Under the protection of the 108 psalm. ("The Little Man" in the novels of Leonid Leonov)

Abstract

The subject of a special study is the consideration of various approaches to depicting the lives of socially humiliated characters. The appearance of "little people" in the works of writers of the XIX-XX centuries. literary critics were inclined to explain the "terrible reality of Nikolayev Russia", the "social atmosphere", which determined the characteristic features of a person who found himself under the influence of difficult circumstances, life contradictions. This is a disenfranchised person who is powerless before life and its circumstances. This is a "small" person in social terms, an "inconspicuous" hero who is forced to live on the lower floor of the public pyramid. The "little man" is not devoid of spiritual, moral and humanistic principles, so writers began to give them a place in their works. With each subsequent work, the life of people of the "lower" class manifested itself in new interpretations. The relevance of the chosen topic is determined by the realities of the time, by the fact that in modern conditions the topic of the "little man" is topical. The purpose of the work is to trace the evolution of the theme of "little man" in the works of Russian writers of the XIX – first decades of the XX century, as well as the relationship of the concepts of "little man" – "righteous man". The object of research is the works of A. Pushkin, N. Gogol, F. Dostoevsky, L. Leonov. The subject of the study is the image of the "little man" as a type of literary hero in Russian literature of the XIX–XX centuries. The most accurate methodological basis of the work was the works of famous Russian scientists, such as K. Mochulsky, A. Gazizova, A. Stepanov, etc., the methods of research are comparative-typological and cultural-historical. The main conclusion of the conducted research is the proof that in every epoch there were, there are and will be "little people" who often turn out to be morally superior to people who occupy the best position in society; the concepts of "little people" – "poor people" are distinguished, the author's attitude to the synonymous or antonymous series "little" ("poor") a hero, a righteous hero.