How Steel Was Tempered sums up the plot of Paul's writing.
How Steel Was Tempered was a novel by Ostrovsky of the Soviet Union that was first published in 1932. The novel mainly tells the story of a steel factory in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. It portrays the protagonist, Pavel Kochagin, who eventually became an excellent steel worker and leader through hard work and perseverance in a difficult environment. The novel took the growth of Kochagin as the main line and interweaved with the social and historical background of the Soviet Union. It depicted a steel factory in the process of the Soviet Union's industrialization. It showed how the protagonist finally achieved self-transcendence and growth through his continuous efforts and faith when he faced difficulties, setbacks and failures. Through vivid characters, plot settings and language descriptions, the novel shows the social environment and people's living conditions in the Soviet era, deeply reflecting the social reality and people's thoughts and feelings of that era.