An essay on the topic Images of Alyosha, grandmother, Gypsy and Good Deeds in M. Gorky’s story “Childhood”

Maxim Gorky's story "Childhood" is not only an autobiographical work, but also conveys the author's impressions of his difficult childhood, memories of the people who took part in the formation of his character. Revealing his thoughts, his soul to the reader, Gorky protests against a society in which cruel morals reign, and also warns against those mistakes that a person has no right to make if he wants to be worthy of respect.

The author realistically talks about his family, talks about the people who surrounded him, and we understand that, despite the fact that there were people next to the boy who were not always worthy of respect, he did not become embittered, but remained kind and honest, which allows us to think that every person is able to distinguish good from evil and make their life brighter.

This is exactly what the hero dreams about throughout the story. Alyosha's early childhood was spent in a family where love and harmony reigned; his parents raised him with love, and this is the most important thing for a child. With the loss of his parents, the boy felt how much his life had changed and at the same time realized how important it was to appreciate good human feelings.

And this understanding, instilled in him by his parents, helped Alyosha not to become embittered, not to become cruel, following the example of his relatives, but to become a worthy person, kind and attentive to the feelings of other people. Of course, it is difficult for a child to develop a character when it is accompanied by tragic circumstances - the death of the father, an atmosphere of hatred in which respect is confused with fear, where envy reigns and self-affirmation occurs through the humiliation of the weak.

But Alyosha did not feel hatred towards his relatives, who crippled his childhood. The boy internally understood the spiritual poverty of his uncles and knew that they were unhappy. He had a desire to leave home with Master Gregory and wander around the world, begging for alms, without seeing his always drunken uncles, cruel grandfather and cousins, beaten down by a harsh “upbringing”. Alyosha had an overly developed sense of self-esteem; the boy could not tolerate violence, no matter how it manifested itself. The hero felt the need to stand up for the offended; he could not stand the abuse of beggars and animals by street boys.

His grandmother Akulina Ivanovna, who replaced Alyosha’s mother, helped the boy maintain his faith in goodness. Another hero who showed an example of love for life was Vanya Tsyganok, a loyal friend - Good Deed. The author talks about them with special warmth and love. Alyosha associated the gypsy with a fairy-tale hero. The grandmother, who herself knew a seemingly endless number of fairy tales, instilled in her grandson a love of folk art. Alyosha’s friendship with Good Deed, who gave the boy advice and taught him to love books, was also unusual. The hero’s experiments aroused curiosity in Alyosha, the boy became acquainted with the world that was outside the boundaries of home and family.

These heroes taught the boy to feel sorry for and love people, to be able to distinguish evil from good. Their open hearts, their kindness and affection were able to make the orphan’s life easier.

As a child, the boy was surrounded not only by evil and heartless people, but also by kind and loving ones. Their love helped Alyosha in difficult life situations to steadfastly endure all the trials that the cruel world presented to him.

In his harsh prose, he pointedly exposed the bitter truth of modern Russian life. And yet, every line of his breathed with an invincible faith in man...

Childhood for Alyosha Peshkov became a good school of life. Punishments and fights gave way to wild fun, enmity and betrayal coexisted with kindness and mercy. Grandmother was the bearer of all that was best and bright in the house. Alyosha was amazed at how she brought order and peace everywhere with patience and affection. Akulina Ivanovna was highly respected, everyone at home loved her. The kindness of her soul and moral strength played a decisive role in the boy’s life: “It was as if I was sleeping before her, brought me into the light, tied everything around me into a continuous thread, wove everything into multi-colored lace and immediately became a friend for life, the closest to my heart, the most understandable and dear person - it was her selfless love for the world that enriched me, saturating me with strong strength for a difficult life.”

The grandmother made the hero of the story think about the most important questions: what are kindness and faith? What should a person be like?

Alyosha really liked “grandmother’s” God, he asked her to tell him about God. We see how the grandmother imagined God: “The Lord sits on a hill, in the middle of a paradise meadow... And around the Lord angels fly in multitudes... It is not given to a person to see God - you will go blind; only saints look at him with wide eyes. But I saw angels; they appear when the soul is pure.” Alyosha imagined “that everything easily and obediently submits to this God: people, dogs, birds, bees and grass; he was equally kind to everything on earth, equally close.” Grandmother’s God was clear to the hero and not scary, “but it was impossible to lie in front of him - it was shameful. He caused me only invincible shame, and I never lied to my grandmother.” Alyosha remembers his grandmother’s lessons, which contributed to the boy’s moral development. One of these lessons was the case when Alyosha took revenge on the innkeeper.

Grandma didn’t like this act: “Don’t get mixed up in the affairs of adults!” Adults are flawed people; they have been tested by God, but you have not yet, and - live with the mind of a child, wait for the Lord to touch your heart, show you your work, lead you to the path, - understand? And who is to blame for what is none of your business. The Lord judges and punishes. Him, not us!

Grandfathers' God and prayer were different from grandmothers. Grandfather’s God is “an omnipresent, omniscient, all-seeing being.” He prayed firmly, as if he were repeating a lesson, crossed himself frequently, nodding his head convulsively, his voice squealed and sobbed.

In contrast to my grandmother’s kind and just God, my grandfather always emphasized the cruelty of God’s power: “... people sinned and were drowned, they sinned again and were burned, their cities were destroyed.” “...the old God aroused fear and hostility in me: he did not love anyone, he watched everything with a strict eye, he first of all looked for and saw the bad, the evil, the sinful in a person.”

In childhood, during the period of personality formation, a child especially needs moral guidelines in life. “Thoughts and feelings about God were the main food” for Alyosha’s soul. In the boy’s soul, God was associated with the image of his grandmother, which is why he liked him, unlike the God of his grandfather. The first lessons of morality received from his grandmother remained with Alyosha forever: “I could not stand it when the guys pitted dogs and roosters, tortured cats, chased Jewish goats, mocked drunken beggars and blessed Igosha Death in Pocket." Alyosha ran away from Grigory Ivanovich, who was completely blind and walked the streets begging for alms. He was “unbearably ashamed in front of him,” ashamed that his grandfather had refused the old master shelter and food.

Alyosha Peshkov’s childhood years were a good school of life for him. Faced with human evil and cruelty, he had to grow up early. But the boy’s heart did not harden; it remained open to love for people. Alyosha learned to draw strength from his grandmother, learned optimism, selfless love for the world, she revealed to him a bright and kind God. For a boy, God is a symbol of everything beautiful that surrounds a person. Reflections on the “dear friend of all living things” contributed to Alyosha’s spiritual and moral development.

Images of Alyosha, grandmother, Gypsy and Good Deed in M. Gorky’s story “Childhood”. “Bright, healthy, creative in Russian life” 1. M. Gorky’s story “Childhood”. 2. The image of Alyosha, the main character of the story. Autobiographical image. 3. The image of a grandmother. 4. Gypsy. 5. Good job. Russian writer, publicist and public figure Maxim Gorky (Alexei Maksimovich Peshkov) can be called one of the key figures in Soviet literature. The story “Childhood” was created in the period between two revolutions: after the failed revolution of 1905-1907 and before October. This story is autobiographical, in which the writer offers the reader a description of his own childhood in literary adaptation. The most important, in our opinion, images in this work are the images of Alyosha, grandmother, Gypsy and Good Deed. All of them are united by one thing: positive coloring and warm attitude of the author towards them. Among other things, these heroes influenced the formation of Alyosha’s character. Alyosha, of course, is to a certain extent the prototype of Gorky himself in childhood. If only for this reason, the image of Alyosha needs careful consideration. What is he like? On the pages of the story we meet Alyosha at a dramatic moment in his life: his father has died, and the boy cannot understand what is happening, why his disheveled mother is crying, his father is sleeping and seems to be smiling: “... my father is lying, dressed in white and unusually long... the kind face is dark and scares me with its badly bared teeth.” After the death of his father, Alyosha moves with his mother and grandmother to Novgorod, where his mother’s family lives. In his grandfather’s house, Alyosha encountered the dark life of the “stupid tribe”: “Grandfather’s house was filled with the hot fog of mutual enmity of everyone with everyone, it poisoned adults, and even children took an active part in it.” Living in my grandfather's house was not easy. Grandfather, a cruel and greedy man, was also domineering and not very happy. Alyosha finds it difficult to find a common language with him. Uncles are senselessly cruel. And only with his grandmother was it easy for the boy. Grandmother, “round, big-headed, with huge eyes and a funny doughy nose; she’s all black, soft and surprisingly interesting,” she attracted the boy to her from the first meeting. He immediately reached out to this kind woman. The appearance of her grandmother made an indelible impression on Alyosha. As Gorky talks about his little self: “Before her, it was as if I was sleeping, hidden in the dark, but she appeared, woke me up, brought me into the light, tied everything around me into a continuous thread... and immediately became my friend for life, my very close to my heart." Grandmother is kind and affectionate - she will always help and sympathize. “...She said in a melodious voice: “Lord, Lord!” Everything is so good! No, look how good everything is! It was the cry of her heart, the slogan of her whole life.” The master, Gregory, spoke of her this way: “...she doesn’t like lies, she doesn’t understand. She's like a saint...” And Alyosha agreed with this point of view. The grandmother instilled in the boy a love of folk tales and hope for a good and bright life. Another important person in the hero’s life is Ivan, nicknamed Gypsy. Gypsy is an apprentice in the house of Alyosha’s grandfather. He is a “square, broad-chested, with a huge curly head” cheerful guy. Alyosha’s first acquaintance with him as a person occurred under dramatic circumstances: his grandfather decided to whip him. The gypsy, seeing that “the grandfather had gone into a rage,” began to put his hand under the rod. Gypsy admits that he is “cheaty.” In Alyosha’s perception, Tsyganok was associated with the heroes of Russian folk tales: “I looked at his cheerful face and remembered my grandmother’s tales about Ivan the Tsarevich, about Ivan the Fool.” Alyosha learned from his grandmother that Tsyganok was “a foundling, in early spring, on a rainy night, he was found at the gate of the house on a bench.” The gypsy was indeed a rogue. He stole not out of poverty or greed, but because of his bravery. This was interesting to him, and he did not encounter any reproach from Alyosha’s grandfather. Only grandmother Aleshina said that Tsyganok was doing badly, she was afraid that he might be caught and beaten. The gypsy died, he was crushed under the cross. Grandma and Gypsy were Alyosha’s outlet in his grandfather’s gloomy and cruel house. These two people helped him learn to love and feel sorry for people, to see evil and distinguish it from good. Both are kind and affectionate, with open souls and kind hearts, they made the boy’s life much easier with their mere existence. And I would like to talk about one more person who played a role in the formation of Alyosha as a person. Alyosha met a man nicknamed Good Deal when his grandfather sold his old house and bought another. There were a lot of people in the house, but the boy was most interested in the Good Deed. This man got his nickname for his habit of always saying, “Good job,” when he was invited to drink tea or have lunch. In the Good Deed's room there were many books and bottles with colorful liquids. “From morning to evening, he, in a red leather jacket, in gray checkered pants, all smeared with some kind of paint... melted lead, soldered some copper things...” Good deal, he was a strange man. They didn’t like him in the house; they called him a sorcerer and a warlock. But Alyosha was interested in this man. Good Deed was engaged in chemical experiments, was smart "and incredibly lonely. A strange friendship began between the boy and Good Deed. Good Deed gave Alyosha advice: “Real strength is in the speed of movement; the faster, the stronger.” Soon Alyosha’s grandfather kicked Good Deed out of at home, the boy was upset by this, angry with his grandfather and grandmother. The main character spoke about his friendship with Good Deed: “This is how my friendship ended with the first person from an endless series of strangers in my native country - its best people.” the fact that in addition to evil, greedy and unhappy people, ossified in prejudices, Alyosha also saw kind, smart, loving ones, he was able to become a Man with a capital M. As a child, he had a very keen perception of evil and injustice, and thanks to the loving people around him. this feeling did not develop into resentment towards the entire world around him. Alyosha was able to see that in any circumstances a person can remain human without bending to a complex and cruel world.

“Childhood” by M. Gorky is not only a confession of the writer’s own soul, but also first impressions of a difficult life, memories of those who were nearby during the formation of his character, it is an internal protest against the cruel mores of society and a warning on how not to live, if you are a human.

The writer truthfully talks about his own family and gives us hope for the revival of a kind, bright, human life. Alyosha Peshkov dreams about her throughout the entire story. He was lucky to be born into a family where his father and mother lived in true love. After all, the most important thing in a child’s life is to live in a family in which you are not raised, but truly loved. Alyosha’s path after the loss of his parents was not sweet, but the charge of great love received in childhood allowed the boy not to be lost and not to become bitter from human savagery and relatives alien to him. It’s bad when a person’s conscious life begins with the death of his beloved father, it’s even worse when after it you live in an atmosphere of hatred, where people confuse respect with fear, when they assert themselves at the expense of the weak and envy each other, when they start a war for their father’s good. The author does not hate those who crippled his childhood. Alyosha understood that his uncles were unhappy in their spiritual misery. The boy had a desire to leave home with the blind master Gregory and wander around begging, just not to see his drunken uncles, tyrant grandfather and downtrodden cousins. He had a developed sense of self-esteem, he did not tolerate any violence either towards himself or towards others. Alyosha was always ready to stand up for the offended; he could not stand it when street boys tortured animals and mocked beggars.

An example of kindness was his beloved grandmother Akulina Ivanovna, who actually became Alyosha’s mother. With what love he talks about the Gypsy, about his faithful childhood friends, about the parasite Good Deed. In Alyosha’s perception, Tsyganok was associated with the hero of Russian folk tales. Grandmother and Gypsy helped him learn to love and feel sorry for people, to see evil and distinguish it from good. Both are kind and affectionate, with open souls and kind hearts, they made the boy’s life easier with their mere existence. The grandmother, a great storyteller, introduced her grandson to folk art. A strange friendship began between Alyosha and Good Deed. Good Deed gave Alyosha advice and instilled in him a love of reading books. His experiments aroused curiosity in the boy, communication with him expanded the world for Alyosha far beyond the boundaries of home and family.

In addition to evil, greedy and unhappy people, Alyosha saw kind and loving people. It was love that saved Alyosha in difficult life situations and forced him not to bend to a complex and cruel world.