Fairy tale "The Wise Minnow"

Many tales by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin are dedicated to exposing philistinism. One of the most poignant is “The Wise Minnow.” The fairy tale appeared in 1883 and over the past hundred years has become one of the most famous, a textbook tale of a satirist.

At the center of the fairy tale “The Wise Minnow” is the fate of a cowardly man in the street, a man lacking a social outlook and with bourgeois demands. The image of a small, helpless and cowardly fish perfectly characterizes this trembling man in the street. In the work, the writer poses important philosophical problems: what is the meaning of life and the purpose of man.

Saltykov-Shchedrin puts into the title of the tale a telling, unambiguously evaluative epithet: “The Wise Minnow.” What does the epithet “wise” mean? Synonyms for it are the words “smart”, “reasonable”. At first, the reader retains the belief that it was not in vain that the satirist characterized his hero this way, but gradually, as events unfold and gudgeon conclusions, it becomes clear that the meaning that the author puts into the word “wise” is undoubtedly ironic. The gudgeon considered himself wise, and the author called his fairy tale that way. The irony in this title reveals the worthlessness and uselessness of the average person, trembling for his life.

“Once upon a time there was a minnow,” and he was “enlightened, moderately liberal.” Smart parents lived in the river “Aridian eyelids” “Aridian eyelids lived in the river...” - the expression “Aridian (or Aredian) eyelids” means extreme longevity. It goes back to a biblical character named Jared, who, as stated in the Bible, lived 962 years (Genesis, V, 20). and, dying, bequeathed him to live, looking both ways. The gudgeon understands that he is in danger of trouble from everywhere: from big fish, from neighboring minnows, from a man (his own father was once almost boiled in his ear). The gudgeon builds a hole for itself, where no one except it fits, swims out at night for food, and during the day “shivers” in the hole, lacks sleep, is malnourished, but does its best to protect its life. Crayfish and pike lie in wait for him, but he avoids death. The gudgeon has no family: “he would like to live on his own.” “And the wise gudgeon lived in this way for more than a hundred years. Everything was trembling, everything was trembling. He has no friends, no relatives; neither he is to anyone, nor anyone is to him.” Only once in its life does a gudgeon decide to crawl out of its hole and “swim like a goldeneye all over the river!”, but it gets scared. Even when dying, the gudgeon trembles. No one cares about him, no one asks his advice on how to live a hundred years, no one calls him wise, but rather a “dumb” and “hateful.” In the end, the gudgeon disappears to God knows where: even the pikes don’t need it, sick and dying.

The tale is based on the satirist’s favorite techniques - grotesque and hyperbole. Using the grotesque, Saltykov-Shchedrin brings to the point of absurdity the idea of ​​the squalor of a lonely, selfish existence and the fear for one’s life that suppresses all other feelings. And by using the technique of hyperbolization, the satirist emphasizes the negative qualities of the minnow: cowardice, stupidity, narrow-mindedness and conceit that is exorbitant for a small fish (“Not a single thought will come to mind: “Let me ask the wise minnow how he managed to live for more than a hundred years, and neither the pike swallowed him, nor the crayfish with his claws, nor the fisherman caught him with a fishing rod?

The tale has a harmonious composition. In a small work, the author manages to describe the entire life of the hero from birth to death. Gradually, tracing the course of the minnow's life, the author evokes in the reader a variety of feelings: mockery, irony, turning into a feeling of disgust, and in the end, compassion for the everyday philosophy of a quiet, wordless, but useless and worthless creature.

In this tale, as in all other tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin, there is a limited circle of characters: the gudgeon himself and his father, whose behests the son faithfully followed. People and other inhabitants of the river (pike, perch, crayfish and other minnows) are only named by the author.

The author in the fairy tale denounces the cowardice, mental limitations, and failure in life of the average person. Allegory (allegory) and the technique of zoological likening help the satirist to deceive the tsarist censorship and create a sharply negative, repulsive image. Zoological comparisons serve the main purpose of satire - to show negative phenomena and people in a low and funny way. Comparing social vices with the animal world is one of Saltykov-Shchedrin’s witty satire techniques; he uses it both in individual episodes and in entire fairy tales. Attributing human properties to fish, the satirist simultaneously shows that humans also have “fishy” traits, and “minnow” is the definition of a person, an artistic metaphor that aptly characterizes ordinary people. The meaning of this allegory is revealed in the words of the author: “Those who think that only those minnows can be considered worthy citizens who, mad with fear, sit in a hole and tremble, believe incorrectly. No, these are not citizens, but at least useless minnows.”

In this tale, as in many of his other works, the writer combines fantasy with a realistic depiction of everyday life. Before us is a gudgeon - a small fish that is afraid of everything in the world. But we learn that this little fish “does not receive a salary,” “does not keep servants,” “does not play cards, does not drink wine, does not smoke tobacco, does not chase red girls.” This unusual combination achieves a sense of the reality of what is happening. The fate of the law-abiding official is also guessed in the fate of the gudgeon.

Saltykov-Shchedrin in the fairy tale “The Wise Minnow” adds modern concepts to the fairy-tale speech, thereby connecting the folklore beginning of the fairy tale with reality. Thus, Shchedrin uses the usual fairy-tale beginning (“once upon a time there was a minnow”), common fairy-tale phrases (“neither in a fairy tale can you tell, nor can you describe with a pen,” “began to live and live well,” “bread and salt”), folk expressions (“uma ward”, “out of nowhere”), colloquialisms (“disgraceful life”, “destroy”, “take a nap”) and much more. And next to these words there are words of a completely different style, belonging to real time: “chew with life”, “did exercise at night”, “will recommend”, “life process completes”.

This combination of folklore motifs and fantasy with real, topical reality is one of the main features of Shchedrin's satire and his new genre of political fairy tale. It was this special form of storytelling that helped Saltykov-Shchedrin increase the scale of artistic depiction, give the satire on the small man in the street a huge scope, and create a real symbol of a cowardly person.

In the fairy tale “The Wise Minnow,” Saltykov-Shchedrin traditionally interweaves comic elements with tragic ones. With humor, the satirist conveys to the reader the fish’s opinion about man: “What about man? - what kind of malicious creature is this! no matter what tricks he came up with in order to destroy him, the minnow, in vain! And the seine, and the nets, and the tops, and the hole, and, finally... I’ll fish!”, describes the flattering speeches of the pikes: “Now, if everyone lived like this, it would be quiet in the river!” But they said it on purpose; they thought that he would recommend himself for praise - here, they say, I am! then bang! But he didn’t fall for this trick either, and once again, with his wisdom, he defeated the machinations of his enemies.” And the author himself constantly laughs at the gudgeon, his fears and imaginary victories over predators.

However, Saltykov-Shchedrin, being an ardent opponent of such a cowardly and meaningless existence, describes the death of the gudgeon, his slow decline and dying thoughts with bitterness and even some pity: “In his hole it is dark, cramped, there is nowhere to turn, not a ray of sunshine can look in , no smell of warmth. And he lies in this damp darkness, blind, exhausted, useless to anyone...” The lonely and unnoticed death of the minnow is truly tragic, despite his entire previous worthless life.

How much Saltykov-Shchedrin despises such a humiliating life for a person! He reduces the entire biography of the gudgeon to a brief formula: “He lived and trembled, and he died and trembled.” This expression has become an aphorism. The author claims that one cannot live with the only joy in life: “Glory to you, Lord, I am alive!” It is this philosophy of life-fear that the author ridicules. Saltykov-Shchedrin shows the reader a terrible self-isolation and philistine alienation.

Before his death, the gudgeon asks himself rhetorical questions: “What joys did he have? Who did he console? Who gave good advice to whom? Who did you say a kind word to? Whom did you shelter, warm, protect?” There is one answer to all these questions - no one, no one, none. These questions are introduced into the fairy tale for the reader, so that he asks himself and thinks about the meaning of his life. After all, even the minnow’s dreams are connected with his empty womb existence: “It’s as if he won two hundred thousand, grew by as much as half an arshin and swallows the pike himself.” This is how it would be, of course, if dreams became reality, because nothing else was implanted in the soul of the average person.

Saltykov-Shchedrin is trying to convey to the reader the idea that one cannot live only for the sake of preserving one’s life. The story of the wise minnow in an exaggerated form teaches the need to set high goals and go towards them. It is necessary to remember human dignity, courage and honor.

The writer “forces” the gudgeon to die ingloriously. In the final rhetorical question, a devastating, sarcastic sentence is heard: “Most likely, he died himself, because what sweetness is it for a pike to swallow a sick, dying gudgeon, and also a wise one?”

fairy tale artistic political satirist

Saltykov-Shchedrin, a Russian satirist, wrote his moralizing stories in the form of fairy tales. The difficult years of reaction and strict censorship, which carefully monitored the activities of writers, blocked all roads for writers expressing their opinions on political events. Fairy tales gave the author the opportunity to express his opinion without fear of censorship. We offer a brief analysis of the fairy tale; this material can be used both for work in literature lessons in the 7th grade and for preparing for the Unified State Exam.

Brief Analysis

Year of writing: 1883

History of creation - Years of reaction could not allow one to openly express one’s political views, and the writer veiled the social and political meaning of his statements in the form of fairy tales.

Subject— The social and political background implies a political theme, expressed in ridiculing the Russian liberal intelligentsia.

Composition— The compositional structure of the tale is simple: the beginning of the tale, a description of the life, and the death of the minnow.

Genre— The genre of “The Wise Minnow” is an epic allegorical tale.

Direction- Satire.

History of creation

The great Russian satirist had the time to live and create during the years of reaction. The authorities and censorship carefully monitored what entered the minds of citizens, hushing up political problems in every possible way.

The harsh reality of the events had to be hidden from the people. People who openly expressed their progressive views were severely punished. People involved in literary activities tried in every way to convey revolutionary ideas to the people. Poets and prose writers used various artistic means to tell the whole truth about the fate of ordinary people and their oppressors.

The history of the creation of satirical tales by Saltykov-Shchedrin was a direct necessity against state policy. To ridicule human vices, civil cowardice and cowardice, the writer used satirical techniques, giving human characteristics to various beasts and animals.

Subject

The theme of “The Wise Minnow” includes the social and political issues of society of that era. The work mercilessly ridicules the behavior of ordinary people of the reactionary era, their cowardly inaction and indifference.

In the moralizing work of Saltykov-Shchedrin, the main character is a liberal fish, whose existence completely reflects the politics of the liberal-minded intelligentsia. This image contains the main idea of ​​the fairy tale, which exposes intellectuals - liberals, hiding from the truth of life behind their own cowardice, trying to spend their lives unnoticed. Here again the eternal theme of that time emerges, when everyone behaves this way, thinking only about “no matter what happens, no matter what happens.”

You might also be interested in the article:

The denunciation of such a society clearly proves that such behavior will lead to nothing, the point is that you still won’t be able to escape by hiding in your hole.

In “The Wise Minnow,” analysis of the work is impossible without determining the meaning of the title that the author gave to his tale. An allegorical and satirical tale also implies a satirical title.

There lives a gudgeon who considers himself “wise.” In his understanding, this is indeed the case. The gudgeon's parents managed to live a long time; they died of old age. This is what they bequeathed to their own son, the minnow, “live quietly and calmly, don’t interfere anywhere, you will live long and happily.” The author puts sarcasm into the name of the gudgeon “wise”. It is impossible to be wise while living a gray, meaningless life, fearing everyone and everything.

Composition

The peculiarities of the composition of the writer's fairy tale are that this fairy tale is an allegory. Exposition of the tale at the beginning of the development of the action. It begins with the beginning: it tells about the gudgeon and his parents, about the hard life and methods of survival. The father makes a will to the minnow on how to live in order to save his life.

The plot of the action: the gudgeon understood his father well and accepted his wishes for action. Next comes the development of the action, the story of how the gudgeon lived, did not live, but vegetated. All his life he trembled, from any sound, noise, knock. He was afraid all his life and hid all the time.

The climax of the tale is that when the gudgeon finally thought about what it would be like if everyone lived the way he lives. The gudgeon was horrified when he imagined such a picture. After all, this is how the entire gudgeon genus would hatch.

The denouement comes: the gudgeon disappears. Where and how remains unknown, but everything suggests that he died a natural death. The author sarcastically emphasizes that no one will eat an old, skinny gudgeon, and even a “wise” one.

The satirist's entire tale is built on allegory. The characters of the fairy tale, events, the environment - all this, in an allegorical sense, reflects human life of that time.

All of the writer’s satirical tales were written in response to some event or social phenomenon. The fairy tale “The Wise Minnow” is the writer’s reaction to the assassination attempt by the People’s Will forces on the monarch Alexander II.

What the satirist's work teaches is the death of the minnow. We must live brightly, with benefit for society, and not hide from problems.

Genre

The reactionary era led to the birth of different ways of expressing one’s thoughts; the author of “The Wise Minnow” used for this the genre of an allegorical tale, of course, of a satirical direction. The fairy tale “The Wise Minnow” is an epic essay for adults. The satirical orientation indicates the exposure of social vices, their harsh ridicule. In a short tale, the author revealed interconnected vices - cowardice and inaction. It is typical for Saltykov-Shchedrin to depict the unpleasant aspects of life through hyperbolic images and the grotesque.

Problems of the fairy tale "The Wise Minnow" by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin

In the complex sense of Shchedrin’s fairy tales, small in volume and large in their ideological content, the following themes can be distinguished: satire on the autocratic government and the exploiting classes, depiction of the life of the people in tsarist Russia, revelations of the behavior and psychology of the secular-minded layers of the intelligentsia, disclosure of individual morality and propaganda of the socialist ideal and new morality.
In the fairy tale “The Wise Minnow,” Shchedrin exposed for condemnation the cowardice of that part of the intelligentsia who, during the years of political reaction, succumbed to a mood of shameful panic. Depicting the pitiful fate of a hero who went mad with fear and walled himself up in a dark hole for the rest of his life, the satirist showed his warning and contempt for all those who, obeying the instinct of self-preservation, plunge into the narrow world of their own needs instead of active social struggle.
The gudgeon's parents lived quietly and peacefully, did not interfere in the life of society, and therefore died a natural death. And they ordered their son to watch with both, protecting himself. Their son was smart and took his parents’ words literally. He protected himself not only from large fish, but also from crayfish and water fleas. Although they were smaller than him, they could cause more harm, in his opinion. He was completely mad with fear and was even afraid to have a wife and children.
Shchedrin also ridiculed the minnow’s thoughts about man, that is, about the government. How many different means he came up with to destroy the minnows, that is, the people, and they, knowing all these stupid means, still swallow them. “Even though this is the stupidest tool, with us minnows, the more stupid, the more accurate,” this is how the old minnow thinks about the life of a people who do not want to learn even from their mistakes.
That gudgeon did not live, but did nothing but tremble and rejoice that he was alive. Even the pikes began to praise him, hoping that he would come out of the hole. But he doesn't. I sat for more than a hundred years and thought that I was the smartest. But Saltykov-Shchedrin speaks about the wrong course of reasoning of the minnow, that the wrong minnows become worse citizens who sit in holes, tremble and therefore eat in vain. What is the benefit to society from their existence? No. Therefore, it did not consider the gudgeon smart, but only called it a fool.
The originality of Shchedrin's artistic mastery turned out to be in the great power of his laughter, in the art of using humor, hyperbole, grotesque and fantasy for a realistic depiction of reality and assessing it from a progressive social position. In his tales, those who tried to hide from the enemy, avoid social struggle, and live by their own needs die. He tried to instill in the reader a sense of social duty, to teach him to live a social life, social needs. Only under these conditions can a person be called smart and wise.

Sections: Literature

Lesson objectives:

1.Educational:

a) Knowledge:

• Repetition and systematization of previously acquired knowledge about the writer’s work; composition of the work; using various artistic media.
• Deepening knowledge about sarcasm as a type of irony;
• Introduction to the concept of grotesque.

b) Skills:

• Finding the trail being studied.
• Consolidating the ability to analyze a work of art in the unity of form and content.

2. Developmental:

A). Development of memory (setting to reproduce the material at the end of the lesson);

b). Development of thinking (logical, figurative when working with text);

V). Development of students’ oral speech (monologue, dialogic speech).

3. Educators:

A). Nurturing an active life position.

b) Cultivating interest in literature.

c) Fostering a respectful attitude towards culture and art.

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 literary works, “Contradictions” and “Confused Affairs,” appeared in print. But they started talking seriously about Saltykov as a writer only in 1856, when he began publishing “Provincial Sketches.”

He directed his literary talent to open their eyes, to show those who do not yet see the lawlessness going on in the country, the flourishing ignorance and stupidity, and the triumph of bureaucracy. M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin is a great Russian satirist, democratic revolutionary, ally of Chernyshevsky and Nekrasov. He chose satire as his weapon against social evil and social injustice, continuing and developing the traditions of Fonvizin and Gogol in new historical conditions. Chernyshevsky argued: “None of the writers preceding Shchedrin painted pictures of our life in darker colors. No one punished our own ulcers with greater mercilessness.” (slide No. 2 in Appendix 1)

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 a fair age,” Shchedrin was able to convey to people a sharp criticism of the existing order.

To write fairy tales, the author used grotesque, hyperbole and antithesis. Aesopian language was also important for the author. Trying to hide the true meaning of what was written from censorship, one had to use this technique. The fairy tale, due to the simplicity of its form, is accessible to anyone, even an inexperienced reader, and therefore is especially dangerous for the “tops.” No wonder the censor Lebedev reported: “Mr. S.’s intention to publish some of his fairy tales in separate brochures is more than strange. What Mr. S. calls fairy tales does not at all correspond to its name; his fairy tales are the same satire, and the satire is caustic, tendentious , more or less directed against our social and political structure."

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. That is why the works of Saltykov-Shchedrin have been republished many times in our time. (Slide No. 3 in Appendix 1)

Before we begin to analyze the fairy tale “The Wise Minnow,” we will consider the necessary terms: sarcasm, irony, grotesque, hyperbole. (Slide No. 4 in Appendix 1)

SARCASM is a caustic, caustic mockery with a frankly accusatory, satirical meaning. Sarcasm is a type of irony.

IRONY is a negative assessment of an object or phenomenon through ridicule. The comic effect is achieved by the fact that the true meaning of the event is disguised.

GROTESQUE - a depiction of reality in an exaggerated, ugly-comic form, an interweaving of the real and the fantastic.

HYPERBOLE – deliberate exaggeration.

IV. Working on the text of a fairy tale.

The fairy tale “The Wise Minnow” (1883) has become a textbook.

1). Working on the image of the main character (slide No. 5 in Appendix 1)

How did the minnow's parents live? What did his father bequeath to him before his death?

How did the wise minnow decide to live?

What was the minnow’s position in life? What do you call a person with such a position in life? (slide No. 8 in Appendix 1)

So, we see that at first the gudgeon 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...”

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.

2) Work on the composition of the work, artistic means.

What is the composition of the work? (The composition is consistent and strict. In a small work, the author traces the life of the main character from birth to inglorious death. The circle of characters is extremely narrow: the gudgeon himself and his father, whose orders he carries out.)

What traditional fairy tale motifs does the author use? (The traditional fairy tale beginning “once upon a time there was a minnow” is used, common phrases “cannot be said in a fairy tale, not described with a pen”, “began to live and live”, popular expressions “mind chamber”, “out of nowhere”, colloquialism “a disgusting life” , “to destroy.”)

What allows us to talk about the mixture of fantasy and reality in a work? (Along with folklore, the fairy tale contains expressions used by the author and his contemporaries: “do exercise”, “recommend yourself”.)

Find examples in the text of the use of grotesque and hyperbole.

The political orientation of Saltykov-Shchedrin's satire required new artistic forms. To get around censorship obstacles, the satirist had to turn to allegories, allusions, and “Aesopian language.” The combination of fantasy and reality, the use of the grotesque and hyperbole, allowed the writer to create a new original genre of political fairy tale. This form of storytelling helps push the boundaries of artistic representation. The satire on the small man in the street takes on a huge scale, and a symbol of a cowardly person is created. His entire biography boils down to the formula: “He lived - he trembled, and he died - he trembled.”

In "The Wise Minnow" the image of a small, pathetic fish, helpless and cowardly, is depicted. Shchedrin attributes human properties to fish and at the same time shows that humans can also have “fish” traits. The meaning of this allegory is revealed in the words of the author: “Those who think that only those minnows can be considered worthy citizens who, mad with fear, sit in a hole and tremble, believe incorrectly. No, these are not citizens, but at least useless minnows.” .

3) Work on the title and idea of ​​the work (slide No. 10 in Appendix 1)

How do you understand the title of the work? What technique does the author use in the title? (The gudgeon considered himself wise. And the author calls the fairy tale that way. But behind this title there is hidden irony, revealing the worthlessness and uselessness of the average man, trembling for his life.)

What rhetorical questions does the minnow ask itself before dying? Why are they included in the text of the work? (“What joys did he have? Who did he console? Who did he give good advice to? Who did he say a kind word to? Whom did he shelter, warm, protect?” To all these questions there is one answer - no one, no one, none. The questions are introduced into the fairy tale for the reader , so that he asks himself them and thinks about the meaning of his life.)

What is the idea of ​​the work? (You cannot live only for the sake of preserving your life. You must set high goals for yourself and go towards them. You must remember human dignity, courage and honor.)

We saw that in the fairy tale the author exposes the cowardice, mental limitations, and failure in life of the average person. The writer poses important philosophical problems: what is the meaning of life and the purpose of man. These problems will always face individuals and society as a whole. The writer does not seek to entertain the reader, he teaches him a moral lesson. Invariably, Saltykov-Shchedrin’s tales will be relevant, and the characters will be recognizable.

Miniature essay “What is better - to live a hundred years without causing any harm or benefit, or to live making mistakes and learning from them?”

Note

The presentation uses footage from the animated film “The Wise Minnow”, directed by Valentin Karataev.

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 up 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 Saltykov-Shchedrin’s ideological and creative quest, 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 his head 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 of modern people does not really correspond to what it should be.

I would like to draw your 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.