Chatsky and Onegin comparative characteristics. Comparative characteristics of Chatsky, Onegin and Pechorin essay

A. S. Griboedov's comedy "Woe from Wit" was written in 1824, and A. S. Pushkin created his novel in verse over the course of eight years, from 1823 to 1831. Griboyedov was older than Pushkin, the authors knew each other, and highly valued each other’s work. The works reflect the same era - on the eve of the Decembrist uprising. Both sincerely sympathized with the Decembrist movement and maintained friendly relations with many of the members of secret societies. The heroes of the works are advanced representatives of the Russian nobility who critically perceive reality.

But most of “Eugene Onegin” was written after the tragic defeat on Senate Square, which could not but affect the emotional background of the work. The events depicted in both works refer to the period of the collapse of the democratic illusions of the Russian people after an unprecedented rise during the Patriotic War. Having won a heroic victory over the Napoleonic army, the people longed for liberation from serfdom; advanced representatives of the nobility expected socio-economic reforms from the tsarist regime. However, reforms did not follow, and stratification began among the progressive nobility: the most active, active part created secret societies with the goal of violently overthrowing the regime; the other, socially passive, expressed its protest by demonstrative refusal to cooperate with the regime at all levels.

Chatsky and Onegin are peers and come from the same social circle. True, Onegin was brought up in a metropolitan aristocratic family, and Chatsky was brought up in the house of the Moscow master Famusov. Onegin spent eight years in high society in St. Petersburg. Walks along Nevsky Prospekt, exquisite toilets, balls, theaters, “the science of tender passion” - all these attributes of idleness, characteristic of the “golden youth”, are also inherent in Evgeniy. He was valued in society, which, however, set a rather low bar: in addition to noble origin, all that was required was to speak flawless French, dance decently and “bow at ease.” Eugene mastered this simple set of virtues to perfection, and “the world decided that he was smart and very nice.” Onegin enjoyed life carefree, not burdening himself with thoughts:

But, tired of the noise of the ball.

And the morning turns to midnight,

Sleeps peacefully in the blessed shade

Fun and luxury child.

Wake up at noon, and again

Until the morning his life is ready,

Monotonous and colorful.

And only having become bored, Onegin did not even realize, but rather felt the incompleteness of his existence - and “the Russian melancholy took possession of him little by little.” An educated man, a critical thinker, he managed to overcome the stultifying influence of his environment, to look abstractly at the quagmire of fruitless vanity. Experiencing mental discomfort, aware of the harmful psychological impact of a monotonous existence, trying to find an application for his strengths, Onegin tried to put his thoughts on paper, “but he was sick of persistent work.” Hoping to find the meaning of life in someone else's wisdom, Onegin began to read, but his inability to systematically learn ("the poor Frenchman, so that the child would not be tormented, taught him everything jokingly") did not allow him to collect the seeds of book revelations, and a "sharp, chilled mind" found in they are only flaws. Disappointed and embittered, Onegin painfully perceives the imperfection of the social structure, but does not understand how to change it. Egocentrism and isolation can only criticize, but this path, as a rule, is futile. Onegin can communicate only with those like himself, since only they can calmly relate “to his caustic argument, and to a joke with bile in half, and the anger of gloomy epigrams.” Neither a trip to the estate nor foreign voyages are able to dispel Evgeniy’s pessimism and spiritual loneliness, or encourage him to fruitful work. The pinnacle of his social activity is silent protest and demonstrative detachment from the institutions of power.

Chatsky is a person of a completely different emotional make-up. He is inquisitive, active, vital. His keen mind is concerned with the common good, and he determines the significance of the human personality not by achieved ranks and honors, not by success in secular salons, but by social activity and a progressive way of thinking. Unlike Onegin, Chatsky does not succumb to the temptations of a carefree social life, and does not limit himself to a sincere and, apparently, initially mutual feeling of love. Onegin used the education he received to gain popularity. secular society, in order to skillfully and naturally demonstrate the erudition hidden behind short remarks, without coercion in conversation, “to touch everything lightly, with the learned air of an expert to remain silent in an important dispute and to excite the smiles of ladies with the fire of unexpected epigrams.” Chatsky, also educated and no less witty, never squandered his intellect for fun. His image is in accordance with the famous Pushkin call:

While we are burning with freedom, While our hearts are alive for honor, My friend, let us dedicate our Souls to beautiful impulses to the fatherland!

Chatsky left the world and went to travel to enrich his mind and get an idea of ​​the real life of the country. Chatsky left Sophia, despite his deep love, left friends in whom he was “especially happy”, because he is an altruist, because his spiritual world is much wider than the scope of personal happiness. “He thought highly of himself...” - this remark from Sophia testifies not to the hero’s inflated self-esteem, but to the high goals that he set for himself.

Onegin went traveling only at the end of the novel, and Pushkin hypothetically admitted that his hero could become a Decembrist, that his critical perception of reality, supported by evidence of the imperfection of the social system, would bear real fruit. Chatsky, who disdained secular pleasures in his youth, was already an established personality, a Decembrist in his way of thinking, having set the goal of his life as the democratic transformation of society. His travels only strengthened his belief in the need for social reform.

Chatsky is a true educator, passionately defending the rights of reason and deeply believing in the power of the word. He sharply and mercilessly denounces the highest bureaucrats, who have arrogated to themselves the right from the heights of the social ladder to judge young democrats who do not want to “serve” and make a career;

Where, show us, are the fathers of the fatherland,

Which ones should we take as models?

Aren't these the ones who are rich in robbery?

They found protection from court in friends, in kinship,

Magnificently built chambers,

Where they indulge in feasts and extravagance...

In his angry monologues, Chatsky exposes Famus society. “Having reached known levels,” they determined the internal policy of Russia in the “age of obedience and fear.” Chatsky's anger is caused by the landowner's tyranny. But the hero not only denounces high society, his criticism has a constructive basis: Chatsky claims that the world has changed (“everyone breathes more freely”), that people have appeared “who serve the cause, not individuals.” The time of low flatterers and careerists has passed: Although there are hunters of meanness everywhere, But now laughter is terrifying and keeps shame in check; No wonder the sovereigns favor them sparingly.

Chatsky sincerely believes that the useful social activities of honest, smart, educated people can transform the social system. The hero is equally naive in counting on the possibility of centralized democratic reforms. He is convinced that the “present century” will not repeat the mistakes of the “past century” and will be a time of enlightenment, creative work and social justice. However, all Chatsky’s passionate appeals are fruitless: Famus society stands very firmly for its social privileges. The hero’s heartfelt monologues cause shock, and those “whose neck was more often bent, as if not in war, but in peace, were taken with their foreheads; they hit the floor without regret!”, expel the “madman.”

Was Chatsky right when he preached high ideals “at the ball to Moscow grandmothers”? How could he waste his spiritual fervor in front of such an ungrateful public? Pushkin reproached Chatsky for the lack of a genuine mind precisely because Griboyedov’s hero did not understand the specifics of the audience. But the Decembrists really aimed at widespread propaganda of their ideas. By the time of their speech on Senate Square, their enthusiasm had faded, and the Decembrists moved from words to deeds. To justify Chatsky’s idealistic ideas, N.P. Ogarev wrote: “Remembering how at that time members of a secret society and people of the same convictions spoke their thoughts out loud everywhere and in front of everyone, the matter becomes more than possible - it is historically true. Enthusiasm in everything era and among all peoples did not like to conceal his convictions, and we can hardly argue that Chatsky does not belong to a secret society and does not stand in the ranks of enthusiasts; Chatsky feels himself an independent enemy of the order of things of his time."

The images of the main characters of "Woe from Wit" and "Eugene Onegin" correspond to two directions in the noble movement of the 10s and 20s of the nineteenth century: active, proactive, revolutionary and passively protesting, lacking initiative, withdrawing from participation in the social struggle. Both heroes are smart, educated, stand above their social environment, critically perceive the surrounding reality, but their relationship with this reality is different: influence and detachment. The heroes have different temperaments: Onegin is melancholic, Chatsky is choleric. Hence the difference in moral character: Onegin is an egoist (albeit forced), the main thing for him is to achieve his own spiritual comfort, however, without infringing on the rights of others; Chatsky is an altruist; the main thing for him is the happiness of all humanity.

Sample essay text

In the critical sketch “A Million Torments” I. A. Goncharov wrote: “It is impossible to put Chatsky next to Onegin: the strict objectivity of the dramatic form does not allow the breadth and fullness of the brush as the epic. He probably meant that in the comedy “Grief” from the mind" Chatsky is characterized only by his own speech and the words of other characters. And the image of Onegin in Pushkin’s novel receives more complete and detailed coverage. The author himself, in lyrical digressions, expresses his attitude towards the hero. In addition, he talks about his childhood, upbringing, education, transfers the action from St. Petersburg to the provinces, introduces us to the range of his mental interests, and Chatsky lives in the comedy for only one day.

It’s also not easy for me to compare Chatsky and Onegin, but I’ll try to do it, because the topic of the essay requires it. Oddly enough, I would like to start with the fact that these heroes have a lot in common. Firstly, they lived at the same time when the most progressive part of the nobility, realizing the terrible gap between the moral power of the Russian people and their powerless position, began to protest against serfdom and the absolute monarchy and began to unite in secret political societies. Both of them belong to the noble class, both are characterized by “wanderlust.” They are unlucky in love, they do not have good relationships with society. But that's probably where the similarities end.

Chatsky is an ebullient nature, a fighter. He appears in the play as an exposer of everything that has become outdated and prevents the development of the new, progressive. The hero longs for something useful for Russia; for this he has intelligence, erudition, talent, energy and honesty. But he breaks off ties with the ministers, since he is “sick of being served” and believes that it is necessary to serve “the cause, not individuals.”

Onegin is an egoist and a skeptic, whose thoughts are occupied with something completely different, although he read Adam Smith, Herder, Rousseau and other famous Western European scientists and philosophers. Onegin is constantly in a state of boredom, melancholy, he is not accustomed to work, so all attempts to do something useful quickly get boring for him.

Chatsky is not afraid to express his thoughts in a hostile environment. For this they hate him fiercely, even at Famusov’s ball they declare him crazy. About Onegin, “the world decided that he was smart and very nice.” Chatsky neglects the opinion of Famus society, as he realizes that he is right and tries to defend it. I don’t think that he “spent at least three hours in front of mirrors,” as Onegin did, “for fear of jealous condemnation.”

Chatsky not only saw the vices of society and was burdened by them, but also fought against the “alien power of fashion,” sycophancy and sycophancy, and the cruel attitude of masters towards their serfs.

Onegin is a passive person. He does not look for reasons for conflicts with others, expressing his dissatisfaction with the empty, meaningless life of the world only with his gloomy and arrogant appearance. Otherwise, bored and irritated, Evgeny obediently lives according to routine, shuttling between theaters, restaurants and balls. He takes for granted foreign fashion, the French language, and European literature. Chatsky is not indifferent to his blind worship of foreigners. He is bitter that on Russian soil “a mixture of languages ​​still dominates: French and Nizhny Novgorod.”

The heroes also have different attitudes towards love. Chatsky, who grew up with Sophia, fell in love with her. This feeling was always with him. Three years of travel did not destroy him, but strengthened him even more. Chatsky comes to Moscow, full of love and hope. After all, he does not enter, but runs onto the stage, trying to see Sophia as soon as possible. His speech addressed to her is emotional and excited. Onegin is not able to experience such feelings.

How early could he be a hypocrite?

To harbor hope, to be jealous,

To dissuade, to make believe,

Seem gloomy, languish...

But still, having received Tatiana’s touching message, Onegin acted nobly. He rejected her love, suppressed her awakening feelings, making both her and himself unhappy for life. Chatsky suffers from the fact that a mean, insignificant person was chosen over him. Onegin himself destroyed his own destiny. According to Belinsky, Onegin could later come to Decembrism. He experienced horror, repentance, and love. And Chatsky appears before us as an established personality, as an exponent of new, progressive ideas.

I like Chatsky better. It is he who I perceive as the hero of his time, and Onegin only as a typical representative. We have known Chatsky for only one day, and with Onegin for several years. But for Onegin to become like Chatsky, it will take years, if at all possible. I think: there is nothing good in the fact that a person loses interest in life even in his youth. It is better if he is full of energy and aspirations. Chatsky is ready, like Pushkin, “to dedicate his soul’s wonderful impulses to the fatherland,” Therefore, my sympathies are on his side.

Bibliography

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And people, live honestly, according to your conscience. These human qualities are eternal, which means the heroes of A. Griboedov, A. Pushktin, M. Lermontov are eternal and will always excite the reader. REPORT In the abstract "Chatsky, Onegin, Pechorin" I set a goal to analyze the heroes of Griboyedov, Pushkin, Lermontov as typical representatives of the best part of the noble youth of their time, to find common features and...

Absent-mindedness," has already "turned away and yawned." Why is this? Why is Pushkin able to rejoice at what Onegin is bored and disgusted with? We will come to the answer to this question. Now Evgeniy and I have returned from the theater and entered his office. Belinsky called Pushkin's novel "an encyclopedia of Russian life and an eminently folk work." What is an encyclopedia? We are accustomed to imagine...

Absent-mindedness," has already "turned away and yawned." Why is this? Why is Pushkin able to rejoice at what Onegin is bored and disgusted with? We will come to the answer to this question. Now Evgeniy and I have returned from the theater and entered his office. Belinsky called Pushkin's novel "an encyclopedia of Russian life and an eminently folk work." What is an encyclopedia? We are accustomed to imagine...

Requests from friends to “continue the forgotten story,” referring to the voices of friends that “it’s strange, even discourteous to interrupt the novel without finishing,” he was going to return to his many years of work. But both this year and in 1835 the work did not go beyond sketches.<…>Excerpts from Onegin's travel Pushkin indicates the motives why Onegin decided to travel. The hero of the novel “has long wanted to be something”; He " ...

Evgeny Onegin and Alexander Chatsky are characters in various literary works by A. Pushkin and A. Griboyedov, however, they have something in common: the heroes are not fully understood and not accepted by society. But along with this, the acting characters also have distinctive features. If Onegin is a frequent visitor to formal balls and dinners, then Chatsky rejects such a lifestyle, considering it meaningless. Evgeny treats people arrogantly, Alexander, on the contrary, is friendly towards everyone, but if he sees himself as right, he defends this point of view. Below in the table the characteristics of these heroes are presented.

Both heroes represent a new type in the literature of that time - the “extra person”. Onegin and Chatsky are intellectually superior to many people around them, but they are lonely, not truly understood by anyone. And therefore the heroes cannot find their place in society, do not find happiness in love.

Alexander Chatsky is a moral person who lives by strict moral principles. His motto perfectly reveals his essence: “I would be glad to serve, but it’s sickening to be served.” Chatsky is ready to serve the interests of the country and society, but is not used to humiliating himself before senior officials. The hero behaves honestly and simply, both with equal people and with people of higher rank. Like Skalozub, he does not know how to pretend for the sake of career growth. Power and money do not matter much to the hero. He is looking for a worthy role model for himself - a Great and truly worthy man.

Griboedov's hero is smart and inquisitive. He is constantly in search of a high noble goal.

Chatsky is sincere in love. Having fallen in love with Sophia, he strives to protect her from the whole world.

The hero is not afraid to tell the truth in person, to reveal deception. He hates the falsehood and flattery that people of high society constantly use. Spiritual slaves and vile gossips evoke contempt from Chatsky.

Alexander Chatsky is characterized by maximalism. He is an idealist who fights against the hypocrisy and evil of his time.

A hero is a patriot of his country. The young man vehemently opposes such “ulcers” of society as serfdom and inequality of rights among the country’s citizens. The philosophy of rationalism is close to him. He is ready to defend the ideas of the Enlightenment. Chatsky believes in the victory of reason. He tries to reach people through emotional speeches, but he fails. Society begins to reject him, making him a “superfluous person.”

Chatsky, like Onegin, is lonely and misunderstood. Their impulses to find an ideal are not translated into actions. Which means they are simply useless.

Evgeny Onegin feels like a stranger in his environment. At first he enjoyed shining at balls, but very quickly he got tired of it. After all, no one could truly appreciate his brilliant mind and ideas. In love relationships, Onegin also soon cooled down. He got women's hearts too easily, which led to his indifference and cynicism. The hero still, deep down in his soul, longed to find an ideal, but his mind refused to believe in such a thing. Perhaps this is why Onegin denies Tatyana (or maybe more to himself?) true love.

Onegin falls ill with the “Russian blues.” Nothing from his usual way of life pleases him anymore, and he cannot find interest in anything new. Why is that? Onegin is cut off from nature, unfamiliar with his native culture. He is a man without real roots. The environment in which he was brought up is completely false and therefore does not satisfy his spiritual needs.

The reason for Onegin's loneliness is in his upbringing. Since childhood, he was allowed a lot, he was not overburdened with science, but he did not feel the real love of his family. So the hero grew up to be an egoist.

Onegin by Alexandra Pushkin and Chatsky by Alexandra Griboedova are different types of people, but they are united by conflict with society and loneliness, which makes them “superfluous people.”

Works by A.S. Griboyedov and A.S. Pushkin is often compared to each other. They were created around the same time, but it seems that their main characters have nothing in common. But it is not so. Both writers created the literary image of the “superfluous man.” Onegin and Chatsky are distinguished by their intelligence, received a good education, but they have no place in their social environment. Love and personal happiness are inaccessible to these characters.

Characteristic features of Alexander Chatsky

Alexander Chatsky, the hero of the comedy “Woe from Wit,” does not want to serve the highest ranks, but would gladly serve society. He is distinguished by honesty and openness, the hero does not wear masks, is proud and does not want to humiliate himself. He has no desire for power or wealth, like, for example, Skalozub. Chatsky is trying to find truly worthy role models. He is unusually brave and can stand up to society.

He is striving to comprehend the world, to search for a truly noble goal. His love for Sophia is great and pure, he is ready to sacrifice himself for her. He is not afraid to be honest, does not hide his thoughts and ideas, trying to open the eyes of others to the truth that he has comprehended. Flattery and meanness, slavish philosophy are alien to him. He is internally free and is not afraid to look crazy among representatives of the “Famus” society.

He is characterized by youthful maximalism, devotion to higher ideals and values, and a desire to benefit others.

Alexander Andreevich Chatsky is a patriot in the highest and truest sense of the word. But his love for the Motherland is effective, he strives to transform it, to correct its inherent vices. The serfdom system and social injustice in general evoke a powerful internal protest in him. The ideas of the Enlightenment are closer to him; he values ​​reason and justice. This leads to the fact that the young man constantly makes speeches filled with righteous anger. And yet he remains lonely and misunderstood.

It is loneliness, the absence of like-minded people, that unites the heroes of the two works. Their lives seem meaningless, since all impulses are doomed to failure and misunderstanding.

Personal characteristics of Evgeny Onegin

The title character of the novel in verse is also lonely in high society. When he had fun at social events, he broke the hearts of women. But the meaningless pastime began to weigh on him. A series of similar balls and dinners could not make him happy.

The hero was overcome by melancholy and lost interest in life. If Alexander Chatsky’s protest is expressed loudly and openly, then in Onegin it is hidden and cold. Detachment and apathy are the most important personality traits of Pushkin’s character. Even Tatiana's love and the beauty of nature could not return him to an active life. Moreover, he kills Lensky during a duel, essentially without meaning to. Why is his suffering so intense?

The reason lies in himself, the peculiarities of upbringing. He did not take into account the feelings of other people, being guided only by his own needs and desires. The personality of Napoleon became fatal in Onegin's life. At that time, it was believed that large-scale people were allowed everything. A great man is equal to God.

Evgeny Onegin is used to constantly wearing a mask and being a hypocrite. His natural impulses have long been suppressed. He does not trust his feelings, is guided only by reason and is unable to trust others. He treats others rather arrogantly, and ultimately brings them nothing but suffering. At the same time, Evgeny Onegin himself suffers. All his ordeals, the search for himself and his place in the world do not lead to results. All attempts to find remain fruitless.

Love for the changed Tatyana comes as a surprise, giving hope for inner rebirth. This feeling helped him open up, stop hiding himself and his true self. The girl revealed to him the world of eternal moral values, giving him a chance to change. But since the ending of the novel in verse is open, we do not know the subsequent fate of Eugene Onegin. Was he able to use this chance?

So, Alexander Chatsky and Evgeny Onegin are related by confrontation with society, internal loneliness. The heroes of both works could not find a way out and turned out to be the first characters in Russian literature to embody the image of the “superfluous man.”