An essay with a plan based on Tvardovsky's poem “Vasily Terkin. Topic: “The image of Vasily Terkin in the work of Tvardovsky What do we learn about terkin from the author

Vasily Terkin - the main character of the poem of the same name by Alexander Tvardovsky, a brave soldier from the Smolensk region. This is an ordinary guy from the people, who embodied the best features of a Russian soldier. He does not stand out in any way externally or in mental abilities, but during the battle he shows considerable courage and ingenuity. The image of Vasily Terkin can be attributed to a generalization. The author notes more than once that such a Terkin was in other companies, only under a different name. This image is close to ordinary soldiers, he is one of them.

In the poem "Vasily Terkin" the protagonist more than once rescues his comrades and boldly fights for his homeland. So, for example, when communication with the commander is lost, he swims across the river in the cold to report on the situation and receive further orders. And when an enemy plane is circling over the soldiers, he is the only one who decides to shoot from a rifle, thereby knocking out a bomber. In any situation, Terkin manifests himself as a hero, for which he is awarded an order. The author emphasizes the fact that even death could not defeat such a fighter.

In addition to courage and love for the motherland, Vasily more than once shows humanity and the breadth of his soul. On the way, he amuses everyone with jokes, plays the accordion, helps old people whose watches and saws are broken, and also maintains the morale of his comrades.

Over time, Terkin rises to the rank of officer, and participates in the liberation of his native village, and his surname becomes a household name. At the end of the poem, a German bathhouse is shown, in which Russian soldiers are steaming. That fighter, who has the most scars and awards, is called by fellow soldiers the real Terkin.

Plan:
1. Features of military literature.
2. The image of the war in the poem "Vasily Terkin".
a) "Vasily Terkin" as the Bible of a front-line man.
b) Terkin's character traits in Russian fighters.
c) The role of the hero in raising the patriotic spirit of soldiers.
3. Evaluation of the poem by critics and the people.

Over the long four years during which the war between the USSR and Nazi Germany continued, many literary works were written that rightfully entered the treasury of Russian literature. Among them, a special place is occupied by Tvardovsky's poem "Vasily Terkin". Ivan Bunin wrote about her that "this is truly a rare book." The question may arise: what is the difference between this book and others?

The main difference lies in the dissimilarity to the literature of the war years. Where else can you find a poem riddled with humor, in which there is not a single note of pessimism? War is a tear, grief, heartache. It was already hard for ordinary workers, fighters. If the poem revealed only the fear and horror of what is happening, it would not have made such a bright impression. Tvardovsky set out to make his poem revive the Soviet people in difficult times.

"Vasily Terkin" is a very original work. The Soviet soldiers liked the image of a merry fighter so much that even the newspapers, in which the poem was printed chapter by chapter, they kept, cherished like the apple of their eye, and did not use for cigarette rolls. It was a kind of front-line Bible. What happiness for the soldiers were parcels from the rear and letters from relatives, the same joy was for them the new chapter of the poem. The poem was dear to them, because the story of the protagonist is a biography of themselves, the entire army, millions of Soviet soldiers. Everyone could see some character trait in Terkin and exclaim: “So this poem was written about me!” Many aspired to be like him.

"Vasily Terkin" is an interesting, fascinating work. Truthfulness, simplicity, folk speech conquer the reader. The humorous stories of the soldier Terkin serve as a means of maintaining morale. The main character never leaves optimism. He cheers up the foot soldiers and relieves fatigue by playing the accordion. Probably, it is no coincidence that the author uses this particular instrument, because the accordion is a symbol of happiness, prosperity, harmony. This Russian miracle man will play a simple melody - he will immediately breathe something familiar, his soul will become warmer, and faith in victory will light up with bright fire. Just as Vasily Terkin raised the mood of desperate comrades with his stories, playing the accordion, so the poem itself raised the morale of the soldiers, gave strength to fight on. Perhaps this is the main meaning of the poem.

"Vasily Terkin" is a really rare book. It does not glorify Stalin, which was a common feature of the works of the war years. Tvardovsky himself noted that the mention of the leading role of the party would not allow the poem to become popular. "The book about a fighter" was quite highly appreciated, and Tvardovsky was awarded the Stalin Prize for his work, although he never mentioned the leader of the people in the poem. Not every work receives such an award and high praise from critics. Even this fact confirms the significance of this work in Russian literature. "Vasily Terkin" is a folk work loved by millions.

Characteristics of the characters: the relationship of Vasily Terkin with front-line comrades

"Terkin, Terkin, kind fellow ..." - this is how the author addresses his hero in the poem of the same name. Tvardovsky fell in love with the image of this daring fighter, a magnificent comrade, a miracle man. But not only Tvardovsky was imbued with sympathy for the hero he had invented: all Soviet soldiers loved him very much, tried to be like him.

Even in the first chapter, all the soldiers notice in their company a new comrade who is "a guy anywhere." This characteristic is already enough to make it clear in the future how well the relations between the soldiers will develop.

Everyone trusted this kind and cheerful person. So, the tankers gladly lent Terkin the harmonica of their dead commander. Vasily immediately begins to sing a fervent song, for which his comrades begin to like him even more. The tankers decided to give the accordion to their new friend - he is its most worthy owner.

Terkin finds a common language not only with his peers, but also with people of the older generation. He cannot pass by the hut in which an old man and an old woman who do not know each other live. He repairs the old people everything that they have is defective: a saw, a watch. He enjoys being in the company of these nice people, but military duty obliges him to go further. On the threshold, the grandfather asks Terkin if the Russians will be able to defeat the Nazis, to which Terkin confidently replies that they can. Terkin meets these same old men a little later, being an officer. When he learns that a German has stolen the watch he repaired himself, he promises to bring new ones.

In the hospital, Terkin meets a boy from Tambov, who, despite his young age, has already managed to become a hero and showed Vasily his order. But Terkin has more modest desires: “Why do I need an order? I agree to a medal." However, he is offended by the proud tone of the boy, and he tries to prove in practice that there can be heroes in Smolensk.

The most mysterious interlocutor in Terkin's poem is Oblique, or death. The wounded fighter lies on the snow and loses strength, but as soon as the Oblique announces his arrival, Terkin drives her away, saying that he will not give up under any circumstances, even on a frosty night, crying from pain and impotence.

This is how the glorious fighter Vasily Terkin was. He always helped his comrades, helped the old and the poor, fought an honest fight in the war, and in the “civilian” was an ordinary perky person. During the war, there were few such “Terkins” in the country, but each soldier possessed at least one of the traits of this wonderful hero, so it can be argued that this character, although invented by Tvardovsky, but the prototype of him, the “Russian miracle man”, can certainly be found and now.

mini essay

Victory in the Great Patriotic War is the main achievement of the Soviet people in the 20th century. It would seem how many hardships the inhabitants of this large state endured, but they don’t care! A key role in bringing victory closer was played not only by skilled fighters who bravely stood with their breasts for their homeland, but also by people who worked in their own way in the rear. Writers and poets contributed a lot to the victory, as they raised the military spirit of the soldiers, creating the ideal images that everyone aspired to. War is a tragic event, but the life-affirming pathos of military songs and poems set the soldiers in an optimistic mood.

The main work of the wartime writer Alexander Tvardovsky is Vasily Terkin. With impatience, the soldiers waited for the publication of a new chapter in the newspaper, read with pleasure and thereby raised their military spirit. Everyone wanted to be like the main character Vasily Terkin, who adopted the features of heroes from Russian epics. No one is safe from a stray bullet during the war years, but not everyone finds the strength in himself to fight for life. The seriously wounded Terkin is not afraid of death and drives her away when she comes for him: “I did not call you, Kosaya, I am a soldier still alive,” says Vasily and wins the fight against death.

Each chapter in the poem is permeated with such optimistic, life-affirming pathos. The soldiers, reading such works, could not fail to win after that, because even after the end of the war they had an incentive to strive to become like their favorite hero, Vasily Terkin.

Alexander Trifonovich Tvardovsky - the most famous Soviet writer, journalist and poet. The image of Vasily Terkin, created by him in the most difficult years for our country, is familiar to everyone since childhood. The brave, resilient and resourceful soldier retains his appeal even today. Therefore, it was Tvardovsky's poem and its main character that became the topic of this article.

Vasya Terkin and "The book about a fighter"

A hero named Vasya Terkin was created before the Great Patriotic War by a team of journalists, one of whom was Tvardovsky. The character was an invincible fighter, lucky and strong, somewhat reminiscent of an epic hero.

On the journalist, who was Tvardovsky, the image of Vasily Terkin evokes the idea of ​​​​creating a full-fledged work in verse. Returning, the writer begins work and intends to complete the book already in 1941 and call it "The Book of a Fighter." However, the new war mixed plans, Tvardovsky went to the front. In the difficult first months, he simply does not have time to think about the work; together with the army, he retreats, leaves the encirclement.

Creating the image of the main character

In 1942, the writer returns to the planned poem. But now her hero is fighting not in the past, but in the current war. The very image of Vasily Terkin in the poem is also changing. Before that, he was a merry fellow and joker Vasya, now he is a completely different person. The fate of other people, the outcome of the war depend on it. June 22, 1942 Tvardovsky announces the new name of the future poem - "Vasily Terkin".

The work was written during the war, almost in parallel with it. The poet managed to quickly reflect the front-line changes and preserve the artistry and beauty of the language. The chapters of the poem were printed in the newspaper, and the soldiers were looking forward to the new issue. The success of the work is explained by the fact that Vasily Terkin is the image of a Russian soldier, that is, collective, and therefore close to every soldier. Therefore, this character was so inspiring and encouraging, giving strength to fight.

The theme of the poem

The main theme of Tvardovsky's poem is the life of people at the front. No matter how cheerfully and provocatively, with humor and irony, the writer described the events and heroes, at the same time he did not let him forget that the war was a tragic and severe test. And the image of Vasily Terkin helps to reveal this idea.

The poet describes both the joy of victory and the bitterness of retreat, the life of a soldier, everything that befell the people. And these tests were passed by people for the sake of one thing: “Mortal combat is not for the sake of glory, for the sake of life on earth!”

But Tvardovsky is not only talking about the war in general. Raises philosophical questions about life and death, peaceful life and battles. The writer looks at the war through the prism of the main human values.

Symbolism in the name of the main character

The image of Vasily Terkin is noteworthy from the point of view of symbolism. An essay dedicated to this hero can be started just from this, and then proceed to a detailed description of the hero, which will be presented in detail below. So, as noted above, the hero of Tvardovsky has changed dramatically, he is no longer the joker Vasya. His place is taken by a real fighter, a Russian soldier with his biography. He participated in the Finnish campaign, then returned to the army in 1941, retreated, was surrounded, then, together with the entire army, goes on the offensive and ends up in Germany.

The image of Vasily Terkin is multifaceted, symbolic, embodying the people, the Russian type of person. It is no coincidence that there is not a single mention of his family, personal relationships in the poem. He is described as a civilian forced to become a soldier. Before the war, Vasily lived on a collective farm. Therefore, he perceives the war as an ordinary civilian: for him it is an unimaginable grief, akin to He lives the dream of a peaceful life. That is, Tvardovsky creates in Terkin the type of an ordinary peasant.

The hero has a speaking surname - Terkin, that is, a seasoned man, worn by life, in the poem it is said about him: "Grated by life."

The image of Vasily Terkin

The image of Vasily Terkin often becomes the theme of creative works. The essay about this character should be supplemented with a little information about the creation of the poem.

The disparate composition of the work is united into one whole by the main character, a participant in all the events described - Vasily Ivanovich Terkin. He himself is from Smolensk peasants. He is good-natured, easy to talk to, tries to maintain morale, for which he often tells soldiers funny stories from his military life.

Terkin was wounded from the first days at the front. But his fate, the fate of a simple man who was able to endure all the hardships of the war, personifies the strength of the Russian people, the will of her spirit and the thirst for the image of Terkin - the fact that he does not stand out in any way, he is neither smarter, nor stronger, nor more talented than others, he, like all: “Just a guy by himself / He is an ordinary ... A guy like that / There is always in every company.”

However, this ordinary person is endowed with such qualities as courage, courage, simplicity. With this, Tvardovsky emphasizes that all these qualities are inherent in all Russian people. And this is precisely the reason for our victory over a ruthless enemy.

But Terkin is not only an experienced soldier, he is also a craftsman, a jack of all trades. Despite the severity of wartime, he repairs watches, sharpens a saw, and plays the accordion between fights.

To emphasize the collective nature of the image, Tvardovsky allows the hero to speak about himself in the plural.

Terkin's conversation with Death is noteworthy. The fighter lies wounded, his life ends, and Bony appears behind him. But the hero agrees to leave with her only if she gives him a reprieve for one day so that he can "hear the victorious salute." Then Death is surprised at this selflessness and retreats.

Conclusion

So, the image of Vasily Terkin is a collective image designed to emphasize the heroism and courage of the Russian people. However, this hero also has individual traits: dexterity, ingenuity, wit, the ability not to lose heart even in the face of death.

The protagonist of the poem is a collective, generalized image, embodying the entire warring people. Almost nothing is said about the specific personality of Vasily Terkin. It is only known that he is over twenty - closer to thirty, and that he, like the author, comes from the Smolensk region, that "he fought in Karelian - across the Sestra River."

Terkin is a great lover of life, "a hunter to live up to ninety years old", got into service from the reserve, serves in the infantry, in the troops, "the closest to the earth, to cold, to fire and death." For him, war is an ordinary job that needs to be done correctly, skillfully, not for the sake of glory, but "for the sake of life on earth."

Terkin - who is he?
Let's be frank:
Just a guy himself
He is an ordinary...
Not tall, not that small
But a hero is a hero...

Through commonness, averageness Tvardovsky shows. the typicality of Terkin, because he is the embodiment of the mass of soldiers who endured all the hardships of the war. However, the image of Terkin is devoid of schematism. This is a cheerful, full-blooded hero, with his own special character.

He is a merry fellow, a joker on a halt, a lover of a hearty meal, he is not averse to amusing his comrades by playing the accordion (“Accordion”), helping the old men (“Two Soldiers”), chopping firewood for a soldier (“Before the battle”).

This is a life-loving, good-natured, broad Russian nature, having a generous heart, combining such primordially Russian qualities as soulfulness and nobility, sharpness and wisdom, determination and courage.

Vasily Terkin is a heroic image. He, without hesitation, crosses to the other side by swimming in November to report that the crossing platoon has entrenched itself on the other side (“Crossing”), occupies an enemy bunker and holds it until its own troops arrive (“Terkin is wounded”), shoots down an enemy aircraft (“Who fired?”), taking the place of the killed lieutenant, raises the fighters to attack and breaks into the village first (“On the offensive”), cheers and inspires the exhausted soldiers during the battle for the unknown “settlement of Borki”, “Where the war paved the way , / / ​​Where the water was for the infantry / Knee-deep, mud - pile-deep ("Fight in the swamp").

In the chapter "Duel", which is the culmination of the entire poem, Terkin enters into hand-to-hand combat with a physically stronger German:

Tervin knew that in this fight
He is weaker: not those grubs.

But Terkin's morale and confidence in victory are stronger, so he emerges victorious:

And then,
Anger and pain taking into a fist,
unloaded grenade

Terkin German - on the left - shmyak!
The German groaned and went limp...

This chapter echoes the epic epic, and the fight itself grows to a symbolic generalization of "Man-People". Terkin, symbolizing Russia, confronts a strong and formidable enemy, symbolizing Nazi Germany:

Like an ancient battlefield

Chest to chest, that shield to shield, -
Instead of thousands, two fight
As if a fight would solve everything.

But it should be noted that the image of Terkin is deliberately devoid of a romantic halo by the author. as if even lowered. This is achieved through the introduction of colloquial vocabulary, vernacular (“snapped a German between the eyes”, “put it in a sled”, “gave a bream”, Terkin of a German on the left - “shmyak”, etc.)

Thus, the author seeks to emphasize that the main character is not only a generalized image-symbol, but also a personality, individuality, that for him war is work, hard, dirty, but necessary, inevitable, not for glory, not for orders and medals, not for promotion.
And only in the final stanza does the author allow himself to rise to a large-scale, solemn sounding generalization:

A terrible battle is going on, bloody,
Mortal combat is not for glory,
For life on earth.

In a dispute between two forces, goodness, love and life itself won. These lines are repeatedly heard in the poem, they are a kind of refrain emphasizing the main theme of the work: the unprecedented feat of the Russian soldier.

We meet the same method of generalization and individualization in the chapter "Terkin - Terkin". Vasily meets with his namesake Ivan. Ivan differs from Vasily only in hair color (he is red), a front-line profession (armor-piercer), but otherwise both heroes are similar. The dispute between them is decided by the foreman:

What you don't understand here
Don't understand each other?
According to the charter of each company
Terkin will be given his own.

Tvardovsky's poem is often called an encyclopedia of military reality during the Great Patriotic War" (similar to Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin"). Indeed, the book about a fighter is written exclusively truthfully. The truth of war, no matter how bitter, hits right into the soul.

The poet does not embellish the events, does not depict the exploits of his hero as light and funny, on the contrary, in the poem the strongest chapters are the chapters painted with tragic pathos: "Crossing", "Fight in the swamp", "Death and the warrior", "About the orphaned soldier ".

During the war years, Tvardovsky did everything that was required for the front, often appeared in the army and front-line press: “wrote essays, poems, feuilletons, slogans, leaflets, songs, articles, notes ...” (5, 116). But his main work during the war years was the creation of the outstanding lyric-epic poem "Vasily Terkin" (1941-1945).

This, as the poet himself called it, "The book about a fighter" recreates a reliable picture of front-line reality, reveals the thoughts, feelings, experiences of a person in a war. It stands out among other poems of that time by the special fullness and depth of the realistic depiction of the people's liberation struggle, disasters and suffering, exploits and military life.

Vasily Terkin actually personifies the whole nation. It has found the artistic embodiment of the Russian national character, its essential features and qualities. But this result was not achieved immediately. The idea of ​​the poem and the origins of the image of its protagonist date back to the pre-war period, to the period of the Finnish campaign of 1939-1940, when the conditional popular print figure of the cheerful, successful fighter Vasya Terkin appeared on the pages of the newspaper "On Guard of the Motherland", created by collective efforts.

After the end of the war with Finland, Tvardovsky turned to work on the image of Terkin in a new way, feeling that the hero must change, get off the columns of “corners of humor” and “direct pickups”. In the summer and autumn of 1940, the poet became more and more imbued with the plans that engulfed him. “Terkin”, according to my then plan,” he writes, “had to combine the accessibility, unpretentiousness of form - the direct purpose of the feuilleton “Terkin” - with the seriousness and, perhaps, even the lyricism of the content ”(5, 109).

In the spring of 1941, the poet is working hard on the chapters of the future poem, but the outbreak of war puts aside these plans. “The revival of the idea and the resumption of work on the Terkin refers to the middle of 1942 ...”. Since that time, a new stage of work on the work begins: “The whole character of the poem has changed, all its content, its philosophy, its hero, its form - composition, genre, plot. The nature of the poetic narrative about the war has changed - the homeland and the people, the people in the war have become the main themes.

The first publication of "Vasily Terkin" took place in the newspaper of the Western Front "Krasnoarmeyskaya Pravda", where on September 4, 1942, the introductory chapter "From the Author" and "On a Rest" were printed. From then until the end of the war, chapters of the poem were published in this newspaper, in the magazines Krasnoarmeyets and Znamya, as well as in other print media. In addition, since 1942, the poem has been published several times in separate editions.

So, as a result of long and hard work on bearing, implementing and embodying the idea, the hero of the work ceased to be a conditional and even more so popular popular figure of an “extraordinary” person, a “hero”, he became simpler, more specific and at the same time - more generalized, more typical, personifying all warring people. Introducing readers to him already in the first chapter, the poet writes: “Terkin - who is he?

Let's be frank:

Just a guy himself

He's ordinary." And, emphasizing this, in contrast to the feuilleton character, the usual nature of his, in fact, the new Terkin, he continues: “Beauty is endowed

He was not excellent.

Not tall, not that small

But a hero is a hero."

The image of Vasily Terkin really absorbs what is typical for many: “A guy like that

In each company there is always

Yes, and in every platoon. However, in it the features and properties inherent in many people were embodied brighter, sharper, more original. Folk wisdom and optimism, resilience, endurance, patience and selflessness, worldly ingenuity, the skill and craftsmanship of a Russian person - a worker and a warrior, and finally, inexhaustible humor, behind which something deeper and more serious always appears - all this is fused into a living and integral human character. His image naturally combines classical and folklore, folk-poetic traditions.

In The Book of a Fighter, the war is depicted as it is - in everyday life and heroism, weaving the ordinary, sometimes even the comic (see, for example, the chapters "On a Halt", "In the Bathhouse") with the sublime and tragic. First of all, the poem is strong with the truth about the war as a harsh and tragic - at the limit of possibilities - a test of the vitality of the people, country, every person.

This is evidenced not only by the programmatic words about “the truth of existence ... no matter how bitter” from the introductory chapter, but literally every page of the book, the sorrowful and tragic content of many of its chapters (“Crossing”, “Fight in the swamp”, “ Death and the Warrior”, “About the Orphan Soldier”) and, of course, her lines that became winged as a refrain: “The battle is holy and right,

Mortal combat is not for glory,

For life on earth."

Being the embodiment of the Russian national character, Vasily Terkin is inseparable from the people - the mass of soldiers and a number of episodic characters (grandfather-soldier and grandmother, tankers in battle and on the march, a nurse girl in a hospital, a soldier's mother returning from enemy captivity, etc.) , it is inseparable from the motherland. And the entire "Book about a fighter" is a poetic statement of national unity.

Along with the images of Terkin and the people, an important place in the overall structure of the work is occupied by the image of the author-narrator, or, more precisely, the lyrical hero, especially noticeable in the chapters “About Me”, “About War”, “About Love”, in four chapters “From the Author ". So, in the chapter "About Myself" the poet directly states, addressing the reader:

And I will tell you: I will not hide, -

In this book, here and there,

What to say to the hero,

I speak personally.

I am responsible for everything around

And notice, if you haven't noticed,

Like Terkin, my hero,

Sometimes speaks for me.

As for the genre and plot-compositional features of the poem, when starting work on it, the poet was not too worried about this, as evidenced by his own words: the whole work in advance, the weak plot connection of the chapters with each other. Not a poem - well, let it not be a poem, I decided; there is no single plot - let yourself not, do not; there is no very beginning of a thing - there is no time to invent it; the culmination and completion of the whole narrative is not planned - let it be necessary to write about what is burning, not waiting, and then we will see we will figure it out ”(5, 123).

At the same time, the originality of the plot-compositional construction of the book is determined by the military reality itself. “There is no plot in war,” the author noted in one of the chapters. And in the poem as a whole, indeed, there are no such traditional components as the plot, the climax, the denouement. But inside the chapters with a narrative basis, as a rule, there is a plot, between these chapters there are separate plot links, bonds. Finally, the general development of events, the disclosure of the character of the hero, with all the independence of individual chapters, is clearly determined by the very course of the war, the natural change of its stages: from the bitter days of retreat and the most difficult defensive battles to the hard-won and won victory. This, by the way, was also reflected in the evidence of the original division of the poem into three parts, preserved in the final edition, designated and delimited from each other each time by the lyrical chapters “From the Author”.