Positive and negative traits of Oblomov’s heroes. Oblomov's main character traits

Oblomov's main character traits

The novel "Oblomov" is a classic work of critical realism. Its merits received a deep interpretation in Dobrolyubov’s article “What is Oblomovism?” According to the critic, the significance of the novel lies in the fact that Goncharov managed to coin the “modern Russian type” with merciless severity, to express “a new word for our social development.” This word is “Oblomovism”. It “serves as a key to unraveling many phenomena of Russian life” and “gives Goncharov’s novel much more social significance than all our accusatory stories.”

in Onegin, Pechorin, Rudin and in other “variants” of the “superfluous man”. Despite all the unexpectedness, this analogy is essentially correct, because the listed heroes are united by “a fruitless desire for activity, the consciousness that a lot could come of them, but nothing will come of it...”. Oblomov is inferior to his brothers in intelligence and temperament. But it is precisely in it that the idea of ​​the historical exhaustion of “superfluous people” as figures of the noble period is clearly expressed. In the person of Oblomov, the critic concludes, they have been reduced “from a beautiful pedestal to a soft sofa...”

The critic also draws attention to the originality of the novel’s artistic method, its structure, through which the essence of Oblomovism is revealed. He notes the completeness and thoroughness in the depiction of the characters and the surrounding environment. Thus, with amazing detail, Goncharov describes not only Oblomov’s habits, but also the rooms in which the hero lived, the sofa on which he spent time, even the gray frock coat and “stubbly” sideburns of his servant Zakhar. The life and customs of the inhabitants of Oblomovka, which shaped the psychology of the hero, are outlined in no less detail. “This ability to capture the full image of an object,” the critic wrote, “to mint it, to sculpt it, is the strongest side of Goncharov’s talent.” Of particular importance are the details that concentrated the typical essence of the hero (for example, Oblomov’s robe, his slippers, which he stepped into without even looking at the floor).

“volatile phenomena” of life, Goncharov gave the plot not a stormy, but a slow, smooth development. This made it possible to look deeper into the hidden folds of the human soul and reveal the relationship between the hero and the environment. The language of the novel captivates with its natural expressiveness and simplicity.

Showing Oblomovism as a social evil, Goncharov created a novel of enormous educational power. Writers and leaders of the revolutionary movement have more than once turned to Oblomov as a work directed against social and moral stagnation. ““Oblomov” is the most important thing, which has not happened for a long, long time,” wrote L. Tolstoy.

One of the largest Russian writers of the 19th century, Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov, is the author of widely known novels: “An Ordinary Story”, “Oblomov” and “The Precipice”.

Particularly popular Goncharov's novel "Oblomov". Although it was published more than a hundred years ago (in 1859), it is still read with great interest today as a vivid artistic depiction of musty landowner life. It captures a typical literary image of enormous impressive power - the image of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov.

The remarkable Russian critic N.A. Dobrolyubov, in his article “What is Oblomovism?”, elucidating the historical significance of Goncharov’s novel, established the features that mark this painful phenomenon in public life and in a person’s personality.

Oblomov's character

Basic Oblomov's character traits- weakness of will, passive, indifferent attitude towards the surrounding reality, a tendency towards a purely contemplative life, carelessness and laziness. The common name “Oblomov” came into use to designate an extremely inactive, phlegmatic and passive person.

Oblomov's favorite pastime is lying in bed. “Ilya Ilyich’s lying down was neither a necessity, like that of a sick person or like a person who wants to sleep, nor an accident, like that of someone who is tired, nor a pleasure, like that of a lazy person - it was his normal state. When he was at home - and he was almost always at home - he kept lying down, and everything was always in the same room.” Oblomov's office was dominated by neglect and negligence. If it weren’t for the plate with a salt shaker and a gnawed bone lying on the table, uncleaned from the evening dinner, and the pipe leaning against the bed, or the owner himself lying in bed, “one would think that no one lives here - everything was so dusty, faded and generally devoid of living traces of human presence.”

Oblomov is too lazy to get up, too lazy to get dressed, too lazy to even concentrate his thoughts on anything.

Living a sluggish, contemplative life, Ilya Ilyich is not averse to dreaming sometimes, but his dreams are fruitless and irresponsible. So he, the motionless hulk, dreams of becoming a famous commander, like Napoleon, or a great artist, or a writer, before whom everyone bows. These dreams did not lead to anything - they are just one of the manifestations of an idle pastime.

A state of apathy is also typical of Oblomov’s character. He is afraid of life, tries to isolate himself from life's impressions. He says with effort and prayer: “Life touches.” At the same time, Oblomov is deeply characterized by lordship. Once his servant Zakhar hinted that “others lead a different life.” Oblomov responded to this reproach this way:

“Another one works tirelessly, runs around, fusses... If he doesn’t work, he won’t eat... And I?.. Am I rushing about, am I working?.. Do I eat little, or what?.. Am I missing something? It seems like there’s someone to give it to: I’ve never once pulled a stocking on my feet as I’ve been living, thank God! Will I worry? What do I need from?

Why did Oblomov become an “Oblomov”? Childhood in Oblomovka

Oblomov was not born such a worthless slacker as he is presented in the novel. All his negative character traits are a product of depressing living conditions and upbringing in childhood.

In the chapter “Oblomov’s Dream” Goncharov shows why Oblomov became “Oblomov”. But how active, inquisitive and inquisitive little Ilyusha Oblomov was and how these traits were extinguished in the ugly environment of Oblomovka:

“The child looks and observes with a sharp and perceptive gaze how and what adults do, what they devote their morning to. Not a single detail, not a single feature escapes the child’s inquisitive attention; the picture of home life is indelibly etched into the soul, the soft mind is nourished with living examples and unconsciously draws the program of his life based on the life around him.”

But how monotonous and boring are the pictures of domestic life in Oblomovka! All life consisted in the fact that people ate many times a day, slept until they were stupefied, and in their free time from eating and sleeping, they loitered around.

Ilyusha is a lively, active child, he wants to run around and observe, but his natural childish inquisitiveness is blocked.

“Let’s go for a walk, Mom,” says Ilyusha.
- What are you, God bless you! Now go for a walk,” she replies, “it’s damp, you’ll catch cold in your legs; and it’s scary: now a goblin is walking in the forest, he’s carrying away little children...”

They protected Ilyusha from labor in every possible way, created a lordly state in the child, and taught him to be inactive. “If Ilya Ilyich wants something, he only has to blink - three or four servants rush to fulfill his desire; whether he drops something, whether he needs to get something, but he can’t get it, whether to bring something, whether to run away; sometimes, like a playful boy, he just wants to rush in and redo everything himself, and then suddenly his father and mother and three aunts shout in five voices:

"For what? Where? What about Vaska, and Vanka, and Zakharka? Hey! Vaska! Vanka! Zakharka! What are you looking at, dumbass? Here I am!..”

And Ilya Ilyich will never be able to do anything for himself.”

Parents looked at Ilyusha's education only as a necessary evil. It was not respect for knowledge, not the need for it that they awakened in the child’s heart, but rather disgust, and they tried in every possible way to “make this difficult matter easier” for the boy; under various pretexts they did not send Ilyusha to the teacher: sometimes under the pretext of ill health, sometimes because of someone’s upcoming name day, and even in those cases when they were going to bake pancakes.

His years of study at the university passed without a trace for Oblomov’s mental and moral development; nothing worked out for this man who was not accustomed to work; Neither his smart and energetic friend Stolz, nor his beloved girl Olga, who set the goal of returning Oblomov to an active life, had a deep impact on him.

Parting with his friend, Stolz said: “Farewell, old Oblomovka, you have outlived your time”. These words refer to tsarist pre-reform Russia, but even in the conditions of the new life, many sources that fed Oblomovism were still preserved.

Oblomov today, in the modern world

No today, in the modern world Oblomovki, no Oblomov in the pronounced and extreme form in which it is shown by Goncharov. But with all this, in our country from time to time we encounter manifestations of Oblomovism as a relic of the past. Their roots must be sought first of all in the incorrect conditions of family upbringing of some children, whose parents, usually without realizing it, contribute to the emergence of Oblomov-like sentiments and Oblomov-like behavior in their children.

And in the modern world there are families where love for children is manifested in providing them with such conveniences in which children, as far as possible, are freed from labor. Some children display traits of Oblomov’s weak character only in relation to certain types of activity: mental or, on the contrary, physical labor. Meanwhile, without a combination of mental and physical labor, development proceeds one-sidedly. This one-sidedness can lead to general lethargy and apathy.

Oblomovism is a sharp expression of weak character. To prevent it, it is necessary to cultivate in children those strong-willed character traits that exclude passivity and apathy. These traits primarily include determination. A person with a strong character has traits of strong-willed activity: determination, courage, initiative. Particularly important for a strong character is perseverance, which manifests itself in overcoming obstacles and in the fight against difficulties. Strong characters are formed through struggle. Oblomov was freed from all effort, life in his eyes was divided into two halves: “one consisted of work and boredom - these were synonyms for him; the other from peace and peaceful fun.” Not accustomed to labor effort, children, like Oblomov, tend to identify work with boredom and seek peace and peaceful fun.

It is useful to re-read the wonderful novel “Oblomov”, so that, imbued with a feeling of disgust for Oblomovism and its roots, carefully monitor whether there are any remnants of it in the modern world - albeit not in a sharp, but sometimes disguised form, and take all measures to overcome these remnants.

Based on materials from the magazine “Family and School”, 1963

Already in “Ordinary History,” the first major work of I.A. Goncharov, he became interested in the type that later immortalized his name. Already there we see indications of the enormous social danger posed by the very special living conditions of intelligent Russian society in the early and mid-19th centuries that developed under the influence of serfdom.

This danger lies in “Oblomovism,” and dreamy romanticism, familiar to us from its bearer Aduev, is only one of the elements of this latter. Goncharov gave an exhaustive image of Oblomovism in the image of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, to whose characteristics we will now turn.

Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is one of the people who cannot but be considered attractive.

From the first pages of the novel, he appears before us as an intelligent person and at the same time with a kind heart. His intelligence is reflected in the insight with which he understands people. For example, he perfectly guessed the numerous visitors who visited him on the morning of the day on which the novel begins. How correctly he assesses both the frivolous pastime of the secular veil Volkov, flitting from one salon to another, and the troublesome life of the careerist official Sudbinsky, who only thinks about how to secure the favor of his superiors, without which it is unthinkable to either receive a salary increase or achieve a profitable business trips, much less advance in career. And this is exactly what Sudbinsky sees as the only goal of his official activities.

He also correctly evaluates Oblomov and the people close to him. He admires Stolz and idolizes Olga Ilyinskaya. But, fully understanding their merits, he does not close his eyes to their shortcomings.

But Oblomov’s mind is purely natural: neither in childhood nor subsequently, no one did anything for his development and education. On the contrary, the lack of systematically received education in childhood, the lack of living spiritual food in adulthood, plunges him into an increasingly dormant state.

At the same time, Oblomov reveals complete ignorance of practical life. As a result, he is more than frightened by what could bring any change to his once established way of life. The manager’s demand to clean the apartment plunges him into horror; he cannot think calmly about the upcoming troubles. This circumstance for Oblomov is much more difficult than receiving a letter from the headman, in which he informs him that his income will be “about two thousand in exchange.” And this is only because the headman’s letter does not require immediate action.

Oblomov is characterized by rare kindness and humanism. These qualities are fully manifested in Oblomov’s conversation with the writer Penkin, who sees the main advantage of literature in “seething anger - the bilious persecution of vice”, in the laughter of contempt for fallen man. Ilya Ilyich objects to him and speaks about humanity, about the need to create not only with his head, but with all his heart.

These properties of Oblomov, combined with his amazing spiritual purity, making him incapable of any pretense, any cunning, combined with his condescension towards others, for example, Tarantyev, and, at the same time, with a conscious attitude towards his own shortcomings , inspire love for him in almost everyone with whom his fate encounters. Simple people, like Zakhar and Agafya Matveevna, become attached to him with all their being. And people in his circle, such as Olga Ilyinskaya and Stolz, cannot talk about him except with a feeling of deep sympathy, and sometimes even emotional tenderness.

And, despite his high moral qualities, this man turned out to be completely useless for the cause. Already from the first chapter we learn that lying down was the “normal state” of Ilya Ilyich, who, dressed in his Persian robe, putting on soft and wide shoes, spends whole days in lazy idleness. From the most cursory description of Oblomov’s pastime, it is clear that one of the main features of his psychological make-up is weakness of will and laziness, apathy and panicky fear of life.

What made Oblomov a man who, with unconscious but amazing tenacity, avoided everything that could require labor, and, with no less tenacity, gravitated towards what he saw as carefree lying on his side?

The answer to this question is the description of Oblomov’s childhood and the environment from which he came—a chapter called “Oblomov’s Dream.”

First of all, there are some reasons to consider Oblomov as one of the typical representatives of the 40s of the 19th century. He is brought closer to this era by idealism, with a complete inability to move on to practical activity, a pronounced tendency to reflection and introspection, and a passionate desire for personal happiness.

However, Oblomov also has features that distinguish him from the best, for example, Turgenev’s heroes. This includes the inertia of thought and apathy of Ilya Ilyich’s mind, which prevented him from becoming a fully educated person and developing for himself a coherent philosophical worldview.

Another understanding of Oblomov’s type is that he is predominantly a representative of the Russian pre-reform nobility. Both for himself and for those around him, Oblomov is, first of all, a “master.” Considering Oblomov from this angle alone, one must not lose sight of the fact that his lordship is inextricably linked with “Oblomovism.” Moreover, lordship is the immediate cause of the latter. In Oblomov and in his psychology, in his fate, the process of spontaneous extinction of feudal Rus', the process of its “natural death” is presented.

Finally, it is possible to consider Oblomov as a national type, to which Goncharov himself was inclined.

But, speaking about the presence of Oblomov’s negative traits in the character of a Russian person, it should be remembered that such traits are not the only ones inherent in Russians. An example of this is the heroes of other literary works - Lisa Kalitina from “The Noble Nest”, who has a selfless character, Elena from “On the Eve”, striving to do active good, Solomin from “Novi” - these people, also being Russian, are absolutely not similar to Oblomov.

Oblomov's characterization plan

Introduction.

Main part. Characteristics of Oblomov
1) Mind
a) Relationship with friends
b) Assessment of loved ones
c) Lack of education
d) Ignorance of practical life
e) Lack of perspective

2) Heart
a) Kindness
b) Humanity
c) Mental purity
d) Sincerity
d) “Honest, true heart”

3) Will
a) Apathy
b) Lack of will

Moral death of Oblomov. “Oblomov’s Dream,” as her explanation.

Conclusion. Oblomov as a social and national type.
a) Oblomov, as a representative of the 40s of the 19th century
- Similarities.
— Features of difference.
b) Oblomov, as a representative of the pre-reform nobility.
c) Oblomov as a national type.

Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, the main character of the novel by I. A. Goncharov, is a collective image of Russian landowners. It presents all the vices of noble society during the times of serfdom: not just laziness and idleness, but taking it for granted.
Ilya Ilyich spends whole days in inactivity: he does not even have a government job, does not go to the theater, does not go to visit. It would seem that a person living such a useless life cannot be called anything other than a negative hero. But even at the beginning of the novel, Goncharov makes it clear to us that this is not so:

Oblomov mentions Andrei Stolts, his childhood friend, who more than once helped out Ilya Ilyich and settled his affairs. If Oblomov had represented nothing of himself as a person, then with such a lifestyle he would hardly have maintained such a close friendship with Stolz.
What made the German take care of Oblomov and try to “save” him from “Oblomovism” even after so many years of futile attempts? The first part of the novel, the scene of Oblomov’s meeting with his “friends,” will help you figure this out. They all continue to visit Ilya Ilyich, but each for their own needs. They come, talk about their lives, and leave without listening to the owner of the hospitable house; So Volkov leaves, and Sudbinsky leaves. The writer Penkin leaves, trying to advertise his article, which undoubtedly caused success among society, but did not interest Oblomov at all. Alekseev leaves; he seems to be a grateful listener, but a listener without an opinion; a listener who cares not about Oblomov himself, not about the personality of the speaker, but about his presence. Tarantiev also leaves - he generally came to benefit from the kindness of Ilya Ilyich.
But at the same time, one can notice one feature of Oblomov - he not only receives guests, but also notices their shortcomings. Life in inaction made Oblomov reasonable and calm; he looks at everything from the outside and notices all the vices of his generation, which young people usually take for granted. Oblomov does not see the point in haste, he does not care about ranks and money; he knows how to reason and realistically assess the situation. Ilya Ilyich did not have a passion for reading, so he did not know how to talk beautifully and intelligently about politics or literature, but at the same time he subtly noticed the current state of affairs in society. Lying on the sofa became not only Oblomov’s vice, but also his salvation from the “rottenness” of society - having renounced the bustle of the world around him, Ilya Ilyich reached true values ​​in his thoughts.
But, alas, no matter how Oblomov talked about how to live, no matter how much he reproached himself for lying on the couch, he still could not motivate himself to take any action, and Oblomov’s ideas remained inside him. Therefore, Ilya Ilyich cannot be called a positive hero, just as he cannot be called a negative one.
Stolz, in contrast to Oblomov, is a man of action. He thinks narrowly and cynically, not allowing himself free thoughts and dreams. Stolz clearly thinks through the plan, evaluates his capabilities, and only then makes a decision and follows it. But he cannot be called a positive or negative hero. Both Stolz and Oblomov are two different types of people, a driving and thinking force who can support humanity only together. I believe that the essence of the novel “Oblomov” is not to eradicate “Oblomovism,” but to direct its strengths into the hands of the acting ones. During serfdom, “Oblomovism” was strong: the inaction and laziness of landowners who left work to the peasants and knew only fun in life. But now, I think, the big problem is the “Stolts”, people who are active, but are not able to think as deeply as Oblomov.
In society, both “Oblomovs” are important, capable of making the right decisions, and “Stolts”, who implement these decisions. And only with the equal presence of both is possible the improvement of society.

Essays on topics:

1. The name of the hero of the novel by Ivan Goncharov, Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, has become a household name. It has come to mean in Russian culture a person who is idle...
2. Revealing a character's character can occur in various ways. Often the author depicts his hero in certain circumstances and conditions, makes him go through...

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Characteristics of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov very ambiguous. Goncharov created it complex and mysterious. Oblomov separates himself from the outside world, fences himself off from it. Even his home bears little resemblance to habitation.

From early childhood, he saw a similar example from his relatives, who also fenced themselves off from the outside world and protected it. It was not customary to work in his home. When he, as a child, played snowballs with peasant children, they then warmed him up for several days. In Oblomovka they were wary of everything new - even a letter that came from a neighbor, in which he asked for a beer recipe, was afraid to open for three days.

But Ilya Ilyich remembers his childhood with joy. He idolizes the nature of Oblomovka, although this is an ordinary village, not particularly remarkable. He was brought up by rural nature. This nature instilled in him poetry and a love of beauty.

Ilya Ilyich does nothing, just complains about something all the time and engages in verbiage. He is lazy, does nothing himself and does not expect anything from others. He accepts life as it is and does not try to change anything in it.

When people come to him and tell him about their lives, he feels that in the bustle of life they forget that they are wasting their lives in vain... And he does not need to fuss, act, does not need to prove anything to anyone. Ilya Ilyich simply lives and enjoys life.

It's hard to imagine him in motion, he looks funny. At rest, lying on the sofa, it is natural. He looks at ease - this is his element, his nature.

Let's summarize what we read:

1. Appearance of Ilya Oblomov. Ilya Ilyich is a young man, 33 years old, of good appearance, of average height, plump. The softness of his facial expression showed him to be a weak-willed and lazy person.
2. Family status. At the beginning of the novel, Oblomov is not married, he lives with his servant Zakhar. At the end of the novel he gets married and is happily married.
3. Description of the home. Ilya lives in St. Petersburg in an apartment on Gorokhovaya Street. The apartment is neglected; the servant Zakhar, who is as lazy as the owner, rarely sneaks into it. A special place in the apartment is occupied by a sofa, on which Oblomov lies around the clock.
4. Behavior and actions of the hero. Ilya Ilyich can hardly be called an active person. Only his friend Stolz manages to bring Oblomov out of his slumber. The main character is lying on the sofa and only dreams that he will soon get up from it and take care of business. He cannot even solve pressing problems. His estate has fallen into disrepair and is not bringing in any money, so Oblomov doesn’t even have money to pay the rent.
5. The author's attitude towards the hero. Goncharov has sympathy for Oblomov; he considers him a kind, sincere person. At the same time, he sympathizes with him: it is a pity that a young, capable, not stupid man has lost all interest in life.
6. My attitude towards Ilya Oblomov. In my opinion, he is too lazy and weak-willed, and therefore cannot command respect. At times he just infuriates me, I want to go up and shake him. I don't like people who live their lives so mediocrely. Perhaps I react so strongly to this hero because I feel the same shortcomings in myself.