>Essays based on the work The Wild Landowner
Meaning of the name
In my opinion, the author used the title " Wild landowner"in order to show the true vices of the noble class of the end XIX century. This is ignorance, and a feeling of laziness, and pompousness, and backwardness, and moral inferiority. All these qualities are fully inherent in the main character of the fairy tale, who himself is rather stupid and dependent, but thinks that he can manage without the help of his peasants. However, the meaning of the name is not immediately revealed. We see how, over time, the landowner Urus-Kuchum-Kildibaev really becomes like a wild beast.
He stops washing his face, cutting his hair, and taking care of himself. It begins to grow hair and run on all fours, returning to the origins of evolution. Over time, he even stops pronouncing words clearly, replacing them with some wild sounds, a victory cry, or something “between a whistle, a hiss and a roar.” Eating only gingerbread and candy, he becomes weak and begins to go hunting in the forest. Having gone completely wild, he even finds a friend in a bear. In a word, the name “Wild Landowner,” if not immediately, then as events develop, justifies itself.
When the provincial authorities notice that something wrong is happening in this district, they order the “swarm of men” to be returned to their place. Only after the peasants return does everything become clear again. Meat and bread appear in the markets, and money appears in the treasury. The wild landowner is brought back to normal, after which he continues to play his grand solitaire. At times he misses forest life and moos. Caustic satire slips through this work by Saltykov-Shchedrin. So he ridicules the negligence of the master class and elevates the role of the peasants from the life of the country.
Fairy tales have firmly taken a place in the work of Saltykov-Shchedrin. The satirist used the genre beloved by the people in order to attract more readers to the problems he raised. So original and at the same time in a clear way the author was able to say more about Russian society at the end of the 19th century than historians of this period did.
Saltykov-Shchedrin, by his own admission, creates such fairy tales for adults that mental development fit the child. The author wants to open the eyes of such people. In fact, such fairy tales are accessible to anyone, even those not accustomed to reading. Thus, they are very dangerous to those whom Saltykov-Shchedrin ridicules in them.
The main problem raised in Shchedrin's tales is the relationship between masters and slaves. The author attacks tsarist Russia with satire. In fairy tales, the reader encounters images of those who are used to commanding and those who are in command of these commands.
The fairy tale “The Wild Landowner” ridicules the entire social system of Russia at that time, built on exploitation and complete oppression common people. Preserving the style of Russian folk tales, Shchedrin, through allegory, spoke about the real events of that period: a landowner, a hereditary nobleman, lives on one estate; he is stupid and lazy, his existence comes down to preserving the beauty of his body, and the serfs do the rest for him. The landowner does not tolerate the spirit that comes from his slaves, and getting rid of this hateful smell was the only dream of the landowner. When one day this stench disappears along with all the peasants, the unlucky landowner who has not known life gradually turns into an animal and, finally going wild, runs away into the forest.
This funny and fantastic plot of the fairy tale hides the true situation in the country. The landowners transferred all problems from managing the estate to washing dishes and undressing before bed to their peasants. They themselves led an idle existence, had absolutely no knowledge of life, and any problem they faced one on one could destroy them.
Hence the name of the fairy tale. "Wild" in in this case means “far from life”, not adapted to it. And this understanding of savagery in fairy tales grows with the development of the plot.
The reader learns that the landowner hates the peasants and sees nothing wrong in using physical force against their misdeeds. And the apogee of savagery is the gradual transformation of the landowner into an animal: he is all overgrown with hair, his nails have grown and become like claws, he stopped blowing his nose and began to walk on all fours and talk. The physiological need for food forces him to hunt hares.
Despite the terrible appearance, the landowner, who found himself in new conditions, lost all his severity. His savagery is pitiful. After all, in fact, he is helpless like a small child.
Thanks to the gradation of human savagery shown in the fairy tale, Saltykov-Shchedrin was able to show the reader the complete degradation of man, the extinction of all his human qualities, from time to time hinting that the image of this landowner is collective image owners of most Russian estates of that time.
Saltykov was a moralist. Having shown the horror of the fall of man, he hoped that he would be understood, and soon there would be a restoration of human morality, a rise in spirituality, and a time of harmony would come in the lives of all segments of the population.
What is the meaning of the title of S. Shchedrin's fairy tale "The Wild Landowner"? please tell me before 02/14/13 11:00 Moscow time and I received the best answer
Answer from
A special place in the work of Saltykov-Shchedrin is occupied by fairy tales with their allegorical images, in which the author was able to say more about Russian society of the 60-80s of the 19th century than the historians of those years. Saltykov-Shchedrin writes these fairy tales “for children of considerable age”, that is, for an adult reader, whose mind is in the state of a child, who needs to open his eyes to life. The fairy tale, due to the simplicity of its form, is accessible to anyone, even an inexperienced reader, and therefore is especially dangerous for those who are ridiculed in it.
The main problem of Shchedrin's fairy tales is the relationship between the exploiters and the exploited. The writer created a satire on Tsarist Russia. The reader is presented with images of rulers (“Bear in the Voivodeship”, “Eagle Patron”), exploiters and exploited (“Wild Landowner”, “The Tale of How One Man Fed Two Generals”), ordinary people (“ The wise minnow", "Dried roach").
The fairy tale “The Wild Landowner” is directed against everything social order, based on exploitation, anti-people in its essence. Preserving the spirit and style of a folk tale, the satirist talks about real events in contemporary life. The work begins as an ordinary fairy tale: “In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a landowner...” But then the element modern life: “And that stupid landowner was reading the newspaper “Vest”.” “Vest” is a reactionary-serf newspaper, so the stupidity of the landowner is determined by his worldview. The landowner considers himself a true representative of the Russian state, its support, and is proud that he is a hereditary Russian nobleman, Prince Urus-Kuchum-Kildibaev. The whole meaning of his existence comes down to pampering his body, “soft, white and crumbly.” He lives at the expense of his men, but he hates and is afraid of them, and cannot stand the “servile spirit.” He rejoices when, by some fantastic whirlwind, all the men were carried away to who knows where, and the air in his domain became pure and pure.
true. But the men disappeared, and there was such a famine that it was impossible to buy anything at the market. And the landowner himself went completely wild: “He was all overgrown with hair, from head to toe... and his nails became like iron. He stopped blowing his nose a long time ago and walked more and more on all fours. I’ve even lost the ability to pronounce articulate sounds...” In order not to die of hunger, when the last gingerbread was eaten, the Russian nobleman began to hunt: if he spots a hare, “like an arrow will jump from a tree, grab onto its prey, tear it apart with its nails, and eat it with all its entrails, even the skin.” The savagery of the landowner indicates that he cannot live without the help of the peasant. After all, it was not for nothing that as soon as the “swarm of men” was caught and put in place, “flour, meat, and all kinds of living creatures appeared at the market.”
The stupidity of the landowner is constantly emphasized by the writer. The first to call the landowner stupid were the peasants themselves; representatives of other classes called the landowner stupid three times (a technique of threefold repetition): the actor Sadovsky (“However, brother, you are a stupid landowner! Who gives you a wash, stupid?”) generals, whom he instead of “beef -ki” treated him to printed gingerbread and candy (“However, brother, you are a stupid landowner!”) and, finally, the police captain (“You are stupid, Mr. Landowner!”). The stupidity of the landowner is visible to everyone, and he indulges in unrealistic dreams that he will achieve prosperity in the economy without the help of the peasants, and thinks about English machines that will replace the serfs. His dreams are absurd, because he cannot do anything on his own. And only one day the landowner thought: “Is he really a fool? Could it be that the inflexibility that he so cherished in his soul, when translated into ordinary language, means only stupidity and madness?” If we compare the famous folk tales about the master and the peasant with the tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin,
For example, with “The Wild Landowner,” we will see that the image of the landowner in Shchedrin’s fairy tales is very close to folklore, and the men, on the contrary, differ from those in fairy tales. IN folk tales the man is smart, dexterous, resourceful, defeats the stupid master. And in “The Wild Landowner” a collective image appears
Since childhood, we have all been sure that Russian folk tales are intended for children. Their simple plots and simplicity of presentation are uninteresting to an adult. Meanwhile, “Kolobok”, “Turnip” and “Ryaba Hen” are not children’s fairy tales at all...
Let's start with the fact that the word “fairy tale” itself comes from the verb “kazat” and means “list”, “list”, “exact description”. Exactly, exactly! So the fairy tale is not a lie at all, as the famous proverb states, but the real truth. It is in Russian folk tales that knowledge about the structure of man, nature and even the entire Universe is hidden.
Chicken Ryaba
To adults, this fairy tale may even seem stupid. Well, it would seem that the grandparents are hitting the golden egg, but their efforts do not bring any results. Suddenly a mouse appears and finally breaks the egg. What the old people wanted is happening. But no! They both start crying. And they calm down only when the hen promises to lay them a new egg, and a simple one at that. However, everything becomes clear if you try to see in this fairy tale not just the actions of the heroes, but the deeper meaning.Let me immediately note that in ancient times gold symbolized death, and the egg symbolized peace. And therefore, this is nothing more than the end of life, the world, the universe. Old people try to fight death - they beat an egg. But nothing works out for them: they remain elderly and frail. When the mouse breaks the egg into pieces, the grandfather and grandmother realize that the end has come and, of course, cry. However, the hen assures them that she will soon lay not a golden egg, but a simple one. Which means the old people are waiting new life, renewal, rebirth.
Kolobok
In the original version of the fairy tale “Kolobok” there were much more animals. Moreover, each of them, when meeting a kolobok, bit off some part of it. Thanks to these details, the fairy tale takes on a completely different look. So main character becomes like the moon. And its gradual decrease from the teeth of hungry animals is lunar phases. So the fairy tale “Kolobok” is an astronomy lesson for the little ones.
turnip
This one also had more characters initially. In particular, in addition to grandfather, grandmother, granddaughter, Bugs, cat and mouse, father and mother also took part in it. The fairy tale “Turnip” is a philosophical reflection on the human race and its connections. The turnip was planted by the eldest in the family, the grandfather. These are the roots of the family, carrying some knowledge. The entire clan will be able to use this knowledge only if the connection between generations is not interrupted. It is clear that only everyone together, ancestors and descendants, constitutes strength. And members of a living family cannot exist without each other. Grandfather is roots, grandmother is traditions, father is support, mother is love, granddaughter is continuation of the family, Bug is security, cat is a favorable atmosphere in the house, and mouse is the well-being of this very house, prosperity. If at least one component disappears, the whole house (genus) will collapse.
Swan geese
The main character of the fairy tale goes in search of her brother, who was carried away into the forest by geese and swans. However, in fact, the girl does not follow her brother into the forest at all, but into the kingdom of the dead. Along the way, she encounters many symbols of life that can keep her in the world of the living: an apple tree, an oven, and bread. However, the heroine refuses all of the above. Then it approaches a milk river with jelly banks. It is jelly and milk that are ritual dishes served at funerals. The river is the border of two worlds, the world of the living and world of the dead. There is no turning back now.
Soon the most entertaining character of this fairy tale appears -. In ancient times it was called Yoga. Yoga was a goddess and was engaged in transporting people to another world. She did this with the help of her hut, which could spin in all directions. Due to what? Due to chicken legs. In any children's book we will see that the grandmother's hut actually has chicken feet. Only our ancestors, speaking about chicken legs, did not mean chicken at all. The adjective “smoking” comes from the verbs “to smoke”, “to smoke”, “to smoke”. So the hut had no legs at all. She hung in the air, above a pillow of smoke.
Baba Yaga invites the children to sit on the shovel and puts the shovel into the oven. What a horror, isn't it? However, such a ritual actually existed in Ancient Rus' and was called over-baking. If the baby suddenly became restless, cried a lot and was sick, this particular ritual was performed with him. They placed the baby on a bread shovel and shoved it into the oven. After which the child seemed to be born again, rebooted, if you say modern language. So in the fairy tale “Geese and Swans” the brothers and sisters are baked in order to return back to the world of the living.
At the behest of the pike
In the fairy tale "Po pike command“Emelya, sitting on the stove, personifies self-contemplation. That is, the main character does not interact with outside world and ancestors. However, willy-nilly, he has to go for water, where he meets the pike. Pike is the ancestor, the ancestor who gives Emelya miraculous powers. Now the main character can control his destiny, grow and develop. But only if he wants it himself. It’s not for nothing that the spell sounds exactly like this: “At the command of the pike, at my will!”
These are the secrets hidden in ordinary children's fairy tales. It's time to re-read them again!