Analysis of Gorky’s work “Childhood”. Essay on Gorky's story "Childhood"

The work “Childhood” reveals episodes from the difficult childhood of Alexei Peshkov. He published under the pseudonym M. Gorky.

His father died early, and not by natural causes. His grandmother gave him a lot. She always tried to cheer up her grandson. He was afraid of his mother. She was a closed, strict woman who did not give warmth to her son.

From an early age he learned cruelty and hatred. All this was practiced by my grandfather. His views on education contradicted his father's views. And the little boy had to learn all the methods of punishment from his mother’s family.

He had to memorize prayers that he did not understand. Their meaning was not explained to him. His life has completely changed. Numerous relatives influenced the child’s character.

By school age he knew poverty. He had no textbooks, so he was suspended from classes. And in the house itself there were constant beatings of the brothers’ grandmother. There was a feeling of cruelty on their part, since he could not answer them. And he is sent “to the people” so that he can provide for himself.

In the work, the author wants to show as a red thread that the best years are childhood. They leave an imprint on the developing personality for life. And it is very important how the child’s body grows. What fills his soul day after day. What does he learn and what does he know?

And so, children need to be around individuals who impart a feeling of tenderness, spiritual joy, empathy and compassion to their neighbors.

A child is an individual and requires respectful treatment.

All good, pure particles must be placed into children's pure souls. Teach good deeds and the ability to help. Do not refuse to help your neighbors.

The most important are the traditions laid down in the family. The ability to forgive each other, take care of each other. Live with everyone in peace and harmony.

It is very important that the child has everything necessary for learning. And he saw more good deeds, pure thoughts and heard beautiful words in the world. He developed his talent, and did not despair and sink to the bottom. I tried to resist evil and fought against bad deeds. He respected his mother and appreciated her. After all, she gave him life, fed and raised him.

Analysis of the work Gorky's Childhood

Writer Maxim Gorky dedicated a huge part of his work to children. He didn’t just write children’s stories about pleasant and sweet moments in life, but wrote about the difficulties that not only adults, but also children sometimes face. And in the work “Childhood” we see how the author’s real life situations are described. The entire internal monologue of this work allows us to understand the inner world of the hero. This story is autobiographical, making it clear that the author went through all the experiences and life situations through himself and perhaps once encountered them in real life.

In our understanding, childhood is a joyful and carefree time, but in this work the author gives the hero adult problems, which are very often reflected in his future life. The path to the formation and development of personality is very competently revealed.

It all starts with memories of a happy childhood with parents, then the death of a loved one and the first steps on the adult stage of the journey. The story is told in the first person, from the little boy Alyosha. The entire storyline and all the minor characters reveal the feelings of the little hero and his positive qualities. They also complement the boy's image. After moving to live with his grandparents in this strange life, he has to learn prayers and read the Bible. No matter how much he likes it in this house, he finds like-minded people: master Gregory and apprentice Tsyganok. This gives us a deeper understanding of the boy’s life experiences and feelings, just as it is difficult for him after moving into unfamiliar walls.

The feelings and love for the grandmother are especially clearly expressed. All these experiences make the boy look at the world with children's eyes, and with more meaningful eyes as adults. Sometimes the words of little Alyosha suggest that he has already experienced many life situations. But in such situations, adult support is very important. In this work, the grandmother played this role. Her voice, quiet stories, eyes - all this helped the boy wake up from all his problems. Reading this image creates the feeling that the grandmother’s eyes are glowing with warmth and love. She becomes his best friend. We see grandmother as the complete opposite of grandfather, who is always ready to help. She worries about the severity of her grandfather, knows how to appreciate the beauty around her, and all the people around her take advantage of this. It is this image that was created for the boy, in order to protect him from problems in life, and helps him stay afloat even in the most difficult times.

The situation is described very contrastingly when the grandfather beats our hero for ruining the tablecloth. This incident opened the boy's eyes to the character of people and the pain and indifference surrounding him. And here the grandmother acts as an angel, she grabs the beaten Alyosha in her arms. The author very accurately endows the hero with experiences from his world, making it clear that the author’s thoughts and impressions are very important to him. Even when they become poor, Alyosha, begging, brings all the change to her grandmother.

Throughout the story, the author teaches us compassion for other people's human problems, to be kinder to the world around us and to give kindness and love. It also teaches, despite all the difficulties, to grow responsive and kind. It especially says that you need to be kinder to your neighbor and never refuse to help unknown people.

The House with a Mezzanine, a short story written by Chekhov, tells the story of a love story that intersects with important social issues. The narrator talks about his happiness

Reflections on the fate of Russia. The creative search that resulted in the novel “Mother” had a significant impact on the writer’s future path. True, far-fetched forecasting of life was completely pushed aside by attention to the motley domestic reality. An understanding of the real origins that gave rise to the “destroyed world” began. In February 1912, Gorky wrote about Russia: “It is high time and it is necessary to study it from its roots, not bearing in mind the question - what is it like? – and the question is – why is she like this? “
On such soil they were created extremely

colorful “Okurov” stories (1909-1911), a cycle of stories “Across Rus'” (1912-1917), autobiographical prose (“Childhood”, 1913; “In People”, 1914). There is no trace of majorly voiced pictures or victorious moods here. A wise and sober look reigns everywhere. The writer’s desire to “look into the depths of the soul, where unfamiliar thoughts and unheard words live” (“Across Rus'”) is palpable. “Journey” through the mysterious, “underwater” currents of life closely connects these works of Gorky with contemporary literature.
NEW features of autobiographical prose. Alyosha Peshkov, the hero of the autobiographical cycle,

it is necessary to understand the imperfect world “from the inside.” The boy is faced with questions that are not at all “pink” in nature. The combination of a child's heightened perception with the seriousness of life's demands produces an interesting effect. Through the inquisitive eyes of the boy, the artist seems to rediscover his surroundings, the world as a whole.
Gradually, with losses and grievances, Alyosha begins to understand truth and lies, beauty and ugliness. And the grown Peshkov, remembering the distant years, keeps count of his previous achievements and mistakes. The two-part structure of the narrative - covering life from two age points of view - allows the writer to deepen the impressions of a teenager and the understanding of adults of the complex connections between the past and the present.
In a motley, contrasting reality, principles that are incompatible with each other are revealed. Gorky's autobiographical prose was usually viewed as a combination of independent groups of characters: exponents of “leaden abominations” or spiritual beauty. In reality there is no such division. The intertwining of opposite principles in one soul is revealed. That’s why it’s difficult for Alyosha to understand the person. His inner bewilderment is conveyed in many ways, including through the language of images and symbols. The hero likens himself either to an attic where old things are scattered, or to a beehive where “various gray people” brought “the honey of their knowledge.”
In the bourgeois behavior of the draftsman's mother, in the meanness of sex on the ship, their spiritual devastation is felt. And this causes painful experiences, but awakens the boy’s thoughts. Alyosha often hears reasonable judgments from embittered people - grandfather Kashirin, Uncle Yakov, Zhikharev... And at the last meeting with Uncle Yakov, he was simply amazed by his understanding of human misfortunes. In embittered natures, worthy aspirations are suppressed.
On the other hand, warm human hearts do not avoid offensive weakness. It is this sad phenomenon that Alyosha observes in the behavior of his grandmother, mother, Gypsy, cook Smury, carpenter Osip, fireman Yakov. Akulina Ivanovna’s wise kindness and fortitude easily coexists with her fear of “strangers” (the clever chemist “Good Deed”) and books (“they lie, books”). The memories of my grandmother, who carried a dark, harsh fate through many years, are covered with unabating sadness. Thus, a bleak conclusion was drawn: “The unsteadiness of people is too strikingly obvious.”
The strange duality of those around him gives rise to Peshkov’s keen desire to hear the “good news of a new life.” For the first time it sounded for Alyosha, especially for the matured Maksimych, in the experience of the past. Folklore (“Childhood”) and books (“In People”) became independent heroes of these works. The scenes of Peshkov’s acquaintance with the book lover Smury, the discovery of Russian classics under the influence of “Queen Margot,” and the reading of Lermontov’s “Demon” are permeated with light. Literature made Alyosha “invulnerable to many things” and aroused interest in the thinking intelligentsia (stepfather Maksimov). But Peshkov never found the real power that can awaken life - “beautiful, cheerful, honest.”
Gorky's autobiographical prose is a rich spill of the author's deepest observations and intimate spiritual confessions. The narration conveys figurative folk speech. It is in her that the writer finds the grain of “good, human”, which significantly enlightens the overall picture.

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1) The history of the creation of M. Gorky’s story “Childhood”. In 1913, Maxim Gorky wrote the first part of his “Childhood” trilogy, in which he depicted a milestone in the development of a little person’s personality, based on his own real biographical facts. Three years later, the author wrote the second part of the trilogy, “In People,” which describes the hard working life of the working class, and a few years later, in 1922, M. Gorky published the third part of the trilogy, “My Universities.”

2) Features of the genre. M. Gorky’s work “Childhood” belongs to the genre of autobiographical story. Remembering his childhood, the first years of growing up, the death of his father, moving to the Kashirins’ house, rethinking a lot in a new way, M. Gorky creates the story “Childhood”, a story about the life of a little boy Alyosha. The story is told in the first person, on behalf of the main participant in the events. This allows the writer to show the events depicted more reliably, to convey the thoughts, feelings, and attitude to the character’s life. Alyosha remembers his grandmother as “the closest to my heart, the most understandable and dear person - it was her selfless love for the world that enriched me, saturating me with strong strength for a difficult life.” In the text of the story, the hero admits his dislike for his grandfather. The writer’s task is not just to convey the events in which the little hero became a participant, but also to evaluate them from the position of an adult who has known a lot about human life. It is this feature that is characteristic of the zhair autobiographical story. M. Gorky’s goal is not to revive the past, but to tell “about that close, stuffy circle of terrible impressions in which he lived - until now, a simple Russian man.” The events of childhood are conveyed with a spatula in as much detail as possible, since each episode in the hero’s life has an impact on the formation of character. Alyosha perceives the trials that befell him differently: for example, after the grandfather beat his grandson for ruining the tablecloth, the “days of ill health” became “great days of life” for the boy. It was then that the hero began to understand better and July, and his heart “became unbearably sensitive to any insult and pain, his own and someone else’s.” Gorky’s work “Childhood)” is small in volume, has the boundaries of the traditional genre of the story: one main plot line associated with an autobiographical character, and all the minor characters and episodes help to reveal Alyosha’s character, to express the author’s attitude to what is happening. The writer simultaneously endows the main character with his experiences, and at the same time contemplates the events described as if from the outside, giving them an assessment: “...yes "Is it worth talking about this? This is the truth that needs to be known to the roots, in order to root it out of memory, from a person’s soul, from our entire life, difficult and shameful."

Remember what an autobiographical story is. How does an autobiographical story differ from a writer’s autobiography? (An autobiography is based on the real facts of the writer’s life; in an autobiographical story, fiction plays a special role, although the writer’s personal feelings, thoughts, and impressions are also important.)

What autobiographical works have you studied this school year? (story by J1.H. Tolstoy “Childhood”, story by M. Gorky “Childhood”)

What is internal monologue? (reflections of the main character) What role does the internal monologue play in revealing the character of the main character of M. Gorky’s story “Childhood” - Alyosha Peshkov? (The internal monologue helps the reader to penetrate into the inner world of the hero, to get acquainted with his thoughts and feelings.)

3) Characteristics of the heroes of the story.

How does the main character characterize life in the Kashirin family? (“dense, motley, inexpressibly strange life”)

How do the relationships in the Kashirins’ house differ from the relationships that existed between Alyosha’s mother and father? (The atmosphere in the Kashirins’ house was hostile, and the relationship between Alyosha’s parents was built on love and mutual respect.)

Who is the head of the house in the Kashirin family? (grandfather)

How do guys behave: Mikhail and Yakov? (The guys constantly quarrel among themselves, trying to quickly divide the grandfather’s property.)

What is the relationship between the children in the Kashirin family? (there is also no mutual understanding between children)

To whom in the house does Alyoshka, who has arrived, gravitate towards? (to grandmother, orphan-foundling Gypsy, half-blind master Grigory Ivanovich)

Alyosha's image. M. Gorky wrote the story “Childhood”, where in the image of the main character he brought out an autobiographical character - Alyosha Peshkov. All events and heroes of the work are depicted by the writer through the perception of a little boy.

Who is the main character - Alyoshka - traveling with on the ship? (with grandmother and mother)

What does Alyosha especially like about his grandmother’s appearance? (smile and eyes that glowed from within)

How does the mother behave on the ship? (closed, rarely goes on deck, stays away)

What was the first impression that grandfather made on Alyoshka? (the boy didn’t like his grandfather)

What are the boy’s first impressions of the new house in which he will now live? (Everything seemed unpleasant to Alyosha)

Why did Alyosha have such difficulty remembering the prayer that his quiet, meek aunt Natalya taught him? (Aunt Natalya could not explain to the boy the meaning of memorizing a prayer)

How does Alyosha behave at the time of his grandfather's punishment? (continues to bite, kick, and express disagreement in every possible way)

Why does Tsyganok say that little Alyosha will often be spanked? (Alyosha cannot come to terms with injustice)

How does the main character behave during a fire? (observes, analyzes what he sees)

What attracted Alyosha to the parasite Good Deed? (unusuality, unlike other people)

The image of a grandmother. The grandmother is the complete opposite of her grandfather and her husband: affectionate, kind, ready to help everyone. She is very worried about the constant quarrels of her sons, and is dissatisfied with the severity of her grandfather. Particularly prominent on the grandmother’s face were the eyes, thanks to which the heroine “shone from within... with an unquenchable, cheerful and warm light.” The grandmother’s character is soft, compliant, she loves people from the bottom of her heart, knows how to appreciate true beauty, and is attached to home: “I remember my grandmother’s childhood joy at the sight of Nizhny.” It is the inconspicuous grandmother who becomes a kind angel for Alyosha, protecting the boy from evil people and difficult living conditions. It was she who grabbed the hero in her arms when his grandfather punished him for ruining the tablecloth. Grandmother did not know how to hold a grudge for a long time, to be cruel. People took advantage of her kindness, but she never complained about Life. Living with his grandmother, Alyosha listens every evening to stories about the life of the Kashirin family. When it came to the business life of the family, the grandmother “speaking laughingly, aloofly, somehow from a distance, like a neighbor, and not the second eldest in the house.” Material goods were not the heroine’s life values. Pity and compassion for people are the main qualities of the grandmother’s character, which is why she worries and suffers after the death of her foundling, Gypsy. The wise woman perceives the difficulties encountered in life as God’s tests, this is what she tells her grandson about Vanya the Gypsy: “Grandfather wanted to take Vanya to the police, but I dissuaded him: let’s take him for ourselves; God sent this to us instead of those who died. After all, I had eighteen births... but the Lord loved my blood, took everything, and even took my children into angels. I’m both sorry and happy!” During the fire: “illuminated by the fire, which seemed to catch her, black, she rushed around the yard, keeping up everywhere, in charge of everything, seeing everything.” Having become practically beggars, Alyosha was forced to beg. He brought small crumbs to his grandmother, who “looked at them and cried silently,” worrying about the future of her grandson. The grandmother’s whole life was spent for the benefit of people, so her image was imprinted for a long time in the mind of the main character. A wise woman smoothes out the “leaden abominations of wild Russian life”, spiritually enriching the difficult lives of people.

What role does grandma play in the home? (Grandmother is the reconciling principle in the house, she loves everyone, takes pity, and is smart with her natural maternal mind.)

Why do you think the writer initially intended to call his story “Grandma”? (It is the image of the grandmother that brings a kind, reconciling beginning into the work.)

The image of a grandfather.
- What contradictions in the appearance of your grandfather can you note? Why does he seem to Alyosha at the same time angry, cruel and at the same time fearless? (Grandfather often acts impulsively, without thinking about the consequences, and then regrets what he did.)

Who influenced the formation of your grandfather’s character? (difficult childhood, difficult surrounding life)

4) The role of dialogue in the story. The dialogues in the story help to reveal the character of the characters, as well as life circumstances.

Schoolchildren write an essay based on Gorky’s story “Childhood” in the seventh grade. This story raises many issues that are still relevant today. The boy's life, which changed so dramatically in an instant, makes the reader sincerely empathize with the main character.

The fate of the writer

The well-known creator Maxim Gorky wrote many works that are reread not only by students, but also by adults. But the life of a writer was not easy. An essay based on Gorky’s story “Childhood” should begin with an indication that it is autobiographical. The characters in it are not fictional, as in most other works, but real ones. And all because Gorky created this work from his own memories.

When he was just a child, he was surrounded by a loving and friendly family. But the writer's father unexpectedly dies due to illness. For this reason, the boy's grandmother takes him and his mother to the house of his grandfather, whom he has never seen. This is where the child’s new life begins, rich and harsh.

But he, having suffered all these hardships, does not give up. Subsequently, he was even able to get an education. Thanks to his hobby - reading books, as well as his skill, Gorky becomes a world-famous writer.

Relationship with grandmother

A mandatory element in our essay will be the characterization of the heroes. Childhood (Gorky wrote the story as an adult) became a real school of life. Modern schoolchildren can hardly imagine the orders and foundations of that time.

In the house of grandfather Kashirin, the boy first encountered evil. Everyone was at enmity: both adults and children. But only the grandmother, Akulina Ivanovna, became a true friend for the boy. She was a brave, strong woman, but at the same time very kind and affectionate.

Gorky's mother was very upset by the death of her husband and son, whom she gave birth to prematurely due to stress, so the child practically did not feel her love and attention. The grandmother, on the contrary, loved her grandson with all her heart.

An essay based on Gorky’s story “Childhood” will contain a detailed description of this heroine. The boy compares her to a bear because she is just as big and soft. All the way that they were traveling by boat to Nizhny Novgorod, the grandmother entertained her grandson with fairy tales in every possible way. She understands that when they arrive home, difficulties await them all.

Thanks to her love and affection, the boy copes better with the loss of his family.

Characteristics of heroes

“Childhood” (Gorky reflected his memories in the story) raises such a problem as the relationships of others. At his grandfather's house, Alyosha saw for the first time how quarrelsome people can be. The brothers Yakov and Mikhail, who are the boy’s uncles, were constantly at enmity with each other, dividing their sister’s dowry.

Meeting my grandfather did not go at all as the naive child imagined. Vasily Kashirin never saw his grandson and did not communicate with his daughter for many years, because she married a common man without his consent. He dreamed of giving her to some nobleman so that she would not live in poverty. But Varvara acted in her own way, disobeying her father.

The boy was disappointed when he saw his grandfather for the first time. He was not at all affectionate, he flogged his grandchildren for every offense. Alyosha didn’t know what beatings were. Here he too had to experience severe physical punishment. The grandfather spanked him so much that the child lost consciousness from pain. which was already very difficult, will forever remember this incident. He was able to forgive his grandfather, but could not forget his cruelty.

Later, Vasily becomes attached to the child with all his heart, hardly hits him, and teaches him to read and write. This helped the boy a lot in later life.

For a free life

The story “Childhood” (Gorky) is studied chapter by chapter in a literature lesson. From the first to the eighth we watch how Alyosha gets used to his grandfather’s strict rules. Next we see a grown-up boy who has settled into the Kashirins’ house and was even able to learn to read and write. Grandfather sells his house and buys another. Out of stinginess, he hosts guests who pay for their accommodation. Now he does not provide for his grandmother: she has to knit lace to feed herself and her grandson.

Varvara, Alyosha’s mother, who got married and left her father’s house, returns again. Again her family life did not work out, her husband drinks and beats her.

Soon she dies, and Alyosha is left completely orphaned.

After the mother’s funeral, the grandfather sends the child away from his home, believing that he can survive on his own and earn a living. This is how Gorky’s life begins “in people”

Now you can easily write an essay based on Gorky’s story “Childhood.” This work will leave its mark on the soul of every reader.

In the stories of the autobiographical trilogy “Childhood”, “In People” (1913-1916) and “My Universities” (1925), M. Gorky portrays a hero capable of spiritual self-development. The process of human formation was new in literature. In famous works about the childhood years of S. Aksakov, L.N. Tolstoy, A.N. Tolstoy, the main attention was paid to depicting the inner world of a child. Researchers of Gorky's work believe that the social nature of the hero of the trilogy and the commonality of fate with the people distinguish this work from other examples of the autobiographical genre.

Childhood, depicted by Gorky, is far from a wonderful period of life. This is not only the story of a child’s soul, but also Russian life in a certain era. The hero of “Childhood” peers into this life, at the people around him, tries to understand the origins of evil and hostility, and reaches out to the bright. The writer himself saw and experienced a lot in childhood. He wrote: “Remembering these leaden abominations of wild Russian life, I ask myself for minutes: is it worth talking about this? And, with renewed confidence, I answer myself: it’s worth it; for this is a tenacious, vile truth, it has not died out to this day. This is the truth that needs to be known to the roots, in order to root it out from memory, from a person’s soul, from our entire life, difficult and shameful.

And there is another, more positive reason that prompts me to draw these abominations. Although they are disgusting, although they crush us, crushing many beautiful souls to death, the Russian person is still so healthy and young at heart that he overcomes and will overcome them.”

Despite the fact that these statements are given by the writer only in the 12th chapter, they are the leading thread of the story. Not in chronological order, the narrative moves sequentially and calmly: the pictures drawn by the writer arise as a result of the most powerful impressions left in the child’s mind from encounters with reality. Knowing the characteristics of the child’s psyche, Gorky shows the dark and tragic in contrast with the bright and joyful, which makes the strongest impression on the child.

So, the heavy impression from the pictures of the tragic death of the father is replaced by a feeling of happiness from closeness with an extraordinary person - the grandmother; the picture of the grandfather’s inhuman cruelty during the punishment of children is adjacent to the description of the grandfather’s intimate conversation with Alyosha; The inquisitorial entertainments of the uncles are contrasted with the kind and witty amusements of the Gypsy.

It is important to see the “close, stuffy circle of terrible impressions” in which Alyosha lived in the Kashirin family, how the hero’s ideas about the morals of his own world expanded outside of his grandfather’s house. Alyosha was greatly influenced by those “beautiful souls” whom he met in his grandfather’s house and in the world around him and who instilled “hope for rebirth... to a bright, human life.”

The peculiarity of “Childhood” is that the narration is told on behalf of the narrator. This type of presentation is not new, but the difficulty lies in the fact that what is depicted in the story is seen both through the eyes of a child, the main character, who is in the thick of things, and through the eyes of a wise person, assessing everything from the standpoint of great life experience. It is precisely the fact that the narrator preserves in the story the ardent spontaneity of a child’s perception of the world and at the same time gives a deep socio-psychological analysis that allows us to conclude that Gorky was trying to arouse disgust for the “abominations of life” and instill love for the mentally generous, persistent and the talented Russian people.