The work "Gutta-percha Boy" was written by the famous Russian writer Dmitry Grigorovich in 1883. It tells about the hard life of the orphan Petya, given to the training of the circus acrobat Becker. "Gutta-percha boy" is Grigorovich's most famous novel. Her reading arouses compassion and pity for the unfortunate child, who for his tiny life had to see only deprivation and cruelty.
A little about the creative life of the author
Grigorovich Dmitry Vasilievich (1822-1900) was born in the family of a Russian officer and Frenchwoman. The writer published his first stories in literary almanacs. Real fame came to him after writing in the years 1846-1847 large stories "The Village" and "Anton Goremyka."
Since the 60s of the XIX century, a long lull has been observed in the writer's biography of Grigorovich. Over the next 20 years, he served as an active secretary in the Society for the Promotion of the Arts. Only in 1883 was Grigorovich able to return to his literary work. "Gutta-percha boy" and several other works come out of his pen during this period. The story of the unfortunate little acrobat Peta especially pleased the public. In many families in pre-revolutionary Russia, the book "Gutta-percha boy" was considered mandatory for reading by the younger generation.
Book meaning
Empathy, the ability to understand the need and sorrow of another person - that’s what the reader is taught in the novel “The Gutta-percha Boy”. The summary of the work gives a quite sufficient idea of ​​the difficult life of a poor eight-year-old child who remained in early childhood without a father and mother. In contrast, Pete Grigorovich derives the images of children from a wealthy family (Faith, Zina and Paul). Against the backdrop of their luxurious life, Petty’s miserable existence looks even more miserable.
Acquaintance with Edwards, Petya and Becker
Of the 7 small chapters consists of the story "Gutta-percha boy." Summary introduces readers to the main characters and events. First, the story takes place in a circus. The retelling of the plot begins with a description of Edwards, a middle-aged clown with a painted face, which is the main decoration of the performances. He stands out from the rest of the circus artists with his sad look. Edwards periodically goes into binge. The circus director is very concerned about the clown’s craving for alcohol and asks him not to drink it at least until the end of Maslenitsa, because then there will be a post and the circus will stop giving performances. Edwards does not answer him anything intelligible and leaves to change clothes.
On the way to the dressing room, Edwards peeks into the room of Becker the acrobat, a rude and cruel giant, from whom no one heard a kind word. The clown is interested in the pupil of the circus - a thin boy Petya. He regrets the little artist who is struggling to cope with the heavy physical exertion that his mentor gives him. Edwards asks Becker to let the boy go with him, trying to explain to him that after a short rest, Petya will gain strength and it will be easier for him to work, but the acrobat does not even want to hear about it. Mentor swings at a frightened and almost crying child with a whip and takes him to training.
The sad story of an orphan boy
Petit paid special attention to the first years of his life in his story Grigorovich. A gutta-percha boy was the son of Anna's cook and a certain soldier. During the life of his mother, he often had to starve and suffer beatings from her. Petya remained an orphan when he was in his fifth year. In order that the boy would not starve to death, the laundress Varvara (Anna's countrywoman) gave him to be brought up by acrobat Becker. The circus was very cruel to the child. He forced him to perform the most difficult acrobatic stunts, which were not always within his power. Even if the boy fell during the training from the pole and hit hard, the mentor did not spare him, and sometimes even beat him. The only one who was good to Pete was Edwards. However, he could not protect the child from Becker arbitrariness.
Siblings of the Listomir Counts
In the story “Gutta-percha Boy” the main characters are not only Petya and other circus performers, but also the children of Count Listomirov. Eight-year-old Verochka, her younger sister Zina and brother Pavel (Paf) grew up in luxury, and were surrounded by affection on all sides. In the last days of Shrovetide, as a reward for good obedience, children were taken to a circus performance. Verochka learned from the poster that a gutta-percha boy would appear in one of the rooms and she was eager to see him.
The last performance of Petit
And so, Becker and the gutta-percha boy appeared in the arena. A summary of what happened next makes even adults cry. Climbing the pole high up, Petya does some dangerous acrobatic stunts, from which the circus audience is delighted. The boy has to perform the last difficult maneuver in the air, and then he suddenly falls to the ground for everyone.
Circus performers quickly take Petya’s weightless body and carry him backstage. To distract the attention of the audience from what happened, clowns ran out into the arena. They try to amuse the audience, but upset spectators leave the circus. Through the noise made by the crowd, weeping and a desperate cry of Verochka: “Ay boy! Boy!" The girl cannot calm down for a long time even after she and her brother and sister were brought home.
But what about Petya? His broken ribs and broken chest were wrapped in rags and then left on a mattress in an uninhabited circus. And only Edwards is not indifferent to the poor child. He is the only one left by the dying boy. The shocked clown started drinking again: not far from him was an empty decanter of alcohol.
The next day, the poster no longer appeared with a small acrobat. And this is not surprising, because Petit by that time was not alive. This concludes the story “The Gutta-percha Boy”. Its summary is not as colorful as the full version of the work of Grigorovich. Everyone who is interested in this sad story is advised to read it in its entirety.
"Gutta-percha boy": reader reviews
The story of a small acrobat Peta is familiar to many children of secondary school age. It is very interesting to find out what readers think about Gutta-Percha Boy. Reviews of the story in children and adults are very sad: everyone sincerely pity Petya, worry about the fact that fate turned out to be so unfavorable to him. Occasionally, one may hear thoughts that this book is not worth reading in childhood, as it makes a child sad and depressed. Each reader has his own opinion about the work, but one cannot but agree with the fact that acquaintance with such books makes it possible to cultivate in man such an important quality as compassion for one's neighbor.