Very often in his work he addresses the military theme of Y. Bondarev. “Choice” (a short summary of the work will be the main theme of our article) is a novel, not an exception. In addition, this work raises serious moral and philosophical issues related to the role of choice in human life.
About the work
In 1980, Yuri Vasilievich Bondarev (“Choice”) published his book. You can read the summary in different ways, but do not forget that the novel has a deep philosophical meaning. It is associated not only with the very problem of choice, but also with a description of the changes that occur with the soul of a person who has been in battle. In this connection, a very serious question arises as to whether the war disfigures human hearts or simply shows the true essence. Offering to solve this puzzle on his own, Bondarev does not give a clear answer in his work.
"Choice": a brief summary
Ilya Ramzin is the main character of the novel. He is single-minded, engaged in sports and wrestling, devotes much attention to his spiritual growth. The main thing for him is strength and freedom. In his understanding, the ideal person is a strong and courageous fighter who can himself control his freedom. The worst thing for Elijah is to be humiliated. Contempt and neglect of others - there is nothing worse for him.
Time to go to battle
It is this self-confident character that Yuri Bondarev chooses for his story. The choice (a brief summary below will confirm) for Ilya Ramzin will be the most severe test in his life. The author saw as his goal to show the reader a person confronted with harsh reality. Now at stake will be not vague ideals and ideas about the world, but their own life.
The time of this harsh reality, as you might guess, is the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Our hero, still a very young man, unexpectedly finds himself in an artillery school. And from there straight to the front. It was especially difficult in the first months - the start of the war was unsuccessful, retreats were going on all fronts.
And it is not surprising that Ramzin and his battery are surrounded by the enemy. Ilya begins to make at least some attempts to save the artillery guns that were at the disposal of his comrades. But he is prevented by the battery commander. This is a short-sighted and stupid man, whose actions lead not only to the loss of all weapons, but also to the death of almost all the soldiers under his command.
The fascists surrounding the battery begin an offensive. Realizing that it is useless to resist, Ilya shoots his commander. Ramzin was going to put an end to his life, but did not have time - he was taken prisoner.
But the battle is not the worst, Bondarev shows the reader (“Choice”). The summary describes a much more terrible fate - it is not through your own fault that it will be in the hands of the enemy. The realities of the camp life of prisoners of war plunge Ramzin into horror. He could not even imagine that the soldiers, who had fought shoulder to shoulder yesterday, would inform each other, calmly betray and lie. For them, there is no longer a concept of duty and honor, the main thing is to survive. In addition, a serious blow for Ilya is what the Nazis took as a feat the killing of their commander.
After years
Thirty years pass by. From this moment, Bondarev resumes the description of events. The choice (a brief summary confirms this) that Ilya made in the war becomes known to the reader only now. The hero never returned to his homeland.
Ramzin is now a resident of Venice. It is on the streets of this European town that he accidentally meets Vasiliev, his former classmate. It turns out that Ilya is considered to be missing in the war. After all, the protagonist for all these years did not write a single line to anyone, and also avoided those places where you could meet former compatriots. Even his mother did not know anything about his fate. Vasiliev talks about how she had been waiting for Ilya for many years, trying to find and was very sad about the loss of her only son.
Ramzin talks about his life - he married a long time ago, but his wife has already died. But there was a son who currently lives in Munich.
Ending
Bondarev ends his story. “Choice” (we reviewed the summary of the novel) ends with Ilya deciding to go to the USSR, to see his mother. But the old woman is not happy with her traitor son. She drives him away. Ramzin cannot recover after this. A conscience awakened inadvertently begins to torment him. As a result, the hero decides to commit suicide.
Bondarev does not give an assessment of the actions of his hero, leaving the reader to do it himself.