“The Fate of Man” (1956) refers to the writer’s war prose. It tells how much this cruel event changes a person's life, and also strengthens his character.
When the war starts main character works Andrei Sokolov literally on the second day receives a summons from the military registration and enlistment office, and the next day he is already going to the front. The man has his beloved wife Irina and three children at home.
During his service, Sokolov has to “sip grief up the nostrils and beyond” and go through many difficult moments. The most difficult test for the hero is that he falls into German captivity.
People, finding themselves in such a situation, balancing on the brink of life and death, demonstrate their true essence. Many of them become traitors, like, for example, a certain Kryzhnev, who wanted to hand over his communist comrade in arms, because “his shirt is closer to his body.” But many behave truly with dignity: they support and save their compatriots, share their last piece of bread with them, courageously endure all physical torture and look their fear straight in the face.
It was from among such people that soldier Andrei Sokolov was. Even when, following a denunciation, the commandant of the German camp called him to him in order to shoot him later, the man was ready to “look fearlessly into the hole of the pistol.”
On the second attempt, the hero manages to escape from captivity, but, of course, this test could not but leave a serious mark on his soul. “It was a sickening time,” says Andrei Sokolov, recalling the war. The man’s soul was then warmed by only one thought: after the end of hostilities, he dreamed of returning to his loved ones. But this dream was not destined to come true...
The war changed not only the fate of the protagonist, but also the fate of his wife and children. Back in 1942, a shell fell on Andrei Sokolov’s house, as a result of which Irina died along with her daughters. The eldest son managed to survive that day, but death still overtook young man already at the very end of the war: “exactly on the ninth of May” he was killed by a German sniper.
Thus, the war not only forced Andrei Sokolov to go through all the hell and horror of German captivity, but also claimed the lives of all his relatives, and, it would seem, deprived him of his last hope for happiness. But, despite the severity of the circumstances, this courageous man still had the strength not to isolate himself in his grief. And he found new meaning in his life when he saw it in a little boy named Vanya.
The war also played a tragic role in the fate of this child: it deprived Vanya of both parents. Remembering this, the boy, despite his young age, already sighs loudly and sadly looks at Andrei Sokolov with his “sky-light” eyes. And the man decides for himself: “We won’t be allowed to disappear apart!” Therefore, the hero takes the little orphan “to be his child.”
And now two people, whom the war deprived of everything that was once dear to them, having survived grief and suffering, finally found each other. The author does not know what awaits the man and the boy in the future, but he wants to believe that Vanya will also grow into a man of “unbending will” who “will be able to endure everything, overcome everything on his way.”
Laureate Nobel Prize, Hero Socialist Labor, Lenin and State Prize laureate, Mikhail Sholokhov began his literary journey in 1923. He created a galaxy of bright works that rightfully took their rightful place in world literature: “The Fate of Man”, “Virgin Soil Upturned”, “They Fought for the Motherland” and, of course, “ Quiet Don" And his work relentlessly followed the stormy, rapid flow of history. First world war, civil war, collectivization, the Great Patriotic War - all these themes entered Sholokhov’s work as organic impulses of his living mind, which missed nothing, were refracted through the prism of his talent and life experience. In the mouth of Sholokhov, these topics are natural and ordinary, like breathing. The life of the people, the destinies of people - that’s what worried the minds of writers of all generations. And Mikhail Alexandrovich could not remain indifferent to the events taking place in the Fatherland.
Just as at one time the Cossacks were divided into whites and reds, so now the population of the Chechen Republic has taken two sides: the “federals” and the “mujahideen.” What about families? Has anyone thought about mothers, wives, children? What should old people do when one brother is a terrorist, and the other is the one who is looking for the first? History returns to normal.
War is a serious test for the entire state. Whether it is a battle with foreigners or a civil war, it falls heavily on the shoulders of the people and leaves an indelible mark on the destinies of generations. Sholokhov knew firsthand about the war. While still a 15-year-old boy, he joined the food detachment. And during the Great Patriotic War he went to the front as a military correspondent. His experience, his memories and feelings were especially clearly manifested in “The Fate of a Man.”
Sholokhov's style Socialist realism Critics consider the master's approach to creativity. Here is the opinion of Sholokhov scholar M. Khrapchenko: “Sholokhov is an artist of great insight and high creative integrity. The embodiment of life's truth, no matter how difficult and cruel it may be, is for him a constant and immutable law of creativity. Sholokhova notes genuine fearlessness in the search for truth. He not only does not shy away from the difficult, tragic sides of life, but also persistently and closely examines them, without losing in the slightest degree the historical perspective, faith in man, in his creative, constructive capabilities.”
In my opinion, in Sholokhov’s description of the war, three components need to be distinguished: firstly, landscapes and detailed portraits, through which the author conveys the atmosphere of events, actions, secondly, the fates of the main characters, and the last - crowd scenes where we see the horror and mercilessness of war.
“Melekhovsky yard is on the farm itself. The gates from the cattle base lead north to the Don. A steep eight-fathom descent between mossy green chalk blocks, and here is the shore: a pearlescent scattering of shells, a gray, broken border of pebbles kissed by the waves” ... - we read at the very beginning of the novel. Don-Father is beautiful and majestic. He keeps untold riches within himself. The most magnificent greenery grows along the banks, as if asking for the Cossack plowman, “black from work, with flattened fingers,” to pluck it with his hand. Don beckons: “near a sunken elm, two carp jumped out at the same time in the bare arms of the branches; the third, smaller one, spinning into the air, persistently beat against the ravine over and over again.”
* The image of Grigory Melekhov is drawn larger than others. All the convolutions of his complex, contradictory path are traced with extraordinary attention. You really can’t tell right away whether it’s positive or bad guy. He wandered for too long at the crossroads of history, shed a lot of human blood...
“The first post-war spring on the Upper Don was unusually friendly and assertive. At the end of March, warm winds blew from the Azov region, and within two days the sands of the left bank of the Don were completely exposed, snow-filled ravines and gullies in the steppe swelled up, breaking the ice, and the steppe rivers began to flow wildly.”...
Andrei Sokolov, having gone through the crucible of war, lost everything: his family died, his home was destroyed. Peaceful life has arrived, the time of spring awakening has come, the time of hope. And he looks at the world around him with eyes “as if sprinkled with ashes”, “filled with inescapable melancholy”, the words come out of his lips: “Why have you, life, crippled me so much? Why did you distort it like that? I have no answer either in the dark or in the clear sun. No, and I can’t wait!”*
An important feature of Sholokhov’s style is the writer’s persistent faith in a bright future, in the humanity and justice of the people. That is why the cold sun “shines” over Grigory and Mishutka. And here are Sholokhov’s words from the story “The Fate of Man”: “What awaits them ahead? And I would like to think that this Russian man, a man of unbending will, will endure, and near his father’s shoulder will grow one who, having matured, will be able to endure everything, overcome everything on his way, if his Motherland calls him to it.” Yes, no matter what terrible situations the war puts a person in, he, according to the writer, will be able to overcome them with dignity.
The bloodshed reaches its climax during the battalion scenes. After all, some are guided by the once expressed thought of Chuboty: “Cut a man boldly!..” Most likely, the daily contemplation of blood, violence, cruelty bears fruit - the Cossacks (and everyone who finds themselves in this “meat grinder”) become less susceptible to human suffering , hearts become hardened.
Anti-humanity, the unnaturalness of war - this is the main thing that Sholokhov’s works convey. A heartfelt “thank you” to him for these lines: “I would like my books to help people become better, to become purer in soul, to awaken love for man, the desire to actively fight for the ideals of humanism and the progress of mankind.” He not only wanted, he nurtured in the hearts and minds of generations the unwritten truth that “life is the most valuable thing a person has.” Probably, this truth flows in each of us thanks to the efforts of Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov.
Composition
If the enemy attacks our country, we, writers, at the call of the party and government, will put down our pen and take up another weapon, so that with the salvo of the rifle corps, which Comrade Voroshilov spoke about, we will fly and defeat the enemy and our lead, heavy and hot, like our hatred of fascism!.. Having defeated our enemies, we will also write books about how we beat these enemies. These books will serve our people and will remain as an edification to those of the invaders who accidentally end up not killed...” Preparing for military trials, Sholokhov was full of plans and plans. He is working on completing the second book of Virgin Soil Upturned, the audience is washing up new novel about the work of the collective farm intelligentsia and the great changes in the countryside. The writer puts in a lot of effort social activities.
In July 1941, the regimental reserve commissar Sholokhov was drafted into the army and, together with others Soviet writers went to the front. He took part in the battles near Smolensk on Western Front, near Rostov - on the Southern Front, shared harsh days with the soldiers Battle of Stalingrad, walked along front roads to the very borders of Germany.
In the summer of 1943, Sholokhov addressed a letter to the American people, in which, on behalf of the citizens of the allied country, he offered friendship, called for the fight against the fascists, and pointed out the possible consequences of the slowness and hesitation of the allies. “Into the fate of each of us,” wrote Sholokhov, “the war entered with all the weight that comes with the attempt of one nation to completely destroy, absorb another... The events of the front, the events of the total war in the life of each of us have already left their indelible mark.. .
On the first anniversary of the war, Sholokhov published the story “The Science of Hatred” in Pravda, imbued with journalistic passion and unshakable confidence in the triumph of a just cause. Giving high praise to this work, Pravda wrote a few days later: “The writer Mikhail Sholokhov recently described how unquenchable hatred for the enemy is born in the heart of a Red Army soldier.” The author based this story on actual events that one of the war participants told him about at the front. The fighter really did not want his relatives to know about his military hardships, about the difficult trials he experienced in fascist captivity, and asked not to use his last name. And Sholokhov had no need to isolate himself within the framework of private fate. Drawing close up the character of Lieutenant Gerasimov, who underwent the “science of hatred” in severe battles with the enemy,
the writer artistically visibly revealed national character of a Russian man, separated by war from peaceful labor, showed the formation and hardening of a Soviet warrior.
“The Science of Hate” and “The Science of Victory” are organically interconnected, one is unthinkable without the other.
The will to life and resistance, the desire to live in order to fight, the high military spirit of Gerasimov, who went through the school of hatred of the enemy, the ineradicable thirst for victory are revealed by Sholokhov as typical national traits of the Russian people, which unfolded with all their might during the years of the great battle.
The ending of the story is connected with the metaphorical introduction to it. The writer fills the detailed artistic comparison on which the entire story is built with great internal meaning, illuminating the entire narrative and giving it artistic integrity. With gray temples, Gerasimov, who suddenly smiled “a simple and sweet, childish smile,” Sholokhov compares to a mighty oak tree. The lieutenant is broken by the experience, but his “gray hair, gained by great hardships,” is pure, his vitality is not broken. He is powerful and strong, like an oak. Such are all the people who feed on the life-giving juices of their native land. He will not be broken by any, even the most difficult, trials and difficulties. People, full of life and the will to fight, imbued with sacred hatred for his sworn enemy and ardent filial love for his mother Motherland, is invincible. This is what the great humanist and patriot Sholokhov argued in the harshest days of the Great Patriotic War
The Great Patriotic War passed through the destinies of millions of Soviet people, leaving behind a difficult memory: pain, anger, suffering, fear. During the war years, many lost their dearest and closest people, many experienced severe hardships. Rethinking of military events and human actions occurs later. Appear in the literature works of art, in which, through the prism of the author’s perception, an assessment of what is happening in difficult war times is given.
Mikhail Sholokhov could not ignore the topic that concerned everyone and therefore wrote short story“The Fate of Man”, touching on the issue heroic epic. At the center of the story are wartime events that changed the life of Andrei Sokolov, the main character of the work. The writer does not describe military events in detail; this is not the author’s task. The writer’s goal is to show the key episodes that influenced the development of the hero’s personality. The most important event in the life of Andrei Sokolov there is captivity. It is in the hands of the fascists, in the face of mortal danger, that various sides of the character’s character are revealed, it is here that the war appears to the reader without embellishment, revealing the essence of people: the vile, vile traitor Kryzhnev; a real doctor who “did his great work both in captivity and in the dark”; “such a skinny, snub-nosed guy,” platoon commander. Andrei Sokolov had to endure inhuman torment in captivity, but the main thing is that he managed to preserve his honor and dignity. The climax The narrative is the scene at Commandant Muller's, where they brought the exhausted, hungry, tired hero, but even there he showed the enemy the strength of the Russian soldier. Andrei Sokolov’s action (he drank three glasses of vodka without a snack: he didn’t want to choke on a handout) surprised Muller: “That’s it, Sokolov, you are a real Russian soldier. You are a brave soldier." The war appears to the reader without embellishment: after escaping from captivity, already in the hospital, the hero receives terrible news from home about the death of his family: his wife and two daughters. The heavy war machine spares no one: neither women nor children. The final blow fate - the death of the eldest son Anatoly on May 9, Victory Day, at the hands of a German sniper.
War takes away the most precious things from people: family, loved ones. In parallel with the life of Andrei Sokolov, storyline little boy Vanyusha, whom the war also made an orphan, depriving his relatives of his mother and father.
This is the assessment the writer gives to his two heroes: “Two orphaned people, two grains of sand, thrown into foreign lands by a military hurricane of unprecedented force...”. War condemns people to suffering, but it also develops will, character, when one wants to believe “that this Russian man, a man of unbending will, will endure, and near his father’s shoulder will grow one who, having matured, will be able to endure everything, overcome everything on his way.” , if his homeland calls for it.”
Description of the presentation by individual slides:
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Project for the competition: “Singer of the Don Land” Topic: Man at war in the works of M. Sholokhov. Municipal educational institution Lyceum "Politek" Author: Shepetina Ksenia Yurievna, student of 10A class. Address: 31 Mira Ave., apt. 135. Phone: 89185377196 Head: Elena Ivanovna Mironova, Teacher of Russian language and literature. Volgodonsk-2015
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History must be handled with care, truthfully researched and written. M. Sholokhov.
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Contents: 1. Introduction 2. 2.1. M. Sholokhov is a successor to the humanistic traditions of Russian classical literature 19th century. 2.2. Man at war in the works of M. Sholokhov - “Don Stories” - “Quiet Don” - “The Science of Hate” - “They Fought for the Motherland” - “The Fate of a Man” 2.3. Features of a humanistic solution to a problem human life in the war in the works of M. Sholokhov 3. Conclusion. 4. Resources used.
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Introduction: Relevance of my research work is that the works of M.A. Sholokhov were written in Soviet era. For last decades The attitude towards both the era itself and the works written at that time changed. But it was M.A. Sholokhov, in my opinion, managed to reflect the serious problems of his time in his works in such a way that they have not lost their relevance today. Purpose of the work: to explore the works of M.A. Sholokhov, which express the writer’s attitude towards the war. Object of study: the work of Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov. Subject of research: “Don Stories”, “Quiet Don”, “They Fought for the Motherland”, “Science of Hate”, “The Fate of Man” by M.A. Sholokhov. Research methods: analysis and synthesis of works by M.A. Sholokhov, study literary criticism, critical articles, Internet resources. Hypothesis: the theme of man at war in Sholokhov’s works is “a bow to the heroic people who did not attack anyone, but always knew how to defend with dignity what they created, to defend their freedom and honor, their right to build a future for themselves of their own choice.” M. Sholokhov's works about war are evidence of the writer's love and compassion, his humane attitude towards people, following the traditions of classical literature of the 19th century.
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The main thing in this chronicle of life is the fate of the people. Sholokhov teaches us to understand and appreciate people, to know their existence, souls, high aspirations and innumerable sufferings. He became an example of the search for truth in its the most important content– humanistic. The highest definition of a writer in the mouth of V.G. Belinsky was - “advocate of humanity.” Sholokhov accepted, continued, developed this aspiration, the noble pathos of the figures of the Renaissance, Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Gorky. Our time - new stage in the development of social self-awareness. We are looking for the fullness of the truth. And Sholokhov is close to us now precisely because he was truthful from the beginning of his work to the end. This was his conscious creative attitude, close to the one that L.N. defined for himself. Tolstoy at the end of the story “Sevastopol in May”: “The hero of my story, whom I love with all the strength of my soul, whom I tried to reproduce in all his beauty and who has always been, is and will be beautiful, is true.” F.G. Biryukov
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Don stories. Sholokhov is most concerned about the loss of moral guidelines in human soul, with faith in God’s commandments uprooted in blood, the decomposition of human souls begins, a fratricidal war begins. Even animals seem more merciful, they do not need, for example, to choose which of the children to let live (“Family Man”), whether to save a brother at the cost of his father’s life (“Melon Man”), or to kill a child if he is “adopted from a White Guard spy” , or leave alive (“Shibalkovo seed”). They live according to the usual laws of their world. And this ordered world of Sholokhov’s living beings is contrasted with the fanaticism of people. Spun a bunch of people, they lost moral guidelines, and so the father kills his son in “Birthmark”, the father’s son in “Food Commissar”, the husband kills his wife, leaving the child orphaned, in the story “Shibalkovo Seed”, the son of his father and brother in “Koloverti”, the father of his children in the story “Family Man” , love ends with a tragic murder in “Crooked Stitch”, in front of a child the offended father is killed in “The Resentment”, the father takes the life of his son together with his eldest son in “Wormhole”, children are mocked and killed in front of the old father in the story “Azure Steppe” "
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Don stories. Only a person himself can change the world around him. He must rise above grievances, forget about grief, learn to forgive enemies and love his neighbor, that is, try to return to life according to the commandments of Christ, and then the world will slowly but gradually begin to cleanse itself. The path of purification is long, there will be many victims, and first of all, those who took the first step will suffer, but this step is important, otherwise the process of dehumanization of society will be irreversible. This is the main idea of the stories “The Foal”, “Alien Blood” and “Alyoshka’s Heart”. The writer teaches us to open our hearts to each other and thus come to agreement (the story “One Language”). Sholokhov's stories are directed against any violence against a person. The writer also shows a way out of the bloody mess of human cruelty.
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Quiet Don. The tragedy of Grigory Melekhov. Battle scenes in themselves are not interesting to Sholokhov. He is concerned about something else - what war does to a person. The moral protest against the senselessness and inhumanity of war is clearly expressed. Against the broad epic background of the movement of the masses in the revolution, contradictory quests and tragic fate Grigory Melekhov, a truly philosophical problem of the relationship between the individual and the people, the place of the individual in the revolutionary struggle. In his difficult path with sharp turns, with torment and doubts - not the path of a renegade, but the path of the people themselves. In Grigory Melekhov, more than in others, the humanistic essence was embodied, which constantly, throughout the entire work, is subjected to the most difficult tests. So, even at the very beginning of the war with Germany, Gregory is deeply, painfully worried that he killed a man. “I, Petro, have lost my soul,” he says to his brother. And further: “My conscience is killing me... I cut down a man in vain and because of him, the bastard, my soul is sick.” It was Gregory who was so outraged when the Cossack Chubaty killed the prisoner. The human principle does not allow Sholokhov's hero to accept someone's truth - he finds truth neither among the whites nor among the reds. Both there and here he is repulsed by cruelty and inhumanity.
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Quiet Don. Violence gives birth to other violence. M. Sholokhov revealed his view of history, showed it the terrible truth, looked into the eyes of the merciless truth: there was and could not be any right in that war, there was evil, fratricide, loss of humanity in people. And the soul of Grigory Melekhov cannot accept all this. "... People were pitted against each other; and don’t get caught! The people have become worse than biryuks. There is anger all around.” These words were spoken by the Sholokhov hero during the 1914 war. But anger manifests itself even more terrible and fiercely during civil war. This war was also terrible because it made enemies of close people, giving rise to distrust of each other, enmity and hatred. Grigory Melekhov himself, who was an active participant in that war, feels this evil within himself and experiences it deeply. His words are filled with endless despair when, having gone through such a difficult path, he admits to himself: “I was so smeared with other people’s blood that I don’t even have any regrets left for anyone. I have no thoughts. The war has drained everything from me. I have become terrible to myself... Look into my soul, and there is blackness, like in an empty well.”
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Quiet Don. At the end of the work, the hero finally realizes that there is no truth that is worth serving, sacrificing the lives of his own and other people: “I have served my share. I don’t want to serve anyone else... let it all go to waste!” It is also significant that Gregory goes home to his farm without waiting for the promised amnesty. He did not break in all the trials, his personality was not destroyed. He is ready to be punished - “he agrees to serve time for the rebellion”, he does not expect forgiveness for himself. His fate reflected one of the most significant philosophical problems existence - the problem of personality and history, fate individual person, families in turning point. The writer compares the fate of Gregory with a scorched by spring fires, an ominously black, dead, charred steppe, around which “the young grass is cheerfully green,” life is in full swing. “Like a steppe scorched by fires, Gregory’s life became black... But he himself still frantically clung to the ground, as if in fact his broken life was of some value to him and to others.” So, despite the desire of many to see a happy end to the fate of Grigory Melekhov, Sholokhov chose to tell the reader the truth, no matter how bitter it may be. And this is the fate of not only Grigory Melekhov, it is the fate of the people.
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The science of hate. The great son of Russia M. Sholokhov worked as a war correspondent during the Great Patriotic War. In the essay “The Science of Hatred,” he reveals the character of a Russian man who underwent the “science of hatred” in battle. The story about Gerasimov’s fate begins with a metaphor: “In war, trees, like people, each have their own destiny.” The mighty oak, which was hit by an enemy shell, came to life in the spring. Lieutenant Gerasimov, who had turned gray early, looked at him and smiled “a simple and sweet, childish smile.” The author compares his hero with a mighty oak tree and draws attention to the close connection of Russian people with their native land. Lieutenant Gerasimov is broken by suffering in captivity, but not broken morally. His powerful spirit helps to cope with difficult trials and difficulties. In the harshest days of the Great Patriotic War, Sholokhov argued: a people imbued with sacred hatred of the enemy and filial love for the Motherland is invincible.
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They fought for their homeland. In the novel “They Fought for the Motherland,” M. Sholokhov turns to the most bitter pages of the history of the Great Patriotic War - the retreat of the army. Sholokhov's painting of 1942, which he began to paint right there, in the days of the fighting itself, amazes with the frankness of the story about all the difficulties that then befell our people, our army, which was experiencing misfortune. About the difficulties, mistakes, chaos in the front disposition, “some wild units are roaming the steppes, the front commander himself must not know the situation, and no strong hand to put it all in order... And such devilry always happens during a retreat!” And at the same time - about the feat on the front line. Sholokhov then wrote it in such a way that not only the flame of the soul became visible, but also real torment, and all the horror of human flesh torn apart by the deadly metal.” Petelin V.V. Mikhail Sholokhov. Essay on life and creativity - M.: Voenizdat, 1974. - P. 20..
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They fought for their homeland. The artist allowed us to experience everything internally: the state of a grueling march, prayer under bombs, the madness of battle, pain on the operating table, the moment before death... Sholokhov in this complexity does not at all want to dissolve that acute, sacred feeling of hatred for the enemy, on which he was then united everything is truly human: “Everything that was dear and dear to the heart in life, everything remained there, under the rule of the Germans... And again, for the umpteenth time during the war, Lopakhin suddenly felt that suffocating attack of silent hatred for the enemy, when even a curse word is unable to escape from an instantly dry throat...” Describing our temporary defeats, Sholokhov nevertheless wrote not the psychology of the retreating army, but the state of the future victors, tested in at the moment military misfortune, bitter failures. Judging by their entire behavior, way of thinking, and spiritual mood, one can quite clearly imagine how any of these fighters will behave both in Stalingrad, and on the road to Berlin, and in the lair itself...
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They fought for their homeland. M. Sholokhov, revealing the concept of his novel “They Fought for the Motherland,” said: “I am interested in the fate of ordinary people in the last war. Our soldier showed himself to be a hero during the days of the Patriotic War. About the Russian soldier, about his valor, about his Suvorov's qualities known to the world. But this war showed our soldier in a completely different light. I want to reveal in the novel the new qualities of the Soviet soldier, which so elevated him during this war...” I. Aralichev. Visiting Mikhail Sholokhov. - “Vympel”, 1947, No. 23, p. 24.. In the unfinished novel “They Fought for the Motherland,” the war was interpreted by M. Sholokhov not only as heroic feat of arms people, but also as the greatest test of all moral qualities Soviet person. An impressive revelation of the depth and purity of the patriotic feeling of the people was combined with soulful lyricism in depicting the fate of individual people in times of national troubles and trials. M. Sholokhov in his works about the Patriotic War remains faithful to the single democratic line of his work: in the center of them ordinary people, privates great war, workers - miner Pyotr Lopakhin, combine operator Ivan Zvyagintsev, MTS agronomist Nikolai Streltsov, driver Andrei Sokolov... The soldiers in M. Sholokhov's novel not only fight. They intensely reflect on the fate of the state, talk about the goals of the war, think about military comradeship, remember the peaceful past, their families, children, loved ones... The tragic tension of the battle is suddenly replaced by comic scenes and episodes. This depth, this fullness of life is a very remarkable quality of M. Sholokhov’s novel. It allows the writer to comprehend the true measure of the vitality of the people, to discover the origins of the heroic.
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The fate of man. “The Fate of Man” opened a new stage in the depiction of the events of the Patriotic War, outlined new paths leading to a deeper disclosure of the moral origins of the great feat Soviet people. M. Sholokhov addresses the topic of fascist captivity. For that time it was a taboo topic. And the writer forced the reader not to feel sorry for his hero, but to admire him. The great national tragedy of wartime was embodied by Andrei Sokolov, the hero of the story “The Fate of a Man.” This ordinary person, father of the family, honest worker. He emerged victorious from the cruel trials, without losing his humanistic, ideological and moral values, maintaining his resilience, and fulfilling his soldierly and civic duty to the end. In a duel with Müller in the face of death, he thinks about how to preserve the honor of a Russian soldier: “I wanted to show them, the damned, that although I am disappearing from hunger, I am not going to choke on their handout, that I have my own, Russian dignity and pride and that they didn’t turn me into a beast, no matter how hard they tried.”
