“The Wild Landowner” analysis of the tale by Saltykov-Shchedrin - plan, theme, main idea, genre of the work

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Total ratings received: 958.

In the work of Saltykov-Shchedrin, the theme of serfdom and the oppression of the peasantry always played a large role. Since the writer could not openly express his protest against the existing system, almost all of his works are filled with fairy-tale motifs and allegories. The satirical fairy tale “The Wild Landowner” was no exception, the analysis of which will help 9th grade students better prepare for a literature lesson. A detailed analysis of the fairy tale will help highlight the main idea of the work, the features of the composition, and will also allow you to better understand what the author teaches with his work.

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.

Brief Analysis

Before reading this analysis, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the work The Wild Landowner itself.
Year of writing : 1869

History of creation - Unable to openly ridicule the vices of autocracy, Saltykov-Shchedrin resorted to an allegorical literary form - a fairy tale.

Theme – In Saltykov-Shchedrin’s work “The Wild Landowner,” the theme of the situation of serfs in the conditions of Tsarist Russia, the absurdity of the existence of a class of landowners who cannot and do not want to work independently, is most fully revealed.

Composition – The plot of the tale is based on a grotesque situation, behind which the real relations between the classes of landowners and serfs are hidden. Despite the small size of the work, the composition is created according to a standard plan: beginning, climax and denouement.

Genre : Satirical fairy tale.

Direction – Realism.

History of creation

Mikhail Evgrafovich was always extremely sensitive to the plight of the peasants who were forced to be in lifelong servitude to the landowners. Many of the writer’s works, which openly touched upon this topic, were criticized and not allowed to be published by censorship.

However, Saltykov-Shchedrin still found a way out of this situation, turning his attention to the outwardly quite harmless genre of fairy tales. Thanks to the skillful combination of fantasy and reality, the use of traditional folklore elements, metaphors, and bright aphoristic language, the writer managed to disguise the evil and sharp ridicule of the landowners' vices under the guise of an ordinary fairy tale.

In an environment of government reaction, only through fairy-tale fiction was it possible to express one’s views on the existing political system. The use of satirical techniques in a folk tale allowed the writer to significantly expand the circle of his readers and reach the masses.

The fairy tale “The Wild Landowner” was first published in 1869 in the popular literary magazine “Otechestvennye zapiski”.

At that time, the magazine was headed by the writer’s close friend and like-minded person, Nikolai Nekrasov, and Saltykov-Shchedrin did not have any problems with the publication of the work.

Check out what else we have:

for the most rational -

Summary of “The Wild Landowner”

for the most impatient -

A very brief summary of “The Wild Landowner”

for the most sociable -

The main characters of "The Wild Landowner"

for the busiest -

Reader's diary "Wild Landowner"

for the coolest -

Read “The Wild Landowner” in full

Lesson-project based on fairy tales by M.E. Saltykov - Shchedrin (7th grade)

Fedorova T.V., teacher MBOU RG No. 59, Ulan-Ude

OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

-
generalize and systematize knowledge from the texts of fairy tales read.
For this:

1. get acquainted with the history of the creation of fairy tales;

2. genre originality;

3. main topics;

4. problems,

5. artistic features.

Project objectives:
WHY are Saltykov-Shchedrin’s fairy tales still alive today? Aren't they outdated? What is their relevance?

Group 1: “The history of fairy tales”

The first three fairy tales (“The Tale of How One Man Fed Two Generals,” “The Lost Conscience,” and “The Wild Landowner”) were written by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin back in 1886.

By 1886 their number had increased to thirty-two. Some plans (at least six fairy tales) remained unrealized.

Group 2: “Genre originality”

In terms of genre, the fairy tales of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin are similar to Russian folk tales. They are allegorical, they feature animal heroes, and traditional fairy tale techniques are used: beginnings, proverbs and sayings, constant epithets, triple repetitions. At the same time, Saltykov-Shchedrin significantly expands the range of fairy-tale characters, and also “individualizes them.

In addition, morality plays an important role in the fairy tale by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin - in this it is close to the fable genre.

The story of how one man fed two generals

Group 3: “Main topics”

The tales of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin are united not only by genre, but also by common themes.

Theme of power
(“Wild Landowner”, “Bear in the Voivodeship”, “Eagle Patron”, etc.)
Theme of the intelligentsia
(“The Wise Minnow”, “Selfless Hare”, etc.)
The theme of the people
(“The story of how one man fed two generals”, “Fool”, etc.)
Theme of universal human vices
(“Christ’s Night”)

Eagle Patron

Group 4: “Problems of fairy tales”

The tales of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin reflect that “ special pathological condition

", in which Russian society was located in the 80s of the 19th century.
However, they touch upon not only social problems
(the relationship between the people and the ruling circles, the phenomenon of Russian liberalism, educational reform),
but also universal ones
(good and evil, freedom and duty, truth and lies, cowardice and heroism).

"The Wise Minnow"

Subject

The main theme of the fairy tale “The Wild Landowner” is social inequality, the huge gap between the two classes that existed in Russia: landowners and serfs. The enslavement of the common people, the complex relationships between exploiters and the exploited are the main issues of this work.

In a fabulously allegorical form, Saltykov-Shchedrin wanted to convey to readers a simple idea - it is the man who is the salt of the earth, and without him the landowner is just an empty place. Few of the landowners think about this, and therefore the attitude towards the peasant is contemptuous, demanding and often downright cruel. But only thanks to the peasant does the landowner get the opportunity to enjoy all the benefits that he has in abundance.

In his work, Mikhail Evgrafovich concludes that it is the people who are the drinker and breadwinner not only of their landowner, but of the entire state. The true stronghold of the state is not the class of helpless and lazy landowners, but exclusively the simple Russian people.

It is this thought that haunts the writer: he sincerely complains that the peasants are too patient, dark and downtrodden, and do not fully realize their full strength. He criticizes the irresponsibility and patience of the Russian people, who do nothing to improve their situation.

Composition

The fairy tale “The Wild Landowner” is a small work, which in “Notes of the Fatherland” took up only a few pages. It talks about a stupid master who endlessly pestered the peasants working for him because of the “slave smell.”

At the beginning of the work, the main character turned to God with a request to forever get rid of this dark and hateful environment. When the landowner's prayers for deliverance from the peasants were heard, he was left completely alone on his large estate.

The climax of the tale fully reveals the master's helplessness without the peasants, who were the source of all blessings in his life. When they disappeared, the once polished gentleman quickly turned into a wild animal: he stopped washing himself, taking care of himself, and eating normal human food. The life of a landowner turned into a boring, unremarkable existence in which there was no place for joy and pleasure. This was the meaning of the title of the fairy tale - the reluctance to give up one’s own principles inevitably leads to “savagery” - civil, intellectual, political.

At the end of the work, the landowner, completely impoverished and wild, completely loses his mind.

Analysis of the cycle “Fairy Tales” by M.E. Saltykova-Shchedrin

HISTORY OF CREATION. “Fairy Tales” by Saltykov-Shchedrin, consisting of 32 works, represent an independent satirical cycle. They were written in the period from 1869 to 1886. However, Shchedrin showed interest in this genre earlier, including fairy tale episodes in other satirical works. For example, the story “Gnashing of Teeth” (1860) included the fairy tale “The Dream,” and “The Modern Idyll” (1877–1883) included “The Tale of a Zealous Chief.” In 1869, Shchedrin published three fairy tales on the pages of Otechestvennye zapiski: “The Tale of How One Man Fed Two Generals”, “Conscience Lost”, “Wild Landowner”, which he included in the cycle “For Children”, which eventually remained unfinished. In 1880, the fairy tale “The Toy Business of Little People” appeared, which, according to the writer’s unrealized plan, was supposed to open a satirical review depicting doll people. After a short break in 1883, the fairy tales “The Wise Minnow”, “The Selfless Hare” and “The Poor Wolf” were published, which were first published in Geneva in different issues of the newspaper “Common Cause” under the editorial heading “Fairy Tales for Children of a Fair Age” ( the author's name was not mentioned). In 1884, they appeared in Russia on the pages of “Notes of the Fatherland” under the general title “Fairy Tales” and signed by N. Shchedrin. From 1883 to 1886, 28 fairy tales were written. However, the cycle was not published in full during Shchedrin’s lifetime due to censorship bans. So, for example, the fairy tale “Bear Voivodeship”, having been published in Geneva twice (in 1884 and 1886), was published in Russia only in 1906, and the fairy tale “The Bogatyr” generally became known only in 1922.

GENRE ORIGINALITY. Of course, Shchedrin did not choose the fairy tale genre by chance. Researchers cited the following reasons for his interest in this genre:

• censorship conditions;

• influence on the writer of folklore and literary traditions;

• the emergence of a new reader representing the democratic strata of Russian society;

• the popularity of the fairy tale as a favorite genre of propaganda literature along with the song (remember the propaganda songs of the Decembrist poets A. Bestuzhev and K. Ryleev);

• organic closeness of the fairy tale to the artistic method of Saltykov-Shchedrin.

Of course, each of these factors played a role in the emergence of Shchedrin’s cycle of fairy tales. But for us it is most important to dwell on the last of these reasons.

The fairy tale really arose in the depths of Shchedrin’s satire. It was in the late 60s - early 70s. The previously outlined features of Shchedrin’s method, associated with his desire to go beyond the limits of life-like verisimilitude in depicting contemporary reality, clearly came to light. Therefore, the fairy tale with its arsenal of artistic techniques naturally fit into the genre system of Shchedrin’s prose.

According to many researchers, Shchedrin's fairy tale is combined with a folk tale by a fairy tale plot and the use of the most traditional fairy tale techniques (they will be discussed when analyzing the artistic features of fairy tales). In addition, both folklore and Shchedrin’s literary tales are based on the people’s worldview, a set of ideas about good and evil, justice, cruelty, etc. in their universal human sense. Remember the folk tales that condemn lazy stepdaughters, stepmothers, and envious brothers for their laziness and desire to live at the expense of others. Similarly, in Shchedrin's fairy tales, generals and the wild landowner are condemned for their inability to work, their desire to live off the efforts of others, which they are not even able to appreciate.

Genre

From the first lines of “The Wild Landowner” it becomes clear that this is a genre of fairy tale , but not a good-natured didactic one, but a caustic satirical one, in which the author harshly ridiculed the main vices of the social system in Tsarist Russia.

In his work, Saltykov-Shchedrin managed to preserve the spirit and general style of the nationality. He masterfully used such popular folklore elements as fairy-tale beginnings, fantasy, and hyperbole. However, at the same time, he managed to talk about modern problems in society and describe events in Russia.

Thanks to fantastic, fairy-tale techniques, the writer was able to reveal all the vices of society. The work belongs to the direction of realism, in which real-life relations in society are grotesquely shown.

The general meaning of “Fairy Tales” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin

“Fairy Tales” uses energetic, vernacular speech, with clerical cliches contrasting with it. To characterize the upper classes, the writer uses phrases in foreign languages and sophisticated salon expressions.

The writer’s social sympathies were clearly defined already in the first fairy tale, in “The Tale of How One Man Fed Two Generals.” By the will of the author, two generals end up on a desert island, where “hazel grouse whistle, black grouse chatter, hares run.” And amid all this abundance, the generals almost died of hunger, because they did not know how to do anything. After all, until now, others did everything for them. Fortunately, there was a man on the island who not only fed them, but also made a rope for the generals to tie him up at night. Saltykov-Shchedrin denounces here the parasitism and parasitism of the ruling class. But at the same time, he does not favor the peasant’s slavish obedience.

We see the most profound artistic generalization of the share of the peasantry in Tsarist Russia in the fairy tale “The Horse.” In the image of Konyaga and his master, the author gives an idea of the people who “live as if they are plunging into a dark abyss, and of all the sensations available to a living organism, they know only the aching pain that work gives.” In the idle reasoning of the idle dancing horses, it is easy to detect echoes of the liberal theories of the writer’s time. But the author does not answer the question of who will liberate the enslaved people.

In the tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin, as in folklore, the animal world is animated. He especially often shows the fish kingdom. Various breeds of fish represent liberals, their conciliatory tactics and philistine cowardice. For example, in the fairy tale “The Wise Minnow,” Shchedrin criticizes that part of the intelligentsia that, during the years of political reaction, succumbed to cowardly panic. Submitting to the instinct of self-preservation, the hero of the fairy tale, distraught with fear, walled himself up in a dark hole for life. “He lived and trembled—that’s all.” In his entire life, he had no family, no friends, no one from people like him, “neither warm nor cold, no one, no honor, no glory...” The life of such “wise minnows” is useless.

More complex was Shchedrin’s attitude towards those honest, but naive dreamers, whose image he embodied in the fairy tale “Crucian the Idealist.” A champion of social equality, the idealist crucian expresses the views of the advanced part of the Russian intelligentsia, including the views of Shchedrin himself. But the crucian carp’s faith in the moral re-education of predators is naive. The ardent preacher of social harmony paid dearly for his illusions: in the end, he was swallowed by a pike.

Among Shchedrin's most harsh satires, directed directly against the Russian autocracy, are the fairy tales “The Bear in the Voivodeship” and “The Patron Eagle.” In the first of them, the names of the bear rulers (Toptygin I, Toptygin II, Toptygin III) are associated with the names of the kings (Alexander I, Alexander II, Alexander III; the reader immediately recognized Tsar Alexander III in the illiterate Leo). In the fairy tale “The Eagle Patron,” the writer criticizes the pseudo-enlightenment practice of autocracy. During Shchedrin's lifetime, censorship banned these tales from publication.

Shchedrin's tales are the result of his many years of life observations. In them, fantasy is intertwined with reality, the comic with the tragic, and the art of Aesopian language is widely used. The person the satirist writes about is tangible and visible. Pretending to be a simpleton, the smart satirist talks about things that are not at all fabulous.

obobshhayushhij-smysl-skazok-m.-e.-saltykova-shhedrina generalizing meaning of “fairy tales” by M. E. Saltykova-shchedrin

Among the classics of Russian classical realism of the 19th century, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (1826-1889) occupies the place of an unsurpassed artist, a master of socio-political satire. In an effort to expand the circle of readers, on the one hand, and overcome the slingshots of censorship, on the other, the writer turns to the fairy tale genre. Using the traditional folklore form, Saltykov-Shchedrin actually created a new satirical genre. The writer does not repeat folk fairy tales and images. In Shchedrin’s Fairy Tales they are only a support for expressing one’s own ideas.

In the complex content of “Fairy Tales” the following main themes can be distinguished: satire on the government leaders of the autocracy and on the exploiting classes, depiction of the life of the Russian people, exposure of the behavior and psychology of ordinary people, exposure of individualistic morality, propaganda of new morality.