Leonid Andreev is a writer whom we meet in childhood, reading the stories "The Hotel", "Petka in the Country", "Kusaka", as well as many others. His work is imbued with humanism, an understanding of the plight of those who, by the will of fate, find themselves in a difficult situation, who suffer from a lack of food, clothing, and simply from the callousness and stone hearts of those around them. Such protagonists in the works of the author are not only people, but also animals. A vivid example of this is the story of a stray dog in a story written in 1901 by Andreev Leonid, “Kusaka” (a summary of it is presented in this article). She touches the hearts of readers with a call for sincerity, humanity and responsibility for their actions.
L. Andreev, "Kusaka". Summary of the work
So, we turn to the analysis and comprehension of the story, which Leonid Andreev captured in a short story. "Kusaka" (the summary is not able to convey the depth of feelings that the writer put into the story) is the story of a dog that does not belong to anyone living on the street. She has no nickname, she has no home, no owners, and she simply cannot meet sympathetic, caring people. The dog most often hides in it in one well-known secret corner of the garden. Sometimes she runs out into the street. Then the children throw sticks and stones at it, and the adults whistle after it. The dog was lucky to meet the good people whose cottage she guarded.
The idea of an answer of good to spite is brought forth in this story by
Andreev. Kusaka (the summary of the story can be conveyed with the following phrase: “They beat - run. Do not trust anyone. Do not expect good from anyone.”) Begins to gradually respond to human warmth, to thaw out with his heart. Friendly relations arise in a dog with a girl, Lola, and with the whole family. The dog is fed, loved, and she tries to express her appreciation: somersaults, whirls, squeals joyfully, seeing people. However, autumn comes, and the family leaves home from the country house. Kusaka is left alone again. She searches, calls in her own way her beloved people, but no one answers her. It's starting to rain. The night is coming. The dog howls hopelessly.
The idea of the story and its main appealWhat is the main idea of the story? It can be identified even by reading the summary. Andreev L.: “Kusaka” is the story that a soulless attitude towards animals leads to indifference and cruelty in the communication between people. It is no accident that at the beginning of the story there is an episode with a drunk peasant who called for a dog to caress, but then he suddenly remembered all the insults that people had done to him and spread evil on the animal by hitting Kusaka with his boot. Undoubtedly, Leonid Andreev calls for humanism in his work. The Kusaka, which we present here briefly, also serves this lofty purpose. The episode at the end of the story is justified, showing the fool Ilyusha, whom both adults and children cynically laugh at in the village. What does he teach, what does Leonid Andreev draw our attention to in the story? "Kusaka", a brief summary also confirms this, is an example of the so-called Aesopian language, when, using the example of animal behavior, the flaws of people are shown and ridiculed, their unseemly acts. Be more attentive to others, be kinder and more merciful - the main appeal of the author of this work.