Today it is rarely possible to hear an objective judgment about how ordinary people lived in the Soviet Union. It is especially difficult for young people to navigate in the flow of information, in which diametrically opposing opinions are often mixed. Some argue that the USSR was an earthly paradise for workers, workers and peasants, while others point to the monstrous contradictions characteristic of a "society of developed socialism", systemic flaws in the system and the absence of civil liberties. It is difficult to judge who is right; each of the opinions is based on something. The atmosphere of the sixties was perfectly conveyed in his literary works and films by the great writer of the Russian land, Vasily Shukshin. The story of âCriticsâ, a brief summary of which will be given below and partially analyzed, is one of many characteristic of the creative heritage of this beautiful author.
Author
Despite many difficulties and a tragic death, it can be argued that the creative fate of Vasily Shukshin was generally successful. He managed to realize his plans, to see his works printed, to enjoy acting fame and to receive a well-deserved recognition of his own directorial works. Apparently, the main business of Shukshinâs life was still literature, he devoted most of his strength to it. He is sometimes called a village writer, although some of the stories take place in the city and with the townspeople (a vivid example is âGreetings to Sivom!â). Yes, the place of events, in general, doesnât matter, the main thing in these sketches (and they are Chekhov's short) is completely different. Vasily Shukshin (Critics) wrote about people in this story. A summary is set out inside the work itself in the language of the official police protocol, written illiterate, but conveying the facts fairly reliably.
Plot
Yes, indeed, an elderly man came home drunk. Then he made a scandal and smashed the TV screen of the kinescope with his thrown boot (the district policeman specified the place of damage, âwhere it is usually seenâ). The protocol contains a large number of completely unnecessary details, and it would be one more if the witnesses recalled the name of the film that caused the conflict. Nevertheless, the document states that the movie was about collective farm life. Then the grandfather was taken to a detoxification center. Formally, this is the whole story about which Shukshin wrote âCriticsâ. Summary is the most concise expression of the plot.
Story preamble
Yes, the plot is unpretentious at first glance. But there is a backstory of scandalous events. After all, the story begins with a description of two people, a grandfather, who is 73 years old, and a grandson, he is thirteen. Two characters, in whose honor, in fact, called the work of Shukshin, - critics. The summary of the first part of the story contains information about the favorite form of leisure of the grandfather and grandson, they go to the cinema. Sometimes they like films, and sometimes the implausibility of directorial attempts causes them to be rejected. In any case, native people will certainly discuss what they see. At the same time, the grandfather does not miss the opportunity to point out the inconsistencies of the works, evidently sustained in the genre of socialist realism, real life, and does so in an expressive manner. It is clear that he is a seasoned man, in his young years fighting, who has seen a lot in his lifetime and has worked a lot. So was Vasily Shukshin. âCritics,â the protagonists of the story, are close to him, he also despised the glossy brilliance of official cinema.
Conflict
The conflict begins at the moment when the grandfather did not drink alcohol. He came home with his grandson, and it can be assumed with a high degree of certainty that he would never allow himself to be âconsumedâ in the presence of a boy. There is a film on TV, it was watched by the relatives who arrived and another guest, a family member, the boyâs auntâs husband, who visited the house, apparently for the first time. From the following remarks of a drunken grandfather, one can understand that he was offended by the fact that he was not invited to the table. He did not give a sober look, but he could not resist holding a comment on the manner of the actor starring in the film. This is all Shukshin. âCritics,â a brief summary of this story and its title in the aggregate suggest that the author had in mind not only his grandfather and grandson. Minor-looking characters are also very interesting to watch. They are also critics.
Aunt husband
The brightest, besides the grandfather and grandson, the hero of the story is the very husband of the boyâs motherâs sister. He behaves at ease, apparently considering his position to be the highest among all those present, not to mention the elderly owner of the house and a young boy. The man smiles all the time, and condescension is visible behind the intonations (this was the real skill of the author). A kind person would not provoke an elderly carpenter, drawing him into a deliberately conflict situation. He asks the old man about the reason for the discontent, although he quite clearly indicated it with the words âIt doesnât happenâ. He triumphs in advance the victory of his own intellect. Perhaps such polite villains in the capital saw Vasily Shukshin in the editorial offices and bureaucrats. Critics, the protagonists of the ideological front, who are ready to dust the objectionable author who writes âtypical wrongâ, personified in this character.
Father
Of interest is the behavior of the son of the oldest character in the story, as well as the sister of his wife, apparently the former. Perhaps, in honor of them, Shukshin named his story âCriticsâ? A summary of the conversation that took place in front of the TV before and after the well-aimed throw of the boot speaks in favor of this version. First, the father, trying to please the "dear guest", at the same time trying to avoid conflict, but unsuccessfully. Grandfather understands his sonâs remarks as doubts about his own competence in carpentry. It seems to him that he is called a fool, although no one pronounces the words of this. It is this insult that makes an elderly person leave the house and go to the nearest drinking room. After the conflict has passed into the âhotâ stage, the father repeatedly repeats the completely inappropriate word âbotheredâ, which betrays his confusion, which does not interfere, however, vigorously bind the old man's hands.
Aunt
There is another character whom the story of Criticism is rich in. Shukshin is clearly worried about the indifference of the guest, namely the sister of the boyâs mother, the former wife of his father. Apparently, after her successful marriage (according to the condescending intonations of her chosen one, it can be assumed that he is some kind of boss, and is guessed by the mention of âwriting in the studioâ, which is on television), she felt an increase in her own social status. Aunt condescendingly explains to the old man his vision of the role of art and its conventions, completely not caring whether he understands it. She doesnât care if the actor holds the ax correctly, but for the grandfather it matters more. But the opinion of an elderly carpenter is indifferent to her.
Policeman
The time of the events described can be set accurate to the calendar year, Vasily Shukshin took care of this. An analysis of the Critics story directly points to a date. Grandfather, according to the protocol, was born in 1890, he is 73. So, the thing happens in 1963. In general, a lot can be learned about the older âcriticismâ, despite the brevity of the work. It is clear that his entire labor career passed on the collective farm, this explains the scarcity of pension. Campaigns in the cinema "ate" half of it, as much as five rubles.
So, in 1963 (or maybe a little earlier or later) Secretary General N.S. Khrushchev honestly answered the sharp question of one of the correspondents regarding the presence of fools in the police service. The head of state acknowledged that they work everywhere (and not only in law enforcement agencies). One of them was vividly depicted by Shukshin. Critics, whose reviews at that time were tantamount to a sentence to a young writer, as well as censors, could not forgive the writer for such liberties, but since the First Secretary himself recognized individual cases ...
The scene of the "detention" of the grandfather with comments on the grandson that the offender is being sent to prison, the style of the protocol drawn up at the scene, the tears of the boy - all this makes a depressing impression. Especially given the fact that Senior Sergeant Yermolai Kibyakov calls the old carpenter Uncle Timothy.
Shukshin, Critics. the main idea
So what is the story about? Is it really just about how the pensioner Timofei Makarych Novoskoltsev, born in 1890, got into the police without special signs? Or maybe how he broke the TV? No, the story is not even about an old man with a furry character who does not tolerate an indulgent attitude towards himself. It is about fathers and children, about sons and grandchildren, about kindred people who so often injure each other in attempts to simplify their lives. About the âdirectness that it is stupidâ, about the lies mocking at simplicity, in general, the plot is seemingly unpretentious, but in fact Shakespearean.
The themes of love for oneâs neighbor, respect for elders, patience and forgiveness permeate all the literary works of Vasily Shukshin, from the epic novel âI Came to Give You Freedomâ to the shortest story. About this and "Critics."
The narrative is concise, but very capacious. The friendship of a teenager with his grandfather testifies to the enormous influence exerted on his forming character by this seasoned old man. It would be more correct, if the father was more concerned with raising his son, but it turned out, and maybe for the better. A guy will grow up and will never repeat such mistakes. I want to believe it.