Two years after the introduction of new reforms, Nikolai Nekrasov began work on a work that became the pinnacle of his work. For many years he worked on the text, and as a result a poem was created in which the author was not only able to depict people's grief, but together with his heroes sought to answer the following questions: “What is the happiness of the people?”, “How to achieve it?”, “Can an individual be happy in the midst of universal grief?” The analysis “Who lives in Russia well” is necessary in order to find out which images and artistic techniques helped Nekrasov answer these difficult questions.
The idea
Starting the work, the author hardly himself knew the answer to these disturbing questions. These were difficult times in the history of the Russian people. The abolition of serfdom did not facilitate the life of the peasantry. The original plan of Nekrasov was that the wanderer men, after a vain search, returned home. In the process, the storyline changed somewhat. The events in the poem were influenced by important social processes. Like the characters of his work, Nekrasov seeks to answer the question: "Is it good to live in Russia?" And if at the first stage of work on the poem the author does not find a reason for a positive answer, then later in the society there are representatives of young people who really find their happiness in going “to the people”.
A vivid example was a certain teacher who reported in a letter to Nekrasov that she was experiencing real flashes of happiness in her work among the people. The poet planned to use the image of this girl in the development of the storyline. But did not have time. He died without completing work on his work. Nekrasov wrote the poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” until the last days of his life, but it remained unfinished.
Art style
The analysis “To whom it is good to live in Russia” reveals the main artistic feature of the work. Since the book of Nekrasov is about the people, and above all for him, in it he used folk speech in all its diversity. This poem is an epic, one of the goals of which was to depict life as it is. An essential role in the narrative is played by fabulous motives.
Folklore Foundation
Nekrasov borrowed a lot from folk art. The analysis “Who lives in Russia well” allowed critics to identify epics, legends and proverbs that the author actively used in the text. Already in the prologue there are bright folklore motifs. Here appears a wand, and a self-assembled tablecloth, and many animalistic images of a Russian folk tale. And the peasant wanderers themselves resemble heroes of epics and fairy tales. The prologue also contains numbers that have a sacred meaning: seven and three.
Plot
Guys argued about who live well in Russia. Nekrasov, using this technique, reveals the main theme of the poem. Heroes offer several options for the “lucky ones”. Among them are five representatives of various layers of social society and the king himself. In order to answer such an alarming question, wanderers embark on a long journey. But only the priest and the landowner manage to ask about happiness. In the course of the poem, general questions change to more specific ones. Men are more interested in the happiness of the working people. Yes, and the plot of the story would be difficult to implement if ordinary men dared to visit the king himself with his philosophical problems.
Peasant images
In the poem there are many peasant images. The author pays close attention to some, while he speaks of others only in passing. The most typical is the portrait of Yakim Nagoy. The appearance of this character symbolizes the hard labor, which is characteristic of peasant life in Russia. But despite the overwork, Yakim did not harden his soul. The analysis “To live well in Russia” gives a clear idea of how the representatives of the working people saw or wanted to see Nekrasov. Yakim, despite the inhuman conditions in which he was forced to exist, was not hardened. He collects his whole life for his son pictures, admiring and hanging them on the walls. And during a fire, he throws himself into the fire in order to save first of all his favorite images. But the image of Yakim differs from more reliable characters. The meaning of his life does not come down to work and drink. Of great importance for him is the contemplation of the beautiful.
Art techniques
In the poem, Nekrasov from the first pages uses symbolism. The names of the villages speak for themselves. Zlatova, Razutovo, Dyryavino are symbols of the lifestyle of their inhabitants. During their wanderings, truth-seekers meet with different people, but the question of how to live well in Russia remains open. The disasters of ordinary Russian people are revealed to the reader. In order to give vividness and credibility to the story, the author introduces direct speech. Pop, landowner, mason Trofim, Matrena Timofeevna - all these characters talk about their lives, and their stories add up to a general bleak picture of Russian folk life.
Since the life of the peasant is inextricably linked with nature, its description is harmoniously woven into a poem. A typical everyday picture is created from many details.
The image of the landowners
The landowner is undoubtedly the main enemy of the peasant. The first representative of this social stratum, met by strangers, gives a quite detailed answer to their question. Narrating the rich landowner life in the past, he claims that he himself always treated the peasants kindly. And everyone was happy, and no one experienced grief. Now everything has changed. Fields in desolation, the man completely lost touch. The whole blame is the reform of 1861. But the following living example of the “noble estate”, appearing on the path of men, has the image of an oppressor, tormentor and money-grubber. He leads a free life, he does not have to work. All for it are performed by peasants who are dependent. Even the abolition of serfdom did not affect his idle life.
Grisha Dobrosklonov
The question posed by Nekrasov remains open. The peasant lived hard, and he dreamed of a change for the better. None of those who meet on the path of wanderers is a happy person. Serfdom was abolished, but the peasant question was still not resolved completely. Reforms became a strong blow both for the landlord estate and for the working people. However, without suspecting it, the peasants found what they were looking for in the image of Grisha Dobrosklonov.
Why only a villain and a money-grubber can live well in Russia, it becomes clear when this character appears in the poem. His fate is not easy, as well as the fate of other representatives of the working class. But, unlike other characters in the work of Nekrasov, Grisha is not peculiar to humility in the circumstances.
The image of Grigory Dobrosklonov represents the revolutionary moods that began to appear in society in the second half of the 19th century. In the finale of the poem, albeit incomplete, Nekrasov does not give an answer to the question, in search of which wanderers-seekers wandered for so long, but makes it clear that people's happiness is still possible. And not the last role in it will play the ideas of Grisha Dobrosklonov.