Sholokhov the fate of a man Andrei Sokolov in captivity. Essay: Dialogue between Andrei Sokolov and Muller as one of the culminating episodes of M. A. Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of Man. Life of Andrei Sokolov before the Great Patriotic War

During the Great Patriotic War, Sholokhov, in military correspondence, essays, and the story “The Science of Hate,” exposed the anti-human nature of the war unleashed by the Nazis, revealed the heroism of the Soviet people and love for the Motherland. And in the novel “They Fought for the Motherland,” the Russian national character was deeply revealed, clearly manifested in the days of difficult trials. Recalling how during the war the Nazis mockingly called the Soviet soldier “Russian Ivan,” Sholokhov wrote in one of his articles: “The symbolic Russian Ivan is this: a man dressed in a gray overcoat, who, without hesitation, gave away the last piece of bread and front-line thirty grams of sugar to a child orphaned during the terrible days of the war, a man who selflessly covered his comrade with his body, saving him from inevitable death, a man who, gritting his teeth, endured and will endure all the hardships and hardships, going to the feat in the name of the Motherland.”

Andrei Sokolov appears before us as such a modest, ordinary warrior in the story “The Fate of a Man.” Sokolov talks about his courageous actions as if it were a very ordinary matter. He bravely performed his military duty at the front. Near Lozovenki he was tasked with transporting shells to the battery. “We had to hurry, because the battle was approaching us...” says Sokolov. “The commander of our unit asks: “Will you get through, Sokolov?” And there was nothing to ask here. My comrades may be dying there, but I’ll be sick here? What a conversation! - I answer him. “I have to get through and that’s it!” In this episode, Sholokhov noticed the main feature of the hero - a sense of camaraderie, the ability to think about others more than about oneself. But, stunned by the explosion of a shell, he woke up already in captivity of the Germans. He watches with pain as the advancing German troops march to the east. Having learned what enemy captivity is, Andrei says with a bitter sigh, turning to his interlocutor: “Oh, brother, it’s not an easy thing to understand that you are not in captivity because of your own water. Anyone who has not experienced this on their own skin will not immediately penetrate into their soul so that they can understand in a human way what this thing means.” His bitter memories speak of what he had to endure in captivity: “It’s hard for me, brother, to remember, and even harder to talk about what I experienced in captivity. When you remember the inhuman torment that you had to endure there in Germany, when you remember all the friends and comrades who died, tortured there in the camps, your heart is no longer in your chest, but in your throat, and it becomes difficult to breathe...”

While in captivity, Andrei Sokolov exerted all his strength to preserve the person within himself, and not to exchange “Russian dignity and pride” for any relief in fate. One of the most striking scenes in the story is the interrogation of the captured Soviet soldier Andrei Sokolov by the professional killer and sadist Muller. When Müller was informed that Andrei had allowed his dissatisfaction with hard labor to show, he summoned him to the commandant’s office for questioning. Andrei knew that he was going to his death, but decided to “gather his courage to look into the hole of the pistol fearlessly, as befits a soldier, so that his enemies would not see at the last minute that it was difficult for him to part with his life...”.

The interrogation scene turns into a spiritual duel between the captured soldier and camp commandant Müller. It would seem that the forces of superiority should be on the side of the well-fed, endowed with the power and opportunity to humiliate and trample the man Muller. Playing with a pistol, he asks Sokolov whether four cubic meters of production is really a lot, and is one enough for a grave? When Sokolov confirms his previously spoken words, Muller offers him a glass of schnapps before the execution: “Before you die, drink, Russian Ivan, to the victory of German weapons.” Sokolov initially refused to drink “for the victory of German weapons,” and then agreed “for his death.” After drinking the first glass, Sokolov refused to take a bite. Then they served him a second one. Only after the third did he bite off a small piece of bread and put the rest on the table. Talking about this, Sokolov says: “I wanted to show them, the damned ones, that although I am perishing from hunger, I am not going to choke on their handouts, that I have my own Russian dignity and pride and that they did not turn me into a beast, no matter how hard we tried.”

Sokolov’s courage and endurance amazed the German commandant. He not only let him go, but finally gave him a small loaf of bread and a piece of bacon: “That’s it, Sokolov, you are a real Russian soldier. You are a brave soldier. I am also a soldier and I respect worthy opponents. I won't shoot you. In addition, today our valiant troops reached the Volga and completely captured Stalingrad. This is a great joy for us, and therefore I generously give you life. Go to your block..."

Considering the scene of the interrogation of Andrei Sokolov, we can say that it is one of the compositional peaks of the story. It has its own theme - the spiritual wealth and moral nobility of Soviet people, its own idea: there is no force in the world capable of spiritually breaking a true patriot, making him humiliate himself before the enemy.

Andrei Sokolov has overcome a lot on his way. The national pride and dignity of the Russian Soviet man, endurance, spiritual humanity, indomitability and ineradicable faith in life, in his Motherland, in his people - this is what Sholokhov typified in the truly Russian character of Andrei Sokolov. The author showed the unbending will, courage, and heroism of a simple Russian man, who, in the time of the most difficult trials that befell his Motherland and irreparable personal losses, was able to rise above his personal fate, filled with the deepest drama, and managed to overcome death with life and in the name of life. This is the pathos of the story, its main idea.

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.

Topics

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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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

1. Andrei Sokolov is an ordinary person, one of many who had to leave their 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.
2. 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.

Interesting? Save it on your wall!

Sokolov Boris Nikolaevich

There was such a Russia...

These memoirs are very different from everything we have ever read about that war. This does not mean that everything written before was untrue. But in the memoirs of B. N. Sokolov, unexpectedly for the reader, new facets of the military events of 1941-1945 are revealed.

Willingly or unwittingly, in the minds of several generations of Russians, a stable stereotype of the Red Army soldier who fought against German fascism has already developed. Consciousness depicts an honest and persistent soldier, enduring all the hardships of war, who quietly but selflessly loves his country and is ready to give his life for it at any moment. I think that this is largely correct, but a very schematic idea of ​​the front-line soldier of those years. Decades, year after year, have distorted our understanding of the truth of that war. This is how sea waves have been smoothing out sharp corners on stones for centuries, turning them into smoothly polished works of nature that are pleasing to the eye and heart.

Very different people fought in the war against the Nazis. It would be a deep mistake to see them as some kind of monolith, some kind of homogeneous mass. Only death made them the same, regardless of whether it was heroic or treacherous. And the nature of heroism and betrayal in its essence, in its deep structure, is so complex that it does not require sweeping condemnation or frivolous exaltation. We need to think seriously about all this. All this should be studied deeply.

The memoirs of B. N. Sokolov give us an amazing opportunity to plunge into the complex whirlpool of human experiences. Perhaps for the first time in Russian literature, a completely unfamiliar layer of human worldviews is revealed to us. This is the attitude of an honest and educated person who found himself in the epicenter of the terrible events of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.

There are no and never will be objective memoirs. All of them cover certain events from the perspective of upbringing, character, temperament, and social status of their author. The memoirs of B. N. Sokolov are no exception. The only peculiarity is, perhaps, that their author is not a commander, not a politician, not a recipient of high government awards. The author of memoirs and not an ordinary Red Army soldier, like there were millions. He is quite a rare occurrence. This is a man who grew up under Soviet rule, brought up on the ideas of socialism, and became one of those who represented the first generation of Soviet intellectuals. His distinctive features are exceptional honesty with himself, the absence of even the slightest desire to embellish or, conversely, to denigrate the events that took place. He has an excellent memory, a clear mind and an excellent ability to present both events that took place and his own thoughts.

In June 1941, there were not so many volunteers in the Red Army who had behind them not only a higher education institution, but also extensive experience in leadership work in production. Thirty-year-old junior lieutenant B.N. Sokolov was just like that. Before volunteering for the front, he worked for a long time as an engineer, chief technologist of one of the Leningrad factories. Throughout the 30s, he underwent military training almost every year for 2-3 months, so he could cope with the duties of an artillery platoon commander (assistant battery commander) quite successfully. This was not a career military man, but at the same time a man worn out by life, who experienced firsthand what responsibility for an assigned task is. He was used to doing everything in his life thoroughly, conscientiously.

He himself answers the question of why he volunteered for the front, and his motivation is somewhat discouraging. Instead of the expected feeling of hatred towards fascism, indignation at the arrival of foreigners on their native land, he puts forward completely different reasons. He considers the impetus for volunteering to go to the front to be his internal obedience to the law, ignorance of life “outside the usual circle,” and lack of independent thinking skills. That is, he was called to the front not so much by patriotic feelings as by the force of inertia, the established stereotype of views and actions. This may seem strange to the reader, but it is difficult not to believe it.

The summer days of 1941 found B. N. Sokolov near Leningrad, in the Gatchina region. The environment he depicts as an eyewitness is both familiar and unfamiliar. The author of the memoirs does not focus on the chaos that was happening around, as has become customary to see in works of recent years about the war. There was no panic. Rather, there was some strange combination of confusion and childish curiosity: who are the fascists, and how did they end up here? Everything that B. N. Sokolov lived in those days was not covered by the shroud of fear of death. He writes that there was no paralyzing fear, but not because everyone was a hero. Rather, it resembled the activation of some protective functions of the body, and sometimes it was a simple misunderstanding of the danger of what was happening around.

Much of what the author describes seems completely strange. For example, his statement that in war all the bosses shout and threaten their subordinates with execution. But in this case, and in many others, the reader certainly wants to believe him. And I want to believe because in not a single line of his does B.N. Sokolov become angry, hypocritical, or indiscriminately denigrate his country, its leaders and ordinary residents. He treats his enemy the same way.

He happened to kill an enemy - a young German guy with a machine gun, but it was as if in a fog, without high thoughts about the safety of the Motherland. How similar this is to the plots described by Remarque in the novel “All Quiet on the Western Front”! But when he himself was wounded and taken prisoner by a German soldier, everything that happened was ordinary and as if seen from the outside in a slow motion movie. The German soldiers did not beat or torture the wounded Red Army soldier, but treated him rather indifferently, like grass in a clearing in the forest where they were warming themselves by the fire.

A little surprised, but without servility and servility, B. N. Sokolov describes how a German doctor provided him and other Soviet wounded with medical care in the village of Kipeni; how clearly and competently the German orderlies acted. All these events were not imbued with the spirit of mutual hatred familiar to us from books and films. Rather, it looked like some kind of production process, where instead of metal parts there were people.

One of the most striking episodes of the memoirs was the description of the moral and psychological situation that reigned among prisoners of war when they were transported in a freight car to Pskov: they were not thinking about the lofty and eternal. They arranged their life, bought (whoever had money) water from a speculator from among their own. But when B. N. Sokolov suddenly declared publicly that the Nazis would never be able to capture Leningrad, a stream of abuse and threats fell upon him, and only a happy accident saved him from lynching. How this does not fit with our idea of ​​Soviet patriotism! But how similar is this to the truth? This is another confirmation that not everything is so simple in war, that people who fight in war are different and very often different from each other.

1. The behavior of the main character as a reflection of his inner essence.
2. Moral duel.
3. My attitude to the fight between Andrei Sokolov and Muller.

In Sholokhov's story “The Fate of a Man” there are many episodes that allow us to better understand the character traits of the main character. One of these moments that deserves our reader's close attention is the scene of the interrogation of Andrei Sokolov by Muller.

By observing the behavior of the main character, we can appreciate the Russian national character, the hallmark of which is pride and self-respect. Prisoner of war Andrei Sokolov, exhausted by hunger and hard work, in the circle of his brothers in misfortune utters a seditious phrase: “They need four cubic meters of production, but for the grave of each of us, one cubic meter through the eyes is enough.” The Germans became aware of this phrase. And then follows the interrogation of the hero.

The scene of the interrogation of Andrei Sokolov by Muller is a kind of psychological “duel”. One of the participants in the duel is a weak, emaciated man. The other is well-fed, prosperous, and self-satisfied. And yet, the weak and exhausted won. Andrei Sokolov surpasses the fascist Müller in the strength of his spirit. Refusing the offer to drink German weapons to the victory shows the inner strength of Andrei Sokolov. “So that I, a Russian soldier, would drink German weapons for the victory?!” The very thought of this seemed blasphemous to Andrei Sokolov. Andrei agrees to Muller's offer to drink to his death. “What did I have to lose? - he recalls later. “I will drink to my death and deliverance from torment.”

In the moral duel between Muller and Sokolov, the latter wins also because he is afraid of absolutely nothing. Andrey has nothing to lose, he has already mentally said goodbye to life. He openly mocks those who are currently in power and have a significant advantage. “I wanted to show them, the damned one, that although I was disappearing from hunger, I was not going to choke on their handouts, that I had my own, Russian dignity and pride, and that they did not turn me into a beast, no matter how hard they tried.” The Nazis appreciated Andrei’s fortitude. The commandant told him: “That's what, Sokolov, you are a real Russian soldier. You are a brave soldier. “I am also a soldier and I respect worthy opponents.”

I think that the scene of the interrogation of Andrei Sokolov by Mueller showed the Germans all the endurance, national pride, dignity and self-respect of the Russian person. This was a good lesson for the Nazis. The unbending will to live, which distinguishes the Russian people, made it possible to win the war, despite the technical superiority of the enemy.

During the Great Patriotic War, Sholokhov, in military correspondence, essays, and the story “The Science of Hate,” exposed the anti-human nature of the war unleashed by the Nazis, revealed the heroism of the Soviet people and love for the Motherland. And in the novel “They Fought for the Motherland,” the Russian national character was deeply revealed, clearly manifested in the days of difficult trials. Recalling how during the war the Nazis mockingly called the Soviet soldier “Russian Ivan,” Sholokhov wrote in one of his articles: “The symbolic Russian Ivan is this

What: a man dressed in a gray overcoat, who, without hesitation, gave the last piece of bread and thirty grams of front-line sugar to a child orphaned during the terrible days of the war, a man who selflessly covered his comrade with his body, saving him from imminent death, a man who, squeezing teeth, endured and will endure all hardships and hardships, going to great deeds in the name of the Motherland.”

Andrei Sokolov appears before us as such a modest, ordinary warrior in the story “The Fate of a Man.” Sokolov talks about his courageous actions as if it were a very ordinary matter. He bravely performed his military duty at the front. Near Lozovenki

He was tasked with bringing the shells to the battery. “We had to hurry, because the battle was approaching us...” says Sokolov. “The commander of our unit asks: “Will you get through, Sokolov?” And there was nothing to ask here. My comrades may be dying there, but I’ll be sick here? What a conversation! - I answer him. “I have to get through and that’s it!” In this episode, Sholokhov noticed the main feature of the hero - a sense of camaraderie, the ability to think about others more than about oneself. But, stunned by the explosion of a shell, he woke up already in captivity of the Germans. He watches with pain as the advancing German troops march to the east. Having learned what enemy captivity is, Andrei says with a bitter sigh, turning to his interlocutor: “Oh, brother, it’s not an easy thing to understand that you are not in captivity because of your own water. Anyone who has not experienced this on their own skin will not immediately penetrate into their soul so that they can understand in a human way what this thing means.” His bitter memories speak of what he had to endure in captivity: “It’s hard for me, brother, to remember, and even harder to talk about what I experienced in captivity. When you remember the inhuman torment that you had to endure there in Germany, when you remember all the friends and comrades who died, tortured there in the camps, your heart is no longer in your chest, but in your throat, and it becomes difficult to breathe...”

While in captivity, Andrei Sokolov exerted all his strength to preserve the person within himself, and not to exchange “Russian dignity and pride” for any relief in fate. One of the most striking scenes in the story is the interrogation of the captured Soviet soldier Andrei Sokolov by the professional killer and sadist Muller. When Müller was informed that Andrei had allowed his dissatisfaction with hard labor to show, he summoned him to the commandant’s office for questioning. Andrei knew that he was going to his death, but decided to “gather his courage to look into the hole of the pistol fearlessly, as befits a soldier, so that his enemies would not see at the last minute that it was difficult for him to part with his life...”.

The interrogation scene turns into a spiritual duel between the captured soldier and camp commandant Müller. It would seem that the forces of superiority should be on the side of the well-fed, endowed with the power and opportunity to humiliate and trample the man Muller. Playing with a pistol, he asks Sokolov whether four cubic meters of production is really a lot, and is one enough for a grave? When Sokolov confirms his previously spoken words, Muller offers him a glass of schnapps before the execution: “Before you die, drink, Russian Ivan, to the victory of German weapons.” Sokolov initially refused to drink “for the victory of German weapons,” and then agreed “for his death.” After drinking the first glass, Sokolov refused to take a bite. Then they served him a second one. Only after the third did he bite off a small piece of bread and put the rest on the table. Talking about this, Sokolov says: “I wanted to show them, the damned ones, that although I am perishing from hunger, I am not going to choke on their handouts, that I have my own Russian dignity and pride and that they did not turn me into a beast, no matter how hard we tried.”

Sokolov’s courage and endurance amazed the German commandant. He not only let him go, but finally gave him a small loaf of bread and a piece of bacon: “That’s it, Sokolov, you are a real Russian soldier. You are a brave soldier. I am also a soldier and I respect worthy opponents. I won't shoot you. In addition, today our valiant troops reached the Volga and completely captured Stalingrad. This is a great joy for us, and therefore I generously give you life. Go to your block..."

Considering the scene of the interrogation of Andrei Sokolov, we can say that it is one of the compositional peaks of the story. It has its own theme - the spiritual wealth and moral nobility of Soviet people, its own idea: there is no force in the world capable of spiritually breaking a true patriot, making him humiliate himself before the enemy.

Andrei Sokolov has overcome a lot on his way. The national pride and dignity of the Russian Soviet man, endurance, spiritual humanity, indomitability and ineradicable faith in life, in his Motherland, in his people - this is what Sholokhov typified in the truly Russian character of Andrei Sokolov. The author showed the unbending will, courage, and heroism of a simple Russian man, who, in the time of the most difficult trials that befell his Motherland and irreparable personal losses, was able to rise above his personal fate, filled with the deepest drama, and managed to overcome death with life and in the name of life. This is the pathos of the story, its main idea.