Why is the image of Vasily Terkin so dear to the author? The image of Vasily Terkin (School essays)

Name symbolism. The real, non-feuillet Terkin, the hero of “The Book about a Fighter,” appeared in the first two chapters of Tvardovsky’s book in September 1942. Terkin’s front-line “biography” is as follows: he begins to fight during the Finnish campaign, re-enters service in June 1941, retreats along with the entire army, finds himself surrounded several times, then goes on the offensive and ends his journey in the depths of Germany.

Vasily Terkin- this is a multidimensional image. He symbolic image, man-people, collective Russian type. It is no coincidence that nothing is said about his personal biography: they seem to be average. He is “a great hunter of living until he is ninety years old,” a peaceful, civilian man, a soldier by necessity. His usual life on the collective farm was interrupted by the war. War for him is a natural disaster, hot job. The entire poem is permeated with a dream of a peaceful life.

Already at the first mention, the surname Terkin clearly outlines the boundaries of character: Terkin means an experienced, seasoned man, “a seasoned kalach,” or, as the poem says, “a seasoned man.” Compare, for example, with the Russian proverb: “Patience and work will grind everything down,” etc. This core of the name, the core of the image varies several times and is played out in the poem:

Terkin's image is a generalized image, for all its realism and ordinariness. Tvardovsky endows his hero with an “all-Russian” appearance, avoids portrait marks (this would make him overly individualized): “Endowed with beauty / He was not excellent. / Not tall, not that small, / But a hero-hero.” Terkin is a bright, unique personality, and at the same time he includes the traits of many people, he seems to be repeated many times in others 1. See, for example, the chapter “Terkin - Terkin”: it turns out that there are two Terkins in the book. This is the hero of the book Vasily Ivanovich and his namesake Ivan. Duality emphasizes the general character of the main character. But their duality is not absolute: the second Terkin turns out to be red-haired, does not smoke, and his front-line profession is an armor-piercer. The situation is resolved by a “strict foreman”:

Tvardovsky selects the most general, typical episodes of the war, rarely using specific geographical names and exact chronological designations (the place and time of his book - field, forest, river, swamp, village, road, winter, spring, summer, autumn). The same applies to Terkin’s military profession: in different situations he turns out to be either a signalman, or a shooter, or a scout. It is important that Terkin belongs to the most massive branch of the military - the infantry. The hero is an infantryman. “It contains the pathos of the infantry, the army closest to the earth, to the cold, to fire and death,” Tvardovsky wrote at the very beginning of his plan. Terkin is one of the unskilled workers of the war, on whom the country rests, who bore the burden of the war on their shoulders. The hero of Tvardovsky's poem is a hero of a specific war with the Germans, and at the same time there is something in him that brings him closer to the Russian soldier of all times. Tvardovsky himself always liked this idea about the deep national roots of his hero, and in the handwritten versions of the poem there are the lines:

Tvardovsky depicts the life of war in general, but big picture the war consists of individual, very vivid and precise details of the war. The concreteness and tangibility of the paintings drawn by Tvardovsky are extremely enhanced by numerous and precise details. front-line life: in the parking lot, “a bucket of water and ice rattled into a smoky tank”; the telephone operator “blew into the receiver for order”; soldiers write letters “at a rest stop, under fire, on each other’s backs, taking off a glove with their teeth, in the wind in any frost,” etc. Pictures of war in the poem are always dynamic, alive, and visually perceptible.

The system of rhymes used in relation to the hero’s first and last name also contributes to the generalization of the image of the main character. Tvardovsky uses rhymes that characterize army life and the hero’s mood (“Terkin” - “bitter”, “shag”, “sayings”, “in a tunic”, “in a kapterka”, etc.). The most important rhyme in the poem is “Vasily - Russia”, repeated several times in the text, that is, it is emphasized that the hero is the embodiment of the heroism of the Russian people, representing all of Russia, all the people.

Readers immediately fell in love with the image of Vasily Terkin. Tvardovsky wrote his poem while being a front-line correspondent and going through the entire Great Patriotic War from 1941 to 1945. Several times the author tried to complete work on his work, but enthusiastic letters from the front forced him to continue. Why did you love it so much? title character front-line soldiers?

Firstly, Vasily Terkin is a real Russian soldier. His image became beloved because everyone could recognize in him the familiar features of his contemporaries. In Terkin there are no official lies, cheap, feigned patriotism. He was distinguished by simplicity, which did not at all prevent the hero from turning out to be a real hero during the hours of crossing, under bombing, and in hand-to-hand combat.

The image of Terkin originates in Russian folklore. He is also a hero who showed his remarkable fortitude and will to win. He is the same Ivanushka, who only pretended to be a simpleton, but in fact was brave and wise, loved people and did not lose his sense of humor even in the most difficult situations. difficult situations. So Terkin, a joker and a merry fellow, always found a sharp word in order to support himself and his comrades. He treats the hardships of life and even death with humor. Suffice it to recall the episode when Death came for a wounded soldier. Vasily is not only not afraid of her - he begins to bargain with death and asks her to give him the opportunity to come to life for only a few hours, so that on the day of victory he can “walk among the living.” Realizing that Death is offering him unfavorable conditions, the soldier drives her away:

Send this woman away
I'm a soldier still alive.

On folklore tradition The chapter “Grandfather and Woman” also indicates the image of a Russian soldier. Terkin shows himself here to be a jack of all trades: he can fix a watch and fry lard. The cooking episode takes us to folklore image a dexterous and savvy soldier who prepared porridge from an ax.

And although most often the soldier speaks humorously and ironically, because pathetic intonation is not for him, sometimes real pain and deep love for his homeland breaks through in his words:

I bent such a hook,
I've come so far
And I saw such torment.
And I knew such sadness!...
My dear mother earth,
For the sake of a joyful day
I'm sorry, I don't know why,
Just forgive me!

And in the most crucial moments of Terkin’s life, Tvardovsky allows himself to openly glorify the courage of those who fought against the Nazis:

Who alone is afraid of death -
Who doesn't care about a hundred deaths?
Damn you. Yes our devils
All devils
A hundred times the devil.

Terkin is an image that has all the best features of a soldier and a person: he is driven by love for the Motherland, courage, readiness for heroism, self-esteem. He is dexterous, lucky, a jack of all trades, an accordionist, knows how to make a joke at the right time, and lift the spirit of the fighters. Vasily Terkin is not alone. They are fighting next to him, other soldiers help and support him: the cook who “puts in an extra spoon,” those who gave him “felt boots from his feet,” the tank crews who delivered him to the medical battalion; the driver who drove Terkin to the front line, two members of the funeral team who took off their greatcoats in the cold to make a stretcher and carry the wounded soldier.

Why does Tvardovsky call his hero a “hard-working soldier”? Yes, because war, according to the author, is hard work, but necessary for the entire people. Each individual soldier is a simple person who may be scared and in pain.

The word “soldier” loses the meaning of “private” in the poem: a soldier is a fighter, a warrior, a defender of the Fatherland, which means that a general is also a soldier fighting for the liberation of the Fatherland. But Tvardovsky makes the main character of the poem not a general, but a soldier. Thus, he highlights the heroism of the Russian people, their contribution to the cause of common victory. It is the soldier who is responsible for everything in war: he is the one who wins the war.

The name of the main character has become a household name. Tvardovsky himself is ironic in the poem and says that each company should be allocated its own Terkin. This joke by the author actually accurately reflects reality. After all, in terrible moments of life, in war, when there is death and bullets all around, a person so needs kind word, hope for better days. Namely, Tvardovsky’s hero was called upon to help those around him with his love of life and strong faith in victory.

The image of Vasily Terkin seems to take root in Russian history, acquires a general meaning, and becomes the embodiment of Russian national character:

Into battle, forward, into utter fire
He goes, holy and sinful,
Russian miracle man...

Municipal basic educational institution "Platovskaya secondary school"

Research work on literature

Topic: “The image of Vasily Terkin in the work of Tvardovsky”

Checked by: teacher

Platovka 2011

LET'S SUM UP

The poem “Vasily Terkin” is evidence of history. The writer himself was a war correspondent, he was close military life. The work shows the clarity of what is happening, imagery, accuracy, which makes us truly believe the poem.
Main character works - Vasily Terkin - a simple Russian soldier. His very name speaks of the generality of his image. He was close to the soldiers, he was one of them. Many even, reading the poem, said that the real Terkin was in their company, that he was fighting with them. The image of Terkin also has folk roots. In one of the chapters, Tvardovsky compares him with a soldier from famous fairy tale"Porridge from an axe." The author presents Terkin as a resourceful soldier who knows how to find a way out of any situation and show intelligence and ingenuity. In other chapters the hero appears to us mighty hero from ancient epics, strong and fearless.
What can we say about Terkin’s qualities? All of them are certainly worthy of respect. One can easily say about Vasily Terkin: “he does not drown in water and does not burn in fire,” and this will be the pure truth. The hero exhibits such qualities as courage, bravery, and courage, and the proof of this is in chapters such as “The Crossing” and “Death and the Warrior.” He never loses heart, jokes (for example, in the chapters “Terkin-Terkin”, “In the bathhouse”). He shows his love for life in "Death and the Warrior". He does not fall into the hands of death, resists it and survives. And, of course, Terkin contains such qualities as great patriotism, humanism and a sense of military duty.
Vasily Terkin was very close to the soldiers of the Great Patriotic War, he reminded them of themselves. Terkin inspired soldiers to heroic deeds, helped them during the war, and maybe even, to some extent, the war was won thanks to him.

- a soldier (then an officer) from the Smolensk peasants: “... the guy himself is ordinary.”
Terkin embodies the best features of the Russian soldier and the Russian people. Terkin has been fighting since the very beginning of the war, he was surrounded three times and was wounded. Terkin’s motto: “Don’t be discouraged,” despite any difficulties. So, the hero, in order to restore contact with the fighters located on the other side of the river, swims across it twice in icy water. Or, in order to establish a telephone line during the battle, Terkin alone occupies a German dugout, in which he comes under fire. One day Terkin enters into hand-to-hand combat with a German and, with great difficulty, still takes the enemy prisoner. The hero perceives all these exploits as ordinary actions in war. He does not boast about them, does not demand rewards for them. And he only jokingly says that to be representative, he simply needs a medal. Even in the harsh conditions of war, Terkin preserves everything human qualities. The hero has a great sense of humor, which helps T. himself and everyone around him to survive. Thus, he jokes and encourages fighters fighting a difficult battle. Terkin is given the accordion of the killed commander, and he plays it, brightening up the soldier's moments of rest. On the way to the front, the hero helps old peasants with their housework, convincing them of an imminent victory. Having met a captured peasant woman, T. gives her all the trophies. Terkin does not have a girlfriend who would write letters to him and wait for him from the war. But he does not lose heart, fighting for all Russian girls. Over time, Terkin becomes an officer. He vacates his native places and, looking at them, cries. The name Terkina becomes a household name. In the chapter "In the Bath" a soldier with a huge amount awards are compared to the hero of the poem. Describing his hero, the author in the chapter “From the Author” calls Terkin “a holy and sinful Russian miracle man.”

Terkin unexpectedly shoots down a German attack aircraft with a rifle; Sergeant T. reassures the envious him: “Don’t worry, this is / Not the German’s last plane.” In the chapter “General,” T. is summoned to the general, who awards him an order and a week’s leave, but it turns out that the hero cannot use it, since he home village while occupied by the Germans. In the chapter “Fight in the Swamp,” T. jokes and encourages the fighters who are fighting a difficult battle for a place called “ locality Borka,” from which “one black place” remained. In the chapter “About Love” it turns out that the hero does not have a girlfriend who would accompany him to the war and write him letters to the front; the author jokingly calls: “Turn your gentle gaze, / Girls, to the infantry.” In the chapter “Terkin’s Rest,” normal living conditions seem to the hero to be “paradise”; Having lost the habit of sleeping in bed, he cannot fall asleep until he receives advice - to put a hat on his head to simulate field conditions. In the chapter “On the Offensive,” T., when the platoon commander is killed, takes command and is the first to break into the village; however, the hero is again seriously wounded. In the chapter “Death and the Warrior,” T., lying wounded in a field, talks with Death, who persuades him not to cling to life; he is eventually discovered by members of the funeral team. The chapter “Terkin Writes” is a letter from T. from the hospital to his fellow soldiers: he promises to definitely return to them. In the chapter “Terkin - Terkin” the hero meets his namesake - Ivan Terkin; they argue which of them is the “true” Terkin (this name has already become legendary), but cannot determine because they are very similar to each other. The dispute is resolved by the foreman, who explains that “According to the regulations, each company / Will be given its own Terkin.” Further, in the chapter “From the Author,” the process of “mythologizing” the character is depicted; T. is called “a holy and sinful Russian miracle man.” In the chapter "Grandfather and Woman" again we're talking about about old peasants from the chapter “Two Soldiers”; after spending two years under occupation, they are awaiting the advance of the Red Army; the old man recognizes one of the scouts as T., who became an officer. The chapter “On the Dnieper” says that T., together with the advancing army, is getting closer to his native places; troops cross the Dnieper, and, looking at the liberated land, the hero cries. In the chapter “On the Road to Berlin,” T. meets a peasant woman who was once kidnapped to Germany - she returns home on foot; together with the soldiers, T. gives her trophies: a horse and team, a cow, a sheep, household utensils and a bicycle. In the chapter “In the Bath,” the soldier, on whose tunic “Orders, medals in a row / Burn with a hot flame,” is compared by admiring soldiers to T.: the hero’s name has already become a household name.

VASILY TERKIN - This is realistic image of great generalizing power, an “ordinary” hero, according to Tvardovsky, born in the special, unique atmosphere of the war years; image-type Soviet soldier, organically entered into the soldier environment, close to his collective prototype in his biography, way of thinking, actions and language. According to V. T, “having lost his heroic physique,” ​​he “gained a heroic soul.” This is an amazingly correctly understood Russian national character, taken in its best features. Behind the illusion of simplicity, buffoonery, and mischief are hidden moral sensitivity and organic inherent feeling filial duty to the Motherland, the ability to accomplish a feat at any moment without phrases or poses. Behind the experience and love of life is a dramatic duel with the death of a person who finds himself in war. Developing as the poem was written and simultaneously published, the image of V.T. acquired the scale of a hero epic work about the fate of the Soviet soldier and his homeland. The generalized type of Soviet warrior became identified with the image of the entire warring people, concretized in the living, psychologically rich character of V. T, in whom each front-line soldier recognized himself and his comrade. V. T. became a household name, ranking with such heroes as Till Eulenspiegel by S. de Coster and Cola Brunyon by R. Rolland.

After the end of the war and the publication of the first poem about V.T., readers asked Tvardovsky to write a continuation about the life of V.T. in peacetime. Tvardovsky himself considered V.T. to belong to wartime. However, the author needed his image when writing satirical poem about the essence of the bureaucratic world of the totalitarian system, which was called “Terkin in the next world.” Personifying the vitality of the Russian national character, V. T. demonstrates that “the most terrible thing for the state of the dead is a living person” (S. Lesnevsky).

After the publication of the second poem, Tvardovsky was accused of betraying his hero, who became “submissive” and “lethargic.” in the second poem he continues his dispute with death, begun in the first, but according to the laws of the genre in fairy tales about a journey to the underworld, the hero is required not to actively fight, which is impossible among the dead, but to be able to go through trials and withstand them. The positive beginning in satire is laughter, not the hero. Tvardovsky follows the traditions of the works of Gogol, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Dostoevsky (“Bobok”), Blok (“Dances of Death”).

With triumphant success he brought it to life on the stage of the Moscow Theater of Satire (directed by V. Pluchek).

The reader asked Tvardovsky for a continuation from V.T. “Our Vasily,” Tvardovsky reports, “arrived in the next world, but in this world he departed.” The poem ends with a hint-address to the reader: “I gave you a task.” Both V. T. and Tvardovsky remained true to themselves - the battle “for the sake of life on earth” continues.

They look into the joker's mouth,
They catch the word greedily.
It's good when someone lies
Fun and challenging.
Just a guy himself
He's ordinary.
Not tall, not that small,
But a hero is a hero.

I'm a big hunter to live
About ninety years old.

And, save the crust
Having broken off the ice,
He is like him, Vasily Terkin,
I got up alive and got there by swimming.
And with a timid smile
The fighter then says:
- Couldn’t I also have a stack?
Because well done?

No guys, I'm not proud.
Without thinking into the distance,
So I’ll say: why do I need an order?
I agree to a medal.

Terkin, Terkin, kind fellow...

Vasily Terkin - a generalized image of a soldier-liberator

Into battle, forward, into utter fire

He goes, holy and sinful,

Russian miracle man!

O. Tvardovsky

A. Tvardovsky wrote the poem “Vasily Terkin” throughout the war - from 1941 to 1945. It is no coincidence that this “book about a fighter” became an achievement that is rightly called a “true chronicle of the war”, which comprehends heroic feat people. The image of the main character was close and understandable to the reader, because he embodied the main features of the Russian folk character. Readers immediately recognized Vasya Terkin as one of their own. After the publication in 1942 of the first eight chapters telling about the front-line biography of the hero, Tvardovsky, who considered the poem completed, was forced to continue it: from all fronts he received letters from readers asking him to tell about future fate Terkina.

The poem reflects the main stages of the Great Patriotic War, from its first days to complete victory over the enemy:

These lines and pages -

There is a special count of days and miles,

Like from the western border

To your home capital

And here is the native capital

Back to the western border

But the western border

All the way to the enemy capital

We did our own hike.

Talking about war is never easy, just as telling the truth is not easy. But the poet chose the truth - “straight to the soul,” no matter how bitter it was.

The poet managed, without embellishing, but also without “downgrading” the hero, to embody in him the most important qualities of the Russian people: patriotism, awareness of responsibility for the fate of the Motherland, readiness for heroism, love of work. Vasya Terkin is shown at a halt and in peasant hut, in a trench and in a Russian bathhouse, he heroically swims across icy rivers, he dreams of awards. But always recognizable person, such as there are many. Thanks to such simple infantry soldiers who did not spare themselves, the country defeated fascism. And at the same time, in Tjorkin there is something of the fabulous, epic Russian heroes who always come out unscathed and always win. There are no pompous phrases or any unusual actions in the poem. War is blood, pain, loss. But this is the strength of a person: she can withstand all troubles and suffering, survive among these adversities.

In any situation, Vasily Terkin remains a man, retains the goodness in himself. Humor never leaves him, even at the most crucial moments.

Let's not go too far, let's break through

We will live - we will not die, -

he says, not at all intending to give his life in vain. Many readers perceived Terkin as real personality. Tvardovsky himself writes that someone like Terkin

Every company always has

And in every platoon.

The resilient hero of the poem leads us with him from the Moscow region to Berlin. And he is always full of strength, optimism and ready to complete any task:

Into battle, forward, into utter fire

He goes, holy and sinful,

Russian miracle man.

“The Book about a Soldier” ends with a story about our victories, a hymn to the soldier who went through all this terrible war. “Vasily Terkin” is a poem about our people defending their freedom and independence and saving humanity from fascist slavery.

At the very height of the Great Patriotic War, when our entire country was defending its homeland, the first chapters of A.T.’s poem appeared in print. Tvardovsky’s “Vasily Terkin,” where the main character was portrayed as a simple Russian soldier, “an ordinary guy.”

The writer himself recalled that the beginning of work on “Vasily Terkin” was accompanied by difficulties: it was not easy to find the required art form, determine the composition and it is especially difficult to choose a main character who would be understandable not only to the wartime reader, but would also remain modern in long years. Alexander Trifonovich Tvardovsky found his hero - Vasily Terkin, whose image helped both the soldiers at the front and their wives and children in the rear, is also interesting to the modern reader. What did literary image Terkina so popular for so many years?

Any artistic image possesses not only individualistic, personal traits, but also carries within itself something collective, general, is an exponent, characteristic hero of its time. On the one hand, Vasily Terkin is unlike the rest of the soldiers in the company: he is a cheerful fellow, he is distinguished by a peculiar sense of humor, he is not afraid of danger, but at the same time, Tvardovsky, when creating his hero, did not take any specific person as a model, therefore the writer succeeded collective image a soldier, defender of the Russian land, ready at any moment to repel an enemy attack:

However, what to think, brothers,

We must hurry to beat the German.

That's all Terkin in a nutshell

I have something to report to you.

Terkin is brave, courageous, he is not afraid of bullets, enemy bombing, or icy water. In any situation, the hero knows how to stand up for himself and not let others down. Terkin is a friend to a fighter at a rest stop, a son to an old man and an old woman in a dilapidated hut, a brother to a young woman who sent all her loved ones to the front. The character of the hero is woven from dozens and hundreds of characters of ordinary Russian soldiers, endowed with universal human traits: kindness, respect for people, decency.

A.T. Tvardovsky gives his hero a telling surname - Terkin, not without reason the most common phrase in the poem: “We’ll endure it. Let's talk." The strength of the Russian spirit is such that a person can endure anything, can survive a lot, but this does not make him angrier, more intolerant, but on the contrary, he strives to help people, tries to make them believe in their own strength:

He sighed right at the door

And said:

- We'll beat you, father...

Terkin is a savvy and resourceful not only in war, during battle, but also in ordinary life. Thus, peaceful and military life merge into one. The hero seems to live in war, constantly dreaming of victory, of simple village work.

The writer calls Vasily Terkin differently in the poem, either he is an “ordinary guy”, with the weaknesses inherent in any person, or a hero.