M Sholokhov is the fate of a person, the main character. The life path of Andrei Sokolov in the story “The Fate of a Man” by M. Sholokhov

“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 the fate of an unusually 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, Muller. 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, a white streak began to appear in the hero’s life: fate sent the man a little orphan, a ragged Vanyushka, who also lost all his loved ones during the war.

We can only hope that Andrei’s future life will improve. The main character of the work “The Fate of Man” is worthy of endless respect, love and admiration.

Updated: 2018-02-25

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.

Thank you for your attention.

In December 1956 and January 1957, the newspaper Pravda published the work of the Soviet writer Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov, “The Fate of a Man,” 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. Not only ordinary people wrote, 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 the main role in the film.

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 a warm response in all human hearts. “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 as happens when strangers meet, we started 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 a 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 avoids 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 to his 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 - 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 tea shop, 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 amazingly capacious work concentrated in itself the tragedy of the entire Soviet people, who drank the sorrows of war to the brim, but retained their highest spiritual qualities and defended the freedom of their Motherland 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.

Essay on the topic: Andrey Sokolov. Work: The Fate of Man

Andrei Sokolov is a tall man, stooped, his hands are large and dark from hard work. He was dressed in a burnt padded jacket, which had been mended by an inept male hand, and his general appearance was unkempt. But in the appearance of Sokolov, the author emphasizes “the eyes, as if sprinkled with ashes; filled with such inescapable melancholy.” And Andrei begins his confession with the words: “Why, life, did you cripple me like that? Why did you distort it like that?” And he cannot find the answer to this question.

The life of an ordinary person, the Russian soldier Andrei Sokolov, passes before us. . Since childhood, I learned how much a “pound is worth,” and during the civil war he fought against the enemies of Soviet power. Then he leaves his native Voronezh village for Kuban. Returns home, works as a carpenter, mechanic, driver, and starts a family.

With trepidation, Sokolov recalls pre-war life, when he had a family and was happy. The war ruined this man’s life, tore him away from home, from his family. Andrei Sokolov goes to the front. From the beginning of the war, in its very first months, he was wounded twice and shell-shocked. But the worst thing awaited the hero ahead - he falls into fascist captivity.

Sokolov had to experience inhuman torment, hardship, and torment. For two years, Andrei Sokolov steadfastly endured the horrors of fascist captivity. He tried to escape, but was unsuccessful; he dealt with a coward, a traitor who was ready to hand over the commander to save his own skin.

Andrei did not lose the dignity of a Soviet man in a duel with the commandant of the concentration camp. Although Sokolov was exhausted, exhausted, exhausted, he was still ready to face death with such courage and endurance that he amazed even the fascist. Andrei still manages to escape and becomes a soldier again. But troubles still haunt him: his home was destroyed, his wife and daughter were killed by a fascist bomb. In a word, Sokolov now lives only with the hope of meeting his son. And this meeting took place. For the last time, the hero stands at the grave of his son, who died in the last days of the war.

It seemed that after all the trials that befell one person, he could become embittered, break down, and withdraw into himself. But this did not happen: realizing how difficult the loss of relatives is and the joylessness of loneliness, he adopts the boy Vanyusha, whose parents were taken away by the war. Andrey warmed and made the orphan's soul happy, and thanks to the warmth and gratitude of the child, he himself began to return to life. The story with Vanyushka is, as it were, the final line in the story of Andrei Sokolov. After all, if the decision to become Vanyushka’s father means saving the boy, then the subsequent action shows that Vanyushka also saves Andrei and gives him a meaning for his future life.

I think that Andrei Sokolov is not broken by his difficult life, he believes in his strength, and despite all the hardships and adversities, he still managed to find the strength to continue living and enjoy his life!

The image of Andrei Sokolov in the story “The Fate of a Man” by M. A. Sholokhov

M. Sholokhov's story “The Fate of a Man” is one of the writer’s pinnacle works. At its center is the confession of a simple Russian man who went through two wars, survived the inhuman torments of captivity and not only preserved his moral principles, but also turned out to be able to give love and care to the orphan Vanyushka. Andrei Sokolov's life path was a path of trials. He lived in dramatic times: the story mentions the civil war, famine, the years of recovery from devastation, the first five-year plans. But it is characteristic that in the story these times are only mentioned, without the usual ideological labels and political assessments, simply as conditions of existence. The main character's attention is focused on something completely different. He speaks in detail, with undisguised admiration, about his wife, about his children, about the work that he liked (“I was attracted by cars”), about this other wealth (“the children eat porridge with milk, there is a roof over their heads, they are dressed, be okay"). These simple earthly values ​​are the main moral achievements of Andrei Sokolov in the pre-war period; this is his moral basis.

There are no political, ideological, or religious guidelines, but there are eternal, universal, national concepts (wife, children, home, work), filled with the warmth of cordiality. They became the spiritual supports of Andrei Sokolov for the rest of his life, and he entered the apocalyptic trials of the Great Patriotic War as a fully formed person. All subsequent events in the life of Andrei Sokolov represent a test of these moral foundations “to the breaking point.” The culmination of the story is the escape from captivity and a direct confrontation with the Nazis. It is very important that Andrei Sokolov treats them with some kind of epic calm. This calmness comes from the respectful understanding of the original essence of man brought up in him. This is the reason for Andrei Sokolov’s naive, at first glance, surprise when confronted with the barbaric cruelty of the Nazis and stunned at the fall of a personality corrupted by the ideology of fascism.

Andrei's clash with the Nazis is a struggle between healthy morality, based on the world experience of the people, and the world of antimorality. The essence of Andrei Sokolov’s victory lies not only in the fact that he forced Muller himself to capitulate to the human dignity of the Russian soldier, but also in the fact that with his proud behavior, at least for a moment, he awakened something human in Muller and his drinking companions (“they also laughed ", "they seem to look more softly"). The test of Andrei Sokolov's moral principles does not end with the mortal pangs of fascist captivity. The news of the death of his wife and daughter, the death of his son on the last day of the war, and the orphanhood of someone else’s child, Vanyushka, are also trials. And if in clashes with the Nazis Andrei retained his human dignity, his resistance to evil, then in the trials of his own and others’ misfortune he reveals unspent sensitivity, an uncorroded need to give warmth and care to others. An important feature of Andrei Sokolov’s life path is that he constantly judges himself: “Until my death, until my last hour, I will die, and I will not forgive myself for pushing her away!” This is the voice of conscience, elevating a person above the circumstances of life. In addition, every turn in the hero’s fate is marked by his heartfelt reaction to his own and other people’s actions, events, the course of life: “My heart is still, as I remember, as if it were being cut with a dull knife...”, “When you remember the inhuman torment... the heart is no longer in the chest , and there is a beating in my throat, and it becomes difficult to breathe,” “my heart broke…” At the end of Andrei Sokolov’s confession, an image of a large human heart appears, which has accepted all the troubles of the world, a heart spent on love for people, on the defense of life.

M. Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of Man” convinces us that the meaning of history, its driving “engine” is the struggle between humanity, nurtured through the centuries-old experience of people’s life, and everything that is hostile to the “simple laws of morality.” And only those who have absorbed these organic human values ​​into their flesh and blood, “heartened” them, can, with the strength of their soul, resist the nightmare of dehumanization, save life, protect the meaning and truth of human existence itself.

There are many works in Russian literature that tell about the Great Patriotic War. A striking example is Mikhail Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man,” where the author gives us not so much a description of the war, but a description of the life of an ordinary person during the difficult war years. In the story "The Fate of Man" the main characters are not historical figures, not titled officials, nor famous officers. They are ordinary people, but with a very difficult fate.

Main characters

Sholokhov's story is small in volume, it takes up only ten pages of text. And there are not so many heroes in it. The main character of the story is a Soviet soldier - Andrei Sokolov. Everything that happens to him in life, we hear from his lips. Sokolov is the narrator of the entire story. His named son, the boy Vanyusha, plays an important role in the story. It ends the sad story of Sokolov and opens a new page in his life. They become inseparable from each other, so let’s classify Vanyusha as one of the main characters.

Andrey Sokolov

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 a strong character and iron fortitude. “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. “There is no way for us to disappear separately! I’ll take him as my child,” Sokolov decided. And he became a father to a homeless boy.

Sholokhov very accurately revealed the character of the Russian man, a simple soldier who fought not for ranks and orders, but for the Motherland. Sokolov is one of those many who fought for the country, not sparing their lives. He embodied the entire spirit of the Russian people - persistent, strong, invincible. The characterization of the hero of the story “The Fate of a Man” is given by Sholokhov through the speech of the character himself, through his thoughts, feelings, and actions. We walk with him through the pages of his life. Sokolov goes through a difficult path, but remains human. A kind, sympathetic person who lends a helping hand to little Vanyusha.

Vanyusha

A boy of five or six years old. He was left without parents, without a home. His father died at the front, and his mother was killed by a bomb while traveling on a train. Vanyusha walked around in tattered, dirty clothes, and ate what people served. When he met Andrei Sokolov, he reached out to him with all his soul. “Dear folder! I knew! I knew you would find me! You'll find it anyway! I’ve been waiting so long for you to find me!” – the delighted Vanyusha shouted with tears in his eyes. For a long time he could not tear himself away from his father, apparently afraid that he would lose him again. But in Vanyusha’s memory the image of his real father was preserved; he remembered the leather cloak that he wore. And Sokolov told Vanyusha that he probably lost him in the war.

Two loneliness, two destinies are now intertwined so tightly that they can never be separated. The heroes of “The Fate of Man” Andrei Sokolov and Vanyusha are now together, they are one family. And we understand that they will live according to their conscience, in truth. They will survive everything, they will survive everything, they will be able to do everything.

Minor characters

There are also a number of minor characters in the work. This is Sokolov’s wife Irina, his children – daughters Nastenka and Olyushka, son Anatoly. They don’t speak in the story, they are invisible to us, Andrei remembers them. The company commander, the dark-haired German, the military doctor, the traitor Kryzhnev, Lagerführer Müller, the Russian colonel, Andrei’s Uryupinsk friend - all these are the heroes of Sokolov’s own story. Some have neither a first nor a last name, because they are episodic characters in Sokolov’s life.

The real, audible hero here is the author. He meets Andrei Sokolov at the crossing and listens to his life story. It is with him that our hero talks, to whom he tells his fate.

Work test

There are many works about the Great Patriotic War, one of them is the story of M.A. Sholokhov “The Fate of Man”, a summary of 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 concise presentation will help to penetrate into the essence 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 Aleksandrovich Sholokhov is one of the 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 won the Nobel Prize in 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 a 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 the true story of 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 by the 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

We learn about the remaining characters 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: the traitor Kryzhnev, the camp commissioner Müller, the 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 of Andrei Sokolov's life, he was haunted by difficulties and hardships.

He was born in 1900 in the Voronezh province. He went through the 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.

There was no relative left in the whole world. 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 mastered a new profession as a 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 did not know then what fatal role this would play 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 the holy place by relieving himself.

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 did not reach fifty.

On the brink of death

One of the culminating moments of the story is the 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.

This is what he did: while driving around 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.

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

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 when the train was shelled, and her 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 the 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.