"Boyhood"- the second story in the pseudo-autobiographical trilogy of Leo Tolstoy, describes the events taking place in the life of a teenager during adolescence: the first betrayal, a change in moral values, etc.

"Boyhood" Tolstoy summary by chapter

"Boyhood" Tolstoy summary chapter by chapter should only be if you do not have enough time to read the story in full. "Adolescence" in abbreviation will not be able to convey all the small details from the life of the heroes, will not immerse you in the atmosphere of that time. "Boyhood" a summary of the chapters is presented below.

Chapter I

Long trip
After the death of their mother, the children (the author, Nikolenka, his brother Volodya, sister Lyubochka, and the daughter of his companion Katenka) leave their country estate for Moscow. Nikolenka tries not to remember either the mourning that the whole family wears for her mother, or the sad events of recent times, or general grief.
The britzka rushes merrily along the country road. On the footpath there are praying mantises. “Their heads are wrapped in dirty scarves, birch bark knapsacks are behind their backs, their legs are wrapped in dirty, torn onuchs and shod in heavy bast shoes. Evenly waving their sticks and barely looking back at us, they move forward with a slow, heavy step.
Another carriage jumps nearby. The young coachman "knocking down a bright hat on one ear, pulls some kind of drawn-out song." His face and posture express lazy, careless contentment with life, and it seems to Nikolenka that the height of bliss is "to be a coachman, to drive back and sing sad songs."
An hour and a half later, tired from the road, the boy begins to pay attention to the numbers displayed on the versts. He does various mental calculations to determine the time they will arrive at the station.
The boy asks the uncle Vasily accompanying the children to put him on the goats. Vasily agrees. The child takes advantage of such a happy moment and persuades the coachman Philip to let him correct the horses. Philip gives him first one rein, then another; finally, all six reins and the whip pass into the hands of the author. The boy is completely happy. He tries in every possible way to imitate Philip, asks him for advice. But, as a rule, Philip remains dissatisfied. He has his own ideas about crew management.
Soon a village is shown ahead, in which it was planned to dine and rest.

Chapter II

Thunderstorm
“Clouds, previously scattered over the sky, which, having taken on ominous, black shadows, were now gathering into one large, gloomy cloud. Occasionally, distant thunder rumbled.
The storm instilled an inexpressibly heavy feeling of melancholy and fear. There were still nine versts left to the nearest village, and a large dark purple cloud, which had come from God knows where, without the slightest wind, but was moving rapidly ... The sun, not yet
hidden by clouds, brightly illuminates her gloomy figure and the gray stripes that go from her to the very horizon ...
I get scared, and I feel the blood circulate faster in my veins. But now the advanced clouds are already beginning to cover the sun; here it looked out for the last time, illuminated the terribly gloomy side of the horizon and disappeared. The whole neighborhood suddenly changes and takes on a gloomy character. Here the aspen grove trembled; the leaves become some kind of white-cloudy color, brightly prominent against the lilac background of the clouds, rustle and spin; the tops of large birches begin to sway, and tufts of dry grass fly across the road ... Lightning flashes as if in the britzka itself, blinding the eye ... At the same second, a majestic rumble is heard above your head, which, as if rising higher and higher, wider and wider along a huge spiral line, gradually intensifying and turning into
a deafening crack that involuntarily makes you tremble and hold your breath. God's wrath! How much poetry is in this common people's thought!..
When the majestic moment of silence came, usually preceding the outbreak of a thunderstorm, feelings reached such an extent that, if this state continued for another quarter of an hour, I am sure that I would have died of excitement. At this time, a beggar in rags suddenly appears from under the bridge "and with some kind of red, glossy stump instead of a hand, which he puts right into the britzka." Children are filled with a feeling of cold horror.
Vasily unties his purse; the beggar, continuing to make the sign of the cross and bow, runs right by the comedy penny flies through the window, and the beggar lags behind.
“But now the rain is getting smaller; the cloud begins to separate into wavy clouds, brightens in the place where the sun should be, and through the grayish-white edges of the cloud one can barely see a patch of clear azure. A minute later, a timid ray of the sun is already shining in the puddles of the road, on the strips of fine direct rain falling, as if through a sieve, and on the washed, shiny green of the road grass. I experience an inexpressibly gratifying sense of hope in life, quickly replacing my heavy sense of fear. My soul smiles just like refreshed, cheerful nature.
The boy jumps out of the britzka, plucks a few damp, fragrant branches of bird cherry, runs to the carriage and pushes flowers to Lyubochka and Katya.

Chapter III

A New Look
Children go to live with their grandmother through their late mother. Katenka is very worried about this. When Nikolenka asks her what is the reason for her anxiety, the girl tries to avoid the conversation. She now expresses doubts aloud about the kindness of her grandmother, then she argues at length that she "needs to change sometime." Finally, the girl confesses that she is afraid of the impending separation - after all, her mother, Mimi, was the companion of Nikolenka's late mother. Now it is not known whether Mimi will agree in character with the old countess. In addition, for the first time Katenka points out to the boy the inequality of property between people.
It seems to Nikolenka that the most reasonable thing in this situation is to “divide what we have equally”.
But for Katenka this is unacceptable. She says that it is best for her to go to a monastery, live there and "walk around in a little black dress, in a velvet cap." Katya is crying.
Nikolenka's view of things completely changed; at that moment a moral change took place in him, which he later considered the beginning of his adolescence.
“For the first time, a clear thought occurred to me that we are not alone, that is, our family, we live in the world, that not all interests revolve around us, but that there is another life of people who have nothing in common with us, not caring for us and not even aware of our existence. No doubt I knew all this before; but I didn’t know it the way I know it now, I didn’t realize it, I didn’t feel it.”

Chapter IV

In Moscow
At the first meeting with her grandmother, Nikolenka’s feeling of obsequious respect and fear of her is replaced by compassion, and when she, leaning her face against Lyubochka’s head, sobbed as if her beloved daughter was before her eyes, love awakens in the boy for the unfortunate old woman. He is embarrassed to see the sadness of his grandmother when meeting with her grandchildren. He understands that they are " nothing in themselves in her eyes, that they are dear only as a memory".
Dad in Moscow almost never takes care of children and greatly loses in the eyes of his son. Some invisible barrier also appeared between the girls and Nikolenka and Volodya. Both have their own secrets. Mimi, on the first Sunday, goes out to dinner in such a magnificent dress and with such ribbons on her head that it becomes completely clear to Nikolenka: now everything will go differently.

Chapter V

Older brother
Nikolenka is only a year or so younger than Volodya. The brothers grew up, studied and played always together. Before, they did not distinguish between the elder and the younger, but it was from the moment of moving to Moscow that Nikolenka began to understand that Volodya was no longer “a comrade for him in terms of years, inclinations and abilities.”
“Who has not noticed those mysterious wordless relationships, manifested in an imperceptible smile, movement or look between people who live constantly together: brothers, friends, husband and wife, master and servant, especially when these people are not completely frank with each other. How many unsaid desires, thoughts and fear - to be understood - are expressed in one random glance, when your eyes meet timidly and hesitantly! But perhaps I was deceived in this respect by my excessive susceptibility and propensity for analysis; perhaps Volodya did not feel at all what I did. He was ardent, frank and fickle in his hobbies. Carried away by the most heterogeneous subjects, he indulged in them with all his soul.
Sometimes a passion for drawing came over Volodya, and he bought paints with all his money; then a passion for things with which he decorated his table, collecting them throughout the house; then a passion for novels, which he got out on the sly and read for whole days and nights. The younger brother was involuntarily carried away by his passions, but was too proud to repeat everything exactly after Volodya, and too young and dependent to choose a new path. But Nikolenka did not envy anything as much as "Volodya's happy, noble, frank character, which was especially sharply expressed in quarrels." The younger brother always felt that Volodya was doing well, but could not imitate him. For example, once Nikolenka broke some souvenir on his brother's table and out of anger, instead of an apology, shook it off on the floor and everything else. All day Nikolenka could not find a place for himself, realizing that he had done something nasty and puzzling over how to get out of a stupid situation. However, Volodya saved him from suffering. Calmly and with dignity, he himself asked for forgiveness for having possibly offended his brother in some way, and gave him his hand.

Chapter VI

Masha
There comes a moment when in the maid Masha Nikolenka ceased to see a female servant, but began to see a woman on whom his peace and happiness could depend, to some extent. Masha was twenty-five years old, Nikolenka fourteen. She was unusually white and luxuriously developed.
However, Nikolenka notices that the older brother is ahead of him here too. Repeatedly he sees Volodya holding Masha in his arms. Nikolenka “was not surprised by his very act, but by how he realized that it was pleasant to do so. And involuntarily wanted to imitate him.
The boy sometimes spends hours under the stairs. He is ready to give everything in the world to be in the place of the naughty Volodya.
Nikolenka is bashful by nature, and his bashfulness is further increased by the conviction of his own ugliness. He tries to despise
all the pleasures that Volodya enjoyed from a pleasant appearance. Nikolenka "strained all the powers of his mind and imagination in order to find pleasure in splendid solitude".

Chapter VII

Fraction
Mimi catches the boys playing with hunting shot. They receive a severe scolding from their grandmother. It goes to the father too. When the grandmother finds out that it was the teacher Karl Ivanovich who gave the children gunpowder, she orders to hire a French tutor, "and not an uncle, a German peasant." Dad offers to take St.-Jerome’s home, who has been giving the boys private lessons so far.
Two days after this conversation, Karl Ivanovich, who had lived in the house of Nikolenka's parents for many years and raised both brothers, gave up his place to the young dandy Frenchman.

Chapter VIII

History of Karl Ivanovich
Late in the evening on the eve of his departure, Karl Ivanovich tells Nikolenka the story of his difficult life. According to him, his "fate is to be unhappy from childhood to the grave." Karl Ivanovich was always repaid with evil for the good he did to people.
The noble blood of Counts von Somerblat flows in his veins. Carl was born just six weeks after the wedding. His mother's husband did not like little Karl. The family also had a little brother Johann and two sisters, and Karl was always considered a stranger in his own family. Only the mother caressed the child, despite her husband's obvious antipathy towards him. When Karl grew up, his mother apprenticed him to the shoemaker Schultz. Mr. Schultz considers Karl a very good worker and is preparing to make an apprentice out of the boy.
Recruitment announced. Karl should not go to the soldiers, because his brother. The father is in despair. In order not to bring grief to the family, Karl goes to the army instead of his brother, because no one needs him anyway.

Chapter IX

Continuation of the previous
During the war with Napoleon, Charles is captured. He keeps three chervonets, sewn into the lining by his mother. Carl decides to run away and offers a ransom for himself. But the French officer does not take money from the poor man. He is a refuge
gives Karla to buy a bucket of vodka for the soldiers and, when they fall asleep, run away.
On the road, Carl meets a wagon. kind person asks Carl about his fate and agrees to help. Carl starts working at his rope factory and settles in his house. For a year and a half, Karl has been working at a rope factory, but the owner's wife, a young, pretty lady, falls in love with Karl and confesses this to him. Karl voluntarily leaves the owner, so as not to cause complications in his relationship with his wife.
Karl Ivanovich emphasizes that he “experienced a lot both good and bad in his life; but no one can say that Karl Ivanovich was a dishonest person.

Chapter X

Continuation
For nine years, Karl did not see his mother and did not even know if she was alive. Carl returns to his parents' house. Both the mother and the rest of the family are very happy to see him. It turns out he was waiting at home for all nine years.
Carl meets General Sazin. He takes Karl with him to Russia to teach children. When General Sazin dies, Nikolenka's mother calls Karl Ivanych to her place. “Now she is gone, and everything is forgotten. For his twenty years of service, he must now, in his old age, go out into the street to look for his stale piece of bread.

Chapter XI

Unit
At the end of a year of mourning, the grandmother occasionally begins to receive guests, especially children. On Lyubochka's birthday, guests also come, including Sonechka Valakhina, who Nikolenka really likes. But before the start of the holiday, the boys still have to answer the teacher a history lesson. Volodya is doing an excellent job with the task, but Nikolenka is nothing about crusade Saint Louis cannot tell. Then he is taken aloud "to lie to everything that only came to mind." The teacher gives Volodya five, and Nikolenka two beautifully drawn units (for the lesson and for the behavior). Volodya does not betray his brother to the tutor - “he understood that he needed to be saved on this day. Let them punish, if only not now, when the guests.

Chapter XII

key
Papa loves Lyubochka very much. In addition to the silver service, he bought her a bonbonniere (sweets) for her name day, which remained in the wing where dad lives. He asks Nikolenka to bring a gift, saying that the keys are on a large table in the sink.
In his father's office, the boy comes across an embroidered briefcase with a padlock. He wants to see if the little key will fit the lock. The test was a complete success, the portfolio was opened, and Nikolenka found in it a whole heap of papers.
From the fact that he committed this act (he climbed into someone else’s briefcase without permission, Nikolenka is ashamed and embarrassed. Under the influence of this feeling, he tries to close the briefcase as quickly as possible. However, he “on this memorable day was destined to experience all sorts of misfortunes: having put the key in the lock well, he turned it in the wrong direction, imagining that the lock was locked, took out the key, and - oh horror! - only the head of the key was in his hands.

Chapter XIII

Renegade
In despair that he will have to bear the punishment for so many misdeeds at once, Nikolenka returns with sweets to the hall and, accidentally stepping on her governess Kornakov's dress, tears it. Sonechka likes it very much. Nikolenka and the second time, already on purpose, catches her skirt with his heel. Sonechka can hardly restrain himself from laughing, which flatters the boy's vanity.
St.-Jerome makes a remark to his pupil, threatens with punishment for disgusting pranks. But Nikolenka "was in the irritated state of a man who lost more than what he has in his pocket, who is afraid to count his record and continues to put desperate cards already without hope of winning back, but only in order not to give himself time to come to his senses." The boy smiles impudently and leaves the tutor.
Children start a game, the essence of which is that everyone chooses a pair for themselves. To the extreme insult of Nikolenka's vanity, he remains superfluous every time, Sonechka always chooses Seryozha Ivin. After some time, Nikolenka sees that Sonya and Seryozha are kissing, and Katenka is holding a handkerchief near their heads so that no one can see what is happening there.

Chapter XIV

Eclipse
Nikolenka feels contempt for the entire female sex in general and for Sonechka in particular. He suddenly “extremely wanted to riot and do some kind of valiant thing that would surprise everyone. There are moments when the future appears to a person in such a gloomy light that he is afraid to fix his mental gaze on it, completely stops the activity of the mind in himself and tries to convince himself that there will be no future and there was no past. At such moments, when thought does not discuss in advance every determination of the will, and the only springs of life are carnal instincts, I understand that a child, due to inexperience, especially prone to such a state, without the slightest hesitation and fear, with a smile of curiosity, spreads and fanns the fire under his own house, in which his brothers, father, mother, whom he dearly loves, sleep. Under the influence of such thoughts, Nikolenka decides to take out her inner dissatisfaction on St. Jerome'e and, in response to the tutor's remark, sticks out her tongue and declares that she will not obey. St.-Jerome promises to give the boy a rod. With all his strength, Nikolenka beats the tutor and shouts that he is terribly unhappy, and that the people around him are nasty and disgusting. St.-Jerome takes him out of the hall, locks him in a closet and orders to bring the rod.

Chapter XV

dreams
Nikolenka "vaguely had a premonition that he was gone forever." He begins to mentally imagine dramatic and sentimental pictures of his relationship with his family. Then he declares to his father that he has learned the secret of his birth and can no longer stay in his house. Then he imagines himself already at large, in the hussars. Now he imagines a war: enemies are rushing from all sides, Nikolenka brandishes a saber and kills one, another, a third. The general drives up and asks where the savior of the Fatherland is. Then Nikolenka imagines that he himself is already a general. Then he sees how the sovereign thanks him for his service and promises to fulfill his every desire. And then Nikolenka would certainly ask for permission to destroy his sworn enemy, the foreigner St.-Jerome.
The thought of God comes to Nikolenka, and the boy boldly asks him why God is punishing him - after all, Nikolenka did not forget to pray in the morning and in the evening, so what is he suffering for? “I can positively say that the first step towards religious doubts, which disturbed me during my adolescence, was taken by me now, not because misfortune prompted me to grumbling and unbelief, but because the thought of the injustice of Providence, which came into my head in this a time of complete mental disorder and daily solitude, like a bad grain that fell on loose earth after rain, quickly began to grow and take root.

Nikolenka imagines that she will die of grief, and then dad will drive St. Jerome out of the house with the words: “You were the cause of his death, you intimidated him, he could not bear the humiliation that you prepared for him ... Get out of here, villain! » After soro-
every day the boy's soul flies to heaven, where he sees "something amazingly beautiful, white, transparent, long ..." So Nikolenka reunites with her mother.

Chapter XVI

Will grind - there will be flour
Nikolenka spends the night in a closet. His punishment is limited to imprisonment, Uncle Nikolai brings him lunch, and when the boy complains that terrible punishment and humiliation awaits him, Nikolai calmly replies: “ It will grind, there will be flour.”
St.-Jerome leads Nikolenka to her grandmother. She announces to her grandson that the tutor refuses to work in her house because of his bad behavior, and forces Nikolenka to ask St. Jerome for forgiveness. She remembers the dead daughter, who would have been disgraced by the behavior of her son, begins to sob, she begins to become hysterical. The boy rushes out of the room, runs into his father. He gently scolds Nikolenka for touching the briefcase in the office without asking. Choking with sobs, Nikolenka begs her father to listen to him and protect him. He complains that the tutor constantly humiliates him. Nikolenka starts having convulsions. Dad takes him in his arms and carries him to the bedroom. The boy falls asleep.

Chapter XVII

Hatred
Nikolenka feels a real feeling of hatred for St.-Jerome’y * “He was not stupid, quite well educated and conscientiously performed his duty, but he had common to all his fellow countrymen and was so opposite to the Russian character distinctive features frivolous selfishness, vanity, insolence and ignorant self-confidence. I didn't like all this.
I was not in the least afraid of the pain of punishment, I never experienced it, but the mere thought that St. Jerome might strike me brought me into a severe state of suppressed despair and anger.
I loved Karl Ivanovich, remembered him from that time as myself, and got used to consider him a member of my family; but St. Jerome was a proud, self-satisfied man, for whom I felt nothing but that involuntary respect that all the big ones inspired in me. Karl Ivanovich was a funny old uncle, whom I loved from the bottom of my heart, but still placed below myself in my childish understanding of social status.
St.-Jerome, on the contrary, was an educated, handsome young dandy, trying to be on a par with everyone. Karl Ivanovich always scolded and punished us in cold blood, it was clear that he considered this, although a necessary, but unpleasant duty. St.-Jerome, on the other hand, liked to drape himself in the role of mentor; it was evident when he punished us that he did it more for his own pleasure than for our benefit. He was fascinated by his greatness."

Chapter XVIII

Maiden
Nikolenka's romance with the maid Masha ends in nothing. She is in love with Vasily's servant. Nikolai (Masha's uncle) opposed the marriage of his niece to Vasily, whom he called an incongruous and unbridled man.
Despite the fact that Vasily's manifestations of love were very strange and incongruous (for example, when meeting Masha, he always tried to hurt her, or pinched her, or hit her with his palm, or squeezed her with such force that she could hardly catch her breath), but his very love was sincere.
Nikolenka begins to dream about how, when she grows up and takes possession of the estate, she will call Masha and Vasily to her, give them
a thousand rubles and will allow you to get married, and he will "go to the sofa." The thought of sacrificing one's feelings for Masha's happiness warms Nikolenka's vanity.

Chapter XIX

adolescence
“It seems to me that the human mind in each individual person passes in its development along the same path along which it develops in whole generations, that the thoughts that served as the basis of various philosophical theories ... each person was more or less clearly aware even before he knew about the existence of philosophical theories ...
These thoughts presented themselves to my mind with such clarity and strikingness that I even tried to apply them to life, imagining that I was the first to discover such great and useful truths.
Once the thought came to me that happiness does not depend on external causes, but on our attitude towards them ... and for three days, under the influence of this thought, I gave up my lessons and was engaged only in lying on my bed, enjoying reading some novel and eating gingerbread with Kronovsky honey ...
But none of all the philosophical directions I was not fond of as much as skepticism. I imagined that apart from me, no one and nothing exists in the whole world, that objects are not objects, but images that appear only when I pay attention to them ...
From all this hard moral work, I did not endure anything but the resourcefulness of the mind, which weakened my willpower, and the habit of constant moral analysis, which destroyed the freshness of feeling and clarity of mind.

Chapter XX

Volodya
“Rarely, rarely, between memories during this time, do I find moments of true warm feeling, so brightly and constantly illuminating the beginning of my life. I involuntarily want to run through the wilderness of adolescence and reach that happy time when again a truly tender, noble feeling of friendship lit up the end of this age with a bright light and marked the beginning of a new, full of charm and poetry, the time of youth.
Volodya enters the university, shows extraordinary knowledge, “appears at home in a student uniform with an embroidered blue collar, in a three-cornered hat and with a gilded sword on his side ...
Grandmother drinks champagne for the first time since her daughter's death, congratulates Volodya. Volodya in
leaves the yard in his own carriage, receives acquaintances, smokes tobacco, goes to balls ...
Between Katenka and Volodya, in addition to the understandable friendship between childhood comrades, there are some strange relations that alienate them from us and mysteriously connect them with each other.

Chapter XXI

Katenka and Lyubochka
“Katya is sixteen years old. The angularity of forms, shyness and awkwardness of movements gave way to the harmonious freshness and grace of a flower that had just blossomed.
Lyubochka is short in stature and, as a result, English disease, her legs are still goose and a nasty waist. The only good thing about her whole figure is her eyes, and those eyes are really beautiful. Lyubochka is simple and natural in everything; Katenka seems to want to be like someone else. Lyubochka is always terribly glad when she manages to talk with a big man, and says that she will certainly marry a hussar. Katenka, on the other hand, says that all men are disgusting to her, that she will never marry, and she becomes completely different, as if she is afraid of something when a man speaks to her. Lyubochka is always indignant at Mimi because she is so pulled together with corsets that “you can’t breathe,” and loves to eat; Katenka, on the contrary, often, putting her finger under the cape of her dress, shows us how wide it is for her, and eats extremely little. But Katenka looks more like a big one and therefore Nikolenka likes it much more.

Chapter XXII

Dad
Papa has been especially cheerful since Volodya entered the university, and more often than usual he comes to dine with his grandmother.
Dad gradually descends in the eyes of his son "from that unattainable height to which the child's imagination put him." Nikolenka already allows herself to think about him, to judge his actions.
One evening, the father enters the living room to take Volodya with him to the ball. Lyubochka is sitting at the piano and is learning Field's second concerto, the favorite piece of her late mother. Between Lyubochka and the deceased there is an amazing similarity, something elusive in movements, in facial expressions, in the manner of speaking. The father silently takes his daughter by the head and kisses her with such tenderness, which the son has never seen from him.
The maid Masha passes by, looking down, wanting to bypass the master. Father stops Masha, leans over to her and says in an undertone that the girl is getting prettier.

Chapter XXIII Grandmother

Grandma is getting weaker day by day. But her character, proud and ceremonial treatment of all her household does not change at all. However, the doctor visits her every day, arranges consultations.
One day the children are sent out for a walk outside school hours. Driving back to the house, they see a black coffin lid at the entrance. Grandma died. Nikolenka does not regret her grandmother, "yes, hardly anyone sincerely regrets her."
Between grandmother's people, excitement is noticeable, rumors are often heard about what will get to whom. Nikolenka involuntarily and joyfully thinks that she will receive an inheritance.
After six weeks, Nikolai, "the constant newspaper of news at home," says that her grandmother left the whole estate to Lyubochka, entrusting custody not to her father, but to Prince Ivan Ivanovich until her marriage.

Chapter XXIV

I
Before entering the university, Nikolenka is a few months away. He studies well, waits for teachers without fear and even feels some pleasure from studying.
Nikolenka intends to enter the Faculty of Mathematics, and this choice was made by him “solely because the words: sines, tangents, differentials, integrals, etc., extremely like” him. Nikolenka tries to "appear to be an original."
The young man feels that he is gradually beginning to heal from "adolescent shortcomings, except, however, the main one, which is destined to do much more harm in life - the tendency to philosophize."

Chapter XXV

Volodya's friends
The adjutant Dubkov and the student Prince Nekhlyudov come to visit the elder brother more often than others. Nikolenka also shares their society. It is a little unpleasant for him that Volodya seems to be ashamed of the most innocent actions of his brother, of his youth.
“Their directions were completely different: Volodya and Dubkov seemed to be afraid of everything that looked like serious reasoning and sensitivity; Nekhlyudov, on the contrary, was an enthusiast in the highest degree and often, despite ridicule, indulged in discussions about philosophical questions and about feelings. Volodya and Dubkov often allowed themselves, lovingly, to tease their relatives; Nekhlyudov, on the contrary, could be pissed off by alluding to his aunt in an unfavorable way... Often during a conversation I felt a terrible desire to contradict him; as a punishment for his pride, I wanted to argue with him, to prove to him that I was smart, despite the fact that he did not want to pay any attention to me. Shame held me back."

Chapter XXVI

reasoning
Nikolenka and Volodya can spend whole hours together in silence, but the presence of even a silent third person is enough for the most interesting and varied conversations to start between the brothers.
One day Nekhlyudov gives Volodya his ticket to the theater (Volodya has no money, but he wants to go, so his friend gives him his). Nekhludoff talks to Nikolenka about pride. Unexpectedly, the student discovers in his young interlocutor an unusual ability for psychological analysis for his age. Nikolenka shares with Nekhlyudov his thoughts on self-love: “If we found others better than ourselves, then we would love them more than ourselves, but this never happens.” Nekhlyudov sincerely praises Nikolenka's judgments; he is extremely happy.
“Praise has such a powerful effect not only on the feeling, but also on the mind of a person, that under its pleasant influence it seemed to me that I had become much smarter, and thoughts one after another with extraordinary speed were typed into my head. From self-love we imperceptibly passed to love, and on this subject the conversation seemed inexhaustible, for us they were of high importance. Our souls were so well tuned to one tune that the slightest touch on any string of one found an echo in another.

Chapter XXVII

The Beginning of Friendship
Since that evening, a strange, but very pleasant relationship for both of them has been established between Nikolenka and Dmitry Nekhlyudov. In the presence of outsiders, the student pays almost no attention to the young man; but as soon as they are alone, they begin to reason, forgetting everything and not noticing how time flies.
They talk about the future life, about art, about service, about marriage, about raising children. It never occurs to either one or the other that everything they say is "terrible nonsense."

Once, during Shrovetide, Nekhlyudov was so busy with various pleasures that although he called on Volodya several times a day, he never found time to talk to Nikolenka. Young man this deeply offended. Again Nekhlyudov seemed to Nikolenka a proud and unpleasant man. But Nekhlyudov comes to him, and so simply and sincerely admits that he missed Nikolenka and communicating with him, that the annoyance instantly disappears, and Dmitry again becomes in the eyes of a friend "the same kind and sweet person."
Nekhlyudov admits: “Why do I love you more than people with whom I am more familiar and with whom I have more in common? I have now solved it. You have an amazing, rare quality - frankness. Nikolenka agrees with Nekhlyudov - after all, the most important, interesting thoughts are precisely those that they will never say aloud. At the suggestion of Nekhlyudov, the friends swear to always confess everything to each other. “We will know each other, and we will not be ashamed; and in order not to be afraid of outsiders, we will give ourselves a word never with anyone and never say anything about each other ... In every affection there are two sides: one loves, the other allows you to love yourself, one kisses, the other turns the cheek ... We loved exactly, because that they mutually knew and appreciated each other, but this did not prevent him from exerting influence on me, and me from obeying him ...
I involuntarily adopted his direction, the essence of which was an enthusiastic adoration of the ideal of virtue and the conviction that a person is destined to constantly improve.
At that time it seemed to be a feasible thing to correct all mankind, to destroy all human vices and misfortunes - it seemed very easy and simple to correct oneself, to acquire all the virtues and be happy...
But God alone knows whether these noble dreams of youth were really ridiculous, and who is to blame for the fact that they did not come true? ..

The story was written in 1852 - 1853, becoming the second work in the author's pseudo-autobiographical trilogy. A summary of "Boyhood" by chapter will help prepare for the lesson or verification work in literature in grades 7-8, as well as quickly get acquainted with the plot of the work.

The story refers to literary direction realism. In "Boyhood" Tolstoy describes events in the life of a teenager - how he reacts to the world and how he feels towards loved ones. Together with the main character, the reader overcomes the difficult path of personality formation and maturation.

The main characters of the story

Main characters:

Nikolay (Nikolenka) Irteniev is an emotional young man, subtly experiencing his adolescence, the story is being told from his face. At the time of the beginning of the events he was fourteen years old.
Volodya (Vladimir) - the elder brother of Nikolai, "was ardent, frank and fickle in his hobbies."
Nikolai's maternal grandmother - Nikolai's family lived in Moscow with her.

Other characters:

Nikolai's father.
Katya (Katenka), Lyubochka - Nikolai's sisters.
Karl Ivanych is the first tutor in Nikolai's family.
Saint-Jerome (St.-Jérôme) - French, the second tutor in the family of Nicholas.
Masha, twenty-five years old maid, liked Nikolai.
Vasily is a tailor, beloved of Masha.
Dmitry Nekhlyudov is a friend of Vladimir, and then a close friend of Nikolai.

Tolstoy "Boyhood" very brief content

Tolstoy Adolescence summary for the reader's diary:

The protagonist of the story is a 14-year-old teenager Nikolenka Irtyenev from a wealthy noble family. After the death of their mother, Nikolenka and his family move from their estate to Moscow to live with their grandmother. The strict and restrained grandmother-countess takes the death of her daughter hard and takes little care of Nikolenka and other grandchildren.

Nikolenka has an older brother, Volodya, and an older sister, Lyubonka. Nikolenka's father is an avid gambler and a frivolous person. He has little to do with children. The upbringing of Nikolenka is first carried out by the German tutor Karl Ivanovich, and then by the Frenchman Saint-Jerome.

Living in her grandmother's house, Nikolenka feels more and more alone. Sometimes he feels like no one loves him. Nikolenka spends a lot of time alone with herself, reflects on life and observes those around her.

Nikolenka considers himself an ugly and even ugly boy. He is shy and timid. Nikolenka is in love with the maid Masha, but hides it. He knows that Masha loves the servant Vasily. Kind Nikolenka helps Masha and Vasily get married.

After a serious illness, the grandmother-countess dies. According to the will, the grandmother's estate passes to Lyubonka, the hero's sister. Nikolenka's family continues to live in the grandmother's house. Nikolenka often visits brother Volodya's room, where his friends gather. Among Volodya's friends, Nikolenka is especially attracted to Nekhlyudov. Soon Nikolenka and Nekhlyudov become best friends.

This is interesting: The story "Childhood" is the first work. First published in 1852. Genre: autobiographical novel. To get acquainted with the heroes and the main ones, read Tolstoy chapter by chapter. The main idea - the basis of character is laid in childhood, a person tends to strive for improvement.

The story is told from the perspective of Nikolai Irteniev, an adult who recalls individual events and deep experiences of his childhood.

A short retelling of Tolstoy's "Adolescence"

Tolstoy Adolescence summary:

Another striking change for Nikolenka is that he bashfully notices the excitement that the twenty-five-year-old maid Masha arouses in him. Nikolenka is convinced of his ugliness, envies Volodya's beauty and tries with all his might, although unsuccessfully, to convince himself that a pleasant appearance cannot make up all the happiness of life. And Nikolenka tries to find salvation in thoughts of proud loneliness, to which, as it seems to him, he is doomed.

Grandmother is informed that the boys are playing with gunpowder, and although this is just a harmless lead shot, the grandmother blames Karl Ivanovich for the lack of supervision of the children and insists that he be replaced by a decent tutor. Nikolenka is having a hard time parting with Karl Ivanovich.

After a long confinement, during which Nikolenka is tormented by a desperate feeling of humiliation, he asks his father for forgiveness, and convulsions are made with him. Everyone fears for his health, but after a twelve-hour sleep, Nikolenka feels good and at ease and is even glad that his family is worried about his incomprehensible illness.

After this incident, Nikolenka feels more and more lonely, and his main pleasure is solitary reflections and observations. He observes the strange relationship between the maid Masha and the tailor Vasily. Nikolenka does not understand how such a rough relationship can be called love. Nikolenka's circle of thoughts is wide, and he often gets confused in his discoveries: “I think what I think, what I think about, and so on. The mind went beyond the mind ... "

Nikolenka rejoices at Volodya's admission to the university and is envious of his maturity. He notices the changes that happen to his brother and sisters, watches how an aging father develops special tenderness for children, experiences the death of his grandmother - and he is offended by talk about who will get her inheritance ...

Thus, it manifests attempts at self-education. Friends often come to Volodya - adjutant Dubkov and student Prince Nekhlyudov. Nikolenka talks more and more often with Dmitry Nekhlyudov, they become friends. The mood of their souls seems to Nikolenka the same. Constantly improving himself and thus correcting all of humanity - Nikolenka comes to such an idea under the influence of his friend, and he considers this important discovery the beginning of his youth.

Read also: The story "Youth" by Tolstoy, written in 1857, was the completion of the famous trilogy of Leo Nikolayevich ("Childhood", "Boyhood", "Youth"). We recommend reading chapter by chapter for the reader's diary and preparation for the literature lesson. The book describes the student years of the life of the protagonist and his inner circle.

Adolescence Tolstoy summary chapter by chapter with quotes:

The Nikolenka family moves to Moscow. During the four days of the trip, the boy saw many "new picturesque places and objects." When the driver allowed Nikolenka to drive the horses for some time, he felt completely happy.

On one of the hot evenings on the road they were caught by a strong thunderstorm. Nikolenka is delighted and at the same time afraid of the violence of the elements, he is overwhelmed with emotions: “My soul smiles just like refreshed, cheerful nature.”

Sitting in the britzka, Nikolenka and Katya discuss that upon arrival in Moscow they will live with their grandmother. It seems to the boy that his sister is moving away from them, to which Katya replies: “You can’t always remain the same; you have to change sometime."

Nikolenka understands for the first time in his life that there is another life for people who do not even know about the existence of his family.

The Nikolenka family came to Moscow. Seeing an aged grandmother, the boy feels compassion for her. The father practically did not take care of the children, living in the wing.

Nikolenka "was only a year and a few months younger than Volodya", but it was at this time that the boy began to understand the differences between him and his brother. Volodya “was superior in everything” to Nikolenka, the brothers gradually move away from each other.

Nikolenka begins to pay attention to the twenty-five-year-old Masha. However, being very shy and considering himself ugly, the boy does not dare to approach her.

Grandmother learns that the boys were playing with gunpowder. The woman believes that this is a defect in education and, having fired the German tutor Karl Ivanych, replaces him with a "young dandy Frenchman."

Chapters 8–10

Before leaving, Karl Ivanovich told Nikolenka that his fate had been unhappy since childhood. Gouverneur was the illegitimate son of Count von Somerblanc, so his stepfather did not like him. At the age of 14, Karl was sent to study with a shoemaker, and then he had to go to the soldiers instead of his brother. The man was taken prisoner, from where he managed to escape. Then Karl worked for a long time at the rope factory, but, having fallen in love with the owner's wife, he left his usual place.

In Ems, Karl Ivanovich meets General Sazin, who helps him leave for Russia. After the general's death, Nikolenka's mother hired him as a tutor. During the years of service, Karl Ivanovich became very attached to his pupils.

On Lyubochka's birthday, "Princess Kornakova and her daughters, Valakhina and Sonechka, Ilenka Grap and the two younger Ivin brothers" came to visit them. In the morning, Nikolenka gets a unit in history.

At dinner, the father asked Nikolenka to bring sweets from the wing for the birthday girl. In the boy's father's room, he was attracted by a small key from a briefcase. By negligence, Nikolenka, closing the lock, breaks the key.

After the festive dinner, the children play games. Nikolenka always gets into a couple or a sister or ugly princesses, which annoys him.

The tutor Saint-Jerome learns about the unit received by the boy in the morning and tells him to go upstairs. Nikolenka shows the teacher the language. The indignant tutor threatens to punish the boy with rods, but Nikolai not only disobeyed, but also hit the teacher. Saint-Jerome locks the boy in a closet.

Sitting in the closet, Nikolenka feels very unhappy. The boy imagines that he is not the son of his parents, and how the tutor will cry if Nikolai suddenly dies.

Chapters 16–17

Nikolenka spent the whole night in the closet, and only the next day was he transferred to a small room. Soon St.-Jérôme took the boy to his grandmother. A woman makes her grandson ask for forgiveness from the tutor. However, Nikolenka, bursting into tears, refuses to apologize, which brings her grandmother to tears.

The boy who ran out from his grandmother was met by an indignant father - he noticed a broken key. Nikolai, complaining about the tutor, tries to explain everything, but his sobs turn into convulsions and he loses consciousness. Concerned about the boy's health, the family forgave him. However, after what happened, Nicholas hated Saint-Jerome.

Nikolenka is watching the "entertaining and touching romance" of Masha and Vasily. The girl's uncle forbids them to marry, which makes the lovers suffer greatly. Nikolenka sincerely sympathized with Masha's sadness, but "he could not comprehend how such a charming creature,<…>could love Vasily.

Nikolenka spends a lot of time thinking about the purpose of man, the immortality of the soul, human happiness, death, and the ideas of skepticism.

Volodya is preparing to enter the university. Nikolenka is jealous of her brother. Volodya does well in exams, becomes a student. Now he "already leaves the yard alone in his own carriage, receives his acquaintances, smokes tobacco, goes to balls."

Nikolenka compares Katenka and Lyubochka, noting how the girls have changed. “Katya is sixteen years old; she has grown up”, she seems to the boy more “like a big one”. Lyubochka is completely different - she is "simple and natural in everything."

Nikolai's father wins a large amount, begins to visit his grandmother more often. On one of the evenings, when Lyubochka was playing “mother's piece” on the piano, Nikolenka especially sharply notices the similarity between her sister and mother.

Grandma is dying. "Despite the fact that the house is full of mourning visitors, no one regrets her death", except for the maid Gasha. Six weeks later, it became known that her grandmother had left her estate to Lyubochka, appointing not her father, but Prince Ivan Ivanovich, as a guardian.

Nikolenka has a few months left before entering the university at the Faculty of Mathematics. He becomes more mature, begins to respect the tutor. Nikolai asks his father for permission to marry Vasily and Masha, and they marry.

Chapters 25–26

Nikolai liked to spend time in the company of Volodya's acquaintances. The attention of the young man is especially attracted by Prince Dmitry Nekhlyudov, with whom Nicholas develops friendly relations.

Nikolay and Dmitry make "a word to themselves never to anyone and never to say anything about each other." The young man very quickly adopted the idealized views of Nekhlyudov - he considered it possible to "correct all of humanity, destroy all human vices and misfortunes."

“But God alone knows whether these noble dreams of youth were really ridiculous, and who is to blame for the fact that they did not come true? ..”.

See also: Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy is the author of works not only for adults, but also for children. Young readers like stories, there were fables, fairy tales of the famous prose writer. The main idea of a small but instructive prose work by L.N. Tolstoy will help to understand for the reader's diary. The work teaches love, kindness, courage, justice, resourcefulness.

The plot of the story "Adolescence" in 5 minutes

Chapter I

The protagonist of the story is a 14-year-old teenager, nobleman Nikolenka Irtyenev. After the death of his mother, Nikolenka and his family move from their estate to Moscow. The trip lasts 4 days.

Chapter II. Thunderstorm

Once during this journey, Nikolenka sees a thunderstorm, hears thunder. This is a fear strike on him. Then it rains. Nikolenka admires the fresh air after the rain.

Chapter III. A New Look

On the way, Nikolenka rides in a britzka with Katenka, the daughter of Mimi's governess. Katenka cries because she and her mother are poor and their lives are hard. Nikolenka realizes for the first time that the world is not only him and his family, that there are other people around with their own problems.

Chapter IV. In Moscow

Nikolenka and his family come to Moscow and live with their grandmother, the Countess. Grandmother takes the recent death of her daughter (Nikolenka's mother) hard. Father Nikolenka almost never takes care of children. Family life is not going the way it used to.

Chapter V. Elder Brother

Nikolenka has a brother, Volodya, who is 1 year older than him. Before the boys were friendly, but with age they began to move away. One day, already living with their grandmother, the brothers quarrel. In the evening, good Volodya is the first to go to reconciliation and ask Nikolenka for forgiveness. This act moves Nikolenka to tears. The brothers reconcile.

Chapter VI. Masha

Masha, a beautiful and sweet girl, serves in Nikolenka's family. Nikolai likes her. One day he hears brother Volodya pestering Masha. Nikolenka wants to be as lively as his brother, but he is bashful and considers himself very ugly. Nikolenka is jealous of her brother because of his good looks.

Chapter VII. Fraction

One day, the governess Mimi discovers a shot (gunpowder) in Nikolenka, with which he plays. Mimi informs the boy's grandmother and father about this. A scandal rises. Father and grandmother decide to fire the German tutor Karl Ivanovich and hire the Frenchman Saint-Jerome.

Chapter VIII. History of Karl Ivanovich

The tutor Karl Ivanovich is packing his things to leave tomorrow. On the eve of his departure, he tells his beloved pupil Nikolenka the story of his life. Karl Ivanovich was born in Germany. He was brought up by a stepfather, so he felt like a stranger in the family. From a young age, Karl worked as a shoemaker and then joined the army.

Chapter IX. Continuation of the previous

Having become a soldier, young Karl takes part in the battles against Napoleon (at Austerlitz, etc.). He is captured and escapes from there. Then for 1.5 years he works at a rope factory. The owner's wife falls in love with him. In order not to betray the good master, Karl runs away from him and his wife.

Chapter X. Continued

Finally, Karl returns to the city to his family, whom he has not seen for 9 years. Having stayed at home for a very short time, Karl is forced to flee to Ems. From Ems he comes to Russia to teach children. So Karl Ivanovich finds himself in the family of Nikolenka.

Chapter XI. Unit

A year has passed since the death of Nikolenka's mother. December 13 marks the birthday of Lyubochka, Nikolenka's sister. Guests are coming to the house. Meanwhile, Nikolenka and Volodya are studying with a history teacher. Nikolenka is not ready for the lesson and gets a "one" for it. The brothers hide this fact from the tutor Saint-Jerome so that Nikolenka is not punished.

Chapter XII. key

Nikolenka's family and guests are having lunch. At dinner, the father asks Nikolenka to bring a present from the study for Lyubochka. In the office, the boy sees his father's briefcase. He finds the briefcase key, opens it and reads the papers. As the boy closes the briefcase, the key breaks and gets stuck in the keyhole. Nikolenka decides to hide this and returns to the hall.

Chapter XIII. Renegade

After dinner, games begin in the house. During the games, Nikolenka behaves excitedly and nervously: he anticipates that he will be punished for the “unit” and the broken key. During the game, Sonya, who likes Nikolenka, always chooses another boy, Seryozha Ivin. Nicholas is offended by this. He considers Sonya a traitor. Then he sees Seryozha kissing Sonya, and she laughs merrily. Nikolenka is disappointed in Sonya.

Chapter XIV. Eclipse

Nikolenka feels contempt for all women. He wants to rage. At this time, the tutor Saint-Jerome learns that the boy today received a "unit" in history. Saint-Jerome asks Nikolenka to leave the holiday, but he sticks out his tongue. Saint-Jerome grabs the boy, but he hits him. Angry, Saint-Jerome takes Nikolenka by force to the closet.

Chapter XV. dreams

Punished Nikolenka sits in a closet, cries and thinks about life. He thinks everyone hates him. In Nikolenka's closet, the thought comes that he is a non-native, adopted child, so no one loves him or pities him (which, of course, is not true).

Chapter XVI. Will grind, there will be flour

Nikolenka spends the night in a closet. The next day, they bring him to his grandmother. The old woman demands that Nikolenka ask for forgiveness from Saint-Jerome, but the boy refuses and cries. This upsets the grandmother, she falls into hysterics. The father immediately appears, who speaks with Nikolenka about the briefcase and the broken key. The boy promises he won't do it again. He cries and asks his father to protect him from the tutor Saint-Jerome.

Chapter XVII. Hatred

Gouverneur Saint-Jerome has been living with the Countess for 1.5 years. Nikolenka feels real hatred for him. (Years later, Nikolenka admits that Saint-Jerome is not such a bad person.) After the scandal at the feast, Saint-Jerome does little to Nikolenka. The boy avoids his company. Nikolenka does not like the humiliating methods of raising Saint-Jerome.

Chapter XVIII. Maiden

Nikolenka feels more and more alone. He thinks a lot and observes those around him. So Nikolenka learns that the maid Masha is in love with the drunkard Vasily. Uncle Masha does not allow this marriage, but the girl only wants to marry Vasily. Nikolenka likes Masha. He does not understand why such a sweet girl loves the drunkard Vasily. The boy hopes that, as an adult, he will help Masha and Vasily get married.

Chapter XIX. adolescence

Nikolenka continues to lead a solitary life, philosophizing a lot, thinking about life. He is visited by not childishly serious thoughts. As a result, Nikolenka develops a lifelong habit of analysis.

Chapter XX. Volodya

15-year-old Volodya, Nikolenka's older brother, is preparing to enter the university. He successfully passes all the exams. Having entered the university, Volodya becomes an “adult”, goes to adult balls, etc.

Chapter XXI. Katenka and Lyubochka

As mentioned above, Nikolenka has an older sister, Lyubochka. Also, for a long time, the daughter of the governess Mimi, 16-year-old Katenka, has been brought up in the Nikolenka family. Lyubonka and Katenka grew up together. Katenka is a beautiful and graceful coquette, while Lyubonka is unattractive and simple.

Chapter XXII. Dad

Nikolenka's father is an avid card player. Recent times he is cheerful because he won a lot of money playing cards. Growing up, Nikolenka clearly sees the shortcomings and weaknesses of his father.

Chapter XXIII. Grandmother

Grandmother Countess is getting weaker and weaker, all the time lying in bed. Grandma is dying. No one in the house regrets her departure, including Nikolenka. According to the will, the entire estate of the grandmother passes to Lyubonka. Until Lyubonka's marriage, her grandmother's confidant will be in charge of her estate.

Chapter XXIV. I

Nikolenka is preparing to enter the university at the Faculty of Mathematics. He still considers himself ugly. Now the boy treats the tutor Saint-Jerome without hatred. Nikolenka is still in love with the maid Masha. He asks his father to allow Masha to marry Vasily, and his father agrees. So, thanks to Nikolenka, Masha and Vasily finally get married.

Chapter XXV. Volodya's friends

Nikolenka likes to be in Volodya's brother's room when friends come to see him. Most often, two friends come to Volodya - Nekhlyudov and Dubkov. Nikolenka is especially interested in Nekhludoff.

Chapter XXVI. reasoning

One day Nikolenka, as usual, is sitting in Volodya's room. Nekhlyudov and Dubkov come to visit and invite Volodya to the theater. But he has no money for a ticket, and Nekhlyudov gives him his ticket, while he himself remains at home with Nikolenka. Nekhlyudov and Nikolenka talk on various topics and discover that they think alike in many respects.

Chapter XXVII. The Beginning of Friendship

A strange but very pleasant relationship develops between Nikolenka and Nekhlyudov: they do not communicate in front of strangers, but, left alone, they talk about everything. They share their innermost thoughts with each other.

This is interesting: Tolstoy's novel "Anna Karenina", written in 1877, tells the story of the tragic love of a married lady. On our website you can read chapters and parts. In his book, the author managed to present a large-scale picture of the life and customs of the noble stratum of Moscow and St. half of XIX century.

Video summary Adolescence Tolstoy

Summary of "Adolescence"
The story "Boyhood" by L. N. Tolstoy was written in 1852 - 1853, becoming the second work in the author's pseudo-autobiographical trilogy. The story belongs to the literary direction of realism. In "Boyhood" Tolstoy describes events in the life of a teenager - how he reacts to the world around him and how he feels in relation to loved ones. Together with the main character, the reader overcomes the difficult path of personality formation and maturation.

main characters

Nikolay (Nikolenka) Irteniev is an emotional young man, subtly experiencing his adolescence, the story is being told from his face. At the time of the beginning of the events he was fourteen years old.
Volodya (Vladimir) - the elder brother of Nikolai, "was ardent, frank and fickle in his hobbies."
Nikolai's maternal grandmother - Nikolai's family lived in Moscow with her.

Other characters

Nikolai's father.
Katya (Katenka), Lyubochka - Nikolai's sisters.
Karl Ivanych is the first tutor in Nikolai's family.
Saint-Jerome (St.-Jérôme) - French, the second tutor in the family of Nicholas.
Masha, twenty-five years old maid, liked Nikolai.
Vasily is a tailor, beloved of Masha.
Dmitry Nekhlyudov is a friend of Vladimir, and then a close friend of Nikolai.

And we also have:
for the busiest Reader's diary"Boyhood"
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Summary
Chapter 1
The Nikolenka family moves to Moscow. During the four days of the trip, the boy saw many "new picturesque places and objects." When the driver allowed Nikolenka to drive the horses for some time, he felt completely happy.
Chapter 2
On one of the hot evenings on the road they were caught by a strong thunderstorm. Nikolenka is delighted and at the same time afraid of the violence of the elements, he is overwhelmed with emotions: “My soul smiles just like refreshed, cheerful nature.”

Chapter 3
Sitting in the britzka, Nikolenka and Katya discuss that upon arrival in Moscow they will live with their grandmother. It seems to the boy that his sister is moving away from them, to which Katya replies: “You can’t always remain the same; you have to change sometime."
Nikolenka understands for the first time in his life that there is another life for people who do not even know about the existence of his family.
Chapter 4
The Nikolenka family came to Moscow. Seeing an aged grandmother, the boy feels compassion for her. The father practically did not take care of the children, living in the wing.
Chapter 5
Nikolenka "was only a year and a few months younger than Volodya", but it was at this time that the boy began to understand the differences between him and his brother. Volodya “was superior in everything” to Nikolenka, the brothers gradually move away from each other.
Chapter 6
Nikolenka begins to pay attention to the twenty-five-year-old Masha. However, being very shy and considering himself ugly, the boy does not dare to approach her.
Chapter 7
Grandmother learns that the boys were playing with gunpowder. The woman believes that this is a defect in education and, having fired the German tutor Karl Ivanych, replaces him with a "young dandy Frenchman."
Chapters 8-10
Before leaving, Karl Ivanovich told Nikolenka that his fate had been unhappy since childhood. Gouverneur was the illegitimate son of Count von Somerblanc, so his stepfather did not like him. At the age of 14, Karl was sent to study with a shoemaker, and then he had to go to the soldiers instead of his brother. The man was taken prisoner, from where he managed to escape. Then Karl worked for a long time at the rope factory, but, having fallen in love with the owner's wife, he left his usual place.
In Ems, Karl Ivanovich meets General Sazin, who helps him leave for Russia. After the general's death, Nikolenka's mother hired him as a tutor. During the years of service, Karl Ivanovich became very attached to his pupils.
Chapter 11
On Lyubochka's birthday, "Princess Kornakova and her daughters, Valakhina and Sonechka, Ilenka Grap and the two younger Ivin brothers" came to visit them. In the morning, Nikolenka gets a unit in history.
Chapter 12
At dinner, the father asked Nikolenka to bring sweets from the wing for the birthday girl. In the boy's father's room, he was attracted by a small key from a briefcase. By negligence, Nikolenka, closing the lock, breaks the key.
Chapter 13
After the festive dinner, the children play games. Nikolenka always gets into a couple or a sister or ugly princesses, which annoys him.
Chapter 14
The tutor Saint-Jerome learns about the unit received by the boy in the morning and tells him to go upstairs. Nikolenka shows the teacher the language. The indignant tutor threatens to punish the boy with rods, but Nikolai not only disobeyed, but also hit the teacher. Saint-Jerome locks the boy in a closet.
Chapter 15
Sitting in the closet, Nikolenka feels very unhappy. The boy imagines that he is not the son of his parents, and how the tutor will cry if Nikolai suddenly dies.
Chapters 16-17
Nikolenka spent the whole night in the closet, and only the next day was he transferred to a small room. Soon St.-Jérôme took the boy to his grandmother. A woman makes her grandson ask for forgiveness from the tutor. However, Nikolenka, bursting into tears, refuses to apologize, which brings her grandmother to tears.
The boy who ran out from his grandmother was met by an indignant father - he noticed a broken key. Nikolai, complaining about the tutor, tries to explain everything, but his sobs turn into convulsions and he loses consciousness. Concerned about the boy's health, the family forgave him. However, after what happened, Nicholas hated Saint-Jerome.
Chapter 18
Nikolenka is watching the "entertaining and touching romance" of Masha and Vasily. The girl's uncle forbids them to marry, which makes the lovers suffer greatly. Nikolenka sincerely sympathized with Masha's sadness, but "he could not comprehend how such a charming creature could love Vasily."
Chapter 19
Nikolenka spends a lot of time thinking about the purpose of man, the immortality of the soul, human happiness, death, and the ideas of skepticism.
Chapter 20
Volodya is preparing to enter the university. Nikolenka is jealous of her brother. Volodya does well in exams, becomes a student. Now he "already leaves the yard alone in his own carriage, receives his acquaintances, smokes tobacco, goes to balls."
Chapter 21
Nikolenka compares Katenka and Lyubochka, noting how the girls have changed. “Katya is sixteen years old; she has grown up”, she seems to the boy more “like a big one”. Lyubochka is completely different - she is "simple and natural in everything."
Chapter 22
Nikolai's father wins a large amount, begins to visit his grandmother more often. On one of the evenings, when Lyubochka was playing “mother's piece” on the piano, Nikolenka especially sharply notices the similarity between her sister and mother.
Chapter 23
Grandma is dying. "Despite the fact that the house is full of mourning visitors, no one regrets her death", except for the maid Gasha. Six weeks later, it became known that her grandmother had left her estate to Lyubochka, appointing not her father, but Prince Ivan Ivanovich, as a guardian.
Chapter 24
Nikolenka has a few months left before entering the university at the Faculty of Mathematics. He becomes more mature, begins to respect the tutor. Nikolai asks his father for permission to marry Vasily and Masha, and they marry.
Chapters 25-26
Nikolai liked to spend time in the company of Volodya's acquaintances. The attention of the young man is especially attracted by Prince Dmitry Nekhlyudov, with whom Nicholas develops friendly relations.
Chapter 27
Nikolay and Dmitry make "a word to themselves never to anyone and never to say anything about each other." The young man very quickly adopted the idealized views of Nekhlyudov - he considered it possible to "correct all of humanity, destroy all human vices and misfortunes."
“But God alone knows whether these noble dreams of youth were really ridiculous, and who is to blame for the fact that they did not come true? ..”
Conclusion

In the story "Adolescence" Tolstoy masterfully analyzed and depicted the process of growing up the soul of the protagonist. Nikolai's adolescence begins after a serious loss - the death of his mother, followed by not only significant external (moving to Moscow), but also internal changes in the hero's life. The hero's perception of the world around him changes, he is in constant reflection about the meaning of what is happening, he tries to know all the diversity of life. Through the image of Nikolai, the author conveyed the subtle psychology of adolescents, so the brilliant work remains relevant today.
We advise you not to read brief retelling"Boyhood" Tolstoy, appreciating full version story.

Series: Book 2 - Childhood - Adolescence - Youth

Year of publication of the book: 1854

The second book of Tolstoy's trilogy "Childhood - Adolescence - Youth" was rather enthusiastically received by the writer's contemporaries. In our time, the story of Leo Tolstoy "Boyhood" is included in the list school literature. Therefore, it is schoolchildren that make up the main contingent of readers of the work. It is their interest that allows Tolstoy's "Boyhood" story to consistently occupy high places in the ratings of our site, and the great classic of world literature to occupy high places in.

Tolstoy's stories "Boyhood" summary

After spending a long time in the closet and very offended, Nikolenka decides to ask for forgiveness from his father. But during this, an attack of convulsions happens to him, and only after sleeping for 12 hours, he comes to his senses. At the same time, all the household members are worried about his health, which flatters Nikolenka in many ways. However, after this incident, our main character Leo Tolstoy's story "Boyhood" feels lonely. It is attached to observation and reflection. A special place in his observations is occupied by the maid Masha and the tailor Vasily, who love each other. But Nikolenka is surprised how their relationship can be called love.

Meanwhile, in Tolstoy's short story "Boyhood" you can find out how the elder brother of our hero enters the university. Nikolenka rejoices for him and envies him. At the same time, he takes the death of his grandmother hard and is annoyed by talk about the inheritance. At the same time, the main character and himself will soon have to enter the university. In Tolstoy's short story "Boyhood" you will learn how Nikolenka prepares for this not only with intensive studies, but also with self-improvement. He tries to give up inactive reasoning. At the same time, he meets Volodya's friends - Dubkov and Nekholyudov. The main character especially likes to communicate with the latter, who affirms him in the idea that by improving himself, he helps all of humanity to improve. And this thought, according to Nikolenka, became his transitional stage in his youth.

Tolstoy's story "Boyhood" on the Top Books website

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy

"Boyhood"

Immediately after arriving in Moscow, Nikolenka feels the changes that have taken place with him. In his soul there is a place not only for his own feelings and experiences, but also for compassion for the grief of others, the ability to understand the actions of other people. He realizes all the inconsolability of his grandmother's grief after the death of his beloved daughter, rejoices to tears that he finds the strength to forgive his older brother after a stupid quarrel. Another striking change for Nikolenka is that he bashfully notices the excitement that the twenty-five-year-old maid Masha arouses in him. Nikolenka is convinced of his ugliness, envies Volodya's beauty and tries with all his might, although unsuccessfully, to convince himself that a pleasant appearance cannot make up all the happiness of life. And Nikolenka tries to find salvation in thoughts of proud loneliness, to which, as it seems to him, he is doomed.

Nikolenka does not get along with the new French tutor, he himself sometimes does not understand his impudence towards the teacher. It seems to him that the circumstances of life are directed against him. The incident with the key, which he inadvertently breaks, for some unknown reason, trying to open his father's briefcase, finally brings Nikolenka out of balance. Deciding that everyone has deliberately turned against him, Nikolenka behaves unpredictably - she hits the tutor, in response to her brother's sympathetic question: "What is happening to you?" - shouts, how all are disgusting to him and disgusting. They lock him in a closet and threaten to punish him with rods. After a long confinement, during which Nikolenka is tormented by a desperate feeling of humiliation, he asks his father for forgiveness, and convulsions are made with him. Everyone fears for his health, but after a twelve-hour sleep, Nikolenka feels good and at ease and is even glad that his family is worried about his incomprehensible illness.

Nikolenka rejoices at Volodya's admission to the university and is envious of his maturity. He notices the changes that are happening to his brother and sisters, watches how an aging father develops a special tenderness for children, experiences the death of his grandmother - and he is offended by talk about who will get her inheritance ...

Before entering the university, Nikolenka is a few months away. He is preparing for the Faculty of Mathematics and studies well. Trying to get rid of the many shortcomings of adolescence, Nikolenka considers the main one to be a tendency to inactive reasoning and thinks that this tendency will bring him much harm in life. Thus, it manifests attempts at self-education. Friends often come to Volodya - adjutant Dubkov and student Prince Nekhlyudov. Nikolenka talks more and more often with Dmitry Nekhlyudov, they become friends. The mood of their souls seems to Nikolenka the same. Constantly improving himself and thus correcting all of humanity - Nikolenka comes to such an idea under the influence of his friend, and he considers this important discovery the beginning of his youth.

"Boyhood" by Leo Tolstoy is the second part of the trilogy "Childhood. Adolescence. Youth". It shows extraordinary observation and subtlety in the analysis of a person's spiritual experiences. The writer clearly depicts the beauty and elegance of nature. All this is a feature of Tolstoy's work. So, in "Adolescence" the writer tells the reader about the saddest periods that occurred in the life of Nikolenka Irtenyev.

The reader gets the impression that all six years of the hero's life passed before his eyes. In the second part of the Boyhood trilogy, the reader sees the boy when he is already 10 years old, and says goodbye to him at 16. The reader notices that the writer does not follow a certain sequence in the work. He introduces descriptions of individual days in the life of the protagonist. Here Tolstoy introduces only a few episodes, but he emphasizes that they are of great importance.

In Boyhood, the writer draws the reader's attention to the bad deeds of Nikolenka. So, having received a unit, the boy scolded the teacher, opened his father's briefcase and broke the key. Why is he doing this, maybe this is a simple attempt to defend himself? The writer does not give an answer to this question; he continues the boy's begun aggression. As a result, Tolstoy in all six chapters tells the reader about how the hero is punished and, of course, how it all ended.

The reader penetrates the hero with a feeling of pity, because the boy wants to be simply loved and understood. He does his best to please people. The writer emphasizes that he will not succeed, even with a great desire. The reader is very worried about the hero, but understands that he cannot cope with the world around him. After all, he is still so unidentified for him. The people around him have never adhered to moral values, and therefore do not try to implement them. They are satisfied with such a world.