Who can live well in Rus'? Characteristics of peasants. Images of peasants in the poem by N.A. Nekrasov “Who Lives Well in Rus'” (School Essays)

Essays on literature: Images of peasants in the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'”

In the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” N.A. shows the life of the Russian peasantry in post-reform Russia, their difficult situation. The main problem This work is a search for an answer to the question, “who lives happily and freely in Rus'”, who is worthy and not worthy of happiness? The author introduces into the poem the image of seven wandering peasants traveling around the country in search of the lucky ones. This is a group portrait, so in the image of the seven “temporarily obliged” only common features, characteristic of the Russian peasant: poverty, curiosity, unpretentiousness. Men do not seek happiness among the working people: peasants, soldiers. Their idea of happiness is associated with the images of the clergy, merchants, nobility, and the king. Peasant truth-seekers have a sense of self-esteem. They are deeply convinced that the working people are better, taller, and smarter than the landowner. The author shows the hatred of the peasants for those who live at their expense. Nekrasov also emphasizes the people’s love for work and their desire to help other people. Having learned that Matryona Timofeevna’s crop is dying, the men without hesitation offer her help; they also help the peasants of the Illiterate province with mowing.

Traveling around Russia, the men meet different people. Revealing the images of the heroes encountered by the truth-seekers allows the author to characterize not only the situation of the peasantry, but also the life of the merchants, clergy, and nobility... But the author still pays the main attention to the peasants.

The images of Yakim Nagogo, Ermila Girin, Savely, Matryona Timofeevna combine both general, typical features the peasantry, such as, for example, hatred of all “shareholders” who drain their vitality from them, as well as individual traits.

Yakim Nagoy, personifying the mass of the poor peasantry, “works himself to death,” but lives as a poor man, like the majority of the peasants of the village of Bosovo. His portrait shows constant hard work:

And to Mother Earth myself

He looks like: brown neck,

Like a layer cut off by a plow,

Brick face...

Yakim understands that the peasantry is great power; 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 real reason This situation means the need to work for the “interest holders”. The fate of Yakima is typical for peasants post-reform Rus': he “once lived in St. Petersburg,” but, having lost a lawsuit with a merchant, he went to prison, from where he returned, “torn like a sticker” and “took up his plow.”

Another image of the Russian peasant is Ermila Girin. The author endows him with incorruptible honesty and natural intelligence. The peasants respect him because he

In seven years the world's penny

I didn’t squeeze it under my nail,

At the age of seven I didn’t touch the right one,

Didn't let the culprit go

I didn’t bend my heart...

By going against the “peace”, by sacrificing public interests For personal reasons, having given up a neighbor's boy as a soldier instead of her brother, Yermila is tormented by remorse and comes to the point of thinking about suicide. However, he does not hang himself, but goes to the people to repent.

The episode with the purchase of the mill is important. Nekrasov shows the solidarity of the peasantry. They trust Ermila, and he takes the side of the peasants during the riot.

The author’s idea that Russian peasants are heroes is also important. For this purpose, the image of Savely, the Holy Russian hero, is introduced. Despite the unbearable hard life, the hero has not lost his best qualities. He treats Matryona Timofeevna with sincere love and deeply worries about Demushka’s death. About himself he says: “Branded, but not a slave!” Savely acts as a folk philosopher. He ponders whether the people should continue to endure their lack of rights and oppressed state. Savely comes to the conclusion: it is better to “understand” than to “endure,” and he calls for protest.

Savelia's combination of sincerity, kindness, simplicity, sympathy for the oppressed and hatred of the oppressors makes this image vital and typical.

A special place in the poem, as in all of Nekrasov’s work, is occupied by the display of the “female share”. In the poem, the author reveals it using the example of the image of Matryona Timofeevna. This is a strong and resilient woman, fighting for her freedom and her woman's happiness. But, despite all her efforts, the heroine says: “It’s not a matter of looking for a happy woman among women.”

The fate of Matryona Timofeevna is typical for a Russian woman: after marriage she went to hell from a “maiden holiday”; Misfortunes fell upon her one after another... Finally, Matryona Timofeevna, just like the men, is forced to work hard at work in order to feed her family.

The image of Matryona Timofeevna also contains features of the heroic character of the Russian peasantry.

In the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus',” the author showed how serfdom cripples people morally. He leads us through a procession of courtyard people, servants, serfs, who, over many years of groveling before the master, have completely lost their own “I” and human dignity. This is the faithful Yakov, who takes revenge on the master by killing himself in front of his eyes, and Ipat, the slave of the Utyatin princes, and Klim. Some peasants even become oppressors, receiving insignificant power from the landowner. The peasants hate these slave slaves even more than the landowners, they despise them.

Thus, Nekrasov showed the stratification among the peasantry associated with the reform of 1861.

The poem also notes such a feature of the Russian peasantry as religiosity. It's a way to escape reality. God is the supreme judge from whom the peasants seek protection and justice. Faith in God is hope for a better life.

So, N.A. Nekrasov, in the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus',” recreated the life of the peasantry in post-reform Russia, revealed the typical character traits of Russian peasants, showing that this is a force to be reckoned with, which is gradually beginning to realize its rights.

Introduction

Starting work on the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus',” Nekrasov dreamed of creating a large-scale work that would reflect all the knowledge about peasants that he had accumulated throughout his life. WITH early childhood“the spectacle of national disasters” passed before the poet’s eyes, and his first childhood impressions prompted him to further study the way of life peasant life. Hard work, human grief, and at the same time the enormous spiritual strength of the people - all this was noticed by Nekrasov’s attentive gaze. And it is precisely because of this that in the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” the images of peasants look so reliable, as if the poet personally knew his heroes. It is logical that the poem, in which the main character is the people, has a large number of peasant images, but if we take a closer look at them, we will be amazed by the diversity and liveliness of these characters.

The image of the main wanderer characters

The first peasants with whom the reader meets are truth-seeking peasants who argued about who lives well in Rus'. For the poem, they are not so important individual images, as a whole, the idea that they express - without them, the plot of the work would simply fall apart. And, nevertheless, Nekrasov gives each of them a name, a native village (the names of the villages themselves are eloquent: Gorelovo, Zaplatovo...) and certain character traits and appearance: Luka is an inveterate debater, Pakhom is an old man. And the views of the peasants, despite the integrity of their image, are different; each does not deviate from his views even to the point of fighting. In general, the image of these men is a group image, which is why it highlights the most basic features characteristic of almost any peasant. This is extreme poverty, stubbornness and curiosity, the desire to find the truth. Let us note that while describing the peasants dear to his heart, Nekrasov still does not embellish their images. He also shows vices, mainly general drunkenness.

The peasant theme in the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is not the only one - during their journey, the men will meet both the landowner and the priest, and will hear about the life of different classes - merchants, nobles, and clergy. But all other images in one way or another serve to more fully reveal the main theme of the poem: the life of peasants in Russia immediately after the reform.

The poem includes several crowd scenes - a fair, a feast, a road along which many people are walking. Here Nekrasov portrays the peasantry as a single whole, which thinks alike, speaks unanimously and even sighs at the same time. But at the same time, the images of peasants depicted in the work can be divided into two large groups: honest working people who value their freedom and serf peasants. In the first group, Yakim Nagoy, Ermil Girin, Trofim and Agap stand out.

Positive images of peasants

Yakim Nagoy is a typical representative of the poor peasantry, and he himself resembles “Mother Earth”, like “a layer cut off by a plow”.

All his life he works “to death”, but at the same time remains a beggar. His sad story: he once lived in St. Petersburg, but started a lawsuit with a merchant, ended up in prison because of it, and returned from there “torn like a sticker” - nothing surprises listeners. There were many such destinies in Rus' at that time... Despite hard labour, Yakim has enough strength to stand up for his compatriots: yes, there are a lot of drunk men, but there are more sober ones, they are all great people “in work and in revelry.” Love for truth, for honest work, a dream of transforming life (“thunder should thunder”) – these are the main components of the image of Yakima.

Trofim and Agap complement Yakima in some ways; each of them has one main character trait. In the image of Trofim, Nekrasov shows the endless strength and patience of the Russian people - Trofim once carried away fourteen pounds, and then returned home barely alive. Agap is a lover of truth. He is the only one who refuses to participate in the performance for Prince Utyatin: “The possession of peasant souls is over!” When they force him, he dies in the morning: it is easier for a peasant to die than to bend back under the yoke of serfdom.

Yermil Girin is endowed by the author with intelligence and incorruptible honesty, and for this he was chosen as burgomaster. He “didn’t bend his soul,” and once he had strayed from the right path, he could not live without the truth, and he repented before the whole world. But honesty and love for their compatriots do not bring happiness to the peasants: the image of Yermil is tragic. At the time of the story, he is sitting in prison: this is how his help to the rebellious village turned out.

Images of Matryona and Savely

The life of peasants in Nekrasov's poem would not be completely depicted without the image of a Russian woman. To reveal the “female share”, which is “grief is not life!” the author chose the image of Matryona Timofeevna. “Beautiful, strict and dark,” she tells in detail the story of her life, in which only then was she happy, as she lived with her parents in the “girls’ lounge.” Afterwards, hard work began, equal to men, the nagging of relatives, and the death of the first-born distorted the fate. For this story, Nekrasov allocated an entire part of the poem, nine chapters - much more than the stories of the other peasants occupy. This well conveys his special attitude, his love for a Russian woman. Matryona amazes with her strength and resilience. She endures all the blows of fate without complaint, but at the same time she knows how to stand up for her loved ones: she lies down under the rod in place of her son and saves her husband from the soldiers. The image of Matryona in the poem merges with the image people's soul– long-suffering and long-suffering, which is why the woman’s speech is so rich in songs. These songs are often the only opportunity to pour out your melancholy...

The image of Matryona Timofeevna is accompanied by another curious image - the image of the Russian hero, Savely. Living out his life in Matryona’s family (“he lived for one hundred and seven years”), Savely thinks more than once: “Where have you gone, strength? What were you useful for? All the strength was lost under rods and sticks, wasted during back-breaking labor on the Germans and wasted away in hard labor. In the image of Savely it is shown tragic fate the Russian peasantry, heroes by nature, leading a life completely unsuitable for them. Despite all the hardships of life, Savely did not become embittered, he is wise and affectionate with those without rights (he is the only one in the family who protects Matryona). His image also shows the deep religiosity of the Russian people, who sought help in faith.

The image of peasant serfs

Another type of peasant depicted in the poem are serfs. Years of serfdom have crippled the souls of some people who are accustomed to groveling and can no longer imagine their lives without the power of the landowner over them. Nekrasov shows this using examples of the images of the slaves Ipat and Yakov, as well as the elder Klim. Jacob is the image of a faithful slave. He spent his whole life fulfilling the whims of his master: “Yakov had only joy: / To groom, protect, please the master.” However, you cannot live with the master “ladkom” - as a reward for Yakov’s exemplary service, the master gives his nephew as a recruit. It was then that Yakov’s eyes were opened, and he decided to take revenge on his offender. Klim becomes the boss thanks to the grace of Prince Utyatin. A bad owner and a lazy worker, he, singled out by the master, blossoms from a sense of self-importance: “The proud pig: itched / About the master’s porch!” Using the example of the headman Klim, Nekrasov shows how terrible yesterday’s serf is when he becomes a boss - this is one of the most disgusting human types. But it is difficult to fool an honest peasant’s heart - and in the village Klim is sincerely despised, not afraid.

So, from different images peasants “Who Lives Well in Rus'” a complete picture of the people as a huge force is emerging, which is already beginning to gradually rise up and realize its power.

Work test

Introduction

Starting work on the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus',” Nekrasov dreamed of creating a large-scale work that would reflect all the knowledge about peasants that he had accumulated throughout his life. From early childhood, the “spectacle of national disasters” passed before the poet’s eyes, and his first childhood impressions prompted him to continue studying the way of peasant life. Hard work, human grief, and at the same time the enormous spiritual strength of the people - all this was noticed by Nekrasov’s attentive gaze. And it is precisely because of this that in the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” the images of peasants look so reliable, as if the poet personally knew his heroes. It is logical that the poem, in which the main character is the people, contains a large number of peasant images, but if we look at them more closely, we will be amazed by the diversity and liveliness of these characters.

The image of the main wanderer characters

The first peasants with whom the reader meets are truth-seeking peasants who argued about who lives well in Rus'. For the poem, it is not so much their individual images that are important, but the overall idea that they express - without them, the plot of the work would simply fall apart. And, nevertheless, Nekrasov gives each of them a name, a native village (the names of the villages themselves are eloquent: Gorelovo, Zaplatovo...) and certain character traits and appearance: Luka is an inveterate debater, Pakhom is an old man. And the views of the peasants, despite the integrity of their image, are different; each does not deviate from his views even to the point of fighting. In general, the image of these men is a group image, which is why it highlights the most basic features characteristic of almost any peasant. This is extreme poverty, stubbornness and curiosity, the desire to find the truth. Let us note that while describing the peasants dear to his heart, Nekrasov still does not embellish their images. He also shows vices, mainly general drunkenness.

Positive images of peasants

Yakim Nagoy is a typical representative of the poor peasantry, and he himself resembles “Mother Earth”, like “a layer cut off by a plow”.

All his life he works “to death”, but at the same time remains a beggar. His sad story: he once lived in St. Petersburg, but started a lawsuit with a merchant, ended up in prison because of it, and returned from there “like a piece of velcro” – does not surprise listeners in any way. There were many such destinies in Rus' at that time... Despite the hard work, Yakim has enough strength to stand up for his compatriots: yes, there are many drunk men, but there are more sober ones, they are all great people “in work and in revelry.” Love for truth, for honest work, a dream of transforming life (“thunder should thunder”) – these are the main components of the image of Yakima.

Images of Matryona and Savely

The life of peasants in Nekrasov's poem would not be completely depicted without the image of a Russian woman. To reveal the “female share”, which is “grief is not life!” the author chose the image of Matryona Timofeevna. “Beautiful, strict and dark,” she tells in detail the story of her life, in which only then was she happy, as she lived with her parents in the “girls’ lounge.” Afterwards, hard work began, equal to men, the nagging of relatives, and the death of the first-born distorted the fate. For this story, Nekrasov allocated an entire part of the poem, nine chapters - much more than the stories of the other peasants occupy. This well conveys his special attitude, his love for a Russian woman. Matryona amazes with her strength and resilience. She endures all the blows of fate without complaint, but at the same time she knows how to stand up for her loved ones: she lies down under the rod in place of her son and saves her husband from the soldiers. The image of Matryona in the poem merges with the image of the people's soul - long-suffering and long-suffering, which is why the woman's speech is so rich in songs. These songs are often the only opportunity to pour out your melancholy...

The image of Matryona Timofeevna is accompanied by another curious image - the image of the Russian hero, Savely. Living out his life in Matryona’s family (“he lived for one hundred and seven years”), Savely thinks more than once: “Where have you gone, strength? What were you useful for? All the strength was lost under rods and sticks, wasted during back-breaking labor on the Germans and wasted away in hard labor. The image of Savely shows the tragic fate of the Russian peasantry, heroes by nature, leading a life completely unsuitable for them. Despite all the hardships of life, Savely did not become embittered, he is wise and affectionate with those without rights (he is the only one in the family who protects Matryona). His image also shows the deep religiosity of the Russian people, who sought help in faith.

The image of peasant serfs

So, from the various images of the peasants “Who Lives Well in Rus'” a complete picture of the people is formed as a huge force, which is already beginning to gradually rise up and realize its power.

Work test

“Who Lives Well in Rus'” is one of the most famous works ON THE. Nekrasova. In the poem, the writer managed to reflect all the hardships and torments that the Russian people endure. The characteristics of the heroes are especially significant in this context. “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is a work rich in bright, expressive and original characters, which we will consider in the article.

The meaning of the prologue

The beginning of the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” plays a special role in understanding the work. The prologue resembles a fairy tale opening like “In a Certain Kingdom”:

In what year - calculate

In what land - guess...

The following tells about the men who came from different villages (Neelova, Zaplatova, etc.). All titles and names are telling; with them Nekrasov gives a clear description of places and characters. In the prologue, the men's journey begins. This is where the fairy-tale elements in the text end, the reader is introduced to the real world.

List of heroes

All the heroes of the poem can be divided into four groups. The first group consists of the main characters who went for happiness:

Demyan;
Novel;
Prov;
Groin;
Ivan and Mitrodor Gubin;
Luke.

Then come the landowners: Obolt-Obolduev; Glukhovskaya; Utyatin; Shalashnikov; Peremetev.

Slaves and peasants met by travelers: Yakim Nagoy, Egor Shutov, Ermil Girin, Sidor, Ipat, Vlas, Klim, Gleb, Yakov, Agap, Proshka, Savely, Matryona.

And heroes who do not belong to the main groups: Vogel, Altynnikov, Grisha.

Now let's consider key characters poems.

Dobrosklonov Grisha

Grisha Dobrosklonov appears in the episode “A Feast for the Whole World”; the entire epilogue of the work is dedicated to this character. He himself is a seminarian, the son of a clerk from the village of Bolshie Vakhlaki. Grisha's family lives very poorly, only thanks to the generosity of the peasants they managed to raise him and his brother Savva to their feet. Their mother, a farm worker, died early from overwork. For Grisha, her image merged with the image of her homeland: “With love for the poor mother, love for all the Vakhlachina.”

While still a fifteen-year-old child, Grisha Dobrosklonov decided to devote his life to helping the people. In the future, he wants to go to Moscow to study, but for now, together with his brother, he helps the men as best he can: he works with them, explains new laws, reads documents to them, writes letters for them. Grisha composes songs that reflect observations of poverty and suffering of the people, and thoughts about the future of Russia. The appearance of this character enhances the lyricism of the poem. Nekrasov’s attitude towards his hero is clearly positive; the writer sees in him a revolutionary from the people who should become an example for the upper strata of society. Grisha voices the thoughts and position of Nekrasov himself, decisions of social and moral problems. N.A. is considered the prototype of this character. Dobrolyubova.

Ipat

Ipat is a “sensitive serf,” as Nekrasov calls him, and in this characteristic one can hear the poet’s irony. This character also makes travelers laugh when they learn about his life. Ipat is a grotesque character; he became the embodiment of a faithful lackey, a lordly slave who remained faithful to his master even after the abolition of serfdom. He is proud and considers it a great blessing for himself how the master bathed him in an ice hole, harnessed him to a cart, and saved him from death, to which he himself doomed. Such a character cannot even evoke sympathy from Nekrasov; only laughter and contempt are heard from the poet.

Korchagina Matryona Timofeevna

The peasant woman Matryona Timofeevna Korchagina is the heroine to whom Nekrasov dedicated the entire third part of the poem. This is how the poet describes her: “A dignified woman, about thirty-eight years old, broad and dense. Beautiful... big eyes... stern and dark. She’s wearing a white shirt and a short sundress.” Travelers are led to the woman by her words. Matryona agrees to talk about her life if the men will help in the harvest. The title of this chapter (“Peasant Woman”) emphasizes the typicality of Korchagina’s fate for Russian women. And the author’s words “it’s not a matter for women to look for a happy woman” emphasize the futility of the wanderers’ search.

Matryona Timofeevna Korchagina was born into a good, non-drinking family, and she lived happily there. But after marriage, she found herself “in hell”: her father-in-law was a drunkard, her mother-in-law was superstitious, and she had to work for her sister-in-law without straightening her back. Matryona was lucky with her husband: he only beat her once, but all the time, except winter, he was at work. Therefore, there was no one to stand up for the woman; the only one who tried to protect her was grandfather Savely. The woman endures the harassment of Sitnikov, who has no authority because he is the master’s manager. Matryona's only consolation is her first child, Dema, but due to Savely's oversight, he dies: the boy is eaten by pigs.

Time passes, Matryona has new children, parents and grandfather Savely die of old age. The most difficult years are the lean years, when the whole family has to go hungry. When her husband, the last intercessor, is taken into the army out of turn, she goes to the city. He finds the general's house and throws himself at the feet of his wife, asking for intercession. Thanks to the help of the general's wife, Matryona and her husband return home. It was after this incident that everyone considered her lucky. But in the future, the woman faces only troubles: her eldest son is already a soldier. Nekrasov, summing up, says that the key to female happiness has long been lost.

Agap Petrov

Agap is an inflexible and stupid man, according to the peasants who know him. And all because Petrov did not want to put up with the voluntary slavery that fate was pushing the peasants into. The only thing that could calm him down was wine.

When he was caught carrying a log from the master's forest and accused of theft, he could not stand it and told the owner everything he thought about the real state of affairs and life in Russia. Klim Lavin, not wanting to punish Agap, stages a brutal reprisal against him. And then, wanting to console him, he gives him something to drink. But humiliation and excessive drunkenness lead the hero to die in the morning. This is the price the peasants pay for the right to openly express their thoughts and desire to be free.

Veretennikov Pavlusha

Veretennikov was met by men in the village of Kuzminskoye, at a fair; he is a collector of folklore. Nekrasov gives a poor description of his appearance and does not talk about his origin: “The men did not know what family and rank.” However, for some reason everyone calls him master. This uncertainty is necessary for the image of Pavlusha to be generalized. Compared to people, Veretennikov stands out for his concern about the fate of the Russian people. He is not an indifferent observer, like the participants in the many inactive committees that Yakim Nagoy denounces. Nekrasov emphasizes the hero’s kindness and responsiveness by the fact that his very first appearance is marked by a selfless act: Pavlusha helps out a peasant buying shoes for his granddaughter. Genuine concern for the people also attracts travelers to the “master”.

The prototype of the image was the ethnographers-folklorists Pavel Rybnikov and Pavel Yakushkin, who participated in the democratic movement of the 60s of the 19th century. The surname belongs to the journalist P.F. Veretennikov, who visited rural fairs and published reports in Moskovskie Vedomosti.

Yakov

Yakov is a loyal servant, a former servant, he is described in the part of the poem called “A Feast for the Whole World.” The hero was loyal to his master, endured any punishment and performed even the most difficult work without complaint. This continued until the master, who liked his nephew’s bride, sent him to recruit service. Yakov started drinking, but still returned to his owner. However, the man wanted revenge. One day, when he was taking Polivanov (the master) to his sister, Yakov turned off the road into Devil’s Ravine, unharnessed his horse and hanged himself in front of the owner, wanting to leave him alone with his conscience all night. Similar cases revenge was indeed common among the peasants. Nekrasov based his story on a true story he heard from A.F. Horses.

Ermila Girin

Characteristics of the heroes of “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is impossible without a description of this character. It is Ermila who can be considered one of the lucky ones whom the travelers were looking for. The prototype of the hero was A.D. Potanin, a peasant, manager of the Orlovs' estate, famous for his unprecedented justice.

Girin is revered among the peasants because of his honesty. For seven years he was burgomaster, but only once did he allow himself to abuse his power: he did not give his younger brother Mitri as a recruit. But the unrighteous act tormented Yermil so much that he almost killed himself. The intervention of the master saved the situation, he restored justice, returned the peasant who had been unfairly sent to the recruits and sent Mitri to serve, but personally took care of him. Girin then left the service and became a miller. When the mill that he rented was sold, Ermila won the auction, but he did not have the money with him to pay the deposit. The people helped out the peasant: in half an hour, men who remembered kindness collected a thousand rubles for him.

All of Girin’s actions were driven by the desire for justice. Despite the fact that he lived in prosperity and had a considerable household, when a peasant revolt broke out, he did not stand aside, for which he ended up in prison.

Pop

The characterization of the heroes continues. “Who Lives Well in Rus'” - a work rich in characters of different classes, characters and aspirations. Therefore, Nekrasov could not help but turn to the image of a clergyman. According to Luke, it is the priest who should “live cheerfully and freely in Rus'.” And the first on their way, the seekers of happiness meet the village priest, who refutes Luke’s words. The priest has no happiness, wealth or peace of mind. And getting an education is very difficult. The life of a clergyman is not at all sweet: he sees off last way those who die, blesses those who are born, and his soul hurts for the suffering and tormented people.

But the people themselves do not particularly honor the priest. He and his family are constantly the subject of superstitions, jokes, obscene ridicule and songs. And all the wealth of the priests consisted of donations from parishioners, among whom were many landowners. But with cancellation most of rich flock scattered around the world. In 1864, the clergy was deprived of another source of income: schismatics, by decree of the emperor, came under the tutelage of the civil authorities. And with the pennies that the peasants bring, “it’s hard to live.”

Gavrila Afanasyevich Obolt-Obolduev

Our description of the characters in “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is coming to an end; of course, we could not give descriptions of all the characters in the poem, but we included the most important ones in the review. The last of them significant heroes became Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev - a representative of the lordly class. He is round, pot-bellied, mustachioed, ruddy, stocky, and sixty years old. One of the famous ancestors of Gavrila Afanasyevich was a Tatar who entertained the empress with wild animals, stole from the treasury and plotted the arson of Moscow. Obolt-Obolduev is proud of his ancestor. But he is sad because now he can no longer make money from peasant labor as before. The landowner covers up his sorrows with concern for the peasant and the fate of Russia.

This idle, ignorant and hypocritical man is convinced that the purpose of his class is one thing - “to live by the labor of others.” When creating an image, Nekrasov does not skimp on shortcomings and endows his hero with cowardice. This trait is manifested in a comical incident when Obolt-Obolduev mistakes unarmed peasants for robbers and threatens them with a pistol. It took a lot of effort for the men to dissuade the former owner.

Conclusion

Thus, N. A. Nekrasov’s poem is filled with a number of bright, original characters, designed from all sides to reflect the position of the people in Russia, the attitude of different classes and government officials towards them. It is thanks to such a number of descriptions of human destinies, often based on real stories, the work leaves no one indifferent.

In the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus',” N. A. Nekrasov shows the life of the Russian peasantry in post-reform Russia, their difficult situation. The main problem of this work is the search for an answer to the question, “who lives happily and freely in Rus',” who is worthy and not worthy of happiness? The author introduces into the poem the image of seven wandering peasants traveling around the country in search of the lucky ones. This is a group portrait, therefore, in the image of the seven “temporarily obliged” ones, only general traits characteristic of the Russian peasant are given: poverty, curiosity, unpretentiousness. Men do not seek happiness among the working people: peasants, soldiers. Their idea of happiness is associated with the images of the clergy, merchants, nobility, and the king. Peasant truth-seekers have a sense of self-esteem. They are deeply convinced that the working people are better, taller, and smarter than the landowner. The author shows the hatred of the peasants for those who live at their expense. Nekrasov also emphasizes the people’s love for work and their desire to help other people. Having learned that Matryona Timofeevna’s crop is dying, the men without hesitation offer her help; they also help the peasants of the Illiterate province with mowing.
Traveling around Russia, men meet various people. Revealing the images of the heroes encountered by the truth-seekers allows the author to characterize not only the situation of the peasantry, but also the life of the merchants, clergy, and nobility... But the author still pays the main attention to the peasants.
The images of Yakim Nagogo, Ermila Girin, Savely, Matryona Timofeevna combine both general, typical features of the peasantry, such as, for example, hatred of all “shareholders” who drain their vitality, and individual traits.
Yakim Nagoy, personifying the mass of the poor peasantry, “works himself to death,” but lives as a poor man, like the majority of the peasants of the village of Bosovo.
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”. The fate of Yakim is typical for the peasants of post-reform Rus': he “once lived in St. Petersburg,” but, having lost a lawsuit with a merchant, he ended up in prison, from where he returned, “torn like a piece of Velcro” and “took up his plow.”
Another image of the Russian peasant is Ermila Girin. The author endows him with incorruptible honesty and natural intelligence.
Having gone against the “peace”, sacrificing public interests for the sake of personal ones - having given up a neighbor’s guy as a soldier instead of her brother - Yermila is tormented by remorse and comes to the point of thinking about suicide. However, he does not hang himself, but goes to the people to repent.
The episode with the purchase of the mill is important. Nekrasov shows the solidarity of the peasantry. They trust Ermila, and he takes the side of the peasants during the riot.
The author’s idea that Russian peasants are heroes is also important. For this purpose, the image of Savely, the Holy Russian hero, is introduced. Despite the unbearably hard life, the hero has not lost his best qualities. He treats Matryona Timofeevna with sincere love and deeply worries about Demushka’s death. About himself he says: “Branded, but not a slave!” Savely acts as a folk philosopher. He ponders whether the people should continue to endure their lack of rights and oppressed state. Savely comes to the conclusion: it is better to “understand” than to “endure,” and he calls for protest.
Savelia's combination of sincerity, kindness, simplicity, sympathy for the oppressed and hatred of the oppressors makes this image vital and typical.
A special place in the poem, as in all of Nekrasov’s work, is occupied by the display of the “female share”. In the poem, the author reveals it using the example of the image of Matryona Timofeevna. This is a strong and persistent woman, fighting for her freedom and her feminine happiness. But, despite all her efforts, the heroine says: “It’s not a matter of looking for a happy woman among women.”
The fate of Matryona Timofeevna is typical for a Russian woman: after marriage she went to hell from a “maiden holiday”; Misfortunes fell upon her one after another... Finally, Matryona Timofeevna, just like the men, is forced to work hard at work in order to feed her family.

The image of Matryona Timofeevna also contains features of the heroic character of the Russian peasantry.
In the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus',” the author showed how serfdom morally cripples people. He leads us through a procession of courtyard people, servants, serfs, who, over many years of groveling before the master, have completely lost their own “I” and human dignity. This is the faithful Yakov, who takes revenge on the master by killing himself in front of his eyes, and Ipat, the slave of the Utyatin princes, and Klim. Some peasants even become oppressors, receiving insignificant power from the landowner. The peasants hate these slave slaves even more than the landowners, they despise them.
Thus, Nekrasov showed the stratification among the peasantry associated with the reform of 1861.
The poem also notes such a feature of the Russian peasantry as religiosity. It's a way to escape reality. God is the supreme judge from whom the peasants seek protection and justice. Faith in God is hope for a better life.