E.R. Kotochigov's Thing in the artistic image

1) In what works of Leskov is the writer's historicism manifested?

Leskov in his works shows historical eras Russia, the kings are replaced, but the morals of society, the attitude towards ordinary people do not change. The writer was worried about the Russian people and unfair treatment to him.

The idea of ​​the tale "Lefty" show the talent of the Russian people, the originality of the masters who can solve any problem. The authorities praised everything foreign, not seeing the "pearls" under their noses. The author raises the topic of patriotism, faith, when ordinary people were the embodiment of diligence, skill and unrequited service to their Fatherland.

"The Man on the Clock" battalion commander Svinin is not tormented by remorse that a person who has accomplished a feat is punished, and it is important for him not only public opinion that saves his face, but also the approval of others, he himself is pleased with himself, settled the business. .Hypocritically, the lord turns the holy feeling of compassion, saving lives into the fact that holiness is peculiar only to God, and for commoners it is only a duty. Behavior the mighty of the world of this, emphasizes the vices of the time when tyrants were in power, the headless military carried out commands, the rank and file were weak-willed slaves, and the whole society as a whole had no right to think, but only indifferently observe life.

Theme of the story by N.S. Leskov "The Enchanted Wanderer" is self-knowledge human life path is the search for an answer to main question about the meaning of life, why a person lives on Earth. The story shows the life search of Ivan Severyanovich Flyagin, having gone through the "seven circles of hell", he becomes a righteous man, finding the meaning of life in serving the people. Having received freedom, the former serf does not know for a long time what to do with it , wandering around the world, he is looking for his place in life.

2) What historical time live the characters of the story "Old genius?

The historical time of the story is the second half of the 19th century. The action takes place in post-reform Russia, in St. Petersburg. Russia is in a severe crisis, the abolition of serfdom, the economy was undermined by the Crimean War. The legacy of Nicholas 1, the economy is in decline, the country is a backward power, the lack of reforms and prohibitions of progress.

3) What problems of society are touched upon in the work.

Leskov touches on the problems of callousness of officials who bring suffering to the old woman. The author denounces the bureaucratic system, which is based on ranks and titles. Nobody wants to get involved with the rich and those in power, except for the "old genius." but he does it at the call of the Russian soul, huge and omnipotent. The people themselves, the craftsmen of the Russian land, who make the impossible-possible, stand up for the elderly person. Leskov condemns bribes, the old woman tried to "lubricate" the officials, but the amount is negligible for them, the problem of bribes has always been acute in Russia. The author also touches on the credulity of Russian people, in a kindness of heart, believing in a word, an old woman lends an unbearable amount and that almost leads to tragedy. The author shows the problem of faith in a word as a national trait.

"Little Man" is a literary character characteristic of the era of realism. Such a hero in works of art could be a petty official, a tradesman, or even a poor nobleman. As a rule, its main feature is a low social position. This image is found in the works of both domestic and foreign authors. Subject little man occupies a special position in Russian literature. After all, this image received a particularly vivid expression in the works of such writers as Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Gogol.

The great Russian poet and writer showed his readers a soul that is pure and unspoiled by wealth. The protagonist of one of the works included in the Belkin Tale cycle knows how to rejoice, sympathize and suffer. However, the life of Pushkin's character is initially not easy.

The famous story begins with the words that everyone curses the stationmasters, without analyzing which it is impossible to consider the topic “The Little Man in Russian Literature”. Pushkin portrayed a calm and happy character in his work. Samson Vyrin remained a good-natured and good-natured man, despite many years of hard service. And only separation from his daughter deprived him of peace of mind. Samson can survive a hard life and thankless work, but exist without the only one in the world. loved one he is unable to. The stationmaster dies of longing and loneliness. The theme of the little man in Russian literature is multifaceted. The hero of the story "The Stationmaster", perhaps like no other, is able to arouse compassion in the reader.

Akaki Akakievich

Less attractive character is the hero of the story "The Overcoat". Gogol character - collective image. There are many like Bashmachkin. They are everywhere, but people do not notice them, because they do not know how to appreciate in a person his immortal soul. The theme of the little man in Russian literature is discussed from year to year at school lessons literature. After all, thanks to a careful reading of the story "The Overcoat", a young reader can take a different look at the people who surround him. The development of the theme of the little man in Russian literature began precisely with this semi-fairytale work. Not in vain great classic Dostoevsky once said the famous phrase: "We all came out of the Overcoat."

Until the middle of the 20th century, the image of a little man was used by Russian and foreign writers. It is found not only in the works of Dostoevsky, but also in the books of Gerhart Hauptmann, Thomas Mann.

Maksim Maksimovich

The little man in Lermontov's work is outstanding personality suffering from inactivity. The image of Maxim Maksimovich is first found in the story "Bela". The theme of the little man in Russian literature, thanks to Lermontov, began to serve as a literary device for critical image such vices of social society as kneeling, careerism.

Maxim Maksimovich is a nobleman. However, he belongs to an impoverished family, and besides, he does not have influential connections. And therefore, despite his age, he is still in the rank of staff captain. However, Lermontov portrayed the little man not offended and humiliated. His hero knows what honor is. Maksim Maksimovich is a decent man and an old campaigner. In many ways, it resembles Pushkin from the story "The Captain's Daughter".

Marmeladov

The little man is pathetic and insignificant. Marmeladov is aware of his uselessness and uselessness. Telling Raskolnikov the story of his moral fall, he is hardly able to arouse sympathy. He states: “Poverty is not a vice. Poverty is a vice." And these words seem to justify the weakness and impotence of Marmeladov.

In the novel "Crime and Punishment" the theme of the little man in Russian literature is especially developed. An essay based on the work of Dostoevsky is a standard task in a literature lesson. But, no matter what name this written task has, it is impossible to complete it without first compiling a description of Marmeladov and his daughter. At the same time, it should be understood that Sonya, although she is also a typical little person, is significantly different from other “humiliated and insulted”. She is unable to change anything in her life. However, this fragile girl has great spiritual wealth and inner beauty. Sonya is the personification of purity and mercy.

"Poor people"

This novel also we are talking about the "little people". Devushkin and Varvara Alekseevna are the heroes that Dostoevsky created with an eye on Gogol's "Overcoat". However, the image and theme of the little man in Russian literature began precisely with the works of Pushkin. And they have a lot in common with Dostoevsky's novels. The story of the stationmaster is told by himself. The "little people" in Dostoevsky's novels are also prone to confession. They are not only aware of their insignificance, but also seek to comprehend its cause, act as philosophers. One need only recall Devushkin's lengthy messages and Marmeladov's long monologue.

Tushin

The system of images in the novel "War and Peace" is extremely complex. Tolstoy's characters are heroes from the highest aristocratic circle. There is little in them that is insignificant and pathetic. But why is the great epic novel remembered then, as the theme of the little man is discussed in Russian literature? An essay-reasoning is a task in which it is worth giving a characterization of such a hero as from the novel "War and Peace". At first glance, he is ridiculous and clumsy. However, this impression is deceptive. In battle, Tushin shows his masculinity and fearlessness.

In the huge work of Tolstoy, this hero is given only a few pages. However, the theme of the little man in Russian literature of the 19th century is impossible without considering the image of Tushin. The characterization of this character is very important for understanding the views of the author himself.

Little people in the work of Leskov

The theme of the little man in Russian literature of the 18-19th century is revealed to the maximum. Leskov in his work also did not bypass her. However, his characters are significantly different from the image of a little man, which can be seen in Pushkin's stories and Dostoevsky's novels. Ivan Flyagin is a hero in appearance and soul. But this hero can be classified as "little people." First of all, because many trials fall to his lot, but he does not complain about fate and does not cry.

The image of a little man in Chekhov's stories

Such a hero is often found on the pages of the works of this writer. The image of a small man is especially vividly depicted in satirical stories. The petty official is a typical hero of Chekhov's works. In the story "The Death of an Official" there is an image of a little man. Chervyakov is driven by an inexplicable fear of his boss. Unlike the heroes of the story "The Overcoat", the character from Chekhov's story does not suffer from harassment and bullying from colleagues and the boss. Chervyakov is killed by fear of the highest ranks, eternal admiration for the authorities.

"Celebration of the Winner"

The theme of admiration for the authorities Chekhov continued in this story. However, the little people in "The Triumph of the Victor" are portrayed in a much more satirical light. The father, in order to obtain a good position for his son, humiliates himself with fawning and coarse flattery.

But it is not only the people who express them who are guilty of low thoughts and unworthy behavior. All this is the result of the orders prevailing in the social and political system. Chervyakov would not have asked for forgiveness so zealously if he had not known about possible consequences committed oversight.

In the work of Maxim Gorky

The play "At the Bottom" tells about the inhabitants of the rooming house. Each of the characters in this work is a small person, deprived of the most necessary for a normal life. He is unable to change anything. The only thing he has the right to believe in the fables of the wanderer Luke. Sympathy and warmth - this is what the heroes of the play "At the Bottom" need. The author urges readers to compassion. And in this his views coincide with the point of view of Dostoevsky.

Zheltkov

« Garnet bracelet"- the story of Great love little person. Zheltkov once falls in love with married woman, and he remains true to this feeling until the last minutes of his life. There is an abyss between them. And the hero of the work "Garnet Bracelet" does not hope for a reciprocal feeling.

Zheltkov has the characteristic features of a small person, not only because he occupies a low social position. He, like Bashmachkin, and stationmaster, remains alone with his pain. Zheltkov's feelings serve as the basis for jokes and ironic sketches of Prince Shein. Other heroes are able to appreciate the depth of suffering of the “little man” only after his death.

Karandyshev

The image of a little man in has common features with similar characters in the works of Dostoevsky and Chekhov. However, the humiliated Karandyshev in the play "Dowry" does not cause either pity or sympathy. He strives with all his might to get into a society in which he is not expected. And for the insults that he endures for many years, he is ready to take revenge.

Katerina Kabanova also belongs to the category of little people. But these heroines are integral personalities, and therefore they do not know how to adapt and dodge. Death for them becomes the only way out of the situation in which they find themselves due to the inertia of the social system.

The image of the little man in literature developed in the nineteenth century. However, in contemporary literature he gave way to other heroes. As you know, many foreign authors were influenced by Russian literature. Proof of this are the works of writers of the 20th century, in which there are often characters reminiscent of Chekhov's and Gogol's heroes. An example is Thomas Mann's "Little Mr. Friedemann". The hero of this short story lives his short life unnoticed and dies in the same way, from the indifference and cruelty of those around him.

Material culture (from Latin materia and cultura - cultivation, processing) as a set of objects created by man, enters the world of the work. However, there is no single term for denoting objects of material culture depicted in literature. So, A. G. Zeitlin calls them “things”, “details of the everyday environment, what painters include in the concept of “interior””. But material culture is firmly inscribed not only in the interior, but also in the landscape (with the exception of the so-called wild landscape), and in the portrait (because the costume, jewelry, etc. - its component
). A.I. Beletsky proposes the term "still life", by which he means "the depiction of things - tools and results of production - an artificial environment created by man ...". This term from the field of painting in literary criticism did not take root. And for A.P. Chudakov's "thing in literature" is a very broad concept: he does not distinguish between a "natural or man-made" object, which removes an extremely important position already at the terminological level: material culture / nature. Here, things mean only man-made objects, elements of material culture (although the latter is not reduced to things, including also diverse processes).
The real world in literary work correlates with the objects of material culture in reality. In this sense, according to the creations "long ago past days» it is possible to reconstruct the material life. So, R.S. Lipets in the book "Epos and Ancient Rus'”convincingly proves what S.K. Shambinago's assumption about the genetic connection between the life of epics and the everyday life of Russian princes. The reality of white-stone chambers, gilded roofs, unchanging white-oak tables, at which heroes sit, drinking copper drinks from their brothers and accepting the rich gifts of the prince for faithful service, has been proved and archaeological excavations. “Despite the abundance of poetic images, metaphors, generalized epic situations, despite the violation of chronology and the displacement of a number of events, epics are all an excellent and unique historical source ...”
The image of objects of material culture in literature is evolving. And this reflects changes in the relationship between man and thing in real life. At the dawn of civilization, a thing is a crown human creation, a testament to wisdom and skill. The aesthetics of the heroic epic involved descriptions of things of "ultimate perfection, the highest completeness ...".
The bipod is maple, The bipods are damask, The bipods are silver, And the bipods are red gold.
(Epic "Volga and Mikula")
Narrators are always attentive to the "white-stone chambers", their decoration, bright objects, fabrics, on which the "pattern is cunning", jewelry, magnificent banquet bowls.
The very process of creating a thing is often captured, as in Homer's Iliad, where Hephaestus forges battle armor for Achilles:
And in the beginning he worked as a shield and huge and strong, decorating the whole gracefully; around him he brought out a rim White, brilliant, triple; and attached a silver belt. A shield of five was made up of sheets and on a vast circle God made many wondrous things according to creative plans ...
(Song XVIII. Translated by N. Gnedich)
The attitude to the objects of material culture as an achievement of the human mind is especially clearly demonstrated by the Age of Enlightenment. The pathos of D. Defoe's novel "Robinson Crusoe" is a hymn to labor and civilization. Robinson embarks on a risky journey on rafts to a ship that has run aground in order to transport the things he needs to the shore of a desert island. More than eleven times he transports numerous "fruits of civilization" on rafts. in the most detailed way Defoe describes these things. The most "precious find" of the hero is a carpenter's box with working tools, for which, according to him own confession, he would give a whole ship of gold. There are also hunting rifles, pistols, sabers, nails, screwdrivers, axes, sharpeners, two iron crowbars, a bag of shot, a barrel of gunpowder, a bundle of sheet iron, ropes, provisions, clothes. Everything with which Robinson must "conquer" the wild.
In the literature of the XIX-XX centuries. there are different trends in the image of things. The man-Master is still revered, homo faber, made skillful hands items. Examples of such an image of things are given, for example, by the work of N.S. Leskov. Numerous items described in his works are the “steel flea” of Tula masters (“Lefty”), the icon of the Old Believer icon painters (“The Sealed Angel”), gifts from the dwarf from the novel “Cathedrals”, Rogozhin’s handicrafts from “The Seedy Family”, etc. "trace of skill" of Lesk's heroes.
However, the writers sensitively caught another facet in the relationship between a person and a thing: material value the latter can obscure a person, he is evaluated by society according to how expensive things possesses. And a person is often likened to a thing. This is the death cry of the heroine of the play by A.N. Ostrovsky “Dowry”: “Thing ... yes, thing! They are right, I am a thing, not a person.” And in the artistic world, A.P. Chekhov’s things: the piano played by Kotik (“Ionych”), pots of sour cream, jugs of milk surrounding the hero of the story “Teacher of Literature”, often embolize the vulgarity and monotony of provincial life.
In the XX century. more than one poetic spear has been broken in the fight against materialism - the slavish dependence of people on the things around them:
The owner dies, but his things remain,
They do not care, things, to someone else's, human misfortune.
At the hour of your death, even the cups on the shelves do not beat,
And do not melt, like ice floes, rows of sparkling glasses.
Maybe for things it’s not worth trying too hard ...
(V. Shefner. "Things")
The intimate connection between a person and a thing is weakening, lost, which was especially characteristic of the Middle Ages, where things often have proper names(remember the Durandal sword, owned by the protagonist of The Song of Roland). There are many things, but they are standard, almost! do not notice. At the same time, their "inventory lists" can be! ominously self-sufficient - so, mainly through long enumerations of numerous purchases replacing each other, the life of the heroes of the story is shown French writer J. Perek "Things".
With the development of technology, the range of things depicted in literature is expanding. They began to write about giant factories, about the infernal punishing machine (“In penal colony» F. Kafka), about the machine, times, about computer systems, about robots in human form (modern science fiction novels). But at the same time, the alarm about reverse side scientific and technological progress. In Russian Soviet prose and poetry of the XX century. “machine fighting motifs” sound primarily among peasant poets - among S. Yesenin, N. Klyuev, S. Klychkov, P. Oreshin, S. Drozhzhin; the authors of the so-called "village prose" - V. Astafiev, V. Belov, V. Rasputin. And this is not surprising: after all, the peasant way of life suffered most from the continuous industrialization of the country. Entire villages are dying out, destroyed (“Farewell to Matera” by V. Rasputin), eradicated from human memory folk performances about beauty, "mode" (the book of the same name by V. Belov), etc. In modern literature, it is increasingly heard; warning about ecological disaster(“The Last Pastoral” by A. Adamovich). All this reflects the real processes taking place in the relationship of a person with things created by his hands, but often beyond his control.
At the same time, the thing in a literary work acts as an element of the conditional, artistic world. And unlike reality, the boundaries between things and a person, living and non-living, here can be shaky. Yes, Russians folk tales give numerous examples of the "humanization" of things. literary characters can become a “stove” (“Geese-swans”), a chrysalis; (“Baba Yaga”), etc. This tradition is continued by both Russian and foreign literature: “The Tin Soldier” by G.Kh. Andersen, The Blue Bird by M. Maeterlinck, Mystery Buff by V. Mayakovsky, Until the Third Cocks by V.M. Shukshina and others. The world of a work of art can be saturated with things that do not exist in reality. Science fiction literature is replete with descriptions of unprecedented spaceships, orbital stations, hyperboloids, computers, robots, etc. ("Hyperboloid of engineer Garin" by A. Tolstoy, "Solaris", "Stalker" by St. Lem, "Moscow-2004" by V. Voinovich).
It is conditionally possible to single out the most important functions of things in literature, such as culturological, characterological, plot-compositional.
The thing can be a sign of the depicted era and environment. The culturological function of things is especially evident in travel novels, where various worlds are presented in a synchronous cut: national, estate, geographical, etc. Let us recall how Vakula from Gogol's "The Night Before Christmas" evil spirits and his own resourcefulness, in a matter of minutes, he gets from a remote Little Russian village to St. Petersburg. He is amazed by the architecture, the clothes of his contemporaries, remote from their native Dikanka by distance: “... houses grew and seemed to rise from the ground at every step; bridges trembled; carriages flew<...>pedestrians huddled and crowded under the houses, humiliated with bowls<...>. The blacksmith looked around in amazement in all directions. It seemed to him that all the houses fixed their countless fiery eyes on him and looked. He saw so many gentlemen in fur coats covered with cloth that he did not know who to take off his hat.
Ivan Severyanovich Flyagin, languishing in Tatar captivity (Leskov's story "The Enchanted Wanderer"), did a great service, a chest with the accessories necessary for fireworks, which brought indescribable horror to the Tatars, who were not familiar with these attributes of European urban life.
The cultural function of things in historical novel- a genre that was formed in the era of romanticism and aspired to visualize historical time and local color in its descriptions (fr. couleur locale). According to the researcher, in the "Notre Dame Cathedral" by V. Hugo "things live a life deeper than living characters, and the central interest of the novel focused on things.
The sign function of things is also performed in everyday writings. Gogol colorfully depicts the life of the Cossacks in "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka". Ostrovsky's "Columbus of Zamoskvorechye" became famous not only because of the accuracy of depicting the characters of the "country" hitherto unknown to the reader, but also because of the visible embodiment of this "bear's corner" in all its details, accessories.
A thing can serve as a sign of wealth or poverty. According to a tradition originating in the Russian epic epic, where the heroes competed with each other in wealth, striking with an abundance of jewelry, precious metals and stones become this indisputable symbol. Let's remember:
Brocade fabrics throughout; Yakhonts play like a fever; Around the golden incense burners Raise fragrant steam ...
(A. S. Pushkin. "Ruslan and Lyudmila")
Or a fabulous palace from " scarlet flower» ST. Aksakov: "the decoration is royal everywhere, unheard of and unseen: gold, silver, oriental crystal, ivory and mammoth."
Equally important is the characterological function of things. Gogol's works show the "intimate connection of things" with their owners. No wonder Chichikov liked to examine the dwelling of the next victim of his speculation. “He thought to find in it the properties of the owner himself, how one can judge by the shell what kind of oyster or snail was sitting in it” (“ Dead Souls" -T. 2, ch. 3, early ed.).
Things can line up in a sequential row. In "Dead Souls", for example, every chair shouted: "And I, too, Sobakevich!". But one detail can characterize the character. For example, a jar with the inscription "Kruzhovnik", prepared by the caring hands of Fenechka ("Fathers and Sons" by Turgenev). Often the interiors are depicted according to a contrasting principle - let us recall the description of the rooms of two debtors of the usurer Gobsek: the countess and the “cleanliness fairy” seamstress Fanny (“Gobsek” by O. Balzac). Against the backdrop of this literary tradition the absence of things can also become significant (the so-called minus device): it emphasizes the complexity of the character's character. So, Raisky, trying to learn more about Vera, which is mysterious to him (I.A. Goncharov’s Cliff), asks Marfinka to show him his sister’s room. He “already mentally drew this room for himself: he crossed the threshold, looked around the room and - was deceived in expectation: there was nothing there!”
Things often become signs, symbols of human experiences:
I look, like a madman, at a black shawl, And sadness torments my cold soul.
(A. S. Pushkin. "Black Shawl")
"Copper knobs" on grandfather's chair completely reassured little hero from Aksakov's story “Childhood of Bagrov's grandson”: “How strange it is! These armchairs and brass knobs first of all rushed into my eyes, attracted my attention and seemed to disperse and cheer me up a little. And in V. Astafiev's story "The Duga", the dut accidentally found by the hero from the wedding train fills him with memories of the long-forgotten times of his youth.
One of the common functions of things in a literary work is plot-compositional. Let us recall the sinister role of the handkerchief in Shakespeare's Othello tragedy, the necklace from Leskov's story of the same name, the "tsarina's little boots" from Gogol's The Night Before Christmas, and others. match"). Without details, this genre is unthinkable.
The material world of the work has its own composition. On the one hand, the details often line up, forming together an interior, a landscape, a portrait, etc. Let us recall the detailed description of Leskov’s heroes (“The Cathedral”), the urban landscape in F.M. Dostoevsky, numerous luxury items in O. Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.
On the other hand, some one thing highlighted in the work close-up, carries an increased semantic, ideological load, growing into a symbol. Is it possible to call “a flower withered, without ears” (A.S. Pushkin) or “geranium flowers in the window” (Teffi. “On the island of my memories ...”) just an interior detail? What is "tulle-lu satin" ("Woe from Wit" by A.S. Griboedov) or Onegin's hat "bolivar"? What does the “respected closet” from Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard mean? Things-symbols are placed in the title of a work of art (" Shagreen leather» O. Balzac, «Garnet bracelet» A.I. Kuprin, "Pearl" N.S. Gumilyov, "The Twelve Chairs" by I. Ilf and B. Petrov). Simolization of things is especially characteristic of lyrics due to its tendency to the semantic richness of the word. Each of the items mentioned in G. Shengeli's poem evokes a number of associations:
In the tables, "acquired on the occasion" At sales and auctions, I like to inspect their boxes ... What was in them? Paper, testaments, Poems, flowers, love confessions. All souvenirs are a sign of hopes and faiths, Recipes, opium, rings, money, pearls, A funeral aureole from the son's head. At the last minute, a revolver?
(“In the tables, “acquired on the occasion” ..*)
In the context of a work of art, the symbolism may change. So, the fence in Chekhov's story “The Lady with the Dog” became a symbol of a painful, joyless life: “Just in front of the house was a fence, gray, long, with nails. "You will run away from such a fence," thought Gurov, glancing first at the windows, then at the fence. However, in other contexts, the fence symbolizes the desire for beauty, harmony, faith in people. In the context of the play “Last Summer in Chulimsk” by A.V. Vampilov, this is how the episode with the heroine’s restoration of the front garden, destroyed every night by her negligent fellow villagers, is “read” in this way.
The brevity of the author's text in the drama, the "metonymy" and "metaphorism" of the lyrics somewhat limit the depiction of things in these types of literature. The widest possibilities for recreating the material world open up in the epic.
Genre differences in works also affect the depiction of things, the actualization of one or another of their functions. Signs of this or that way of life, culture, things appear mainly in historical novels and plays, in everyday writings, in particular in "physiological" essays, in science fiction. The plot function of things is actively “exploited” detective genres. The degree of detail of the material world depends on the author's style. An example of the dominance of things in work of art- E. Zola's novel "Lady's Happiness". The optimistic philosophy of the novel is opposed critical pictures reality, drawn by the writer in previous novels series "Rougon-Macquart". In an effort, as Zola wrote in a sketch for the novel, "to show the joy of action and the enjoyment of being," the author sings a hymn to the world of things as a source of earthly joys. The kingdom of material life is equated in its rights with the kingdom of spiritual life, therefore Zola composes “poems of women's clothes”, comparing them either with a chapel, or with a temple, or with the altar of a “huge temple” (ch. XIV). The opposite style trend is the absence, rarity of descriptions of things. So, it was very sparingly indicated in the novel by G. Hesse "The Glass Bead Game", which emphasizes the detachment from the household, material concerns of the Master of the Game and, in general, the inhabitants of Castalia. The absence of things can be no less significant than their abundance.
The description of things in a literary work may be one of its style dominants. This is typical for a number of literary genres: art-historical, science-fiction, moralistic (physiological essay, utopian novel), artistic and ethnographic (travel), etc. It is important for the writer to show the unusual environment surrounding the characters, its dissimilarity to the one to which the implicit reader is accustomed. This goal is also achieved through the detailing of the material world, and not only the selection of objects of material culture is important, but also the way they are described.
Emphasizing the originality of a particular way of life, life, writers widely use various lexical layers of the language, the so-called passive vocabulary, as well as words that have a limited scope of use: archaisms, historicisms, dialectisms, barbarisms, professionalism, neologisms, vernacular, etc. The use of such vocabulary, being an expressive device, at the same time often creates difficulties for the reader. Sometimes the authors themselves, foreseeing this, supply the text with notes, special dictionaries, as Gogol did in Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka. Among the words explained by the beekeeper Rudy Panko in the “Foreword”, the lion’s share belongs to the designation of things: “bandura is an instrument, a type of guitar”, “batog is a whip”, “kaganets is a type of lamp”, “cradle is a pipe”, “towel is a towel ”, “Smushki - mutton fur”, “Khustka - a handkerchief”, etc. It would seem that Gogol could immediately write Russian words, but then “Evenings ...” would largely lose the local color cultivated by the aesthetics of romanticism.
Intermediaries usually help the reader to understand a text saturated with passive vocabulary: commentators, editors, translators. The question of an acceptable, from an aesthetic point of view, measure in the use of passive vocabulary has been and remains debatable in literary criticism and literary criticism. Here is the beginning of S. Yesenin's poem "In the House", which immediately immerses the reader in the life of the Ryazan village:
It smells of loose drachens; At the threshold in the bowl of kvass, Above the chiseled stoves Cockroaches climb into the groove.
In total, in this poem, consisting of five stanzas, according to N.M. Shanskogo, 54 independent words, of which at least a fifth needs explanation. “Those requiring interpretation, of course, include the words dracheny - “baked flat cakes in milk and eggs from millet porridge and potatoes”, dezhka - “tub”, stove - “a recess similar to a Russian oven in its side wall, where they put or put something or so that it is dry or warm "(there are usually several such recesses), the groove is "a narrow long gap between loosely fitted bricks ...<...>The bulk of ... verbal "strangers" are dialectisms, " birthmarks»Ryazan dialect native to the poet. It is absolutely clear, and there can be no other opinions: S. Yesenin has a feeling artistic measure changed." However, there are still “other opinions” and the issue remains controversial.
In general, the choice of one or another synonym, a linguistic doublet, is an expressive stylistic device, and when describing the situation as a whole, stylistic unity is important here, “fixing” the consistency with each other of the details that make up the ensemble. So, in a romantic elegy in the description of a dwelling (native land) lyrical hero the very choice of words (archaisms, soporific forms, etc.) muffles everyday concreteness, emphasizes the conventionality, generalization of the image. As G.O. Vinokur, “this includes, for example, a canopy, an attic, a hut, a shelter, a hut, a cell (in the meaning of“ a small poor room ”), shelter, a corner, a garden, a house, a hut, a shack, a light, a gate, an office, a monastery, a fireplace and similar words, symbolizing inspiration and the poet's comfortable separation from society and people. A completely different stylistic coloring of the word is in the description of interiors, which abound in physiological essays. Their poetics and stylistics are emphatically naturalistic and extremely concrete. Such, for example, is the description of a room in N.A. Nekrasov: “One of the boards of the ceiling, black and strewn with flies, jumped out at one end from under the middle transverse beam and stuck out obliquely, which, it seemed, the inhabitants of the basement were very happy, because they hung their towels and shirts on it; for the same purpose, a rope was passed through the whole room, fastened at one end to a hook located above the door, and with the other to the upper hinge of the closet: this is what I call an oblong recess with shelves, without doors, in the back wall of the room; however, the hostess told me, there used to be doors, but one of the tenants tore them off and, placing them on two logs in his corner, thus made an artificial bed. Boards, a hook, a cross beam, the upper hinge of a cabinet, a rope, shirts, towels, etc. - also an ensemble of details, vocabulary that betrays an experienced person who knows a lot about boards and beams. But this is a completely different ensemble.
It is necessary to distinguish between the literary and linguistic aspects of word usage, since the vocabulary denoting things can be updated; in particular, this applies to the names of clothing items, luxury items, interior - what makes up fashion in material culture. So, stylistically motivated archaisms should not be confused with words that have become lexical archaisms for new generations of readers (for example, Raisky’s “home coat” from Goncharov’s “Cliff” (Chapter I) means a dressing gown, and Olga Ivanovna’s “water proof” from “Prygunya” Chekhov - waterproof raincoat). There are also lexico-semantic archaisms, i.e. words that have changed their meaning since the writing of the work (for example, “screen” in Dostoevsky’s “Idiot” means “screen” - ch. 15)2.
The world of things and its designation in utopias, science fiction - genres where a habitat is constructed that has no direct analogues in reality deserves special consideration. Unusual things neologisms correspond here: they often give a name to a work, creating an appropriate perception setting for the reader: A. Tolstoy's "Hyperboloid of engineer Garin", "Solaris" and "Stalker" by St. Lema.
Compared to nature, man-made environment, human environment, changes quickly. Therefore, in works where the action takes place in the past, future, fantastic times and corresponding spaces, the image of things is a special creative problem.

Traditionally, in literary criticism, it is customary to single out the following functions of things in artistic text: culturological, characterological, plot-compositional. The thing can be a sign of the depicted era and environment. The culturological function of things is especially evident in travel novels, where various worlds are presented in a synchronous cut: national, class, geographical, etc. present the historical time and local flavor.

Things often become signs, symbols of human experiences. The sign function of things is also performed in everyday writings. Gogol colorfully depicts the life of the Cossacks in "Evenings on a farm near Dikanka".

A thing can serve as a sign of wealth or poverty. According to a tradition originating in the Russian epic epic, where heroes competed with each other in wealth, striking with an abundance of jewelry, precious metals and stones become this indisputable symbol.

Equally important is the characterological function of things. In the works of N.V. Gogol shows the "intimate connection of things" with their owners. No wonder Chichikov liked to examine the dwelling of the next victim of his speculation. “He thought to find in it the properties of the owner himself, how one can judge by the shell what kind of oyster or snail was sitting in it” (“Dead Souls” - vol. 2, ch. 3, early ed.) Costume and interior, personal belongings help to determine not only the era and social status, but also the character, tastes, habits of the character. It is difficult to imagine Gogol's heroes without their uniform tailcoats, Oblomov - without the usual dressing gown.

In a literary work, a thing acts as an element of a conventional, artistic world. And unlike reality, the boundaries between things and a person, living and non-living, here can be shaky. However, the writers sensitively caught another line in the relationship between a person and a thing: the material value of the latter can overshadow a person, he is evaluated by society by how expensive things he possesses.

Things can line up in a sequential row. In "Dead Souls", for example, every chair shouted: "And I, too, Sobakevich!". But one detail can characterize the character. For example, a jar with the inscription "Kruzhovnik", prepared by the caring hands of Fenechka ("Fathers and Sons" by Turgenev). Often the interiors are depicted according to a contrasting principle - let us recall the description of the rooms of two debtors of the usurer Gobsek: the countess and the “cleanliness fairy” seamstress Fanny (“Gobsek” by O. Balzac). Against the background of this literary tradition, the absence of things (the so-called minus device) can also become significant: it emphasizes the complexity of the character's character.

One of the common functions of things in a literary work is plot-compositional. Let us recall the sinister role of the handkerchief in the tragedy "Othello" by W. Shakespeare, the necklace from the story of the same name by Leskovsky, "the queen's little boots" from "The Night Before Christmas" by N.V. Gogol.

In addition to the three main functions of things described above, there are more specific (private) functions described by A.P. Chudakov. We have tried to present them briefly:

1. Things often serve as an introduction to the atmosphere of the work.

2. Things become a source of impressions, experiences, thoughts, correlate with personal, experienced, memory.

3. The thing becomes the subject of reflection and evaluation

4. Things become indirect signs of character evolution.

5. The thing is capable of transmitting psychological condition character.

6. Things in many ways appeal to the understanding of the very personal completeness of the character.

7. Things can act as a leitmotif.

Thus, a thing in a work of art performs three functions: culturological, characterological, plot-compositional. However, these functions should not be considered exhaustive and the only possible ones.