ESSAY

VICTORY IN THE WAR IS VICTORY OF THE PEOPLE'S SPIRIT

Ryzhova Yulia Viktorovna,

11th grade student

Teacher:

Dorokhina Svetlana Vasilievna,

teacher of Russian language and literature

MBOU "Secondary school No. 30 named after M.K. Yangel"

city ​​of Bratsk

History has one indisputable

Law:

Whoever is loyal to his homeland is an enemy

Will not be defeated.

S. Vurgun

Ordinary soldiers, sailors,

Through years of battles and losses

Our peaceful dews are burning

All the gold of your awards.

V. Vinogradsky

May 9... Every year, when this bright day comes, the tragic and heroic war years are remembered with particular poignancy. Blood and pain, the bitterness of loss and defeat, the death of relatives and friends, heroic resistance and sorrowful captivity, selfless, exhausting work in the rear - all this the war brought with it, claiming millions of human lives. The Russian people survived this war and defended their long-suffering land.

Victory in war is a victory of the national spirit, a victory of strong-willed people who are able to rise above circumstances and death itself. This is a victory for people who are guided by a feeling of love for their Motherland, which is in grave trouble, a feeling of the most ardent patriotism.

The history of our country preserves the memory of many tragic events, whose name is “war”. More than once the Russian people have stood up to defend their Motherland, and their strength of spirit is passed on from generation to generation.

We learn about the events of past years by reading original documents preserved in archives, works of fiction, and memoirs of participants in these events.

The great Russian writer L.N. Tolstoy glorified “with his unsurpassed creations” two Russian national epics: first the Crimean War of 1854-1855 in “Sevastopol Stories”, and subsequently the victory over Napoleon in 1812 in the novel “War and Peace”, showing the greatest strength of the Russian spirit people.

In the story “Sevastopol in December,” Tolstoy writes: “You will clearly understand, imagine those people you just saw as those heroes who in those difficult times did not fall, but rose in spirit and prepared with pleasure for death, not out of town , but for the homeland. This epic of Sevastopol, of which the Russian people were the hero, will leave great traces in Russia for a long time...” A wounded sailor, whose leg was torn off by a shell, “stopped the stretcher in order to look at the salvo of our battery,” the soldiers and sailors said: “Nothing, there are two hundred of us here on the bastion, there’s enough for us for two more days.”

In the novel L.N. Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” we read: “With many years of military experience, he (Kutuzov) knew... that the fate of a battle is decided not by the orders of the commander-in-chief, not by the place where the troops are stationed, not by the number of guns and killed people, but by that elusive force, called the spirit of the army..." “Wonderful, incomparable people,” says Kutuzov about Russian soldiers and militias before the Battle of Borodino. Before the battle, they put on clean white shirts to prepare for death. They were ready to die for their land, because the French “ruined their home” and “are going to ruin Moscow...”. “We fought for Russian land... there was such a spirit in the troops that I have never seen...,” he says main character novel by Andrei Bolkonsky. And this spirit helped Russian soldiers defeat Napoleon’s army.

The Russian people know how to defend and love their Motherland, carrying through the years the heroic traditions of Russian weapons, covering them with new immortal glory.

There are holy places near Moscow. The Dubosekovo crossing is one of them. There are six giant concrete figures of warriors, clutching concrete bundles of grenades and machine guns in their hands. They seem to grow out of the ground. And behind them is Moscow. One hundred and twenty-nine years after the Battle of Borodino, Hitler’s troops will approach Moscow. And again Russian soldiers will fight to the death, defending their land. “Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat, Moscow is behind us,” these words of Lieutenant Klochkov still live in the memory of people, recalling the feat of the Panfilov heroes. They died, but did not let the enemy pass.

Back in 1941, fascist radio stations broadcast: “Sevastopol has fallen! Crimea has been taken! But this was not true. Sevastopol stood to the death. He could not fall, because the spirit of the soldiers and sailors who heroically defended Sevastopol in 1854-1855 during the Crimean War lived in new generations of soldiers and sailors. A landing force of twenty-five Black Sea sailors was landed from a submarine into cold water in a small Black Sea bay. He had to take the fire on himself in order to distract the Nazis from the main troops. The sailors completed the task assigned to them at the cost of their own lives.

1943 Stalingrad. Fighting continues in the city without stopping. Heavy columns of water rise up from bombs falling into the Volga. The defenders of the city “to the end, to the last human possibility” fight their enemies. Konstantin Simonov will say about Stalingrad: “This is a city-soldier, scorched in battle... the exploits of people are cruel, and their suffering is unheard of... the struggle is not for life, but for death.”

Their letters, written in rare moments of rest, tell about the courage of the soldiers, about the great desire to free their land from enemies. We read a letter from tanker A. Golikov, who fought near Moscow: “...Through the holes in the tank I see the street, green trees, the flowers in the garden are bright, bright. You, the survivors, after the war will have a life as bright as these flowers and happy... It’s not scary to die for it...”

G.K. Zhukov, Marshal Soviet Union, four times Hero of the Soviet Union, wrote: “The Soviet soldier knew how to boldly look mortal danger in the eye, while demonstrating military valor and heroism. By his will, his unbending spirit, his blood, victory was achieved over a strong enemy. There are no limits to the greatness of his feat in the name of the Motherland.”

The strength of the people's spirit was manifested not only on the battlefields. It was she and the belief that the enemy who trampled the Russian land would be defeated, helped people survive in besieged Leningrad, gave strength to hungry women and teenagers to stand at machines for days and work in the fields.

The Great Patriotic War has already become history. We read about it, as well as about the other Patriotic War, in history textbooks. And it is very important that behind the facts and figures we can see and hear those who made History, so that we, the next generations, can pass on their ability to love and appreciate their land, their fortitude, which will help us survive in difficult times.

The soldiers of their homeland sleep in mass graves, in hospital cemeteries and rural churchyards. Fewer and fewer living participants of the Great remain with us. Patriotic War, and I want to bow low to them, both the living and the dead, in gratitude for the fact that the Russia-country they saved remains with us.

Every person in life repeatedly faces different problems and obstacles. Most people overcome all difficulties and adversities. However, the most important and main victory in a person’s life, undoubtedly, has always been and remains victory over oneself. Most often, everyone is to blame for all the troubles and failures that arise on everyone’s life path. How important it is to realize your guilt in time, find your mistakes and find the strength to change yourself.

Many of us are stubborn, disobedient, and have too high an ego. These personality traits of each person create many problems and conflicts both with others and with very close people. So, why doesn’t everyone first of all try to change themselves, their character, change their attitude towards life and others? How easy it is to offend a loved one, how easy it is to offend your interlocutor and, at the same time, not feel the impact of your words!

If during his life a person has managed to realize his mistakes, accept them and spent superhuman efforts to change himself, he will be able to triumph over all troubles and difficulties, because he has managed the most difficult thing - to defeat himself. How many people among us smoke. But they all know very well that this habit is slowly killing them every day and harming the people around them. How many smokers managed to overcome themselves and quit smoking? Very few people compared to those who continue to smoke. No one thinks about it, but in order to give up a bad habit, a person must overcome himself, gain victory over himself, over his weaknesses.

Each of us struggles with ourselves every day. Some are trying to quit smoking, others are trying to quit drinking, and others are trying to get rid of drug addiction. But few realize that all this is so difficult to do, since the most difficult battle in the life of any person is the fight with himself, with his weaknesses and with the dark side of his essence. The biggest mistake in a person’s life can be denying his guilt and his imperfection.

Everyone is born to improve over the years, become better, gain experience and acquire knowledge. If a person lacks the desire to move forward and rise higher, then he is undoubtedly deprived of any chance of living life correctly. A person should get used to analyzing himself and his actions from an early age.

Final essay on literature grade 11

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Official comment:
The direction allows you to think about victory and defeat in different aspects: socio-historical, moral and philosophical,
psychological. Reasoning can be associated both with external conflict events in the life of a person, country, world, and with internal struggle a person with himself, its causes and results.

IN literary works The ambiguity and relativity of the concepts of “victory” and “defeat” are often shown in different historical conditions and life situations.

Aphorisms and sayings famous people:
The greatest victory is victory over yourself.
Cicero
The possibility that we may be defeated in battle should not stop us from fighting for a cause that we believe is just.
A.Lincoln
Man was not created to suffer defeat... Man can be destroyed, but he cannot be defeated.
E. Hemingway
Be proud only of the victories you have won over yourself.
Tungsten

Socio-historical aspect
Here we will talk about external conflict social groups, states, about military actions and political struggle.
Peru A. de Saint-Exupéry comes up with a paradoxical, at first glance, statement: “Victory weakens the people - defeat awakens new forces in them...”. We find confirmation of the correctness of this idea in Russian literature.
"The Tale of Igor's Campaign"- famous literary monument Ancient Rus'. The plot is based on the unsuccessful campaign of the Russian princes against the Polovtsians, organized by the Novgorod-Seversk prince Igor Svyatoslavich in 1185. main idea- the idea of ​​the unity of the Russian land. Princely civil strife, weakening the Russian land and leading to the ruin of its enemies, makes the author bitterly sadden and lament; victory over his enemies fills his soul with ardent delight. However, this work is about defeat, not victory. ancient Russian literature, because it is defeat that contributes to rethinking previous behavior and gaining a new view of the world and oneself. That is, defeat stimulates Russian soldiers to victories and exploits.
The author of the Lay addresses all the Russian princes in turn, as if calling them to account and demandingly reminding them of their duty to their homeland. He calls on them to defend the Russian land, to “block the gates of the field” with their sharp arrows. And therefore, although the author writes about defeat, there is not a shadow of despondency in the Lay. The “Word” is as laconic and terse as Igor’s addresses to his squad. This is the call before battle. The whole poem seems to be addressed to the future, permeated with concern for this future. A poem about victory would be a poem of triumph and joy. Victory is the end of the battle, but defeat for the author of the Lay is only the beginning of the battle. The battle with the steppe enemy is not over yet. Defeat should unite the Russians. The author of the Lay does not call for a feast of triumph, but for a feast of battle. D.S. writes about this in the article “The Tale of the Campaign of Igor Svyatoslavich.” Likhachev.
The “Lay” ends joyfully - with Igor’s return to the Russian land and the singing of his glory upon entering Kyiv. So, despite the fact that the Lay is dedicated to the defeat of Igor, it is full of confidence in the power of the Russians, full of faith in the glorious future of the Russian land, in victory over the enemy.
The history of mankind consists of victories and defeats in wars. In the novel "War and Peace" L.N. Tolstoy describes the participation of Russia and Austria in the war against Napoleon. Drawing the events of 1805-1807, Tolstoy shows that this war was imposed on the people. Russian soldiers, being far from their homeland, do not understand the purpose of this war and do not want to waste their lives senselessly. Kutuzov understands better than many that this campaign is unnecessary for Russia. He sees the indifference of the allies, the desire of Austria to fight with the wrong hands. Kutuzov protects his troops in every possible way and delays their advance to the borders of France. This is explained not by distrust of the military skill and heroism of the Russians, but by the desire to protect them from senseless slaughter. When the battle turned out to be inevitable, the Russian soldiers showed their always readiness to help the allies and take the main blow. For example, a detachment of four thousand under the command of Bagration near the village of Shengraben held back the onslaught of an enemy “eight times” outnumbered. This made it possible for the main forces to advance. The unit of officer Timokhin showed miracles of heroism. It not only did not retreat, but struck back, which saved the flanking units of the army. The real hero of the Battle of Shengraben turned out to be the courageous, decisive, but modest captain Tushin before his superiors. So, largely thanks to the Russian troops, the Battle of Schöngraben was won, and this gave strength and inspiration to the sovereigns of Russia and Austria. Blinded by victories, occupied mainly with narcissism, holding military parades and balls, these two men led their armies to defeat at Austerlitz. So it turned out that one of the reasons for the defeat of the Russian troops under the skies of Austerlitz was the victory at Schöngraben, which did not allow an objective assessment of the balance of forces.
The entire senselessness of the campaign is shown by the writer in the preparation of the top generals for the battle of Austerlitz. Thus, the military council before the Battle of Austerlitz resembles not a council, but an exhibition of vanities; all disputes were conducted not with the goal of achieving a better and correct solution, but, as Tolstoy writes, “... it was obvious that the goal... of the objections was mainly the desire to make General Weyrother feel, as self-confidently as schoolchildren reading his disposition, that he was dealing not only with fools, but with people who could teach him in military affairs.”
But still main reason we see the victories and defeats of the Russian troops in the confrontation with Napoleon when comparing Austerlitz and Borodin. Speaking with Pierre about the upcoming Battle of Borodino, Andrei Bolkonsky recalls the reason for the defeat at Austerlitz: “The battle is won by the one who firmly decided to win it. Why did we lose the battle at Austerlitz?.. We told ourselves very early that we lost the battle - and we lost And we said this because we had no need to fight: we wanted to leave the battlefield as quickly as possible. “We lost, so we ran away!” If we had not said this before the evening, God knows what would have happened tomorrow. We won't say that." L. Tolstoy shows a significant difference between the two campaigns: 1805-1807 and 1812. The fate of Russia was decided on the Borodino field. Here the Russian people had no desire to save themselves, no indifference to what was happening. Here, as Lermontov said, “we promised to die, and we kept the oath of allegiance in the Battle of Borodino.”
Another opportunity to speculate on how victory in one battle can turn into defeat in a war is provided by the outcome of the Battle of Borodino, in which Russian troops gain a moral victory over the French. The moral defeat of Napoleon's troops near Moscow was the beginning of the defeat of his army.
The Civil War turned out to be such a significant event in the history of Russia that it could not help but be reflected in fiction. The basis for graduates’ reasoning can be "Don Stories", " Quiet Don» M.A. Sholokhov.
When one country goes to war with another, terrible events occur: hatred and the desire to defend themselves forces people to kill their own kind, women and old people are left alone, children grow up orphans, cultural and material values ​​are destroyed, cities are destroyed. But the warring parties have a goal - to defeat the enemy at any cost. And any war has a result - victory or defeat. Victory is sweet and immediately justifies all losses, defeat is tragic and sad, but it is the starting point for some other life. But "in civil war every victory is defeat" (Lucian).
The life story of the central hero of M. Sholokhov's epic novel "Quiet Don" Grigory Melekhov, which reflected the dramatic destinies of the Don Cossacks, confirms this idea. War cripples from the inside and destroys all the most precious things that people have. It forces the heroes to take a fresh look at the problems of duty and justice, to look for the truth and not find it in any of the warring camps. Once among the Reds, Gregory sees the same cruelty, intransigence, and thirst for the blood of his enemies as the Whites. Melekhov rushes between the two warring sides. Everywhere he encounters violence and cruelty, which he cannot accept, and therefore cannot take one side. The result is logical: “Like a steppe scorched by fires, Gregory’s life became black...”.

Moral, philosophical and psychological aspects
Victory is not only about success in battle. To win, according to the dictionary of synonyms, is to overcome, overcome, overcome. And often not so much the enemy as yourself. Let us consider a number of works from this point of view.
A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit". The conflict of the play represents the unity of two principles: public and personal. Being an honest, noble, progressive-minded, freedom-loving person, the main character Chatsky opposes Famus society. He condemns the inhumanity of serfdom, recalling “Nestor of the noble scoundrels,” who exchanged his faithful servants for three greyhounds; he is disgusted by the lack of freedom of thought in noble society: “And who in Moscow was not silenced at lunches, dinners and dances?” He does not recognize veneration and sycophancy: “For those who need it, they are arrogant, they lie in the dust, and for those who are higher, they wove flattery like lace.” Chatsky is full of sincere patriotism: “Will we ever be resurrected from the foreign power of fashion? So that our smart, cheerful people, even by language, do not consider us to be Germans.” He strives to serve the “cause” and not individuals; he “would be glad to serve, but it’s sickening to be served.” Society is offended and, in defense, declares Chatsky crazy. His drama is aggravated by a feeling of ardent but unrequited love for Famusov’s daughter Sophia. Chatsky makes no attempt to understand Sophia; it is difficult for him to understand why Sophia does not love him, because his love for her speeds up “every beat of his heart,” although “to him the whole world seemed like dust and vanity.” Chatsky can be justified by his blindness by passion: his “mind and heart are not in harmony.” Psychological conflict turns into social conflict. Society unanimously comes to the conclusion: “crazy in everything...”. Society is not afraid of a madman. Chatsky decides to “search the world where there is a corner for an offended feeling.”
I.A. Goncharov assessed the ending of the play this way: “Chatsky is broken by the number old power, inflicting a fatal blow on her with the quality of the new force.” Chatsky does not give up his ideals, he only frees himself from illusions. Chatsky’s stay in Famusov’s house shook the inviolability of foundations Famusov society. Sophia says: “I’m ashamed of myself, the walls!”
Therefore, Chatsky’s defeat is only a temporary defeat and only his personal drama. On a social scale, “the victory of the Chatskys is inevitable.” The “past century” will be replaced by the “present century”, and the views of the hero of Griboyedov’s comedy will win.
A.N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm". Graduates may ponder the question of whether Katherine's death is a victory or a defeat. It is difficult to give a definite answer to this question. Too many reasons led to the terrible ending. The playwright sees the tragedy of Katerina’s situation in the fact that she comes into conflict not only with Kalinov’s family morals, but also with herself. The straightforwardness of Ostrovsky's heroine is one of the sources of her tragedy. Katerina is pure in soul - lies and debauchery are alien and disgusting to her. She understands that by falling in love with Boris, she violated the moral law. “Oh, Varya,” she complains, “sin is on my mind! How much I, poor thing, cried, no matter what I did to myself! I can't escape this sin. Can't go anywhere. After all, this is not good, this is a terrible sin, Varenka, why do I love someone else?” Throughout the play there is a painful struggle in Katerina’s consciousness between the understanding of her wrongness, her sinfulness and the vague, but increasingly powerful feeling of her right to human life. But the play ends with Katerina’s moral victory over the dark forces that torment her. She atones for her guilt immensely, and escapes from captivity and humiliation through the only path that was revealed to her. Her decision to die, rather than remain a slave, expresses, according to Dobrolyubov, “the need of the emerging movement of Russian life.” And this decision comes to Katerina along with internal self-justification. She dies because she considers death the only worthy outcome, the only opportunity to preserve that highest thing that lived in her. The idea that Katerina’s death is in fact a moral victory, a triumph of the real Russian soul over the forces of the “dark kingdom” of the Dikikhs and Kabanovs, is also strengthened by the reaction to her death of the other characters in the play. For example, Tikhon, Katerina’s husband, for the first time in his life expressed his own opinion, for the first time decided to protest against the stifling foundations of his family, entering (even if only for a moment) into the fight against “ dark kingdom" “You ruined her, you, you...” he exclaims, turning to his mother, before whom he trembled all his life.
I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons". The writer shows in his novel the struggle between the worldviews of two political directions. The plot of the novel is based on the contrast of the views of Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov and Evgeny Bazarov, who are bright representatives of two generations who do not find mutual understanding. Disagreements on various issues have always existed between youth and elders. So here, the representative of the younger generation Evgeny Vasilyevich Bazarov cannot, and does not want to understand the “fathers”, their life credo, principles. He is convinced that their views on the world, on life, on relationships between people are hopelessly outdated. “Yes, I will spoil them... After all, this is all pride, lionish habits, foppishness...” In his opinion, the main purpose of life is to work, to produce something material. That is why Bazarov disrespects art and sciences that do not have a practical basis. He believes that it is much more useful to deny what, from his point of view, deserves denial, than to watch indifferently from the outside, not daring to do anything. “At the present time, the most useful thing is denial - we deny,” says Bazarov. And Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov is sure that there are things that cannot be doubted (“Aristocracy... liberalism, progress, principles... art..."). He values ​​habits and traditions more and does not want to notice the changes taking place in society.
Bazarov is a tragic figure. It cannot be said that he defeats Kirsanov in an argument. Even when Pavel Petrovich is ready to admit defeat, Bazarov suddenly loses faith in his teaching and doubts his personal need for society. “Does Russia need me? No, apparently I don’t,” he reflects.
Of course, most of all a person manifests himself not in conversations, but in deeds and in his life. Therefore, Turgenev seems to lead his heroes through various trials. And the strongest of them is the test of love. After all, it is in love that a person’s soul reveals itself fully and sincerely.
And here it's hot and passionate nature Bazarova swept away all his theories. He fell in love with a woman whom he valued highly. “In conversations with Anna Sergeevna, he expressed his indifferent contempt for everything romantic even more than before, and when left alone, he was indignantly aware of the romanticism in himself.” The hero is experiencing severe mental discord. “... Something... took possession of him, which he never allowed, which he always mocked, which outraged all his pride.” Anna Sergeevna Odintsova rejected him. But Bazarov found the strength to accept defeat with honor, without losing his dignity.
So, did the nihilist Bazarov win or lose? It seems that Bazarov is defeated in the test of love. Firstly, his feelings and he himself are rejected. Secondly, he falls into the power of aspects of life that he himself denies, loses ground under his feet, and begins to doubt his views on life. His position in life turns out to be a position in which, however, he sincerely believed. Bazarov begins to lose the meaning of life, and soon loses life itself. But this is also a victory: love forced Bazarov to look at himself and the world differently, he begins to understand that in no way does life want to fit into a nihilistic scheme.
And Anna Sergeevna formally remains among the winners. She was able to cope with her feelings, which strengthened her self-confidence. In the future, she will find a good home for her sister, and she herself will marry successfully. But will she be happy?
F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment". Crime and Punishment is an ideological novel in which inhuman theory collides with human feelings. Dostoevsky, a great expert on human psychology, a sensitive and attentive artist, tried to understand modern reality, to determine the extent of the influence of the ideas of revolutionary reorganization of life and individualistic theories that were popular at that time on a person. Entering into polemics with democrats and socialists, the writer sought to show in his novel how the delusion of fragile minds leads to murder, shedding of blood, maiming and breaking young lives.
Raskolnikov's ideas were generated by abnormal, humiliating living conditions. In addition, the post-reform disruption destroyed the centuries-old foundations of society, depriving human individuality of connection with the long-standing cultural traditions of society, historical memory. Raskolnikov sees violations of universal moral norms at every step. It is impossible to feed a family with honest work, so the petty official Marmeladov finally becomes an alcoholic, and his daughter Sonechka is forced to sell herself, because otherwise her family will die of starvation. If unbearable living conditions push a person to violate moral principles, then these principles are nonsense, that is, they can be ignored. Raskolnikov comes to approximately this conclusion when a theory is born in his fevered brain, according to which he divides all of humanity into two unequal parts. On the one hand, this strong personalities, “super-humans” like Mohammed and Napoleon, and on the other hand, a gray, faceless and submissive crowd, which the hero rewards with the contemptuous name - “trembling creature” and “anthill”.
The correctness of any theory must be confirmed by practice. And Rodion Raskolnikov conceives and carries out a murder, removing the moral prohibition from himself. His life after the murder turns into real hell. A painful suspicion develops in Rodion, which gradually turns into a feeling of loneliness and isolation from everyone. The writer finds a surprisingly accurate expression characterizing internal state Raskolnikov: it was “as if he had cut himself off from everyone and everything with scissors.” The hero is disappointed in himself, believing that he did not pass the test of being a ruler, which means, alas, he belongs to the “trembling creatures.”
Surprisingly, Raskolnikov himself would not want to be the winner now. After all, to win means to die morally, to remain with your spiritual chaos forever, to lose faith in people, yourself and life. Raskolnikov's defeat became his victory - a victory over himself, over his theory, over the Devil, who took possession of his soul, but failed to forever displace God in it.
M.A. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita". This novel is too complex and multifaceted; the writer touched on many topics and problems in it. One of them is the problem of the struggle between good and evil. In The Master and Margarita, the two main forces of good and evil, which, according to Bulgakov, should be in balance on Earth, are embodied in the images of Yeshua Ha-Notsri from Yershalaim and Woland - Satan in human form. Apparently, Bulgakov, in order to show that good and evil exist outside of time and that people have lived according to their laws for thousands of years, placed Yeshua at the beginning of modern times, in the fictional masterpiece of the Master, and Woland, as the arbiter of cruel justice, in Moscow in the 30s. XX century. The latter came to Earth to restore harmony where it had been broken in favor of evil, which included lies, stupidity, hypocrisy and, finally, betrayal, which filled Moscow. Good and evil in this world are surprisingly closely intertwined, especially in human souls. When Woland, in a scene in a variety show, tests the audience for cruelty and deprives the entertainer of his head, and compassionate women demand to put her in her place, the great magician says: “Well... they are people like people... Well, frivolous... well, well... and mercy sometimes knocks on their hearts... ordinary people... - and loudly orders: “Put on your head.” And then we watch how people fight over the ducats that fell on their heads.
The novel “The Master and Margarita” is about man’s responsibility for the good and evil that happens on earth, for his own choice life paths leading to truth and freedom or to slavery, betrayal and inhumanity. It is about all-conquering love and creativity, elevating the soul to the heights of true humanity.
The author wanted to proclaim: the victory of evil over good cannot be the end result of social and moral confrontation. This, according to Bulgakov, is not accepted by human nature itself, and the entire course of civilization should not allow it.
Of course, the range of works that reveal thematic direction“Victory and Defeat” is much broader. The main thing is to see the principle, to understand that victory and defeat are relative concepts.
Wrote about this R. Bach in the book "Bridge Over Eternity": “The important thing is not whether we lose in the game, but what matters is how we lose and how we will change because of it, what new things we will learn for ourselves, how we can apply it in other games. In a strange way, defeat turns out to be victory."

An example of a final essay in the direction of “Victory and Defeat.”

“Only the one who defeats himself wins in this life,” these words from Viktor Suvorov’s book “Aquarium” contain a deep meaning. Victories over hordes of the enemy are not as difficult as overcoming one’s own vices.

Demosthenes, great speaker ancient times, suffered from tongue-tiedness since childhood. However, his cherished dream - to speak in front of the public, to lead the masses, forced him to tirelessly practice eloquence. Victory over himself was won - legends still circulate about the performances of the brilliant rhetorician, and his name lives on for centuries.

The fate of Demosthenes - good example for those who are convinced that it is useless to fight shortcomings. This is certainly an erroneous judgment. With a strong desire, each of us is capable of much, including victory over our weaknesses: laziness, uncertainty, fears. Another thing is that such desires often remain just desires. But to make a dream come true, you need to make efforts, and sometimes considerable ones. But there is no limit to self-improvement, and if you work hard, the result will definitely come.

Oblomov, the hero of the novel by I.A. Goncharov, was never able to defeat himself. Ilya Ilyich is accustomed to a half-asleep existence; he is lazy and passive. At some point, he wanted to correct himself, this was during his romantic relationship with Olga Ilyinskaya. Oblomov tried to defeat himself - and was defeated. Laziness turned out to be stronger - the hero was never able to completely leave his beloved sofa... The reason, in my opinion, is that Oblomov did not know how to work at all: in the estate of his childhood, Oblomovka, this was not accepted. What is the result? Ilya Ilyich’s life passed colorlessly and aimlessly, and the dreams that worried him in his youth remained dreams.

There are also counter examples in the literature. Alexey Meresyev, the hero of “The Tale of a Real Man” by B. Polevoy, can be considered a true hero, a Man with a capital “M”. Meresyev's plane, making a combat mission, was shot down by the enemy. Miraculously, the surviving pilot made it to his own people, but doctors were forced to amputate his gangrene-affected legs. Alexey did not lose heart, did not wilt, did not become a burden to his loved ones - he learned to walk again, and then returned to duty and continued to fight the Nazis. Meresyev’s admirable feat is nothing more than a victory over himself - brilliant and grandiose.

F.M. Dostoevsky wrote in the novel “Demons”: “If you want to conquer the whole world, conquer yourself.” It's hard to disagree with the classic. Conquering your weaknesses and shortcomings is not easy. But the one who has won it is able to conquer the world.

If we consider these words from the point of view of their syntactic meaning, then they are antonyms. But why do they so often sound like one thing? The answer is suggested to me by the words of E. Hemingway: “Man was not created to suffer defeat... Man can be destroyed, but he cannot be defeated.”

Reflecting on this writer’s statement, I cannot but agree with him. Indeed, the physical destruction of a person is very often the result of his moral victory. A person’s strong spirit cannot be broken; on the contrary, he is the winner.

Let us recall A. Fadeev’s novel “The Young Guard”. Boys and girls, almost teenagers who had just graduated from school, stood up to defend their homeland from the Nazi occupiers. Their organization was betrayed. Finding themselves in the dungeons of the Gestapo, they endured terrible torture, but did not betray their comrades.

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All the Young Guards died. Is this their victory or defeat? Definitely a victory. Because in this case, death is a victory for fortitude and fortitude. We still remember their names: Oleg Koshevoy, Ulyana Gromova, Lyubov Shevtsova, Sergey Tyulenin...

And who hasn’t admired the exploits of the five girls in B. Vasiliev’s story “The Dawns Here Are Quiet”?! These girls also gave their lives for our victory over fascism. The fact that they took up arms and went to the front voluntarily, knowing that death could await them, is already a feat, a victory over themselves. Each of them had their own dreams, each wanted to love and live. But each could already present its own account of the war. The war that took away their dreams, their youth, and ultimately their lives. Who dares to say that they have suffered defeat? Nobody! They may have met their last hour differently, but they won! It was people like them who endured all the hardships of the war and won Victory.

We, the young, bow our heads to the feat of those who fell during the Great Patriotic War. Thank you, the winners, for peace and spring!

Updated: 2016-11-20

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