An essay about:
"Katerina's strength or weakness is revealed in her suicide
in Ostrovsky's work "The Thunderstorm"?
Reading Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm", you involuntarily ask yourself the question: strength or weakness
Does Katerina manifest herself in her suicide at the end of the play? Did she do the right thing or
No? There were many disputes on this issue between literary critics of the 40s and 50s of the 19th century. Thus, Dobrolyubov noted “strong, rebellious
motives" in the character of Katerina and connected them with the atmosphere of crisis in which everything was
Russian society. According to him, Ostrovsky’s drama shows a complex, tragic
the process of liberation of the reviving soul.
Katerina’s first meeting with her beloved, Boris, is deeply tragic. The scene is riddled
anxiety. The motive of a folk song sounds - the motive of imminent death (“You kill, ruin me
since midnight..."). "Why did you come? Why have you come, my destroyer?" - he has a presentiment
trouble Katerina. How strong must her feeling be if she goes to great lengths in the name of love?
certain death! "Don't be sorry, destroy me!" - she exclaims, surrendering to this feeling. So
Not everyone can love, and we are convinced of the heroine’s extraordinary strength.
And what are the words of Katerina, uttered in justification to her husband and herself, in front of
Kabanihoy. Let’s listen to them carefully: “For me, Mama, everything is the same as my dear
mother, what are you, and Tikhon loves you too." Unlike his wife, Tikhon pronounces his
the excuses are pitiful, and at the same time very respectful, addressing the mother as “you”.
Katerina says the same thing as Tikhon, objecting to the reproaches. But with what dignity, how
she says simply and sincerely. This address to “you” (as an equal) is also typical. She
strives for clear, friendly human relationships.
In the first appearance we imagine Katerina as a submissive victim, a person with
broken will and trampled soul. “Mama eats her, but she’s like a shadow
walks around, unresponsive. She just cries and melts like wax,” Tikhon says about his wife. And here she is
in front of us. No, she's not a victim. She is a person with a strong, decisive character, with a lively,
freedom-loving heart. She does not feel like a slave, on the contrary, she is free, at least
because she has lost everything, that she has nothing more to value, not even her life: “Why should I
Now to live, well, for what?”
The thirst for liberation also triumphs over her religious ideas. “It’s all the same that death will come, that it itself..., but you can’t live.” she contemplates suicide. And then she questions this idea: “It’s a sin! They won’t pray? He who loves will pray.”
Katerina’s dying words are not addressed to God and do not express repentance for what she has done.
sins, they are addressed to the beloved; "My friend! My joy! Farewell!" So free from
prejudices, a living and strong feeling won in Katerina’s soul
On the other hand, it can be shown that Katerina showed weakness. Such a point
view exists in Pisarev, when in the article “Motives of Russian Drama” he assessed
"Thunderstorm." The article was directed polemically against Dobrolyubov. Pisarev named
Katerina “a crazy dreamer” and a “visionary”: “Katerina’s whole life, according to him
opinion, - consists of constant internal contradictions; she rushes out every minute
one extreme to another; today she repents of what she did yesterday, and meanwhile,
she herself does not know what she will do tomorrow; finally, having mixed up everything she had under
with her hands, she cuts through the lingering knots with the most stupid means, suicide.”
In fact, suicide is not stupid, but the last resort of the desperate
person. From the point of view of an atheist, there is strength in Katerina’s action. But from the point of view
Orthodoxy, there is no forgiveness for suicide, no matter what motives it is justified. This
one of the most serious sins. It is believed that people should endure what is sent to them
fate. Katerina had to bear her cross. An interesting fact is that in the old days suicides were buried not in the cemetery, but nearby. And the people passing by knew about fate
deceased. But Katerina dreamed, freed from worldly life, about how: “Under
little grave like a tree... The sun warms it... Birds will fly to the tree, they will sing, children
will be taken out. "Her soul could not exist peacefully without the beauty of nature and love.
Thus, we see that if protest awakens, even in such passive
forms, albeit such a weak creature as a woman was considered in that era, then this is
growing protest among the people, a signal that was a harbinger of the death of the old
way of life, based on the system of feudal-serf despotism, and
gaining momentum of new progressive aspirations for equality, for freedom
human life.
(421 words) Unfortunately, not all people understand the essence of generosity. Some of them believe that this property of the soul is a sign of weakness of character, because, according to their logic, a person should inspire awe, not respect, in a person. Their authority rests only on fear. But I don’t think so, because generosity is a force that can change the world for the better. To see this, just look at suitable literary examples.
Thus, in M. Gorky’s story “Old Woman Izergil,” Danko, by the power of his generosity, saved his fellow tribesmen who had been wandering for a long time in the forest thickets and could not find a way out. The tribe was forced to go on a journey to hide from enemies. But people got lost in the forests, where there were swampy soils and impassable darkness due to the abundance of tree crowns. There they could not live or get food for themselves. The heroes were already despairing, but among them there was one person who led everyone with him. Danko took responsibility for the life of the entire tribe, without demanding anything in return. Tired people showered him with reproaches and complaints, but he continued to go and believe in success. To convince the people to follow him, he tore their hearts out of their chests and illuminated the path to freedom for them. He managed to save his tribe at the cost of his life. I think everyone will agree that this feat is a demonstration of phenomenal strength. Where did Danko get it from? Out of generosity towards people, because his goal was the prosperity of the entire tribe.
M. Gorky's story "Chelkash" depicts antipodean heroes: an experienced thief and a young peasant. Gavrila came to the city to work and met a middle-aged man who offered him a part-time job. The young man agreed, and at night they went to work. It turns out that it was about smuggling. The young man was very frightened and almost ruined all plans and agreements. But Chelkash, a seasoned executor of illegal requests, forgave the newcomer and decided to divide the money as agreed. But the greedy partner was not satisfied with this division and, after humiliating requests, switched to a vile attack from behind. He almost killed the thief, but did not repent of his actions, because he believed that no one would feel sorry for Chelkash, no one needed him. Nevertheless, looking at the revived victim, Gavrila was again very frightened. Then the dangerous and marginal tramp threw all the money on the ground and left, leaving the crying peasant alone. He didn't touch it. So which one has the power? It was the generous and brave Chelkash who spared the weak young man who could not resist the temptation of sin.
Thus, generosity is strength, because it is very easy to give in to anger, cruelty and revenge, but incredibly difficult to abstain from them and show humility and virtue. It is generosity that gives people the incentive and will to do a feat that will save someone’s life. It is what changes the world for the better every day.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!A person is designed in such a way that the most difficult thing in the world is, perhaps, for him to admit his own wrongness and his own stupidity; it even happens that sometimes this difficult step takes years and decades. Everyone interprets such an action differently: some consider admitting their mistakes a sign of weakness, while others, due to their self-confidence, in principle cannot question their own point of view and their own actions.
And yet: is a person’s strength or weakness manifested in his recognition of his mistakes? It seems to me that the opportunity, or rather, the desire to see and admit one’s own mistakes, analyze the past and present and draw some conclusions comes with age. Therefore, I believe that in this case, a person’s “strength” is his wisdom, which begins to form at a very young age. She, going with us through youthful maximalism, naivety, through denial and knowledge, leads us to the truth. And this cannot be called weakness - only a stupid person will defend his absolute rightness, realizing his complete inexperience and ignorance. Weakness can lead to humility - but not to recognition. I am sure that a person, realizing his mistakes, does a tremendous amount of work on himself, because at such a moment something in his head is sure to turn over and change - he becomes wiser, he reassesses his values and changes his guidelines, in the end, in a different way begins to look at everything that he may not have even thought about before - could this be somehow connected with weakness?
For example, the hero of the novel A.S. Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin”, for a long time seemed to himself and those around him a self-confident young man: he did not consider it necessary to reconsider his own behavior, because he simply did not have the habit of thinking about whether he was treating people correctly, whether he was living this way and whether he was moving in the right direction , or maybe he thought about it, but was too weak for self-criticism. Even at a very young age, this hero lost his taste for life. Eugene became bored with everything at the moment when, it would seem, interest in his own existence should have only gained momentum - however, he was in no hurry to conduct introspection, but simply changed his location, hoping that this might change something. But this was a delusion: the whole problem was in Eugene, in his very behavior and attitude to life. Perhaps he himself realized this after the duel, during his absence, but we can know one thing: after a long time, this hero returned as a completely different person and, in complete repentance, fell at the feet of the woman whose love he had once neglected. Apparently, during this time, Evgeniy analyzed everything he had once done and admitted that he was wrong in relation to at least Tatyana. Of course, this was not easy for him, it is no coincidence that so much time has passed, it is no coincidence that we see the hero at the end of the novel in such despair. It seems to me that during his rather long absence, Evgeniy became wiser and reconsidered his attitude towards life and love, and, therefore, became even stronger, because a weak person could only run away - and only a strong one could understand and return.
It was with the same difficulty that Bazarov, the hero of the novel by I.S. Turgenev “Fathers and Sons”, awareness of the failure of nihilism as a philosophy of existence. This hero for a long time was confident that “nature is not a temple, but a workshop, and man is a worker in it,” he also believed that there is no meaning in art, that religion has long lost its relevance, that there is no love and that everything that belongs to the past must be reduced to ruins. However, having met Anna Odintsova and feeling for her the whole gamut of emotions that is commonly called love, Bazarov was literally thrown off track: his worldview was collapsing before his eyes, and he understood that something had to be done about it. Evgeny Bazarov was a strong, revolutionary personality, but the realization that everything he followed was a delusion was very difficult for him. This hero’s world began to turn upside down with the same force with which he believed in his beliefs, and it seems to me that he gradually began to cope with this, although it cost him great effort.
In my opinion, admitting your mistakes is always a very difficult step for any person. After all, all people are designed in such a way that it is difficult for them to admit that they are wrong. With age, almost each of us learns from our mistakes and begins to analyze our actions. A person who knows how to admit when he is wrong always has a strong character. A weak spirit will lie to the last, deceive himself, but will never admit his mistakes. The works I have read convince me of the correctness of this point of view.
As a first argument, I would like to cite Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel “War and Peace.” One of the main characters of this work is Natasha Rostova. It is known that her image was the most beloved and ideal for the writer.
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy described her as a lively, sincere, kind and sensitive nature. It would seem that there is nothing vicious in her image. But even such ideal heroes make mistakes at least once in their lives. So, being engaged to Andrei Bolkonsky, but forced to wait a whole year before marrying him, she, succumbing to the feelings of a young soul, falls in love with the handsome young Anatoly Kuragin. But after a while it became clear that she was just a toy for him. As a result, Natasha Rostova realizes that she has done something irreparable - she has cheated on the person to whom she sincerely confessed her love. But despite the fact that Andrei Bolkonsky said that from now on he wants nothing to do with Natalya, she sought his forgiveness for a long time. This episode can show us that Natasha Rostova can be called a truly strong person who, having made a mistake, was able not only to admit that she was wrong, but also tried to correct what she had done.
Let us also recall F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment.” The main character of this work is Rodion Raskolnikov. He came from a lower social class, lived in a small room, and barely had enough money to survive. Due to lack of funds, he was forced to quit studying at one of the universities in St. Petersburg. Due to these and some other circumstances, he decides to kill the old pawnbroker. In addition to her, Raskolnikov decides to kill a woman who happened to be there at the wrong moment. After the murder, the hero could not come to his senses for a long time; he felt like his conscience was not giving him peace. For some time, Rodion Romanovich was haunted by the thought of confessing to the crime. At some point, he decided to tell the investigator everything. Such an act cost him enormous effort, since it was very difficult to overcome his own fears and doubts. Thus, we can conclude that the main character of this novel, by admitting his mistakes, showed how strong a spirit he has.
Summarizing all of the above, I would like to conclude that if a person knows how to admit his mistakes, then this should always be considered as a manifestation of fortitude. After all, no weak person will ever admit that he was wrong. A strong personality will be able to analyze his actions and begin to change his life for the better.
Only weak people, constantly in need of compensation for their insufficiency, usually weave intrigues, build intrigues, and secretly strike. Great power is always generous.
Composition
Human personality is multifaceted, and, of course, limiting people to two categories is difficult and strange, but sometimes such a limitation justifies itself and introduces a motive for some kind of confrontation. In this text B.M. Bim-Bad invites us to think about the question: “What is the manifestation of a person’s strength and weakness?”
Turning to the topic, the author brings us to the idea of what qualities a strong person has and what qualities a weak person has - and gives the example of a “super strongman”, a person who is strong not only physically, but also morally and spiritually. He never harmed anyone in his entire life, although he had the opportunity to do so. This “hero” impresses B.M. Bim-Badu, because it is precisely such individuals who are capable of selflessly doing good and helping people, using their power with honor and dignity. And in contrast to him, the author gives a collective image of a person against whom education and culture as such are aimed. Weak people, due to their “narrow-mindedness,” selfishness, cruelty, and “spiritual defectiveness,” will never think of doing noble deeds - but it is on nobility that strength of spirit is based, and vice versa. The author emphasizes that this is why weak people rarely achieve success - to create something, different moral guidelines are needed, it is easier for strong people to stay afloat - “nobility of spirit” helps them in this - “in intelligence and honor.”
B.M. Bim-Bad believes that human weakness is manifested in aggression, in the desire for destruction, and strength is in generosity and nobility.
I completely agree with the author’s opinion and also believe that it is much more difficult to create something good, help people, maintain honor and dignity under any circumstances - this, undoubtedly, is the privilege of strong individuals. Everything else aimed at destruction and negativity is a sign of spiritually inferior, weak people.
Roman F.M. Dostoevsky's “Crime and Punishment” clearly and accurately shows how strength and weakness are reflected in the human condition. Sonya Marmeladova is truly strong - she was ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of her family, to take the “yellow ticket” - and even after that the girl retained her nobility of spirit. The heroine was able to sacrifice herself for the sake of others and instill in people strength, faith and hope - it was she who saved Rodion Raskolnikov from complete spiritual death and led him to enlightenment. In contrast to the girl, Svidrigailov is presented: he mocks morality, proudly admits his sins and, in general, is a low, vile, selfish and cynical person. This hero is truly weak: he is incapable of virtue and even rejects it; in Svidrigailov’s interests there is only constant idleness and complacency.
The problem of human strength and weakness is also presented in M. Gorky’s story “Old Woman Izergil”. Danko is a strong and courageous altruist, whose goal and purpose is selfless, sincere help to people. He killed himself, tearing out a flaming heart from his chest in order to light the way for other people through the entire forest. Unfortunately, the crowd of people themselves mostly consisted of weak, insignificant individuals. Due to their cowardice and spiritual poverty, they were not capable of banal gratitude - at first these people accused Danko of not being able to lead them out of the forest, and later, having got out with his help to freedom, they trampled on the hero’s heart, being afraid of him power and nobility.
Thus, we can conclude that a person’s strength is manifested in the wealth of his soul, and weakness - in his moral poverty. Of course, throughout your life it is important to strive to be a strong personality - otherwise life turns into an insignificant existence.
