The images of the peasants in the poem who live well in Russia composition. Images of peasants in the poem "Who lives well in Russia Who lives well in Russia about the peasant

The main idea of ​​Nekrasov's poem was to depict Russian peasants from the time when serfdom was abolished. Throughout the entire poem, the heroes travel all over Russia in order to answer the question: "Who lives happily, freely in Russia?" Who is in full prosperity, happy, and who is not.

Men Seeking Truth

The main characters of the work, seven men, wandering through Russian settlements and villages, looking for an answer to a very difficult question, come forward. In the image of peasants, there are the main lines of poverty of ordinary Russian peasants, such as: poverty, curiosity, unpretentiousness. These guys ask the same question to everyone who comes along their way. In their view, the priest, the merchant, the landowner, the nobleman and the tsar father himself are the lucky ones. However, the main place in the author's work is given to the peasant class.

Yakim Nagoy

He works until his death, but lives in poverty and is constantly starving, like the bulk of Bosovo's residents. Yakim understands that the peasants are a great strength and he is proud that he belongs to them, he knows the weak and strong points of the character of the peasants. Assumes that the main enemy of men is alcohol, which ruins them.

Ermila Girin

Yermila received honesty and intelligence from Nekrasov. He lives for the population, fair, will not leave anyone in grief. There was one dishonest thing, he saved her nephew for recruiting. But he did this not for himself, but for the sake of his family. He sent a widow's son instead of his nephew. He was so tortured by his own lies that he almost brought him to the point of being hanged. Then he corrected the mistake and set out with the rebels, after which he was put in prison.

Savely the hero

The author admits the plan, as the fact that ordinary men are like Russian heroes. Here the image of Savely appears - the Svyatorussky hero. Savely empathizes with Matryona from the bottom of his heart, it is hard to bear the death of Demushka. This hero contains kindness, sincerity, help to other people in a difficult situation.

Matryona Timofeevna

All peasant women are shown in the guise of this woman. She has a powerful soul and willpower. Throughout his life, he fights for the freedom and joy of a woman. Her life is like a multitude of peasant women of that time. Considering that after marriage she falls into a family that despises her. Her husband once beat her, the first child was eaten by piglets, and the rest of her life she works in the field.

Composition Peasants (Who lives well in Russia)

In the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" N. A. Nekrasov raises and examines one of the main problems of the Russian state, which is relevant to this day. The images of the peasants as the main characters of this problem and, accordingly, the poem reveals its entire essence.

The writer creates a group portrait of seven peasants who travel across Russia and are looking for happy people, among whom, they are sure, there are no peasants, soldiers and other lower classes. The author denotes the traits of wanderers: poverty, curiosity, independence. Nekrasov clearly indicates the dislike of the peasants for those who live and grow rich for their labor, while the poor peasants are pure in heart, honest by work, kind in soul. This can be seen in the described case with Matryona Timofeevna, when ordinary men came to her aid with the harvest.

The image of Yakima Nagoy personifies all the peasants who work tirelessly and live in hungry poverty. HE works so hard that it is already merging with the ground, which is plowed day and night.

And myself to mother earth
It looks like: the neck is brown,
Like a layer cut off with a plow,
Brick face ...

The myth that all peasants are poor because of drunkenness is not confirmed, in fact, the reason is in fate to work for the owner.

Ermila Girin attracts the reader with her honesty and great mind. After he set up a neighbor's boy for the soldiers, his conscience tormented him instead of his brother. The thought of suicide comes to him, but nevertheless he goes to repent to the people. The author introduces the image of Savely to demonstrate the idea that the people are heroes. Despite his illness, he knows how to empathize with others. Nekrasov gives him the role of a philosopher.

It is fashionable to see the female share in Matryona Timofeevna. She is strong in spirit and resilient. Any successful merchant can envy her inner core. Her fate is so typical for all Russian women that she does not advise looking for a happy one among them. She, as the family's breadwinner, is obliged to work and not spare herself and her strength.

Such images of peasants emerge as a consequence of the 1861 reform. The peasants try not to look at the cruel reality and live in their own religious and human world, which still treats them cruelly.

Option 3

The poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" tells about the difficulties of the life of the peasants after the serf reform of Alexander II. Ordinary peasants, I decide to find out who in Russia lives better than anyone who is truly happy: a landowner, a merchant, a priest, and maybe only the tsar himself can be happy?

In search of the truth and the answer to their question, seven pilgrims are marching across the Russian land. On the way, they meet a variety of heroes, and the pilgrims help everyone and provide all kinds of support. This is how the pilgrims help Matryona Timofeevna, whose harvest was dying. The peasants and peasants of the Illiterate province also provide all possible help.

By showing the travels of the heroes, the author of the poem thereby acquaints readers with the most diverse strata of society. Wanderers meet with merchants, nobility, clergy. In comparison of all these classes, the peasants stand out clearly for their behavior and character traits.

While reading the poem, the reader meets a poor peasant called Yakim Naga. Despite the fact that Yakim worked all his life, he did not get rich, remaining among the poorest people in society. Many inhabitants of the village of Bosovo are the same as the character Yakim Nagoya.

The author of the work compares the character with mother earth. His neck is brown and his face is brick. From this description it becomes clear what kind of work Yakim is doing. But our hero is not a little upset by his position, because he sincerely believes in the bright future of all peasants.

Another peasant in the poem who is completely different from Yakim is Yermila Girin. Yermila is distinguished by intelligence, as well as crystal honesty. Revealing the image of this character, Nekrasov shows how solidarity the peasants were, how united they were. For example, the people trust Yermila when purchasing a mill, and Girin in return supports the revolt, thereby taking the side of the peasants.

Many times in the text, when describing peasants, Nekrasov compares them with heroes. For example, Savely is a strong man. However, despite the strongly pronounced features of a stern peasant, Savely is very bright and sincere. He treats Matryona Timofeevna with tender trepidation. Savely is haunted by reflections on why the people should endure all the hardships that fall on them and, in general, should they endure it?

All female images in the poem Nekrasov embodied in the heroine Matryona Timofeevna. This woman has been striving with all her might for freedom and happiness all her life. It can be assumed that, in her understanding, freedom was already the embodiment of happiness. She was an unusually strong and resilient woman. Having got married, she steadfastly accepted all the trials she got, and in the end she took up hard work on a par with the men.

In the poem, Nekrasov shows ordinary peasants and tries to tell readers that peasants are not a labor force, but people with their own aspirations, feelings and dreams. And, of course, these people should be free, their opinions should also be listened to.

I. Images of peasants and peasant women in the lyrics.
2. Heroes of the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia".
3. The collective image of the Russian people.

Peasant Russia, the bitter lot of the people, as well as the strength and nobility of the Russian people, their age-old habit of work - one of the main themes in the work of N. A. Nekrasov. In the poems "On the Road," Schoolboy "," Troika "," Railway "," Forgotten Village "and many others, images of peasants and peasants appear before us, created by the author with great sympathy and admiration.

He is struck by the beauty of a young peasant girl, the heroine of the poem "Troika", who runs after the troika that has flown by. But admiration is replaced by reflections on her future bitter female share, which will quickly destroy this beauty. A joyless life awaits the heroine, beatings from her husband, eternal reproaches from her mother-in-law and hard daily work that will leave no room for dreams and aspirations. Even more tragic is the fate of Grusha from the poem "On the Road". Raised at the whim of the master as a young lady, she was married off to a peasant and returned to the village. But torn out of her midst and not accustomed to hard peasant labor, having touched culture, she can no longer return to her former life. The poem contains almost no description of her husband - the driver. But the sympathy with which he tells about the fate of the "villainess-wife", understanding all the tragedy of her position, tells us a lot about himself, his kindness and nobility. In his failed family life, he blames not so much his wife as the "gentlemen" who have ruined her in vain.

The poet no less expressively portrays peasants who once came to the front entrance. Their description occupies only one-sixth of the work and is given outwardly sparingly: bent backs, a thin Armenian, tanned faces and arms, a cross on the neck and blood on the legs, shod in homemade bast shoes. Apparently, their path was not close to the front entrance, where they were never allowed, without accepting the meager contribution that they could offer. But if all other visitors "besieging" the front entrance on weekdays and holidays are portrayed by the poet with more or less irony, then he writes about the peasants with frank sympathy and respectfully calls them Russian people.

The moral beauty, steadfastness, courage of the Russian people are also praised by Nekrasov in the poem "Frost, Red Nose". The author emphasizes the vivid individuality of his heroes: the parents, who suffered a terrible grief - the death of their son-breadwinner, Proclus himself - a mighty hero-toiler with big calloused hands. Many generations of readers admired the image of Daria - a "stately Slav", beautiful in all clothes and dexterous in any work. This is a true hymn of the poet to a Russian peasant woman who is accustomed to earning wealth by her labor, who knows how to work and rest.

It is the peasants who are the main characters in the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia". Seven "sedate peasants from temporarily liable", as they call themselves, from villages with meaningful names (Zaplatovo, Dyryavino, Razutovo, Znobishino, Gorelovo, Neyelovo, Neuro-zhayka), are trying to solve a difficult question: "Who is happily free in Russia? ". Each of them imagines happiness in his own way and calls different people happy: the landowner, the priest, the tsarist minister and the sovereign himself. They are a generalized image of a peasant - stubborn, patient, sometimes hot-tempered, but also ready to stand up for the truth and his convictions. Wanderers are not the only representatives of the people in the poem. We see many other male and female images there. At the fair, the peasants meet Vavila, "selling goat shoes for his granddaughter." Leaving for the fair, he promised everyone gifts, but "drank himself to a penny." Vavila is ready to patiently endure the reproaches of her family, but she is tormented by the fact that she cannot bring the promised gift to her granddaughter. This man, for whom only a tavern is a joy in a difficult, hopeless life, evokes in the author not condemnation, but rather compassion. People around him sympathize with the peasant. And everyone is ready to help him with bread or work, and only the master Pavlusha Veretennikov could help with money. And when he rescued Vavila and bought shoes for him, everyone around was happy as if he had gifted everyone with a ruble. This ability of a Russian person to be sincerely happy for another adds another important feature to the collective image of a peasant.

The same breadth of the people's soul is emphasized by the author in the story about Yermil Ilyich, from whom the wealthy merchant Altynnikov decided to take away the mill. When it was required to make a deposit, Yermil turned to the people with a request to help him out. And they collected the necessary amount for the hero, and exactly a week later he honestly repaid the debt to everyone, and everyone honestly took only as much as they had given, and even an extra ruble remained, which Yermil gave to the blind. It is no accident that the peasants unanimously elect his headman. And he judges everyone honestly, punishes the guilty and does not offend the right and does not take for himself a single extra penny. Only once Yermil, in modern terms, took advantage of his position and tried to save his brother from recruitment by sending another young man instead. But his conscience tortured him and he confessed his untruth before the whole world and left his post. Grandfather Savely is a striking representative of the folk character of persistent, honest, ironic. A hero with a huge mane, similar to a bear. Matryona Timofeevna tells the pilgrims about him, whom the pilgrims also ask about happiness. His own son calls his grandfather Savely "branded, convict", the family does not like him. Matryona, who has endured many grievances in her husband's family, finds consolation with him. He tells her about the times when there was no landowner or steward over them, they did not know the corvee and did not pay the rent. Since there were no roads in their places, except for animal paths. Such a free-for-all life continued until “through dense forests and swampy swamps” the German master sent to them. This German tricked the peasants into making the road and began to govern in a new way, ruining the peasants. They endured for the time being, and once, unable to bear it, they pushed the German into a hole and buried him alive. From the hardships of prison and hard labor that fell to his lot, Savely became coarse and hardened, and only the appearance of the baby Demushka in the family brought him back to life. The hero learned to enjoy life again. It is for him that the hardest thing to survive the death of this baby. He did not reproach himself for the murder of a German, but for the death of this baby, after whom he overlooked reproaches so that he could not live among people and went into the forest.

All the characters depicted by Nekrasov from the people create a single collective image of a hard worker, a strong, persistent, long-suffering, full of inner nobility and kindness, ready to help those who need it in difficult times. And although life for this peasant in Russia is not sweet, the poet believes in his great future.

In literary works we find an image of people, their way of life, feelings. By the 17th-18th centuries, two classes had developed in Russia: peasants and nobles - with completely different culture, mentality and even language. That is why in the works of some Russian writers there is an image of peasants, while others do not. For example, Griboyedov, Zhukovsky and some other masters of the word did not touch upon the theme of the peasantry in their works.

However, Krylov, Pushkin, Gogol, Goncharov, Turgenev, Nekrasov, Yesenin and others created a whole gallery

Immortal images of peasants. Their peasants are very different people, but there is also much in common in the views of the writers on the peasant. All of them were unanimous in the fact that peasants are workers, creative and talented people, while idleness leads to moral decay of the individual.

This is the meaning of IA Krylov's fable "The Dragonfly and the Ant". In an allegorical form, the fabulist expressed his view on the moral ideal of the peasant-worker (Ant), whose motto is: to work tirelessly in the summer to provide himself with food in the cold winter, - and on the idler (Dragonfly). In winter, when the Dragonfly came to the Ant with a request for help, he refused the "jumper", although he probably had the opportunity to help her.

On the same topic, much later, M. Ye. Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote a fairy tale "About how a man fed two generals." However, Saltykov-Shchedrin solved this problem differently than Krylov: idle generals, once on an uninhabited island, could not feed themselves, and a peasant, a peasant, not only voluntarily provided the generals with everything they needed, but also twisted a rope and tied himself. Indeed, in both works the conflict is the same: between the toiler and the parasite, but it is resolved in different ways. The hero of Krylov's fable does not allow himself to be offended, and the peasant from the tale of Saltykov-Shchedrin voluntarily deprives himself of his freedom and does everything possible for the generals who are incapable of work.

There are not so many descriptions of peasant life and character in the work of A.S. Pushkin, but he could not fail to capture very significant details in his works. For example, in the description of the peasant war in The Captain's Daughter, Pushkin showed that the children of peasants who left agriculture, who were engaged in robbery and theft, took part in it. robbed him, ”and then he was hanged. In the fate of the hero of the song, the rebels recognize their fate, feel their doom. Why? Because they left labor on earth for the sake of bloodshed, and Pushkin does not accept violence.

The peasants of Russian writers have a rich inner world: they know how to love. In the same work, Pushkin shows the image of the serf Savelich, who, although a slave by position, is endowed with a sense of his own dignity. He is ready to give his life for his young master, whom he raised. This image has something in common with two images of Nekrasov: with Savely, the bogatyr of the Holy Russian, and with Yakov the faithful, an exemplary serf. Savely loved his grandson Demochka very much, looked after him and, being the indirect cause of his death, went into the forests, and then to the monastery. Yakov the faithful loves his nephew as much as Savely loves Demochka, and loves his master as Savelyich loves Grinev. However, if Savelich did not have to sacrifice his life for Petrusha, then Yakov, torn apart by the conflict between his loved ones, committed suicide.

Pushkin has another important detail in Dubrovsky. We are talking about the contradictions between the villages: "They (Troyekurov's peasants) took pride in the wealth and glory of their master and, in turn, allowed themselves a lot in relation to their neighbors, hoping for his strong patronage." Was it not this theme that Yesenin sounded in "Anna Snegina", when the rich residents of Radov and the poor peasants of the village of Kriushi were at enmity with each other: "They are in axes, we are the same." As a result, the headman dies. This death is condemned by Yesenin. The theme of the murder of the manager by the peasants was still in Nekrasov's work: Savely and other peasants buried the German Vogel alive. However, unlike Yesenin, Nekrasov does not condemn this murder.

With the work of Gogol, the concept of a hero-peasant appeared in fiction: the coachman Mikheev, the brick-maker Milushkin, the shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov and others. After Gogol, Nekrasov also had a pronounced theme of heroism (Savely). Goncharov also has peasant heroes. It is interesting to compare the hero of Gogol, the carpenter Stepan Cork and the carpenter Luka from the work of Goncharov “Oblomov”. Gogol's master is “the hero that would be suitable for the guard”, he was distinguished by his “exemplary sobriety”, and the worker from O6lomovka was famous for making a porch, which, although staggering from the moment of construction, stood for sixteen years.

In general, in the work of Goncharov in the peasant village, everything is quiet and sleepy. Only morning is spent laboriously and useful, and then lunch comes, everyone's afternoon nap, tea, doing something, playing the accordion, playing the balalaika at the gate. There are no incidents in Oblomovka. The peace was disturbed only by the peasant widow Marina Kulkova, who gave birth to "four babies at a time." Her fate is similar to the hard life of Matryona Korchagina, the heroine of Nekrasov's poem "Who Lives Well in Russia", who has "every year, then children."

Turgenev, like other writers, speaks about the talent of the peasant, about his creative nature. In the story "The Singers", Yakov Turok and the rowdy for an eight of beers compete in singing, and then the author shows a bleak picture of drunkenness. The same theme will sound in Nekrasov's "Who Lives Well in Russia": Yakim Nagoy "works to death, drinks half to death ...".

Quite different motives are heard in the story "The Burmister" by Turgenev. He develops the image of a despot-governor. Nekrasov will also condemn this phenomenon: he will call the sin of Gleb the elder, who sold the free other peasants, the most serious.

Russian writers were unanimous that the majority of peasants have talent, dignity, creativity, and hard work. However, among them there are also people who cannot be called highly moral. The spiritual fall of these people mainly came from idleness and from material wealth acquired and the misfortunes of others.

Introduction

Starting work on the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia", Nekrasov dreamed of creating a large-scale work that would reflect all the knowledge about peasants that he had accumulated over his life. From early childhood before the poet's eyes, there was a "spectacle of the people's disasters", and the first impressions of childhood prompted him to further study the way of peasant life. Hard work, human grief, and at the same time - the enormous spiritual strength of the people - all this was noticed by Nekrasov's attentive gaze. And precisely because of this, in the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" the images of the peasants look so authentic, as if the poet personally knew his heroes. It is logical that the poem, in which the main character is the people, has a large number of peasant images, but if you look closely at them, we will be amazed by the variety and liveliness of these characters.

The image of the main characters-wanderers

The first peasants whom the reader gets to know are peasants-truth-seekers who argued about who lives well in Russia. For the poem, it is not so much their individual images that are important, but the whole idea that they express - without them the plot of the work would simply fall apart. And, nevertheless, Nekrasov endows each of them with a name, a native village (the names of the villages are already eloquent in themselves: Gorelovo, Zaplatovo ...) and certain traits of character and appearance: Luka is an inveterate debater, Pakhom is an old man. And the views of the peasants, despite the integrity of their image, are different, each does not deviate from his views, even to the point of a fight. On the whole, the image of these men is a group one, therefore, the most basic features characteristic of almost any peasant stand out in it. This is extreme poverty, stubbornness and curiosity, a desire to find the truth. Note that describing the peasants dear to his heart, Nekrasov still does not embellish their images. He also shows vices, mainly general drunkenness.

The peasant theme in the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" is not the only one - during their journey the peasants will meet both the landowner and the priest, they will hear about the life of different classes - merchants, noblemen, clergy. But all other images in one way or another serve to more fully reveal the main theme of the poem: the life of peasants in Russia immediately after the reform.

Several mass scenes are introduced into the poem - a fair, a feast, a road along which many people are walking. Here Nekrasov portrays the peasantry as a single whole, which thinks the same way, speaks unanimously and even sighs at the same time. But at the same time, the images of peasants depicted in the work can be divided into two large groups: an honest working people who value their freedom and peasant slaves. In the first group, Yakim Nagoy, Yermil Girin, Trofim and Agap stand out.

Positive images of peasants

Yakim Nagoy is a typical representative of the poorest peasantry, and he himself resembles "mother land", "a layer cut off with a plow." All his life he works "to death", but at the same time remains a beggar. His sad story: he once lived in St. Petersburg, but started a lawsuit with a merchant, ended up in prison because of her and returned from there "like a sticky piece of paper" - nothing surprises the audience. There were many such destinies at that time in Russia ... Despite the hard work, Yakim has enough strength to stand up for his compatriots: yes, there are many drunken men, but there are more sober men, they are all great people "at work and in gulba." Love for the truth, for honest work, the dream of transforming life (“thunder should be thundered”) - these are the main components of Yakim's image.

Trofim and Agap somewhat complement Yakim, each of them has one main character trait. In the image of Trofim, Nekrasov shows the endless strength and patience of the Russian people - Trofim once demolished fourteen poods, and then returned home barely alive. Agap is a lover of truth. He is the only one who refuses to participate in the performance for Prince Utyatin: "the possession of peasant souls is over!" When he is forced, he dies in the morning: it is easier for a peasant to die than to bend back under the yoke of serfdom.

Yermil Girin is endowed by the author with intelligence and incorruptible honesty, for this he is elected burgomaster. He "did not twist his soul," and once he lost his way, he could not live without righteousness, brought repentance before the whole world. But honesty and love for their compatriots do not bring happiness to the peasants: the image of Yermil is tragic. At the time of the narration, he is sitting in prison: this is how his help to the rebellious village turned out.

Images of Matryona and Savely

The life of the peasants in Nekrasov's poem would not have been fully depicted without the image of a Russian woman. For the disclosure of the "female share", which "grief is not life!" the author chose the image of Matryona Timofeevna. “Beautiful, strict and dark-skinned”, she tells in detail the story of her life, in which she was happy only then, as she lived with her parents in the “girl’s hall”. After that, hard work, on a par with men, began, the nagging of relatives, the death of the first-born twisted the fate. For this story, Nekrasov singled out an entire part in the poem, nine chapters - much more than the stories of the other peasants occupy. This conveys well his special attitude, love for a Russian woman. Matryona amazes with her strength and stamina. She takes all the blows of fate meekly, but at the same time she knows how to stand up for her loved ones: she lies under the rod instead of her son and saves her husband from the soldiers. The image of Matryona in the poem merges with the image of the people's soul - long-suffering and long-suffering, which is why the woman's speech is so rich in songs. These songs are often the only way to pour out your longing ...

Another curious image adjoins the image of Matryona Timofeevna - the image of the Russian hero, Savely. Living out his life in the family of Matryona (“he lived for a hundred and seven years”), Savely thinks more than once: “Where are you, strength, going? What are you useful for? " All the strength went away under the rods and sticks, wasted during the overwhelming labor on the German and wasted away in hard labor. The image of Savely shows the tragic fate of the Russian peasantry, heroes by nature, leading a life completely unsuitable for them. Despite all the hardships of life, Savely did not become embittered, he is wise and affectionate with the powerless (he is the only one in the family who protects Matryona). Shown in his image is the deep religiosity of the Russian people, who were looking for help in faith.

The image of serf peasants

Another type of peasants depicted in the poem are slaves. The years of serfdom crippled the souls of some people who are used to groveling and can no longer imagine their life without the power of the landowner. Nekrasov shows this with examples of the images of the serfs Ipat and Yakov, as well as the headman of Klim. Jacob is the image of a faithful servant. All his life he spent on fulfilling the whims of his master: “Only Jacob had joy: / The master was to groom, take care of, please”. However, one cannot live with the master "ladok" - as a reward for the exemplary service of Jacob, the master gives his nephew to recruit. It was then that Jacob's eyes opened, and he decided to take revenge on his offender. Klim becomes the boss thanks to the grace of Prince Utyatin. A nasty owner and a lazy worker, he, singled out by the master, flourishes from a sense of his own importance: "Proud pig: itched / O master's porch!" Using the example of the headman, Klim Nekrasov, he shows how terrible yesterday's slave, who got into the chiefs, is one of the most disgusting human types. But it is difficult to lead an honest peasant heart - and in the village of Klima they sincerely despise, not fear.

So, from the various images of the peasants "Who lives well in Russia" a whole picture of the people is formed as a huge force that is already beginning to rebel little by little and realize its power.

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Definitely negative characters. Nekrasov describes various perverted relationships between landowners and serfs. The young lady who beat the peasants for swear words seems kind and affectionate in comparison with the landowner Polivanov. He bought a village for bribes, in it he "freed, fumbled, drank bitter", was greedy and stingy. The faithful servant Yakov took care of the master, even when his legs were taken away. But the master shaved the only nephew of Yakov into the soldiers, flattered by his bride.

Separate chapters are devoted to two landowners.

Gavrila Afanasevich Obolt-Obolduev.

Portrait

To describe the landowner, Nekrasov uses diminutive-affectionate suffixes and speaks of him with disdain: a round gentleman, mustachioed and pot-bellied, ruddy. He has a cigar in his mouth, and his C is lucky. In general, the image of the landowner is corny and not at all formidable. He is middle-aged (sixty years old), "dignified, stocky", with a long gray mustache and valiant grips. The contrast between tall men and a squat gentleman should make the reader smile.

Character

The landowner was frightened by the seven peasants and pulled out a pistol, as plump as himself. The fact that the landowner is afraid of the peasants is typical of the time when this chapter of the poem was written (1865), because the peasants who received liberation were happy to take revenge on the landowners if possible.

The landowner boasts of his "noble" origin, described with sarcasm. He says that Obolt Obolduev is a Tatar who amused the queen with a bear for two and a half centuries. Another of his maternal ancestors, three hundred years ago, tried to set fire to Moscow and rob the treasury, for which he was executed.

Lifestyle

Obolt-Obolduev cannot imagine his life without comfort. Even talking with the peasants, he asks the servant for a glass of sherry, a pillow and a carpet.

The landowner with nostalgia recalls the old days (before the abolition of serfdom), when all nature, peasants, fields and forests worshiped the master and belonged to him. Noble houses competed for beauty with churches. The life of the landowner was a continuous holiday. The landowner kept many servants. He was engaged in hunting with dogs in the fall - a primordially Russian fun. During the hunt, the landowner's chest breathed freely and easily, "the spirit was transferred to the Old Russian orders."

Obolt-Obolduev describes the order of the landlord's life as the absolute power of the landowner over the serfs: "There is no contradiction, whom I want - I will have mercy, whom I want - execution." The landowner can indiscriminately beat the serfs (word hit repeated three times, three metaphorical epithets to it: sparkling, furious, zygomatic). At the same time, the landowner claims that he punished in love, that he took care of the peasants, laid tables for them in the landowner's house on a holiday.

The landowner considers the abolition of serfdom to be similar to breaking the great chain that binds the masters and the peasants: "Now we do not beat the peasant, but we do not have pity on him as a father." The manors of the landowners were dismantled brick by brick, the forests were cut down, the peasants were robbing. The economy also fell into decay: "The fields are underdeveloped, the crops are undersowed, there is no trace of order!" The landowner does not want to work on the land, but what his purpose is, he no longer understands: "I smoked heaven of God, wore the royal livery, littered the people's treasury and thought to live like this for a century ..."

The last one

This is how the peasants called their last landowner, Prince Utyatin, under whom serfdom was abolished. This landowner did not believe in the abolition of serfdom and was so angry that he had a blow.

Fearing that the old man would deprive him of his inheritance, his relatives told him that they had ordered the peasants to be turned back by the landowners, and they themselves asked the peasants to play this role.

Portrait

The latter is an old old man, thin as hares in winter, white, a nose with a beak like a hawk, and a long gray mustache. In him, seriously ill, the helplessness of a weak hare and the ambition of a hawk are combined.

Traits

The last tyrant, “fooling in the old way”, because of his whims, both his family and peasants suffer. For example, I had to scatter a ready-made stack of dry hay just because the old man thought it was wet.

The landowner Prince Utyatin, arrogant, believes that the nobles have betrayed their age-old rights. His white cap is a sign of landlord power.

Utyatin never appreciated the lives of his serfs: he bathed them in an ice hole, made them play the violin on horseback.

In his old age, the landowner began to demand even more stupid things: he ordered to marry a six-year-old to a seventy-year-old, to calm the cows so that they would not bellow, to appoint a deaf-mute fool as a watchman instead of a dog.

Unlike Obolduev, Utyatin does not learn about his changed status and dies, "as he lived, as a landowner."

• The image of Savely in Nekrasov's poem "Who Lives Well in Russia"
• The image of Grisha Dobrosklonov in Nekrasov's poem "Who Lives Well in Russia"
• The image of Matryona in the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia"