Encyclopedia of fairy-tale characters: The Ugly Duckling. Test analysis of a foreign literary fairy tale

Test
on children's literature No. 1
“Analysis of foreign literary fairy tales”

Performed:
student
group RL-31
Malaeva R.
Checked:
Nikolaeva S. Yu.

History of creation
"The Ugly Duckling" is a fairy tale by Danish writer and poet Hans Christian Andersen, first published on November 11, 1843. Translation from Danish into Russian was done by Anna Vasilyevna Ganzen.
H. H. Andersen was born in a small but world-famous country - Denmark. Left early without a father; As a boy, he went to work in a factory and helped his mother. And in the evenings he studied at a school for the poor. It was difficult for the boy, but he studied hard and read a lot. In the end, Andersen achieved his goal: he became a writer.
He was not recognized immediately. Many laughed at the heroes of Andersen’s fairy tales, at the common folk expressions in the writer’s fairy tales. Often the writer felt like an “ugly duckling” in a “poultry yard” among the arrogant and arrogant “hens,” “roosters,” and “turkeys.” But time passed, and everyone saw in the ugly duckling beautiful swan.
That is why the opinion is often expressed that the fairy tale “The Ugly Duckling” is a veiled autobiography of Hans Christian Andersen.
I am always distrustful of writers’ searches for their personal feelings, experiences, and childhood “traumas,” but in this case I am forced to admit their authenticity. After all, this is evidenced by real facts and the words of the author:
“The fairy tale of my life unfolded before me - rich, beautiful, comforting. Even evil led to good, grief to joy, and overall it is a poem full of deep thoughts, which I would never have been able to create myself... Yes, it is true that I was born under a lucky star! (H.-H. Andersen)
Contemporaries about Andersen's appearance:
“He was tall, thin and extremely peculiar in his posture and movements. His arms and legs were disproportionately long and thin, his hands were wide and flat, and his feet were of such enormous size that he probably never had to worry about anyone replacing his galoshes. His nose was of the so-called Roman shape, but it was also disproportionately large and somehow protruded forward.”
In the very locations of the tale, one can also draw parallels with the life of the writer: a wasteland overgrown with burdocks, where there was a duck’s nest - this is Odense, hometown writer; a poultry yard where the ugly duckling was pecked and poisoned - the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen; the house where an old woman lived with a chicken and a cat - one family familiar to Andersen, in which, although they welcomed the young writer, they in every possible way instructed and taught how to live.
Style of H.H. Andersen
From the above, I want to identify one of the features of the Danish writer’s style - autobiography, which takes place not only in the fairy tale I have chosen, but also in many of his other works.
Andersen's books, which first appeared on the shelves, amazed readers with their heroes who were truly unusual. His princesses were distinguished by their hard work and selflessness. In general, his heroes are ordinary children, and the stories are drawn from ordinary life.
Andersen's works are also distinguished by their amazing fantasy.Andersen is not afraid to weaken the fantastic with realistic detail of description. On the contrary, with it he seems to emphasize the authenticity of the events of the fairy tale. So, using realistic means, the artist painted a fantastic picture of the appearance elderberry mother from the kettle. Andersen sees the fabulous in reality itself.
In the fairy tale “The Little Mermaid,” which is largely programmatic for Andersen, he polemically contrasts the world of the fairy tale with the real world, as the highest beauty.
The realistic content of Andersen's fairy tales determined their style, language and the artist's writing style.
Spring-like clarity of speech, conversational intonation, direct appeal to the listener, flexibility of syntactic forms, sonority of words, visibility and colorfulness of images, concreteness of details - these are the features of Andersen's style, impetuous and lively. His descriptions are full of movement and action.
Onomatopoeia is an important element in the language of Andersen's fairy tales and gives it character.
Onomatopoeia is organically fused with another feature of Andersen’s speech - its colloquial nature, specifically inherent in the genre of the fairy tale that is told. The narrator conveys everything in words, even the sound of objects in their action, in movement. Either the pouring water gurgles, then the ducklings peck through the eggshell, and we hear it crackling, then a match flares up with a hiss.
The real world in Andersen's fairy tales appears as it really is, that is, colorful, voluminous, sonorous and, very importantly, in motion.
The dynamism of the narrative is one of the most characteristic properties of Andersen's style as a storyteller.
Andersen has no inactive, decorative details: everything in the narrative is subordinated to a single goal.
Andersen's masterful ability to combine the real and the fantastic is also evident in his use of psychological detail. No matter how fabulous his hero is, he thinks and acts in accordance with the specific real conditions of his existence.
A characteristic feature of Andersen's fairy tale is the deep truthfulness in the descriptions of the experiences of fairy-tale characters.

Analysis of the tale " ugly duck»
First, let's turn our attention to the title of the fairy tale. In my opinion, it answers the question “about what?”, therefore it is the theme of the work.
The title is an oxymoron: the ugly and the beautiful refers to one hero and sets him apart from all the other inhabitants of the poultry yard.
Now we need to decide on the genre. As the title of the work suggests, this is a literary fairy tale. But, like many literary fairy tales, it has features of other genres.
I think there is an element of mythology in the fairy tale. If we turn to the plot of the fairy tale, we will definitely find in it the theme of the exile, which was common in myths. In such fairy tales, the hero has no control over his fate; he becomes the toy of events beyond his control.
The Ugly Duckling theme is common throughout the world. All tales of exile contain the same core of meaning, which in each case is surrounded by different frills and flounces that reflect the cultural background of the tale, as well as the poetics of the individual storyteller. The fairy duckling represents wildlife, which, if driven into an environment with poor nutrition, instinctively strives to survive at all costs. Wild nature instinctively clings and resists - sometimes timidly, sometimes desperately, but holds on with a death grip.
To be honest, in my opinion, the duckling was not ugly, it did not cause me disgust or hostility. The reason that he was expelled can only be considered that he was different from others, from those around him. The duckling was not ugly, he was different. His mother saw him and said: “ And not at all like the others!»
The author’s style is also evident in the tale, such as the dynamism of the narrative:
“Bang! Pow! - it was heard again, and a whole flock of wild geese rose above the swamp. Shot after shot rang out. Hunters surrounded the swamp on all sides; some of them climbed into trees and fired from above. Blue smoke enveloped the treetops in clouds and hung over the water. Hunting dogs scoured the swamp. All you could hear was: slap-slap! And the reeds swayed from side to side. The poor duckling was neither alive nor dead from fear. He was about to hide his head under his wing, when suddenly a hunting dog with its tongue hanging out and sparkling evil eyes appeared right in front of him. She looked at the duckling, bared her sharp teeth and - slap-slap! - ran further»…
The fairy tale also has a psychological overtones. The author describes to us the hero’s state of mind with the help of his internal monologues:
“It’s because I’m so ugly,” thought the duckling and, closing his eyes, he began to run, not knowing where.
“It seems like it’s gone,” the duckling thought and took a breath. “Apparently, I’m so disgusting that even a dog is disgusted to eat me!”
“I’ll fly to them, to these majestic birds. They will probably peck me to death because I, so disgusting, dared to approach them. But still! It’s better to die from their blows than to endure the pinch of ducks and chickens, the kicks of a poultry woman, and endure cold and hunger in winter!”
The following also indicates psychological tension:
“Finally the duckling couldn’t stand it anymore. He ran across the yard and, spreading his clumsy wings, somehow fell over the fence right into the thorny bushes.”
The conflict with society develops into a personal one. The words of his mother that clearly stand out from the others:
“My eyes would not look at you!”
This tale is very sensual, we are full of emotions while reading:
The author himself cannot resist sympathizing with his hero:
“Poor thing! Where could he even think about it! If only he were allowed to live in the reeds and drink swamp water, he never dreamed of anything more.”
Symbolism in a fairy tale. We can interpret the mother in the fairy tale as a symbol of the external mother, but most adult women have inherited something from the true, internal mother. The mother duck in this tale has several qualities: she simultaneously personifies the ambivalent mother, the failed mother, and the orphan mother. Ambivalence lies in the fact that she is cut off from maternal instincts, deprived of them. Emotionally, she is torn apart and therefore collapses and deprives the alien child of her care. Although she initially tries to stand her ground, the duckling's difference from others begins to threaten her safety in her own society and she gives up.
Also, if we talk about symbols, the image of a man who saved a duckling from the ice is noteworthy. This rescue may symbolize rescue from the ice, i.e. salvation from lack of feelings, indifference.
Even though this is a tale about animals, we still see similarities with humans in them. This is because the author depicted them as animals only externally. Andersen shows us the relationships between people. In the poultry yard you have to fight for existence, and the ducklings have to
learn this. They must beware of the cat and not fall under the feet of the bird; you need to keep your paws apart to show yourself as a well-behaved duckling. Hatched ducklings are judged on whether they can do everything every duck should be able to do. It’s a good sign when a big duckling paddles its paws well in the water - there is hope that some good will come of it.
Yes, the human portraits here acquire poignancy because of their simplification, and what gives them a special charm is the amusing contrast between their inhuman environment and all-too-human thoughts.
All the characters in this tale can be found in real life analogues among people. In our life we can meet “a fat duck, a rooster, a chicken, a cat and the hero himself.”
“The Ugly Duckling” is an almost existential drama, even a parable about loneliness, growing up, and loss of illusions. Reading the fairy tale, we see the difficult path of becoming the main character. After all, from the very beginning his life was full of trials:
“Ducks nibbled him, chickens pecked him, and the girl who gave food to the birds pushed him away with her foot.”
“Only the poor duckling, who hatched later than the others and was so ugly, was not given a pass. He was pecked, pushed and teased not only by ducks, but even by chickens”...
“And the Indian rooster, who was born with spurs on his legs and therefore imagined himself almost an emperor, puffed up and, like a ship in full sail, flew straight up to the duckling, looked at him and started babbling angrily; his comb was so full of blood”...
“It would be too sad to talk about all the troubles and misfortunes of the ugly duckling in this harsh winter”...
But despite all the troubles and sorrows, despite despair, the little, defenseless duckling turned out to be stronger than the circumstances, and in the end found his happiness:
“Now the duckling was even glad that he had endured so much grief and trouble. He suffered a lot and therefore could better appreciate his happiness. And big swans swam around and stroked him with their beaks”...
At the end of the tale, the hero awaits victory in the form of recognition: “The new swan is the best! He is handsome and young!” And the hero himself exclaims: “I never dreamed of such happiness when I was still an ugly duckling!”

The main character of H.H. Andersen's fairy tale “The Ugly Duckling” is a chick from one large duck family. He differed from his brothers and sisters in his unsightly appearance and large size. The inhabitants of the poultry yard immediately disliked him and tried to peck him harder. Even the girl bringing food to the birds pushed him away from the other chicks.

Unable to bear such an attitude, the chick ran away from the poultry yard. He got to the swamp and hid there from everyone. But he had no peace in the swamp either - hunters came and started shooting geese. The poor traveler hid all day from hunting dogs, and towards nightfall he ran away from the swamp.

He came across a dilapidated hut in which an old woman lived. The old lady had a cat and a chicken. The old woman couldn't see well, and she mistook the big ugly chick for a fat duck. Hoping that the duck would lay eggs, she left the chick to live in her house.

But over time, the chick became bored in the hut. He wanted to swim and dive, but the cat and chicken disapproved of his desire. And the duckling left them.

Until the fall he swam and dived, that's just forest dwellers they didn’t want to communicate with him, he was so ugly.

But one day large white birds flew to the lake, at the sight of which the chick was overcome with strange excitement. He passionately wanted to be like these handsome men, whose name was swans. But the swans shouted, made noise and flew away warmer climes, and the chick remained to spend the winter on the lake.

The winter was cold, and the poor duckling had a hard time. But time passed. One day he again saw beautiful white birds and decided to swim out to them. And then he saw his reflection in the water. He was like two peas in a pod like the snow-white swans. He was a swan too!

Who knows why the swan egg ended up in the duck's nest? But because of this little swan I had to endure a lot of difficulties and drink a lot of grief. But everything ended well, and now everyone loved him and admired his beauty.

That's how it is summary fairy tales.

The main meaning of the fairy tale “The Ugly Duckling” is that you cannot guess what a child will be like when he grows up. Perhaps now the child is unsightly and ugly, inept and awkward, but as he grows up, he will be completely different. Everything comes on time to those who know how to wait. The fairy tale teaches us not to rush things, to draw conclusions on time. As for children, there is no need to choose the beautiful one among them. If a child sees love and kindness towards him from childhood, he will be able to grow up and become beautiful in both soul and body.

In the fairy tale, I liked the character of the duckling, because difficulties did not break him, he turned out to be strong in spirit.

What proverbs are suitable for the fairy tale “The Ugly Duckling”?

No matter how much a duck cheers up, it won’t be a swan.
Everyone thinks their geese are swans.
You won’t know in advance where you will find it and where you will lose it.

Literary and methodological analysis of the work

H.H. Andersen "The Ugly Duckling".

1. Genre of this work- literary fairy tale. A socially oriented image of the bourgeois world is given in the images of representatives of the animal kingdom. It is unlikely that anyone will think that this is a fairy tale about animals. It is absolutely clear: it is about people. Does the storyteller portray people under the guise of animals and himself under the guise of an ugly duckling?

In Andersen's fairy tales, tears and laughter, grief and joy live side by side - as in real life. He understood that even the most fairy tale should reflect life.

2. Topic: happy salvation.

Problem: the struggle of opposites: happiness and misfortune, good and evil, self-sacrifice and selfishness, loyalty and betrayal.The conflict with society develops into a personal one: “And the mother added: “My eyes would not look at you!” Therefore, the hero of the fairy tale goes into the unknown, because “It is better to die from their (beautiful swans’) blows than to endure the pinching of ducks and chickens, the kicks of a poultry woman, and endure the cold and hunger in winter!” Not resigning himself to the pitiful fate of a renegade in the poultry yard, the Ugly Duckling jumped over the fence and was gone. He wandered alone; he was haunted by danger, hunger and cold. He miraculously survived the harsh winter.

Place among similar ones.Modern topic: “Criticism of the philistinism and aristocracy” in the first half of the 40s - the period of the creation of such fairy tales as “The Ugly Duckling”, “ The Snow Queen", "Shadow", in which a kind of innovative artistic style the writer acquires more vividly pronounced character. The writer brings the fairy tale closer to life, with real world. Greatly humanistic, ideological and aesthetic value these fairy tales, revealing the world of great and pure human feelings, deep and noble thoughts.

Name. The main character is the Ugly Duckling, as shown by the author in the title. The title is an oxymoron: the ugly and the beautiful refers to one hero and sets him apart from all the other inhabitants of the poultry yard.

3. Compositional and linguistic features.New to fairy tale genre there was a lively and emotional language of the work, close to colloquial, and a unique plot structure. An important role in a fairy tale is played by the author-narrator with his likes and dislikes, with his characteristic evaluative intonation and definiteness of judgment. A huge lyrical wave of the author's sympathy seems to lift the modest hero, filling his image with light and nobility. Human portraits here gain poignancy due to simplification. And what gives them a special charm is the amusing contrast between their inhuman environment and all-too-human thoughts. The fairy tale is understandable to people different ages for excellent literary language. The tale consists of three complete parts and nine micro parts. At the end of the fairy tale, almost the same phrase is said as at the beginning: “Oh, how good it was here!” What is good is what is seen or can be seen from above - with a wide view. At the beginning of the fairy tale, this is how the world is shown. From whose point of view? Bird's eye view, from the point of view of a flying swan. This is how the former ugly duckling will look at the world from now on. Techniques that help convey the fairy-tale moral of a story to the reader?

Allegory
Irony
Subtext

4. Characteristics of heroes.The main character of the fairy tale. The ugly duckling is judged by his appearance and mannerisms. “Too big”, “failed”, “unbearable freak” - they judge him. And one more thing: “he’s completely crazy,” he does everything wrong. Before seeing the world through the eyes of a beautiful swan, the Ugly Duckling had to committhree little fabulous feats- and thus gain faith in yourself. First he committed when he jumped over the fence and, at his own peril and risk, set off across the world. So he became related to the heroes folk tale: after all, fabulous happiness is found only at the end of the journey. Along the way, not only his character is tested, but also his ability to observe and compare. In the poultry yard, in the swamp, in the hut, they instill in him what the meaning of life is. They say in the poultry yard: the key to swimming well is to watch out for the eel's head and keep your paws apart (notice ironic a hint at mothers teaching their children to keep their legs together?). In the swamp they say: the point is to fly to the young geese. In the hut they say: to lay eggs, purr, arch your back and emit sparks. At the same time, everyone is sure that their poultry yard, swamp, hut is the center of the world: “This is how things go in this world!”; “We and the whole world.” And the duckling realizes: everyone speaks differently because they see only their own. Then he begins to object: “You don’t understand me!” To give up food and shelter for the winter, but still express your point of view - this is what it is The Ugly Duckling's second feat. And the third - this is a feat of self-sacrifice for the sake of beauty: after all, a duckling is ready to die for the happiness of being with beautiful birds. And for this he is rewarded with insight. Andersen points out: the external is inseparable from the internal. If you look at the world through the prism of limited ideas, then everything new seems ugly. Those who think the duckling is ugly simply have poor eyesight. It’s not the duckling that’s ugly, it’s his views on the world that are ridiculous.

This is what is important: the duckling will be transformed as soon as it is seen by those who are truly beautiful. Only among the swans will the duckling see his reflection for the first time. And he will look at himself differently: not through the eyes of homely ducks, but through the eyes of beautiful swans. At the end of the fairy tale, victory awaits the hero in the form of recognition: “The new swan is the best! He is handsome and young!” And the hero himself exclaims: “I never dreamed of such happiness when I was still an ugly duckling!”

5. Possible types of work with the work.

Vocabulary work

Rye is a cereal grain, the ground grains of which are usually used to bake rye bread.
A haystack is a pile of tightly packed hay in the open air.
Burdock is a plant (burdock), it has a wide, oval-shaped leaf.
We got out - after a lot of effort to get out of the shell.
Look around - look back.
Ugly - ugly, disgusting.
A ditch is a long, narrow ditch.
To splash around is to fall into the water.
A ditch is a long depression dug in the ground.

Primary perception of the fairy tale text– reading by a teacher (or children who read well) to awaken feelings, compassion for the pain of others.

Secondary meaningful reading- reading a fairy tale in parts to show how the author relates to his characters.

Expressive reading(home reading), to convey tone (mysterious), pace (leisurely).

Questions about the text.

What have we read about?

Where was the duck sitting?

Read how the ducklings were born.

What was the first word they said?

What did the duck answer them?

What did the ducklings do when they got out of the shell?

Why didn’t the mother duck stop them from looking at the burdock leaves?

Were all the ducklings born at once?

Why did the duck sit down again in the burdock thicket?

What did the duck think the last duckling turned out to be?

What did the duck say when she saw the last duckling? Who did he look like?

What did the duck say when she saw the last duckling born?

Should she have said that?

Who did the duck think he looked like?

If you were artists, what would you draw for the first part?

Think about where pauses (stops) are needed when reading, what words need to be emphasized with your voice when reading.

Where did the duck go with his family?

How did ducklings learn to swim?

How did the gray duckling swim?

What dangers did the duck warn her babies about? (So that they watch out for cats and make sure no one steps on them)

What awaited the poor, ugly duckling in the poultry yard? (He was pecked and pushed, no one gave him passage)

What did they say about him in the poultry yard?

How did the Indian rooster behave? (He flew up, began to babble, his comb was filled with blood)

How did the duckling suffer because of his appearance? (He regretted that he was born this way and that no one wanted to be friends with him because of this)

When we read, what will we convey to the listeners? What is the purpose of our reading? (We are very sorry for the poor duckling, who is not to blame for being born this way. Through our reading, we will condemn all those who offended him, despite his kind and golden heart.)

Why did the duckling have to escape from the poultry yard? (Everyone persecuted him, insulted him, even his mother, brothers and sisters called him a freak; the chickens pecked, the ducks plucked, and the girl who fed the chickens pushed him away with her foot).

Did everyone have the right to do this? (No, it’s not his fault that he was born this way, he’s kind – and this is the main quality).

Drawing up a plan for a fairy tale and retelling it according to plan.

1. The duck is hatching ducklings.

2. The ducklings were born and began to explore the world.

3.The very last one to hatch was a huge, ugly chick.

4.Ducklings get acquainted with society in the poultry yard.

5. The poor duckling became the laughing stock of the courtyard.

6. The poor thing runs away, not knowing where.

7.Meeting beautiful birds on an autumn evening.

8.The ugly duckling is experiencing a harsh winter.

9.Happy meeting with beautiful swans in the spring..

Selection of proverbs for a fairy tale.

The tongue is sharper than a sword.
Ugly in appearance, but beautiful in soul.
Judge not by appearance, but judge by deeds.
Everything has its time.
The word is not a sparrow - it will fly out and you won’t catch it.
Don't leave your friend in misfortune.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.

7. Andersen understands in his own waylaw of fairy tale justice. He teaches: Fate laughs cruelly at selfish people. Let the egoists believe that the light has come down on them like a wedge, but death does not know about it. They still admire and are proud of themselves, but death is close, and they cannot escape from it. There is an obvious and hidden moral in The Ugly Duckling. Explicit only slyly deceives the reader. The meaning of the fairy tale is not at all what is said directly: “It’s not a problem to be born in a duck’s nest if you hatched from a swan’s egg!” The hidden moral is the real meaning of the fairy tale: when you love something more than yourself, more own life, then death no longer has complete power over you. Andersen wanted to show with his fairy tale that the talents inherent in a person and the high moral qualities, sometimes hidden under poor clothes and an unsightly appearance, will ultimately win!

An egg from a strange bird fell into the duck's nest of an inexperienced mother. The chick was not like other children, so it provoked ridicule from its “relatives” and residents of the entire poultry yard - “society”. His appearance pushed everyone away, dooming him to always be alone. The hero had to go through many trials and it was they who made him a beautiful soul, with a sensitive heart. When he grew up, he turned into a beautiful bird, arousing the admiration of others.

The main thing in people is the beauty of their soul, their heart filled with warmth, and not what they look like on the outside. Everyone is different and you shouldn’t make fun of others’ external flaws.

Read a summary of Andersen's fairy tale The Ugly Duckling

Summer sunny days have arrived. A young duck was hatching white eggs in a dense thicket of burdock. She chose a quiet and peaceful place. Rarely anyone came to see her; everyone liked to relax on the water: swimming and diving.

Time passed and the shells began to burst. The little firstborns began to stir, slowly tapping their beaks, and finally their round heads appeared. They looked at the huge burdock leaves with curiosity. This is not what the mother duck said to the whole world. It is much larger than this plant, although I haven’t seen all of it. An old duck came up and asked how you were doing?

To which the young mother replied that all ducklings are like their father and we are waiting for the last one (the largest testicle).

It's probably turkey. Oh! How hard it was to raise them, they don’t know how to swim at all. They caused me a lot of trouble.

And finally, the last one cracked, and a small chick emerged from it. His mother did not like the appearance. “I’ll test him, see if he can swim!” - she thought.

The weather was sunny and the family was swimming on the lake. Everyone dived very well, and the gray drake dived and stayed on the water surface no worse than the rest!

Now we're going to the poultry yard! I will show you to the whole “society!” - the mother duck said sternly. Behave yourself decently, bow to everyone. When they reached their destination, they heard strange sounds. Because of the trophy: the head of a fish, there were battles between duck families. But the delicious head went to the cat. The mother sighed in disappointment; she also did not refuse food.

The family approached an important person - a Spanish duck, who had a scarlet ribbon tied on her leg. The common ducks were not happy that new “mouths” had appeared; they were especially irritated by the most “awkward” one. Everyone tried to peck him.

The noble lady expressed her sympathy for the little ones, only one was unsuccessful. His mother said that he is very kind and a drake, so he will outgrow him. Having received permission, the ducklings began to play. Everyone pecked at the poor gray duckling and everyone tried to offend him. The whole family began to hate him, even his own mother wanted him dead. At first he didn't know what to do. And so, the awkward duckling decided to run away. Somehow he fell over the rickety fence. In the morning wild ducks When they saw the new duckling, they also said: “He’s so ugly, but it’s okay if he doesn’t become one of our relatives.” On the third day, two important ganders arrived. They liked his funny appearance, and they even promised to introduce the “newbie” to geese. Shots rang out and he saw blood and dead friends. The shooting continued, the dogs ran around the pond and collected dead ducks, one ran past the hero, he shrank tightly and became silent.

The dog doesn’t even want to take me! - thought the duckling. Only in the evening, when there was dead silence, several hours passed when he tried to run further.

He ran to a dilapidated hut. Then the baby made his way inside, crawling through a small doorway. There lived a cat - Murlyka, a chicken and their owner - grandmother. The short-legged hen diligently laid eggs, for which grandma loved her very much. In the morning they noticed him, the old woman thought about eggs, unless it was a drake. He did not lay eggs, and he was humiliated by important animals: a cat and a chicken. The light burst in and the duckling wanted to swim. He decided to run away and settled on the lake where he swam, but everyone ridiculed him. And so he saw wild swans, and he also screamed.

It came very Cold winter. He had to swim to keep the water from freezing. And so he froze, exhausted. A peasant picked him up and gave him to his wife. But, frightened by the peasant children, he spilled the milk, got into the butter, then into the flour. And persecuted by the entire peasant family, he ran away. The duckling had to go through a lot of troubles in winter. There was not enough food and he was very cold.

Winter has passed and spring has come. Having emerged from the reeds, he took off. And flew to the blossoming apple trees. He noticed white swans. He felt sad.

Let me die from the blows of these beautiful birds rather than endure all the troubles! – he thought sadly.

The swans saw him and swam towards him. He asked them to kill him with his head down. And suddenly he saw himself. In the reflection was a beautiful swan. Large swans swam past and stroked him with their beaks.

The most beautiful and young one has arrived! – the children shouted cheerfully. And they started throwing pieces of soft bread.
The handsome white man was in seventh heaven!

Picture or drawing of the ugly duckling

The history of the fairy tale

Often a writer creates piece of art, based on what he sees in reality. Usually literary heroes there are actually existing prototypes. In the case of Hans Andersen, main character not only resembles the writer - of course, not externally, but based on the totality of characteristics, but events from the author’s life, and even places, are also recognizable. The main characters of the fairy tale “The Ugly Duckling” exhibit qualities inherent in people: in animals the reader easily notices both himself and his surroundings.

The writer had a similar situation: from an ugly duckling Andersen was reincarnated into a beautiful swan. From an unknown person who dreamed of becoming a great actor, the young boy became a great writer. It’s hard to say which children were not given Andersen’s books for their birthdays and Christmas, or whose parents did not read them at night, before bed.

Therefore, this tale has special meaning for its creator.

The plot of the tale

If you are driving reader's diary, then, perhaps, they could write down the main plot twists of the work. Your list would look something like this:

The tale begins with an ugly creature suddenly appearing in the poultry yard. Who are his parents? Where did this animal come from? Unknown. We don't even understand what kind of bird this is. Apparently a duckling. But he's too ugly for a duckling. The unfortunate duckling is persecuted and oppressed, so one day, unable to withstand the ridicule of the evil birds, our hero decides to run away from the poultry yard.

The duckling runs away. Adventures and dangers await him: for example, one day a duckling was almost killed by hunters. Next, the duckling is nailed to the house of an old woman. In addition to the small bird, the old woman also keeps a cat and a chicken. However, these animals also do not accept the duckling. After this, the duckling is forced to run again: freezing, he is practically reconciling himself with his inevitable death. However, soon a kind peasant finds him and takes him in. In the house of the new owner, the duckling could survive the winter, but fear pushes him to run away again. Winter and loneliness await the bird ahead.

In addition to the fact that children are captivated by the story of the protagonist’s travels and wanderings, the fairy tale also talks about the complexity and importance of understanding one’s own nature and place in life. The main characters of The Ugly Duckling demonstrate social stereotypes and their power: we will see that even parents sometimes succumb to pressure public opinion, losing the ability to adequately assess the situation.

But cold and frost do not last forever and one day they will come to an end. Winter is a metaphor. The main character not only experiences winter literally - as a season of the year, but he will also experience the winter of his own life. In life, as in culture, there is no constant downward movement: one day spring and blossoming come.

The ugly duckling suddenly realizes: spring has come. The ice on the water is gradually melting, and nature is awakening to new life. Birds that flew away to warmer climes for the winter are returning. The duckling also comes out of its hiding place and sees beautiful birds in front of it. Who are they? Previously, he could not even think that such beauty lived in the world! But then he notices his reflection in the water surface and realizes: he is as beautiful a bird as those that flew in from the winter. The ugly duckling turned out to be a swan of extraordinary beauty.

Wanting to see the poultry yard again, the duckling flies over it, and the birds, looking up at it, envy and admire, enjoying the beauty of its appearance and flight. Probably, this moment in the Soviet cartoon is a favorite for many admirers of this wonderful children's fairy tale.

Fairy tales can be cruel, like the stories of the Brothers Grimm, but fairy tales are also written by kind people, and kindness is a quality possessed by people who have experienced a lot of suffering. The beauty of the ugly duckling is not only that it turns into a swan, but also that the hardships of life did not turn it into a cruel, angry creature. On the contrary: we are seeing a flourishing of both appearance and inner world.

The main ideas of the tale

Patience and effort are the price to pay for achievements and success in life. Happiness is not given immediately, it does not fall on your head. People who want to receive benefits in the future must be prepared for the fact that they will first have to endure suffering and go through difficulties and trials.

At the same time, the work seems to tell the reader: you cannot judge someone just by their appearance. People have a corresponding saying: you are greeted by your clothes, but you are seen off by your mind.

Main characters

ugly duck

The beginning of the character's life is an ugly, ugly appearance. He, of course, is not a duckling at all, but the birds from the poultry yard are so limited and stupid, they have seen so little in life, who call him a duckling because he was born in a nest of ducks. The inhabitants of the poultry yard consider their insignificant and dirty little world to be a huge universe. Pet birds cannot fly and have never seen the world outside the yard gate.

The ugly duckling was born into a family of ducks. This was an accidental incident, because the egg most likely got to the ducks by coincidence. Since childhood, the unfortunate chick has been humiliated and oppressed by the inhabitants of the poultry yard. Even his own parents don't accept him, so what can you expect from other birds?

The duckling is endowed with human traits: a penchant for dreams, romance, self-absorption. The chick is ugly (from the point of view of other birds) and clumsy. Here the author raises another problem - the issue of beauty.

The writer seeks to show that there are no objective criteria of beauty, and when we judge someone based on our personal standards, we are mistaken.

Unable to withstand the terrible treatment from the birds, the duckling runs away from the yard: he believes that better death than humiliation and insult.

Andersen writes about a duckling, but people who do not find a place for themselves among their surroundings can easily recognize themselves in the duckling. History knows many examples when people who were dissimilar and different from the mainstream were oppressed and humiliated and were not accepted. Often the fates of such individuals were broken, but sometimes these people became great, recognized geniuses. But we always see geniuses from afar. The same thing happened with the duckling: when the poultry yard watches the flight of a beautiful swan, no one even recognizes him as the former ugly duckling.

Duck - mother duckling

The main character's mother is a duck who is expecting her first offspring. The duck is an ambiguous character. The ugly duckling is the last to emerge from the egg and his mother immediately realizes that he is somewhat different from her other children. At first she tried to protect and protect her son from the attacks of other birds from the poultry yard. But then the weakness and pressure of bird society prevailed over her: the duck began to behave towards her son in the same way as other birds. The ugly duckling suffered humiliation and contempt from his own mother, and no longer felt mother's love and the care that was so needed.

We have characterized the central characters. Now it’s worth turning to the supporting characters. Most of them are inhabitants of the poultry yard.

noble duck

This is the oldest bird, which even has a red ribbon tied to its leg. This bandage seems to distinguish the duck from others, exalting it. People come to bow to her as if she were a noblewoman or an empress. Birds seek her approval and are afraid of falling into disgrace. It is not difficult to discern human society in this hierarchically structured world of birds. However, when here, Andersen seems to stick out, magnify under a microscope - many times - the absurdity and paradox of social orders.

The duck evokes respect and reverence, it sets the general tone in the poultry yard, determines the place and position of other birds - its subordinates.

Geese

Wild and proud birds, they are only recently found in the poultry yard. Unlike ducks, geese are not at all intimidated by the appearance of a duckling.

It is worth remembering that our main character, from the very beginning, when he realized that he is not like a duck, is trying to find a place for himself.

In this search, he comes to different bird communities (for example, he tries to understand if he is a turkey), including the goose community. The geese accepted the duckling, inviting him to be one of them. But soon the geese were killed by hunters, and the duckling himself almost died with them.

old lady

When the duckling escapes from the poultry yard, he wanders and comes to the old woman's house. Grandmother settled in a frail and old house, which stands on the outskirts. She lives in the company of a chicken and a cat. The old woman was somewhat blind, and therefore she did not immediately understand who the duckling was. She considered him a duck, fat and well-fed, and took him only because she hoped: now she would have more eggs from her. Over time, the duckling runs away from this house too.

Cat

An animal keeping an old lady company. It's hard to name him positive character. The cat is distinguished by such traits as arrogance, contempt for others, arrogance, and pride. But for the old lady, he has a number of advantages: he warms her in winter with his warmth, purrs and beautifully arches his back. When he gets angry, his fur stands on end so that sparks even begin to fly from it.

Chicken

The bird, like the cat, lives in the grandmother’s house, to whom the duckling also ended up. However, the laying hen also does not have any positive traits: arrogance, pride - the same traits as a cat. The chicken has short legs, it lays eggs and believes that this is the main advantage of all animals. Since the duckling can neither purr nor lay eggs, the hen does not consider him worthy of her attention and shows all sorts of contempt for him.

Hunter and his family

Peasant hunter described kind person. The man felt sorry for the duckling when he saw that the bird was freezing outside. The hunter saved the duckling from the ice and frost, brought it home, and warmed it up. However, the duckling was so accustomed to deceit and meanness - both people and animals - that he was unable to discern the kindness and responsiveness in the hunter. Therefore, the unfortunate duckling runs away again - out of fear.

This happened because the hunter had a family. The situation with the hunter's house is also ambivalent. If the man himself is kind, then his family is not so kind to the unfortunate and poor bird. The peasant's little children thought at first that the bird was new toy. The duckling was scared and broke several objects in horror kitchen utensils. The hunter's wife did not like this. The woman got angry and, in a fit of rage, ran after the bird until it left the house, frightened by the hostess’s anger.

Another reason to think: people value things more than life. There are also back side: People value human life more than animal life.

Swans

Beautiful, noble birds. The swans knew: each of them is born an unsightly chick, however winter will pass, spring and summer will come, and the chick will turn into a bird of extraordinary beauty. Therefore, the long-necked birds recognized the duckling as part of their community, as well as its superiority. The duckling was young and beautiful, and therefore the rest of the swans bowed their heads before him: just as the ducks in the poultry yard once bowed before the old bird with a red bandage.

"The Ugly Duckling": the main characters of Hans Andersen's fairy tale

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