Many stories have been written about parental love. Such works invariably take the soul of the reader. Therefore, probably, this was not the first time that Sholokhov took up this topic. "Birthmark" (a brief summary of this will show) - a story about the tragic love of father and son.
Chapter 1. Nikolay Koshevoy
Civil War. A young man, a soldier, is filling out some documents in the military premises. Nothing but the eyes in him betrays an experienced servant. Nikolai Koshev is only 18 years old. He is even a little shy of his age. True, he already has many feats of war. This boy is already a squadron commander.
Sholokhov so describes the protagonist and at the same time with small strokes sketches the outline of his fate. Kolya is an orphan. Father disappeared into the First World War, mother also left this world. From his parents he only had vague memories and a mole on his ankle, more precisely, a birthmark. The people said, at least in the time of Kolya, that a birthmark is the mark of the lucky. Whether this is so or not, Sholokhov will tell. "Mole" (including a brief summary) does not set the reader upright. The work is quite heavy and sad from the very beginning.
Chapters 2 and 3. Dead horse and chieftain
The second and third chapters are so small that in our review they can be combined into one. In the second chapter, a messenger came to Koshevoy. The path to the last commander was worth a horse. The poor beast rode for a long, long time without any rest, and therefore fell dead in the courtyard of Commander Koshevoy. Naturally describes the death of the horse Sholokhov. "Birthmark" (a brief summary, we hope, makes it feel) is saturated with anxiety and a feeling of near misfortune.
A messenger brought news of a gang that was spotted in a certain area, and the chief of that region tearfully asked the young commander to help. The young man is not used to refuse, and how can it be, because there is a war going on.
In the third chapter, we see the future main rival of Koshevoy - Ataman. He has no name. It is only known that he was in captivity in the First World War, then Wrangel, Turkey, and now he became the leader of the gang. I got to the beginning of the story Sholokhov. "Birthmark" (a brief summary will be a little more interesting to read further), starting from this moment, it will become more dynamic.
Chapter 4. Grandfather the miller and the gang
Grandfather Lukic enters the story. In order to create an atmosphere, Sholokhov portrays rural life. Then the evil fellows appear along with the chieftain. First they ask about the "reds", then about the grain. Grandfather has neither grain nor “red”, he said. Ataman minions begin to search the mill and find complete bins. Grandfather begs not to pick up the grain collected with such hard work. The gang commander does not listen to him and feeds his horses a wonderful grandfather's crop. The real villains were created by the writer in his work “Mole”. Sholokhov heartily describes the suffering of the poor miller.
It is noteworthy that Ataman has little robbery, he still wants to hear from the miller how he does not like the "reds". Grandfather obediently repeats that he hates members of the official army of the new government.
Chapter 5 and 6. “Betrayal” of the grandfather and the battle
Later his grandfather, while the bandits drank vodka in his yard, quietly crept into the young commander Koshev and told him everything. As the adversaries came, they took away the grain and insisted on his refusal to recognize the Soviet government and its supporters. Out of years wise steering squadron. He did not waste his words. The protagonist of the composition "Mole" is remarkable. Sholokhov clearly sympathizes with him.
Koshevoy listened attentively and said only one thing: "Saddle!"
Of course, Sholokhov is far from Hollywood films, but he also quite dynamically described the scene of the struggle of the Red Army with the renegades. The central battle is the confrontation between the chieftain and Koshevoy. We would very much like to say that the boy defeated an experienced soldier, but this is not so. Youth does not always triumph over maturity, especially in war. Unfortunately, the young man fell in the fight. In his work “The Mole,” Sholokhov describes this perfectly, and we, in turn, will try to convey only the general meaning of this sad event.
Ataman chose the right moment, guarded the young man, left the shelter and chopped the saber once. Thus, the young soldier, or rather, his soul, went to heaven. The bandit removed the binoculars from the young man. He wanted to steal new boots as well. One leg succumbed without difficulty, and the second - no way. Ataman tore his shoes at him with animal power, pulling off not only his boot, but also the stocking. The dead man's ankle and birthmark the size of a pigeon's egg were exposed. Here it is - the most unexpected moment, which contains the story "Birthmark". Sholokhov (the summary, we hope, kept the intrigue to the very end) brilliantly twisted the plot!
Ataman transformed from a villain into an inconsolable father and began to lament: "Son! .. Nikolushka! .. Native! .. My bloodbird ...". Then, apparently, considering that nothing could be changed, the commander shot himself from the Mauser. So ends the story "Mole." Sholokhov wrote it, and we retold only a brief summary.