Analysis of the novel “Demons” (F. M. Dostoevsky)

History of creation

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was distinguished by his tenacity and exactingness. In an instant, having experienced another epileptic seizure, the author came to the conclusion that the new work did not suit him at all. Then he completely destroyed his creation, but left intact the idea of the novel - a story about nihilists whose denial went too far.

Next, Dostoevsky again took up writing “Demons” - this is how the second version of the work saw the light. The writer did not have time to submit the work by the deadline set by the publisher, but he also did not want to betray himself and give the public a work that did not suit him. Katkov, the author’s publisher, just shrugged his shoulders, because the writer provided himself and his family only with advances for books, but was ready to live from hand to mouth, just not to publish raw material.

Genre, direction

The novel “Demons” unusually intertwines such qualities as chronicle, harsh historicism of thinking, and philosophy, but at the same time the writer looked into the future and talked about what would worry his descendants. It was this novel that was reliably assigned the designation: “novel-prophecy.”

Indeed, most readers note Dostoevsky’s visionary gift, because the novel reflects the problems not only of that time, but also the issues of today’s information society. The author soulfully portrays the main threat to the future of the public - the replacement of established concepts with unnatural demonic dogmas.

The direction of the writer’s creativity is realism, as he depicts reality in all its diversity.

How to write a term paper on speech therapy

07.09.2010 230070

These guidelines are compiled to help students gain an understanding of the content and structure of coursework in speech therapy.

Logopedia of pedagogical science that studies anomalies of speech development with normal hearing, explores the manifestations, nature and mechanisms of speech disorders, develops the scientific basis for overcoming and preventing them means of special training and education.

The subject of speech therapy as a science is speech disorders and the process of training and education of persons with speech disorders.

The object of study is a person suffering from a speech disorder.

The main task of speech therapy as a science is the study, prevention and elimination of various types of speech disorders.

Coursework in speech therapy is a student's scientific and experimental research. This type of educational activity, provided for by the educational and professional program and curriculum, contributes to the acquisition of skills in working with literature, analyzing and summarizing literary sources in order to determine the range of insufficiently studied problems, determining the content and methods of experimental research, processing skills and qualitative analysis of the results obtained. The need to complete coursework in speech therapy is due to the updating of knowledge concerning the content, organization, principles, methods and techniques of speech therapy work.

As a rule, during their studies, students must write two term papers - theoretical and practical.

The first course work should be devoted to the analysis and synthesis of general and specialized literature on the chosen topic. Based on this analysis, it is necessary to justify and develop a method of ascertaining (diagnostic) experiment.

In the second course work, it is necessary to provide an analysis of the results obtained during the ascertaining experiment, as well as determine the directions and content of speech therapy work, and select adequate methods and techniques of correction.

So, let’s present the general requirements for the content and design of coursework in speech therapy.

The initial and most important stage of working on a course project is the choice of a topic, which is either proposed by the supervisor or chosen by the student independently from a list of topics that are consistent with the areas of scientific research of the department.

Each topic can be modified, considered in different aspects, but taking into account a theoretical and practical approach. Having chosen a topic, the student needs to think through in detail its specific content, areas of work, practical material, etc., which should be reflected both in the formulation of the topic and in the further construction of the study. It should be recalled that the chosen topic may not only have a purely theoretical orientation, for example: “Dysarthria. Characteristics of the defect”, “Classification of dysgraphia”, but also take into account the practical significance of the problem under consideration, for example: “Speech therapy work on speech correction for dysarthria”. It should also be taken into account that when formulating a topic, excessive detail should be avoided, for example: “Formation of prosodic components of speech in preschoolers of the sixth year of life attending a preschool institution for children with severe speech impairments.”

The course work includes such mandatory parts as: introduction, three chapters, conclusion, bibliography and appendix.

The text of the term paper begins with the title page . An example of its design can be seen here.

Then the content of the work is given, in which the names of chapters, paragraphs, and sections are formulated in strict accordance with the content of the thesis. An example of its design can be seen here.

In the text, each subsequent chapter and paragraph begins on a new page. At the end of each chapter, the materials are summarized and conclusions are formulated.

The introduction reveals the relevance of the problem under consideration in general and the topic being studied in particular; the problem, subject, object, and purpose of the study are defined. In accordance with the goal and hypothesis, objectives and a set of research methods aimed at achieving the objectives must be defined.

The relevance of the topic lies in reflecting the current level of pedagogical science and practice, meeting the requirements of novelty and usefulness.

When defining the research problem, it is important to indicate what practical tasks it will help to implement in training and educating people with speech pathology.

The object of research is understood as certain aspects of pedagogical reality, perceived through a system of theoretical and practical knowledge. The ultimate goal of any research is to improve this object.

The subject of research is some part, property, element of an object, i.e. the subject of research always indicates a specific aspect of the object that is to be studied and about which the researcher wants to gain new knowledge. An object is a part of an object.

You can give an example of the formulation of the object, subject and problem of research:

– The object of the study is the speech activity of preschool children with phonetic-phonemic speech disorders.

– The subject of the study is the features of intonation speech of children with phonetic-phonemic speech disorders.

– The research problem is to determine effective directions for speech therapy work on the formation of intonation expressiveness of speech in the system of correctional intervention.

The purpose of the study contributes to the specification of the object being studied. The goal of any research is to solve a specific problem. The goal is specified in tasks taking into account the subject of research.

The research objectives are formulated in a certain sequence, which determines the logic of the research. The research objectives are set on the basis of a theoretical analysis of the problem and an assessment of the state of its solution in practice.

The first chapter is an analysis of literary sources, which examines the state of this problem in historical and modern aspects, and presents the most important theoretical principles that formed the basis of the study.

When writing the first chapter, you should pay attention to the fact that the text of the course work must be written in a scientific style. When presenting scientific material, it is necessary to comply with the following requirements:

– Specificity – a review of only those sources that are necessary to disclose only a given topic or solve only a given problem;

– Clarity – which is characterized by semantic coherence and integrity of individual parts of the text;

– Logicality – which provides for a certain structure of presentation of the material;

– Reasoning – evidence of thoughts (why this and not otherwise);

– Precision of wording, excluding ambiguous interpretation of the authors’ statements.

A literary review of the state of the problem being studied should not be reduced to a consistent presentation of literary sources. It should present a generalized description of the literature: highlight the main directions (currents, concepts, points of view), analyze in detail and evaluate the most fundamental works of representatives of these directions.

When writing a work, the student must correctly use literary materials, make references to the authors and sources from which the results of scientific research are borrowed. Failure to provide required references will reduce your coursework grade.

As a rule, in coursework on speech therapy, references to literary sources are formatted as follows: the number of the cited source in the general list of references is placed in square brackets. For example: General speech underdevelopment is a speech pathology in which there is a persistent lag in the formation of all components of the language system: phonetics, vocabulary and grammar [17].

When using quotations, in square brackets, in addition to indicating the source number, the page number from which this excerpt is taken is indicated, for example: Speech rhythm is based on a physiological and intellectual basis, since, firstly, it is directly related to the rhythm of breathing. Secondly, being an element that performs a communicative function, “correlates with meaning, i.e. controlled intellectually” [23, P.40].

However, course work should not be of a purely abstract nature, so you should not abuse the unreasonable abundance of citations. Quoting should be logically justified, convincing and used only when really necessary.

In the second chapter , devoted to experimental research, the organization should be described and the program of the ascertaining experiment should be presented. The survey methodology, as a rule, consists of a description of several series of tasks, with detailed instructions, visual and lexical material, the procedure for completing tasks by experiment participants, and scoring criteria. This chapter also provides a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the results obtained.

When analyzing the results of an experiment, it is necessary to use a scoring system. Examples of various criteria for quantitative and qualitative assessment are presented in the following works:

– Glukhov V.P. Formation of coherent speech in preschool children with general speech underdevelopment. - M.: Arkti, 2002. - 144 p.

– Fotekova T.A. Test methodology for diagnosing oral speech of primary schoolchildren. - M.: Arkti, 2000. - 56 p.

– Levchenko I.Yu. Pathopsychology: Theory and practice. - M.: Academy, 2000. - 232 p.

In order to visually present the results obtained during the experimental study, it is recommended to use tables, graphs, diagrams, etc. Histograms can be used in a variety of ways - columnar, cylindrical, planar, volumetric, etc. An example of the design of tables, figures, and histograms can be found here.

The third chapter provides a rationale for the proposed methods and techniques and reveals the content of the main stages of correctional work.

The conclusion contains a summary of the material presented and the main conclusions formulated by the author.

The bibliography must contain at least 25 sources. The list includes bibliographic information about the sources used in preparing the work. An example of its design can be seen here.

In the application you can present bulky tables or illustrations, examination protocols, observation records, products of activity (drawings, written works of children), notes from speech therapy classes, etc.

The volume of one course work must be at least 30 pages of typewritten text.

In general, coursework in speech therapy is the basis for a future thesis, in which the study of the begun problem can be continued, but from the standpoint of a different approach or a comparative analysis of the disorders being studied in different age categories of people with different types of speech disorders.

The content and format of theses in speech therapy can be found here.

Literature:

1. How to write a term paper on speech therapy: Methodological recommendations. Educational and methodological manual / Comp. Artemova E.E., Tishina L.A. / Ed. Orlova O.S. – M.: MGOPU, 2008. – 35 p.

2. Research work of students in the system of higher professional pedagogical education (specialty 031800 - Speech therapy). Methodological recommendations for completing the thesis / Compiled by. L.V. Lopatina, V.I. Lipakova, G.G. Golubeva. - St. Petersburg: Publishing house of the Russian State Pedagogical University named after. A. I. Herzen, 2002. - 140 p.

The essence

The events take place in a provincial town in the domain of Varvara Petrovna Stavrogina. The child of the freethinker Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky, Pyotr Verkhovensky is the main ideological mentor of the revolutionary movement. Peter is trying to attract Nikolai Vsevolodovich Stravogin, who is the son of Varvara Petrovna, to the revolutionaries.

Pyotr Verkhovensky convenes young people “sympathetic” to the coup: retired military man Virginsky, expert of the masses Tolkachenko, philosopher Shigalev and others. The leader of the organization Verkhovensky plans the murder of former student Ivan Shatov, who decides to part with the revolutionary movement. He leaves the organization because of his interest in the thought of the “God-bearing” people. However, the company does not need the murder of the hero for revenge; the real motive, which ordinary members of the circle do not know, is to unite the organization with blood, a single crime.

Further events develop rapidly: the small town is shaken by unprecedented incidents. A secret organization is to blame, but the townspeople have no idea about it. However, the most terrible and frightening things happen in the soul of the hero, Nikolai Stavrogin. The author describes in detail the process of its decomposition under the influence of harmful ideas.

A very brief retelling of the plot of the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky "Demons"

Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky, a twice-widowed middle-aged man, accepts the offer of his old friend Varvara Petrovna Stavrogina to become a mentor and educator for her young son Nikolai.

Having matured, Nikolai Stavrogin goes to St. Petersburg to study. And soon rumors begin to spread around his hometown that he is leading a wild and irresponsible lifestyle there. A few years later, he returns home, where, to the surprise of everyone, he gives the impression of a well-mannered and noble gentleman.

However, after very little time he becomes rowdy and behaves inappropriately in society. This behavior is attributed to delirium tremens and Nikolai is sent for treatment. Having recovered, the young man leaves for a trip abroad.

There the young man meets and becomes friends with Lizaveta Tushina, the daughter of an old friend of his mother. Upon Lisa’s arrival in the city, Varvara Petrovna realizes that she and Nikolai had quarreled over something.

Noticing that communication has begun between Nikolai and her pupil Dasha, Varvara Petrovna hurries to marry the girl to Stepan Trofimovich, fearing the beginning of a relationship between Daria and her son.

The country is beginning to experience unrest caused by dissatisfaction with the existing order. And the town where the novel takes place is no exception; revolutionary unrest is also growing there.

On the day of the governor's holiday, the general fun is overshadowed by the murder of the Lebyadkins' brother and sister and arson at the crime scene. Many in the city suspect that this is the work of Nikolai. The crowd, without understanding, takes it out on Liza, who found herself in the thick of things at the wrong time, accusing her of having connections with Stavrogin and killing her.

Members of the revolutionary five, led by Pyotr Verkhovensky, Stepan Trofimovich’s own son, who suddenly appeared in the city, kill Shatov, a former local revolutionary, because he betrayed faith in their common ideas and tried to isolate himself from society. A former friend of Shatov, Kirillov takes the blame upon himself, and then, according to his own developed theory, commits suicide. Peter, meanwhile, is in a hurry to go abroad.

In the Skvoreshniki estate, Varvara Petrovna and Daria find Nikolai hanged and a note in which he asks not to blame anyone for his death; he left on his own.

The main characters and their characteristics

Varvara Stavrogina is a famous provincial lady, an outstanding landowner. The heroine has an estate inherited from a wealthy tax farmer-parent. Her husband Vsevolod Nikolaevich, a lieutenant general by profession, did not own a huge fortune, but had great connections, which Varvara Petrovna, after his departure from this life, strives to restore in every possible way, but to no avail. She is a very influential woman in the province. By nature she is arrogant and despotic. However, the heroine often feels strongly dependent on people, sometimes even sacrificial, but in return she expects the same behavior. When communicating with people, Varvara Petrovna always takes a leading position, and old friends are no exception.
Nikolai Vsevolodovich Stavrogin had demonic attractiveness, excellent taste and well-mannered behavior. Society reacted violently to his appearance, but, despite all the liveliness and richness of his image, the hero behaved rather modestly and not particularly talkative. The entire female secular society was in love with him. Nikolai Vsevolodovich met with Shatov’s wife, Masha, with his sister, Dasha, and with his friend from childhood, Elizaveta Tushina. Returning from Europe, he took part in the revival of the secret society. During the same period, he experimented with influencing Shatov and Kirillov. Nikolai Vsevolodovich did not take direct part in Shatov’s death and even had a negative attitude towards it, but the idea of uniting the participants in the association came from him. More about the character of Stavrogin
Alexey Nilych Kirillov is one of the leading characters in F. M. Dostoevsky’s work “Demons”, a civil engineer by profession, he came up with the theory of suicide as a need for a reasoning person. Kirillov overcame a rapid path from religion to denial of the existence of someone from above, was obsessed with manic thoughts, ideas about revolution and readiness for self-denial. Pyotr Verkhovensky, a cunning and ruthless person, saw all this in Alexei Nilych in time. Peter was aware of Kirillov's intention to commit suicide, and forced him to write a confession that Shatov, whom Peter killed, died at the hands of Kirillov.
Pyotr Stepanovich Verkhovensky is the leader of the revolutionaries, a slippery and insidious character. In the work, this is the main “demon” - he runs a secret society that promotes atheist proclamations. Inspired by crazy thoughts, he tries to charm Nikolai Vsevolodovich Stavrogin, his childhood friend, with them. Verkhovensky is not bad in appearance, but does not inspire sympathy in anyone.
Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky is a man of the old school, devoted to high ideals and living on the support of a famous provincial person. In his youth he had a beautiful appearance, echoes of which can be seen in old age. There is a lot of pretense in his behavior, but he is quite educated and insightful. Was married twice. At some time, he was respected almost like Belinsky and Herzen, but after the discovery of a poem with ambiguous content, he was forced to leave St. Petersburg and hide in the estate of Varvara Petrovna Stavrogina. Since then it has noticeably deteriorated.
Shigalev - participated in organizing the murder of Shatov, but abandoned it. Little is known about Shigalev. An employee of the chronicle department says that he arrived in the city a couple of months before the incident; there was a rumor that he was published in a famous St. Petersburg publication. It seemed as if Shigalev knew the time, place and event that was about to happen. According to this character, all people should be divided into two unequal halves. Only one tenth should have power. The rest are a herd without an opinion, slaves. Entire generations had to be re-educated in this manner, because it was more than natural.
Erkel, Virginsky, Liputin, Tolkachenko are members of a secret society who were recruited by Verkhovensky.

“His place is not in literature, but in the clinic of mental illness”

5K 11 7 min.

In January 1871, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel “Demons” began to be published in the Russian Messenger magazine. The sixth novel by the great Russian writer aroused particular public interest because it was based on recent events - a murder committed in November 1869 by members of a revolutionary circle, who were awaiting trial at the time of the novel's release. The reaction of readers was stormy: the author was called a reactionary and obscurantist and accused of slandering young people. Only Leo Tolstoy praised

Photo: Mikhail Borisovich Tulinov

1 Today I ate in a tavern with two writers, one of whom tells the other: “Yesterday, he says, I visited M.E. Shchedrin - that’s a great talent; As a person, unfortunately, decomposes, the whole evening he kept scolding either Turgenev or Dostoevsky. He vilified Dostoevsky both to the blessed and to the holy fools, and so, I say, for the whole evening... It was hard to listen to.

Nikolay Solovyov-Nesmelov, writer

2
The writer creates a whole gallery of crazy young men... in none of them will you see the image or likeness of a living person, these are some kind of mannequins, and each mannequin has a label sewn on it indicating the nature of the delirium with which he is obsessed.
Pyotr Tkachev, critic

3 The Nechaev case is such a monster that it cannot serve as a topic for a novel. It could provide material for a criminal novel, narrow and petty; it could, perhaps, take a place in the picture of modern life, but not otherwise than as a tertiary episode.

Nikolai Mikhailovsky, publicist

4
How many inexorable reproaches of conscience had to be carried in the heart - whether one’s own or perceived from the outside - it doesn’t matter - for this scaffold of meaningless and comically piled up torments.
Innokenty Annensky, poet

5 Fantastic ghosts with inhuman meanness, stupidity and savagery, bred by him, in no society could play such a role as they are given in the novel, could not be spokesmen and representatives of a well-known movement that has a moral and political lining.

"St. Petersburg Gazette"

6 The epigraph to the novel “Demons” is the gospel story about the healing of a demon-possessed man, who, “having been healed, sat down at the feet of Christ,” and the demons that were in him entered the pigs that rushed into the sea... “The demon-possessed” personifies in this case Mr. Dostoevsky's Russia, which will then be healed of all its ailments, personally moral and social, when it becomes a more Christian nation in spirit (of course, in the person of its educated representatives). But this is also very unclear... What kind of Christianity will save the future Russia? We won’t find even a shadow of an answer to this in “Demons”!

Konstantin Leontyev, philosopher

7
Each chapter of the novel is a new abomination, a new horror, coming in crescendo;
fortunately for readers, these horrors are distinguished by such over-salting, such deformation of reality that in the end they become funny in their caricature. Dmitry Minaev, satirist poet

8 In fact, the details of the “story” and some of the reasoning are partly borrowed from one recent trial, partly created by Mr. Dostoevsky’s own fantasy, sometimes played out with the aim of strengthening the vile behavior and beliefs of the scoundrel, half-scoundrels and half-idiots, sometimes without any purpose, solely for the sake of morbidly mystical whims and the author's nonsense.

Viktor Burenin, critic

9 The manner of enlivening a novel with details from real life, only read yesterday in newspaper correspondence or stenographic reports of court hearings, cannot be considered worthy of imitation, if only because it is a kind of plagiarism.

"Voice"

10
G. Dostoevsky, with his ability to observe and analyze predominantly painful phenomena of the human soul, set out to track down the fatal influence of new ideas on a weak mind and the moral manifestations that the perversion of these ideas produces in pitiful, internally bankrupt natures, struck by the impotence and sterility of half-education.
Vasily Avseenko, writer and critic

11 Dostoevsky simply mocks his heroes and makes them kill and hang each other without any reason.

Arkady Kovner, writer and critic

12
If you had the patience to read to the end this work of our once extremely popular fiction writer, then, in addition to feelings of annoyance and even stronger than that, you will feel regret, maybe even sadness... It will be painful for you to see the fall of a writer, no doubt talented.
"Shine"

13 The heroes of the novel are impossible monsters who act as malicious villains, mind-blowers and monsters of a “new idea”, generated as if by a crushing spirit of the time; they can really intimidate the imagination of gullible Zamoscow subscribers who will believe in their veracity.

"Moskovskie Vedomosti"

14
Cheap mockery of so-called nihilism and contempt for unrest, the causes of which are always left without explanation - all this replete the works of Mr. Dostoevsky with stains that are completely unusual for them, and next to paintings that testify to high artistic insight, it evokes scenes that prove what This is already too direct and superficial an understanding of life and its phenomena.
On the one hand, he has faces full of life and truth, on the other - some mysterious puppets, darting about as if in a dream, made by hands trembling with anger. Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, writer

15 A heavy impression of terrible carelessness.

"Moscow Notes"

16 If it concerns insanity, then this is not art, but, so to speak, medical research; This is not a social novel, but a treatise on psychiatry, and its place is not in literature, but in the clinic of mental illness.

"Voice"

17
Nikolai Stavrogin is a figure with pretensions, but extremely dim.
He acts as a member of a secret "voluptuous" society "from which the Marquis de Sade could learn." Nikolai Mikhailovsky, publicist

18 I understand all the words individually, but what the whole essay is heading towards, even though thunder strikes me, I don’t comprehend.

"Spark"

19 Here are some of his figures, if you like, they are decadent, but how significant everything is! Dostoevsky sought faith and, when he described deeply unbelievers, he described his own unbelief.

Leo Tolstoy, according to the memoirs of Alexander Goldenweiser

20
To introduce well-known persons in a novel, shrouding and, perhaps, distorting them with the fictions of one’s own imagination, means presenting one’s subjective creativity as history, while at the same time depriving the featured persons of the opportunity to defend themselves from attacks.
Thanks mainly to the latter circumstance, I consider such attempts unacceptable for an artist. Ivan Turgenev, according to the memoirs of German Lopatin

Themes and mood

Relationships between fathers and children. Obviously, in the novel “Demons” the author describes the clash of different eras and the loss of communication between different generations. Parents don’t understand their children at all; they seem to be from different planets. Therefore, no one can help young people in time, since those precious family ties that could keep young men from moral decline have been lost.
Nihilism. In the novel “Demons,” the connection with the work “Fathers and Sons” is clearly visible, since it was Turgenev who first spoke about nihilism. The reader gets to know Dostoevsky's heroes, like Turgenev's characters, through ideological disputes in which possible directions for improving society are revealed. There is a slight connection with the poem by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, with the same name “Demons”: the thought of people who have lost their way, wandering in circles in the verbal fog of Russian society.
Lack of common moral guidelines. The spiritual social illness shown by the author is provoked by a complete lack of high values. Neither the development of technology, nor leaps in education, nor pathetic attempts to destroy social differences with the help of power will lead to a positive result until common moral guidelines appear. “There is nothing great” - this is the main reason for the sad state of the Russian people.
Religiosity and atheism . Will a person achieve harmony after suffering in life, and does this harmony have value? If immortality does not exist, you can do whatever comes to your mind without thinking about the consequences. In this conclusion, which can arise in any atheist, the author sees the danger of unbelief. However, Dostoevsky understands that faith cannot be absolute as long as religious philosophy has unresolved questions on which there is no consensus. The writer's thoughts are as follows: is God fair if he allows innocent people to suffer? And if this is his justice, then how can one judge those who shed blood on the road to public happiness? According to the author, one must abandon universal happiness if even one human sacrifice is required for it.
Reality and mysticism constantly collide in the works of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, sometimes to such an extent that the line between the writer’s narrative and the illusions of the character himself disappears. Events develop rapidly, they occur spontaneously in short periods of time, they rush forward, not allowing the person on the other side of the book to concentrate on everyday things. Drawing all the reader's attention to psychological moments, the author provides everyday material only bit by bit.

Summary of the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky's "Demons" in detail in parts and chapters

Part one.

Chapter 1. Instead of an introduction, a few details from the biography of the venerable Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky.

The narrator in the novel “Demons” is a certain Anton Lavrentievich G-v, a close friend of one of the heroes and a direct participant in the events.

The action takes place in a provincial town, in which lives a noble and wealthy lady, Varvara Petrovna Stavrogina, who occupies an excellent position in society. She is smart and reasonable, but sometimes she is extremely domineering and willful.

Next door to Stavrogina lives Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky, a man who over the years has managed not to lose his youthful naivety. Despite his excessive gullibility, he was very smart and insightful. In the provincial town, a circle of liberal-minded people gathered around him and were ready to listen to him.

The relationship between Varvara and Stepan was difficult. Something between strong comradely love and painful hatred. Varvara Petrovna felt a strong, almost maternal affection for Verkhovensky, but in return she expected complete submission from him. Stepan Trofimovich enjoyed the guardianship of his influential girlfriend, he respected and, most likely, even tolerated her, but he had a hard time enduring her, from time to time falling into extremes of despotism.

Having been widowed twice and living alone, Verkhoensky happily accepts Varvara Petrovna’s offer, and becomes a mentor and educator for her only son Nikolai. A real strong friendship develops between the characters.

Chapter 2. Prince Harry. Matchmaking.

Varvara Petrovna was stronger than with Verkhovensky only with Nikolai - Prince Harry, as he was called in childhood.

Nikolai had already completely matured and went to study in the capital, where he rose to the rank of officer, but because of his participation in a duel he was demoted to the ranks. Almost immediately, Nikolai managed to curry favor, but unexpectedly he resigns and lets his life take its course.

After the young man left, rumors began to spread around the town about his dandy and irresponsible lifestyle - all this lasted for several years. And what was everyone’s surprise when Stavrogin returned to his native land in the best possible shape, giving the impression of a completely decent person.

However, Nikolai quickly showed his true self, committing several scandalous and completely unacceptable actions in a decent society. He quarreled with an honorary member of the club and, grabbing him by the nose, dragged him a few meters, attacked and injured the governor, kisses someone else's wife. Stavrogin was labeled mentally ill and sent to a hospital. Having recovered, Nikolai hastened to go abroad and visit various European countries.

Abroad, Nikolai met Lisa Tushina, the daughter of an old friend of his mother. Soon Lisa returned to the city, and it became clear to Stavrogina that she and Nikolai had had a big quarrel.

At the same time, Varvara Petrovna suspected mutual interest between her son and her pupil Dasha Shatova, who was traveling with Lizaveta and her mother. Fearing that her son might marry Daria, who was not suitable for his status, she decided to marry the girl to Stepan Trofimovich.

Chapter 3. Other people's sins.

Verkhovensky listened to this idea with some apprehension, but at the same time with considerable enthusiasm. The matchmaking was planned for the coming Sunday.

Unexpectedly, engineer Liputin, an old acquaintance of Stavrogin, appeared and warned the newly made groom that this marriage was not happening out of good intentions, but to hide something unpleasant, directly related to Nikolai.

Lizaveta Tushina, Nikolai’s friend, with whom they traveled together in Europe, meanwhile also came to the estate - she is interested in Ivan Shatov, who is fluent in several languages.

Chapter 4. Lame leg.

The lady has a purely professional interest in Ivan Pavlovich. She's about to start working on a book and needs help. Shatov at first shows responsiveness, but later, having learned about Liza’s connection with Lebyadkin (he wooed the girl in a letter), he decisively refuses to cooperate.

One day, near the cathedral, Stavrogina is stopped by Maria Lebyadkina, who is kneeling, she looks at the lady with a timid reverent look, then laughs stupidly and still strives to kiss Varvara Petrovna’s hand. Stavrogina asks the girl who she is and where she is from, if she needs help, and then gives 10 rubles and invites her to her place. Lizaveta joins them. Approaching the carriage, Varvara Petrovna notices Maria’s lameness; the woman turns pale and changes her face. All the way she is in thought - recently she received a letter from an unknown sender, which spoke of a certain secret and that Varvara Petrovna should pay attention to the lame stranger.

Chapter 5. The Wise Serpent.

In the house, Stepan Trofimovich is impatiently waiting for Varvara Petrovna - today he is planning a matchmaking with Shatova.

Maria Timofeevna, as soon as she sees Dasha, accuses her of theft, allegedly she transferred an amount less than Stavrogin promised. The mistress of the house, angry, comes to the defense of the pupil. Meanwhile, every time she sees Dasha, sparks of anger appear in Lizaveta’s eyes.

Ignat Lebyadkin comes to the estate to pick up his sister. He announces to everyone that Maria has gone crazy, and, quoting the author's poems, hints to Varvara Petrovna about a terrible secret concerning her son.

At this time, unexpectedly for everyone, Nikolai Stavrogin returns home from a trip abroad, he is accompanied by Pyotr Verkhovensky - the young people were traveling in the same carriage from Geneva. While Peter coldly greets his father, Varvara Petrovna directly asks her son about his connection with Maria Timofeevna. Instead of answering, Nikolai kisses his mother’s hand, carefully takes Maria’s arm and takes her to the carriage.

Meanwhile, Peter tells everyone a touching story about how the merciful Nikolai Vsevolodovich helped the homeless Lebyadkins, Stavrogin inspired Maria’s trust and amazed poor Lame Leg so much that she began to imagine Nikolai as her fiancé. With a hidden threat, he asks Captain Lebyadkin to confirm this story; he, frightened, says that it is all true.

Varvara Petrovna is relieved to be touched by such kindness of her son and, when he enters the house, asks for forgiveness for undeserved reproaches. Meanwhile, something happens to Lizaveta - she begins to become hysterical, and faints from an excess of emotions. Shatov approaches Stavrogin and slaps him in the face, Nikolai Vsevolodovich grabs him, but immediately lets him go, after which Ivan leaves the house unhindered.

Part two.

Chapter 1. Night.

Rumors are spreading around the city about what is happening between Lisa and Stavrogin. At the same time, the latter receives an insulting letter from a certain Gaganov, the son of the foreman, whom Nikolai, being out of his mind, jokingly dragged several meters by the nose. Gaganov is determined to shoot, and Stavrogin is looking for a second. The choice falls on Alexey Nilych.

Along the way, Alexey Kirillov told his friend his idea. It consisted of getting rid of God and complete self-improvement through suicide.

On the same day, Nikolai visits Ivan Shatov and confesses to him that Marya is actually his wife, he agreed to the wedding while drunk, but for now he manages to hide it. Nikolai explained that he hit the young man because Stavrogin’s actions towards Lebyadkina greatly disappointed him. Nikolai warned Ivan that local revolutionaries were planning to kill him in revenge for the fact that he had betrayed their common beliefs and almost completely disowned society. Ivan did not attach much importance to this warning.

Walking from Shatov, Nikolai meets Fedka Katorzhny, a criminal hiding from the law. He, for a certain fee, is ready to provide absolutely any service. However, Nikolai replies that this does not interest him and threatens to hand Fedka over to the authorities.

Chapter 2. Night (continued).

Captain Lebyadkin was sober and constantly tried to hint to his brother-in-law that he would remain silent about his marriage to Marya if he paid him. But Stavrogin explained that he would soon admit everything himself. Marya was not herself: she screamed and laughed, calling Nikolai an impostor. The angry young man did not tolerate this for long and left.

Heading home, he again bumps into Fedka, who again voices his proposal. This time Stavrogin doesn’t say anything, but laughs boisterously and throws the man a wallet with money.

Chapter 3. Duel.

Soon a duel between Stavrogin and Artemy Gaganov took place, who did not agree to reconciliation and expressed a desire to shoot. Gaganov shoots first and misses all three times - he only manages to hit the enemy’s finger with a bullet and shoot through his hat. Stavrogin shoots three times in the air, explaining that he no longer wants to kill anyone. The rivals disperse. Nikolai, obviously, counted on his death in a duel, so he leaves home in a bad mood.

Returning from the duel, Nikolai visits Dasha and asks her to be careful so that her mother does not find out that there was an affair between the young people.

Chapter 4. Everyone is waiting.

The city learns about Nikolai's noble behavior in a duel and thanks to this, his reputation as a pure soul of a man is strengthened.

Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky, believing the words of Liputin from the local revolutionary organization, became seriously worried that the marriage imposed on him by Stavrogina really concealed some unclean plan. Having learned about this from Stepan Trofimovich’s letters to his son, Varvara Petrovna was so outraged that she announced the termination of any relationship with the elder Verkhovensky, while assigning him a pension salary.

Chapter 5. Before the holiday.

The city, as well as the entire province, became restless. Arsons were set everywhere, icons were desecrated, and workers from a nearby bankrupt factory began to openly show their discontent.

At this time, the governor's wife, Yulia Mikhailovna, decides to organize a holiday in order to provide support to the poor governesses. And the younger Verkhovensky began to weave his own intrigues. Having acquired the favor of the governor's wife, who wants to uncover a revolutionary plot.

Chapter 6. Pyotr Stepanovich is in trouble.

During a conversation with the governor and his wife, Peter betrayed Shatov, Kirillov and other conspirators and asked for a few days to find out about the rest.

Then Peter went to Nikolai Stavrogin, offering to attend a meeting of the secret society. At this time, a certain Mavriky Nikolaevich, in love with Lisa, was present with him, asking him to take the girl as his wife. This man was sure that the girl had tender feelings for him and despised him at the same time. Nikolai tells him that he is already married to Lebyadkina.

Chapter 7. Ours.

The meeting is attended by about 15 people, among whom are the main founders and the most ardent fighters of liberalism, the so-called “five” of Verkhovensky: Virginsky, Shigalev, Lyamshin, Tolkachenko and Liputin.

The gloomy professor Shchegalev expresses his idea of dividing society into two unequal parts: one, which is much smaller, should rule, and the one that is more subordinate.

Unexpectedly, Peter asked those present a provocative question: if they knew about the impending political murder, would they make a denunciation? Everyone answered negatively, but Shatov stood up, insulted the speaker and left the meeting. Peter was counting on this: he chose Ivan as the victim of a murder that would seal him with his accomplices in blood. Kirillov and Stavrogin also left the meeting, refusing to answer.

Chapter 8. Ivan Tsarevich.

Peter caught up with them and introduced them to his ideas that he plans to create a great unrest, and then present the savior Ivan Tsarevich to the people in the person of Stavrogin.

Nikolai did not want to listen to him, and then completely accused him that Verkhovensky intended to push Stavrogin to reprisal against the Lebyadkins in order to have power over him. Frightened, Peter begs his comrade to reconcile and not reveal to anyone his plan to kill Shatov. In return, he promises to independently resolve the issue with the Lebyadkins and improve Nikolai’s relationship with Lisa.

Chapter 9. Stepan Trofimovich was described.

Officials came to see Stepan Trofimovich. After searching his home, they found some papers and proclamations and seized them. The man was quite frightened, but gathering his courage and pride into a fist, he resolutely went to visit von Lembke, where the holiday was taking place.

Chapter 10. Filibusters. Fatal morning.

Dissatisfied factory workers descended on the governor. He considered this a rebellion and became terribly angry. Stepan Trofimovich, who came at the wrong time to explain himself, fell under his hot hand, but Yulia Mikhailovna, outraged by her husband’s behavior, invited the elder Verkhovensky to her salon, where other guests had already gathered, including Stavrogin and Lisa.

When the conversation turned to the Lebyadkins, Nikolai decided that the time had come to confess everything and announced that he had been married to Khromonozhka for five years, which shocked everyone present.

Part three.

Chapter 1. Holiday. Section one.

Soon a celebration took place, organized by the governor’s wife. The evening began with a speech by the famous writer Karmazinov, who read his essay on nihilism. Stepan Trofimovich also gave an accusatory speech, declaring Shakespeare and Raphael above socialism, and beauty as the most important condition for the existence of mankind. The audience did not understand any of the speakers and booed.

Chapter 2. The end of the holiday.

Without waiting for the end of the holiday, Lisa left with Nikolai for the Stavrogin family estate, and at night it became known about the brutal murder of the Lebyadkin brother and sister and about the arson set by disgruntled workers.

Lisa and Nikolai spent the night together. The next morning, Stavrogin invited the girl to go abroad with him, but she refused. The disgruntled young man let slip that he paid for her with his life, but Lizaveta did not attach any importance to these words.

Meanwhile, Peter came and told about the night incident. Stavrogin had to admit to Lisa that he knew about the organization of the murder, but did not dare to stop it.

Chapter 3. The finished novel.

In despair, the girl ran away and met the devoted Mavriky Nikolaevich, who had been waiting for her all night. Lisa and her comforter decided to visit the scene of a terrible night murder. On the way, they met the elder Verkhovensky, who was getting ready to travel - he set himself the goal of finding the real Russia.

A crowd gathered at the fire. People thought that Stavrogin was to blame for what happened. They recognized Lisa as she approached and decided that she was also involved in the death of the Lebyadkins, because she was in a close relationship with Nikolai. Someone from the crowd hit her, and then the rest joined in and began to deliver blow after blow. Mavriky Nikolaevich wanted to stand up for his beloved, but could not control the crowd - he was immediately pushed away. The attacking crowd beats Lizaveta until she loses consciousness, and soon the girl dies.

Chapter 4. Last decision.

Peter continues to develop previously begun intrigues. Having gathered five of his accomplices, he reports that Shatov is going to betray them by making a denunciation, and proposes to deal with Ivan for this. The conspirators agree that this is necessary for the sake of the common cause.

Then Verkhovensky turns to Kirillov so that he takes the blame for the murder on himself, because he is still going to commit suicide for personal reasons. In Kirillov's house, Verkhovensky stumbles upon Fedka Katorzhny. This unwanted meeting infuriates Peter; in anger, he snatches a revolver and aims at Fedka, but he manages to escape.

Verkhovensky mysteriously declares that the criminal will not have to drink anymore. The next day, Convict is found with a fractured skull. Liputin, a supporter of Verkhovensky, became convinced that his patron had truly great power and now intended to flee the city.

Chapter 5. Traveler.

Shatov is visited by his ex-wife, who left him several years ago for another man. She is pregnant and has nowhere to live, so the girl hopes for help from the only person close to her. Shatov still has feelings for her, so he allows her to stay. At night, the unfortunate woman begins to have contractions, and Ivan goes to find a midwife, and later even helps to deliver the baby.

Secretly, Shatov dreams of the calm and measured life of a simple working man. He wants to be close to his wife and child, whom he called his son. But first we need to finally deal with our previous revolutionary life.

That same night, officer Erkel from the revolutionary five comes to Shatov and invites him to a meeting. Together they head to the park, where a retinue of conspirators is already waiting.

Chapter 6. A difficult night.

Erkel takes the place of Shigalev in the “five”, who is one of the main organizers of the attack, but at the last moment he flatly refuses to participate, believing that this would deviate from the right path.

Verkhovensky shoots Ivan point-blank, and then the whole five tie stones to their bodies as weights and drown them in a pond. After committing the murder, Peter goes to Kirrilov to control his suicide and force him to write a suicide note with a confession. Kirillov follows the instructions and then shoots himself.

Peter suddenly leaves for St. Petersburg, and then leaves the country altogether.

Chapter 7. The last wandering of Stepan Trofimovich.

On the way, Stepan Trofimovich meets a stranger and tells her the whole story of his life, and in response she gives him a quote from the Gospel, which talks about demons expelled from a person and possessing pigs.

After long wanderings, he finds his final refuge in a peasant hut, where he dies from an attack that happened to him in the arms of Varvara Petrovna, who rushed to him at the last moment. In the last minutes of his life, he continues the story of the stranger and compares Russia with the same possessed man from whom Jesus cast out demons.

Chapter 8. Conclusion.

One of the revolutionaries, Lyamshin, unable to withstand the mental anguish, surrenders all participants in the crime, except for Pyotr Verkhovensky. Everyone is arrested, but Shigalev, who at the last moment changed his mind about killing Shatov, manages to justify himself.

Desperate Nikolai Stavrogin writes a letter to Daria, in which he offers to leave for Switzerland and sincerely repents. Daria is worried about this news, and she shares her experiences with Nikolai’s mother. Together the women travel to Skvoreshniki, where they find a young man hanged. Before his death, the young man confessed to Father Tikhon and left a short note: “Don’t blame anyone, I myself...”

the main idea

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky tried to describe the disease of nihilistic revolutionaries, which has settled or is gradually establishing its order in the heads of people, dispersing chaos around it. His idea (in a simplified way) boils down to the fact that nihilistic moods negatively affect Russian society - like demonic possession on a person.

Fyodor Mikhailovich established the cause and significance of the revolutionary movement. It promises happiness in the future, but the price in the present is too great to accept, otherwise people will lose the moral values that make their life together possible. Without them, the people will disintegrate and self-destruct. And only by overcoming this fickle phenomenon (like the demonic possession of the soul), Russia will become stronger, stand on its feet and live with new strength - the strength of a unified society, where man and his rights must come first.

What does it teach?

The spiritual health of a nation depends on the moral well-being and increase in warmth and love in all people individually. If the entire society has common moral canons and guidelines, it will go through all the thorns and achieve prosperity. But unbridled ideas and denial of the fundamentals will lead to the gradual degradation of the people.

The creative experience of “Demons” shows: in everything it is necessary to find a moral center, to determine the level of values that guides a person’s thoughts and actions, to decide which negative or positive aspects of the soul rely on various life phenomena.

Criticism

Naturally, Russian criticism, in particular liberal-democratic criticism, reacted negatively to the release of “Demons,” seeing sharp satire in the plot. The deep philosophical content was considered as an ideological warning of Nechaevism. Reviewers wrote that the disappearance of the revolutionary initiative would plunge society into stupor and sleep, and the authorities would cease to hear the voice of the people. Then the tragic fate of the Russian people will never change for the better.

In his work “Spirits of the Russian Revolution,” Berdyaev expresses the opinion that nihilism in the understanding of Dostoevsky can be interpreted as a certain religious view. According to Berdyaev, a Russian nihilist can imagine himself instead of God. And although Dostoevsky himself nihilism is more associated with atheism, in Ivan Karamazov’s famous monologue about a child’s tear one can feel the urgent need for a person to have faith.

Author: Daria Popova
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