(325 words) It is very important for people to distinguish between similar concepts. Things that seem, at first glance, the same thing, turn out to be completely different if you look deeper into them. For example, severity and cruelty are different. These concepts look deceptively similar, but there is a big difference between them. If cruelty is designed to make someone suffer, then severity puts pressure on a person to strengthen his spirit.
Confirmation of this position can often be found in fiction. For example, in Vladimir Zheleznikov’s novel “Scarecrow,” the main character Lena is brutally poisoned by her classmates. They insult and humiliate her, laugh at her. The critical point of the boycott is the terrifying scene of the guys burning the scarecrow on which Lena’s dress was put on. And they do all this out of a desire to make a hated classmate hurt. They only wish her harm, they want to "teach a lesson" to her for what she did not do. They are monstrous in their desire to break Lena, to destroy her kindness and openness, and their cruelty seems to know no boundaries.
A completely different picture appears before the reader in the novel by L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace." Old Nikolai Bolkonsky very severely brings up his daughter Maria. He makes her study hard, talks to her coldly and punishes her for disobedience. However, it is impossible to assume that Nikolai Bolkonsky is cruel to his daughter. Without a doubt, he loves Mary, and his severity is a way to make her stronger, to prepare for a meeting with a terrible unfriendly world and a cold, passionless society. And such an upbringing is bearing fruit: Maria grows up early, becomes a strong, smart and brave girl. She steadfastly endures all the hardships of war, the loss of her father and brother and finds her happiness in a peaceful family life with Nikolai Rostov. Bolkonsky raised his daughter severely, but it was thanks to this rigor that all of Mary's dreams came true.
As we see, the severity and cruelty are really very similar. Moreover, often a harsh person is accused of cruelty, and it is said about a cruel person that he is justified by the harsh. Nevertheless, one concept cannot be substituted for another. In the end, severity can be understood and even praised, while cruelty is a manifestation of the worst qualities of a human character, bearing only pain and suffering.
