Which of us did not admire the proud and graceful birds - swans. These majestic and snow-white beauties with excellent posture immediately resemble the tale of the Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen "The Ugly Duckling". This work is just a miracle! The story of the ugly duckling, turned into a beautiful swan, touched the soul of many children and adults. The great storyteller was able to very deeply and sensually describe all the adventures of the poor, unfortunate chick, until he turned into a magnificent bird.
The world of fairy tales of the great Danish master
From childhood, the majority will recognize the author of The Ugly Duckling, Hans Christian Andersen. The world of his tales is very diverse. “The Snow Queen”, “The Little Mermaid”, “The Princess and the Pea”, “The Nightingale”, “Wild Swans” - these are real masterpieces that are known all over the world. Many characters in Andersen's fairy tales became commonplace during the life of the writer himself. Hans Christian did not consider himself a children's writer, many of his works raise very deep problems of adults. What are they, the tales of the author of "The Ugly Duckling"?
Among the vast number of works by Andersen, there are many creations with a happy ending that children love very much. The collection also contains serious stories that only adults can understand. The minds of children and their parents are fascinated by a beautiful story called "Thumbelina" about a tiny girl who grew up in a flower bud. The motive for the miraculous transformation of heroes is a favorite in the tales of Hans Christian. So, in the fairy tale "Princess and the Pea" readers see an inconspicuous girl who has become a princess.
True love and self-sacrifice is depicted by the writer in the fairy tale "Wild Swans". Girl Eliza at risk for life saves her brothers from the spell of an evil stepmother. This work is already more dramatic. But the story of the young Little Mermaid, who sacrificed her life for the beloved prince, is filled with special tragedy. The great power of genuine art was shown by Andersen in the tale of The Nightingale. The ostentation of greatness and spiritual emptiness was reflected by the writer in the work "The New Dress of the King." It is impossible to imagine the tales of the great Dane without a mysterious man who gives obedient children beautiful dreams - Ole Lukoye.
The concept of a literary fairy tale
The creative heritage of G. H. Andersen is mainly composed of literary tales. They brought the author of "The Ugly Duckling" world fame. At first, the writer retold some folk tales, and then began to create his own works in this genre. A literary fairy tale is called a narrative genre that has magical and fantastic content, fictional or real heroes, fairy or real reality. The writers raised in these works the moral, aesthetic, social problems of society.
The early tales of H. H. Andersen are similar to the works of the Brothers Grimm: they have a simple and natural intonation of a folk story. His first collection was called "Tales told to children", where there are a lot of similarities with folklore. For the basis of the collection, he took 10 stories that he was told in childhood. From these works, readers discover the beauty and spiritual essence of the world.
What is the main credo of the author of "The Ugly Duckling"? The writer appreciates sincere souls and immediate feelings. In the images of the tragic aspects of life, the good prevails anyway. Andersen believes that the divine principle always wins in man himself. The storyteller himself believed in a good God. He believed that every event in a person’s life indicates that he belongs to the Lord. According to the writer, only he will see and become better who will survive many trials and burdens in life.
The most voluminous literary tale of Hans Christian is "The Snow Queen". In it, the author addresses very deep problems. The main thing that the storyteller showed is the all-conquering power of love, capable of overcoming any obstacles. The brave girl Gerda not only saved her brother Kai from the halls of the Snow Queen, but also returned a good heart to him.
The difficult fate of the writer and autobiographical moments in a fairy tale
In Denmark there is the old town of Odense. It was there that the author of "The Ugly Duckling" Hans Christian Andersen was born in 1805. His father was a simple shoemaker. He lived in a poor apartment, was surrounded by ordinary people, ate the most meager food. But he saw miracles in the simplest things, he loved to listen to the stories of older people. Often, he stared at the theater posters. He made home-made dolls and played whole performances.
Such fantasies led Hans to theatrical activities. He set up a puppet show right at home. He wrote scripts, made sets and paper costumes. After the funeral of his father in 1819, the young man moved to the capital of Denmark - Copenhagen. Dreaming of becoming happy, he is trying to fulfill his dream and become an actor. Kind people helped him get into the gymnasium. A fourteen-year-old boy had to sit at a desk with his students much younger than him. Andersen flew a lot of ridicule and humiliation from classmates. Hans passed the test and graduated from high school. Then he went to university. It is this period from his life that the writer depicted in the book "The Ugly Duckling".
Being a famous master of words, Andersen himself understood that it benefits the world. Therefore, he felt happy. Each new tale brought a lot of joyful emotions to its readers. Hans Christian began to read fairy tales in front of ordinary people. He was not at all embarrassed of his lower origin, but, on the contrary, wanted his children to read books from the same poor families as he was. Most of all, the writer hated empty, ignorant, boastful and lazy representatives from high society.
The noble persons whom Andersen ridiculed in their books were unhappy with his stinging ridicule. They could not understand how this son of a shoemaker can make fun of them. After all, he even has a surname of low origin. Only on his 50th birthday was the author recognized in his hometown of Odense. On the day of conferring the title of honorary citizen, the townspeople lit an illumination.
Summary of the tale "The Ugly Duckling"
Hans Christian published his tale in 1843. Many children are interested in who wrote The Ugly Duckling, and this is not surprising. After all, the problems raised by Andersen in this tale are relevant in our days. Anna Hansen translated the Danish version into Russian. In accordance with the plot-semantic sections of the tale, the work "The Ugly Duckling" can be divided into five parts:
- The hard life of a duckling in a poultry yard. It was in the summer sunny season . In an old manor, among the fluffy leaves of burdock, a mom-duck ducklings. It is already becoming clear that the animals are the heroes of The Ugly Duckling. Little kids enthusiastically examined the large leaves around them. The duck reassured the children that the world was much larger than these plants, and she herself had not yet seen it all. An experienced duck approached a young mother and asked about the situation. Mom was happy with her cubs, only one chick from the largest egg still could not hatch. The ducks decided that a turkey egg accidentally fell into the nest. This moment has finally come. A nestling appeared from the last egg, which was very different from the others; even its mother did not like it. She decided to check if he can swim, like all the other ducklings.
- The beginning of wanderings. Meeting duckling with real friends . One sunny day, the whole family went to the lake. All the kids were yellow. Only one of the last was gray, but sailed no worse than the rest. After bathing, the duck decided to brag of her brood and led everyone to the bird yard, to show "society." Before that, she taught children how to behave before the inhabitants of the courtyard, bow to them. And what were the residents of the courtyard? Ducklings watched duck families fight over the head of a fish thrown by their owners. There was a terrible scream in the yard. Then one duck of the Spanish breed positively evaluated the new family. Only one, the most “absurd” cub, caused irritation in her and all. Mother duck first defended the gray duckling, saying that he would outgrow and become a prominent drake. Then all the kids went to play. Everyone wanted to offend the gray duckling. They kept pecking him. Over time, even his brothers, sisters and mother hated him. The duckling was exhausted from humiliation and ridicule. He did not know how to get out of this situation. The only salvation for him was an escape from home.
- Meeting with geese. The duckling managed to somehow get over the fence. There he immediately met wild ducks, they also began to make fun of his unsightly appearance and worry that he did not ask for relatives from them. A few days later two important gander arrived at the lake. The appearance of the new one seemed funny to them, and they even decided to show it to their wives. Only this was not destined to come true: hunters began to shoot geese, and two new friends were dead. Then a hunting dog ran to the lake to collect the prey. The gray duckling was very scared. But even the dog did not like him: she did not touch the chick. In fear, he sat in the reeds until the evening, and then decided to run away.
- The suffering of a duckling in a harsh winter. A poor chick roamed the whole day. Finally he saw the hut. An old woman, a chicken and a cat lived in it. The hostess decided to keep the chick in her house, hoping that he would lay eggs. The cat and the chicken laughed at the duckling in every possible way, but he never laid eggs. Once the chick felt that he was very drawn to swimming, so he went to live to the lake. Once there he saw very beautiful birds. These were swans. They screamed, and the chick shouted back. He did not dare to approach the important birds, fearing that they would reject him, like everyone else. And then the cold winter came. In order not to freeze, the duckling had to constantly swim. But this did not save the poor man. He was completely exhausted and froze to ice. One peasant saw a duckling and took him home. In the new environment, the chick was unusual. He was scared of the little kids who wanted to play with him. Running away from them, the duckling spilled milk and got dirty in flour. He had to winter in the bushes by the lake. It was cold and hungry.
- Spring awakening and unexpected transformation of the duckling. One spring, the chick got out of the reeds and flew. Near the blossoming apple trees, he suddenly noticed proud and beautiful white swans. The duckling is sad. But then, remembering all his wanderings, he decided to approach these birds, even if they would peck him. The duckling descended into the water and began to swim quietly to the swan flock, and they swam towards him. The duckling gloomily lowered its head in front of the swans, expecting to be killed. And suddenly in the water he saw his reflection. Who was the ugly duckling? It was a beautiful majestic swan! Other birds swam past the young handsome man and stroked him with their long beaks. They gladly accepted him into their flock. The children came running, began to throw pieces of bread to the birds and called the new one the most beautiful swan. Previously, the duckling did not even dream of such happiness.
This is the summary of The Ugly Duckling. The sad fairy tale ended up with a happy ending.
Analysis of "The Ugly Duckling": genre, theme, writer style
It is believed that in this tale Andersen veiled his biography. The very name of the creation is very unusual and is an oxymoron. One and the same hero appears both ugly and beautiful. Who wrote "The Ugly Duckling" and in this connection is already clear. In what genre is the work written? Of course, this is a literary fairy tale. But it has other distinctive features. There are motifs of myth in it, since the theme of the exile was very close to ancient myths. Very often, the hero of such works cannot control his fate - other forces dominate him.
The fairytale duckling acts as a representative of the wild, which instinctively survives even in the most severe conditions. Wild nature is desperately fighting for existence. The reason for the exile of the duckling was not in his ugly appearance, but in that he was different from the others. No one knows how the swan egg ended up in the nest. The author shows what tests the hero had to pass before everyone began to admire his beauty. The main theme of "The Ugly Duckling" is the struggle between good and evil. The transformation of a nondescript chick into a snow-white handsome man is only a shell, but not the main meaning of a fairy tale. Andersen testified that the soul of the little duckling was open for love and kindness.
In the style of the author, a special dynamism is visible. All events develop with special stress. For a skillful and lively story, the writer uses a variety of different turns: “they fell dead”, “the reeds began to stir”, “the hunters surrounded”, “the fog enveloped”, “the reeds swayed”.
Psychological coloring of a fairy tale
The work "The Ugly Duckling" is very unusual. Andersen not only shows the fate of the hero, but describes his state of mind in different situations. He did this with the help of monologues. The duckling constantly ponders why he is so ugly. The author shows him either tired or sad. The psychological state of the duckling at the time of transformation into a beautiful swan is especially clearly shown. His joy knew no bounds. Andersen's tale "The Ugly Duckling" is very sensual, it overwhelms readers with worries for the little hero.
Idea and problems of the work
The hero of Andersen's book "The Ugly Duckling" had to suffer and humiliate a lot, but after going through such a lonely and difficult life, he was able to truly appreciate his happiness. The ideological meaning of the tale is expressed by the following concepts:
- In life, not everything is simple and easy, sometimes there is suffering and joy, rudeness and beauty.
- For an acute perception of happiness, a person needs wandering and suffering.
- Sensitivity of the soul and inner talent are necessarily rewarded with fate.
- Nobleness and generosity is manifested after suffering and unexpected happiness. After all, this taught the duckling to forgive its offenders.
It should be noted that in an allegorical form, the tale shows the struggle that Andersen had to wage on his way to fame.
Conclusions about the personality of the author himself
The name of the tale has long grown into a metaphor. Such a household term as "ugly duckling" is called plain teenagers whose appearance is still being formed. From this autobiographical tale, the following conclusions come out about Andersen:
- The writer, like his hero, suffered a lot of suffering, misunderstanding and ridicule of rude people.
- Andersen had a very vulnerable and sensitive soul.
- Like the hero of a fairy tale, the author was a generous person, forgiving his offenders and enemies.
- Andersen had a great faith in the victory of goodness, beauty and justice.
Product reviews
Many adults and children leave feedback on the "Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian. Parents immediately see the educational background in the fairy tale. They believe that you can not guess how the child will grow up. Perhaps in childhood he is ugly and unsightly, but, becoming an adult, he will achieve a lot. Readers conclude that everything comes to someone who knows how to wait. It is not worth rushing to condemn a person. Parents fairy tale "The Ugly Duckling" teaches to love their children not for appearance, but to educate them with a beautiful soul. Many readers like the unbreakable nature of the fragile duckling, which many difficulties have not overcome.
After reading the tale "The Ugly Duckling", children think about how difficult it is to be different from others. They condemn pets who were not friends with the swan and teased him. Good deeds of a person can overshadow all the shortcomings of his appearance.
The ugly duckling in culture
Andersen's ugly duckling deserves to be filmed by filmmakers and composers to write music. Famous virtuoso Sergei Prokofiev wrote the musical tale of the same name for voice and piano. Two animated films based on this work were made by Walt Disney. Soviet cinema in 1956 released the cartoon "The Ugly Duckling".
In Denmark and other countries of the world there are a lot of monuments to Hans Christian Andersen and his fairy-tale heroes. In 2010, an amusement park opened dedicated to the tales of a Danish writer in Shanghai Shanghai.