Evdokimov, "Stepka, my son": summary, analysis

Soviet and Russian writer composed the work "Stepka, my son." Evdokimov did the analysis, taking into account the feelings of everyone who lost something or someone in the battle. Therefore, his work became popular not only among lovers of military literature, but also among literary supporters in general.

The writer came up very unconventionally with the creation of this work. He was not only able to convey the realities of that time, but also the thoughts of the soldiers. They seem chaotic, in many ways incomprehensible to the average person, but this is exactly what everyone who finds himself in the war thinks.

The author was able to show how the psyche breaks, what unimaginable mental injuries the participation in the hostilities causes. But at the same time, the work allows us to follow the social rehabilitation of the military, his return to normal conditions of life in peacetime.

Prerequisites for writing

Nikolai Semenovich Evdokimov was born in 1922 in the Minsk region. A year later, his family moved to Moscow. From an early age, the future writer watched the vibrant and strange life of the city. In 1940 he was drafted into the army. There he found war. By the beginning of World War II, the guy turned 19 years old. He served as a soldier in regimental intelligence. It was on the recollections that the military plot was built in the story "Stepka, my son." The summary (Evdokimov did not last long) of the writer's military life can often be found in his works.

In 1942, Nikolai Semenovich was shell-shocked and the soldier was demobilized. But the memories of the terrible days of the scout remained with him until the end of his life. Unjustified hopes, the death of his brothers, the horror of war became a source of his inspiration. So he wrote the story “The Sea is His Land” that he saw the light through the magazine “Banner” in 1967.

In 1975, a book was published with the stories "There was a war once ...". His new narrative also appeared.

Landscapes of the sleepy capital

"Stepka, my son" (a summary of the work below) is conducted on behalf of the narrator. A man notices that over the years he wakes up earlier. At dawn, he wanders through the empty streets of Moscow. The author successfully describes the nature of the city that comes to life. Grass, dew, rumbling pigeons - all this falls into the eyes of the narrator. During his journey, cars crawl out into the street. He watches the Red Square full of pigeons. He sees the sun fall on the dome of St. Basil’s Cathedral and it rings. His ringing wakes the river. He walks across the bridge and sees the shadow reflected in the water. The road brings the pedestrian to the new building.

Meet the ghost hero

At the edge of the wall is a young man. He lays a brick, and the sound of work is carried around Moscow. The narrator says: "This is Stepka, my son, awakens the city from sleep." Further, the author transfers the heroes to the evening. The father is waiting for his son, and his young girl is waiting at the window in the house opposite. The narrator recalls the beautiful laugh of Stepkin’s mother and compares it to how this young girl laughs. But every evening she, with her head bowed, waits for him. And at this time her face becomes sad. She does not know what needs to be done so that Stepka comes as soon as possible, and his father knows. He closes his eyes and imagines how steps are heard. It seems that Stepka suddenly appears, and she, surprisingly laughing as only she and his mother can, runs to meet him.

Stepka is almost twenty years old. At this age, the guy’s father met his love, Stepka’s mother.

Relationship to nature

Further, the time line in the story breaks, the author of which is N. Evdokimov. "Stepka, my son" takes the reader twenty years ago, in 1941. The plot spins around Lake Seliger, near the village of Pustoshka. There are fights in this territory, and only ashes are left from the houses. The narrator - a reconnaissance soldier - lived in a forest in a dugout. Pine branches hid them from the sky, which became less common because shells cut them off.

The soldiers respected every living blade of grass. The guy asks questions about who taught them love and respect for the earth. Another character smoothly enters the action. This is a mouse that lived with the Red Army soldiers in a trench. A young man compares her to a dog, because she does not steal, but only obediently awaits alms.

Military days in the story "Stepka, my son"

The summary introduces the reader to the life of soldiers who were close to mortal danger. The narrator says that seven scouts live in the dugout and every night they make their way through a minefield to hostile trenches. He recalls that they were given more vodka in the ration, and sometimes they were treated to something sweet. But the soldier thinks that it would be better if they were given mine detectors.

They crawled to the Germans in “tongues,” but each time they returned, dragging a wounded fellow in the overcoat. Such was the difficult service of the hero of the story "Stepka, my son." The maintenance of military everyday life was tragic, and a twenty-year-old soldier reports that when there were six of them, a new scout was sent to them.

At the beginning of hostilities it was impossible to get a mine detector. Soldiers clipped a tree trunk and rummaged before them, thus trying to deceive death. Bullets flew over them, and they continued to carry out the tasks assigned by the command. When they returned with the wounded, a nurse was waiting for them in a neutral strip.

Acquaintance with Stepa's mother

A nurse named Anka had soft and gentle hands. A soldier compares her hands with those of her mother and says that they smell the same. The nurse was nineteen years old. She healed with the phrase "Be patient, dear." Subsequently, these words scattered in front, like a song, says Evdokimov. "Stepka, my son" is a work that captured in one way Anka all the nurses of the war.

In a terrible time, young fell in love. The soldier went to each mission with confidence that he would return, because his beloved was waiting for him. After reconnaissance, the guy did not go to sleep, but walked with the girl through the woods under the sky, in which shells exploded. There he first kissed her. Brothers knew about their love and protected the doves from war. Anka's eyes glowed with happiness.

Drama of military love

Once a soldier and a girl were walking. Bullets fell on the village, and a pair of lovers hid from shelling in the forest. So they lay. Anka asked for sugar, which was given in rations. Accurately described the soldier's fate, Nikolai Evdokimov. “Stepka, my son” is a story based on reality, so the author did not forget to introduce the fact that there were catastrophically few products. The fragments rustled nearby, like a swarm of bees. And under the roar of bombs, Anka informed the soldier that they would have a son who looked like him, and they would call him Stepka.

The narrator wakes up. Around again, peace time. He is thinking about the house that Stepka will finish building soon. But never will be at home! And the girl should not wait for him.

Stepka’s life ended then, not beginning, at that distant time, when the lovers were hiding from bullets in the tall grass and Anka told her lover the good news. A splinter crashed into Anka, and she sadly bowed her head to the ground. Thus ends the work of the Evdokims. “Stepka, my son” is a drama story.

Sleepy and lively face of Moscow

The story is a short essay, so every detail is important for perception. All turns and descriptions, even if they are located a few words, are significant. They help to see the picture as a whole, to see it as the author sees. The image of the earth was always present in prose and poetry, but only N. Evdokimov could briefly and clearly present the face of nature. "Stepka, my son" is full of landscape accents. This makes the story melodic and easy to read.

A world of flora and fauna haunts the narrator everywhere. He admires how dewdrops dry on the pavement, how the leaves of trees smoke. The voices of birds sound in the ears of readers. The capital turns into a forest due to sounds. The author personalizes the river when he writes that she woke up from the ringing of bells and exposes a cold side under the sun. The wind in the story carries the smell of flowers, over which the bees are buzzing. And all this in concrete Moscow, the reader sees through the observation of the author in the work "Stepka, my son." Analysis of the nature of the city for the first time so clearly beaten in the literature.

Mother Earth 1941

The nature of 1941 is different from the beginning of the 60s. The nature of this land is different. She is broken and poor. Her greatness was broken by enemy bullets and shells, burned by the fire of war. Soldiers understand the pain of Mother Earth and treat her children, plants and animals with respect. The Red Army men do not dare to drive away the mouse and feed the poor creature.

The story ends with a comparison of the author of the shell with a mushroom, which can cover the whole earth. He notes that he does not draw juices from good land. The work "Stepka, my son" was written after World War II, but during the Cold War. Perhaps the author put a double meaning in the last lines and meant a nuclear mushroom.

Moscow panorama in the work

If Lake Seliger remained narrowly outlined, then the features of Moscow in the work are drawn in all details. The face of the capital captivates with peace and tranquility. The main character wakes up at dawn, while still sleeping. He walks the streets and watches the other, sleepy side of the city. A man smells dew, which has a different aroma, because these drops lie on the fences and monuments. The author of the story “Stepka, my son” considers birds to be the owners of the morning city. Analysis of the role of Moscow in the work is multifaceted. The capital is an echo of the state of mind of the protagonist, he is peaceful.

The city is also a symbol of freedom and peace, as opposed to what was in it twenty years before the walk. You can hear the birds singing, not the explosions of bombs, the banging of bricks that build a new house, and not the fall of the walls from shells, the trees are covered with dew, and not dust from the ashes of burning. And the capital smells of gasoline and concrete, not gunpowder. Mentioned Red Square and St. Basil's Cathedral in the story "Stepka, my son." The summary conveys the deepest feelings of the author’s love for the city.

Personal tragedy of the narrator

The whole work shows through one motive - thoughts about his son. The story begins with them, and it ends with them.

The Great Patriotic War killed more than one dream. So, all the misfortunes of the character were enclosed in the title of the work “Stepka, my son”. The summary conveys all the pain and despair that the broken hopes bring with them. The man obeyed fate, but he allows himself thoughts about his son, who was not destined to be born. He represents him as a builder, thinks about how a sad girl from the window opposite will laugh in his strong arms.

Many years passed, and the man remained faithful to his beloved Anka. The war deprived him of the most precious thing - his family, but even her bony mortal embrace could not stifle the feeling of love in the heart of the former reconnaissance soldier.

Even when there is no hope, you need to dream - the story “Stepka, my son” teaches the reader. Summary (Evdokimov Nikolay - author), set forth in this article, we hope, was able to convey the main ideas of the story.