In the 60s of the XX century. in the USSR, many works were written devoted to labor. Most of them were sugary-pathos, not reflecting reality. A happy exception was the story written in 1961 by Fedor Abramov - “Fatherless”. Briefly written (in comparison with the stories of other authors), this work touched on a mass of important problems, and also showed the actual state of things in the villages of that time.
Fedor Abramov
In each work, its creator puts a piece of the soul, often using facts from his own biography.
Therefore, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the author’s biography before analyzing his characters, as well as finding out a summary of the story “Fatherless”.
Abramov Fedor Alexandrovich was born in February 1920 in the village of Verkola, Arkhangelsk province. His father was a cabman, and his mother was a peasant.
Alexander Stepanovich Abramov died very early, leaving his wife alone with 5 children. Thus, the future writer grew up without a father, as did the main character of the story, which was subsequently written by Abramov F. - “Fatherless” (a summary in section 3). Despite this and other problems, the young man was eager for knowledge.
In 1938, Abramov graduated with honors, which allowed him to enter the Faculty of Philology without examinations at Leningrad University.
When the Great Patriotic War broke out, Fedor Aleksandrovich leaving his studies, went to fight in the people's militia as a volunteer. During the war years he was wounded more than once, but constantly returned to the front.
In the fall of 1945, Abramov was demobilized, and he returned to the university.
After graduating from graduate school, the writer stayed to teach in his native university, after he became an assistant professor and began to head the department of Soviet literature.
In those same years, he began to write. His debut novel, Brothers and Sisters, was published in 1958 by the Neva magazine. This is not to say that the publication of “Brothers and Sisters” became a grand event in the literature of that time. However, many people liked this novel and allowed Abramov to quit teaching and focus on literature.
In subsequent years, the writer published 3 novels, which, together with his debut, are part of the Brothers and Sisters cycle. He also wrote many stories and short stories (“What horses cry for”, “Golden Hands”, “When you do it in good conscience”, “The last old man of the village”, “Fatherless Fatherland”) Abramov. A summary of many of them came down to a description of the life of the village. The author himself vehemently opposed its idealization, which was a frequent occurrence in those years. He outlined his views on this issue in the article “People of the Collective Farm Village in Post-War Literature”. Although Abramov officially renounced his own words because of the threat of being fired, in future years he remained true to his aesthetic ideals.
The name of Fedor Abramov has been at the center of literary scandals more than once; he always remained a popular writer.
Fedor Alexandrovich Abramov died in 1983 and was buried in Leningrad, and a memorial museum was opened in his native village.
Country prose
Abramov was a representative of the popular literary trend “village prose”.
Like Valentin Rasputin and Vasily Shukshin, Fedor Alexandrovich dealt with the problems of the modern village in his works. Along with realism, rural prose was also distinguished by the active use by writers of the vulgar vocabulary so exotic for the ear of urban residents.
In connection with the collapse of the USSR, other issues became relevant in society, and since the 90s. this current is in decline.
Fedor Abramov “Fatherless”: a brief summary for the reader's diary
In one of the collective farm villages (Gribovo) haymaking occurred. Everyone worked in the field, and only the laziness Volodka Frolov wandered around idle.
Due to his young age, he was left for a cook. However, he did not fulfill duties, and rode a horse to spy on bathing girls.
After another trick (he went hunting for a squirrel and did not tie horses), they decided to send him together with Kuzma Antipin to mow at Shopotki. Nobody really wanted to go there, since it was very inconvenient to get there, and it was not easy to mow, because of the uneven terrain.
Arriving at the place, the guy first dreamed of taking revenge on the new boss for the recent insult, but gradually began to gain respect for him. After all, Kuzma did not treat him like others did. He allowed Volodka to control the mower, shared food with him and respectfully called the guy Vladimir.
When most of the grass was mowed, it turned out that no one from the village was in a hurry to come and clean it. The weather began to deteriorate and the heroes became worried that their work would be lost. Upon learning that they would be walking in the village club, the guy, on the pretext that it was necessary to take the report to Gribovo, left Shopotkov, leaving Kuzma alone.
Nobody expected the guy’s house. Mother left somewhere, will leave him a festive treat, and the authorities were so drunk that she was not interested in either the bulletin or the Whispers. The young man read the summary and saw that Kuzma honestly calculated both his workdays and absenteeism. Inspired Volodka went to the club and wanted to brag to everyone. However, they did not pay attention to him, and even the fight came out.
Disappointed, the main character remembered Kuzma and decided to help him.
Analysis of the story and its problems
Despite the fact that “Fatherless” refers to rural prose, it deals with eternal problems. First of all, this is the relationship between the individual and society. Using Volodka and Kuzma as an example, it is shown how hard it is for a thinking person to find his place in life. Abramov masterfully depicts how society creates problems with indifference and connivance. So, the main character is a smart boy and an excellent worker, but no one takes him seriously, considering him a second-rate person. In retaliation, the guy constantly exploits the pity of others to justify his leprosy. Having only met a truly indifferent person, Volodka ceases to represent the “orphan” and shows his best features.
Careerism is another of the problems that Abramov touched on in the novel “Fatherless Fatherhood” (a brief summary above). A striking example of this is the behavior of the main enemy of Volodka - Nikolai.
The theme of the education of a real person runs through the whole thread with a red thread. Despite the fact that in Gribovo it seems like a lot of good people, only Kuzmu chooses Volodka as his mentor.
Next, it is worth paying attention to the characteristics of the main characters of the story, having examined earlier the analysis and the summary.
Abramov "Fatherless": the main characters
At the center of the story is a 15-year-old guy named Vladimir Frolov. His mother gave birth to him from the unknown, and the stigma of fatherlessness forever fell on the child. The villagers treat him as a second-class man, while the guy is much smarter than them. He successfully uses their ostentatious pity, remaining unpunished for numerous misconduct.
The party peasant Kuzma Antipin is also to some extent an asocial element. However, if Volodka is not mistaken for his unwillingness to obey the general principles, then they do not like Antipin just because he follows them excessively and demands this from others. Unlike the boy, his mentor reconciled with the state of things, but continues to bend his line.
Kuzma at first seems an ideal character, from the point of view of propaganda works of the Soviet era, closer to the end of the story, the author shows his shortcomings. So for nobility Kuzma has to pay with personal happiness. His wife Marya does not understand and does not accept his aspirations. Especially because worrying about the collective farm, he does not care about his house.
Not the last role in the plot is played by Volodka's outbred dog - Pooh. Like her master, she was thrown out into the street, but the boy sheltered her. For this, Pooh sincerely fell in love with Volodka, and served him faithfully. In fact, Frolov did the same for the dog as Kuzma did for him - he believed in it.
Comrade Volodka - Kolka is shown as a window dresser and careerist. He is the antipode of the protagonist. Nikolay is a good worker who managed to earn respect. However, only Kuzma sees his essence.
Theme of love in the story
Having dealt with the main characters, as well as finding out a brief summary (Abramov “Fatherless”), it is worth paying attention to the image of love and the main female images.
For Volodka, an important role is played by 2 women: the mother and Nyura, the accountant. The author hints that the guy’s mother is quite windy. Volodka was born not from great love, but from a chance meeting, during which, giving in to a fleeting impulse, the woman became pregnant. Having given birth to a son, she takes care of him, as expected, but does not show real love for him.
The surface Nurochka does not respond to Frolov’s feelings either. Describing her coming to rural dances, Abramov uses the phrase "He recognized Nyurochka right away - from his patent-leather boots shining in a lit puddle." This is the whole character - brilliant and bright outside, but gray inside, like water in a puddle. She does not take Volodka seriously, calling it a "pea miracle." All her sympathies are on Kolka’s side. At the end of the story, the hero becomes disappointed in her and becomes indifferent.
Truly loves Volodka only Pooh. Awareness of this gives the hero the strength to take a different look at his own life.
Kuzma’s situation with love is much worse. Despite the fact that he and his wife have 2 children and a third is on the way, there is no mutual understanding between them. It seems that the man therefore does not go home for the holiday and lives on haymaking to hide from his wife.
Image of collective farm peasants
In the straightforward plot of his work, Fedor Abramov manages to consider many important problems. “Fatherless” (a brief summary for the reader's diary in paragraph 3) shows the real attitude of the collective farmers to their work. For most heroes, the number of workdays they write is important, and not the welfare of their native collective farm. Once in Shopotki, Volodka notes that very dense grass grows in this place, which can be an excellent feed for cows and prevent their death from starvation in the spring. However, due to laziness and nearness, the villagers are in no hurry to develop this territory, as well as to clean the mown hay. Instead, the collective farmers set off to celebrate another holiday, nullifying the works of Kuzma and Volodka.
On the other hand, many of the collective farmers can be understood, especially women. Indeed, during haymaking everyone is forcibly driven to work, not particularly interested in their problems. So, chasing a truck with girls, Volodka notes that among the “mobilized” to fight for the crop was the very recently born young Shura. But how worried are public concerns for a barely born woman who has a baby? In addition, if we recall the description of the life and concerns of the collective farmers in the play by Alexei Kolomiyets “Pharaohs”, written 2 years before the “Fatherless Fatherland,” you can understand why most of Abramov’s characters are indifferent to public welfare.
Why does the story have an open ending
The finale of the story leaves open Fedor Abramov. “Fatherless” (a brief summary is presented to the reader’s attention above) does not give an answer to whether Volodka will come to Kuzma and whether they will become friends again.
The author left the ending open, following the fashion of the time, and also so that each reader decides for himself how he presents the future of the heroes.
How could the fate of Volodka Frolov
Having examined the main characters and a brief summary (Abramov “Fatherless Fatherland”), you can imagine a little how the fate of Volodka will develop in the future.
According to the optimistic scenario, Kuzma will forgive the boy and a real friendship will be made between them. Volodka will go to study, and after the army he will return to his native collective farm and become one of his best workers. With a more flexible mind than that of Antipin, Frolov will learn to get along with colleagues and will become one of the most prominent and respected people in Gribovo.
However, another scenario is possible. Kuzma does not accept Volodka's apology and he will finally be disappointed in people. As a result - either turn into a rural drunkard, or remain a lonely person.
Screen version of "Fatherless"
Having learned the summary (Abramov “Fatherless Fatherland”) of the story, we can compare it with the film “Own Land”, filmed on its motives in 1973.
The main plot outline of the story was preserved unchanged. But some points have been supplemented. In particular, the image of Kolka became more voluminous, viewers were shown the whole baseness of his behavior, and also told about his aspirations to look at the world.
Also in the movie appears the mother of the protagonist (only references to her appear in the story). Having listened to Kuzma’s advice, the guy stands up for his mother when one of the drunken guests insults her. Thanks to this, relations between them are improving.
Compared to the story, the character of the collective farm leaders is embellished in the film, and the situation with ignoring Kuzma’s work is beaten as a chain of misunderstandings.
The Grass Murava cycle
A lot of books by F. Abramov ("Fatherless Fatherland", "Grass-Murava") devoted a description of rural life. The summary of the story under consideration and this cycle of concise stories echoes much. As in "Fatherless Fatherhood", and in "Grass-Ant" the writer ironizes over people's attempts to appear smarter than they really are ("When with God to" You "," Hyperbole "); promotes respect for animals (Wagtail); to grieve over the misunderstanding by the inhabitants of creative personalities ("Mother of the Artist").
All these stories are more like jokes from rural life or parting words. With their laconicism, they have a capacious content and do not leave the reader indifferent.
Having learned the summary (Abramov “Fatherless Fatherland”) of the story, you can understand a lot about the life of the inhabitants of villages in the USSR. In particular, the fact that they were ordinary people, and not the heroes with whom the cinema of that time portrayed them. And although much has changed today, the eternal problems so cleverly depicted by the author have still not lost their relevance. For this reason, anyone who finds the time to read this work in full will find in it a lot of useful things.