"The fate of man" the main characters. Analysis of the story "The Fate of a Man" (M.A

The immortal work of M. A. Sholokhov "The Fate of Man" is a real ode to the common people, whose life was completely broken by the war.

Features of the composition of the story

The protagonist here is represented not by a legendary heroic personality, but by a simple person, one of the millions of people who were touched by the tragedy of the war.

The fate of man in wartime

Andrei Sokolov was a simple rural worker who, like everyone else, worked on a collective farm, had a family and lived an ordinary, measured life. He boldly goes to defend his fatherland from the fascist invaders, thus leaving his children and wife to the mercy of fate.

At the front, for the protagonist, those terrible trials begin that turned his life upside down. Andrei learns that his wife, daughter and youngest son were killed in an air attack. He takes this loss very hard, as he feels his own guilt in what happened to his family.

However, Andrei Sokolov has something to live for, he left his eldest son, who during the war was able to achieve significant success in military affairs, and was the only support of his father. In the last days of the war, fate prepared for Sokolov the last crushing blow of his son, his opponents kill him.

At the end of the war, the main character is morally broken and does not know how to live on: he lost his loved ones, his home was destroyed. Andrei gets a job as a driver in a neighboring village and gradually begins to get drunk.

As you know, fate, pushing a person into the abyss, always leaves him a small straw, on which, if desired, you can get out of it. Salvation for Andrey was a meeting with a little orphan boy, whose parents died at the front.

Vanechka never saw his father and reached out to Andrei, as he longed for the love and attention that the main character showed him. The dramatic peak in the story is Andrei's decision to lie to Vanechka that he is his own father.

The unfortunate child, who did not know love, affection and kindness towards himself with tears, throws himself on the neck of Andrei Sokolov and begins to say that he remembered him. So, in fact, two destitute orphans begin a joint life path. They found salvation in each other. Each of them has the meaning of life.

The moral "core" of Andrey Sokolov's character

Andrei Sokolov had a real inner core, high ideals of spirituality, steadfastness and patriotism. In one of the episodes of the story, the author tells us about how, exhausted by hunger and labor work in a concentration camp, Andrei was still able to maintain his human dignity: for a long time he refused food that the Nazis offered him before they threatened to kill him.

The firmness of his character aroused respect even among the German murderers, who eventually took pity on him. The bread and bacon that they gave the protagonist as a reward for his pride, Andrey Sokolov divided among all his starving cellmates.

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

Characteristics of the heroes "The Fate of Man"

main characters

Minor characters

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

There are many works about the Great Patriotic War, one of them is the story of M.A. Sholokhov "The Fate of Man", a summary of which is presented below.

The plot of this work does not contain a description of hostilities or exploits in the rear, it is about a person who was taken prisoner, and about what mark the war as a whole left in his life.

An analysis of this work and its concise presentation will help to penetrate the essence of the story.

About the story "The fate of man"

The work describes the complex ups and downs of the life of a simple Soviet soldier who saw the horrors of war, survived the hardships of German captivity, lost his family, was many times on the verge of life and death, but, despite all this, retained his humanity and found the strength to live on.

"The fate of a man" from the point of view of genre affiliation is considered to be a story. However, in this work there are signs of different genres.

In terms of volume, the work is small, which means it is more like a story. However, not a single case is described here, but a long period of time, several years long, which allows us to call this book a story.

Who is the author of the story "The fate of man"

Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov is one of the greatest writers of his time, as well as a prominent public figure.

He was awarded the title of Academician, twice Hero of Socialist Labor, and in 1965 he won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Among his most famous works are such novels as "Virgin Soil Upturned", the epic novel "Quiet Flows the Don", "They Fought for the Motherland" and, of course, the story "The Fate of a Man".

Year of writing the story "The fate of man"

The story "The Fate of Man" was written in 1956. The war ended more than 10 years ago, but it still worried M. Sholokhov.

It was at this time that the author rethought the image of the heroic Victory.

In 1953 I.V. died. Stalin. Sholokhov took a critical look at many things, including the actions of the deceased head of state.

In Stalin's notorious order No. 270, it was said that everyone who surrendered to the enemy should be considered deserters and traitors to the Motherland. They were to be exterminated and their families deprived of any state support.

Sholokhov's story "The Fate of Man" opened a new page in the military literature of those years. The horrors of captivity described in the story, which millions of soldiers had to endure, became the starting point for changing attitudes towards people who find themselves in such a situation.

The history of the creation of the story "The fate of man"

The work is based on the real story of a man whom Sholokhov met while hunting on the Upper Don about a year after the end of the war.

In a casual conversation, the writer heard a story that shook him to the core. “I will definitely, I will definitely write about it,” thought Sholokhov.

Only 10 years later, the writer decided to bring his idea to life. At this time, he read the works of Hemingway and, the main characters of which are powerless, worthless people who have lost the meaning of life after returning from the war.

Then he remembered his casual acquaintance and decided that the time had come to write his story, the story of hardships, hard trials and faith in life no matter what.

It took Sholokhov only seven days to write the text of the story. December 31, 1956 - the date of writing and publication of the story in the newspaper Pravda.

The work found a great response in the writing environment, including abroad. A little later, the story was read on the radio by the famous actor S. Lukyanov.

The main characters of M. Sholokhov's story "The Fate of a Man"

There is only one main character in the story - this is Andrei Sokolov, a man of iron will, but at the same time not devoid of softness of heart.

This hero embodies the main features of a real Russian character - willpower, love of life, patriotism and mercy.

The story is told from his perspective.

Other characters of "The Fate of a Man" M.A. Sholokhov

We learn about the rest of the characters from the memoirs of the protagonist.

He speaks warmly about his relatives: about his wife Irina and children - Anatolia, Nastenka and Olyushka.

In the episodes there are heroes whom the narrator sympathizes with - this is a military doctor who helped Russian soldiers in captivity, a company commander saved by Sokolov from an informer, and Uryupin's friend who sheltered the hero at home after the war.

There are also negative characters: the traitor Kryzhnev, the camp commissar Müller, a German major-engineer.

The only character we see in the real hero is his adopted son Vanyusha, a little boy who firmly believes that Sokolov is his real father.

"The Fate of Man" - a summary

The story is not conducted in chapters, but goes in continuous text, but for retelling in abbreviation it is convenient to divide it into small segments.

Andrey Sokolov

In its structure, the work is a story within a story.

The road was not easy, and in the middle of the way they had to swim across the river, which stretched for a whole kilometer. At the crossing, a thin boat with holes was waiting for them, which could only carry two at a time. The boatman brought the narrator first.

On the other bank, while waiting for his friend, the author met a man with a boy of 4-5 years old. A conversation ensued. The man mistakenly assumed that the narrator was the same profession as he was a driver. Perhaps that is why he suddenly wanted to pour out his soul, to tell the story of his difficult life.

He did not immediately introduce himself, but in the course of the story we learn that his name is Andrey Sokolov. Now the story is being told in his name.

pre-war time

From the very beginning of his life, Andrei Sokolov was haunted by difficulties and hardships.

He was born in 1900 in the Voronezh province. He went through the Civil War, in the hungry 1922 he ended up in the Kuban, and that was the only way he survived. And his relatives - father, mother and two sisters - died of hunger in their homeland.

All over the world he did not have a native person. Returning from the Kuban, he moved to Voronezh, where he took a job as a carpenter, then worked at a factory, mastered locksmith skills.

Soon he started a family. He married a modest orphan girl out of great love. After the loss of loved ones, she became a joy for him - smart, cheerful and at the same time wise. Life began to improve: children appeared - the son Anatoly and two daughters, Nastya and Olya - all completely excellent students and the pride of their father.

The hero mastered the new profession of a driver, began to earn good money and rebuilt a house with two rooms. Only the location of the house was unfortunate - near the aircraft factory. He did not know then what a fatal role this would play in his life.

War and captivity

A new war suddenly burst into the life of Andrei Sokolov. On the third day, the whole family gathered to accompany him to the station.

Saying goodbye to his family was a difficult test for him. The always calm and quiet wife suddenly went into a frenzy, did not let him go, but only repeated that they would not have to see each other again.

It was a shame to him that they were burying him alive, and he pushed his wife away, about which he reproached himself every day after.

Military everyday life began for Andrey Sokolov: he worked as a driver, received two minor injuries. He wrote letters to his relatives infrequently and always very briefly, never complaining. In this, for the first time, his special masculine endurance was manifested: he did not tolerate soldiers sending tearful letters to their relatives, who were already having a hard time in the rear.

The biggest test overtook him in May 1942. There was a fierce battle near Lozovenki. Ammunition was running out and Andrei Sokolov had to deliver them under fire to a battery of soldiers. But he did not reach his destination. The blast wave threw him aside and temporarily disabled him.

When he came to his senses, he found that he was behind enemy lines. At first he tried to pretend to be dead, just not to give up, but the Germans passing by discovered him. Then Sokolov gathered the remnants of his strength to stand up and meet death with dignity. One German was about to raise his machine gun, but the other drew it back, realizing that Sokolov could still be useful for work.

Sokolov, along with other prisoners, was driven west. The Germans treated them like cattle: they shot all the wounded on the spot, they did the same with those who tried to escape, and they beat them - they beat them just like that, out of anger.

Of particular importance in the story is the episode in the church. One of the first nights, the Germans herded the soldiers into the church.

Here Sokolov managed to find out more closely who was captured with him. He was surprised that the military doctor, who immediately corrected his shoulder, even in such a situation selflessly continued to do his job.

Then he accidentally overheard the conversation and then something else struck him: the soldier was going to betray his commander, who was threatened with death for his adherence to the Communist Party. Sokolov decided to strangle the traitor, he killed a man for the first time, while “his own”, but for him he was worse than an enemy.

Another significant incident happened in the church: the Germans shot a prisoner who did not want to desecrate a holy place while urinating.

All the way to the camp, Sokolov thought about escaping, and then an opportunity arose. The prisoners were sent into the forest to dig graves for their own, the guards were distracted and Sokolov managed to escape.

But four days later, the Germans with dogs caught up with the exhausted soldier. There was no living place left on him from the beatings of the Nazis and the bites of dogs, he spent a whole month in a punishment cell, but survived and was transported to Germany.

Andrey Sokolov traveled half of Germany, worked in factories and mines in Saxony and Thuringia. The conditions were such that it would be easier to die.

The prisoners were constantly beaten, brutally, half to death, fed with a tiny piece of bread with sawdust and rutabaga stew, forced to work until they lost their pulse. Sokolov recalls that he once weighed almost ninety kilograms, and now he did not even reach fifty.

On the brink of death

One of the climaxes of the story is an incident in Dresden. At this time, Sokolov worked in a stone quarry.

The work was extremely hard, and Sokolov, unable to stand it, somehow blurted out: "They need four cubic meters of output, but for the grave of each of us, even one cubic meter through the eyes is enough." This phrase of his reached the commandant.

When they called to the commandant Muller, Sokolov said goodbye to his comrades in advance, as he knew that he was going to his death. Muller was fluent in Russian and did not need an intermediary in a conversation with a Russian soldier. He immediately said that he would now personally shoot Sokolov. To which he replied: "Your will."

Müller was a little drunk and tipsy, and there was a bottle and various snacks on the table, then he poured a full glass of schnapps, put a piece of bread with bacon on it and handed it all to Sokolov with the words: “Before you die, drink, Russ Ivan, for the victory of German weapons ".

Of course, Sokolova was not satisfied with such a toast, and he preferred to refuse, pretending not to drink. Then Muller offered to drink to him "for his death." Sokolov took the glass and drank it in one gulp, without biting it.

Müller pointed to the bread, but Sokolov explained that after the first he did not have a snack. Then the commandant poured him a second glass. Sokolov also swallowed it, but did not take the bread.

Despite the severe hunger, he wanted to show that they had not beaten a man out of him yet, and he would not attack the German sop. He said aloud that even after the second he was not used to having a snack.

Muller was very amused, he poured a third glass. Sokolov drank it slowly and broke only a small piece of bread. Such dignity struck the commandant, he recognized Sokolov as a brave soldier and let him go, giving him a loaf of bread with lard.

Release from captivity

In 1944, there was a turning point in the war and the Germans began to lack people. Drivers were needed, and then Sokolov was assigned to a German engineer major.

At some point, the major was sent to the front line. For the first time in two years, Sokolov found himself near Soviet troops.

This was his chance. He came up with a plan, according to which he had to run, taking with him the major with the drawings, in order to hand him over to his own.

So he did: during the detour of the German fortifications, he stunned the major, changed into a pre-prepared German uniform to deceive the checkpoint, and, under bullets rushing from both sides, “surrendered” to his own.

Sokolov was received as a hero and promised to be presented for an award. He was sent to the hospital to improve his health. He immediately wrote a letter home, but the answer did not come for a long time.

Finally, he received news, but not from relatives. His neighbor wrote, he reported the tragic news: during the bombing of the aircraft factory, a large shell hit the house where Sokolov's wife and two daughters were at that time, and the son, having learned about the death of his family, voluntarily went to the front.

Having received a month's leave, the hero went to Voronezh, but almost immediately returned to the division: it was so hard on his soul.

Son Anatoly

A few months later, the hero receives a letter from his son, who briefly spoke about his life: he serves not far from his father and is already in command of a battery.

Pride overwhelms Sokolov. He is already dreaming about how they will live together after the war, how his son will marry, and he will begin to babysit his grandchildren, everything will work out.

But these aspirations were not destined to come true. On the morning of May 9, on Victory Day, Anatoly is killed by a German sniper.

post-war period

War is over. Sokolov was sick of returning to his native city, and he went to Uryupinsk to his friend, who had long called him to him.

There, the hero again got a job as a driver, workdays began.

Once Sokolov noticed a homeless boy near the teahouse, where he always dined. It turned out that Vanyusha's mother died during the shelling of the train, and his father died at the front.

Sokolov felt some warmth in his chest, looking at this grubby baby with eyes as bright as stars. Could not stand it, called to him and called himself his father. Thus two orphaned hearts united.

Because of the accident, Sokolov's driver's book was taken away, and he decided to leave Uryupinsk with his new son. On the road, our narrator found them.

Conclusion

Sholokhov's story "The Fate of a Man" makes you think about many things: about the will to live and patriotism, about real masculine deeds and mercy for the weak, about fearlessness before death and a feat in the name of a loved one and country.

But the main idea is this: war is the worst thing that can happen to a person, it not only destroys people, but also breaks the fate of those who are still alive.

19.04.2019

The immortal work of M. A. Sholokhov "The Fate of Man" is a real ode to the common people, whose life was completely broken by the war.

Features of the composition of the story

The protagonist here is represented not by a legendary heroic personality, but by a simple person, one of the millions of people who were touched by the tragedy of the war.

The fate of man in wartime

Andrei Sokolov was a simple rural worker who, like everyone else, worked on a collective farm, had a family and lived an ordinary, measured life. He boldly goes to defend his fatherland from the fascist invaders, thus leaving his children and wife to the mercy of fate.

At the front, for the protagonist, those terrible trials begin that turned his life upside down. Andrei learns that his wife, daughter and youngest son were killed in an air attack. He takes this loss very hard, as he feels his own guilt in what happened to his family.

However, Andrei Sokolov has something to live for, he left his eldest son, who during the war was able to achieve significant success in military affairs, and was the only support of his father. In the last days of the war, fate prepared for Sokolov the last crushing blow of his son, his opponents kill him.

At the end of the war, the main character is morally broken and does not know how to live on: he lost his loved ones, his home was destroyed. Andrei gets a job as a driver in a neighboring village and gradually begins to get drunk.

As you know, fate, pushing a person into the abyss, always leaves him a small straw, on which, if desired, you can get out of it. Salvation for Andrey was a meeting with a little orphan boy, whose parents died at the front.

Vanechka never saw his father and reached out to Andrei, as he longed for the love and attention that the main character showed him. The dramatic peak in the story is Andrei's decision to lie to Vanechka that he is his own father.

The unfortunate child, who did not know love, affection and kindness towards himself with tears, throws himself on the neck of Andrei Sokolov and begins to say that he remembered him. So, in fact, two destitute orphans begin a joint life path. They found salvation in each other. Each of them has the meaning of life.

The moral "core" of Andrey Sokolov's character

Andrei Sokolov had a real inner core, high ideals of spirituality, steadfastness and patriotism. In one of the episodes of the story, the author tells us about how, exhausted by hunger and labor work in a concentration camp, Andrei was still able to maintain his human dignity: for a long time he refused food that the Nazis offered him before they threatened to kill him.

The firmness of his character aroused respect even among the German murderers, who eventually took pity on him. The bread and bacon that they gave the protagonist as a reward for his pride, Andrey Sokolov divided among all his starving cellmates.

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

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

Andrei Sokolov is an ordinary person, his fate is similar to thousands of other destinies, his life is similar to many other lives. The protagonist of the story endured the trials that fell to his lot with enviable fortitude. He perfectly remembered the difficult parting with his family when he went to the front. He cannot forgive himself for pushing away his wife during parting, who had a presentiment that this was their last meeting: “I forcefully separated her hands and gently pushed her on the shoulders. I kind of pushed it lightly, but my strength was stupid; she backed away, took three steps, and again walks towards me with small steps, stretching out her hands.

In early spring, Andrei Sokolov was wounded twice, shell-shocked, and, worst of all, captured. The hero had to endure inhuman trials in Nazi captivity, but, nevertheless, he did not break. Andrei still managed to escape, and he again returned to the ranks of the Red Army. This man endured a tragic death. He hears terrible news on the last day of the war: “Be of good cheer, father! Your son, Captain Sokolov, was killed today at the battery.

Andrei Sokolov has amazing courage and mental strength, the horrors he experienced do not make him embittered. The protagonist leads a continuous struggle within himself and emerges from it as a winner. This man, who lost his loved ones during the Great Patriotic War, finds the meaning of life in Vanyusha, who also remained an orphan: “Such a little ragamuffin: his face is all in watermelon juice, covered with dust, dirty as dust, unkempt, and his eyes are like stars at night after the rain! It is this boy with "eyes as bright as a sky" that becomes the new life of the protagonist.

Vanyusha's meeting with Sokolov was significant for both. The boy, whose father died at the front, and his mother was killed on the train, still hopes that they will find him: “Daddy, dear! I know that you will find me! You will still find it! I've been waiting for you to find me for so long.” Andrey Sokolov wakes up his fatherly feelings for someone else's child: “He snuggled up to me and trembled like a blade of grass in the wind. And I have a fog in my eyes and I also tremble all over, and my hands are shaking ... "

The glorious hero of the story again performs some mental, and, possibly, moral feat when he takes the boy for himself. He helps him get back on his feet and feel needed. This child became a kind of “medicine” for Andrey’s crippled soul: “I went to bed with him and for the first time in a long time I fell asleep peacefully. ... I wake up, and he will take shelter under my arm, like a sparrow under a trap, quietly sniffing, and before I feel joyful in my soul, you can’t say it in words!

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

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

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

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

All the hardships and cruelties of the war that Andrei Sokolov endured did not kill human feelings in him, did not harden his heart. When he met little Vanyusha, just as lonely as he was, just as unhappy and useless, he realized that he could become his family. “It will not happen that we disappear separately! I will take him to my children, ”Sokolov decided. And he became a father to a homeless boy.

Sholokhov very accurately revealed the character of a Russian man, a simple soldier who fought not for titles and orders, but for his homeland. Sokolov is one of those many who fought for the country, not sparing their lives. It embodied the whole spirit of the Russian people - steadfast, strong, invincible. The characterization of the hero of the story “The Fate of a Man” was given by Sholokhov through the speech of the character himself, through his thoughts, feelings, and actions. We walk with him through the pages of his life. Sokolov goes through a difficult path, but remains a man. A kind man, sympathetic and extending a helping hand to little Vanyusha.

Boy five or six years old. He was left without parents, without a home. His father died at the front, and his mother was killed by a bomb while riding a train. Vanyusha walked around in tattered dirty clothes, and ate what people would serve. When he met Andrei Sokolov, he reached out to him with all his heart. “Folder dear! I knew! I knew you would find me! You can still find it! I've waited so long for you to find me!" Vanyusha shouted with tears in his eyes. For a long time he could not tear himself away from his father, apparently, he was afraid that he would lose him again. But in Vanyusha's memory the image of the real father was preserved, he remembered the leather cloak that he wore. And Sokolov told Vanyusha that he probably lost him in the war.

Two loneliness, two fates are now intertwined so tightly that they will never be separated. The heroes of "The Fate of a Man" Andrey Sokolov and Vanyusha are now together, they are one family. And we understand that they will live according to their conscience, in truth. They will all survive, all will survive, all will be able to.

Minor Heroes

There are also a number of minor characters in the story. This is Sokolov's wife Irina, his children are daughters Nastenka and Olyushka, son Anatoly. They do not speak in the story, they are invisible to us, Andrei recalls them. The commander of the auto company, the dark-haired German, the military doctor, the traitor Kryzhnev, the Lagerführer Müller, the Russian colonel, Andrei's Uryupin friend - all these are the heroes of the story of Sokolov himself. Some have neither a name nor a surname, because they are episodic heroes in Sokolov's life.

The real, audible hero here is the author. He meets Andrei Sokolov at the crossing and listens to his life story. It is with him that our hero talks, he tells him his fate.

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

Characteristics of the heroes "The Fate of Man"

main characters

Minor characters

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

Sholokhov "The Fate of Man" the main characters live in times of war, lose the most precious thing, but find the strength to live on.

M. Sholokhov "The Fate of Man" the main characters and their characteristics

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

Nastenka and Olushka- Sokolov's daughters

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

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

Sokolov had to go through a lot: hunger, and captivity, and the loss of his family, and the death of his son on the day the war ended. But he endured everything, survived everything, because he had a strong character and iron fortitude. “That’s why you are a man, that’s why you’re a soldier, to endure everything, to demolish everything, if the need called for it,” Andrei Sokolov himself said. His Russian character did not allow him to break down, to retreat in the face of difficulties, to surrender to the enemy. He wrested life from death itself.
All the hardships and cruelties of the war that Andrei Sokolov endured did not kill human feelings in him, did not harden his heart. When he met little Vanyusha, just as lonely as he was, just as unhappy and useless, he realized that he could become his family. Sokolov told him that he was his father and took him up.

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

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