V. Kondratyev - the story “Sashka”. In the center of V. Kondratiev’s narrative is the image of a young fighter, a simple Russian guy Sashka. He had been fighting for only two months, but he had already managed to get used to everything that was happening, to machine-gun fire, explosions: “he got over it and realized that the war was not like what they imagined...”. The hero thinks about simple, vital, soldierly things: “The bread is bad. No navaru. Half a pot of liquid millet for two - and be healthy. Rasputitsa! All the writer’s attention in the story is drawn not to heroic deeds and deeds, but to the life of a soldier. Following the tradition of L.N. Tolstoy, Kondratiev portrays war as hard, everyday work, as a craft that still needs to be mastered. In the story, the writer expressed what can be called “the deepest... tragic prosaism of the war” (I. Dedkov).

In this harsh, everyday work, Sashka’s character and his inner world are revealed. We see a brave, reliable guy, simple-minded, fair, conscientious. Here he is getting felt boots for the company commander. Then he takes the German prisoner. This episode clearly characterizes the hero. There is no hatred in Sashka’s soul for this man. “He seemed to be Sashkin’s same age, twenty or twenty-two years old. Snub-nosed and freckled, he looks straight Russian.” “And then Sashka realized what terrible power he now had over the German. After all, from his every word or gesture he either dies or enters into hope. He, Sashka, is now free over the life and death of another person. If he wants, he will bring him to headquarters alive, if he wants, he will slam on the road! Sashka even somehow felt uneasy... And the German, of course, understands that he is completely in Sashka’s hands. And what they told him about the Russians, only God knows! But the Germans don’t know what kind of person Sashka is, that he’s not the type to mock a prisoner and unarmed.” The battalion commander orders Sashka to shoot the prisoner. However, he cannot carry out this order, “we do not shoot prisoners,” he cannot “kill the defenseless.” The battalion commander subsequently cancels his order.

Vividly characterizes the hero and his behavior after injury. Wounded in the arm, Sashka nevertheless returned to the company to leave his weapon and say goodbye to his comrades. On the way to the hospital, he notices a wounded man. And he returns to the forest for him, because he gave his word to the “dying man.” Thus, Sashka saves a man’s life.

The hero experiences a whole range of feelings in the medical battalion. This is the joy of meeting Zina, indignation towards the senior lieutenant, resentment over the headquarters party. Sashka forgives Zina and her betrayal. “Zina is not convicted. It’s just a war... And he has no grudge against it.” Here we see the moral maturity of the hero, he was able to rise above his feelings, acted like a real man.

In the finale, Sashka helps out Lieutenant Volodya, who threw a plate at the senior officer. The hero takes his blame upon himself, realizing that it is easier for a private to answer for this than for an officer.

In the image of Sashka, the writer reveals to us a wonderful Russian character, a character formed by time and embodying the traits of his generation. Kondratiev's hero is a man with a heightened moral sense and strong convictions. K. Simonov said wonderfully about this story: “The story of Sashka is the story of a man who found himself in the most difficult time in the most difficult position - as a soldier.”

Searched here:

• Sashka summary
• summary of Sashka
• Kondratyev Sasha

Kondratiev’s short story “Sashka” (a brief summary of it is given below) tells about the terrible everyday life of wartime. Her heroes are ordinary people who had to deal with death every day. It is amazing how, under such conditions, they could retain the best human qualities and remain humane even towards the enemy. This is exactly how Kondratiev portrays the main character of the work.

“Sashka”: summary of chapter 1. On night guard

Sashka’s company settled down near the grove. A hut was built under the spruce tree, in which the guards slept in turns. You were allowed to sit at the post, but you had to constantly monitor what was happening. This is how Kondratiev begins his story.

Sashka (a summary of his thoughts is given below) took up his post. He secretly lit a cigarette and began to think about how to get felt boots for the company commander. He ruined his boots while crossing the Volga. Sashka remembered the place where the murdered Fritz lay in new felt boots. He was already going for the prey, but something stopped him. The guy knew: inner instinct rarely deceives.

Sashka, as Kondratyev notes, has been at the front for two months now. A brief summary of his thoughts makes it clear that he never saw a living Fritz up close. How long will this wait last? The Germans fired, but did not advance, and their company was in cover and awaiting relief.

The sergeant checking the posts offered him some tobacco. They talked, and Sashka was left alone again. Finally he woke up his partner and went to the hut. For some reason I couldn't sleep. And he made up his mind.

Behind the felt boots

The Germans stopped shooting, and Sashka set off. We had to get there across an open field. He wouldn't do it for himself. But he felt sorry for the company commander, Kondratyev notes. Sashka (the summary allows us to convey only the important moments of the story) with difficulty pulled off the felt boots from the corpse and crawled back. At that moment, shelling began, the likes of which had never happened before. The hero felt awkward because he was safe. After all, the center of the explosions was the location of the company. Suddenly the Germans appeared from behind a hill. We must warn you! And Sashka, having determined his path and took off from his place, rushed to his own.

"Language"

The company commander ordered to retreat beyond the ravine. Suddenly there was silence, which was broken by a call for help. Then the enemy began to convince me to lay down my arms. The company commander realized the provocation, and the soldiers rushed forward. As Kondratyev notes, Sashka (the author gives a summary of the thoughts that gripped him at that moment in the story) was not afraid at all. He felt only anger and excitement. The Germans disappeared overnight. The guy was disappointed: such a chance to get even means failure.

Suddenly Sashka noticed a gray figure darting to the side. He threw the lemon and, running up, pounced on the Fritz. He turned out to be young and snub-nosed. The company commander arrived and they disarmed the enemy. So for the first time (not the whole scene is described here, but only its brief content) Sashka Kondratiev found himself nose to nose with a German.

After the interrogation, the guy took the prisoner to headquarters. He didn’t look like a fascist at all, and the guy wanted to talk, but the hero didn’t know the language. On the way we sat down to smoke. Fritz saw unburied Russian soldiers. From this, as Kondratyev writes, Sashka - a summary of the chapters will more than once emphasize this quality of the hero - felt awkward. And the fighter was also embarrassed by his unlimited power over the person walking next to him.

At battalion headquarters

The chief was not there, and Sashka was sent to the battalion commander. He was worried about the death of his friend, so he gave the order: “For consumption.” And his orderly was already looking closely at the German’s watch. The hero could not break the promise made to the prisoner along the way: his life would be spared. He was stalling for time and, when there was no hope of canceling the order, he noticed a battalion commander walking towards them. Sashka was no longer afraid of anything and looked firmly into the eyes of the elder. He still ordered the prisoner to be taken further. This was a moral victory for a hero who managed to preserve his humanity. It is no coincidence that during the course of the action the hero emphasized more than once: we are not like them (the fascists).

This is the plot of the first part of the story and its summary.

“Sashka” by Kondratiev: chapter 2. Wound

There was a battle going on. The hero was suddenly pushed by something, and the sky appeared before his eyes. Sasha was wounded in the left arm. At first he was afraid that he would die from loss of blood. Then he bandaged the wound himself. Before going to the rear, I left my machine gun and said goodbye to my comrades. And again he felt ashamed that he was abandoning his company in this wet mess. And it is unknown whether anyone will survive - this is how the story “Sashka” Kondratyev continues.

A brief summary of the hero’s thoughts on the way to the hospital (which is two kilometers under fire) can be described as follows. Our people have to learn to fight here, on the front line. And therefore everyone makes mistakes: both soldiers and commanders. But the German could not defeat the Russians - the hero was firmly convinced of this. And what the soldiers did every day, Sashka did not consider it a feat. In his opinion, they were simply doing their job every day.

On the way I met a soldier wounded in the chest. He understood that he would not live until the paramedics arrived. But still he showed the way to the fighter, and only then moved on.

In hospital

The path was difficult, but the thought of meeting Zina soon was warming. A brief summary will tell you how it turned out.

Sashka Kondratyev - chapter by chapter you can reconstruct his two-month stay at the front - met his sister on the way to the front line. He saved her life. There were first kisses then, and promises to wait. Sashka saw Zina immediately. She seemed delighted to meet. But something in her behavior confused the hero. And for good reason. The girl, whom the guy considered the closest person, was in love with the lieutenant. And although Sashka was in unbearable pain, he decided not to interfere with Zina’s happiness.

He was more outraged by the dance party during the May holidays, organized by the officers. He didn’t understand how he could have fun when all the fields there were “ours.” The very next morning the hero left the medical unit, heading to the hospital. He decided to visit his mother before returning to the front line. The fate of the infantry during the war is known and, perhaps, this is the last chance to meet.

Chapter 3 In the rear. New acquaintances

There were many wounded walking along the Rzhev roads, writes Kondratyev. “Sashka” (you are reading a summary of the chapters) shows the ambiguous attitude of the residents of occupied villages towards the soldiers retreating in the first months of the war. Many were reluctant to accept them for the night - there was nothing to eat themselves. Seeing this, the hero felt awkward every time. And only in one village that escaped the occupation, the head established a queue for who would receive the wounded for the night. Here we managed not only to sleep, but also to eat well. And so we had to bake cakes from rotten potatoes left in the field since the fall. Or subsist on tobacco.

Sashka's companions were Private Zhora and Lieutenant Volodya. They went through a lot together. The first one was blown up by a mine when he decided to pick a flower. And this absurd death seemed more terrible to the hero than death there, on the front line.

Sashka Kondratyev became very friendly with the lieutenant, as the brief summary will show below. Together they ended up in an evacuation hospital, where an unpleasant incident occurred. The wounded began to complain to the boss about poor food. During the conversation, the lieutenant could not restrain himself and threw a plate, which almost hit the major. Sashka took the blame upon himself, reasoning that he would not be sent further than the front line, and Volodya could be court-martialed. The special officer investigating the case guessed who initiated the story. But he did not escalate the matter and ordered Sashka to leave the hospital. The doctors did not release the lieutenant, and Sashka had to get to Moscow himself.

Capital

The further the front remained, the more the attitude of the residents towards the wounded changed. Here they looked at Sashka as a hero. And the situation in Moscow itself was different - peaceful and calm. From this, the hero suddenly came to a real understanding of what they were doing there. And he was no longer ashamed of his burnt cotton pants and padded jacket, or his bullet-ridden hat, or his unshaven face - the author concludes the story.

This is how the action develops in the story (only a brief summary is given here) “Sashka” by Kondratiev, chapter by chapter.

Sashka comes running very quickly and shouts loudly: “Germans, Germans!” to warn your loved ones in advance. The chief of military affairs strictly ordered to step back, hiding and not protruding from the shelter. But to great surprise, the Germans stopped attacking. Also, the company, which had taken up its military positions, suspended combat, all in anticipation of serious attacks and reprisals. But to a great surprise, a young voice began to speak, which sincerely encourages us to take advantage of freedom, since the sowing season has begun. He encouraged me to take a deep breath of the air of freedom. But the company commander realized that this was a setup and without delay gave the order to go into battle. Sashka had never been in such close contact with the Germans in his life, but after collaborating, he did not experience any fear of them, but only a certain hatred and hostile atmosphere.
In the first fight, Sashka was able to defeat the German; he was very young and of a beautiful physique. The company commander talked in detail with the German, after which he told Sashka to take him to headquarters. Then it turned out that the German did not say anything important to the company commander. But they also outwitted us, while the soldiers listened to the statements of the Germans, the Fritz, without wasting time, wasted their time, taking a prisoner. The German, it would seem, confidently walked forward, but in the meantime, he looked back, fearing an oncoming shot in the back. In the grove through which the Germans walked, there were a lot of Soviet leaflets. Sashka, without hesitation, picked one up and quickly showed it to the German, proving that the Russians did not mock prisoners. The German, having read it carefully, muttered something to himself. It’s too bad that Sashka doesn’t understand German, otherwise he would have had a serious conversation.
There were no commanders in the main part of the military department, because they had all gone to headquarters. Sashka was categorically forbidden to go to the battalion commander, justifying the statement by the fact that there would be a very angry reception, this could have been noticed yesterday at Katenka’s funeral. Having thought through everything to the smallest detail, Sashka decided to go to the battalion commander, but he strictly ordered him to leave the room. He could only clearly hear the voice of the battalion commanders, and the German’s voice was not audible, as if he had already been removed, but he was simply constantly silent. And then the battalion commander calls to him and orders the Germans to be expended. Sashka’s head began to spin, his vision blurred, he had previously told him that prisoners were not treated harshly and were given the opportunity to return to their homeland. He could not even imagine that one day he would need to kill someone.
Sashka’s fear angers the battalion commander even more. Talking to Sashka, he can barely control his movements. He strictly ordered Sashka to immediately carry out the order and report on the work done. And Tolik, one of those military men was sent to keep an eye on Sashka. But no matter how hard Sashka tried, he could not destroy a defenseless person; for him it seemed impossible.
He made a friendly agreement with Tolik: for silence he would give him a watch from the German, and after that he left. Well, Sashka decided to bring him into the headquarters of a military brigade. He is greatly risking his life; the journey is far and generally dangerous; he may be mistaken for a traitor. But they went anyway... And then very soon the battalion commander caught up with them in the field, they stood around and lit a cigarette. Only the minutes before the war were as terrible for Sashka as these. The captain's gaze was directed directly at him, he insists on killing the Fritz. But looking sternly into Sashka’s eyes, he finished his cigarette and ordered him to take the German to the brigade headquarters, since that order had been cancelled. Sashka and some of his compatriots did not receive food for the journey. It will be possible to stock up secretly only forty kilometers from here. Sashka and his good friend Zhora began to realize that they would not reach the city of Babin. The woman they asked to spend the night with let them in, but there was nothing to feed them. They themselves noticed the poor state of the local residents. No one was involved in agriculture, and tractors were not popular at all. Rural life was hard for them.
In the morning at dawn they did not sit too long and moved on. Arriving in Babina, we found out from the lieutenant, who was also wounded in the arm during the battle, where the food post was, but he said that he had not been here for a very long time, he had been transported somewhere. They are completely depressed because they haven’t eaten for a whole day. The lieutenant also joined them and followed further. Having reached the first village, he immediately began to look for food. The grandfather living there could not sell us food, but he advised us to dig up potatoes in the field from that year and also fry some flatbread. Grandfather provided them with some salt and a frying pan. What previously seemed just disgusting to us, now we eat it with great appetite. Walking past the fields, we noticed that there were many wounded people climbing and preparing food for themselves. This means that we are not the only ones who eat this way. Sashka and Volodya decided to have a smoke break, but Zhora still went forward. And then a big explosion appeared out of nowhere, it’s unclear where it came from, because the front was still far away. We ran forward, but Zhora was already lying dead, most likely he got a little distracted and turned off the road.
Approaching midday, we reached the hospital. They were quickly registered and immediately sent to the bathhouse. It was very pleasant to be there that I even wanted to stay there forever, but Volodka was drawn to Moscow to see his mother. The two of them decided to visit Moscow, it’s just very close. It seemed like they had fed them, but it was still very difficult to walk, since they had already walked a lot, especially wounded. They were already having dinner when they reached the next hospital. Having delivered dinner, the person in charge went to the prisons, offering two spoons of porridge. Because of such savings, Volodka had a fight with his boss, after which a complaint was filed against him. But Sashka felt sorry for him and took the blame upon himself. He understood that he had nothing to lose! They told Sashka to leave, but the doctors did not let Volodya go.
Sashka went out into the field again. Make some flatbread for the road. There were a lot of wounded there, so there was not enough food for everyone. He went to Moscow. Standing on the platform, monitoring the surrounding situation. He began to look more correctly at his life circumstances that befell him.

Please note that this is only a brief summary of the literary work “Sashka”. This summary omits many important points and quotes.

War is a difficult period for our people. During this harsh time, young people went to the front to defend their own, and the Motherland lost its sons one after another. One young guy who went to war is described in Kondratiev’s story Sashka, whom we will present to our reader in parts.

In his work, Sashka, Kondratiev sends the reader to the front, where our hero has been fighting for the second month.

Part 1

The reader's first meeting with Sashka takes place during our hero's entry into the guard. The part was located near Rzhev, where a hut for those on duty was built under a spruce tree. While others were resting, Sashka watched the area, thinking about how to get felt boots for his friend. Sashka remembered the killed German. He wanted to go to where the body of the murdered man lay, but something stopped him. During the entire period of hostilities, he never had a chance to see the enemy up close. They did not advance, but ours were waiting. After the changing of the guard, Sashka goes to his room, but today he couldn’t sleep and the guy decides to go get his felt boots.

He went out onto the field where the dead man lay and pulled off his felt boots. At this time the Germans began shelling. Sashka felt ashamed that he was now safe, while the Germans were shooting in the direction of their camp site. And then he saw the Germans appearing on the horizon, and Sashka hurried to his own to warn them of the attack.

The German offensive turned out to be a provocation, and they disappeared as quickly as they appeared, and Sashka again did not get a chance to see the enemy close. And suddenly he sees a retreating figure. This was the enemy, whom Sashka and the company commander managed to detain. He turned out to be the same young German. Our hero was instructed to take the prisoner to headquarters. On the way, Sashka wanted to talk to the German, but he did not understand his speech.

They couldn’t find the chief at headquarters, and they ended up with the battalion commander. He was in a bad mood because his beloved was killed, and orders the German to be shot. Sashka is upset, because he promised the prisoner that he was not in danger, and no matter how many arguments Sashka gave, the battalion commander was inexorable. Disagreeing with the order, Sashka decides to take the prisoner to the brigade headquarters. Although the journey was not close, and he could have been mistaken for a deserter, the guy decides to carry out his plan. Not having time to move away from the unit’s location, our hero saw the battalion commander again. He was very scared, but as it turned out, the battalion commander decided to cancel his order and ordered the German to be taken to headquarters.

Part 2

Continuing his story about Sashka, in the second part Kondratiev sends the reader to the battlefield. At that moment, our young hero felt a sharp pain. It turned out he was wounded. He was afraid that he was about to die from loss of blood, but after stretching his arm, he realized that he needed to get to the rear. He is embarrassed that he will have to leave his comrades, but nothing can be done, he needs to go to the hospital. On the way, he talked about the war, about the fact that our soldiers have to learn to fight right on the battlefield. Despite the fact that the soldier makes many mistakes, he bears his cross, not considering his actions to be a feat. For a soldier, the main thing is not to let the Germans win. So, thinking, he met a wounded soldier, to whom he sent orderlies, and then he began to think about Zina, who worked in the hospital. Once he covered the girl with his chest, and then received hot kisses as a sign of gratitude. He dreamed of this meeting.

At the hospital, Sashka immediately saw a girl who had once promised to wait for the fighter. There was both joy and confusion on her face. The hero could not understand her strange behavior for a long time until he saw Zina with the lieutenant. He understands that their feelings are playing out and decides not to disturb the lovers, although Sashka feels sad in his soul. It was also a shame that dances were held here on May Day, while on the field there were battles and soldiers were dying. In the morning, Sashka leaves the medical unit and heads to the hospital. There he decides to visit his mother at home, because the war is unpredictable and such an opportunity may not arise again.

Part 3

Sasha hits the road. On the way he meets wounded people. Few people welcome them for the night, since the owners themselves had nothing to eat. Private Zhora and Lieutenant Volodya became Sashka’s traveling companions. They had to subsist on cakes made from rotten potatoes, and only once did they end up in a village that managed to escape occupation. There our soldiers were received with joy, they were well fed, watered, and given the opportunity to rest.

In the morning there was a road ahead again. And they are at the hospital, where the wounded complained about the food. The major gives a speech, during which a plate flies towards him. Sashka understands that this is Volodka’s initiative, so he immediately takes the blame upon himself. He understands that nothing will happen to him, but the lieutenant would have had a hard time, he could have been court-martialed.

In a word, this matter was hushed up, and Sashka moved on. The lieutenant was not allowed to travel further by the doctor and the friends parted, realizing that this was their last meeting. Even if they survive, there is a small chance that fate will bring them together again. Since Sashka was released unofficially, no one gave him food for the journey. I had to collect potatoes and cook my own food from them. And here, at the station, the girls shared sausage and bread with him.

The summary of Kondratyev's story Sashka continues with the fact that he approaches the capital. Moreover, the closer Sashka gets to the capital, the calmer life went there. People wear ordinary clothes and it seems that there is no trace of any war. And then Sashka comes to the realization that they are doing a good deed. They are heroes and all residents of the capital had the same attitude towards them. Now he walked without being ashamed of his appearance and unshavenness. He walked proudly, realizing how important the mission he and his comrades at the front were performing.

The main characters of the story

Having read Kondratiev’s work, we single out Sasha among all the characters, after whom the story is named. This is a young soldier, brave, with a sense of responsibility for everyone, so even when wounded he helps others. Sashka was inquisitive, so he would love to talk with the Germans, but he did not know their language. He was interested in their food supplies, because our food supply was not enough, and sometimes from hunger we did not have the strength not only to bury our comrades, but also to dig trenches.

Sasha is a hero who, in a short period of time in his service, managed to accomplish two feats. At first he was not afraid and went to the killed German to get felt boots for a comrade, and then captured an enemy soldier.

Using the example of the main character, the writer showed how brave and courageous our guys were, who fought not for glory, but only to prevent the enemy from entering our land.

What rating will you give?

Lydia GOLOVINA

Lidia Anatolyevna GOLOVINA is a teacher of Russian language and literature at the secondary school in the village of Serdezh, Yaransky district, Kirov region.

Reading the story “Sashka” by Vyacheslav Kondratyev

During the classes

Teacher's opening speech

In the literature about the war, there are many works dedicated to the feat of an ordinary soldier who bore the brunt of the war on his shoulders. In the preface to the story “Sashka,” K. Simonov wrote: “This is the story of a man who found himself in the most difficult time in the most difficult place and in the most difficult position - a soldier.”

Writers began to turn to the common man in the war because they wanted to pay tribute to the thousands of soldiers who were not included in the honorary lists of heroes, who died unknown or miraculously survived. The peculiarity of V. Kondratiev’s story is that it does not show a series of battles, victories, defeats, but military life with its everyday concerns. Kondratiev explores the “mental substance” of a person who is forced to get used to a free life.

• The history of the story: Rzhev space.

In 1981, a one-volume volume of the writer’s novels and short stories was published, which included, in addition to “Sashka,” the stories “Leave for Wounds,” “Borkin’s Paths and Roads,” “On the One Hundred and Fifth Kilometer” and short stories. Almost all stories and short stories are about the same time (the difficult war of 1942) and space (it can be called “Rzhev”). Rzhev is one of the cities in the Kalinin region, for which many months of stubborn fighting took place. A huge number of soldiers died in the Rzhev direction. The writer himself recalls: “I began to live some kind of strange, double life: one - in the real, the other - in the past, in the war... Then I began to look for my Rzhev fellow soldiers - I desperately needed one of them, but no one I found it, and the thought fell that maybe I was the only one who had survived, and if so, then all the more should I tell about everything. And the moment came when I simply could not help but start writing.” This is the story behind the story.

• What is the situation on the front line where Sashka is fighting?

The time of the story is early spring 1942. Fierce fighting is taking place. The hero of the story, who is not even called by his last name (he’s just Sashka and Sashka, he’s so young), has been on the “front end” for two months now. On such a front end, where “just to dry out and warm up is already a considerable success,” and since there is muddy roads, then “it’s bad with bread, there’s no gain. Half a pot... millet for two - and be healthy, and if the bread is bad, then it’s no better with shells, and the Germans beat and beat. The neutral zone between our and German trenches is shot through and is only a thousand paces.” The narration seems to be told on behalf of the author, but at the same time it seems that the hero himself is telling the story. This is facilitated by the style of the story - simple, colloquial, and inversions characteristic of colloquial speech and vernacular.

• How is war portrayed?

Reading the passage “And the night floated over the front line, as usual...” “As usual” is repeated twice, although we are talking about terrible things. “Sashka had already gotten used to it, had endured it and realized that the war was different from what they imagined in the Far East...” War leaves traces of destruction and death. (Read the lines about this.) The author shows military life (find in the text what conditions the soldiers live in). The words “hut”, “trench”, “dugout” emphasize the precariousness and unreliability of the situation.

• Find as many episodes in the story as possible, in which it is revealed with greatest force Sashka's character . What testifies to his ability to think broadly, to compare, to understand the complexity of the situation?

There are many such episodes. This is the scene when Sashka crawls at night to the ruined neutral ground to get his company felt boots from a dead German, because the lieutenant’s pima are such that they cannot be dried over the summer. This is not about ammunition, not about a combat mission - about felt boots, this is vitally important. Sashka will capture the “tongue”, will be wounded, refuse to shoot the German, console the seriously wounded soldier and bring the orderlies to him. The wounded Sashka will return to the company, save the hot-tempered lieutenant Volodka from the tribunal, understand Zina, take pity on the romantic young girls joyfully going to the front...

These episodes reveal Sashka’s personality from different sides; he seems to be undergoing tests of endurance, humanity, loyalty in friendship, love, tests of power over another person.

• Expressive reading the episode of the capture of a German (or a retelling of the episode). What qualities of the hero are manifested here? Why did he refuse to shoot the prisoner?

Sashka shows desperate courage - he takes the German with his bare hands (he had no cartridges, he gave his disk to the company commander). At the same time, he does not consider himself a hero at all. When Sashka leads the German to headquarters, he suddenly realizes what power he has over the enemy.
“And Sashka began to feel uneasy from the almost unlimited power over another person that had fallen on him.”

And he also realized that the German was just another person, the same soldier, only fooled and deceived. Sashka talks to him like a human being and tries to understand him. Before us is a kind, humane Russian soldier. The war did not cripple his soul, did not depersonalize him. Sashka is ashamed of the Germans that their defense is worthless, that the dead are not buried, as if this were his personal fault.

Sashka feels sorry for the German, but it is impossible not to carry out the battalion commander’s order, and Sashka is playing for time, and the author is stretching out their path, making the reader worry: how will this end? The battalion commander is approaching, and Sashka does not lower his gaze in front of him, feeling that he is right. “And the captain turned away his eyes,” and canceled his order.

• Sashka and Tolik are the same age. Compare the two heroes . For what purpose did the author introduce the connected Tolik into the story?

Sashka and Tolik are contrasted: responsibility and irresponsibility, sympathy and indifference, honesty and selfishness.

Tolik’s motto is “our business is a calf”, he is already trying on the watch of a German who has not yet been shot, and is ready to bargain with Sashka so as not to miss the “trophy”. There is no “barrier, an obstacle” in his soul, like Sashka.

• Analyze the hospital scene. Why does Sashka take the blame for Lieutenant Volodka?

Sashka’s friendship with the lieutenant did not last long. But here, too, Sashka shows himself on the positive side: he shields a friend who could have been brought before the tribunal, but he, a private, would not be sent further than the front line. Sashka, who does not look like a heroic or dashing soldier, turns out to be stronger and braver than the desperate lieutenant.

• What aspects of Sashka’s character are revealed in his relationship with Zina?

Zina is Sashka's first love. He saved her life. He often thinks about her and looks forward to meeting her. But when he finds out that they are having a party in the hospital, that people can dance and have fun, he is very surprised and indignant. And when she realizes that she and the lieutenant are in love, she leaves without hurting Zina with unnecessary conversations. Sashka can’t help it, justice and kindness take over again.

• Why did the author turn to the theme of war? How true is the image of the hero?

The author of the story was wounded near Rzhev and received the medal “For Courage”; then again the front, injury, hospital, disability. He was already over fifty when he took up the story of the war. Kondratyev began to look for his former fellow soldiers, but found no one and suddenly thought that maybe he was the only one who survived. This means that he must, is obliged to tell about everything that he saw, that he experienced in the war. In the spring of 1962, he drove through the places of his former front line and saw “the entire Rzhev land dotted with craters, on which rusty, pierced helmets and soldiers’ bowlers were also lying... the unburied remains of those who fought here, perhaps those whom he knew, with whom I drank some liquid milk from the same pot, and it struck me: you can only write the strict truth about this, otherwise it will be simply immoral.”

Conclusions from the lesson

If we keep in mind everything that Vyacheslav Kondratiev wrote, then we can say that he managed to say a new word about his generation. Sashka belongs to the generation that suffered the most in the war. Among front-line soldiers born in 1922, 1923, 1924, three percent remained alive - such is the sad statistics. Of the hundred who went to the front, only three people survived. Judging by Sashka, what wonderful guys they were!

And here's what's surprising. The situation of a trench, the front, and constant danger gives Kondratieff’s heroes a sense of life, and therefore front-line friendship, brotherhood, humanity, and kindness.

And one more feature of Vyacheslav Kondratiev’s work should be noted - a pronounced interest in the folk origins of character. Sashka embodied the best features of the people's worldview - courage, intelligence, good spirits, endurance, humanism and the greatest faith in victory.

You can complete the work with a written answer to the question: “What character traits make Sasha similar to the best heroes of works of literature of the 20th (19th) century?”