A very brief summary of the "Tale of a Real Man" will be considered in today's article. What is this work about? There is a Great Patriotic War. In 1942, during an air battle, the plane of Aleksey Meresyev - a Soviet fighter pilot - was shot down. He falls into the thick of a dense forest. The pilot lost both legs at once, but he is not going to give up. A year later he was back in service. Conventionally, a work can be divided into several parts. Below is a summary of the "Tale of a Real Man" in chapters (parts).
Part 1. The fall
What to include in the summary of the book "The Story of a Real Man"? Perhaps it’s worth starting with the collapse of the IL.
Fighter pilot Aleksey Meresyev piloted IL aircraft that flew to storm the German airfield. German pilots attacked him from two sides. Alex tried to slip away, because otherwise he could be captured. But the enemy managed to make a shot, and the plane began to fall. Our pilot was knocked out of the cockpit and sank onto a spruce with strong, wide branches, which greatly softened the fall.
Later, waking up in the snow, Meresyev discovered near him a hungry connecting rod bear. He pulled a gun from his overalls pocket and killed the animal in order to save his life. When trying to get up, sharp pain pierced him in both feet. As a result of shell shock, dizzy. Surveying the surroundings, Alexei noticed the road that went into the forest.
Test
In the summary of The Tale of a Real Man (B. Polevoy), it is worth mentioning how the hero made his way to his own, overcoming the difficulties of the path.
Meresyev was in the middle of the forest, about 35 kilometers from the places where the fighting was. Having taken off his high fur boots, he found that his feet were fragmented, but decided to go at all costs. On the way, he found a German knife, a can of stew, and in his pocket he found a lighter. This allowed him to make a fire. Spent the first night in a young pine.
Then Alexei made a plan: to make 20 thousand steps per day, eat once a day, at lunch. The pilot moved, throwing a long spruce branch in front of him, having a split at the end, and then pulled himself up with his whole body. One day he had to hide in the forest, as an enemy column of armored cars was passing by.
Meresyev ate bark, moss, boiled lingonberry leaves in cans from under the stew. A week later he approached the front line - cannonade was heard.
The tests continued, the fuel in the lighter was over, there was weakness and terrible pain in the legs, I had to crawl on all fours. Alex found some cranberries, caught a hedgehog, which he ate raw. However, after some time, it was no longer possible to crawl. The pilot began to roll from one side to another. Suddenly, oblivion came.
Scarcely alive Meresiev was picked up by local residents, they settled in nearby dugouts, as the Germans burned their village. Grandfather Mikhail, who sheltered the wounded pilot, after a while organized a bath for him, after which his health deteriorated sharply. Grandfather tracked down the squadron commander, where Meresyev served. Alexei was sent to a hospital in Moscow by ambulance.
Part 2. Amputation
We continue to consider the summary of The Tale of a Real Man by Boris Polevoy. The next part tells how the hero of the story lost both legs.
In the hospital, the famous professor tried one method after another to cure Alexei, but nothing helped, his fingers turned black and insensitive, his feet were struck by gangrene. To save the life of the pilot, the doctors had to amputate to the middle of the calves.
Meresyev corresponded with his mother and Olga, his bride. But he did not tell them that he had lost his legs. Alex became gloomy, withdrawn. He thought that if Olga married him, it was only out of a feeling of pity. But he did not want such a sacrifice and stopped responding to her messages.
Vera
How to continue the summary of “The Story of a Real Man”? It is impossible not to mention that the main character, after amputation of his legs, lost faith in himself. However, a friend in misfortune will help her find Alexey.
Meresyev lost the meaning of life. Since childhood, he dreamed of aviation, organized an aero club, and for the first time he flew from the airfield in the taiga in a training plane. Then he studied at a military flight school, he taught at it. With the outbreak of war, Alex went to fight. What will he do now?
But one day, a roommate showed Meresyev a newspaper article about the pilot of the First World Valerian Karpov, who was able to fly a plane with one foot. At first, Alexey doubted whether he would be able to overcome difficulties and return to duty, because he lacked both feet, and the design of the aircraft was much more complicated. But the comrade supported him with the phrase: “After all, you are a Soviet man!”
Meresyev believed in success, he himself developed a set of exercises and, despite the unbearable pain, performed it daily, every day extending the time by one minute.
Prostheses
The next part talks about how the protagonist begins to master prostheses. This point should also be included in the summary of the Tale of a Real Man.
Alexey could not decide to write the truth to Olga. He was familiar with her from school years, and fell in love with her much later. But she did not have time to make a confession, since the war began. The girl was the first to declare his love in writing. But Alex decided that, becoming a cripple, he was not worthy of her. After he began to study, he decided that he would write everything as is after he returned to the squadron.
In the summer, Meresyev was given prostheses, which he began to master with great tenacity. He endlessly nursed the hospital corridor first with crutches, and then with a thick cane, which he received as a gift from the professor. The thought came to him that Olga needed to write when he shot down the first plane. But this "Tale of a Real Man" does not end there. Its summary will tell you about how the main character is trying to overcome his fate.
Part 3. The dancer
In the summer of 1942, Maresyev was sent for aftercare in a military sanatorium near Moscow. There, he persuaded nurse Zina, who danced well, to teach him this art. Now he not only performed exercises every day, but also took dancing lessons.
People with difficulty believed that this handsome, cheerful and energetic guy had no legs. And having learned, they were amazed that he was going to return to aviation. After some time, he already famously danced at parties, smiling broadly and hiding severe pain. Gradually, he began to get used to prostheses.
Ordeals
We continue to consider the short content of the Tale of a Real Man, which tells about the unprecedented willpower of an ordinary pilot. In this part, you can learn about how Meresyev sought direction in a flight school.
In response to a letter from Meresyev, Olga informs him that she is deeply offended by his distrust, and forgives him only because there is a war going on. For a month now she, along with many people, has been under Stalingrad, digging anti-tank ditches. She loves him and will accept anyone. From this moment Alexei writes letters to her daily.
In the sanatorium the word "Stalingrad" was on everyone’s lips, all vacationers began to seek their departure to the front. Soon, a medical staffing commission arrived at the medical facility.
The military doctor, seeing the footless pilot dancing, agreed to help him by giving a positive medical report for the flight service. Meresyev went to Moscow with this document, but difficulties arose there: his report was rejected, and he found himself without money and clothing allowance.
For several months Alexei had to go to the offices, where he was very sympathetic, but could not provide real help. The conditions for admission to the flight forces were strict. But in the end, Maresyev was lucky. The chairman of the general commission was the same doctor - Mirovolsky, who gave him an opinion in a sanatorium. Thanks to him, Alexei managed to get to the high command, and he was sent to a flight school.
Mastering LA-5
The summary of “The Tale of a Real Man” should contain an episode that tells how the protagonist learned to fly a LA-5 airplane.
For the battles near Stalingrad, a large number of pilots were needed, so the school worked with a huge load, and the chief of staff did not check the documents of Maresyev. He was not aware that he had no legs, and, taking it, ordered him to get rid of the cane, which he interpreted walking as panache.
Alexei fastened his dentures to the pedals with the help of specially made straps. After 5 months, he successfully passed the exams. Noticing Meresyev’s cane, the head became angry and wanted to break it, but he was stopped in time by an instructor who knew that his cadet had his legs cut off. Alexey received brilliant recommendations.
Alex was sent to a retraining school, where he stayed until the beginning of spring. He learned to fly on LA-5, which at that time were the most modern fighter models. At first, Meresyev did not have the feeling of being close to the aircraft, which previously gave him the opportunity to feel the joy of flying.
He thought that his dream was not destined to come true, but he was supported by Colonel Kapustin, former political commander of the flight school. As a result, Meresyev managed to master the control of LA-5 at the highest level, he was the only fighter pilot in the whole world flying without legs.
Part 4. Hero
What ends with The Tale of a Real Man? We consider in detail the summary of its last part, which refers to the exploits of the protagonist. In August 1943, Meresyev took part in the Battle of Kursk on the new LA-5. The first time after amputation of legs Alexei fought with a real enemy. He fought with the German pilots flying the Yu-87 dive-bombers, making several sorties a day.
In a letter, Olga informed him that, commanding a platoon of sappers, she was awarded the Order of the Red Star. And although Alexei was now in the ranks and beat the enemies, he did not want to reveal the truth to the girl, as he believed that the outdated Yu-87 was not a real enemy.
In his opinion, the German aces with the Foke-Wulf-190 aircraft became worthy. After they shot down three such aircraft, he was appointed squadron commander. At the same time, Alex saved his follower, and at the end of the fuel he barely made it to the airfield. In the regiment, everyone was proud of this unique pilot, and he finally opened to Olga.