Indifference becomes the norm. Literary arguments

Very often, people strive to be the center of attention, they want others to help them, so that they are not indifferent to them in a certain situation. However, by demanding interest from others, people do not want to give their attention in return. Most of humanity is simply indifferent to the fate of others. But what does it mean to be indifferent? In my opinion, to be indifferent means not to show interest in anything, not to feel any emotions in relation to others. I believe that a person who is indifferent to people close to him is also a sinner. After all, indifference is the pinnacle of inhumanity.

Recall the story of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov "Ionych". At the very beginning, Dmitry Ionych Startsev appears before us as a narcissist, capable of sincere feelings man. Having met the Turkin family, Dmitry Ionych falls in love with their only daughter, Ekaterina.

Experiencing for Turkina the most wonderful feeling that a person can only feel - love, Startsev confesses his feelings to her. Having been refused, the shocked Startsev loses heart, his pride disappears. A little later, Ekaterina leaves to study in Moscow, and Dmitry Ionych calms down and begins to change for the worse. He becomes richer, has his own view of things, he no longer likes anything. The former responsiveness disappears and indifference takes its place. Desire to earn more money, that's what drives them now. Everything that was dear to him before, no longer matters now. I condemn Startsev because, after all, he is a doctor, and a doctor is one of those professions where a person, in principle, should not remain indifferent to others.

One should never become indifferent to everything because of certain emotional upheavals.

However, a person does not always become indifferent due to failures in love. Let us turn to another story by A.P. Chekhov "Gooseberry". Nikolay Ivanovich Chimsha-Gimalaysky dreams of his own plot with gooseberries. Having set this goal for himself, he stubbornly goes towards it and this deserves praise. But being overly carried away by the achievement of his goal, he becomes indifferent. He ceases to worry about the fate of the people around him. For his own benefit, he marries a wealthy widow. Taking her as his wife and taking her dowry, he lives as he is used to, almost starving. And if he is able to live like that, then his wife is not. He was indifferent to her condition, he did not care about her fate. Soon his wife dies. Nikolai Ivanovich, in turn, does not feel any guilt. I just can't imagine how indifferent you have to be in order not to feel guilty about the death of a person and not regret it. To be indifferent to such an extent is the pinnacle of inhumanity.

In conclusion, I want to say that indifference in any manifestations is fatal. Because an indifferent person is dead in his soul. That is why, be responsive!

Composition

"Indifference is a paralysis of the soul, premature death”, - considered A.P. Chekhov. This man, who started his professional activity from a career as a doctor, and then becoming one of the most famous writers on a global scale, it was indifference that he considered the disease of his time.

Back in the 18th century, A. N. Radishchev wrote in his “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”: “I looked around me - my soul became wounded by human suffering.” Under these words, in my opinion, Chekhov could also sign with full confidence. But he, as a deeply caring person, was worried about the causes of human suffering. I think that he saw them in a person's indifference to himself, his highest destiny and, as a result, indifference to everything around him.

Chekhov notices with pain that his contemporaries are afraid to live, not to exist. Life seems to them hostile, ready at every moment to deprive the most dear, valuable, dear. Therefore, people close themselves, hide, invent all sorts of "cases" for themselves. And they do not notice how they die in them, turn into living mummies. A good example of such an attitude to life is the hero of the story "The Man in the Case" Belikov.

This person teaches at the gymnasium. He must educate, pass on experience, teach life. But what can he convey if he "consists" of continuous rules, moralizing, circulars? In this gray little man, consisting entirely of cases (“And his umbrella was in a case, and his watch was in a case of gray suede, and when he took out a penknife to sharpen a pencil, his knife was in a case; and his face seemed , was also in a case”), there was no life left. He existed by inertia, finding an outlet only in the "dead" (!) languages ​​that he taught.

Chekhov shows that Belikov has long turned into a walking mummy. And he died from one single contact with life - in the face of Varenka Kovalenko. It was because of her that Belikov “opened his case” a little, felt something for the girl, reminiscent of live emotion. And... couldn't take it.

Of course, teacher Belikov is a pathological example. Most people do not bring themselves to such a state, but that everyone has cases in which they close themselves from life, Chekhov was sure. The most common "case" is indifference.

In the story "Gooseberry" we meet a man who devoted his whole life to the realization of his dream. You say, “What's wrong with that? This is wonderful!" Yes, but the dream deprived Nikolai of the opportunity to enjoy life, to notice other people.

Chimsha-Himalayan dreamed of his small estate - a house with a plot of land. And he certainly wanted gooseberries to grow in him. This sour inconspicuous berry has become a symbol of the meaning of the hero's life, his dreams - the same gray, everyday, miserable.

The hero methodically worked in order to take refuge in his declining years, to retire in the countryside, to confine himself to the life of a small landowner. The narrator, and with him the author, are amazed and indignant at this: “To leave the city, from the struggle, from the noise of life, to leave and hide in one’s estate - this is not life, this is selfishness, laziness, this is a kind of monasticism, but monasticism without deed." The author is deeply convinced that “a person needs not three arshins of land, not an estate, but the whole Earth, all nature, where in the open space he could manifest all the properties and features of his free spirit.

But people forgot about it. They hide in their "cases", hiding behind indifference to everything that does not concern them.

Moreover, more terrible actions grow out of indifference. So, the hero of the story married an old ugly widow who had money, literally starved her, and when she died, he bought an estate with her money and “healed happily ever after”. Nobody and nothing interested him anymore.

The heroes of the story "About Love", at first glance, are intelligent and decent people. But they are infected with indifference, first of all, to themselves. They do not pay attention, they stifle real, deep feelings in themselves, bowing their heads before conventions and stereotypes.

Indeed, it is much easier to live this way than to struggle every minute with the routine and dullness that often surrounds people in Everyday life. Such a struggle is akin to a feat, Chekhov is well aware of this. But if you "go with the flow", not trying to change anything, then a person will face inevitable death, moral and physical degradation.

This happened to the hero of the story "Ionych". From a young promising doctor, Dmitry Ionych Startsev turned into a flabby, grumpy old man, whose whole being was occupied only by mundane, petty interests (food, cards, money).

It is because of their indifference that people lose the most precious thing, what they value most. The heroes of the play The Cherry Orchard”, for example, - Ranevskaya and Gaev - lost their estate, their homeland, along with it - their past and present, which means they lost their lives.

Thus, I believe that it was indifference that A.P. Chekhov considered "the disease of the century." Indifferent people turn, according to the writer, into Walking Dead. And they “help” them in this transformation with “cases” that they create for themselves, in which they hide from life with its troubles and joys. And as a result - multiplying misfortunes and suffering, to which the townsfolk do not care - "if only they were not touched by life." But in this way people impoverish not only the world, but also themselves, they are deprived of the most precious gift - a full life. Chekhov speaks about this in his stories, calling not to be afraid, not to hide, but to live, breathing deeply.

Other writings on this work

After Chekhov's death, L. N. Tolstoy said: “The merit of his work is that it is understandable and akin not only to every Russian, but to every person in general. And that's the main thing." The subject of Chekhov's research is inner world person. Chekhov wrote many stories and is rightfully considered a master short story, on twenty pages he succeeds in posing and revealing the enormous problems that mankind has always faced, such as the problems of human happiness, true love, hoarding and indifference. Chekhov opens public ulcers and abscesses, shows them to the world in all his disgusting essence. The writer wants to awaken all the best in a person, sometimes sleeping under a thick, stale crust of indifference, selfishness and narrow-mindedness. In such stories as "Gooseberry", "Ionych", Chekhov shows the danger of possible moral indifference, decay, philistine way of life. From young and energetic people who can do a lot of useful things in life, perhaps even transform the world by making it better, they turn out to be fat and flabby creatures, apathetic and indifferent to everything, for whom all life has turned into a few arshins of earth or into crisp pieces of paper. A person cannot be happy on a piece of land, he needs space, he needs the whole world. Chekhov calls for every person not to be closed in on his petty deeds and problems, so that he does not remain indifferent to the fate of others. It is necessary that every happy person standing outside the door with a hammer and reminded how much misfortune remains in the world.

The story "Ionych" describes the degradation of a person under the influence of the environment: a young talented and energetic doctor imperceptibly turns into an apathetic layman who accumulates capital.

Nothing remains of the lofty ideals of youth, and Startsev dreams only of a calm and well-fed life. Startsev arrives in the city of S. as a young talented doctor, with high ideals and thoughts, with a desire for something extraordinary, he loved to sing: “When I had not yet drunk tears from the cup of being ...” Then Startsev tried with all his might to be useful people, he almost never visited the city, he devoted all his time to work. Work was for him the meaning of life, for her he was ready to sacrifice free time giving up entertainment. He works a lot, not knowing rest, monotonous everyday life, filled with endless patients, at first does not annoy Startsev at all. He is advised, as an intelligent person, to visit the Turkins' house. The “talent” of the most educated Turkin family in the city of S. was, in fact, imaginary. Startsev fell in love with the daughter of the Turkins, Ekaterina Ivanovna, whom the family called and funny name Kitty. Dmitry Ionych was ready for a lot for the sake of his love, he even went to a meeting in the evening at the cemetery, like a yellow-mouthed schoolboy, but Kotik refused him, imagining herself a brilliant pianist. Startsev's waiting scene is full of tragedy. As soon as the moon went under the clouds, everything darkened, but it darkened not only around, the curtain fell on Startsev's soul, leaving only Ionych.

Returning Ekaterina found a completely different Startsev, Startsev, who becomes embarrassed for past love, dreams, hopes. Every time, remembering how he wandered around the cemetery or how he traveled all over the city in search of a tailcoat, Ionych lazily stretched and said: “How much trouble, however!” The current Startsev already thinks only about dowry, his main hobby is counting crisp pieces of paper. Then, in his younger years, Startsev grieved only three days after Kotik's departure. During the second meeting in the garden, in Startsev’s soul, a kind of small flame lit up, capable of flaring up, dispelling the veil in his soul, but the thought of pieces of paper, pleasantly rustling in his hands, extinguished this flame forever. In the next few years, Startsev became even more stout, obese, now he breathes heavily and already walks with his head thrown back. He has a troika, several houses and a bank account. Now this is an ordinary overweight layman, indifferent and callous, a kind of Ionych.

The transformation of the energetic Startsev into Ionych takes place gradually. At first, he experiences a pleasant languor, sitting in the easy chairs of the Turkins, doing nothing. Startsev earns more and more money, his well-being is growing. He buys a chaise, stops walking. Gradually, he is drawn into the life of urban society, which consisted entirely of the townsfolk, previously so despised by him. Previously favorably distinguished from the inhabitants of the city by the ardor of feelings and hot movements of the soul, Startsev is changing radically, now he condescendingly looks at his former young impulses, thoughts of love and work are ridiculous to him. Physical obesity creeps up imperceptibly, as well as moral. That inactive and useless life led by the cream of urban society did not suit Startsev, but it became the everyday life of Ionych. The degradation of such a person as Startsev looks all the more terrible, because he was fully aware of his fall and did not resist it. Complaining about environment He nevertheless puts up with her. Nothing could bring Ionych out of his spiritual hibernation, but for Startsev there was a way out, he could still change his life by devoting himself to Catherine and serving medicine, without at all turning medicine into a profitable business for his pocket. Startsev could live his life very worthily. There is nothing more dreary and useless than the life of people like Ionych.

A.P. Chekhov warned us, readers, against spiritual decay and stupefaction, emphasizing that one should not submit to the influence of a destructive environment. After all, there is nothing worse than decay, decomposition human personality. In the story "Ionych" A.P. Chekhov masterfully described new form public disease - the degradation of the individual.

The work of A.P. Chekhov is a new stage in the development of Russian literature. In his works, the writer continued to consider the problem of personality and environment.

The first realists believed that the environment was to blame for the disintegration of the personality. A.P. Chekhov, along with F.M. Dostoevsky, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin prove that the person himself is responsible for his own destiny.

The problem of personality and environment is widely posed in the story "Ionych" (1898). The story consists of five chapters. Each chapter is a kind of milestone in the life story of the protagonist. In the first chapter, a young doctor Dmitry Ionovich Startsev arrives in the county town of Delezzh to work as a zemstvo doctor. He meets the most educated family in the district - the Turkins.

The head of the family - Ivan Petrovich - is considered a witty man, a joker. He is a master at witticisms. He is always the soul of society. Ivan Petrovich's favorite word is "not bad". His wife, Vera Iosifovna, considers herself talented writer. In the evenings, she reads her story to the guests, which invariably begins with the words “The frost was getting stronger ...”. At this time, from the open windows came the sound of knives and fried onions. All the guests were in anticipation of a hearty dinner.

The Turkins' daughter Katya, Kotik, dreams of being a pianist and studying at the Moscow Conservatory. Playing this instrument, she hit the keys so hard that Dmitry Ionych imagined a stormy stone stream rushing down the mountain.

few bright colors A.P. Chekhov draws a typical philistine family. What should a young man feel here intelligent person? Most likely disgust. But already in the first chapter, the author shows that the gap between the world of the inhabitants and internal state the hero is not that great. Dmitry Ionovich is already close to entering this environment. The second chapter tells about Startsev's romantic date at the cemetery, which never took place. You can easily imagine the feelings, thoughts, mood of the hero who goes on a date with his girlfriend. But A.P. Chekhov constantly debunks the “high” way of thinking of his hero. There is silence around, sharp steps are heard, dogs howl. In this situation, Startsev thinks: “Oh, you shouldn’t put on weight.”

The third chapter is the climax of the story. Dmitry Ionovich finally decided to propose to Kotik. It's worth a beautiful day. The hero comes to the Turkins. But it seems to him that it is too early to talk with her about his feelings. He ends up proposing late at night in someone else's tailcoat. The cat refuses. She believes that she has a bright future ahead of her. Startsev is furious, for three days he was not himself.

In the fourth chapter, the hero meets the Kitty. Several years have passed. The heroine returned from Moscow, she realized that she could not be a pianist. New meeting going on in the garden. But how have both characters changed? The writer no longer describes the state of nature. It was only said that it was dark. The words “the light lit up, flared up and went out” are repeated several times.

Now Kotik is trying to return the departed feelings, he confesses his love to Dmitry Ionych. But he remains cold and indifferent to her words. Startsev has not believed in true love. The hero opened a large private practice in the city. Allows himself to yell at the sick.

The fifth chapter is an epilogue. This is a kind of summary of the life of the protagonist. He sits solemnly on his britzka in a rich velvet caftan, beats the coachman. The language of words was replaced by the sound of a stick. Ionych already has an estate in two houses, but this is not enough for the hero. He “has become even more stout, fat, breathes heavily, walks with his head thrown back.”

In many ways, Ionych now resembles “ pagan god". His throat was filled with fat. When the hero is told about the Turkins, he casually drops: “What kind of Turkins are you talking about? Is it about those that the daughter plays the piano?”

This story has special connotation. Even the plot is symbolic. This is a kind of novel, because it shows the formation of personality from beginning to end. Each chapter is separated from the previous one by a certain period of time. At the same time, the hero falls down the moral ladder every time, lower and lower.

The composition itself emphasizes the degradation of the hero. In the last, fifth chapter, the author narrates in the present tense. It is here that the attitude of the writer to his hero is openly expressed: “greed has overcome”, “screams with his unpleasant voice”. Chekhov knows the end of Startsev's story. Therefore, he tells the story in retrospect.

The author shows what conditions influenced the hero and what qualities he developed in himself. The words “already”, “now”, “before” sound persistently. Chekhov collides in his short story different time periods. This is how the inner unity of all stages of the hero's life is achieved. At the same time, a noticeable time period (more than ten years) falls on a small volume of the work. Time correlates with the motionless philistine way of life. The author reinforces the impression of repetition, repetition with such words as “every time”, “as before”, “they also said”, “every autumn”. The writer describes the same situations, postures, gestures of the characters. For example, the lackey Pava takes a learned tragic pose (“Die, unhappy!”), Ivan Petrovich repeats his jokes many times, Vera Iosifovna reads novels to guests in the evenings. Chekhov does not say what exactly Katerina Ivanovna performed, but conveys with exact epithets the impression of her playing: “long”, “difficult”, “noisy”, “monotonous”.

Detail is of particular importance in the story. This is the smell of fried onions in the Turkins' house as a symbol of philistinism, multi-colored pieces of paper, which, out of irrepressible greed, Ionych takes out of all his pockets. These are the casual remarks of the writer ("he did not yet have his own horses"). These are portrait sketches: Startsev's descriptions in the fifth chapter (“chubby, red, with a fleshy nape”, “straight, wooden hands”, “thin, shrill voice”).

All these details speak directly to copyright to the image of Startsev. In addition, the image of Startsev's britzka is also important. If in the first chapter this hero walked, sang lines from classical romances, then in the fifth he already has his own “troika with bells”, his coachman Panteleimon.

The landscape is of particular importance for revealing the image of the protagonist. The radiance of the moon at the cemetery, the mysterious silence, “wide alleys”, “sleepy trees” speak of eternal, enduring values. The Turkins' garden is sad in autumn, it's raining lightly. This is a kind of symbol of the monotonous provincial life lost hopes.

Chekhov also uses the so-called “minus technique”. The landscape is absent when Katerina Ivanovna confesses her love to the already changed Startsev. It was as dark in the garden as it was in Startsev's soul.

The title of the story is also symbolic. At first, the hero was called Dmitry Ionych, did not communicate with the townsfolk. Everyone called him a “Pole” not for his importance and puffiness, but for his dissimilarity to others. But the same townsfolk called him simply Ionych. This name has become a kind of symbol of inertia, degradation, isolation, greed.

With this story, Chekhov undermines the foundations of petty-bourgeois society from within. All artistic and visual means of the work are subordinated to one task - the description of the degradation of the personality of the protagonist. Not only the environment is to blame for this, but the hero himself. His moral baggage is small, internally he has long since merged with society.

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Why did Startsev become Ionych? (According to the story of A.P. Chekhov "Ionych")
1. Pictures of petty-bourgeois life. 2. Hopes and aspirations of young Startsev. 3. The emptiness of Ionych's life.

The story of A.P. Chekhov "Ionych" shows us a picture of a typical petty-bourgeois life. The writer does not invent or embellish anything, he depicts the reality that we are well aware of. Indeed, despite the fact that Pavlovich Chekhov did not live in our century, the world shown to him in stories and stories, in general, differs little from our reality. Let progress develop and science go forward, but the life of a simple man in the street, this notorious " little man' doesn't change much.

The life of the Turkin family in the story "Ionych" is simple and unpretentious. Everyone is busy with something that brings him joy and satisfaction. Life in a small town is boring and dull. On the background local residents Turkins look like educated and interesting people. At least, this is how young Dmitry Ionych Startsev, who has just arrived in the city, thinks about them.

On the one hand, Turkinykh is the personification of philistinism and vulgarity. They try to appear educated and intelligent. In fact, this is only a myth, a closer look allows us to better understand the whole essence of these supposedly educated and interesting people. The novels that Vera Iosifovna writes are extremely stupid. She's stupid, but she doesn't understand it. Turkin's daughter, Katya, considers herself talented musician. She is sure that music is her calling. In fact, Ekaterina Ivanovna plays mediocre. She has no talent or ability. However, she stubbornly refuses to acknowledge it.

Dmitry Startsev met Ekaterina Turkina when the girl was still in the prime of her youth. Katya knew little about life, but she was not satisfied with the way her own parents live. The girl dreamed of something better, which is what she meant when she said that "an empty, useless life" was not for her.

Chekhov does not accidentally introduce young doctor Startsev with the Turkins. Of course, there are many people in the city. But we only know about the Turkin family. They, as it were, personify that philistine environment, which Dr. Startsev later likens. But in my subjective opinion, the Turkin Chekhov family is portrayed not only and not so much in order to emphasize all the wretchedness and grayness of the local residents. After all, you can also say that the Turkins in their own way resist this miserable and gray life. They try to decorate their existence, even if their attempts are useless.

At first, Dmitry Ionych was fascinated by the Turkin family. He falls in love with Katya. But gets rejected. Catherine does not want to tie the knot precisely because she does not want a repetition of the fate of her parents. The girl has secret hopes and desires, which she cannot refuse. Catherine is sure that if she marries Startsev, then nothing good will certainly happen in her life. Of course, Ekaterina Turkina did not go too far from her parents, judging by her abilities. She is sure that her vocation is music, but she herself does not possess significant talent. On the other hand, the very desire of the girl to somehow change her fate, in my opinion, deserves respect.

Startsev was upset because Katerina refused him. But he did not have much love for Catherine, so he quickly forgot about this annoying episode. The next meeting took place a few years later. And now Startsev experienced only joy because the marriage did not take place. “When they entered the house and Startsev saw in the evening illumination her face and sad, grateful, searching eyes turned on him, he felt uneasy and thought again:“ It’s good that I didn’t get married then.

Deserve the most close attention changes that have taken place with Dr. Startsev. When we first get to know him, he is full of hope and strength, the world seems bright and interesting to him. But over time, all feelings cool down, and Dmitry Ionych worries only about his own gain. Ionych has nothing in life that could captivate and warm him. Spiritual degradation of Ionych occurs very quickly. He changes even outwardly, becomes fat and clumsy.

Why did Dr. Startsev become Ionych? Is the environment to blame? On the one hand, of course, to blame. Immediately after arriving at small town Startsev finds himself in a dull, boring and uninteresting environment. He himself was still full of strength, hope, energy. But all the best thoughts were not destined to come true.

In my opinion, it is not enough to blame the environment for turning Startsev into Ionych. Undoubtedly, the philistine environment has an impact on a person. But we see that Ionych from the very beginning did not make the slightest attempt to somehow change his life. We see that all members of the Turkin family do not shine with intelligence and talent. However, one way or another, they somehow try to decorate their gray existence. In my opinion, both Ivan Petrovich and Vera Iosifovna, and, moreover,

Ekaterina Ivanovna, seem to be quite normal and even nice people, unlike Ionych, who is degrading so quickly. It is noteworthy that it was Ionych, unlike other residents of the town, who could escape from the bourgeois environment that was engulfing like a swamp. Indeed, at the very beginning, Dr. Startsev was eager to help others. The profession of a doctor is much more rewarding than a lot of other professions. And so Ionych could devote his life to people, then there would be meaning in his life. However, he did not. The only thing that Ionych began to worry about was the pursuit of profit, and a constant one at that. Is it any wonder that the spiritual degradation of this man took place.

There must be something exciting and beautiful in a person's life. Otherwise, life turns into a painful existence and loses its meaning. If you look closely at the Turkins, it becomes clear that in their life there is a desire for something that goes beyond the ordinary. Of course, they do nothing significant and useful. In addition, they are deprived of any abilities and talents. However, the mediocre novels of Vera Iosifovna make her life more interesting. Ekaterina Ivanovna's passion for music also fills her life with meaning.

When Ionych, after a long break, again finds himself at the Turkins, he thinks about another novel Vera Iosifovna: “It is not the one who cannot write stories that is incompetent, but the one who writes them and cannot hide it.” Of course, he is right if you look at things in terms of the presence or absence of talent. However, why is Ionych better than Vera Iosifovna? What does he personally do useful? Nothing. So what right does he have to condemn others ... If we talk about Vera Iosifovna, she writes "about what never happens in life." Writing for her is an opportunity to get away from the gray reality, to feel at least a little happier.

If we talk about Ekaterina Ivanovna, then at the beginning of the story we see her as a young, naive and enthusiastic girl. Then Catherine grows up, parting with youthful dreams. However, even now there is a naivety in it. Otherwise, she would have a better understanding of people. Ekaterina Ivanovna now considers Ionych special person. “You are the best person I have known in my life,” says Ekaterina Ionychu. But if you think about it, what's good about it? Does he burn with the desire to help others, does he worry about the sick? No, nothing like that. We see the true essence of Ionych, we see that his life is a painful hopeless existence. Patients are of interest to Ionych only for the simple reason that his profit depends on them.

Ionych himself admits that his life is empty. Here is how he responds about it: “You are asking how I am doing. How are we doing here? No way. We grow old, we grow fat, we fall. Day and night - a day away, life passes dully, without impressions, without thoughts ... During the day, profit, and in the evening a club, a society of gamblers, alcoholics, wheezing, whom I cannot stand. What's good?

Ionych lives without love, joy. Once he was in love with Ekaterina Ivanovna. But then not a single woman evoked tender feelings in him. The next meeting with Catherine did not cause any emotions in him at all. The soul of Ionych hardened. Nothing now pleases him and does not interest him. Ionych's only joy is the ability to count money.

In my opinion, the spiritual degradation of Ionych is inevitable. Indeed, even in his youth, immediately after he fell in love with Ekaterina Ivanovna, Startsev thought about a possible dowry. What can be said here? The fact that Startsev has always been a selfish and indifferent person. Therefore, he so easily turned into a vulgar layman.