"In bad society": a summary. "In bad society" - a story by V. G. Korolenko

To convey the summary of "In Bad Society" a few trivial sentences are not enough. Despite the fact that this fruit of Korolenko's creativity is considered to be a story, its structure and volume are more reminiscent of a story.

On the pages of the book, a dozen characters await the reader, whose fate will move along a rut rich in loops for several months. Over time, the story was recognized as one of the best opuses that came out from under the pen of the writer. It was also reprinted many times, and a few years after the first publication it was somewhat modified and published under the name "Children of the Underground".

Main character and setting

The protagonist of the work is a boy named Vasya. He lived with his father in the town of Knyazhye-Veno in the Southwestern Territory, populated mainly by Poles and Jews. It would not be superfluous to say that the city in the story was captured by the author "from life". Rivne is recognizable in the landscapes and descriptions of the second half of the 19th century. The content of "In Bad Society" by Korolenko is generally rich in descriptions of the surrounding world.

The child's mother died when he was only six years old. The father, busy with the judicial service and his own grief, paid little attention to his son. At the same time, Vasya was not prevented from getting out of the house on his own. That is why the boy often wandered around his native city, full of secrets and mysteries.

Lock

One of these local attractions was the former count's residence. However, the reader will find him not at the best of times. Now the walls of the castle are destroyed from an impressive age and lack of care, and the beggars of the immediate surroundings have chosen its interior. The prototype of this place was the palace, which belonged to the noble family of Lubomirsky, who bore the title of princes and lived in Rivne.

Fragmented, they did not know how to live in peace and harmony due to differences in religion and a conflict with the former count's servant Janusz. Using his right to decide who has the right to stay in the castle and who does not, he pointed out the door to all those who did not belong to the Catholic flock or servants of the former owners of these walls. Outcasts also settled in the dungeon, which was hidden from prying eyes. After this incident, Vasya stopped visiting the castle, which he had visited before, despite the fact that Janusz himself called the boy, whom he considered the son of a respected family. He did not like the way the exiles were treated. The immediate events of Korolenko's story "In Bad Society", a brief summary of which cannot do without mentioning this episode, begin precisely from this point.

Acquaintance in the chapel

One day, Vasya and his friends climbed into the chapel. However, after the children realized that there was someone else inside, Vasya's friends cowardly fled, leaving the boy alone. In the chapel were two children from the dungeon. They were Valek and Marusya. They lived with the exiles, who were evicted by Janusz.

The leader of the entire community hiding underground was a man named Tyburtius. Summary "In a bad society" can not do without its characteristics. This person remained a mystery to those around him, almost nothing was known about him. Despite his penniless lifestyle, there were rumors that this man had previously been an aristocrat. This conjecture was confirmed by the fact that the extravagant man quoted ancient Greek thinkers. Such education in no way corresponded to his common people's appearance. Contrasts gave the townspeople a reason to consider Tyburtius a sorcerer.

Vasya quickly became friends with the children from the chapel and began to visit and feed them. These visits for the time being remained a secret to others. Their friendship has withstood such a test as Valek's confession that he steals food in order to feed his sister.

Vasya began to visit the dungeon itself, while there were no adults inside. However, sooner or later such negligence was bound to betray the boy. And during the next visit, Tyburtsy noticed the judge's son. The children were afraid that the unpredictable owner of the dungeon would kick the boy out, but he, on the contrary, allowed the guest to visit them, taking his word that he would be silent about the secret place. Now Vasya could visit friends without fear. This is the summary of "In Bad Society" before the start of dramatic events.

Dungeon dwellers

He met and became close to other exiles of the castle. They were different people: the former official Lavrovsky, who loved to tell incredible stories from his past life; Turkevich, who called himself a general and liked to visit under the windows of eminent residents of the city, and many others.

Despite the fact that they all differed from each other in the past, now they all lived together and helped their neighbor, sharing the modest life that they arranged, begging on the street and stealing, like Valek or Tyburtsy himself. Vasya fell in love with these people and did not condemn their sins, realizing that they were all brought to such a state by poverty.

Sonya

The main reason why the protagonist ran away to the dungeon was the tense atmosphere in his own house. If the father did not pay any attention to him, then the servants considered the boy a spoiled child, who, moreover, constantly disappeared in unknown places.

The only person who pleases Vasya at home is his younger sister Sonya. He loves a four-year-old frisky and cheerful girl very much. However, their own nanny did not allow the children to communicate with each other, because she considered the older brother a bad example for the judge's daughter. Father himself loved Sonya much more than Vasya, because she reminded him of his dead wife.

Marousi's disease

Valek's sister Marusya fell seriously ill with the onset of autumn. Throughout the work "In Bad Society" the content can be safely divided into "before" and "after" this event. Vasya, who could not calmly look at the grave condition of his girlfriend, decided to ask Sonya for a doll left to her after her mother. She agreed to borrow the toy, and Marusya, who did not have anything like it because of poverty, was very happy with the gift and even began to get better in her dungeon "in bad company." The main characters did not yet realize that the denouement of the whole story was closer than ever.

Mystery Revealed

It seemed that everything would work out, but suddenly Janusz came to the judge to report on the inhabitants of the dungeon, as well as on Vasya, who was noticed in an unfriendly company. The father was angry with his son and forbade him to leave the house. At the same time, the nanny discovered the missing doll, which caused another scandal. The judge tried to get Vasya to confess where he goes and where his sister's toy is now. The boy only replied that he really took the doll, but did not say what he did with it. Even the summary of "In Bad Society" shows how strong Vasya was in spirit, despite his young age.

denouement

Several days have passed. Tyburtsiy came to the boy's house and gave Sonya's toy to the judge. In addition, he spoke about the friendship of such different children. The father, struck by history, felt guilty before his son, whom he did not devote time to and who, because of this, began to communicate with the poor, who were not loved by anyone in the city. Finally, Tyburtsy told that Marusya had died. The judge allowed Vasya to say goodbye to the girl, and he himself gave money to her father, having previously given advice to hide from the city. Here ends the story "In bad society."

The unexpected visit of Tyburtsy and the news of Marusya's death destroyed the wall between the protagonist of the story and his father. After the incident, the two of them began to visit the grave near the chapel, where the three children met for the first time. In the story "In Bad Society" the main characters could not appear all together in one scene. The beggars from the dungeon in the city were never seen again. All of them suddenly disappeared, as if they were not there.