(429 words) A cruel person is one in whom indifference, anger, and composure are combined. Even if we are indifferent to someone or something, in most cases this can be called cruelty. Therefore, the owners of this quality can easily get lost in the crowd. How do you recognize them? Let's see how they manifest themselves in the literature.
Olya, the heroine of the story by Anatoly Aleksin “Mad Evdokia”, was a long-awaited and beloved child. Mother gave birth to her, risking her own life, but quickly forgot about her health and devoted all her time to raising a talented child. Olga drew and sculpted well. She could reflect in her works the external beauty of people, and their inner world was not of interest to the heroine. Olya always thought of herself and was indulgent towards a faddish teacher, a quiet, plain-looking friend, a classmate in love with her. Once the heroine decided once again to prove that she was the best, and suddenly disappeared at night to complete her school assignment. Mom thought that the girl died, and lost her mind. Olya and her father were left alone with this grief. But it is unlikely that the heroine fully realized how cruelly she acted, showing indifference to the feelings of the most dear people. Such behavior is the manifestation of hardheartedness. The girl brought her mother to insanity, but did not even realize her guilt.
Another example was described by A. S. Pushkin in the work “Station Warden”. Dunya ran away from the house with the officer, leaving the old father alone. Rotmister Minsky took her to the capital, because the girl had rare beauty. Samson Vyrin loved his daughter very much, for him she was the only incentive to life. He went to look for her and found. The old man very much asked the kidnapper to return Dunya, but the man refused, assuring his father that his girl was safe. But the parent was not satisfied with the promises, he tracked down Minsky and came to his house, where his richly dressed daughter sat in the arms of an officer. Seeing her father, she fainted, and the captain in a rage threw the old man out the door. Vyrin left for himself and washed down with loneliness and longing. He did not live long and soon died. For all the time, the daughter did not deign to visit him or write letters. Later, Dunya, of course, repented, because she herself became a mother and realized what children mean to parents. But her act cannot be justified. He talks about the cruelty inherent in a girl who was able to leave her father to her fate.
Who can be called cruel? He who thinks only of himself, but treats others coldly and indifferently. One who has enough anger and composure to hurt others. Cruelty is not necessarily violence or aggression, it often manifests itself in the intricacies of everyday behavior: in arrogance, selfishness, or indifference. Unfortunately, because of this, people cannot notice this quality of character in time and fall into emotional dependence on who can be called cruel.
