Year of publication of the book: 1922

The book by Alexei Tolstoy "Nikita's Childhood" was first published in 1922 and was dedicated to the writer's son. The work was appreciated by both critics and readers. This allowed the work to get into the modern school curriculum, and also contributed to the adaptation of the book "Nikita's Childhood". The film of the same name was filmed in 1992.

The story "Nikita's childhood" summary

Nikita woke up and remembered that yesterday one familiar man named Pakhom made a special bench for him, on which he can slide down the hill. The boy was very happy and was about to run into the street when his teacher Arkady Ivanovich intercepted him. Therefore, Nikita had to go to breakfast, and then take up lessons. He sat for a long time at mathematics and calligraphy, when it was announced that Arkady Ivanovich had received mail. The man left the room, and Nikita immediately slipped after him and ran to his friends.

The protagonist of Tolstoy's work "Nikita's Childhood" instantly found himself in the courtyard, where he was already met by his comrades from his end of the village, and their enemies, the "Konchansk" guys who lived on the edge of the village, were playing nearby. Nikita immediately began to climb the hill to get off it, when he saw that the teacher was already running after him. Arkady Ivanovich told the student that one of the letters that came in the morning was from his father. It said that he was preparing a huge gift for Nikita. And also the fact that a friend of the mother with her children will come to visit them on holidays. The second letter received by the teacher was from his bride.

When Nikita went to bed, he had a very strange dream. It seemed to him that someone wanted to stop the wall clock. Wanting to prevent this, the boy kicked off and took off. On one of the upper shelves, he saw a beautiful vase, looking into which he wanted to take its contents for himself. However, the old woman in the picture did not let him do it. Then the boy's dream ended. Opening his eyes, Nikita saw that Arkady Ivanovich was standing beside him.

Further in Tolstoy's story "Nikita's Childhood" we can read that the next day after this dream the boy was released for a walk, since the Christmas holidays began. On the street, a battle began between Nikita's comrades and the "Konchansk" guys. The latter began to win, when the main character pounced on the leader of the opponents named Styopa. Then the other boys joined in. They drove the Konchanskiy several more households. Styopa was struck by Nikita's courage, and the guys became friends.

In the evening, guests arrived - Anna Apollosovna with her children, a second-grade student at the gymnasium, Viktor, and a nine-year-old girl named Lilya. As in Nikita, I really liked the girl. Even when they were walking in the yard, he noticed that the girl was watching him from the window, and this gave him courage. So the story "Nikita's Childhood" tells how once, in front of Lily's eyes, he even managed to stop a ferocious bull. A little later, the boy received a present from his father - a large boat with two oars. For several days, the whole family was busy preparing for Christmas - they were decorating the Christmas tree, preparing various dishes. The holiday was very emotional - the children were dancing to the accompaniment of Nikita's mother, Alexandra Leontievna. Everyone received their gifts and sat down at a large table. After dinner Nikita even managed to kiss Lilya.

Throughout the entire time that Anna Apollosovna was staying here with her children, Nikita spent time with Lilya. He was not even interested in what other boys were doing there. On the contrary, Viktor liked walking with the guys in the yard more. They built barricades and fought various battles. But Nikita for some reason was not interested in them. He focused all his attention on the girl. And then one day the protagonist of Tolstoy's story "Nikita's Childhood" told Leela about his strange dream. She asked if they had such a vase at home that the boy had dreamed about. Thinking it over, Nikita remembered that something similar was in his grandfather's office. Entering the room, the children saw that there was a ring with a small pebble in the vase. Nikita immediately put it on Leela's finger.

When the guests left, Nikita missed Leela very much. He was also saddened by the fact that the holidays were over, and therefore he had to sit down for his lessons again. As in the boy did not particularly like algebra, but there was nothing to do - he had to sit at textbooks. Nikita's father Vasily Nikitievich wrote that he would be late and would come home only for Great Lent. The fact is that for several months he has been trying to get an inheritance in Samara, but the matter is progressing terribly slowly, and the man urgently needs to leave for Moscow. Alexandra Leontievna was worried about this. It seemed to her that due to the fact that her husband had been away for so long, Nikita would forget her father. But this is not so - the boy perfectly remembered his cheerful and smiling dad and was waiting for him.

Nikita often remembered Lilya. He walked so sad that Alexandra Leontievna thought that her son was sick. She canceled classes and began to solder him with medications. As soon as the street got warmer and the rooks flew in, Nikita felt much better.

Later in the story "Nikita's Childhood" a summary tells how one day he heard the news that his father was drowning under the ice. The boy was very scared, but everything ended well - by the evening Vasily Nikitievich was at home. But the incident did not pass without a trace - for several days the man was tormented by a fever. But there was no time to be ill for a long time - work was in full swing at home, everyone was preparing for Easter. The parents of the protagonist were so tired during the cleaning and cooking of festive dishes that they could not go to the service. Arkady Ivanovich was also not eager to go to matins, as he was upset by the absence of a letter from the bride.

Therefore, he went to serve in the neighboring village of Nikita alone. There he was allowed to stay with his father's friend Pyotr Devyatov. Having reached his destination, the boy quickly became friends with the six sons of Peter Petrovich. A little later, he met his daughter Anna. The girl's brothers complained about her to Nikita and called her sister a sneak. After the service, Anna did not leave Nikita a single step. He realized that she felt for him the same as he felt for Leela. But the boy could not reciprocate.

And now in the work "Nikita's Childhood" came May. The month Nikita celebrated his birthday. On this occasion, Vasily Nikitievich launched a boat donated for Christmas. Together they hung a flag on it, after which the father declared Nikita an admiral. Warm weather set in, and the boy was often allowed to walk all day. On one of these walks, he picked up a small starling, which he later named Zheltukhin. He took him to his house and began to train. The lessons bore fruit - after some time the chick recognized Nikita, constantly spent the night in his house and even learned to speak a little. So until the fall, Zheltukhin lived in the boy's house. But with the onset of cold weather, it flew to warmer regions along with other starlings.

While autumn had not yet arrived, Nikita enjoyed his free time. Moreover, his parents decided to teach him to ride. At first, Alexandra Leontievna, of course, worried about her son. But Vasily Nikitievich persuaded his wife. A little later, his father gave Nikita his own horse, which was named Klopik. Summer turned out to be so sultry that the grain harvest was in jeopardy. This worried the boy's parents very much. Moreover, the teacher walked around sad because his fiancée would not be able to come, and they would be able to see each other in Samara. Once Zheltukhin flew into the house and shouted: "Storm!" Indeed, a few hours later the village was covered with thick clouds and it started to rain.

But in the work "Nikita's Childhood" the author says that with the appearance of Klopik, a new job also fell on Nikita - he had to travel to a neighboring village to pick up fresh mail. One day he saw that he had received a letter from Lily. In it, the girl wrote that she still remembers Nikita and keeps his gift - a ring with a blue stone. The boy felt so warm in his soul. He remembered the Christmas holidays and couldn't help smiling.

Arriving home, Nikita saw that his parents were quarreling. The fact is that Vasily Nikitievich wanted to go to the fair and sell one of the mares there. But his wife was against such an idea - she was afraid that the man would spend too much money there and buy something unnecessary. Nikita's father often behaved this way. They came to a compromise, and Vasily Nikitievich hit the road. After the fair, he told his son that he had nevertheless made a rash purchase - he had acquired several camels.

With the onset of autumn, Vasily Nikitievich again went to Samara. From there, he wrote to his wife that the matter with the inheritance had not been resolved. Therefore, he will have to spend the winter in the city again. But now he no longer wanted to live separately from his family. The man suggested that Alexandra Leontyevna move to the city and promised to buy her two vases. The woman reluctantly agreed. Arkady Ivanovich was also delighted with this news - after all, in Samara he was to meet with his bride.

In the city, the family was met by a friend of Alexandra Leontyevna with her children. Nikita noticed that Lilya was angry with him for some unknown reason. The girl said that she was offended because she did not receive an answer to her letter. Nikita was terribly ashamed that he had forgotten to write. He asked for forgiveness, and Lilya forgave him. Since then, as the story "Nikita's Childhood" is told, the heroes have begun a new life. The boy was not used to life in the city and at first it seemed to him that he was in a cage. But after a week he was able to pass the exams well, and he was admitted to the gymnasium.

The story "Nikita's Childhood" on the site Top books

Tolstoy's story "Nikita's Childhood" is popular to read largely due to the presence of the work in the school curriculum. This allowed the book to take a high place among. And although the interest in the story is seasonal in nature, we will surely see it more than once among

How long have I been waiting for a high-quality reprint of this wonderful story! It is based on the memories of Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy about his own childhood, and the author dedicated it to his son. It begins with a touching dedication: "I dedicate it to my son Nikita Alekseevich Tolstoy with deep respect." It is the writer's deep respect for the inner world of the little man and his feelings that we see in the book. He managed to penetrate into the essence of the child's experiences, into the very depths of the child's soul, to find such simple, but the most correct words that were able to convey the fragile, touching and to the brim with feelings and sensations, vivid events and impressions, the world of childhood.
This is a wonderful, kind and bright story about one year in the life of a little nine-year-old boy Nikita. It is about childhood joys and sorrows, discoveries and adventures, about growing up, doubts and overcoming one's own fears, about the first manifestation of feelings. In one of the chapters, the boy just turned ten, and his father arranged a "sea" holiday for his son, congratulating him so playfully and sweetly: , today you are ten years old, in fulfillment of which I have to give you this penknife with twelve blades, very suitable for naval affairs, and also in order to lose it. "

The language of the story is clear and light, the style is beautiful - this is magnificent prose, permeated with a lyrical, poetic sense of beauty. And how magical Tolstoy's descriptions of nature are! Nikita is very attentive to the changes taking place in nature, he feels himself to be an integral part of it, she bewitches him, makes him happy. This is how Tolstoy describes the moment when Nikita went to see off the village children who were celebrating Christmas in their house: “Nikita went to see the children off to the dam. When he returned home alone, the moon was burning high in the sky, in an iridescent pale circle. The trees on the dam and in the garden were huge and white and seemed to grow, stretch out in the moonlight. To the right the white desert went into the incredible frosty haze. On the side of Nikita, a long, large-headed shadow moved its legs. It seemed to Nikita that he was walking in a dream, in an enchanted kingdom. Only in an enchanted kingdom is it so strange and so happy in the soul. "
The book so interestingly and wonderfully describes the life of the estate, the celebration of Easter, Christmas Eve and the children's Christmas tree in the noble house, the fun and games of the village children with whom Nikita is friends. Reading is a pleasure!

Illustrations by Nina Alekseevna Noskovich are a good pictorial rendition of history. They are unusual, dull, they use shades of only three colors - yellow, blue and brown. But they are so intelligent and modest, delicate and romantic. In my opinion, the drawings remarkably convey the lyrical mood of the story and emphasize the difference between the modern world and the world of a noble estate of the 19th century, the perception of people of that culture and those of today - nature, the passage of time, life in general.

The book is made with high quality: hard cover, stitched binding, dense offset, medium-sized, but easy-to-read font. Obsolete words are explained in footnotes at the bottom of the page.
I was somewhat upset by the typos, because you always expect only impeccable quality from Rech. On page 43, an unnecessary letter "p" crept into the word "runners", turning them into "creeps", and page 13 somehow did not work out for the proofreader at all - there were two mistakes at once:
"But there is no glass in the case ..."
“There are two frosty windows in the room; a strange, more ordinary moon is visible through the glass. "
Because of this, I have to lower the rating of the book.

Nikita sighed as he woke up and opened his eyes. The sun shone through the frosty patterns on the windows, through the wonderfully painted silver stars and clawed leaves. The light in the room was snow-white. A bunny slipped from the sink and trembled on the wall.

Opening his eyes, Nikita remembered what the carpenter Pakhom had told him last night:

So I will grease it and water it well, and you get up in the morning - sit down and go.

Yesterday evening Pakhom, a crooked and pockmarked man, made a bench for Nikita, at his special request. It was done like this:

In a carriage-house, on a workbench, among a ring of swirling, odorous shavings, Pakhom was shaving two boards and four legs; the bottom board from the front edge - from the nose - cut off so that it does not stick into the snow; turned legs; there are two cutouts for the legs in the upper board to make it easier to sit. The lower board was coated with cow dung and watered three times with water in the cold - after that it was made like a mirror, a rope was tied to the upper board - to carry a bench, and when you go down the mountain, then to rule.

Now the bench, of course, is already ready and stands by the porch. Groin is such a person: "If he says what I said - the law, I will do it."

Nikita sat down on the edge of the bed and listened - the house was quiet, no one else must have got up. If you get dressed in a minute, without any, of course, washing and brushing your teeth, then through the back door you can escape to the courtyard, And from the courtyard - to the river. There, on the steep banks, there are snowdrifts, - sit down and fly ...

Nikita got out of bed and tiptoed over the hot sunny squares on the floor ...

At this time, the door opened slightly, and a head with glasses, with protruding red eyebrows and a bright red beard stuck into the room. The head winked and said:

Are you up, robber?

ARKADY IVANOVICH

The man with the red beard - Nikitin's teacher, Arkady Ivanovich, got wind of everything in the evening and purposely got up early. This Arkady Ivanovich was an amazingly quick and cunning man. He went into Nikita's room, laughing, stopped at the window, breathed on the glass and, when it became transparent, adjusted his glasses and looked out into the courtyard.

There is, - he said, - a wonderful bench by the porch.

Nikita said nothing and frowned. I had to get dressed and brush my teeth, and wash not only my face, but my ears and even my neck. After that Arkady Ivanovich hugged Nikita by the shoulders and led him into the dining room. Mother in a warm gray dress was sitting at the table at the samovar. She took Nikita by the face, looked into his eyes with clear eyes and kissed him.

Did you sleep well, Nikita?

Then she held out her hand to Arkady Ivanovich and asked kindly:

How did you sleep, Arkady Ivanovich ?.

I slept well, ”he replied, smiling at something incomprehensible, into a red mustache, sat down at the table, poured cream into tea, threw a piece of sugar into his mouth, grabbed it with white teeth and winked at Nikita through his glasses.

Arkady Ivanovich was an unbearable person: he always had fun, always winked, never spoke directly, but in such a way that his heart ached. For example, my mother seems to have asked clearly: "How did you sleep?" He replied: “I slept well,” which means that you need to understand: “But Nikita wanted to get away from tea and classes to the river, but Nikita yesterday, instead of a German translation, sat for two hours at Pakhom’s workbench”.

Arkady Ivanovich never complained, it's true, but Nikita had to keep his ears open all the time.

At tea, mother said that at night there was a great frost, the water in a tub was frozen in the entryway, and when they went for a walk, Nikita needed to put on a hood.

Mom, honestly, a terrible heat, - said Nikita.

I ask you to put on a hood.

It hurts and strangles my cheeks, I, mom, will have a worse cold in my head.

Mother silently looked at Arkady Ivanovich, at Nikita, her voice trembled:

I don’t know in whom you became inaudible.

Let's go to study, - said Arkady Ivanovich, got up resolutely and quickly rubbed his hands, as if there was no greater pleasure in the world than how to solve arithmetic problems and dictate proverbs and sayings that make your eyes stick together.

In a large empty and white room, where a map of two hemispheres hung on the wall, Nikita sat down at the table, covered in ink blots and painted faces. Arkady Ivanovich opened his problem book.

Well, ”he said cheerfully,“ where did you stop? - And underlined the problem number with a sharpened pencil.

“The merchant sold several arshins of blue cloth for 3 rubles 64 kopecks for an arshin and black cloth ..." - Nikita read. And now, as always, this merchant from the book of problems introduced himself to him. He was in a long, dusty frock coat, with a dull yellow face, all dull and flat, dry. His shop was as dark as a crack; on a dusty flat shelf were two pieces of cloth; the merchant stretched out his skinny hands to them, removed pieces from the shelf and looked with dull, lifeless eyes at Nikita.

Well, what do you think, Nikita? - asked Arkady Ivanovich. “The merchant sold eighteen yards in total. How much blue cloth was sold and how much black?

Nikita grimaced, the merchant was completely flattened, both pieces of cloth entered the wall, wrapped in dust ...

Arkady Ivanovich said: "Ai-ai!" - and began to explain, quickly wrote the numbers in pencil, multiplied them and divided them, repeating: "One in the mind, two in the mind." It seemed to Nikita that during the multiplication - "one in the mind" or "two in the mind" quickly jumped from paper to the head and tickled them there so that they would not be forgotten. It was very unpleasant. And the sun sparkled in two frosty windows of the classroom, enticing: "Let's go to the river."

The story of A.N. Tolstoy's Childhood of Nikita (originally titled A Tale of Many Excellent Things) was first published in a separate edition in 1922. The story was written in 1919-1920. In the fall of 1918, he emigrated abroad. In 1920, the writer was still in exile and yearned for Russia very much. Living in Paris and Berlin, Tolstoy shunned the emigre environment and began to delve deeper into the meaning of historical events. Memories of the homeland, of the irrevocable days of childhood, of Russian nature and the emergence of the story was caused. Nikita's Childhood is a work full of captivating lyricism, irresistible charm and truth, the high poetry of folk life, a lively perception of nature, the beauty of the native language. The author devotes all his attention to the embodiment of the poetic principles of the charm of the irreversible period of childhood. The writer said: “For this book I will give all my previous novels and plays! Russian book and written in Russian! " The story was written for the Parisian magazine "Green Stick" - for children-immigrants, who, like the son of A.N. Tolstoy Nikita, to whom the work is dedicated and whose name the protagonist is named after, badly needed Russian impressions. He was interested in real life, he wanted to rely on the experience of his personal observations: “I started - and it was as if a window opened into the distant past with all the charm, tender sadness and keen perceptions of nature that are in childhood” (Poln. Sobr. Soch., Vol. 13, p. 563). Unlike most of Tolstoy's works, the plot, a sequential chain of events, plays almost no role here, because everything in the world is excellent. Children's writer K. Chukovsky wrote about this in 1924: “This is the Book of Happiness, it seems to be the only Russian book in which the author does not preach happiness, does not promise it in the future, but immediately exudes from himself”.

Nikita's Childhood is an autobiographical story. The scene quite accurately reproduces the setting of the small estate of the writer's stepfather A. A. Bostrom, where Tolstoy grew up. Even the name of the estate - Sosnovka - is preserved in the story. Impressions of childhood, A. Tolstoy's memories of the early period of life in the Samara province were included in the content of his work. In one of his autobiographical notes, A. Tolstoy wrote about himself as follows: "I grew up alone, in contemplation, in dissolution, among the great phenomena of earth and sky. July lightning over a dark garden; autumn fogs like milk; dry twig gliding in the wind on the first ice of the pond; winter blizzards, falling asleep in snowdrifts huts to the very pipes; spring noise of waters; cry of rooks that flew to last year's nests; people in the cycle of seasons; birth and death, like sunrise and sunset, like the fate of grain; animals, birds ; boogers with red faces living in the cracks of the earth; the smell of a ripe apple, the smell of a fire in a twilight hollow; my friend Mishka Koryashonok and his stories; winter evenings under a lamp, books, daydreaming ... "(Complete collection of works, vol. 13 , pp. 557–558). Pictures of the Russian winter, boundless snowy plains, ringing spring days, summer harvest, golden autumn replace one another naturally, like the movement of time itself, conveyed in living images. The change of seasons is depicted not as a passive-contemplative movement, but as an active one, affecting all aspects of human existence and activity. It is in such an atmosphere that the little hero of A. Tolstoy's story Nikita grows and forms. Nikita's parents in many ways repeat the real features of the writer's stepfather and mother. Nikita's mother is called the same as the writer's mother - Alexandra Leontievna. For the image of the teacher, the prototype was a seminarist-tutor, Arkady Ivanovich Slovookhotov, who prepared the future writer for admission to a secondary educational institution. Nikita's relationship with the village children - with Mishka Koryashonk and Stepka Karnaushkin, their friendship and friendly games are also autobiographical, as well as a number of details and details. It should be noted that the narration is not conducted in the first person, which makes it possible for the author to really, after many years, evaluate the happy period of his childhood.
Chapter 2. Formation of Nikita's character in the story "Nikita's Childhood"
§ 2.1. Parental love is the basis for raising a child
"Nikita's Childhood" tells about the childhood of a Russian boy from a noble landowner family, once rich and noble, but already on the brink of ruin, living out his last days in the village. In the depiction of the formation of the character of the protagonist A.N. Tolstoy puts the very reality that surrounds the child in the first place.

From the very first pages of the story, we see what a benevolent, normal environment surrounded Nikita, how his first ideas about life took shape. "It was so quiet in the warm office that a barely audible ringing began in my ears. What extraordinary stories could be invented alone, on the sofa, under this ringing. White light poured through the frozen glass. Nikita read Cooper ..." So we plunge into the world of Nikita's childhood, a world surrounded by books, classes with a teacher, an atmosphere of kindness and care for a nine-year-old boy. Nikita's relationship with his mother, father, teacher is of such a character that they bring up a sound mind, frankness and honesty in the boy.

Nikita's family and the home environment in the house were always very kind and dear, it was clear how all family members take care of Nikita and everyone is trying to give a piece of their love to the boy, to raise him as a good person. All family members are very different in character, temperament, many have different views on life, but despite this, this is a friendly loving family. On the example of Nikita's parents who are sincerely loving each other, one can see how much family upbringing means for the formation of a child's character. Nikita's father is cheerful, with a subtle sense of humor, combined with extraordinary intelligence, kindness and spiritual nobility, happy with his wife, who is very different from him. She is a well-mannered, intelligent, stately woman with gentle beauty, who, in the spirit of folk traditions, embodies the image of the keeper of the family hearth. The prototype of this image was the mother of A. Tolstoy. Nikita's mother misses her husband very much when he leaves, worries about him with all her heart and worries that Nikita might forget him. One day, his father's life hung in the balance of death when he nearly died in a ravine during a spring flood. This misfortune showed the cohesion of the family, caring for each other, that common thing that unites a real family - love. Sometimes conflicts arose between the boy's parents over the extravagance of her husband, sometimes there were disagreements in Nikita's upbringing, the mother was very anxious about her son and was too worried about him and saw in him only a little boy, and the father insisted on raising a man in the child - a brave, strong hardened. But at the same time, they went to meet each other and found a common solution that did not harm Nikita, but, on the contrary, developed him. For example, the episode with Klopik. Mother was very afraid that it was too early for Nikita to ride a horse on his own: he might break, he might not cope with an unbroken horse. The father, on the other hand, was convinced that only in this way, with Nikita's introduction to independence, closeness to the life of the people, to participation in a common cause, it was possible to raise a strong, strong man.

Nikita's family was always very hospitable and glad to guests. One of these visits of guests became a real event in the life of Nikita, then he met his first love. The house has always been very fond of the holidays. One of the brightest was the wonderful New Year. The author's love for the traditions of the old noble way of life is felt in the description of preparations for the holiday, homemade crafts, ornaments, persistent needles, waiting for long-awaited gifts, a lush table with treats, round dances around the Christmas tree with invited village children. A.N. Tolstoy details of the children's preparations for the new year.

In this house, even ordinary workers are treated very well, despite the fact that there is a master and peasants. Nikita's father is a very simple person in communication and behavior, he was friendly to the servants, and they respected the owners, tried to please them, paid with loyalty and care. The carpenter Pakhom, who makes a bench for Nikita, a sensible boy, a backup Mishka Koryashonok, a teacher Arkady Ivanovich, arouse sympathy. Nikita considers the most authoritative person to be Mishka Koryashonka, who works in the barnyard, as a caretaker. This is a serious and reasonable guy who, in imitation of adults, speaks with feigned indifference. "Nikita looked at Koryashonok with great respect." Although Mishka is small, but in his remarks, advice and actions, the Russian mindset and Russian character are already clearly visible. Another acquaintance of Nikita is the swirling, snub-nosed and large-mouthed Styopa Karnaushkin with a "spoken fist." The company of Nikita's village friends is supplemented by Semka, Lyonka, Artamoshka the Menshoy, Nil, Vanka Cherny Ushi and Bobylev's nephew Petrushka. Nikita spins all day in the yard, by the well, in the coach shed, in the room, in the threshing floor ... For him, the judgments of Mishka Koryashonka are most understandable. But less important is what the carpenter Pakhom, the worker Vasily, the stooped Artyom said or did. Nikita is curious about the life of the village, peasant children, peasant occupations, not understanding the difficulties and hardships of village life, but at the same time spontaneously, instinctively not separating himself from it, feeling like something inextricably linked with the village.

§ 2.2. Friendship with the village guys

Nikita communicated with village children, and in the traditions of village childhood there was always a confrontation between one courtyard and another, fights, snow battles, playing war - all this also constituted his childhood, a happy childhood, tempered his character, subjected him to tests.

Nikita never had problems in communication due to his different social status, even on the contrary, he believed that his village friends would never replace him with a single noble boy, as he was convinced after communicating with the second grade schoolboy Viktor, who was visiting Nikita on Christmas. Victor also made friends with the villagers, tried to be his own, but did not. But Nikita was his own among the guys, he was not afraid to walk

All-Russian scientific and practical videoconference

"The theme of childhood in world literature"

Section: literary

Research

Formation of Nikita's character

(based on the story of AN Tolstoy "Nikita's Childhood")

Completed: Grishina Polina,

9th grade student

Oryol region; Livny

Scientific adviser: Svechnikova O.N.,

Oryol region; Livny

MBOU "Lyceum named after S. N. Bulgakov "

Content

Chapter 1. An autobiographical story about the childhood of A.N. Tolstoy

The story of A.N. Tolstoy's Childhood of Nikita (originally titled A Tale of Many Excellent Things) was first published in a separate edition in 1922. The story was written in 1919-1920. In the fall of 1918, he emigrated abroad. In 1920, the writer was still in exile and yearned for Russia very much. Living in Paris and Berlin, Tolstoy shunned the emigre environment and began to delve deeper into the meaning of historical events. Memories of the homeland, of the irrevocable days of childhood, of Russian nature and the emergence of the story was caused. Nikita's Childhood is a work full of captivating lyricism, irresistible charm and truth, the high poetry of folk life, a lively perception of nature, the beauty of the native language. The author devotes all his attention to the embodiment of the poetic principles of the charm of the irreversible period of childhood. The writer said: “For this book I will give all my previous novels and plays! Russian book and written in Russian! " The story was written for the Parisian magazine "Green Stick" - for children-immigrants, who, like the son of A.N. Tolstoy Nikita, to whom the work is dedicated and whose name the protagonist is named after, badly needed Russian impressions. He was interested in real life, he wanted to rely on the experience of his personal observations: “I started - and it was as if a window opened into the distant past with all the charm, tender sadness and keen perceptions of nature that are in childhood” (Poln. Sobr. Soch., Vol. 13, p. 563). Unlike most of Tolstoy's works, the plot, a sequential chain of events, plays almost no role here, because everything in the world is excellent. Children's writer K. Chukovsky wrote about this in 1924: “This is the Book of Happiness, it seems to be the only Russian book in which the author does not preach happiness, does not promise it in the future, but immediately exudes from himself”.

Nikita's Childhood is an autobiographical story. The scene quite accurately reproduces the setting of the small estate of the writer's stepfather A. A. Bostrom, where Tolstoy grew up. Even the name of the estate - Sosnovka - is preserved in the story. Impressions of childhood, A. Tolstoy's memories of the early period of life in the Samara province were included in the content of his work. In one of his autobiographical notes, A. Tolstoy wrote about himself as follows: "I grew up alone, in contemplation, in dissolution, among the great phenomena of earth and sky. July lightning over a dark garden; autumn fogs like milk; dry twig gliding in the wind on the first ice of the pond; winter blizzards, falling asleep in snowdrifts huts to the very pipes; spring noise of waters; cry of rooks that flew to last year's nests; people in the cycle of seasons; birth and death, like sunrise and sunset, like the fate of grain; animals, birds ; boogers with red faces living in the cracks of the earth; the smell of a ripe apple, the smell of a fire in a twilight hollow; my friend Mishka Koryashonok and his stories; winter evenings under a lamp, books, daydreaming ... "(Complete collection of works, vol. 13 , pp. 557–558). Pictures of the Russian winter, boundless snowy plains, ringing spring days, summer harvest, golden autumn replace one another naturally, like the movement of time itself, conveyed in living images. The change of seasons is depicted not as a passive-contemplative movement, but as an active one, affecting all aspects of human existence and activity. It is in such an atmosphere that the little hero of A. Tolstoy's story Nikita grows and forms. Nikita's parents in many ways repeat the real features of the writer's stepfather and mother. Nikita's mother is called the same as the writer's mother - Alexandra Leontievna. For the image of the teacher, the prototype was a seminarist-tutor, Arkady Ivanovich Slovookhotov, who prepared the future writer for admission to a secondary educational institution. Nikita's relationship with the village children - with Mishka Koryashonk and Stepka Karnaushkin, their friendship and friendly games are also autobiographical, as well as a number of details and details. It should be noted that the narration is not conducted in the first person, which makes it possible for the author to really, after many years, evaluate the happy period of his childhood.
Chapter 2. Formation of Nikita's character in the story "Nikita's Childhood"
§ 2.1. Parental love is the basis for raising a child
"Nikita's Childhood" tells about the childhood of a Russian boy from a noble landowner family, once rich and noble, but already on the brink of ruin, living out his last days in the village. In the depiction of the formation of the character of the protagonist A.N. Tolstoy puts the very reality that surrounds the child in the first place.

From the very first pages of the story, we see what a benevolent, normal environment surrounded Nikita, how his first ideas about life took shape. "It was so quiet in the warm office that a barely audible ringing began in my ears. What extraordinary stories could be invented alone, on the sofa, under this ringing. White light poured through the frozen glass. Nikita read Cooper ..." So we plunge into the world of Nikita's childhood, a world surrounded by books, classes with a teacher, an atmosphere of kindness and care for a nine-year-old boy. Nikita's relationship with his mother, father, teacher is of such a character that they bring up a sound mind, frankness and honesty in the boy.

Nikita's family and the home environment in the house were always very kind and dear, it was clear how all family members take care of Nikita and everyone is trying to give a piece of their love to the boy, to raise him as a good person. All family members are very different in character, temperament, many have different views on life, but despite this, this is a friendly loving family. On the example of Nikita's parents who are sincerely loving each other, one can see how much family upbringing means for the formation of a child's character. Nikita's father is cheerful, with a subtle sense of humor, combined with extraordinary intelligence, kindness and spiritual nobility, happy with his wife, who is very different from him. She is a well-mannered, intelligent, stately woman with gentle beauty, who, in the spirit of folk traditions, embodies the image of the keeper of the family hearth. The prototype of this image was the mother of A. Tolstoy. Nikita's mother misses her husband very much when he leaves, worries about him with all her heart and worries that Nikita might forget him. One day, his father's life hung in the balance of death when he nearly died in a ravine during a spring flood. This misfortune showed the cohesion of the family, caring for each other, that common thing that unites a real family - love. Sometimes conflicts arose between the boy's parents over the extravagance of her husband, sometimes there were disagreements in Nikita's upbringing, the mother was very anxious about her son and was too worried about him and saw in him only a little boy, and the father insisted on raising a man in the child - a brave, strong hardened. But at the same time, they went to meet each other and found a common solution that did not harm Nikita, but, on the contrary, developed him. For example, the episode with Klopik. Mother was very afraid that it was too early for Nikita to ride a horse on his own: he might break, he might not cope with an unbroken horse. The father, on the other hand, was convinced that only in this way, with Nikita's introduction to independence, closeness to the life of the people, to participation in a common cause, it was possible to raise a strong, strong man.

Nikita's family was always very hospitable and glad to guests. One of these visits of guests became a real event in the life of Nikita, then he met his first love. The house has always been very fond of the holidays. One of the brightest was the wonderful new year. The author's love for the traditions of the old noble way of life is felt in the description of preparations for the holiday, homemade crafts, ornaments, persistent needles, waiting for long-awaited gifts, a lush table with treats, round dances around the Christmas tree with invited village children. A.N. Tolstoy details of the children's preparations for the new year.

In this house, even ordinary workers are treated very well, despite the fact that there is a master and peasants. Nikita's father is a very simple person in communication and behavior, he was friendly to the servants, and they respected the owners, tried to please them, paid with loyalty and care. The carpenter Pakhom, who makes a bench for Nikita, a sensible boy, a backup Mishka Koryashonok, a teacher Arkady Ivanovich, arouse sympathy. Nikita considers the most authoritative person to be Mishka Koryashonka, who works in the barnyard, as a caretaker. This is a serious and reasonable guy who, in imitation of adults, speaks with feigned indifference. "Nikita looked at Koryashonok with great respect." Although Mishka is small, but in his remarks, advice and actions, the Russian mindset and Russian character are already clearly visible. Another acquaintance of Nikita is the swirling, snub-nosed and large-mouthed Styopa Karnaushkin with a "spoken fist." The company of Nikita's village friends is supplemented by Semka, Lyonka, Artamoshka the Menshoy, Nil, Vanka Cherny Ushi and Bobylev's nephew Petrushka. Nikita spins all day in the yard, by the well, in the coach shed, in the room, in the threshing floor ... For him, the judgments of Mishka Koryashonka are most understandable. But less important is what the carpenter Pakhom, the worker Vasily, the stooped Artyom said or did. Nikita is curious about the life of the village, peasant children, peasant occupations, not understanding the difficulties and hardships of village life, but at the same time spontaneously, instinctively not separating himself from it, feeling like something inextricably linked with the village.

§ 2.2. Friendship with the village guys

Nikita communicated with village children, and in the traditions of village childhood there was always a confrontation between one courtyard and another, fights, snow battles, playing war - all this also constituted his childhood, a happy childhood, tempered his character, subjected him to tests.

Nikita never had problems in communication due to his different social status, even on the contrary, he believed that his village friends would never replace him with a single noble boy, as he was convinced after communicating with the second grade schoolboy Viktor, who was visiting Nikita on Christmas. Victor also made friends with the villagers, tried to be his own, but did not. But Nikita was one of his own among the guys, he was not afraid to go into fights with a wall, tease the villagers from the other side. Of great importance for him was his friendship with the shepherd boy Mishka Koryashonok, resourcefulness, whose courage had a special meaning, since he had to support himself. Therefore, Nikita even imitates Mishka and tries to surpass him in prowess. Nikita managed to defeat even the "conspiratorial" first strongman Stepka Karnaushkin, from whom the others backed away, after which the two boys exchanged gifts in a friendly manner - a knife and a pig. Nikita's character is especially evident in the scene with the bull, which from the herd suddenly rushed at a trot at him and at the second grade schoolboy Viktor who was visiting them. Slapping a whip like from a gun, Mishka Koryashonok managed to shout: "Beware, Nikita!" Nikita, in turn, shouted: "Victor, run!" But schoolboy Victor screamed, fell and covered his head with his hands. Nikita rushed to the rescue and began to beat the bull in the face with his hat. Mishka ran up with a whip and drove the bull away. In this scene, the relationship of the three characters is clearly outlined. Gymnasium student Victor, swaggering about his courage, teasing Nikita, who looked too much at his little sister Lilya, with blue eyes, an upturned nose, curls and a fluffy bow on the top of his head: "... you just play with the girls," - now he has lost a lot in the eyes of Nikita ... Victor could not stand any comparison with his village friends. And Nikita in this scene showed himself to be an adult boy, was not at a loss, but saved a friend. He was helped in this by observing the life of the servants, communication with the people.

§ 2.3. Harmony with nature - the formation of the spiritual world of the child

Okay, Nikita? - the boy asks his cheerful father.

Wonderful! - Nikita answers.

All images and events in this joyful book are marked with the word wonderfully ...

Any day of Nikita is a constant discovery and filling with happiness. Everything is good, everything pleases: spring rain, flooding of water, the onset of summer, "the smells of moisture, decay, rain and grass", the sun, water, the sky acquire the meaning of the spiritualized essences of being. The boy is connected by spiritual threads with the mysteries of all living things. The story had already begun: “The sun was shining through the frosty patterns on the windows, through the wonderfully painted silver stars and clawed leaves. The light in the room was snow-white. A bunny slipped from the wash basin and trembled on the wall ”prepares us for the perception of something kind, fabulous, for the perception of a carefree childhood.

The story of "Nikita's Childhood" reflected the main result of childhood - the harmonious fusion of all facets of life: plants, animals, people, life and death, the relationship between the life of a ten-year-old child and the life of nature creates a kind of lyrical flavor of the narrative: "Nikita swam under the stars, calmly looked at distant worlds. " “All this is mine,” he thought, “someday I’ll sit on an airship and rush off…” This is how a boy perceives nature when in the summer after threshing he rides on a cart; Nikita is close to her, dissolves in the world around him. The author often animates natural phenomena, he creates poetic images of a starling, a cat, a horse, a hedgehog, an oriole. "Zheltukhin was sitting on a bush of grass, in the heat, in the corner between the porch and the wall of the house and looked with horror at the approaching Nikita" - this description of the starling is given by the author's softly smiling gaze, and some kind of intuitive poeticized vision of Nikita, and the humanized perception of Zheltukhin.

It is understandable that Nikita's close attention to everything that surrounds him is, Nikita learns to understand the world around him and himself in it. It is nature that enriches Nikita's spiritual work, develops in him the need for spiritual kinship with all living. The author often animates natural phenomena, he creates poetic images of a starling, a cat, a horse, a hedgehog, an oriole. Nikita's feelings for nature especially sharpened his love for a girl with a blue bow. After the New Year tree, Nikita returns home alone, seeing the guys who were invited to visit: “It seemed to Nikita that he was walking in a dream, in an enchanted kingdom. Only in an enchanted kingdom is it so strange and so happy in the soul. " Unity with nature, the feeling of being an integral part of it creates in the boy's soul an almost constant expectation of happiness, wonderful, fantastic.

Nikita's vision of the real echoes his fantastic ideas, coming from the boy's dream, from the desire to poeticize the world around him. He infects others with this desire. So, Lilya is looking for a vase with him, which Nikita once dreamed of. And in fact, this vase was found by children on a clock in a dark room, and there was a ring in it, Nikita says with confidence: "It's magical." And the story is about two people that are depicted in the family portraits, seen through the open door in the semi-dark suite of neighboring rooms. One is "a stern old man with a sharp nose and hawkish, piercing eyes." Another portrait depicts "a young woman of about 25 ... in her hand she holds a rose, but this rose does not at all go to her proud pose half-reverse to the viewer, to her haughty smile and to her large, cheerful, defiant eyes. The flame slides over her white dress, bare shoulders, plays on her face. "The old man and the proud beauty," coming to life in portraits ", ruined each other ...". This story awakened Nikita's imagination, attracted by its mystery, it seemed to him that the beauty looked mysteriously and saw Nikita. So the fantastic mixes with the real, shows the development of Nikita's spiritual world, his fantasies, inventions, dreaminess develop the imagination, softness and sensitivity of Nikita's nature.

The happiest, touching pages of Nikita's childhood are associated with Christmas, with Nikita's first love. Lilya, Nikita's beloved, a nine-year-old girl, Victor's sister. Lily had long curly locks and a big blue bow. Nikita immediately fell in love with shining blue eyes, and a ringing playful laugh. She was very restrained and did not show her interest in Nikita. Nikita's first love, one might even say, love at first sight, pure, childish, innocent. The first kiss, which Nikita was very afraid of, Lily's response. Very touching, a little naive, but it is said simply and wonderfully:

You are a good boy, I didn’t tell you so that no one would know, but this is a secret.

Nikita was very shy and constantly blushed when talking to her, afraid to say something wrong. When Lilya was visiting, every day of Nikita was filled with happiness, joy, Nikita told her stories, and Lilya listened to him attentively, not missing a single word of him. After Lily's departure, Nikita thought about her every day, the days dragged on gloomy, boring memories of the girl warmed his heart and soul, he saw her image before his eyes: her big blue bow, blue eyes. With the first love, Nikita begins to grow up, his sometimes unreasonable sadness, the change in the weather caused a feeling of change, a desire to hurry up the time. And the letter that Nikita received from Lily! The long-awaited letter that Lilya sent with an invitation to stay with them in the summer was another happy moment in her life. Nikita's gift of a ring with a blue stone to Lilia reminded her of him. It was such happiness that Nikita on his horse seemed to fly home in the wind.

Lilya transformed Nikita's childhood, made him even happier, gave him priceless memories of the first kiss, the ring, his first poem, the forest, and the unforgettable Christmas Eve. She enriched his inner world and became an ideal for him, giving him her tenderness, casual looks, ringing laughter. Nikita even composed a poem - so overwhelmed his feelings of something extraordinary and happy.

The happy time of childhood in the steppe estate ends very prosaically. The family moves to the city, where everything is not so simple, nice and easy, and everyone is in a hurry somewhere, busy with their own business. Nikita feels like a stranger here, a "captured prisoner," just like Zheltukhin.

After the words "A week later Nikita passed the entrance exam and entered the second grade" there was still such a final phrase, which ended the whole story: "This event ends his childhood."

Conclusion

The wonderful story "Nikita's Childhood", completing the cycle of A. Tolstoy's autobiographical works about the life of the nobility, is rightfully considered one of the best Russian books for children. At first glance, Nikita's Childhood resembles old noble family chronicles, but the story differs from them. The exciting image of the homeland, the hot breath of living poetry, the plasticity of the visual means, deep lyricism and realistic brilliance put Nikita's Childhood among the best works of A.N. Tolstoy.

The unfading vitality of Tolstoy's story is still determined by the writer's ability to “turn to a person who cannot be understood without understanding the earth and the sun,” without understanding nature. A. Tolstoy's story "Nikita's Childhood" (in the first editions of "The Tale of Many Excellent Things") introduces the reader to the circle of unclouded, joyful impressions of a nine-year-old child. In the work of A.N. Tolstoy's "Nikita's Childhood" feels the atmosphere of love for everything around him, and the hero himself is a kind of generalized image of a happy child, a symbol of a happy childhood. The life of the boy Nikita, growing up in a free steppe noble estate, proceeds against the backdrop of a measured, durable landlord-village life, in direct communication with the violent steppe nature. Sledding from the mountains, studying with a tutor, caressing a loving mother, games and fights with village children, preparing for the Christmas tree and meeting guests, first love - this is what forms the character of the protagonist of the story. An independent, courageous, very sensitive and impressionable boy who lives in harmony with nature and loved ones. The writer's bright memories of childhood are permeated with the lyrical image of his beloved Motherland, which arises in everything: in descriptions of the nature and life of the Sosnovka farm, in stories about village children, in the pure, beautiful Russian language of the story. This is its main educational value.

"Nikita's Childhood" is a story about the first years of human formation. A chronicle of the main events in the boy's life during the last year before the start of his studies unfolds before the reader. In "Nikita's Childhood" the wonderful art of transforming the writer into a child manifested itself, manifested itself in free breathing, the extraordinary relief of each displayed thing, manifested itself in a passionate and restrained love for nature, for all living things, accurate adult knowledge of them and their accurate childish perception, comprehension of children's character.

Bibliography

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