Drama A.N. Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm" is truly unique in its conflicts, one of which is social, it occupies a central place in the play, thanks to him the author exposes all the vices of the "dark kingdom" that prevail in the city of Kalinovo.
The work begins with a remark by Kuligin, in which he praises the Volga open spaces, but against the backdrop of all the abundance of beauty, we observe the cruel scene of Dikoy's violence against his nephew Boris. With this contrast, Ostrovsky shows that behind the external, seemingly pleasing to the eye, veil hides a terrible way of life - domostroy.
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In it, according to Kuligin, cruel morals triumph: only those who have power and money can “speak”. Bright representatives of powerful people are Wild, a significant person in the city, and Kabanikha, a rich merchant's wife, who has everything "under the guise of piety." These people behave immorally: behind their high fences they terrorize their households. Wild, whose last name highlights the main feature of his character - savagery, and cannot live a day without offending anyone, Kabanikha constantly teaches the life of his son Tikhon and his wife Katerina. Savel Prokofievich and Marfa Ignatievna are prominent representatives of the "dark kingdom", their souls have hardened because of the thirst for power over everyone, they look at people from above, and do not at all consider them as such.
Other residents of the Volga town are ordinary people who want to live a quiet life. But in the conditions of a patriarchal way of life, this is impossible. Varvara, the ungrateful and deceitful daughter of Kabinikh, lives under the motto "if only everything was sewn and covered", she hypocrites her mother when necessary, so as not to succumb to her attacks. Her brother, Tikhon, is completely spineless, he only does what indulges his mother and obeys her will.
Glasha and Feklusha are the lowest stratum of society. They are happy to serve their masters.
Boris is a decently educated young man with a difficult fate. Every day I have to listen to sayings from Diky in my address.
Another resident of the city, who differs from others in his sincerity, honesty, his desire to do something useful for society, is Kuligin, a tradesman, a self-taught watchmaker. He has a promising idea for building a lightning rod, but he has no money for its implementation. It is unlikely that he will ever realize his plan, because in the conditions of the "dark kingdom" this is impossible.
All ordinary people of the city of Kalinov are part of the "dark kingdom", they are not able to take any measures to free themselves from the life they live, because they are powerless to cruel customs, all that remains for them is to "go with the flow".
The only opposite character is Katerina, Tikhon's wife, according to Dobrolyubov, "a ray of light in the dark kingdom", whose image helps to shed light on all the vices of the "dark kingdom" and give rise to something new bright in the "dead" city. This is a bright, sincere, vulnerable nature, which is not used to living according to the laws of house building. Although Katerina is married to Tikhon, she loves another - Boris. She daily experiences mental anguish due to the fact that she is cheating on her albeit unloved husband. When a thunderstorm comes, Katerina attributes this phenomenon to God's punishment, her vulnerable soul cannot stand it and she commits suicide.
The playwright Ostrovsky negatively portrayed the inhabitants of the fictional city of Kalinov and his customs, thereby he wanted to show how sad the situation is in the provincial cities of Russia.
Updated: 2018-06-08
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A brief description of the city of Kalinov in the play "Thunderstorm"
In the play "Thunderstorm" Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky masterfully describes the life and customs of a typical provincial town of the 19th century.
Kalinov is a city spread out on the banks of the Volga, in which, despite all the natural beauty, everything is frozen and, it seems, is unlikely to ever move.
This is due to outdated traditions and foundations, and at the same time rich tyrants and tyrants who have long dominated this “dark kingdom”, who do not want to change themselves and change the city for the better. They oppress the inhabitants, striving to somehow change the life of people in Kalinov for the better; half the city is simply afraid of them. Lies, self-interest, hypocrisy, greed flourish here - everything with the help of which those in power gained their authority and still keep afloat.
Money here is the basis of everything, the purpose and meaning of life for most residents of the city, who, moreover, are not interested in anything new, they are superstitious, overly religious, ignorant and uneducated.
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Citizens do not pay attention to the beauty around them, nature, for them it does not play any role. And those few smart, thinking people who are striving to improve life in Kalinovo, because of the greed of the rich, cannot receive either funding for their projects, or the approval of the majority of ordinary residents, and even more so rich petty tyrants.
Thus, the passivity of the majority of citizens, their unwillingness and inability to fight against outdated orders and keep up with the times, develop and doom the city of Kalinov to death.
Lesson 5
Topic:The city of Kalinov and its inhabitants
Target: characterize the city of Kalinov, find out how people live here; deepen students' ideas about the district town of Kalinov and its inhabitants; briefly describe the main events in Ostrovsky's play on behalf of the characters; improve the skills of independent work on a dramatic work; to answer the question: “Is Dobrolyubov right in calling this city a “dark kingdom””?
Epigraph: To talk well about virtue does not mean to be virtuous.
K.Ushinsky
Behavior is a mirror in which everyone shows his appearance.
I.-V. Goethe
I do not want and cannot believe that evil is the normal state of people.
F.M. Dostoevsky
During the classes
Organizational moment. Independent work.
What are the signs of drama and tragedy in the play "Thunderstorm"?
What is the main conflict of the play "Thunderstorm"?
What is the main theme of "Thunderstorm"?
Opening speech.
From the first pages of the work, we draw attention to the skill of Ostrovsky the playwright. The first act takes place on a summer evening, in a public garden on the banks of the Volga. Such a choice of place and time of action gave the author the opportunity to acquaint the reader and the viewer with the main characters of the play, to introduce the essence of its conflict into the essence of its conflict already in the first phenomena.
Analysis of the work.
1. The scene of the play.
- Where do the events of the story take place? What is special about this place? The provincial town of Kalinov is a collective image of many similar provincial towns in Russia.
- What in the description of the scenery attracts attention?"High bank of the Volga".
How can this detail be interpreted? This is an opportunity to fly high and fall low.
2. Residents of the city of Kalinov.
The city of Kalinov, invented by the author, is a typical provincial town. “The view is extraordinary! The beauty! The soul rejoices! For fifty years I have been looking beyond the Volga every day and I can’t see enough of everything, ”Kuligin says enthusiastically, forcing us to admire the extraordinary landscape.
In the center of Kalinov there is a market square with shopping malls, nearby an old church for parishioners. Everything seems to be peaceful and calm in the city. And people probably live here peaceful, calm, measured and kind.
- Is it so? How is the city of Kalinov shown? Reading Kuligin's monologue "Cruel morals, sir, in our city ..." (act. 1, fig. 3, act. 3, scene 1, fig. 3)
- What characteristic aspects of life are noted in this monologue?"Cruel morals"; "rudeness and naked poverty"; “Honest labor will never earn more than daily bread”; “trying to enslave the poor”; “to make even more money on free labor”; “I won’t pay a penny”; "trade is undermined out of envy"; “they are at enmity” and others are the principles of life in the city.
- Highlight the words that especially vividly characterize life in the family.“Boulevard was made, not walked”; "the gates are locked and the dogs are let loose"; “so that people do not see how they eat their own home and tyrannize their families”; “tears flow behind these locks, invisible and inaudible”; “behind these locks is the debauchery of the dark and drunkenness”, etc. - these are the principles of life in the family.
- What laws underlie the life of Mr. Kalinov?
a) whoever has the money has the power;
b) whoever has power, he uses it undividedly;
c) a person can be humiliated, insulted, forced to obey;
d) prohibit any manifestation of a living human feeling;
e) to force to lie;
e) force to adapt.
- Who is Feklusha? What hero can she be compared to? Kuligin and Feklusha do not enter into an open struggle, but are depicted in the play as antipodes. If Kuligin brings culture to society, then Feklusha brings darkness, ignorance. Her ridiculous stories create distorted ideas about the world among Kalinovites, instill fear in their souls.
- How is it different from the inhabitants of the city of Kuligin? An educated man, a self-taught mechanic, his surname resembles the surname of the Russian inventor Kulibin. The hero subtly feels the beauty of nature and aesthetically stands above other characters: he sings songs, quotes Lomonosov. Kuligin stands up for the improvement of the city, tries to persuade Dikoy to give money for a sundial, for a lightning rod, tries to influence the inhabitants, educate them, explaining the thunderstorm as a natural phenomenon. Thus, Kuligin personifies the best part of the city's inhabitants, but he is alone in his aspirations, which is why he is considered an eccentric. The image of the hero embodies the eternal motive of grief from the mind.
-What gave Dobrolyubov grounds to call this world a "dark kingdom" and how do you understand this expression? Lawlessness and ugliness are happening in Kalinov. The owners of the city are distinguished by rudeness and cruelty, they mock their household members. These are real tyrants, they are ignorant, they receive information about life from illiterate wanderers. It seems that the inhabitants of the city of Kalinov are cut off from the whole world. Some dominate and tyrannize, others suffer.
- Let's try to distribute the heroes of the work into 2 groups. Filling in the table.
- How do the "masters" of Kalinov appear on the stage? The playwright uses the stage technique of a prepared appearance - first others talk about the characters, and then they themselves go on stage.
- Who prepares their appearance? Curly introduces Wild, Feklush - Boar.
- How are the characters of Diky and Boar revealed in their speech characteristics?
| wild | Boar |
| About him: | About her: |
| Himself: | She herself: |
| Conclusion. Wild - scolder, rude, petty tyrant; feels his power over people | Conclusion. The boar is a hypocrite, does not tolerate will and disobedience, acts with fear |
- How do the townspeople express their attitude to the Wild? During the conversation between Diky and Kuligin, the crowd clearly sympathizes with Diky, laughing evilly and stupidly at Kuligin.
- On what is the tyranny of people like Dikoy based? On the power of money, material dependence and the traditional obedience of Kalinovites.
- On what basis, according to Kabanikhi, should family life be built? She sees the Domostroevsky laws of life illuminated by the old days as the basis of the family. The heroine is sincerely convinced that if you do not follow the laws, there will be no order.
- How do members of her family feel about Kabanikhe and her teachings? What is their attitude? Dependent on the Kabanikha, household members have a different attitude to her teachings. Tikhon thinks only about how to please his mother, seeks to convince her of his obedience. Varvara does not reread her mother, but silently sneers at her, condemns her. Barbara is convinced that you cannot live here without pretense. And only Katerina openly declares her human dignity.
- What is the relationship between Wild and Boar? Wild is afraid of the Boar.
The boar is scarier than the Wild Boar, since her behavior is hypocritical. Wild is a scolder, a tyrant, but all his actions are open. The boar, under the guise of religion and concern for others, suppresses the will. She is most afraid that someone will live in their own way, by their own will.
What do the heroes of the work choose: the ability to deceive, adapt, hiding their true actions and their motives, the ability to demonstrate their tyranny with impunity or the desire to live openly, without fear, without humiliation, in accordance with their conscience? The talented Kuligin is considered an eccentric and says: “There is nothing to do, we must submit!”; kind, but weak-willed Tikhon drinks and dreams of escaping from the house: “... and with some kind of bondage, you can run away from whatever beautiful wife you want”; he is completely subordinate to his mother; Varvara adapted to this world and began to deceive: “And I was not a liar before, but I learned when it became necessary”; educated Boris is forced to adapt to the tyranny of the Wild in order to receive an inheritance. So breaks the "dark kingdom" of good people, forcing them to endure and be silent.
Outcome.
Kalinov can be located in any corner of the country, and this allows us to consider the action of the play on the scale of the whole of Russia. Tyrants live out their lives everywhere, weak people still suffer from their antics. But life tirelessly moves forward, no one can stop its rapid flow. A fresh and strong stream will sweep away the dam of tyranny... The characters freed from oppression will overflow in all their breadth - and the sun will flare up in the "dark kingdom"!
Homework(homework depends on the level of preparation of the group, the number of hours provided for the study of Ostrovsky's work and the textbook used by this or that group)
Lesson 33 "Thunderstorm". The city of Kalinov and its inhabitants. The image of the "cruel morals" of the "dark kingdom".
The purpose of the lesson:
Describe the city of Kalinov, find out how people live here,
To answer the question: “Is Dobrolyubov right in calling this city a “dark kingdom””?
During the classes
1. Checking d / z: by heart an excerpt.
2. The image of the city of Kalinov.
We enter the city of Kalinov from the side of the public garden. Let's stop for a minute, look at the Volga, on the banks of which there is a garden. Handsomely! Eye-catching! So Kuligin also says: “The view is extraordinary! The beauty! The soul rejoices! People probably live here peaceful, calm, measured and kind. Is it so? How is the city of Kalinov shown?
Tasks for the analysis of two Kuligin monologues
(act 1, yavl. 3; act 3, yavl. 3)
1. Highlight the words that especially vividly characterize life in the city.
"Cruel morals"; "rudeness and naked poverty"; “Honest labor will never earn more than daily bread”; “trying to enslave the poor”; “to make even more money on free labor”; “I won’t pay a penny”; "trade is undermined out of envy"; “they are at enmity”, etc. - these are the principles of life in the city.
2. Highlight the words that especially vividly characterize life in the family.
“Boulevard was made, not walked”; "the gates are locked and the dogs are let down"; “so that people do not see how they eat their own home and tyrannize their families”; “tears flow behind these locks, invisible and inaudible”; “behind these locks is the debauchery of the dark and drunkenness”, etc. - these are the principles of life in the family.
Conclusion. If it's so bad in Kalinovo, then why is it that a wonderful view, the Volga, is depicted in the first place? Why is the same beautiful nature shown in the scene of the meeting between Katerina and Boris? It turns out that the city of Kalinov is controversial. On the one hand, this is a wonderful place, on the other hand, life in this city is terrible. Beauty is preserved only in the fact that it does not depend on the owners of the city, they cannot subdue the beautiful nature. It is seen only by poetic people capable of sincere feelings. The relations of people are ugly, their life is “behind locks and gates”.
Issues for discussion
1. How can one evaluate the monologues of Feklusha (act 1, yavl. 2; act 3, yavl. 1)? How does the city appear in her perception? (Bla-alepie, wondrous beauty, promised land, paradise and silence.)
2. What technique does the author use when talking about life in the city? (Reception of contrast.)
3. What are the inhabitants living here? (The inhabitants are ignorant and uneducated, they believe the stories of Feklusha, which show her darkness and illiteracy: a story about a fiery snake; about someone with a black face; about time that is getting shorter (action 3, phenom. 1); about other countries (action 2, event 1. Kalinovites believe that Lithuania has fallen from the sky (act 4, event 1), they are afraid of thunderstorms (act 4, event 4).)
4. How is it different from the inhabitants of the city of Kuligin? (An educated man, a self-taught mechanic, his surname resembles the surname of the Russian inventor Kulibin. The hero subtly feels the beauty of nature and aesthetically stands above other characters: he sings songs, quotes Lomonosov. Kuligin stands up for improving the city, tries to persuade Diky to give money for sundials, for lightning rod, tries to influence the inhabitants, educate them, explaining the thunderstorm as a natural phenomenon. Thus, Kuligin personifies the best part of the inhabitants of the city, but he is alone in his aspirations, therefore he is considered an eccentric. The image of the hero embodies the eternal motive of grief from the mind.)
5. Who can we consider "masters of the city"? How do these characters appear on stage? (The playwright uses the stage technique of a prepared appearance - first others talk about the characters, and then they themselves go on stage.)
6. Who prepares their appearance? (Kudryash introduces Wild, Feklusha - Boar.)
7. How are the characters of Diky and Boar revealed in their speech characteristics?
wild | Boar |
About him: | About her: |
Himself: | She herself: |
Conclusion. Wild - scolder, rude, petty tyrant; feels his power over people | Conclusion. The boar is a hypocrite, does not tolerate will and disobedience, acts with fear |
General conclusion. The boar is scarier than the Wild Boar, since her behavior is hypocritical. Wild is a scolder, a tyrant, but all his actions are open. The boar, under the guise of religion and concern for others, suppresses the will. She is most afraid that someone will live in their own way, by their own will.
The results of the actions of these heroes:
- the talented Kuligin is considered an eccentric and says: “There is nothing to do, we must submit!”;
- the kind, but weak-willed Tikhon drinks and dreams of escaping from the house: “... and with such bondage, you will run away from whatever beautiful wife you want”; he is completely subordinate to his mother;
- Varvara adapted to this world and began to deceive: “And I was not a liar before, but I learned when it became necessary”;
- the educated Boris is forced to adapt to the tyranny of the Wild in order to receive an inheritance.
So breaks the "dark kingdom" of good people, forcing them to endure and be silent.
3. Getting ready for the exam
Why, judging by Katerina's stories, is the world in which she grew up so unlike Kalinov's? Which answer options do you prefer?
1) As is usually characteristic of a person, Katerina idealizes the past and the parental home.
2) Ostrovsky introduces a story about Katerina's childhood in order to further set off the painful atmosphere of her present life, life in Kalinovo in general.
3) Ostrovsky wants to show that Russia is going through a period of historical breakdown; patriarchal conflict-free relations are a thing of the past; the time has come when the human personality strives for freedom.
Summary of the lesson. The city of Kalinov is a typical Russian city of the second half of the 19th century. Most likely, A.N. Ostrovsky saw something similar during his travels along the Volga. Life in the city is a reflection of the situation when the old does not want to give up its positions and seeks to retain power by suppressing the will of others. Money gives the "masters of life" the right to dictate their will to the "victims". In a truthful display of such a life - the position of the author, calling to change it.
Homework
Describe Katerina;
answer the question: what is the heroine protesting against and how is her protest expressed?
“Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel!” - this is how the city of Kalinov is described by its resident, Kuligin, who knows it well from the inside and has experienced these most cruel customs for himself.
The city described in the drama is fictional, but the events that take place in The Thunderstorm are based on real events. Also, attention should be paid to the fact that the name of the city begins with “k”, and most Russian cities begin with this letter. By this, Ostrovsky wants to show that such events can happen anywhere and in similar cities
in the country a huge number.
Especially in one of the cities on the Volga, notorious for the number of drowned people found in the river.
First of all, everyone in the city of Kalinovo tries to please the rich, everything is built on lies and love for money, and “you can never earn more with honest work, more than daily bread.” The rich try to take advantage of the poor, consider them people of the “lower class”, and their problems are nothing. And among themselves they interfere with each other's trade out of envy, they are at enmity. The most important thing for everyone is their own income, there are no moral values in this city. And for any word here, according to words
Kuligin, “they will eat it, they will swallow it alive.”
The wanderer Feklusha describes the city as “a promised land with pious merchants, generous and kind, but she understands all the darkness of this city and does this only from the understanding that the more you flatter the merchants and the rich, the less likely they will drive you away. Those who ask for money are treated with great disgust by the rich.
This city is quiet, but this silence can be called dead: everyone sits in their homes and because of their own laziness does not go out, with the exception of only young girls and boys.
Naturally, the darkness of the city lies not in the place itself, but in the people living in it. The description of the city and, in principle, the actions in the drama begin with admiration for the Volga. However, then the true face of the city is gradually revealed more and more, and its gloomy description begins and intensifies precisely from the beginning of the description of the people living in the city of Kalinov.
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