Essay on the topic: The fate of Grigory Melekhov in the novel Quiet Don, Sholokhov. "Grigory Melekhov" was shot Grigory Melekhov by the Reds

“Quiet Don” reflects the era of great upheavals at the beginning of the 20th century, which had an impact on the fate of many people, and also influenced the fate of the Don Cossacks. Oppression by officials, landowners, and the more prosperous part of the population, as well as the inability of the authorities to resolve conflict situations and equitably organize the life of the people, led to popular indignation, riots, and a revolution that developed into a civil war. In addition, the Don Cossacks also rebelled against the new government and fought with the Red Army. Bands of Cossacks dealt with the same poor, with men who, like the Cossacks, wanted to work on their land. It was a difficult, troubled time when brother went against brother, and the father could turn out to be the murderer of his son.

M.A. Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Don” reflects the turning point era of wars and revolutions, shows the events that influenced the course of history. The writer depicted the centuries-old traditions of the Don Cossacks and the peculiarities of their life, the system of their moral principles and work skills that formed the national character, which is most fully embodied by the author in the image of Grigory Melekhov.
The path of Grigory Melekhov is completely special, different from the quests of the heroes of previous eras, since Sholokhov showed, firstly, the story of a simple Cossack, a farm boy with little education, not wise in experience, not versed in political issues. Secondly, the author reflected the most difficult time of upheaval and storms for the entire European continent and for Russia in particular.

The character of Grigory Melekhov represents a deeply tragic personality, whose fate is entirely connected with the dramatic events taking place in the country. The character of a hero can only be understood by analyzing his life path, starting from the beginning. It must be remembered that the Cossack genes contained the hot blood of a Turkish grandmother. The Melekhov family, in this regard, was distinguished by its genetic qualities: along with hard work, perseverance, and love for the land, Grigory, for example, had a proud disposition, courage, and self-will. Already in his youth, he confidently and firmly objected to Aksinya, who was calling him to foreign lands: “I will not move anywhere from the earth. Here is the steppe, there is something to breathe, but what about there?” Grigory thought that his life was forever connected with the peaceful work of a farmer on his own farm. The main values ​​for him are land, steppe, Cossack service and family. But he could not even imagine how loyalty to the Cossack cause would turn out for him, when the best years would have to be given to war, killing people, ordeals on the fronts, and he would have to go through a lot, experiencing various shocks.

Grigory was raised in the spirit of devotion to Cossack traditions; he did not shy away from service, intending to honorably fulfill his military duty and return to the farm. He, as befits a Cossack, showed courage in battles during the First World War, “took risks, was extravagant,” but very soon realized that it was not easy to free himself from the pain for a person that he sometimes felt. Gregory suffered especially hard at the senseless murder of an Austrian who was running away from him. He even, “without knowing why, approached the Austrian soldier he had hacked to death.” And then, when he walked away from the corpse, “his step was confused and heavy, as if he was carrying an unbearable baggage on his shoulders; disgust and bewilderment crumpled the soul.”

After the first wound, while in the hospital, Gregory learned new truths, listening to how the wounded soldier of Garange “exposed the real reasons for the outbreak of the war, caustically ridiculed the autocratic government.” It was difficult for the Cossack to accept these new concepts about the king, the homeland, and military duty: “all those foundations on which consciousness rested began to smoke.” But after a stay in his native farm, he again went to the front, remaining a good Cossack: “Grigory tightly guarded the Cossack honor, seized the opportunity to show selfless courage...”. This was the time when his heart became hardened and coarsened. However, while remaining courageous and even desperate in battle, Gregory changed internally: he could not laugh carefree and cheerfully, his eyes were sunken, his cheekbones became sharper, and it became difficult to look into the clear eyes of the child. “He played with his own and other people’s lives with cold contempt, ... he won four St. George’s crosses, four medals,” but he could not avoid the mercilessly devastating impact of the war. However, Gregory’s personality was still not destroyed by the war: his soul was not completely hardened, he could not completely come to terms with the need to kill people (even enemies).

In 1917, after being wounded and in the hospital, while at home on vacation, Grigory felt tired, “acquired by the war.” “I wanted to turn away from everything seething with hatred, hostile and incomprehensible world. There, behind, everything was confused and contradictory.” There was no solid ground underfoot, and there was no certainty about which path to follow: “I was drawn to the Bolsheviks - I walked, led others with me, and then I began to think, my heart grew cold.” At the farm, the Cossack wanted to return to household chores and stay with his family. But they won’t let him calm down, because there will be no peace in the country for a long time. And Melekhov rushes between the “reds” and the “whites”. It is difficult for him to find political truth when human values ​​are rapidly changing in the world, and the essence of events is difficult for an inexperienced person to understand: “Who should we lean on?” Gregory’s tossing was not connected with his political sentiments, but with a misunderstanding of the situation in the country, when power was alternately seized by numerous participants in the warring forces. Melekhov was ready to fight in the ranks of the Red Army, but war is war, it could not be done without cruelty, and the wealthy Cossacks did not want to voluntarily give “food” to the Red Army soldiers. Melekhov felt the distrust of the Bolsheviks, their hostility towards him as a former soldier of the tsarist army. And Grigory himself could not understand the uncompromising and ruthless activities of the food detachments taking the grain. The fanaticism and embitterment of Mikhail Koshevoy were especially repelled from the communist idea, and a desire appeared to get away from the unbearable confusion. I wanted to understand and comprehend everything, to find my own, “real truth,” but, apparently, there is not one truth for everyone: “People have always fought for a piece of bread, for a plot of land, for the right to life...”. And Gregory decided that “we must fight with those who want to take away life, the right to it...”.

Cruelty and violence were demonstrated by all warring parties: the White Guards, the rebel Cossacks, and various gangs. Melekhov did not want to join them, but Grigory had to fight against the Bolsheviks. Not out of conviction, but out of forced circumstances, when Cossacks from their farms were gathered into detachments by opponents of the new government. He had a hard time experiencing the atrocities of the Cossacks and their indomitable vindictiveness. While in Fomin's detachment, Grigory witnessed the execution of a young non-party Red Army soldier who loyally served the people's power. The guy refused to go over to the side of the bandits (that’s what he called the Cossack detachment), and they immediately decided to “put him to waste.” “Do we have a short trial?” - says Fomin, turning to Grigory, who avoided looking the leader in the eye, because he himself was against such “trials”.
And Gregory’s parents are in solidarity with their son in matters of rejection of cruelty and hostility between people. Panteley Prokofievich kicks out Mitka Korshunov because he does not want to see in his house the executioner who killed a woman and children in order to take revenge on the communist Koshevoy. Ilyinichna, Grigory’s mother, says to Natalya: “The Reds could have chopped up you and me and Mishatka and Polyushka for Grisha, but they didn’t chop them up, they had mercy.” The old farmer Chumakov also utters wise words when he asks Melekhov: “Are you going to make peace with Soviet power soon? We fought with the Circassians, we fought with the Turks, and then peace was achieved, but you are all your own people and can’t get along with each other.”

Gregory’s life was also complicated by his unstable position everywhere and in everything: he was constantly in a state of search, deciding the question of “where to lean.” Even before serving in the Cossack army, Melekhov was unable to choose a life partner for love, since Aksinya was married, and his father married him to Natalya. And all his short life he was in a position “in between,” when he was drawn to his family, to his wife and children, but his heart was also calling to his beloved. The desire to manage the land tore at my soul no less, although no one was exempted from military duty. The position of an honest, decent man between the new and the old, between peace and war, between Bolshevism and Izvarin’s populism and, finally, between Natalya and Aksinya only aggravated and increased the intensity of his tossing.

The need to choose was very exhausting, and perhaps the Cossack’s decisions were not always correct, but who could judge people then and make a fair verdict? G. Melekhov fought passionately in Budyonny’s cavalry and thought that through his faithful service he had earned forgiveness from the Bolsheviks for his previous deeds, however, during the years of the Civil War there were cases of quick reprisals against those who either did not show loyalty to the Soviet regime, or rushed from side to side. And in Fomin’s gang, already fighting against the Bolsheviks, Grigory did not see a way out of how to solve his problem, how to return to a peaceful life and not be an enemy to anyone. Grigory left Fomin’s Cossack detachment, and, fearing punishment from the Soviet authorities, or even lynching from any side, since he allegedly became everyone’s enemy, he tries to hide with Aksinya, to escape somewhere far from his native farm. However, this attempt did not bring him salvation: a chance meeting with Red Army soldiers from the food detachment, flight, pursuit, shots after him - and the tragic death of Aksinya stopped Gregory’s throwing forever. There was nowhere to rush, no one to rush to.

The author is far from indifferent to the fate of his main character. He writes bitterly that because of homesickness, Grigory can no longer wander around and, without waiting for an amnesty, he takes the risk again and returns to the Tatarsky farm: “He stood at the gates of his home, holding his son in his arms...”. Sholokhov does not end the novel with a message about the further fate of G. Melekhov, probably because he sympathizes with him and would like to finally give the battle-weary man some peace of mind so that he could live and work on his land, but it is difficult to say whether it is possible This.
The merit of the writer is also that the author’s attitude towards the characters, his ability to understand people, to appreciate the honesty and decency of those who sincerely sought to understand the confusion of rebellious events and find the truth - this is the author’s desire to convey the movement of the human soul against the backdrop of dramatic changes in the country. appreciated by both critics and readers. One of the former leaders of the rebellious Cossacks, emigrant P. Kudinov, wrote to Sholokhov scholar K. Priyma: “Quiet Don” shook our souls and made us change our minds all over again, and our longing for Russia became even sharper, and our heads brightened.” And those who, while in exile, read M.A. Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Don”, “who sobbed over its pages and tore out their gray hair - these people in 1941 could not and did not go to fight against Soviet Russia " It should be added: not all, of course, but many of them.

Sholokhov’s skill as an artist is also difficult to overestimate: we have a rare example, almost a historical document, depicting the culture of the Cossacks, life, traditions and peculiarities of speech. It would be impossible to create vivid images (and for the reader to imagine them) if Grigory, Aksinya and other characters spoke neutrally, in a stylized language close to literary. This would no longer be the Don Cossacks if we took away their centuries-old peculiarities of speech, their own dialect: “vilyuzhinki”, “skroz”, “you are my good one”. At the same time, representatives of the command staff of the Cossack troops, who have education and experience communicating with people from other territories of Russia, speak a language familiar to Russians. And Sholokhov objectively shows this difference, so the picture turns out to be reliable.

It should be noted that the author is able to combine an epic depiction of historical events with the lyricism of the narrative, especially those moments in which the personal experiences of the characters are reported. The writer uses the technique of psychologism, revealing the internal state of a person, showing the mental movements of the individual. One of the features of this technique is the ability to give an individual description of the hero, combining with external data, with a portrait. For example, the changes that happened to Gregory as a result of his service and participation in battles look very memorable: “... he knew that he would no longer laugh as before; I knew that his eyes were sunken and his cheekbones were sticking out sharply...”
The author’s empathy for the heroes of the work is felt in everything, and the reader’s opinion coincides with the words of Y. Ivashkevich that M.A. Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Don” has “deep inner content - and its content is love for a person.”

Reviews

It’s surprising that this novel (certainly not socialist realism) was not banned in Soviet times. For Melekhov did not find the truth either among the Reds or the Whites.
There were a lot of pseudo-innovative fabrications about this, like the “Cossack Hamlet.” But Chekhov says it right: no one knows the real truth.
The best thing I read on the topic of the Civil War was “At a Dead End” by Veresaev. There, too, “not for the Reds and not for the Whites.” An honest and objective understanding of that time (the novel was written in 1923).

I do not accept extreme points of view in assessing such a global event as the Civil War. Dovlatov was right: after communists, I hate anti-communists most of all.

Thanks for posting, Zoya. Makes you think about real literature. Don’t forget to write about the work of worthy authors. And then many here on the site are all about themselves, and about themselves. Yes, about your imperishables.
My respect.
03/03/2018 21:03 contact the administration.

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Introduction

The fate of Grigory Melekhov in the novel “Quiet Don” by Sholokhov becomes the focus of the reader’s attention. This hero, who by the will of fate found himself in the midst of difficult historical events, has been forced to search for his own path in life for many years.

Description of Grigory Melekhov

Already from the first pages of the novel, Sholokhov introduces us to the unusual fate of grandfather Grigory, explaining why the Melekhovs are outwardly different from the rest of the inhabitants of the farm. Gregory, like his father, had “a drooping kite nose, in slightly slanting slits there were bluish almonds of hot eyes, sharp slabs of cheekbones.” Remembering the origin of Pantelei Prokofievich, everyone in the farmstead called the Melekhovs “Turks.”
Life changes Gregory's inner world. His appearance also changes. From a carefree, cheerful guy, he turns into a stern warrior whose heart has hardened. Gregory “knew that he would no longer laugh as before; knew that his eyes were sunken and his cheekbones were sticking out sharply,” and in his gaze “a light of senseless cruelty began to shine through more and more often.”

At the end of the novel, a completely different Gregory appears before us. This is a mature man, tired of life, “with tired squinting eyes, with the reddish tips of a black mustache, with premature gray hair at the temples and hard wrinkles on the forehead.”

Characteristics of Gregory

At the beginning of the work, Grigory Melekhov is a young Cossack living according to the laws of his ancestors. The main thing for him is farming and family. He enthusiastically helps his father with mowing and fishing. He is unable to contradict his parents when they marry him to the unloved Natalya Korshunova.

But, for all that, Gregory is a passionate, addicted person. Contrary to his father's prohibitions, he continues to go to night games. He meets Aksinya Astakhova, his neighbor’s wife, and then leaves his home with her.

Gregory, like most Cossacks, is characterized by courage, sometimes reaching the point of recklessness. He behaves heroically at the front, participating in the most dangerous forays. At the same time, the hero is not alien to humanity. He is worried about a gosling he accidentally killed while mowing. He suffers for a long time because of the murdered unarmed Austrian. “By obeying his heart,” Grigory saves his sworn enemy Stepan from death. He goes against an entire platoon of Cossacks, defending Franya.

In Gregory, passion and obedience, madness and gentleness, kindness and hatred coexist at the same time.

The fate of Grigory Melekhov and his path of quest

The fate of Melekhov in the novel “Quiet Don” is tragic. He is constantly forced to look for a “way out,” the right road. It's not easy for him in the war. His personal life is also complicated.

Like the beloved heroes of L.N. Tolstoy, Grigory goes through a difficult path of life’s quest. At the beginning, everything seemed clear to him. Like other Cossacks, he is called up for war. For him there is no doubt that he must defend the Fatherland. But, getting to the front, the hero understands that his whole nature is opposed to murder.

Grigory moves from white to red, but even here he will be disappointed. Seeing how Podtyolkov deals with captured young officers, he loses faith in this power and the next year he again finds himself in the White Army.

Tossing between the whites and the reds, the hero himself becomes embittered. He loots and kills. He tries to forget himself in drunkenness and fornication. In the end, fleeing the persecution of the new government, he finds himself among the bandits. Then he becomes a deserter.

Grigory is exhausted from tossing and turning. He wants to live on his land, raise bread and children. Although life hardens the hero and gives his features something “wolfish,” in essence, he is not a killer. Having lost everything and not having found his way, Grigory returns to his native farm, realizing that, most likely, death awaits him here. But a son and a home are the only things that keep the hero alive.

Gregory's relationship with Aksinya and Natalya

Fate sends the hero two passionately loving women. But Gregory’s relationship with them is not easy. While still single, Grigory falls in love with Aksinya, the wife of Stepan Astakhov, his neighbor. Over time, the woman reciprocates his feelings, and their relationship develops into unbridled passion. “So unusual and obvious was their crazy connection, they burned so frantically with one shameless flame, people without conscience and without hiding, losing weight and blackening their faces in front of their neighbors, that now for some reason people were ashamed to look at them when they met.”

Despite this, he cannot resist his father’s will and marries Natalya Korshunova, promising himself to forget Aksinya and settle down. But Gregory is unable to keep his vow to himself. Although Natalya is beautiful and selflessly loves her husband, he gets back together with Aksinya and leaves his wife and parental home.

After Aksinya's betrayal, Grigory returns to his wife again. She accepts him and forgives past grievances. But he was not destined for a calm family life. The image of Aksinya haunts him. Fate brings them together again. Unable to bear the shame and betrayal, Natalya has an abortion and dies. Grigory blames himself for the death of his wife and experiences this loss cruelly.

Now, it would seem, nothing can stop him from finding happiness with the woman he loves. But circumstances force him to leave his place and, together with Aksinya, set off on the road again, the last for his beloved.

With the death of Aksinya, Gregory's life loses all meaning. The hero no longer has even a ghostly hope for happiness. “And Grigory, dying of horror, realized that it was all over, that the worst thing that could happen in his life had already happened.”

Conclusion

In conclusion of my essay on the topic “The Fate of Grigory Melekhov in the novel “Quiet Don””, I want to fully agree with critics who believe that in “Quiet Don” the fate of Grigory Melekhov is the most difficult and one of the most tragic. Using the example of Grigory Sholokhov, he showed how the whirlpool of political events breaks human destiny. And the one who sees his destiny in peaceful work suddenly becomes a cruel killer with a devastated soul.

Work test

M. A. Sholokhov in his novel “Quiet Don” poetizes the life of the people, deeply analyzes its way of life, as well as the origins of its crisis, which largely affected the fate of the main characters of the work. The author emphasizes that the people play a key role in history. It is he, according to Sholokhov, who is its driving force. Of course, the main character of Sholokhov’s work is one of the representatives of the people - Grigory Melekhov. Its prototype is believed to be Kharlampy Ermakov, a Don Cossack (pictured below). He fought in the Civil War and the First World War.

Grigory Melekhov, whose characteristics interest us, is an illiterate, simple Cossack, but his personality is multifaceted and complex. The best features that are inherent in the people were endowed by the author.

at the beginning of the work

At the very beginning of his work, Sholokhov tells the story of the Melekhov family. Cossack Prokofy, Gregory's ancestor, returns home from the Turkish campaign. He brings with him a Turkish woman who becomes his wife. With this event, a new history of the Melekhov family begins. Gregory's character is already ingrained in her. It is no coincidence that this character is similar in appearance to other men of his kind. The author notes that he is “like his father”: he is half a head taller than Peter, although he is 6 years younger than him. He has the same “dangling kite nose” as Pantelei Prokofievich. Grigory Melekhov stoops just like his father. Both of them even had something in common, “animalistic,” even in their smile. It is he who continues the Melekhov family, and not Peter, his older brother.

Connection with nature

From the very first pages, Gregory is depicted in everyday activities typical of the life of peasants. Like all of them, he takes horses to watering, goes fishing, goes to games, falls in love, and participates in common peasant labor. The character of this hero is clearly revealed in the meadow mowing scene. In it, Grigory Melekhov discovers sympathy for the pain of others, love for all living things. He feels sorry for the duckling that was accidentally cut with a scythe. Gregory looks at him, as the author notes, with “a feeling of acute pity.” This hero has a good feel for the nature with which he is vitally connected.

How is the character of the hero revealed in his personal life?

Gregory can be called a man of decisive actions and actions, strong passions. Numerous episodes with Aksinya speak eloquently about this. Despite his father's slander, at midnight, during haymaking, he still goes to this girl. Panteley Prokofievich cruelly punishes his son. However, not afraid of his father’s threats, Gregory still goes to his beloved again at night and returns only at dawn. Already here the desire to reach the end in everything is manifested in his character. Marriage to a woman whom he does not love could not force this hero to abandon himself, from sincere, natural feelings. He only calmed Pantelei Prokofievich a little, who called out to him: “Don’t be afraid of your father!” But nothing more. This hero has the ability to love passionately, and also does not tolerate any ridicule of himself. He does not forgive jokes about his feelings even to Peter and grabs a pitchfork. Gregory is always sincere and honest. He directly tells Natalya, his wife, that he does not love her.

How did life with the Listnitskys influence Grigory?

At first he does not agree to run away from the farm with Aksinya. However, the impossibility of submission and innate stubbornness ultimately force him to leave his native farm and go to the Listnitsky estate with his beloved. Grigory becomes a groom. However, life away from his parents’ home is not at all his thing. The author notes that he was spoiled by an easy, well-fed life. The main character became fat, lazy, and began to look older than his years.

In the novel "Quiet Don" he has enormous inner strength. The scene of this hero beating Listnitsky Jr. is clear evidence of this. Grigory, despite the position that Listnitsky occupies, does not want to forgive the offense he inflicted. He hits him on the hands and face with a whip, not allowing him to come to his senses. Melekhov is not afraid of the punishment that will follow for this act. And he treats Aksinya harshly: when he leaves, he never even looks back.

The self-esteem that is inherent in a hero

Complementing the image of Grigory Melekhov, we note that in his character there is a clearly expressed strength. It is in him that his strength lies, which is capable of influencing other people, regardless of position and rank. Of course, in the duel at the watering hole with the sergeant, Grigory wins, who did not allow himself to be hit by his senior in rank.

This hero is able to stand up not only for his own dignity, but also for that of others. It is he who turns out to be the only one who defended Franya, the girl whom the Cossacks violated. Finding himself in this situation powerless against the evil being committed, Gregory for the first time in a long time almost cried.

Gregory's courage in battle

The events of the First World War affected the destinies of many people, including this hero. Grigory Melekhov was captured by the whirlwind of historical events. His fate is a reflection of the fates of many people, representatives of the ordinary Russian people. Like a true Cossack, Grigory completely devotes himself to battle. He is brave and decisive. Grigory easily defeats three Germans and takes them prisoner, deftly repels the enemy battery, and also saves the officer. The medals and officer rank he received are evidence of the courage of this hero.

Killing a person, contrary to the nature of Gregory

Gregory is generous. He even helps Stepan Astakhov, his rival, who dreams of killing him, in battle. Melekhov is shown as a skilled, courageous warrior. However, the murder still fundamentally contradicts Gregory’s humane nature and his life values. He confesses to Peter that he killed a man and because of him “his soul is sick.”

Changing worldview under the influence of other people

Quite quickly, Grigory Melekhov begins to experience disappointment and incredible fatigue. At first, he fights fearlessly, without thinking about the fact that he is shedding both his own and other people’s blood in battles. However, life and war pit Gregory against many people who have completely different views on the world and the events taking place in it. After communicating with them, Melekhov begins to think about the war, as well as about the life he lives. The truth that Chubatiy conveys is that a person must be cut down boldly. This hero easily talks about death, about the right and opportunity to take the life of others. Grigory listens to him attentively and understands that such an inhumane position is alien and unacceptable to him. Garanja is the hero who sowed the seeds of doubt in Gregory's soul. He suddenly doubted the values ​​that had previously been considered unshakable, such as Cossack military duty and the Tsar, who is “on our necks.” Garanja makes the main character think about a lot. The spiritual quest of Grigory Melekhov begins. It is these doubts that become the beginning of Melekhov’s tragic path to the truth. He is desperately trying to find the meaning and truth of life. The tragedy of Grigory Melekhov unfolds at a difficult time in the history of our country.

Of course, Gregory’s character is truly folk. The tragic fate of Grigory Melekhov, described by the author, still evokes the sympathy of many readers of "Quiet Don". Sholokhov (his portrait is presented above) managed to create a bright, strong, complex and truthful character of the Russian Cossack Grigory Melekhov.

Of course, such love could hardly be happy, since there were too many obstacles in its way. More than once the lovers tried to be together, but in the end they separated. First, the separation occurred by the will of Gregory, and then by the will of fate: the heroes were separated for a long time by the First World War, and then by the Civil War.

During the “German War”, Grigory goes to the front, where he fights bravely and valiantly, defending his homeland, and is even awarded the St. George Cross for saving the life of an officer. At first, it is difficult for the young man to get used to the cruelty of war, and he has a hard time dealing with the murder of an Austrian he committed. But, as Grigory gains experience in battles, and especially when he once again breaks up with Aksinya, the man begins to “play with someone else’s and his own life with cold contempt,” as well as “show selfless courage” and unjustifiably risk himself and “to go wild.”

One of the most difficult trials for Gregory is the Civil War. For a long time, the hero cannot choose the side on which he wants to fight, for which Chairman Podtelkov accuses the man of serving “both ours and yours... whoever gives more.” But Gregory’s doubts have a different basis. The hero sees all the wrongness of this war, since both the Red Army soldiers and the Cossacks supporting the White Guards behave equally cruelly: they commit outrages, brutally deal with prisoners and their relatives, and also engage in looting.

The war forces Gregory to be away from home for a long time, away from Aksinya. When, finally, the Bolsheviks win, and the hero, tired of constant and meaningless battles, decides to flee with his beloved to Kuban, “the worst thing that could ever happen in his life” happens - Aksinya dies.

The death of his beloved woman completely devastates Gregory, his life becomes black, “like a steppe scorched by fires.” Only over time does the hero begin to be overcome by longing for his children, and he finally returns home. But here the man faces another heavy blow: he learns that his daughter Porlyushka died of scarlet fever.

And so, the only thing that remains with Gregory now, the only thing that still unites the hero with the earth is his little son Mishatka. And it is unclear what the Cossack should do now with his crippled life, where he should go and who he should become in this new unfamiliar country, in this “huge world shining under the cold sun.”