A title in a work of art is one of the ways to express the author’s position. It either reflects the essence of the conflicting works, or names the key episode or main character, or expresses the main idea of the work.
Many years after the Great Patriotic War, in 1957, M. A. Sholokhov wrote the story “The Fate of a Man,” based on the life story of an ordinary person, Andrei Sokolov.
The story is narrated in the first person, on behalf of the main character, who talks about his life to a stranger whom he mistook for a driver. Having carefully examined Andrei Sokolov, the narrator pays special attention to the man’s eyes: “eyes, as if sprinkled with ashes, filled with such an inescapable mortal melancholy that it is difficult to look into them.” This detail speaks of the difficult, very difficult life of Andrei Sokolov, because the eyes are the mirror of the soul. The hero tells about his fate. It is this word that M. A. Sholokhov put in the title of the story. Not fate, not fate, not predestination, but precisely fate: a word that contains all the previous meanings, but at the same time, here for the writer it is a synonym for the word life. Indeed, the life of Andrei Sokolov at first “was ordinary”: family, wife, three children, a good job, but the war began, which brought pain and suffering. First captivity, then the death of his wife and daughters, and finally the death of his son. Any person who experienced this could become angry, bitter, and curse his fate. But Andrei Sokolov found the strength to help the little boy Vanyusha, who was left an orphan after the war: the hero adopted Vanyusha: “A burning tear began to boil inside me, and I immediately decided: “We must not be lost apart!” I’ll take him as my child.”
Andrei Sokolov himself decided to take in an orphan boy, thereby changing his destiny and filling his life with meaning.
M.A. Sholokhov called the work “The Fate of a Man,” without indicating that the story would be about the life of a specific person who lost the most precious thing in the war: his wife, children, but who retained the most important thing - the human heart. Thus, from a story about the fate of a specific person, the work turns into a story about the fate of all humanity, when everyone is responsible to themselves and others for their lives.
The title of Sholokhov's story is ambiguous: it indicates the moral essence of Andrei Sokolov: from an ordinary driver who married Irinka, had three children, survived captivity, when “death passed by... only a chill came from it...” he becomes the man who adopted Vanya, and Now Sokolov is afraid for his life (my heart is shaking, the piston needs to be changed..."), since now he is responsible for the little boy.
The dream of a soul mate united two orphan destinies: a soldier who went through the war and an orphaned boy, and from now on, united, they walk through life together.
Thus, the title of Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of Man” raises the narrative to the level of universal generalization, making the small story a deep epic that reveals the most complex issues, touching on the foundations of human coexistence.
Essay on literature on the topic: The meaning of the title of Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man”
Other writings:
- A special work that raised the problem of personality psychology during the war to a new height is the famous story by M. A. Sholokhov “The Fate of a Man.” The reader is presented not just with the life story of a soldier, but with the fate of a man who embodied the typical features of the national Russian character. Modest Read More ......
- The word fate has several lexical meanings. The dictionary of S.I. Ozhegov says that this is: A confluence of circumstances independent of each other; Share, fate; The history of the existence of something; The future, what will happen. In the title of Sholokhov's story, the word fate is used in several meanings. Its Read More......
- The story “The Fate of a Man” by Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov was written in the mid-fifties of the twentieth century. This was a time of revision of the ideological guidelines of the Stalin era, when some relaxations arose in the strict restrictions of censorship. In particular, it became possible to talk in print about people who Read More......
- The structure of “The Fate of Man,” according to B. Larin, goes back to the “Russian version of the short story genre.” “Monumental story” is how modern researchers define the genre of “The Fate of Man.” The writer turned to the form of a “story within a story.” The narrative is framed by the author's beginning and a short ending. The author's beginning is Read More ......
- The story was written in 1956 during Khrushchev’s “thaw”. Sholokhov was a participant in the Great Patriotic War. There he heard the life story of one soldier. She really touched him. Sholokhov harbored the idea of writing this story for a long time. And so in 1956 Read More......
- M. Sholokhov wrote the story “The Fate of Man” in an amazingly short time - in just a few days. On the eve of the new year, 1957, the story “The Fate of Man” was published in Pravda, which amazed the world with its artistic power. The story is based on a real fact. In Read More......
- Sholokhov's story “The Fate of Man” was published in 1956-1957, ten years after the end of the Great Patriotic War. The theme of the story is unusual for the literature of that time about the war: it was Sholokhov who first touched upon the topic of soldiers captured by fascists. As is now well known, Read More......
- M. Sholokhov's story “The Fate of a Man” was written in 1956. This work is based on real events. In 1946, the author met an unknown person who told the story of his life. It was this life situation that became the plot basis of the work. Theme of the story Read More......
In M. A. Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man,” the reader is presented with not just a story, but truly the fate of a person who embodies the typical features of the national Russian character. Andrei Sokolov, a modest worker, father of a family, lived and...
War... This is a terrible word for a person. He emanates coldness, pain, suffering. The Great Patriotic War, so recent and so distant, did not bypass anyone, penetrated into every family, and influenced the fate of every person. Many writers, poets...
The beauty of the soul of the Soviet man is spoken of in M. Sholokhov’s story “SCh”, in which the hero managed to rise above his personal tragic fate and life, to overcome death in the name of life. Andrey Sokolov talks about his life, which was full...
Criticism has already written about the story’s peculiar ring composition. The meeting of the author-narrator with Andrei Sokolov and his adopted son Vanyusha at the crossing over the spring flooded river at the beginning and farewell at the end with the boy and a stranger, but who has now become...
The name of M.A. Sholokhov is known to all mankind. Even opponents of socialism cannot deny his outstanding role in world literature of the 20th century. Sholokhov's works are likened to epochal frescoes. Penetration is the definition of Sholokhov’s talent...
For all the depth of its content, the epic story “The Fate of Man” is distinguished by its simplicity and parsimony of artistic means, which, however, were all used by Sholokhov to express the main idea of the work: a person can triumph over his tragic...
A title in a work of art is one of the ways to express the author’s position. It either reflects the essence of the conflicting works, or names the key episode or main character, or expresses the main idea of the work.
Many years after the Great Patriotic War in 1957, M.A. Sholokhov writes the story “The Fate of a Man”, the plot of which is based on the life story of an ordinary person Andrei Sokolov.
The story is narrated in the first person, on behalf of the main character, who talks about his life to a stranger whom he mistook for a driver. Having carefully examined Andrei Sokolov, the narrator pays special attention to the man’s eyes: “eyes, as if sprinkled with ashes, filled with such an inescapable mortal melancholy that it is difficult to look into them.” This detail speaks of the difficult, very difficult life of Andrei Sokolov, because the eyes are the mirror of the soul. The hero tells about his fate. This is precisely the word given to M.A. Sholokhov in the title of the story. Not fate, not fate, not predestination, but precisely fate: a word that contains all the previous meanings, but at the same time, here for the writer it is a synonym for the word life. Indeed, the life of Andrei Sokolov at first “was ordinary”: family, wife, three children, a good job, but the war began, which brought pain and suffering. First captivity, then the death of his wife and daughters, and finally the death of his son. Any person who experienced this could become angry, bitter, and curse his fate. But Andrei Sokolov found the strength to help the little boy Vanyusha, who was left an orphan after the war: the hero adopted Vanyusha: “A burning tear began to boil inside me, and I immediately decided: “We must not be lost apart!” I’ll take him as my child.”
Andrei Sokolov himself decided to take in an orphan boy, thereby changing his destiny and filling his life with meaning.
M.A. Sholokhov called the work “The Fate of a Man,” without indicating that the story would be about the life of a specific person who lost the most precious thing in the war: his wife, children, but who retained the most important thing - the human heart. Thus, from a story about the fate of a specific person, the work turns into a story about the fate of all humanity, when everyone is responsible to themselves and others for their lives.
The title of Sholokhov's story is ambiguous: it indicates the moral essence of Andrei Sokolov: from an ordinary driver who married Irinka, had three children, survived captivity, when “death passed by... only a chill came from it...” he becomes the man who adopted Vanya, and Now Sokolov is afraid for his life (my heart is swaying, the piston needs to be changed..."), since now he is responsible for the little boy.
The dream of a soul mate united two orphan destinies: a soldier who went through the war and an orphaned boy, and from now on, united, they walk through life together.
Thus, the title of Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of Man” raises the narrative to the level of universal generalization, making the small story a deep epic that reveals the most complex issues and touches on the foundations of human coexistence.
M. Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man” rightfully occupies one of the main places among literary works about the Great Patriotic War. The writer's talent allowed him to talk about the terrible events of the Great Patriotic War with amazing simplicity and honesty. Thanks to such works, even seventy years after the end of the war, our generation does not forget about the feat of the Soviet people. The title of the work seems very simple at first glance; it consists of only two words. But how much meaning can be seen in them!
I would like to draw your attention to the word “man”. M. Lermontov also wrote: “The history of the human soul. almost more interesting and useful than the history of an entire people.” And indeed it is! It is very easy to hide the truth behind loud pretentious phrases, generalizations, and exaggerations. The truth can be conveyed by descending to the personal level. And M. Sholokhov succeeded; the writer showed us the war through the eyes of one person. Using the example of driver Sokolov, the reader learns how important everyone’s work is to achieve a common goal.
But the title also contains the word “fate,” which also carries a certain meaning. If you follow the life of Andrei Sokolov, you can understand that fate constantly tested his strength. Probably one of the most difficult trials during the war years was captivity. It was only thanks to the strength of his spirit that Sokolov did not break: “no matter how hard they tried, they did not turn me into a beast.”
By the will of fate, the fighter had the opportunity to escape. But she also deprived him of his most precious thing - his family. How to live after this, how not to become a living corpse. But fate, as a reward for all the torment he has endured, gives Andrey a meeting with Vanyusha. “Two orphaned people, two grains of sand abandoned in foreign lands.” Sokolov and Vanyusha saved each other.
Now the former orphan has a roof over his head and a person who loves him, and Andrei has a meaning in life. Thus, the title of M. Sholokhov’s story carries a deep meaning. The main theme of the work is reflected in a nutshell: a person’s struggle with fate for the right to life, freedom and happiness.
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M. Sholokhov's story “The Fate of a Man” is one of the most famous works of Russian literature. It tells the story of the life of a single person, Andrei Sokolov, whose fate was befallen by the most terrible epoch-making events: revolution, war, which crippled a person’s life, which, in my opinion, suggested the title of the story to the author.
Only the fate of a truly worthy person could be described in the work. The difficult life of Sokolov, who managed to go through severe trials, preserving his humanity and kindness, faith and hope, perseverance and personal dignity, love for life and people, was suitable for this.
Three times Sokolov, a native of the Voronezh province, experiences losses. And what! In the hungry year of '22, he loses his parents, but finds the strength to live, work, love. Andrey meets his only Irinka. He knows happiness at that time: his home, his beloved children. Happiness that will be destroyed by war.
From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Sokolov was at the front. He fights heroically, but is captured. But even in captivity he remains a Man and does not lose his dignity and pride as a Russian soldier. There is so much nobility in his words: “... they did not turn me into a beast, no matter how hard they tried.” And how Andrei experiences his meeting with his native land after a successful escape from German captivity. So he remembers: “...fell to the ground and kissed it, and I couldn’t breathe...”. Freedom! Your people are around! And suddenly a terrible blow of fate: a bomb hit his house in Voronezh. My wife and daughter died. It was as if Andrei’s heart had hardened, and only faith in his son Anatoly and life together with him gave the soldier strength.
The last days of the war... Victory! What a joy! And Sokolov is in grief: the damned fascists will kill him on the days of his heroic son’s triumph. Here it is, fate!
But the Soviet man does not give up: not everything has yet turned to stone in his heart! He decides to adopt a boy, a child of war. “Two orphaned people, two grains of sand, thrown into foreign lands by a military hurricane of unprecedented force” find each other by the irony of evil fate and become the closest people.
Thus, M.A. Sholokhov, forming new views and depicting in all authenticity the fate of an individual person of the era, depicts the fate of the entire country. Having unfortunately lost close people and the opportunity to be happy, the Russian people did not lose the most important thing, human dignity and desire to live. I think that’s why M.A. Sholokhov’s story is called that.
