In Russian literature it is difficult to find another similar example of mercy and humanity, which appears before the readers of V. Rasputin's story "French Lessons". The writer created a subtle image of a touching relationship between teacher and student, which ended in a not very pleasant way.
Once in a distant regional center …
The action in Valentin Rasputin's story "French Lessons" takes place in the Russian outback, which has just begun to recover from the consequences of the war with the Nazis. The main character is an eleven-year-old boy who, through the efforts of his mother, goes to study from his remote village to the regional center.
It is in and around the school that the events of the story unfold.
Torn away from his mother and forced to live in a strange family, the boy feels discomfort all the time. Having never found friends, the hero is almost always lonely, distrustful of people and eternally hungry. Someone is carrying bread and potatoes from his meager stocks, collected for his son by a selfless mother. The thin boy's health is such that every day he needs to drink at least one glass of milk, for which he has no money.
The main concern of the hero of the story is study. He was very good at all subjects, with the exception of the French language: he could not get the pronunciation. The young teacher Lidia Mikhailovna struggled in vain to eliminate this deficiency. The French speech did not give in, despite the boy's stubbornness and conscientiousness.
Somehow the hero witnessed a game that was far from being a child's for money, in which the older guys were playing with enthusiasm, gathered in a remote and deserted place. Having tried his hand at this wisdom, the boy gradually began to win. The meager kopecks that he earned by this trade were more than enough for milk. Health began to improve.
The boy's success in playing for money caused the older guys to displease. It all ended badly - after the next win, they beat him off, forbidding him to come in the future. From the beatings, injustice and resentment, he caught his breath, the boy sobbed for a long time and inconsolably, worrying about what had happened.
A lesson in humanity
The next day, the boy appeared before the French teacher in all its glory. A split lip and abrasions on his face eloquently indicated that the guy was in serious problems. Having found out what had happened, the anxious Lydia Mikhailovna learned to her horror that he had started gambling because he had no opportunity to eat well.
Driven by a noble desire to help the boy, the teacher insisted that he come to her home to study additional French. Between conversations about life and lessons, she tried to feed the boy. And when he flatly refused to accept such gifts from her hands, Lydia Mikhailovna went for a trick. She somehow accidentally suggested after another homework to play for money in a game she had invented.
On reflection, the hero found this way of earning quite honest and gradually got carried away, throwing coins.
It was for this exciting and noisy lesson that the school director found the teacher with the student. Without trying to understand the motives of the teacher's act, the headmaster fired her in anger for immoral behavior, which, in his opinion, was an egregious case of molestation of a gullible child. Lydia Mikhailovna, not wanting to make excuses, was forced to leave school, but never once reproached the boy for what had happened.
This is the summary of this story, surprising in its power of impact. French lessons have become an invaluable life experience for the boy. The teacher's noble deed allowed him to learn what real compassion and compassion are.
