It is explained in the chapter. The chapter is called Sergeant of the Guard
In 1870, after a series of publications of individual chapters, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin’s work “The History of a City” was published. This event received a wide public response - the writer was accused of ridiculing the Russian people and denigrating the facts of Russian history. The genre of the work is a satirical story, exposing morals, relationships between government and people in an autocratic society.
The story “The History of a City” is full of such techniques as irony, grotesque, Aesopian language, and allegory. All this allows the author, in some episodes bringing what is described to the point of absurdity, to vividly depict the absolute submission of the people to any arbitrary rule of power. The vices of the author’s contemporary society have not been eliminated to this day. After reading “The History of a City” in a chapter-by-chapter summary, you will become familiar with the most important moments of the work, which clearly demonstrate the satirical nature of the story.
Main characters
The main characters of the story are the mayors, each of whom managed to be remembered for something in the history of the city of Foolov. Since the story describes many portraits of mayors, it is worth dwelling on the most significant characters.
Busty- shocked the residents with his categoricalness, with his exclamations on any occasion, “I’ll ruin it!” and “I won’t tolerate it!”
Dvoekurov with his “great” reforms regarding bay leaves and mustard, seems completely harmless compared to subsequent mayors.
Wartkin– fought with his own people “for enlightenment.”
Ferdyshchenko– his greed and lust almost destroyed the townspeople.
Acne- the people were not ready for a ruler like him - people lived too well under him, who did not interfere in any matters.
Gloomy-Burcheev- with all his idiocy, he managed not only to become the mayor, but also to destroy the entire city, trying to bring his crazy idea to life.
Other characters
If the main characters are the mayors, the secondary ones are the people with whom they interact. The common people are shown as a collective image. The author generally portrays him as obedient to his ruler, ready to endure all oppression and various oddities of his power. Shown by the author as a faceless mass that rebels only when there is widespread death from hunger or fires around them.
From the publisher
“The History of a City” tells about the city of Foolov and its history. The chapter “From the Publisher,” in the author’s voice, assures the reader that “The Chronicler” is genuine. He invites the reader to “catch the face of the city and follow how its history reflected the various changes that were simultaneously taking place in the highest spheres.” The author emphasizes that the plot of the story is monotonous, “almost exclusively limited to biographies of mayors.”
Appeal to the reader from the last archivist-chronicler
In this chapter, the author sets himself the task of conveying the “touching correspondence” of the city authorities, “to the extent of daring” to the people, “to the extent of giving thanks.” The archivist says that he will present to the reader the history of the reign of mayors in the city of Foolov, one after another succeeding in the highest post. The narrators, four local chroniclers, set out one by one the “true” events that took place in the city from 1731 to 1825.
About the roots of the origin of the Foolovites
This chapter tells about prehistoric times, about how the ancient tribe of bunglers won a victory over the neighboring tribes of bow-eaters, thick-eaters, walrus-eaters, frogs, scythe-bellies, etc. After the victory, the bunglers began to think about how to restore order in their new society, since things were not going well for them: either “they kneaded the Volga with oatmeal,” or “they dragged a calf to the bathhouse.” They decided that they needed a ruler. To this end, the bunglers went to look for a prince who would rule them. However, all the princes to whom they turned with this request refused, since no one wanted to rule stupid people. The princes, having “taught” with the rod, released the bunglers in peace and with “honor.” Desperate, they turned to the innovative thief, who managed to help find the prince. The prince agreed to manage them, but did not live with the bunglers - he sent an innovative thief as his governor.
Golovotyapov renamed it “Foolovtsy”, and the city, accordingly, began to be called “Foolov”.
It was not at all difficult for the novotoro to manage the Foolovites - these people were distinguished by their obedience and unquestioning execution of the orders of the authorities. However, their ruler was not happy about this; the novotor wanted riots that could be pacified. The end of his reign was very sad: the innovative thief stole so much that the prince could not stand it and sent him a noose. But Novotor managed to get out of this situation - without waiting for the noose, he “stabbed himself to death with a cucumber.”
Then other rulers, sent by the prince, began to appear in Foolov one by one. All of them - Odoevets, Orlovets, Kalyazinians - turned out to be unscrupulous thieves, even worse than the innovator. The prince was tired of such events and personally came to the city shouting: “I’ll screw it up!” With this cry the countdown of “historical time” began.
Inventory of the mayors appointed at different times to the city of Foolov by the higher authorities (1731 - 1826)
This chapter lists Foolov's mayors by name and briefly mentions their “achievements.” It speaks of twenty-two rulers. So, for example, about one of the city governors the document says: “22) Intercept-Zalikhvatsky, Arkhistrateg Stratilatovich, major. I won’t say anything about this. He rode into Foolov on a white horse, burned the gymnasium and abolished the sciences.” (the meaning of the chapter is unclear)
Organ
The year 1762 was marked by the beginning of the reign of mayor Dementy Varlamovich Brudasty. The Foolovites were surprised that their new ruler was gloomy and did not say anything except two phrases: “I will not tolerate it!” and “I’ll ruin you!” They didn’t know what to think until Brudasty’s secret was revealed: his head was completely empty. The clerk accidentally saw a terrible thing: the mayor’s body, as usual, was sitting at the table, but his head was lying separately on the table. And there was nothing in it at all. The townspeople did not know what to do now. They remembered Baibakov, a master of watchmaking and organ making, who had recently come to Brudasty. After questioning Baibakov, the Foolovites found out that the mayor’s head was equipped with a musical organ that played only two pieces: “I won’t tolerate it!” and “I’ll ruin you!” The organ failed, having become damp on the road. The master was unable to fix it on his own, so he ordered a new head in St. Petersburg, but the order was delayed for some reason.
Anarchy set in, ending with the unexpected appearance of two absolutely identical impostor rulers at the same time. They saw each other, “measured each other with their eyes,” and the residents who watched this scene silently and slowly dispersed. A messenger who arrived from the province took both “mayors” with him, and anarchy began in Foolov, which lasted a whole week.
The Tale of the Six Mayors (Picture of Foolov's civil strife)
This time was very eventful in the sphere of city government - the city experienced as many as six mayors. Residents watched the struggle of Iraida Lukinichna Paleologova, Klemantinka de Bourbon, Amalia Karlovna Shtokfish. The first insisted that she was worthy of being a mayor because her husband was engaged in mayoral activities for some time, the second’s father was engaged in mayor’s work, the third was once a mayor herself. In addition to those named, Nelka Lyadokhovskaya, Dunka the Thick-Footed and Matryonka the Nostril also laid claim to power. The latter had no grounds at all to claim the role of mayors. Serious battles broke out in the city. The Foolovites drowned and threw their fellow citizens from the bell tower. The city is tired of anarchy. And then finally a new mayor appeared - Semyon Konstantinovich Dvoekurov.
News about Dvoekurov
The newly-minted ruler Dvoekurov ruled Foolov for eight years. He is noted as a man of progressive views. Dvoekurov developed activities that became beneficial for the city. Under him, they began to engage in honey and beer brewing, and he ordered that mustard and bay leaves be consumed in food. His intentions included the establishment of the Foolov Academy.
Hungry City
Pyotr Petrovich Ferdyshchenko replaced Dvoekurov's reign. The city lived for six years in prosperity and prosperity. But in the seventh year, the city governor fell in love with Alena Osipova, the wife of the coachman Mitka. However, Alenka did not share Pyotr Petrovich’s feelings. Ferdyshchenko took all sorts of actions to make Alenka fall in love with him, even sent Mitka to Siberia. Alenka became receptive to the mayor’s advances.
A drought began in Foolov, and after it hunger and human deaths began. The Foolovites lost patience and sent an envoy to Ferdyshchenko, but the walker did not return. The submitted petition also did not find an answer. Then the residents rebelled and threw Alenka from the bell tower. A company of soldiers came to the city to suppress the riot.
Straw City
Pyotr Petrovich’s next love interest was the archer Domashka, whom he recaptured from the “optists.” Along with new love, fires caused by drought came to the city. Pushkarskaya Sloboda burned down, then Bolotnaya and Negodnitsa. The Foolovites accused Ferdyshchenko of a new misfortune.
Fantastic traveler
Ferdyshchenko’s new stupidity hardly brought a new misfortune to the townspeople: he went on a journey through the city pasture, forcing the residents to give themselves food supplies. The journey ended three days later with the death of Ferdyshchenko from gluttony. The Foolovites were afraid that they would be accused of deliberately “fostering the foreman.” However, a week later, the fears of the townspeople dissipated - a new city governor arrived from the province. The decisive and active Wartkin marked the beginning of the “golden age of Foolov.” People began to live in complete abundance.
Wars for enlightenment
Vasilisk Semyonovich Borodavkin, the new mayor of Foolov, studied the history of the city and decided that the only previous ruler worth emulating was Dvoyekurov, and what struck him was not even the fact that his predecessor paved the streets of the city and collected arrears, but the fact that they sowed under him mustard. Unfortunately, people have already forgotten it and even stopped sowing this crop. Wartkin decided to remember the old days, resume sowing mustard and eating it. But the residents stubbornly did not want to return to the past. The Foolovites rebelled on their knees. They were afraid that if they obeyed Wartkin, in the future he would force them “to eat any more abomination.” The mayor undertook a military campaign against Streletskaya Sloboda, “the source of all evil,” to suppress the rebellion. The campaign lasted nine days and it is difficult to call it completely successful. In absolute darkness, they fought with their own. The mayor suffered betrayal from his supporters: one morning he discovered that more soldiers had been fired and replaced by tin soldiers, citing a certain resolution. However, the city governor managed to survive, organizing a reserve of tin soldiers. He reached the settlement, but found no one there. Wartkin began to dismantle houses log by log, which forced the settlement to surrender.
The future brought three more wars, which were also fought for “enlightenment.” The first of three subsequent wars was fought to educate the city residents about the benefits of stone foundations for houses, the second was due to the residents’ refusal to grow Persian chamomile, and the third was against the establishment of an academy in the city.
The result of Wartkin's reign was the impoverishment of the city. The mayor died at the moment when he once again decided to burn the city.
The era of retirement from wars
In short, subsequent events look like this: the city finally became impoverished under the next ruler, Captain Negodyaev, who replaced Wartkin. The scoundrels were very soon fired for disagreeing with the imposition of the constitution. However, the chronicler considered this reason to be formal. The real reason was the fact that the mayor at one time served as a stoker, which to a certain extent was regarded as belonging to the democratic principle. And wars for and against enlightenment were not needed by the battle-weary city. After the dismissal of Negodyaev, “Circassian” Mikeladze took the reins of government into his own hands. However, his reign did not in any way affect the situation in the city: the mayor was not concerned with Foolov at all, since all his thoughts were connected exclusively with the fair sex.
Benevolensky Feofilakt Irinarkhovich became Mikeladze's successor. Speransky was a friend from the seminary of the new city governor, and from him, obviously, Benevolensky passed on his love for legislation. He wrote the following laws: “Let every man have a contrite heart,” “Let every soul tremble,” and “Let every cricket know the pole corresponding to its rank.” However, Benevolensky did not have the right to write laws; he was forced to publish them secretly, and scatter his works around the city at night. This did not last long - he was suspected of having connections with Napoleon and was fired.
Lieutenant Colonel Pyshch was appointed next. What was surprising was that under him the city lived in abundance, huge harvests were harvested, despite the fact that the mayor was not at all concerned with his direct responsibilities. The townspeople again suspected something. And they were right in their suspicions: the leader of the nobility noticed that the mayor’s head exuded the smell of truffles. He attacked Pimple and ate the ruler's stuffed head.
Worship of Mammon and repentance
In Foolov, a successor to the eaten Pimple appeared - State Councilor Ivanov. However, he soon died, since “he turned out to be so small in stature that he could not contain anything spacious.”
He was succeeded by the Viscount de Chariot. This ruler did not know how to do anything except have fun all the time and organize masquerades. He “didn’t do business and didn’t interfere in the administration. This last circumstance promised to prolong the well-being of the Foolovites endlessly...” But the emigrant, who allowed the residents to convert to paganism, was ordered to be sent abroad. Interestingly, he turned out to be a special female.
The next to appear in Foolov was State Councilor Erast Andreevich Grustilov. By the time of his appearance, the inhabitants of the city had already become absolute idolaters. They forgot God, plunging into debauchery and laziness. They stopped working, sowing fields, hoping for some kind of happiness, and as a result, famine came to the city. Grustilov cared very little about this situation, since he was busy with balls. However, changes soon occurred. The wife of the pharmacist Pfeier influenced Grustilov, showing the true path of good. And the main people in the city became the wretched and holy fools, who, in the era of idolatry, found themselves on the sidelines of life.
The residents of Foolov repented of their sins, but that was the end of the matter - the Foolovites never started working. At night, the city elite gathered to read the works of Mr. Strakhov. This soon became known to the higher authorities and Grustilov had to say goodbye to the position of mayor.
Confirmation of repentance. Conclusion
The last mayor of Foolov was Ugryum-Burcheev. This man was a complete idiot - “the purest type of idiot,” as the author writes. For himself, he set the only goal - to make the city of Nepreklonsk from the city of Glupov, “eternally worthy of the memory of the Grand Duke Svyatoslav Igorevich.” Nepreklonsk should have looked like this: city streets should be identically straight, houses and buildings should also be identical to each other, people too. Each house should become a “settled unit”, which will be watched by him, Ugryum-Burcheev, a spy. The townspeople called him “Satan” and felt a vague fear of their ruler. As it turned out, this was not unfounded: the mayor developed a detailed plan and began to implement it. He destroyed the city, leaving no stone unturned. Now came the task of building the city of his dreams. But the river disrupted these plans, it got in the way. Gloomy-Burcheev started a real war with her, using all the garbage that was left as a result of the destruction of the city. However, the river did not give up, washing away all the dams and dams being built. Gloomy-Burcheev turned around and, leading the people behind him, walked away from the river. He chose a new place to build the city - a flat lowland, and began to build the city of his dreams. However, something went wrong. Unfortunately, it was not possible to find out what exactly prevented the construction, since records with the details of this story have not been preserved. The denouement became known: “...time stopped running. Finally the earth shook, the sun darkened... the Foolovites fell on their faces. An inscrutable horror appeared on all faces and gripped all hearts. It has arrived...” What exactly came remains unknown to the reader. However, the fate of Ugryum-Burcheev is as follows: “the scoundrel instantly disappeared, as if he had disappeared into thin air. History has stopped flowing."
Supporting documents
At the end of the story, “Exculpatory Documents” are published, which are the works of Wartkin, Mikeladze and Benevolensky, written for the edification of other mayors.
Conclusion
A brief retelling of “The Story of a City” clearly demonstrates not only the satirical direction of the story, but also ambiguously indicates historical parallels. The images of the mayors are copied from historical figures; many events also refer to palace coups. The full version of the story will certainly provide an opportunity to become familiar with the content of the work in detail.
Story test
Retelling rating
Average rating: 4.3. Total ratings received: 4199.
The chapter is called Sergeant of the Guard. Who is this chapter about? What was Grinev's family like? What role did Savelich and Beaupre play in his childhood? How did Petrusha’s parents see him off to the service and what words did his father give to him?
Answer
The first chapter tells about Grinev's family and his childhood. His father's name was Andrei Petrovich, he was a military man, served under Count Minich, retired with the rank of prime major, that is, his position at the time of his resignation approximately corresponded to assistant regiment commander. His wife was the daughter of a poor Siberian nobleman, Avdotya Vasilievna. Pyotr Grinev was one of nine children (!), but all his brothers and sisters died in infancy, which was not uncommon at that time. Grinev’s parents were simple and honest people, they lived quietly, never going anywhere except to hunt, and did not quarrel with each other. We can say that it was a quiet patriarchal family, where everyone knew their role and performed it with care.
Savelich and Beaupre played different roles in Grinev’s childhood. Beaupre was frivolous and had nothing to do with teaching. He did not work with his pupil at all, which suited little Petrusha quite well. We can say that thanks to Beaupre, Grinev was a poorly educated person. Savelich, on the contrary, extremely valued the trust that Grinev’s father showed him, and tried as best he could to be a good teacher. He could not teach Petrusha anything other than literacy, but he was a constant example of morality and self-restraint. And since he sincerely loved the boy, his example was beneficial, and Petrusha, thanks to Savelich, possessed many positive qualities.
When his parents accompanied Petrusha to the service, his mother was in tears, she gave instructions about his health, provided him with homemade pies on the way, and demanded that Savelich carefully look after his son. The father was quite dry and reserved; he simply told his son: “Goodbye, Peter. Serve faithfully to whom you pledge allegiance; obey your superiors; Don’t chase their affection; don’t ask for service; do not dissuade yourself from serving; and remember the proverb: take care of your dress again, but take care of your honor from a young age.”
“Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” is the most famous work of Alexander Nikolaevich Radishchev.
The genre of “Travel” allowed the author to freely introduce any material into the text of his work: a word of praise, an ode, a letter, a satirical dream, etc. The author makes excursions into history, describes various aspects of modern life, the morals of Russians, reflects on the problems of politics, philosophy, sociology, as a result of which Radishchev’s book combines artistic, journalistic, and scientific principles, which determined the originality of his artistic style.
The composition of “Travel” is carefully thought out: all chapters are connected not so much by the external sequence of events as by their internal logic. Each chapter helps develop the main idea, the movement of the author’s thoughts in revealing this idea, moving from a particular fact to a generalization. The reader must comprehend each fact in the general context of the work, and the author will help him draw conclusions. Therefore, each chapter of the book should not be considered in isolation, but in relation to other chapters.
The main characters of the work are the Russian people and the traveler - an advanced nobleman, on whose behalf the story is told. The image of the traveler is very important; it embodies the author’s ideal of a person capable of being “vulnered” by the suffering of humanity. The traveler openly sympathizes with the people and just as openly hates the autocracy, in which he sees “a monster, huge, loud, and barking.”
The traveler's meetings with the people occupy a central place in Radishchev's book. Each meeting reveals new aspects of the Russian national character, as a result of which a generalized image of folk Russia is created in the work. At the same time, the circle of oppressors of the people is expanding - “hard-hearted” landowners, indifferent officials, unjust judges.
As the narrative progresses, Radishchev reveals the horror of the situation of the serf peasant, his social lack of rights and complete defenselessness. The traveler sees the backbreaking labor of a peasant on the master's fields, the poverty and joylessness of peasant life, pictures of violence and abuse of the landowner against his “property.” “Greedy animals, insatiable leeches” - the serf owners leave the peasant only what they cannot take away - “one air.”
The author perfectly sees the connection between serfdom and landowner privileges with the apparatus of state coercion and condemns the inhumanity of the entire autocratic serfdom system, in which “on the one hand there is omnipotence; on the other hand, defenseless weakness.”
But Radishchev was convinced that serfdom, which had a corrupting effect on both masters and peasants, could not destroy the spiritual and moral strength of the Russian people. Despite her slavish position, the peasant girl Anyuta (chapter of “Edrovo”) is independent, proud, and full of spiritual beauty; the serf intellectual admires her pride, menacingly warning the landowner: “... don’t bring your soul to despair... be afraid!” (chapter “Gorodnya”), there is no humility and obedience in the plowman (chapter “Lyuban”), he does not complain about fate, but condemns his master, “much can be decided that has hitherto been fortune-telling in Russian history”, a barge hauler opening a gallery of peasant images. And it is no coincidence that the “Journey” ends with the story of Lomonosov, the true son of his people, whose life is evidence of the enormous potential strength of the Russian nation.
In the Russian people, Radishchev sees a dormant force that is ready to wake up at any moment and begin to act. How events can develop is described in the chapter “Zaitsevo”, where the serfs, driven to despair, deal with their masters. The chapter “Khotilov” directly speaks of the participation of tens of thousands of peasants in the Pugachev uprising. In "Gorodnya" the traveler addresses the peasants with a direct call for retribution.
Radishchev was convinced that there was only one way to change social and political conditions. Freedom can only be expected from “the very severity of enslavement”; only a popular revolution can change the existing state of affairs in Russia.
The journalistic nature, intense emotionality of the narrative, and the presence of the image of the narrator bring “The Journey” closer to the traditions of sentimentalism. The depth of penetration into the depicted characters, the faithfulness in conveying the circumstances of people’s lives testifies to the presence of elements of realism in Radishchev’s creative method.
The rebellious book frightened the autocracy: a “rebel worse than Pugachev” appeared in Russia. An investigation was launched.
The rebellious spirit of his works, the high structure of his thoughts and feelings made Radishchev in the consciousness of the subsequent generation of Russian writers an example of selfless service to the Fatherland.
Information taken from the School Student's Handbook under the general editorship of Soboleva (Moscow, Ast-Press, 2004).
YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN:
Discussion is closed.
In the chapter “Sofia,” the traveler reflects on the peculiarities of the Russian national character: “A barge hauler, going to a tavern with his head hanging and returning stained with blood from slaps, can solve a lot of things that have hitherto been guesswork in Russian history.”
“Lyubani”: the author describes his meeting with a peasant who is plowing a field on a holiday. Six days a week he works as a corvee. When asked by the author when he manages to get bread to feed his large family, he answers: “It’s not just the holidays, but the night is ours. If our brother is not lazy, he will not die of hunger. You see, one horse is resting, and when this one gets tired, I’ll take on the other; the matter is controversial.” The traveler is shocked by the peasant’s confessions. He ends his reflections with the words: “Fear, hard-hearted landowner, I see your condemnation on the forehead of each of your peasants.”
At the Chudovo station, the hero meets a friend who tells him a story that happened to him. Having set off on a journey across the sea on a small ship, he and his companions found themselves in a storm. The ship got stuck one and a half kilometers from the shore between two rocks and did not move. Twelve or ten people barely had time to pump out the water. One brave man, risking his life, managed to get to the shore, ran to the nearest village and came to the chief, asking for help. The chief was sleeping, but the sergeant did not dare to wake him up and pushed the man out the door. He turned to ordinary fishermen, who saved the rest. Returning to the village, the narrator went to the chief. He thought that he would punish his sergeant by learning that he had not been awakened when twelve people were in danger. But the boss only replied: “It’s not my job.” Then the narrator turned to the higher authorities, and “someone” answered him: “But in his position he is not ordered to save you.” “Now I say goodbye to the city forever,” exclaims the narrator. “I will not enter this dwelling of tigers again.” Their only joy is to gnaw at each other; Their joy is to torment the weak to the point of exhaustion and to servile the authorities.”
In Spasskaya Polest, the hero gets caught in the rain and is forced to spend the night in a hut. There he hears whispers: a husband and wife, who also spent the night on the road to Novgorod, are talking. The husband tells his wife a story worthy of the pen of Saltykov-Shchedrin. We see Radishchev from a new side: before us is a sharp satirist who tells how the governor spends government money on his own whims (he really loves “oysters,” that is, oysters), and couriers and officers receive money and ranks for fulfilling - these whims.
Reflecting on the former greatness of Novgorod (chapter “Novgorod”), the author writes with bitter irony about the law of nations: “When enmity arises between them, when hatred or self-interest directs them against each other, their judge is the sword. Whoever falls dead or is disarmed is guilty; obeys this decision unquestioningly, and there is no appeal against it. “That’s why Novgorod belonged to Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich. That’s why he ruined it and appropriated its smoking remains for himself.”
Anticipating Tolstoy's thought, Radishchev says that during war “great violence is covered up by the law of war” (“Zaitsovo”); reflects on the greed of the authorities, on the lack of rights of the peasants, touches on economic problems, issues of education and the relationship between husband and wife - both in peasant and noble families.
In the chapter “Edrovo” the traveler meets a girl Anyuta and talks to her. He admires not only her beauty, but the nobility in her way of thinking. Anyuta is going to get married, and the hero from the bottom of his heart offers her mother one hundred rubles as a dowry for her daughter. The mother refuses, although this is a lot of money for a peasant family. Anyuta’s chastity and innocence delight the hero, and he thinks about her for a long time.
In the same chapter he tells an episode of the Pugachev uprising. The name of Pugachev was forbidden to even mention, but Radishchev boldly talks about the arbitrariness of the landowner and the reprisal against him of the peasants, who were later convicted, and sums up his thoughts: “But the peasant is legally dead...”
The chapters “Khotilov” and “Vydropusk” are subtitled “Project in the Future.” This is the most important document of social thought - the first Russian utopia. What kind of state can a state become when, “enjoying internal silence, having no external enemies,” society will be brought “to the highest bliss of civil coexistence”? The only guardian of society will be the law: “under its sovereign protection our heart is free,” Radishchev wants to believe in this.
What do you need for this? The author answers us in the chapter “Torzhok”. The beginning of civil society is freedom, and the first element of freedom is “free printing,” when censorship does not stand at the printing press as “the nanny of reason, wit, imagination, everything great and graceful.” But “the freedom of the government’s thoughts is terrible for you.”
A passer-by whom the traveler meets gives him a notebook with an essay to read, the title of which is “A Brief Narrative of the Origin of Censorship.” The notebook contains the history of the struggle between power and social thought from the time of Socrates to the latest European events.
In the chapter “Copper” there is a tragic scene of the sale of a family of serf peasants at an auction. Who has the power to establish freedom for peasants in Russia? “But the freedom of rural residents will offend, as they say, the right to property. And all those who could fight for freedom are all great lords, and freedom should not be expected from their advice, but from the very severity of enslavement.”
In Tver, the traveler meets a poet who reflects on the meaning of poetry in society and reads him the ode “Liberty.” How to understand liberty? “It should be called liberty if everyone obeys the laws equally.” The ode was written by Radishchev himself and had a huge influence on Pushkin. Pushkin admitted this in the draft version of “Monument”: “Following Radishchev, I glorified freedom...”.
Now we are amazed by phrases that sound like prophecies: “I wished that the farmer would not be a prisoner in his field...”; “The next 8 stanzas contain prophecies about the future lot of the fatherland, which will be divided into parts, and the sooner the more extensive it is. But the time has not yet come. When will it come, then
They will meet the rivets of a difficult night.
The elastic power, with its last gasp, will put a guard on the word and gather all its forces in order to crush the emerging freedom with its last blow... (...) But humanity will roar in chains and, guided by the hope of freedom and indestructible natural law, will move. ..”
Didn't find what you were looking for? Use the search
On this page there is material on the following topics:
- analysis of the chapter from St. Petersburg to Moscow
- chapter sophia chapter analysis
- travel from St. Petersburg to Moscow analysis of 5 chapters
- main pawn analysis
- What do the peasant’s words say? Do you see Radishchev?