Solzhenitsyn: a short summary of "What a pity," the analysis of the work

AI Solzhenitsyn is a talented writer who created both voluminous novels and short stories. Among the latter is the work "What a pity", which has a strong impression on the reader.

"What a pity": a summary

One day Anna Modestovna came to an institution where she needed to get a certificate, but the staff went to dinner. It's a shame, of course, but the woman decided to wait: after fifteen minutes they had to return to work. There was no desire to stand on the stairs, and Anna Modestovna went out into the street. A drizzle dripped.

Newspaper article

Anna walked along the boulevard and suddenly noticed a newspaper stand, standing on columns of light blue. Behind the glass there was a "Trud", both its inner and outer sides hung. The woman noticed a large headline: "The New Life of the Chu Valley." Anna Modestovna wiped the glass with her glove and began to read what she had written. By the way, the story "What a pity" Solzhenitsyn created, thinking about a real woman.

The content of the article

The author of the article was clearly a talented journalist. He wrote about hydraulic engineering works, irrigation canals and water dumping, lavishly spicing it all up in terms. He talked about how beautiful the desert, which now fructifies, and admired the abundance of harvested crops.

And in conclusion he wrote that the whole main project was completed by painstaking calculations four decades ago, back in 1912, endowed with the hydrograpist Modest Aleksandrovich, who worked hard despite the unfavorable and dangerous time in which he lived. It was about his dedication and hard work that Solzhenitsyn wanted to tell. The summary "What a pity" does not convey the whole charm of the work.

Anna leaned over to examine more closely the text in the corner, again rubbed the glass and, barely restraining emotions, continued to read. The journalist wrote that under the tsarist regime, which never took into account the interests of people, the ideas of the hydrograph could not be realized. What a pity! It's unfortunate that such a talented person died without waiting for his ideas to be realized.

An attempt to steal a newspaper, a meeting with a policeman

Suddenly, Anna sensed that the whole of it seemed to be full of fear, as she already knew what her next action would be: she would steal the newspaper! As soon as she tore it off, she heard behind the back a distinct and loud whistle of a policeman. The woman did not start running away: it was already late, and it would look somehow stupid. Apparently, this opinion was shared by Solzhenitsyn himself. The summary "What a pity" allows you to get acquainted with the plot of the famous story.

The outcome of the situation

In a low voice, the guard asked if Anna would pay a fine of twenty-five rubles. The woman could only reply that she was very sorry, and she was ready to hang the publication back, if the militiaman would allow. She looked at her accuser and waited for punishment. The policeman asked why she did not like this printed edition. Anna replied that it says about her father. Now the guardian of the order understood her and suggested that, probably, he was criticized. Will it help in this case, one torn newspaper? The woman hurried to explain that her father was praised. The policeman asked why she did not want to buy a newspaper in the store. Anna explained that this is an old edition, and it is now impossible to find it anywhere. The policeman regretted the woman and allowed her to pick up the newspaper until no one noticed. Anna thanked him warmly and hurried off to leave. It is good that such a favorable outcome of the situation was envisaged by Solzhenitsyn. A brief summary of "What a pity", however, can be called quite grim, like the story itself.

The woman paced swiftly, forgetting about the purpose for which she came to this boulevard, clutching the unevenly folded edition to her chest. Rather, to my mother! We urgently need to read the article together! Soon the pope will be determined permanent residence, and after that, my mother will go there, taking with him a newspaper.

The tragic ending

The journalist did not know that this great man is still alive. He succeeded in awaiting the implementation of his brilliant ideas, since it was decided to replace the death penalty by imprisonment, and he spent twenty years in penal servitude and in prisons. What a tragic and stunning finale Solzhenitsyn wrote! The summary of "What a pity", however, produces a weaker impression than the full story.

Analysis of the story

The work "What a pity", created in 1965, differs markedly from Solzhenitsyn's other stories, despite the fact that it also narrates about human destiny, crippled by a totalitarian society. The plot unfolds not in prison and not in the camp. There are no horrific pictures describing the work of convicts (as, for example, in the author's novels "One Day of Ivan Denisovich" and "The Gulag Archipelago"). There are no moments that depict the suffering and torment of prisoners. But after reading the work the reader is still for a long time under the impression. Human destiny in a totalitarian society is gloomy and joyless, both in prison and in freedom. By the way, really free people in such a state can not be. This is the story of "What a pity". Solzhenitsyn's analysis would be approved, because it is available to explain the meaning of the work.

It is interesting that the writer does not tell us anything about Anna's age and appearance. This indicates that he wanted to depict in her person the collective image of a citizen living in the period of a kind of terror carried out by Stalin. The author managed to draw a generalized portrait of an educated man who dragged an unhappy existence in those terrible years.