Works on the topic of man and society. Essay on the topic “Man and society

FIPI commentary on the topic “Man and Society” :
"For topics in this direction, the view of a person as a representative of society is relevant. Society largely shapes the individual, but the individual is also capable of influencing society. The topics will allow us to consider the problem of the individual and society from different sides: from the point of view of their harmonious interaction, complex confrontation or irreconcilable conflict. It is equally important to think about the conditions under which a person must obey social laws, and society must take into account the interests of each person. Literature has always shown interest in the problem of the relationship between man and society, the creative or destructive consequences of this interaction for the individual and for human civilization. "

Recommendations for students:
The table presents works that reflect any concept related to the direction “Man and Society”. You DO NOT need to read all of the works listed. You may have already read a lot. Your task is to revise your reading knowledge and, if you discover a lack of arguments within a particular direction, fill in the existing gaps. In this case, you will need this information. Think of it as a guide in the vast world of literary works. Please note: the table shows only a portion of the works that contain the problems we need. This does not mean at all that you cannot make completely different arguments in your work. For convenience, each work is accompanied by small explanations (third column of the table), which will help you navigate exactly how, through which characters, you will need to rely on literary material (the second mandatory criterion when evaluating a final essay)

An approximate list of literary works and carriers of problems in the direction of "Man and Society"

“Man and Society” is one of the topics of the final essay on literature for graduates of 2019. From what positions can these two concepts be considered in the work?

For example, you can write about the individual and society, about their interaction, both about agreement and about opposition. The approximate ideas that may be heard in this case are varied. This is a person as a part of society, the impossibility of his existence outside of society, and the influence of society on something connected with a person: his opinion, tastes, life position. You can also consider the confrontation or conflict between an individual and society; in this case, it would be useful to give examples from life, history or literature in your essay. This will not only make the work less boring, but will also give you a chance to improve your grade.

Another option for what to write about in an essay is the ability or, conversely, the inability to devote one’s life to public interests, philanthropy and its opposite - misanthropy. Or, perhaps, in your work you will want to consider in detail the issue of social norms and laws, morality, the mutual responsibility of society to man and man to society for everything past and future. An essay devoted to man and society from a state or historical perspective, or the role of the individual (concrete or abstract) in history, will also be interesting.

How do teenagers understand the laws by which modern society lives?

Text: Anna Chainikova, teacher of Russian and literature, school No. 171
Photo: proza.ru

Next week, graduates will test their skills in analyzing literary works. Will they be able to open up the topic? Find the right arguments? Will they fit into the evaluation criteria? We'll find out very soon. In the meantime, we offer you an analysis of the fifth thematic area - “Man and Society”. You still have time to take advantage of our advice.

FIPI comment:

For topics in this direction, the view of a person as a representative of society is relevant. Society largely shapes the individual, but the individual can also influence society. Topics will allow you to consider the problem of the individual and society from different sides: from the point of view of their harmonious interaction, complex confrontation or irreconcilable conflict. It is equally important to think about the conditions under which a person must obey social laws, and society must take into account the interests of each person. Literature has always shown interest in the problem of the relationship between man and society, the creative or destructive consequences of this interaction for the individual and for human civilization.

Vocabulary work

Explanatory dictionary by T. F. Efremova:
MAN - 1. A living creature, unlike an animal, possessing the gift of speech, thought and the ability to produce tools and use them. 2. The bearer of any qualities, properties (usually with a definition); personality.
SOCIETY - 1. A set of people united by historically determined social forms of joint life and activity. 2. A circle of people united by a common position, origin, interests. 3. The circle of people with whom someone is in close communication; Wednesday.

Synonyms
Human: personality, individual.
Society: society, environment, surroundings.

Man and society are closely interconnected and cannot exist without each other. Man is a social being, he was created for society and has been in it since early childhood. It is society that develops and shapes a person; in many ways, it is the environment and surroundings that determine what a person will become. If, for various reasons (conscious choice, accident, expulsion and isolation used as punishment), a person finds himself outside of society, he loses a part of himself, feels lost, experiences loneliness, and often degrades.

The problem of interaction between the individual and society worried many writers and poets. What might this relationship be like? What are they built on?

Relationships can be harmonious when a person and society are in unity; they can be built on confrontation, the struggle of the individual and society, or they can also be based on open, irreconcilable conflict.

Often heroes challenge society and oppose themselves to the world. In literature, this is especially common in works of the Romantic era.

In the story "Old Woman Izergil" Maxim Gorky, telling the story of Larra, invites the reader to think about the question of whether a person can exist outside of society. The son of a proud, free eagle and an earthly woman, Larra despises the laws of society and the people who invented them. The young man considers himself exceptional, does not recognize authorities and does not see the need for people: “...he, boldly looking at them, answered that there were no more people like him; and if everyone honors them, he doesn’t want to do that.”. Disregarding the laws of the tribe in which he finds himself, Larra continues to live as he lived before, but refusal to obey the norms of society entails expulsion. The elders of the tribe say to the daring young man: “He has no place among us! Let him go wherever he wants“- but this only makes the proud eagle’s son laugh, because he is used to freedom and does not consider loneliness a punishment. But can freedom become burdensome? Yes, turning into loneliness, it will become a punishment, says Maxim Gorky. Coming up with a punishment for killing a girl, choosing from the most severe and cruel ones, the tribe cannot choose one that will satisfy everyone. “There is punishment. This is a terrible punishment; You wouldn’t invent something like this in a thousand years! His punishment is in himself! Let him go, let him be free.", says the sage. The name Larra is symbolic: "outcast, thrown out".

Why did what at first made Larra laugh, “who remained free like his father,” turned into suffering and turned out to be a real punishment? Man is a social being, therefore he cannot live outside of society, Gorky claims, and Larra, although he was the son of an eagle, was still half a man. “There was so much melancholy in his eyes that it could have poisoned all the people of the world with it. So, from that time on he was left alone, free, awaiting death. And so he walks, walks everywhere... You see, he has already become like a shadow and will be like that forever! He doesn't understand people's speech or their actions - nothing. And he keeps searching, walking, walking... He has no life, and death does not smile at him. And there is no place for him among people... That’s how the man was struck for his pride!” Isolated from society, Larra seeks death, but does not find it. Saying “his punishment is in himself,” the sages who comprehended the social nature of man predicted a painful test of loneliness and isolation for the proud young man who challenged society. The way Larra suffers only confirms the idea that a person cannot exist outside of society.

The hero of another legend, told by the old woman Izergil, is Danko, the absolute opposite of Larra. Danko does not oppose himself to society, but merges with it. At the cost of his own life, he saves desperate people, leads them out of the impenetrable forest, illuminating the path with his burning heart, torn out of his chest. Danko accomplishes a feat not because he expects gratitude and praise, but because he loves people. His act is selfless and altruistic. He exists for the sake of people and their good, and even in those moments when the people who followed him shower him with reproaches and indignation boils in his heart, Danko does not turn away from them: “He loved people and thought that maybe they would die without him.”. “What will I do for people?!”- the hero exclaims, tearing out his flaming heart from his chest.
Danko is an example of nobility and great love for people. It is this romantic hero who becomes Gorky's ideal. A person, according to the writer, should live with people and for the sake of people, not withdraw into himself, not be a selfish individualist, and he can only be happy in society.

Aphorisms and sayings of famous people

• All roads lead to people. (A. de Saint-Exupéry)
• Man is created for society. He is unable and does not have the courage to live alone. (W. Blackstone)
• Nature creates man, but society develops and shapes him. (V. G. Belinsky)
• Society is a set of stones that would collapse if one did not support the other. (Seneca)
• Anyone who loves solitude is either a wild animal or the Lord God. (F. Bacon)
• Man is created to live in society; separate him from him, isolate him - his thoughts will become confused, his character will harden, hundreds of absurd passions will arise in his soul, extravagant ideas will sprout in his brain like wild thorns in a wasteland. (D. Diderot)
• Society is like air: it is necessary for breathing, but not enough for life. (D. Santayana)
• There is no more bitter and humiliating dependence than dependence on the human will, on the arbitrariness of one’s equals. (N. A. Berdyaev)
• You should not rely on public opinion. This is not a lighthouse, but will-o'-the-wisps. (A. Maurois)
• Every generation tends to consider itself called upon to remake the world. (A. Camus)

What questions are worth thinking about?

• What is the conflict between man and society?
• Can an individual win a fight against society?
• Can a person change society?
• Can a person exist outside of society?
• Can a person remain civilized outside of society?
• What happens to a person cut off from society?
• Can a person become an individual in isolation from society?
• Why is it important to maintain individuality?
• Is it necessary to express your opinion if it differs from the majority opinion?
• What is more important: personal interests or the interests of society?
• Is it possible to live in society and be free from it?
• What does violating social norms lead to?
• What kind of person can be called dangerous to society?
• Is a person responsible to society for his actions?
• What does society's indifference to people lead to?
• How does society treat people who are very different from it?

The theme of the relationship between man and the community of people is one of the most relevant, both in classical Russian literature and in the modern world. Society is a part of the world that lives, develops, has certain time frames, values ​​and traditions. And the unit of society is none other than man. He cannot choose an association of people specifically for himself: he becomes part of society from birth. It is he who subsequently shapes the personality, its interests and way of thinking. But is a person capable of turning the lives of the people around him around? Can it develop outside its structure? How does social pressure affect individuals? In this collection, we have collected arguments from the literature for the final essay in the direction of “Man and Society” that can help answer these questions.

1. In his epic novel War and Peace, L.N. Tolstoy reveals the duality of the nature of Russian high society at the beginning of the 19th century. On the one hand, the reader observes the life of the high society of St. Petersburg and sees the whole world, with its own laws and moral principles, oriented towards Europe. However, in all high relationships, Tolstoy emphasizes one striking detail - unnaturalness. Sugary, forced smiles, ladies in the most beautiful dresses, but cold and deathly pale, as if created from marble, and behind all this imaginary splendor is hidden emptiness and indifference. Discussing foreign news at high-society receptions quickly became boring for a thinking person, and he soon became disillusioned with the external splendor of pompous gentlemen. On the other hand, Tolstoy paints portraits of such noble and sensitive representatives of the upper class as Pierre Bezukhov, Andrei Bolkonsky, Natasha Rostova and others. They have a lively mind, an interest in the world and people, they are opposed to the dead from St. Petersburg salons. However, they all felt like strangers in high society, and were even deceived and disgraced by it more than once. Their individuality, which contrasted favorably with the dullness and hypocrisy of society, was able to form only at a distance from it, thanks to exceptional families or upbringing abroad.
2. M. Gorky sang his romantic ideal in his work “The Old Woman Izergil”. He was embodied in the beautiful young man Danko, to whom the author contrasted the image of the young man Larra. Larra, the son of an eagle and a woman, incapable of true love, pity, and self-sacrifice. Life, a great value kept by a person, becomes a living hell for him. He is unable to understand its fragility and transience. Selfish Larra can only receive, but not give in return. And Gorky emphasizes that Larra will never gain freedom, since true freedom must be shared with other people in order to establish harmony. Danko, on the contrary, spares nothing for society. He is open to the world and, without hesitation, sacrifices his life to save his native tribe. He obviously does not expect gratitude, because his entire existence is aimed at human good. Gorky saw the meaning of life in serving society.
3. M.A. Bulgakov in the novel “The Master and Margarita” acutely raises the issue of the relationship between society and the individual. His hero is a true genius who wrote an amazing novel. However, after publication, the Master does not gain popular love, but, on the contrary, is persecuted in the press. And from whom does he receive these rage-filled reviews and pamphlets? From the society of pathetic graphomaniacs from MASSOLIT, pseudo-writers and envious people. The author presents the group of “people of art” as caustic and insidious, knowing about it firsthand. And in the end, this very society, with endless attacks and bullying, forces the Master to destroy his beautiful creation and drives him to a madhouse. He is no longer part of this nasty gathering, and his beloved Margarita becomes his entire society, and his soul finds eternal peace.
4. Any society must certainly develop. In the comedy A.S. Griboedov's "Woe from Wit" demonstrates the ossified Famus society - a gathering of high-born people, pitiful and ignorant. Famusov's guests, like hyperbolic Westerners, are dumbfounded with delight when Frenchmen from Bordeaux, Parisian milliners and rootless foreign crooks come to visit them. They are contrasted with Chatsky, who denounces their destructive worship of the Western world and failure to accept their own path. He is bright, ardent, eager to learn something new, impatient and passionate. It is he who comes to the defense of freedom, art, intelligence and brings a new high morality to Famusov’s world, but Famusov’s prim world does not accept change and cuts off any beginnings of the new, bright and beautiful in the bud. This is the eternal conflict between the progressive individual and the crowd that gravitates towards conservatism.
5. The main character of the novel, M.Yu., is also filled with a rebellious spirit. Lermontov "Hero of Our Time". Pechorin does not accept many established social rules, but still tries to find a common language with the world around him. His personality, like the personalities of many others, is formed under the influence of several forces: the first is his will, the second is the society and era in which he exists. Internal torment forces Pechorin to seek harmony among other people. He tears off their masks, gives them inner freedom, but invariably each of them fails. That is why the hero is left alone every time, immersed in deep introspection and the search for his own “I”. In such a society, he simply cannot find himself and realize his inner potential.
6. In the novel M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin's "Gentlemen Golovlevs" uses the example of one wealthy family to show the life of the noble class. The Golovlev family, as a direct unit of high society, reflects all its most monstrous vices: greed, idleness, ignorance, laziness, hypocrisy, stupidity, inability to work. Arina Petrovna Golovleva managed the estate all her life, thoughtlessly accumulated wealth, and at the same time morally and morally corrupted her offspring. She constantly used the word “family” in her speech, but when she saw how all the goods she had acquired were snatched up by her treacherous children, Arina Petrovna realized that she lived for the sake of a ghost, and there had never been a real family in her life. So the “higher” society, greedy, helpless and lazy, will certainly find its destruction in its own sins, as history has shown.
7. The world of A. And Solzhenitsyn’s story “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” is joyless, stingy in color, and hopeless. Here people no longer have names; the main identifier is the camp number. Human life has lost its value, and the habits of the camp’s inhabitants are more like those of animals: all they think about is satisfying their biological needs so as not to die. Among them, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov himself should have gone brutal long ago, lost his human qualities. However, despite all the difficulties of fate, he rejoices at every day he lives on Earth. His small successes turn into big ones in the enclosed space of the camp. Prisoner number eight hundred and fifty-four has not become callous or bruised. He is still capable of sympathy and pity for his neighbor. In opposition to Ivan Denisovich, camp guards were placed, who secured a wonderful life for themselves by turning prisoners into slaves. They place themselves above the inhabitants of the camp, thereby violating human laws, excluding themselves from human society.
8. Contrastes the hero with society and A.P. Chekhov in the story “Ionych”. At the beginning of the work, Dmitry Ionych Startsev, a zemstvo doctor, appears before us, who is contrasted with the heroes of the city of S., gray and ignorant people. This is especially clearly seen in the example of the Turkin family, whom Startsev visits. The whole family strives to show off their imaginary “talents,” which in fact do not exist, and each of them revels in their stupidity. Turkins are static, there is no development in their images. But Startsev is not trying to change anything, but on the contrary, he himself is slowly beginning to adapt to the world around him. Under the influence of external forces, he also degrades, sinks to the moral bottom, gets carried away by hoarding, gets fat, becomes stupid, and ceases to be interested in anything. And in the end we see just Ionych, a man without a name and without a core, reshaped to suit the low standards of society in the city of S.
9. In the novel M.A. Sholokhov's "Quiet Don" the main character goes a long way in search of his place in the turbulent society of revolutionary times. Grigory Melekhov is rushing about, trying to figure out which camp to join and who to support in a brutal fratricidal war. “Mad World” frightens the hero, internal torment torments him. In addition to this, love twists and turns appear. His feelings for Aksinya, forbidden but deep, push Melekhov to take serious actions - he leaves his family, goes against generally accepted norms in order to finally resolve all the troubles and storms of his soul. He, tired of constant thoughts and discord, wants peace and tranquility. That is why, upon returning home, Melekhov throws his gun into the water. However, a short-sighted society does not accept his search, labels him a “traitor” and persecutes an already unarmed and broken man, without knowing compassion.
10. F.M. Dostoevsky in his novel “Crime and Punishment” shows what the decline of society pushes its ordinary citizens to do. There are several reasons for the fact that Rodion Raskolnikov decided to kill the old pawnbroker. One of them, of course, has roots in Rodion’s personality. But a society mired in poverty and sins also played a significant role in the student’s decision. Raskolnikov himself was stifled by lousy poverty, and he, sensitive to the suffering of others, committed a terrible crime. Nothing else makes sense in a society where money and simple pieces of paper have become the main value, and everyone has long forgotten about high morality. A simple girl Sonya Marmeladova takes the path of a prostitute to earn money for her family. And her father, not thinking about his family, drinks everything away in taverns that stink of the rot of human souls, while wealthy moneybags revel in their wealth, earned from the lives of ordinary people. This is how the author shows that it is impossible to live in society and be free from it: its problems automatically become yours.

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(The image shows a fragment of Alexander Deineka’s painting “Stakhanovites”)

Man and society, their interaction is the most pressing topic in the works of Russian literature. Society is a part of the world that is always developing. It has its own traditions, values, time frames. Society has its own unit - the person. He does not have the opportunity to choose the association where he should live. When he is born, he already becomes part of society. This society influences the formation of personality, lifestyle, and interests of a person. How does society exert pressure on an individual? The works of Russian literature highlight the problem of “man and society”:

(Illustration for L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace")

Tolstoy in his novel “War and Peace” shows that the nature of high society in Russia is dual. The reader has the opportunity to look at the high society of St. Petersburg and observe its life. A whole world with its own foundations and laws also opens up to him. However, the author clearly highlights the unnaturalness of high relationships. Well-dressed ladies strain their smiles, they are pale and cold, but inside there is only indifference and emptiness. Foreign news is often discussed at high society events. A person who knows how to think will quickly get bored here and be disappointed in the pompousness of the gentlemen. Tolstoy also clearly depicts representatives of the upper class, who are distinguished by their sensitivity and nobility. We are talking about Natasha Rostova, Andrei Bolkonsky, Pierre Bezukhov. They are smart, interested in people, the world in general. They are the absolute opposite of the dead who are found in the salons of St. Petersburg. But each of the above did not feel at ease in high society. They were deceived and could be disgraced. They are individual, have nothing in common with a hypocritical, gray society.

(Illustration for F. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment")

The novel “Crime and Punishment,” written by Dostoevsky, tells how society can influence an ordinary citizen and his actions. Raskolnikov wanted to kill the pawnbroker. This was not without reason. The first reason is Rodion’s personality, his roots. Not the least role in this was played by a society mired in sins and poverty. Raskolnikov was also poor, he sympathized with other people who suffered. But he still decided to commit a crime. The society from the story “Crime and Punishment” valued only money, forgetting about high morality. Nothing else made sense to them. Sonya Marmeladova was a simple girl who became a prostitute. This happened due to the need to earn money to feed the family. The father of this heroine drinks heavily and sits in taverns where human souls rot. The moneybags, in turn, revel in the wealth that was earned through the lives of ordinary people. Dostoevsky proves that society in any case influences a person, his life. It is impossible to be free while in society.

(Illustration for M. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita")

Bulgakov, with the help of the novel “The Master and Margarita,” raised the question of the individual person and his presence in society. The main character, the Master, is a real genius who managed to write an incredible novel. But after publication, the hero begins to be persecuted; he was not recognized. Who sends him pamphlets and reviews filled with rage? This is a society of graphomaniacs, people who envy and are pseudo-writers. The author shows this society as insidious and caustic. It constantly poisons and attacks the Master, which provokes the destruction of the magnificent creation. As a result, the genius ends up in a madhouse. Now he does not belong to a nasty bunch, his new world is Margarita. It is in this society that the Master rests his soul.

Thus, no matter who a person is, no matter what he is, his individual characteristics and qualities are needed for the benefit of the society in which a person lives and works. We can safely say that if there is an ideal formula, it is a complete and two-way relationship between man and society.

Plan

Introduction

The problem of the new man in Griboyedov's comedy Woe from Wit

The theme of a strong man in the works of N.A. Nekrasova

The problem of a lonely and superfluous person in a secular society in the poetry and prose of M.Yu. Lermontov

The problem of a poor man in the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky Crime and Punishment

The theme of a national character in the tragedy of A.N. Ostrovsky Thunderstorm

The theme of the people in the novel by L.N. Tolstoy's War and Peace

The theme of society in the work of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin Lord Golovlevs

The problem of the little man in the stories and plays of A.P. Chekhov

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

people society Russian literature

Russian literature of the 19th century brought the whole world the works of such brilliant writers and poets as A.S. Griboyedov, A.S. Pushkin, M.Yu. Lermontov, N.V. Gogol, I.A. Goncharov, A.N. Ostrovsky, I.S. Turgenev, N.A. Nekrasov, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, F.M. Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy, A.P. Chekhov and others.

In many works of these and other Russian authors of the 19th century, themes of man, personality, and people developed; personality was opposed to society (Woe from Wit by A.S. Griboyedov), the problem of an extra (lonely) person was demonstrated (Eugene Onegin by A.S. Pushkin, Hero of Our Time by M.Yu. Lermontov), ​​a poor person (Crime and Punishment by F.M. . Dostoevsky), problems of the people (War and Peace by L.N. Tolstoy) and others. In most of the works, within the framework of the development of the theme of man and society, the authors demonstrated the tragedy of the individual.

The purpose of this essay is to consider the works of Russian authors of the 19th century, to study their understanding of the problems of man and society, and the peculiarities of their perception of these problems. The study used critical literature, as well as the works of writers and poets of the Silver Age.

The problem of the new man in Griboyedov's comedy Woe from Wit

Consider, for example, the comedy by A.S. Griboyedova Woe from Wit, which played an outstanding role in the socio-political and moral education of several generations of Russian people. She armed them to fight violence and tyranny, meanness and ignorance in the name of freedom and reason, in the name of the triumph of advanced ideas and true culture. In the image of the main character of Chatsky's comedy, Griboedov, for the first time in Russian literature, showed a new person, inspired by sublime ideas, rebelling against a reactionary society in defense of freedom, humanity, intelligence and culture, cultivating a new morality, developing a new view of the world and human relations.

The image of Chatsky - a new, smart, developed person - is contrasted with Famus society. In Gora Out of Mind, all of Famusov’s guests simply copy the customs, habits and outfits of French milliners and rootless visiting crooks who made a living on Russian bread. They all speak a mixture of French and Nizhny Novgorod and are dumbfounded with delight at the sight of any visiting Frenchman from Bordeaux. Through the lips of Chatsky, Griboedov with the greatest passion exposed this unworthy servility to others and contempt for one’s own:

So that the unclean Lord destroys this spirit

Empty, slavish, blind imitation;

So that he would plant a spark in someone with a soul.

Who could, by word and example

Hold us like a strong rein,

From pathetic nausea, on the stranger's side.

Chatsky loves his people very much, but not the Famus society of landowners and officials, but the Russian people, hardworking, wise, powerful. The distinctive feature of Chatsky as a strong man, in contrast to the prim Famus society, is the fullness of his feelings. In everything he shows true passion, he is always ardent in soul. He is hot, witty, eloquent, full of life, impatient. At the same time, Chatsky is the only openly positive hero in Griboyedov’s comedy. But one cannot call him exceptional and lonely. He is young, romantic, ardent, he has like-minded people: for example, professors of the Pedagogical Institute, who, according to Princess Tugoukhovskaya, practice schisms and lack of faith, these are crazy people inclined to study, this is the princess’s nephew Prince Fyodor, a chemist and botanist. Chatsky defends human rights to freely choose his own activities: travel, live in the countryside, focus his mind on science or devote himself to creative, high and beautiful arts.

Chatsky defends folk society and ridicules Famus society, its life and behavior in his monologue:

Aren't these rich in robbery?

They found protection from the court in friends, in kinship.

Magnificent building chambers,

Where they spill out in feasts and extravagance.

We can conclude that Chatsky in the comedy represents the young, thinking generation of Russian society, its best part. A. I. Herzen wrote about Chatsky: The image of Chatsky, sad, restless in his irony, trembling with indignation, devoted to a dreamy ideal, appears at the last moment of the reign of Alexander I, on the eve of the uprising on St. Isaac's Square. This is a Decembrist, this is a man who ends the era of Peter the Great and is trying to discern, at least on the horizon, the promised land...

The theme of a strong man in the works of N.A. Nekrasova