Sholokhov "The Foal" - essay "Essays based on the work "The Foal" (Sholokhov M.A.)"
Thus, in the bitter, mortal hour of the civil war, many writers of the 20th century raised the problem of violence and humanism in their works. This can be seen especially clearly in I. Babel’s “Cavalry Army”, and in M. Sholokhov’s “Don Stories”.
The stories of the heroes in these stories show the incompatibility of the terrible destructive power of war and violence with human happiness, human nature itself.
The twentieth century is fraught with such cataclysms that disrupted the music of people's life.
In the deadly battle of the civil war, people living in the same country, in the same village, often related by blood, collided in an extremely acute class struggle. The theme of violence in a fratricidal war, where a brother killed his brother, a son killed his father, only because their views differed in ideological beliefs, became more and more clear. Relatives who had lived side by side for decades, sharing the last piece of bread with each other, brutally killed each other, destroying the way of life that had developed over centuries.
The Civil War forced everyone to choose which side you were on; it left no other choice.
The theme of violence between relatives and blood is especially acute in I. Babel’s “Cavalry” in the short story “Letter”. In this work, the son writes a letter to his mother, where he describes his life in the Red Army, how he is both hungry and cold, “every day I go to rest without eating and without any clothes, so it’s very cold.” Further, Vasily Kurdyukov describes to his mother about his father, how he killed their son Fyodor Timofeevich, not understanding what grief a woman could experience when reading about how “the father began to cut Fedya, saying - skin, red dog, son of a bitch.” Then the guy describes how, now his other brother Senka, “they began to whip dad” and kill him.
This is where the tragedy of the cruel, merciless war, relatives and closest people destroyed each other “And I think that if I get caught by yours, then there will be no mercy for me. And now, daddy, we will finish you...”
Along with the theme of violence, writers of the 20th century also showed romantic plots in their works, where they glorified folk (universal) values. We can trace this from M. Sholokhov’s stories “The Foal” in “Don Stories”. In this work, a small foal, just born, awakens in people, petrified by mortal battles, human qualities: “the heart of stone turns into a washcloth...”, “I look at him, and my hand trembles... I can’t chop.”
Peaceful labor, procreation, the unity of man with nature - these are Sholokhov’s ideals, according to which, like a tuning fork, history should be tuned. Any deviation from this centuries-old life, from the people's experience, threatens with unpredictable consequences and can lead to a tragedy of the people, a tragedy of man.
War is one of the most terrible events that can happen in people's lives. It has enormous destructive power, making you forget about humanity and morality. But man differs from animals in that his soul by nature is “Christian” (B. Augustine’s definition). A constant reminder of this is Sholokhov’s story “The Foal,” written in 1926. The writer focuses on the military confrontation between the Reds and the Whites, during which the greatest mystery of the world takes place - the birth of a new creature.
Mikhail Sholokhov, “Foal”: summary of the story
This small work shows the complex relationship between the two opposite sides of life on the Don: war with deadly shots and inexplicable cruelty, and peace with the ability to sympathize. The different parts of the story are also contrasting. At the beginning, the reader witnesses how a new life is born, and in the end - how a man simply dies from a bullet that overtook him.
Emergence of a foal
The story begins with a description of a summer day. A completely everyday picture with flies buzzing near a dung heap, bees ringing in the front garden and a crowing rooster is complemented by a hail of buckshot from explosions, machine-gun bursts heard in the distance and the groan of a wounded man lying in the hut. Under such conditions, the red mare gave birth to a foal.
The first feeling he experienced was horror. And only after the mother licked him, and he buried himself in her warm udder, did the feeling of fullness of life come. His very appearance seemed out of place - Mikhail Sholokhov leads the reader to this idea. The foal is associated with joy and happiness, and there is only blood and suffering around.
Owner's confusion
Trofim came out of the hut and looked at his horse. She was thin and tired, but her eyes radiated proud joy, and her upper lip seemed to be smiling. Next to her, looking like a toy horse, a foal swayed on thin legs. The man faced a difficult choice: what to do? Kill - the answer suggested itself... After all, he has no place in war - he will interfere in battle.
Fate is sealed
Soon Trofim, as if making excuses, was confusingly telling the commander how strangely his mare had been acting lately. The squadron commander was adamant: “Shoot.” So categorically, however, as it should be in war, a decision is made about the fate of a newly born creature, notes Mikhail Sholokhov.
The foal was supposed to survive only until dawn, because early in the morning Trofim headed to the stable with a rifle. On the way, he greeted a squadron soldier sitting peacefully on the porch - he was trying to weave a ladle for dumplings. To the commander’s question: “Are you going to liquidate the foal?” did not answer anything and, waving his hand, walked on.
A minute or two - but the shot never came. Soon Trofim appeared from around the corner of the stable. He was embarrassed, writes Sholokhov. The foal - the summary of the conversation that followed between the squadron and Trofim boiled down to the fact that the rifle was faulty - survived. “When the war is over, there’s still time to plow on it,” the commander reasoned.
If you look at him, “a heart of stone turns into a washcloth”
About a month has passed. Somehow, during the battle, Trofim still could not force his mare to go forward. She was chomping at the bit, spinning in place and still waiting for the frolicking foal. At some point, the embittered man jumped off his horse, raised his rifle and fired a whole clip at the raging imp. However, they all flew past: either he missed, or his hand trembled. “He foolishly kicked his legs,” made another circle and stopped nearby - this is how the foal behaves spontaneously at this time, as Sholokhov notes.
Crossing
Soon the Cossacks took up the most convenient positions on the river and began shelling. The detachment had to swim across the Don.
Trofim entrusted his mare to the platoon commander, and he himself transported the saddles in the boat. When the detachment, following the squadron, entered the water, he began to look for his redhead with his eyes. Not far from the mother, a weakened foal swam with difficulty - this becomes clear from the description given by Sholokhov. A summary of what happened next is this. Trofim heard a pitiful neigh. He shot first - “I’ll kill!” - and then, forgetting about the danger, went to the rescue. At this time, a Cossack officer, watching from the right bank, ordered not to shoot. There was silence for some time.
And a little later, already on the left bank, a tragedy occurred. The mare that had emerged from the water was licking her calf, and the tired Trofim rose to his feet and managed to take only two steps. He suddenly felt it in his chest and fell not far from the foal he had saved. On the opposite side, the officer indifferently threw away the still smoking cartridge case.
Universal significance of the work
An analysis of Sholokhov’s story “The Foal” leads to extremely important conclusions. This work with a warm title shows how, in conditions of war, a person forgets about important moral commandments. His soul becomes coarser and his heart becomes stone. And suddenly at such a moment a tiny, defenseless creature appears, which awakens thoughts about home, about goodness, about love, about the joy of a peaceful, calm life. This happened with Trofim, and with the squadron commander, and with the White Guard officer, who, albeit not for long, still resisted the evil they encountered in the war.
However, the single shot in the finale is symbolic. He took away the future of someone who had just given it to another. This proves that such reconciliation is imaginary, since none of the warring parties will ever agree to take the first step towards ending the massacre. And Trofim’s death is part of a universal tragedy: returning to the Christian commandments is much more difficult than forgetting them.
Sholokhov "The Foal" - essay "Essays based on the work "The Foal" (Sholokhov M.A.)"
Thus, in the bitter, mortal hour of the civil war, many writers of the 20th century raised the problem of violence and humanism in their works. This can be seen especially clearly in I. Babel’s “Cavalry Army”, and in M. Sholokhov’s “Don Stories”.
The stories of the heroes in these stories show the incompatibility of the terrible destructive power of war and violence with human happiness, human nature itself.
The twentieth century is fraught with such cataclysms that disrupted the music of people's life.
In the deadly battle of the civil war, people living in the same country, in the same village, often related by blood, collided in an extremely acute class struggle. The theme of violence in a fratricidal war, where a brother killed his brother, a son killed his father, only because their views differed in ideological beliefs, became more and more clear. Relatives who had lived side by side for decades, sharing the last piece of bread with each other, brutally killed each other, destroying the way of life that had developed over centuries.
The Civil War forced everyone to choose which side you were on; it left no other choice.
The theme of violence between relatives and blood is especially acute in I. Babel’s “Cavalry” in the short story “Letter”. In this work, the son writes a letter to his mother, where he describes his life in the Red Army, how he is both hungry and cold, “every day I go to rest without eating and without any clothes, so it’s very cold.” Further, Vasily Kurdyukov describes to his mother about his father, how he killed their son Fyodor Timofeevich, not understanding what grief a woman could experience when reading about how “the father began to cut Fedya, saying - skin, red dog, son of a bitch.” Then the guy describes how, now his other brother Senka, “they began to whip dad” and kill him.
This is where the tragedy of the cruel, merciless war, relatives and closest people destroyed each other “And I think that if I get caught by yours, then there will be no mercy for me. And now, daddy, we will finish you...”
Along with the theme of violence, writers of the 20th century also showed romantic plots in their works, where they glorified folk (universal) values. We can trace this from M. Sholokhov’s stories “The Foal” in “Don Stories”. In this work, a small foal, just born, awakens in people, petrified by mortal battles, human qualities: “the heart of stone turns into a washcloth...”, “I look at him, and my hand trembles... I can’t chop.”
Peaceful labor, procreation, the unity of man with nature - these are Sholokhov’s ideals, according to which, like a tuning fork, history should be tuned. Any deviation from this centuries-old life, from the people's experience, threatens with unpredictable consequences and can lead to a tragedy of the people, a tragedy of man.
Sholokhov "The Foal" - essay "Essays based on the work "The Foal" (Sholokhov M. A.)"
Thus, in the bitter, mortal hour of the civil war, many writers of the 20th century raised the problem of violence and humanism in their works. This can be seen especially clearly in I. Babel’s “Cavalry Army”, and in M. Sholokhov’s “Don Stories”.
The stories of the heroes in these stories show the incompatibility of the terrible destructive power of war and violence with human happiness, human nature itself.
The twentieth century is fraught with such cataclysms that disrupted the music of people's life.
In the deadly battle of the civil war, people living in the same country, in the same village, often related by blood, collided in an extremely acute class struggle. The theme of violence in a fratricidal war, where a brother killed his brother, a son killed his father, only because their views differed in ideological beliefs, became more and more clear. Relatives who had lived side by side for decades, sharing the last piece of bread with each other, brutally killed each other, destroying the way of life that had developed over centuries.
The Civil War forced everyone to choose which side you were on; it left no other choice.
The theme of violence between relatives and blood is especially acute in I. Babel’s “Cavalry” in the short story “Letter”. In this work, the son writes a letter to his mother, where he describes his life in the Red Army, how he is both hungry and cold, “every day I go to rest without eating and without any clothes, so it’s very cold.” Further, Vasily Kurdyukov describes to his mother about his father, how he killed their son Fyodor Timofeevich, not understanding what grief a woman could experience when reading about how “the father began to cut Fedya, saying - skin, red dog, son of a bitch.” Then the guy describes how, now his other brother Senka, “they began to whip dad” and kill him.
This is where the tragedy of the cruel, merciless war, relatives, the closest people destroyed each other “And I think that if I get caught by yours, then there will be no mercy for me. And now, dad, we will finish you off...”
Along with the theme of violence, writers of the 20th century also showed romantic plots in their works, where they glorified folk (universal) values. We can trace this from the stories of M. Sholokhov “The Foal” in “Don Stories”. In this work, a small foal, just born, awakens human qualities in people, petrified by mortal battles: “the heart of stone turns into a washcloth...”, “I look at him, and my hand trembles... I can’t chop.”
Peaceful labor, procreation, the unity of man with nature - these are Sholokhov’s ideals, according to which, like a tuning fork, history should be tuned. Any deviation from this centuries-old life, from the people's experience, threatens with unpredictable consequences and can lead to a tragedy of the people, a tragedy of man.
The work begins with the civil war going on. The shelling began, and it was at this time that horse breeder Trofim’s mare calved. As soon as it was born, the cub began to suck milk and at that very time the horse breeder came in. The man lit a cigar and began to think to the servants that he should be killed, but he could not do it. The mare turned to him, depicting some semblance of a smile. He felt sorry for the cub. Having turned to Commissioner Trofim, reporting that the mare had a foal, the authorities ordered him to be killed, since the mare would no longer obey the rider during the attack, but would try to protect her child. But Trofim could not do this, and the commissioner allowed the foal to live for now.
Just a month later, the battle with the Cossacks began, and as everyone expected, the mare stopped obeying the rider, trying to protect her calf. Trofim, seeing such a picture, shot at the foal, but by some miracle he escaped and lived.
After this incident, everyone understood that the foal needed to be shot, but Trofim could not fulfill the commissioner’s order. The moment came when the regiment needed to cross the Don, but this had to be done as quietly as possible, since the enemy was very close. This time Nechepurenko was crossing on the groom’s mare, the foal slowly wandering alongside. Gradually the depth increased and the foal had already begun to sink, and the mother mare reached towards the calf, throwing off the rider. Trofim, seeing this, shot, trying to scare her away. Then, seeing that the foal was drowning, while emitting a plaintive moan that sounded like a child’s, Trofim felt incredibly sorry, and he rushed into the water to save the foal. The groom pulled the cub ashore. And when the danger seemed to have passed, a stray bullet hit Trofim and he died.
This work shows the groom’s humane attitude towards his pets.
Picture or drawing of a foal
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