Characteristics and van Vasilyevich after the ball. Ivan the Terrible: personality and era, as well as the surrounding atmosphere

Deep meaning of a little story

Getting acquainted with the events of just one day, you can give detailed description Ivan Vasilyevich from the story "After the Ball" by Tolstoy. A talented writer managed to draw with a few strokes inner world person, understand his condition. As part of small work not only personal, but also public problems. Do we need things for a long time past days? L. N. Tolstoy convinces us that knowledge of history helps to live correctly, not to make mistakes, to adequately assess reality. Past and present are closely linked.

The story of L. N. Tolstoy "After the Ball" takes us back to the distant past, but remains in demand in our modern XI century. They rise in it eternal problems beings that are relevant to any person. Question moral choice- one of the main ones in this work, small in volume, but quite deep in content.

Getting to know the main character

Everyone at least once has to make decisions that affect further fate. Main character L. N. Tolstoy's story "After the Ball" also faces a choice.

Handsome, young, rich

Man telling cautionary tale – central character works. A man recalls a story that dramatically changed his life. The description of Ivan Vasilyevich from the story "After the Ball" is put into the mouth of the hero himself. Many years ago he was a young man, studying, having fun, falling in love. Possessing an attractive appearance, a large fortune and a good disposition, Ivan Vasilievich had many friends and was successful with women. The young man could afford to have fun and not think about the future. His "pleasure was evenings and balls." He was the same as his peers, he burned through life like everyone else. “We were just young, and we lived as is typical of youth: we studied and had fun,” the narrator explains.

kind fellow

In the story “After the Ball”, the author does not give characteristics to Ivan Vasilyevich. But from the text it becomes clear that this was an ordinary young man. Kind by nature, he sincerely saw only the good in people. The provincial leader and his wife - dear married couple, the colonel is a loving and caring father, Varenka is an angel who descended from heaven, with a "gentle, always cheerful smile at his mouth." We understand that a young man in love is naive and disinterested. He lives happily in the present and dreams of the future.

Life split in half

Happiness at the ball

The cruel reality of one morning dispelled dreams and set a difficult task for Ivan Vasilyevich. The method of antithesis used by the author helps to understand the state of the protagonist. His life seemed to be split in two. The description of the ball is saturated with a feeling of happiness and love. Throughout the evening, the young man does not leave his beloved girl. The white dress of the bride, the sounds of a waltz, kind smiles - these details help create a unique picture of the holiday.

Horror after the ball

The terrible picture of the execution of a runaway soldier made the young man take a different look at modern reality. Unpleasant, sharp sounds, black uniforms, red back symbolize pain, misfortune and horror. Reality destroyed dreams and dreams. Ivan Vasilievich.

Difficult choice

"The whole life changed from one night or morning." The hero must decide: how to live on. He could pretend that nothing had happened and continue to communicate with the family of the colonel who led the terrible torture of the unfortunate Tatar. Propose to your girlfriend, get married, have children and live like everyone around. After all, cruel corporal punishment, the duplicity of the colonel, the indifference of passers-by are the norm for most of his contemporaries. However, the young man chooses a different path. And this choice is a protest of the immorality and cruelty of the laws that prevailed during the reign of Nicholas I. The main character is not able to communicate with Varenka, since she resembles her father, and he does not know how to pretend and lie. He "became somehow awkward and unpleasant." Changes plans for the future, refuses a career. “I couldn’t enter the military service, as I wanted to before, and not only didn’t serve in the military, but I didn’t serve anywhere and, as you see, I didn’t fit anywhere.” Having lost a lot, he retains the main thing: honor and dignity. This morning has changed later life Ivan Vasilyevich, forced to look differently at the people around him. But nothing could make him betray himself. In the story "After the Ball" Ivan Vasilyevich is depicted as a man who is not afraid public opinion acts according to conscience.

Artwork lessons

It is not easy to choose the right path in your life. “In order to live honestly, one must tear, get confused, fight, make mistakes, start and quit again, for peace is spiritual meanness,” he himself said. great writer L. N. Tolstoy. It is important to make such decisions so that later you will not be ashamed of your actions. The protagonist of the story "After the Ball" is an example to follow. His actions teach honesty and nobility.

Artwork test

AFTER THE BALL

(Story, 1911)

Ivan Vasilievich — main character, narrator. His narration takes the listeners into the atmosphere of the Russian provincial town 1840s At that time, I. V. studied at the university, did not participate in any circles, but simply lived, “as is typical of youth.”

Once he happened to be "on the last day of Shrovetide at the ball of the provincial leader." His beloved turned out to be there - Varenka B. Especially I.V. dwells on the "incorporeality" of his passion for the young beautiful woman, trying to create in the audience the impression of almost "angelic" of his internal state: "... I was happy, blissful, I was kind, I was not me, but some kind of unearthly creature that knows no evil and is capable of good alone." Tenderness for herself, Varenka is gradually transferred by I. V. to all those present: to the good-natured hospitable leader and his wife, a lady with plump white bare shoulders (I. V. emphasizes her resemblance to the ceremonial portraits of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna), to Varenka’s father, Colonel V ., and even to the engineer Anisimov, who beat off his first mazurka with Varenka. “I embraced the whole world at that time with my love.” This truly divine, brotherly love, revealed to I.V. on the last day of Shrove Tuesday, on the eve of Great Lent, in a strange way is sanctioned in the depiction of Tolstoy by pagan, in general - blasphemous laws of ballroom secular entertainment.

Further events take place with I. V. the very next morning, on the first day of Lent. By chance, he becomes a witness to a barbaric execution - a rite of punishment with gauntlets for a fugitive Tatar. Execution scene - false mirror ball ritual. The perception of I. V. involuntarily fixes these distorted correspondences. The melody of the mazurka is superimposed on the shrill accompaniment of the drum and flute, the rhythm of the dance steps is superimposed on the chased wave of soldiers’ hands and the biting whistle of stick blows, Varenka’s dance with her father is superimposed on the hellish “dance” of the Tatar tortured under torture and walking with him in a pair of “firm, trembling gait Colonel B. Instead of the "disembodied" Varenka - "motley, wet, red" "human body": "Brothers, have mercy." These are “brothers”, this clear analogy with Golgotha ​​unequivocally echoes the motif of brotherly, universal love experienced by I.V. during the ball. In his imagination, seemingly dissimilar worlds are monstrously intertwined: spiritual and carnal, Christian and pagan, divine and demonic. The Maslenitsa ball, the pagan-Pharisaic official culture give rise to the idea of ​​universal love, and the “modern Golgotha” seen at the beginning of Lent, on the contrary, does not show the face of Christ suffering for humanity, but an ugly bloody mess of tortured human flesh. Satan serves God, God serves Satan, and it all comes together common symbol ritualized dance. All this for Tolstoy is “false culture”, “werewolf culture”, which denies itself.

Unlike the author, I.V. is not able to accept the truth revealed to him. “Obviously, he knows something that I don’t know,” I. V. thought about the colonel, watching how he easily and habitually passes from the ball to the execution, from the “spirit” to the “flesh”, without changing, in essence, their behavior. I. V. was never “initiated” into the secrets of secular “properties” that justify such “werewolfism”. He remained "on the other side" of the good and evil committed by the bearers of the official morality. Having not delved into the postulates of “decent” behavior contemporary to him, I.V. at the same time did not believe his natural moral feeling, not yet spoiled by society. Rejection military service and marriage to Varenka is not so much a protest as I.V.’s spiritual capitulation to the chaos of his contemporary culture.

Composition

Youth from rich family, hot, impressionable, even enthusiastic, he, for the first time in his life, faced with a terrible injustice committed further not on him personally, dramatically changed his life path, abandoned any career and in the future, as this is dullly mentioned in the story, devoted his strength to helping other people (“Well, we know how you were no good,” his interlocutors say to him. Tell me better: no matter how much people were no good if you weren't there). True, when he saw the terrible scene, he did not scream, did not become indignant, did not rush at the colonel. He could not even realize what feelings Varenka's father aroused in him in this scene. But his words are significant: “I was so ashamed that, not knowing where to look, as if I had been caught in the very shameful act I lowered my eyes and hurried to go home.

We can challenge sanity life position a hero who probably shares “non-resistance” views (seventh-graders, with their inherent straightforwardness, usually blame him for “not becoming a fighter, a revolutionary”), but deny him a noble sense of community with people, in understanding his personal responsibility for their destinies it is forbidden.

The writer was tormented all his life by the thought of the lack of rights of the Russian soldier. Back in 1855, he worked on a project to reorganize the army, where he opposed the barbaric punishment - "drive through the ranks." However, the meaning of the story "After the Ball" goes far beyond the protest against the inhuman treatment of soldiers. Tolstoy condemns the despotism of the autocracy and in this draws closer to his great predecessors - Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol.

Tolstoy wrote in the era of the preparation of the first Russian revolution, and its blazing flame cast reflections on his works. Without making revolutionary conclusions, Furthermore, denying the revolutionary way of transforming life, the writer with such growing force fell upon the state, the church, social institutions tsarist Russia, which, unwittingly, had a huge revolutionary impact on readers.

The story "After the Ball" expresses the moods and views of Tolstoy during the period of the first Russian revolution. And although the work was published much later, eight years after it was written, only in 1911, it played its social and educational role, already at another stage of the Russian revolution. Of course, these thoughts are in their entirety, as well as thoughts about Tolstoy's non-resistance are difficult for us. But they are able to answer the question formulated in the reader: why in the 900s did Tolstoy recall an incident that occurred in the distant years of his youth and put it at the basis of the story “After the Ball”?

Tolstoy, as an eyewitness to punishment, chooses someone who has never dealt with social issues and did not even suspect otherwise, scary world that exists outside the walls of noble mansions. But it is precisely because the scene of punishment is given through the eyes of a man who cannot be suspected of bias and who, in fact, has encountered real life for the first time, that this scene makes such a tremendous impression. Ivan Vasilyevich talks about the past, but it is of great interest to his interlocutors, who solve modern and even topical issues about ways to improve human personality, about the degree of dependence of a person on society. The past is thus linked to the present.

Ivan Vasilyevich is sincere, modest, respected by everyone, noble - it is clear that his recollections can be trusted unquestioningly. True, he does not understand much. The writer, as it were, refuses to draw final conclusions (and in many respects he himself could not find the necessary solution), but the strength of the facts depicted is such that the reader can easily come to the conclusion about the blatant injustice of the autocratic system and about the responsibility of each person for what is happening around.

Each writer, considering the composition of the work and choosing certain way narrative, strives to most fully embody his thoughts, feelings, experiences in his works, convey his vision of the world, recreate the truth of life, the truth of characters, and recreate it in such a way as to infect, shock, capture the reader. Therefore, each writer builds his works in different ways, arranges pictures of events, scenes and episodes in different ways, and organizes the plot in different ways. In The Inspector General, we see the beginning, climax, and denouement in succession. There is no climax in Gorky's Childhood. In Pushkin's Blizzard, the denouement merges with the climax.

Composition is a universal feature, one of the most important specific properties any work fiction.

But even in epic, lyrical-epic and dramatic works far from everything comes down to the plot (descriptions, lyrical and journalistic digressions, monologues and dialogues that do not necessarily move the action, but are important for understanding the characters actors, a frame similar to that with which the Readers met in the story "After the Ball").

Other writings on this work

In the image of Ivan Vasilyevich - the hero of the story "After the Ball" - L. N. Tolstoy showed us typical person of that time, a student, one might say, an inhabitant, standing aloof from big things, living modestly and no different from others outwardly. At the same time, there is something more behind this faceless figure: through the character of Ivan Vasilyevich Tolstoy shows the attitude of every honest and decent person to what is happening in the country. The writer angrily denounces in an accessible and elegant form the vices of the time when the story was written, identifying them with the past.
Ivan Vasilyevich the narrator appears before us as a highly experienced, gray-haired man who has lived a long life, one might say, a teacher of youth, a man who had influence on young people and aroused their respect. He begins to talk about "the affairs of bygone days." Why does Tolstoy introduce this technique? Precisely in order to show the similarities between the past and the present.
At that time (40s XIX years century) Ivan Vasilyevich was a student at the university, "a cheerful and lively fellow, and even rich." He devoted all his time to entertainment and merry adventures. He loved evenings and balls, he danced well and, according to the ladies, he was simply handsome. Recently, his soul was entirely occupied with love: he was insanely passionate about the daughter of Colonel B. Varenka, a hand-written beauty, who was courted by many gentlemen. It so happened that Ivan Vasilyevich was invited to a ball to a rich chamberlain, provincial marshal of the nobility, a good-natured old man. The ball was chic: she played good music, a wonderful dinner was served, but most importantly, Varenka B. was among the guests, which especially pleased Ivan Vasilyevich. So the ball began, Ivan Vasilyevich danced with Varenka almost all the time. She smiled at him and he was happy with her love. He was completely intoxicated with this love of his, he seemed to love the whole world, all the guests, the hostess in the feronniere, father Varenka, literally everyone.
Ivan Vasilyevich was especially impressed by Varya's father - "a stately, tall and fresh old man" with a ruddy face, whiskers brought down to his mustache and "sideburns combed forward". He smiled, his chest was decorated with orders, "he was a military commander like an old serviceman of the Nikolaev bearing." When the mistress persuaded him to dance with her daughter, he remembered his youth (he used to dance well), and, despite his age, he performed all the “pas” with dignity, grace and grace.
And so the ball is over. Saying goodbye to Varenka, Ivan Vasilievich goes home already in the morning. Trying to fall asleep, he realizes that he is not up to sleep: a feeling of love for Varya overwhelmed him. He only thinks about her, only lives by her. Ivan Vasilyevich decides to go back to B.'s house, to see her, perhaps once again.
He left the house. The weather was like a carnival, but somewhat gloomy, dull, damp.
Approaching B.'s house, Ivan Vasilyevich saw something black and terrible in the wasteland. There was screeching awful music playing. Ivan Vasilyevich thought that these were exercises, but, coming closer, he understood what was the matter.
Between two rows of soldiers in overcoats, non-commissioned officers led a Tatar soldier tied to butts. He was chased "through the ranks" for escaping. Blows, merciless and strong, fell on his back, which was a kind of bloody mess. The Tartar groaned, fell, he was lifted up, blows rained down, the flute squealed. And next followed tall figure military man, walking with a firm and confident gait, which seemed familiar to Ivan Vasilyevich. It was Varenka's father. The young man witnessed a terrible scene: because one soldier weakly hit, the colonel began to beat him in the face.
Outwardly agreeing and reconciling with the actions of the colonel, with the orders of that time, Ivan Vasilyevich could not forget this and forgive. The conscience of each person tells him how to act. So it happened with Ivan Vasilyevich, which was reflected in his entire future fate.

AFTER THE BALL

(Story, 1911)

Ivan Vasilievich - protagonist, narrator His narration takes listeners into the atmosphere of a Russian provincial town in the 1840s. At that time, I. V. studied at the university, did not participate in any circles, but simply lived, “as is typical of youth.”

Once he happened to be "on the last day of Shrovetide at the ball of the provincial leader." His beloved, Varenka B., turned out to be there too. I. V. especially dwells on the “incorporeality” of his passion for a young beautiful woman, trying to give the audience the impression of almost “angelic” of his inner state: “... I was happy , blessed, I was kind, I was not me, but some kind of unearthly creature, knowing no evil and capable of good alone. Tenderness for herself, Varenka is gradually transferred by I. V. to all those present: to the good-natured hospitable leader and his wife, a lady with plump white bare shoulders (I. V. emphasizes her resemblance to the ceremonial portraits of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna), to Varenka’s father, Colonel V ., and even to the engineer Anisimov, who beat off his first mazurka with Varenka. “I embraced the whole world at that time with my love.” This truly divine, brotherly love, which was revealed to I.V. on the last day of Shrovetide, on the eve of Great Lent, is strangely sanctioned in the depiction of Tolstoy by pagan, in general, blasphemous laws of ballroom secular entertainment.

Further events take place with I. V. the very next morning, on the first day of Lent. By chance, he becomes a witness to a barbaric execution - a rite of punishment with gauntlets for a fugitive Tatar. The execution scene is a distorted mirror of the ballroom ritual. The perception of I. V. involuntarily fixes these distorted correspondences. The melody of the mazurka is superimposed on the shrill accompaniment of the drum and flute, the rhythm of the dance steps is superimposed on the chased wave of soldiers’ hands and the biting whistle of stick blows, Varenka’s dance with her father is superimposed on the hellish “dance” of the Tatar tortured under torture and walking with him in a pair of “firm, trembling gait Colonel B. Instead of the "disembodied" Varenka - "motley, wet, red" "human body": "Brothers, have mercy." These are “brothers”, this clear analogy with Golgotha ​​unequivocally echoes the motif of brotherly, universal love experienced by I.V. during the ball. In his imagination, seemingly dissimilar worlds are monstrously intertwined: spiritual and carnal, Christian and pagan, divine and demonic. The Maslenitsa ball, the pagan-Pharisaic official culture give rise to the idea of ​​universal love, and the “modern Golgotha” seen at the beginning of Lent, on the contrary, does not show the face of Christ suffering for humanity, but an ugly bloody mess of tortured human flesh. Satan serves God, God serves Satan, and all this is united by a common symbol of a ritualized dance. All this for Tolstoy is “false culture”, “werewolf culture”, which denies itself.

Unlike the author, I.V. is not able to accept the truth revealed to him. “Obviously, he knows something that I don’t know,” I. V. thought about the colonel, watching how he easily and habitually passes from the ball to the execution, from the “spirit” to the “flesh”, without changing, in essence, their behavior. I. V. was never “initiated” into the secrets of secular “properties” that justify such “werewolfism”. He remained "on the other side" of the good and evil committed by the bearers of the official morality. Having not delved into the postulates of “decent” behavior contemporary to him, I.V. at the same time did not believe his natural moral feeling, not yet spoiled by society. Refusal from military service and marriage to Varenka is not so much a protest as I.V.'s spiritual capitulation to the chaos of his contemporary culture.