Peter was born blind. But he has a very developed hearing and great musical talent. Serf Iokhim became his first music teacher. Mother played the piano to Iokhim in order to attract her sweetheart's attention. Finally, she succeeded and cultivated her son's love for piano. Fate is kind to Peter. In his childhood, he won the friendship of the little girl Evelina, which later developed into love. However, the contradiction between the desire for light and congenital blindness has gradually evolved into a serious mental crisis since childhood, and Peter has become selfish and tortured people around him. Uncle Ma Kexin played a vital role in Peter's spiritual growth. In order to make my nephew useless and be a person who is beneficial to society, he stopped his family's blind doting on his children in time and personally took on the heavy responsibility of educating blind children. With the help of his uncle, Peter went deep into the people and got in touch with real life extensively, and finally jumped out of the narrow circle of personal misfortune and became a musician with social responsibility.
selected works
Chapter vi
eight
Spring is coming.
About 60 miles from Popersky Manor to Stavruchinko's home, there is an apparition Catholic icon in a small town. Those who are proficient in this method are absolutely sure that it has the power of efficacy: anyone who walks and bows down on this icon's day can enjoy "forgiveness for 20 days". In other words, all the evils this person has done in 20 days can be written off in the underworld. Therefore, one day in early spring every year, this small town becomes lively and unrecognizable. The ancient church is decorated with the earliest green leaves and spring flowers to welcome the festival. The town is full of happy bells, the carriages of ladies and gentlemen rumble, and pilgrims flock to the streets, squares and even distant fields. It's not just Catholics who come here. Icons in XX town are famous everywhere, and there are also Orthodox Christians who are suffering from diseases and have grief in their chests. Most of them are citizens.
On the day of the festival, on both sides of the small church, countless people form colorful strings and meander on the road. If anyone saw this scene from somewhere on the hill around the town, he would think that there was a huge beast lying on the road next to the small church. It lay there motionless, only occasionally shaking the dull colored scales. On both sides of the crowded road, a large number of beggars lined up in two lines, reaching for alms.
Ma Kexin walked quietly in the street leading to the wild, and Peter holding Iokhim's hand on crutches.
The voices of countless people, the cries of Jewish vendors, and the creaking of carriages-all these noises form a huge wave, which is left behind and merged into an endless rumble. Although there are few pedestrians here, you can always hear the footsteps of pedestrians, the rumble of wheels and people's voices. A large group of salt and grain dealers' trucks came from the wild, crunched for a while and lumbered into a nearby alley.
Peter listened to the noise carelessly and followed Ma Kexin obediently. Because he feels cold, he always covers the skirt of his coat. Along the way, his mind was still full of heavy thoughts.
However, when he was immersed in his own thinking, suddenly a voice disturbed his attention. There was a sudden shock, and he suddenly stood up.
The last few rows of city houses stop here, and then there are some fences and open spaces. Then, the front is Yangguan Avenue. Out of the suburbs, I don't know when the devout believers erected a stone pillar with a statue of an icon and a street lamp installed on it-but this street lamp only creaks from it when it is windy, but it never lights up. At the foot of this stone pillar, there are a group of blind beggars who were pushed here from a more favorable place by clever competitors. They sat there with wooden bowls, and sometimes someone sang a sad song:
"For God's sake, give some money to the blind ..."
It was a cold day. Beggars got up early in the morning and sat here, facing the cold wind blowing from the wild. They are crowded together, and it is impossible to keep warm and move. They take turns singing sad songs, in which they can hear instinctive complaints about physical pain and helplessness. At first, I sang very clearly, but then I only heard a sad murmur coming from my depressed chest, and finally disappeared because of my weak trembling. Even so, even the lightest notes in the song can reach people's ears, almost drowned in the noise in the street. Anyone who listens to the great personal pain involved will be shocked.
Peter stood still, and his face became very ugly, as if an auditory ghost appeared in front of him with a cry of pain.
"Why are you afraid?" Ma Kexin asked, "These are the happy people you envied not long ago-blind beggars. They beg here. ..... Of course, they are a little cold. But in your opinion, they are cold. "
"Let's go!" Peter grabbed his hand and said.
"Ah, you want to go away! When you see the pain of others, there is no other feeling in your heart! Wait a minute. I want to talk to you seriously. It's right here. It's perfect. You are angry that times have changed. Nowadays, people no longer cut the blind in the midnight battle, just like cutting the pianist Zurko on the piano. You complain that you don't have such a cursed person as Egor, so you curse your relatives in your heart and that they shouldn't take away the happy fate of these blind people from you. I swear by my personality: your words may be right! Yes, I swear by the personality of a veteran: anyone has the right to arrange his own destiny, and you are an adult. Now let me tell you: If you want to correct our mistakes, if you want to throw back all the privileges you enjoyed from cradle to destiny, and want to taste the fate of these evil people, … then I, Ma Kexin Yasenko, will definitely respect your meaning and help you realize all this. ..... Did you hear what I said, Peter Yashenko? I was a little older than you when I participated in wars and struggles. ..... My mother used to cry for me, just as your mother would cry for you. But, to hell with it! I think I had the right to do so then, just as you have your own right now! ..... because in everyone's life, fate will come and say to him: You choose! Well, just say what you want. ..... fedor Kong Di, are you there? " He shouted at the blind people.
A voice broke free from everyone's creaking chorus and replied:
"I'm here. ..... Did you call me, Ma Kexin mikhailov? "
"It's me! A week later, you come to the place I told you about. "
"I will come, my Lord." Then, the voice of the blind man joined the chorus.
"Look, you will see such a person," said Ma Kexin's bright eyes. "He is a person who has the right to complain. You learn from him how to endure your own destiny. ..... You ah ... "
"Let's go, master," said Iokhim, looking at the old man angrily.
"No, wait a minute!" Ma Kexin shouted angrily, "I've never seen such a man walk past a blind man without giving a penny. Do you want to escape like this? You don't know how to cherish happiness. You are full and envy others for being hungry! ……"
Peter jerked his head up as if he had been whipped. He took out his wallet from his pocket and went to the group of blind beggars. He groped for a man on crutches in the front row, touched the wooden bowl with copper coins and carefully put the money in. Several passers-by stood still and looked at this gorgeous and handsome young master in surprise, watching him grope for money to a blind beggar, who also groped for money.
At this moment, Ma Kexin suddenly turned around and limped down the street. His face flushed and his eyes sparkled. ..... He is obviously losing his temper again, and everyone who knew him when he was young is familiar with his temper. At this moment, he is no longer a teacher who talks like a book, but an impatient person who lets his feelings vent his anger. The old man squinted at Peter, and his mood seemed to ease a little. Peter is as white as a sheet, but his eyebrows are locked and his expression is extremely excited.
The cold wind blew up the dust on the city streets behind them. The blind beggar in the back was talking and arguing about the money given by Peter.
nine
I don't know if it's a cold or because the long-term mental crisis has been solved. Maybe these two reasons have appeared together. Anyway, the next day, Peter was lying in his room with a high fever. He has an ugly face, tossing and turning in bed, sometimes listening to something and struggling to get up. The old doctor invited from the town felt his pulse and said that he had a cold in spring. Maxine frowned and didn't look at his sister.
The disease lingers. During the critical period, the patient lay almost motionless for several days. However, the constitution of youth finally defeated the disease.
On a bright spring morning, the bright sunshine passed through the window and fell on the patient's bedside. Anna mikhailov noticed this situation and said to Evelina:
"Draw the curtains. ..... I'm really afraid of sunshine. ……"
The girl stood up and did as she said, but the patient suddenly spoke for the first time. He stopped her from saying:
"No, it doesn't matter. Thank you ... let nature take its course. ……"
Two women bent over him happily.
"Did you hear that? ..... I'm here! "Mom said.
"hmm!" He answered, and then he was silent, as if trying to remember something. Oh, yes! ..... "He said softly, suddenly want to sit up. "So ... has fedor been here?" He asked.
Evelina and Anna mikhailov exchanged glances, and Anna mikhailov put her hand over Peter's mouth.
"Quiet, quiet! Don't talk. Talking is harmful to you. "
Peter put his mother's hand to his lips and kept kissing. His eyes were full of tears. He cried for a long time and felt relaxed.
For several days in a row, he seemed gentle and considerate. Whenever Ma Kexin passes by the door, there is always a look of panic on his face. Two women noticed this and asked Ma Kexin to stay away. But once, Peter personally invited him to come over and talk alone.
Ma Kexin came into the room, took his hand and stroked it affectionately.
"Well, my boy," he said, "I seem to owe you an apology. ……"
"I understand," Peter said softly, holding his hand. "You taught me a lesson, and I am very grateful to you."
"Fuck the lesson!" Ma Kexin looked impatient and replied, "Teachers work too long, and their brains are in a mess. No, I didn't mean to teach you a lesson that time, but I was angry with you and myself. ……"
"So, do you really want to ...? "
"I thought so, I thought so! ..... when people are crazy, they can come up with any ideas. ..... I want you to experience other people's misfortune, so don't always dwell on your own misfortune. ……"
Both of them stopped talking.
"That song," Peter said after a while, "I even remember it when I was talking in my sleep. ..... Then who do you call him fedor? "
"fedor Kong Di, my old friend."
"Is he too ... born blind?"
"To make matters worse, his eyes were burned blind in the war."
"So he just wandered around and sang this song?"
"Yes, and rely on this song to feed a large group of nephews without parents. He even tells jokes to everyone for fun. ……"
"Really?" Peter asked thoughtfully. "Anyway, there must be a secret. I really want to ... "
"What do you think, my child? ……"
After a while, footsteps came from outside, and Anna mikhailov entered the room. She stared at their faces trembling. These two faces are obviously excited by the dialogue. Her arrival interrupted their conversation.
Once the young constitution overcomes the disease, it will soon eliminate its residual strength. About two weeks later, Peter got up.
He has become so fierce that even his appearance has changed-there is no sign of intense inner pain on his face. Sharp mental shock has now turned into peaceful meditation and quiet sadness.
Ma Kexin is worried that this is only a temporary change, which is caused by illness weakening the nervous tension. One night, Peter came to the piano for the first time after his illness and improvised as usual. The melody is as sad and smooth as his mood. But suddenly, in the quiet and sad music, the first few notes of the blind beggar's song broke out. The melody was immediately destroyed. ..... Peter suddenly stood up, his face became very ugly, and his eyes were full of tears. Obviously, this disharmony in his life in the form of painful and harsh complaints left such a strong impression on him that he can't cope with it at present.
That night, Ma Kexin and Peter talked alone for a long time. After a few weeks, the blind man's mood did not change. Over-sensitivity and selfish consciousness of personal misfortune once injected negative factors into his mind and suppressed his natural perseverance; Now, this kind of consciousness seems to waver and give way to another kind of consciousness. He also set goals in life and made various plans for himself. He has life. A depressed heart shoots, just like a withered young tree that absorbs the vibrant breath of spring. ..... It was then that they decided that Peter would go to Kiev this summer to learn from a famous pianist. Both he and Ma Kexin insisted that they go alone.
ten
On a warm night in July, a carriage with two horses stopped for the night in a field on the edge of the forest. At dawn, two blind people came from the path. One of them shook the handle of a simple musical instrument: the wooden shaft turned in the hole of the empty box, rubbing against the tight strings, and gave a sad moan. An old man sang the song of morning prayers in a slightly nasal but sweet voice.
Ukrainians carrying groupers passed by the avenue and saw two blind people being called to the side of the carriage, which was carpeted with two sleeping grandfathers sitting on it. After a while, when the cart driver stopped by the well to drink water for the livestock, the blind man passed by them again, but this time there were three people. Walking in front is an old man, holding a long stick to explore the front. He has gray hair and a long white moustache. His forehead is covered with old scars, as if he had been burned. No eyes, only two eye sockets left. He wears a wide cloth belt on his shoulder, and the other end of the cloth belt is tied around the waist of a person behind him. The second man is a burly young man with a bad temper and a pockmarked face. Both of them walked skillfully, their blind faces lifted to the sky, as if exploring their own paths in the air. The third person is still very young, dressed in brand-new peasant clothes, pale and looks a little scared. Unsteady steps, often stop, as if listening to something behind him, hindering the progress of his companions.
By nearly ten o'clock, they had gone far. The Woods left a blue band of light on the horizon. Surrounded by a meadow, in front, at the intersection of the road and the dusty path, the wires heated by the sun hum. When the blind man heard the sound of hooves and the rolling sound of iron wheels crushing gravel behind him, he went to the highway and turned right. They stood in line at the roadside. The wooden shaft rubbed against the strings and whined. The old man sang at the top of his voice:
"Give some money to the blind ..." The sound of the young man gently plucking the strings joined the purring of the wooden shaft.
A coin landed with a clang at the feet of old Kong Di. The creaking of the wheels gradually disappeared, and the people in the car obviously wanted to stop and see if the blind man could find the coins. Kong Di immediately found, with a satisfied expression on his face.
God bless you. He said to the carriage. On the carriage seat, you can see the square body of a white-haired old man standing beside him with two crutches.
The old man examined the young blind man carefully. ..... He stood there, pale, but his look was stable. As soon as he heard the song, his fingers twitched nervously, as if to drown out the harsh singing with the sound of the piano. ..... The carriage started again, but the old man kept looking back.
Soon, the sound of wheels disappeared in the distance. The blind people lined up again and walked along the road. ……
"Yuri, you are very lucky," said the old man. "You also play the piano very well. ……"
After a while, the blind man in the middle asked:
"Are you going to Pochayev to make a wish? ..... Ask God? "
"yes." The boy answered softly.
"Do you want to brighten? ..... "The blind man asked with a wry smile.
"There is such a thing." The old man said gently.
"I have walked a lot, but I have never encountered such a thing." Pockmarked face retorted darkly, so they left silently again. As the sun rises higher and higher, I can only see a straight white belt on the road, the black figures of three blind people, and the black spots of the carriage in front. Later, at a fork in the road, the carriage drove to Kiev, and the blind man turned into a path and headed for Pochayev.
Soon, the manor received a letter from Ma Kexin in Kiev. In his letter, he said that both of them are in good health and everything is going well.
At this time, the three blind people walked further and further. Now the pace of the three people has reached an agreement. Kong Di walked ahead, still using a walking stick to explore. He is familiar with this road and always uses festivals and fairs to go to that big village. The villagers gathered around when they heard the harmonious music of this small band, and coins jingled in Candiba's hat from time to time.
The frightened look on the young man's face has long since disappeared and changed into another expression. Every step he took, he heard strange sounds in the vast and boundless mysterious world. Now, the world has replaced the sleepy rustle in the quiet manor. ..... The blind eyes are widened, the mind is broadened, and the hearing is more sensitive than before. He has become familiar with his traveling companions-kind Kong Di Ba and irascible Kuzma. He hobbled behind the creaking salt and grain dealer's cart for a long time, spent the night by the campfire on the grassland, listened to the noise of markets and shopping malls, and realized the misfortune of blindness and bright eyes, which stung his heart more than once. ..... It is strange that all these feelings can be contained in his mind now. He mastered the blind man's songs, and his personal desire for the impossible calmed down day by day in the noise of the vast sea. ..... His memory is very sensitive, no matter what new songs or melodies he learns. When he fiddles with the strings on the road, even the grumpy Kuzma will be infected, and his face will be calm. The closer we get to Pochayev, the more people there are in this group of blind people.
In late autumn, the young master suddenly came back from the snowy road with two blind beggars in rags, which surprised everyone in the manor. People around him said that he made a wish at Pochayev's place and prayed to the Virgin of Pochayev to let him see the light again.
In fact, his eyes are still vacant, and he still can't see. But there is no doubt that the heart disease has healed. As if a terrible nightmare had left the manor forever. ..... Ma Kexin still writes from Kiev. When he finally came back, Anna mikhailov said as soon as she saw him, "I will never forgive you." But the expression on her face is the opposite of this harsh sentence.
For several nights in a row, Peter described his roaming into the night. At dusk, the piano played a new melody, which no one had ever heard him play before. ..... The trip to Kiev was postponed for one year, and the whole family was concerned about Peter's hopes and plans.
(translated by Feng Yiyin)
Make an appreciative comment
The Blind Musician is the masterpiece of Korolenko, a famous Russian writer in the late19th century. It tells the story of the growth, development and perfection of the blind Peter's spirit, from instinctively pursuing light to forgetting personal misfortune and pursuing the meaning of life. It is instructive for today's readers.
Peter was born blind, which was a great misfortune for him. But fate was kind to him. When it closed a window, it opened another window: it closed the window of Peter's heart, but it gave him a gift-extraordinary sensitivity to sound and music, which was shown when he was very young. But it is difficult to make a difference with talented seeds alone, let alone for a blind person like Peter. Fortunately, Peter has several mentors: Iokhim, his mother, his girlfriend and his uncle. Jokshim's music enlightenment, his mother's meticulous care, his girlfriend's efforts in friendship and love, and his uncle Ma Kexin's inculcation, support and guidance finally made him grow into a musician who is beneficial to the people.
Peter, a blind man, owes his mental growth and later achievements to his uncle Ma Kexin to a great extent. The veteran who lost his right leg in the Italian national liberation struggle firmly believes that "life is a struggle". In order to make Peter a disabled person, he resolutely undertook the heavy responsibility of educating blind children, and his motto on the student flag turned out to be-"the unfortunate defend the suffering." Veterans who have been baptized by blood and fire really care for all beings, which is also the expression of the writer's humanitarian thought. It was Ma Kexin who kindly stopped his sister's blind doting, so that Peter would not grow into a spoiled idle blind young master; It was also Ma Kexin who introduced the storm of external life into the quiet but closed manor, which made Peter's mind calm and strong; It was Ma Kexin who finally pushed Peter out of the narrow circle of Popersky Manor and into a broad life, giving him a chance to breathe with the working people, understand their joys and sorrows, forget their own pains and misfortunes, and finally become a person who is beneficial to the people.
Our excerpts tell the story of Ma Kexin's timely and correct help and guidance to Peter who is in deep mental crisis, and also point out the main idea of the novel. The blind Peter's desire and pursuit of vision is the main thread running through this novella. The desire to regain sight plunged the hero into a deep ideological crisis and became the source of his sadness and sorrow. Peter, who is cared for by his relatives and girlfriends and has no worries about food and clothing, is undoubtedly much luckier than those disabled people who have no food and clothing and have no complaints. But Peter doesn't understand this. On the contrary, he tortured his relatives with his disability and even thought, "Why do blind people live?" problem At the critical moment, Peter's uncle Ma Kexin helped him. Ma Kexin once lamented the injustice of fate for his disability, but the birth of a blind child changed his complaining attitude, and he decided to undertake the heavy responsibility of educating Peter, so that the blind child could develop his own abilities as much as possible, become a useful person in the future, defend people who are more miserable than him, and make the rest of his life not be in vain. He made various efforts for Peter's spiritual growth. In the suburb of a small town, he showed Peter the real life of a blind beggar. Obviously, this experience touched Peter a lot. The life of the blind beggar made Peter see deeper suffering. Ma Kexin's words made him realize his narrowness and realized reconciliation with his family. After that, Peter obviously had a new understanding and planning of life, and finally matured spiritually. His mind became calm and strong, and he successfully got rid of blindness, the crux of childhood entanglement, which made him restless and embarked on the road of serving the public, entertaining the audience with his music, purifying his mind and reminding happy people to care for the unfortunate. In other words, although blindness cannot be changed physically, Peter finally "sees the light again" mentally! Here we can see the writer's understanding of the meaning of life and happiness, that is, only by combining individual life with people's life and serving the people can we find the true meaning and happiness of life. But more importantly, Korolenko, who was deeply influenced by populism, was able to get rid of the narrow view that populism was divorced from the people, but insisted on breathing with the people, suffering together and listening to the voices from the people (this can be seen from the process of shaping the growth of blind musicians). This is undoubtedly an important embodiment of the writer's democratic and humanitarian thoughts, and it is also the profound and touching charm of this novel. The idea of serving the people is the theme of this book. It inspired the Russian people's thoughts under the white terror of Alexander III, inspired them to be optimistic about the future (the pursuit of light), and even helped us to think and pursue the meaning of life today, right?
The structure of the novel can reflect the ingenuity of the writer Korolenko. The growth and perfection of the hero's spirit gradually unfolds with the alternation of seasons. This alternation is not in the same place, but a spiral process of gradual rise, which has experienced Peter's psychological perfection process of blindness-distress and hesitation-spiritual "seeing" This ingenious spiral structure is intertwined with the ever-strengthening idea of serving the people (and finally becomes the exciting sound of music), which makes the novel achieve the perfect combination of form and content.
The description of nature in the novel and the harmonious and beautiful sound of music flowing in nature are also vivid and poetic. Nature can be said to be another mentor of Peter's spiritual growth. It gave Peter, a blind child, the initial musical inspiration and made his talent mature in the embrace of nature. It also witnessed Peter's spiritual growth process, and finally merged into the shocking music melody sprinkled by blind musicians. It can be said that in the novel, nature and people are two indispensable factors for the hero's spirit to "see the light again".
The language of the novel is fluent, concise and poetic. It not only has the characteristics of free and flexible prose, but also has lyricism and musicality of poetry. The description of the sound of nature is even more wonderful. They don't seem to come from the writer's pen, but nature pours out its ancient secrets to readers through the writer's clever pen. In this regard, the writer Korolenko as Turgenev's successor is well deserved!
(Qiu Jingjuan)