The theme of the war in contemporary literature
Victory in the Great Patriotic War, cruel and merciless, went to the Soviet people at an exorbitantly high price. Twenty million people gave their lives for freedom dear to their heart Motherland. The war experienced a man for a break, revealing the true heroes and traitors. A lot of books have been written about the war. But it was with the work of Vasil Bykov, mainly from the story of “Sotnikov,” that a comprehensive process of moral and philosophical understanding of the war began in Russian literature; they were covered with the problems of choosing and testing heroes in the face of danger and death.
In Bykov’s works there are few battle scenes, spectacular historical events, but he manages to convey with tremendous depth the feelings of an ordinary soldier in a great war. Unlike such writers as Stadnyuk, Bondarev, Baklanov, Ananiev, who place the biggest battles and heroes of which are almost all of the commanding staff of the army, Bykov builds stories
In each new story, the writer puts his characters in even more difficult situations. The only thing that unites heroes is that their actions can not be assessed unambiguously. For example, in the “Alpine Ballad” Bykov describes the escape of a Russian soldier from fascist captivity together with Italian Julia. Here the author is fond of describing external events: escape, pursuit, love, the death of a hero, etc. But the story of the story of “Sotnikov” is psychologically built so that it is difficult to unambiguously evaluate the behavior of the heroes of Bykov. And there are almost no events in the story.
The plot of the story is simple: two partisans – Sotnikov and Rybak go to the village to get a sheep to feed the detachment. Prior to this, the heroes almost did not know each other, although they had time to fight and even rescued each other in one battle. Sotnikov is not completely healthy and could well have avoided the task, but he feels himself not enough “his” among the guerrillas and is therefore called to go. In this way, he wants to show his comrades-in-arms that he does not shun “dirty work.” Two guerrillas react differently to the impending danger, and the reader seems to think that the strong and intelligent Rybak is more prepared for the upcoming business than the sick and sick Sotnikov. But if Rybak, who “all his life” managed to find some way out, “is already internally ready to commit treason,
In Bykov’s story, each took his place among the victims of the war. All but Rybak, have passed their mortal path to the end. The fisherman embarked on the path of betrayal only in the name of saving his own life. The fisherman, in fact, a guy is life-loving and not devoid of positive human qualities. He, for example, shares with the comrade the remnants of a steam turnip, gives Sotnikov a towel so that he shakes his throat. He suggests the patient Sotnikov to return to the detachment, and, finally, when he almost succeeds in escaping during the clash with the policemen, he nevertheless comes back, realizing that Sotnikov covers his departure with his shooting.
The situation changes after their arrest. The fisherman does not believe until the last minute that it is impossible to escape from this trap. He decides to take the time, reporting on the interrogation only that the Germans already know about the partisan detachment. But Rybak is too simple for such a difficult game with the enemy, and, unwittingly, he utters himself, having got into a skillfully placed trap. From this moment begins his moral fall. He realized finally that he could survive by betraying his comrades in arms. For Rybak, the process of transition to another psychological state passes quickly and without suffering, since he was already internally located in this. The fisherman, like any traitor, begins to live according to special psychological laws, excluding all the good and bright that was before in the human soul.
Sotnikov, unlike Rybak, immediately realized the hopelessness of the situation, but in the last moments of his life he suddenly lost his confidence in the right to demand from others the same. as from oneself. The fisherman became just a sergeant-major, who, like a citizen and a man, did not get something. Sotnikov did not seek sympathy in the eyes of those present at the execution of people. He did not want to be badly thought of, and angry only at the executioner of the executioner Fisher. The fisherman apologized: “I’m sorry, brother.” Sotnikov threw him in the face only the phrase: “Go to hell!”
What is the depth of creativity of the writer Bykov? In. that he and the traitor Rybak left the possibility of a different path even after such a grave crime. This is the continuation of the fight against the enemy, and confessionary confession in his betrayal. The writer left his hero with the opportunity of repentance, the opportunity that God gives to a person rather than a person. Writer, I assumed that this blame can be redeemed. This is the true philanthropy of the writer.
Creativity V. Bykov is tragic in its sound, how tragic the war itself, which claimed tens of millions of human lives. But the writer talks about people strong in spirit, able to rise above the circumstances and death itself. And today it is impossible to give an objective assessment of the events of the war, not taking into account the views of the writer V. Bykov on this topic.
The Pope handed V. Bykov for the story “Sotnikov” a special prize of the Catholic Church. The fact says that in this work the universal moral principle is seen.
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