Cruel morals, sir, in our city are cruel. Kuligin’s monologue from the play “The Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky: monologue “Cruel morals, sir...” (text)

“Boris. Eh, Kuligin, it’s painfully difficult for me here, without the habit. Everyone looks at me somehow wildly, as if I’m superfluous here, as if I’m disturbing them. I don't know the customs here. I understand that all this is Russian, native, but I still can’t get used to it.

Kuligin. And you will never get used to it, sir.

Boris. Why?

Kuligin. Cruel morals, sir, in our city, they are cruel! In philistinism, sir, you will see nothing but rudeness and stark poverty. And we, sir, will never escape this crust! Because honest work will never earn us more than our daily bread. And whoever has money, sir, tries to enslave the poor so that his labors will be free more money make money Do you know what your uncle, Savel Prokofich, answered to the mayor? The peasants came to the mayor to complain that he would not disrespect any of them. The mayor began to tell him: “Listen,” he said, “Savel Prokofich, pay the men well!” Every day they come to me with complaints!”

Your uncle patted the mayor on the shoulder and said: “Is it worth it, your honor, for us to talk about such trifles! I have a lot of people every year; You understand: I won’t pay them a penny extra per person, I make thousands out of this, that’s how it is; I feel good!” That's it, sir! And among themselves, sir, how they live! They undermine each other's trade, and not so much out of self-interest as out of envy. They are at enmity with each other; they get drunken clerks into their high mansions, such, sir, clerks that there is no human appearance on them, the human appearance is lost. And for small acts of kindness they scribble malicious slander against their neighbors on stamped sheets. And for them, sir, a trial and a case will begin, and there will be no end to the torment.

They sue, sue here and go to the province, and there they are expected and from. they splash their hands with joy. Soon the fairy tale is told, but not soon the deed is done; They lead them, they lead them, they drag them, they drag them, and they are also happy about this dragging, that’s all they need. “I’ll spend it,” he says, “and it won’t cost him a penny.” I wanted to depict all this in poetry. “

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2. Early XIX century. The city of Kalinov, standing on the steep bank of the Volga. In the first act of the play, the reader sees a public city garden. Here...

In Ostrovsky's drama "The Thunderstorm" the problems of morality are widely raised. Using the example provincial town Kalinov, the playwright showed the truly cruel customs reigning there. Ostrovsky depicted the cruelty of people living in the old fashioned way, according to Domostroi, and a new generation of young people who reject these foundations. The characters in the drama are divided into two groups. On one side stand the old people, champions of the old order, who, in essence, carry out this “Domostroy”; on the other, the younger generation of the city.

The heroes of the drama live in the city of Kalinov. This city occupies a small, but not the least place in Russia at that time, at the same time it is the personification of serfdom and “Domostroy”. Outside the walls of the city one imagines another, alien world. It is not for nothing that Ostrovsky mentions the Volga in his stage directions, “a public garden on the banks of the Volga, beyond the Volga there is a rural view.” We see how Kalinov’s cruel, closed world differs from the external, “uncontrollably huge” one. This is the world of Katerina, born and raised on the Volga. Behind this world lies the life that Kabanikha and others like her are so afraid of. According to the wanderer Feklushi, “ old world" is leaving, only in this city is there "paradise and silence", in other places "just sodomy": people in the bustle of each other do not notice, harnessing the "fiery serpent", and in Moscow "now there are walks and games, and along the streets There's a roar and a groan." But something is changing in old Kalinov too. Kuligin carries new thoughts. Kuligin, embodying the ideas of Lomonosov, Derzhavin and representatives of more early culture, suggests putting a clock on the boulevard to tell the time by it.

Let's meet the rest of Kalinov's representatives. Marfa Ignatievna Kabanova is a champion of the old world. The name itself paints a picture of an overweight woman with a difficult character, and the nickname “Kabanikha” complements this unpleasant picture. Kabanikha lives the old fashioned way, in accordance with strict order. But she only observes the appearance of this order, which she supports in public: a kind son, an obedient daughter-in-law. He even complains: “They don’t know anything, no order... What will happen, how the old people will die, how the light will remain, I don’t even know. Well, at least it’s good that I won’t see anything.” There is real arbitrariness in the house. The boar is despotic, rude to the peasants, “eats” the family and does not tolerate objections. Her son is completely subordinate to her will, and she expects this from her daughter-in-law as well.

Next to Kabanikha, who day after day “sharpenes all her household like rusting iron,” stands the merchant Dikoy, whose name is associated with wild power. Dikoy not only “sharpenes and saws” his family members. The men whom he deceives during payments suffer from it, and, of course, the customers, as well as his clerk Kudryash, a rebellious and impudent guy, ready to teach a “scold” a lesson in a dark alley with his fists.

Ostrovsky described the character of the Wild One very accurately. For the Wild, the main thing is money, in which he sees everything: glory, worship. This is especially striking in the small town where he lives. He can easily “pat on the shoulder” the mayor himself.

Dikiy and Kabanikha, representatives of the old order, are opposed by Kuligin. Ku-ligin is an inventor, his views correspond to educational views. He wants to invent a sundial, a perpetuum mobile, and a lightning rod. His invention of the lightning rod is symbolic, just as a thunderstorm is symbolic in drama. No wonder Dikoy dislikes Kuligin so much, calling him a “worm,” “Tatar,” and “robber.” Dikiy’s readiness to send the inventor-enlightener to the mayor, his attempts to refute Kuligin’s knowledge, based on the wildest religious superstition - all this also acquires a symbolic meaning. Kuligin quotes Lomonosov and Derzhavin and refers to their authority. He lives in the old “Domostroevsky” world, where they still believe in omens and people with “dog heads”, but the image of Kuligin is evidence that in the “dark kingdom” people have already appeared who can become moral judges of those who dominate them . Therefore, at the end of the drama, it is Kuligin who carries Katerina’s body ashore and utters words full of reproach.

The images of Tikhon and Boris are developed slightly; Dobrolyubov in a well-known article says that Boris can be attributed more to the setting than to the heroes. In the remark, Boris stands out only in his clothes: “All faces, except Boris, are dressed in Russian.” This is the first difference between him and the residents of Kalinov. The second difference is that he studied at a commercial academy in Moscow. But Ostrovsky made him the nephew of the Dikiy, and this suggests that, despite some differences, he belongs to the people of the “dark kingdom”. This is also confirmed by the fact that he is not able to fight this kingdom. Instead of lending a helping hand to Katerina, he advises her to submit to her fate. Tikhon is the same. Already on the list characters it is said about him that he is “her son,” that is, the son of Kabanikha. He really is more likely just Kabanikha’s son than a person. Tikhon has no willpower. This person’s only desire is to escape from his mother’s care so that he can take a break for the whole year. Tikhon is also unable to help Katerina. Both Boris and Tikhon leave her alone with their inner experiences.

If Kabanikha and Dikoy belong to the old way of life, Kuligin carries the ideas of enlightenment, then Katerina is at a crossroads. Having grown up and brought up in a patriarchal spirit, Katerina fully follows this way of life. Cheating here is considered unforgivable, and having cheated on her husband, Katerina sees this as a sin before God. But her character is naturally proud, independent and free. Her dream of flying means breaking free from the power of her oppressive mother-in-law and from the stuffy world of the Kabanovs' house. As a child, she once, offended by something, went to the Volga in the evening. The same protest can be heard in her words addressed to Varya: “And if I’m really tired of being here, they won’t hold me back by any force. I’ll throw myself out the window, throw myself into the Volga. I don’t want to live here, I won’t do this, even if you cut me!” In Katerina’s soul there is a struggle between the pangs of conscience and the desire for freedom. Katerina is also different from the representatives of the youth - Varvara and Kudryash. She does not know how to adapt to life, to be a hypocrite and pretend, as Kabanikha does, she does not know how to look at the world as easily as Varya. Ostrovsky could have ended the drama with a scene of Katerina's repentance. But that would mean that " dark kingdom" won. Katerina dies, and in this she is over. old world.

According to contemporaries, Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” had a very great value. It shows two worlds, two ways of life - old and new with their representatives. Death main character Katerina suggests that new world will win and that it is this world that will replace the old one.

Original:
Kuligin. And you will never get used to it, sir.
Boris. Why?
Kuligin. Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel! In philistinism, sir, you will see nothing but rudeness and stark poverty. And we, sir, will never escape this crust! Because honest work will never earn us more than our daily bread. And whoever has money, sir, tries to enslave the poor so that he can make even more money from his free labors. Do you know what your uncle, Savel Prokofich, answered to the mayor? The peasants came to the mayor to complain that he would not disrespect any of them. The mayor began to tell him: “Listen,” he says, Savel Prokofich, pay the men well! Every day they come to me with complaints!” Your uncle patted the mayor on the shoulder and said: “Is it worth it, your honor, for us to talk about such trifles! I have a lot of people every year; You understand: I won’t pay them a penny per person, but I make thousands out of this, so that’s good for me!” That's it, sir! And among themselves, sir, how they live! They undermine each other's trade, and not so much out of self-interest as out of envy. They are at enmity with each other; They get drunken clerks into their high mansions, such, sir, clerks that there is no human appearance on him, his human appearance is hysterical. And they, for small acts of kindness, scribble malicious slander against their neighbors on stamped sheets. And for them, sir, a trial and a case will begin, and there will be no end to the torment. They sue and sue here, but they go to the province, and there they are waiting for them and splashing their hands with joy. Soon the fairy tale is told, but not soon the deed is done; they drive them, they drive them, they drag them, they drag them; and they are also happy about this dragging, that’s all they need. “I’ll spend it, he says, and it won’t cost him a penny.” I wanted to depict all this in poetry...

Arranged by A. Minnikaev

Morals are cruel, sir, in our city. Brutal
In the philistinism, the world is ruled by people who are not at all distant
Full of rudeness worse than in life in the capital
You will see nothing but stark poverty.
You will never be able to break out of this crust:
Hope...many have it, but only for the time being
All who are honest will not earn their daily food,
And whoever has money in his pocket is the owner of the poor,
On whose labors he will drink and feast heavily,
Live beautifully and make even more money.
Tell you how your wild uncle managed to answer,
Savel Prokofich looking at the mayor with kind eyes?

“Listen, brother, consider the men well.
Every day little people come to me with complaints.”
The answer is: should you and I talk about trifles?
It’s either a penny or a fiver for them – it’s up to me to make capital

And among themselves, dear sir, how they live:
They tear throats, sell themselves, stifle trade
They undermine each other, they don’t hide,
What the war is on out of envy... they successfully get
In your high mansions of drunken clerks,
On which there is no human appearance, and such
That they lost their appearance. On stamp sheets
Malicious slander is made against neighbors and relatives
They sue and sue and there is no end to stupid disputes
The results of these processes, perhaps just conversations,
How they will go to the province for the truth, an important thing
“They are waiting for them there, splashing their hands with joy.”
Soon the fairy tale will be told, but the matter is in a hurry
Not good: they are dragged like animal tails,
And they are happy about it, they ring the bells needlessly...
A very strange life: “I’ll spend it - talk
“Yes, it will cost him a penny.”
... wanted to depict in verse

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Our morals are cruel- see Cruel, sir, morals in our city. Encyclopedic Dictionary winged words and expressions. M.: Locked Press. Vadim Serov. 2003 ... Dictionary of popular words and expressions

Ostrovsky A.N.- Ostrovsky A.N. Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolaevich (1823 1886) Russian playwright, theatrical figure. Aphorisms, quotes Ostrovsky A.N. biography The public goes to the theater to watch good performance good plays, and not the play itself: the play can also... ... Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms

Ostrovsky, Alexander Nikolaevich- dramatic writer, head of the repertoire of the Imperial Moscow Theater and director of the Moscow theater school. A. N. Ostrovsky was born in Moscow on January 31, 1823. His father, Nikolai Fedorovich, came from a clergy background, and... ... Large biographical encyclopedia

Ostrovsky- Alexander Nikolaevich (1823 1886) the largest Russian playwright. R. in Moscow, in the family of an official who later became a private intercessor for civil cases. In 1835-1840 he studied at the First Moscow Gymnasium. In 1840 he was admitted to law school... ... Literary encyclopedia

CHARACTER- CHARACTER, morality, husband. 1. Character, mental structure, a set of mental properties. Gentle disposition. Cool disposition. “Katya... from childhood amazed everyone with her talent, but she had a rebellious, capricious disposition.” A. Turgenev. 2. only plural. Customs... ... Dictionary Ushakova

cruel- Godless, soulless, merciless, merciless, heartless, inhuman, unfeeling, merciless, barbaric, hard, brutal, fierce, bloodthirsty, vengeful, frantic, inexorable, insensitive, merciless, ferocious, harsh, ... ... Dictionary of synonyms

cruel- oh, oh; current, a and a, o; the cruelest. 1. Extremely severe; merciless, merciless. [Elizaveta Sergeevna:] You are a cruel and heartless person! Pisemsky, Family whirlpool. [Kuligin:] Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel! A. Ostrovsky,... ... Small academic dictionary

custom- Habit, institution, habit, manner, fashion, temper, disposition, rite, ritual, behavior, order, rule, practice, routine, charter, pattern. A time-honored custom. We don’t have this in our factory either. Human fair rules. Zeitgeist, trend. Cruel... ... Dictionary of synonyms

Life in small towns tends to be challenging. First of all, they are indicated by the fact that most people know each other very well, in which case it is very difficult to follow the rules personal life As a rule, events of any importance become a reason for public discussion. The second difficulty is that life in such towns is devoid of diverse events - discussion of gossip and speculation is the main form of entertainment.

Kuligin's monologue:

“Cruel morals, sir, in our city, cruel! In philistinism, sir, you will see nothing but rudeness and stark poverty. And we, sir, will never escape this crust! Because honest work will never earn us more than our daily bread. And whoever has money, sir, tries to enslave the poor so that he can make even more money from his free labors. Do you know what your uncle, Savel Prokofich, answered to the mayor? The peasants came to the mayor to complain that he would not disrespect any of them.

The mayor began to tell him: “Listen,” he says, Savel Prokofich, pay the men well! Every day they come to me with complaints!” Your uncle patted the mayor on the shoulder and said: “Is it worth it, your honor, for us to talk about such trifles! I have a lot of people every year; You understand: I won’t pay them a penny per person, but I make thousands out of this, so that’s good for me!”

That's it, sir! And among themselves, sir, how they live! They undermine each other's trade, and not so much out of self-interest as out of envy. They are at enmity with each other; They get drunken clerks into their high mansions, such, sir, clerks that there is no human appearance on him, his human appearance is hysterical.

And they, for small acts of kindness, scribble malicious slander against their neighbors on stamped sheets. And for them, sir, a trial and a case will begin, and there will be no end to the torment. They sue and sue here, but they go to the province, and there they are waiting for them and splashing their hands with joy. Soon the fairy tale is told, but not soon the deed is done; they drive them, they drive them, they drag them, they drag them; and they are also happy about this dragging, that’s all they need. “I’ll spend it, he says, and it won’t cost him a penny.” I wanted to depict all this in poetry..."

We invite you to familiarize yourself with the play “The Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky.

Result: The city of Kalinov, where the main events take place, has a dual nature - on the one hand, the natural landscape creates a positive perception and attitude of visitors, but true position things are far from this truth. Residents of Kalinov lack tolerance and humanity. And therefore life in this city is complex and specific. The description of the nature of the city contrasts vividly with the essence of its inhabitants. Greed and love of squabbles destroy all natural beauty.