One of the most popular works of Daniel Granin is The Bison. A brief summary of this novel tells the real story of the geneticist Nikolai Timofeev-Resovsky. Granin was personally acquainted with him and described in detail his life and work.
The novel "Bison"
In 1987, Daniel Granin wrote The Bison. The brief content provided in this article will allow you not only to get an idea of this work, but also to trace the stages of creative development of a famous Soviet and Russian writer.
The central character of the novel is the geneticist Timofeev-Resovsky, who was involved in genetics and microevolution.
The author closely communicated with the scientist and admired his work. At some point, Granin realized that he could not write about this man. The main symbol of the story is a comparison of a scientist with a rare animal. This bison, its superiority and exclusivity are repeatedly emphasized on the pages of the novel.
The history of the scientist
In the work of Granin "Bison", a brief summary of which is given in this article, the reader is told about the genealogy of the scientist. With this, in fact, the novel begins. It turns out that Timofeev-Resovsky came from a noble family. He served in the Red Army, studied at Moscow University.
Daniil Granin in The Bison, a summary of which is available in this article, notes that the scientist was out of politics. But at the same time he remained a true patriot. He was a creative person, he loved painting, was fond of poetry, he sang well. And as a result, he became a professional biologist. Scientific work brought him moral satisfaction, but could not provide decent earnings. This is the main tragedy of his life.
Trip to Germany
"The Bison" is Granin's book (a brief summary is given in this article), in which he carefully describes the feelings and experiences of the protagonist when he goes to Germany in 1925. There, he faces the goal of creating a laboratory.
Over the years of foreign internships, Granin met with a large number of famous scientists, from whom he gained a lot of knowledge and experience.
At the same time, the writer does not shy away from special terms. He is not afraid that they might scare the reader away or remain misunderstood. With a passion for Granin in The Bison - a brief summary of this gives an idea - describes new areas of science, the participation of the protagonist in scientific disputes and debates.
At the same time, the scientist himself greatly yearns for his homeland, for the atmosphere that surrounded him among his native people. However, in the story "Bison" by Granin - a brief summary confirms this - a certain Koltsov is acting. Throughout the whole narrative, he persuades Timofeev to remain working abroad.
The Second World War begins. Only then Timofeev decides to leave Germany. During the fighting, he manages to save a group of scientists of different nationalities from the atrocities of the Nazis.
At the same time, Timofeev is not able to save his son, who dies in a concentration camp.
After the war
A summary of the work "Bison" by Granin describes that after the war the hero manages to almost completely save his laboratory. She passed into the disposal of Soviet biologists. The Bison has many ideas that he wants to realize in his country, he dreams of developing genetics. But here, failure awaits him.
The famous Soviet physicist Artsimovich discredits him without giving a hand when meeting. Soon after, he was accused of treason. The emphasis is on the fact that he worked for a long time before the war on the territory of the enemy.
The scientist unexpectedly finds himself in a camp. There, he often begins to think about death, but he still manages to survive.
Many are imbued with sympathy for the hero of the novel by Daniel Granin "The Bison". The summary describes how the scientist, after imprisonment, heads the Ural laboratory. It becomes the only bastion of genetics during the years of the famous Soviet Lysenko "scientific" terror.
In the end, Timofeev-Resovsky dies alone. His favorite science is still being revived. The book "The Bison" by Daniil Granin in brief describes not only the fate of one particular person, but an entire era. She teaches that people like Timofeev-Resovsky are capable of achieving a lot in any circumstances, under any authorities.
Features of the Granin novel
An important point in D. Granin’s novel “The Bison” (by its short content it can be traced) was that the writer is very attentive to the formation of the future famous geneticist. He closely monitors how he turns into a first-class biologist, ready to work day and night.
Thanks to this, he managed to get on a business trip to Germany, which before the war was one of the allies of the USSR. Timofeev begins to work fruitfully and soon becomes one of the most influential geneticists in Europe. His name falls in line with the outstanding scientists of that era.
Granin’s novel "The Bison" (at "Briefley" you can get acquainted with its contents in detail) is notable for its documentary, meticulous study of facts and details. This contribution was a weight not only for Soviet, but also for European science.
Scientist life
It is noteworthy that the novel describes in detail the everyday side of the life of the protagonist. It turns out that he is modest, unpretentious in food and habits. His family behaves just as unpretentiously in everyday life.
Granin notes that in the life of his hero there was neither chic, nor wealth, nor any special artistic taste. Nothing that would distract him from the main business of life - work.
The author visually draws before the reader a great scientist who, like many other people, is characterized by outbursts of anger, a sarcastic attitude towards life. The only sad thing is that fate itself was ruthless to this man. But she firmly connected his life with science.
The tragedy of Timofeev-Resovsky
The tragedy of the scientist Timofeev-Resovsky was directly related to the dramatic events in his country and in the world as a whole. He longed for his homeland, but his entourage discouraged him from returning. Each time they reminded him that with his explosive character, he would certainly fall into an unpleasant story and end up in a camp to the North.
Therefore, Timofeev remains in Germany.
Inner freedom
Over the course of reading the entire novel, the reader constantly raises the question of whether it is possible to have such inner freedom in a totalitarian and closed society. Resist the circumstances surrounding you, bend your line, no matter how terrible life may be around. Is it possible in the atmosphere of the time when the Nazis came to power in Germany, and all of Europe lives in anticipation of a new world war, to remain as neutral as possible to what is happening around, to be out of politics, staying in the very center of the Third Reich.
The writer is well aware of the feat of Timofeev-Resovsky, who saved scientists of different nationalities from the brutal Gestapo machine. But, as we already said, his own son died in a German camp. So high was the price of inner freedom.
The scandal with Artsimovich
In detail analyzing the novel "Bison", we can conclude that one of its key episodes was the scandal with physicist Artsimovich, when he did not give him a hand.
In the novel by Granin, Timofeev-Resovsky admits that this was one of his most shameful minutes of his life. He felt publicly offended. He was especially depressed that he could not defend himself.
Daniil Granin, a former front-line soldier himself, unexpectedly for many in his novel understands and justifies the act of Artsimovich. The writer claims that at the time not to give a hand was absolutely normal.
However, in the life of the Bison after this comes one of the darkest and most difficult periods of his life. They are trying to accuse him of collaborating with the Nazis, he is becoming the target of numerous libel and denunciations. The cruel machine of the Stalinist repressions, which does not bypass the main character of this work, becomes a reward.
Timofeev-Resovsky is among the deserters, former criminals and bandits, Soviet soldiers, who during the war went over to the side of the Germans and became police officers. In the prison cell, thoughts of the impending imminent death are increasingly conquering him. The main thing is that he takes care that she is not shameful, which later would not want to be remembered by his relatives and friends. But contrary to the expectations of Timofeev-Resovsky, he leaves the camp alive and unharmed. At least physically.
Summing up the analysis of this novel, it is safe to say that Granin, in the person of this scientist, nicknamed the Bison, tried to remind all of humanity of its limitless potential. The main thing is to know that it can be implemented in absolutely any circumstances.
Despite the death of the scientist, the work of his whole life - genetics, in the end, was reborn. Interest in this science is growing every year. This is a considerable merit of the main character of the novel Granin. He demonstrated the main qualities that should be in every person. This is inner freedom and confidence that the life goal will be achieved.
Granin’s novel "The Bison" is a miraculous monument, thanks to which genetics today helps to solve many key problems in medicine and related fields.