Family in the understanding of Sholokhov. Literature research lesson. Topic: "Family Thought" in M. Sholokhov's novel "Quiet Don". Fundamentals of the unity of the Melekhov family

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“Family Thought” in Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Don”. Woman as the keeper of family warmth

1. M.A. Sholokhov - singer of the quiet Don

“in this world there is the history of the Don Cossacks, the Russian peasantry... centuries-old traditions of moral principles and labor skills that shaped the national character, the characteristics of the whole country.” E.A. Kostin

“Sholokhov’s family is a visual center through the prism of which the “macrocosm” of national culture is revealed to us.” I.I. Tsypenko

An artist, often stern and restrained, when he talks about his native land, he becomes lyrical and pathetic.

The spring of hidden love for the people of the quiet Don, its customs, songs, games, always flowing in the inner layers of Sholokhov’s narrative, suddenly bursts out... The novel “Quiet Don” is also filled with these feelings.

The heroes living on the pages of the novel are Don Cossacks.

The Cossacks are a special class in Rus', but in the life of any people there are unshakable values that are largely similar: family, land, morality. I propose to touch upon this particular facet of Sholokhov’s novel.

Traditions. Origins. Life Family. National spirit. Referring to these concepts is always necessary. After all, by the life of a family, by the strength of family ties, one can judge the viability of a people.

At the center of Sholokhov’s narrative are several families: the Melekhovs, the Korshunovs, the Mokhovs, the Koshevs, the Listnitskys. This is not accidental: the patterns of the era are revealed not only in historical events, but also in the facts of private life, family relationships, where the power of traditions is especially strong and any break in them gives rise to acute, dramatic conflicts.

Starting with the family was a new brilliant intuitive discovery of the young writer. The author answered the question of who the Cossacks are, what their roots are, what is the basis of their life, why they behave in this or that situation in this or that way and not otherwise. The family is the carrier of what we call culture. Therefore, Sholokhov focuses on different generations of the Melekhov family.

The story about the fate of the Melekhov family begins with a sharp, dramatic beginning, with the story of Prokofy Melekhov, who amazed the farmers with his “outlandish act.” He brought his Turkish wife back from the Turkish war. He loved her in the evenings, when the “dawns were fading,” he carried her in his arms to the top of the mound, “he sat down next to her, and they looked at the steppe for a long time.” And when an angry crowd approached their house, Prokofy with a saber stood up to defend his beloved wife.

The death of a Turkish woman affirms the greatness and tragedy of true love, love that is different, and therefore annoying to others. This love was a challenge to the Cossacks, their way of life, their traditions - hence the tragedy.

From the first pages, proud people with an independent character and capable of great feelings appear. Thus, from the story of Grandfather Gregory, the novel “Quiet Don” enters into something beautiful and at the same time tragic. And for Gregory, love for Aksinya will become a serious test of life.

2. Patriarchy and traditions in the Melekhov family

Family is the basis of folk life in the world of “Quiet Don”. The life circumstances of the Cossack environment are depicted with such thoroughness that they make it possible to recreate the general structure of the family at the beginning of the twentieth century. And the twentieth century threatened to be bloody. Therefore, the eternally unshakable things became more and more valuable: family, land, children.

For the heroes of Quiet Flows the Don, family literally permeates their entire private life. Each individual person was certainly perceived as part of the whole - family, clan. These relationships were an important part of people's life. Kinship became higher than camaraderie, love, business relationships, neighborhood. Moreover, family relationships were taken into account with very great accuracy: “second cousin”, “cousin”, “vodvorki” - some words exist in modern life without much “meaning”. But during the time of the Quiet Don, family closeness was revered very seriously. In the Melekhov family there is great patriarchal power - the omnipotence of the father in the house.

Let the actions be cool, the tone of the elders is decisive and adamant (the younger ones endure this patiently and restrainedly, even the hot and impetuous Grigory), but does Panteley Prokofievich always abuse his power, is assault always unnecessary?

Panteley Prokofievich marries Grigory, and he does not argue not only out of filial obedience: Grishka disgraced the family with his shameless affair with a married neighbor. By the way, Grishka submitted not only to his father, but also to his mother - it was Ilyinichna who decided to marry Grigory to Natalya and persuaded her husband: “... sharpened him like rust is iron, and in the end she broke his stubbornness.” In short, there was a lot of commanding tone and rudeness - but there was never violence in the patriarchal family.

The rudeness was largely explained by the influence of army barracks morals, but not by patriarchy. Pantelei Prokofievich especially loved the “strong words”. So, more than once he caressed his own wife with the words: “old hag,” “shut up, you fool,” and his loving, devoted wife “rinsed her half”: “What are you doing, you old hook! I was a disgrace at first, but in my old age I went completely crazy.” “Turkish blood” was boiling in Prokofievich, but it was he who was one of the centers that united the family.

Another center of the patriarchal family was religion, the great Christian faith, the family image - the icon in the red corner.

The Cossack family acts as the guardian of the faith in the novel, especially in the person of its elder representatives. The black news about the death of Gregory came in those mournful days when “he was growing older day by day,” when “his memory was weakening and his mind was clouded,” only a conversation with Father Vissarion brought the old man to his senses: “From that day on, I broke myself and spiritually recovered.”

I would especially like to say about divorce. The concept itself did not even exist in the Cossack vocabulary. The family was blessed by God! Marriage was indissoluble, but, like everything earthly, it was not unshakable. Having met Grigory not far from Yagodnoye, where his son had gone with Aksinya, Panteley Prokofievich asks: “And God?” Gregory, who did not believe so sacredly, still remembers Him in his subconscious. It is no coincidence that “thoughts about Aksinya and his wife” suddenly flashed in his head during the oath, when he “walked up to the cross.”

The crisis of faith had a disastrous effect for the whole of Russia, especially for the family: the “double law of self-preservation” ceases to operate, when the family kept the faith, and faith protected the unity of the family.

3. Fundamentals of the unity of the Melekhov family

a) At the beginning of the novel, the Melekhov family is intact and friendly. The strength of this family was in unity, when all important issues were resolved openly, brought to the family court, and discussed directly and thoroughly.

The life of Grigory and Natalya did not work out. The council was started by Pantelei Prokofievich. Everyone performs; even Dunyasha, a teenager. Admitted to the council, listens carefully. Grigory is ashamed, he is rude. But no matter how the meetings end, not a single important event goes unnoticed.

What other advice were there? (The arrival of the Reds: retreat or surrender? Affairs of Dunyasha’s heart. 1919 - Daria’s money.)

Conclusion. In the Melekhov family - all Cossacks - responsible and complex matters were resolved openly, in direct, sometimes impartial, discussion. Extremes were smoothed out and leveled out, harsh passions were calmed down. It was neither paradise nor an idyll, but only a close-knit world of related people, for whom family was above personal aspirations and whims.

b) Whispering in corners was considered reprehensible, because centuries-old experience suggested: where secrets begin, decay and split begin.

If suddenly something evil and hostile penetrated inside the family, how did the Melekhovs solve this problem? Were there secrets in the family? (The Melekhov family also had its secrets, there are three of them in the novel.)

All these secrets concern the family.

1. Panteley Prokofievich immediately guessed about the connection between Grigory and Aksinya: the son got involved with the wife of a person close to them - a neighbor. The old man understands that he cannot avoid the conversation, and early in the morning while fishing with Gregory he begins a conversation.

2. Daria and Natalya are secretive about Daria’s illness. Daria asks her to warn her mother: “let her not tell her father about this, otherwise the old man will get mad and kick me out of the house.”

3. Natalya told only Ilyinichna about the abortion: “Will I live with Grishka or not... but I don’t want to give birth to any more children from him.”

All three conversations are conducted outside the house or yard: on the river, in the garden, on the steppe road. This is a sign of reluctance to dirty the family, which is natural for any living and healthy organism.

(This is an argument for another problem - the problem of openness, trust in relationships between people, family members.) Many of you are now thinking about the questions: is this the case in my family? When did we all get together to talk about something? Do we always listen to our elders, do fathers and mothers listen to our children's voices? What about our secrets? Are they secret?

From Sholokhov's novel we learned how the Cossacks cared about the integrity and health of their family.

4. Female images in Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Don”

Melechov family female Sholokhov

One of Sholokhov’s techniques in characterizing heroes is comparative analysis. Many of the novel's main characters are revealed through their attitude towards children. Since the bearer of home, family warmth is a woman, the characteristics of the main characters are especially interesting.

Daria. Nothing is known about her parents or origin. The heroine herself says at the end of the novel: “I have no one behind me or in front of me.” Daria gave birth to a child. But what do we learn about him - just a “child”. Or, irritated with her baby, the mother says: “Tiss, you filthy child! No sleep, no peace for you." There are a lot of rude words in the novel, but no one addresses children like that. The child died when he was not even one year old.

Aksinya. She gave birth to a child from Stepan, but even here it is noteworthy briefly: “... the child died before reaching a year.” From Gregory she gave birth to Tanya, she became happy and acquired a particularly happy posture. But love for the child was only a continuation of love for Gregory. Be that as it may, the child also dies about one and a half years old. After Natalya’s death, Gregory took the children into her home. “They willingly called her mom,” she leaves them and leaves with Grigory.

Motherly love is manifested with particular strength in the image of Ilyinichna. It was she who raised her children as we see them in the novel; she not only took care of them, but also conveyed to them her worldview. Hence the deep affinity of the young Melekhovs with their mother, and not with their father. Sholokhov himself, bowing before his own mother, more than once noted the similarities between her and Ilyinichna. They know how to fight for their family, and Natalya becomes the continuer of this destiny.

Natalia. Saving the family nest is the idea of Natalia Melekhova’s life. Natalya Melekhova in M. Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Flows the Don” - drawn by the will of circumstances into a painful rivalry with Aksinya, forced to even insult her, calling her “a walker” - is a truly enlightened-bashful, probably the most angelic creature in the novel.

Natalya appears in the novel as if by chance: as the object of an upcoming matchmaking, wedding. “Natalya... Natalya is a beautiful girl... Very beautiful. Nadys saw her in church,” says Aksinya. The praise is double, even exaggerated, but Aksinya says these words of praise with dry eyes, and a heavy shadow falls from the barn. And in the window where she is looking, there is a yellow night chill.

Sholokhov's world is multi-colored, multi-sounding, and extremely full of complex psychological movements. Sholokhov, the greatest master of characteristic detail, chose almost symbolic epithets that speak of the danger for Natalya: dry, tearless eyes... These dry eyes suggest that someone will not survive in this inevitable struggle.

Gregory in Natalya found a sensitive bearer of great responsibility, found a person for whom love does not know, does not want to know the end, is afraid of even temporary substitution, betrayal, any unreliability. For her there is no discord between consciousness and feeling, there is no devastation from love, even joyful. That is why she seems cold and difficult to Gregory. There is no play of feelings, no love-absorption.

For Natalya, everything is destructive, even Grigory’s involuntary betrayals. At the same time, there is no anger in her, no pleasure from someone else's torment. There is pity... She doesn’t even despise the dissolute Daria, who in the end dealt her the main insulting blow, the unkind pimp, but moves away from her and forgives her.

The old Melekhovs and Korshunovs were the first to feel the bashful tenderness of Natalya’s meek soul. Old Korshunov just doesn’t utter the word “mock” (“Is it possible to do this to a living person?.. Heart, heart... or does he have a wolf’s?”) And Panteley Prokofievich - and he is all in these words, like a house builder ! - literally screams in pain and shame: “She is better than our own!”

And here is the stage of nest construction. Natalya's return to the house of Pantelei Prokofievich, to a house where there is no husband! Naive, inexperienced, believing in the power of a wedding, an oath before the saints, Natalya realizes with amazement that it is she who will have to go through woeful humiliation, that love-martyrdom awaits her. Sholokhov depicts with epic admiration the entire path of Natalya’s return, her difficult decisions, her appeal to her father-in-law.

Returning to the Melekhovs' house is an awareness of one's main strength and height: the power of fidelity, nobility, the power of humility. Soon she became inseparable from the House, from her family, especially from her children! Her entire stay in the Melekhov family is a hidden straightening and ascension of the soul, a movement not just towards victory over Aksinya, the birth of true friendship with Dunyashka and Ilnichnaya. Her prayers saved Gregory from Stepan Astakhov’s shots in the back. And as the highest reward - two wonderful children.

But the fight for the house, for the family is still ahead. This is indicative of Natalya’s dialogue with Aksinya (scene in Yagodnoye). Aksinya openly accuses Natalya: “You want to take the child’s father. Apart from Grishka, I have no husband.” The whole conversation is built on the sharp difference between the fierce Aksinya and the meek Natalya, who admits: “Melancholy pushed me”... Aksinya made the child an argument for her claims against Gregory, “disposed” of what God did not give for bargaining... A completely different turn of events followed - the illness and death of the girl , connection with Listnitsky, Gregory’s departure.

Motherhood did not become a guarantee of happiness for Natalia either. She remained an unloved wife... All the more power in the wonderful scene of chapter 8! This is an elegy with some timidity and hesitation in gestures, with silence, an elegy of farewell.

“She was next to him, his wife and mother of Mishatka and Porlyushka. She dressed up for him and washed her face... She sat so pitiful, ugly and yet beautiful, shining with some kind of pure inner beauty. A mighty wave of tenderness flooded Gregory’s heart... He wanted to say something warm and affectionate to her, but he couldn’t find the words and, silently pulling her towards him, kissed her white sloping forehead and mournful eyes.”

It was no coincidence that Natalya’s passing away, even after a relatively peaceful final explanation with Aksinya, cast a darkest shadow over the fate of Grigory and the entire Melekhov household. Sholokhov's heroes (and especially Natalya) sometimes carry out not a trial, but a kind of superjudgment over time, over the people crippled by it.

Both Natalya and Ilyinichna pass before the reader of “Quiet Don” as heroines, faithful to the end to their mother’s calling, the duty of the guardian of the family. Natalya dies at the moment when she not only abandoned the idea of motherhood, but in an unnaturally evil, vengeful way trampled and destroyed her own idea, the core of her character. Natalya’s interlocutor, a witness to her spiritual crisis, was brilliantly chosen: it was Ilyinichna, a person deeply related to her, Grigory’s mother, who for the first time could not find words to justify her son, to refute Natalya’s rightness. Ilyinichna was only able to convince her daughter-in-law not to curse Grigory, not to wish him death. After Natalya’s death, everyone in the house was surrounded by bitter melancholy from the belated understanding of each other, from the understanding that the family was collapsing.

Conclusion

There is an interesting parallel in the novel: children become the measure of the vitality of the heroines themselves. Having, in essence, no children, Daria dies very quickly and like a woman. The absence of children becomes “God’s punishment” for the heroines.

How does Daria end her life? (She has completely become a “beast woman.” From time immemorial, a Cossack woman has been associated with the concepts of “life,” “continuer of the family.” Daria is the only Russian heroine who picks up a military weapon and then kills an unarmed person. That’s why and Daria’s death in the Don is cleansing and terrible.)

What can be said about other heroines in this regard? (Aksinya dies from a bullet, leaving behind no one, “only the black sun.” Natalya leaves the family, cuts herself, curses Gregory, poisons the fetus and ultimately dies.)

What conclusion does Sholokhov lead us to? (The death of a woman is always evil, a disaster, it is the death of a family.)

How strong is Ilyinichna’s motherly love! So great is her desire for everything to be peaceful in the house that her mother even comes to terms with the fact that Mishka Kosheva enters their house as the owner. She sees how Dunyashka reaches out to this man, how Koshevoy tenderly treats her grandson, Mishatka. Children should not be orphans! For Ilyinichna, this becomes the main condition for a new life.

Summarizing

What is the main thing in the sound of the theme of family in Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Don”?

Family is the stronghold of power. If a family collapses, peaceful life in the country collapses. A woman is the keeper of family unity.

Children are a symbol of the future. This is what the last pages of the novel are about.

What does Grigory dream about on sleepless nights away from home? How does the novel end? (episode of Gregory’s meeting with his son)

Everything is back to normal. We are again in front of the house - the Cossack kuren of the Melekhovs. And Gregory stands at the gates of his home, holding his son in his arms. This is all that remains in his life, what still connects him with the earth and with this whole huge world shining under the cold sun.

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Competition for methodological development of literature lessons on the topic: “Literature is when the reader is as talented as the writer”

“Family Thought” in M. Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Don”

MBOU Lyceum "MOK No. 2" Voronezh

Target:

Find out what the happiness of a family is based on;

Develop the ability to analyze episodes;

Continue to develop students’ creative abilities to analyze the aesthetic originality of the language and style of a work of art;

Methodical techniques: teacher’s word, analytical conversation, expressive reading of a passage, analysis of an episode, role-playing reading, test work (preparation for the Unified State Exam);

Equipment:

Sholokhov;

Panel with a blooming apple tree;

Computer, projector;

Card for individual work: analyze the scenes “In the hayfield”;

Illustrations for the artist’s novel;

The topic of the lesson and the epigraph “Happy is he who is happy at home”;

During the classes:

1. Teacher's word:

2008 in Russia was the Year of the Family. The family is the unit of any state, the basis of human life. Moscow Metropolitan Filaret compares the state with a tree, and the family with its roots. “For a tree to turn green, bloom and bear fruit, its root must be strong,” teaches the saint.

What does a person need for his family to be strong and happy?

(Students’ answers: children, love, health, happiness, mutual understanding, respect, wisdom, work, etc. - are written down on separate sheets of paper and attached to the roots of a blooming apple tree (panel board).

Teacher: He once said: “Happy is he who is happy at home,” and I agree with him. The topic of today's lesson is: “Family Thought” in the novel “Quiet Don”. You and I must find out how Sholokhov shows his family and what is its happiness based on? Let's, guys, go into the house on the banks of the quiet Don and take a look.

2. Checking homework.(Find scenes of a happy family life and analyze).

Expressive reading of passages.

(Sholokhov “Quiet Don”. Moscow. Eksmo 2003)

“... Panteley Prokofievich was the first to tear himself away from sleep...” (vol. 1, chapter 2, p. -10)

“Gregory began to bestow seven gifts” (vol. 1, part 5, chapter 13, p.-596)

3. Role-playing reading of the “Fishing” scene.(chapter 2, p.-11)

Teacher: So, let's conclude with you: What role does the family play in M. Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Don”?

(Student answers): Sholokhov is connected with the Don land, he knew very well the specifics of the Cossack family, so it is not for nothing that the Melekhov family occupies a central place in the novel. The history of this family gives an idea of the peasant way of life, the morals, and traditions of the Cossacks. The moral unity of the family is the ideal for the author.

4. Analysis of the episode of the scene “In the haymaking”.

Teacher: Based on the novel “Quiet Don”, first S. Gerasimov and then S. Bondarchuk made a wonderful film. Let's watch this scene (video from the film). The student... at the beginning of the lesson was given the task: analyze this episode, listen to it.

(Student's answer)

Since ancient times it has been the custom that the whole farm comes out to mow. The mowers and rowers dress as if for an annual holiday. We see this in the Melekhov family. Work unites them. Look with what love Panteley Prokofievich prepares for work. Before starting work, according to Russian custom, he crosses himself on the little white pod of a distant bell tower. He, as expected in the family, goes first. Behind him, not lagging behind, Gregory “spreads a scythe of grass.” Our heroes are happy because peasant work gives them joy and pleasure. After hard work, everyone has dinner together: “Panteley Prokofievich passionately slurped the porridge, crunching undercooked millet in his teeth. Aksinya, without raising her eyes, reluctantly smiled at Daria.”

5. Analytical conversation.

Teacher: Sholokhov showed a chronicle of several generations, families

from different social strata: Melekhovs, Korshunovs, Mokhovs, Astakhovs, Lesnitskys. The Melekhov family is presented through the description of several couples.

Can at least one of the families be called happy?

(Student answers): Daria and Peter, Aksinya and Stepan have no spiritual closeness, there is no love between them, they have no children. The closest thing to the author’s understanding of a full-fledged family is the relationship between Grigory and Natalya: they have 2 children, the Melekhov family is not interrupted.

Teacher: Sholokhov does not always idealize the Cossack family. Guys, give examples of violence and cruelty in the family.

6. Artistic retelling of episodes.

(Students’ answers): “father’s abuse of young Aksinya, his brutal murder,” “Stepan’s cruel treatment of Aksinya,” “molestation of Natalya’s own brother.”

Teacher: One of the eternal values is love. It is no coincidence that A. Kuprin said that “love is a gift from God, which is given once in a lifetime and which must be earned before God.” Gregory was lucky: next to him were two loving women: Aksinya and Natalya.

7. Discussion. Who does Gregory love?

(Student answers): Gregory loves both women. Natalya amazes him with her “inner” purity, beauty, wisdom, she lives according to her conscience, keeping the commandments. Even before her death, she asks her son to kiss his father for her. Such love could not help but touch Gregory, and he could not just leave the house where his parents and his children live. Aksinya’s love is most likely a passion that is stronger than Melekhov. He rushes between two women, but never leaves the family. At the end of the novel we see Aksinya raising Gregory’s children and praying for him. However, this happiness turned out to be short-lived: the civil war destroyed the family and took away almost everything from Gregory: Aksinya, the house. Mishka Kosheva, his brother’s killer, becomes the husband of his sister.

8. Test work. Preparation for the Unified State Exam (see test)

9. Research work.

Teacher: for today’s lesson, a group of students conducted their research and had to answer the question : Which of M. Sholokhov’s predecessors depicted in his works

family relationships?

(Students' response):

The theme of family has been relevant at all times. And in Russian classical literature it sounds like one of the most important. We see that even in ancient times, family relationships became the subject of depiction in “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom.” The heroes are happy because they live according to God’s commandments, do good, and maintain love and loyalty.

In the story “Old World Landowners,” with sincere feeling he showed us a family that evokes admiration. Afanasy Ivanovich and Pulcheria Ivanovna are devoted to each other, sweet and pleasant with their spiritual purity and mutual love.

We see the same strong relationship in “The Captain's Daughter.” The Mironov family and the Grinev family are two beautiful trees, which can be seen by their fruits. Their children, Peter and Mary, constantly saw the example of their parents, were brought up according to the commandments of God, knew that those who honor their parents “will live long and prosper on earth,” and therefore they were happy, uniting their destinies. They saw their parents' marital fidelity and deep respect for each other from childhood. As their parents blessed them, this is how they lived: they cherished honor from a young age, trusted in God in everything and were happy.

In the novel “War and Peace” he talks about different families: this is the family of princes Bolkonsky, preserving aristocratic traditions, and representatives of the Moscow nobility of Rostov, and the Kurakin family, deprived of mutual respect, sincerity and connections.

(Answer 2 students): The theme of family worried not only writers, but also artists. Let's take a virtual excursion to the Tretyakov Gallery, where paintings by great masters of painting are displayed in a small cozy room.

(Presentation show)

10. Homework: A written answer to the question: “What brings the literary works of Sholokhov’s predecessors closer to “Quiet Don”?

11. Ratings.

12. Reflection.

Teacher: So, guys, continue my thought: “in today’s lesson it was important for me”... (Students’ answers).

Teacher: Today in the lesson we saw a family as represented by Sholokhov; it is no coincidence that the novel has a ring composition: it begins with a description of the Melekhovs’ house and ends with a description of the house. Family, love, respect, mutual understanding, friendship, work - this is what we need for complete happiness. People say that a person has not lived in vain if he has planted a tree, built a house, or started a family. At the end of the lesson, we again turn our attention to our panel with a flowering tree; I want your guys to have trees with the same strong roots, ripe and juicy fruits.

“Family Thought” in Sholokhov’s novel
"Quiet Don" Woman as a guardian
family warmth

Goals: work on individual episodes of the first part of Sholokhov’s novel, revealing the theme of family; identify the significance of female images in the disclosure of this topic.

During the classes

In this world (“Quiet Don”) - the history of the Don Cossacks,

Russian peasantry... centuries-old traditions of moral principles and labor skills that shaped the national character, the characteristics of the whole country.

E.A. Kostin

I. Determining the objectives of the lesson.

Look at the topic of the lesson. What do you think is the purpose of our lesson?

Slide-2 (goals)

Slide – 3 (epigraph)

II . Introductory conversation.

Slide-4

The heroes living on the pages of the novel are Don Cossacks.

– What do you know about this class?

Individual message from a student about the Cossacks.

Slide-5 (reference)

Slide-6 (kuren)

Slide 7 (Khutor Tatarsky)

Slide-8 (Don River)

The Cossacks are a special class in Rus', but in the life of any nation there are unshakable values that are largely similar: family, land, morality. I propose to touch upon this particular facet of Sholokhov’s novel.

Let's remember whose families are at the center of the story?

(Several families are at the center of Sholokhov’s narrative: Melekhovs, Korshunovs, Mokhovs, Koshevs, Astakhovs).

This is not accidental: the patterns of the era are revealed not only in historical events, but also in the facts of private life and family relationships.

II. “Family Thought” in Sholokhov’s novel.

Work with text.

Let's start with the history of this family .

Slide number 9.

Expressive reading or artistic retelling of an excerpt from the first part of volume I, “The History of the Melekhov Family.”

Starting with family was a new brilliant discovery of the young writer.

Why do you think?

The family is the bearer of what we call culture. Therefore, Sholokhov focuses on different generations of the Melekhov family.

From the first pages, proud people with an independent character and capable of great feelings appear.

2. Patriarchy and traditionsin the Melekhov family.

Individual student message.

Slide 10 (patriarchy and family traditions)

…Family is the basis of folk life in the world of “Quiet Don”. The life circumstances of the Cossack environment are depicted with such thoroughness that they make it possible to recreate the general structure of the family at the beginning of the twentieth century. And the twentieth century threatened to be bloody. Therefore, the eternally unshakable things became more and more valuable: family, land, children.

For the heroes of Quiet Flows the Don, family literally permeates their entire private life. Each individual person was certainly perceived as part of the whole - family, clan. These relationships were an important part of people's life. Kinship became higher than camaraderie, love, business relationships, neighborhood. Moreover, family relationships were taken into account with very great accuracy: “second cousin”, “cousin” - some words exist in modern everyday life without much “meaning”. But during the time of the Quiet Don, family closeness was revered very seriously.In the Melekhov family there is great patriarchal power - the omnipotence of the father in the house.

Slide - 11

Another center of the patriarchal family was religion, the great Christian faith, the family image - the icon in the red corner.

Slide – 12.

The Cossack family acts as the guardian of the faith in the novel, especially in the person of its elder representatives. The black news came about the death of Gregory, in those mournful days, when “he was growing old day by day,” when “his memory was weakening and his mind was clouded,” only a conversation with Father Vissarion brought the old man to his senses: “From that day, I broke myself andspiritually recovered."

I would especially like to say about divorce. The concept itself did not even exist in the Cossack vocabulary.The family was blessed by God! Marriage was indissoluble, but, like everything earthly, it was not unshakable. Having met Grigory not far from Yagodnoye, where his son had gone with Aksinya, Panteley Prokofievich asks:“And God?” Gregory, who did not believe so sacredly, still remembers Him in his subconscious. It is no coincidence that “thoughts about Aksinya and his wife” suddenly flashed in his head during the oath, when he “walked up to the cross.”

The crisis of faith had a disastrous effect for the whole of Russia, especially for the family: the “double law of self-preservation” ceases to operate,when the family kept the faith, and faith protected the unity of the family.

Fundamentals of UnityMelekhov family.

Slide – 13 (questions)

What is the family like at the beginning of the novel?

( At the beginning of the novel, the Melekhov family is whole, friendly ).

What is the strength of this family?

(The strength of this family was in unity, when all important issues were resolved openly, brought to the family court, discussed directly and thoroughly).

Slide – 14 (conclusion).

All important matters that concerned the family were decided at the council.

How many such councils were there?(Four)

1. Life did not work out for Gregory and Natalya.

Who speaks at the council?

(The council was started by Panteley Prokofievich. Everyone speaks; even Dunyasha, a teenager. She was admitted to the council and listens attentively).

What is Gregory doing? (Grigory is ashamed, he is rude).

But no matter how the meetings end, not a single important event goes unnoticed.

– What other advice did you have?

(Coming of the Reds: retreat or surrender? Affairs of Dunyasha’s heart. 1919 – Daria’s money.)

Slide 15 (Conclusion).

In the Melekhov family - all Cossacks - responsible and complex matters were resolved openly, in direct, sometimes impartial, discussion. Extremes were smoothed out and leveled out, harsh passions were calmed down. It was neither paradise nor an idyll, but only a close-knit world of related people, for whom family was above personal aspirations and whims.

b)Whispering in corners was considered reprehensible, because centuries-old experience suggested: where secrets begin, decay and schism begin.

– If suddenly something evil and hostile penetrated inside the family, how did the Melekhovs solve this problem? Were there secrets in the family?

(The Melekhov family also had its own secrets; there are three of them in the novel.)

Slide – 16( work plan)

Checking homework(the work was carried out in groups - to compose a detailed answer to “Family Secrets” according to the proposed plan):

1. The theme of the secret.

2. Where the conversation takes place.

3. Results of the “heart-to-heart conversation.”

1stgroup– Gregory’s secret;

2ndgroup- Daria's secret;

3rdgroup- Natalia's secret.

All these secrets concern the family.

Slide - 17

2.Daria and Natalya are secretive about Daria’s illness. Daria asks her to warn her mother: “let her not tell her father about this, otherwise the old man will get mad and kick me out of the house.”

Slide - 18

3. Natalya told only Ilyinichna about the abortion: “Will I live with Grishka or not... but I don’t want to give birth to any more children from him.”

Slide - 19

Observation result.

- Where are these conversations taking place?

(All three conversations are conducted outside the house or yard: on the river, in the garden, on the steppe road).

Why do you think?

(This is a sign of reluctance to dirty the family, which is natural for any living and healthy organism).

From Sholokhov's novel we learned how the Cossacks cared about the integrity and health of their family.

The keeper of the family hearth is the woman. Therefore, let's move on to the next stage of our lesson.

4. Women's imagesin Sholokhov's novel "Quiet Don".

1) Work with text.

Slide – 20 (Daria, Aksinya, Ilyinichna).

Based on the text, students characterize the female characters in the novel “Quiet Don.”

Slide – 21 (Daria).

Nothing is known about her parents or origin. The heroine herself says at the end of the novel: “I have no one behind me or in front of me.” Daria gave birth to a child. But what do we learn about him - just a “child”. Or, irritated with her baby, the mother says: “Tiss, you filthy child! No sleep, no peace for you." There are a lot of rude words in the novel, but no one addresses children like that. The child died when he was not even one year old.

Slide – 22 (Aksinya).

She gave birth to a child from Stepan, but even here it is noteworthy briefly: “... the child died before reaching a year.” From Gregory she gave birth to Tanya, she became happy and acquired a particularly happy posture. But love for the child was only a continuation of love for Gregory. Be that as it may, the child also dies about one and a half years old. After Natalya’s death, Gregory took the children into her home. “They willingly called her mom,” she leaves them and leaves with Grigory.

Slide – 23 (Ilyinichna).

She knows how to fight for her family, and Natalya becomes the continuer of this destiny .

2) Personal message“Saving the family nest is the idea of Natalia Melekhova’s life.”

Slide – 24 (Slides about Natalya).

Natalya Melekhova in M. Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Flows the Don” - drawn by the will of circumstances into a painful rivalry with Aksinya, forced to even insult her, calling her “a walker” - is a truly enlightened-bashful, probably the most angelic creature in the novel.

Natalya appears in the novel as if by chance: as the object of an upcoming matchmaking, wedding. “Natalia... is a beautiful girl... Very beautiful. Nadys saw her in church,” says Aksinya. The praise is double, even exaggerated, but Aksinya says these words of praise with dry eyes, and a heavy shadow falls from the barn. And in the window where she is looking, there is a yellow night chill.

Returning to the Melekhovs’ house is an awareness of one’s main strength and height: the power of fidelity, nobility, the power of humility. Soon she became inseparable from the House, from her family, especially from her children! Her entire stay in the Melekhov family is a hidden straightening and ascension of the soul, a movement not just towards victory over Aksinya, the birth of true friendship with Dunyashka and Ilnichnaya. Her prayers saved Gregory from Stepan Astakhov’s shots in the back. And as the highest reward - two wonderful children.

A trained student recites by heart: “She was next to him, his wife and mother of Mishatka and Porlyushka. She dressed up for him and washed her face... She sat so pitiful, ugly and yet beautiful, shining with some kind of pure inner beauty. A mighty wave of tenderness flooded Gregory’s heart... He wanted to say something warm and affectionate to her, but he couldn’t find the words and, silently pulling her towards him, kissed her white sloping forehead and mournful eyes.”

3) Conclusion.

– How does Daria end her life?

(From time immemorial, a Cossack woman has been associated with the concepts of “life”, “continuer of the family”. Daria is the only Russian heroine who takes up military weapons and then kills an unarmed man. That is why Daria’s death in the Don is purifying and terrible.)

– What can be said about other heroines in this regard?

(Aksinya dies from a bullet, leaving no one behind)

(Natalya leaves the family, cuts herself, curses Gregory, poisons the fetus and ultimately dies.)

– What conclusion does Sholokhov lead us to?

(The death of a woman is always an evil, a disaster, it is the death of a family.)

And how strong is Ilyinichna’s motherly love! The mother even comes to terms with the fact that Mishka Koshevoy enters their house as the owner. She sees how Dunyashka reaches out to this man, how Koshevoy tenderly treats her grandson, Mishatka.

Children should not be orphans! For Ilyinichna, this becomes the main condition for a new life.

III. Lesson summary.

Slide – 25 (question)

– What, in your opinion, is the main thing in the theme of family in Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Don”?

Family is the stronghold of power. If a family collapses, peaceful life in the country collapses. A woman is the keeper of family unity.

Children are a symbol of the future.

Slide – 26 (answer)

This is what the last pages of the novel are about.

– What does Grigory dream about on sleepless nights away from home?

How does the novel end?(Meeting Gregory with his son).

Slide – 27 Watching a film episode of Gregory's meeting with his son.

Final words from the teacher:

The Melekhov family has broken up, but Grigory will be able to create a hearth where the fire of love, warmth and mutual understanding will always burn, which will never go out.

Talking about the collapse of the Melekhov family, what task does Sholokhov set for us, descendants?

(The task of reviving the family convinces us that there is always something to start with).

In Gregory’s tormented soul, many life values lost their meaning, and only the feeling of family and homeland remained ineradicable.

Summing up the lesson.

Slide – 28

(question – What does the words “The roof of your house” mean to you?)

Student answers.

Making marks.

2. Homework:

Oral analysis of the novel's battle scenes in groups.

Sections: Literature

“Happy is he who is happy at home.”
/L.N.Tolstoy/

Target: find out what the happiness of a family is based on; continue to develop the ability to analyze episodes, select the main thing in the text; develop the creative abilities of students, analyze the aesthetic originality of the language and style of a work of art.

Methodical techniques: teacher's word, research work, analytical conversation, expressive reading of a passage, analysis of an episode, role-playing reading, test work (preparation for the Unified State Exam).

Equipment:

Portrait of M. Sholokhov;
Illustrations for the novel “Quiet Don” by artist O.G. Vereisky;
There are 2 houses drawn on whatman paper (the modern one and the Melekhovs’ kuren);
Marker;
Computer, projector;
Card for individual work: analyze the scene “In the hayfield”;
Whatman paper, on which the topic of the lesson and the epigraph are written, is attached to the board.

During the classes

1. Teacher's word:
2008 has been declared the Year of the Family in Russia. The family is the unit of any state, the basis of human life. “Happy is he who is happy at home,” said L.T. Tolstoy.
M.A. also agrees with him. Sholokhov. In the novel “Quiet Don” he illuminates pictures of a happy life at home and unhappy life outside the home. Let's pay attention to the first drawing of the house, imagine that a modern family lives here.
What does a person need to make his family happy?
(Student answers: “Love, peace, health, work, respect, material wealth, etc.”)
The construction of any building, including a house, begins with a foundation. To make it strong and last a long time, we will put your answers in it.
(A note is made on the foundation of a modern house)
Teacher: This is a look at a modern family of 11th D students in 2008. The topic of our lesson is: “Family Thought” in M. Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Don”. Today we must find out how M. Sholokhov shows his family and what its happiness is based on.

2. Checking homework:
Find and read happy scenes of family life in the novel. (Novel by M.A. Sholokhov “Quiet Don”. Moscow. Eksmo 2003)
“...the first to tear himself away from sleep was Panteley Prokofievich...” (vol. 1, chapter 2, pp. 9-10)
“Gregory began to bestow seven gifts” (vol. 1, part 5, chapter 13, p. 596)
Role-playing scene reading"fishing". (Chapter 2, p. 11)
Teacher: A student... used the material of the feature film “Quiet Don” to conduct research work. She also had to find happy scenes of family life. Let's guys watch her presentation.
(Presentation: episodes from the film “Happy Scenes of Family Life”)*

3. Research problem: What is family in Sholokhov’s understanding and what does it mean for the heroes?
(Student answers: family is the house where you were born, this is the place where you are loved and expected; family is conscience, responsibility for others; family is wisdom)

Teacher: Let's enter the house on the banks of the quiet Don and see what the happiness of the Melekhov family is based on?
(Student answers: work, peace, love, family, home). A record is made on the foundation of the “smoking room”.

4. Episode analysis. Pictures of peasant labor in the novel.
The life of the Cossacks is unthinkable without peasant work. Let's remember the scene "In the haymaking". The student... at the beginning of the lesson was given the task: to analyze this episode. (Student's answer):
From time immemorial it was the custom that the whole farmstead would go out to mow. The mowers and rowers dressed as if for an annual holiday. This was no exception for the Melekhovs. Labor united their family. We see how Panteley Prokofievich, before starting mowing, according to Russian custom, “crossed himself at the little white pod of a distant bell tower.” He, as expected in the family, goes first. Behind him, not lagging behind, Gregory “spreads a scythe of grass.” Our heroes are happy because their work brought them joy. After hard work, everyone began to have dinner together. "Panteley Prokofievich devoutly slurped porridge, crunched on my teeth undercooked millet. Aksinya, without raising her eyes, smiled reluctantly Daria."
Teacher: Life what families does M. Sholokhov present to the reader?
(Through a description of the lives of several couples: Aksinya and Stepan Astakhovs, Daria and Peter Melekhovs, Grigory and Natalya Melekhovs).
Can at least one of the families be called happy?
(Daria and Peter, Aksinya and Stepan have no spiritual closeness, there is no love between them, they have no children. Closest to the author’s understanding of a full-fledged family are the relationships of Grigory and Natalya: they have 2 children, the Melekhov family is not interrupted. One of the eternal values is love. It is no coincidence that A. Kuprin said that “love is a gift from God that is given to a person once in a lifetime.”
Who does Grigory Melekhov love?
(Students' answers)
Gregory loves both women. Natalya amazes him with her “inner” purity, beauty, wisdom, she lives according to her conscience, keeping the commandments. Even before her death, she asks her son to kiss his father for her. Such love could not help but touch Grigory, and he could not just leave the house where his parents and children live.. Aksinya’s love is most likely a passion that turned out to be stronger than Melekhov. He rushes between two women, but never leaves the family. At the end of the novel we see Aksinya raising Gregory’s children and praying for her beloved. However, this happiness turned out to be short-lived: the civil war destroyed the family and took away almost everything from Gregory: Aksinya, the house. The murderer of her brother, Mishka Kosheva, becomes the husband of her sister.

5. Preparation for the Unified State Exam. Test work followed by mutual verification.
(Unified State Exam Literature - 2008 Collection of examination tasks. Developed by FIPI p. 153) (Last scene of the novel: Gregory’s meeting with his son)
Test based on M. Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Don”
The next morning he approached the Don opposite the Tatarsky farm. He looked at his home yard for a long time, turning pale with joyful excitement. Then he took off his rifle and pouch, took out some shitvyanka, hemp flakes, a bottle of gun oil, and for some reason counted the cartridges. There were twelve clips of them and twenty-six pieces in bulk.
At Krutoyar the ice has moved away from the shore. Transparent green water splashed and broke off the spiny ice of the outskirts. Grigory threw his rifle and revolver into the water, then poured out the cartridges and carefully wiped his hand on the floor of his overcoat. (...)
This was all that was left in his life, what still connected him with the earth and with the whole huge world shining under the cold sun.

1. The multifaceted picture of the world, the depiction of historical events and everyday life, the destinies of individuals and the fate of the country allow us to define the genre of “Quiet Don” as

poem
epic
novel
story

2. This fragment in the work
1) shows the hero’s unconditional rejection of the white position
2) demonstrates the unrealizability of the hero’s dream
3) opens a new page in the hero’s life
4) proves the hero’s unconditional acceptance of the Reds’ position
3. Which of the following themes of the novel is reflected in this fragment?

revolution theme
family theme
theme of betrayal
childhood theme

4. The meeting of the hero with his son at the end of the novel
1) shows that the hero has acquired true values
2) indicates the limited interests of Gregory
3) speaks about the possibility of further development of the hero
4) puts the hero in a situation of moral impasse
5. What is the name of the technique of contrast, with the help of which the writer conveys the depth of the hero’s experiences (“the cold little hands of the son” - “frenziedly burning eyes”)?
6. To create a national flavor, Sholokhov uses dialectisms. Write down 2 examples of dialectisms from the second paragraph (in the nominative case).
Answers: (highlighted on the screen)
12; 2 – 3; 3 – 2; 4 -1; 5 – antithesis or contrast; 6-krutoyar, outskirts

6 . Composition of the novel.
Teacher: Sholokhov uses a ring composition. How does “family thought” develop in the novel and why does it begin with a description of the Melekhovs’ house and end with a description of the house?
(Answers 2 - 3 students)

7. Homework: A written answer with a limited volume (5-10) sentences to this question, and students... will compose a text knowledge test.

8. Conclusion.
Teacher: Let's, guys, once again turn to the drawings of the house and the smoking area. Did our idea of the family coincide with Sholokhov’s?
(Students' answers)
Teacher: In today's lesson we saw the family as represented by Sholokhov and those eternal values that are necessary for its happiness. Family, love, respect, mutual understanding, work - this is what a person needs for complete happiness. Now there is a wave of adoption in Russia. Children should not only enter the house, but also stay in it, because happy is the one who is happy at home.

9. Lesson summary.

In the novel "Quiet Don" M. Sholokhov with great skill showed the tragic moments in the revolution and civil war and in a completely new way, relying on historical materials, his own experience, reproduced the true picture of Don life, its evolution. "Quiet Don" is called an epic tragedy. And not only because the tragic character is placed in the center - Grigory Melekhov, but also because the novel is permeated from beginning to end by tragic motives. This is a tragedy both for those who did not realize the meaning of the revolution and opposed it, and for those who succumbed to deception. This is the tragedy of many Cossacks drawn into the Veshensky uprising in 1919, the tragedy of the defenders of the revolution dying for the people's cause.

The tragedies of the heroes unfold against the backdrop of turning-point events for our country - the old world was completely destroyed by the revolution, it is being replaced by a new social system. All this led to a qualitatively new solution to such “eternal” issues as man and history, war and peace, personality and the masses. For Sholokhov, a person is the most valuable thing on our planet, and the most important thing that helps shape a person’s soul is, first of all, his family, the house in which he was born, grew up, where he will always be waited and loved and where he will definitely return.

“Melekhovsky yard is on the very edge of the farm,” - this is how the novel begins, and throughout the entire narrative Sholokhov talks about the representatives of this family. The life of the inhabitants of the house appears from the pages of the epic in an interweaving of contradictions and struggle. The entire Melekhov family found itself at the crossroads of major historical events and bloody clashes. The revolution and civil war bring drastic changes to the established family and everyday life of the Melekhovs: the usual family ties are destroyed, new morals and ethics are born. Sholokhov with great skill managed to reveal the inner world of a man from the people, to recreate the Russian national character of the revolutionary era. A line of defense passes through the Melekhovs’ yard; it is occupied either by Reds or Whites, but the father’s house forever remains the place where the closest people live, always ready to receive and warm.

At the beginning of the story, the author introduces the reader to the head of the family, Pantelei Prokofievich: “Pantelei Prokofievich began to stoop down the slope of the sliding years: he spread out in width, slightly stooped, but still looked like a well-built old man. He was bone-dry, lame (in his youth he broke his leg at an imperial horse-racing show), wore a silver crescent-shaped earring in his left ear, his raven beard and hair did not fade into old age, and in anger he reached the point of unconsciousness...” Panteley Prokofievich - a true Cossack, brought up in the traditions of valor and honor. He raised his children using the same traditions, sometimes showing traits of a tough character. The head of the Melekhov family does not tolerate disobedience, but at heart he is kind and sensitive. He is a skillful and hardworking owner, he knows how to manage the household efficiently, and he works from dawn to dusk. He, and even more so his son Gregory, bears the reflection of the noble and proud nature of his grandfather Prokofy, who once challenged the patriarchal mores of the Tatarsky farm.

Despite the intra-family split, Panteley Prokofievich tries to unite the pieces of the old way of life into one whole, if only for the sake of his grandchildren and children. More than once he voluntarily leaves the front and returns home to his native land, which was the basis of his life. With inexplicable force she beckoned him to her, just as she beckoned all the Cossacks, tired of the intense and senseless war. Panteley Prokofievich dies in a foreign land, far from his home, to which he gave all his strength and endless love, and this is the tragedy of a man from whom time has taken away the most precious things - family and shelter.

The father passed on the same all-consuming love for his home to his sons. His eldest, already married son Petro resembled his mother: big, snub-nosed, with wild, wheat-colored hair, brown eyes, and the youngest, Gregory, took after his father - “Gregory was just as stooped as his father, even in his smile they both had something in common, bestial." Grigory, like his father, loves his house, where Panteley Prokofievich forced him to nurse his horse, loves his wedge of land behind the farm, which he plowed with his own hands.

With great skill, M. Sholokhov portrayed the complex character of Grigory Melekhov - an integral, strong and honest personality. He never sought his own benefit and did not succumb to the temptation of profit and career. Mistaken, Gregory shed a lot of blood from those who affirmed new life on earth. But he realized his guilt and sought to atone for it by honest and faithful service to the new government.

The hero's path to the truth is thorny and complicated. At the beginning of the epic, he is an eighteen-year-old guy - cheerful, strong, handsome. The author comprehensively reveals the image of the main character - here is the code of Cossack honor, and intense peasant labor, and daring in folk games and festivities, and familiarization with the rich Cossack folklore, and the feeling of first love. From generation to generation, cultivated courage and bravery, nobility and generosity towards enemies, contempt for cowardice and cowardice determined Gregory’s behavior in all life circumstances. During the troubled days of revolutionary events, he makes many mistakes. But on the path of searching for truth, the Cossack is sometimes unable to comprehend the iron logic of the revolution, its internal laws.

Grigory Melekhov is a proud, freedom-loving person and at the same time a truth-seeking philosopher. For him, the greatness and inevitability of the revolution must be revealed and proven by the entire subsequent course of life. Melekhov dreams of a system of life in which a person would be rewarded according to the measure of his intelligence, work and talent.

The women of the Melekhov family - Ilyinichna, Dunyashka, Natalya and Daria - are completely different, but they are united by sublime moral beauty. The image of old Ilyinichna personifies the difficult lot of a Cossack woman, her high moral qualities. Pantelei Melekhov’s wife, Vasilisa Ilyinichna, is a native Cossack of the Verkhnedonsky region. Life was not sweet to her lot. It was she who suffered most from her husband’s hot temper, but patience and endurance helped her save her family. She grew old early and suffered from illnesses, but despite this she remained a caring, energetic housewife.

The image of Natalia is filled with high lyricism - a woman of high moral purity and feeling. Strong in character, Natalya put up with the position of an unloved wife for a long time and still hoped for a better life. She curses and loves Gregory endlessly. Even if not for long, she still found her feminine happiness. Thanks to patience and faith, Natalya managed to restore the family, restore harmony and love. She gave birth to twins: a son and a daughter, and turned out to be as loving, devoted and caring a mother as she was a wife. This beautiful woman is the embodiment of the dramatic fate of a strong, beautiful, selflessly loving nature, ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of a high feeling, even her own life. Natalya's strength of spirit and captivating moral purity are revealed with unprecedented depth in the last days of her life. Despite all the evil that Gregory caused her, she finds the strength to forgive him.

The brightest representative of the family is Dunyashka. Nature endowed her with the same hot and strong character as Gregory. And this was especially clearly manifested in her desire to defend her happiness at any cost. Despite the discontent and threats of loved ones, she, with her characteristic tenacity, defends her right to love. Even Ilyinichna, for whom Koshevoy forever remained a “murderer,” the killer of her son, understands that nothing will change her daughter’s relationship with Mikhail. And if she fell in love with him, then nothing could tear this feeling out of her heart, just as nothing could change Gregory’s feelings for Aksinya.

The last pages of the novel return readers to where the work began - to “family thought.” The friendly Melekhov family suddenly broke up. The death of Peter, the death of Daria, the loss of Pantelei Prokofievich's dominant position in the family, the death of Natalya, Dunyashka's departure from the family, the destruction of the farm during the offensive of the Red Guards, the death of the head of the family in retreat and the departure of Ilyinichna to another world, the arrival of Mishka Koshevoy in the house, the death of Porlyushka - all these are stages of the collapse of what at the beginning of the novel seemed unshakable. The words once said by Pantelei Prokofievich to Grigory are noteworthy: “Everything collapsed equally for everyone.” And although we are talking only about fallen fences, these words take on a broader meaning. The destruction of the family, and therefore the home, affected not only the Melekhovs - this is a common tragedy, the fate of the Cossacks. The Korshunov, Koshev, and Mokhov families die in the novel. The centuries-old foundations of human life are crumbling.

The narrative in "Quiet Don", as in Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace", is based on the image of family nests. But if Tolstoy’s heroes, having gone through severe trials, come to create a family, then Sholokhov’s heroes painfully experience its collapse, which especially strongly emphasizes the tragedy of the era depicted in the novel. Talking about the collapse of the Melekhov family, Sholokhov poses for us, descendants, the task of reviving the family and confidently convinces us that there is always something to start with. In Gregory’s tormented soul, many life values lost their meaning, and only the feeling of family and homeland remained ineradicable. It is no coincidence that Sholokhov ends the story with a touching meeting between father and son. The Melekhov family has broken up, but Grigory will be able to create a hearth where the flame of love, warmth and mutual understanding will always glimmer, which will never go out. And despite the tragedy of the novel, which reflected the events of one of the most cruel periods in the history of our country, the reader remains to live with hope in this huge world shining under the cold sun.