Shukshinâs story âMicroscopeâ is studied in the sixth grade of a secondary school as part of a literature program. As a rule, children are invited to read a few more works of the author along with this work. Subsequently, analyzing the stories, students need to find similar character traits of the main characters and their differences.
This article will give a brief summary of Shukshinâs âMicroscopeâ and character characteristics. A similar analysis, but in a more concise form, will undergo the story "Cosmos, the nervous system and the shema of fat" in order to identify similar points in the storylines, as well as general ideas and character traits of the main characters.
Family quarrel
The protagonist of the story, the carpenter Andrei Erin, came home and told his wife about an unpleasant incident: he lost the money that he removed from the savings book. The wife, without thinking twice, decided to inflict reprisal on the offender. She launched two weapons: psychological (she scolded her husband on what the light stands and called him insulting nicknames - "Krivonosik" and "Well") and physical - she wielded the handle of the pan. Andrei tried to defend himself with a pillow, but anyway, strong blows reached their goal.
He tried to influence his spouse with persuasion. But his attempts to soften her did not lead to the desired result. She stopped only after she dealt a severe blow to the head of Andrei, from whom he grabbed a bruised place.
Zoya Erina realized that she had overdone and, having finished reprisal against her husband, burst into tears. She began to lament that the funds withdrawn from the account at the savings bank should go to winter clothes for children. After that, still hoping for a miracle, she asked her husband if he knew where he could leave the money. Andrei replied that he didnât lose at work, as he withdrew finances from the account after the end of the shift, and he didnât go anywhere else, even to the pub, as his wife had suggested. When the last hope was lost, the wife outlined the bleak prospect of his existence in the near future. He will work in two shifts to recover the loss.
In addition, Andrei must forget about the usual for him the check of vodka after the bath. The husband calmly replied that he had already agreed on overtime work, and he was also ready to make a drink. Here the author of the story "Microscope" Vasily Shukshin gives readers a hint that the plot contains a certain intrigue. He makes an important remark: Andrei let slip, mentioning that he had already taken on an extra load at work. However, the main character of Shukshinâs story âMicroscopeâ quickly realized his mistake and corrected the situation, explaining that after the discovery of the loss he returned to the workshop.
Honorable Work Award
Some time passed, and the passions in the Yerin family calmed down. The husband, as promised, worked in two shifts.
The wife of the main character of Shukshinâs short story âMicroscopeâ, although at times she remembered the handle from the pan, but still gradually softened. Once, Andrei Erin brought an unusual package from work. His appearance was very joyful. He opened the package and solemnly pulled out a microscope. To the wifeâs question: where did he get this device, he said that it was a prize for labor merits.
Zoe asked, âWhat will you do with this?â To which her husband answered her with some mockery: "Explore the moon." At the same time, he exchanged glances with his son, who understood his humor and laughed.
Ubiquitous microbes
The story "Microscope" by Shukshin continues with the following events. Andrei Erin asked his wife a question about what, in her opinion, she drinks every day. The spouse replied that she was drinking water. To this, the main character of Shukshinâs story âMicroscopeâ laughed and replied that she was drinking not microbes, but water. He poured a little liquid on the glass and began to examine. Andrei Erin enthusiastically watched the movement of molecules and harmful bacteria into the lens of an optical device. He broke away from an exciting lesson only when his wife asked him to let the children take a look. Soon she herself became interested, and she also bent over the mysterious lenses of the device. But, unlike her husband and children, she didnât see anything special there.
Andrei Erin enthusiastically studied various liquids and objects. At the same time, the wife stood beside him and in a quiet voice asked her son: "Are germs such specks that look like zircons in soup?"
Dramatic change
The husband sarcastically said: âYou yourself are a zhirinka!â From this moment, this hero of Shukshinâs story âMicroscopeâ begins, according to the author, to turn into a real master of the house. His speech takes on a commanding tone. He becomes loud and hot-tempered. All his free time from work Andrei is holding a microscope, thinking that microbes are present on all surrounding things, and even on people, does not give him rest.
Fight against harmful bacteria
Shukshinâs story "Microscope", briefly retold in this article, continues with the following events. One day, Andrei Erin forced his son to jog down the street, after which he studied a drop of sweat taken from his forehead. Numerous microbes were also present in this substance.
Frustrated by this state of affairs, the locksmith decided to study a drop of his blood. He pricked his finger and squeezed out a little red liquid on the microscope glass.
The analysis showed that microbes are also present there. Erin was extremely excited. Andrei was sure that this was a bad sign. However, he asked his son not to say anything to his mother. He refused to study the blood of children - he was afraid to get an undesirable result. The idea of ââthe presence of microbes in the organisms of his relatives scared him.
Once he brought a thin needle from work, on which he tried to prick several harmful bacteria. His labors were unsuccessful. But he did not despair and said that you can try to influence the microbes with an electric current.
Serving for the Good of Humanity
The main character of Shukshinâs story âMicroscopeâ was captured by the idea that if you learn to destroy microbes, then you can increase the life expectancy of a person to 120 years. He worked on the implementation of his ideas, sparing no effort. In his character, as has already been said, a significant change has occurred.
From henpecked, this character turned into the head of the family. Being engaged in a favorite thing - experiments with bacteria, Andrei stopped drinking. Even the sight of his comrade, who came to visit him while being drunk, disgusted him.
Uninvited guest
This friend was Erin's colleague, Sergei. He had already heard about the "scientific activity" of his friend and began to rant about what benefits he could bring to humanity. Sergei also said that Erin will certainly be immortalized for his labors - a monument will be erected to him in the city.
From pride to disappointment
The summary of Shukshinâs âMicroscopeâ should be continued with a description of the most dramatic moment in this work.
The uninvited guest, being in the Yerins' house, continued drunken speeches about the importance of the scientific achievements of his colleague. Andrei's wife was also present at the same time. At heart, she was proud of her husband.
She was flattered that her husband was considered a great scientist. Zoya decided once again to focus her guestâs attention on the microscope, which was the reason for the significant changes in her familyâs life. She said: âCould give the prize something more useful, such as a refrigerator.â
Sergey said that he did not understand what was at stake. No prize was given to them. And it is unlikely that the company will ever reward anyone. This is stupid to expect. Andrei tried to make a sign with his eyes that his drunken comrade should not talk about it. However, Sergei was in such a state that he could not take any hints. Erin realized that something irreparable happened. This moment of Shukshinâs short story âMicroscopeâ is the culmination of the entire work. My wife understood everything. Andrei did not lose money, but bought them an optical device for his research.
The finale of the work
The story ends with the fact that two friends, the heroes of "Microscope" Shukshin, get very drunk, borrowing money from friends. They do not appear at home all night. Andrei comes only after lunch. He is met by his son. He asks his father if he drank a lot of money here. He says that he spent a significant amount on alcohol. In turn, Andrei asks where his wife is. The child replies that she went to a thrift store. To the question of whether she swore, the boy answered in the negative - did not swear. He said that he understood his father and his sadness that his mother would sell a microscope. Andrei sadly says that most likely it will be so. But he also recognizes the need to buy fur coats for children for the winter.
Shukshin's story "Microscope": analysis
This work belongs to the genre of a short story, which abounds in the work of Vasily Makarovich Shukshin. Despite the fact that this author wrote two novels, several screenplays and much more, some literary critics say that the story is one of the most significant phenomena in his work.
Many literary scholars in their works turned to the work of Shukshin, for example Lev Anninsky.
The characters of the Microscope, as well as the characters of other works, can be described as "cranks." That is what the main characters of his literary creations are called. This word denotes a person whose actions go beyond the understanding of ordinary average people. To the owners of this nature can be ranked and Andrei Erin. He, unlike his wife, who lives only with everyday worries and mundane interests, also has sublime aspirations. The story does not mention his life before acquiring a microscope, but it can be assumed that his wife did not allow him to pay attention to his own hobbies, explaining this by the fact that family needs are above all. The character of Andrei Erin is dynamic. That is, he undergoes changes in the development of the plot. From a weak-willed man, completely obeying the will of his wife, he turns into the owner of the house. This change occurs in parallel with the beginning of his âscientific researchâ. You can even say that the realization of creative potential contributed to the improvement of his personality. However, under the influence of unforeseen circumstances, he again becomes the former Andrei Yerin.
The second most important hero of the story "Microscope" by V. M. Shukshin is Andrei's wife. She personifies the mundane world, the ideals of philistinism. The way she deals with her spouse when he lost money speaks of the rigidity of her character. However, in the "Microscope" by Shukshin, as in many of his other works, the personality of each of the heroes is not unipolar, but contains both positive and negative features.
Confirmation of this can be found at the end of the story: the wife did not swear and did not make scandals when it turned out that her husband had deceived her. It can be assumed that she understood that this act was committed under the influence of an irresistible craving for scientific research, and this circumstance aroused respect from her. As for the compositional features of Shukshinâs story âMicroscopeâ, they can be characterized as follows.
There is no exposure in the work. The reader immediately plunges into the cycle of events. The development of the plot is quite rapid. The culmination is the moment when Andrei's friend revealed his secret. The author uses the method of indirect characterization of heroes. That is, he does not give readers open comments about the personality characteristics of this or that hero. This can be judged by the actions that he commits.
In many stories of Shukshin, the ending is open. The author does not talk about how further events developed, giving the reader the opportunity to conceive the options for subsequent incidents in the lives of the heroes themselves. This feature of the works, as well as the presence of numerous long dialogues and monologues can be partially explained by the fact that Shukshin was a professional filmmaker and built his stories according to the rules of the scripts.
Clash of two elements
âCompare fragments of Shukshinâs short storiesâ The Microscope âandâ Space, the nervous system and the fat of shat, âreads one of the assignments in the literature.
The second story raises a similar problem - the clash of two worlds: mundane, ordinary, philistine and exalted, creative. In "Cosmos", an eighth grade student of Yurka takes a corner in the old manâs house. The boy is passionate about science. He is happy to prepare homework because he wants to become a surgeon.
The old man does not understand him, as doctors earn little. All the ideals of Naum Evstigneyich are determined only by everyday needs, such as good food, alcohol and so on. Yurka often enters into long debates with the old man about the role of science in modern society. He warmly defends the need for such research. His senior comrade considers such an occupation a waste of time, and all the information from the textbooks is a lie.
Nevertheless, he was interested in the story of the young tenant about Academician Pavlov, who even in his dying state thought about other people and, for the sake of developing science, wrote down information about what was happening to his body.
The old man asks to show him a photograph of the scientist who committed such a heroic act, and wonders if the scientist had relatives.
This character of the story was distinguished by its greed. He sometimes loaned Yurka products from his cellar, but always asked to pay for them whenever possible. It was a surprise when, after talking about Pavlov, he suddenly brought the boy a piece of fat completely free of charge.
You can draw a parallel with the story "Microscope", in which the wife of the protagonist is a character similar to Naum Evstigneyich from "Cosmos". There is also a peculiar recognition of the importance of science. And we can say that the old man also understands the main character, like the wife of Zoya Erina.
However, in both works, the main characters achieve sympathy, but still they are not completely accepted by the outside world.
The problem of the collision of two different worldviews is not new to Russian literature. It was first touched in the nineteenth century in the works of such writers as Goncharov, Griboedov and others. In foreign literature, you can also find examples of addressing this problem. So, in Somerset Maughamâs novel "The Moon and the Penny", the image of an artist who abandoned his family for the sake of art is shown. He led a beggarly existence, wandered around the world, but was happy because he devoted himself to his beloved work - the creation of paintings.
Conclusion
The article provides a summary of one of the most famous stories of Vasily Makarovich Shukshin. This material can be useful to students in preparation for lessons, as well as teachers of literature.