The most striking are those works in which the main characters are completely different. Such characters are the basis of Leo Tolstoy’s short story “Prisoner of the Caucasus”. The characters are Zhilin and Kostylin. Different fates and characters of these men. The dust tells about their life in captivity among the Tatars and an attempt to escape. But the path to freedom is thorny, and in particular because these two officers are the exact opposite of each other.
First meeting of comrades
Events take place during the war for the annexation of the Caucasus to Russia. Officer Zhilin received a letter from his mother. She asks her son to return. Ivan, this is the name of the man, ponders the proposal and agrees. Traveling alone was dangerous, so the soldiers marched in a convoy. The group stretched slowly, and the thought that it was better to go alone was struck by his head. As if hearing his thoughts, another officer, Kostylin, invites him to continue his journey together.
The first
comparative characteristic of Zhilin and Kostylin is very important for the further development of events. The author does not talk about what the main character looks like, but gives a description of Kostylin. This is a rude
full man with a
red face. Because of the heat, sweat flows from it. After making sure that he has a loaded weapon, and taking the word to stick together, Zhilin agrees to the invitation.
Ambush and unexpected betrayal of a friend
Comrades are sent. All the way lies through the steppe, where the enemy is clearly visible. But then the road runs between two mountains. At this point there is a conflict of opinion. In the scene, there is a comparison of Zhilin and Kostylin by the sense of danger.
Two excellent warriors perceive the gorge of the mountains differently. Zhilin sees a potential threat and is confident that the Turks can ambush the rock. Kostylin is ready to go forward, despite the possible risk. Leaving a friend below, Ivan climbs up the mountain and sees a group of riders. Enemies notice the officer and jump towards. Zhilin yells to Kostylin to pull out his gun. But he, seeing the Tatars, rushes into the fortress.
The comparative characteristics of Zhilin and Kostylin will be incomplete if we do not consider this situation in more detail. The former cared about the safety of both, while the latter, under difficult circumstances, only thought about his own life. Kostylin left a friend without weapons. Ivan fought back for a long time, but the forces were unequal. He was captured. But he already learns from the Tatars that his grief-friend was also ambushed.
The second and unexpected meeting of former friends
The man spent some time in a closed barn. Then he was taken to the house of the Tatars. There they explained to him that the man who had captured the soldier sold him to another Tatar. And he, in turn, wants to get a ransom for Ivan in the amount of 3,000 rubles. The officer, without hesitation for a long time, refused and said that he could not afford such an amount. More that he can offer is 500 gold. The last word was firm and unshakable. His friend is introduced into the room.
The emotional state and appearance of Zhilin and Kostylin are very different. The second officer is fat, barefoot, exhausted, ragged, with a block on his feet. Zhilin's appearance is no better, but his thirst for struggle has not yet quenched. The new owner puts Kostylin as an example and reports that he will be accepted for a ransom of 5,000 rubles.
The author shows how humbly he accepts the offer at such a great price. Ivan, on the other hand, achieved that the payment for his soul would amount to 500 rubles. But he still understands that a mother who lives on the money that he himself sends her would have to sell everything in order to free her son. Therefore, the officer writes the wrong address so that the letter does not reach. The comparative characteristics of Zhilin and Kostylin, when determining the amount of the ransom, indicate that the first officer takes care of his mother, even if he is threatened with death. Kostylin is not worried about how the money is being raised for his release.
Attempt to escape from the enemy
Time passes. Leo Tolstoy vividly describes the life of Zhilin. A man wins the heart of his master’s daughter when he sculpts clay dolls for her. Gets respect in the village as a master, and even through cunning - as a doctor. But every night, when the shackles are removed, he digs a passage under the wall. He works during the day, thinking about which way he should run. The characteristic of Zhilin and Kostylin in captivity is absolutely the opposite. Zhilin does not sit still, unlike his friend. And he always sleeps or gets sick, waiting for the storm to pass, associated with the death of one of the Tatars.
One night, Zhilin decides to escape. He offers this to his “chamber” comrade. Kostylin is skeptical of this. He claims that they do not know the road and get lost at night. But the argument that due to the death of the Tatar they, as Russians, can take revenge, he finally convinces.
Struggle with your own abilities
The prisoners act. Trying to get out, the clumsy Kostylin makes a fuss. Dogs growled. But prudent Ivan fed the dogs for a long time. So quickly calmed their commotion. They get out of the village, but the fat man suffocates and lags behind. He gives up very quickly and asks to leave him.
The comparative characteristic of Zhilin and Kostylin is the competition of cowardice with force. Both are tired. The night is impenetrable, they are forced to go almost to the touch. Bad boots rub their feet to blood. Kostylin stops and rests time after time. Subsequently, he is exhausted and says that he is not able to continue the path.
Then a comrade pulls him on his back. Because of a scream from Kostylin’s pain, they are noticed and tracked down. Before dawn, the comrades were caught and this time thrown into a pit. And there the opposite portrait of Zhilin and Kostylin. The officer craving for freedom is trying to dig, but nowhere to put the earth and stones.
Increasingly, conversations are heard from enemies that the Russians need to be killed.
Finale and will
The owner’s daughter comes to the rescue. She lowers a pole into the pit, along which, not without the help of a friend, Zhilin gets out onto the mountain. Weak Kostylin remains with the Tatars. He runs away with his legs shackled, but nevertheless gets to his army.
After some time, they pay money for Kostylin. He returns barely alive. This concludes the work. The author does not say that he is waiting for characters with the names Zhilin and Kostylin. Different fates of the heroes, the first relied only on their own capabilities, the second was waiting for manna from heaven. They are two poles that are guided by different principles and rules. If Zhilin is stubborn, courageous and freedom-loving, then his partner in misfortune is weak, lazy and cowardly.
Lovely hearted officer
The main characters of Leo Tolstoy are Zhilin and Kostylin. This story is about two officers. The first fought bravely, the second accepted with humility all that life had prepared for him. Zhilin has such a characteristic as care. He thinks about the old mother, when they asked for a ransom, worries about the fate of a friend, so she does not leave him in the village of enemies, for the girl who helped her out of the pit.
She orders to hide the pole that she brought so that Zhilin could rise. His heart is full of kindness and love. The officer fell in love with the simple, peaceful people of the Tatars. Therefore, it makes their life easier. He is a symbol of everything light and sincere in the work.
Kostylin - a hero or an antihero?
Kostylin is often considered a negative hero. He left his comrade in trouble, distinguished himself by laziness and weakness, and brought danger to both. There is nothing to say about the cowardice of a man, because every now and then in his actions helplessness is manifested.
But is Kostylin really so weak in his soul as on the outside? Somewhere deep in his heart he is brave and strong. Although in part it borders on unreasonableness. It was he who suggested the comrade to separate from the group and jump first. He was also ready to walk between the mountains, not even making sure it was safe there. No less courage was needed to decide on an escape, which he did not plan and for which he was not prepared either physically or mentally.
The characteristic of Zhilin and Kostylin is an analysis of two opposite types of courage. But Kostylin showed more courage when he refused to repeat an attempt to escape. Moreover, as he could, he helped a friend get out of the pit. He understood all his weakness and did not dare to set up a comrade again. Here in such acts lies the secret of his essence.