Acquaintance with famous poems in prose begins at school. Teenagers will learn the specifics of an unusual genre in which the prosaic form of presentation and genuine lyricism are intertwined, which every line breathes. Let's analyze "Two Rich Men" by Turgenev, one of the small works of this genre.
To begin discussions about a small work, one should outline its plot, which is based on the juxtaposition technique:
- In the first lines, the author describes the deeds of the millionaire Rothschild, who really tried to help the needy, allocating substantial amounts from his pocket to charity.
- Further, the writer describes in the simplest words a case from the life of a peasant, a very poor peasant, who is ready to take up an orphan girl, realizing that his own life will become even more difficult.
- Finally, a brief, but capacious and expressive conclusion - "Rothschild is far from this peasant."
When analyzing Turgenev's "Two Rich Men", the idea of comparison should be emphasized: the millionaire, of course, is generous and noble, but he gives from the surplus. And the unfortunate peasant, himself extremely poor, is ready to endure even greater need in order to help a destitute girl, poorer than he is.
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The next stage in the analysis of Turgenev's "Two Rich Men" is the description of the characters. There are two types of characters:
- Direct actors: the peasant himself and his wife.
- Persons mentioned: Rothschild and the girl Katka.
Moreover, the first category of heroes has no names, and the second is more specific, both a real-life millionaire and an unfortunate orphan. Why does the author use this technique? When analyzing Turgenev's poem "Two Rich Men", one should find the answer to this question. For the author, the noble peasant soul is of great value, therefore the described event could occur in any corner of the vast homeland, in many families in need. The classic sincerely admires the nature of a Russian person who is ready for self-sacrifice.
Features of a peasant family
Let's continue the analysis of Turgenev's "Two Rich Men" with a description of the image of a peasant family, which he masterfully draws in front of his readers.
- First of all, these are very poor people who, apparently, have children of their own.
- Turgenev does not say the age of his characters, nor does he try to describe their appearance, since this data is not required to convey his key idea.
- It should be noted that in the speech of both the peasant and his wife there is no selfish “I”, both say “we”, which emphasizes their desire to make a joint decision.
- The reader understands that the decisive word remains with the husband, so the unfortunate orphan will find a new home and hope for a happy, albeit very poor, life.
When analyzing the poem “Two Rich Men” by Turgenev, it is important to show that the author portrayed a collective image of a Russian peasant family, the best people of their time, ready to help those in need, even depriving themselves of the most necessary (in a rural environment, the lack of salt in the house was considered a sign of extreme poverty).
tricks
The text is small in volume, therefore it does not contain an abundance of artistic and expressive means. However, the whole story rests on the comparison of the millionaire benefactor Rothschild and the nameless peasant. This is very important to emphasize when analyzing Turgenev's "Two Rich Men":
- Everyone knows the rich man, with his good deeds (their value is not diminished by the author), he helped people, no doubt, but he also earned fame for himself.
- And the unfortunate poor peasant by his act only created difficulties for himself, no one knows his name, and few people could be interested in the modest sacrifice of a forced man.
Therefore, the main technique, the comparison of the rich man and the poor peasant, helps Turgenev to convey the main idea - the greater the value of that act for which there is no reward, the peasant’s work is completely disinterested, no one will say thanks to him, except for the saved girl.
The meaning of the name
Analyzing Turgenev's prose "Two Rich Men", the title of the work should be explained. Why are two rich men mentioned?
- With regards to Rothschild, everything is clear, he is a rich man, a philanthropist, who directed part of his income to help children and the needy.
- The second rich man is a peasant who, according to the author, has the most valuable thing - a rich, kind heart, able to sacrifice, empathize.
And the value of the spiritual component is much more important than material wealth. Turgenev is trying to convey this idea to his readers.
Speech originality
The next stage in the analysis of Turgenev's poem "Two Rich Men" is the study of his speech features. The writer is known for the fact that in his prose texts he often uses dialect vocabulary to give credibility to the narrative. Therefore, in a small work in the replicas of the peasants, one can find such words and expressions that are clearly uncharacteristic of the educated Turgenev:
- Pennies, get salt, stew, appeal Katya - these words and phrases help the author create the image of a simple village woman, a real woman who is economical, practical. Her arguments against accepting an orphan into the family are quite logical, because the spouses are in poverty. When analyzing “Two Rich Men” by Turgenev, it is important to emphasize that the wife is not a negative character, but rather an ordinary woman who is forced by extreme poverty to be somewhat stingy.
- And we her ... and not salty - this is the only phrase that the man uttered in the entire story, but very significant. He himself has no doubt that he makes the right decision. This man managed to keep his kind generous heart, despite life in very difficult conditions.
Concluding the analysis of Turgenev's poem "Two Rich Men", it should be noted that the author, of course, rejoices that there are patrons like Rothschild in the world who help the poor. But their achievements lose their significance when compared with the actions of ordinary peasants who even deny themselves food to help even poorer people. And the writer sincerely admires such "men and women", of which there are so many in his homeland.
When the rich man Rothschild is exalted in my presence, who, out of his enormous income, devotes whole thousands to the upbringing of children, to the treatment of the sick, to the care of the old, I praise and am touched.
But, both praising and touching, I cannot help but recall one wretched peasant family that adopted an orphan niece into their ruined little house.
Let's take Katya, - the woman said, - our last pennies will go to her, - there will be nothing to get salt, to salt the stew ...
And we have her ... and not salty, - answered the man, her husband.
Rothschild is far from this man!
Analysis of the poem in prose "Two Rich Men" by Turgenev
The poetic sketch "Two Rich Men" by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was first published during the author's lifetime in Vestnik Evropy.
The poem was written in the summer of 1872. Its author is 60 years old, he is a recognized coryphaeus of Russian literature. Each of his new books was met with interest, the publishers did not skimp on royalties. He lived mainly in France, where the Viardot family was closest to him. By genre - a poem in prose. Actually, this genre also owes its origin to France in the first half of the 19th century. The cycle itself as a whole, the writer in rough sketches called "senile". I. Turgenev considered these miniatures to be poems without rhythm and meter. Narrative intonation. The lyrical hero is the author himself. The narrator is a cross-cutting figure of the entire cycle. The volume of the work is 5 paragraphs, in each subsequent number of lines decreases.
The plot of the composition is the reasoning of the lyrical hero about the "rich Rothschild" with an easily readable slightly skeptical attitude of the author. Let's say, through epithets: out of their huge incomes, whole thousands. And through the enumerative gradation with the invariable preposition "to": treatment, education, charity. Care homes are nursing homes for the lonely and sick. Verbs with a deliberately elevated meaning: I praise and touch. They turn into an insistent refrain in the second paragraph. The further development of events is underlined by the double negation of "I can't not." Then the author describes the peasants who were deciding whether to take the “orphan niece” into the house. There is her name: Katya. The epithets are eloquent: a wretched family, a ruined house (the diminutive suffix emphasizes their poverty and simplicity). The direct speech of the characters is introduced - “a woman” and “a man, her husband”. Through the technique of inversion, the individuality of speech is highlighted: let's take it. Again an epithet with a pronoun: our last pennies. A penny was equal to 2 kopecks. “There is nothing to add salt to the stew”: I. Turgenev’s impressive motif with the high cost of salt. However, it was not worth its weight in gold, in those years it cost from 50 kopecks to 1 ruble per pound (16.3 kg), another thing is that the peasants had just enough money. And literally 2 years later, the excise tax on salt was canceled, the price fell to about 30 kopecks, and with an increase in industrial production, it fell even more. The peasant woman is cautious, waiting for the decision of the owner. After a pause, as if in thought, the man replies that "and we are her ... and not salty." The denouement and the author's epilogue was the exclamation: Rothschild is far from this man! The writer, as it were, addresses the reader, urging him to agree with this conclusion. In his opinion, the sacrifice of a peasant is higher than the charity of a banker. And if the first character is rich in money, then the second - with a generous and compassionate heart.
The lyrical miniature "Two Rich Men" is a small fact from the biography of I. Turgenev, which became a moral lesson under the writer's pen.
Most of Turgenev's latest works are some notes, reflections and observations from the writer's own life, which he combined into one cycle. The collection of these small works, or rather its title, has changed several times. At first, Turgenev decided to call it "Posthumous". Later he changed his mind and changed the name to Senilia. In Latin it means "Starikovskoe". But this name did not suit the creator to the fullest. The final version of the name of the collection is "Poems in Prose", in fact, under this name everyone knows him.Oddly enough, but such a seemingly uncomplicated title for the collection turned out to be a very successful decision. The collection contains many short stories, and in each of them the prose of life is comprehended. It is presented in a short, but at the same time understandable lyrical prose. Of course, the miniatures do not have any rhyme, but despite this they are all very poetic. One of the most amazing works in this collection is "Two Rich Men".
The story consists of several lines, but Turgenev put several strong images into them, and as a result, the work makes the reader think about his life. A short story was written in 1878, but he saw the light only after the appearance of the collection.
"Two rich men"
When the rich man Rothschild is exalted in my presence, who, out of his enormous income, devotes whole thousands to the upbringing of children, to the treatment of the sick, to the care of the old, I praise and am touched. But, both praising and touching, I cannot help but recall one wretched peasant family that adopted an orphan niece into their ruined little house.
“We’ll take Katya,” the woman said, “our last pennies will go to her, there will be nothing to get salt, to salt the stew ...
- And we have her ... and not salty, - answered the man, her husband.
Rothschild is far from this man!
Analysis of the story "Two rich men"
As was said, the story was written in 1878, in the summer. It consists of several parts, has a beginning and an ending. The first line tells about Rothschild, a rich man who does charity work. Thus, it is said that a person, despite his enormous wealth, still does not forget about ordinary people who are in need and tries to somehow help them. Then there is a comparison between a rich Rothschild and a poor peasant family who cannot invest their savings to help those in need, since they themselves are in dire need.Indeed, the generosity of a rich and prosperous person makes one wonder and admire him. Not all wealthy people are willing to help and help those who need it, but Rothschild is not like that, he shares funds "for raising children, for treating the sick, for caring for the old." Good deeds, as they tend to, cause a purely positive reaction.
Turgenev immediately adds a few more characters to the story. The “wretched peasant family” accepts an orphan into his already “ruined house”. The conversation between husband and wife is very interesting and ambiguous. He is full of nobility, sincere generosity. Despite the fact that these people are not as rich as Rothschild, they have a kind and generous soul. A poor married couple adopts a girl who has lost her parents, and the generosity of their soul admires no less than the generosity of a millionaire.
The answer to the question why this is so is very simple. It is enough to think only about what the billionaire infringes on himself by giving his money to the poor, as soon as everything becomes extremely clear and understandable. He gives what he does not need. Rothschild certainly does not feel any changes in his own life from this, everything remains the same with him. A peasant family, on the contrary, gives everything they have in order to change the life of an orphan for the better, to become her family. They can't even afford salt for their stew, but they don't refuse the girl. And if a woman still allows herself doubts, then they are immediately broken by the words of her husband: “And we are her ... and unsalted.” It should be noted an interesting nuance that the author emphasizes two things: firstly, neither the woman nor the man decides each for himself, they both say “we”, remaining together in joy and in sorrow. They are in for a tough time, but they are ready to go through it together, to fight it. Secondly, Turgenev calls a woman a “woman”, emphasizing her social status (an ordinary peasant woman), and a man is not only a peasant, but also a husband, a person who has the last, decisive word in solving the most serious issues.
The writer keeps the intrigue. He shows the reader that these are far from all the arguments of the woman that she can give by putting an ellipsis after her words. It is possible that this is not the first time they have had this conversation. Although, if it were so, then you can put an ellipsis at the beginning of her words. Perhaps both are well aware that there is nowhere to put the girl, and they are not going to expel her from the house - they are not animals after all. A married couple understands that they are taking on a heavy burden, but this does not bother them at all, they are ready to put up with everything.
Conclusion
Raising a child is not an easy job, and not every person decides to take such a serious step in his life. Even that very rich man for some reason does not want to do this, although he can easily afford to take such a step, but no. He would rather give the money, and there they might help someone. The main thing for him is to be a generous person for the people around him, so that everyone talks about how kind, warm-hearted he is, although in reality he may not be. The poor married couple is well aware that they will have to sacrifice a lot, but give the child warm clothes, a roof over their heads and food, and most importantly, replace blood parents, become a real family.
Of course, there is no room for details in the five sentences. Turgenev does not communicate them to the reader. We have to think things out on our own, but for the most part, everything is so clear. The peasant family itself is not rich. We do not know if the couple has their own children, but we can assume that they really are. That is why the wife is so good-natured and grumbling. It should also be noted that the writer does not name the peasants. On the one hand, one might think that this is a generalization, but on the other hand, in this way he ideally emphasizes the social status of the family and showed that there are a majority of such families in Rus'. Here the contrast becomes even more pronounced - Rothschild, a man with many means of life, has good intentions, but nameless people, peasants, have a huge soul.
Nameless peasants, about whose deeds and deeds the newspapers do not trumpet, and huge crowds of people do not talk about them, have true wealth, a broad soul, which they will share with the girl. This once again emphasizes that the rich man's charity cannot be compared with the nobility of the soul of ordinary people.
You can draw parallels with our time. We often hear on TV, read that some famous person spends his savings on charity, but only a few of them are able to take everything into their own hands and do something worthwhile. The majority only creates the illusion of help, as well as Rothschild in the miniature "Two Rich Men".
As a result of the miniature, the writer adds: "Rothschild is far from this man!" Of course, at the very beginning, he says that he admires the generosity of a person, but such generosity is nothing compared to what ordinary peasants give. To give everything that is - not everyone and not everyone can.
Although the writer himself was from a family of nobles, he had a true, open soul, as evidenced by many of his works, including those collected in the collection Poems in Prose.
Slatykov-Shchedrin once said about Turgenev's stories that after reading them, the soul is literally cleansed. As soon as you finish reading the last line, you immediately breathe easier, believe and feel warm. The same statement of the writer can be called true for the miniature, consisting of only five sentences "Two rich men".
The last works of Ivan Turgenev were published in 1882. These were short notes, reflections and observations from the writer's notebooks. The name of the cycle has changed several times. Initially, the author called the collection “Posthumous”, then wrote in Latin Senilia, which means “Old Man”. But the final version, under which the collection was published, was called "Poems in Prose."
Perhaps this is the best solution. In small texts, the prose of life is comprehended, and then presented in a short lyrical form. The miniatures of the collection do not rhyme, but their language is very poetic. One of the most capacious works of the cycle - "Two rich men". Just a few lines were enough for Turgenev to create a series of images and make the reader think.
The work, written in July 1878, consists of two parts, has a beginning and an ending. It compares the charity of Rothschild and a poor peasant family. The writer notes that the generosity of one of the richest people on the planet deserves admiration, since not all wealthy people give away part of their income "for the upbringing of children, for the treatment of the sick, for the charity of the old". Such good deeds cause praise and tenderness in the writer. But then Turgenev recalls "poor peasant family", which takes into "ruined house" an orphan. A short conversation between husband and wife is full of nobility and spiritual generosity.
How does the billionaire infringe on himself by giving money to the poor? It is unlikely that he feels any changes in his luxurious life. But a peasant family, having sheltered an orphan, will not be able to buy even salt for stew. Is it just about food? Raising a child is hard work. It is necessary not only to clothe, put on shoes and feed, but also to give the girl a particle of the soul, to replace her parents.
Turgenev does not provide details about the peasant family. The reader does not know if they have children of their own. Most likely there is. That is why the woman grumbles good-naturedly. The author does not name the characters either. On the one hand, this approach creates a generalization, on the other hand, it emphasizes the simple social status of the family.
Typically, both say "we", realizing itself as a single whole. Here is a quiet daily feat, the true spiritual wealth of a simple peasant, about whom the newspapers do not ring out all over the world.
Saltykov-Shchedrin said about the works of Turgenev that after reading them, one can breathe easily, believe, and feel warm. This fully applies to the miniature of the five sentences "Two rich men".
- "Fathers and Sons", a summary of the chapters of Turgenev's novel
- "Fathers and Sons", analysis of the novel by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev
- "First Love", a summary of the chapters of Turgenev's story
- "Bezhin Meadow", analysis of the story by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev
The poem was written in 1878 in free form. It consists of only 4 paragraphs and 5 sentences. It talks about two types of rich people. The first rich people have an inexhaustible amount of money, influence and power, and the second rich people have an inexhaustible inner peace and spiritual nobility. The former give a millionth of what they have, while the latter are ready to give everything they have. The author asks the reader a question between the lines of his work - and which of them is better, who is more admired?
At the time of writing the poem, the Rothschild family was already famous throughout the world for its wealth. She was considered one of the richest families in the world, had influence on many countries and their policies. The wealth of this family is truly inexhaustible, and the wives of many Rothschilds, as well as themselves, often occupied themselves with charitable activities throughout the world. Of course, this causes approval, especially since their projects are truly great and significant.
It is difficult to judge the motives for charity of such rich people - why do they build nursing homes and feed the poor. Why are thousands allocated from huge incomes for the maintenance of orphans and educational programs. Perhaps to become even more famous, or perhaps to “powder” their bad deeds, or maybe one of them really had a kind and compassionate heart then. The author expresses these questions in a nutshell: “I praise and am touched.”
Parallel to the charity of the Rothschilds, the author cites a conversation between an ordinary Russian woman and her husband. They decide whether to take the orphan to their support. The woman says that they don’t even have enough food, and that there won’t even be anything to salt their miserable stew. To this her husband replied that they would eat her unsalted. And there are many such families and people in Russia who took homeless children to raise, depriving themselves of the small income they had. Such sacrificial people delight the author, and their wealth seems to him much more attractive than all the Rothschild money that they donated.
Comparing an ordinary Russian peasant with a world magnate, the author concludes that magnates are inferior in their wealth. And until the magnate gives up all his wealth to the extent that he even has nothing to salt his food with, until then Rothschild will lose to a Russian peasant who is ready to give the last to someone else's child. Thus, the wealth of the Russian soul becomes more valuable than the material wealth of many rich people, including the Rothschilds.
Option 2
“To help another person, it is not necessary to be rich, it is enough to be kind,” says wisdom.
In the poem “Two Rich Men”, I. S. Turgenev, by giving a clear example, reflects on the essence of being, philosophizes about the meaning of life and universal values.
Two main characters, two destinies, two rungs of the social ladder, two rich people. Who is really the richest?
One rich man of a noble family, high position in society. He moves money around without knowing the account. Helping the disadvantaged is a good reason for him to raise a fuss in society, once again confirming his status as a "benefactor".
The wealth of the second is a noble and kind soul in the body of a simple peasant, peasant. Uneducated, immersed in routine hard work, far from grandiloquent phrases and public deeds. He is ready to accept an extra mouth into his "ruined house", despite the scarcity of his being.
The peasant's wife, whom the author of the poem calls "a woman", emphasizing her social level and simplicity, has doubts about the "orphan - niece." But even doubting her mind, in her heart she herself understands that saving a child is much more important than possible difficulties. After all, despite the fact that the lack of salt in the house was considered a sign of extreme poverty, you can eat unsalted food and not die of hunger.
In this "wretched peasant family" there is amazing harmony: the husband and wife do not use the selfish "I" when thinking about their future existence, everywhere they use the pronoun "we". They decide everything together.
Both understand that the decision to take the girl into their family entails a certain burden of material problems, but they don’t even think about leaving her to the mercy of fate.
Giving a small part of his financial well-being to those in need, the banker does not feel disadvantaged in anything. His life remains the same and does not undergo any changes for the worse. Vice versa.
Rothschild's charity causes a wide resonance in society: they admire him, thank him, his popularity and level of trust increase, which has a positive effect on the growth of the well-being of the banker's family. Image is of great importance at any time, in any society.
The family of peasants gives the last thing they have in order to change the life of an orphan for the better. And besides her, no one will thank them for it. No one will know or publicize this selfless act. No one will consider it weighty and significant.
Taking on the upbringing of someone else's child is hard work. Not every person will be able to do this. Even the same banker. He could have adopted more than one child, but no! It is better to give money, let them help someone impersonal. After all, giving away material things is much easier than putting your heart and soul into upbringing, replacing a child with parents, becoming a real family. This is real wealth. Wealth of the soul.
The idea that the spiritual is much more important than the material, Turgenev is trying to convey to readers.
That is why he is so categorical in the last phrase of his work: “Rothschild is far from this peasant!”
Two rich men - Analysis for grade 7
In his poems in prose, I.S. Turgenev reflects on the destiny of man in life, on the essence of everything on this earth.
"Two rich men" - a lyrical miniature compares the generosity of two opposite sides in terms of life position. One - shares a part of his uncountable wealth: “spends on treatment”, “spends on education”, “spends on recognition”. Another - you have to eat unsalted food, because. there simply won't be enough money for salt if they take an orphan Katya into the house. The expenses of a poor peasant family seem at first glance to be completely insignificant. But it's not like that at all. Help, having untold wealth is much easier. Spending on personal needs in this case is unlikely to be reduced, which means that they will be invisible and imperceptible for Rothschild. While the refusal of the peasants in this work from salty food, the act is much more significant. Only people with a rich inner world are capable of this.
Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev admires the spiritual greatness of the simple Russian people. The author sings of spiritual wealth and spiritual beauty, he does not speak out about any side in particular, but the final phrase: “Rothschild is far from this peasant!” speaks for itself. Only the strong in spirit are capable of self-sacrifice. After reading the miniature “Two Rich Men”, faith appears.
Analysis of the poem Two rich men according to plan
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