with spitzrutens. The colonel cannot be moved by his groans: “Have mercy, brothers!” He does not allow the punishment to be reduced, but on the contrary, he hits one of the soldiers in the face, who did not lower his stick too far on the back of the punished.

Responsiveness

Everything he saw shocked Ivan Vasilyevich, who accidentally became a witness to this scene. He is literally sick of horror, since he does not understand what could cause such not just indifferent, but inhumane attitude towards people. After this, the main character decides to abandon any career, so as never to harm anyone in his life, even by accident. And from the words of other heroes we learn that all his life he spent his entire life helping his loved ones.

"Hero of Our Time", M.Yu. Lermontov - indifference

Pechorin first appears to have long lost interest in life, looking indifferently at people and events. And although in the continuation of the work we see how Pechorin’s feelings still flare up at the thought of losing the only love of his life - Vera, this does not refute his general view of life - emptiness, meaninglessness, general indifference. The pain and despair that flared up when reading his beloved’s farewell letter soon give way to disappointment, thoughts that attempts to make Vera happy are fruitless, since he, Pechorin, is not capable of long-term feelings. It is not for nothing that Lermontov calls Grigory Alexandrovich a hero of his time. According to the author, an era where an intelligent, thinking person with his own ideals and ideas has nowhere to apply his strength has made the hero so apathetic, presenting life as a picture, the events of which do not concern him enough to hurt him, much less force him to act, try to somehow change the current situation.

"Crocodile Tears", A.P. Chekhov - indifference

The main character, the owner of the pawnshop Judin, is completely indifferent to the problems of people who bring him things in the last hope of getting money. Speaking with feigned bitterness about social injustice, about the stinginess of the rich and the humiliating existence of the poor, about whom the upper strata of society do not care, the main character himself does not seek to alleviate the difficult fate of his petitioners. He does not value a single thing with dignity; on the contrary, he reduces the price as much as possible, saying: “Otherwise it won’t last long.”

"Gooseberry", A.P. Chekhov - indifference

Nikolai Ivanovich Chimsha-Himalayan - all his life he dreamed of one thing - to buy an estate and plant gooseberries there. The hero was indifferent to everything except living as a master and growing gooseberries. He devoted all his energy to his dream, and even drove his wife to the grave out of greed. Chekhov shows how pitiful the hero’s life is, and strives to convey to the reader that indifference to everything except one’s own well-being and peace of mind is destructive to the human soul. Chekhov, through the words of the narrator, appeals to readers not to be indifferent to the problems of other people. Using the image of a man with a hammer, which should stand outside the door of every happy and prosperous person and knock to remind him that there are those in the world who need help, the writer exclaims: “Do good!”

"The Fate of Man", Sholokhov - responsiveness

Andrei Sokolov (the main character), who survived fascist captivity and lost his entire family during the war, did not harden. His heart is still ready to love, so he takes responsibility and takes in the orphan boy Vanyusha.

"The Catcher in the Rye", D.D. Selinger - responsiveness

The story of sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield. His main problem is that he refuses to acknowledge the indifference of the world of adults who care only about material stability and their own well-being. Hypocrisy, deception, absolute indifference to everything that does not concern them personally - this is how the world of adults appears to a teenager. Hence his constant conflict with parents and teachers. The hero is looking for love, sincerity, goodness in the world, but sees it only in children. Moreover, in small children, that is why his cherished desire is to catch children so that they do not fall into the abyss. “The Catcher in the Rye” is a metaphor for the indifferent world of adults. The desire to catch children is the desire to protect the child’s soul from destructive egoism, stiffness, violence, and the deception of adult life.

Many of the works of A.P. Chekhov, who has an amazing talent for expressing the essence of life in personal stories, amaze with their insight and vitality. They take readers into thought, make them strive to understand the essence of themselves and the essence of life in general.

One of these works by A.P. Chekhov is a story written in 1892 with the simple title “Ward No. 6,” which was chosen by the author in connection with the place of origin of the main events. At the same time, the name is a symbol of a society in which some suffer, while others do not understand them and do not want to understand them.

The spirit of realism is felt here already from the first chapter, when Ivan Gromov’s speeches about violence and meanness, about hopes for a wonderful future are described.

Ivan Dmitrich himself is a very interesting hero of the story. Unlike many of his neighbors in the ward - the silent red-haired tradesman, the Jew Moiseika, the insensitive round man and the thin collector of orders - he is truly delicate and intelligent. Sharp and unpleasant changes in life, losses, illnesses drove him to madness. Among all the patients of the 6th ward, Gromov, one consciously looked after others and treated them politely. These people, different in character and life paths, have one thing in common: they were all once ordinary and even outstanding people. The suffering they experienced brought them to this meager ward.

The people on the other side - watchman Nikita, paramedic Sergei Sergeich, postmaster Mikhail Averyanych, district doctor Evgeniy Fedorych Khobotov - do not notice all the mental and physical pain of the crazy. They justified their behavior with a simple philosophy: “We’ll all die anyway.” Andrei Efimych Ragin shared the same views. He made money from deception and saw that the entire hospital business was built on theft, quackery and dirty gossip, but he believed that he could not do anything about it. And yet he was ashamed of it, he could not sleep because of thoughts about deceived people. Thoughts about the absence of intelligent people in modern society also gave him unpleasant sensations. He was looking for an intelligent person with whom he had something to talk about, and found only one, and he was crazy. For discerning a wise interlocutor in a mentally ill patient, Andrei Efimych paid by ending up in the bed of Ward No. 6. And only then did he understand how bad it was for these people, only then did he realize that suffering must be experienced before judging about them. Khobotov and Averyanych make a rather unpleasant impression with their arrogance, deceit and unkind deeds. Nevertheless, Averyanych's sincerity and loyalty is manifested in his presence at the funeral of Andrei Ragin.

The author highlighted in the story such problems of society as the lack of higher interests, violence, hypocrisy, the formal, soulless attitude of judges, doctors and other social workers towards the individual, and the dishonesty of people. These problems are more often expressed through the thoughts of Ivan Dmitrich. Andrei Efimych is also not indifferent to them: he is amazed that in the city even the intelligentsia has descended to vulgarity. The work also puts forward eternal philosophical problems, such as the meaning of life, the meaning of suffering and the human mind. Particularly interesting are the judgments that the mind is the only source of pleasure and that contempt for suffering is tantamount to contempt for life.

A.P. Chekhov showed his mastery not only in fascinating storylines and wise views on life, but also in the writing style itself. The story begins with a kind of “excursion” to ward No. 6, and this gives the reader the impression that he really ended up in the place described.

What did the writer want to say by describing these events? The problems of philosophy and society are combined into one idea of this story - to teach the reader to understand unhappy people and to be humane towards them. The story “Ward No. 6” is also relevant in modern society, because the problems described in it can be encountered even today.

Analysis of the story by A.P. Chekhov's "Ionych"

Composition

In one of his letters, Chekhov admits that Tolstoy’s philosophy with its theory of non-resistance dominated him for six or seven years. However, already in the early 90s, Chekhov not only irrevocably broke with Tolstoyism, but also decisively condemned it. This found a particularly strong expression in the story “Ward No. 6” (1892). The hero of "Ward No. 6", Doctor Ragin, preaches Tolstoy's self-calm and self-improvement. He himself is an extremely gentle and delicate person, but thanks to his gentleness and passive attitude towards social evil, crimes are committed in the hospital he is in charge of: the sick are starved, infected with diseases, beaten; The situation of the mentally ill prisoners in Ward No. 6 is especially terrible.

Patient in Ward No. 6 Ivan Dmitrich criticizes the theory of non-resistance, “not doing”, calls it “not philosophy”, but laziness, fakirism, sleepy stupor. What does Ragina's belief in moral improvement and non-resistance lead to? He is convinced from his own experience that there cannot be internal freedom for a person without external freedom. Once behind bars in Ward No. 6 as a patient, severely beaten by a guard, Ragin realizes the absurdity of his theory of non-resistance. In desperation, he grabs the bars with his hands and shakes them, but the bars do not give in - Ragin dies of a broken heart. “Ward No. B” thundered throughout Russia. V.I. Lenin, having read it in his youth, was shocked, since Chekhov’s “Ward No. 6” resembled Russia with its gloomy prison regime. In her memoirs, A.I. Elizarova writes: “I still remember a conversation with Volodya about a new story by A. Chekhov, “Chamber of LG,” that appeared in one of the magazines that winter. 6” Speaking about the talent of this story, about the strong impression it made “Volodya generally loved Chekhov,” he best defined this impression in the following words: “When I finished reading this story last night, I felt downright creepy, I couldn’t stay in my room, I got up and left. I had the same feeling that I was locked in “Ward No. 6.”

Chekhov broke with Tolstoyism in the name of progress and culture. He later wrote: “Prudence and justice tell me that there is more love for a person in electricity and steam than in chastity and abstinence from meat.” The same idea of condemning Tolstoyism is heard in the story “Gooseberry” (1898). The central figure of the story is the Chimsha-Himalayan official. All his life he lived with one dream - to buy an estate where he could grow his gooseberries. This dream came true. But what is the Chimsha-Himalayan turning into? Possession of property regenerates this little official, the son of a soldier. He, now a landowner, a landowner, begins to talk lordly about the need for corporal punishment for peasants. He completely withdraws into the world of economic concerns about the estate and gradually turns into a stupid, self-satisfied layman, indifferent to all spiritual and social interests.

This indifference of the well-fed to the hungry, depicted in gloomy colors in the work, gives the author a reason to passionately attack Tolstoyism again. It doomed people to isolation and selfishness. This is not what a person needs, no! “A person does not need three arshins of land; not an estate, but the entire globe, all of nature, where in the open space he could demonstrate all the properties and characteristics of his free spirit.” The task and responsibility of a person is not a passive withdrawal into the world of one’s self, but the fight against social evil, moving forward, living in the name of public interests. This is the idea of the story “Gooseberry.” Chekhov could not ignore another widespread theory of the 80-90s - the theory of “small deeds”.

“Our time is not a time of great tasks!” - sounded in the mood of the era. The main task of the intelligentsia at this time was proclaimed to carry out a modest, small task for the people, to gain for them at least some culture and, above all, literacy.

Chekhov deeply believed in progress; it seemed to him that the everyday work of “cultivators” would someday, after many years, bear the necessary fruits. But he also rejected this theory of “small deeds”. The hero of his story “The House with a Mezzanine” (1896), the artist, polemicizing with the “cultured” Lida, consistently rejects the need for all “small things”, because, from his point of view, a lot of energy in this case is spent on harmful work - on repairing a worthless in general, the state system of autocratic Russia.

1. Brief introduction.

2. Why is all of Russia “Ward No. 6”?

“With a formal, soulless attitude towards the individual, in order to deprive an innocent person of all the rights of his fortune and sentence him to hard labor, the judge needs only one thing: time.”

(Ivan Dmitrich)

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov's work “Ward No. 6” begins with a description of the road to the hospital and ward No. 6, in which the insane are locked.

Neither doctors nor even relatives visit the sick. They can mainly communicate with the outside world only through a watchman

Nikita. In the chamber itself there are five people, one of whom is of noble birth.

Then what did the author of the statement mean? Everyone in Russia is crazy, whose responsibility is to obey the incompetent government watchdog? Or the fact that all thinking people, one way or another, will definitely end up in a mental hospital and end their lives there? Does a hospital ward mean a real cell? I think that Kataev, when he made the statement, partially meant by the ward a cage that limits human freedom. The most interesting thing is that a person himself builds strong bars of bars around himself, enclosing himself in frames. Does he need them at all? It’s not just that, not for decoration, he built them so diligently over the years, so that he could then stick his hands through them and dream of freedom? What is freedom? Or maybe this is exactly what Dr. Ragin said: “In any situation, you can find peace in yourself.” He did not interfere in the affairs of the hospital, thought too much, and began to look for thinking people around him. Ironically, his search led him to this very “Ward No. 6”, where he talked for a long time with Ivan Dmitrich. For example, I was not mistaken in assuming that the doctor himself would end up in the hospital. I did too little. I thought too much. In general, like all the intelligentsia in Russia: they only talk, but do nothing. Everyone teaches life and philosophizes, thinks thoughts that are not their own, speaks in words that are not their own, and proves something completely far from them and their environment, like Dr. Ragin. But they do this only until the first shock. Having left their comfort zone, they dramatically change their minds, because returning to a state of eternal idleness is impossible and they need to adapt to new conditions. Well, until this happens, no one wants to do anything. No one achieves a goal simply because they don’t set it for themselves. For example, in the city in which this very hospital is located, there are no theaters or museums, and therefore there is no progress. However, not all people are like that (Raev). Some people see problems, do not deceive themselves and try to somehow develop. But even with progressive ideas, you can end up in a mental hospital. Because no one needs your ideas. Nobody needs you.

Thus, the author of the statement meant that things in Russia, which has lagged behind Europe in development, are extremely bad, and people are digging a hole for themselves and driving themselves into it. This attitude towards life is scary. However, complaints are pointless. If you do nothing, you can wait an infinitely long time for results. I partially disagree with Kataev, because, despite all the terrible things that have happened, are happening and will happen, I believe that there are no hopeless situations, you just need to take a closer look. Perhaps if people did not shy away from each other and were more open, friendly (no one ever visited crazy people), capable of both asking for help and providing it, then the situation might have changed for the better. Because all that we can give to each other in a world in which people are ruled by Nikita’s watchmen, and for any “wrong” thought you can end up living in a terrible place, is ourselves. After all, in order to open the door, leave “Ward No. 6” and resist the guard, you need to unite and really want to. But is it necessary?