One of the most famous stories of L. N. Tolstoy is "The Prisoner of the Caucasus." Summary of the work knows every teenager. At least I should know. After all, the story of an officer captured by the Highlanders has been part of the school curriculum for many decades.
Critic reviews
The writers reacted very favorably to the story, which was published in 1872. One of the critics known at that time noted: the work was created in a special, new language. Among the advantages of the "Prisoner of the Caucasus" is the simplicity of presentation. There are no unnecessary words and elaborate stylistic forms. The beauty of the artistic language of L. N. Tolstoy will not reveal the brief content of the "Caucasian Captive". But, I think, will encourage reading the original.
History of creation
The title of the story is an allusion to Pushkin's poem. However, the story told by Tolstoy is different from the one composed by an earlier classic. In 1817, a war broke out between Russia and the Muslim peoples. In the story "Prisoner of the Caucasus" by L. N. Tolstoy, a brief summary of which is presented in the article, events of a significant period in Russian history are reflected. The writer himself served in the Caucasus. Once there was an incident with him, which almost led to captivity.
In the Caucasus, Tolstoy had a Chechen friend named Sado. Once they made a joint trip and along the way they met the highlanders who were engaged in kidnapping. The count could have escaped (he had an excellent horse), but did not. Travelers miraculously managed to escape the fate of captives. They did not die because the highlanders sought to capture them alive. A much more difficult test had to endure the main character of the story "The Prisoner of the Caucasus" by L. N. Tolstoy. A summary is provided below.
Zhilin
A brief summary of the "Prisoner of the Caucasus" by L. N. Tolstoy, as well as a concise exposition of any other literary work, must begin with a description of the main character. The famous critic was right. The story is written in an extremely concise, simple language. Once upon a time there was an officer. And his name was Zhilin. He served in the Caucasus.
Once Zhilin received a letter from a dying mother in which a woman expressed a desire to see her beloved son before the death. All. There are no verbose reasonings peculiar to the great writer. The reader learns later about what Zhilin is, what qualities and advantages he has, after he is captured and miraculously gets out of him. A summary of the "Prisoner of the Caucasus" by Leo Tolstoy, in fact, is outlined above.
Even the one who did not read the story guessed what misfortunes await Zhilin. But not so simple. There is in the work both a noble poor officer and a wealthy but vile nobleman. There was a place for relations between the Russians and the highlanders, the complexity of which has been discussed for two hundred years. So, Zhilin received a letter from his mother and went home. It was in the summer. From the fortress to the nearest station 25 miles. To overcome the distance is quite difficult.
Firstly, incredible heat. Secondly, Tatars are everywhere (as all Muslims were called in those days). The Highlanders killed the Russians, captured them. Twice a week a convoy was sent from the fortress, accompanied by soldiers. On the same conditions, Zhilin also left the fortress. However, along the way, he decided to abandon the escort. To this the co-worker Kostylin persuaded the protagonist - an officer, a representative of a wealthy noble family, who betrayed him.
In captivity
Zhilin and Kostylin rode horses for several hours. The main character walked forward a hundred meters in order to see if there were any Tatars in the district. When the ubiquitous highlanders appeared, Kostylin rushed back to the fortress. And only he had a gun. Zhilin was completely unarmed when meeting with the Tatars. In addition, bandits injured his horse. She fell on the officer, crushing him heavily with her weight.
When Zhilin came to, he was already tightly bound by the Tatars. So Zhilin became a captive of the Caucasus. The next day he was drunk, fed, and informed of his fate. One highlander sold a Russian officer to another. Now the captive had to write a letter to his relatives, so that they bought it. But Zhilin’s mother did not have the money that the highlanders dreamed of. Later, the main character, as his "boss" told him, still wrote a letter. However, the address was incorrect.
The escape
Kostylin, who betrayed Zhilin, was also captured. But he was rich, wrote a letter home and promised the Highlanders that he would soon give them five thousand coins. Zhilin understood that only escape would save him from death. At the same time, he was not afraid of the Tatars, for which, by the way, they highly respected him. In addition, he was able to craft outlandish little things from clay, which attracted the attention of Tatar children.
Especially Dinah, daughter of Abdul - the same mountaineer who was expecting a ransom. Zhilin's first escape failed. And again, Kostylin was to blame for this - an awkward, cowardly man. Later, the Russian officer still managed to escape thanks to Dina. The girl brought him a long stick, with which he could get out of the pit.
Kostylin was soon bought from captivity. Such is the summary of the "Prisoner of the Caucasus" by L. N. Tolstoy. But it is worth adding a few words about the mores of the inhabitants of the aul. How did the author portray them in his work?
Russian among the Highlanders
Tolstoy does not portray highlanders as bloodthirsty bandits. Yes, for them to kill a person is a simple matter, one might say, everyday. But only when it comes to Gentiles. And to Zhilin, many residents of the village were imbued with sympathy. The small story about the Tatar old man who hated Russians perfectly characterizes the attitude of the highlanders towards the Russians.
This man in his youth was a brave dzhigit. He had a wife and seven children. But the Russians came and killed his wife and six children. The seventh son went over to the side of the enemy, for which he was killed by his father. The Muslim elder Zhilin despised, believing that he should be killed immediately.
Fortunately, Abdul had a different opinion. Nevertheless, the writer believed that the so-called Tatars were not monsters at all. This is a nation that has completely different traditions from those on which the main character was raised. The story, the content of which is set out in the article, is worth reading. This work is still relevant.