The city of Kalinov and its inhabitants (based on the play by A. N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm")

The action of the play begins with a remark: “A public garden on the high bank of the Volga; beyond the Volga, a rural view. Behind these lines lies the extraordinary beauty of the Volga expanses, which only Kuligin, a self-taught mechanic, notices: “... Miracles, it must truly be said that miracles! Curly! Here you are, my brother, for fifty years I have been looking beyond the Volga every day and I can’t see enough of everything. All other residents of the city of Kalinov do not pay attention to the beauty of nature, this is evidenced by the casual remark of Kud-ryash in response to Kuligin's enthusiastic words: “Something!” And then, off to the side, Kuligin sees Diky, the “cursor”, who is waving his arms, scolding Boris, his nephew.

The landscape background of the "Thunderstorm" allows you to more tangibly feel the stuffy atmosphere of the life of the Kalinovites. In the play, the playwright truthfully reflected the social relations of the middle of the 19th century: he gave a description of the material and legal status of the merchant-petty-bourgeois environment, the level of cultural demands, family and everyday life, outlined the position of a woman in the family. "Thunderstorm" ... presents us with an idyllic "dark kingdom" ... Residents ... sometimes walk along the boulevard over the river ..., in the evening they sit on the rubble at the gate and engage in pious conversations; but they spend more time at home, take care of the household, eat, sleep - they go to bed very early, so it is difficult for an unaccustomed person to endure such a sleepy night as they ask themselves ... Their life flows smoothly and peacefully, no interests the world does not disturb them, because they do not reach them; kingdoms can collapse, new countries open up, the face of the earth can change as it pleases, the world can start a new life on new principles - the inhabitants of the town of Kalinov will continue to exist as before in complete ignorance of the rest of the world ...

It is terrible and difficult for every newcomer to attempt to go against the demands and convictions of this dark mass, terrible in its naivety and sincerity. After all, she will curse us, she will run around like the plagued, not out of malice, not out of calculations, but out of a deep conviction that we are akin to the Antichrist ... The wife, according to the prevailing concepts, is connected with him (with her husband ) inseparably, spiritually, through the sacrament; whatever the husband does, she must obey him and share his meaningless life with him ... And in the general opinion, the main difference between a wife and a bast shoe lies in the fact that she brings with her a whole burden of worries from which the husband does not can get rid of, while the la-pot gives only convenience, and if it is inconvenient, then it can easily be thrown off ... Being in such a position, a woman, of course, must forget that she is the same person, with the same rights, like a man, ”N. A. Dobrolyubov wrote in the article “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom”. Continuing to reflect on the position of a woman, the critic says that she, having decided “to go to the end in her uprising against the oppression and arbitrariness of the elders in the Russian family, must be filled with heroic self-denial, must decide on everything and be ready for everything. -va”, because “at the very first attempt, they will let her feel that she is nothing, that they can crush her”, “they will beat her, leave her to repentance, on bread and water, deprive her of daylight, try all home remedies good old days and lead to obedience.”

The characterization of the city of Kalinov is given by Kuligin, one of the heroes of the drama: “Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel! In philistinism, sir, you will see nothing but rudeness and bare poverty. And never, sir, get out of this bark! Because honest labor will never earn us more than our daily bread. And whoever has money, sir, tries to enslave the poor, so that he can make even more money from his free labors ... And among themselves, sir, how they live! They undermine each other's trade, and not so much out of self-interest, but out of envy. They are at enmity with each other ... ”Kuligin also notes that there is no work for the townspeople in the city: “The work must be given to the philistines. Otherwise, there are hands, but there is nothing to work,” and he dreams of inventing a “perpeta mobile” in order to use money for the benefit of society.

The tyranny of Dikiy and others like him is based on the material and moral dependence of other people. And even the mayor cannot call Wild to order, who will not "discount" any of his peasants. He has his own philosophy: “Is it worth it, your honor, to talk about such trifles with you! A lot of people stay with me every year; you understand: I won’t pay them extra for a penny per person, but I make thousands of this, so it’s good for me! And the fact that these men have every penny in the account does not bother him.

And what are Feklusha's stories about overseas lands worth! (“They say there are such countries, dear girl, where there are no Orthodox tsars, and the Saltans rule the earth ... And then there is the land where all the people have dog heads.” What about distant countries! The narrowness of the views of the wanderer is especially clearly manifests itself in the narrative of the “vision” in Moscow, when Feklusha takes an ordinary chimney sweep for an unclean one, who “scatters tares on the roof, and the people in the daytime in their vanity invisibly pick up”.

The rest of the inhabitants of the city match Feklusha, one has only to listen to the conversation of local residents in the gallery:

1st: And this, my brother, what is it?

2nd: And this is the Lithuanian ruin. Battle! See? How ours fought with Lithuania.

1st: What is Lithuania?

2nd: So it is Lithuania.

1st: And they say, you are my brother, she fell on us from the sky.

2nd: I can't tell you. From the sky so from the sky.

It is not surprising that the Kalinovites perceive the thunderstorm as God's punishment. Kuligin, understanding the physical nature of a thunderstorm, is trying to protect the city by building a lightning rod, and asks Di-whom for money for this purpose. Of course, he did not give anything, and even scolded the inventor: “What kind of power is there! Well, what are you not a robber! A thunderstorm is sent to us as a punishment so that we feel, and you want to defend yourself with poles and some kind of mugs, God forgive me. But Diky's reaction does not surprise anyone, parting with ten rubles just like that, for the good of the city, is like death. The behavior of the townspeople is horrifying, who did not even think of standing up for Kuligin, but only silently, from the side, watched how Dikoy insulted the mechanic. It is on this indifference, irresponsibility, ignorance that the power of petty tyrants vibrates.

City of Kalinov. Storm. Quote characteristic
The city of Kalinov is one of the central images in the play "Thunderstorm" by Ostrovsky.
The city of Kalinov is located in a beautiful area on the banks of the Volga.
We learn about the customs of the inhabitants of the city of Kalinov from the words of the tradesman Kuligin, one of the heroes of the Thunderstorm. In his opinion, "cruel morals", "rudeness and poverty" reign in the city: "Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel! In philistinism, sir, you will see nothing but rudeness and naked poverty."
The main representatives of savagery, ignorance and cruelty in the city of Kalinov are two bright personalities: the merchant Wild and Kabanikha.
Merchant Wild is a wealthy and powerful, but ignorant and cruel man. For example, Dikoy is convinced that a thunderstorm is sent to people as a punishment and that lightning rods are not needed. This is more than an ignorant approach: "The storm is sent to us as a punishment, so that we feel, and you want to defend yourself with poles and some kind of goads, God forgive me." (Dykoy's words) It is obvious that the merchant Dikoy successfully manages his household and counts money well, but his horizons are limited to this. There is no doubt that the rest of the merchants in the city are similar to the Savage. The illiterate Dikoy, for example, calls electricity "elistry". Apparently, he, like most of the inhabitants of the city, does not know about the discovery of electricity: Kuligin. Electricity. Wild (stomping foot). What else there elestrichestvo!
The majority of Kalinov's cloisters are poorly educated merchants, philistines and peasants. Even the rich inhabitants of Kalinovo, who have access to books and newspapers, are not distinguished by education. In Kalinov, influential, wealthy people do not respect the authorities. For example, the merchant Dikoy treats the mayor like his friend: “Your uncle patted the mayor on the shoulder and says: “Is it worth it, your honor, to talk about such trifles with you!” The poor strata of the population in Kalinovo sleep 3 hours a day, because they work "day and night": "The poor have no time to walk, sir, they work day and night. And they sleep only three hours a day."
In the city of Kalinov, people with money are trying to "enslave" the poor and get even richer at the expense of cheap labor. This is exactly what the merchant Dikoy does, who still does not pay a salary to anyone without swearing: “And whoever has money, sir, he tries to enslave the poor so that he can make even more money from his free labors. Do you know what your uncle, Savel Prokofich, answered the mayor? The peasants came to the mayor to complain that he would not read any of them by way ... "
The merchants of the city of Kalinov are at enmity with each other, intriguing and suing, bribing officials: “And among themselves, sir, how they live! his tall mansions of drunken clerks, such, sir, clerks, that there is no human appearance on him, a human appearance is lost. sir, the court and the case, and there is no end to the torment ... "
Obviously, high art is not held in high regard by the inhabitants of the city of Kalinov. Self-taught Kuligin does not dare to write poetry, as he is afraid that he will be "swallowed alive": Boris. Are you good at poetry? ... You would have written. It would be interesting. Kuligin. How can you, sir! Eat, swallow alive.
The city of Kalinov lives its boring and monotonous life. The illiterate inhabitants of Kalinovo receive information about the world not from newspapers and books, but from wanderers, such as, for example, Feklusha. She reports that there are unknown countries where people with dog heads live, etc.: “I, due to my weakness, did not go far; There are no Orthodox tsars, but the Saltans rule the earth.<...>And that is, there is still a land where all people with dog heads. "The ignorant inhabitants of Kalinov willingly believe such" enlighteners ". The inhabitants of Kalinov, for example, believe that Lithuania fell from the sky:
1st. And they say, my brother, she fell on us from the sky ... A woman. Talk more! Everyone knows that from the sky; and where there was a battle with her, mounds were poured there for memory.
1st. What, my brother! After all, it is so accurate!
The rich inhabitants of the city do not walk along the boulevard in the evenings, but lock themselves up at home early and let the dogs out in fear that they will be robbed: “And what do the rich do? Everyone’s gates, sir, have been locked for a long time, and the dogs have been let down.” The wealthy residents of Kalinovo “eat” their household and tyrannize them, but they do it behind their fences so that no one will know. Of course, we are talking, first of all, about the families of the Kabanovs and Dikiy: “... Do you think they are doing business or praying to God? No, sir. they eat their own household and tyrannize their families. And what tears flow behind these locks, invisible and inaudible! ... And what, sir, behind these locks is the debauchery of dark and drunkenness! And everything is sewn and covered - no one sees or knows anything, only God sees! ... To rob orphans, relatives, nephews, beat up households so that they don't dare to squeak about anything that he does there. That's the whole secret. "
Fortunately, in this whole gloomy picture there are also bright touches, for example, couples in love walking around the city at night: “Do you know, sir, who walks with us? Young guys and girls. So these steal an hour or two from sleep, Well, they walk in pairs."
15

Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky was a master of accurate descriptions. The playwright in his works managed to show all the dark sides of the human soul. Perhaps unsightly and negative, but without which it is impossible to create a complete picture. Criticizing Ostrovsky, Dobrolyubov pointed to his "people's" attitude, seeing the main merit of the writer in the fact that Ostrovsky was able to notice those qualities in the Russian person and society that can hinder natural progress. The theme of the "dark kingdom" is raised in many of Ostrovsky's dramas. In the play "Thunderstorm", the city of Kalinov and its inhabitants are shown as limited, "dark" people.

The city of Kalinov in Groz is a fictional space. The author wanted to emphasize that the vices that exist in this city are characteristic of all cities in Russia at the end of the 19th century. And all the problems that are raised in the work existed at that time everywhere. Dobrolyubov calls Kalinov a "dark kingdom". The definition of a critic fully characterizes the atmosphere described in Kalinov. The inhabitants of Kalinov should be considered inextricably linked with the city. All the inhabitants of the city of Kalinov deceive each other, rob, terrorize other family members. Power in the city belongs to those who have money, and the power of the mayor is only nominal. This becomes clear from Kuligin's conversation. The mayor comes to Diky with a complaint: the peasants complained about Savl Prokofievich, because he cheated on them. Wild does not try to justify himself at all, on the contrary, he confirms the words of the mayor, saying that if merchants steal from each other, then there is nothing wrong with the merchant stealing from ordinary residents. Dikoy himself is greedy and rude. He constantly swears and grumbles. We can say that because of greed, Saul Prokofievich's character deteriorated. There was nothing human left in him. The reader sympathizes even with Gobsek from the story of the same name by O. Balzac more than with Wild. There are no feelings towards this character, except disgust. But in the city of Kalinovo, its inhabitants themselves indulge Wild: they ask him for money, humiliate themselves, they know that they will be insulted and, most likely, they will not give the required amount, but they still ask. Most of all, the merchant is annoyed by his nephew Boris, because he also needs money. Dikoy is openly rude to him, cursing and demanding that he leave. Culture is alien to Savl Prokofievich. He does not know either Derzhavin or Lomonosov. He is only interested in the accumulation and multiplication of material wealth.

Boar is different from Wild. “Under the guise of piety,” she tries to subordinate everything to her will. She raised an ungrateful and deceitful daughter, a spineless weak son. Through the prism of blind maternal love, Kabanikha does not seem to notice Varvara's hypocrisy, but Marfa Ignatievna perfectly understands how she made her son. Kabanikha treats her daughter-in-law worse than the others. In relations with Katerina, Kabanikha's desire to control everyone, to instill fear in people, is manifested. After all, the ruler is either loved or feared, and there is nothing to love the Kabanikh.
It should be noted that the telling surname of Diky and the nickname Kabanikhi, which refer readers and viewers to wild, animal life.

Glasha and Feklusha are the lowest link in the hierarchy. They are ordinary residents who are happy to serve such gentlemen. There is an opinion that every nation deserves its ruler. In the city of Kalinov, this is confirmed many times. Glasha and Feklusha are having dialogues about how “sodom” is now in Moscow, because people there are starting to live differently. The inhabitants of Kalinov are alien to culture and education. They praise Kabanikha for standing up for the preservation of the patriarchal system. Glasha agrees with Feklusha that only the Kabanov family has preserved the old order. The house of the Kabanikhi is heaven on earth, because in other places everything is mired in debauchery and bad manners.

The reaction to a thunderstorm in Kalinovo is more like a reaction to a large-scale natural disaster. People run to save themselves, trying to hide. This is because a thunderstorm becomes not only a natural phenomenon, but a symbol of God's punishment. This is how Savl Prokofievich and Katerina perceive her. However, Kuligin is not at all afraid of thunderstorms. He urges people not to panic, tells Wild about the benefits of a lightning rod, but he is deaf to the requests of the inventor. Kuligin cannot actively resist the established order, he has adapted to life in such an environment. Boris understands that in Kalinovo Kuligin's dreams will remain dreams. At the same time, Kuligin differs from other residents of the city. He is honest, modest, plans to earn his own work, without asking the rich for help. The inventor studied in detail all the orders by which the city lives; knows what goes on behind closed doors, knows about the deceptions of the Wild, but can do nothing about it.

Ostrovsky in "Thunderstorm" depicts the city of Kalinov and its inhabitants from a negative point of view. The playwright wanted to show how deplorable the situation is in the provincial cities of Russia, he emphasized that social problems require an immediate solution.

The above description of the city of Kalinov and its inhabitants will be useful to students in grade 10 when preparing an essay on the topic "The city of Kalinov and its inhabitants in the play" Thunderstorm "".

Artwork test

Essay on literature.

Cruel morals in our city, cruel...
A.N. Ostrovsky, "Thunderstorm".

The city of Kalinov, in which the action of "Thunderstorm" takes place, is described by the author very vaguely. Such a place can be any town in any corner of vast Russia. This immediately enlarges and generalizes the scale of the events described.

The preparation of a reform to abolish serfdom is in full swing, which affects the life of all of Russia. Obsolete orders give way to new ones, previously unknown phenomena and concepts arise. Therefore, even in remote towns like Kalinov, the townsfolk are worried when they hear the steps of a new life.

What is this "city on the banks of the Volga"? What kind of people live in it? The scenic nature of the work does not allow the writer to directly answer these questions with his thoughts, but it is still possible to form a general idea of ​​​​them.

Outwardly, the city of Kalinov is a “blessed place”. It stands on the banks of the Volga, from the steepness of the river opens "an extraordinary view." But most of the locals "take a closer look or do not understand" this beauty and speak of it dismissively. Kalinov seems to be separated by a wall from the rest of the world. They don't know anything about what's going on in the world. The inhabitants of Kalinovo are forced to draw all information about the world around them from the stories of "wanderers" who "they did not go far themselves, but heard a lot." This satisfaction of curiosity leads to the ignorance of most citizens. They quite seriously talk about the lands "where people with dog heads", about the fact that "Lithuania has fallen from the sky". Among the inhabitants of Kalinovo there are people who “give no account to anyone” of their actions; ordinary people, accustomed to such lack of accountability, lose the ability to see the logic in anything.

Kabanova and Dikoy, who live according to the old order, are forced to give up their positions. This embitters them and makes them even more mad. Wild lashes out with abuse at everyone he meets and "does not want to know anyone." Realizing internally that there is nothing to respect him for, he, however, reserves the right to deal with "little people" like this:

If I want - I'll have mercy, if I want - I'll crush.

Kabanova relentlessly pesters the household with ridiculous demands that are contrary to common sense. She is terrible because she reads instructions “under the guise of piety,” but she herself cannot be called pious. This can be seen from Kuligin's conversation with Kabanov:

Kuligin: Enemies must be forgiven, sir!
Kabanov: Go and talk to your mother, what she will say to you.

Dikoy and Kabanova still appear to be strong, but they begin to realize that their strength is coming to an end. They have "nowhere to hurry", but life moves forward without asking their permission. That is why Kabanova is so gloomy, she cannot imagine “how the light will stand” when her orders are forgotten. But those around, still not feeling the impotence of these tyrants, are forced to adapt to them,

Tikhon, at heart a kind man, resigned himself to his position. He lives and acts as “mother ordered”, finally losing the ability to “live with his own mind”.

His sister Barbara is not like that. Selfish oppression did not break her will, she is bolder and much more independent than Tikhon, but her conviction “if only everything was sewn and covered” suggests that Barbara could not fight her oppressors, but only adapted to them.

Vanya Kudryash, a daring and strong person, got used to tyrants and is not afraid of them. The Wild One needs him and knows this, he will not “serve before him”. But the use of rudeness as a weapon of struggle means that Kudryash can only "take an example" from Wild, defending himself from him with his own methods. His reckless prowess reaches self-will, and this already borders on tyranny.

Katerina is, in the words of the critic Dobrolyubov, "a ray of light in a dark kingdom." Original and lively, she is not like any hero of the play. Its national character gives it inner strength. But this strength is not enough to withstand the relentless attacks of Kabanova. Katerina is looking for support - and does not find it. Exhausted, unable to further resist the oppression, Katerina still did not give up, but left the fight, committing suicide.

Kalinov can be located in any corner of the country, and this allows us to consider the action of the play on the scale of the whole of Russia. Tyrants live out their lives everywhere, weak people still suffer from their antics. But life tirelessly moves forward, no one can stop its rapid flow. A fresh and strong stream will sweep away the dam of tyranny... The characters freed from oppression will overflow in all their breadth - and the sun will flare up in the "dark kingdom"!

“Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel!” - this is how the city of Kalinov is described by its resident, Kuligin, who knows it well from the inside and has experienced these most cruel customs for himself.

The city described in the drama is fictional, but the events that take place in The Thunderstorm are based on real events. Also, attention should be paid to the fact that the name of the city begins with “k”, and most Russian cities begin with this letter. By this, Ostrovsky wants to show that such events can happen anywhere and in similar cities

in the country a huge number.

Especially in one of the cities on the Volga, notorious for the number of drowned people found in the river.

First of all, everyone in the city of Kalinovo tries to please the rich, everything is built on lies and love for money, and “you can never earn more with honest work, more than daily bread.” The rich try to take advantage of the poor, consider them people of the “lower class”, and their problems are nothing. And among themselves they interfere with each other's trade out of envy, they are at enmity. The most important thing for everyone is their own income, there are no moral values ​​in this city. And for any word here, according to Kuligin, "they will eat, swallow alive."

The wanderer Feklusha describes the city as “a promised land with pious merchants, generous and kind, but she understands all the darkness of this city and does this only from the understanding that the more you flatter the merchants and the rich, the less likely they will drive you away. Those who ask for money are treated with great disgust by the rich.

This city is quiet, but this silence can be called dead: everyone sits in their homes and because of their own laziness does not go out, with the exception of only young girls and boys.

Naturally, the darkness of the city lies not in the place itself, but in the people living in it. The description of the city and, in principle, the actions in the drama begin with admiration for the Volga. However, then the true face of the city is gradually revealed more and more, and its gloomy description begins and intensifies precisely from the beginning of the description of the people living in the city of Kalinov.

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