Lesson topic: "Reflection on the book by MA Bulgakov" The Master and Margarita "

Personally, I have read the novel The Master and Margarita 3 times. The opening reading, like the majority of readers, probably caused bewilderment and questions, not too impressed. It was not clear: what is it that many generations of the inhabitants of the entire planet find in this little book? In places it is religious, somewhere fantastic, some pages are complete nonsense ...

After some time, I was again drawn to M.A.Bulgakov, his fantasies and insinuations, controversial historical descriptions and the unclear conclusions that he left to readers to make. The second reading was more pleasant - purely from an aesthetic point of view. Beautiful language, non-trivial dialogues, author's words and expressions that you want to remember by heart and somewhere after successfully "screw in" in a conversation.

Later, the novel was read in one spirit, in two days without interrupting the book. And every time he made me think ...

Over what? About what?

First, about religion. How fragile everything is, subjective and relative in matters of faith! What people who pray and fast fervently, who know the Gospels by heart, consider dogmas, in fact could have happened differently! This, of course, is sedition and hereticism. But how interesting it is to know the truth! Who was Jesus? And was there? Or that collective image, like Robin Hood or Dobrynya Nikitich?

In this regard, the novel "The Master and Margarita" provides a doubting person and a logical thinker trying a unique opportunity to travel in time. Participation in the events of the oldest Christian texts. Penetration into thoughts to Pontius Pilate himself! And even - "being in the same time-space" with the son of God himself.

Everything with regard to religious feelings, the range of emotions associated with the institution of the church, cannot be described in the Don essay. Here, perhaps, a whole dissertation is required. But the distortion of real events by sacred texts is probably taking place. About this, as well as about the impossibility of comprehending the "truth", the "Master" together with Margarita makes the readers think.

You reflect on talent, its fragility, tenderness, painfulness while reading Bulgakov's text. How important it is for every “Master” to find his own Muse. The one (or the one) who can protect, protect creative person impressionable and vulnerable, from the dirt and injustice of life, from the blows of society, from banal negligence, like a rare exotic flower. Without the "rear", almost no genius would have blossomed so brightly and fully.

Bulgakov M.A. was, as is known from most of his works, the most beautiful caricaturist, satirist, who secretly ridiculed, very carefully and cleverly (because: censorship!) The order and manners of his time. In The Master and Margarita, there were also such moments. What are performances in a variety theater, when quite decent citizens rushed for fashionable dresses and new shoes "from Paris", ready to be left without underpants! And how they jumped for days! Like trained dogs! And many more examples can be cited.

I think that in the future I will return more than once to this novel, to re-enumerate it and discover "new horizons" for myself.

M. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita"
If we think about the question of what great writers the past XX century gave us, we will notice that there were many of them. But there was one among them who turned directly to the human mind and to him sometimes falling asleep, but not dying in him before last minute conscience. This is Mikhail Afanasevich Bulgakov. His literary heritage became known to the reading world only a quarter of a century after his death and immediately joined the ranks of the world classics. Excellent knowledge of Western modernism, sympathetic attitude towards the domestic avant-garde, which has gone from decadence to futurism, reliance on the best literary traditions developed the aesthetic tastes of the writer over the years. Bulgakov loved his homeland and therefore in his works he was in a hurry to capture the distant hopes for its renewal, for sane relations between people, for the eradication of dark instincts in the human soul.
The novel "The Master and Margarita" embodied a deep spiritual path done by its author for two decades. The birth of "The Master and Margarita" Bulgakov moved his name to the ranks of the best Russian writers. In this novel, Bulgakov emphasized the gap between the earthly, cosmic and biblical worlds. Bulgakov introduces into his novel supernatural beings open to passions and suffering, not amenable to unambiguous assessment from the point of view of traditional criteria of good and evil, in order to show their mysterious connection with man. Such images are the devil in the image of Woland and his retinue. But the devil also belongs to the biblical world, and in the novel he acts as the executor of divine justice. It was in his hands that fate was found public life Moscow in the thirties. In his hands were also the fate of the heroes of the novel - the Master and Margarita.
The master, a lonely historian who wanted to understand the life of all mankind and write a novel about it, decided to turn to history, choosing to study New Testament... Two characters appeared in his novel - Pontius Pilate and Yeshua. Yeshua - in appearance a common person, but in fact endowed with a special gift to heal people, instill in them faith, hope and love. He faced the worldview of Pontius Pilate, showed his vision of life and realized that he had no place in the world of cowardly and irresponsible people. Therefore, he resigns himself to the idea that he will be executed.
In Bulgakov's novel, the past and the present are combined. The Master's novel about Yeshua and Pilate is the key to modern life... In the novel, the "New Testament" chapters with their specific problems are linked with the "Moscow" chapters. Modern people, just like people of the times of the New Testament, forgetting about God, about the Universe, live on Earth, pushing away with everyday problems Eternal values... And this leads to the fact that humanity is flying into the abyss. Bulgakov's novel in this sense serves as a warning to future humanity about the consequences of violating the laws of being.
Having met Margarita, the Master discovered something in common between himself and her. It was the pursuit of happiness that they began to seek together. But on the way they had difficult trials, a long separation. And yet, despite this, they retained in themselves the power of love and goodness, and therefore, by the will of higher powers, they receive well-deserved happiness and eternal peace. Well, the novel of the Master, at the end of which the forgiven Pontius Pilate leaves irrevocably, together with the manuscript read by the higher powers, is taken beyond the bounds of earthly concreteness and transmitted to Higher World... Thus, forgiveness also becomes one of the main themes of the novel.
After reading the novel "The Master and Margarita", a person can philosophize over moral problems and the problem of the spiritual essence of the world. The novel also makes us think about the purpose of our existence, teaches us to be responsible for what we have done, teaches us to love based on the example of mutual love between the Master and Margarita, and most importantly, to rely on the experience of the past, not to change our ideals and principles, and try not to violate the laws of being.

Reviews

Even in any "hack" a piece of the soul is present. But in this "trash" I see so many children's efforts to write essays without the experience of a critic and without any skills at all, that this essay seems very nice to me.

And the worst thing is that if your son brought you such an essay and you would not recognize it as sweet and touching, that in your own words you would underestimate the contribution of his work to the essay, then this would be the beginning of the collapse of your relationship. God forbid anyone to have such a father who destroys what he touches.

My impressions after reading the novel
My impressions after reading the novel

Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita"

After reading worldwide famous novel Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita" cannot but leave any impressions. How many riddles, secrets and ambiguities arise in the course of reading, and over some of them literary critics and critics are still arguing over and are not able to come to a single answer ... Bulgakov, in my opinion, managed to create greatest romance in the history of all world literature, where such diverse, but deep and "related" topics would be touched upon: story line closely resembles the Biblical story, with the events described in the New Testament. But the story of these events in The Master and Margaret comes from the perspective of Satan. That is why you can often hear the second unofficial title of the novel - "The Gospel of Satan." How many readings of the novel, so many opinions exist. As the saying goes, "why chase in the footsteps of what is already over?"

Carries extremely deep meaning and, oddly enough, this meaning is contained only in two heroes who say things that make you think: light in the person of Yeshua Ha-Notsri and darkness in the guise of Woland. Incredible philosophical sayings and the reader sees the reasoning when meeting these two heroes in the course of the novel. It is impossible not to ponder over their words:

"What is Truth?"

“The truth is, first of all, that you have a headache, and it hurts so badly that you faintly think about death. Not only are you unable to speak to me, but it is difficult for you even to look at me. And now I am unwittingly your executioner. You cannot even think about anything and only dream about your dog coming, apparently the only creature to which you are attached ... ”.

“Would you be so kind to think about the question: what would do your good if there were no evil, and what would the earth look like if the shadows disappeared from it? After all, shadows are obtained from objects and people. Here is the shadow of my sword. But there are shadows from trees and from living things. Would you like to strip the whole Earth, blowing away all the trees and all living things from it because of your fantasy of enjoying the naked light? You are stupid".

Bulgakov, in my opinion, managed to create a masterpiece novel, where only a true master could so gracefully and incredibly combine the past with the future, darkness with light, show the eternal interweaving of love and fidelity, the confrontation between good and evil. And neither God nor the devil has anything to do with it: people themselves are to blame for sowing evil in relation to each other. We must learn not to envy, but to forgive. Then, maybe, the world will become cleaner. It seems to me that the main idea laid down by Bulgakov is the inevitable punishment for actions. It is no coincidence that supporters of this interpretation point out that one of the central places in the novel is occupied by the actions of Woland's retinue before the ball, when bribes, libertines and others are punished. negative characters, and the court of Woland itself, when everyone is rewarded what he deserves. And Woland is not the devil doing evil, but denouncing him in the actions of people.

Truth, in my opinion, is present in every line of this novel. It penetrated into him in the same way as "the blood that went into the ground, and where it was shed, bunches of grapes have been growing for a long time." Truth is that which is created by God and is not defiled. Which has not been touched by the hand of a man who always does everything for his own good. It is unlikely that we will ever know what it is. And even if we find out, we will not be able to explain it to others, because she is within us.

Each hero of the novel experienced a “meeting” with Woland or his retinue in its own way. But personally, I do not consider Satan, represented from Bulgakov's interpretation, to be some dark personality ... In The Master and Margarita, he appears in the image of one who carries the truth, like Yeshua, but, unlike him, punishes for bad deeds. And the bribe-taker Bossoy, the findirector and director of the Variety Rimsky and Likhodeev, and the entertainer Georges Bengalsky, and the barman Sokov ... All of them were severely punished by Woland's retinue, nevertheless, in my opinion, they wondered why everything was happening to them. It is already possible not to talk about the poet Ivan Bezdomny, who, in the course of the novel, radically changed his life positions… The meeting with the Master made him reconsider a lot. But the very result of these people being punished is vividly presented by Bulgakov. They all have unpleasant memories of their meeting with Satan and his retinue. Barefoot, for example, no longer likes theaters, Georges Bengalsky has lost his usual gaiety, and now an employee of the Institute of History and Philosophy, Professor Ivan Nikolaevich Ponyrev, has the same dream every full moon. In the morning he wakes up silent, but completely calm and healthy. His punctured memory fades, and until the next full moon, the professor will not be disturbed by anyone. Neither the noseless assassin of Gestas, nor the cruel fifth procurator of Judea, the equestrian Pilate of Pontus.

75 years ago Mikhail Afanasevich Bulgakov last time with the tip of his pen he touched the manuscript of the brilliant novel The Master and Margarita, which has become a reference book for millions of readers.

Time has passed, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, but this great work, covered with riddles and mysticism, still remains a fertile field for various philosophical, religious and literary discussions.

This masterpiece is even included in school curriculum several countries, although the meaning of this novel cannot be fully and completely comprehended not only by the average student, but even by a person with a higher philological education.

Here are 7 keys to consummate romance"The Master and Margarita", which will shed light on many secrets.

1. Where did the title of the novel come from?

Have you thought about the title of this novel? Why The Master and Margarita? Is it really love story or, God forbid, melodrama? What is this book about?

It is known that a huge impact for writing famous work had a fascination with Mikhail Afanasyevich Germanic mythology of the XIX century.

It is no secret that, in addition to Holy Scripture and Goethe's Faust, the novel was based on various myths and legends about the devil and God, as well as Jewish and Christian demonology.

The writing of the novel was facilitated by the works read by the author, such as "The History of the Relationship of Man with the Devil" by Mikhail Orlov and "The Devil in Everyday Life, Legend and in the Literature of the Middle Ages" by Alexander Amfiteatrov.

As you know, the novel "The Master and Margarita" has been edited more than once. Rumor has it that in the very first edition of the work had the following variants of titles: "Black Magician", "Tour", "Juggler with a Hoof", "Engineer's Hoof", "Son V." and there was no mention of the Master or Margaret at all, since Satan was to be the central figure.

It is interesting to note that in one of the subsequent editions the novel actually had such a variant of the title as "Satan". In 1930, after the prohibition of the play "Cabal of the Saints" Bulgakov destroyed the first edition of the novel with his own hands.

He speaks about it himself

In the second edition, by the will of fate, Margarita and her Master appeared, and Satan acquired his retinue. But the current name was given only to the third edition, which is considered unfinished.

2. The many-sidedness of Woland.

Woland is rightfully considered one of the main characters in The Master and Margarita. He even in some way impresses many readers, and on a superficial reading it may seem that the Prince of Darkness is kindness itself and such a fighter for justice who fights against human vices and helps to triumph peace and love.

Others consider Woland to be the prototype of Stalin. But in fact, Woland is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. This is a very multifaceted and difficult to understand character. Such an image, in general, befits the Tempter.

This is to some extent the classic prototype of the Antichrist, whom humanity should have perceived as the new Messiah. The image of Woland also has many analogues in ancient pagan mythology. You will also find some resemblance to the spirit of darkness from Goethe's Faust.

3. Woland and his retinue.

Just as a person cannot exist without a shadow, so Woland is not Woland without his retinue. Azazello, Behemoth and Koroviev-Fagot are executors of devilish justice. Sometimes it seems that these colorful characters outshine Satan himself.

It is worth noting that behind their backs they have a far from unambiguous past. Take Azazello, for example. Mikhail Bulgakov borrowed this image from the Old Testament books, which mentions fallen angel, who taught people to make weapons and jewelry.

Thanks to him, women have mastered the "lascivious art" of painting their faces. That is why in the novel Azazello gives the cream to Margarita and by cunning encourages her to go over to the side of evil.

He is like right hand Wolanda, performs the most dreary job. The demon kills Baron Meigel and poisons the lovers.

Hippopotamus - werewolf cat, antics and amusement. This image is drawn from the legends of the demon of gluttony. His name is borrowed from Old Testament, in one of the books of which there was a speech about the sea monster Behemoth, which lived with Leviathan.

This demon was depicted as a monster with an elephant's head, trunk, fangs, human hands and hind legs, like a hippopotamus.

4. The dark queen Margot or a la Pushkin's Tatiana?

Many who have read the novel have the impression that Margarita is a kind of romantic nature, the heroine of Pushkin's or Turgenev's works.

But the roots of this image lie much deeper. The novel emphasizes Marguerite's relationship with two French queens. One of them is the well-known Queen Margot, wife of Henry IV, whose wedding turned into a bloody night of St. Bartholomew.

This dark action, by the way, is mentioned in the novel. On the way to the Great Ball at Satan's, Margarita meets a fat man who, recognizing her, turns to her with the words: "the bright queen Margot."

In the image of Margaret, literary critics also find similarities with another queen - Margaret of Navarre, one of the first French women writers.

Bulgakovskaya Margarita is also close to fine literature, she is in love with her genius writer - the Master.

5. Space-time connection "Moscow - Yershalaim".

One of the key mysteries of The Master and Margarita is the place and time of the events taking place in the novel. You won't find any here exact date from which you can count. The text contains only hints.

The events in the novel unfold in Moscow in Holy week from 1 to 7 May 1929. This part of the book is closely connected with the so-called "Pilate Chapters", which describes the week in Yershalaim in the year 29, which later became Passionate.

The attentive reader will notice that in the New Testament Moscow of 1929 and the Old Testament Yershalaim in 29, the same apocalyptic weather is present, the actions in both of these stories develop in parallel and ultimately merge together, drawing a whole picture.

6. Influence of Kabbalah.

They say that Mikhail Bulgakov, when he wrote the novel, was strongly influenced by the Kabbalistic teaching. This affected the work itself.

Just remember winged words Woland: “Never ask for anything. Never and nothing, especially with those who are stronger than you. They themselves will offer and they themselves will give everything ”.

It turns out that in Kabbalah it is forbidden to accept anything, unless it is a gift from above, from the Creator. Such a commandment is contrary to Christianity, in which, for example, it is not forbidden to ask for alms.

One of the central ideas of Kabbalah is the doctrine of "Ohr ha-Chaim" - "the light of life." It is believed that the Torah itself is light. The attainment of light depends on the desire of the person himself.

In the novel, the idea that a person independently makes his life choice comes to the fore.

Light also accompanies Woland throughout the novel. When Satan disappears with his retinue, the lunar road also disappears.

7. A life-long novel.

The last manuscript of the novel, which later came down to us, Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov began in 1937, but it haunted the writer until his death.

Every now and then he constantly made some changes to it. Perhaps it seemed to Bulgakov that he was poorly informed in Jewish demonology and Holy Scripture, perhaps he felt himself to be an amateur in this field.

These are just guesses, but one thing is certain - the novel was not easy for the writer and practically "sucked" all the vitality out of it.

It is interesting to know that the last amendment that Bulgakov made on February 13, 1940 was the words of Margarita: "So this is, therefore, the writers are going after the coffin?"

The writer died a month later. According to Bulgakov's wife, his last words before his death
were: "To know, to know ..."

No matter how we interpret this work, it is impossible to study it completely. It is such a deep masterpiece that one can unravel it for eternity, but never get to its essence.

The main thing is that this novel makes you think about high things and comprehend important life truths.

The Master and Margarita are a masterpiece of Russian literature, where the present and the past are intertwined. The author worked on his creation most life and as a result presented the readers with a grandiose and unique work full of colors. A variety of heroes, attracting attention with their fantasticness and uniqueness. This is Bulgakov's novel, where they rise different topics with all its problems, about which we will write ours.

The Master and Margarita problems

As we have already said, in his novel Bulgakov raises various problems, which, with the help of his heroes, their images and actions, the writer reveals them and seeks solutions. Thus, the novel The Master and Margarita reveals such problems as the problem of choice, the problem of good and evil, the problem of love and loneliness, the problem of creativity and morality. Let's consider everything in more detail.

Reading Bulgakov's work, we notice the first problem that the writer raises, and this is the problem of choice. Bulgakov builds the plot in such a way that his fate depends on each character and according to what laws life will develop. The writer gives each of his heroes the opportunity to change their lives for the better, but not every one of them takes this chance. But everyone is faced with a choice. This is Margarita, who needs to choose a life with her husband in wealth, or live with a poor Master. This is the choice that Pontius Pilate had to make. The choice that Ryukhin and Homeless had to make. After reading Bulgakov's work, we saw that each of the heroes nevertheless made his own personal choice and he was right for everyone in his own way.

The key in the novel is and moral problem when each person must determine for himself what is good and what is bad, take the path of betrayal or remain true to his ideals, be a coward or take a fair path. All heroes in a certain moment decide for themselves moral questions choosing one way or another. So Pontius must decide for himself whether to acquit the innocent or to pass the death sentence. The artist must make a choice either to abandon his work, submitting to the censorship, or to defend his own novel. Margarita needs to decide to be with her husband or to share the fate with her beloved Master. In this case, all the characters are faced with the moral side of the problem.

Another of eternal problems that Bulgakov revealed was the problem of good and evil. This topic interested many writers and was relevant at all times. Bulgakov, too, did not stay away from the problem of good and evil and revealed it in his own way, using the life and choice of his characters. Two different forces that must be in balance and cannot exist one without the other, the author embodies in the images of Yeshua from Yershalaim and Woland. We saw that the two forces are equal and stand on the same level. Woland and Yeshua do not rule the world, but only coexist and oppose, arranging disputes. At the same time, we can safely say that the struggle between good and evil is eternal, since there is not a single person in the world who would not commit a sin, just as there is no one who has never done good in his life. The main thing is to be able to recognize these two forces and choose the right way... It is the novel that helps readers understand what is good and what is evil.

The author also did not stand aside from the problem of creativity. From the very first pages we notice the raised problem of false and real creativity. This topic also worried and was painful for Bulgakov. This is probably why many readers and literary critics see Bulgakov himself in the image of the Master.

Reading the work, we see the members of MASSOLIT who care not about what to write, but how to fill their pockets. The author depicts writers for whom the restaurant on the ground floor was a temple of culture and its attraction at all times. But the true writer is the Master, in his image a real artist of the pen is depicted, who wrote truly Good work... But the mediocre massolites did not appreciate her, moreover, they drove the character to madness. However, the author says that the time will come and the hack will be punished, higher power will reward everyone for their deeds. The work emphasizes that manuscripts do not burn, which means that every person who has associated himself with literature should treat creativity responsibly. Justice was restored thanks to Woland and his retinue. The whole hotbed of lies and hack was engulfed in fire. And let the new building be rebuilt, new hacks come, but for a while the truth has triumphed. And real talents had a little time to bring their masterpieces into the world.

Love is a feeling that worries everyone, and the problem of love was also revealed in the novel The Master and Margarita. Love is truly a strong feeling that pushes people to different actions. Bulgakov reveals the theme of love with the help of the images of two heroes: Margarita and the Master. But there are obstacles in the way of their general happiness. First, the marriage of the heroine, and secondly, the finding of the Master in a psychiatric hospital. But the love of the heroes is so strong that Margarita decides to make a deal with the devil. She sells her soul to him, if only he returns her loved one. How do we see love in a novel? First of all, this is love, which does not make the heroes worse or better, it simply makes them different. The writer's love is selfless, disinterested, merciful, eternal and faithful.