Conflict of the environment and heroes in the novel by G. Ibragimov ‘Young hearts’

This article deals with the problem of confrontation between heroes and the environment in the tragedy novel Young Hearts by G. Ibragimov (1913). It addresses a number of scientifically significant issues related to the history of Tatar literature in the early 20th century. G. Ibragimov (1887-1938) is one of the founders of literary theory and Tatar criticism, which emerged at the beginning of the century. He is an authoritative and influential person known in literary circles for his breadth of horizons and the depth of theoretical training. In the novel, the writer portrays his heroes in an eternal conflict with the environment (‘mөkhit’), society and fate. The development of the plot and characters in the work appears in the conflict characteristic of Tatar art of writing at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, namely in the confrontation between the ‘new’ and the ‘old’. The purpose of the article is to study this conflict and to determine its content. The author argues that G. Ibragimov’s idea about the world around as the world opposing the heroes is rather peculiar. The specific nature of the conflict between the ideal and the harsh reality determines the characters’ line of fate, the nature of their actions, as well as their philosophy of life. In Zia’s opposition to the environment, his love for music and his natural gift for the song play a big role. The nationally emphasized conflict of the hero concerns the main problem of Tatar reality - the fate of the nation. The description of Sabir’s confrontation with the environment is greatly influenced by the peculiarity of his character. The actions of the hero are not related to national or social problems since personal well-being and spiritual emancipation of the person are what is most important to him. In solving the conflict of the environment and Maryam, the author focuses on her fate, notably on the fact that she is a slave to the environment. G. Ibragimov argues that a person living in society cannot be free from its influence. Only by getting rid of the prescriptions of the environment, the heroes can change society and serve the progress of their people. The article attempts to study the problem of confrontation between the hero and the environment in the tragedy novel Young Hearts (1913), and is first to address the genre originality of the writer’s work. The study used cultural-historical and comparative-historical methods, as well as the principles of receptive aesthetics.