Shoulder straps of a VKS lieutenant. Terms and procedure for assigning the next military ranks. Sleeve insignia
FIPI commentary on “Courage and Cowardice”:
“This direction is based on a comparison of opposite manifestations of the human “I”: readiness for decisive actions and the desire to hide from danger, to avoid resolving difficult, sometimes extreme life situations. On the pages of many literary works, both heroes capable of bold actions and characters who demonstrate weakness of spirit and lack of will."
Recommendations for students:
The table presents works that reflect any concept related to the direction “Courage and Cowardice.” You DO NOT need to read all of the works listed. You may have already read a lot. Your task is to revise your reading knowledge and, if you discover a lack of arguments within a particular direction, fill in the existing gaps. In this case you will need this information. Take it as a guide to huge world literary works. Please note: the table shows only a portion of the works that contain the problems we need. This does not mean at all that you cannot make completely different arguments in your work. For convenience, each work is accompanied by small explanations (third column of the table), which will help you navigate exactly how, through which characters, you will need to rely on literary material (the second mandatory criterion when evaluating a final essay)
An approximate list of literary works and carriers of problems in the direction of “Courage and Cowardice”
| Direction | Sample list of literary works | Carriers of the problem |
|---|---|---|
| Courage and cowardice | L. N. Tolstoy "War and Peace" | Andrey Bolkonsky, Captain Tushin, Kutuzov- courage and heroism in war. Zherkov- cowardice, the desire to be in the rear. |
| A. S. Pushkin. "Captain's daughter" | Grinev, Captain Mironov's family, Pugachev– courageous in their actions and aspirations. Shvabrin- a coward and a traitor. | |
| M. Yu. Lermontov “Song about the merchant Kalashnikov” | Merchant Kalashnikov boldly goes out to duel with Kiribeevich, defending his wife’s honor. | |
| A.P. Chekhov. "About love" | Alekhine afraid to be happy, as this requires courage in overcoming social rules and stereotypes. | |
| A.P. Chekhov. "Man in a Case" | Belikov afraid to live, because “something might not work out.” | |
| M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin " The wise minnow» | The fairy-tale hero The Wise Minnow chose fear as his life strategy. He decided to be afraid and be careful, because this is the only way to outwit the pikes and not get caught in the fishermen's nets. | |
| A. M. Gorky “Old Woman Izergil” | Danko took it upon himself to lead people out of the forest and save them. | |
| V. V. Bykov “Sotnikov” | Sotnikov(courage), Fisherman(cowardice, betrayed the partisans). | |
| V. V. Bykov “Obelisk” | Teacher Frost courageously fulfilled his duty as a teacher and remained with his students. | |
| M. Sholokhov. "The Fate of Man" | Andrey Sokolov(the embodiment of courage at all stages of life's journey). But along this path there were also cowards (the episode in the church when Sokolov strangled a man who intended to give the names of communists to the Germans). | |
| B. Vasiliev “And the dawns here are quiet” | Girls from Sergeant Major Vaskov's platoon, who took part in an unequal battle with German saboteurs. | |
| B. Vasiliev. “Not on the lists” | Nikolay Pluzhnikov bravely resists the Germans, even when he remains the only defender of the Brest Fortress. |
The topic “Courage and Cowardice” is proposed among other topics for the final essay on literature for graduates of 2020. Many great people have discussed these two phenomena. “Courage is the beginning of victory,” Plutarch once said. “The city takes courage,” A.V. Suvorov agreed with him many centuries later. And some even made provocative statements on this topic: “True courage rarely comes without stupidity” (F. Bacon). Be sure to include such quotes in your work - it will have a positive effect on your grade, as will mentioning examples from history, literature or real life.
What to write about in an essay on this topic? You can consider courage and cowardice as abstract concepts in their broadest sense, think about them as two sides of the coin of one person, about the truth and falsity of these feelings. Write about how courage can be a manifestation of excessive self-confidence, that there is a direct connection between selfishness and cowardice, but rational fear and cowardice are not the same thing.
A popular topic for thought is cowardice and courage in extreme conditions, for example, in war, when the most important and previously hidden human fears are exposed, when a person shows character traits previously unknown to others and to himself. Or vice versa: even the most positive people in an emergency situation they may show cowardice. Here it would be useful to talk about heroism, feat, desertion and betrayal.
As part of this essay, you can write about courage and cowardice in love, as well as in your mind. Here it would be appropriate to recall willpower, the ability to say “no,” the ability or inability to defend one’s opinion. You can talk about a person’s behavior when making decisions or learning something new, leaving their comfort zone, and the courage to admit their mistakes.
Other directions of the final essay.
How to distinguish cowardice from prudence, and courage from recklessness?
An example of a final essay in the direction: Courage and Cowardice, 2017-2018 (according to FIPI).
Courage and cowardice are opposite concepts in meaning, yet they are full of nuances, multifaceted, and cornerstone.
It seems that there is nothing simpler than to explain the concepts of “courage” and “cowardice”? One who is capable of risking his life, of course, is a daredevil, a person who is not timid. And if a person retreats in case of danger, most likely he is cowardly and cowardly.
However, not everything is so obvious. Is it courage or stupidity that drives those who ride on the roofs of speeding trains in search of strong emotions? Should we see indecision or prudence in the actions of a doctor who sends a patient for examination before surgery? It seems to me that courage and cowardice are qualities that can only be defined in the light of the ultimate goal of an action.
Literature has given us many heroes, whose courage or cowardice is interesting to speculate about. Let's look at the characters in A.S. Pushkin's wonderful novel “The Captain's Daughter”. It is difficult to argue with the fact that Shvabrin, who saves his miserable life by betrayal, is a coward. The courage of Pyotr Grinev, who is ready to give his life for what is dear to him, is also understandable.
And Masha Mironova? Is she a “coward”, as her mother calls her? Or is she a sensible girl, as her lover thinks she is? To answer this question, you need to read the work to the end. We remember that timidity captain's daughter disappears when Peter faces the death penalty: Masha boldly goes to the empress herself for mercy.
You can also refer to the novel by L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace". Let us remember the cold-blooded and cruel Dolokhov, capable of challenging a person to a duel for no reason. Fedor risks his life, but the purpose of this risk is self-affirmation, not self-sacrifice. In my opinion, this is not courage, but the reckless pranks of an egoist who thinks nothing of killing a person.
What can be said about Kutuzov’s decision to retreat the Russian army? Can this be called cowardice? No, great commander showed wisdom and prudence by giving devastated Moscow to the French. While Napoleon's soldiers turned into marauders, the Russian troops replenished supplies and became stronger, which decided the outcome of the war.
Arguments for an essay on the topic “Courage and Cowardice.”
When justifying the choice of direction for the final essay, it is important to understand the essence concepts of courage and cowardice.
Courage and cowardice coexist in the context of the perception of the concept of “fear”.
Courage is not the absence of fear, courage is the ability to cope with fear.
Cowardice is the inability to cope with the fear of something or someone.
Courage without fear is stupidity and unjustified risk.
Cowardice is not always just fear; sometimes this property is based on deeper personality characteristics, such as indecision, selfishness and simply indifference to the problems of others.
What consequences can cowardice lead to?
Fear... This concept is familiar to each of us. All people tend to be afraid; it is a natural feeling. However, sometimes fear develops into cowardice - mental weakness, inability to take decisive action. This quality can lead to negative consequences: both to moral and physical suffering, even to death.
The theme of cowardice is revealed in many works of art, for example in M.A. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita.” The author shows how the wandering philosopher Yeshua Ha-Nozri was brought to the procurator of Judea Pontius Pilate. Pilate understood that the man standing before him was innocent, and would like to free him. Invested with the power to execute and pardon, the procurator could do this, but he sentenced the accused to death. Why did he do this? He was driven by fear, and he himself admitted it: “Do you believe, unfortunate one, that the Roman procurator will release the man who said what you said? Oh gods, gods! Or do you think I’m ready to take your place?” The procurator showed cowardice and condemned an innocent man to death. He could still fix everything at the last moment, because one of the criminals sentenced to execution could be released. However, the procurator did not do this either. What were the consequences of cowardice? The result was the execution of Yeshua and eternal torment of conscience for Pontius Pilate. We can come to the conclusion that cowardice can result in tragic consequences both for the person who showed this quality and for other people who become victims of his fear.
Another example in support of this idea can be the story “Sotnikov” by V. Bykov. It talks about two partisans who were captured. One of them, Rybak, shows cowardice - he is so afraid of death that he forgets about his duty as a defender of the Fatherland and thinks only about saving himself at any cost. Cowardice pushes him to terrible actions: he was ready to give away the location of the partisan detachment, agreed to serve in the police and even took part in the execution of his comrade, Sotnikov. The writer shows what consequences this led to: Sotnikov died at the hands of Rybak, and at some point he realized that he no longer had a way back after this act. He signed his own death sentence. It is obvious that cowardice resulted in physical death for a worthy person and moral death for a coward.
In conclusion, we can conclude: cowardice never leads to anything good; on the contrary, it has the most tragic consequences. No wonder through the mouth of his hero Bulgakov said: “Cowardice is undoubtedly one of the most terrible vices.”
Is it possible to overcome cowardice in yourself?
Each of us is familiar with the feeling of fear. And sometimes it becomes an obstacle on our path in life, developing into cowardice, mental weakness, paralyzing the will and preventing us from living peacefully. Is it possible to overcome this negative quality in yourself and learn courage? In my opinion, nothing is impossible. The main thing is to take the first step. Moreover, this is possible not only for an adult, but also for a child. To support my idea, I will give several examples.
Thus, in V.P. Aksenov’s story “Breakfasts in 1943,” the author shows a little boy who was terrorized by older and stronger classmates. They took away from him, and from the entire class, the buns that were given at school, however, not only buns, but also any things they liked. For a long time the hero meekly and resignedly parted with his things. He lacked the courage to confront his offenders. However, in the end, the hero found the strength to overcome cowardice and fight back against the bullies. And despite the fact that they were physically stronger and, of course, beat him, he was determined not to give up and to continue to defend his breakfasts and, most importantly, his dignity: “Come what may. Let them beat me, I will do it every day.” We can come to the conclusion that a person is able to overcome cowardice in himself and fight what inspires him with fear.
Another example will be the story of Yu. Kazakov “ Quiet morning" Two young heroes went fishing. Suddenly a disaster happened: one of them fell into the river and began to drown. His friend Yashka got scared and, leaving his friend, ran away. He showed cowardice. However, a few moments later he came to his senses, realizing that no one could help Volodya except himself. And then Yashka returned and, overcoming his fear, dived into the water. He managed to save Volodya. We see that even in such an extreme situation a person can overcome cowardice and commit a courageous act.
To summarize what has been said, I would like to urge all people to fight their fears and not allow cowardice to get the better of us. After all, truly brave people are not those who are not afraid of anything, but those who overcome their weakness.
What action can be called courageous?
A brave act... This can be called a variety of actions of people, be it a parachute jump or climbing Everest. Courage always involves risk and danger. However, in my opinion, the motive of the action is very important: whether a person does something for the sake of his own self-affirmation or for the sake of helping others. From my point of view, a truly courageous act is one committed at the risk of one’s life for the benefit of other people. I will illustrate what has been said with examples.
Thus, V. Bogomolov’s story “The Flight of the Swallow” describes the feat of brave rivermen who transported ammunition from one bank of the Volga to the other under enemy fire. When a mine hit the barge and a fire started, they could not help but understand that the boxes with shells could explode at any second. However, despite mortal danger, they did not rush to save their lives, but began to put out the fire. The ammunition was delivered ashore. The author shows the courage of people who, without thinking about themselves, risked their lives to fulfill their duty. They did it for their homeland, for victory, and therefore for everyone. That is why their action can be called courageous.
