Sholokhov's work is closely connected with the era in which he lived. His works are a special look at life. This is the look of an adult, hardened by the harsh reality of a person who loves his homeland and appreciates people who have met danger with their breasts. These people died so that we could live in a free country, so that tears of happiness would shine in the eyes of their children.
During the Great Patriotic War, Sholokhov set himself the goal of strengthening the love for the motherland among the Soviet people. The story "The Fate of a Man", written in 1957, is an amazing work about how two souls, tormented by the horrors of the war years, find support and the meaning of life in each other.
Andrei Sokolov is an ordinary person, his fate is similar to thousands of other destinies, his life is similar to many other lives. The protagonist of the story endured the trials that fell to his lot with enviable fortitude. He perfectly remembered the difficult parting with his family when he went to the front. He cannot forgive himself for pushing away his wife during parting, who had a presentiment that this was their last meeting: “I forcefully separated her hands and gently pushed her on the shoulders. I kind of pushed it lightly, but my strength was stupid; she backed away, took three steps, and again walks towards me with small steps, stretching out her hands.
In early spring, Andrei Sokolov was wounded twice, shell-shocked, and, worst of all, captured. The hero had to endure inhuman trials in Nazi captivity, but, nevertheless, he did not break. Andrei still managed to escape, and he again returned to the ranks of the Red Army. This man endured a tragic death. He hears terrible news on the last day of the war: “Be of good cheer, father! Your son, Captain Sokolov, was killed today at the battery.
Andrei Sokolov has amazing courage and mental strength, the horrors he experienced do not make him embittered. The protagonist leads a continuous struggle within himself and emerges from it as a winner. This man, who lost his relatives during the Great Patriotic War, finds the meaning of life in Vanyusha, who also remained an orphan: “Such a little ragamuffin: his face is all in watermelon juice, covered with dust, dirty as dust, unkempt, and his eyes are like stars at night after the rain! It is this boy with "eyes as bright as a sky" that becomes the new life of the protagonist.
Vanyusha's meeting with Sokolov was significant for both. The boy, whose father died at the front, and his mother was killed on the train, still hopes that they will find him: “Daddy, dear! I know that you will find me! You will still find it! I've been waiting for you to find me for such a long time.” Andrey Sokolov awakens paternal feelings for someone else's child: “He clung to me and trembled like a blade of grass in the wind. And I have a fog in my eyes and I also tremble all over, and my hands are shaking ... "
The glorious hero of the story again performs some mental, and, possibly, moral feat when he takes the boy for himself. He helps him get back on his feet and feel needed. This child became a kind of “medicine” for Andrey’s crippled soul: “I went to bed with him and for the first time in a long time I fell asleep peacefully. ... I wake up, and he will take shelter under my arm, like a sparrow under a trap, quietly sniffing, and before I feel joyful in my soul, you can’t say it in words!
“Two orphaned people, two grains of sand thrown into foreign lands by a military hurricane of unprecedented strength ... what lies ahead for them?” - asks Maxim Aleksandrovich Sholokhov at the end of the story. One thing is certain - these people will still find their happiness, otherwise it cannot be.
Sholokhov's story is permeated with deep, bright faith in man. The name is also very symbolic, because this work expresses not only the fate of the soldier Andrei Sokolov, but also the fate of Vanyusha himself, and indeed of the whole country. “And I would like to think,” writes Sholokhov, “that this Russian man, a man of inexhaustible will, will survive, and one will grow up near his father’s shoulder who, having matured, will be able to withstand everything, overcome everything on his way, if the Motherland calls for this.”
I think that the characters in The Fate of Man are typical of their time. Millions of people were left orphans in the brutal war of 1941-1945. But the resilience and courage of a generation that has found the strength to believe and wait is amazing. People did not become embittered, but, on the contrary, rallied and became even stronger. Both Andrei Sokolov and Vanyusha, who is still a very young boy, are strong-willed and persistent people. Perhaps this helped them find each other.
In my opinion, Sholokhov took upon himself the sacred duty to tell mankind the harsh truth about the enormous price paid by the Soviet people for the right to be free and for the right to make the next generation happy. War is cruel and heartless, it does not make out who is right and who is wrong, it does not spare children, women or old people. Therefore, future generations are obliged to know the whole truth about her.
“The Fate of a Man” by M.A. Sholokhov is one of the most soul-stirring works about the Great Patriotic War. In this story, the author conveyed the whole harsh truth of the life of the war years, all the hardships and losses. Sholokhov tells us about the fate of an unusually courageous man who went through the whole war, lost his family, but managed to maintain his human dignity.
The main character is Andrei Sokolov, a native of the Voronezh province, an ordinary hard worker.
In peacetime, he worked at a factory, then as a driver. He had a family, a house - everything you need for happiness. Sokolov loved his wife and children, saw in them the meaning of life. But the family idyll was destroyed by the unexpectedly looming war. She separated Andrei from the most important thing that he had.
At the front, many difficult, painful trials fell on the hero. He was wounded twice. When trying to deliver shells for an artillery unit, he fell into the rear of the enemy army and was taken prisoner. The hero was brought to Poznan, placed in a camp, where they were obliged to dig graves for the dead soldiers. But even in captivity, Andrei did not lose heart. He behaved courageously and honorably. The nature of a real Russian man allowed him to endure all the trials, not to break.
Once, while digging a grave, Andrei managed to escape, but, unfortunately, without success. He was found by detective dogs in the field. For the escape, the hero was severely punished: he was beaten, bitten by dogs and transferred to the camp's isolation ward for a month. But even in such terrible situations, Sokolov was able to survive without losing his humanity.
The hero was driven around Germany for a long time: he worked in inhuman conditions at a silicate plant in Saxony, in a coal mine in the Ruhr region, in earthworks in Bavaria and in an infinite number of other places. The prisoners of war were terribly fed, constantly beaten. By the autumn of 1942, Sokolov had lost more than 36 kilograms.
The author vividly shows the courage of the hero in the scene of interrogation by his head of the camp, Muller. The German promised to personally shoot Sokolov for a terrible statement: "They need four cubic meters of output, but for the grave of each of us, even one cubic meter through the eyes is enough." Being on the verge of death, the hero openly expresses his opinion about the very difficult working and living conditions for prisoners. He had already prepared for death, gathered his courage, but the mood of the executioner changed dramatically in a more loyal direction. Muller was amazed at the bravery of the Russian soldier and saved his life, also giving a small loaf of bread and a piece of lard to the block.
After some time, Andrei was appointed the driver of a major engineer in the German army. On one of the assignments, Sokolov managed to escape to his own, taking the "fat man" with him. In this situation, the soldier showed resourcefulness and ingenuity. He delivered the major's documents to headquarters, for which he was promised a reward.
After the end of the war, the life of the protagonist did not become easier. He lost his family: during the bombing of an aircraft factory, a bomb hit the Sokolovs' house, and his wife and daughters were at home at that moment, his son Anatoly died from an enemy bullet on the last day of the war. Andrei Sokolov, having lost the meaning of life, returned to Russia, went to Uryupinsk to visit a demobilized friend, where he settled, found a job and at least somehow began to live like a human being. Finally, a white streak began to appear in the life of the hero: fate sent the man a little orphan, a ragged Vanyushka, who also lost all his loved ones during the war.
It remains only to hope that Andrei's future life improved. The protagonist of the work "The Fate of a Man" deserves infinite respect, love and admiration.
Updated: 2018-02-25
Attention!
Thank you for your attention.
If you notice an error or typo, highlight the text and press Ctrl+Enter.
Thus, you will provide invaluable benefit to the project and other readers.
In December 1956 and January 1957, the Pravda newspaper published the work of the Soviet writer Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov “The Fate of a Man” about the great trials and great inflexibility of Soviet people in the difficult years of the war.
background
The basis of the story is the fate of the country, the fate of a person, the theme of the Great Patriotic War and the character of a simple Russian soldier.
Immediately after the publication, Sholokhov received an endless stream of letters from Soviet readers. From those who survived the Nazi captivity, from the relatives of the dead soldiers. Everyone wrote: workers, collective farmers, doctors, teachers, scientists. Not only ordinary people wrote, but also eminent writers, both domestic and foreign, among whom were Boris Polevoy, Nikolai Zadornov, Hemingway, Remarque and others.
Film adaptation of the book
The story gained worldwide fame, and in 1959 it was filmed by director Sergei Bondarchuk. He also played the main role in the film.
Bondarchuk believed that everything should be shown on the screen as simply and severely as life itself is, through the understanding of the hero, because the most important thing in this story is the character of a Russian person, his big heart, which did not harden after the trials that fell on him.
The book "The Destiny of Man" was reprinted many times. Both in our country and abroad. This dramatic story found a warm response in all human hearts. "The Fate of a Man", according to foreign readers, is a magnificent, tragic, sad story. Very kind and bright, heartbreaking, causing tears and giving joy from the fact that two orphaned people found happiness, found each other.
The Italian director Rossellini gave this review of the film: "The Destiny of Man is the most powerful, the greatest thing that has been filmed about the war."
How it all started
The plot is based on real events.
Once, in the spring of 1946, two people met on the road, at the crossing. And as happens when meeting strangers, we started talking.
A casual listener, Sholokhov, listened to the bitter confession of a passerby. The fate of a man who survived the terrible blows of the war, but did not become hardened, touched the writer very much. He was amazed.
Sholokhov carried this story within himself for a long time. The fate of a man who lost everything during the war years and regained a little happiness, did not go out of his head.
10 years have passed since the meeting. In just seven days, Sholokhov composed the story "The Fate of a Man", the heroes of which are a simple Soviet soldier and an orphan boy Vanya.
The passer-by, who told the writer his story, became the prototype of the main character of the story - Andrei Sokolov. In it, Mikhail Sholokhov brought out the main properties of a real Russian character: steadfastness, patience, modesty, a sense of human dignity, love for the Motherland.
The difficult history of the country also found its response in the life of the protagonist. The fate of a man, Andrei Sokolov, a simple worker, repeats the main milestones of the events of those years - the civil war, the hungry twenties, the work of a farm laborer in the Kuban. So he returned to his native Voronezh, received the profession of a locksmith and went to the factory. He married a wonderful girl, had children. He has a simple life and simple happiness: home, family, work.
But the Great Patriotic War broke out, and Andrei Sokolov went to the front, to fight for his homeland, like many millions of Soviet men. In the first months of the war he was taken prisoner by the Nazis. In captivity, his courage struck a German officer, the camp commandant, and Andrei avoids execution. And soon he escapes.
Returning to his own, he again goes to the front.
But his heroism is manifested not only in a collision with the enemy. No less serious test for Andrey is the loss of loved ones and home, his loneliness.
On a short front-line vacation to his hometown, he learns that his beloved family - his wife Irina and both daughters - died during the bombing.
On the site of a house built with love, a crater from a German air bomb gapes. Shocked, devastated, Andrei returns to the front. There was only one joy left - the son Anatoly, a young officer, he is alive and fighting against the Nazis. But the joyful Victory Day over Nazi Germany is overshadowed by the news of the death of his son.
After demobilization, Andrei Sokolov could not return to his city, where everything reminded him of his dead family. He worked as a driver and one day in Uryupinsk, near a tea house, he met a homeless child - a little orphan boy Vanya. Vanya's mother died, her father went missing.
One fate - many fates
The brutal war could not take away from the hero of the story his main qualities - kindness, trust in people, caring, responsiveness, justice.
The restlessness of the grubby boy found a piercing response in the heart of Andrei Sokolov. a child who lost his childhood, made him decide to deceive and tell the boy that he was his father. Vanya's desperate joy that finally the "dear little folder" found him gave Sokolov a new meaning of life, joy and love.
To live without caring about anyone was meaningless for Andrei, and his whole life now focused on the child. No more troubles could darken his soul, because he had someone to live for.
Typical hero traits
Despite the fact that Andrei Sokolov's life is full of terrible upheavals, he says that it was ordinary and he got no more than others.
In the story of Sholokhov, the life of Andrei Sokolov is a typical fate of a person for the country in those years. The heroes of the war returned home from the front and found terrible devastation in their beloved, native places. But it was necessary to continue to live, build, strengthen the Victory won with such difficulty.
The strong character of Andrei Sokolov is accurately reflected in his reasoning about himself: “That’s why you are a man, that’s why you are a soldier, in order to endure everything, to endure everything, if the need called for it.” His heroism is natural, and modesty, courage and selflessness did not disappear after suffering, but only strengthened in character.
The red thread in the work is the idea of the unusually huge price that the Victory went to, incredible sacrifices and personal losses, tragic upheavals and hardships.
A small but amazingly capacious work concentrated in itself the tragedy of the entire Soviet people, who drank the sorrows of war to the brim, but retained their highest spiritual qualities and defended the freedom of their homeland in an overwhelming duel with the enemy.
Every review of "The Fate of a Man" says that Sholokhov is a great creator. The book cannot be read without tears. This is a work about life, which has a deep meaning, readers say.
Andrey Sokolov is the main character of the story "The Fate of a Man" by Sholokhov. His character is truly Russian. How many troubles he endured, what torments he endured, only he himself knows. The hero speaks about this on the pages of the story: “Why did you, life, cripple me like that? Why so distorted? He slowly tells his life from beginning to end to an oncoming fellow traveler, with whom he sat down to light a cigarette by the road.
Sokolov had to go through a lot: hunger, and captivity, and the loss of his family, and the death of his son on the day the war ended. But he endured everything, survived everything, because he had a strong character and iron fortitude. “That’s why you are a man, that’s why you’re a soldier, to endure everything, to demolish everything, if the need called for it,” Andrei Sokolov himself said. His Russian character did not allow him to break down, to retreat in the face of difficulties, to surrender to the enemy. He wrested life from death itself.
All the hardships and cruelties of the war that Andrei Sokolov endured did not kill human feelings in him, did not harden his heart. When he met little Vanyusha, just as lonely as he was, just as unhappy and useless, he realized that he could become his family. “It will not happen that we disappear separately! I will take him to my children, ”Sokolov decided. And he became a father to a homeless boy.
Sholokhov very accurately revealed the character of a Russian man, a simple soldier who fought not for titles and orders, but for his homeland. Sokolov is one of those many who fought for the country, not sparing their lives. It embodied the whole spirit of the Russian people - steadfast, strong, invincible. The characterization of the hero of the story “The Fate of a Man” was given by Sholokhov through the speech of the character himself, through his thoughts, feelings, and actions. We walk with him through the pages of his life. Sokolov goes through a difficult path, but remains a man. A kind man, sympathetic and extending a helping hand to little Vanyusha.
Boy five or six years old. He was left without parents, without a home. His father died at the front, and his mother was killed by a bomb while riding a train. Vanyusha walked around in tattered dirty clothes, and ate what people would serve. When he met Andrei Sokolov, he reached out to him with all his heart. “Folder dear! I knew! I knew you would find me! You can still find it! I've waited so long for you to find me!" Vanyusha shouted with tears in his eyes. For a long time he could not tear himself away from his father, apparently, he was afraid that he would lose him again. But in Vanyusha's memory the image of the real father was preserved, he remembered the leather cloak that he wore. And Sokolov told Vanyusha that he probably lost him in the war.
Two loneliness, two fates are now intertwined so tightly that they will never be separated. The heroes of "The Fate of a Man" Andrey Sokolov and Vanyusha are now together, they are one family. And we understand that they will live according to their conscience, in truth. They will all survive, all will survive, all will be able to.
Minor Heroes
There are also a number of minor characters in the story. This is Sokolov's wife Irina, his children are daughters Nastenka and Olyushka, son Anatoly. They do not speak in the story, they are invisible to us, Andrei recalls them. The commander of the auto company, the dark-haired German, the military doctor, the traitor Kryzhnev, the Lagerführer Müller, the Russian colonel, Andrei's Uryupin friend - all these are the heroes of the story of Sokolov himself. Some have neither a name nor a surname, because they are episodic heroes in Sokolov's life.
The real, audible hero here is the author. He meets Andrei Sokolov at the crossing and listens to his life story. It is with him that our hero talks, he tells him his fate.
Sholokhov "The Fate of Man" the main characters live in times of war, lose the most precious thing, but find the strength to live on.
M. Sholokhov "The Fate of Man" the main characters and their characteristics
- Andrey Sokolov
- Vanyushka
- Irina, Andrey's wife
- Ivan Timofeevich, neighbor of the Sokolovs
- Müller, camp commandant
- Soviet colonel
- captured military doctor
- Kyryzhnev is a traitor
- Peter, friend of Andrey Sokolov
- landlady
- Anatoly Sokolov- the son of Andrei and Irina. He went to the front during the war. Becomes a battery commander. Anatoly died on Victory Day, he was killed by a German sniper.
Nastenka and Olushka- Sokolov's daughters
Andrey Sokolov- the main character of the story "The Fate of a Man", a front-line driver, a man who went through the whole war.
Andrey Sokolov is the main character of the story "The Fate of a Man" by Sholokhov. His character is truly Russian. How many troubles he endured, what torments he endured, only he himself knows. The hero speaks about this on the pages of the story: “Why did you, life, cripple me like that? Why so distorted? He slowly tells his life from beginning to end to an oncoming fellow traveler, with whom he sat down to light a cigarette by the road.
Sokolov had to go through a lot: hunger, and captivity, and the loss of his family, and the death of his son on the day the war ended. But he endured everything, survived everything, because he had a strong character and iron fortitude. “That’s why you are a man, that’s why you’re a soldier, to endure everything, to demolish everything, if the need called for it,” Andrei Sokolov himself said. His Russian character did not allow him to break down, to retreat in the face of difficulties, to surrender to the enemy. He wrested life from death itself.
All the hardships and cruelties of the war that Andrei Sokolov endured did not kill human feelings in him, did not harden his heart. When he met little Vanyusha, just as lonely as he was, just as unhappy and useless, he realized that he could become his family. Sokolov told him that he was his father and took him up.
Vanyushka- an orphan boy of five or six years. The author describes him as follows: “blond curly head”, “pink cold little hand”, “eyes as bright as a sky”. Vanyushka is trusting, inquisitive and kind. This child has already experienced a lot, he is an orphan. Vanyushka's mother died during the evacuation, was killed by a bomb on the train, and her father died at the front.
Andrei Sokolov told him that he was his father, which Vanya immediately believed and was incredibly happy about. He knew how to sincerely rejoice even in small things. He compares the beauty of the starry sky to a swarm of bees. This war-deprived child early developed a courageous and compassionate character. At the same time, the author emphasizes that only a small, vulnerable child, who, after the death of his parents, spends the night anywhere, was lying all over in dust and dirt (“he lay quietly on the ground, crouching under the angular matting”). His sincere joy indicates that he yearned for human warmth.
