Chernyshevsky what to do utopian ideas in the novel. Traits of Utopia in Nikolai Chernyshevsky's novel What Is to be Done? Chernyshevsky's vision of the role of the state, set out in the novel What Is to Be Done?

The novel was written by Ch. In 1863, when he was in Peter and Paul Fortress in 4 months. This is a philosophical utopian. novel. genre fiction, close to science fiction, describing a model of the ideal, from the point of view of the author, society. Unlike dystopia, it is characterized by the author's belief in the perfection of the model.

The genre name comes from work of the same name Thomas More - "A golden book, as useful as it is funny about the best structure of the state and the new island of Utopia", in which "Utopia" is just the name of the island. For the first time in the meaning of "model of an ideal society" this word is found in the travel book of the English priest Samuel Perches "Pilgrimage"

Chernyshevsky was a fanatic of progress, he believed that with the help of progress, mankind would build heaven on earth, and this would happen very soon. From the point of view of artistic value, style, the novel can be rated low. Chernyshevsky himself admitted artistic shortcomings. They were generally recognized by everyone except Lenin.

But the influence of Chernyshevsky on his contemporaries and on Russian youth is enormous. Chernyshevsky receives worldwide recognition, the novel has been translated into many languages. How did the novel go to print? 2 versions:

1) the prison censorship relied on an external one, and the external one decided that the prison censor had already checked it

2) the censor decided that since the novel was written in such a terrible style, then he would compromise the very ideas that are stated in it.

On "What to do?" Dostoevsky and Tolstoy responded - in their works they conduct polemics with Chernyshevsky.

Many saw harm and danger in the ideas of Chernyshevsky.

Tolstoy and Dostoevsky believed that truth is acquired only during life, “searching.” In Chernyshevsky, the hero Rakhmetov read books (read three days in a row) and became a different person, learned the truth.

Chernyshevsky explains “what to do” to build an earthly paradise and make all people happy. And these ideas are taking possession of millions.

Chernyshevsky deals with a variety of issues.

1) including farms. The farm must be collectively owned.

2) Chernyshevsky sets out a new ethics in the novel - ethics without God, on the solid foundation of reason. Given that Chernyshevsky himself came from a priest's family.

The essence of ethics without God: in the general course of life, lofty aspirations are insignificant.

3) Above all - striving for one's own benefit, that is, rational egoism. Reasonable egoism is distinguished by the fact that a person does not go out on the high road and does not kill to enrich himself, but builds a plant, creates cars and becomes a millionaire. A rational egoist benefits himself and others.

4) denies the concept of victim. Sacrifice is a false concept, and this is the central concept of Christianity.

5) tried to explain morality in terms of the fact that it is beneficial for a person to act morally.

All these attempts have failed. It must be admitted that it is not reason that governs morality, but vice versa. The inconclusiveness of Chernyshevsky's theory in its internal contradictions (for example, Chernyshevsky himself denies the sacrifice, and Rakhmetov makes it). This contradiction was seen by Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, their works "War and Peace" and "Notes from the Underground" - a polemic with the novel "What is to be done?"

DI. Pisarev. Thinking proletariat:

All those who are fed and warmed by routine are driven into an indescribable rage by W's novel.

The novel scoffs at their aesthetics, destroys their morality, shows the narrowness of their chastity. It resembles all other Russian novels only in its external form, its plot is simple and there are few characters in it. What is to be done? created by the work of a strong mind. He knew how to peer at the phenomena of life, the author knows how to generalize and comprehend them. All the author's sympathies lie with the future. Chernyshevsky knows not only how the “new people” think and reason, but also how they feel.

Creating the image of a professional revolutionary, Ch. Looks into the future, in many ways ahead of his time.

1) shows the process of becoming a revolutionary, highlighting three stages in Rakhmetov's life:

Theoretical training,

Practical introduction to the life of the people

Transfer to prof. revolutionary activity.

2) at all stages of his life, Rakhmetov acts with full dedication.

R. lives in common, not personal, constantly in trouble, little is at home. There is an episode of his love for a certain lady, whom he saved by stopping a chaise with a carrying horse. R. deliberately refuses love, because it binds his hands. The image of R. bears the stamp of mystery, which encrypts the hero's revolutionary activity - the "secret" plot of the novel. Its plot function is to represent the type of a special, “ideal” person with whom all other characters are compared in one way or another. It is known that two years after the events described in the novel, he leaves Petersburg, believing that he has already done everything here. The author calls people of the type R. "the salt of the salt of the earth."

Such people are not always needed, but on the steep passes of history as individuals who absorb the needs of the people and deeply feel the pain of the people.

Shot on the casting bridge.

Letter for Vera. It says that the one who writes him leaves the stage because he loves "both of you" too much ...

The tragic denouement is preceded by the life story of Vera Pavlovna. Mother wants to marry her off to a rich man as soon as possible. A teacher, a medical student Dmitry Lopukhov, was invited to his brother. Learning about the plight of the girl, Lopukhov tries to help her. Makes an offer. At this time, she has her first dream: she sees herself released from a damp and dark basement and talking with an amazing beauty who calls herself love for people. Vera promises the beauty that she will always let other girls out of the cellars, locked in the same way as she was locked.

The young people rent an apartment, and their life is going well. A strange relationship: they sleep in different rooms, come to each other after knocking, do not appear naked.

Soon she starts a sewing workshop. Girls are self-employed, but co-owners and receive their share of the income.

In the second dream, he sees a field on which ears are growing. On this field and the dirt is fantastic and real. Real dirt is taking care of the bare essentials - ears can grow out of it. Fantastic dirt - taking care of unnecessary and unnecessary; nothing grows out of it.

The Lopukhovs often have Alexander Kirsanov. He brightens up Vera Pavlovna's loneliness with conversations, falls in love with her, and she with him.

The situation in which three smart and decent "new people" have found themselves seems insoluble. Lopukhov finds a way out - a shot at Liteiny Bridge.

On the day this news is received, an old acquaintance of Kirsanov and Lopukhov, Rakhmetov, comes to Vera Pavlovna, a "special person" Rakhmetov once he decides to sleep on nails to test his physical capabilities. He doesn't drink wine, he doesn't touch women.

Rakhmetov brings Vera Pavlovna a note from Lopukhov, after reading which she becomes calm and even cheerful.

The Kirsanov family has approximately the same lifestyle as the Lopukhov family before.

Soon she has a fourth dream.

Pictures of the life of women in different millennia pass before her. great woman, familiar to her from her first dream, explains to Vera Pavlovna, what is the meaning of women's equality and freedom. This woman also shows Vera Pavlovna pictures of the future: the citizens of New Russia live in a beautiful house made of cast iron, crystal and aluminum. In the morning they work, in the evening they have fun, and "whoever has not worked enough, has not prepared the nerve to feel the fullness of fun." The guide explains to Vera Pavlovna that this future should be loved, that you should work for it and transfer everything that can be transferred from it into the present.

The Kirsanovs have many young people, like-minded people. The Beaumont family soon appears among them. Ekaterina Vasilievna Beaumont, nee Polozova She marries a man who calls himself an agent of an English firm, Charles Beaumont. He speaks excellent Russian, because he allegedly lived in Russia until he was twenty. When Beaumont meets Kirsanov, it becomes clear that this man is Lopukhov. The Kirsanov and Beaumont families feel such a spiritual closeness that they soon settle in the same house and receive guests together. Ekaterina Vasilievna also arranges a sewing workshop, and the circle of "new people" thus becomes wider.

NG Chernyshevsky in his novel "What is to be done?" makes an unusual emphasis on sane egoism. Why is egoism reasonable, sane? In my opinion, because in this novel we see for the first time a “new approach to the problem”, “new people” by Chernyshevsky, creating a “new” atmosphere. The author thinks that the "new people" see personal "benefit" in the desire to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy the official morality. Their morality releases the creative possibilities of a humanitarian person. "New people" do not so painfully resolve conflicts of a family and love nature. The theory of rational egoism has an undeniable appeal and a rational core. "New people" consider work an essential condition of human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their mind is in absolute harmony with their feelings, because neither their feelings nor their minds are perverted by the chronic hostility of people.

You can trace the course of Vera Pavlovna's internal development: first, at home, she gains internal freedom, then the need for public service appears, and then the fullness of her personal life, the need to work regardless of personal will and social arbitrariness.

NG Chernyshevsky creates not an individual, but a type. For a person who is “not new”, all “new” people look the same; Such a person is Rakhmetov, who differs from others, especially in that he is a revolutionary, the only individualized character. The reader is given his features in the form of questions: why did he do this? What for? These questions create an individual type. He is a "new" person in his formation. All new people - like fell from the moon, and the only one who is associated with this era - Rakhmetov. Repudiation of oneself from the "calculation of benefits"! Here Chernyshevsky does not appear as a utopian. And at the same time, there are dreams of Vera Pavlovna as an indication of the ideal society, to which the author aspires. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic methods: Vera Pavlovna is in a dream, beautiful sisters, the eldest of them, Revolution is a condition for renewal. This chapter has to put a lot of points explaining the voluntary omission of the text, which anyway the censorship will not miss and in which the main idea of \u200b\u200bthe novel would be exposed. Along with this there is the image of a younger sister, a beauty - a bride, meaning love-equality, who turns out to be the goddess of not only love, but also the enjoyment of work, art, rest: "Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a deserted place, there are rich fields, meadows , gardens, there is a huge palace of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, wonderful furniture. Everywhere you can see how people work, sing songs, relax. " There are ideal human relations between people, everywhere there are traces of happiness and contentment, which previously could not have been dreamed of. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything she sees. Of course, there are many utopian elements in this picture, a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. It is not for nothing that in the novel they are repeatedly hinted at, without naming them directly. The novel shows only rural labor and speaks of the people "in general", in a very generalized way. But this utopia in its main idea is very realistic: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor must be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor must go towards satisfying the needs of the team members. This new work should be based on high scientific and technical achievements, on scientists and powerful machines that allow a person to transform the earth and his whole life. The role of the working class is not highlighted. Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from a patriarchal peasant community to socialism must be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to fix the dream of a better future in the mind of the reader. It is Chernyshevsky himself who speaks through the mouth of his "older sister", addressing Vera Pavlovna with the words: "Do you know the future? It is bright and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can transfer." ...

Indeed, it is difficult to talk about this work seriously, considering all its monstrous shortcomings. The author and his characters speak in an absurd, clumsy and unintelligible language. The main characters behave unnaturally, but they, like dolls, obey the will of the author, who can make them do (experience, think) whatever he wants. This is a sign of Chernyshevsky's immaturity as a writer. The true creator always creates above himself, the products of his creative imagination have free will, over which even he, their creator, does not have power, and it is not the author who imposes thoughts and deeds on his heroes, but rather they themselves prompt him to one or another of their deeds, thoughts, turn plot. But for this, it is necessary that their characters be concrete, have completeness and persuasiveness, and in Chernyshevsky's novel, instead of living people, we have naked abstractions, which were hastily given a human guise.

Unliving Soviet socialism originated from French utopian socialism, of which Claude Henri de Saint-Simon and many others were representatives. Their goal was to create well-being for all people, and to carry out the reform so that no blood was shed. They rejected the idea of \u200b\u200bequality and brotherhood and believed that society should be built on the principle of mutual recognition, asserting the need for hierarchy. But who will divide people according to the principle of more and less gifted? So why is gratitude the best thing in the world? Because those who are below should be grateful to others for being below. The problem of a full-fledged personal life was being solved. They considered a bourgeois marriage (concluded in a church) to be trafficking in women, since a lady cannot stand up for herself and provide herself with well-being and therefore has to sell herself; in an ideal society, she would be free. In my opinion, the most important thing in society should be gratitude.

Artistic features and compositional originality novel by N.G. Chernyshevsky "What to do?"

A mysterious suicide in the first chapter of the novel "What is to be done?" - the plot is unconventional and unusual for Russian prose of the 19th century, more characteristic of adventurous French novels. According to the generally established judgment of all researchers, it was, so to speak, a kind of intriguing device designed to confuse the commission of inquiry and the tsarist censorship. The melodramatic coloring of the story of the family tragedy in the 2nd chapter, as well as the unexpected title of the 3rd - "Preface", which begins like this: "The content of the story is love, the main person is a woman, is good, even the story was bad ... "In addition, in this chapter, the writer, in a half-joking, half-mocking tone, addressing the people, confesses that he completely deliberately" began the story with spectacular scenes torn from the middle or the end of it, covered them with fog. " Following this, Chernyshevsky, laughing to his heart's content at his readers, utters: "I have not a shadow of artistic talent. I even speak the language poorly. But it's still nothing.<...> Truth is a good thing: it rewards the shortcomings of the writer who serves it. ”Thus, he puzzles the reader: on the one hand, the author openly despises him, referring to the majority with whom he is“ insolent ”, on the other, as if he is inclined to open him all the cards and, moreover, intrigues him with the fact that there is also a secret meaning in his story! The reader is left with only one thing - to read and disassemble, and in the process of this to gain patience, and the deeper he plunges into this work, the more checks he is subjected to patience...

The reader is convinced literally from the first pages that the author really does not know the language well. For example, Chernyshevsky has a weakness for stringing verb strings: "Mother has ceased to dare to enter her room"; loves repetitions: "This is strange to others, but you do not know that it is strange, but I know that it is not strange"; the author's speech is careless and vulgar, and sometimes there is a feeling that this is a bad translation from a foreign language: "The gentleman broke into ambition"; "For a long time they felt the sides of one of themselves"; "He answered with exquisite endurance"; "People fall into two main departments"; "The end of this beginning was when they passed the old man." The author's digressions are dark, clumsy and wordy: "They did not even think that they were thinking this; and this is the best thing that they did not even notice that they were thinking this"; "Vera Pavlovna<...> began to think, not at all, but several, no, not several, but almost completely thinking that there was nothing important, that she took for a strong passion just a dream that would dissipate in a few days<...> or did she think not, does not think so, she feels that it is not? Yes, this is not so, no, so, so, more and more firmly she thought that she was thinking this. "At times, the tone of the narrative seemed to parody the intonations of a Russian everyday fairy tale:" After tea ... she came to her room and lay down. So she reads in her crib, only the book falls from her eyes, and Vera Pavlovna wonders: what has it become, lately, has it become a little boring to me sometimes? "Alas, such examples can be cited endlessly ...

The mixing of styles is no less annoying: during one semantic episode, the same persons now and then stray from the pathetically sublime style to the everyday, frivolous or vulgar.

Why did the Russian public accept this novel? The critic Skabichevsky recalled: "We read the novel almost on bended knee, with such piety, which does not allow the slightest smile on our lips, with which one reads liturgical books." Even Herzen, admitting that the novel was "vilely written," immediately made the reservation: "On the other hand, there are many good things." What is the "other side"? Obviously, from the side of Truth, whose ministry should remove all accusations of mediocrity from the author! And the progressive minds of that era identified Truth with Benefit, Benefit with Happiness, Happiness with serving the same Truth ... Be that as it may, it is difficult to reproach Chernyshevsky for insincerity, because he wanted good, and not for himself, but for everyone! As Vladimir Nabokov wrote in his novel The Gift (in the chapter devoted to Chernyshevsky), "the genius Russian reader understood the good that the incompetent fiction writer in vain wanted to express." Another thing is how Chernyshevsky himself went to this good and where he led the "new people". (Recall that the regicide Sophia Perovskaya, already in her early youth, adopted Rakhmetov's "boxing diet" and slept on the bare floor.) Let the revolutionary Chernyshevsky be judged with all severity by history, and the writer and critic Chernyshevsky by the history of literature.

Finally, the genre form "What is to be done?" Is also unusual. It was then a publicistic, socio-philosophical novel, almost unknown to Russian literature. Its peculiarity is that the "reproduction of life" in contrasting pictures of the "dirty" noble-bourgeois world and the world of new people is accompanied in the novel by an open author's explanation of both. This explanation is by no means boring or edifying. It is carried out subtly and in a variety of ways, with a special thread woven into the narrative fabric of the novel. The explanation is also a bright journalistic page showing, through detailed economic calculations, the profitability of collective labor; it is also a complex psychological analysis of the emotional experiences and actions of the heroes, convincing of the superiority of the new morality over the old, pre-construction one. This is also the author's constantly stinging arguments with the "slaves" of the routine, especially with the "discerning reader" who is stupid, ignorant, self-righteous, who annoyingly undertakes to talk about art, and about science, and about morality, and about other things in which "neither Belmes does not understand. " It is also a philosophical generalization of events and processes in the centuries-old history of mankind, striking in the breadth of knowledge and depth of theoretical thought.

In the work, publicistically, it is clearly read out, declaring the words of the aesthetics of the author himself, and "the verdict on the phenomena of life." However, not at all in the form of "prosecutorial" speeches, even some punishing outpourings. The real verdict is presented by the spectacle of new family and household relationships. The author's socialist ideal condemns the present day, in the "reflections of the radiance" of which the unreasonableness of being, the characters and views of an egoistic society looks more and more terrible and ugly, and the Rakhmetovs who devote their lives to the revolutionary struggle are increasingly attractive.

In the genre form of the novel chosen by Chernyshevsky, undoubtedly, the figure of the narrator, the author's self, represented a remarkable plot-compositional role. From one chapter to another, the presence of the author himself, his strong and mighty intellect, generosity and nobility, the generosity of his soul, heartfelt, impartial comprehension of the most complex motives of the human personality, his irony and sarcasm are felt closer and closer. And, besides, an unbreakable faith in a better future. NG Chernyshevsky conceived his novel as a "textbook of life" and brilliantly realized this idea.

Chernyshevsky in his novel What Is to Be Done? she puts special emphasis on reasonable egoism (calculation of benefits). If gratitude is outside of people, then rational egoism lies in the very "I" of a person. Each person secretly or openly considers himself the center of the universe. Why, then, is egoism reasonable? But because in the novel "What is to be done?" for the first time a "new approach to the problem" is considered, "new people" of Chernyshevsky create a "new" atmosphere, according to Chernyshevsky, "new people" see their "benefit" in the desire to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy official morality. Their morality frees the creative possibilities of the human person. "New people" are less painful in resolving conflicts of a family or love nature. The theory of intelligent egoism has an undeniable attraction and a rational grain. The "new people" consider work to be an absolutely necessary condition of human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their mind is in the most complete harmony with feeling, because neither their minds nor their feelings are distorted by chronic hostility against other people. You can trace the course of Vera Pavlovna's internal development: first, at home, she gains internal freedom, then the need for public service appears, and then the fullness of her personal life, the need to work regardless of personal will and social arbitrariness. NG Chernyshevsky creates not an individual, but a type. For a person who is “not new”, all “new” people look the same; Such a person is Rakhmetov, who differs from others, especially in that he is a revolutionary, the only individualized character. The reader is given his features in the form of questions: why did he do this? What for? These questions create an individual type. He is a "new" person in his formation. All new people - like fell from the moon, and the only one who is associated with this era - Rakhmetov. Repudiation of oneself from the "calculation of benefits"! Here Chernyshevsky does not appear as a utopian. And at the same time, there are dreams of Vera Pavlovna as an indication of the ideal society, to which the author aspires. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic methods: Vera Pavlovna sees beautiful sisters in her sleep, the eldest of them, Revolution, is a condition for renewal. This chapter has to put a lot of points explaining the voluntary omission of the text, which anyway the censorship will not miss and in which the main idea of \u200b\u200bthe novel would be exposed. Along with this there is the image of a younger sister, a beauty - a bride, meaning love-equality, who turns out to be the goddess of not only love, but also the enjoyment of work, art, rest: "Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a deserted place, there are rich fields, meadows , gardens; there is a huge palace made of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, and wonderful furniture. Everywhere you can see how people work, sing songs, relax. "Between people there are ideal human relations, everywhere there are traces of happiness and contentment, about which it was impossible to dream before. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything that she sees. Of course, in this picture there are many utopian elements, a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. It is not for nothing that they are repeatedly hinted at in the novel, without naming them directly. The novel shows only rural labor and speaks of the people "in general", in a very generalized way. But this utopia in its main idea is very realistic: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor should be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor should go to meet the needs of the team members.This new work should be based on high scientific and technical achievements, on scientists and powerful machines that allow a person to transform land and all his life. The role of the working class is not highlighted. Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from a patriarchal peasant community to socialism must be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to consolidate the dream of a better future in the mind of the reader. It is Chernyshevsky himself who speaks through the mouth of his "older sister", addressing Vera Pavlovna with the words: "Do you know the future? It is bright and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can transfer." ...

Traits of utopia in Nikolai Chernyshevsky's novel What to do

NG Chernyshevsky in his novel "What is to be done?" makes an unusual emphasis on sane egoism. Why is egoism reasonable, sane? In my opinion, because in this novel we see for the first time a "new approach to the problem", "new people" by Chernyshevsky, creating a "new" atmosphere. The author thinks that the "new people" see personal "benefit" in the desire to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy the official morality. Their morality releases the creative possibilities of a humanitarian person. "New people" do not so painfully resolve conflicts of a family and love nature. The theory of rational egoism has an undeniable appeal and a rational core. "New people" consider work an essential condition of human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their mind is in absolute harmony with their feelings, because neither their feelings nor their minds are perverted by the chronic hostility of people.

NG Chernyshevsky creates not an individual, but a type. For a person who is “not new”, all “new” people look the same, the problem of a special person arises. Such a person is Rakhmetov, who differs from others, especially in that he is a revolutionary, the only individualized character. The reader is given his features in the form of questions: why did he do this? What for? These questions create an individual type. He is a "new" person in his formation. All new people - like fell from the moon, and the only one who is associated with this era - Rakhmetov. Repudiation of oneself from the "calculation of benefits"! Here Chernyshevsky does not appear as a utopian. And at the same time, there are dreams of Vera Pavlovna as an indication of the ideal society, to which the author aspires. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic methods: Vera Pavlovna is in a dream, beautiful sisters, the eldest of them, Revolution is a condition for renewal. This chapter has to put a lot of points explaining the voluntary omission of the text, which anyway the censorship will not miss and in which the main idea of \u200b\u200bthe novel would be exposed. Along with this there is the image of a younger sister, a beauty - a bride, meaning love-equality, who turns out to be the goddess of not only love, but also the enjoyment of work, art, rest: "Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a deserted place, there are rich fields, meadows , gardens, there is a huge palace of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, wonderful furniture. Everywhere you can see how people work, sing songs, relax. " There are ideal human relations between people, everywhere there are traces of happiness and contentment, which previously could not have been dreamed of. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything she sees. Of course, there are many utopian elements in this picture, a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. It is not for nothing that in the novel they are repeatedly hinted at, without naming them directly. The novel shows only rural labor and speaks of the people "in general", in a very generalized way. But this utopia in its main idea is very realistic: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor must be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor must go towards satisfying the needs of the team members. This new work should be based on high scientific and technical achievements, on scientists and powerful machines that allow a person to transform the earth and his whole life. The role of the working class is not highlighted. Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from a patriarchal peasant community to socialism must be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to fix the dream of a better future in the mind of the reader. It is Chernyshevsky himself who speaks through the mouth of his "older sister", addressing Vera Pavlovna with the words: "Do you know the future? It is bright and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can transfer." ...

Indeed, it is difficult to speak seriously about this work, considering all its monstrous shortcomings. The author and his characters speak in an absurd, clumsy and unintelligible language. The main characters behave unnaturally, but they, like dolls, obey the will of the author, who can make them do (experience, think) whatever he wants. This is a sign of Chernyshevsky's immaturity as a writer. The true creator always creates above himself, the products of his creative imagination have free will, over which even he, their creator, does not have power, and it is not the author who imposes thoughts and deeds on his heroes, but rather they themselves prompt him to one or another of their deeds, thoughts, turn plot. But for this it is necessary that their characters be concrete, have completeness and persuasiveness, and in Chernyshevsky's novel, instead of living people, we have naked abstractions, which were hastily given a human guise.

NG Chernyshevsky in his novel "What is to be done?" makes an unusual emphasis on sane egoism. Why is egoism reasonable, sane? In my opinion, because in this novel we see for the first time a "new approach to the problem", "new people" by Chernyshevsky, creating a "new" atmosphere. The author thinks that the "new people" see personal "benefit" in the desire to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy the official morality. Their morality releases the creative possibilities of a humanitarian person. "New people" do not so painfully resolve conflicts of a family and love nature. The theory of rational egoism has an undeniable appeal and a rational core. "New people" consider work an essential condition of human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their mind is in absolute harmony with their feelings, because neither their feelings nor their minds are perverted by the chronic hostility of people.

The artistic features and compositional originality of the novel by N.G. Chernyshevsky "What to do?"

The mixing of styles is no less annoying: during one semantic episode, the same persons now and then stray from the pathetically sublime style to the everyday, frivolous or vulgar.

In the genre form of the novel chosen by Chernyshevsky, undoubtedly, a remarkable plot-compositional role was represented by the figure of the narrator, the author's self. From one chapter to another, the presence of the author himself, his strong and mighty intellect, generosity and nobility, the generosity of his soul, heartfelt, impartial comprehension of the most complex motives of the human person, his irony and causticity are felt closer and closer. And, besides, an unbreakable faith in a better future. NG Chernyshevsky conceived his novel as a "textbook of life" and brilliantly realized this idea.