It is unlikely that there will be someone who did not attend the work of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy's "Prisoner of the Caucasus" at school. In this story, we are presented with the character of such a courageous Russian officer as Zhilin. Vigorous at first and unbroken after a series of trials that fell to his lot, the hero of the story cannot leave indifferent even the most unimpressive reader.
After all, the characteristic of Zhilin, by and large, is not set out as it usually happens at the beginning of the work, but is given to us along the course of his entire action, preventing him from doubting for a moment this indisputably persistent and cheerful person.
Who is Zhilin?
Our hero is a Russian military officer located in the Caucasus just at the time of the turbulent events of those times. On one of his workdays, he receives an alarming letter from his mother, who is living her last days. In it, she asks her son to come home in order to meet for the last time. Zhilin leaves his outpost with the first convoy. Otherwise, leaving the duty station was dangerous, as there were enemies all around - ruthless Tatars who wholeheartedly hated Russian soldiers. Ready to tear everyone who met them on the way, the highlanders represented a considerable danger for those who left the garrison alone.
Respect for the protagonist appears in the reader from the first pages, since in them the author emphasizes Zhilin’s friendliness with respect to both officers and ordinary soldiers. From the very beginning, the hero amazes with the brightness of his personal qualities: purposefulness, high intelligence and a cheerful spirit. And all this is combined with his courage and considerable combat experience. Zhilin’s characteristic is especially distinguished from the moment when, having joined the wagon train, he meets another officer - Kostylin - the exact opposite of our hero.
Captivity
Calculating Zhilin, sensing something was amiss, fights off the wagon train and heads for reconnaissance, where he discovers about thirty enemy horsemen. Unfortunately, he does not have time to take the necessary measures to defend the convoy in time, and he is attacked. Remaining cut off from the rest, the hero of the story understands the severity of the situation, but, nevertheless, not succumbing to panic, and even more so without thinking about the retreat, he directs his horse towards the enemy. Having drawn a saber, Zhilin jumps on one of the highlanders - the One who attracted the most attention. But the bullet that hit his horse does not allow him to overtake his target. A hit with a head on the ground deprives the hero of clarity of mind, and he comes to his senses only when the Tatars, having tied his hands to him, plunge his body on the mare of his leader. That is exactly how Zhilin is captured.
Buyout
Upon arrival in their village, the Tatars threw Zhilin into an old barn, where they untied his hands. Instead, a block is nailed to his leg. To the surprise of the hero (and the reader), the highlanders immediately respond to the prisoner's request for water by clicking on the little girl with a jug. However, by evening it becomes clear why such an attitude. Indeed, in addition to killing a Russian officer, it will be even more useful to get a ransom for him. And this greatly affected how the Tatars treated Zhilin. Realizing what value he represents for them, the protagonist put forward his demands. Namely - good nutrition, indulgent treatment and freedom from pads. True, not everything was done.
Zhilin and Kostylin
What was the surprise of our hero when Kostylin, the same officer who accompanied the convoy with him, joined his company at night. Unlike Zhilin, he did not stand out with special courage. And during the attack he tried to flee. For this occupation the enemy found him. It is especially worth emphasizing that at that time Kostylin had a loaded rifle in his hands, which he never bothered to use for his intended purpose.
The Caucasian prisoner Zhilin, all the time he was in the camp of the enemy, tried to somehow alleviate his fate and that of his comrade. In addition, he began to develop an escape plan. An important part of it was observation. Studying the enemy depended on many factors. This was the number of people in the village, and the location of the guard, and the number of sentries in this guard. An important moment was also what customs of the Tatars Zhilin observed. When they celebrated, when they prayed, etc. All this was important for the future event, which was conceived by a Russian officer.
How did the Tatars relate to Zhilin at first and how - then? Everything changes in the course of the story. Indeed, the restless protagonist could not, unlike Kostylin, sit and silently look at one point. If he was not preparing to escape, then he was looking for himself another occupation. Not much time passed before the Tatars began to bring him various things for repair, which he easily brought into working order. The hero also practiced as a medicine man, which did not leave him without respect from the highlanders.
The Caucasian prisoner Zhilin in the very first days of his captivity finds a friend - a Tatar girl Dina, for whom she sculpts a clay doll. And she begins to drag him milk, cheese cakes and much more that was not supposed to be captured officers.
An important moment of how the Tatars treated Zhilin was the attitude of their leader, Abdul Murat. He began to respect the Russian officer from almost the first days. No matter how the commander of the mountain detachment tries to intimidate the protagonist, he looked him directly in the eye, thereby expressing indifference to his threats. If, after unsuccessful campaigns, most Tatars proposed killing Russian prisoners, then Abdul Murat was the only one who did not allow this to be done. Either he was so hungry for money, or the impression made by Zhilin on him nevertheless affected.
As for Kostylin, he only sighed, looked at the ceiling and waited for a miracle. Namely - liberation.
First escape
The first escape was unsuccessful for the main characters, as the exhausted Kostylin became a real ballast for Zhilin, and this did not allow them to go far. Everything else, when it was necessary to hide behind the stones from a Tatar passing by, he began to scream in pain, which naturally affected the quick capture of the fugitives. You should not think long about how the Tatars treated Zhilin after such an outburst. Now time did not go by days, but by hours. It was urgent to act.
Second escape
This time the main character did not begin to take Kostylin with him. Firstly, because he really created a hindrance to his release, not trying to somehow help Zhilin. Secondly, Kostylin was no longer able to even walk.
And this significantly influenced the success of our hero’s second escape. Not much time passed before Zhilin was already heading towards the Cossack detachment, thereby saving himself from captivity and quick reprisal, which was about to be held captive by the Tatars.