Sholokhov, the fate of man, summary by chapter. Analysis of the story “The Fate of a Man” (M.A.

home

Programs

The famous work of Mikhail Sholokhov “The Fate of a Man” tells us about the life of a simple Russian soldier. In the image of Andrei Sokolov, the fate of the entire Soviet people is shown. The war that came unexpectedly for the entire country destroyed all our hero’s dreams for the future.

Having taken away relatives and friends, they did not allow the Russian man to break, thanks to his strong will and tenacity of character. Having met the little boy Vanyusha, Sokolov realized that there would still be bright and joyful moments in his life.

The story teaches us to be courageous, love and steadfastly defend our Motherland, no matter what blows life throws at you. There will always be a person who will give love, care and make your life happy.

Detailed retelling

The story tells about the difficult life of a man - Sokolov, he had a difficult fate, but he steadfastly survived all the hardships and acted bravely, showed respect and care for others, even when he himself had a bad time in life.

The narrator and Sokolov met by chance; they stood and smoked while Sokolov talked about his life.
Sokolov lived in the Voronezh province, worked like everyone else - tirelessly, and had a caring wife next to him. But peaceful life ended and war began. Sokolov became a driver, but the children and loving wife, who saw off her husband with tears in her eyes. Sokolov didn’t like this; he thought they were burying him alive. During the war he was wounded twice, and when we spent the night in the church - three different case happened to the hero.

The first one was that an unknown person set his hand.

The second - Sokolov strangled a man who wanted to give his platoon commander to the Nazis.

Third, the Nazis killed a believer who did not want to desecrate the church in order to relieve himself.

After Sokolov decided to escape, on the third day he was caught and after being in a punishment cell, he was sent to Germany.

Once Sokolov was almost killed, but was able to avoid her. Sokolov told the same person out of misfortune that small graves had been prepared for them. This was heard by Muller, the commandant of the camp in which Sokolov was located.

The camp commandant ordered him to drink it for his own death, without taking a bite (Sokolov decided not to take even a piece of bread, he was a fascist, although he really wanted to eat), laughing in the prisoner’s face, as if humiliating his position and showing his complete power over his life. So he drank three glasses, and the commandant, surprised by such a persistent man, decided not to kill for the words he said. In the concentration camp, Sokolov was starved, but he was still able to survive.

Then Sokolov was again sent to be a driver, when he was driving another major, he stunned him and took the pistol, after which he overcame the post and returned to his own. Then bad news awaited him - he lost his family. Such bitter news shook Sokolova, but not for long. He gathered his strength and decided not to retreat. He realized that he had nothing more to do and went to the front. Before that, I looked at the remains of my house.

After some time, Sokolov learns that his son Anatoly is alive and graduated from college well, and went to the front (at the front he distinguished himself well, had many awards and was an excellent fighter), and in 1945 he was killed by a sniper.
When the war ended, he went to Uryupinsk to visit a friend. He stayed there to live. Near the store I met a little boy, Vanya, whose mother and father died during the war. One day he told the boy that he was his father and adopted him, and his friend’s wife helped take care of the child. But then again there was trouble - he accidentally hit a cow (she survived), the residents became alarmed, and the traffic inspector took away the license, despite persuasion. He worked as a carpenter all winter, and then moved back to a friend (I communicated with him for some time by mail), who gladly sheltered him, and even there new book They will give you permission to drive. Sokolov decided that he would send the boy to school, and then he would find permanent place residence, but now he will wait. This is where Sokolov's story ends - the boat approaches, and the narrator says goodbye to a casual acquaintance. He began to think about what he had heard. And the little boy waved goodbye to him with his little pink hand. So the narrator realized that it was important not to offend the child and hide his manly tears from him.

This story teaches that you need to show humanity to others, no matter what. Sokolov is an outcast, a “real Russian” who resisted evil and was able to look fear in the eyes. Sokolov's act (when he took the boy in) shows that people can show sympathy for others, feel sorry and help.

The story also teaches you to stand up for yourself and maintain honor, this is how Sokolov defended his dignity when he drank to his death, which helped him escape.

Sokolov is an example of a Russian person who absorbed all the qualities of the people of that time, an indicator that people still have kindness and courage.

And another lesson comes from the story that you need to fight for your life with all your might, as Sokolov did. Do not be afraid of the enemy or the enemy, but boldly look into his face and attack. After all, there is only one life, and there is no need to lose it without a fight.

Summary Sholokhov The fate of man in chapters

Andrey Sokolov

At the very beginning of the story, we see how the narrator rides on a cart with a friend to the village of Bukanovskaya. The action is happening in early spring, when the snow had just begun to melt and therefore the road turned out to be tiring. After some time, he has to cross the river with a driver who suddenly appears. Once on the other side, the narrator was left to wait for the driver, who promised to arrive in 2 hours. And perhaps the wait would be tiring, but suddenly a man with a child approaches the sitting narrator, who will become the main character of the story. Andrei Sokolov, that was his name, mistaking a man unknown to him for the driver, sits down next to him and tells him about his life.

Sokolov's life before the war

The main character was born in 1900 in the Voronezh province. Fought in the Red Army. When famine came in the country of the Soviets, he went to work as a farm laborer, which is why he survived. Having buried his parents and sister, he went to Voronezh, where he worked as a carpenter and a simple worker at a factory. Having met his love there, he soon got married. The woman Andrey came across was affectionate, understanding, a real housewife. Irina, that was her name, never reproached him for drinking an extra glass or for a rude word. Later, children appeared in the family - two daughters and a son. And it was then that Sokolov decided to stop drinking and get down to serious business. Most of all he was drawn to cars. Thus, he began to work as a driver. This is how peaceful, measured life would have continued if not for the attack of Nazi Germany on our country.

War and captivity

Saying goodbye to his family was so difficult, as if Sokolov had a presentiment that he would no longer see his relatives. At the front he also acted as a driver. He was wounded twice. But the war did not retreat from our native expanses and presented him with difficult trials. In 1942, during one of the Nazi offensives, while delivering shells into the trenches, our hero was shell-shocked. Having regained consciousness, he realized that he found himself behind enemy lines. Wanting to die like a real Russian soldier, Sokolov stood in front of the Nazis with his head held high. Thus, Andrei is captured. During all the time the Germans have had, quite significant events have taken place in the life of our hero. Firstly, remembering the honor and dignity of the Soviet soldier, he saves the communist and kills the traitor. There, a captured military doctor sets Sokolov’s dislocated arm. All these points reveal all kinds of human behavior in dire circumstances.

Episodes where the Nazis shot a believer who had been asking to go to the restroom all night and shot several prisoners of war made me think about escape. Such a chance came his way. When everyone was sent to dig graves, Andrei fled. But he didn't have to go far. On the fourth day he was caught by the Germans. This escape moved him further away from his homeland. Our hero is sent to work in Germany. Wherever he had to visit. And Sokolov did not imagine that only fortitude helped him avoid death.
On the verge of death.

One of the most impressive episodes is the stay with Lagerführer Müller, which shows us the courage of the Russian soldier. While in captivity, everyone survived as best they could. There were many traitors among our soldiers. A carelessly spoken phrase about Germany brought Andrei closer to death. Just before his death, the Germans offered him a drink. And Sokolov, showing Russian dignity and courage, drinks 3 glasses of schnapps without eating. Such an act evokes respect from a fascist fanatic. And he not only gives him life, but also gives him a loaf of bread and a small piece of lard for the barracks.

The interrogation scene showed the fascists the resilience and self-respect of the Soviet man. This was a good lesson for the German troops.

Release from captivity

After some time, they began to trust our hero, and he begins to work as a driver for the Germans. At a convenient moment for him, the soldier runs, taking with him the major and the package important documents. This escape helps Sokolov rehabilitate himself before his homeland. After receiving treatment in the infirmary, the soldier strives to see his family quickly, but learns that all his relatives were killed during the bomb attacks. There was nothing holding Andrey anymore. He goes back to the front to avenge the death of his wife and children.

Son Anatoly

Happiness and sorrow echo throughout the story. The good news about his eldest son encourages Sokolov to new exploits. But these moments did not last long. Anatoly is killed on Victory Day over the fascist invaders.

Post-war time

After his son’s funeral, left completely alone, our hero does not want to return to his homeland and goes to his friend, who has long invited him to his home in Uryupinsk. Arriving at his place, Andrei gets a job as a driver with a friend. One day, purely by chance, he meets a boy, an orphan. This little boy touched his heart so much that, having given all his warmth and love, Sokolov adopts him. It is Vanyushka, with his childish purity and frankness, who helps him return to life and becomes a guiding star in the hero’s sad life. It is no coincidence that this meeting takes place in early spring.

The bright sun and running ringing streams indicate that Vanya’s appearance melted the hero’s heart. And life goes on. Perhaps he would have remained with his adopted son in Uryupinsk if he had not accidentally knocked down a cow. Andrey was deprived of his book. And taking the boy by the hand, with the best hope for the future, he sets off on a long journey to the Kashar region. Reading the last lines of the work, it is clearly visible how, in the connection of two orphaned destinies, the author shows that, despite the suffering and hardships during the war, the Russian man did not break and, through his example in the image of Sokolov, helps people who have also gone through hardships and grief to be reborn.

But life goes on. And again houses, schools, hospitals are being built, factories are operating. People fall in love and get married. And they live for the sake of the future generation, in whose hearts there is sincere warmth and love. After all, it is in them that our strength and power lie.

Picture or drawing The fate of a person

Other retellings for the reader's diary

Summary by Jansson The World's Last Dragon
Moomintroll, playing in the garden, accidentally caught glass jar tiny dragon. It happened on a clear summer day on Wednesday. The dragon was very small, the size of a matchbox, the wings were transparent and resembled the fins of a goldfish.
Summary of Chukovsky Silver Coat of Arms
The poorest, the most ordinary people always suffered because of their simple and poor position in society. Oddly enough, but it is poverty that is always punished. Everyone loves and respects wealthy people; rarely does anyone pay attention to the poor.
Brief summary of Merimee Carmen
Traveling around Spain, main character makes a dangerous acquaintance. A conversation over a cigar and a shared meal builds trust, and the stranger becomes a fellow traveler. Antonio, the narrator's guide, recognizes a random acquaintance as a criminal
Summary of the Tale of the Flying Ship
The old men had three sons, two were considered smart, and no one considered the third to be a person, because he was stupid
Summary of Bianchi's First Hunt
The puppy got tired of chasing chickens around the yard, so he went hunting to catch wild birds and animals. The puppy thinks that he will now catch someone and go home. Along the way he was seen by beetles, insects, grasshoppers, hoopoe, lizard, whirligig, bittern

Andrey Sokolov

Spring. Upper Don. The narrator and a friend rode on a chaise drawn by two horses to the village of Bukanovskaya. It was difficult to travel - the snow began to melt, the mud was impassable. And here near the Mokhovsky farm there is the Elanka River. Small in the summer, now it has spilled over a whole kilometer. Together with a driver who came from nowhere, the narrator swims across the river on some dilapidated boat. The driver drove a Willis car parked in the barn to the river, got into the boat and went back. He promised to return in 2 hours.

The narrator sat down on a fallen fence and wanted to smoke - but the cigarettes got wet during the crossing. He would have been bored for two hours in silence, alone, without food, water, booze or smoking - when a man with a child came up to him and said hello. The man (this was the main character of the further story, Andrei Sokolov) mistook the narrator for a driver - because of the car standing next to him and came up to talk to his colleague: he himself was a driver, only truck. The narrator did not upset his interlocutor by revealing his true profession (which remained unknown to the reader) and lied about what the authorities were waiting for.

Sokolov replied that he was in no hurry, but wanted to take a smoke break. Smoking alone is boring. Seeing the cigarettes laid out to dry, he treated the narrator to his own tobacco.

They lit a cigarette and started talking. The narrator was embarrassed because of the petty deception, so he listened more, and Sokolov spoke.
Pre-war life of Sokolov

At first my life was ordinary. I myself am a native of the Voronezh province, born in 1900. IN civil war was in the Red Army, in the Kikvidze division. In the hungry year of twenty-two, he went to Kuban to fight the kulaks, and that’s why he survived. And the father, mother and sister died of hunger at home. One left. Rodney - even if you roll a ball - nowhere, no one, not a single soul. Well, a year later he returned from Kuban, sold his little house, and went to Voronezh. At first he worked in a carpentry artel, then he went to a factory and learned to be a mechanic. Soon he got married. The wife was brought up in orphanage. Orphan. I got a good girl! Quiet, cheerful, obsequious and smart, no match for me. Since childhood, she learned how much a pound is worth, maybe this affected her character. Looking from the outside, she wasn’t all that distinguished, but I wasn’t looking at her from the side, but point-blank. And for me there was nothing more beautiful and desirable than her, there was not in the world and there never will be!

You come home from work tired, and sometimes angry as hell. No, she will not be rude to you in response to a rude word. Affectionate, quiet, doesn’t know where to sit you, struggles to prepare a sweet piece for you even with little income. You look at her and move away with your heart, and after a little you hug her and say: “Sorry, dear Irinka, I was rude to you. You see, my work isn’t going well these days.” And again we have peace, and I have peace of mind.

Then he again told about his wife, how she loved him and did not reproach him even when he had to drink too much with his comrades. But soon they had children - a son, and then two daughters. Then the drinking was over - unless I allowed myself a glass of beer on the day off.

In 1929 he became interested in cars. He became a truck driver. Lived well and made good. And then there is war.
War and Captivity

The whole family accompanied him to the front. The children kept themselves under control, but the wife was very upset - they say, this is the last time we’ll see each other, Andryusha... In general, it’s already sickening, and now my wife is burying me alive. In upset feelings he went to the front.

During the war he was also a driver. Lightly wounded twice.

In May 1942 he found himself near Lozovenki. The Germans were going on the offensive, and he volunteered to go to the front line to carry ammunition to our artillery battery. It didn’t deliver the ammunition - the shell fell very close, and the blast wave overturned the car. Sokolov lost consciousness. When I woke up, I realized that I was behind enemy lines: the battle was thundering somewhere behind, and tanks were walking past. Pretended to be dead. When he decided that everyone had passed, he raised his head and saw six fascists with machine guns walking straight towards him. There was nowhere to hide, so I decided to die with dignity - I stood up, although I could barely stand on my feet, and looked at them. One of the soldiers wanted to shoot him, but the other held him back. They took off Sokolov's boots and sent him on foot to the west.

After some time, a column of prisoners from the same division as himself caught up with the barely walking Sokolov. I walked on with them.

We spent the night in the church. Three noteworthy events happened overnight:

a) A certain person, who introduced himself as a military doctor, set Sokolov’s arm, which was dislocated during a fall from a truck.

b) Sokolov saved from death a platoon commander unfamiliar to him, whom his colleague Kryzhnev was going to hand over to the Nazis as a communist. Sokolov strangled the traitor.

c) The Nazis shot a believer who was bothering them with requests to be let out of the church to go to the toilet.

The next morning they began to ask who was the commander, the commissar, the communist. There were no traitors, so the communists, commissars and commanders remained alive. They shot a Jew (perhaps it was a military doctor - at least that’s how the case is presented in the film) and three Russians who looked like Jews. They drove the prisoners further west.

All the way to Poznan, Sokolov thought about escape. Finally, an opportunity presented itself: the prisoners were sent to dig graves, the guards were distracted - he pulled to the east. On the fourth day, the Nazis and their shepherd dogs caught up with him, and Sokolov’s dogs almost killed him. He was kept in a punishment cell for a month, then sent to Germany.

“They sent me everywhere during my two years of captivity! During this time he traveled through half of Germany: he was in Saxony, worked at a silicate plant, and rolled out coal at a mine in the Ruhr region, and in Bavaria earthworks I got my hump, and I stayed in Thuringia, and damn, I had to walk everywhere on German soil.”
On the brink of death

In camp B-14 near Dresden, Sokolov and others worked in a stone quarry. He managed to return one day after work to say, in the barracks, among other prisoners:

They need four cubic meters of production, but for the grave of each of us, one cubic meter through the eyes is enough

Someone reported these words to the authorities and the commandant of the camp, Müller, summoned him to his office. Muller knew Russian perfectly, so he communicated with Sokolov without an interpreter.

“I will do you a great honor, now I will personally shoot you for these words. It’s inconvenient here, let’s go into the yard and sign there.” “Your will,” I tell him. He stood there, thought, and then threw the pistol on the table and poured a full glass of schnapps, took a piece of bread, put a slice of bacon on it and gave it all to me and said: “Before you die, Russian Ivan, drink to the victory of German weapons.”

I put the glass on the table, put down the snack and said: “Thank you for the treat, but I don’t drink.” He smiles: “Would you like to drink to our victory? In that case, drink to your death.” What did I have to lose? “I will drink to my death and deliverance from torment,” I tell him. With that, I took the glass and poured it into myself in two gulps, but didn’t touch the appetizer, politely wiped my lips with my palm and said: “Thank you for the treat. I’m ready, Herr Commandant, come and sign me.”

But he looks attentively and says: “At least have a bite before you die.” I answer him: “I don’t have a snack after the first glass.” He pours a second one and gives it to me. I drank the second one and again I don’t touch the snack, I’m trying to be brave, I think: “At least I’ll get drunk before I go into the yard and give up my life.” The commandant raised his white eyebrows high and asked: “Why aren’t you having a snack, Russian Ivan? Do not be shy!" And I told him: “Sorry, Herr Commandant, I’m not used to having a snack even after the second glass.” He puffed out his cheeks, snorted, and then burst into laughter and through his laughter said something quickly in German: apparently, he was translating my words to his friends. They also laughed, moved their chairs, turned their faces towards me and already, I noticed, they were looking at me differently, seemingly softer.

The commandant pours me a third glass, and his hands are shaking with laughter. I drank this glass, took a small bite of bread, and put the rest on the table. I wanted to show them, the damned one, that although I was perishing from hunger, I was not going to choke on their handouts, that I had my own, Russian dignity and pride, and that they did not turn me into a beast, no matter how hard they tried.

After this, the commandant became serious in appearance, adjusted two iron crosses on his chest, came out from behind the table unarmed and said: “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 won't shoot you. In addition, today our valiant troops reached the Volga and completely captured Stalingrad. This is a great joy for us, and therefore I generously give you life. Go to your block, and this is for your courage,” and from the table he hands me a small loaf of bread and a piece of lard.

Kharchi divided Sokolov with his comrades - everyone equally.
Release from captivity

In 1944, Sokolov was assigned as a driver. He drove a German major engineer. He treated him well, sometimes sharing food.

On the morning of June twenty-ninth, my major orders him to be taken out of town, in the direction of Trosnitsa. There he supervised the construction of fortifications. We left.

On the way, Sokolov stunned the major, took the pistol and drove the car straight to where the earth was humming, where the battle was going on.

The machine gunners jumped out of the dugout, and I deliberately slowed down so that they could see that the major was coming. But they started shouting, waving their arms, saying you can’t go there, but I didn’t seem to understand, I threw on the gas and went at full eighty. Until they came to their senses and began firing machine guns at the car, and I was already in no man’s land between the craters, weaving like a hare.

Here the Germans are hitting me from behind, and here their outlines are firing towards me from machine guns. The windshield was pierced in four places, the radiator was pierced by bullets... But now there was a forest above the lake, our people were running towards the car, and I jumped into this forest, opened the door, fell to the ground and kissed it, and I couldn’t breathe...

They sent Sokolov to the hospital for treatment and food. In the hospital I immediately wrote a letter to my wife. Two weeks later I received a response from neighbor Ivan Timofeevich. In June 1942, a bomb hit his house, his wife and both daughters were killed.

Andrey Sokolov- the main character of the story. Worked as a driver in war time ended up in German captivity, where he remained for two years. A strong, strong-willed person.
Anatoly- son of the main character. During the war he commanded a battery. He was killed by a sniper on Victory Day.
Vanyushka-orphan, adopted son of Andrei.

Meeting Andrei Sokolov

The meeting of the narrator and the main character takes place on the Upper Don in the first post-war spring. The narrator was waiting for the driver, who was supposed to arrive in two hours, to take him across the river. His attention was attracted by a man walking with the boy towards the crossing.

While waiting for the boat to return, the man who came up decided to have a smoke break. The author was wondering where his friends were going, but the man got ahead of his question and started talking about the end of the war. This is how the narrator met Andrei Sokolov and learned the story of his life.

A story about Sokolov's life and family before the war

While still a boy, Andrei went to work in Kuban, where he got a job for wealthy peasants. It was 1922. - a difficult time for the country, people were starving. All of Sokolov’s relatives died, and he was left alone. The young man returned to his native land only a year later.

Andrei sold his parents' house and married the orphan Irina. She was a good girl, she obeyed her husband and was not a grumpy person. His wife loved and respected Sokolov. Then, the young couple had children: a son, Anatoly, and two daughters, Olyushka and Nastenka. The family lived in prosperity, life was organized, and they had their own home.

Previously, Andrei could drink with his friends, but after getting married, he hurried home after work to his family. In 1929 the man quit the factory and got a job as a driver. Another 10 years passed safely for their family. But suddenly the war began. He received a summons from the military registration and enlistment office and he went to the front.

Life in wartime

The whole family came to see Andrey off. Irina was worried by a vague premonition that they would not see each other again. When the soldiers were distributed, Sokolov was given a military truck.

During the German offensive, he received the task of delivering ammunition to soldiers in the thick of hostilities. But he failed to carry out the order - the Nazis blew up the truck. So Sokolov ended up in captivity with his fellow soldiers.

The Soviet soldiers began to talk quietly: to find out who was from where and how they ended up in captivity. Andrei heard a conversation not far from him: one of the prisoners threatened the platoon commander that he would tell the Germans that he was a communist.

The platoon commander asked him not to do this. But Kryzhnev (that was the name of this traitor) did not listen to him, because he wanted to save himself. Then Sokolov decides to help the platoon commander get rid of the traitor. For the first time in his life, Andrei took the life of a person, and he had a disgusting feeling, as if he had strangled some kind of reptile.

Once in the camp, Andrei began to think about how to get to his people. Once he was able to run 40 km from the camp, but the dogs found him. After that he ended up in a punishment cell.

Then there were two years of hard, cruel life in a German camp. Sokolov was assigned to work in a stone quarry, where workers had to manually extract and crush stone. Somehow Andrei could not stand it and said rash words towards the Krauts. The traitor, who was among the prisoners, reported everything to the Germans.

Andrei was sentenced to death. Before the execution of the sentence, Sokolov showed his devotion to his homeland and fortitude, and the Germans decided to leave him alive.

The escape

The Nazis found out that Andrei worked as a driver. They gave him an appointment to work in a German office. The man became the personal driver of a German major. Sokolov again began to have thoughts of escape.

One day he saw a drunken officer, took him around the corner, took off his German uniform and took the weight. During the next trip, Andrei waited until the major dozed off, stunned him, changed into a German uniform and drove towards the front.

He was greeted as a hero and promised to be nominated for an award. They gave him a month off to get treatment and see his family. Sokolov spent two weeks in the hospital, from where he sent a letter to his wife.

Soon he receives an answer, only written not by Irina, but by their neighbor Ivan Timofeevich. The letter reported that Irina and their two daughters died in 1942 from an explosion. All that was left of their house was a large hole.

Only Anatoly survived and asked to go to the front. Andrei arrives where their family used to live and sees that there is nothing left. On the same day he returns back to the division.

Farewell to Anatoly and meeting with Vanyushka

Sokolov grieved for a long time. He decided to find his son. Soon a correspondence was established between them, from which he learned that Anatoly commanded the battery and had many awards. Andrey was very proud of him and looked forward to the meeting.

But Andrei was not happy for long: he was informed that Anatoly was shot by a German sniper on May 9, 1945. on Victory Day. The man saw off his son on his last journey and buried him in German soil.

Sokolov was demobilized, but did not want to return to Voronezh due to difficult memories. Then he decided to go to Uryupinsk, where his friend invited him. A friend got him a job as a driver.

Andrei stopped by the tea shop, near which he saw Vanyushka. The boy was an orphan; his parents died during the war. Sokolov took him in and from then on, Vanya always accompanied his father on flights, and never wanted to stay for a long time without him.

One day an unpleasant incident occurred: Andrei accidentally hit a cow. She survived, but his driver's license was revoked. Then he remembered another friend who lived in the Kashar region and promised to help with the restoration of his rights. That’s where he and Vanyushka are headed.

Everything would be fine, but Andrei’s heart began to worry, he is afraid that if something happens to him, his son will be left alone. The man says that during the day he holds on, but at night he wakes up and the whole pillow is wet from tears.

Then a boat came up. Andrey and the boy went to her. The narrator looked longingly after his acquaintances, who in a couple of hours had become close to him. He hoped that everything would be fine with them. Vanyushka turned around and waved to him.

Test on the story The Fate of a Man

Retelling plan

1. The life of Andrei Sokolov before the war.
2. The tragic trials that befell him during the war.
3. Sokolov’s devastation after the death of his entire family.
4. Andrey takes in an orphan boy and is reborn to a new life.

Retelling

Sokolov says: “At first my life was ordinary. I myself am a native of the Voronezh province, born in 1900. During the civil war he was in the Red Army. In the hungry year of twenty-two, he went to Kuban to fight against the kulaks, and that’s why he survived. And the father, mother and sister died of hunger at home. One left. Rodney couldn't care less - nowhere, no one, not a single soul. A year later I went to Voronezh. At first I worked in a carpentry artel, then I went to a factory, learned to be a mechanic, got married, had children... We lived no worse than people.”

When the war began, on its third day Andrei Sokolov went to the front. The narrator describes his difficult and tragic path on the roads of the Great Patriotic War. Maintaining moral superiority over the enemy, without reconciling and not recognizing the enemy’s power over himself, Andrei Sokolov truly commits heroic deeds. He was wounded twice and then captured.

One of the central episodes of the story is the episode in the church. What is important is the image of a doctor who “both in captivity and in the darkness did his great work” - he treated the wounded. Life confronts Andrei Sokolov with a cruel choice: in order to save others, he must kill the traitor, and Sokolov did it. The hero tried to escape from captivity, but he was caught and dogs were set on him: “only the skin and meat flew into shreds... I spent a month in a punishment cell for escaping, but still alive... I remained alive!..”

In a moral duel with the camp commandant Müller, the dignity of the Russian soldier, to whom the fascist capitulated, wins. Sokolov, with his proud behavior in the camp, forced the Germans to respect himself: “I wanted to show them, damned, that although I am perishing from hunger, I am not going to choke on their handouts, that I have my own, Russian dignity and pride, and that I am a beast They didn’t convert me, no matter how hard they tried.” He divided the bread that Sokolov obtained among all his fellow sufferers.

The hero still managed to escape from captivity, and even get a “tongue” - a fascist major. In the hospital he received a letter about the death of his wife and daughters. He passed this test too, returned to the front, and soon joy “shone like the sun from behind a cloud”: his son was found and he sent a letter to his father from another front. But on the last day of the war, his son was killed by a German sniper... Having gone through the crucible of war, Andrei Sokolov lost everything: his family died, his house was destroyed. Returning from the front, Sokolov looks at the world eyes “as if sprinkled with ashes”, “filled with inescapable melancholy.” The words escape his lips: “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... There isn’t and I can’t wait!!!”

And yet Andrei Sokolov did not waste his sensitivity, the need to give his warmth and care to others. Andrei Sokolov generously opens his broken, orphaned soul to a fellow orphan - a boy. He adopted the boy and began to take care of him as the person closest to him. The boy, this “splinter of the war,” who unexpectedly found his “folder,” looks at the world with “eyes as bright as the sky.” Modesty and courage, selflessness and responsibility are the traits characteristic of Sokolov. Describing the life of an “ordinary person,” Sholokhov shows him as a guardian and defender of life and universal spiritual shrines.

Year of writing:

1956

Reading time:

Description of the work:

The Fate of Man is a story that was written by Russian writer Mikhail Sholokhov in 1956. The work was originally published by the newspaper Pravda.

The story The Fate of a Man is based on real events. The fact is that in 1946, while hunting, Sholokhov met a man who told him about the sad events in his life, and Sholokhov was so impressed by this story that he decided to write a story about it. About 10 years passed, and, inspired by the stories of Erich Maria Remarque, Hemingway and others, Mikhail Sholokhov sat down to write. It took him only seven days to write the story The Fate of a Man.

We present to your attention summary story The Fate of Man.

Andrey Sokolov

Spring. Upper Don. The narrator and a friend rode on a chaise drawn by two horses to the village of Bukanovskaya. It was difficult to travel - the snow began to melt, the mud was impassable. And here near the Mokhovsky farm there is the Elanka River. Small in the summer, now it has spilled over a whole kilometer. Together with a driver who has appeared from nowhere, the narrator swims across the river on some dilapidated boat. The driver drove a Willis car parked in the barn to the river, got into the boat and went back. He promised to return in two hours.

The narrator sat down on a fallen fence and wanted to smoke - but the cigarettes got wet during the crossing. He would have been bored for two hours in silence, alone, without food, water, booze or smoking - when a man with a child came up to him and said hello. The man (this was the main character of the further story, Andrei Sokolov) mistook the narrator for a driver - because of the car standing next to him and came up to talk to his colleague: he himself was a driver, only in a truck. The narrator did not upset his interlocutor by revealing his true profession (which remained unknown to the reader) and lied about what the authorities were waiting for.

Sokolov replied that he was in no hurry, but wanted to take a smoke break. Smoking alone is boring. Seeing the cigarettes laid out to dry, he treated the narrator to his own tobacco.

They lit a cigarette and started talking. The narrator was embarrassed because of the petty deception, so he listened more, and Sokolov spoke.

Pre-war life of Sokolov

At first my life was ordinary. I myself am a native of the Voronezh province, born in 1900. During the civil war he was in the Red Army, in the Kikvidze division. In the hungry year of twenty-two, he went to Kuban to fight the kulaks, and that’s why he survived. And the father, mother and sister died of hunger at home. One left. Rodney - even if you roll a ball - nowhere, no one, not a single soul. Well, a year later he returned from Kuban, sold his little house, and went to Voronezh. At first he worked in a carpentry artel, then he went to a factory and learned to be a mechanic. Soon he got married. The wife was brought up in an orphanage. Orphan. I got a good girl! Quiet, cheerful, obsequious and smart, no match for me. Since childhood, she learned how much a pound is worth, maybe this affected her character. Looking from the outside, she wasn’t that distinguished, but I wasn’t looking at her from the outside, but point-blank. And for me there was nothing more beautiful and desirable than her, there was not in the world and there never will be!

You come home from work tired, and sometimes angry as hell. No, she will not be rude to you in response to a rude word. Affectionate, quiet, doesn’t know where to seat you, struggles to prepare a sweet piece for you even with little income. You look at her and move away with your heart, and after a little you hug her and say: “Sorry, dear Irinka, I was rude to you. You see, my work isn’t going well these days.” And again we have peace, and I have peace of mind.

In 1929 he became interested in cars. He became a truck driver. Lived well and made good. And then there is war.

War and Captivity

During the war he was also a driver. Lightly wounded twice.

After some time, a column of prisoners from the same division as himself caught up with the barely walking Sokolov. I walked on with them.

We spent the night in the church. Three noteworthy events happened overnight:

a) A certain person, who introduced himself as a military doctor, set Sokolov’s arm, which was dislocated during a fall from a truck.

b) Sokolov saved from death a platoon commander unfamiliar to him, whom his colleague Kryzhnev was going to hand over to the Nazis as a communist. Sokolov strangled the traitor.

c) The Nazis shot a believer who was bothering them with requests to be let out of the church to go to the toilet.

“They sent me everywhere during my two years of captivity! During this time he traveled through half of Germany: he was in Saxony, he worked at a silicate plant, and in the Ruhr region he rolled out coal at a mine, and in Bavaria he made a living on earthworks, and he was in Thuringia, and the devil, wherever he had to, according to German walk the earth"

On the brink of death

In camp B-14 near Dresden, Sokolov and others worked in a stone quarry. He managed to return one day after work to say, in the barracks, among other prisoners: “They need four cubic meters of production, but for the grave of each of us, one cubic meter through the eyes is enough.”

The commandant pours me a third glass, and his hands are shaking with laughter. I drank this glass, took a small bite of bread, and put the rest on the table. I wanted to show them, the damned one, that although I was dying of hunger, I was not going to choke on their handouts, that I had my own, Russian dignity and pride, and that they did not turn me into a beast, no matter how hard they tried.

After this, the commandant became serious in appearance, straightened two iron crosses on his chest, came out from behind the table unarmed and said: “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 won't shoot you. In addition, today our valiant troops reached the Volga and completely captured Stalingrad. This is a great joy for us, and therefore I generously give you life. Go to your block, and this is for your courage,” and from the table he hands me a small loaf of bread and a piece of lard.

Kharchi divided Sokolov with his comrades - everyone equally.

Release from captivity

In 1944, Sokolov was assigned as a driver. He drove a German major engineer. He treated him well, sometimes sharing food.

On the morning of June twenty-ninth, my major orders him to be taken out of town, in the direction of Trosnitsa. There he supervised the construction of fortifications. We left.

On the way, Sokolov stunned the major, took the pistol and drove the car straight to where the earth was humming, where the battle was going on.

The machine gunners jumped out of the dugout, and I deliberately slowed down so that they could see that the major was coming. But they started shouting, waving their arms, saying you can’t go there, but as if I didn’t understand, I threw on the gas and went at full eighty. Until they came to their senses and began firing machine guns at the car, and I was already in no man’s land between the craters, weaving like a hare.

Sokolov was discharged from the hospital and received a month's leave. A week later I reached Voronezh. He looked at the crater in the place where his house was - and that same day he went to the station. Back to the division.

Son Anatoly

But three months later, joy flashed through me, like the sun from behind a cloud: Anatoly was found. He sent a letter to me at the front, apparently from another front. I learned my address from a neighbor, Ivan Timofeevich. It turns out that he first ended up in an artillery school; This is where his talents for mathematics came in handy. A year later he graduated from college with honors, went to the front and now writes that he received the rank of captain, commands a battery of “forty-fives”, has six orders and medals.

After the war

Andrey was demobilized. Where to go? I didn’t want to go to Voronezh.

I remembered that my friend lived in Uryupinsk, demobilized in the winter due to injury - he once invited me to his place - I remembered and went to Uryupinsk.

My friend and his wife were childless and lived in their own house on the edge of the city. Although he had a disability, he worked as a driver in an auto company, and I got a job there too. I stayed with a friend and they gave me shelter.

Near the teahouse he met a homeless boy, Vanya. His mother died in an air raid (during the evacuation, probably), his father died at the front. One day, on the way to the elevator, Sokolov took Vanyushka with him and told him that he was his father. The boy believed and was very happy. He adopted Vanyushka. A friend's wife helped look after the child.

Maybe we could have lived with him for another year in Uryupinsk, but in November a sin happened to me: I was driving through the mud, in one farm my car skidded, and then a cow turned up, and I knocked her down. Well, as you know, the women started screaming, people came running, and the traffic inspector was right there. He took away my driver’s book, no matter how much I asked him to have mercy. The cow got up, lifted her tail and started galloping along the alleys, and I lost my book. I worked as a carpenter for the winter, and then got in touch with a friend, also a colleague - he works as a driver in your region, in the Kasharsky district - and he invited me to his place. He writes that if you work for six months in carpentry, then in our region they will give you a new book. So my son and I are going on a business trip to Kashary.

Yes, how can I tell you, and if I hadn’t had this accident with a cow, I would still have left Uryupinsk. Melancholy does not allow me to stay in one place for a long time. When my Vanyushka grows up and I have to send him to school, then maybe I’ll calm down and settle down in one place

Then the boat arrived and the narrator said goodbye to his unexpected acquaintance. And he began to think about the story he had heard.

Two orphaned people, two grains of sand, thrown into foreign lands by a military hurricane of unprecedented force... What awaits them ahead? And I would like to think that this Russian man, a man of unbending will, will endure and grow up next to his father’s shoulder, one who, having matured, will be able to endure everything, overcome everything on his way, if his Motherland calls him to do so.

With heavy sadness I looked after them... Maybe everything would have turned out well if we parted, but Vanyushka, walking away a few steps and braiding his scanty legs, turned to face me as he walked and waved his pink little hand. And suddenly, as if a soft but clawed paw squeezed my heart, I hastily turned away. No, it’s not only in their sleep that elderly men, who have turned gray during the years of war, cry. They cry in reality. The main thing here is to be able to turn away in time. The most important thing here is not to hurt the child’s heart, so that he doesn’t see a burning and stingy man’s tear running down your cheek...

You have read the summary of the story The Fate of a Man. We invite you to visit the Summary section to read other summaries of popular writers.

Sections