V. Grossman, "Life and Fate": a brief summary and analysis of the characters' images

Vasily Semenovich Grossman is a writer whose most talented and truthful work was published only during the thaw period. As a military correspondent, he passed the entire Great Patriotic War and witnessed the Stalingrad battles. These are the events that Grossman reflected in his work. "Life and Fate" (a brief summary of it and become our theme) is a novel that has become the culmination of the depiction of Soviet reality.

About the novel

From 1950 to 1959 he wrote this novel-epic Vasily Semenovich Grossman. "Life and Fate" (a brief summary of the work will be presented below) completes the dilogy, which began with the product "For a Just Cause", completed in 1952. And if the first part was absolutely fit in the canons of socialist realism, then the second acquired a different tonality - it sounded clearly and distinctly the criticism of Stalinism.

Publication

In the USSR, the novel was published in 1988. This was due to the fact that the creation, which Grossman composed, was completely inconsistent with the party line. "Life and Fate" (the novel was originally received not only scary but horrible) was considered "anti-Soviet." After all the copies were confiscated by the KGB.

After the manuscript was withdrawn, Grossman wrote in a letter to Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev asking him to explain what his book was waiting for. Instead of answering the writer was invited to the Central Committee, where they announced that they would not print the book.

Only Semen Lipkin (Soviet poet) has preserved the only copy of the work that was exported abroad in the 70s and there, in Switzerland, was published in 1980.

Grossman, "Life and Fate": a summary

The old man Mikhail Mostovsky, a communist, was captured next to Stalingrad. He falls into the concentration camp of West Germany. Once among the countrymen, the man does not feel support: the Menshevik Chernetsov hates him, a dispute arises with Ikonnikov-Tolstoyan, Major Yershov is too much pressure on those around him.

In Stalingrad arrives Krymov. He is a political worker and must decide the dispute between the commissar and the commander of the infantry regiment. Upon arrival, it turns out that both wranglers died, and at night Krymov himself was forced to participate in the battle.

The action is transferred to Kazan. Here in the evacuation is the scientist Victor Shtrum with his family. His wife Lyudmila worried about her son from the first marriage - about Tol, who is now at war. She is also upset by the difficult nature of her daughter, Nadia. Mother Shtrum, a Jew, was in the ghetto, where it is almost impossible to survive.

After a while, a letter comes from the mother of the scientist, Anna Semyonovna. In it, she is horrified by the change of people she knew so long: many stopped communicating with her, quietly expelled from the room. And the next day there was to be a rally of extermination of the Jews, and she says goodbye to her son in a letter.

Grossman does not represent a very beautiful and heroic reality. "Life and destiny" (a summary, broken down in parts, in particular) conveys all the cruelty and horror of the war years, and not just those coming from the Germans.

Lyudmila learns that Tolya was wounded and is in the hospital. She urgently rides there, but is late - the young man dies.

Commissar of the tank corps is appointed former secretary of the Regional Committee of the Getman, who has lived his whole life in flattery, denunciations, falseness. These principles he now diligently endures in his frontal activity. With him is the commander of Novikov's corps, who in every possible way tries to reduce the number of victims. So, he postpones the attack for eight minutes, which the Hetmanov immediately reports.

Novikov falls in love with Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, Krymov's former wife. The girl responds to him in kind, but warns that she will leave if her husband is imprisoned.

It falls into the German captivity, Sofya Osipovna Levinton, a military surgeon. Together with other Jews, she is loaded into a freight car and sent to a concentration camp. On the way, she sees how little a person needs to turn into an unnamed cattle. Here she meets the boy David. The woman comforts the child to the last, but there is no salvation - death in the gas chambers lies ahead of them.

Stalingrad - Moscow

Vasily Grossman portrayed a number of complex and tragic destinies. "Life and Fate" (the short content of the work gives an opportunity to see this again) - a novel in which there is no vivacity of socialist realism and an obligatory happy ending. Therefore, characterizing the genre of this work, it is necessary to remove part of the "social", leaving only the word realism.

Krymov receives an order to go to Stalingrad. There he must put things in order in the camp of the Allies, whose leader, Grekov, leads anti-Stalinist conversations with the soldiers. If necessary, Krymov can also eliminate the Grekov command.

Krymov is absorbed in one idea - to convict the commander in the anti-Soviet. As a result, he goes to write a denunciation. But does not have time - the Greeks with their fighters are dying. However, the paper has time to do its black work: the commander is not awarded the posthumous title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The narrative returns to the description of the concentration camp, where Mostovsky is staying. They are trying to create an underground organization, but there is no unity between the prisoners, many do not trust each other. So, Commissioner Osipov suspects of Ershov's dishonest thoughts, a descendant of a de-kulak family, afraid that he can gain more power in the group. Against Ershov acts and Kotikov, a supporter of Stalinist methods. As a result, the decision is made to put Ershov's card in the box where the data of those selected for sending to Buchenwald lay. Mostovsky does not like this idea, but he agrees with the majority. At the same time, the unknown tells about the organization to the Germans, who immediately destroy all its participants.

Strum returns to Moscow together with the institute, where he works. Finishes and publishes work on nuclear physics, which immediately evokes interest and appreciation. As a result, she is nominated for the Stalin Prize. Meanwhile, attitudes toward Jews at the institute are deteriorating. Attempts Sturm to intercede for them lead to the fact that his position is very shaky.

At times, Shtrum sees Maria Sokolova. Gradually, he realizes that he loves a woman, and she responds in kind. But Maria Ivanovna is married, and her husband soon finds out about her feelings. Sokolov takes from his wife the promise not to meet with Shtum any more. At the same time, persecution begins on the physicist.

Arrest

Just before the Stalingrad offensive, Krymov was arrested and sent to Moscow. He is on the Lubyanka, where, through torture, they try to get him to admit that during the battle for Stalingrad he betrayed his Motherland. Krymov for a long time can not recover from such accusations.

He positively poses the problem of the Jewish question to Grossman. "Life and Fate" (a summary of the chapters) is an additional confirmation of this. Very vividly and colorfully describes the harassment of Struma. The institute newspaper publishes a devastating article, physics is persuaded to speak at the academic council and admit their mistakes. Shtrum refuses and does not come to the meeting. The family supports him and, understanding the political situation in the country, is preparing to be arrested. On the same day Marya Ivanovna calls Struma, she is proud of him and is very sad.

Physics is fired from work, but not arrested. With him, all relationships are terminated by former friends and acquaintances. He and his family are in isolation.

But Stalin is interested in the work of Shtrum. The scientist is immediately reinstated and given to him the laboratory for personal use.

Krymov lies after tortures in the office in Lubyanka, hears talk of the capture of Stalingrad. He sees Grekov coming towards him. The interrogation continues, but Krymov refuses to sign a confession. He is taken to the cell, where he finds a transfer from the wife of Eugenia who returned to him.

Winter is over, and in the spring forest there is a cry for the departed and the joy of a new life.

Theme and idea

A lot of philosophical problems were engulfed in his work by Grossman. "Life and destiny" is an essay in which issues of violence and freedom, military and peaceful life were raised. War is not just a confrontation between armies of two states, but a struggle of different worlds, different vital views. She exposed the most acute problems of the writer's day, revealed the main contradictions of the Soviet era.

The thread of the theme of fate and life is permeated with a red thread. At the same time, fate is perceived as a necessity, lack of freedom, pressure from the authorities, and life is like freedom, individuality, following one's own spiritual impulses.

Main conflict

Having studied the brief content of Grossman's novel Life and Fate, the reader understands that the main conflict of the work is the conflict of violence and freedom, the state and the individual. Particularly vividly, these contradictions are manifested in the reflections of the heroes about the consequences of Stalin's repression, collectivization, the fate of "special settlers".

The author realistically portrays folk suffering under the yoke of fascists and Soviet power, finding much in common: people are dying, morally degrading, persistent surrender, brave cowards, good ones are angry. Fear, from whom he came, equally adversely affects the people. It is no coincidence that constant comparison of Stalin and Hitler occurs in the text. Two leaders had one method of influence - terror.

The final of the novel remains open, without an answer there remains the question of what will prevail in man - freedom or slavish essence.

Krymov

A lot of characters placed in his novel Grossman ("Life and Fate", we recall, today we are discussing). But the main ones are few, among them the commissar and the Bolshevik of the Crimea. Throughout his life he served faithfully and truthfully for the cause of the revolution. In his understanding, "good" is what brings the state benefits. Duty to the Soviet Union is above all for him. Even in wartime, when people are dying around and one needs to think about saving himself and the Motherland, he comes to Stalingrad to follow Grekov, who is rumored to be abusing Stalin's regime.

Once in the custody of Lubyanka, Krymov looks at the life he has lived, realizes his mistakes. He is tormented with remorse for the denunciation of Grekov.

Shtrum

In this regard, the hero raises the problem of attitudes toward Jews during the war years Grossman. "Life and destiny", a summary, an analysis of the work and the life of the author help to understand how close this topic was to the writer. Shtrum is an outstanding physicist, whose discovery can help the state strengthen its power, but at the same time he almost falls into the Stalin camp because of his origin.

The image is interesting because Grossman gives the hero the choice: to betray himself without signing a loyal paper, or to remain true to one's own convictions, but again to put his life in danger. Shtrum acts wickedly, and this act costs him considerable pangs of conscience.

Hetmanov

We continue to disassemble the images of the heroes of the novel, which Grossman wrote (Life and Fate). Against the background of the two previous heroes stands Hetmanov. He does not face a choice, he decided for a long time that the main thing is to act expediently. At first glance, this is a very charming and intelligent character. He is completely sincere in his delusions and does not suspect that he has a "second bottom". A moment when he, worried about collective farm workers, understated his salary.

Conclusion

A very rare and interesting description of Stalin's time was presented to the reader by Grossman. "Life and Fate", the brief content of which we have considered, is a novel aimed at combating totalitarianism. And it does not matter whether he is embodied in the Nazi or Soviet regime.