GRIGORY MELEKHOV
GRIGORY MELEKHOV - the hero of the novel by M.A. Sholokhov "Quiet Flows the Don" (1928-1940). Some literary critics are of the opinion that the true author of The Quiet Flows the Don is the Don writer Fyodor Dmitrievich Kryukov (1870-1920), whose manuscript was subjected to some revision. Doubts about authorship have been raised since the novel's appearance in print. In 1974, in Paris, with a preface by A. Solzhenitsyn, the book of an anonymous author (pseudonym - D *) "The Stirrup of the Quiet Don" was published. In it, the author tries to substantiate this point of view textually. In 1978, at the International Congress of Slavists in Zagreb, the results of the research work of a group of Scandinavian Slavists headed by Professor G. Hoteo were reported: their textual analyzes confirmed the authorship of M.A. ", 1979).
The prototype of G.M., according to Sholokhov, is “hook-nosed”, like G.M., a Cossack from the village of Bazki (village of Veshenskaya) Kharlampy Vasilyevich Ermakov, whose fate is in many ways similar to the fate of G.M. The researchers, noting that “the image of G.M. so typical that in every Don Cossack we can find something from him, ”G.M. one of the Drozdov brothers - Alexei, a resident of the Pleshakov farm. In the early works of Sholokhov, the name Grigory is found - "Shepherd" (1925), "Kolovert" (1925), "Way-path" (1925). These namesakes G.M. are carriers of the ideology of "new life" and are dying at the hands of its enemies. _,-...-,-..,..,.....-.._,. ......
G.M. - the image of the most typical representative of the social stratum of the Don Cossacks-peasants of the early XX century. The main thing in it is a deep attachment to the house 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 absorbed the best features of the Russian national character: openness, straightforwardness, deep inner morality, the absence 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 of G.M. to the writers of the “narrow Cossack theme”, others demanded from G.M. "proletarian consciousness", others accused the author of defending the "kulak way of life". W. Hoffenscherer 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 bearer between the features 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, as close as possible to the documentary, - the First World War, the events of 1917, the civil war and the victory of Soviet power. The behavior of G.M., captured by the flow of these events, dictates the socio-psychological image of the environment of which he is a representative. G.M., a native Don Cossack, a grain grower, an ardent patriot of the region, devoid of the desire to conquer and rule, according to the concepts 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 concepts of any discipline are 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 another, 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 one dear to him - his father's house, finding hope for the continuation of life in his son.
G.M. personifies the type of a noble hero, combining military prowess with spiritual subtlety and the ability to feel deeply. The tragedy of relations with his beloved woman Aksinya lies for him in the impossibility of bringing their union into agreement with the moral and ethical principles adopted in his environment, which makes him an outcast and tears him away from the only way of life acceptable to him. The tragedy of his love is exacerbated by the low social position and ongoing socio-political upheavals. G.M. - the main character of a great literary work about the fate of the farmer, his life, struggle, psychology. The image of G.M., “a farmer in uniform” (in the words of A. Serafimovich), the image of a huge generalizing power with a pronounced integral, deeply positive individuality of the hero, has become one of the most significant in world literature, such as, for example, Andrey Bolkonsky.
Lit .: Dairejiev B.L. About "Quiet Don". M., 1962; Kalinin A.V. Time of the Quiet Don. M., 1975; Semanov S.N. "Quiet Don" - literature and history. M., 1977; Kuznetsova N.T., Bashtannik B.C. At the origins of the "Quiet Don"
// "Quiet Don": lessons of the novel. Rostov-on-Don, 1979; Semanov S.N. In the world of "Quiet Don". M., 1987.
L.G.Vyazmitinova
literary heroes. - Academician. 2009 .
See what "GRIGORY MELEKHOV" is in other dictionaries:
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Russian surname. Known carriers: Melekhov, Vyacheslav Dmitrievich (1945 2012) Soviet and Russian theater and film actor. Melekhov, Dmitry Evgenievich (1889 1979) Soviet psychiatrist, doctor of medical sciences. Grigory Melekhov is the main character of the novel ... ... Wikipedia
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Genus. March 27 (April 9), 1909 in Tambov, mind. Jan 18 1978 in Leningrad. Composer. Honored activity claim. RSFSR (1957). In 1925 1929 he studied at the 1st Moscow. music college in class. f p. B. L. Yavorsky, in 1929 1930 in the Muses. college them. Gnesins in class ... ... Big biographical encyclopedia
This term has other meanings, see Quiet Don (meanings). Quiet Don Genre drama, historical film, melodrama Director Olga Preobrazhenskaya Ivan Pravov Scriptwriter ... Wikipedia
- (1915 2000), actor, People's Artist of the USSR (1981). On stage since 1941. Worked at the Stanislavsky Moscow Drama Theater and the Film Actor Studio Theater. He starred in the film "Quiet Flows the Don" (Grigory Melekhov), etc. * * * GLEBOV Petr Petrovich GLEBOV ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
Mikhail Sholokhov knew and loved his small homeland and could perfectly describe it. With this, he entered Russian literature. First appeared "Don stories". The then masters drew attention to him (today's reader does not know any of them) and said: “Beautiful! Well done!" Then they forgot... And suddenly saw the light of the first volume of the work, which almost put the author on a par with Homer, Goethe and Leo Tolstoy. In the epic novel The Quiet Flows the Don, Mikhail Aleksandrovich authentically reflected the fate of a great people, the endless search for truth in the chaotic years and the bloody revolution.
Quiet Don in the fate of the writer
The image of Grigory Melikhov captivated the entire reading public. Young talent would develop and develop. But the circumstances did not contribute to the fact that the writer became the conscience of the nation and people. The Cossack nature of Sholokhov did not allow him to rush into the favorites of the rulers, but they did not allow him to become in Russian literature what he was supposed to become.
Many years after the Great Patriotic War and the publication of The Fate of a Man, Mikhail Sholokhov made a strange, at first glance, entry in his diary: “They all liked my Man. So I lied? Do not know. But I know what I didn't say."
Favorite hero
From the first pages of The Quiet Don, the writer draws a diverse and wide river of life in the Don Cossack village. And Grigory Melikhov is only one of the many interesting characters in this book, and besides, not the most important one, as it seems at first. His mental outlook is primitive, like a grandfather's saber. He has nothing to become the center of a large artistic canvas, except for a masterful, explosive character. But the reader from the first pages feels the writer's love for this character and begins to follow his fate. What attracts us and Gregory from the most youthful years? Probably, its biology, blood.
Even male readers are not indifferent to him, like those women from real life who loved Gregory more than life. And he lives like Don. His inner masculine power draws everyone into his orbit. Nowadays, such people are called charismatic personalities.
But there are other forces operating in the world that require reflection and analysis. However, they continue to live in the village, not suspecting anything, thinking that they are protected from the world by their courageous moral virtues: they eat their (!) Bread, serve the Fatherland in the way that their grandfathers and great-grandfathers punished them. It seems to all villagers, including Grigory Melikhov, that a more just and sustainable life does not exist. They sometimes fight among themselves, mostly over women, unaware that it is women who choose, preferring powerful biology. And this is right - mother nature herself ordered so that the human race, including the Cossack, does not dry out on Earth.
War
But civilization has given rise to many injustices, and one of them is a false idea clothed in truthful words. Quiet Don flows truthfully. And the fate of Grigory Melikhov, who was born on its shores, did not portend anything that would make the blood run cold in the veins.
The village of Veshenskaya and the Tatar farmstead were not founded by St. Petersburg and he was not the one who fed them either. But the idea that life itself was almost given to each Cossack personally not by God, but by his father and mother, but by some kind of center, broke into the tough but fair life of the Cossacks with the word “war”. Something similar happened on the other side of Europe. Two large groups of people went to war in an organized and civilized manner against each other in order to flood the earth with blood. And they were inspired by false ideas, dressed in words about love for the Fatherland.
War without embellishment
Sholokhov paints war as it is, showing how it cripples human souls. Sad mothers and young wives remained at home, and the Cossacks with lances went to fight. Grigory's checker tasted human meat for the first time, and in an instant he became a completely different person.
The dying German listened to him, not understanding a word of Russian, but realizing that universal evil is being accomplished - the essence of the image and likeness of God is crippled.
Revolution
Again, not in the village, not on the Tatar farm, but far, far from the banks of the Don, tectonic shifts begin in the depths of society, the waves from which will reach the hardworking Cossacks. The protagonist of the novel returned home. He has many personal problems. He's had his fill of blood and doesn't want to shed any more. But the life of Grigory Melikhov, his personality is of interest to those who have not obtained a piece of bread for their livelihood for decades with their own hands. And some people bring false ideas into the Cossack environment, clothed in truthful words about equality, brotherhood and justice.
Grigory Melikhov is involved in a struggle that is alien to him by definition. Who started this quarrel in which the Russians began to hate the Russians? The main character does not ask this question. His fate carries through life like a blade of grass. Grigory Melikhov listens with surprise to the friend of his youth, who began to speak incomprehensible words and look at him with suspicion.
And the Don flows calmly and majestically. The fate of Grigory Melikhov is just an episode for him. New people will come to its shores, new life will come. The writer says almost nothing about the revolution, although everyone talks about it a lot. But nothing is remembered from what they said. The image of Don overshadows everything. And the revolution is also just an episode on its shores.
The tragedy of Grigory Melikhov
The protagonist of Sholokhov's novel began his life simply and clearly. Loved and was loved. He vaguely believed in God, without delving into the details. And in the future he lived as simply and clearly as in childhood. Grigory Melikhov did not deviate for a small step either from his essence, or from the truth that he absorbed into himself along with the water that he drew from the Don. And even his sword did not stick into human bodies with pleasure, although he had an innate ability to kill. The tragedy was precisely that Gregory remained an atom of society, which can be either split into component parts or combined with other atoms by a will alien to him. He did not understand this and strove to remain free, like the majestic Don. On the last pages of the novel, we see him reassured, hope for happiness glimmers in his soul. Doubtful point of the novel. Will the main character get what he dreams of?
The end of the Cossack way of life
An artist may not understand anything of what is happening around him, but he must feel life. And Mikhail Sholokhov felt it. The tectonic shifts in world history have destroyed the Cossack way of life dear to him, perverted the souls of the Cossacks, turning them into meaningless "atoms" that became suitable for building anything and anyone, but not the Cossacks themselves.
There is a lot of didactic politics in volumes 2, 3, and 4 of the novel, but, describing the path of Grigory Melikhov, the artist involuntarily returned to the truth of life. And false ideas receded into the background and dissolved in the haze of century-old prospects. The triumphant notes of the final part of the novel are drowned out by the reader’s longing for that life that has passed away, which is drawn by the writer with such incredible artistic power in the 1st volume of The Quiet Flows the Don.
The first one is the basis
Sholokhov begins his novel with a description of the appearance of the child who founded the Melikhov family, and ends with a description of the child who should prolong this family. Quiet Don can be called a great work of Russian literature. This work not only opposes everything that was later written by Sholokhov, but is a reflection of that core of the Cossack people, which gives hope to the writer himself that the life of the Cossacks on Earth has not ended.
Two wars and a revolution are just episodes in the life of a people who recognize themselves as Don Cossacks. He will wake up and show the world his beautiful Melikhovo soul.
The life of the Cossack family is immortal
The protagonist of Sholokhov's novel entered the very core of the attitude of the Russian people. Grigory Melikhov (his image) ceased to be a household character back in the 30s of the twentieth century. It cannot be said that the writer endowed the hero with the typical features of a Cossack. Just typical in Grigory Melikhov is not enough. And there is no special beauty in it. It is beautiful with its power, vitality, which is able to overcome all superficial things that come to the banks of the free, quiet Don.
This is an image of hope and faith in the highest meaning of human existence, which is always the basis of everything. In a strange way, those ideas that tore the village of Veshenskaya to pieces, wiped the Tatar farm from the ground, have sunk into oblivion, and the novel "Quiet Don", the fate of Grigory Melikhov, remained in our minds. This proves the immortality of the Cossack blood and family.
Grigory Panteleevich Melekhov - the protagonist of the epic novel by M. A. Sholokhov "The Quiet Don" (1928-1940), a Don Cossack, an officer who had risen from the ranks. This is a young resident of the village of Tatarskaya, an ordinary farm boy, full of strength and thirst for life. At the beginning of the novel, it is difficult to classify Gregory as a positive or negative hero. He is rather a freedom-loving truth seeker. He lives thoughtlessly, but according to traditional principles. Despite his strong love for Aksinya, he allows his father to marry himself to Natalya. Grigory has been torn between two women all his life. In the service, he also finds himself between red and white. This harsh life nevertheless put a saber into his hands and forced him to fight.
The tragic turning point in his personal life coincided with a sharp turning point in the history of the Don Cossacks. Thanks to his natural abilities, Gregory managed to rise first from an ordinary Cossack to an officer, and then to the commander of the rebel army. However, later it becomes clear that Melekhov's military career was not destined to take shape. The civil war threw him into the White formations, then into the Budyonnovsky detachment. He did this not out of thoughtless submission to the way of life, but because of the search for the truth. Being an honest man, he believed in the promised equality to the end, but the conclusions were disappointing. From his marriage with Natalya, Gregory had a son and a daughter, from Aksinya - the daughter died in childhood. At the end of the novel, having lost
Sholokhov created a whole gallery of images in his novel Quiet Flows the Don. The heroes of the novel have become extraordinary characters in world literature.
The most controversial and attractive hero of the book is Grigory Melekhov. In the image of the hero, the author personified the individual character traits of a simple person. Melekhov is the most common Cossack who was born into a wealthy family. From early childhood, the hero lives a peasant life. It contains love for nature, pity for all living things. In addition, Gregory is very honest and sincere with everyone. After growing up, he falls in love with Aksinya and forever keeps love in his heart. Aksinya was married. Despite her marriage, Gregory did not try to hide his feelings. Melekhov married Natalya and confessed to her that he did not love her.
The hero was distinguished as an economic, brave and hard-working guy. Once in the center of the war, the young Cossack behaved like a staunch and courageous fighter. He was smart, fearless and determined, and proud at the same time. He always acted honorably and adhered to the principles he learned in childhood.
Melekhov joined the ranks of the Red Revolutionaries. However, having learned that the revolutionaries support violence and cruelty, Gregory was greatly disappointed. Before his eyes, the Red Army killed all unarmed prisoners and shot all the Cossacks, plundered the Cossack villages and raped women.
During the battles, the hero constantly saw the ruthlessness and cruelty of the white and red revolutionaries. Therefore, class hatred for him seemed meaningless. In his heart he wanted peace, love and simple work. Gregory did not know how to understand the contradictions of society. He took everything that happened close to his heart, and therefore often changed camp. The hero did not know how to understand his thoughts and began to obey the will of other people.
Melekhov did not want to betray his principles and himself, and therefore became an outcast in the camps of the revolutionaries. To know the truth, he went over to the ranks of the white revolutionaries. He became a stranger to everyone and constantly experienced loneliness.
Some time later, he attempted to escape with Aksinya. But on the way, a misfortune happened to his beloved, which led to her death. Instead of a strong and brave fighter, Gregory turned into a heartbroken man who will suffer until the end of his life.
By the end of the work, Melekhov completely abandoned weapons and war. He returned to his native lands because he could not accept the cruelty of the mortal world.
Option 2
Mikhail Sholokhov wrote the most interesting epic novel Quiet Don. A simple, life story about ordinary people who are destined to experience more than one hardship. Life is difficult, and the author of the Quiet Don wanted to demonstrate this to us.
Quiet Don about ordinary people, one of these was Grigory Melekhov. The fate of Gregory is intertwined with many life events. He is the kind of person who searches for the truth all his life. He is looking for justice, honesty, he wants to know the answers to many life questions. Grigory Melekhov is a controversial personality, certain people condemn him, and many praise him, nevertheless he is a man, and a man is constantly changing.
It was difficult for him to cope with the realization that he had killed a man. He never imagined that the time would come when he would have to kill. He searched for the truth, but did not find it either in the environment of the whites or in the environment of the reds during the civil war. Thus, it can be said that he was not for a certain side, he searched, but did not find those who were right in honor ...
He was often unlucky in life. He encountered difficulties along the way, but always overcame them. It was difficult, but he managed. Grigory Melekhov got along with many, he was surrounded by many of his friends. Grigory's best friend can be considered Mikhail Koshevoy, but it is his best friend who kills Grigory's brother. Is it possible after that to consider Michael a friend?
But the main interweaving in the epic novel was the love story of Grigory Melekhov. He was a free man and no girl was able to rein him in. But he was popular with the girls. He had 2 companions in life, Aksinya and Natalya. Grigory's parents forced Natalya to marry, but he could refuse, but did not do it. He claimed, and everyone knew that he did not love Natalia. They still had two children.
Grigory had a beloved - Aksinya. She was the inspiration for him. In their relationship there was passion, love, mutual attraction. It was a real relationship, but Grigory still could not decide with whom he needed to be - with his wife Natalya or his mistress Aksinya. Gregory even took birth with Aksinya. They worked on the field, being pregnant Aksinya also helped. But suddenly the fights start. He took her in a wagon, went to the village, but did not have time to get there, he had to take delivery himself.
Grigory Melekhov is a controversial character, with a very difficult fate, but personally I respect him for the fact that he never changed his principles. He always sought to achieve truth and justice.
Composition The image and characteristics of Melekhov
In one of Sholokhov's most famous novels, the author, having revealed one of the problems - the relationship between the individual and the people, with special artistic skill showed the tragedy of the life path of Grigory Melekhov. The character and beliefs of the hero are significantly different from Peter. The writer, singling out the 19-year-old Grishka from the Melekhov family, shows his amazing attractiveness. The appearance of Gregory is set off not by what class he belongs to, but by a peculiar character.
Being in his youth, he was a hardworking guy, subtly feeling his native nature. Remarkable abilities, directness and openness are continuously noted by Sholokhov. He opposes the cruelty of his villagers, stands up for Aksinya because of the terrible treatment of her husband, and contemptuously treats the act of Daria, who kills Kotlyarov without a twinge of conscience.
Gregory sympathizes with those who are always courageous and maintain their dignity in the most dangerous life situations. He always denounced cowardice and weak-heartedness, and at various stages of his quest he held firm. Gregory's patriotism is especially clearly shown. So, for example, he cannot see the presence of English troops on the Don and speaks disapprovingly about them. Together with the positive qualities of a gifted person, a self-willed character was early discovered in him. As a worker, he is drawn to the best and new trends, however, his interest in possessiveness draws him back, confuses him in choosing the right path. He hesitates for a long time between the two political camps and searches for his own path in the revolution.
The main character can't figure out his personal relationships either. He is drawn to Natalya by the vein of the owner, home comfort, children. Aksinya is close to him with her ardent love and love of freedom. This position of Gregory between two women is explained by the desire to reconcile love for Aksinya with family traditions. The author showed on the image of Gregory the features characteristic of the middle peasants. He showed his views and moods, which distinguished the small owner. The tragedy of his fate was manifested in the fact that he was completely lost in his searches, opposed historical events, against the people, of which he was a native.
The “Quiet Don” reflects the era of great upheavals at the beginning of the 20th century, which had its impact on the fate of many people, which also influenced the fate of the Don Cossacks. Harassment by officials, landowners, the more prosperous part of the population, as well as the inability of the authorities to resolve conflict situations and fairly equip the life of the people, led to popular indignation, riots, and a revolution that turned into a civil war. In addition, the Don Cossacks rebelled against the new government, fought with the Red Army. Gangs of Cossacks dealt with the same poor peasants, with peasants who, like the Cossacks, wanted to work on their land. It was a difficult, troubled time when a brother went against his brother, and the father could turn out to be the murderer of his son.
The novel by M.A. Sholokhov “Quiet Flows the Don” reflects the turning point of wars and revolutions, shows the events that influenced the course of history. The writer depicted the centuries-old traditions of the Don Cossacks and the peculiarities of their life, the system of their moral principles and labor skills that formed the national character, which is most fully embodied by the author in the image of Grigory Melekhov.
The path of Grigory Melekhov is completely special, different from the search for the heroes of previous eras, since Sholokhov showed, firstly, the story of a simple Cossack, a farm boy with little education, not wiser with experience, not understanding politics. Secondly, the author reflected the most difficult time of upheavals and storms for the entire European continent and for Russia in particular.
In the image of Grigory Melekhov, a deeply tragic personality is presented, whose fate is entirely connected with the dramatic events taking place in the country. The character of the hero can be understood only by analyzing his life path, starting from the origins. It must be remembered that the hot blood of a Turkish grandmother was mixed in the Cossack's genes. The Melekhov family, in this regard, was distinguished by its genetic qualities: along with diligence, perseverance, love for the land, Gregory was noticeable, for example, a proud disposition, courage, self-will. Already in his youth, he confidently and firmly objected to Aksinya, who called him to foreign lands: “I won’t touch the earth anywhere. There is a steppe here, there is something to breathe, but there? Grigory thought that his life was forever connected with the peaceful labor of a farmer in his own household. The main values for him are the land, the steppe, the Cossack service and the family. But he could not even imagine how loyalty to the Cossack cause would turn out for him, when the best years would have to be given to the war, the murder of people, ordeal on the fronts, and a lot would have to go through, having experienced various shocks.
Grigory was brought up in the spirit of devotion to Cossack traditions, he did not shy away from service, intending to fulfill his military duty with honor and return to the farm. He, as befits a Cossack, showed courage in battles during the First World War, "risked, went crazy", but very soon realized that it was not easy to get rid of the pain for a person that he sometimes felt. Gregory suffered especially hard the senseless murder of an Austrian who was running away from him. He even, "without knowing why, went up to the Austrian soldier he had hacked." And then, when he was moving away from the corpse, “his step was confusingly heavy, as if he was carrying an unbearable load behind his shoulders; I bend and bewilderment crumpled my soul.
After the first wound, while in the hospital, Grigory learned new truths, listening to how the wounded soldier of Garange "exposed the true causes of the outbreak of war, caustically ridiculed the autocratic power." It was difficult for the Cossack to accept these new concepts about the tsar, the motherland, about military duty: "all those foundations on which the consciousness rested smoked with ashes." But after a visit to his native farm, he again went to the front, remaining a good Cossack: "Grigory firmly cherished the Cossack honor, he caught the opportunity to show selfless courage ...". This was the time when his heart hardened and hardened. However, while remaining courageous and even desperate in battle, Grigory changed internally: he could not laugh carelessly and cheerfully, his eyes sunk in, his cheekbones sharpened, and it became difficult to look into the clear eyes of the child. “With cold contempt he played with his own and someone else's life, ... he served four St. George's crosses, four medals,” but he could not avoid the mercilessly devastating impact of the war. However, the personality of Gregory was still not destroyed by the war: his soul did not harden to the end, he could not fully come to terms with the need to kill people (even enemies).
In 1917, after being wounded and in the hospital, while at home on vacation, Grigory felt tired, "acquired by the war." “I wanted to turn away from everything seething with hatred, hostile and incomprehensible world. There, behind, everything was confused, contradictory. There was no solid ground under my feet, and there was no certainty which path to follow: “I was drawn to the Bolsheviks - I walked, led others, and then took thought, my heart went cold.” On the farm, the Cossack wanted to return to household chores and stay with his family. But he will not be allowed to calm down, because there will be no peace in the country for a long time. And Melekhov rushes between the "red" and "white". It is difficult for him to find political truth when human values are rapidly changing in the world, and it is difficult for an inexperienced person to understand the essence of events: “Who can I lean against?” Gregory's throwing was not connected with his political moods, but with a lack of understanding of the situation in the country, when numerous participants in the warring forces seized power in turn. Melekhov was ready to fight in the ranks of the Red Army, but war is war, it could not do without cruelty, and wealthy Cossacks did not want to voluntarily give “food” to the Red Army. Melekhov felt the distrust of the Bolsheviks, their hostility towards him, as a former soldier of the tsarist army. And Gregory himself could not understand the uncompromising and ruthless activities of the food detachments taking away the grain. The fanaticism and bitterness of Mikhail Koshevoy were especially repulsed from the communist idea, and there was a desire to get away from the unbearable confusion. I wanted to understand and comprehend everything, to find my own, “real truth”, but, apparently, there is no one truth for everyone: “People have always fought for a piece of bread, for a plot of land, for the right to life ...”. And Gregory decided that "one must fight with those who want to take life, the right to it ...".
Cruelty and violence were manifested by all the warring parties: the White Guards, the rebel Cossacks, various gangs. Melekhov did not want to join them, but Grigory had to fight against the Bolsheviks. Not by conviction, but by forced circumstances, when the Cossacks from the farms were gathered into detachments by opponents of the new government. He had a hard time experiencing the atrocities of the Cossacks, their indomitable vindictiveness. Being in the detachment of Fomin, Grigory witnessed the execution of a young non-party Red Army soldier who devotedly served the people's power. The guy refused to go over to the side of the bandits (as he called the Cossack detachment), and they immediately decided to “put him to waste”. "We have a short trial?" - says Fomin, referring to Grigory, who avoided looking into the eyes of the leader, because he himself was against such "courts".
And Grigory's parents are in solidarity with their son in matters of rejection of cruelty, enmity between people. Pantelei Prokofievich kicks out Mitka Korshunov, because he does not want to see the executioner in his house, who killed a woman with children in order to take revenge on the communist Koshevoy. Ilyinichna, Grigory’s mother, says to Natalya: “So the Reds could chop you and Mishatka and Polyushka for Grisha, but they didn’t chop it, they had mercy.” Wise words are also spoken by the old farmer Chumakov when he asks Melekhov: “Will you soon make peace with the Soviet government? They fought with the Circassians, they fought with the Turks, and that pacification came out, and you are all your own people and you don’t collide with each other in any way.
Gregory's life was also complicated by his unstable position everywhere and in everything: he was constantly in a state of search, deciding the question "where to lean." Even before serving in the Cossack army, Melekhov failed to choose a life partner for love, since Aksinya was married, and his father married Natalya. And all his short life he was in the “between” position, when he was drawn to his family, to his wife and children, but his heart called to his beloved. The desire to manage the land was no less tore at the soul, although no one exempted him from military duty. The position of an honest, decent man between the new and the old, between peace and war, between Bolshevism and the populism of Izvarin, and, finally, between Natalya and Aksinya, only aggravated, increased the intensity of his throwing.
The need to choose was very exhausting, and, perhaps, the decisions of the Cossack were not always correct, but then who could judge people, pass a fair verdict? G. Melekhov fought earnestly in Budyonny's cavalry and thought that by faithful service he had earned forgiveness from the Bolsheviks for his previous deeds, but during the years of the civil war there were cases of quick reprisals against those who either did not show loyalty to the Soviet government, or rushed from side to side. And in the Fomin gang, already fighting against the Bolsheviks, Grigory saw no way out, how to solve his problem, how to return to civilian life and not be an enemy to anyone. Grigory left the Cossack detachment of Fomin, and, fearing punishment from the Soviet authorities, or even lynching from any side, since he seemed to become an enemy to everyone, he tries to hide with Aksinya, to escape somewhere far away from his native farm. However, this attempt did not bring him salvation: a chance meeting with Red Army soldiers from the food detachment, flight, chase, shots after him - and the tragic death of Aksinya stopped Grigory's throwing forever. There was nowhere to rush, no one to rush to.
The author is far from being indifferent to the fate of his main character. He bitterly writes that, because of homesickness, Grigory can no longer wander and, without waiting for an amnesty, he risks again, returns to the Tatarsky farm: “He stood at the gates of his home, holding his son in his arms ...”. Sholokhov does not end the novel with a message about the future fate of G. Melekhov, probably because he sympathizes with him and would like to finally give a man tired of battles a little peace of mind so that he can live and work on his land, but it is difficult to say whether it is possible it.
The writer's merit also lies in the fact that the author's attitude to the characters, his ability to understand people, to appreciate the honesty and decency of those who sincerely sought to understand the confusion of rebellious events and find the truth, is the author's desire to convey the movement of a person's soul against the backdrop of dramatic changes in the country. appreciated by both critics and readers. One of the former leaders of the rebellious Cossacks, an emigrant P. Kudinov, wrote to the scholar K. Priyma: "The Quiet Don" shook our souls and made us rethink everything, and our longing for Russia became even sharper, and brightened in our head. And those who, while in exile, read the novel by M.A. Sholokhov “The Quiet Don”, “who sobbed over its pages and tore their gray hair, these people in 1941 could not fight against Soviet Russia and did not go ". It should be added: not all, of course, but many of them.
Sholokhov's skill as an artist is also difficult to overestimate: we have a rare example, an almost historical document that depicts the culture of the Cossacks, life, traditions and speech features. It would be impossible to create vivid images (and to present them to the reader) if Grigory, Aksinya and other characters spoke neutrally, in a stylized language close to literary. It would no longer be the Don Cossacks, if we remove their centuries-old peculiarities of speech, their own dialect: “vilyuzhinki”, “crosswise”, “you are my good”. At the same time, representatives of the command staff of the Cossack troops, who have an education and experience in communicating with people from other territories of Russia, speak the language familiar to Russians. And Sholokhov objectively shows this difference, so the picture is reliable.
It should be noted the author's ability to combine the epic depiction of historical events with the lyricism of the narrative, especially those moments in which the personal experiences of the characters are reported. The writer uses the technique of psychologism, revealing the inner state of a person, showing the spiritual movements of a person. One of the features of this technique is the ability to give an individual characterization of the hero, combining it with external data, with a portrait. So, for example, the changes that happened to Grigory as a result of his service, participation in battles look very memorable: “... he knew that he would no longer laugh at him, as before; I knew that his eyes were hollow and his cheekbones were sharply sticking out ... ”.
The author's empathy for the heroes of the work is felt in everything, and the reader's opinion coincides with the words of Y. Ivashkevich that the novel by M.A. Sholokhov "Quiet Flows the Don" has "deep inner content - and its content is love for a person."
Reviews
It's amazing how this novel (certainly not socialist realism) was not banned in Soviet times. For Melekhov did not find the truth either among the Reds or the Whites.
There were many pseudo-innovative fabrications about this, such as "Cossack Hamlet". But Chekhov said it rightly: no one knows the real truth.
The best thing I read on the topic of the Civil War is Veresaev's "At a Dead End". There, too, "not for the Reds and not for the Whites." An honest and objective understanding of that time (the novel was written in 1923).
I do not accept extreme points of view in assessing such a global event as the Civil War. Dovlatov was right: after the communists, most of all I hate anti-communists.
Thanks for posting, Zoya. Makes you think about real literature. Do not forget to write about the work of worthy authors. And then many on the site are all about themselves, but about themselves. Yes, about their incorruptibles.
My respect.
03/03/2018 21:03 contact the administration.
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