Sholokhov's work is closely connected with the era in which he lived. His works are a special view of life. This is the look of an adult, seasoned by the harsh reality of a person who loves his homeland and appreciates people who faced danger with their breasts. These people died so that we could live in a free country, so that tears of happiness would shine in the eyes of their children.
During the Great Patriotic War, Sholokhov set himself the goal of strengthening love for the homeland among Soviet people. The story “The Fate of a Man,” written in 1957, is an amazing work about how two souls, tormented by the horrors of the war years, find support and the meaning of life in each other.
Andrey Sokolov – ordinary person, his fate is similar to thousands of other destinies, his life is similar to many other lives. The main character of the story endured the trials that befell him with enviable fortitude. He remembered very well the difficult separation from his family when he went to the front. He cannot forgive himself for pushing away his wife during parting, who had a presentiment that this was theirs. last meeting: “I forcibly separated her hands and lightly pushed her on the shoulders. It seemed like I pushed lightly, but my strength was stupid; She backed away, took three steps, and again walked towards me in small steps, holding out her arms.”
At the beginning of spring, Andrei Sokolov was wounded twice, shell-shocked, and, worst of all, captured. The hero had to endure inhumane trials in fascist captivity, but, nevertheless, he did not break. Andrei still managed to escape, and he again returned to the ranks of the Red Army. This man carried and tragic death. He hears terrible news on the last day of the war: “Take courage, father! Your son, captain Sokolov, was killed today at the battery.”
Andrei Sokolov has amazing courage and spiritual strength; the horrors he experienced do not make him embittered. The main character wages a continuous struggle within himself and emerges victorious. This man, who lost people close to him during the Great Patriotic War, finds the meaning of life in Vanyusha, who was also left an orphan: “Such a little ragamuffin: his face is covered in watermelon juice, covered with dust, dirty as dust, unkempt, and his eyes are like stars. at night after the rain! It is this boy with “eyes as bright as the sky” who becomes new life main character.
Vanyusha’s meeting with Sokolov was significant for both. The boy, whose father died at the front and whose mother was killed on the train, still hopes that he will be found: “Dad, dear! I know that you will find me! You'll find it anyway! I’ve been waiting for so long for you to find me.” Andrei Sokolov’s fatherly feelings for someone else’s child awaken: “He snuggled up to me and trembles all over, like a blade of grass in the wind. And there’s a fog in my eyes and I’m also shaking all over, and my hands are shaking...”
The glorious hero of the story again performs some kind of spiritual, and perhaps moral, feat when he takes the boy for himself. He helps him get back on his feet and feel needed. This child became a kind of “medicine” for Andrei’s crippled soul: “I went to bed with him and for the first time in a long time fell asleep peacefully. ... I’ll wake up, and he’ll be nestled under my arm, like a sparrow under cover, quietly snoring, and my soul becomes so joyful that I can’t even express it in words!”
“Two orphaned people, two grains of sand, thrown into foreign lands by a military hurricane of unprecedented force... what lies ahead for them?” - Maxim Aleksandrovich Sholokhov asks at the end of the story. One thing is certain - these people will still find their happiness, and it cannot be otherwise.
Sholokhov's story is imbued with a deep, bright faith in man. The title is also very symbolic, for this work expresses not only the fate of the soldier Andrei Sokolov, but also the fate of Vanyusha himself, and indeed the entire country. “And I would like to think,” writes Sholokhov, “that this Russian man, a man of inexhaustible will, will endure, and near his father’s shoulder will grow one who, having matured, will be able to withstand everything, overcome everything on his way, if the Motherland calls for it.”
I think that the heroes of "The Fate of Man" are typical of their time. Millions of people were left orphans in brutal war 1941-1945. But the resilience and courage of the generation that found the strength to believe and wait is amazing. People did not become embittered, but, on the contrary, united and became even stronger. And Andrei Sokolov, and Vanyusha, who is still quite little boy, - people are strong-willed and persistent. Perhaps this helped them find each other.
In my opinion, Sholokhov took upon himself the sacred duty to tell humanity the harsh truth about what a huge price the Soviet people paid for the right to be free and for the right to make the next generation happy. War is cruel and heartless, it does not distinguish who is right and who is wrong, it does not spare children, women, or the elderly. Therefore, subsequent generations are obliged to know the whole truth about it.
In December 1956 and January 1957, the Pravda newspaper published the work Soviet writer Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov’s “The Fate of Man” is about the great trials and great inflexibility of the Soviet people during the difficult years of the war.
Background
The basis of the story is the fate of the country, the fate of a person, the theme of the Great Patriotic War and the character of a simple Russian soldier.
Immediately after publication, Sholokhov received an endless stream of letters from Soviet readers. From those who survived fascist captivity, from the relatives of fallen soldiers. Everyone wrote: workers, collective farmers, doctors, teachers, scientists. They wrote not only ordinary people, but also famous writers, both domestic and foreign, among whom were Boris Polevoy, Nikolai Zadornov, Hemingway, Remarque and others.
Film adaptation of the book
The story gained worldwide fame, and in 1959 it was filmed by director Sergei Bondarchuk. He also played main role in a movie.
Bondarchuk believed that everything should be shown on the screen as simply and harshly as life itself, through the understanding of the hero, because the most important thing in this story is the character of the Russian man, his big heart, which has not hardened after the trials that befell him.
The book “The Fate of Man” has been reprinted many times. Both in our country and abroad. This dramatic story found in all human hearts hot review. “The Fate of Man,” according to foreign readers, is a magnificent, tragic, sad story. Very kind and bright, heartbreaking, causing tears and giving joy that two orphaned people found happiness, found each other.
Italian director Rossellini gave the following review of the film: “The Fate of Man is the most powerful, the greatest thing that has been filmed about the war.”
Where it all started
The plot is based on real events.
One day, in the spring of 1946, two people met on the road, at the crossing. And how it happens when we meet strangers, got to talking.
A random listener, Sholokhov, listened to the bitter confession of a passerby. The fate of a man who survived the terrible blows of the war, but did not become bitter, greatly touched the writer. He was amazed.
Sholokhov carried this story within himself for a long time. The fate of a man who had lost everything during the war and had regained a little happiness could not leave his mind.
10 years have passed since the meeting. In just seven days, Sholokhov composed the story “The Fate of a Man”, the heroes of which are a simple Soviet soldier and an orphan boy Vanya.
The passerby who told the writer his story became the prototype of the main character in the story - Andrei Sokolov. In it, Mikhail Sholokhov outlined the main properties of the true Russian character: perseverance, patience, modesty, a sense of human dignity, love for the Motherland.
The difficult history of the country also found its response in the life of the main character. The fate of a man, Andrei Sokolov, a simple worker, repeats the main milestones of the events of those years - the civil war, the hungry twenties, the work of a farm laborer in the Kuban. So he returned to his native Voronezh, received the profession of a mechanic and went to the factory. He married a wonderful girl and had children. He has simple life and simple happiness: home, family, work.
But the Great Patriotic War broke out, and Andrei Sokolov went to the front to fight for the Motherland, like many millions of Soviet men. In the very first months of the war he was captured by fascists. In captivity, his courage amazed the German officer, the camp commandant, and Andrei escapes execution. And soon he escapes.
Returning to his own people, he goes to the front again.
But his heroism is manifested not only in a clash with the enemy. An equally serious test for Andrei is the loss of loved ones and home, his loneliness.
On a short leave from the front in hometown he learns that his beloved family: his wife Irina and both daughters died during the bombing.
On the site of the lovingly built house there is a gaping crater left by a German air bomb. Shocked and devastated, Andrei returns to the front. There is only one joy left - the son Anatoly, a young officer, he is alive and fighting against the Nazis. But the joyful Victory Day over Nazi Germany is overshadowed by the news of the death of his son.
After demobilization, Andrei Sokolov was unable to return to his city, where everything reminded him of his lost family. He worked as a driver and one day in Uryupinsk, near a teahouse, he met a street child - a little orphan boy Vanya. Vanya’s mother died, her father went missing.
One destiny - many destinies
The cruel war could not rob the hero of the story of his main qualities - kindness, trust in people, caring, responsiveness, justice.
The grimy boy’s restlessness found a piercing response in the heart of Andrei Sokolov. a child who lost his childhood forced him to decide to deceive and tell the boy that he was his father. Vanya’s desperate joy that his “dear father” had finally found him gave Sokolov a new meaning in life, joy and love.
Living without caring about anyone was meaningless for Andrei, and his whole life was now focused on the child. No more troubles could darken his soul, because he had someone to live for.
Typical Hero Traits
Despite the fact that Andrei Sokolov's life is full of terrible shocks, he says that it was ordinary and he suffered no more than others.
In Sholokhov's narrative, the life of Andrei Sokolov is a typical human fate for the country in those years. War heroes returned home from the front and found terrible devastation in their beloved, native places. But it was necessary to continue to live, build, strengthen the Victory won with such difficulty.
The strong character of Andrei Sokolov is accurately reflected in his reasoning about himself: “That’s why you’re a man, that’s why you’re a soldier, to endure everything, to endure everything, if need calls for it.” His heroism is natural, and his modesty, courage and selflessness did not disappear after the suffering he endured, but only strengthened in his character.
The red thread running through the work is the idea of the incredibly enormous price paid for the Victory, incredible sacrifices and personal losses, tragic shocks and deprivations.
A small but stunningly capacious work has concentrated in itself the tragedy of everything Soviet people who drank the sorrows of war to the brim, but retained his highest spiritual qualities and defended the freedom of his homeland in an impossible fight with the enemy.
Every review of “The Fate of Man” says that Sholokhov is a great creator. The book cannot be read without tears. This is a work about life, which contains deep meaning, say readers.
“The Fate of Man” by M.A. Sholokhov is one of the most touching works about the Great Patriotic War. In this story, the author conveyed all the harsh truths of life during the war years, all the hardships and losses. Sholokhov tells us about fate in an extraordinary way courageous man who went through the entire war, lost his family, but managed to maintain his human dignity.
The main character is Andrei Sokolov, a native of the Voronezh province, an ordinary hard worker.
IN peacetime he worked at a factory, then as a driver. I had a family, a home - everything I needed to be happy. Sokolov loved his wife and children and saw in them the meaning of life. But the family idyll was destroyed by the unexpected outbreak of war. She separated Andrei from the most important thing he had.
At the front, the hero suffered many difficult, painful trials. He was wounded twice. While trying to deliver shells for an artillery unit, he fell into the rear of the enemy army and was captured. The hero was brought to Poznan, placed in a camp, where he was obliged to dig graves for the dead soldiers. But even in captivity, Andrei did not lose heart. He behaved courageously and with dignity. The character of a real Russian man allowed him to endure all the trials without breaking. One day, while digging a grave, Andrei managed to escape, but, unfortunately, without success. He was found by detective dogs in a field. For his escape, the hero was severely punished: beaten, bitten by dogs and transferred to the camp isolation ward for a month. But even in such terrible situations, Sokolov was able to survive without losing his humanity.
The hero was driven around Germany for a long time: he worked in inhumane conditions at a silicate plant in Saxony, in a coal mine in the Ruhr region, in earthworks in Bavaria and in an infinite number of other places. The prisoners of war were fed horribly and were constantly beaten. By the fall of 1942, Sokolov had lost more than 36 kilograms.
The author clearly shows the hero’s courage in the scene of his interrogation by the camp commander, Müller. The German promised to personally shoot Sokolov for his terrible statement: “They need four cubic meters of production, but for the grave of each of us, one cubic meter through the eyes is enough.” Being on the verge of death, the hero openly expresses his opinion about the very difficult working and living conditions for prisoners. He had already prepared for death, gathered his courage, but the executioner’s mood suddenly changed in a more loyal direction. Müller was amazed at the courage of the Russian soldier and saved his life, also giving him a small loaf of bread and a piece of lard with him to the block.
After some time, Andrei was appointed driver of a major engineer in the German army. On one of the missions, Sokolov managed to escape to his own people, taking the “fat man” with him. In this situation, the soldier showed resourcefulness and ingenuity. He delivered the major's documents to headquarters, for which they promised to reward him.
After the end of the war, the life of the main character did not become easier. He lost his family: during the bombing of an aircraft factory, a bomb hit the Sokolovs’ house, and his wife and daughters were at home at that moment; his son Anatoly died from an enemy bullet on the last day of the war. Andrei Sokolov, having lost the meaning of life, returned to Russia, went to Uryupinsk to visit a demobilized friend, where he settled, found a job and at least somehow began to live like a human being. Finally, the hero’s life began to take shape. white stripe: fate sent the man a little orphan, a ragged Vanyushka, who also lost all his loved ones during the war.
One can only hope that later life Andrea got better. Worthy of endless respect, love and admiration main character works "The Fate of Man".
Updated: 2018-02-25
Attention!
Thank you for your attention.
If you notice an error or typo, highlight the text and click Ctrl+Enter.
By doing so, you will provide invaluable benefit to the project and other readers.
Sholokhov's "The Fate of Man" the main characters live in times of war, lose what is most precious, but find the strength to live on.
M. Sholokhov “The Fate of Man” main characters and their characteristics
- Andrey Sokolov
- Vanyushka
- Irina, Andrey's wife
- Ivan Timofeevich, neighbor of the Sokolovs
- Müller, camp commandant
- Soviet colonel
- captured military doctor
- Kyryzhnev is a traitor
- Peter, friend of Andrei Sokolov
- landlady
- Anatoly Sokolov- son of Andrei and Irina. He went to the front during the war. Becomes battery commander. Anatoly died on Victory Day, he was killed by a German sniper.
Nastenka and Olyushka- Sokolov's daughters
Andrey Sokolov- the main character of the story “The Fate of a Man”, a front-line driver, a man who went through the whole war.
Andrei Sokolov is the main character of the story “The Fate of Man” by Sholokhov. His character is truly Russian. How many troubles he experienced, what torments he endured, only he himself knows. The hero speaks about this on the pages of the story: “Why did you, life, cripple me like that? Why did you distort it like that?” He slowly tells his life from beginning to end to a fellow traveler with whom he sat down to have a cigarette by the road.
Sokolov had to endure a lot: hunger, captivity, the loss of his family, and the death of his son on the day the war ended. But he endured everything, survived everything, because he had strong character And iron strength spirit. “That’s why you’re a man, that’s why you’re a soldier, to endure everything, to endure everything, if need calls for it,” Andrei Sokolov himself said. His Russian character did not allow him to break down, retreat in the face of difficulties, or surrender to the enemy. He snatched life from death itself.
All the hardships and cruelties of the war that Andrei Sokolov endured did not kill his human feelings or harden his heart. When he met little Vanyusha, just as lonely as he was, just as unhappy and unwanted, he realized that he could become his family. Sokolov told him that he was his father and took him in for upbringing.
Vanyushka- an orphan boy of five or six years old. The author describes him as follows: “fair-haired curly head”, “pink cold little hand”, “eyes as bright as the sky”. Vanyushka is trusting, inquisitive and kind. This child has already experienced a lot; he is an orphan. Vanyushka’s mother died during the evacuation, was killed by a bomb on a train, and her father died at the front.
Andrei Sokolov told him that he was his father, which Vanya immediately believed and was incredibly happy about. He knew how to sincerely enjoy even the little things. He compares the beauty of the starry sky to a swarm of bees. This child, dispossessed by the war, early developed a courageous and compassionate character. At the same time, the author emphasizes that he is just a small, vulnerable child who, after the death of his parents, spends the night anywhere, lying around covered in dust and dirt (“he lay quietly on the ground, dozing under the angular matting”). His sincere joy indicates that he yearned for human warmth.
There are many works about the Great Patriotic War, one of them is the story of M.A. Sholokhov "The Fate of Man" summary which is presented below.
The plot of this work does not contain a description of military operations or exploits in the rear; here we are talking about a man who was captured, and what mark the war as a whole left on his life.
Analysis of this work and its summary will help you get to the heart of the story.
About the story “The Fate of Man”
The work describes the complex ups and downs of the life of an ordinary Soviet soldier who saw the horrors of war, survived the hardships of German captivity, lost his family, was on the verge of life and death many times, but despite all this, retained his humanity and found the strength to live on.
“The Fate of Man” from the point of view of genre is considered to be a story. However, this work contains signs of different genres.
The volume of the work is small, which means it is more like a story. However, what is described here is not a single incident, but a large period of time, several years long, which allows us to call this book a story.
Who is the author of the story “The Fate of Man”
Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov is one of greatest writers of his time, as well as a prominent public figure.
He was awarded the title of academician, twice Hero of Socialist Labor, and in 1965 became a laureate Nobel Prize according to literature.
Among his most famous works are such novels as “Virgin Soil Upturned,” the epic novel “ Quiet Don", "They Fought for the Motherland" and of course, the story "The Fate of a Man".
The year the story “The Fate of Man” was written
The story “The Fate of Man” was written in 1956. The war ended more than 10 years ago, but it still worried M. Sholokhov.
It was at this time that the author rethought the image of the heroic Victory.
In 1953, I.V. died. Stalin. Sholokhov looked critically at many things, including the actions of the deceased head of state.
Stalin’s well-known order No. 270 stated that everyone who surrendered to the enemy should be considered deserters and traitors to the Motherland. They were to be destroyed and their families deprived of any government support.
Sholokhov's story "The Fate of Man" opened new page in the military literature of those years. The horrors of captivity described in the story, which millions of soldiers had to endure, became the starting point for changing attitudes towards people who found themselves in such a situation.
The history of the creation of the story “The Fate of Man”
The work is based on true story a man whom Sholokhov met while hunting on the Upper Don about a year after the end of the war.
In a casual conversation, the writer heard a story that shook him to the core. “I will definitely, definitely write about this,” Sholokhov thought.
Only 10 years later the writer decided to bring his plan to life. At this time, he read the works of Hemingway and, the main characters of which are powerless, worthless people who have lost the meaning of life after returning from the war.
Then he remembered his casual acquaintance and decided that it was time to write his story, a story of hardship, difficult trials and faith in life no matter what.
It took Sholokhov only seven days to write the text of the story. December 31, 1956 is the date of writing and publication of the story in the Pravda newspaper.
The work found a great response in the writing community, including abroad. A little later the story was read on the radio famous actor S. Lukyanov.
The main characters of M. Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of Man”
There is only one main character in the story - Andrei Sokolov, a man of iron will, but at the same time not without a soft heart.
This hero embodies the main features of a true Russian character - willpower, love of life, patriotism and mercy.
The story is told on his behalf.
Other characters in “The Fate of Man” by M.A. Sholokhov
About the rest characters we learn from the memories of the main character.
He speaks warmly about his family: his wife Irina and children - Anatoly, Nastenka and Olyushka.
In the episodes there are heroes whom the narrator sympathizes with - a military doctor who helped Russian soldiers in captivity, a company commander saved by Sokolov from an informer, and a Uryupinsk friend who sheltered the hero at home after the war.
There are also negative characters: traitor Kryzhnev, commissar of the Müller camp, German major engineer.
The only character we see in the hero's present is his adopted son Vanyusha, a little boy who firmly believes that Sokolov is his real father.
“The Fate of Man” - summary
The story is not told in chapters, but in continuous text, but for an abbreviated retelling it is convenient to divide it into small segments.
Andrey Sokolov
In its structure, the work is a story within a story.
The road ahead was not easy, and halfway through the journey they had to cross a river that stretched for a whole kilometer. At the crossing, a thin, leaky boat was waiting for them, which could only carry two people at a time. The boatman was the first to cross the narrator.
On the other bank, while waiting for his friend, the author met a man with a boy of 4-5 years old. A conversation ensued. The man mistakenly assumed that the narrator had the same profession as him - a driver. Perhaps that is why he suddenly wanted to pour out his soul and tell the story of his difficult life.
He did not introduce himself right away, but as the story progresses we learn that his name is Andrei Sokolov. Now the story is told on his behalf.
Pre-war time
From the very beginning life path Andrei Sokolov was haunted by difficulties and hardships.
He was born in 1900 in the Voronezh province. Passed Civil War, in the hungry year of 1922 he ended up in the Kuban, and that’s the only way he survived. And his relatives - father, mother and two sisters - died of hunger in their homeland.
He doesn't have any left in the whole world loved one. Returning from Kuban, he moved to Voronezh, where he started working as a carpenter, then worked at a factory, and mastered metalworking skills.
Soon he started a family. He married a modest orphan girl out of great love. After the loss of his loved ones, she became a joy for him - smart, cheerful and at the same time wise. Life began to improve: children appeared - son Anatoly and two daughters, Nastya and Olya - all excellent students and the pride of their father.
The hero has mastered new profession driver, began to earn good money and rebuilt a house with two rooms. Only the location of the house was unfortunate - near an aircraft factory. He didn’t know then what fatal role it will play a role in his life.
War and captivity
A new war suddenly burst into the life of Andrei Sokolov. Already on the third day, the whole family gathered to accompany him to the station.
Saying goodbye to his family was a difficult ordeal for him. The always calm and quiet wife suddenly went into a frenzy, did not let him go, but only insisted that they would not have to see each other again.
He felt offended that they were burying him alive, and pushed his wife away, for which he reproached himself every day afterwards.
Military everyday life began for Andrei Sokolov: he worked as a driver and received two minor wounds. He wrote letters to his family infrequently and always very briefly, never complaining. In this, for the first time, his special masculine endurance was revealed: he did not tolerate soldiers sending tearful letters to their relatives, for whom it was already difficult in the rear.
His greatest test came in May 1942. There was a fierce battle near Lozovenki. The ammunition was running out and Andrei Sokolov had to deliver it to a battery of soldiers under fire. But he did not reach his destination. The blast wave threw him aside and temporarily disabled him.
When he came to his senses, he discovered that he was behind enemy lines. At first he tried to pretend to be dead so as not to give up, but passing Germans discovered him. Then Sokolov gathered his remaining strength to stand up and face death with dignity. One German raised his machine gun, but the other pulled it back, realizing that Sokolov could still be useful for work.
Sokolov, along with other prisoners, was driven west. The Germans treated them like cattle: they shot all the wounded on the spot, they did the same to those who tried to escape, and they beat them - they beat them just like that, out of anger.
The episode in the church is of particular importance in the story. On one of the first nights, the Germans drove the soldiers into the church.
Here Sokolov was able to get to know more closely who was captured with him. He was surprised that the military doctor, who immediately set his shoulder, even in such a situation selflessly continued to do his job.
Then he accidentally overheard the conversation and then something else struck him: the soldier was going to betray his commander, who was facing death for his adherence to the Communist Party. Sokolov decided to strangle the traitor, he killed a person for the first time, and “his own,” but for him he was worse than an enemy.
Another significant incident occurred in the church: the Germans shot a prisoner who did not want to desecrate holy place while relieving minor needs.
All the way to the camp Sokolov was thinking about escape, and then an opportunity arose. The prisoners were sent into the forest to dig graves for their own, the guards were distracted and Sokolov managed to escape.
But four days later, the Germans and dogs caught up with the exhausted soldier. There was no living space left on him from the beatings of the Nazis and dog bites; he spent a whole month in a punishment cell, but survived and was transported to Germany.
Andrei Sokolov traveled half of Germany, worked in factories and mines in Saxony and Thuringia. The conditions were such that it would have been easier to die.
The prisoners were constantly beaten, brutally, almost to death, fed with a tiny piece of bread with sawdust and rutabaga soup, and forced to work until they lost their pulse. Sokolov recalls that he once weighed almost ninety kilograms, but now he didn’t even reach fifty.
On the verge of death
One of climaxes story - an incident in Dresden. At this time, Sokolov was working in a stone quarry.
The work was extremely hard, and Sokolov, unable to bear it, somehow let slip: “They need four cubic meters of output, but for the grave of each of us, one cubic meter through the eyes is enough.” This phrase of his reached the commandant.
When they called to Commandant Muller, Sokolov said goodbye to his comrades in advance, since he knew that he was going to his death. Müller had an excellent command of the Russian language and did not need an intermediary in a conversation with a Russian soldier. He immediately said that he would now personally shoot Sokolov. To which he replied: “Your will.”
Müller was a little drunk and tipsy, and there was a bottle and various snacks on the table, then he poured a full glass of schnapps, put a piece of bread with lard on it and handed it all to Sokolov with the words: “Before you die, Russian Ivan, drink to the victory of German weapons "
Of course, Sokolov was not satisfied with such a toast, and he preferred to refuse, pretending not to drink. Then Müller offered him a drink “to his death.” Sokolov took the glass and drank it in one gulp, without taking a bite.
Müller pointed to the bread, but Sokolov explained that he didn’t snack after the first one. Then the commandant poured him a second glass. Sokolov also swallowed it, but did not take the bread.
Despite severe hunger, he wanted to show that they had not yet knocked the man out of him, and he would not pounce on a German handout. He said out loud that he wasn’t used to snacking after the second one either.
Muller was very amused by this and poured a third glass. Sokolov drank it slowly and broke only a small piece of bread. Such dignity amazed the commandant, he recognized Sokolov as a brave soldier and released him, giving him a loaf of bread with lard.
Release from captivity
In 1944, there was a turning point in the war and the Germans began to run out of people. Drivers were needed, and then Sokolov was assigned to a German major engineer.
At some point, the major was sent to the front line. Sokolov found himself close to Soviet troops for the first time in two years.
This was his chance. He came up with a plan according to which he was supposed to escape, taking with him the major with the drawings in order to hand him over to his own.
That's what he did: during the detour German fortifications he stunned the major, changed into a previously prepared German uniform to deceive the checkpoint, and, under bullets rushing from both sides, “surrendered” to his own people.
Sokolov was received as a hero and promised to be nominated for an award. He was sent to the hospital to improve his health. He immediately wrote a letter home, but the answer did not come for a long time.
Finally, he received news, but not from his family. His neighbor wrote, he reported tragic news: during the bombing of an aircraft factory, a large shell hit the house where Sokolov’s wife and two daughters were at that time, and the son, having learned about the death of the family, voluntarily went to the front.
Having received a month's leave, the hero went to Voronezh, but almost immediately returned to the division: his soul was so heavy.
Son Anatoly
A few months later, the hero receives a letter from his son, who briefly described his life: he serves not far from his father and is already in command of a battery.
Sokolov is filled with pride. He is already dreaming of how they will live together after the war, how his son will get married, and he will start babysitting his grandchildren, everything will work out.
But these aspirations were not destined to come true. On the morning of May 9, Victory Day, Anatoly is killed by a German sniper.
Post-war time
The war is over. Sokolov was sick of returning to his hometown, and he went to Uryupinsk to visit his friend, who had been calling him for a long time.
There the hero again got a job as a driver, and everyday work began.
One day Sokolov noticed a street boy near the teahouse where he always had lunch. It turned out that Vanyusha’s mother died during the shelling of the train, and his father died at the front.
Sokolov felt some warmth in his chest, looking at this grimy baby with eyes as bright as stars. I couldn’t stand it, I called him over and called him his father. Thus two orphaned hearts united.
Because of the accident, Sokolov’s driver’s license was taken away, and he decided to leave Uryupinsk with his new son. Our narrator found them on the road.
Conclusion
Sholokhov's story “The Fate of Man” makes you think about many things: about the will to live and patriotism, about real masculine actions and mercy for the weak, about fearlessness before death and feat in the name of loved ones and the country.
But main idea is this: war is the worst thing that can happen to a person, it not only exterminates people, but also breaks the fate of those who survived.