From the school bench we are familiar with the trilogy of Leo Tolstoy: "Childhood", "Adolescence", "Youth". It is this work, or rather the third part of it, that this article will be devoted to. We will consider the plot, analysis and image of the protagonist of the story "Youth" by Tolstoy. We will pay special attention to the summary of the work.

About the book

In 1852, the first part of the trilogy was published, written by L. Tolstoy (“Childhood”, “Boyhood”, “Youth”). And in 1857 the last story was published, which completed the cycle. The book is based on the life story of an ordinary child of the 19th century. The most valuable thing in this biographical description was the deep psychologism with which the author managed to convey all the stages of the emotional, social and physical development of the child. Tolstoy became the first Russian writer who managed to describe the human soul in such a precise, subtle and detailed way during the period of growing up. No wonder the story is replete with reasoning, internal monologues and reflections.

Now consider the plot of the story "Youth" by Tolstoy. The contents of the chapters begin with a description of Nicholas. The boy is already fifteen years old. At this moment, the hero has formed his own view of the world, which consists in the fact that a person should strive for moral development. At the same time, Nikolai believes that it is easy and accessible to everyone. The young man is preparing to enter the university. All spring he dreams of a future ideal life that will pass in righteousness and next to a chaste woman.

Nikolenka's family

Changes have taken place in the Irtenev family. My father rarely went home, and on his return he joked a lot. Lyubochka has not changed at all, but Katenka has turned into a coquette. Volodya has his own life. She and her younger brother became completely strangers. There is no place for Nikolenka in adult student life with real balls, friends and champagne.

The story "Youth" by Tolstoy is a real biography of an ordinary child with all his experiences, dramatic situations, hopes and aspirations. So, having passed the exams well, Nikolai begins to be very proud of himself. However, the failure during the delivery of Latin led to the fact that the young man cooled off to study. As a result, Nikolenka enters.

The beginning of an independent life

The father leaves for the village, leaving his youngest son two hundred rubles and a cab with a coachman and a horse. Feeling like an adult, Nikolai begins to do stupid things. L. N. Tolstoy perfectly describes the behavior of a young man left to himself. In an effort to be like his brother, who started smoking after entering the university, Nikolai goes to a tobacco shop and spends almost all the money left to him there. However, upon returning home, the young man is very disappointed in purchases - he did not like smoking.

Volodya decides to celebrate the arrival of his younger brother with dinner at Yar. Nikolai and Dima Nekhlyudov go to Dubkov to pick up Volodya. There Nikolenka sees how his older brother plays cards, he strongly dislikes this.

Finally, friends come to Yar. Here they were taken to a separate room, where dinner and champagne were waiting. Nikolai tried to emphasize his adulthood, said, as it seemed to him, smart things, but for some reason they were ashamed of him. Drunk from the second bottle of champagne, the young man went to smoke, but on the way he quarreled with some gentleman. Out of vexation, Nikolai was rude to Dubkov. Later, the hero's conscience tormented him for a long time because of this undeserved resentment of a friend.

When leaving, the father ordered the youngest son to visit certain people, making a list of them. And now, when Nikolai is about to leave, Ilenka and Grap arrive. They came to congratulate the young man, but Nikolenka treated them very coldly, despising Grapa for his subservience, and left.

Visits

Nikolenka Valakhinykh was the first to visit. I saw Sonya, whom I had not met for three years. The girl has changed a lot, she has become more mature. After talking with her for a short time, the young man decides that he is in love. L. N. Tolstoy very reliably conveys the feelings experienced by Nikolai.

Then our hero goes to the princes Kornakov. Here Nikolai, to his great amazement, learns that he is the heir to Prince Ivan Ivanovich. The news does not please at all, on the contrary, it brings only grief and embarrassment.

Being in the same strange feelings, Nikolai goes to Ivan Ivanovich. The old man was very pleased with the guest and showed great cordiality. But the young man did not leave embarrassment and awkwardness.

Nikolai goes with Dmitry to the Nekhlyudovs' dacha. On the way, a friend tells him about his feelings for Lyubov Sergeevna. This completely ugly, much older woman with an extraordinary soul lives in their house.

When friends arrive, it is the ugliness of Lyubov Sergeevna that unpleasantly strikes Nikolenka. He liked the rest of the Nekhlyudovs very much. The young man tries to behave politely, to be affectionate and friendly with everyone.

What is love like?

If we compare Nikolenka's current behavior with the sketches that the story "Childhood" gives, we can clearly see the emotional growth of the protagonist. The reader immediately understands that before him is not a child, but a young man with other thoughts, desires and dreams. So, looking at the women around him, Irteniev Jr. begins to think about the nature of love and comes to the conclusion that it can be of three types. The first is the love of beauty. With such love, they speak a lot about her in French, not caring about mutual feelings. The second is the love of selflessness. It consists in the fact that a person enjoys the process of sacrificing for the sake of his beloved, not wondering if he needs such manifestations of feelings. The third is active love. In this case, a person seeks to fulfill all the whims of the object of sighing. Only such people can be happy in their love.

Village

Volodya and Nikolai are sent to the village by mail. The first to come out to meet them, despite the late hour, was the servant Fok, who was literally shaking with joy. For the night, the brothers were sent to the sofa room, where their mother had once died.

In the morning Nikolenka met a very cheerful father. He was in such complacency that he spoke with his youngest son on an equal footing, which aroused even greater love for the young man. And then Irteniev Sr. went to visit the Epifanovs.

The events of the story "Youth" by Tolstoy continue to unfold. Volodya is bored in the village, demonstrating this to everyone at home. Nikolenka begins to imitate him. Under the influence of his brother, the young man also begins to be arrogant towards the girls and Mimi, believing that they have not seen real city life.

Nikolai sleeps on the veranda. There are many mosquitoes and midges mercilessly biting him at night. His daily routine was about the same. He got up equally, then went to bathe in the river. There he read on the shore or walked, and came home only for tea. The young man devoted a lot of time to reading, choosing mainly the novels of Paul de Coq and Dumas. Under the influence of these books, he begins to dream of adventure and exploits.

At the same time, Nikolai thinks about his future, about what place awaits him in the world. He is greatly disturbed by the fear of losing good manners, because its preservation requires enormous moral labors.

The content of the story "Childhood" largely predetermined the third part of the trilogy. So, soon Irteniev Sr. announces his intention to marry. At that time, the father of the family was forty-eight years old. His bride was no longer a young, but a beautiful woman, the daughter of the neighbors of the Epifanovs, Avdotya Vasilievna. The Irtenev family, with the exception of Lyubochka, was not happy about this news, but no one dared to object to their father. The wedding was scheduled in two weeks, but neither Volodya nor Nikolai could stay and went to the capital - studies began. The rest of the Irtenyevs were supposed to come to them in the winter.

Study and father's return

Nikolay feels his loneliness and alienation. He attends classes every day, however, he does not write anything down, believing it to be superfluous. Gradually, the young man makes new acquaintances, most of whom live only for pleasure. Nikolai gradually succumbs to their influence and begins to imitate them.

Realistically and authentically depicts the life of the nobility L. N. Tolstoy ("Youth"). The Irtenievs arrive in the capital earlier - the young wife became bored in the countryside. Avdotya Vasilievna, despite all her love for her husband, did not fit into his family's home life and constantly pestered Irtenyev Sr. with jealousy and questions. As a result of this, the husband gradually lost interest in his young wife and even began to hate her quietly. The children also did not have much love for their stepmother, with the exception of Lyubochka.

Nikolai goes to the ball for the first time, but the whole evening he stands gloomily on the sidelines, answering inappropriately when they spoke to him. In winter, he becomes a member of a student spree, which he did not like at all. At first it was terribly boring, and then everyone got so drunk that Nikolai remembered it only with shame.

Exams are coming up. Irteniev Jr. understands that he did not remember anything from the courses he took, and he did not write notes. The result was a failure in the first exam. The young man locks himself in a room for three days, he is unhappy, life seems to him bleak and terrible. He even wanted to go to the hussars, but his father dissuaded him - you can transfer to another faculty.

denouement

The story "Youth" by Tolstoy comes to an end. One night, Nikolenka finds a notebook entitled: "Rules of Life." The hero begins to remember his youthful dreams, which causes tears of remorse in him. From that moment on, he decides to return to the path of righteousness and spiritual development. Nikolenka believes that a happy and joyful life awaits him in the future.

Analysis

Like many literary works of Tolstoy, our trilogy embodies a huge number of ideas and designs. While working on the text, the author carefully selected every word, so any phrase or description has a conceptual meaning and is subordinate to the general idea. And this idea is to depict the process of becoming a person from a child to a young man as reliably and in detail as possible. And there is no place for meaningless scenes, thoughts and words. Any trifle and detail helps to better understand the inner world of a young man, his emotional experiences, hopes and aspirations. Thus, describing the books that Nikolenka reads, Tolstoy explains to the reader the reasons for his hero's craving for adventure and exploits. And such thoughts are immediately reflected in the actions of the young man. Everything is interconnected in the work. Every detail becomes the key to understanding the nature of actions. For such a scrupulous attitude to the narrative, Tolstoy's prose was called "the dialectic of the soul."

Why does the author choose to describe these particular stages (childhood, adolescence, youth) of a person's life? The fact is that it is during these periods that people most clearly feel themselves in this world, their indivisibility with it, and then, gradually, they begin to move away from it, to realize themselves as a person. No wonder the trilogy begins with the story "Childhood", the themes of which are connected with the very small children's world of the protagonist. Then in "Boyhood" the world, and with it the thoughts of the protagonist, expand. In "Youth", the hero's worldview completely changes. If earlier relations with the family dominated for him, the theme of the house sounded most vividly, but now the building of ties with the outside world comes to the fore.

The hero of the story

"Childhood", "Adolescence" and "Youth" are united by one hero - Nikolenka Irteniev. It is from his face that the whole story is told. He comes from a noble aristocratic family. The image of the protagonist is largely autobiographical. The reader sees Nikolenka through the hero's perception of the events taking place around him, his attitude towards other characters.

Like many literary works of Tolstoy, "Youth" very truthfully depicts the inner world of the hero. Nikolenka is seventeen, he does not strive to study, but wants to follow the path of moral self-improvement. However, gradually he comes to the realization that his current life is petty and empty, far from a beautiful ideal.

The image of Karl Ivanovich

The whole story was focused on the image of the protagonist L. N. Tolstoy ("Youth"). Other characters are given much less space in the story. Karl Ivanovich is Nikolenka's teacher and tutor, he is valuable to the author because he had a huge influence on the formation of the boy's personality. His honest, kind and open character contributed to the formation of the moral values ​​of the protagonist. The love of reading Karl Ivanovich also passed on to his pupil. He lived a long and hard life, saw a lot in his lifetime, but was able to maintain the purity of his soul. He is devoted to Nikolenka to oblivion, and considers the Irtenev family practically his own.

Conclusion. Tolstoy: "Youth"

The chapter "Youth" is one of Tolstoy's greatest creations. In this work, the great classic showed himself both as an artist and as a moralist. However, there is no cumbersome edification in the work. On the contrary, the author depicts the development of the human soul, which learns from its mistakes. Only in this way and in no other way does a person grow up. From my own experience, my disappointments, broken dreams and hopes for a better future.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is one of the most famous Russian writers. His most famous novels are Anna Karenina, Sunday, War and Peace, as well as the trilogy Childhood, Adolescence, Youth. Many works of the great writer were filmed, so in our time we have the opportunity not only to read, but also to see the heroes of the novels with our own eyes. One of the screened books is the trilogy "Childhood, adolescence, youth" full of interesting events. A brief summary of the novel will help to better understand the problems of the work. Perhaps someone will have a desire to read the novel in its entirety.

The novel "Childhood, adolescence, youth"

Lev Nikolayevich wrote his novel for five years. The work "Childhood, adolescence, youth" tells about the life of a boy in different periods of his life. The book describes the experiences, first love, resentment, as well as a sense of injustice that many boys experience during their growing up periods. In this article we will talk about the trilogy written by Leo Tolstoy. “Childhood, adolescence, youth” is a work that will definitely not leave anyone indifferent.

"Childhood, adolescence, youth." Summary. Book one. "Childhood"

The novel begins with a description of Nikolenka Irtenyev, who some time ago turned 10 years old. Karl Ivanovich, a teacher, takes him and his brother to their parents. Nikolenka loves her parents very much. The father announces to the boys that he is taking them with him to Moscow. The children are upset by this decision of their father, Nikolenka likes to live in the village, communicate with Katenka, her first love, and go hunting, and he really does not want to part with his mother. Nikolenka has been living with her grandmother for six months now. On her birthday, he reads poetry to her.

Soon the hero realizes that he is in love with Sonya, whom he recently met, and admits this to Volodya. Suddenly, his father receives a letter from the village that Nikolenka's mother is sick and asks them to come. They come and pray for her health, but to no avail. After some time, Nikolenka was left without a mother. This left a deep imprint on his soul, as this was the end of his childhood.

Book two. "Boyhood"

The second part of the novel "Childhood, adolescence, youth" describes the events that took place after Nikolenka moved to Moscow with her brother and father. He feels changes in himself and in his attitude to the world around him. Nikolenka is now able to empathize and sympathize. The boy understands how the grandmother who lost her daughter suffers.

Nikolenka goes deeper and deeper into herself, believing that he is ugly and not worthy of happiness. He is jealous of his handsome brother. Grandmother Nikolenka is told that the children were playing with gunpowder, although it was only lead shot. She is sure that Karl has grown old and looks after the children badly, so she changes their tutor. It is hard for children to part with their teacher. But Nikolenka does not like the new French teacher. The boy allows himself to be insolent to him. For some unknown reason, Nikolenka tries to open her father's briefcase with the key and breaks the key in the process. He thinks that everyone is against him, so he hits the tutor and swears with his father and brother. They close him in a closet and promise that they will flog him with rods. The boy feels very lonely and humiliated. When he is released, he asks his father for forgiveness. Nikolenka begins to convulse, which shocks everyone. After twelve hours of sleep, the boy feels better and is pleased that everyone is worried about him.

After some time, Nikolenka's brother, Volodya, enters the university. Soon their grandmother dies, the whole family is very upset by the loss. Nikolenka cannot understand people who swear because of their grandmother's inheritance. He also notices how his father has aged and concludes that with age people become calmer and softer.
When there are several months left before entering the university, Nikolenka begins to prepare intensively. He meets Dmitry Nekhlyudov, Volodya's acquaintance from the university, and they become friends.

Book three. "Youth"

The novel "Childhood, adolescence, youth" in the third part tells about the time when Nikolenka continues to prepare for entering the university at the Faculty of Mathematics. He is looking for his purpose in life. Soon the young man enters the university, and his father gives him a carriage with a coachman. Nikolenka feels like an adult and tries to light a pipe. He starts to feel sick. He tells Nekhlyudov about this incident, who in turn tells him about the dangers of smoking. But the young man wants to imitate Volodya and his friend Dubkov, who smoke, play cards and talk about their love affairs. Nikolenka goes to a restaurant where he drinks champagne. He has a conflict with Kolpikov. Nekhludoff reassures him.

Nikolay decides to go to the village to visit his mother's grave. He remembers his childhood and thinks about the future. His father remarries, but Nikolai and Vladimir disapprove of his choice. Soon the father begins to get along badly with his wife.

Studying at the University

While studying at the university, Nikolai meets many people whose meaning of life is only to have fun. Nekhlyudov tries to reason with Nikolai, but he succumbs to the opinion of the majority. In the end, Nikolai fails his exams, and regards Dmitry's consolation as an insult.

One evening, Nikolai finds his notebook with the rules for himself, in which he wrote a very long time ago. He repents and cries, and later begins to write for himself a new notebook with the rules by which he is going to live all his life, without changing his principles.

Conclusion

Today we talked about the content of the work written by Leo Tolstoy. "Childhood, adolescence, youth" is a novel with a deep meaning. After reading its summary, each reader will be able to draw certain conclusions, despite the fact that they have not read it in full. The novel "Childhood, adolescence, youth" teaches us not to withdraw into ourselves with our experiences, but to be able to sympathize and empathize with other people.

Year: 1857 Genre: story

Main characters: narrator Nikolai Irteniev (prototype of Leo Tolstoy), Vladimir Irteniev is the hero's brother, Dmitry Nekhlyudov is a friend, Dubkov is Volodya's friend.

Tolstoy's story describes the life of a sixteen-year-old youth, Nikolai Irtenevich. Ahead of him are exams and admission to the university. Along the way, you will meet different people. Many of his friends do not lead the best way of life: they smoke, drink alcohol, gossip. They are trying to win Nicholas over to their side, but the young man chooses the righteous path. Dmitry Nekhlyudov, a decent, honest, intelligent person, becomes his ideal. He repeatedly rescues Nikolai, helps in his studies.

The hero finds a common language with his brother Volodya, but spends little time with his sisters Katya and Lyuba. His father is almost never at home. He marries a second time. All members of the family dislike the stepmother.

Nikolai shows sympathy for many ladies, but these signs of attention are just a temporary passion for the hero.

The young man successfully passes the exams. His dream came true. In the capital, he finds new comrades who do not have the best influence on him. Nikolai fails the exam and therefore does not move on to the next course. He is upset because he violated all his moral principles. From that moment on, he decides to strictly follow his rules.

The reader has the opportunity to observe the moral growth of the hero of the story.

The main idea. The story teaches its reader that it is necessary to realize one's mistakes, analyze them and never make them again in the future. As the saying goes, "You have to learn from your mistakes."

Chapter 1

Nikolai Irteniev is sixteen years old. A kind, purposeful, honest person dreams of successfully passing the entrance exams to the university. The hero begins to communicate with Dmitry Nekhlyudov, a sensible and entertaining young man. For Irtenyev, he is a role model.

Chapter 2. Spring

Nicholas loves spring. He enjoys nature, which wakes up after a long winter sleep.

Chapter 3

The young man dreams of studying at the university, how he will donate a scholarship to the poor and needy. Nikolai wants to become popular.

Chapter 4

His father is often absent from home. He is fond of gambling. Now he has a period of luck and therefore he is in an excellent position. His brother Volodya is completely different from him in character. Volodya loves secular parties and chatting with friends over a glass of champagne. Lyuba and Katya, Nikolai's sisters, have become adult young ladies and dream of a wedding.

Chapter 5. Rules

In order to understand the meaning of life, Nikolai takes a blank notebook and begins to keep records of the rules and norms of behavior in society. At the request of his father, a monk comes to Nikolai's house to listen to the confession of each member of the family.

Chapter 6. Confession

Nicholas confesses to a monk, tells about all his sins. At night, he wakes up and remembers that he forgot to tell the old man about another bad deed. This thought does not give the young man peace and early in the morning he decides to go to the temple.

Chapter 7

Nikolai leaves home on his own for the first time. For about half an hour he waits for the monk to correct his mistake. At this moment, he feels the eyes of people on him. He is sure that all confessors condemn him.

Chapter 8

He waits for the monk and pours out his whole soul to him. Now he is truly happy, his heart is light. Nikolai rushes home on the wings of happiness, but this joy quickly dissipates, as minor troubles await him at home.

Chapter 9

All households, except for Volodya and Saint-Jerome, who is a tutor, go to the village. Good spring weather does not allow Nikolai to study calmly.

Chapter 10

Nikolai is taking an exam in history. He is lucky and comes across a question that he knows very well and therefore receives a mark of "5".

Chapter 11

Next math exam. In addition to 2 questions, he learned all the tickets. Dmitry Nekhlyudov quickly clarifies the unlearned question to his comrade. But, unfortunately, the young man comes across another topic. He is upset. Having exchanged tickets with an applicant, he receives a mark of "5".

Chapter 12

The Latin teacher gives Nikolai a task that was not given in advance for study. He is unable to cope with the task and receives a mark of "2". The young man feels resentment because of injustice.

Chapter 13

Nikolay excels in passing the exam and celebrates this event in a decent institution with his comrades. His father gives him a horse as a present.

Chapter 14

Volodya and Dubkov are fond of gambling. Cards are their passion. Then all together the comrades go to a restaurant.

Chapter 15

Comrades congratulate Nikolai on the beginning of a new life. Friends drink champagne and have fun. The hero notices that Dmitry leads a more correct life than the rest of his comrades: he does not drink alcohol, does not brag about his love affairs and does not smoke.

Chapter 16

Nikolai repeats the behavior of his friends, does not want to lag behind them. As a result, a conflict arises between the hero and a certain Kolpikov. At this moment, Dubkov bursts in with his inappropriate ridicule. Nikolai tells him everything he thinks, insults him. Dmitry reassures his friend.

Chapter 17

At the behest of his father, Nikolai goes to visit the Valakhins, Ivins, and Kornakovs. Nikolai is at ease only with Dmitry, and he is shackled with the rest.

Chapter 18

Many years ago, the hero felt sympathy for Sonya Valakhina. Seeing the beautiful girl again, he feels affection for her.

Chapter 19

Nikolai learns from the Kornakovs that the members of his family are direct descendants of the prince.

Chapter 20

Nikolai goes to the Ivins. The hero does not like the attitude of the Ivins towards him. The mother complains and whimpers endlessly, and the younger Ivin and his father seem to not notice the guest and reluctantly answer his questions.

Chapter 21

Nicholas comes to his relative the prince. The elderly man is friendly with the hero, but such an affectionate attitude is just a prank. Nikolai believes that Ivan Ivanovich is unpleasant because of his family ties.

Chapter 22

Nikolai goes to Comrade Nekhlyudov's dacha. Dima talks about his sympathy for Lyubov Sergeevna, who lived at their house.

Chapter 23

Nikolai meets his friend's family, as well as Lyubov Sergevna. The hero didn't like the girl.

Chapter 24

The young man liked Aunt Nekhlyudova, kind-hearted Sofya Ivanovna. She treats the rest of the family with respect.

Chapter 25

A discussion unfolds in Dima's family about the relationship between Dmitry and Lyuba. This love affair is not supported by the mother and sister Varya. Despite what is happening, Nikolai feels comfortable at a party. Here he is considered and accepted as one of his own.

Chapter 26

After tea, everyone goes to the garden. Nikolai sympathizes with Varenka, but remembers that he is not indifferent to Sonya.

Chapter 27

Nikolai dreams of marrying Varya and creating a happy family with her. Dmitry has a toothache. An irritated young man beats the servant. Dmitry is embarrassed in front of a friend. After the incident, the friends talk until dawn.

Chapter 28

The long-awaited meeting took place. The whole family of Nicholas in the collection. The father looks animated and joyful.

Chapter 29

Nikolay and Volodya spend some time with sisters Katya and Lyuba. There is a close relationship between the boys.

Chapter 30

This summer, Nikolai takes on a new hobby. Playing the piano and reading novels are his main hobbies. Katya introduced Nikolai to the notes. With the help of playing a musical instrument, the young man wants to win the hearts of young ladies.

Chapter 31

Nikolai wants to be Сomme il faut - a person who speaks excellent French, neatly dressed.

Chapter 32

Nikolai is having a great summer vacation.

Chapter 33

Nikolai's father communicates well with the Epifanovs. The young man is not very enthusiastic about these people.

Chapter 34

Increasingly, signs of attention from the father to the neighbor Avdotya became visible. Father is already over forty, but the neighbor is still in her prime.

Chapter 35

The father officially announces to all family members about his marriage.

Chapter 36

Here comes autumn. Volodya and Nikolai went to study in the capital. Nikolai does not maintain a close relationship with anyone.

Chapter 37

The young man sympathizes with many ladies, but all these signs of attention are temporary and not serious.

Chapter 38

Nikolai attends a secular party for the first time. From experiences, he behaves silly.

Chapter 39

Nikolai's classmate holds a feast. It goes by tediously, but everyone creates a kind of fun. And then spread the word that everything was top notch.

Chapter 40

That winter, Nikolai frequented the Nekhlyudovs. In this family, he feels comfortable.

Chapter 41

The friendship between Nikolai and Dima was not as strong as before. One day they even quarreled.

Chapter 42

The whole family is not happy with the stepmother. Avdotya treats her father well, but gives him a lot of inconvenience.

Chapter 43

While preparing for the exams, Nikolai closely communicates with a couple of fellow students. They are very entertaining guys.

Chapter 44

One of Nikolai Zukhin's friends, a young man of about eighteen, interesting, well-read. But the second Semenov does not attend lectures very often. Gets into debt and goes to serve in the army.

Chapter 45

Having contacted new comrades, Nikolai begins to show a negligent attitude towards studying at a university. He does not pass the session and remains for the second year. Relatives advise him to go to study in another specialty.

One stage of youth has come to an end. Now it remains to hope for a happier next period.

Summary of Shmelev Fear

Events unfold on March 13, 1881, at a difficult time, when there is an assassination attempt on the reigning Emperor Alexander II. The young main character of the work lives with his mother, older sisters and brother

Summary Alexander Polyarny Mint tale

Alexander Polyarny himself (the author) defines the genre of his work as a fairy tale. But after all, there is always a happy ending in fairy tales... Perhaps the author wanted to somehow soften the plot, calling it a fairy tale, but this is more like a harsh prosaic reality.

The story "Youth" by L.N. Tolstoy is the final part of the famous trilogy of the author “Childhood. Adolescence. Youth". In it, the writer continues his autobiographical story, the hero of which was Nikolai Irteniev. He appears before the reader as an ordinary young man on the verge of growing up. Nikolai goes to study at the university, he is overwhelmed by many thoughts and questions. Trying to find his place in a new life, he either indulges in all the grave “sins” of youth, or he realizes the infidelity of such behavior. But spiritual purity and morality still win this fight. The story "Youth" very subtly conveys all the shades of the spiritual struggle of a maturing person, it is filled with deep philosophical reflections of the author himself about the meaning of life, and how to live it correctly. Trilogy "Childhood. Adolescence. Youth" will find its readers in any age group. Written in an easy and understandable language, it invariably makes you think about eternal questions. The great writer managed to create a work that seemed to be filled with warm sunlight.

To read the book of L.N. Tolstoy in full, just go to our website, where the text of the work is presented in full. The story "Youth" can be read online, and a download function is also available.

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Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy

WHAT I CONSIDER THE BEGINNING OF YOUTH

I said that my friendship with Dmitry opened a new perspective on life, its purpose and relationships. The essence of this view was the conviction that the purpose of a person is the desire for moral improvement and that this improvement is easy, possible and eternal. But so far I have enjoyed only the discovery of new thoughts arising from this conviction, and the drawing up of brilliant plans for a moral, active future; but my life went on in the same petty, confused, and idle order.

Those virtuous thoughts that we went over in conversations with my adored friend Dmitry, miraculous Mitya, as I sometimes called him in a whisper to myself, still pleased only my mind, and not my feelings. But the time came when these thoughts came into my head with such fresh force of moral revelation that I was frightened when I thought about how much time I had wasted, and immediately, that very second, I wanted to apply these thoughts to life, with the firm intention of never no longer change them.

And from now on I count the beginning youth.

I was in my sixteenth year at the time. The teachers continued to visit me, the St.-Jérôme looked after my studies, and I reluctantly and reluctantly prepared for the university. Outside of teaching, my occupations consisted in solitary incoherent dreams and reflections, in doing gymnastics in order to become the first strong man in the world, in wandering without any definite purpose and thought through all the rooms, and especially the corridor of the maiden's room, and in looking at myself in the mirror, from which However, I always left with a heavy feeling of despondency and even disgust. My outward appearance, I was convinced, was not only ugly, but I could not even console myself with ordinary consolations in such cases. I could not say that I had an expressive, intelligent or noble face. There was nothing expressive - the most ordinary, rude and bad features; small gray eyes, especially at the time when I looked in the mirror, were more stupid than smart. There was even less courage: despite the fact that I was not small in stature and very strong in years, all facial features were soft, sluggish, indefinite. There was nothing even noble; on the contrary, my face was like that of a simple peasant, and the same big legs and arms; and at that time I felt very ashamed.

That year, as I entered the university, the Saint was somehow late in April, so the exams were scheduled for Fomina, and for Strastnaya I had to both go to bed and already finally prepare.

The weather after the sleet, which Karl Ivanovich used to call " the son came for the father”, for three days it had been quiet, warm and clear. There was no patch of snow to be seen on the streets, the dirty dough was replaced by wet, shiny pavement and fast streams. The last drops were already melting from the roofs in the sun, in the front garden the trees were budding, there was a dry path in the yard, to the stable past the frozen heap of manure and near the porch mossy grass was green between the stones. There was that special period of spring that most strongly affects the soul of a person: a bright, brilliant, but not hot sun, streams and thawed patches, fragrant freshness in the air and a pale blue sky with long transparent clouds. I don’t know why, but it seems to me that in a big city the influence of this first period of the birth of spring is even more tangible and stronger on the soul - you see less, but you feel more. I was standing near the window, through which the morning sun was throwing dusty rays through the double-paned windows onto the floor of my unbearably boring classroom, and I was solving some long algebraic equation on the black board. In one hand I held Franker's tattered soft "Algebra", in the other - a small piece of chalk, with which I had already soiled both hands, face and elbows of the semi-tunic. Nikolay, in an apron, with rolled up sleeves, beat off the putty with tongs and bent back the nails of the window, which opened into the front garden. His occupation and the knocking he made amused my attention. Moreover, I was in a very bad, dissatisfied frame of mind. Somehow I didn't succeed: I made a mistake at the beginning of the calculation, so I had to start everything from the beginning; I dropped the chalk twice, I felt that my face and hands were dirty, the sponge had disappeared somewhere, the knock that Nikolai made somehow painfully shook my nerves. I wanted to get angry and grumble; I dropped the chalk, Algebra, and began to pace the room. But I remembered that today is Holy Wednesday, today we must confess, and that we must refrain from everything bad; and suddenly I came into some special, meek state of mind and went up to Nikolai.

“Let me help you, Nikolai,” I said, trying to give my voice the meekest expression; and the thought that I was doing well, suppressing my vexation and helping him, strengthened this gentle mood of spirit in me even more.

The putty was beaten off, the nails were bent, but, despite the fact that Nikolai pulled the crossbars with all his might, the frame did not move.

“If the frame comes out now immediately, when I pull with it,” I thought, “it means it’s a sin, and I don’t need to do more today.” The frame leaned on its side and went out.

- Where to take her? - I said.

“Let me manage it myself,” Nikolai answered, apparently surprised and, it seems, dissatisfied with my zeal, “you must not confuse, otherwise there, in the closet, they are by numbers.

"I'll spot her," I said, lifting the frame.

It seems to me that if the closet were two miles away and the frame weighed twice as much, I would be very pleased. I wanted to wear myself out, rendering this service to Nikolai. When I returned to the room, the bricks and salt pyramids had already been placed on the window sill, and Nikolai swept sand and sleepy flies into the dissolved window with his wing. Fresh fragrant air had already entered the room and filled it. The noise of the city and the chirping of sparrows in the front garden could be heard from the window.

All objects were brightly lit, the room brightened up, a light spring breeze stirred the sheets of my Algebra and the hair on Nikolai's head. I went to the window, sat down on it, leaned over into the front garden and thought.

Some new to me, extremely strong and pleasant feeling suddenly penetrated my soul. Wet earth, on which in some places bright green grass needles with yellow stems were knocked out, streams shining in the sun, along which pieces of earth and chips curled, reddened lilac twigs with swollen buds swaying just under the window, the busy chirping of birds swarming in this bush, the blackish fence wet from the snow melting on it, and, most importantly, this fragrant damp air and the joyful sun spoke to me distinctly, clearly about something new and beautiful, which, although I cannot convey it in the way it affected me, I will try to convey it the way I perceived it - everything spoke to me about beauty, happiness and virtue, said that both one and the other are easy and possible for me, that one cannot be without the other, and even that beauty, happiness and virtue - same. “How could I not understand this, how bad I was before, how I could and can be good and happy in the future! I said to myself. “We must quickly, quickly, this very minute become a different person and begin to live differently.” Despite this, however, I sat at the window for a long time, dreaming and doing nothing. Have you ever gone to bed in the afternoon in cloudy rainy weather in the summer and, waking up at sunset, open your eyes and in the expanding quadrangle of the window, from under the linen side, which, puffed up, beats with a rod against the window sill, see the rain-wet, shady, lilac side linden alley and a damp garden path, illuminated by bright oblique rays, to suddenly hear the cheerful life of birds in the garden and see insects that hover in the window opening, shining through in the sun, to smell the after-rain air and think: “I was not ashamed to sleep through such an evening” , - and hurriedly jump up to go into the garden to enjoy life? If it happened, then here is an example of the strong feeling that I experienced at that time.

“Today I confess, I am cleansed of all sins,” I thought, “and I will never be again ... (here I remembered all the sins that tormented me the most), I will definitely go to church every Sunday, and after a whole hour I will read gospel, then little white, which I will receive every month, when I enter the university, I will certainly give two and a half (one tenth) to the poor, and so that no one knows: and not to the beggar, but I will look for such poor, an orphan or an old woman, about whom No one knows.

I will have a special room (that's right, St.-Jérôme "ova), and I will clean it myself and keep it amazingly clean; I will not force a person to do anything for myself. After all, he is the same as me. Then I will walk every day to the university on foot (and if they give me a droshky, I’ll sell them and save this money for the poor too) and I will do everything exactly (what was “everything”, I could not say at that time, but I vividly understood and I felt this "everything" of a rational, moral, impeccable life). so that at the age of eighteen I will finish the course as the first candidate with two gold medals, then I will pass for a master's degree, a doctorate and become the first scientist in Russia ... even in Europe I can be the first scientist ... Well, and then? - I asked myself, but then I remembered that these dreams are pride, a sin, about which today in the evening it would be necessary to say to the confessor, and returned to the beginning of the reasoning: - To prepare for the lectures, I will walk on foot to the Sparrow Hills; I will choose a place for myself there under a tree and I will lecture; sometimes I will take something to eat with me: cheese or a pie from Pedotti, or something. I will rest and then I will read some good book, or I will draw views, or play some instrument (I will certainly learn to play the flute). Then she is he will also go for a walk on the Sparrow Hills and one day he will come up to me and ask: who am I? I will look at her so sadly and say that I am the son of one priest and that I am only happy here when I am alone, completely alone. She will give me her hand, say something, and sit down beside me. So every day we will come here, be friends, and I will kiss her ... No, this is not good. On the contrary, from now on I will no longer look at women. I will never, never go to the girls' room, I will even try not to pass by; and in three years I will leave custody and marry without fail. I will deliberately do as many movements as possible, gymnastics every day, so that when I am twenty-five years old, I will be stronger than Rappo. The first day I will hold half a pood with my outstretched hand for five minutes, the next day twenty-one pounds, the third day twenty-two pounds, and so on, so that, finally, four pounds in each hand, and so that I will be the strongest in household; and when suddenly someone decides to insult me ​​or begins to speak disrespectfully about her, I will take him like that, simply, by the chest, raise him two arshins from the ground with one hand and just hold him so that he feels my strength, and leave him; but, by the way, this is not good either; no, nothing, because I won’t harm him, but only prove that I ... ”Let me not be reproached for the fact that the dreams of my youth are as childish as the dreams of childhood and adolescence. I am convinced that if I am destined to live to a ripe old age and my story catches up with my age, I will be an old man of seventy years of age just as impossible to dream childishly as now. I will dream of some charming Maria who will love me, a toothless old man, as she fell in love with Mazepa, about how my feeble-minded son will suddenly become a minister on some extraordinary occasion, or about how suddenly I will have an abyss of millions of money . I am convinced that there is no human being and no age without this beneficent, comforting ability to dream. But, except for the common feature of impossibility - the magic of dreams, the dreams of every person and every age have their own distinctive character. In that period of time that I consider the limit of adolescence and the beginning of youth, four feelings were the basis of my dreams: love for her, to an imaginary woman whom I always dreamed of in the same sense and whom I expected to meet somewhere at any moment. This she is there was a little Sonechka, a little Masha, Vasily's wife, while she was washing clothes in a trough, and a little a woman with pearls on a white neck, whom I saw a very long time ago in the theater, in a box next to us. The second feeling was love love. I wanted everyone to know and love me. I wanted to say my name: Nikolai Irteniev, and so that everyone would be amazed at this news, surround me and thank me for something. The third feeling was the hope of extraordinary, vain happiness - so strong and firm that it turned into madness. I was so sure that very soon, as a result of some extraordinary event, I would suddenly become the richest and most distinguished person in the world, that I was constantly in anxious expectation of something magically happy. I kept waiting for this will begin and I will achieve everything that a man can desire, and always hastened everywhere, believing that already starts where I am not. The fourth and main feeling was self-loathing and repentance, but repentance merged with the hope of happiness to such an extent that it had nothing sad in it. It seemed to me so easy and natural to tear myself away from everything that had passed, to remake it, to forget everything that had happened, and to start my life with all its relationships completely anew, that the past did not burden me, did not bind me. I even reveled in disgust for the past and tried to see it darker than it was. The blacker the circle of memories of the past was, the purer and brighter the bright, pure point of the present stood out from it and the rainbow colors of the future developed. It was this voice of repentance and a passionate desire for perfection that was the main new spiritual sensation in that era of my development, and it was it that laid new foundations for my view of myself, people, and the world of God. A good, joyful voice, so many times since then, in those sad times, when the soul silently submitted to the power of life’s lies and depravity, suddenly boldly rebelling against all unrighteousness, maliciously distinguishing the past, pointing out, forcing her to love, a clear point of the present and promising good and happiness in the future - a good, joyful voice! Will you ever stop playing?

OUR FAMILY CLUB

Dad was rarely at home this spring. But on the other hand, when this happened, he was extremely cheerful, strummed his favorite tricks on the pianos, made sweet little eyes and invented jokes about all of us and Mimi, like the fact that the Georgian prince saw Mimi on a boat and fell in love so much that he filed a petition to the synod about the divorce, that I was appointed assistant to the Vienna envoy - and with a serious face told us this news; frightened Katenka with spiders, which she was afraid of; he was very affectionate with our friends Dubkov and Nekhlyudov, and incessantly told us and the guests his plans for the coming year. Despite the fact that these plans changed almost every day and contradicted one another, they were so fascinating that we listened to them, and Lyubochka, without winking, looked directly at papa's mouth so as not to utter a single word. Now the plan was to leave us in Moscow at the university, and go to Italy with Lyubochka for two years, then to buy an estate in the Crimea, on the southern coast, and go there every summer, then to to move to St. Petersburg with the whole family, etc. But, besides the special merriment, lately there has been another change in papa that surprised me very much. He made himself a fashionable dress - an olive tailcoat, fashionable drawers with stirrups and a long back that went very well with him, and often he smelled wonderfully of perfume when he went to visit, and especially to one lady about whom Mimi did not say otherwise, as with a sigh and with such a face on which one can read the words: “Poor orphans! Unfortunate passion! It’s good that she’s gone,” etc. I learned from Nikolai, because dad didn’t tell us anything about his gambling affairs, that he played especially happily this winter; won something terribly much, put the money in a pawnshop and in the spring did not want to play anymore. It was true that, afraid of not being able to resist, he so wanted to leave for the village as soon as possible. He even decided, without waiting for me to enter the university, to immediately after Easter go with the girls to Petrovskoe, where Volodya and I were supposed to arrive later.

Volodya all this winter and until the very spring was inseparable from Dubkov (they began to part coldly with Dmitry). Their main pleasures, as far as I could conclude from the conversations that I heard, constantly consisted in the fact that they constantly drank champagne, rode in a sleigh under the windows of a young lady with whom, it seems, they were in love together, and danced counterparts no longer on children's, but on real balls. This last circumstance, despite the fact that Volodya and I loved each other, very much separated us. We felt too great a difference - between a boy who has teachers and a man who dances at big balls - to dare to communicate our thoughts to each other. Katya was already quite old, she read a lot of novels, and the idea that she might soon get married no longer seemed to me a joke; but, despite the fact that Volodya was also big, they did not get along with him and even, it seems, mutually despised each other. In general, when Katenka was alone at home, nothing but novels interested her, and for the most part she was bored; when strange men came by, she became very lively and amiable, and did with her eyes what I could not understand in any way, what she wanted to express by this. Later, only when I heard in a conversation from her that the only coquetry permitted for a girl is the coquetry of the eyes, I could explain to myself these strange unnatural grimaces with eyes that did not seem to surprise others at all. Lyubochka, too, was already beginning to wear an almost long dress, so that her goose legs were almost invisible, but she was the same crybaby as before. Now she dreamed of marrying not a hussar, but a singer or musician, and for this purpose she diligently studied music. St.-Jérôme, who, knowing that he would stay in our house only until the end of my examinations, found himself a place with some count, since then somehow contemptuously looked at our family. He was rarely at home, began to smoke cigarettes, which were then a great panache, and incessantly whistled some merry tunes through the card. Mimi grew more and more distressed every day, and it seemed that since we all began to grow big, she did not expect anything good from anyone or anything.

When I came to have dinner, I found only Mimi, Katenka, Lyubochka and St.-Jérôme "a in the dining room; dad was not at home, and Volodya was preparing for an exam with his comrades in his room and demanded dinner to himself. In general, this is the last time for the most part the first place at the table was occupied by Mimi, whom no one respected, and dinner lost much of its charm. Dinner was no longer, as with mamma or grandmother, some kind of ritual that unites the whole family at a certain hour and divides the day into two halves. they allowed themselves to be late, come to the second course, drink wine in glasses (which St.-Jérôme himself set an example), fall apart on a chair, get up before dinner, etc. Since then, dinner has ceased to be, as before, a daily family joyful celebration What a difference it used to be in Petrovsky, when at two o'clock everyone, washed up, dressed for dinner, sits in the living room and, talking cheerfully, waits for the appointed hour. with a napkin on hand, with worthy Foka enters with a soft and rather stern face, with quiet steps. "The meal is ready!" he proclaims in a loud, drawling voice, and everyone, with cheerful, contented faces, the elders in front, the younger behind, rustling with starched skirts and creaking boots and shoes, go into the dining room and, talking in low voices, sit down in known places. Or is it something that used to happen in Moscow, when everyone, talking quietly, stands in front of the laid table in the hall, waiting for the grandmother, to whom Gavrilo has already gone to report that the food has been set, - suddenly the door opens, the rustle of a dress, the shuffling of feet, and the grandmother , in a cap with some unusual purple bow, sideways, smiling or squinting gloomily (depending on the state of health), swims out of his room. Gavrilo rushes to her armchair, the chairs rustle, and, feeling some kind of cold run down your back - a harbinger of appetite, you take hold of a damp, starched napkin, eat a crust of bread and with impatient and joyful greed, rubbing your hands under the table, look at the smoking plates soup, which the butler pours according to rank, age and attention of the grandmother.

Now I no longer felt any joy or excitement when I came to dinner.

The chatter of Mimi, St.-Jérôme "and the girls about what terrible boots the Russian teacher wears, how the princesses Kornakov have dresses with frills, etc. - their chatter, which previously inspired me with sincere contempt, which I, especially in relation to Lyubochka and Katenka, did not try to hide, did not bring me out of my new, virtuous mood. I was unusually meek; smiling, I listened to them especially affectionately, respectfully asked me to transfer the kvass and agreed with St.-Jérôme "th, who corrected me in the phrase which I said at dinner, saying that it is more beautiful to say je puis than je peux. I must, however, confess that it was somewhat unpleasant for me that no one paid special attention to my meekness and virtue. Lyubochka showed me after dinner a piece of paper on which she wrote down all her sins; I found that this is very good, but what is even better in my soul is to write down all my sins, and that "all this is not right."

- Why is it not? – asked Lyubochka.

- Well, yes, and that's good; you won’t understand me, - and I went upstairs, telling St.-Jérôme "that I was going to study, but, in fact, so that before confession, which was an hour and a half left, I would write myself a schedule of my duties and occupations, set out on paper the purpose of your life and the rules by which you always, without retreating, act.