Lesson topic:
The purpose of the lesson:
to identify moral laws that determine the relationship between man and the world in which he lives, laws that ensure the viability of our “single human community.”
Lesson type:
lesson - conversation
During the classes
Organizing time.
Let us determine the lexical meaning of the words “nature” and “man”.
Teacher: By comparing dictionary entries, we conclude that man and nature are part of the whole, man and nature are a single whole.
But who are we? enemies or parts of the whole? How should we continue to live: fight, slowly destroying each other, or learn to sympathize, understand, help?
The topic of our lesson: The relationship between man and nature in the story by V. P. Astafiev “The Tsar is a Fish”
The purpose of the lesson: to identify moral laws that determine the relationship between man and the world in which he lives, laws that ensure the viability of our “single human community.”
Epigraph will be the words of one of the heroes V.P. Astafiev, fishery inspector Cheremisin: “Remember: our land is one and indivisible, and a person anywhere, even in the darkest taiga, must be a person!”
Teacher: V.P. Astafiev passed away recently, in 2002. People like him are called the conscience of the nation. Receptivity and sensitivity to people, rage when faced with evil, extreme honesty and the ability to see the world in a new way, cruel demands, first of all, on oneself - these are just some of the traits of an extraordinary personality. Oh difficult fate V. P. Astafieva will tell...
Individual task: a story about the biography of V. P. Astafiev.
Individual task: a story about the composition of V. P. Astafiev’s story “The Tsar is a Fish” (see Appendix 1)
Teacher: Our focus is on the story “The King is a Fish.” He gave the name to the entire collection, becoming the focus of all the philosophical and moral thoughts of the author.
Conversation:
I liked the story dramatic plot and an unexpected ending.
The story interested me in the moral problems that the author touches on.
The story amazes with its skill in describing the internal state of a person.
One day, an experienced fisherman, overestimating his capabilities, tried to catch a fish that was too large, fell out of the boat into the river, got caught in the trap hooks and lost a mortally wounded sturgeon; It is unknown whether he himself remained alive.
---- Who is his hero?
The hero of the story is Zinovy Ignatyich Utrobin, a resident of the village of Chush. He works at a local sawmill as a machine and saw operator, but everyone calls him a mechanic. Ignatyich has a wife and a teenage son.
---- Why is everyone calling the main character Ignatyich?(Respect)
---- How does he stand out among his fellow villagers?
--- How do the village residents feel about Ignatyich?(For all Ignatyich’s merits, a certain alienation from his fellow villagers is felt. He is appreciated, but shunned. Most likely, because Ignatyich is not like his fellow villagers: he is always neat, hardworking and hard-working, not greedy.)
--- Why can’t he improve his relationship with his brother? ( We know nothing about the reasons for the conflict between the Commander and Ignatyich, but their enmity is so irreconcilable that it has grown to hatred, to the desire to kill. It seems to me that the reason for the Commander’s hatred is envy: Ignatyich has the best house in the village, there is peace and harmony in the family, and he is respected in the village, and he is an excellent fisherman. So the Commander is angry.
--- What does Ignatyich do?(poaches)
---Who are poachers? Why are they dangerous? A poacher is a person who engages in poaching.
Poaching – hunting or fishing in prohibited places or in a prohibited way, as well as engaging in illegal logging. Poachers kill birds and animals, harming nature and disrupting the ecosystem.
--- Why does Ignatyich poach?
Uitel: Images of poachers very often appear on the pages of the first part of “The King of Fishes.”
Individual task: images of poachers (see Appendix 2).
--- Why did Astafiev pay so much attention to them? Poaching is a terrible evil because
turns a person into a beast, into a predator who wants to snatch an extra piece.
--- What happens to Ignatyich while fishing?(a huge fish was caught on the hook, pp. 159, 161)
--- What kind of fish did Ignatyich see?(Read the excerpt from the words: “... I saw and was taken aback, p. 161”)
Teacher: Many people have a desire to become significant and become famous.
And Ignatyich? Is he one of those? (Probably not)
--- Why didn’t you let the fish off the hooks? Why didn't you go for help?
(greed, persistence, pride did not allow Ignatyich to either release the fish or call for help) ( Read the passage on page 163)
Teacher: In this regard, it is worth paying attention to the surname Ignatyich - Utrobin from the word “womb” - belly, belly, entrails; insatiable womb - this is what they say about a gluttonous person, in a figurative sense - about a greedy, greedy person.
Teacher: The soul suffered from greed. But is this a hopeless disease? Or does a speaking conscience indicate the beginning of recovery? What is conscience?
Admission of guilt for committing an unseemly act
Human self-control
Embarrassment, shame, awkwardness
---Why does a person need a conscience?
Conscience is given in order to control one’s actions and correct shortcomings.
Conscience can prevent a bad action.
--- What is Ignatyich asking for?(“Lord! Give us a break! She’s too much for me!”)
--- Why a few minutes earlier Ignatyich was confident in his abilities, but now he is not? What changed?(Ignatyich remembered the words of his grandfather)
---What is their meaning?(The king-fish can only be obtained by a person with pure thoughts, who has not stained his soul with anything, and if he has committed a “varna” act, it is better to let the king-fish go)
Individual student assignment “The meaning of the word King Fish” (see Appendix 3)
--- How do fish and people behave when they find themselves in the same trap?
Teacher: Being between life and death, a person often comprehends his life.
--- What does Ignatyich understand?
My whole life was spent only in pursuit of fish
Poachs, grabs - but why? for whom?
He distanced himself from people, from life, but life put him in his place - his beloved niece died at the hands of a drunk driver
--- Why was Ignatyich punished? Why such a terrible death?
In the face of impending death, a shameful, bitter memory emerges - the abuse of a beloved girl. And neither time nor repentance before Glasha could wash away the dirt from the soul from shameful act. “Not for a single woman...” (Read the excerpt on page 174)
Death overtook man for his neglect of the natural world, for its predatory destruction, for the robbery that acquired incredible proportions.
Teacher: And so it turns out: everything is connected: whether it begins with a person, with a fish, and where it ends, Astafiev shows. The circles of cruelty spread widely and mercilessly.
Teacher: And, apparently, repentance, spiritual rebirth, awareness of the fatality of the poacher’s attitude to life, understanding of responsibility for what was done on earth helps miraculously free Ignatyich and the fish.
--- What is the author's position on poaching? The author, without a doubt, condemns poaching as a multifaceted and terrible evil. Moreover, the writer is talking not only about the destruction of living and inanimate nature around us, but also about a kind of suicide, about the destruction of nature within man, human nature.
Teacher: The extermination of living things is associated with the enormous danger of losing a sense of proportion, and through this the loss of humanity, that is, reasonable, kind, moral. The writer is concerned about the scale of poaching, in which a person begins to lose his human dignity.
“That’s what I’m afraid of when people go wild in shooting, even at an animal, a bird, and casually, playfully, shed blood. They do not know that, having ceased to be afraid of blood, without revering it, hot, living, they themselves imperceptibly cross that fatal line beyond which a person ends and from distant times filled with cave horror a low-browed, fanged mug stands up and looks at him without blinking. primitive man."
--- Why does the writer have a strong dislike for poachers? For lack of spirituality. Lack of spirituality not in the sense of a lack of cultural interests, but in the sense of a refusal to recognize the moral laws that unite people and nature, a lack of responsibility for everything that is not “us”.
- How can you explain the epigraph to our lesson?
Teacher: Astafiev is not talking about a reverently contemplative attitude towards nature, he knows that he needs to shoot game for hungry geologists, that people need fish, forests, and water energy. The writer convinces us that today is just one of the branches on the trunk of the great tree of life, therefore the writer thinks about how to live so that his son, his children’s children, can hear the world just like him, what needs to be done so that do not injure, do not damage, do not trample, do not scratch, do not burn the world in which we live.
Teacher: At the end of the book “The Fish King” there is an extensive quotation from Ecclesiastes...
Reading passage
---What is the meaning of the end of the book?
Maybe now is the time to suffer and search. Every time gives rise to questions that we must answer. And we must be tormented by these questions and answer them precisely so that life can be preserved, and the next generations can cry and laugh, ask and answer.
No matter how intelligent, great and scientifically equipped a person is, without unity with nature, a caring and thoughtful relationship with nature and its riches, he is doomed to death.
The world for Astafiev is the world of people and nature, existing in eternal and continuous unity, the violation of which threatens degeneration and death. Astafiev’s entire book is the writer’s faith in the triumph of good, in its organic nature for a single world, the faith that the seed of the Turukhansk lily will sprout into a flower.
Annex 1
Composition of V. P. Astafiev’s story “The Tsar is a Fish”
The book “The King Fish” appeared in print in 1976, immediately becoming the center of public attention.
The theme of “The King of Fish” can be defined as reflections on the purity of our existence, on a clean house, clean people, on pure, unclouded nature.
In total, “The Fish King” includes 12 stories. The plot of the story is connected with the author's journey - lyrical hero- to their native places in Siberia.
"The King Fish" has two epigraphs. One is taken from a poem by N. Rubtsov. The other is by the American scientist Haldor Shapley. These lines express the author's position, warning readers about the controversial content of "The King Fish". It includes material about the “ominous holiday of existence”, the “disturbed appearance of the native land”, desecrated nature, desecrated by man himself, and at the same time reflects the hope that it is not too late to establish harmonious relations with nature and the world.
The cycle opens with the story “Boye”. The title of the story comes from the dog's name, which means “friend” in Evenki. Boye is a symbol of devotion, defenselessness, appealing to conscience and justice.
“The Drop” is a kind of lyrical and philosophical center of the first part of “The King of Fishes”. In it, the author reflects not only on nature - its great beauty. Inaccessibility, greatness, but also addresses the complex problems of a person’s personal responsibility for everything that happens in this world.
Following the short story “The Drop,” several stories about poachers follow: “The Lady,” “At the Golden Hag,” “The Fisherman Rumbled.” We see a whole gallery of characters, complex human destinies and difficult relationships.
The bright emotional center of the entire work is the chapter “The King Fish”, in which, by the will of fate, a huge sturgeon and a man ended up on the same hook.
The first part of “The King of Fishes” ends with the short story “A Black Feather is Flying,” made in the style of a report from the scene.
Second part " King of fish"connected with the image of the hunter Akimka. The first story, “Ear on Bogadan,” is dedicated to Akimka’s childhood and family. The subsequent stories “Wake”, “Turukhanskaya Lily”, “Dream in the White Mountains” introduce us to a soul wide open.
The final chord of “The King of Fishes” is the lyrical miniature “There is no answer for me.” When the author-storyteller says goodbye to his native places, associations arise. Memoirs and philosophical reflections. The spirit of these thoughts is very accurately conveyed by the poems of Alexei Prasolov, cited by the writer himself in the text: “What does time mean? What space? For inspiration and work, appear once and remain yourself forever.”
Images of poachers
In the first part of the book, Astafiev paints us the colorful characters of modern poachers: Damka, Roaring, Commander.
Astafiev's hero, nicknamed by the dog's nickname "lady" because of his barking laugh, lives thoughtlessly and easily, gets drunk, makes jokes and disturbs people. The only joy in his wild life is the “spy craft”, and simply watching for couples in the dark corners of the village. This reckless little man, obeying the general mood of the village men. Engaged in poaching fish.
Caught by fisheries inspection with illegally caught sterlet, but accustomed to impunity and some kind of disgusting forgiveness, he was frightened, but still did not expect trial and retribution. Therefore, Damka again took up secret work, drank and had fun. And although fisheries supervision has become stricter. The river was again full of illegal gear and destroyed fish.
Completely different poachers appear in subsequent chapters. These are cut from different human material. They are distinguished by will, assertiveness, intelligence, strength of character, and resourcefulness. The strengths and passions of the rich Siberian nature find fulfillment only in the desire to deceive the fisheries authorities, catch secretly and make money.
The fates of these heroes indicate that a person who does evil and finds justification for himself suffers from evil himself.
More than anything in the world, the Commander loved his daughter Taika, but he was not destined, as he dreamed, to educate his clever daughter and leave with her to distant lands. The same poacher, only on land, killed the daughter of the intrepid Commander. “Having gotten drunk on chatter, the driver fell asleep at the wheel, flew onto the sidewalk and hit two schoolgirls returning from a matinee.” Inescapable grief tormented the Commander and alienated him from his family and people.
A fisherman named Grokhotalo had a different, but equally difficult, difficult fate. He appeared in the Siberian village of Chush from Ukraine, serving a prison sentence for connections with Bandera. The roar was a “lucky” guy, he was lucky to catch, but only once, when for the only time in his life he hooked a huge sturgeon, he was immediately caught by the fish inspector. And such hatred and rage gripped the manager of the pig farm. There was a roar that he smashed and broke on his way and in his house, he even tried to pour gasoline on his home and set it on fire - the people defended it.
Astafiev makes his position clear: every story about poachers ends with punishment. Punishment sooner or later inevitably overtakes the culprit - this is the meaning of the stories about poachers.
The history of the appearance of the word “King Fish”
There are cases when a person was alone with an animal during some kind of danger, and this does not surprise anyone. But for the hero to be left alone with the fish is the first time in Russian literature. Why did Ignatyich have to go through the ordeal not just with a fish, but with the Tsar – a fish?
Let’s first figure out what this expression “king fish” means. This expression is not the only one in the Russian language: “tsar-maiden” (in A.S. Pushkin), king of beasts, king of nature. It most likely means the top of the hierarchy, omnipotence, a force that must be obeyed.
Secondly, in pagan times, people put prohibitions (taboo) on the names of the animals they deified, so as not to bring trouble upon themselves. “With all his might, Ignatyich slammed the butt of his ax into the forehead of the king fish...” Last words This quote is a traditional folklore allegory. Instead of the direct name “sturgeon”, the indirect, descriptive “king fish” is given. This designation is a powerful creature on which the life and well-being of the fisherman depends.
The image of a fish in Astafiev’s work did not arise by chance and is full of symbolic meaning. In the image of the Tsar Fish, there is a folklore layer associated with Russian fairy tales and legends about a mighty fish (whale, pike), possessing wonderful capabilities, fruitful power, able to fulfill all desires (goldfish). The earth, the entire universe, rests on it (the fish), and with its death comes a catastrophe, a universal flood. “When the whale-fish touches, then mother earth will shake, then our white light will end...” it is this folklore motif - “the fish on which the whole Universe rests and which is the mother of all fish” - is the leading and leading one in V. P. Astafiev’s work symbolizes nature, the basis of life, without which man cannot exist, and along with its destruction, he condemns himself to a slow painful death. “So why did their paths cross? The king of the river and the king of all nature are in one trap. The same painful death awaits them.”
Famous Soviet writer Viktor Astafiev lived and worked in a purely atheistic era. However, here’s what’s interesting: many of the writers of that time were still Soviet time in their own way expressed in their works the features of the Orthodox worldview and mentality.
It’s surprising, but true: in the conditions of the total Khrushchev and post-Khrushchev attack on Christianity in the Soviet state, a whole group of writers (first of all, let’s name V. Rasputin, V. Belov, V. Krupin) based their work on the principles of Orthodoxy - in their spontaneous popular expression. defeat. The folk-national principle carried within itself the ineradicable core of Orthodoxy as a tradition, spiritual and cultural. Country writers portrayed in their works a man of an Orthodox character: humble, but mentally resilient, responsive to the pain of others, conscientious. The same can be found in other areas of art Soviet era, for example, in the cinema. No wonder famous actor and director Nikolai Burlyaev once said: “The best films of Russian cinema, even of godless times, which constituted the pinnacle of world cinema, are mostly Orthodox in spirit, even if they did not directly talk about God and faith.”
Viktor Astafiev took his special place in this series. Brought up, albeit in an atheistic era, but on examples of popular morality, he, apparently, treated Orthodox shrines and faith with reverence, although over time he added to this a purely intellectual illness: faith in God - without the Church, without priests, without sacraments. How complexly everything was intertwined in the life of Astafiev and, apparently, many of our other writers of that time. In “Zatesi” Astafiev expressed a very skeptical mood in understanding church life: “...Waving a censer, a priest in an old-fashioned robe brought from Byzantium mutters in a decrepit, long-forgotten language of prayer among the people, preaches primitive, for many people simply ridiculous, banal truths ...There, in the incense smoke, obedience and humility are preached...” However, there was something else.
In an interview in 1989 after a trip to Greece, Astafiev spoke with enthusiasm and surprise at what he saw about visiting the monastery, about meeting with the Serbian priest Fr. Jeremiah, about how he visited the cave of St. John the Theologian: “I saw the Apocalypse, I was in the cave of the author of this immortal book, John the Theologian. I saw manuscripts; 13 thousand manuscripts are kept in the monastery. The monastery is 900 years old. Everything is preserved through the efforts of the monks. They work very hard and treat history with great care. Icons of the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th centuries. The frescoes are preserved. I looked carefully at the icons and could not understand how they differed from ours. Then I figured it out. I’m used to looking at icons with holes, all the jewelry was removed from them, looted, but here they are all intact, in rich settings, they look different. The manuscript on calfskin from the 6th century attracted particular attention. I asked what was written there. Textualists believe that there are messages of good luck and happiness to us.”
But something else was even more important - the subconscious, perceived, as they say, with mother's milk. Many of his works show that the writer organically assimilated popular ideas about Orthodoxy. These ideas lack dogmatic precision, but they often deeply and correctly reflect the essence of Orthodox views on human life. One of the typical examples is Astafiev’s famous “Tsar Fish”. It would seem - what is it about?
This is not just about the theme of nature and man. The writer persistently returns to the question of God. In a pathetic moment of struggle with death, the hero turns to God with a prayer: “Lord! May you separate us! Let this creature go free! It is not in my hands!” - the catcher begged weakly, without hope. “I didn’t keep icons at home, I didn’t believe in God, I scoffed at my grandfather’s orders. And in vain. Just in case, well, at least for something like this, in case of emergency, you should keep the icon, even if it’s in the kitchenette...”
In "The Fish Tsar" V. Astafiev most likely unconsciously builds a kind of Orthodox model of human destiny. This model in canonical Orthodoxy includes three obligatory moments: sin - repentance - Resurrection in Christ (forgiveness and the granting of salvation). We find this model in all major works of Russian classics.
Of course, V. Astafiev is not a theologian or a purely religious writer. It is unlikely that he can be compared, for example, with Shmelev, V. Krupin. His hero Ignatyich is shown in the chapter “The Fish King” as an ordinary person, whose sin manifests itself in everyday life. Like everyone else, his sin does not strike the eye, but lives quietly in him, half-forgotten, not disturbing his conscience. Like any “ordinary sinner,” Ignatyich appears before us as a “litten coffin”: decorated on the outside, but stinking on the inside. But even Ignatyich himself does not feel this sinful stench until his dying hour. The author shows the accuracy, skill, and some kind of internal composure of Ignatyich. In public, he is not only a worthy person, but also, perhaps, one of the best in his village. But this is human judgment. For the time being, Ignatyich does not think about God’s judgment, does not see his sin.
Meanwhile, V. Astafiev literally “sticks his nose” at his hero’s sin. Its external everyday expression is Ignatyich's poaching. There is also an internal sin, half-forgotten, deep-lying, a “dull, hostile secret” lying between “two people.” This sin is an outrage against Glasha. A figurative and semantic series is built: Nature-woman - Fish-woman. Thus, poaching becomes a symbol that affects not only the external life of the hero, but also his intimate life, accountable to God alone.
Ignatyich, already before the collision with the fish, tried to carry the burden of repentance: “He never raised his hand to a single woman, he never did even the slightest dirty trick to a single one, he didn’t leave Chushi, consciously hoping humility, helpfulness, serenity to get rid of the guilt, to beg for forgiveness." However, Ignatich’s repentance, according to V. Astafiev, is incomplete. And not because repentance begins with the church sacrament of confession and Ignatyich is in no way connected with the church. For this, the writer, sometimes skeptical of the church, does not reproach his hero. Repenting before one woman, Glasha, the hero of “The Fish Tsar” poaches and destroys another “woman” - nature, although V. Astafiev does not emphasize this idea, but it is discerned in his author’s remark: “Forgiveness, you are waiting for mercy. ? from whom? Nature, she, brother is also feminine!" That is why Ignatyich’s repentance is called by the author “pretense.” And he expects true and complete repentance from his hero. Outside the church, this is an extreme situation when the hero is between life and death. Then he remembers God, from whom he has been hiding all his life. This is also in other works of Astafiev. Let us remember how in his novel “Cursed and Killed” the heroes suddenly spiritually transform in an extreme situation: “Even if you are a non-communist, who would you care for? addressed over the abyss itself?...and everyone is quietly crossing themselves and whispering godly things. At night, who was called “Party”, “Oh, that’s it!”
Ignatyich brings true repentance - with the acceptance of mortal torment - in his "dying" hour, when there is no longer any hope of salvation and when his whole life appears before his eyes. This is the repentance of the thief, who repented in his last hour on the cross. But this is complete, heartfelt repentance. It is no coincidence that V. Astafiev, emphasizing the canonical side of the event, speaks of Ignatyich’s mortal torment (“I have not yet accepted all the torment”). At this decisive hour of his life, V. Astafiev’s hero asks for forgiveness from all people and especially from Glasha, “not having control of his mouth, but still hoping that at least someone will hear him.” Obviously, "someone" is God.
This is not only and not just a depiction of a sick human conscience. The writer endows his hero with an almost ecclesiastical idea of sin and the image of repentance (as the highest level - pleasing God, then - sincere and deep repentance with the correction of one's life, and finally, with bad repentance - patience with sorrows and even “mortal torment”).
And God heard Ignatich and accepted his repentance this time. And he sent him not just anyone, but his brother, with whom he had a long-standing enmity. Having asked forgiveness from “everyone,” Ignatyich, therefore, asked for forgiveness from his brother, and forgave him. Now he is waiting for him no longer as an enemy, but as a friend-savior. Here he acts according to the Gospel commandment: “Forgive and you will be forgiven” (Luke, 6, 37), “If you do not forgive, then your Heavenly Father will not forgive you your sins” (Mark 11, 26).
God gives Ignatyich’s brother the opportunity to come to terms with life, replacing enmity in his soul (even the desire for death for his brother) with mercy. The king fish got off the trap and gained freedom, which symbolizes the forgiveness sent down to Ignatyich from nature.
The author has a good idea of that path of salvation human soul(sin-repentance-Resurrection), which is taught in Orthodoxy, and describes exactly this in “The Fish King”. So, in addition to spontaneous, popular Orthodoxy, in Astafiev’s work there is also a consciously assimilated, albeit peculiarly interpreted, canonical Orthodox teaching about man and his earthly destiny. At the same time, the complexity of a writer’s fate was reflected in his statement: “The too quiet, intelligent Chekhov is not my writer. I love bright, catchy, I love devilry.”
There is no demonism in The Tsar Fish. But what gives the work artistic interest, according to the author’s plan, is the non-canonical nature of Orthodox ideas about human life, the attempt to unite Christianity and pantheism. In this sense, V. Astafiev clearly demonstrates that literary creativity almost never can fully correspond to religious truth. The entire interest in a work is almost inevitably built not on following the indicated truth, but on an original, even individual, deviation from it. Each artist here has his own dominant principle. V. Astafiev’s idea of Nature is pantheistic in spirit.
In the story, the writer fruitfully touched (but only touched!) the canonical understanding in Orthodoxy of the theme of sin and repentance and embroidered his artistic pattern along this canvas.
Timofeeva Natalya Vasilievna 2010BBK 83.3(2 Ros=Rus)6-022
N. V. Timofeeva
PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPT OF THE WORLD AND MAN IN THE STORY OF VIKTOR ASTAFYEV “THE KING FISH”
Viktor Astafiev’s story “The Fish Tsar” was published in the magazine “Our Contemporary” in 1976, although individual chapters appeared in print as early as 1973.
Main philosophical issues is contained in the chapter “The Fish King,” the title of which is also the title of the story. Philosophical meaning This story is that a person must and will be held accountable for a thoughtless attitude not only towards nature, but also towards his own kind.
In historical and literary terms, the story “The Fish King” is in many ways a phenomenon of “village prose,” but this does not exhaust its significance. It constitutes that part of “village prose” in which the problems of the village recede into the background. In the 60-80s. XX century works of this kind made up a whole layer of Russian literature: “The Commission” by S. Zalygin, “Farewell to Matera” and “Fire” by V. Rasputin, “The White Steamship” and “The Scaffold” by Ch. Aitmatov, “Once Upon a Time There Was Semuzhka” by F. Abramov and others. These works examine the relationship between man and nature in all its severity and ugliness, revealed by the end of the 20th century.
We find delight in the greatness of nature, the correlation of fleeting earthly human life with endless and immortal nature in Russian classics, in the poems of G. Derzhavin, A. Pushkin, M. Lermontov, in the prose of I. Turgenev, S. Aksakov, L. Tolstoy and others Russian writers and poets. But since the beginning of the 20th century, the danger of the death of nature, the disappearance of its beauty and greatness under the onslaught of the “steel cavalry” of technological progress, the insufficient development of which is presented as absolute proof of Russia’s economic and social backwardness, has become obvious. The rejection of blind admiration for progress was evident in the works of A. Kuprin, A. Tolstoy, S. Yesenin, M. Bulgakov, A. Platonov, M. Prishvin, K. Paustovsky... Russian literature of the 20th century. was wary of the idea of a machine paradise, and therefore has a single anti-technocratic orientation.
In the story “The Drop” (one of the chapters of the story “The King Fish”), the narrator from places crippled by “progress” finds himself in the world of virgin nature. There, at the sight of a drop ready to fall and bring down the harmony of the universe - a symbol of the fragility, beauty and greatness of nature, the hero-narrator reflects: “It only seems to us that we have transformed everything, including the taiga. No, we only wounded her, damaged her, trampled her, scratched her, burned her with fire. But they couldn’t convey their fear and confusion to her, they couldn’t instill hostility in her, no matter how hard they tried.” .
“Village Prose,” having entered into a dialogue about nature, technological progress and man, turned its elegiac gaze to the past of the Russian village, where, according to the “village people,” the relationship between the peasant and the land was harmonious. Environmental problems were perceived in the 60-80s. XX century as a consequence of the collapse of the village.
The work “The Fish King” has a complex genre nature. Thus, N. Yanovsky, following the author, calls the work a “narration in stories”, T. Vakhitova - both a “story” and a “narration in stories”: the chapters that make up the works are called “stories”.
The title of the story originates in the reimagined folk poetry. True, in Russian folklore there is no identical character with such a “name,” but in the image of the king fish one can feel an ancient folklore layer associated with Russian fairy tales and legends about the mighty fish. No less legitimate is the reference to the fertile linguistic tradition, where the concepts of “king”, “royal” are associated with the concept of supremacy, the highest degree of manifestation of any properties or qualities. In Astafiev’s King Fish, in addition to the real natural, folklore, literary content, there is also an objective material, “substantial” one. But this “materiality” of the king fish, recorded by V. Dahl, is also ambiguous. On the one hand, this is the first fish, the royal “present”, on the other hand, this is the royal “bite”, which the unworthy were tempted and lay claim to. The temptation of wealth and things is one of the common vices of the time of the publication of Astafiev’s book. With the help of the image of the king fish, the writer transfers the topical topic of the fight against consumerism, which was topical for that time, into the category of, if not eternal, then traditional for Russian literature. It is not for nothing that the mention of the king fish is associated in the narrative with ancient, ancient times.
The commandment put into the mouth of the Chushan “grandfather” is a stylization of a folklore text: “And if you, timid ones, have something for your soul, a grave sin, what a disgrace, barnacle - do not get involved with the king fish. If you come across codes, send them away immediately.” Here, stylization is one of the techniques of parody. The folklore motif of the indestructible strength of an omnipotent being is parodied, and not a specific folklore character. Astafiev's satire contains a significant tragic element.
The subject of satire here also becomes the myth of man, the king of nature, popular in the ideology of the New Age. Astafiev probably specifically recalls the popular mythology of the 20th century: “The king of the river and the king of all nature are in one trap.” The “king of all nature,” embodied in the person of the businesslike, neat, non-drinking, almost positive “mechanic” Zinovy Ignatievich Utrobin, turns out to be no less vulnerable than the fish he caught, because he is a poacher both in the literal and figurative sense. Plot outline The “production” story about the hard “labor” of hunters and fishermen is here brought to the point of absurdity and thereby parodied: with their “work” Astafievsky hunters, fishermen and poachers bring closer not a happy future, but “the last hour of nature” and their last hour.
Ignatyich’s dangerous “work” is not caused by the desire to escape hunger, to gain a piece of bread - he already has it, being a good worker. And here another aspect of the theme of nature is obvious, another object of Astafiev’s satire: greed, avarice (“the insatiable womb” - a colloquial image punningly correlates with the hero’s surname) force the Chushan fisherman to sin against people and nature. The reduced image of the king fish also personifies greed: “Why didn’t he notice before what a disgusting looking fish it was! Her woman's meat is disgusting and tender, completely covered in layers of candle-colored, yellow fat, barely held together by cartilage, stuffed into a bag of skin - everything, everything is disgusting, sickening, obscene. Because of her, because of this kind of bastard, man has been forgotten in man! He was overcome by greed! For as long as he can remember, everyone is in a boat, everyone is on the river, everyone is in pursuit of it, this cursed fish.” Fear forces a person to see something repulsive in what previously attracted royal beauty and quick enrichment. The King Fish becomes an obsessive mania; it is close to the seductive Shaman that young hunters dreamed of (chapter “Boye”), and the unattainable white mountains. “Tsar Fish” - the thirst for enrichment, greed forces one to risk his life and shed human blood and the blood of “our little brothers.”
The king fish, this huge and beautiful sturgeon, is on a par with the faithful dog Boye, with the Turukhansk lily, with the taiga and the hunters, peasants, fishermen who inhabit it, with the autobiographical hero. Therefore, her salvation (like Ignatyich’s salvation) in the story symbolizes the triumph of life, the salvation of nature, and therefore life itself from destruction by man. The King Fish turns into a universal, “all-encompassing” image, uniting all chapters, combining contradictory feelings, thoughts, events, characters into a single lyric, journalistic and fairy tale-lyrical narrative about how and why “man was forgotten in man.” The writer sees the origins of the troubles in the fact that in pursuit of the king fish, poachers forgot about their peasant origins and human destiny: “On... the river, the parents’ mowing was overwhelmed by the fool. I haven’t looked at the library since school - I haven’t had time. He was the chairman of the school parent committee - he was removed, he was re-elected - he does not come to school.”
Obviously, the story got its name not only from the most vivid story, but from the most voluminous, significant symbolic image, related to the folklore prototype, and literary images A. Kuprin (“Listrigons”), E. Hemingway (“The Old Man and the Sea”). This image polemicizes with the images of these works: Astafiev’s “king of nature” does not triumph, proving his superiority over the mighty fish, but begs for salvation from it.
In “Tsar Fish” there is practically no village as such. There is the village of Chush (out of many possible names, the author chose a comically punning option), references to Boganida have been preserved, Plakhino, Sushkovo and other “camps”, fishing “huts” are mentioned. In this you can see the northern “specificity” - numerous settlements traditional for Central Russia and even the south of Siberia are very rare there. But you can also see something else. The narrative, with the exception of the chapter “Missing a Heart,” covers post-war events. This is a time of demographic revolution, accelerated by the liberalization of public life (removal of restrictions on leaving the countryside), and, as a consequence of this, empty villages and villages.
Numerous completed and unfinished construction projects, mentioned with pain and bitterness in “The King Fish,” also made their “contribution” to this process.
In depicting the “departure” of the village, Astafiev’s work turned out to be consonant with the work of V. Shukshin, V. Rasputin (“ Deadline", "Farewell to Matera", "Fire"), V. Abramov ("Wooden Horses", "Alka", "Brothers and Sisters") and other writers. “Whenever I fly away from Krasnoyarsk and the plane, its nose into space, trembles, gets nervous, works itself into a rage, roars like a wild stallion and rushes off Pokrovskaya Mountain, I see my native places.
Fate was pleased to give me another gift - flying along the rocky corridor of the Yenisei, the plane sometimes passes over my village, and for some reason it always seems to me: I see it in last time and I say goodbye to him forever."
The main artistic conflict in “The Fish King” unfolds as a collision of the good principles of human collectivity and solidarity, the manifestations of which the writer constantly notices and highlights in his characters, and human individualism. In the hierarchy of values of human society, openness for V. Astafiev is one of the highest. In “The Fish King” there is a motif that runs through the entire work of straightening and at the same time softening a person, be it a hero or a narrator. A person suddenly lets go of the tension that for some reason was holding him back, the soul softens, opens up to meet another person and the world around him. It is in this state that threads of trust and affection are most often stretched between people, and the sense of belonging to the human community and nature intensifies. People like the beacon keeper Pavel Yegorovich, according to the writer's observation, are characterized by inner freedom and spiritual gentleness, in contrast to those people whose main pathos was self-affirmation. Pavel Egorovich seems to be initially straightened out, because he does not seek to take from life, but, on the contrary, he is ready to give everything he has, “right down to the heart.” That is why, according to the writer, “the life of such people is spiritually easy, enviably free.”
According to the author’s concept, this is true freedom, and not at all the kind that seems to be characteristic of Goga Hertsev. True openness presupposes the activity of the soul, sincerity, kindness, which is precisely what is not observed in Hertsev. Instead of kindness, it contains the aggressiveness of personal will, using people for its own purposes. His freedom is self-affirmation in independence from people, in elevation above them.
Let us note that it is precisely Pavel Yegorovich’s initial openness, its invulnerability and indestructibility that is an essential aspect of the author’s concept of man. It’s as if nature itself happily took care to invest in Pavel Yegorovich that sincerity that nothing can defeat. The hero does not become, but remains as nature made him. Man here is taken by V. Astafiev mainly as a natural, generic being, in his seemingly pre-personal essence. So the community of people on Boganida is also, in a certain sense, prepersonal.
The basis of the community of people on Boganida is work, joint labor. Is it strong enough, will the harmony of interhuman connections be maintained on it? The answer to this question is given by the writer in the chapter of the story, which tells the story of three fishermen who remained for the winter surrounded by vast tundra and taiga, among endless snow and desolation. It is in this episode that Boganid’s “world” looks like in a mirror.
Those fishermen were also united by their work. But as soon as they were forced to interrupt it, the stability of their relationship immediately suffered greatly. Unity collapses because it is not supported, not provided by the highest principle in the person himself, which makes him a person - spirituality. The ability to rise above the randomness of conditions and circumstances, with unfading inner, spiritual vision to see in another person a close, dear being.
Akim - main character"King of the Fishes" Like the autobiographical hero, he acts in most of the story chapters, but in the second part he is the main thing actor, expressing the author’s ideas about a human type, albeit not perfect, but close to the author.
Naturally, Akim is far from the “ideal”, and Astafiev does not set out to create perfect image neither in “The Fish King” nor in other works. Even grandmother Katerina Petrovna receives the ironic nickname “general” from her fellow villagers and the autobiographical hero of “The Last Bow” for her imperiousness and “morality.” In general, Astafiev’s hero is more inclined to associate the concept of “ideal” with the alien aesthetics of the “socialist” canon than with ideas about the “truth of life.”
In Akim, the author notes a weakened willpower, external unattractiveness, and mediocrity. Astafiev deliberately “reduces” the features of a “high” hero in him: “colorless” thin hair, naivety, wastefulness... But for all that, Akim is the only character who can withstand a duel with a cannibal bear. He alone openly opposes the satirical “anti-hero” of Astafiev’s prose - the narcissistic champion of personal freedom Goga Gertsev.
Discrepancy between social status, the appearance of the character, the perception of him by those around him and his spirituality have long been the basis of the intrigue of works of Russian literature from N. M. Karamzin to F. M. Dostoevsky. In the 20th century, a similar motif was developed by M. Bulgakov in his “sunset novel” “The Master and Margarita”. Both Yeshua and the Master are initially perceived by others as naive and short-sighted eccentrics, and both are suspected of madness. The truth of their way of life and way of thinking becomes obvious only with the passage of the novel’s “time.” By transforming this motif, Astafiev showed the defenselessness of good in front of aggressive, assertive, and acquired features of attractiveness (Goga Hertsev) evil.
The complex, contradictory problem of the relationship between man and nature can only be very conditionally correlated with the figure of Akim. That is why the role of the autobiographical hero-narrator in the narrative is so great. He not only talks about events, but also participates in them, expresses feelings about what is happening, reflects... This gives the story, which includes essays (“At the Golden Hag,” “A Black Feather is Flying”) and lyrical and philosophical chapters ( “A Drop”, “There is no answer for me”), a special kind of lyricism and journalisticism.
In Russian folklore, images from the natural world: grass, broom, birch - are associated with mythology, rituals and the tradition of song existence. The Astafievskaya taiga, the king fish, and the drop acquire sacred properties through folklore. Among the consonant Astafievsky images are the image of the taiga and the old oak tree in the story “Starodub”, the image of the taiga in the story “The Tsar Fish”.
Symbolic images, perceived as sacred, are created in “The Fish King” and through the association of what is depicted with historical events, their signs and emblems. Let us remember the clash between Akim and Goga Gertsev over the Kiryaga-wooden medal. The cynic Gertsev makes a spinner out of a medal (a sacred emblem of war in the public consciousness, a sign of a patriotic idea) received by a disabled person for military valor. “Even in the village of Chush, overpopulated with all sorts of Ocheski, only one person could rob a disabled war veteran and exchange his last medal.”
This is expressive and bright, but not at all new for Russian literature of the 20th century. artistic technique.
The consciousness of a person who finds himself on the verge of death is capable of building his own “mythology”. Astafyevsky Ignatyich remembers a woman he once insulted, and the fish king seems to him to be taking revenge for this. Ignatich’s repentance before the king fish, personifying nature, before a woman insulted in his youth, before parents and children “for all human sin” was, as it were, predicted by Dostoevsky’s heroes: “Take yourself and make yourself responsible for all human sin.”
The motif “the river is a savior-destroyer” runs through all of the writer’s work. Yenisei “took” his mother from the autobiographical hero of “The Last Bow” and “The Tsar Fish”, and therefore he is a “destroyer.” But he brings people “food” and beauty, and therefore he is the “breadwinner”. He can execute and have mercy, and this is his sacred, almost divine function in the story, connecting him with the image of the king fish, which, according to its symbolic content, can be correlated with the image of the distressed, but therefore no less majestic Siberian taiga.
But there is also an implicit tragic consonance between this image and the fate of Akim. The King Fish goes into the dark depths of the Yenisei, pierced with deadly hooks. Homeless Akim is also doomed to neglect, ridicule and contempt for his goodness.
Akim also has the right to declare himself: “And I am free.” But Akim's freedom is the freedom to choose between good and evil. His position is close to the author's worldview.
The ideas of “The Fish King” were developed by the author in later works. In published in the 80-90s. chapters of “The Last Bow” (“Pestrukha”, “Forgotten Little Head”), in the “ventures” of this period, the environmental theme is one of the main ones. In the story “The Shadow of the Fish” (2000), the beauty akin to the king fish now coexists with threatening ugliness. Such a neighborhood revealed itself already in Astafiev’s prose of the 60-70s. (“Starodub”, “Blue Twilight”, “Tsar Fish”). Later, in the 90s, Astafiev emphasizes the dismal results of attempts to revive
harmony between man and nature. And yet the author remains hopeful that there are still people on earth who have earned “the highest rank on earth - to be called a man”, that the seeds of love, “dropped by a kind hand into the native tears and then watered land, will certainly sprout.” How to do so that, while transforming the earth, preserve and increase earthly wealth? Renewing, saving and enriching the beauty of nature? How to avoid and prevent the sad consequences of an unreasonable encroachment on the natural laws of nature? These are deep moral problems raises Astafiev in the story “The Tsar Fish”. Awareness of them, according to Astafiev, is necessary for everyone so as not to trample or damage nature through callousness and spiritual deafness. V. Astafiev’s work is not closed, it directly addresses life with questions, and the solution to these questions depends only on people.
Towards the end of his life, Astafiev admitted that he was no longer able to write anything like “The Tsar Fish”, and not because he lacked talent, but lacked spiritual strength: “Let other guardians of the word come and reflect their “deeds” and ours, will comprehend the meaning of the tragedy of humanity, including telling about the destruction of Siberia, its conquest, not by Ermak, but by thundering, thoughtless progress, pushing and pushing ahead of itself a formidable, all-destroying weapon, for the sake of the production of which it was burned, melted, and taken to the dumps already a large part of the earthly inheritance that we inherited for life from our ancestors and bequeathed to us by God. These earthly riches are given to us not for blind advancement towards a disastrous edge, but for the triumph of reason. We are already living in debt, robbing our children, and they have a difficult fate ahead, much more difficult than ours.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Astafiev V.P. Tsar-fish // Collection. cit.: in 4 volumes - T. 4. - M.: Young Guard, 1981. - 558 p.
2. Dal V.I. Explanatory dictionary of the living Great Russian language: in 4 volumes - T. 4. - M.: Russian language, 1991. - 685 p.
3. Astafiev V.P. Comments // Collection. cit.: in 15 volumes - T. 6. - Krasnoyarsk: PIK "Offset", 1997. - 432 p.
The article was received by the editor on June 25, 2010
PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPTION OF THE WORLD AND A MAN IN VICTOR ASTAFIEV’S STORY “TSAR FISH”
The main philosophical problems of Victor Astafiev’s story “Tsar Fish” are considered in the paper. One of the chapters has the same title. The philosophical meaning of this story lies in the fact that a man must be responsible for his thoughtless attitude not only to the nature, but to the people like him. The principal artistic conflict of the story is the collision of human collectivity, solidarity and aggression of personal will, using people for his sake. Openness is the highest value in the hierarchy of human values for V. Astafiev. It is the state, when internal tension may suddenly disappear; human soul is softened, and becomes open for another person and the surrounding world. It is under this condition when the threads of trust and amity arise among people, and the feeling of belonging to the human community and the nature becomes more intensified. V. Astafiev points out the results of unsuccessful attempts to revive the harmony in relations between a man and nature. Nevertheless, the author hopes that there are the people on the Earth who deserve "the highest dignity in our universe - the dignity to be called a man", that the seeds of love "sown with a kind hand into native land irrigated with tears and "sweat will sprout."
Key words: philosophical problems, artistic conflict, human community and nature, author’s conception, moral problems, thoughtless progress, approaching catastrophe.
Composition
In the first half of the seventies of the 20th century, environmental problems were first raised in the Soviet Union. During these same years, Viktor Astafiev wrote a narrative in the stories "Tsar Fish". The main characters of "The Fish King" are Nature and Man. Critics called the work social and philosophical. The author's thoughts and feelings have universal significance. The title of the story was given by the chapter “The King Fish”, which has a generalized symbolic meaning.
The king fish is a huge sturgeon. Man fights with the king fish: it is a symbol of the development and taming of nature. The fight ends dramatically. The seriously wounded king fish does not surrender to man; she leaves him, carrying hooks in her body. The ending of the fight looks very dramatic - the fish leaves the man to die: “Furious, seriously wounded, but not tamed, it crashed somewhere in invisibility, splashed in the cold whirlwind, a riot gripped the freed, magical king-fish.” The story also talks about the tragedy of Man, who is connected with Nature by the closest connection, but forgot about it and destroys himself and her.
We grew up during the Chernobyl era. We will always remember the nightmares of a nuclear disaster. If humanity fails to change its consciousness, then new catastrophes are simply inevitable. But several decades ago, A.I. Vernadsky created his doctrine of the noosphere - the sphere of the human mind, where it is necessary “to think and act... not only in the aspect of an individual, family or clan, state or union, but also in the planetary aspect.” The concept of “humanity” arose several centuries ago, but only in recent years have people begun to learn to feel like humanity - an indivisible community.
Why are environmental problems becoming so acute? The answer is simple: today humanity has the same impact on nature as, for example, the strongest storms or powerful eruptions volcanoes. And often humanity surpasses the spontaneous destructive forces of nature. A return to the “Garden of Eden,” that is, to untouched nature, is absolutely impossible. However, issues of the relationship between man and nature must be resolved taking into account the ethical factor.
In the story "The King Fish" all the heroes are the main ones. These are Akim, Nikolai Petrovich, Kiryaga and many others.
Victor Astafiev made the image of the author one of the main characters, striving to proclaim and establish moral principles dear to his heart. Victor Astafiev innovatively moves from narration to reflection, from pictures of nature to journalism. The author's choice of the form of the work - narration in stories - is not accidental. This form allowed Astafiev to distance himself from the strict plot of the narrative, which, for example, the form of a novel does not allow.
One of the main tasks of “Tsar Fish” is to expose poaching in the broadest interpretation of the word. After all, a poacher is not only a person who steals fish or animals from the state. A poacher is both the one who builds a nuclear power plant over a clean lake and the one who gives permission to cut down virgin forests.
"The King Fish" is not a collection of thematically related stories, but rather a narrative. The author's all-consuming idea about the inseparability of Man and Nature flows smoothly from chapter to chapter, revealing itself from new and new sides, absorbing new meanings, expanding the scope of the philosophical, economic, social task facing all people. The location of "The King of Fish" - Siberia - is also of great ideological and artistic significance. These vast undeveloped spaces are both a treasure and a pain for Russia. The wealth of Siberia is based extensively, without thinking about tomorrow. “So what am I looking for? Why am I suffering? Why? Why? There is no answer for me.” Viktor Astafiev does not provide ready-made answers to the answers given in the narrative. It takes courage, kindness, and wisdom from the reader to understand: only man can save the king fish. This is the task of the present and the future.
Akim then said to Gertsev in his heart: “Well, you are carrion!.. The old woman calls Kirka a man of God. Yes, he is God’s!.. God will punish you...” Goga swaggers in response: “I don’t give a damn about old women, about the cripple of this dirty one! I am my own God! And I will punish you for insulting.
Come on, come on! - Akim felt a chill in the pit of his stomach from some kind of long-awaited satisfaction. - Come on, come on! - he demanded, barely restraining himself.
Goga glanced at him:
I'll strangle you!
It will be clear who wins...
To sit for such a stink...
Gertsev did not finish his sentence, he flew across the bench in a wonderful, clumsy, not at all sporting manner, sweeping dishes and a box of spinners off the table on the way, rattled his bones on the floor and did not rush back at Akim - he suddenly fumbled along the floor with his hand and began collecting hooks , rings, carabiners with such an air as if nothing had happened, and if it happened, it didn’t happen to him and it didn’t concern him.
Satisfied? - He finally stared at the disheveled Akim.
Well, what are you doing! “Only now did Akim realize that no one had ever beaten this guy, well-groomed and healthy, but he had to beat seven of one, as other young people do these days, partying in a group, seething with passions. - It’s tight, isn’t it? Is it pressing?!
Gertsev wiped his mouth and, having mastered his confusion, declared that fighting was the work of bastards, he would not stoop to a fight, but to shoot himself, according to the noble ancient custom, - this is please. Akim knew how Goga shoots - from his youth in shooting ranges, in gyms, on stands, and he, a herring shooter, knows what kind of shooter - the cartridge is more expensive than gold, from an early age save your supplies, hit the bird three meters with a run, so Hertsev's move a true, but too naked, arrogant move, not from the taiga, where openness and honesty are still alive in a fight and in trouble. Without frenzy, but not without gloating, Akim set the condition:
Shoot and shoot! How the paths will cross in the taiga, so that there will be no ends... You should sit for such a nit!..
You shouldn't sit, you should lie down!
Well, well, we'll see. Don’t look at me, I’m built like a bathhouse, but I’m roofed like a barn!”
In this dialogue, the differences between Akim and Goga are very clearly revealed. Akim is capable of hitting a person only in a fair, open fight. He is organically incapable of offending another person, especially a poor, wretched one. It is characteristic that it is not Akim who starts the quarrel, but Hertsev.
Main character“The King of Fishes” follows the peculiar moral law of the taiga, where a person who is open with others, honest and does not try to crush nature can survive. Goga, “his own God,” turns out to be the devil, Kashchei (it is no coincidence that the writer emphasizes that Gertsev, like a fairy-tale villain, “rattled his bones on the floor”). He doesn’t care about other people and is proud of it, he is ready to destroy anyone who stands in his way, to destroy not even figuratively, but literally. After all, in fact, Goga is plotting the murder of Akim, offering a duel on conditions that are obviously unfavorable for him and advantageous for himself. However, unlike Kashchei the Immortal, Gertsev is by no means immortal. And his death seems natural, although it occurred as a result of an absurd accident. This is, as it were, God's punishment for arrogantly equating oneself with God.
When Akim finds the corpse of his enemy, he does not feel joy, despite ancient saying that the enemy's corpse smells good. He feels sorry for the unlucky Gertsev, who, in a hurry to get fish for his sick companion, made a fatal mistake and choked in ice water, and buries Goga in a Christian manner. It is Akim who remains victorious in the dispute with Gertsev; it is he, and not Goga, who manages to get the Tsar Fish. And, although, as the hunter himself admits, he “learned culture... in Boganid and at Bedovoy,” as the village paramedic later confirmed, in relation to Eli, “the guy did what was within his power and capabilities, - and not without proud significance he also said: “Taiga science!” Luck becomes a reward for the fact that he remains faithful to universal, Christian moral values, is ready, without hesitation, to help his neighbor and feel sorry even for his enemy.
Other works on this work
"Tsar Fish" by Astafiev Analysis of the story "The King Fish" The mastery of depicting nature in one of the works of Russian literature of the 20th century. (V.P. Astafiev. “Tsar Fish”.) REVIEW OF THE WORK OF V. P. ASTAFYEV "KING FISH" The role of artistic detail in one of the works of Russian literature of the 20th century. (V.P. Astafiev “Tsar Fish”) The theme of nature protection in modern prose (V. Astafiev, V. Rasputin) Affirmation of universal moral values in the book by V.P. Astafiev "Tsar fish" Man and the biosphere (Based on the work of V. P. Astafiev “The Tsar Fish”) Nature (based on the work of V.P. Astafiev “The Tsar Fish”)Mainly devoted to military topics, but in this article we will turn to a work describing the village way of life. Depicting the harsh realities of life on the verge of censorship is what Astafiev has always distinguished. “The King Fish” (a summary and analysis will be the main topics of the article) is the key story of the collection with the same name, therefore its consideration will help to understand the meaning of the entire work and the author’s intention.
About the book
Viktor Astafiev was no stranger to village themes. “The Fish King” is a collection of short stories consisting of twelve works. The main theme of the entire collection is the unity of nature and man. In addition, there are philosophical, social, and moral issues, with special attention paid to environmental issues.
Nature and man are inextricably linked, and in this connection there is their immortality: nothing disappears without a trace, Astafiev believes. “The King Fish” (a brief summary will confirm this) is the central story of the entire collection, it concentrates the author’s main thoughts. Without reading and analyzing it, it is impossible to understand the full depth of the author's intention.
V. Astafiev, “Tsar Fish”: summary
The main character of the story is Ignatyich. He works as a machine operator, loves to delve into technology and is passionate about fishing. This is a good person, ready to selflessly help even a stranger, but treats others somewhat condescendingly.
Ignatyich was an unsurpassed fisherman. He had no equal in this matter, and therefore he never asked anyone for help and managed it himself. And he also took all the loot for himself.
Brother
Astafiev ("The Fish King") shows a good knowledge of human relationships in his work. Summary talks about Ignatyich's most envious person - his younger brother, also an avid fisherman. Often he managed to force Ignatyich to fishless places, but even there he managed to catch select fish. The commander was angry with our hero because he succeeded in everything, and everything he did went wrong.
One day the brothers met on the river. The younger one began to threaten the older one with a gun. The commander was furious, he hated and envied his brother. But Ignatyich managed to get away from him. The village learned about this incident, and the Commander had to go apologize to his older brother.
King fish
Viktor Astafiev begins to describe his hero’s usual fishing trip. “The Tsar Fish” is an environmental work, so the author does not miss the opportunity to note that Ignatyich is engaged in poaching. That is why the character is in constant tension, afraid of the appearance of fisheries inspection. Any boat passing by becomes a cause for panic.
Ignatyich checks the pre-set traps. They contain a lot of fish, among which the fisherman notices a very large one. It turned out to be a sturgeon that was so tired of escaping the net that it was now simply sinking to the bottom. Ignatyich took a closer look, and something in the appearance of the fish seemed primeval to him. Horror grips the fisherman, he tries to cheer himself up with jokes and inserts new hooks into his prey.
Astafiev continues to develop the action of the short story “The Fish Tsar”. The content of the chapters tells that Ignatyich begins to be overcome by doubts. His inner instinct tells him that you can’t handle the fish alone, you need to call your brother. But the thought that they will have to divide the spoils immediately drives away other arguments.
Greed takes over Ignatyich. He thinks that he himself is no better than other grabbers. But he immediately begins to encourage himself, greed is perceived as excitement. Then the thought occurs to him that the king fish has been caught in his net. Such happiness comes only once in a lifetime, so you can’t miss it. Although my grandfather once said that if you come across a king fish, you need to let it go. But Ignatyich cannot allow even the thought of this.
The fisherman tries to drag the fish into the boat, but falls overboard with it and becomes entangled in the nets. Miraculously, he manages to swim out and grab onto the boat. Ignatyich begins to pray for salvation, repents of having dared to catch the king fish.
The fisherman and his prey huddled together, entangled in the net, and weakened. Ignatyich begins to think that their destinies are intertwined with the king fish, and inevitable death awaits them ahead.
Beast and man
Astafiev’s work “The Fish Tsar” talks about the inextricable connection between man and nature. So, Ignatyich begins to think that nature and people have the same fate.
Suddenly the hero becomes imbued with hatred for the fish, begins to beat it, and persuades it to come to terms with death. But everything is in vain, the fisherman only exhausts himself. In a moment of despair, Ignatyich calls his brother, but there is no one around except the fish.
It gets dark, the fisherman realizes that he is dying. It seems to him that the fish is clinging to him like a woman, and that the fish is a werewolf. Ignatyich begins to remember his life. Childhood, occupied with thoughts of fishing, and not with studies or games... The death of Taika's niece... Grandfather with his advice that you should not catch the king fish if you have sins in your soul...
Ignatyich ponders why he was so cruelly punished and understands that it’s all because of Glashka. Once he was jealous of her, which greatly offended the bride. The girl never forgave him, and retribution has now overtaken the fisherman.
There is the sound of a boat engine. The slave comes to life, begins to fight and, having untangled herself from the net, swims away. Ignatyich also received freedom. And not only physical, but also mental.
V. Astafiev, “Tsar Fish”: analysis
The story “The King Fish” is both symbolic and dramatic. It depicts both the struggle and unity of man with nature. The entire work is permeated with pathos, which is accusatory in nature. The author condemns poaching, understanding it in the broadest sense - poaching not only in nature, but also in society. Striving for approval moral ideals covers the entire story.
It is no coincidence that the hero and Astafiev himself constantly turn to the past. “The King Fish” (analysis of the episodes confirms this) makes it clear that it is at the moment of proximity to death that Ignatyich’s life experience is comprehended. The formation of the hero’s character directly depends on social and economic factors. And even despite his natural kindness and courage, Ignatyich turns out to be unable to resist them.
Thus, Astafiev emphasizes the enormous power of society, which influences not only humans, but also nature as a whole.