The history of the creation of Tolstoy's story Prisoner of the Caucasus. L.N

“L.N. Tolstoy. Information about the writer. Historical and literary basis of the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus”

(Literature lesson. 5th grade)

Lesson objectives:

1. Expand your knowledge about

life of L.N. Tolstoy

2. Continue getting acquainted with

the writer's creativity

3. Continue to work on developing readership

skills and abilities

Tolstoy is our national pride

House of Gortalovs

Leo Tolstoy during his studies at Kazan University

Monument to Leo Tolstoy in Kazan

Kazan Imperial University

• The Caucasian War of 1817-1864 is a war Russian Empire with mountain peoples. It ended with the annexation of Chechnya, Mountainous Dagestan and the North-West Caucasus to Russia. The victory was achieved due to the multiple numerical superiority of the Russian army and its technical superiority.
• Caucasians are mountain peoples: Chechens, Ossetians, Circassians, Nogais, Avars and many others.
• L.N. Tolstoy in his story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” calls the highlanders Tatars, as Russians often called everyone who professed the Muslim religion.

Episode of the Caucasian War.

M.Yu. Lermontov (1840)

Leo Tolstoy in the Caucasus

Caucasus - “a wild land, in which two very opposite things are so strangely and poetically combined - war And Liberty ».

(From L.N. Tolstoy’s diary entry)

The meaning of the title of the story

"Caucasian" – space, beauty, freedom .

"Prisoner" - captivity, war.

Genre of the story: true story

Story – a small narrative work united by a plot and consisting of one or more episodes

Plot - chain of events occurring in the work

Episode - an image of one event that has a beginning and an end

True story - a story about an event that actually happened

“I almost got captured, but in this case I behaved well, although too sensitive.”

Group 2 – 3.4 parts

Group 3 – 5.6 parts

LEV NIKOLAEVICH TOLSTOY

4 HOURS

First lesson.
L. N. Tolstoy: childhood, beginning literary activity.
"Prisoner of the Caucasus" — true story

I. L. N. Tolstoy: childhood, the beginning of literary activity. "Prisoner of the Caucasus" — true story

Fifth-graders read L. N. Tolstoy’s stories for children from “ABC”, for example: “Father and Sons”, “Liar”, “Two Comrades”, “Lion and Dog”, “Filipok”, “Shark”, “Jump”; They usually know about the novels “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina”. During reading lessons they were told about the school for peasant children organized by Leo Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana.
A short and informative introductory article is given in the textbook.

The teacher can talk about Tolstoy, selecting facts that will be interesting to children.

Leo Tolstoy was 23 years old when his brother Nikolai convinced him to go with him to the Caucasus. The Caucasus at that time was the most dangerous place in the Russian Empire. At the beginning of the 19th century. At the insistent requests of the Georgian king George XII, Georgia was annexed to Russia. Then, during the Russian-Iranian and Russian-Turkish wars, Azerbaijan was annexed to Russia, and then Armenia. Thus, all of Transcaucasia came under the rule of the Russian Tsar. But in the Caucasus there lived mountaineers who impeded free movement on the roads, robbed and robbed.
In 1817, the tsarist government began the Caucasian War, which lasted until 1864, then dying down for a while, then resuming with new strength. As a result, the Caucasus was annexed to Russia. At the beginning of the war, the fortresses Groznaya, Vnezapnaya, Prochny Okop and others were built on the border, and troops were stationed in them. Cossacks were settled along the entire border. They lived with their families in the villages, cultivated the land and took part in military operations. On the other side of the border lived the Circassians (as the Chechens and Ingush were called). They fought against the power of the Russian Tsar, attacking detachments, fortresses and villages. The Caucasian War was very brutal.
— How many years had the war lasted by the time Tolstoy arrived there?
The war lasted 31 years (from 1817 to 1851, when L.N. Tolstoy arrived in the Caucasus).
Leo Tolstoy thought to find in the Caucasus incredible adventures and was initially disappointed. Later, L. Tolstoy realized what was special about the people he had to meet. The Caucasus remained forever in the writer’s soul. Twenty years later, Tolstoy wrote the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” especially for children, which he calledtrue story.
— How old was Tolstoy when he wrote the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus”?
-What do you think it is?true story?
Writer in artistic form tells a story that really happened in life.
Then you can read the materials from the textbook “From the history of the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus””Another approach to this work is possible: find out about the history of the creation of the story after it has been read, and compare real story with a work of art.

II. "Prisoner of the Caucasus". Commented reading
Before getting acquainted with the story, let us explain that Tolstoy calls the highlanders Tatars, but this is not a designation of nationality: in Tolstoy’s time all Muslims in general were called that.
The teacher begins to read the story.
The story was written for "ABC", intended for peasant children, and it contains many words and expressions that are modern speech are considered obsolete. Some of these words and expressions can be commented on as you read; others need special attention.

Homework
Read the story to the end.

Lesson two.
Zhilin and Kostylin —

I. Articulation warm-up

II. Zhilin and Kostylin — two different characters, two different destinies
Conversation
Let's start the work by finding out the impressions of the story.
— Was it interesting for you to read the story? What episodes caused sadness, sympathy, joy? Which episodes would you like to re-read?
—Which of the heroes aroused respect, which aroused hostility?
— Why is the story called “Caucasian Prisoner” and not “Caucasian Prisoners”, because there were two prisoners?
The story is called “Caucasian Prisoner”, and not “Caucasian Prisoners”, because the writer pays main attention to the story about Zilina. Zhilin and Kostylin are the heroes of the story, but only Zhilin can be called a true hero.

Drawing up a comparison table
First, let's discuss the meaning of the characters' surnames.
Progress:Students take turns reading the text of the story. Finding definitions or facts that characterize the heroes from one side or another, students, at the teacher’s suggestion, stop reading and write down a quote, character trait, or action of the hero in the table. Compilation of the table will be completed at home.

Table option

Quality	Zhilin	Kostylin
The meaning of the surname	Veins - blood vessels, tendons. Wiry - lean, muscular, with prominent veins	Crutch - a stick with a crossbar placed under the arm, serving as a support for lame people or those with sore legs when walking.
Appearance	“And although Zhilin was not very tall, he was brave”	“And Kostylin is an overweight, fat man, all red, and the sweat just pours from him.”
Forethought	“We need to go out to the mountain to have a look, otherwise they’ll probably jump out from behind the mountain and you won’t see it.” “Zhilin already fed her in advance” (the dog)
Attitude towards the horse	“The horse near Zhilin was a hunting horse (he paid a hundred rubles for it in the herd as a foal and rode out himself) ...” “...Mother, take it out, don’t get your foot caught...”	“The horse is fried with a whip, now from one side, now from the other.”
Bravery - cowardice	“—...I won’t give in alive...” “—...To be timid with them is worse.”	“And Kostylin, instead of waiting, as soon as he saw the Tatars, he ran as fast as he could towards the fortress.” “And Kostylin became afraid.” “Kostylin fell down in fear”
Behavior in captivity	“Zhilin wrote a letter, but he wrote it wrong on the letter, so that it wouldn’t get through. He thinks: “I’ll leave.” “And he’s looking out for everything, trying to find out how he can escape. He walks around the village, whistling, or sits, doing some handicrafts - either sculpting dolls from clay, or weaving braids from twigs. And Zhilin was a master of all kinds of needlework.”	“Kostylin wrote home again, he was still waiting for the money to be sent and was bored. He sits in the barn all day long and counts the days until the letter arrives; or sleeping"
Tatar opinion about captives	"Dzhigit"	"Smirny"
Observation, curiosity	“Zhilin began to understand their language a little.” “Zhilin stood up, dug out a larger crack, and began to look.”
Endurance, courage	“He jumps from pebble to pebble and looks at the stars”	“Kostylin keeps falling behind and groaning”
Loyalty, devotion	“...it’s not good to abandon a comrade”	Kostylin left Zhilin in trouble and rode off on a horse

Homework
Finish compiling the table.
Prepare an oral essay on the topic “Zhilin and Kostylin.”

Lesson three.
Zhilin and the Tatars. Zhilin and Dina. The writer’s thought about friendship of different peoples as a natural law human life. Pictures of nature in the story

I. Checking homework

Let’s summarize the results of the work by comparing the two heroes: the writer contrasts Kostylin’s weakness and passivity with Zhilin’s activity, stamina and humanity. Courage and endurance helped him run to his people, overcoming all obstacles.
The main idea of ​​the story is to show that you can not give up even in the most difficult circumstances, you need to persistently achieve your goal.

II. Zhilin and the Tatars. Zhilin and Dina. The writer’s thought about friendship of different peoples as a natural law of human life
Conversation
— How is the life of the village shown: through the eyes of Kostylin or through the eyes of Zhilin? Why?
We invite students to find descriptions of the life of the village in the text, read and retell these descriptions close to the text.
The Tatar village seemed peaceful and calm to Zhilin in the morning. People wake up, everyone is busy with their own business, women bring water, boys play around. Zhilin counted ten houses and a Tatar church with a turret (that is, a mosque with a minaret).
When Zhilin entered the house, he saw that the walls were smoothly smeared with clay, and the room was good. Expensive carpets hang on the walls, and weapons in silver hang on the carpets. The stove is small, and the floor is earthen and clean. The front corner is covered with felts, there are carpets on them, and down pillows on the carpets. Here the Tatars sit and treat themselves.
Zhilin observed how the Tatars dressed, both men and women, and noticed that they were very fond of silver. In the house I noticed that they were the first to leave the large shoes at the threshold, and in the other, inner shoes they sat on the carpets. Zhilin also noticed how they wash their hands and pray after eating. Servants are not allowed on carpets with pillows. Women only serve food, but do not sit with men.
Let us draw the children's attention to the description of the Tatar's funeral, to the details telling about the services and the life of women in the village.
— Why did the old woman break Dina’s first doll?
Muslim tradition prohibits depicting people. In addition, the old woman was probably angry with the Russian.
— How did the Tatars treat Zhilin? Why did Abdul-Murat fall in love with Zhilin?
The Tatars respected Zhilin because he did not allow himself to be intimidated when they demanded a ransom from him, and because he knew how to do a lot. Abdul the owner said that he fell in love with Zhilin. The Red Tatar and the old man who lived under the mountain hated all Russians, and Zilina too.
— Tell us about the relationship between Dina and Zhilin. Why did Dina help Zhilin?
Zhilin was grateful to Dina for her help. Dina helped Zhilin, brought him food, because Zhilin showed kindness to her, made her a doll, then a second one. After the thunderstorm, he made a toy for children - a wheel with dolls. Describing the friendship of a girl and a captured Russian officer, Tolstoy wants to say that the feeling of enmity is not innate. Chechen children treat Russians with simple-minded curiosity, not hostility. And Zhilin is fighting with the adult Chechens who attacked him, but not with the children. He treats Dina's courage and kindness with respect and gratitude. If her father had found out that Dina was helping Zhilin, he would have punished her severely.
The author wants to say that enmity between peoples is meaningless, that friendship between people is the norm of human communication, and confirms this with the example of the friendship of Zhilin and Dina.

III. Pictures of nature in the story
Expressive reading
Note that there are no long descriptions in the story: the pictures of nature are short and succinct.
Let's read the description of the mountains that Zhilin saw while sitting on the top of the mountain (chapter four), from the words: “I persuaded the little one, let’s go” - to the words: “And so he thinks that this very thing is a Russian fortress.”
—What is special about this description?
Note that there are very few adjectives. The landscape is shown as if in action.
— Where else in the story do we see an image of nature, as if actively accompanying human actions?
We expressively read the episode from chapter six, from the words: “Zhilin crossed himself, grabbed the lock on the block with his hand...” - to the words: “You can only hear the river gurgling below.”
We will strive to ensure that the text of the story is heard in the lesson in the reading of students. The story about Zhilin's second escape must be read in its entirety.

Homework
Write down rare, outdated words and expressions and explain them. (Divide the class into four to five groups and invite each group to work with the text of one of the chapters.)

Lesson four
Brevity and expressiveness of the language of the story. Story, plot, composition, idea of ​​the work

Speech development lesson

I. Brevity and expressiveness of the language of the story
This work has already been started in the previous lesson. Let's draw students' attention to the short sentences in which the story is written. Brevity and at the same time depth are the main advantages of the story.

Vocabulary work (in groups)
The work of explaining the meaning of words by selecting synonyms and referring to explanatory dictionaries is very important. The group identifies one or two representatives who prepare to respond on its behalf. Then we listen to the students’ answer about the meaning of rare words.
A significant number of words and expressions require attention. Let us remember that what seems natural and understandable to us adults can cause significant difficulties for children. At the same time, ignorance of the meaning of even one word in a sentence (especially if it is key) often makes the entire sentence incomprehensible to children.

Chapter first
Straightened out my vacation- booked a vacation.
Seeing off soldiers- soldiers who accompanied a group of people; security.
The sun has already set for half a day- noon has passed.
I'll attack the Tatars— I’ll suddenly meet Tatars.
Hunting horse- a horse that does not need to be pushed, which easily understands what needs to be done.
Carried him up the hill— the horse and its rider easily climbed the steep mountain.
The whip fry- hits him hard with the whip.
He began to shorten— began to pull the reins to stop the horse.
The horse ran wild- The horse is racing and cannot stop.
Trembling- shuddered.
Nogai - Nogais- people in Russia, they speak the language of the Turkic group.

Chapter two
Raspoyaskoy- without a belt.
Beshmet- men's and women's swinging clothing, worn under a caftan, chekmen, cherkeska among peoples Central Asia, Caucasus, Siberia.
Snoring wet— the muzzle is wet.
Trimmed with galloon. Galloon- a thick ribbon or braid, often with silver or gold thread.
Morocco shoes. Morocco- thin, soft, usually brightly colored leather made from the skins of goats or sheep.
Sleeves trimmed in red— the sleeves are trimmed with red (galloon, braid, ribbon).
Monisto from Russian fifty dollars- a necklace made of Russian coins of 50 kopecks (at that time fifty kopecks were silver).
Their church, with a turret- a mosque with a minaret.
Pure as current. Current— platform for threshing; The threshing floor is always clean, because grain is collected here and the chaff is swept aside.
Felt- dense thick material made of felted wool.
Cow butter dissolved in a cup— cow’s butter (butter) lies, melted, in a cup.
Pelvis- wooden round or oblong dishes, here - for washing hands.
The gun stopped short- the gun misfired, that is, it did not fire due to a malfunction of the weapon or cartridge.

Chapter Three
Three arshins. Arshin- a measure of length equal to 71.12 cm; three arshins - 2.13 m.
Approved them- firmly, firmly placed, attached.
Snores and turns away (old man)- will begin to breathe indignantly, so that a sound similar to snoring appears, and will turn away so as not to look at a person of a different faith.
Huddle behind a stone- hide behind a stone, clinging to it.

Chapter Four
Under the arms and under the bald heads- under the arms and behind the legs under the bends of the knees.
Zarobel— felt timid and frightened.

Chapter Five
Sheep farts in the corner- the sheep coughs convulsively in the nook, that is, in the barn for small livestock.
The high altitudes began to descend. Vysozhary, or Stozhary, or Pleiades - scattered star cluster in the constellation Taurus; in the summer, Stozhary stands high in the sky in the first half of the night, and in the second half of the night gradually descends to the horizon.
Pickled. Malt- a product that is prepared from grain sprouted in moisture and heat, then dried and coarsely ground; Herepickled- became damp (sweaty), as if loose (weak muscles), lethargic.

Chapter Six
Sharp stone- the stone is sharp.
I'll lie down in the forest, front- I’ll hide in the forest, wait out the day, wait for darkness.

Let's summarize:the brevity of the story's language makes it understandable and fascinating, the use of ancient folk words makes the story expressive and memorable.

II. Story, plot, composition, story idea
In the textbook definitions are given:idea, plot, story, episode. Definition compositionyou can look it up in the dictionarytextbook. We will work with them based on what children know about storytelling from Russian language lessons. Let's write down the definitions in a notebook.

The plot is the chain of events that occur in a work.

— What is the plot of the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus”?

A story is a small narrative work that is united by one plot and consists of several episodes.

— Which of the works read in 5th grade can we call stories?
Composition is a phenomenon that is familiar to children at the level of representation.
Composition is the construction of a work, the arrangement of parts, episodes and images in a significant time sequence.
Let's say that such a sequence is never random.
The composition of the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” is based on its plot. Let's highlight in the workexposition, plot, development of action, climax, denouement And epilogue.
Exposition And epilogueTolstoy’s words are swift and fit into one or two phrases.
The beginning- Receiving a letter from your mother. The action develops quickly and leads toclimax- Zhilin's second escape.
Denouement- Zhilin manages to reach his people.
(Often the concept of composition of a narrative work is given in Russian language lessons, so we do not write here in detail about the structural elements of the composition of a narrative work.)
Let's talk about question 7textbook:
— What did the writer take from the memoirs of officer F. F. Tornau, what is the author’s fiction? What ideas, thoughts, feelings does the author of the story want to convey to the reader?
Tolstoy took from his memoirs the idea of ​​​​the friendship of a captive officer with a Tatar girl who came running to see him and brought him food. F. F. Tornau says that he fed the dog that guarded him. He painted figures and carved wood so that even the Circassians asked him to carve sticks for them. Tolstoy used these facts, slightly changing them. From his life, he took memories of how the Chechens were chasing him and almost took him prisoner.
The writer used the author's fiction. He came up with the idea that there were two prisoners, and invented the story of the first and second escapes. The author wants to instill in readers a feeling of pride in the Russian officer who was captured while fighting enemies, behaved with dignity in captivity and managed to escape.

Idea — the main idea works.

The idea of ​​the story is that perseverance and courage always win. The writer condemns enmity between peoples and considers it meaningless.

Homework
Prepare a written answer to the question: what, in your opinion, is the idea of ​​L. N. Tolstoy’s story “Prisoner of the Caucasus”?

Goals and objectives of the lesson: 1. To get acquainted with the life of the great Russian writer, philosopher and public figure L.N. Tolstoy. 2. Find out the history of the creation of L. Tolstoy’s story “Prisoner of the Caucasus”. 3. Have an idea of ​​where and when the story takes place and who its characters are. 4. Know in general terms the plot of the story. 5. Understand the idea (main idea) of this work.

Estate L.N. Tolstoy, Yasnaya Polyana became the literary capital of the world during the writer’s lifetime. Not only domestic, but also foreign (French, English, German, Scandinavian, Indian, American, Chinese) newspapers and publishing houses sent their representatives to find out what the Great Teacher (as Tolstoy was called) would say about the events taking place in the world. Novels, novellas, stories, diaries, letters, journalistic articles - everything reflected the “transparent light of the soul” of Tolstoy, his humanism. Ruthless to himself, he did not take care of himself or others, demanding the truth in everything - both in life and in literature.

Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya (the writer’s wife): “We did not allow any luxury in the house and in our common habits. They dressed the children and dressed very simply; They also ate very simply. He himself (L.N. Tolstoy) worked with the peasants all summer: he got up at dawn, and it would happen that I would wake up at five or six o’clock, and his bed was already empty, he would go to work quietly so as not to wake me up. For whole days he either plowed or mowed grass or rye. He carried hay himself, which he collected for widows and orphans.

As a child, L.N. Tolstoy and his brothers believed that there was a magic green wand in the world. On it is written something that should destroy all evil in the world. And then all people will become happy, there will be no illnesses, no troubles. Everyone will love each other, everyone will become ant brothers. L. Tolstoy bequeathed to bury him where he and his brothers played ant brothers.

In January 1852 L.N. Tolstoy entered military service, first served in the Caucasus, where wars were then fought fighting against the highlanders. When did it start Crimean War, transferred to the Danube Army, took part in the famous defense of Sevastopol, and was nominated for a registered weapon for his courage in battles. In Russian literature, he was the first to present the war truthfully, “in blood, in suffering, in death.”

Tsar Nicholas I sent his troops to conquer the Caucasian lands. The mountain peoples who lived there stubbornly resisted the tsarist troops. On steep mountain roads, in forests and gorges, at river crossings, the mountaineers set up ambushes and took Russian soldiers and officers prisoner.

Once L. Tolstoy, having traveled far from his detachment, was almost captured. The writer was helped out by his Chechen friend Sado. That's how it was. Shortly before this incident, Sado bought an excellent horse and gave it to Tolstoy. L. Tolstoy gave him his pacer. Everything is according to Caucasian custom. And so, when the Chechens began to overtake his friends, L. Tolstoy could easily get away from them on his fast horse, but he would never agree to abandon his comrade in trouble for anything in the world. Sado had a gun, but it turned out to be unloaded. However, Sado was not at a loss. He menacingly aimed his gun at the approaching pursuers and shouted at them. But they wanted to take Tolstoy and Sado alive and therefore did not shoot. Finally, the friends approached the Grozny fortress so much that a sentry saw the chase and raised the alarm. Help left the fortress, and the Chechens turned back.

The Tatars respect Zhilin because he “was a master of all kinds of needlework.” “He once molded a doll, with a nose, with arms, with legs and in a Tatar shirt, and put the doll on the roof. The Tatars went for water. The owner's daughter Dinka saw the doll and called the Tatar women. They put up the jugs, they look, they laugh.” He made toys, decorated sticks, repaired watches, even treated... Simple people All nations value craftsmanship equally. For Tolstoy, work is what unites all people and helps overcome national disunity.

Zhilin is a kind and inquisitive person. He is interested in the life, customs, and way of life of the mountain people. But all the main character’s thoughts are about escape. He carefully examines the area, trying to determine his path to freedom. “There is another mountain from the village, even steeper; and behind that mountain there is another mountain. Between the mountains the forest turns blue, and there are more mountains - rising higher and higher..."

The first escape was unsuccessful. Zhilin was let down by his fellow sufferer Kostylin - indecisive, irresponsible, selfish. And here again Zhilin and Kostylin are in the stocks. “Zhilin hears that they are being judged, what to do with them. Some say we need to send them further to the mountains, but the old man says: “We need to kill them... They won’t pay anything, they’ll only cause trouble. And it’s a sin to feed the Russians. Kill and it’s over.” “Life has become completely bad for them.”

This old man did not always live by hatred. “He had three wives and eight sons. Everyone lived in the same village. The Russians came, ravaged the village and killed seven sons. One son remained and was handed over to the Russians.” The old man found him and killed him. The war deprived him of his family and eradicated everything human in him. This image also serves to express Tolstoy’s thoughts about the inhumanity of war.

Release from captivity, Dina helped Zhilin escape. This is a selfless act; freeing the prisoner puts her in danger. But she returns good for good, loves Zhilin. According to the writer, it is difficult for adults to find mutual language, because they are in a state of war. But children are not infected with distorted views; a truly human understanding of good and evil is more accessible to them. And Tolstoy builds the plot on the image of friendship between people of different nationalities, shows the possibilities of such friendship, even if peoples are divided by war.

Idea - the main idea of ​​a work (story, tale, poem) A story is a small narrative work, united by a plot and consisting of one or more episodes. Plot is a chain of events occurring in a work. A depiction of a single event that has a beginning and an end is called an episode. The idea of ​​the story is multifaceted. Tolstoy shows what separates people and what connects them. What separates us is hostility towards the alien, the incomprehensible, the other, be it the position of opponents in war, different religions and different nationalities. What unites people is kindness, the ability to empathize, and respect for another person. There are always points of contact between people that allow you to respect another person and fight hostility and mistrust. Another idea is connected with this idea: a courageous person who respects himself and others, who does not give up in a difficult, even hopeless situation, is worthy of respect and freedom. This idea is expressed in the contrast between the images of officers. Under the same conditions, one hero (Zhilin) ​​shows will, courage, resourcefulness, actively fights, while the other (Kostylin) submits to circumstances, waits for outside help, and shows selfishness.

Homework Read the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus.” Answer (orally) questions 1 – 4 (page). Find in explanatory dictionary the meanings of the words “vein” and “crutch”. Try to draw a conclusion about the meaning of the characters' surnames.

Lesson No. 36.

Subject. L.N. Tolstoy. Information about the writer. Historical and literary basis of the story
"Prisoner of the Caucasus". Yasnaya Polyana school.

Target:

· introduce the children to the facts of the biography of Leo Tolstoy related to the creative history of the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus”; identify the historical and literary foundations of the story;

· develop the ability to highlight the main thing in a listened message, develop skills in working with illustrations;

· to cultivate interest in the life and work of Leo Tolstoy.

Equipment: multimedia presentation.

DURING THE CLASSES.

I. Organizational moment.

II. Studying new material.

1. Report the topic of the lesson, setting goals and objectives.

2. Messages from the teacher and prepared students according to the plan.

· Leo Tolstoy was born on August 28 (September 9), 1828 in the Krapivensky district of the Tula province, on the family estate - Yasnaya Polyana.

· Great-grandfather - Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy.

· My maternal grandfather is Prince Nikolai Sergeevich Volkonsky.

· The writer’s paternal grandfather is Count Ilya Andreevich Tolstoy.

· The poet's father is Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy.

· The poet’s mother is Maria Nikolaevna Tolstaya (nee Volkonskaya).

· Relationship with A.S. Pushkin, with the Decembrists - princes S.G. Volkonsky and S.P. Trubetskoy.

· 1844 – admission to Kazan University.

· 1851 - on military service in the Caucasus. Annexation of the Caucasus to Russia. The Caucasian War in the paintings of artists.

· Historical and literary sources of “Prisoner of the Caucasus”.

2.1.The teacher's word.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born on August 28 (September 9), 1828 in the Krapivensky district of the Tula province, on the family estate - Yasnaya Polyana.

Leo Tolstoy's ancestors were military men. Representatives of the ancient Tolstoy family served as governors in many cities of Rus' even under Tsar Ivan the Terrible.

The writer's great-grandfather, Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy, was a participant in the Azov campaigns of Tsar Peter I, who granted him the title of count for his diplomatic and military services.

The writer’s maternal grandfather, a “descendant of Rurik,” Prince Nikolai Sergeevich Volkonsky, took part in the Russian-Turkish war and retired with the rank of general-in-chief.

The writer’s paternal grandfather, Count Ilya Andreevich Tolstoy, served in the navy and then in the Life Guards in the Preobrazhensky Regiment. The writer's father, Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy, participated in Patriotic War 1812, was captured and liberated by Russian troops.

On his mother's side, Tolstoy was related to Pushkin. Their common ancestor was the boyar I.M. Golovin, an associate of Peter the Great, who studied shipbuilding with him in Holland. One of his daughters, I.P. Golovina, is the great-grandmother of the poet, the other is the great-grandmother of Tolstoy’s mother.

Tolstoy was related to the Decembrists - princes S.G. Volkonsky and S.P. Trubetskoy.

Childhood on an old family estate, family legends, stories from relatives and friends about Russian history, in particular about the events of 1812 and 1825, left an indelible mark on the minds of young Tolstoy, influenced the formation of his worldview, and was then reflected in his work.

Tolstoy was not even two years old when his mother died. Maria Nikolaevna was an extremely sincere person, kind and sympathetic. She received an excellent education - she knew French, German, English, Italian languages, played the piano, drew, and “was a great master at telling enticing tales, inventing them as she told them.”

Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy, their father, was valued by children for his humane attitude towards serfs and his love for education.

The father was the first to notice his youngest son's ability to perceive the artistic word in a picturesque manner.

When Tolstoy was in his ninth year, his father took him to Moscow for the first time. Here the boy first learned that, in addition to his family and the estate, there was a large world unknown to him. In the summer of 1837, while traveling to Tula on business, his father died suddenly.

A few years later, the first guardian of the orphaned Tolstoy children, their father’s sister, Alexandra Ilyinichna Osten-Saken, died. Ten-year-old Lyovochka, his three brothers and sister were taken to Kazan, where their new guardian, Aunt Pelageya Ilyinichna Yushkova, lived.

In 1844, the writer first entered the oriental faculty of Kazan University, then transferred to the law department. In 1847, he left the university and, returning to Yasnaya Polyana, was engaged in self-education; in 1848 he left for Moscow, where, in his own words, he lived “very carelessly.”

In 1851, L.N. Tolstoy entered military service.

2.2. Message from a “historian” about the annexation of the Caucasus to Russia.

The beginning of the reign of Nicholas I was associated with wars in Transcaucasia. In 1828 the war with Iran ended, and in 1829 Russia defeated Turkey. These wars ended with the signing of treaties, as a result of which in 1829 the annexation of the entire Transcaucasia to Russia was completed.

The mountaineers declared a holy war - gazavat. In 1834, Shamil was proclaimed their leader-imam. He managed to win a number of victories over Russian troops. However, the severity of the internal order in Shamil’s state, as well as the most severe oppression, gradually corrupted his state from the inside. By 1864, the western part of the North Caucasus was conquered, and the Caucasian War ended.

2.3. Message from an “art critic” about the paintings of Franz Alekseevich Roubaud, dedicated to the theme of the war in the Caucasus.

Franz Alekseevich Roubo was born on June 15, 1856 in Odessa. His father is a French bookseller who moved to Russia, a native of Marseille, Alex Roubaud; mother - Madeleine Senech ran her own house of models.

From an early age, Franz Roubaud showed a penchant for drawing. At the age of 9 he was enrolled in the Odessa School of Drawing and Drawing, and in 1878 he entered the Bavarian Royal Academy of Arts. His teacher was Joseph Brandt. During the holidays, the young man came to Russia every year, traveling around the Caucasus, Ukraine, and Central Asia. The Caucasus has become one of the artist’s favorite themes. In 1886, he received an order to paint 19 paintings on the theme of the Caucasian Wars for Tiflis. To fulfill the order, the painter studied historical events, got acquainted with the battle sites. In the Caucasus, the artist created a whole gallery of colorful images of highlanders.

Painting by Franz Roubaud “Assault on the village of Gimry”. During the Caucasian War of 1817-1864, this impregnable mountain stronghold was defended by a detachment of mountaineers led by Imam Gazi-Magomed. The village was taken on October 17, 1832 by a Russian detachment under the command of General G.V. Rosen numbering about 10 thousand people.

After a fierce assault, the Russians broke into Gimry. Then Gazi-Magomed and 15 murids, among whom was the future imam Shamil, took refuge in a watchtower. From there they tried to break into the mountains. During the battle, almost all of them, including the imam himself, died. Shamil managed to escape.

2.4. Message from a “literary scholar” about the historical and literary basis of the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus.”

“Prisoner of the Caucasus” is a story (sometimes called a story) by Leo Tolstoy, telling about a Russian officer in captivity among the highlanders. A story was written for ABC, first published in 1872 in the magazine Zarya. One of the most popular works of the writer, reprinted many times and included in the school curriculum.

The title of the story is a reference to the title of Pushkin's poem "Prisoner of the Caucasus".

The plot of the story is partly based on a real event that happened to Tolstoy during his service in the Caucasus in the 1850s. On June 23, 1853, he wrote in his diary: “I almost got captured, but in this case I behaved well, although too sensitive.” According to the memoirs of S. A. Bers, the writer’s brother-in-law, the peaceful Chechen Sado, with whom Lev Nikolaevich was traveling , was his great friend. And not long before they exchanged horses. Sado bought a young horse. Having tested it, he gave it to his friend Lev Nikolaevich, and he himself moved to his pacer, who, as you know, does not know how to gallop. It was in this form that the Chechens overtook them. Lev Nikolaevich, having the opportunity to gallop away on his friend’s frisky horse, did not leave him. Sado, like all mountaineers, never parted with his gun, but, unfortunately, it was not loaded. However, he aimed it at his pursuers and shouted at them in a threatening manner. Judging by the further actions of the pursuers, they intended to capture both, especially Sado, for revenge, and therefore did not shoot. This circumstance saved Sado and Lev Nikolaevich. They managed to approach Grozny, where a sharp-eyed sentry noticed the pursuit from afar and raised the alarm. The Cossacks who came to meet them forced the Chechens to stop the pursuit.

2.5. Teacher's word.

Tolstoy was not only a brilliant artist of words, but also an outstanding teacher. In 1859, he opened a school for peasant children in his Yasnaya Polyana estate. It was located next to the writer’s house in an outbuilding. One of her students, Vasily Morozov, says: “We had fun at school, we studied with passion. But Lev Nikolaevich worked with us even more willingly than we did. He studied so hard that he was often left without breakfast. At school he looked serious. He demanded from us cleanliness, thriftiness with school things and truthfulness. He loved to have his questions answered truthfully, without any false pretenses... Our order was exemplary for all three years.”

Tolstoy believed that students primary school must receive a wide range of knowledge. At the Yasnaya Polyana school, 12 subjects were studied: reading, writing, grammar, Russian history, mathematics, drawing, conversations from natural sciences, drawing, singing, etc. Tolstoy also sought to instill work skills in children. For this purpose, he allocated a plot of land, which was cultivated by schoolchildren. The guys sowed and grew flax, peas, carrots, turnips and harvested the crops themselves.

In the early 1870s. Tolstoy compiled and published his “ABC”, “Arithmetic”, and four “Books for Reading”. While working on the “ABC”, the writer dreamed that “two generations of all Russian children, from royal to peasant, would learn from it,” which according to his “ABC” All Russian children will receive their first “poetic impressions.”

Tolstoy made sure that in his ABC, as he said, “everything was beautiful, short, simple and, most importantly, clear.”

“The Prisoner of the Caucasus,” created by Tolstoy for “ABC,” which he published in 1872, fully meets these requirements, and the writer was very pleased with it. The story is written with such artistic perfection that from the very first lines it completely captures the reader's attention. Such is the power of real, great art.

In the summer of 1873, the famous Russian artist Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy lived not far from Yasnaya Polyana. Kramskoy painted many portraits for the Tretyakov Gallery; he really wanted to paint a portrait of Tolstoy, whose books he dearly loved.

2.6. Appeal to the reproduction of the portrait of Leo Tolstoy by I.N. Kramskoy.

2.7. Identifying initial impressions of Leo Tolstoy’s story “Prisoner of the Caucasus.”

Name the most important episodes of the story.

Which of the characters attracted your sympathies and why?

III. Summing up the lesson.

What historical facts are used as the basis for the work “Prisoner of the Caucasus”?

What literary works influenced the concept of the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus”?

Name the book that includes the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus.”

How was education organized at the Yasnaya Polyana school of Leo Tolstoy?

IV. Homework.

2. Compose oral portraits of the characters in the story based on chapters 1 and 2 of the story (Zhilin, Kostylin, Dina, Tatar with a red beard, blackish).

3. Compose a description of the life of the Tatars.

4.Copy verbs from the text relating to the behavior of Zhilin and Kostylin in captivity (Chapter 3).

5. Individual assignment: artistic retelling of chapter 1 of the story.

6. Group task: role-playing reading of the episode from the words “You,” he says, “was taken by Kazi-Mugamed...” to the end of chapter 2.

It is in vain that Leo Tolstoy is considered a purely serious, “adult” writer. In addition to “War and Peace”, “Sunday” and other complex works, he wrote a number of stories and fairy tales for children, developed the “ABC”, which he used to teach literacy to peasant children. The story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” is included in it and has enjoyed constant interest among all generations of girls and boys from the end of the 19th century to the present day.

Genre and place of the work in the writer’s work

"Prisoner of the Caucasus" by Tolstoy, summary which we will now consider, researchers call a short story or a large story. Confusion in the genre nature of the work is associated with its non-standard sizes, large number of characters, multiple storylines and conflicts. The author himself defined it as “truth”, i.e. a narration of real-life deeds and events. The story takes place in the Caucasus, during the war with the highlanders. It is worth noting that this topic was not completed for the writer, and Tolstoy’s “Prisoner of the Caucasus” (a summary follows below) was not the only work related to it. “Cossacks” and “Hadji Murat” are also devoted to the description of military clashes, the peculiarities of relationships between people of different cultures and nationalities and contain a lot interesting observations and colorful sketches. The story was published in 1872 in the magazine “Zarya”. From Soviet times to this day, it has been included in the school curricula of most former Soviet republics.

History of creation

What is Tolstoy’s “Prisoner of the Caucasus”? Its summary can be correlated with real events in which Tolstoy became a participant. He himself served in the Caucasus, was a participant in the fighting and once almost was captured. Lev Nikolaevich and his comrade Sado, a Chechen by nationality, miraculously escaped. The sensations they experienced during the adventure formed the basis of the story. As for the name, there are some literary associations associated with it. In particular, with Pushkin’s southern romantic poem. True, Tolstoy’s “Prisoner of the Caucasus” (a brief summary of the story gives a complete idea of ​​the writing method) belongs to realistic works, but the corresponding “exotic” flavor is clearly felt in it. I would like to note one more detail. Tolstoy gave the story great importance, because it was a sample of his new prose, a kind of experiment in the field of language and style. Therefore, when sending the work to critic Nikolai Strakhov, I asked him to pay attention to this aspect of the work.

Plot and characters

So, what did Tolstoy tell us about (“Prisoner of the Caucasus”)? The summary of the story can be reduced to several plot lines. A poor Russian officer Zhilin, serving in a remote fortress, receives a letter from his old mother asking him to come on leave and see him. Having asked for leave, he and the convoy set off on the road. Another officer, Kostylin, is traveling with Zhilin. Since the convoy is moving slowly, the road is long, and the day is hot, the friends decide not to wait for an escort and cover the rest of the journey on their own. Kostylin has a gun, the horses under both are good, and even if they catch the eye of the mountaineers, they will be able to avoid a skirmish. However, due to Kostylin's oversight and cowardice, the officers are captured. Their behavior gives a clear idea of ​​the character and personality type of each. Kostylin is heavy on the outside and equally apathetic and clumsy on the inside. When in trouble, he resigns himself to the circumstances, sleeps or grumbles, complains. When the Tatars demand to write a ransom request, the hero fulfills all the conditions. He is passive, phlegmatic, devoid of any enterprise. Zhilin is a completely different matter. He clearly sympathizes with Tolstoy. “Prisoner of the Caucasus” (a brief summary allows us to reveal the meaning of the title) is therefore named in singular that this particular character is the main character, the real hero. Not wanting to burden his mother with debts, Zhilin signs the letter incorrectly, gains authority and respect from the village residents, finds a common language with the girl Dina and twice organizes an escape. He does not lose heart, fights against circumstances, and does not abandon his comrade. Strong-willed, energetic, enterprising, courageous, Zhilin achieves his goal. It’s not scary to go on reconnaissance missions with this one. This is a reliable, simple person who has always been close and interesting to the writer.

It is in the charm of Zhilin’s personality, the entertaining plot, and the simplicity and brevity of the language that lies the secret of the story’s enormous popularity.