Characteristics of Nikolenka from the story "Childhood" by L. N

The story "Youth" by Tolstoy, written in 1857, was the completion of the famous trilogy of Leo Nikolayevich ("Childhood", "Boyhood", "Youth"). The book describes the student years of the life of the protagonist and his inner circle.

Main characters

Nikolai Irteniev (Nikolenka)- a sixteen-year-old boy from the nobility.

Volodya Nikolay's older brother.

Dmitry Nekhlyudov- A close friend of Nicholas.

Other characters

Dad- Nikolai's father, a widower, later re-tying the knot.

Sonechka- Nikolenka's first love.

Avdotya Nicholas' stepmother.

Varenka Nekhlyudova- Dmitry's sister, Nikolai's girlfriend.

Lyubochka- the sister of Nikolai and Volodya.

Ikonin, Zukhin, Semenov- students, friends of Nikolai.

Short description

Chapter I. What I Consider the Beginning of Youth

To the young nobleman Nikolenka Irteniev "the sixteenth year in the exodus." He values ​​​​his friendship with Dmitry Nekhlyudov very much - an interesting, smart young man, thanks to whom Nikolai was carried away by the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bself-development.

Currently, the hero dreams of successfully passing the entrance exams to the university.

Chapter II. Spring

Spring comes into its own, and Nikolenka admires the changes in nature that inspire him.

Chapter III. dreams

Young Irteniev dreams of how he will enter the university and will be part of the scholarship "to give to the poor, and so that no one knows." He will live a simple, modest life, and will certainly finish "the course as the first candidate with two gold medals."

Chapter IV. Our family circle

Nikolenka's father is absent for a long time, but with his appearance in the house, fun always begins. Nikolai is increasingly moving away from his older brother Volodya, despite the fact that the brothers still love each other. Sister Lyubochka has become quite an adult, and is now a marriageable girl.

Chapter V Rules

Nikolai decides to draw up a "schedule of duties and classes for the next year". There were so many plans that the young man had to sew a notebook out of sheets and call it “Rules of Life”.

The father invites a confessor to the house so that the whole family can confess.

Chapter VI. Confession

The Irtenyevs go in turn to the monk and confess their sins. After the confession, Nikolenka feels "completely pure, morally reborn and a new person." Before going to sleep, he recalls "the shameful sin that he concealed in confession" and is very worried about this. Nicholas decides to go to the monastery tomorrow and confess again.

Chapter VII. Trip to the monastery

After spending an anxious night, Nikolenka wakes up at dawn and immediately gets ready to go. Having hardly caught a cab driver on a deserted street, he worries that he will take him "into a back alley and rob him." But soon Nikolai calms down, and safely arrives at the monastery.

Chapter VIII. Second confession

Nikolai re-confesses, and after his confession feels unspeakable relief. However, minor domestic troubles "soon dispersed this feeling."

Chapter IX. How do I prepare for the exam

The entire Irtenev family, with the exception of Nikolai and Volodya, leaves for the village. “Consciousness of freedom and that spring feeling of expecting something” and prevent Nikolenka from concentrating on preparing for exams. And only the fear of disappointing Nekhlyudov makes the young man study diligently.

Chapter X History Examination

For his first exam in his life, Nikolai puts on a tailcoat. It seems to him that he is simply "dazzling", but confidence is replaced by timidity immediately after the young man steps over the threshold of the audience. Nikolenka comes across a familiar ticket, and he gives the story "excellent".

Chapter XI. math exam

The next exam is math. Nikolenka knows "the subject quite well, but there were two questions from algebra", with which he was completely unfamiliar. The young man comes to learn from his new acquaintance - Ikonin, who gives him his ticket. As a result, Nikolenka passes the exam with flying colours.

Chapter XII. Latin exam

Nikolenka learns that the professor taking the Latin exam “was like some kind of animal enjoying the death of young people”, whom he flunked at the exams. The professor gives Irteniev a text that was not provided for in the preparatory program. The young man can hardly cope with it, and as a result receives the lowest score.

Chapter XIII. I'm big

Nikolai successfully passes the last exam and becomes a student. Now he has his own horse and driver. In order to fully feel like an adult, Nikolenka lights up his pipe and begins to “throw rings and take a puff”, but very quickly he becomes ill.

Chapter XIV. What Volodya and Dubkov did

Dmitry comes to congratulate Nikolai, and together they go to Dubkov, where they find Volodya playing cards. Volodya loses, and the whole company decides to go to a restaurant to congratulate Nikolenka on entering the university.

Chapter XV. They congratulate me

Everyone in the restaurant congratulates Nikolai. He really wants to seem like an adult, and he orders "half a bottle of champagne" with his own money. Volodya, looking at his tipsy brother, is embarrassed.

Chapter XVI. Argument

At the restaurant, Nikolai clashes with one of the visitors, who calls him ignorant. The confused young man could not give a proper rebuff, and, ashamed of his behavior, hides this unfortunate incident from his friends. In the future, he will worry about this for a long time, believing that he "acted like a coward."

Chapter XVII. I'm going to make visits

On the last day of his stay in Moscow, Nikolai was supposed to "make, by order of the pope, visits." He hopes that Volodya will keep him company, but his brother resolutely refuses.

Chapter XVIII. Wallachins

Nikolenka pays his first visit to the Valakhins. He awaits with trepidation the appearance of Sonya, because in him "there was still a living and touching memory of past childhood love." Nikolai knows that a couple of years ago, "Sonechka's face was cut with the windows of a carriage", which turned over while driving. However, when he sees a girl, the younger Irtenyev does not notice any scars - he sees in front of him the same sweet girl with whom he was once so in love.

Chapter XIX. Kornakovs

The visit to the Kornakovs turned out to be less pleasant for Nikolai. During a conversation with the princess and her daughters, the young man learns that the Kornakovs and Irtenyevs are the only legitimate heirs of the wealthy Prince Ivan Ivanovich.

Chapter XX. Iviny

At the Ivins, Nikolenka feels extremely uncomfortable. At the meeting, the general's son shows courtesy, but at the same time makes it clear that he is not at all happy about Nikolenka's arrival. As a result, Irteniev begins to "come into an irritated state of mind." The princess puts Nikolenka in an awkward position with her unexpected tears, and the prince behaves coldly and arrogantly towards him.

Chapter XXI. Prince Ivan Ivanovich

Nicholas pays his last visit to the prince. As a child, he called "Ivan Ivanovich grandpa", but the news that he is one of his heirs makes Nikolenka uncomfortable in the company of a benevolent old man.

Chapter XXII. Intimate conversation with my friend

Nikolenka goes with Dmitri to the Nekhlyudovs' dacha. On the way, friends talk heart to heart, and Dmitry confesses his love for Lyubov Sergeevna's hanger.

Chapter XXIII. Nekhlyudovs

At the dacha, Nikolenka meets Dmitry's mother and sister. He wonders how his friend could fall in love with an old maid, Lyubov Sergeevna, who "was very unpretty: red-haired, thin, short in stature, a little lopsided."

Chapter XXIV. Love

Also at the Nekhlyudovs, Nikolai meets Dmitry's aunt Sofya Ivanovna, a surprisingly kind and loving woman.

Chapter XXV. I am getting acquainted

Nikolenka notices that in the Nekhlyudov family, Dmitry's feeling for a friend is a sore subject. Irtenyev is very pleased with the trip - among these people he feels completely grown up.

Chapter XXVI. I show my best side

During a walk in the garden, Nikolenka, wanting to impress, boasts of her relationship with Ivan Ivanovich. He embellishes his relationship with the prince, because of which he is embarrassed and blushes.

Chapter XXVII. Dmitriy

A severe toothache changes Dmitry's mood for the worse. At first, he fell on the maid, and after "with all his might he hit the head with his fist several times" the servant boy. Noticing that Nikolai witnessed his cruelty, Dmitry felt ashamed.

Chapter XXVIII. In the village

Nikolenka and Volodya join their family in the village. Nikolai periodically recalls his love for Sonya, but soon village life captivates him. He notices that his father seems unusually cheerful lately.

Chapter XXIX. Relationship between us and girls

Nikolenka “completely involuntarily in her look at the girls” imitates her older brother, and treats her sister and Katya somewhat contemptuously. Meanwhile, the brothers become even closer to each other.

Chapter XXX. My classes

Convinced that he has "talent and passion for music", Nikolenka spends the whole summer taking piano lessons. Thus he wants to charm the young ladies. Nikolai also enjoys reading French novels.

Chapter XXXI. Comme il faut

Wanting to imitate the heroes of novels, Nikolenka strives to always look perfect. He places particular emphasis on the condition of his nails.

Chapter XXXII. Youth

During this summer, Nikolenka acutely feels that he is "young, innocent, free and therefore almost happy." He enjoys the summer, admires nature and does what the soul is drawn to.

Chapter XXXIII. Neighbours

Nikolenka is surprised to notice that his father has changed in his attitude towards the Epifanov neighbors, with whom he had a long-standing "litigation for some kind of land." The father often goes to the neighbors and calls them "nice people".

Chapter XXXIV. Father's marriage

The second time, Nikolai's father is going to marry at the age of 48. Avdotya Vasilievna Epifanova, a young and beautiful woman, becomes his chosen one.

Chapter XXXV. How do we receive this news?

The father's marriage becomes the main subject of discussion in the Irtenev family. Volodya is extremely negative towards his future stepmother, and admits that the reason for the marriage is some kind of "dark story".

Chapter XXXVI. University

Classes begin at the university, and Volodya and Nikolai are forced to miss the wedding of their father and Avdotya. At the university, Nikolenka cannot quickly and easily join "any company and, feeling lonely and incapable of rapprochement", begins to behave arrogantly with classmates.

Chapter XXXVII. affairs of the heart

Nikolenka often falls in love "with unfamiliar and especially married women." However, all his heartfelt hobbies are very fleeting.

Chapter XXXVIII. Light

"Secular pleasures" disappoint Nikolenka. Finding himself at the long-awaited reception at the Kornakovs, the young man becomes shy and begins to behave extremely unnaturally and carry all sorts of nonsense. He looks so stupid that even Volodya avoids him.

Chapter XXXIX. spree

In winter, Nikolai happens to participate in a revelry, and he endures "a not entirely pleasant feeling out of him." He prepared for the upcoming event for a long time, but in fact it turned out to be not as fun as young Irtenyev expected. He is unspeakably surprised that the next day the participants of the spree praised him in every way.

Chapter XL. Friendship with the Nekhlyudovs

Nikolai becomes a frequent visitor to the Nekhlyudovs' house. He likes to be in this family, and soon he becomes close to Dmitry's sister, Varya.

Chapter XLI. Friendship with Nekhlyudov

And if Nikolai's friendship with the Nekhlyudovs is strengthening, then relations with Dmitry himself at that time hung "only by a thread." Nikolenka ceases to understand the actions of his friend, he finds many shortcomings in him, and one day a quarrel flares up between his friends.

Chapter XLII. Stepmother

A father comes to Moscow with his stepmother, whom Nikolenka does not love and does not respect. He is especially annoyed by the duplicity in Avdotya: when visiting, she is invariably “a young, healthy and cold beauty”, and in ordinary life she is “a yearning woman, sloppy and bored”.

Chapter XLIII. New comrades

Nikolai is preparing for the upcoming exams. She meets poor, but extremely intelligent and interesting students who are superior to him in everything except belonging to the aristocracy.

Chapter XLIV. Zukhin and Semyonov

Among Nikolenka's acquaintances, two students stand out especially - Semenov and Zukhin. The latter "was extraordinarily smart" and enjoyed great respect among the teachers, while Semyonov was a passionate lover of carousing. As a result, he was terribly indebted and was forced to leave the university and join the soldiers.

Chapter XLV. I'm failing

Nikolenka miserably fails the exam in mathematics, and he is not transferred to the next course. Closing himself in a room, he weeps bitterly for three days, regretting that he did not adhere to his own “Rules of Life”. Nikolai vows "not to do anything bad", to work and not change his own principles.

Conclusion

In his story, Tolstoy surprisingly subtly describes the psychology of growing up of the protagonist, entering into "adult" life. He masterfully describes the experiences, doubts and hopes of a young man who was a boy yesterday.

After reading the brief retelling of Youth, we recommend that you read Tolstoy's work in its full version.

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CHILDHOOD. ADOLESCENT. YOUTH

(Trilogy, 1851 - 1855)

Irteniev Nikolenka (Nikolai Petrovich) - The main character on whose behalf the story is being told. Nobleman, Count. From a noble aristocratic family. The image is autobiographical. The trilogy shows the process of internal growth and formation of N.'s personality, his relationship with other people and the world, the process of comprehending reality and himself, the search for peace of mind and the meaning of life. N. appears before the reader through his perception of different people with whom one way or another confronts his life.

"Childhood". N.'s story is ten years old. Among his dominant features are shyness, which brings the hero a lot of suffering, a desire to be loved and introspection. The hero knows that he does not shine with his appearance and they even find moments of despair on him: it seems to him that “there is no happiness on earth for a person with such a wide nose, thick lips and small gray eyes.” Acquaintance with the hero occurs at the moment of his awakening, when his tutor Karl Ivanovich wakes him up. Already here, in the first scene of the story, one of the main features of Tolstoy's writing is manifested - psychological analysis, the famous "dialectics of the soul", about which N. G. Chernyshevsky wrote in an article devoted to the trilogy and military stories of Tolstoy, and which will be developed in his future essays. Several large (the death of the mother, moving to Moscow and the countryside) and small (grandmother's birthday, guests, games, first love and friendships, etc.) events take place in the story, thanks to which the writer manages to look deeper into the soul of the hero.

Perfectly conveying child psychology, Tolstoy depicts little N. acutely perceiving not only the surrounding nature, but also childishly vividly and directly responding to the troubles of people close to him. So, he sympathizes with the tutor Karl Ivanych, whom his father decided to fire. Tolstoy describes in detail the state of mind of the hero. “After praying, you used to wrap yourself in a blanket; the soul is light, light and gratifying; some dreams drive others, but what are they about? they are elusive, but filled with pure love and hope for bright happiness.” N.'s childhood - a time of maximum life fullness and harmony, carelessness and strength of faith, innocent gaiety and boundless need for love - is drawn by the writer with a feeling of undisguised tenderness.

"Adolescence". Adolescence, according to the narrator, begins for him with the death of his mother. He speaks of it as a "desert", where there are rarely "minutes of a true warm feeling, so brightly and constantly illuminating the beginning of my life." The maturing N. begins to attend questions that until then did not bother him at all - about the lives of other people. Until now, the world revolved around him alone, and now his view is gradually beginning to change. The impetus for this is a conversation with the daughter of Mimi's mother's friend Katenka, who is brought up with the Irtenyevs, who talks about the difference between them: the Irtenyevs are rich, they are poor with their mother. The hero is now interested in how others live, “if they don’t care about us at all ?., how and with what they live, how they raise their children, do they teach them, are they allowed to play, how are they punished? etc.". For the writer, this process of gradual opening of individualistic isolation on oneself alone is extremely important - both from a psychological and moral point of view, although in the story he does not evaluate it as a sin, since, in his opinion, children's egoism is, so to speak, a natural phenomenon, as, however, and social - a consequence of education in aristocratic families. N.'s relations with other people are also becoming more complicated, primarily with his brother Volodya, who is only a year and a few months older than him, but this gap seems to be much larger: the brother irresistibly moves away from N., causing him a bitter sense of loss, jealousy and a constant desire to look into his world (the scene of the destruction of N.'s brother's jewelry collection, which he overturns along with the table). His likes and dislikes become sharper and more contradictory (the episode with the tutor St.-Jerom (oM), his self-awareness, analyzed in detail by the author. does not have such a striking influence on the direction of a person as his appearance, and not so much the appearance itself, but the belief in its attractiveness or unattractiveness. "The hero describes his appearance as follows:" I am much shorter than Volodya, broad-shouldered and fleshy, still bad and still tormented by this, I try to seem original. One thing consoles me: this is what my dad once said about me that I have a smart mug, and I quite believe in it.

It was during this period that “abstract questions about the purpose of a person, about the future life, about the immortality of the soul ...” become the “favorite and most constant subjects” of the hero’s reflections. Tolstoy emphasizes that in solving them, N. comprehends the impotence of the mind, falls into a hopeless circle of analysis of his thoughts, at the same time losing willpower, freshness of feeling and clarity of mind (which will subsequently affect the general concept of the writer's personality). At the same time, N.'s first true friendship was established with Dmitry Nekhlyudov, under whose influence N. came to "an enthusiastic adoration of the ideal of virtue and the conviction that a person is destined to constantly improve."

"Youth". N. - almost seventeen. He reluctantly prepares for university. His main passion is the desire for moral improvement, which now gives food not only to the mind, awakening new thoughts, but also to feelings, prompting its active implementation. The hero, however, is soberly aware of the sharp contradiction between the remarkable plans of a morally active life and its present "petty, confused and idle order." Dreams are replacing reality. At the heart of them, as the hero reports, are four feelings: love for an imaginary woman; the love of love, that is, the desire to be loved; hope for extraordinary, vainglorious happiness and expectation as a result of this of something magically happy; self-loathing and remorse, consisting in hatred of the past and a longing for perfection. The hero makes rules of life and tries to follow them. His whole life during this period passes in a series of falls and rebirths.

The hero enters the mathematical faculty of the university, his father gives him a droshky with a horse, and he goes through the first temptations of the consciousness of his own adulthood and independence, which, however, lead to disappointment. Reading novels (especially in summer) and comparing himself with their heroes, N. begins to try to be “as much as possible comme il faut” (he calls this concept “one of the most pernicious, false concepts instilled in me by education and society”), that is meet a number of conditions: excellent knowledge of the French language, especially pronunciation, long and clean nails; "the ability to bow, dance and talk"; “indifference to everything and the constant expression of some elegant contemptuous boredom”, etc. It is this concept, as Tolstoy emphasizes, that is the reason for the hero’s false prejudice towards other people, primarily towards the students studying with him, who are not only no less intelligent, than he, but they also know much more, although they fall far short of the criteria he has chosen. The ending of the story is N.'s failure in the exam in mathematics and expulsion from the university. The hero again decides to write the rules of life and never do anything wrong.

Year: 1857 Genre: story

Main characters: narrator Nikolai Irteniev (prototype of Leo Tolstoy), Vladimir Irteniev is the hero's brother, Dmitry Nekhlyudov is a friend, Dubkov is Volodya's friend.

Tolstoy's story describes the life of a sixteen-year-old youth, Nikolai Irtenevich. Ahead of him are exams and admission to the university. Along the way, you will meet different people. Many of his friends do not lead the best way of life: they smoke, drink alcohol, gossip. They are trying to win Nicholas over to their side, but the young man chooses the righteous path. Dmitry Nekhlyudov, a decent, honest, intelligent person, becomes his ideal. He repeatedly rescues Nikolai, helps in his studies.

The hero finds a common language with his brother Volodya, but spends little time with his sisters Katya and Lyuba. His father is almost never at home. He marries a second time. All members of the family dislike the stepmother.

Nikolai shows sympathy for many ladies, but these signs of attention are just a temporary passion for the hero.

The young man successfully passes the exams. His dream came true. In the capital, he finds new comrades who do not have the best influence on him. Nikolai fails the exam and therefore does not move on to the next course. He is upset because he violated all his moral principles. From that moment on, he decides to strictly follow his rules.

The reader has the opportunity to observe the moral growth of the hero of the story.

The main idea. The story teaches its reader that it is necessary to realize one's mistakes, analyze them and never make them again in the future. As the saying goes, "You have to learn from your mistakes."

Chapter 1

Nikolai Irteniev is sixteen years old. A kind, purposeful, honest person dreams of successfully passing the entrance exams to the university. The hero begins to communicate with Dmitry Nekhlyudov, a sensible and entertaining young man. For Irtenyev, he is a role model.

Chapter 2. Spring

Nicholas loves spring. He enjoys nature, which wakes up after a long winter sleep.

Chapter 3

The young man dreams of studying at the university, how he will donate a scholarship to the poor and needy. Nikolai wants to become popular.

Chapter 4

His father is often absent from home. He is fond of gambling. Now he has a period of luck and therefore he is in an excellent position. His brother Volodya is completely different from him in character. Volodya loves secular parties and chatting with friends over a glass of champagne. Lyuba and Katya, Nikolai's sisters, have become adult young ladies and dream of a wedding.

Chapter 5. Rules

In order to understand the meaning of life, Nikolai takes a blank notebook and begins to keep records of the rules and norms of behavior in society. At the request of his father, a monk comes to Nikolai's house to listen to the confession of each member of the family.

Chapter 6. Confession

Nicholas confesses to a monk, tells about all his sins. At night, he wakes up and remembers that he forgot to tell the old man about another bad deed. This thought does not give the young man peace and early in the morning he decides to go to the temple.

Chapter 7

Nikolai leaves home on his own for the first time. For about half an hour he waits for the monk to correct his mistake. At this moment, he feels the eyes of people on him. He is sure that all confessors condemn him.

Chapter 8

He waits for the monk and pours out his whole soul to him. Now he is truly happy, his heart is light. Nikolai rushes home on the wings of happiness, but this joy quickly dissipates, as minor troubles await him at home.

Chapter 9

All households, except for Volodya and Saint-Jerome, who is a tutor, go to the village. Good spring weather does not allow Nikolai to study calmly.

Chapter 10

Nikolai is taking an exam in history. He is lucky and comes across a question that he knows very well and therefore receives a mark of "5".

Chapter 11

Next math exam. In addition to 2 questions, he learned all the tickets. Dmitry Nekhlyudov quickly clarifies the unlearned question to his comrade. But, unfortunately, the young man comes across another topic. He is upset. Having exchanged tickets with an applicant, he receives a mark of "5".

Chapter 12

The Latin teacher gives Nikolai a task that was not given in advance for study. He is unable to cope with the task and receives a mark of "2". The young man feels resentment because of injustice.

Chapter 13

Nikolay passes the exam excellently and celebrates this event in a decent institution with his comrades. His father gives him a horse as a present.

Chapter 14

Volodya and Dubkov are fond of gambling. Cards are their passion. Then all together the comrades go to a restaurant.

Chapter 15

Comrades congratulate Nikolai on the beginning of a new life. Friends drink champagne and have fun. The hero notices that Dmitry leads a more correct life than the rest of his comrades: he does not drink alcohol, does not brag about his love affairs and does not smoke.

Chapter 16

Nikolai repeats the behavior of his friends, does not want to lag behind them. As a result, a conflict arises between the hero and a certain Kolpikov. At this moment, Dubkov bursts in with his inappropriate ridicule. Nikolai tells him everything he thinks, insults him. Dmitry reassures his friend.

Chapter 17

At the behest of his father, Nikolai goes to visit the Valakhins, Ivins, and Kornakovs. Nikolai is at ease only with Dmitry, and he is shackled with the rest.

Chapter 18

Many years ago, the hero felt sympathy for Sonya Valakhina. Seeing the beautiful girl again, he feels affection for her.

Chapter 19

Nikolai learns from the Kornakovs that the members of his family are direct descendants of the prince.

Chapter 20

Nikolai goes to the Ivins. The hero does not like the attitude of the Ivins towards him. The mother complains and whimpers endlessly, and the younger Ivin and his father seem to not notice the guest and reluctantly answer his questions.

Chapter 21

Nicholas comes to his relative the prince. The elderly man is friendly with the hero, but such an affectionate attitude is just a prank. Nikolai believes that Ivan Ivanovich is unpleasant because of his family ties.

Chapter 22

Nikolai goes to Comrade Nekhlyudov's dacha. Dima talks about his sympathy for Lyubov Sergeevna, who lived at their house.

Chapter 23

Nikolai meets his friend's family, as well as Lyubov Sergevna. The hero didn't like the girl.

Chapter 24

The young man liked Aunt Nekhlyudova, kind-hearted Sofya Ivanovna. She treats the rest of the family with respect.

Chapter 25

A discussion unfolds in Dima's family about the relationship between Dmitry and Lyuba. This love affair is not supported by the mother and sister Varya. Despite what is happening, Nikolai feels comfortable at a party. Here he is considered and accepted as one of his own.

Chapter 26

After tea, everyone goes to the garden. Nikolai sympathizes with Varenka, but remembers that he is not indifferent to Sonya.

Chapter 27

Nikolai dreams of marrying Varya and creating a happy family with her. Dmitry has a toothache. An irritated young man beats the servant. Dmitry is embarrassed in front of a friend. After the incident, the friends talk until dawn.

Chapter 28

The long-awaited meeting took place. The whole family of Nicholas in the collection. The father looks animated and joyful.

Chapter 29

Nikolay and Volodya spend some time with sisters Katya and Lyuba. There is a close relationship between the boys.

Chapter 30

This summer, Nikolai takes on a new hobby. Playing the piano and reading novels are his main hobbies. Katya introduced Nikolai to the notes. With the help of playing a musical instrument, the young man wants to win the hearts of young ladies.

Chapter 31

Nikolai wants to be Сomme il faut - a person who speaks excellent French, neatly dressed.

Chapter 32

Nikolai is having a great summer vacation.

Chapter 33

Nikolai's father communicates well with the Epifanovs. The young man is not very enthusiastic about these people.

Chapter 34

Increasingly, signs of attention from the father to the neighbor Avdotya became visible. Father is already over forty, but the neighbor is still in her prime.

Chapter 35

The father officially announces to all family members about his marriage.

Chapter 36

Here comes autumn. Volodya and Nikolai went to study in the capital. Nikolai does not maintain a close relationship with anyone.

Chapter 37

The young man sympathizes with many ladies, but all these signs of attention are temporary and not serious.

Chapter 38

Nikolai attends a secular party for the first time. From experiences, he behaves silly.

Chapter 39

Nikolai's classmate holds a feast. It goes by tediously, but everyone creates a kind of fun. And then spread the word that everything was top notch.

Chapter 40

That winter, Nikolai frequented the Nekhlyudovs. In this family, he feels comfortable.

Chapter 41

The friendship between Nikolai and Dima was not as strong as before. One day they even quarreled.

Chapter 42

The whole family is not happy with the stepmother. Avdotya treats her father well, but gives him a lot of inconvenience.

Chapter 43

While preparing for the exams, Nikolai closely communicates with a couple of fellow students. They are very entertaining guys.

Chapter 44

One of Nikolai Zukhin's friends, a young man of about eighteen, interesting, well-read. But the second Semenov does not attend lectures very often. Gets into debt and goes to serve in the army.

Chapter 45

Having contacted new comrades, Nikolai begins to show a negligent attitude towards studying at a university. He does not pass the session and remains for the second year. Relatives advise him to go to study in another specialty.

One stage of youth has come to an end. Now it remains to hope for a happier next period.

The end of the summer holidays of the brothers Petya and Pavlik became the most memorable for them and not only for these guys. The "adventures" begin with the appearance of a revolutionary sailor who hides in their stagecoach.

Youth” by Tolstoy, which describes the life of Nikolenka Irtenev and his gradual maturation. It is in the last part that we see his moral development, the moral maturation of a person who nevertheless chose the right path in his life, although there were a lot of temptations and friends on his way, for whom only entertainment with a drink and a cigar in hand was important.

After reading the work "Youth" in a summary of the chapters, we have the opportunity to trace the spiritual and moral growth of the hero of the work. Reading the last work that was included in Tolstoy's Youth trilogy in brief, we understand that with each chapter, with each event, Nikolenka overcomes his shortcomings, he realizes what is right and what is not, and is ashamed of his wrong deeds. And that's what growing up is all about.

Tolstoy Youth summary

Even at the beginning of Tolstoy’s work “Youth”, we see that Nikolenka is sixteen, and it is from this period that his young time begins, the time for entrance exams and study at the university. For Nikolai, the period of youth began with the realization that the purpose of a person in life is the desire for improvement. At the very beginning of the work, Nikolai decides to lead a right life, he dreams of studying well, helping the poor, wants to become famous. Starts the "rules of life", writing down his plans on paper, from which he decided not to deviate. In general, Nikolai very often thinks about the meaning of existence, about human destiny, about what kind of future it is.

When Nikolai entered, his father gave him a personal coachman and a horse for use. From that moment Nikolenka felt like an adult and began to make mistakes. First of all, he goes to the tobacco department and tried to smoke for the first time. Then, in a restaurant with his brother and friends, Nikolai tries alcohol, and then completely arranges a quarrel. For all this, Nikolai was then very ashamed and this is already a big step towards growing up, because only the realization of your wrong actions can be evidence that you are becoming an adult and ready to be responsible for your actions.

In the village where he came for the summer, Nikolai often thinks about love, about what it can be. When the period of study comes, Nikolai does not join any companies, but for him it was time to fall in love, he constantly fell in love, but all love quickly passed. And later, Nikolai made new comrades, but he began to communicate less often with his friend Nekhlyudov, then he completely quarreled. A new friendship led to the fact that Nikolai flunked the first exam. He was very worried about this failure and did not leave the room .. There he found a notebook with the rules of his life and remembered his dreams. He realized that he had behaved ugly, that he could betray his aspirations for improvement, and he burst into tears of remorse. He promised himself to get back on the path of righteousness and spiritual development.

In the story "Youth" by Tolstoy, we saw the mistakes of the protagonist, but the most important thing is that the hero realized his mistakes. In the work of Leo Tolstoy "Youth", the author showed us the growing up of the hero, which happened on mistakes, disappointments, broken dreams and faith in a better future.

Plan:

1. Nikolenka is 16 and he dreams about his future
2. Exams and the first disappointment of a failed exam
3. Admission, independent life and the first mistakes
4. Visits to acquaintances
5. Love, dreams of marrying Varenka
6. Summer in the countryside, father's marriage
7. Beginning of studies, Nikolenka's love
8. Friendship with Nekhlyudov and their quarrel
9. New comrades and failure in the first exam
10. Awareness of mistakes. New life

From the school bench we are familiar with the trilogy of Leo Tolstoy: "Childhood", "Adolescence", "Youth". It is this work, or rather the third part of it, that this article will be devoted to. We will consider the plot, analysis and image of the protagonist of the story "Youth" by Tolstoy. We will pay special attention to the summary of the work.

About the book

In 1852, the first part of the trilogy was published, written by L. Tolstoy (“Childhood”, “Boyhood”, “Youth”). And in 1857 the last story was published, which completed the cycle. The book is based on the life story of an ordinary child of the 19th century. The most valuable thing in this biographical description was the deep psychologism with which the author managed to convey all the stages of the emotional, social and physical development of the child. Tolstoy became the first Russian writer who managed to describe the human soul in such a precise, subtle and detailed way during the period of growing up. No wonder the story is replete with reasoning, internal monologues and reflections.

Now consider the plot of the story "Youth" by Tolstoy. The contents of the chapters begin with a description of Nicholas. The boy is already fifteen years old. At this moment, the hero has formed his own view of the world, which consists in the fact that a person should strive for moral development. At the same time, Nikolai believes that it is easy and accessible to everyone. The young man is preparing to enter the university. All spring he dreams of a future ideal life that will pass in righteousness and next to a chaste woman.

Nikolenka's family

Changes have taken place in the Irtenev family. My father rarely went home, and on his return he joked a lot. Lyubochka has not changed at all, but Katenka has turned into a coquette. Volodya has his own life. She and her younger brother became completely strangers. There is no place for Nikolenka in adult student life with real balls, friends and champagne.

The story "Youth" by Tolstoy is a real biography of an ordinary child with all his experiences, dramatic situations, hopes and aspirations. So, having passed the exams well, Nikolai begins to be very proud of himself. However, the failure during the delivery of Latin led to the fact that the young man cooled off to study. As a result, Nikolenka enters.

The beginning of an independent life

The father leaves for the village, leaving his youngest son two hundred rubles and a cab with a coachman and a horse. Feeling like an adult, Nikolai begins to do stupid things. L. N. Tolstoy perfectly describes the behavior of a young man left to himself. In an effort to be like his brother, who started smoking after entering the university, Nikolai goes to a tobacco shop and spends almost all the money left to him there. However, upon returning home, the young man is very disappointed in purchases - he did not like smoking.

Volodya decides to celebrate the arrival of his younger brother with dinner at Yar. Nikolai and Dima Nekhlyudov go to Dubkov to pick up Volodya. There Nikolenka sees how his older brother plays cards, he strongly dislikes this.

Finally, friends come to Yar. Here they were taken to a separate room, where dinner and champagne were waiting. Nikolai tried to emphasize his adulthood, said, as it seemed to him, smart things, but for some reason they were ashamed of him. Drunk from the second bottle of champagne, the young man went to smoke, but on the way he quarreled with some gentleman. Out of vexation, Nikolai was rude to Dubkov. Later, the hero's conscience tormented him for a long time because of this undeserved resentment of a friend.

When leaving, the father ordered the youngest son to visit certain people, making a list of them. And now, when Nikolai is about to leave, Ilenka and Grap arrive. They came to congratulate the young man, but Nikolenka treated them very coldly, despising Grapa for his subservience, and left.

Visits

Nikolenka Valakhinykh was the first to visit. I saw Sonya, whom I had not met for three years. The girl has changed a lot, she has become more mature. After talking with her for a short time, the young man decides that he is in love. L. N. Tolstoy very reliably conveys the feelings experienced by Nikolai.

Then our hero goes to the princes Kornakov. Here Nikolai, to his great amazement, learns that he is the heir to Prince Ivan Ivanovich. The news does not please at all, on the contrary, it brings only grief and embarrassment.

Being in the same strange feelings, Nikolai goes to Ivan Ivanovich. The old man was very pleased with the guest and showed great cordiality. But the young man did not leave embarrassment and awkwardness.

Nikolai goes with Dmitry to the Nekhlyudovs' dacha. On the way, a friend tells him about his feelings for Lyubov Sergeevna. This completely ugly, much older woman with an extraordinary soul lives in their house.

When friends arrive, it is the ugliness of Lyubov Sergeevna that unpleasantly strikes Nikolenka. He liked the rest of the Nekhlyudovs very much. The young man tries to behave politely, to be affectionate and friendly with everyone.

What is love like?

If we compare Nikolenka's current behavior with the sketches that the story "Childhood" gives, we can clearly see the emotional growth of the protagonist. The reader immediately understands that before him is not a child, but a young man with other thoughts, desires and dreams. So, looking at the women around him, Irteniev Jr. begins to think about the nature of love and comes to the conclusion that it can be of three types. The first is the love of beauty. With such love, they speak a lot about her in French, not caring about mutual feelings. The second is the love of selflessness. It consists in the fact that a person enjoys the process of sacrificing for the sake of his beloved, not wondering if he needs such manifestations of feelings. The third is active love. In this case, a person seeks to fulfill all the whims of the object of sighing. Only such people can be happy in their love.

Village

Volodya and Nikolai are sent to the village by mail. The first to come out to meet them, despite the late hour, was the servant Fok, who was literally shaking with joy. For the night, the brothers were sent to the sofa room, where their mother had once died.

In the morning Nikolenka met a very cheerful father. He was in such complacency that he spoke with his youngest son on an equal footing, which aroused even greater love for the young man. And then Irteniev Sr. went to visit the Epifanovs.

The events of the story "Youth" by Tolstoy continue to unfold. Volodya is bored in the village, demonstrating this to everyone at home. Nikolenka begins to imitate him. Under the influence of his brother, the young man also begins to be arrogant towards the girls and Mimi, believing that they have not seen real city life.

Nikolai sleeps on the veranda. There are many mosquitoes and midges mercilessly biting him at night. His daily routine was about the same. He got up equally, then went to bathe in the river. There he read on the shore or walked, and came home only for tea. The young man devoted a lot of time to reading, choosing mainly the novels of Paul de Coq and Dumas. Under the influence of these books, he begins to dream of adventure and exploits.

At the same time, Nikolai thinks about his future, about what place awaits him in the world. He is greatly disturbed by the fear of losing good manners, because its preservation requires enormous moral labors.

The content of the story "Childhood" largely predetermined the third part of the trilogy. So, soon Irteniev Sr. announces his intention to marry. At that time, the father of the family was forty-eight years old. His bride was no longer a young, but a beautiful woman, the daughter of the neighbors of the Epifanovs, Avdotya Vasilievna. The Irtenev family, with the exception of Lyubochka, was not happy about this news, but no one dared to object to their father. The wedding was scheduled in two weeks, but neither Volodya nor Nikolai could stay and went to the capital - studies began. The rest of the Irtenyevs were supposed to come to them in the winter.

Study and father's return

Nikolay feels his loneliness and alienation. He attends classes every day, however, he does not write anything down, believing it to be superfluous. Gradually, the young man makes new acquaintances, most of whom live only for pleasure. Nikolai gradually succumbs to their influence and begins to imitate them.

Realistically and authentically depicts the life of the nobility L. N. Tolstoy ("Youth"). The Irtenievs arrive in the capital earlier - the young wife became bored in the countryside. Avdotya Vasilievna, despite all her love for her husband, did not fit into his family's home life and constantly pestered Irtenyev Sr. with jealousy and questions. As a result of this, the husband gradually lost interest in his young wife and even began to hate her quietly. The children also did not have much love for their stepmother, with the exception of Lyubochka.

Nikolai goes to the ball for the first time, but the whole evening he stands gloomily on the sidelines, answering inappropriately when they spoke to him. In winter, he becomes a member of a student spree, which he did not like at all. At first it was terribly boring, and then everyone got so drunk that Nikolai remembered it only with shame.

Exams are coming up. Irteniev Jr. understands that he did not remember anything from the courses he took, and he did not write notes. The result was a failure in the first exam. The young man locks himself in a room for three days, he is unhappy, life seems to him bleak and terrible. He even wanted to go to the hussars, but his father dissuaded him - you can transfer to another faculty.

denouement

The story "Youth" by Tolstoy comes to an end. One night, Nikolenka finds a notebook entitled: "Rules of Life." The hero begins to remember his youthful dreams, which causes tears of remorse in him. From that moment on, he decides to return to the path of righteousness and spiritual development. Nikolenka believes that a happy and joyful life awaits him in the future.

Analysis

Like many literary works of Tolstoy, our trilogy embodies a huge number of ideas and designs. While working on the text, the author carefully selected each word, so any phrase or description has a conceptual meaning and is subordinate to the general idea. And this idea is to depict the process of becoming a person from a child to a young man as reliably and in detail as possible. And there is no place for meaningless scenes, thoughts and words. Any trifle and detail helps to better understand the inner world of a young man, his emotional experiences, hopes and aspirations. Thus, describing the books that Nikolenka reads, Tolstoy explains to the reader the reasons for his hero's craving for adventure and exploits. And such thoughts are immediately reflected in the actions of the young man. Everything is interconnected in the work. Every detail becomes the key to understanding the nature of actions. For such a scrupulous attitude to the narrative, Tolstoy's prose was called "the dialectic of the soul."

Why does the author choose to describe these particular stages (childhood, adolescence, youth) of a person's life? The fact is that it is during these periods that people most clearly feel themselves in this world, their indivisibility with it, and then, gradually, they begin to move away from it, to realize themselves as a person. No wonder the trilogy begins with the story "Childhood", the themes of which are connected with the very small children's world of the protagonist. Then in "Boyhood" the world, and with it the thoughts of the protagonist, expand. In "Youth", the hero's worldview completely changes. If earlier relations with the family dominated for him, the theme of the house sounded most vividly, but now the building of ties with the outside world comes to the fore.

The hero of the story

"Childhood", "Adolescence" and "Youth" are united by one hero - Nikolenka Irteniev. It is from his face that the whole story is told. He comes from a noble aristocratic family. The image of the protagonist is largely autobiographical. The reader sees Nikolenka through the hero's perception of the events taking place around him, his attitude towards other characters.

Like many literary works of Tolstoy, "Youth" very truthfully depicts the inner world of the hero. Nikolenka is seventeen, he does not strive to study, but wants to follow the path of moral self-improvement. However, gradually he comes to the realization that his current life is petty and empty, far from a beautiful ideal.

The image of Karl Ivanovich

The whole story was focused on the image of the protagonist L. N. Tolstoy ("Youth"). Other characters are given much less space in the story. Karl Ivanovich is Nikolenka's teacher and tutor, he is valuable to the author because he had a huge influence on the formation of the boy's personality. His honest, kind and open character contributed to the formation of the moral values ​​of the protagonist. The love of reading Karl Ivanovich also passed on to his pupil. He lived a long and hard life, saw a lot in his lifetime, but was able to maintain the purity of his soul. He is devoted to Nikolenka to oblivion, and considers the Irtenev family practically his own.

Conclusion. Tolstoy: "Youth"

The chapter "Youth" is one of Tolstoy's greatest creations. In this work, the great classic showed himself both as an artist and as a moralist. However, there is no cumbersome edification in the work. On the contrary, the author depicts the development of the human soul, which learns from its mistakes. Only in this way and in no other way does a person grow up. From my own experience, my disappointments, broken dreams and hopes for a better future.