Usually, it is not difficult to interpret such a small work as Krylov's fable. “Rooster and pearl grain” is not an exception, but if someone suddenly has problems in the process of interpretation, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with our understanding of this text.
Plot
A rooster delved into a dunghill and discovered pearl grain. The hero did not understand that a treasure had fallen into his hands (or wings), and began to complain about his fate and say that he would be more pleased with an edible find, and in general, pearls are an empty and useless item.
Ivan Andreevich was careful about the nerves of the reader, so in the last two lines of the work (meaning the fable) of Krylov's “Rooster and Pearl Grain” morality is placed.
Morality
When a person does not understand anything, even if most people like this item, he will not find anything important, beautiful and useful in it. Rather, he will declare a thing (or phenomenon) as trash, and he will certainly do it loudly and publicly to show his “awareness”.
It is easy to understand who the critical arrows of the author are directed at. Krylov's fable "The Rooster and the Pearl Grain" exposes the ignorant. They do not want to know anything new, do not have curiosity to study the unknown and at the same time strive to pass off their ignorance as a “dissenting opinion”.
I.A. Krylov and Socrates
The analogy suggests itself, right? Only a sage can openly admit his ignorance in a matter. Socrates said: "I only know that I know nothing." Why did the Greek treat himself without due respect? Everything is very simple: the more a person knows, the more he understands how little he really knows. The sphere of ignorance is expanding along with the sphere of knowledge, the first being much larger than the second, and the process of expanding these spaces in potential is endless. But what is obvious to the sage is a mystery, covered in darkness, for the ignorant. But Krylov’s fable “The Rooster and the Pearl Grain” is not about the sage.
Why do people persist in their error?
Of course, it is clear that noble motives (the pursuit of truth, for example) must govern a person, but in fact he is completely surrendered to the power of fear, a man is his slave. If we recall, then for most of our lives we are afraid: first, “women” in a dark corner, then the fact that we fail the exam (at school, institute), then that we won’t find a job, then that we won’t pay the loan. And finally, someone is simply afraid of death, sudden death.
People are so accustomed to fear that it poisons even such a wonderful occupation as cognition. Even here a man cannot grow wings and take off from the earth, forgetting the sorrows of the earth's vale, instead, he always worries even about what is beyond his control. Such is man.
But most do not have such refined fear. Usually people are very afraid to turn out to be wrong, because everyone believes that his life is the best, and his experience is priceless, and only the sages do not give a damn about their life, experience, or righteousness in the eyes of the majority, for their soul is devoted to knowledge.
And all these arguments, only at first glance, seem far from what Krylov wrote. “The Rooster and the Pearl Grain” (like any fable) is a deeply philosophical work that affects several layers of being at once.