Survive defeat arguments with dignity. “Everyone can fail” - essay

Since the 2014-2015 academic year, the program for the state final certification of schoolchildren has included a final graduation essay. This format differs significantly from the classic exam. The work is of a non-subject nature, relying on the graduate’s knowledge in the field of literature. The essay aims to reveal the examinee’s ability to reason on a given topic and argue his point of view. Mainly, the final essay allows you to assess the level of speech culture of the graduate. For the examination paper, five topics from a closed list are offered.

1. Introduction
2. Main part - thesis and arguments
3. Conclusion - conclusion

The final essay 2016-2017 requires a volume of 350 words or more.

The time allotted for the examination work is 3 hours 55 minutes.

Topics for the final essay

The questions proposed for consideration are usually addressed to the inner world of a person, personal relationships, psychological characteristics and concepts of universal morality. Thus, the topics of the final essay for the 2016-2017 academic year include the following areas:

1. "Victory and Defeat"

Here are concepts that the examinee will have to reveal in the process of reasoning, turning to examples from the world of literature. In the final essay 2016-2017, the graduate must identify the relationships between these categories based on analysis, construction of logical relationships and application of knowledge of literary works.

One such theme is “Victory and Losing.”

As a rule, works from a school literature course are a large gallery of different images and characters that can be used to write a final essay on the topic “Victory and Defeat.”

• Leo Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace"
• Roman I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons"
• Tale by N.V. Gogol "Taras Bulba"
• Story by M.A. Sholokhov "The Fate of Man"
• Story by A.S. Pushkin "The Captain's Daughter"
• Roman I.A. Goncharov "Oblomov"

Arguments for the theme “Victory and defeat” 2016-2017

• “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy

The theme of victory and defeat itself is present in the war in its most obvious manifestation. War of 1812 - this is one of the largest and most significant events for Russia, during which the national spirit and patriotism of the population, as well as the skill of the Russian high command, were demonstrated. After the council in Fili, the Russian commander M.I. Kutuzov decided to leave Moscow. Thus, it was planned to save the troops and thereby Russia. This decision does not demonstrate defeat in military operations - but on the contrary: it proves the invincibility of the Russian people. After all, after the military, all its residents, representatives of high society and the nobility began to leave the city. The people demonstrated their disobedience to the French by leaving the city to the enemy rather than be under the rule of Bonaparte. Napoleon, who entered the city, did not meet resistance, but saw only burning Moscow, which people had abandoned, and realized not his seemingly victory, but defeat. Defeat from the Russian spirit.

• “Fathers and Sons” by I.S. Turgenev

In the work of I.S. Turgenev, the conflict of generations is manifested, in particular, in the confrontation between the young nihilist Evgeny Bazarov and the nobleman P.P. Kirsanov. Bazarov is a self-confident young man, he boldly judges everything, considering himself a man who made himself with his own work and mind. His opponent Kirsanov led a riotous lifestyle, experienced a lot, felt a lot, loved a secular beauty and thereby gained an experience that influenced him. He became more reasonable and mature. In the dispute between Bazarov and Kirsanov, the outward victory of the young man is manifested - he is harsh, but at the same time maintains decency, and the nobleman does not restrain himself, breaking into insults. However, during the duel between the two heroes, the seemingly won victory of the nihilist Bazarov turns into a defeat in the main confrontation.

He meets the love of his life and cannot resist his feelings, nor admit it, because he denied the existence of love. Yes, here Bazarov was defeated. Dying, he realizes that he lived his life denying everything and everyone, and at the same time lost the most important thing.

• "Taras Bulba" N.V. Gogol

In the story by N.V. Gogol can be found as an example of how victory and defeat can be intertwined. The youngest son Andriy, for the sake of love, betrayed his homeland and Cossack honor, going over to the enemy side. His personal victory is that he defended his love by boldly deciding to do this kind of act. However, his betrayal of his father and homeland is unforgivable - and this is his defeat. The story demonstrates one of the most difficult battles - the spiritual struggle of a person with himself. After all, here we cannot talk about victory and defeat, since it is impossible to win without losing on the other side.

Essay example

In life, a person is accompanied by a large number of situations in which he has to resist something or someone. Often, these are some circumstances, specific conditions and a struggle where there are winners and losers. And sometimes these are more complex situations where victory and defeat can be viewed from different points of view.

Let us turn to the treasury of arguments from Russian classical literature - the great work of Leo Tolstoy “War and Peace”. A significant part of the novel consists of military actions during the Patriotic War of 1812, when the entire Russian people stood up to defend the country from the French invaders. The theme of victory and defeat itself is present in the war in its most obvious manifestation. After the council in Fili, the Russian commander M.I. Kutuzov decided to leave Moscow. Thus, it was planned to save the troops and thereby Russia. This decision does not demonstrate defeat in military operations - but on the contrary: it proves the invincibility of the Russian people. After all, after the military, all its residents, representatives of high society and the nobility began to leave the city. The people demonstrated their disobedience to the French by leaving the city to the enemy rather than be under the rule of Bonaparte. Napoleon, who entered the city, did not meet resistance, but saw only burning Moscow, which people had abandoned, and realized not his seemingly victory, but defeat. Defeat from the Russian spirit.

In the story by N.V. Gogol can be found as an example of how victory and defeat can be intertwined. The youngest son Andriy, for the sake of love, betrayed his homeland and the honor of the Cossack army, going over to the enemy side. His personal victory is that he defended his feelings by boldly deciding to do this kind of act. However, his betrayal of his father and homeland is unforgivable - and this is his defeat. The story demonstrates one of the most difficult battles - the spiritual struggle of a person with himself. After all, here we cannot talk about victory and defeat, since it is impossible to win without losing on the other side.

Thus, it is worth saying that victory does not always represent the superiority and confidence that we are accustomed to imagine. And, besides, often victory and defeat go side by side, complementing each other and shaping the characteristics of a person’s personality.

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There is a difference between actually losing and feeling defeated. Don't dwell on events that have already happened, but instead try to focus your attention on what the right thing to do next time in a similar situation. Remind yourself that all bad things will sooner or later remain in the past. Try to let go of what you can no longer change, and do your best to respect people or circumstances that have surpassed you.

Steps

Part 1

Understand your emotions. Think about your experience and try to understand how you feel about it. If you are angry, ask yourself why this is happening. Before you can accept and control your emotions, you must first understand them.

• Think about how you would feel if you had not failed. Compare your two states and understand what remains similar in them.
• Write down your thoughts and feelings. Talk to someone you trust, such as a close friend or family member, about your feelings. Chances are you know how to deal with your emotions, so do your best to manage the situation.

1. Convince yourself. Tell yourself that there is no reason to “feel wrong.” Emotions are not inherently good or bad. They just arise, and it's great if you can accept them. Accept the fact that all your feelings are completely acceptable.

   • Keep in mind that while it is important to be aware of your emotions, it is very unwise to act on some of them (such as anger or self-hatred).

2. Think about the future. You may not be able to prevent personal failure, but you can control how you react to what happens. Take a deep breath and try to be as reasonable as possible. Remind yourself that you cannot change what has already happened. This attitude will allow you to be more insightful and adapt faster, and you will begin to navigate and feel better when similar negative or disastrous situations arise in the future.

   Don't take yourself too seriously. The situation can always get worse. Consider whether there are positive aspects that you did not immediately notice. Try to approach what happened with humor and move on with a smile on your face, even though this may be difficult for you. You can realize that a situation is much funnier or more absurd if you abstract from personal interests.

   Accept defeat. When you fail, your emotions can influence your perspective. Don't dwell on what has already happened and don't let your failures continue to defeat you. You may be bursting with anger, disappointment or resentment: such feelings will only eat you up from the inside. Learn to recognize these emotions, but not cling to them and throw them aside.

   • You may move forward by letting go of negativity, or you may find yourself constantly looking for ways to retaliate. Letting go of failure will free you from it, while the desire for retribution will only bind you even more to failure.
   • Don't judge yourself. Accept that failure is a part of life. People will always face failures, but they all approach them differently.

   Part 2

   Be a worthy competitor

   1. Learn to lose with grace. Show respect for the people and circumstances that have gotten the better of you. Shake your opponent's hand and congratulate him on a job well done. Don't be petty if you lose a fight, debate or competition. You cannot change the outcome with your negative attitude towards the winner. Be polite and accommodating as much as possible.

      • Thank your opponents for their time and congratulate them on their victory. If you lose gracefully, the winner will likely feel uncomfortable about bragging about their accomplishments to you once again. This changes the situation from a winner-loser game to a relationship between two people who respect each other and have enjoyed their time together.

   2. Don't let judgment affect you. Let others judge you for failure. You know who you really are and you don't have to justify yourself to people who don't know you well. Be the center of yourself. Failing with self-esteem will be your greatest victory.

      • People around them should encourage everyone to take part. If they forget about their role, then you should not forget about yours. Be interested in defending your interests.

   3. Don't blame. If you start blaming another person, group of people or circumstances that contributed to your defeat, then you will not be able to fully understand what happened. Blaming yourself will make you unhappy, and you will miss the chance to gain useful experience. Try to look at the situation this way: what happened happened, and no amount of self-flagellation can change it.

      Focus on admiring your opponent rather than focusing on your mistakes. Praise your opponents for their intelligence and effective actions. This position gives you an added advantage, allowing you to adopt effective strategies and work on identifying your weaknesses.

      Admit that you were wrong. If you have lost an argument or made a weak argument, then you can improve your image by accepting the possibility that you were wrong. After all, it is more humiliating to cling to what has already happened than to admit that someone did the right thing.

   Part 3

   Forward movement

   1. Try to take advantage of the current situation. If you can accept failure as a learning experience rather than a disgraceful failure, you will be able to move beyond the current situation and move on. You may have been defeated, but you don't want to be a loser. You are not a loser if you stay on top, learn useful things, and continue to move forward in life with a smile on your face. You have grown above yourself and learned something new. If this is how you perceive each defeat, then each time it will be much easier for you to endure them, and over time you will realize that you have won in something else: in self-education and self-improvement.

      • Try to accept that failure occurs in your life. Ask yourself the reasons for failure; understand what you can learn from the situation; figure out why this happened.
      • Think about the reasons for failure and whether you can do anything about it. Ask if you were subconsciously setting yourself up for failure because you weren't sure what you wanted to achieve was the right goal.

   2. Learn from your mistakes. Remember what happened and learn from it. Analyze the situation objectively. Understand what you can actually do to avoid failure in the future. Focus on perspective.

      • The more you focus on future victories, the better impression you will have of your last loss. Not all champions won their first match. You will do rash things if you cannot accept defeat gracefully. People will definitely notice your inability to handle setbacks like a mature person.

Original taken from slobodin in How to survive defeat

In life and business, not everything goes smoothly. In general, everything never goes smoothly. But sometimes in life something happens that is, in general, a complete failure. Well, that's complete. This is when you want to fall underground. And it seems like you tried to do everything, tried as hard as you could, but it didn’t work out. You tried to fix everything and prevent failure, you strived for the goal - but it didn’t work out. And not only did it not work, it failed miserably. What I hoped for and strived for turned out to be exactly the opposite - it was a defeat.

This is one of the most serious tests for a person - the test of defeat. At these moments, a person’s personality manifests itself in the most vivid way. From shades of gray it becomes black and white. How to survive defeat and make the most of it while remaining on the bright side of life - some tips on what to do during this very difficult time for you.

Take a break so as not to mess things up
If a failure occurs and nothing can be fixed, you need to pause. Eat Twix. The train left, the cast was removed - the Client left. Everything happened. There is no point in twitching and fussing. Take a breath and calm down. One breath doesn't help, take several. The blood is still boiling, you are going through the events of the last days, hours, minutes in your head, trying to understand why. Who is to blame, why did this happen. At these moments, images of what will happen next arise in my head. What a shame and all that. It doesn't matter now. What happened is what happened. And you can't get this back. This doesn't mean you don't care. If you don't care, that's a big problem in the future. But now we need to calm down, otherwise we might get into trouble. People make the biggest mistakes right after they realize that everything is a failure.

Tomorrow will come tomorrow. And today's problems will no longer seem so terrible. There will be horror, horror. Not horror, horror, horror :)

So take a break. All the worst is in the past. And this is so - the very beauty of defeat, that it can’t get any worse. And this is good.

Show some dignity
Ooooh. How I love watching people in such situations. This is such a litmus test. At these moments, your worst character traits and nature try to break all shackles, break all restrictions. And if this happens, this is a real defeat. This is a total scam. Therefore, at such moments, simply crush it within yourself with an effort of will. Show your dignity. This also includes respect for the one whose fault you are in trouble with - an opponent, a competitor, a boss. This is also respect for those around you who were involved in this matter.

It is much easier to show dignity if you pause and calm down. It's just a lot easier. But even if you couldn’t calm down and everything is boiling, show dignity. Otherwise, you will regret it for the rest of your life.

Those who show dignity in such situations are remembered and then it is much easier for them to move on. And this is good.

Support others
The people around you, the people who were with you in this project, business, game - it’s very difficult for them now. They, your team members, are now more vulnerable than ever. It is at these moments that teams are truly formed or completely fall apart. In moments of experiencing defeat. Support your own people, support them with words, jokes and your behavior. It's incredibly difficult. But this is how real leaders emerge and this is how real teams are formed. It is very difficult. But as soon as you overcome this barrier and start doing it at this difficult moment, you will like it. I know it from myself. And you will like how many of those who are next to you - together with you and with your help - are experiencing this defeat. There will be those who cannot overcome themselves. They will be rude, fight in hysterics, and do things that they will greatly regret later. But this is a great litmus test for you. You will never know this in ordinary life. And this is good.

Learn the lessons
Drawing conclusions immediately after a defeat is a thankless task. Therefore, after time has passed, when everything has calmed down, emotions have subsided, everyone has spoken out - we need to start analyzing what actually happened. Be sure to conduct an internal analysis of why this happened. Without self-flagellation and all that. By myself. And learn the lessons. Believe me, you will learn the best lessons from defeats. Own defeats. And try not to forget them. Because if you make the same mistake twice, it already looks like a clinical case. And such cases are very difficult to treat.

So learn from this unique experience. They will make you wiser, much more protected from future defeats and mistakes.

And this is good.

Enjoy
In the end you have to understand. That defeat, so bitter at the moment of experiencing it, is one of the best moments in your life. The best in terms of your growth, the best in terms of how much it protects you from further even louder defeats. For one beaten, they give two unbeaten. And this is a medical fact. For example, I am always afraid to hire people who have not had any defeats and everything was smooth. They are either lying, or everything was fine with them before. This means it is a big risk. Because people who have experienced defeat acquire something that cannot be obtained otherwise. Some kind of immunity. So enjoy it all - you have been given a painful vaccination. It is painful or even very painful - but it will protect you from real illness. And this is good.

Move on
The sooner you begin to move on, with lessons learned and a positive mood, the sooner you will overcome the bitterness of defeat and the closer you will be to new successes. Therefore, do not delay the process of experiencing defeat. And move forward. And remember - for one beaten they give two unbeaten. Now you're beaten. And this is good.

Summary
As you already understand, defeat, if you do everything correctly at this moment, is the best thing that can happen to you and this is truly good.

Well, the last piece of advice for today. When you realize that everything is a defeat, remember this post and move strictly according to the instructions outlined here. And all will be well.

So that everything goes well with you
Yours, Mikhail Slobodin

Official comment:
The direction allows you to think about victory and defeat in different aspects: socio-historical, moral and philosophical,
psychological. Reasoning can be associated both with external conflict events in the life of a person, country, world, and with a person’s internal struggle with himself, its causes and results.

Literary works often show the ambiguity and relativity of the concepts of “victory” and “defeat” in different historical conditions and life situations.

Aphorisms and sayings of famous people:
The greatest victory is victory over yourself.
Cicero
The possibility that we may be defeated in battle should not stop us from fighting for a cause that we believe is just.
A.Lincoln
Man was not created to suffer defeat... Man can be destroyed, but he cannot be defeated.
E. Hemingway
Be proud only of the victories you have won over yourself.
Tungsten

Socio-historical aspect
Here we will talk about the external conflict of social groups, states, military operations and political struggle.
Peru A. de Saint-Exupéry comes up with a paradoxical, at first glance, statement: “Victory weakens the people - defeat awakens new forces in them...”. We find confirmation of the correctness of this idea in Russian literature.
"The Tale of Igor's Campaign"- a famous monument of literature of Ancient Rus'. The plot is based on the unsuccessful campaign of the Russian princes against the Polovtsians, organized by the Novgorod-Seversk prince Igor Svyatoslavich in 1185. The main idea is the idea of ​​the unity of the Russian land. Princely civil strife, weakening the Russian land and leading to the ruin of its enemies, makes the author bitterly sadden and lament; victory over his enemies fills his soul with ardent delight. However, this work of ancient Russian literature speaks about defeat, not victory, because it is defeat that contributes to rethinking previous behavior and gaining a new view of the world and oneself. That is, defeat stimulates Russian soldiers to victories and exploits.
The author of the Lay addresses all the Russian princes in turn, as if calling them to account and demandingly reminding them of their duty to their homeland. He calls on them to defend the Russian land, to “block the gates of the field” with their sharp arrows. And therefore, although the author writes about defeat, there is not a shadow of despondency in the Lay. The “Word” is as laconic and terse as Igor’s addresses to his squad. This is the call before battle. The whole poem seems to be addressed to the future, permeated with concern for this future. A poem about victory would be a poem of triumph and joy. Victory is the end of the battle, but defeat for the author of the Lay is only the beginning of the battle. The battle with the steppe enemy is not over yet. Defeat should unite the Russians. The author of the Lay does not call for a feast of triumph, but for a feast of battle. D.S. writes about this in the article “The Tale of the Campaign of Igor Svyatoslavich.” Likhachev.
The “Lay” ends joyfully - with Igor’s return to the Russian land and the singing of his glory upon entering Kiev. So, despite the fact that the Lay is dedicated to the defeat of Igor, it is full of confidence in the power of the Russians, full of faith in the glorious future of the Russian land, in victory over the enemy.
The history of mankind consists of victories and defeats in wars. In the novel "War and Peace" L.N. Tolstoy describes the participation of Russia and Austria in the war against Napoleon. Drawing the events of 1805-1807, Tolstoy shows that this war was imposed on the people. Russian soldiers, being far from their homeland, do not understand the purpose of this war and do not want to waste their lives senselessly. Kutuzov understands better than many that this campaign is unnecessary for Russia. He sees the indifference of the allies, the desire of Austria to fight with the wrong hands. Kutuzov protects his troops in every possible way and delays their advance to the borders of France. This is explained not by distrust of the military skill and heroism of the Russians, but by the desire to protect them from senseless slaughter. When the battle turned out to be inevitable, the Russian soldiers showed their always readiness to help the allies and take the main blow. For example, a detachment of four thousand under the command of Bagration near the village of Shengraben held back the onslaught of an enemy “eight times” outnumbered. This made it possible for the main forces to advance. The unit of officer Timokhin showed miracles of heroism. It not only did not retreat, but struck back, which saved the flanking units of the army. The real hero of the Battle of Shengraben turned out to be the courageous, decisive, but modest captain Tushin before his superiors. So, largely thanks to the Russian troops, the Battle of Schöngraben was won, and this gave strength and inspiration to the sovereigns of Russia and Austria. Blinded by victories, occupied mainly with narcissism, holding military parades and balls, these two men led their armies to defeat at Austerlitz. So it turned out that one of the reasons for the defeat of the Russian troops under the skies of Austerlitz was the victory at Schöngraben, which did not allow an objective assessment of the balance of forces.
The entire senselessness of the campaign is shown by the writer in the preparation of the top generals for the battle of Austerlitz. Thus, the military council before the Battle of Austerlitz resembles not a council, but an exhibition of vanities; all disputes were conducted not with the goal of achieving a better and correct solution, but, as Tolstoy writes, “... it was obvious that the goal... of the objections was mainly the desire to make General Weyrother feel, as self-confidently as schoolchildren reading his disposition, that he was dealing not only with fools, but with people who could teach him in military affairs.”
And yet, we see the main reason for the victories and defeats of the Russian troops in the confrontation with Napoleon when comparing Austerlitz and Borodin. Speaking with Pierre about the upcoming Battle of Borodino, Andrei Bolkonsky recalls the reason for the defeat at Austerlitz: “The battle is won by the one who firmly decided to win it. Why did we lose the battle at Austerlitz?.. We told ourselves very early that we lost the battle - and we lost ". And we said this because we had no need to fight: we wanted to leave the battlefield as quickly as possible. “We lost, so run!” So ​​we ran. If we had not said this before the evening, God knows what would have happened. And tomorrow We won't say that." L. Tolstoy shows a significant difference between the two campaigns: 1805-1807 and 1812. The fate of Russia was decided on the Borodino field. Here the Russian people had no desire to save themselves, no indifference to what was happening. Here, as Lermontov said, “we promised to die, and we kept the oath of allegiance in the Battle of Borodino.”
Another opportunity to speculate on how victory in one battle can turn into defeat in a war is provided by the outcome of the Battle of Borodino, in which Russian troops gain a moral victory over the French. The moral defeat of Napoleon's troops near Moscow was the beginning of the defeat of his army.
The Civil War turned out to be such a significant event in the history of Russia that it could not help but be reflected in fiction. The basis for graduates’ reasoning can be “Don Stories”, “Quiet Don” M.A. Sholokhov.
When one country goes to war with another, terrible events occur: hatred and the desire to defend themselves forces people to kill their own kind, women and old people are left alone, children grow up orphans, cultural and material values ​​are destroyed, cities are destroyed. But the warring parties have a goal - to defeat the enemy at any cost. And any war has a result - victory or defeat. Victory is sweet and immediately justifies all losses, defeat is tragic and sad, but it is the starting point for some other life. But “in a civil war, every victory is defeat” (Lucian).
The life story of the central hero of M. Sholokhov's epic novel "Quiet Don" Grigory Melekhov, which reflected the dramatic destinies of the Don Cossacks, confirms this idea. War cripples from the inside and destroys all the most precious things that people have. It forces the heroes to take a fresh look at the problems of duty and justice, to look for the truth and not find it in any of the warring camps. Once among the Reds, Gregory sees the same cruelty, intransigence, and thirst for the blood of his enemies as the Whites. Melekhov rushes between the two warring sides. Everywhere he encounters violence and cruelty, which he cannot accept, and therefore cannot take one side. The result is logical: “Like a steppe scorched by fires, Gregory’s life became black...”.

Moral, philosophical and psychological aspects
Victory is not only about success in battle. To win, according to the dictionary of synonyms, is to overcome, overcome, overcome. And often not so much the enemy as yourself. Let us consider a number of works from this point of view.
A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit". The conflict of the play represents the unity of two principles: public and personal. Being an honest, noble, progressive-minded, freedom-loving person, the main character Chatsky opposes Famus society. He condemns the inhumanity of serfdom, recalling “Nestor of the noble scoundrels,” who exchanged his faithful servants for three greyhounds; he is disgusted by the lack of freedom of thought in noble society: “And who in Moscow was not silenced at lunches, dinners and dances?” He does not recognize veneration and sycophancy: “For those who need it, they are arrogant, they lie in the dust, and for those who are higher, they wove flattery like lace.” Chatsky is full of sincere patriotism: “Will we ever be resurrected from the foreign power of fashion? So that our smart, cheerful people, even by language, do not consider us to be Germans.” He strives to serve the “cause” and not individuals; he “would be glad to serve, but it’s sickening to be served.” Society is offended and, in defense, declares Chatsky crazy. His drama is aggravated by a feeling of ardent but unrequited love for Famusov’s daughter Sophia. Chatsky makes no attempt to understand Sophia; it is difficult for him to understand why Sophia does not love him, because his love for her speeds up “every beat of his heart,” although “to him the whole world seemed like dust and vanity.” Chatsky can be justified by his blindness by passion: his “mind and heart are not in harmony.” Psychological conflict turns into social conflict. Society unanimously comes to the conclusion: “crazy in everything...”. Society is not afraid of a madman. Chatsky decides to “search the world where there is a corner for an offended feeling.”
I.A. Goncharov assessed the ending of the play this way: “Chatsky is broken by the quantity of the old force, having dealt it, in turn, a fatal blow with the quality of the new force.” Chatsky does not give up his ideals, he only frees himself from illusions. Chatsky’s stay in Famusov’s house shook the inviolability of the foundations of Famusov’s society. Sophia says: “I’m ashamed of myself, the walls!”
Therefore, Chatsky’s defeat is only a temporary defeat and only his personal drama. On a social scale, “the victory of the Chatskys is inevitable.” The “past century” will be replaced by the “present century”, and the views of the hero of Griboyedov’s comedy will win.
A.N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm". Graduates may ponder the question of whether Katherine's death is a victory or a defeat. It is difficult to give a definite answer to this question. Too many reasons led to the terrible ending. The playwright sees the tragedy of Katerina’s situation in the fact that she comes into conflict not only with Kalinov’s family morals, but also with herself. The straightforwardness of Ostrovsky's heroine is one of the sources of her tragedy. Katerina is pure in soul - lies and debauchery are alien and disgusting to her. She understands that by falling in love with Boris, she violated the moral law. “Oh, Varya,” she complains, “sin is on my mind! How much I, poor thing, cried, no matter what I did to myself! I can't escape this sin. Can't go anywhere. After all, this is not good, this is a terrible sin, Varenka, why do I love someone else?” Throughout the entire play there is a painful struggle in Katerina’s consciousness between the understanding of her wrongness, her sinfulness and a vague, but increasingly powerful sense of her right to human life. But the play ends with Katerina’s moral victory over the dark forces that torment her. She atones for her guilt immensely, and escapes from captivity and humiliation through the only path that was revealed to her. Her decision to die, rather than remain a slave, expresses, according to Dobrolyubov, “the need of the emerging movement of Russian life.” And this decision comes to Katerina along with internal self-justification. She dies because she considers death the only worthy outcome, the only opportunity to preserve that highest thing that lived in her. The idea that Katerina’s death is in fact a moral victory, a triumph of the real Russian soul over the forces of the “dark kingdom” of the Dikikhs and Kabanovs, is also strengthened by the reaction to her death of the other characters in the play. For example, Tikhon, Katerina’s husband, for the first time in his life expressed his own opinion, for the first time decided to protest against the stifling foundations of his family, entering (even if only for a moment) into the fight against the “dark kingdom.” “You ruined her, you, you...” he exclaims, turning to his mother, before whom he trembled all his life.
I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons". The writer shows in his novel the struggle between the worldviews of two political directions. The plot of the novel is based on the contrast of the views of Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov and Evgeny Bazarov, who are bright representatives of two generations who do not find mutual understanding. Disagreements on various issues have always existed between youth and elders. So here, the representative of the younger generation Evgeny Vasilyevich Bazarov cannot, and does not want to understand the “fathers”, their life credo, principles. He is convinced that their views on the world, on life, on relationships between people are hopelessly outdated. “Yes, I will spoil them... After all, this is all pride, lionish habits, foppishness...” In his opinion, the main purpose of life is to work, to produce something material. That is why Bazarov disrespects art and sciences that do not have a practical basis. He believes that it is much more useful to deny what, from his point of view, deserves denial, than to watch indifferently from the outside, not daring to do anything. “At the present time, the most useful thing is denial - we deny,” says Bazarov. And Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov is sure that there are things that cannot be doubted (“Aristocracy... liberalism, progress, principles... art..."). He values ​​habits and traditions more and does not want to notice the changes taking place in society.
Bazarov is a tragic figure. It cannot be said that he defeats Kirsanov in an argument. Even when Pavel Petrovich is ready to admit defeat, Bazarov suddenly loses faith in his teaching and doubts his personal need for society. “Does Russia need me? No, apparently I don’t,” he reflects.
Of course, most of all a person manifests himself not in conversations, but in deeds and in his life. Therefore, Turgenev seems to lead his heroes through various trials. And the strongest of them is the test of love. After all, it is in love that a person’s soul reveals itself fully and sincerely.
And then Bazarov’s hot and passionate nature swept away all his theories. He fell in love with a woman whom he valued highly. “In conversations with Anna Sergeevna, he expressed his indifferent contempt for everything romantic even more than before, and when left alone, he was indignantly aware of the romanticism in himself.” The hero is experiencing severe mental discord. “... Something... took possession of him, which he never allowed, which he always mocked, which outraged all his pride.” Anna Sergeevna Odintsova rejected him. But Bazarov found the strength to accept defeat with honor, without losing his dignity.
So, did the nihilist Bazarov win or lose? It seems that Bazarov is defeated in the test of love. Firstly, his feelings and he himself are rejected. Secondly, he falls into the power of aspects of life that he himself denies, loses ground under his feet, and begins to doubt his views on life. His position in life turns out to be a position in which, however, he sincerely believed. Bazarov begins to lose the meaning of life, and soon loses life itself. But this is also a victory: love forced Bazarov to look at himself and the world differently, he begins to understand that in no way does life want to fit into a nihilistic scheme.
And Anna Sergeevna formally remains among the winners. She was able to cope with her feelings, which strengthened her self-confidence. In the future, she will find a good home for her sister, and she herself will marry successfully. But will she be happy?
F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment". Crime and Punishment is an ideological novel in which non-human theory collides with human feelings. Dostoevsky, a great expert on human psychology, a sensitive and attentive artist, tried to understand modern reality, to determine the extent of the influence of the ideas of revolutionary reorganization of life and individualistic theories that were popular at that time on a person. Entering into polemics with democrats and socialists, the writer sought to show in his novel how the delusion of fragile minds leads to murder, shedding of blood, maiming and breaking young lives.
Raskolnikov's ideas were generated by abnormal, humiliating living conditions. In addition, the post-reform disruption destroyed the centuries-old foundations of society, depriving human individuality of connection with the long-standing cultural traditions of society and historical memory. Raskolnikov sees violations of universal moral norms at every step. It is impossible to feed a family with honest work, so the petty official Marmeladov finally becomes an alcoholic, and his daughter Sonechka is forced to sell herself, because otherwise her family will die of starvation. If unbearable living conditions push a person to violate moral principles, then these principles are nonsense, that is, they can be ignored. Raskolnikov comes to approximately this conclusion when a theory is born in his fevered brain, according to which he divides all of humanity into two unequal parts. On the one hand, these are strong personalities, “super-men” like Mohammed and Napoleon, and on the other, a gray, faceless and submissive crowd, which the hero rewards with the contemptuous name - “trembling creature” and “anthill”.
The correctness of any theory must be confirmed by practice. And Rodion Raskolnikov conceives and carries out a murder, removing the moral prohibition from himself. His life after the murder turns into real hell. A painful suspicion develops in Rodion, which gradually turns into a feeling of loneliness and isolation from everyone. The writer finds a surprisingly accurate expression characterizing Raskolnikov’s internal state: he “as if he had cut himself off from everyone and everything with scissors.” The hero is disappointed in himself, believing that he did not pass the test of being a ruler, which means, alas, he belongs to the “trembling creatures.”
Surprisingly, Raskolnikov himself would not want to be the winner now. After all, to win means to die morally, to remain with your spiritual chaos forever, to lose faith in people, yourself and life. Raskolnikov's defeat became his victory - a victory over himself, over his theory, over the Devil, who took possession of his soul, but failed to forever displace God in it.
M.A. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita". This novel is too complex and multifaceted; the writer touched on many topics and problems in it. One of them is the problem of the struggle between good and evil. In The Master and Margarita, the two main forces of good and evil, which, according to Bulgakov, should be in balance on Earth, are embodied in the images of Yeshua Ha-Notsri from Yershalaim and Woland - Satan in human form. Apparently, Bulgakov, in order to show that good and evil exist outside of time and that people have lived according to their laws for thousands of years, placed Yeshua at the beginning of modern times, in the fictional masterpiece of the Master, and Woland, as the arbiter of cruel justice, in Moscow in the 30s. XX century. The latter came to Earth to restore harmony where it had been broken in favor of evil, which included lies, stupidity, hypocrisy and, finally, betrayal, which filled Moscow. Good and evil in this world are surprisingly closely intertwined, especially in human souls. When Woland, in a scene in a variety show, tests the audience for cruelty and deprives the entertainer of his head, and compassionate women demand to put her in her place, the great magician says: “Well... they are people like people... Well, frivolous... well, well... and mercy sometimes knocks on their hearts... ordinary people... - and loudly orders: “Put on your head.” And then we watch how people fight over the ducats that fell on their heads.
The novel “The Master and Margarita” is about man’s responsibility for the good and evil that is committed on earth, for his own choice of life paths leading to truth and freedom or to slavery, betrayal and inhumanity. It is about all-conquering love and creativity, elevating the soul to the heights of true humanity.
The author wanted to proclaim: the victory of evil over good cannot be the end result of social and moral confrontation. This, according to Bulgakov, is not accepted by human nature itself, and the entire course of civilization should not allow it.
Of course, the range of works in which the thematic direction of “Victory and Defeat” is revealed is much wider. The main thing is to see the principle, to understand that victory and defeat are relative concepts.
Wrote about this R. Bach in the book "Bridge Over Eternity": “The important thing is not whether we lose in the game, but what matters is how we lose and how we will change because of it, what new things we will learn for ourselves, how we can apply it in other games. In a strange way, defeat turns out to be victory.”

Essay “Everyone can fail.”

Anyone can fail. This is the way of life. People can lose a hundred times. But a huge victory can also await them. You can't know exactly how the adventure will end. You'll have to try it to find out.

The Necessity of Failure

The path of life consists of victories and defeats. This is a thorny path. Fate can lift you high and then suddenly bring you down to the ground. If a person does nothing, then he will not be able to rise to the top. Even a successful person can one day lose everything because he stopped acting. Often you have to try again to achieve success. The more failures a person can endure, the stronger he will be internally. You need to honor yourself in any situation. Even a loss becomes an experience that will help in the future.

Decent behavior of book characters

In the literature one can also observe decent examples of defeats. Take, for example, the work “Fathers and Sons.” Pavel witnessed the kiss of Bazarov and Fenechka. He decided to defend the girl’s honor and challenged the man to a duel. His opponent didn't think this was a viable way to decide, but agreed. Bazarov knew how the duel would end, because he was younger than his opponent. Pavel was wounded. It was Evgeniy who provided Kirsanov with first medical aid.

Pavel behaved with dignity. He accepted his defeat with all courage. He made fun of his condition. This is a kind of defensive reaction. The man did not expand on why he had to challenge Bazarov to a duel. He didn't want to harm the young girl. Kirsanov needed this defeat to understand his mistakes. He reconsidered his outlook on life and saw that in many situations he had behaved stupidly. Life has improved a lot throughout the house.

The hero of the work “Crime and Punishment” was also able to survive the defeat with dignity. Raskolnikov was a dreamer. He believed that he had the right to kill. The main character sincerely believed that his action would benefit society. But his theory failed. And Raskolnikov managed not only to accept this, but also learned a certain life lesson from it. His dreams were shattered, but he himself only became stronger.

Losses are inevitable in our lives. But you need to be able to accept failures with dignity. Otherwise our existence will be miserable. How to live in this cruel world if defeats can break us.