Heart of a Dog read chapters online. Dog Heart book read online

The great Russian writer is widely known for his brilliant and, at the same time, humorous works. His books have long been dismantled into quotations, witty and well-aimed. And even if not everyone knows who wrote "The Heart of a Dog", then many have seen a great movie based on this story.

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Summary of the plot

How many chapters in Heart of a Dog - along with the epilogue 10. The action of the work takes place in Moscow at the beginning of the winter of 1924.

1. First, the dog's monologue is described, in which the dog appears smart, observant, lonely and grateful to the one who fed.
2. The dog feels how its beaten body hurts, remembers how it was beaten and poured with boiling water by the janitors. The dog feels sorry for all these poor people, but more for himself. How compassionate women and passers-by fed.
3. A passing gentleman (Professor Preobrazhensky) treats her to Krakow - a good boiled sausage and calls for him. The dog walks meekly.
4. The following is a story about how the dog Sharik acquired his abilities. And the dog knows a lot - colors, some letters. At the apartment, Preobrazhensky calls in Dr. Bormenthal's assistant, and the dog feels he has fallen into a trap again.
5. All attempts to fight back fail and stupefaction sets in. Nevertheless, the animal woke up, albeit bandaged. Sharik hears how the professor teaches him to be affectionate and caring, to feed him well.

The dog woke up

A well-fed and rejuvenated dog, Preobrazhensky takes with him to an appointment. Here Sharik sees the patients: an old man with green hair who feels like a young man again, an old woman in love with a sharpie and asking to transplant monkey ovaries into her, and many, many others. Unexpectedly, four visitors from the administration of the house came, all in leather jackets, boots and dissatisfied with how many rooms there were in the professor's apartment. After a call and a conversation with an unknown person, they embarrassedly leave.

Further events:

1. The dinner of Professor Preobrazhensky and the doctor is described. Over food, the scientist talks about what brought only destruction and deprivation. Galoshes are stolen, apartments are not heated, rooms are taken away. The dog is happy, because he is full, warm, nothing hurts him. Unexpectedly in the morning after the call, the dog was again taken to the examination room and euthanized.
2. It describes an operation to transplant Sharik's seminal glands and pituitary gland from a criminal and a brawler, who was killed during the arrest.
3. Excerpts from the diary kept by Ivan Arnoldovich Bormental are given. The doctor describes how the dog gradually becomes a man: he gets up on his hind legs, then legs, begins to read and talk.
4. The situation in the apartment is changing. People walk around oppressed, there are traces of disorder everywhere. The balayka is playing. A former ball settled in the apartment - a short, rude, aggressive little man who demands a passport and invents a name for himself - Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. He is not embarrassed by the past and does not care at all. Most Polygraph hates cats.
5. Dinner is described again. Sharikov changed everything - the professor swears and refuses to accept patients. The communists quickly took over the polygraph and taught their ideals, which turned out to be close to him.
6. Sharikov demands to be recognized as his heir, to allocate a part in the apartment of Professor Preobrazhensky and to issue a residence permit. Then he tries to rape the professor's cook.
7. Sharikov gets a job trapping stray animals. According to him, cats will be made into “polts”. He blackmails the typist into living with him, but the doctor saves her. The professor wants to expel Sharikov, but he is threatened with a gun. It is twisted and there is silence.
8. The commission, which came to rescue Sharikov, finds a half-dog, half-man. Soon, Sharik is sleeping again at the professor's table and rejoices at his luck.

main characters

The symbol of science in this story is the luminary of medicine - professor, the name of Preobrazhensky from the story "Heart of a Dog" Philip Filippovich. The scientist is looking for ways to rejuvenate the body, and finds - this is the transplantation of the seminal glands of animals. Old people become men, women hope to throw off a dozen years. The transplantation of the pituitary gland and testicles, and the heart that was transplanted to the dog in the “Heart of a Dog” from a murdered criminal is just another experiment of the famous scientist.

His assistant, Dr. Bormenthal, a young representative of miraculously preserved noble norms and decency, was the best student and remained a faithful follower.

Former dog - Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov - a victim of the experiment. Those who only watched the movie especially remembered what the hero from "Heart of a Dog" played. Obscene verses and jumps on a stool became the author's find of the scriptwriters. In the story, Sharikov simply strummed without interruption, which terribly annoyed Professor Preobrazhensky, who appreciated classical music.

So, for the sake of this image of a driven, stupid, rude and ungrateful peasant, the story was written. Sharikov wants only to live beautifully and eat deliciously, does not understand beauty, norms of relations between people, lives by instinct. But Professor Preobrazhensky believes that the former dog is not dangerous for him, Sharikov will bring much more harm to Shvonder and other communists who patronize and teach him. After all, this created person carries in himself all the lowest and worst that is inherent in man, does not have any moral guidelines.

The criminal and organ donor Klim Chugunkin seems to be only mentioned in Heart of a Dog, but it was his negative qualities that were transferred to a kind and intelligent dog.

Theory of the origin of images

Already in the last years of the existence of the USSR, they began to say that the prototype of Professor Preobrazhensky was Lenin, and Sharikov was Stalin. Their historical relationship is similar to the dog story.

Lenin brought the wild criminal Dzhugashvili closer, believing in his ideological stuffing. This man was a useful and desperate communist, he prayed for their ideals and spared no life and health.

True, in recent years, as some close associates believed, the leader of the proletariat realized the true essence of Joseph Dzhugashvili and even wanted to remove him from his entourage. But animal cunning and fury helped Stalin not only to hold on, but also to take a leadership position. And this is indirectly confirmed by the fact that, despite the year of writing "The Heart of a Dog" - 1925, the story was printed in the 80s.

Important! This idea is supported by some allusions. For example, Preobrazhensky loves the opera "Aida", and Lenin's mistress Inessa Armand. The typist Vasnetsova, who repeatedly flickers in close connection with the characters, also has a prototype - the typist Bokshanskaya, who is also associated with two historical figures. Bokshanskaya became a friend of Bulgakov.

Problems posed by the author

Bulgakov, confirming the status of a great Russian writer, in a relatively short story was able to pose a number of extremely acute problems that are still relevant today.

First

The problem of the consequences of scientific experiments and the moral right of scientists to interfere with the natural course of development. Preobrazhensky first wants to slow down the passage of time by rejuvenating old people for money and dreaming of finding a way to restore youth to everyone.

The scientist is not afraid to use risky methods, transplanting the ovaries of animals. But when the result is a person, the professor first tries to educate him, and then generally returns him to the appearance of a dog. And from the moment Sharik realizes himself as a man, the very scientific dilemma begins: who is considered a man, and whether the action of a scientist will be considered murder.

Second

The problem of relations, more precisely, the confrontation between the rebellious proletariat and the surviving nobility, had a painful and bloody character. The arrogance and aggressiveness of Shvonder and those who came with them is not an exaggeration, but rather a frightening reality of those years.

Sailors, soldiers, workers and people of the bottom filled the cities and estates quickly and cruelly. The country was flooded with blood, the former rich people were starving, they gave their last for a loaf of bread and hastily went abroad. A few were able not only to survive, but also to maintain their standard of living. They still hated them, although they were afraid.

Third

The problem of general ruin and the fallacy of the chosen path has already arisen more than once in Bulgakov's works. The writer lamented the old order, culture and the smartest people dying under the onslaught of the crowd.

Bulgakov - a prophet

And yet, what the author wanted to say in Heart of a Dog. Many readers and admirers of his work feel such a prophetic motive. Bulgakov seemed to be showing the communists what kind of person of the future, the homunculus, they are growing in their red test tubes.

Born as a result of an experiment by a scientist working for the needs of the people and protected by a higher projection, Sharikov threatens not only the aging Preobrazhensky, this creature hates absolutely everyone.

The expected discovery, a breakthrough in science, a new word in the social order turns into just a stupid, cruel criminal, strumming on a balika, strangling the unfortunate animals, those of which he himself came out. Sharikov's goal is to take away the room and steal money from "dad".

"Heart of a Dog" M. A. Bulgakov - Summary

Dog's heart. Michael Bulgakov

Conclusion

The only way out for Professor Preobrazhensky from the "Heart of a Dog" is to pull himself together and admit the failure of the experiment. The scientist finds the strength to admit his own mistake and correct it. Can others do it...

"Heart of a Dog" was written at the beginning of 1925. It was supposed to be published in the Nedra almanac, but censorship banned publication. The story was finished in March, and Bulgakov read it at the literary meeting of Nikitsky Subbotniks. The Moscow public became interested in the work. It was distributed in samizdat. It was first published in London and Frankfurt in 1968, in Znamya magazine No. 6 in 1987.

In the 20s. were very popular medical experiments on the rejuvenation of the human body. Bulgakov, as a doctor, was familiar with these natural science experiments. The prototype of Professor Preobrazhensky was Bulgakov's uncle, N.M. Pokrovsky, a gynecologist. He lived on Prechistenka, where the events of the story unfold.

Genre features

The satirical story "Heart of a Dog" combines various genre elements. The plot of the story resembles fantastic adventure literature in the tradition of G. Wells. The subtitle of the story "The Monstrous Story" testifies to the parodic coloring of the fantastic plot.

The science-adventure genre is the outer cover for satirical overtones and topical metaphor.

The story is close to dystopia due to its social satire. This is a warning about the consequences of a historical experiment that must be stopped, everything must return to normal.

Issues

The most important problem of the story is social: it is the comprehension of the events of the revolution, which made it possible to rule the world by balls and shvonders. Another problem is awareness of the limits of human capabilities. Preobrazhensky, imagining himself a god (he is literally worshiped by households), goes against nature, turning a dog into a man. Realizing that “any woman can give birth to Spinoza at any time”, Preobrazhensky repents of his experiment, which saves his life. He understands the fallacy of eugenics, the science of improving the human race.

The problem of the danger of intrusion into human nature and social processes is raised.

Plot and composition

The sci-fi story describes how Professor Filipp Filippovich Preobrazhensky decides to experiment on transplanting the pituitary gland and ovaries of the “semi-proletarian” Klim Chugunkin to a dog. As a result of this experiment, the monstrous Polygraph Polygraphovich Sharikov appeared, the embodiment and quintessence of the victorious proletariat class. The existence of Sharikov brought a lot of problems to the family of Philip Philippovich, and, in the end, endangered the normal life and freedom of the professor. Then Preobrazhensky decided on a reverse experiment, transplanting the pituitary gland of a dog to Sharikov.

The ending of the story is open: this time, Preobrazhensky was able to prove to the new proletarian authorities that he was not involved in the “murder” of Polygraph Poligrafovich, but how long will his far from calm life last?

The story consists of 9 parts and an epilogue. The first part is written on behalf of the dog Sharik, who suffers from the harsh winter of St. Petersburg from the cold and a wound on his scalded side. In the second part, the dog becomes an observer of everything that happens in Preobrazhensky's apartment: the reception of patients in the "obscene apartment", the professor's opposition to the new house management headed by Shvonder, Philip Philipovich's fearless admission that he does not like the proletariat. For the dog, Preobrazhensky turns into the likeness of a deity.

The third part tells about the ordinary life of Philip Philipovich: breakfast, conversations about politics and devastation. This part is polyphonic, it contains the voices of both the professor and the “bitten” one (Bormental’s assistant from the glasses of Sharik who bit him), and Sharik himself, talking about his lucky ticket and about Preobrazhensky as a magician from a dog’s fairy tale.

In the fourth part, Sharik meets the rest of the inhabitants of the house: the cook Darya and the servant Zina, whom the men treat very gallantly, and Sharik mentally calls Zina Zinka, and quarrels with Daria Petrovna, she calls him a homeless pickpocket and threatens with a poker. In the middle of the fourth part, Sharik's story breaks off because he is undergoing an operation.

The operation is described in detail, Philip Philipovich is terrible, he is called a robber, like a murderer who cuts, pulls out, destroys. At the end of the operation, he is compared to a well-fed vampire. This is the author's point of view, it is a continuation of Sharik's thoughts.

The fifth, central and climactic chapter is the diary of Dr. Bormenthal. It begins in a strictly scientific style, which gradually turns into a colloquial one, with emotionally charged words. The case history ends with Bormenthal's conclusion that "we have a new organism in front of us, and we need to observe it first."

The following chapters 6-9 are the history of Sharikov's short life. He learns the world, destroying it and living the probable fate of the murdered Klim Chugunkin. Already in chapter 7, the professor has an idea to decide on a new operation. Sharikov's behavior becomes unbearable: hooliganism, drunkenness, theft, molestation of women. The last straw was Shvonder's denunciation from the words of Sharikov to all the inhabitants of the apartment.

The epilogue, describing the events 10 days after Bormental's fight with Sharikov, shows Sharikov almost turning into a dog again. The next episode is the reasoning of the dog Sharik in March (about 2 months have passed) about how lucky he was.

Metaphorical overtones

The professor has a telling last name. He transforms the dog into a "new man". This happens between December 23rd and January 7th, between Catholic and Orthodox Christmas. It turns out that the transformation takes place in some kind of temporary void between the same date in different styles. A polygraph (multi-writing) is the embodiment of the devil, a “replicated” person.

Apartment on Prechistenka (from the definition of the Mother of God) of 7 rooms (7 days of creation). She is the embodiment of divine order amid the surrounding chaos and devastation. A star looks out of the window of the apartment from the darkness (chaos), watching the monstrous transformation. The professor is called a deity and a priest. He is a priest.

Heroes of the story

Professor Preobrazhensky- a scientist, a value of world importance. However, he is a successful doctor. But his merits do not prevent the new government from frightening the professor with a seal, prescribing Sharikov and threatening arrest. The professor has an inappropriate background - his father is a cathedral archpriest.

Preobrazhensky is quick-tempered, but kind. He sheltered Bormenthal in the department when he was a half-starved student. He is a noble person, not going to leave a colleague in the event of a disaster.

Dr. Ivan Arnoldovich Bormental- the son of a forensic investigator from Vilna. He is the first student of the Preobrazhensky school, loving his teacher and devoted to him.

Ball appears as a fully rational, reasoning being. He even jokes: "A collar is like a briefcase." But Sharik is the very creature in whose mind a crazy thought appears to rise "from rags to riches": "I am a master's dog, an intelligent creature." However, he almost does not sin against the truth. Unlike Sharikov, he is grateful to Preobrazhensky. And the professor operates with a firm hand, mercilessly kills Sharik, and having killed, regrets: "It's a pity for the dog, he was affectionate, but cunning."

At Sharikova nothing remains of Sharik but hatred for cats, love for the kitchen. His portrait is described in detail first by Bormental in his diary: he is a short man with a small head. Subsequently, the reader learns that the hero's appearance is unsympathetic, his hair is coarse, his forehead is low, his face is unshaven.

His jacket and striped trousers are torn and dirty, a poisonous sky tie and lacquered boots with white spats complete the suit. Sharikov is dressed in accordance with his own notions of chic. Like Klim Chugunkin, whose pituitary gland was transplanted to him, Sharikov plays the balalaika professionally. From Klim, he inherited a love for vodka.

The name and patronymic Sharikov chooses according to the calendar, the surname takes "hereditary".

The main character trait of Sharikov is arrogance and ingratitude. He behaves like a savage, and about normal behavior he says: "You are torturing yourself, as under the tsarist regime."

Sharikov receives a "proletarian education" from Shvonder. Bormental calls Sharikov a man with a dog's heart, but Preobrazhensky corrects him: Sharikov has just a human heart, but the worst possible person.

Sharikov is even making a career in his own sense: he takes the position of head of the subdepartment for cleaning the city of Moscow from stray animals and is going to sign with the typist.

Stylistic features

The story is full of aphorisms expressed by different characters: “Do not read Soviet newspapers before dinner”, “Destruction is not in the closets, but in the heads”, “You can’t fight anyone! One can act on a person or an animal only by suggestion” (Preobrazhensky), “Happiness is not in galoshes”, “And what is will? So, smoke, a mirage, a fiction, the delirium of these ill-fated democrats ... ”(Sharik),“ A document is the most important thing in the world ”(Shvonder),“ I am not a master, gentlemen are all in Paris ”(Sharikov).

For Professor Preobrazhensky, there are certain symbols of normal life, which in themselves do not provide this life, but testify to it: a galoshes rack in the front door, carpets on the stairs, steam heating, electricity.

Society of the 20s characterized in the story with the help of irony, parody, grotesque.

The story "Heart of a Dog" Bulgakov wrote in 1925. At this time, the ideas of improving the human race with the help of advanced scientific achievements were very popular. Bulgakov's hero, world-famous professor Preobrazhensky, in an attempt to unravel the secret of eternal youth, accidentally makes a discovery that allows him to surgically turn an animal into a human. However, an experiment on transplanting a human pituitary gland into a dog gives a completely unexpected result.

To get acquainted with the most important details of the work, we suggest reading a summary of Bulgakov's story "Heart of a Dog" chapter by chapter online on our website.

main characters

Ball- a stray dog. To some extent a philosopher, worldly intelligent, observant and even learned to read the signs.

Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov- A ball after an operation to implant a human pituitary gland into the brain, taken from a drunkard and rowdy Klim Chugunkin who died in a tavern brawl.

Professor Philip Preobrazhensky- a genius of medicine, an elderly intellectual of the old school, extremely dissatisfied with the onset of a new era and hating its hero - the proletarian for ignorance and unreasonable ambitions.

Ivan Arnoldovich Bormental- a young doctor, a student of Preobrazhensky, who deifies his teacher and shares his beliefs.

Shvonder- Chairman of the house committee at the place of residence of Preobrazhensky, carrier and distributor of communist ideas so unloved by the professor. He is trying to educate Sharikov in the spirit of these ideas.

Other characters

Zina- Preobrazhensky's maid, a young impressionable girl. Combines household duties with the functions of a nurse.

Daria Petrovna- Preobrazhensky's cook, a middle-aged woman.

Young lady typist- subordinate in the service and failed wife of Sharikov.

Chapter first

The stray dog ​​Sharik freezes in a Moscow gateway. Suffering from pain in his side, on which the evil cook splashed boiling water, he ironically and philosophically describes his unhappy life, Moscow life and types of people, of which, in his opinion, the most vile are janitors and porters. A certain gentleman in a fur coat appears in the field of view of the dog and feeds him with cheap sausage. Sharik faithfully follows him, wondering along the way who his benefactor is, since even the doorman in a rich house, a storm of stray dogs, speaks obsequiously to him.

From a conversation with a porter, a gentleman in a fur coat learns that "residential comrades have been moved into the third apartment," and perceives the news with horror, although the upcoming "seal" will not affect his personal living space.

Chapter Two

Having brought him to a rich warm apartment, Sharik, who decided to make a scandal out of fright, is put to sleep with chloroform and treated. After that, the dog, who is no longer bothered by the side, watches with curiosity at the reception of patients. There is an elderly ladies' man, and an elderly rich lady in love with a handsome young cheater. And everyone wants one thing - rejuvenation. Preobrazhensky is ready to help them - for good money.
In the evening, members of the house committee, headed by Shvonder, pay a visit to the professor - they want Preobrazhensky to give two of his seven rooms in the order of "seal". The professor calls one of his influential patients with a complaint about the arbitrariness and invites him, if so, to be operated on by Shvonder, and he himself will leave for Sochi. Leaving, members of the house committee accuse Preobrazhensky of hatred for the proletariat.

Chapter Three

Over dinner, Preobrazhensky rants about food culture and the proletariat, recommending that no Soviet newspapers be read before dinner in order to avoid digestive problems. He is sincerely perplexed and indignant at how it is possible to stand up for the rights of workers all over the world and steal galoshes at the same time. Hearing how a meeting of housing comrades sings revolutionary songs behind the wall, the professor comes to the conclusion: “If I, instead of operating every evening, start singing in chorus in my apartment, I will be devastated. If, on entering the lavatory, I begin, pardon the expression, to urinate past the toilet bowl, and Zina and Darya Petrovna do the same, devastation will begin in the lavatory. Consequently, the devastation is not in the closets, but in the heads. So, when these baritones shout "beat the devastation!" - I am laughing. I swear to you, I'm laughing! This means that each of them must hit himself on the back of the head!” .

There is also talk about the future of Sharik, and the intrigue has not yet been revealed, but the pathologists familiar to Bormenthal promised to immediately inform about the appearance of a “suitable corpse”, and the dog will be observed for now.

They buy Sharik a status collar, he eats deliciously, his side is finally healing. The dog is naughty, but when the indignant Zina suggests tearing him out, the professor strictly forbids this: “You can’t fight anyone, you can only act on a person and an animal by suggestion.”

Only Sharik took root in the apartment - suddenly, after a phone call, running around begins, the professor demands dinner earlier. Sharik, having been deprived of food, is locked in the bathroom, after which he is dragged to the examination room and given anesthesia.

Chapter Four

Preobrazhensky and Bormental are operating on Sharik. He is implanted with testicles and pituitary gland taken from a fresh human corpse. This should, according to the plan of physicians, open up new horizons in their study of the mechanism of rejuvenation.

The professor, not without sadness, suggests that the dog will definitely not survive after such an operation, like those animals that were before him.

Chapter Five

The diary of Dr. Bormenthal is a history of Sharik's illness, which describes the changes taking place with the operated and still surviving dog. His hair falls out, the shape of the skull changes, barking becomes like a human voice, bones grow rapidly. He utters strange words - it turns out that the street dog learned to read from signs, but read some from the end. The young doctor makes an enthusiastic conclusion - a change in the pituitary gland does not give rejuvenation, but complete humanization - and emotionally calls his teacher a genius. However, the professor himself frowningly sits over the history of the disease of a man whose pituitary gland was transplanted to Sharik.

Chapter six

Doctors are trying to educate their creation, to instill the necessary skills, to educate. Sharik's taste in clothes, his speech and habits unnerve the intelligent Preobrazhensky. Posters hang around the apartment, prohibiting swearing, spitting, throwing cigarette butts, chewing seeds. Sharik himself has a passive-aggressive attitude towards education: “They grabbed the animal, slashed the head with a knife, and now they shun” . After talking with the house committee, the former dog confidently uses clerical terms and demands to issue him an identity card. He chooses the name "Polygraph Poligrafovich" for himself, but he takes the "hereditary" surname - Sharikov.

The professor expresses a desire to buy any room in the house and move Polygraph Poligrafovich there, but Shvonder gloatingly refuses him, recalling their ideological conflict. Soon, a communal disaster occurs in the professor's apartment: Sharikov chased the cat and caused a flood in the bathroom.

Chapter Seven

Sharikov drinks vodka at dinner, like an experienced alcoholic. Looking at this, the professor sighs incomprehensibly: "There's nothing to be done - Klim." In the evening, Sharikov wants to go to the circus, but when Preobrazhensky offers him a more cultural entertainment - the theater, he refuses, because this is "one counter-revolution." The professor is about to give Sharikov something to read, even Robinson, but he is already reading the correspondence between Engels and Kautsky given to him by Shvonder. True, he manages to understand a little - except that "take everything, and even share it." Hearing this, the professor invites him to “share” the lost profit from the fact that on the day of the flood the reception of patients failed - to pay 130 rubles “for a tap and for a cat”, and orders Zina to burn the book.

Having sent Sharikov, accompanied by Bormental, to the circus, Preobrazhensky looks at the canned pituitary gland of the dog Sharik for a long time and says: “Honest to God, I seem to make up my mind.”

Chapter Eight

A new scandal - Sharikov, waving documents, claims to live in the professor's apartment. He promises to shoot Shvonder and in return for eviction threatens Polygraph with deprivation of food. Sharikov calms down, but not for long - he stole two gold coins in the professor's office, and he tried to blame the theft on Zina, got drunk and brought drinking companions to the house, after the expulsion of which Preobrazhensky lost his malachite ashtray, beaver hat and favorite cane.

Bormental confesses his love and respect to Preobrazhensky over cognac and offers to personally feed Sharikov with arsenic. The professor objects - he, a world-famous scientist, will be able to avoid responsibility for the murder, but the young doctor is unlikely. He sadly admits his scientific mistake: “For five years I have been sitting, picking out appendages from the brains ... And now, one asks - why? To one day turn the sweetest dog into such scum that your hair stands on end. […] Two criminal records, alcoholism, “to share everything”, a hat and two gold pieces are gone, a boor and a pig… In a word, the pituitary gland is a closed chamber that defines a given human face. Given!" Meanwhile, the pituitary gland for Sharikov was taken from a certain Klim Chugunkin, a recidivist criminal, an alcoholic and a brawler who played the balalaika in taverns and was stabbed to death in a drunken brawl. Doctors gloomily imagine what a nightmare with such "heredity" can result from Sharikov under the influence of Shvonder.

At night, Daria Petrovna expels the drunken Polygraph from the kitchen, Bormental promises to make a scandal for him in the morning, but Sharikov disappears, and when he returns, he says that he got a job - head of the subdepartment for cleaning Moscow from stray animals.

A young typist appears in the apartment, whom Sharikov introduces as his bride. She opens her eyes to the lies of the Polygraph - he is not the commander of the Red Army at all and was not wounded at all in battles with the whites, as he claimed in a conversation with the girl. The exposed Sharikov threatens the typist with layoffs, Bormental takes the girl under protection and promises to shoot Sharikov.

Chapter Nine

The professor comes to his former patient - an influential man in military uniform. From his story, Preobrazhensky learns that Sharikov wrote a denunciation against him and Bormental - allegedly they made death threats against Polygraph and Shvonder, made counter-revolutionary speeches, illegally stored weapons, etc. After that, Sharikov is categorically offered to get out of the apartment, but at first he becomes stubborn, then becomes impudent, and in the end he even pulls out a gun. The doctors twist him, disarm him and put him to sleep with chloroform, after which a ban on anyone to enter or leave the apartment sounds and some activity begins in the observation room.

Chapter Ten (epilogue)

The police come to the professor's apartment on a tip from Shvonder. They have a search warrant and, based on the results, an arrest on charges of Sharikov's murder.

However, Preobrazhensky is calm - he says that his laboratory creature suddenly and inexplicably degraded from a man back into a dog, and shows the police and the investigator a strange creature, in which the features of Polygraph Polygraphovich are still recognizable.

The dog Sharik, whose canine pituitary gland was returned by a second operation, remains to live and bliss in the professor's apartment, without understanding why he was "slashed all over his head."

Conclusion

In the story "Heart of a Dog", Bulgakov, in addition to the philosophical motive of punishment for interfering in the affairs of nature, outlined the themes characteristic of him, stigmatizing ignorance, cruelty, abuse of power and stupidity. The carriers of these shortcomings are the new "masters of life" who want to change the world, but do not possess the wisdom and humanism necessary for this. The main idea of ​​the work is “devastation is not in the closets, but in the heads”.

A brief retelling of the "Heart of a Dog" chapter by chapter is not enough to fully appreciate the artistic merits of this work, so we recommend that you take the time and read this short story in full. We also recommend that you familiarize yourself with the 1988 two-part film of the same name by Vladimir Bortko, which is quite close to the literary original.

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Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow! Oh look at me, I'm dying. A blizzard in the gateway roars my waste, and I howl with it. I'm lost, I'm lost. A scoundrel in a dirty cap—the cook of the canteen for normal meals for employees of the Central Council of the National Economy—splashed boiling water and scalded my left side. What a reptile, and also a proletarian. My God, my God, how it hurts! Boiling water ate to the bone. Now I'm howling, howling, but howling help.

What did I do to him? Will I really devour the council of the national economy if I rummage through the rubbish heap? Greedy creature! Do you ever look at his face: after all, he is wider across himself. A thief with a copper muzzle. Ah, people, people. At noon, the cap treated me with boiling water, and now it was dark, about four o'clock at about noon, judging by the smell of onions from the Prechistensky fire brigade. Firefighters eat porridge for dinner, as you know. But this is the last thing, like mushrooms. Familiar dogs from Prechistenka, however, told that on the Neglinny in the restaurant "bar" they eat the usual dish - mushrooms, pican sauce for 3 rubles. 75 k serving. This business is for an amateur anyway, like licking a galosh ... Oo-o-o-o-o ...

The side hurts unbearably, and the distance of my career is clearly visible to me: tomorrow ulcers will appear and, one wonders, how will I treat them? In the summer you can go to the falconers, there is special, very good grass, and besides, you will get drunk on sausage heads for free, citizens will scribble greasy paper, you will get drunk. And if it weren’t for some kind of grumbling that sings in a meadow in the moonlight - “dear Aida” - so that the heart falls, it would be great. Now where are you going? Didn't they hit you with a boot? Billy. Did you get a brick in the ribs? It's enough to eat. I have experienced everything, I reconcile with my fate, and if I cry now, it is only from physical pain and cold, because my spirit has not yet died out ... The spirit of a dog is tenacious.

But my body is broken, beaten, people abused it enough. After all, the main thing is that - as he hit it with boiling water, it ate through the wool, and therefore there is no protection for the left side. I can very easily get pneumonia, and if I get it, I, citizens, will die of hunger. With pneumonia, one is supposed to lie on the front door under the stairs, and who, instead of me, a lying single dog, will run through the weed boxes in search of food? A lung will catch, I will crawl on my stomach, I will weaken, and any specialist will knock me to death with a stick. And the janitors with badges will grab me by the legs and throw me onto a cart ...

Janitors are the most vile scum of all the proletarians. Human purifications are the lowest category. The cook comes across different. For example, the late Vlas from Prechistenka. How many lives did he save? Because the most important thing during an illness is to intercept the cous. And so, it used to be, say the old dogs, Vlas waved a bone, and on it was an eighth of meat. God rest him for being a real person, the lordly cook of Counts Tolstoy, and not from the council of normal nutrition. What they do there in a normal diet is incomprehensible to the dog's mind. After all, they, the bastards, cook cabbage soup from stinking corned beef, and those poor fellows don’t know anything. They run, they eat, they lap.

Some typist gets four and a half chervonets according to their category, but, really, her lover will give her phildepers stockings. Why, how much bullying she has to endure for this phildepers. After all, he does not in any ordinary way, but subjects her to French love. With ... these French, speaking between us. Although they burst richly, and all with red wine. Yes… A typist will come running, because you won’t go to a bar for 4.5 chervonets. She does not have enough for cinema, and cinema is the only consolation in a woman's life. It trembles, frowns, and bursts… Just think: 40 kopecks from two dishes, and both of these dishes are not worth five altyn, because the supply manager stole the remaining 25 kopecks. Does she really need such a table? The top of her right lung is not in order, and a woman's disease on French soil, she was deducted from her in the service, fed with rotten meat in the dining room, here she is, here she is ... She runs into the gateway in her lover's stockings. Her legs are cold, her stomach is blowing, because her hair is like mine, and she wears cold trousers, one lace appearance. Rip for a lover. Put on some flannel, try it, he will scream: how inelegant you are! I'm tired of my matryona, I've been tormented with flannel pants, now my time has come. I am now the chairman, and no matter how much I steal, everything is for the female body, for cancer necks, for Abrau-Durso. Because I was hungry enough in my youth, it will be with me, and the afterlife does not exist.

I pity her, I pity her! But I feel even more sorry for myself. Not out of selfishness I say, oh no, but because we really are not on an equal footing. At least it’s warm at home for her, but for me, and for me ... Where will I go? U-u-u-u-u!..

- Cut, cut, cut! Sharik, and Sharik ... Why are you whining, poor thing? Who hurt you? Wow...

The witch, a dry blizzard, rattled the gates and drove the young lady on the ear with a broomstick. She fluffed her skirt up to her knees, exposed cream-colored stockings and a narrow strip of badly laundered lace underwear, strangled the words and swept the dog away.

Oh my God... What a weather... Wow... And my stomach hurts. It's corned beef! And when will it all end?

Bending her head, the young lady rushed to the attack, broke through the gate, and in the street she began to twirl, twirl, scatter, then screwed with a snow propeller, and she disappeared.

And the dog remained in the gateway and, suffering from a mutilated side, clung to the cold wall, suffocated and firmly decided that he would not go anywhere else from here, and here he would die in the gateway. Despair overwhelmed him. His heart was so painful and bitter, so lonely and frightening, that small dog tears, like pimples, crawled out of his eyes and immediately dried up. The damaged side stuck out in frozen clods, and between them ominous red spots of scald looked. How senseless, stupid, cruel cooks are. - "Sharik" she called him ... What the hell is "Sharik"? Sharik means round, well-fed, stupid, eats oatmeal, the son of noble parents, and he is shaggy, lanky and torn, a fried hat, a homeless dog. However, thanks for the kind words.

A door across the street to a brightly lit shop slammed and a citizen emerged. Precisely a citizen, not a comrade, and even - most likely - a master. Closer - clearer - sir. Do you think I judge by the coat? Nonsense. Coats are now worn by many of the proletarians. True, the collars are not the same, there is nothing to say about this, but still one can confuse them from a distance. But in the eyes - here you can’t confuse both near and from afar. Oh, the eyes are a big thing. Like a barometer. You can see everything in someone who has a great dryness in his soul, who for no reason, for nothing, can poke the toe of his boot into the ribs, and who himself is afraid of everyone. Here is the last lackey, and it is pleasant to poke at the ankle. If you're afraid, get it. If you're afraid, then you're standing... Rrr... Go-go...

The gentleman confidently crossed the street in a blizzard and moved into the gateway. Yes, yes, you can see it all. This rotten corned beef will not eat, and if it is served to him somewhere, he will raise such a scandal, write in the newspapers: I, Philip Philippovich, have been fed.

Here he is getting closer and closer. This one eats plentifully and does not steal, this one will not kick, but he himself is not afraid of anyone, and is not afraid because he is always full. He is a gentleman of mental labor, with a French pointed beard and a gray mustache, fluffy and dashing, like those of French knights, but the smell of a blizzard from him flies bad, like a hospital. And a cigar.

What the hell, one wonders, did he wear to the cooperative of Tsentrokhoz? Here he is next ... What is he waiting for? Uuuuu… What could he buy in a crappy shop, is he not satisfied with the willing row? What? Sausage. Sir, if you saw what this sausage is made of, you would not come close to the store. Give it to me.

The dog mustered the rest of his strength and crept out of the doorway onto the pavement in a frenzy. The blizzard clapped its gun overhead, tossing up the huge letters of the linen poster "Is rejuvenation possible?".

Naturally, perhaps. The smell rejuvenated me, lifted me from my belly, with burning waves cramped my empty stomach for two days, the smell that defeated the hospital, the heavenly smell of chopped mare with garlic and pepper. I feel, I know - in the right pocket of his fur coat he has a sausage. He is above me. Oh my lord! Look at me I'm dying. Our slavish soul, vile share!

The dog crawled like a snake on its belly, shedding tears. Pay attention to the chef's work. But you won't give anything. Oh, I know rich people very well! And in fact - why do you need it? Why do you need a rotten horse? Nowhere, except for such poison, you will not get it, as in the Mosselprom. And you had breakfast today, you, the size of world importance, thanks to the male gonads. Uuuuuu... What is this done in the world? It can be seen that it is still too early to die, and despair is indeed a sin. Lick his hands, nothing else remains.

The enigmatic gentleman leaned towards the dog, flashed the golden rims of his eyes, and pulled out a white oblong bundle from his right pocket. Without taking off his brown gloves, he unwound the paper, which was immediately seized by a blizzard, and broke off a piece of sausage called "special Cracow". And fuck this piece. Oh, selfless person! Woo!

Sharik again. Baptized. Yes, call it what you want. For such an exceptional act of yours.

The dog instantly tore off the peel, bit into the Krakow one with a sob and ate it in a jiffy. At the same time, he choked on sausage and snow to tears, because from greed he almost swallowed the rope. Still, still lick your hand. Kiss your pants, my benefactor!

- It will be for now ... - The gentleman spoke so abruptly, as if he was commanding. He leaned over Sharik, looked inquisitively into his eyes, and unexpectedly ran his gloved hand intimately and affectionately over Sharikov's belly.

“Aha,” he said meaningfully, “I don’t have a collar, that’s fine, I need you.” Follow me. He snapped his fingers.

- Fit-fit!

Follow you? Yes, to the end of the world. Kick me with your felt boots, I won't say a word.

Lanterns shone all over the prechistenka. The side hurt unbearably, but Sharik sometimes forgot about him, absorbed in one thought - how not to lose the wonderful vision in a fur coat in the turmoil and somehow express love and devotion to him. And seven times throughout Prechistenka to Obukhov Lane, he expressed it. He kissed his boat by the dead alley, clearing the way, with a wild howl he so frightened some lady that she sat down on the pedestal, howled twice to maintain self-pity.

Some kind of bastard cat-stray, made to look like a Siberian, emerged from behind a drainpipe and, despite the blizzard, smelled Krakow. The ball of light did not see at the thought that a rich eccentric, picking up wounded dogs in the alley, would take this kind and this thief with him, and he would have to share the Mosselprom product. Therefore, he clanged his teeth at the cat so much that with a hiss, similar to the hiss of a leaky hose, he climbed up the pipe to the second floor. — F-r-r-r… Ga..U! Out! You can't save enough of the Mosselprom for all the riff-raff roaming the prechistenka.

The gentleman appreciated the devotion of the fire brigade itself, at the window, from which the pleasant grumbling of the horn was heard, rewarded the dog with a second smaller piece, five gold pieces.

Eh, weirdo. Tempts me. Do not worry! I won't go anywhere myself. I will follow you wherever you order.

— Fit-fit-fit! Here!

In butts? Do me a favor. This lane is very well known to us.

Fit-fit! Here? With pleasure... Eh, no, let me. No. Here is the doorman. And there is nothing worse than this. Many times more dangerous than a janitor. Absolutely hateful breed. Crap cats. A flayer in a lace.

- Don't be afraid, go.

“I wish you good health, Philip Philipovich.

- Hello, Fedor.

This is the personality. My God, who did you put me on, my dog's share! What kind of person is this who can lead dogs from the street past the porters into the house of a housing association? Look, this scoundrel - no sound, no movement! True, his eyes are cloudy, but, in general, he is indifferent under the band with gold galloons. It's like it's supposed to be. Respect, gentlemen, how respectful! Well, I'm with him and behind him. What touched? Take a bite. That would be a poke at the proletarian callused leg. For all the bullying your brother. How many times did you mutilate my face with a brush, huh?

- Go, go.

We understand, we understand, don't worry. Where you are, there we are. You only show the path, and I will not fall behind, despite my desperate side.

Down stairs:

- There were no letters to me, Fyodor?

Downstairs respectfully:

“Not at all, Philipp Philippovich (intimately in an undertone in pursuit), but they moved the housemates into the third apartment.

An important canine benefactor turned sharply on the step and, leaning over the railing, asked in horror:

His eyes widened and his mustache stood on end.

The porter from below lifted his head, put his hand to his lips and confirmed:

“That’s right, four of them.”

- My God! I imagine what will be in the apartment now. Well, what are they?

- Nothing, sir.

— And Fyodor Pavlovich?

- We went for the screens and for the bricks. Barriers will be installed.

"The devil knows what it is!"

- In all apartments, Philipp Philippovich, they will move in, except for yours. Now there was a meeting, they chose a new partnership, and the former - in the neck.

— What is being done. Ai-yay-yay ... Fit-fit.

I'm going, I'm in a hurry. Bok, if you please, makes himself known. Let me lick my boot.

The porter's galloon disappeared below. A breath of warmth from the chimneys blew on the marble platform, they turned once more, and behold, the mezzanine.

"Heart of a Dog" you can read a summary of the chapters of Bulgakov's story in 17 minutes.

"Heart of a Dog" summary by chapter

Chapter 1

The action takes place in Moscow in the winter of 1924/25. In a snow-covered gateway, a homeless dog Sharik, who was offended by a canteen cook, suffers from pain and hunger. He scalded the poor fellow's side, and now the dog was afraid to ask anyone for food, although he knew that people came across different. He lay against the cold wall and dutifully waited in the wings. Suddenly, from around the corner, there was a whiff of Krakow sausage. With the last of his strength, he got up and crawled out onto the sidewalk. The smell seemed to lift his spirits and make him bolder. Sharik approached the mysterious gentleman, who treated him to a piece of sausage. The dog was ready to thank his savior endlessly. He followed him and showed his devotion in every possible way. For this, the master gave him a second piece of sausage. Soon they came to a respectable house and entered there. To Sharik's surprise, the porter named Fyodor let him through too. Turning to Sharik's benefactor, Filipp Filippovich, he said that new tenants, representatives of the house committee, had moved into one of the apartments, who would draw up a new plan for settling in.

Chapter 2

Sharik was an unusually intelligent dog. He knew how to read and thought that every dog ​​could do it. He read mainly by color. So, for example, he knew for sure that under the green and blue sign with the inscription MSPO they were selling meat. But after, guided by the colors, he got into an electrical appliance store, Sharik decided to learn the letters. I quickly remembered "a" and "b" in the word "fish", or rather "Glavryba" on Mokhovaya. So he learned to navigate the streets of the city.

The benefactor brought him to his apartment, where a young and very pretty girl in a white apron opened the door for them. Sharik was struck by the decoration of the apartment, especially the electric lamp under the ceiling and the long mirror in the hallway. After examining the wound on his side, the mysterious gentleman decided to take him to the examination room. The dog immediately did not like this dazzling room. He tried to run and even poked at a man in a dressing gown, but all in vain. Something nauseating was brought to his nose, causing him to immediately fall on his side.

When he woke up, the wound did not hurt at all and was bandaged. He listened to the conversation between the professor and the man he had bitten. Philip Philipovich said something about animals and that nothing can be achieved by terror, at what stage of development they would not be. Then he sent Zina for another portion of sausage for Sharik. When the dog recovered, he followed with unsteady steps to the room of his benefactor, to whom various patients soon began to come one after another. The dog realized that this was not a simple room, but a place where people came with various diseases.

This continued until late in the evening. The last to arrive were 4 guests, different from the previous ones. These were young representatives of the house management: Shvonder, Pestrukhin, Sharovkin and Vyazemskaya. They wanted to take two rooms away from Philip Philipovich. Then the professor called some influential person and demanded assistance. After this conversation, the new chairman of the house committee, Shvonder, retreated from his claims and left with his group. Sharik liked this and he began to respect the professor for his ability to upset the insolent.

Chapter 3

Immediately after the departure of the guests, Sharik was waiting for a sumptuous dinner. Having eaten his fill of a large piece of sturgeon and roast beef, he could no longer look at food, which had never happened to him before. Philip Philipovich talked about old times and new orders. The dog, meanwhile, was dozing blissfully, but the thought did not leave him that it was all a dream. He was afraid to wake up one day and find himself again in the cold and without food. But nothing terrible happened. Every day he grew prettier and better, in the mirror he saw a happy, well-fed dog. He ate as much as he wanted, did what he wanted, but they didn’t scold him for anything, they even bought a beautiful collar for the neighbor’s dogs to envy.

But one terrible day, Sharik immediately felt something was wrong. After the doctor's call, everyone fussed, Bormental arrived with a briefcase stuffed with something, Philipp Philippovich was worried, Sharik was forbidden to eat and drink, they locked him in the bathroom. In a word, a terrible mess. Soon Zina dragged him to the examination room, where, from the false eyes of Bormental, which he had bitten earlier, he realized that something terrible was about to happen. A rag with a nasty smell was again brought to Sharik's nose, after which he lost consciousness.

Chapter 4

The ball lay spread out on a narrow operating table. They cut off a tuft of hair on his head and on his stomach. First, Professor Preobrazhensky removed his testicles and inserted some other, sagging ones. Then he opened Sharik's skull and transplanted the brain appendage. When Bormenthal felt that the dog's pulse was dropping rapidly, becoming threadlike, he made some kind of injection into the region of the heart. After the operation, neither the doctor nor the professor hoped to see Sharik alive.

Chapter 5

Despite the complexity of the operation, the dog came to his senses. From the professor's diary, it was clear that an experimental pituitary transplant operation was carried out in order to find out the effect of such a procedure on the rejuvenation of the human body. Yes, the dog was on the mend, but behaved rather strangely. Hair fell out in tufts from his body, his pulse and temperature changed, and he began to look like a man. Soon Bormental noticed that instead of the usual barking, Sharik was trying to pronounce some word from the letters “a-b-s-r”. They concluded that it was a fish.

On January 1, the professor made an entry in his diary that the dog could already laugh and bark happily, and sometimes he said “abyr-valg”, which apparently meant “Glavryba”. Gradually he stood on two paws and walked like a man. While he managed to hold out in this position for half an hour. Also, he began to swear at his mother.

On January 5, his tail fell off, and he uttered the word "beer". From that moment on, he began to often turn to obscene speech. Meanwhile, rumors about a strange creature were circulating around the city. In one newspaper they printed a myth about a miracle. The professor realized his mistake. He now knew that a pituitary transplant would lead not to rejuvenation, but to humanization. Bormenthal recommended that Sharik be brought up and his personality developed. But Preobrazhensky already knew that the dog was behaving like a man whose pituitary gland had been transplanted into him. It was the organ of the late Klim Chugunkin, a conditionally convicted thief-recidivist, alcoholic, brawler and hooligan.

Chapter 6

As a result, Sharik turned into an ordinary man of short stature, began to wear lacquered boots, a poisonous blue tie, made acquaintance with Comrade Shvonder, and day by day shocked Preobrazhensky and Bormental. The behavior of the newly appeared creature was impudent and boorish. He could spit on the floor, scare Zina in the dark, come drunk, fall asleep on the floor in the kitchen, etc.

When the professor tried to talk to him, the situation only worsened. The creature demanded a passport in the name of Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. Shvonder demanded to register a new tenant in the apartment. Preobrazhensky objected at first. After all, Sharikov could not be a full-fledged person from the point of view of science. But they still had to register, since formally the law was on their side.

The habits of the dog made themselves felt when a cat quietly made its way into the apartment. Sharikov rushed after him into the bathroom like crazy. The fuse clicked. So he was trapped. The cat managed to escape through the window, and the professor canceled all the patients in order to save him together with Bormental and Zina. It turned out that while chasing the cat, he turned off all the taps, causing water to flood the entire floor. When the door was opened, everyone together began to remove the water, but Sharikov at the same time let out obscene words, for which he was expelled by the professor. The neighbors complained that he broke their windows and rushed after the cooks.

Chapter 7

During dinner, the professor tried to teach Sharikov proper manners, but all in vain. He, like Klim Chugunkin, had a craving for alcohol, bad manners. He did not like to read books, go to the theater, but only to the circus. After another skirmish, Bormental went with him to the circus, so that temporary peace reigned in the house. At this time, the professor was thinking of a plan. He went into the office and looked at the glass jar with the dog's pituitary gland for a long time.

Chapter 8

Soon they brought Sharikov's documents. Since then, he began to behave even more cheekily, demanded a room in the apartment. When the professor threatened that he would no longer feed him, he calmed down for a while. One evening Sharikov, with two strangers, robbed the professor, stealing from him a pair of chervonets, a commemorative cane, a malachite ashtray, and a hat. Until recently, he did not admit to what he had done. By evening, he became ill and everyone was busy with him as if he were a child. The professor and Bormental were deciding what to do next with him. Bormental was even ready to strangle the insolent man, but the professor promised to fix everything himself.

The next day, Sharikov disappeared with the documents. The house committee said that they had not seen him. Then they decided to contact the police, but this was not required. Polygraph Poligrafovich himself showed up, announced that he had been hired for the position of head of the subdepartment for cleaning the city from stray animals. Bormental forced him to apologize to Zina and Darya Petrovna, as well as not to make noise in the apartment and show respect for the professor.

A couple of days later a lady in cream stockings came. It turned out that this is Sharikov's bride, he intends to marry her, and demands his share in the apartment. The professor told her about the origin of Sharikov, which greatly upset her. After all, he had been lying to her all this time. The wedding of the insolent man was upset.

Chapter 9

One of his patients in a police uniform came to the doctor. He brought a denunciation drawn up by Sharikov, Shvonder and Pestrukhin. The case was not given a move, but the professor realized that it was no longer possible to delay. When Sharikov returned, the professor told him to pack his things and get out, to which Sharikov replied in his usual boorish manner and even took out a revolver. By this, he convinced Preobrazhensky even more that it was time to act. Not without the help of Bormental, the head of the cleaning department soon lay on the couch. The professor canceled all his appointments, turned off the bell and asked him not to be disturbed. The doctor and professor performed the operation.

Epilogue

A few days later, policemen showed up at the professor's apartment, followed by representatives of the house committee, headed by Shvonder. Everyone unanimously accused Philip Philipovich of killing Sharikov, to which the professor and Bormental showed them their dog. The dog, although it looked strange, walked on two legs, was bald in places, covered in patches of fur, but it was quite obvious that it was a dog. The professor called it an atavism and added that it is impossible to make a man out of an animal. After all this nightmare, Sharik again happily sat at the feet of his master, did not remember anything and only occasionally suffered from a headache.