Active love is the basis of life behavior, the moral core of Boris Ekimov’s heroes. By the right of love
Technology for the development of critical thinking in a literature lesson in the 5th grade. Lesson model on the topic: B. Ekimov, story “ Alive soul»
Brief summary: One of the tasks of literature lessons is to educate a talented reader, a reader-interlocutor, a co-author. A teacher who is forming such a reader faces a question: how to structure a lesson to teach a student to reflect on what he read, ask questions and find answers, make discoveries and enjoy the search process? Techniques for developing critical thinking can come to the teacher’s aid. A lesson in the technology of developing critical thinking will help organize a dialogue between the reader and the author, immerse the child in the world literary text.
Academic subject: literature.
Level of education of schoolchildren: The lesson is intended for 5th grade, class level - intermediate
Form of educational work: class lesson
Equipment: projector, computer
Work organization: collective, group, individual
Lesson objectives:
1. Bring to the realization of how important it is to be able to sympathize and have compassion, whether it be livestock or people.
2. To promote the development of students’ thinking skills, which are necessary not only in studies, but also in everyday life (the ability to work with information, analyze various situations), the ability to make informed decisions, the ability to be intelligently reflective creative thinking).
Lesson objectives.
To give each student the opportunity to realize themselves, receiving positive emotions from the learning process, and also to construct their own knowledge.
Fostering social responsibility. (To do this, it is advisable to closely link the entire educational process with specific life tasks and problems that children face in everyday life)
Formation of UUD.
Formation of UUD in the classroom.
Regulatory.
Independently formulate the topic, problem and goals of the lesson.
Cognitive.
Independently read all types of text information: factual, subtextual, conceptual.
Establish cause-and-effect relationships.
Build reasoning
Carry out analysis and synthesis.
Communicative UUD.
Take into account different opinions and strive to coordinate different positions in cooperation.
Shape own opinion and position, to argue for it.
Ask questions necessary to organize your own activities.
Express your thoughts orally and in writing.
Listen and hear others, try to take a different point of view
Personal.
1. Formation of an emotional-evaluative attitude towards what you read.
2. Formation of perception of the text as a work of art.
During the classes.
Do you have pets at home? How do you feel about pets?
Does anyone have a grandmother in the village? Does she keep livestock? How does he treat her? Are you helping?
Appeal to personal experience, which will help prepare students for a personal perception of the work.
Ekimov Boris Petrovich born on November 19, 1938 in the city of Igarka, Krasnoyarsk Territory, into a family of employees. Graduated from Higher literary courses(1979). He worked as a turner, mechanic, serviceman, electrician at a factory, builder in the Tyumen region and in Kazakhstan, and a labor teacher in a rural school. Columnist for the Volgogradskaya Pravda newspaper.
He made his debut as a prose writer in 1965. Compiled and accompanied with a preface the folklore collection “Songs Don Cossacks"(1982). Published as a prose writer and essayist in the magazines “Our Contemporary”, “Znamya”, “ New world", "Niva Tsaritsynskaya", "Russia".
Ekimov's works have been translated into English, Spanish, Italian, German, French and other languages.
Awarded by the magazine “Our Contemporary” (1976), “ Literary newspaper"(1987), im. I. A. Bunin (1994), the New World magazine (1996), the main Moscow-Penne prize (1997), the State Prize of Russia (1998), the Stalingrad prize (1999).
Lives in Volgograd.
Working with literary text. In this part of the lesson, the “challenge - comprehension - reflection” scheme is implemented. Students receive the following work algorithm:
*reading the text from “stop to stop”
*question – forecast regarding development storyline in the passage
*answer is an assumption, its justification.
So, we read the text (work is carried out only individually). Let's start working on a mind map
The Tebyakins lived opposite the brigade office, across the road. Natalya herself was listed as a stoker and cleaner in the office. It was very convenient: a solid salary and a house at hand. Visiting people, when the office was empty, went to the Tebyakins and asked where to look for a manager, a livestock specialist, or someone else. They were told.
And this clear January One day a visitor entered the Tebyakins’ yard. He looked around, fearing the dog, and shouted from the gate:
The owners of the house?!
Stop.
At what time do the events of the story take place? What weather is normal for this time?
Nobody answered him. The visitor walked through the yard. The Vasika yard was spacious: the house was covered with tin, next to it was a warm outbuilding kitchen, sheds, and heels.
Can we guess who the owners of this house are?( They are hardworking, live in abundance, take care of their household thoroughly)
People were swarming around the cattle station. The visitor came closer: the old man and the boy were removing manure, throwing it into a wooden sled with a box. In their lowered trousers, padded jackets, felt boots and galoshes, they worked in silence and did not see the guest.
You live well! – the visiting man called out to them.
The old man understood his head.
“The mistress of the houses,” he said and ended the conversation, returning to work.
The boy didn’t even look up. Operating a shovel.
“I brought you a bow from Uncle Levon, from Baba Lena,” said the guest.
The old man straightened up, leaning on his pitchfork, looked as if he had remembered, and answered slowly:
Thank you. So, they are alive and well...Thank God.
At that moment the hostess came out onto the porch, and the old man called out to her:
Natalya, hit the man!
The boy, leaving the shovel, looked around at the loaded sled and said to his grandfather:
We're lucky.
Was our opinion about the hard work of the owners confirmed?
What can we say about the boy’s character? (silent, immersed in work)
He only glanced at the newcomer with an indifferent glance, joining the sleigh team. The rope attached to the sleigh was long, allowing the boy and the old man to harness themselves comfortably. They took it together and pulled the loaded sled on the packed snow rut down to the bottom, into the garden. AND I agreed with the move of the old and the small.
What detail helps us see the coherence of the work of the grandfather and grandson??
The hostess turned out to be friendly and talkative. In the house, without listening to reasons, she put out tea and snacks, eagerly asking about her relatives.
The father-in-law is not very talkative, said the guest.
“Old Believers,” the hostess justified herself. “They used to be called Kulugurs.” They took me, so I was out of habit... - she laughed, remembering, and, sighing, added thoughtfully: - Baba Manya died among us. Grandfather misses you, and so does Alyosha.
Do the mother's words help us understand the boy's silence?
We drank some tea. We talked. The guest remembered about business.
I came to your office.
He's on the farm. Alyosha will take you there. Just come and dine with us. Vasily will come. He always remembers Uncle Levon and his brothers. They were young... - The owner ran out into the yard, shouted to her son and returned. - Look at the manager, don’t come to dinner, come to us, to us. Otherwise Vasily will be offended.
The door opened, the owner’s son came in and asked:
Did you call me, mom?
You take your uncle to the farm. You will find the government. Understood?
“We’ll take another sled with grandpa,” said the boy.
Huh, busy... Otherwise, without you.. With grandfather...
The son, without answering, turned and left. The mother shook her head and said apologetically:
Conducts, conducts. Not a child, but Poroshina in the eye. Kuluguristy... Bycha.
How do you understand this word? How does his mother pronounce it? (affectionately, with love)
The guest laughed at the last word, but as he and the boy walked, he realized that the word was accurate.
Boy it didn’t hurt to talk: “yes” and “no”" The plump pink sponge protruded forward, the head was large and foreheaded. And it was as if he were watching incredulously, from under his brows.
What class are you in?
In the second.
How do you study?
No triples.
Is there a school in Vikhlyaevka?” the guest asked and looked at the distant Vikhlyaevskaya Mountain, which rose above the surrounding area and now shone like snow.
In Vikhlyavka...
On foot or by car?
It depends… - evasively answered the boy.
Have you been to the regional center?
Come to visit. My son is the same age as you.
The boy was wearing a padded jacket, altered from a military khaki, with clear buttons.
Did your mother sew a padded jacket?
“Baba,” the boy answered briefly.
And my grandfather rolled felt boots,” the guest guessed, admiring the neat black wire rods, soft even to look at.
Well done grandfather.
The boy glanced sideways, making it clear that this praise was unnecessary.
* Is the boy talkative with the guest? What details should we note that confirmed this?
The farm stood away from the farmstead, in a white field, blackened with stacks of hay, straw, and silage mounds. The squat buildings were drowning in the snow up to their windows. There are plump, tall hats on the roofs.
Autumn in the area dragged on for a long time, with rain. Only towards the New Year it froze and it snowed for a week. And now it's clarified. The whitish sun shone without warming. Another day there was a harsh east wind. It's chalk below. Lazy drifting snow flowed in smoky streams around the snowy sastrugi.
On the farm, on its bases, there was a hubbub: a flock of sparrows flew from place to place, looking for easy money: heavy pigeons rose like a gray cloud, covering the sky, made a circle and descended; talkative jackdaws chattered; the prim crow sat on the fence poles, patiently waiting.
"Belarus", a blue little tractor, snorting smoke, made its way along a deep rut along the bases. From the trailer, through the sleeve, a yellow mess of silage poured into the feeders. Cows hurried to feed, birds flocked.
The boy stopped the tractor and shouted:
Uncle Kolya! Haven’t you seen the government?!
In the water heater! - answered the tractor driver. - And father is there.
The last cattle emerged from the dark caves of the cowshed. From the straw mound that rose in the middle of the base, from under the zagat, where in the calm, under the wind, it was warmer and calmer. Now everyone was rushing to the silo, to the food, lining up over the feeders.
The base is empty. And then a red bull appeared in the middle. Small, disheveled, covered in icicles, he stood in the snow. Legs spread apart, navel thread almost to the ground, head lowered, as if sniffing.
The boy noticed him and called:
Bycha, bycha...Why are you standing here?
Telok raised his head.
Some kind of you... Mom didn’t lick it, stupid... - the boy said and stroked the tousled fur.
The bull did not yet look like cattle, everything about him was childish: a soft body, thin, reed-like legs, white, unhardened hooves.
The body touched the boy's hand with his nose and looked at him with large blue eyes, like Slitheen.
“You’re going to die here, boy,” said the boy. - Where is mommy?
It was difficult to wait for an answer from the chick, especially from such a one. The boy looked back at the newcomer. Said:
We should at least take him to Zagat, it’s warmer there. Let’s go,” he nudged the chick and felt his fragile flesh.
The heifer swayed and was about to fall, but the boy led him, stumbling on fossilized ground. potty road. He brought the bull to the zagat - a straw wall - and here he released it.
Just stay here. Understood?
The heifer obediently leaned sideways against the straw.
The boy, followed by the newcomer, left the base, the heifer followed them with his gaze and screamed in a thin bleating voice, stretching his neck.
Dishkanit,” the boy said, smiling.
How do we see the boy at this moment, is he still as taciturn?
Outside the base gate stood a male cattleman with a pitchfork.
Are you looking for your father?” he asked.
Management. “Here it is,” the boy answered, pointing to the guest.
Everything is in the water heater.
“And you have a heifer,” said the guest.
Yes.. It didn’t seem like yesterday.
So, she calved. Why don’t you define it anywhere?
The cattleman looked at the guest carefully and said cheerfully:
Let him get used to it in a day or two, and he’ll get some toughening up. And then we’ll determine it. That’s it,” he coughed.
The crow, sitting on the fence poles, lazily rose from his loud cough and sat down again.
Smart bird,” the cattleman laughed, throwing his pitchfork over his shoulder. I went to the cowshed.
He’ll die... - said the boy, without looking at the newcomer.
What detail helps you understand that the boy understood everything, and it is very difficult for him to come to terms with it?
And the water heater was warm and crowded. The flame was humming in the firebox, the cigarette smoke was turning blue, and white-faced watermelons, their rinds and a couple of slices with scarlet pulp in a puddle of juice lay on the table
Where do watermelons come from? - the visitor was surprised. The manager of the department rose from the bench to meet the guest and explained: When the silo was being laid, several cars of watermelons were dumped there. With melon equipment. And now they opened a hole, and they were really good. Eat.
Can we say that the farm takes care of the animals?
The boy looked at his father, who understood him and gave him a piece. The guest ate, praising him, then asked the manager:
Where do you get chicks to the base? You don’t have a lot of milk, do you?
We supplement the cows with food. And you see... God willing.
Well, where are you going to take them?
Where... - the manager chuckled, looking away. - There. Who is waiting for them where? They are considered barren. Try to replay it. Otherwise you yourself don’t know...
I know, - lowered his eyes a newcomer, but somehow...Still alive soul.
What important words come out of his mouth?
The manager just shook his head. The boy finished the slice, his father wiped his wet mouth with his palm and said:
Well, run home.
In freedom, the wind hit my face with coldness. But it was so easy to breathe after the smoke and steam! There was a fresh scent of straw and tart-bearing silage, and there was even a smell of watermelon from the open pit.
Do you think the boy will go home straight away?
The boy went straight to the road, to the house. But suddenly he changed his mind and hurried to the cattle base. There, in the quiet, near the thatched wall of the zagat, the red heifer stood in the same place.
Without thinking twice, the boy approached the hay, the stacks of which stood nearby. In past years, when the domestic cow Zorka gave birth to calves, a boy and his late grandmother Manya looked after them. And he knew what kind of hay the little calf needed, although later. Green, with leaves. They hung it up in a bunch, and the heifer crunched.
It was more difficult to find such hay in a large collective farm stack, but the boy found a bunch or two of green leafy alfalfa and took the heifer.
“Eat,” he said, “eat, living soul...
A living soul... This was the saying of the deceased woman Mani. She felt sorry for all cattle. Homemade, stray, wild, and when they reproached her, she made excuses: “But what about... A living soul”
From whom did the boy get so much kindness?
The calf reached for the bundle of hay. He sniffed it noisily. And the boy went home. I remembered the grandmother with whom they always lived, until this fall. Now she lay in the ground, in a snow-covered cemetery. For the boy, Baba Manya remained almost alive for now, because he had known her for a long time and separated recently, and therefore could not yet get used to death.
Now, on the way home, he looked at the cemeteries: black crosses in a white field.
And at home, the grandfather had not yet left the base: he was feeding and watering the cattle.
“Grandfather,” the boy asked, “can a heifer live on hay alone?” Small? Just born.
“He needs milk,” answered the grandfather. “Now our Zorka should bring it.” Chick.
“Today,” the boy rejoiced.
“Now,” the grandfather repeated. – You won’t have to sleep at night. Guard.
From whom else did the boy learn to care for livestock? What does he care about?
The cow stood nearby, large, side-bodied, and sighed noisily.
And in the house the mother was preparing to welcome the guest: she was rolling out dough for goose noodles, and something was ripe in the oven, the sweet spirit of a hot stove was wafting through the house.
The boy had lunch and ran off to ride from the mound and showed up home only in the evening.
The lights were on in the house. In the upper room, at the table, the newcomer and all his relatives were sitting. Father, mother, grandfather in a new shirt, with a combed beard, aunt and uncle and sisters. The boy quietly entered, undressed, sat down in the kitchen and ate. And only then did they notice him.
And we didn’t even notice that you came! – the mother was surprised. - Sit down and have dinner with us.
The boy shook his head and answered briefly:
I ate and went into the back room. He was shy about strangers.
Wow, he’s a natural,” the mother chided. “He’s just an old man.”
And the guest just looked at the boy and immediately remembered the calf. I remembered and said, continuing the conversation I had started
Here's a live example. Calf, this is, to the base. After all, the collective farm should be happy with the extra cattle
They survived... The owners... - the grandfather shook his head.
And the boy turned on the light in the side room and sat down on the bed with a book. But it wasn't read. Relatives were sitting nearby, across the room, and you could hear them talking and laughing. But it was sad. The boy looked out the dark window and waited for his grandfather to remember him and come. But grandfather did not come. Grandma would come. She would come and bring a delicious cookie, one of those that was on the table. She would come, sit next to her, and you could lie on her lap, caressing and dozing off.
Why does the boy miss his grandmother so much? How can she help him?
Outside the window the January evening was pouring into a thick blue. The neighboring house, Amochaev's, seemed to shine from afar, and beyond there was darkness. No village, no surrounding area.
And again I remembered Baba Manya, as if alive. I so wanted to hear her voice, her heavy shuffling gait, and feel her hand. In a kind of daze, the boy got up, went to the window and, looking into the deep blue, called:
Babanya...Babanya...Babanechka...
He grabbed the window sill with his hands and stared into the darkness with his eyes, waiting. He waited, tears standing in his eyes. He waited and seemed to see through the darkness a cemetery covered with white snow.
Grandma didn't come. The boy returned to the bed and sat down, now no longer looking anywhere, not expecting anyone. My sister looked into the room. He ordered her:
Ooh, bull... - the sister reproached, but left.
The boy did not hear her, because he suddenly understood clearly: his grandmother would never come. The dead don't come. They will never exist again, it seems they never existed. Summer will come, then winter again... He will finish school, go into the army, but his grandmother will still be gone. She remained lying in a deep grave. And nothing can lift it.
The tears have dried. It seemed easier.
And then I remembered the heifer from the collective farm. He must die tonight. Die and also never come back to life. Other heifers will wait for spring and wait for it. With their tails raised, they will scamper around the melted base. Then summer will come, and it will be completely good: green grass, water, wandering around the pasture, butting heads, playing.
*What did the boy understand, what truth of life? What do you think he will do?
The boy decided everything at once: he would now take the sled, bring the bull and place it in the kitchen with the kids. And let him not die, because it is better to be alive than dead.
He slipped into the kitchen, grabbed his clothes and rushed out of the house. The wooden sled with a box was light. And the boy trotted straight to the barns, and then along the smooth, well-worn road from the farmstead to the farm.
The yellow lights of the houses remained behind, and the vaguely white steppe and the sky above it opened up ahead.
The moon was already melting, its white horn shone dimly: the well-worn road gleamed, the snow sparkled on the sastrugi. And in the sky the same milky path stretched across the starry sky, but icy lights burned brighter than the earth’s, from edge to edge.
The yellow lanterns of the barnyard and the very timid, squinted windows of the farm illuminated nothing. The light shone brighter from the warm fireplace, where the man was now sitting.
But the boy didn’t need other people’s eyes, and he walked around the cattle station from below, from the river. He felt in his heart that the heifer was now where he had left it, at the gate, under the wall of the zagat.
Telok was there. He no longer stood, but lay leaning against the wall of straw. And his body, cooling down, took on the cold, and only with heart there was still a weak knock on warmth gut.
What did the chick need? (Heart warmth, human care)
Who will bring him this warmth?
The boy opened his coat and, hugging the calf, snuggled up to him, warming him. At first the heifer didn’t understand anything, then he started fidgeting. He smelled his mother, a warm mother who had finally come, and she smelled of the sweet spirit that he had been asking for for a long time hungry and frozen, but a living soul.
What words cause excitement??
Having laid straw on the sled, the boy threw the heifer into the box and covered it with straw on top, keeping it warm. And he moved towards the house. He was in a hurry, in a hurry. People in the house might have caught him.
He drove into the base from the hay barn, out of the darkness, and pulled the calf into the kitchen, to the kids. Smelling a man, the kids stamped, bleated, and rushed to the boy, expecting their mothers to be brought to them. The boy placed the calf near the warm pipe and went out into the yard.
What does the boy want to do? Should he tell his family about his actions? Who does he want to tell?
Well, my dear, come on, come on... Come on, Zoryushka...
Grandfather! - the boy called.
The grandfather went out to the base with a lantern.
What do you want?
Grandfather, I brought a heifer from the farm.
From what farm? – the grandfather was surprised. -What chick?
From the collective farm. He would have frozen there by morning. I brought him.
Who taught you? - Grandfather was confused. - What are you doing? Or have you lost your mind?
The boy looked up at him with questioning eyes and asked:
Do you want him to die and be dragged around the farm by his dogs? And he is a living soul...yes!
Wait a minute. Pamorki fought off. What kind of chick is this? Tell me.
The boy told the story of today, the day, and asked again:
Grandfather, let him live. I'll keep an eye on him. I can handle it.
Okay,” the grandfather breathed out. - We'll think of something. Oh, father, father, something is wrong. Where is he, heifer?
*What is grandfather worried about? Who is he worried about?
In the kitchen, the kids are warming up. He hasn't eaten today.
Okay,” the grandfather waved his hand, suddenly it seemed to him that he needed it. – Seven troubles...If only Zorka doesn’t let us down. I can handle this myself. And keep quiet. Me myself.
Where were you? - asked the mother.
“At the Shlyapuzhkov’s,” he answered her and began to get ready for bed.
He felt that he was getting chilly, and when he found himself in bed, he made himself a tight little cave under the blanket, inhaled it until it was hot, and only then leaned out and decided to wait for his grandfather.
But at once he fell into a deep sleep. At first, the boy seemed to hear and see everything: the fire in the next room, voices, and the horn of the moon in the upper spike of the window was shining for him. And then everything became foggy, only the white heavenly light became brighter and brighter, and there was a warm smell from there, so familiar and dear that, even without seeing, the boy realized: it was Baba Manya coming. After all, he called her, and she, in a hurry, goes to her grandson.
It was hard to open his eyes, but he opened them, and he was blinded by the light, like the sun woman Mani's face. She hurried towards him, holding out her hands. She didn’t walk, didn’t run, she swam on a clear summer day, and a red bull curled next to her.
Granny... bull... - the boy whispered, and also swam, spreading his arms.
Why did I dream about grandmothers and a bull7
Grandfather returned to the hut while they were still sitting at the table. He entered, stood at the threshold and said:
Rejoice, owners... Zorka brought two. Chick and bull.
Everyone was blown out of the table and out of the hut at once. The grandfather grinned after him and went to his grandson, turning on the light.
The boy was sleeping. Grandfather wanted to turn off the light, but his hand stopped. He stood and looked.
How prettier a child's face becomes when he is asleep. Everything of the day, flying away, leaves no trace. Cares and needs have not yet filled the heart and mind, when night is not salvation, and daytime anxiety slumbers in mournful wrinkles, not going away. All this is ahead. And now the good angel with his soft wing drives away the unsweetened, and golden dreams are dreamed, and children’s faces bloom. And looking at them is a consolation.
Is it light? The stomp on the porch and in the corridor disturbed the boy, he stirred, smacked his little lips, whispered: “Granny...Bull...” and laughed.
Grandfather turned off the electricity and closed the door. Let him sleep.
*The story is called “The Living Soul.” Now we understand the double meaning of the name.
The boy has a living soul.
Reflection stage– the final stage of the lesson in the mode of critical thinking technology.
At the reflection stage, group creative work is carried out:
Prepare illustrations for the story
An essay is a discussion about the idea of a work
Write a review about the story
Create a mind map based on the work
After completing the task, the groups present the result to the class.
Application.
I recently read a touching, soul-penetrating story by Boris Ekimov, “The Living Soul.”
Main character- Alyoshka, a village boy, businesslike, efficient in his work, not very friendly, at first glance. Because of his character and even some unsociability, his mother affectionately calls him “Bull.”
At his mother’s request, he accompanies an inspector visiting from the city to the farm. The boy sees there a newly born calf: “The bull did not yet look like cattle, everything about him was childish: a soft body, thin, reed-like legs, white, unhardened hooves.” I was struck by what a touching comparison the author found - feet in a reed.
Alyosha feels so sorry for him, because it’s freezing outside, the calf can’t stand it, and he’s stumbling around. The smart and kind man brought him to the straw wall and left him there. And a little later, in the hay, I dug out some soft grass for him, the kind that his recently deceased grandmother gave to the little calves. She called all living creatures “living souls” and passed on her kindness and warmth to her grandson.
On the farm, the boy hears that the calves here are unaccounted for and because of them there is only a hassle in the accounting department, so no one cares about the animals, the calves die - less concern.
In the evening, when the family treated the visitor to dinner, the boy did not even come to the table. He remembers his grandmother, she would have come up with something, saved the calf, “a living soul.”
Alyoshka understands that the bull will die if he is not helped, and only he can do this. A boy on a sled brings a calf, already almost frozen, home. As he falls asleep, he sees his grandmother’s face, “as bright as the sun.”
It seems to me that Alyosha will always be so responsible, caring and kind person. These qualities were brought up in him by his parents and grandparents.
After reading this story, I thought about my actions, whether I always do the right thing, whether I can be kind and generous with sympathy.
Page 1
Among the writer's heroes there are those who do not think about the meaning of life, about what is moral and what is immoral. Morality is manifested in their actions and practical actions. They simply live, giving their love and compassion to other people, their native land, while maintaining conscientiousness, unostentatious kindness, and human reliability. (14, p.211)
According to Boris Ekimov, the most important thing in a person is his soul.
“In the story “A Boy on a Bicycle,” one of the characters, reflecting on the meaning of life, comes to the following conclusion: “A person, in general, needs a piece of bread and a mug of water. The rest is superfluous. Bread and water. This is where he lives. And a living soul." One of B. Ekimov’s stories is called “The Living Soul” and several meanings can be read in this title. “A living soul” is the favorite saying of Baba Mani, whose death is so difficult for the eight-year-old boy Alyosha to come to terms with. A living soul is also a calf abandoned in the cold, useless to anyone. His life must fade away before it even begins: there are no conditions on the collective farm for raising “unplanned” calves, they are just a hassle for everyone. It is fortunate that little Alyosha did not have time to comprehend the sophisticated logic of adults; he knows and feels in his heart only one thing: the calf must not freeze or die, because it will never come to life again. “The dead don't come. They will never exist again, it’s as if they never existed.” A living soul is Alyosha himself, and in the end, this is the most valuable thing in any person, the only thing by which his life and his deeds should be trusted.
B. Ekimov's heroes are mostly ordinary, outwardly unremarkable people shown in everyday life. However, in a certain situation, they commit actions dictated not by personal gain or practical considerations, but by compassion for another person, the ability to understand someone else's pain. (6, p.211)
Children for Ekimov are “living souls” (so says Solonich, the hero of the story of the same name), that is, sensitive creatures capable of perceiving life adequately, in the fullness of its joys and sorrows, without accepting the sometimes inherently cruel conventions generated by human experience.
Ekimov’s “living soul” child is capable of real feats and almost miracles. Ten-year-old Seryozhka ("Boy on a Bicycle"), who finds himself in a difficult everyday situation, fulfills the duties of parents for his sister and the owner of a large peasant farm.
The hero of one of the best, in our opinion, stories, “The Night of Healing,” the teenager Grisha heals his grandmother, Baba Dunya, whose “gray head was shaking and something otherworldly was already visible in her eyes.” The writer evaluates the old woman’s illness not from a medical point of view, but from a general humanistic point of view. The medications prescribed by doctors did not help and could not, according to the author’s logic, help, because they were powerless to change a life already lived, full of hardships - so she continued old woman in a dream, screaming about acorns, about lost bread cards, or about the hospital.
The author traces how attitudes change young hero to this drama: from fear and irritation to pity and compassion. The child failed to use the means tested by his parents - to shout at his sleeping grandmother, at the very last moment “the boy’s heart was filled with pity and pain, and he unexpectedly began to calm down Baba Dunya. Complicity in the suffering of a neighbor highlights the best in the child’s soul, which is inherent in him by nature and which contrasts him with his parents, who, under the influence of vain existence, have lost the acuteness of feeling the grief of others.
The lofty word “healing,” which is not typical for Ekimov’s dictionary, sounds only at the very end, combining the hope of getting rid of the old woman from loneliness, and faith in the triumph of the good principle in the child’s soul as a guarantee of the victory of good over evil in general: “ And healing will come." (9, p.203-204)
“Sometimes the light and warmth of human relationships seems to radiate from the text itself, in which one can hear the living element of folk speech.
“Grandma, grandma,” calls the city granddaughter Olyushka, frightened by a cow approaching close (story “On the Cossack Farm”). “Ayushki, my dear, I’m here, here,” Natalya replies. “Don’t be afraid, my sweet, don’t be afraid, my sweetie,” she reassures the girl. And when Olya, leaning against the hot cow’s side, mutters in her sleep: “Grandma, she loves me. “,” Natalya whispers in response: “He loves you, my dear, how can you not love you.”
This unconditional, original love, this tenderness is worth a lot. They sink into the soul and shape it, and in mature years, in difficult moments of life, they keep you from bitterness and despair, and soften the bitterness of disappointment.” (21, p.230)
Research project topic:
“The moral choice of heroes in the works of Boris Ekimov”
Work completed:
And literature MBOU Secondary school No. 8 ShchMR MO
INTRODUCTION
Boris Ekimov is a Russian writer who continues the best traditions Russian classical literature. Historicism, definiteness of the author’s position, attention to the inner world of man, artistic perfection his works explain the interest of modern philological science in his works.
Prose is a significant phenomenon in the literature of our days. The publication in 1979 brought wide fame to the writer. story "Kholushino Compound". Currently the author of more than 20 books, laureate State Prize(1998), international awards. His works are published in the magazines “Znamya”, “October”, “Our Contemporary”, “New World”. Ekimov’s story “The Shepherd Star” is included in the presidential library - a series of books outstanding works Russian authors. The books have been translated into English, Spanish, Italian, and French.
In 2008, Boris Petrovich Ekimov was awarded the Alexander Solzhenitsyn Literary Prize. The announcement of the laureate is traditionally accompanied by a precise formulation of the jury. In 2008, it reads like this: “For the poignancy and pain in describing the lost state of the Russian province and the reflection of the ineradicable dignity of a modest person; for the source of living life that flows in the writer’s prose vernacular". And this is the only case when the announcement of the laureate for the media is accompanied by the words of Solzhenitsyn himself: “In recent decades, when, it seems, the very existence of the Russian village has fallen out of our sight, not to mention the eye of art, Boris Ekimov entered literature as a new a "hillbilly" writer. In many vivid stories and essays, Ekimov depicts the unfamiliar environment of today's rural areas with its new way of life, alluring opportunities and steep threats. This living stream of Ekimov’s paintings, expanding our ideas about difficult life of today's village, helps to restore, at least mentally, the unity of the national body. And how interesting it is to listen to opinions from the Don hinterland - about the latest events. (Alexander Solzhenitsyn February 2008.")
In his works, Boris Petrovich addresses the eternal problems of existence, the relationship between man and nature. The writer’s stories contain a huge charge of moral strength and purity.
To the question: “What should literature be about?” - he answers: “All real literature is about human life. There are no other topics in the literature" [B. Ekimov “I did not choose this craft for the sake of my daily bread” // w. “Literature Lessons”, No. 8, 2005]. The plots of Ekimov’s stories are “huge living earth, living water, bottomless sky and the human soul, grateful for everything, sometimes to the point of oblivion, to tears.” Ekimov’s heroes “walk and walk and suddenly stop, as if against their will, looking at the plank and wicker walls, slate and reed roofs. Then a long sigh - and we moved on with our lives.” Their path in life is “glorious: birches and pines guard the path; In the autumn of life they are not painfully cold, but their souls and hearts are completely warm. So go ahead, man..."
“The fact is that I did not choose this craft for my daily bread. As was the custom from the beginning, people don’t go to Russian literature for the sake of a sweet piece. The reasons are different. Dare I say, quite tall. It’s not worth giving up on them,” this is what the writer himself, Boris Petrovich Ekimov, says about his calling.
Much has been devoted to the work of the Volgograd writer critical works. Pavel Basinsky called him "a first-class Russian storyteller." Vladimir Vasiliev in the article “The Height of B. Ekimov” wrote that in the writer’s works “the noblest feelings and impulses of human feeling find artistic expression.” In the article “Test by Truth” we read the following: “By letting life itself speak out..., Boris Ekimov does not directly evaluate the actions and actions of the heroes. The assessment must be made by the reader himself.” Valery Serdyuchenko in the article “Russian literature at the turn of the third millennium” notes “the moral purity of the author’s position and, most importantly, visual talent" writer. In particular, in the work “Creativity of B. Ekimov: the dynamics of “village” prose last third XX century" traces the evolution of the writer's prose in the context general process development of this phenomenon Russian literature. The study “Short story genre in creativity: traditions and innovation” touches on the very close problem of continuity in the domestic literary process.
The work of B. Ekimov is permeated with anxiety for the fate of man, for his moral principles, his future. The result deep research The writer of the lives of his compatriots, comprehending the complexity of the human spiritual world was the creation of bright, extraordinary characters. The wisdom and conscientiousness of this writer are rare qualities for the modern literary process. Today, play, irony, interest in mysticism and metaphysics are in fashion. A dual attitude towards events and facts is proclaimed, and at the same time the categories: “dignity”, “honor”, “intelligence”, “righteousness” are lost. That is why the “conscientious” stories and tales of Boris Petrovich Ekimov can and should be studied in a literature course in high school: thanks to their external (but not internal) simplicity and honest, open author’s position.
The main goal of the work is explore how the problem of moral choice is revealed in the stories of B. Ekimov
l Research material stories “Living Soul”, “Fetisych”, “Night of Healing”, “Christmas Tree for Mother”, “For Warm Bread”, “A Pair of Autumn Shoes”, “Sale”.
TASKS:
Ø study the themes of B. Ekimov’s stories;
Ø understand what moral choice the heroes of B. Ekimov’s stories make when in a difficult situation, what determines this choice and what is the author’s position.
Relevance of the work:
Ø The relevance of this work lies in the fact that recently the problem of morality and moral choice has been acutely faced modern man, especially to the younger generation.
Ø Each of us, in difficult times or prosperous times, makes a small or large choice - this choice characterizes us as a person, and it is by this that others judge us.
Ø The results of the study can be used for further study of the work of B. Ekimov.
Ø The work can be practical in nature –
used in literature lessons on the works of writers of the 21st century.
The creativity of B. Ekimov has philosophical character, in his works the author touches on a number of moral, moral problems. In his stories and novellas, the writer largely follows the traditions of I. Turgenev, L. Tolstoy, I. Bunin, which is especially important for modern literature. After all, according to critics, today's mass literature has largely lost its main task - to influence the souls of people. Therefore, prose writers and poets who touch on so-called “eternal” problems in their texts are especially needed and valuable at the present time.
MAIN PART
The focus is on today's reality with its pressing problems. The writer remains true to himself throughout creative path, exploring the life of a contemporary. The determining factor for novels and short stories (as well as for creativity in general) is ethical pathos. The moral improvement of man and the trials predetermined along this path are the subject of artistic comprehension in the writer’s stories, determine their genre content.
Characterizing the genre-forming factors of the story, in particular, he notes that its “heroes are shown at the moment of the most significant shifts in their inner world, when they are experiencing a mental crisis... they feel their moral rebirth... when their loyalty to their own moral principles is tested or a decisive attempt to change their existence is shown ".
B. Ekimov's heroes are for the most part ordinary, outwardly unremarkable people, shown in everyday life. However, in a certain situation, they commit actions dictated not by personal gain or practical considerations, but by compassion for another person, the ability to understand someone else's pain.
The situation of moral choice is decisive for the plot of the stories “Christmas Tree for Mother”, “For Warm Bread”, “Fetisych”, “Living Soul”, “Night of Healing”, “Sale”, “Don’t Cry”, etc. But also the nature of the conflict , and the structure of the plot in these works have their own characteristics. The source of conflict in them is the moral beliefs of the hero, which come into conflict not with the aspirations of other characters, but with generally accepted, widely held ideas.
Ekimov’s “living soul” child is capable of real feats and almost miracles. Ten-year-old Seryozhka ("Boy on a Bicycle"), who finds himself in a difficult everyday situation, fulfills the duties of parents for his sister and the owner of a large peasant farm.
The story “The Living Soul” describes an episode that has become familiar to people working on a farm, but does not attract anyone’s attention: a calf born on a frosty day is doomed to death. Such “unscheduled” calves are an extra burden for collective farmers. Eight-year-old boy Alyosha Tebyakin acts simply, in the only true way that his heart tells him - he warms it up and then brings the calf home, thereby saving its life. Thoughts about a defenseless animal help the boy realize the irreversibility of death. If before he continued to wait deceased grandmother, then now “I suddenly understood clearly: grandma will never come. The dead don't come. They will never exist again, it seems they never existed. Summer will come, then winter again... He will finish school, go into the army, but his grandmother will still be gone. She remained lying in a deep grave. And nothing can lift it." By saving the calf, Alyosha acts in spite of death itself and affirms the triumph of life.
The title of the story acquires not just a polysemantic, but a programmatic meaning for B. Ekimov’s work. “A living soul” is both Alyosha’s grandmother’s favorite saying and a freezing calf. The main idea affirmed in the story is this: a beautiful person is with an unhardened, “living” soul.
.
The life of a nine-year-old hero ( story "Fetisych") is not at all kind and carefree. But even in this little man the author notes responsibility for oneself and others, patience, the ability to give up what is desired and even deserved in the name of what is necessary. Left without a teacher, the farm school is doomed; Fetisych’s younger friends will not be able to continue studying at home. Realizing that only he can somehow support her existence, little hero Ekimova refuses to live and study in relatively good conditions. Such small deeds preserve the life still glimmering on the harsh earth: “The farm lay completely quiet, in the snow, as if in captivity. Timid stove smoke rose to the sky. One, another... Behind them is a third. The farm was alive. He lay alone on the white expanse of earth, among fields and fields.”
The hero of one of the best, in our opinion, stories "Night of Healing" teenager Grisha heals his grandmother, Baba Dunya, whose “gray head was shaking and something unearthly was already visible in her eyes.” The writer evaluates the old woman’s illness not from a medical point of view, but from a general humanistic point of view. The medications prescribed by doctors did not help and could not, according to the author’s logic, help, because they were powerless to change a life already lived, full of hardships, so the old woman in her sleep continued to scream about acorns, then about lost bread cards, then about the hospital. The author traces how the young hero's attitude to this drama changes: from fear and irritation to pity and compassion. The child failed to use the means tested by his parents - to shout at his sleeping grandmother, at the very last moment “the boy’s heart was filled with pity and pain, and he unexpectedly began to calm down Baba Dunya. Complicity in the suffering of a neighbor highlights the best in the child’s soul, which is inherent in him by nature and which contrasts him with his parents, who, under the influence of vain existence, have lost the acuteness of feeling the grief of others. The lofty word “healing,” which is not typical for Ekimov’s dictionary, sounds only at the very end, combining the hope of getting rid of the old woman from loneliness, and faith in the triumph of the good principle in the child’s soul as a guarantee of the victory of good over evil in general: “ And healing will come."
He sees boys as ready to take on the problems of future men. Boys - men are responsible for the structure of the world where they and their children live.
In the story “For Warm Bread” describes a long winter day in the life of grandfather Arkhip, who went to the regional center and unsuccessfully tried to get coal. The action in the story unfolds leisurely, it is devoid of sharp contrasts and bright bursts. he carefully covers it on his chest. There is no clear conflict in the story. However, from the context of the work it becomes clear that the atmosphere of indifference and indifference, as if “dissolved” in the surrounding life, is contrasted with the ardent, sincere movement of the human soul. It is these qualities - the ability to sympathize, respond to someone else's pain, misfortune, simply the ability to “hear” another person - that B. Ekimov invariably emphasizes in his heroes.
The hero of the story “Christmas Tree for Mother”
Alexey, on the eve of the New Year holiday, is faced with an almost impossible task: at the request of his sick mother, he needs to find a Christmas tree. In fact, the Christmas tree is not needed by the mother, but by her attending physician, a callous, indifferent woman. Alexey takes on this case in the hope of at least a little alleviating the moral suffering of his mother, who is awaiting surgery. The plot outline of the story reveals the hero’s consistent overcoming of all kinds of physical and moral obstacles. And when the goal is finally achieved, it turns out that all of Alexei’s torment was in vain: on the “doctor’s” balcony there is already a fluffy spruce tree. It would seem that the desired result has been achieved, but at the same time the hero’s actions turn out to be meaningless.
But the whole point is that the author considers the same event in different coordinate systems, compares two points of view - everyday, everyday, and ethical. Alexey’s action, accordingly, receives two assessments: in the everyday view, it really loses all meaning, but at the same time it acquires special meaning for the hero, which he is perfectly aware of. This understanding of the true meaning of the action is expressed in the phrase that ends the story: “After all, the tree was for the mother. For her alone." Thus, the work reveals the author’s deep thought: to show in his hero the victory of the moral, truly human principle, the ability to rise above everyday vanity and considerations of practical expediency.
In stories written in recent years, there is increasingly a passionate, sincere author's voice addressed directly to the reader. Ekimov spoke about the most important, painful issues, revealing his artistic position. It was as if he felt that his heroes could not say everything, but they definitely had to say it. More and more “sudden”, “fabricated” stories from Boris Ekimov himself appear. Such an open movement towards “unheard-of simplicity”, a kind of nakedness, is in the traditions of Russian literature. Here, in fact, it is no longer art, it is going beyond its limits, when the soul screams about its pain. Now stories are entirely the author's word. The interview is a naked revelation.
And everywhere questions, questions, questions. The most important things about the meaning of life. Art should teach goodness. Ekimov sees the ability of a pure human heart for good as the most precious wealth. If we are strong and truly smart in anything, it is in a good deed. With an enlarged depiction of unusual, exceptional circumstances, the situation suggests their possible explosion, a catastrophe, which, having broken out, breaks the usual course of life of the heroes.
Story "Sale"» , selected for analysis, plays important role in the education of moral qualities, because the story solves the problem of mercy of ordinary Russian people.. “The Dushanbe-Saratov train set off... The train went on and on, leaving behind rare cities. But there was a lot of terrible things ahead: at any stop at each pillar the path could end. The phrase “But there was a lot of terrible things ahead…” immediately attracts attention. What to expect from this road, although the road went to Russia? In the tenth compartment carriage there were ordinary people traveling - Russian refugees. They have one thing in common: “Everyone had bitter things, but there were also terrible things.” In the second compartment, two women were traveling from the conductors - a mother and daughter. We once lived in a village where we lived for a century. ...Suddenly everything broke. The Soviet Union collapsed - and terrible things began: robberies, murders, tears, blood. “We managed to leave, take the children away, manage to settle down in Russia, ... buy a house, find a job. But the elderly parents all hoped to wait it out... The death of the father, the funeral, fresh grave. Mother and daughter, returning home, encountered cruelty on the train - the child was being sold while the mother was alive. For her mother she turned out to be a burden. And the mother decided to sell it. In the first “drunk” compartment, the bargaining has already begun. Let's take a closer look at this girl. According to the author, it contains salvation for many who find themselves here by the will of fate. “The girl turned out to be liveliness herself. She rumbled incessantly... it became more fun with the girl in the compartment. There are concerns." and the women we already knew willingly took it upon themselves. And the girl repaid them with her gullibility and childish spontaneity. The girl gave these women back the present that they had lost, or perhaps that they were trying to escape from. But in the present, the life and fate of this girl was in their hands. . To save the girl, the mother and daughter gave up the last of their money, but they also had to buy warm clothes and set up housekeeping in the new place. This decision was not easy for these two women. The present determined their choice, and they did it. The rescue of the girl became a sign that life goes on, that the tree of life is alive if it is capable of bearing fruit with such responsive hearts. This is the philosophical concept of B. Ekimov’s story “Sale.”
The problem of moral choice is raised by the writer in the story “Do not Cry “.To live on and experience “not even human fear, but animal, bestial horror” in front of Mishka Abrek for his daughter, for his mother, or to free himself from violence in one fell swoop? But this is the psychological manner of B. Ekimov, similar to the manner of Chekhov, that “he knows how to capture the thoughts, feelings, moods of the heroes at the moment when they are still hidden..., but have already matured so much that they shine through in every word, in every movement, in every pause.” “...Then there was a day - blacker than night. And then night again, worse than Judgment Day. And then they splashed out on this distant farm, and they had to move on with their lives.
So we lived. And now – run again? Or endure and cry. Cry all my life... Like my mother cried, turning gray and losing her mind. And how many tears Nadya shed. Who saw them and wiped away these tears?.. And now it’s time for the daughter?
No! - Nadya screamed and perked up... - No! – she repeated firmly, this time for herself. “We will stay here.”
And we guess that it was Nadya who set fire to Mishka Abrek’s house in order to protect the most precious thing she has, her daughter, from evil, in order to save her family, a house from which there is nowhere to go.
Ekimov appeals to our feelings of mercy and compassion. He does not judge his heroes, leaving the reader the right to draw their own conclusions.
And Ekimov would not be Ekimov if he did not leave the reader hope. In his novels and stories, he depicts people who may not always live according to the laws highest morality, but always striving for this morality.
Boris Ekimov's latest book is called "Don't Cry." This is a very characteristic name for Ekimov, one might say the call of Ekimov’s prose: don’t cry, don’t despair, you need to trust the natural laws of life and love the country of your residence, no matter what state it may be in. B. Ekimov: “It seems to me that my new book, which was published quite recently, is called well - “No need to cry.” We need to live. Look around, look around, think - both young and old - and live. Because there is no second life, don’t cry. I think that all my books, and previous stories and tales, are about the same thing: about life on earth, about life in Russia, about life that is still beautiful, no matter what.”
The “living soul” hurts and beats in the writer’s works. The author seems to be calling on us, readers, to stop at least for a minute in the endless race. modern life, stop to look around and see those who are close to us and who need help.
The poet A. Dementyev has the following lines: “How important it is to have time to say a kind word to someone...”. How simple it is! Just remember to do this. Compassion and mercy are the key words to the work of Boris Ekimov. His stories are about the high spiritual values of the Russian people, about small deeds in which the soul is manifested. His works in difficult moments of life keep people from bitterness and despair and inspire faith in goodness.
Conclusion.
Every writer has his own most frequently depicted type. it is important to capture the character (male, female, child) “at a crossroads”, in a borderline situation: Yakov (“Fetisych”, 1996), Nadya (“Don’t cry…”, 2004) Only strong-willed characters are faced with a choice. The analysis carried out allows us to draw the following conclusion: while maintaining strong ties with the literary tradition, B. Ekimov in his reasoning comes not from an abstract idea, but from a specific person.
At the center of Ekimov’s story there is always a Man; the writer is interested in his inner world, the processes occurring in his soul, in other words, the moment of self-determination (formation) of the individual. shows the characters at a moment in their lives when, under the influence of external circumstances, the usual course of things is disrupted and they need to make a choice, find the right decision, defend your position. B. Ekimov's heroes are for the most part ordinary, outwardly unremarkable people, shown in everyday life. However, in a certain situation, they commit actions dictated not by personal gain or practical considerations, but by compassion for another person, the ability to understand someone else’s pain. an ordinary person", his moral strength, manifested not in words, but in actions, in work. With particular warmth, the writer creates images of old people and children, deliberately bringing them together in stories, which also becomes one of the ways of expressing the author’s position. In the stories of B. Ekimov important has a psychological aspect. The characters are in a borderline situation, which helps to reveal their essence.
shows the characters at a moment in their lives when, under the influence of external circumstances, the usual course of things is disrupted and they need to make a choice, find the right decision, and defend their position.
B. Ekimov's heroes are for the most part ordinary, outwardly unremarkable people, shown in everyday life. However, in a certain situation, they commit actions dictated not by personal gain or practical considerations, but by compassion for another person, the ability to understand someone else's pain.
The heroes feel personal responsibility for what is happening around them and, to the best of their ability, resist the general discord and try to solve those problems that many retreat from.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Velikanova, big book // Fatherland. – 1998. – No. 4. – P. 191.
2. Evseev M. The plot is suggested by life // Volgogradskaya Pravda. 1978. August 22.
3. B. Ekimov “I chose this craft not for my daily bread” // f. “Literature Lessons”, No. 8, 2005
4. Ekimov B. If you are a wise person, then what difference does it make to you what you eat your bread with? // Evening Volgograd. - 1993, .
5. “Poetics of prose”
6. Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia, http://ru. wikipedia. org/wiki/
54
Municipal educational institution secondary comprehensive school № 98
Comparison of the understanding of the meaning and happiness of life between the heroes of B. P. Ekimov’s stories and modern teenagers
Completed:
Salokhina Yulia Dmitrievna
Shalaeva Olga Alexandrovna
9A class
Teacher
Reut Olga Mikhailovna
Volgograd 2007
Table of contents
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
Chapter 1 Volgograd writer B.P. Ekimov? one of the best modern Russian writers………………………………………………………………...6
Chapter 2 Understanding of happiness and the meaning of life by the heroes of B.P.’s stories. Ekimova……………………………………………………………………………………....9
2.1 Labor is the means, goal and meaning of life of Ekimov’s heroes………………...9
2.2 Active love is the basis of life behavior, the moral core of Boris Ekimov’s heroes…………………………………………………………….13
2.3 The happiness of life is in life itself, love for one’s native land…………………18
2.4 The main and little things in the life of the heroes of Ekimov’s stories…………………22
2.5 Writer Boris Ekimov about happiness and the meaning of life………………………27
Chapter 3 Understanding of happiness and the meaning of life by modern teenagers in comparison with the heroes of the stories of B.P. Ekimova…………………………….…...28
3.1 7 ? 8th grade………………………………………………………………………………30
3.2 9 ? 11th grade……………………………………………………………………………….….41
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………56
References……………………………………………………………58
Applications
Appendix 1 Photo of B.P. Ekimov at a meeting with schoolchildren on February 16, 2007
Introduction
The topic of happiness and the meaning of life has been relevant at all times for thinking people.
In the conditions of the modern spiritual crisis, when old ideals are being destroyed and new ones are being created, moral values are changing, it becomes especially acute, especially for the younger generation.
According to famous critic Lev Anninsky, Russian literature “has never been only literature. And it won't. This is its destiny, that it has always been philosophy, sociology, and much more. For us, literature has always been Everything.” Therefore, we turn our views to Russian literature - a moral guideline that affirms the high spiritual values of our people.
Volgograd writer, laureate of the State Prize of Russia, Boris Petrovich Ekimov is one of the best writers of our time. The question of self-determination in life is central to his work. Our work is devoted to comparing the understanding of the meaning and happiness of life between the heroes of B. P. Ekimov’s stories and modern teenagers. We must build the future by being aware of the present and the past, comprehending our views and spiritually perceiving our moral achievements. This is the relevance of our research.
Research problem: what unites Ekimov’s heroes and our generation, what will help us get out of the crisis?
Object of study - fiction B. Ekimova and reflections on happiness and the meaning of life modern teenagers.
The subject of the study is the theme of happiness and the meaning of life in the stories of Boris Ekimov;
understanding of the meaning of life by students in grades 7-11 of school No. 98.
Purpose of the study: to compare how moral values change among students in grades 7-8 and 9-11 and why;
identify commonalities and differences in views on life, happiness, joy of life, its meaning of Boris Ekimov’s heroes and modern teenagers;
establish common moral values that are vital both for the younger generation and for the heroes of Boris Ekimov;
clarify what moral values are needed in our modern life to lead the country to the future.
Hypothesis: We assume the following. There will be more differences between the views on happiness and the meaning of life of Ekimov’s heroes and modern teenagers than points of contact. If we identify the common thing that unites everyone, then perhaps it will be exactly what we need to develop, educate, cultivate in ourselves in order to save Russia. Provided that positive differences are found, perhaps we will identify the qualities that are needed to the younger generation right now.
Research methods:
· general scientific, general theoretical (analysis and synthesis, comparison, contrast, induction and deduction);
· sociological (sociological survey);
· mathematical (statistical, data visualization);
· empirical (observation, comparison)
Research stages:
1. Reading and studying the stories of Boris Ekimov.
2. Identifying the disclosure of the theme and meaning of life in these works.
3. Study of critical literature on the works of Boris Ekimov.
4. Analysis, comprehension of the solution to the problem of happiness and the meaning of life by the heroes of Boris Ekimov’s stories.
5. Conducting a sociological survey among students in grades 7-11 on their understanding of happiness and the meaning of life.
6. Analysis of the results obtained: comparison, identification of similarities and differences in the views of Ekimov’s heroes and modern teenagers, formulation of conclusions.
The study influences our personal self-awareness, self-determination in our future profession, and may also influence the students of our school, encouraging them to think about why and for what they live.
It develops our moral qualities: spirituality, the ability to understand ourselves and others, the world around us;
the ability to analyze (works of art and life phenomena), compare, generalize, and draw conclusions;
instills interest in the work of our fellow countryman - writer Boris Petrovich Ekimov.
Practical significance of the study.
This work can be used by students and teachers in preparation for extracurricular reading lessons in grades 7 - 11 based on the works of B.P. Ekimova;
class teachers to prepare for class hours dedicated to self-determination in life;
for personal self-awareness of schoolchildren;
for the preparation of literary evenings, dedicated to the work of B.P. Ekimova;
for writing essays on modern Russian literature;
to awaken interest in the writer’s work among teenagers - the opportunity to prepare a report or message.
A fairly large number of critical works are devoted to the work of B.P. Ekimov. His works became the subject of consideration in articles by A. Gorlovsky, V. Vasilyev, P. Basinsky, I. Pitlyar, V. Novikov, Y. Udin and others.
Among the advantages of B. Ekimov’s prose are life-affirming pathos, the ability to “listen to the world,” and acute social vision.
Question about the meaning of life? one of the most important in his work.
Volgograd writer B. P. Ekimov?
one of the best modern Russian writers
The discovery of the writer Boris Ekimov took place in 1979 after the appearance of the story “Kholushino Compound”. He entered Russian literature “as a writer who strives to comprehend the crystal clear, simple and wise foundations of the folk way of life, which make human life full of deep meaning and worthy of respect. The main theme of his work is human self-determination, the search for one’s place in life.” (9, p. 202)
Boris Ekimov's stories attract people with their maturity of thought and the serious significance of the issues raised. V. Serdyuchenko classifies his story “Fetisych” as one of the “peak achievements of short Russian prose of the 20th century.” According to the critic, it is B. Ekimov who “balances all the sick, exhausted, and deprived of the king in the head modern Russian literature. (20, p. 95)
It is no coincidence that in 1998 Boris Petrovich Ekimov became a laureate of the State Prize of Russia, and in 1994 - a laureate of the I. Bunin Prize. In 1996, the New World magazine awarded him the “Best Prose of 1996” award. The writer became the absolute winner of the international literary competition for prose “Moscow-Penne” in 1996. In 2004, he was awarded two literary prizes. The first - for the best prose of the New World magazine. Second, literary prize“Best story of the year” named after Yuri Kazakov - for the story “Don’t cry.” In 1998, an article about our fellow countryman was included in the biobibliographic dictionary “Russian Writers, 20th Century”. In the 80-90s. B.P. Ekimov fruitfully cooperates with leading magazines and publishing houses. His stories are published in the magazines “New World”, “Our Contemporary”, “Znamya”, “Volga”, and are also published as separate books.
Skarlygina E. notes that the writer appreciates in people the kindness that comes from the depths, the tenderness and gentleness of character, the moral feeling that restrains them from doing bad things. His favorite heroes are endowed with these qualities, and they do not turn into some kind of declared abstraction, but become overgrown with living flesh, appearing in concrete deeds. A boy saves a newborn calf from death; a son, who recently buried his mother, comes every week to an empty parental home to recruit old neighbors, next to whom he grew up, have clean well water; the grandson is on duty at night at his grandmother’s bed, trying to save her from nightmares - the consequences severe tests war. These “small deeds” in which the soul is manifested are very dear to the writer. (21, p.230)
AB. Vasiliev finds his own word to characterize Ekimov’s hero. This word is master. The word master in the mouth of B. Ekimov is the highest assessment of a person and his attitude towards the environment. This assessment is extremely multidimensional and from story to story it is enriched with various shades of meaning, touching essentially all aspects of human life. But the main thing in it remains unchanged: the owner means one who lives by his own labor, the greatest worker. This is the main source that feeds the writer’s heroes with confidence in life; it determines all other human qualities: the master of his feelings and his words - the master of his own destiny - the master in the family, at home and in the yard - the master in the public field - the master of the country. (4, p.153)
I. Bogatko sees in his prose attention to the entire living world and considers the source of this to be love for the homeland. Motherland, motherland- the writer’s love, and he strives to convey this love, he seeks it in the depths of the souls of those people about whom he writes. This love drives the actions and behavior of many characters in Ekimov’s stories. (3, p.293)
The magazine “Father's Land” has repeatedly published notes from our Volgograd literary critics about the work of Boris Ekimov. I. V. Velikanova dedicated several works to him. She believes that a poetic depiction of the nature of the Don region is important and integral part prose by B. Ekimov, which largely determines its originality. The beauty of nature in its various manifestations is open to the observant gaze of the artist, and he generously endows his heroes with his own vision, this genuine gift. (7, p. 74) In B. Ekimov’s prose, the heroes working on the land are endowed with special authorial sympathy, which is explained by the creative nature of this work, its conformity with natural laws. The landscape in this case is intended to emphasize the internal balance between human life and the life of nature. (7, p. 77)
Boris Ekimov’s two-volume book “Favorites” (Volgograd, 1998) includes the best works of the writer, which have been repeatedly published in Russia and abroad. Read together, they add up to a large epic canvas of modern Russian life. Behind the multitude of situations that are outwardly unrelated to each other, the unity of the author’s worldview is revealed, based on a deep conviction: the main thing in a person is his soul, his humanity, the ability to compassion and empathy, leading to the establishment of unity between people.
B. Ekimov's heroes are for the most part ordinary, outwardly unremarkable people, shown in everyday life. However, in a certain situation, they commit actions dictated not by personal gain or practical considerations, but by compassion for another person, the ability to understand someone else's pain. This feature of Ekimov’s heroes illuminates their character in a new way and gives it moral depth. (6, p.211)
The magazine “Literature Lessons” (supplement to the magazine “Literature at School”) No. 8 - 2005 is entirely devoted to lessons based on the stories of Boris Ekimov. This confirms the significance and relevance of his works specifically for the younger generation.
Understanding of happiness and the meaning of life by the heroes of B.P.’s stories Ekimova
Labor is the means, goal and meaning of life for Ekimov’s heroes.
Rural workers, who work on the land all their lives and feed from the land, are the main characters of many of Ekimov’s stories. All the bitterness and joy of their life is in their work. Take away their right to work, and they will stop feeling like people. Who are they? Old people, and to a greater extent old women, who work all their lives, simply cannot do otherwise. And how much warmth, openness, all-encompassing kindness they have...
And the first among them was Kholyusha from the story “Kholyusha’s Compound,” who revealed Ekimov to the whole country. His real name is Varfolomey Maksimovich Vikhlyantsev. (St. Sergius of Radonezh was also called Bartholomew).
“No one on the farm remembered that in the Vikhlyantsevsky house, where seventy-year-old Kholyusha lives, there once lived a strong family: father, mother, three sons and a daughter. Everyone worked in it. Just five or ten years ago, “a hunchbacked, shrunken old woman with a twig, in a tied skirt, wandered along the shallow stretch. It was Kholyusha's mother; she usually took care of the birds. But now his mother died, and Kholyusha lived alone.” He lived and continued to run a huge farm, often not knowing exactly how many birds and livestock roamed his farmstead. Kholyusha himself does not know why he needs this, justifying his economic activities with a single phrase: “The authorities are calling us.”
So, maybe the main incentive for Kholushin’s truly hard labor is profit, maybe the god he worships is money?
No.
It's not a matter of thirst for accumulation, but something else. If Kholyusha is greedy for something, it’s only for work. V. Palman is right, he has “such a greed for work that everything else is discarded, there is no thought about the comforts of life, just as there is no thought, by the way, about wealth and idleness commensurate with the accumulated thousands” (Literary Review. 1981. No. 7. P. 26). For Kholyusha there is and cannot be any other life other than eternal peasant labor. He is a slave of one passion, the owner of a single, but extremely necessary, “scarce” talent for our time - hardworking obsession.
Indeed, Kholyusha, with all his advantages and disadvantages, is nurtured by the “power of the earth”, inspired by the “poetry of agricultural labor”, which... satisfies the peasant both morally and aesthetically, and is at the same time the means, the goal, and the meaning of life.” (22, p.136-137)
It seemed like it would be possible to rest: he was old, sick, and had his own house, in the city.
But no, Kholyusha cannot do this. It’s easier for him to die in his yard, “poking his blackened face into the ground.” (22, p. 138)
And here is another heroine, Baba Polya from the story “The Last Hut”.
Like Kholyusha, Baba Polya is the flesh of the village, a piece of nature itself, living by its dictates. Even when she is sick, she cultivates the garden herself, so that it is done “with her own hands, in an amicable way,” although she then had to “lie flat and crawl for a whole week...” Here are her moral laws of life:
“But for me, it’s better to have little, but honestly... Copper, but your own... in a divine, human way...”
“In a divine way, in a human way...” This is how Baba Polya lived, and this is how she dies in her nondescript hut, praying before her death to God not for herself, but for her children, “for whom to live and live, to live and rejoice.” He dies calmly and cleanly, as the righteous died in Rus'. (22, p.139)
Ekimov has a hero who is not a peasant, but also obsessed with work.
Such is the “official man” Trubin, the hero of the story of the same name, who spent almost half of his years living at the plant. “The days fly by unnoticed, similar to one another, to the brim - from early morning to late evening - filled with work, hectic, crazy, with shouting, with eternal running.
He asks himself the question “Do I love my job?”, and he answers it: “What kind of normal person can love such madness: you are scolded every day, and so are you; running from morning to night...” And then follows the author’s comment: “No, Trubin didn’t like his job.”
But, the next day, Dmitry Pavlovich comes to the workshop: “And it was as if some kind of switch flipped in Trubin and knocked out his memory of everything that remained beyond the threshold of the workshop, and ordered him to do his job.”
It is then that the hero’s true attitude to work and to his life becomes clear. And the question he asks himself can be formulated differently - “do I love the air I breathe?” Essentially it will be the same. You may not love the air, but live without it?.. This “crazy” work has long become a part of Trubin himself, and he will not be able to live without it, just as he will not be able to leave the factory. “Factory worker for life” - this definition given to Dmitry Trubin by one of the young workers reflects the inner essence of the hero” (5, p. 187).
He will not be able to decide on this, because he does not think of himself outside of a large, socially significant matter, because in it there is moral law, forcing him to do everything according to the dictates of his Conscience, connecting Trubin with a thread of civil continuity with the generation of factory veterans. “Eh, old man, well done, old man,” Trubin reflects about one of them, “if only everyone were like that, how well they worked... Such people should be added to their age. And it was taken away from them: by war, and by years of hunger, and by such work. They experienced everything the hard way, and instead of becoming embittered, they became kinder and more honest. How many, how many years have I known him, but just to see him doing nothing at least once... Was it? No, I haven't seen it. If you need it on a day off, it will work, if you need to stay after the shift, it will stay. He will stay on his own, no need to ask. He sees the need himself. And it will be possible to get on the machine at the end of the month. And never say a word. He knows - need. And he doesn’t need any words.”
“He himself will remain... He himself sees the need...” It is no coincidence that the writer so persistently emphasizes this “himself.” It contains the essence of the character of a person who works not under duress and not in anticipation of a long ruble, but because he cannot help but work, realizing the eternal natural greatness and realizing his own need. After all, no one calls on Baba Polya, who goes to bed, having strained herself, and Kholyusha, who sticks his blackened face into the ground, to straining labor. They do everything themselves... This is their own choice, their desire. And therefore, with all the hard labor of his work, Kholyusha is the freest person, enjoying genuine, and not imaginary freedom, which others are proud of, who has excommunicated himself from work that brings joy and pleasure. (22, p.140)
This attitude towards work amazed us, simply shocked us, aroused admiration for these people and pride in them
Active love is the basis of life behavior, the moral core of Boris Ekimov’s heroes.
“The problem of the meaning of life is one of the central ones in the work of B. Ekimov. His characters reflect on the moral foundations of human existence, its true and false values. One of the heroes of the story “The Boy on a Bicycle,” Victor, comes to a sharp reassessment of his own life. The once beloved profession, aviation, seems unnecessary and even harmful to people, own life- wasted." (6, p. 212)
He understands that the meaning of life is completely different: “Cars, cars... And where is the limit for them? Where is the reasonable limit? Is there enough space on earth yet? Is there enough space in the sky yet? Aren't we in a squirrel wheel? Maybe we are no longer trying for people, but for machines? They need more and more oil, metal, coal. More and more, but what does a person need... A person, in general, needs a piece of bread and a mug of water. The rest is superfluous. Bread and water. This is where he lives. And a living soul. And wisdom to understand: he does not come to earth to overeat or get drunk, and not to collect trinkets. But to live. The only time. On a beautiful land, wonderfully arranged: with green forest and grass, with blue water and sky, with people-brothers, dear, loved ones. And all the wisdom of the world, all its best people from century to century, repeat: live simpler. The highest wisdom is not to split hairs. The most important thing you have been given is life. Otherwise you will be deceived by yourself. In the world without and the world is not known? it's about us..."
Victor, looking for the reasons for spiritual emptiness, realizes that one of the main ones is immersion in the world of material interests:
“No, we don’t work for bread. Our mothers are on honest bread, and we are on the devil. Are Japanese furniture sets really bread? What about German bathrooms? Silverware, gold trinkets? And even in food: pates, olives, all sorts of nonsense - what kind of bread is there..."
The hero understands that the happiness of life lies in life itself in his beloved native land:
“What do we spend our lives on, what do we do with it... After all, it will no longer exist. And we are wasting it.
I stayed at home for fifteen days. And this is equal to fifteen years of life. Yes, yes... Long days, wise, happy. Go to Vikhlyaevskaya Mountain and sit, look, think. How grasses grow. How the clouds float. How does the lake live? This is human life. Work in the garden, weave fence in the yard. And live. Listen to la-stok, wind. The sun rises for you, the dew falls, the rain - everything is good and sweet. Earn your bread with something and live. To live long and wisely, so that later, at the very edge, you don’t curse yourself, don’t grind your teeth. A second life is not given, and regretting it is empty. But to miss your one and only... What a disaster.”
And Khurdin, Victor’s friend, also turns his thoughts to his native Don land:
“Motherland... Far from it, everyone remembers a piece of land that has stuck to their heart since childhood. There the sky is more spacious and bluer, there the sun looks with a tender maternal eye, there the wind - close your eyes - will again take you to a distant, irrevocable time...
And Victor was right: all their affairs are nothing more than a toy. What about life? How many golden days have floated away? And now we need to count the rest.”
In the 90s, Boris Ekimov created a number of works in which the writer’s desire to comprehend the most important fundamental foundations of human existence is manifested. In them the narration is told in the first person, and it seems that we hear the voice of the author himself.
And very often the topic of the meaning of life is inextricably linked with the topic of the homeland. Only here, on our native land, is happiness possible.
“Yes, no darkness can hide from a person’s eyes that inch of earth that was born with him and held him in her arms more often than his mother; she offered her soft palm when he fell, unable to stay on his still unsteady legs; she treated his boyish abrasions - without any doctors, with her own grass, burdock, plantain, or just light dust; throughout the years she fed me with marigold, tragus, rolls, string, sour sorrel, sweet licorice, birch and poplar catkins, mushrooms and berries, fed me without fail both in bad years and in good times, gave me clean water to drink and raised me to my feet.
No darkness, except mortal darkness, will hide from a person’s eyes that inch of earth that is called his homeland.” ("Moving")
Moreover, this theme of the homeland sounds, as in the above case, most often in an organic, inextricable connection with the theme of nature.
The image of the surrounding world is subordinated to the affirmation of the idea of the intrinsic value of life - one of the main ones in the writer’s work. The critic Gorlovsky believes that the main thing in Ekimov is “the author’s love for ordinary life.”
Story"Music of the Old House".
“Before, when I was young, loving music, I went to philharmonic concerts and the opera house. Piano, gentle violin, mighty organ, Symphony Orchestra, romance, song, aria, duet or opera - everything was to my heart.
Time has passed. And now?.. Thanks to the music! She helped me - not suddenly! - but to hear the previously unknown music of life.
Involuntarily you listen to a thunderstorm, a noisy downpour, a powerful ice drift, a sea storm. But little by little, it’s as if hearing is opening. From thunder and lightning you move on to the simple, everyday, but no less beautiful, and it is always nearby, near the old house, in our yard.
As children, we all dream of something distant, great: the Himalayas, the Alps, the Great Ocean - incomprehensible beauty. Thanks to the artists. They opened my eyes and helped me see differently. Sketch in the Russian Museum. I don’t even remember whose, it seems Shishkina. A piece of land, grass and simple daisies. But suddenly, it was as if the walls were gone and there was no big city, but the living earth was here, and there was living grass and a flower. Isn't it a miracle? Or a portrait of Nadya Derviz, Valentin Serov, unfinished, painted not even on canvas, but on a sheet of roofing iron. And not at all, beauty. But what eyes... What a marvelous face! Here he is - your man, close to me. And how many of them are there?.. They pass by me unnoticed. Thanks to the artists. They helped me. Now I rarely go to museums, but every day I see the beauty of the earth, people, life. And all this is here, near the old house.”
"Voice of Heaven"
“... Sometimes even in everyday life: in the bustle of the city, in household chores, you accidentally raise your eyes and freeze, forgetting about everything. Is this to blame? distant sky, clouds or evening star: rest for the eyes, peace for the heart, great consolation for the soul. This? a high voice that sometimes calls us, raising us from the abyss of the earth, so that we remember: in this wide world we live under a white sky.”
The main idea of the story “Passing Through” is that life, given to a person, has absolute value, the natural world is beautiful and eternal, in the face of it petty human passions seem absurd. This thought was prepared by the previous landscape - a description of the Don, the river expanse, the land that opens to the gaze of the observer from the high Don bank. The main thing in this landscape is the feeling of the limitlessness of space.
“Petty human squabbles seem so absurd on... a piece of land floating in the green and blue universe.
And at night, especially in autumn, when the starry world descends on this earth and warms and cools the eternal soul, how can you not understand that the earth’s firmament is just a small island in eternal space and long time, and you are completely dust. So rejoice that you live in this dazzling and divine world, live and rejoice with gratitude in your heart and on your lips.”
“The happiness of life is in life itself, love for one’s native land,” Ekimov’s heroes convince us, this was a real discovery for us.
The main and little things in the life of the heroes of Ekimov’s stories.
Talking about happiness and the meaning of life, we thought about what is most important for Ekimov’s heroes, and what is unimportant? The stories “Speak, Mom, Speak...”, “Containers and Bars”, “Tara and Bars” tell us about this. Rose bush", "From fire to fire."
In the story “The Rose Bush” the hero is busy with the usual thing - he needs to bring a car of coal and drag it to the barn. He went out onto the porch and suddenly “saw: the rose had bloomed... Just yesterday it was green, but today it was strewn with scarlet roses. And it shone as if the young morning dawn was playing on it. She played and didn’t stop.” And something changed in the person, turned upside down in his soul. The heart, opening towards the beautiful, seemed to thaw and come to life.
You had to pay for coal at the post office. The cashier angrily cut him off and did not fill out the paperwork: transfer of money. “I didn’t want to swear today, I didn’t take a shower. “Well, God be with you,” he said. - I'll wait. Half an hour, or something, you have this gimmick. I'll smoke in freedom. ? He looked at the cashier and felt sorry for her.
- Wait... - he said. - Do your own thing. I'm currently on leave. Two days, no hurry. And our rose has bloomed today,” he added inopportunely and laughed.
The sun was rising and it was hot. The flowering bush has now become completely beautiful; it seems to be covered in scarlet, from top to bottom. On the green foliage, in the shade, the flowers gently crimsoned in drops of dew, and from above they burned with red fire, emitting a barely audible smell.
While resting, Timofey sat down next to a flowering bush. I didn't want to smoke. He sniffed noisily, caught the subtle flower spirit, looked at the roses, and his eyes squinted in a smile, in a grin at himself. After all, I never liked flowers, man.”
His relationship with his mother-in-law did not work out very well, but then he suddenly realized that all this was trifle, all this nonsense and resentment.
“He was smoking, and some thoughts were wandering in his head: about today; about life, about my mother-in-law and about myself too. He looked at the summer kitchen. It was built as an outbuilding, warm, habitable in winter, with a long view - for the elderly. Timofey's old men died. And it’s time for the mother-in-law to come here and retire, there’s no point in hanging around alone. And the old things, all this nonsense, all sorts of lieutenants and other grievances - why remember. He’s no longer young, his temples are grey. I have to tell Valentina.
I remembered my own, my mother and father are dead. Childhood. How they lived, Lord... Especially after the war. It's sickening to remember. And now it’s a sin to complain. If only there was no war”... And warmth and love also comes to this house. But this is the most important thing.
We were especially excited by the story “Speak, Mom, Speak...”. Katerina, a withered, hunchbacked old woman, but still agile, has a daughter who lives in the city, one and a half hundred miles from her. It’s hard for her alone on the farm, but a “messenger” appeared - a mobile phone:
“Mobile!” she proudly repeated the words of her city grandson. - One word - mobile. Pressed the button and right away? Maria. Pressed another - Kolya. Who do you want to feel sorry for? Why shouldn't we live? - she asked. - Why leave? Throw away the house, the farm...
Singing funny music, the light will flash in the box. At first, it seemed to old Katerina that her daughter’s face would appear there, as if on a small television. Only a voice was announced, distant and not for long.
- Mom, hello! Are you okay? Well done. Any questions? That's good. Kiss. Be, be.
Before you know it, the light has already gone out, the box has fallen silent...
- Before you even have time to open your mouth, the box has already gone out.
“What kind of passion is this...” grumbled the old woman. - Not a telephone, waxwing. He crowed: be it... So be it. And here..."
But there was a lot in her old life that she wanted to talk about in more detail: about her dreams, insignificant for other events, about how she fell near the black meat pear, which her daughter loved so much. But I heard in response:
“Mom, please be more specific. About myself, not about the black meat. Don't forget that this is a mobile phone, a tariff. What hurts? Didn’t you break anything?”
But these little things are also important. And what’s even more important is that loved ones are alive. Fortunately, my daughter realized this in time. After all, what matters is not what a loved one says, but what he says and simply lives.
“In a distant city, her daughter heard her and even saw, closing her eyes, her old mother: small, bent, in a white scarf. I saw it, but suddenly felt how unsteady and unreliable it all was: telephone communication, vision.
“Tell me, mom...” she asked and was afraid of only one thing: suddenly, and perhaps forever, this voice and this life would end. - Talk, mom, talk...”
In the story “Tara and Bars” “an old house that long years seemed cozy and warm, but suddenly became cramped.” Vanity and petty grievances destroyed his warmth.
“Either Grandma Lyuba will not please the young people, and Valentina will snort, or the young people themselves will do something wrong. Word for word... The scandal is not a scandal, but they began to live differently.
It used to be that in the evening they would come together - containers and bars...
It's good to sit in the yard. It's evening. The dawn is playing in the sky. Conversations go on like so what. Grandmother Lyuba transmits street news, Polina and Valentina convey her own. The neighbors will come over. Taras and bars...
But this summer the bench under the pear tree was often empty. Or Grandma Lyuba is dozing alone. A neighbor will look in, say: “Don’t sit?..” - and leave. Sometimes Polina will sit down for a while. And the young ones are in the room. Valentina will run from home or into the house - and that’s all. It became sad.
And then Grandma Lyuba goes to the garden, looking for care there. Or he’s talking to a cat.”
And then I saw a kitten.
“My daughter passed by. Grandmother Lyuba called her:
- Go and look...
- What? - Polina stopped.
- How is your child...
He was so good, this little one Fluffy kitten, in all his childish charm, he looked so naively and trustingly into the world. He looked and looked and yawned.
The daughter and mother smiled at the same time.
“A child, that’s what a child is,” Polina said thoughtfully.
“Child...” Grandma Lyuba agreed, not taking her eyes off the kitten.
- He looks... And he sees everything, and understands everything. He just won't say anything.
“Well, of course,” Polina didn’t believe it. - Pointless.
“How meaningful,” Grandma Lyuba said with conviction. - Valechka used to come out like that.
- Which Valechka? - Polina didn’t understand.
- Which... yes, ours. Valechka was little,” Grandma Lyuba explained. - It looks like this too. She was not yet a year old, eight months old. The first tooth has erupted... I’ll tell her, it used to be: grow, grow, Valechka, grow, my shovel. As you grow up, you’ll begin to understand our way, and then you and I will get drunk. Long life...
Valentina, the same granddaughter we were talking about, stood frozen and caught every word, heard every word. There was no reproach or pain in the old grandmother’s eyes. Only in the last one: “... let's get drunk. Long life..." something was heard.
And the young woman suddenly felt such pity and pain that her heart ached. She stepped back, quietly, so that her grandmother and mother would not hear, stepped back and sat on the porch. “Lord...,” she thought. “Lord... What a fool I am... A cruel fool... Little things, petty insults... My God...” Tears welled up, she didn’t wipe them away and, getting up easily, rushed to her grandmother in a heartfelt outburst, ran up to her and , bending down, kissing the soft cheeks, whispered: “Babanechka... Babanechka...” Then she sat down next to her.”
And peace came to the old house. All these are little things, but the main thing is to take care of your family and friends, and not your loved ones too, to give them your warmth and love, while it is possible, while they are alive.
We found the story “From Fire to Fire” very interesting. It is not just about seeing the beauty of the reality around you, as the narrator saw it in an ordinary willow bush, but also about bringing your joy and discovery to other people.
“There are so many such warm moments in our life that will go away, but are remembered. Everyone has it? yours.
Childhood memory, one of ordinary days. Some morning, late evening, when your mother or grandmother leans towards you. Warm hands, kind face. Wave of love. It passes, but remains.
And here? little child in the cradle. Still unthinking, he babbles something. He reaches out his hands to you, and his eyes are so happy... Or - the yellow leaves of the poplar, their soft carpet. It's autumn. Blooming willow bush in spring. Someone's bright face...
People can also be lights and bring their light, their warmth to others.
These are the heroes of Boris Ekimov’s stories. Do we understand what is most important to them? to give others your soul, your warmth, to be the lights that help you live and survive in this life. Quarrels, minor troubles? These are all little things, they should not obscure living, feeling people from us.
Writer Boris Ekimov about happiness and the meaning of life.
Reflecting on the heroes of Boris Petrovich Ekimov’s stories, we thought about how the writer himself understands happiness and the meaning of life?
On February 16, 2007, a meeting between the writer and schoolchildren took place, which we attended. He shared his thoughts with us:
The writer told us about the experience of humanity and complained that we have no experience of human life. Ten thousand children in our country suffer from cancer, every third of them will die. And at the same time, one of the rich at the resort lives 200,000 euros in one day. The artist of words spoke about the main things in our lives and the little things. Beautiful trinkets, rings, Cell phones- all this is an adjective, all these are little things.
“What is the most precious thing in life? - Life!
Do I need too much? -
A piece of bread and a drop of milk.
Yes, this is heaven. Yes, those clouds.
Do we see this sky? Look around you! We see neither the sky nor beautiful people, we don’t hear the birds whistling.
You have to understand that life is long, but you can waste it. You must try to become a human being, to understand why you came into the world. If you don't like the world, create your own. How important is the peace of the family! Nowhere will you receive so much sincerity and sympathy, and at any time you will be covered by the hands of your loved ones, the hands of friends. We must cherish this."
To the question: “What pleases and surprises you in life today?” Boris Petrovich Ekimov replied: “Life! Life in all its manifestations!”
And when one of the teachers noted the tragedy of his stories, the writer objected: “I write about happiness. Oh happiness to live!
Let's summarize everything said above. The happiness and meaning of life of the heroes of Boris Ekimov’s stories and the writer himself in life itself, active love to people, nature, native land, the ability to feel and understand its beauty, to work for its benefit.
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To find out how modern teenagers understand happiness and the meaning of life, school No. 98 conducted a sociological survey among students in grades 7-11. 118 people participated in the survey, of which 47 people were in grades 7-8, and 71 people were in grades 9-11. The guys were asked the following questions:
1. What do I see as the meaning of life?
2. Why do I live?
3. What is happiness for me?
4. The highest joy is...
5. The biggest problem is...
6. The main thing in life is...
7. The little things in life are...
8. The joys of life are...
9. To be human means...
10. Why do I love life?
Not all students answered some questions. We analyzed separately the responses of students in grades 7-8 and 9-11.
We asked the writer B.P. Ekimov the same questions over the phone. He said: “Everything is in my stories, I answered all the questions in them,” but still agreed to give short answers:
1. In life.
2. In order to live.
3. Life.
4. Life.
5. Death of loved ones.
6. Live.
7. Everything except life itself.
8. There are many of them. You can't list them all. Brings joy every day. Close people, nature, much more.
9. Be Human.
10. Because this is human life.
We compared, of course, not only with these laconic answers, but also with the writer’s statements in the press and with his characters’ understanding of happiness and the meaning of life.
7-8 grades
We were interested in whether there was anything in common in the understanding of the meaning of life between 7th and 8th grade students and Ekimov’s heroes.
We built a diagram and compared the percentage of answers that differed from the understanding of the meaning of life by Ekimov’s characters with the percentage of answers that were similar to them. The result surprised us: for nine out of ten questions there were more common answers.
Let's look at what values come first for younger teenagers, and in what ways they coincide or do not coincide with the values of the heroes of Ekimov's works. Let's analyze what the meaning of life is, why they live, what happiness is for them.
Analyzing the answers to questions from students in grades 7-8, we received the following results:
The question “What do I see as the meaning of life?”
|
№ |
Values |
Number of responses |
|
|
1 |
Live. Enjoy life |
11 |
|
|
2 |
Achieving your goals. |
10 |
|
|
3 |
To get an education. |
9 |
|
|
4 |
Get married (get married). |
5 |
|
|
5 |
Be in love. |
3 |
|
|
6 |
Help other people. |
3 |
|
|
7 |
Build a house, plant a tree and raise a child. |
2 |
|
|
8 |
Job. |
2 |
|
|
9 |
Respect those who gave their lives for us. |
1 |
|
|
10 |
Cherish all the best. |
1 |
|
|
11 |
Help the homeland. |
1 |
|
|
12 |
Bring joy to people. |
1 |
|
|
13 |
Find yourself. |
1 |
|
|
14 |
To be respected. |
1 |
|
|
15 |
Unleash your talent. |
1 |
|
|
16 |
Grow up. |
1 |
|
|
17 |
Happiness, well-being and health of your family. |
1 |
|
|
18 |
Be an honest and fair person. |
1 |
|
|
19 |
Enjoy ordinary things. |
1 |
|
|
20 |
Leave some kind of mark on the world. |
1 |
|
|
21 |
Search for discoveries and knowledge. |
1 |
The question “What am I living for?”
Table of the importance of values, built in descending order of importance
|
№ |
Values |
Number of responses |
|
|
1 |
Continue your lineage. |
7 |
|
|
2 |
Make yourself and others happy. |
7 |
|
|
3 |
Achieve your goal. |
7 |
|
|
4 |
For relatives. |
4 |
|
|
5 |
Bring people happiness. |
3 |
|
|
6 |
Chat, make friends. |
2 |
|
|
7 |
To get an education. |
2 |
|
|
8 |
Bring a piece of yourself into this world. |
2 |
|
|
9 |
Help Mother. |
2 |
|
|
10 |
For your future. |
2 |
|
|
11 |
Contribute to the development of our country. |
1 |
|
|
12 |
Grow up. |
1 |
|
|
13 |
Experience life. |
1 |
|
|
14 |
Try everything in life. |
1 |
|
|
15 |
Help people. |
1 |
|
|
16 |
Get to know this world. |
1 |
|
|
17 |
For myself. |
1 |
The question “What is happiness for me?”
Table of the importance of values, built in descending order of importance
|
№ |
Values |
Number of responses |
|
|
1 |
To love and be loved (beloved). |
7 |
|
|
2 |
Health of loved ones. |
7 |
|
|
3 |
When everything is good in the family. |
6 |
|
|
4 |
Friendship. |
6 |
|
|
5 |
When everyone is happy. |
5 |
|
|
6 |
Life. |
4 |
|
|
7 |
Finish school. |
3 |
|
|
8 |
Achieve your goal in life. |
3 |
|
|
9 |
When people respect you. |
3 |
|
|
10 |
Every little thing in life. |
1 |
|
|
11 |
Live not in Russia. |
1 |
|
|
12 |
Good job. |
1 |
The question “The greatest joy is...”
Table of the importance of values, built in descending order of importance
|
№ |
Values |
Number of responses |
|
|
1 |
When there is a family. |
10 |
|
|
2 |
Friends. |
6 |
|
|
3 |
A dream come true. |
3 |
|
|
4 |
Holidays. |
3 |
|
|
5 |
Victory. |
3 |
|
|
6 |
Success. |
2 |
|
|
7 |
Achieve your goal. |
2 |
|
|
8 |
When you are loved. |
2 |
|
|
9 |
Good news. |
1 |
|
|
10 |
To get an education. |
1 |
|
|
11 |
Peaceful life. |
1 |
Question: “The biggest problem is...”
Table of the importance of values, built in descending order of importance
|
№ |
Values |
Number of responses etc................. |
|
At home he took his soul away. He swore and laughed at himself: “But the stove doesn’t smoke now.” We laughed with him too. Long evenings weren't boring. During the day I read and went skiing. Steppe walks have their own inexplicable charm. Others will prefer forests and will be right. The winter forest is beautiful, especially on a sunny day: pink birch forests, black mysterious spruce forests, a pine resinous spirit, and they themselves are heroes in armor shining in the sun. But I love the steppe more. Although it seems that there is a dull plain in it that will not touch the eye. Just a distant ridge and a small teklina - that’s all. But how good it is to look, looking around half the world. The spacious land calmly breathes the steppe wind, and above it heavenly grace spread its wings, protecting it. The spacious native land and you, a living soul, and that’s all. The eternal firmament of the earth, and above it - the eternal heavens and the wind - also without time - and you. And it’s as if humanity leaves the soul - vanity and decay, other blood begins to pound in the veins, other, lofty thoughts suddenly visit, bestowing an unknown sweetness. And it seems, let it only seem, that you too have drunk a drop of the eternal, whether for joy or torment... Whatever you say, in the steppe it’s easier to breathe and your soul is freer. I went into the steppe and wandered for hours, ran skiing and felt good. On the third day, in the evening it snowed again, and then it calmed down. In the morning there was a thick frosty fog. A whitish haze approached the very windows; nothing could be seen. And when it gradually cleared up, fabulous beauty was revealed to the eye. The trees stood more luxuriant than the summer ones, only in their winter attire. Indian poplars stretched to the sky in pillars of carved snow smoke. Their poppies turned pink. Maples, apple trees, and cherries spread their white-foamed clothes over the ground. The currant thicket above the fences began to rustle, turning into impenetrable sugar jungle. Yes, currants! Even the fence itself, its dead slats seemed to come to life and were overgrown with white curly moss. Having quickly had breakfast, I set off to wander. And, to his misfortune, today he went not to the steppe, but through the farm, marveling at its fabulous decoration. I walked around the farm, looked into the store, the garage, the workshops, and met the man who was driving me from the station. Then he looked into the school, into the office, walked and walked, curious. Outside the outskirts there were farms, I visited them too, with cattle and those horses that were kept warm and dry for other countries where they indulge in horse meat. I walked and wandered, like any curious person, asking something, talking about something, without thinking about anything bad. The next day I was sitting at home when a guest showed up. I had seen her before, our hostess, a young-looking woman. She was in charge of linen and cleaning the rooms, but had not previously entered into conversations. Today she turned out to be talkative. Are you writing? - she asked, looking at the papers and books on my table. “I’m writing,” I responded. What are you writing about? About us? About whom about you? - I didn’t understand. Well, about our state farm. No, I answered. - I’m not writing about the state farm. Like probably every aspiring writer, I spoke reluctantly about my writings, embarrassed by them. But the woman was persistent. So what are you writing about? - she did not lag behind. Yes, so... All sorts of things... - I hesitated, not knowing what to answer. - Some notes for myself. I read, I write out. But you work for a newspaper? No, at the factory. We know, we know,” the woman drawled understandingly. “We know everything.” And then it dawned on me. On the windowsill, where I dumped the contents of my pockets, among other junk, lay a red booklet from an employee of a regional newspaper. I did some peeing for them, occasionally. The woman was hinting at this book. We know, we know... - she said. - You walked around all day yesterday, asking questions, now you are writing about us. No, I answered honestly. - I don’t write about you and I don’t intend to. The woman didn't believe me. She was tidying up the room, but kept looking sideways at my table. And with that she left. The next day, and again in the morning, a new guest appeared, now a man. He introduced himself as a freelance police officer, showed me his ID, but also asked for my documents. He sat down near the window and leafed through my passport, looking at it this way and that, as if hoping to read something different, not written there. He leafed through and leafed through and asked, confidentially, in his own way: Are you staying with us for a long time? “I don’t know,” I answered. - I think for the whole vacation. We have the whole vacation? For what? What do you mean why? Relax. Relax? - my interlocutor laughed - At our place? Well, give... - and he laughed again, quietly, but sincerely. Why can't you rest? - I was perplexed. - Quiet, calm, snow. Wonderful holiday. Well, yes... - he didn’t believe a single word of mine. - They’re vacationing in Crimea, he said confidently. - In the Caucasus. Or you can go to Moscow, there are museums and shops there. And we have... He eventually returned his passport. He sat for a while longer, looking at the table and the papers. He sat and left. And after he left, I couldn’t work anymore, somehow my soul didn’t feel good. And against such a disaster there is only one remedy: skiing and going to the steppe. So I did. And he spent the whole day, until dark, in an open field. He went far, ran and ran, skis carried easily. The steppe was quiet and deserted. Only once a day did she appear in the distance Red fox and left. At dusk I returned home, deciding not to tell anyone anything. And the next morning, after breakfast, I sat at the table and waited. It was not read to me or written. I sat and waited for the guest. He listened carefully to the steps on the stairs, to people's conversations, and waited for a long time, but not in vain. The guest showed up around noon. He was young, wearing a tie, and introduced himself as an instructor at the district committee. Well, how? - he asked almost from the threshold. - How are we living? - And, without waiting for an answer, he walked around the entire apartment, looking around its rooms. “Here, then, is the teacher, and here is the party organizer,” he correctly guessed. - And here you are. He stopped in front of me, calm, friendly, and looked intently. And I sat and sat and thought: “Why? What does he want? Who did I bother?” We talked. The conversation was general, about life, about literature, about all sorts of things. But he, this instructor, like my previous guests, kept glancing at the papers lying on the table. He wanted so badly to look into them. And from this curious look, I involuntarily obscured my work: I moved the sheets and covered them with a book. And then I didn’t want to go anywhere anymore. I sat and smoked. We've run out of tobacco. The store lay behind the state farm office. I was already passing the office when a man in a dark drape coat with astrakhan fur came out of the door. We met eyes only for a moment. I walked further, but I felt a heavy gaze on my back, from under swollen eyelids. | ||