Composition
“The Legend of Danko” by A. M. Gorky as a statement of feat in the name of people
1. Danko’s upbringing and environment. 2. Testaments for future generations. 3. Rays of mighty fire.
“The Legend of Danko” by M. Gorky has become an example for many generations and a symbol of great love and self-sacrifice for the sake of people. However, only a few are capable of such feats. And, unfortunately, sometimes it seems that there are simply no such people left. They seemed to have disappeared into our world, and it’s good if what remains of them are “blue sparks of the steppe.” But such love grows and develops precisely among the people whom Gorky described in his work. Only a special upbringing and environment could become the basis for the emergence of such a personality as Danko.
Gorky says nothing about how the young man was raised and where he got such ardent worship and love for others. It is only mentioned in passing that the tribe had “cheerful, strong and brave people.” All this was simply necessary, since they lived among impenetrable forests and beautiful steppe. And in such conditions only brave and strong people could survive. But they had to change their habitat, and this broke people. They are no longer as strong and courageous as those who were able to overcome all obstacles. The swamps and darkness sucked their souls deeper every day. And no one and nothing could change the current situation. The saving rays of the sun, which the tribe had been waiting for, only brought new troubles. “There were swamps and darkness there, because the forest was old and its branches were so densely intertwined that the sky could not be seen through them, and the rays of the sun could hardly make their way to the swamps through the thick foliage. But when its rays fell on the water of the swamps, a stench rose, and people died from it one after another.”
A turning point came when “the fathers became thoughtful and fell into depression.” Someone needed to take the plunge. But melancholy is a very bad helper in this case. And what could these people, already broken by their surroundings, do? Turn back to strong and evil enemies for destruction? Or try to get through the impenetrable forest to the saving, and not the destructive, light? It is indeed difficult to choose which path to take. But it was simply impossible to wait any longer. “And always, day and night, there was a ring of strong darkness around those people, as if it was going to crush them, but they were accustomed to the expanse of the steppe.” And free people chose freedom, and, probably, in this case, at any cost. Therefore, the road back was closed to them, since they wanted to preserve their covenants for future generations. There was only one thing left to do - go into the dark and frightening unknown.
However, the writer shows that although they were brave, they still could not decide to take the first step, people were weakened by thoughts. “Fear was born among them, shackled their strong hands, women gave birth to horror, crying over the corpses of those who died from the stench and over the fate of the living, chained by fear - and cowardly words began to be heard in the forest, at first timid and quiet, and then louder and louder... »
And among the former brave, strong and not enslaved tribe, there was one who was able to take the first step in the right direction. “But then Danko appeared and saved everyone alone.” The legend also affirms Danko’s superiority: “The beautiful are always brave.” But he does not use his charm for selfish purposes. He seems to bewitch and enchant already wilted people not only with his appearance, but also with his magic words. Perhaps people have long wanted to hear them and follow them, but among them there was not that one person who would take on such responsibility. And only a handsome young man dared to take such a step and was able to ignite other people with his fire. People “looked at him and saw that he was the best of all, because a lot of strength and living fire shone in his eyes.”
Danko is the only one who was able to rally people in the name of their own salvation. Great love for people turned out to be able to ignite a spark of hope for salvation. And this light illuminated the path for everyone walking. And ahead walked the one who constantly fed the small lights so that they would not go out in the greedy rotten mouth of the swamp, which swallowed people, and would not be afraid of the mighty wall of trees that blocked the road.
But just as quickly the people’s resolve flared up, it disappeared just as quickly. The difficult path turned out to be beyond the strength of the people, who all this time lived not in the open spaces of the steppes, but in a confined space. They are no longer those cheerful, brave and strong people. Now they can be described as tired, timid and weak-spirited people. They found the strength to follow the leader, but were unable to overcome the obstacles that arose along the way. Therefore, it was the person who decided to take responsibility and boldly stepped forward who was to blame. “But they were ashamed to admit their powerlessness, and so they fell in anger and anger at Danko, the man who walked ahead of them. And they began to reproach him for his inability to manage them - that’s how it is!” But not only the difficult path, but also the truth turned out to be an unbearable burden for people. Danko's words only infuriated them. They could not and did not want to admit to themselves their powerlessness.
However, the young man found the strength to stop the indignation that began to boil in his chest. He turned out to be brave and strong until the very end. “He loved people and thought that maybe they would die without him. And so his heart flared up with the fire of desire to save them, to lead them to an easy path, and then the rays of that mighty fire sparkled in his eyes...”
A huge and immeasurable love for people gave Danko a new flow of fresh strength and energy. My heart, overflowing with love for people, began to run out of space in my chest. It seemed to be asking to come out. And the writer uses a special technique so that he can convey in words that unrequited love for others that has been accumulating all this time in the young man’s chest. The heart, as it turned out, eclipsed even the sun with its love. “It burned as brightly as the sun, and brighter than the sun, and the whole forest fell silent, illuminated by this torch of great love for people, and the darkness scattered from its light and there, deep in the forest, trembling, fell into the rotten mouth of the swamp.” The enchanted people did not wander dejectedly, but ran, not noticing the danger that surrounded them. Great love for people conquered everything dark and impenetrable on the path of man.
Danko won and survived the struggle for the steppe, the grass in diamonds after the rain and the river sparkling with gold. He gave all these treasures to people at the cost of his own life. But they, unfortunately, underestimated his action. As in any business, there was a cautious person who, “being afraid of something, stepped on his proud heart with his foot...”.
But even such precaution could not completely destroy the memory of the enormous and great love for people that was kept in the young heart. That's why blue sparks appear in the steppe before a thunderstorm.
The boundless love for people, embodied by the writer in the image of Danko, will forever remain an example for many generations. And I would like to believe that in our world there are at least a few young people left who could not only lead, but also lead people to the light.
1. Eternal values in the works of Gorky.
2. Danko and Larra.
3. Danko's feat.
Already the early stories of M. Gorky indicated that the writer was very talented and outstanding. In his works, he addressed eternal values and tried to answer the most important questions that have worried people for a long time. The story “Old Woman Izergil” makes you think about bright human characters. It was precisely such people who always aroused Gorky’s respect and admiration. The old woman Izergil herself speaks about human characters. She says that there are people - “old people from childhood” and “young people who love.” The author himself completely agrees with his heroine. The legends about Larra and Danko allow us to better understand how Gorky himself understood the feat of man in the name of people. Larra, the hero of the first legend, is smart and beautiful. But at the same time he is proud and arrogant, his heart is cold. And Larra is absolutely indifferent to people. He looks down on everyone and considers only his own desires worthy of attention.
Gorky does not hide his attitude towards the hero of the legend. Larra looks weak, despite his outward superiority. From the point of view of the author himself, only a warm heart and love for people makes a person a worthy member of society. This is exactly what Danko, the hero of the second legend, is. He sacrifices himself for others. Danko does not think about whether people need his sacrifice. This question means absolutely nothing to him. We have no doubt about Danko’s strength and courage. Its advantages over Larra are obvious. Only Danko was capable of a feat in the name of people, even if the latter did not deserve such a sacrifice.
Danko is completely different from the people around him. He does not submit to circumstances, he is ready to act actively, and not wait for a favorable outcome of events. He is not afraid of death. On the contrary, he willingly gives up his life. Compared to his fellow tribesmen, Danko looks like a bright, extraordinary personality. He told those around him: “Don’t turn a stone out of the way with your thoughts. If you do nothing, nothing will happen to you. Why do we waste our energy on thoughts and melancholy? Get up, let’s go into the forest and go through it, because it has an end - everything in the world has an end!” It’s paradoxical, but previously no one even thought that it was possible to go through the forest. Weak and helpless people could not take care of themselves. This is exactly the impression we get. Danko forced people to move forward, forgetting for a while about their vulnerability. The legend of Danko can be perceived as an eternal theme of confrontation between the individual and the crowd. Danko in this case personifies personality with a capital P, he is a person with a bright character, smart, talented. The hero’s fellow tribesmen are a crowd, faceless, gray. The crowd obeys the one who is stronger, who proves himself as a leader. But this submission does not always guarantee the crowd’s well-being and comfort. A leader may turn out to be a tyrant, a despot. But the crowd will be forced to obey. This is the law. Danko turns out to be exactly the kind of leader the crowd could only dream of. He does not think about his own comfort and well-being, but about making those around him happy. The spiritual beauty and strength of Danko’s personality is manifested in this act.
Danko’s desperate and courageous act indicates that he, as it were, initially prepared himself not for the fate that most people consider a happy fate. Danko strove for something grandiose, bright, bright. And he spared no effort for the sake of his goal. The people around him did not understand his zeal; Danko himself seemed alien to them. Even on the way, Danko received his share of reproaches from physically and spiritually weak fellow tribesmen. “The forest became thicker and thicker, my strength became less and less!” It can be assumed that it was hard for Danko himself. However, he moved forward, regardless of the difficulties. The tribesmen had no choice but to follow him. They began to hate him. After all, he, in essence, destroyed their world, which was not very comfortable, but very familiar. The crowd doesn't like changes; they scare them. And the difficult path exhausted all the physical and spiritual strength of Danko’s fellow tribesmen. He himself realized that those around him were ready to kill him, they no longer believed him and did not want to support him. It became very difficult for Danko. He saw that he was surrounded by unworthy people.
“Danko looked at those for whom he had labored and saw that they were like animals. Many people stood around him, but there was no nobility on their faces, and he could not expect mercy from them.” This phrase is of great importance. Gorky shows that Danko understood the true essence of his fellow tribesmen. He could no longer idealize them. As an intelligent man, he could no longer be misled about their moral qualities. But, despite all this, Danko sacrifices his own life for the sake of embittered and worthless people. He “teared his chest with his hands and tore out his heart from it and raised it high above his head.” The heart began to shine like a bright star. People were able to get out of the forest and found their way. They did not appreciate Danko’s feat, they did not even notice the hero’s death.
What motives did Danko obey? Was his feat accomplished in the name of love for people? This could be assumed if we did not know that the hero’s fellow tribesmen are devoid of nobility, that they are more like animals. The hero brought these people out of the darkness. He understood that his sacrifice would not be appreciated. So what was this feat for in the name of people? It can be assumed that Danko belonged to that special type of people who consider serving others to be the main meaning of their lives. And let those around you be unworthy of such service, even if they are wretched and worthless. Heroes like Danko do not think about this. They act as their hot heart, bursting from their chest, tells them.
Application of technology for developing critical thinking.
Literature lesson in 7th grade on the topic “Danko’s feat in the name of people.” (Based on the story by M. Gorky “Old Woman Izergil”).
Goals and objectives of the lesson.
Lesson type: learning new material.
Form of work– frontal and steam room.
Teaching methods
Organizational moment
To overcome difficulties,
It's not enough to just know a lot.
You have to be active
Brave, kind, strong.
It’s also desirable
Do everything carefully!slide 1
-We today We will work both collectively and in pairs. Do you think rules are needed for working in pairs? Do you know them well? Let's remember them.
...................................................... slide 2
-These rules help you work together? ( Yes) -How?(let's learn to negotiate)
-I think you will succeed.
Challenge phase.
-Let's take it by the hands. Let's listen to our hearts beat. Let's give them to each other.
-"Dream - does not mean living! We need feats, feats! ”slide 3
-What kind of person can one reason like this? (A person who lives brightly, actively, does not give in to difficulties, and is ready to rush to help at any moment)
- What is a feat? (Heroic selflessaction.)
How do you understand the word ACTION?
(Decisive active action in difficult circumstances).
slide 3
-We're done studying M. Gorky's story "Childhood", an autobiographical work that helped us get to know the writer better and trace how his personality was formed.
-And today we are talking about one more thing about Gorky, which reflects the meaning of these words....................... Which one?
(Of course, “Danko”).slide 4
- Why? (Danko saved people at the cost of his life,i.e. accomplished a feat in the name of people)
-How what will be the topic of our lesson? (Danko’s feat in the name of people. (Based on the story of M. Gorky “The Old Woman Izergil”). slide 5
- Write the date and topic in your notebook.
- How do you think, the legend only talks about feat Danko? ( Also O cowardice and betrayal )
-So,we have named such concepts as FEAT, COWARDLY, BETRAYAL.Before we define target lesson, I want to draw your attention to one more concept: SELF-SACRIFICE - sacrificing oneself, one's personal interests for the benefit and well-being of others.
-Let's collect these 4 words into a cluster. slide 6
-Look at him and tell me what questions arise in connection with the combination of these words? What can be written in the center of the cluster?
Why did Danko help people?
Danko’s act – a feat or self-sacrifice?)
-The purpose of our lesson is to provide answers to these questions.
Phase of realization of meaning .
-Through Throughout his long life, Gorky carried faith in man. He reflected his dreams and aspirations in romantic works of the 90s. And today we will work on an excerpt from romantic the story “Old Woman Izergil” - the legend of Danko. We will study it in full in high school. The work is unusual in that it consists of legends told by the old woman Izergil, all of them connected by the same type of heroes - strong, proud and beautiful.
-WHAT IS ROMANTICISM or romantic? Open your textbooks to page 297, let's read the definition.
-Now let's find it phrases that are basic in meaning in the definition (vivid images,high appointment of a person)slide 7
-What do you think? Can you add more to these definitions? Let's remember the legend. A vivid image there is.... Danko. Does he act in a normal environment? (unusual setting)
-What is the landscape like in the legend?? (scary, unusual). When you read the work, did you notice the peculiarity of the narrative, its language? ( Bright)
- What else can we call these definitions? (Signs of a romantic work)
- Let's Let's find out what it's calledlegend ? slide 11 (p. 295, reading the definition)
-Name words that are basic in meaning in the definition (real and fantastic)slide 8
-How Is a legend different from a fairy tale?
- Which Can we draw a conclusion from all this?
-Conclusion : today we will talk about a romantic work, a legend, where a strong, proud and beautiful hero will act in an unusual setting.
- slide 9 So, old woman- A Moldavian woman named Izergil tells the legend about the young man Danko. At the heart of this legend isbiblical the story of how Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt. Listen to it at the end of the lessoncompare with the legend of Danko , define, What general O in works and what they areare different. slides 10-12
God commanded Moses to lead the Jewish people out of Egypt. Suddenly the Egyptian king regretted letting his slaves go. The Jews approached the sea when they saw the chariots of the Egyptian troops behind them. The Jews looked and were horrified: in front of them was the sea, and behind them was an armed army. But the merciful Lord saved the Jews from death. He told Moses to strike the sea with a stick. And suddenly the waters parted and became walls, and in the middle it became dry. The Jews rushed along the dry bottom, and Moses again struck the water with a stick, and it closed again behind the backs of the Israelites.
The Lord showed many mercy to the Jews, but they were not grateful. God punished the Jews for their ingratitude: they wandered in the desert for forty years. Finally, the Lord took pity on them and brought them closer to the land promised by God.
But at this time their leader Moses died.
-To to understand why Danko decided to do such an act, you need to find out what made his tribe lead him, i.e. motives of behavior
-Let's get back to you to the beginning of the text. How does Gorky characterize the tribe? (2 sentences)
-Where are they lived first? (1 sentence)
-How much did these brave people find themselves in a deep forest? (3 sentences)
-To To better understand and realize the situation in which the tribe was, let us turn to the linguistic features of the text.
-Exercise: find on page 84 paints describing the nature of the forest (1 pair), sounds and smells of the forest(2 pairs), description of the tribe(its characteristics) (3 pairs).
-Match those characteristics of the tribe and habitat.
(contradict, opposed)
-What does he want with this? say the author? (people were captured by circumstances)
people in the weak and timid, creating a romantic landscape. What means of expression does the author use and what is their role?
Let's work in pairs: 1 pair writes out epithets, 2 – personifications, metaphors,3 – hyperbole, comparison.
Epithets
Personifications
Metaphors
Hyperbola
Comparisons
old forest,
hard time, stone trees,
strong darkness, poisonous stench,
the triumphant sound of the forest,
living fire.
the wind was beating
the shadows were jumping
the wind sang a funeral song, evil spirits triumphed;
the swamp opened its mouth,
the trees whispered, the trees extended their long, gnarled arms.
...................................
the rays were falling
horror women gave birth
the rays of the sun could not make their way to the swamps through the dense foliage;
The ring of strong darkness tried to crush,
people died one after another.
...............................
the trees blocked the road like a mighty wall;
the branches intertwined like snakes;
it became so dark, as if all the nights had gathered;
walked like a flock of sheep.
-Conclusion.They give the story a special musicality, captivating melodiousness and rhythm.
-How much Did such strong people develop fear? (from hopelessness and death of loved ones)
-Anything did the tribe take to change their lives?
-Choose a synonym for the word DOING NOTHING. (indifference, inaction)
-For what caused by inaction? What gave birth? ( cowardice)
-For what were they ready? (ready for slavery and dependence)
-Those. Better is slavery from enemies than slavery from powerlessness and fear.
-Is it possible Can the life of a person living in fear, indifference, ready for slavery be called honest and free?
-slide 13 L.N. Tolstoy said: “To live honestly, you have to struggle, get confused, struggle, make mistakes, start and give up, and start again and give up again, and always struggle and lose. And calmness is spiritual meanness.”
-How about this says M. Gorky in our text? Find his words and read them.
(“Whoever does nothing, nothing will happen to him”)
-What a proverb exists in Russian folklore?
(a rolling stone gathers no moss)
-Those. a person is still inactive, will not achieve anything, will not even develop morally.
-Why people, looking at Danko, did you see that “he is the best of them”? Read the quote.
(“A lot of strength and living fire shone in his eyes”)
-Why Did they trust him to lead the tribe?
(This is a desire to relieve oneself of responsibility, to shift it onto the shoulders of others. This is a blind belief that D. one cope with possible difficulties)
-So why They first “started to grumble” against Danko, and then “fell out in anger” at him? ( “I was ashamed to admit my powerlessness”With. 86)
-Why should he was going to die ? (because it was not easy for them on the road)
-What feeling is going through Danko, looking at the crowd of people judging him?
(at first he feels indignant, but “out of pity
it went out to people,” With. 86“flashed with the fire of desire to save them”)
-Those. what won in him? (The feeling of love for people won in him. text... he loved...With 86)
- What an episode legends is the climax?
*slide 14 Teacher reading the text
- What will I do for people?! - Danko shouted louder than thunder.
And suddenly he tore his chest with his hands and tore his heart out of it and raised it high above his head.
It burned as brightly as the sun, and brighter than the sun, and the whole forest fell silent, illuminated by this torch of great love for people, and the darkness scattered from its light and there, deep in the forest, trembling, fell into the rotten mouth of the swamp. The people, amazed, became like stones.
-For what D. tore his heart out of his chest? (to prove love and loyalty to people)
- And what literary Could you compare the heroes with Danko?
(Danko’s feat is similar to the feat of Prometheus, who stole fire for people, but suffered a terrible punishment for this).
- Found a cautious one Human . With. 87.And, “afraid of something,” he stepped on the proud heart with his foot. What is this “cautious man” afraid of? (Perhaps he is afraid of everything, afraid of life, afraid that something might happen).
-What's the point image of a “cautious person”?(Not every person is capable of feats. There are those who live for themselves).
-With whom from the literary heroes can you put him next to him?
(He, in my opinion, looks like the Wise Minnow from Saltykov-Shchedrin’s fairy tale, who “lived and trembled and died and trembled.” After his life, there will definitely not be a single, even small, spark left).
– We agreed with you that at the end of the lesson we will compare the biblical legend and the legend of Danko. What are the similarities between the biblical story and the legend of Danko? (1)Moses and Danko lead people out of places dangerous for further residence. 2) The path turns out to be difficult,
3) Moses and Danko’s relationship with the crowd becomes complicated, as people lose faith in salvation).
– How does the plot of the legend about Danko differ from the biblical story?? (1(Moses relies on God's help, and God saves the people.
2) And Danko feels love for people, he volunteers to save them, no one helps him, he saved everyone alone).
Reflection phase
-A now let's try to imagine, what would happen if... I propose to create "Tree of Predictions".
* Imagine, What Danko is no different from the rest of the tribe . Write a guess What would be the future of the tribe and Danko? blue leaves. And then go to the board and pin it on left side of the TREE.)
*Now imagine that “one man” did not step on D.’s heart, but put it in the hero’s chest, and he came to life . What would happen in the future with the tribe and Danko?(Create a BANK OF IDEAS and select the most interesting ones and write them down on red sheets. Attach your answers to right side of the TREE.)
-What kind of leaves? turned out to be optimistic?
(Because there is faith in life, in the future, and this faith moves a person)
- Is Danko’s death in vain?? (saved an entire tribe; he will not be forgotten when they realize what he has done).
- Sparks left from the heart Danko, lit other hearts.
- slide 15- Are there examples in our lives? After all, Gorky said “There is always room for heroism in life”
Present events: "Nevsky Express", a fire in the Perm club "Lame Horse", terrorist attacks in Volgograd, a meteorite fall last year.
-So, heroes live among us
-Let's get back to goals our lesson. Were we able to answer the questions asked? slide 16
(How can feat, cowardice and betrayal be related?
Why did Danko help people?) ( Gorky showed us examples of people’s lives in society: some choose life for the sake of their self-preservation, others choose life for the sake of others).
-Danko's act - feat or self-sacrifice? (Danko’s act is a feat of a man sacrificing himself to save people. The hero dies, but the sparks of his burning heart illuminate the path to truth and goodness)
slide 17
- As a result Creative task : write a syncwine containing the keyword “Danko”.
-Homework. slide 18
slide 19
sly
Let's join hands. Let's listen to our hearts again and give a piece of the warmth of our hearts to people - this will be our small feat.
-It was pleasant and interesting to work with you. Everyone worked well and perfectly.
Examples of syncwines
Danko.
Bold, beautiful.
He regretted, saved, died.
Beautiful people are always brave.
Feat.
* * *
Danko.
Fearless, courageous.
He regrets, loves, sacrifices.
Can conquer death.
Hero.
* * *
Danko.
Selfless, noble.
Loves, leads, dies.
Ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of others.
Legendary person.
SELF-ANALYSIS
This lesson is programmatic in the study of Gorky’s work. The biography of the writer and his story “Childhood” have already been studied.
Goals and objectives of the lesson.
Continue your acquaintance with the works of M. Gorky; analyze the legend of Danko from the point of view of its ideological and artistic originality.
To form universal educational activities through elements of critical thinking technology: improve the skills and abilities of analyzing prose text, comparing and summarizing material, the ability to make comparisons, classifications, choosing the most correct answer; read and listen, extracting the necessary information, correlating it with existing knowledge and experience; understand and retain the learning task; cooperate with a friend in a group, participate in dialogue, in general conversation, following the accepted rules of speech behavior and speech culture.
Cultivate interest in the subject; through analysis of the legend, to cultivate high moral qualities in students.
Lesson type: learning new material.
Form of work– frontal and steam room.
Teaching methods: problematic - reporting, partially - searching, research.
The lesson was divided into three phases.
1st phase – call. First, the process of recreating existing knowledge and meanings in connection with the material being studied takes place. At this stage, the cognitive activity of students awakens. In parallel, work is underway with dictionary entries to clarify the target concepts. This is necessary for the child to make associations, parallels and face a question that he finds difficult to answer. This is one of the difficult and important stages. Here students formulate hypotheses, assumptions or questions.
At this stage of the lesson, competencies such as communicative and educational-cognitive are formed.
Phase 2 – realization of meaning. Students work with information according to their goals: first, searching for the necessary information (working with text using cards), then independently comparing the material considered (comparing the description of the tribe and the hero). At the same time, an analysis of the motives and actions of the heroes is carried out. The main technique is analytical conversation.
Here such competencies as information, communication and educational-cognitive are formed.
Phase 3 – reflection. At this stage, the main thing is to build a new experience in a system of personal meanings. To do this, students compare the behavioral motives and mental state of the characters. In order to develop fantasy and imagination and the ability to think critically, the “Tree of Predictions” technique is used. At the end of the lesson, meta-subject connections are built - a feat in their lives.
At this stage of the lesson, value-semantic competence is formed.
I believe that the educational potential of the content of the educational material was fully used. Proof that the children understood the meaning of the works were their correct answers. The students answered questions related to the meaning and artistic features of the legend quite actively and with interest.
Thus, the lesson material aroused interest among the students, mutual understanding was achieved between me and the students, which resulted in our active cooperation.
The goal of the lesson was achieved.
1. Danko as an ideal hero.
2. Danko's goal.
3. Contrast between the hero and the crowd.
In their work, writers often turn to the theme of heroism. The heroic deeds of people cannot but inspire admiration. The feat can be viewed from these positions. But human consciousness is designed in such a way that any action can be interpreted in two ways. And the idea of heroism in this case is no exception. In M. Gorky’s story “Old Woman Izergil”, a feat in the name of general happiness is considered. The writer answers this very important question with the legend of Danko, a hero who gave his heart for the sake of others. At first glance, Danko’s act deserves respect and genuine admiration.
Danko is impeccable. He compares very favorably with everyone around him. Danko does not think about himself, he lives in the interests of others, wants to change the lives of his fellow tribesmen. Danko personifies a revolutionary, a person who does not want to live by the rules and foundations that were created long before his birth. If we take into account the peculiarities of the era in which M. Gorky happened to live and work, it becomes clear why he was so attracted to the image of Danko the revolutionary.
The writer deliberately idealizes Danko and makes him impeccable. The hero lives for the moment when he can accomplish a feat in the name of general happiness. True, he doesn’t think about whether those around him are worthy of this feat? Maybe they were completely and completely satisfied with the life that did not change for a very long time? Maybe any changes frighten and upset them?
Danko the hero's goal is to transform the world. In the context of the legend told by Gorky, Danko wanted to make his fellow tribesmen happy, to bring them out of the dark, gloomy forest so that they could live in a bright, sunny place. In order to find a way in the darkness, Danko sacrifices his heart. It lights the way, and the hero’s weak, unfortunate fellow tribesmen find their way. The hero dies, and no one thinks of feeling sorry for him. On the one hand, I feel sorry for Danko. A young, caring man dies in the prime of life. On the other hand, he had no other prospects. Danko was not satisfied with everyday life; life as a gray existence seemed unacceptable to him. Otherwise, he would not have wanted to embark on such a risky journey. Yes, without a doubt, he did a lot for his fellow tribesmen. He brought them out of darkness and showed them the way to happiness.
People like Danko live for the sake of achievement, for the sake of this short moment. This is the only way they understand the meaning of their life. They do not cherish life; on the contrary, they readily part with it, leaving legends about themselves for centuries.
It is no coincidence that his fellow tribesmen did not like Danko too much. They sensed danger in him. And they were right. Danko, on the contrary, did not understand them. He lived for the future, bright and beautiful. And those around them lived for today. And the troubles of the present seemed to them much more important than the illusory happiness of the future.
Was Danko’s sacrifice necessary for those around him? Maybe not. At least, the hero’s fellow tribesmen never realized that they needed it. However, we can say with confidence that Danko’s death was not in vain. By his actions, he showed that there are people for whom common happiness is more important than their own life.
The divisional positions on the morning of September 28 shuddered under the massive attack that two Wehrmacht divisions, tank and infantry, unleashed on them. Mikhail Panikakha ran out of grenades, only a couple of bottles with a Molotov cocktail remained - a flammable mixture. Trying to throw one of them at the approaching tank, Mikhail swung, but the bullet broke the bottle, and the flammable liquid, spilling over the body of the infantry sailor, immediately turned the soldier into a flaming torch.
Without hesitating for a second, Panikakha grabbed another bottle and rushed at the enemy tank. He smashed an incendiary “grenade” against the grille of the engine hatch and a moment later the tank, along with Panikakha, turned into one flaming torch of fire and puffs of smoke. The enemy tank was destroyed.
Witnesses to the fiery feat of the Soviet soldier were not only Mikhail’s colleagues and army commander Vasily Chuikov, who later described Panikakha’s heroic act in his memoirs. The shocked Nazis turned their tanks around, which allowed our soldiers to counterattack and knock out two more fascist steel vehicles.
The remains of Mikhail Panikakha were buried in the area of the Red October plant, which he defended at the cost of his life.
