N. Nekrasov created many wonderful peasant images in the poem "Who Should Live Well in Russia". Of these, a hundred-year-old man stands out, who has experienced many hardships in his lifetime. But, despite his age, he still retained the strength and fortitude of the spirit. “Athlete of the Holy Year of Russia” - such a definition is received in the work by Grandfather Saveliy.
“To whom it is good to live in Russia”: a summary of chapters 3.4 of part 3
The wanderers, who decided to find the answer to the question posed in the title of the poem, learned about this hero from a young woman, Matrena Timofeevna. “He was also lucky,” she notes during a story about her life.
Matrona met her grandfather Saveliy when he was already about a hundred years old. He lived separately from his son's family, in his upper room, and he was the only one affectionately and caring for his young grandson's wife. The hero always loved the forest, where, even in the age of old age, he loved to pick mushrooms and berries, put snares on birds. This is the first characteristic of Savely.
“Who lives in Russia well” is a poem about the life of peasants before and after the milestone of 1861. The story of the old man’s life, which he told his daughter-in-law, introduces the times when the men were considered more durable and decisive, and the bondage was not felt so strongly: “Once every three years we will give the landowner something and enough,” the hero said. And although many difficulties fell on his lot: serfdom, and long penal servitude, and settlement - however, the main test awaited Savely ahead. In old age, he overlooked the great-grandson, who was bitten by pigs. After that, he left home, and soon settled in a monastery, where until the last days in this world he prayed for sins: his own and others.
What is the attractiveness of the image of Savely in the work “To whom it is good to live in Russia”?
The appearance of the hero
According to Matryona, the old man looked tall and strong in a hundred years, so he looked more like a huge bear. With a large, long unshorn gray mane. Bent, but still astonishing with his greatness - in his youth, according to his stories, he alone opposed the she-bear and lifted her on the horn. Now, of course, the power was not the same: the hero often asked the question: “Where did the former silushka go?” Nevertheless, Matrona seemed, as long as his grandfather straightened upright, would certainly punch his head in a hole in the socket. This description complements the characteristics of Savelia.
“To whom it is good to live in Russia” tells of the young years of the hero, including the story of how he ended up in hard labor.
Freestyle
In the days of grandfather youth, his native Korean places were deaf and impassable. Forests and swamps, spreading around, were familiar to local peasants, but they instilled fear in strangers, including the gentleman. Nekrasov doesn’t just introduce him into the poem - from this, in fact, begins the characterization of Savely - “To whom it is good to live in Russia”, a combination of “Korean” land. It in itself already symbolizes incredible physical strength and endurance.
So, the landowner Shalashnikov did not look at the peasants at all, and the police came once a year to collect tribute. Serfs equated themselves with the free: they paid little and lived in abundance, like merchants. At first they still gave me quitrent with honey, fish, and animal skins. Over time, as the hour of payment approached, they dressed up as beggars. And although Shalashnikov flogged them so that the “skin” was tempered for a century, the peasants who stood behind the estate, were adamant. “No matter how you take it, you won’t shake out your whole soul,” Savelius thought so. “To whom it is good to live in Russia” shows that the character of the hero was tempered and strengthened in conditions when he and his comrades felt their freedom. And therefore, even before the end of life, it was impossible to change either this belief, or a proud disposition. In a hundred years, Savely also advocated the right to be independent, including from relatives.
In his story, grandfather drew attention to one more point - the Russian man did not always suffer bullying. He remembered the time when people wanted and could stand up for themselves.
Protest against arbitrariness
After the death of Shalashnikov, the peasants hoped that now completely freedom would come. But the heirs sent a German steward. He first pretended to be quiet and calm, did not require a quitrent. And by cunning, he forced the peasants to dry the swamp and cut through the clearing. When they came to their senses, it was too late: by stupidity they themselves paved the way to themselves. It was here that their merchant life ended - Savely notes in his story.
“Who lives in Russia well” is a work in which the best Russian characters are represented. In the case of a German, the author shows the unity of the people that he always dreamed of. It turned out that it was not easy to break men accustomed to free life. For eighteen years they somehow demolished the power of the steward, but their patience also came to a limit. Once Christian Khristianich forced them to dig a hole, and by the end of the day he was indignant that nothing had been done. In the tired people — they worked tirelessly — the anger that had accumulated over the years boiled over, and suddenly a decision came. Savely lightly, with his shoulder, pushed the German to the pit. Nine of his comrades standing nearby immediately understood everything - and after a few minutes the hated Vogel was buried alive in that very pit. Of course, such an act was punished, but everyone remained satisfied in the soul that they did not submit. It is no coincidence that the old man replied to the word "convict" addressed to him by his son: "Stigmatized, but not a slave." And this is one of the main qualities of the hero, which he was always proud of.
Penal servitude
Twenty years of hard labor and as many settlements - such was the sentence to the rebels. But he could not change the attitude to life among the people to whom Savely belonged. The image of the hero from the work “To whom it is good to live in Russia” in the new tests was tempered even more. The flogging in the prison, and then in Siberia after the failed shoots in comparison with the punishments of Shalashnikov seemed to him just worthless rubbish. Hard work was no new thing either. Savely even managed to save up money for which, having returned to his native places, he built a house. The desire for independence and freedom remained the same. This is probably why the old man singled out only the wife of his grandson, Matrena, from the whole family. She was the same as he: rebellious, purposeful, ready to fight for her own happiness.
Relationship with household
This is another important component of the story about the hero - as a result, it is precisely from the small details that Savelius’s characteristic is formed in a small chapter.
“To whom it is good to live in Russia” is a poem about the “lucky ones”. But can one be attributed to them a man who felt lonely in his family? Matrena noted that grandfather did not like to communicate with relatives and therefore settled in the chamber. The reasons were simple: pure in heart and kind by nature, Savely could not accept the anger and envy that reigned in the family. The old man's son did not possess any of the qualities inherent in his father. There was no kindness, no sincerity, no desire for work. But there was indifference to everything, a tendency to idleness and to drink. His wife and daughter, remaining in old girls, were not much different from him. To somehow teach a lesson to relatives, Saveliy sometimes started joking. For example, tossed a tin “coin” made of a button to his son. As a result, the latter returned from the tavern beaten. And the hero only chuckled.
Later, the loneliness of Savely will be brightened by Matrena and Demushka. Already after the death of the child, the old man admits that next to his grandson, his hardened heart and soul thawed, and he again felt full of strength and hope.
The story of Demushka
The death of the boy became a real tragedy for the old man, although the origins of what happened should be sought in the very way of Russian life of that time. The mother-in-law forbade Matryona to take her son with him to the field, supposedly interfering with work, and the century-old Savely began to look after the child.
“Who lives in Russia well” - the characterization of its heroes does not always turn out to be funny - this is a poem about hard trials, which not everyone can handle. So in this case, the hero who has seen a lot in his lifetime, suddenly really felt like a criminal. He could not forgive himself for falling asleep and not looking after the children. A week did not leave Saveliy his closet, and then went into the forest, where he always felt freer and more confident. In the fall, he settled in a monastery to repent and pray. He asked God that the heart of the suffering mother be pitied and that she would forgive him, the unreasonable. And the soul of the old man was rooting for the whole Russian peasantry, suffering, with a difficult fate - he will tell about this at a meeting that happened a few years after the tragedy, Matryona.
Thoughts about the people
The characterization of Savely from the poem “To Whom It Is Good to Live in Russia” will be incomplete, if not to mention the hero’s attitude towards the Russian peasantry. He calls the people suffering and courageous, capable of enduring any test in this life. Hands and feet are always bound, on the back like dense forests have passed, and in the chest - "Ilya the prophet ... thunders ... on a chariot of fire." This is how a hero describes a man. Then he adds: a true hero. And he concludes his speech by saying that even after death, human suffering does not end - in this, unfortunately, one can hear the motives of humility of the old novice. For in the other world the unfortunate “hellish torments” await the unfortunate, ”says Savely.
“To whom it is good to live in Russia”: characteristic of the “hero of Svyatogorsky” (conclusions)
Summing up, it can be noted that the appearance of the hero embodies the best qualities of a Russian person. The very story of it resembles a folk tale or epic. Strong, proud, independent, he rises above the other heroes of the poem and, in fact, becomes the first rebel to defend the interests of the people. However, the comparison of the hero with Svyatogor is not accidental. It was this hero who was considered in Russia at the same time the most powerful and the most inactive. In his thoughts on the future fate of the people, Saveliy comes to a little happy conclusion: "God knows." Consequently, this image from the poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” is very contradictory and does not give an answer to the question of wanderers. And therefore, the story of the search for the happy does not end until the young and active Grisha meets the peasants.