Mikhail Sholokhov was always concerned about the fate of the people during wars and consciousness-shaking revolutions. This could not but affect the novel he wrote - the epic “Quiet Don”, where the writer devoted the entire second volume to the civil war.
The civil war, as Sholokhov shows, and other terrible wars, greatly change a person and his worldview. It is impossible to remain yourself after combat operations. It won’t be possible to be as before, because war is a terrible and merciless event, because of which people’s destinies are ruined. Using the example of the Melekhov family, readers understand how difficult it is to experience sudden changes in life: war, revolution, riot, uprising. You can’t immediately realize who to join. That is why Grigory Melekhov rushes from one to another, because he does not understand where the truth is, which should save the world.
Sholokhov masterfully depicted the changes in a person during the war. As the author says, combat embitters a soldier and constantly tests his strength. Initially, Gregory was a kind-hearted, merciful person. Before the war, everything went smoothly, an atmosphere of calm reigned. But after the upcoming bloody events, the character understands how quickly such bright concepts as “brother” and “family” disappear. All this is quickly forgotten, because war divides people and forces them to fight against each other.
As a result, Sholokhov comes to the conclusion: war is a meaningless event that only does harm. The Cossacks do not know what to fight for, their houses are ruined, their native lands are abandoned, relatives and friends die. The tragedy of war is that it is too harsh and terrible. It takes with it many innocent lives. It destroys families, scattering each family member into different barricades. Fighting and revolutions are tragic and senseless. The most incredible fact is that in war, brother goes against brother, forgetting about family values, about true strong love. War destroys a person from within.
Thus, we can talk about the war for a long time. Sholokhov managed to depict the horrors of war with the help of the feelings of the hero - Grigory Melekhov. It is worth understanding that military operations, no matter what they are aimed at, are, after all, senseless, but cruel. That's why my soul is scared. Therefore, the novel is relevant to this day. Even more: it will be both popular and important in subsequent centuries! This is Sholokhov’s merit: he did not hide the truth, but showed the true impact of war on a person!
Option 2
A civil war is always a great grief both for the country as a whole and for each individual family in particular. In his novel, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov managed to realistically depict the entire tragedy of the civil war in Russia of 1917-1922 using the example of the Don Cossack settlement and the family of Grigory Melekhov, the main character of the novel.
At the beginning of the novel, the peaceful pre-war time is shown. Residents of the village live calmly, they are only worried about pressing everyday problems. With the beginning of the First World War, and then the Civil War, everything changed: different political views, different desires split the inhabitants of the village. The worst thing is that families were also split apart.
In the novel, Grigory is shown as a hero, and the same Mikhail Koshevoy is shown as a scoundrel. In fact, this is not so. Grigory Melekhov does not have a male core; throughout the entire novel he cannot decide what to do with his women - he runs first to Aksinya, then to Natasha, or in choosing a side in the civil war. Koshevoy takes the Red position from the very beginning. Yes, his actions were not always good, but, as they say, in love and war all means are fair.
At the beginning of the civil war, the reader is shocked by the scene of the death of Petro and his comrades. They were killed by yesterday's friends, those with whom they grew up since childhood - the civil war scattered loved ones, embittered them, and broke their destinies. Koshevoy killed his friend - brother Grigory, brother of his fiancée Dunyasha. This is scary, this is war. But Koshevoy initially took one side and did not change it until the end of the war. Gregory ran either to the whites or to the reds, depending on who was winning at that time. In the novel, of course, all this is presented somewhat differently, they say, the spiritual quest of the protagonist, a rethinking of views. No! Grigory Melekhov was looking for a better place, covering his skin.
Everything ended naturally: after the end of the civil war, Gregory returned to his native village. In the end he fought for the Reds. Dunyasha and her husband Mikhail Koshevoy met him at home... We received the guest and sat at the table in a tense atmosphere. And then Koshevoy took Grigory away. The Reds won, Grigory Melekhov hoped that he would not be remembered for his service with the Whites, but no, the earth is round. Melekhov got what he deserved. I’m not saying that Koshevoy is a man of high moral principles, no, but he fought throughout the war without betraying the Reds. Yes, he could have let his former friends go, he could have not killed them - it was on his conscience, his cross. In fact, he is a hero of the civil war. Grigory Melekhov is a collective image of an opportunist, no more, no less.
Essay Depiction of the civil war in the novel Quiet Don
The main theme of the work is the study and analysis of the tragic impact of military events in the country on the fate of ordinary civilians, shown by the writer using the example of the Russian Don Cossacks, and specifically the Melikhov family.
The main character of the novel is Grigory Melekhov, narrating whose fate the author illustrates the horrors, destruction and drama of the devastating civil war that occurred at the beginning of the twentieth century, which was a consequence of the Bolsheviks coming to power.
During the war, the Melikhov family tries to refrain from participating in the merciless slaughter, but finds itself forcibly involved in bloody battles. A divided society destroys the peaceful and calm existence of Cossack families, which has lasted for many years. The Cossacks are divided into two warring sides that hate each other, which are essentially fighting for the same idea - the opportunity to serenely and peacefully live, work and raise children on their native Don land.
The hopelessness of the situation described in the work lies in the fact that war and devastation not only destroy humanity externally, but also introduce contradictions and discord within family and friendly relationships, forcing loving people to experience hatred, anger, rage towards each other and leading them to fratricide.
Having fought on various opposing sides throughout the entire period of the war, Grigory finds himself seriously crippled not only physically, but morally, having become disillusioned with the previous and current government, having lost many relatives (his beloved woman, his brother, friends) and being mentally devastated.
Talking about the fate of Gregory, the writer conveys the tragic feelings of people who experienced drastic social changes (wars, riots, revolutions, uprisings) and shows how in these difficult, harsh situations, a person’s worldview, consciousness, and character rapidly change. People who were previously merciful and kind-hearted turn into rabid, bloodthirsty animals who have forgotten about sympathy, forgiveness, tolerance and love. War destroys and burns in its path not only the lives of people, but also human destinies, testing their strength, since even if a person survives, he cannot remain himself as before. It is these feelings that overwhelm Gregory when he returns to his native village.
The writer describes the terrible events of the war, taking a neutral position and depicts the senselessness of brutal actions on the part of both opponents (white and red), when the cruelty of war kills a person from the inside, and sadly acknowledges the fact of the death of the Russian Cossacks as a military force of the deceased Russian empire.
Option 4
In the epic novel “Quiet Don” the central place is occupied by the story of Grigory Melekhov, however, there are also other important lines that are interesting to the reader. One of these lines is the theme of the Civil War in the life of ordinary Don Cossacks.
This war in 1917 did not have a clear front line. This line ran in the souls of people, their decisions and actions, often dividing families, repainting people red and white.
According to the author, people’s work, love, the ability to create and live freely are the most beautiful and priceless things. The antipode to this is war - destructive, crippling and terrifying. No evil, according to Sholokhov, can be justified even by the brightest idea, for the sake of which people give their lives. The future will always be love, mercy and life, but never death, blood and pain.
Sholokhov raises the most important questions of the entire Civil War. Why does brother go against brother? Why is a son willing to kill his own father? How can you kill a person with whom you grew up and matured? The struggle between Reds and Whites in the Don steppes is full of tragedy and violence, it is senseless and merciless. Scenes showing atrocities on both sides balance them out. Not only scenes of military operations are filled with pain, but also the destruction of prisoners, looting and violence against civilians. So Grigory Melekhov, as a young Cossack who has already seen war, cannot finally decide who to be with. On both sides there are people who want to work on the land, raise children, build a new world, which makes his decision extremely difficult.
During the war, Gregory's entire family tried in every possible way to avoid participation in this bloody massacre, but they were forced into it. The devastation and split of society are destroying the old Cossack way of life, which was formed over hundreds of years. The fate of not only Grigory himself is tragic, but also of his mother, Ilyinichna, who lost her son, husband, and both daughters-in-law. In her heart she feels that Grigory has no future either. Gregory's life is a sequence of expenses, pain of loss, torment and lack of hope for a bright future. The moment when she forgives the murderer of her own son, Koshevoy, is extremely tragic.
Despite the party's politics and the fact that Sholokhov himself fought on the side of the Reds, the novel is not written one-sidedly. The author takes a neutral position and looks at the war through the eyes of both warring sides. He gains courage and admits that the Bolsheviks destroyed strong, hardworking families, and that the Cossacks, the military force of the dead empire, were broken and trampled. The civil war is the prologue to a huge tragedy that will happen to the country over the next three decades.
The civil war, in my opinion, is the most cruel and bloody war, because sometimes close people fight in it, who once lived in one whole, united country, believed in one God and adhered to the same ideals. How it happens that relatives stand on opposite sides of the barricades and how such wars end, we can trace on the pages of the novel - M. A. Sholokhov’s epic “Quiet Don”.
In his novel, the author tells us how the Cossacks lived freely on the Don: they worked on the land, were a reliable support for the Russian tsars, fought for them and for the state. Their families lived by their labor, in prosperity and respect. The cheerful, joyful life of the Cossacks, full of work and pleasant worries, is interrupted by the revolution. And people were faced with a hitherto unfamiliar problem of choice: whose side to take, who to believe - the Reds, who promise equality in everything, but deny faith in the Lord God; or whites, those whom their grandfathers and great-grandfathers served faithfully. But do the people need this revolution and war? Knowing what sacrifices would need to be made, what difficulties to overcome, the people would probably answer in the negative. It seems to me that no revolutionary necessity justifies all the victims, broken lives, destroyed families. And so, as Sholokhov writes, “in a fight to the death, brother goes against brother, son against father.” Even Grigory Melekhov, the main character of the novel, who previously opposed bloodshed, easily decides the fate of others. Of course, the first murder of a man
it hits him deeply and painfully, makes him spend many sleepless nights, but the war makes him cruel. “I’ve become scary to myself... Look into my soul, and there’s blackness there, like in an empty well,” admits Grigory. Everyone became cruel, even women. Just remember the scene when Daria Melekhova kills Kotlyarov without hesitation, considering him the murderer of her husband Peter. However, not everyone thinks about why blood is shed, what the meaning of war is. Is it really “for the needs of the rich that they drive them to death”? Or to defend rights that are common to everyone, the meaning of which is not very clear to the people. A simple Cossack can only see that this war is becoming meaningless, because you can’t fight for those who rob and kill, rape women and set fire to houses. And such cases occurred both from the whites and from the reds. “They are all the same... they are all a yoke on the neck of the Cossacks,” says the main character.
In my opinion, Sholokhov sees the main reason for the tragedy of the Russian people, which affected literally everyone in those days, in the dramatic transition from the old way of life, which had been formed over centuries, to a new way of life. Two worlds collide: everything that was previously an integral part of people’s lives, the basis of their existence, suddenly collapses, and the new still needs to be accepted and accustomed to.
M.A. Sholokhov is rightly called the chronicler of the Soviet era. "Quiet Don" - a novel about the Cossacks. The central character of the novel is Grigory Melekhov, an ordinary Cossack guy. True, maybe too hot. In Gregory's family, large and friendly, the Cossacks are sacredly revered...
If we step back for a while from historical events, we can note that the basis of M. A. Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Don” is a traditional love triangle. Natalya Melekhova and Aksinya Astakhova love the same Cossack - Grigory Melekhov. He's married...
Many works have been written about forced collectivization and the massacre of the peasantry. The books of S. Zalygin “On the Irtysh”, “Men and Women” by B. Mozhaev, “A Pair of Bays” by V. Tendryakov, “The Roundup” by V. Bykov told us about the tragedy of the Russian peasant...
P.V. Palievsky: “Almost all of us know that in our literature there is a writer of world significance - M.A. Sholokhov. But we are somehow poorly aware of this, despite the achievements of criticism. What is new is not visible that Sholokhov brought to literature, perhaps...
Mikhail Sholokhov's novel "Quiet Don" tells the story of one of the most intense and eventful periods in the history of our country - the time of the First World War, the October Revolution and the Civil War. The plot is based on the fate of the Don Cossacks...
Civil war as a tragedy of the people
The civil war, in my opinion, is the most cruel and bloody war, because sometimes close people fight in it, who once lived in one whole, united country, believed in one God and adhered to the same ideals. How it happens that relatives stand on opposite sides of the barricades and how such wars end, we can trace on the pages of the novel - M. A. Sholokhov’s epic “Quiet Don”.
In his novel, the author tells us how the Cossacks lived freely on the Don: they worked on the land, were a reliable support for the Russian tsars, fought for them and for the state. Their families lived by their labor, in prosperity and respect. The cheerful, joyful life of the Cossacks, full of work and pleasant worries, is interrupted by the revolution. And people were faced with a hitherto unfamiliar problem of choice: whose side to take, who to believe - the Reds, who promise equality in everything, but deny faith in the Lord God; or whites, those whom their grandfathers and great-grandfathers served faithfully. But do the people need this revolution and war? Knowing what sacrifices would need to be made, what difficulties to overcome, the people would probably answer in the negative. It seems to me that no revolutionary necessity justifies all the victims, broken lives, destroyed families. And so, as Sholokhov writes, “in a fight to the death, brother goes against brother, son against father.” Even Grigory Melekhov, the main character of the novel, who previously opposed bloodshed, easily decides the fate of others. Of course, the first murder of a person affects him deeply and painfully, causing him to spend many sleepless nights, but war makes him cruel. “I’ve become scary to myself... Look into my soul, and there’s blackness there, like in an empty well,” admits Grigory. Everyone became cruel, even women. Just remember the scene when Daria Melekhova kills Kotlyarov without hesitation, considering him the murderer of her husband Peter. However, not everyone thinks about why blood is shed, what is the meaning of war. Is it really “for the needs of the rich that they drive them to death”? Or to defend rights that are common to everyone, the meaning of which is not very clear to the people. A simple Cossack can only see that this war is becoming meaningless, because you can’t fight for those who rob and kill, rape women and set fire to houses. And such cases occurred both from the whites and from the reds. “They are all the same... they are all a yoke on the neck of the Cossacks,” says the main character.
In my opinion, Sholokhov sees the main reason for the tragedy of the Russian people, which affected literally everyone in those days, in the dramatic transition from the old way of life, which had been formed over centuries, to a new way of life. Two worlds collide: everything that was previously an integral part of people’s lives, the basis of their existence, suddenly collapses, and the new still needs to be accepted and accustomed to.
A civil battle, in my opinion, is the most brutal and bloody battle, because sometimes close people fight in it, who once lived in one whole, united country, believed in one God and adhered to the same ideals. How it happens that relatives stand on opposite sides of the barricades and how such wars end, we can trace on the pages of the novel - M. A. Sholokhov’s epic “Quiet Don”.
In his novel, the author tells us how the Cossacks lived freely on the Don: they worked on the land, were a reliable support for the Russian tsars, fought for them and for the state. Their families lived by their labor, in prosperity and respect. The cheerful, joyful life of the Cossacks, full of work and pleasant worries, is interrupted by the revolution. And people were faced with a hitherto unfamiliar problem of choice: whose side to take, who to believe - the Reds, who promise equality in everything, but deny faith in the Lord God; or whites, those whom their grandfathers and great-grandfathers served faithfully. But do the people need this revolution and war? Knowing what sacrifices would need to be made, what difficulties to overcome, the people would probably answer in the negative. It seems to me that no revolutionary necessity justifies all the victims, broken lives, destroyed families. And so, as Sholokhov announces, “in a fight to the death, brother goes against brother, son against father.” Even Grigory Melekhov, the main character of the novel, who previously opposed bloodshed, easily decides the fate of others. Of course, the first murder of a person hits him hard and painfully, causing him to spend many sleepless nights, but the battle makes him cruel. “I’ve become scary to myself... Look into my soul, and there’s blackness there, like in an empty well,” admits Grigory. Everyone became cruel, especially women. Just remember the scene when Daria Melekhova kills Kotlyarov without hesitation, considering him the murderer of her husband Peter. However, not everyone thinks about why blood is shed, what the meaning of war is. Is it really “for the needs of the rich that they drive them to death”? Or to defend rights that are common to everyone, the meaning of which is not very clear to the people. A simple Cossack can only see that this battle is becoming meaningless, because one cannot fight for those who rob and kill, rape women and set fire to houses. And such cases occurred both from the whites and from the reds. “They are all the same... they are all a yoke on the neck of the Cossacks,” says the main character.
In my opinion, Sholokhov sees the main reason for the tragedy of the Russian people, which affected literally everyone in those days, in the dramatic transition from the old way of life, which had been formed over centuries, to a new way of life. Two worlds collide: everything that was previously an integral part of people’s lives, the basis of their existence, suddenly collapses, and the new still needs to be accepted and accustomed to.
GENERAL EDUCATION MATERIAL
Study the texts and determine which images of “reds” and “whites” are present in the mass consciousness of the descendants of participants in the Civil War in Russia.
In the mass consciousness of the descendants of the participants in the Civil War in Russia, there are opposite images of “Reds” and “Whites”: the Reds are good, brave, honest heroes, and the Whites are treacherous, cruel, stupid people. And exactly the opposite: whites are noble, honest heroes, and reds are negative, rude, and cruel.
In what ways do you think they contradict each other? What question might arise to you based on this contradiction?
Who are the heroes in the Civil War?
Formulate your version of the educational problem, and then compare it with the author’s.
Who is right in the Civil War
REPEATING THE NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE
Explain the meaning of the term Civil War.
Civil war is a large-scale armed confrontation between organized groups within a state or, less commonly, between nations that were part of a previously single unified state. The goal of the parties, as a rule, is to seize power in a country or in a particular region.
Signs of civil war are the involvement of the civilian population and the resulting significant losses.
Methods of waging civil wars often differ from traditional ones. Along with the use of regular troops by the warring parties, the partisan movement is becoming widespread, as well as various spontaneous uprisings of the population and the like.
Remember in the history of which countries there were civil wars (10th grade).
Civil wars happened in the history of the USA, Italy, and Spain.
What events of the revolution of 1917–1918 led Russia to the Civil War?
Russia was led to the Civil War by the events of the revolution of 1917–1918:
Dispersal of the Constituent Assembly,
Signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany,
Activities of Bolshevik food detachments and committees of poor people in the countryside (seizure of grain from wealthy peasants)
Decree on land that caused an economic crisis
Ban on free trade in bread
Analyze the composition of the opposing forces.
Draw a conclusion: whose side was the truth in the Civil War?
Three opposing forces:
Reds, Bolsheviks (most of the workers, the poorest peasantry, part of the intelligentsia);
- “democratic counter-revolution”, Socialist Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, anarchists (part of the workers, the middle peasantry);
Whites, KaDet and monarchists (Cossacks, former landowners, capitalists, officials, officers, a significant part of the intelligentsia)
Conclusion: It is difficult to determine the right in the Civil War. “Whites” defended legality and statehood, “reds” fought for something new, for changes, but using dictatorial, violent methods.
The White movement began to take shape at the beginning of 1918, when generals M. Alekseev, L. Kornilov and A. Kaledin gathered volunteer units in Novocherkassk. The volunteer army was led by General A. Denikin. In the east of the country, Admiral A. Kolchak became the leader of the Whites, in the north-west - General N. Yudenich, in the south - A. Denikin, in the north - E. Miller. The white generals failed to unite the fronts.
The Whites, like the Reds, used the peasantry for constant extortion - the army had to be fed. This caused discontent among the peasants.
Analyze the text and draw a conclusion about the lesson problem “Whose side was the truth on in the Civil War?”
In the Civil War, whites fought for legal order and the preservation of a country with a thousand-year history. The Reds are for the idea of building a new, fair socialist society. “Greens” (peasant groups) - for the right to live on their own land, without paying taxes to anyone and without government intervention. Any citizen of Russia must determine the share of guilt of each side himself. The only thing that can unite us on this issue is the desire not to repeat the tragedy of the Civil War, to avoid violence and learn to negotiate with each other.
Moscow: the rebellion of the left Socialist Revolutionaries is suppressed - the formalization of a one-party Bolshevik dictatorship in Soviet Russia.
Highlight 3-4 main events that, on the one hand, predetermined the victory of the Reds, and on the other, the defeat of their opponents
Armed suppression of opponents of Soviet power by Bolshevik-Left Socialist Revolutionary detachments of the Red Guard. The formation of anti-Bolshevik governments in Ukraine, the Don, Transcaucasia and other outskirts of the former empire.
Soviet Russia: announcement of the “Red Terror” (September 5, 1918) - taking hostages from the “former propertied classes” and shooting them for each attempt on the life of Soviet leaders. Formation of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic headed by L.D. Trotsky (a supporter of strengthening discipline by executions for desertion), the abolition of the election of commanders, the involvement of military experts - former tsarist officers, control of the army through communist commissars.
Moscow: 10th Congress of the RCP (b) (March 1920): rejection of “war communism” (prodrazvyorstka, trade ban) and transition to the NEP (tax in kind, free trade), but confirmation of the dictatorship of the proletariat led by the Communist Party.
PROFILE MATERIAL
Complete your solution to the general education problem by looking at it from a new perspective: “Why did the Reds win the Civil War?”
Conduct a critical analysis of the sources and draw a conclusion on the lesson problem “Why did the Reds win the Civil War?”
The Reds won the Civil War because their actions were clearly organized, centralized, and tough. In addition, they announced a transition to a new economic policy, which attracted the peasants to their side. The Whites did not have such centralization; on the contrary, the commanders of their troops competed with each other and they acted more brutally than the Reds, restoring the pre-revolutionary order.
Conduct text analysis. What reasons for the Reds' victory are highlighted in each of them?
Each of these texts gives similar reasons:
Unity and centralization of the Bolsheviks
Bringing military specialists from the tsarist army to the side of the Bolsheviks
Draw a conclusion on the lesson problem “Why did the Reds win the Civil War?”
The Reds won the Civil War because their actions were clearly organized, centralized, and tough. In addition, they announced a transition to a new economic policy, which attracted the peasants to their side. The Whites did not have such centralization; on the contrary, the commanders of their troops competed with each other and they acted more brutally than the Reds, restoring the pre-revolutionary order.
