Positive and negative character traits from Oblomov quotes. Roman "Oblomov"
Oblomov's character
Roman I.A. Goncharov's "Oblomov" was published in 1859. It took almost 10 years to create it. This is one of the most outstanding novels of classical literature of our time. This is how famous literary critics of that era spoke about the novel. Goncharov was able to convey realistically objective and reliable facts about the reality of the layers of the social environment of the historical period. It must be assumed that his most successful achievement was the creation of the image of Oblomov.
He was a young man of about 32-33 years old, of average height, with a pleasant face and an intelligent look, but without any definite depth of meaning. As the author noted, the thought walked across the face like a free bird, fluttered in the eyes, dropped onto half-open lips, hid in the folds of the forehead, then completely disappeared and a carefree young man appeared in front of us. Sometimes one could read boredom or fatigue on his face, but still there was a gentleness of character and the warmth of his soul. Throughout Oblomov’s life, he has been accompanied by three attributes of bourgeois well-being - a sofa, a robe and shoes. At home, Oblomov wore an oriental, soft, roomy robe. He spent all his free time lying down. Laziness was an integral trait of his character. Cleaning in the house was carried out superficially, creating the appearance of cobwebs hanging in the corners, although at first glance one might think that the room was well cleaned. There were two more rooms in the house, but he did not go there at all. If there was an uncleaned plate from dinner with crumbs everywhere, a half-smoked pipe, you would think that the apartment was empty, no one lived in it. He was always surprised by his energetic friends. How can you waste your life like this, scattered on dozens of things at once? His financial condition wanted to be better. Lying on the sofa, Ilya Ilyich was always thinking about how to correct him.
The image of Oblomov is a complex, contradictory, even tragic hero. His character predetermines an ordinary, uninteresting fate, devoid of the energy of life and its bright events. Goncharov draws his main attention to the established system of that era, which influenced his hero. This influence was expressed in Oblomov’s empty and meaningless existence. Helpless attempts at revival under the influence of Olga, Stolz, marriage to Pshenitsyna, and death itself are defined in the novel as Oblomovism.
The very character of the hero, according to the writer’s plan, is much larger and deeper. Oblomov's dream is the key to unlocking the entire novel. The hero moves to another era, to other people. Lots of light, joyful childhood, gardens, sunny rivers, but first you have to overcome obstacles, an endless sea with raging waves and groans. Behind him are rocks with abysses, a crimson sky with a red glow. After an exciting landscape, we find ourselves in a small corner where people live happily, where they want to be born and die, it cannot be otherwise, so they believe. Goncharov describes these residents: “Everything in the village is quiet and sleepy: the silent huts are wide open; not a soul in sight; Only flies fly in clouds and buzz in the stuffy atmosphere.” There we meet young Oblomov. As a child, Oblomov could not dress himself; servants always helped him. As an adult, he also resorts to their help. Ilyusha grows up in an atmosphere of love, peace and excessive care. Oblomovka is a corner where calm and undisturbed silence reigns. It's a dream within a dream. Everything around seems to have frozen, and nothing can wake up these people who live uselessly in a distant village without any connection with the rest of the world. Ilyusha grew up on fairy tales and legends that his nanny told him. Developing daydreaming, the fairy tale tied Ilyusha more to the house, causing inaction.
Oblomov’s dream describes the hero’s childhood and upbringing. All this helps to recognize Oblomov’s character. The life of the Oblomovs is passivity and apathy. Childhood is his ideal. There in Oblomovka, Ilyusha felt warm, reliable and very protected. This ideal doomed him to a further aimless existence.
The solution to the character of Ilya Ilyich in his childhood, from where direct threads stretch to the adult hero. The character of a hero is an objective result of the conditions of birth and upbringing.
Oblomov novel laziness character
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The main character of the novel is Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, a landowner who, however, lives permanently in St. Petersburg. Oblomov's character is perfectly maintained throughout the novel. It is far from being as simple as it might seem at first glance. The main character traits of Oblomov are an almost painful weakness of will, expressed in laziness and apathy, then a lack of living interests and desires, fear of life, fear of any changes in general.
But, along with these negative traits, there are also major positive ones in him: remarkable spiritual purity and sensitivity, good nature, cordiality and tenderness; Oblomov has a “crystal soul,” as Stolz puts it; these traits attract to him the sympathy of everyone who comes into close contact with him: Stolz, Olga, Zakhar, Agafya Matveevna, even his former colleagues who visit him in the first part of the novel. Moreover, Oblomov is far from stupid by nature, but his mental abilities are dormant, suppressed by laziness; He has both a desire for good and a consciousness of the need to do something for the common good (for example, for his peasants), but all these good inclinations are completely paralyzed in him by apathy and lack of will. All these character traits of Oblomov appear brightly and prominently in the novel, despite the fact that there is little action in it; in this case, this is not a drawback of the work, since it fully corresponds to the apathetic, inactive nature of the main character. The brightness of the characterization is achieved mainly through the accumulation of small but characteristic details that vividly depict the habits and inclinations of the person depicted; Thus, just from the description of Oblomov’s apartment and its furnishings on the first pages of the novel, one can get a fairly accurate idea of the personality of the owner himself. This method of characterization is one of Goncharov’s favorite artistic techniques; That’s why in his works there are so many small details of everyday life, furnishings, etc.
In the first part of the novel, Goncharov introduces us to Oblomov’s lifestyle, his habits, and also talks about his past, how his character developed. During this entire part, which describes one “morning” of Oblomov, he almost never leaves his bed; in general, lying on a bed or on a sofa, in a soft robe, was, according to Goncharov, his “normal state.” Any activity tired him; Oblomov once tried to serve, but not for long, because he could not get used to the demands of the service, to strict accuracy and diligence; a fussy official life, writing papers, the purpose of which was sometimes unknown to him, the fear of making mistakes - all this weighed on Oblomov, and, having once sent an official paper instead of Astrakhan to Arkhangelsk, he chose to resign. Since then, he lived at home, almost never leaving: neither to society, nor to the theater, almost never leaving his beloved deceased robe. His time passed in a lazy “crawling from day to day,” in idle doing nothing or in no less idle dreams of great exploits, of glory. This play of imagination occupied and amused him, in the absence of other, more serious mental interests. Like any serious work that requires attention and concentration, reading tired him; therefore, he read almost nothing, did not follow life in the newspapers, content with the rumors that rare guests brought to him; the half-read book, unfolded in the middle, turned yellow and became covered with dust, and in the inkwell, instead of ink, there were only flies. Every extra step, every effort of will was beyond his power; Even concern for himself, for his own well-being, weighed on him, and he willingly left it to others, for example, Zakhar, or relied on “maybe,” on the fact that “somehow everything will work out.” Whenever a serious decision had to be made, he complained that “life touches you everywhere.” His ideal was a calm, peaceful life, without worries and without any changes, so that “today” would be like “yesterday”, and “tomorrow” would be like “today”. Everything that disturbed the monotonous course of his existence, every concern, every change frightened and depressed him. The letter from the headman, who demanded his orders, and the need to move out of the apartment seemed to him real “misfortunes,” in his own words, and he only calmed down with the fact that somehow all this would work out.
But if there were no other traits in Oblomov’s character other than laziness, apathy, weak-willedness, mental slumber, then he, of course, could not have interested the reader in himself, and Olga would not have been interested in him, and could not have served as the hero of an entire extensive novel. To do this, it is necessary that these negative aspects of his character be balanced by equally important positive ones that can arouse our sympathy. And Goncharov, indeed, from the very first chapters shows these personality traits of Oblomov. In order to more clearly highlight its positive, sympathetic sides, Goncharov introduced several episodic persons who appear in the novel only once and then disappear from its pages without a trace. This is Volkov, an empty socialite, a dandy, looking for only pleasures in life, alien to any serious interests, leading a noisy and active life, but nevertheless completely devoid of inner content; then Sudbinsky, a careerist official, completely immersed in the petty interests of the official world and paperwork, and “for the rest of the world he is blind and deaf,” as Oblomov puts it; Penkin, a minor writer of a satirical, accusatory direction: he boasts that in his essays he brings weaknesses and vices to everyone’s ridicule, seeing in this the true calling of literature: but his self-satisfied words cause rebuff from Oblomov, who finds in the works of the new school only slavish loyalty to nature, but too little soul, little love for the subject of the image, little true “humanity”. In the stories that Penkin admires, according to Oblomov, there are no “invisible tears,” but only visible, rough laughter; By depicting fallen people, the authors “forget man.” “You want to write with only your head! - he exclaims, - do you think that a heart is not needed for thought? No, she is fertilized by love. Extend your hand to a fallen person to lift him up, or weep bitterly over him if he dies, and do not mock him. Love him, remember yourself in him... then I will begin to read you and bow my head before you...” From these words of Oblomov it is clear that his view of the vocation of literature and its demands from a writer is much more serious and lofty than that of a professional writer Penkin, who, in his words, “wastes his thought, his soul on trifles, trades in his mind and imagination.” Finally, Goncharov brings out another certain Alekseev, “a man of uncertain years, with an indeterminate physiognomy,” who has nothing of his own: neither his tastes, nor his desires, nor his sympathies: Goncharov introduced this Alekseev, obviously, in order to show, through comparison, that Oblomov, despite all his spinelessness, is not at all distinguished by impersonality, that he has his own specific moral physiognomy.
Thus, a comparison with these episodic persons shows that Oblomov was mentally and morally superior to the people around him, that he understood the insignificance and illusory nature of the interests in which they were keen. But Oblomov not only could, but also knew how, “in his clear, conscious moments,” be critical of the surrounding society and himself, recognize his own shortcomings and suffer heavily from this consciousness. Then memories of his youth awakened in his memory, when he was at the university with Stolz, studied science, translated serious scientific works, was fond of poetry: Schiller, Goethe, Byron, dreamed of future activities, of fruitful work for the common benefit. Obviously, at this time Oblomov was also influenced by the idealistic hobbies that dominated among Russian youth of the 30s and 40s. But this influence was fragile, because Oblomov’s apathetic nature was not characterized by long-term passion, just as systematic hard work was unusual. At the university, Oblomov was content to passively assimilate the ready-made conclusions of science, without thinking them through on his own, without defining their mutual relationship, without bringing them into a harmonious connection and system. Therefore, “his head represented a complex archive of dead affairs, persons, eras, figures, unrelated political-economic, mathematical and other truths, tasks, provisions, etc. It was as if a library consisting of some scattered volumes in different parts knowledge. The teaching had a strange effect on Ilya Ilyich: between science and life there lay a whole abyss, which he did not try to cross. “He had life on its own, and science on its own.” Knowledge divorced from life, of course, could not be fruitful. Oblomov felt that he, as an educated person, needed to do something, he was aware of his duty, for example, to the people, to his peasants, he wanted to arrange their fate, improve their situation, but everything was limited only to many years of thinking about a plan for economic reforms, and the actual management of the farm and the peasants remained in the hands of the illiterate headman; and the conceived plan could hardly have practical significance in view of the fact that Oblomov, as he himself admits, did not have a clear understanding of village life, did not know “what corvee is, what rural labor is, what a poor man means, what a rich man means.”
Such ignorance of real life, with a vague desire to do something useful, brings Oblomov closer to the idealists of the 40s, and especially to the “superfluous people,” as they are portrayed by Turgenev.
Like “superfluous people,” Oblomov sometimes became imbued with the consciousness of his powerlessness, his inability to live and act; at the moment of such consciousness, “he felt sad and painful for his underdevelopment, the stop in the growth of moral forces, for the heaviness that interfered with everything; and envy gnawed at him that others lived so fully and widely, while it was as if a heavy stone had been thrown on the narrow and pitiful path of his existence... And meanwhile, he painfully felt that some kind of... that good, bright beginning, perhaps now already dead, or it lies like gold in the depths of the mountains, and it would be high time for this gold to be a walking coin.” The consciousness that he was not living as he should, vaguely wandered in his soul, he suffered from this consciousness, sometimes cried bitter tears of powerlessness, but could not decide on any change in life, and soon calmed down again, which was facilitated by his apathetic nature, incapable of a strong uplift of spirit. When Zakhar carelessly decided to compare him with “others,” Oblomov was severely offended by this, and not only because he felt offended in his lordly pride, but also because in the depths of his soul he realized that this comparison with “others” was going far from in his favor.
When Stolz asks Zakhar what Oblomov is, he replies that he is a “master.” This is a naive, but quite accurate definition. Oblomov is, indeed, a representative of the old serf lordship, a “master,” that is, a man who “has Zakhar and three hundred more Zakharovs,” as Goncharov himself puts it about him. Using the example of Oblomov, Goncharov thus showed how detrimentally serfdom affected the nobility itself, preventing the generation of energy, perseverance, initiative, and work habits. In former times, compulsory public service maintained in the service class these qualities necessary for life, which began to gradually fade away since compulsory service was abolished. The best people among the nobility have long realized the injustice of this order of things created by serfdom; The government, starting with Catherine II, wondered about its abolition; literature, in the person of Goncharov, showed its detrimental nature for the nobility itself.
“It started with the inability to put on stockings, and ended with the inability to live,” Stolz aptly put it about Oblomov. Oblomov himself is aware of his inability to live and act, his inability to adapt, the result of which is a vague but painful fear of life. This consciousness is the tragic feature in Oblomov’s character, which sharply separates him from the former “Oblomovites.” They were whole natures, with a strong, albeit simple-minded, worldview, alien to any doubts, any internal duality. In contrast to them, there is precisely this duality in Oblomov’s character; it was brought into it by the influence of Stolz and the education he received. For Oblomov it was already psychologically impossible to lead the same calm and complacent existence that his fathers and grandfathers led, because deep down in his soul he still felt that he was not living as he should and as “others” like Stolz lived. Oblomov already has a consciousness of the need to do something, to be useful, to live not for himself alone; He also has a consciousness of his duty to the peasants, whose labors he uses; he is developing a “plan” for a new structure of village life, where the interests of the peasants are also taken into account, although Oblomov does not at all think about the possibility and desirability of the complete abolition of serfdom. Until this “plan” is completed, he does not consider it possible to move to Oblomovka, but, of course, nothing comes of his work, because he lacks either knowledge of rural life, perseverance, diligence, or real conviction in the feasibility of the “plan” itself. " Oblomov grieves heavily at times, suffers in the consciousness of his unfitness, but is unable to change his character. His will is paralyzed, every action, every decisive step frightens him: he is afraid of life, just as in Oblomovka they were afraid of the ravine, about which there were various unkind rumors.
Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov” was written during the period of transition of Russian society from outdated, home-building traditions and values to new, educational views and ideas. This process became the most complex and difficult for representatives of the landowner social class, as it required an almost complete rejection of the usual way of life and was associated with the need to adapt to new, more dynamic and rapidly changing conditions. And if part of society easily adapted to the new circumstances, for others the transition process turned out to be very difficult, since it was essentially opposed to the usual way of life of their parents, grandfathers and great-grandfathers. The representative of precisely such landowners, who failed to change with the world, adapting to it, in the novel is Ilya Ilyich Oblomov. According to the plot of the work, the hero was born in a village far from the capital of Russia - Oblomovka, where he received a classic landowner, house-building education, which formed many of the main character traits of Oblomov - weak-willedness, apathy, lack of initiative, laziness, reluctance to work and the expectation that someone will do everything for him. Excessive parental care, constant prohibitions, and the pacifying and lazy atmosphere of Oblomovka led to a deformation of the character of a curious and active boy, making him introverted, prone to escapism and unable to overcome even the most minor difficulties.
The inconsistency of Oblomov’s character in the novel “Oblomov”
The negative side of Oblomov’s character
In the novel, Ilya Ilyich does not decide anything on his own, hoping for help from the outside - Zakhar, who will bring him food or clothes, Stolz, who is able to solve the problems in Oblomovka, Tarantiev, who, although he will deceive, will himself figure out the situation that interests Oblomov, etc. The hero is not interested in real life, it causes him boredom and fatigue, while he finds true peace and satisfaction in the world of illusions he himself has invented. Spending all his days lying on the sofa, Oblomov makes unrealistic plans for the arrangement of Oblomovka and his happy family life, in many ways similar to the calm, monotonous atmosphere of his childhood. All his dreams are directed to the past, even the future that he imagines for himself - echoes of a distant past that can no longer be returned.
It would seem that a lazy, lumbering hero living in an untidy apartment cannot evoke sympathy and affection from the reader, especially against the backdrop of Ilya Ilyich’s active, purposeful friend, Stolz. However, Oblomov’s true essence is revealed gradually, which allows us to see all the versatility and inner unrealized potential of the hero. Even as a child, surrounded by quiet nature, the care and control of his parents, the sensitive, dreamy Ilya was deprived of the most important thing - knowledge of the world through its opposites - beauty and ugliness, victories and defeats, the need to do something and the joy of what was gained through one’s own labor. From an early age, the hero had everything he needed - helpful servants carried out orders at the first call, and his parents spoiled their son in every possible way. Finding himself outside his parents' nest, Oblomov, not ready for the real world, continues to expect that everyone around him will treat him as warmly and welcomingly as in his native Oblomovka. However, his hopes were destroyed already in the first days in the service, where no one cared about him, and everyone was only for themselves. Deprived of the will to live, the ability to fight for his place in the sun and perseverance, Oblomov, after an accidental mistake, leaves the service himself, fearing punishment from his superiors. The very first failure becomes the last for the hero - he no longer wants to move forward, hiding from the real, “cruel” world in his dreams.
Positive side of Oblomov’s character
The person who could pull Oblomov out of this passive state leading to personality degradation was Andrei Ivanovich Stolts. Perhaps Stolz is the only character in the novel who thoroughly saw not only the negative, but also the positive traits of Oblomov: sincerity, kindness, the ability to feel and understand the problems of another person, inner calm and simplicity. It was to Ilya Ilyich that Stolz came in difficult moments, when he needed support and understanding. Oblomov’s dove-like tenderness, sensuality and sincerity are also revealed during his relationship with Olga. Ilya Ilyich is the first to realize that he is not suitable for the active, purposeful Ilyinskaya, who does not want to devote herself to “Oblomov” values - this reveals him as a subtle psychologist. Oblomov is ready to give up his own love, because he understands that he cannot give Olga the happiness she dreams of.
Oblomov’s character and fate are closely connected - his lack of will, inability to fight for his happiness, together with spiritual kindness and gentleness, lead to tragic consequences - fear of the difficulties and sorrows of reality, as well as the hero’s complete withdrawal into the pacifying, calm, wonderful world of illusions.
National character in the novel "Oblomov"
The image of Oblomov in Goncharov’s novel is a reflection of the national Russian character, its ambiguity and versatility. Ilya Ilyich is the same archetypal Emelya the fool on the stove, about whom the nanny told the hero in childhood. Like the character in the fairy tale, Oblomov believes in a miracle that should happen to him by itself: a supportive firebird or a kind sorceress will appear and take him to the wonderful world of honey and milk rivers. And the chosen one of the sorceress should not be a bright, hard-working, active hero, but always “quiet, harmless,” “some kind of lazy person who is offended by everyone.”
Unquestioning faith in a miracle, in a fairy tale, in the possibility of the impossible is the main feature not only of Ilya Ilyich, but also of any Russian person raised on folk tales and legends. Finding itself on fertile soil, this faith becomes the basis of a person’s life, replacing reality with illusion, as happened with Ilya Ilyich: “his fairy tale is mixed with life, and he is unconsciously sad sometimes, why is a fairy tale not life, and why is life not a fairy tale.”
At the end of the novel, Oblomov, it would seem, finds that “Oblomov” happiness that he has long dreamed of - a calm, monotonous life without stress, a caring, kind wife, an organized life and a son. However, Ilya Ilyich does not return to the real world, he remains in his illusions, which become more important and significant for him than real happiness next to the woman who adores him. In fairy tales, the hero must pass three tests, after which he will be expected to fulfill all his desires, otherwise the hero will die. Ilya Ilyich does not pass a single test, giving in first to failure in the service, and then to the need to change for the sake of Olga. Describing Oblomov’s life, the author seems to be ironizing about the hero’s excessive faith in an unrealizable miracle for which there is no need to fight.
Conclusion
At the same time, the simplicity and complexity of Oblomov’s character, the ambiguity of the character himself, the analysis of his positive and negative sides, allow us to see in Ilya Ilyich the eternal image of an unrealized personality “out of his time” - an “extra person” who failed to find his own place in real life, and therefore left into the world of illusions. However, the reason for this, as Goncharov emphasizes, is not a fatal combination of circumstances or the difficult fate of the hero, but the incorrect upbringing of Oblomov, who is sensitive and gentle in character. Raised as a “houseplant,” Ilya Ilyich turned out to be unadapted to a reality that was harsh enough for his refined nature, replacing it with the world of his own dreams.
Work test
It is not at all by chance that Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov wrote his famous novel "Oblomov", recognized by his contemporaries as a classic after its publication, ten years later. As he himself wrote about him, this novel is about “his” generation, about those barchuks who came to St. Petersburg “from kind mothers” and tried to make a career there. To really make a career, they had to change their attitude towards work. Ivan Alexandrovich himself went through this. However, many landed nobles remained idle in adult life. At the beginning of the 19th century this was not uncommon. For Goncharov, the artistic and holistic representation of a representative of a nobleman degenerating under the conditions of serfdom became the main idea of the novel.
Ilya Ilyich Oblomov - a typical character at the beginning of the 19th century
Oblomov’s appearance, the very image of this local nobleman-idler, absorbed so many characteristic features that it became a household name. As the memoirs of contemporaries testify, in Goncharov’s time it even became an unwritten rule not to call a son “Ilya” if his father’s name was the same... The reason is that such people do not need to work to provide for themselves. They don’t have to serve, after all, capital and serfs already provide him with a certain weight in society. This is a landowner who owns 350 serfs, but is absolutely not interested in agriculture, which feeds him, and has no control over the thief-clerk who shamelessly robs him.
Expensive mahogany furniture is covered in dust. His entire existence is spent on the couch. It replaces his entire apartment: living room, kitchen, hallway, office. There are mice running around the apartment and there are bedbugs.
Appearance of the main character
The description of Oblomov's appearance indicates the special - satirical role of this image in Russian literature. His essence is that he continued the classical tradition of superfluous people in his Fatherland, following Pushkin's Eugene Onegin and Lermontov's Pechorin. Ilya Ilyich has an appearance that matches this lifestyle. He dresses his old, plump, but already loose body in a rather threadbare robe. His gaze is dreamy, his hands are motionless.
The main detail of Ilya Ilyich’s appearance
It is no coincidence that, repeatedly describing Oblomov’s appearance throughout the novel, Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov focuses attention precisely on his plump arms, with small hands, completely pampered. This artistic device - men's hands not busy with work - additionally emphasizes the passivity of the protagonist.
Oblomov's dreams never find their real continuation in business. They are his personal way of nurturing his laziness. And he is busy with them from the moment he wakes up: shown by Goncharov, for example, a day in the life of Ilya Ilyich, begins with an hour and a half of motionless daydreaming, naturally, without getting off the couch...
Positive traits of Oblomov
However, it should be admitted that Ilya Ilyich is kinder and more open. He is friendlier than the high-society dandy Onegin, or the fatalist Pechorin, who brings only trouble to those around him. He is not capable of quarreling with a person over a trifle, much less challenging him to a duel.
Goncharov describes the appearance of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov in full accordance with his lifestyle. And this landowner lives with his devoted servant Zakhar on the Vyborg side in a spacious four-room apartment. A plump, doughy 32-33-year-old balding brown-haired man with brown hair, a rather pleasant face and dreamy dark gray eyes. This is Oblomov’s appearance in the brief description that Goncharov presents to us at the beginning of his novel. This hereditary nobleman from a once famous family in the province came to St. Petersburg twelve years ago to pursue an bureaucratic career. He started with a rank. Then, due to negligence, he sent a letter to Arkhangelsk instead of Astrakhan and, frightened, quit.
His appearance certainly encourages the interlocutor to communicate. And it is not surprising that guests come to see him every day. Oblomov's appearance in the novel "Oblomov" cannot be called unattractive; it even to some extent expresses the remarkable mind of Ilya Ilyich. However, there is no practical tenacity or purposefulness in it. However, his face is expressive, it displays a continuous stream of thoughts. He speaks practical words and makes noble plans. The very description of Oblomov’s appearance leads the attentive reader to the conclusion that his spirituality is toothless, and his plans will never come true. They will be forgotten before they reach practical implementation. However, in their place will come new ideas, equally divorced from reality...
Oblomov's appearance is a mirror of degradation...
Let us note that even Oblomov’s appearance in the novel “Oblomov” could have been completely different if he had received a different home upbringing... After all, he was an energetic, inquisitive child, not prone to being overweight. As befits his age, he was interested in what was happening around him. However, the mother assigned vigilant nannies to the child, who did not allow him to take anything in his hands. Over time, Ilya Ilyich also perceived any work as the lot of the lower class, men.
Appearances of opposite characters: Stolz and Oblomov
Why would a physiognomist observer come to this conclusion? Yes, because, for example, Stolz’s appearance in the novel “Oblomov” is completely different: wiry, agile, dynamic. Andrei Ivanovich does not tend to dream; instead, he rather plans, analyzes, formulates a goal, and then works to achieve it... After all, Stolz, his friend from a young age, thinks rationally, having a legal education, as well as rich experience in service and communication with people.. His origin is not as noble as that of Ilya Ilyich. His father is a German who works as a clerk for landowners (in our current understanding, a classic hired manager), and his mother is a Russian woman who received a good liberal arts education. From childhood he knew that a career and position in society should be earned through hard work.
These two characters are diametrically opposed in the novel. Even the appearance of Oblomov and Stolz is completely different. Nothing similar, not a single similar feature - two completely different human types. The first is an excellent conversationalist, a man of an open soul, but a lazy person in the last incarnation of this flaw. The second is active, ready to help friends in trouble. In particular, he introduces his friend Ilya to a girl who can “cure” him of laziness - Olga Ilyinskaya. In addition, he restores order in Oblomovka’s landowner agriculture. And after Oblomov’s death, he adopts his son Andrei.
Differences in the way Goncharov presents the appearance of Stolz and Oblomov
In different ways we recognize the appearance traits that Oblomov and Stolz possess. The author shows the appearance of Ilya Ilyich in a classic way: from the words of the author talking about him. We learn the appearance of Andrei Stolts gradually, from the words of other characters in the novel. This is how we begin to understand that Andrey has a lean, wiry, muscular physique. His skin is dark, and his greenish eyes are expressive.
Oblomov and Stolz also have different attitudes towards love. The appearance of their chosen ones, as well as the relationships with them, are different between the two heroes of the novel. Oblomov gets his wife-mother Agafya Pshenitsyna - loving, caring, not bothersome. Stolz marries the educated Olga Ilyinskaya - his comrade-in-arms wife, his assistant wife.
It is not surprising that this man, unlike Oblomov, squanders his fortune.
Appearance and respect of people, are they related?
The appearance of Oblomov and Stolz is perceived differently by people. The weakling Oblomov, like honey, attracts flies, attracts the swindlers Mikhei Tarantiev and Ivan Mukhoyarov. He periodically feels bouts of apathy, feeling obvious discomfort from his passive position in life. The collected, far-sighted Stolz does not experience such loss of spirit. He loves life. With his insight and serious approach to life, he frightens scoundrels. It’s not for nothing that after meeting him, Mikhei Tarantiev “goes on the run.” For
Conclusion
Ilyich’s appearance fits perfectly into the concept of “an extra person, that is, an individual who cannot realize himself in society. The abilities that he possessed in his youth were subsequently ruined. First, through improper upbringing, and then through idleness. The previously bright little boy became flabby by the age of 32, lost interest in the life around him, and by the age of 40 he became ill and died.
Ivan Goncharov described the type of nobleman-serf owner who has a rentier position in life (he regularly gets money from the work of other people, but Oblomov has no such desire to work himself.) It is quite obvious that people with such a position in life do not have a future.
At the same time, the energetic and purposeful commoner Andrei Stolts achieves obvious success in life and a position in society. His appearance is a reflection of his active nature.
Introduction The inconsistency of Oblomov’s character in the novel “Oblomov” The negative side of Oblomov’s character The positive side of Oblomov’s character National character in the novel “Oblomov” Conclusion
Introduction
Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov” was written during the period of transition of Russian society from outdated, home-building traditions and values to new, educational views and ideas. This process became the most complex and difficult for representatives of the landowner social class, as it required practically
a complete rejection of the usual way of life and was associated with the need to adapt to new, more dynamic and rapidly changing conditions. And if part of society easily adapted to the new circumstances, for others the transition process turned out to be very difficult, since it was essentially opposed to the usual way of life of their parents, grandfathers and great-grandfathers. The representative of precisely such landowners, who failed to change with the world, adapting to it, in the novel is Ilya Ilyich Oblomov. According to the plot of the work, the hero was born in a village far from the capital of Russia - Oblomovka, where he received a classic landowner, house-building education, which formed many of the main character traits of Oblomov - weak-willedness, apathy, lack of initiative, laziness, reluctance to work and the expectation that someone will do everything for him.
Excessive parental care, constant prohibitions, and the pacifying and lazy atmosphere of Oblomovka led to a deformation of the character of a curious and active boy, making him introverted, prone to escapism and unable to overcome even the most minor difficulties.
The inconsistency of Oblomov’s character in the novel “Oblomov”
The negative side of Oblomov’s character
In the novel, Ilya Ilyich does not decide anything on his own, hoping for help from the outside - Zakhar, who will bring him food or clothes, Stolz, who is able to solve the problems in Oblomovka, Tarantiev, who, although he will deceive, will himself figure out the situation that interests Oblomov, etc. The hero is not interested in real life, it causes him boredom and fatigue, while he finds true peace and satisfaction in the world of illusions he himself has invented. Spending all his days lying on the sofa, Oblomov makes unrealistic plans for the arrangement of Oblomovka and his happy family life, in many ways similar to the calm, monotonous atmosphere of his childhood. All his dreams are directed to the past, even the future that he imagines for himself - echoes of a distant past that can no longer be returned.
It would seem that a lazy, lumbering hero living in an untidy apartment cannot evoke sympathy and affection from the reader, especially against the backdrop of Ilya Ilyich’s active, purposeful friend, Stolz. However, Oblomov’s true essence is revealed gradually, which allows us to see all the versatility and inner unrealized potential of the hero. Even as a child, surrounded by quiet nature, the care and control of his parents, the sensitive, dreamy Ilya was deprived of the most important thing - knowledge of the world through its opposites - beauty and ugliness, victories and defeats, the need to do something and the joy of what was gained through one’s own labor.
From an early age, the hero had everything he needed - helpful servants carried out orders at the first call, and his parents spoiled their son in every possible way. Finding himself outside his parents' nest, Oblomov, not ready for the real world, continues to expect that everyone around him will treat him as warmly and welcomingly as in his native Oblomovka. However, his hopes were destroyed already in the first days in the service, where no one cared about him, and everyone was only for themselves. Deprived of the will to live, the ability to fight for his place in the sun and perseverance, Oblomov, after an accidental mistake, leaves the service himself, fearing punishment from his superiors. The very first failure becomes the last for the hero - he no longer wants to move forward, hiding from the real, “cruel” world in his dreams.
Positive side of Oblomov’s character
The person who could pull Oblomov out of this passive state leading to personality degradation was Andrei Ivanovich Stolts. Perhaps Stolz is the only character in the novel who thoroughly saw not only the negative, but also the positive traits of Oblomov: sincerity, kindness, the ability to feel and understand the problems of another person, inner calm and simplicity. It was to Ilya Ilyich that Stolz came in difficult moments, when he needed support and understanding. Oblomov’s dove-like tenderness, sensuality and sincerity are also revealed during his relationship with Olga. Ilya Ilyich is the first to realize that he is not suitable for the active, purposeful Ilyinskaya, who does not want to devote herself to “Oblomov” values - this reveals him as a subtle psychologist. Oblomov is ready to give up his own love, because he understands that he cannot give Olga the happiness she dreams of.
Oblomov’s character and fate are closely connected - his lack of will, inability to fight for his happiness, together with spiritual kindness and gentleness, lead to tragic consequences - fear of the difficulties and sorrows of reality, as well as the hero’s complete withdrawal into the pacifying, calm, wonderful world of illusions.
National character in the novel “Oblomov”
The image of Oblomov in Goncharov’s novel is a reflection of the national Russian character, its ambiguity and versatility. Ilya Ilyich is the same archetypal Emelya the fool on the stove, about whom the nanny told the hero in childhood. Like the character in the fairy tale, Oblomov believes in a miracle that should happen to him by itself: a supportive firebird or a kind sorceress will appear and take him to the wonderful world of honey and milk rivers. And the chosen one of the sorceress should not be a bright, hard-working, active hero, but always “quiet, harmless,” “some kind of lazy person who is offended by everyone.”
Unquestioning faith in a miracle, in a fairy tale, in the possibility of the impossible is the main feature not only of Ilya Ilyich, but also of any Russian person raised on folk tales and legends. Finding itself on fertile soil, this faith becomes the basis of a person’s life, replacing reality with illusion, as happened with Ilya Ilyich: “his fairy tale is mixed with life, and he sometimes unconsciously feels sad, why is a fairy tale not life, and why is life not a fairy tale.”
At the end of the novel, Oblomov, it would seem, finds that “Oblomov” happiness that he has long dreamed of - a calm, monotonous life without stress, a caring, kind wife, an organized life and a son. However, Ilya Ilyich does not return to the real world, he remains in his illusions, which become more important and significant for him than real happiness next to the woman who adores him. In fairy tales, the hero must pass three tests, after which he will be expected to fulfill all his desires, otherwise the hero will die. Ilya Ilyich does not pass a single test, giving in first to failure in the service, and then to the need to change for the sake of Olga. Describing Oblomov’s life, the author seems to be ironizing about the hero’s excessive faith in an unrealizable miracle for which there is no need to fight.
Conclusion
At the same time, the simplicity and complexity of Oblomov’s character, the ambiguity of the character himself, the analysis of his positive and negative sides, allow us to see in Ilya Ilyich the eternal image of an unrealized personality “out of his time” - a “superfluous person” who failed to find his own place in real life, and therefore left into the world of illusions. However, the reason for this, as Goncharov emphasizes, is not a fatal combination of circumstances or the difficult fate of the hero, but the incorrect upbringing of Oblomov, who is sensitive and gentle in character. Raised as a “houseplant,” Ilya Ilyich turned out to be unadapted to a reality that was harsh enough for his refined nature, replacing it with the world of his own dreams.
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