Content
A discussion about a short work should begin with a presentation of its plot, which is based on the technique of comparison:
- In the first lines, the author describes the good deeds of the millionaire Rothschild, who really tried to help those in need, allocating substantial sums from his own pocket to charity.
- Next, the writer, in the simplest words, describes an incident from the life of a peasant, a very poor man who is ready to take in an orphan girl, realizing that his own life will become even more difficult.
- Finally, a short but succinct and expressive conclusion - “Rothschild is far from being up to this guy.”
When analyzing “Two Rich Men” by Turgenev, it is necessary to emphasize the idea of comparison: the millionaire, of course, is generous and noble, but he gives from the surplus. And the unfortunate peasant, himself extremely poor, is ready to endure even greater poverty in order to help a disadvantaged girl, poorer than him.
Analysis of the story “Two Rich Men”
As mentioned, the story was written in 1878, in the summer.
It consists of several parts, has a beginning and an ending. The first line talks about Rothschild, a rich man who does charity work. Thus, it is said that despite his enormous wealth, a person still does not forget about ordinary people in need and tries to help them somehow. Then there is a comparison between the rich Rothschild and the poor peasant family, who cannot invest their savings to help those in need, since they themselves are in dire need. Indeed, the generosity of a rich and wealthy person makes one wonder and admire him. Not all wealthy people want to help and help those who need it, but Rothschild is not like that, he shares funds “for raising children, for treating the sick, for caring for the elderly.” Good deeds, as they tend to do, evoke a purely positive reaction.
Turgenev immediately adds several more characters to the story. A “poor peasant family” accepts an orphan into their already “ruined little house.” The conversation between husband and wife is very interesting and ambiguous. He is full of nobility and spiritual generosity. Although these people are not as rich as Rothschild, they have kind and generous souls. A poor married couple takes in a girl who has lost her parents, and the generosity of their souls is admired no less than the generosity of a millionaire.
The answer to the question why this is so is very simple. It is enough to just think about how a billionaire is hurting himself by giving his money to the poor, and everything immediately becomes extremely clear and understandable. He gives away what he himself does not need. Rothschild probably doesn’t feel any changes in his own life because of this, everything remains the same for him. The peasant family, on the contrary, gives everything they have in order to change the orphan’s life for the better, to become her family. They can't even afford salt for their stew, but they don't give up on the girl. And if a woman still allows herself doubts, then they are immediately shattered by the words of her husband: “And we have her... and unsalted.” It is necessary to note an interesting nuance that the author emphasizes two things: firstly, neither the woman nor the man decides for themselves, they both say “we,” remaining together in joy and sorrow. A difficult time awaits them, but they are ready to go through it together, to fight it. Secondly, Turgenev calls a woman a “woman,” emphasizing her social status (an ordinary peasant woman), and a man not only a peasant, but also a husband, a person who has the final, decisive word in resolving the most serious issues.
The writer maintains suspense. He shows the reader that these are not all of the woman’s arguments that she can give by placing an ellipsis after her words. It is quite possible that this is not the first time they have had this conversation. Although, if this were so, then we could put an ellipsis at the beginning of her words. Perhaps both understand perfectly well that there is nowhere to put the girl, and they are not going to drive her out of the house - they are not animals, after all. The married couple understands that they are taking on a heavy burden, but this does not bother them at all, they are ready to put up with everything.
Images
The next stage of the analysis of Turgenev’s “Two Rich Men” is a description of the heroes. There are two types of characters:
- Direct characters: the peasant himself and his wife.
- Persons mentioned: Rothschild and the girl Katka.
Moreover, the first category of heroes does not have names, and the second is more specific, both a real-life millionaire and an unfortunate orphan. Why does the author use this technique? When analyzing Turgenev's poem “Two Rich Men,” one should find the answer to this question. For the author, the noble peasant soul is of great value, so the event described could have happened in any corner of the vast homeland, in many families in need. The classic sincerely admires the nature of the Russian person, ready for self-sacrifice.
Features of a peasant family
Let us continue the analysis of Turgenev’s “Two Rich Men” with a description of the appearance of a peasant family, which the author masterfully portrays to his readers:
- First of all, these are very poor people who, apparently, have children of their own.
- Turgenev does not say the age of his characters, nor does he try to describe their appearance, since this data is not required to convey his key idea.
- It should be noted that in the speech of both the man and his wife there is no selfish “I”; both say “we,” which emphasizes their desire to make a joint decision.
- The reader understands that the husband has the final say, so the unfortunate orphan will find a new home and hope for a happy, albeit very poor, life.
When analyzing the poem “Two Rich Men” by Turgenev, it is important to show that the author depicted a collective image of a Russian peasant family, the best people of his time, ready to help those in need, even depriving themselves of the most necessary things (in the village environment, the absence of salt in the house was considered a sign of extreme poverty).
Composition
Comparing Rothschild's charity and poor peasants. In the first part, the beginning, he says that he has a great attitude towards the actions of a rich man who donates thousands to the needs of those who need help. And such an act really deserves respect, because not all rich people do the same. But the meaning of the work is revealed further, in the second part.
In it, he shows how generous people can be who themselves have very little. A peasant family is talking about how they need to take in an orphan niece, but then they won’t even have money for salt. And the head of the family, the main character, makes a decision - which means they will eat the stew unsalted. This is precisely what real, heartfelt generosity is - Turgenev values it much higher than the donations of Rothschild himself.
At the same time, it is not clear from the dialogue of the peasants whether the family has its own children, but most likely there are, otherwise there would not be such a need. The woman is not talking about hunger, just salt in the house is a sign of at least some kind of prosperity. By taking one more extra mouth, the family will lose that too. It is also interesting that in this part the writer places emphasis on the word “we,” showing that although the decision remains with the husband, the family in this case is united.
Techniques
The text is small in volume, so it does not contain an abundance of artistic and expressive means. However, the entire narrative rests on the comparison of the millionaire benefactor Rothschild and the nameless peasant. This is very important to emphasize when analyzing Turgenev’s “Two Rich Men”:
- Everyone knows the rich man; with his good deeds (their value is not diminished by the author), he undoubtedly helped people, but he also earned fame for himself.
- And the unfortunate poor peasant with his action only created difficulties for himself; no one knows his name, and few people could be interested in the modest sacrifice of a forced man.
Therefore, the main technique, the comparison of a rich man and a poor peasant, helps Turgenev convey the main idea - the greater value of that act for which there is no reward, the man’s deed is completely selfless, no one will thank him except the saved girl.
Meaning of the name
When analyzing Turgenev’s prose “Two Rich Men,” the title of the work should be explained. Why are two rich men mentioned?
- With regards to Rothschild, everything is clear; he is a rich man, a philanthropist, who directed part of his income to help children and the needy.
- The second rich man is a peasant who has the most valuable thing, according to the author - a rich, kind heart, capable of sacrifice and empathy.
And the value of the spiritual component is much more important than material wealth. Turgenev is trying to convey this idea to his readers.
Speech originality
The next stage of analysis of Turgenev’s poem “Two Rich Men” is the study of its speech characteristics. The writer is known for often using dialect vocabulary in his prose texts to give the story credibility. Therefore, even in a small work, in the remarks of the peasants, one can find such words and expressions that are clearly uncharacteristic of the educated Turgenev:
- Pennies, get salt, stew, Katka's appeal - these words and phrases help the author create the image of a simple village woman, a real woman who is economical and practical. Her arguments against accepting an orphan into the family are quite logical, because the spouses are in poverty. When analyzing “Two Rich Men” by Turgenev, it is important to emphasize that the wife is not a negative character; rather, she is an ordinary woman who is forced by extreme poverty to be somewhat stingy.
- And we her... and not salty - this is the only phrase that the man uttered in the entire story, but it is very significant. He himself has no doubt that he is making the right decision. This man managed to maintain his kind, generous heart, despite living in very difficult conditions.
The author’s words in the introductory part and the end of the text are competent literary speech, which makes the characters’ conversation sound even more believable.
Concluding the analysis of Turgenev’s poem “Two Rich Men,” it should be noted that the author, of course, is glad that there are philanthropists like Rothschild in the world who help the poor. But their achievements lose their significance when compared with the actions of ordinary peasants who deny themselves even food in order to help even poorer people. And the writer sincerely admires such “men and women”, of whom there are so many in his homeland.
History of creation
Like any writer, Turgenev collected various notes throughout his life. Many of them became part of his works, but there were also some that he did not use. They became “Prose Poems”.
In total, more than eighty of them were written at different times. The history of the creation of one of them, called “Two Rich Men,” is also connected with this cycle. The writer and poet wrote it in July 1878, and the work was published as part of a collection already in 1882, but during the writer’s lifetime.
Despite the fact that the work begins with a description of the actions of the rich man Rothschild, its main theme is the generosity of the soul of a simple peasant who has practically nothing to give, but is still ready to share with those who need it. The main idea of the poem is that such generosity is many times greater than the generosity of Rothschild, who shares thousands, but he has these thousands in abundance and after all he does not feel the need.
Comparing the two types of wealth, Turgenev does not doubt for a minute that it is ordinary peasants who are much more generous than Rothschild himself, because, unlike him, they share the latter. And, in fact, they don’t even doubt whether to do it or not: from the dialogue it immediately becomes clear that everything has already been decided, they will not be able to abandon an orphan child who has no one else to shelter.
