In the midst of the Great Patriotic War, when our entire country was defending our homeland, the first chapters of A.T. Tvardovsky "Vasily Terkin", where a simple Russian soldier, "an ordinary guy" was bred in the image of the main character.
The writer himself recalled that the beginning of work on "Vasily Terkin" was accompanied by difficulties: it was not easy to find the required art form, to determine the composition, and it was especially difficult to choose a main character who would be understandable not only to the wartime reader, but would also remain modern for many years. Alexander Trifonovich Tvardovsky found his hero - Vasily Terkin, whose image helped both the soldiers at the front and their wives and children in the rear, is also interesting to the modern reader. What made the literary image of Terkin so popular for so many years?
Any artistic image has not only individualistic, personal features, but also carries something collective, general, is a spokesman, a characteristic hero of its time. On the one hand, Vasily Terkin is unlike the rest of the soldiers in the company: he is a merry fellow, he is distinguished by a peculiar sense of humor, he is not afraid of danger, but at the same time, Tvardovsky, creating his hero, did not take any particular person as a model, therefore the writer got a collective image of a soldier, the defender of the Russian land, ready at any moment to repel an enemy attack:
However, what is there to think, brothers,
We must hurry to beat the German.
That's all Terkin in a nutshell
You have to report.
Terkin is brave, courageous, he is not afraid of bullets, enemy bombing, or ice water. In any situation, the hero knows how to stand up for himself and not let others down. Terkin is a friend to a fighter at a halt, a son to an old man and an old woman in a dilapidated hut, a brother to a young woman who sent all her loved ones to the front. The character of the hero is woven from dozens and hundreds of characters of ordinary Russian soldiers, endowed with universal human traits: kindness, respect for people, decency.
A.T. Tvardovsky endows his hero with a speaking surname -¦ Terkin, not without reason the most common phrase of the poem: “We will endure. Let's grind." The strength of the Russian spirit is such that a person can endure everything, can survive a lot, but this does not make him angrier, intolerant, but, on the contrary, seeks to help people, tries to make them believe in their own strength:
He sighed at the door
And said:
Let's go, father.
Savvy and resourceful Terkin not only in the war, during the battle, but also in everyday life. Thus, peaceful and military life merge into one. The hero, as it were, lives in the war, constantly dreaming of victory, of simple village work.
The writer Vasily Terkin calls differently in the poem, then he is an “ordinary guy”, with weaknesses inherent in any person, then a hero.
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Works on military topics are often found in the culture and literature of all countries and nationalities without exception. And this is not surprising, it was the war that became an irrevocable frontier in the lives of many people, radically changing their lives. In most cases, such works are sad and set the reader on a certain tragedy. However, this does not apply to the work of A. Tvardovsky "Vasily Terkin".
Collectivity of the image of Vasily Terkin
Alexander Trifonovich Tvardovsky during the war years was a correspondent at the front, so he talked a lot with ordinary soldiers, and, accordingly, spent a lot of time on the battlefields. Such activities allowed Tvardovsky to notice the characteristic features of the soldiers, the peculiarities of their behavior, and also to learn about some of the unusual, heroic deeds of the defenders of the Motherland.
Soon, all these observations and materials were embodied in the image of Vasily Terkin, the central character of Tvardovsky's poem of the same name.
Biography of Vasily Terkin
Very little is known about Terkin's biographical data, his name is Vasily Ivanovich. His homeland is Smolensk region. This is where the information ends. Data on the appearance of the hero is also scarce - his appearance was not memorable: he was neither tall nor short, Terkin was neither handsome nor ugly.
Perhaps this is due to the author's desire to portray a typical soldier from a simple family. It is thanks to such insignificant data that the impression of the typical character of the hero is created - it can be adjusted to any biography of a person who actually took part in military events.
The symbolism of the surname
While it is difficult to talk about the symbolism of the name of the protagonist of the poem - most likely, it was taken from the category of the most common names, his surname is not without symbolism and subtext.
First of all, the symbolism of the name of Vasily is explained by his optimistic attitude towards the war and faith in the victory of the troops to which Vasily belongs.
Terkin constantly supports his colleagues, especially those who are at the front for the first time and perceive everything that happens with horror. He repeatedly says that everything will pass, it will fray. It is here that the main message is concluded, explaining his last name - life “rubs” Vasily all the time, but, despite all the troubles and difficulties, he does not lose optimism and zeal.
Terkin's military service
The bulk of the narrative is occupied by the description of various military situations and the role of Vasily Terkin in their resolution.
The Second World War is not the first war in Terkin’s life, before that he had already visited the fronts of the Finnish war, therefore Terkin does not perceive all the burdens, contradictions and difficulties of military life as something terrible and unusual, the life of a military man is already familiar to him.
Apparently, in the Finnish war, Terkin was a simple, ordinary soldier and was not promoted to an officer's rank. Terkin also begins the Second World War in the rank of private, however, thanks to his repeated exploits, he receives significant awards and an officer's rank.
Once Terkin managed to shoot down an enemy plane with a rifle. For this act, he was awarded the general order. However, this is not the only feat of Terkin - he also helps his troops cross the river. To do this, he swims across the river in winter, boldly and selflessly fights with opponents and was even wounded, but he is not going to lie down, and immediately after improving his condition, he again breaks to the front.
Personality characteristic
The first thing that catches the image of Terkin is his optimism. He is a cheerful person and tries not to lose heart even in the saddest moments of life. Even when it seems that there is no hope for a successful outcome, Terkin finds an opportunity to joke and support his comrades in this way.
Vasily is a kind and selfless person, he has a big heart and a generous soul. Terkin remembers all the good deeds towards him and tries to repay him with kindness in return. So, for example, he remembers how, after being wounded, he lost his hat, and the nurse gave him hers. Terkin carefully keeps this hat - it reminds him of human responsiveness and kindness. When his colleague loses his pouch, Terkin gives him his. Vasily believes that in a war you can lose anything - both material things and non-material things, up to your own life. The only thing that cannot be lost, according to Terkin, is the Motherland.
Vasily loves life very much, to such an extent that he is ready to risk his life for the sake of other people's lives. However, at the same time, he does not miss the opportunity to jokingly answer that he would like to live to be 90 years old.
Terkin is a man of honor, he believes that in war one should forget about personal interests and be guided by the concept of honor.
Terkin can play the accordion well. With his game, he knows how to cheer people up and make them sad.
In addition, Terkin knows a lot of funny stories and has a talent for telling them. Vasily always captivates his colleagues with his story, knows how to keep their attention on his story for a long time.
In order to dispel the melancholy of his comrades, Terkin funny knows how to distort the singing of the Germans. In a word, Terkin, who himself does not like to be sad and sad, knows many ways to cheer up soldiers and encourage them. That is why he is the favorite of all soldiers.
However, not only funny stories are in Terkin's arsenal. So, for example, he tells the story of a soldier who, having come to his village with the liberation army, found that his whole family had died and his house had been destroyed. Terkin says that one must remember such people and not forget about them at a time when the enemy army is defeated.
Terkin is a jack of all trades. He knows how to do any job. So, for example, while staying in one of the villages, Terkin repairs watches and a saw for old people.
Thus, the image of Vasily Terkin is a collective one. It is based on many memories of the soldiers of the Second World War and exposes the best characteristics of people.
Vasily is always ready to help others, he is an honest and disinterested person. Terkin in everything that happens, first of all, is ready to see something positive, this is due to his life-affirming attitude and faith in the restoration of justice and the victory of good.
The image of the Russian soldier Vasily Terkin in Tvardovsky's poem: characterization and description of the hero
4.2 (83.75%) 16 votesTHE IMAGE OF A FOLK HERO IN A. TVARDOVSKY'S POEM "VASILY TERKIN"
Poem by Alexander Tvardovsky "Vasily Terkin" - a book for all it can be read at any age, in moments of joy and | sadness, worrying about the future day or carelessly indulging in peace of mind.
I dreamed of a real miracle, So that from my invention On the warrior living people It might be warmer. - wrote the author And the miracle really happened About the main character of the work they started talking about a real person, a brother-soldier, poetic lines were taken apart by soldiers' leaflets, endlessly quoted in front-line letters, memorized right off the bat, at the first reading The poem, of course, was extremely topical, but this is the topicality that has turned into long-termness.
“The chronicle is not a chronicle, the chronicle is not a chronicle, but precisely a “book”, a living, mobile, free book in form, inseparable from the real thing,” Tvardovsky said about the poem “The Living Book” - this is the best definition, it means that the work is generated life, created for life and endowed with its own being, independent of the will of the creator.
Note that the poet did not specifically adapt to anyone's tastes. The secret of popularity is that his "book about a fighter" expressed the deep hidden foundations of the Russian character, and expressed them boldly, catchy, to genius simply.
Terkin - who is he?
Let's be frank.
Just a guy himself.
He is ordinary.
“Ordinary”, “from the reserve private”, “kind fellow”, “hard worker soldier”, “great lover of life” And in the end - “saint and sinner, Russian miracle man” And there is no contradiction in this conclusion If you try in one word to determine the main thing in the image of Vasily Terkin - then this word will be normality, that is, mental health, poise, a sense of proportion. L Tolstoy and F. M. Dostoevsky, like all literary classics, accustomed the reader to heroes who are divided, who are in a state of complex emotional experiences, busy searching for truth. Against their background, a person living a natural life, “habits of being” (A. S. Pushkin), seems primitive In addition, what kind of normality can we talk about in the 20th century - the century of catastrophes, bloody revolutions and world wars?
Reading Tvardovsky's poem, you can be convinced that Normality is moral and physical stamina, spiritual height, which help to endure, endure, preserve one's "I" in those fatal periods of history when, it seems, the collapse of the personality is inevitable.
A lot can be said about Terkin - hardworking and patient, since war for him is first of all hard work, but inexhaustible in inventions and at the same time quite sober in assessing himself and others, cheerful, but without excessive cheerfulness, a collectivist by nature, but familiar with loneliness, daring and daring, but not reckless. And most importantly, he talentedly fights with talent (“Duel”, “Fights in the swamp”) and talentedly tells (“Terkin’s Rest”, “Terkin writes”), and even in the bath he also washes talentedly ( "In the bath").
Terkin-aunt, fir-trees-sticks,.
The rash is still to spite the enemy.
Heard during the battle for the "settlement of Borki".
I can't feel sorry for Talent.
Until the bombing of the shore,
The hero answers.
Talent is contrasted here with bragging (“I laid down eight Fritz with a Russian wooden spoon!”) And luck, the constancy of which cannot be hoped for. The battle for a small village can be no less severe and significant than for Rostov or Kharkov And the talent of a fighter is to understand this bitter truth of a warrior, to endure both water - "knee-deep", and mud - "chest-deep", remember about the universal duty and universal equality before life and death.
The fight is different. it's time to live alone and death alone.
Especially vividly the character of Vasily Terkin is revealed in situations bordering between life and death. These include the famous crossing.
To whom is memory, to whom is glory, To whom is dark water.
Transportation across the river is associated with transportation from one bank of life to another, and therefore the battle at the crossing becomes a battle for life on earth, acquires the significance of a grandiose symbol. Terkin is the embodiment of not only courage and heroism. He also expresses the people's conscience, the presence of which in the poem is felt sharply and piercingly. Repeatedly, even in moments of a victorious offensive, tears come to the eyes of a soldier. There is a lot behind them: the shame of retreat, the spectacle of the devastated native land left behind and, of course, the feeling of guilt before the dead. It often happens in life: the greatest joy is accompanied by sadness, if this joy has come at a great price. The price of our victory over fascism is well known.
And one more feature of Tvardovsky's poem. Speaking about the main character, we always emphasize his typicality. This means that the collectiveness of the image, its generalization find expression through individuality, a unique personality that cannot be confused with others. So Vasily Terkin appears before readers in psychological completeness, everyday concreteness and national-historical generalization. It is not an allegory, not a scheme, but a character - “alive, like life”:.
That, which.
A dashing soldier in the war.
At the party, the guest is not superfluous.
At work, anywhere...
Tvardovsky's "Book about a fighter" is a constant and heated dialogue between the author (and, therefore, the hero) and the reader:
Have you fought in the mountains of the Caucasus,
Or fell for Stalingrad.
My fellow countryman, peer, brother... "Friend-comrade", "brother", "brothers", "brothers"... Of course, with these words the writer refers primarily to front-line soldiers - Pskov, Yelets, Tambov, Smolensk ... But he also addresses their friends, mothers, wives, brides. “And who else, if not all of them, was” the people who won the war? Everyone could become and was a comrade in arms, a brother in spirit, a countryman in love for the motherland. And this once again confirms: "Vasily Terkin" is a "living book", it is for everyone and about everyone ..
Alexander Trifonovich Tvardovsky - the most famous Soviet writer, journalist and poet. The image of Vasily Terkin, created by him in the most difficult years for our country, is familiar to everyone since childhood. The brave, resilient and resourceful soldier retains his appeal even today. Therefore, it was Tvardovsky's poem and its main character that became the topic of this article.
Vasya Terkin and "The book about a fighter"
A hero named Vasya Terkin was created before the Great Patriotic War by a team of journalists, one of whom was Tvardovsky. The character was an invincible fighter, lucky and strong, somewhat reminiscent of an epic hero.
On the journalist, who was Tvardovsky, the image of Vasily Terkin evokes the idea of creating a full-fledged work in verse. Returning, the writer begins work and intends to complete the book already in 1941 and call it "The Book of a Fighter." However, the new war mixed plans, Tvardovsky went to the front. In the difficult first months, he simply does not have time to think about the work; together with the army, he retreats, leaves the encirclement.
Creating the image of the main character
In 1942, the writer returns to the planned poem. But now her hero is fighting not in the past, but in the current war. The very image of Vasily Terkin in the poem is also changing. Before that, he was a merry fellow and joker Vasya, now he is a completely different person. The fate of other people, the outcome of the war depend on it. June 22, 1942 Tvardovsky announces the new name of the future poem - "Vasily Terkin".
The work was written during the war, almost in parallel with it. The poet managed to quickly reflect the front-line changes and preserve the artistry and beauty of the language. The chapters of the poem were printed in the newspaper, and the soldiers were looking forward to the new issue. The success of the work is explained by the fact that Vasily Terkin is the image of a Russian soldier, that is, collective, and therefore close to every soldier. Therefore, this character was so inspiring and encouraging, giving strength to fight.
The theme of the poem
The main theme of Tvardovsky's poem is the life of people at the front. No matter how cheerfully and provocatively, with humor and irony, the writer described the events and heroes, at the same time he did not let him forget that the war was a tragic and severe test. And the image of Vasily Terkin helps to reveal this idea.
The poet describes both the joy of victory and the bitterness of retreat, the life of a soldier, everything that befell the people. And these tests were passed by people for the sake of one thing: “Mortal combat is not for the sake of glory, for the sake of life on earth!”
But Tvardovsky is not only talking about the war in general. Raises philosophical questions about life and death, peaceful life and battles. The writer looks at the war through the prism of the main human values.
Symbolism in the name of the main character
The image of Vasily Terkin is noteworthy from the point of view of symbolism. An essay dedicated to this hero can be started just from this, and then proceed to a detailed description of the hero, which will be presented in detail below. So, as noted above, the hero of Tvardovsky has changed dramatically, he is no longer the joker Vasya. His place is taken by a real fighter, a Russian soldier with his biography. He participated in the Finnish campaign, then returned to the army in 1941, retreated, was surrounded, then, together with the entire army, goes on the offensive and ends up in Germany.
The image of Vasily Terkin is multifaceted, symbolic, embodying the people, the Russian type of person. It is no coincidence that there is not a single mention of his family, personal relationships in the poem. He is described as a civilian forced to become a soldier. Before the war, Vasily lived on a collective farm. Therefore, he perceives the war as an ordinary civilian: for him it is an unimaginable grief, akin to He lives the dream of a peaceful life. That is, Tvardovsky creates in Terkin the type of an ordinary peasant.
The hero has a speaking surname - Terkin, that is, a seasoned man, worn by life, in the poem it is said about him: "Grated by life."
The image of Vasily Terkin
The image of Vasily Terkin often becomes the theme of creative works. The essay about this character should be supplemented with a little information about the creation of the poem.
The disparate composition of the work is united into one whole by the main character, a participant in all the events described - Vasily Ivanovich Terkin. He himself is from Smolensk peasants. He is good-natured, easy to talk to, tries to maintain morale, for which he often tells soldiers funny stories from his military life.
Terkin was wounded from the first days at the front. But his fate, the fate of a simple man who was able to endure all the hardships of the war, personifies the strength of the Russian people, the will of her spirit and the thirst for the image of Terkin - the fact that he does not stand out in any way, he is neither smarter, nor stronger, nor more talented than others, he, like all: “Just a guy by himself / He is an ordinary ... A guy like that / There is always in every company.”
However, this ordinary person is endowed with such qualities as courage, courage, simplicity. With this, Tvardovsky emphasizes that all these qualities are inherent in all Russian people. And this is precisely the reason for our victory over a ruthless enemy.
But Terkin is not only an experienced soldier, he is also a craftsman, a jack of all trades. Despite the severity of wartime, he repairs watches, sharpens a saw, and plays the accordion between fights.
To emphasize the collective nature of the image, Tvardovsky allows the hero to speak about himself in the plural.
Terkin's conversation with Death is noteworthy. The fighter lies wounded, his life ends, and Bony appears behind him. But the hero agrees to leave with her only if she gives him a reprieve for one day so that he can "hear the victorious salute." Then Death is surprised at this selflessness and retreats.
Conclusion
So, the image of Vasily Terkin is a collective image designed to emphasize the heroism and courage of the Russian people. However, this hero also has individual traits: dexterity, ingenuity, wit, the ability not to lose heart even in the face of death.
Vasily Terkin is our modern hero.
The main character Vasily Terkin from the poem by Alexander Tvardovsky, written by him during the Second World War, provided invaluable support to Soviet soldiers in the front-line units of that period.
Because not only people hardened in battles went to defend the Motherland, but also beardless boys who were not at all wise in life, who had only school life behind them and who had not yet known front-line difficulties.
Personality as a creator of history
The characterization of Vasily Terkin given by the author was more of a collective image, as if complementing the already existing personality described by Pyotr Boborkin in the novel Vasily Terkin, published in 1892. The name of this famous man-legend was considered by Tvardovsky during the period of the Soviet-Finnish war, at the turn of 1939-1940, in his published feuilleton in poetic form.
Even then, the author's foresight manifested itself, as we now understand that the Finnish events were harbingers of terrible days for millions of people on the planet who gave their lives to save the modern generation.
simple russian guy
There is no regret in the poem, but the chain of events of the military life of a simple Russian guy who went through the Finnish war and survived in order to give strength and courage to young people, to cheer up already elderly soldiers is preserved. And when Vasily Terkin tells that for him this is not the first war in his lifetime, and everything becomes clear to everyone. Because this is said by a person with experience and experienced, who was captured and left the encirclement, was wounded, but retained the fighting spirit of a real soldier.
Personal immortality
In the chapters “Before the fight”, “Crossing”, “Terkin is wounded”, the hero infects with optimism, and each chapter is riddled with episodes from a life in which there is no place for fiction. A person in history has always been of great importance, because his actions leave an indelible mark on the soul of everyone. And in order to understand it, it is not enough to read only one chapter, because the character of Vasily Terkin, his true features and new qualities inherent only to this hero, are revealed in each individual story.
And Vasily Terkin presents an ideal to follow:
- as a person;
- with deep patriotism and love for the Motherland;
- optimism and hope for a beautiful future;
- faith in the immortality of the Soviet soldier.
This is eloquently narrated by the chapters "Duel", "Who fired?", "General", "Fight in the swamp", "Terkin's rest", "Two soldiers" and even in the chapter "Death and the Warrior" the hero is not afraid of death and believes in long life. This is the whole point of the work, that the warriors left on the battlefield and even those who are destined to stay alive will be immortal in the hearts of people and the memory of them will live for centuries, and each of them will become a legend: “Holy and sinful / Russian miracle man ... ".
