The animalistic theme is rightly considered eternal. Its elements can be found both in folklore and in the works of classical and modern literature. Alexander Kuprin, Jack London, Gerald Darrell - these are the authors who wrote about animals (the list is far from complete). Despite the fact that the number of animalistic works of these writers is different, and the depth of their talent is not the same, they all created capacious and memorable images of “our smaller brothers”, which attract readers to this day.
Classification
Sometimes it’s difficult to determine who wrote about animals. The framework of the animalistic genre is so mobile and indefinite that you can include the tale of Kolobok and Franz Kafka's “Transformation” if you wish. That is why literary scholars have developed a detailed classification of all works of animals:
- "Classical" animalism, representing the animal world self-sufficient, autonomous from humans. A striking example is the Seton-Thompson tales.
- Comparative anthropology: an animal is compared to a person who understands that he has something to learn from the “smaller brothers”. An example of such a comparison is “Song of the Falcon” by Maxim Gorky.
- Animalism with a touch of sentimentalism, when in the bestiary image is seen the acquisition of something long lost, that which causes a feeling of nostalgia.
- Fables and literary tales with animals as the main characters in action, etc.
The term "natural history literature" is also used in parallel, but its thematic range is somewhat wider than that of animal works, and includes stories and stories about plants.
Ernest Seton-Thompson
Among those who wrote stories about animals, perhaps the most famous is the Canadian writer Seton-Thompson. Although he did not always live in Canada: he moved to this part of North America with his parents, being a 6-year-old boy. From childhood, he was accustomed to nature and prairies more than to society. So there is nothing strange in the fact that the heroes of his first work were not representatives of the human race, but ... birds.
During his life, Seton-Thompson has produced several thousand articles written in popular science style, as well as books of great value to animal science. Although the fans of the artistic word know him more as the author of fascinating stories that open up the natural world from an unexpected perspective (Lobo, Mustang-pacifier, etc.). Seton-Thompson is known for his paintings, as well as the creation of the Woodcraft Society, which will become the prototype of modern Boy Scout organizations. Seton-Thompson was pushed to this idea by a long study of the culture of the Indians, originating from the early years of the writer.
"My family and other animals"
It happened that authors of animal works were forced to temporarily abandon their hobbies - zoology - and turn to literature for material reasons. So it happened with Gerald Darrell. Since childhood, he raved about animals and everything connected with them. At the age of 14, the guy got a job at the Aquarium store, and after the Second World War he tried himself at the Whipsnade Zoo as a "boy on the little animals." In 1947, Gerald gets his share of his father’s inheritance, which he successfully spends on expeditions. Left without money and work, Darrell, on the advice of his brother, a well-known novelist, tries himself in writing. And very successfully, it should be noted. This was especially true of the first part of the Greek trilogy "My family and other animals." Only in England the book has been published more than 30 times!
Animalistic theme of classical Russian literature
Unlike the writers discussed above, Russian-speaking authors of works on animals turned to the animalistic topic as if in passing, casually. At the same time, such experiments are very successful. So, Alexander Kuprin, following the example of Tolstoy's Holstomer, created the story Emerald. Her main character is a stallion whose image is not without psychology: the Emerald is even able to dream.
Among those authors who wrote stories about animals in Soviet times, one can single out Mikhail Prishvin, Konstantin Paustovsky, Victor Astafyev. The creativity of the latter is associated with the ideological and stylistic direction of "village prose", which also related to environmental issues, comprehended the place of man in the world around us, Cosmos.
Modern authors of animal works
The literary process in Russia in recent decades is accompanied by publicity, the removal of censorship prohibitions. This could not but affect the animalistic literature. Modern authors of works on animals (for example, L. Petrushevskaya) use bestiary images not only as a means of allegory, the creation of allegories, referring to socio-historical realities, but also as ordinary acting characters, devoid of any similarities with humans.