About the product
The story “Scarecrow” by Zheleznikov was written in 1981. The work is emotional and tells the story of a persistent and courageous girl who is forced to confront her classmates who have boycotted her. The story is based on real events that happened to the writer's niece.
The story reflects the drama of children's relationships and shows how insensitive and cruel teenagers can be.
We recommend reading online a summary of “Scarecrow” chapter by chapter. The retelling will be useful for the reading diary and preparation for the literature lesson.
The material was prepared jointly with a teacher of the highest category, Kuchmina Nadezhda Vladimirovna.
Experience as a teacher of Russian language and literature - 27 years.
Summary of Zheleznikov Scarecrow
The story “Scarecrow,” written by Vladimir Zheleznikov, tells the story of a Soviet schoolgirl Lena. The girl came to visit her grandfather Nikolai Nikolaevich, who was considered an eccentric in the city. The man spent all his savings on buying paintings. These paintings were created by a serf artist - a distant relative of Nikolai Nikolaevich. Due to the constant lack of money, the old man wears shabby clothes, which causes constant ridicule.
Lena is assigned to go to school. The class the girl was in was not friendly. The class teacher, Margarita Ivanovna, was getting ready to get married and did not notice the events taking place in the class. What stood out in the team was a girl nicknamed Iron Button for her strong will and the most beautiful student in the class. The friends managed to unite the guys around them. Despite her friendliness, Lena did not fit in in the class. She was often offended because of Nikolai Nikolaevich’s poverty. Classmates even started calling him Scarecrow.
The guys had a dream to go on an excursion to Moscow during the autumn holidays. To achieve this, her classmates began to earn extra money, and put their pay into a common piggy bank. The amount of money needed for the trip has been collected, so the teenagers decide to celebrate this event by going to the cinema, running away from class. When mass absenteeism begins, Margarita Ivanovna cancels the excursion to Moscow. Suspicion falls on Lena that it was she who told the teacher about the movie. The girl knew who was to blame for the fact that the truth about escaping from class was revealed. This was the boy Lena liked. But the loving and proud girl cannot tell the truth to her classmates. She lives with the hope that Dima himself will admit to this act. But the cowardly boy does not confess and, together with the guys, begins to poison Lena.
Classmates boycotted the girl and began to mock her. They chased Lena through the city streets like an animal, scaring her with a bear's head through the window of the house. It even got to the point where evil classmates stole the girl’s dress, put it on a garden scarecrow and set it on fire. The instigator of all this disgrace was the Iron Button, who wants to punish everyone who, in her opinion, acts badly. And her beautiful friend tried to turn the whole situation around so as to gather more fans around her.
Humiliated Lena, after so much bullying, was able to gather her strength and punish her offenders. Dressed up in a half-burnt dress taken from a stuffed animal and shaved bald, the girl came to the birthday party of the same boy who told the class teacher about going to the cinema, and told her classmates everything she thought about them. The guys, having received reliable information about who was responsible for the trip disruption, announced a boycott of Dimka.
Having learned about what happened to Lena, the grandfather gives away his collection of paintings to the city free of charge and gives the school a portrait of a girl very similar to his granddaughter. All classmates are confused and feel guilty before Lena.
The story teaches readers to be more patient and supportive of people who are different from everyone else.
You can use this text for a reader's diary
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Other characters
- Margarita Ivanovna is a young teacher, class teacher of 6-A, kind, fair, but obsessed with her personal life.
- Mironova (Iron Button) is a principled girl, embittered at the whole world, with powerful leadership abilities.
- Shmakova is the main beauty in the class, a mean and cunning girl.
- Valya is a ruthless, selfish boy who catches stray dogs and sells them to a slaughterhouse for money.
- Shaggy is the main strongman in the class, the son of a forester.
- Red is a boy who plays the role of a jester in the class.
- Vasiliev is a principled and decent, but at the same time weak-willed classmate of Lena.
Summary
Chapter 1
Lena quickly rushed through the narrow streets of the old town, “not noticing anything on her way.” The girl was in deep despair from what her classmates did to her.
Chapter 2
Lena's grandfather is Nikolai Nikolaevich Bessoltsev, an unsociable, reserved person. After many years of wandering, he returned to his hometown and settled in a log house, blackened by time, which had belonged to the Bessoltsev family for more than a hundred years. Local residents treated “Nikolai Nikolaevich with wary attention”: he was always looking for some rare paintings, and if he found them, he spent a lot of money on them. The children teased him as the Patcher because of the large patches on the sleeves of his old coat.
One day, old man Bessoltsev was noticed “accompanied by a girl of about twelve,” his granddaughter, an angular, long-legged teenager with a friendly smile on her face.
Chapter 3
Lena started school and at first she felt great, but in November everything changed. She asked her grandfather for money for a ticket to return to her parents. Upon hearing his refusal, she threatened to secretly sell one of his paintings, for which she received a slap in the face. She started to run, and Nikolai Nikolaevich went after her.
Chapter 4
Meanwhile, sixth-grader Valka met with his comrades, Shaggy and Red, to go together to Dima Somov’s birthday. Soon they were joined by the main beauty of the class, Shmakova, accompanied by Popov. All that remains is to wait for Mironov – the Iron Button. When the thin, bespectacled Vasiliev admitted to his classmates that he did not intend to go to the celebration with Somov, who was tired of him, Iron Button ordered Shaggy to beat him “for betraying his ideals.”
Noticing Lena from a distance, they began to tease her with the stuffed animal. Old Bessoltsev caught this scene, and the girl had to tell him “the whole truth, without cunning.”
Chapter 5
When Lena first came to class, the guys immediately began to tease her, calling her the Patcher’s granddaughter. However, the kind, naive girl believed that her classmates were simply “cheerful and love to joke,” and she laughed merrily with them, even when they came up with an offensive nickname for her – the Garden Scarecrow. Only one person stood up for her - Dima Somov, in whom Lena saw a real hero.
The whole class was very happy when class teacher Margarita Ivanovna announced a joint excursion to Moscow for the autumn holidays. The class decided to earn money for the trip on their own, and the guys worked part-time where they could, putting the money into a common piggy bank.
Chapter 6
On the last day before the holidays, the guys skipped class. Only Shmakova and Popov hid in the classroom, who witnessed the conversation between Margarita Ivanovna and Dima Somov. Under pressure from the teacher, the boy spoke about deliberate absenteeism. Bessoltseva also accidentally overheard this conversation. She had no doubt that her friend would confess everything to the guys, but he stubbornly remained silent.
Chapter 7
The next day, smartly dressed schoolchildren, in anticipation of the long-awaited trip, came to school, where they learned the news: the entire class was punished for disrupting the lesson, and no one was going anywhere. Lena hoped to the last that her hero Dima Somov would confess everything, but he stubbornly remained silent. Unable to withstand the tension, the girl took the blame upon herself. The class boycotted her.
Chapter 8
Buses with schoolchildren went to Moscow. Margarita Ivanovna, who was in a hurry to the capital for her own wedding, also left her sixth grade. Meanwhile, the class surrounded Lena, who fully understood what she had done: “it’s scary when you’re one against everyone, even if you’re right.” Embittered classmates attacked Lena and Dima, who barely had time to hide in the hairdresser.
Chapter 9
Lena decided to get her hair done at the hairdresser. Meanwhile, the Iron Button sent the guys to search for her. She believed that if “you don’t live by the truth, there’s a price to pay,” and no one should go unpunished. When Lena went outside, the guys began to humiliate and tease her in every possible way. They decided that Scarecrow should leave their city.
Chapter 10
Lena managed to break away from the chase. When it got dark, there was a knock on the window, and a terrible bear's head appeared in front of the girl. Nikolai Nikolaevich came running to his granddaughter’s cry and “teared off” the bear’s head - behind it was hidden “some pitiful and insignificant Dimka’s face.” Lena refused to believe this, believing that Dima was forced to commit such a vile act. But she was wrong: the guys were visiting Dima and drinking tea, discussing the persecution of Scarecrow.
Chapter 11
The next day Dima came to Lena to confess his cowardice and kiss her. This scene was witnessed by Valka, who stole Lena’s washed dress and ran away with it. Dima rushed after him to confess everything to the guys.
Valka had already managed to tell everyone about the kiss. Dima was tied up, but then Lena came to his rescue. The guys began to throw her dress around, and Lena “threw between them, trying to defeat them.” When someone threw the dress to Somov, he smiled in Lena’s face and threw the dress to another person. They put the dress on a garden scarecrow, and Dima set it on fire. Seeing this, Lena screamed loudly, grabbed the burning scarecrow and began to wave it. She was badly burned when she took off her burnt dress.
Chapter 12
When Lena entered the classroom for the first time after the holidays, she told everyone that she was going to leave this city forever. She started to pack her bags, but then changed her mind - she put on her burnt dress and ran away from home.
Chapter 13
Lena decided to prove to everyone that she “isn’t afraid of anything or anyone—she’s not even afraid of being a scarecrow.” She cut her hair bald, and in this form appeared in Somov’s house, where the entire company of her tormentors was located. Lena admitted everything, finally saying that she was sincerely sorry for each of them. When she left, the guys all quarreled and went their separate ways.
Chapter 14
The next morning, Lena woke up from a noise: “grandfather was boarding up his house.” Soon she “saw Dimka running,” who was being chased by her yesterday’s pursuers. They drove Somov into the classroom, where he jumped onto the windowsill, threatening to commit suicide. Mironova again proposed a boycott, and everyone supported her, with the exception of Lena, who did not want to participate in the general persecution.
Margarita Ivanovna came into the classroom and said that Nikolai Nikolaevich was leaving the city forever. Before leaving, he made a priceless gift to the local residents: his home and a unique collection of paintings. Soon Bessoltsev himself appeared, who presented the school with his favorite painting - a portrait of a beautiful girl Masha, who was very similar to Lena. At the sight of this picture, the children were overcome by “desperate longing for human purity, for selfless courage and nobility.” Red took the chalk and wrote on the board: “Forgive us, Scarecrow!”
“Scarecrow” by V. K. Zheleznikov Briefly
Almost 40 years ago in the country of the Soviets, Vladimir Zheleznikov’s story “Scarecrow”, shocking with its content, saw the light of day. The actions described by the author went against social stereotypes about the decency of young pioneers and told without embellishment how an ordinary class of schoolchildren mercilessly spread rot on a new girl.
A brief retelling of the plot of the story “Scarecrow”
A new girl appears at a regular school - Lena Bessoltseva. The class does not accept the girl well, she is considered eccentric, like her grandfather, who is known throughout the town. Nikolai Vasilyevich Bessoltsev devoted his life to collecting paintings, he spends everything he earned on them and lives like a poor man. He was nicknamed "The Patcher" for his shabby clothes.
The “strange” new girl is an open and friendly child, but she is dressed no better than her grandfather. Without a hint of embarrassment, her classmates call her “Scarecrow” and openly mock her. Almost all. Dima, the favorite of teachers and girls, unlike the others, likes Lena. A tender friendship blossoms between them.
But it all ends before it even begins. The class goes to the cinema instead of a lesson. Dima “splits” under the pressure of the class teacher and confesses where the students disappeared. Schoolchildren are punished by canceling a long-planned excursion to Moscow. The guys, trying to find out who betrayed the class, blame the scarecrow for their troubles. Lena accidentally overheard a conversation between the teacher and Dima, but remains silent. She hopes that her new friend will not offend her and honestly admits his betrayal. But Dima is not ready to lose his authority.
Lena has been boycotted. The bullying is becoming more unbearable every day. In the end, the truth is revealed and the cruel classmates feel guilty. They would be happy to fix everything, but it’s too late - the Bessoltsevs are leaving the city.
List and brief description of the heroes of Vladimir Zheleznikov’s story “Scarecrow”
The heroes of the story are students of the sixth grade “A” in an ordinary high school in the 80s. Each of them already has a character, each has their own opinion, views on the world around them and a unique destiny:
- Lena Bessoltseva is the main character of the story “Scarecrow”. An open-minded, trusting and kind girl. She's new in class. Lena tries to adapt to the team, but not being able to fully stand up for herself, she laughs at jokes about herself along with the offenders and thus loses the chance to earn the respect of the guys.
- Mironova or Iron Button is a girl leader with the character of a fighter. A principled, embittered, power-hungry heroine. She is constantly busy searching for justice, but her justice is more of a “personal opinion” than the truth. He lives by the motto: “I see the goal, I see no obstacles.”
- Dima Somov is the son of a wealthy family. Good looking, loved by teachers, girls' dream. Dima poses as a noble defender of the new girl for some time, but being a cowardly coward, he will quickly show himself in all his glory.
- Vasiliev is one of Lena’s classmates. He did not take part in the bullying of the girl, but he could not stand up for her due to his weak character.
- Shmakova is the main beauty in the class. Likes to surround himself with fans. In my soul I am empty and uninteresting.
- Popov is the “henpecked” and “slave” of the spoiled Shmakova, ready to do anything for her.
- Valya is a selfish and ruthless boy. He catches stray dogs and sells them to a slaughterhouse in exchange for money. He is not afraid of anything at the expense of his older brother. The main value is money.
- Marina is a girl from a single-parent family. Misses his father and has conflicts with his mother. He takes out his melancholy on the people around him.
In addition to children, the story also contains “adult” characters:
- Nikolai Nikolaevich Bessoltsev is the grandfather of the main character. Gentle in character, kind person. He is engaged in collecting paintings. For his worn things he was known in the city as “The Patcher.”
- Margarita Ivanovna Kuzmina is the class teacher at 6 “A”. A kind woman who prefers not to notice much.
- Aunt Klava is Marina’s mother. Hairdresser.
Brief summary of Vladimir Zheleznikov’s story “Scarecrow” by chapters
Chapter 1. Meet Lena
A sixth-grader girl runs through the streets of a provincial town home to her grandfather, she mentally turns to him, begging for an urgent move.
Chapter 2. Nikolai Nikolaevich Bessoltsev - a strange collector
The author talks about the Bessoltsev family. Nikolai Nikolaevich returns to his hometown, to his old house. He is respected, but not understood in this town. The hero is unsociable and is engaged in restoration and collecting paintings. One day he is spotted accompanied by a girl. He declares her his granddaughter Lena. In the fall, the girl goes to 6th grade.
Chapter 3. Quarrel between grandfather and granddaughter
The beginning of autumn brought only joy to Lena, but in November everything changed. She returned home in a bad mood and asked her grandfather for money for a ticket to return to her parents. The grandfather refused, then the girl threatened to steal and sell one of his paintings. For this she received a slap in the face and ran away without explaining the essence of the problem. Grandfather went after her.
Chapter 4. Dima Somov's birthday
All the guys are going to celebrate their birthday. Everyone except Vasiliev, for which he receives a good blow and broken glasses.
Lena, whom excited classmates meet on the road, gets even more. The girl is surrounded, teased as “Scarecrow” and demanded that she leave their city. Lena's grandfather finds this scene. He intervenes and says that it is not fair for a crowd to go against one. But Nikolai Nikolaevich faces a decisive rebuff - the Iron Button declares that he should be ashamed of his granddaughter. And why? Let her tell it herself.
The company leaves to visit Dima, the grandfather and granddaughter go home. Nothing can drown out the fun of schoolchildren - the sounds of the holiday haunt the Bessoltsevs. Lena decides to tell her grandfather about her misfortune.
Chapter 5. The story of the unlucky “new girl”
Red introduced Lena to the class at the request of the class teacher. And everything immediately went wrong. Lena smiled widely, wanting to show that she was ready for friendship with her new classmates. But the guys laughed at her and her grandfather “Patchmaker”. Lena laughed with them, deciding that they were just very funny. The girl did not immediately understand how embittered and cruel her new “friends” were. The exception was the handsome Dima Somov. He let her sit at his desk and did not laugh with the others.
Margarita Ivanovna suggested that the class go on an excursion to Moscow during the holidays. The children were happy, they decided to earn money for the trip on their own and started a common piggy bank. The guys worked part-time in the garden, on the state farm, in the factory - all for the same purpose. Throughout the process, Lena received ridicule, but the noble Dima protected and protected her as best he could.
Once Dima saved a dog from the flayer Valka. In Lena's eyes, he finally became a hero, she kissed him and offered friendship.
Chapter 6. Truancy
On the last day before the holidays, the children skipped class, ignoring the chalk note on the blackboard. The note was erased by Valka’s older brother. The guys ran away, but not all of them. Shmakova and Popov hid in the classroom. They witnessed a conversation between Dima Somov and Margarita Ivanovna. The boy, under pressure from the teacher, spoke about absenteeism. Lena, who was standing outside the door, heard this too. She thought. That Dima will tell everything to the others. But her friend remained silent.
Chapter 7. Boycott
The next day, schoolchildren came to class with suitcases, but the long-awaited trip was canceled. The teacher said that the class was punished for disrupting the lesson. They decided to split the money.
Mironova organized a search for the traitor. Lena hoped that Dima would confess, but he was still silent. Somov was almost declared a traitor. Lena unexpectedly took the blame upon herself. The class boycotted the girl.
Chapter 8. Bullying
Buses with schoolchildren went to Moscow. 6 "A" remained in the yard. The class surrounded Lena and Dima. The boys ran away, fleeing from their embittered classmates. They hid in the hairdresser's.
Chapter 9. Run, Scarecrow!
At the hairdresser, Lena decided to get her hair done. Dima left without waiting for her. When the girl came out. She was again surrounded by her classmates. They spat peas at her, teased her and threatened her. Aunt Klava's comments did not help. The guys decided. That the Scarecrow must leave the city. Vasiliev helped push the crowd, and Lena ran away. A little later, the boy admitted to Somov that he liked Lena.
Chapter 10. Betrayal
Lena managed to break away from the chase. She noticed that her pursuers surrounded Dima, and decided that he would tell the truth. She was waiting for him to come. But nothing happened.
When it got dark, there was a knock on the window. Lena opened it and a terrible bear's head appeared. The girl got very scared and slammed the window. The grandfather came, he happily told his granddaughter about his new painting, but she did not hear him. They knocked on the window glass again. The grandfather opened the window and managed to “tear off” the bear’s head. Dima was hiding behind the mask.
Lena was sure that he was forced. That he confessed and is now in trouble himself. But she was wrong. The guys were drinking tea at Dima's house. Lena's ears heard offensive words: “Scarecrow!” and “Patcher!”
Chapter 11. Failed Confession
Lena met Dima in her yard. She hung her dress up to dry. Dima asked for forgiveness and promised to tell everything today. He kissed Lena. Valka saw this. Valka tore the dress from the rope and said that he would give it to the owner only in exchange for the bear’s head.
Lena brought the mask to Dima. Dima asked if Lena’s grandfather was aware of the events. Having learned that the Patcher did not know anything, the boy was delighted and ran to confess to the guys. Lena was afraid of the consequences and rushed after him. She hid near the barn, where the whole gang had gathered.
Dima demanded to give the dress back. Valka told about the kiss. Dima was tied up. A fight ensued. Dima tried to confess his denunciation to Mironova. The guys advanced on Dima threateningly. Lena ran into the barn and again confirmed that she was a “traitor.” The dress was thrown around in a circle, when it ended up in Dima’s hands, he did not give it to Lena, but threw it to someone else. They put the dress on a garden scarecrow, and Dima set it on fire. Lena screamed heart-rendingly. She grabbed the burning effigy and waved it around. The guys ran away in fright. While removing the dress from the stuffed animal, Lena burned herself. Dima wanted to touch her, but the girl recoiled from him like the plague. She walked away and hid on the river.
Chapter 12. Vacation is over
On the first day of school after the holidays, Lena came to school very late and announced that she was leaving. Vasiliev came to her home and asked if she was really a traitor? The grandfather assured the boy that Lena had not betrayed anyone. Lena put on her burnt dress and ran away from the house. Vasiliev went after her.
Chapter 13. Exposure
Lena shaved her head at the hairdresser and came to Dima’s house. There she exposed her bald head and gave each of the guys a provocative interrogation. Exhausted by bullying, the girl suddenly declared that she felt sorry for all her tormentors. She left. The holiday ended, the guys quarreled and went their separate ways.
Chapter 14. “Sorry, Scarecrow!”
In the morning, Lena will be awakened by a knock. Grandfather was boarding up the windows. He decided to leave home and city. Lena saw that her recent tormentors were chasing Dima Somov along the street, and ran after him. The guys ran to class. Dima jumped onto the windowsill and threatened to jump out the window.
Mironova again proposed a boycott, everyone was in favor, except Lena. When the girl was asked why, she replied that she would never participate in bullying.
The teacher entered the class and announced that grandfather Bessoltsev was leaving the city. He gave its residents his home and a priceless collection of paintings. Soon Nikolai Nikolaevich himself came, he donated his favorite painting to the school fund and took his granddaughter.
The painting depicted a beautiful girl Masha, reminiscent of Lena. The guys realized with shame that they had raised their filthy hands against the wrong people. “Forgive us, Scarecrow!” - they wrote on the board.
History of creation and brief conclusions on the story “Scarecrow” by Vladimir Zheleznikov
The story "Scarecrow" is based on real events. A similar situation occurred in the fate of the author’s niece. Zheleznikov responded to injustice by first writing the play “Boycott,” and then in 1981 the reader became acquainted with the story “Scarecrow.” Just three years later, a film of the same name directed by Rolan Bykov was released.
Salvador Dali also claimed that “the most cruel creatures in the world are children.” This became the main problem in Zheleznikov’s work. The guys from my classmates mercilessly “kill” the new girl’s faith in the joys of life and their own dignity. But only the soft, kind and pliable girl did not give in under the pressure of the whole team and, having endured all the ridicule and humiliation, declared publicly: “You must believe until the end!” Without exaggeration, this phrase can be called the main idea of the story, the idea that the author undertook to convey to his young readers.
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