How Steel Was Tempered" is a masterpiece that has inspired countless people and has remained popular for more than 60 years since its publication. The reason is that in addition to the book's true and profound depiction of the vast life in Ukraine before and after the October Revolution, it also portrays Paul Korchagin's noble personality of persistence and perseverance. His image transcends time and space. It has had a worldwide impact and shakes the heartstrings of generations. Whether from the perspective of ideological content or artistic form, this novel can be called one of the best works of Soviet literature in the 1930s. It has been printed more than 600 times in 61 languages, with a circulation of more than 30 million copies. "How Steel Was Tempered" teaches us how to live a meaningful life. Paul's pursuit of life, persistent fighting and dedication, and firm belief in life are always worth learning.

1. Content Overview

Paul Korchagin was born into a poor railway worker family. He lost his father at an early age and relied on his mother to do laundry and cooking for others to make ends meet. When he was 12 years old, his mother sent him to the station canteen as a handyman, where he suffered all kinds of bullying

《How Steel Was Tempered》

humiliation. He hated the oppressive shopkeepers and the rich people who lived and drank.

After the outbreak of the "October Revolution", imperialism and reactionaries tried to strangle the new Soviet power. Paul's hometown of Sebietoka, Ukraine, also experienced years of foreign armed intervention and civil war. The Red Army liberated the town of Sebetovka, but soon withdrew, leaving only the elder Bushwick Zhukhlai doing underground work in the town. He stayed at Paul's house for a few days and told Paul many truths about revolution, the working class and class struggle. Zhu Helai was the initial leader who took Paul on the road to revolution. While fishing, Paul met Tonya, the daughter of a forest officer. One day, Zhu Helai was captured by the White Army. Paul searched everywhere for his whereabouts. When the bandits were escorting Zhu Helai, Paul pounced on him, knocked the bandits down in the trench, and escaped with Zhu Helai. Paul was imprisoned due to a report by Victor, the son of the Polish nobleman Liszhenski. In prison, Paul withstood the torture and remained strong and unyielding. In order to welcome Petliura, the leader of Baifei, to visit the small town, a second-level officer mistakenly released Paul as an ordinary prisoner. He was afraid of falling into the clutches of the devil again and did not dare to go home, so he involuntarily came to Tonya's garden gate and jumped into the garden. Since Paul had rescued Tonya during the last fishing trip, and she liked his "enthusiastic and stubborn" character, his arrival made her very happy. Paul also felt that Tonya was different from other rich girls. They all felt the vague love. In order to take refuge, he agreed to Tonya's request and stayed. A few days later, Tonya found Paul's brother Arqing, who sent his brother to Katchadin to join the Red Army. After joining the army, Paul served as a scout and later as a cavalryman. He was a capable and courageous warrior on the battlefield and an excellent political propagandist. He especially liked to read "Gadfly", "Spartacus" and other works, and often read or told stories to his comrades. In a fierce battle, he was seriously injured on the head, but he defeated death with his tenacious perseverance. His physical condition prevented him from returning to the front, so he immediately threw himself into the work of restoring and building the country. He did regiment work, counter-revolutionary work, and devoted himself selflessly to hard physical labor. Especially the work of building railways was particularly difficult

"How Steel Was Tempered"

Hard; autumn rain, mud, heavy snow, frozen soil, everyone lacked food and clothing, and slept in the open air. There are also threats of armed bandits and disease. During this period, his love with Tonya was in crisis, and Tonya's vulgar individualism disgusted him. When I met her again while building the railway, she was married to a wealthy engineer. When Paul was the secretary of the Youth League Committee at the railway factory, he had frequent contact with Lida, a member of the Youth League Committee at work, and the two gradually developed feelings. But he mistakenly regarded Lida's brother as her lover, and thus lost the opportunity to fall in love with her.

At the end of the road construction work, Paul caught typhoid fever and developed pneumonia. The organization had to send Paul back to his hometown to recuperate. On the way, the news that Paul was dead was mistakenly transmitted, but Paul defeated death for the fourth time and returned to the world. After recovering from his illness, he returned to work and joined the party.

Due to various injuries and illnesses, as well as selfless work and labor, Paul's health became worse and worse and he lost his ability to work. The party organization had to relieve him of his job and have him hospitalized for long-term treatment. While recuperating on the beach, he met Daya and fell in love with her. While Paul continued to help Daya improve, he began to study tenaciously and enhance his writing skills. In 1927, Paul was paralyzed and then blind. The raging disease finally bound this passionate warrior to his bed. Paul also had the idea of ????suicide for a time, but he quickly got out of the trough. This man who was paralyzed, blind and had no writing experience began his heroic career - literary creation. Paul endured great physical and mental pain. He first wrote in a cardboard frame, and later dictated it himself and asked others to record it for him. With the help of his mother and wife, the novel "Born of the Storm" which he wrote with his life was finally published! Paul picked up new weapons and started a new life.

2. Introduction to the author

Nikolai Ostrovsky (1904_1936), a famous Soviet Bolshevik writer, since his novel "How Steel Was Tempered" Since the publication of "", he, together with Paul Korchagin in the book, has become a friend and role model for thousands of aspiring young people in the world.

In 1904, Ostrovsky was born into a working-class family in Ukraine. His father was a seasonal worker in a brewery, and his mother was a cook in a wealthy family. The family was very poor. Therefore, he only studied for three years and started working to make a living when he was about ten years old. Ostrovsky worked in various occupations, such as helping others herd horses, working as a boy in the station canteen, and working as an assistant fireman in a power plant. His poverty and humiliation life cultivated his hatred and rebellious character towards the old world. When he was 13 years old, he began to actively participate in revolutionary activities. In 1918, Ostrovsky's hometown was once occupied by the German army. He risked his life to complete the tasks assigned to him by the organization to collect enemy intelligence and post revolutionary notices on the sentry shed of the German headquarters. This shows that He was praised by his comrades for his wit, bravery and fearlessness of sacrifice. In July 1919, the Communist Youth League was established in Ostrovsky's hometown. He became the first generation of the Communist Youth League and joined the Red Army and went to the front line to fight against the White Army. In a fierce battle the next year, he suffered multiple injuries to his head and abdomen, and lost 80% of the vision in his right eye due to the injury. Severe injuries forced Ostrov to leave the team. However, as soon as his injury improved, he turned to labor construction with a high degree of revolutionary consciousness. He first worked as an assistant electrician in a railway factory, and then voluntarily signed up to join the commando team and devoted himself to the hard work of building railways. On the construction site, he contracted typhoid fever and rheumatism, and was often in a coma. Before he recovered from this serious illness, he actively participated in the intense work of grabbing firewood on the Dibennie River. Because he was immersed in waist-deep ice water for a long time, his rheumatism became more serious, and he soon developed polyarthritis and pneumonia. From then on, he lost the minimum health and worsened day by day. By 1929, he was paralyzed, blind in both eyes, and completely lost his ability to move. However, he was not pessimistic and depressed at all. "As long as the heart has not stopped beating, you must make yourself Become a useful person to the party. "Studying literary creation was found by Ostrovsky while lying on the hospital bed

"How Steel Was Tempered"

"The ticket into life."

At the end of 1927, while fighting against illness, Ostrovsky wrote a novella about the growth and heroic battles of the Kotov Cavalry Brigade. After finishing the novel two months later, he sealed it and asked his wife to send it to his comrades in the Kotov Cavalry Brigade in Odessa to ask for their opinions. The comrades enthusiastically commented on the novel, but he never expected that The manuscript was lost by the post office on the way back. This unexpected blow was too cruel to him, but it did not dampen his strong will. While attending the Sverdlov Communist Correspondence University, he began to conceive of a larger project. Novel - "How Steel Was Tempered". The novel was published in 1934 and achieved great success. He was also admitted as a member of the Soviet Writers Association. Subsequently, Ostrovsky began to write another set of trilogy novels "Birth of the Storm" in recognition of his creative labor and outstanding contributions in literature.

In December 1936, Ostrovsky died in Moscow due to a recurrence of his serious illness

3. Characters in the book

Paul Korchagin (nickname: Povru Sha, Povka)

Seryozha Bruzak - Paul's childhood friend, Red Army soldier, Secretary of the Communist Youth League District Committee

Valia · Bruzak—Seryozha’s sister, member of the Communist Youth League

Lida Ustinovich—staff member of the Political Department of the Red Army Division, Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League Standing Committee Member

Ivan Zharki - Red Army soldier, Secretary of the *** Youth League District Committee

Ignat Pankratov - dock worker, cargo terminal ***Secretary of the Youth League

Nikolai Okunev—Secretary of the *** Youth League of the Locomotive Garage, Secretary of the *** District Party Committee of the Youth League

Feodor Er Zhuhelai - sailor, underground worker of the party, chairman of the Provincial Counterrevolutionary Committee, deputy director of the special service department of the military region

Dolinik - carpenter, underground worker of the party, municipal revolutionary committee Chairman

"How Steel Was Tempered"

Akeem - Secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League of Ukraine, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of Ukraine

Tokarev - old fitter, captain of the road construction team, secretary of the district party committee

Alexander Puzylevsky - commander of the Red Army

Leje Niov - the old Bolshevik

Artem Korchagin - Paul's brother, fitter, chairman of the Municipal Soviet

Politovsky - the train driver

Zahar Bruzak - Seryosha's father, train co-driver

Maria Yakovlevna - Paul's mother

Daya Korchakina (nickname: Dayusa)—female worker, Paul’s wife

Tonya Tumanova—Paul’s childhood girlfriend , the daughter of a forest officer

Dmitry Dubava—Secretary of the Communist Youth League District Committee, Trotskyist

Voloya Tufta— ***Minister of the Registration and Distribution Department of the Youth League Provincial Committee, Trotskyist

Tsvetayev - Secretary of the Youth League Committee of the Railway Factory, Trotskyist

Priest Vasily - Ukrainian Social Revolution Partisan, counter-revolutionary

Victor Lesinski - Polish hereditary nobleman, middle school student, informer

Petliura - bandit leader

4 . Theme

"How the Steel Was Tempered" is an excellent novel that describes the growth process of new people and reveals their excellent qualities. When a British reporter asked the author why he took "How Steel Was Tempered" as the title of his book, Ostrovs Key replied: "Steel is forged in fire and sudden cooling. Only in this way can it become hard and fearless of anything. Our generation is also tempered in such struggles and arduous tests." , and learned not to be decadent in the face of life." This title vividly summarizes the ideological content he wants to express; the growth path and ideological character of his generation.

Through the growth path of Paul Korchagin, the novel tells people that a person can only defeat the enemy and himself in the hardships of the revolution, and only by connecting his pursuit with the interests of the motherland and the people. Only when we are together can we create miracles and grow into steel warriors. Revolutionaries are forged into steel in struggle, which is an important theme in the novel. By revealing Paul's resolute character who dared to overcome any hardships for the cause of the party and the people, the novel vividly tells the young generation what the ideal of communism is and how to work hard for the understanding of communism. What kind of life a revolutionary warrior should have is another theme of the novel. What Paul said when he paid homage to the grave of his female comrade Valian is a confession of his communist outlook on life and an elucidation of the theme of the novel: "The most precious thing for man is life. Life It belongs to a person only once. A person's life should be spent like this; when he looks back on the past, he will not regret for wasting his years, nor will he be ashamed of doing nothing; in this way, when he is dying, he will To be able to say: 'My whole life and all my energy have been dedicated to the most magnificent cause in the world - the struggle for the liberation of mankind. '" The theme of the novel can be summarized like this: A person's life should be like Paul. Korchagin spent it like that.

5. Artistic Features

"How the Steel Was Tempered"

"How the Steel Was Tempered" is an autobiographical novel. Many of the stories in the book come from the author's personal experience, making them more authentic, credible, and touching. However, the author does not stick to the facts of life and makes a lot of typical treatment of the characters and plots. "How Steel Was Tempered", like Gorky's "Autobiographical Trilogy", has made an important contribution to the innovation of autobiographical novels.

The entire description of the novel revolves around the growth of the protagonist, with a compact and natural structure. When portraying the character of the protagonist, different aspects are used to express his excellent qualities. By describing how Paul treats prison, war, work, friendship, love, illness, and setbacks, that is, how he treats major issues such as revolution and individuals, public and private, life and death, the image of Paul, the steel warrior, is presented. The shape is particularly plump, vivid and radiant.

6. Wonderful Quotes

The most precious thing for a person is life. Life belongs to people only once. A person’s life should be spent like this: when he looks back on the past, He will not regret wasting his years, nor will he be ashamed of doing nothing; in this way, when he is dying, he can say: "My whole life and all my energy have been dedicated to the most magnificent cause in the world." ——Struggle for the liberation of mankind”

7. Character image

The greatest achievement of the novel "How Steel Was Tempered" is the successful portrayal of Paul. .Korchakin is a typical image of a new communist who was trained by the Bolivian Communist Party and tempered in the flames of revolution and in a difficult environment. With his clear class position of love and hate, lofty moral outlook, high revolutionary passion, miraculous vitality and steel-like strong will, he composed a magnificent poem dedicated to the party and the people.

Paul is a conscious and selfless revolutionary warrior who always puts the interests of the party and the motherland first. In the war years of blood and fire, Paul and his father and brothers fought on the battlefield together to defend the Soviet regime and fought bloody battles against foreign armed interventionists and the White Army, showing their willingness to sacrifice for the revolutionary cause. During the difficult years of healing the wounds of war and restoring the national economy, he devoted all his enthusiasm to peaceful labor. Although he once served as an iron horse and fought with blood on the battlefield, he was not arrogant about taking credit, nor did he consider his personal fame and fortune. He only wanted to do more for the party and the people. The party asked him to build railways, and he went; the party asked him to be a league cadre, and he went, and he did so at his own risk. For the sake of revolution, he can even sacrifice love. He loved Leda, but was influenced by the "Gadfly" and wanted to "completely devote himself to the revolutionary cause", so he followed the "Gadfly" way and left without saying goodbye. After being paralyzed and blind, all he needed in life was to continue working for the party. As he said: "My whole life and all my energy are dedicated to the most magnificent cause in the world - the struggle for the liberation of mankind."

Paul is a resolute and strong man. A revolutionary warrior, he has withstood severe tests in all aspects of his life. He was unyielding in the face of the enemy's torture; he marched forward bravely on the battlefield where bullets were raining; in the fight against the life-devouring disease, he kept the god of death at bay many times and created the miracle of "resurrection from the dead". Especially when he was on the hospital bed. The process of climbing up to the palace of art shows the highest state that a revolutionary warrior can achieve with his steely will.

Paul is another heroic figure who sees greatness in the ordinary. There are no earth-shattering achievements in his resume. He always started from the most ordinary little things. Faced with the heavy blow of the disease, he also had the idea of ????suicide, and it was in his heroic passion to fight the disease. , he contains the danger of "leftist" infantilism. Paul later finally realized that his behavior of not caring for the body cannot be called a heroic act, but a kind of willfulness and irresponsibility. Therefore, Paul is great and also. Ordinary, he is a steel warrior who has gradually matured in the flames of revolution, a flesh-and-blood role model that makes people feel warm.

Paul is based on the author himself. The author describes Paul based on his own life experience and true feelings. Therefore, Paul's touching deeds are not artistic fiction, but basically real people. It's real, so it's more touching.

However, the author objects to viewing this novel entirely as the author's autobiography because "this is a novel, not a biography." He concentrated on Paul the thoughts and character traits of many similar characters of his time, using a typical approach. He said: "In this book, I am not writing about Paul Korchagin alone, but about millions of Korchagins, millions of men and women who are fighting for their own happiness. ! "Paul's image is both autobiographical and schematic. He is the most glorious and typical representative of the young generation of socialism.

8. Three romances

His three romances with Tonya (the daughter of the forestry officer), Lida (the female political commissar), and Daya (the worker), imply The spiritual journey of a red Russian man gradually moving away from the body and luxury, and moving closer to the spirit, principles and ideas. The love for Tonya comes from the true heart of an ignorant young man, which is the yearning for a beautiful and comfortable life that will naturally arise in any person; the love with the female political commissar Lida happened in the revolutionary life of the Communist Party of China, " The slogan "Revolution above all else" suffocated the remaining love for Lida in Paul's heart; the marriage to the worker's daughter Daya was not said to be out of love, but out of salvation. At this time, Paul was physically disabled but spiritually outstanding. You relied on "spirit" and "will" to save yourself, and also used it to illuminate Daya's eyes. His spirit has been regarded as "a bright beacon for the cause of communism."

To be honest, the reason why this book has always been favored by young readers in China is indeed due to the suffering of growing up and the young and true love that is filled in the first half. In an era when there was no love in literature, the three words "Donia", with its unique combination of exotic, mysterious and gentle images, warmed many hearts longing for love. It can be said that "Winter" at that time "Nia" is synonymous with "love". "Love" grows and becomes brilliant in the readers' hearts with the appearance of the girl Tonya, like a hot but claustrophobic lone star in winter; Pauln's heartbroken Tonya used a different mode of criticism and propaganda to create the same hopeless ripples in the hearts of readers at that time - it was precisely that era that coincided with the more tragic love in the aesthetic sense, giving people The young people of that particular era were baptized by a spiritual baptism of "not being able to love", thus deeply understanding the sublimity and elusiveness of love. Although this ending is solemn, the first generation of young readers who read "How the Steel Was Tempered" were extremely lucky to find a romantic blueprint that they can learn and use now. Of course they cannot forget such a good book that has brought great enlightenment to their life development...

A new journey has begun, and the rebellious party is the new child. Haven't you seen the joy on their faces? It was a knowing joy of unexpected discovery from the texts they were allowed to read because they were young and enthusiastic enough to celebrate themselves. Of course, you might smile and say in a worldly way: "One day..." Yes, until the end of time, there will only be the mainstream and the rebellious, and they will continue to travel in peace and harmony.

9. Main Achievements

The greatest achievement of the novel "How Steel Was Tempered" is the successful portrayal of Paul Korchagin, the Bolivian hero. Under the training of the party, he is a typical image of a new communist who is tempered in the flames of revolution and in a difficult environment. He has a clear class position of love and hate, lofty moral outlook, high-spirited revolutionary passion, miraculous vitality and steel-like spirit. With a strong will, he wrote a magnificent poem dedicated to the party and the people. Paul was a conscious and selfless revolutionary warrior who always put the interests of the party and the motherland first. In the war years of blood and fire, Paul and his father and brothers fought on the battlefield together to defend the Soviet regime and fought bloody battles against foreign armed interventionists and the White Army, showing their willingness to sacrifice for the revolutionary cause. During the difficult years of healing the wounds of war and restoring the national economy, he devoted all his enthusiasm to peaceful labor. Although he once served as an iron horse and fought with blood on the battlefield, he was not arrogant about taking credit, nor did he consider his personal fame and fortune. He only wanted to do more for the party and the people. The party asked him to build railways, and he went; the party asked him to be a league cadre, and he went, and he did so at his own risk. For the sake of revolution, he can even sacrifice love. He loved Leda, but was influenced by the "Gadfly" and wanted to "completely devote himself to the revolutionary cause", so he followed the "Gadfly" way and left without saying goodbye.

After being paralyzed and blind, all he needed in life was to continue working for the party. As he said: "My whole life and all my energy are dedicated to the most magnificent cause in the world - the struggle for the liberation of mankind." Paul is a resolute and strong revolutionary warrior. All aspects have withstood severe tests. He was strong and unyielding in the face of the enemy's torture; he marched forward bravely on the battlefield where bullets were raining; in the fight against the life-devouring disease, he kept the god of death at bay many times and created the miracle of "resurrection". In particular, the process of him struggling to climb to the palace of art while on the hospital bed shows the highest state that a revolutionary warrior can achieve with his steely will. Paul is another heroic figure who meets the great in the ordinary. There are no earth-shattering achievements in his resume. He always starts from the most ordinary things

《How Steel Was Tempered》

. Faced with the heavy blow of the disease, he also had the idea of ????suicide, and in his heroic passion to fight against the disease, he contained the danger of "leftist" infantile disease. Paul later finally realized that his behavior of not caring for his body could not be called a heroic act, but a kind of willfulness and irresponsibility. Therefore, Paul is both great and ordinary. He is a steel warrior who has gradually matured in the flames of revolution. He is a flesh-and-blood role model who makes people feel warm. Paul is a typical autobiographical image based on the author himself. The writer describes Paul based on his own life experience and true feelings. Therefore, Paul's moving deeds are not artistic fiction, but basically real people, but they are real, so they are more touching. However, the author objects to treating this novel entirely as the writer's autobiography because "this is a novel, not a biography." He concentrated on Paul the thoughts and character traits of many similar characters of his time, using a typical approach. He said: "In this book, I am not writing about Paul Korchagin alone, but about millions of Korchagins, millions of men and women who are fighting for their own happiness. ! "Paul's image is both autobiographical and schematic. He is the most glorious and typical representative of the young generation of socialism.

10. Film and TV dramas

"How the Steel Was Tempered"

This novel has been made into movies and TV series many times.

In 1942, the Soviet Union shot the movie "How the Steel Was Tempered" based on the first part of "How the Steel Was Tempered".

In 1957, the Soviet Union filmed the movie "Paul Korchagin" based on the second part of "How the Steel Was Tempered".

In 1999, mainland China adapted the original work of "How the Steel Was Tempered" into a TV series of the same name, in which many Ukrainian actors were dubbed in Chinese. This is the first Chinese adaptation of a Soviet TV series. The 2000 broadcast was well received. Screenwriter: Liang Xiaosheng and others. Chief Director: Han Gang. The drama won the 18th "China TV Golden Eagle Award" and the 20th China TV Drama "Feitian Award" for Best Feature.

Main content: The novel uses Paul's life experience as a clue to show the broad historical picture of Soviet Russia from 1915 to 1930 and the arduous struggle life of the people.

11. Reading experience

"How Steel Was Tempered"

① This is a novel that shines with lofty idealism; ② Successfully created the image of Paul Korchakin, a proletarian hero; ③ The novel mainly focuses on narrative and description of characters, while also interspersing inner monologues, letters, diaries, aphorisms, etc. to make the characters flesh and blood. ④The novel's scenery description, psychological description, and environmental description are also quite excellent, and the language is concise, beautiful, and expressive. Character image - typical plot - character traits: Paul Korchagin worked as a child laborer and suffered torture and humiliation at the lowest level of society since he was a child. Later, under the influence of Zhu Helai, he gradually embarked on the road of revolution. Since then, he has experienced a series of life challenges, making himself stronger and stronger. Even when injuries ruthlessly took away his health and forced him to lie in bed, he still did not give in to fate. Instead, he wrote with tenacious perseverance and fulfilled his life oath in another way. He has the spirit of dedication to his ideals, the iron will, and the noble quality of tenacious struggle.

12. Appreciation of wonderful chapters

"How Steel Was Tempered" is divided into two parts. The first part describes the civil war, and the second part describes economic recovery and socialist construction. The second part is the part where the theme of the book is fully developed, showing the melting of "steel" and the refining of "steel". The most important chapters are the second and ninth sections.

13. Related information

Author: Nicholas Ostrovsky

Protagonist Paul

Bolshevik Party

"Gadfly", "Spartacus"