It is difficult to summarize a work that must be read in full. The small volume also speaks in favor of this. But the duty tells to pack in small size the whole essence of the work of the Soviet classic. The focus is on Aitmatov, The First Teacher. A summary of the story awaits the reader in this article.
Two poplars
The story begins with the reader seeing with an inner eye an artist who cannot write another picture, or rather, choose a theme for it. For inspiration, he recalls his childhood, which he spent in ail Kurkureu, in the steppes of Kazakhstan. He warmly thinks of two poplars on a hillock away from the village. This hillock in their native places (the artist remembered from childhood) was called the "School of Dyushen." Once upon a time, 40 years ago, in that place there really was a school for children. It was founded by the ideological Komsomolets - Dyushayn.
The artist is thinking of visiting his native places and seeing those poplars, but all is no reason. And then a letter (telegram) is sent to him with an invitation to participate in the opening of a new school in the ail.
The artist, without thinking twice, flies to his native penates on the wings of nostalgia. He sees two poplars on the hill, and his acquaintances, and friends. Among the guests comes an elderly woman, academician Altynay Sulaymanovna Sulaimanova. She looks sadly at the poplar, with that feeling when there is some secret connection between a person and an inanimate being, known only to them. In general, I must say that Aitmatov’s novel “The First Teacher” is filled with subtle symbolism, visible only if you read the work in its entirety.
At the festival in honor of the opening of the school, everyone remembers with a laugh, as an uneducated person who read by syllables, taught children the basics of reading and writing. In the midst of the action come telegrams from former students with congratulations. They are already carried by the elderly and even the old Duyshen. He does not go to the celebration itself, because he has a lot of work.
Altynay for some reason becomes terribly ashamed, she is in a hurry to leave her native places in Moscow. The artist first asks her to stay, then asks if someone has upset her. She says that there’s nothing to be offended at him or local residents in general. If she has grievances, then only for herself.
She leaves, and then writes a long letter to the artist, in which she confesses and tells him her story. The narration is conducted on her behalf. And the reader, turning the last page of the history, catches himself thinking that the poplars will still have their say in this story. The story "The First Teacher" Aitmatov wrote remarkably from beginning to end, as evidenced by the introductory part of the work.
Man out of nowhere
In 1924, a man in an overcoat made of black cloth came to the ail. It was very unusual, but it seemed even stranger what he proposed to the local population: to arrange a school in an abandoned stable on a hill. This man's name was Duyshane, he was a convinced communist.
If you think about it, it is very characteristic that a person actually arose from nowhere. He had no parents. He was the flesh of the flesh, the son of Soviet power, the embodied ideal of the man of that time. Yes, he didn’t have enough education, but on the other hand, it was more than compensated by the warmth and conviction that he was right.
The ignorance of the people
And of course, local residents took these aspirations of the newly arrived young man in black wary. They lived in the steppes for centuries, and they did not need any education. The stone block tradition stood for their right to live as they were used to.
But Duyshane was not without reason a personification of the entire reforming Soviet power. He was not afraid of tradition and decided to challenge her openly. Residents, when they saw that it was pointless to persuade a young man, abandoned their attempts.
Altynay
Altynay is the ideal heroine, the Cinderella of the Soviet era. But the most interesting thing is that, unlike a fairy tale story, the reader believes that such a development of events is quite possible in Soviet times: as a result of many efforts, an orphan from the steppe ail became an academician. Started with a labor school and eventually came to the temple of knowledge, to the alpha and omega of every scientist of the Soviet Union (Russia) - the academy of sciences. That is how Aitmatov sees his contemporary Cinderella. The “first teacher” analysis suggests just such, with parallels from fairy tales. After all, this story is also a fairy tale, but sad and truthful. But that was after. The cinderella’s ascent to the scientific Olympus was preceded by a dramatic story.
In 1924, the main character was 14 years old. Among all the students, she was the oldest. She was also an orphan. She lived with her aunt and uncle, who did not love her too much. Like the classic Cinderella, she worked hard and suffered from her guardian humiliation, and sometimes beatings. This describes the life of the main character in the ail of Aitmatov. “The First Teacher” (including a brief summary of the story) makes you feel the atmosphere of the oppressive hopelessness of children's life in the village.
Once, when Altynay with other children (there were only girls) was collecting dung, the girl saw a young man who worked and ennobled the future premises for the school. The path from the place where the fuel was collected (the dung was used in the winter in this way) passed through the hillock, on which the former Bayan stable was located. The children are curious, so the girls asked what will be here? Dyushayn answered them that a school will be built here. He also said that when the time comes and everything is ready, he will surely collect all the children in the district and will teach them to read and write. The eyes lit up really only in Altinay. The girl suggested that the other children pour the whole dung dairy collected during the day at school, so that they had something to do in the winter. The rest, of course, did not agree and reached for the house with their bags. And Altynay gained courage and left all her daily “harvest” at school, for which the teacher awarded her a grateful smile. From this, a torch seemed to flash in the child’s soul, illuminating and illuminating the entire inner world, giving hope. To understand Altynay’s reaction well, you need to remember that the girl was an orphan, not a very spoiled affection. And this was her first independent act, committed contrary to what may have been waiting for her at home. Of course, in the full version, this moment is much more interesting to read, because Aitmatov so masterfully owns the pen. The First Teacher, the summary of which we are now discussing, gives the reader the opportunity to experience the full significance of the event.
About learning difficulties
It is probably difficult for modern children to understand why their peers described by Ch. Aitmatov overcame such difficulties in order to go to school. But the perception of life changes when the first stage of education turns from an everyday routine that stretches like a chewing gum, it is not known why and why, into a real ticket to life. For children from Ail, learning was a way to break out of the world of ignorance, hopelessness and causeless daily violence. This was especially true of Altynay.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Teacher Duyshane, when winter came and covered huge snowdrifts, took the youngest children in their arms and carried them to the former stables, and now schools. The convinced Komsomolets overcame not only the vicissitudes of public opinion, but also nature.
He paints the soulful moment of human overcoming in his story Aitmatov. The “First Teacher,” a brief summary of it, cannot hide the fact that this work is a monument to the steadfastness of the human spirit, and its main character is the ideal of a man who evokes sympathy even now, at a time when only the Soviet Union and its ideology remain memory.
Teacher attack
But there would be no composition without conflict. Aunt Altynay was enraged that the girl was learning to read and write instead of working at home. Therefore, she decided at all costs to marry her to one of the wealthy highlanders who would certainly take Altynay to her, and she would forget both about school and her teacher. In the story, the image of an evil vixen - aunt is brilliantly written out. Still, Chingiz Aitmatov appears to be a master of his craft. The First Teacher, a summary of which is now in the focus of our attention, makes us feel the mastery of the filigree work of the master of the writing workshop.
Once, when Altynay comes from school, she sees that her aunt is unusually affectionate with her. Uncle drinks vodka with some strange unpleasant men in expensive clothes. In other words, something is celebrated in the house, but what is not clear. After the celebration, an acquaintance came to her aunt, and two women found out something loudly. Then aunt's merchant went out into the courtyard where Altynay was, and looked at her both evil and compassionately. And the girl understood: they want to marry her to a rich man.
Altynay told everything to her teacher, and he was already in the know. The woman who was with the girl’s aunt told him this story. He said that while Altynay should live with this woman and her husband. The girl should go to school and not be afraid of anything, because he will help her deal with everything. As a sign of the seriousness of their agreement, Dyusheyn and Altynay planted two poplars on the hill, where the school is. Heroes did not take into account only one thing - the treachery of villains.
Once, during a lesson, Aunt Altynay came to school with thugs, and they took the girl by force. The teacher tried to stop them, but he was brutally beaten and broke his arm. The girl was thrown over the saddle and taken to the mountains. She woke up in the yurt of her new abusive husband. It turned out that she became the second villain's wife. But that was not the end. Ahead is the most dramatic moment of the work, which was psychologically accurately and reliably conveyed by Chingiz Aitmatov. “The First Teacher” (a brief summary steals unforgettable emotions from the reader and leaves him only a dry retelling) tells of cruelty, and of inner strength and self-confidence.
Altynay breaks out of the clutches of villains and leaves for the city to study
The next morning, teacher Duyshain and two police officers appear at the yurt. They arrest the rapist. Two days pass, and Dyushayn escorts Altynay to the train. She goes to study in a big city - Tashkent, and live there in a boarding school. Their farewell at the train station is extremely emotional: both cry. When the girl gets on the train, Duyshain runs after him and shrillly shouts: “Altynay!” The experiences of the heroes reach their climax, and the reader, according to the author’s plan, should have catharsis in this place. Soviet writers were strong, but even among them Chingiz Aitmatov stood out for his skill. The First Teacher is an excellent composition of those times.
Everything turned out just fine for Altynay: she finished her studies in Tashkent, then went to Moscow, unlearned at the labor faculty, so much so that she eventually became an academician, a doctor of philosophical sciences. She wrote a lot to her first teacher, wrote that she loves him and is waiting for him to come to her. Dyushayn remained faithful to his creed and did not want to stop Altynay from studying, so he interrupted the correspondence with her, which the girl bitterly regretted. This is indicated by one case.
Train episode
Soviet scientists traveled a lot. And so, when Altynai was already a venerable doctor of sciences, she went to Siberia with lectures, and at one railway crossing she thought she saw him - Dyushayna. Altynay tears off the stop-crane of the train, runs to the man, but is overlooked. Since there has been a war recently, people around her think that in the switchman or traveler she recognized her brother or husband who did not return from the war. Everyone pity her.
The reasons for the shame Altynay, who gripped her at the beginning, are understood, but they are still not specified: what exactly did she feel ashamed of? For the fact that she did not find a way to come to the ail and insist on her feelings for Dyushayne, or it is still painful for her to recall the story that happened many years ago. One way or another, but one can only guess about this.
You can, of course, approve or condemn Duyshayn’s deed (refusal to continue correspondence and severance of relations), but it cannot be denied that everything at Altynay ended well. She has a husband, children. Yes, no love. People live without passionate feelings for each other, but if the Komsomol member went on about his feelings, he could break the girl’s life. And, frankly, the story as a work of art with a happy ending would be so-so. So, Chingiz Aitmatov was right as an artist. The “first teacher” came out of his pen almost perfect.
The Altynay narrative ends with the fact that she promises the artist to complete all things in Moscow and, as soon as she can, immediately come to her native village and make sure that the new school building is named after her first teacher.
Portrait of the first teacher
At the end of the work, the artist, shocked by what he read, no longer suffers from creative searches for the topic. He knows what to write about. The only problem is which event from this story to choose. If an ordinary reader could advise an artist, he would certainly ask him to paint a portrait of the first teacher. Not so often in the world there are such people. Not quite so Chingis Aitmatov ends his work. The First Teacher (a summary should definitely mention this) has an open finale. Let it be.