The essay on the theme "The image of Grigory Melekhov" is briefly: characteristics, life story and description of the hero in search of truth

In Sholokhov's epic novel “ Quiet Don»Grigory Melekhov takes center stage. He is the most difficult Sholokhov hero. This is a seeker of truth. Such cruel trials fell to his lot that a person, it would seem, is not able to endure. The life path of Grigory Melekhov is difficult and tortuous: first there was the First World War, then the civil war, and, finally, an attempt to destroy the Cossacks, an uprising and its suppression.

The tragedy of Grigory Melekhov is the tragedy of a man who broke away from the people, who became a renegade. His split-off becomes tragic because he is a confused person. He went against himself, against millions of workers like himself.

From his grandfather Prokofy Gregory, he inherited a hot-tempered and independent character, as well as the ability to tender love. The blood of the "Turkish woman" grandmother manifested itself in his appearance, in love, on the battlefields and in the ranks. And from his father he inherited a tough temper, and precisely because of this, adherence to principles and rebelliousness from his youth did not give Gregory rest. He fell in love with a married woman Aksinya (this is a turning point in his life) and soon decides to leave with her, despite all the prohibitions of his father and the condemnation of society. The origins of Melekhov's tragedy lay in his rebellious character. This is the predetermination of a tragic fate.

Gregory is kind, brave and courageous herowho is always trying to fight for truth and justice. But war comes, and it destroys all his ideas about the truth and justice of life. War is presented to the writer and his heroes as a series of losses and terrible deaths: it cripples people from the inside and destroys everything that is dear and dear. It makes all the heroes look at the problems of duty and justice in a new way, seek the truth and not find it in any of their warring camps. Once with the Reds, Gregory sees everything the same as with Whites, cruelty and bloodlust. He cannot understand why all this? After all, war destroys the well-ordered life of families, peaceful labor, it takes away the last from people and kills love. Grigory and Peter Melekhovs, Stepan Astakhov, Koshevoy and other heroes of Sholokhov are unable to comprehend why this fratricidal massacre is taking place? For whom and why should people die when they still have a long life?

The fate of Grigory Melekhov is a life incinerated by war. The personal relationships of the heroes unfold against the backdrop of the tragic history of the country. Gregory will never again be able to forget how he killed the first enemy, an Austrian soldier. He hacked him to death with a saber, for him it is terrible. The moment of the murder changed him beyond recognition. The hero has lost his foothold, his kind and fair soul protests, cannot survive such violence against common sense. But the war is going on, Melekhov understands that he must continue to kill. Soon his decision changes: he realizes that war is killing the best people of his time, that among thousands of deaths the truth cannot be found, Gregory throws down his weapons and returns to his native farm to work on his native land and raise children. At almost 30 years old, the hero is almost an old man. The path of Melekhov's searches turned out to be an impassable thicket. Sholokhov in his work raises the question of the responsibility of history to the individual. The author sympathizes with his hero Grigory Melekhov, whose life was already broken at such a young age.

As a result of his searches, Melekhov is left alone: \u200b\u200bAksinya is killed by his recklessness, he is hopelessly far from children, if only because he will bring trouble on them with his closeness. Trying to remain true to himself, he betrays everyone: the belligerent parties, women, and ideas. This means that he initially looked in the wrong place. Thinking only about himself, about his "truth", he disliked and did not serve. At the hour when a weighty masculine word was required of him, Gregory could only provide doubts and self-delusion. But war did not need philosophers, and women did not need love of wisdom. Thus, Melekhov is the result of a transformation of the type “ extra person"In the midst of the most severe historical conflict.

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Introduction

The fate of Grigory Melekhov in the novel "Quiet Flows the Don" by Sholokhov is in the center of the reader's attention. This hero, who has fallen by the will of fate in the midst of difficult historical events, for many years forced to look for his life path.

Description of Grigory Melekhov

From the very first pages of the novel, Sholokhov introduces us to the unusual fate of grandfather Grigory, explaining why the Melekhovs are outwardly different from the rest of the inhabitants of the farm. Gregory, like his father, had a "drooping, kite-like nose, in slightly oblique slits, blue tonsils of hot eyes, sharp slabs of cheekbones." Remembering the origin of Pantelei Prokofievich, everyone in the farm called the Melekhovs "Turks".
Life changes the inner world of Gregory. His appearance also changes. From a carefree, cheerful guy, he turns into a stern warrior, whose heart is hard. Gregory “knew that he would no longer laugh at him as before; knew that his eyes had sunk in and his cheekbones were sticking out sharply, "and in his gaze," more and more often the light of senseless cruelty began to shine through. "

At the end of the novel, a completely different Gregory appears before us. This is a mature man tired of life "with a tired squint of eyes, with reddish tips of a black mustache, with premature gray hair at the temples and hard wrinkles on his forehead."

Gregory's characteristic

At the beginning of the work, Grigory Melekhov is a young Cossack who lives according to the laws of his ancestors. The main thing for him is the economy and the family. He enthusiastically helps his father on mowing and fishing. Unable to argue with his parents when they marry him to the unloved Natalya Korshunova.

But, for all that, Gregory is a passionate, addicted person. Contrary to the prohibitions of his father, he continues to go to the night games. She meets Aksinya Astakhova, the wife of a neighbor, and then leaves her home with her.

Gregory, like most Cossacks, is characterized by courage, sometimes reaching the point of recklessness. He behaves heroically at the front, takes part in the most dangerous sorties. At the same time, the hero is not alien to humanity. He is worried about a goose that he accidentally killed on the mow. For a long time he suffers from the killed unarmed Austrian. “Obeying his heart,” Gregory saves his sworn enemy Stepan from death. Goes against a whole platoon of Cossacks, defending Frania.

In Gregory, passion and obedience, madness and gentleness, kindness and hatred coexist at the same time.

The fate of Grigory Melekhov and his path of searches

The fate of Melekhov in the novel "Quiet Flows the Don" is tragic. He is constantly forced to look for a "way out", the right path. It is not easy for him in the war. His personal life is also difficult.

Like the beloved heroes of L.N. Tolstoy, Grigory goes through a difficult path life quests... In the beginning, everything seemed clear to him. Like other Cossacks, he was called up to war. For him, there is no doubt that he must defend the Fatherland. But, getting to the front, the hero realizes that his whole nature is to resist murder.

From white Grigory goes to red, but here he will be disappointed. Seeing how Podtyolkov dealt with the captured young officers, he loses faith in this power, and next year he again finds himself in the White Army.

Flying between the white and the red, the hero himself becomes bitter. He loots and kills. He tries to forget himself in drunkenness and fornication. In the end, fleeing from the persecution of the new government, he finds himself among the bandits. Then he becomes a deserter.

Gregory is exhausted by throwing. He wants to live on his land, raise bread and children. Although life hardens the hero, gives his features something "wolfish", in fact, he is not a killer. Having lost everything and never finding his way, Gregory returns to his native farm, realizing that, most likely, death awaits him here. But, the son and the house are the only things that keep the hero in the world.

Gregory's relationship with Aksinya and Natalia

Fate sends the hero two passionately loving women... But, relations with them are not easy for Gregory. While still single, Grigory falls in love with Aksinya, the wife of Stepan Astakhov, his neighbor. Over time, the woman reciprocates him, and their relationship develops into an unbridled passion. "So unusual and obvious was their crazy connection, so frenziedly they burned with one shameless fire, people not ashamed and not hiding, losing weight and turning black in their faces in front of neighbors, that now, for some reason, when they met, people were ashamed to look at them."

Despite this, he cannot resist the will of his father and marries Natalya Korshunova, promising himself to forget Aksinya and settle down. But, Gregory is not able to keep the oath given to himself. Although Natalya is beautiful and selflessly loves her husband, he reconnects with Aksinya and leaves his wife and parental home.

After Aksinya's betrayal, Grigory returns to his wife again. She accepts it and forgives past wrongs. But he was not prepared for a quiet family life. The image of Aksinya haunts him. Once again, fate brings them together. Unable to withstand the shame and betrayal, Natalya has an abortion and dies. Gregory blames himself for the death of his wife, he cruelly experiences this loss.

Now, it would seem, nothing can prevent him from finding happiness with his beloved woman. But, circumstances force him to leave his place and, together with Aksinya, again go on the road, the last for his beloved.

With the death of Aksinya, Gregory's life loses all meaning. The hero no longer even has a ghostly hope of happiness. "And Gregory, dead from horror, realized that everything was over, that the worst thing that could happen in his life had already happened."

Conclusion

In concluding my essay on the theme “The Fate of Grigory Melekhov in the novel“ Quiet Don ”,” I want to fully agree with critics who believe that in The Quiet Don, the fate of Grigory Melekhov is the most difficult and one of the most tragic. Using the example of Grigory, Sholokhov showed how the maelstrom of political events breaks human destiny. And the one who sees his destiny in peaceful labor suddenly becomes a cruel killer with a devastated soul.

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Composition:

Quiet Don

Grigory Melekhov - Don Cossack, resident of the village of Tatarskaya.

At the beginning of the novel, G. is shown in a peaceful peasant life: "His feet confidently trampled the ground."

Young G. is full of strength and thirst for life. He starts an affair with a married Aksinya, but his parents marry him to the unloved Natalia Korshunova. Soon G. leaves his wife and goes with Aksinya to work on the estate of General Listnitsky. In 1913, the hero was drafted into the army, and in 1914 the First World War began. G. goes through it to the end with a break for injury.

War and the army confront the hero with death, the filth of human life. In the hospital, G. meets with the Bolshevik Garanzha, who increases his disillusionment with the war. But in 1917, G. fell under the influence of the centurion Izvarin, who was fighting for the independent Cossacks. The hero is in great confusion: he does not know which side to go to. The meeting with the "red" Cossack Podtyolkov becomes decisive. G. begins to fight against whites. In the battle near the village of Glubokaya, Podtyolkov, who promised life to the prisoners, cruelly dealt with them. G. is shocked: this does not fit into his ideas about justice and military honor. He leaves the squad, deciding not to fight anymore. But in 1918, the hero was mobilized into the White Army. He becomes a witness to the massacre of the unarmed Podtyolkov and his people. This mentally broke G. - he deserts from the army and returns home. There, in January 1919, the Reds almost killed him. G. flees and takes part in the Cossack uprising against Soviet power as a commander. Soon the Cossacks join the Whites and fight against the revolutionaries. G. feels himself a participant in a fratricidal war. White troops are crushing. G., not wanting to emigrate, goes over to the side of the Reds in 1920. After the end of the war, they want to arrest him as a former "white". The hero runs to Fomin's gang, but cannot be a bandit. Then he lives for some time in the forest as a deserter, but cannot stand it and in the finale of the novel returns home, to his little son and his native land.

The image of Grigory Melekhov is the central one in M. Sholokhov's epic novel "Quiet Don". It is immediately impossible to say about him whether this is a positive or negative hero. For too long he wandered in search of the truth, his path. Grigory Melekhov appears in the novel primarily as a truth-seeker.

At the beginning of the novel, Grigory Melekhov is an ordinary farm boy with the usual circle of household chores, activities, and entertainment. He lives thoughtlessly, like grass in the steppe, following traditional principles. Even love for Aksinya, capturing his passionate nature, can change nothing. He allows his father to marry him, as usual, prepares for military service... Everything in his life happens involuntarily, as if without his participation, as he involuntarily dissects a tiny defenseless duckling while mowing - and shuddered at what he had done.

Grigory Melekhov did not come to this world for bloodshed. But the harsh life put a saber in his hardworking hands. As a tragedy, Gregory experienced the first human blood shed. The appearance of the Austrian killed by him appears later in his dream, causing mental pain. The experience of war in general turns his life upside down, makes him think, look into himself, listen, look at people. Conscious life begins.

The Bolshevik Garanzh, who met Grigory in the hospital, seemed to reveal to him the truth and the prospect of changes for the better - "Autonomist" Efim Izvarin, the Bolshevik Fyodor Podtyolkov played a significant role in shaping the convictions of Grigory Melekhov. The tragically dead Fedor Podtyolkov pushed Melekhov away, shedding the blood of unarmed prisoners who believed the promises of the Bolshevik who had captured them. The senselessness of this murder and the callousness of the "dictator" stunned the hero. He, too, killed many wars, but here not only the laws of humanity are violated, but also the laws of war.

“Honest to the bottom,” Grigory Melekhov cannot help but see the deception. The Bolsheviks promised that there would be no rich and poor. However, a year has passed since the "Reds" are in power, and the promised equality is not there: "the platoonman in chrome boots, and the Vanek in windings." Gregory is very observant, he tends to think over his observations, and the conclusions from his reflections are disappointing: "If the pan is bad, then from the ham the pan is a hundred times worse."

The civil war throws Gregory first into the Budennovsky detachment, then into the white units, but this is no longer thoughtless submission to a way of life or a coincidence of circumstances, but a conscious search for truth, a path. His home and peaceful work are seen by him as the main values \u200b\u200bof life. In the war, shedding blood, he dreams of how he will prepare for sowing, and these thoughts warm his soul.

The Soviet government does not allow the former centennial ataman to live peacefully, threatens with prison or execution. The food requisitioning instills in the minds of many Cossacks a desire to "re-conquer", instead of the workers' power to put their own, Cossack. Gangs are formed on the Don. Grigory Melekhov, who is hiding from the persecution of the Soviet regime, falls into one of them, the Fomin gang. But the bandits have no future. For most of the Cossacks it is clear: it is necessary to sow, not fight.

Stretches to peaceful labor and the protagonist novel. The last test, the last tragic loss for him is the death of his beloved woman - Aksinya, who was shot along the way, as it seems to them, to a free and happy life. Everything was lost. Gregory's soul is burned out. There remains only the last, but very important thread connecting the hero with life - this is his home. The house, the land waiting for the owner, and the little son - his future, his trace on the earth.

With amazing psychological reliability and historical validity, the depth of the contradictions through which the hero passed is revealed. Versatility and complexity inner peace a person is always in the center of M. Sholokhov's attention. Individual destinies and a broad generalization of the ways and crossroads of the Don Cossacks allow us to see how complex and contradictory Life is, how difficult it is to choose the true path.

Among the heroes of The Quiet Don, it is Grigory Melekhov's lot that falls to be the moral core of the work, which embodied the main features of the powerful national spirit. Gregory is a young Cossack, a dashing man, a man with larger letter, but at the same time, he is a man not without weaknesses, which is confirmed by his reckless passion for a married woman - Aksinya, which he cannot overcome.

The fate of Grigory became a symbol of the tragic fate of the Russian Cossacks. And therefore, having traced the entire life path of Grigory Melekhov, starting with the history of the Melekhov family, one can not only reveal the reasons for his troubles and losses, but also come closer to understanding the essence of that historical era, whose deep and faithful appearance we find on the pages of The Quiet Don. you can understand a lot in the tragic fate of the Cossacks and the Russian people in general.

Gregory inherited a lot from his grandfather Prokofy: a hot-tempered, independent character, the ability to tender, selfless love. The blood of the "Turkish woman" grandmother manifested itself not only in the appearance of Gregory, but also in his veins, and on the battlefields, and in the ranks. Brought up in the best traditions of the Russian Cossacks, Melekhov from his youth took care of the Cossack honor, which he understood broader than just military prowess and loyalty to duty. His main difference from ordinary Cossacks was that his moral sense did not allow him either to share his love between his wife and Aksinya, or to participate in Cossack robberies and reprisals. One gets the impression that this era, which sends Melekhov trials, is trying to destroy or break the rebellious, proud Cossack.

The first such test for Gregory is his passion for Aksinya: he did not hide his feelings, was ready to answer for his misdeed in the Cossack environment. In my opinion, it would be much worse if he, a young Cossack, secretly visited Aksinya. When he realized that he was not able to finally break with his former mistress, he left the farm and went with Aksinya to Yagodnoye, albeit not conforming to the conventional image of a Cossack, but still listening to his moral feeling and not abandoning himself.

In the war, honestly fulfilling his Cossack duty, Gregory did not hide behind the backs of his comrades, but he did not boast of reckless bravery. Four St. George's crosses and four medals - this is valuable evidence of how Melekhov behaved in the war.

Grigory Melekhov stood out among other Cossacks, although he was devoid of the "superhuman" taint that authors usually endow their main characters with. The inevitable murders that Gregory commits in battle are committed by him with melee weapons, which means in an equal fight. For a long time he reproached himself and could not forgive himself for the murder of an unarmed Austrian. He is disgusted with violence and even more murder, because the essence of Gregory's character is love for all living things, an acute sensation of someone else's pain. All that he dreams of is to return to his native kuren, to do his favorite household. But he is a Cossack, awarded the officer rank for his valor, who, with his mother's milk, absorbed the unwritten Cossack notions of honor and duty. This predetermined the tragic fate of Melekhov. He is forced to be torn between the craving for his native land and the duty of a warrior, between his family and Aksinya, between white and red

The conversation with Mishka Koshev perfectly showed the tragic hopelessness of that fatal circle into which Melekhov fell against his will:

“If then the Red Army men hadn’t been going to kill me at the party, I might not have taken part in the uprising.

- If you weren't an officer, nobody would touch you.

- If I had not been hired, I would not have been an officer ... Well, this is a long song! "

The tragedy of Grigory Melekhov is the tragedy of the Russian Cossacks as a whole. Whatever side the Cossacks are fighting on, they want one thing: to return to their home farm, to their wife and children, to plow the land, to run their own household. But the whirlwind of history burst into their smoking rooms, ripping the Cossacks from their homes and throwing them into the very heat of a fratricidal war, a war in the name of ideals that are obscure, if not alien to most ordinary Cossacks. However, no matter how the war winds the Cossack, if his soul has not died, then the longing for the land, for his native farm is alive in it.

Sholokhov compares the life of Grigory at the end of his journey with the black steppe scorched by fires. A strong, brave man has become a light sliver in the stormy ocean of historical changes. Here it is - Tolstoy's insignificance of personality in history. But no matter how great the tragedy of what is happening, hope is inspired by the last symbolic picture - father and son, and all around “the young grass is merrily turning green, countless larks tremble over it in the blue sky, flying geese graze on the green forage, and build nests that have settled for the summer little bustard ".

GRIGORY MELEKHOV is the hero of the novel "Quiet Don" (1928-1940) by MASholokhov. Some literary scholars are of the opinion that the true author of The Quiet Don is the Don writer Fyodor Dmitrievich Kryukov (1870-1920), whose manuscript was subjected to some revision. Doubts about the authorship have been expressed since the appearance of the novel in print. In 1974, a book by an anonymous author (pseudonym - D *) "The Stirrup of the Quiet Don" was published in Paris with a foreword by A. Solzhenitsyn. In it, the author tries to substantiate this point of view textologically. In 1978, at the International Congress of Slavists in Zagreb, the results were reported research work a group of Scandinavian Slavists headed by Professor G. Hoteo: the textual analyzes carried out by them confirmed the authorship of MASholokhov (materials published in the collection "Quiet Don", lessons of the novel, 1979).

The prototype of GM, according to Sholokhov, is a “hunchbacked”, like GM, a Cossack from the Bazki farm (the village of Veshenskaya) Kharlampy Vasilyevich Ermakov, whose fate is largely similar to that of GM. The researchers, noting that “the image of G.M. is so typical that in every Don Cossack we can find something of him ”, consider GM as a prototype. one of the Drozdov brothers - Alexei, a resident of the Pleshakov farm. IN early works Sholokhov, the name Grigory is found - "Shepherd" (1925), "Kolovert" (1925), "Path-path" (1925). These namesake G.M. are carriers of the ideology of "new life" and perish at the hands of its enemies.

G.M. - image typical representative the social stratum of the Don Cossack peasants of the early 20th century. The main thing in him is a deep attachment to home and agricultural work. This is combined with the concept of military honor: G.M. - a brave and skillful warrior who earned the rank of officer during the First World War. He has absorbed the best features of the Russian national character: openness, straightforwardness, deep inner morality, lack of class arrogance and cold calculation. This is an impulsive, noble nature with a heightened sense of honor.

After the release of the novel, some critics condescendingly ranked the creator of the image G.M. to the writers of the “narrow Cossack theme”, others demanded from G.M. "Proletarian consciousness", while others accused the author of defending the "kulak way of life." V. Goffensherer in 1939 was the first to express the opinion that G.M. - the hero is neither positive nor negative, that in his image the peasant problem is concentrated with the contradictions characteristic of its carrier between the traits of the owner and the working man.

G.M. - the central hero of the historical epic novel, which describes the events that seized the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century - the First World War, the events of 1917, the civil war and the victory of Soviet power - on a basis as close as possible to the documentary. The behavior of GM, captured by the flow of these events, dictates the socio-psychological appearance of the environment of which he is. GM, a native Don Cossack, grain grower, an ardent patriot of the region, devoid of the desire to conquer and rule, according to the notions of the time the novel appeared in print, is a “middle peasant”. As a professional warrior, he is of interest to the warring forces, but pursues only his peasant class goals. The concept of any discipline is alien to him, except for the one that exists in his Cossack military unit. A full Knight of St. George in the First World War, during the civil war he rushes from one fighting side to the other, eventually coming to the conclusion that “ learned people"Confused" the working people. Having lost everything, he cannot leave his native land and comes to the only dear for him - his father's house, gaining hope for the continuation of life in his son.

G.M. personifies the type of a noble hero who combines military prowess with spiritual subtlety and the ability to deeply feel. The tragedy of relations with his beloved woman Aksinya lies in the impossibility of bringing their union into agreement with the moral and ethical principles accepted in his environment, which makes him an outcast and divorces him from the only way of life acceptable to him. The tragedy of his love is compounded by the low social status and the ongoing socio-political upheavals. G.M. - the main character of the great literary work about the fate of the farmer, his life, struggle, psychology. The image of GM, "a peasant-grain grower in uniform" (in the words of A. Serafimovich), an image of a huge generalizing force with a pronounced integral, deeply positive individuality of the hero, has become one of the most significant in world literature, such as, for example, Andrei Bolkonsky.

The protagonist of The Quiet Don goes through a complex spiritual evolution throughout the novel. On his way, Melekhov meets several people (Shtokman, Chubaty, Garanzha, Izvarin, Podtyolkov) who will have an impact on him, but not so significant as to lead him astray or direct him. He searches for himself, painfully, hard, going through terrible trials. And these people are the peculiar demons of Gregory, whose influence he outlives along with his own weaknesses and delusions.

To the end of the novel, the author brings his hero ahead of time, aged, lonely, who has comprehended a lot. At the beginning of the first book, Grigory Melekhov is a handsome, talented, hardworking guy who still ponders little about the meaning of his actions, lives like most Cossacks, walking along the beaten path. The author shows it in scenes everyday life farmer: at home, fishing, at a watering hole with a horse, in the field. Gregory has a memorable appearance. As a true Cossack, he is an excellent rider (he jumps on his horse, slightly touching the withers with his left hand), and took the first prize for horse racing at the races. Sings, or "dishkanit, as the Cossacks say -" pure silver thread "Gregory is talented by nature: in the future, a wonderful warrior, hard-working farmer who loves his work. More than once, Gregory will show the nobility of the soul, the conscientiousness of nature, sensitivity to nature and a loved one, the ability to deep feeling. This replaces lack of knowledge and advanced intelligence. Gregory's spiritual growth also takes place outside the intellectual.

Having fallen in love with Aksinya Astakhova, a married neighbor, Grigory still does not realize the significance of this feeling in his life and does not think about the consequences. His passion is youthful, all-captivating, pagan spontaneous, "so frenziedly they burned with one shameless flame." It is no coincidence that in the description of the first meeting between Grigory and Aksinya there is such a comparison: “With a jerk, Gregory threw her into his arms - this is how a wolf throws a slaughtered sheep on his backbone, - tangled in the floors of an open zipun, panting, he went. However, at the same time, he agrees to marry at the choice of his father, then cruelly offends Aksinya in conversation with indifference to her future fate and a desire to finish off this story.

Gregory is quick-tempered, wild, the author draws attention to the wolfish grin of Gregory's teeth both in anger and in a smile. And yet he stands out from among the Cossacks not only for his talents and beauty, but also for his originality. In the wedding scene, you can already feel its separateness, resistance to the generally accepted. Dejected wedding ceremonies”, He looks at Natalia and others with dislike. Gregory does not want to live a double life, as many did, so he leaves with Aksinya from his native farm, from the land to hired workers for the landowner Listnitsky, serves as a groom. Such a life, of course, is not for a Cossack, the author writes: “An easy, well-fed life spoiled him. He was lazy, put on weight, looked older than his years. "

However, during this period, Gregory is experiencing powerful emotionsthat shape his character. Hunt, jealousy, childbirth of Aksinya and fear for her life, longing for the farm, for the Don, its "flowing water", "acute nibbling excitement" of fatherhood and suspicions associated with it, pity for the abandoned and attempted Natalia.

In the service, Grigory Melekhov is also alone in his search for truth and justice. He does not allow the sergeant to hit him, single-handedly tries to stop his comrades in the regiment from fanaticism over Franya, and when he fails, he almost cries from powerlessness. It is more and more difficult to resist Gregory's common malice, the evil spreading in the world.

With the beginning of the war, the internal contradictions of the hero Sholokhov intensified. A desperately brave, courageous warrior, he is grievingly experiencing the murder of an Austrian, which he committed “inflamed by the madness that was going on all around”, “His step was confused and heavy,
as if carrying an overwhelming baggage over his shoulders; I bend and bewilderment crumpled my soul. " In the war, Gregory is faithful to his duty, shows miracles of courage: he captured three Germans and an Austrian officer, recaptured a battery, saved the officer and Stepan Astakhov, earned a full bow of St. George's crosses, four medals and an officer's rank. But at what cost it all came to him! It was when Gregory “could not find a fulcrum in his soul,” he
met with the cold killer Chubaty, who was cold-bloodedly chopping off prisoners. He raises his gun at him, as if Melekhov sees in Chubatom the focus of that blind force of evil with which he is trying to fight. Gregory takes his injury as a relief.

Once in an eye hospital in Moscow, Melekhov yearns for the Don region, the hum of a big city has an overwhelming effect on him. In such a vague state, he argues with Garanzha, an evil Ukrainian who destroyed “all his previous concepts of the tsar, homeland, Cossack military duty”, “all those foundations on which Gregory's consciousness rested”. Only returning home to the Don cured him of deep doubts. "Inexplicably to his relatives, warm breathed on Grigory from the familiar words of the old Cossack song and they played it more than once." However, misfortunes awaited him at home: the death of his daughter, Aksinya's betrayal. Having dealt with Listnitsky and turning away from the outstretched hands of Aksinya, Melekhov returns to his home, to his wife.

Then again the war. The author writes: “Grigory was a Cossack honor, he caught a chance to show selfless courage, took risks, was crazy, went disguised to the rear of the Austrians, removed the outposts without blood, jigged the Cossack and felt that she was gone
irretrievably the pain for a person that crushed him in the first days of the war. He understood at what price he was buying my fame, "he knew that he would no longer laugh at him as before," "he knew that it was difficult for him, kissing a child, to look openly into clear eyes." And outwardly Grigory changes, his eyes are hollow, they shine "dimly, like shards of anthracite": "the war bent Gregory, sucked the blush from his face."

In January 1917, Melekhov was promoted to the cornet, and after the October Revolution he was appointed commander of a hundred. An unprecedented career for an ordinary Cossack. It was then on the way of Gregory that the centurion Efim Izvarin, a Cossack-avgonomist, gifted and educated, meets on the way of Gregory, who confuses Gregory with talk about the separation of the Don from Russia. Immediately after the coup, Melekhov faced another Cossack, the Bolshevik Fyodor Podtyolkov, after conversations with whom Grigory
"I was trying painfully to sort out the confusion of thoughts, think over something, decide." Political changes threatened the Cossacks with the loss of land, the breakdown of the eternal way of life. There was something to think about.

The civil war forced Gregory and his comrades to turn their weapons against the brothers, one-page residents, one-farmers. Trying to find a way out, Melekhov at first “almost” “accepts the red faith,” but inevitably comes into conflict with Podtyolkov.
reveling in their power and ordered to chop the prisoners. A terrible scene of the extermination of prisoners, in which the author's sympathies are clearly on the side of the courageous
Chernetsov and the officers, shakes Grigory and forces him to grab the revolver in order to direct him at Podtelkov.

“In the midst of the struggle for power in the Don”, wounded and slightly recovered, Grigory leaves his unit, returns home in a confused state: “Grigory could neither forgive nor forget Grigory for the death of Chernetsov and the extrajudicial execution of captured officers. He could not "even outline the future with milestones," he dreamed of rest. "I wanted to turn my back on the entire seething with hatred, hostile and incomprehensible world." The contradictory nature of what was happening tormented him with the thought: “Who can I lean against? "The soul of the Cossack yearned for
on the ground, plow, on the usual peasant work. "I wanted peace and silence." The return home stirred up the past, moved Gregory to tears, there was peace and silence here. However, the struggle for power on the Don is becoming more and more fierce, and the war is approaching the native village of Gregory. Melekhov witnesses the execution of Podtelnov and his detachment. “Disgusting picture of destruction. drove the shocked Gregory away from the place of execution.

As part of the Don army, the cornet Melekhov defended the villages from the Reds, towards whom he gradually became filled with anger: "they invaded his life as enemies, took him away from the earth!" However, he did not take part in the general looting, "treating robberies with disgust",
he held his hundred toughly, spared the prisoners, therefore "with excessive softness he caused discontent among the Cossacks and the regimental authorities", and was removed from the hundred.

"Taking part in the war, Gregory indifferently watched its course." He yearned for Aksinya, which he could not forget, for the "soft plow furrow", for the "wine smell of autumn, plowed land. Death walked alongside: three horses were killed at Gregory,
the overcoat is perforated in five places. Tormented by thoughts, the hopelessness of the situation, Grigory makes a decision and voluntarily leaves the regiment, returns home again.

It did not work to stay aside, the Cossacks retreat, and the Red Army men come to Gregory's house. It takes a lot of effort for him to endure their defiant presence and provocations. Suppressing pride, he understands that "in spirit he is ready for any test and humiliation, just to save his own and those of his relatives."

The choice between red and white turned out to be too difficult for Grigory. For him, "that the communists, that the generals are one yoke." He cannot find a way out, “and because he was on the verge of a struggle between two principles, denying both of them, he gave birth to a dull, incessant irritation. He understands that the truth alone does not exist, "which of the ham pan is a hundred times worse", therefore
for people like Shtokman, the thinking Grigory is "more dangerous than the others put together." It is Grigory and others like him who are trying to destroy Shtokman.

Melekhov hides from the Bolshevik authorities, and his throwing comes to an end when an uprising breaks out on the Don. He felt a surge of joy and strength, "it seemed that his path from now on was clear, like a highway illuminated by the month." The desire to fight for the land, for his home, hatred for the enemies who destroyed his world, led Gregory to the rebel camp, blinded and made cruel.

The war on the Don became extremely cruel, people lost their human appearance, both camps exterminated each other mercilessly, with blind hatred. Pyotr Melekhov is killed by the godfather. Gregory commands a division, shows talent as a strategist and commander, but he cannot completely suppress doubts and reflections about the purpose of his actions. Often the general brutality captures him. To get away from black thoughts, to drown out consciousness, Gregory begins to drink.

The feeling of doom, the immediate proximity of death make Gregory think about the past, about the meaning of life. Fatigue, mental anguish resulted in a nervous fit, which happened to Gregory after the terrible cutting of the sailors. “Brothers, I have no forgiveness! .. Death… betray! .. "- asks
he is comrades.

The warrior empties the soul, burns out the daughter, and guilt and a bad conscience strain. heart of Gregory. He says to Natalia: “The course of life is not right, and maybe I am to blame for this too…” The revived relationship with Aksinya cannot fill the void in the heart. However, upon the news that Ivan Alekseevich and Mishka Koshevoy, who had shot Peter, are being taken to the farm for reprisal, he hurries to help them out: “The blood has fallen between us, but are we not strangers ?! ". Having driven the horse, Grigory galloped to the farm and was late.

The outcome of the uprising no longer worries Melekhov. Joining with the Volunteer Army further cooled his military ardor. A realization of other values \u200b\u200bcomes to him: the chirping of children on his knees causes tears, the appearance of Natalia, who suffered so much because of him, his wife, the mother of his children awakens a "mighty wave of tenderness", But again he has to leave his home, this time with heavy forebodings ...

Upon learning of Natalia's death, Grigory first felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his heart and ringing in his ears. He is tormented by remorse, the loss brings him closer to his children. I endured typhus, Gregory becomes softer: “for a long time his simple-hearted, childish smile did not leave his lips,
strangely changing the harsh appearance of the face, the expression of brutal eyes, softening the hard folds in the corners of the mouth.

The protracted war, the Cossacks' longing for the land, the unwillingness to go further than their farm, the lack of internal unity led to the decay of the Volunteer Army and defeats, the Army retreats. With a wave of retreating Grigory reached Novorossiysk, where he joined Budyonny's Cavalry Army, taking on a squadron. He cheered up, because now he was at war not with his own people, but with the Poles. The war is coming to an end, the massacre of the victors over the vanquished begins. Grigory returns to his empty house, where Dunyashka's husband Mishka Kosheva is already in charge.

The demobilized red commander Melekhov "was on his way home in order to finally take up work, live with the children, with Aksinya." But even now Gregory did not have a chance to return to a peaceful life. Koshevoy's revenge and anger pursue him. Gregory moves with his children to Aksinya. He lives without interest, his soul does not lie to anything because of the uncertainty of the situation. Warned of arrest by Dunyashka, Grigory is forced to flee again, to hide, until chance leads him to Fomin's gang.

In the gang he is also a stranger: robberies and drunkenness are disgusting to Grigory. Disgusting And Kaparin's offer of betrayal after the defeat of the gang and the murder of the wounded Sterlyadnikov, even at his request, Grigory leaves Fomin's gang and sneaks into his native farm to take Aksinya and run with her to the Kuban or further.

The death of Aksinn in the steppe from an accidental bullet deprived Gregory of his last hope for a peaceful life. He realized that "everything is over, that the worst thing that could happen in his life has already happened." Gregory said goodbye to Aksinya in the firm conviction that they would not part for long, and when he raised his head, he saw a black sky above him and a dazzling black disk of the sun. Having nailed to the deserters, Melekhov lived with them for almost a year, but melancholy again drove him home. Not
waiting for the May Day amnesty, Gregory returns home for the last time, where he has only a son. This is how the epic novel The Quiet Don ends, but Gregory's path does not end there. The author leaves his hero on the doorstep of the house. Is this the last return of Gregory?

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(446 words)

The main character of the novel by M.A. Sholokhov is the Don Cossack Grigory Melekhov. We see how dramatically the fate of Gregory develops on one of the most controversial and bloody pages of our history.

But the novel begins long before these events. First, we are introduced to the life and customs of the Cossacks. In this peaceful time, Gregory lives a calm life, not caring about anything. However, at the same time, the hero's first mental breakdown occurs, when, after a stormy romance with Aksinya, Grishka realizes the importance of the family and returns to his wife Natalya. A little later, the First World War begins, in which Gregory takes an active part, having received many awards. But Melekhov himself is disappointed in the war, in which he saw only dirt, blood and death, along with this comes disappointment in the imperial power, which sends thousands of people to death. In this regard, the main character falls under the influence of the ideas of communism, and already in the seventeenth year he takes the side of the Bolsheviks, believing that they can build a new just society.

However, almost immediately, when the red commander Podtyolkov arranges a bloody massacre of the captured White Guards, disappointment comes. For Gregory, this becomes a terrible blow, in his opinion, it is impossible to fight for a better future, while creating cruelty and injustice. An innate sense of justice pushes Melekhov away from the Bolsheviks. Returning home, he wants to take care of his family and household. But life doesn't give him that chance. His home farm supports the White movement, and Melekhov follows them. The death of his brother at the hands of the Reds only fuels the hero's hatred. But when the surrendered detachment of Podtelkov is ruthlessly exterminated, Gregory cannot accept such a cold-blooded destruction of his neighbor.

Soon the Cossacks, dissatisfied with the White Guards, including Grigory, defect and let the Red Army men pass through their positions. Tired of war and murder, the hero hopes to be left alone. However, the Red Army men begin to commit robbery and murder, and the hero, in order to protect his home and family, joins the separatist uprising. It was during this period that Melekhov fights most zealously and does not torment himself with doubts. He is supported by the knowledge that he is protecting his loved ones. When the Don separatists unite with the white movement, Gregory is again disappointed.

In the final, Melekhov finally goes over to the side of the Reds. Hoping to earn forgiveness and a chance to return home, he fights without sparing himself. During the war, he lost his brother, wife, father and mother. All that he has left are children, and he only wants to return to them in order to forget about the struggle and never take up arms. Unfortunately this is not possible. For those around him, Melekhs are a traitor. Suspicion turns into outright hostility, and soon the Soviet government begins a real hunt for Gregory. During the flight, his still beloved Aksinya perishes. After wandering around the steppe, the main character, aged and gray, finally loses heart and returns to his native farm. He resigned himself, but wants, perhaps, to see his son for the last time before accepting his sad fate.

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