The fairy tale genre in the works of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin fully manifested itself in the 80s years XIX centuries. This was a period of public reaction. Democratic forces found it increasingly difficult to overcome censorship restrictions. The tale helped translate M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin included a conversation about the pressing problems of the era as an allegorical narrative.

In the work " The wise minnow» a satirical depiction of ordinary people trying to evade class understanding comes to the fore public life and the fight for social justice.

The expression “arid eyelids” mentioned in the first pages of the tale means “ long years"(named after the biblical patriarch Aris, who, according to the Bible, lived 962 years), and immediately transforms the work into the category of a literary fairy tale. The traditional fairytale beginning “once upon a time” and a wide appeal to small genres of Russian folklore: sayings and proverbs (“neither in the ear nor in the pike hit the haylo”, “mind the ward”, “neither alive nor dead”, “on the nose” reel") bring the atmosphere of a folk tale.

Allegorically (using images underwater world: fish, crayfish, water fleas) the writer depicts a social struggle: “All around, in the water, all the big fish are swimming, and he is the smallest of all; Any fish can swallow him, but he cannot swallow anyone. And he doesn’t understand: why swallow?”

This is how he describes the position of the main character. In the fairy tale, there is also a man who can catch a minnow with a fishing rod. The gudgeon in the story has smart parents. They give him important instructions to guide his life. “Look, son,” said the old gudgeon, dying, “if you want to chew your life, then keep your eyes open!” An important indicator of the worldly wisdom of this phrase is the fact that the old gudgeon himself dies his own death, and is not caught on someone else's bait. The gudgeon is defenseless; the only way to escape is the chance to anticipate and avoid danger.

The cruelty of social life, which is dominated by the animal struggle of people for existence, is striking. Each big fish is ready to swallow smaller ones. In addition to the desire to build a social hierarchy, there is a struggle between people at the level of their peers in social status. Here, too, base instincts dominate: self-interest and envy.

In the father's order of the old gudgeon important place takes the image of an oud: “Most of all, beware of the oud! - he said, - because even though this is the stupidest projectile, but with us minnows, what is stupid is more accurate. They will throw a fly at us, as if they want to take advantage of us; If you grab it, it’s death in a fly!” By the yield one should understand the reprisal against a person of the state machine, armed with the laws of suppressing all kinds of free thought. The defeat of the Russian liberation movement allegorically depicted in the story of the old gudgeon in the image of a big fishing trip (“At that time they were caught by a whole artel, they stretched the net across the entire width of the river, and so they dragged it for about two miles along the bottom. Passion, how many fish were caught then! Both pikes and perches , and chubs, and roaches, and loaches, - even lazy breams were lifted from the mud from the bottom! "). The old gudgeon was also caught and was even able to see a pot of boiling water. Only chance helped the father of our hero to avoid death then. Emphasizing family relationships between the minnows (the image of an excited minnow, which is “neither alive nor dead” peeking out of its hole) once again emphasizes the social subtext of the story. It shows that reprisals against free-thinking social forces sow an atmosphere of fear in the country and force other people to retreat into a hole. The author characterizes the gudgeon as “enlightened, moderate-liberal.” These definitions indicate the social niche that includes people with his views. However, the repressive policy of the state even in this environment forms an ugly philosophy of life: “You have to live in such a way that no one notices.” Instead of realizing his creative powers, his intellectual potential, a person begins to settle down: digging a hole, hiding in the mud and sedge. Fear paralyzes all his high impulses, leaving only the basic instinct of self-preservation, which suppresses other feelings in him. The minnow's son stops trusting anyone and becomes a loner: it is symbolic that he digs a hole where “only one person can fit in.” Individualistic sentiments have a detrimental effect on the social atmosphere. All social activity boils down to “sitting and trembling” in the hole. The minnow, in fact, does not live, but only exists in constant concern for tomorrow. Fear poisons his joy of existence. These dangers await the hero at every step. M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin allegorically embodies them in the image of a strange cancer, which “stands motionless, as if bewitched, with its bone eyes staring at it,” a pike that claps its teeth. The minnow's only victory was that it managed to survive the day and that's it. The gudgeon avoids attachments: it cannot start a family because it is afraid of responsibility for it. He does not make friends, since all his strength goes into the struggle for survival. Neither rest, nor love - he allows himself nothing in life. And this, paradoxically, begins to suit the powers that be. Even pikes suddenly set him up as an example. But the gudgeon is so careful that it doesn’t even rush to praise. Only before his death does the gudgeon realize that if he had lived like this, the entire gudgeon race would have died out. After all, he was unable to start a family, voluntarily deprived himself of his native element and reason, activating the instinct of self-preservation in him, dooming him to endless spiritual loneliness. Here, in the fairy tale, not only the social, but also the philosophical aspect of life can be traced: a person cannot walk through it alone (without friends, without family, without attachments). By losing the natural human feelings of love, kindness, and mutual assistance, the hero deprives his life of happiness. He, unlike his father, has no one to give instructions to, no one to pass on his wisdom by inheritance. Using the example of the gudgeon M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin shows the degeneration of the liberal intelligentsia as a social class stratum. This emphasizes a series of rhetorical questions that the hero asks himself: “What joys did he have? Who did he console? Who did you give good advice to? to whom kind word said? Whom did he shelter, warm, and drag in? who has heard of him? who will remember his existence?

The sad atmosphere of public life is symbolized by images of darkness, damp mist. The expected result of the gudgeon's careful life is starvation in its own hole, which is perceived as deliverance from a useless life. In his dreams, a gudgeon tries to crawl out of a hole with a goldeneye, in a dream he wins two hundred thousand, grows by as much as half a larshin and begins to swallow the pike itself. He leaned out of the hole and disappeared. M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin deliberately leaves the ending of the work open: it remains unknown whether the gudgeon itself died a natural death or was eaten by him the mighty of the world this. The reader will never know about this. And this death is not important to anyone, just as the life itself of the lonely wise minnow, who spent all his wisdom hiding in a hole, was not important.

Consideration of the fairy tale by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin " The wise minnow»

The great satirist wrote his works using “Aesopian language.” It is known that folk tales provide examples of accessible and most convincing allegories. It can be argued that the fairy tale is a school of Aesopian language created by the people themselves. Saltykov-Shchedrin, who knew Russian folklore well, took advantage of the techniques that were revealed to him in folk tale. On their basis, he himself created masterpieces in this genre of literature.

In his “Tales,” the writer pursued not moralizing, but political and social goals. It is no coincidence that Saltykov-Shchedrin especially eagerly resorted to the form of fairy tales in the most difficult years of the reaction, which created especially unfavorable conditions for his literary activity. "Fairy Tales" gave the writer the opportunity to scourge reaction, despite the fear of liberal editors and despite the fury of censorship.

“Fairy Tales” in a unique, economical form repeats the themes of almost all of the satirist’s past work. In this regard, in my opinion, they are like a summary of everything written by Shchedrin. Therefore, fairy tales can be called the best introduction to familiarize yourself with the collected works of the great writer. Bear, eagle, wolf and other animals that are the main actors tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin, is a fairy-tale interpretation of “city governors” and “pompadours”.

The tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin speak about the fate of the Russian people and their oppressors. Simmering pain, unquenchable hatred, the search for a way out guided the satirist’s pen. Pain sought a way out in creativity, creativity was a reflection on ways to heal pain, every written line called out against those who cause pain. “The liveliness of pain,” the satirist wrote, “served as a source of living images, through which pain was transmitted to the consciousness of others.”

Revolutionary political and social meaning tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin, in my opinion, is undeniable. It is expressed decisively, without omissions. The revolutionary sound of the writer's fairy-tale cycle is enhanced by a caustic mockery of timid feelings and civil cowardice. Fairy tales of the latter category are the most widely known. Their characters have become household names along with the characters folk tales. Such works by Saltykov-Shchedrin include his fairy tale “The Wise Minnow.”

The most negative characters the world of Shchedrin's fairy tales are animals that are fully aware of their surroundings, but nevertheless have not acquired either the hunt or the courage to fight. For example, the wise minnow is a politically minded creature: “He was an enlightened minnow, moderately liberal, and very firmly understood that living life is not like licking a whorl.” Yes, both “his father and mother were smart; Little by little, Ared's eyelids lived in the river, and did not hit either the ear or the pike. They ordered the same for my son. “Look, son,” said the old minnow, dying, “if you want to chew your life, then keep your eyes open!”

The political direction, which in advance refused not only to fight, but even to put forward any demands, gave birth to individuals who thought only about personal self-preservation. These were the Russian liberals. They were more disgusting than a dog licking the owner's hand, and a submissive hare. Their behavior was deliberately chosen and theoretically justified. The wise minnow is wise because he lives according to a carefully developed plan. He subordinated everything to “skin,” to concern for his self-preservation.

Piskar did not want to be responsible for others. The whole life of this wise hero went into trembling. His, so to speak, entertainment and joys of life boiled down to the fact that “at night he did exercise, bathed in the moonlight, and during the day he climbed into a hole and trembled. Only at noon will he run out to grab something - but what can you do at noon!”

The whole life of the gudgeon, so limited by himself, consisted only in the thought: “Does it seem that I am alive?” This thought was accompanied by the same trembling: “Oh, something will happen tomorrow.” As the minnow lived, so he died: “He lived and trembled, and he died - he trembled.” That's the whole biography of this hero.

The ironic title of the tale is justified by the content. You involuntarily ask the question: “What is the wisdom of this gudgeon?” The moral of the tale is given by Saltykov-Shchedrin in the finale. The gudgeon disappeared, and no one will remember him with either a good or a bad word: “What happened here—whether a pike swallowed him, a crayfish he broke with his claws, or he himself died of his own death and floated to the surface—there were no witnesses to this case. Most likely, he himself died, because what sweetness is it to swallow a sick, dying minnow, and a wise one at that?”

Shchedrin's genius lies in the fact that in such a small form as a fairy tale, he embodied life (and therefore folk) philosophy. Through allegory, the writer was able to depict the harsh reality, imbued with bitter laughter. A reality that people easily guessed, and that we can guess after so many years.

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Analysis of the fairy tale “The Wise Minnow” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin.

M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin was born in January 1826 in the village of Spas-Ugol, Tver province. According to his father, he belonged to an old and rich noble family, and according to his mother, he belonged to the merchant class. After successfully graduating from the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, Saltykov becomes an official in the military department, but he is of little interest in the service.
In 1847 his first appear in print literary works- “Contradictions” and “Complicated Affairs.” But they started talking seriously about Saltykov as a writer only in 1856, when he began publishing “Provincial Sketches.”

He directed his extraordinary talent to open the eyes of those who do not yet see the lawlessness going on in the country, the flourishing ignorance and stupidity, and the triumph of bureaucracy.

But today I would like to dwell on the writer’s fairy-tale cycle, begun in 1869. Fairy tales were a kind of result, a synthesis of the ideological and creative quest of the satirist. At that time, due to the existence of strict censorship, the author could not fully expose the vices of society, show all the inconsistency of the Russian administrative apparatus. And yet, with the help of fairy tales “for children of considerable age“Shchedrin was able to convey to people sharp criticism of the existing order.

In 1883, the famous “The Wise Minnow” appeared, which over the past hundred-plus years has become Shchedrin’s textbook fairy tale. The plot of this fairy tale is known to everyone: once upon a time there was a gudgeon, which at first was no different from its own kind. But, a coward by nature, he decided to live his whole life without sticking out, in his hole, flinching from every rustle, from every shadow that flashed next to his hole. So life passed me by - no family, no children. And so he disappeared - either on his own or some pike swallowed him. Only before his death does the minnow think about his life: “Who did he help? Who did you regret, what good did he do in life? “He lived - he trembled and he died - he trembled.” Only before death does the average person realize that no one needs him, no one knows him and no one will remember him.

But this is the plot, the external side of the fairy tale, what is on the surface. And the subtext of Shchedrin’s caricature in this fairy tale of the morals of modern bourgeois Russia was well explained by the artist A. Kanevsky, who made illustrations for the fairy tale “The Wise Minnow”: “…. Everyone understands that Shchedrin is not talking about fish. The gudgeon is a cowardly man in the street, trembling for his own skin. He is a man, but also a minnow, the writer put him in this form, and I, the artist, must preserve it. My task is to combine the image of a frightened man in the street and a minnow, to combine fish and human properties. It is very difficult to “comprehend” a fish, to give it a pose, a movement, a gesture. How to display forever frozen fear on a fish’s “face”? The figurine of the minnow-official gave me a lot of trouble... "

The writer shows the terrible philistine alienation and self-isolation in “The Wise Minnow.” M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin is bitter and painful for the Russian people. Reading Saltykov-Shchedrin is quite difficult. Therefore, perhaps many did not understand the meaning of his fairy tales. But the majority of “children of a fair age” appreciated the work of the great satirist as it deserved.

In conclusion, I would like to add that the thoughts expressed by the writer in fairy tales are still contemporary today. Shchedrin's satire is time-tested and it sounds especially poignant in times of social unrest, such as those that Russia is experiencing today.

Saltykov-Shchedrin, “The Wise Minnow”, let’s start the analysis of the fairy tale with the personality of the writer.

Mikhail Evgrafovich was born in 1826 (January) in the Tver province. On his father's side he belonged to a very old and rich family of nobles, and on his mother's side he belonged to the class of merchants. Saltykov-Shchedrin successfully graduated and then took the post of official in the military department. Unfortunately, the service interested him very little.

In 1847, his first literary works were published - “A Tangled Affair” and “Contradictions”. Despite this, it was only in 1856 that people started talking about him seriously as a writer. At this time he began to publish his “Provincial Sketches”.

The writer tried to open the readers' eyes to the lawlessness happening in the country, to ignorance, stupidity, and bureaucracy.

Let's take a closer look at the cycle of fairy tales written by the writer in 1869. This was a kind of synthesis of the ideological and creative quest of Saltykov-Shchedrin, a certain result.

Mikhail Evgrafovich could not fully expose all the vices of society and the failure of management due to the censorship that existed at that time. That is why the writer chose the form of a fairy tale. So he was able to sharply criticize the existing order without fear of prohibitions.

The fairy tale “The Wise Minnow,” which we are analyzing, is quite rich in artistic terms. The author resorts to the use of grotesque, antithesis, and hyperbole. An important role is played by these techniques that helped hide the true meaning of what was written.

The fairy tale appeared in 1883, it is famous to this day, it has even become a textbook. Its plot is known to everyone: there lived a gudgeon who was completely ordinary. His only difference was cowardice, which was so strong that the gudgeon decided to spend his entire life in a hole, without sticking out of there. There he sat, afraid of every rustle, every shadow. This is how his life passed, no family, no friends. The question arises: what kind of life is this? What good has he done in his life? Nothing. Lived, trembled, died.

That's the whole story, but it's just the surface.

Analysis of the fairy tale “The Wise Minnow” implies a deeper study of its meaning.

Saltykov-Shchedrin depicts the morals of contemporary bourgeois Russia. In fact, a minnow does not mean a fish, but a cowardly man in the street who fears and trembles only for his own skin. The writer set himself the task of combining the features of both fish and humans.

The fairy tale depicts philistine alienation and self-isolation. The author is offended and bitter for the Russian people.

Reading the works of Saltykov-Shchedrin is not very easy, which is why not everyone was able to comprehend the true intent of his fairy tales. Unfortunately, the level of thinking and development modern people not quite up to par.

I would like to draw attention to the fact that the thoughts expressed by the writer are relevant to this day.

Read the fairy tale “The Wise Minnow” again, analyze it based on what you have now learned. Look deeper into the intention of the works, try to read between the lines, then you will be able to analyze not only the fairy tale “The Wise Minnow” yourself, but also all works of art.

After the successful attempt by the Narodnaya Volya on Tsar Alexander II (03/01/81), the time for reaction comes. Russian liberalism, even in its most harmless manifestations, is openly proclaimed as “treason” to the fatherland. Suspicion and cowardice penetrate the moral atmosphere of life. Spy mania is officially called "strict surveillance of each other." Informers are called fighters “against treason.”

The worst thing, Saltykov-Shchedrin believed, was the cowardice that had taken hold of the mood of some of the Russian intelligentsia. In this dark, reactionary time, the satirical writer undertakes with his fairy tale “The Wise Minnow” to remind his contemporaries of human dignity, of honor and shame, of wisdom, true and imaginary.

At first, the author, without much ironic “pressure,” calls the young minnow smart (“Both his father and his mother were smart...”; “And the young minnow had a mind...”). The first six paragraphs create the illusion of a story about “ordinary” fairy-tale (or fable) fish, about the kingdom of fish. Here, large fish swim, and crayfish live, and water fleas, and minnows live in whole herds..., a fishing team with a seine is mentioned, and, finally, the sad and depressing memories of the gudgeon father about the fish soup, which he almost tasted. In short, fish are fish. Only they treat each other, as it should be in fairy tales, in a human manner, and even give each other instructions on how to live: “Look, son,” said the old gudgeon, dying, “if you want to chew on life, then keep your eyes open!” (The main motive, a warning, a reminder of the need to get away from the mass of life’s dangers and adversities, to take care of yourself, about your own safety and well-being).

From the seventh paragraph the fairy tale includes new motive. Clarifying our idea of ​​the wise minnow: “He was an enlightened minnow, moderately liberal, and very firmly understood that living life is not like licking a whorl.” This episode gives a direct hint at intelligent people who profess the principle of complete non-interference during their lives. Minnow wisdom is close to some everyday proverbial sayings hated by Saltykov-Shchedrin, masking the fishy philistine morality: “don’t fight the strong”; “every cricket should know its nest”; “my hut (hut) is on the edge”; “Ears don’t grow higher than the forehead” and others.

An everyday detail - the gudgeon didn’t even dare to get married, and “had no children, although his father had a large family...” A purely fabulous continuation immediately follows: “He reasoned like this: “My father could have lived by joking!” At that time, the pike were kinder, and the perches didn’t bother with us small fry... So it’s not about family, but how to just live for yourself!”

Immediately after this, a purely everyday ironic transition: “He has no friends, no relatives; neither he is to anyone, nor anyone is to him. He doesn’t play cards, doesn’t drink wine, doesn’t smoke tobacco...”

The tale includes sparingly, but expressively, signs of a specific historical time: “He was a minnow... moderately liberal,” he dreamed of acquiring “ winning ticket", minnows "were not alienated from the public" and would be "worthy citizens."

Step by step tracing the course of the gudgeon's conclusions, the author evokes in the reader either a sly mockery, a sarcastic response, or a feeling of disgust. At the end of the work, there may even be compassion for the pitiful fate of a quiet, timidly silent, moderately neat creature. Shchedrinsky’s minnow, summing up the results of his long life, is revealed to a long and dreary truth (the author’s warning intonation is also heard here): “those who think that only those minnows can be considered worthy citizens who, mad with fear, sit in holes and trembling. No, these are not citizens, but at least useless minnows. They give no warmth or cold to anyone, no honor, no dishonor, no glory, no infamy... they live, take up space for nothing and eat food.” A swarm of questions confuses the minnow: “What joys did he have? Who was he comforting? Who did you say a kind word to? Whom did you shelter, warm, protect? Who has heard of him, who will remember his existence? The gudgeon is gnawed by resentment that other fish, which every now and then sneak past his holes and pass him by, are nothing other than a “dumb,” “a fool,” “a disgrace,” sincerely wondering “how the water tolerates such idols.”

So, The fairy tale “The Wise Minnow” contains an important moral lesson: cowardice, fear, philistine indifference to everything in the world except one’s own person sooner or later deprives human life of all meaning, worldly “wisdom” kills the mind, honor, and conscience in people. The fairy tale teaches honesty, civic courage and nobility, and reminds us of the price human life, about its meaning.

Fairy tale "The Wise Minnow". The question of the meaning of being, the purpose of man is acutely raised. The hero of the fairy tale “got too smart” and devoted his life only to himself. Moral and social ideals, from the point of view of which the gudgeon vegetation is exposed, were infinitely dear to Shchedrin. Therefore, with a bitter smile, he makes this “sage” understand the meaninglessness of his life.