Brave actions in works. Examples of courage in literature and life: essay Courage and Cowardice

“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, the manifestation 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. classical literature.

A.S. Pushkin " 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. First world war grabbed Gregory and spun him in a whirlwind of stormy 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 the 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 the best 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 on a brave act - 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 in order 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, opening 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 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 not. 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 I ran away from reality to the Stravinsky clinic, when I convinced myself that “there is no need to wonder 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 teaching. 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. Rich life experience Ga-Nozri helps him understand this man. 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 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’s not for nothing that Bulgakov is the basis human relations calls for love and mercy.

In the novel “The Master and Margarita”, according to A.Z. Vulis, there is a philosophy of retribution: what you deserve, you get. Most big 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 tales were embodied in outward 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 own strength, so he doesn’t want to spend them “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. Climax episode The story began with the scene of the trial of Danko, 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, 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 gets a second one swipe 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 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. Saltykova-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 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 room 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 gudgeon, but also the “ultimate task” - to also disappear unnoticed. 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. Shows remarkable courage little boy from the story of A.I. Kuprin " White poodle"In the story all the most important events related to 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.

The topic of cowardice and courage has been repeatedly addressed and modern writers. One of the most bright works- 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 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.” At Lena's kind soul, and she is trying 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 forgotten thing. 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 person, honest man, but it’s 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 the internal content, and in the episode of farewell to Bessoltseva, it evokes only pity. Thus, no one from the class passed the moral test: they did not have enough moral basis, inner strength and courage.

Unlike all the characters, Lena turns out to be 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 the 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. It is important for a writer to think about true courage, about 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 the 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, into 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.

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

True Courage, 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 the interior 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 The novel reveals 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 Soviet troops with children. And when the first ones entered the burned farm soviet soldiers, It seemed to Mary 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 is the essence storyline works. 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. 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 face a problem 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, the terrible truth 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 tragically cruel world, where war is now the master of everything, has retained dignity and humanity, good nature and love for the 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 the war does not appear in pictures of heroic battles - it is simply difficult, difficult, 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 up 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 disc 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 of yesterday into courageous warriors, because always “in important epochs of life ... in the very an ordinary person the spark of heroism flares up..."

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 doubt. Isn't this courage born of war?

Main character works by B. Vasiliev “Not on the lists” - Lieutenant Nikolai Pluzhnikov, who recently graduated military school. This is an enthusiastic young man, full of hope and believes that “... every commander must first serve in the troops.” Talking about short life 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 a goal for himself: at all costs to prevent his enemies from capturing Brest Fortress. Pluzhnikov realizes that true heroism and feat requires from a person courage, responsibility, readiness to “lay down his life for his friends.” And we see how the awareness of duty becomes driving force his actions: you can’t think about yourself, 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 for 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 spiritual world not only Pluzhnikov, but also all the courageous defenders of the fatherland.

In the epic novel "War and Peace" the author overcomes the ceremonial presentation of the feat. In which works of Russian or modern literature We are observing the de-romanticization of the concept of “heroism” and how can we compare them with the novel by L. N. Tolstoy?

Plutarch noted that “virtue or viciousness is not always visible in the most important deeds, but often some insignificant act, word or joke reveals a person’s character better than battles in which tens of thousands die.” Tolstoy in his novel not only condemns official, official patriotism, but also overcomes the ceremonial idea of ​​heroism. Depicting the war, the writer does not present us with galloping warriors with unfurled banners, not the splendor of victories, but military everyday life, ordinary soldiers, their hard, daily work. Tolstoy's heroes are simple warrior-workers.

Let us remember the scene of the Battle of Shengraben and the feat of Captain Timokhin, who led the soldiers into the attack at the very moment when “the moral hesitation that decided the fate of the battles... was resolved in favor of fear.” “Timokhin rushed at the French with such a desperate cry and with such insane and drunken determination, with one skewer, ran at the enemy that the French, without having time to come to their senses, threw down their weapons and ran.” Another hero of the Battle of Shengraben is Captain Tushin, whose battery the French tried to attack twice. The theme of true heroism is illustrated in Tolstoy by the scene at the Raevsky battery, where Pierre Bezukhov ends up during the Battle of Borodino. Pierre is overcome by a feeling of horror, mortal fear. The soldiers seem to him to be devoid of these feelings. He is amazed by the courage, firmness, and simplicity of these people, devoid of everything external and superficial. Only now did he understand “the whole meaning and the whole significance of this war and the upcoming battle.” “He understood that hidden... warmth of patriotism that was in all those people he saw, and which explained to him why all these people were calmly and seemingly frivolously preparing for death.” On the eve of the battle, the soldiers put on white shirts and refused vodka, and in the midst of the battle “lightning of a hidden, flaring fire flashed brighter and brighter on the faces of all these people.” We can consider both the behavior of Pierre Bezukhov during French captivity and the participation of Prince Andrei in the Battle of Borodino to be a real feat.

The debunking of the concept of “heroism” is typical for V. Bykov’s story “Sotnikov”. There are no grandiose tank battles or epoch-making battles in the work. The writer's attention is focused on inner world man at war.

Let's remember the plot of the story. On a frosty winter night, two partisans, Rybak and Sotnikov, set off on a journey. They must get food for their squad. Their path turns out to be very dangerous, since there are no villages in the area that are free from police posts. Finally they manage to get a lamb carcass, but then the police discover them. The partisans fire back, trying to break away from pursuit, but due to Sotnikov’s wound they end up with the Germans. And here their paths diverge: Sotnikov chooses death, and Rybak chooses betrayal, thanks to which his life is spared.

Bykov's hero does not have a heroic appearance - Sotnikov in the story is sick, frail, it would seem that he is not ready to accomplish a feat. But for the rest of his life he remembered the harsh lesson of war: “Sotnikov remembered for the rest of his life how in the summer, in a field headquarters, the Germans interrogated an elderly gray-haired colonel, crippled in battle, with broken hands, barely alive. This colonel, it seemed, simply did not know the feeling of fear, and he did not speak, but threw angry words at the Gestapo officer against Hitler, fascism and all of their Germany... Of course, the colonel was then shot, but those few minutes before the shooting were his triumph, his last a feat probably no less difficult than the battlefield.” The choice of the hero himself becomes the same feat.

Before every person, sooner or later, life poses the problem of choice: to save yourself, your physical life, your comfortable and soft nest, where you are completely safe, or break the bonds of fear.

Perform an extraordinary Act (this word can only be heard with capital letters): to save a human life, to help a widow, to go against a stronger one, standing up for justice. We offer short essay“Courage and Cowardice”, dedicated to this topic.

Meaning of concepts

A quote from Maxim Gorky’s “Song of the Falcon” best characterizes the attitude towards brave people. They are admired, they are actions are praised. Surely all of us, listening to a story about someone’s feat, mentally try the situation on ourselves: “Could I do the same? Would I have the courage? First, let's figure out what this means. be brave.

What kind of person can be called brave? According to Ozhegov, this is “not knowing fear, decisive.” “Brave, undaunted” - this is the definition of another great expert V.I. Dalia.

A bit of reasoning

So, what is courage? From many it can be concluded that this special quality , allowing a person not to be afraid of anything that threatens life, health, position in society, or personal safety.

What does it mean to be brave and courageous? Go towards hostile circumstances, regardless of any risks?

This is partly true, but this concept is still worth considering more broadly and fully. Let's try to write an essay-discussion on this topic in order to “separate the wheat from the chaff.”

Essay “Courage and Cowardice” let's start with the introduction, where we will try to define these two concepts.

Can the absence of fear, the desire to rush “headlong” towards danger be called courage? Of course you can't. But to be able to overcome your own fears, doubts and always act as your conscience dictates, regardless of how the action will affect later life- This means to be brave.

Synonyms

When you begin to write about what courage is, the essay will be incomplete if you do not make an attempt to find the this concept, accurately reflecting the essence of the concept being analyzed:

• bravery,
• courage,
• fearlessness.

What are the qualities of courage and bravery? First of all - in the ability to fight back not the enemy and circumstances, but to myself: own hesitations, uncertainty, desire to avoid danger and difficulties.

Therefore, the story of a brave deed does not always tell of a large-scale feat. Sometimes this is a modest work about how the hero managed to help a child who was frightened by an upcoming plane flight. At the same time, he himself was so afraid of flying that during takeoff his heart “sank into his heels” from horror. And you yourself are not afraid to fly - that’s already not courage, but just an act of kindness to the child.

Attention! If you want to become a brave person, overcome your fear by helping others.

The essence of antithesis

Two opposing concepts are inseparable from each other. One man's most courageous act is illustrated by another's cowardice. At the same time, the coward gives various arguments that allow him to justify himself in his own eyes and in front of others. Why didn’t you help a first-grader whose tablet was taken away by two older kids? How could I have done this, the frightened one will answer when:

• there were two of them, and I was alone;
• they are still stronger;
• Next came the physical education teacher - so he should have intervened, because he was an adult.

Personal courage manifests itself in different ways. What does it mean to be a real hero:

• rush into a fight and protect the weak, although he himself has never fought;
• bring the old woman out of the burning house;
• object to the boss who unfairly deprived a competent specialist of his bonus due to personal hostility.

Final essay on courage such actions should not be about like jumping out of a third-story window or running across a red light. It will be a story not about courage, but about stupidity and recklessness.

No one is interested in such pseudo-bravery: doesn't benefit people, it only makes things worse for both the “hero” himself and his loved ones.

What are we talking about when we talk about courage? Not only about overcoming your own fears, but also that our action must benefit to someone who really needs help.

The classics' point of view

Examples of courage are often found in works of art. Unforgettable classics and more modern authors talk about brave deeds. These stories are remembered for a long time, because this topic affects everyone, regardless of specific circumstances.

The most famous examples brave deeds in literature:

• the heroism of the girls from the story “The Dawns Here Are Quiet...” by Boris Vasiliev;
• the fortitude of an unknown soldier from the book of the same author “Not on the Lists,” who defended the Brest Fortress almost literally until last straw blood;
• the courage of the “weakling” Pierre Bezukhov from Leo Tolstoy’s “”, who rushed to save a girl from a burning house and protected a young Armenian woman from French marauders;
• the brave actions of the teacher from Rasputin’s French Lessons, who was not afraid to be fired in difficult, hungry times because she tried to help a little boy.

There are a lot of books whose characters are truly brave people. And in life, what does it mean to be fearless? a brave person in real conditions?

Cluster plan for writing an essay on the topic “Courage and Cowardice.”

Life examples

Most often you have to face the need risk yourself to save yourself other representatives of such professions as:

• firefighter,
• pilot,
• military,
• lifeguard.

But what kind of person do we call courageous? Only a rescuer or a fire fighter? Everything in life is much more complicated.

Examples of courage that we can observe in life include duel of 1837 Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin and his courageous behavior in last days before death. He would raised a challenge to society, not only to enemies, but also to friends who did not understand him, defending themselves and their innocent wife. Only after his death did the poet’s relatives realize that he had to go through. Until the end of their days, many blamed themselves for inaction, which left him alone to fight with the whole world.

Truly brave people are Evgenia Ginzburg and her husband, whom she met in the Stalinist camps of the late 30s. last century. He helped others giving yourself completely and not thinking about the need survive on your own. IN terrible conditions he remained a Man with a capital M.

From the latter - the life story of Elizaveta Petrovna Glinka, whom everyone lovingly called Doctor Lisa. Having founded a charitable foundation, this woman always went to help where it was needed, bullets whistled and blood flowed. She I wasn't thinking about myself, but only about those for whom her support could save life or make her last days and hours at least a little happier.

Courage and cowardice. Direction of the final essay

How to prepare for the final essay

Conclusion

Everyone has their own arguments that support the concepts of “courage and cowardice.” When preparing a final essay on this topic, any student is free to bring own point of view.

But, whatever the words, the chief judge in in this case – conscience. It is she who suggests which act should be called brave and which one should be ashamed, how manifestations of cowardice. Let's listen to her and our own hearts.

Courage. What is it? 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? It's not easy. This quality probably needs to 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 own life, will betray 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, the 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. A Sokol and last minutes in his life he 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 dense forest to be saved. 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, become brave and strong, don't be a coward.

Dedicated to the problem of heroism, where we will present arguments from literature. And write homework will not be difficult, because many writers touched on the topic where they revealed the problem of heroism, introducing readers to the heroes of their works. Very often this problem connected with works about war and not without reason, because it is in war that a person manifests true or false heroism, as evidenced by arguments from the literature for the Unified State Exam.

Revealing the problem of the manifestation of heroism in war and arguing with examples, I would like to recall wonderful work Leo Tolstoy, where the author raises various philosophical questions. We see how the problem being studied evolves in the minds of Andrei Bolkonsky. Now Andrei’s priorities are to be a hero, and not to seem like one. Captain Tushin, as well as other heroes who gave their lives for their Motherland, showed real heroism in the novel. At the same time, there were also false patriots represented by people of high society.

The problem is also raised by Sholokhov in his work, where the hero Sokolov Andrei selflessly defended his homeland from Nazi invaders. The war took his wife and children from him, but his will remained unbending, he endured everything and even found the strength to adopt an orphaned child. And this also revealed the heroic traits of his character.

Arguing the problem of heroism, I would like to recall the work of Tvardovsky about. In the work, the hero, despite fear, at the cost of his health, life, for the sake of love for the Motherland and family, does the impossible. Real heroic act, when Vasily swims across a cold river in order to convey information that will contribute to the rapid conclusion of the war.

To be honest, many more arguments can be made from literature, where the authors touch on the problem of true and false heroism. This is both a novel by Bykov Sotnikov and a novel White Guard Bulgakov, and The Tale of a Real Man by B. Polevoy and many other works famous writers, whose works we read with pleasure, experience together with the heroes, feel their pain and are proud of their dedication and heroic deeds.

The problem of heroism: arguments from literature

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