Courage and cowardice are two different, opposite qualities, manifestations of character, which, meanwhile, are closely related to each other. Both a coward and a daredevil can live in the same person. This problem has been raised frequently in the literature.

Thus, the girls showed real heroism and courage in Boris Vasiliev’s work “And the dawns here are quiet...”. All the characters in the story - five fragile girls: Zhenya Komelkova, Rita Osyanina, Sonya Gurvich, Galya Chetvertak, Liza Brichkina and foreman Vaskov - are depicted in the struggle, giving all their strength in the name of saving the Motherland.

It was these people who brought our country’s victory closer in this terrible war.

Another literary example is the story of Maxim Gorky “The Old Woman Izergil”, namely its third part - the legend of Danko. He was a brave and fearless young man who sacrificed himself for the sake of the people. He decided to help his people and took leadership over them in order to lead them out of the impenetrable forest. The path was not easy, and when people, having lost their fortitude, fell upon Danko, he rips his heart out of his chest to illuminate the path and give people the warmth and goodness that came from his flaming heart. And when the goal was achieved, no one even noticed his death and that “his brave heart was burning next to Danko’s corpse.” Danko saw the meaning of life in helping people.

And secondly, this is the problem of cowardice. In Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita,” Pontius Pilate, out of fear of condemnation, commits a terrible act; he sent an innocent man, the philosopher Yeshua Ha-Nozri, to execution. The procurator did not listen to his inner voice. And cowardice in making the right decision became a punishment for Pilate. He will look for an excuse for his action, but will not find it.

Also, the hero of Nikolai Gogol's story "Taras Bulba" - Andriy - did not show the best quality. For the sake of love for a woman, he was able to renounce everyone. Having not forgiven his son for betrayal and cowardice, Taras Bulba himself kills him. The payback for Andriy turned out to be too expensive - his own life.

Updated: 2017-09-12

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• Is it possible to say that courage and cowardice are two sides of the same coin? Courage and cowardice. Essay Unified State Exam Arguments, examples from literature

Pontius Pilate is a cowardly man. And it was for cowardice that he was punished. The procurator could have saved Yeshua Ha-Nozri from execution, but signed the death warrant. Pontius Pilate feared for the inviolability of his power. He did not go against the Sanhedrin, ensuring his peace at the cost of the life of another person. And all this despite the fact that Yeshua was sympathetic to the procurator. Cowardice prevented the man from being saved. Cowardice is one of the most serious sins (according to the novel "The Master and Margarita").

A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin"

Vladimir Lensky challenged Evgeny Onegin to a duel. He could have called off the fight, but he chickened out. Cowardice manifested itself in the fact that the hero took into account the opinion of society. Evgeny Onegin thought only about what people would say about him. The result was sad: Vladimir Lensky died. If his friend had not chickened out, but preferred moral principles to public opinion, the tragic consequences could have been avoided.

A.S. Pushkin "The Captain's Daughter"

The siege of the Belogorsk fortress by the troops of the impostor Pugachev showed who is considered a hero and who is a coward. Alexey Ivanovich Shvabrin, saving his life, betrayed his homeland at the first opportunity and went over to the side of the enemy. In this case, cowardice is a synonym

“Courage and cowardice” - arguments for the final essay

An essay in the context of this aspect can be based on a comparison of opposite manifestations of personality - from determination and courage, manifestations of willpower and fortitude of some heroes to the desire to evade responsibility, hide from danger, show weakness, which can even lead to betrayal.

Examples of the manifestation of these human qualities can be found in almost any work of classical literature.

A.S. Pushkin "The Captain's Daughter"

As an example, we can take the comparison of Grinev and Shvabrin: the first is ready to die in the battle for the fortress, directly expresses his position to Pugachev, risking his life, under pain of death remained faithful to the oath, the second was afraid for his life and went over to the side of the enemy.

The daughter of Captain Mironov turns out to be truly courageous.

The “coward” Masha, who flinched from shots during a training exercise in the fortress, shows remarkable courage and firmness, resisting Shvabrin’s claims, being in his complete power in the fortress occupied by the Pugachevites.

The title character of the novel A.S. Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin” essentially turned out to be a coward - he completely subordinated his life to the opinion of society, which he himself despised. Realizing that he is to blame for the impending duel and can prevent it, he does not do this, because he is afraid of the opinion of the world and gossip about himself. To avoid accusations of cowardice, he kills his friend.

A striking example of true courage is the main character of the novel M.A. Sholokhov “Quiet Don” Grigory Melekhov. The First World War caught Gregory and spun him into a whirlwind of turbulent historical events. Grigory, like a true Cossack, devotes himself entirely to battle. He is decisive and brave. He easily captures three Germans, deftly recaptures a battery from the enemy, and saves an officer. Evidence of his courage is St. George's crosses and medals, officer rank.

Gregory shows courage not only in battle. He is not afraid to radically change his life, to go against his father’s will for the sake of the woman he loves. Grigory does not tolerate injustice and always speaks openly about it. He is ready to radically change his destiny, but not to change himself. Grigory Melekhov showed extraordinary courage in his search for the truth. But for him she is not just an idea, some idealized symbol of a better human existence.

He is looking for its embodiment in life. Coming into contact with many small particles of truth and ready to accept each one, he often discovers their inconsistency when faced with life, but the hero does not stop in search of truth and justice and goes to the end, making his choice at the end of the novel.

The young monk, the hero of the poem, is not afraid to completely change his life

M.Yu. Lermontov "Mtsyri".

The dream of a free life completely captured Mtsyri, a fighter by nature, forced by force of circumstances to live in a gloomy monastery that he hated. He, who has not lived a day in freedom, independently decides to take a brave action - escaping from the monastery in the hope of returning to his homeland. Only in freedom, in those days that Mtsyri spent outside the monastery, all the richness of his nature was revealed: love of freedom, thirst for life and struggle, perseverance in achieving his goal, unbending willpower, courage, contempt for danger, love for nature, understanding of its beauty and power. Mtsyri shows courage and the will to win in the fight against the leopard. His story of how he descended from the rocks to the stream sounds contempt for danger:

But free youth is strong,

And death seemed not scary.

Mtsyri failed to achieve his goal - to find his homeland, his people.

“The prison left its mark on me,” this is how he explains the reason for his failure. Mtsyri fell victim to circumstances that turned out to be stronger than him (a stable motif of fate in Lermontov’s works). But he dies adamant, his spirit is not broken.

Great courage is required to preserve oneself, one’s personality under the conditions of a totalitarian regime, not to give up one’s ideals and ideas, including in creativity, and not to submit to the situation. The question of courage and cowardice is one of the central ones in M.A.’s novel. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita".

The words of the hero of the novel, Ga-Notsri, affirm the idea that one of the main human vices is cowardice. This idea can be seen throughout the novel. The all-seeing Woland, lifting the “curtain” of time for us, shows that the course of history does not change human nature: Judas, Aloisia (traitors, informers) exist at all times. But the basis of betrayal is also, most likely, cowardice - a vice that has always existed, a vice that underlies many grave sins.

Aren't traitors cowards? Aren't flatterers cowards? And if a person is lying, he is also afraid of something. Back in the 18th century, the French philosopher C. Helvetius argued that “after courage, there is nothing more beautiful than a confession of cowardice.”

In his novel, Bulgakov argues that man is responsible for improving the world in which he lives. The position of non-participation is not acceptable. Can the Master be called a hero? Most likely no. The master failed to remain a fighter to the end. The Master is not a hero, he is only a servant of truth. The Master cannot be a hero, since he chickened out and abandoned his book. He is broken by the adversity that befell him, but he broke himself. Then, when he escaped from reality to the Stravinsky clinic, when he assured himself that “there is no need to make big plans,” he doomed himself to inaction of the spirit. He is not a creator, he is only a Master, and therefore he is only given

Yeshua is a wandering young philosopher who came to Yershalaim to preach his teachings. He is a physically weak person, but at the same time he is a spiritually strong person, he is a man of thought. The hero under no circumstances gives up his views. Yeshua believes that a person can be changed for the better with good. It is very difficult to be kind, so it is easy to replace goodness with all sorts of surrogates, which often happens. But if a person does not chicken out and does not give up his views, then such good is omnipotent. The “tramp”, the “weak man” managed to turn the life of Pontius Pilate, the “almighty ruler” upside down.

Pontius Pilate is the representative of the authority of imperial Rome in Judea. This man's rich life experience helps him understand Ga-Nozri. Pontius Pilate does not want to ruin the life of Yeshua, he tries to persuade him to compromise, and when this fails, he wants to persuade the high priest Kaifa to have mercy on Ha-Notsri on the occasion of the Easter holiday. Pontius Pilate feels pity for Yeshua, compassion, and fear. It is fear that ultimately determines his choice. This fear is born of dependence on the state, the need to follow its interests. For M. Bulgakov, Pontius Pilate is not just a coward, an apostate, but he is also a victim. By apostatizing from Yeshua, he destroys both himself and his soul. Even after physical death, he is doomed to mental suffering, from which only Yeshua can save him.

Margarita, in the name of her love and faith in her lover’s talent, overcomes fear and her own weakness, and even overcomes circumstances.

Yes, Margarita is not an ideal person: having become a witch, she destroys the house of writers, participates in Satan's ball with the greatest sinners of all times and peoples. But she didn't chicken out. Margarita fights for her love to the end. It is not for nothing that Bulgakov calls for love and mercy to be the basis of human relations.

In the novel “The Master and Margarita”, according to A.Z. Vulis, there is a philosophy of retribution: what you deserve, you get. The biggest vice - cowardice - will certainly entail retribution: torment of the soul and conscience. Even in The White Guard, M. Bulgakov warned: “Never run like a rat into the unknown from danger.”

Taking responsibility for the destinies of other people, perhaps weaker ones, is also great courage. This is Danko, the hero of the legend from M. Gorky’s story “The Old Woman Izergil”.

A proud, “best of all” man, Danko died for the sake of people. The legend told by the old woman Izergil is based on an ancient tale about a man who saved people and showed them the way out of an impenetrable forest. Danko had a strong-willed character: the hero did not want a slave life for his tribe and at the same time understood that people would not be able to live in the depths of the forest for a long time without the space and light they were accustomed to. Mental fortitude, inner wealth, true perfection in biblical stories were embodied in outwardly beautiful people. This is exactly how the ancient idea of ​​a person about spiritual and physical beauty was expressed: “Danko is one of those people, a handsome young man. Beautiful

Always brave." Danko believes in his own strength, so he doesn’t want to waste it “on thoughts and melancholy.” The hero strives to lead people from the darkness of the forest to freedom, where there is a lot of warmth and light. Having a strong-willed character, he takes on the role of a leader, and people “unitedly all followed him - they believed in him.” The hero was not afraid of difficulties during the difficult journey, but he did not take into account the weakness of the people, who soon “began to grumble” because they did not have Danko’s fortitude and did not have a strong will. The culminating episode of the story was the scene of Danko’s trial, when people, tired of the hardship of the journey, hungry and angry, began to blame their leader for everything: “You are an insignificant and harmful person for us! You led us and tired us, and for this you will die! Unable to bear the difficulties, people began to shift responsibility from themselves to Danko, wanting to find someone to blame for their misfortunes. The hero, selflessly loving people, realizing that without him everyone would die, “teared his chest with his hands and tore out his heart from it and raised it high above his head.” Illuminating the dark path from the impenetrable forest with your

with his heart, Danko led people out of the darkness to where “the sun shone, the steppe sighed, the grass glittered in the diamonds of the rain and the river sparkled with gold.” Danko looked at the picture that opened before him and died. The author calls his hero a proud daredevil who died for the sake of people. The final episode makes the reader think about the moral side of the hero’s act: was Danko’s death in vain, are people worthy of such a sacrifice. What is important is the image of a “cautious” person who appeared in the epilogue of the story, who was afraid of something and stepped “on his proud heart.”

The writer characterizes Danko as the best of people. Indeed, the main character traits of the hero are mental fortitude, willpower, selflessness, the desire to selflessly serve people, and courage. He sacrificed his life not only for the sake of those whom he led out of the forest, but also for himself: he could not do otherwise, the hero needed to help people. The feeling of love filled Danko’s heart and was an integral part of his nature, which is why M. Gorky calls the hero “the best of all.” Researchers note the connection between Danko’s image and Moses, Prometheus and Jesus Christ. The name Danko is associated with the same root words “tribute”, “dam”, “giving”. The most important words of a proud, brave man in the legend: “What will I do for people?!”

Many works of classical Russian literature raise the issue of fear of life in its various manifestations. In particular, many works by A.P. are devoted to the theme of fear and cowardice. Chekhov: "Fears", "Cossack", "Champagne", "Beauties", "Lights", "Steppe", "Man in a Case",

“Death of an Official”, “Ionych”, “Lady with a Dog”, “Chameleon”, “Chamber

No. 6", "Fear", "Black Monk", etc.

The hero of the story "Fear" Dmitry Petrovich Silin is afraid of everything. According to the author of the story, he is “sick with the fear of life.” The hero, according to Chekhov, is frightened by the incomprehensible and incomprehensible. For example, Silin is afraid of terrible events, disasters and the most ordinary events. He is afraid of life itself. Everything that is incomprehensible in the world around him is a threat to him. He reflects and tries to find answers to questions that concern him about the meaning of life and human existence. He is convinced that people understand what they see and hear, but he poisons himself daily with his own fear.

In the story, he is constantly trying to hide and seclude himself. Dmitry Petrovich seems to be running away from life: he leaves his service in St. Petersburg because he experiences feelings of fear and apprehension, and decides to live alone in his estate.

And then Silin receives a second strong blow when his wife and friend betray him. When he finds out about the betrayal, fear drives him out of the house: “His hands were shaking, he was in a hurry and looked back at the house, he was probably scared.” It is not surprising that the hero of the story compares himself to a newborn midge, whose life consists of nothing but horrors.

In the story “Ward No. 6” the theme of fear also comes to the fore. The hero of the story, Andrei Efimovich, is afraid of everything and everyone. Most of all, he is wary of reality. Nature itself looks scary to him. The most ordinary things and objects seem frightening: “This is reality!” thought Andrei Efimovich. The moon, and the prison, and the nails on the fence, and the distant flame in the bone plant were scary.”

The fear of the incomprehensibility of life is presented in the story "The Man in the Case." This fear forces the hero to move away from reality. The hero of the story, Belikov, is always trying to “hide from life” in a case. His case is made of circulars and instructions, the implementation of which he constantly monitors. His fear is vague. He is afraid of everything and at the same time nothing specific. The most hated thing for him is failure to follow the rules and deviations from the regulations. Even insignificant little things plunge Belikov into mystical horror. “Reality irritated him, frightened him, kept him in constant anxiety, and, perhaps, in order to justify this timidity of his, his aversion to the present, he always praised the past and what never happened; and the ancient languages ​​that he taught , were for him, in essence, the same galoshes and an umbrella where he hid from real life." If Silin, out of fear of life, tries to hide in his estate, then Belikov’s fear of life forces him to hide in a case of rules and strict laws and, in the end, hide underground forever.

The hero of the story "About Love" Alekhine is also afraid of everything and also prefers to hide, secluded in his estate, although he had a good opportunity to study literature. He is afraid even of his love and torments himself when he overcomes this feeling and loses his beloved woman.

The fairy tale by M.E. is dedicated to the problem of fear of life. Saltykov-Shchedrin “The Wise Minnow”. The life of a minnow flashes before the reader, simple in its structure, based on fear of the potential dangers of the world order. The hero's father and mother lived a long life and died a natural death. And before leaving for another world, they bequeathed their son to be careful, since all the inhabitants of the water world, and even man, in any

moment could ruin him. The young minnow mastered his parents' science so well that he literally imprisoned himself in an underwater hole. He came out of it only at night, when everyone was sleeping, was malnourished and “trembled” all day long - just so as not to be captured! He lived in this fear for 100 years, truly outliving his relatives, even though he was a small fish that anyone could swallow. And in this sense, his life was a success. His other dream also came true - to live in such a way that no one would ever know about the existence of the wise minnow.

Before his death, the hero thinks about what would happen if all the fish lived the same way as he does. And he begins to see the light: the race of minnows would cease! All opportunities passed him by - making friends, starting a family, raising children and passing on his life experience to them. He clearly realizes this before his death and, deep in thought, falls asleep, and then involuntarily violates the boundaries of his hole: “his snout” appears outward from the hole. And then there is scope for the reader’s imagination, because the author does not say what happened to the hero, but only states that he suddenly disappeared. There were no witnesses to this incident, so not only the task of living at least unnoticed was achieved by the minnow, but also the “ultimate task” - to disappear unnoticed as well. The author bitterly sums up the life of his hero: “He lived - he trembled, and he died - he trembled.”

Often anxiety and caring for loved ones help you become brave. The little boy from the story by A.I. shows remarkable courage. Kuprin “White Poodle” In the story, all the most important events are connected with the white poodle Artaud. The dog is one of the artists of the traveling troupe. Grandfather Lodyzhkin values ​​him very much and says about the dog: “He feeds, waters and clothes the two of us.” It is with the help of the image of a poodle that the author reveals human feelings and relationships.

Grandfather and Seryozha love Artoshka and treat him as a friend and family member. That is why they do not agree to sell their beloved dog for any money. But Trilly’s mother believes: “Everything that can be bought is sold.” When her spoiled son wanted a dog, she offered the artists fabulous money and didn’t even want to hear that the dog was not for sale. When they couldn’t buy Artaud, they decided to steal it. Here, when grandfather Lodyzhkin showed weakness, Seryozha shows determination and takes a brave action worthy of an adult: return the dog at any cost. At the risk of his life, almost getting caught by the janitor, he frees his friend.

Modern writers have repeatedly addressed the topic of cowardice and courage. One of the most striking works is the story

V. Zheleznikov “Scarecrow”. A new student, Lena Bessoltseva, comes to one of the provincial schools. She is the granddaughter of an artist who leads a secluded lifestyle, which caused the townspeople to alienate him. Classmates openly make it clear to the new girl whose rules are here. Over time, she begins to be despised for her kindness and kindness, and her classmates give her the nickname “Scarecrow.” Lena has a kind soul, and she tries in every possible way to establish contact with her classmates, trying not to react to the offensive nickname. However, the cruelty of children led by class leaders knows no bounds. Only one person feels pity for the girl and begins to be friends with her - Dima Somov. One day the children decided to skip class and go to the cinema. Dima returned to class to pick up the forgotten item. The teacher met him, and the boy was forced to tell the truth that his classmates had run away from class. After this, the children decide to punish Dima for his betrayal, but suddenly Lena, who has maintained neutrality all this time, stands up for her friend and begins to justify him. Classmates quickly forget Dima's sin and transfer their aggression to the girl. They declared a boycott on Lena to teach her a lesson. Cruel children burn an effigy symbolizing Lena. The girl is no longer able to withstand such oppression and asks her grandfather to leave this city. After Bessoltseva left, the children experience torment of conscience, they understand that they have lost a really good, honest person, but it is too late to do anything.

The clear leader in the class is the Iron Button. Her behavior is determined by the desire to be special: strong-willed, principled. However, these qualities are inherent in her only externally; she needs them to maintain leadership. At the same time, she is one of the few who partially sympathize with Lena and sets her apart from the rest: “I didn’t expect this from Scarecrow,” the Iron Button finally broke the silence. - I hit everyone. Not all of us are capable of this. It’s a pity that she turned out to be a traitor, otherwise I would have become friends with her... And you are all wimps. You don’t know what you want.” And she realizes the reason for this sympathy only at the very end, at the moment of farewell to Bessoltseva. It becomes obvious that Lenka is not like the others. She has inner strength, courage, which allows her to resist lies and preserve her spirituality.

Dimka Somov occupies a special place in the system of images of the story. At first glance, this is a person who is not afraid of anything, does not depend on others, and this differs from his peers. This is manifested in his actions: in his attempts to protect Lena, in the way he freed the dog from Valka, in the desire to be independent from his parents and earn money himself. But then it turns out that, like Red, he depended on the class and was afraid to exist separately from it. Fearing the opinions of his classmates, he turned out to be capable of repeated betrayal: he betrays Bessoltseva when he does not admit his wrongdoing, when he burns Lenka’s effigy with everyone else, when he tries to scare her, when he and the others throw her dress around. His external beauty does not correspond to his internal content, and in the episode of farewell to Bessoltseva he evokes only pity. Thus, no one from the class passed the moral test: they did not have enough moral foundation, inner strength and courage for this.

Unlike all the characters, Lena turns out to be a strong personality: nothing can push her to betrayal. She forgives Somov several times - this testifies to her kindness. She finds the strength to survive all the insults and betrayals without becoming embittered. It is no coincidence that the action takes place against the backdrop of portraits of Lena’s ancestors, especially the brave General Raevsky. Apparently, they are intended to emphasize the courage characteristic of her family.

Courage and cowardice in extreme situations, in war.

The true qualities of the human personality are most clearly manifested in extreme situations, in particular in war.

Roman L.N. Tolstoy's "War and Peace" is not only and not so much about war, but about human characters and qualities that manifest themselves in difficult conditions of choice and the need to commit an act. Important for the writer are reflections on true courage, courage, heroism and cowardice as personality traits. These qualities are most clearly manifested in military episodes.

When drawing heroes, Tolstoy uses the technique of opposition. How different we see Prince Andrei and Zherkov in the battle of Shengraben! Bagration sends Zherkov with an order to retreat to the left flank, that is, where it is most dangerous now. But Zherkov is desperately cowardly and therefore jumps not to where the shooting is, but looks for the bosses “in a safer place where they could not be.” Thus, a vital order by this adjutant

not transferred. But he is handed over to another officer - Prince Bolkonsky. He is also scared, the cannonballs are flying right over him, but he forbids himself to be cowardly.

Zherkov was afraid to get to the battery, and at the officer’s dinner he boldly and shamelessly laughed at an amazing hero, but a funny and timid man - Captain Tushin. Not knowing how courageously the battery acted, Bagration scolded the captain for leaving the gun. None of the officers found the courage to say that Tushin’s battery was without cover. And only Prince Andrei was indignant at these unrest in the Russian army and the inability to appreciate true heroes and not only justified the captain, but called him and his soldiers the true heroes of the day, to whom the troops owe their success.

Timokhin, inconspicuous and unremarkable in ordinary circumstances, also demonstrates true courage: “Timokhin, with a desperate cry, rushed at the French... with one skewer, ran at the enemy, so that the French... threw down their weapons and ran.”

One of the main characters of the novel, Andrei Bolkonsky, had such qualities as pride, courage, decency and honesty. At the beginning of the novel, he is dissatisfied with the emptiness of society and therefore goes to military service in the active army. Going to war, he dreams of accomplishing a feat and earning people's love. In war, he shows courage and bravery; his soldiers characterize him as a strong, courageous and demanding officer. He puts honor, duty and justice first. During the Battle of Austerlitz, Andrei accomplishes a feat: he picks up a banner that has fallen from the hands of a wounded soldier and carries away the soldiers running away in panic.

Another hero who goes through a test of his character is Nikolai Rostov. When the plot logic leads him to the field of the Shengraben battle, the “moment of truth” comes. Until this time, the hero is absolutely confident in his courage and that he will not disgrace himself in battle. But, seeing the true face of the war, coming close to death, Rostov realizes the impossibility of murder and death. “It can’t be that they want to kill me,” he thinks, running away from the French. He's confused. Instead of shooting, he throws his pistol at the enemy. His fear is not fear of the enemy. He is possessed by “a feeling of fear for his happy young life.”

Petya is the youngest in the Rostov family, his mother’s favorite. He goes to war very young, and his main goal is to accomplish a feat, to become a hero: “... Petya was in a constantly happy and excited state

joy at the fact that he is big, and in his constantly enthusiastic haste not to miss any occasion of real heroism.” He has little combat experience, but a lot of youthful fervor. Therefore, he boldly rushes into the thick of the battle and comes under enemy fire. Despite his young age (16 years), Petya is desperately brave and sees his destiny in serving the fatherland.

The Great Patriotic War provided a lot of material for thinking about courage and cowardice.

True courage and courage in war can be shown not only by a soldier, a warrior, but also by an ordinary person, drawn by the forces of circumstances into a terrible cycle of events. Such a story of a simple woman is described in the novel by V.A. Zakrutkina “Mother of Man”.

In September 1941, Hitler's troops advanced far into Soviet territory. Many regions of Ukraine and Belarus were occupied. What remained on the territory occupied by the Germans was a farm lost in the steppes, where a young woman Maria, her husband Ivan and their son Vasyatka lived happily. Having captured previously peaceful and abundant land, the Nazis destroyed everything, burned the farm, drove people to Germany, and hanged Ivan and Vasyatka. Only Maria managed to escape. Alone, she had to fight for her life and for the life of her unborn child.

Further events of the novel reveal the greatness of the soul of Mary, who truly became the Mother of man. Hungry, exhausted, she does not think about herself at all, saving the girl Sanya, mortally wounded by the Nazis. Sanya replaced the deceased Vasyatka and became a part of Maria’s life, which was trampled by the fascist invaders. When the girl dies, Maria almost goes crazy, not seeing the meaning of her further existence. And yet she finds the courage to live.

Experiencing a burning hatred for the Nazis, Maria, having met a wounded young German, frantically rushes at him with a pitchfork, wanting to avenge her son and husband. But the German, a defenseless boy, shouted: “Mom! Mother!" And the Russian woman’s heart trembled. The great humanism of the simple Russian soul is extremely simply and clearly shown by the author in this scene.

Maria felt her duty to the people deported to Germany, so she began to harvest from the collective farm fields not only for herself, but also for those who, perhaps, would return home. A sense of fulfilled duty supported her in difficult and lonely days. Soon she had a large farm, because Maria's plundered and burned farmstead

all living things flocked. Maria became, as it were, the mother of the entire land surrounding her, the mother who buried her husband, Vasyatka, Sanya, Werner Bracht and a complete stranger to her, killed at the forefront of the political instructor Slava. Maria was able to take under her roof seven Leningrad orphans who, by the will of fate, were brought to her farm.

This is how this courageous woman met the Soviet troops with their children. And when the first Soviet soldiers entered the burnt farm, it seemed to Maria that she had given birth not only to her son, but to all the war-dispossessed children of the world...

V. Bykov’s story “Sotnikov” emphasizes the problem of real and imaginary courage and heroism, which forms the essence of the storyline of the work. The main characters of the story - Sotnikov and Rybak - behaved differently in the same circumstances. The fisherman, cowardly, agreed to join the police, hoping to return to the partisan detachment at an opportunity. Sotnikov chooses a heroic death because he is a man with a heightened sense of responsibility, duty, and the ability not to think about himself, about his own fate, when the fate of the Motherland is being decided. Sotnikov's death became his moral triumph: "And if anything else cared about him in life, it was his last responsibilities towards people." The fisherman discovered shameful cowardice and cowardice and, for the sake of his salvation, agreed to become a policeman: “The opportunity to live has appeared - this is the main thing. Everything else will come later.”

Sotnikov’s enormous moral strength lies in the fact that he was able to accept suffering for his people, maintain faith, and not succumb to the thought that Rybak succumbed to.

In the face of death, a person becomes what he really is. Here the depth of his convictions and civic fortitude are tested. This idea can be seen in V. Rasputin’s story “Live and Remember.”

The heroes of the story Nastena and Guskov are faced with the problem of moral choice. The husband is a deserter, who became a deserter by accident: after being wounded, leave followed, but for some reason he was not given, he was immediately sent to the front. And, driving past his home, the soldier who fought honestly cannot stand it. He runs home, succumbs to the fear of death, becomes a deserter and a coward, dooming to death everyone for whom he went to fight, whom he loved so much: his wife Nastena and the child for whom they had been waiting for ten years. And the rushing Nastena cannot withstand the weight that has fallen on her. Not

endures because her soul is too pure, her moral thoughts are too high, although she may not even know the word. And she makes her choice: she goes with her unborn child into the waters of the Yenisei, because it is a shame to live like this in the world. And it is not only to the deserter that Rasputin addresses his “live and remember.” He addresses us, the living: live, remembering that you always have a choice.

In the story by K.D. Vorobyov's "Killed near Moscow" tells the story of the tragedy of young Kremlin cadets sent to their deaths during the German offensive near Moscow in the winter of 1941. In the story, the writer shows “the merciless, terrible truth of the first months of the war.” The heroes of K. Vorobyov's story are young... The writer talks about what the Motherland, war, enemy, home, honor, death are for them. The entire horror of war is shown through the eyes of the cadets. Vorobyov draws the path of the Kremlin cadet Lieutenant Alexei Yastrebov to victory over himself, over the fear of death, the path to gaining courage. Alexey wins because in a tragically cruel world, where war is now the master of everything, he retained dignity and humanity, good nature and love for his homeland. The death of the company, the suicide of Ryumin, the death under the tracks of German tanks, the cadets who survived the raid - all this completed the reassessment of values ​​in the mind of the protagonist.

In V. Kondratyev’s story “Sashka” the whole truth about the war, which smelled of sweat and blood, is revealed. The battles near Rzhev were terrible, grueling, with huge human losses. And war does not appear in pictures of heroic battles - it is simply difficult, hard, dirty work. A person in war is in extreme, inhumane conditions. Will he be able to remain human next to death, blood mixed with dirt, cruelty and pain for the desecrated land and dead friends?

Sashka is an ordinary infantryman, he has been fighting for two months and has seen a lot of terrible things. In two months, from one hundred and fifty people in the company, sixteen remained. V. Kondratyev shows several episodes from Sashka’s life. Here he gets felt boots for a company commander, risking his life, here he returns to the company under fire to say goodbye to the guys and give away his machine gun, here he leads orderlies to a wounded man, not relying on them finding him themselves, here he takes a German prisoner and refuses shoot him... Sashka shows desperate courage - he takes the German with his bare hands: he has no cartridges, he gave his disk to the company commander. But the war did not kill his kindness and humanity.

Ordinary girls, the heroines of B. Vasiliev’s book “The Dawns Here Are Quiet...”, also did not want war. Rita, Zhenya, Lisa, Galya, Sonya entered into an unequal struggle with the Nazis. The war turned ordinary schoolgirls into courageous warriors, because always “in important epochs of life... a spark of heroism flares up in the most ordinary person...”.

Rita Osyanina, strong-willed and gentle, she is the most courageous and fearless, because she is a mother! She protects the future of her son, and therefore is ready to die so that he can live. Zhenya Komelkova is cheerful, funny, beautiful, mischievous to the point of adventurism, desperate and tired of the war, of pain and love, long and painful, for a distant and married man. She, without hesitation, leads the Germans away from Vaskov and the wounded Rita. Saving them, she dies herself. “And she could have buried herself,” Vaskov says later, “but she didn’t want to.” She didn’t want to, because she realized that she was saving others, that her son needed Rita - she must live. Willingness to die to save another – isn’t this true courage? Sonya Gurvich - the embodiment of an excellent student and a poetic nature, a “beautiful stranger” who came out of a volume of poems by A. Blok - rushes to save Vaskov’s pouch and dies at the hands of a fascist. Lisa Brichkina...

“Oh, Liza-Lizaveta, I didn’t have time, I couldn’t overcome the quagmire of war.” But without any extra thought, she ran back to her own people for help. Was it scary? Yes, sure. Alone among the swamps... but I had to - and I went without a moment’s hesitation. Isn't this courage born of war?

The main character of B. Vasiliev’s work “Not on the Lists” is Lieutenant Nikolai Pluzhnikov, who recently graduated from a military school. This is an enthusiastic young man, full of hope and believes that “... every commander must first serve in the troops.” Talking about the short life of a lieutenant, B. Vasiliev shows how a young man becomes a hero.

Having received an appointment to the Special Western District, Kolya was happy. As if on wings, he flew to the city of Brest-Litovsk, hurrying to quickly decide on a unit. His guide around the city was the girl Mirra, who helped him get to the fortress. Before reporting to the regimental duty officer, Kolya went into the warehouse to clean his uniform. And at that time the first explosion was heard... And so the war began for Pluzhnikov.

Having barely had time to jump out before the second explosion, which blocked the entrance to the warehouse, the lieutenant began his first battle. He strived to accomplish the feat, proudly thinking: “I went into a real attack and, it seems, I killed someone. Eat

what to tell..." And the next day he was afraid of the German machine gunners and, saving his life, abandoned the soldiers who had already trusted him.

From this moment on, the lieutenant's consciousness begins to change. He blames himself for cowardice and sets himself a goal: at all costs to prevent the enemies from capturing the Brest Fortress. Pluzhnikov realizes that true heroism and feat require from a person courage, responsibility, and the willingness to “lay down his soul for his friends.” And we see how awareness of duty becomes the driving force behind his actions: he cannot think about himself, because the Motherland is in danger. Having gone through all the cruel trials of the war, Nikolai became an experienced fighter, ready to give everything in the name of victory and firmly believing that “it is impossible to defeat a person, even by killing him.”

Feeling a blood connection with the Fatherland, he remained faithful to his military duty, which called him to fight his enemies to the end. After all, the lieutenant could leave the fortress, and this would not be desertion on his part, because he was not on the lists. Pluzhnikov understood that defending the Motherland was his sacred duty.

Left alone in the destroyed fortress, the lieutenant met Sergeant Major Semishny, who from the very beginning of the siege of Brest wore the regiment’s banner on his chest. Dying of hunger and thirst, with a broken spine, the foreman kept this shrine, firmly believing in the liberation of our Motherland. Pluzhnikov accepted the banner from him, receiving the order to survive at all costs and return the scarlet banner to Brest.

Nikolai had to go through a lot during these harsh days of testing. But no troubles could break the man in him and extinguish his fiery love for the Fatherland, because “in important epochs of life, sometimes a spark of heroism flares up in the most ordinary person”...

The Germans drove him into a casemate from which there was no second way out. Pluzhnikov hid the banner and came into the light, telling the man sent for him: “The fortress did not fall: it simply bled to death. I am her last straw...” How deeply Nikolai Pluzhnikov is revealed in his human essence in the final scene of the novel, when he, accompanied by Reuben Svitsky, leaves the dungeon. It was written, if we turn to musical creativity for an analogy, according to the principle of the final chord.

Everyone in the fortress looked with surprise at Nicholas, this

"the unconquered son of the unconquered Motherland." Before them stood “an incredibly thin, ageless man.” The lieutenant was "without a hat, long

gray hair touched his shoulders... He stood strictly straight, throwing his head high, and, without looking away, looked at the sun with blinded eyes. And from those unblinking, staring eyes, tears flowed uncontrollably.”

Marveling at Pluzhnikov's heroism, the German soldiers and general gave him the highest military honors. “But he didn’t see these honors, and if he did, he wouldn’t care. He was above all conceivable honors, above glory, above life, above death.” Lieutenant Nikolai Pluzhnikov was not born a hero. The author talks in detail about his pre-war life. He is the son of Commissar Pluzhnikov, who died at the hands of the Basmachi. Even at school, Kolya considered himself a model of a general who participated in Spanish events. And in war conditions, the unfired lieutenant was forced to make independent decisions; when he received the order to retreat, he did not leave the fortress. This construction of the novel helps to understand the spiritual world not only of Pluzhnikov, but also of all courageous defenders of the fatherland.

How will brave and hesitant characters help you get "pass"?

Text: Anna Chainikova, teacher of Russian and literature, school No. 171
Photo: frame from the cartoon “The Wise Minnow”, 1979

There are only a few days left until the final essay, and we continue to analyze the main directions, this time we’ll talk about “Courage and Cowardice.” Is it easy to be brave in everyday life? How are fear and betrayal related? Can a coward be happy? Graduates will have to find answers to these difficult questions in literary works.

FIPI comment:

This direction is based on a comparison of opposite manifestations of the human “I”: readiness for decisive actions and the desire to hide from danger, to avoid resolving difficult, sometimes extreme life situations.

The pages of many literary works present both heroes capable of bold actions and characters demonstrating weakness of spirit and lack of will.

Vocabulary work

According to the explanatory dictionary of D. N. Ushakov:
COURAGE – courage, determination, courageous behavior.
COWARDLY – timidity and timidity characteristic of a coward.

Synonyms
Courage - courage, fearlessness, courage, valor, intrepidity, determination, bravery.
Cowardice- cowardice, indecisiveness.

In what situations does a person show courage or cowardice?

• In extreme situations (in war, during natural disasters and catastrophes)
• In peaceful life (in relationships with other people, in defending views, ideals, in love)

Quite often we come across examples of courage shown in extreme situations: in war, during disasters, natural disasters, in a critical situation when someone needs help and protection. Then a person, without thinking about his own life, rushes to save someone who is in trouble.

However, you can be brave or cowardly not only in such moments; in everyday life there is also a place for such concepts as courage and cowardice.

How will courage be manifested in everyday life? Do you need to be brave every day? What does fear push a person to do? How are fear and betrayal related? Is it possible to attribute to “time” the fact that a person commits a cowardly and vile act? It makes the reader think about these questions. Yu. Trifonov in the story “House on the Embankment”.

Glebov, the main character of the story, grew up in a poor family, all his life he strived to become one of the people, to overcome the inferiority complex that formed in his childhood, spent in the neighborhood of the famous “House on the Embankment”, next to the children of the Soviet elite: party workers and professors. The main character puts his well-being above all else, therefore, when fate confronts him with a choice: at a meeting to speak in defense of his future father-in-law, Professor Ganchuk, or to slander him by supporting the campaign launched against him, Glebov does not know what to do. On the one hand, he is held together by family ties and conscientiousness: he is Ganchuk’s future son-in-law and has seen only good things from this family, the professor himself has repeatedly assisted Glebov, and the hero cannot betray his scientific supervisor. On the other hand, at stake is the Griboyedov scholarship promised to him, which opens all doors and gives prospects for career growth.

Glebov’s father was a cautious, frightened man who saw some hidden dangers even in his son’s harmless friendship with children from party families. Caution in itself is not cowardice, but a principle instilled in childhood as a joke: “My children, follow the tram rule - keep your head down!”- bears fruit in Glebov’s adult life. At a critical moment, when Ganchuk needs help, Glebov goes into the shadows. Some demand that he support the professor, others demand that he denounce him. Ganchuk’s friends appeal to Glebov’s conscience and nobility, they say that an honest person simply cannot do otherwise, has no right, while in the academic department the hero is promised a Griboyedov scholarship and career advancement.

Only one thing is required from Glebov - a decision about who he is with, and he just cannot decide: “Glebov was one of a special breed of heroes: he was ready to stagnate at a crossroads until the last opportunity, until that final second when they fall dead from exhaustion. The hero is a waiter, the hero is a rubber puller. One of those who do not decide on anything themselves, but leave it to the horse to decide.”

Why can’t the hero make a decision that would seem obvious to an honest person? It’s not so much a matter of reluctance to miss potential opportunities, says Yu. Trifonov, but rather fear: “What was there to be afraid of at that time of stupid-eyed youth? Impossible to understand, impossible to explain. In thirty years you won't get anywhere. But a skeleton emerges... They rolled the barrel towards Ganchuk. And nothing else. Absolutely nothing! And there was fear - completely insignificant, blind, formless, like a creature born in the dark underground - fear of unknown what, to act contrary, to stand in defiance.”. Glebov unconsciously follows the same paternal principle of “keep your head down.” He wants to “come and keep silent” in order to preserve relations with the Ganchuks as much as possible and not block his path “forward and upward.”

“Why are you silent, Dima?” - the main question asked of Glebov.

The “waiting hero” wants to delay the moment of making a decision with all his might, he waits for the situation to somehow resolve itself, dreams of a heart attack or loss of consciousness, which would save him from the need to speak out, make a decision and bear responsibility for his choice. The death of his grandmother saves Glebov from the need to attend the meeting, however, despite the fact that he did not denounce Ganchuk, his cowardice and cowardly silence are betrayal and complicity in a crime. "Yes, if before your eyes<…>they attack a person and rob him in the middle of the street, and they ask you, a passerby, for a handkerchief to shut up the victim’s mouth...<…>Who are you, I ask? Accidental witness or accomplice?- Kuno Ivanovich, a friend of the Ganchuk family, denounces Glebov on the eve of the meeting.

Cowardice and cowardice push Glebov to betrayal. “Sometimes silence can kill one’s own,” says Kuno Ivanovich before the meeting. Glebov will have to suffer from memories of his cowardly act, the betrayal of his teacher, throughout his life. A reminder of him will be a recurring dream about crosses, medals and orders, Glebov’s “thirty pieces of silver”, which he, trying not to rattle, sorts through in a monpensier box.

Glebov wants to relieve himself of responsibility for the fact that he did not find the strength to stand up in front of everyone and tell the truth, for being a coward, so he calms himself with the phrase: “It is not Glebov’s fault and not the people, but the times.” However, according to the author, the responsibility lies entirely with the individual. After all, finding himself in exactly the same situation as Glebov, Professor Ganchuk behaves differently: he defends his colleague, his student Asturgus, even though professionally he disagrees with him in many respects. “When people are undeservedly humiliated, he cannot stand aside and remain silent,” the author writes about Professor Ganchuk. “He will fight for others like a lion, go anywhere, fight anyone. So he fought for this insignificant Asturg", - says Kuno Ivanovich about him. It is also important that it was by actively defending his student that Professor Ganchuk brought disaster upon himself. This means, Yu. Trifonov concludes, it’s not a matter of “times”, but a choice that everyone makes for themselves.

It cannot be said that Glebov commits betrayal only because he is a cold pragmatist, a calculating and unprincipled person, as Yulia Mikhailovna, Ganchuk’s wife, says about him (“... an intelligent man, but his mind is icy, useless, inhuman, it is a mind for himself "), because betrayal is not easy for him; he suffers from the realization of what he has done for many years. Glebov is a coward and a conformist who did not find the strength to “act contrary, stand in defiance.”

Even in everyday life, sometimes a person is faced with situations in which fearlessness is required from him, for example, the courage to raise a voice, go against everyone, or protect the weak. This everyday, everyday courage is no less important than courage on the battlefield. It is this that allows a person to remain human, to respect himself and to command the respect of others.

Aphorisms and sayings of famous people

• When you are afraid, act boldly, and you will avoid the worst troubles. (G. Sachs)
• In battle those most exposed to danger are those who are most possessed by fear; courage is like a wall. (Sallust)
• Courage is resistance to fear, not the absence of it. (M. Twain)
• Scared - half defeated. (A.V. Suvorov)
• A person fears only what he does not know; knowledge conquers all fear. (V. G. Belinsky)
• A coward is more dangerous than any other person; he should be feared most of all. (L. Berne)
• There is nothing worse than fear itself. (F. Bacon)
• Cowards die many times before death, the brave die only once. (W. Shakespeare)
• Cowardice is very harmful because it keeps the will from useful actions. (R. Descartes)
• Cowardice in its prime turns into cruelty. (G. Ibsen)
• You can never live happily when you are always trembling with fear. (P. Holbach)
• You cannot love either the one you fear or the one who fears you. (Cicero)
• To be afraid of love is to be afraid of life, and to be afraid of life is to be two-thirds dead. (B. Russell)

What questions are worth thinking about?

• What does it mean to be brave in everyday life?
• What does cowardice push a person to do?
• How is fear related to dishonor?
• What actions can be called courageous?
• What is the difference between arrogance and courage?
• Who can be called a coward?
• Is it possible to cultivate courage in yourself?
• What are the causes of fear?
• Can a brave person be afraid of anything?
• What is the difference between fear and cowardice?
• Why is it important to have courage when making decisions?
• Why are people afraid to express their opinions?
• Why does creativity require courage?
• Do you need courage in love?
• Can a coward be happy?

Courage. What it is? I think that courage is decisiveness in thoughts and actions, the ability to stand up for yourself and for other people who need your help, overcoming all sorts of fears: for example, fear of the dark, of someone else's brute force, of life's obstacles and difficulties. Is it easy to be brave? Not easy. Probably, this quality should be cultivated from childhood. Overcoming your fears, moving forward despite difficulties, developing willpower, not being afraid to defend your opinion - all this will help cultivate in yourself such a quality as courage. Synonyms for the word “courage” are “courage”, “determination”, “courage”. The antonym is “cowardice.” Cowardice is one of the human vices. We are afraid of many things in life, but fear and cowardice are not the same thing. I think that out of cowardice comes meanness. A coward will always hide in the shadows, remain on the sidelines, fearing for his own life, betray in order to save himself.

The theme of courage and cowardice is also reflected in fiction, in particular in the works of the Russian writer Maxim Gorky.

“We sing glory to the madness of the brave!” - wrote M. Gorky in his “Song about the Falcon”. This work is a hymn to courage and courage. In a battle with enemies, Falcon received his mortal wounds and is bleeding. Already, for whom the main thing is that it is “warm and damp,” does not understand what heaven, battle, real life is, and not a miserable existence. And Falcon, even in the last minutes of his life, thinks not about pain and wounds, but about a bold flight in the sky, about the battle with the enemy. Courage lives in Gorky's hero. The falcon does not want to die, lying on the rocks, bleeding. On the advice of the snake, he approaches the edge of the cliff and rushes down, making his last flight. “The madness of the brave is the wisdom of life!” - exclaims the author. Without people like Falcon, life would be dull and joyless.

In M. Gorky's story “The Old Woman Izergil” there is a legend about Danko. The image of his burning heart has long become a symbol of love for people, readiness to give his life for them. Danko's courage is manifested in the fact that he was not afraid to take responsibility for the lives of other people who had a choice: either die or go through a dense forest to save themselves. Danko stood at the head of these people. The path was difficult, many died in the forest. And when they lost faith that they would come out of the thicket, the brave Danko illuminated the path for them with his heart and led the people to freedom. But the writer is not only talking about courage. He talks about Danko's compatriots who were afraid to die so as not to lose their traditions. I think they were simply cowardly, afraid of their enemies, and who needs the traditions of cowards. After all, they did not fight for their land, but left, giving it to the enemy. Gorky calls the one who stepped on Danko’s heart a cautious person, so that it would no longer shine on people. I would call such a coward. A “cautious person” is afraid of the brave, because it is easier to live without them.

In conclusion, I would like to say that this topic of the essay made me think about what role courage and cowardice play in our lives, how to cultivate the best human qualities in ourselves, become brave and strong, and not be a coward.