The famous American poetess and writer Eleanor Merry Sarton, known to millions of readers as May Sarton, often quotes the words: "Thoughts are like a hero - and you will behave like a decent person."
Much has been written about the role of heroism in people's lives. This virtue, which has a number of synonyms: courage, valor, courage, is manifested in the moral strength of its bearer. Moral power allows him to follow the real, real service to the homeland, people, humanity. What is the problem of true heroism? Arguments can be used different. But the main thing in them: true heroism is not blind. Various examples of heroism are not just overcoming certain circumstances. They all have one thing in common - they bring a sense of perspective to people's lives.
Many bright classics of literature, both Russian and foreign, searched and found for their coverage of the theme of the appearance of the phenomenon of valor their vivid and unique arguments. The problem of heroism, fortunately for us readers, is highlighted by the masters of the pen brightly, non-trivially. It is valuable in their works that the classics immerse the reader in the spiritual world of the hero, whose high deeds are admired by millions of people. The theme of this article is a review of some of the works of classics, in which a special approach to the question of heroism and courage is traced.
Heroes are around us
Today, unfortunately, the distorted concept of heroism prevails in the narrow-minded psyche. Modern people are immersed in their problems, in their little selfish little world. Therefore, fresh and non-trivial arguments on the problem of heroism are fundamentally important for their consciousness. Believe me, we are surrounded by heroes. We just don’t notice them because our souls are shortsighted. Not only men perform feats. Take a closer look - a woman, by the judgment of doctors, unable to give birth in principle, gives birth. Heroism can and does manifest itself by our contemporaries at the patient’s bed, at the negotiating table, at the workplace, and even at the stove. You just need to learn to see it.
The literary image of God as a tuning fork. Parsnip and Bulgakov
Sacrifice is distinguished by true heroism. Many ingenious literary classics try to influence the beliefs of their readers, raising the bar for understanding the essence of heroism as high as possible. They find creative powers to uniquely convey to the readers the highest ideals, telling in their own way about the feat of God, the son of man.
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak in Doctor Zhivago, an extremely honest work about his generation, writes about valor as the highest emblem of humanity. According to the writer, the problem of true heroism is revealed not in violence, but in virtue. He expresses his arguments through the lips of the uncle of the protagonist, N. N. Vedenyapin. He believes that the beast slumbering in each of us is not able to stop the tamer with a whip. But this is within the power of a preacher who sacrifices himself.
The classic of Russian literature, the son of a professor of theology, Mikhail Bulgakov in his novel "The Master and Margarita" presents us with his original literary interpretation of the image of the Messiah - Yeshua Ga-Nozri. The preaching of the Good with which Jesus came to people is a dangerous business. Words of truth, conscience, contrary to the foundations of society, are fraught with death for those who pronounced them. Even the Judean prosecutor, Pontius Pilate, who does not hesitate to come to the aid of Mark Krysoboy, surrounded by the Germans, is afraid to tell the truth (while he secretly agrees with the views of Ga-Nozri.) The peaceful messiah courageously follows his fate, and the battle-hardened Roman commander cowards. Bulgakov's arguments are convincing. The problem of heroism is closely connected with the organic unity of worldview, worldview, word and deed.
Arguments of Henryk Senkevich
The image of Jesus in the halo of courage also arises in the novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz “Camo Griadeshi”. Vivid finds the Polish literary classic shades to create a unique plot situation in his famous novel.
The apostle Peter , after Jesus was crucified and resurrected, came to Rome, following his mission: to convert the Eternal City to Christianity. However, he, an inconspicuous traveler, barely arriving, witnesses the ceremonial entry of Emperor Nero. Peter is shocked by the worship of the Romans by the emperor. He does not know what arguments to find for this phenomenon. The problem of heroism, the courage of a person who ideologically opposes the dictator, is covered, starting with Peter's fear that the mission will not succeed. Having lost faith in himself, he flees from the Eternal City. However, leaving the city walls behind, the apostle saw Jesus in human form walking towards him. Struck by what he saw, Peter asked the Messiah where he should go: “Camo coming?” Jesus replied that since Peter left his people, he had only one thing left - to go to the crucifixion a second time. Real service certainly requires courage. Shocked Peter returns to Rome ...
The theme of courage in War and Peace
Rich in arguments about the essence of heroism, Russian classical literature. Leo Tolstoy in his epic novel “War and Peace” raised a number of philosophical questions. In the image of Prince Andrei, walking along the path of a warrior, the writer put his special arguments. The problem of heroism and courage is painfully rethought and evolving in the minds of the young prince Bolkonsky. His youthful dream - to accomplish a feat - is inferior to the understanding and awareness of the essence of war. To be a hero, not to seem, is how Prince Andrei’s life priorities change after the Battle of Shengraben.
Staff Officer Bolkonsky understands that the real hero of this battle is battery commander Captain Tushin. Humble, lost in the presence of superiors. The object of ridicule adjutants. The battery of the small and feeble nondescript captain did not flinch before the invincible French, inflicted damage on them and enabled the main forces to retreat in an organized manner. Tushin acted on a hunch, he did not receive an order to cover the rear of the army. Understanding the essence of the war - such were his arguments. The problem of heroism is rethought by Prince Bolkonsky, he is steeply changing his career and, with the assistance of M.I. Kutuzov, becomes the regiment commander. In the battle of Borodino, he, having raised the regiment in the attack, is seriously wounded. The body of a Russian officer with a banner in his hands sees Napoleon Bonaparte circling the Borodino field . The reaction of the French emperor is respect: “What a beautiful death!” However, for Bolkonsky, the act of heroism coincides with the awareness of the integrity of the world, the importance of compassion.
Harper Lee "To Kill a Mockingbird"
Understanding the essence of the feat is present in a number of works of American classics. The novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" is studied in schools by all little Americans. It contains an original discourse on the essence of courage. This idea sounds from the mouth of Attikus' lawyer, a man of honor who takes up a fair, but by no means a profitable business. His arguments for the problem of heroism are as follows: courage is when you get down to business, while knowing in advance that you will lose. But still you take it and go to the end. And sometimes you still manage to win.
Image of Melanie by Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Mitchell in the novel about the American South of the XIX century creates a unique image of the fragile and refined, but at the same time courageous and brave lady Melanie.
She is sure that there is something good in all people, and is ready to help them. Her poor, neat house is becoming famous in Atlanta thanks to the sincerity of the owners. In the most dangerous periods of her life, Scarlett receives help from Melanie that is impossible to evaluate.
Hemingway on Heroism
And of course, you can’t get around Hemingway’s classic story “The Old Man and the Sea,” which tells about the nature of courage and heroism. The battle of an elderly Cuban Santiago with a huge fish resembles a parable. The arguments on the problem of heroism set forth by Hemingway are symbolic. The sea is like life, and old Santiago is like human experience. The writer utters the words that have become the leitmotif of true heroism: “Man is not created to undergo defeat. It is possible to destroy it, but not to win! ”
Strugatsky brothers “Picnic by the road”
The story introduces its readers into a phantasmagoric situation. Obviously, after the aliens arrived, an anomalous zone formed on Earth. Stalkers find the "heart" of this zone, which has a unique property. A person who has entered this territory receives a tough alternative: either he dies, or the zone fulfills his every desire. Strugatsky masterfully show the spiritual evolution of the hero who decided on this feat. His catharsis is convincingly shown. The stalker does not have anything selfish, mercantile, he thinks in terms of humanity and, accordingly, asks the zone about “happiness for all,” so that he would not be deprived of it. What, in the opinion of the Strugatsky, is the problem of heroism? Arguments from literature show that it is empty without compassion and humanism.
Boris Polevoy "The Tale of a Real Man"
There was a period in the history of the Russian people when heroism became truly massive. Thousands of warriors immortalized their names. The high rank of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to eleven thousand soldiers. At the same time, 104 people were awarded him twice. And three people - three times. The first person to receive this high rank was pilot ace Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin. Only in one day - 04/12/1943 - he shot down seven aircraft of the Nazi occupiers!
Of course, to forget and not to convey to new generations such patterns of heroism is like a crime. This should be done using the example of Soviet “military” literature — such are the arguments of the exam. The problem of heroism is highlighted for students by examples from the works of Boris Polevoy, Mikhail Sholokhov, Boris Vasiliev.
The front-line correspondent of the newspaper Pravda Boris Polevoy was shocked by the history of the pilot of the 580th regiment of fighters Maresyev Alexei. In the winter of 1942, he was shot down over the sky of the Novgorod region. Wounded at the feet of the pilot, he crawled to his own for 18 days. He survived, got, but his legs were "eaten" by gangrene. Amputation followed. In the hospital where Alexei was lying after the operation, there was also political instructor Sergei Vorobyov. He managed to light Maresyev’s dream - to return to heaven as a fighter pilot. Overcoming pain, Alexey learned not only to walk on dentures, but also to dance. The apotheosis of the story is the first air battle conducted by the pilot after being wounded.
The medical board "capitulated." During the war, the real Alexei Maresyev shot down 11 enemy aircraft, most of them - seven - after being wounded.
Soviet writers convincingly revealed the problem of heroism. Arguments from the literature testify that feats were performed not only by men, but also by women who were called to serve. Boris Vasiliev’s novel “And the Dawns Here Are Quiet” is striking in its drama. A large sabotage group of fascists, numbering 16 people, landed in the Soviet rear.
Young girls heroically die (Rita Osyanina, Zhenya Komelkova,
Lisa Brichkina, Sonya Gurevich, Galya Chetvertak), employees at the 171 railway junction under the command of foreman Fedot Vaskov. However, they destroy 11 fascists. The elder discovers the remaining five in the hut. Kills one, and captures four. Then he surrenders prisoners to his own, losing consciousness from fatigue.
"The fate of man"
This story of Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov introduces us to the former Red Army driver Andrei Sokolov. The writer simply and convincingly reveals the problem of courage and heroism. Arguments touching the soul of the reader, a long search did not have to. In almost every family, war has brought grief. Andrei Sokolov had it in abundance: in 1942, his wife Irina and two daughters died (the bomb hit a residential building). The son miraculously survived and after this tragedy volunteered for the front. Andrei himself fought, was captured by the Nazis, fled from him. However, a new tragedy awaited him: in 1945, on May 9, a sniper killed his son.
Andrei himself, having lost his whole family, found the strength in himself to start life "from scratch." He adopted the homeless boy Vanya, becoming for him the adoptive father. This moral feat again fills his life with meaning.
Conclusion
These are the arguments for the problem of heroism in classical literature. The latter is really capable of supporting a person, awakening courage in him. Although she is not able to help him financially, she is building a boundary in his soul through which Evil cannot cross. This is how Remarque wrote about the books in The Arc de Triomphe. The argumentation of heroism in classical literature takes its rightful place.
Heroism can also be represented as a social phenomenon of a kind of “instinct of self-preservation”, not just of individual life, but of the whole society. A part of society, a separate “cell” - a person (the most worthy of feats), consciously driven by altruism and spirituality, sacrifices himself, preserving something more. Classical literature is one of the tools that helps people understand and comprehend the non-linear nature of courage.