Strengthening the problem of moral choice Master and Margarita. Moral choice based on the novel The Master and Margarita (Mikhail Bulgakov). The history of the novel

Good and evil... Concepts are eternal and inseparable. As long as a person lives, they will fight each other. Not always the bearers of good and evil are different people; this struggle becomes especially tragic when it occurs in the soul of one person.

M. A. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” is dedicated to the struggle between good and evil. The author in one book describes the events of the twenties of our century and biblical times. Actions taking place at different times are united by one idea - the search for truth and the fight for it.

Let's move to distant Yershalaim, to the palace of the procurator of Judea Pontius Pilate. “In a white cloak with a bloody lining,” he appears before a man of about twenty-seven, whose “hands are tied behind his back, there is a bruise under his left eye, and in the corner of his mouth there is an abrasion with dried blood.” This man - his name is Yeshua - is accused of inciting the destruction of the Yershalaim temple. The prisoner wanted to justify himself; “Good man! Believe me...” But he was “taught” to observe etiquette: “The rat-slayer took out a whip and... hit the arrested man on the shoulders... the bound man instantly fell to the ground, as if his legs had been cut off, choked on the air, the paint ran off his face and eyes became meaningless..."

It is difficult to disagree with the definition that the procurator gave himself: “a ferocious monster.” Pontius Pilate lives by his own laws: he knows that the world is divided into those who rule and those who obey them, that the formula “the slave obeys the master” is unshakable. And suddenly a person appears who thinks differently: “... the temple of the old faith will collapse and a new temple of truth will be created.” Moreover, this “tramp” dares to suggest: “Some new thoughts have come to my mind, and I would be happy to share them with you, especially since you give the impression of a very smart person.” He is not afraid to object to the procurator and does it so skillfully that Pontius Pilate is confused for some time. Yeshua has his own philosophy of life: “... there are no evil people in the world, there are unhappy people.”

The prosecutor was immediately convinced of the prisoner’s innocence. Of course, he is eccentric and naive, his speeches are somewhat seditious, but the “tramp” has the wonderful ability to relieve the headache that so torments the procurator! And Pontius Pilate already had a plan of action: he would declare Yeshua crazy and send him to an island in the Mediterranean Sea, where his residence is located. But this turned out to be impossible. Judas from Cariath provided such information about the “madman” that Caesar’s governor had no right not to execute him.

The procurator wanted and even tried to save the newly-minted “prophet”, but he resolutely did not want to give up his “truth”: “Among other things, I said that all power is violence over people and that the time will come when there will be no power either of Caesars or any other power. Man will move into the kingdom of truth and justice, where no power will be needed at all." The all-powerful procurator, in the grip of fear, loses the remnants of his proud dignity: “Do you think, unfortunate one, that the Roman procurator will release the man who said what you said? Or do you think that I am ready to take your place? I do not share your thoughts!” The shameful cowardice of an intelligent and almost omnipotent ruler is revealed: out of fear of denunciation, fear of ruining his own career, Pilate goes against his convictions, the voice of humanity and conscience. And Pontius Pilate shouts so that everyone can hear: “Criminal! Criminal! Criminal!”

Yeshua is executed. Why is the procurator suffering? Why does he have a dream that he did not send a wandering philosopher and healer to execution, that they were walking together along a lunar path and talking peacefully, and he, “the cruel procurator of Judea, cried and laughed in his sleep with joy”? The power of Pontius Pilate turned out to be imaginary. He is a coward, Caesar's faithful dog. His conscience torments him. He will never have peace - he understands that Yeshua is right. Yeshua still had a student and follower - Levi Matthew. He will continue the work of his Teacher. The gospel legend contains eternal truths, which, being forgotten, will certainly remind of themselves.

A large number of both obvious and almost invisible parallels connect the image of Yershalaim in the twenties of the 1st century and Moscow in the twenties of the 20th century. The heroes and times seem to be different, but the essence is the same. Hostility, distrust of dissidents, and envy reign in the world that surrounds the Master. It is no coincidence that Woland appears there. Woland is the author's artistically reimagined image of Satan. Satan and his assistants reveal the essence of phenomena, highlight, intensify, and expose all evil to public view. Tricks in a variety show, tricks with an empty suit signing papers, the mysterious transformation of Soviet money into dollars and other devilry are the exposure of hidden human vices. The meaning of tricks in a variety show becomes clear. Here the Muscovites are tested for greed and mercy. At the end of the performance, Woland comes to the conclusion: “Well... they are people like people. They love money, no matter what it is made of - whether leather, paper, bronze or gold. Well, they are frivolous... well... and mercy sometimes knocks on their hearts... ordinary people... in general, they resemble the old ones... the housing problem has only spoiled them..."

The eternal desire of people for good is irresistible. Twenty centuries have passed, but the personification of goodness and love - Jesus Christ - is alive in the souls of people. The master creates a novel about Christ and Pilate. Christ for him is a thinking and suffering person, affirming the dignity of selfless service to people, bringing lasting values into the world.

The story of the Master and Margarita is very interesting. The master is driven by a thirst for knowledge. He is trying to penetrate into the depths of centuries in order to understand the eternal. Like Faust, Satan gives him knowledge. There is a clear parallel between the Master and Yeshua. It’s not for nothing that the word “Master” is written with a capital letter, and the fate of this man is tragic, like Yeshua’s. A master is a collective image of one who seeks to understand the eternal laws of morality.

Margarita in the novel is the bearer of enormous, poetic and inspired love, which the author called “eternal.” And the more unattractive, “boring, crooked” the lane where this love arises appears before us, the more unusual this feeling turns out to be, flashing with “lightning.” Margarita fights for the Master. Having agreed to be the queen at the Great Full Moon Ball, she, with the help of Woland, returns the Master. Together with him, under the peals of a cleansing thunderstorm, she passes into eternity.

Each generation of people solves moral problems for itself. Some people sometimes “see the light” and look “inside” themselves. “At least don’t deceive yourself. Fame will never come to the one who writes bad poetry...” Ryukhin mercilessly judges himself. Others are not given the opportunity to “see the light.” Berlioz, the head of MASSOLIT, would no longer have such an opportunity; he died a terrible, absurd death. Having gone through suffering, the poet Ivan Bezdomny purifies himself and rises to a higher moral level:

After leaving us, the Master left us his novel as a reminder that we must solve our moral problems ourselves.

Good and evil... Concepts are eternal and inseparable. And as long as a person lives, they will fight each other. Good will “reveal” to a person, illuminating his path to the truth.

Not always the bearers of good and evil are different people; this struggle becomes especially tragic when it occurs in the soul of a person.

Roman M.A. Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita” is dedicated to the struggle between good and evil. The author in one book describes the events of the twenties of our century and the events of biblical times.

Actions taking place at different times are united by one idea - the search for truth and the fight for it. Let's move to distant Yershalaim, to the palace of the procurator of Judea Pontius Pilate. “In a white cloak with a bloody likeness,” he appears before a man of about twenty-seven, whose “hands are tied behind his back, there is a bruise under his left eye, and in the corner of his mouth there is an abrasion with dried blood.”

This man - his name was Yeshua - is accused of inciting the destruction of the Yershalaim temple. The prisoner wanted to justify himself: “Good man! Believe me...” But he was “taught” to observe etiquette: “The rat killer took out a whip and... hit the arrested man on the shoulders... the bound man instantly fell to the ground, as if his legs had been cut off, choked on the air, the color ran away from his face, and his eyes became meaningless...”

And suddenly a person appears who thinks differently: “...the temple of the old faith will collapse and a new temple of truth will be created.”

Moreover, this “tramp” dares to suggest: “Some new thoughts have come to my mind, and I would be happy to share them with you, especially since you give the impression of a very smart person.”

He is not afraid to object to the procurator and does it so skillfully that Pontius Pilate is confused for some time. Yeshua has his own philosophy of life: “...there are no evil people in the world, there are unhappy people.”

The prisoner seemed interesting. The prosecutor was immediately convinced of his innocence. Of course, he is eccentric and naive, his speeches are somewhat seditious, but the “tramp” has the wonderful ability to relieve the headache that so torments the procurator!

And Pontius Pilate already had a plan of action: he would declare Yeshua crazy and send him to an island in the Mediterranean Sea, where his residence is located. But this turned out to be impossible.

Judas of Cariath provided such information about the “madmen” that Caesar’s governor had no right not to execute him.

Man will move into the kingdom of truth and justice, where no power will be needed at all." The all-powerful procurator, in the grip of fear, loses the remnants of his proud dignity: "Do you think, unfortunate one, what did you say? Or do you think I'm ready to take your place? I don’t share your thoughts!” The shameful cowardice of an intelligent and almost omnipotent ruler is revealed: out of fear of denunciation, fear of ruining his own career, Pilate goes against his convictions, the voice of humanity and conscience. And Pontius Pilate shouts so that everyone can hear: “Criminal! Criminal! Criminal!" Yeshua was executed.

Why is the procurator suffering? Why does he have a dream that he did not send a wanderer, a philosopher and a healer to execution, as if they were walking together along a lunar path and talking peacefully, and he, “the cruel procurator of Judea, cried and laughed with joy in his sleep?” The power of Pontius Pilate turned out to be imaginary. He is a coward, Caesar's faithful dog.

His conscience torments him. He will never have peace - he understands that Yeshua's student and follower - Levi Matthew - remained right.

He will continue the work of his Teacher. The gospel legend contains truths that, being forgotten, will certainly remind themselves of the moral degradation of society.

But how are the Yershalaim chapters connected to the main content of the novel? A large number of both obvious and subtle parallels connect the image of Yershalaim in the twenties of the first century and Moscow in the twenties of the twentieth century.

The characters and times described in them seem to be different, but the essence is the same. Enmity, distrust of dissident people, envy reign in the world that surrounds the Master.

Woland exposes them. Woland is the author's artistically reimagined image of Satan. Satan and his helpers do evil.

Their goal is to expose the essence of phenomena, to highlight, strengthen, and expose negative phenomena in human society to public display. Tricks in Variety, tricks with signing papers with an empty suit, the mysterious transformation of Soviet money into dollars and other devilry - this is an exposure of the hidden vices of man.

The meaning of the tricks in Variety becomes clear. Here the Muscovites are tested for greed and mercy. At the end of the performance, Woland comes to the conclusion: “Well... they are people like people. They love money, no matter what it is made of - leather, paper, bronze or gold. Well, frivolous... . well... and mercy will sometimes happen in their hearts... ordinary people... in general, they resemble the old ones... the housing problem has only spoiled them..."

The eternal desire of people for good is irresistible.

Twenty centuries have passed, but the personification of goodness and love - Jesus Christ - is alive in the souls of people.

The master, the main character of the novel by M. Bulgakov, creates a novel about Christ and Pilate. Christ for him is a thinking and suffering person, affirming the dignity of selfless service to people, bringing lasting values into the world.

There is a clear parallel between the Master and Yeshua. There is a deity in the Master, he is occupied with eternal problems. It’s not for nothing that his name is written with a capital letter, and his fate is tragic, like Yeshua’s. A master is a collective image of a person striving to learn the eternal laws of morality.

Margarita in the novel is the bearer of enormous poetic and inspired love, which the author called “eternal.” And the more unattractive, “boring, crooked” the lane where this love arises appears before us, the more unusual this feeling turns out to be, flashing with “lightning”. Margarita fights and, with the help of Woland, returns the Master. Together with him, under the peals of a cleansing thunderstorm, she passes into eternity.

Each generation of people solves moral problems for itself.

Some people sometimes “see the light” and look “inside” themselves. “At least don’t deceive yourself. Fame will never come to the one who writes bad poetry...” - Ryukhin mercilessly judges himself. Others are not given the opportunity to “see the light.”

For Berlioz, the head of MASSOLIT, such an opportunity would no longer present itself; he died a terrible, absurd death. Having gone through suffering, Ivan Bezdomny purifies himself and rises to a higher moral level as a poet.

After leaving us, the Master left us a novel as a reminder that we must solve our moral problems ourselves.

Moral - philosophical position.

“Wearing a white cloak with a bloody lining, a shuffling cavalry gait, in the early morning of the fourteenth day of the spring month it is written that the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, came out into the steep colonnade between the wings of the palace of Herod the Great.”

This is how Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov wrote in the novel “The Master and Margarita”, this is how the Master’s book began, and this is how Woland began to talk about Pontius Pilate to two unfortunate writers and atheists, but everything is in order.

When Bulgakov began writing the novel “The Black Magician” (the original title of the novel “The Master and Margarita”), he already assumed that the main part would be occupied by the story about Pontius Pilate, a story about conscience and power, about revenge and peace, about expectation and forgiveness, and, finally, about the main thing - about Faith and God.

The theme of Pontius Pilate reflects not the plot line in the novel, but the writer’s very perception and understanding of the gospel motifs, the essence of the New Testament.

Bulgakov somehow opens this topic to us in a new way. Carefully, so as not to frighten or spoil the sense of importance of images that were not invented by himself, he tries to present us with controversial, complex, but at the same time simple images, so that we are not tormented by questions that we are not able to answer.

Pontius Pilate appears before us as a man who is tormented by his conscience because he has been given unlimited power to punish and have mercy on people. His conscience is a headache that almost never goes away. This is like a punishment for his power over people. Pontius Pilate is doomed to loneliness.

There is not a single person to whom he could tell the truth. There are no answers to the questions that are burning his brain.

He is lonely and his friend is a huge devoted dog, the silent guardian of his soul. Eternal loneliness, not only in life, but also in heaven. Eternal expectation of forgiveness. Eternal pain is the price for unbelief.

“A good man,” that’s what the “criminal” Yeshua Ha-Nozri called Pontius Pilate. “The criminal called me “Good man,” says the procurator. “Take him out of here for a minute, explain to him how to talk to me. But don’t hurt me.” Pontius Pilate, accustomed to the fact that “everyone in Yershalaim whispers about him that he is a ferocious monster,” is surprised. It is from this moment, from these words, that something breaks in the procurator, a reassessment of values occurs. Yeshua Ha-Nozri inspired faith in him, he became the procurator’s conscience.

Pontius Pilate could not come to terms with the death of Yeshua. In the short period of communication with him, the procurator understood a lot and now regretted that he was not immediately able to recognize a comrade in Yeshua. Pontius Pilate was overcome by a thirst for revenge, although he had to take revenge on himself. He took revenge. But I did not receive forgiveness or peace in my life.

And already there, where “... next to a heavy stone chair, on which some sparks sparkle from the moon, lies a dark, huge dog and, like its owner, looks restlessly at the moon,” the procurator receives forgiveness from Margarita’s hands .

He waited for this day for two thousand years, looking at the moon, which caused insomnia in him.

"Free! Free! He's waiting for you." “A man in a white cloak with bloody lining rose from his chair and shouted something in a hoarse, ragged voice.

It was impossible to make out whether he was crying or laughing or what he was shouting. It was only clear that he, too, quickly ran along the lunar path after his faithful guardian.”

This is how “...the cruel fifth procurator of Judea, horseman Pontius Pilate,” received forgiveness and peace, beware of me!” Because of the fear of denunciation, the fear of ruining his career, Pilate goes against his conscience.

He makes the last, pitiful attempts to save the unfortunate man, and when this fails, he tries to at least soften the reproaches of his conscience.

But no, and there cannot be a moral ransom for betrayal. And the basis of betrayal, as always happens, is cowardice: “Cowardice is undoubtedly one of the most terrible vices,” Pilate hears the words of Yeshua in a dream. “No, philosopher, I object to you: this is the most terrible vice,” the author’s inner voice of Pilate intervenes.

The writer is sure that what is meaner, more terrible than open evil is the conciliation of those who understand evil, are ready to condemn it, are able to prevent it, but do not do this because of cowardice, cowardice, a habit of comfort, and fear for their career.

According to Bulgakov, cowardice is the main cause of social meanness and evil. And Pontius Pilate was punished for his meanness with terrible pangs of conscience.

Pilate suffered many restless nights because he did not go then, on the fourteenth day of the spring month of Nisan, “to do anything to save the completely innocent, insane dreamer and doctor from execution.”

According to the writer, conscience is a person’s internal compass, his moral judgment of himself, a moral assessment of his actions.

The gospel legend contains eternal values.

It is these great criteria that can be used to assess the moral validity of any era, and M. Bulgakov, guided by these lofty truths, carries out a kind of moral test of our society already in the 20s of our century, in difficult, contradictory years, when a person as an individual did not mean anything .

Forced to write on the table, Bulgakov devoted all his soul to the novel “The Master and Margarita,” which, alas, he also had no hope of publishing. Intense work on the novel resumed in the mid-30s. (Changes in personal destiny also contributed to this: in October 1932, Bulgakov divorced his second wife and married Elena Sergeevna Shilovskaya. In her he found his last beloved and copied the main features of his Margarita from her). “The Master and Margarita” is the most brilliant and most controversial of all Bulgakov’s works, in which, like no other Soviet novel, the contradictory and tragic spirit of the totalitarian era is revealed.

Bulgakov wrote it during the height of repression, when one after another many of his former enemies were defeated, expelled from the party, lost their posts or were shot: literary officials, party critics and cultural leaders - all those who blasphemed and persecuted him for many years.

He followed this devilish bacchanalia with an almost mystical feeling, which was reflected in the novel.

Its main characters, as you know, are Satan, acting under the name Woland. Appearing in Moscow, Woland unleashes all his devilish power on those in power who commit lawlessness.

He also deals with the persecutors of the great writer - the Master, whose life has many parallels with the life of Bulgakov himself (although it would be too straightforward to completely identify them).

Thus, it is not difficult to understand who was behind the image of Woland.

The philosophical and religious concept of the novel is very complex and has not yet been fully understood. Bulgakov himself was a man far from orthodox Orthodoxy. God apparently seemed to him to be something like a universal law or an inevitable course of events.

According to his wife, he believed in Fate, Rock, but was not a Christian. When creating the image of Christ (in the novel he appears under the name Yeshua Ha - Nozri), Bulgakov was consciously guided by apocryphal sources, and rejected the gospels as false. (“Who-who,” says Woland to Berlioz, “but you should know that absolutely nothing of what is written in the Gospel ever actually happened...” Yeshua himself says the same thing).

In the Master's novel about Pontius Pilate, there is the trial, execution and burial of Yeshua, but there is no resurrection. There is no Mother of God; Yeshua himself is not a descendant of a noble Jewish family, as in the gospel - he is a poor Syrian who does not know his kinship and does not remember his parents.

No one understands Yeshua with his teaching that “there are no evil people in the world,” even his only apostle Levi Matthew.

His attempt to awaken people to their original, good nature only causes general anger. Only Woland understands Yeshua, but does not believe in the possibility of people firmly turning to good.

The devil, who is more similar to the Old Testament Satan from the book of Job, is not presented in the New Testament interpretation.

In Bulgakov's novel, Woland is the true “prince of this world.” There is not even a hint of any rivalry between him and Christ in this sense.

It personifies the power that “eternally wants evil and always does good.” This line from Goethe’s “Faust” (the German poet put his devil, Mephistopheles, into her mouth) was taken by Bulgakov as an epigraph to his novel.

And in fact, Woland in the novel punishes obvious atheists, his henchmen force rogues, deceivers and other scoundrels to pay their bills; throughout the novel they more than once perform “righteous justice” and even “good”.

And yet Woland remains a devil, a demon of evil who does not want and cannot give people grace.

Hunted down, broken by unfair Soviet criticism and life's hardships, the Master finds his Savior in him. But he receives from the devil not light, not renewal, but only eternal peace in the otherworldly timeless world.

The ending of the novel, filled with deep philosophical sadness, was somewhat similar to the end of the author himself. In 1939, Bulgakov developed a fatal illness - nephrosclerosis. His condition deteriorated sharply. In the last months of his life he became blind. In March 1940, Bulgakov died.

The problem of moral choice in M. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”

“We tested you,” said

Woland - never and nothing

ask! Never and nothing, and in

characteristics of those who are stronger

you. They will offer everything themselves

M. Bulgakov

In the recent Soviet past, everything for young people was predetermined: school, obtaining a specialty, working until retirement... It would seem that there was no talk of any moral choice. Although there have been out-of-the-ordinary cases when respectable citizens suddenly caused public embarrassment. Talents, of course, always stood out, but they could always be “banned” if their activities were objectionable. But when strife suddenly began among the townsfolk, it could only be the machinations of Woland and his retinue, which revealed hypocrisy and stupidity. As soon as they showed up in Moscow, inexplicable incidents and disturbing antics began. Such an inexplicable trick was the appearance of the famous poet Ivan Bezdomny in a restaurant with an icon and a candle in his hands. He was one of the atheists. How decisively he reconsidered his views, looked critically at his work, became convinced of the truth and “fell ill” with Pontius Pilate. He became a student of the master, devoting himself to history. After a meeting and conversation with Woland, Ivan Bezdomny, without choosing expressions, accused the poet Ryukhin of mediocrity. After this, Ryukhin even experienced pangs of conscience; he almost realized his mediocrity, but not for long. His choice has already been made, why bother if a calm life awaits him. Woland and his retinue emerged from the “darkness” and had plenty of fun and played games with the Muscovites, who were thoroughly confused in life.

The problem of moral choice did not confront the Master at the time when he was still a historian who won a large sum in the lottery. “Having won a hundred thousand, the mysterious guest did this: he bought books, gave up his room... and rented from a developer, in an alley near Arbat, two rooms in the basement of a small house in a kindergarten. He quit his job at the museum and began to write a novel about Pontius Pilate...” Having met his love, his faithful, devoted, wise Margarita, he began to create selflessly and turned into a Master. Having gone through “all the circles of hell,” becoming ill with his affair and infecting his girlfriend with it, he could not stand it. He dedicated all his strength, all his talent to Pontius Pilate. This topic was outrageous for that time. The master experienced all the persecution of the public, he became an enemy and the future was determined for him. Fear filled him, he hated his novel - he fell ill.

Before meeting the Master, Margarita was waiting for him, looking for him... She immediately realized that she had met her one and only, and the world ceased to exist without him. Now she lives only by his interests, his romance. On that ill-fated night, Margarita decided to tell her husband everything and stay with the master forever. But I didn’t have time. As one would expect, knowing our history, the master was arrested. She cursed herself for not being there at that moment, although she would have done nothing to correct the situation. She doubted for a moment when she was invited to visit a “foreigner,” but determination triumphed as soon as she had hope of meeting her beloved. Having once made her decision, she no longer felt any obstacles; nothing was impossible for her (the choice had been made). Margarita did not ask Woland for anything; she has a proud Russian character, as befits a queen. The Prince of Darkness himself worried about her. Margarita achieved her goal: the master was with her. Trying to return to past happiness, Master and Margarita choose life in the same basement. Devastated and crushed by life, they understand that it will never be the same as before, but they are destined to be together. The decision for them is made by the one about whom the Master’s novel is about, for whom they accepted suffering. “He didn’t deserve light, he deserved peace,” Levi said in a sad voice. This may be a sentence for the Master, but he is so tired that he really only accepts peace. The forces of darkness and light are united in their desire to help the Master because he once made his moral choice and accepted pain, suffering and torment for it. Society “trampled” him, trying to crush, humiliate, destroy, thereby proving to itself that everything written is nonsense and absurdity. It was possible to destroy a man, but his creation “did not burn out” even in the fire.

The master wrote a novel about Pontius Pilate, who also had to make a choice and determine his future fate. Even during the first interrogation of Yeshua, the procurator felt that he might have made a monstrous mistake. “The thoughts rushed through, short, incoherent and extraordinary: “Dead!”, then “Dead!” And some completely ridiculous thing among them about some kind of immortality, and immortality caused unbearable melancholy...” Pontius Pilate is trying to rectify the situation, to save Yeshua, but in ways accessible to him: so that his position as a procurator will not be shaken Jews, so that he would not suffer in any way. Heaven does not accept compromise, so Pilate is doomed to mental suffering for the rest of his life and after death. For another “twelve thousand moons he will suffer and curse his position for one moon once.”

All the heroes of M. Bulgakov's novel: residents and guests of the Soviet city of Moscow, Woland with his retinue and those invited to his ball, the heroes of the Master's novel about Pontius Pilate - made their choice, determining their fate. All the characters, even flashing fleetingly on the pages of the novel, emerge as characters: they are either funny and pitiful, or command respect. “Would you be so kind as to think about the question: what would your good do if evil did not exist, and what would the earth look like if shadows disappeared from it?” - Woland argues mockingly. Every person, sooner or later, has to decide on the concept of good and evil, thereby determining his place in life - making his moral choice.

The theme of moral choice in M.A. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”

Show full text

The theme of moral choice is raised by M.A. Bulgakov in many of his works, but it is especially acute in the novel “The Master and Margarita,” written in 1940. It is noteworthy how many times the novel was rewritten and reprinted under different titles: “The Black Magician”, “The Engineer’s Hoof”, “Satan” and so on. The author tried to convey as accurately as possible the concept of the novel and its mystical connection with Biblical subjects (for example, the titles “The Gospel of the Devil” and “The Cabal of the Saints”). However, only in 1940 Bulgakov finally changed the title, and the novel received the name “The Master and Margarita.”

The theme of moral choice is key in the novel. Each of the heroes of the work at a certain point in their life must decide on something: make a choice between good and evil. However, this is not so easy to do, because Bulgakov completely overturns our ideas about good and bad. So, for example, Woland, while remaining an opponent of Yeshua, appears before us not as a terrifying Satan, but rather plays the role of a wonderful helper from a fairy tale or a noble avenger from a folk legend.

So, each character in the novel makes one choice or another, and the first difficult choice in the novel is Pontius Pilate’s decision to execute Yeshua Ha-Nozri.

Pontius Pilate is contradictory: two people coexist in him at the same time. On the one hand, an ordinary person sympathizes with Yeshua, aware of the injustice of the verdict. The “balding” Pontius Pilate, tormented by “terrible, evil” headaches, is contrasted with another Pilate - a government official who must strictly observe the laws of the Roman state.

The mental torment of the procurator is complicated by the fact that he is opposed to the people around him. M. Bulgakov shows this with the help of lexical repetition, which constantly appears on the pages of the novel: “Yershalaim, which he hates.”

Pontius Pilate acts in the interests of the Roman authorities, he fears for his life, fears for power, career, he is cowardly, not free in his choice, but at the same time the fate of other people is in his hands. Fear and cowardice force him to go against his conscience and suppress his good beginnings. That is why internal

Criteria

3 of 3 K1 Depth of understanding of the topic and persuasiveness of the arguments
2 of 2 K2 Level of theoretical and literary knowledge
3 of 3 K3 Validity of using the text of the work
2 of 3 K4 Compositional integrity and consistency of presentation
3 of 3 K5 Following speech norms
TOTAL: 13 out of 14

Essay on the topic “The problem of moral choice in the novel “The Master and Margarita”

The immortal novel “The Master and Margarita” still excites the minds of readers and leaves a number of questions about the morality of the choice of heroes. Each hero of a great work, one way or another, commits actions that his conscience allows. The novel raises questions of morality underlying the actions taken and puts at the forefront the problems of human responsibility.
In Bulgakov's work, there are two separate novels, each of which has its own independent plot and characters. One of which is the story of Pontius Pilate. This is a famous person in his circle, he has a certain power and significance in society. The young man Yeshua comes to his trial. Serious accusations are attributed to him, and the people are thirsty for bloody reprisals.
In conversations with the accused, Pontius Pilate finds some peace and harmony. This communication gives him joy. This is a feeling that has long been forgotten for him. The judge does not feel satisfaction from his own life and only conversations with Yeshua give Pontius’s existence some meaning.
But he doesn't want to risk his career to save an innocent. The judge sends Yeshua to execution, despite the fact that his heart wishes only good for the accused. Pontius makes his choice in favor of evil because of cowardice and weak character.
The second novel within the work also confronts its heroes with a difficult choice. Margarita devotedly loves the Master, but at the same time lives with a hated husband. She happily uses the cream offered by Woland's servant and commits anti-moral acts, flying naked over Moscow.
Viewers of the Variety Show happily watch the tricks of black magic and admire what is happening. No one cares what happens to their neighbor. Everyone lives their own life, forgetting about responsiveness to the grief of others and committing a number of immoral acts.
The society that deprived the Master of a normal life does not at all repent of what he did. The author colorfully shows how many moral boundaries people can cross. But it also draws attention to the regret of many characters and the desire to turn back time in order to change their own actions. This is especially clearly expressed in the repentance of Pontius Pilate.