Honor and dishonor are the arguments of the Unified State Examination. Abstract: Honor, decency, conscience are qualities that should be valued. Based on one or more works Decency in literary works examples

Honor, decency, conscience are qualities that should be valued. According to one or more works

What motivates a person in life? What gives him the strength to live correctly? And what does it mean to “live correctly”? Probably everyone will answer: fulfill your duty, take care of honor and dignity, respect yourself and others, do not be mean, do not be hypocritical, that is, keep your spiritual and emotional human qualities pure. But in our lives, sometimes everything is not so simple, and how difficult it can be to endure and not deviate from the moral path. And yet, as N.V. claims. Gogol, “the power of moral influence is beyond all powers.”

The story of the hero of the story by A.S. Pushkin's "The Captain's Daughter" by Pyotr Grinev is a clear confirmation of this. A provincial Russian nobleman, seventeen years old, an undergrowth Grinev is sent straight from the nursery to serve - and not in the elite Semyonovsky regiment, but in the provinces. And from this moment the hero’s life turns into a continuous test of his moral fortitude and strength. And in every test, Petrusha acts at the behest of his heart, and his heart is subordinated to the laws of noble honor, the code of Russian chivalry, and a sense of duty.

These laws are unchanged - even when it is necessary to pay off a huge billiard debt to Zurin who played not too honestly; and when you need to thank the conductor with a sheepskin coat and half a dime. And when should Shvabrin be challenged to a duel, having listened to Grinev’s “rhymes” in honor of Masha and contemptuously speaking about both them and her. And when the Pugachevites lead the hero to execution. And when Pugachev, who pardoned the hero, extends his hand for a kiss, and Petrusha, naturally, does not kiss the “villain’s hand.” And when the impostor directly asks the captive whether he recognizes him as sovereign, whether he agrees to serve, whether he promises at least not to fight against him, and the captive three times, directly or indirectly, answers “no.” And when Grinev, once already saved by fate, returns alone to the location of the Pugachevites in order to help out his beloved or die with her. And when, arrested by his own government, he does not name Marya Ivanovna.

This constant readiness, without risking in vain, nevertheless to pay with his life for his honor and love, makes the nobleman Grinev a truly moral person. This behavior turns the most simple-minded of the heroes of The Captain's Daughter into the most serious of its characters. He was able to preserve his soul, his honor and dignity, he was able to serve not out of fear, but out of conscience. And this is precisely where the victory of human moral forces lies.

All the works of L.N. are imbued with faith in the moral principle of man. Tolstoy. About each of his heroes, the writer solves the questions: what is his human essence? what does he bring to people? Does he have understanding, consonance, unanimity with other people? These are the properties of the soul that are inherent to the highest degree in the heroine of the novel “War and Peace,” Natasha Rostova. In this image, the writer expresses faith in man, in the possibility of establishing truly human relations on earth.

The path of Natasha’s development takes place away from the complex spiritual life inherent in such Tolstoy’s heroes as Pierre Bezukhov and Andrei Bolkonsky. Intellectual inquiries, philosophical discussions about the meaning of life, social contradictions, and the principles of higher morality are not for Natasha. Moreover, “she doesn’t deign to be smart,” as Pierre says about her. But her moral strength lies in the natural properties of her character, in her gift of love for people, for life, for nature, in an intuitive sense of truth, in responsiveness, sensitivity. Creating Natasha's character, endowing her with high traits of humanity, the author poses the problem of testing character. What is given to the heroine must be strengthened, established in the struggle, in the process of life's trials.

The author brings Natasha into a collision with new, previously unknown sides and phenomena of life, pits her sensitive, emotional nature against circumstances that conflict with her attitude towards the world. Life experience comes at a high price.

Tolstoy subjects his beloved heroine to a serious everyday test - her passion for Kuragin, which ended in mental disaster for her. She, with her thirst for love, her untouched, pure and passionate nature, mistook a mirage for reality, was deceived both in her feelings and in the person into whose power she was ready to give her life. The whole point is that she saw Anatoly Kuragin in the light of her moral purity; everything that Natasha felt was transferred to Kuragin’s feelings for her. Rostova believed in Anatole, waited for him, and only when she learned the whole truth from Pierre did she understand what misfortune had befallen her. Natasha’s emotional shock was the deeper the purer, more humane, and sincere her inexperienced nature was in the clash with the “mean, heartless breed of Kuragins.” The writer led his heroine through the crucible of everyday trials, brought her face to face with the world of evil, vulgarity and deception, and brought her out of this world with more stable principles of morality, goodness and truth. And we see in Natasha’s entire subsequent fate that this cruel lesson did not break her character, but strengthened it. She emerged from these trials spiritually matured and learned to value love and devotion even more and to hate lies and cruelty. Natasha's moral strength helped not only herself, but also the dying Andrei Bolkonsky, and her mother, distraught over the loss of her son, and Pierre Bezukhov. And we believe that if Pierre had shared the fate of the Decembrists in the future, then there is no doubt that Natasha would have had the moral strength to follow him like the wives of the Decembrists.

Heroes A.S. Pushkina, L.N. Tolstoy and many other Russian writers have an inner instinct and sense of truth, which draws them to those, sometimes unconscious, selfless actions in which their moral purity, their spiritual impulses addressed to people are revealed. Looking at these heroes, it is easier to learn to be human and be convinced that N.V. is right. Gogol, who claims that “the power of moral influence is above all forces...”

Secondary school No. 141

Topic: The theme of honor in the works of Russian writers

Class: 10 "B"

Head: Shulman Nina Nikolaevna

Moscow 2003

Issues of honor and morality are always a fundamental problem in the relationships of people in society. One of the important places is given to this topic in Russian literature of the 19th century. Russian writers of this significant period in the development of Russian history created works that not only fully reflected life, but also had enormous moral and educational significance, revealing the best that is in the people, on which this people should rely.

Honor is that high spiritual force that keeps a person from meanness, betrayal, lies and cowardice. This is the core that strengthens the choice of action when conscience is the judge. Life often tests people, presenting them with a choice - to act honorably and take the blow, or to be cowardly and go against their conscience in order to gain benefit and avoid troubles or even death. A person always has a choice and how he will act depends on his moral principles. The path of honor is difficult, but retreat from it, the loss of honor is even more painful. Dishonor is always punished. This is apparently the order of the higher powers.

Moral decay, the decline of moral principles leads to the collapse of both an individual and an entire nation. That is why the importance of the great Russian classical literature, which is a moral foundation and assistant for many generations of people, is so enormous. Vivid images created by writers with love and vitality seem to acquire materiality. They live among us and set an example of morality and honor.

The concept of honor is brought up in a person from childhood. So in the story by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin “The Captain's Daughter” we see how this happens and what results it leads to.

The main character of the story, Pyotr Andreevich Grinev, was brought up from childhood in an atmosphere of high everyday morality. His father had a negative attitude towards easy but dishonest ways to make a career at court. He did not want to send his young son Petrusha to serve in St. Petersburg, in the guard: “What will he learn while serving in St. Petersburg? Wander and hang out? - Andrei Petrovich says to his wife. - “No, let him serve in the army, let him pull the strap, let him smell gunpowder, yes

There will be a soldier, not a shamaton.” In his parting words to his son, the father especially emphasizes the need to maintain honor: “Serve faithfully to whom you swear allegiance, obey your superiors; Don’t chase their affection; don’t ask for service; don’t talk yourself out of serving and remember the proverb: take care of your dress again, but take care of your honor from a young age.” This parting word from his father stays with Grinev for the rest of his life and helps him not to stray from the right path. Petrusha Grinev did not receive a good education, since his teacher was only the serf Savelich, who, however, considered it his duty to faithfully serve the master. His devotion to his master is far from slavish dependence. Savelich not only taught Petrusha to read and write, but also gave him important life advice, which was dictated by his sincere love for the boy.

So in his family, Pyotr Grinev was raised as a nobleman, true to his word and not considering it possible to change his oath for his own good.

Cut off from home and parents, Pyotr Grinev finds himself involved in a card game and loses. Although Savelich tried to persuade him to evade the settlement, Grinev acted in honor and returned the gambling debt.

Grinev is kind and sympathetic. Despite Savelich's dissatisfaction, he did not regret giving his hare sheepskin coat to the tramp who showed him the way in the blizzard. Grinev could not help but thank the person who did him the favor. This act saved his life in the future. Good responds with good.

Moral tests awaited Grinev in his new military life. In the Belogorodskaya fortress, he became friends with the commandant’s daughter Masha Mironova. Because of Masha, Pyotr Grinev quarreled with his comrade Shvabrin, who laughed at Grinev’s tender feelings, poured out in the poems he composed. Grinev entrusted Shvabrin with his poems, and the vile Shvabrin, realizing that they were addressed to Masha, began to say obscenities about her. Later it turned out that he himself wooed Masha and, having received a refusal, wanted to discredit her name. Grinev challenged the offender to a duel, as he considered it his duty to defend the girl’s honor. Shvabrin's shamelessness was unbearable to him.

Shvabrin is selfish and cowardly. His image seems to highlight the nobility of Grinev, for whom there is no other way than to act according to honor, without thinking about one’s own benefit. Shvabrin is his complete opposite.

Even during the duel, sensing Grinev’s strength, he took advantage of the fact that Grinev turned away, distracted by Savelich rushing to the aid, and dealt him a treacherous blow with his sword.

Then Grinev finds out that Shvabrin wrote a denunciation against him to his father.

Thus, Shvabrin’s dishonest behavior arouses antipathy in the reader and thereby enhances the charm and attractiveness of the character of Pyotr Andreevich Grinev.

The characters of Shvabrin and Grinev were especially evident during the Pugachev rebellion, when the issue of their life and death was decided. The behavior of the family of the commandant of the fortress is also remarkable. The concepts of honor and duty, loyalty to the oath were sacred to Masha’s parents. They chose death, but did not surrender to the rebels. Ivan Kuzmich Mironov was not capable of betrayal for the sake of his own well-being. His wife Vasilisa Egorovna was ready to share her husband’s fate so as not to surrender to the enemy.

Shvabrin is valuable and indifferent to the suffering of these people. He treated ordinary people with contempt and thought only about how to save his own life at any cost. Senses of duty and honor were not developed in him. He broke his oath and went over to the side of the rebels, but not because he sympathized with them and shared their views, but only to save his life. And he also had a plan, having dealt with Grinev, to force Masha to marry him.

As for Grinev, it is quite clear that he chose death. He could not change his oath and become an ally of Pugachev, the killer of Masha’s parents.

Grinev would have been hanged if not for the desperate behavior of Savelich, who asked for his pardon and was ready to die in place of his master. Savelich saved Grinev, showing devotion and fulfillment of his duty to protect Petrusha entrusted to him.

Pugachev praised Grinev as a man of honor. He himself set himself the noble goal of giving freedom and happiness to the serfs, and therefore he liked the nobility of the young officer. Grinev's morality influenced Pugachev. He freed Masha and offered to be seated by his father at their wedding. Having received Grinev’s polite refusal, Pugachev managed to understand him, since he also had mercy and honor.

Pugachev also understands that Shvabrin is dishonest and treats him with disdain.

Having been arrested following a denunciation for having an affair with a rebel chieftain, Grinev, for reasons of honor, does not name his beloved. But justice triumphed and the story has a happy ending.

Thus, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin showed an understanding of honor and duty from the positions of completely different people standing at different levels of society. Moral qualities are cultivated in a person regardless of his education and social status.

An interesting remark by V. Belinsky, who said about Pushkin that “by reading his works, you can excellently educate a person within yourself.”

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin himself was a “slave of honor,” as another brilliant poet M.Yu. Lermontov wrote about him in his poem “The Death of a Poet.” He fell victim to dishonest and evil envious people. Defending the honor of his wife and his own, Pushkin challenged Dantes to a duel, whose dubious behavior could discredit the good name of the Pushkin couple. Alexander Sergeevich could not live “slandered by rumors” and put an end to dishonor at the cost of his own life.

The Poet's soul could not bear it

The shame of petty grievances,

He rebelled against the opinions of the world

Alone, as before... and killed!

But Pushkin’s “wonderful genius” illuminates with its radiant light the lives of many, many generations of descendants, and Dantes’ “empty heart” did not find happiness on earth and good memory after death. And as Lermontov said, “The executioners of Freedom, Genius and Glory” will not be able to wash away the righteous blood with their “black blood of the Poet!”

Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov also fought a duel, defending his honor. He was killed by Martynov. While still a very young poet of genius, who created immortal works, he aroused the irritation and anger of idle, worthless envious people and, like Pushkin, accepted death for his honor.

The history of the Russian duel of the 19th century is a history of human tragedies, high impulses and passions. The dueling tradition is associated with the concept of honor in the noble society of that time. The willingness to pay with one's life for the inviolability of one's personal dignity presupposed an acute awareness of this dignity and a highly developed sense of honor. In addition, duels were prompted by a latent consciousness that the highest justice must be done and the right must win.

Duels often broke out at the slightest provocation. Thus, in Pushkin’s poem “Eugene Onegin,” Lensky challenged his friend Onegin to a duel because of unreasonable jealousy. Having “an ardent and rather strange spirit,” “he was ignorant at heart.” In love with the stupid and flighty Olga, Lensky did not see her shortcomings. Onegin, not being a romantic like Lensky, wanted to make fun of him out of boredom. There was no blood grudge. It was clear to everyone that the matter was a misunderstanding. However, Lensky did not want to give in.

Onegin reacted with annoyance and even contempt to the duel in which he was involved against his own will. He was sincerely upset by the bloody outcome of the fight. Lensky died “in the bloom of joyful hopes,” offended by a friend, paying with his life for the insult: “A poet, a thoughtful dreamer, killed by a friend’s hand!”

Breters were not uncommon among the duelists. Breter is a man who flaunted his willingness and ability to fight anywhere and with anyone. The risk of the raider was of an ostentatious nature, and the killing of the enemy was part of his calculations. It was a mixture of posturing and cruelty.

Negative versions of the duel are also depicted in Pushkin’s story “The Shot”. The hero of the story, Silvio, is looking for a pretext for a fight in order to assert his primacy in the hussar regiment; you can feel the bratish manners in him.

Telling Ivan Petrovich Belkin about himself, he says: “I was the first brawler in the army... Duels in our regiment happened every minute: I was either a witness or an active participant in all of them.”

His opponent is a rich count, “the favorite of happiness,” who irritated Silvio with his superiority and luck. The count showed contempt for death: he ate cherries at gunpoint. Both opponents acted to please their pride. Silvio's goal is not murder, but the desire to prove to himself and others that he is stronger and can rule over people. He was possessed by painful pride and selfishness.

There was no murder, but Silvio left behind his shot. He devoted several years of his life to achieve triumph over his enemy and avenge his wounded pride. Limiting himself in everything, he practiced shooting every day and waited for the opportune moment to carry out his revenge.

Having finally arrived at the count to fire back, Silvio did not kill him, but was content to make him tremble and witness his fear.

Pushkin describes the morals of young officers, “who usually see courage as the height of human merit and an excuse for all sorts of vices.”

In the story “Hero of Our Time” by M.Yu. Lermontov, Pechorin kills Grushnitsky in a duel. Having stood up for the honor of the lady who was basely slandered by Grushnitsky because of her inattention to him, Pechorin challenges the offender to a duel. The cowardly Grushnitsky secretly agrees with his seconds to load only his pistol, leaving Pechorin a blank shot. Grushnitsky's immorality and cowardice are expressed in his dishonest behavior towards the girl and his comrade, whom he envies.

Having learned about the conspiracy, Pechorin offers Grushnitsky harsh conditions for a duel, or publicly renounce his slander and ask him for an apology. Grushnitsky, in a fit of impotent hatred of the enemy, chooses to shoot himself without a chance to live and falls into the abyss, struck by Pechorin’s bullet.

The duel between Pierre Bezukhov and Dolokhov, described by L.N. Tolstoy in the epic novel “War and Peace,” also deserves attention.

Pierre Bezukhov is a purely civilian man, prone to philosophical reflection, far from the bustle and strife of life. He didn't know how to use a weapon at all. But he wounds Dolokhov, a fearless warrior, in a duel. Here Tolstoy seems to confirm the idea that justice is being done and vice must be punished. At first, Pierre sincerely trusted Dolokhov, because, being an honest man, he could not assume dishonor in others. He brought him into his house, helped him with money in memory of an old friendship, and Dolokhov disgraced Bezukhov by seducing his wife. Pierre Bezukhov stood up for his honor, but, realizing that the stupid and cruel Helen did not deserve to be killed because of her, he repented of what had happened. He thanks God for not killing the man. He is ready to repent before the duel, but not out of fear, but because he is confident in Helen’s guilt.

In Lermontov's drama "Masquerade", Arbenin, defending his honor, kills his beloved wife, believing in a skillfully woven intrigue. Arbenin here acts as an egoist and a villain who ruined an innocent soul for the sake of his ambitions. Morbid pride and a false idea of honor made him a toy in the hands of crafty ill-wishers and pushed him into villainy. Having poisoned his wife and learned that she is innocent before him, Arbenin terribly repents, but his life is already ruined.

So, literary heroes of that era called offenders to the barrier and sometimes took desperate actions, defending their honor, the price of which was life itself.

In his grandiose work “War and Peace”, L.N. Tolstoy pays main attention to the problem of moral purity of the soul.

A sense of honor and duty, spiritual generosity and purity are the key to peace and happiness of people on earth. Showing what troubles war brings to the world, Tolstoy concludes that only self-improvement, the desire of each person individually to become better, kinder, will save peoples from destruction and death.

Tolstoy's favorite heroes Andrei Bolkonsky and his relatives, Pierre Bezukhov, the Rostov family are sincere and noble people who understand their duty to their parents and the Fatherland, living by honor and conscience.

Andrei Bolkonsky is a strong-willed and principled person. At the beginning of the novel, he dreams of military glory, waiting for a happy moment when “he will finally have to show everything that he can do,” to prove himself in battle. “I live for this alone,” thought Prince Andrei.

Raised by his father as the general-in-chief of Catherine's reign, who occupied a prominent position precisely because of his talents, and not because of his desire for a career, Prince Andrei learned the concepts of honor and duty to people and the fatherland. Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky honestly served his fatherland and was never served, as evidenced by his resignation and even exile under Paul.

The Bolkonskys are an old aristocratic family. They are rightfully proud of their services to the Fatherland. The old prince passed on his high concept of honor, pride, independence, nobility and sharpness of mind to his son. Both despise upstarts and careerists like Kuragin, for whom there is no concept of honor.

Prince Andrey dreams of a feat. He accomplishes a feat in the Battle of Austerlitz, picking up a fallen banner and thereby inspiring the army that had fled

The image of Prince Andrei is given by Tolstoy in development. As a result of spiritual quests, he changes his idea of the meaning of life. At the end of the book, having been mortally wounded in the Battle of Borodino, “divine love” for people became available to him - the love that should save the world from evil.

Prince Andrei never betrayed his duty and conscience. After breaking up with Natasha Rostova, despite the mental pain caused to him, he does not challenge Kuragin to a duel, being above this. In this case, his nobility and sense of honor do not allow him to take the insult personally. He leaves Natasha's betrayal on her conscience, because of which she suffers greatly. Ultimately, Andrei Bolkonsky forgives Natasha for her hobby, understanding her inexperience and also understanding that he loves only her.

Andrei Bolkonsky has a friendship with Pierre Bezukhov. These two people distinguished each other among the secular empty hypocrites, feeling a unity of views and guessing in each other a person of honor.

Pierre Bezukhov, like Prince Andrei, being in constant search for the meaning of life, never betrayed his honor and always acted like a decent person. He is infinitely kind and able to feel other people's pain. Pierre's intense internal spiritual activity and his desire for self-improvement led him to an understanding of the infinity and beauty of existence. He found his soul, which cannot be killed.

Pierre's observations of the behavior of ordinary people, their wisdom and naturalness taught him a lot. The moral purity of the people, the ability to self-sacrifice, and spiritual nobility were a discovery for Pierre Bezukhov, and he joyfully felt himself to be part of this people, part of its spiritual strength.

Using the example of the War of 1812, L.N. Tolstoy shows how people heroically create history. The War of 1812 appears in Tolstoy's depiction as a people's war. In times of difficult trials for the Fatherland, the defense of the Motherland becomes the “people's cause.” The novel contains many images of ordinary men and soldiers. All of them are ready to die for their Motherland and are confident of victory. “They want to rush in with all the people.” The whole world is ready to defend the honor of their Fatherland and are unanimous in the decision not to give up their capital to the enemy. To prevent the “devils” from getting anything, it was decided to set Moscow on fire.

Tolstoy shows honor and dishonor by drawing images of two commanders, Kutuzov and Napoleon - the defender of the Fatherland and the invader.

An invading enemy cannot be honest. The essence of his act is the seizure of someone else’s property that does not belong to him, as well as murder. Napoleon is depicted in the novel as selfish and narcissistic, arrogant and arrogant. He wanted to enslave the Russian people and laid claim to world domination.

The figure of Kutuzov is opposite to Napoleon. He is depicted as the leader of a just people's war, connected with the people by close spiritual ties. This was his strength as a commander. Kutuzov's deep patriotic feelings, his love for the Russian people and hatred for the enemy, his closeness to the soldier distinguished him as a man of honor and high morality.

Tolstoy sees in the people the source of spirituality and morality necessary for the whole society. According to Tolstoy, those nobles who are closer to the people are moral and honest. They have a stronger sense of patriotism. And vice versa, those nobles who distance themselves from their people and abhor them are callous and soulless.

Prince Andrei Bolkonsky and the soldier of his regiment are equal in love for the Motherland. The regiment called him “our prince,” they were proud of him and loved him.” Platon Karataev, a man of the people, became Pierre Bezukhov’s spiritual teacher. The soldiers called Pierre “our master.”

Tolstoy contrasts the false patriotism of the secular nobility with popular patriotism. The main goal of these people is to catch “crosses, rubles, ranks.” High society was characterized by traits of duplicity and hypocrisy. Life in careless luxury dulled feelings of honor and duty.

The Patriotic War of 1812 contained a tremendous moral force that purified and reborn Tolstoy’s heroes. Their destinies followed the same path as the people's fate. They came to the understanding that by defending the honor of their Fatherland, they preserve their honor.

List of used literature.

1. A. S. Pushkin:

"Captain's daughter"

"Eugene Onegin"

"Shot"

2. M. Yu. Lermontov

"Death of poet"

"Hero of our time"

"Masquerade"

3. L. N. Tolstoy.

(60 words) In the comedy A.S. Griboyedov’s “Woe from Wit” conscience appears before readers as an attribute of a person’s spiritual culture. Thus, Chatsky does not accept service “not for business, but for persons,” just as he does not accept the infringement of the rights of peasants. It is the sense of justice that makes him fight against Famust’s society, showing its flaws - this suggests that the “sense of conscience” does not sleep in the hero.
(47 words) A similar example can be seen on the pages of the novel by A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin". Tatyana is a person of conscience. Despite Eugene’s confession and her feelings for him, she chooses not love, but duty, remaining a devoted wife. It speaks of conscience, which implies loyalty to one’s principles and respect for loved ones.
(57 words) In the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov’s “Hero of Our Time” the main character is G.A. Pechorin is a “suffering egoist.” His conscience torments him, but he tries in every possible way to resist it, proving to himself that this is just boredom. In fact, this awareness of his own injustice saddens Gregory. Conscience becomes not only a “measure” of morality, but also a real “weapon” of the soul against the vice that has engulfed it.
(56 words) Conscience is, first of all, honor and dignity, which are absent from the main character of N.V.’s work. Gogol's "Dead Souls" - Chichikov. A person who does not have “remorse” is incapable of being honest. This is what Chichikov’s adventure speaks about. He is used to deceiving people, making them believe in the nobility of “spiritual impulses,” but all his actions speak only of the baseness of his soul.
(50 words) A.I. Solzhenitsyn in the story “Mother’s Courtyard” also talks about moral qualities. The main character, Matryona, is a person whose attitude to life speaks of purity of soul, empathy for people and true self-sacrifice - this is a sense of conscience. It is this that guides Matryona and does not allow her to pass by someone else’s misfortune.
(45 words) The hero of N. M. Karamzin’s story “Poor Liza” suffered from attacks of conscience until the end of his life. Despite Lisa's sincere love, Erast still chooses a rich woman in order to improve his financial situation. The treachery led the girl to suicide, and the culprit executed himself for this until his death.
(58 words) I.A. Bunin in the collection “Dark Alleys” also raises this problem. “Everything passes, but not everything is forgotten,” says the former serf peasant woman to the gentleman he accidentally met, who once abandoned her. His conscience did not make him suffer, which is probably why fate punished him by destroying his family. An unscrupulous person does not learn anything and does not feel his responsibility, so everything in his life turns out sad.
(58 words) D.I. Fonvizin in the comedy “The Minor” reveals the concept of conscience using the example of one of the main characters - Mrs. Prostakova. She is trying in every possible way to rob her relative, Sophia, in order to finally “take control” of her inheritance, forcing her to marry Mitofanushka - this suggests that Prostakova does not have a developed sense of moral responsibility to people, which is what conscience is.
(59 words) M. A. Sholokhov in the story “The Fate of Man” says that conscience is honor and moral responsibility, proving this through the example of the main character, Andrei Sokolov, who overcame the temptation to save his life at the cost of betrayal. He was driven into an honest fight for his homeland by the feeling of his involvement in the fate of the country, thanks to which he survived the struggle for the freedom of the fatherland.
(45 words) Conscience is often the key to trust. So, for example, in M. Gorky’s work “Chelkash” the main character takes a peasant guy into the business, hoping for his decency. However, Gavrila does not have it: he betrays his comrade. Then the thief throws the money and leaves his partner: if there is no conscience, there is no trust.

Examples from personal life, cinema, media

(58 words) Conscience is internal self-control; it does not allow you to do bad things. So, for example, my dad will never be rude or offend with an “unkind word”, because he understands that you need to treat people the way you want them to treat you. This is the golden rule of morality from the social studies course. But it only works when the individual has a conscience.
(49 words) Mel Gibson's film "Hacksaw Ridge" raises the issue of self-sacrifice, which is one of the main features of a conscientious nature. The main character, Desmond Doss, risked his own life in order to “patch up” a world that was mired in endless wars. He, no matter what, saved people from a hot spot, guided by his conscience.
(43 words) Conscience is a heightened sense of justice. One day, my sister’s friend told her secret to the whole class. I wanted to “teach” her a lesson, but during the conversation it turned out that both girls had acted badly. Realizing this, they made peace. Thus, conscience should speak in a person, not revenge.
(58 words) It is enough just to see the infringement of the rights of another person once, and it immediately becomes clear what the word “conscience” means. One day, passing by a playground, I saw a little girl crying and asking the boy not to touch her doll. I approached (approached) them and tried to figure out what was the matter. As a result, they continued to play peacefully. People should not pass by other people's troubles.
(50 words) Conscience does not allow a person to abandon a creature in trouble that needs help. My friend told this story: during frosty evenings, all the homeless animals suffer from hunger, and he goes out every day, despite the bad weather, to feed them. Feeling love and living it means being a conscientious person!
(50 words) In Mark Herman’s film “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” the problem of conscience is particularly acutely addressed. The inner experiences that torment the soul of the protagonist force him to find himself in a real adult world - a world of cruelty and pain. And only a little Jewish boy is able to show him what is called “conscience”: to remain human, despite external circumstances.
(54 words) Our ancestors said: “Let a clear conscience be the measure of your actions.” For example, a decent person will never take someone else’s property, so those around him trust him. What cannot be said about a thief who will never gain respect in society. Thus, conscience, first of all, shapes our appearance in the eyes of the environment; without it, personality cannot exist among people.
(58 words) “Conscience may not have teeth, but it can gnaw,” says the popular proverb, and this is the absolute truth. For example, the feature film by Jonathan Teplitzky, based on real events, tells the story of Eric Lomax, who was captured by Japanese troops during the war, and his “punisher,” who throughout his life regretted what happened: torture and moral Lomax's humiliation.
(58 words) Once as a child, I broke my mother’s vase, and I was faced with a difficult choice: confess and be punished (oops) or remain silent. However, the feeling that I had done something bad to another person made me apologize to my mother and realize my own mistake. Thanks to honesty, my mother forgave me, and I realized that I shouldn’t be afraid to act according to my conscience.
(62 words) In the film “Afonya,” director Georgy Danelia introduces us to an “unscrupulous” man who, despite other people’s needs, turned off the water in the house during an emergency. When the residents asked whether he had a conscience, he replied that he had advice, but no time. This situation suggests that the main character thinks only about himself. Apparently, decency is still dormant in him.

Dolokhov in the novel by L.N. Tolstoy's War and Peace apologizes to Pierre on the eve of the Battle of Borodino. In moments of danger, during a period of general tragedy, conscience awakens in this tough man. Bezukhov is surprised by this. Dolokhov shows himself as a decent person when he, with other Cossacks and hussars, frees a party of prisoners, where Pierre will be; when he finds it difficult to speak, seeing Petya lying motionless. Conscience is a moral category, without it it is impossible to imagine a real person.

Issues of conscience and honor are important for Nikolai Rostov. Having lost a lot of money to Dolokhov, he promises himself to return it to his father, who saved him from dishonor. After a while, Rostov will do the same to his father when he enters into an inheritance and accepts all his debts. Could he have acted differently if in his parents' home he was instilled with a sense of duty and responsibility for his actions. Conscience is that internal law that does not allow Nikolai Rostov to act immorally.

2) “The Captain’s Daughter” (Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin).

Captain Mironov is also an example of fidelity to his duty, honor and conscience. He did not betray the Fatherland and the Empress, but chose to die with dignity, boldly throwing accusations in Pugachev’s face that he was a criminal and a state traitor.

3) “The Master and Margarita” (Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov).

The problem of conscience and moral choice is closely connected with the image of Pontius Pilate. Woland begins to tell this story, and the main character becomes not Yeshua Ha-Nozri, but Pilate himself, who executed his defendant.

4) “Quiet Don” (M.A. Sholokhov).

Grigory Melekhov led the Cossack hundred during the civil war. He lost this position due to the fact that he did not allow his subordinates to rob prisoners and the population. (In past wars, robbery was common among the Cossacks, but it was regulated). This behavior of his caused dissatisfaction not only from his superiors, but also from Panteley Prokofievich, his father, who, taking advantage of his son’s opportunities, decided to “profit” from the loot. Panteley Prokofievich had already done this, having visited his eldest son Petro, and was confident that Grigory would allow him to rob the Cossacks who sympathized with the “reds”. Gregory’s position in this regard was specific: he took “only food and horse feed, vaguely afraid of touching someone else’s property and disgusted by robbery.” The robbery of his own Cossacks seemed “particularly disgusting” to him, even if they supported the “Reds”. “Isn’t there enough of your own? You are boors! People were shot for such things on the German front,” he says angrily to his father. (Part 6 Chapter 9)

5) “Hero of Our Time” (Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov)

The fact that for an act committed contrary to the voice of conscience, sooner or later there will be retribution is confirmed by the fate of Grushnitsky. Wanting to take revenge on Pechorin and humiliate him in the eyes of his acquaintances, Grushnitsky challenges him to a duel, knowing that Pechorin’s pistol will not be loaded. A vile act towards a former friend, towards a person. Pechorin accidentally learns about Grushnitsky’s plans and, as subsequent events show, prevents his own murder. Without waiting for Grushnitsky’s conscience to awaken and him to admit his treachery, Pechorin kills him in cold blood.

6) “Oblomov” (Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov).

Mikhei Andreevich Tarantiev and his godfather Ivan Matveevich Mukhoyarov commit lawless acts against Ilya Ilyich Oblomov several times. Tarantiev, taking advantage of the disposition and trust of the simple-minded and ignorant Oblomov, after getting him drunk, forces him to sign a contract for renting housing on conditions that are extortionate for Oblomov. Later, he will recommend the swindler and thief Zaterty to him as the manager of the estate, telling him about the professional merits of this man. Hoping that Zaterty is indeed a smart and honest manager, Oblomov will entrust him with the estate. There is something frightening in its validity and timelessness in the words of Mukhoyarov: “Yes, godfather, until there are no more idiots in Rus' who sign papers without reading, our brother can live!” (Part 3, Chapter 10). For the third time, Tarantyev and his godfather will oblige Oblomov to pay a non-existent debt under a loan letter to his landlady. How low must a person fall if he allows himself to profit from the innocence, gullibility, and kindness of other people. Mukhoyarov did not even spare his own sister and nephews, forcing them to live almost from hand to mouth, for the sake of their own wealth and well-being.

7) “Crime and Punishment” (Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky).

Raskolnikov, who created his theory of “blood on the conscience,” calculated everything and checked it “arithmetically.” It is his conscience that does not allow him to become “Napoleon”. The death of the “useless” old woman causes unexpected consequences in the lives of the people around Raskolnikov; therefore, when solving moral issues, one cannot trust only logic and reason. “The voice of conscience remains for a long time at the threshold of Raskolnikov’s consciousness, but deprives him of the emotional balance of the “ruler,” dooms him to the torment of loneliness and separates him from people” (G. Kurlyandskaya). The struggle between reason, which justifies blood, and conscience, which protests against shed blood, ends for Raskolnikov with the victory of conscience. “There is one law - the moral law,” says Dostoevsky. Having understood the truth, the hero returns to the people from whom he was separated by the crime he committed.

Lexical meaning:

1) Conscience is a category of ethics that expresses an individual’s ability to exercise moral self-control, to determine from the standpoint of good and evil the attitude towards one’s own and others’ actions and lines of behavior. S. makes his assessments as if independently of practicality. interest, but in reality, in various manifestations, a person’s S. reflects the impact on him of specific. historical, social class living conditions and education.

2) Conscience is one of the qualities of the human personality (properties of the human intellect), ensuring the preservation of homeostasis (the state of the environment and one’s position in it) and conditioned by the ability of the intellect to model its future state and the behavior of other people in relation to the “bearer” of conscience. Conscience is one of the products of education.

3) Conscience - (shared knowledge, know, know): a person’s ability to be aware of his duty and responsibility to other people, to independently evaluate and control his behavior, to be a judge of his own thoughts and actions. “The matter of conscience is the matter of a person, which he leads against himself” (I. Kant). Conscience is a moral feeling that allows you to determine the value of your own actions.

4) Conscience - the concept of moral consciousness, internal conviction of what is good and evil, consciousness of moral responsibility for one’s behavior; expression of an individual’s ability to exercise moral self-control on the basis of the norms and rules of behavior formulated in a given society, to independently formulate high moral responsibilities for oneself, to demand that one fulfill them and to self-assess one’s actions from the heights of morality and morality.

Aphorisms:

“The strongest feature that distinguishes man from animals is his moral sense, or conscience. And its dominance is expressed in the short but powerful and extremely expressive word “must.” Charles Darwin

“Honor is external conscience, and conscience is internal honor.” And Schopenhauer.

“A clear conscience is not afraid of lies, rumors, or gossip.” Ovid

“Never act against your conscience, even if state interests require it.” A. Einstein

“Often people are proud of the purity of their conscience only because they have a short memory.” L.N. Tolstoy

“How can the heart not be content when the conscience is calm!” D.I. Fonvizin

“Along with state laws, there are also laws of conscience that make up for the omissions of the legislation.” G. Fielding.

“You can’t live without a conscience and with a great mind.” M. Gorky

“Only he who has clothed himself in the armor of lies, impudence and shamelessness will not flinch before the judgment of his conscience.” M. Gorky

Updated: May 31, 2016
By: Mironova Marina Viktorovna

Russian literature has given us a cavalcade of both positive and negative characters. We decided to remember the second group. Beware, spoilers.

20. Alexey Molchalin (Alexander Griboedov, “Woe from Wit”)

Molchalin is the hero “about nothing”, Famusov’s secretary. He is faithful to his father’s behest: “to please all people without exception - the owner, the boss, his servant, the janitor’s dog.”

In a conversation with Chatsky, he sets out his life principles, which consist in the fact that “at my age I should not dare to have my own judgment.”

Molchalin is sure that you need to think and act as is customary in “Famus” society, otherwise people will gossip about you, and, as you know, “evil tongues are worse than pistols.”

He despises Sophia, but in order to please Famusov, he is ready to sit with her all night long, playing the role of a lover.

19. Grushnitsky (Mikhail Lermontov, “Hero of Our Time”)

Grushnitsky has no name in Lermontov's story. He is the “double” of the main character - Pechorin. According to Lermontov’s description, Grushnitsky is “... one of those people who have ready-made pompous phrases for all occasions, who are not touched by simply beautiful things and who are importantly draped in extraordinary feelings, sublime passions and exceptional suffering. Producing an effect is their pleasure...”

Grushnitsky loves pathos very much. There is not an ounce of sincerity in him. Grushnitsky is in love with Princess Mary, and at first she responds to him with special attention, but then falls in love with Pechorin.

The matter ends in a duel. Grushnitsky is so low that he conspires with his friends and they do not load Pechorin’s pistol. The hero cannot forgive such outright meanness. He reloads the pistol and kills Grushnitsky.

18. Afanasy Totsky (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “The Idiot”)

Afanasy Totsky, having taken Nastya Barashkova, the daughter of a deceased neighbor, as his upbringing and dependent, eventually “became close to her,” developing a suicidal complex in the girl and indirectly becoming one of the culprits of her death.

Extremely averse to the female sex, at the age of 55 Totsky decided to connect his life with the daughter of General Epanchin Alexandra, deciding to marry Nastasya to Ganya Ivolgin. However, neither one nor the other case burned out. As a result, Totsky “was captivated by a visiting Frenchwoman, a marquise and a legitimist.”

17. Alena Ivanovna (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “Crime and Punishment”)

The old pawnbroker is a character who has become a household name. Even those who have not read Dostoevsky’s novel have heard about it. Alena Ivanovna, by today’s standards, is not that old, she is “about 60 years old,” but the author describes her like this: “... a dry old woman with sharp and angry eyes with a small pointed nose... Her blond, slightly gray hair was greasy with oil. Some kind of flannel rag was wrapped around her thin and long neck, similar to a chicken leg...”

The old woman pawnbroker is engaged in usury and makes money from people's misfortune. She takes valuable things at huge interest rates, bullies her younger sister Lizaveta, and beats her.

16. Arkady Svidrigailov (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “Crime and Punishment”)

Svidrigailov is one of Raskolnikov’s doubles in Dostoevsky’s novel, a widower, at one time he was bought out of prison by his wife, he lived in the village for 7 years. A cynical and depraved person. On his conscience is the suicide of a servant, a 14-year-old girl, and possibly the poisoning of his wife.

Due to Svidrigailov's harassment, Raskolnikov's sister lost her job. Having learned that Raskolnikov is a murderer, Luzhin blackmails Dunya. The girl shoots at Svidrigailov and misses.

Svidrigailov is an ideological scoundrel, he does not experience moral torment and experiences “world boredom,” eternity seems to him like a “bathhouse with spiders.” As a result, he commits suicide with a revolver shot.

15. Kabanikha (Alexander Ostrovsky, “The Thunderstorm”)

In the image of Kabanikha, one of the central characters of the play “The Thunderstorm,” Ostrovsky reflected the outgoing patriarchal, strict archaism. Kabanova Marfa Ignatievna, “a rich merchant’s wife, widow,” mother-in-law of Katerina, mother of Tikhon and Varvara.

Kabanikha is very domineering and strong, she is religious, but more outwardly, since she does not believe in forgiveness or mercy. She is as practical as possible and lives by earthly interests.

Kabanikha is sure that the family way of life can be maintained only through fear and orders: “After all, out of love your parents are strict with you, out of love they scold you, everyone thinks to teach you good.” She perceives the departure of the old order as a personal tragedy: “This is how the old times come to be... What will happen, how the elders will die... I don’t know.”

14. Lady (Ivan Turgenev, “Mumu”)

We all know the sad story about how Gerasim drowned Mumu, but not everyone remembers why he did it, but he did it because a despotic lady ordered him to do so.

The same landowner had previously given the washerwoman Tatyana, with whom Gerasim was in love, to the drunken shoemaker Capiton, which ruined both of them.
The lady, at her own discretion, decides the fate of her serfs, without regard at all to their wishes, and sometimes even to common sense.

13. Footman Yasha (Anton Chekhov, “The Cherry Orchard”)

The footman Yasha in Anton Chekhov's play “The Cherry Orchard” is an unpleasant character. He openly worships everything foreign, while he is extremely ignorant, rude and even boorish. When his mother comes to him from the village and waits for him in the people’s room all day, Yasha dismissively declares: “It’s really necessary, she could come tomorrow.”

Yasha tries to behave decently in public, tries to seem educated and well-mannered, but at the same time alone with Firs he says to the old man: “I'm tired of you, grandfather. I wish you would die soon.”

Yasha is very proud that he lived abroad. With his foreign polish, he wins the heart of the maid Dunyasha, but uses her location for his own benefit. After the sale of the estate, the footman persuades Ranevskaya to take him with her to Paris again. It is impossible for him to stay in Russia: “the country is uneducated, the people are immoral, and, moreover, boredom...”.

12. Pavel Smerdyakov (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “The Brothers Karamazov”)

Smerdyakov is a character with a telling surname, rumored to be the illegitimate son of Fyodor Karrmazov from the city holy fool Lizaveta Smerdyashchaya. The surname Smerdyakov was given to him by Fyodor Pavlovich in honor of his mother.

Smerdyakov serves as a cook in Karamazov’s house, and he cooks, apparently, quite well. However, this is a “foulbrood man.” This is evidenced at least by Smerdyakov’s reasoning about history: “In the twelfth year there was a great invasion of Russia by Emperor Napoleon of France the First, and it would be good if these same French had conquered us then, a smart nation would have conquered a very stupid one and annexed it to itself. There would even be completely different orders.”

Smerdyakov is the killer of Karamazov's father.

11. Pyotr Luzhin (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “Crime and Punishment”)

Luzhin is another one of Rodion Raskolnikov’s doubles, a business man of 45 years old, “with a cautious and grumpy physiognomy.”

Having made it “from rags to riches,” Luzhin is proud of his pseudo-education and behaves arrogantly and primly. Having proposed to Dunya, he anticipates that she will be grateful to him all her life for the fact that he “brought her into the public eye.”

He also wooes Duna out of convenience, believing that she will be useful to him for his career. Luzhin hates Raskolnikov because he opposes his alliance with Dunya. Luzhin puts one hundred rubles in Sonya Marmeladova's pocket at her father's funeral, accusing her of theft.

10. Kirila Troekurov (Alexander Pushkin, “Dubrovsky”)

Troekurov is an example of a Russian master spoiled by his power and environment. He spends his time in idleness, drunkenness, and voluptuousness. Troekurov sincerely believes in his impunity and limitless possibilities (“This is the power to take away property without any right”).

The master loves his daughter Masha, but marries her to an old man she doesn’t love. Troekurov's serfs are similar to their master - Troekurov's hound is insolent to Dubrovsky Sr. - and thereby quarrels old friends.

9. Sergei Talberg (Mikhail Bulgakov, “The White Guard”)

Sergei Talberg is the husband of Elena Turbina, a traitor and an opportunist. He easily changes his principles and beliefs, without much effort or remorse. Talberg is always where it is easier to live, so he runs abroad. He leaves his family and friends. Even Talberg’s eyes (which, as we know, are the “mirror of the soul”) are “two-story”; he is the complete opposite of Turbin.

Thalberg was the first to wear the red bandage at the military school in March 1917 and, as a member of the military committee, arrested the famous General Petrov.

8. Alexey Shvabrin (Alexander Pushkin, “The Captain's Daughter”)

Shvabrin is the antipode of the main character of Pushkin’s story “The Captain’s Daughter” by Pyotr Grinev. He was exiled to the Belogorsk fortress for murder in a duel. Shvabrin is undoubtedly smart, but at the same time he is cunning, impudent, cynical, and mocking. Having received Masha Mironova’s refusal, he spreads dirty rumors about her, wounds him in the back in a duel with Grinev, goes over to Pugachev’s side, and, having been captured by government troops, spreads rumors that Grinev is a traitor. In general, he is a rubbish person.

7. Vasilisa Kostyleva (Maxim Gorky, “At the Depths”)

In Gorky's play "At the Bottom" everything is sad and sad. This atmosphere is diligently maintained by the owners of the shelter where the action takes place - the Kostylevs. The husband is a nasty, cowardly and greedy old man, Vasilisa’s wife is a calculating, resourceful opportunist who forces her lover Vaska Pepel to steal for her sake. When she finds out that he himself is in love with her sister, he promises to give her up in exchange for killing her husband.

6. Mazepa (Alexander Pushkin, “Poltava”)

Mazepa is a historical character, but if in history Mazepa’s role is ambiguous, then in Pushkin’s poem Mazepa is definitely a negative character. Mazepa appears in the poem as an absolutely immoral, dishonest, vindictive, evil person, as a treacherous hypocrite for whom nothing is sacred (he “does not know the sacred,” “does not remember charity”), a person accustomed to achieving his goal at any cost.

The seducer of his young goddaughter Maria, he puts her father Kochubey to public execution and - already sentenced to death - subjects her to cruel torture in order to find out where he hid his treasures. Without equivocation, Pushkin also denounces Mazepa’s political activity, which is determined only by the lust for power and the thirst for revenge on Peter.

5. Foma Opiskin (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “The Village of Stepanchikovo and Its Inhabitants”)

Foma Opiskin is an extremely negative character. A hanger-on, a hypocrite, a liar. He diligently pretends to be pious and educated, tells everyone about his supposedly ascetic experience and sparkles with quotes from books...

When he gains power, he shows his true nature. “A low soul, having come out from under oppression, oppresses itself. Thomas was oppressed - and he immediately felt the need to oppress himself; They broke down over him - and he himself began to break down over others. He was a jester and immediately felt the need to have his own jesters. He boasted to the point of absurdity, broke down to the point of impossibility, demanded bird's milk, tyrannized beyond measure, and it came to the point that good people, not yet having witnessed all these tricks, but listening only to stories, considered all this to be a miracle, an obsession, were baptized and spat..."

4. Viktor Komarovsky (Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago)

Lawyer Komarovsky is a negative character in Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago. In the destinies of the main characters - Zhivago and Lara, Komarovsky is an “evil genius” and a “gray eminence”. He is guilty of the ruin of the Zhivago family and the death of the protagonist's father; he cohabits with Lara's mother and Lara herself. Finally, Komarovsky tricks Zhivago into separating him from his wife. Komarovsky is smart, calculating, greedy, cynical. Overall, a bad person. He understands this himself, but this suits him quite well.

3. Judushka Golovlev (Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, “The Golovlev Lords”)

Porfiry Vladimirovich Golovlev, nicknamed Judas and Blood Drinker, is “the last representative of an escapist family.” He is hypocritical, greedy, cowardly, calculating. He spends his life in endless slander and litigation, drives his son to suicide, and at the same time imitates extreme religiosity, reading prayers “without the participation of the heart.”

Towards the end of his dark life, Golovlev gets drunk and runs wild, and goes into the March snowstorm. In the morning, his frozen corpse is found.

2. Andriy (Nikolai Gogol, “Taras Bulba”)

Andriy is the youngest son of Taras Bulba, the hero of the story of the same name by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. Andriy, as Gogol writes, from early youth began to feel the “need for love.” This need fails him. He falls in love with the lady, betrays his homeland, his friends, and his father. Andriy admits: “Who said that my homeland is Ukraine? Who gave it to me in my homeland? The Fatherland is what our soul is looking for, what is dearer to it than anything else. My fatherland is you!... and I will sell, give away, and destroy everything that I have for such a fatherland!”
Andriy is a traitor. He is killed by his own father.

1. Fyodor Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “The Brothers Karamazov”)

He is voluptuous, greedy, envious, stupid. By maturity, he became flabby, began to drink a lot, opened several taverns, made many fellow countrymen his debtors... He began to compete with his eldest son Dmitry for the heart of Grushenka Svetlova, which paved the way for the crime - Karamazov was killed by his illegitimate son Pyotr Smerdyakov.