Read a summary of Tolstoy's story after the ball. After the ball

The specificity of the work of the Russian classic L. N. Tolstoy is the constant search for morality. He wondered about the purpose of man. In Tolstoy's stories, the theme of relationships between people runs like a red thread. The philosophical orientation of his works touches on these issues and reveals their essence. This is felt most acutely in works created after a spiritual crisis. The story “After the Ball” deserves special attention. The plan for the future story was created as a draft of a diary entry. The final version was approved by the writer at the end of August 1903.

Brief description of the characters “After the Ball”

Main characters

Minor characters

The portraits of the characters collectively reflect the author’s own view of things. Illustrate his uncompromising position regarding human cruelty. The colonel controls the execution and vigilantly monitors the execution of the punishment. His whole appearance demonstrates cruelty in his relationship with his subordinates. He takes out his anger not only on the offender, but also on the soldiers who stand in the ranks and carry out the punishment.
The author describes the events on behalf of the main character, who tells two incidents from his own life that happened with his participation during his student years. The main idea here is that the decisive moment in the fate of any person is not the environment, but the circumstances.

One day at dinner, the respected Ivan Vasilyevich told his audience a story that greatly changed his life.

In his youth, he was partial to eighteen-year-old Varenka, who was incredibly beautiful and sweet for her age, and all his entertainment was balls and evenings. At one of the balls, he was lucky enough to spend the entire evening dancing with Varenka. Her father was also at that celebration, and he danced the mazurka well with his beloved daughter. During the dance of two close people - father and daughter, Ivan Vasilyevich was delighted with this girl’s dad.

The night after the ball, he could not sleep and decided to wander around the city. Then he suddenly saw a crowd coming towards him. She punished a Tatar who had done something wrong. And Varya’s father walked ahead and made sure that he was beaten with a stick hard and a lot. Ivan could not understand whether what he saw was good or bad.

Having never found an answer to the question that worried him, he was unable to enroll in military service.

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And seeing Varya’s sweet face, he remembered that morning, and “the love never faded.”

Updated: 2017-08-09

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Retelling plan

1. Ivan Vasilyevich begins a story about an incident that turned his life upside down.
2. Description of the ball. The hero's love.
3. After the ball. The hero accidentally witnesses the execution and cruelty of Varenka’s father.
4. This incident turns the hero’s life upside down and disrupts all his future plans.

Retelling

Dear Ivan Vasilievich, unexpectedly for all those present, expresses the idea that it is not the environment that influences the formation of a worldview young man, but the case. Your statement old man reinforces it with a story about an incident from his own life, after which for him “his whole life changed.”

As a young man, Ivan Vasilyevich was in love with a certain Varenka B., a lovely girl: tall, slender, graceful. At that time he was a “student at a provincial university,” a cheerful and lively fellow, and also rich. Like many young people in his circle, Ivan Vasilyevich spent his evenings at balls and caroused with friends.

Ivan Vasilyevich characterizes the ball at the provincial leader as “wonderful” not so much because everything was really wonderful there, but because his beloved was at the ball. Varenka looked especially beautiful in a pink and white dress. Ivan Vasilyevich danced with her all evening and felt that his love for her was mutual.

Varenka’s father, a colonel (“a very handsome, stately, tall and fresh old man”), has the same affectionate and joyful smile as his daughter. The owners persuade him to dance a mazurka with their daughter. The dancing couple attracts everyone's attention. Main character is touched by the fact that the colonel is wearing unfashionable calf boots, since, obviously, he is forced to deny himself a lot in order to dress and take his daughter out into the world. After the dance, the colonel brought Varenka to Ivan Vasilyevich, and for the rest of the evening the young people were not separated. They don’t talk about love, and there’s no need to: Ivan Vasilyevich is happy. He fears only one thing: that his happiness will not be spoiled by anything.

The hero returns home in the morning, but cannot sleep because he is “too happy.” He goes to wander around the city in the direction of Varenka’s house. Suddenly the young man hears the sounds of a flute and a drum, hard, bad sounds. It turned out that this music accompanied the punishment of a Tatar soldier for escaping. He was “run through the gauntlet.” Varenka’s father commanded the execution. The person being punished begged for “mercy,” but the colonel strictly monitored compliance with the punishment procedure. Therefore, he hit the “frightened, short, weak soldier” in the face because he “smeared”, i.e. lightly lowers his stick onto the already mutilated back of the person being punished. The sight of the soldier’s red, motley, blood-wet back terrifies Ivan Vasilyevich, as does the punishment procedure itself. But what shocked the young man most was the realization that he was unable to understand the colonel’s obvious confidence in the correctness of his actions, who, meanwhile, noticing Ivan Vasilyevich, turned away and pretended to be unfamiliar with him.

After everything he saw, Ivan Vasilyevich “could not enter military service, as he had wanted before,” and “from that day on, love began to wane.” So just one incident changed the hero’s entire life and views.

Readers became acquainted with the story “After the Ball,” created in 1903, only in 1911, after the death of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. The plot is based on the events that happened to the writer’s brother. The realism of the depiction of reality and the unusual ring composition helped the author draw a parallel between the past and the present. A succinct and concise story forces us to focus on one main event in the life of the main character. Through the eyes of Ivan Vasilyevich we see the cruel century of the reign of Nicholas I, crippling the soul and morality of his contemporary.

Main characters

Ivan Vasilievich- a person who acts as a narrator. He remembers the time when he was a “cheerful, lively fellow and also rich” and was a young and in love student. The young man is trusting, honest and conscientious.

Other characters

Peter Vladislavich- Varenka’s father, Colonel. A two-faced man: a kind, loving father at the ball and an insensitive officer supervising the punishment of a soldier after the ball.

Varenka- an eighteen-year-old girl with whom the hero is madly in love. She is charming, sweet and naive.

Compositionally, the content of the work can be divided into two parts: events at the ball and after the ball.

The first lines of the story are a discussion between experienced friends about whether environment influence a person's destiny. One of them, Ivan Vasilyevich, believing that “it’s all a matter of chance,” offers to listen to a story from his life.

His story begins with a description of a ball in the house of the provincial leader. Happy Ivan Vasilyevich enjoys communicating with his beloved girl. Everything seems wonderful to him: wonderful, kind hosts, beautiful outfits, a dazzling hall, cheerful music. Throughout the evening, the hero does not take his eyes off his beloved. He watches with delight the dancing colonel and his daughter. He is touched by his homemade boots, thinking that for the sake of Varenka, his father saves on himself and makes sacrifices. The young man is ready to love the whole world. “I was not only cheerful and contented, I was happy, blissful, I was kind, I was not me, but some unearthly creature, knowing no evil and capable of only good,” the narrator recalls.

Inspired by his impressions, the narrator, returning home, remains in a state of bliss. He goes outside. Early morning, the city is waking up, rare passers-by. The surroundings seemed “nice and significant.” This part of the story is imbued with a feeling of goodness and light. Brilliant eyes, joyful smiles, white and pink colors surround the young lover.

The mood changes dramatically in the next part of the story. In the clearing morning fog, Ivan Vasilyevich saw a picture that struck his imagination. The Tatar was driven away between the soldiers with sticks in their hands. His colleagues beat him severely on orders from his superiors, punishing him for running away. His back turned into something “motley, wet, red, unnatural.” The words of the poor fellow reached the young man. He did not speak, but sobbed: “Brothers, have mercy. Brothers, have mercy." But the punishment continued. In the man leading the torture, Ivan Vasilyevich unexpectedly recognized the father of his beloved Varenka. The officer, without taking off his gloves, beat one of the soldiers who decided to take pity on the unfortunate man. Noticing Ivan Vasilyevich, Pyotr Vladislavich pretended that they did not know each other and continued to control the execution. The main character felt horror and shame. On the way home, he tried to find an excuse for the colonel’s actions, but a terrible picture appeared before him again and again, and unpleasant, harsh music sounded in his ears. He was terrified, scared and sad.

The event that occurred radically changed the young man’s life. He stopped dating Varenka, “love began to wane.” For a long time I tried to make sense of what I saw. I thought that I didn’t understand something important in this life. But “no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find out.” Therefore, I did not want to be an officer, and did not become an official. His worldview and moral principles did not allow him to serve a state with such cruel and unjust laws.

Conclusion

L.N. Tolstoy's story was created more than a century ago, but has not lost its relevance. How to choose the right path in life and not succumb to circumstances? These questions still concern every young person today. The work helps to understand the historical past of our country and warns against mistakes. From the example of the main character, we learn kindness, honesty and mercy. Therefore, you should not limit yourself to familiarizing yourself with a brief retelling of the story “After the Ball.” You should read the text of the great classic in full.

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Retelling rating

Average rating: 4.4. Total ratings received: 8143.

About the story. This work shows the life and morals of the noble society of that time.

What was the beginning of Ivan Vasilyevich’s story

The girl was beautiful and slender. Tall, stately. There was a sense of breed about her. He couldn't help but notice her. All the women and men admired her. She floated around the hall in a pink and white dress. Brown eyes looked with tenderness. When she smiled, dimples appeared on her rosy cheeks.

It was love, but not physical. He did not dream of possessing her as a woman. Varenka was unattainable, like a goddess. As a sign of sympathy, the girl gave him a feather from a fan, which she fanned herself with all evening.

Daughter and father dance

The next dance Varenka danced with her father. This was an elderly man. Colonel. Handsome, stately. The military man's face was adorned with a gorgeous mustache. The couple circled the hall, attracting everyone's attention. Ivan drew attention to the colonel’s boots: old, worn to holes. He realized that the father spent all his money on his only daughter, forgetting about himself. Ivan was floating in the clouds. He was happy. All thoughts were about my beloved. Returning home, the guy could not sleep for a long time, turning over the events of the past day in his head.

The massacre of a soldier or the true face of Varenka’s father

Insomnia completely exhausted Ivan. He decided to take a walk around the city at night. The legs themselves led to Varenka’s house. Music was playing in the courtyard of the house. The sounds of the flute intertwined with the drumming. A loud, unpleasant melody that irritated the ears. The guy sees soldiers driving a Tatar through the line, beating him with sticks. The parade was commanded by a colonel, Varenka's father. He was terrible in anger. The face is twisted with hatred. Noticing Ivan, the colonel pretended that he did not know him and turned away.

Epilogue

Ivan could not move away from what he saw. The scene of the beating was before my eyes. He didn't understand why everyone was silent. Is it really right to torture a person half to death? Ivan was never able to find an excuse for the colonel’s cruelty. Now the guy knew one thing clearly: he wouldn’t set foot in military service. Love for Varenka began to wane along with this episode. This is how a person’s life turned upside down overnight, changing plans and sending him along a different path.