The main character traits of Oblomov at the beginning of the novel. Roman "Oblomov". Characteristics of the heroes of the work. Ilya Ilyich Oblomov - a typical character at the beginning of the 19th century

Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov” was written during the period of transition of Russian society from outdated, home-building traditions and values to new, educational views and ideas. This process became the most complex and difficult for representatives of the landowner social class, since it required an almost complete rejection of the usual way of life and was associated with the need to adapt to new, more dynamic and rapidly changing conditions. And if part of society easily adapted to the new circumstances, for others the process of transition turned out to be very difficult, since it was essentially opposed to the usual way of life of their parents, grandfathers and great-grandfathers. The representative of precisely such landowners, who failed to change with the world, adapting to it, in the novel is Ilya Ilyich Oblomov. According to the plot of the work, the hero was born in a village far from the capital of Russia - Oblomovka, where he received a classic landowner, house-building upbringing, which formed many of the main character traits of Oblomov - weak-willedness, apathy, lack of initiative, laziness, reluctance to work and the expectation that someone will do everything for him. Excessive parental care, constant prohibitions, and the pacifying lazy atmosphere of Oblomovka led to a deformation of the character of a curious and active boy, making him introverted, prone to escapism and unable to overcome even the most minor difficulties.

The inconsistency of Oblomov’s character in the novel “Oblomov”

The negative side of Oblomov’s character

In the novel, Ilya Ilyich does not decide anything on his own, hoping for help from the outside - Zakhar, who will bring him food or clothes, Stolz, who is able to solve the problems in Oblomovka, Tarantyev, who, although he will deceive, will himself figure out the situation that interests Oblomov, etc. The hero is not interested in real life, it causes him boredom and fatigue, while he finds true peace and satisfaction in the world of illusions he himself has invented. Spending all his days lying on the sofa, Oblomov makes unrealistic plans for the arrangement of Oblomovka and his happy family life, in many ways similar to the calm, monotonous atmosphere of his childhood. All his dreams are directed to the past, even the future that he imagines for himself - echoes of a distant past that can no longer be returned.

It would seem that a lazy, lumbering hero living in an untidy apartment cannot evoke sympathy and affection from the reader, especially against the backdrop of Ilya Ilyich’s active, purposeful friend, Stolz. However, Oblomov’s true essence is revealed gradually, which allows us to see all the versatility and inner unrealized potential of the hero. Even as a child, surrounded by quiet nature, the care and control of his parents, the sensitive, dreamy Ilya was deprived of the most important thing - knowledge of the world through its opposites - beauty and ugliness, victories and defeats, the need to do something and the joy of what was gained through one’s own labor. From an early age, the hero had everything he needed - helpful servants carried out orders at the first call, and his parents spoiled their son in every possible way. Finding himself outside his parents' nest, Oblomov, not ready for the real world, continues to expect that everyone around him will treat him as warmly and welcomingly as in his native Oblomovka. However, his hopes were destroyed already in the first days in the service, where no one cared about him, and everyone was only for themselves. Deprived of the will to live, the ability to fight for his place in the sun and perseverance, Oblomov, after an accidental mistake, leaves the service himself, fearing punishment from his superiors. The very first failure becomes the last for the hero - he no longer wants to move forward, hiding from the real, “cruel” world in his dreams.

Positive side of Oblomov’s character

The person who could pull Oblomov out of this passive state leading to personality degradation was Andrei Ivanovich Stolts. Perhaps Stolz is the only character in the novel who thoroughly saw not only the negative, but also the positive traits of Oblomov: sincerity, kindness, the ability to feel and understand the problems of another person, inner calm and simplicity. It was to Ilya Ilyich that Stolz came in difficult moments, when he needed support and understanding. Oblomov’s dove-like tenderness, sensuality and sincerity are also revealed during his relationship with Olga. Ilya Ilyich is the first to realize that he is not suitable for the active, purposeful Ilyinskaya, who does not want to devote herself to “Oblomov” values - this reveals him as a subtle psychologist. Oblomov is ready to give up his own love, because he understands that he cannot give Olga the happiness she dreams of.

Oblomov’s character and fate are closely connected - his lack of will, inability to fight for his happiness, together with spiritual kindness and gentleness, lead to tragic consequences - fear of the difficulties and sorrows of reality, as well as the hero’s complete withdrawal into the pacifying, calm, wonderful world of illusions.

National character in the novel "Oblomov"

The image of Oblomov in Goncharov’s novel is a reflection of the national Russian character, its ambiguity and versatility. Ilya Ilyich is the same archetypal Emelya the fool on the stove, about whom the nanny told the hero in childhood. Like the character in the fairy tale, Oblomov believes in a miracle that should happen to him by itself: a supportive firebird or a kind sorceress will appear who will take him to the wonderful world of honey and milk rivers. And the chosen one of the sorceress should not be a bright, hard-working, active hero, but always “quiet, harmless”, “some kind of lazy person who is offended by everyone.”

Unquestioning faith in a miracle, in a fairy tale, in the possibility of the impossible is the main feature not only of Ilya Ilyich, but also of any Russian person raised on folk tales and legends. Finding itself on fertile soil, this faith becomes the basis of a person’s life, replacing reality with illusion, as happened with Ilya Ilyich: “his fairy tale is mixed with life, and he is unconsciously sad sometimes, why is a fairy tale not life, and why is life not a fairy tale.”

At the end of the novel, Oblomov, it would seem, finds that “Oblomov” happiness that he has long dreamed of - a calm, monotonous life without stress, a caring, kind wife, an organized life and a son. However, Ilya Ilyich does not return to the real world, he remains in his illusions, which become more important and significant for him than real happiness next to the woman who adores him. In fairy tales, the hero must pass three tests, after which he will be expected to fulfill all his desires, otherwise the hero will die. Ilya Ilyich does not pass a single test, giving in first to failure in the service, and then to the need to change for the sake of Olga. Describing Oblomov’s life, the author seems to be ironizing about the hero’s excessive faith in an unrealizable miracle for which there is no need to fight.

Conclusion

At the same time, the simplicity and complexity of Oblomov’s character, the ambiguity of the character himself, the analysis of his positive and negative sides, allow us to see in Ilya Ilyich the eternal image of an unrealized personality “out of his time” - a “superfluous person” who failed to find his own place in real life, and therefore left into the world of illusions. However, the reason for this, as Goncharov emphasizes, is not a fatal combination of circumstances or the difficult fate of the hero, but the incorrect upbringing of Oblomov, who is sensitive and gentle in character. Raised as a “houseplant,” Ilya Ilyich turned out to be unadapted to a reality that was harsh enough for his refined nature, replacing it with the world of his own dreams.

Work test

Already in “Ordinary History,” the first major work of I.A. Goncharov, he became interested in the type that later immortalized his name. Already there we see indications of the enormous social danger posed by the very special living conditions of intelligent Russian society in the early and mid-19th centuries that developed under the influence of serfdom.

This danger lies in “Oblomovism,” and dreamy romanticism, familiar to us from its bearer Aduev, is only one of the elements of this latter. Goncharov gave an exhaustive image of Oblomovism in the image of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, to whose characteristics we will now turn.

Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is one of the people who cannot but be considered attractive.

From the first pages of the novel, he appears before us as an intelligent person and at the same time with a kind heart. His intelligence is reflected in the insight with which he understands people. For example, he perfectly guessed the numerous visitors who visited him on the morning of the day on which the novel begins. How correctly he assesses both the frivolous pastime of the secular veil Volkov, flitting from one salon to another, and the troublesome life of the careerist official Sudbinsky, who only thinks about how to secure the favor of his superiors, without which it is unthinkable to either receive a salary increase or achieve a profitable business trips, much less advance in career. And this is exactly what Sudbinsky sees as the only goal of his official activities.

He also correctly evaluates Oblomov and the people close to him. He admires Stolz and idolizes Olga Ilyinskaya. But, fully understanding their merits, he does not close his eyes to their shortcomings.

But Oblomov’s mind is purely natural: neither in childhood nor subsequently, no one did anything for his development and education. On the contrary, the lack of systematically received education in childhood, the lack of living spiritual food in adulthood, plunges him into an increasingly dormant state.

At the same time, Oblomov reveals complete ignorance of practical life. As a result, he is more than frightened by what could bring any change to his once established way of life. The manager’s demand to clean the apartment plunges him into horror; he cannot think calmly about the upcoming troubles. This circumstance for Oblomov is much more difficult than receiving a letter from the headman, in which he informs him that his income will be “about two thousand in exchange.” And this is only because the headman’s letter does not require immediate action.

Oblomov is characterized by rare kindness and humanism. These qualities are fully manifested in Oblomov’s conversation with the writer Penkin, who sees the main advantage of literature in “seething anger - the bilious persecution of vice”, in the laughter of contempt for fallen man. Ilya Ilyich objects to him and speaks about humanity, about the need to create not only with his head, but with all his heart.

These properties of Oblomov are combined with his amazing spiritual purity, which makes him incapable of any pretense or any cunning, combined with his condescension towards others, for example, towards Tarantyev, and, at the same time, with a conscious attitude towards his own shortcomings , inspire love for him in almost everyone with whom his fate encounters. Simple people, like Zakhar and Agafya Matveevna, become attached to him with their whole being. And people in his circle, such as Olga Ilyinskaya and Stolz, cannot talk about him except with a feeling of deep sympathy, and sometimes even emotional tenderness.

And, despite his high moral qualities, this man turned out to be completely useless for the cause. Already from the first chapter we learn that lying down was the “normal state” of Ilya Ilyich, who, dressed in his Persian robe, putting on soft and wide shoes, spends whole days in lazy idleness. From the most cursory description of Oblomov’s pastime, it is clear that one of the main features of his psychological make-up is weakness of will and laziness, apathy and panicky fear of life.

What made Oblomov a man who, with unconscious but amazing tenacity, avoided everything that could require labor, and, with no less tenacity, gravitated towards what he saw as carefree lying on his side?

The answer to this question is the description of Oblomov’s childhood and the environment from which he came—a chapter called “Oblomov’s Dream.”

First of all, there are some reasons to consider Oblomov as one of the typical representatives of the 40s of the 19th century. He is brought closer to this era by idealism, with a complete inability to move on to practical activity, a pronounced tendency to reflection and introspection, and a passionate desire for personal happiness.

However, Oblomov also has features that distinguish him from the best, for example, Turgenev’s heroes. This includes the inertia of thought and apathy of Ilya Ilyich’s mind, which prevented him from becoming a fully educated person and developing for himself a coherent philosophical worldview.

Another understanding of Oblomov’s type is that he is predominantly a representative of the Russian pre-reform nobility. Both for himself and for those around him, Oblomov is, first of all, a “master.” Considering Oblomov from this angle alone, one must not lose sight of the fact that his lordship is inextricably linked with “Oblomovism.” Moreover, lordship is the immediate cause of the latter. In Oblomov and in his psychology, in his fate, the process of spontaneous extinction of feudal Rus', the process of its “natural death” is presented.

Finally, it is possible to consider Oblomov as a national type, to which Goncharov himself was inclined.

But, speaking about the presence of Oblomov’s negative traits in the character of a Russian person, it should be remembered that such traits are not the only ones inherent in Russians. An example of this is the heroes of other literary works - Lisa Kalitina from “The Noble Nest”, who has a selfless character, Elena from “On the Eve”, striving to do active good, Solomin from “Novi” - these people, also being Russian, are absolutely not similar to Oblomov.

Oblomov's characterization plan

Introduction.

Main part. Characteristics of Oblomov
1) Mind
a) Relationship with friends
b) Assessment of loved ones
c) Lack of education
d) Ignorance of practical life
e) Lack of perspective

2) Heart
a) Kindness
b) Humanity
c) Mental purity
d) Sincerity
d) “Honest, true heart”

3) Will
a) Apathy
b) Lack of will

Moral death of Oblomov. “Oblomov’s Dream,” as her explanation.

Conclusion. Oblomov as a social and national type.
a) Oblomov, as a representative of the 40s of the 19th century
- Similarities.
— Features of difference.
b) Oblomov, as a representative of the pre-reform nobility.
c) Oblomov as a national type.

Oblomov's character

Roman I.A. Goncharov's "Oblomov" was published in 1859. It took almost 10 years to create it. This is one of the most outstanding novels of classical literature of our time. This is how famous literary critics of that era spoke about the novel. Goncharov was able to convey realistically objective and reliable facts about the reality of the layers of the social environment of the historical period. It must be assumed that his most successful achievement was the creation of the image of Oblomov.

He was a young man of about 32-33 years old, of average height, with a pleasant face and an intelligent look, but without any definite depth of meaning. As the author noted, the thought walked across the face like a free bird, fluttered in the eyes, dropped onto half-open lips, hid in the folds of the forehead, then completely disappeared and a carefree young man appeared in front of us. Sometimes one could read boredom or fatigue on his face, but still there was a gentleness of character and the warmth of his soul. Throughout Oblomov’s life, he has been accompanied by three attributes of bourgeois well-being - a sofa, a robe and shoes. At home, Oblomov wore an oriental, soft, roomy robe. He spent all his free time lying down. Laziness was an integral trait of his character. Cleaning in the house was carried out superficially, creating the appearance of cobwebs hanging in the corners, although at first glance one might think that the room was well cleaned. There were two more rooms in the house, but he did not go there at all. If there was an uncleaned plate from dinner with crumbs everywhere, a half-smoked pipe, you would think that the apartment was empty, no one lived in it. He was always surprised by his energetic friends. How can you waste your life like this, scattered on dozens of things at once? His financial condition wanted to be better. Lying on the sofa, Ilya Ilyich was always thinking about how to correct him.

The image of Oblomov is a complex, contradictory, even tragic hero. His character predetermines an ordinary, uninteresting fate, devoid of the energy of life and its bright events. Goncharov pays his main attention to the established system of that era, which influenced his hero. This influence was expressed in Oblomov’s empty and meaningless existence. Helpless attempts at revival under the influence of Olga, Stolz, marriage to Pshenitsyna, and death itself are defined in the novel as Oblomovism.

The very character of the hero, according to the writer’s plan, is much larger and deeper. Oblomov's dream is the key to unlocking the entire novel. The hero moves to another era, to other people. Lots of light, joyful childhood, gardens, sunny rivers, but first you have to overcome obstacles, an endless sea with raging waves and groans. Behind him are rocks with abysses, a crimson sky with a red glow. After an exciting landscape, we find ourselves in a small corner where people live happily, where they want to be born and die, it cannot be otherwise, so they believe. Goncharov describes these residents: “Everything in the village is quiet and sleepy: the silent huts are wide open; not a soul in sight; Only flies fly in clouds and buzz in the stuffy atmosphere.” There we meet young Oblomov. As a child, Oblomov could not dress himself; servants always helped him. As an adult, he also resorts to their help. Ilyusha grows up in an atmosphere of love, peace and excessive care. Oblomovka is a corner where calm and undisturbed silence reigns. It's a dream within a dream. Everything around seems to have frozen, and nothing can wake up these people who live uselessly in a distant village without any connection with the rest of the world. Ilyusha grew up on fairy tales and legends that his nanny told him. By developing daydreaming, the fairy tale tied Ilyusha more to the house, causing inaction.

Oblomov’s dream describes the hero’s childhood and upbringing. All this helps to recognize Oblomov’s character. The life of the Oblomovs is passivity and apathy. Childhood is his ideal. There in Oblomovka, Ilyusha felt warm, reliable and very protected. This ideal doomed him to a further aimless existence.

The solution to the character of Ilya Ilyich in his childhood, from where direct threads stretch to the adult hero. The character of a hero is an objective result of the conditions of birth and upbringing.

Oblomov novel laziness character

Oblomov's character

Basic Oblomov's character traits- weakness of will, passive, indifferent attitude towards the surrounding reality, a tendency towards a purely contemplative life, carelessness and laziness. The common name “Oblomov” came into use to designate an extremely inactive, phlegmatic and passive person.

Oblomov's favorite pastime is lying in bed. “Ilya Ilyich’s lying down was neither a necessity, like that of a sick person or like a person who wants to sleep, nor an accident, like that of someone who is tired, nor a pleasure, like that of a lazy person - it was his normal state. When he was at home - and he was almost always at home - he kept lying down, and everything was always in the same room.” Oblomov's office was dominated by neglect and negligence. If it weren’t for the plate with a salt shaker and a gnawed bone lying on the table, uncleaned from the evening dinner, and the pipe leaning against the bed, or the owner himself lying in bed, “one would think that no one lives here - everything was so dusty, faded and generally devoid of living traces of human presence.”

Oblomov is too lazy to get up, too lazy to get dressed, too lazy to even concentrate his thoughts on anything.

Living a sluggish, contemplative life, Ilya Ilyich is not averse to dreaming sometimes, but his dreams are fruitless and irresponsible. So he, the motionless hulk, dreams of becoming a famous commander, like Napoleon, or a great artist, or a writer, before whom everyone bows. These dreams did not lead to anything - they are just one of the manifestations of an idle pastime.

A state of apathy is also typical of Oblomov’s character. He is afraid of life, tries to isolate himself from life's impressions. He says with effort and prayer: “Life touches.” At the same time, Oblomov is deeply characterized by lordship. Once his servant Zakhar hinted that “others lead a different life.” Oblomov responded to this reproach this way:

“The other one works tirelessly, runs around, fusses... If he doesn’t work, he won’t eat... And I?.. Am I rushing around, am I working?.. Do I eat little, or what?.. Am I missing something? It seems like there’s someone to give it to: I’ve never once pulled a stocking on my feet as I’ve been living, thank God! Will I worry? What do I need from?

Why did Oblomov become an “Oblomov”? Childhood in Oblomovka

Oblomov was not born such a worthless slacker as he is presented in the novel. All his negative character traits are a product of depressing living conditions and upbringing in childhood.

In the chapter “Oblomov’s Dream” Goncharov shows why Oblomov became “Oblomov”. But how active, inquisitive and inquisitive little Ilyusha Oblomov was and how these traits were extinguished in the ugly environment of Oblomovka:

“The child looks and observes with a sharp and ever-changing gaze how and what adults do, what they devote their morning to. Not a single detail, not a single feature escapes the child’s inquisitive attention; the picture of home life is indelibly etched into the soul, the soft mind is nourished with living examples and unconsciously draws a program for his life based on the life around him.”

But how monotonous and boring are the pictures of domestic life in Oblomovka! All life consisted in the fact that people ate many times a day, slept until they were stupefied, and in their free time from eating and sleeping, they wandered around idle.

Ilyusha is a lively, active child, he wants to run around and observe, but his natural childish inquisitiveness is blocked.

“Let’s go for a walk, Mom,” says Ilyusha.
- What are you, God bless you! Now go for a walk,” she replies, “it’s damp, you’ll catch cold in your legs; and it’s scary: a goblin is now walking in the forest, he’s carrying away little children...”

They protected Ilyusha from labor in every possible way, created a lordly state in the child, and taught him to be inactive. “If Ilya Ilyich wants something, he only has to blink - three or four servants rush to fulfill his desire; whether he drops something, whether he needs to get something, but he can’t get it, whether to bring something, whether to run away; sometimes, like a playful boy, he just wants to rush in and redo everything himself, and then suddenly his father and mother and three aunts shout in five voices:

"For what? Where? What about Vaska, and Vanka, and Zakharka? Hey! Vaska! Vanka! Zakharka! What are you looking at, dumbass? Here I am!..”

And Ilya Ilyich will never be able to do anything for himself.”

Parents looked at Ilyusha's education only as a necessary evil. It was not respect for knowledge, nor the need for it that they awakened in the child’s heart, but rather disgust, and they tried in every possible way to “make this difficult matter easier” for the boy; under various pretexts they did not send Ilyusha to the teacher: sometimes under the pretext of ill health, sometimes because of someone’s upcoming name day, and even in those cases when they were going to bake pancakes.

The years of his studies at the university passed without a trace for Oblomov’s mental and moral development; nothing worked out for this man who was not accustomed to work; Neither his smart and energetic friend Stolz, nor his beloved girl Olga, who set the goal of returning Oblomov to an active life, had a deep impact on him.

Parting with his friend, Stolz said: “Farewell, old Oblomovka, you have outlived your time”. These words refer to tsarist pre-reform Russia, but even in the conditions of the new life, many sources that fed Oblomovism were still preserved.

Oblomov today, in the modern world

No today, in the modern world Oblomovki, no Oblomov in the pronounced and extreme form in which it is shown by Goncharov. But with all this, in our country from time to time we encounter manifestations of Oblomovism as a relic of the past. Their roots must be sought first of all in the incorrect conditions of family upbringing of some children, whose parents, usually without realizing it, contribute to the emergence of Oblomov-like sentiments and Oblomov-like behavior in their children.

And in the modern world there are families where love for children is manifested in providing them with such conveniences in which children, as far as possible, are freed from labor. Some children display traits of Oblomov’s weak character only in relation to certain types of activity: mental or, on the contrary, physical labor. Meanwhile, without a combination of mental and physical labor, development proceeds one-sidedly. This one-sidedness can lead to general lethargy and apathy.

Oblomovism is a sharp expression of weak character. To prevent it, it is necessary to cultivate in children those strong-willed character traits that exclude passivity and apathy. These traits primarily include determination. A person with a strong character has traits of strong-willed activity: determination, courage, initiative. Particularly important for a strong character is perseverance, which manifests itself in overcoming obstacles and in the fight against difficulties. Strong characters are formed through struggle. Oblomov was freed from all effort, life in his eyes was divided into two halves: “one consisted of work and boredom - these were synonyms for him; the other from peace and peaceful fun.” Not accustomed to labor effort, children, like Oblomov, tend to identify work with boredom and seek peace and peaceful fun.

It is useful to re-read the wonderful novel “Oblomov”, so that, imbued with a feeling of disgust for Oblomovism and its roots, carefully monitor whether there are any remnants of it in the modern world - albeit not in a sharp, but sometimes disguised form, and take all measures to overcome these remnants.

Based on materials from the magazine “Family and School”, 1963