Why did Gerasim drown Mumu? Psychological analysis of the work of I.S. Turgenev "Mumu". The theme "Friendship with our smaller brothers" in the story "Mumu" Several interesting essays
Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was a bold author, whose works often came under scrutiny by censorship authorities. The story "Mumu", known today to every schoolchild, was banned for publication for a long time. And if it were not for the diplomatic abilities of the author, the world would never have known about this touching and tragic story.
History of creation
In the middle of the 50s of the XIX century. Turgenev was under house arrest, and then was sent into exile for an obituary on Gogol's death. Being under the supervision of private bailiffs, in the spring of 1855 Turgenev wrote the story "Mumu". He shares this item with the family of the publisher Aksakov, who react positively to the work, but cannot publish it due to censorship protest. A year later, in the Sovremennik magazine, Mumu nevertheless appears, which causes a report by an official and an official reviewer of the magazine. Representatives of the censorship authorities are unhappy that the audience can feel compassion for the characters, and therefore does not allow the story to be distributed to other publications. And only in the spring of 1956, after numerous petitions from Turgenev's friends, the decision was made to include the decision to include "Muma" in the collected works of Ivan Sergeevich in the main department of censorship.
Analysis of the work
Story line
The story is based on real events that took place in the house of Turgenev's mother in Moscow. The author tells about the life of a mistress, in whose service is the deaf-mute janitor Gerasim. The servant begins to take care of the washerwoman Tatiana, but the lady decides to marry her to her shoemaker. To resolve the situation, the butler of the lady invites Tatyana to appear drunk before Gerasim in order to turn him away from herself. And this trick works.
A year later, the laundress and shoemaker leave for the village on the orders of the mistress. Gerasim brings with him a puppy caught from the water and gives him the nickname Mumu. The mistress learns about the presence of a dog in the yard one of the very last and cannot establish relations with the animal in any way. Having received an order to get rid of the dog, the butler tries to secretly sell Mumu, but she runs back to Gerasim. When information reaches the janitor that the lady is dissatisfied, he goes to the pond, where he drowns the dog, and he decides to return to his village, and not to the lady's house in the capital.
main characters
The real prototype of the character was the servant of Varvara Turgeneva Andrey Nemoy. The author draws the image of a closed person who is unusually hardworking and has a rather positive attitude towards people. This village peasant was capable of real feelings. Despite external power and sullenness, Gerasim retained the ability to love and keep his word.
Tatyana
This portrait of a young maid has all the features of a typical 19th century Russian estate woman. Downtrodden, unhappy, without her own opinion, this heroine receives protection only during the period of Gerasim's love. Having no moral right and no real opportunity to argue with her mistress, Tatyana with my own hands destroys your chances for a happy fate.
Gavrila
(Butler Gavrila on the right in the illustration)
The butler in the story appears as a rustic and stupid peasant who seeks to stay in the black at the expense of flattering and find benefits for himself. It cannot be said that Turgenev draws the character of Gavrila as evil, but his direct role in the death of the dog and the destruction of the life of Tatyana and Gerasim leaves a significant negative imprint on the perception of him as a person.
Kapiton
(Footman Kapiton in the illustration stands on the left next to the seated Gavrila)
The image of a shoemaker can be described as a portrait of an educated footman. This person considers himself smart, but at the same time does not have the proper willpower and high life aspirations. In the end, he turns into a drunkard and a loafer, whom even marriage cannot change.
Of all the characters in Mumu, the elderly lady is the main negative character. It is her actions and decisions that lead to a series of suffering and irreversible tragedies. Turgenev describes this heroine as a capricious and quick-tempered woman who is stubborn and capricious in her desire to decide the fate of other people. the only positive traits the lady can be considered her thriftiness and ability to dispose of the house.
Conclusion
The story "Mumu" by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev cannot be considered a simple work about gravity peasant life. This is a philosophical text that helps the reader understand the issues of good and evil, hatred and love, unity and separation. The writer pays great attention to the issue of human attachment and the importance of the presence of loved ones, both in the lives of the rich and in the lives of the poor.
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It's no secret that society has a strong influence on the individual. A similar trend, for example, underlies fashion, when a person sees what others are wearing and repeats after them. We see the same situation when everyone votes “for”, and they are followed by those who do not want to remain in the minority. Marketers use the same mechanisms of influence, showing huge crowds of people where they need to lure the public. Thus, society influences a person through a herd instinct, embedded deep in the subconscious: if everyone goes, then I will go with them. How exactly this impact is reflected on a particular individual is an open question. The answer can be found in the literature.
In Tolstoy's epic novel War and Peace, Pierre Bezukhov falls under the influence of secular youth. He just returned to his homeland, received a huge inheritance, but he feels lonely and a stranger in the world high society. Therefore, he becomes an easy prey for those who have been moving in society for a long time and know how to profitably use Pierre's ignorance. He, a kind and highly moral young man, under the influence of tricks, participates in disgusting events. Then his own social circle drives him into marriage with Helen Kuragina. So, the court elite almost spoiled the bright and virtuous personality of the hero.
In Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons", society, on the contrary, cannot influence the hero. Bazarov goes against him, recognizing all his values as irrelevant, and sometimes frankly far-fetched. He himself tries to move it forward with his discoveries, seeing conservatism and ignorance Russian society. Thanks to his activities, the stagnant society is enriched with new progressive elements like feminists and nihilists, albeit caricatured characters, but still carriers of new ideas. With their deliberate, yet fruitless protest, they attract people to the problem of women's lawlessness and social inequality, and do not exacerbate these social cataclysms like idle nobles obsessed with their personal lives. Thus, if society influences led citizens, then bright, original personalities can influence society themselves.
So, society in many ways forms a personality, but someone stops there and only supplements the inert mass of people repeating the same thing from century to century, and someone takes the reins of government into their own hands and influences society itself. This means that the inevitable influence of society on people is reflected in different ways: someone is taught only to obey, someone is motivated to act independently. Thus, the result in any case depends on us.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!How should we treat our pets? Are we obligated to take responsibility for their lives? I thought about these questions after reading B. Emelyanov's text "How I bought a dog." The work raises an important problem of the relationship between people and animals.
The author, arguing on this topic, gives an example from the life of the protagonist. A man who considered dogs to be true friends decided to buy an adult and trained dog. The writer draws our attention to the worried state of the dog that lost its former friend: “Tomka lay motionless near the table all day long,” thus Yemelyanov admires Tomka’s love for his friend. After receiving the telegram, the owner of the dog, without hesitation, immediately went to pick him up. The publicist notes the importance of the hero's awareness that “friends are not sold”, thereby the prose writer illustrates to us the devotion not only of pets to humans, but vice versa. The author leads us to the idea that friendship and devotion between man and animal must be protected.
One cannot but agree with the point of view of B. Yemelyanov.
Indeed, there are no barriers to friendship between man and animal.
A vivid proof is the story of I.S. Turgenev "Mumu". Main character took care of his pet, protected, gave him all his tenderness and affection. Mumu became Gerasim's best friend, the closest being he could trust. The forced murder of his dog broke the hero, caused severe mental pain.
Confirmation of this problem can be found in the story of LN Andreev "Kusaka". The writer shows the irresponsible attitude of people towards the dog. The unfortunate animal lost confidence in others, became embittered and ran wild, as the former owners left her in the country and repeatedly offended her. This example shows us the inhuman treatment of animals.
Thus, the problem raised by the prose writer makes each of us think about the importance of people's kind attitude towards pets, because it is not for nothing that there is such a statement: "We are responsible for those we have tamed."
Updated: 2017-06-09
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Useful material on the topic
- The problem of human responsibility to a pet. Why is it necessary to treat a tamed animal responsibly? (according to the text of B. Emelyanov)
I liked it so much that I decided to choose it for my research. The topic of the research is “The condemnation of serfdom in the story “MUMU”. Studying the biography of the writer, working with the text helped me find the answer to the problematic question: "How does serfdom affect a person?" In my work, I addressed the following questions:
writer biography pages
CONCLUSION:
The janitor Gerasim was a man of extraordinary strength, this is evidenced not only by his portrait, but also by the description of the room in which he arranged everything to his liking. By nature, he is a hardworking and responsible person, kind and able to sympathize. But at the same time, Gerasim is a deeply unhappy person: he loved Tatiana, but she was married off to the drunkard Kapiton, he became attached to Mumu with all his heart, but the mistress ordered her to be drowned.
Who is to blame for the fact that Gerasim is unhappy? The answer is unequivocal: the lady, and in her person serfdom.
MAIN CONCLUSIONS:
· Serfdom cripples, disfigures the human soul
Serfdom destroys families, while kinship ties are torn
A person cannot manage his life, he does not belong to himself, he cannot be happy
In the story "Mumu" Turgenev shows the first sprouts of protest, they are still timid and spontaneous, but these are harbingers of future changes
· The story "Mumu" puts the writer on a par with such fighters against serfdom as Pushkin, Gogol, Nekrasov. Honesty and nobility helped him to make a bold choice, to join the ranks of the defenders of the oppressed people.
Ivan Turgenev wrote the story "Mumu", reflecting in it his experiences and concerns about the fate of Russia and the future of the country. And this is completely understandable, because in order to write a work, its author must be impressed and inspired by something, then these feelings can be clearly expressed on paper. It is known that Ivan Turgenev, as a true patriot, thought a lot about what awaits the country, and the events in Russia at that time were far from the most joyful for the people.
Making an analysis of Turgenev's "Mumu" and discussing the image of Gerasim, we will clearly see that the author built the plot around the problem of serfdom, which was very relevant in that era. We read about Turgenev's challenge to serfdom. Indeed, the action of the story "Mumu", an analysis of which must be done in order to better understand Turgenev's idea, takes place in a Russian village, but all this prompts deep reflection and draw important conclusions about the character of a Russian person and his soul.
The image of Gerasim in Turgenev's story "Mumu"
Before the readers of the story "Mumu" appears the image of Gerasim. In this image, magnificent qualities are revealed. Turgenev shows kindness, strength, diligence and compassion. Gerasim possesses all these qualities, and his example shows how Turgenev would like to see a Russian person. For example, Gerasim has considerable physical strength, he wants and can work hard, the matter is argued in his hands.
Gerasim is also neat and clean. He works as a janitor and approaches his duties with responsibility, because thanks to him the owner's yard is always clean and tidy. When analyzing Turgenev's "Mumu", it is impossible to ignore the image of Gerasim. The author shows his somewhat reclusive character, since Gerasim is unsociable, and even a lock always hangs on the doors of his closet. But this formidable appearance does not correspond to the kindness of his heart and generosity, because Gerasim is open-hearted and knows how to sympathize. Therefore, it is clear that it is impossible appearance to judge the inner qualities of a person.
What else can be seen in the image of Gerasim when analyzing "Mumu"? He was respected by all the household, which was deserved - Gerasim worked hard, as if he carried out the orders of the hostess, while not losing his sense of self-respect. The main character of the story, Gerasim, did not become happy, because he is a simple village peasant, and city life is built in a completely different way and flows according to its own laws. The city does not feel unity with nature. So Gerasim, once in the city, understands that he is bypassed. Having fallen in love with Tatyana, he is deeply unhappy because she becomes the wife of another.
A puppy in the life of the main character "Mumu"
At a difficult moment in life, when the main character is especially sad and hurt at heart, a ray of light is suddenly visible. The image of Gerasim continues to be revealed to the reader, and the analysis of "Mumu" is supplemented by an important detail - here it is, the hope for happy moments, a cute little puppy. Gerasim saves the puppy and they become attached to each other. The puppy's name is Mumu, and the dog is always with his big friend. At night, Mumu guards, and wakes up the owner in the morning.
It seems that life is filled with meaning and becomes happier, but the lady becomes aware of the puppy. Deciding to subjugate Mumu, she experiences a strange disappointment - the puppy does not obey her, but the lady is not used to ordering twice. Can you command love? But that's another question.
The mistress, accustomed to seeing how her instructions are carried out at the same moment and meekly, cannot bear the disobedience of a small creature, and she orders the dog out of sight. Gerasim, whose image is well revealed here, decides that Mumu can be hidden in his closet, especially since no one goes to him, but the puppy reveals himself with his barking. Then Gerasim realizes that he has no choice but to resort to drastic measures, and he kills the puppy, who has become his only friend. We will answer the question "Why did Gerasim drown Mumu" in another article, but for now, in the analysis of Turgenev's Mumu, we emphasize that in the image of Gerasim the author showed an unfortunate serf. Serfs "dumb", they cannot claim their rights, they simply obey the regime, but in the soul of such a person there is hope that someday his oppression will end.
We strongly recommend that you read full version works, or at least for informational purposes, a brief summary of the story. We hope you found this article useful, in which we showed an analysis of Turgenev's "Mumu" and the image of Gerasim.