What is unusual about the heroes of Makar Chudra. Characteristics and image of Radda (Makar Chudra Gorky) composition. Composition Makar Chudra

Makar Chudra - the hero of the story of the same name by Maxim Gorky, the narrator of the story about Raddu and Zobar. He is 58 years old, he is a gypsy and wanders around the world. Despite his age and gray hair, he looks good, and the interlocutor compares him with an old, but still strong oak. He has a daughter named Nonka.

His main slogan in life is that you need to walk around the world and look, and as soon as you have seen enough, you can lie down and die. He also tells the interlocutor different things about other people, for example, that people are strange, live in crowds, crowd, although there is so much space on the planet or that they work, giving all their vitality drop by drop into the ground, and then they will die and even the graves will not have time for themselves dig out.

Makar Chudra, according to him, went around the whole earth and was everywhere, he never stayed anywhere for a long time. Once, when he was in prison, he almost committed suicide, due to the inability to go where he wanted.

Makar tells a sad story about the beautiful Raddu and the daring gypsy Loiko Zobar, who could not give up their personal freedom by marrying each other, but preferred death.

Makar Chudra is the main character from the story of the same name by M. Gorky. The old gypsy is the personification of the entire freedom-loving gypsy people, a proud and strong person. He has a heroic physique, reminiscent of an old, but mighty and strong oak. He is 58 years old, but he still loves freedom and a free life, wandering with his camp, not staying long in one place.

In this work, the old gypsy shares his philosophical thoughts about life. He says that it is not worth living in one place, but all your life you have to wander the earth and look, having seen enough, you can even die. He doesn't need other people. Makar Chudra is sure that every person should live by himself and for himself. He says that a person cannot be a teacher for another until he himself lives a life and gains worldly wisdom. The old gypsy walked the earth all his life, saw a lot, and learned a lot. He believes that freedom and will are the main thing in human life. The sound of the sea surf, the free and fresh wind of the endless steppes are close and understandable to him. And the one who works all his life on the earth, giving it all his health and strength, he is just a slave, he is born a slave, and he dies a slave.

Makar Chudra tells his casual interlocutor the legend of the great gypsy love of Loiko Zobar and Radda. With great pride and love, Makar describes the fearless and courageous gypsy Zobar, who was the pride of the entire gypsy people. He speaks of Zobar as a wise and competent comrade, a talented musician and singer. In his story, Loiko is a person from whom human warmth emanates; in his presence, those around him become kinder and better. Makar Chudra speaks no less about the proud beauty of the gypsy Radda. This freedom-loving gypsy conquered everyone with her unearthly beauty and rebellious character.

The characters of Loiko and Radda embodied the image of Makar Chudra himself, for whom the ideal is a proud and independent person, alien to everyday life. life problems. The love story of Zobar and Radda is close and understandable to the old gypsy, for him there is nothing unusual in it, and the death of two loving people correspond to the whole philosophy of his life.

The proud Loiko Zobar and the beautiful Radda, both of them had a strong love for each other, but they liked will and freedom even more. The pride of these prominent characters did not allow them to make concessions, and they accepted death as a matter of course.

Makar Chudra is one of the heroes who made such a decision.

Composition Makar Chudra

Makar Chudra is an old, freedom-loving, proud gypsy, a storyteller of stories about a real free gypsy life and main character short story of the same name by Maxim Gorky. He is the personification of everything that loves the will more than the life of the gypsy people. Makar lived a long life at the age of 58, has a daughter, Nonka. Despite the wandering way of life of the gypsies, he looks dignified, and the interlocutor compares with him an ancient, mighty oak.

Chudra wanders around the world, enjoying freedom, and does not stay long in one place. He believes that his motto is that you should not sit in one place, you need to wander around the world and look. And only when you have seen enough of everything, you can lie down and prepare for death. Makar shares his thoughts with his interlocutor about people, calling them strange because they live in crowds, despite the fact that there is plenty of space around and people work, dropping their strength into the ground, and then die without having time to dig their own graves. In his opinion, a person cannot be a teacher for another until he himself gains the highest worldly wisdom.

Makar himself claimed that he had already managed to go everywhere without staying anywhere for a long time. Once he even sat in prison and thought to take his own life due to lack of freedom.

Chudra also told his interlocutor tragic story about a daring couple of gypsies, the wayward beauty Radd and beloved by all Loiko Zobar, who, loving each other, could not lose their personal freedom and preferred an independent and proud death. With admiration and pride for all his gypsy people, Makar described the brave gypsy Loiko. Talking about him, Makar characterizes Zobar as endowed with great wisdom and a fearless comrade, also a talented musician. No less he uses laudatory epithets in relation to Radda. This gypsy woman was able to conquer anyone with her beauty, but her pride and love of freedom left no chance for anyone to win her love.

In a pair of these real gypsies, the image of Makar Chudra himself was also reflected, who considered his ideal a proud and independent person, not burdened with everyday worries. Only death can deprive a person of freedom, such is the philosophy of Makar.

Some interesting essays

Composition People's War in the novel War and Peace by Tolstoy
War and people is one of the main themes of Leo Tolstoy's work "War and Peace". The writer hated war in all its manifestations. But wars are aggressive, and there are liberation
The image and characteristics of Alexander Pavlovich in the story of Levsha Leskov
In Nikolai Semenovich Leskov's story "Lefty", the Russian emperor Alexander Pavlovich goes abroad to look at curiosities. The emperor is shown many curiosities, he is surprised at everything and admires overseas masters
Problems of Astafiev's story Horse with a pink mane
In Viktor Astafiev's story "The Horse with a Pink Mane" a whole range of problems is raised: the problem of education, the problem of true friendship, the problem of relationships in the family, and the main and connecting one is the problem of moral choice.

Every boy in childhood dreams of being the protector of his family and friends. Stand guard over the frontiers native land characteristic of every patriot of his Fatherland.

Is Chatsky smart in the comedy Griboyedov's Woe from Wit? (can you call him smart)
Already the title of the work “Woe from Wit” evokes the thought of what the mind is and how grief can follow from it. But apparently in the title itself, the author set up the reader to think about who is smart in comedy and how he uses that mind.

The history of the creation of Gorky's work "Makar Chudra"

The story "Makar Chudra" was published in the Tiflis newspaper "Kavkaz" dated September 12, 1892. For the first time, the author signed under the pseudonym Maxim Gorky. This story begins a romantic period in the writer's work. The romantic works of M. Gorky also include: the story "The Old Woman Izergil", "The Song of the Falcon" and "The Song of the Petrel", the poem "The Girl and Death" and other works of the writer.
In one of the letters to A.P. Gorky wrote to Chekhov: “Really, the time has come for the need for the heroic: everyone wants exciting, bright, such, you know, that it doesn’t look like life, but is higher, better, more beautiful. It is imperative that contemporary literature begin to embellish life a little, and as soon as it begins to embellish life, that is, people will begin to live faster, brighter.
The title of the story is related to the name of the main character. Makar Chudra is an old gypsy, a thoughtful philosopher who knows the essence of life, whose camp roams the south of Russia.

Genus, genre, creative method of the analyzed work

Cycle romantic works M. Gorky immediately attracted the attention of critics and readers with his excellent literary language, the relevance of the topic, interesting composition(inclusion in the narrative of legends and fairy tales). Romantic works are characterized by the opposition of the hero and reality. This is how the story "Makar Chudra" is constructed, the genre feature of which is "a story within a story". Makar Chudra acts not only as the main character, but also as a narrator. Such artistic technique gives the narrative greater poetry and originality, helps in more reveal ideas about the values of life, the ideals of the author and the narrator. The action of the story takes place against the backdrop of a raging sea, a steppe wind, and a disturbing night. This is the atmosphere of freedom. The narrator assigns himself the role of a wise contemplator of life. Makar Chudra is a skeptic who is disappointed in people. Having lived and seen a lot, he appreciates only freedom. This is the only criterion by which Makar measures the human personality.

The theme of the writer's romantic works is the desire for freedom. Makar Chudra also talks about will and freedom. The work is based on the poetic love story of Loiko and Radda, told by Makar Chudra. The heroes of a beautiful legend cannot choose between pride, freedom and love. Passion for freedom determines their thoughts and actions. As a result, both die.
Idea
The short story contains ideas of freedom, beauty and joy of life. Makar Chudra's thoughts about life testify to the philosophical mindset of the old gypsy: “Are you yourself not life? Other people live without you and will live without you. Do you think that someone needs you? You are not bread, not a stick, and no one needs you ... ". Makar Chudra speaks of the desire for inner freedom, freedom without restrictions, since only a free person can be happy. Therefore, the wise old gypsy advises the interlocutor to go his own way, so as not to "die in vain." The only value on earth is freedom, it is worth living and dying for it, as the heroes of this story think. This is what dictated the actions of Loiko and Radda. In the story, Gorky performed a hymn to a beautiful and strong man. The desire for a feat, the worship of strength, the glorification of freedom is reflected in the story "Makar Chudra".

The nature of the conflict

For the old gypsy, the most important thing in life is personal freedom, which he would never exchange for anything. His desire for freedom is also embodied by the heroes of the legend told by Makar Chudra. Young and beautiful Loiko Zobar and Radda love each other. But in both the desire for personal freedom is so strong that they even look at their own love as a chain that binds their independence. Each of them, declaring his love, sets his own conditions, trying to dominate. This leads to a tense conflict, ending in the death of the heroes.

Main heroes

In the story, one of the main characters is the old gypsy Makar Chudra. The gypsy's wisdom is revealed through the legend about Loiko and Radda, who are in love. He believes that pride and love are incompatible. Love makes you humble and submit to your loved one. Makar talks about man and freedom: “Does he know the will? Is the expanse of the steppe understandable? Does the voice of the sea wave gladden his heart? He is a slave - as soon as he was born, and that's it! In his opinion, a person born a slave is not capable of performing a feat. Makar admires Loiko and Radda. He believes that this is how life should be perceived. real man, worthy of imitation, and that only in such a position in life can one preserve one's own freedom. As a real philosopher, he understands: it is impossible to teach a person anything if he himself does not want to learn, because "everyone learns by himself." He answers a question with a question to his interlocutor: “Can you learn how to make people happy? No you can not".
Next to Makar there is an image of the listener, on whose behalf the narration is being conducted. This hero does not take up much space in the story, but in order to understand the author's position, intent and creative method its significance is great. He is a dreamer, a romantic, feeling the beauty of the world around him. His vision of the world brings a romantic beginning, joy, boldness, an abundance of colors into the story: “A damp, cold wind blew from the sea, spreading across the steppe the thoughtful melody of the splash of a wave running ashore and the rustle of coastal bushes; ... the darkness of the autumn night surrounding us shuddered and, timidly moving away, opened for a moment on the left - the boundless steppe, on the right - the endless sea ... ".
An analysis of the work shows that the romantic beginning lies in the heroes of a beautiful legend - young gypsies, who absorbed the spirit of free life with their mother's milk. For Loiko, the highest value is freedom, frankness and kindness: “He loved only horses and nothing else, and even then not for long - he will ride, and he will sell, and whoever wants, take the money. He didn’t have a cherished one - you need his heart, he himself would tear it out of his chest, and he would give it to you, if only you would feel good about it. Radda is so proud that her love for Loiko cannot break her: “I have never loved anyone, Loiko, but I love you. Also, I love freedom! Will, Loiko, I love more than you. The insoluble contradiction between Radda and Loiko - love and pride, according to Makar Chudra, can only be resolved by death. And the heroes refuse love, happiness and prefer to die in the name of will and absolute freedom.

The plot and composition of the work

The traveler meets the old gypsy Makar Chudra on the seashore. In a conversation about freedom, the meaning of life, Makar Chudra tells a beautiful legend about the love of a young gypsy couple. Loiko Zobar and Radda love each other. But both have a desire for personal freedom above all else. This leads to a tense conflict, ending in the death of the heroes. Loiko yields to Radda, kneels in front of her in front of everyone, which is considered a terrible humiliation among the gypsies, and at the same moment kills her. And he himself dies at the hands of her father.
A feature of the composition of this story is its construction on the principle of "a story within a story": the author puts a romantic legend into the mouth of the protagonist. It helps to understand him deeper. inner world and value system. For Makar, Loiko and Rudd are the ideals of love of freedom. He is sure that two wonderful feelings, pride and love, brought to their highest expression, cannot be reconciled.
Another feature of the composition of this story is the presence of the image of the narrator. It is almost imperceptible, but the author himself is easily guessed in it.

Artistic originality

In romantic works, Gorky turns to romantic poetics. First of all, it concerns the genre. Legends and fairy tales become favorite genre writer during this period of creativity.
The palette of visual means used by the writer in the story is diverse. "Makar Chudra" is full of figurative comparisons that accurately convey the feelings and mood of the characters: "... a smile is a whole sun", "Loiko stands in the fire of a fire, as if in blood", "... she said that she threw snow at us" , “He looked like an old oak tree, burned by lightning ...”, “... staggered like a broken tree”, etc. The feature of the story is unusual shape dialogue between Makar Chudra and the narrator. Only one voice is heard in it - the voice of the protagonist, and only from the replicas of this one speaker do we guess the reaction and replies of his interlocutor: “Learn and teach, you say?” This peculiar form of phrases serves the author to make his presence in the story less noticeable.
Gorky pays great attention to the speech of his heroes. So, for example, Makar Chudra, according to the gypsy tradition, interrupts his story with an appeal to the interlocutor, calling him a falcon: “Hey! It was, a falcon ...”, “Here he was, a falcon! ..”, “Here she was, what was Radda, a falcon! ..”, “That's right, a falcon! ..” In the address “falcon” we see an image close to the gypsy spirit, the image of a free and bold bird. Chudra freely modifies some of the geographical names of the places where the gypsies roamed: "Galicia" - instead of Galicia, "Slavonia" - instead of Slovakia. In his story, the word “steppe” is often repeated, since the steppe was the main place of life for the gypsies: “The girl is crying, seeing off the good fellow! A good fellow calls the girl to the steppe...”, “The night is bright, the moon flooded the whole steppe with silver...”, “Loiko barked all over the steppe...”.
The author widely uses the technique of landscape sketches. The seascape is a kind of frame for the whole storyline story. The sea is closely connected with state of mind heroes: at first it is calm, only a “wet, cold wind” carries “across the steppe the thoughtful melody of the splash of a wave running ashore and the rustle of coastal bushes.” But then it began to rain, the wind grew stronger, and the sea rumbles muffled and angrily and sings a gloomy and solemn hymn to the proud pair of handsome gypsies. In general, in nature, Gorky loves everything strong, impetuous, boundless: the boundless expanse of the sea and the steppe, the bottomless blue sky, now playful, now angry waves, a whirlwind, a thunderstorm with its rolling roar, with its sparkling brilliance.
A characteristic feature of this story is its musicality. Music accompanies the whole story about the fate of lovers. “You can’t say anything about her, this Rudd, in words. Perhaps her beauty could be played on a violin, and even then to someone who knows this violin as his soul.

The meaning of the work

The role of M. Gorky in the literature of the XX century. hard to overestimate. He was immediately noticed by L.N. Tolstoy and A.P. Chekhov, V.G. Korolenko, endowing the young author with their friendly disposition. The value of the innovative artist was recognized by the new generation of writers, the general readership, and criticism. Gorky's works have always been at the center of controversy between supporters of different aesthetic trends. Gorky was loved by people whose names are included in the sacred list of the creators of Russian culture.
The origins of romantic works seem to be clear. What is absent in reality is sung in legends. Not quite so. In them, the writer did not at all abandon his main sphere of observation - behind the contradictory human soul. romantic hero included in the environment of imperfect, and even cowardly, miserable people. This motive is reinforced on behalf of the storytellers whom the author listens to: the gypsy Makar Chudra, the Bessarabian Izergil, the old Tatar man, who conveys the legend "Khan and his son", the Crimean shepherd, singing "The Song of the Falcon".
The romantic hero was conceived for the first time as a savior of people from their own weakness, worthlessness, and sleepy vegetative existence. It is said about Zobar: “With such a person, you yourself become better.” That is why there are images-symbols " fiery heart”, flight, battle. Majestic in themselves, they are further enlarged by the "participation of mother nature." She decorates the world with blue sparks in memory of Danko. The real sea listens to the "lion's roar" of the legendary waves that carry the call of the Falcon.
Meeting with an unprecedented harmony of feelings and deeds calls for the comprehension of things in some new dimensions. Such is the true influence of the legendary hero on the individual. This must be remembered and not replaced by the content of Gorky's romantic works with an unequivocal call for social protest. In the images of Danko, the Falcon, as well as in the proud lovers, the young Izergil, the spiritual impulse, the thirst for beauty are embodied.
Gorky was more concerned with reflections on what a person is and what a person should become than on the real path that lies to the future. The future was depicted as a complete overcoming of primordial spiritual contradictions. “I believe,” Gorky wrote to I.E. Repin in 1899 - into the infinity of life, and I understand life as a movement towards the improvement of the spirit<...>. It is necessary that intellect and instinct merge in harmonious harmony ... ”Life phenomena were perceived from the height of universal ideals. Therefore, apparently, Gorky said in the same letter: “... I see that I don’t belong anywhere yet, to any of our “parties”. I am glad about this, because this is freedom.
(According to the book by L. Smirnova "Russian literature of the late XIX - early XX century", M .: Education, 1993)

Point of view

This is interesting

In September 1892, Gorky's first printed work, Makar Chudra, appeared in the Tiflis newspaper Kavkaz. This story was destined to open all the collected works of Maxim Gorky and become, according to I. Gruzdev, "a frontier in Russian literature." From the history of the creation of this work, it is known that it was written in the Caucasus, in the apartment of Kalyuzhny, at a time when young Alexei Maksimovich was actively promoting among the Tiflis workers. Although Gorky considered this work as his first hesitant step on the path of a writer, he always emphasized that he considers the creation of Makar Chudra to be the beginning of his "literary existence".
ABOUT early work M. Gorky has a solid literature, but the independence and originality of Gorky's literary debut is clearly underestimated by researchers. Usually, the story "Makar Chudra" is spoken of in a patter, incidentally, only as the first printed word of the artist. A specific historical and literary analysis of "Makar Chudra", comparing it with the works of the 80-90s, depicting folk life, make you think that this is not a simple test of the pen, but the voice of the future petrel of the revolution. Already in his first work, M. Gorky brings people out of the people, continuing and developing the best traditions of progressive Russian literature. In the story "Makar Chudra" he also resorts to historical parallels, to the resurrection of authentic heroic deeds, to the chanting of the strong and brave in spirit.
Makar Chudra recalls his old friend Danil, a soldier, a hero of the Hungarian revolution of 1848, who "fought together with Kossuth." According to Chudra’s story, an incorruptible and courageous man looms before us, throwing in the face of the all-powerful pan impudent, full of hatred and contempt and at the same time his own dignity words in response to the landowner’s offer to sell him the beautiful Radd: “It’s only the gentlemen who sell everything, from their pigs to my conscience, but I fought with Kossuth and do not trade in anything. The story is based on the legend of brave and strong people. The legend is transmitted through the mouth of an experienced witness-narrator in the form of a friendly conversation with the writers themselves. The action of the story is transferred to the south, to the seashore; and the darkness of the cold autumn night that surrounded the heroes is not so hopeless. She sometimes shuddered from the fire and, timidly moving away, opened for a moment on the left - the boundless steppe, on the right - the endless sea.
Makar Chudra lived interesting life “And I, look,” he says to his interlocutor, “at fifty-eight years old I saw so much that if you write all this on paper, you won’t put it in a thousand bags like yours. Come on, tell me, in what regions have I not been? And you won't say. You don't even know the places I've been." "...Ege, as far as I know!" exclaims the old gypsy. Makar's words are not empty boasting, he really knows a lot. Although Makar feels the beauty and charm of life, he himself is skeptical about work. His ideals are vague and contradictory. He only strongly advises Gorky not to stop in one place: "go, go - and that's it"; “Just as they run day and night, chasing each other, so you run from thoughts about life so as not to stop loving it.” Not possessing a clear consciousness, he does not know, does not see a way out for a human slave: “... Does he know his will? Is the expanse of the steppe understandable? Does the voice of the sea wave gladden his heart? He is a slave - as soon as he was born, he is a slave all his life, and that's it! What can he do with himself? Only to strangle himself if he grows a little wiser. Makar sees no way out for a human slave, but he firmly knows one thing - there should be no slavery, for slavery is the scourge of life. He does not believe in the power of the slave, but he believes in the power of freedom. He tells about the great power of a free personality in his legend about the beautiful Radda and Loiko Zobar. Loiko Zobar will not share her happiness with anyone, and the beautiful Radda will not give in to her will, her freedom. Strong, brave, beautiful, proud, they sow joy around themselves and enjoy it, valuing above all freedom, above love, above life itself, for life without freedom is not life, but slavery. Makar does not spare paints to describe his heroes. If Loiko has a mustache, then it is certainly up to his shoulders, “eyes are like bright stars are burning, and a smile is a whole sun, by God!” old Chudra swears. Loiko Zobar is good, but the beautiful Radda is even better. The old gypsy does not even know the words that could describe her beauty. “Perhaps its beauty could be played on a violin, and even then to someone who knows this violin like his soul,” Makar assures. Radda is a brave and proud person. The all-powerful sir turned out to be powerless and ridiculous before Radd. The old tycoon throws money at the feet of the beauty, he is ready for anything for one kiss, but the proud girl did not even honor him with a look. “If an eagle entered the raven’s nest of her own free will, what would she become?” - Radda answered all the harassment of the pan and thus took him out of the game. Volna was Radda in love and happy. But her main sorrow is not about love, and her happiness is not in love. She says to Loiko Zobar: “I saw good fellows, and you are more distant and more beautiful than their soul and face. Each of them would shave off his mustache - if I blinked an eye at him, they would all fall at my feet if I wanted to. But what's the point? They don't hurt too much anyway, and I would beat them all. There are few daring gypsies left in the world, few, Loiko. I have never loved anyone, Loiko, but I love you. Also, I love freedom! Will, Loiko, I love more than you. And she dies happy, brave, proud and invincible.
Analysis of the work shows that the gypsies in the story are active and active. Makar himself is a direct participant in the events. He is in awe of his heroes, ready to follow them, like others in the camp. He is impressed by strong, courageous people who are able not to wait for happiness from someone else's hands, but to fight for it.
(According to the article by I.K. Kuzmichev “The Birth of the Petrel”
("Makar Chudra" by M. Gorky)

Golubkov MM. Maksim Gorky. - M., 1997.
Ovcharenko A.I. Maxim Gorky and literary searches of the 20th century. - M., 1978.
On the work of Gorky. Collection of articles, ed. I.K. Kuzmichev. - Gorky: Gorky book publishing house, 1956.
Smirnova L.A. Russian literature of the late XIX - early XX century. - M .: Education, 1993.
Stechkin NY. Maxim Gorky, his work and significance in the history of Russian literature and in the life of Russian society. - SPb., 1997.

In the center early works Maxim Gorky - exceptional characters, strong in spirit and proud people who have "the sun in their blood." They are associated with the motif of fire, sparks, flames, torches. These heroes have burning hearts.

The ideal world of the hero opposes the real world. The confrontation between romance and reality, romance and the surrounding world is the main feature of this literary movement.And the motive of rejection of reality, confrontation with fate, a daring challenge to the elements sounds. In the center is the figure of a strong, proud, courageous person who does not submit to anyone, unbending. And all these works, like living gems, shimmer with unprecedented colors, spreading a romantic glow around.

Against the backdrop of a romantic landscape, the old woman Izergil is also depicted: “The wind flowed in a wide, even wave, but sometimes it seemed to jump over something invisible to me and, giving rise to a strong impulse, fluttered the hair of women into fantastic manes that billowed around their heads. ".

It is in such a landscape - seaside, night, mysterious and beautiful - that the heroes of the stories of Maxim Gorky and Old Woman Izergil can realize themselves. Their consciousness and characters with mysterious contradictions become the main subject of the image.

In the legends of the Old Woman Izergil, ideas about the ideal and the anti-ideal in a person are expressed, that is, the romantic ideal and the anti-ideal are presented. Danko and Larra, Radda and Loiko Zobar.The action of the legends takes place in ancient times - this is, as it were, the time that preceded the beginning of history, the era of the first creations. However, in the present there are traces directly related to that era - these are the blue lights left from Danko's heart, the shadow of Larra, which Izergil sees; smoothly and silently circling in the darkness of the night, the handsome Loiko and the proud Radda.

In the characters of the heroes, the only beginning is the maximalist desire for freedom. Izergil is sure that her whole life was subordinated to only one thing - love for people. The same is embodied by the heroes of the legends they tell. For Loiko Zobar, the highest value is also freedom, openness and kindness. Radda is the highest, exceptional manifestation of pride, which even love for Loiko Zobar cannot break.

The irresolvable contradiction between love and pride is conceived as completely natural, and it can only be resolved in the way it was resolved in the legend - death. The old woman Izer-gil tells about Dan-ko and Larra. Danko embodies the extreme degree of self-sacrifice in the name of love for people, Larra - extreme individualism.

“A person is born to know what will is, the expanse of the steppe, to hear the voice of the sea wave”; "If you live - so kings over the whole earth."
This idea is illustrated by the legend about the love of Loiko Zobar and Rada, who did not become slaves of their feelings. Their images are exceptional and romanticized. Loiko Zobar has "eyes like bright stars are burning, and his smile is like a whole sun." When he sits on a horse, it seems as if he was forged from one piece of iron along with the horse. Zobar's strength and beauty match his kindness. “You need his heart, he himself would tear it out of his chest and give it to you, if only you would feel good about it.” To match the beauty Rada. Makar Chudra calls her an eagle. “You can’t say anything about her in words. Maybe her beauty could be played on the violin, and even to those who know this violin as their soul.”

The proud Rada for a long time rejected the feelings of Loiko Zobar, for the will was dearer to her than love. When she decided to become his wife, she set a condition that Loiko could not fulfill without humiliating himself. An unresolvable conflict leads to a tragic ending: the heroes die, but remain free, love and even life are sacrificed to the will. In this story, for the first time, a romantic image of a loving human heart arises: Loiko Zobar, who could tear the heart out of his chest for the happiness of his neighbor, checks whether the heart of his beloved is strong and plunges a knife into it. And the same knife, but already in the hands of a soldier Danila, strikes the heart of Zobar. Love and thirst for freedom turn out to be evil demons that destroy people's happiness. Together with Makar Chudra, the narrator admires the strength of the characters' character. And together with him he cannot answer the question that runs like a leitmotif through the whole story: how to make people happy and what happiness is.

In the story "Makar Chudra" two different definitions of happiness have been formulated. The first is in the words of a "strict man": "Submit to God, and he will give you everything you ask." This thesis is immediately debunked: it turns out that God did not give the “strict man” even clothes to cover his naked body. The second thesis is proved by the fate of Loiko Zobar and Rada: the will is more precious than life, happiness is in freedom. The romantic worldview of the young Gorky goes back to Pushkin's famous words: "There is no happiness in the world, but there is peace and freedom ..."

Danko

The conflict between love and pride that Radda and Loiko Zabar experience can only be resolved by the death of both of them. A romantic cannot give up love that knows no bounds, nor absolute pride. But love presupposes humility and the mutual ability to submit to the beloved. This is something that neither Loiko nor Rudda can do.

How does Makar Chudra assess such a position? He believes that this is how a real person, worthy of imitation, should perceive life, and that only with such a life position can one preserve one's own freedom.

The end of the story, where the narrator, looking into the darkness of the steppe, sees how the handsome gypsy Loi-ko Zobar and Radda, the daughter of the old soldier Danila, "circled in the darkness of the night smoothly and silently, and the handsome Loiko could not catch up with the proud Radda" .

In these words - the author's admiration for their beauty and uncompromisingness, the strength of their feelings, the understanding of the impossibility for the romantic consciousness of a different resolution of the conflict. At the same time, it is also the realization of the futility of such an outcome de la: after all, even after the death of Loiko, in his pursuit, he will not be equal to the proud Radda.

Creating the image of the old woman Izergil, Gorky gives her the opportunity to present both the romantic ideal, expressing the highest degree of love for people (Danko), and the anti-ideal, which embodied individualism and contempt for others brought to its climax (Larra).The exceptional individualism of Larra is due to the fact that he is the son of an eagle, embodying the ideal of strength and will.

“He has already become like a shadow now, it’s time! He lives for thousands of years, the sun dried up his body, blood and bones, and the wind pulverized them. That's what God can do to a man for pride!.. ”Izergil tells about Larra.

The images of Lara and Danko are in sharp contrast, although both of them are brave, strong and proud people. Lara lives according to the laws of the strong, to whom "everything is permitted." He kills the girl, as she did not submit to his will, and steps on her chest with his foot. Lara's cruelty is based on a sense of superiority strong personality above the crowd.

Confessing the morality "everything is allowed to the strong", loneliness awaits, which worse than death. "The punishment for him is in himself." Lara, doomed to eternal life and eternal wandering, turns into a black shadow, dried up by the sun and winds. Condemning the egoist who only takes from people without giving anything in return, the old woman Izergil says: “For everything that a person takes, he pays with himself, with his mind and strength, sometimes with his life.”
Danko pays with his life, performing a feat in the name of people's happiness. The blue sparks flaring up at night in the steppe are the sparks of his burning heart, which lit the way to freedom. The impenetrable forest, where giant trees stood like a stone wall, the greedy mouth of the swamp, strong and evil enemies gave birth to fear in people. Then Danko appeared: - “What will I do for people,” Danko shouted louder than thunder. And suddenly he tore his chest with his hands and tore out his heart from it and raised it high above his head. It burned as brightly as the sun, and brighter than the sun, and the whole forest fell silent, illuminated by this torch of great love for people, and the darkness scattered from its light ... "

In the center of the early works of Maxim Gorky are exceptional characters, strong in spirit and proud people who have "the sun in their blood." They are associated with the motif of fire, sparks, flames, torches. These heroes have burning hearts.

In the story "Makar Chudra" two different understandings of happiness are formulated. The first is in the words of a "strict man": "Submit to God, and he will give you everything you ask." This thesis is immediately debunked: it turns out that God did not give the “strict man” even clothes to cover his naked body. The second thesis is proved by the fate of Loiko Zobar and Rada: the will is more precious than life, happiness is in freedom. The romantic worldview of the young Gorky goes back to Pushkin's famous words: "There is no happiness in the world, but there is peace and freedom ..."

Danko

The images of Lara and Danko are in sharp contrast, although both of them are brave, strong and proud people. Lara lives according to the laws of the strong, to whom "everything is permitted." He kills the girl, as she did not submit to his will, and steps on her chest with his foot. Lara's cruelty is based on a sense of superiority of a strong personality over the crowd. Confessing the morality "everything is allowed to the strong", loneliness awaits, which is worse than death. "The punishment for him is in himself." Lara, doomed to eternal life and eternal wandering, turns into a black shadow dried up by the sun and winds. Condemning the egoist who only takes from people without giving anything in return, the old woman Izergil says: “For everything that a person takes, he pays with himself, with his mind and strength, sometimes with his life.”
Danko pays with his life, performing a feat in the name of people's happiness. The blue sparks flaring up at night in the steppe are the sparks of his burning heart, which lit the way to freedom. The impenetrable forest, where giant trees stood like a stone wall, the greedy mouth of the swamp, strong and evil enemies gave birth to fear in people. Then Danko appeared: - “What will I do for people,” Danko shouted louder than thunder. And suddenly he tore his chest with his hands and tore out his heart from it and raised it high above his head. It burned as brightly as the sun, and brighter than the sun, and the whole forest fell silent, illuminated by this torch of great love for people, and the darkness scattered from its light ... "