“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 this.”

The fate of man during the Great Patriotic War

Even the title of the story, The Fate of a Man, speaks for itself. There is no description of wars and battles, heroic defense and other things. Sholokhov is trying to show the reader that war, and all life in general, consists of many lives and destinies ordinary people, from their little tragedies, disappointments and joys. The range of problems outlined in the story is quite wide. These are the feats that the Russian people performed not only in the heat of battle, but also in captivity.

The abstract is based on reviews from critics who claim that Sholokhov’s work “The Fate of Man” shows high moral qualities Russian soldier: patriotism, self-sacrifice, readiness to defend the independence of his country at the cost of his life. Critic A. Tvardovsky talks about the time of origin of the events. Explains that the action of the story takes the reader to the first post-war year. In the early spring of 1946, I met Sholokhov by chance on the Upper Don, at a crossing, unknown person with a little boy, and the writer heard his confession story. For more than ten years, Sholokhov nurtured the idea of ​​the work, events faded into the past, into history, and the need to speak out increased. And so, in 1956, over the course of several days, in one breath, the story “The Fate of Man” was written, a story about the great suffering that befell the common Russian man Andrei Sokolov, about his heroism and courage, perseverance and dignity, enormous power spirit and endurance, manifested in the war, in fascist captivity, as well as about his warmth and great responsiveness to the misfortune of others. Sholokhov uses in his work compositional technique“a story within a story.” And therefore it is perceived by the reader as something he himself heard once.

The author and critic shares with us information about the most outstanding and talented writer M. A. Sholokhov. The author of the story is a world-famous great Russian writer who burst into literature in the 20s of the 20th century. Sholokhov is one of those writers for whom reality often turns out to be tragic situations and destinies. The story "The Fate of Man" true to that confirmation. The article talks about the fact that it was very important for Sholokhov to succinctly and deeply concentrate the experience of the war in the story. Under the pen of Sholokhov, history becomes the embodiment human destinies in the war, a story about the greatness, strength and beauty of an ordinary Russian soldier Andrei Sokolov. The writer showed the tragic history of human life in its connection with the events of the Second World War.

Critics, when assessing a work, consider the problem as an author-narrator, deeply imbued with the grief of others. With his excitement, the way he saw and perceived, he infects the reader.

In Sholokhov’s story, two voices are heard: Andrei Sokolov talks about his fate, but the author in this case is not just a random interlocutor, he is an active person: he will ask, then insert a word or two, then suddenly full voice will speak, reflecting on the fate of the person he met.

The authors divide the work into three parts, and each of them contains common motifs. And from this, as they explain, composition follows. The first part contained the story of the main character's pre-war life, a description of the beginning of the war, and farewell to his family. And, as often happens in life, a seemingly insignificant detail was remembered. The author touches on the very content of the story, telling us about the farewell before leaving for the front. He pushed away his wife, who rushed to him, desperately saying: “My dear... Andryusha... we won’t see each other... you and I... no longer in this world.” It is here that one of the most tragic leitmotifs of the story is born: “Until my death, until my last hour, I will die, and I will not forgive myself for pushing her away then!..”.

The second part of the story begins with the same self-reproach, which seems to return the reader to an unhealed wound, to a tragic irreparable loss. During the war, his wife and children died, and they really did not have to see each other again. War, escape from captivity, news of the death of a family - these events are described in the second part of the story. Here the character of Andrei Sokolov is most fully revealed, firm, persistent and courageous. These words contain the main thing that determines both the hero’s behavior and his life.

The third part of the story is based on the interweaving of the tragic and heroic. The end of the story is preceded by the author’s leisurely reflection, the reflection of a person who has seen and knows a lot about the life of a person. In this author's reflection is the culmination of the story, a statement of courage, perseverance, glorification of a man who withstood the blows of a military storm and endured the truly impossible.

Condemnation of the war can also be heard in the fate of the one who became Sokolov’s adopted son. Vanyushka. An orphan, destitute by the war, found his dad in the person of the main character. This eloquently suggests that the terrible war did not completely break Andrei Sokolov. In the depths of his tormented soul there was still a place for compassion and love. Critics are delighted with the idea of ​​the “story within a story” composition and explain this by the fact that we learn a lot about the author himself from this work.

The story “The Fate of Man” appeared at the end of 1956. Russian literature has not seen such a rare phenomenon for a long time, when comparatively small piece became an event. Sholokhov's story about irreparable losses, about terrible grief was permeated with boundless faith in life, faith in the spiritual strength of the Russian person.

M. Sholokhov in his works posed and resolved serious philosophical and moral problems. In all works, as critics claim, one can trace the interweaving of two main themes: the theme of man and the theme of war.

In “The Fate of Man,” Sholokhov reminds the reader of the disasters that the Great War brought to the Russian people. Patriotic War, about the perseverance of a man who withstood all the torment and did not break. Sholokhov's story is permeated with boundless faith in the spiritual strength of the Russian person. The plot is based on vivid psychological episodes. Farewell to the front, captivity, attempted escape, second escape, news of the family. Such rich material would be enough for a whole novel, but Sholokhov managed to fit it into a short story. Critic A. Bykov gives his assessment in his article.

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

This man had a hard time in life. He goes to the front and is captured in inhuman living conditions. But he had a choice; he could have ensured a tolerable life for himself by agreeing to inform on his own comrades. Once at work, Andrei Sokolov carelessly spoke about the Germans. His statement cannot be called a remark thrown at the enemy, it was a cry from the soul: “Yes, one square meter there are plenty of these stone slabs for the grave of each of us.”

A well-deserved reward was the opportunity to see my family. But, having arrived home, Andrei Sokolov finds out that his family died, and in the place where he stood native home- a deep hole overgrown with weeds. Andrei's son dies in last days war, when the long-awaited victory was just around the corner. Sholokhov fate man war

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

All that remains in Sokolov’s life are memories of his family and an endless road. But life cannot consist of only black stripes. The fate of Andrei Sokolov brought him together with a boy of about six years old, as lonely as he was. Nobody needed the grimy boy Vanyatka. Only Andrei Sokolov took pity on the orphan, adopted Vanyusha, and gave him all his unspent fatherly love. It was a feat, a feat not only in the moral sense of the word, but also in the heroic one. In Andrei Sokolov’s attitude towards childhood, towards Vanyusha, humanism prevailed great victory. He triumphed over the inhumanity of fascism, over destruction and loss.

Sholokhov focuses the reader’s attention not only on the episode of Sokolov’s meeting with the orphan Vanya. The scene in the church is also very colorful. The Germans shot a man only because he asked to go outside so as not to desecrate God's temple. In the same church, Andrei Sokolov kills a man. Sokolov killed a coward who was ready to betray his commander. Andrei Sokolov endured so much in his life, but he did not become embittered at fate, at people, he remained a person with kind soul, a sensitive heart, capable of love and compassion. Perseverance, tenacity in the struggle for life, the spirit of courage and camaraderie - these qualities not only remained unchanged in the character of Andrei Sokolov, but also increased.

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

The story “The Fate of a Man” shows the fate of a simple soldier on big war, who went through all its horrors and, at the cost of not only enormous efforts, but also personal losses, defended his Motherland, asserted the great right to life, freedom and independence. Sholokhov raises the problem of resilience folk character using the example of the Russian soldier Andrei Sokolov. In the book of reviews, all the authors appreciated all the qualities of the Russian person whom the author Sholokhov showed us.

Andrei had everything, but the calm and measured flow of life came to an end - the war. Sokolov, like thousands of other soldiers, left to serve. He said goodbye to his family, not suspecting that they were no longer destined to meet. The war tore him away from home, from friends, from family and from his usual business.

In his work, Sholokhov always paid great attention to the problems civil war, collectivization, but in the story this is mentioned only in passing when Sokolov talks about his fate. Main character The story does not focus on its past. Everything pales in comparison with what Andrei Sokolov had to endure during the war. So what is war? What does it mean for a person? Evil, huge and great evil: misfortune, suffering, pain. War cripples a person both physically and morally. A person always finds himself in front of moral choice: hide, sit out, betray, or forget about the impending danger, about oneself, help, save, rescue, sacrifice oneself. Andrei Sokolov also had to make this choice.

Without thinking for a minute, he rushes to the rescue of his comrades. My comrades may be dying there, but I’ll be sick here. At this moment he forgets about himself. But Andrey failed to help the guys in trouble. He just didn't have time. This is how the main character of the story is captured. Here he has to observe humiliation, bullying, beatings and human suffering. He is forced to exist in inhuman conditions. Prisoners were not considered people. They were slaves, cattle, and lived in cold and drafty barracks. How can you remain human despite constant hunger, beatings, insults and backbreaking work? How not to break down, not to give up? How to maintain warmth? How?! Even in such conditions, Sokolov retains his self-esteem: by going to Muller, he is preparing only to face death with dignity! But the camp commander, appreciating the courage, inflexibility and pride of the Russian soldier, grants him life. The main character behaves in such a way that even his fierce enemy begins to respect him. That's what, Sokolov, you are a real Russian soldier. Having endured terrible hardships, Sokolov almost loses his human appearance: he is dirty and ragged, thin and scary. But he does not lose his spiritual, human qualities and is capable of compassion. When he receives a loaf of bread and a piece of bacon as a gift from Müller, he does not pounce on the food like a hungry animal, but carries these treasures to the barracks and shares them with other prisoners, despite the fact that among them there is one who betrayed him.

Critics raise the problem of content that Sholokhov does not describe the feelings of his hero at the moment when he reads the ill-fated letter. It is impossible to express the pain and grief for loved ones in words! Three months later, great joy flashed for Sokolov: his son Anatoly was found. But this joy was very short-lived. He soon learns that a German sniper killed his son on Victory Day. And here it is March. The first warm day after winter. Nature awakens after deep sleep, everything around is gaining strength and starting its life anew. It’s more difficult for a person after the war: he will never forget what he experienced, many wounds will hurt for the rest of his life, and some will not even heal. Isn’t everything so hopeless for the main character of Sholokhov’s story? Man's destiny? He meets Vanya, a street child who suffered even more during his childhood, and finds the strength not only to live on, but also to help someone who really desperately needs him. That's what real man! It is a person, and not just Andrei Sokolov. After all, in his story Sholokhov created collective image Russian soldier during the Great Patriotic War. And the qualities that Andrei was endowed with were inherent in most Russian fighters. Perseverance, courage, honesty, dignity, pride, altruism have always been inherent in Russian soldiers and distinguished them from soldiers of other armies. However, it should be noted that the author speaks about these qualities in terse language. In my opinion, he does this deliberately to show that a soldier is simply obliged to have such qualities. The absence of heroic pathos in no way detracts from the significance of victory in the Great Patriotic War, but, on the contrary, once again proves its significance.

M.A. Sholokhov abandons the epic narrative, according to many critics, in order to show not the mass of people striving for victory, but the life of an individual person in war with all his feelings and experiences. That is why the story is dedicated to a soldier who went through all the horrors of war, but remained a person who retained his personality, human dignity, respect for himself and others. Narrating about the harsh everyday life of the war, A. Akhmatova affirms the triumph humanistic ideas. Similar stories have been created and will be created progressive writers so that people never forget at what cost victories are achieved, how to value and preserve peace and protect the most beautiful thing in this world of man.

The life-affirming art, nationality and humanism of Sholokhov were revealed in this story in its entirety. The moral strength of the main character and the skill of the author, who managed to portray so soulfully tragic story life ordinary person, have captivated many generations of readers.

In the end I would like to say. That not only readers were delighted with Sholokhov’s story, written on emotions and feelings. The author's merit lies in the fact that he was able to convey all those war years in their completeness and tragedy. The main value of the author’s work lies in the fact that he was able, through the fate of one person, to give us an idea of ​​the hardships of the entire people who survived this terrible fate of being and participating in the most difficult war for us.

Mikhail Sholokhov in his works reveals the fate of the Russian people. The story “The Fate of Man” is one of the masterpieces of his work. Sholokhov himself assessed “The Fate of Man” as a step towards creating a book about the war.
This book is the first to tell about a man who went through a concentration camp. During the war, everyone who ended up in the camps was considered traitors. Using the example of Andrei Sokolov, we see that life circumstances are stronger than us and different people could fall into the hands of the Nazis.
The main character of the book, Andrei Sokolov, is a typical representative of the people in life behavior and character. He and his country go through civil war, devastation, industrialization and a new war.
Andrey Sokolov was born in one thousand nine hundred. In his story, Sholokhov focuses on the roots of mass heroism, which go back to national traditions. Sokolov has “his own, Russian dignity”: “So that I, a Russian soldier, may drink to victory German weapons?!»
The life of Andrei Sokolov required strong-willed efforts from him. He fought and really wanted to survive, not for himself, but for the sake of his family. This is how the camp episode is described: “I said goodbye to my comrades, they all knew that I was going to death, I sighed and went. I walk through the camp yard, look at the stars, say goodbye to them, and think: “So you have suffered, Andrei Sokolov, and in the camp, number three hundred and thirty-one.” I somehow felt sorry for Irinka and the kids, and then this sadness subsided, and I began to gather my courage to look into the hole of the pistol fearlessly, as befits a soldier, so that the enemies would not see at my last minute that I had to give up my life after all. it’s difficult...” He didn’t know at that moment that his family was no longer there, and instead of a house there was a crater from an exploding bomb. He was left alone when the whole family died of hunger.
Against the background of describing the fate of one person, Sholokhov shows other people. He draws attention to solidarity when the Germans took away “people harmful to them” from the church. Out of two hundred superfluous person no one betrayed the commanders and communists. When Sokolov brings the lard that the Germans gave him to the barracks, no one attacked him with greed, they divided it equally.
The main character is captured not of his own free will, he was shell-shocked. When meeting the Germans, he does not lose his composure. Morally he is stronger than the enemy: with mockery he hands the marauder his boots and footcloth. Sholokhov portrays Sokolov as an extraordinary person, noble and humane. Sokolov’s humanity was also evident in the adoption of the orphan Vanyusha.
M. Sholokhov’s story highlights two aspects of the war: the grief of a soldier who lost his home and family, and the soldier’s courage in German captivity. The trials did not break Sokolov. The optimism of the hero of the work leaves a deep imprint on the reader’s soul for life and serves as a moral example.

The fate of man is the fate of the people (based on Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of Man”)

One of the works of M.A. Sholokhov, in which the author sought to tell the world the harsh truth about the huge price he paid Soviet people humanity's right to the future is the story “The Fate of Man,” published in Pravda on December 31, 1956 - January 1, 1957. Sholokhov wrote this story in an amazingly short time. Only a few days of hard work were devoted to the story. However creative history it takes him many years: between a chance meeting with a man who became the prototype of Andrei Sokolov and the appearance of “The Fate of a Man,” ten years passed. It must be assumed that Sholokhov turned to wartime events not only because the impression of the meeting with the driver, which deeply excited him and gave him an almost ready-made plot, had not faded. The main and determining thing was something else: the last war was such an event in the life of mankind that without taking into account its lessons, not a single one of the most important problems could be understood and solved modern world. Sholokhov, exploring the national origins of the character of the main character Andrei Sokolov, was faithful to the deep tradition of Russian literature, the pathos of which was love for the Russian person, admiration for him, and was especially attentive to those manifestations of his soul that are associated with the national soil.

Andrey Sokolov is a truly Russian man Soviet era. His fate reflects the fate of his native people, his personality embodied the features that characterize the appearance of the Russian man, who went through all the horrors of the war imposed on him and, at the cost of enormous, irreparable personal losses and tragic deprivations, defended his Motherland, asserting the great right to life, freedom and independence of his homeland.

The story raises the problem of the psychology of the Russian soldier - a man who embodied the typical traits national character. The reader is presented with the life story of an ordinary person. A modest worker, the father of the family lived and was happy in his own way. He personifies those moral values, which are inherent in working people. With what tender soulfulness he remembers his wife Irina (“Looking from the outside, she wasn’t that distinguished, but I didn’t look at her from the outside, but point-blank. And for me there was no one more beautiful and desirable than her, never existed in the world and never will!”) How much paternal pride he puts into words about children, especially about his son (“And the children were happy: all three studied with excellent marks,” and the eldest Anatoly turned out to be so capable of mathematics that he they even wrote about him in the central newspaper...").

And suddenly there was war... Andrei Sokolov went to the front to defend his homeland. Like thousands of others just like him. The war tore him away from his home, from his family, from peaceful work. And his whole life seemed to go downhill. All the troubles of the wartime befell the soldier; life suddenly began to beat him and whip him with all its might. The feat of man appears in Sholokhov’s story mainly not on the battlefield or on the labor front, but in conditions of fascist captivity, behind the barbed wire of a concentration camp (“... Before the war I weighed eighty-six kilograms, and by the fall I was no longer pulling more than fifty. One skin remained on the bones, and I couldn’t even carry my own bones. But give me work, and don’t say a word, but such work that a draft horse is not fit for that.” In the spiritual combat with fascism, the character of Andrei Sokolov and his courage are revealed. A person always faces a moral choice: hide, sit out, betray, or forget about the impending danger, about his “I”, help, save, rescue, sacrifice himself. Andrei Sokolov also had to make this choice. Without thinking for a minute, he rushes to the rescue of his comrades (“My comrades may be dying there, but am I going to suffer here?”). At this moment he forgets about himself.

Far from the front, the soldier survived all the hardships of the war and the inhuman bullying of the Nazis. Andrei had to endure many terrible torments during his two years of captivity. After the Germans hounded him with dogs, so much so that his skin and meat flew in shreds, and then they kept him in a punishment cell for a month for escaping, beat him with fists, rubber sticks and all kinds of iron, trampled under their feet, while giving him almost no food and forcing him to work a lot. And more than once death looked him in the eye, each time he found courage in himself and, in spite of everything, remained human. On Muller's orders, he refused to drink to the victory of German arms, although he knew that he could be shot for this. But not only in a clash with the enemy does Sholokhov see a manifestation of the heroic nature of a person. His losses become no less serious trials. The terrible grief of a soldier, deprived of loved ones and shelter, his loneliness. After all, Andrei Sokolov, who emerged victorious from the war, returning peace and tranquility to people, himself lost everything he had in life, love, happiness.

The harsh fate did not even leave the soldier shelter on earth. In the place where the house built with his hands stood, there was a dark crater left by a German air bomb. Andrei Sokolov, after everything that he experienced, it seemed that he could become embittered, bitter, broken, but he does not complain about the world, does not withdraw into his grief, but goes to people. Left alone in this world, this man gave all the warmth that remained in his heart to the orphan Vanyusha, replacing his father. And again life takes on high human meaning: raise this ragamuffin, this orphan, to become a human being. With all the logic of his story, M. A. Sholokhov proved that his hero is in no way broken and cannot be broken by life. Passing through severe trials, he retained the main thing: his human dignity, love of life, humanity, which help him live and work. Andrey remained kind and trusting to people.

I believe that in “The Fate of Man” there is an appeal to the whole world, to every person: “Stop for a minute! Think about what war brings, what it can bring!” The end of the story is preceded by the author’s leisurely reflection, the reflection of a person who has seen and knows a lot in life. In this reflection there is an affirmation of the greatness and beauty of what is truly human. Glorification of courage, perseverance, glorification of a man who withstood the blows of a military storm and endured the impossible. Two themes - tragic and heroic, feat and suffering - are constantly intertwined in Sholokhov's story, forming a single whole. The sufferings and exploits of Sokolov are not an episode associated with the fate of one person, it is the fate of Russia, the fate of millions of people who participated in the cruel and bloody struggle against fascism, but despite everything they won, and at the same time remained human. This is the main meaning of this work.

The story “The Fate of Man” is addressed to our days, to the future, reminds us of what a person should be, reminds us of those moral principles without which life itself loses its meaning and to which we must be faithful in any circumstances.

Every noble person is deeply aware of his blood ties with his fatherland.

V. G. Belinsky

The name of M. A. Sholokhov is known all over the world. He wrote about the tragic destinies of people caught in the whirlpool of the 20th century, fraught with tragedies: the writer’s focus is on depicting the difficult and terrible events of the revolution, civil war, and collectivization. Sholokhov did not ignore the period of the Great Patriotic War, when humanity was once again faced with a gigantic catastrophe.

The writer is again interested in the fate of a person deprived of terrible historical cataclysms.

The action in Sholokhov's story “The Fate of a Man” (1956) begins in March 1946, in the first post-war spring. The main character of the story, Andrei Sokolov, is no different from the generation of people who won the war and went through all the trials. He has big ones dark hands hard worker. He is poorly dressed and has a skinny duffel bag. However, behind the outward inconspicuousness lies a great tragedy: “Have you ever seen eyes as if sprinkled with ashes, filled with such an inescapable mortal melancholy that it is difficult to look into them?”

The fate of Andrei Sokolov is the glorious and heroic fate of a generation Soviet people who went through the torment and horrors of war and retained their humanity and nobility.

The pre-war life of Andrei Sokolov was happy: he loved his wife and children, and this love awakened the best feelings in him.

But the war came and took away this happiness. Andrei Sokolov went to the front. Injuries, captivity, the murder of a traitor, an unsuccessful escape from captivity, bullying by the Nazis - these are the main milestones in the front-line biography of a person in the war. Each time, going through the trials of fate, Andrei Sokolov remained a real person, a man with a capital “M”.

The scene of the confrontation with Muller is the climax of this story. This is a duel between enemies, a kind of psychological duel that requires incredible willpower and all physical and mental strength from the hero. On the one hand - an armed, well-fed, smug and powerful fascist, on the other - an unarmed, powerless, barely standing, deprived of even his name, prisoner of war No. 331. Hungry and exhausted, he refuses to drink German weapons for the victory, and when he does agree drink “for my death and deliverance from torment,” then he does not touch the bread: “I wanted to show them, damned, that although I am perishing from hunger, I am not going to choke on their handout, that I have my own, Russian dignity and pride and that they did not turn me into a beast, no matter how hard they tried.” Even Müller could not help but admire the courage and stamina of the Russian soldier. The lines about how the prisoners dying of hunger shared the bread and lard brought by Andrei touch to the depths of the soul.

News of the death of a family, complete loneliness- the last, most terrible tests of Andrei Sokolov. This was supposed to break a person, deprive him of the meaning of life. After all, his heart was petrified with grief.

Why did Andrei adopt Vanyushka? He was deeply hurt tragic fate child. His heart has not stopped loving, and his soul continues to feel human suffering and pain. Having adopted an orphan, Andrei Sokolov once again accomplishes a feat. He consciously takes responsibility for raising a child, even without a permanent home.

This is the unnoticed heroism that Andrei Sokolov demonstrates daily, hourly, overcoming his tragedy and the tragedy of the boy.

“Two orphaned people, two grains of sand, thrown into foreign lands by a military hurricane of unprecedented force... does something await them ahead?” - the author asks this question. And he himself answers it: “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, who, having matured, will be able to endure everything, overcome everything on his way, if his Motherland calls him to this.” .

The Great Patriotic War passed through the destinies of millions of Soviet people, leaving behind a difficult memory: pain, anger, suffering, fear. During the war, many lost their dearest and closest people, many experienced severe hardships. Rethinking of military events and human actions occurs later. Appear in the literature works of art, in which, through the prism of the author’s perception, an assessment of what is happening in difficult war times is given.

Mikhail Sholokhov could not ignore the topic that worried everyone and therefore wrote short story“The Fate of Man”, touching on the issue heroic epic. At the center of the story are wartime events that changed the life of Andrei Sokolov, the main character of the work. The writer does not describe military events in detail; this is not the author’s task. The writer’s goal is to show the key episodes that influenced the development of the hero’s personality. The most important event in the life of Andrei Sokolov there is captivity. It is in the hands of the fascists, in the face of mortal danger, that various sides of the character’s character are revealed, it is here that the war appears to the reader without embellishment, revealing the essence of people: the vile, vile traitor Kryzhnev; a real doctor who “did his great work both in captivity and in the dark”; “such a skinny, snub-nosed guy,” platoon commander. Andrei Sokolov had to endure inhuman torment in captivity, but the main thing is that he managed to preserve his honor and dignity. The climax of the story is the scene at Commandant Muller's, where the exhausted, hungry, tired hero was brought, but even there he showed the enemy the strength of the Russian soldier. Andrei Sokolov’s action (he drank three glasses of vodka without a snack: he didn’t want to choke on a handout) surprised Muller: “That’s what, Sokolov, you are a real Russian soldier. You are a brave soldier." The war appears to the reader without embellishment: after escaping from captivity, already in the hospital, the hero receives terrible news from home about the death of his family: his wife and two daughters. The heavy war machine spares no one: neither women nor children. The final blow fate - the death of the eldest son Anatoly on May 9, Victory Day, at the hands of a German sniper.

War takes away the most precious things from people: family, loved ones. In parallel with the life of Andrei Sokolov, story line little boy Vanyusha, whom the war also made an orphan, depriving his relatives of his mother and father.

This is the assessment the writer gives to his two heroes: “Two orphaned people, two grains of sand, thrown into foreign lands by a military hurricane of unprecedented force...”. War condemns people to suffering, but it also develops will, character, when one wants to believe “that this Russian man, a man of unbending will, will endure, and near his father’s shoulder will grow one who, having matured, will be able to endure everything, overcome everything on his way.” , if his homeland calls for it.”