Saltykov-Shchedrin, “The Wise Gudgeon”, the analysis of the tale will begin with the personality of the writer.
Mikhail Evgrafovich was born in 1826 (in January) in the Tver province. On the father's side, he belonged to one very old and rich family of noblemen, and on the mother's side, he belonged to the estate of merchants. Saltykov-Shchedrin successfully graduated from the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, and then took the post of official in the military department. Unfortunately, he was very little interested in the service.
In 1847, his first literary works, The Tangled Case and Contradictions, saw the light of day. Despite this, it was only in 1856 that they started talking about him as a writer in earnest. At this time, he began to publish his Provincial Essays.
The writer tried to open his eyes to readers of the lawlessness in the country, to ignorance, stupidity, bureaucracy.
Let us dwell in more detail on the cycle of fairy tales written by the writer in 1869. It was a kind of synthesis of the ideological and creative searches of Saltykov-Shchedrin, a certain result.
Mikhail Evgrafovich could not completely expose all the vices of society and the failure of the government apparatus due to the censorship that existed at that time. That is why the writer chose the form of a fairy tale. So he was able to sharply criticize the existing order, without fear of prohibitions.
The tale "The Wise Gudgeon", the analysis of which we are doing, is quite rich from the artistic side. The author resorts to the use of the grotesque, antithesis, hyperbole.
Aesopian language also plays an important role
. It was these tricks that helped hide the true meaning of what was written.
The tale appeared in 1883, it is famous to this day, it has even become a textbook. Its plot is known to everyone: there was a gudgeon who was quite ordinary. His only difference was cowardice, which was so strong that the gudgeon decided to spend his whole life in a hole without protruding from there. There he sat, afraid of any rustle, every shadow. And so his life passed, no family, no friends. The question arises as to what kind of life it is. What did he do good in life? Nothing. Lived, trembling, dying.
That's the whole plot, but it is just a surface.
Analysis of the tale "The Wise Gudgeon" implies a deeper study of its meaning.
Saltykov-Shchedrin depicts the manners of modern philistine Russia. In fact, the gudgeon is not meant to be a fish, but a cowardly layman who fears and trembles only for his own skin. The writer set himself the task of combining the traits of both fish and man.
The tale depicts philistine alienation and isolation in oneself. The author is offended and bitter for the Russian people.
Reading the works of Saltykov-Shchedrin is not very simple, which is why not everyone was able to comprehend the true intent of his fairy tales. Unfortunately, the level of thinking and development of modern people is not very appropriate.
I would like to draw attention to the fact that the thoughts expressed by the writer are relevant to this day.
Read the tale "The Wise Gudgeon" again, analyze it based on what you have now learned. Look deeper with the design of the works, try to read between the lines, then you can not only analyze the tale "The Wise Gudgeon" yourself, but also all the works of art.