History of creation
In his literary work, Vasily Makarovich raises his favorite theme, which is inherent in his work. We are talking about ordinary people, the so-called weirdos, who are opposed to “the world of gray officials and abstruse ordinary people.”
The images of the characters were drawn by Shukshin from meetings and communication with his fellow countrymen. After all, the author was born and raised in a village located in the Altai Territory. The conflict between an ordinary villager and representatives of the intelligentsia is the key storyline, the foundation of the story “Cut.”
Essay: The meaning of the title of the story by V.M. Shukshina “Cut”
Essay-discussion on the topic: The meaning of the title of the story by V.M. Shukshina “Cut”
Vasily Makarovich Shukshin created a huge gallery of folk images. One of his favorite heroes is a village eccentric who exudes kindness, sincerity, love for people, for all living things. But in the story “Cut” we have a completely different main character. This is the peculiarity of the work.
Gleb Kapustin is a simple village worker: “A thick-lipped, blond man of forty years old, well-read and malicious.” He is very different from the good-natured Russian peasant for whom our village is famous and for whom Vasily Shukshin treats with great love and warmth. But the talented Russian writer loved this story very much and singled it out from the entire collection, because it was important for him to describe such a typical representative of the people. After all, you shouldn’t idealize the “eccentric” Shukshin; there are people like Gleb: cruel, vengeful, envious demagogues who carry anger and hatred for other people’s successes and are confident that they are right.
The title of the story “Cut” sounds quite unusual, since rarely does anyone denote a literary work of art with one verb. But it fully conveys the essence of the work . The main problem in the story “Cut” is evil, realizing itself as good, and cruelty, finding sympathy. At the center of the story is a conversation between Gleb and Konstantin Ivanovich, where Kapustin cuts off, in the opinion of the men and himself, the candidate. Moreover, the plot is structured in such a way that from the very beginning Gleb appears before the reader, and the author writes about his unique ability to cut off the noble visiting residents of the village of Novaya. Shukshin tells how he constantly cuts off famous guests, and we, too, are looking forward to what will happen next. Many did not like Kapustin for this, but there were others who liked to watch this performance every time, and they immediately went with him to such meetings. These men were drawn to him because he was different from them, he knew a lot that they had not even heard of, he could give such beatings to learned people that they would not have had the courage or knowledge to do. Although we see that Gleb draws his knowledge from newspapers, which do not always talk about real problems. His information is very superficial, he does not understand the essence of the things he is talking about, and therefore, in the eyes of Konstantin Ivanovich and his wife, at first he is ridiculous, then they think that he is just a “demagogue-slanderer,” then they do not understand what caused this hatred.
Gleb despises all noble visitors, because he believes that he is smarter than them, that they are all arrogant: “Of course, you can surprise us here: drive up to the house in a taxi, pull five suitcases out of the trunk...”. He “rolls a barrel” at everyone who has achieved something, considers it his duty to “flick on the nose” and point out their immodesty and ignorance. Kapustin does not want to look closely at people, he does not conduct a dialogue, but simply “rushes”, not seeing or hearing anything. He considers himself a truth-teller and a kind of defender of the common people from such pseudo-scientists who have not heard anything about the important problem of shamanism.
The whole story is built around the ability to cut, but we see that he did not cut. Yes, this time Gleb didn’t cut it. Yes, and in previous meetings, this was probably not the case. He simply offended the hospitable Konstantin Ivanovich, his mother and wife.
Such Kapustins undoubtedly met Vasily Shukshin in his native village, and maybe in others. After all, he grew up in a simple peasant family and achieved everything on his own, and this often evokes not only love and admiration, but also anger and envy.
Author: Yulia Kurganova
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The essence
In the center of the story is an ordinary man from the village of Gleb Kapustin. The villagers considered him a man of incredible intelligence, very educated, but bilious.
Kapustin was just memorizing various scientific articles found on magazine pages. He really remembered a lot, but did not understand the material he read at all. In other words, the so-called erudite simply deceived those around him, throwing out clever words every now and then. According to Kapustin, all the urban “ignoramuses” need to be cut off so that they don’t become arrogant. Such people seemed impudent and stupid to him, but Gleb himself did not shine with either intelligence or good manners.
If important people from the city appeared in the village, in the evenings the main character became an invited guest in the house of the visitors. Fellow villagers called Gleb to show off his intelligence and “cut off” his arrogance. A similar story happened with doctors of philological sciences from Moscow (Here, additionally, read a brief retelling of the work “Cut” for the reader’s diary).
The plot of the story
For a deep analysis of Shukshin’s story “Cut,” you need to know that at the center of the story is the figure of Gleb Kapustin. This is the classic hero of Shukshin. A malicious, funny and at the same time well-read man. He himself is from the village, but he loves to argue with the townspeople and measure his intellect with them.
At the beginning of Shukshin’s work, Konstantin Ivanovich comes to visit the old woman Agafya Zhuravleva. He is a successful university teacher, Ph.D. His wife is also involved in science. They are raising a schoolgirl daughter.
Konstantin Ivanovich does not come to visit his mother empty-handed. He brings those things that, in his opinion, are needed in the village. Gifts include a robe, an electric samovar and wooden spoons.
The meaning of the story “Cut” by Shukshin
The main theme of the work of the Russian, Soviet writer V. M. Shukshin is the life of a simple village man. One of Shukshin’s most famous stories is the story “Cut.” It is no coincidence that the author chose this title for his work.
WHAT MEANING DID THE AUTHOR INVEST IN THE TITLE OF THE STORY?
“Cut down” in common parlance means: “put in place”, “humiliate”, “publicly lower in the eyes of other people.” Just as a ear of corn, cut by a sickle, falls to the ground, so one person loses his reputation as a result of the boorish and harsh treatment of another person.
The meaning of the title of the story “Cut” fully corresponds to its content.
MEANING OF THE WORK
The heroes of Shukshin's works are often dissatisfied with their lives, they do not want to be “like everyone else”, put up with sameness and strive to show their individuality with very unusual actions. Such Shukshin heroes are called “freaks.” Precisely eccentrics, not eccentrics.
“Freaks” live among ordinary people, in an ordinary world. But they accumulate so much unrealized potential that in an ordinary environment they feel cramped and stuffy. This enormous spiritual force is trying to break out and rush towards an ideal world. Such characters feel that they are eccentric, but do not find support and understanding from others.
Usually Shukshin’s “eccentrics” are very naive, good-natured, touching people. But the situation described in the story “Cut” cannot be called comical. Rather, she is tragicomic.
The hero of the story, Gleb Kapustin, is also a weirdo. But the weirdo is evil, boorish and cruel, and also has a claim to the role of leader in his society. Village resident Kapustin feels unfulfilled and worthless. Obviously, life circumstances did not give him the opportunity to get an education, escape from the village and do something significant that would make him famous. Or, perhaps, the fulfillment of a dream was prevented by banal laziness and unwillingness to work hard.
Gleb is extremely popular among local men. His ability to cut off city dwellers coming to the village is a striking spectacle. All of them are regular spectators of performances at which Gleb Kapustin is the only actor. For men, Gleb is very smart, well-read and comprehensively developed. In fact, this person is ignorant and very superficially educated. Mainly through reading newspapers and magazines. In addition, Gleb has a good tongue, which he skillfully uses in discussions. A typical choleric temperament helps him quickly respond to remarks and questions, which also contributes to the fulfillment of the “mission” of humiliating his interlocutor.
Gleb hates everyone who once left their native village, found their niche in life, and “rose up.” He tries to assert himself at the expense of others. Basically, these are urban educated people, to whom he proves that all their education is worthless.
Konstantin Ivanovich Zhuravlev, a learned man, candidate of sciences, philologist, comes to the village to stay with his mother for the summer. The scientist did not become proud, did not become arrogant. He treats his fellow countrymen with due respect and respect, despite his rather high position in society. Perhaps this is why Konstantin Ivanovich loses in an argument with a village demagogue, which simply does not allow himself to stoop to his level.
Gleb prepares for the “performance” in advance, gathering spectators around him - village men. He conducts the performance according to the laws of the genre. By asking stupid questions about the “problems of shamanism” and other nonsense, he brings the conversation to its climax. Gleb does not understand the meaning of the questions that he himself asks an educated person. Moreover, the interlocutor does not understand them. Stupid questions baffle Konstantin, and he does not want to answer them. This is exactly what Gleb needs: to show that since a learned person does not answer, it means that he does not know the answer.
THE MEANING OF THE STORY'S ENDING
At the end of the story, Gleb uttered the phrase that he likes to “click the noses of educated people.” Don't get cocky, please. Having humiliated his fellow countryman in this way, Gleb elevated himself.
But he has risen, then in whose eyes is he? - Only in the eyes of envious and evil people like myself. And even in their own. Now he can walk around the village with his head held high, without realizing that all his gloating and pathos are actually worth absolutely nothing.
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The meaning of the title of Shukshin's story "Cut"
“Cut” is a story primarily about people’s position in life. About their friendship, the anger of envy and stupidity. In a word, about a whole set of human advantages and disadvantages. About the vices and problems of society. The meaning of the title of the story can only be understood after reading it completely. Cutting it off is a seemingly harmless action. Gleb Kapustin and his “comrades” have a habit of visiting people who have held high positions in the city. Often, as in the case of candidate Konstantin Zhuravlev
, the guys will have a laid table and a friendly atmosphere. Only after Kapustin begins to start a conversation does it become clear to the owners that the guests did not come out of idle curiosity.
Gleb Kapustin
- a local celebrity, has one distinctive feature. A man loves to cut off his interlocutor, driving him into confusion, and, if possible, severely humiliating him in the presence of other people. Thus, he wants to show that, despite the fact that the interlocutor had previously achieved certain heights in the city, in fact, he remained stupid and uneducated.
The author shows that Gleb at the same time feels proud of himself and for the fact that he once again “cut off” the fool. In fact, in the case of Zhuravlev, Gleb himself was “cut off”. Initially, he did not understand what exactly the candidate was doing and could not distinguish a philologist from a philosopher.
The man began to “cut” Zhuravlev, he was not at all embarrassed by the presence of the candidate’s wife, but on the contrary, he was even more amused. Having asked many stupid questions and not receiving a single clear answer from the couple, Gleb was jubilant. The opponents were completely confused, but quickly “saw through” the hostile plans of their interlocutor. After this, Kapustin “broke up” even more, and, clinging to the candidate’s words, practically insulted him. At the same time, Zhuravlev’s wife began to prophesy a “fall” and the complete collapse of his career. The woman tried to find out why he was so aggressive against them. Kapustin avoided a direct answer. The man parried the questions and felt even more hatred towards his interlocutors, assuring them that they would end badly.
He needed such debates to maintain his own authority and faith in a “unique” mind. However, the author shows in his story that Kapustin cannot exactly be called reasonable. By harboring such hostility towards others, he only shows his weakness and worthless life. He could neither go to the city nor start a family, and the man has no opportunity to travel by taxi to visit. Therefore, a man is driven by envy and bitterness. Therefore, he will never even have real friends, and those around him will soon get bored with “this fun.” Perhaps he will find another grateful viewer. However, it is also possible that sooner or later, life will force him to change his attitude towards people who are more successful in this life.
In the meantime, Kapustin is “cutting off” other people, he is simply demonstrating to others his meanness, stupidity and envy. Moreover, he “infects” with this feeling the guys who came to look at the next cut-off urban “upstart”.
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