Astafiev "Tsar-fish". Reflections on the role of man on earth, on eternal spiritual values ​​in V. Astafiev's story "Tsar-Fish" What did Ignatich devote his life to?

Read the proposed text from Astafiev's work "Tsar Fish", think about its meaning.

The writer addresses the important problems of human existence - the relationship between man and nature. In the depicted tragic situation, Astafiev is looking for a key to explaining the moral virtues and moral vices of a person, through the attitude to nature, the spiritual value and viability of this person is verified.

By what artistic means does the writer convey his attitude to the natural world?

The genre of "King-fish" is "narration in stories". One of the leading artistic means of conveying one's attitude to the natural world is the use of associations between man and nature. The author in all the stories of the cycle sees man through nature, and nature through man. For this, a variety of metaphors and comparisons are used. Here is one such comparison: “Both the fish and the man were weakening, bleeding. Human blood does not coagulate well in cold water. What kind of blood does a fish have? in the water. She does not need to warm herself. It is he, the man, who needs warmth, he lives on earth. So why did their paths cross? The king of the rivers and the king of all nature are in one trap, in cold autumn water.

Astafiev considers the relationship between man and nature as related, the relationship between mother and child, and thereby achieves the idea of ​​unity, understanding that a person is a part, a child of nature. Nature at critical moments helps a person to realize his sins, even very old ones. Even when the most cautious and decent of poachers, Ignatich, was pulled into the water by a giant fish and turned into a prisoner of his own prey, he recalls his past crimes and perceives what happened to him as a punishment: "The hour of the cross has struck, it's time to account for sins ..."

Analyze Ignatich's thoughts. What does he regret and why?

At the moment of being between life and death, Ignatich thinks about the past, analyzes it, most acutely feels the loss of the spiritual principle that occurred due to the constant pursuit of profit. Because of her, "a man was forgotten in a man! Greed seized him!". Ignatich thinks bitterly about his childhood, which never happened. In class I thought about fishing. He spent only four winters with flour at school, Ignatich regrets that after school he didn’t look into the library, he didn’t take care of his children. They wanted to nominate him for deputies - and they took him away, because he quietly catches fish, all the time in pursuit of profit. They did not save a beautiful girl from the bandits, because they themselves were fishing. Conscience sharpened at a critical moment, when he was on the verge of an abyss.

Why did it become easier on Ignatich's soul when the tsar-fish was freed? Why does he promise not to tell anyone about her?

It is easier because death has receded. The body felt lighter, because it no longer pulled down. "And the soul - from some liberation not yet comprehended by the mind." Perhaps there was a hope to correct something in your life. Perhaps Ignatich was glad that this magical tsar-fish remained alive, seriously wounded, but furious and untamed.

It was a cruel but instructive encounter for Ignatich with one of nature's greatest mysteries. And he decided not to tell anyone about the king fish, so as not to arouse the interest of poachers in it. "Live as long as you can!"

The author's narration in this passage often merges with the thoughts of the hero - Ignatich. Sometimes it is difficult to separate the words of Astafyev himself from the reflections of the hero who sees clearly, realizing the meaning of life, responsibility for what he has done. The ability to catch and convey the subtlest shades of the movements of nature is amazing ("Silence! Such silence that one can hear one's own soul, compressed into a ball"). At times, the story takes on a twist. It should also be noted in the narrative the presence of elements of colloquial speech, dialogic structure in the internal monologues of the author and his hero.

Works, one way or another connected with the theme of the village, are usually called "village prose". Books of very different genres have been written about the village: stories by V. Astafiev and V. Rasputin, social and epic trilogy by F. Abramov, moral novels by V. Mozhaev, stories by V. Belov and V. Shukshin. What place does the work of V. Astafiev and, in particular, his story "Tsar-fish" occupy in the literature about the village?

Viktor Astafiev is a talented craftsman who knows nature and requires careful treatment of it. Already from the first steps in the literary field, the writer sought to solve the important problems of his time, find ways to improve the personality, and awaken a sense of compassion in readers. In 1976, his work "Tsar-fish" appeared, which has the subtitle "narrative in stories." It examines in a new way the permanent motifs for Astafiev's work. The theme of nature acquired a philosophical sound, began to be perceived as an ecological theme. The idea of ​​the Russian national character, which the writer referred to in the stories "The Last Clone" and "Ode to the Russian Garden", also sounds on the pages of the story "Tsar-Fish".

The work includes twelve stories. The plot of the story is connected with the journey of the author, the lyrical hero, to his native places - Siberia. The through image of the author, his thoughts and memories, lyrical and philosophical generalizations, appeals to the reader unite individual episodes and scenes, characters and situations into a complete artistic narrative. The basis of the "King-fish" are stories about fishing and hunting, written at different times. But, according to the author himself, the narrative began to take shape as an integral work only after writing the short story "Drop": "I started with the chapter" Drop ", and she pulled on a philosophical understanding of all the material, led the rest of the chapters. Tsar-fish" novel ... If I wrote a novel, I would write more harmoniously, but I would have to give up the most expensive, from what is commonly called journalism, from free speeches, which in this form of narration do not seem to look like digressions " . Each individual story is perceived in its direct, concrete content, but in the narrative system they all acquire additional meaning, and also unfold before the reader a gallery of folk types and characters. Opens the "Tsar-fish" story "Boye". In this story there is a story reminiscent of a parable about Nikolai's hunting for an arctic fox. Nikolai and his partner Arkhip, under the guidance of the "senior", who went through the war and prison, contracted to hunt fox in Taimyr, in a remote winter hut. If successful, it promised big money. However, pestilence began in the taiga, the fox left, and the hunt failed. People had a choice: to leave and make their way for a long time with luggage on the impassable roads or stay for the winter. In the case of such a wintering in a deserted region, one must be able to maintain a human appearance: not to go crazy, not to kill each other, not to run wild from idleness and cold. All of the above happened, but people survived. This wintering taught them a lot, made them think about a lot. It is interesting that the author does not impose his conclusions on the reader, he simply tells, but he tells it so masterfully that it touches the most intimate strings of the human soul. Also from this story we learn about the facts of Astafyev's biography: about a difficult childhood, about a dissolute father, about an unbridled stepmother in anger, about an uncomplicated relationship with his father's second family. The restrained manner of narration commands respect, but bitterness, and hidden childish resentment, and pity for the unlucky father, and the ironic attitude towards himself and his brother Kolka, and sadness for the bygone youth are also guessed. The central chapter of the story is the chapter of the same name - "King-fish", in which the motives of the role of man on earth and eternal spiritual values ​​sound. The protagonist of "Tsarryba" is Ignatich, "an intellectual from the people." What is in it folk? Ignatich is a native Siberian, the best representative of the Siberian national character: "Everywhere and everywhere he managed on his own, but he himself is always ready to help people," he is a good worker, a strong master, but not a greedy man and not a cheapskate; neat, clean; the best mechanic in the area and the best fisherman. But all his life the soul of this person is fraught with sin, he seems to be waiting for retribution for him. In his youth, Ignatich mocked Glashka Kukhlina, humiliated her out of false pride. Only he and Glasha know about this act. Everyone has their own family for a long time, but this act torments Ignatich, he understands that "no villainy passes without a trace", tries to ask her forgiveness, but she replies that God forgive him, but she does not have the strength for it. So Ignatich lives with this guilt, "hoping by humility, helpfulness ... to get rid of guilt, to pray for forgiveness."

However, in understanding the character of the protagonist, the case with the fish plays the most important role. Once Ignatich caught a huge sturgeon, but could not pull it out. “You can’t miss such a sturgeon. The king fish comes across once in a lifetime, and even then not for every Yakov.” This fish was truly amazing. "There was something rare, primitive not only in the size of the fish, but also in the shape of its body," a fish looked like a "prehistoric lizard." Trying to pull the sturgeon, the fisherman fell overboard, the fish began to beat and put a lot of hooks into itself and the catcher. "Both the fish and the man were weakening, bleeding," "the same painful death is watching them." Ignatich fought for his life, losing consciousness, and the fish all the time pressed against him, pushing him to the bottom. The hero realized that "the time has come to account for his sins", half-consciously asked Glasha for forgiveness. He was saved by a chance: a wave from a boat passing by helped the fish off the hooks. "And he felt better. The body - because the fish did not pull down ... the soul - from some kind of liberation not yet comprehended by the mind."

In the fight between Ignatich and the sturgeon, the tsar-fish personifies nature, and Ignatich personifies man. Moreover, the character of a person is tested for strength in extreme conditions, in which he himself becomes prey from a catcher. In a duel with the king-fish, the hero comprehends the truth: the meaning of human life is not in the accumulation of wealth, but in the fact that one must always remain a man, not go against one's conscience. At the very root of the word "nature" there is a deep meaning: this is what gives birth, what gives life. Nature is a feminine noun, and its personification in the book - the king-fish - too. In battle, she guards her belly, stuffed with caviar, which symbolizes the continuation of life. In such situations, a person begins to feel the mystery of what is happening, Ignatich recalls his life, his grandfather, who taught the young: "If there is a serious sin in your soul, do not mess with the king fish." And now Ignatich is accountable to his conscience for sins, especially for the one that he considers the most difficult. His mood changes: from the joy of owning a fish to hatred and disgust for it, then to a desire to get rid of it. In the face of death, he reconsiders his life, confesses to himself and repents, which removes grave sin from his soul. The active work of the soul, complete moral rebirth save Ignatich from death. I believe that the pathos of the entire book "Tsar-Fish" is in admiration for the beauty of our land, in denouncing those who destroy this beauty. The protection of nature, the protection of the human in man is the main idea that runs through Astafiev's entire work, and it is associated with the high humanistic traditions of Russian classical literature. Therefore, the work of V. Astafiev gives us, readers, real lessons of kindness, humanity, love for the native land and people.

Test based on the work of V. Astfiev "King - fish" 11 cells

(in writing)

1. What problem did Astafiev raise in the work "Tsar-Fish"?
2. By what artistic means does the writer convey his attitude to the natural world? Give examples.
3. Describe Ignatich's thoughts. What does he regret and why?
4. Why did it become easier on Ignatich's soul when the tsar-fish was freed? Why did he decide not to tell anyone about her? Give an example.
5. What features of the author's storytelling did you notice?

Answer verbally:

2. What does V. Astafiev say about poachers? Who is called a poacher?

Why paid so much attention to them?

4. What is the main fault of Ignatich?

5.What can be said about the idea of ​​the work?

V. Astfiev "King - fish"

What can you say about the idea of ​​the work?

Interfering with the life of nature, grossly violating the ecological environment, a person commits a moral crime. Who is merciless to nature, merciless to all living things, and therefore, to himself. In the symbolic picture of the single combat of man with nature, there can be no victory on either side, since man and nature are "tied to one mortal end"

It pains Astafyev to watch how his fellow countrymen violated the old commandment and decided on robbery brutal fishing. He does not judge the heroes, but takes care of their spiritual healing, speaks from the standpoint of kindness, humanity, against the barbaric position

The novel "Tsar-fish" is Astafiev's largest work. Nature and man are presented here as something inseparable. This is a reflection on nature, which is life, heaven, earth; it is pain on earth, by nature. Man's attitude to nature is already man himself, his soul, character, philosophy. The writer draws man and nature together. The heroes of the book live a difficult life, and the nature surrounding them is harsh. It is here, in this test, that people are divided into those for whom she still remains a beloved mother, and into others for whom she is no longer a mother, but something from which you need to take more.

The focus of our attention is the story "The King is a fish." He gave the name to the entire collection, becoming the focus of all philosophical and moral thoughts of the author.

Where is the action taking place?

Who is the main character of the story?

What was Ignatich's job?

Why is the main character called Ignatich?

What makes him stand out among his fellow villagers?

How do the Chushenians treat Ignatich?

Why can't he get along with his brother?

1. Read the proposed text from Astafiev's work "Tsar-Fish", think about its meaning.

The writer addresses the important problems of human existence - the relationship between man and nature. In the depicted tragic situation, Astafiev is looking for a key to explaining the moral virtues and moral vices of a person, through the attitude to nature, the spiritual value and viability of this person is verified.

1. By what artistic means does the writer convey his attitude to the natural world?

The genre of "King-fish" is "narration in stories." One of the leading artistic means of conveying one's attitude to the natural world is the use of associations between man and nature. The author in all the stories of the cycle sees man through nature, and nature through man. For this, a variety of metaphors and comparisons are used. Here is one such comparison: “Both the fish and the man were weakening, bleeding. Human blood doesn't clot well in cold water. What kind of blood does a fish have? Also red. Fish. Cold. Yes, and little of it in the fish. Why does she need blood? She lives in the water. She doesn't need to warm up. It is for him, a man, that he needs warmth, he lives on earth. So why did their paths cross? The king of the rivers and the king of all nature are on the same trap, in the cold autumn water.

Astafiev considers the relationship between man and nature as related, the relationship between mother and child, and thereby achieves the idea of ​​unity, understanding that a person is a part, a child of nature. Nature at critical moments helps a person to realize his sins, even very old ones. Even when the most cautious and decent of poachers, Ignatich, was pulled into the water by a giant fish and turned into a prisoner of his own prey, he recalls his past crimes and perceives what happened to him as a punishment: "The hour of the cross has struck, it's time to account for sins ..."

1. Analyze Ignatich's thoughts. What does he regret and why?

At the moment of being between life and death, Ignatich thinks about the past, analyzes it, most acutely feels the loss of the spiritual principle that occurred due to the constant pursuit of profit. Because of her, “man was forgotten in man! Greed overwhelmed him!”. Ignatich thinks bitterly about his childhood, which never happened. In class I thought about fishing. He spent only four winters with flour at school, Ignatich regrets that after school he didn’t look into the library, he didn’t take care of his children. They wanted to nominate him for deputies - and they took him away, because he quietly catches fish, all the time in pursuit of profit. They did not save a beautiful girl from the bandits, because they themselves were fishing. Conscience sharpened at a critical moment, when he was on the verge of an abyss.

1. Why did it become easier on Ignatich's soul when the tsar-fish was freed? Why does he promise not to tell anyone about her?

It is easier because death has receded. The body felt lighter, because it no longer pulled down. "And the soul - from some kind of liberation not yet comprehended by the mind." Perhaps there was a hope to correct something in your life. Perhaps Ignatich was glad that this magical tsar-fish remained alive, seriously wounded, but furious and untamed. material from the sitehttp://iEssay.ru

It was a cruel but instructive encounter for Ignatich with one of nature's greatest mysteries. And he decided not to tell anyone about the king fish, so as not to arouse the interest of poachers in it. "Live as long as you can!"

1. What features of the author's storytelling did you notice? 2.

The author's narration in this passage often merges with the thoughts of the hero - Ignatich. Sometimes it is difficult to separate the words of Astafyev himself from the reflections of the hero who sees clearly, realizing the meaning of life, responsibility for what he has done. The ability to capture and convey the subtlest shades of the movements of nature is amazing (“Silence! Such silence that one can hear one’s own soul, compressed into a ball”). At times, the story takes on a twist. It should also be noted in the narrative the presence of elements of colloquial speech, dialogic structure in the internal monologues of the author and his hero.

In the story "King-fish" a very complex and important psychological issue is raised, which is the relationship between the individual and society. Ignatich plays the role of the first, and the inhabitants of his native village of Chush play the role of the second.

Ignatich is a jack of all trades, ready to help anyone and not demanding anything for it, a good owner, a skilled mechanic, and a true fisherman. But this is not the main thing in it.The main thing in Ignatich- this is his attitude towards the rest of the Chushans with a certain degree of condescension and superiority. It is this indulgence and superiority, though not displayed by him, that forms the gulf between them. From the outside, it looks as if Ignatich is one step higher than his fellow countrymen.
Like the author himself talking about Ignatich: "He was from the local area - a Siberian and by nature herself was accustomed to revere" opchestvo ",reckon with him, do not annoy him,however, at the same time, do not break the cap too much, or, as they explain here, do not let the ax drop on your feet.

This is one suggestion.and contains the whole point of the story. It is necessary to understand the character of Ignatich consistently. Strict, unambiguous labels "negative" or "positive" hero are by no means applicable to him.
And so, the first thought when reading the story is "Ignatich's character is very contradictory." Yes, this is true, but this is easily explained by his independence. Yes, it's independence. Ignatich, in childhood simply Zinka, grew up relying only on himself. He did not want to ask for help from others, believing that he could achieve everything himself. AndIndeed, he achieved everything on his own,but only while growing up, so far removed from the society in which he lived that,Having achieved everything, he remained on his own.
In my opinion, while he was growing up, his own little world with its own orders and laws was formed in his soul. In addition, helping other peopleseems to be disinterested, Ignatich actually developed in them a special attitude towards his personality. At first it was not noticeable, but as soon as Ignatich confidently got on his feet, he declared his position in society. He probably thought this:I do whatever you needand as it should, but I also don’t take anything for it, so don’t touch me and don’t teach me how to live. ”All this was aggravated by the habit of silent communication acquired by Ignatich, the one that so repelled people from him.
Rising to his feet, Ignatich involuntarily stands above the society, which he helped all the time. This is explained by the fact that everyone, most likely, owes him something, since once in his time he helped them with something. Thus, a certain psychological terror of Ignatich is explained, which consists in clean clothes, a good house, and a brilliant ability to fish. He puts this pressure on the entire village. That is, in fact, the definition given by the author himself of the relationship between "optism" and Ignatich is refuted. In fact, he does not honor him, does not consider him, and constantly annoys him with his behavior.
Having shown this, making it clear to the reader: who Ignatich really is, the author proceeds to carry out punishment for his hero. This punishment appeared to him in the form of a fish king, whom he learned a lot from his grandfather, a fisherman. Relying, as always, only on his own strength, this time Ignatich paid dearly. This rash decision almost cost him his life. But while he was in the water with this fish, he seemed to me to have changed a lot. The thing is that for the first time he truly asked everyone for forgiveness, almost without owning his mouth, but still hoping that at least someone would hear him. And only after asking for forgiveness, he felt in his soul some kind of special liberation, not yet comprehended by the mind.
Only now, in my opinion, the real life of the fisherman Ignatich begins, and not the pathetic likeness that he led before meeting with the king fish.

Viktor Petrovich Astafiev (1924-2002) passed away quite recently.People like himcalled the conscience of the nation. Susceptibility and sensitivity to people, rage when meeting with evil, utmost honesty and the ability to see the world in a new way, tough demands on oneself and

Sentimentality is just some of the features of his extraordinary personality.

In “narration in the cycle of stories “Tsar Fish” (1976), the author speaks about the need for the urgency of “returning to nature” V.P. Astafiev is interested in the connection between man and nature in the moral and philosophical aspect. The attitude to nature acts as a test of the spiritual viability of the individual.

II. Work on the content of the story.

Summary of the story "Tsar-fish"

The poacher Ignatich caught a huge sturgeon fish on the Yenisei, but when he tried to transfer it to the boat, he fell into the water and caught himself on the hooks of the trap. So the man was trapped along with his victim. Having exhausted himself, entangled in hooks from his own traps, connected by one fatal chain with the king-fish, as a result, the hero repented of his sins and refused prey. At the end, the fish is released and leaves.

"Man is a part of nature", man and nature are a single whole"

(Poaching is a terrible evil. The author shows the poacher Ignatich. What has its own gold of human love, human dignity, but all this is suppressed by boundless predation, which has turned into a desire to snatch an extra piece).

What is the meaning of showing the fate of this hero?

(the meaning is that a person who does evil and finds an excuse for himself admits the existence of evil everywhere).

What is the main fault of Ignatich? (This is a desecration of the girl who loved him. It turns out that once he starts doing evil, it is almost impossible to stop. The killer of the Commander's daughter is Ignatich's spiritual twin. Circles of cruelty spread widely and mercilessly).

(Astafiev condemns poaching as a multifaceted evil and terrible in its destructive power, and the writer is talking not only about the destruction of animate and inanimate nature outside of us, he speaks of a kind of suicide, about the destruction of nature inside a person, human nature).

What causes the openly hostile attitude of the author towards people like Goga and poachers? 1.

(This is spirituality. Spirituality is not in the sense of a lack of cultural interests, but in the sense of a refusal to recognize the moral laws that unite people and nature, the lack of responsibility for everything that is not “I”).

VI. Discussion of the ideological content.

(It is painful for Astafiev to watch how his countrymen violated the old commandment and decided on robbery brutal fishing. He does not judge the heroes, but cares about their spiritual healing, speaks from the standpoint of goodness, humanity, against the barbaric position).

What can you say about the idea of ​​the work?

(By interfering in the life of nature, grossly violating the ecological environment, a person commits a moral crime. Whoever is merciless to nature is merciless to all living things, and therefore to himself. In the symbolic picture of the combat between man and nature, there can be no victory on either side, since man and nature are “tied to one mortal end”)

The harmony of relations can be preserved only thanks to the spiritual and historical experience of previous generations. Astafiev's man does not triumph, proving his superiority, but begging the fish for salvation. One can agree that people act against the laws of nature, but obey the laws of nature.

The world for V.P. Astafiev is the world of people and nature, which is in the eternal. An inseparable and contradictory unity, the violation of which threatens with degeneration and death. Great is his faith in the triumph of good, in the fact that each of us will be able to know himself as a person.

Roman Ignatievich, sighing heavily, moved away from the dusty window. Another gray day, the appearance of which he saw through the glass, did not dispose to joyful thoughts. Looking round the little untidy room with a heavy old man's glance from under his brows, he took from the table a pack of "Belomor", in which there were only two cigarettes left, and returned to the window.
Opening the window, Ignatich, as his neighbors called him, crumpled the mouthpiece of his cigarette with a habitual movement and lit up. Strong, acrid smoke entered his lungs, and the old man began to cough. “Again,” he thought, looking unfriendly at the smoke rising up, “But Nyurka the deceased warned ...” Yes, the doctors and Ignatich’s wife, Anna Fedorovna, who died a year and a half ago, strictly forbade him to smoke, but ... what could he do ?
When Ignatich began to think about how and with what he has been living lately, he did not find any other name for his surroundings but "emptiness". Emptiness reigned in everything: his wife, the only person in life, without whom he could not do without, died;
There is a daughter Svetlana, but she has her own family and she does not care about the grumbling of her old father, his sores and eternal dissatisfaction with what is happening. She was only enough to call Ignatich on his birthday, and even, maybe, on New Year's Eve. The father and daughter saw each other for the last time at the funeral of Anna Feodorovna.
Ignatich did not know whether he and his wife raised their daughter in this way, or whether her husband, a man who considered himself a member of "high society" did not approve of Svetlana's meeting with two half-destitute old men, but one way or another, Ignatich rarely communicated with his daughter.
Sometimes, his soul was warmed by the understanding that, in general, everything is in order with his daughter, everything is fine, that she does not need anything. He recalled how two or three years ago, he, with his wife, was visiting Svetlana. Ignatich, a simple Russian hard worker, was struck by the environment in which his daughter lives: a luxurious four-room apartment, a luxurious foreign car, insanely expensive furniture ...
Ignatich took another puff on his cigarette, but the cough became unbearable and he threw it out the window. After shuffling through his slippers, he went to the bedside table that had peeled off from time to time and turned on the old Record, which had seen a lot in its lifetime. Five minutes later, a picture appeared on the screen that warmed up for a long time - a concert was shown on TV. Some wildly painted girl, in a skirt that barely covered her stomach, twitching her thin legs, very unmusically tried to convey to the audience how much she loves someone. Ignatich sympathized with the object of passion of this "singer", but then he became disgusted to look at such squalor, and he turned off the TV, forcing the girl to shut up.
After some thought, he went into the kitchen, sat down on a chair, and took yesterday's Izvestia from the table. Following an old habit of many years, Ignatich began reading the newspaper from the front page, but, realizing that for some reason he was no longer at all worried about "further escalation of tension in relations between the government and parliament," he put the newspaper aside. There was absolutely nothing to do.
Ignatich became even more dreary, because he was sitting and did not know what to do with him. He has never been a bum. All his life he honestly worked to get an apartment, to put his daughter on her feet, so that there was something to leave for his grandchildren. Yes, he has an apartment, but his daughter is doing well, and he himself? His own legs are gradually failing, he was forbidden to smoke, there is nothing to do. Such a life was unbearable for Ignatich. He wanted to call one of his old friends, but remembered that Seryozhka - their usual instigator - was now at the dacha with the children, Petka was in the hospital, and Kolka ... Kolka was in the cemetery.
And then Ignatich made up his mind. Rummaging in his pockets, he took out the last money (nothing, the day after tomorrow - pension), leisurely dressed and left the house.

On the street, some young guys, laughing and occasionally quarreling, were repairing a beautiful car that, for some reason, stood on the lawn near his house. Little neighbor girls fervently jumped over the rope, and their peers nearby on the court were chasing the ball. Even on such a gloomy day, this whole picture was bright, cheerful and cheerful. Ignatich, in his dirty-gray out-of-season coat and crumpled brown trousers, slipped past the bustle that reigned around him like a gloomy ghost and left the yard.
Where he went, until three or four years ago there was always a noisy crowd, arguments in lines, sometimes fights. And even now the freshly painted "WINE" sign didn't really harmonize with what was happening under it: five or six homeless people, a couple of lonely old men like Ignatich, and a bunch of half-drunk teenagers half-sat or half-stood at the door with peeled paint. As soon as he approached the store, two seemingly not quite sober men jumped up to him and uttered the phrase that had apparently already become on-duty for them: "Well, what? Let's take it for three?" Ignatich silently nodded.
- Give me money, father, - said one of them, a young, thin guy without two front teeth and with hair that had not been washed for a long time, - Now, I'm in an instant.
A couple of minutes later he returned, holding a half-liter bottle of vodka in his hand.
“Let’s go somewhere,” the guy suggested, “it’s impossible here ...
About fifty meters from the store there was a small square - a favorite place for local drunks. With difficulty keeping up with his younger companions, Ignatich hobbled there and sat down on a bench, trying to catch his breath.
- One moment, - breathed out the second of the "companions", a hefty man, about fifty years old, with an obscenely red face, and pulled out three plastic cups from somewhere in the bowels of his immense jacket, - pour, - he nodded to the "thin".
- Well, for the acquaintance, - the guy hastily answered, distributing filled glasses to everyone, after which he immediately drained his own.
- For the acquaintance, - agreeing, Ignatich nodded and, slowly, drank.
After the newly appeared "friends" drank a second glass, it suddenly turned out that the bottle was empty.
- Shall we continue? - the "thin" one, who of all three showed the greatest activity in this matter, asked roaringly.
- Let's continue, - Ignatich confirmed and, anticipating the next phrase "bad", reached into his pocket for money.
The “red-faced” also took out a couple of crumpled pieces of paper and gave them to the “thin one”, who, swaying slightly, ran back to the store.

When he returned, then weaned from vodka, and therefore fairly drunk, Ignatich managed to briefly state to the "red-faced", whose name was Volodya, about all his troubles.
- Your daughter is a bitch, - Volodya sighed, - and her husband ... - he cursed briefly.
“Don’t talk like that,” Ignatich asked plaintively in a half-drunk voice, “this is also my fault.
- Well, as you wish, - Volodya did not argue and turned to the "thin one". - Did you bring it?
- Of course, - he put another bottle on the bench. - Open!
After the "thin" one, who called himself Dima, ran for the third bottle, and it was uncorked, the new acquaintances began to calm down the feeling of Ignatich in unison. He listened to them, already hardly understanding what they were talking about. He did not hear their words. A completely different thought was spinning in his head: "Why? Why did I find more understanding and support from these, in general, downtrodden people than from my own daughter? What did I do wrong?" But the old man did not find an answer.
Twilight began to thicken and Dima, suddenly remembering that someone was waiting for him, walked away with an uncertain, but rather quick gait, after saying goodbye to his drinking companions. Volodya still sat on the bench for some time, holding the drunken Ignatich by the shoulders, but then he, looking at his watch, apologized to the old man and also left. Ignatich was left alone again. He didn't think about anything anymore.
He was sitting with his eyes closed, trying not to fall on his side, when suddenly, unexpectedly, like an obscure, blurred picture, his whole life flashed before his eyes. Hungry, cold, dirty childhood years, when he spent the night as a homeless child in porches and under burning boilers. The war, where he volunteered, and where he was seriously wounded. The birth of a daughter, his wife's funeral, his current little dusty apartment... "What have you done in your life? What have you come to? What have you achieved?"
Suddenly, from this oppressive melancholy, and from the drunk vodka, perhaps, too, Ignatich's heart ached. At first he was pinched, and then, unexpectedly, a sharp, terrible pain pierced through the entire old man's body. Grabbing the left half of his chest, he collapsed from the bench and, for some reason, began to crawl onto the lawn, into the bushes. He felt nothing but pain.
A couple in love passing by looked in bewilderment at the crouching dirty old man and, deciding that he was just very drunk, turned away and disappeared from view.
Ignatich stopped feeling pain. He lay with his face buried in the grass, and from her smell it began to seem to the fading mind that his daughter was running across this grass towards the old man, only for some reason quite small. She called him, stretched out her hands to him, called to her ... Ignatich reached out to her, rising on his elbows, but his old sick heart could not stand it, his hands buckled, and he again fell on the grass. His smoky lungs exhaled for the last time and his breathing stopped.

The next morning, some bum, making his way between the bushes in search of empty bottles, stumbled upon the lifeless body of Ignatich.
- Hey buddy! he said. - It's time to get up!
But the old man could no longer answer him. Hmming indifferently, the bum continued his search.
When in the evening he again passed by and saw that Ignatich was lying in the same place where he had been, after some thought, he finally realized that the old man was dead. Looking around, he hurriedly searched the pockets of the dead man's clothes, but found nothing and, spitting, considered it best to leave as soon as possible.
A couple of hours later, the body of Ignatich was nevertheless found and taken to the morgue. The search for relatives did not lead to anything and "an unknown man, apparently about seventy years old, with no signs of violent death" was burned at the expense of the state.

Six months passed and the birthday of Roman Ignatievich came. Svetlana dialed his phone number, but no one, of course, answered. "Probably met with friends. Celebrates," she thought, and hung up. "All right, he'll call you back."