Satirical devices in the tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin. To help the student

ME Saltykov-Shchedrin is one of the most famous satirists of the 19th century. The writer has shown himself in many genres of literature, such as novels, stories, short stories, essays, fairy tales.

Almost all of Saltykov-Shchedrin's works are satirical. The writer was outraged Russian society unfair attitude of masters to slaves, obedience common people to senior officials. In his works, the author ridiculed the vices and imperfections of Russian society.

A striking example immorality of society in the work of Saltykov-Shchedrin- fairy tales. Tales of S.-Sch. imbued with irony, they contain the problem of Russian society, which the author wants to resolve on simple example, making fun of the actions of their heroes in some moments.

In the novel "The Story of a City"Shchedrin reflects the most terrible aspects of the life of Russian society. In his work, the writer does not directly talk about the problematic situation in our country. Despite the name behind the image of the people of the city of Foolov, where the life of the main characters passes, a whole country is hidden, namely Russia.

Thus, Saltykov-Shchedrin opens up new techniques and methods satirical image in literature.

Ideals S.-Shch... - educational ideals that were inscribed on the banners of the bourgeois revolution (freedom, equality, brotherhood). Like no other S.-Sch. saw the phenomena of Russian life. Itself human understanding was two-fold: on the one hand, a person for him is a product social relations(much in a person depends on the living conditions in which he is formed; the writer's psychologism is social), on the other hand, a person is an image and likeness of God (the spiritual secret of a person makes S.-Sch. use such categories as shame and conscience, they inherent in a person (these are non-social categories.) This determined that, denouncing vices, he appealed to shame and conscience.

V artistic structure texts С-Щ you can often find a combination of artistry and journalism (journalism is a direct author's conversation with the reader). Combination - basic reception S-U, which differs from other writers of the second half of the 19th century.

The novel "The Story of a City" shows the author's sharp negative attitude in the current situation in society, expressed in an evil mockery. "The history of one city"- a satirical work, where the main artistic means in depicting the history of one city of Foolov, its inhabitants and mayors is the grotesque method of combining the fantastic and the real, creating comic situations. By using a grotesque with one sides С-Щ shows the reader daily life each person, and on the other a blind absurd fantastic situation, the main characters of which are the inhabitants of the city of Foolov. However, the novel "The Story of a City" -realistic work Saltykov-Shchedrin used grotesque to show ugly reality modern life... In describing the mayors, the author also used the grotesque. NPR: giving a characterization to one of the town governors - Organchik, the author shows qualities that are not characteristic of a person. The organ had a mechanism in its head and knew only two words - "I will not tolerate" and "I will ruin".

When reading the work of Saltykov-Shchedrin "The History of a City", in contrast to others satirical works, the reader himself must understand what kind of reality is hidden behind the semi-fantastic world that is shown in the novel. The use by the writer in his works of such a technique of satirical depiction as "Aesop's language" confirms that behind the secret that the author wants to hide, his true thoughts are concealed. Almost entirely built on allegory novel S-U"The history of one city". NPR: under the town of Foolov there is an image of the whole of Russia. Then, therefore, the question arises: "Who are the Foolovites?" - commoners provincial town Foolov. No. As hard as it is to admit, the Foolovites are Russians.

In the work "The History of a City", in addition to the above allegories, there is more specific evidence: Benevolensky-Speransky. Gloom-Grumblev-Arakcheev, the image of Paul I lurks in the image of Negodyaev. So "Aesop's language" helps to understand the deep image of reality, which means it is better to understand life itself.

In the work "The History of a City", when describing the mayors, and throughout the entire novel, the author shows an exaggeration of certain properties. This is called another way to depict satire with hyperbole.

The fact that one of the mayors ended up with a stuffed head is an exaggeration of the author. The writer uses hyperbole in the novel to give the reader an emotional mood.

Exposing vices and showing absurdity real life... Saltykov-Shchedrin conveys to the reader a special "evil irony" in relation to his characters. All my creative activity the writer devoted to the fight against the shortcomings and vices of Russia.

Fairy tale « Wild landowner» (1869) begins as common fairy tale: "In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there was a landowner ..." But then an element of modern life enters the tale: "And there was that stupid landowner, he read the newspaper Vesti, a reactionary serf newspaper, and the landowner's stupidity is determined by his worldview. The abolition of serfdom aroused anger towards the peasants among the landlords. According to the plot of the tale, the landowner turned to God to take the peasants from him. The writer depicts the stupidity of the landlords, oppressing their own peasants, at the expense of which they lived. There were no peasants in the entire space of the possessions of the stupid landowner. The peasants themselves were the first to call the landowner stupid: "... although their landowner is stupid, he was given great intelligence." Irony resounds in these words. Further, three times the landowner is called stupid (three-fold repetition method) by representatives of other estates: the actor Sadovsky with the "actors", invited to the estate: “However, brother, you are a stupid landowner! Who gives you, stupid, to wash? "; generals, whom he treated with printed gingerbread and candy instead of "beef": "However, brother, you stupid landowner!"; and, finally, the police captain: "You stupid landlord!" When the peasants were returned to the landowner, “at the same time flour, meat, and all kinds of livestock appeared in the bazaar, and so many taxes were received in one day that the treasurer, seeing such a pile of money, only threw up his hands in surprise and cried out:

The meaning of satirical tales is that in a small work, the writer was able to combine the lyrical, epic and satirical beginning and extremely sharply express their point of view on the vices of the class of those in power and on the most important problem of the era - the problem of the fate of the Russian people.

Genre specificity of Dostoevsky's novels (polyphonism, dialogue-gism, detective plot, philosophical and religious overtones, etc.). Problems and poetics of the novel "Crime and Punishment". Methods for studying an epic work.

D.'s novels were a new form, the new kind novel creativity. All heroes reflect his spiritual experience - the metaphysical secret of human life.

D. came to the conclusion that without faith in God, a person's life loses its meaning:

1. All morality comes out of religion. Religion is a form of morality, but at the same time, the entire earthly world is an invisible struggle between God and the Devil, this the fight is on and in the soul of a person.

2. Man was created in the image and likeness of God. By D, this is the gift of freedom. Sometimes this gift is unbearable for a person because it is weak and not perfect, and only faith in Christ can strengthen it in earthly life, which, according to D., combines God and man in itself.

3. God is also present inside the bang. and the devil. beginning, therefore no social. systems, it is impossible to create an ideal state by any means. The human soul must change and then the world will change. The perfection of the soul is possible only through suffering and compassion.

3 levels of love according to D.:

1. the highest level - deities. level, this is God, because God is love. Only through love can you comprehend God

2. love-sympathy (lower) - to save one person, feel the sadness and pain of other people and respond to them.

3. Love-compassion - when the suffering and pain of your neighbor becomes your suffering and pain. Only a person who carries the face of Christ is capable of this (NPR: Alyosha Karamazov, Prince Myshkin).

The question of the immortality of the human soul-this is main question cat. Dostoevsky raises in novels, and there is no answer to it.

D.'s work is anthropological.

D. himself said "my name is a psychologist, it is not true, I am only a realist in the highest sense of the word."

D. is interested in the spiritual order.

All the realities depicted by D-im in the novels become spiritual symbols (color, setting, threshold, staircase, etc.). The truth of Christ appears invisibly in all novels.

D. created a special genre of the novel- religious-philosophical, polyphonic, ideological, tragedy novel.

Ch. Dostoevsky's hero- idea.

Heroes of the novel- heroes are ideologists (heroes were the bearers of the idea).

Polyphonic novel. This means that D.'s characters are extremely independent of the author. The author's voice does not sound in novels. Bakhtin likens the piano to the author's piano to the conductor (it is as if you cannot hear him, but without him everything will crumble). He named the world of novels D. a world of great dialogue, meaning by dialogue not communicative communication, but the aspiration of one consciousness to another. consciousness.

In the novels, different life positions collide and argue.

Problems and poetics of the novel "Crime and Punishment"

All the artistic features and poetics of the novel "Crime and Punishment" serve as a means of revealing the special spirituality of Dostoevsky. Working on the work, the writer mainly sought to trace “ psychological process crimes ".

The language and style of the novel "Crime and Punishment" is distinguished by its naturalness and spontaneity.

Dostoevsky with great skill showed the bifurcation of the protagonist of the novel, using various stylistic devices for this purpose: the discontinuity of Raskolnikov's speech, the disharmony of his syntax, and most importantly, the contrast between the external and internal forms of the hero's speech.

Important for Dostoevsky is the hero's costume or any detail in it that reflects the character of the NPR character: Luzhin's attire (a dandy suit, gorgeous gloves, etc.) gives him a desire to look younger and make a favorable impression on others; a portrait of an old woman-pawnbroker, the expressiveness of which was created with the help of diminutive words: “It was a tiny, dry old woman, about sixty years old, with keen and evil eyes, with a small, pointed nose and simple hair. Her blond, slightly gray hair was greased with oil ... The old woman was constantly coughing and groaning. "

The portrait serves to reveal the idea of ​​a particular hero... So, portraying Svidrigailov, Dostoevsky used one, at first glance, unimportant detail: his eyes looked "coldly, intently and thoughtfully." But thanks to this detail, one can imagine the whole of Svidrigailov, for whom everything is indifferent and for whom everything is allowed. Eyes are playing important role in the portrait of all actors novel, from them you can find out the idea of ​​\ u200b \ u200bthe heroes, reveal their secret. Dunya's eyes are “almost black, sparkling, proud and at the same time, sometimes, for minutes, unusually kind”; Raskolnikov has "wonderful dark eyes", Sonya has "wonderful blue eyes."

At the center of the story- the struggle of ideas, the struggle between good and evil, which determines the plot of the novel. The author does not give direct characteristics to either his hero or the situation in which he finds himself. It enables the reader to figure it out for himself. That is why Dostoevsky strove for detailed reproduction inner life your hero.

An important means of internal self-disclosure of the characters in the novel are dialogues and monologues... Monologues are a form of a hero's argument with himself, and dialogues have a peculiar form. They can be characterized as monological, since they represent the hero's argument with himself, and not with the interlocutor.

Time in the novel can stop (as, for example, in the scene of the murder of an old woman) or fly with feverish speed, and then in the consciousness of the hero, faces, objects, events flicker, as in a kaleidoscope.

Another feature of the novel- lack of consistency, consistency in the transmission of feelings, experiences of the heroes, which is also determined by their state of mind... Often the author resorts to "visions", including hallucinations, nightmares (the dreams of Raskolnikov, Svidrigailov). All this aggravates the drama of the events taking place, makes the style of the novel hyperbolic.

central problem- the problem of a false idea and its influence on a person.

The murder of an old woman pawnbroker is an ideological experiment. Raskolnikov's idea- this is the idea of ​​"blood by conscience" This idea was born in the mind of the hero through painful reflections about who or what decides the fate of the world.

Raskolnikov came to the conclusion that history is created by individuals, but individuals of a special order of the NDP: Napoleon, who determined the movement of history. These people, according to Raskolnikov, having lofty goals have the right to step over any rules, they themselves establish the measure of good and evil, and if for the sake of their goal it is necessary to step over blood, then they have the right (Raskolnikov called them supermen).

To prove to himself that he is. Superhumans. , he goes to the crime. His conscience is calm (he convinces himself of this), he does everything according to his conscience (the old woman tortures her sister, she is rich, etc.). He says "I'm not a man, I killed a louse"

His whole nature resists crime, and idea makes him go to this crime.

After he cannot live peacefully, he goes to sleep. In a dialogue with her, he tries to find confirmation that he acted according to his conscience, his correctness ideas.

Sonya's words "who made me judge - who should live, who will not live" define the essence of the novel - no lofty goal can be achieved through bloodshed.

Raskolnikov's doubles - Sonya, Svidrigailov. Sonya embodies the best that is in R., Svidrigailov - idea R. Leads to logic. The end.

Confessing to a crime. R. Does not repent. Awareness of the attack comes to him in hard labor. R. dreams of the end of the world.

“In order to prevent such important subject all sorts of
disagreements, it would be most natural to decide
that only those sciences spread light that contribute to
fulfillment of commanding orders ... "

Saltykov-Shchedrin M.E., Diary of a Provincial in St. Petersburg.

Russian writer-satirist, publicist.

Received home education... He was admitted to the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum at the state expense.

"A silent, frowning boy entered the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, where he once studied Pushkin... It soon turned out that he was writing poetry. The boss and teachers were alarmed. The exposed poet was punished. But he did not repent and continued to poetry, hiding his poems now in his sleeve, now in his boot. They were triumphantly removed from there and again sentenced to a well-deserved punishment. His name was Mikhail Saltykov. Subsequently, already a great writer, he more than once recalled how zealously this vaunted school extinguished his poetic gift in him. From the autobiography of Saltykov, we know that for his "poetry", and "equally for reading books" he was especially persecuted by the teacher of the Russian language, the one who most of all should have enjoyed the literary gravitations of the gifted boy. At that time, the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum boasted of its loyalty to the "traditions of Pushkin" poetry as an unacceptable vice, what can I say about schools of the ordinary level, but claiming a "literary bias"! There were many gifted children then, but in the conditions in which they were then, only a miracle could save their talents from death. "

Chukovsky K.I., From two to five, M., " Soviet writer", 1960, p. 323-324.

In punishment for the "freethinking" expressed in his first publications, in 1848 M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin was expelled from St. Petersburg to Vyatka and appointed a clerical officer under the Vyatka provincial government. Later he served as vice-governor in Ryazan and Tver.

Masarsky M.V .:"When Alexander II appointed by his decree Saltykov-Shchedrin for the post of vice-governor of Tverskoy, he said the words: "Let him go and do as he writes."
Did Saltykov-Shchedrin succeed, having become power, to introduce liberalism in a single district, as he later liked to say?
Here are his liberal actions: he ordered all officials to work with early morning until dark evening. And they, taking off their shoes to keep their shoes, in the early morning wandered along the unpaved and unlit streets of the provincial city of Tver, and then sat until nightfall.
A certain Moscow magazine wrote about this. What is the former metropolitan journalist Saltykov-Shchedrin doing? He goes, finds out the name of the correspondent from Tver, sends a gendarme to him, and you know how he wrote Herzen, in Russia the visit of a gendarme is like a brick falling on his head. Having learned the address of the correspondent, Saltykov-Shchedrin comes to him and apologizes.
That's all his exploits in the administrative field, he left there, because he was an artist of genius, and he was useless in power. "

Discussion: “The Artist and Time. Artist and Power ”, in Sat: Free Word: Intellectual Chronicle. Almanac-2001, M., "Progress-Tradition", 2003, p. 119.

“Just as in a country moving from a lower phase of society to a higher one, there is a demand for talented, convinced and energetic people, who usually come to the call, so in a country dreaming of the bliss of immobility, there is a demand for limited people, who also watch out for responsiveness without slowing down. And as soon as there is a demand, it means that there is a need for such people, but the need, in turn, brings with it strength, authority, honor. "

Saltykov-Shchedrin M.E., Smug modernity / Complete collection works in 20 volumes, Volume 19, M.-L., " Fiction", 1933-1941, p. 441.

M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin “… I was skeptical about the omnipotence of talent, especially if talented people were too imbued with self-confidence and thought to ride on talent alone, without labor and knowledge. Recognizing their talent, he, however, quite often sarcastically over them when presented with some reason, saying: “These are genius natures that mere mortals cannot even understand. I don’t understand either, because I’m not a genius writer, - and he added with pride, - but I am a worker ”. If he worked for the magazine from month to month, if he didn’t like to let his works stagnate, then this did not prevent him from carefully considering them, rewriting and rewriting manuscripts several times. He was really a wonderful worker. Here is what he himself says in one sketch found in his papers: “I have never been able to boast of either good health or physical strength, but since 1875 almost not a single day has passed in which I could say that I feel pretty good. ".

Krivenko S.N., M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: his life and literary activity / Dostoevsky. Ostrovsky. Saltykov-Shchedrin. Leo Tolstoy: Biographical sketches (reprint of books from the biographical library of FF Pavlenkov), St. Petersburg, "LIO Editor", 1996, p. 235.

The great Russian satirist Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin was born into the family of a landowner-serf owner in the village of Spas-Ugol, Tver province ( Kalinin region). According to the writer himself, he was "raised by serf mothers", "taught to read and write by a serf." "I saw all the horrors of age-old bondage ... in their nakedness."

Already at this time, an observant and sensitive teenager awakens a protest against the cruelty and inhumanity that flourished in autocratic serf Russia.

Saltykov studied first in Moscow, and then in St. Petersburg, at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, where the tsarist officials were trained. At the Lyceum, he met the future revolutionary and socialist MV Petrashevsky, who later became his "unforgettable friend and teacher."

In his first works, Saltykov spoke out against social inequality. To the hero of his story "Confused Business" (1848) social order Russia was presented in the form of a huge pyramid of people, at the very base of which the poor, crushed by the unbearable hardships of life.

Nicholas I found in the story “a desire to spread revolutionary ideas that had already shaken the entire Western Europe". In 1848 he exiled the young writer to Vyatka. Only after the death of the tsar, in 1855, Saltykov was able to return to St. Petersburg.

In 1857, a new book by Saltykov was published - "Provincial Essays" under the pseudonym - Shchedrin. "Provincial Essays", directed against the oppression of the landlords and bureaucratic arbitrariness, read all literate. The book showed that the years of exile did not break the will of the writer. In this book, he created satirical images of nobles, merchants, officials. Shchedrin combined a burning mockery of the oppressors with pain for the suffering of the people. The author of "Provincial Essays" Chernyshevsky called the writer "mournful and indignant."

In the 60s, the great satirist decisively opposed the autocracy in his famous book "The History of a City" (1869 - 1870), in which he sought to destroy the people's faith in the "good tsar". Fictional provincial town Foolish is like royal Russia in miniature.

In Foolov's mayors, the satirist showed specific traits Russian autocratic power: robbery and lawlessness, covered by the law; hostile attitude towards progress, education, freedom. At the same time, Saltykov-Shchedrin boldly used invention, exaggeration, and fantasy. For example, he endowed the mayor of Brudasty with a head, which was removed like a hat, and inside had a "organ" that shouted the words: "I will not tolerate!", "I will ruin!" These words were enough for Brudast to control Foolov. Everything human is alien to Brudasti, because he himself is not a man, but a machine. Under him in Foolov "they grab and catch, flog and whip, describe and sell." This happened in Russia, both before the reform of 1861 and after it.

The autocracy's hostility to historical progress and the well-being of the people was most vividly expressed by Shchedrin in the hyperbolic image of the mayor Gloom-Burcheev. This stupid ruler wanted to turn Foolov into a large barracks, the Foolovites into slaves: they had to get up, go to bed at the signal, go to work in the ranks, plow and harrow on command. There were no holidays. Joy, song, fun was not supposed to. "Why?" the gloomy despot asked.

In an effort to awaken the reader's contempt for the autocratic system, the writer showed Foolov's rulers not only cruel, but also funny. Already the names of the mayors indicate their insignificance: Pimple, Wartkin.

In The History of a City, Shchedrin painted a terrifying picture of the people's lack of rights, grief and poverty.

"He walked in front, sweeping away everything that did not have time to get out of the way." Illustration by L. Roiter for the novel by ME Saltykov - Shchedrin "The History of a City".

The writer was well aware that the autocratic system is based on the bourgeoisie and landowners. In "Well-intentioned speeches" (1872 - 1876), "Refuge of Mon Repos" (1878 - 1879), the satirist created the types of bourgeois predators: Derunov, Kolupaev, Razuvaev. They acquire wealth by fraud, crime. All this, however, does not prevent them from being the mainstay of the autocracy in the eyes of the authorities.

Through the eyes of a Russian leader, Saltykov-Shchedrin sees European society. In his book Abroad (1880 - 1881), bourgeois Germany passes before the reader with an arrogant military clique, an impudent preaching of contempt for other peoples; France - with a talking shop.

Man called classic satirical characterization bourgeois France in Shchedrin: "Shchedrin once classically ridiculed France, which shot the Communards, France, the bankers creeping before the Russian tyrants, as a republic without republicans."

All his life Shchedrin fought against the landlord system. Among the works of the great satirist, exposing the lordly selfishness, greed and heartlessness of the landowners-nobles, their arrogant cruel attitude towards the people, the novels "Lord Golovlevs" (1875 - 1880) and "Poshekhonskaya antiquity" (1887 - 1889) occupy a special place.

With a special psychological depth, the writer reveals the process of degeneration of the nobility and the disintegration of a noble family in the novel "The Lord Golovlevs". It reflected the pre-reform and post-reform eras. Three generations of the Golovlev family pass before the reader - people unfit for work, mentally devastated, ending some with drunkenness, others with suicide. The Golovlevs are primarily owners. They hate and fear each other. Goes unceasing family war... Here they do not spare either the sick, the weak or the dying.

"Porfiry Vladimirovich takes a sheet of paper, arms himself with abacus, and the knuckles just jump under his nimble hands." Illustration by V. Milashevsky for the novel by M. Ye. Saltykov-Shchedrin "The Lord of the Levs".

In the image of Judushka, Saltykov-Shchedrin especially fully and deeply revealed the socio-psychological process of the destruction of the personality of the landowner-owner. Judas is a hypocrite, he does not live, but plays the role of either a loving son, or a gentle father, or a caring brother and always an honest and disinterested person. In reality, for him there is nothing sacred, dear. He steals from his mother, mocks his dying brother, drives one son to suicide, another to exile, and refuses the third. A brilliant master of psychological analysis, Shchedrin shows the growing spiritual devastation of Judas, which leads him to a late and fruitless, and therefore especially painful repentance. Judas' emptiness, his hypocrisy are revealed in the novel and in the magnificent workmanship speech characteristic hero: Judas is unusually verbose, sweet-tongued. “With words, he can rot a person,” the elder says of Judas. The image of Judas has world significance because it embodies the hypocrisy and cruelty not only of the Russian landowner, but also of the owner in general.

In the 1980s, when tsarism began to persecute progressive literature with particular cruelty, the democratic journal “ Domestic notes". It was necessary to find new forms of communication with the general reader and bypass censorship. Shchedrin turns to a satirical tale. He used individual images and techniques of a folk tale (the image of the Wolf as a nobleman, Leo as a king; the technique of threefold repetition), but his tale was not an imitation. Satire in it acquired a political character. Shchedrin denounces the tsar in the form of an evil and stupid Eagle, who is unable to overcome even the alphabet ("Eagle-patron"). No better than a king and pillars royal power: Minister Donkey, stupid governor Medved ("The Bear in the Voivodeship"). The satirist branded the robber landowner and predator-bourgeois in the image of the bloodthirsty Wolf ("Poor Wolf"). The writer conveyed the tragedy of the masses in the fairy tale "Horse". Shchedrin's tales amaze the writer in a small work of expressing important ideas and observation.

In the 1980s, Shchedrin wrote the novel Modern Idyll, in which he ridiculed and exposed all kinds of villains in the service of tsarism, those who carried out political oppression in the country, the cowardice of the liberal intelligentsia, and the venality of the press. In the book "Little Things in Life" (1886), the writer showed the tragedy of the life of "little", ordinary people. Creative way Shchedrin ended with a wonderful autobiographical novel"Poshekhonskaya antiquity" (1887 - 1889), in which he painted terrible pictures of serf life.

The artistic genius of Saltykov-Shchedrin is multifaceted, but he reached the highest peaks precisely in satire. In the exaggerated images of his satyrs, he managed to convey the inhumanity, stupidity and historical doom of the ruling classes. The fantastic in Shchedrin is an artistic device, it is always based on real facts. When Shchedrin, for example, told how the mayor, Brudasty, drank blood from sleepy inhabitants at night, the reader understood that he was talking about a bloodsucker-autocrat.

Shchedrin is inexhaustible and inventive in the means of denouncing and mocking the oppressors of the people. He gives his characters comic surnames (Dyba, Udav, Intercept-Zalivatsky, Tolstolobov), nicknames and nicknames (he calls the corrupt newspaper "What do you want?" He is a brilliant master of parody; tsarist laws, decrees, government newspapers become the object of his parodies. In the fight against censorship, Shchedrin developed an allegorical manner of narration, the so-called Aesopian speech, saturated with hints, words, the meaning of which was easily deciphered by the reader.

Use of genres folk art It was characteristic feature creativity of many Russian writers. They were approached by A. S. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov, N. V. Gogol, and N. A. Nekrasov. ME Saltykov-Shchedrin took as the basis of one of his best satirical cycles a fairy tale, perhaps the most beloved genre of the people. The weapon of M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin has always been satire. At the final stage of his work, in the period from 1883 to 1886, he decides to summarize his reflections on Russian reality. At that time, due to the existing strict censorship the author could not fully expose the vices of society, show the entire inconsistency of the Russian administrative apparatus. And yet with the help of fairy tales “for children fair age“Saltykov-Shchedrin was able to convey to people a sharp criticism of the existing order. The censorship missed the tales of the great satirist, failing to understand their purpose, denouncing the power, the challenge to the existing order.
The tales of M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin are sharply individual and unlike any others. Many researchers noted that the elements of tradition in them were carefully reworked, and therefore, having absorbed the elements of folk and literary fairy tales, they became the most original work, which embodied the mastery of satirical techniques characteristic of the entire work of the writer.
To write fairy tales, the author used the following literary devices as grotesque, hyperbole, antithesis. The Aesopian language was also important. Trying to hide from censorship true meaning written, the writer was forced to use a variety of techniques.
We will try to consider the features of the genre of the writer's fairy tale using the example of several of his works. In The Wild Landowner, the author shows what a rich gentleman can sink to when he finds himself without servants. Hyperbole is used in this tale. Seeming at first cultured person, landowner, turns into a wild animal that feeds on fly agaric. In the fairy tale “The Tale of How One Man Fed Two Generals,” the author uses both hyperbole and grotesque. The reader sees the peasant's resignation, his obedience, unquestioning obedience to the two generals. He even binds himself to a chain, which once again indicates the enslavement of the Russian peasant. Allegorical tale " Wise minnow”. We see the life of an ordinary person who is afraid of everything in the world. The “wise gudgeon” is constantly locked up, afraid to go out into the street once again, to talk to someone, to get to know someone. He leads a closed, boring life. Just before dying, the gudgeon thinks about the life he has lived: “Whom did he help? Whom did he regret that he did any good in his life? - Lived - trembled and died - trembled. So the average person at some point realizes that no one needs him, no one knows him and will not remember him.
ME Saltykov-Shchedrin constantly strives to improve his allegorical manner, tries to make his works as accessible to the reader as possible. Therefore, he often resorts to those artistic techniques which are characteristic of folk tales... You can find traditional fabulous beginnings in him, such as "Once upon a time ...", characteristic sayings, for example, "on pike command, according to my desire ”. The style of the images is also characteristic. The masters of life in M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin are represented in the images of predators: bears, eagles, wolves.
You don't have to add anything - the author's attitude to these characters is understandable. However, as far as the choice of comparisons with animals is concerned, the writer also relies on the tradition of Russian fables. Hidden social significance The image can be emphasized, reinforced by a direct hint from the author: speaking about how Toptygin eats a siskin, the writer specifies: "... it's all the same as if someone brought a tiny schoolboy to suicide." The animals acting in fairy tales often turn out to be firmly inscribed in the real Russian life... For example, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin's hares study statistical tables published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In the very tone of the narrative, the deepest author's irony shines through, which does not spare either the oppressors or their victims. Let us recall, for example, a peasant who “in the most impudent manner dodged work,” but when it was required, he twisted a rope for himself.
ME Saltykov-Shchedrin is bitter and painful for the Russian man. He sees his lack of rights, but can only marvel at the age-old patience. He sympathizes with the intelligentsia, but understands that it is far from true ways fight. He makes fun of the man in the street, speaks with anger about officials. Fantasy and reality in his works are closely related, but in general, the cycle "Fairy Tales" gives us a complete and accurate picture contemporary writer reality. But the author considered it not a simple description as his task. Its true goal is to find a way to the hearts of readers, make them think about what is happening around and, perhaps, find in the book answers to many questions that life posed. And it seems to me that for such purposes the genre of a fairy tale suits better than many others.

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Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin - the creator of a special literary genre - satirical tale... In short stories, the Russian writer denounced bureaucracy, autocracy, liberalism. This article examines such works of Saltykov-Shchedrin, such as "The Wild Landowner", "The Eagle-Patron", "The Wise Gudgeon", "Crucian-idealist".

Features of the tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin

Allegory, grotesque, and hyperbole can be found in the tales of this writer. There are features characteristic of the Aesopian narrative. The communication between the characters reflects the relationship that prevailed in society XIX century. What satirical techniques did the writer use? In order to answer this question, it is necessary to briefly tell about the life of the author, who so mercilessly exposed the inert world of landowners.

about the author

Saltykov-Shchedrin combined literary activity with public service... Was born future writer in the Tver province, but after graduating from the Lyceum he left for St. Petersburg, where he received a position in the War Ministry. Already in the first years of work in the capital, the young official began to languish with bureaucracy, lies, and boredom that reigned in institutions. With great pleasure Saltykov-Shchedrin visited various literary evenings, which were dominated by anti-serfdom sentiments. He informed the people of St. Petersburg about his views in the novellas "Confused Business", "Contradiction". For which he was exiled to Vyatka.

Life in the provinces made it possible for the writer to observe in every detail bureaucratic world, the life of the landowners and the peasants oppressed by them. This experience became the material for the works written later, as well as the formation of special satirical techniques. One of the contemporaries of Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin once said about him: "He knows Russia like no one else."

Satirical techniques of Saltykov-Shchedrin

His work is quite diverse. But fairy tales are perhaps the most popular among the works of Saltykov-Shchedrin. There are several special satirical techniques with the help of which the writer tried to convey to the readers the inertness and deceit of the landlord's world. And above all, in a veiled form, the author reveals deep political and social problems, expresses his own point of view.

Another trick is to use fantastic motives... For example, in "The Tale of How One Man Fed Two Generals," they serve as a means of expressing dissatisfaction with the landlords. And finally, when naming Shchedrin's satirical devices, one cannot fail to mention symbolism. After all, the heroes of fairy tales often point to one of the social phenomena XIX century. So, the main character of the work "Horse" reflects all the pain of the Russian people, oppressed for centuries. Below is the analysis individual works Saltykov-Shchedrin. What satirical techniques are used in them?

"Crucian idealist"

In this tale, the views of the intelligentsia are expressed by Saltykov-Shchedrin. The satirical techniques that can be found in the work "Carp the idealist" are symbolism, the use of folk sayings and proverbs. Each of the heroes is a collective image of representatives of a particular social class.

In the center of the plot of the tale is the discussion between Karas and Ruff. The first, which is already understood from the title of the work, tends to an idealistic worldview, belief in the best. Ruff is, on the contrary, a skeptic, sneering at the theories of his opponent. There is a third character in the tale - Pike. This unsafe fish symbolizes in the work of Saltykov-Shchedrin the mighty of the world this. Pikes are known to feed on crucian carp. The last one driven best feelings, goes to the predator. Karas does not believe in the cruel law of nature (or an established hierarchy in society for centuries). He hopes to bring Pike to reason with stories about possible equality, universal happiness, virtue. And therefore dies. Pike, as the author notes, the word "virtue" is not familiar.

Satirical techniques are used here not only to expose the harshness of representatives of certain strata of society. With the help of them, the author tries to convey the futility of the moralistic disputes that were widespread among the intelligentsia of the 19th century.

"Wild landowner"

The theme of serfdom is given a lot of place in the work of Saltykov-Shchedrin. He had something to tell readers about this. However, writing a journalistic article about the relationship of landowners to peasants or publishing artwork in the genre of realism on this topic was fraught with unpleasant consequences for the writer. Therefore, I had to resort to allegories, light humorous stories... In "Wild Landowner" we are talking about a typical Russian usurper, not distinguished by education and worldly wisdom.

He hates "men" and dreams of limiting them. At the same time, the stupid landowner does not understand that without the peasants he will perish. After all, he does not want to do anything, and he does not know how. One might think that the prototype of the hero of the fairy tale is a certain landowner whom, perhaps, the writer met in real life. But no. We are not talking about any particular gentleman. And about the social stratum as a whole.

In full, without allegories, Saltykov-Shchedrin disclosed this theme in "Gentlemen Golovlevs". The heroes of the novel - representatives of a provincial landowner family - perish one after another. The reason for their death is stupidity, ignorance, laziness. The character of the fairy tale "The Wild Landowner" will face the same fate. After all, he got rid of the peasants, which at first was glad, but now he was not ready for life without them.

"Eagle patron"

The heroes of this tale are eagles and crows. The former symbolize the landlords. The second are peasants. The writer again resorts to the method of allegory, with the help of which he makes fun of the vices of the powerful. The tale also includes the Nightingale, Magpie, Owl and Woodpecker. Each of the birds is an allegory for a type of people or social class. The characters in the "Eagle the patron" are more human than, for example, the heroes of the fairy tale "Carp the idealist". So, the Woodpecker, who has a habit of reasoning, in the end bird history does not fall prey to a predator, but goes to jail.

"Wise gudgeon"

As in the works described above, in this tale the author raises questions that are relevant for that time. And here it becomes clear from the very first lines. But the satirical techniques of Saltykov-Shchedrin are the use of artistic means for critical image vices not only social, but also universal. The narration in "The Wise Gudgeon" is conducted by the author in a typical fairytale style: "Once upon a time ...". The author is characterized as follows: “enlightened, moderately liberal”.

Cowardice and passivity are ridiculed in this tale Great master satire. After all, it was precisely these vices that were characteristic of the majority of the intelligentsia in the eighties of the XIX century. The gudgeon never leaves his refuge. He lives a long life avoiding dangerous inhabitants. water world... But only before his death he realizes how much he missed in his long and worthless life.