Literature Lesson Novel by Prosper Merimee "Matteo Falcone". "Methods of revealing characters in the story of Prosper Merime" Matteo Falcone What is the main thing in the life of Matteo Falcone

France, 1829; On the eve of the decisive clash between two irreconcilable literary parties - the "classics" and the "romantics" - novels by Prosper Merimee began to appear in the press. Contemporaries noted precisely romantic features in them: exotic material, depiction of exceptional passions and "unheard of incidents." But, looking closely at the short stories, they discovered in the unusual "iron" logic, determined by the conditions of time and place. This is what Mateo Falcone remembered - the work of a romantic who overcame romanticism.

The name of Prosper Merimee (1803-1870) is of particular importance for Russian literature. “I read “Merimee Chronique de Charles IX” (“Chronicle of the reign of Charles IX” by Merimee), writes L.N. Tolstoy in his diary. “His strange mental connection with Pushkin.” This connection was two-sided: Pushkin translated songs from "Guzly" Merimee (1927), Merimee translated Pushkin's poems and prose into French. Pushkin called Merimee "a sharp and original writer", and his works - "extremely wonderful and deep." Merimee, as I. Turgenev recalled, considered Pushkin the greatest poet of his era. What Mérimée praised Pushkin for is also inherent in himself: “While owning a wonderful instrument and being able to play wonderfully on it, he still never exchanged for variations, but always searched for a real melody”; "Its simplicity and ease is the result of exquisite craftsmanship."

The denouement of "Mateo Falcone" is incredible and terrible: the father kills his own little son. But it is not romantic passions that lead to disaster. It matures in everyday phenomena, becomes a natural consequence of a number of reasons.

Here is Mateo Falcone, a wealthy Corsican, going to poppies look at his sheep, and his son, ten-year-old Fortunato, remains to guard the house. father is human poppies, a mountainous area covered with dense, impenetrable thickets of mixed trees and shrubs. IN poppies, the abode of shepherds and fugitive robbers, the tribal way of life, rooted in ancient times, has been preserved intact. The rights of wealth here are relative, limited to the rights of the dagger and gun; but the force of custom is immutable here. Mateo Falcone is true to tradition and content with what he has. Amazing accuracy in shooting and a stern, adamant disposition serve the honor and glory of his family, and he does not need more.

What about Fortunato? His very name means “lucky”. They say about the boy that he gives “already great hopes”, they predict him: “You will go far.” Indeed, Fortunato is extremely dexterous, quick-witted, prudent. First of all, prudent. in the sun waiting for his father - what does he dream about? About a Sunday trip to the city to his uncle, a corporal: there gifts await him - the blessings of civilization. It is obvious that Fortunato is becoming crowded within the narrow confines of custom poppies. The aspirations of father and son - albeit in small things so far - diverge.

But shots are heard - not such a rare occurrence in the vicinity poppies. These shots herald a decisive test for the son, a decisive choice for the father. The wounded bandit Giannetto Sanpiero asks for asylum in Falcone's house: government shooters - voltigeurs - are chasing him on the heels. It is clear that if Mateo were at home, he would give Giannetto shelter without further ado - following the law of hospitality. And the son is bargaining: "... What will you give me if I hide you?"; He smiles not at the guest, but at the sight of a five-franc coin. For this fee, Fortunato hides the robber, but already an attempt to benefit from the sacred custom of hospitality is the first step to betrayal .

Fortunato will commit a betrayal - not out of fear (the boy is brave and only fears his father in the whole world), not out of stupidity (having been interrogated by the sergeant of the voltigeurs, the boy brilliantly fends off all his tricks and threats). Young Falcone was destroyed by the passion for commerce and the desire to excel. At the sight of a silver watch, which bribes his sergeant, Fortunato instantly loses all his mind and common sense. The sergeant’s mockery becomes the argument that finished him off: “… Your uncle’s son already has a watch… though not as beautiful as these… but he’s younger than you.” yields to criminal temptation.

Let us note what a storm of emotions the sight of the watch evokes in him: “His bare chest heaved heavily - it seemed that he would suffocate now”; it was in this style that they wrote about romantic passions in the era of Merimee. bourgeois world But in order to rush to where he is drawn, the boy must transcend the laws of the patriarchal world, must become a traitor.

All this is guessed by the angry father - already after the voltigeurs take away the arrested robber. "Good start!" - Mateo Falcone says with formidable irony, making it clear to his son that he turned off the straight path that all his ancestors followed. “Is this my child?” Mateo asks his wife as he smashes the clock, payment for dishonor, on the stone. And, finally, the verdict sounds: "... This child was the first in our family to become a traitor."

“The first in our family…” - from these words it is clear that the murder of a son is not a whim of a villain-father, not a step of desperation, not an act of madness or even anger. Mateo Falcone simply had no other choice. He is responsible not only for his honor but also for the honor of the family; the good name of the ancestors - many, many generations - that is what is decided on this ill-fated day for the Falcone family. Spitting on the traitorous threshold of the Mateo house, the robber Giannetto has already deprived the Falcone family of the future; the business of the head of the family is to save the past from shame And this is possible only at the cost of sacrifice.

Having shot his son, Mateo utters a calm phrase: “We must tell my son-in-law, Teodor Bianchi, to come to live with us” - but what does this phrase mean? So what is the reason for the death of the one who was supposed to continue the Falcone family, what is the reason for the decline of the Falcone family?In the irreconcilable clash of father and son who found themselves in different worlds: the father - who remained in the world of patriarchal antiquity, and the son - who stepped into the world of bourgeois enterprise , the collision that killed them both.

Questions and tasks

• Compare the words of Gogol's Taras Bulba: "I gave birth to you, I will kill you" with the words of Mateo Falcone addressed to his wife: "Leave me. I am his father!” With what intonation would you say these phrases? Which one is more romantic?
• Compare the characters of Taras Bulba and Mateo Falcone, Andria and Fortunato.
• Why did Fortunato commit treason? Is it random or natural? Justify your answer.
• Why did Mateo kill his son? Did he have a choice?
• Draw a metaphorical juxtaposition of the landscape poppies with the characters of Mateo and Giannetto.
• What is the metaphorical role of Sergeant Gamba's silver watch in Merime's short story?

Novella by Prosper Mérimée "Matteo Falcone"

One early autumn morning, Matteo and his wife went to poppies look at their flocks that were grazing in the clearing. Little Fortunato wanted to go with them, but the pasture was too far away, someone had to stay behind to guard the house, and his father did not take him with him. From what follows it will be seen how he had to repent of that.

1 stop

Several hours had passed since they left; little Fortunato lay quietly in the very sun and, looking at the blue mountains, thought that next Sunday he would go to dinner in the city with his uncle caporale , when suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a gunshot. He jumped up and turned towards the plain where the sound had come from. Again, at irregular intervals, shots were heard, closer and closer; Finally, on the path leading from the plain to Matteo's house, a man appeared, covered with tatters, overgrown with a beard, in a pointed hat, such as mountaineers wear. He could hardly move his legs, leaning on the gun. He had just been shot in the thigh.

2 stop

He was a bandit who, having gone to the city at night for gunpowder, was ambushed by Corsican voltigeurs 1 . He fired furiously and eventually managed to escape from the chase, hiding behind the ledges of rocks. But he was not much ahead of the soldiers: the wound did not allow him to run to poppies.

He approached Fortunato and asked:

-Are you Matteo Falcone's son?

Yes.

- I am Giannetto Sanpiero. The yellow collars are chasing me. Hide me, I can't go anymore.

- What will my father say if I hide you without his permission?

- He will say that you did well.

How to know!

- Hide me quickly, they're coming here!

- Wait until your father returns.

- Wait? Damn! Yes, they'll be here in five minutes. Come on, hide me quickly, or I'll kill you!

Fortunato answered him with complete composure:

-Your gun is unloaded, and in your carchera no more ammo.

I have a dagger.

- Where can you follow me!

In one leap, he was out of danger.

- No, you are not the son of Matteo Falcone! Are you going to allow me to be captured outside your house?

This must have had an effect on the boy.

Voltigeurs- here: mounted soldiers.

3 stop

- What will you give me if I hide you? he asked, approaching.

The bandit rummaged in a leather bag hanging from his belt and pulled out a five-franc coin, which he probably hid to buy gunpowder. Fortunato smiled at the sight of the silver coin; he seized her and said to Giannetto:

Don't be afraid of anything.

4 stop

Immediately he made a large hole in a haystack that stood near the house. Giannetto curled up in it, and the boy covered it with hay so that the air penetrated there and he had something to breathe. It would never have occurred to anyone that someone was hidden in the mop. In addition, with the cunning of a savage, he came up with another trick. He brought a cat with kittens and put it on the hay so that it looked as if it had not been stirred for a long time. Then, noticing traces of blood on the path near the house, he carefully covered them with earth and again, as if nothing had happened, stretched out in the sun.

A few minutes later, six riflemen in brown uniforms with yellow collars, under the command of a sergeant, were already standing in front of Matteo's house. This sergeant was a distant relative of Falcone. (It is known that in Corsica more than anywhere else they are considered kinship.) His name was Teodoro Gamba. He was a very active man, a storm of bandits, whom he caught quite a few.

Hello, nephew! he said, going up to Fortunato. - How did you grow up! Has anyone passed by here just now?

Well, uncle, I'm not as big as you yet! - answered the boy with a simple-hearted look.<…>

Ah, rogue! You are cunning! Answer quickly, where did Giannetto go, we are looking for him. He walked this path, I'm sure of it.

How much do I know?

How much do you know? And I know that you saw him.

Do you see passers-by when you sleep?

You haven't slept, you bastard! The shots woke you up.

Do you think, uncle, that your guns fire so loudly? Father's carbine shoots much louder.<…>

Scammer! - said Gamba, grabbing his ear. - I only have to want, and you will sing in a different way! - It should, perhaps, give you a dozen or two blows with a flat saber so that you finally speak.

And Fortunato continued to laugh.

My father is Matteo Falcone! he said significantly.

Do you know, rascal, that I can take you to Corte or Bastia, throw you in jail on straw, shackle you and cut off your head, if you don't tell me where Giannetto Sanpiero is?

The boy burst out laughing at such a ridiculous threat. He repeated:

My father is Matteo Falcone.

Sergeant! one of the voltigeurs said softly. - No need to quarrel with Matteo.

Gamba was clearly in trouble. He spoke in an undertone to the soldiers, who had already inspected the entire house.<…>

The sergeant and his squad were losing patience; they were already looking at the plain, as if about to return to where they came from, but then ...

Bastia- a city and port on the northeast coast of Corsica.

5 stop

…their boss, convinced that the threats did not make any impression on the son of Falcone, decided to make a last attempt and test the power of affection and bribery.<…>

-... listen: be smart, and I'll give you something. <…>

The sergeant pulled out of his pocket a silver watch, which cost a good ten crowns, and, noticing that the eyes of little Fortunato lit up at the sight of it, he said to him, holding the watch hanging by the end of the steel chain:

-Rogue! You would probably like to wear such a watch on your chest, you would walk through the streets of Porto-Vecchio proudly, like a peacock, and when passers-by would ask you: “What time is it?” - you would answer: "Look at my watch."

-When I grow up, my uncle corporal will give me a watch.

- Yes, but your uncle's son already has a watch... not as pretty as this one, though... and he's younger than you. The boy sighed.

- Well, do you want this watch, nephew?

Fortunato, glancing sideways at his watch, was like a cat being offered a whole chicken. Feeling that he is teased, he does not dare to stick his claws into him, from time to time averts his eyes to resist the temptation, constantly licks his lips and with his whole appearance seems to say to the owner: “How cruel your joke is!”<…>

-Just tell me where Giannetto and your watch are.

Fortunato smiled incredulously, his black eyes fixed on the sergeant's, trying to read them as far as he could believe his words.

-Let them take off my epaulettes, - cried the sergeant, - if you don’t get a watch for this! The soldiers will be witnesses that I will not go back on my words.

As he spoke, he brought the watch closer and closer to Fortunato, almost touching the boy's pale cheek with it. Fortunato's face clearly reflected the struggle that broke out in his soul between the passionate desire to receive a watch and the duty of hospitality. His bare chest heaved heavily - it seemed that he was about to suffocate. And the clock swayed in front of him, spinning, now and then touching the tip of his nose.

6 stop

Finally, Fortunato hesitantly reached for the watch, the fingers of his right hand touched it, the watch lay on his palm, although the sergeant still did not let go of the chain ... The blue dial ... The brightly polished cover ... It burns with fire in the sun ... The temptation was too great.

Fortunato raised his left hand and pointed with his thumb over his shoulder at the haystack he was leaning against. The sergeant understood immediately. He let go of the end of the chain, and Fortunato felt like he was the sole owner of the watch. He jumped up faster than a doe and ran ten paces away from the shock, which the voltigeurs immediately began to scatter.

The hay stirred, and a bloodied man with a dagger in his hand crawled out of the hay; he tried to stand on his feet, but the clotted wound prevented him from doing so. He fell. The sergeant rushed at him and pulled out the dagger. He was immediately tied hand and foot, despite resistance.

Lying on the ground, twisted like a bundle of brushwood, Giannetto turned his head towards Fortunato, who approached him.

-...son! he said more contemptuously than angrily.

The boy tossed him a silver coin which he had given him—he knew he no longer had any right to it—but the culprit seemed to take no notice of it. With complete composure, he said to the sergeant:

- Dear Gamba! I can't go; you will have to carry me to the city.<…>

7 stop

While the voltigeurs were busy, some preparing a stretcher from chestnut branches, some dressing Giannetto's wound, at the turn of the path that led to poppies, suddenly appeared Matteo Falcone and his wife.<…>

Matteo stopped without saying a word; while the sergeant spoke, he slowly raised the muzzle of his gun so that it was pointing skyward at the moment the sergeant approached.

Good afternoon brother! said the sergeant, holding out his hand. - We haven't seen each other for a long time.

Good afternoon brother!

I came by to say hello to you and to Sister Peppa. Today we made a fair finish, but we have too noble booty, and we cannot complain of fatigue. We just covered Giannetto Sanpiero.

God bless! Giuseppa screamed. “He stole a dairy goat from us last week.

These words delighted Gamba.

Poor fellow! Matteo replied. - He was hungry!

That scoundrel defended himself like a lion,” continued the sergeant, a little annoyed. “He killed one of my shooters and crushed Corporal Chardon's arm; Well, yes, this trouble is not great: after all, Chardon is a Frenchman ... And then he hid himself so well that the devil himself would not have found him. If not for my nephew Fortunato, I would never have found him.

Fortunato? exclaimed Matteo.

Fortunato? repeated Giuseppa.

-Yes! Giannetto hid in that haystack over there, but his nephew discovered his trick. I will tell his uncle the corporal about this, and he will send him a good gift as a reward. And I will mention both him and you in the report addressed to the prosecutor.

- Damn! - Matteo said a little audibly.

They approached the group. Giannetto was lying on a stretcher, they were about to carry him away. Seeing Matteo next to Gamba, he somehow grinned strangely, and then, turning to face the house, spat on the threshold and said:

Traitor's home!

Only a man doomed to die could dare to call Falcone a traitor. A blow from a dagger would immediately repay the insult, and such a blow would not have to be repeated.

However, Matteo raised only his hand to his forehead, like a heartbroken man.

Fortunato, seeing his father, went into the house. Soon he reappeared with a bowl of milk in his hands and, lowering his eyes, handed it to Giannetto.

Then, turning to one of the voltigeurs, he said:

-Comrade! Give me a drink.

<…>The sergeant signaled to start, said goodbye to Matteo, and, not receiving an answer, quickly moved towards the plain.

About ten minutes passed, and Matteo remained silent. The boy glanced anxiously first at his mother, then at his father, who, leaning on his gun, looked at his son with an expression of restrained anger.

Good start! Matteo finally said in a calm voice, but terrible for those who knew this man.

Father! - cried the boy; his eyes filled with tears, he took a step forward, as if about to fall on his knees before him.

But Matteo shouted:

Away!

The boy, sobbing, stopped motionless a few paces from his father.

8 stop

Giuseppa arrived. She noticed the watch chain, the end of which stuck out from under Fortunato's shirt.

Who gave you this watch? she asked sternly.

Uncle Sgt.

Falcone snatched out the watch and, throwing it with force against a stone, smashed it to smithereens.

- Wife! - he said. - Is this my child?

Giuseppa's swarthy cheeks were brick red.

- Watch out, Matteo! Think about who you're talking to!

-So this child was the first in our family to become a traitor.

Fortunato's sobs and sobs intensified, and Falcone still fixed his lynx eyes on him. Finally, he banged his butt on the ground and, throwing his gun over his shoulder, went along the road to poppies, ordering Fortunato to follow him. The boy obeyed.

Giuseppa rushed to Matteo and grabbed his arm.

-After all, this is your son! she cried in a trembling voice, glaring her black eyes into her husband's eyes and as if trying to read what was going on in his soul.

-Leave me, - said Matteo. - I'm his father!

Giuseppa kissed her son and, crying, returned to the house.

She threw herself on her knees in front of the image of the Mother of God and began to pray fervently. Meanwhile, Falcone, having walked two hundred paces along the path, descended into a small ravine. After testing the earth with a butt, he was convinced that the earth was loose and that it would be easy to dig it. The place seemed to him suitable for the fulfillment of his plan.

- Fortunato! Stand by that big stone.

Fulfilling his order, Fortunato fell to his knees.

Pray!

- Father! Father! Do not kill me!

- Pray! repeated Matteo menacingly.

Stuttering and crying, the boy read "Our Father" and "I believe." The father at the end of each prayer firmly said "Amen".

-Do you know more prayers?

-Father! I also know the Mother of God and the litany that my aunt taught me.

- It is very long... Well, anyway, read on.

The boy finished the litany without a sound.

Are you finished?

-Father, have mercy! I'm sorry! I will never again! I'll ask Uncle Corporal to pardon Giannetto!

He babbled something else; Matteo raised his gun and, taking aim, said:

- May God forgive you!

Fortunato made a desperate effort to get up and fall at his father's feet, but he did not succeed. Matteo fired and the boy fell dead.

Without even looking at the corpse, Matteo went along the path to the house for a shovel to bury his son. Before he had gone a few steps, he saw Giuseppa: she was running, alarmed by the shot.

- What did you do? - she exclaimed.

- Executed justice.

Where is he?

- In the ravine. I will bury him now. He died a Christian. I will order a memorial service for him. I must tell my son-in-law, Theodore Bianchi, to come live with us.

9 stop

The realistic short story by P Merime had a number of interesting compositional and stylistic features. Merimee is a master of a psychological novel, in the center of his attention is the inner world of a person, showing her inner struggle, evolution, or vice versa, degradation. The inner struggle of the hero of the writer has always been determined by the collision of a person with society, environment, shaped his character. The dramas of the protagonists of the short stories (Saint-Clair, Julie, Arsene, etc.) were born from the confrontation of the surrounding reality. From this followed an interesting feature of Merimee's short stories: great importance was given to events, one way or another determined the internal conflict of the hero.

The novels of the prose writer are usually very dramatic. From any of his works you can make a drama. The event, which the author placed in the center of the short story, most often had the character of a catastrophe - this is murder, suicide, blood feud, the death of the hero, a change in his whole life. Saint-Clair (the hero of the "Etruscan vase") is killed in a duel, Carmen (the heroine of "Carmen") is killed by Don José. In the short story "Lokis" the count murders his young wife. In the short story "Mateo Falcone" there is a blood murder - a son by his father.

This is a kind of omission about the most important and significant, described in the work. By default, the author's real excitement was hidden, a sense of horror, his assessment of what had happened. What is depicted in the short stories "Carmen", "Lokis" or "Etruscan vase" has always deeply excited the reader. The author usually concealed his own assessment of events, so as not to diminish the impression of readers. Sharply switching attention to something else, side, he forced to think better about what happened. As a result, the event itself became more tangible for the reader.

The dynamism, drama and intensity of the action in Merimee's short stories determined another peculiar feature. This is the paucity of description, especially the description of nature. The novelist is very stingy with the description, because the focus of his attention is always action, drama, the growth of dramatic conflict. The description played only a secondary role. In this regard, a detail has acquired special significance in Merimee's works - a separate small touch, which often replaced lengthy descriptions and characteristics.

Artistic features of the short stories by Prosper Merimee:

The focus of the writer's attention is the inner world of a person, showing her inner struggle;

The event determined the hero's internal conflict;

A combination of psychologism and silence technique;

Dynamism, drama and tension of action;

- "stinginess" of descriptions of nature;

Use of artistic detail;

A hero with a strong character;

The image was revealed through their own actions, events, without the author's assessment; - the character and psychology of a person appeared as a result of certain conditions of existence; -elipse (two-center) composition of the short story - a story within a story; -stretching to exotic descriptions;

The introduction of the narrator, who was the second "I" of the author himself; -motives for murder, duel, torture, temptation, jealousy.

Prosper Merimee repeatedly said that the key to the writer's success was the ability to choose from the totality of the phenomena of life some one, extraordinary. Novella "Mateo Falcone"- the first of the published short stories, which was a reproduction of such an extraordinary "find".

Mateo Falcone's house was located near the maquis (part of the forest under the field was burned). He was a rich man because he lived on the profits from the flocks of sheep that nomadic shepherds drove from place to place. He was no more than 50 years old. He skillfully wielded weapons, was a good comrade, a dangerous enemy. He was married to the woman Giuseppe, who first bore him 3 daughters and, finally, a son, to whom he named Fortunato, the hope of the family and the successor of the family. The daughters got married successfully, and the son was only 10 years old.

One morning Mateo and his wife went to look at their flocks. Fortunato, who wanted to go with them, was left to guard the house.

The guy was lying in the sun when he heard the shots. He saw a man in rags, with a beard, barely moving because she was wounded in the thigh. It was the robber Janetto Sanpiero. He asked Fortunato to hide him. The guy asked if he would give something in return? The bandit pulled out a five franc coin. Fortunato hid it in a pile of hay. A few minutes later, six shooters appeared, led by a relative of the baby - Teodoro Gamba. He asked the guy who hadn't seen Jeanette. The guy didn't say what he saw, and that annoyed the shooters. They even searched Mateo's house, but found no one. Then Gamba showed the guy a silver watch and said that if he indicated where the bandit was, he would give the watch. The guy began to hesitate, his eyes lit up, and then pointed to the hay. Sagittarius began to dig a mop, and Fortunato got a watch. The bandit was tied up, but then Mateo and his wife appeared on the road, they were returning home. Gamba told them about how they detained the bandit, about what his son had done. Mateo looked at the bandit, who called his house "the house of the traitors."

The image of the hero of the novel Mateo Falcone became the beginning of the writer's long reflections on the nature of the human personality, which combines the seemingly incompatible. Few, but truthful features depict the portrait and character of Mateo - a direct, courageous man who was not used to hesitation in doing what he considered his duty. He embodied a certain Corsican ideal of honor, where treason is the most deadly insult: "Only a person doomed to death could dare to call Mateo a traitor. He would immediately avenge such an insult with a dagger, and the blow would not have to be repeated." It was the fact that his son, "the successor of the family," on whom Mateo had placed all his hopes, became the first traitor in their family, and led to a terrible act.

Mateo could not forgive the betrayal. And here Falcone is strong and true to himself. The murder of his only son did not take place in a state of passion, but strictly, calmly, with conviction: “Fortunato made a desperate effort to get up and fall to his feet, but he didn’t have time. Mateo fired and Fortunato fell dead. Without even looking at the body, Mateo again moved down the path to the house, "to take a shovel". This majestic peace struck the reader even more. Merimee did not express his attitude in the short story and therefore he was often reproached for indifference to the events described, for a conscious desire to move away from his heroes. But in fact this is not indifference the author, this is his position.

Features of the short story "Mateo Falcone":

o focusing on exceptional highlights;

o heroes have a strong character;

o use of artistic detail;

o unexpected denouement, provides a new rhythm to the whole action.

The image of Mateo did not complete Merimee's artistic quest. These searches continued and found their expression in yet another unsurpassed short story by P. Merime - Federico. The plot is very simple and interesting. Once upon a time there lived a young nobleman Federico, handsome, slender, he loved the game, wine and women, especially the game. The hero never confessed. Once Federico won in 12 young men from rich families, but quickly lost his winnings, and he was left with only one castle behind the Caucasian slopes. There he lived alone for 3 years: during the day he hunted, and in the evening he gambled.

Once, Jesus Christ with 12 apostles asked him for the night. Federico accepted them, but apologized, did not hide them properly. He ordered the tenant to slaughter the last goat and roast it.

This is a fantastic short story, which is built on a fabulous folklore basis, and reflected the desire of Merimee to look for the meaning of being outside the bourgeois routine. Picturesque, with a characteristic speed of action, the short story was perceived as a folk-tale story, as a living colloquial form.

The writer's train to a heroic beginning, strong characters are tangible in the short story "Tamango", where the author criticized such a shameful phenomenon as the slave trade, opposed slavery in general. However, the main theme of the work is not exposing the slave trade, but revealing the character of Tamango.

This image reflected Merimee's further reflections on human nature, and especially the conflict of high, heroic and base principles. The good and evil qualities of the hero are hidden here, but clearly exposed. He is power-hungry, cruel, ferocious and despotic. Tamango traded with his fellow tribesmen. But he also has significant human traits, which turned out to be in the irresistible desire of the hero for freedom, his pride and endurance, which he showed during the trials.

The ignorant mind of the savage proved capable of quick and correct decisions, of subtle calculation, when Tamango mutinied on the ship. The evil savage usually did not drown out the real feeling of love in him when, forgetting about caution, overtakes the ship that was taking his wife, or when, almost dying of hunger in the boat, he shared the last cracker with a woman. So, in the wildness of Tamango - a kind of sinister energy, courage, love of freedom, dexterity and even self-denial.

Merimee showed his heroes in such life clashes when they had to decide for themselves a question of great importance - either save their lives, despising conscience, honor, personal moral principles, or remain true to these principles, but die. The heroic principle in the strong characters that attracted the writer consisted precisely in the fact that victory remained with moral principles.

Questions for self-control

1. Expand the genre diversity and the main theme of the works of realist writers.

2. Thanks to what creative discovery did P. Merimee become a classic of French realism?

3. In what areas is P. Merimee's connection with Ukraine revealed?

4. Why is P. Merime called the master of the psychological novel? What is his skill?

Literature lesson in 6th grade.

Novella by Prosper Mérimée "Matteo Falcone".

1. Introduce students to the work of Prosper Merimee.

2. Give a concept about the genre of the novel, about the heroic character in literature

3. To develop the ability to competently characterize literary characters;

development of skills to compare, generalize, trace the feelings of the main character;

to teach schoolchildren to understand their world, actions through a work of art;

4. To educate moral qualities, such as honor, conscience, dignity, fidelity to duty.

During the classes.

I. Organization of the lesson.

II. Introductory speech of the teacher about the life and work of the writer.

Prosper Merimee is a representative of French literature of the 19th century.

He was born in Paris in 1803. His parents were artists. The boy grew up in a family where they worshiped art. As a young man, he entered the University of Paris at the Faculty of Law. However, the legal sciences did not interest the student, and literature, the history of languages, and archeology became his real vocation. Later, P. Merimee was elected a member of the French Academy.

The creative path of the writer began in 1825 with the publication of a collection of plays called "The Theater of Clara Gasul". In the period up to 1829, a large number of ballads, poems, and the novel Chronicle of the Reign of Charles IX were written. Merimee's further work is connected with the genre of short narrative form - a short story. Merimee's heroes are always extraordinary, exceptional people with a difficult fate. Suffice it to recall Carmen - the name of this heroine is known to the whole world. Bizet's famous opera was written based on Merimee's short story. A masterpiece of novelistic art was his short story "Matteo Falcone", where the tragic story of the hero - little Fortunatto - shocks the reader.

The novel "Matteo Falcone" was written in 1829 and then translated into Russian. One of the translators was N.V. Gogol. In this work, the writer is mainly interested in moral and aesthetic problems, he penetrates deeper into the inner world of his characters, explores the connection of their actions with reality, with the circumstances of life.

Merimee knew the Russian language, Russian literature. He translated into French the short story "The Queen of Spades" and the poem "Gypsies" by Pushkin, a number of works by Gogol and the novel "Smoke" by Turgenev, with whom he was familiar and corresponded.

The work of Merimee - a historian, creator of bright, unforgettable characters - is interesting for the reader. This is a writer who develops an exacting literary taste, helps readers appreciate the merits of prose.

III. Work on the concept of a short story.

The work "Matteo Falcone" is written in the genre of a short story. Let's write the definition in a notebook.

Novella- a small epic work comparable to a short story, characterized by a sharp, fast-paced plot and a lack of descriptiveness. The focus of the novel is usually an incident that affects the life of the hero, revealing his character.

Work on the epigraph for the novel

What did you do? - she exclaimed.
- Served justice.
P. Merime.

We will answer the following questions:

Why are these lines taken out as an epigraph?

The writer focuses on the human character, the character of the protagonist - Matteo. What can you say about this person?

Let's write down the main theses that will help you answer these questions:

Social status;

• His past;

  people's attitude towards him.

There is a card in front of you, refer to it when analyzing the novel.

IV.Test on reading.

Performing a test to identify students' knowledge of the text.

1. The action of the novel takes place:

A) on the coast

B) on a steep hill

B) in the gorge of the mountains

2. Poppies are:

A) red flowers

B) plantation for growing smugglers' goods

C) dense chaotic thickets of shoots from a burnt forest.

3. “A man of small stature, but strong, with curly pitch-black hair, an aquiline nose, thin lips, large lively eyes and a leathery face” is a portrait:

A) Matteo Falcone

B) Giannetto Sanpiero

B) Theodora Gamba

4. Fortunato hid the bandit:

A) in the cellar

B) in a haystack

5. Yellow Collars are:

A) shepherds

B) Corsican soldiers

C) bandits who hid in poppies

6. Matteo Falcone was a rather rich man and lived:

A) in a spacious one-story house with many rooms

B) in a two-story mansion

C) his dwelling consisted of one square room

7. Fortunato was a boy:

A) selfish

B) disinterested

B) very cowardly

8.Soldiers:

A) immediately shot the captured bandit

B) bandaged his wound

B) put him in shackles

9. Matteo Falcone

A) was connected with bandits by common illegal affairs

B) was angry at the bandits

C) treated them with respect for their courage and courage

10.Gianneto:

A) mortally insulted Matteo, touched his family honor

B) shook his head sympathetically when he saw Matteo appear

C) shouted and swore at Matteo with the last words

11. Matteo:

A) praised his son for the watch received from the sergeant

B) smashed them to smithereens

c) didn't pay attention to the clock

12. Matteo made his son pray before his death:

A) to give yourself time to cool down, forgive the child and change your terrible decision

B) to let his son die a Christian

C) so that the son, having prayed, would repent and ask for forgiveness already with a clear conscience, and then his father would forgive him.

13. Matteo's act you explain:

A) great love for the motherland

B) selfishness

C) self-esteem and honor.

CODE: 1-b, 2-c, 3-a, 4-c, 5-b, 6-c, 7-a, 8-b, 9-c, 10-a, 11-b, 12-b, 13th century

(The answer to question 13 reveals the students' personal perception of the heroes, so other answers should not be regarded as incorrect).

V. Vocabulary work.

Determine the meanings of the words that will be needed in the lesson.

What does the word "Corsica" mean? (an island in the Mediterranean Sea, belonging to France, the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, to whom Merimee treated with great respect). (show on the map)

Maki - forest thickets, thicket.

Voltigeurs - (student reading from a textbook) a detachment of shooters, for some time now recruited by the government so that, along with the gendarmes, they helped the police.

Stiletto - a small dagger with a thin triangular blade.

Fortuna -) in ancient Greek mythology: the goddess of fate, happiness, good luck, was depicted on a container or wheel (a symbol of the variability of happiness) with a blindfold and a horn. ( one must hope not for luck, but to have firm foundations)

Work with explanatory dictionary.

Traitor - one who betrayed treacherously placed at the disposal of someone

Honor -

VI. Analysis of the novel.

Today in the lesson we have to answer the question: So who is he, Matteo Falcone, a hero or a killer?

-- Where and when does the story take place?(The story takes place at the beginning of the 19th century on the island of Corsica. Impenetrable forest thickets, a semi-civilized population, primitive life, harsh and simple customs - this is the place where events develop.) ( reading the description of the house, - S.386. textbook).

-- What is this choice of scene called in the literature?(“local flavor”, it is typical for a number of “exotic” short stories by P. Merimee).

-- What does he use "local color" for?(“local color” plays a completely realistic role, helps to understand the characters’ characters, their psychology, to convey the atmosphere of the time in which human behavior is formed, i.e. the hero’s behavior depends on external circumstances, on the same “local color”).

-- What form does Merimee choose when describing the scene?(Merime chooses the form direct conversation with the reader, as if explaining to him the route “If you go northwest from Porto-Vecchio into the interior of the island, then the terrain will begin to rise quite steeply, and after a three-hour walk along winding paths cluttered with large clouds of rocks and in some places crossed by ravines, you will come out to vast thickets of poppies. Merimee calls these impenetrable thickets of the young forest "the birthplace of the Corsican shepherds and all those who are at odds with justice." So the writer gives the reader a sign: it will be about those "who are at odds with justice." Along the way, we learn that farmers do not bother to fertilize the soil, but follow this path: they burn the forest, and the soil turns out to be fertilized with the ashes of burned trees.)

--How does the writer talk about local customs?(Laconically, sparingly, as if simply stating facts.)

_ What examples can you give ( Description of the house by M. Falcone
(p. 386), “Father, if necessary, could count on daggers and carbines sons-in-law" p.382, "What did I think about when I saw the soldiers" Few of the Corsicans, rummaging well in memory does not remember any sinful thing like a rifle shot, a blow with a stiletto, or other trifles in the same way…” p.389.)

Merimee uses appeal to the reader: "If you killed a man, run to the poppies ...").

-- What does it mean? (he does not call on the reader to kill. Merimee needs this ironic form so that the reader understands that the Corsican has no other option in such circumstances, the matter is common in Corsica, this is how it is done in this area. The most interesting thing is that Merimee is so detailed. With knowledge of the matter describing Corsica, was not there.From the note we learn that for the first time the writer was in Corsica only 10 years after writing the novel.).

So,

What do local people value in life? What laws do they live by?(p. 381, reading), (“if you killed a person, run to the poppies, from the point of view of the poppies, killing is not a sin, but a violation of the eternal laws of justice and duty. Above all, the Corsicans put a debt of honor").

--What can you say about the main character - Matteo Falcone?(“Matteo Falcone was a rather rich man”, “he lived honestly” (although Merimee immediately adds: “that is, without doing anything”); “the accuracy with which he fired a gun was unusual even for this region”; "he was considered as good a friend as a dangerous enemy"; "only a man doomed to death could dare to call Falcone a traitor.")

What role does portraiture play? (The portrait characterizes Matteo Falcone as a courageous, intelligent person. Hardened by life's difficulties, close to nature, "natural." He was "small in stature, but strong, with curly jet-black hair, an aquiline nose, thin lips, large lively eyes and a bare-skinned face.” This description romantic hero. Matteo Falcone is in all respects a true Corsican. This is a direct, courageous person, not accustomed to hesitate in the performance of duty.)

What event underlies the plot of the novel? (Murder by the father of his son for betrayal).

How do you feel about the boy's behavior?(Fortunatto's act - vile and low, a traitor - at first agreed to hide the wounded for a silver coin, but then, seduced by the sergeant's silver watch, betrayed his guest to his pursuers. Others believe that Fortunatto is still too small and did not understand what he had done.

Let's turn to the text. Fortunato was confident with Sergeant Gamba, proud that his father was a respected person: “My father is Matteo Falcone!” But when Gamba took out a silver watch, "little Fortunatto's eyes lit up." "Fortunatto's face clearly reflected the struggle that broke out in his soul between the passionate desire to receive a watch and the duty of hospitality." Fortunato could not resist the temptation.)

What was Gianetto to the boy? (guest).

- How do the Bashkirs treat the guest?

What mistake did Fortunato make? (He violated the custom of welcoming a guest, especially a wounded one. Indeed, at all times and among all peoples, the extradition of a wounded, unarmed person to the authorities who asked the owner of the house for shelter is regarded as a betrayal. For example, in Siberia, food was specially left for the night for fugitives).

Why did the father kill his son? Did he have a right to it? How did his wife react to the act of Matteo Falcone?(Matteo Falcone did this because that he did not want to raise a traitor in his family. A big one grows from a small traitor. He considered. He who once committed treachery cannot count on the respect of people, no matter how small he may be. . For Matteo Falcone, a good name and honor are dearer than anything, dearer than a son. Matteo committed this murder because local customs dictated it to him.. The situation of filicide, exceptional by its nature, in the image of Merimee acts as a natural, natural manifestation of the strong and whole nature of Matteo, everything Corsican way of life. Giuseppa, Matteo's wife , does not try to justify his traitor son. She cries and prays, but not a word of protest escapes her. She only tried to appeal to her husband's paternal feelings: "After all, this is your son!" Even in her motherly grief, she does not encroach on what, together with her husband, considers the dictates of duty.)

Why did the father punish his son so severely? (This is a natural, natural manifestation of the strong and whole nature of the Corsican, the whole way of Corsican life).

Who is he, Matteo Falcone - a hero or a killer? (In the figure of Matteo Falcone, a conflict of the heroic and treacherous beginnings of life is revealed. It turns out that Matteo is both a hero and a murderer. From the point of view of Christianity, from a universal point of view, he is a murderer who has committed a grave sin. And from the point of view of the unwritten laws of the inhabitants of Corsica, their understanding of duty and honor, he is a hero who has done justice. You need great willpower and firmness of character to punish your own son. It is love for his son that pushes Falcone to kill. The strength of Matteo Falcone's character is such that he overcomes the natural human instinct to preserve himself in children, the instinct to continue kind.)

We saw how complex and ambiguous the character of the hero of the novel, Matteo Falcone.

And the last. Note the significance of the name of the son of the protagonist, Fortunatto. Fortuna means "luck". Fortunatto was "the hope of the family and the successor of the family." In this name, there is a tragic discrepancy between the fate of the heroes and their initial hopes.

VII. Lesson results.

So, we are convinced that in order to understand the nature of literary heroes, it is necessary take into account the time and circumstances in which it is placed.

We must also take into account that wild poppies are beginning to penetrate monetary relations, morals are changing. This is already realism.(They bribe Fortunato for hours. The father thinks about the new heir, whom he is going to make a son-in-law, without having time to bury his son.)

But despite the easing of laws, humanism, and today it is important to maintain a sense of duty, honor, and today treat betrayal with contempt. Which work that we studied touches on the same problem? ("The Captain's Daughter", who advises " Take care of honor from a young age".) It contains the idea of ​​high morality, honor, fidelity, duty, oath, human dignity, which a person must bring through any trials. This proverb, which has come down to us from time immemorial, has been and remains an excellent parting word for every young person. Because there are concepts that are the most important in all ages, there are prohibitions that "must not be violated."

Homework.

Complete the “Creative Task” of the textbook or answer one of the questions in writing:

1. What is the fault and misfortune of Fortunato?

2. Is it possible to justify the cruel act of Matteo Falcone?