Caucasian prisoner summary 10 sentences. L.N. Tolstoy "Prisoner of the Caucasus": description, characters, analysis of the work

The plot of the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” briefly

If we talk about Tolstoy’s story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” in brief, then the action of the work takes place during the Caucasian War of 1829 – 1864. The action unfolds around officer Zhilin, who receives a letter from his mother and decides to visit her, and possibly marry her. He sets off on the road with the nearest convoy, but, having overtaken it, he meets another officer, Kostylin. They travel together until several Tatars come to meet them. Kostylin, who was supposed to cover the main character of the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus,” rushes to run. Because of this, both of them, as in, are captured and sold to another Tatar - Abdul-Murat.

Further in LN Tolstoy’s story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” you can read about how the new “master” of the prisoners demands that they write a letter home. In it, they must ask their relatives to ransom them. But the amount indicated by the Tatar is not affordable for Zhilin’s mother. Therefore, in order not to make the mother suffer and go into debt main character writes a letter with the wrong address.

Both prisoners are kept in a barn. They are put in stocks at night and forced to work during the day. Zhilin finds mutual language with the daughter of the Tatar who captivated them, Dina, and she begins to bring him cakes and milk in exchange for wooden dolls. Soon Zhilin decides to escape and begins to dig a tunnel. When the digging is finished, both prisoners escape. But Kostylin cannot run fast, complaining about his feet being chafed by his boots. Because of this, they are noticed by one of the locals, who tells Abdul-Murat about the escaped prisoners. A chase with dogs is organized and soon both prisoners are caught.

If you read further from the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” summary, then you will find out that now the prisoners are being put in a pit. The stocks are not removed from them day or night, and the possibilities for escape are practically zero. But Dina helps the main character. She lowers a stick into the hole, which Zhilin uses to get out of the hole. Kostylin is afraid to decide to escape again. The Tatar’s daughter cries for a long time, parting with the main character, because she has become very attached to him. Moving away from the village, Zhilin tries to knock down the stocks, but nothing comes of it. So he runs straight into the blocks.

The main character of Leo Tolstoy's story "Prisoner of the Caucasus" will have to long road and, if not for the cakes that Dina gave him, he would hardly have been able to overcome the entire path. And even when exhausted, he continues to crawl. At dawn he reaches the field, behind which Russian units are already standing. But this field still needs to be overcome, and as luck would have it, the Tatars notice it. They rush to Zhilin and with the last of his strength he calls for help. He is heard from the Russian positions, and the Cossacks rush to cut off the Tatars. The Tatars do not dare to approach, and Zhilin ends up with his own. The main character of Tolstoy’s story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” tells them about his misadventures, ending the story with the words: “So I went home and got married! No, apparently it’s not my destiny.” So Zhilin remained to serve in the Caucasus, and Kostylin was redeemed a few months later, barely alive and with severely compromised health.

The story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” on the Top books website

Thanks to the presence in school curriculum The story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” is very popular to read. Moreover, in most educational institutions The essay “Prisoner of the Caucasus” by Tolstoy is required. Thanks to this, the work was included in our winter 2016 rating. In addition, thanks to the surge of interest in the story, it is presented among. But even before that, the story periodically made it into our ratings. Therefore, in the future we will probably see him more than once on the pages of our Top Books website.

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Summary of Caucasian Prisoner

An officer named Zhilin once served in the Caucasus. He received a letter from his elderly mother, in which she asked him to come and see the bride. The colonel did not object, but there was war everywhere in the Caucasus, so it was difficult to drive on the roads. As soon as the Russians were left alone, the Tatars took them prisoner. At first Zhilin rode alone, but then Kostylin joined him with a gun. It was somehow safer together. On the way they were attacked by the Tatars. Zhilin shouted to Kostylin to shoot, and he, frightened, began to run away. So Zhilin was captured and ended up in the village. They put shackles on him and locked him in a barn.

He didn't sleep the whole night, he was terribly thirsty. In the morning two Tatars came to see him, and Zhilin gestured to them that he was thirsty. One Tatar called his daughter Dina to bring water. Dina watched with curiosity how greedily he drank the water. Then all the visitors left, and after a while he was called to the house of a Tatar. There they ordered me to write a letter home asking for a ransom. They claimed that for three thousand they would send Zhilin home. But he knew that his mother did not have that kind of money, so he insisted on five hundred coins. At first they did not agree, then he said that if they killed him, they would get nothing at all. One of the Tatars even called him a horseman, that is, a brave fellow.

Soon Kostylin was brought in too. It turns out that he was also caught because the gun failed. The Tatars told Zhilin that his comrade had long ago written a letter home with a request to send as many as five thousand coins. To this Zhilin replied that since he is rich, let him write. Before writing his letter, he demanded that they be fed, given fresh clothes, shackles removed and placed in the same barn. Then he wrote a letter, but the address was incorrect. They lived with the Tatars for a whole month. They were not fed well, but they were not abused. Kostylin was still waiting for the ransom, and Zhilin was thinking about escape. Sometimes he made dolls from clay. One day Dina, the daughter of a Tatar, saw one of these dolls and took it for herself. She dressed her in red rags and rocked her like a child.

When this doll broke, Zhilin made another one for Dina, and she brought him milk in gratitude. Soon she became attached to Zhilin and began bringing him cheese cakes, milk, even pieces of meat. And when Zhilin repaired a watch for some Tatar, people in the village began to talk about him as a master. So Zhilin lived in the village for another month. In the evenings, he secretly dug into the barn to escape. One day the Tatars returned angry, one of them was killed. They commemorated them for three days, and then left again. Zhilin decided it was time to run. He barely persuaded Kostylin to run away with him. As soon as everything calmed down in the village, they crawled out of the barn, headed towards the forest and found the right path.

Soon Kostylin began to lag behind, and kept whining that his boots had rubbed his foot. Because of this, they were unable to run far. They were noticed by a Tatar driving through the forest, and they were brought back. This time they were put in a deep hole instead of a barn. Zhilin still did not despair. One day he asked Dina to bring a long stick. That’s how he was able to get out of the hole, but Kostylin chose to stay there. Dina gave him some flatbread for the trip and began to cry as she parted with him. Although he could not remove the shackles from himself, he managed to move away from the village and move forward. When his strength ran out, he crawled to a field beyond which he knew there were Russians.

Most of all, he was afraid of being noticed. Before he had time to think about it, he saw that the Tatars were standing on the left, two acres away from him. Seeing him, they rushed to catch up, but the Cossacks were already ahead. Zhilin waved with all his might and began to ask for help. Hearing him, the Cossacks immediately rushed to help, but the Tatars were scared and did not go further. This is how the Cossacks saved Zhilin. Having come to his senses, he told them about his adventures. In the end, Zhilin decided to stay to serve in the Caucasus, and decided to postpone marriage. The ransom for Kostylin came only a month later. He was brought in barely alive.

Staying in mid-19th century century in the Caucasus, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy became participants in a dangerous event, which inspired him to write “Prisoner of the Caucasus.” While accompanying the convoy to the Grozny fortress, he and his friend fell into a trap among the Chechens. The life of the great writer was saved by the fact that the mountaineers did not want to kill his companion, so they did not shoot. Tolstoy and his partner managed to gallop to the fortress, where the Cossacks covered them.

The key idea of ​​the work is the contrast of an optimistic and strong-willed person with another - sluggish, lack of initiative, grumpy and compassionate. The first character retains courage, honor, courage and achieves release from captivity. The main message: under no circumstances should you give up and give up; hopeless situations exist only for those who do not want to act.

Analysis of the work

Story line

The events of the story unfold in parallel with Caucasian War and they tell about the officer Zhilin, who at the beginning of the work, at the written request of his mother, leaves with a convoy to visit her. On the way, he meets another officer - Kostylin - and continues the journey with him. Having met the mountaineers, Zhilin’s fellow traveler runs away, and the main character is captured and sold to the rich man Abdul-Marat from a mountain village. The fugitive officer is caught later and the prisoners are kept together in a barn.

The mountaineers seek to obtain a ransom for the Russian officers and force them to write letters home, but Zhilin writes a false address so that his mother, who is unable to raise so much money, does not find out about anything. During the day, prisoners are allowed to walk around the village in stocks and the main character makes dolls for local children, thanks to which he wins the favor of 13-year-old Dina, the daughter of Abdul-Marat. At the same time, he plans an escape and prepares a tunnel from the barn.

Having learned that the villagers are worried about the death of one of the highlanders in battle, the officers decide to flee. They leave through a tunnel and go towards the Russian positions, but the mountaineers quickly discover and return the fugitives, throwing them into a pit. Now the prisoners are forced to sit in stocks all day long, however, Dina from time to time brings Zhilin lamb and flatbread. Kostylin finally loses heart and begins to get sick.

One night, the main character, with the help of a long stick brought by Dina, gets out of the hole and, right in the stocks, runs away through the forest to the Russians. Kostylin remains in captivity until the end until the mountaineers receive a ransom for him.

Main characters

Tolstoy portrayed the main character as an honest and authoritative person who treats his subordinates, relatives and even those who captivated him with respect and responsibility. Despite his obstinacy and initiative, he is careful, calculating and cold-blooded, has an inquisitive mind (he navigates by the stars, learns the language of the mountaineers). He has a sense of self-esteem and demands that the “Tatars” treat their captives with respect. A jack of all trades, he repairs guns, watches, and even makes dolls.

Despite Kostylin’s meanness, because of whom Ivan was captured, he does not hold a grudge and does not blame his neighbor in captivity, plans to escape together and does not abandon him after the first almost successful attempt. Zhilin is a hero, noble towards enemies and allies, who preserves human face and honor even in the most difficult and insurmountable circumstances.

Kostylin is a wealthy, overweight and clumsy officer, whom Tolstoy portrays as weak both physically and morally. Because of his cowardice and meanness, the heroes are captured and fail their first attempt to escape. He meekly and unquestioningly accepts the fate of a prisoner, agrees to any conditions of detention and does not even believe Zhilin’s words that he can escape. All day long he complains about his situation, sits inactive, and becomes more and more “loose” from his own pity. As a result, Kostylin is overtaken by illness, and at the time of Zhilin’s second attempt to escape, he refuses, saying that he does not even have the strength to turn around. He is brought back from captivity barely alive a month after the ransom from his relatives arrives.

Kostylin in the story of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is a reflection of cowardice, meanness and weakness of will. This is a person who, under the pressure of circumstances, is unable to show respect for himself and, especially, for others. He fears only for himself, not thinking about risk and brave actions, which is why he becomes a burden for the active and energetic Zhilin, prolonging his joint imprisonment.

General analysis

One of the most famous stories Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy's "Prisoner of the Caucasus" is based on a comparison of two extremely opposite characters. The author makes them antagonists not only in character, but even in appearance:

1. Zhilin is not tall, but has great strength and agility, while Kostylin is fat, clumsy, and overweight.
2. Kostylin is rich, and Zhilin, although he lives in abundance, cannot (and does not want) to pay the mountaineers a ransom.
3. Abdul-Marat himself speaks about Zhilin’s obstinacy and the meekness of his partner in a conversation with the main character. The first optimist expects to escape from the very beginning, and the second says that escaping is reckless because they do not know the area.
4. Kostylin spends his days sleeping and waiting for a reply letter, while Zhilin does his handicrafts and does repairs.
5. Kostylin abandons Zhilin at their first meeting and runs away to the fortress, but during the first escape attempt he drags a comrade with wounded legs on himself.

Tolstoy appears in his story as a bearer of justice, telling a parable about how fate rewards an initiative and brave person with salvation.

An important idea is contained in the title of the work. Kostylin is a Caucasian prisoner in literally words even after the ransom, because he did nothing to deserve his freedom. However, Tolstoy seems to be ironic about Zhilin - he showed his will and broke out of captivity, but does not leave the region, because he considers his service to be fate and duty. The Caucasus will captivate not only Russian officers forced to fight for their homeland, but also the mountaineers, who also have no moral right to give up this land. IN in a certain sense Everyone here remains Caucasian captives characters, even the generous Dina, who is destined to continue to live in her native society.

Officer Zhilin served in the Caucasus. One day he received a letter from home from his old mother that she had fallen ill and was afraid to die without seeing her son goodbye.

Zhilin received leave and went to his native land.

There was a war in the Caucasus at that time. The mountaineers attacked the Russians, killed or captured them. Russian convoys were usually accompanied by a soldier convoy. The convoy walked slowly and stopped often. So Zhilin conspired with another officer, Kostylin, to go forward. The mountaineers took Zhilin prisoner.

They put stocks on his feet so he couldn't escape. Locked in a shed.

The next morning they came to visit the prisoner. He asked for a drink. One “Tatar” (as the Muslim mountaineers were then called) sent his daughter Dina to bring the officer water and bread. Dina was about thirteen years old - beautiful, black-haired, thin, flexible, timid and curious.

Few people in the village understood Russian. Through an interpreter they explained to Zhilin that they wanted a ransom for him - three thousand coins. Let him write a letter. The prisoner said that he could not find more than five hundred. They began to threaten him with whipping.

Zhilin jumped up:

- I was not and will not be afraid of you dogs!

The mountaineers liked this proud answer:

- Dzhigit Urus! (Well done Russian!)

They agreed to five hundred.

Zhilin wrote a letter, but indicated the wrong address. I decided that I could escape.

Kostylin was also captured. He wrote a letter asking for a ransom of five thousand rubles. They began to keep prisoners in the barn. They lived like this for a whole month. They slept on straw; their pads were removed only at night. The food was poor - only millet cakes.

Zhilin “was a master of all kinds of needlework.” Out of boredom, he began to weave baskets from twigs. I once made a doll out of clay, wearing a Tatar shirt, and gave it to Dina. She was very happy with the toy, put it away in red shreds, and rocked it in her arms.

And from then on Zhilina began to carry gifts: milk, cheese, boiled lamb.

Zhilin made a toy water mill for the children, and began repairing watches and guns. The fame spread about him that he was a master.

The owner expressed his friendliness to him in every possible way:

- Yours, Ivan, is good, - mine, Abdul, is good!

But many in the village hated the Russians, because the officers killed a lot local residents, the villages were destroyed.

Zhilin dug a tunnel under the barn every night. I tamed my guard dog and it won’t bark. Having climbed the mountain, I roughly determined the road.

Zhilin persuaded Koetylin to run away together.

Fat, clumsy, cowardly Kostylin was only a burden to his comrade. I fell behind and groaned. He complained that he had rubbed his feet. Zhilin carried it on himself - such a carcass! I didn’t want to leave my friend. So the fugitives were caught.

They returned them to the village and began to keep them not in a barn, but in a pit. Kostylin became completely ill in the pit. They don’t even remove the blocks at night; they throw the unbaked dough into the pit. Only Dina sometimes runs up to the pit, either throwing a flatbread or a cherry. Zhilin made dolls for her again, only he noticed that the girl was upset. Having learned to speak a little in the local language, he understood: Dina was warning him that they wanted to kill the prisoners. The officer asked the girl to bring him a long pole to get out of the hole. She refused, but regretted it and brought it at night. Zhilin got out of the hole, but Kostylin was afraid.

The girl put the pole in place, ran to see Zilina off, and brought him some cakes for the road. He had to walk in the block.

“Goodbye,” says Dinushka. I will remember you forever.

And stroked her on the head.

“When Dina started crying, she covered herself with her hands. She ran up the mountain like a goat jumps. Only in the dark can you hear the monists in braids rattling their backs.”

Zhilin again failed to knock the lock off the block, and he dragged himself along, limping. He was almost approaching a safe place when the Tatars saw him. We went to him. But then a detachment of Cossacks arrived. Zhilin shouted:

- Brothers! help me out, brothers!

The Cossacks rescued him.

So Zhilin did not go home.

And a month later they bought Koetylin for five thousand, they brought him back barely alive.

Officer Zhilin served in the Caucasus. He received a letter from his mother, and he decided to go home on vacation. But on the way he and another Russian officer Kostylin were captured by the Tatars. This happened due to Kostylin’s fault. He was supposed to cover Zhilin, but he saw the Tatars, got scared and ran away from them. Kostylin turned out to be a traitor. The Tatar who captured the Russian officers sold them to another Tatar. The prisoners were shackled and kept in the same barn.

The Tatars forced the officers to write letters to their relatives demanding a ransom. Kostylin obeyed, and Zhilin specially wrote a different address, because he knew: there was no one to buy him, Zhilin’s old mother lived very poorly. Zhilin and Kostylin sat in the barn for a whole month. The owner's daughter Dina became attached to Zhilin. She secretly brought him cakes and milk, and he made dolls for her. Zhilin began to think about how he and Kostylin could escape from captivity. Soon he began digging in the barn.

One night they ran away. When they entered the forest, Kostylin began to lag behind and whine - his boots had rubbed his feet. Because of Kostylin, they did not go far; they were noticed by a Tatar who was driving through the forest. He told the owners of the hostages, they took the dogs and quickly caught up with the prisoners. The shackles were put on them again and they were not removed even at night. Instead of a barn, the hostages were put in a hole five arshins deep. Zhilin still did not despair. I kept thinking about how he could escape. Dina saved him. At night she brought a long stick, lowered it into the hole, and Zhilin climbed up using it. But Kostylin stayed, didn’t want to run away: he was scared, and he didn’t have the strength.

Zhilin moved away from the village and tried to remove the block, but nothing worked. Dina gave him some flatbread for the journey and cried, saying goodbye to Zhilin. He was kind to the girl, and she became very attached to him. Zhilin went further and further, even though the block was very much in the way. When his strength ran out, he crawled and crawled to the field, beyond which there were already his own Russians. Zhilin was afraid that the Tatars would notice him when he crossed the field. Just thinking about it, look: to the left, on a hillock, two tithes away from it, three Tatars are standing. They saw Zhilin and rushed to him. And so his heart sank. Zhilin waved his hands and shouted at the top of his voice: “Brothers! Help out! Brothers! The Cossacks heard Zilina and rushed to intercept the Tatars. The Tatars got scared, and before reaching Zhilin they began to stop. This is how the Cossacks saved Zhilin. Zhilin told them about his adventures, and then said: “So I went home and got married! No, apparently it’s not my destiny.” Zhilin remained to serve in the Caucasus. And Kostylin was bought out only a month later for five thousand. They brought him barely alive.

Summary of “Prisoner of the Caucasus” Option 2

1. About the product
2. Main characters
3. Other characters
4. Summary
5. Conclusion