Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E

Fairy tale and fairy tale fiction have always been close to the work of the satirist. He used them both in The History of a City (Organchik, a mayor with a stuffed head), and in Modern Idyll (The Tale of the Zealous Chief), and in the cycle of essays Abroad (The Triumphant Pig, or conversation of a pig with the truth"), and in "Satires in Prose". Folk Russian fairy tales attracted the writer with their life truth, sly humor, constant condemnation of evil, injustice, stupidity, betrayal, cowardice, laziness, glorification of goodness, nobility, intelligence, fidelity, courage, diligence, malicious mockery of the oppressors, sympathy and love for the oppressed. in the fantastic fabulous images the people reflected the phenomena of reality, and this made fairy tales akin to Shchedrin's talent.

In total, the writer created more than 30 fairy tales, and the vast majority of them - in the 80s. This is not accidental: in the 1980s, the oppression of censorship increased unheard of, the autocracy mercilessly cracked down on revolutionary organizations, and a hail of persecution fell upon progressive literature. In April 1884, the best journal of the era, Fatherland Notes, was closed, headed by Shchedrin for many years. The writer, in his words, "was taken away, crumpled and sealed soul." In this era of “unbridled, incredibly senseless and brutal reaction” (V. I. Belinsky), it was difficult to live, writing was almost impossible. But the reactionaries failed to silence the voice of the great satirist. Faithful to his revolutionary duty, Shchedrin continued to serve those ideas for which he devoted his entire life. “I disciplined myself so much,” he wrote, “that it seems that I won’t allow myself to die without working out.”

During these years of unprecedented revelry of reaction, Shchedrin created most of his brilliant fairy tales.

The hostility of the autocracy to the people, culture and art is beautifully shown in the fairy tale "The Eagle-Maecenas". The predatory and merciless eagle, who was used to robbing, was “sickened of living in alienation,” he, on the advice of those close to him, began to “patronize” the sciences and arts, although he himself was ignorant and “never ... had never seen a single newspaper.” The “golden age” at the court of the eagle patron began with the fact that a new tax called “enlightenment” was determined from the crows. The golden age did not last long, however. The eagle tore his teachers - the owl and the falcon - in two, the nightingale for the fact that "art" in it could not sit in the servile framework and constantly bulged out into the wild ... ... in shackles and imprisoned in a hollow forever”; then followed a pogrom at the academy, where the owls and owls protected science "from a dashing eye", the alphabet was taken from the crows, "they pounded it in a mortar and from the resulting mass they made playing cards". The tale ends with the thought that "enlightenment is harmful to eagles ..." and that "eagles are harmful to education."

Shchedrin subjected tsarist officials to merciless ridicule in "The Tale of the Zealous Chief ...". In this tale, the great Russian writer Shchedrin gives the type of bureaucrat-tyrant, very limited and stupid, but extremely self-confident and zealous. All the activity of this tyrant was reduced to the fact that he "stopped the people's food, abolished the people's health, burned the letters and scattered the ashes in the wind." In order to “poke the fatherland” even more, the boss and the “bastards” around him act according to the program they created: “So that we, the bastards, speak, and the others remain silent ... So that we, the bastards, live in a habit, and the rest of us, so that not a bottom, there was no cover. So that we, scoundrels, are kept in the hall and in tenderness, and the rest of all - in shackles.

This program created by the "scoundrels" truthfully reflected contemporary writer reality, when genuine, and not fabulous, "zealous bosses" acted according to the rule; “The more harm the boss does, the more benefit he brings to the fatherland. Science will abolish - good; the city will burn - good; the population will frighten - even more benefit.

In the fairy tale "Bogatyr" Shchedrin depicted the autocracy in the image of the "hero", the son of the Baba Yaga, who slept soundly in a hollow for a thousand years, and the people - in the image of the fool Ivanushka. During the time that the “hero” slept, his long-suffering side “had all the pains”, and not once did the “hero” either move his ear or move his eye to find out why the earth was moaning all around. The “hero” did not move even when the country was attacked by cruel and inexorable “adversaries”. "Bogatyr", personifying autocracy, turns out to be an imaginary god
tyrem, moreover, rotten through and through. “At that time, the fool Ivanushka approached the Bogatyr, broke the hollow with his fist - he looks, but the Viper’s torso was eaten away from the Bogatyr right up to the very neck.”

In all these fairy tales, a disguised call for the destruction of the autocracy was well understood by readers.

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Tales Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote mainly from 1880 to 1886, at the final stage of his work. The form of the fairy tale was chosen by the writer not only because this genre provided an opportunity to hide true meaning works from censorship, but also because it allowed a simple and accessible interpretation of the most complex problems of politics and morality. In the form most accessible to the masses, he, as it were, poured all the ideological and thematic richness of his satire.

Shchedrin's tales are truly encyclopedic. They reflect everything Russian society post-reform period, all public and social forces of Russia.

The main themes of the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin were: denunciation of the autocracy (“The Bear in the Voivodeship”), the ruling class (“ wild landlord”), liberalism (“ wise scribbler”, “Liberal”, “Karas-idealist”), and also touched upon the problem of the people (“The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals”).

Folklore traditions are clearly traced in Shchedrin's fairy tales. The connection with folklore is established with the help of the traditional “once upon a time”, which is the beginning in a fairy tale. The writer also uses proverbs (“According to pike command, according to my desire...”), refers to folk sayings, filed in a socio-political interpretation.

The plot of the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin is also folklore, since here good opposes evil, good opposes bad. However, the usual boundaries between these two concepts are blurred, and even positive characters are endowed with negative features, which are then ridiculed by the author himself.

Saltykov-Shchedrin had to constantly improve his allegorical manner in order to make his work accessible to the reader, therefore, proximity to folklore is also manifested in the figurative structure, which gives him the opportunity to directly use epithets, and when choosing animals for allegory, also rely on the fable tradition. The writer uses roles that are familiar to both fables and fairy tales. For example, in the fairy tale “The Bear in the Voivodeship”, the Bear Governor is a major, the Donkey is an adviser, the Parrots are buffoons, and the Nightingale is a singer.

The allegory of Shchedrin's fairy tales is always as transparent as in Krylov's fables, where, according to Belinsky, there are no animals, but people, "and, moreover, Russian people." It is no coincidence that the tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin were called fables in prose, since they clearly traced the tradition of depicting human vices in the images of animals, corresponding to this genre. In addition, the Shchedrin tale, like the fable of Krylov or Aesop, always carries a lesson, morality, being a spontaneous educator and mentor of the masses.

In his fairy tales, Saltykov-Shchedrin continues the Russian satirical literary tradition. For example, Gogol's motifs and polemics with Gogol can be traced in a number of fairy tales. In general, Gogol's satire largely determined the nature of the future literary activity writer. For example, both in Gogol's "The Overcoat" and in "The Wise Scribbler" by Saltykov-Shchedrin, the psychology of the intimidated average person is shown. Shchedrin's innovation consisted in the fact that he introduced political satire into fairy tales, which has both a topical and universal sound. This writer turned the very idea of ​​​​satire, going beyond Gogol's psychological method, pushed the boundaries of the possibilities of satirical generalization and ridicule. From now on, the subject of satire was not individual, often random events and incidents, and not private individuals involved in them, but the whole life of the state from top to bottom, from the essence of the tsarist autocracy to the dumb slave people, whose tragedy was the inability to protest against cruel forms of life. Thus, the main idea of ​​the fairy tale “The Bear in the Voivodship” is that the causes of national disasters are not only in the abuse of power, but also in the very nature of the autocratic system. And this means that the salvation of the people lies in the overthrow of tsarism.

Shchedrin's satire thus acquires a stable political coloring.

The satirist struggles not with specific phenomena, but with the social system that generates and nourishes these phenomena. Saltykov-Shchedrin considers each individual person as a product of the social environment that gave birth to him, deprives artistic image all human traits and replaces individual psychology with manifestations of the class instinct. Every action of the hero is comprehended by Shchedrin as socially necessary and inevitable.

In all the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin, two planes are organically combined: real and fantastic, life and fiction, and fantasy is always based on real events.

The depiction of the “illusion” of political reality required an appropriate form, which, having brought the phenomenon to the point of absurdity, to the point of ugliness, would reveal its true ugliness. Such a form could only be the grotesque (connection of the incompatible), which is an important source in fairy tales. comic effect. Thus, the grotesque distorted and exaggerated reality, while fantasy gave the most unusual life phenomena the character of familiarity and everyday life, and the thought of the daily and regularity of what was happening only strengthened the impression. The excessive cruelty of the political regime and the complete lack of rights of the people really bordered on magic, on fantasy. So, for example, in the fairy tale "The Wild Landowner" Shchedrin, in an ugly comic form, showed the apogee of both the moral and external "neglect" of a person. The landowner “has become overgrown with hair, his nails have become like iron”, he began to walk on all fours, “has even lost the ability to articulate sounds”, “but he has not yet acquired a tail.” And in “The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals,” the generals find a number of “Moskovskie Vedomosti” on a desert island.

Shchedrin uses hyperbole very actively. Both the dexterity of the peasant and the ignorance of the generals are extremely exaggerated. A skillful peasant cooked soup in a handful, stupid generals do not know that they bake flour rolls, and one even swallows the order of his friend.

Sometimes - although not as often and obviously as other means artistic image, - Saltykov-Shchedrin uses antithesis (opposition). This can be seen in the example of "The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals." The generals “raked in so much money - it can’t be said in a fairy tale or described with a pen”, and the peasant received “a glass of vodka and a nickel of silver”.

Important in understanding the tale is the author's irony, thanks to which the author's position is revealed. Irony can be traced in all the images present in fairy tales. For example, in “The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals,” the calligraphy teacher cannot distinguish between cardinal directions.

The language of all the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin is distinguished by a special aphorism. The writer not only actively uses the elements of folklore (proverbs, sayings) already established in the language, but also introduces new expressions into it, for example: “Accept the assurances of my perfect respect and devotion”, “actually he was not angry, but so, cattle ".

So, the active use of artistic techniques allowed the writer to reveal more deeply the essence of the autocratic apparatus. In addition, the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin had a great influence on further development Russian literature and especially the genre of satire.

The plots of Saltykov-Shchedrin's fairy tales are based on a grotesque situation, but behind it are always guessed real public relations, under the guise of a fairy tale, reality is shown. The grotesque-hyperbolic images of the heroes are, in fact, metaphors for the actual socio-psychological types of contemporary Russia.

Found in fairy tales real people, names of newspapers, references to topical socio-political topics. Along with this, there are also stylized situations that parody reality. In particular, ideological clichés and their typical language forms are parodied.

Animals in fairy tales often act in a typical fable function, and not in a fairy tale one. Saltykov-Shchedrin uses “ready-made” roles assigned to some animals; traditional symbolism is found in his fairy tales.

Saltykov-Shchedrin demonstrates his adherence to the fable tradition, in particular, he includes morality in some fairy tales, a typical fable device, for example, "let this serve as a lesson to us."

The grotesque, as a favorite means of satire by Saltykov-Shchedrin, is already expressed in the very fact that animals act as people in specific situations, most often associated with

ideological disputes, socio-political issues relevant to Russia in the 1880s. In the depiction of these incredible, fantastic events, the originality of Shchedrin's realism is manifested, noticing the essence social conflicts and relationships character traits which are hyperbolized.

Evil, angry ridicule of slave psychology is one of the main tasks of Shchedrin's fairy tales. He not only states these features of the Russian people - their long-suffering, unresponsiveness, not only anxiously seeks their origins and limits.

Saltykov-Shchedrin makes extensive use of allegory in his works. Including in fairy tales. He also masterfully uses the vernacular.

In conclusion, I would like to add that the thoughts expressed by the writer in fairy tales are modern today. Shchedrin's satire has stood the test of time and is especially poignant in a period of social turmoil such as Russia is experiencing today.

"The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals."

The plot of the tale is as follows: two generals suddenly found themselves in an unthinkable way on a desert island in a completely helpless state. This is the first of the features of Saltykov-Shchedrin's fairy tales - a combination of the real and the fantastic. The second feature is irony. The image of these generals is filled with it, their appearance is ridiculous. They are in nightgowns, barefoot, but with an order around their necks. Thus, in the description by Saltykov-Shchedrin, the order depreciates, loses its meaning, since they received it not for work, but for "long sitting in the department." Ironically, the author also speaks of the general's abilities: he cannot remember them, except perhaps the calligraphic handwriting.

But the generals' stupidity is visible, their ignorance of life is obvious. They do not know how to do anything, they are used to living at the expense of others, they think that rolls grow on trees. Here we use the third pictorial technique Hyperbole, that is, exaggeration. Of course, there could not have been such stupid generals, but those receiving salaries beyond their merits - as many as you like. With the help of hyperbole, the author ridicules, depersonalizes this phenomenon. To emphasize the worthlessness of the generals, the author uses the fourth feature - contrast. The generals are not alone: ​​miraculously, a peasant appeared on the island. Handyman of all trades, he fed the insatiable generals. Able to create everything: even cook soup in a handful. Saltykov-Shchedrin is ironic not only over the generals, but also over the peasant. In particular, over his obedience to stupid, defenseless generals. They forced him to twist a rope for himself - the generals wanted to tie him up so that he would not run away. The situation is fabulous, but the author used it to laugh evilly at his contemporary life, namely, at mediocre newspapers. After futile attempts to get food, the generals find one of these newspapers on the island and read it out of boredom. Saltykov-Shchedrin invites the reader to make fun of its content, stupid articles. The tale ends with the peasant returning the generals to Petersburg, and in gratitude they give a glass of vodka and a copper penny. Saltykov-Shchedrin uses a phrase from folk tale: “It flowed down the mustache, but it didn’t get into the mouth.” But here it is used in the same ironic way - the peasant did not receive anything. The gentlemen live by the labor of the peasants, and the latter are ungrateful, while the savior people have nothing from their labor.

Saltykov-Shchedrin said: "I love Russia to the point of pain in my heart." It was love and the desire for change that guided him when, with the help of various visual means drew a real-fiction story about two worthless generals and a smart guy.

"Karas is an idealist."

This fairy tale Saltykov-Shchedrin like all his fairy tales, speaking name. By the title, we can already say that this tale describes a crucian who had idealistic views on life. The crucian carp is the object of satyrs, and in his image are people who, like him, hope for a class idyll.

He is pure in soul, and says that evil has never been driving force, it devastates our life and puts pressure on it. And goodness is the driving force, it is the future.

But immersed in his ideological thoughts, he completely forgot that he lives in a world where there was, is and will be a place for evil. But Saltykov-Shchedrin ridicules not idealistic views, but the methods by which he wanted to achieve an idyll. In his fairy tales, the author uses three repetitions. Three times the crucian went to a dispute with a pike. Seeing her for the first time, he was not shy, she seemed to him common fish, like everyone else, only mouth to ear. He also told her about happy life where all the fish will be united, that even she listened to him, but the methods seemed ridiculous to her. Karas proposed to issue laws prohibiting, for example, pike from eating crucian carp. Yes, the fact is that these laws did not exist and probably never will. So the pike had three disputes with crucian carp, but accidentally swallowed it with water.

There is irony in this tale, because crucian carp is secretly mocked, saying that it is smart.

The images of the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin entered our everyday life, and now you can see people promoting their ideology, but not able to implement it.

"Sane Bunny"

Sane Hare - Hero fairy tale of the same name, "He reasoned so sensibly that it fit a donkey." He believed that “every animal has its own life” and that, although “everyone eats” hares, he is “not picky” and “agrees to live in every possible way.” In the heat of this philosophizing, he was caught by the Fox, who, bored with his speeches, ate him.

Fairy tale characters are standard for most fairy tales. One can recall not a single fairy tale where the main characters are a fox and a hare, and throughout the whole work their confrontation is considered. In fact, it is exciting and enough interesting story. That is why Saltykov-Shchedrin, in one of his fairy tales, stopped precisely on these characters.

The main theme of the tale is that by depicting animals, the author wanted each reader to transfer the content to himself, i.e. a fairy tale is like a fable and has a hidden meaning.

In my opinion, if we apply a fairy tale to modern world, then its main idea is that for the most part there are much more stupid people and therefore those who are more literate and educated face many problems and non-recognition of themselves in society. Also, the mind of a hare is intertwined with a share of boasting and talkativeness, which ultimately leads to a deplorable end.

Each of the characters has their own point of view and expresses their thoughts. For excessive talkativeness, the hare was eaten by a fox, although his reasoning cannot be called meaningless and irrelevant.

"Wild Landlord"

The theme of serfdom and the life of the peasantry played an important role in the work of Saltykov-Shchedrin. The writer could not openly protest the existing system. Saltykov-Shchedrin hides his merciless criticism of the autocracy behind fairy-tale motives. He wrote his political fairy tales from 1883 to 1886. In them, the writer truthfully reflected the life of Russia, in which despotic and all-powerful landowners destroy hard-working peasants.

In this tale, Saltykov-Shchedrin reflects on the unlimited power of the landowners, who in every way torment the peasants, imagining themselves almost as gods. The writer also speaks of the landowner's stupidity and lack of education: "that landowner was stupid, he read the newspaper" Vest "and his body was soft, white and crumbly." The disenfranchised position of the peasantry in tsarist Russia Shchedrin also reflects in this tale: "The luchin did not become a peasant to light in the light, there was no rod to sweep the hut with." The main idea of ​​the fairy tale was that the landowner cannot and does not know how to live without a peasant, and the work of the landowner only dreamed of in nightmares. So in this tale, the landowner, who had no idea about labor, becomes a dirty and wild beast. After he was abandoned by all the peasants, the landowner never even washed his face: “Yes, I’ve been walking unwashed for many days!”.

The writer caustically ridicules all this negligence of the master class. The life of a landowner without a peasant is far from reminiscent of a normal human life.

The master became so wild that "from head to toe he was overgrown with hair, his nails became like iron, he even lost the ability to utter articulate sounds. But he has not yet acquired a tail." Life without peasants was also disrupted in the district itself: "no one pays taxes, no one drinks wine in taverns." "Normal" life begins in the county only when the peasants return to it. In the image. This one landowner Saltykov-Shchedrin showed the life of all the gentlemen in Russia. And the final words of the tale are addressed to each landowner: "He lays out grand solitaire, yearns for his former life in the forests, washes only under duress, and at times mumbles."

This fairy tale is full of folk motives, close to Russian folklore. There are no tricky words in it, but there are simple Russian words: "it's said and done", "muzhiks' trousers", etc. Saltykov-Shchedrin sympathizes with the people. He believes that the torment of the peasants is not endless, and freedom will prevail.

"Konyaga"

In the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin, the image of the Russian people, which was embodied in the image of a horse, is very well revealed. Konyaga - ordinary people, peasants who work for the benefit of the entire state, who with their labor are able to feed all the inhabitants of Russia. The image of Konyaga is saturated with pain and fatigue, which gives him a hard job.

If Saltykov-Shchedrin described the life of various social strata verbatim, then his works would not be allowed to print due to censorship, and thanks to the Aesopian language, he achieved a very touching and natural description of the estates. What is Aesopian language? it special kind secret writing, censored allegory, which was often referred to fiction deprived of freedom of expression under conditions of censorship. In the tale of Saltykov-Shchedrin "Konyaga" this technique is widely used, which allows you to expose reality and serves as a means of combating the infringement of the rights of the lower strata of society. politicians. This work shows the difficult, even ugly, life of the Russian people. Saltykov-Shchedrin himself sympathizes with the peasants, but he still shows this terrible picture of a beggarly way of life.

The field on which the peasant and horse work is boundless, just as their work and significance for the state are boundless. And, apparently, all the upper strata of the population are enclosed in the images of Pustoplyasov: gentlemen, officials - who only watch the work of the horse, because their life is easy and cloudless. They are beautiful and well-fed, they are given the food that the horse provides with his hard work and he himself lives from hand to mouth.

Saltykov-Shchedrin urges to think about the fact that such a hard work of the Russian people for the good of the state does not give them freedom from serfdom and does not save them from humiliation before officials and gentlemen who live easily, who can afford a lot.

The problem of the people and the bureaucracy is very relevant in our time, because for contemporary readers she will be interesting and curious. Also, thanks to the use of artistic medium as an Aesopian language, the problem of the fairy tale "Konyaga" is acute to this day.

Fairy tales sum it all up satirical creativity Saltykov-Shchedrin. Fairy tales show all aspects of social and political life Russia in the 60-80s of the XIX century. Saltykov-Shchedrin exposed social inequality, the arbitrariness of the autocracy, the cruel exploitation of the people. These themes are reflected in the fairy tales “The Bear in the Voivodship”, “The Eagle Patron”, “The Poor Wolf”, “The Wild Landowner”, “Neighbors”, “The Raven Petitioner” and others. Outraged by the selfishness and cruelty of the oppressors, Saltykov-Shchedrin treats the people with warmth and love. At the same time, he condemns his humility, naive belief that one can find the truth and protection in power (the fairy tales “Konyaga”, “The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals”, “By the Way”, “Village Fire ”, “Idle Talk” and others). Saltykov-Shchedrin also stigmatizes the liberals, who distract the people from the struggle with empty rhetoric. The author condemns the selfish philistine wisdom of “dried wobblers” and minnows, begging for handouts by selfless and sane hares. Saltykov-Shchedrin believed in social equality, harmony, and universal happiness. These ideas are presented in his fairy tales. A prime example the fairy tale “Karas-idealist” serves. The author immediately warns that everything in life is much more complicated than it seems at first glance, there will always be those who oppose any positive idea. In the fairy tale, this is reflected in the words: “That’s what the pike is for, so that the crucian does not doze off.” The idealist carp acts as a preacher, He is eloquent and convincing in preaching brotherly love: “Do you know what virtue is? The pike gaped in surprise. She automatically drew water and… swallowed the crucian.” Pikes are so arranged that they must eat the weakest. In any society there are strong people who eat and weak people who are eaten. The tale reflected the social philosophy of the world of the oppressors and the oppressed. But was it only at that time that a fairy tale was relevant? I think it applies to the modern world as well.

In the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin actors animals, and birds, and fish act like people. “The minnow does not receive a salary and does not keep servants,” he dreams of winning two hundred thousand. In the fairy tale “The Eagle-Patron”, the Eagle is the king of birds, but it is endowed with character traits of people who act as patrons in the field of education. The eagle decided to start science and art at the court. However, he soon got tired of playing the role of a philanthropist: he destroyed the nightingale-poet, put shackles on the learned woodpecker and imprisoned him in a hollow, ruined the raven. “Searchs, investigations, trials” began, “the darkness of ignorance” set in. The writer showed in this tale the incompatibility of tsarism with science, education and art, and concluded that "eagles are harmful for education."

The wise minnow embodied the character traits of a typical layman who is always afraid of something. The minnow was afraid all his life that a pike would eat him, so he sat in his hole for a hundred years away from danger. The minnow "lived and trembled, and died and trembled." But even at the end of his life he thought about his existence. Before his death, the gudgeon tries to comprehend: why did he tremble and hide all his life? “What were his joys? Who did he comfort? Who will remember its existence? Saltykov-Shchedrin states the moral of the tale in this way: “Those who think that only those minnows can be considered worthy citizens and, mad with fear, sit in holes and tremble, believe incorrectly. No, these are not citizens, but at least useless minnows. No one from them is warm or cold, they live, they take up space for nothing and eat food.

In the fairy tale “The Bear in the Voivodeship”, the king, ministers and governors are ridiculed. Three Toptygins successively replace each other in the voivodeship, where the lion sent them in order to “pacify the internal adversaries”. The first was engaged in small "shameful atrocities", the second - in large "brilliant". But after he pulled a horse, a cow and a couple of sheep from a peasant, the men killed him. The third Toptygin was the most bloodthirsty, but acted more cautiously than the others. For many years he took honey, chickens, piglets from the peasants. In the end, the peasants' patience snapped and Toptygin was put on a spear. Saltykov-Shchedrin shows that the cause of poverty and lawlessness of the people is not only in the abuse of power, but also in the very nature of the autocratic system. The whole system is vicious and its overthrow is required - this is the idea of ​​the fairy tale.

If ministers, officials and other representatives of power act as predators (a bear, an eagle), then a simple worker who drags out his miserable existence is compared to a horse. “Fed up idle dancers” talk about the reasons for Konyaga's immortality. One suggests that Konyaga is strong because he has permanent job“a lot of common sense has accumulated”, another sees in Konyaga “the life of the spirit and the spirit of life”, the third argues that Konyaga “gives work .... peace of mind”, the fourth, that Konyaga is simply used to his fate and needs only a whip. The horse is working, the “idle dancers” are shouting: “B-but, convict, n-but!”

Not always Saltykov-Shchedrin depicts people in the form of animals, often the landowner acts as a landowner, the peasant plays the role of a peasant. In the fairy tale “The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals,” the main characters are a man and two idler generals. Two completely helpless generals miraculously ended up on a desert island, and they got there right out of bed - in nightgowns and with orders around their necks. The generals almost eat each other, because they cannot not only catch fish or game, but also pick fruit from a tree. In order not to perish from hunger, they decide to look for a peasant. And he is right there: sitting under a tree and shirking from work. The “huge man” turns out to be a master of all trades. He took apples from a tree, and “dug up potatoes from the ground, and prepared a snare for grouse from his own hair, and got a fire, and prepared provisions, and gained swan's down. And what? He gave ten apples to the generals, and took one for himself - “sour”. He even twisted a rope so that his generals would be tied to a tree with it. Moreover, he was ready to “please the generals for the fact that they favored him, a parasite, and did not disdain his peasant labor.” No matter how much the generals scold the peasant for parasitism, and the peasant "rows and rows, and feeds the generals with herrings." The author shows the peasant's passivity, his slavish psychology, his readiness to endure and feed the generals who rob him.

Tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin have not lost their relevance in our time. And now you can meet crucians that are eaten by pikes, men who feed generals, dried wobbles and other characters in the fairy tales of this writer.

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6. M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin is a great Russian satirist, revolutionary democrat, colleague of Chernyshevsky and Nekrasov. As his weapon against social evil and social injustice, he chose satire, namely, a satirical fairy tale-parable. This genre...
7. ME Saltykov-Shchedrin acted as an implacable critic of the autocracy. In his fairy tales, familiar images appear before the reader. old Russia: tyrant rulers (“Poor Wolf”, “Bear in the Voivodeship”), cruel exploiters (“Wild Landowner”, “The Tale of...
8. A fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it ... A. S. Pushkin The fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin reflect the main social, political, ideological and moral problems that characterized Russian life half of XIX century. AT...
9. Ideological and artistic originality of fairy tales by Saltykov-Shchedrin Fairy tales are the result of the writer's work. Three of them were written in the 60s. (“The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals”, “The Wild Landowner”, “The Conscience Lost”), the rest ...
10. I. S. Turgenev wrote about the features of Saltykov’s satire: “There is something Swift in Saltykov: this serious and vicious humor, this realism, sober and clear among the most unbridled imagination, and especially ...
11. "Tales" by Saltykov-Shchedrin is not accidentally called the final work of the author. In them, those problems of Russia in the 60-80s are raised with all the acuteness. XIX century, which worried the progressive intelligentsia. Debating the way forward...
12. All writers through their works try to convey to us, the readers, their own innermost thoughts. Real Writer, by virtue of his talent and the peculiarities of the inner world, the events taking place around him always feel sharper and ...
13. A fairy tale is one of the epic genres of literature, which is characterized by deep subtext, we read fairy tales not only to have fun - “there is a lie in a fairy tale, but there is a hint in it ...” Exactly ...
14. FAIRY TALES OF SALTYKOV-SHCHEDRIN Shchedrin resorted to zoological images throughout his entire work, resorted more and more often over time, and finally came to the creation of a whole series satirical tales in the shape of...
15. The name of Saltykov-Shchedrin is on a par with such world famous satirists like Mark Twain, Francois Rabelais, Jonathan Swift and Aesop. Satire has always been considered an "ungrateful" genre - the state regime has never...
16. THE PECULIARITY OF ME SALTYKOV-SHCHEDRIN'S FAIRY TALES In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a landowner, he lived and looked at the world and rejoiced. M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin literary style Saltykov-Shchedrin was formed in the process of constantly overcoming ...
17. To M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, Pushkin’s phrase can be attributed: “Satyrs are a bold ruler.” These words were spoken by A. S. Pushkin about Fonvizin, one of the founders of Russian satire. Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov, who wrote under...
18. The ideological meaning and artistic originality of the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin I. “He was a writer-fighter who stood on the brink” (I. S. Turgenev). II. Master of socio-political satire. 1. “I grew up in the bosom of serfdom. I have seen...
19. The tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin are distinguished not only caustic satire and genuine tragedy, but also a peculiar construction of the plot and images. The author approached writing “Tales” already at a mature age, when a lot was comprehended, ...
20. The tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin are called fables in prose, they clearly trace folklore and Russian satirical literary tradition. In his tales, the problems of the people are truthfully revealed. The satirist denounces autocracy, liberalism and the ruling...
21. Comment on the opinion of S. Makashin: “In terms of content, “Tales” are a kind of “microcosm” - a “small world” of all Saltykov’s work.” At the beginning of your essay, note that M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin is a master of satirical ...
22. THE SOCIAL PATHOS OF M. E. SALTYKOV-SHCHEDRIN'S FAIRY TALES The fairy tales of M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin testified to the new rise of the author's mighty talent and were a kind of result of his work. Many questions and problems, many topics and...
23. Russian Literature of the 2nd Half of the 19th Century “Escheat” Heroes of M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin is known to readers primarily as a writer who ridicules all the shortcomings of reality and castigates human vices. Such his works, ... Works about peasants and landlords occupy significant place in the work of Saltykov-Shchedrin. Most likely this happened because the writer faced this problem back in young age. Saltykov-Shchedrin spent his childhood... Folklore traditions in M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin’s “History of a City” (chapter “On the Root of the Origin of the Foolovites”) “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin is written in the form of a chronicler’s narration - an archivist about the past of the city of Glupov, but ...
24. A brilliant satirist of the second half of the 19th century, “A man of extraordinary gaiety”, “a master of unique laughter, laughing with which a person became wiser” (V. Lunacharsky). M. Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote, indeed, very witty. D. Pisarev even reproached him...

M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin is a satirist writer. All his work is aimed at criticizing the existing order in the country and, first of all, at the wrong state structure. The writer's works continue the tradition of D. I. Fonvizin, A. S. Griboyedov, N. V. Gogol. In the chronicles and fairy tales of Saltykov, we see a reflection real history Russia, and in fabulous images appear before us statesmen, rulers, officials. I. S. Turgenev wrote about the features of Saltykov’s satire: “There is something Swift in Saltykov: this serious and vicious humor, this realism, sober and clear among the most unbridled imagination, and especially this unshakable common sense, preserved despite the frenzy and exaggeration of form ".
Among the most famous works Shchedrin - fairy tales. Fairy tales are special literary genre, based on folk legends, true stories, songs, superstitions. They often use traditional stories, characters (Vasilisa the Beautiful, Ivan Tsarevich, grey Wolf), artistic techniques(fantasy, fixed expressions, proverbs, fixed epithets, antithesis). But Saltykov's fairy tales are a special phenomenon in Russian literature. In essence, these works are political pamphlets, and fairy story- only a form of presentation.
The first acquaintance with the work of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin begins with the fairy tales “The Wild Landowner”, “The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals”, “The Wise Piskar”, “ selfless hare”, “Eagle-philanthropist”, “Faithful Trezor” and others. All these stories are familiar to us from childhood. An important role in the writer's work is given to fairy tales about animals. After all, well-known human vices and shortcomings are hidden behind the images of animals.
The author draws to the reader the images of the townsfolk who have resigned themselves to the authorities. For example, in the fairy tale “Selfless Hare”. It makes you think about important questions. Why does a simple worker resign himself to his fate so quickly? Why is he so submissive and defenseless? Why do the townsfolk consider oppression and exploitation lawful? Saltykov shows a lot positive traits hare: nobility, love for neighbors, honesty, directness, but all of them are meaningless before slavish obedience and fear of disobeying the wolf (power).
In the fairy tale “The Eagle-Maecenas”, under the mask of a bird of prey, the author shows the stupidity and arrogance of the rulers. The eagle is the enemy of science, art, the protector of darkness and ignorance. He destroyed the nightingale for his free songs, the woodpecker-scholar “dressed up in shackles and imprisoned in a hollow forever”, completely ruined the raven-muzhiks. But the eagle was waiting for retribution for injustice and cruelty: the ravens rebelled and flew away, leaving the eagle to die of starvation.
“Faithful Trezor” is a fairy tale-satire on the servile obedience and “dog-like devotion” of men to landowners. Trezor's devotion did not prevent the merchant Vorotilov from drowning the dog when he ceased to cope with his duties.
The symbol of all peasant Russia is the image of Konyaga. Konyaga is a hard worker, a source of life for everyone. His destiny is eternal hard labor. “There is no end to the work! The whole meaning of his existence is exhausted by work.”
All the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin were subjected to censorship persecution. After all, animal masks could not completely hide the true content of these works. The transfer of psychological human traits to animal world clearly exposed the absurdity of the existing reality.
Just because the author uses animal masks in his works, one can call them actually fairy tales. In fact, this is just a slightly disguised political satire. Saltykov's merit before Russian literature lies in the fact that he created a new, original genre political fairy tale, in which fantasy is combined with reality. The political tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin are in many ways similar to a fable. As in fables, in Shchedrin's fairy tales there is a moral-conclusion, all heroes are static (they are the embodiment of certain vices, negative traits person), there is no image goodie.
The tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin depict not only evil or good people, but they give an idea of real life Russia in the second half of the 19th century. After all, it was precisely at that time that class differences, the basic properties of the exploiting classes, were especially sharply manifested. Shchedrin himself did not bequeath his work to new generations. He says about it this way: “... my writings are so imbued with modernity, so tightly fitted to it, that if one can think that they will have any value in the future, then it is precisely and solely as an illustration of this modernity” . But “Tales” by Saltykov-Shchedrin and other satirical works, so popular in the last century, remain relevant today: real art is eternal, it is not influenced by time, and the social problems raised by the writer are important even now.