The demoted officer Shvabrin Alexey Ivanovich appears, as the captain introduced him to Grinev.

Pushkin gives a portrait of Shvabrin in one line: “An officer of short stature, with a dark and distinctly ugly face, but extremely lively,” is how the author describes his appearance. But his internal qualities are much more important.

He is smart, educated, but for him honor and decency are forgotten concepts. This man is not worthy to bear the title of Russian officer.

Shvabrin has no idea what it means to love. Therefore, despite the lack of suitors, she was not seduced by his advances and refused to get married. She sensed deep down his deep dishonesty. And how did Shvabrin repay her for her refusal? He tried in every possible way to discredit her in the eyes of others. Moreover, he did it “behind his eyes” when neither the Mironovs nor Maria herself could hear him. And it doesn’t matter what his motives were - the desire to take revenge for the refusal, or to isolate potential suitors from Masha, the very fact of such denigration of the girl speaks of the baseness of the Shvabrin soul. However, this man did not only blaspheme Masha. He, like a village woman, gossiped about the captain’s wife and other inhabitants of the fortress, without experiencing the slightest remorse.

The next episode, which reveals Shvabrin’s image not from the best side, is the quarrel with and subsequent. Pyotr Andreevich wrote a song. In fact, it was a light, poetic pampering, which he wanted to boast about in his youth to Shvabrin. A more experienced retired officer ridiculed the young poet and once again slandered Masha, accusing her of being corrupt. The young man, who during his service in the fortress managed to get to know Captain Mironov’s daughter better, lost his temper and called Shvabrin a liar and a scoundrel. To which Shvabrin demanded satisfaction. A boy stood in front of the proven duelist, and Shvabrin was sure that he could easily deal with him. He knew very well that duels among nobles were prohibited, but he worried little about it, he was sure that with the help of deception and slander he could easily get out of the situation. If an experienced fighter and fencer had been in front of him, Shvabrin would probably have swallowed the insult and taken revenge on the sly. Which, however, he will do anyway later.

But the lessons of the French tutor, as it turned out, were not in vain for Grinev, and the “boy” wielded a sword quite well. The wound that Shvabrin inflicted on Grinev was caused at the moment when Savelich called out to his master, and thereby distracted him. Shvabrin sneakily took advantage of the moment.

While Pyotr Andreevich lay in a fever, the enemy wrote an anonymous letter to his father, in the secret hope that the old warrior would connect all his connections and transfer his beloved child from the fortress.

What do you see in this episode with the duel, denunciation, slander, a blow delivered when the opponent turned away. All these traits are inherent in people with a low soul. Here we can add disbelief in God. In Rus', Christianity and faith have always been a stronghold of morality and morality.

Shvabrin fully demonstrated his baseness during the capture of the fortress by robbers. In the face of this soldier, the reader does not see a brave warrior. He was one of the first officers to take the oath. Taking advantage of his “power” and permissiveness, as well as Masha’s defenselessness, he tried to persuade her to marry. But he didn’t need Masha. He was simply furious that she had rejected him, but she had a nice conversation with Grinev before dinners, and loved him with all her soul. His goal was to destroy the happiness of Grinev and Masha, to prevail over the one who rejected him. There is no place for love in Shvabrin's heart. Betrayal, hatred, denunciation live in him.

When Shvabrin was arrested for his connection with Pugachev, he slandered Grinev as well, although he knew perfectly well that the young man had not sworn allegiance to the robber and was not his secret agent.

Grinev was threatened by Siberia, and only the courage of Masha, who was not afraid to go to St. Petersburg to the empress, saved young man from hard labor. The scoundrel suffered a well-deserved punishment.

Doing brief description image of Shvabrin, it should be noted that Pushkin introduced this negative hero not only to diversify the plot, but also to remind the reader that, unfortunately, in life there are real scoundrels who can poison the lives of the people around them.

Oh, this great Shvabrin Schelm.

A. Pushkin. Captain's daughter

In his historical story “The Captain's Daughter,” A. S. Pushkin creates a whole gallery of images distinguished by honesty, nobility, and loyalty to civic and public duty. We remember Alexey Shvabrin, the main negative character of the story, a vile and dishonest person, capable of treason and betrayal, with completely different qualities.

We first meet Shvabrin in Belogorsk fortress, where he was transferred to serve for “death-murder.” Before us is “a young officer of short stature, with a dark and distinctly ugly face, but extremely lively.” Shvabrin is “very not stupid,” and his conversation is always “sharp and entertaining.” However, his jokes and remarks are cynical, sarcastic and often groundless, as Pyotr Grinev soon notes - main character stories.

Shvabrin was once in love with Masha Mironova, the daughter of the commandant of the fortress, but his proposal was refused. The favor with which Marya Ivanovna now greets the first timid signs of attention from Grinev arouses anger and rage in Shvabrin. He tries in every possible way to tarnish the name of the girl and her family, as a result of which young Grinev challenges Shvabrin to a duel. And here Shvabrin behaves unworthy of an officer: with a dishonorable blow he insidiously wounds the enemy, who was distracted by the call of a servant.

Grinev’s wound did not bring relief to Shvabrin, because while caring for the patient, Masha’s feelings for him also grew stronger.

However, the quiet and measured life of the inhabitants of the fortress was destroyed by the arrival of rebel detachments led by Pugachev. More than anything else, Shvabrin fears for his own life, so he without hesitation recognizes the “impostor” as the king, dresses in Cossack clothes, and cuts his hair. He has no sense of duty or self-worth; he is ready to do anything for personal gain, which is why he humiliates himself in front of Pugachev, trying to please him. “Agile, nothing to say!” - the priest says about him. Pugachev, not having time to recognize this man, leaves the fortress, leaving him in charge. Grinev is also forced to leave, and Shvabrin sees him off “with an expression of sincere anger and feigned mockery,” because after his betrayal he really wanted Grinev to be punished by Pugachev for his loyalty to the empress and the duty of a nobleman.

However, remaining in the fortress, Shvabrin does not stop his vile atrocities. Masha Mironova, a defenseless girl, remained in his power, and he locked her up on bread and water, trying to force her into marriage. Shvabrin’s gross harassment does not at all indicate his love for the daughter of the murdered commandant. On the contrary, with his actions he thus tries to annoy and take revenge on his enemy - Pyotr Grinev, who at that time was looking for ways to free his beloved girl from cruel captivity. When Grinev, under the protection of Pugachev, arrived at the fortress, Shvabrin, out of unbearable fear for his life, falls to his knees before the “tsar”, forgetting about pride and self-esteem. Grinev is disgusted by the sight of “a nobleman lying at the feet of a runaway Cossack.” When Peter left, taking Marya Ivanovna away from the fortress, Shvabrin’s face “portrayed gloomy malice.” Even now, destroyed by his own meanness and unscrupulous actions, Shvabrin does not lose hope of taking revenge on Grinev. Material from the site

After the suppression of the uprising, Shvabrin fell into the hands of the imperial court. The events that happened during this time greatly changed his appearance: “He was terribly thin and pale. His hair, recently jet black, was completely grey; his long beard was disheveled.” His appearance evokes hostility, but Shvabrin has enough strength to commit the last, most unexpected meanness. He gives false testimony, accusing Grinev of treason and espionage. Shvabrin has nothing to lose, because he has long lost the remnants of his conscience and human dignity.

It is scary to meet in life a person like Shvabrin - treacherous, cruel, unprincipled. However, Grinev’s victory turned into the defeat of Shvabrin, who was so afraid of losing his priceless life that he failed to understand that in fact he was originally a dead person.

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On this page there is material on the following topics:

• the meanness and deceit of Shvabrin's nature
• epigraph about baseness
• A. With. Pushkin essay on the theme of the captain's daughter duel with Shvabrin
• Shvabrin unworthy
• characteristic mop quotes

Cowardice is nothing more than human weakness, which manifests itself in a person’s inability to overcome his fear of danger, in the lack of determination, which is so necessary to accept important decisions. This quality is characteristic of each of us, but it manifests itself in each of us in its own way. After all, cowardice, first of all, stems from such an inherent quality in all of us as self-love. A person cannot help but experience fear, but he can overcome it, control it - this is called courage. It, in turn, manifests itself in a person’s courage and fortitude, in the ability to take responsibility and make difficult decisions in different life situations.

In Russian fiction There are many heroes who possess these qualities. A striking example of this is the work of A.S. Pushkin "The Captain's Daughter".

The main character of the work, Pyotr Grinev, is an honest, straightforward and sincere person, for whom honor and loyalty are above all else. He has many noble and truly brave, selfless deeds to his name, which characterize him as a courageous and strong-willed person. So he considered it his duty to intercede for his beloved Maria Ivanovna and accepted the challenge to a duel from Shvabrin. Defending the honor of his beloved girl, he was not afraid to risk his own life. Shvabrin acted basely: he wounded Grinev when he turned away. Shvabrin's fear and cowardice forced him to strike on the sly, in the enemy's back, when he posed no threat. But an even greater feeling of fear took possession of him when Pugachev captured Belgorod fortress. Shvabrin, fearing for his own life, goes over to Pugachev’s side. The hero's cowardice and cowardice pushed him to such a low and dishonorable act as betrayal. Pyotr Grinev acted completely differently. He preferred death to the slightest deviation from the dictates of duty and honor, refused the oath to Pugachev and was ready to bravely accept his death. After such a brave act of the hero, there is no doubt that Pyotr Grinev is a brave and courageous man who is not afraid to face danger. Another confirmation of this is leaving Orenburg. Exposing himself to great danger, he leaves the fortified city and goes to save his beloved girl. Such a low and cowardly person as Shvabrin would never have decided to take such a brave and selfless act.

Summarizing the above, we can come to the conclusion that it is courage that frees a person from the oppressive feeling of fear and fills his soul with courage and courage, giving strength for the most rejected actions. Cowardice destroys all fortitude in a person and can push him to the most vile and base acts.

Updated: 2017-12-08

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I have a direct association with the concept of cowardice with such character traits as dishonor, dishonesty, baseness and uncertainty. A cowardly person is tantamount to a person who has lost self-respect; he acts based only on initial instincts, without looking into the future at all, doing what he wants, and not thinking about the consequences. Such actions are called cowardly, and they, in turn, just like any others, also have their own degree.

You can leave a spider alive, sharing shelter with it and being in constant fear, or you can kill an innocent person, worrying about your own reputation in society. The degree of cowardice, in my opinion, is determined by the degree of damage caused to other people and society as a whole. If one act of a coward cast doubt only on his attitude towards himself, in the future, perhaps, it will only turn out to be a valuable experience. However, if the victim of the act becomes human life, in other words, if for the sake of his own benefit, for the sake of his life, a person endangers the life of one, or even several individuals at once, if lies and hypocrisy come into play, I consider such an act truly cowardly and unworthy.

For example, in the novel by A.S. Pushkin's "The Captain's Daughter" the author introduces us to a true coward, Alexei Ivanovich Shvabrin. At the very beginning of the work, this hero shows the properties of his character in such little things as, for example, the scene with a duel. Directly during the battle, fearing for the state of his health, Shvabrin, weakening and seeing that Peter was distracted by Savelich, deliberately injures him at that moment. Can this be considered a cowardly act? Of course, a duel is a fair battle, it is carried out according to the rules, and a person who takes such a step must be prepared for his own death. Moreover, Shvabrin himself was the initiator. However, he was afraid for his life and struck a dishonest and vile blow. The most cowardly thing, it seems to me, is Shvabrin’s act at the moment when the fortress was attacked by rebels led by Pugachev. Grinev was ready to sacrifice his life to defend his honor and the honor of his fatherland, and Shvabrin immediately sided with the enemy and violated not only the oath of the nobles, but also all the laws of humanity and self-respect. Plus, he was unable to admit his guilt and cowardice even after a while, in court. Shvabrin, like a true coward, tried to tarnish the image of Grinev and make himself look honest.

I also consider the most cowardly act of Evgeny Onegin, the hero of the novel by A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin". Throughout the entire work, the author described this hero to us as an ambiguous personality - Evgeniy, it seemed, did not respect secular society, but was part of it. The same situation occurred in the village. Onegin depended on the opinions of those he despised. When Vladimir Lensky, jealous of his beloved, challenged Evgeny to a duel, he could quite calmly, based on common sense, refuse, while preserving the life of a good, bright and promising young man. But, paradoxically, it was not his refusal to duel that showed Eugene’s cowardice. The hero showed it by agreeing to fight, because true cowardice was embodied in Eugene’s desire to preserve his image in the eyes of the villagers, despite the fact that he despised these same residents. Thus, I consider Onegin’s agreement to a duel and his murder of Lensky to be the most cowardly act. My thought is also confirmed by the fact that Evgeny himself, immediately after the crime he committed, disappeared for a long time and in an unknown direction. Only a real coward, hiding from the truth and popular contempt, could do this.

It seems to me that there is nothing more cowardly than those actions that kill the person within us. Cowardice is the antithesis of honor and dignity, a direct opposition to the word “respect.” A coward will never admit his guilt and until the last moment he will assure himself and those around him that the truth is on his side. Because he is called that because he considers the most important fear in his life to be the recognition of his cowardice, and with recognition, as you know, repentance and correction begin.

Alexander Pushkin himself knew firsthand numerous examples of courage and cowardice, because he lived in an era when it was almost impossible to hide manifestations of character. Duels, military service, hunting, cards - all the entertainment of the nobility required a demonstration of courage and defense of honor. Maybe that’s why the writer invested his energy in creating a historical mirror of a bygone era, where moral virtues and the imperfections of man were even more obvious. On the pages of the work, he tried to give a lesson to his generation and those who would come to replace him, to teach people the true virtue of the soul. In particular, in “The Captain's Daughter” you can find convincing arguments on the topic “Courage and Cowardice”, which will help graduates in writing the final essay in this area.

1. An example of a brave person is the main character of Pushkin’s story “The Captain’s Daughter”. He shows his courage in defending the fortress when it is attacked by rebels. Peter was eager to fight and did not disgrace the honor of the nobleman. But what is much more shocking is his refusal to swear allegiance to Pugachev, which promises martyrdom. However, Grinev is not one of the timid, and he does not consider himself a traitor. Even his enemy respects this trait in him. Therefore, the next heroic act falls to his lot after liberation from the fortress. The young man helps Masha out, and at the same time disobeys the command. As a result, they want to condemn him for formal “treason.” But even in this situation, Grinev does not justify himself and does not regret his action, because courage in a person often coexists with conscientiousness, honor and dignity.
2. Pushkin portrays phenomenal cowardice in his story “The Captain's Daughter.” Shvabrin becomes a traitor to the core due to his all-consuming fear. Alexey is ready to do anything to avoid danger. For example, he loses his dignity by using dishonest tactics in a duel with Peter. To avoid competition from him, he also acts vilely: he denigrates Masha in the eyes of his gentleman. But his lowest act was the oath to the rebel Pugachev, for which he had prepared in advance, anticipating defeat. Thus, cowardice became the cause of moral decay of the individual.
3. It's not just men who demonstrate courage. The heroine of Pushkin’s story “The Captain’s Daughter” became brave thanks to tragic circumstances: her family was killed by rebels during the capture of the fortress. She was left alone in the enemy camp, and even alone with a vile traitor who was forcibly forcing her to marry him. In such a situation, not every girl could cope with her feelings. But Marya patiently endured the trials until decisive action was required from her. When Peter was arrested for going to her rescue, she went to the empress and risked asking for the “traitor.” The young heroine, without connections or help at court, went to seek the salvation of her beloved. The queen was touched by her story and pardoned Grinev. This is how the city takes courage.
4. Savelich, minor character The story “The Captain's Daughter” is also an example of courage in the work. Although he is a slave, he does not fear his master, but respects him. When Grinev loses at cards, his servant scolds him in a fatherly manner and gets angry. The young master is insolent and answers passionately, but the peasant is famous for his grip: he still convinces the young man that he is right, without fear of punishment, which any nobleman could apply. But the hero’s most courageous act is saving Peter from Pugachev’s wrath. It is Savelich who seeks Grinev’s pardon by reminding Pugachev of the service rendered to him by the master. The serf is not afraid of death and opposes the stern rebel, overshadowing the owner. But he could betray him by defecting to those who defended his interests in the political arena. This way he would gain freedom. But courage elevates a person, making him also honest towards others.
5. Shvabrin demonstrates cowardice in love, trying to win Marya's heart through cunning and dishonest behavior. He is afraid to appear before her as he is, without falsehood and endless meanness. The hero is also incapable of frank confession. He only hurts the girl in every possible way, instead of showing attention and care. His feelings are also saturated with fear, like himself, and the heroine feels this, so she gives preference to another person. It is not surprising, because people quite rightly do not like a person’s fearfulness and uncertainty in actions, words and feelings. Therefore, lack of courage can harm not only on the battlefield, but also in your personal life.
6. Cowardice is to some extent manifested in the behavior of Grinev's father, who denies his son a blessing. His fear can be understood: his son could have been deceived for selfish reasons. Still, Marya’s condition was incomparable to Peter’s wealth. The girl hardly had any reason to claim such an unequal marriage. The hero was afraid that she was just a selfish and hypocritical person who wanted to get out “from rags to riches.” But he feared for the fate of the heir - this feeling can be understood and justified, so it cannot be said that this or that cowardly act is always dictated by the baseness of a person. Sometimes such behavior is quite forgivable, because we're talking about about the people dearest to the heart.
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