Sholokhov “The Fate of Man” the main characters live in times of war, lose what is most precious, but find the strength to live on.

M. Sholokhov “The Fate of Man” main characters and their characteristics

• Andrey Sokolov
• Vanyushka
• Irina, Andrey's wife
• Ivan Timofeevich, neighbor of the Sokolovs
• Müller, camp commandant
• Soviet colonel
• captured military doctor
• Kyryzhnev is a traitor
• Peter, friend of Andrei Sokolov
• landlady
• Anatoly Sokolov- son of Andrei and Irina. He went to the front during the war. Becomes battery commander. Anatoly died on Victory Day, he was killed by a German sniper.

Nastenka and Olyushka- Sokolov's daughters

Andrey Sokolov- the main character of the story “The Fate of a Man”, a front-line driver, a man who went through the whole war.

Andrei Sokolov is the main character of the story “The Fate of Man” by Sholokhov. His character is truly Russian. How many troubles he experienced, what torments he endured, only he himself knows. The hero speaks about this on the pages of the story: “Why did you, life, cripple me like that? Why did you distort it like that?” He slowly tells his life from beginning to end to a fellow traveler with whom he sat down to have a cigarette by the road.

Sokolov had to endure a lot: hunger, captivity, the loss of his family, and the death of his son on the day the war ended. But he endured everything, survived everything, because he had 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. Sokolov told him that he was his father and took him in for upbringing.

Vanyushka- an orphan boy of five or six years old. The author describes him as follows: “fair-haired curly head”, “pink cold little hand”, “eyes as bright as the sky”. Vanyushka is trusting, inquisitive and kind. This child has already experienced a lot; he is an orphan. Vanyushka’s mother died during the evacuation, was killed by a bomb on a train, and her father died at the front.

Andrei Sokolov told him that he was his father, which Vanya immediately believed and was incredibly happy about. He knew how to sincerely enjoy even the little things. He compares the beauty of the starry sky to a swarm of bees. This child, dispossessed by the war, early developed a courageous and compassionate character. At the same time, the author emphasizes that he is just a small, vulnerable child, who, after the death of his parents, spends the night anywhere, lying around covered in dust and dirt (“he lay quietly on the ground, dozing under the angular matting”). His sincere joy indicates that he yearned for human warmth.

Mikhail Sholokhov met the prototype of the main character of his future story in 1946. The fate of the front-line soldier interested him so much that he promised himself to write a story about him. But Sholokhov returned to this plot only 10 years later.

The main characters of the story “The Fate of Man”:

Andrey Sokolov – front-line soldier, driver, about 40 years old. A strong man, hard-working, open and honest. He liked his job as a driver. During the war he was also a driver. Once in his life he decided to kill a man - a traitor who was ready to betray his commander. When Müller gave him bread and lard, he brought every last crumb to the barracks, where the rations were divided among the prisoners. Having decided to escape from captivity, he grabbed the major whom he was transporting at that moment. The information contained in the major's briefcase turned out to be very valuable for the Soviet command.

Irina, Andrei’s wife, a pupil of an orphanage, wise beyond her years, soft, affectionate. She pacified her husband with her kindness. She loved her husband and children. She never allowed him to raise his voice and treated him for a hangover if Andrei had to overdo it with friends.

Anatoly- a capable young man, he studied well, was capable of mathematics. After the house was bombed, he asked to go to the front. He graduated from the artillery school, rose to the rank of captain, and had front-line awards. “I darned my parent from all over.”

Lagerführer Müller- negative hero. Camp commandant. Apparently, he was from the Volga Germans. “He spoke Russian like you and me, and he even leaned on the “o” like a native Volga native. And he was a terrible master at swearing.” It can be assumed that Müller somehow managed to escape to Germany during the period of deportation in 1941. Short, dense, blond. In appearance, Müller was clearly an albino. And a cruel person by nature. He mercilessly beat prisoners before work, and called it flu prevention.

Vanyushka- orphan. A smart boy, trusting and naive, like all children. Vanyushka was afraid of losing his father again, so at first he even went to work with him, went to meet him at the elevator. A kind, affectionate child, smart, beyond his age.

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 his story to the writer 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.

The literary work of M. Sholokhov “The Fate of a Man” is a story about the Great Patriotic War. This tragic milestone in human history caused the loss of lives for millions of people. The central character of the work, Andrei Sokolov, worked as a driver before the war, had an uncomplaining and tender wife, and three children. The main character experienced a lot of hardships during the difficult period of captivity, but retained his human appearance and the title of a Russian warrior, who, even being on the verge of death, did not lose loyalty to his homeland and did not drink with an enemy officer for the superiority of “German weapons.”

Characteristics of the heroes “The Fate of Man”

Main characters

Andrey Sokolov

In the story “The Fate of a Man,” the hero Andrei Sokolov is the main character. His nature absorbs all those features that are characteristic of a Russian person. How many hardships this indomitable man endured, only he knows. The nature and inner strength of the hero is evidenced by the way he talks about his life. There is no haste, no confusion, no vanity in the narrative. Even the choice of a listener in the person of a random fellow traveler speaks of the hero’s internal anguish.

Vanyushka

Vanyushka is the key character of the story in the person of an orphan boy about six years old. The author describes it using features that perfectly characterize the picture of those post-war years. Vanyushka is a trusting and inquisitive child with a kind heart. His life is already filled with difficult trials for a child. Vanya's mother died during the evacuation - she was killed by a bomb that hit the train. The boy's father met his death at the front. In the person of Sokolov, the boy finds a “father”.

Minor characters

Irina	The woman was raised in an orphanage. She was funny and smart. A difficult childhood left its mark on her character. Irina is an example of a Russian woman: a good housewife and a loving mother and wife. During her life with Andrei, she never reproached her husband or contradicted him. When her husband went to war, she seemed to have a presentiment that they would never meet again.
Camp Commandant Müller	Müller was a cruel and ruthless man. He spoke Russian and loved Russian swearing. He liked to beat prisoners. He called his sadistic tendencies “prevention against the flu” - he hit prisoners in the face using a lead pad in a glove. He repeated this every day. The commandant feels fear when he tests Andrei. He is surprised by his courage and fortitude.

The list of the main characters of “The Fate of Man” is a sample of personalities corresponding to the spirit of the times. Sholokhov himself is, to some extent, an indirect hero of his own story. A common misfortune united the people and made them stronger. Both Andrei Sokolov and Vanyusha, despite their age, appear before the reader as strong-willed and persistent people. The list of heroes is also symbolic in that it reflects the social diversity of people. The picture is emerging that everyone is equal before the war. And the moment where the camp commandant refuses to shoot Sokolov demonstrates military solidarity and respect for the enemy. This part of the story contains the most accurate and succinct description of the perseverance of the Soviet and Russian soldier even in the face of danger and imminent death. The true essence of the moral image of Commandant Mueller is revealed, his weakness, insignificance and helplessness.

The image of Andrei Sokolov in M. A. Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man” 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 he 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, and the course of life: “Even now, as I remember, my heart feels like it’s being cut with a dull knife...

“,” “As you remember the inhuman torment... the heart is no longer in the chest, but in the throat, and it becomes difficult to breathe,” “my heart broke...” At the end of Andrei Sokolov’s confession, the image of a large human heart appears, which has accepted all the troubles of the world, a heart spent on love for people, on protecting 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.