A very brief retelling of the novel "Quiet Don".
The family of the Cossack Panteley Melekhov lived on the Tatar farm near the Don River. Pantelei was nicknamed “Turk” on the farm due to his origin. His father many years ago brought a captive Turkish woman into the house and started a family with her. At the beginning of the novel, Pantelei and his wife Vasilisa Ilyinichna have three adult children: Peter, Grigory and Dunyasha.
Peter and his wife Daria live under the same roof with their parents, brother and sister. Dunya is still young to get married, but Grisha is a groom in all his glory. But Grigory, to the horror of his parents, fell in love with Aksinya, the wife of his neighbor Stepan Astakhov. The young woman reciprocated the feelings of the younger Melekhov and a romance began.
To bring Grisha to reason, the elder Melekhovs decide to urgently marry him. The choice falls on Natalya Korshunova. Aksinya remains with her husband, who regularly beats her. Natasha loves Grigory, but he cannot forget Aksinya. The couple's life together does not work out and it falls apart. Natalya returns to her father's house, and Grisha returns to Aksinya.
Having learned that his beloved is expecting a child, the hero persuades her to leave her husband. The couple leaves the farm and is hired as servants at a nearby estate. There Grisha and Aksinya have a daughter. Natasha, meanwhile, tries to kill herself, after which her family turns away from her and the girl moves to live with the Melekhovs.
Gregory, Peter and Stepan are taken to the front. Their paths often cross. Stepan harbored a grudge against Grisha for taking his wife away. The Melekhovs receive news of Grigory's death, but Peter soon refutes this information - his younger brother was seriously wounded, but recovered and was even promoted. While the men are fighting, Aksinya loses her daughter.
The girl dies from a serious illness. The death of the child knocked Aksinya down and she rushes into the arms of the master’s “son” Evgeniy Lesnitsky. Grigory takes it hard to betray his beloved and takes harsh revenge on Lesnitsky - he shamefully flogs him with a whip. Then, with offended feelings, he returns to his father’s house and again meets with his legal wife Natasha.
But the fighting continues, Gregory fights and cannot forget his love for Aksinya. He is too brave and reckless on the battlefield, and quickly becomes a Knight of St. George. Natalya gives birth to twins - a girl and a boy. And Peter’s wife Daria goes to great lengths: she walks around and cheats on her husband while he is at war. She even meets with Aksinya’s husband, whom Peter wants to take revenge on, but Stepan Astakhov dies on the battlefield.
After the Tsar abdicated the throne, the country splits into two parts: the Whites and the Reds pull the Cossacks who survived the hostilities, each in their own direction. Pyotr Melekhov returns home, Grigory has joined the Reds, but doubts their rightness, horrified by the cruelty of the reprisals against the White Guards.
The Don ousted the Bolsheviks, the Cossacks appointed a new chieftain - Krasnov. But the Germans arrived and began to establish their own rules. Mishka Koshevoy finds out that Stepan Astakhov is alive. Stepan, returning to the farm, persuades Aksinya to live together. The Cossacks make a living by looting, Grigory does not approve of the atrocities and leaves the service without permission. Peter also returns home.
Power is changing again. The Don is being overrun by Reds. Mishka Kosheva rises to deputy red chieftain. Gregory, as a white officer, has to flee. The Cossacks go on strike and unite against the Bolsheviks. One of the resistance units is led by Peter. In the next battle he is killed by Mishka Koshevoy, the rest are cut down with sabers. Grisha takes brutal revenge for his older brother.
Tired of fighting, the Cossacks come home for sowing. Grigory goes on dates with Aksinya again. Pregnant Natalya, having learned about the betrayal, has a clandestine abortion and dies from the consequences. Grishka experiences her death painfully and blames himself. The wife of the deceased Peter drowns herself in the river after learning that she has syphilis. Grisha and Peter's sister Dunya marries Koshevoy. Grisha's mother dies. Natalya's children are warmed by Aksinya.
The sister's husband and brother's killer threaten Grishka with execution. The hero decides to run away with Aksinya. The children are left to Dunya. During the escape, Aksinya is shot and dies in Grisha's arms. The daughter of Natasha and Grisha dies of scarlet fever. At the end of the novel, after long wanderings, Gregory returns home to his son.
How does M. Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Don” end?
The novel “Quiet Don” can easily be called a “saga” or “epic” - it is quite large in volume, structurally consisting of four books and eight parts. The work was published in the magazine “Roman-Gazeta” from 1928 to 1940.
At the center of the story is the fate of the Don Cossacks and Cossack women in the period from the beginning of the First World War to the final establishment of Soviet power on the Don in the early 20s of the last century. The main character is Grigory Melekhov. This is a young Cossack, in whose veins there is not only Cossack, but also Turkish blood.
A strong feeling of love binds him and Aksinya, a married but childless Cossack woman. At first she resists his advances, but later gives in. In order to distract his son from the “malicious” influence of Aksinya, Grigory’s father marries the pretty, but unloved Natalya Korshunova. The couple gives birth to a son, Mishatka, and a daughter, Polyushka, but there is no increase in understanding and order in the family. Natalya even unsuccessfully tries to commit suicide with a scythe, but Grigory is not even seriously affected by this.
Soon the First World War begins and the Cossacks go to the front. Gregory fights with the Austrians and Hungarians, is wounded and is awarded the St. George Cross. The year 1917 comes. The Emperor of Russia abdicates the throne, and soon the October Revolution occurs and the Bolsheviks seize power in the country. After a peace treaty is signed with the Germans, the army is disbanded, and the Cossacks are sent to their native villages and villages.
Peaceful life on the Don does not last long - a civil war breaks out in the country. Grigory cannot decide on which side to continue the fight. He is impressed by the movement of the Reds, but at the same time, the main character cannot come to terms with their cruelty. He thinks about going over to the “independence” and fighting for the “free Don”. As a result, the main character joins the whites, the Don Army of the South of Russia. He fights fiercely against the Bolsheviks throughout the fighting. Gregory's brother Peter dies. This embitters Melekhov even more and he even stops taking captured Red Army soldiers. The novel clearly demonstrates the division of the country, the incredible confusion and so frequent cruelty of people to each other.
The ending of the work is tragic. The age-old way of life of the Cossacks is being destroyed. Relatives and friends find themselves on opposite sides of warring sides and often fight against each other. The Whites are defeated, after which Gregory joins the Red Army and fights against the Poles. His father and mother die one after another. The main character finally decides to return to his native land.
There he learns that the murderer of his brother Mishka Kosheva is wooing his sister Dunyasha, and Aksinya, after the death of her mother, took her son and daughter Grigory to her. It is impossible to establish a calm and peaceful life, and then food appropriation begins. All this, and also a fierce resentment towards many farmers, does not allow the main thing to sit quietly in place. Grigory joins a gang, and for some time fights with food detachments on the Don. One fine day he decides to give up everything and move away with Aksinya in order to start life from scratch. But he fails to do this too. The fugitives are overtaken by a food detachment, and Aksinya dies. Grigory, crushed by grief, returns to his native farm and gets rid of all his weapons. To add insult to injury, his daughter soon dies.
Main characters and their characteristics:
- Grigory Melekhov is the youngest son in the family of Panteley Melekhov. In the image of this hero, the author embodied all the power of the spirit of the Don Cossacks at the beginning of the 20th century: contradiction, independence, love of freedom, passion, love for their native land.
- Pyotr Melekhov is the eldest son of the Melekhovs (6 years difference from Grisha). His character is not at all like Grishka's. A man of “family”, gravitating towards an atmosphere of peace and friendship with everything that surrounds him.
- Panteley Melekhov is the father of the main character of the novel. A prosperous and respected man on the farm.
- Stepan Astakhov is the Melekhovs’ neighbor. Legal husband of Aksinya, Gregory's beloved. A cruel and vindictive person.
- Aksinya Astakhova is one of the main characters in the novel. Stepan's wife, Gregory's beloved. In her youth she was raped by her father and married to someone she did not love. Aksinya fell in love with Gregory, gave birth to his daughter and died at the end of the novel when she tried to hide with her beloved.
- Natalya Korshunova is Grigory’s unhappy wife, forced to share him with Aksinya until her death. Grisha gave birth to twins. She died after a failed abortion.
- Mitka Korshunov is the older brother of Natalya, Grisha’s wife.
- Vasilisa Ilyinichna Melekhova is the mother of Peter, Gregory and Dunya.
- Dunya Melekhova is the younger sister of the main character Grisha. She married the murderer of her brother Peter.
- Daria Melekhova is Peter's unfaithful wife. She committed suicide.
- Miron Korshunov is a wealthy Cossack, Natalya’s father.
- Nikolai Listnitsky is the owner of the Yagodnoye estate, where Grisha and Aksinya lived and worked.
- Evgeny Listnitsky is the son of Nikolai. He dragged himself after Aksinya and got her when she lost her daughter. Became the cause of a long quarrel between Grisha and Aksinya.
- Mikhail Koshevoy is a friend and peer of Grigory Melekhov, who in the development of the plot became his worst enemy.
A summary of the novel “Quiet Don” in detail in parts.
The author divided the novel “Quiet Don” into eight parts, each of which is divided into chapters.
Part I (22 chapters).
After the war with the Turks, Prokofy Melekhov brings to his farm a captive Turkish woman who does not settle down among the Cossack families, but before her death manages to give birth to a son, Pantelei.
Author: Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov
Panteley Melekhov becomes a noble and respected Cossack, a constable. His wife brings him three children: the eldest Peter, the middle Gregory and the youngest daughter Dunya.
Peter lives under his parents’ roof with his wife Daria and baby son, Dunya is still a girl. Grisha particularly “distinguished himself” - he started an affair with his married neighbor Aksinya Astakhova. A young woman is seriously in love with a Cossack.
She has a difficult fate: she was raped by her father, and a year later the poor thing was married to the stern and cruel Pyotr Astakhov, who did not hesitate to assault his young wife.
Grisha's parents are concerned about their son's indecent relationship. They decide to marry him. Natalya Korshunova becomes the bride. Grigory agrees with his father’s will, but he is not interested in his betrothed.
Part II (Chapter 21).
The first chapters are devoted to the history of the Mokhov family. The author also pays a lot of attention to the observation of a visitor to the farm - the mechanic Shtokman.
At the same time, the author talks about the complex family relationships of Natasha and Grisha. It is already clear even to the parents that the couple has no future. Grigory decides to leave home and take a job as a worker for General Listnitsky, who promises to place Aksinya next to him.
The couple gets back together. Stepan harbors a strong grudge against Grisha and threatens to kill him. Natalya returns to her parents, unable to bear the longing for her husband, writes him a letter, but he briefly and dryly answers her that he will not return. In desperation, the girl cuts herself with a sickle, but they nurse her back to health.
Briefly about the history of the creation of the novel "Quiet Don".
Sholokhov began working on the novel “Quiet Don” in the 20s of the 20th century. Initially, he planned a book about the life of the Cossacks, their participation in the revolution. But having started work on the manuscript, the writer decided to reveal in more detail and detail all the prerequisites for the behavior of the Don Cossacks during the difficult period for the country from 1912 to 1922.
The writer settles in the village of Veshenskaya, explores the archives, and immerses himself in Cossack folklore. The novel contains characters who actually existed in history. The work on the book was completely completed in 1932.
Sholokhov had to fight a lot for its content to be published, but despite the attacks of criticism and censorship, the novel was published and was highly appreciated by millions of readers.
In 1941, Mikhail Sholokhov received the Stalin Prize for his creation, and in 1965 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “For the artistic strength and integrity of the epic about the Don Cossacks at a turning point for Russia.” "Quiet Flows the Don" was filmed in 1930, 1958, 2006 and 2015.
Episode of the death of the Jack (analysis of part 5 of chapter 31)
On the pages of Sholokhov’s epic novel “Quiet Don” we see the most tragic conflicts, the most intricate contradictions, the most unprecedented passions and difficulties, from which sometimes the only way out is death, self-destruction. Let us consider and analyze the episode of the death of Valet in the novel “Quiet Don”. Valet is a worker from Sergei Platonovich’s mill. Then, as the novel progresses, he appears before us as a soldier and serves in the 318th Chernoyarsk Regiment. Hard times reigned: trenches, hostilities, uprisings, the unpredictability of a new day. The novel ends with an episode in which Valet is destined to die, precisely “destined”, because his comrade Mikhail Koshevoy remains alive and is entitled to a less severe punishment. If we consider this episode in detail, then nothing foreshadowed trouble: “The fog foamed in the steppe, swirled in the gullies, nicked in the depressions, licked the spurs of the Yarov. The mounds covered with it brightened. Quails squawked in the young grass. Yes, a month floated in the heavenly heights, like a fully mature water lily flower in a pond overgrown with sedge and bream. They walked until dawn. Stozhary has already faded. The dew has fallen. The village of Nizhne-Yablonovsky was approaching.” This is exactly how Sholokhov describes the state of nature. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, Cossacks appear and attack Koshevoy and Valet. Here the whole course of events is already turning against them: “the grass is low, the month is bright... We got caught...”. A shot also sounds randomly and inexplicably: “A hundred fathoms moved silently. Then a shot..." Everything happens as if according to a clearly thought out scheme by someone, but at the same moment it is impossible to guess what will happen next. Koshevoy remains alive, although it is clear from everything that he would rather accept death than endure humiliation and deprivation, and the Cossacks utter the following phrase: “They killed a man, but they pitied you.” It's like they did you a favor. This statement greatly hurt Mishka’s pride, but he did not lose heart. As for the shot and abandoned Valet, he was “cleaned up two days later” by two Yablonovsky Cossacks. They dug a shallow grave because the ground was hard and the work was slow. However, according to the same Cossacks, the burial place was fertile. This is what they say: “Yes... the guy will have to lie in good soil, at a height... There are winds here, dryness, sun... It won’t deteriorate soon.” The author is laconic in this description, his grief for the hero is felt. But the later description is quite vivid: “After half a month, the tiny mound was overgrown with plantain and young wormwood, wild oats began to sprout on it, the side of the colza turned yellow in a lush color, sweet clover hung like shag tassels, there was a smell of thyme, milkweed and copperhead.” Sholokhov also notes that an old man erected a chapel on this site: “In the steppe, a chapel remained to grieve the eyes of passers-by with an eternally sad look, to awaken inarticulate melancholy in their hearts.” Despite all the tragedy of the plot, the author finally turns the reader’s hopes to the best, brightest and kindest: “And a little later, right next to the chapel, under a hummock, under a shaggy cover of old wormwood, a female little bustard laid nine smoky blue spotted eggs and sat on them, warming them with the warmth of his body, protecting them with a glossy feathered wing.” This is the content of the final episode of the novel. It is also necessary to describe in more detail the moment of death, no matter how tragic it was: “The jack, confusing his legs, walked sideways, sideways, like a horse frightened of its shadow. And he didn’t fall, but somehow lay down, awkwardly, with his face in a gray wormwood bush.” If we take into account the episodes in the novel that describe the death of other heroes, and there are many of them throughout the work, then Knave accepted his fate proudly and did not for a moment regret that he had to endure all the hardships in order to die at that very moment. The composition of the novel is consistent. Speaking about Jack, the author more than once mentions his figure in the novel, and the description of the hero runs like a plot line throughout the entire work. His personality is an important component, although not the main one; it is interesting to observe the fate of the hero. The main idea of the episode is likely to be a look at the key characters: Knave and Koshevoy, and how each of them accepted the punishment that was destined for them. The episode is the final one and serves as a kind of culmination of the novel. The climax reveals the heroic character of a person for whom honor is the highest value. This episode is also a denouement that characterizes the inexhaustible fortitude of the Russian Soviet man, despite all the tragic trials he endured. So, what is the significance of the death of the Knave? He was one of the revolutionaries, and in the novel Valet is killed by the rebel Cossacks near Karginskaya. That is, there is a kind of conflict here: fighting on the side of the revolution, they raised their hands against the Cossacks, fought against their own, for which they paid, each in their own way. The author of the novel was able to reliably and thoroughly understand the entire tragic history of the Verkhnedon uprising, full of contradictions, to which, ultimately, the novel is dedicated.
