The main character of Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man” is the Russian soldier Andrei Sokolov. During the Great Patriotic War he was captured.
There he steadfastly withstood hard labor and the bullying of the camp guards.
One of the culminating episodes of the story is the dialogue between Andrei Sokolov and the commandant of the prisoner of war camp, Muller. This is a cruel sadist who takes pleasure in beating poor defenseless people. This is how Sokolov tells the narrator about him: “He was short, thick-set, blond, and he was all sort of white: the hair on his head was white, his eyebrows, his eyelashes, even his eyes were whitish and bulging. He spoke Russian like you and me, and even leaned on the “o” like a native Volga native. And he was a terrible master at swearing. And where the hell did he learn this craft? It used to be that he would line us up in front of the block - that’s what they called the barracks - he would walk in front of the line with his pack of SS men, right hand keeps on flight. He has it in a leather glove, and there is a lead gasket in the glove so as not to damage his fingers. He goes and hits every second person in the nose, drawing blood. He called this “flu prevention.” And so every day."
Fate brings Sokolov face to face with Muller in an unequal duel. “And then one evening we returned to the barracks from work,” says Andrey. “It’s been raining all day, it’s enough to wring out our rags; We were all chilled like dogs in the cold wind, a tooth wouldn’t touch a tooth. But there is nowhere to dry off, to warm up - the same thing, and besides, they are hungry not only to death, but even worse. But in the evening we were not supposed to have food.
I took off my wet rags, threw them on the bunk and said: “They need four cubic meters of output, but for the grave of each of us, one cubic meter through the eyes is enough.” That’s all I said, but some scoundrel was found among his own people and reported to the camp commandant about these bitter words of mine.”
Andrei was summoned to the commandant. As he and all his comrades understood, “to spray.” In the commandant's room, at a richly laid table, all the camp authorities were sitting. The hungry Sokolov was already sick from what he saw: “Somehow I suppressed the nausea, but through great force I tore my eyes away from the table.”
“The half-drunk Muller is sitting right in front of me, playing with a pistol, throwing it from hand to hand, and he looks at me and doesn’t blink, like a snake. Well, my hands are at my sides, my worn-out heels click, and I report loudly: “Prisoner of war Andrei Sokolov, on your orders, Herr Commandant, has appeared.” He asks me: “So, Russian Ivan, is four cubic meters of output a lot?” “That’s right,” I say, “Herr Commandant, a lot.” - “Is one enough for your grave?” - “That’s right, Herr Commandant, it’s quite enough and there will even be some left.”
He stood up and said: “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.”
However, Sokolov categorically refuses to drink to the victory of German weapons, saying that he does not drink, and then the commandant invites him to drink to his death. “For his death and deliverance from torment,” Andrei agrees to drink and, without snacking, drinks three glasses of vodka. It is unlikely that he wanted to demonstrate to the fascist officers his unbending fortitude and contempt for death; rather, his act was caused by despair, a complete dullness of thoughts and feelings from suffering. This is not bravado on the part of the hero of the story, but hopelessness, powerlessness, emptiness. And his life is spared not only because he amazed the Germans with his courage, but also because he amused him with his outlandish skill.
Main character story by M.A. Sholokhov “The Fate of Man” Andrei Sokolov experienced a lot in his life. History itself, in the form of a bloody war, intervened and broke the hero’s fate. Andrei went to the front in May 1942. Near Lokhovenki, the truck he was working on was hit by a shell. Andrei was picked up by the Germans and captured.
Sholokhov introduced a description of captivity into his story, which was unusual Soviet literature that time. The author showed how dignified and heroic the Russian people behaved even in captivity, what they overcame: “As you remember the inhuman torment that you had to endure there in Germany, as you remember all the friends and comrades who died, tortured there in the camps, your heart It’s no longer in the chest, but in the throat, and it becomes difficult to breathe...”
The most important episode showing the life of Andrei Sokolov in captivity is the scene of his interrogation by Mueller. This German was the commandant of the camp, “in their way, a Lagerfuhrer.” He was a ruthless man: “... he lines us up in front of the block - that’s what they called the barracks - he walks in front of the line with his pack of SS men, holding his right hand in flight. He has it in leather glove, and the glove has a lead gasket so as not to damage your fingers. He goes and hits every second person in the nose, drawing blood. He called this “flu prevention.” And so every day... He was a neat bastard, he worked seven days a week.” In addition, Müller spoke excellent Russian, “he even leaned on the “o”, like a native Volga native,” and especially loved Russian swearing.
The reason for calling Andrei Sokolov for questioning was his careless statement. The hero was indignant about the hard work in a stone quarry near Dresden. After another working day, he went into the barracks and dropped the following phrase: “They need four cubic meters of output, but for the grave of each of us, one cubic meter through the eyes is enough.”
The next day, Sokolov was summoned to Müller. Realizing that he was going to his death, Andrei said goodbye to his comrades, “... began to gather my courage to look into the hole of the pistol fearlessly, as befits a soldier, so that my enemies would not see at my last minute that I had to give up my life after all.” difficult."
When the hungry Sokolov entered the commandant’s office, the first thing he saw was a table laden with food. But Andrei did not behave like a hungry animal. He found the strength to turn away from the table, and not to prevaricate or try to avoid death by going back on his words. Andrey confirmed that four cubic meters is too much for a hungry and tired person. Müller decided to show Sokolov the “honor” and personally shoot him, but before that he offered him a drink to the German victory. “As soon as I heard these words, it felt like I was burned by fire! I think to myself: “So that I, a Russian soldier, would drink German weapons for the victory?!” Is there something you don't want, Herr Commandant? Damn it, I’m dying, so you’ll go to hell with your vodka!” And Sokolov refused to drink.
But Muller, already accustomed to mocking people, invites Andrei to drink something else: “Would you like to drink to our victory? In that case, drink to your death.” Andrei drank, but, as a truly courageous and proud man, he joked before his death: “I don’t have a snack after the first glass.” So Sokolov drank the second glass, and the third. “I wanted to show them, the damned one, that although I’m dying of hunger, I’m not going to choke on their handouts, that I have my own, Russian dignity and pride, and that they didn’t turn me into a beast, no matter how hard they tried.”
Seeing such remarkable willpower in a physically exhausted man, Muller could not resist sincere delight: “That's it, 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.”
Why did Mueller spare Andrei? And even gave him bread and lard, which the prisoners of war then divided among themselves in the barracks?
I think that Muller did not kill Andrei for one simple reason: he was scared. Over the years of working in the camps, he saw many broken souls, saw how people became animals, ready to kill each other for a piece of bread. But he had never seen anything like this before! Muller was scared because the reasons for the hero’s behavior were unclear to him. And he couldn’t understand them. For the first time, among the horrors of war and camp, he saw something pure, big and human - the soul of Andrei Sokolov, which nothing could corrupt. And the German bowed to this soul.
The main motive of this episode is the motive of the test. It sounds throughout the story, but only in this episode it acquires real strength. The test of a hero is a technique actively used in folklore and Russian literature. Let us remember the trials of heroes in Russian folk tales. Andrei Sokolov is invited to drink exactly three times. Depending on how the hero behaved, his fate would be decided. But Sokolov passed the test with honor.
To further reveal the image in this episode, the author uses the hero’s internal monologue. Tracing him, we can say that Andrei behaved heroically not only externally, but also internally. He did not even have the thought of giving in to Müller and showing weakness.
The episode is narrated from the main actor. Since several years have passed between the interrogation scene and the time when Sokolov tells this story, the hero allows himself irony (“he was a neat bastard, he worked seven days a week”). Surprisingly, after so many years, Andrei does not show hatred towards Muller. This characterizes him as truly strong man who knows how to forgive.
In this episode, Sholokhov tells the reader that the most important thing for a person in any, even the most terrible circumstances, is to always remain human! And the fate of the main character of the story, Andrei Sokolov, confirms this idea.
Sholokhov's work "The Fate of Man" was first published ten years after the Great Patriotic War ended, in 1956-1957. The theme of the story is atypical for the literature of that time dedicated to the war. The author first spoke about the soldiers who were captured by the Nazis.
Then we learn the fate of this character from his lips. Andrey is extremely frank with a random interlocutor - he does not hide personal details.
We can safely say that this hero had a happy life. After all, he had loving wife, children, he was doing what he loved. At the same time, Andrei’s life is typical for that time. Sokolov is a simple Russian man, of whom there were millions in our country at that time.
Andrey's feat ("The Fate of Man", Sholokhov)
The essay “The War in the Life of the Main Character” can be built on the contrast between the attitude of Andrei and other people who meet in his life path. In comparison with them, the feat that, in fact, is his whole life seems even more majestic and terrible to us.
The hero, unlike others, shows patriotism and courage. This is confirmed by the analysis of the work “The Fate of Man” by Sholokhov. So, during the battle, he plans to accomplish the almost impossible - to deliver shells to the Russian troops, breaking through the enemy's barrier. At this moment he does not think about the impending danger, about own life. But the plan could not be implemented - Andrei was captured by the Nazis. But even here he does not lose heart, maintains his dignity and calmness. So, when a German soldier ordered him to take off the boots that he liked, Sokolov, as if mocking him, also takes off his foot wraps.
The work reveals various problems of Sholokhov. The fate of a person, anyone, not just Andrei, was tragic at that time. However, in front of her different people behave differently. Sholokhov shows the horrors that occur in captivity of the Germans. Many people in inhuman conditions lost their face: in order to save life or a piece of bread, they were ready to commit any betrayal, humiliation, even murder. The stronger, purer, higher the personality of Sokolov, his actions and thoughts appear. Problems of character, courage, perseverance, honor - these are what interests the writer.
Conversation with Mueller
And in the face of the threat to Andrey mortal danger(conversation with Muller) he behaves very dignified, which even commands respect from his enemy. In the end, the Germans recognize the unbending character of this warrior.
It is interesting that the “confrontation” between Muller and Sokolov took place precisely at the moment when the fighting was taking place near Stalingrad. Andrei's moral victory in this context becomes, as it were, a symbol of the victory of the Russian troops.
Sholokhov also raises other problems (“The Fate of Man”). One of them is the problem of the meaning of life. The hero experienced the full echoes of the war: he learned that he had lost his entire family. Hopes for happy life disappeared. He is left completely alone, having lost the meaning of existence, devastated. The meeting with Vanyusha did not allow the hero to die, to sink. In this boy, the hero found a son, a new incentive to live.
Mikhail Alexandrovich believes that perseverance, humanism, and self-esteem are traits typical of the Russian character. Therefore, our people managed to win this great and terrible war, as Sholokhov believes (“The Fate of Man”). The writer has explored the theme of man in some detail; it is even reflected in the title of the story. Let's turn to him.
The meaning of the story's title
The story “The Fate of Man” is named so not by chance. This name, on the one hand, convinces us that the character of Andrei Sokolov is typical, and on the other, it also emphasizes his greatness, since Sokolov has every right to be called a Man. This work gave impetus to the revival classical tradition in Soviet literature. It is characterized by attention to the fate of the simple, " little man", worthy of full respect.
Using various techniques - a confessional story, a portrait, speech characteristics- the author reveals the character of the hero as fully as possible. This is a simple man, majestic and beautiful, self-respecting, strong. His fate can be called tragic, since Andrei Sokolov suffered serious trials, but we still involuntarily admire him. Neither the death of loved ones nor the war could break him. “The Fate of Man” (Sholokhov M. A.) is a very humanistic work. The main character finds the meaning of life in helping others. This is what, above all, the harsh post-war times required.
M.A. Sholokhov wrote a story about the fate of a former prisoner of war, about the tragedy and strength of character of a man who suffered the most difficult trials. During and immediately after the Great Patriotic War, soldiers returning from captivity were considered traitors, they were not trusted, and a thorough check was carried out to clarify the circumstances. The story “The Fate of Man” has become a work that allows you to see and understand the cruel truth of war.
The word “fate” can be interpreted as “life story” or used in the meaning of “fate, fate, coincidence.” In Sholokhov’s story we find both, but the hero turned out to be not one of those who meekly accepts the fate destined for him.
The author showed how dignified and courageous the Russians behaved in captivity. There were few traitors “shaking for their own skin.” By the way, they surrendered voluntarily, at the first opportunity. The hero of the story “The Fate of Man” was wounded, shell-shocked and taken prisoner by the Germans in a helpless state during the battle. In the prisoner of war camp, Andrei Sokolov endured a lot of suffering: bullying, beatings, hunger, death of his comrades, “inhuman torment.” For example, Commandant Müller, going around the line of prisoners, hit every second person in the nose with his fist (or rather, with a piece of lead placed in a glove), “making blood.” This was his way of expressing Aryan superiority, emphasizing the insignificance of human life for representatives of all nations (unlike the Germans).
Andrei Sokolov had a chance to personally confront Muller, and the author showed this “duel” in one of the climactic episodes of the story.
The conversation between the captured soldier and the commandant took place because someone informed the Germans about the words Andrei had said the day before about the order in the concentration camp. Barely alive prisoners chiseled stone by hand, and the norm per person was four cubic meters per day. One day after work, wet, exhausted, hungry, Sokolov said: “They need four cubic meters of output, but for each of us, one cubic meter through the eyes is enough for the grave.” For these words he had to answer to the commandant.
In Müller’s office, all the camp authorities were sitting at the table. The Germans celebrated another victory at the front, drank schnapps, snacked on lard and canned food. And Sokolov, when he entered, almost vomited (constant fasting had an effect). Muller, clarifying the words spoken by Sokolov the day before, promised that he would honor him and personally shoot him. In addition, the commandant decided to show generosity and offered the captured soldier a drink and a snack before his death. Andrei had already taken a glass and a snack, but the commandant added that he should drink for the victory of the Germans. This really hurt Sokolov: “So that I, a Russian soldier, would drink German weapons for the victory?!” Andrei was no longer afraid of death, so he put the glass down and said that he was a teetotaler. And Müller, smiling, suggested: “If you don’t want to drink to our victory, then drink to your destruction.” The soldier, who had nothing to lose, boldly declared that he would drink to get rid of his torment. He knocked over the glass in one gulp and put the snack aside, although he was dying to eat.
What willpower this man had! Not only did he not humiliate himself over a crumb of lard or a piece of bread, but he also did not lose his dignity or sense of humor, and this gave him a feeling of superiority over the Germans. He suggested that Muller go to the courtyard, where the German would “sign” him, that is, sign a death warrant and shoot him. Müller allowed Sokolov to have a snack, but the soldier said that he did not have a snack after the first one. And after the second glass he announced that he was not having a snack. He himself understood: he was showing this courage not so much to surprise the Germans, but for himself, so that before his death he would not look like a coward. With his behavior, Sokolov made the Germans laugh, and the commandant poured him a third glass. Andrey took a bite as if reluctantly; He really wanted to prove that he had pride, “that the Nazis did not turn him into a beast.”
The Germans surprisingly appreciated the pride, courage and humor of the Russian soldier, and Muller told him that he respected worthy opponents, and therefore would not shoot him. For his courage, Sokolov was given a loaf of bread and a piece of lard. The soldier did not really believe in the generosity of the Nazis, waited for a shot in the back and regretted that he would not bring the unexpectedly dropped treat to his hungry cellmates. And again the soldier did not think about himself, but about those who were dying of hunger. He managed to bring these “gifts” to the prisoners, and they divided everything equally.
In this episode, Sholokhov raised common man on the pedestal of a hero, despite the fact that he was a prisoner of war. It was not Sokolov’s fault in his captivity; he was not going to give up. And in captivity he did not grovel, did not betray his own, did not change his beliefs. He remained a devoted citizen of his homeland and dreamed of returning to duty to fight against the Nazis again. This incident from the life of a soldier turned out to be decisive in his fate: Sokolov could have been shot, but he saved himself, because he was less afraid of death than shame. So he remained alive.
And the “superman” Muller suddenly saw in the Russian soldier pride, the desire to preserve human dignity, courage and even contempt for death, since the prisoner did not want to grasp for life at the cost of humiliation and cowardice. This was one of Andrei Sokolov’s victories in the circumstances that fate presented.
What kind of character do you need to have in order not to submit to circumstances? Andrei’s habits, which became character traits, were the most common for people of that time: hard work, generosity, perseverance, courage, the ability to love people and the Motherland, the ability to feel sorry for a person, to have compassion for him. And he was happy with his life, because he had a house, a job, his children grew up and studied. Only the lives and fate of people can be easily ruined by politicians and militarists who need power, money, new territories and income. Is a person able to survive in this meat grinder? It turns out that sometimes this is possible.
Fate was merciless to Sokolov: a bomb hit his house in Voronezh, killing his daughters and wife. He loses his last hope for the future (dreams about his son’s marriage and grandchildren) at the very end of the war, when he learns about the death of his son in Berlin.
Endless blows of fate did not destroy this man. He did not become embittered, did not hate anyone, realizing that one can only curse the fascists who killed millions human lives all over the earth. Now the enemy has been defeated, and we must move on with our lives. However, the memories were difficult and it was difficult to think about the future. The pain did not go away for a long time, and sometimes there was a desire to forget with the help of vodka, but I coped with this too, overcame the weakness.
Andrei Sokolov's meeting with the boy, a homeless orphan, changed a lot in his life. The man’s heart sank in pain when he saw someone whose life was even more difficult and worse than his own.
The writer not only shows us the twists of fate that either break or strengthen a person, Sholokhov explains why his hero acts in such a way that he can change his life. Andrei Sokolov gives the warmth of his heart to those who need it, and thereby expresses protest against fate, which has sentenced him to loneliness. Hope and the will to live were restored. He can tell himself: throw away your weaknesses, stop feeling sorry for yourself, become a protector and support for the weaker. This is the peculiarity of the image of a person with strong character. His hero argued with fate and managed to reshape his life, directing it in the right direction.
The writer Sholokhov spoke not only about the life of a specific person, a citizen Soviet Union Andrey Sokolov. He called his work “The Fate of Man,” thereby emphasizing that every person, if he is spiritually rich and strong, like his hero, is able to withstand any test, create a new destiny, new life, where he will have a worthy role. Apparently, this is the meaning of the title of the story.
And in the current aggravated situation, M.A. Sholokhov could remind the current Russophobes and Nazis that the Sokolovs have not disappeared among the Russian people.
Reviews
M. Sholokhov - Great Russian writer, there are no words! "The Fate of Man" - bright that example. Just a story about a simple Russian peasant, but how it’s written! And S. Bondarchuk’s film based on this work is also magnificent! How he played Sokolov! This scene when he drinks vodka with cut glasses is simply incomparable! And a meeting with a homeless boy brought him back to life, when it seemed there was simply no point in living any further... Thank you, Zoya! R.R.
Sokolov Boris Nikolaevich
There was such a Russia...
These memoirs are very different from everything we have ever read about that war. This does not mean that everything written before was untrue. But in the memoirs of B. N. Sokolov, unexpectedly for the reader, new facets of the military events of 1941-1945 are discovered.
Willingly or unwittingly, in the minds of several generations of Russians, a stable stereotype of the Red Army soldier who fought against German fascism has already developed. Consciousness depicts an honest and persistent soldier, enduring all the hardships of war, who quietly but selflessly loves his country and is ready to give his life for it at any moment. I think that this is largely correct, but a very schematic idea of the front-line soldier of those years. Decades, year after year, have distorted our understanding of the truth of that war. So sea waves smoothed out over centuries sharp corners on stones, turning them into smoothly polished and pleasing to the eye and heart works of nature.
Very different people fought in the war against the Nazis. It would be a deep mistake to see them as some kind of monolith, some kind of homogeneous mass. Only death made them the same, regardless of whether it was heroic or treacherous. And the nature of heroism and betrayal in its essence, in its deep structure, is so complex that it does not require sweeping condemnation or frivolous exaltation. We need to think seriously about all this. All this should be studied deeply.
The memoirs of B. N. Sokolov give us amazing opportunity plunge into the complex whirlpool of human experiences. Perhaps for the first time in Russian literature A completely unfamiliar layer of human worldviews is revealed before us. This is the attitude of an honest and educated person who found himself in the epicenter of the terrible events of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.
There are no and never will be objective memoirs. All of them cover certain events from the standpoint of upbringing, character, temperament, social status their author. The memoirs of B. N. Sokolov are no exception. The only peculiarity is, perhaps, that their author is not a commander, not a politician, not a recipient of high government awards. The author of memoirs and not an ordinary Red Army soldier, like there were millions. He's quite a rare event. This is a man who grew up under Soviet rule, brought up on the ideas of socialism, and became one of those who represented the first generation of Soviet intellectuals. His distinctive features- this is exceptional honesty with oneself, the absence of even the slightest desire to embellish or, conversely, to denigrate the events that took place. He has an excellent memory, a clear mind and great skill express both events that took place and your own thoughts.
In June 1941, there were not so many volunteers in the Red Army who had behind them not only a higher educational institution, but also rich experience in management work in production. Thirty-year-old junior lieutenant B.N. Sokolov was just like that. Before volunteering for the front, he worked for a long time as an engineer, chief technologist of one of the Leningrad factories. Throughout the 30s, he underwent military training almost every year for 2-3 months, so he could cope with the duties of an artillery platoon commander (assistant battery commander) quite successfully. This was not a career military man, but at the same time a man worn out by life, who experienced firsthand what responsibility for an assigned task is. He was used to doing everything in his life thoroughly, conscientiously.
He himself answers the question of why he volunteered for the front, and his motivation is somewhat discouraging. Instead of the expected feeling of hatred towards fascism, indignation at the arrival of foreigners in native land he puts forward completely different reasons. He considers the impetus for volunteering to go to the front to be his internal obedience to the law, ignorance of life “outside the usual circle,” and lack of independent thinking skills. That is, he was called to the front not so much by patriotic feelings as by the force of inertia, the established stereotype of views and actions. This may seem strange to the reader, but it is difficult not to believe it.
The summer days of 1941 found B. N. Sokolov near Leningrad, in the Gatchina region. The environment he depicts as an eyewitness is both familiar and unfamiliar. The author of the memoirs does not emphasize the chaos that was happening around, as has become customary to see in works recent years about war. There was no panic. Rather, there was some strange combination of confusion and childish curiosity: who are the fascists, and how did they end up here? Everything that B.N. Sokolov lived in those days was not covered by the shroud of fear of death. He writes that there was no paralyzing fear, but not because everyone was a hero. Rather, it resembled the activation of some protective functions of the body, and sometimes it was a simple misunderstanding of the danger of what was happening around.
Much of what the author describes seems completely strange. For example, his statement that in war all the bosses shout and threaten their subordinates with execution. But in this case, and in many others, the reader certainly wants to believe him. And I want to believe because in not a single line of his does B.N. Sokolov become angry, hypocritical, or indiscriminately denigrate his country, its leaders and ordinary residents. He treats his enemy the same way.
He happened to kill an enemy - a young German guy with a machine gun, but it was as if in a fog, without high thoughts about the safety of the Motherland. How similar is this to the plots described by Remarque in the novel "On Western Front no change"! But when he himself was wounded and a German soldier took him prisoner, everything that happened was ordinary and as if seen from the outside in a slow motion movie. The German soldiers did not beat or torture the wounded Red Army soldier, but treated him rather indifferently, as grass in a clearing in the forest, where they were warming themselves by the fire.
A little surprised, but without servility and servility, B. N. Sokolov describes how a German doctor treated him and other Soviet wounded medical care in the village of Kipeni; how clearly and competently the German orderlies acted. All these events were not imbued with the spirit of mutual hatred familiar to us from books and films. Rather, it looked like some kind of production process, where instead of metal parts there were people.
One of the most striking episodes of the memoirs was the description of the moral and psychological situation that reigned among prisoners of war when they were transported in a freight car to Pskov: they were not thinking about the lofty and eternal. They arranged their life, bought (whoever had money) water from a speculator from among their own. But when B. N. Sokolov suddenly declared publicly that the Nazis would never be able to capture Leningrad, a stream of abuse and threats fell upon him, and only a happy accident saved him from lynching. How this does not fit with our idea of Soviet patriotism! But how similar is this to the truth? This is another confirmation that not everything is so simple in war, that in war the people who fight are different and very often different from each other.