All mixed up in historical novel Alexander Pushkin "The Captain's Daughter" - honesty, nobility, betrayal, meanness, love. And the Pugachev rebellion, which formed the basis of the work, turned out to be a real test for the main characters - Pyotr Grinev and Alexei Shvabrin.

Life's difficulties affect people in different ways: some are tempered, others are broken - it all depends on the strength of character, upbringing, moral principles.

A little about the work of Alexander Pushkin "The Captain's Daughter"

The action of the novel takes place at the end of the 18th century, when rebels under the command of Emelyan Pugachev raged in Russia. The story is told in the first person, by the young nobleman Pyotr Grinev, who by chance finds himself in the very maelstrom of the Pugachev events.

Character traits of Grinev and Shvabrin - attitude towards people

The novel draws attention to two central images- these are the officers of the Belogorsk fortress Petr Grinev and Aleksey Shvabrin. But one should not underestimate the figure of Emelyan Pugachev, because all the storylines are connected with this hero.

Grinev is a seventeen-year-old undergrowth, the son of a landowner, sent by his father instead of St. Petersburg to serve in the distant garrison of the Orenburg province with parting words: “Take care of honor from a young age.”

Shvabrin is an educated young man, a nobleman, transferred to a fortress for killing him in a duel.

• Peter is eccentric, groovy, but kind and complacent. Having lost a hundred rubles to the captain Zurin on billiards, he shouts at Savelich, demanding to pay a debt of honor. Having offended the servant, Grinev worries no less than his uncle, having repented, asks for forgiveness. And in the scene with the leader, Pugachev, who leads Grinev's tent out of the snowstorm to the inn, notes of the hero's responsiveness and generosity also appear. In gratitude for the salvation, Peter treats a passer-by peasant with tea, wine, favors him with a hare coat. The meeting turns out to be fateful for the young man. Who knows how the capture of the Belogorsk fortress by rebels would have ended for Peter if the imaginary emperor had not recognized his benefactor?
• Shvabrin is a man with an evil, vengeful character. He speaks with disdain about the people with whom he serves: he scoffs at the kindness of the captain Vasilisa Yegorovna, mocks at Grinev's love, calling his poems complete nonsense. Even captain's daughter- He calls Masha a fool, taking revenge for refusing to marry him.
• Grinev is decent, brave. He, without hesitation, stands up for the honor of Maria Ivanovna, having heard obscene allusions to Shvabrin's account of her.
• Alexei is mean, cold-blooded, ready to defame an innocent person for his own benefit. He scribbles a denunciation of Grinev to the investigating authorities, accusing him of complicity with Pugachev, tells Peter's parents about his traitor son, spreads gossip about a young girl. In the duel scene, Shvabrin behaves extremely unworthily: he basely wounds his opponent.

Character traits of Grinev and Shvabrin - attitude towards the Fatherland

• Pugachev's detachment captures the fortress. Shvabrin without hesitation swears allegiance to the newly-minted king. Alexey is so afraid for his life that he humiliates himself before the ataman, bending in an obsequious bow. It becomes clear that this person has no sense of duty, dignity, devotion. The officer tells the chieftain that Masha is the daughter of the executed captain of the fortress. Shvabrin does this so that Grinev will be punished, and he will get the girl.
• Peter, how fair man, ready to die, but remain faithful to the duty to the Fatherland. He directly declares to Pugachev that he has already sworn allegiance to the Empress and would rather die, but will not break his oath.
• For Alexei, unlike Peter, there is nothing sacred. He is easy to betray, he can easily slander the lady of the heart, if this will be useful. It can be said about him that he serves the one with whom it is more profitable.

Character traits of Grinev and Shvabrin - attitude towards love

The love line that runs through the entire work is given against the backdrop of the terrible events of the Pugachev rebellion. They say that in matters of the heart all methods are good, but the way Shvabrin acts, seeking the reciprocity of Maria Mironova, is unacceptable for an honest person.

• Alexey, left by Pugachev in the fortress for the elder, locks Masha, does not feed, trying to persuade the girl to a marriage she hates.
• Pyotr, having learned that his beloved is in the hands of the scoundrel Shvabrin, without thinking about the consequences, rushes to her rescue. Having failed to get help from the authorities, Grinev turns to Pugachev for support, and he helps him. Having freed the captain's daughter, Peter sends her to her parents, calling her his bride. Even at the trial, where the hero ends up because of Shvabrin's slander, he does not mention Masha, so as not to cause her trouble.

Reading the novel, we see the maturing Peter, who sacredly observes the oath of allegiance to the Fatherland and honors the commandment of his father. And fate rewards him - the hero is fully justified and he has a long life ahead of him. happy life with the woman you love.

The heroes of Pushkin's story, Pyotr Grinev and Alexei Shvabrin, immediately attract the reader's attention. From the very beginning of acquaintance with them, it turns out that these people have very, very little in common. However, they are both young, daring, hot, smart and, in addition to everything, are of noble origin. Fate decreed that both of them ended up in a distant fortress and both fell in love with the captain's daughter Masha Mironova. And it is in the feeling for Masha that the difference between the characters begins to appear.

Even before Pyotr Grinev met Masha, Shvabrin had already taken care to introduce her to a potential rival " complete fool". Shvabrin is caustic and mocking, he tries to ridicule everything and everyone around him. That is why it becomes more and more difficult for Grinev to communicate with him.

“Of course, I saw AI Shvabrin every day; but hour by hour his conversation became less agreeable to me. I didn't like his constant jokes about the commandant's family, especially his caustic remarks about Marya Ivanovna. There was no other society in the fortress, but I didn’t want another.”

The first major quarrel that led to the duel broke out between Shvabrin and Grinev precisely because of Masha. Shvabrin set out to discredit the honest name of the girl, tried to show her in the most unfavorable light. The quarrel showed Grinev the true face of his opponent. And he has a completely different assessment of his recent interlocutor, with whom he had previously been on the most friendly terms.

Only later did Pyotr Grinev find out that, it turns out, Shvabrin has tender feelings for Masha. He even wooed the captain's daughter, however, was refused. Only then Pyotr Grinev guessed that in fact Shvabrin specifically wanted to discredit the poor girl in his eyes. Shvabrin was afraid of rivalry and did everything possible to remove the obstacle in the person of Grinev.

It is surprising to the reader that such ordinary girl, like Masha Mironova, could arouse Shvabrin's interest. Obviously, Masha's modest grace, sensitivity and tenderness seemed to Shvabrin quite worthy of attention. Masha's refusal hurts Shvabrin's pride and makes it impossible to continue any relationship with her. Needless to say, the happy lover Pyotr Grinev quickly becomes Shvabrin's enemy.

Shvabrin is not distinguished by nobility. That is why he easily commits betrayal and goes over to the side of Pugachev. How amazed Pyotr Grinev was when he saw Shvabrin among Pugachev's close associates.

What can the betrayal of a nobleman testify to? First of all, this means that the word "honor" is an empty phrase for him. Shvabrin is afraid to lose his life, and he is ready to do anything for the sake of his salvation, which is why he takes the side of the rebels. And now the oath given to the empress is forgotten, all the ideals and traditions of the nobility are forgotten.

Grinev was brought up in the family of a retired military man and became an officer himself. Officer honor is above all for him. Therefore, despite the mortal danger, Grinev does not change the military oath and dares to stand up for the orphaned Masha Mironova. Thus, rivals in love find themselves on opposite sides of the barricade.

Two officers - Petr Grinev and Aleksey Shvabrin - behave completely differently: the first follows the laws of officer honor and remains faithful to the military oath, the second easily becomes a traitor. Grinev and Shvabrin are carriers of two fundamentally different worldviews. This is how the author of the story "The Captain's Daughter" portrays them.

I hope this essay helped you understand the characters of Grinev and Shvabrin, prompted thoughts for your own essay.

Pavel Grinev was born into the family of a retired prime minister and the daughter of a nobleman. The father always wanted to see a military man in his child and enrolled him in the Semyonovsky regiment as a sergeant long before his birth.

Shvabrin also grew up in a noble family, but he did not have an example of military behavior. Therefore, the sense of honor was poorly developed in this man.

Grinev received a good upbringing and education. First, in the person of uncle Savelich, who taught him worldly wisdom and Russian literacy. Then - the Frenchman Beaupre.

The main characters have different attitudes towards service and military honor. Grinev treats the service responsibly and remains faithful to his empress to the end, showing devotion to the oath. Shvabrin, on the other hand, treated military service irresponsibly, immediately going over to the side of Pugachev.

The attitude of the characters to the woman and the feeling of love is also different. Grinev sincerely loved Masha and opened up to her in his feelings. Shvabrin's love is peculiar. Feeling for the heroine, he speaks unflatteringly about Mary's mother. And Masha is afraid of Shvabrin because of his cunning and arrogance.

The main Pushkin's heroes reveal their characters, primarily in relation to the Pugachev rebellion.

Grinev remains an officer to the end. Brought up in an officer's family, he does not drop his honor and dignity in difficult times. Faithful to his Fatherland, oath and military duty. He believes that a young officer who has broken his oath is a criminal.

Shvabrin, on the other hand, was deprived of these high principles and became a supporter of the rebel not because of ideological convictions, but because of selfish goals.

The story "The Captain's Daughter" by A. S. Pushkin tells about the adventures of a young nobleman during his military service:

• about his love for the daughter of the captain of the fortress;
• about his conflicts with one of his colleagues -;
• about acquaintance and meetings with the most remarkable person of his time.

Arriving at the Belogorsk fortress, located in the Orenburg province, Grinev met Shvabrin the next morning.

Friendship and duel between Grinev and Shvabrin

Shvabrin himself came to Grinev to get acquainted with him. This was an officer demoted from the guard and exiled to a distant fortress. There were no more young people of the nobility here, and Grinev quickly became friends with Shvabrin. The officers were brought together by origin, a small difference in age, common interests, knowledge of French, in which they usually spoke.

But as the subsequent narrative will show, this is where the similarities between Grinev and Shvabrin end, and opposites and differences begin. Here we will try to make a comparative description of Grinev and Shvabrin, to show how they behaved when they were in the same conditions.

While Shvabrin remained the only, relatively young man in the fortress, he could not be afraid of competition and hoped to break Masha's stubbornness and marry her. But the appearance of Grinev seriously frightened him. He understood that Pyotr Andreevich was younger than him and more attractive in appearance. Therefore, from the very first days, he exposed Masha as a “perfect fool”, creating a prejudice against the girl in the opinion of the young man. But Masha was not like that. In the end, she attracted the attention of Grinev, who began to talk to her more and more often, and came to the conclusion that Masha was a prudent and sensitive young lady.

When Grinev wrote his poem, mentioning Masha in it, Shvabrin was afraid that the love between Grinev and Marya Ivanovna would be mutual. He provoked a conflict and challenged Pyotr Andreevich to a duel. In fact, the duel between Grinev and Shvabrin was over the captain's daughter, although formally, Shvabrin pretended that Pyotr Andreevich insulted him. Shvabrin wanted to get rid of his opponent at all costs. But for this he used low methods, unworthy of the title of a nobleman. On Shvabrin, he struck a blow at Grinev, taking advantage of Pyotr Andreevich's confusion when he called out to him. Shvabrin failed to kill his opponent. Then he wrote a letter to the father of Pyotr Andreevich, in which he reported on the duel, distorting real reasons. He hoped that the old major would demand Peter's transfer from the fortress. But that didn't happen either. True, Shvabrin nevertheless achieved his goal with a shameless denunciation - old Grinev did not give his blessing for the marriage of Pyotr Andreevich with Masha, and Masha moved away from the young man.

Grinev and Shvabrin during the Pugachev rebellion

Making a comparative characteristic of Grinev and Shvabin. It is also necessary to analyze how they behaved during the Pugachev rebellion. When the fortress was captured, Shvabrin was one of the first to swear allegiance to Pugachev, forgetting about his noble duty and honor. Shvabrin's dishonor, perjury to the depths of his soul outraged Grinev. Pugachev appointed Shvabrin to manage Belogorsk fortress. Grinev, on the contrary, despite his youth, considered it below his dignity to bow and even more so to “kiss the hand” of a peasant. For him, noble honor, fidelity to duty was above all, which he declared to Pugachev. The fidelity to the oath and duty shown by Captain Mironov and other defenders of the garrison only strengthened the spirit of the young officer.

Unable to win the girl's heart, Shvabrin tried to persuade her to marry by force. But Masha never loved this man, intuitively feeling the baseness of his soul, which was so manifest during the Pugachev rebellion. Peter, with the help of Pugachev, freed and took away the captain's daughter from the fortress.

When the rebellion was suppressed, an investigation began and the search for the perpetrators began, Shvabrin demonstrated the meanness of his soul here too. He knew perfectly well that Grinev did not join the Pugachev movement, but slandered him in order to only separate him from Masha and take revenge.

It should be noted that Grinev always behaved with dignity, like a real nobleman, even when talking with a robber. He tried to persuade Pugachev to stop the rebellion and "recourse to the mercy of the empress." Pyotr Andreevich sincerely believed that the Empress would have mercy on the rebels if they lay down their arms and obey Her Majesty.

Thus, a comparison of the characters of Grinev and Shvabrin in the story "" shows the honesty, sincerity of Grinev and Shvabrin. And no matter how Shvabrin tried to ruin Grinev's life and career, the truth turned out to be stronger. Shvabrin was punished, and Grinev, thanks to Masha's intercession before Her Majesty, was acquitted and lived a long happy life.