"Dog's heart" characterization of heroes. The story "Heart of a Dog": characterization of Sharikov

One of the significant works in the work of M. Bulgakov is the story "Heart of a Dog". It was completed in 1925, but became available to the reader only in 1987.
The plot is based on the semi-fantastic story of the transformation of a dog into a man. An eminent scientist, a world-famous luminary, Professor Preobrazhensky has been dealing with the problems of body rejuvenation all his life. The final result of the experiment was to be the creation of a new, perfect man. Together with Dr. Bormental, Philip Philipovich performs a unique operation - he replaces the brain of a dog with the cerebral pituitary gland of a deceased man.
The forever hungry, homeless dog Sharik, after the operation, takes on a human form and becomes Polygraph Polygraphovich Sharikov. But this experiment cannot be called successful. Not at all the result the professor wanted to see.
And here the social and moral problems of the story come to the fore. Revolutionary reality destroys the "human", the humane in man. From the dog, Sharikov inherited all the worst qualities: he snaps, catches fleas, bites, runs after cats. From the person the same inclinations remained.
What kind of person was this? “Klim Grigoryevich Chugunkin, 25 years old, single. Non-partisan, sympathetic... Sued three times and acquitted... Theft. Profession playing the balalaika in taverns ... ". That is, Sharikov was given the genes of a brawler, a criminal and a drunkard.
This is just one side of the problem. The second, more serious, is the environment in which Sharikov was formed, the revolutionary reality of those years. Preobrazhensky tried to educate the "new man" in the spirit of the intelligentsia, to instill in him his way of life. But more participation in the "formation" of Sharikov's personality belongs to the chairman of the house committee, Shvonder. Preobrazhensky only thought of suggesting to his ward to read Robinson Crusoe, as he was already ahead of the “red agitator”, who suggested “this ... Like her ... correspondence of Engels with this ... like him - the devil - with Kautsky."
According to these words of Sharikov, one can already judge his narrow-minded mind. The response was extraordinary: “Bormenthal stopped a fork with a piece of white meat halfway, and Philipp Philippovich spilled the wine. Sharikov at that time contrived and swallowed vodka. The astonishment of the heroes is understandable: the underdeveloped man speaks of such a serious political document as "The Correspondence between Engels and Kautsky." What Preobrazhensky cannot achieve as an educator, Shvonder, who occupies the same level with Sharikov, could easily do. Therefore, the “newborn” is more familiar with short command slogans and quotations from Engels.
Sharikov is a narrow-minded, rude, selfish creature. It is disgusting for normal people, not only externally, but also internally. Instead of gratitude to his “parent”, he claims to have a living space, rudely insults and informs the relevant authorities.
Sharikov cannot be called completely stupid and narrow-minded. He perfectly feels the benefits of living at Preobrazhensky, since here you can “eat” for free. And when they tried to kick Sharikov out of the apartment, he showed “three papers”: green, yellow and white, issued by the housing association, confirming the right to live in apartment number five. It turns out that Sharikov arranged everything in advance, which speaks of his grasp of life.
Polygraph Polygraphovich is not as simple as it might seem at first. He never misses his advantage. Sharikov got a job not as a simple worker, but as the head of a subdepartment for cleansing the city from stray cats. His opinion about military service is interesting: “I won’t go anywhere to fight! .. I’ll take it on record, but to fight is a mess with butter.” It is surprising how quickly he found the reason for refusing to serve in the army: “I was seriously wounded during the operation,” Sharikov whined gloomily, “you see, how they beat me,” and he pointed to his head. A very fresh surgical scar stretched across his forehead. In another place, the hero explains the reason for the appearance of the scar in a different way, as a wound received during the years of the civil war on the “Kolchak fronts”.
Every day the subject becomes more and more arrogant. Scientists have no choice but to return it to its former appearance.
The story "Heart of a Dog" is tragicomic. Fantasy, reality and satire intertwined in it. The appearance of Sharikov reflects the shortcomings of the new social system, which M. Bulgakov did not accept.

In the story “Heart of a Dog” M.A. Bulgakov does not just describe the unnatural experiment of Professor Preobrazhensky. The writer shows a new type of person who arose not in the laboratory of a talented scientist, but in the new, Soviet reality of the first post-revolutionary years. The basis of the plot of the story is the relationship between a prominent Russian scientist and Sharik, Sharikov, a dog and an artificially created person. The first part of the story is built mainly on the internal monologue of a half-starved street dog. He evaluates the life of the street in his own way, life, customs, characters of Moscow during the NEP, from her numerous shops, tea houses, taverns on Myasnitskaya "with sawdust on the floor, evil clerks who hate dogs." Sharik knows how to sympathize, appreciate kindness and kindness, and, oddly enough, he perfectly understands the social structure of the new Russia: he condemns the new masters of life (“I am now the chairman, and no matter how much I steal, everything goes to the female body, to cancer necks, on Abrau-Durso”), but about the old Moscow intellectual Preobrazhensky he knows that "this one will not kick with his foot."

In Sharik's life, in his opinion, a happy accident happens - he finds himself in a luxurious professorial apartment, in which, despite the widespread devastation, there is everything and even "extra rooms". But the professor doesn't need the dog for fun. A fantastic experiment is conceived over him: by transplanting a part of the human brain, a dog should turn into a man. But if Professor Preobrazhensky becomes the Faust who creates a man in a test tube, then the second father - the man who gives the dog his pituitary gland - is Klim Petrovich Chugunkin, whose characterization is given extremely briefly: “Profession - playing the balalaika in taverns. Small in stature, poorly built. The liver is enlarged (alcohol). The cause of death was a stab to the heart in a pub.” And the creature that appeared as a result of the operation completely inherited the proletarian essence of its ancestor. He is arrogant, arrogant, aggressive.

He is completely devoid of ideas about human culture, about the rules of relationships with other people, he is absolutely immoral. Gradually, an inevitable conflict is brewing between the creator and creation, Preobrazhensky and Sharik, more precisely, Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov, as the “homunculus” calls himself. And the tragedy is that a “man” who has barely learned to walk finds reliable allies in life who bring a revolutionary theoretical basis to all his actions. From Shvonder, Sharikov learns what privileges he, a proletarian, has in comparison with a professor, and, moreover, begins to realize that the scientist who gave him human life is a class enemy. Sharikov is clearly aware of the main credo of the new masters of life: rob, steal, take away everything created by other people, and most importantly - strive for universal leveling. And the dog, once grateful to the professor, can no longer come to terms with the fact that he “settled alone in seven rooms,” and brings paper, according to which he is entitled to an area of ​​​​16 meters in the apartment. Sharikov is alien to conscience, shame, morality. He lacks human qualities, except for meanness, hatred, malice ... Every day he loosens his belt more and more. He steals, drinks, commits excesses in Preobrazhensky's apartment, molests women.

But the finest hour for Sharikov is his new work. The ball makes a dizzying leap: from a stray dog, he turns into the head of the subdepartment for cleaning the city from stray animals.

And it is precisely this choice of profession that is not surprising: the Sharkovs always strive to destroy their own. But Sharikov does not stop on what has been achieved. After some time, he appears in an apartment on Prechistenka with a young girl and declares: “I sign with her, this is our typist. Bormental will have to be evicted…” Of course, it turns out that Sharikov deceived the girl and made up many stories about himself. And the last chord of Sharikov's activity is the denunciation of Professor Preobrazhensky. In the story, the sorcerer-professor succeeds in the reverse transformation monster man into an animal, into a dog. It is good that the professor understood that nature does not tolerate violence against itself. But, alas, in real life, balls turned out to be much more tenacious. Self-confident, arrogant, no doubters in their sacred rights to everything, semi-literate lumpen brought our country to the deepest crisis, because violence against the course of history, neglect of the laws of its development could only give rise to Sharikovs. In the story, Sharikov again turned into a dog, but in life he went a long and, as it seemed to him, and others were inspired, a glorious path, and in the thirties and fifties he poisoned people, as he once did stray cats and dogs in the line of duty. Through all his life he carried dog anger and suspicion replacing them with dog loyalty that has become unnecessary. Entering into rational life, he remained at the level of instincts and was ready to change the whole country, the whole world, the whole universe so that these bestial instincts could be more easily satisfied.

He is proud of his low origin. He prides himself on his low education. In general, he is proud of everything low, because only this raises him high above those who are high in spirit, mind. People like Preobrazhensky must be trampled into the mud so that Sharikov can rise above them. Outwardly, the balls are no different from people, but their non-human essence is just waiting for the moment to manifest itself. And then they turn into monsters, which, at the first opportunity to grab a tidbit, drop the mask and show their true essence. They are ready to betray their own. Everything that is highest and most holy turns into its opposite as soon as they touch it. And the worst thing is that the ball managed to achieve tremendous power, and when coming to power, the non-human tries to dehumanize everyone around, because it is easier to control non-humans, they have all human feelings replaced by the instinct of self-preservation. In our country, after the revolution, all the conditions were created for the appearance of a huge number of balloons with dog hearts. The totalitarian system is very conducive to this. Probably due to the fact that these monsters have penetrated into all areas of life, that they are still among us, Russia is going through hard times now. It is terrible that aggressive balls with their truly canine vitality, in spite of everything, can survive. The dog's heart in union with the human mind is the main threat of our time. That is why the story, written at the beginning of the century, remains relevant today, serving as a warning to future generations. Sometimes it seems that our country has become different. But the consciousness, stereotypes, way of thinking of people will not change either in ten or twenty years - more than one generation will change before the balls disappear from our lives, before people become different, before the vices described by M.A. Bulgakov in his immortal work. How I want to believe that this time will come! ..

In the course of studying the work of Mikhail Bulgakov, schoolchildren go through the story "Heart of a Dog". One of the key characters in this work is Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. All the ideological and plot content of the story is concentrated on this image. So, we have a characteristic of Sharikov. "Dog's heart". Essay by a 9th grade student.

Mikhail Bulgakov wrote his story "Heart of a Dog" in 1925. But readers were able to get to know her only after more than 60 years - in 1987. And this is not surprising - after all, in this work the author ridicules the Soviet reality, which he, like many representatives of the intelligentsia of that time, was very unhappy with.

The main characters of the story are Professor Preobrazhensky and Polygraph Polygraphovich Sharikov. The first image causes sympathy and respect. Preobrazhensky is a very smart, educated, educated and decent person. But the characterization of Sharikov in the story "Heart of a Dog" is extremely negative.

Polygraph Poligrafovich was born as a result of an experiment by a professor who conducted experiments in the field of rejuvenation of the human body. Preobrazhensky performed a unique operation, transplanting the brain of a dead man to the yard dog Sharik. As a result, the dog turns into a human. He was named Polygraph Poligrafovich.

From his "donors" Sharikov took the worst. From a mongrel - the property of snapping, rushing after cats, catching fleas, etc. From a convicted thief, a bully and an alcoholic - the corresponding features: laziness, arrogance, stupidity, cruelty. The result was an explosive mixture that horrified Professor Preobrazhensky and his assistant Dr. Bormental. They were shocked and upset by their offspring. And no matter how much they tried to instill in him the features of a normal person, they did not succeed.

But the society accepted Sharikov quite calmly. He even received a responsible position and enjoyed authority in his circle. This made Polygraph Poligrafovich more and more arrogant and cruel. Seeing that his behavior did not cause the condemnation of society, but on the contrary, Sharikov became an even greater moral monster than he was originally.

As a result, Preobrazhensky could not stand it and returned the unbelted monster into the body of a dog. But what did Bulgakov want to say to all these readers? In my opinion, the image of Sharikov in the work symbolizes all those who came to power through the revolution. Uneducated, narrow-minded, lazy and arrogant people imagined themselves to be the masters of life, and turned a normal country into a ruin. In a fantastic story, the professor managed to "put the genie back into the bottle."

But in real life, alas, this is impossible. Therefore, each person should think over his actions very well. After all, it’s not for nothing that they say: “Measure seven times, cut once.” Otherwise, such monsters as Sharikov may appear in the world. And it's really scary!

In 1925, as a response to the events taking place in the country, a satirical story by M. Bulgakov "Heart of a Dog" appeared. And although the work was originally supposed to be published in the Nedra magazine, it saw the light only in 1987. Why did it happen so? Let's try to answer this question by analyzing the image of the main character, Sharik-Polygraph Poligrafovich.

The characterization of Sharikov and who he became as a result of the experiment is an important point for understanding the idea of ​​​​the work. Moskovsky, together with his assistant Bormenthal, decided to determine whether the transplantation of the pituitary gland contributes to the rejuvenation of the body. The experiment was carried out on a dog. The deceased lumpen Chugunkin became the donor. To the professor's amazement, the pituitary gland not only took root, but also contributed to the transformation of a kind dog into a person (or rather, a humanoid creature). The process of its "formation" is the basis of the story written by M. Bulgakov, "Heart of a Dog". Sharikov, whose characteristics are given below, is surprisingly similar to Klim. And not only externally, but also in manners. In addition, the new masters of life in the person of Shvonder quickly explained to Sharikov what rights he had in society and in the professor's house. As a result, a real devil burst into the calm familiar world of Preobrazhensky. First, Polygraph Poligrafovich, then an attempt to seize the living space, and finally, an open threat to the life of Bormental caused the professor to carry out the reverse operation. And very soon a harmless dog again lived in his apartment. This is the summary of the story "Heart of a Dog".

Sharikov's characterization begins with a description of the life of a homeless dog, picked up by a professor on the street.

dog street life

At the beginning of the work, the writer depicts winter Petersburg through the perception of it by a homeless dog. Frozen and thin. Dirty, matted fur. One side was severely burned - scalded with boiling water. This is the future Sharikov. The dog's heart - a characteristic of the animal shows that he was kinder than the one who later turned out of him - responded to the sausage, and the dog obediently followed the professor.

The world for Sharik consisted of the hungry and the well-fed. The first were evil and strove to harm others. For the most part, they were "life's lackeys", and the dog did not like them, calling them "human cleanings" to himself. The latter, to which he immediately attributed the professor, he considered less dangerous: they were not afraid of anyone, and therefore did not kick others with their feet. This was originally Sharikov.

"Dog's heart": characteristics of a "domestic" dog

During the week of his stay in Preobrazhensky's house, Sharik changed beyond recognition. He recovered and turned into a handsome man. At first, the dog treated everyone with distrust and kept thinking what they wanted from him. He understood that he would hardly have been sheltered just like that. But over time, he got so used to a satisfying and warm life that his consciousness became dull. Now Sharik was simply happy and was ready to demolish everything, if only he would not be sent out into the street.

The dog respected the professor - after all, it was he who took him to him. He fell in love with the cook, as he associated her possessions with the very center of the paradise in which he found himself. He perceived Zina as a servant, who she really was. And Bormental, whom he bit on the leg, called "bitten" - the doctor had nothing to do with his well-being. And although the dog arouses sympathy in the reader, one can already notice some features that Sharikov’s characterization will later indicate. In the story “Heart of a Dog”, those who instantly believed the new government and hoped to get out of poverty overnight and “become everything” were initially identified. In the same way, Sharik exchanged his freedom for food and warmth - he even began to wear a collar that distinguished him from other dogs on the street with pride. And a well-fed life made a dog out of him, ready to please the owner in everything.

Klim Chugunkin

Turning a dog into a human

No more than three months elapsed between the two operations. Dr. Bormental describes in detail all the changes, external and internal, that occurred to the dog after the operation. As a result of humanization, a monster was obtained that inherited the habits and beliefs of its "parents". Here is a brief description of Sharikov, in which the dog's heart coexisted with part of the brain of the proletarian.

Polygraph Poligrafovich had an unpleasant appearance. Constantly swearing and cursing. From Klim, he inherited a passion for the balalaika, and playing it from morning to evening, he did not think about the peace of others. He was addicted to alcohol, cigarettes, seeds. For all the time I never got used to the order. From the dog he inherited a love for delicious food and hatred for cats, laziness and a sense of self-preservation. Moreover, if it was still possible to somehow influence the dog, then Polygraph Poligrafovich considered his life at someone else's expense quite natural - the characteristics of Sharik and Sharikov lead to such thoughts.

"Heart of a Dog" shows how selfish and unprincipled the main character was, realizing how easy it is to get everything he wants. This opinion of his only strengthened when he made new acquaintances.

The role of Shvonder in the "formation" of Sharikov

The professor and his assistant tried in vain to accustom the creature they had created to order, respect for etiquette, etc., but Sharikov became insolent before his eyes and did not see any barriers in front of him. Shvonder played a special role in this. As chairman of the house committee, he had long disliked the intelligent Preobrazhensky for the fact that the professor lived in a seven-room apartment and retained the old views on the world. Now he decided to use Sharikov in his fight. At his instigation, Polygraph Poligrafovich proclaimed himself a labor element and demanded that the square meters due to him be allocated. Then he brought Vasnetsova to the apartment, whom he intended to marry. Finally, not without Shvonder's help, he concocted a false denunciation against the professor.

The same chairman of the house committee gave Sharikov a job. And now, yesterday's dog, dressed in clothes, began to catch cats and dogs, experiencing pleasure from this.

And again Sharik

However, everything has a limit. When Sharikov pounced on Bormental with a pistol, the professor and the doctor, understanding each other without words, resumed the operation. The monster, generated by a combination of slavish consciousness, Sharik's opportunism and Klim's aggressiveness and rudeness, was destroyed. A few days later, a harmless cute dog lived in the apartment again. And the failed biomedical experiment outlined a socio-moral problem that worries the writer, which Sharik and Sharikov help to understand. Comparative characteristics (“Heart of a Dog”, according to V. Sakharov, “satire is smart and hot”) shows how dangerous it is to intrude into the area of ​​natural human and social relations. It was the depth of the meaning of the work that caused the story of the funny transformations of heroes to be banned by the authorities for many decades.

The meaning of the story

"Heart of a Dog" - Sharikov's characterization confirms this - describes a dangerous social phenomenon that originated in the Soviet country after the revolution. People similar to the main character often found themselves in power and destroyed by their actions the best that has developed in human society for centuries. Life at the expense of others, denunciation, contempt for educated intelligent people - these and similar phenomena became the norm in the twenties.

One more important point should be noted. Preobrazhensky's experiment is an intervention in the natural processes of nature, which again proves in the story "Heart of a Dog" Sharikov's characterization. The professor realizes this after everything that happened and decides to correct his mistake. However, in real life, things are much more complicated. And an attempt to change society by revolutionary violent means is initially doomed to failure. That is why the work does not lose its relevance to this day, being a warning to contemporaries and descendants.

Bulgakov's work "Heart of a Dog" gave life to the new concept of "Sharikovism". As a rule, such neoplasms have a negative connotation. Compare, for example, with Oblomovism. And this negative dominant has the right to exist. Sharikov, transformed by the professor from a dog, although he received a "human" heart, could not become a real person. If we consider Sharikovism as a social phenomenon, then we should probably turn to its origin.
Such a breed as Sharikov was obtained thanks to the combination of a dog and a man who was convicted three times - Klim Chugunkin.
As a result of the operation of Preobrazhensky and Bormental, a new creature was obtained - Polygraph Polygraphovich Sharikov. The meaning of the operation was to transplant the human pituitary gland into the dog, which, according to the professor, is the main thing in determining the human personality. “In a word, the pituitary gland is a closed chamber that defines the human given face. Given!" Preobrazhensky focuses on the word given, that is, it is given to a person from the outside, and is not actually inherent in him. All this is confirmed by the actions of Sharikov, who finds himself in a new environment for him. What is this environment like? Previously, with a large number of people, no one touched the professor's galoshes. But "on March 17, one fine day, all the galoshes disappeared." Or another example, "the 2nd entrance of the Kalabukhov house on Prechistenka should be hammered with boards and walking around through the black courtyard." And this environment educates and shapes a person. As a result, just such a person: a convicted person suffering from alcoholism gets a second life in the body of a dog in the new environment that prevailed in Preobrazhensky's apartment.
But this new kind of living creature goes beyond the paradise created by the professor and enters the world of devastation that goes in the "heads" of people. After all, they will not be able to change their situation for the better while they sing in chorus in some apartment. And this social environment pulls Sharikov to the very bottom of life. He starts stealing and drinking. Here is how Bulgakov describes him: “He, staggering and sticking to his fur coats, muttered about the fact that he did not know the personalities, that they were not some kind of sons of bitches, but “good”. And the very appearance of a newly appeared person is described by the author with a certain amount of irony. Calling him "little man", he immediately shows the insignificance of Sharikov.
Spiritual education also plays an important role in the development of a person. Sharikov, it is replaced by social. He reads the correspondence between Engels and Kautsky, and not the works of the classics, which, for sure, are in the professor's house. Sharikov is looking for social justice, demanding to register himself in Preobrazhensky's apartment. He wants to start a family with a young lady, lying to her about his wounds. But after all, these new trends of the modern era should have under them not only a social, but also a moral principle.
We can say that the image of Sharikov, created by Bulgakov, is immoral. He doesn't have a basic sense of respect for others, let alone not to spit in the well you drink from. Indeed, Klim Chugunkin in a dog's skin gets a chance for a new life from scratch. But the environment that Sharikov chooses does not contribute to the development of positive character traits. Under the influence of Shvonder's house committee, he demands living space in the professor's apartment. However, Schwaider himself immediately comes across what he cultivates in Sharikov: "I'll take it into account, but to fight is shish with butter." To which Preobrazhensky, angrily exchanging glances with Bormental, remarks: "Wouldn't morality please." Already once a spoiled person cannot be re-educated again, and therefore Sharikov descends more and more. Drunk, he harms not only himself, but also others. It’s good that there are people who help the “victims” get out of the influence of the immoral Sharikov: “Daria Petrovna, grandiose and naked, shook him:“ Admire, Mr. Professor, our visitor Telegraph Telegrafovich. I was married, and Zina is an innocent girl?
He skillfully deceives the young lady, whom he brought to live in Preobrazhensky's apartment. Sharikov lied to her that the scar from the operation was the result of his wounds in battle. He didn't say who he was, of course. His bestial habits are not obsolete even after the operation. He does not develop in a society that gives him a new life. He still remains a dog, but in a figurative sense. “You are at the lowest stage of development,” shouted Philipp Philippovich, “you are still an emerging, mentally weak creature, all your actions are purely bestial ...” But no one helps Sharikov get rid of this. On the contrary, the house committee, as if anticipating the benefits, indulges the development of negative qualities in it. Bormeptal is more afraid of this dangerous influence than Preobrazhensky: “Yes, if this Shvonder still processes it, what will come of it ?! My God, I am only now beginning to understand what can come out of this Sharikov!” And here, in this conversation, we are even more convinced that the professor created a person who hopes to re-educate over time. “Cats are temporary,” says Philipp Philippovich. - It is a question of discipline of two-three weeks. Trust me. Another month, and he will stop attacking them.” It turns out that the remnants of the canine after some time could die off as an atavism. However, the heart is still a dog. Or maybe it's for the best that the heart is not human. After all, we do everything according to the will of the mind or the dictates of the heart. But to a person around whom there is only devastation and criminality, there is only one thing left: to live with the heart. “Consider that the whole horror is,” the professor warns, “that he no longer has a canine, but a human heart. And the lousiest of all that exist in nature!
Sharikovo reflected, as in a mirror, all the distortions of that time and the circumstances that developed in them. Around reigns only balls. And there is no escape from him even in the professor's laboratory. Sharikovism, as a phenomenon described by Bulgakov, becomes a warning to all generations. When creating something new, you must be ready to give it not only a form, but an appropriate content. After all, it is we who then have to deal with the irreversible consequences of this phenomenon. Or maybe it's just not worth doing it all. We have a non-dog heart and appearance is far from social excesses and immorality.