In this article, it is not possible to consider the entire "fabulous" legacy of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. Therefore, only the most famous "fairy-tale" works of the author of "Lord Golovlev" will undergo analysis and retelling.
The list is as follows:
- "The story of how one man fed two generals" (1869).
- "The Wild Landowner" (1869).
- The Wise Squealer (1883).
"The story of how one man fed two generals" (1869)
The plot is simple: two generals magically ended up on a desert island. At first they did nothing, but then they got hungry, and the need drove them to intelligence. Generals found that the island is rich in all sorts of gifts: vegetables, fruits, animals. But, since they had served in offices all their lives and did not know anything but “please register,” they don’t care if these gifts exist or not. Suddenly, one of the generals suggested: probably, a man somewhere on the island must be lying around under a tree idle. Their general task is to find him and make him work. No sooner said than done. And so it happened. The generals harnessed the man, like a horse, to work, and he hunted them, picking fruit from the trees for them. Then the generals got tired and forced the peasant to build a boat for them and drag them back to their native land. So the man did, and received for this “generous” reward, which he gratefully accepted and departed back to his island. This is a summary. Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote fairy tales inspired.
Ideological content
Everything is simple here. M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin ridiculed the lack of education of the Russian elite of that time. The generals in the fairy tale are impassibly stupid and helpless, but at the same time swaggering, arrogant and completely do not value people. The image of the “Russian peasant”, on the contrary, is painted out by Shchedrin with special love. An ordinary person of the 19th century in the image of the author is resourceful, savvy, knows everything and can, but is not at all proud of himself. In short, the ideal of man. This is a summary. Saltykov-Shchedrin created ideological tales, even ideological ones.
"The Wild Landowner" (1869)
The first and second tales, considered in this article, coincide with the years of publication. And this is no accident, because they are also related by the topic. The plot of this story is completely usual for Shchedrin and therefore absurd: the landowner was tired of his men, he considered that they spoiled his air and his land. The master literally went mad on the basis of property and all prayed to God that he would save him from the "stinky" man. It was not too sweet for the peasants to serve with such a strange landowner, and they prayed to God that he would save them from such a life. God took pity on the peasants and wiped them off the face of the landowner land.
At first, the landowner was doing well, but then he began to run out of food and water, and every day he became more and more wild. It is also curious that at first the guests came to him and praised when they found out how he famously got rid of this hated "smell of a man" in the air. One misfortune: all the food disappeared from the house with the peasant. No, the man did not rob the master. It's just that the Russian aristocrat himself, by nature, is not adapted to anything and does not know how.
The landowner became more wild, and the surrounding area was increasingly desolate without a man. But then a jamb of men flew over it and landed its landing on this earth. Food appeared again, life went right again.
By that time the landowner had gone into the woods. Even the forest animals condemned the exile of the peasant landowner. So it goes. Everything ended well. The landowner was caught in the woods, cut and even taught to use a handkerchief again, but he still missed his will. Life on the estate depressed him now. So you can finish the summary. Saltykov-Shchedrin created fairy tales truthful and filled with moral meaning.
The ideological content of the tale
It practically coincides with the previous tale of two generals. The only thing that seems curious is the landowner's longing for freedom, for forests. Apparently, according to the author of the work, the landowners themselves unconsciously suffered from the loss of the meaning of life.
The Wise Squealer (1883)
The clerk tells his story. His parents lived a long life and died their own death (a rarity among small fish). And all because they were very careful. The hero’s father told him many times the story of how he almost fell into his ear, and only a miracle saved him. Under the influence of these stories, our clerk tears a mink somewhere and hides there all the time out of the calculation “no matter what happens”. It is selected only at night, when it is least likely to be eaten. It lives like that. Until it becomes old and dies, most likely, with its death. This is a summary.
Saltykov-Shchedrin: fairy tales. Ideological content
The last tale on our list is much richer in its ideological content than the two previous ones. This is not even a fairy tale, but a philosophical parable with existential content. True, it can be read not only existentially, but also psychoanalytically.
Psychoanalytic version. Piskar was scared to death by the miraculous rescue of his father from a boiling cauldron. And this traumatic situation cast a shadow over his entire subsequent life. We can say that the clerk did not overcome his fear, and his line of fate was drawn by an alien, parental phobia.
Existential version. To begin with, the word "wise" is used by Shchedrin in the exact opposite sense. The whole life strategy of a clerk teaches you how to live. He hid from life, did not follow his path and destiny, so he lived, though for a long time, but without meaning.
General lack of school curriculum
When a writer becomes a classic, they immediately begin to study in schools. He joins the school curriculum. And this means that fairy tales are also studied at school and those written by Saltykov-Shchedrin (modern schoolchildren most often choose to read the content). And this in itself is not bad, but this approach simplifies the author and makes him the author of two or three works. In addition, he creates standard and stereotyped human thinking. And schemes usually do not have the ability to think creatively. What should ideally teach a school.
How to avoid this? Very simple: after reading this article and familiarizing yourself with the topic “Saltykov-Shchedrin. Fairy tales. A summary of the plot and ideological content ”must read as many of his works as possible, which are outside the scope of the school curriculum.