Do you remember who wrote “The Scattered Man” (more precisely, “This is the scattered man”)? More than one generation of people has grown up on mocking poems of this Soviet poet . And today, mothers read in the evenings to their children "The Tale of the Stupid Little Mouse", "Children in a Cage" and "Slumber and Yawning." Even adults with the most unimportant memory are able to quote: “My cheerful sonorous ball, where did you rush to jump?”, “In December, December all the trees are in silver” or “The lady handed over a sofa, a suitcase, a bag ...”. Such is the nature of the works of this author - they are remembered, like songs that have achieved rotation.
Doodle for Google
But the story of a scattered person who “instead of a hat on the go” put on a pan, mixed up trousers with a shirt, and gloves with felt boots, is considered the poet’s most published poem. The popularity of the work was so great that in 2012, when the world celebrated the 125th anniversary of its creator, even Google succumbed to general absent-mindedness. On this day, users of the legendary search engine were met by a funny doodle, on which familiar letters scattered and stood backwards.
The author of the famous poem is Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak. A scattered person is certainly a collective image, although researchers say there are several real prototypes.
Kabluk Ivanov
More often than others, they name Ivan Alekseevich Kablukov, a well-known specialist in the field of physical chemistry. True, this scientist lived in Moscow, and not in the Northern capital, but otherwise was very similar: absent-minded, charming and constantly confusing words and letters. In one of the rough sketches of a future poem, the hero writes that his name is “Heel Ivanov”. The real Ivan Kablukov called his two favorite sciences “chemistry and physics”; making a reservation, he could say “the lobe fluttered” instead of “the flask burst”.
Lev Petrovich
Who else claims the title of "a man scattered from Basseinaya Street"? One version says that in 1926 Marshak published a poem called “Lev Petrovich”. It is completely unknown to the general public, because it came out under the name of the symbolist Vladimir Piast. In the 20s of the last century, the poet was in great poverty, and Marshak managed to “knock out” for him from the literary leadership an advance for the publication of a future children's book. Since Piast did not know how to write for kids, Marshak composed a poem for his friend.
A scattered person Lev Petrovich put a live cat on his head instead of a hat, and the tram waited "for firewood by the barn." Contemporaries believed that this image was “copied” from Vladimir Alekseevich Piast himself, who was distinguished by inattention and eccentricity. This version is indirectly confirmed by the presence in one of the draft versions of a hint of a story from the poet's life: "Instead of tea, he poured tea ink into a cup."
Marshak or Harms?
Some researchers believe that the absent-minded person is the author of the work, Samuel Marshak. Allegedly, he was characterized by lack of assembly. True, others are convinced that such behavior could be part of what is now commonly called public relations. Talented authors themselves invented and “created” their image for posterity.
Not only Marshak, but also Piast, and also Daniil Kharms are suspected of intentional absent-mindedness. In the works of the latter, by the way, one can also find the theme of forgetfulness and inattention embodied in absurd images: Pushkin, who constantly stumbles over Gogol and calls epigrams “epigrams”, and Zhukovsky - Zhukov; city ​​dwellers who have forgotten “what comes before - 7 or 8”, and the old women falling out of the window.
A little more about prototypes
A truly talented work is always a generalization. Therefore, many people can claim the role of the prototype of a "scattered person". It is said that Mendeleev regularly took off galoshes when entering a tram. Apparently, confused comfortable transport with the house. Isn't Marshak writing about him: “I began to pull gaiters. They say to him: "Not yours!"
Another chemist, and part-time composer, Alexander Borodin, once at the height of a dinner party in his own house stunned guests. He put on his coat, loudly said goodbye to everyone, explaining that it was time for him to return ... home. Isn't this the case inspired by the lines: “He began to put on a coat. They say to him: "Not that!"
Or maybe “the man scattered from Basseinaya Street” is Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov? After all, he really lived on St. Petersburg street with that name (now it bears the name of a peasant poet)? Once the carelessness of the author of “Russian Women” almost left Russian literature without the novel “What to do?”.
Chernyshevsky, who was sitting in the Peter and Paul Fortress in tiny pieces, handed over the manuscript to the outside for 4 months, and an absent-minded man hurrying to the publishing house dropped it on the street, and did not even notice it. A few days later, fortunately, the materials were returned for a large reward at that time - 100 rubles. At the same time, initially the poet publisher promised to pay the finder 50 rubles, but out of forgetfulness he gave out a double amount.
About the reality of the image
The poem “This is how absent-minded” is often presented to readers as a story about a funny and absurd person. We do not know either his name or profession. The author does not cite any data on the family of the hero. Of the features inherent in him, only emphasized politeness can be noted. Perhaps this is all that the poem tells us about. A scattered person is the embodiment of one character trait in a hypertrophied form.
However, as we have already seen, this image cannot be called absurd. Similar situations occurred repeatedly with people known and unknown, with scientists, writers and musicians, with heroes of books and films. They happen today. Most people from time to time suffer from forgetfulness, inattention, lack of collection.
About true distraction
Who is a scattered person? From the point of view of psychology, this is one who suffers from an inability to concentrate. By true absent-mindedness we understand the state of a peculiar prostration, when a person cannot concentrate on anything, is “disconnected” from reality for some time. One of the terrible varieties of this condition is the so-called "road hypnosis", familiar to many drivers. From a long monotonous ride, a person falls into a state of drowsiness. At some point, he feels the effect of a failure in time. What just happened to him: did he fall asleep, disconnect? It is in these minutes that accidents can occur.
The causes of true distraction are insomnia, headache, severe fatigue, monotonous monotonous work. It is difficult to say whether the hero of Marshak suffered from it, but some symptoms indicate that he could. A resident of Basseinaya Street managed to sleep for two days, as they say, without hind legs. Does this not indicate the extreme exhaustion of man, the lack of normal sleep and rest in his life?
About the distraction imaginary
Why do we often think that a scattered person is a dreamy poet or an eccentric professor? The fact is that psychologists also single out another type of distraction - the imaginary. Imaginary absent-mindedness is a side effect of strong internal concentration on a topic or problem. A person absorbed in an important idea for him is not able to distribute his attention between various objects. He cannot "keep track" of everything at once. From here - inattention to household trifles, forgetfulness, inability to choose the right word and speech reservations.
Parents often blame children for being absent-minded, but often its manifestations are evidence of internal concentration. A little man is busy with a very serious matter: he learns a world in which there are so many irritants that sometimes it is simply impossible to keep track of them!
Hero and his era
If we recall the era in which the work was created, then a thoughtful adult reader will be able to find in it hints of events about which it was customary to remain silent.
The poem was written in 1928, and first published in 1930. By this time Nikolai Gumilev had already been shot, whose lines (“Stop, the car driver, stop the car now!”) Are parodying Marshak. Piast was arrested in 1930, and Harms in 1931.
But a serious discussion was in full swing in cultural circles: can children's literature be joking or even (God forbid!) The conclusion was unequivocal: works for kids should be serious. Could it be otherwise? After all, laughter contradicts the foundations of a totalitarian state. The existence of a thinking person in the 30s of the twentieth century could well immerse him in a state of prostration - as a protective reaction to what is happening. After all, psychologists call depression and anxiety disorders one of the causes of distraction.
So the scattered hero of Marshak, of course, is a funny person, but the reasons for what is happening to him can be the most serious.