The image of Grigory Melekhov is continued by Sholokhov. Image of Grigory Melekhov
Cossack Grigory Melekhov is one of the central characters of the historical epic novel by Mikhail Sholokhov “Quiet Don”. The storyline of this work is based on his life path, the formation and formation of Melekhov as a person, his love, successes and disappointments, as well as the search for truth and justice.
Difficult life trials befall this simple Don Cossack, because he finds himself in a whirlwind of bloody events of the early twentieth century: the First World War, revolution, civil war in Russia. The millstones of war into which the main character finds himself “grind” and cripple his soul, forever leaving their bloody mark.
Characteristics of the main character
(Pyotr Glebov as Grigory Melekhov, still from the film "Quiet Don", USSR 1958)
Grigory Panteleevich Melekhov is the most ordinary Don Cossack. We first meet him at the age of twenty in his native Tatar village of the Cossack village of Veshenskaya, located on the banks of the Don River. The guy is neither from a rich nor from a poor family, one might say he is average, but he lives in prosperity, he has a younger sister Dunya and an older brother Peter. A quarter Turkish through his grandmother, Melekhov has an attractive and slightly wild appearance: dark skin, a hooked nose, jet-black curly hair, expressive almond-shaped eyes.
At first, Grigory is shown to us as an ordinary guy living on a farm. He has certain household responsibilities and is immersed in his worries and daily activities. He doesn’t particularly worry about his life; he lives as the traditions and customs of the Cossack village dictate. Even the violent passion that flared up between the young Cossack and his married neighbor Aksinya does not change anything in his life. At the insistence of his father, he marries the unloved Natalya Korshunova, and, as is customary among young Cossacks, begins preparations for military service. It turns out that during this period of his quiet and measured life, he weakly and mechanically fulfills what is destined for him, and does not decide anything special in his life.
(Melekhov at war)
However, everything changes when Melekhov finds himself on the battlefields of the First World War. Here he shows himself as a brave and brave warrior, a defender of the Fatherland, for which he receives the well-deserved rank of officer. However, in his soul Melekhov is the most ordinary worker, accustomed to working on the land, taking care of his farm, but war comes and not a shovel, but a gun is placed in his hands, calloused from work, and he is ordered to destroy the enemy. For Gregory, the first killed Austrian came as a real shock, and his death was a tragedy that he experienced again and again. He begins to be tormented by questions about the meaning of the war, why people kill each other and who needs it, what is his personal role in this bloody chaos? So he begins to grow up and live a more conscious life. Little by little his soul hardens and is tempered by difficult trials, but still in its depths he retains both conscience and humanity.
Life throws him from one extreme to another; in the civil war he fights either on the side of the whites, or joins the Budennovsky detachment, or joins bandit formations. He no longer just goes with the flow, but confidently and consciously seeks his path in life. Distinguished by his sharp mind and observation, the “honest to the core” Melekhov immediately sees the deception and empty promises of the Bolsheviks, the bestial cruelty of the bandits and cannot in any way understand the “truth” of the officer-nobles. Only one thing matters to him in this crazy chaos of a fratricidal war, this is his father's house and his usual, peaceful work in his native land.
(Evgeny Tkachuk plays Grigory Melekhov, still from the film "Quiet Don", Russia 2015)
As a result, he escapes from Fomin’s disgusted gang and dreams of returning home and living a quiet life with Aksinya, without killing anyone, but simply working on his land. It is precisely for her that he is ready to shed the last drop of blood, to kill anyone who encroaches on her. This is how the war once changed an ordinary hard worker, who keenly felt the beauty of the surrounding nature and sincerely felt sorry for the duckling he accidentally killed.
On the way home, a huge emotional shock awaits him: Aksinya dies from a bullet, his love collapses, his hope for a happy and free life dies. Crushed and unhappy, he finally reaches the threshold of his home, where he is met by his surviving son and the land, waiting for its owner.
The image of the hero in the work
(Gregory with his son)
The whole truth of that terrible and bloody time in the history of the Cossack Don was shown by the outstanding Soviet writer Mikhail Sholokhov in the image of a simple Cossack Grigory Melekhov. All his contradictions, complex spiritual tossings and experiences are described by the author with amazing psychological authenticity and historical validity.
It is impossible to say unequivocally that Melekhov is a negative or a positive hero. Sometimes his actions are terrible, and sometimes they are noble and generous. A simple Cossack and hard worker, accustomed to working from morning to night, he becomes a hostage to those bloody historical events that the entire Russian people experienced. The war broke and maimed him, took away his closest and dearest people, forced him to do terrible things, but he did not break and managed to retain in himself those particles of goodness and light that were once in him. In the end, he understands that the most important value for a person is his family, home and native land, and weapons, murder and death cause only disgust and horror in him.
The image of Melekhov, a simple “peasant farmer in uniform,” embodies the long-suffering fate of the entire simple Russian people, and his difficult life path is a path of struggle, quest, tragic mistakes and bitter experience, and finally knowledge of the truth and oneself.
The birth of the epic novel is connected with events in Russian history that have global significance. The first Russian revolution of 1905, the world war of 1914-1918. The October Revolution, the civil war, and the period of peaceful construction gave rise to the desire of literary artists to create works of wide epic scope. It is characteristic that in the 20s they began to work almost simultaneously: M. Gorky - on the epic “The Life of Klim Samgin”, A. N. Tolstoy - on the epic “Walking Through Torment”, M. Sholokhov turned to creating the epic “Quiet Don” .
The creators of epic paintings relied on the traditions of Russian classics, on such works about the destinies of people as “The Captain's Daughter”, “Taras Bulba”, “War and Peace”.
The epic novel “Quiet Don” occupies a special place in the history of Russian literature. Sholokhov devoted fifteen years of his life and hard work to its creation. M. Gorky saw in the novel the embodiment of the enormous talent of the Russian people.
The events in “Quiet Don” begin in 1912, before the First World War, and end in 1922, when the civil war on the Don died down. Knowing very well the life and way of life of the Cossacks of the Don region, being himself a participant in the harsh struggle on the Don in the early 20s, Sholokhov focused on depicting the Cossacks. The work closely combines document and fiction. “Quiet Don” contains many authentic names of farms and villages of the Don region. The center of events with which the main action is connected is the village of Veshenskaya.
Sholokhov portrays the actual participants in the events: this is Ivan Lagutin, chairman of the Cossack department of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the first chairman of the Don All-Russian Central Executive Committee Fyodor Podtelkov, a member of the Revolutionary Committee of the Elan Cossack Mikhail Krivoshlykov. At the same time, the main characters of the story are fictional: the families of Melekhov, Astakhov, Korshunov, Koshev, Listnitsky. The Tatarsky farm is also fictional.
“Quiet Don” begins with a depiction of the peaceful pre-war life of the Cossacks. The days of the Tatarsky farm pass in intense work. The Melekhov family, a typical middle peasant family with patriarchal foundations, comes to the forefront of the narrative. The war interrupted the working life of the Cossacks.
The First World War is portrayed by Sholokhov as a national disaster, and the old soldier, professing Christian wisdom, advises the young Cossacks: “Remember one thing: if you want to be alive, to come out of mortal combat alive, you must uphold the human truth...”
Sholokhov with great skill describes the horrors of war, which cripples people both physically and morally. Cossack Chubaty teaches Grigory Melekhov: “In battle, killing a person is a sacred thing... destroy a person. He’s a filthy person!” But Chubaty, with his bestial philosophy, scares people away. Death and suffering awaken sympathy and unite soldiers: people cannot get used to war.
Sholokhov writes in his second book that the news of the overthrow of the autocracy did not evoke a joyful feeling among the Cossacks; they reacted to it with “restrained anxiety and expectation.” The Cossacks are tired of the war. They dream of its end. How many of them have already died: more than one Cossack widow echoed the dead.
The Cossacks did not immediately understand historical events. Bitter words in the novel precede the description of the tragic events on the Don, the story of the reprisal against Podtelkov’s expedition, and the Upper Don Uprising.
Having returned from the fronts of the World War, the Cossacks did not yet know what tragedy of the fratricidal war they would have to endure in the near future.
The Upper Don Uprising appears in Sholokhov's depiction as one of the central events of the civil war on the Don. There were many reasons. The Red Terror, the unjustified cruelty of representatives of the Soviet government on the Don are shown in the novel with great artistic force. Numerous executions of Cossacks carried out in the villages - the murder of Miron Korshunov and grandfather Trishka, who personified the Christian principle, preaching that all power is given by God, the actions of Commissar Malkin, who gave orders to shoot bearded Cossacks.
Sholokhov also showed in the novel that the Upper Don uprising reflected a popular protest against the destruction of the foundations of peasant life and the centuries-old traditions of the Cossacks, traditions that became the basis of peasant morality and morality, which had developed over centuries, and were inherited from generation to generation.
The writer also showed the doom of the uprising. Already during the events, the people understood and felt their fratricidal nature. One of the leaders of the uprising, Grigory Melekhov, declares: “But I think that we got lost when we went to the uprising.”
A. Serafimovich wrote about the heroes of “Quiet Don”: “...his people are not drawn, not written out - this is not on paper.” The type images created by Sholokhov summarize the deep and expressive features of the Russian people. Depicting the thoughts, feelings, and actions of the characters, the writer did not cut off, but exposed the threads leading to the past.
Among the characters in the novel, Grigory Melekhov is attractive, contradictory, reflecting the complexity of the quests and delusions of the Cossacks. There is no doubt that the image of Grigory Melekhov is Sholokhov’s artistic discovery. By creating this image, the writer acted as an innovator, artistically reproducing what was the most controversial, the most difficult, the most exciting in life. Grigory Melekhov is not an isolated character in the epic. He is in the closest unity and is connected both with his family and with the Cossacks of the Tatar farm and the entire Don, among whom he grew up and with whom he lived and fought, constantly in search of the truth and meaning of life. Melekhov is not separated from his time. He not only communicates with people and participates in events, but always thinks, evaluates, and judges himself and others.
These features help to come to the conclusion that Melekhov is depicted in the epic as the son of his people and his time. Gregory's world is a people's world; he never separated himself from his people, from nature. In the fire of battles, in the dust of campaigns, he dreams of work in his native land, of a family. Grigory ends his journey through torment by returning to his native Tatarsky farm. Having thrown his weapon into the Don, he hurries again to what he loved so much and from what he was torn away for so long.
The ending of the novel has a philosophical sound. Sholokhov left his hero on the threshold of new life trials. What paths await him? How will his life turn out? The writer does not answer these questions, but makes the reader think about the most difficult fate of this hero.
Sholokhov turned to creating female characters at the very beginning of his creative career. But if in the stories the characters of women are only outlined, then in “Quiet Don” Sholokhov creates vivid artistic images. Women are central to the epic; women of different ages, different temperaments, different destinies - mother Grigory Ilyinichna, Aksinya, Natalya, Daria, Dunyashka, Anna Pogudko and others.
The ardent, passionate Aksinya, with her “vicious beauty,” is contrasted with the modest, restrained worker Natalya. The fate of both Aksinya and Natalya is tragic. There was a lot of hard things in their lives, but they also knew real human happiness. The writer shows their hard work, their huge role in the life of the family.
Speech characteristics, portrait ones, are of great importance (Aksinya has a “chiseled neck”, “fluffy curls of hair”, “calling lips”. Natalya has a “smooth white forehead”, “big hands, crushed by work”, Daria has “shaded arches of eyebrows”, "winding gait"
The action of the novel “Quiet Don” involves a wide range of people, representatives of various social strata. It begins with a depiction of life in the Cossack farm of Tatarsky, captures the Listnitsky landowner's estate, and is transferred to the sites of the unfolding world war - to Poland, Romania, East Prussia, to Petrograd, Novocherkassk, Novorossiysk, to the villages of the Don.
Sholokhov is an unsurpassed master of artistic expression, skillfully using the language that the Cossacks speak. Both the main characters and episodic characters appear visibly before the reader. Landscape sketches testify to the artist’s passionate love for the nature of the Don region. The landscape is humanized, it performs a variety of ideological and artistic functions; helps to reveal the feelings and moods of the characters, to convey their attitude to the events taking place. Works of folk art were skillfully used: proverbs, sayings, fables, songs. They convey the mood, feelings, experiences of the people, and reflect the aesthetic world of the heroes. Works of folk art, especially songs, reveal the philosophical depth of the epic. The epigraphs to the first and third books of the novel are ancient Cossack songs.
Great spiritual meaning is contained in the poetic image of the Don, which acts as a symbol of the life of the people. The name “Quiet Don” itself is full of symbolism: it contrasts with the events depicted. There is a special meaning in the image of the steppe, which acts as a symbol of the Motherland: “Native steppe above the low Don sky!.., a mound in wise silence, protecting the buried Cossack glory... I bow low and kiss your red land like a son... watered with stainless Don blood steppe...". Only a writer who was passionately in love with the beauty of his native Don nature and his people could find and say such words.
Working on the epic “Quiet Don”, Sholokhov proceeded from the philosophical concept that the people are the main driving force of history. This concept received deep artistic embodiment in the epic: in the depiction of people's life, life and work of the Cossacks, in the depiction of the people's participation in historical events.
Sholokhov showed that the path of the people in the revolution and civil war was difficult, tense, and tragic. The destruction of the “old world” was associated with the collapse of centuries-old folk traditions, Orthodoxy, the destruction of churches, and the rejection of moral commandments that were instilled in people from childhood.
When presenting the Nobel Prize for the novel “Quiet Flows the Don,” Sholokhov spoke about the greatness of the historical path of the Russian people and that “to all that I have written and will write, I should bow to this toiler people, builder people, hero people.”
Grigory Melekhov is the main character of the novel. His fate, the formation and development of character, exploits, disappointments, and the search for a path are the basis of the plot of the work. It connects family, love and socio-historical lines of action.
At the beginning of the novel, Gregory is nineteen years old. From his grandfather he received an independent character, and from his Turkish grandmother he received his bright appearance and irrepressible nature. At first, all of Gregory’s actions look like ordinary youth. This is how everyone around him explains his connection with the married Aksinya. Grigory breaks up with her and marries Natalya. But the unusual power of love, violating all foundations, forces Melekhov to go against his father, leave home and live with Aksinya on the Listnitsky estate. This is how the hero’s special journey begins.
The “millstones” of war pass through his soul. During the war, the hero matured, earned four crosses of St. George and four medals, became an officer, supported the Cossack “honor and glory,” but became “evil.” After becoming acquainted with the Bolshevik “philosophy,” the hero feels “sighted.” His return home at the end of the first book reveals the changes that have occurred in Gregory.
In the second book, a number of contrasts arise with the main character. First of all, these are ideological opponents and supporters of tsarist power. Each of them, according to Sholokhov, has its own truth. But the officers are far from the people, their superiority over the soldiers is imaginary, some of them show themselves as cowards.
At the beginning of the third book, the civil war of 1918 is shown, when Melekhov fights in a detachment under the command of his older brother Peter. But even now he experiences the same “dense longing” for a peaceful life. Now, along with other Cossacks, he is ready to blame the Bolsheviks for dividing the people. Three horses were killed near Gregory, his overcoat was holed in five places, but heroism turns out to be in vain - “the flood of the Red Army is flooding” the Don land.
The Melekhov brothers return home, but even there they are overtaken by class enmity. For the new government, Melekhov is a white officer, “contra”. Bolshevik Mishka Koshevoy, with whom he was “homies, went to school together, ran after girls,” is ready to stab Grigory to death. The hero again inevitably finds himself in a hostile camp.
Cruelty is becoming a terrible norm. Fellow villagers kill each other. So, Koshevoy kills Grigory’s older brother, Peter. Melekhov is the regiment commander, and on his orders, brutal reprisals are carried out. But, at the same time, he releases the prisoners in Veshenskaya, pours out his melancholy with vodka, and asks for death. Unable to bear it, the hero returns home again, “half gray.”
The fourth book reveals a new feature in Melekhov - the emerging ability to resist the “stream of life.” Pity and love awaken in him as opposed to a merciless war. Despite the defeat of the Volunteer Army, despite his illness (he suffered from typhus for a month), Gregory “became cheerful” and abandoned the thought of death. His desire for something new explains his entry into the Red Army, where he commands a squadron. Ahead of Gregory is persecution by the Reds for his “white” past, the death of Aksinya. The hero's life journey, described in the novel, ends with a return home, an attempt to start life from scratch.
The image of Grigory Melekhov typifies the traits of a man at a transitional moment in history. All the most important directions of the socio-political struggle of the revolutionary era in Russia are refracted in his fate. At the same time, the hero is depicted as a person who comes into conflict with inevitable fate, striving to pave his own path in history.
The individual characteristics of Melekhov’s image are deeply unique. The hero is shown as a real Don Cossack. A distinctive feature of Gregory is his spiritual quest and depth of experience. He stands out against the background of the simple, illiterate mass of Cossacks living according to their ancient customs. Melekhov has a need to live in harmony with his heart, to find a fair justification for common actions.
The ability to experience deep feelings is the most important characteristic of a hero. His return to Aksinya is the basis of the plot. Neither war, nor jealousy, nor suffering can obscure this love. This invincible feeling, which conflicts with the foundations of Cossack morality, finds an analogy only in history. It is similar to the love of grandfather Prokofy for his Turkish wife. In this regard, Gregory’s feeling for Aksinya bears the imprint of romantic sublimity.
The image of Grigory Melekhov embodies the author's intention. Sholokhov sought to show the collision of history with a personality trying to preserve humanistic values at the turn of the era as a legacy of centuries-old folk morality. The description of Melekhov’s participation in socio-political events and their influence on his fate is colored with tragic pathos. Based on a historically accurate picture of events, the author creates a generalized image of the hero of his time.
Sholokhov created a whole gallery of images in his novel “Quiet Don”. The heroes of the novel have become extraordinary characters in world literature.
The most controversial and attractive hero of the book is Grigory Melekhov. In the image of the hero, the author personified the individual character traits of a common man. Melekhov is the most ordinary Cossack who was born into a wealthy family. From early childhood, the hero lives a peasant life. There is a love for nature, pity for all living things. In addition, Gregory is very honest and sincere with everyone. After growing up, he falls in love with Aksinya and forever keeps love in his heart. Aksinya was married. Despite her marriage, Gregory did not try to hide his feelings. Melekhov married Natalya and admitted to her that he did not love her.
The hero stood out as an economical, brave and hard-working guy. Finding himself in the center of the war, the young Cossack behaved like a persistent and brave fighter. He was smart, fearless and determined, and at the same time proud. He always acted with honor and adhered to the principles he learned as a child.
Melekhov joined the ranks of the red revolutionaries. However, upon learning that the revolutionaries supported violence and cruelty, Gregory was greatly disappointed. Before his eyes, the Red Army killed all unarmed prisoners and shot all Cossacks, plundered Cossack villages and raped women.
During the battles, the hero constantly saw the ruthlessness and cruelty of the white and red revolutionaries. Therefore, class hatred seemed meaningless to him. In his soul he wanted peace, love and simple work. Gregory did not know how to understand the contradictions of society. He took everything that happened to heart, and therefore often changed camps. The hero did not know how to understand his thoughts and began to obey the will of other people.
Melekhov did not want to betray his principles and himself and therefore became an outcast in the revolutionary camps. To learn the truth, he joined the ranks of white revolutionaries. He became a stranger to everyone and constantly experienced loneliness.
After some time, he attempted to escape with Aksinya. But on the way, a misfortune happened to his beloved, which led to her death. Together with a strong and brave fighter, Gregory turned into a grief-stricken man who will suffer for the rest of his life.
By the end of the work, Melekhov completely abandoned weapons and war. He returned to his native lands because he could not accept the cruelty of the mortal world.
Option 2
Mikhail Sholokhov wrote an interesting epic novel, Quiet Don. A simple, life-like story about ordinary people who are destined to experience more than just difficulties. Life is difficult, and this is what the author of Quiet Don wanted to show us.
Quiet Don is about ordinary people, one of them was Grigory Melekhov. Gregory's fate is intertwined with many life events. He is the man who has been searching for the truth all his life. He seeks justice, honesty, he wants to know the answers to many life questions. Grigory Melekhov is a contradictory personality, certain people condemn him, and many praise him, nevertheless he is a man, and a man is constantly changing.
It was difficult for him to cope with the realization that he had killed a man. He never imagined that the time would come when he would have to kill. He was looking for the truth, but did not find it either surrounded by whites or surrounded by reds during the Civil War. Thus, we can say that he was not for a certain side, he searched, but never found those who were right in honor...
He was very often unlucky in life. He faced difficulties along the way, but always overcame them. It was difficult, but he managed. Grigory Melekhov got along with many people, he was surrounded by many of his friends. Mikhail Koshevoy can be considered Grigory’s best friend, but it is his best friend who kills Grigory’s brother. Is it possible to consider Mikhail a friend after this?
But the main interweaving in the epic novel was the love story of Grigory Melekhov. He was a free man and no girl could rein him in. But he was popular among the girls. He had 2 life partners, Aksinya and Natalya. Grigory's parents forced him to marry Natalya, but he could have refused, but did not do so. He claimed, and everyone knew anyway, that he didn’t love Natalya. They still had two children.
Gregory had a lover - Aksinya. She was the inspiration for him. In their relationship there was passion, love, mutual attraction. This was a real relationship, but Grigory still could not decide who he needed to be with - his wife Natalya or his mistress Aksinya. Grigory even delivered Aksinya’s child. They worked in the field, and Aksinya, who was pregnant, also helped. But suddenly contractions begin. He took her into the cart and headed to the village, but didn’t have time to get there and had to deliver the baby himself.
Grigory Melekhov is a controversial character with a very difficult fate, but I personally respect him because he never betrayed his principles. He always strived to achieve truth and justice.
Essay Image and characteristics of Melekhov
In one of Sholokhov's most famous novels, the author, having revealed one of the problems - the relationship between the individual and the people, with special artistic skill showed the tragedy of Grigory Melekhov's life path. The character and beliefs of the hero differ significantly from Peter. The writer, highlighting 19-year-old Grishka from the Melekhov family, shows his amazing attractiveness. Gregory’s appearance is highlighted not by what class he belongs to, but by his unique character.
As a teenager, he was a hardworking guy with a keen sense of his native nature. Sholokhov’s remarkable abilities, directness and openness are constantly noted. He opposes the hard-heartedness of his villagers, stands up for Aksinya because of her husband’s terrible treatment of her, and is contemptuous of the act of Daria, who kills Kotlyarov without a twinge of conscience.
Gregory sympathizes with those who are always courageous and maintain their dignity in the most dangerous life situations. He always condemned cowardice and weak-willedness and remained steadfast at various stages of his quest. Gregory's patriotism is especially clearly shown. So, for example, he cannot see the presence of British troops on the Don and speaks disapprovingly of them. Along with the positive qualities of a gifted person, a willful character was discovered early on. As a hard worker, he is drawn to better and new trends, however, his interest in possessiveness draws him back and confuses him in choosing the right path. He hesitates for a long time between two political camps and searches for his own path in the revolution.
The main character cannot figure out his personal relationships either. He is drawn to Natalya by his possessive streak, home comfort, and children. Aksinya is close to him with her ardent love and love of freedom. This position of Gregory between two women is explained by the desire to reconcile his love for Aksinya with family traditions. The author showed in the image of Gregory features characteristic of the middle peasants. He showed his views and moods that distinguished the small owner. The tragedy of his fate was manifested in the fact that he was completely lost in his quest, spoke out against historical events, against the people of which he was a native.
This rich image embodied the dashing, thoughtless Cossack youth and the wisdom of a life lived, filled with suffering and troubles of a terrible time of change.
Image of Grigory Melekhov
Sholokhov's Grigory Melekhov can safely be called the last free man. Free by any human standard.
Sholokhov deliberately did not make Melekhov a Bolshevik, despite the fact that the novel was written in an era when the very idea of the immorality of Bolshevism was blasphemous.
And, nevertheless, the reader sympathizes with Gregory even at the moment when he flees on a cart with the mortally wounded Aksinya from the Red Army. The reader wishes Gregory salvation, not victory for the Bolsheviks.
Gregory is an honest, hardworking, fearless, trusting and selfless person, a rebel. His rebellion manifests itself in his early youth, when with gloomy determination, for the sake of love for Aksinya, a married woman, he breaks with his family.
He is determined enough not to be afraid of either public opinion or the condemnation of farmers. He does not tolerate ridicule and condescension from the Cossacks. He will contradict his mother and father. He is confident in his feelings, his actions are guided only by love, which seems to Gregory, in spite of everything, the only value in life, and therefore justifies his decisions.
You need to have great courage to live contrary to the opinion of the majority, to live with your head and heart, and not be afraid of being rejected by your family and society. Only a real man, only a real human fighter is capable of this. The father's anger, the contempt of the farmers - Gregory doesn't care about anything. With the same courage, he jumps over the fence to protect his beloved Aksinya from his husband’s cast-iron fists.
Melekhov and Aksinya
In his relationship with Aksinya, Grigory Melekhov becomes a man. From a dashing young guy with hot Cossack blood, he turns into a loyal and loving male protector.
At the very beginning of the novel, when Grigory is just wooing Aksinya, one gets the impression that he doesn’t give a damn about the future fate of this woman, whose reputation he ruined with his youthful passion. He even talks about this to his beloved. “The bitch won’t want it, the dog won’t jump up,” Grigory says to Aksinya and immediately turns purple at the thought that scalded him like boiling water when he saw tears in the woman’s eyes: “I hit a lying man.”
What Gregory himself initially perceived as ordinary lust turned out to be love that he would carry throughout his life, and this woman would not turn out to be his mistress, but would become his unofficial wife. For the sake of Aksinya, Grigory will leave his father, his mother, and his young wife Natalya. For the sake of Aksinya, he will go to work instead of getting rich on his own farm. Will give preference to someone else's house instead of his own.
Undoubtedly, this madness deserves respect, as it speaks of the incredible honesty of this man. Gregory is not capable of living a lie. He cannot pretend and live as others tell him to. He doesn't lie to his wife either. He does not lie when he seeks the truth from the “whites” and the “reds”. He lives. Grigory lives his own life, he himself weaves the thread of his destiny and he does not know any other way.
Melekhov and Natalya
Gregory's relationship with his wife Natalya is saturated with tragedy, like his whole life. He married someone he did not love and did not hope to love. The tragedy of their relationship is that Grigory could not lie to his wife. With Natalya he is cold, he is indifferent. Sholokhov writes that Grigory, out of duty, caressed his young wife, tried to excite her with young love zeal, but on her part he met only submission.
And then Gregory remembered Aksinya’s frantic pupils, darkened with love, and he understood that he could not live with the icy Natalya. He can't. I don’t love you, Natalya! - Grigory will somehow say something in his heart and he will immediately understand - no, he really doesn’t love you. Subsequently, Gregory will learn to feel sorry for his wife. Especially after her suicide attempt, but she will not be able to love for the rest of her life.
Melekhov and the Civil War
Grigory Melekhov is a truth-seeker. That is why in the novel Sholokhov portrayed him as a rushing man. He is honest, and therefore has the right to demand honesty from others. The Bolsheviks promised equality, that there would be no more rich or poor. However, nothing has changed in life. The platoon commander is still wearing chrome boots, but the “vanek” is still wearing windings.
Grigory first falls to the whites, then to the reds. But it seems that individualism is alien to both Sholokhov and his hero. The novel was written in an era when being a “renegade” and being on the side of a Cossack businessman was mortally dangerous. Therefore, Sholokhov describes Melekhov’s throwing during the Civil War as the throwing of a lost man.
Gregory evokes not condemnation, but compassion and sympathy. In the novel, Gregory gains a semblance of mental balance and moral stability only after a short stay with the “Reds”. Sholokhov could not have written it any other way.
The fate of Grigory Melekhov
Over the course of 10 years, during which the action of the novel develops, the fate of Grigory Melekhov is filled with tragedies. Living during wars and political changes is a challenge in itself. And remaining human in these times is sometimes an impossible task. We can say that Grigory, having lost Aksinya, having lost his wife, brother, relatives and friends, managed to retain his humanity, remained himself, and did not change his inherent honesty.
Actors who played Melekhov in the films "Quiet Don"
In the film adaptation of the novel by Sergei Gerasimov (1957), Pyotr Glebov was cast in the role of Grigory. In the film by Sergei Bondarchuk (1990-91), the role of Gregory went to the British actor Rupert Everett. In the new series, based on the book by Sergei Ursulyak, Grigory Melekhov was played by Evgeniy Tkachuk.
Grigory Melekhov is the central character of the novel “Quiet Don”, unsuccessfully searching for his place in a changing world. In the context of historical events, he showed the difficult fate of the Don Cossack, who knows how to passionately love and selflessly fight.
History of creation
When conceiving a new novel, Mikhail Sholokhov did not imagine that the work would eventually turn into an epic. It all started innocently. In mid-autumn 1925, the writer began the first chapters of “Donshchina” - this was the original name of the work in which the author wanted to show the life of the Don Cossacks during the years of the revolution. That’s how it started - the Cossacks marched as part of the army to Petrograd. Suddenly the author was stopped by the thought that readers were unlikely to understand the motives of the Cossacks in suppressing the revolution without a backstory, and he put the manuscript in a far corner.
Only a year later the idea was fully matured: in the novel, Mikhail Alexandrovich wanted to reflect the lives of individual people through the prism of historical events that happened in the period from 1914 to 1921. The tragic fates of the main characters, including Grigory Melekhov, had to be included in the epic theme, and for this it was necessary to become better acquainted with the customs and characters of the inhabitants of the Cossack farm. The author of “Quiet Don” moved to his homeland, to the village of Vishnevskaya, where he plunged headlong into the life of the “Don region”.
In search of bright characters and a special atmosphere that settled on the pages of the work, the writer traveled around the area, met with witnesses of the First World War and revolutionary events, collected a mosaic of tales, beliefs and elements of folklore of local residents, and also stormed Moscow and Rostov archives in search of the truth. about the life of those hard years.
Finally, the first volume of “Quiet Don” was released. It showed Russian troops on the war fronts. In the second book, the February coup and the October Revolution were added, the echoes of which reached the Don. In the first two parts of the novel alone, Sholokhov placed about a hundred heroes, later they were joined by another 70 characters. In total, the epic spanned four volumes, the last one being completed in 1940.
The work was published in the publications “October”, “Roman-newspaper”, “New World” and “Izvestia”, rapidly gaining recognition among readers. They bought magazines, flooded the editors with reviews, and the author with letters. Soviet bookworms perceived the tragedies of heroes as personal shocks. Among the favorites, of course, was Grigory Melekhov.
It is interesting that Grigory was absent from the first drafts, but a character with that name appeared in the writer’s early stories - there the hero was already endowed with some of the traits of the future “resident” of “Quiet Don”. Researchers of Sholokhov’s work consider the Cossack Kharlampy Ermakov, who was sentenced to death in the late 20s, to be Melekhov’s prototype. The author himself did not admit that it was this man who became the prototype of the book Cossack. Meanwhile, Mikhail Alexandrovich, while collecting the historical basis of the novel, met Ermakov and even corresponded with him.
Biography
The novel sets out the entire chronology of Grigory Melekhov’s life before and after the war. The Don Cossack was born in 1892 on the Tatarsky farm (Veshenskaya village), although the writer does not indicate the exact date of birth. His father Panteley Melekhov once served as a constable in the Ataman Life Guards Regiment, but was retired due to old age. For the time being, the life of a young guy passes in serenity, in ordinary peasant affairs: mowing, fishing, caring for the farm. At night there are passionate meetings with the beautiful Aksinya Astakhova, a married lady, but passionately in love with a young man.
His father is dissatisfied with this heartfelt affection and hastily marries his son to an unloved girl - meek Natalya Korshunova. However, a wedding does not solve the problem. Grigory understands that he is unable to forget Aksinya, so he leaves his legal wife and settles with his mistress on the estate of a local gentleman. On a summer day in 1913, Melekhov became a father - his first daughter was born. The couple’s happiness turned out to be short-lived: life was destroyed by the outbreak of the First World War, which called Gregory to repay his debt to his homeland.
Melekhov fought selflessly and desperately in the war; in one of the battles he was wounded in the eye. For his bravery, the warrior was awarded the Cross of St. George and a promotion in rank, and in the future three more crosses and four medals will be added to the man’s awards. The hero's political views were changed by his acquaintance in the hospital with the Bolshevik Garanzha, who convinces him of the injustice of the tsarist rule.
Meanwhile, a blow awaits Grigory Melekhov at home - Aksinya, heartbroken (by the death of her little daughter), succumbs to the charms of the son of the owner of the Listnitsky estate. The common-law husband, who arrived on leave, did not forgive the betrayal and returned to his legal wife, who later bore him two children.
In the outbreak of the Civil War, Gregory takes the side of the “reds”. But by 1918, he became disillusioned with the Bolsheviks and joined the ranks of those who staged an uprising against the Red Army on the Don, becoming a division commander. The death of his elder brother Petro at the hands of a fellow villager, an ardent supporter of the Soviet regime, Mishka Koshevoy, awakens even greater anger towards the Bolsheviks in the hero’s soul.
Passions are also boiling on the love front - Grigory cannot find peace and is literally torn between his women. Because of his still-living feelings for Aksinya, Melekhov cannot live peacefully in his family. Her husband's constant infidelities push Natalya to have an abortion, which destroys her. The man endures the premature death of a woman with difficulty, because he also had peculiar, but tender feelings for his wife.
The Red Army's offensive against the Cossacks forces Grigory Melekhov to go on the run to Novorossiysk. There, the hero, driven into a dead end, joins the Bolsheviks. The year 1920 was marked by Gregory’s return to his homeland, where he settled with Aksinya’s children. The new government began persecuting the former “whites,” and while escaping to Kuban for a “quiet life,” Aksinya was mortally wounded. After wandering around the world a little more, Gregory returned to his native village, because the new authorities promised amnesty to the Cossack rebels.
Mikhail Sholokhov put an end to the story at the most interesting point, without telling the readers about Melekhov’s further fate. However, it is not difficult to guess what happened to him. Historians urge curious fans of the writer’s work to consider the year of death of his favorite character as the date of death of his favorite character - 1927.
Image
The author conveyed the difficult fate and internal changes of Grigory Melekhov through a description of his appearance. By the end of the novel, a carefree, stately young man in love with life turns into a stern warrior with gray hair and a frozen heart:
“...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 the light of senseless cruelty began to shine through more and more often.”
Gregory is a typical choleric person: temperamental, hot-tempered and unbalanced, which manifests itself both in love affairs and in relationships with the environment in general. The character of the main character of "Quiet Don" is an alloy of courage, heroism and even recklessness; he combines passion and humility, gentleness and cruelty, hatred and endless kindness.
Gregory is a typical choleric person Sholokhov created a hero with an open soul, capable of compassion, forgiveness and humanity: Grigory suffers from a gosling accidentally killed in the mowing, protects Franya, not being afraid of an entire platoon of Cossacks, saves Stepan Astakhov, his sworn enemy, Aksinya’s husband, in the war
In search of the truth, Melekhov rushes from the Reds to the Whites, eventually becoming a renegade who is not accepted by either side. The man appears to be a true hero of his time. Its tragedy lies in the story itself, when a calm life was disrupted by shocks, turning peaceful workers into unhappy people. The character’s spiritual quest was accurately conveyed by the novel’s phrase:
“He stood on the brink in the struggle of two principles, denying both of them.”
All illusions were dispelled in the battles of the civil war: anger towards the Bolsheviks and disappointment in the “whites” forces the hero to look for a third way in the revolution, but he understands that in “the middle it is impossible - they will crush you.” Once a passionate lover of life, Grigory Melekhov never finds faith in himself, remaining at the same time a national character and an extra person in the current fate of the country.
Screen adaptation of the novel "Quiet Don"
The epic of Mikhail Sholokhov appeared on movie screens four times. Based on the first two books, a silent film was made in 1931, where the main roles were played by Andrei Abrikosov (Grigory Melekhov) and Emma Tsesarskaya (Aksinya). There are rumors that, with an eye on the characters of the heroes of this production, the writer created a continuation of “Quiet Don”.
A poignant picture based on the work was presented to the Soviet audience in 1958 by the director. The beautiful half of the country fell in love with the hero performed by. The mustachioed handsome Cossack was in love with, who convincingly appeared in the role of the passionate Aksinya. She played Melekhov's wife Natalya. The film's collection of awards consists of seven awards, including a diploma from the Directors Guild of America.
Another multi-part film adaptation of the novel belongs to. Russia, Great Britain and Italy worked on the 2006 film “Quiet Don”. They also approved for the main role.
For “Quiet Don” Mikhail Sholokhov was accused of plagiarism. Researchers considered the “greatest epic” stolen from a white officer who died in the Civil War. The author even had to temporarily postpone work on writing a sequel to the novel while a special commission investigated the information received. However, the problem of authorship has not yet been resolved.
Beginning actor of the Maly Theater Andrei Abrikosov woke up famous after the premiere of Quiet Don. It is noteworthy that before this, in the temple of Melpomene, he had never appeared on stage - they simply were not given a role. The man also didn’t bother to get acquainted with the work; he read the novel when filming was already in full swing.
Quotes
“You have a smart head, but the fool got it.”
"The blind man said, 'We'll see.'
“Like a steppe scorched by fires, Gregory’s life became black. He lost everything that was dear to his heart. Everything was taken from him, everything was destroyed by merciless death. Only the children remained. But he himself still frantically clung to the ground, as if, in fact, his broken life was of some value to him and to others.”
“Sometimes, remembering your whole life, you look, and it’s like an empty pocket, turned inside out.”
“Life turned out to be humorous, wisely simple. Now it seemed to him that from eternity there had not been such a truth in it, under the wing of which anyone could warm up, and, embittered to the brim, he thought: everyone has their own truth, their own furrow.
“There is no one truth in life. It can be seen that whoever defeats whom will devour him... But I was looking for the bad truth.”