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About the product
The legend of Danko is the content of the third chapter of Gorky’s story “Old Woman Izergil,” written in 1894. In this legend, the writer presented a brave, handsome young hero who is ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of people.
The theme of the legend is the people’s fear of a new life, helplessness in difficult life circumstances, as well as the nobility and dedication of brave people who are ready to give their lives for their tribe.
To better prepare for a literature lesson in 7th grade, we recommend reading a summary of “Danko” online. You can test your knowledge using a test on our website.
The material was prepared jointly with a teacher of the highest category, Ilyina Galina Sergeevna.
Experience as a teacher of Russian language and literature - 36 years.
Summary of “Old Woman Izergil”
The narrator heard these stories on the seashore in Bessarabia, from the old woman Izergil. The moon rose, and shadows from passing clouds began to appear across the steppe. The old woman said that she saw Larra, who had turned into a shadow, and told this tale.
Many years ago, in a generous country, “lived a powerful tribe of cattle breeders.” One day, a beautiful girl from this tribe was stolen by an eagle. They mourned and forgot about her, and twenty years later she returned, with a young man with her, handsome and strong. She said that she was the wife of an eagle. Everyone looked at the eagle’s son in surprise, but he was no different from the others, only his eyes were cold and proud, like his father’s.
He considered himself extraordinary, and spoke arrogantly even to the elders. The people got angry and expelled him from the tribe. He laughed, walked up to a beautiful girl, the daughter of one of the elders, and hugged her. She pushed him away and then he killed her. The young man was captured and tied up, but was not killed, considering it too easy a death for him. Talking to him, people realized that “he considers himself the first on earth and sees no one but himself.” And then the tribe decided to punish him with loneliness.
The young man was named Larra, which means “outcast.” The young man began to live alone, occasionally stealing cattle and girls from the tribe. They shot at him with arrows, but he was invulnerable. Decades passed like this. But one day he came close to people, they rushed towards him, and he stood without defending himself. Then people realized that he wanted to die and did not touch him. Then he pulled out a knife and hit himself in the chest, but the knife broke like a stone. People realized that he could not die. Since then he has been walking like a shadow, waiting for death. “He has no life, and death does not smile on him. And there is no place for him among people. This is how a man was struck for his pride!”
A beautiful song flowed into the night. The old woman asked if the interlocutor had ever heard such beautiful singing? He shook his head negatively, and Izergil confirmed that he would never hear such a thing. “Only beauties can sing well—beauties who love life!” The old woman began to remember how in her youth she weaved carpets all day long and ran to her beloved at night. The narrator looked at the old woman: “her black eyes were still dull, they were not revived by the memory. The moon illuminated her dry, cracked lips, her pointed chin with gray hair on it, and her wrinkled nose, curved like the beak of an owl. Where her cheeks were, there were black pits, and in one of them lay a strand of ash-gray hair that had escaped from under the red rag that was wrapped around her head. The skin on the face, neck and hands is all wrinkled.”
She said that she lived near the sea in Falmy with her mother. Izergil was fifteen years old when “a tall, flexible, black-moustached, cheerful man” appeared in their area. Izergil fell in love with him. Four days later she already belonged to him. He was a fisherman from the Prut. The fisherman called Izergil with him to the Danube, but by that time she had already stopped loving him.
Then a friend introduced her to a curly, red-haired Hutsul. He was sometimes affectionate and sad, and sometimes, like an animal, he roared and fought. She went to the Hutsul, and the fisherman grieved and cried for her for a long time. Then he joined the Hutsuls and got himself another. They already wanted to go to the Carpathians, but they went to visit a Romanian. There they were captured and then hanged. The Romanian got revenge: the farm was burned, and he became a beggar. The narrator guessed that Izergil did this, but to his question the old woman evasively answered that she was not the only one who wanted revenge.
Then Izergil remembered how she loved the Turk. She was in his harem in Scutari. I lived for a whole week, and then I started to get bored. The Turk had a sixteen-year-old son, and Izergil ran away from the harem to Bulgaria with him. There, a jealous Bulgarian woman wounded her with a knife. Izergil was treated in a convent, from where she left for Poland, taking a young nun. When asked by her interlocutor what happened to the young Turkish boy with whom she ran away from the harem, Izergil replied that he died of homesickness or love.
A Pole monk humiliated her, and she once threw him into the river. It was difficult for her in Poland. She fell into bondage to a Jew who trafficked her. Then she loved one gentleman with a chopped up face. He defended the Greeks, and in this fight his face was chopped off. She added: “in life, you know, there is always room for exploits. And those who don’t find them are lazy and cowards.”
Then there was a Magyar, later killed. And “her last game is the nobleman.” He was very handsome, and Izergil was already forty years old. Pan begged for her love on his knees, but having achieved it, he immediately abandoned her. Then he fought with the Russians and was captured, and Izergil saved him by killing the sentry. Pan lied to Izergil that he would love her forever for this, but she pushed away the “lying dog” and came to Moldova, where she has lived for thirty years. She had a husband, but he died a year ago. She lives among young people who love her fairy tales.
Night fell, and Izergil asked her interlocutor if he saw sparks in the steppe? “These sparks are from Danko’s burning heart.” The narrator sat and waited for Izergil to begin his new fairy tale.
“In the old days, only people lived on earth. Impenetrable forests surrounded their camps on three sides, and on the fourth there was the steppe.” But the conquerors came and drove them into the depths of an old and dense forest with swamps, from which a deadly stench rose. And people began to die. They “already wanted to go to the enemy and bring him their will as a gift, and no one, frightened by death, was no longer afraid of slave life. But then Danko appeared and saved everyone alone.”
Danko persuaded people to go through the forest. People looked at Danko, realized that he was the best, and followed him. The path was difficult, and every day the strength and determination of the people melted away. A thunderstorm began, people became exhausted. They were ashamed to admit their weakness, and they decided to take their anger out on Danko. They said that he could not lead them out of the forest. Danko called them weak, and people decided to kill him. He realized that without him they would die. “And so his heart flared up with the fire of desire to save them, to lead them onto an easy path, and then the rays of that mighty fire sparkled in his eyes. And when they saw this, they thought that he was angry” and began to surround Danko to make it easier to kill him. “And suddenly he tore his chest with his hands and tore his heart out of it and raised it high above his head.”
The heart brightly illuminated the forest with a torch of love for people, and they, amazed by Danko’s act, rushed after him, and suddenly the forest ended. People saw a radiant steppe in front of them. They were having fun, and Danko fell and died. “One cautious man, fearing something, stepped on Danko’s burning heart, and it crumbled into sparks and went out.” This is where these blue lights appear in the steppe before a thunderstorm.
The old woman, tired of the stories, fell asleep, and the sea kept making noise and noise...
Summary of the legend
After reading a brief summary of the legend about Danko, you can easily write an essay about the brave hero and the motives for his action.
The story begins with the old woman Izergil drawing attention to the lights flickering in the steppe before a thunderstorm. She remembers an old legend.
- The image and characteristics of the old woman Izergil in the story “Old Woman Izergil” by M. Gorky: description, life story
The cheerful free people lived in a camp in the steppe, surrounded on three sides by forests. One day a stronger tribe came and drove the camp into the forest.
The old forest was dark and damp, and toxic fumes emanated from the swamps. People began to yearn for sunlight, get sick and die. They had nowhere to go - they did not want to return to the steppe and become slaves. People were grieving, sitting near the fires, and dark thoughts entered their heads, which made them even more sad.
Then there was one young man, his name was Danko, who proposed to lead the people out of the forest. He said that everything comes to an end sooner or later, so if you only go forward, then the thickets will eventually end. But sitting idle and cultivating dark thoughts is not an option.
The young man was determined, so they listened to him and set off. But the further people moved, the thicker the darkness was and the more terrible it became. A thunderstorm also began, rain poured down, lightning flashed. People got tired and began to grumble: “You,” they said, “are an insignificant and harmful person for us! You led us and tired us, and for this you will die!
They decided to kill Danko. But the young man was not afraid and did not retreat. He thought that without him people would definitely be lost. His eyes sparkled, he tore open his chest with his hands and took out his heart, which shone like a flame. Danko's heart dispersed the darkness. Everyone went forward again, and after some time they came out of the forest.
Danko lights the road with his heart
Seeing the expanses of the steppe, Danko laughed, fell and died, but no one even noticed this, because everyone was happy about the bright sun, greenery and river. The heart was burning next to the hero’s body, and someone trampled on it with their foot, just in case. Only blue sparks remain... Before a thunderstorm, you can see them flying in the air.
Summary
Many years ago there lived “cheerful, strong and brave people.” On three sides, their settlement was surrounded by dense forests, and on the fourth, the endless steppe stretched. One day the steppe brought them trouble: warlike tribes appeared and drove these people deep into the forest. It was impossible to live here: the dense foliage of huge trees did not allow sunlight to pass through, and from the swamps “a stench rose, and from it people died one after another.”
It became clear that we urgently needed to leave the dangerous forest. People were faced with a difficult choice: to return to the steppe, where “strong and evil enemies” were waiting for them, or to move forward, making their way through dense forest thickets. But the trees in the forest were strong and powerful, as if they were made of the strongest stone. Their branches were so tightly intertwined that people were surrounded day and night by a “ring of strong darkness.” Getting out of this trap was not at all an easy task.
Still, these were brave people, and they could take risks and fight their enemies. However, they could not allow themselves to die, “because they had covenants, and if they died, then the covenants would disappear from their lives.” Trying to find a way out of this situation, people sat and thought about the right thing to do. “But nothing—neither work nor women—exhausts the bodies and souls of people as much as melancholy thoughts do.” Soon people weakened from sad thoughts. Fear arose in the tribe, and many were ready to offer their will as a gift to the invaders, and “no one, frightened by death, was afraid of slave life.”
But then the handsome young Danko took the floor, who believed that “one cannot turn a stone out of the way with one’s thoughts.” He invited his fellow tribesmen to go through the forest towards the sun, because “everything in the world has an end.” There was so much inner strength and “living fire” in his eyes that people believed him. They asked Danko to lead them through the forest and save them from certain death among the poisonous swamps. The road was very difficult, danger awaited the travelers at every step: “the swamp opened its greedy rotten mouth, swallowing people,” the branches of the trees tore their bodies into blood. People kept walking and walking, but there was no end to this terrible forest. On the contrary, it became even thicker and darker. Exhausted travelers increasingly began to grumble at Danko, who had led them to God knows where, to certain death.
One day a thunderstorm struck over the forest, and it became “so dark, as if all the nights had gathered in it at once.” Giant trees creaked under the gusts of wind, lightning flashed with blue flames, frightening people. It seemed that “something terrible, dark and cold” was looking at them from the darkness. The travelers completely lost heart. They, once strong and fearless, were ashamed to admit their own cowardice, and they began to blame Danko for all their troubles. People called their leader an insignificant, harmful person, because of whom they were forced to endure terrible hardships. Danko objected that only he alone had the courage to lead forward, and the tribe followed him of their own free will. He reproached the people for not being able to “save strength for a longer journey” and walking like a flock of sheep.
These words infuriated Danko’s fellow tribesmen even more, and calls were heard in the crowd to kill the fearless young man. Danko looked at the people and realized with bitterness “that they are like animals.” But he still loved them and sincerely wished them well. A great desire arose in him to save his people, to do a great deed for them. Without much thought, Danko “teared his chest with his hands and tore out his heart from it and raised it high above his head.” It glowed so brightly that it would have eclipsed the sun. Even the deepest darkness parted before this “torch of great love for people.”
Danko again led the tribe and confidently walked forward, lighting the way with his hot sparkling heart. Fascinated by the unprecedented spectacle, people resignedly went after him. Soon the forest parted, revealing to the travelers the endless fertile steppe and the fast-moving river. Taking a joyful look at the “free land,” Danko laughed proudly, fell and died. No one noticed his death, and only one cautious person, seeing his still flaming heart, crushed it with his foot, as if afraid of something...
Brief summary of the story “Old Woman Izergil” for a reader’s diary (M. Gorky)
The wise Litrekon loves Gorky’s early prose, because it is simple and laconic, but at the same time it is distinguished by its thoughtfulness and intriguing plot twists. The main events from these books are often a sure help in exams when it comes to making arguments. But “The Old Woman Izergil” has a very special charm, and it would be good to read this story not only in abbreviation.
(508 words) One evening in Bessarabia, after the grape harvest, the author (we do not know his name) was talking with an unusual elderly woman. Her name was Izergil. She was dry, with dull eyes, her voice did not sound, but “crunched.” Suddenly she points to a dark shadow passing by, saying that it is Larra himself. The author did not know why the old woman said this, but with curiosity asked to tell what happened to this shadow.
Somewhere far away lived a tribe. One of the feasts ended in tragedy: an eagle kidnapped one of the girls. And only after a while she returned back to the tribe, but not alone, but with a beautiful young man. The girl said that the eagle became her husband, and the man next to her was her son. The kidnapper himself grew old and threw himself onto the rocks. The elders did not accept their son and demanded that he leave. But he first approached one of the girls in the tribe and embraced her. But the girl’s father is one of the elders, and therefore, frightened by her father’s anger, she pushed the young man away from her. Then the descendant of the eagle hit her, the heroine died. The tribe began to think about how to punish the uninvited guest, but no punishment satisfied them. After much thought, one wise man suggested that the young man was his own punishment, and they released him, calling him Larra - “outcast.” So Larra lived separately: he either stole cattle or girls. No weapon penetrated his body. However, one day he came close to the tribe and made no attempt to hide. People understood that Larra wanted death, but did not give it to him. And so the proud young man unsuccessfully tried to kill himself, until his body turned into a wandering shadow. And this fate was his punishment.
Then the old woman Izergil decided to talk about love in her life, because she lived to such a respectable age only because she was loved and she loved. The woman spoke so well about her lovers that their images instantly appeared before the author. Here is her first love - a fisherman from the Prut. And here is Hutsul, who was hanged right in front of the old woman. Here is the despotic rich Turk, with whose son Izergil escaped from the harem, and here is the vile Pole monk, who paid for the insults. A brave gentleman, a Hungarian, a handsome nobleman - they had different fates, but they were all united by their love for one woman who forgot no one and nothing. Suddenly lights appeared in the distance, like sparks. Izergil said, supposedly these are sparks from the burning heart of a certain Danko, about whom there is also a legend.
Once upon a time, one proud steppe people was driven into the depths of the forest by a hostile tribe. The once cheerful, free people, accustomed to open spaces, were now surrounded only by darkness and impenetrable swamps. They began to die, but the brave young man Danko urged everyone to go through the forest in search of the steppe. The hero's determination revived hope for salvation in everyone else. But the long, exhausting journey slowly led the travelers to despair. Danko’s heart burned with the desire to save people, and he tore it out of his chest to illuminate the path to salvation for them. The forest was left behind, and the open steppe was ahead. The tribesmen rejoiced, but Danko was already dead, and his heart was blazing next to him. One person stepped on it, and it gave off its last sparks. From now on, the lights that the heroes saw are burning in the steppe. Everything around became calm and quiet, as if even nature was enchanted by the young man’s courage.
Author: Ekaterina Selezeneva
