Vasily Terkin is a character in the poetic poem about the war of the same name, created by the writer. The image of the protagonist embodied the features of the common people. The author endowed the soldier with a cheerful disposition, ingenuity, the ability not to lose heart in difficult situations, courage and courage. For these qualities, the character fell in love with readers. Tvardovsky's book raised the morale of the Soviet soldiers, instilled in them optimism and faith in victory.

Character Creation History

The image of a Soviet soldier was created several years before the Great Patriotic War. Thinking through the nature of the character, Tvardovsky endowed Terkin with resourcefulness, inexhaustible positive and a sense of humor. The authorship of the image belongs to a team of journalists, which included Alexander Trifonovich.

In 1939, two feuilletons about Vasily Terkin were published. In the view of publicists, he was a successful and strong representative of the common people. Tvardovsky began to work out the character of the main actor future book during the years of the Soviet-Finnish war. The good-natured and courageous hero of the feuilletons gained popularity among the readership. This convinced the writer that the theme needed to be developed in a larger literary form.

The author set out to create a poetic poem, but the beginning of the Great Patriotic War changed his creative plans. Only in 1942 were the first lines of the work written, which Alexander Trifonovich originally called "The Book of a Fighter." The image of Vasily Terkin has no prototype. However, the writer, being on the battlefields as a war correspondent, managed to give the image "liveness" and realism, which allowed readers to perceive the hero of the poem as a real person.

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The first chapters of the book were published in a front-line newspaper. Then it began to be published by such printed publications as Pravda, Izvestia and others. Readers were inspired by the image of a worker saving his native lands. The chapters reached both the front-line soldiers and the citizens who remained in the rear. "The book about a fighter" enjoyed the love of the public.

In 1943, having ended up in a military hospital after being wounded, the writer decided that he had approached the end of the poem. Subsequently, he had to continue working until 1945. The book was continued thanks to the requests of readers. Completing work on the work, Alexander Trifonovich begins to write the next poem with the unusual title "Terkin in the Other World." It was originally planned that this would be the last chapter of the essay about the Russian soldier. However, the idea grew into a separate book. The new work became an anti-Stalinist pamphlet.

In terms of genre, Tvardovsky's poem resembled folklore legends about folk heroes. Therefore, in the text, the writer deliberately abandoned the ideological principle. Alexander Trifonovich noted that an appeal to the party theme, the image of Joseph Stalin would violate the idea and "figurative structure of the poem about the people's war." This fact later created difficulties for the writer when publishing the poem - the work was subjected to numerous revisions and proofreading.

Tvardovsky's book became very popular during the war years. The work was not only published in newspapers, but also read out on the radio by such announcers as. The artist Orest Vereisky created wonderful illustrations for the poem about Terkin. The author of the essay himself visited hospitals and labor collectives, where he introduced the public to the history of the Soviet soldier.

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Rest after the battle (based on the poem by A. Tvardovsky "Vasily Terkin")

Phrases from the poem have become famous quotations. In the lines about the battle, which is not for the sake of glory, but for the sake of life on Earth, it is expressed the main idea and the theme of the piece. The image of the protagonist was later captured in sculpture - in Smolensk, Orekhovo-Zuevo, Gvardeysk, monuments were erected to the bright character of Russian literature.

Biography of Vasily Terkin

Tvardovsky's poem does not have a consistent plot. Each chapter is a separate episode from the life of a soldier. Little is known about the biography of Vasily Terkin. The text says that the hero was born in a village near Smolensk. The character is young and not yet married. The guy wants to go to the front to save the Fatherland from the encroachments of the enemy.

The cheerful and straightforward character demonstrates remarkable courage and courage, despite the difficulties of front-line life. The soul of the company, from whom you can always get support, Terkin was a role model. In battle, the soldier was the first to attack the enemy, at his leisure he entertained his comrades by playing the accordion. A charming and charismatic guy is the location of readers.

The first acquaintance of readers with the hero occurs when he, together with his colleagues, crosses the river. The operation takes place in winter, but the river is not completely frozen over, and the crossing is disrupted due to an enemy attack. The image of the road becomes central in the poem - this is the path of the Soviet army to victory over the invaders. In the episode with the crossing, Terkin demonstrates courage and ingenuity - thanks to the efforts of the hero, the soldiers can continue the campaign. However, the character himself is injured and ends up in a military hospital.

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Monument to Vasily Terkin in Gvardeysk

After recovering from his wound, Terkin decides to catch up with the platoon. The chapter "Accordion" is dedicated to his ability to find an approach to the team and win their respect and trust.

The soldier becomes a participant in the battles and provides all possible assistance to those with whom he serves in the same detachment, and to civilians. Having received leave, Terkin refuses to travel to his native village, captured by the Germans, in order to be useful at the front. For a feat in battle - the hero shoots down an enemy plane - Vasily Terkin is awarded a medal, which during the war becomes not the only award of the character.

One day, entering a village, the hero finds himself in a house where an old man lives with his wife. Vasily repairs watches and saws for the old people and encourages them in every possible way. In another episode, a warrior gives a personal pouch to a soldier who has lost his. At the same time, Terkin recalls that when he was in the hospital and lost his hat, the young nurse gave the character her hat. Since then, Vasily carefully kept this gift.

During the battle for the village, the soldier has to take on the functions of a young lieutenant killed. The hero leads the platoon, leads to the attack. The village was taken by Russian soldiers, but Vasily was seriously wounded. When a fighter lies on the snow, Death appears to him and asks him to submit to her. But the character finds the strength to resist the intruder. Soon other employees find the wounded man and send him to the sanitary battalion. After spending some time in the hospital, the soldier returns to his native company, where he finds many new faces.

Vasya Terkin - real hero. I know that he was and still is loved by many. It can be mistaken for a real person, and not for a fictional character. He still evokes sympathy, even admiration.

Not only did he manage to shoot down a German plane, while Vasya was in the infantry, which he adores ... He twisted the German with his bare hands. Although the fight scene shows how difficult it all was. The German is fat, sleek, strong. And Vasya has grown thin, tired. Of course, he jokingly asks for supplements from a local chef. And in general he gets it, but the cook is not very pleased - there are probably few products. And he even makes a remark to Terkin: “Why don’t you go to the fleet, such a glutton.” But Terkin, which is his remarkable quality, is not offended. He laughs it off, it's hard to hurt him.

But he (such a merry fellow) is experiencing negativity. For example, when his small homeland is belittled. This is when in the hospital the young hero was offended that Terkin mistook him for a fellow countryman. Why is Smolensk land worse?! And for her sake, Terkin is ready to perform feats. Il when a colleague laments that he has lost his pouch, Terkin freaks out in the end. He said to the bewildered once with a smile, twice with a joke, but he still does not let up. But it is clear that this was the last straw for the one who lost. He even complains that he lost his family, home, and now that pouch. But Terkin generously gives his own, saying, they say, the main thing is not to lose the Motherland. And what is needed for this? Cheer up, first of all!

That is, Vasily is an optimist, he is generous and courageous. He respects civilians: children, old people... By the way, the authorities too. Here he was talking about the general - how smart he should be. But this experience is also because when the soldier was still in the cradle, the future general was already at war.

I remember the scene with the awarding of the order. When they called Terkin to that same general, and the soldier’s things were wet - only washed. And Vasya is in no hurry to see the general, although he was given “two minutes” time, because it is impossible in wet pants. He understands that there are certain boundaries that cannot be violated.

While I see some pluses in Vasya. Laziness is also not about him. He would not be able to sit out in the rear or in the hospital when the war ... The only thing that would give me a headache from him. There are way too many jokes.

But in the terrible time of the war it was necessary, I think.

Option 2

Vasily Terkin is a collective image of a Russian soldier. Where did he come from? Soldiers from all fronts wrote to Tvardovsky and told their stories. It was some of them that formed the basis of the exploits of Terkin. Therefore, it is so recognizable, so popular. Yes, in the next company there, Vanya or Petya did exactly the same as Terkin.

A cheerful, resilient joker who knows how to make everything with his own hands.

He served in the "queen of the fields" - mother infantry, which marched all the way to Berlin across Europe. Vasily managed to shoot down a German plane. And in a hand-to-hand fight, he defeated a healthy Fritz. And when the cook asks for supplements, but it is not provided - there is not enough food, he grumbles and sends him to the fleet. The naval at that time were fed better than the infantry.

Turkin is a collective character, and each soldier recognized familiar features in him. Each chapter is a separate story about the next feat of Vasily. Tvardovsky wrote the poem not after the war, but during the fighting, in the intervals between battles. He was a front correspondent.

Terkin was as alive. He communicated with the soldiers on an equal footing, gave good advice. The soldiers were looking forward to the release of each new chapter in the front-line newspaper. Terkin was a friend and comrade for everyone. He was one of them. If Terkin could do such a thing, then every soldier could do exactly that. The soldiers enjoyed reading about his exploits and adventures.

Tvardovsky specially invented his Terkin so that he would help the soldiers morally. Supported their fighting spirit. Terkin means "gritty".

Here it is melted down to the opposite shore under enemy fire. Alive, swam, and it was late autumn. The water in the river is cold. But it was necessary to personally deliver a report to someone, because. there was no connection.

The other messengers did not make it to shore. And Vasya swam. At stake was the life of many soldiers and officers who melted down from one shore to another and came under fire from the Nazis.

And for his feat does not require anything. You don't even need an order. He agrees to a medal. And the medal "For Courage" was considered a soldier's order. Well, another hundred grams of alcohol inside to keep warm. Why waste everything on skin? He also has the strength to joke around.

Composition Image of Vasily Terkin image with a description with examples and quotes from the text

Tvardovsky wrote his poem not after the war in the quiet of offices, but practically on it, in the intervals between hostilities. The chapter just written was immediately published in the front-line newspaper. And the soldiers were already waiting for her, everyone was interested in the further adventures of Terkin. Tvardovsky received hundreds of letters from all fronts from soldiers like Vasily Terkin.

They told him interesting stories about the exploits of their fellow soldiers. Some episodes Tvardovsky then "attributed" to his hero. That is why it turned out to be so recognizable and popular.

Didn't exist real person with the same first and last name. This image is collective. It contains all the best that is inherent in the Russian soldier. Therefore, everyone could recognize himself in it. Tvardovsky specially invented it so that in a difficult moment, as if alive, real man helped the soldiers morally. Everyone and everyone was best friend. Each company and platoon had its own Vasily Terkin.

Where did Tvardovsky get such a surname from? "Torkin" means a grated roll, beaten by life. A Russian person can endure everything, survive, grind, get used to everything.

From the poem, you can learn a little about the biography of Terkin. He comes from the Smolensk region, was a peasant. A good-natured Russian guy, easy to talk to, likes to tell all sorts of stories, a joker and a merry fellow. At the front from the first days of the war. Was injured.

Brave, courageous, fearless. At the right moment, he took command of the platoon. It was he who was sent across the river with a report that the platoon was entrenched on the opposite bank. Those who sent it understood that he had little chance of getting it. But he got there. Alone, swimming, in the icy November water.

Like all Russian peasants, Terkin is a jack of all trades. What he just didn’t do was fix the clock, sharpen the saw, and even play the harmonica. He must have been the first guy in the village. Modest "... why do I need an order, I agree to a medal ..."

He lay in the cold trenches under heavy fire from the Nazis. In the face of death, he did not get scared, but asked her for a respite for one day to see victory and salute. And death receded.

Initially, Tvardovsky planned Terkin as a feuilleton image in order to entertain the soldiers and raise their morale. But he did not notice how he himself fell in love with his hero, and decided to make his image real, not caricatured. To endow him with the best human traits - resourcefulness, courage, patriotism, humanism, a sense of military duty.

The author compares his favorite hero with the Russian hero folk tales, a soldier who managed to cook soup from an ax. Those. he is resourceful and savvy, can find a way out of any seemingly hopeless situation. "Russian miracle man". On people like Terkin, all of Russia rests.

The poem is written in simple language, easy and long remembered.

Essay 4

Vasya Terkin, of course, is a well-known character and even beloved by everyone. However, I have a slightly different opinion.

I think he is a character, not a real hero. That is, it is clear that such a person does not exist, cannot actually exist. He is too cheerful, optimistic, so joyful ... He would, frankly, annoy me. I'm surprised no one hit him from the soldiers. That is, raising morale is, of course, good, but playing tricks when there is a war around ...

For example, in the scene with the lost pouch. A fighter who has lost an expensive thing is clearly not in the mood for jokes. From the outside it may seem that the pouch is nonsense. But it is clear that for a fighter this loss was the last straw, as they say. He held on when he lost his home, his family, but he held on with the last of his strength. And here is the pouch...

And our "hero" Vasya does not understand the suffering of a soldier. Laughing, mocking, shaming! To something he says that losing the Motherland is scary. But it is understandable, compared: the pouch and the Motherland.

So, Terkin is too positive. I'm not sure that such a person (with such dashing manners) could hold out on a real front.

But of course, Tvardovsky tried to invest a lot good qualities into your hero. And he boldly fights the Germans, and he cannot be kept in the hospital ... However, what unprecedented luck Vasily must still have in order to shoot down a German plane with a gun! It looks more like a soldier's bike! However, here he is Terkin - lucky. In fact, he was also lucky in hand-to-hand combat with the German, although the Fritz was well-fed and strong. It was lucky when our tankers picked him up in the wounded hut, took him to the doctor - they saved him.

I think that at that time the front-line needed such a hero. He is almost a hero, almost Ivan the Fool. He gives readers confidence in victory. The poet repeats through his lips that we will not lose in this war. Fortunately, these words have come true.

And yet, for me, this character is too simple. But that's just my personal opinion.

Option 5

Alexander Trofimovich Tvardovsky - the author of the unforgettable work "Vasily Terkin" Being himself in the thick of things, since he himself fought at the front and went through the whole war as a war correspondent, he talked a lot with soldiers, and he himself more than once got into various difficult situations. Everything that he describes in his book, he heard from ordinary fighters, foot soldiers. During the Great Patriotic War, the infantry played a crucial role in the history of the war, and mainly it was to her that the main merit in the victory belongs. That's main character The author's story belonged to the infantry.

The image turned out to be collective and averaged. He is an ordinary guy who dreams of love, happiness, family and peaceful life. One participant in the war wrote: The Germans loved, knew how and wanted to fight, but we fought out of necessity. Turki also fought out of necessity. A cruel enemy attacked his beloved land. His serene happy life on the collective farm was cruelly cut short by a formidable misfortune, and the war became work for him, like a hot suffering on the collective farm when the rains broke out. The whole country turned into a single military camp, and even in the rear, the fascist could not sleep peacefully. Terkin endlessly loves his homeland, calling the earth "mother". His cheerfulness, courage and kindness permeate every chapter of the book. The cheerful and kind-hearted Terkin does not burn in fire and does not sink in water. Because his will to defeat the Nazis is very great in order to free mother earth from the damned invader. He is savvy, as he masterfully gets out of all the troubles in which the author puts him. In addition, he has a great sense of humor, which helps to endure the hardships and difficulties of the front with ease, tipsy, and, not least, helps the reader to follow the adventures of our hero with bated breath and worry about him.

At the front, all the soldiers were looking forward to the release of each new chapter about Terkin. They loved him as a brother and as a friend. And everyone found in themselves and in their comrades something from their favorite hero. The author is trying to show through his Terkin what the Russian people should be like. Only great courage, selflessness and kindness could lead the country to victory. And we won because the Russian engineers were more talented, the technologists were more brilliant, and our twelve- and fourteen-year-old boys, who got up to the machines instead of their fathers who had gone to the front, turned out to be more skillful and hardy than overgrown German soldiers. And about each of them we can say that his name was Vasily Terkin. Soldiers fought and died not because their commanders sent them to their deaths, but because they fought for their homeland!!! This feat was, is and will always be, this is a feature of the Russian soldier - to sacrifice himself: the Brest fortress held out until November, everyone died for their homeland! And there are tens of thousands of such examples!

"Vasily Terkin" can be called the bestseller of that time. Glory to the Russian soldier!

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Alexander Trifonovich Tvardovsky - the most famous Soviet writer, journalist and poet. The image of Vasily Terkin, created by him in the most difficult years for our country, is familiar to everyone since childhood. The brave, resilient and resourceful soldier retains his appeal even today. Therefore, it was Tvardovsky's poem and its main character that became the topic of this article.

Vasya Terkin and "The book about a fighter"

A hero named Vasya Terkin was created before the Great Patriotic War by a team of journalists, one of whom was Tvardovsky. The character was an invincible fighter, lucky and strong, somewhat reminiscent of an epic hero.

On the journalist, who was Tvardovsky, the image of Vasily Terkin evokes the idea of ​​​​creating a full-fledged work in verse. Returning, the writer begins work and intends to complete the book already in 1941 and call it "The Book of a Fighter." However new war mixed plans, Tvardovsky goes to the front. In the difficult first months, he simply does not have time to think about the work; together with the army, he retreats, leaves the encirclement.

Creating the image of the main character

In 1942, the writer returns to the planned poem. But now her hero is fighting not in the past, but in the current war. The very image of Vasily Terkin in the poem is also changing. Before that, he was a merry fellow and joker Vasya, now he is a completely different person. The fate of other people, the outcome of the war depend on it. June 22, 1942 Tvardovsky announces the new name of the future poem - "Vasily Terkin".

The work was written during the war, almost in parallel with it. The poet managed to quickly reflect the front-line changes and preserve the artistry and beauty of the language. The chapters of the poem were printed in the newspaper, and the soldiers were looking forward to the new issue. The success of the work is explained by the fact that Vasily Terkin is the image of a Russian soldier, that is, collective, and therefore close to every soldier. Therefore, this character was so inspiring and encouraging, giving strength to fight.

The theme of the poem

The main theme of Tvardovsky's poem is the life of people at the front. No matter how cheerfully and provocatively, with humor and irony, the writer described the events and heroes, at the same time he did not let him forget that the war was a tragic and severe test. And the image of Vasily Terkin helps to reveal this idea.

The poet describes both the joy of victory and the bitterness of retreat, the life of a soldier, everything that befell the people. And these tests were passed by people for the sake of one thing: “Mortal combat is not for the sake of glory, for the sake of life on earth!”

But Tvardovsky is not only talking about the war in general. Raises philosophical questions about life and death, peaceful life and battles. Through the prism of the main human values the writer looks at the war.

Symbolism in the name of the main character

The image of Vasily Terkin is noteworthy from the point of view of symbolism. An essay dedicated to this hero can be started just from this, and then go to detailed description hero, which will be presented in detail below. So, as noted above, the hero of Tvardovsky has changed dramatically, he is no longer the joker Vasya. His place is taken by a real fighter, a Russian soldier with his biography. He participated in the Finnish campaign, then returned to the army in 1941, retreated, was surrounded, then, together with the entire army, goes on the offensive and ends up in Germany.

The image of Vasily Terkin is multifaceted, symbolic, embodying the people, the Russian type of person. It is no coincidence that there is not a single mention of his family, personal relationships in the poem. He is described as a civilian forced to become a soldier. Before the war, Vasily lived on a collective farm. Therefore, he perceives the war as an ordinary civilian: for him it is an unimaginable grief, akin to He lives the dream of a peaceful life. That is, Tvardovsky creates in Terkin the type of an ordinary peasant.

At the hero speaking surname- Terkin, that is, a seasoned man, worn by life, in the poem it is said about him: "Grated by life."

The image of Vasily Terkin

Often becomes a topic creative works image of Vasily Terkin. The essay about this character should be supplemented with a little information about the creation of the poem.

The disparate composition of the work is united into one whole by the main character, a participant in all the events described - Vasily Ivanovich Terkin. He himself is from Smolensk peasants. Good-natured, easy to communicate, tries to maintain morale, for which he often tells soldiers funny stories from his military life.

Terkin was wounded from the first days at the front. But his fate, fate common man who was able to endure all the hardships of the war, personifies the strength of the Russian people, the will of her spirit and the thirst for the image of Terkin - the fact that he does not stand out in anything, he is neither smarter, nor stronger, nor more talented than others, he is like everyone else: “Just a guy by himself / He’s an ordinary guy… A guy like that / There’s always one in every company.”

However, this ordinary person is endowed with such qualities as courage, courage, simplicity. With this, Tvardovsky emphasizes that all these qualities are inherent in all Russian people. And this is precisely the reason for our victory over a ruthless enemy.

But Terkin is not only an experienced soldier, he is also a craftsman, a jack of all trades. Despite the severity of wartime, he repairs watches, sharpens a saw, and plays the accordion between fights.

To emphasize the collective nature of the image, Tvardovsky allows the hero to speak about himself in the plural.

Terkin's conversation with Death is noteworthy. The fighter lies wounded, his life ends, and Bony appears behind him. But the hero agrees to leave with her only if she gives him a reprieve for one day so that he can "hear the victorious salute." Then Death is surprised at this selflessness and retreats.

Conclusion

So, the image of Vasily Terkin is a collective image designed to emphasize the heroism and courage of the Russian people. However, this hero also has individual traits: dexterity, ingenuity, wit, the ability not to lose heart even in the face of death.

Brief description of Vasily Terkin

  1. http://www.litra.ru/characters/get/ccid/00710301300050394105/
    The image of the main character Vasily Terkin, a simple Russian soldier, is an example human dignity, courage, love for the Motherland, honesty and selflessness. All these qualities of the hero are revealed in each chapter of the work.
    Since the work was written during the war, it goes without saying that the main qualities of the hero, which the author focuses on, are selfless courage, heroism, a sense of duty and responsibility.
    He symbolic image, man-people, collective Russian type. It is no coincidence that nothing is said about his personal biography. He is "a great hunter to live up to ninety years", a peaceful, civil man, a soldier by necessity. His usual life on the collective farm was interrupted by the war. War for him is a natural disaster, hot work. The whole poem is permeated with the dream of a peaceful life.
    Already at the first mention, the surname Terkin outlines the boundaries of character: Terkin means an experienced, grated person, "grated kalach", or, as it is said in the poem, "a grated person".
    From the first days of the bitter year,
    The world heard through a terrible thunder,
    Vasily Terkin repeated:
    Let's endure. Let's grind…
    The author emphasizes the ordinariness, realism of the hero, and this is expressed in the author's description:

    Terkin, who is he?
    Let's be frank:
    Just a guy himself
    He is ordinary.
    The image of Terkin is a generalized image, for all its realism and ordinariness. Tvardovsky endows his hero with an "all-Russian" appearance, avoiding portrait signs.
    ("Beauty endowed / He was not excellent. / Not tall, not that small, / But a hero-hero.") Terkin and a bright, unique personality, and at the same time he includes the features of many people, he seems to repeated many times in others.
    It is important that Terkin belongs to the most massive branch of the infantry troops. Infantry hero. "It contains the pathos of the infantry, the troops closest to the earth, to cold, to fire and death," Tvardovsky wrote at the very beginning of his plan. Terkin is one of the laborers of the war, on whom the country rests, who bore the brunt of the war on their shoulders.

  2. Terkin Vasily Ivanovich a soldier (later an officer) from Smolensk peasants: a guy by himself He is ordinary.
    T. embodies the best features of the Russian soldier and the Russian people. T. has been fighting since the very beginning of the war, he was surrounded three times,

    was injured. Motto T .: Do not be discouraged, despite any difficulties. So, hero, to reconnect with the fighters,

    located on the other side of the river, crosses it twice in icy water. Or to hold a phone call during a fight

    line, T. alone occupies a German dugout, in which he comes under fire. One day T. engages in hand-to-hand combat

    with a German and, with great difficulty, but still takes the enemy prisoner. The hero perceives all these feats as ordinary actions.

    at war. He does not brag about them, does not demand a reward for them. And only jokingly says that for representativeness he simply

    a medal is required. Even in the harsh conditions of war, T. retains all human qualities

Name symbolism. The real, non-feuilleton Terkin, the hero of The Book of a Fighter, appeared in the first two chapters of Tvardovsky's book in September 1942. The front-line "biography" of Terkin is as follows: he begins to fight during the Finnish campaign, re-enters service in June 1941, retreats with the entire army, is surrounded several times, then goes on the offensive and ends his journey in the depths of Germany.

Vasily Terkin is a multifaceted image. He is a symbolic image, a man-people, a collective Russian type. It is no coincidence that nothing is said about his personal biography: they are, as it were, average. He is "a great hunter to live up to ninety years", a peaceful, civil man, a soldier by necessity. His usual life on the collective farm was interrupted by the war. War for him is a natural disaster, hot work. The whole poem is permeated with the dream of a peaceful life.

Already at the first mention, the surname Terkin clearly outlines the boundaries of character: Terkin means an experienced, grated person, "grated kalach", or, as the poem says, "a grated person with life." Compare, for example, with the Russian proverb: "Patience and work will grind everything," etc. This is the core of the name, the core of the image varies many times, is played out in the poem:

From the first days of the bitter year, The world heard through a formidable thunder, Vasily Terkin repeated: - We will endure. Let's grind... Terkin - who is he? Let's be honest: It's just a guy by himself. He's ordinary.

The image of Terkin is a generalized image, for all its realism and ordinariness. Tvardovsky endows his hero with a "general Russian" appearance, avoids portrait signs (this would make him overly individualized): "He was endowed with beauty / He was not excellent. / Not tall, not that small, / But a hero-hero." Terkin is a bright, unique personality, and at the same time he includes the features of many people, he seems to be repeated many times in others 1 . See, for example, the chapter "Terkin - Terkin": it turns out that there are two Terkins in the book. This is the hero of the book Vasily Ivanovich and his namesake Ivan. Duality emphasizes the generalizing nature of the protagonist. But their duality is not absolute: the second Terkin turns out to be red-haired, does not smoke, and his front-line profession is an armor-piercer. The situation is resolved by a "strict foreman":

What do you not understand here, do not understand among themselves? According to the charter, each company will be given its own Terkin.

Tvardovsky selects the most general, typical episodes of the war, rarely uses specific geographical names and exact chronological designations (the place and time of his book is a field, forest, river, swamp, village, road, winter, spring, summer, autumn). The same applies to Terkin's military profession: in different situations, he turns out to be either a signalman, or a shooter, or a scout. It is important that Terkin belongs to the most massive branch of the military - the infantry. The hero is an infantryman. "In it - the pathos of the infantry, the troops closest to the earth, to the cold, to fire and death," Tvardovsky wrote at the very beginning of his plan. Terkin is one of the laborers of the war, on whom the country rests, who bore the brunt of the war on their shoulders. The hero of Tvardovsky's poem is the hero of a specific war with the Germans, and at the same time there is something in him that brings him closer to the Russian soldier of all times. Tvardovsky himself always liked this idea about the deep national roots of his hero, and there are lines in the handwritten versions of the poem:

And in his overcoat with mint, Thinner, bearded Just right, he looks like a Russian soldier of all campaigns and times. 2

Tvardovsky draws the life of the war as a whole, but overall picture war is made up of individual, very vivid and accurate details of the war. The concreteness and tangibility of the pictures drawn by Tvardovsky are extremely enhanced by the numerous and precise details of front-line life: in the parking lot, "water with ice rattled from a bucket from a smoky tank"; the telephone operator "blew into the receiver for order"; soldiers write letters "on a halt, by fire, on each other's backs, removing gloves with their teeth, in the wind in any frost," etc. The pictures of the war in the poem are always dynamic, alive, visually perceptible.

The system of rhymes used in relation to the name and surname of the hero also contributes to the achievement of generalization of the image of the protagonist. Tvardovsky uses rhymes that characterize the life of the army and the mood of the hero ("Terkin" - "bitter", "shag", "sayings", "in the tunic", "in the supply room", etc.). The most responsible in the poem is the rhyme "Vasily - Russia", repeated several times in the text, that is, it is emphasized that the hero is the embodiment of the heroism of the Russian people, representing all of Russia, all the people.