2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
It is unlikely that there will be someone who did not pass the work of Leo Tolstoy "Prisoner of the Caucasus" at school. In this story, we are presented with the type of such a courageous Russian officer as Zhilin. Cheerful in spirit at the beginning 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, Zhilin's characterization, by and large, is not stated as it usually happens at the beginning of the work, but is given to us in the course of its entire action, not allowing for a minute to doubt this undeniably persistent and resilient person.
Who is Zhilin?
Our hero is a Russian military officer who is in the Caucasus just in time for the troubled events of those times. On one of his working days, he receives an alarming letter from his mother, who is living out her last days. In it, she asks her son to come home in order to see each other for the last time. Zhilin leaves his outpost with the very first convoy. Otherwise, it was dangerous to leave the place of service, since there were enemies around - ruthless Tatars, everyoneheart hating Russian soldiers. Ready to tear apart anyone who crossed their path, the highlanders posed a considerable danger to those who left the garrison alone.
Respect for the main character appears in the reader from the first pages, as in them the author emphasizes Zhilin's friendliness towards both officers and ordinary soldiers. From the very beginning, the hero strikes with the brightness of his personal qualities: purposefulness, high intelligence and cheerful spirit. And all this is combined with his courage and considerable combat experience. Zhilin's characteristic stands out especially from the moment when, having joined the convoy, he meets another officer - Kostylin - the complete opposite of our hero.
Captivity
Prudent Zhilin, sensing something was wrong, fights off the convoy and goes to reconnaissance, where he discovers about thirty enemy riders. Unfortunately, he does not have time to take the necessary measures to defend the convoy in time, and he is attacked. Left cut off from the rest, the hero of the story understands the gravity of the situation, but, nevertheless, without succumbing to panic, and even more so without thinking about retreat, he directs his horse towards the enemy. Having exposed his saber, Zhilin jumps on one of the highlanders - the One who attracted the most attention. But the bullet that struck his horse prevents him from reaching his target. Blowing his 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, immerse his body on the mare of their leader. This is exactly how Zhilin is captured.
Ransom
Upon arrival in their village, the Tatars throw Zhilin into an old barn, where they untie 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 captive's request for water by clicking on a little girl with a jug. However, by the evening it becomes clear why such an attitude. After all, 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 food, condescending treatment and freedom from stocks. True, not everything was completed.
Zhilin and Kostylin
What was the surprise of our hero when at night Kostylin joined his company - the same officer who accompanied the convoy with him. Unlike Zhilin, he did not stand out with special courage. And during the attack he tried to flee. Behind this occupation, the enemy caught him. It is especially worth noting that at that time Kostylin had a loaded rifle in his hands, which he never bothered to use for its intended purpose.
The Caucasian prisoner Zhilin, all the time he was in the camp of the enemy, tried to somehow alleviate the fate of his and his comrade. In addition, he began to develop an escape plan. An important part of it was observation. The study of the enemy depended on many factors. It was the number of people in the village, and the location of the guard, and the number of sentries in this guard. An important point waswhat customs of the Tatars Zhilin observed. When they celebrated, when they prayed, and so on. All this was important for the future event that the Russian officer conceived.
How did the Tatars treat Zhilin at the beginning and how - then? Everything changes as the story progresses. After all, the restless protagonist could not, unlike Kostylin, sit and silently look at one point. If he wasn't busy preparing to escape, he was looking for something else to do. Not much time passed before the Tatars began to bring him various things for repair, which he easily brought back to good condition. The hero also practiced as a healer, 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 for himself - a Tatar girl Dina, for whom he sculpts a clay doll. And she begins to drag him milk, cheese cakes and much more, which was not supposed to be captive officers.
An important point in how the Tatars treated Zhilin was the attitude of their leader, Abdul Murat. He began to respect the Russian officer almost from the first days. No matter how the commander of the mountain detachment tried to intimidate the main character, he looked him straight in the eye, thereby expressing indifference to his threats. If, after unsuccessful campaigns, most of the Tatars offered to kill Russian prisoners, then Abdul Murat was the only one who did not allow this to be done. Either he was so greedy for money, or the impression made by Zhilin on him still affected him.
As for Kostylin, he just 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. In addition, when it was necessary to hide behind 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 for a long time how the Tatars treated Zhilin after such a trick. Now time passed not by days, but by hours. There was an urgent need to act.
Second escape
This time the main character did not take Kostylin with him. Firstly, because he really interfered with the release, not trying to somehow help Zhilin. Secondly, Kostylin was no longer able to even walk.
And this greatly influenced the success of our hero's second escape. Not much time passed, as Zhilin was already heading towards the Cossack detachment, thereby saving himself from captivity and an early massacre, which was about to await him in captivity from the Tatars.
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