The moral feat of man in the story “The Fate of Man” by M. Sholokhov. Read an essay on the topic of heroism and courage in the story the fate of a man, Sholokhov for free

The peculiarity of M. Sholokhov is that his books are firmly etched in the memory, they are not forgotten, no matter what situation you are in, no matter what you think about, no matter how hard or easy it is for you.

Yu. Bondarev

Mikhail Sholokhov is one of the few Russian writers whose work still attracts the attention of millions of the most different people, causes controversy in both literary and ordinary circles. As a simple reader, I would probably explain this by the fact that M. Sholokhov raised too large layers of life in his works, posed and resolved serious philosophical and moral problems. In all the works of this writer, in one context or another, the interweaving of two main themes can be traced: the theme of man and the theme of war.

In “The Fate of Man,” M. Sholokhov again and again reminds the reader of the innumerable disasters that the Great War brought to the Russian people. Patriotic War, about the resilience of Soviet people, who withstood all the torment - physical and spiritual - and did not break. The story “The Fate of Man” appeared at the end of 1956.

Russian literature has not seen such a rare phenomenon for a long time, when a relatively small work became an event. Reader letters poured in. Sholokhov's story about irreparable losses, about terrible grief was permeated with boundless faith in life, faith in mental strength Russian person. In “The Fate of Man” the idea of feat of arms people, admiration for courage is expressed ordinary people, whose moral principles became the support of the country during the years of difficult trials.

The story “The Fate of a Man” is written in the usual Sholokhov manner: the plot is built on vivid psychological episodes. Seeing off to the front, captivity, first meetings with the Germans on the road, attempted escape, explanations with Muller, second escape, news about the family, news about the son. Such rich material would be enough for an entire novel, but Sholokhov managed to fit it into a short story. “The Fate of Man” was the discovery of a genre form that could conventionally be called an “epic story.”

The plot of “The Fate of Man” by M. Sholokhov was based on true story, told to the author in the first post-war year, on the day of the big spring flood, as a simple driver who had just returned from the war. There are two voices in the story: Andrei Sokolov is “leading” - main character, he talks about his life. The second voice is the voice of the author, the listener, the casual interlocutor.

Andrei Sokolov's voice in the story is a frank confession. He talked about his whole life to a stranger, poured out everything that he had been holding in his soul for years. The landscape background for Andrei Sokolov's story was surprisingly unmistakably found. The junction of winter and spring. When it is still cold and already warm. And it seems that only here, only in such circumstances, the life story of a Russian soldier could be heard with the breathtaking frankness of confession.

This man had a hard time in life. First, he goes to the front, leaving his wife and children at home, then falls into fascist captivity with inhuman living conditions.

How many humiliations, insults, and beatings Andrei Sokolov had to endure in captivity. But he had a choice, he could have provided himself with a more tolerable life by agreeing to serve the German officers and inform on his own comrades. But this did not happen, Andrei Sokolov remained true to himself, did not lose the honor and dignity of the Russian soldier, and became a model of perseverance and courage in terrible years war.

Once, while working in a quarry, Andrei Sokolov carelessly spoke about the Germans. He knew that someone would definitely inform and betray him. His statement cannot be called simply a reckless remark thrown at the enemy, it was a cry from the soul: “Yes, one square meter there are even enough of these stone slabs for the grave of each of us.”

A well-deserved reward for such perseverance of soul was the opportunity to see his family in Voronezh. But, having arrived home, Andrei Sokolov learns that his family died, and in the place where his native house stood - deep hole, filled with rusty water and overgrown with weeds. It would seem that all that is left in the life of Andrei Sokolov is weeds and rusty water, but he learns from his neighbors that his son is fighting at the front. But here, too, fate did not spare the grief-stricken man: Andrei’s son dies in last days war, when the long-awaited victory was just around the corner.

The second voice of Sholokhov’s story—the voice of the author—helps us not only experience, but also comprehend a separate human life as a phenomenon of an entire era, to see in it universal human content and meaning. But in Sholokhov’s story, another voice was heard - a ringing, clear child’s voice, which seemed not to know the full extent of all the troubles and misfortunes that befall the human lot. Appearing at the beginning of the story so carefree and loud, he then leaves, this boy, to final scenes become a direct participant, actor high human tragedy.

The significance of the story “The Fate of Man” is enormous. M. Sholokhov never forgot about what wars cost and what indelible traces they leave in the souls of people. In “The Fate of Man,” a humanistic condemnation of war and the fascist regime is heard not only in the story of Andrei Sokolov. With no less force of a curse, it is heard in the story of Vanyusha.

The war ended, Andrei Sokolov continued to travel along the roads. All that remains in this man’s life are memories of his family and a long, never-ending road. Fate can sometimes be very unfair, a person lives, and his only dream is simple human happiness, happiness in the circle of loved ones. But life cannot consist of only black stripes. The fate of Andrei Sokolov brought him together with a cheerful boy of about six years old, as lonely as himself, the same grain of sand, thrown by the hurricane of war into the land of loneliness and sorrow.

Nobody needed the grimy boy Vanyatka, covered in dust from head to toe. Only Andrei Sokolov took pity on the orphan, adopted Vanyusha, and gave him all his unspent fatherly love. In M. Sholokhov’s portrayal, this episode seems especially touching; Vanyatka’s words addressed to Sokolov forever sank into my soul: “Who are you?” The amazed Andrei Sokolov, without thinking twice, replied: “I am, and I, Vanya, are your father!”

And what an ineradicable power of goodness, the beauty of the soul is revealed to us in Andrei Sokolov, in the way he treated the orphan. He returned Vanyushka’s joy, protected him from pain, suffering and sorrow.

It was a feat, a feat not only in moral sense this word, but also in the heroic. It was here, in Andrei Sokolov’s attitude towards childhood, towards Vanyusha, that humanism gained its greatest great victory. He triumphed over the inhumanity of fascism, over the destruction and loss that are the inevitable companions of war. He conquered death itself!

You read M. Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of Man” and it’s as if you see a man standing above the world in soldier’s boots, in clumsily repaired, faded protective trousers, in a soldier’s quilted jacket that had burnt out in several places. In each part of the story, the author allows the reader to especially clearly see more and more new sides of Andrei Sokolov’s character. We get to know a person in the most different areas life: family, soldier, frontline, in relationships with comrades, in captivity, etc.

M. Sholokhov focuses the reader’s attention not only on the episode of Sokolov’s meeting with the orphan Vanya. The scene in the church is also very colorful. The cruel Germans shot a man only because he asked to go outside so as not to desecrate a shrine, God’s temple.

In the same church, Andrei Sokolov kills a man. But not the way real cold-blooded killers do - he saved another person from imminent execution (the Germans killed all communists and Jews). Sokolov killed a coward who, for the sake of his own peace of mind, was ready to betray his immediate commander.

Andrei Sokolov endured so much in his life, but he was not broken, did not become embittered at fate, at people, at himself, he remained a man with a kind soul, a sensitive heart, capable of pity, love and compassion. Perseverance, tenacity in the struggle for life, the spirit of courage and camaraderie - all these qualities not only remained unchanged in the character of Andrei Sokolov, but also increased.

M. Sholokhov teaches humanism. This concept cannot in any way be transformed into beautiful word. After all, even the most sophisticated critics, discussing the topic of humanism in the story “The Fate of Man,” talk about the great moral feat, about greatness human soul. Joining the opinion of critics, I would like to add one thing: you need to be great personality, a real person, in order to be able to endure all the grief, misfortune, tears, parting, death of relatives, the pain of humiliation and insults and not after that become a beast with a predatory look and an eternally embittered soul, but remain a person with an open soul and a kind heart.

Koroleva Natalya Valerievna, teacher of Russian language and literature

Literature lesson 9th grade

Topic: Andrei Sokolov’s feat in M. Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man” SLIDE 1

Target: show the heroism of a simple Russian person who survived all the hardships of the war, but managed to maintain the warmth of his soul.

Tasks:

Educational:

improve skills in analyzing a literary work;

contribute to enriching students' vocabulary through lexical work with unfamiliar words;

improve skills in working with Reference legal system"Consultant Plus: High school».

Educational:

develop tolerance;

help children discover the contradiction between legislation and real life;

improve the ability to expressively read and speak coherently;

practice the skill comparative analysis documents and works of art;

develop the skill of working with various sources of information in order to search and select the necessary material;

to form independent thinking.

Educational:

show children the value of human life;

to educate in the learning process such moral qualities like honesty, kindness, justice, sense of duty, mercy, loyalty to one’s word;

instill a love for literature and the history of your homeland;

cultivate respect for the opinions of others.

Methodical techniques: analytical work with text, comparison techniques, independent work.

Forms of organization educational activities: group and frontal work.

Equipment: computer, multimedia projector, presentation, Legal reference system "Consultant Plus: Secondary School", handouts, workbooks, textbook: Literature. 9th grade. Textbook-reader for educational institutions. Compiled by V.Ya.Korovina, I.S.Zbarsky, V.I.Korovin. - M.: Education, 2010.

Lesson progress

Teacher's word.

One of Sholokhov’s outstanding works is the story “The Fate of Man,” published in 1957. It was written relatively quickly, but it was preceded by a significant period of time. creative history: between chance meeting About 10 years passed between the man who became the prototype of Andrei Sokolov and the creation of the story. The author shows the tragedy of our people during the war, talks about the disasters and suffering that befell the Russian people.

Watch an episode SLIDE 2

Teacher's word:

Guys, please note that the story is called “The Fate of a Man,” and not “The Fate of Andrei Sokolov.” What do you think was Sholokhov’s goal?

Pay attention to the features of the composition. This is a story within a story with two narrators. For what purpose do you think Sholokhov chose this structure of the work?

Does Andrei Sokolov's story about his life resemble a confession?

Lexical work.

Confession – 1. For Christians: confession of one’s sins to a priest who absolves sins on behalf of the church and God, church repose. 2.Peren. A frank confession of something, a story about one’s own secret thoughts, views (book).

(Dictionary Russian language S.I.Ozhegov, N.Yu.Shvedova, - M., 2007)

The main milestones in the fate of Andrei Sokolov (through brief retelling text) SLIDE 3
Teacher's word:
Let's remember what we learn about the life of the main character from his story and fill out the following table.

Filling out the table.

An example of filling out a table.

Family

House

Happiness

Feat

Captivity

First escape

Second escape

Return to the front

Family loss

Uryupinsk

Meeting with Vanya

Adoption

3. Conversation on issues.

What detail does Andrey’s interlocutor pay attention to? SLIDE 4 (watch episode)

What do Andrei Sokolov's eyes say?

Lexical work SLIDE 5

How can you name the actions of the hero that you remember from the plot?

Feat – heroic, selfless act.

(Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova, M., 2007, 944 pp.)

Working with text. Reading and watching the episode (first escape). SLIDE 6


Conversation on issues.

How and why was Andrei Sokolov punished?

What human rights did the Nazis violate?

Teacher's word:

After the Second World War, the governments of the world, horrified by the brutality of the Nazis, adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948. those states that have signed the Declaration must take into account the articles of the Declaration in their legislative acts.

Let's remember in what Russian legislative act Are human rights reflected? (in which basic law of the state).

Constitution of the Russian Federation

CHAPTER 2. RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OF HUMAN AND CITIZENS

Article 20

1. Everyone has the right to life.

2. The death penalty may be established until its abolition federal law as an exceptional measure of punishment for especially serious crimes against life, while granting the accused the right to have his case tried by a jury.

Article 21

1. Personal dignity is protected by the state. Nothing can be a reason to belittle him.

2. No one should be subjected to torture, violence, other cruel or humiliating human dignity treatment or punishment. No one can be subjected to medical, scientific or other experiments without voluntary consent.

Article 22

1. Everyone has the right to freedom and personal security.

2. Arrest, detention and detention are permitted only by court decision. Pending a court decision, a person cannot be detained for more than 48 hours.

Article 26

1. Everyone has the right to determine and indicate their nationality. No one can be forced to determine and indicate their nationality.

2. Everyone has the right to use their native language, to freely choose the language of communication, education, training and creativity.

Work in groups with the Legal Reference System “Consultant Plus: Secondary School” “Constitution of the Russian Federation”
Teacher's word:
So, you and I have concluded that the Germans violated human rights. Let's turn to the Constitution of the Russian Federation and determine which rights have been violated.

Right to life(Article 20)

Right to liberty and security of person(Article 22)

Labor is free(Article 37)

Everyone has the right to health care and medical care(Article 41)

The Russian Federation recognizes and guarantees the rights and freedoms of man and citizen in accordance with generally accepted principles and norms of international law(Article 17)

Teacher's word:

Andrei Sokolov is severely punished for escaping. But that didn't stop him! And he makes a second escape. SLIDE 7Watch the episode.

SLIDE 8 table

Clear, convincing in its simplicity and harsh truth, the work of M. Sholokhov still makes the reader indignant and shudder, passionately love and keenly hate.

Before us is the unforgettable image of a private Soviet soldier- Andrey Sokolov. A man who endured everything, overcame everything... The great Sholokhov art of portraiture: it is fresh, extremely compressed and expressive. From two or three phrases dropped by the author as if in passing, we learn that Sokolov is “tall, stooped,” that his hand is “large, callous,” and he speaks in a “muffled bass voice.” And only after the narrator uttered the first phrase of his story: “Well, and there, brother, I had to take a sip of grief up the nostrils and up,” does his portrait immediately appear before us, drawn with one or two unforgettable features.

The portrait of the second character in the story, the commandant of the Muller camp, is just as briefly and vividly sculpted to the point of physical palpability.

And the image of Andrei Sokolov’s warm-hearted, intelligent wife, orphan Irinka, who grew up in orphanage. With her devotion, holy sacrificial love, she resembles the beautiful images of Nekrasov’s Russian women. And again he is so visibly sculpted plastically, and not only externally, but also in the most complex emotional movements. The author achieves particular power in the scene of farewell at the station in the first days of the war.

The volume of the story is striking: the whole life of the family, and captivity. Even more amazing is the revelation of the image of Andrei Sokolov. On the small “platform” of the story, a person is shown in joy, and in trouble, and in hatred, and in love, and in peaceful work, and in war. Behind this image stands a multimillion-strong, great, kind, long-suffering working people. And how this peaceful nation is transformed during the years of military disasters!

Russian soldier! What historian, artist fully depicted and glorified his valor?! This is a sublime and complex image. Much is fused and intertwined in him that made him “not only invincible, but also a great martyr, almost a saint - traits consisting of an ingenuous, naive faith, a clear, good-natured, cheerful outlook on life, cold and businesslike courage, humility in the face of death, pity for the vanquished, endless patience and amazing physical and moral endurance” (A. Kuprin).

The typical features of a Russian soldier are embodied in the image of Andrei Sokolov. Extraordinary endurance, durability, high moral qualities in the most difficult moments of war, captivity, and post-war life, this person evokes a feeling of admiration. “...And I began to gather my courage to look into the hole of the pistol fearlessly, as befits a soldier, so that my enemies would not see at my last minute that it was still difficult for me to part with my life...” says Sokolov. The noble pride of a soldier who does not want to show the enemy the fear of death because shame is worse than death.

Even among cruel enemies, in whom fascism has burned out everything human, the dignity and self-control of the Russian soldier evokes respect. “That's what, Sokolov, you are a real Russian soldier. You are a brave soldier. I am also a soldier and respect worthy opponents. I won't shoot you. Moreover, today our valiant troops reached the Volga and completely captured Stalingrad,” says Muller.

The ability to bring the breadth of life's display to an epic sound is characteristic only of enormous talent. Carefully reading the structure of the story, one cannot help but notice the fairytale technique that the author resorts to, showing the single combat of the Lagerfuhrer and “Russian Ivan”: as in epics and ancient tales that have come down to us from the depths of the people, M. Sholokhov uses the technique of triple amplification. The soldier drank the first glass, preparing for death, and did not take a bite. He drank the second glass and again refused the snack. And only after the third, straight-drinking glass of schnapps, “he took a bite of a small piece of bread and put the rest on the table.”

This is a traditional fairy-tale increase in the drama of the action over time. The writer used it quite naturally, and this technique of storytellers harmoniously merges with his modern story. The work of M. Sholokhov is national in language. The writer reveals the typical image of the Russian soldier Andrei Sokolov in the structure of thought and speech, full of apt, original words and folk sayings.

But not only in those noted external signs, as a technique of triple amplification and saturation of the language with vivid expressions and proverbs, and, as Belinsky said, in the very “fold of the Russian mind, in the Russian way of looking at things,” the writer’s nationality is manifested. A sensitive artist, M. Sholokhov, with all his life and all his thoughts, was connected with the life of his people, with their thoughts and hopes. His creativity was fed by life-giving springs folk wisdom, its great truth and beauty. This determined the fidelity to every detail, every intonation. The main advantage of the story is probably that it is built on the correct disclosure of the deep movements of the human soul.

It would seem that the strength of Andrei Sokolov, mercilessly beaten by life, is about to dry up. But no! An inexhaustible source of love lurks in his soul. And this love, this good beginning in a person guides all his actions.

Finishing the story, M. Sholokhov did not put a plot point. The writer leaves his heroes in a spring field: a former front-line soldier and his adopted child, connected by the great power of love, are walking along the road, and a great life lies before them. And we believe that these people will not disappear, they will find their happiness...

No one is able to read the following monologue by Andrei Sokolov at the beginning of the story without excitement: “Sometimes you don’t sleep at night, you look into the darkness with empty eyes and think: “Why have you, life, maimed me so much? Why did you distort it like that?” I don’t have an answer, either in the dark or in the clear sun... No, and I can’t wait!”

Millions of Sokolov’s peers who did not return from the battlefields, who died from wounds and premature diseases in peacetime, after the Victory, will never receive a painful answer to this question.

Only very recently have we begun to openly talk about the enormous, often completely futile, sacrifices of the Second World War; that it might not have existed at all if Stalin’s policy towards Germany had been more far-sighted; about our completely immoral attitude towards our compatriots who were in German captivity... But the fate of a person cannot be turned back, cannot be remade!

And at first, Sokolov’s life developed like that of many of his peers. "IN civil war was in the Red Army... In the hungry 1922, he went to Kuban to fight the kulaks, and that’s why he survived.” Fate generously rewarded Sokolov for his ordeal, giving him a wife like his Irinka: “Tender, quiet, does not know where to seat you, she struggles to prepare sweet kvass for you even with little income.” Maybe Irinka was like this because she was brought up in an orphanage and all the unspent affection fell on her husband and children?

But people often don’t appreciate what they have. It seems to me that he underestimated his wife even before leaving for the front. “Other women are talking with their husbands and sons, but mine clung to me like a leaf to a branch, and only trembles all over... She says, and sobs behind every word: “My dear... Andryusha... we won’t see you.” ... you and I... more... in this... world...” Andrei Sokolov appreciated those farewell words much later, after the news of the death of his wife and daughters: “Until my death, until my last hours, I’ll die, and I won’t forgive myself for pushing her away then!..”

The rest of his actions during the war and after the Victory were worthy and masculine. Real men, according to Sokolov, are at the front. He “couldn’t stand those slobbery guys who wrote to their wives and sweethearts every day, whether on business or not, smearing their snot on the paper. It’s hard, they say, it’s hard for him, and just in case he’s killed. And here he is, a bitch in his pants, complaining, looking for sympathy, slobbering, but he doesn’t want to understand that these unfortunate women and children had no better time in the rear than ours.”

Sokolov himself had a hard time at the front. He fought less than a year. After two minor wounds, he suffered a severe contusion and captivity, which was considered a disgrace in the official Soviet propaganda of that time. However, Sholokhov successfully avoids the pitfalls of this problem: he simply does not touch upon it, which is not surprising if we remember the time the story was written - 1956. But Sholokhov meted out trials in full to Sokolov behind enemy lines. The first test is the murder of the traitor Kryzhnev. Not every one of us will decide to help a complete stranger. And Sokolov helped. Maybe he did this because shortly before this, a completely unfamiliar military officer helped Sokolov? He set his dislocated arm. There is the humanism and nobility of one and the baseness and cowardice of the other.

Sokolov himself cannot be denied courage. The second test is an escape attempt. Andrei took advantage of the guards’ oversight, escaped, went forty kilometers, but he was caught, the dogs were released on the living... He survived, did not bend, did not remain silent, “criticized” the regime in the concentration camp, although he knew that this would mean certain death. Sholokhov masterfully describes the scene of the confrontation between the Russian soldier Sokolov and the commandant of the concentration camp Müller. And it is decided in favor of the Russian soldier. Even a great connoisseur of the Russian soul, who spoke Russian no worse than us, Muller was forced to admit: “That's what, Sokolov, you are a real Russian soldier. You are a brave soldier. I am also a soldier and I respect worthy opponents. I will shoot you I won't."

Sokolov repaid Muller and all his enemies in full for the gift of life, having successfully escaped from captivity and taking a priceless tongue - his construction major. It seemed that fate should have mercy on Sokolov, but no... A chill passes through the skin when you learn about two more blows that befell the hero: the death of his wife and daughters under bombing in June 1942 and his son on Victory Day.

What kind of soul must Sokolov have been so as not to break after all the tragedies and even adopt Vanyushka! “Two orphaned people, two grains of sand, thrown into foreign lands by a military hurricane of unprecedented force... What awaits them ahead?” - Sholokhov asks at the end of the story.

Over 60. I really want Ivan’s generation to withstand all the hardships of the present time. Such is the fate of the Russian man!

The battle is holy and right,

Mortal combat is not for glory,

For the sake of life on earth.

A. Tvardovsky

The most terrible and bloody second one has ended world war, but someone was hatching plans for a new one. Humanist writer Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov made a passionate appeal for peace. In 1957, his story “The Fate of a Man” was published in the Pravda newspaper, which amazed the world with its artistic power.

The main character of the story, Andrei Sokolov, is the same age as the century, his life has absorbed the history of the country. He is a peaceful worker who hates war. With trepidation, Sokolov recalls pre-war life, when he had a family and was happy. About his wife he says: “And for me there was no one more beautiful and more desirable than her, there was not in the world and there never will be!” Andrei Sokolov complains that his house was near an aircraft factory: “If my shack had been in a different place, maybe life would have turned out differently...” And I still can’t forget how, when we parted, he pushed away his wife, who was clinging to him: “Why did I push her away then?” ? The heart is still, as I remember, as if with a dull knife cutting...”

This man with unparalleled fortitude endured all the trials that befell him: a difficult separation from his family when going to the front, injury, fascist captivity, torture and bullying by the Nazis, the death of his family left behind and, finally, tragic death beloved son Anatoly on the last day of the war - May 9th. “Take courage, father! Your son, captain Sokolov, was killed today at the battery. Come with me!” Andrei Sokolov withstood this ordeal, did not shed a single tear, apparently, “his heart dried up. Maybe that’s why it hurts so much?”

The suffering he experienced was not in vain; it sprinkled ashes on the eyes and soul of Andrei Sokolov, but did not kill the person in him. No matter how great Sokolov’s personal grief was, in all his trials he was supported by his love for his Motherland and a sense of responsibility for its fate. He bravely performed his military duty at the front. Near Lozovenki he was tasked with transporting shells to the battery. “We had to hurry, because the battle was approaching us: on the left someone’s tanks were rattling, on the right there was shooting, there was shooting ahead, and it was already starting to smell like something fried... The commander of our company asks: “Will you get through, Sokolov?” And there was nothing to ask here. My comrades may be dying there, but I’ll be sick here? I have to rush through and that’s it!”

Stunned by the explosion of a shell, he woke up already in captivity. With pain and powerless rage, Sokolov watches as the advancing German troops march to the east. Hearing at night that a coward next to him wanted to betray the commander, Sokolov decided to prevent this and at dawn strangled the traitor with his own hands. Andrei did not compromise the dignity of a Soviet man either in German captivity or at the front, where he returned again, escaping from captivity, taking with him the major whom he carried to passenger car. “I jumped into this forest, opened the door, fell to the ground and kissed it, and I couldn’t breathe.” Left alone in the whole world, this man retained warmth in his wounded heart and gave it to the orphan Vanyusha, replacing his father.

The source of life for Sokolov was his love for an orphan boy. “I went to bed with him and for the first time in for a long time fell asleep peacefully. However, at night I got up four times. I wake up, and he’s nestled under my arm, like a sparrow under cover, quietly snoring, and my soul becomes so joyful that I can’t even put it into words... you light a match and admire him...”

The writer ends the story “The Fate of a Man” with the confidence 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.” "

The form of the story “The Fate of a Man” is simple and ingenious at the same time - “a story within a story.” The participant in the events narrates about himself. This allows you to create a special trust, a truthful picture of the story. “The Fate of Man” is the most short work Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov, but in its emotional impact it is not inferior to his other creations. The generalized image of the hero is emphasized by the title. This is indeed the fate of many Soviet people who shared all the hardships and difficulties with the country, but retained humanity, kindness, and love for all living things. The world rests on such people!

­ Heroism and courage

The story “The Fate of a Man” was written by Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov in 1956 and was soon published in the Pravda newspaper. This sad story the difficult life of a simple Russian driver Andrei Sokolov.

The fate of this man is truly tragic. Quite early on, the hero was left an orphan, as hunger claimed the lives of his parents and sister. Andrei himself, in order to survive, had to go to Kuban and start “attacking the kulaks.”

Returning from there, the man married a “meek,” cheerful and “obsequious” girl Irina and began working as a driver, then the young family had children. It would seem that life began to get better, but suddenly war broke out, and Andrei Sokolov was among the first to go to the front.

Despite the fact that it is harsh military life, of course, weighed heavily on the hero, he never dared to complain about it to his wife. He believed that “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.”

In the future, life itself seems to be trying to test this statement of Andrei Sokolov, and is preparing a new terrible test for him: the man is captured by the Germans. This happens when he, without thinking for a moment, decides to commit real feat: Deliver shells to a battery of your soldiers, which is located in a hot spot and is about to engage in battle with the enemy. About yours heroic act Andrei himself says very simply: “My comrades may be dying there, but I’ll be sick here?”

Indeed, this man was ready to give his life for his comrades, just like they did for him. In the work, the author gives many examples of the courage of Russian soldiers. Suffice it to recall the military doctor who “in captivity and in the dark” did “his great work”: at night, when the Germans herded all the Russian prisoners into the church, he passed from one soldier to another and tried to help his compatriots in whatever way he could.

The soldiers stoically endure all the trials that befall them in German captivity: this includes unbearably hard hard labor, constant hunger, cold, beatings, and simply bullying from their enemies. In such difficult conditions, these people do not lose the ability to joke and laugh, which says a lot about their courage and fortitude.

Living in constant fear makes Andrei Sokolov and his comrades truly brave. Suffice it to recall the episode where the Germans want to shoot the main character (even before they decide to take him prisoner). At this moment, being wounded, he still rises to his feet and fearlessly looks his possible killer straight in the eyes. Further, soldier Sokolov, despite the risk of being captured and killed, decides to bravely escape from captivity, but, unfortunately, this attempt is unsuccessful.

In the episode when the German camp authorities call Andrei Sokolov to the commandant’s office to announce the prisoner’s sentence of execution, the man shows real heroism. Knowing that he is going to his death, he prepares to “look fearlessly into the hole of the pistol.”

In a conversation with Commandant Müller, the main character also shows incredible courage and dignity: he does not agree to drink vodka “for the victory of German weapons” and refuses a snack, demonstrating to his opponents that, despite his hunger, he is not going to “choke on their handout.”

For the first time in Russian military literature the heroism of a soldier is manifested not only in the exploits he performed on the battlefield, but also in such life situation. Sokolov’s courage admires his opponents so much that they decide not to kill their captive, but, on the contrary, give him food with them and release him back to the camp.

The second attempt to get out of captivity turns out to be successful for Andrei, and the man returns to his own. But the most terrible news, which will require from the hero no less, and perhaps even more courage, than all military trials, awaits the soldier Sokolov ahead. While in the hospital, Andrei learns from a neighbor’s letter about the death of his wife and daughters, and then, after the end of the war, he is informed that his son was killed on Victory Day.

Such things sometimes break even the strongest and courageous men, because soldiers live in war and in captivity with the hope of returning to their relatives. But tragic events open up new reserves of kindness and humanity in Andrei Sokolov, and therefore he takes in a young orphan, Vanya, to raise him. This noble deed, just like all the brave deeds performed by Sokolov in the war, can rightfully be considered a real feat and a manifestation of heroism in our everyday life.