An essay on the topic "What is the tragedy of Oblomov’s life" based on the novel by I. A. Goncharov

“Oblomov” is the only work in world literature whose hero does not get up off the couch for almost the entire duration of the action. But the uniqueness of the character created by Goncharov is not in his pathological laziness and inaction. Not every modern student is able to read this complex and profound work. And therefore, what is the tragedy of Oblomov, few know. This article is devoted to the characterization and analysis of this literary image.

What is the tragedy of Oblomov’s life?

The work on the work of Goncharov involves preliminary preparation. Before you start writing it, you should understand the features of the time at which the writer created the novel.

He wrote it for almost ten years. And two years after the publication, a key event in the history of Russia occurred - serfdom was abolished. Fear of change and fear of the future was owned by many representatives of the local nobility. An essay on the topic “What is the tragedy of Oblomov’s life” should begin with a description of this historical event and its influence on representatives of certain social strata.

New time

Ideas of an ideal life for the character of Goncharov consist in the ability to lead a measured, calm life on the estate. What is the tragedy of Oblomov? It is by no means that he is now deprived of this opportunity. His trouble is that he is not able to adapt to the realities of the new time. Oblomov not only cannot find his place in the social environment that has developed in Russia. He does not even strive for this.

At all times there were people who act, no matter what. But there are those who, due to dissatisfaction with the environment, prefer to lie on the couch and dream about the days past. Oblomov is dreaming of his own estate.

Dreams and unreal world

It is noteworthy that the events in the work are extremely few. The plot of the novel is the story of a middle-aged plump representative of the landlord estate, who risks being deceived by his supposedly friends. But a man who maintains a real friendship with him saves him in time, depriving, however, his beloved woman. But what is the tragedy of Oblomov’s life and how does the author manage to keep the reader’s attention for four parts? The trouble of the protagonist is that he is constantly in a world that is partly invented by himself. And the grandiose volume of the work conveys the deep meaning of the tragedy of a man who, having appeared at the junction of times, refuses to exist in the real world and finds salvation in his own fantasies and dreams.

Oblomovka

The native estate appears in the consciousness of the hero as a kind of serene idyllic world. There seems to be no time here. Even the clock in the house strikes very strange. Their sound resembles the grunts of dogs ready to pounce on each other.

Nothing changes on the estate. Its inhabitants are afraid of all strangers. Even the reading process here is mechanical. Ilyusha Oblomov’s father is holding a newspaper in front of him, as if performing a ritual. He reads, as a rule, periodicals three years ago.

The hero recalls all this throughout the novel. And, reading the chapters of the work devoted to nostalgia, the reader partially receives an answer to the question of what is the tragedy of Oblomov’s life. It consists primarily in the fact that the hero of the novel absorbed Oblomovka’s lifestyle and believes that such a lifestyle is the only true one.

Pathological lack of initiative, laziness, absolute indifference to everything that happens around - all this is the result of education. Oblomov cherishes the image of the estate in his soul. And sometimes even sees him in a dream.

Childhood

Once, falling asleep, the hero asks himself: “Why am I like this?” And in a dream he sees marvelous pictures from childhood. In these dreams there are answers to the questions of the character, and to the one set by the reader, namely what the tragedy of Oblomov’s life consists of. The description of Ilya Ilyich’s dreams helps to clarify the origin of his social detachment.

Sleep is conditionally divided into three parts. And with this technique, the author tells the reader the background of the hero. The first is about the morals that reigned on the estate. Both Oblomovka and the childhood of the character are known from the chapters that describe colorful dreams.

He grew up, surrounded by boundless care. Everywhere and always he was accompanied by a nanny, which did not allow the boy to especially frolic. A cult of food and sleep reigned on the estate. The main occupation of its inhabitants was "doing nothing."

Fairy tales

What is the tragedy of Oblomov? It has already been said that the laziness and inaction characteristic of this character were the result of education. And the fairy tales told by the nanny were a component in it. Ilyusha was an impressionable child. He absorbed stories about milk rivers, sorceresses and other miracles. And, having already matured, he realized that his reality was mixed with a fairy tale.

The third part of the dream is about the adolescence of the hero. The tragedy of Oblomov’s life originates in primitive laziness, from which all inhabitants of the estate suffer, without noticing it themselves. Here simplicity of customs reigns, silence and inaction. And all this contributes to the development of a kind of disease, which the author calls Oblomovism. The hero’s life has been divided into two halves since childhood. The first is longing and boredom. The second was peaceful fun.

Stolz

Oblomov’s monotonous existence was nevertheless disturbed for some time. In the novel there is a hero, creating a contrast to the main. Such a character is a childhood friend of Stolz. A friend brings Oblomov to the light and introduces Olga Sergeevna Ilyinskaya. New meetings have a favorable effect on him.

Stolz is active, constantly in action, in a word, is the opposite of the protagonist. His influence on Oblomov’s fate is undeniable. However, despite the fundamental changes in life, the hero still dies. He is killed by a stroke caused by a sedentary lifestyle.

Oblomov is a common type of Russian man. He has a rich spiritual world, he is kind, selfless, and he dreams of many things. However, he does not want to do anything to achieve his goals.

What is the tragedy of Oblomov’s life based on the novel by I. A. Goncharov? The author gives the answer to this question at the end of the work. The writer portrayed him as a man spiritually superior to all other characters, including active Stolz. Buddy Oblomov commits action for action. He does not have high goals. Advocating labor, he cannot explain its purpose. Oblomov, on the contrary, has a kind and noble soul, but he lacks decisiveness and ability to act. This destroys him.