Time quickly moves deeper into history important milestones in the life of countries and peoples. The last volleys died down long ago. Time mercilessly takes living witnesses of heroic time into immortality. Books, films, and memories bring descendants back to the past. The exciting work The Fate of a Man, authored by Mikhail Sholokhov, takes us back to those difficult years.
The title tells you what it will be about. The focus is on the fate of a person, the author spoke about it in such a way that it absorbed the fate of the whole country and its people.
The fate of man main characters:
- Andrey Sokolov;
- boy Vanyusha;
- son of the main character - Anatoly;
- wife Irina;
- the daughters of the main character are Nastya and Olyushka.
Andrey Sokolov
Meeting with Andrey Sokolov
First post-war war turned out to be “pushy”, it was melting quickly on the Upper Don, the routes were bad. It was at this time that the narrator had to get to the village of Bukanovskaya. On the way, we crossed the overflowing Elanka River and sailed for an hour on a dilapidated boat. While waiting for the second flight, he met a father and son, a boy about 5-6 years old. The author noted the deep melancholy in the man’s eyes, as if they were sprinkled with ashes. The father's careless clothes suggested that he lived without female care, but the boy was dressed warmly and neatly. Everything became clear when the narrator found out sad story new friend.
The life of the main character before the war
The hero himself is from Voronezh. At first, everything in life turned out as usual. Born in 1900, served and fought in the Kikvidze division. He survived the famine of 1922 working for the Kuban kulaks, but his parents and sister died that year from hunger in the Voronezh province.
All alone left. Having sold the house, he left for Voronezh, where started a family. He married an orphan; there was no one more beautiful and desirable for him than his Irina. Children were born, a son Anatoly and two daughters, Nastenka and Olyushka.
He worked as a carpenter, a factory worker, and a mechanic, but he was truly “attracted” by machines. Ten years flew by unnoticed in work and worries. The wife bought two goats, the wife and owner Irina was excellent. The children were well-fed, well-fed, and enjoyed excellent studies. Andrey earned good money, he saved some money. They built a house not far from the aircraft factory, about which later main character regretted it. In another place, the house could have survived the bombing, and life could have turned out completely differently. Everything that was created over the years collapsed in an instant - the war began.
War
Andrey was summoned with a summons on the second day, we saw off the whole family to war. It was hard to say goodbye. His wife Irina seemed to feel that they would not see each other again; day and night her eyes did not dry out from tears.
Formation took place in Ukraine, near Bila Tserkva. They gave me a ZIS-5, and I went to the front with it. Andrei fought for less than a year. He was wounded twice, but he quickly returned to duty. He wrote home infrequently: there was no time, and there was nothing special to write about - they were retreating on all fronts. Andrei condemned those “bitches in pants who complain, seek sympathy, slobber, but don’t want to understand that these unfortunate women and children had it no worse in the rear.”
In May 1942, near Lozovenki, the main character fell into fascist captivity. The day before, he volunteered to deliver shells to the artillerymen. There was less than a kilometer left to the battery when a long-range shell exploded near the car. He woke up, and the battle was going on behind him. It was not of his own free will that he was captured. The German machine gunners took off his boots, but did not shoot him, but drove him in a column of Russian prisoners to work for their Reich.
Once we spent the night in a church with a destroyed dome. A doctor was found, and he did his great work in captivity - helping the wounded soldiers. One of the prisoners asked to go outside to relieve himself. Holy faith in God does not allow a Christian to desecrate the temple; the Germans slashed at the door with machine-gun fire, wounding three at once and killing a pilgrim. Fate also prepared a terrible test for Andrey - to kill a traitor from “his own.” By chance at night he overheard a conversation from which he realized that the big-faced guy was planning to hand over his platoon commander to the Germans. Andrei Sokolov cannot allow Judas Kryzhnev to save himself at the cost of betrayal and the death of his comrades. An incident full of drama shows behavior in church different people in inhumane circumstances.
Important! It is not easy for the main character to commit murder, but he sees salvation in the unity of people. In the story “The Fate of Man” this episode is full of drama.
An unsuccessful escape from the Poznan camp, when they were digging graves for prisoners, almost cost Andrei Sokolov his life. When they caught him, beat him, hounded him with dogs, his skin, meat and clothes fell into shreds. They brought me to the camp naked, covered in blood. He served a month in a punishment cell and miraculously survived. For two years of captivity traveled half of Germany: worked at a silicate plant in Saxony, in a mine in the Ruhr region, in Bavaria, Thuringia. The prisoners were brutally beaten and shot. Here they forgot their name, remembered their number, Sokolov was known as 331. They fed him half-and-half bread with sawdust, thin rutabaga gruel. The list of inhumane trials in captivity does not end there.
Survive and withstand Nazi captivity helped. Lagerführer Müller appreciated the strength of spirit of the Russian soldier. In the evening in the barracks, Sokolov was indignant at the four cubic meters of output, bitterly joking that a cubic meter would be enough for the grave of every prisoner.
The next day, the camp commandant summoned Sokolov following a denunciation from some scoundrel. The description of the duel between the Russian soldier and Muller is fascinating. Refusal to drink to victory German weapons could have cost Sokolov his life. Muller did not shoot and said that he respected a worthy opponent. As a reward he gave a loaf of bread and a piece of lard; the food was divided among everyone, captured by a harsh thread.
Sokolov did not give up the thought of escape. He carried an engineer for the construction of defensive structures with the rank of major. In the front line The captive driver managed to escape, taking the stunned engineer with important documents. They promised to present me with a reward for this.
They sent me to the hospital for treatment, Andrei Sokolov immediately wrote a letter to Irina. Are your relatives alive or not? I waited a long time for an answer from my wife, but received a letter from a neighbor, Ivan Timofeevich. When the aircraft factory was bombed, nothing was left of the house. Son Tolik was in the city at that time, and Irina and her daughters died. A neighbor reported that Anatoly volunteered for the front.
On vacation I went to Voronezh, but I could not stay even an hour in the place where there was his family happiness and family hearth. He went to the station and returned to the division. Soon his son found him, received a letter from Anatoly and dreamed of meeting him. The country was already preparing to celebrate the Victory when was killed son of Andrey, Anatoly. A sniper shot him on the morning of May 9th. It is very tragic that Andrei Sokolov’s son lived to see victory, but was unable to enjoy life in peacetime. The main character buried his son in a foreign land, and he himself was soon demobilized.
After the war
It was painful for him to return to his native Voronezh. Andrey remembered that a friend invited me to Uryupinsk. He arrived and began working as a driver. Here fate brought two lonely people together. Boy Vanya is a gift of fate. A war-wounded man now has hope for happiness.
Sholokhov’s story ends with the father and son going “in marching order” to Kashary, where a colleague will get the father a job in a carpenter’s artel, and then they will give him a driver’s license. He lost his previous document by an unfortunate accident. On a muddy road, the car skidded and he knocked down a cow. Everything worked out, the cow got up and walked, but I had to put the book down.
Important! Any true story or story about the fate of a person who miraculously survived in fascist captivity is interesting. This is a special story, it is about the Russian character unbroken by the war. The author expressed with utmost clarity his admiration for feat, heroism and courage ordinary people during the Second World War.
Features of Sholokhov's story “The Fate of a Man”
In the history of literature, it is rare that a small story becomes a grand event. After the publication of the story “The Fate of a Man” in the first issue of the Pravda newspaper in 1957, the novelty attracted everyone’s attention.
- The story “The Fate of a Man” captivates with a convincing and reliable description of real events. Mikhail Sholokhov heard the tragic story of a Russian soldier in 1946. Next ten many years silence. Year of writing a short story"The destiny of man" is considered late 1956. Later the work was filmed.
- Ring composition: the story “The Fate of Man” begins chance meeting author with the main character. At the end of the conversation, the men say goodbye and go about their business. In the central part, Andrei Sokolov opened his soul to a new acquaintance. He heard the hero's story about pre-war life, years at the front, and return to peaceful life.
We must not forget the lessons that humanity has learned from common tragedy people, the Great Patriotic War. The war caused irreparable damage to millions of our fellow citizens, and one of them was Andrei Sokolov, the main character of Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man.” The authenticity of the author's greatest creation has gained worldwide popularity, striking with its tragedy and humanity. We offer an analysis of the work “The Fate of Man” according to plan, to prepare for a literature lesson in 9th grade.
Brief Analysis
Year of writing– 1956
History of creation– The story is based on real events. A man he met while hunting told his story to the writer. The story struck the writer to the point that he decided to publish the story.
Subject– The main theme of the work is the theme of war, along with it the theme of the strength of the human spirit and the search for meaning in life is revealed.
Composition– The composition of this work consists of two stories, first the narration comes from the author’s perspective, then his new acquaintance tells his story. The work ends with the words of the author.
Genre- Story.
Direction– Realism.
History of creation
The history of the creation of this story is interesting. One day while hunting, M. Sholokhov met a man. A conversation began between the new acquaintances, and a random passer-by told Sholokhov about his sad fate. Tragic story deeply touched the writer’s soul, and he decided to write a story. He did not start work right away; for ten years the writer discussed this idea, and only then, in just a few days, he transferred it to paper, and the year the story was written became 1956. The work was published at the very end of the year, on the eve of 1957.
The story “The Fate of Man” was dedicated to the writer E. G. Levitskaya. She was among the first readers of " Quiet Don", and contributed to the publication of this novel.
Subject
In the story “The Fate of Man,” analysis of the work immediately reveals main topic , the theme of war, and not only war, but the person who participated in it. This tragedy of an entire country reveals the deepest human soul, she makes it clear what a person really is.
Before the war, Andrei Sokolov was an ordinary person, he had a home, family, and work. Like all ordinary people, Sokolov lived and worked, perhaps dreamed of something. In any case, war was not included in his plans. Andrei trained to be a driver, worked on a truck, the children did well at school, and his wife took care of the house. Everything went as usual, and suddenly war broke out. Already on the third day, Sokolov went to the front. How true patriot of his homeland, Sokolov becomes its defender.
Sholokhov was one of the writers who was confident in the strength of the spirit of the Russian man, capable of preserving the real human qualities. In his story, the main idea is the fate of Andrei Sokolov, who managed to remain human, and his fate is in tune with millions of other Soviet people who went through the meat grinder of war, captivity, concentration camps, but managed to return to normal life without losing the most important thing in themselves - humanity.
This work expresses problems morality and spirituality. The war has forced everyone to make a choice, and everyone solves these problems themselves. People like Andrei Sokolov did not bend before the enemy, managed to resist, endure, and only further strengthen their faith in the power of the Motherland and the Russian people. But there were also those who, in order to preserve their petty, worthless life, were ready to betray both their comrade and their homeland.
A person remains a person in any situation, no matter how terrible it may be. In the worst case, a person will choose death, but human dignity will not allow him to commit treason. And if a person chooses his own life at the cost of the lives of his comrades, he can no longer be called a man. This is what Sokolov did: when he heard about the impending betrayal, he simply strangled this vile little bastard.
The fate of Andrei Sokolov was tragic, and he had a hard time during the war, and after the war it became even worse. His family was bombed by the Germans, his eldest son died on Victory Day, and he was left completely alone, without a family and without a home. But even here Sokolov stood his ground, picked up a homeless boy, and called himself his father, giving hope for the future to both him and himself.
Having analyzed the story, we can conclude that humanity is invincible, as well as nobility, courage and bravery. Anyone who reads The Fate of Man should understand what this book teaches. heroic story. This story is about the courage and heroism of an entire people who defeated a treacherous enemy and maintained faith in the future of the country.
The years of war broke many destinies, took away the past, and deprived them of the future. The hero of the story went through all the hardships of wartime, and was left alone, having lost his home and family, he also loses the meaning of life. A little boy was left without a home and family, just as restless as Sokolov. Two people found each other, and again found the meaning of life, and revived faith in the future. Now they have someone to live for, and they are happy that fate brought them together. A person like Sokolov will be able to raise a worthy citizen of the country.
Composition
Compositionally in the work it appears story within a story, we're talking about from two authors. The narration begins from the author's point of view.
One of the critics subtly noticed how different the author’s language is from Sokolov’s. These expressive artistic media Sholokhov skillfully applies, and his work gains brightness and depth of content, adding extraordinary tragedy to Sokolov’s story.
Main characters
Genre
Sholokhov himself called his work a story, and in essence it corresponds to this genre. But in terms of the depth of its content, in its tragedy, covering the fate of the whole of humanity, it can be compared with an epoch-making epic, in terms of the breadth of its generalization, “The Fate of Man” is an image of the fate of all Soviet people during the war years.
The story has a pronounced realistic direction, it was created on real events, and the heroes have their prototypes.
Work test
Rating analysis
Average rating: 4.6. Total ratings received: 1546.
The story of the creation of the story “The Fate of Man” was told by journalist M. Kokta in the essay “In the village of Veshenskaya”. In particular, the journalist wrote that Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov met the prototype of the main character while hunting. It was near the Mokhovsky farm.
Sholokhov came here to hunt wild geese and goose. Sitting down to rest after a hunt near the steppe river Elanka, the writer saw a man and a boy walking towards the river crossing. The travelers mistook Sholokhov for “their brother-driver.” In the ensuing casual conversation, the traveler spoke about his fate.
The story greatly excited the writer. Mikhail Alexandrovich was so shocked that he even forgot to ask the name of his casual acquaintance, which he later very much regretted. “I will definitely, definitely write a story about this,” Sholokhov repeated.
Ten years later, Sholokhov read stories by Hemingway, Remarque, and other foreign masters of the pen. They painted a doomed, powerless man. Before the writer’s eyes the same unforgettable meeting at the river crossing. The long-gestating plan received new impetus. For seven days Sholokhov hardly looked up from his desk. On the eighth day the story was finished.
Responses to the story
The story “The Fate of a Man” was published in the Pravda newspaper, in issues dated December 31, 1956 and January 1, 1957. Soon it was read out on All-Union Radio. The text was read by the popular film actor of those years, Sergei Vladimirovich Lukyanov. The story immediately found a response in the hearts of the listeners.
According to the recollections of the writer Efim Permitin, who visited Sholokhov in the village of Veshenskaya, after the radio broadcasts, Sholokhov’s desktop was literally littered with letters coming from all over the country. Workers and collective farmers, doctors and teachers, Soviet and foreign writers. Letters came from people, like the main character of the story, who survived fascist captivity and from the families of fallen front-line soldiers. Neither the author himself nor his assistants were physically able to answer even a tiny part of the letters.
Soon, Yuri Lukin and Fyodor Shakhmagonov wrote a film script based on the story “The Fate of a Man,” which was published in Literaturnaya Gazeta in November 1957. The film based on this script was directed by Sergei Bondarchuk, who also played in it. main role. The film was released in 1959. He collected numerous prizes at domestic and international festivals.
(Literary investigation)
Participating in the investigation:
Presenter - librarian
Independent historian
Witnesses - literary heroes
Leading: 1956 December 31 the story was published in Pravda "The Fate of Man" . This story started with this new stage development of our military literature. And here Sholokhov’s fearlessness and Sholokhov’s ability to show the era in all its complexity and in all its drama through the fate of one person played a role.
Basic plot motive story - the fate of a simple Russian soldier Andrei Sokolov. His life, the same age as the century, is correlated with the biography of the country, with the most important events history. In May 1942 he was captured. In two years he traveled “half of Germany” and escaped from captivity. During the war, he lost his entire family. After the war, having accidentally met an orphan boy, Andrei adopted him.
After “The Fate of Man,” omissions about the tragic events of the war, about the bitterness of captivity experienced by many Soviet people, became impossible. Soldiers and officers who were very loyal to their homeland and found themselves in a hopeless situation at the front were also captured, but they were often treated as traitors. Sholokhov's story, as it were, pulled back the veil from much that was hidden by the fear of offending the heroic portrait of Victory.
Let's go back to the years of the Great Patriotic War, to its most tragic period - 1942-1943. A word from an independent historian.
Historian:
August 16, 1941 Stalin signed the order № 270
, which said:
“Commanders and political workers who surrender to the enemy during battle are considered malicious deserters, whose families are subject to arrest, as families of those who violated the oath and betrayed their Motherland.”
The order required the destruction of prisoners by all “by means both ground and air, and the families of the Red Army soldiers who surrendered were deprived of state benefits and assistance”
In 1941 alone, according to German data, 3 million 800 thousand Soviet military personnel were captured. By the spring of 1942, 1 million 100 thousand people remained alive.
In total, out of approximately 6.3 million prisoners of war, about 4 million died during the war.
Leading: The Great is over Patriotic War, the victorious salvos died down, and the peaceful life of the Soviet people began. What was the future fate of people like Andrei Sokolov, who were captured or survived the occupation? How did our society treat such people?
Testifies in his book "My adult childhood".
(The girl testifies on behalf of L.M. Gurchenko).
Witness: Not only Kharkov residents, but also residents of other cities began to return to Kharkov from evacuation. Everyone had to be provided with living space. Those who remained in the occupation were looked at askance. They were primarily moved from apartments and rooms on the floors to basements. We waited our turn.
In the classroom, the new arrivals declared a boycott of those who remained under the Germans. I didn’t understand anything: if I had been through so much, seen so many terrible things, on the contrary, they should understand me, feel sorry for me... I began to be afraid of people who looked at me with contempt and started following me: “shepherd dog.” Oh, if only they knew what a real German Shepherd is. If they had seen how a shepherd dog leads people straight into the gas chamber... these people would not have said that... When films and newsreels appeared on the screen, which showed the horrors of executions and massacres of Germans in the occupied territories, gradually this “disease” began to become a thing of the past .
Leading: ... 10 years have passed since the victorious year of 1945, Sholokhov’s war did not let go. He was working on a novel "They fought for their homeland" and a story "The Fate of Man."
According to literary critic V. Osipov, this story could not have been created at any other time. It began to be written when its author finally saw the light and realized: Stalin is not an icon for the people, Stalinism is Stalinism. As soon as the story came out, there was praise from almost every newspaper or magazine. Remarque and Hemingway responded - they sent telegrams. And to this day, not a single anthology of Soviet short stories can do without him.
Leading: You have read this story. Please share your impressions, what touched you about him, what left you indifferent?
(Answers from the guys)
Leading: There are two polar opinions about M.A.’s story. Sholokhov “The Fate of Man”: Alexandra Solzhenitsyn and a writer from Almaty Veniamina Larina. Let's listen to them.
(The young man testifies on behalf of A.I. Solzhenitsyn)
Solzhenitsyn A.I.: “The Fate of Man” is a very weak story, where the war pages are pale and unconvincing.
Firstly: the most non-criminal case of captivity was chosen - without memory, in order to make this undeniable, to circumvent the entire severity of the problem. (And if you gave up in memory, as was the case with the majority - what and how then?)
Secondly: main problem is presented not in the fact that our homeland abandoned us, renounced us, cursed us (not a word about this from Sholokhov), and this is precisely what creates hopelessness, but in the fact that traitors were declared among us there...
Thirdly: a fantastic detective escape from captivity was created with a bunch of exaggerations so that the obligatory, unwavering procedure for those who came from captivity did not arise: “SMERSH-testing-filtration camp.”
Leading: SMERSH - what kind of organization is this? A word from an independent historian.
Historian:
From the encyclopedia “The Great Patriotic War”:
“By the Decree of the State Defense Committee of April 14, 1943, the Main Directorate of Counterintelligence “SMERSH” - “Death to Spies” was formed. The intelligence services of Nazi Germany tried to launch widespread subversive activities against the USSR. They created over 130 reconnaissance and sabotage agencies and about 60 special reconnaissance and sabotage schools on the Soviet-German front. In force Soviet Army sabotage units and terrorists were attacked. SMERSH agencies conducted an active search for enemy agents in areas of combat operations, in the locations of military installations, and ensured timely receipt of information about the dispatch of enemy spies and saboteurs. After the war, in May 1946, SMERSH bodies were transformed into special departments and subordinated to the USSR Ministry of State Security.”
Leading: And now the opinion of Veniamin Larin.
(Young man on behalf of V. Larin)
Larin V .: Sholokhov’s story is praised only for one theme of a soldier’s feat. But literary critics with this interpretation they kill - it’s safe for themselves - true meaning story. Sholokhov’s truth is broader and does not end with victory in the battle with the fascist captivity machine. They pretend that the big story has no continuation: like a big state, big power belongs to little man, albeit with a great spirit. Sholokhov rips a revelation out of his heart: look, readers, how the authorities treat people - slogans, slogans, and what the hell care about people! Captivity cut a man to pieces. But there, in captivity, even mutilated, he remained faithful to his country, and returned? Nobody needs it! Orphan! And with the boy there are two orphans... Grains of Sand... And not only under a military hurricane. But Sholokhov is great - he was not tempted by a cheap turn of the topic: he did not invest his hero with either pitiful pleas for sympathy or curses addressed to Stalin. I saw in my Sokolov the eternal essence of the Russian person - patience and perseverance.
Leading: Let's turn to the works of writers who write about captivity, and with their help we will recreate the atmosphere of the difficult war years.
(The hero of the story “The Road to father's house» Konstantin Vorobyov)
Partisan's story: I was taken prisoner near Volokolamsk in '41, and although sixteen years have passed since then, and I remained alive, and divorced my family, and all that stuff, I don’t know how to tell about how I spent the winter in captivity: I don’t have Russian words for this. No!
The two of us escaped from the camp, and over time a whole detachment of us, former prisoners, was assembled. Klimov... restored our military ranks to all of us. You see, you were, say, a sergeant before captivity, and you still remain one. You were a soldier - be one to the end!
It used to happen... when you destroy an enemy truck with bombs, the soul in you immediately seems to straighten out, and something rejoices there - now I’m not fighting for myself alone, like in the camp! Let’s defeat this bastard, we’ll definitely finish it, and that’s how you get to this place before victory, that is, just stop!
And then, after the war, a questionnaire will be required immediately. And there will be one small question - were you in captivity? In place, this question is just for a one-word answer “yes” or “no.”
And to the one who hands you this questionnaire, it doesn’t matter at all what you did during the war, but what matters is where you were! Oh, in captivity? So... Well, you know what this means. In life and in truth, this situation should have been quite the opposite, but here you go!...
Let me say briefly: exactly three months later we joined a large partisan detachment.
I will tell you another time about how we acted until the arrival of our army. Yes, I don’t think it matters. The important thing is that we not only turned out to be alive, but also entered into the human system, that we again turned into fighters, and we remained Russian people in the camps.
Leading: Let's listen to the confession of the partisan and Andrei Sokolov.
Partisan: You were, say, a sergeant before your capture - and remain one. You were a soldier - be one to the end.
Andrey Sokolov : That’s why you’re a man, that’s why you’re a soldier, to endure everything, to endure everything, if need calls for it.
For both, war is hard work that must be done conscientiously, giving one’s all.
Leading: Major Pugachev testifies from the story V. Shalamov “The Last Battle of Major Pugachev”
Reader: Major Pugachev remembered the German camp from which he escaped in 1944. The front was approaching the city. He worked as a truck driver inside a huge cleaning camp. He remembered how he sped up the truck and knocked down the single-strand barbed wire, tearing out hastily placed poles. Shots of sentries, screams, frantic driving around the city in different directions, an abandoned car, driving at night to the front line and meeting - interrogation in a special department. Charged with espionage, sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. Vlasov's emissaries arrived, but he did not believe them until he himself reached the Red Army units. Everything that the Vlasovites said was true. He wasn't needed. The authorities were afraid of him.
Leading:
Having listened to the testimony of Major Pugachev, you involuntarily note: his story is straightforward - confirmation of Larin’s correctness:
“He was there, in captivity, even mangled, he remained faithful to his country, and returned?.. Nobody needs him! Orphan!"
Sergeant Alexey Romanov, formerly, testifies school teacher stories from Stalingrad, real hero story Sergei Smirnov “The Path to the Motherland” from the book "Heroes of the Great War".
(The reader testifies on behalf of A. Romanov)
Alexey Romanov: In the spring of 1942, I ended up in the international camp Feddel, on the outskirts of Hamburg. There, in the port of Hamburg, we were prisoners and worked unloading ships. The thought of escaping did not leave me for a minute. My friend Melnikov and I decided to run away, thought out an escape plan, frankly speaking, a fantastic plan. Escape from the camp, enter the port, hide on a Swedish ship and sail with it to one of the ports of Sweden. From there you can get to England with a British ship, and then with some caravan of allied ships come to Murmansk or Arkhangelsk. And then again pick up a machine gun or a machine gun and, at the front, pay off the Nazis for everything that they had to endure in captivity over the years.
On December 25, 1943, we escaped. We were just lucky. Miraculously, we managed to get to the other side of the Elbe, to the port where the Swedish ship was docked. We climbed into the hold with coke, and in this iron coffin, without water, without food, we sailed to our homeland, and for this we were ready to do anything, even death. I woke up a few days later in a Swedish prison hospital: it turned out that we had been discovered by workers unloading coke. The doctor was called. Melnikov was already dead, but I survived. I began to try to be sent home and ended up with Alexandra Mikhailovna Kollontai. She helped me return home in 1944.
Leading: Before we continue our conversation, a word from the historian. What do the numbers tell us about future fate former prisoners of war
Historian: From the book "Great Patriotic War. Figures and facts". Those who returned from captivity after the war (1 million 836 thousand people) were sent: more than 1 million people - for further service in units of the Red Army, 600 thousand - to work in industry as part of labor battalions, and 339 thousand ( including some civilians) as having compromised themselves in captivity - to NKVD camps.
Leading: War is a continent of cruelty. It is sometimes impossible to protect hearts from the madness of hatred, bitterness, and fear in captivity and blockade. A person is literally brought to the gate doomsday. Sometimes it is more difficult to endure, to live life in war, surrounded, than to endure death.
What is common in the destinies of our witnesses, what makes their souls related? Are the reproaches addressed to Sholokhov fair?
(We listen to the guys’ answers)
Perseverance, tenacity in the struggle for life, the spirit of courage, camaraderie - these qualities come from the tradition of Suvorov’s soldier, they were sung by Lermontov in “Borodino”, Gogol in the story “Taras Bulba”, they were admired by Leo Tolstoy. Andrei Sokolov has all this, the partisan from Vorobyov’s story, Major Pugachev, Alexei Romanov.
Remaining human in war is not just about surviving and “killing him” (i.e. the enemy). This is to keep your heart for good. Sokolov went to the front as a man, and remained so after the war.
Reader: Story on the topic tragic destinies prisoners - the first in Soviet literature. Written in 1955! So why is Sholokhov deprived of the literary and moral right to begin the topic this way and not otherwise?
Solzhenitsyn reproaches Sholokhov for writing not about those who “surrendered” into captivity, but about those who were “trapped” or “captured.” But he did not take into account that Sholokhov could not do otherwise:
Raised on Cossack traditions. It was no coincidence that he defended Kornilov’s honor before Stalin by the example of escaping from captivity. And in fact, since ancient times of battle, people first of all give sympathy not to those who “surrendered”, but to those who were “captured” due to irresistible hopelessness: wounded, encircled, unarmed, due to the treason of the commander or the betrayal of the rulers;
He took upon himself the political courage to give up his authority in order to protect from political stigma those who were honest in the performance of military duty and male honor.
Maybe Soviet reality is embellished? Sholokhov’s last lines about the unfortunate Sokolov and Vanyushka began like this: “With heavy sadness I looked after them...”.
Maybe Sokolov’s behavior in captivity has been embellished? There are no such reproaches.
Leading: Now it is easy to analyze the words and actions of the author. Or maybe it’s worth wondering: was it easy for him to live it? own life? How easy was it for an artist who couldn’t, didn’t have time to say everything he wanted, and, of course, could have said? Subjectively he could (he had enough talent, courage, and material!), but objectively he could not (the time, the era, were such that it was not published, and therefore not written...) How often, how much has our Russia lost at all times: uncreated sculptures, unwritten paintings and books, who knows, maybe the most talented...Great Russian artists were born at the wrong time - either early or late - undesirable to the rulers.
IN "Conversation with Father" MM. Sholokhov conveys the words of Mikhail Alexandrovich in response to criticism from a reader, a former prisoner of war who survived Stalin’s camps:
“What do you think, I don’t know what happened during captivity or after it? What, I don’t know the extremes of human baseness, cruelty, and meanness? Or do you think that, knowing this, I myself am being mean?... How much skill is needed to tell people the truth..."
Could Mikhail Alexandrovich have kept silent about many things in his story? - I could! Time has taught him to remain silent and not say anything: an intelligent reader will understand everything, guess everything.
Many years have passed since, by the will of the writer, more and more new readers meet the heroes of this story. They think. They are sad. They're crying. And they are surprised at how generous the human heart is, how inexhaustible the kindness is in it, the ineradicable need to protect and protect, even when, it would seem, there is nothing to think about.
Literature:
1. Biryukov F. G. Sholokhov: to help teachers and high school students. and applicants / F. G. Biryukov. - 2nd ed. - M.: Moscow University Publishing House, 2000. - 111 p. - (Rereading the classics).
2. Zhukov, Ivan Ivanovich. The hand of fate: Truth and lies about M. Sholokhov and A. Fadeev. - M.: Gaz.-magazine. about-nie "Resurrection", 1994. - 254, p., l. ill. : ill.
3. Osipov, Valentin Osipovich. Secret life Mikhail Sholokhov...: a documentary chronicle without legends / V.O. Osipov. - M.: LIBEREYA, 1995. - 415 p., l. port p.
4. Petelin, Viktor Vasilievich. Life of Sholokhov: Russian tragedy. genius / Victor Petelin. - M.: Tsentrpoligraf, 2002. - 893, p., l. ill. : portrait ; 21 cm. - (Immortal names).
5. Russian literature of the 20th century: a manual for high school students, applicants and students / L. A. Iezuitova, S. A. Iezuitov [etc.]; ed. T. N. Nagaitseva. - St. Petersburg. : Neva, 1998. - 416 p.
6. Chalmaev V. A. Remain human in war: Front-line pages of Russian prose of the 60-90s: to help teachers, high school students and applicants / V. A. Chalmaev. - 2nd ed. - M.: Moscow University Publishing House, 2000. - 123 p. - (Rereading the classics).
7. Sholokhova S. M. Execution plan: On the history of an unwritten story / S. M. Sholokhovva // Peasant. - 1995. - No. 8. - February.
"The Fate of Man": how it happened
The Great Patriotic War, even after many decades, remains the greatest blow for the whole world. What a tragedy this is for the fighting Soviet people, who lost the most people in this bloody battle! The lives of many (both military and civilian) were ruined. Sholokhov's story “The Fate of Man” truthfully depicts these sufferings, not individual person, but of all the people who stood up to defend their Motherland.
The story “The Fate of a Man” is based on real events: M.A. Sholokhov met a man who told him his tragic biography. This story was almost a ready-made plot, but did not immediately turn into literary work. The writer nurtured his idea for 10 years, but put it on paper in just a few days. And dedicated it to E. Levitskaya, who helped him print main novel his life "Quiet Don".
The story was published in the Pravda newspaper on the eve of the new year, 1957. And soon it was read on All-Union Radio and heard throughout the country. Listeners and readers were shocked by the power and truthfulness of this work, and it gained well-deserved popularity. In literary terms, this book opened up for writers new way reveal the theme of war through the fate of a little man.
The essence of the story
The author accidentally meets the main character Andrei Sokolov and his son Vanyushka. During the forced delay at the crossing, the men started talking, and a casual acquaintance told the writer his story. This is what he told him.
Before the war, Andrei lived like everyone else: wife, children, household, work. But then thunder struck, and the hero went to the front, where he served as a driver. One fateful day, Sokolov’s car came under fire and he was shell-shocked. So he was captured.
A group of prisoners was brought to the church for the night, many incidents happened that night: the shooting of a believer who could not desecrate the church (they didn’t even let him out “until the wind”), and with him several people who accidentally fell under machine gun fire, help from a doctor to Sokolov and others wounded. Also, the main character had to strangle another prisoner, since he turned out to be a traitor and was going to hand over the commissioner. Even during the next transfer to the concentration camp, Andrei tried to escape, but was caught by dogs, who stripped him of his last clothes and bit him so much that “the skin and meat flew into shreds.”
Then the concentration camp: inhuman work, almost starvation, beatings, humiliation - that’s what Sokolov had to endure. “They need four cubic meters of production, but for the grave of each of us, one cubic meter through the eyes is enough!” - Andrei said imprudently. And for this he appeared before Lagerführer Müller. They wanted to shoot the main character, but he overcame his fear, bravely drank three glasses of schnapps to his death, for which he earned respect, a loaf of bread and a piece of lard.
Towards the end of hostilities, Sokolov was appointed driver. And finally, an opportunity arose to escape, and even together with the engineer whom the hero was driving. Before the joy of salvation had time to subside, grief arrived: he learned about the death of his family (a shell hit the house), and all this time he lived only in the hope of a meeting. One son survived. Anatoly also defended his homeland, and Sokolov and he simultaneously approached Berlin from different directions. But right on the day of victory, the last hope was killed. Andrey was left all alone.
Subjects
The main theme of the story is a man at war. These tragic events are an indicator personal qualities: in extreme situations, those character traits that are usually hidden are revealed, it is clear who is who in reality. Before the war, Andrei Sokolov was not particularly different; he was like everyone else. But in battle, having survived captivity and constant danger to life, he proved himself. His truly heroic qualities were revealed: patriotism, courage, perseverance, will. On the other hand, a prisoner like Sokolov, probably also no different in ordinary peaceful life, was going to betray his commissar in order to curry favor with the enemy. Thus, the theme of moral choice is also reflected in the work.
Also M.A. Sholokhov touches on the topic of willpower. The war took away from the main character not only his health and strength, but also his entire family. He has no home, how can he continue to live, what to do next, how to find meaning? This question has interested hundreds of thousands of people who have experienced similar losses. And for Sokolov, caring for the boy Vanyushka, who was also left without a home and family, became a new meaning. And for his sake, for the sake of the future of his country, you need to live on. Here is the disclosure of the theme of the search for the meaning of life - its real person finds love and hope for the future.
Issues
- The problem of choice occupies an important place in the story. Every person faces a choice every day. But not everyone has to choose on pain of death, knowing that your fate depends on this decision. So, Andrei had to decide: to betray or remain faithful to the oath, to bend under the blows of the enemy or to fight. Sokolov was able to remain a worthy person and citizen because he determined his priorities, guided by honor and morality, and not by the instinct of self-preservation, fear or meanness.
- The whole fate of the hero, in his life trials, reflects the problem of defenselessness common man in the face of war. Little depends on him; circumstances are falling on him, from which he is trying to get out at least alive. And if Andrei was able to save himself, then his family was not. And he feels guilty about it, even though he isn't.
- The problem of cowardice is realized in the work through minor characters. The image of a traitor who, for the sake of immediate gain, is ready to sacrifice the life of a fellow soldier, becomes a counterbalance to the image of a brave and strong in spirit Sokolova. And there were such people in the war, says the author, but there were fewer of them, that’s why we won.
- The tragedy of war. Numerous losses were suffered not only by the military units, but also civilians who could not defend themselves in any way.
- Andrey Sokolov – ordinary person, one of many who had to leave a peaceful existence in order to defend their homeland. He exchanges a simple and happy life for the dangers of war, without even imagining how he can remain on the sidelines. In extreme circumstances, he maintains spiritual nobility, shows willpower and perseverance. Under the blows of fate, he managed not to break. And find a new meaning in life, which reveals his kindness and responsiveness, because he sheltered an orphan.
- Vanyushka is a lonely boy who has to spend the night wherever he can. His mother was killed during the evacuation, his father at the front. Tattered, dusty, covered in watermelon juice - this is how he appeared before Sokolov. And Andrei could not leave the child, introduced himself as his father, giving a chance for further normal life both for myself and for him.
Characteristics of the main characters
What is the meaning of the work?
One of the main ideas of the story is the need to take into account the lessons of the war. The example of Andrei Sokolov shows not what war can do to a person, but what it can do to all of humanity. Prisoners tortured in concentration camps, orphaned children, destroyed families, scorched fields - this should never be repeated, and therefore should not be forgotten.
No less important is the idea that in any, even the most terrible situation, one must remain human, and not become like an animal that, out of fear, acts only on the basis of instincts. Survival is the main thing for anyone, but if this comes at the cost of betraying oneself, one’s comrades, one’s Motherland, then the surviving soldier is no longer a person, he is not worthy of this title. Sokolov did not betray his ideals, did not break, although he went through what to the modern reader It’s hard to even imagine.
Genre
The story is short literary genre, revealing one storyline and several images of heroes. “The Fate of Man” refers specifically to him.
However, if you look closely at the composition of the work, you can clarify general definition, because this is a story within a story. First, the story is narrated by the author, who, by the will of fate, met and talked with his character. Andrey Sokolov himself describes his difficult life, first-person narration allows readers to better understand the hero’s feelings and understand him. The author's remarks are introduced to characterize the hero from the outside (“eyes, as if sprinkled with ashes,” “I didn’t see a single tear in his seemingly dead, extinct eyes... only his large, limply lowered hands trembled slightly, his chin trembled, his hard lips trembled”) and show how deeply this strong man suffers.
What values does Sholokhov promote?
The main value for the author (and for readers) is peace. Peace between states, peace in society, peace in the human soul. The war destroyed the happy life of Andrei Sokolov, as well as many people. The echo of the war still does not subside, so its lessons must not be forgotten (although often in lately this event is overestimated for political purposes that are far from the ideals of humanism).
Also, the writer does not forget about the eternal values of the individual: nobility, courage, will, desire to help. The time of knights and noble dignity has long passed, but true nobility does not depend on origin, it is in the soul, expressed in its ability to show mercy and empathy, even if the world around it is collapsing. This story is a great lesson in courage and morality for modern readers.
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