M. Sholokhov's story “The Fate of Man” rightfully occupies one of the main places among literary works about the Great Patriotic War. The writer's talent allowed him to talk about terrible events Great Patriotic War. Thanks to such works, even seventy years after the end of the war, our generation does not forget about the feat of the Soviet people. The title of the work seems very simple at first glance; it consists of only two words. But how much meaning can be seen in them!
First of all, I would like to draw attention to the word “man”. M. Lermontov also wrote: “The history of the human soul. almost more curious and not more useful than history a whole people." And indeed it is! It is very easy to hide the truth behind loud pretentious phrases, generalizations, and exaggerations. The truth can be conveyed by descending to the personal level. And M. Sholokhov succeeded; the writer showed us the war through the eyes of one person. Using the example of driver Sokolov, the reader learns how important everyone’s work is to achieve a common goal.
But the title also contains the word “fate,” which also carries a certain meaning. If you follow the life of Andrei Sokolov, you can understand that fate constantly tested his strength. Probably one of the most severe tests during the war years he was captured. It was only thanks to the strength of his spirit that Sokolov did not break: “no matter how hard they tried, they did not turn me into a beast.”
By the will of fate, the fighter had the opportunity to escape. But she also deprived him of his most precious thing - his family. How to live after this, how not to become a living corpse. But fate, as a reward for all the torment he has endured, gives Andrey a meeting with Vanyusha. “Two orphaned people, two grains of sand abandoned in foreign lands.” Sokolov and Vanyusha saved each other.
Now former orphan there is a roof over his head and a person who loves him, and Andrei has a meaning in life. Thus, the title of M. Sholokhov’s story carries deep meaning. The main theme of the work is reflected in a nutshell: a person’s struggle with fate for the right to life, freedom and happiness.
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M. Sholokhov. The story “The Fate of Man” (1956 - 1957)
In the story “The Fate of Man,” Sholokhov explores the origins of the heroism of the Russian people, who managed to turn the tide of the most terrible war in human history. However, today this work is interesting not only for its embodiment best features Russian national character in the image of Andrei Sokolov, not only with an unconventional, “non-heroic” image of the war, but also with a universal, philosophical plan of confrontation between spirituality and chaos, folk age-old morality and the nightmare of inhumanity. At the heart of Sholokhov’s story is faith in man, in his capabilities, in the fact that he will be able to cope with any challenge.
Sholokhov, using the technique of a “story within a story,” shows the most tragic, epochal events of the twentieth century through the eyes of an ordinary, ordinary person who embodied the traits of many people; it is no coincidence that the story is called “The Fate of a Man” and not “The Fate of Andrei Sokolov.” The plot basis of the story is the hero’s confession, comprehension of his fate, which is perceived by the reader as the embodiment of the fate of Russia itself.
“At first my life was ordinary,” - this is how Andrei Sokolov begins his confession. Indeed, the ordinary life of an ordinary person, whose happiness rested on work and mutual love. With undisguised admiration, the hero remembers his wife Irina (“And for me there was no more beautiful and desirable than her, there was never in the world and never will be!”), about nice, smart children, about work, hard, but still loved, bringing in home prosperity (“the children eat porridge with milk, there is a roof over their heads, they are dressed, they have shoes, therefore everything is in order”). These eternal, universal, universal concepts - home, family, work, love - became the spiritual supports of Andrei Sokolov for the rest of his life. And suddenly - like lightning - the line: “And here it is, war.” “A military hurricane of unprecedented power” scattered human life: “I had a family, my own home, all this was put together over the years, and everything collapsed in a single moment, I was left alone.” Man, with the fragility of his fate and life, came into conflict with the hurricane of war. The very enormity of this confrontation reveals in Andrei Sokolov an image of epic proportions, revealing his kinship with the heroes of Leo Tolstoy with their “hidden warmth of patriotism.”
Fate chose for Sokolov the most bitter thing that can befall a soldier - captivity. It seemed impossible to preserve human dignity where the main objective your enemies - to prove that you are not human. Andrei's clash with the Nazis is a struggle between healthy, centuries-old folk morality and a world of discord, death and destruction. The scene of Sokolov's meeting with the camp commandant Müller becomes symbolic: this is a spiritual duel from which Sokolov emerges victorious. “You are a real Russian soldier,” it’s worth a lot to hear this from the enemy’s lips. 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 the fascists: “they also laughed,” “ They seem to look at me more softly.”
Fate seems to be testing Andrei Sokolov to the breaking point: his wife and daughters die, and on the last day of the war, death takes away his son Anatoly. A bomb crater on the site of one’s home becomes a terrible symbol of war. Grief, which will never let go, is caked on the heart with unshed tears: “Have you ever seen eyes, as if sprinkled with ashes, filled with such an inescapable mortal melancholy that it is difficult to look into them?” If in clashes with the fascists Sokolov retained his human dignity, his resistance to evil, then in the trials of his own and others’ misfortune he discovered unspent sensitivity, an uncorroded need to give warmth and care to others. Perhaps the most important victory of Andrei Sokolov in this war is that he did not become bitter, did not harden his soul, did not forget how to love, that he retained the person within himself. Having lost everything: his home, his wife, his children, Sokolov found warmth within himself to warm Vanyushka, a little man who had already known great grief. That is why at the end of confession a tragic image of a human heart appears, having accepted all the troubles of the world, a heart spent defending love and life.
The images of spring, road, father and son also become symbolic in the frame of the story. Spring is a symbol of victory in a terrible war, the victory of life over death, it is the eternal continuation and renewal of life. The road is movement, fate, eternal search and eternal overcoming. Father and son - eternal interconnectedness and love of the spiritually closest people. In the final lines of the stories, an epic, almost biblical picture emerges: father and son walk along the difficult road of life, and there is no end to this ever-renewing life, and the father will always lead his son by the pink palm. Sholokhov is confident that Vanyushka will be able to endure everything and overcome everything.
The entire endless expanse of existence, all the dramatic breaks in the history of the twentieth century are compressed, concentrated around fate common man from the people, shown in their perception; all the tragedies historical path Russia went through human heart and imprinted on him with indelible scars and scars. A simple man, a soldier and a father, acts as a guardian and defender of universal human spiritual values that have developed over thousands of years, with all his experience, with all his tragic fate, convincing of their life-giving nature - it is this author’s idea that makes the story “The Fate of Man” a modern, relevant work today.
He wrote the story “The Fate of Man” in 1956-1957, many years after the end of the Great Patriotic War. The plot is based on the story of an ordinary Soviet man, Andrei Sokolov, and the detrimental impact of war on his life. Name work of art, as a rule, transmits author's position or key idea. And in this sense, the story “The Fate of Man” is no exception.
The narration in the work is conducted in the first person, that is, from the main character who tells to a stranger about your life. Andrei Sokolov mistook the man he met for a driver and treated him to tobacco. The narrator immediately drew attention to Andrei’s eyes. These were eyes “sprinkled with ashes, filled with such inescapable mortal melancholy.” And the eyes, as you know, are the mirror of the soul. Hearing about Sokolov’s plight, he realized how much suffering had befallen this man. It is the word "fate" in this work is defining, which is why it is the basis for the title of the story.
Like thousands of other people, Andrei faced all the horrors of war. However, each person experiences such events differently: life breaks some, hardens others, and makes others stronger. Having lost my entire family during Civil War, Sokolov did not give up, he managed to learn a worthy profession, create new family. Andrey moved to Voronezh and for some time worked as a carpenter, then as a mechanic, and then got a job as a driver. He married a beautiful girl Irina, a pupil of an orphanage. The couple had three children: one son and two daughters. It would seem, what else does an ordinary person need to be happy? But war broke out again, and Andrei was drafted into the army.
The years of service in the name of the motherland turned out to be the most difficult. Andrei was wounded more than once, was captured by the Germans, wandered around Germany for some time, doing hard work, was in a punishment cell, stood face to face with the Lagerführer, but never gave up or lost heart. At first the forces were on the side of the Germans, but gradually the situation changed. Soviet troops confidently marched towards victory, and the prisoners, in turn, began to be treated better. Andrei was appointed driver of a German major engineer, from whom he was later able to escape. Once on native land, he first wrote a letter home, but the answer came from a neighbor. It turned out that his entire family, except for his son, died from a bomb explosion. The son was found a little later, but he was also killed by a German sniper.
Once again Andrei was left alone. There was not one in the whole world soul mate. He didn’t want to return to his native land, so he went to a friend in Uryupinsk. They were a childless couple who received him warmly. After some time, Andrei encountered a small street boy, Vanyusha, whose parents died during the war. Despite all the trials that Sokolov went through, he managed not to become bitter. Having adopted Vanyusha, he gave the boy all his unspent love and care. He not only became friends with him, but replaced his father.
Thus, two orphaned people found each other and began to walk through life together. It was by adopting a destitute soul like himself that Sokolov was able to gradually return to life. It is unknown how their life developed next, since the narrator said goodbye to Andrei and Vanyusha on the river bank. One thing is clear that fate ordinary person, who managed to find the strength to live on after so many hardships, deserves sincere respect.
An interesting, fascinating and exciting work is “The Fate of Man.” The meaning of the title of the story can be understood by every reader who carefully reads the work and warms to the main character. This story will not leave indifferent any reader who has become acquainted with “The Fate of Man,” because the author was able to convey in his work all the feelings, experiences and emotions of Andrei Sokolov, whose life was rather difficult and, to some extent, unhappy.
Meeting with Andrey Sokolov
In order to understand the meaning of the title of the story “The Fate of Man,” you need to get acquainted with summary works of Sholokhov.
At the very beginning of the work, it becomes clear that the narrator was heading to one of the Don villages, but he had to stay on the shore due to the river flood and wait for the boat. At this time, a certain man with a child approached him and mistook him for a driver, because there was a car next to the narrator. Andrei Sokolov really wanted to chat with his colleague. Previously a man worked as a driver, but on a truck. The narrator decided not to upset the man and did not say that he was not his colleague.
The meaning of the title of the story “The Fate of Man” becomes clear to every reader already while reading the work. It is worth saying that the author probably chose the most accurate title, which reflects the meaning of the entire story.
Image of Andrey Sokolov
The image of Sokolov is shown to the reader through the perception of the narrator. The man has strong, worn-out hands and sad eyes filled with mortal melancholy. It immediately becomes clear that the meaning of Sokolov’s life is his son, who is dressed much better and neater than his father. Andrei does not pay attention to himself at all, and only cares about his beloved son.
The work “The Fate of Man” will not leave any reader indifferent. The meaning of the story's title becomes clear to everyone who has warmed to the main character and reacted with sympathy to his difficult fate. It is worth saying that the meaning of the work lies precisely in its title.
Honest and open driver
Next, the reader learns about the fate of Andrei Sokolov from his story about his past life to the narrator. It is worth saying that the main character is quite frank and honest with his interlocutor. Most likely, such openness is due to the fact that Andrei accepted the narrator as “one of his own” - a Russian man with a big soul.
The meaning of the title of Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man” is interesting to everyone who is going to get acquainted with this work. It is worth noting that the reader will learn the answer to this question already while reading the story. The author conveys all the emotions and experiences of the main character so well and clearly that every reader will definitely relate to him and his difficult fate.
Death of Sokolov's parents
Andrei Sokolov shared that his life was very ordinary, but after the times of famine everything changed very much. Then he decided to leave for Kuban, where he later began working for the kulaks. It was thanks to this that Sokolov managed to stay alive, unlike his family. Andrei became an orphan because his parents and little sister died of hunger.
It is “The Fate of Man” that evokes a storm of emotions and experiences. The meaning of the title of the story will become clear to every reader, but for this it is necessary to delve into each line and truly feel everything that the main character of the work experienced.
Sokolov's wife and children
Several years after great grief, Andrei still managed not to break down. Soon he got married. He said only good things about his wife. Sokolov shared with the narrator that his wife was cheerful, compliant and smart. If the spouse came home on bad mood, she was never rude to him back. Soon Andrei and Irina had a son, and then two daughters.
Sokolov shared with his interlocutor that in 1929 he began to be fascinated by cars, after which he became a truck driver. However, a war soon began, which became an obstacle to a good and happy life.
Leaving for the front
Soon Andrei Sokolov was forced to go to the front, where everyone accompanied him Friendly family. It is worth noting that it seemed to Irina that it was last time when husband and wife were together. Naturally, Andrei was very upset that his wife was “burying her husband alive,” and therefore Sokolov went to the front in upset feelings.
Undoubtedly, every lover of literature about wartime will like the work “The Fate of a Man.” The meaning of the title of the story will become clear after reading the work.
The driver's meeting with the fascists
In May 1942, terrible events took place that Andrei will never be able to forget. During the war, Sokolov was also a driver and volunteered to carry ammunition to his artillery battery. However, he was unable to deliver them, since the shell fell right next to his car, which overturned from the blast wave. After this, Sokolov lost consciousness, after which he woke up behind enemy lines. At first Andrei thought of pretending to be dead, but he raised his head at the moment when several fascists with machine guns were walking straight towards him. It is worth saying that the man wanted to die with dignity and stood right in front of the enemy, but was not killed. One fascist was already thinking of shooting when his comrade prevented him from killing Sokolov.
After reading the work, the meaning of the title of the story “The Fate of Man” immediately becomes clear. It will not be difficult to write an essay on this topic, because the title of the work reflects what it is about.
The escape
After this incident, Andrei was sent barefoot to the west with a column of prisoners.
On the way to Poznan, Sokolov only thought about escaping as quickly as possible. It must be said that the man was lucky, because when the prisoners were digging graves, the guards were distracted. It was then that Andrei managed to escape to the east. But not everything ended the way Sokolov wanted. Already on the fourth day, the Germans with their shepherd dogs caught up with the escapee. As punishment, Andrei was kept in a punishment cell, after which he was sent straight to Germany.
A worthy opponent
Soon Sokolov began working in a stone quarry near Dresden, where he managed to say a phrase that infuriated his superiors. Müller, the camp commandant, called the driver to his place and said that he would personally shoot him for such words. Sokolov answered him: “Your will.”
The commandant thought about something, threw away the pistol and invited Andrei to drink a glass of vodka and eat a piece of bread and a slice of lard for the victory of the “German weapons.” It is worth noting that Sokolov refused and answered Muller that he was a non-drinker. However, the commandant laughed and replied: “If you don’t want to drink to our victory, drink to your destruction!” Andrey drank the glass to the bottom and replied that after the first glass he didn’t have a snack. After drinking the second glass, the soldier answered the commandant the same. After the third, Andrey took a bite of bread. Muller decided to leave Sokolov alive because he respects worthy rivals, and gave the driver a loaf and a piece of lard, which Andrei divided equally among his comrades.
The meaning of the title of Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man” lies in the fact that a simple Russian person is so strong in spirit that he was able to survive the most terrible events that can happen in life. Absolutely anyone who is familiar with the work can write an essay on this topic.
The death of the Sokolov family and the adoption of Vanya
In 1944, Sokolov became the driver of a German engineer major, who treated him more or less well, sometimes even sharing his food with him. One day Andrei stunned him, took the weapon and rushed straight to where the battle was going on. According to the driver, the Germans started shooting at him from behind, and his soldiers in front.
After this incident, Andrei was sent to the hospital, from where he wrote to his wife. Soon a response came from a neighbor that his house had been hit by a shell, from which the driver’s children and wife died. At that moment, the son was not at home, so he managed to survive. Sokolov volunteered for the front. After that, Andrei found his son and began to correspond with him, but fate was very cruel. On May 9, 1945, Anatoly died at the hands of a sniper.
The driver did not know where to go, and went to Uryupinsk to his friend, where he met a homeless boy, Vanya. Then Andrei told the child that he was his father and adopted the boy, who was very happy to meet his “father.”
What is the meaning of the title of the story “The Fate of Man”?
It is worth finding out what the meaning of the title of Sholokhov’s work is, because many are interested in this very question.
The meaning of the title of Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man” is that an ordinary Russian person was able to survive great amount negative events, after which he managed to move on, not break down and forget about all the tragedies. Andrei Sokolov adopted a child and began to live for his sake, forgetting about all the failures and adversities that had haunted him throughout recent years his life. Despite the death of his parents, wife and children, the main character managed to survive and live on.
The meaning of the title of M. Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man” lies in the fact that the Russian man was able to overcome all failures and adversity, survive the loss of loved ones and move on. Main character was so strong in spirit that he managed to forget about everything that happened to him before and start absolutely new life, in which he is happy man raising a beautiful child. The death of his parents, wife and children did not break the spirit of the Russian man, who was able to forget about all the terrible events that took place during the last years of his life, and found the strength to start a new one. happy life. This is precisely the meaning of the work “The Fate of Man.”
M. Sholokhov's story “The Fate of a Man” is one of famous works Russian literature. It tells the story of the life of a single person, Andrei Sokolov, whose fate was befallen by the most terrible epoch-making events: revolution, war, which crippled a person’s life, which, in my opinion, suggested the title of the story to the author.
Only fate is truly worthy person could be described in the work. Hard Life Sokolov, who managed to go through severe trials, preserving his humanity and kindness, faith and hope, perseverance and personal dignity, love for life and people, was suitable for this.
Three times Sokolov, a native of the Voronezh province, experiences losses. And what! In the hungry year of 1922, he loses his parents, but finds the strength to live, work, and love. Andrey meets his only one, Irinka. He knows happiness at that time: his home, his beloved children. Happiness that will be destroyed by war.
From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Sokolov was at the front. He fights heroically, but is captured. But even in captivity he remains a Man and does not lose his dignity and pride as a Russian soldier. There is so much nobility in his words: “... they did not turn me into a beast, no matter how hard they tried.” And how does Andrei experience his meeting with his native land after a successful escape from German captivity. So he remembers: “...fell to the ground and kissed it, and I couldn’t breathe...”. Freedom! Your people are around! And suddenly a terrible blow of fate: a bomb hit his house in Voronezh. My wife and daughter died. It’s as if Andrei’s heart hardened, and only faith in his son Anatoly and life together with it gave the soldier strength.
The last days of the war... Victory! What a joy! And Sokolov is in grief: the damned fascists will kill him on the days of his heroic son’s triumph. Here it is, fate!
But he doesn't give up soviet man: not everything has yet turned to stone in his heart! He decides to adopt a boy, a child of war. “Two orphaned people, two grains of sand, thrown into foreign lands by a military hurricane of unprecedented force” find each other by the irony of evil fate and become the closest people.
Thus, M.A. Sholokhov, forming new views and depicting in all authenticity the fate of an individual person of the era, depicts the fate of the entire country. Having lost evil fate close people, the opportunity to be happy, the Russian person has not lost the most important thing, human dignity and the desire to live. I think that’s why M.A. Sholokhov’s story is called that.
