The theme of the little man has been raised in the literature by various authors repeatedly. Great writers have speculated on this subject. A. S. Pushkin considers in his work "The Bronze Horseman" the rebellion of a little man, and not just his thoughts. This rebellion is compared with the rebellion of nature - a flood.

Man and state

Every person is a member of society. He lives his own life, has aspirations that are inherent in everyone - to have a roof over his head, bread on the table, to be happy and make his loved ones happy. Everyone works at one job or another. So Eugene is the hero of the poem. Works somewhere, bears some surname. Pushkin is not even interested in who exactly - this once again proves that Eugene is a "little man." But from each such small person the state is formed, its continuous work, its normal functioning. Therefore, the role of a small person in society still cannot be called insignificant. Everyone does their job and can count on normal living conditions.

Eugene is a collective image of the inhabitants of St. Petersburg. He thinks about pressing matters, he is not concerned about "eternal topics", "state issues". He wants to secure a normal life, get married, be happy. The scope of his thoughts is limited by his own existence. That is why he is called "little man".

He does not know how to think on a national scale, but he does not need it. Rulers should think for the state. But they must not forget about the little man.

Rulers and the little man

The Bronze Horseman stands and looks majestically, down on the city and the state, on millions of such small people. The ruler thinks on a national scale, he cannot think about every such small person. But then who will take care of this little man? He has to survive in strange and sometimes terrible conditions. When little people get tired of such a life - they try to get through to the government. One such way is rebellion. Little people get together all over the country and tell the sovereign about how difficult life is for them. And if the king does not hear them, then they have to go to extreme measures. But when the element enters the path of rebellion, no one is able to resist it - neither ordinary people, nor kings.

The rebellion of the little man and the rebellion of the elements

In The Bronze Horseman, the rebellion of man is compared with the rebellion of the elements. She was pacified, chained in granite shackles, the Neva flows in them for many years, resigned to fate. But at one fine moment, she begins to “thrash around like a sick person,” and then completely overflows her banks, rebelling against the current system. So many small people, united, can become an element, bringing a real rebellion to the state. Pushkin described the history of the country in many ways, describing in The Bronze Horseman the revolt of the Neva and the reflections of Yevgeny.

The image of the "little man" was revealed in many Russian works. Examples are “Poor people” by F.M. Dostoevsky, "The Overcoat" by N.V. Gogol, "The Death of an Official" by A.P. Chekhov. It was constantly changing and presented in new forms, but it always showed one thing - the life of the common people.

A.S. Pushkin in his poem "The Bronze Horseman" showed the hopeless and fruitless struggle of the "little man" with power and the elements of nature.

The “idol on a bronze horse” - a monument to Peter I on Senate Square in St. Petersburg - acts as the image of power.

Pushkin's attitude to the autocrat is very contradictory. At the beginning of the poem, he describes him as a powerful reformer tsar who was able to defeat the elements and create a most beautiful city that overshadowed even the capital: “And before the younger capital, old Moscow faded, As before the new queen, the porphyry-bearing widow.”

But, at the same time, Peter does not think about the life of an individual, but thinks exclusively on the scale of the state. And, neglecting the opinion of the people and the laws of nature, the king achieves his goal: “From the darkness of the forests, from the swamp, the blat Ascended magnificently, proudly; Where before the Finnish fisherman, The sad stepson of nature, Alone at the low shores, Throwed into unknown waters His dilapidated net, now there, Along the busy shores, Slender masses crowd Palaces and towers.

Pushkin admires the majesty and beauty of the city, utters an enthusiastic hymn, confessing his love to him: "I love you, Peter's creation, I love your strict, slender appearance"

However, the introduction ends with the lines: "My story will be sad"

This story tells about the main character of the work - Eugene. He is described as an "ordinary man", having neither money nor ranks. Eugene "serves somewhere" and dreams of making himself a "humble and simple shelter" in order to marry his beloved girl and live life with her. But the flood that flooded the “gloomy Petrograd” ruined the hero’s plans. He hopes for the best and "hurries, fading in his soul" to the house of Parasha, his beloved. But when he sees that there is nothing left of his beloved's house, he realizes that the mighty Neva has destroyed everything he loved. Eugene, unable to resist "against terrible shocks", loses the meaning of life and understands the cause of his misfortunes and recognizes their culprit. It turns out to be the one “by whose will the fateful city under the sea was founded.” A thirst for retribution for the "ruler of the half world" is born in him. But the power and significance of Eugene is too small in comparison with Peter. Therefore, this rebellion turns out to be madness, which leads only to wandering and suffering, ending in the death of the "little man". Thus, describing a historical event, Pushkin was able to vividly show how the will of a historically significant person influenced the life and fate of the people. At present, this problem and the tragedy of the "little man" remains relevant and unresolved in the history and life of mankind.

In the work of the great Russian poet A. S. Pushkin, a monument to Emperor Peter is presented in the image of power. The protagonist of the work is Eugene, who is described as a completely ordinary person. The flood that occurred in the city overshadows all his plans. Arriving at the house of his beloved Parasha, he sees that the river has destroyed everything he could dream of.

"Little Man" in Literature

The image of the "little man" in the poem "The Bronze Horseman" is far from the only attempt in Russian literature to describe such a type. Other examples are the work "Poor People" by Dostoevsky, "The Overcoat" by Gogol. In his work, the great Russian poet sought to show the senselessness of the struggle of the "little man" with the almighty natural elements, as well as the power of the autocracy.

The protagonist

The theme of the little man in the poem "The Bronze Horseman" is revealed with the help of a detailed description of its main character - Eugene. According to the established tradition, the poem is a work that has a narrative character. And if once it was considered rather a historical work, then over time it began to have a romantic character. In the poem, central characters began to appear, who are independent characters, and not just vague images snatched from the historical stream.

Evgeny's interests

The main character of the work is Eugene, who is a representative of the "Petersburg" period in the history of the country. He is that “little” person whose meaning of life lies in the arrangement of his life and quiet petty-bourgeois happiness. His life is limited to a close circle of concerns about his own home and family.

And these are the character traits that make the image of the main character unacceptable for the poet himself, it is they who turn him into a “little man”. The great Russian poet deliberately refuses to describe the image of Eugene. He even deprives him of any surname, emphasizing that any one can be put in its place - the life of many representatives of the then Petersburg is reflected in the image of Eugene.

Contrasting personality and power

The problem of the little man in the poem "The Bronze Horseman" is a matter of confronting a helpless unit against the omnipotence of autocracy. And in this comparison of the Bronze Horseman with the main character, the main difference is determined. Eugene has a soul, and he can suffer, grieve, dream about something. The emperor cares about the fate of people, including Eugene, who will someday live in the capital. And the thoughts of the protagonist hover around his own life. However, despite this, it is he who causes the greatest sympathy of the reader, his image causes lively participation.

Riot in the soul

The flood that hit Eugene's life makes him a real hero. He goes crazy (as you know, this is one of the frequent attributes of the main character of a romantic work). The protagonist wanders the streets of the city, which has become hostile to him, and hears the sound of the river. It also reflects the rebellion of the little man in the poem "The Bronze Horseman", which filled the soul of the protagonist. The natural element awakens in his heart what Pushkin considered the main thing for a person - memory. It is the memories of the experienced flood that push him to the Senate Square. There he meets the monument for the second time.

He finally understands what is the cause of all his suffering and misfortune. Eugene recognizes the culprit and begins to threaten him - now he only feels hatred for the "power of the half world" and wants to take revenge on him.

What does protest lead to?

The spiritual evolution of the protagonist also gives rise to the naturalness of the protest. The great Russian poet also shows the transformation of Eugene. An internal protest raises him to a new life filled with tragedy, which should end in an imminent death. And Eugene dares to threaten Peter himself with his retribution. This threat causes fear in the emperor, because he realizes what power lies in the spiritual protest of the human heart.

And when Eugene finally “sees the light”, he becomes a Man in the true sense of the word. It should be noted that not once in this passage does the poet call the main character by name - he again becomes faceless, like everyone else. Here the reader sees the confrontation between the formidable king and the Man who has a heart and memory. Eugene's rebellion displays a threat to the entire autocracy, a promise of popular retribution. But the revived statue punishes the "poor madman." This is the tragedy of the little man in the poem "The Bronze Horseman".

holy madness

It is also symbolic that Pushkin calls his protagonist "insane". After all, the speech of a single person against the system of autocracy does not fit into the framework of common sense. This is true madness. However, the poet emphasizes that it is "holy", because silence and humility bring death. Only protest can save a person from moral death in those conditions where cruelty and violence reign.

The great Russian poet emphasizes both the tragedy and the comedy of the situation. Eugene is a "little man" who challenges the mighty power of the autocracy. And he dares to threaten the emperor - and not the real one, but his monument cast in bronze. This action is an attempt to resist evil circumstances, to give your voice.

People's lives depend on power

The image of a little man in the poem "The Bronze Horseman" is very revealing: as a result of a flood, the main character loses his beloved, goes crazy and eventually dies. It may be objected what relation all these events have to the problem of the state? But having become acquainted with the work closer, you can understand that in reality - the most direct. After all, events unfold in St. Petersburg, which, by the will of the emperor, was erected on the banks of the Neva.

The skill with which the great Russian poet conveyed his ideas

The theme of the little man in the poem "The Bronze Horseman" is the opposition of a person to a merciless state system. After all, it turns out that if the autocrat had not founded the city in this particular place, then the protagonist of the work would have survived. Alexander Sergeevich embodies this deep and at the same time paradoxical idea with the help of a system of images described in the poem. After all, it is no coincidence that, having gone crazy with his mind, Eugene sees his enemy in the form of a bronze horseman, and it is no coincidence that this horseman chases him through the streets of the city and eventually kills him. With the help of the image of a small man in the poem "The Bronze Horseman", Pushkin makes the idea of ​​the impossibility of confronting the interests of a single person with the interests of the state in which he lives quite obvious. Rulers always think big and do not take into account what fate awaits the inhabitants of their countries.

On whose side is Pushkin himself?

It is impossible to unequivocally answer the question on whose side the author of the poem "The Bronze Horseman" is on. The rebellion of a little man is the leitmotif of the work, but the historical justification of the actions of the emperor is no less important for the great Russian poet. After all, it is in this work that an inspired hymn to the city on the Neva sounds. With its magnificence, Petersburg embodied the idea of ​​a great Russian state (and it was precisely the deeds of Peter that made it such).

Alexander Sergeevich did not set himself the task of stigmatizing the empire or, on the contrary, elevating it. On the one hand, the poet retained humanity, speaking about a single person and feeling sympathy for her. After all, the image of a small man in the poem "The Bronze Horseman" is still the main one. On the other hand, he saw that a great country is also an important value. And without solving the issue of the relationship between the individual and the whole state, the great Russian poet wrote about their inevitable confrontation and the tragedy of their relationship.

For some reason, some believe that the year when the poem "The Bronze Horseman" was written is 1830. An analysis of biographical information makes it possible to unequivocally state that Pushkin created it in 1833. This is one of the most perfect and striking works of Alexander Sergeevich. The author in this poem convincingly showed all the inconsistency and complexity of the turning point in Russian history. It should be emphasized that the poem occupies a special place in the work of Alexander Sergeevich. The poet in it tried to solve the problem of the relationship between the state and the individual, which is relevant at all times. This topic has always been at the center of the author's spiritual quest.

Genre Features

According to a tradition that has developed for a long time, a poem is a work that has a lyrical or narrative character. If initially it was rather a historical creation, then for some time now the poems began to acquire more and more romantic coloring. It was due to a tradition popular in the Middle Ages. Even later, moral-philosophical, personal issues come to the fore. The lyrical-dramatic aspects begin to intensify. At the same time, the central characters or one character (this is typical for the work of romantic writers) are drawn in the poem as independent personalities. They cease to be snatched by the author from the historical flow. Now these are not just vague figures, as before.

The image of a little man in Russian literature

The little man in Russian literature is one of the cross-cutting themes. Many writers and poets of the 19th century turned to her. A.S. Pushkin was one of the first to touch upon her in his story "The Stationmaster". Gogol, Chekhov, Dostoevsky and many others continued this theme.

What is the image of the little man in Russian literature? This person is small in social terms. He is on one of the lowest levels of the social hierarchy. In addition, the world of his claims and spiritual life is extremely poor, narrow, filled with many prohibitions. Philosophical and historical problems do not exist for this hero. He is in the closed and narrow world of his vital interests.

Eugene is a small person

Consider now the image of a small man in the poem "The Bronze Horseman". Eugene, her hero, is a product of the so-called St. Petersburg period of Russian history. He can be called a little man, since the meaning of Yevgeny's life is to gain bourgeois well-being: a family, a good place, a home. The existence of this hero is limited to family concerns. He is characterized by innocence to his past, since he does not yearn for either the forgotten antiquity, or the deceased relatives. These features of Eugene are unacceptable for Pushkin. It is thanks to them that this character is the image of a small man in the poem "The Bronze Horseman". Alexander Sergeevich deliberately does not give a detailed description of this hero. He does not even have a last name, which suggests that any other person can be put in his place. The figure of Eugene reflected the fate of many such people, whose life fell on the St. Petersburg period of history. However, the image of a little man in the poem "The Bronze Horseman" is not static, it is transformed in the course of the story. We will talk about this below.

View of Peter and Eugene

Eugene in the flood scene sits with his hands clasped in a cross (which seems to be a parallel with Napoleon), but without a hat. Behind him is the Bronze Horseman. These two figures are looking in the same direction. Nevertheless, Peter's view is different from that of Eugene. With the king, he is directed into the depths of centuries. Peter does not care about the fate of ordinary people, since he mainly solves historical problems. Eugene, who represents the image of a small man in the poem "The Bronze Horseman", looks at the house of his beloved.

The main difference between Peter and Eugene

The following main difference can be identified by comparing the bronze Peter with this hero. The image of Eugene in A. S. Pushkin's poem "The Bronze Horseman" is characterized by the fact that this character has a heart and soul, he has the ability to feel, knows how to worry about the fate of the person he loves. It can be called the antipode of Peter, this idol on a bronze horse. Eugene is able to suffer, dream, grieve. That is, despite the fact that Peter reflects on the fate of the entire state, that is, he is concerned about the improvement of the lives of all people, in the abstract sense (including Eugene, who should become a resident of St. Petersburg in the future), in the eyes of the reader, Eugene, and not the king, becomes more attractive . It is he who awakens in us a living participation.

Flood in the fate of Eugene

For Yevgeny, the flood that occurred in St. Petersburg turns into a tragedy. It makes a real Hero out of this nondescript person. Yevgeny This, of course, brings him closer to the characters of romantic works, since madness - the popular Yevgeny wanders the streets of a city hostile to him, but the rebellious noise of the winds and the Neva is heard in his ears. It is this noise, together with the noise in his own soul, that awakens in Yevgeny what was the main sign of a person for Pushkin - memory. It is the memory of the flood that brings the hero to Senate Square. Here he meets the bronze Peter for the second time. Pushkin splendidly described what a tragically beautiful moment it was in the life of a humble poor official. His thoughts suddenly cleared up. The hero understood what was the cause of both his own misfortunes and all the troubles of the city. Eugene recognized their culprit, the man by whose fateful will the city was founded. Hatred for this ruler of the semi-world was suddenly born in him. Eugene passionately wanted to take revenge on him. The hero is in revolt. He threatens Peter, coming up to him: "Already you!" Let's make a brief analysis of the rebellion scene in the poem "The Bronze Horseman", which will allow us to discover new features in the image of Eugene.

Protest

The inevitability and naturalness of protest is born due to the spiritual evolution of the hero. His transformation is shown artistically convincingly by the author. The protest raises Yevgeny to a new life, tragic, high, which is fraught with inevitable near death. He threatens the king with future retribution. The autocrat is terrified of this threat, because he is aware of the great power hidden in this little man, a protester, a rebellion.

At that moment, when Eugene suddenly begins to see clearly, he turns into a Man in his connection with the family. It should be noted that in this passage the hero is never named by name. This makes him somewhat faceless, one of many. Pushkin describes the confrontation between the formidable tsar personifying the autocratic power and the Man who is endowed with memory and has a heart. The promise of retribution and a direct threat are heard in the whispers of the hero who has seen the light. For them, the revived statue, "ignited" with anger, punishes this "poor madman."

Madness Eugene

It is clear to the reader that Yevgeny's protest is a single one, moreover, he pronounces it in a whisper. However, the hero must be punished. It is also symbolic that Eugene is defined as a madman. According to Pushkin, madness is an unequal dispute. From the standpoint of common sense, the speech of one person against a powerful state power is real madness. But it is "holy", because silent humility brings death.

"The Bronze Horseman" is a philosophical, social poem. Pushkin shows that only a protest can save a person from a moral fall in the conditions of ongoing violence. Alexander Sergeevich emphasizes that resistance, an attempt to be indignant, to raise a voice will always be a better way out than resignation to a cruel fate.

We find a deeper interpretation of the theme of the little man in Pushkin's poem "The Bronze Horseman". Here the problem is solved already in a socio-philosophical key, and the contradiction between the small man and the state becomes the central conflict. Petty St. Petersburg official Yevgeny loses his beloved creature as a result of a flood, goes crazy and eventually dies. It would seem, what does this story have to do with the problem of the state? It turns out that he has: after all, the fate of Eugene is decided in St. Petersburg, which, by the will of the autocrat Peter, was built on the banks of the Neva. It turns out that if Peter had not founded this city, then Eugene would have remained alive. Pushkin embodies this paradoxical, but essentially very deep thought with the help of the entire figurative system of the poem. It is no coincidence and not only as a result of madness that Evgeny sees his enemy and adversary in the “idol on a bronze horse” - the Bronze Horseman, it is no accident that this rider chases the crazy Evgeny through the streets of St. Petersburg and eventually kills him. In symbolic form, Pushkin makes clear the idea of ​​the opposition of the interests of an individual, private, small person to the interests of the state, which thinks too broadly and does not take into account the fate of a particular person.

On whose side is Pushkin in this conflict? It is impossible to answer this question unambiguously. With all the pity for Eugene, sympathy for him, Pushkin still recognizes the historical justification of Peter's actions. It is not for nothing that the inspired hymn to Petersburg sounds in The Bronze Horseman, which, with its splendor, embodied for Pushkin the idea of ​​a great Russian state (and Peter's deeds made Russia great in many respects). Pushkin does not set himself the task of stigmatizing the state or, on the contrary, elevating it. While maintaining a humanistic approach to the problem of personality and power, seeing the suffering of an ordinary person and sympathizing with them, Pushkin nevertheless sees the other side of the coin: great Russia is also an important value, and the Bronze Horseman has its own historical truth on the side. Without solving the question of the individual and the state, Pushkin only states the inevitable tragedy of their relationship, seeing in these contradictions the dialectics of the real development of reality. But it should be emphasized that humanism remains the most important part of the ideological world of the poem.

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Forget

In the poem by A.S. Pushkin's "The Bronze Horseman" considers the problem of the "little man". This acute problem is to some extent insoluble, so many writers turn to it again and again in their works, the number of which is quite large. Each of the writers approaches this problem in their own way.

Let us turn to the above poem and understand the main problem of the work.

In this poem, the “little man” is Eugene, a poor city dweller. The great poet does not even give him a surname: “We don’t need his nickname ...”. Eugene honestly works "somewhere he serves." He dreams of marrying his beloved Parasha, having a family with her, raising future children. For the sake of all this, he is ready to "work day and night." But, unfortunately, this was not destined to come true. The weather decided otherwise. The Neva "rushed at the city." Many parts of the city were flooded, some washed away. Eugene, who came to Parasha's house, did not notice him. Then he was horrified, began to go crazy, because he lost the person for whom he wanted to live, despite difficult life circumstances.

The hero begins to be pursued by the "Bronze Horseman", personifying the state and its ruler. The monument is presented formidable not in vain.

The image of Eugene appears in the poem not as an individual, but as a poor people as a whole with all the problems that he suffers from. In this case, such people suffered because of the goals of the state (“cut a window to Europe”). That is, when implementing various plans, the state does not care much about the interests of small people, because the main thing for it is to raise the status, increase its power. And these goals are most often fulfilled at the expense of its inhabitants, who lose a lot because of this. There are a lot of people like Eugene in the state, every day certain problems come into their lives, emanating, first of all, from the state.

Unfortunately, this tragedy still exists today. Often, ordinary people die through the fault of a state that thinks on a grand scale, since their fates are not taken into account. This problem can exist as long as the state does not begin to take into account the interests of its subjects.

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Ninaarc
03/16/2019 left a comment:

A.S. Pushkin in his works more than once raised the theme of the “little man”, because it was especially relevant in the lower classes of society of that time. People without money and connections, incapable of meanness and cunning, often became victims of an unfavorable combination of circumstances, since no one cared about the common people. It is this everyday drama of indifference that the author of The Bronze Horseman shows.

On the first pages, the poet presents us with the image of the protagonist Eugene. He lives and serves in Kolomna, a petty official, poor. All the aspirations and ambitions of this young man are based around the dream of creating a family with a girl named Parasha. Pushkin does not even give him a last name, because Yevgeny's character and position are typical for that time. He is not a person, but a reflection of Petersburg life away from palaces and estates. So it was with all the little people. The ruler went far ahead with his reforms, and the people suffered from their consequences somewhere far from the nobility: quietly, timidly and hard.

The poet himself does not share Eugene's views on life, because he does not strive for something high, his ambitions and desires are limited to everyday idealistic joys: home, family, hearth. There is nothing in him that betrays his personality, that distinguishes him among the mass of gray St. Petersburg colleagues.

The flood of 1824 bursts into Eugene's usual life, turning the usual course of life “upside down”. His hope and love are dying - Parasha, and with it the bright mind of the hero. The meaning of life was taken away by the Neva and deeply concealed in its depths. Eugene is not capable of rebirth, which indicates the fragile spiritual organization of the "little man". A brick stolen by a flood from a castle built in his thoughts immediately puzzled Yevgeny, since such a hero does not have the strength to build a new future, even from the air. He is not able to analyze and survive difficulties.

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spring
03/16/2019 left a comment:

In 1833 A.S. Pushkin created an entertaining poem "The Bronze Horseman", in which the reader gets acquainted with several thematic lines. Of course, this is the theme of building St. Petersburg and its glorification throughout the world. In the text of the poem, the author pays attention to the person of the tsar - Peter I, under whose leadership the city was built.

The second problematic line, which is revealed in the lines of the poem, concerned the "little man", that is, an ordinary resident of the city. Such simple, hard-working inhabitants made up the whole Russian people. This means that the theme of the “little man”, which Eugene became, reveals the essence of the existence of a whole nation.

Is Eugene doing well? In his dreams, simple human weaknesses - food, water and housing. His old house has long been worn out and has become completely dilapidated and fragile. There were a lot of such houses on the territory of St. Petersburg. Basically, they were located on both sides of the Niva, which spread its waters for many hundreds of kilometers. Evgeny's beloved girl, Parasha, also lived in such a house. Both heroes were completely poor, therefore, they sought to find their happiness in small joys. But, trouble came to the Russian lands. The elements raged, the Niva overflowed its banks and flooded nearby houses. Parasha lived in one of these houses. The girl died and this news was shocking for Eugene.

Against the background of all events, the hero goes crazy. He blames everything on the monument to the Bronze Horseman, which was erected in honor of Peter I.

Who is to blame for what happened? There is no single answer to be found. Of course, the tsar, as a steward, as a caring sovereign, during the construction of St. Petersburg had to take care of all its inhabitants. First of all, it was necessary to fight poverty and poverty, to help ordinary people. Perhaps they wouldn't be in such trouble. But, all this did not happen. Like all great kings, Peter took care of himself, his condition, the greatness of the city, but did not think much about the people. Therefore, the "little man" was completely unprotected in those days.

And now, the rainy elements take people by surprise. Many people die, houses and bridges are destroyed. A person is completely insignificant in such a situation. He can only submit to his will and his fate. Eugene began to blame the copper monument for everything, which ultimately led to his death. This is the fate of the “little man” in the poem by A.S. Pushkin.