Comprehension artistic meaning story by M. Sholokhov “Birthmark”. impossible without an interpretation of the archetypal conflict between fathers and sons reflected in it, presented not only in the system of characters, but also in numerous details. Pay attention to this side human life accentuated by the title of the story. “A mole is a congenital spot on a person’s skin,” a spot that nature gives to a person regardless of his desire. In works devoted to Sholokhov’s story, it was repeatedly pointed out that “mole” is a word with the same root as “clan”, “people”, “homeland”, “nature”, “harvest”, “spring”. This means that a mole is a sign of the influence of world forces beyond his control on a person and at the same time an indication of a person’s deep connection with the world, the universe.
Already the sentence that begins the text helps us create a primary idea of the main conflict of the work and gives rise to a kind of “anticipation” of the meaning of the whole in the reader. This process of understanding the text, as scientists rightly point out, is determined by the mythopoetic model of the world, which “assumes the identity of the macrocosm and the microcosm.” The presented images are extremely important, as they “correct” the range of reader expectations: “ On the table(hereinafter it is emphasized by us - T.B.) cartridge cases cartridges, smelling of burnt gunpowder, lamb bone, field map, summary, bridle with a scent of horse sweat, crust of bread. All this on the table... ". The field map and summary lying on the table make the theme of war dominant. The edge of bread that completes this description (it is not the main one on this table) is an image of everyday peaceful life. So already in the first sentence, combining cartridges and bread, the reader feels the drama of this everyday life, its internal inconsistency, realizing the universal antinomy of life: war - peace. And the world here is not opposed to war, but is drawn into it.
But one cannot help but see another meaning of the images presented in the first sentence. They are designed to highlight the most important themes of the work, to connect seemingly disparate pictures of life. Thus, the cartridge cases indicated at the beginning of the story, “smelling of burnt gunpowder,” correlate both with Nikolka’s empty clip, which predetermined the outcome of his duel with his father, and with that Mauser shot with which the ataman himself summed up his life. The “composite bridle with the scent of horse sweat” mentioned in the first sentence links into one whole the death of a horse driven by a special purpose, and the death of Nikolka’s horse from the ataman’s bullet.
Among the items located on the table in Nikolai Koshevoy’s room, a mutton bone is indicated as a sign sacred sacrifice. In the context of the plot about a son-killer, realized in the story “The Birthmark,” this image is associated with the biblical hero Abraham, who was ready to sacrifice his only son Isaac to God. By the will of the Lord, the lamb turned out to be the sacrifice (Gen. 22:12-13). Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac is proof of the old man's deep faith and his "most complete obedience" to the Lord. The ataman’s “soul has become hardened..., just as in the summer in the heat of the day the tracks of cloven bull hooves near the steppe muzga become stale.” Not for a moment did he have a feeling of pity for his young opponent: “Nuk, sucker, hot, and through this death will lay his hands on him here.” Associations of this kind clearly reflect the author’s assessment of the events that formed the basis of the story.
The death of Nikolai Koshevoy as the culmination of an external conflict, concretely historical, embodying the struggle of the two sides in the civil war, is the most important event of the internal conflict, embodying the very broad meaning interaction between man and nature, the world as a whole, represented in archetypal images.
When creating a picture of the death of a young squadron commander, M. Sholokhov follows the traditions of folklore and ancient Russian literature: “The sun was covered by a cloud, and floating shadows fell on the steppe, on the roads, on the forest, worn out by the winds and in the fall.” This is, for example, the description of nature on the eve of the last battle between the Russians and the Polovtsy in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”: “...black clouds are coming from the sea, they want to cover the four suns...”.
Not only did the son and father meet in mortal combat, but everything around them perished. We see this in the scene of the death of a horse driven by purpose, which left the surrounding people indifferent: Nikolka only “looked at the black ribbon of blood running from the dusty nostrils” of the horse and turned away. The episode at the mill tells us the same thing, when gang members sprinkled golden grain under the horses’ feet and covered the yard. The chieftain, himself a native Don Cossack, did not think about how the land would be in the spring without sowing. Thus, the war is artistically interpreted in the story as a crime against the earth, its life-giving force.
The story of the duel between father and son also refers us to the famous epic “The Fight of Ilya Muromets with his Son,” where the opposition “friend or foe,” characteristic of the mythopoetic model of the world, is realized. The negative character (stranger) who abused mother Zlatygorka (mother earth, her creative power) here is Sokolnik, who is treacherously ready to kill his sleeping unarmed father, Ilya Muromets (his own). In the story by M. Sholokhov negative character(stranger) the narrator is the ataman. Like Sokolnik, who in the epic had no respect for either his homeland or old people, the ataman prevents the earth from showing its life-creative power: by his order, at the mill “barley and wheat are poured under the feet of the horses and the yard is covered with golden grain.” The similarity with Sokolnik, who humiliates Russian heroes, is also manifested in the Cossack chieftain’s mockery of the miller Lukich, who, fearing death, “with his toothless mouth chews sand from the chieftain’s handfuls” and kisses his boots.
What brings Sokolnik closer to the ataman is the desire to achieve victory through cunning. So, after waiting until Nikolka’s clip ran out, the chieftain “flew like a kite” on him.
The actions of Nikolai Koshevoy reveal the traits of a defender of the Russian land and the Russian people, i.e. "yours." This can be seen in the fact that he “managed to eliminate two gangs almost without damage and lead a squadron into battle for six months,” and in the fact that people turn to him offended people with a request to “find justice” for the gang.
The reader does not know what happened to the body of commander Koshevoy, but the ending of the life of the suicide chieftain is clearly defined: in the evening... “a vulture kite reluctantly fell from the chieftain’s shaggy head.” This episode also makes us remember the ending of the epic. Ilya Muromets throws the murdered Sokolnik “to the magpies, to the crows to be pecked, // Yes to the gray wolves and to be torn to pieces.”
Thus, determining the mythopoetic context of the story “The Birthmark” allows the writer to interpret the main conflict of the civil war as unnatural, in conflict with the entire course of human development.
References
Sholokhov M. Stories. - L., 1983.
Ozhegov S.I. Dictionary of the Russian language. - 16th ed. - M., 1984.
Myths of the peoples of the world: Encyclopedia: in 2 volumes - M., 1997. - Vol.2.
The Explanatory Bible, or Commentaries on all the books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments: In 12 volumes. T. 1 / ed. A.P. Lopukhina. - M.: Terra, 1997.
A Word about Igor's Campaign / Enter. article and preparation of ancient Russian. text by D. Likhachev; Comp. and comment. L. Dmitrieva. - M., 1985.
Russian folk poetry: Epic poetry: collection. - L., 1984.
Bibliographic link
Bakhor T.A. CONFLICT OF GENERATIONS IN M. SHOLOKHOV’S STORY “THE MOTHERLAND” // Advances in modern natural science. – 2011. – No. 12. – P. 85-87;URL: http://natural-sciences.ru/ru/article/view?id=29029 (access date: 04/02/2019). We bring to your attention magazines published by the publishing house "Academy of Natural Sciences"
The years of the First World War, the revolution and especially the civil war became a test for all residents of Russia. The Cossacks felt the consequences of political events very acutely. The freedom-loving people by nature could not come to terms with the fact that the well-established, established life for centuries was collapsing. But that wasn’t even the worst thing. The split that occurred between people brought former neighbors, comrades and members of the same family to opposite sides of the barricades.
The writer M. Sholokhov paid a lot of attention to depicting the horrors of the civil war and analyzing its impact on the destinies of people. The work “Mole,” written in 1924 and which marked the beginning of the “Don Stories” cycle, became the first in his work to show the truth about that terrible time. And for the epic novel " Quiet Don", in which the writer summarized all the material on the topic, the writer was awarded the Nobel Prize.
Features of the image of the Cossacks by Sholokhov
"Don Stories" became important event in the literature of the twenties. They were not similar to what was created by proletarian writers during the formation of Soviet power. Hereditary Cossack and an excellent expert on life on the Don, M. Sholokhov was able to recreate in small works the unique flavor and originality of the way of life of the local population. Special attention he devoted moral beliefs and ideals, initially based on kindness and humanism, but crossed out by the fratricidal war.
The attitude towards the stories was ambiguous. Many were confused by the naturalism and unconventional portrayal of the civil war, but this is what allowed the writer to convey the true scale of the tragedy. It was these principles that Sholokhov was guided by when writing the story “The Birthmark”.
Summary of the work: meeting Nikolka
The plot of the story is quite simple and is built in chronological order with small digressions (retrospectives) into the past. The main character is Nikolai Koshevoy, a young squadron commander in the Red Army. Nikolka is the name of the eighteen-year-old guy by the experienced Cossacks, who respected him for his courage and bravery. Despite his young age, he had already led the squadron for six months and during this time managed to defeat two gangs. The merit of his father, a prominent Cossack, who “disappeared” in the German war, was great for this. It was he who instilled in his son courage, endurance, and a love of horses: already at the age of five or six he taught his son to stay in the saddle. Nikolka also inherited from her father (and Sholokhov’s future will be based on this) a mole on her left leg, the size of a pigeon’s egg.
The plot begins with a letter brought to the commander with the news of the appearance of whites in the area. The need to perform again causes the commander to gloomily reflect on how tired he is of military life: “I’d like to study... but here’s a gang.”
Valiant Ataman
Comparing the two strong characters builds the story “Birthmark” by Sholokhov. An analysis of the internal state of a middle-aged Cossack, who has not seen his father’s house for 7 years, is the next part of the work. He went through German captivity, served under Wrangel, visited Constantinople, and now he has returned to his native land at the head of a gang. The ataman has become hardened in soul over the years, he feels as if something is sharpening him from the inside, and gives him no rest.
The gang left Nikolka’s squadron for three days, then settled down with the miller, which the latter informed the Red Army soldiers about. And now a brave young Cossack is rushing towards the chieftain. His still beardless face, overcome with anger, and his desire to achieve his goal - even a bullet did not stop him - caused bitterness in the chieftain. In addition, the binoculars on his chest clearly indicated the rank of a warrior. The ataman flew up to him, and from the swing of his sword he went limp. young body. Experience prevailed over youthful prowess. Then the old Cossack pulled the stocking off his leg, and under it (Sholokhov portrays this episode incredibly truthfully and emotionally powerfully) - a mole. The analysis of the story reaches particular sharpness precisely in this scene, which became the culmination of the entire narrative.
The main characters as antipodes of war
At the same moment, the ataman of his son, who had seen a lot, learned, his soul was filled with suffering and pain: “Nikolushka!.. My little blood!..”. The bloody struggle that unfolded scattered relatives on different sides, making them irreconcilable enemies. The father could not forgive himself for killing his son - he clenched his Mauser steel with his teeth and fired. This is how Sholokhov tragically ended the story “Birthmark”.
Analysis of the description and behavior of the heroes shows how disgusting the war was to their nature, especially Nikolka. From the age of fifteen he had to fight, and at eighteen he already looked like a man tired of life: with a network of wrinkles around his eyes, a stooped back. His dream of getting an education was never destined to come true. The only bright moment for Nikolka was the memories of a calm, peaceful life, when her mother was still alive and her father was not listed as missing. These nostalgic pictures make it clear how disgusting he was with the very thought of having to go into battle again. So at the very beginning of the story “Mole” Sholokhov ( summary the hero’s thoughts look most eloquent) makes it clear to the reader that war is something unnatural, alien to human nature. The old chieftain, who was still trying to drown out the melancholy that did not let go of him with hops, dreams of returning to a peaceful life and plowing the land as before.
in the work
Unusual colloquial speech and the expressiveness of the work “Mole” attracts. Sholokhov - the problems of the story are directly related to this - enhances the feeling of tragedy thanks to his appeal to bright folklore images. Thus, a wolf is mentioned twice when describing the chieftain. At first, this is a vivid, figurative comparison of the old Cossack with the “convinced” leader of the pack, rapidly moving forward. The spoken word helps to better understand the emotional state of the hero. Then, on the eve of a mortal battle, the wolf jumps out of the den in front of people, listens and slowly goes back. According to tradition, the wolf symbolized among the people a hungry, angry, usually lonely animal, evoking pity rather than fear. This is exactly how the old chieftain seems in the story.
Another predator is introduced into the story “Birthmark” by Sholokhov. Analysis last scene with a vulture, which, on the evening of the same day when the murder occurred, flies off the chieftain’s head and dissolves in the sky, suggesting the tired, tormented soul of a Cossack leaving the body and ascending upward.
Author's life experience
Sholokhov’s persuasiveness and naturalism in describing the events of the civil war are explained by the fact that in 1918-19 he found himself at the center of the confrontation between whites and reds in the area of the Yelan capital. The writer witnessed unjustified cruelty and violence on both sides, and once he was even captured by Nestor Makhno, but was released after interrogation. Since 1920, Sholokhov himself “served and roamed around the Don land.” According to him, he and the gangs took turns chasing each other.
Conclusions to which Sholokhov leads the reader
"Mole" - full content The story cannot leave anyone indifferent - it makes you really think about the fact that in difficult conditions of devastation and irreconcilable hostility, people become embittered and forget about humanism and compassion. The author does not name in this, and in other stories, who is right and wrong, since in such a situation they simply cannot exist. has become a universal tragedy that should never be forgotten - Sholokhov wants to draw the reader’s attention to this. The mole (analysis of the story leads to this conclusion) becomes a symbol of an unbreakable blood connection: Nikolka’s is the same as her father’s. Consequently, in the confrontation between the heroes (the father raised worthy son) there are no winners, this is initially contrary to human essence.
The meaning of Sholokhov’s “Don Stories”
The Civil War was a real disaster, as a result of which the ties that existed between people were completely destroyed and destroyed. This is emphasized by Sholokhov’s story “The Birthmark”. Analysis of the actions and feelings of the characters confirms this idea. The first work sets the tone for the entire cycle, and before the reader’s eyes, one after another, terrible pictures come to life, telling of immeasurable human grief. And I would like to appeal to everyone living on earth: “People, come to your senses! If a brother kills a brother, and a father kills his son, if everything around is drowned in a sea of blood, what is there to live on for?”
M. Sholokhov's story "The Birthmark" is part of the "Don Stories" series and was first published in the newspaper "Young Leninist" in 1924. This is where it actually begins creative biography Sholokhov. The theme of the civil war, relevant at that time, in this story sheds light on another tragic side of it, showing all the cruelty and absurdity. “Mole” is written in a recognizable, stylistically unique “Sholokhov” language.
The story has two main characters, so different, fighting against each other, each for their own truth. This is the red commander Nikolka Koshevoy and the old Cossack chieftain. The author tells the reader the story of their destinies, talking about the past and present. It is interesting that acquaintance begins with everyday life, landscape sketches what surrounds the heroes.
“On the table are cartridge cases, smelling of burnt gunpowder, a lamb bone, a field map, a report, a bridle with the scent of horse sweat, a loaf of bread” - this is the hut where Nikolka lives. She stands above the Don: “From the windows you can see the green splashing Obdon River and the blued steel of the water.” The third part begins with the following description: “Along the hummocky summer grass, along the ruts licked by the winds, the mousey roadside is curled up, the quinoa and puffballs are bursting thickly and terry.”
The ataman leads his gang through this area. Both sketches are far from the aesthetic ideal, they help convey desolation, everyday life is not for anyone necessary war.
The young commander is only eighteen years old. His childhood was that of an ordinary child, but he learned early the bitterness of loss: his father disappeared, his mother died. He has been fighting for three years now, and he has become tired of the war. The only thing that connects the hero with the past is memories and a mole, the same as his father’s, “the size of a pigeon’s egg, on his left leg, above the ankle” - a symbol of kinship, the connection of generations. Nikolka is young, brave and ardent, “spreading out, he gallops alone and waves his saber.” In these lines he is compared to a young bird, at the same time, he is a “neuk, a sucker” (like a foal), his whole life is ahead.
Another main character- ataman. Sholokhov shows his difficult military fate. “The ataman has not seen his native kurens for seven years,” his soul became callous. The whole tragedy of this helps to convey the metaphor: “traces of cloven bull hooves near the muzga,” with which the author compares inner world ataman. That’s why the ataman is never sober for a day, all the coachmen and machine gunners are drunkenly swaying on the spring carts.
Great value The story contains images of animal symbols created by the author. The ataman is compared to a wolf: “...the ataman leads the gang...like a wolf who has had enough.” And then, in the image of a living wolf, we see the image of the ataman: “A wolf, hung with burrs, jumped out of a windfall onto a hillock. He listened, bending his head forward... The wolf stood and slowly, waddled, pulled into the ravine, into the thickets of yellowed, unmown kuga...” A wolf is an unpleasant, negative creature, but at the same time, in the mentality of Russian people there is an image of a lonely, hungry and therefore unhappy wolf.
The chieftain is also angry, angry and unhappy. Another comparison helps to better understand him: “... he let go of the reins and swooped down like a kite.” On the one hand, the kite is a brave, strong bird, but in the last lines of the story Sholokhov calls this bird a vulture. A metaphor is used here: the vulture is the soul of the chieftain, which “reluctantly” leaves the dead body. The bird melts “in the gray, colorless autumn sky,” that is, in this destroyed and boring world.
Both heroes are tired of the war. Nikolki dreams of going to school, the ataman’s petrified soul yearns for the earth.
The old miller Lukich, like the hand of fate, brings two detachments together. And so in battle, father and son meet, full of hatred for each other, not knowing who they are really fighting. The brutal battle is the climax of the story. “At the edge of the forest a machine gun began to hammer desperately, and those on the road quickly, as if in a training exercise, crumbled like lava.” The “hottest” episode is the one-on-one fight.
From the binoculars fluttering on his chest and from his burka, the chieftain guessed that it was not an ordinary Red Army soldier who was galloping, but a commander. Nikolka boldly attacks the chieftain and falls under the blow of his saber. The dramatic confrontation between the Reds and the Whites turns into a family tragedy: a father kills his son. The most sacred bonds of the family are destroyed. The symbol of blood ties appears again - a mole on Nikolka’s now dead leg. The terrible cry of the chieftain who saw her, “Son!.. Nikolushka!.. Dear!.. My little blood…” are the main words in the story. Ataman kills himself. The worst thing is that the culprit of their death is another war - the German one. After all, if my father had not gone to the front, perhaps they would not have ended up on opposite sides, and perhaps this tragedy would not have happened.
Huge grief for the whole country, civil war, in the story comes down to the tragedy of a specific family, becoming more understandable and terrible.
There is nothing more sacred than the love of parents and children. The author in the story takes neither the side of the Reds nor the side of the Whites. He advocates a world devoid of meaningless confrontation.
» Sholokhov mole
"Mole", Sholokhov: analysis of the work
The years of the First World War, the revolution and especially the civil war became a test for all residents of Russia. The Cossacks felt the consequences of political events very acutely. The freedom-loving people by nature could not come to terms with the fact that the well-established, established life for centuries was collapsing. But that wasn’t even the worst thing. The split that occurred between people brought former neighbors, comrades and members of the same family to opposite sides of the barricades.
The writer M. Sholokhov paid a lot of attention to depicting the horrors of the civil war and analyzing its impact on the destinies of people. The work “The Birthmark,” written in 1924 and the beginning of the “Don Stories” series, became the first in his work to show the truth about that terrible time. And for the epic novel “Quiet Don,” in which the writer summarized all the material on the topic, the writer was awarded the Nobel Prize.
Features of the image of the Cossacks by Sholokhov
"Don Stories" became an important event in the literature of the twenties. They were not similar to what was created by proletarian writers during the formation of Soviet power. A hereditary Cossack and an excellent expert on life on the Don, M. Sholokhov managed to recreate in small works the unique flavor and originality of the way of life of the local population. He paid special attention to moral beliefs and ideals, initially based on kindness and humanism, but crossed out by the fratricidal war.
The attitude towards the stories was ambiguous. Many were confused by the naturalism and unconventional portrayal of the civil war, but this is what allowed the writer to convey the true scale of the tragedy. It was these principles that Sholokhov was guided by when writing the story “The Birthmark”.
Summary of the work: meeting Nikolka
The plot of the story is quite simple and is constructed in chronological order with small digressions (retrospectives) into the past. The main character is Nikolai Koshevoy, a young squadron commander in the Red Army. Nikolka is the name of the eighteen-year-old guy by the experienced Cossacks, who respected him for his courage and bravery. Despite his young age, he had already led the squadron for six months and during this time managed to defeat two gangs. The merit of his father, a prominent Cossack, who “disappeared” in the German war, was great for this. It was he who instilled in his son courage, endurance, and a love of horses: already at the age of five or six he taught his son to stay in the saddle. Nikolka also inherited from her father (and further analysis of Sholokhov’s work will be based on this) a mole on her left leg, the size of a pigeon’s egg.
The plot begins with a letter brought to the commander with the news of the appearance of whites in the area. The need to perform again causes the commander to gloomily reflect on how tired he is of military life: “I wish I could study... but here is a gang.”
Valiant Ataman
Sholokhov builds his story “Mole” on the comparison of two strong characters. An analysis of the internal state of a middle-aged Cossack, who has not seen his father’s house for 7 years, is the next part of the work. He went through German captivity, served under Wrangel, visited Constantinople, and now he has returned to his native land at the head of a gang. The ataman has become hardened in soul over the years, he feels as if something is sharpening him from the inside, and gives him no rest.
The gang left Nikolka’s squadron for three days, then settled down with the miller, which the latter informed the Red Army soldiers about. And now a brave young Cossack is rushing towards the chieftain. His still beardless face, overcome with anger, and his desire to achieve his goal - even a bullet did not stop him - caused bitterness in the chieftain. In addition, the binoculars on his chest clearly indicated the rank of a warrior. The ataman flew up to him, and the young body went limp from the swing of his saber. Experience prevailed over youthful prowess. Then, with the stocking, the old Cossack pulled the chrome boot off his foot, and under it (Sholokhov depicts this episode incredibly truthfully and emotionally powerfully) - a mole. The analysis of the story reaches particular sharpness precisely in this scene, which became the culmination of the entire narrative.
The main characters as antipodes of war
At the same moment, the ataman of his son, who had seen a lot, learned, his soul was filled with suffering and pain: “Nikolushka!.. My little blood!..”. The bloody struggle that unfolded scattered relatives on different sides, making them irreconcilable enemies. The father could not forgive himself for killing his son - he clenched his Mauser steel with his teeth and fired. This is how Sholokhov tragically ended the story “Birthmark”.
Analysis of the description and behavior of the heroes shows how disgusting the war was to their nature, especially Nikolka. From the age of fifteen he had to fight, and at eighteen he already looked like a man tired of life: with a network of wrinkles around his eyes, a stooped back. His dream of getting an education was never destined to come true. The only bright moment for Nikolka was the memories of a calm, peaceful life, when her mother was still alive and her father was not listed as missing. These nostalgic pictures make it clear how disgusting he was with the very thought of having to go into battle again. So, at the very beginning of the story “The Birthmark,” Sholokhov (a summary of the hero’s thoughts looks most eloquent) makes it clear to the reader that war is something unnatural, alien to human nature. The old chieftain, who was still trying to drown out the melancholy that did not let go of him with hops, dreams of returning to a peaceful life and plowing the land as before.
Artistic details in the work
The work “Birthmark” is attractive with its unusual colloquial speech and expressiveness. Sholokhov - the problems of the story are directly related to this - enhances the feeling of tragedy by turning to vivid folklore images. Thus, a wolf is mentioned twice when describing the chieftain. At first, this is a vivid, figurative comparison of the old Cossack with the “convinced” leader of the pack, rapidly moving forward. The spoken word helps to better understand the emotional state of the hero. Then, on the eve of a mortal battle, the wolf jumps out of the den in front of people, listens and slowly goes back. According to tradition, the wolf symbolized among the people a hungry, angry, usually lonely animal, evoking pity rather than fear. This is exactly how the old chieftain seems in the story.
Another predator is introduced into the story “Birthmark” by Sholokhov. An analysis of the last scene with a vulture, which, on the evening of the same day when the murder occurred, flies off the chieftain’s head and dissolves in the sky, suggests the tired, tormented soul of the Cossack leaving the body and ascending upward.
Author's life experience
Sholokhov’s persuasiveness and naturalism in describing the events of the civil war are explained by the fact that in 1918-19 he found himself at the center of the confrontation between whites and reds in the area of the Yelan capital. The writer witnessed unjustified cruelty and violence on both sides, and once he was even captured by Nestor Makhno, but was released after interrogation. Since 1920, Sholokhov himself “served and roamed around the Don land.” According to him, he and the gangs took turns chasing each other.
Conclusions to which Sholokhov leads the reader
“The Birthmark” - the full content of the story cannot leave anyone indifferent - makes you really think about the fact that in difficult conditions of devastation and irreconcilable hostility, people become embittered and forget about humanism and compassion. The author does not name in this, and in other stories, who is right and wrong, since in such a situation they simply cannot exist. The Civil War has become a universal tragedy that should never be forgotten - Sholokhov wants to draw the reader’s attention to this. The mole (analysis of the story leads to this conclusion) becomes a symbol of an unbreakable blood connection: Nikolka’s is the same as her father’s. Consequently, in the confrontation between heroes (the father raised a worthy son) there are no winners; this initially contradicts human essence.
The meaning of Sholokhov’s “Don Stories”
The civil war was a real disaster, as a result of which moral standards were completely destroyed and the ties that existed between people were destroyed. This is emphasized by Sholokhov’s story “The Birthmark”. Analysis of the actions and feelings of the characters confirms this idea. The first work sets the tone for the entire cycle, and before the reader’s eyes, one after another, terrible pictures come to life, telling of immeasurable human grief. And I would like to appeal to everyone living on earth: “People, come to your senses! If a brother kills a brother, and a father kills his son, if everything around is drowned in a sea of blood, what is there to live on for?”
Sholokhov "Mole" (summary). A story about the tragic love of a parent and child
Many stories have been written about parental love. Such works invariably touch the reader's soul. That is probably why Sholokhov took up this topic not for the first time. “Mole” (a brief summary will show this) - a story about tragic love father and son.
Chapter 1. Nikolai Koshevoy
Civil war. A young man, a soldier, fills out some documents in a military building. Nothing about him, except his eyes, betrays him as a seasoned campaigner. Nikolai Koshevoy is only 18 years old. He's even a little embarrassed about his age. True, he already has many military feats. This boy is already a squadron commander.
Sholokhov describes the main character in this way and at the same time sketches the outline of his fate with small strokes. Kolya is an orphan. Father disappeared in the First world war, the mother also left this world. All he had left of his parents were vague memories and a mole on his ankle, or rather a birthmark. People said, at least in Kolya’s time, that a birthmark is a mark of the lucky ones. Whether this is true or not, Sholokhov will tell you. “Mole” (including the summary) does not put the reader in a complacent mood. This work is quite heavy and sad from the very beginning.
Chapters 2 and 3. Dead horse and chieftain
The second and third chapters are so small that in our review they can be combined into one. In the second chapter, a messenger came to Koshevoy. The path to the latter commander cost a horse. The poor animal galloped for a long, long time without any rest, which is why it fell dead in the yard of commander Koshevoy. Sholokhov naturally describes the death of the horse. “Mole” (the summary, we hope, makes you feel this) is imbued with anxiety and a feeling of imminent misfortune.
The messenger brought news about a gang that had been spotted in a certain area, and the commander of that region tearfully asked the young commander to help. The young man is not used to refusing, and how can he, because there is a war going on.
Chapter 4. Grandfather the Miller and the Gang
Grandfather Lukich enters the story. In order to create an atmosphere, Sholokhov depicts village life. Then the unkind fellows appear along with the ataman. They ask first about the “reds”, then about the grain. Grandfather has neither grain nor “reds,” according to him. The chieftain's henchmen begin to search the mill and find full bins. The grandfather begs not to take away the grain collected with such hard work. The gang commander does not listen to him and feeds his horses with his grandfather’s wonderful harvest. The writer created real villains in his work “The Birthmark”. Sholokhov soulfully describes the suffering of the poor miller.
It is noteworthy that robbery is not enough for Ataman; he also wants to hear from the miller how much he does not like the “Reds”. Grandfather obediently repeats that he hates members of the official army of the new government.
Chapters 5 and 6. Grandfather’s “betrayal” and battle
Later, the grandfather, while the bandits were drinking vodka in his yard, quietly crept to the young commander Koshevoy and told him everything. How the adversaries came, took away the grain and insisted on his refusal to recognize the Soviet regime and its supporters. The squadron helmsman is wise beyond his years. He didn't waste his energy on words. Wonderful main character essays "Mole". Sholokhov clearly sympathizes with him.
Koshevoy listened attentively and said only one thing: “Saddle up!”
Of course, Sholokhov is far from Hollywood films, but he also quite dynamically described the scene of the struggle of the Red Army soldiers with the renegades. The central battle is the confrontation between the ataman and Koshevoy. We would really like to say that the boy defeated the experienced soldier, but this is not so. Youth does not always triumph over maturity, especially in war. Unfortunately, the young man fell in the struggle. In his work “The Birthmark,” Sholokhov describes this perfectly, and we, in turn, will try to convey only general meaning this sad event.
The chieftain chose the right moment, lay in wait for the young man, came out of hiding and slashed once with his saber. Thus, the young soldier, or rather his soul, went to heaven. The bandit took the binoculars off the young man. I wanted to steal new boots too. One leg gave in without difficulty, but the other did not. The chieftain pulled the shoes towards himself with bestial strength, pulling off not only the boot, but also the stocking. The dead man's ankle was exposed and a birthmark the size of a pigeon's egg was exposed. Here it is - the most unexpected moment that the story “Mole” contains. Sholokhov (the summary, we hope, kept the intrigue until the very end) brilliantly twisted the plot!
The chieftain transformed from a villain into an inconsolable father and began to lament: “Son!.. Nikolushka!.. Dear!.. My little blood...”. Then, apparently considering that nothing could be changed, the commander shot himself with a Mauser. This is how the story “Mole” ends. Sholokhov wrote it, and we retold only a brief summary.
Mikhail Sholokhov "Don Stories": a summary of the story "Birthmark"
In the spring of 1905, the future was born great writer Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov. “Don Stories”, a brief summary of which will be presented below, is an unsurpassed masterpiece left to us as a legacy from the author.
Plot
The plot of the story “Mole” is as follows: Nikolka Koshevoy is an eighteen-year-old guy, is a regiment commander and fights no worse than any experienced warrior. He is a real Cossack and the son of a Cossack. The author cites the guy’s memories of his childhood, when his father put him on a horse at the age of five. Nikolka was left an orphan early. His mother died and his father went missing during the German War. Left completely alone at the age of 15, Nikolka left for the “Reds”.
A strong and brave young man early in the morning receives an express order to go to the neighboring state farm to capture the gang. Orders are not discussed, so Nikolka gets ready to hit the road.
For the third day now, the gang has been escaping the pursuit of Koshevoy’s detachment. Consists of a gang of drunken, experienced soldiers. Their chieftain for seven years native land I haven't been. And he survived captivity, and the “Turets”, he became angry, callous. I just tried to drown out the mental pain with moonshine.
Nikolka Koshevoy, having learned from the miller where the gang was holed up, immediately heads there. But the ataman saw the young commander from afar and took aim. He fired once, and the horse fell under Nikolka. The fleeing commander fired, and the chieftain, baring his teeth, waited until he spent the entire clip. And then the ataman attacked the commander and killed him with a saber. After this, the killer removed the binoculars and boots from the corpse. But when I took it off, I also pulled off my socks. Here the ataman’s heart sank. He saw a mole on Nikolka’s leg the size of a pigeon’s egg, the same mole that his son had. The chieftain killed himself with a shot in the mouth. And a vulture kite sat on his head.
Special approach
This is the summary. Sholokhov wrote “Don Stories” not so much to show the horrors of the civil war, but to show people a way out of it. In general, Mikhail Sholokhov, of all the writers who explored the themes of collectivization, civil war, and dispossession in his work, was distinguished by his special approach to assessing events and people’s actions. Sholokhov (“Don Stories”) does not make heroes only positive or negative. A brief summary of some of the works confirms this. Each with their own truth, with their own outlook on life. First of all, the writer was interested in the inner world of the hero, and not in whether he gravitated towards the White or Red movement. It is for this reason that we will not see the author himself justifying “red” or “white” ideas, cruelty and inhumanity. This is what Sholokhov is all about (“Don Stories”). A brief summary, of course, does not allow you to see the whole deep meaning books. It only reveals the plot.
Idea
The 20s were a terrible time in the life of the people, because there was a struggle not against a foreign invader, but a war between brother and brother, father and son. What could be more terrible? In the book we see terrible pictures filled with blood and hatred. But even through them, something good shines through, faith in a better future for the country. The writer unobtrusively explains to the reader that nothing can justify inhuman torture and execution of thousands of people.
Using the example of specific heroes, we see the tragedies of an entire people based on the book “Don Stories”. Sholokhov (“Mole” is the work we are considering) very soulfully, in a way that makes your heart ache, conveys the story of the ataman who killed his own son and did not survive this tragedy. The scene of the chieftain's understanding of what he had done is terrible. He groans like a wounded animal, he shakes the dead man, calling him his dear son.
Relationships between people
Sholokhov begins each of the six parts of the story with pictures of the Don landscape witnessing bloody murders. “Don Stories”, a brief summary of which has already been given, goes even deeper. Why was this murder of the ataman so shocking? Hasn't he done this before? I did! But killing a son is different. From here Sholokhov comes to the conclusion: in order for there to be no war, for people to live in peace and harmony again, they must treat each other like fathers, love each other like sons, like brothers.
M. Sholokhov's story "The Birthmark" is part of the "Don Stories" series and was first published in the newspaper "Young Leninist" in 1924. In fact, Sholokhov’s creative biography begins with him. The theme of the civil war, relevant at that time, in this story sheds light on another tragic side of it, showing all the cruelty and absurdity. “Mole” is written in a recognizable, stylistically unique “Sholokhov” language.
The story has two main characters, so different, fighting against each other, each for their own truth. This is the red commander Nikolka Koshevoy and the old Cossack chieftain. The author tells the reader the story of their destinies, talking about the past and present. It is interesting that the acquaintance begins with everyday, landscape sketches of what surrounds the heroes.
“On the table are cartridge cases, smelling of burnt gunpowder, a lamb bone, a field map, a report, a bridle with the scent of horse sweat, a loaf of bread” - this is the hut where Nikolka lives. She stands above the Don: “From the windows you can see the green splashing Obdon River and the blued steel of the water.” The third part begins with the following description: “Along the hummocky summer grass, along the ruts licked by the winds, the mousey roadside is curled up, the quinoa and puffballs are bursting thickly and terry.”
The ataman leads his gang through this area. Both sketches are far from the aesthetic ideal; they help convey desolation, the everyday life of a war that no one needs.
The young commander is only eighteen years old. His childhood was that of an ordinary child, but he learned early the bitterness of loss: his father disappeared, his mother died. He has been fighting for three years now, and he has become tired of the war. The only thing that connects the hero with the past is memories and a mole, the same as his father’s, “the size of a pigeon’s egg, on his left leg, above the ankle” - a symbol of kinship, the connection of generations. Nikolka is young, brave and ardent, “spreading out, he gallops alone and waves his saber.” In these lines he is compared to a young bird, at the same time, he is a “neuk, a sucker” (like a foal), his whole life is ahead.
The other main character is the chieftain. Sholokhov shows his difficult military fate. “The ataman has not seen his native kurens for seven years,” his soul became callous. The whole tragedy of this helps to convey the metaphor: “traces of cloven bull hooves near the muzga,” with which the author compares the chieftain’s inner world. That’s why the ataman is never sober for a day, all the coachmen and machine gunners are drunkenly swaying on the spring carts.
The images of animal symbols created by the author are of great importance in the story. The ataman is compared to a wolf: “...the ataman leads the gang...like a wolf who has had enough.” And then, in the image of a living wolf, we see the image of the ataman: “A wolf, hung with burrs, jumped out of a windfall onto a hillock. He listened, bending his head forward... The wolf stood and slowly, waddled, pulled into the ravine, into the thickets of yellowed, unmown kuga...” A wolf is an unpleasant, negative creature, but at the same time, in the mentality of Russian people there is an image of a lonely, hungry and therefore unhappy wolf.
The chieftain is also angry, angry and unhappy. Another comparison helps to better understand him: “... he let go of the reins and swooped down like a kite.” On the one hand, the kite is a brave, strong bird, but in the last lines of the story Sholokhov calls this bird a vulture. A metaphor is used here: the vulture is the soul of the chieftain, which “reluctantly” leaves the dead body. The bird melts “in the gray, colorless autumn sky,” that is, in this destroyed and boring world.
Both heroes are tired of the war. Nikolki dreams of going to school, the ataman’s petrified soul yearns for the earth.
The old miller Lukich, like the hand of fate, brings two detachments together. And so in battle, father and son meet, full of hatred for each other, not knowing who they are really fighting. The brutal battle is the climax of the story. “At the edge of the forest a machine gun began to hammer desperately, and those on the road quickly, as if in a training exercise, crumbled like lava.” The “hottest” episode is the one-on-one fight.
From the binoculars fluttering on his chest and from his burka, the chieftain guessed that it was not an ordinary Red Army soldier who was galloping, but a commander. Nikolka boldly attacks the chieftain and falls under the blow of his saber. The dramatic confrontation between the Reds and the Whites turns into a family tragedy: a father kills his son. The most sacred bonds of the family are destroyed. The symbol of blood ties appears again - a mole on Nikolka’s now dead leg. The terrible cry of the chieftain who saw her, “Son!.. Nikolushka!.. Dear!.. My little blood…” are the main words in the story. Ataman kills himself. The worst thing is that the culprit of their death is another war - the German one. After all, if my father had not gone to the front, perhaps they would not have ended up on opposite sides, and perhaps this tragedy would not have happened.
The enormous grief of the entire country, the civil war, in the story is reduced to the tragedy of a specific family, at the same time becoming more understandable and terrible.
There is nothing more sacred than the love of parents and children. The author in the story takes neither the side of the Reds nor the side of the Whites. He advocates a world devoid of meaningless confrontation.