The original title of the story is "Machinist Maltsev". Under this heading, it was published in an abridged form in the second issue of the magazine "30 Days" for 1941, and in the third issue of the magazine "Friendly Guys" for 1941 under the title "Imaginary Light". The story was written in 1938.
The work reflects the experience of the writer, who in 1915-1917. worked as an assistant driver in the vicinity of Voronezh, and his father was a mechanic and assistant driver.
Literary direction and genre
In some editions, "In a Beautiful and Furious World" is printed with the subtitle "Fantastic Tale". Indeed, double lightning blindness, double vision restoration do not have scientific evidence. And it is completely unknown how lightning and the electromagnetic wave that precedes it affect the vision of individuals. It doesn't even matter to the reader whether this electromagnetic wave even exists.
All these physical and biological explanations for the blindness of the machinist Maltsev and his miraculous healing are indeed fantastic, but on the whole the story is realistic. The main thing in it is not fantastic elements, but the characters of the narrator and machinist Maltsev, shown in development.
Topics and issues
The theme of the story is the loneliness of the master. The main idea is that talent often leads to pride, which makes a person blind. To see the world, you need to open your heart to meet it.
The work raises the problem of exaltation and sympathy, loneliness, the problem of justice in punishing a person by a person, the problem of guilt and responsibility.
Plot and composition
The short story consists of 5 parts. The narrative is dynamic, spanning two years. The narrator becomes an assistant to the machinist Maltsev on a new locomotive and works with him for about a year. The second chapter is devoted to the very trip, during which the driver went blind and almost ran into the tail of a freight train. The third chapter describes the trial of Maltsev and his accusation.
The fourth part tells about the events taking place six months later, in winter. The narrator finds a way to prove Maltsev's innocence, but artificial lightning causes the prisoner to become permanently blind. The narrator is looking for ways to help the blind man.
The fifth part tells about the events that happened six months later, in the summer. The narrator himself becomes a machinist and takes a blind machinist with him on the road. The narrator operates the machine by placing his hands on the hands of the blind driver. At some point, the blind man was able to see the yellow signal, and then he became sighted.
Each part of the story captures some episode from the story of Maltsev: an ordinary trip - a fatal trip - a trial - an experiment with lightning and liberation - healing.
The title of the story is related to last words a storyteller who wants to save Maltsev from the hostile forces of a beautiful and furious world.
Heroes and images
The image of a beautiful world hostile to man is the main one in the story. There are two main characters in the story: the machinist Alexander Vasilievich Maltsev and the narrator, whom Maltsev calls Kostya. The narrator and Maltsev are not particularly friendly. The story is the story of their relationship, rapprochement, finding a friend in trouble.
Machinist Maltsev is a real master of his craft. Already at the age of 30, he has the qualification of a first-class machinist, it is he who is appointed as the machinist of the new powerful IS machine. The narrator admires the work of his engineer, who drives the locomotive "with the confidence of a great master, with the concentration of an inspired artist." The main feature that the narrator notices in Maltsev is indifference to the people working with him, a certain alienation. One of the features of Maltsev upsets the narrator: the driver double-checks all the work of his assistant, as if he does not trust him. During work, Maltsev does not speak, but only knocks on the boiler with a key, giving silent instructions.
The narrator eventually realized that the reason for this behavior of Maltsev was a sense of superiority: the driver believed that he understood the locomotive better and loved it more. This pride, a mortal sin, may have been the reason for his trials. Although no one really could understand Maltsev's talent, how to surpass him in skill.
Maltsev did not see the lightning, but, having gone blind, did not understand it. His skill was so great that he blindly drove the car, seeing with his inner vision, imagining the entire usual path, but, of course, not being able to see the red signal, which seemed green to him.
After leaving prison, the blind Maltsev cannot get used to his new position, although he does not live in poverty, receiving a pension. He humbles himself before the narrator, who offers him a ride in his engine. Perhaps it was this humility that became the beginning of the recovery of Maltsev, who managed to trust the narrator. His inner world opened outward, he wept and saw "the whole world." Not only material, but also the world of other people.
The narrator is a person who loves his work, like Maltsev. Even the contemplation of a good car inspires him, a joy comparable to reading Pushkin's poetry in childhood.
For the storyteller, a good attitude is important. He is an attentive and diligent person. It has an amazing and rare ability to empathize and protect. This trait of the storyteller, like his profession, is autobiographical.
For example, the narrator imagines that the locomotive is in a hurry to protect distant lands. So the concern for Maltsev encourages the narrator to seek justice at the trial, to meet with the investigator in order to acquit the innocent Maltsev.
The narrator is a direct and truthful person. He does not hide that he is offended by Maltsev, he directly tells him that prison cannot be avoided. Still, the narrator decides to help Maltsev, "to protect him from the grief of fate", from "fatal forces that accidentally and indifferently destroy a person."
The narrator does not consider himself to blame for Maltsev's secondary blindness, he is benevolent, despite the fact that Maltsev does not want to forgive him or talk to him. After the miraculous healing of Maltsev, the narrator wants to protect him as if he were his own son.
Another hero of the story is a fair investigator who conducted an experiment with artificial lightning and is tormented by remorse, because he proved "the innocence of a person through his misfortune."
Stylistic features
Since the story is written in the first person, and the narrator Kostya, although he loves Pushkin. a man of a technical warehouse, Platonov rarely uses his specific, strangely metaphorical language. This language breaks through only at moments that are especially important for the author, for example, when the author explains in the words of a machinist that the machinist Maltsev absorbed all external world into one's inner experience, thus gaining power over it.
The story is replete with professional vocabulary related to the work of a steam locomotive. Obviously, in the days of Platonov, few people understood the details of the operation of a steam locomotive, but today, when there are no steam locomotives, these details are generally incomprehensible. But professionalism does not interfere with reading and understanding the story. Probably, each reader imagines something of his own when he reads that Maltsev gave "reverse to full cutoff." It is important that the Machinist fulfilled his hard work Fine.
Details matter in a story. One of them is the look and eyes of Maltsev. When he drives a car, his eyes look "abstractly, like empty ones." When Maltsev sticks his head out, examining the world, his eyes sparkle with enthusiasm. The driver's blind eyes become empty and calm again.
An old, experienced driver goes blind during a voyage due to a lightning strike, his sight is restored, he is tried and sentenced to prison. His assistant invents an artificial lightning test and saves the old man.
The story is told from the perspective of the driver's assistant Konstantin.
Alexander Vasilyevich Maltsev is considered the best locomotive driver in the Tolumbeevsky depot. No one knows steam locomotives better than him! There is nothing surprising in the fact that when the first powerful passenger steam locomotive of the IS series arrives at the depot, Maltsev is assigned to work on this machine. Maltsev's assistant, an elderly depot locksmith Fedor Petrovich Drabanov, soon passes the exam for a driver and leaves for another car, and Konstantin is appointed in his place.
Konstantin is pleased with his appointment, but Maltsev does not care who is his assistant. Alexander Vasilievich watches the work of his assistant, but after that he always personally checks the serviceability of all mechanisms.
Later, Konstantin understood the reason for his constant indifference to his colleagues. Maltsev feels his superiority over them, because he understands the car more precisely than they do. He does not believe that someone else can learn to feel the car, the path and everything around at the same time.
Konstantin has been working with Maltsev as an assistant for about a year, and on the fifth of July the time comes for Maltsev's last trip. On this flight, they take the train with a delay of four hours. The dispatcher asks Maltsev to close this gap as much as possible. Trying to fulfill this request, Maltsev drives the car forward with all his might. On the way they are caught by a thundercloud, and Maltsev, blinded by a flash of lightning, loses his sight, but continues to confidently lead the train to its destination. Konstantin notices that he manages the composition of the Maltsev significantly worse.
Another train appears on the way of the courier train. Maltsev passes control into the hands of the narrator, and confesses his blindness:
- Kostya ... Then you drive the car, I'm blind.
The accident is avoided thanks to Konstantin. Here Maltsev admits that he sees nothing. The next day, his vision returns to him.
Alexander Vasilyevich is put on trial, an investigation begins. It is almost impossible to prove the innocence of the old driver. Maltsev is imprisoned, and his assistant continues to work.
In winter, in the regional city, Konstantin visits his brother, a student living in a university dormitory. The brother tells him that in the physics laboratory of the university there is a Tesla installation for obtaining artificial lightning. A thought comes to Konstantin's head.
Returning home, he ponders his guess about the Tesla installation and writes a letter to the investigator who at one time led the Maltsev case, asking him to test the prisoner Maltsev by creating artificial lightning. If the susceptibility of Maltsev's psyche or visual organs to the action of sudden and close electrical discharges is proved, then his case should be reconsidered. Konstantin explains to the investigator where the Tesla installation is located, and how to make an experiment on a person. For a long time there is no answer, but then the investigator reports that the regional prosecutor agreed to conduct the proposed examination in the university physics laboratory.
The experiment is carried out, Maltsev's innocence is proved, and he himself is released. But as a result of the experience, the old engineer loses his sight, and this time it is not restored.
Konstantin tries to cheer up the blind old man, but he fails. Then he tells Maltsev that he will take him on a flight.
During this trip, the vision returns to the blind man, and the narrator allows him to independently drive the locomotive to Tolumbeev:
- Drive the car to the end, Alexander Vasilievich: now you see the whole world!
After work, Konstantin and the old driver go to Maltsev's apartment, where they sit all night.
Konstantin is afraid to leave him alone, like his own son, without protection against the sudden and hostile forces of our beautiful and furious world.
Retelling plan
1. Acquaintance with the machinist Maltsev and his assistant.
2. Maltsev takes on difficult task and goes blind while the train is moving. Such management of the composition could lead to disaster.
3. Maltsev begins to see clearly, he is put on trial and put in jail.
4. A former machinist goes blind again during an investigative experiment with lightning-like electrical discharges.
5. The driver's assistant, after a special exam, drives passenger trains himself. He takes the blind Maltsev on a trip.
6. Maltsev begins to see clearly.
retelling
The hero talks about the incident that happened to him and the "best locomotive driver" Maltsev. He was young, in his thirties, but he already had a first-class qualification and drove fast trains.
Maltsev was the first to be transferred to the new passenger locomotive "IS". The narrator was appointed as his assistant. He was very pleased with the opportunity to master the art of driving, and at the same time to join the new technology.
The driver accepted the new assistant indifferently. He relied only on himself and his knowledge in everything, so he carefully double-checked all the details and components of the machine. It was a habit, but it offended the student with disbelief in his abilities. But for professionalism, the hero forgave a lot to his teacher, who definitely felt the way. The train was never late, even delays at intermediate stations along the way they quickly caught up.
Maltsev practically did not communicate with either the assistant or the stoker. If he wanted to point out flaws in the operation of the machine that needed to be corrected, he banged on the boiler with a key. He thought that no one else could love a steam locomotive and drive it the way he did. “And we really couldn’t understand his skills,” the author admits.
Once the driver allowed the narrator to drive the train on his own. But after some time, he was four and a half minutes behind schedule. Maltsev successfully made up for this time.
For almost a year, the hero worked as an assistant. And then an event occurred that turned the life of the heroes. They took the train four hours late. The dispatcher asked to close this gap in order to put the empty car on the next road. The train entered the thundercloud zone. Blue light hit the windshield, blinding the hero. It was lightning, but Maltsev did not see it.
Night has come. The hero noticed that Maltsev began to drive worse, later it became clear that something was wrong with him. When the hero screamed, the driver braked urgently. A man stood on the road and waved a red-hot poker to stop the train. Ahead, only ten meters away, was a freight train locomotive. They did not notice how yellow, red, and other warning signals passed. This could lead to disaster. Maltsev ordered an assistant to drive the locomotive, confessing that he was blind.
Having reported to the head of the depot about the incident, the assistant went to see him home. Already on the way to the house, Maltsev regained his sight.
After the incident, Maltsev was put on trial. The investigator called the driver's assistant as a witness, and he said that he did not consider Maltsev guilty, since the driver was blinded by a close lightning bolt. But the investigator was distrustful of these words, because the lightning had no effect on the rest. But the hero had his own explanation. In his opinion, Maltsev went blind from the light of lightning, and not from the discharge itself. And when the lightning struck, he was already blind.
Maltsev was still found guilty because he did not hand over control to an assistant, risking the lives of hundreds of people. From the investigator, the hero went to Maltsev. When asked why he did not entrust him with his place, he replied that it seemed to him that he saw the light, but in fact it was in his imagination. Maltsev was sent to prison. The hero became an assistant to another driver. But he missed Maltsev, his ability to really work, and did not leave the thought of helping him.
He suggested experimenting with a prisoner using a Tesla machine to produce artificial lightning. However, the experiment was carried out without warning, and Maltsev went blind again. But now the chances of returning vision were much less. Both the investigator and the hero felt guilty for what had happened. Having found justice and innocence, Maltsev received an illness that prevented him from living and working.
At this moment, for the first time, the hero came up with the idea of the existence of some fatal forces that accidentally and indifferently destroy a person. “I have seen that there are facts that prove the existence of hostile human life circumstances, and these destructive forces crush the chosen, exalted people. But the hero decided not to give up and resist the circumstances. In a year former assistant passed the exam for the title of driver and began to independently drive passenger trains. Very often he met Maltsev, who, leaning on his cane, stood at the station platform and "greedily breathed the smell of burning and lubricating oil, carefully listening to the rhythmic work of the steam-air pump." He understood the anguish of Maltsev, who had lost the meaning of life, but could not help him in any way.
Maltsev was irritated by benevolent words and sympathy. Once the hero promised to take him on a trip if he would "sit quietly." The blind man agreed to all conditions. The next morning, the hero put him in the driver's seat. He put his hands on top of his hands, and so they rode to their destination. On the way back, he again put the teacher in his place. And in quiet areas even allowed him to drive the car on his own. The flight ended safely, the train was not late. The hero hoped for a miracle. On the last stage, he deliberately did not reduce the speed before the yellow traffic light. Suddenly Maltsev stood up, extended his hand to the regulator and turned off the steam. “I see a yellow light,” he said and began to brake. “He turned his face and wept. I went up to him and kissed him back." Kostya's desire to "protect him (his teacher) from the grief of fate" performed a miracle. Until the end of the journey, Maltsev drove the car on his own. After the flight, they sat together all evening and all night. This time, the hostile forces retreated.
Platonov A., story "In a beautiful and furious world"
Genre: story
The main characters of the story "In a beautiful and furious world" and their characteristics
- Kostya. Hero storyteller. A man of principle, passionate about his work. A true friend and comrade.
- Maltsev. Master of his craft, machinist. Even blind, he continued to see the world in his imagination.
- Investigator. A kind person, but responsible, conscientious.
- Great machinist
- Kostya works as an assistant
- lightning flash
- Uncertain Maltsev
- Emergency braking.
- Maltsev is blind
- Maltsev sees again
- Trial of Maltsev
- Driver's imagination
- Maltsev in prison
- Tesla installation
- Maltsev is blind again
- Maltsev on a steam locomotive
- yellow signal
- Beautiful and furious world
- Kostya works as an assistant to the great machinist Maltsev.
- A steam locomotive gets caught in a thunderstorm and a flash of lightning blinds everyone.
- Maltsev almost kills people because he does not understand that he is blind.
- He is tried and imprisoned, but Kostya seeks an experiment.
- Maltsev becomes blind again, and Kostya takes him on a steam locomotive.
- Maltsev begins to see the light and leads the locomotive to the station.
Not everything in the world depends on the desire of a person, but you still can’t give up.
What does the story "In a beautiful and furious world" teach
The story teaches you to fight for your happiness, teaches you to never back down and never give up. It teaches you to face dangers boldly, teaches you to believe in yourself. Teaches not to be afraid of the forces of blind nature. Learn to make your own destiny.
Review of the story "In a beautiful and furious world"
I really liked this story and especially the actions of its hero, Kostya. After all, this man felt the inexorability and ruthlessness of the blind forces of the furious world, but did not give up and did not submit to them. He began to fight and won. So there is always a chance to win and you should not miss it.
Proverbs for the story "In a beautiful and furious world"
To each his own cross.
You can't escape fate
Life is a struggle, but a struggle is life.
Whoever is destined to drown will not be hanged.
The desire to be cured helps the treatment.
Read summary, brief retelling story "In a beautiful and furious world" chapter by chapter:
In the Tolubeevsky depot, Alexander Vasilyevich Maltsev was considered the best driver. He was thirty years old and was a first-class machinist.
Kostya was appointed assistant to Maltsev and was very proud of his appointment. Maltsev was silent, but he noticed everything, especially when he was driving the locomotive. Even a sparrow flying by did not pass by his attentive gaze.
In rare conversations, Maltsev was sad and Kostya understood that he did not believe that someone could love and know the locomotive better than him.
Once Maltsev entrusted Kostya to drive the steam locomotive himself, and he began to be late. Maltsev sat down in his place and quickly caught up with the backlog.
A year has passed. Once Maltsev was given a squad and the dispatcher asked him to catch up. Maltsev, of course, agreed. The locomotive merrily ran across the steppe.
But then he drove into a thundercloud and a terrible lightning seemed to illuminate the locomotive. The stoker said he thought the boiler had exploded. But Maltsev replied that he had not seen any lightning.
Kostya noticed that Maltsev began to drive the locomotive worse, but he attributed everything to the driver's fatigue. He began to follow the signals, but noticed a malfunction in the cockpit and began to correct them.
And when I looked out again, I saw a red band of light. Firecrackers began to explode under the locomotive, but Maltsev did not slow down. Kostya shouted to him that he had to stop urgently and Maltsev put on the brakes.
When the locomotive stopped, they saw ahead of them another locomotive, the driver of which was brandishing a red-hot poker. Maltsev turned to Kostya and said that the locomotive would lead him further, because he was blind.
Kostya brought the locomotive to the station and reported to the chief. Then he took the blind Maltsev home. Near the house, he said that he sees everything again and described his wife, who came out to meet him.
Maltsev was put on trial and Kostya defended him in every possible way. He explained to the investigator that Maltsev was blinded by the electromagnetic wave that went ahead of the lightning, and therefore did not see the flash itself.
But Kostya could not answer the question why the blind Maltsev did not immediately transfer control to him. When he asked Maltsev himself, he replied that he continued to see everything in his imagination and did not understand that he was blind. He saw the green light of a traffic light when he led the train to the tail of a freight train, and if it were not for the assistant, an accident would have occurred and people would have died.
Maltsev was sent to prison.
Kostya learned from his brother that the Institute has a Tesla installation to produce artificial lightning. He suggested that the investigator test Maltsev for the susceptibility of his psyche to an electrical discharge. The investigator agreed to the experiment.
Soon he called Kostya again and said that he had let Maltsev down. It turned out that when Maltsev was led under the Tesla installation in complete darkness and the discharge was turned on, he went blind again and now could not see anything.
Maltsev was acquitted, but the investigator doubted that his sight would return to him. He was worried that the truth could be established at such a high price.
Kostya also became embittered. He was going to rise up against the blind and man-hostile forces that are crushing the chosen, exalted people.
Soon Kostya became a machinist and many times watched the blind Maltsev sitting at the station and listening to steam locomotives. He promised Maltsev to take him on a flight and give him a reverse handle.
Maltsev got into the locomotive and put one hand on the reverse and the other on the brake. Kostya put his hands on top of Maltsev's and controlled them.
He secretly followed his teacher with hope, and when he caught fire ahead yellow signal The traffic light did not slow down.
Suddenly Maltsev told Kostya to turn off the steam, and then he got up and turned off the steam himself. He said he saw a yellow traffic light. Maltsev himself brought the locomotive back to the station and Kostya told him that now he sees everything again.
Kostya spent the whole night at Maltsev's house, afraid to leave this man alone with the hostile forces of the beautiful and furious world.
Year of publication of the book: 1941
The story "In a Beautiful and Furious World" was first published in 1941 in one of the periodicals. The first title of the work was "Machinist Maltsev". In the story, the writer describes his experience in railway. Based on the work of Platonov "In a beautiful and furious world" in 1987, a feature film of the same name was shot.
The story "In a Beautiful and Furious World" summary
The book "In a Beautiful and Furious World" tells about Alexander Vasilievich Maltsev, the best locomotive driver in the local depot. All employees of the Tolubeevsky depot note that no one knows the cars as well as Maltsev knows them. He seems to feel the soul of the locomotive and can feel the way. For several years, Alexander Vasilievich worked with an elderly locksmith named Fedor Drabanov. However, he passed the driver's exam and transferred to another engine, as a result of which the young man Konstantin becomes the driver's assistant. They have to work on a brand new steam locomotive of the IS series.
The new employee was initially very pleased with his position. However, over time, he noticed that Maltsev treats him with distrust. This was noticeable, if only by the fact that Alexander Vasilievich constantly double-checked everything after his new assistant. In the story “In a Beautiful and Furious World,” a brief summary describes that a little time passes, and Konstantin understands why Maltsev behaves this way. The fact is that the old machinist can rely only on his own experience and considers himself better than all the other employees. Despite the fact that the new assistant was periodically angry with Alexander Vasilievich, he still admired his experience and confidence in driving a steam locomotive.
In the story "In a Beautiful and Furious World" we can read that in a year Maltsev and Konstantin go on a trip that will be fatal for an experienced machinist. Alexander Vasilyevich was asked to take the train, which was four hours late. The dispatcher asked the driver to do everything possible to reduce the gap in time as much as possible. Maltsev does not dare to disobey the order. He drives the team at full strength. However, already in the middle of the journey, the drivers notice a huge thundercloud. Lightning suddenly flashes, and Maltsev completely loses his sight. Despite this, he pretends nothing happened and continues to drive the engine.
Meanwhile, Konstantin notices that Alexander Vasilyevich is gradually losing control. After a while, another train appears on their way. It was then that Maltsev decided to confess everything to his assistant and transfers control of the machine to Konstantin. In the story “In a Beautiful and Furious World” by Platonov, we can read that he, in turn, did everything possible to avoid an accident.
The next morning, Maltsev's vision gradually returns, but because of the situation that has happened, the driver is arrested and criminal proceedings are started. It is almost impossible to prove that Alexander Vasilievich is innocent of a nearly unaccomplished accident. Konstantin continues to work, but often thinks about his mentor.
Winter comes, and Konstantin goes to visit his brother. He was a student of the Faculty of Physics and lived in a hostel. During the conversation, Konstantin finds out that the local laboratory has a special Tesla installation that can cause artificial lightning. In Platonov's story "The Beautiful and Furious World", the summary describes that then the protagonist has a brilliant plan. Returning home, he again thought carefully about everything that came into his head.
After that, Konstantin wrote to the investigator who dealt with the Maltsev case. In the letter, the young man asked for permission to experiment using the Tesla installation. Thus, it will be possible to check the visual organs of the defendant and, possibly, to justify him. Some time passes, but there is still no response from the investigator. One day, Konstantin receives a letter informing him that the prosecutor gives the go-ahead for such an experiment. He wants the examination to be carried out in a laboratory at the university.
After some time, the hero of the story "In a beautiful and furious world" Maltsev is brought to the laboratory and the Tesla installation is used. He again loses his sight, which proves his innocence. The defendant is acquitted and released. However, the sight of Alexander Vasilyevich did not return the next day. Konstantin is trying with all his might to calm the driver and cheer him up a little. However, he does not even want to listen to his assistant. The young man invites Maltsev to go on a flight with him. Suddenly, on the way to the driver, his vision returns completely. Konstantin, to celebrate, allows him to lead the train to the final destination. After all, no one, except Alexander Vasilyevich, can feel the car like that.
In the story “In a Beautiful and Furious World”, the characters, after the arrival of the flight, go to visit Maltsev and talk about life for a long time. Konstantin manages to imbue his mentor. He wants to take care of Alexander Vasilyevich and try to protect him in this beautiful, but sometimes violent world.
The story "In a Beautiful and Furious World" on the Top Books website
Andrey Platonov's story "In a beautiful and furious world" has become a household name for Russian literature. He got into ours and, given the presence in the school curriculum, has every chance of getting into ours more than once.
