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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 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.

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 overjoyed 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.

“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

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The Great Patriotic War, even after many decades, remains the greatest blow for the whole world. What a tragedy this is for the fighting Soviet people, who lost the most people in this bloody battle! The lives of many (both military and civilian) were ruined. Sholokhov's story “The Fate of Man” truthfully depicts these sufferings, not of an individual person, but of the entire people who stood up to defend their Motherland.

The story “The Fate of a Man” is based on real events: M.A. Sholokhov met a man who told him his tragic biography. This story was almost a ready-made plot, but did not immediately turn into a literary work. The writer nurtured his idea for 10 years, but put it on paper in just a few days. And he dedicated it to E. Levitskaya, who helped him publish the main novel of his life, “Quiet Don.”

The story was published in the Pravda newspaper on the eve of the new year, 1957. And soon it was read on All-Union Radio and heard throughout the country. Listeners and readers were shocked by the power and truthfulness of this work, and it gained well-deserved popularity. In literary terms, this book opened up a new way for writers to explore the theme of war - through the fate of a little man.

The essence of the story

The author accidentally meets the main character Andrei Sokolov and his son Vanyushka. During the forced delay at the crossing, the men started talking, and a casual acquaintance told the writer his story. This is what he told him.

Before the war, Andrei lived like everyone else: wife, children, household, work. But then thunder struck, and the hero went to the front, where he served as a driver. One fateful day, Sokolov’s car came under fire and he was shell-shocked. So he was captured.

A group of prisoners was brought to the church for the night, many incidents happened that night: the shooting of a believer who could not desecrate the church (they didn’t even let him out “until the wind”), and with him several people who accidentally fell under machine gun fire, help from a doctor to Sokolov and others wounded. Also, the main character had to strangle another prisoner, since he turned out to be a traitor and was going to hand over the commissioner. Even during the next transfer to the concentration camp, Andrei tried to escape, but was caught by dogs, who stripped him of his last clothes and bit him so much that “the skin and meat flew into shreds.”

Then the concentration camp: inhuman work, almost starvation, beatings, humiliation - that’s what Sokolov had to endure. “They need four cubic meters of production, but for the grave of each of us, one cubic meter through the eyes is enough!” - Andrei said imprudently. And for this he appeared before Lagerführer Müller. They wanted to shoot the main character, but he overcame his fear, bravely drank three glasses of schnapps to his death, for which he earned respect, a loaf of bread and a piece of lard.

Towards the end of hostilities, Sokolov was appointed driver. And finally, an opportunity arose to escape, and even together with the engineer whom the hero was driving. Before the joy of salvation had time to subside, grief arrived: he learned about the death of his family (a shell hit the house), and all this time he lived only in the hope of a meeting. One son survived. Anatoly also defended his homeland, and Sokolov and he simultaneously approached Berlin from different directions. But right on the day of victory, the last hope was killed. Andrey was left all alone.

Subjects

The main theme of the story is a man at war. These tragic events are an indicator of personal qualities: in extreme situations, those character traits that are usually hidden are revealed, it is clear who is who in reality. Before the war, Andrei Sokolov was not particularly different; he was like everyone else. But in battle, having survived captivity and constant danger to life, he proved himself. His truly heroic qualities were revealed: patriotism, courage, perseverance, will. On the other hand, a prisoner like Sokolov, probably also no different in ordinary peaceful life, was going to betray his commissar in order to curry favor with the enemy. Thus, the theme of moral choice is also reflected in the work.

Also M.A. Sholokhov touches on the topic of willpower. The war took away from the main character not only his health and strength, but also his entire family. He has no home, how can he continue to live, what to do next, how to find meaning? This question has interested hundreds of thousands of people who have experienced similar losses. And for Sokolov, caring for the boy Vanyushka, who was also left without a home and family, became a new meaning. And for his sake, for the sake of the future of his country, you need to live on. Here is the disclosure of the theme of the search for the meaning of life - a real person finds it in love and hope for the future.

Issues

The problem of choice occupies an important place in the story. Every person faces a choice every day. But not everyone has to choose on pain of death, knowing that your fate depends on this decision. So, Andrei had to decide: to betray or remain faithful to the oath, to bend under the blows of the enemy or to fight. Sokolov was able to remain a worthy person and citizen because he determined his priorities, guided by honor and morality, and not by the instinct of self-preservation, fear or meanness.
The whole fate of the hero, in his life trials, reflects the problem of the defenselessness of the common man in the face of war. Little depends on him; circumstances are falling on him, from which he is trying to get out at least alive. And if Andrei was able to save himself, then his family was not. And he feels guilty about it, even though he isn't.
The problem of cowardice is realized in the work through secondary characters. The image of a traitor who, for the sake of immediate gain, is ready to sacrifice the life of a fellow soldier, becomes a counterweight to the image of the brave and strong-willed Sokolov. And there were such people in the war, says the author, but there were fewer of them, that’s the only reason we won.
The tragedy of war. Numerous losses were suffered not only by the military units, but also by civilians who could not defend themselves in any way.

Characteristics of the main characters

Andrei Sokolov is an ordinary person, one of many who had to leave a peaceful existence in order to defend their homeland. He exchanges a simple and happy life for the dangers of war, without even imagining how he can remain on the sidelines. In extreme circumstances, he maintains spiritual nobility, shows willpower and perseverance. Under the blows of fate, he managed not to break. And find a new meaning in life, which reveals his kindness and responsiveness, because he sheltered an orphan.
Vanyushka is a lonely boy who has to spend the night wherever he can. His mother was killed during the evacuation, his father at the front. Tattered, dusty, covered in watermelon juice - this is how he appeared before Sokolov. And Andrei could not leave the child, he introduced himself as his father, giving both himself and him a chance for a further normal life.

What is the meaning of the work?

One of the main ideas of the story is the need to take into account the lessons of the war. The example of Andrei Sokolov shows not what war can do to a person, but what it can do to all of humanity. Prisoners tortured in concentration camps, orphaned children, destroyed families, scorched fields - this should never be repeated, and therefore should not be forgotten.

No less important is the idea that in any, even the most terrible situation, one must remain human and not become like an animal that, out of fear, acts only on the basis of instincts. Survival is the main thing for anyone, but if this comes at the cost of betraying oneself, one’s comrades, one’s Motherland, then the surviving soldier is no longer a person, he is not worthy of this title. Sokolov did not betray his ideals, did not break, although he went through something that is difficult for a modern reader to even imagine.

Genre

A short story is a short literary genre that reveals one storyline and several characters. “The Fate of Man” refers specifically to him.

However, if you take a closer look at the composition of the work, you can clarify the general definition, because this is a story within a story. First, the story is narrated by the author, who, by the will of fate, met and talked with his character. Andrei Sokolov himself describes his difficult life; the first-person narration allows readers to better understand the hero’s feelings and understand him. The author's remarks are introduced to characterize the hero from the outside (“eyes, as if sprinkled with ashes,” “I didn’t see a single tear in his seemingly dead, extinct eyes... only his large, limply lowered hands trembled slightly, his chin trembled, his hard lips trembled”) and show how deeply this strong man suffers.

What values does Sholokhov promote?

The main value for the author (and for readers) is peace. Peace between states, peace in society, peace in the human soul. The war destroyed the happy life of Andrei Sokolov, as well as many people. The echo of the war still does not subside, so its lessons should not be forgotten (although this event has often recently been overestimated for political purposes that are far from the ideals of humanism).

Also, the writer does not forget about the eternal values of the individual: nobility, courage, will, desire to help. The time of knights and noble dignity has long passed, but true nobility does not depend on origin, it is in the soul, expressed in its ability to show mercy and empathy, even if the world around it is collapsing. This story is a great lesson in courage and morality for modern readers.

Sholokhov's work is closely connected with the era in which he lived. His works are a special view of life. This is the look of an adult, seasoned by the harsh reality of a person who loves his homeland and appreciates people who faced danger with their breasts. These people died so that we could live in a free country, so that tears of happiness would shine in the eyes of their children.

During the Great Patriotic War, Sholokhov set himself the goal of strengthening love for the homeland among the Soviet people. The story “The Fate of a Man,” written in 1957, is an amazing work about how two souls, tormented by the horrors of the war years, find support and the meaning of life in each other.

Andrei Sokolov is an ordinary person, his fate is similar to thousands of other destinies, his life is similar to many other lives. The main character of the story endured the trials that befell him with enviable fortitude. He remembered very well the difficult separation from his family when he went to the front. He cannot forgive himself for pushing away his wife during farewell, who had a presentiment that this was their last meeting: “I forcibly separated her hands and lightly pushed her on the shoulders. It seemed like I pushed lightly, but my strength was stupid; She backed away, took three steps, and again walked towards me in small steps, holding out her arms.”

At the beginning of spring, Andrei Sokolov was wounded twice, shell-shocked, and, worst of all, captured. The hero had to endure inhumane trials in fascist captivity, but, nevertheless, he did not break. Andrei still managed to escape, and he again returned to the ranks of the Red Army. This man also suffered a tragic death. He hears terrible news on the last day of the war: “Take courage, father! Your son, captain Sokolov, was killed today at the battery.”

Andrei Sokolov has amazing courage and spiritual strength; the horrors he experienced do not make him embittered. The main character wages a continuous struggle within himself and emerges victorious. This man, who lost people close to him during the Great Patriotic War, finds the meaning of life in Vanyusha, who was also left an orphan: “Such a little ragamuffin: his face is covered in watermelon juice, covered with dust, dirty as dust, unkempt, and his eyes are like stars. at night after the rain! It is this boy with “eyes as bright as the sky” who becomes the new life of the main character.

Vanyusha’s meeting with Sokolov was significant for both. The boy, whose father died at the front and whose mother was killed on the train, still hopes that he will be found: “Dad, dear! I know that you will find me! You'll find it anyway! I’ve been waiting for so long for you to find me.” Andrei Sokolov’s fatherly feelings for someone else’s child awaken: “He snuggled up to me and trembles all over, like a blade of grass in the wind. And there’s a fog in my eyes and I’m also shaking all over, and my hands are shaking...”

The glorious hero of the story again performs some kind of spiritual, and perhaps moral, feat when he takes the boy for himself. He helps him get on his feet and feel needed. This child became a kind of “medicine” for Andrei’s crippled soul: “I went to bed with him and for the first time in a long time fell asleep peacefully. ... I wake up, and he’s nestled under my arm, like a sparrow under cover, quietly snoring, and my soul feels so happy that I can’t even express it in words!”

“Two orphaned people, two grains of sand, thrown into foreign lands by a military hurricane of unprecedented force... what lies ahead for them?” - Maxim Aleksandrovich Sholokhov asks at the end of the story. One thing is certain - these people will still find their happiness, and it cannot be otherwise.

Sholokhov's story is imbued with a deep, bright faith in man. The title is also very symbolic, for this work expresses not only the fate of the soldier Andrei Sokolov, but also the fate of Vanyusha himself, and indeed the entire country. “And I would like to think,” writes Sholokhov, “that this Russian man, a man of inexhaustible will, will endure, and near his father’s shoulder will grow one who, having matured, will be able to withstand everything, overcome everything on his way, if the Motherland calls for it.”

I think that the heroes of "The Fate of Man" are typical of their time. Millions of people were left orphans in the brutal war of 1941-1945. But the resilience and courage of the generation that found the strength to believe and wait is amazing. People did not become embittered, but, on the contrary, united and became even stronger. Both Andrei Sokolov and Vanyusha, who is still a very small boy, are strong-willed and persistent people. Perhaps this helped them find each other.

In my opinion, Sholokhov took upon himself the sacred duty to tell humanity the harsh truth about what a huge price the Soviet people paid for the right to be free and for the right to make the next generation happy. War is cruel and heartless, it does not distinguish who is right and who is wrong, it does not spare children, women, or the elderly. Therefore, subsequent generations are obliged to know the whole truth about it.

Main characters

Andrey Sokolov

Andrei Sokolov is the main character of the story “The Fate of Man”

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.

Vanyusha

Minor characters

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.

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