Verbal portrait of a left-hander. Russian national character

Lefty and his role in the story

In the story of Nikolai Semenovich Leskov "Lefty", pride in the Russian people and bitterness for the attitude of officials towards ordinary people.

AT short description Lefty from the story "Lefty" the author speaks of him as one of the gunsmiths who promised to fulfill the royal order. In the work, there is not even the real name of Lefty.

Together with two other craftsmen, Lefty undertook the task to prove to the British that our craftsmen are no worse than English craftsmen and can do any difficult job.

The appearance of Lefty and his relationship with the characters of the story

N. S. Leskov Levsha, whose description the author gives very briefly, brings to the main characters almost in the middle of the story. Here is what the author writes: “the gunsmiths are three people, the most skillful of them, one oblique left-hander, a birthmark on the cheek, and the hair on the temples was torn out during the exercise.” And only from this moment the plot already revolves around Lefty.

In the work, the gunsmiths appear before the reader as calm and self-confident craftsmen, respectful of the king and each other. The phrase "the word of the king for our sake will not be put to shame" says a lot. It seems that only the “royal word” sounds, but behind this expression one hears the “honor of the Motherland”, for which the masters, without saying big words, are ready to stand up.

Platov's bad attitude towards Lefty changed only after Lefty explained how to look at a flea in order to see and appreciate the skill of Tula gunsmiths.

Sending Lefty with a messenger to England, neither the tsar nor Platov even thought about the fact that a person travels so far without documents. And just in case, no one bothered to write out some paper to Lefty. The main thing is that the British understand "that this is not surprising for us."

The disdain for ordinary people by the Russian authorities runs throughout the story. They didn’t even get to feed the left-hander, so they sent him to England hungry, only they gave him a caftan so that “it looked like he had some kind of honored rank on him.”

Lefty as the personification of Russian masters

All the simple working people of Russia appear in the description of Lefty from Leskov's story "Lefty". Hard-working, respecting authority, ready to obey any order from his superiors, and at the same time full of dignity, patriotism and self-confidence, Lefty seems to personify Russian masters.

None of the English good things appeal to Lefty. He remains faithful to his country to the end.

Lefty Patriotism

Returning to Russia, Lefty fully felt the "love" of the Motherland. Not having a "tugament" with him, he ended up in "the common people's Obukhvinsk hospital, where an unknown class of all is accepted to die."

Neither Platov, nor anyone else, even moved to save the master, and only thanks to the English half-skipper did they bring good doctor. But before they had time, having caught a cold from lying on the cold floor, with a split head, Lefty died in the doctor's arms.

And in the scene where the death of Lefty is described, the author fully reveals the character of the master. After all, even dying such a terrible death, Lefty remained faithful to his homeland. And last words: “Tell the sovereign that the British don’t clean their guns with bricks: even if they don’t clean ours, otherwise, God forbid, they are not good for shooting” - the best confirmation of the patriotism of a Russian artisan.

Artwork test

Lefty is a Tula master gunsmith, the hero of the famous story of the same name. Russian writer Nikolay Leskov.

“And the gunsmiths are three people, the most skillful of them, one oblique left-hander, a birthmark on the cheek, and the hair on the temples was torn out during the exercise ...”

The city of Tula, where the lefty comes from, is famous for its craftsmen, and just good citizens. The left-hander is also patriotic and pious, committed to the good old traditions:

“Tulyaks, smart people and knowledgeable in metal work, are also known as the first experts in religion. Their glory in this respect is full and motherland, and even Saint Athos: they are not only masters of singing with the Babylonians, but they know how a picture is written " evening call, evening Bell"and if one of them devotes himself to greater service and becomes a monk, then they are known as the best monastic stewards..."

Tula people manage to shoe a tiny English flea without a microscope on all four legs. The most difficult job went to the most unsightly master: the left-hander.

“That’s why,” he says, “I worked smaller than these horseshoes: I forged carnations with which the horseshoes were clogged, no small scope can take it anymore.

The Emperor asked:

Where is your melkoscope with which you could produce this surprise?

The lefty replied:

We are poor people and because of our poverty we don’t have a small scope, but we have shot our eyes like that .... "

For his unsurpassed weaponry skills, the left-hander is forever getting pummeled by those who are not able to appreciate the level of this skill at its true worth:

“And with that, he stretched out his hand, grabbed the left-handed left-hander by the collar with his short fingers, so that all the hooks from the Cossack flew off, and threw him into the carriage at his feet .... Platov turned all green and shouted:

Oh, they are dog rogues! Now I understand why they didn't want to tell me anything there. It’s good that I took one of their fools with me”

With these words, he ran out to the entrance, caught the left-hander by the hair and began to pull back and forth so that shreds flew ... "

Staying in England as a guest of honor, the left-hander is not blinded by the glory and honor that suddenly fell on him. He is able to appreciate the culture of work abroad and is upset that, alas, everything is not so in his homeland:

He looked at all their production: both metal factories and soap and sawmills, and all their economic arrangements, he liked him very much, especially with regard to the working content. Every worker they have is constantly full, dressed not in scraps, but on every able-bodied vest, shod in thick anklets with iron knobs, so that they don’t cut their feet anywhere; works not with a boilie, but with training and has a clue .... "

But the left-hander is not attracted by the tempting offers of the British to stay with them, to live and work in contentment, to leave their old parents in Tula and send them money. He greatly misses his homeland, feels nostalgia. He is not busy with idle affairs, but studies the inventions of the British and tries to learn something important and useful for the fatherland.

Dying, the left-hander thinks about the good of his compatriots:

“Tell the sovereign that the British don’t clean their guns with bricks: even if they don’t clean ours, otherwise, God forbid, they are not good for shooting ...” And with this fidelity, the left-hander crossed himself and died.

But even this feat of his is wasted: puffed up and pompous generals let the important news go past their ears. They do not care about the lives of their own soldiers, nor the interests of the motherland. Only ranks, power, wealth. And - God forbid someone will encroach on the unlimited power they are accustomed to, violate servility! The problem of the stupidity and irresponsibility of the authorities simply screams with blatant examples in Leskov's "Lefty", appeals to readers.

The rules of false decency, prejudices and the dictates of power in "Lefty" turn out to be more important human life, the talent of the master perishes for nothing, perishes precisely in the homeland, among people who seem to be close to him. A sick left-hander is taken to the hospital in such a way that they only “ditch” the person even more: they throw him on the porch, breaking his head. The driver is also good, who does not care about the sick "hungry fellow":

“The policeman led a left-hander to put on a sled, but for a long time he could not catch a single oncoming one, because the cabmen run from the police. And the left-hander lay on the cold paratha all the time; then he caught a police cab driver, only without a warm fox, because they hide a fox in a sleigh under themselves in such a case, so that the policemen's legs get cold sooner. They drove a left-hander so uncovered, but when they start transferring from one cab to another, they drop everything, and they start picking it up - they tear the ears so that they come to memory ... "

And this man was a great master, a brilliant inventor, a patriot of his Motherland, and just a living soul! We will never know his first and last name, he remains the image and symbol of an unknown genius simpleton master:

“The proper name of a left-hander, like the names of many the greatest geniuses, forever lost to posterity; but as a myth personified by folk fantasy, it is interesting, and its adventures can serve as a memory of an era, the general spirit of which is captured aptly and correctly ... "

The first writer that comes to his mind is, of course, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. The second portrait that appears before the inner gaze of the Russian book reader is the face of Leo Tolstoy. But there is one classic that, as a rule, is forgotten (or not mentioned so often) in this context - Nikolai Semenovich Leskov. Meanwhile, his writings are also saturated with the "Russian spirit", and they also reveal not only the features of the national national character, but also the specifics of all Russian life.

In this sense, Leskov's story "Lefty" stands apart. It reproduces all the flaws of the device with extraordinary accuracy and depth. domestic life and all the heroism of the Russian people. People, as a rule, do not have time now to read the collected works of Dostoevsky or Tolstoy, but they should find time to open the book, on the cover of which is written: N. S. Leskov "Lefty".

Plot

The story begins presumably in 1815. Emperor Alexander the First, making a trip to Europe, visits England. The British really want to surprise the emperor, and at the same time show off the skills of their masters and take him around different rooms for several days and show all kinds of amazing things, but the main thing that they have in store for the finale is filigree work: a steel flea that knows how to dance. Moreover, it is so small that it cannot be seen without a microscope. Our tsar was very surprised, but his escort, the Don Cossack Platov, was not at all. He, on the contrary, kept bawling all the time that ours, they say, could be no worse.

He soon died, and ascended the throne, who accidentally discovered an outlandish thing and decided to check Platov’s words by equipping him to visit the Tula masters. The Cossack arrived, instructed the gunsmiths and went home, promising to return in two weeks.

The masters, among whom was Lefty, retired to the house of the main character of the tale and did something there for two weeks, until Platov returned. locals they heard an uninterrupted knock, and the masters themselves during this time never left the Lefty's house. They became recluses until the job was done.

Platov arrives. They bring him the same flea in a box. In a rage, he throws into the carriage the first craftsman that came to hand (he turned out to be a left-hander) and goes to St. Petersburg to the tsar "on the carpet." Of course, Lefty didn’t get to the tsar right away, he was beaten beforehand and kept in prison for a short time.

Bloch appears before the bright eyes of the monarch. He looks and looks at her and cannot understand what the Tula people have done. Both the sovereign and his courtiers fought over the secret, then the tsar-father ordered to invite Lefty, and he told him that he should, they say, take and look not at the whole flea, but only at her legs. No sooner said than done. It turned out that the Tula people had shod the English flea.

Immediately, the curiosity was returned to the British, and the following was conveyed in words: “We can also do something.” Let's pause here for storyline and let's talk about what the image of Lefty is in the tale of Leskov N.S.

Left-handed: between a gunsmith and a holy fool

Lefty's appearance testifies to his "supremacy": "an oblique left-hander, on the cheek and on the temples the hair was torn out during the teaching." When Lefty arrived at the tsar, he was also dressed in a very peculiar way: “in shawls, one trouser leg is in a boot, the other is dangled, and the ozyamchik is old, the hooks do not fasten, they are lost, and the collar is torn.” He spoke to the king as he was, without observing manners and without sycophancy, if not on an equal footing with the sovereign, then certainly without fear of power.

People who are at least a little interested in history will recognize this portrait - this is a description of the ancient Russian holy fool, he was never afraid of anyone, because Christian Truth and God stood behind him.

Dialogue between Lefty and the English. Continuation of the plot

After a short digression, we will again turn to the plot, but at the same time we will not forget the image of Lefty in Leskov's tale.

The British were so delighted with the work that they demanded the master to submit to them, without a second's hesitation. The tsar respected the British, equipped Lefty and sent him with an escort. In the voyage of the protagonist to England there are two important moments: a conversation with the British (Leskov's story "Lefty" is perhaps the most entertaining in this part) and the fact that the ancestors, unlike the Russians, do not clean the muzzle of guns with bricks.

Why did the British want to keep Lefty?

The Russian land is full of nuggets, and they are not paid attention to special attention, and in Europe they immediately see “rough diamonds”. The English elite, having once looked at Lefty, immediately realized that he was a genius, and the gentlemen decided to keep our man at home, to learn, clean, enrich, but it wasn’t there!

The left-hander told them that he didn’t want to stay in England, didn’t want to study algebra, he had enough of his education - the Gospel and the Half Dream Book. He does not need money, women, too.

The left-hander was hardly persuaded to stay a little longer and look at Western technologies for the production of guns and other things. Newest technologies At that time, our craftsman was of little interest, but he was very attentive to the storage of old guns. Studying them, Lefty realized: the British do not clean the muzzle of their guns with bricks, which makes the guns more reliable in battle.

Despite this discovery, the protagonist the tale was still very homesick and asked the British to send him home as soon as possible. It was impossible to send by land, because Lefty did not know any languages ​​​​except Russian. It was also not safe to sail on the sea in autumn, for it is restless at this time of the year. And yet they equipped Lefty, and he sailed on a ship to the Fatherland.

During the journey, he found himself a drinking buddy, and they drank with him all the way, but not out of fun, but out of boredom and fear.

How bureaucracy killed a man

When friends on the ship were put ashore in St. Petersburg, the Englishman was sent to where everyone should be foreign citizens, - to the "messenger's house", and Lefty was allowed in a sick state through the bureaucratic circles of hell. Not a single hospital in the city could attach him without documents, except for the one where they were taken to die. Moreover, various officials said that Lefty needed help, but here's the problem: no one is responsible for anything and no one can do anything. So the left-hander died in a hospital for the poor, and on his lips he had only one phrase: “Tell the tsar-father that guns cannot be cleaned with bricks.” He nevertheless told it to one of the servants of the sovereign, but it never reached the Almighty. Guess why?

This is almost everything on the topic “N.S. Leskov "Lefty", the content is brief.

The image of Lefty in Leskov's tale and the model of the fate of a creative person in Russia

After reading the work of the Russian classic, the conclusion involuntarily suggests itself: there is simply no hope for a creative, brilliant person to survive in Russia. He will either be tortured by non-Christian bureaucrats, or he will destroy himself from within, and not because he has some unresolved problems, but because a Russian person is not able to simply live, his share is to die, burning up in life, like a meteorite in the atmosphere of the earth . Here is the image of Lefty in Leskov's tale that is contradictory: on the one hand, a genius and craftsman, and on the other hand, a person with a serious destructive element inside, capable of self-destruction in conditions when you least expect it.

It's no secret that a left-handed person differs from a right-handed person not only in that he writes while holding a pen in his other hand. Let's try to learn about the features, characteristics and qualities of a left-hander.

Today, about 8-15% of people in the world use the left hand as their predominant hand, they are called left-handers.

Interestingly, children choose the dominant hand at the age three years, it manifests itself in games, creative pursuits- for example, when drawing, decorating, sculpting. It is believed that in children who are left-handed, right hemisphere brain is predominant (dominant). His work is responsible for the perception of the location and orientation in space, artistic perception, creative, including musical, abilities, intuition, imagination, emotions.

Psychologists often point out that lefties are artistically gifted people They have an excellent ear for music. In addition, left-handed people have difficulty pronouncing certain sounds and sometimes a delay in the development of speech. Speaking about other qualities of left-handers, psychologists note stubbornness, the ability to draw, sculpt, sing, difficulties with reading and writing.

Left-handed children are often trusting, direct, subject to other people's influence, mood. They are also characterized by capriciousness, tearfulness, perseverance and perseverance in achieving the desired. The reasons for the difference between right-handers and left-handers are that the right and left hemisphere The brain is responsible for different areas of mental activity.

Also, experts note the connection of temperament with left-handedness. Left-handers are more emotional than right-handers, they have a problem with self-control. Left-handers can instantly get angry and lose their temper, but they have logical thinking, the ability to consistently process information, summarize it and analyze it. Left-handers are distinguished by excellent physical mobility, craving for sports, impressionability and vulnerability, they also have a tendency to fantasize and have an excellent memory.

In the past, most children who involuntarily preferred to use their left hand were intentionally retrained. Many parents perceive the news that their child is left-handed negatively, but one should not be so categorical in their judgments. To date, all experts agree that in no case should a left-hander be retrained. The process of retraining a left-hander is a difficult test for his psyche, which will only cause stress and neuroticism in the child.

After retraining, children often suffer from neurotic disorders, including sleep disorders, appetite, headaches, enuresis, and stuttering.

As recommendations on the behavior of adults with a left-handed child, there is advice not to focus on the fact that the child differs from other children in his left-handedness. In a situation where the baby feels that his feature is of increased interest from others, his self-esteem may decrease and shyness and self-doubt may develop.

Interestingly, when choosing a profession, one should take into account the left-handedness of a person. Left-handers have proven themselves in such areas as design, photography, painting, architecture, music, and sports. It is noted that among left-handed people there are a lot of creative people who have achieved success, as an example, we can name: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Vladimir Mayakovsky, composers Bach, Beethoven, Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe. If a left-handed child has appeared in the family, you should not retrain him; rather, you need to give him a chance to express himself from the creative side and develop the features and skills that he is good at. Children need and need the support of their parents. Be healthy!

The theme of patriotism was often raised in the works of Russian literature late XIX century. But only in the story "Lefty" is it connected with the idea of ​​the need careful attitude to talents that ennoble the face of Russia in the eyes of other countries.

History of creation

The story "Lefty" first began to be published in the magazine "Rus" Nos. 49, 50 and 51 from October 1881 under the title "The Tale of the Tula Lefty and the Steel Flea (Shop Legend)". The idea for creating the work by Leskov was a well-known joke among the people that the British made a flea, and the Russians "shod it, but sent it back." According to the testimony of the writer's son, his father spent the summer of 1878 in Sestroretsk, visiting a gunsmith. There, in a conversation with Colonel N. E. Bolonin, one of the employees of the local arms factory, he found out the origin of the joke.

In the preface, the author wrote that he was only retelling a legend known among gunsmiths. This well-known technique, once used by Gogol and Pushkin to give special credibility to the narrative, in this case did Leskov a disservice. Critics and the reading public literally accepted the words of the writer, and subsequently he had to specifically explain that he was still the author, and not the reteller of the work.

Description of the artwork

Leskov's story in terms of genre would be most accurately called a story: it presents a large temporal layer of the narrative, there is a development of the plot, its beginning and end. The writer called his work a story, apparently in order to emphasize the special “narrative” form of narration used in it.

(The emperor with difficulty and interest examines a savvy flea)

The action of the story begins in 1815 with the trip of Emperor Alexander I with General Platov to England. There, the Russian Tsar is presented with a gift from local craftsmen - a miniature work steel flea, which knows how to “drive with antennae” and “sort out with legs”. The gift was intended to show the superiority of English masters over Russian ones. After the death of Alexander I, his successor Nicholas I became interested in the gift and demanded to find craftsmen who would be "no worse than anyone". So in Tula, Platov called three craftsmen, among them Lefty, who managed to shoe a flea and put the name of the master on each horseshoe. The left-hander, however, did not leave his name, because he forged carnations, and “no small scope can take it there anymore.”

(But the guns at the court cleaned everything in the old fashioned way)

Lefty was sent to England with a "savvy nymphosoria" so that they would understand that "we are not surprised." The British were amazed by the jewelry work and invited the master to stay, showed him everything they had been taught. Lefty himself knew how to do everything. He was struck only by the condition of the gun barrels - they were not cleaned with crushed bricks, so the accuracy of firing from such guns was high. The left-hander began to get ready to go home, he had to urgently tell the Sovereign about the guns, otherwise "God forbid, they are not good for shooting." From longing, Lefty drank all the way with English friend“half-skipper”, fell ill and, upon arrival in Russia, was near death. But before last minute life tried to convey to the generals the secret of cleaning guns. And if the words of Lefty were brought to the Sovereign, then, as he writes

main characters

Among the heroes of the story there are fictional and there are personalities that really existed in history, among which: two Russian emperor, Alexander I and Nicholas I, chieftain of the Don Army M.I. Platov, prince, agent of Russian intelligence A.I. Chernyshev, Doctor of Medicine M. D. Solsky (in the story - Martyn-Solsky), Count K. V. Nesselrode (in the story - Kiselvrode).

(Left-handed "nameless" master at work)

The main character is a gunsmith, left-handed. He has no name, only a craftsman's feature - he worked with his left hand. Leskovsky Lefty had a prototype - Alexei Mikhailovich Surnin, who worked as a gunsmith, was studying in England and passed on the secrets of the case to Russian masters after returning. It is no coincidence that the author did not give the hero given name, leaving the common noun- Lefty one of those depicted in various works type of the righteous, with their self-denial and sacrifice. The personality of the hero has pronounced national traits, but the type is bred universal, international.

It is not for nothing that the only friend of the hero, about whom it is told, is a representative of another nationality. This is a sailor from the English ship Polskipper, who served his "comrade" Levsha a bad service. In order to dispel the longing of a Russian friend for his homeland, Polskiper made a bet with him that he would outdrink Lefty. A large number of drunk vodka and became the cause of the illness, and then the death of the yearning hero.

Lefty's patriotism is opposed to the false commitment to the interests of the Fatherland of other heroes of the story. Emperor Alexander I is embarrassed in front of the British when Platov points out to him that Russian masters can do things no worse. Nicholas I's sense of patriotism is based on personal vanity. Yes, and the brightest "patriot" in Platov's story is such only abroad, and when he arrives at home, he becomes a cruel and rude feudal lord. He does not trust Russian craftsmen and is afraid that they will spoil the English work and replace the diamond.

Analysis of the work

(Flea, savvy Lefty)

The work is distinguished by its genre and narrative originality. It resembles in genre a Russian tale based on a legend. It has a lot of fantasy and fabulousness. There are also direct references to the plots of Russian fairy tales. So, the emperor hides the gift first in a nut, which he then puts in a golden snuffbox, and the latter, in turn, hides in a travel box, almost in the same way as the fabulous Kashchei hides the needle. In Russian fairy tales, tsars are traditionally described with irony, just as both emperors are presented in Leskov's story.

The idea of ​​the story is the fate and place in the state of a talented master. The whole work is permeated with the idea that talent in Russia is defenseless and not in demand. It is in the interests of the state to support it, but it rudely destroys talent, as if it were a useless, ubiquitous weed.

Another ideological theme works became the opposition of true patriotism folk hero the vanity of characters from the upper strata of society and the rulers of the country themselves. Lefty loves his fatherland selflessly and passionately. Representatives of the nobility are looking for a reason to be proud, but they do not bother to make the life of the country better. This consumer attitude leads to the fact that at the end of the work the state loses one more talent, which was thrown as a sacrifice to the vanity of the general, then the emperor.

The story "Lefty" gave literature the image of another righteous man, now on the martyr's path of serving the Russian state. The originality of the language of the work, its aphorism, brightness and accuracy of the wording made it possible to parse the story into quotations that were widely distributed among the people.