Human nature is not without selfishness. This feature, which makes it necessary to put your needs and desires above the needs and desires of other people, manifests itself differently in each person. Generosity is a concept completely opposite to the concept of egoism. First of all, it is the ability to sacrifice, give in, compromise. In my opinion, F.M. Dostoevsky is right in asserting that selfishness destroys magnanimity in man, because selfishness makes it impossible to prefer others' interests to their own.
The selfish hero is presented to us by Dostoevsky himself in the novel Crime and Punishment. The main character - Rodion Raskolnikov - is not just an egoist, he is an egoist-ideologist. On the altar of his theory of “ordinary and extraordinary” people, he laid two innocent souls: the old woman-mortgagee and her younger sister Lizaveta. Raskolnikov, like any killer, imagined that he could decide human destinies, even if no one needed them. This behavior is a consequence of the highest degree of egoism, which prompted confidence in the actions of the hero. After the murder, all of Raskolnikov’s actions is an attempt to justify himself, but only before his own “I”. He, in fact, does not care about the problems of the situation of his sister Dunya or Sonya Marmeladova. He transfers alien suffering to his inflamed mind, in which there is no place for generosity.
Another egoist of Russian classics is Grigory Pechorin from the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov "Hero of our time." The egoism of this mysterious and eternally bored hero is expressed in the desire and ability to play the feelings of other people. In this regard, the story with the daughter of the highland prince Bela, whom Pechorin loved and stole, is very revealing. Gregory was not going to marry Bela at all, she attracted him all the time while she was wild. It is amazing how her heart could fall in love with Pechorin, because with his deed he disgraced her honor and the honor of her father. The end of this story is very sad, because for Pechorin Bel was only a toy, and soon his feelings for her cooled, and his selfishness led to the death of a young girl who was mortally wounded by the vengeful Kazbic.
Thus, egoism is a caustic quality that corrodes the human soul, leaving no room for any other feelings besides self-love. Egoism is the destiny of weak, lonely people who are not capable of all the best human feelings: love, friendship, compassion. Such weakness and inability to experience something good supersedes and generosity - one of the most noble human qualities. But I believe that egoism is not a sentence, and each person is able to decide whether he can be strong enough to take small steps to revive his soul.
