Actions and motives of Oblomov’s behavior. Is Oblomov's image tragic? Characteristics of the main character and definition of techniques for creating an image

It is not at all by chance that Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov wrote his famous novel "Oblomov", recognized by his contemporaries as a classic after its publication, ten years later. As he himself wrote about him, this novel is about “his” generation, about those barchuks who came to St. Petersburg “from kind mothers” and tried to make a career there. To really make a career, they had to change their attitude towards work. Ivan Alexandrovich himself went through this. However, many landed nobles remained idle in adult life. At the beginning of the 19th century this was not uncommon. For Goncharov, the artistic and holistic representation of a representative of a nobleman degenerating under the conditions of serfdom became the main idea of ​​the novel.

Ilya Ilyich Oblomov - a typical character at the beginning of the 19th century

Oblomov’s appearance, the very image of this local nobleman-idler, absorbed so many characteristic features that it became a household name. As the memoirs of contemporaries testify, in Goncharov’s time it even became an unwritten rule not to call a son “Ilya” if his father’s name was the same... The reason is that such people do not need to work to provide for themselves. They don’t have to serve, after all, capital and serfs already provide him with a certain weight in society. This is a landowner who owns 350 serfs, but is absolutely not interested in agriculture, which feeds him, and has no control over the thief-clerk who shamelessly robs him.

Expensive mahogany furniture is covered in dust. His entire existence is spent on the couch. It replaces his entire apartment: living room, kitchen, hallway, office. There are mice running around the apartment and there are bedbugs.

Appearance of the main character

The description of Oblomov's appearance indicates the special - satirical role of this image in Russian literature. His essence is that he continued the classical tradition of superfluous people in his Fatherland, following Pushkin's Eugene Onegin and Lermontov's Pechorin. Ilya Ilyich has an appearance that matches this lifestyle. He dresses his old, plump, but already loose body in a rather threadbare robe. His gaze is dreamy, his hands are motionless.

The main detail of Ilya Ilyich’s appearance

It is no coincidence that, repeatedly describing Oblomov’s appearance throughout the novel, Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov focuses attention precisely on his plump arms, with small hands, completely pampered. This artistic device - men's hands not busy with work - additionally emphasizes the passivity of the protagonist.

Oblomov's dreams never find their real continuation in business. They are his personal way of nurturing his laziness. And he is busy with them from the moment he wakes up: the day in the life of Ilya Ilyich shown by Goncharov, for example, begins with an hour and a half of motionless daydreaming, naturally, without getting off the couch...

Positive traits of Oblomov

However, it should be admitted that Ilya Ilyich is kinder and more open. He is friendlier than the high-society dandy Onegin, or the fatalist Pechorin, who brings only trouble to those around him. He is not capable of quarreling with a person over a trifle, much less challenging him to a duel.

Goncharov describes the appearance of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov in full accordance with his lifestyle. And this landowner lives with his devoted servant Zakhar on the Vyborg side in a spacious four-room apartment. A plump, doughy 32-33-year-old balding brown-haired man with brown hair, a rather pleasant face and dreamy dark gray eyes. This is Oblomov’s appearance in the brief description that Goncharov presents to us at the beginning of his novel. This hereditary nobleman from a once famous family in the province came to St. Petersburg twelve years ago to pursue an bureaucratic career. He started with a rank. Then, due to negligence, he sent a letter to Arkhangelsk instead of Astrakhan and, frightened, quit.

His appearance certainly encourages the interlocutor to communicate. And it is not surprising that guests come to see him every day. Oblomov's appearance in the novel "Oblomov" cannot be called unattractive; it even to some extent expresses the remarkable mind of Ilya Ilyich. However, there is no practical tenacity or purposefulness in it. However, his face is expressive, it displays a continuous stream of thoughts. He speaks practical words and makes noble plans. The very description of Oblomov’s appearance leads the attentive reader to the conclusion that his spirituality is toothless, and his plans will never come true. They will be forgotten before they reach practical implementation. However, in their place will come new ideas, equally divorced from reality...

Oblomov's appearance is a mirror of degradation...

Let us note that even Oblomov’s appearance in the novel “Oblomov” could have been completely different if he had received a different home upbringing... After all, he was an energetic, inquisitive child, not prone to being overweight. As befits his age, he was interested in what was happening around him. However, the mother assigned vigilant nannies to the child, who did not allow him to take anything in his hands. Over time, Ilya Ilyich also perceived any work as the lot of the lower class, men.

Appearances of opposite characters: Stolz and Oblomov

Why would a physiognomist observer come to this conclusion? Yes, because, for example, Stolz’s appearance in the novel “Oblomov” is completely different: wiry, agile, dynamic. Andrei Ivanovich does not tend to dream; instead, he rather plans, analyzes, formulates a goal, and then works to achieve it... After all, Stolz, his friend from a young age, thinks rationally, having a legal education, as well as rich experience in service and communication with people.. His origin is not as noble as that of Ilya Ilyich. His father is a German who works as a clerk for landowners (in our current understanding, a classic hired manager), and his mother is a Russian woman who received a good liberal arts education. From childhood he knew that a career and position in society should be earned through hard work.

These two characters are diametrically opposed in the novel. Even the appearance of Oblomov and Stolz is completely different. Nothing similar, not a single similar feature - two completely different human types. The first is an excellent conversationalist, a man of an open soul, but a lazy person in the last incarnation of this flaw. The second is active, ready to help friends in trouble. In particular, he introduces his friend Ilya to a girl who can “cure” him of laziness - Olga Ilyinskaya. In addition, he brings order to the landowner agriculture of Oblomovka. And after Oblomov’s death, he adopts his son Andrei.

Differences in the way Goncharov presents the appearance of Stolz and Oblomov

In different ways we recognize the appearance traits that Oblomov and Stolz possess. The author shows the appearance of Ilya Ilyich in a classic way: from the words of the author talking about him. We learn the appearance of Andrei Stolts gradually, from the words of other characters in the novel. This is how we begin to understand that Andrey has a lean, wiry, muscular physique. His skin is dark, and his greenish eyes are expressive.

Oblomov and Stolz also have different attitudes towards love. The appearance of their chosen ones, as well as the relationships with them, are different between the two heroes of the novel. Oblomov gets his wife-mother Agafya Pshenitsyna - loving, caring, not bothersome. Stolz marries the educated Olga Ilyinskaya - his comrade-in-arms wife, his assistant wife.

It is not surprising that this man, unlike Oblomov, squanders his fortune.

Appearance and respect of people, are they related?

The appearance of Oblomov and Stolz is perceived differently by people. The weakling Oblomov, like honey, attracts flies, attracts the swindlers Mikhei Tarantiev and Ivan Mukhoyarov. He periodically feels bouts of apathy, feeling obvious discomfort from his passive position in life. The collected, far-sighted Stolz does not experience such loss of spirit. He loves life. With his insight and serious approach to life, he frightens scoundrels. It’s not for nothing that after meeting him, Mikhei Tarantiev “goes on the run.” For

Conclusion

Ilyich’s appearance fits perfectly into the concept of “an extra person, that is, an individual who cannot realize himself in society. Those abilities that he possessed in his youth were subsequently ruined. First, through improper upbringing, and then through idleness. The previously bright little boy became flabby by the age of 32, lost interest in the life around him, and by the age of 40 he became ill and died.

Ivan Goncharov described the type of nobleman-serf owner who has a rentier position in life (he regularly gets money from the work of other people, but Oblomov has no such desire to work himself.) It is quite obvious that people with such a position in life have no future.

At the same time, the energetic and purposeful commoner Andrei Stolts achieves obvious success in life and a position in society. His appearance is a reflection of his active nature.

(16 )

Characteristics of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov very ambiguous. Goncharov created it complex and mysterious. Oblomov separates himself from the outside world, fences himself off from it. Even his home bears little resemblance to habitation.

From early childhood, he saw a similar example from his relatives, who also fenced off from the outside world and protected it. It was not customary to work in his home. When he, as a child, played snowballs with peasant children, they then warmed him up for several days. In Oblomovka they were wary of everything new - even a letter that came from a neighbor, in which he asked for a beer recipe, was afraid to open for three days.

But Ilya Ilyich remembers his childhood with joy. He idolizes the nature of Oblomovka, although this is an ordinary village, not particularly remarkable. He was brought up by rural nature. This nature instilled in him poetry and a love of beauty.

Ilya Ilyich does nothing, just complains about something all the time and engages in verbiage. He is lazy, does nothing himself and does not expect anything from others. He accepts life as it is and does not try to change anything in it.

When people come to him and tell him about their lives, he feels that in the bustle of life they forget that they are wasting their lives in vain... And he does not need to fuss, act, does not need to prove anything to anyone. Ilya Ilyich simply lives and enjoys life.

It's hard to imagine him in motion, he looks funny. At rest, lying on the sofa, it is natural. He looks at ease - this is his element, his nature.

Let's summarize what we read:

1. Appearance of Ilya Oblomov. Ilya Ilyich is a young man, 33 years old, good-looking, of average height, plump. The softness of his facial expression showed him to be a weak-willed and lazy person.
2. Family status. At the beginning of the novel, Oblomov is not married, he lives with his servant Zakhar. At the end of the novel he gets married and is happily married.
3. Description of the home. Ilya lives in St. Petersburg in an apartment on Gorokhovaya Street. The apartment is neglected; the servant Zakhar, who is as lazy as the owner, rarely sneaks into it. A special place in the apartment is occupied by a sofa, on which Oblomov lies around the clock.
4. Behavior and actions of the hero. Ilya Ilyich can hardly be called an active person. Only his friend Stolz manages to bring Oblomov out of his slumber. The main character is lying on the sofa and only dreams that he will soon get up from it and take care of business. He cannot even solve pressing problems. His estate has fallen into disrepair and is not bringing in any money, so Oblomov doesn’t even have money to pay the rent.
5. The author's attitude towards the hero. Goncharov has sympathy for Oblomov; he considers him a kind, sincere person. At the same time, he sympathizes with him: it is a pity that a young, capable, not stupid man has lost all interest in life.
6. My attitude towards Ilya Oblomov. In my opinion, he is too lazy and weak-willed, and therefore cannot command respect. At times he just infuriates me, I want to go up and shake him. I don't like people who live their lives so mediocrely. Perhaps I react so strongly to this hero because I feel the same shortcomings in myself.

Sections: Literature

As long as there is at least one Russian left - until then
Oblomov will be remembered.
I.S. Turgenev.

The history of the human soul is perhaps more curious
and no more useful than the history of an entire people.
M.Yu. Lermontov.

Among the works of I.A. Goncharov: “Frigate “Pallada”, “Cliff”, “Ordinary History” - novel “Oblomov” occupies a special place, he is the most famous. The work was written in 1859, several years before the abolition of serfdom, so the hero’s story reflects the conflict caused by the fact that the nobility ceased to be an advanced class and lost its significant place in social development. A special feature of the novel is that I. Goncharov, for the first time in Russian literature, examined a person’s life “from cradle to grave.” His life, he himself, is the main theme of the work, which is why it is called “Oblomov,” although in the history of Russian literature not many works are named by the name of the main character. His surname belongs to the category of “speakers”, because he “ childbirth decrepit fragment”, the name Ilya reminds us of the epic hero who lay on the stove until he was 33 years old, but we know that then Ilya Muromets did so many good deeds that he is still alive in people’s memory. And our hero never got up from the couch (when we meet Oblomov, he is 32–33 years old, but nothing changes in his life). In addition, the author used the technique of repeating the name and patronymic: Ilya Ilyich. This emphasizes that the son repeats the fate of his father, life goes on as usual.

As soon as I. A. Goncharov’s novel was published, Russian critics wrote its hero into the category of “superfluous” people, where Chatsky, Onegin, and Pechorin were already “listed.” The literature of the 19th century described mainly the fate of losers; obviously, there were not many of them among the nobles, it was surprising, and they wrote about it. Russian writers of the 19th century tried to understand how, despite everything being ready (at a time when the heroes of Western literature build their lives as a struggle for survival, for material well-being), Russian noble heroes turned out to be losers and at the same time were very rich people, for example, Onegin – “ heir to all his relatives" Or, in fact, “ money can not buy happiness"? Russian heroes and Russian works still arouse interest; foreign readers, including schoolchildren, are trying to understand them. What is interesting to our tenth graders? At the end of the year, a survey was conducted to determine which work of the books we had read seemed the most interesting. Most tenth graders named Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov,” and according to the program it is studied in overview, over the course of several lessons.

What could be interesting about a couch potato? When the name Ilya Oblomov is pronounced, significant additions appear in the imagination: a sofa and a robe, which, like a slave, obeyed the movement of the body. Let's follow the author and take a closer look at the facial features of his hero. “ It was a man ... of pleasant appearance, with dark gray eyes that wandered carelessly along the walls, along the ceiling, with that vague thoughtfulness that shows that nothing occupies him, nothing worries him. The carelessness passed from the face into the poses of the whole body, even into the folds of the dressing gown.…Color Ilya Ilyich’s face was neither ruddy, nor dark, nor positively pale, but indifferent... If a cloud of concern came over his face from the soul, his gaze became foggy..." But in Oblomov’s entire appearance, “the soul shone openly and clearly.” This bright soul conquers the hearts of two women: Olga Ilyinskaya and Agafya Matveevna Pshenitsyna. The light of his soul also attracts Andrei Stolts, who, having traveled around Europe, specially comes to sit on Oblomov’s wide sofa and calm his soul in conversation with him. There has never yet been a hero in Russian literature who does not leave the couch for eleven chapters. Only the arrival of Stolz brings him to his feet.

In the first chapters, the author introduces us to Oblomov’s visitors; we see that our hero has many guests. Volkov ran in to show off his new tailcoat and his new love, he was happy about both, and it’s hard to say what more, he had a whole day full of visits, and among the visits was a visit to Oblomov. Sudbinsky, a former colleague, comes to boast about his promotion (“ I'm having lunch at the lieutenant governor's”, a quick profitable marriage. Penkin asks to go on a walk with him, because... he needs to write an article about the party, “ together We will observe, if I didn’t notice, you would tell me" Alekseev and Tarantiev – “ two Oblomov's most zealous visitors" - went to see him " drink, eat, smoke good cigars" It is no coincidence that the author describes Oblomov’s guests in the second chapter, immediately after introducing the reader to the main character and his servant. He compares the hero with his acquaintances, and it seems that the author’s sympathies are on the side of Ilya Oblomov: in his human qualities he is better than the guests, he is generous, condescending, and sincere. And the fact that he does not serve in a government agency, I.A. Goncharov explains that his hero does not need to earn his daily bread: “ he has Zakhar and three hundred more Zakharovs”.

The author finds a lot of strange and repulsive things in his hero, but for some reason it is difficult to agree with the opinion of critics that Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is a “superfluous” person. How can someone who is loved by everyone around him be “superfluous”? After Oblomov’s death, Olga Ilyinskaya will plant lilacs on his grave as a sign that she remembers him. The inconsolable Agafya Matveevna often comes to his grave. His son Andrei and Stolz remember him. Why did they all love Oblomov? And was there anything to love him for? The author calls the hero's soul light. This epithet occurs again in the novel in the description of Oblomovka, where the bright river flowed. Maybe the bright river of childhood endowed his soul with warmth and radiance? What love the lines dedicated to childhood memories breathe. We see, " how the sky presses closer to the earth, hugging it with love”, “the rain is like the tears of a suddenly joyful person.” For Oblomov himself, tears are evoked by memories of his mother. He is sensitive, kind, smart, but completely unsuited to life, he cannot manage his estate, he can easily be deceived. “Why am I like this?” – the hero himself suffers. And he finds the answer that it’s all to blame “ Oblomovism.” With this word Ilya Ilyich calls passivity, inability to manage men, inability to calculate income from the estate. The sofa and robe are also symbols “ Oblomovism" A. Stolz speaks about this very clearly: “ Started with inability to put on stockings, but ended in inability to live.” Why did he change so much, because as a child he was just waiting for that hour when the whole village fell asleep in the afternoon sleep, and he “ was as if alone in the whole world”, “he was impatiently waiting for this moment from which his independent life began" How does the hero himself explain his reluctance? take an active part in life? “Life: life is good! What to look for there? These are all dead people, sleeping people, these members of the world and society are worse than me. What drives them in life? So they don’t lie down, but scurry about every day like flies, back and forth, but what’s the point? Don't they sleep sitting all their lives? Why am I more to blame than them, lying at home? What about our youth? Isn’t he asleep, walking, driving along Nevsky, dancing?”

A very interesting statement by M.M. Prishvin regarding Oblomov: “...his peace conceals within itself a request for the highest value, for such activity, because of which it would be worth losing peace.”

Chatsky, Onegin, Pechorin, Oblomov are images of talented, bright, intelligent people, but their fate is tragic, and this brings them closer together. For some reason, at turning points in life, it is precisely such people who turn out to be unnecessary to society, it seems to “squeeze out” them, does not need their intelligence, talent, there is no place for them in society.

Modern life confirms what A. Griboyedov, A. Pushkin, M. Lermontov, I. Goncharov once noticed. And it’s not their fault that critics called the heroes they invented “superfluous” people.

Studying the novel by I.A. Goncharov in the 10th grade is natural, because At this time, the teenager is faced with the problem of choosing a life path.

Summary of a literature lesson in 10th grade

Characteristics of the main character and definition of techniques for creating an image

(exposure analysis)

Lesson objectives:

• Cognitive: compose a characterization of the hero; trace the techniques for creating an image; expressive means by which the image is created; highlight plot elements using the example of the first chapter of a novel.

• Developmental: compare the descriptions in the first chapter of the novel with paintings by Flemish artists of the early 17th century (development of imaginative thinking).

• Educational: emphasize national features in the image of the main character, paying attention to their typicality and relevance.

Remember what the characteristics of a hero include (indirect and direct).

Extracts, their systematization.

– What can be noted in the first chapter?

- The author's skill. We read the first sentence of the first chapter: “ In Gorokhovaya Street, in one of the large houses, the population of which would be equal to the entire county town, Ilya Ilyich Oblomov was lying in bed in his apartment in the morning.”

The first sentence contains seven pieces of information:

• In Gorokhovaya street
• in one of the big houses
• a population that would be enough for an entire county town
• in the morning
• in bed
• at your apartment
• lying I.I.Oblomov

In the second sentence, the author indicates Oblomov’s age: “a man about thirty-two or three years old.” Is this a coincidence or not? At thirty-three years old, Jesus began to serve people, sacrificed himself, “thirty years and three years” Ilya Muromets sat on the stove, but then he did so many good deeds and accomplished feats that he is still remembered. What about Oblomov?

Portrait of a hero.

The author himself gives a description of the portrait of his hero; he does not trust anyone's eyes. The portrait uses many expressive means. These are unexpected epithets: complexion indifferent, uncertain thoughtfulness, cold Human. These are personifications: with eyes, walking carelessly along the walls; from the face carelessness passed into full body poses; neither tiredness nor boredom could not not for a minute drive away softness from the face. The author used metaphors for the portrait of his hero: running onto his face cloud of worries, began game of doubt. The transfer of natural phenomena to humans was also used: the look was foggy.

What stands out in the description of appearance? “How Oblomov’s home suit went to to the calm features of his face and to his pampered body! He was wearing a robe, a real oriental robe...which, like an obedient slave, obeys the slightest movement of the body...Shoes on they were long, soft and wide; when he, without looking, lowered his legs from the bed to the floor, then he certainly got into them right away" Ilya Ilyich Oblomov “ loved the space and freedom”.

Let's look at the interior. The question immediately arises: why did the same room serve as a bedroom, an office, and a reception room?

• So as not to clean up.
• The hero practically does not move.
• We can calmly examine it.

What was in the room?

• Mahogany Bureau.
• Two sofas, the back of one sofa sank down.
• Beautiful screens with embroidered birds and fruits unprecedented in nature.
• Silk curtains, carpets, several paintings, bronze, porcelain and many beautiful little things.
• Ungraceful mahogany chairs, rickety bookcases.

“The owner himself, however, looked at the decoration of his office so coldly and absent-mindedly, as if he was asking with his eyes: “Who brought all this here?”

One thing that stands out about the interior is that it is very detailed, there are a lot of details. Goncharov called himself a draftsman. V.G. Belinsky noted: “He is carried away by his ability to draw.” A.V. Druzhinin writes: “Like the Flemings, Goncharov is national, poetic in the smallest details, like them, he puts before our eyes the whole life of a given era and a given society.”

What do the descriptions of Goncharov and the still lifes of Dutch artists have in common? – Even small details are drawn.
Why can you compare them? – Each piece is masterfully executed.

Confirmation of this can be found in the text of the first chapter - “ silk curtains”, pattern on fabric “with embroidered with birds and fruits unprecedented in nature”; “on the table... a plate with a salt shaker and a gnawed bone and bread crumbs.”

I.A. Goncharov uses many details when describing, achieving the verisimilitude of the picture.

The hero's actions.

• If he wants to get up and wash, he will have time after tea, you can drink tea in bed, nothing prevents you from thinking while lying down.
• He rose and almost stood up, and even began to lower one leg from the bed, but immediately picked it up.
• About a quarter of an hour passed - well, it’s enough to lie down, it’s time to get up.
• “I’ll read the letter, then I’ll get up.”
• “It’s already eleven o’clock and I haven’t gotten up yet.”
• He turned on his back.
• Call. He lies down and looks curiously at the doors.

What is special about Oblomov’s behavior?– Thought is extinction, desire is extinction.

Attitude to life.

If you think that Oblomov does not know how you can radically change your life, then you are deeply mistaken. Here is his reasoning: “ Where to start?...outline a detailed instructions to the attorney and send him to the village, mortgage Oblomovka, buy land, send a development plan, rent out an apartment, take a passport and go abroad for six months, sell off excess fat, lose weight, refresh your soul with the air that you once dreamed of with a friend, live without a robe, without Zakhar, put on stockings yourself and take off your boots, sleep only at night, go where everyone else is going, then... then settle in Oblomovka, know what sowing and threshing is, why a man is poor and rich, go to the field , go to elections...And so all my life! Farewell, poetic ideal of life! This is some kind of forge, not life; there is always flames, chatter, heat, noise... when to live?”

What can you say about the author’s attitude towards his hero? In what ways is this revealed? Here he wakes up in the morning, “ and the mind has not yet come to the rescue”. “However, it is necessary to give justice to Ilya Ilyich’s care for his affairs. Based on the first unpleasant letter from the headman, received several years ago, he had already begun to create in his mind a plan for various changes" The author makes fun of his hero using irony.

• Description (portrait, appearance, interior).
• Focus on details.
• Irony.
• Complementing one image with another (Zakhar looks like his owner).
• Reception of extinction.
• Identification of typical features (Goncharov’s hero is immediately similar to both Manilov and someone very familiar from our lives).

“...a cold beauty who maintains her character.” (Page 96)

“What should he do now? Go forward or stay? This Oblomov question was deeper for him than Hamlet’s.”(Page 168)

“This is some kind of forge, not life; there is always flames, chatter, heat, noise, ... when"

• I.I. Oblomov is a hero of his time, but also of our time. “As long as there is at least one Russian left, Oblomov will be remembered” (V.G. Belinsky). Your thoughts on this matter.
• Oblomov is “worth boundless love,” his creator himself is devoted to Oblomov, all the characters in the novel adore him (Stolz, Olga Ilyinskaya, Agafya Matveevna, Zakhar). For what?
• Read the second chapter. Compare Oblomov with his visitors.
• Read Oblomov’s letter to Olga Ilyinskaya (second part, chapter IX, pp. 221–223). What can be added to Oblomov’s characterization, judging by this letter?
• As you read, make notes of phrases you like.

Tenth graders wrote down the following phrases from I.A. Goncharova:

• “Cunning is like a small coin that can't buy you much.” (Page 231)
• “Where can you get enough for every moment of looking around?(Page 221)
• “Self-love is the salt of life.”(Page 166)
• “Winter, how impregnable it is to live? (Page 168)
• “I pulled a book out of the corner and in one hour I wanted to read, write, change my mind everything that I had not read, written or changed my mind in ten years.”(Page 168)

Literature:

I.A. Goncharov. Selected works. – M.: Fiction, 1990 – 575 pp. (Teacher’s book).

Introduction

The work “Oblomov” by Goncharov is a socio-psychological novel that was published in 1859. In the book, the author touches on a number of eternal topics: parents and children, love and friendship, the search for the meaning of life and others, revealing them through the biography of the main character - Ilya Ilyich Oblomov - a lazy, apathetic man, overly dreamy and completely unadapted to real life. The image of Oblomov in Goncharov’s novel is the central and most striking male image of the work. According to the plot of the book, the reader meets Ilya Ilyich when the hero has already reached over thirty years of age and is a fully formed personality. Like many men of his age, he dreams of a large family, children, a sweet, thrifty wife and a prosperous end of life in his native estate - Oblomovka. However, all these ideas about the distant wonderful future remain only in the hero’s dreams; in real life, Ilya Ilyich does absolutely nothing that would bring him even one step closer to the idyllic picture that he had long planned in his dreams.

Oblomov's days pass in continuous idleness; he is even too lazy to get out of bed to greet guests. His whole life is a sleepy kingdom, a dreamy half-asleep, consisting of the continuous stringing and creation of unrealizable illusions that exhausted him morally and from which he sometimes got tired and fell asleep exhausted. In this monotonous life leading to degradation, Ilya Ilyich hid from the real world, fenced himself off from it in every possible way, fearing its activity and not wanting to take responsibility for his actions, much less work and confidently step over failures and defeats, continuing forward movement.

Why is Oblomov trying to escape from real life?

To understand the reasons for Oblomov’s escapism, it is worth briefly describing the atmosphere in which the hero was brought up. Ilya Ilyich’s native village, Oblomovka, was located in a picturesque and quiet area remote from the capital. Beautiful nature, a calm, measured life on the estate, the lack of need to work and excessive parental care led to the fact that Oblomov was not ready for the difficulties of life outside Oblomovka. Brought up in an atmosphere of love and even adoration, Ilya Ilyich thought that he would encounter a similar attitude towards himself in the service. Imagine his surprise when, instead of a semblance of a loving family, where everyone supports each other, a team with a completely different attitude was waiting for him. At work, no one was interested in him, no one cared about him, since everyone thought only about increasing their own salary and moving up the career ladder. Feeling uncomfortable, after the first mistake in the service, Oblomov, on the one hand, fearing punishment, and on the other, having found a reason for dismissal, he leaves his job. The hero no longer tried to get a job somewhere, living on the money that was sent to him from Oblomovka and spending all his days in bed, thus reliably hiding from the worries and problems of the outside world.

Oblomov and Stolz are antipodal images

The antipode of the image of the main character in the novel “Oblomov” by Ilya Ilyich is his childhood friend, Andrei Ivanovich Stolts. In terms of character and life priorities, Stolz is the complete opposite of Oblomov, although they come from the same social class. Unlike the lazy, apathetic, dreamy Ilya Ilyich, who lives exclusively in his past, Andrei Ivanovich always strives forward, he is not afraid of failures, since he knows that in any case he will be able to achieve his goal, to reach ever greater heights. And if the meaning of Oblomov’s life is the illusory world that he builds in his imagination and for which he lives, then for Stolz this meaning remains hard work.

Despite the fact that in the work the heroes are contrasted as two differently directed principles and two antithetical personality types - introverted and extroverted, Stolz and Oblomov organically complement each other and need each other. Without Andrei Ivanovich, Ilya Ilyich would probably have completely abandoned business in Oblomovka or sold it for pennies to someone like Tarantiev. Stolz most clearly understood the harmful influence of “Oblomovism” on his friend, so he tried with all his might to return him to real life, taking him with him to social events or forcing him to read new books.
The author's introduction into the narrative of such a character as Andrei Ivanovich helps to better understand the image of Ilya Ilyich. Compared to his friend, Oblomov, on the one hand, looks passive, lazy, not wanting to strive for anything. On the other hand, his positive qualities are also revealed - warmth, kindness, tenderness, understanding and sympathy for loved ones, because it was in conversations with Ilya Ilyich that Stolz found peace of mind, lost in the constant race of life.

Revealing the image of Oblomov through love

In the life of Ilya Ilyich there were two different loves - a spontaneous, all-encompassing, stormy and revitalizing love for Olga Ilyinskaya and a quiet, pacifying, respect-based, full of calm and monotony love for Agafya Pshenitsyna. The image of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is revealed differently in relationships with each of the women.

Love for Olga was that bright ray that could pull the hero out of the “swamp of Oblomovism”, because it was for the sake of Ilyinskaya that Oblomov forgets about his favorite robe, begins to read books again, it’s as if his wings grow, since a real goal appears - a possible happy future with Olga, family and her own comfortable estate. However, Ilya Ilyich was not ready to completely change; Ilyinskaya’s aspirations for constant development and achieving new heights were alien to him. In a relationship with Olga, Oblomov is the first to retreat and the first writes her a letter in which he says that her love is not true feelings. This act can be viewed not only as the hero’s weakness, his fear of change and internal passivity, but also as a better understanding of the sphere of feelings, excellent intuitive sense and understanding of the psychology of other people. Ilya Ilyich subconsciously felt that their life paths were too different, that Olga needed much more than he was ready to give her. And even if he tries to become for her that same ideal of a gentle, kind, sensual, but at the same time continuously developing, active person, he will be unhappy for the rest of his life, never having found the desired happiness.

After the difficult but predetermined separation of Oblomov and Olga, the hero finds solace surrounded by the care of Pshenitsyna. Agafya, by nature, is the ideal of the “Oblomov” woman - poorly educated, but at the same time very kind, sincere, economic, caring for the comfort and satiety of her husband and adoring him. Ilya Ilyich’s feelings for Pshenitsyna were built on respect, which gradually grew into warmth and understanding, and then into calm but strong love. Let us remember that when Stolz tried to take Oblomov with him, he did not want to go, not because he was lazy, but because it was important for him to stay with his wife, who was able to give him the happiness that he had dreamed of for so long.

Conclusion

An analysis of Oblomov’s image makes it clear that it is impossible to interpret Ilya Ilyich as a clearly positive or negative hero. He attracts the reader in his own way, but also causes antipathy with his laziness and passivity, which indicates the versatility of the character’s nature, his inner depth and, possibly, powerful unrealized potential. Oblomov is a composite image of a typical Russian person, a dreamy, contemplative personality who always hopes for the best and sees true happiness in monotony and tranquility. As critics point out, Goncharov largely copied Ilya Ilyich from himself, which makes the novel even more interesting for a modern reader interested in the work of the great Russian writer.

A detailed analysis of the image of the hero of Goncharov’s novel will be useful for 10th graders when writing an essay on the topic “The Image of Oblomov in the novel “Oblomov”.”

Work test