The White Steamer read online summary. Aitmatov Chingiz Torekulovich

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He had two fairy tales. One of our own, which no one knew about. The other one is what my grandfather told me. Then there was not one left. This is what we're talking about.
That year the boy turned seven years old and was in his eighth year. First, an “extraordinary - the most ordinary school bag” was purchased. That’s probably where it all started.” Grandfather bought a briefcase from a truck shop that arrived at the foresters’ cordon.
From here a protected forest rose along the gorge and slopes to the upper reaches. Three families lived at the cordon.
A wheeled road ascended here from the coast of Issyk-Kul, but it was not very easy to climb along it. Having reached Karaulnaya Mountain, the road rose from the bottom of the gorge onto a slope and from there descended for a long time along a steep and bare slope to the foresters’ yards.
Karaulnaya Mountain is nearby. In the summer, the boy runs there every day to look at the lake with binoculars, and the road is clearly visible from there. That time - in the hot summer - the boy was swimming in the dam and saw the car gathering dust.
The grandfather built a dam on the edge of the shallows, fenced off from the river with stones so that the fast current of the river would not carry away the boy.
Seeing the car shop, the boy jumped out onto the shore and ran to tell the adults that a “car shop” had arrived. The boy was in a hurry, he didn’t even stop at his “familiar stones”: “Lying Camel”, “Saddle”, “Tank”, “Wolf”. Among the plants there are also “favorite”, “brave”, “fearful”, “evil” and all sorts of others. Prickly thistle - main enemy. The boy fights with it dozens of times a day, and the thistle grows and multiplies. Field bindweeds are the smartest and most cheerful flowers; they greet the sun best in the morning. During the day, when it’s hot, the boy likes to climb into the shiraljins. They are tall, have no flowers and smell like pine. Shiraljins are loyal friends, he resorts to them if someone offends him to the point of tears, but he doesn’t want to cry in front of strangers. The boy lies on his back and looks at the clouds floating above him, turning into anything you want. The same clouds make different things, you just need to be able to recognize what they represent.
And the boy knew a lot of interesting things about the world around him. He considered the howls to be “eccentrics” who could not do without the wind: the wind bent their silken panicles wherever it wanted. “Alone, without friends, the boy lived in the circle of those simple things that surrounded him, and only a car shop could make him forget about everything and run headlong towards it. What can I say, a mobile shop is not like stones or some kind of grass. What is there, in the drive-thru!”
The boy told the women that a “shop car” had arrived. The men were not at home; they had gone about their business in the morning. The grandmother praised the boy: “He’s so big-eyed!” The women rushed to the car, sorted through the goods for a long time, but bought some small things and embarrassedly stepped aside. Aunt Bekey bought her husband two bottles of vodka, and the grandmother scolded her about why she was looking for “trouble on her own head.” Bekey replied that she herself knew what to do. They would have quarreled if there had not been a stranger nearby. The seller was upset, it was in vain to climb such a steep slope, just about to get behind the wheel, he saw the big-eared boy and joked: “Do you want to buy it? So hurry up, otherwise I’ll get caviar.” He asked if the old man Momun was the grandson of the old man and that he had heard about his parents, they didn’t give any news about themselves at all? The boy replied that he didn’t know anything about them. The seller gave the child a handful of candies and insisted that he take it. The boy stood ready to run after the car. He kept forgetting for a long time lazy dog Balteka even gave him one candy - running together is more fun. And then the grandfather just appeared, he was returning from the apiary. The efficient Momun is known by everyone in the area, and he knows everyone. “2u!omun earned this nickname by his invariable friendliness to everyone he even knew in the slightest degree, by his readiness to always do something for anyone, to serve anyone. And yet, his diligence was not valued by anyone, just as gold would not be valued if they suddenly began to give it away for free. No one treated G^omun with the respect that people of his age enjoy...” He necessarily participated in all the Buginsky commemorations; he himself was from the Bugu family. Grandfather was tasked with slaughtering cattle, greeting honored guests - he did everything quickly and easily. Having arrived from afar, the old man found himself in the role of an assistant dzhigit (well done) - a samovar maker. “Who else in Momun’s place would have burst from the insult. But at least something for Momun!” He considered all the Buginians his brothers and tried to please them. They made fun of him, and the old man was not angry. The only thing that could have offended him was if he had not been invited to the funeral at all, and had somehow been forgotten, but this did not happen. The old man was hardworking and necessary. He knew a lot in life: he was a carpenter, a saddler, he was a stacker when he was younger, he set up such stacks on the collective farm that it was a pity to take them apart in winter: the rain flowed off them easily, the snow fell gable roof. During the war, he built factory walls in Magnitogorsk as a labor army worker and was called a Stakhanovite. He returned, cut down houses on the border, and worked in the forest. Although he was listed as an auxiliary worker, he looked after the forest, and Orozkul, his son-in-law, mostly traveled to visit guests. Only during commissions did Orozkul show the forest itself. Momun even kept an apiary, but “he didn’t learn how to force himself to be respected.”
And his appearance was simple: no sedateness, no importance, no severity. “He was a good-natured man, and at first glance this ungrateful human quality was discernible in him... His face was smiling and wrinkled, wrinkled, and his eyes always asked: “What do you want? Do you want me to do something for you? So I’m here now, just tell me what your need is.”
The nose is soft, duck-like, as if there is no cartilage at all. Yes, and small in stature,
teenager... On his bare chin there are two or three reddish hairs - that's the whole beard. His only advantage was that his grandfather was not afraid to embarrass himself in someone’s eyes. He was himself and did not try to seem better than he really was.
Momun had his own joys and sorrows, from which he suffered and cried at night.
Seeing his grandson near the auto shop, the old man realized that he was upset about something. Having greeted the driver, the old man asked if the “big merchant” was having a successful trade? The driver began to complain that it was in vain to travel such a distance: the foresters are rich, but they don’t give their wives money. The old man embarrassedly made excuses that there really was no money, they would sell the potatoes in the fall, then the money would appear. The seller began to offer Momun various goods, but the old man had no money for them. Already closing the car, the salesman advised the old man to buy a briefcase for his grandson, since he would be going to school in the fall. Momun is delighted
agreed, he didn’t even think that his grandson needed to be prepared for school. The boy felt what a “faithful, reliable, dear, perhaps the only person in the world, his grandfather, who doted on the boy, was such a simple, eccentric old man, whom the wise men called the efficient Momun... So what? Whatever it is, it’s good that you still have your own grandfather.”
The boy himself had no idea that the joy of buying a briefcase would be so great. From that moment on, he did not part with his briefcase. He ran around all the residents of the cordon, showing his grandfather’s purchase. Usually Aunt Bekey didn’t notice the boy, but here she was happy for him. It's rare when an aunt comes to good mood . More often she is gloomy and irritable: she has her own troubles. The grandmother says if the aunt had children, she would be a completely different woman, and her husband Orozkul would also be a different person. And my grandfather would have lived differently. Having run around the women, the boy with the briefcase set off for the hayfield of Seidakhmat, who was mowing his plot today. Grandfather had long since mowed his plot, and at the same time the Orozkul plot, and the hay had already been transported to the house and stacked. Orozkul never mows down, but blames everything on his father-in-law - the boss. He often drunkenly threatens to fire his grandfather and Seidakhmat from work, but he can’t fire his grandfather, who will work then? There is a lot to do in the forest, especially in the fall. But Orozkul will not drive Seydakhmat away, because he is meek and does not interfere in anything; healthy and lazy, loves to sleep. The boy had heard his grandfather reprimand Seidakhmat the day before that last winter he had taken pity on his cattle and shared the hay. “If you’re counting on my old man’s hay, then tell me right away, I’ll cut it for you.” It hit Seidakhmat; in the morning he was swinging a scythe in his plot. Seeing the boy, he asked why he came running. “What’s my name?” The boy showed off his new briefcase. Sei-dakhmat was surprised that the boy ran to such a distance because of a trifle. Then he examined and praised the briefcase. He asked how the boy was going to go to the Fermen school in Dzhelesai? This is no less than five kilometers. The boy replied that his grandfather promised to carry him on a horse. Seidakhmat began to laugh: it was time for grandfather to sit at his desk himself, the old man was losing his mind. The boy did not like how Seidakhmat reacted to his words. But he patted the boy on the shoulder reconcilingly. “You have just the right briefcase!.. Now go ahead. I still have to mow and mow.” The boy loved to talk to himself, and this time he said to the briefcase: “Don’t trust Seidakhmat, my grandfather is wonderful. He’s not at all cunning and that’s why they laugh at him.” He promised to show the briefcase the school and the white steamboat on the lake. But first you need to run to the barn for binoculars. The boy is obliged to look after the calf, which has gotten into the habit of sucking the cow's milk. “And the cow is his mother, and she doesn’t mind the milk. Mothers spare nothing for their children.” This was told to him by Guljamal, Seidakhmat's wife, she has her own girl... The boy was happy: there are now three of them - him, binoculars and a briefcase. He liked talking with the briefcase. The boy still wanted to tell him a lot, but he saw Orozkul returning from his guests. “Orozkul’s hat fell down onto the back of his head, revealing his red, low-growing forehead. He was falling asleep.” Dozing in the saddle, heavy and important, Orozkul rode, carelessly resting the toes of his chrome boots on the stirrups. He almost fell off his horse in surprise when the boy ran out to meet him, showing his briefcase. “Okay, play,” Orozkul muttered and, swaying uncertainly in the saddle, rode on. He didn’t care about this stupid briefcase and the boy, his wife’s nephew, if he himself was so offended by fate, if God did not give him a son, while he gives others children generously, without counting. Self-pity and anger towards his barren wife rose in Orozkul’s soul; he knew that he would come and beat her.

The boy and his grandfather lived on a forest cordon. There were three women at the cordon: the grandmother, Aunt Bekey - the grandfather’s daughter and wife of the main man at the cordon, the patrolman Orozkul, and also the wife of the auxiliary worker Seidakhmat. Aunt Bekey is the most unfortunate person in the world, because she has no children, and that’s why Orozkul beats her when she’s drunk. Grandfather Momun was nicknamed the efficient Momun. He earned this nickname by his constant friendliness and willingness to always serve. He knew how to work. And his son-in-law, Orozkul, although he was listed as the boss, mostly traveled around visiting guests. Momun looked after the cattle and kept the apiary. I've been working all my life from morning to evening, but I haven't learned how to make myself respected.

The boy did not remember either his father or his mother. I've never seen them. But he knew: his father was a sailor in Issyk-Kul, and his mother left for a distant city after a divorce.

The boy loved to climb the neighboring mountain and look at Issyk-Kul with his grandfather’s binoculars. Towards evening a white steamer appeared on the lake. With pipes in a row, long, powerful, beautiful. The boy dreamed of turning into a fish, so that only his head would remain his own, on a thin neck, large, with protruding ears. He will swim and say to his father, the sailor: “Hello, dad, I am your son.” He will tell you, of course, how he lives with Momun. The best grandfather, but not at all cunning, and therefore everyone laughs at him. And Orozkul just screams!

In the evenings, the grandfather told his grandson a fairy tale.

“...This happened a long time ago. A Kyrgyz tribe lived on the banks of the Enesai River. The tribe was attacked by enemies and killed. Only a boy and a girl remained. But then the children also fell into the hands of enemies. The Khan gave them to the Pockmarked Lame Old Woman and ordered to put an end to the Kirghiz. But when the Pockmarked Lame Old Woman had already led them to the shore of Znesai, a mother deer came out of the forest and began to ask for the children. “People killed my fawns,” she said. “And my udder is full, asking for children!” The Pockmarked Lame Old Woman warned: “These are the children of men. They will grow up and kill your fawns. After all, people are not like animals, they don’t feel sorry for each other either.” But the mother deer begged the Pockmarked Lame Old Woman, and brought the children, now her own, to Issyk-Kul.

The children grew up and got married. The woman went into labor and was in pain. The man got scared and started calling the mother deer. And then an iridescent ringing was heard from afar. The horned mother deer brought a baby's cradle - beshik - on her horns. And on the bow of the beshik the silver bell rang. And immediately the woman gave birth. They named their firstborn in honor of the mother deer - Bugubay. From him came the Bugu family.

Then a rich man died, and his children decided to install deer horns on the tomb. Since then, there has been no mercy for deer in the Issyk-Kul forests. And there were no more deer. The mountains are empty. And when the Horned Mother Deer left, she said that she would never return.”

Autumn has come again in the mountains. Along with the summer, the time for visiting shepherds and herdsmen was passing for Orozkul - the time had come to pay for the offerings. Together with Momun, they dragged two pine logs through the mountains, and that is why Orozkul was angry with the whole world. He should settle down in the city, they know how to respect people. Cultured people... And because you received a gift, you don’t have to carry logs later. But the police and the inspectorate visit the state farm - well, they’ll ask where the wood comes from and where. At this thought, anger boiled up in Orozkul towards everything and everyone. I wanted to beat my wife, but the house was far away. Then this grandfather saw the deer and almost came to tears, as if he had met his own brothers.

And when it was very close to the cordon, we finally quarreled with the old man: he kept asking his grandson to go and pick him up from school. It got so bad that he threw the stuck logs in the river and galloped off after the boy. It didn’t even help that Orozkul hit him on the head a couple of times - he pulled away, spat out the blood and left.

When the grandfather and the boy returned, they found out that Orozkul had beaten his wife and kicked him out of the house, and said that he was firing his grandfather from his job. Bekey howled, cursed her father, and the grandmother itched that she had to submit to Orozkul, ask for his forgiveness, otherwise where to go in her old age? Grandfather is in his hands...

The boy wanted to tell his grandfather that he saw deer in the forest, but they returned after all! - Yes, grandfather had no time for that. And then the boy again went into his imaginary world and began to beg the mother deer to bring Orozkul and Bekey a cradle on horns.

Meanwhile, people arrived at the cordon for the forest. And while they were pulling out the log and doing other things, grandfather Momun trotted after Orozkul, like a devoted dog. The visitors also saw deer - apparently the animals were not scared, they were from the reserve.

In the evening, the boy saw a cauldron boiling on a fire in the yard, from which a meaty spirit emanated. The grandfather stood by the fire and was drunk - the boy had never seen him like this. The drunken Orozkul and one of the visitors, squatting near the barn, were sharing a huge pile of fresh meat. And under the wall of the barn the boy saw a horned head. He wanted to run, but his legs wouldn’t obey him - he stood and looked at the disfigured head of the one who only yesterday had been the Horned Mother Deer.

Soon everyone was seated at the table. The boy felt sick all the time. He heard drunken people slurping, gnawing, sniffling, devouring the meat of the mother deer. And then Saidakhmat told how he forced his grandfather to shoot a deer: he intimidated him that otherwise Orozkul would kick him out.

And the boy decided that he would become a fish and never return to the mountains. He went down to the river. And stepped straight into the water...

Need to download an essay? Click and save - » White Steamer, abbreviated. And the finished essay appeared in my bookmarks.

In this article we will describe the story "The White Ship". A brief summary of this work will be presented there. The story was written in 1970 by Chingiz Aitmatov.

"The White Steamer" begins as follows ( summary). A boy and his grandfather lived on a forest cordon. There were three women here: the grandmother, the wife of the patrolman Orozkul, the main man at the cordon, and the grandfather’s daughter - Aunt Bekey. There was also Seidakhmat’s wife, Aunt Bekey, a woman who was the most unhappy because she had no children. Orozkul drunkenly beats her for this. These are the main characters of the story written by Chingiz Aitmatov.

"White Ship" Grandfather Momun

Momun’s grandfather was nicknamed the efficient Momun. He received this nickname for his constant friendliness, as well as his willingness to serve. He knew how to work. And Orozkul, his son-in-law, although he was considered the boss, mostly traveled around visiting guests. Momun kept an apiary and looked after the cattle. Chingiz Aitmatov notes that he was always at work from morning to evening, all his life, but never learned to force himself to be respected.

Boy's dream

The boy did not remember either his mother or his father. He had never seen them, but knew that his father served as a sailor in Issyk-Kul, and his mother left for some distant city after a divorce.

The boy loved to climb the neighboring mountain and look at Issyk-Kul through his grandfather’s binoculars. A white steamer appeared on the lake towards evening.

Beautiful, powerful, long, with pipes in a row. Aitmatov's story "The White Steamship" is named after the ship. The boy wanted to turn into a fish, with only his own on his thin neck, with protruding ears. He dreamed that he would swim to his father and tell him that he was his son. The boy wanted to tell him how his life was with Momun. This grandfather is the best, but he is not at all cunning, which is why everyone laughs at him. And Orozkul often shouts.

A tale told by Momun

The grandfather told his grandson a fairy tale in the evenings. The work “The White Steamer” continues with its description.

In ancient times, the Kyrgyz tribe lived on the banks of the Enesai River. The enemies attacked him and killed everyone, leaving only a girl and a boy. However, then the children also ended up in the hands of enemies. The Khan gave them to the Pockmarked Lame Old Woman and ordered them to end these Kirghiz. But when the Pockmarked Lame Old Woman had already brought the children to the bank of the Enesai River, the queen deer came out of the forest and asked to give the children to her. The old woman warned that these were human children who would kill her fawns when they grew up. After all, people don’t even feel sorry for each other, let alone animals. However, the mother deer nevertheless begged the old woman and brought the children to Issyk-Kul.

They got married when they grew up. The woman went into labor and was in pain. The man got scared and started calling the mother deer. Then an iridescent ringing was heard from a distance. The horned mother brought a baby's cradle on her horns - beshik. The silver bell on its bow was ringing. Immediately the woman gave birth. They named the first-born Bugubay, in honor of the deer. The Bugu family came from him.

Then a rich man died, and his children decided to install deer horns on the tomb. Since then there has been no mercy for the deer in the forests, and they are gone. The mountains are empty. When the mother deer left, she said that she would never return. This is how Aitmatov ends his description of the tale. "The White Steamer" continues with a story about further events at the forest cordon.

Orozkul works with Momun

Autumn has come again in the mountains. For Orozkul, along with the summer, the time for visits to herdsmen and shepherds passed away - the time had come to pay for the offerings. Together with Momun, they dragged two pine logs through the mountains, and therefore Orozkul was angry with the whole world. He wanted to settle down in a city where people are respected and where cultured people live. There you don’t have to carry logs afterwards because you received a gift. And the state farm is visited by an inspector and the police - suddenly they ask where the wood comes from. Anger boiled in Orozkul at this thought. He wanted to beat his wife, but the house was far away. In addition, the grandfather noticed the deer and almost came to tears, as if he had met his own brothers.

Quarrel between Orozkul and Momun

"The White Steamer", a brief summary of which we describe, continues with the quarrel between Orozkul and Momun. Orozkul finally quarreled with the old man when it was very close to the cordon. He kept asking for time off in order to pick up his grandson from school. It got to the point that he threw the stuck logs in the river and went after the boy. Orozkul hit him on the head several times, but it did not help - the old man broke free and left.

When the boy and his grandfather returned, they found out that Orozkul had beaten her. He said that he was firing his grandfather from his job. Bekey cursed her father, howled, and the grandmother itched that Orozkul needed to submit, ask for forgiveness from him, otherwise he would have nowhere to go in his old age.

The boy wanted to tell his grandfather that he met deer in the forest - they returned. But the old man had no time for that. The boy went back into the imaginary world and began to beg the mother deer to bring a cradle on the horns to Orozkulu and Bekey.

People came for the forest

Meanwhile, people arrived at the cordon behind the forest. While they were pulling out the log, grandfather Momun followed Orozkul like a devoted dog. The arrivals also noticed these, apparently, they were from the reserve, unafraid.

Momun kills the mother deer

In the evening the boy saw a cauldron boiling on a fire in the yard, from where a meat spirit was emanating. Grandfather stood by the fire. He was drunk. The boy had never seen him like this. One of the visitors, as well as a drunken Orozkul, were sharing a pile of fresh meat, squatting near the barn. The boy saw a maral head under the wall of the barn. He tried to run, but his legs did not obey him - he just stood and looked at the head of the one who had been the mother deer just yesterday.

The boy goes to the river

Everyone soon sat down at the table. The boy felt sick all the time. He heard people, drunk, sniffling, gnawing, slurping, devouring the mother deer. Saidakhmat later told how he forced her grandfather to shoot: he intimidated him that Orozkul would kick him out if he didn’t do this.

The boy decided to become a fish and never return to the mountains. He approached the river and stepped into the water.

This is how the story “The White Steamer” ends, a brief summary of which we have described. In 2013, this work was included in the list of “100 books for schoolchildren”, recommended for independent reading by the Ministry of Education and Science.

The article provides a brief summary of the work “The White Steamship” by Chingiz Aitmatov. It was first published in 1970 in the literary magazine " New world". Later included in the collection “Tales and Stories.” Aitmatov in “The White Steamship” told a sad story about loneliness, misunderstanding, cruelty. This is one of his best works.

About the author

In 2013, a list of “100 books for schoolchildren” was compiled. This list includes the story “The White Steamer” by Aitmatov, a brief summary of which is presented below. This writer has been awarded state prizes more than once, but his talent, of course, is expressed primarily in the love of his readers, the number of which has not decreased over the years.

He entered literature thanks to such works as “The First Teacher,” “Mother’s Field,” and “The Camel’s Eye.” He became famous in the early sixties. More than one film was based on the works of Chingiz Aitmatov. The film "The White Steamer" was released in 1975. Other famous works by Aitmatov: “Mother’s Field”, “Stormy Stop”, “Early Cranes”, “Scaffold”, “And longer than a century lasts a day."

"White Steamer": summary

Chingiz Aitmatov had a special artistic style. That’s why it’s not easy to retell his works. The writer loved native land. Most of his characters live in a remote village, somewhere near the border of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. He harmoniously wove ancient tales and legends into the plot. There is also an ancient Kyrgyz legend in Chingiz Aitmatov’s story “The White Steamship”.

It is not recommended to read summaries of classic works. But if you don’t have time, and you need to find out the plot of a famous book, you can neglect such recommendations. In addition, a summary of the story "The White Steamer" can inspire you to read the original.

Below is a detailed summary. The story consists of five chapters. We will present a brief summary of Aitmatov’s “The White Steamship” according to the following plan:

Auto shop.
Flowers and stones.
Old Man Momun.
Seydakhmat.
White ship.
Orozkul.
Binoculars.
Dam.
Father.
Mother.
Momun's revolt.

The main character of the story “The White Steamship” by Chingiz Aitmatov is a seven-year-old boy. The author does not name his name. It is only said that he was the only boy “in three houses.” The heroes of Aitmatov’s story “The White Steamship” live in a remote village located near the border, where a truck shop occasionally stops by. The nearest school is a few kilometers away.

Auto shop

The appearance of a store on wheels is a real event in this godforsaken village. The boy has a habit of bathing in a dam that his grandfather built. If it weren't for this dam, he probably would have drowned long ago. The river, as his grandmother said, would have long ago carried his bones straight to Issyk-Kul. It is unlikely that anyone would rush to save him. The boy's grandmother was not his own.

And then one day, when the boy was swimming in his dam, he saw a truck shop approaching the village. Behind the mobile store going down the mountain, dust swirled in its wake. The boy was delighted - he hoped that they would buy him a briefcase. He jumped out of the cold water, hurriedly got dressed and ran to announce the arrival of the auto shop to everyone. He ran, running around boulders and jumping over bushes, without stopping anywhere for a second.

Flowers and stones

It is worth making some digression here. The boy ran without stopping, without saying a word to the stones that lay on the ground. He gave each of them a name long ago. The hero of the story "The White Ship" has neither friends nor relatives. He has no one to talk to. Children tend to invent imaginary friends for themselves. The interlocutors of the protagonist of Aitmatov's story "The White Steamship" were inanimate objects - stones, binoculars, and then a brand new briefcase bought at a car shop.

Camel, Saddle, Tank - these are the names of the cobblestones with which a lonely seven-year-old boy communicates. The boy has little joy in life. He rarely goes to the movies - several times his grandfather took him to a neighboring tract. One day a boy watched a war film and learned about what a tank is. Hence the name of one of the "friends".

The hero of the story “The White Steamship” by Aitmatov also has an unusual attitude towards plants. Among them there are both favorites and enemies. The prickly thistle is the main enemy. The boy fought with him more than once. But the thistle is growing rapidly, and there is no end in sight to this war. The boy's favorite plants are field bindweeds. These flowers are especially beautiful in the morning.

The boy loves to climb into the thickets of shiraljins. They are his most faithful friends. Here he hides from his grandmother when he wants to cry. He lies on his back and looks at the sky, which becomes almost indistinguishable due to tears. At such moments, he wants to become a fish and swim far, far away, so that others ask: “Where is the boy? Where did he go?”

The hero of the story “The White Steamship” by Chingiz Aitmatov lives alone, without friends, and only a car shop makes him forget about the stones, flowers and thickets of shiraljins.

The boy ran to the village, which consisted of only three houses, and joyfully announced the arrival of the auto shop. The men had already dispersed by that time. Only the women remained, and there were only three of them: the grandmother, Aunt Bekey (the sister of the boy’s mother, the wife of the most important person at the cordon) and the neighbor. The women quickly ran to the van. The boy was glad that he brought good news to the village.

Even the stern grandmother praised her grandson, as if he had brought a shop on wheels here. But attention quickly turned to the goods that the owner of the van had brought. Despite the fact that there were only three women, they managed to cause a commotion next to the makeshift shop. But their fuse very quickly dried up, which made the seller quite upset.

The grandmother began to complain about the lack of money. The neighbor did not find anything interesting among the goods. Only Aunt Bekey bought two bottles of vodka, which, according to the grandmother, brought trouble to her head. The sister of the main character's mother was the most unfortunate woman in the world - she had no children, for which her husband periodically beat her.

Old Man Momun

The women bought goods “for pennies” and left. Only the boy remained. The seller irritably collected the goods. The boy would have been left without a briefcase that day if old Momun had not arrived in time. This is the grandfather of the main character of Chingiz Aitmatov’s story “The White Steamship”. The only person who loved the boy who talked with the stones.

Old Man Momun was a very kind man. He readily helped everyone. However, few people appreciated Momun’s kindness, just as people would not appreciate gold if it were suddenly given away for free. Whatever the old man was entrusted with, he did easily and quickly. No one took the harmless Momun seriously; everyone was ready to make fun of him. But the old man was never offended. He continued to help everyone, for which he received the nickname “Efficient Momun”.

The grandfather’s appearance was not at all that of an aksakal. There was no importance, no gravity, no severity in him - nothing that is inherent in Kyrgyz old men. But at first glance it became clear that he was a man of rare kindness. He also had amazing independence from the opinions of others. Momun was never afraid to say, answer, or smile the wrong way. In this sense, he was an absolutely happy person. The old man also had bitterness. He often cried at night. But only those close to him knew what was in old Momun’s soul.

Still, it was not in vain that the merchant traveled such a distance. Old Momun bought a briefcase for his grandson - he's going to school soon. The boy never thought that his happiness would be so great. This day was perhaps the happiest in his life. short life. From that moment on, he did not part with his briefcase.

Seydakhmat

This is the name of another hero of Ch. Aitmatov’s story “The White Steamship”. Seidakhmat is a young forester, one who is considered an important person at the cordon. After the boy got the briefcase, he walked around the entire village, bragging about his purchase. He showed his grandfather’s gift to Seidakhmat. However, he did not appreciate it.

The school was located five kilometers from the house where the boy lived. His grandfather promised to take him there to school on horseback. But to fellow villagers it seemed stupid and nonsense. Nobody was happy for the boy. No one was impressed by the brand new briefcase. And visiting school seemed a dubious event to the poorly educated residents of the cordon.

It is not surprising that the boy loved to talk to stones and flowers. They, unlike people, never laughed at him or his ridiculous grandfather. Now the boy has another inanimate friend - a briefcase. He happily told him about the old man Momun - a kind, ingenuous man, at whom the inhabitants of the cordon were laughing in vain.

White steamer

The boy, like other residents of the village, had his own responsibilities: he had to look after the calf. But he did not always manage to carry them out properly. The boy had binoculars, with which he liked to look into the distance, to where a white steamer sometimes sailed along the river.

Ch. Aitmatov masterfully conveys in the story inner world lonely child. His hero constantly talks to an inanimate object; for him a briefcase is not new thing, and a new friend. The White Steamer - in the story by Ch. T. Aitmatov main image. We’ll talk about what connected the boy with the distant ship a little later.

Orozkul

The husband of the aunt of the main character of The White Steamship, Aitmatov, was an evil, cruel man. And very unhappy. But his fellow villagers respected him and tried in every possible way to please him. The fact is that Orozkul could help with the construction of the house. He was the senior guard of the protected forest. An important person. Orozkul could help in delivering the logs. Or, on the contrary, he could have made the house stand unfinished for years. The boy did not understand this, and therefore wondered why everyone loved his aunt’s husband. After all, he is evil, cruel. These should be thrown into the river. The boy did not like Orozkul.

Anger and self-pity choke Orozkul. He goes home and knows that today he will beat his wife. He always does this. After all, it is Bekey who is to blame for all his sorrows. She hasn't been able to give birth for a year now.

Orozkul jumped off his horse and went to the river, where he washed himself cold water. The boy decided that he had a headache. In reality, Orozkul was crying. He cried because it was not his son who ran out to meet him, because he could not say a single kind words and this child with a briefcase.

Binoculars

The boy got this item from his grandfather. The old man himself did not use binoculars; he said that he could see everything perfectly well without them. The seven-year-old child enjoyed looking at the mountains, the pine forest and, of course, the white steamer. True, the latter was rarely seen.

Thanks to binoculars, the boy saw Lake Issyk-Kul, which was located far from his home. Now the boy shared his impressions with a wordless briefcase. First, he waited for the white steamer to appear, which he told his “friend” about, then he admired the school.

Dam

Through binoculars, the place where the boy usually swam was clearly visible. The dam was made by my grandfather. The old man moved a lot of stones, choosing the largest ones. The current in this place was very strong. The river could easily carry away the boy, as the grumpy grandmother told Momun more than once. At the same time she added: “If she’s drowning, I won’t lift a finger!” The old man had been fiddling with the dam all day. He tried to place the stones on top of each other so that the water between them would enter and exit freely.

On the day the boy got his briefcase, an unpleasant incident occurred. He stared at the white steamer and completely forgot about his duties. Meanwhile, the calf began to chew the laundry that the old woman had hung out. The boy saw this from afar. At first Bekey tried to calm the old woman down, but she, as usual, began accusing her stepdaughter of being infertile. A scandal began. Everyone quarreled. When the boy returned home, there was suspicious silence.

The heroes of Aitmatov's story "The White Steamship" are unhappy people. Bekey is unhappy that her husband regularly beats her. But she and her husband are united by a common grief - the absence of children. Momun is grieving because his eldest son was killed in the war, and his daughters did not find happiness with family life. The old woman, the wife of the boy's grandfather, remembers her dead children and her late husband. She appeared in this house not long ago - after the death of the protagonist’s own grandmother.

Father

The hero of Aitmatov’s story “The White Steamship” talked not only with stones, flowers and a brand new briefcase. He often turned in his thoughts to his father, whom he did not remember at all. Once the boy heard that he would be a sailor. Since then, looking at the ship through binoculars, he imagined that somewhere there, on the deck, his father was standing.

The boy dreamed of becoming a fish, swimming to a white ship and meeting this man. He would certainly tell him about old Momun - a kind man whom no one appreciates. The boy would tell his father about the evil old woman who came to their house after the death of his grandmother. He would tell him about all the inhabitants of the cordon, even about Orozkul - an evil man who certainly needs to be thrown into the cold river.

Mother

The boy grew up an orphan, but his parents were alive. The sailor father has long since acquired a new family. The boy even heard once that on deck, when he returned on his white ship, he was always greeted by his wife and two children. Mother left for the big city a long time ago and also started a new family. One day Momun went to see her, and her daughter promised him that she would take the boy when she got back on her feet. But when this will happen is unknown. However, the old man then told her: “As long as I am alive, I will take care of the boy.”

Aitmatov included several legends in the story "The White Steamship". These are ancient tales that Momun tells his grandson. The boy imagines that someday he will tell them to his father. One of the legends that the old man told was the legend of the Horned Mother Deer. Below is a summary of it. In “The White Steamship” Chingiz Aitmatov devoted an entire chapter to this legend.

The Legend of the Horned Mother Deer

This story happened a long time ago, when the Kyrgyz tribe was surrounded by many enemies. And the Kyrgyz themselves often attacked their neighbors. People then lived by robbery. The one who knew how to take the enemy by surprise and seize the wealth of the enemy was considered smart. People killed each other, blood flowed continuously.

One day, enemies attacked the Kyrgyz tribe and killed almost everyone. Only a boy and a girl remained, who on the day of the raid went far to the river. When they returned, they saw ashes and the mutilated bodies of loved ones. Oddly enough, the children went to the village where the people who killed their relatives lived. Khan ordered the destruction of the “unfinished enemy seed.” A deer saved the children from death. She fed them, warmed them, educated them. When the boy and girl grew up, they got married and had children. But the descendants of those rescued by the deer began to kill their brothers - the deer.

The Kirghiz now decorated the graves of their relatives with the horns of the noble animal. The mountains are empty. There are no more deer. People were born who had never seen this graceful animal in their entire lives. The mother deer was offended by people. She climbed the highest mountain peak, said goodbye to Lake Issyk-Kul and went far, far away.

Momun's Riot

Autumn has arrived. Momun, as promised, took his grandson to school every day. And then he helped his son-in-law - Orozkul often promised to be a resident of the cordon building material, and in return accepted offerings. In the fall, we had to climb far into the mountains in order to cut down a pine tree. We needed real mountain wood. One day Orozkul did not keep his promise: he took a lamb but did not cut down a pine tree, after which he almost lost his position as a guard of a protected forest. A deceived fellow villager wrote a slander against him, which contained both truth and lies. But this was long before the story told in the story “White Passage” by Chingiz Aitmatov took place. We will continue the summary with a description of the climactic scene.

In September the berries ripened and the lambs grew up. The women prepared dried cheese and hid it in winter bags. The men, having agreed with Orozkul, increasingly reminded him of the promised forest. This upset him a lot. If there was a way to return his promises, he would certainly use it. But such a method does not exist, and therefore Orozkul had to climb the mountains with Momun, and upon returning he would be cold with fear: at any moment the forest crawler could be suspected of theft. On one of these trips he almost died. Momun, a lover of fairy tales, having witnessed this incident, believed that the son-in-law owed his salvation to the deer, who returned to Kyrgyz soil several centuries later.

Orozkul's heart did not soften even after he almost died. That day he and Momun had to cut down several pine trees. When the old man told him that he needed to pick up his grandson from school and therefore put off work until the evening, he became furious. He did not let Momun go, and besides, he attacked his father-in-law with ridiculous accusations (the main one, as always, was his daughter’s infertility). The kind old man could not disobey his son-in-law. He worked silently, and his heart was breaking. Momun imagined his grandson standing, alone, abandoned by everyone, near the school, when the other children had long since fled to their homes. The old man had never been late before.

The boy loved going to school. He carefully placed the briefcase, which now contained notebooks and textbooks, next to the pillow when he went to bed. This irritated the grandmother, but the boy ignored her caustic words. Momun was happy for the boy. He was, as has already been said, a harmless man. But not on the day when his little grandson stood alone at the school. The old man suddenly became furious and called his son-in-law a “scoundrel.” Orozkul attacked his father-in-law with his fists, but he, despite the threats, mounted his horse and rode towards the school. This would be the rebellion of the Efficient Momun - an act for which he later had to pay.

The boy cried and was offended by his grandfather, who did not pick him up from school on time. On the way home they were silent for a long time. But suddenly the old man remembered the returning deer and, in order to calm the child, began to tell him the already well-known fairy tale about the Horned Mother Deer. Meanwhile, he thought about what he and his daughter would have to endure. After all, Orozkul is vengeful, he will not forgive the old man that, although for the first time in his life, he disobeyed him.

Momun's son-in-law, returning home, as always, took his anger out on his wife - he beat her and then kicked her out of the house. She went to the neighbors. Bekey did not blame her dissolute husband for her misfortunes, but her father. However, it was customary to blame all the dogs on the unfortunate old man. Having learned from a neighbor that his daughter did not want to talk to him, Momun became even more upset.

This was part of Orozkul's vengeful plan: to turn Bekey against his father. Returning from the forest that evening, he beat his wife for a long time, while repeating that Momun was to blame for all the troubles. Orozkul announced his dismissal to the old man (the boy’s grandfather had worked for him for a long time and received a tiny salary).

The next day the boy did not go to school - he developed a fever. The old woman reproached her husband for a long time, wondering how this humble, quiet man, who had never offended a fly in his entire life, suddenly dared to contradict Orozkul. She forced the old man to go to work and thereby beg forgiveness from his son-in-law.

Orozkul was very power-hungry. It gave him pleasure to watch the humiliation of the old man, who, with his head bowed, followed him towards the forest. An acquaintance, Orozkul, came to pick up logs. The old man helped load the timber, showing great diligence - he was watched by the old woman, who repeated the phrase more than once in the morning: “Without a salary, you are nothing!” Orozkul didn’t seem to see his father-in-law’s efforts.

And suddenly people who came to the forest for firewood saw an extraordinary picture: several deer stood by the river. They drank the water slowly, with a sense of dignity. And then we went towards the forest. Then Orozkul, who knew about Momun’s love for fairy tales about the Horned Mother Deer, came up with another plan for revenge. A plan whose implementation will kill the old man.

The boy, meanwhile, lay in his bed and dreamed about how one day people would tame red deer. By the way, the day before, that evening, when a scandal broke out in the house caused by Momun’s unexpected disobedience, main character saw these animals. He ran to the river, to his favorite stones, and suddenly saw deer. The boy was sure that the largest of them was the same Horned Mother Deer. In his thoughts, for a long time he asked her to send a child to Aunt Bekey. Orozkul will then stop beating her, Momun will not grieve, and peace will reign in their family. He thought about this even when he lay sick in his bed.

Suddenly, a drunken Seidakhmat burst into the house. He dragged the boy outside, despite protests and words: “Grandfather did not tell me to get up.” There were in the yard strangers. The boy did not immediately find his grandfather, but when he saw him, he was very surprised. Momun was drunk. He was on his knees, lighting a fire for meat. And not far from him, to the side lay a deer head. It was the head of the Horned Mother Deer - so the boy decided.

He wanted to run away, but his legs did not obey him. He watched in horror as a drunken Orozkul tried to cut off the antlers from the head of a dead mother deer. And then again I lay in a fever and heard how people, wheezing and slurping, ate deer meat.

On that terrible evening, the boy especially wanted to turn into a fish and swim far from this house. He got up, went to the river, undressed and went into cold water. The boy never turned into a fish, he never swam to the white ship...

You rejected what your childish soul did not put up with.

The boy's soul did not put up with the harshness of the world, and he left it. This is the text of “The White Ship” in brief.

Aitmatov wrote in two languages: Kyrgyz and Russian. He became the pride of his small, but once very warlike people. Moreover, his works are included in the lists best works Russian literature.

Analysis of Aitmatov’s “White Steamer”

In his work, the writer told ancient legend about good and evil. But neither in the legend of the Horned Mother Deer, nor in the main storyline good does not win.

The main character of the story “The White Steamship” by Ch. T. Aitmatov divides the world into two dimensions: the fantastic and the real. There is good only in fiction. But Chingiz Aitmatov in The White Ship did not create strictly negative or positive images. He showed life as it is.

Orozkul undoubtedly evokes negative emotions in the reader. Every person has an inner craving for good. In Orozkul, selfishness and self-pity are too strong. This quality kills everything human and good in him. The author, conveying his inner world, says:

A feeling of shame burned through him.

This happened to Orozkul when he was in once again The old man was rude to Momun. Another scene shows this seemingly cruel and heartless man crying:

He couldn't find a single kind word for this boy with the briefcase.

But every time good thoughts appear in Orozkul’s soul, he drowns them out with self-pity.

Opposed to Orozkul Momun. The old man, despite all the hardships, did not lose the ability to love and understand his loved ones. He does hard work without complaint and listens to insults. But he indulges his son-in-law’s whims not out of weakness - for the sake of his daughter and grandson. For their happiness, he is ready to make any sacrifice, even killing deer. After all, it is the old man who shoots the deer on the orders of his son-in-law. And then he gets drunk for the first time in his life.

Each of the characters in the story has their own grief. Momun's wife often thinks about her former family. All her children, and she had five, died. The woman's heart hardened. But she is not as evil as the boy seems. And there is a place for compassion in her soul.

The world is shown through the eyes of a child in Aitmatov's work "The White Steamship". The summary, of course, does not convey this unusual artistic view of reality. The boy does not understand why everyone fears and respects the cruel Orozkul. In his thoughts, he often imagines the day when justice will prevail. He believes in the legend of the Horned Mother Deer, and this belief gives him strength.

The boy hopes that someday the Horned Mother Deer will help him and his beloved grandfather. He frantically asks her in his thoughts to send Aunt Bekey a child. After all, then her husband will stop beating her, and the unfortunate old man will not cry at night. And then the boy sees the head of a dead deer. His ideas about justice and goodness are crumbling. He leaves this cruel world, before last minutes life believing that he would really turn into a fish and swim to the white ship. But no miracle happens. The boy dies.

Screen adaptation

There are no negative reviews about Aitmatov’s “White Steamer”. The story of an old man and a boy escaping harsh reality in the world of fairy tales and legends leaves no one indifferent. In 1976, Bolotbek Shamshiev directed the film “The White Steamship.” Aitmatov wrote the script for this film. The film was awarded several awards, including the State Prize.

The boy did not remember either his father or his mother. I've never seen them. But he knew: his father was a sailor in Issyk-Kul, and his mother left for a distant city after a divorce.

In the evenings, the grandfather told his grandson a fairy tale. “...This happened a long time ago. A Kyrgyz tribe lived on the banks of the Enesai River. The tribe was attacked by enemies and killed. Only a boy and a girl remained. But then the children also fell into the hands of enemies. The Khan gave them to the Pockmarked Lame Old Woman and ordered to put an end to the Kirghiz. But when the Pockmarked Lame Old Woman had already led them to the shore of the Enesai, a mother deer came out of the forest and began to ask for the children. “People killed my fawns,” she said. “And my udder is full, asking for children!” The Pockmarked Lame Old Woman warned: “These are the children of men. They will grow up and kill your fawns. After all, people are not like animals, they don’t feel sorry for each other either.” But the mother deer begged the Pockmarked Lame Old Woman, and brought the children, now her own, to Issyk-Kul.

And the boy decided that he would become a fish and never return to the mountains. He went down to the river. And stepped straight into the water...

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