What is Tolstoy the Caucasian prisoner about? L.N

Story " Caucasian prisoner"was written by L.N. Tolstoy in the 70s of the 19th century.

“The events of the story take place during the war between the Russians and the highlanders, but the narrator does not report any historical information, limited to one in a short phrase: “There was a war in the Caucasus then.” For the first time, Tolstoy’s story was built on the events themselves, on the plot itself - on the simplest interest in how things would end.

The reader is required to do nothing more than sympathize with the hero who is in danger of death.

The material for the story was events from the life of Tolstoy himself in the Caucasus (persecution by the Chechens, who almost took him prisoner) and some book sources describing the Caucasian war and captivity.”

B. Eikhenbaum. "Leo Tolstoy"

From the memoirs of F. F. Tornau: “In order to prevent a stranger from creeping up to my prison at night, Tambiev (the owner) taught a very angry big one that belonged to him to lie near the door black dog, which brought fear to the entire neighborhood. At first, when I appeared, she bared her teeth, grumbled, and was even about to cling to her legs, but soon I struck up the closest friendship with her, of course, secretly, so as not to arouse Tambiev’s suspicion. I was not very full, but the poor dog was even hungrier: secretly I gave her what I could from my millet, and Ha-kraz, as she was called, when she saw me, was no longer angry, but only waved her tail, looking at me with the most tender eyes...

Having obtained a piece of pencil, I drew on the shutter and on the planed posts everything that came to mind; there was no point in thinking about paper. The Circassians tolerated animals, flowers and species, but did not want to tolerate human figures and always scraped them off. The Surets, as they called them, filled them with superstitious fear. “Where do you get the courage,” Tambiev once told me, “to portray a person created in the likeness of Allah in such a similar way?” You cannot give souls to your image. Look, when you die, in the next world your surets will take away your peace, demanding an immortal soul for themselves; and where will you get it from?" Then I started carving poles from dogwood wood that the Circassians use for walking in the mountains. They really liked it, and many asked to decorate their poles, which I always succeeded in doing, to their satisfaction.<...>

Childhood curiosity prevailed over fear. Looking at the Tambiev children, who had long been accustomed to me, other children began to come closer, then one of the girls decided to climb into my tower, and it ended with us becoming very good friends... Most often, two young girls visited me... Kuchukhuzh and her maid Han. Taking advantage of every free minute, they came running to me with some children's stories or questions, brought me eggs, berries, tobacco, brought other girls with them, sang Abazekh songs in chorus, or, seeing me reluctant and thoughtful, sat silently waiting for me kind words."

Almost every classic writer of the 19th century wrote about the Caucasus. This region, engulfed in an almost endless war (1817-1864), attracted authors with its beauty, rebellion and exoticism. L.N. Tolstoy was no exception and wrote a simple and vital story “Prisoner of the Caucasus.”

L. N. Tolstoy, who became famous all over the world after the novels “War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina” and others, in the 70s of the 19th century renounced his past work because his worldview had changed. The writer developed his neo-Christian teaching, according to which he decided to remake himself by “simplifying” life and his future works. And earlier literary works were written incomprehensibly for the people, who were the measure of morality and the producer of all goods.

Deciding to write in a new way, Tolstoy creates “ABC” (1871-1872) and “New ABC” (1874-1875), characterized by simplicity, clarity and strength of language. The first book also included “Prisoner of the Caucasus,” which was based on the impressions of the author himself, who was almost captured by the mountaineers in 1853. In 1872, the story was published in the magazine Zarya. The writer highly appreciated his work, classifying “Prisoner of the Caucasus” as “art that conveys the simplest everyday feelings, those that are accessible to all people around the world - universal art.”

The essence of the story

A poor officer Zhilin, serving in the Caucasus, is going home to see his mother and, possibly, get married. The road was dangerous, so the hero rode along with the convoy, which was slowly trundling along under the protection of soldiers. Unable to withstand the heat, stuffiness and slow movement, the rider rode forward. Directly towards the highlanders, who captured him along with his colleague Kostylin.

The heroes live in a barn, chained in stocks during the day. Zhilin makes toys for local children, which especially attracts Dina, the daughter of their “owner”. The girl takes pity on the craftsman and brings him cakes. Zhilin cannot hope for a ransom; he decides to escape through a tunnel. Taking Kostylin with him, he heads for freedom, but his comrade, clumsy and obese, ruined the whole plan, the prisoners were returned. Conditions became worse, they were moved to a pit and the pads were no longer removed at night. With the help of Dina, Zhilin runs again, but his comrade categorically refuses. The fugitive, despite his feet being shackled in stocks, reached his own, and his friend was later ransomed.

Characteristics of the main characters

Zhilin is an officer from poor nobles, in life he is used to relying only on himself, he knows how to do everything with his own hands. The hero understands that no one will save him from captivity: his mother is too poor, he himself has not saved anything for his service. But he does not lose heart, but is engrossed in activity: digging a tunnel, making toys. He is observant, resourceful, persistent and patient - these are the qualities that helped him free himself. The man is not devoid of nobility: he cannot leave his comrade in the service, Kostylin. Although the latter abandoned him during the attack of the mountaineers, because of him the first escape failed, Zhilin does not hold a grudge against his “cellmate.”
Kostylin is a noble and rich officer, he hopes for money and influence, so in an extreme situation he turns out to be incapable of anything. He is a pampered, weak in spirit and body, an inert person. Meanness is inherent in this hero, he abandoned Zhilin to the mercy of fate both during the attack, and when he could not run because of his worn out legs (the wound was not at all large), and when he did not run a second time (probably thinking about the hopelessness of the enterprise). That is why this coward rotted for a long time in a hole in a mountain village and was ransomed barely alive.

Main idea

The work is really written simply and even its meaning lies on the surface. The main idea of the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” is that you should never give up in the face of difficulties, you need to overcome them, and not wait for help from others, and no matter what the conditions, a way out can always be found. At least try.

It would seem, who has a better chance of escaping captivity: poor Zhilin or rich Kostylin? Of course, the latter. However, the first has courage and willpower, so he does not wait for mercy, ransom, divine intervention, but simply acts as best he can. At the same time, he does not go over his head, believing that the end justifies the means, he difficult situation remains human. Main character close to the people who, according to the author, still have decency and nobility in their souls, and not in their pedigree. That is why he defeated all hostile circumstances.

Topics

Many issues are raised in the story. The theme of friendship, sincere and real on the part of Zhilin and “friendship by chance” on Kostylin’s part. If the first defended the second as himself, then the latter abandoned his comrade to death.
The theme of the feat is also revealed in the story. The language and description of events are natural and everyday, because the work is for children, so Zhilin’s exploits are described in a completely ordinary way, but in reality, who will protect his comrade in any situation? Who would be willing to give everything to be free? Who would voluntarily refuse to bother an old mother with a ransom that is too much for her? Of course, a real Hero. For him, feat is a natural state, so he is not proud of it, but just lives like that.
The theme of mercy and sympathy is revealed in the image of Dina. Unlike “Prisoner of the Caucasus” by A.S. Pushkin, heroine L.N. Tolstoy did not save the prisoner out of love, she was guided by higher feelings, she took pity on such a kind and skillful man, and was imbued with purely friendly sympathy and respect for him.

Issues

The Caucasian War lasted almost half a century, and many Russians died in it. And for what? L.N. Tolstoy raises the problem of senseless and brutal war. It benefits only the highest circles, ordinary people completely unnecessary and alien. Zhilin, a native of the people, feels like a stranger in the mountain village, but does not feel hostility, because the mountaineers simply lived quietly until they were conquered and began to try to subjugate them. The author shows in positive character“owner” Zhilin Abdulla, whom the main character likes, and his compassionate and kind daughter Dina. They are not animals, not monsters, they are the same as their opponents.
The problem of betrayal fully faces Zhilin. Comrade Kostylin betrays him, because of him they are in captivity, because of him they did not immediately escape. The hero is a man with a broad soul; he generously forgives his colleague, realizing that not every person is capable of being strong.

What does the story teach?

The main lesson that the reader can take away from “Prisoner of the Caucasus” is to never give up. Even if everything is against you, even if it seems that there is no hope, then someday everything will change in better side if you direct all your efforts to achieve your goal. And although, fortunately, few people are familiar with this extreme situation, like Zhilin, you should learn perseverance from him.

Another important thing that the story teaches is that war and national strife are meaningless. These phenomena may be beneficial to immoral people in power, but normal person I must try to prevent this for myself, not to be a chauvinist and nationalist, because, despite some differences in values and lifestyles, each of us always and everywhere strives for the same thing - tranquility, happiness and peace.

Story by L.N. Tolstoy, almost 150 years later, has not lost relevance. It is written simply and clearly, but this does not at all reflect on its in a deep sense. Therefore, this work is a must read.

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And the story of L.N. Tolstoy.
According to the plot, the Russian is captured by the Caucasians and calls good feelings from the side of a young female person (in the first two cases - a romantic narrative and love from the outside adult girl, in the third case, the events are depicted in a realistic manner - the sympathy of a teenage girl).
Leo Tolstoy himself served in the Caucasus; the material for the story was events from the writer’s life and stories he heard during his service. Pushkin was also in the Caucasus, where he began his poem, inspired by the beauty of the Caucasus and the stories of the mountaineers.

"Prisoner of the Caucasus" Pushkin is a romantic poem written in 1821. The plot is based on the romantic topos of the passionate love of a disappointed, rebellious hero (a captured Russian officer) for “children of nature” who have not been spoiled by civilization (they are represented by a beautiful Circassian woman). This lyrical theme is presented against an epic background: the beauty of the boundless Caucasus, the exotic life of the highlanders, the successes of Russian weapons. Pushkin does not indicate either the name of the hero or his past, but we can learn a little about the hero from hints and understatements. The hero of the poem is severely disappointed, dissatisfied with reality and gripped by a thirst for freedom. He went to the Caucasus - a land of strong and freedom-loving people - to find the freedom of spirit he desired and needed, but was captured.
“Prisoner of the Caucasus” remained his most popular work during the poet’s lifetime.
The enormous success of the poem is evidenced by the fact that among numerous imitations, the poem of the same name by 14-year-old Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, borrowing entire fragments of the text from the original source, is noteworthy.
Plot.
In the village, where Circassians sit on the thresholds in the evening and talk about their battles, a horseman appears dragging a Russian prisoner on a lasso, who seems to have died from his wounds. But at noon the prisoner comes to his senses, remembers what is wrong with him, where he is, and discovers shackles on his legs. He's a slave!
With a dream he flies to Russia, where he spent his youth and which he left for the sake of freedom. He dreamed of finding her in the Caucasus, but he found slavery. Now he only wants death.
At night, when the village has calmed down, a young Circassian woman comes to the captive and brings him cool kumiss to quench his thirst. It becomes clear that she is in love with him. For many days in a row, the chained captive grazes his flock in the mountains, and every night a Circassian woman comes to him, brings kumis, wine, honey and millet, shares a meal with him and sings songs of the mountains, teaches the captive her native language. She fell in love with the prisoner with her first love, but he is unable to reciprocate her feelings, fearing to disturb the sleep of forgotten love. Slowly but surely the prisoner began to get used to such a life. His eyes were delighted by the majestic mountains of the Caucasus and Elbrus in an icy crown. He often found special joy in the storms that raged on the mountain slopes, not reaching the heights where he was.
A Circassian woman in love, who recognized the delights of his heart, tries to persuade the captive to forget his homeland and freedom. She is ready to despise the will of her father and brother, who want to sell her to an unloved person in another village, persuade them, or commit suicide. She only loves the prisoner. But her words and caresses do not awaken the soul of the captive. He indulges in memories and one day, crying, he opens his soul to her, he begs the Circassian woman to forget him, who became a victim of passions that deprived him of his raptures and desires. He laments that he recognized her so late, when there is no longer hope and dreams and he is unable to respond to her love, his soul is cold and insensitive, and another image lives in it, forever sweet, but unattainable.
In response to the prisoner’s confessions, the Circassian woman reproaches him and says that he could, at least out of pity, deceive her inexperience. She asks him to be lenient towards her mental anguish. The prisoner tells her that their fates are similar, that he, too, did not know reciprocity in love and suffered alone. The prisoner says that he perceives her as a kindred spirit, which is why he talks about everything. At dawn, sad and silent, they part, and from then on the captive spends time alone, dreaming of freedom.
One day he hears a noise and sees that the Circassians are going on a raid. Only women, children and elders remain in the village. The prisoner dreams of escape, but the heavy chain and deep river- insurmountable obstacles. And when it got dark, she came to the prisoner, holding a saw and a dagger in her hands. She cuts the chain herself. The excited young man invites her to run away with him, but the Circassian woman refuses, knowing that he loves someone else. She says goodbye to him, and the prisoner throws himself into the river and swims to the opposite bank. Suddenly he hears the sound of waves and a distant groan behind him. Having reached the shore, he turns around and does not find the Circassian woman on the abandoned shore. The prisoner understands what this splash and groan meant. He looks with a farewell glance at the abandoned village, at the field where he grazed his flock, and goes to where Russian bayonets sparkle and the leading Cossacks call out. Freedom and his native Russian land await him ahead.
The poem ends with a poetic epilogue glorifying the Russian conquest of the Caucasus and in particular the valor of commander Ermolov.
"Prisoner of the Caucasus" Tolstoy - a story telling about a Russian officer captured by the highlanders. This is one of the most popular works of Leo Tolstoy, reprinted many times and included in school curriculum. The title of the story is a reference to the title of Pushkin's poem "Prisoner of the Caucasus".
Plot.
The action takes place during the Caucasian War.
The main character is Russian officer Zhilin. His character corresponds to his surname: he is strong, persistent, and wiry.
He received a letter from his mother, and he decided to go home on vacation. But on the way, he and another Russian officer Kostylin were captured by “Tatars” (in fact, Muslim mountaineers, but in those days all Muslims were called “Tatars”, because “Tatar” is not a nationality). This happened due to Kostylin’s fault. He was supposed to cover Zhilin, but he saw the Tatars, got scared and ran away from them. The Tatar who captured the Russian officers sold them to another Tatar. The prisoners were shackled and kept in the same barn.
The Tatars forced the officers to write letters to their relatives demanding a ransom. Kostylin obeyed, and Zhilin specially wrote a different address, because he knew: there was no one to buy him, Zhilin’s old mother lived very poorly. Zhilin and Kostylin sat in the barn for a whole month. The owner's 13-year-old daughter Dina became attached to Zhilin. She secretly brought him cakes and milk, and he made dolls for her. Zhilin began to think about how he and Kostylin could escape from captivity. Soon he began digging in the barn.
When Zhilin notices that the village residents are alarmed because of the death of one of their fellow villagers in a battle with the Russians and can easily take out their anger on prisoners, he decides to escape. He and Kostylin crawl into a tunnel at night and try to get to the forest, and from there to the fortress. However, when they entered the forest, Kostylin began to lag behind and whine - his boots had rubbed his feet. Because of Kostylin, they did not go far; they were noticed by a Tatar who was driving through the forest. He told the owners of the hostages, they took the dogs and quickly caught up with the prisoners. The shackles were put on them again and they were not removed even at night. Instead of a barn, the hostages were put in a hole five arshins deep. Dina sometimes continues to bring food to Zilina. Realizing that the mountaineers are afraid of the arrival of the Russians and could kill the prisoners, one day at nightfall Zhilin asks Dina to bring him a long stick, with which he climbs out of the hole (the sick and soggy Kostylin remains there). Dina gave him some flatbread for the journey and cried, saying goodbye to Zhilin. He was kind to the girl, and she became very attached to him. Having made his way through the forest, at dawn Zhilin goes to the location of the Russian troops.
Zhilin told them about his adventures, and then said: “So I went home and got married! No, apparently it’s not my destiny.” And Zhilin remained to serve in the Caucasus. “And Kostylin was bought out only a month later for five thousand. They brought me barely alive.”
Relationship between Zhilin and Dina. Was there love between them?
-Dina - maybe she fell in love with Zhilin - the way little girls fall in love with adult men: teachers, friends of their parents or older brothers of their friends. If this was love, then it was childish love. And it is unlikely that she herself realized the nature of her feelings for this to a strange person, and certainly could not express it in words, neither in Russian nor in my own language.
-For Zhilin, Dina became a true friend. Zhilin treated her like a little girl. He saw her as a child, and if he loved her, then as a child. Like the daughter he never had. But when he was freed, he changed his mind about getting married (his mother picked a bride for him) - why? Firstly, he felt that it was “not his destiny” to get married. Secondly, he realized that he was unlikely to find a wife who would be a true friend to him, like Dina. And in any case, he could not marry Dina. Of course, they could not run away together and did not think about it, neither he nor she.

I would like to present one of the works of L.N. Tolstoy, his summary. “Prisoner of the Caucasus” is a work that the writer took on at the request of the editors of two magazines: “Zarya” and “Conversation”. At that time, these magazines were not widely distributed. Tolstoy completed his story in 1872 on March 25th. The publication of the work did not have to wait long: in the same year, “Prisoner of the Caucasus” appeared on the pages of the Zarya magazine.

The basis of the story was an incident that actually happened to the author. On June 13, 1853, five Russian officers were attacked by Chechens in the Caucasus, among them was Tolstoy.

Summary. “Prisoner of the Caucasus”: the beginning of the story

Officer Zhilin served in the Caucasus. One day he received a letter from his mother, after reading it, he decided to visit home. On the way there, he and Kostylin (another Russian officer) were attacked by highlanders. Everything happened through the fault of Kostylin; instead of covering Zhilin, he started to run. So the officers, instead of their home, were captured by the highlanders. The prisoners were shackled and locked in a barn.

Next we present the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” (summary). Then the following events occur. The officers, under pressure from the mountaineers, were forced to send letters to their relatives asking them to ransom them. Kostylin wrote, but Zhilin deliberately indicated an unreliable address, because he knew that the poor old mother would not have any money. They lived like this in the barn for a month. During this time, Zhilin won over the owner’s daughter Dina. The Russian officer surprised a thirteen-year-old child with homemade dolls, and the girl thanked him for this with secretly brought flat cakes and milk. Zhilin was haunted by the thought of escaping, and he decided to make a tunnel.

The long-awaited escape

One night they decided to escape: they crawled into a tunnel and planned to get to the fortress through the forest. In the darkness they went in the wrong direction and ended up near a strange village. They had to quickly change direction before the mountaineers caught them. Kostylin complained all the way, constantly falling behind and groaning. Zhilin could not leave his comrade and decided to carry him on himself. Due to the heavy burden (the fat and awkward Kostylin), he quickly got tired. The movement of the officers was very slow, so they were quickly overtaken, brought back, severely beaten with whips and put not in a barn, but in a hole 5 arshins deep.

Savior Dina

Zhilin is not used to giving up. He constantly thought about how he could escape. His savior was the owner’s daughter Dina, whom we mentioned earlier. At night, the girl brought the officer a long stick, with which he was able to climb up.

Having got out of the hole, Zhilin ran downhill and tried to remove the blocks, but the lock was so strong that he was unable to do this. Dina helped the officer with all her might, but the child’s support was in vain. The prisoner decided to escape just like that. Zhilin said goodbye to the girl, thanked her for the flat cakes she brought, and walked away in the stocks.

Freedom at last

The unshakable Russian officer finally reached the end of the forest at dawn, and the Cossacks appeared on the horizon. However, on the other side, the mountaineers were catching up with Zilina, it seemed that his heart was about to freeze. The officer got ready and shouted at the top of his lungs so that the Cossacks could hear him. The mountaineers got scared and stopped. This is how Zhilin escaped.

After this incident, the officer decided to live in the Caucasus. Kostylin remained in captivity for another month, and only then, barely alive, was he finally ransomed.

This concludes the summary. “Prisoner of the Caucasus” is one of the most poetic and perfect works in “Russian Books for Reading”.

We told you about the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” (summary) by Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich. It is essentially a miniature novel aimed at children.