Pavel Petrovich Bazhov is a famous Russian writer. His work occupies a special place in Russian literature, since folklore is the basis of his works. Already an adult, Bazhov was carried away by the collection of Ural legends. Later, based on them, he created many beautiful works. One of them is the fairy tale “Sinyushkin well”.
Briefly about the author
The future writer was born in 1879 in a working class family. After graduating from a theological school and seminary, he served as a teacher for about ten years. One of the students subsequently became his wife. They had four children. After
the Bolsheviks came to power, Bazhov actively supported the new government. Over the years, he participated in the opening of newspapers, worked as a journalist and editor, monitored the activities of the department of public education, and opened schools for the illiterate. It was at this time that he became interested in the history of the Urals and folklore. The material accumulated by the writer formed the basis of many unique works. The writer died in 1950. "Sinyushkin well" - one of the first works of Bazhov, created on the basis of Ural legends. It was first published in 1924.
Collection "Ural were"
The book saw the light in the city of Sverdlovsk. It was with her, according to Bazhov, that his literary work began. The collection includes nineteen tales, including “The Blue Snake”, “Silver Hoof”, “Stone Flower”, “Malachite Box”, “Mistress of the Copper Mountain”, “Sinyushkin Well”. The heroes of these works are the owners of factories and mines, clerks, ordinary workers. All works are based on Ural legends, which the writer for a long time collected and carefully preserved.
Summary of the tale "Sinyushkin well"
A guy named Ilya lived in a Ural village. He was an orphan. The deceased relatives - mother, father, grandfather, grandmother - did not leave Ilya any inheritance. The only valuable thing that the young man inherited from his deceased relatives is a sieve of feathers from the grandmother of Lukerya. They were stolen during the funeral, only three feathers remained: white, black and red. Another dying grandmother punished her grandson to avoid bad thoughts about wealth, because people suffer from them.
Having buried Lukeryu, Ilya went to work. He worked at the gold mine. At that time the weather was hot, so the young man decided to go through the Zyuzelsko swamp. Usually they went this way in the autumn, but Ilya considered that the swamp had dried out due to the heat. At first he walked in the right direction, but then got lost. In search of the road, a young man stepped into a clearing in the center of which was a key with clear water. Ilya wanted to get drunk, but suddenly fatigue fell upon him. He barely crawled to the side to take a break. Suddenly a guy noticed an old woman coming out of the water. She was dressed in a blue dress, on her head was a scarf of the same color. She was old, but blue eyes shone with youth and enthusiasm.
The old woman held out her hands to Ilya, and the guy noticed that they began to lengthen. The young man was frightened, turned away and buried his nose in the feathers that Lukerya had left. He attached them to his hat, so as to always remember the grandmother’s order. From this he began to sneeze and immediately came to himself. The guy got to his feet and began to taunt the old woman and her weakness: she could not raise her hands from the ground and reach for him. Ilya guessed that the old woman was the one the grandmother was talking about. She guards the magic well. According to rumors, there are many riches in it, but few can get them. They argued for a long time, until Ilya promised again to come to the well. On that and parted.
Arriving at the mine, Ilya explained to the caretaker that he was late because of the funeral. He was asked about feathers that were attached to a hat. The young man replied that they were spoken and valuable as a memory. One of the workers - Kuzka Dvoerylko - was envious of Ilya's mind, strength and hard work, so he stole these feathers as soon as possible. Ilya searched for them for a long time, but never found them. Kuzka began to follow Ilya to make sure that without feathers he would lose his luck. He saw how Ilya attached a long stick to the bucket, on Sunday he went to the magic well and tried to outwit Grandma Sinyushka, to drink water from the well. The old woman appreciated the courage and dexterity of Ilya and said that if he returns when the full moon is in the sky, he will receive a reward. Kuzka Dvoerylko heard their conversation and decided to get ahead of Ilya. Soon, the mine noticed that he had disappeared. We searched for Kuzka for a long time, but did not find it.
When Ilya returned to the well, the old woman twice offered him gold and precious stones, which she held in her hands on a huge tray. Both times, Ilya refused, explaining his decision by the fact that a person could not carry so many wealth. For the third time, an old woman appeared in the image of a young girl. She gave Ilya a sieve left after her grandmother and stolen by someone full of forest berries. In the center lay the treasured three feathers.
The girl was so beautiful that upon returning home, Ilya did not know peace. His stones, in which the donated berries turned, did not console. The guy used this money wisely, paid off the master, built a new hut, bought a horse, but never got married. Ilya was so bad that he decided to return to the well. But on the way I met a girl from a neighboring village, who was very similar to the mistress of a magic well. They played a wedding, but their happiness was short-lived. Both died because they were in poor health.
main characters
In the tale “Sinyushkin well” there are four main characters: Lukerya, Ilya, Kuzka Dvoerylko and grandmother Sinyushka. Lukerya is the embodiment of folk wisdom. It belongs to her the words in which the main idea of the work is contained: happiness is not in wealth, but in the human soul. Grandma Sinyushka is a magical character who sends two young men a test. One passes it with honor, the other dies. Ilya and Kuzka are two heroes who are opposed to each other. The author treats Ilya with sympathy and respect. Kuzka is only rewarded with sloppy words for his penchant for theft and greed. Bazhov even gives him a talking nickname. Kuzka Dvoerylko - means two-faced.
Genre originality
"Sinyushkin well" is a tale. This genre should not be confused with a folk tale. Despite the consonance of the names and the presence of common features, these are different concepts. There are several differences, one of them is compositional. One of the features of fairy tales is the presence of a beginning. In the work of Pavel Bazhov it is not. Despite the presence of an element of magic in folk tales and in Bazhov’s works , there is also an element of reality in the latter.
Readers' Opinion
Many fans have a fairy tale "Sinyushkin well." Reviews from most readers are positive. All people who read the tale note its instructive meaning. It attracts readers that Pavel Bazhov skillfully combines two worlds in his works: the real and the fictional. The heroes of his tales pass many tests on their life paths. So, Ilya will have to go through many difficulties to prove that he is worthy of a valuable gift from Sinyushka’s grandmother. Bazhov's tale “Sinyushkin Well” tells the story of a young man who knew well that gold and gems are not the wealth that is worth it. Meeting with Grandma Sinyushka is a difficult test. Only one who is not greedy, does not envy and remembers the covenants of elders can pass it.
Film adaptation
Most of the works of Pavel Bazhov were filmed. This is not surprising: artists, composers, directors have always been attracted to the fairy-tale world of Bazhov, in which reality and science fiction have merged together. Among them is the Sinyushkin Well. In 1973, the animated film of the same name was released. The director was V. Fomin. A few years later, the artist V. Markin painted the illustrations that formed the basis of the filmstrip.
To summarize
"Sinyushkin well" by Pavel Bazhov is a tale of ingenuity and honesty, courage and selflessness. The main character - a young man named Ilya - survived the ordeal of wealth and greed. For his spiritual qualities, he received an award from the hands of grandmother Sinyushka, who appears in the image of a young girl and personally bestows only those who deserve it.