The physical condition of the sotnikov and the fisherman. Analysis of the story of Bykov centurions essay

Newest period in the work of V. Bykov revealed it wonderful work"Sotnikov" is the deepest of the works about the war, not only by the author himself, but also in all Soviet multinational literature. "Sotnikov" is firmly connected with the previous stories of the writer. More notable critics A. Adamovich, Naumova, Lazarev noticed the connection of Sotnikov with the Kruglyansky Bridge.

Sotnikov has an inhuman choice: "It is better to die as a man than to live as a beast." About the idea of ​​"Sotnikov" V. Bykov wrote: "First of all, and mainly I was interested in two moral problems, which can be formulated as follows: "What is a person in the face of the destructive force of inhuman circumstances? What is he capable of when he has exhausted his ability to protect life to the end and it is impossible to prevent death?" Both front-line soldiers and partisans alike remember these questions from their combat experience, when they had to be solved not mentally, but practically, at the cost of blood, putting them at stake. life But no one wanted to lose their one and therefore dear life. And only the need to remain human to the end forced to go to death. At the same time, there were people who tried to combine the incompatible: to save life and sin against humanity, which in a tragic situation turned out to be incredibly difficult, if not completely hopeless.

In many ways, Sotnikov is an ordinary war worker. He is actually one of the ordinary representatives of the multi-million army. Sotnikov is by nature not a hero at all, and when he dies, it is primarily because he moral basis in such circumstances does not allow him to do otherwise, to look for another end. Sotnikov's incredulity, even cruelty towards people is noticeable. Only by the end of the work Sotnikov overcomes his straightforwardness, becomes much higher.

Sotnikov's feat, which is primarily moral, spiritual meaning, this is what it is: humanity, high spirituality, which, as an absolute value, necessarily includes devotion to the Motherland, and Sotnikov defends it to the very end, to the last breath, confirming the ideals with death itself. "For me, Sotnikov is a hero. Yes, he did not defeat the enemy, but he remained a man in the most inhuman situation." As a feat, his steadfastness is also considered by those few dozen people who were witnesses of his last minutes.

Sotnikov, too, "was sometimes afraid for his life, when he could easily and unnoticed die in battle." "Coming out of the battle alive, he concealed in himself a quiet joy that the bullet had passed him." All this was humanly understandable and natural. It is known that Sotnikov, like other heroes of V. Bykov, knew how to fight the enemy "up to last minute". In the partisans, he ceased to be afraid of death. It was important for him to live when he was the commander of the army. Having been captured by the Nazis, he thinks of death with weapons in his hands as a great luxury. Here he almost envied the thousands of those lucky ones, that found their end on numerous battlefields.

Before the hanging, Sotnikov reappears a hatred of death that is very natural for a person, an unwillingness to say goodbye to life. Sotnikov, before his death, wanted to laugh, but he finally chuckled with his exhausted, pathetic smile. Going to his death, Sotnikov is not so much thinking about himself as he is preoccupied with "doing something for others." And also, so that death is not dirty.

The fisherman is former comrade By partisan struggle and now a traitor. Rybak in the first sections is shown to us as a good partisan, who behaves in a completely comradely way with Sotnikov, thinks about other partisans. In the army, Rybak, thanks to his quickness, rose from a private to the position of foreman. In a word, he is a very good person, if you take him at the household level, in ordinary, human circumstances. We can say that there is no price for him. But the fact is that the war made its cruel demands, very often offered inhuman ones. The fisherman understood this and tried to hold on. When he got into a shootout with Sotnikov, and then, when it calmed down for a while, he sighs with relief, thinking that everything is over, that Sotnikov is dead. This means that it was not the pain for his death that arose in Rybak in the first place, but the feeling of relief caused by the fact that in this case it is definitely not necessary to take risks yourself again.

The author connects betrayal with the insignificance of Rybak's moral and ethical ideas, with the insufficient development of his spiritual world. He turned out to have very little human, spiritual potential; he did not have enough moral height to be not only a good partisan, but also to endure to the end in difficult circumstances. The fisherman could not pay such a price for his life, because it was more important for him to survive, no matter what. Bykov wrote: “The fisherman is also not a scoundrel by nature: if the circumstances had turned out differently, perhaps a completely different side of his character would have manifested itself, and he would have appeared before people in a different light. But the inexorable force of military situations forced everyone to make the most decisive choice in human life - better to die or stay to live vilely. And each one chose his own." Spiritual deafness does not allow him to understand the depth of his fall. It is only at the end that he sees, irremediably belatedly, that in some cases surviving is no better than dying. In captivity, Rybak begins to cautiously approach the policemen, trick them and get out. And it rolls, rolls down, more and more losing humanity in itself, surrendering one position after another. Already inexorably sliding into the abyss of betrayal, Rybak all the time reassures himself that this is not the end, that he can still fool the policemen.

Bykov depicts Sotnikov's latest action: "Before the punishment, he knocks out a stand from under his feet in order to prevent Rybak, who betrayed him, from doing it." Sotnikov would very much like Rybak, who has not yet stained his hands with anyone's blood, to have the opportunity to come to his senses, not to lose his own soul completely and irrevocably. The nationwide ethics of philanthropic decency constantly presented strict requirements, in particular, categorically condemned the betrayal, which entailed the death of innocent people.

Almost all the works of Vasil Bykov tell about the Great Patriotic war. This is largely due to the fact that the writer himself went through it from beginning to end. He considers the events of the war primarily from a moral and philosophical point of view. Describing the behavior of people in inhuman conditions, Bykov makes us think about the origins of inner strength, which is inherent in the best of his heroes. In the story "Sotnikov", the writer convincingly shows that this power practically does not depend on the physical capabilities of a person and is entirely related to the realm of the spirit.

In the images of the main characters of the work, it seems to me, the features of two opposite types personality. Caught in a situation moral choice, such people behave but in different ways: some commit treason in exchange for their miserable life; others show fortitude and courage, preferring to die with a clear conscience. Thus, in the story of Vasil Bykov, two partisans are opposed - Rybak and Sotnikov.

At first, Rybak seems to us to be a completely sincere person: he helps his sick comrade, shares his last grain with him, and does not get angry because of an unexpected burden. Rybak is kind in his own way. He was never able to kill the headman, although he believed that it was necessary to do so.

Fear for his life first manifests itself in Rybak during a chase arranged by the police: at first he wanted to leave Sotnikov, justifying himself by the fact that he still couldn’t get out. “But what will he say in the forest? ”- it seems to me that it was this question that made Rybak return to his friend. At that moment, it was still important for him what others would think of him.

When they were found in Demchikha's attic, Rybak "wanted Sotnikov to be the first to rise." But he had no strength, he continued to lie. And Rybak got up first.

During the interrogation, frightened of torture, Rybak answered the truth, that is, he betrayed the detachment. When he was asked to serve Germany, "he suddenly felt free." Rybak not only agreed to join the police, but also helped to hang Sotnikov in order to confirm to the enemies that he was ready to serve them. He thought only of freedom, he hoped that he would escape, but after the execution he realized “that the escape was over, that with this liquidation he was tied up more reliably than with a belt chain. And although they were left alive, they were also eliminated in some respects.

Thinking about everything that had happened, Rybak "couldn't really understand how it happened and who was to blame... I really didn't want to be guilty myself." He justified himself by fighting for his life, that “it was Sotnikov who was to blame for his misfortune more than others ... he doesn’t care about everything in the loop on the arch, but what is it like for him, alive! ..”. The fisherman does not notice that his feverish attempts to whitewash himself are cowardly and illogical. At the end of the work, the author will say that what happened to this hero is “this insidious fate lost in the war man.

The path of Sotnikov appears differently. From the very beginning, we guess in him a proud and stubborn person. He went to the task because "others refused." An inopportunely happened cold seemed to Sotnikov a trifle, although from further narration it becomes clear that he was seriously ill. Nevertheless, Sotnikov refused food and medicine offered to him by the headman's wife, because "he did not wish this aunt well and ... could not agree to her sympathy and help." Remembering how once the same simple woman betrayed him to the policemen, he was suspicious of the benevolence shown to him in the elder's house.

Feeling the approach of the policemen, Sotnikov thought that, "... as long as he is alive, he will not let them near him." This man was not afraid of death, he was only "terrified of becoming a burden for others." And he was also “afraid that he might lose consciousness, and then the worst thing that he was most afraid of in this war would happen.” Sotnikov decided not to surrender alive. The fact that Rybak returned, he "attributed ... to the usual soldier's mutual assistance", but "would not have anything against Rybak's help, if it was addressed to someone else." He himself never wanted any support, it was "disgusting to his whole being."

During the interrogation, Sotnikov first of all tried to save Demchikha, who suffered because of him and Rybak, and already before the execution he unsuccessfully tried to take all the blame on himself. He spent the last effort in his life on meeting death "with soldierly dignity."

Sotnikov was a man who under no circumstances made a deal with his conscience, and he passed away with the knowledge that he had not stained his soul in any way. Before last hero tried to help people who, as he believed, were in trouble because of him.

So, we have two completely opposite characters. For better disclosure, the author often uses internal monologues heroes through which, for example, Rybak's hesitation at the moment of persecution, Sotnikov's reflections, going to his execution, are transmitted.

Characterizing the heroes, Bykov also uses episodes of their childhood. We learn that Sotnikov, as a child, swore to himself never to lie. I think that in the formation of this personality big role father played. It was he who brought up honesty, straightforwardness and stamina in his son.

The story of Vasil Bykov tells about the events that took place more than sixty years ago. However, to us, readers of the 21st century, it is interesting not only from a historical point of view. After all, the problems of honesty, conscience, justice and humanism are also facing our generation. How to be? What to be? How to keep human in yourself? Vasil Bykov's book"Sotnikov" helps us answer these difficult questions.

Vasil Bykov in his work mainly covered military topics, but in his works there are few battle scenes, descriptions of spectacular historical events, but he manages to convey with amazing depth the feelings of an ordinary soldier in a big war.

Therefore, I decided to write an essay about the defender of the Motherland using the example of Vasil Bykov's story "Sotnikov". Describing the most insignificant situations, the author gives answers to difficult questions. Unlike our writers such as Bondarev, Baklanov, Ananiev, who like to describe large-scale battles, Vasil Bykov builds his plots only on the dramatic moments of the local war, as they say, with the participation of ordinary soldiers.

Step by step, analyzing the motives of the behavior of fighters in extreme situations, the writer reveals to the reader the depths of the psychological states and experiences of his heroes. This quality of Bykov's prose distinguishes many of his works: Alpine ballad”, “Trap”, “The Dead Doesn’t Hurt” and others.

The plot of the story "Sotnikov" is simple: the partisans Sotnikov and Rybak go to the village to get food for the detachment. Sotnikov is tormented by a "bursting" cough, which will betray him and his partner to the enemy. The soldier could easily evade the mission, but he wants to show his comrades that he is not afraid of " dirty work', no danger, and is called to go.

The fisherman is healthy, strong and ready for anything. It seems to the reader that the strong and quick-witted soldier Rybak is more prepared to commit a brave act than the frail and sick Sotnikov.

But if Rybak, who all his life "managed to find some way out," is internally ready to commit betrayal, then Sotnikov remains true to the duty of a person and citizen to the last breath.

Of course, Rybak is not devoid of positive human qualities, but after he and his comrade are captured, his moral decline begins. In order to stay alive, he joins the ranks of the police, betrays a friend and even becomes his executioner.

Sotnikov behaves like a real defender of the Motherland. He does not think of himself, a simple soldier who will be killed like so many other fighters. “Well, it was necessary to gather the last strength in oneself in order to face death with dignity. Otherwise, why then life? It is too difficult for a person to be carefree about its end.

Even when Sotnikov is led to the gallows, he still tries to protect innocent people. He does everything right so that the Fatherland is proud of his deed. It was on people like Sotnikov that victory in the fight against the enemy was built.

The work of Vasil Bykov is tragic in its sound, as tragic as the war itself, which claimed tens of millions human lives. The writer talks about strong-willed people who are able to rise above circumstances and death itself.

I believe that Bykov is right in that he pays tribute to ordinary soldiers, sings of their heroism, because it was thanks to their courage that our Motherland survived that difficult war. Although the names of many fighters are unknown, their feat is immortal.

Now there is no one great country, which Sotnikov defended, for which he died with dignity. But that's not the point at all. The heroes of Vasil Bykov live their lives outside of political upheavals. For me, Sotnikov will always be an example of courage and perseverance. I would feel poorer spiritually if there were no Vasil Bykov's heroes in literature.

Sotnikov in ordinary life would be a remarkable person. He wouldn’t get into the bosses, he wouldn’t strive to somehow stand out among the people. He would honestly fulfill his duty, would treat everything conscientiously. And they would say about him that he is a very decent person.

That's the main thing in Sotnikov. Nobody could accuse him of dishonesty. I had to meet such people. I'm sure they are in extreme situation would have behaved exactly like Sotnikov, because otherwise they do not know how to live.

Vasil Bykov in his work "Sotnikov" raises the problem of moral choice, responsibility and spiritual maturity. This book is on the list of one hundred books recommended for reading by schoolchildren by the Ministry of Education. The main characters of "Sotnikov" are partisans going on a mission, their images are in sharp contrast. An exemplary soldier, faithful comrade, dexterous and resourceful Rybak at the end of Bykov's story becomes a traitor in exchange for life. Sotnikov, weak, sickly, in the face of death turns out to be stronger and spiritually stronger than his comrade. His characterization is typical, but life position- an example for others!

Characteristics of the heroes of "Sotnikov"

Main characters

Minor characters

In the story "The Centuries" the characters make a choice that determines their future. The author is sharp and adamant in depicting a man in the war, there is no definite position in the story - to force the reader to think and choose - the main objective word master. The name of Vasil Bykov in literature is pain, however, the life of a whole generation, which he reflected in his work.

Artwork test

Main political events that occurred in the twentieth century, were worn tragic character. The writers of that time tried to penetrate into the essence of the problems that they gave rise to. The focus of their attention was the personality and the fate of the nation, including during the Second World War. Writers reflected on the character of a person and explored human nature. Such works include the story of V. Bykov "Sotnikov".

Main characters

In the story, as in most of his works, the author raises the problem of personal responsibility for the fate of other people, finds out the reasons for the moral fall and betrayal of some and the spiritual greatness and nobility of others. The writer explores and shows what a person is capable of when the possibilities to protect life are exhausted to the end. Central location in the story, the writer assigns Sotnikov and Rybak to the partisans.

The main characters, Sotnikov and Rybak, are both no strangers to fighting the enemy. Sotnikov is the son of a battery commander who fought at the front, miraculously escaped from captivity. He continued to fight in the partisan detachment. Rybak, a foreman of a rifle company, also fought at the front, was surrounded and took part in the partisan movement. But it is important for a writer to check the moral potential of his characters and their spirit.

Two partisans

Rybak was born and raised in a peasant family. A sense of duty is characteristic of him, but fragile and spontaneous. The positive beginnings of this hero exist only on sensory level and did not become part of his individual ethics. Connecting with his love of life, they predetermine the possibility of betrayal. Rybak's consciousness is not sufficiently developed to comprehend the experience and behavior of the people he encountered on life path. And he is unable to make a life choice.

Main character Sotnikov is a teacher, an intellectual. He differs from Rybak in that he has a more developed consciousness, is able to independently analyze various situations and behavior of people. Spiritually, Sotnikov is stronger and more persistent. In an extreme situation, this difference should manifest itself. Therefore, the author puts the heroes in conditions in which their essence will be revealed, and they will have to do

By the road of war

Heroes of the story brought together common task- get supplies for the partisans. Going on a mission, they differently represent the danger that awaits them. Outwardly, it seems that the sick and weak Sotnikov is not capable of a feat, and the strong, quick-witted and energetic Rybak is simply created for a heroic deed.

Already at the beginning of the story, a contrast is drawn between them. The fisherman is economic, physically strong and With his inherent love of life, he thinks about girls, sees bread in a dream. The protagonist Sotnikov, on the contrary, is physically weak and sickly, treats himself indifferently - he went on a mission sick, with a temperature, did not even bother to "get hold of a sheepskin coat."

They behave differently on the road. The fisherman encourages the sick Sotnikov, shares bread with him. All Sotnikov's attention is focused only on not losing the pace that is feasible for him, "not losing his stride." The opposition of the characters in the exposition of the story creates an illusion. At first glance, Rybak is more adapted to difficult conditions than Sotnikov.

Last task

The author set a goal - to reveal and understand the inner state of the main characters of "Sotnikov". Bykov inexorably leads them to their final resting place - Demchikha's house - and confronts them with a choice that they must make. The heroes of the story failed to complete their last task - they stumbled upon a cart with the Germans and came under fire.

Having reached the village, the partisans hide in the attic of the house of Demchikha, a mother of many children. Germans and policemen raided the house in search of vodka. And Sotnikov's cough, heard from the attic, betrays the fugitives. They are captured. Demchikha is taken along with them. In the basement where they were thrown, the Jewish girl Basya is also sitting. The headman, who hid her at home, was also thrown there.

In the face of death, Rybak and Sotnikov behave according to their characters and beliefs. centurions before last breath remains true to his duty. And Rybak, who managed to find a way out of any situation, was already internally ready for betrayal.

Sotnikov

The protagonist of the story comes to terms with the circumstances only outwardly. Sotnikov understands that it is not in his power to change something. But internally he is looking for strength to resist. First of all, he recalls and analyzes events from personal life and the behavior of other people. The writer shows that the strength of this person lies in his ability to introspection and rethinking, with the help of which his moral values ​​were formed.

He is subjected terrible torture, but Sotnikov endures with honor ordeal and remains a man true to his ideals. He certainly would have preferred to die in battle and was "already envious" of those who found their death on the battlefield. But Sotnikov does not think about himself. His thoughts are occupied with how to save Demchikha, who ended up in this basement because of them. Sotnikov demands an investigator, to whom he says that he is a partisan, and the rest have nothing to do with it. But his confession had no effect on the executioners. In the morning, of the five gallows prepared for the prisoners, only one remained free.

Fisherman

The fisherman, on the contrary, full of desire to survive, seeks to overcome circumstances and therefore compromises - he agrees to become a policeman. No in peaceful life he was not a scoundrel, a traitor, or an enemy. But now the situation is completely different: in the face of death, he wants to save his life by any means possible. He is sure that by deceiving the enemies, he will be able to save his life and go to the partisans in order to continue the fight against the Nazis there.

However, step by step, he pleases his enemies, he is cunning and playful, and, finally, thinking only of himself, he slides into the spiritual abyss. The fisherman understands the enormity of his act and tries to commit suicide. But circumstances prevented this. And then he justifies his actions in every possible way, blaming the harsh conditions, the hated war, and even Sotnikov, whose illness, in his opinion, was the reason for captivity.

Conclusion

The work of V. Bykov is named after the main character - "Sotnikov". This story is a deep reflection on human duty and humanism, incompatible with any manifestations of selfishness. Analysis of the actions, thoughts and words of the characters is one of the defining features of the work.

Sotnikov's spiritual strength lies in the fact that, faced with a choice, he managed to accept death and showed the invincibility of character and greatness human spirit. Without these qualities it is impossible to overcome circumstances.

Reflecting on the problem of betrayal and heroism, the author is sure that a person needs individual spiritual culture and morality as a support. Without these beginnings, a person is not able to distinguish between the boundaries of good and evil. As a result, imperceptibly for herself, she will find herself in the territory of evil. What happened to Rybak, one of Bykov's main characters.

Sotnikov is not exceptional, that is, his ability for self-sacrifice and his behavior, since Demchikha, the mother of many children, and the headman, and even the little Jewish girl who refused to name the names of those who hid her, made exactly the same choice.

Thus the author rises to philosophical analysis war. First of all, he is interested not in its external circumstances, but in its internal ones: the state of a person and the struggle in his soul. The writer is sure that difficult, inhuman circumstances can only be overcome by relying on moral and spiritual values.