A fifth-grader boy is the protagonist of the work of the Soviet writer V. Rasputin "French Lessons". He is eleven years old, he has just entered the fifth grade and studies in the district center. This is a very bright child, whom everyone in his native village calls "brainy", as he is the only one who loves to study and studies well. The events of the story take place in 1948, when there was a post-war famine in the yard. The boy's mother could hardly feed three children, the eldest of whom was he. When she noticed in him the ability and desire to study, she decided after elementary school to send him to the regional center to her friend.

There he studied no less diligently and all subjects were given to him, except for French, the pronunciation of which he could not master in any way. In the city, the boy was often malnourished and completely emaciated. After all, it was impossible there, how to catch fish in the village, dig up edible roots. And the products that his mother sent him partially disappeared somewhere. Apparently, the hostess, my mother's friend, was stealing for her three children or one of the children themselves. In order to somehow earn a piece of bread or a glass of milk, he had to play for money with older boys. The head of the company was a seventh grader Vadik, who liked to cheat. When the boy tried to convict him, he received cuffs.

At school, the French teacher Lidia Mikhailovna immediately noticed this. When she learned that he was playing to feed himself, she decided to help him. She invited me to visit her for additional classes to feed her dinner, sent him a parcel supposedly from her mother, but the boy guessed and refused everything. In the end, she decided to play for money with him herself, playing along with him in order to somehow help. But the director caught them and sent the teacher home to the Kuban. From there, she sent the boy another package of food.

The writing

History of creation

“I am sure that what makes a person a writer is his childhood, the ability at an early age to see and feel everything that then gives him the right to take up a pen. Education, books, life experience educate and strengthen this gift in the future, but it should be born in childhood,” wrote Valentin Grigorievich Rasputin in 1974 in the Irkutsk newspaper “Soviet Youth”. In 1973, one of Rasputin's best stories "French Lessons" was published. The writer himself singles it out among his works: “I didn’t have to invent anything there. Everything happened to me. I didn't have to go far for the prototype. I needed to return to people the good that they once did for me.

Rasputin's story "French Lessons" is dedicated to Anastasia Prokopievna Kopylova, the mother of his friend, the famous playwright Alexander Vampilov, who worked at school all her life. The story was based on the memory of a child's life, it, according to the writer, "was one of those that warm even with a slight touch to them."

The story is autobiographical. Lidia Mikhailovna is named in the work by her own name (her last name is Molokova). In 1997, the writer, in an interview with a correspondent for the Literature at School magazine, spoke about meetings with her: “Recently she was visiting me, and we long and desperately remembered our school, and the Angarsk village of Ust-Uda almost half a century ago, and much of that difficult and happy time."

Genus, genre, creative method

The work "French Lessons" is written in the genre of the story. The heyday of the Russian Soviet short story falls on the twenties (Babel, Ivanov, Zoshchenko) and then the sixties and seventies (Kazakov, Shukshin, etc.). More quickly than other prose genres, the story reacts to changes in social life, as it is written faster.

The story can be considered the oldest and the first of the literary genres. A brief retelling of an event - an incident on a hunt, a duel with an enemy, and the like - is already an oral story. Unlike other kinds and forms of art, conditional in its essence, the story is inherent in humanity, having arisen simultaneously with speech and being not only the transmission of information, but also a means of social memory. The story is the original form of the literary organization of language. A story is considered to be a completed prose work of up to forty-five pages. This is an approximate value - two author's sheets. Such a thing is read "in one breath."

Rasputin's story "French Lessons" is a realistic work written in the first person. It can be fully considered an autobiographical story.

Subject

“It’s strange: why do we, just like before our parents, every time feel guilty before our teachers? And not for what happened at school, no, but for what happened to us later. So the writer begins his story "French Lessons". Thus, he defines the main themes of the work: the relationship between the teacher and the student, the image of life illuminated by spiritual and moral meaning, the formation of the hero, the acquisition of spiritual experience by him in communication with Lidia Mikhailovna. French lessons, communication with Lydia Mikhailovna became life lessons for the hero, education of feelings.

Playing for money a teacher with her student, from the point of view of pedagogy, is an immoral act. But what is behind this action? - asks the writer. Seeing that the schoolboy (during the hungry post-war years) is malnourished, the French teacher, under the guise of additional classes, invites him to her home and tries to feed him. She sends him packages, as if from her mother. But the boy refuses. The teacher offers to play for money and, of course, "loses" so that the boy can buy milk for these pennies. And she is happy that she succeeds in this deception.

The idea of ​​the story lies in the words of Rasputin: “The reader learns from books not about life, but about feelings. Literature, in my opinion, is primarily the education of feelings. And above all, kindness, purity, nobility. These words are directly related to the story "French Lessons".

Main heroes

The main characters of the story are an eleven-year-old boy and French teacher Lidia Mikhailovna.

Lidia Mikhailovna was no more than twenty-five years old and "there was no cruelty in her face." She treated the boy with understanding and sympathy, appreciated his determination. She saw remarkable learning abilities in her student and is ready to help them develop in any way. Lidia Mikhailovna is endowed with an extraordinary ability for compassion and kindness, for which she suffered, having lost her job.

The boy impresses with his determination, desire to learn and go out into the world under any circumstances. The story about the boy can be presented in the form of a quotation plan:

1. "In order to study further ... and I had to equip myself in the district center."
2. “I studied well here ... in all subjects, except French, I kept fives.”
3. “I felt so bad, so bitter and disgusted! - worse than any disease.
4. "Having received it (ruble), ... I bought a jar of milk at the market."
5. "They took turns beating me ... that day there was no person more unfortunate than me."
6. "I was frightened and lost ... she seemed to me an extraordinary person, not like everyone else."

Plot and composition

“I went to the fifth grade in forty-eight. It would be more correct to say, I went: in our village there was only an elementary school, therefore, in order to study further, I had to equip myself from a house fifty kilometers away to the district center. For the first time, an eleven-year-old boy, by the will of circumstances, is cut off from his family, torn from his usual environment. However, the little hero understands that the hopes of not only his relatives, but the whole village are pinned on him: after all, according to the unanimous opinion of his fellow villagers, he is called to be a "learned man." The hero makes every effort, overcoming hunger and homesickness, so as not to let his countrymen down.

With special understanding, a young teacher approached the boy. She began to additionally study French with the hero, hoping to feed him at home. Pride did not allow the boy to accept help from a stranger. The idea of ​​Lidia Mikhailovna with the parcel was not crowned with success. The teacher filled it with "urban" products and thereby gave herself away. In search of a way to help the boy, the teacher invites him to play for money in the "wall".

The climax of the story comes after the teacher began to play with the boy in the wall. The paradox of the situation sharpens the story to the limit. The teacher could not help but know that at that time such a relationship between a teacher and a student could lead not only to dismissal from work, but also to criminal liability. The boy did not fully understand this. But when the trouble did happen, he began to understand the behavior of the teacher more deeply. And this led him to realize some aspects of the life of that time.

The ending of the story is almost melodramatic. The parcel with Antonov apples, which he, a resident of Siberia, never tried, seems to echo the first, unsuccessful parcel with city food - pasta. More and more strokes are preparing this finale, which turned out to be not at all unexpected. In the story, the heart of an incredulous village boy opens before the purity of a young teacher. The story is surprisingly modern. It contains the great courage of a little woman, the insight of a closed, ignorant child, and the lessons of humanity.

Artistic originality

With wise humor, kindness, humanity, and most importantly, with complete psychological accuracy, the writer describes the relationship between a hungry student and a young teacher. The narration flows slowly, with everyday details, but the rhythm imperceptibly captures it.

The language of the story is simple and at the same time expressive. The writer skillfully used phraseological turns, achieving expressiveness and figurativeness of the work. Phraseologisms in the story "French Lessons" for the most part express one concept and are characterized by a certain meaning, which is often equal to the meaning of the word:

“I studied here and it’s good. What was left for me? Then I came here, I didn’t have anything else to do here, and I didn’t know how to treat everything that was entrusted to me in a slipshod way” (lazily).

“At school, I had not seen a bird before, but, looking ahead, I’ll say that in the third quarter, he suddenly, like snow on his head, fell on our class” (unexpectedly).

“Hungry and knowing that my grub would not last long, no matter how much I saved it, I ate to satiety, to pain in my stomach, and then after a day or two I again planted my teeth on the shelf” (starve).

“But there was no point in locking myself up, Tishkin managed to sell me with giblets” (betray).

One of the features of the language of the story is the presence of regional words and obsolete vocabulary, characteristic of the time of the story. For example:

To rent - to rent an apartment.
A lorry is a truck with a carrying capacity of 1.5 tons.
Tearoom - a kind of public dining room, where tea and snacks are offered to visitors.
Toss - to sip.
Naked boiling water is clean, without impurities.
Vyakat - to chat, to speak.
To bale - to hit lightly.
Khlyuzda is a rogue, a deceiver, a cheater.
Prytika - what is hidden.

The meaning of the work

The work of V. Rasputin invariably attracts readers, because next to the ordinary, everyday in the works of the writer there are always spiritual values, moral laws, unique characters, a complex, sometimes contradictory, inner world of heroes. The author's thoughts about life, about man, about nature help us to discover in ourselves and in the world around us inexhaustible reserves of goodness and beauty.

In difficult times, the main character of the story had to learn. The post-war years were a kind of test not only for adults, but also for children, because both good and bad in childhood are perceived much brighter and sharper. But difficulties temper character, so the main character often shows such qualities as willpower, pride, sense of proportion, endurance, determination.

Many years later, Rasputin will again turn to the events of bygone years. “Now that a fairly large part of my life has been lived, I want to comprehend and understand how correctly and usefully I spent it. I have many friends who are always ready to help, I have something to remember. Now I understand that my closest friend is my former teacher, a French teacher. Yes, decades later, I remember her as a true friend, the only person who understood me while studying at school. And even years later, when we met with her, she showed me a gesture of attention, sending apples and pasta, as before. And whoever I am, no matter what depends on me, she will always treat me only as a student, because for her I was, am and will always remain a student. Now I remember how then she, taking the blame on herself, left the school, and said goodbye to me: “Study well and don’t blame yourself for anything!” By doing this, she taught me a lesson and showed me how a real kind person should act. After all, it is not for nothing that they say: a school teacher is a teacher of life.

To the question What was the name of the boy in the work "French Lessons" written by Valentin Rasputin, given by the author Maria Rybalova the best answer is In the post-war years, the eleven-year-old Volodya was sent by his mother from his native village to the regional center to study. The boy settles with a woman who lost her husband in the last war and is raising her three children. A young French teacher helps Volodya. Under the pretext of additional classes, the teacher tries to feed the boy. Proud Volodya refuses to eat. And then the teacher resorts to a trick: she invites him to play "wall" for money and plays along with the student. Then she is fired from school, and she is forced to leave.

Answer from Natalya Shumilova[guru]
He was definitely named somehow, but the narration is conducted on his behalf and, in my opinion, no one called him by his first name or by his last name. Me, yes you. Must read....)

Answer from Olga 🙂[guru]
Volodya

Answer from Alik Mamoyan[newbie]
valya

Answer from Igor Slyusar[newbie]
Volodya

Answer from 246 0124 [newbie]
Valentin Rasputin

Answer from Margarita Epishkina[newbie]
Volodya

Answer from Evnika Matafonova[active]

Answer from Yofya Almazova[newbie]
Volodya

Answer from Vadim ungureanu[newbie]

Answer from Bone Breaker 95[newbie]
and what was his name

Answer from Maria Vorobieva[newbie]

Answer from Vladislav Vasiliev[newbie]
In the post-war years, eleven-year-old Volodya was sent by his mother from his native village to the regional center to study. The boy settles with a woman who lost her husband in the last war and is raising her three children. A young French teacher helps Volodya. Under the pretext of additional classes, the teacher tries to feed the boy. Proud Volodya refuses to eat. And then the teacher resorts to a trick: she invites him to play "wall" for money and plays along with the student. Then she is fired from school, and she is forced to leave.

Answer from Maxim Shkobenev[newbie]
Volodya

Answer from Olga Shamanskaya[newbie]
valya
Like Complain
Igor Slyusar 10 months ago
Student (211)
Volodya
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246 0124 10 months ago
Connoisseur (257)
Valentin Rasputin
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Margarita Epishkina 10 months ago
Connoisseur (263)
Volodya
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Evnika Matafonova 10 months ago
Connoisseur (318)
The hero is unnamed. The story does not mention the name of the hero.
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Kostya Melekhov 9 months ago
Student (110)
this is autobiographical, i.e. the author talks about himself
1 Like Complain
Sofia Almazova 6 months ago
Student (141)
Volodya
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vadim ungureanu 5 months ago
Student (130)
we read in literature his name was Volodya
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bonebreaker 95 1 month ago
Student (113)
and what was his name
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Maria Vorobieva 3 weeks ago
Student (237)
Oh my God, what a Volodya, this is an autobiographical story, and the author's name is Valentine!
1 Like Complain
0dmin 1 week ago
Connoisseur (256)
rtr yf, k.lt
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Vladislav Vasiliev 3 days ago
Student (101)
In the post-war years, eleven-year-old Volodya was sent by his mother from his native village to the regional center to study. The boy settles with a woman who lost her husband in the last war and is raising her three children. A young French teacher helps Volodya. Under the pretext of additional classes, the teacher tries to feed the boy. Proud Volodya refuses to eat.

"French Lessons" the main characters of Rasputin's story live in difficult times, but do not forget about honor and kindness.

Rasputin "French Lessons" main characters

The main characters of the story are an eleven-year-old boy and French teacher Lidia Mikhailovna.

Secondary Heroes:

• boy's mother,
• school director - Vasily Andreevich.
• Aunt Nadia is the woman with whom the main character lives.
• Bird is a classmate of the protagonist
• Vadik
• Fedka is Aunt Nadia's youngest son.

"French Lessons" characteristics of the teacher

Lidia Mikhailovna is a French teacher, smart and beautiful. “An extraordinary person, unlike everyone else”, “... a special, some kind of fairy-tale creature.”

Character traits of Lydia Mikhailovna: sensitivity, mercy, self-esteem, generosity, responsiveness, honesty, courage, courage

Lidia Mikhailovna was no more than twenty-five years old and "there was no cruelty in her face." “She sat neat in front of me, all smart and beautiful, beautiful both in clothes and in her feminine young pore, ... I could smell the perfume from her, which I took for my very breath.”

Lidia Mikhailovna appears as a model of humanity and mercy, deciding to help a lonely boy adapt to life in the city. Having learned about his games for money and the goals of this game (to be able to buy food), she is imbued with sympathy for the boy and, under the pretext of additional French lessons, takes tacit custody of him. The main character, somewhere subconsciously feels that Lidia Mikhailovna herself is lonely to the depths of her soul, which is given out by fragments of her phrases, sometimes a thoughtful and detached look, he feels her sincerely, and sometimes clumsy desire to help, which ultimately makes his soul open up to this once mysterious and unattainable teacher.

Lidia Mikhailovna opened a new world for the boy, showed him a “different life” (in the teacher’s house, even the air seemed to the boy saturated with “light and unfamiliar smells of another life”), where people can trust each other, support and help, share grief, relieve loneliness. The boy recognized the "red apples", which he never dreamed of. Now he learned that he is not alone, that there is kindness, responsiveness, love in the world. These are true spiritual values.

Lidia Mikhailovna is endowed with an extraordinary ability for compassion and kindness, for which she suffered, having lost her job.

"French Lessons" characteristic of the protagonist

At the center of the story the main character is a clumsy boy from the village. He came to study at the district school in the post-war period. “A skinny wild boy ..., untidy without a mother and alone, in an old, washed-out jacket on sagging shoulders, which was just right on his chest, but from which his arms protruded far; in branded light green trousers sewn from his father's riding breeches and tucked into teal" - this is how the protagonist can be described outwardly.

Boy character traits: honesty, perseverance, courage, courage, fortitude, will, independence. Obviously, these features of his character were formed just against the backdrop of a dysfunctional post-war life, which is why he learned to appreciate and respect others.

The boy received lessons in kindness and courage. He not only additionally studied French, but also received life lessons: he learned to forgive insults, gained experience in experiencing loneliness. He realized that true good does not require a reward, it is disinterested, good has the ability to spread, be transmitted from person to person and return to the one from whom it came.

Lidia Mikhailovna opened a new world for the boy, where people can trust each other, support and help, share grief and joy, relieve loneliness. The boy recognized the "red apples", which he never dreamed of. Now he learned that he is not alone, that there is kindness, responsiveness, love in the world. These are true spiritual values.

Now you know who are the main characters of the story "French Lessons" by Rasputin and how they helped each other in life.

Characteristics of the main characters of the story "French Lessons" by V. Rasputin with quotes

Valentin Rasputin described a fine example of humanity in his short story "French Lessons". It is difficult to find such a thin and light story at the same time, where the relationship between teacher and student is so touchingly illuminated.

In the center of the work, the main character is a clumsy boy from the village, who came to study at the district school in the post-war period. “A skinny wild boy ..., untidy without a mother and alone, in an old, washed-out jacket on sagging shoulders, which was just right on his chest, but from which his arms protruded far; in branded light green trousers sewn from his father's breeches and tucked into teal" - this is how the main character can be described outwardly. Lonely, always hungry and distrustful, he is nevertheless attractive primarily for his character traits: honesty, conscientiousness, thirst for justice and remarkable stubbornness, which helps him achieve his goals. Obviously, these features of his character were formed just against the backdrop of a dysfunctional post-war life, which is why he learned to appreciate and respect others. Knowing what sacrifices his mother made to ensure his studies at the district school, he is aware of the responsibility entrusted to him, which contributes to the development in him of a conscientious attitude to learning. He is successful in almost all subjects, except for the "mysterious and incomprehensible" French language, which is taught by Lidia Mikhailovna.

The French teacher delights the protagonist in that, being radically different from him, she appears before him as a kind of sorceress, an unearthly and sublime being. And considering that his success in French is initially very modest, also in some frightening way. When characterizing Lydia Mikhailovna, special attention should be paid to how her protagonist sees: “She was sitting in front of me neat, all smart and beautiful, beautiful both in clothes and in her feminine young pore, ..., the smell of perfume from her reached me, which I took it for the very breath.

As events unfolded in the story, the barrier between teacher and student gradually melted, revealing the true nature of the soul of each of them. Lidia Mikhailovna appears as a model of humanity and mercy, deciding to help a lonely boy adapt to life in the city. Having learned about his games for money and the goals of this game (to be able to buy food), she is imbued with sympathy for the boy and, under the pretext of additional French lessons, takes tacit custody of him. The main character, somewhere subconsciously feels that Lydia Mikhailovna herself is lonely to the depths of her soul, which is given out by fragments of her phrases, sometimes a thoughtful and detached look, he feels her sincerely, and sometimes clumsy desire to help, which ultimately makes his soul open up to this once mysterious and unattainable teacher.