Instructions
Main character story " Heart of a Dog"Professor Preobrazhensky is the author of a monstrous experiment. He is a representative of the Russian intelligentsia: he lives in a beautiful seven-room apartment, has a servant, speaks and dresses intelligently. Philip Philipovich embodies the dying Russian aristocratic culture: this is evidenced by the interior, dinners, which represent a real ritual. Professor Preobrazhensky is talented, witty, feels confident in the company of representatives of the new class of society, and does not hide his negative attitude towards the proletarian order. Preobrazhensky enjoys enormous prestige among the new government, as a rare luminary of medicine, able to perform complex rejuvenation operations. Professor Preobrazhensky considers violence against living beings unacceptable. But he himself decides to undertake a terrible experiment in improving the imperfect nature of man: he performs an operation to transplant part of human organs into a dog. The failure of the experiment returns the professor to the understanding of the immorality of such experimental violence against nature human life. As a result, Professor Preobrazhensky comes to the conclusion that the outstanding geniuses “decorating the globe” are distinguished according to the laws of evolution, and not experiments. The author has an ambivalent attitude towards his hero: he respects him for his true intelligence and condemns him for the dubious and dangerous violent methods of his experiments.
Doctor Bormenthal also occupies an important place in the system of images of the story “The Heart of a Dog”. Ivan Arnoldovich is young, thanks to Preobrazhensky he turned from a poor person into an assistant professor, studied his skills with a medical luminary and earned good money. The experiment with the dog Sharik, who turned into citizen Sharikov, brought Bormenthal closely together with his teacher. He was an assistant in the operation, then lived in the apartment of Professor Preobrazhensky, recording the results of the experiment in a diary and raising Sharikov. Dr. Bormental is intelligent, but, realizing the impossibility of re-educating such a “person,” he is ready to strangle Sharikov in order to make life easier for himself and his benefactor.
Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov appears in the story after the operation performed by Professor Preobrazhensky. And at first it is the gullible dog Sharik, transformed as a result of experience into an immoral person who cannot be raised and educated. Sharikov is the embodiment of a society in which there are no strong moral principles: the “illegitimate son” of the professor goes to bed in the kitchen on the bed, plays the balalaika, swears, throws cigarette butts on the floor, etc. Citizen Sharikov writes denunciations against “daddy” and even threatens to kill him. Within two months of its existence, Poligraf Poligrafovich received a job and got a job as head of the department. The new government supports him and considers him a useful member of the existing society. The antihero Sharikov at the end of the work again becomes affectionate dog A ball, because the immoral actions of the new “citizen”, contrary to the laws of human life, forced the intellectual Preobrazhensky to admit the monstrosity of his experiment and destroy the results.
An active participant in the plot of the story “Heart of a Dog” is the recently elected Chairman Shvonder. The author deliberately depicted this hero schematically: Shvonder represents one of the “comrades”, the “public face” of the new structure of life. Shvonder treats class enemies with hatred; his attitude lies in an unreasoning admiration for the power of new laws and. Shvonder looks indifferently at the miracle of the creation of man, in front of him is the society of Sharikov, who must have a document and get a job. Main conflict The story “Heart of a Dog” is primarily reflected in the confrontation between Shvonder and Preobrazhensky, representing two opposing socio-ethical classes.
Ball – main character M. A. Bulgakov’s fantastic story “The Heart of a Dog”, a stray dog who was picked up and sheltered by Professor Preobrazhensky. This is an eternally hungry, frozen, homeless dog that wanders in the gateways in search of food. At the beginning of the story, we learn that a cruel cook scalded his side, and now he is afraid to ask anyone for food, lies against the cold wall and waits for the end. But suddenly the smell of sausage comes from somewhere and he, unable to bear it, follows her. A mysterious gentleman walked along the sidewalk, who not only treated him to sausage, but also invited him to his home. Since then, Sharik began a completely different life.
The professor took good care of him, cured his sore side, brought him into proper shape and fed him several times a day. Soon Sharik began to turn away even from the roast beef. Other residents large apartment The professors also treated Sharik well. In return, he was ready to faithfully serve his master and savior. Sharik himself was a smart dog. He knew how to distinguish letters on street signs, knew exactly where the Glavryba store was in Moscow, where the meat counters were. Soon something strange happened to him. Professor Preobrazhensky decided to conduct an amazing experiment on human organ transplantation.
The experiment was a success, but after that Sharik gradually began to take on a human form and behave like the previous owner of the transplanted organs - the thief and repeat offender Klim Grigorievich Chugunkin, who died in a fight. So Sharik turned from good and smart dog into an ill-mannered boor, alcoholic and rowdy named Poligraph Poligrafovich Sharikov.
“Heart of a Dog” characteristic of Preobrazhensky
Preobrazhensky Philip Philipovich – central character M. A. Bulgakov’s fantastic story “The Heart of a Dog”, a luminary of medicine of world significance, an experimental surgeon who achieved remarkable results in the field of rejuvenation. The professor lives and works in Moscow on Prechistenka. He has a seven-room apartment where he conducts his experiments. Housekeepers Zina, Daria Petrovna and temporarily his assistant Bormental live with him. It was Philip Philipovich who decided to conduct a unique experiment on a stray dog to transplant a human pituitary gland and testes.
He used the stray dog Sharik as a test subject. The results of his experiment exceeded expectations, as Sharik began to take on a human appearance. However, as a result of this physical and psychological humanization, Sharik turned into a terrible rude man, a drunkard and a lawbreaker. The professor connected this with the fact that he transplanted the organs of Klim Chugunkin, a rowdy, repeat offender, alcoholic and hooligan, into the dog. Over time, rumors about a dog that turned into a man leaked to the light and an official document was issued to Preobrazhensky’s creation in the name of Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. Moreover, the chairman of the house committee, Shvonder, forced Philip Fillipovich to register Sharikov in the apartment as a full-fledged inhabitant.
Sharikov acts as the complete opposite of the professor, which leads to an insoluble conflict. When Preobrazhensky asked him to leave the apartment, the matter ended with threats with a revolver. Without hesitating a moment longer, the professor decided to correct his mistake and, having put Sharikov to sleep, performed a second operation, which returned the dog kind heart and the same appearance.
“Heart of a Dog” characteristic of Sharikov
Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov- main negative character the story “Heart of a Dog”, the man into whom the dog Sharik turned after the operation of Professor Preobrazhensky. At the beginning of the story, it was a kind and harmless dog that the professor picked up. After an experimental operation to implant human organs, he gradually took on a human appearance and behaved like a human, albeit an immoral one. His moral qualities left much to be desired, since the transplanted organs belonged to the deceased repeat offender Klim Chugunkin. Soon the newly converted dog was given the name Poligraf Poligrafovich Sharikov and given a passport.
Sharikov became a real problem for the professor. He was rowdy, harassed neighbors, harassed servants, used foul language, got into fights, stole and drank a lot. As a result, it became clear that he inherited all these habits from the previous owner of the transplanted pituitary gland. Immediately after receiving his passport, he got a job as the head of the department for clearing Moscow of stray animals. Sharikov's cynicism and callousness forced the professor to carry out another operation to turn him back into a dog. Fortunately, he still had Sharikov’s pituitary gland, so at the end of the story Sharikov again became a kind and affectionate dog, without boorish habits.
“Heart of a Dog” characteristic of Bormenthal
Bormental Ivan Arnoldovich- one of the main characters of M. A. Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog”, assistant and assistant to Professor Preobrazhensky. This young doctor is fundamentally honest and noble by nature. He is completely devoted to his teacher and is always ready to help. He cannot be called weak-willed, since at the right moment he knows how to show strength of character. Preobrazhensky accepted Bormental as an assistant when he was still a student at the department. Immediately after graduation, the capable student became an assistant professor.
In a conflict situation that arose between Sharikov and Preobrazhensky, he takes the professor’s side and tries in every possible way to protect him and other characters. Sharikov was once just a stray dog that was picked up and sheltered by a professor. For experimental purposes, the human pituitary gland and testes were transplanted into him. Over time, the dog not only became more human, but also began to behave like a person, like the previous owner of the transplanted organs - the thief and repeat offender Klim Chugunkin. When rumors about the new resident reached the house committee, Sharik was given documents in the name of Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov and was registered in the professor’s apartment.
Bormenthal carefully monitored the behavior of this impudent and ill-mannered creature, not even disdaining physical violence. He had to temporarily move in with the professor to help deal with Sharikov, whom he almost strangled in his rage. Then the professor had to perform a second operation to turn Sharikov back into a dog.
"Heart of a Dog" characteristic Shvonder
Shvonder – minor character story “Heart of a Dog”, proletarian, new head of the house committee. He played an important role in introducing Sharikov into society. Despite this, the author does not give him a detailed description. This is not a person, but a public face, a generalized image of the proletariat. All that is known about his appearance is that he had a thick head of curly hair. He does not like class enemies, to which he classifies Professor Prebrazhensky and demonstrates this in every possible way.
For Shvonder, the most important thing in the world is a “document,” that is, a piece of paper. Having learned that an unregistered person lives in Philip Philipovich’s apartment, he immediately obliges him to register him and issue a passport in the name of Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. He doesn’t care where this man came from and the fact that Sharikov is just a dog transformed as a result of an experiment. Shvonder bows to power and believes in the power of laws, regulations and documents. He doesn’t even care that the professor has made a real revolution in science and medicine. For him, Sharikov is just another unit of society, an apartment tenant who must be registered.
“Heart of a Dog” was written in early 1925. It was supposed to be published in the Nedra almanac, but censorship prohibited publication. The story was completed in March, and Bulgakov read it at the literary meeting of Nikitsky Subbotniks. The Moscow public became interested in the work. It was distributed in samizdat. It was first published in London and Frankfurt in 1968, in the magazine “Znamya” No. 6 in 1987.
In the 20s Medical experiments on rejuvenating the human body were very popular. Bulgakov, as a doctor, was familiar with these natural science experiments. The prototype of Professor Preobrazhensky was Bulgakov’s uncle, N.M. Pokrovsky, a gynecologist. He lived on Prechistenka, where the events of the story unfold.
Genre features
The satirical story “Heart of a Dog” combines various genre elements. The plot of the story is reminiscent of fantastic adventure literature in the tradition of H. Wells. The subtitle of the story is " Monstrous story"indicates the parodic flavor of the fantastic plot.
The science-adventure genre is an outer cover for satirical subtext and topical metaphor.
The story is close to dystopias due to its social satire. This is a warning about the consequences of a historical experiment that must be stopped, everything must be returned to normal.
Issues
The most important problem of the story is social: it is the comprehension of the events of the revolution, which made it possible for the Sharik and Shvonders to rule the world. Another problem is awareness of the limits of human capabilities. Preobrazhensky, imagining himself to be a god (he is literally worshiped by his family), goes against nature, turning a dog into a man. Realizing that “any woman can give birth to Spinoza at any time,” Preobrazhensky repents of his experiment, which saves his life. He understands the fallacy of eugenics - the science of improving the human race.
The problem of the danger of invasion into human nature and social processes is raised.
Plot and composition
The science fiction plot describes how Professor Philip Philipovich Preobrazhensky decides to experiment with transplanting the pituitary gland and ovaries of the “semi-proletarian” Klim Chugunkin to a dog. As a result of this experiment, the monstrous Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov appeared, the embodiment and quintessence of the victorious proletariat class. Sharikov's existence caused many problems for Philip Philipovich's family, and, in the end, endangered the normal life and freedom of the professor. Then Preobrazhensky decided to do the opposite experiment, transplanting the pituitary gland of a dog into Sharikov.
The ending of the story is open: this time Preobrazhensky was able to prove to the new proletarian authorities that he was not involved in the “murder” of Poligraf Poligrafovich, but how long will his far from peaceful life last?
The story consists of 9 parts and an epilogue. The first part is written on behalf of the dog Sharik, who suffers from the cold and a wound on his scalded side in the harsh St. Petersburg winter. In the second part, the dog becomes an observer of everything that happens in Preobrazhensky’s apartment: the reception of patients in the “obscene apartment”, the professor’s opposition to the new house management headed by Shvonder, the fearless admission of Philip Philipovich that he does not love the proletariat. For the dog, Preobrazhensky turns into a semblance of a deity.
The third part talks about ordinary life Philip Philipovich: breakfast, conversations about politics and devastation. This part is polyphonic, it contains the voices of both the professor, and the “chopped” (Bormenthal’s assistant from the point of view of Sharik who grabbed him), and Sharik himself, talking about his lucky ticket and about Preobrazhensky as a magician from a dog’s fairy tale.
In the fourth part, Sharik meets the rest of the inhabitants of the house: the cook Daria and the servant Zina, whom the men treat very gallantly, and Sharik mentally calls Zina Zinka, and quarrels with Daria Petrovna, she calls him a homeless pickpocket and threatens him with a poker. In the middle of the fourth part, Sharik's narrative is interrupted because he undergoes surgery.
The operation is described in detail, Philip Philipovich is terrible, he is called a robber, like a murderer who cuts, pulls out, destroys. At the end of the operation, he is compared to a well-fed vampire. This is the author’s point of view, it is a continuation of Sharik’s thoughts.
The fifth, central and climactic chapter is the diary of Dr. Bormenthal. It starts in strictly scientific style, which gradually turns into conversational, with emotionally charged words. The case history ends with Bormenthal’s conclusion that “we have a new organism before us, and we need to observe it first.”
The next chapters 6-9 are history short life Sharikova. He experiences the world by destroying it and living the probable fate of the murdered Klim Chugunkin. Already in Chapter 7, the professor has the idea to decide on new operation. Sharikov's behavior becomes unbearable: hooliganism, drunkenness, theft, harassment of women. The last straw was Shvonder’s denunciation from Sharikov’s words against all the inhabitants of the apartment.
The epilogue, describing the events 10 days after Bormental's fight with Sharikov, shows Sharikov almost turning into a dog again. The next episode is the reasoning of the dog Sharik in March (about 2 months have passed) about how lucky he was.
Metaphorical subtext
At the professor's speaking surname. He transforms the dog into a “new person.” This happens between December 23 and January 7, between Catholic and Orthodox Christmas. It turns out that the transformation occurs in some kind of temporary void between the same date in different styles. A polygrapher (who writes a lot) is the embodiment of the devil, a “massive” person.
Apartment on Prechistenka (from the definition of the Mother of God) of 7 rooms (7 days of creation). She is the embodiment of divine order amidst the surrounding chaos and devastation. A star looks out of the apartment window from the darkness (chaos), observing the monstrous transformation. The professor is called a deity and a priest. He officiates.
Heroes of the story
Professor Preobrazhensky– scientist, a figure of world significance. At the same time, he is a successful doctor. But his merits do not prevent the new government from frightening the professor with a seal, registering Sharikov and threatening to arrest him. The professor has an inappropriate background - his father is a cathedral archpriest.
Preobrazhensky is quick-tempered, but kind. He sheltered Bormenthal at the department when he was a half-starved student. He is a noble man and is not going to abandon his colleague in the event of a disaster.
Doctor Ivan Arnoldovich Bormental- son of a forensic investigator from Vilna. He is the first student of the Preobrazhensky school, loving his teacher and devoted to him.
Ball appears as a completely rational, reasoning creature. He even jokes: “A collar is like a briefcase.” But Sharik is the very creature in whose mind the crazy idea of rising “from rags to riches” appears: “I am a master’s dog, an intelligent creature.” However, he hardly sins against the truth. Unlike Sharikov, he is grateful to Preobrazhensky. And the professor operates with a firm hand, mercilessly kills Sharik, and having killed, he regrets: “It’s a pity for the dog, he was affectionate, but cunning.”
U Sharikova nothing remains from Sharik except hatred for cats and love for the kitchen. His portrait was described in detail first by Bormenthal in his diary: this is a man short with a small head. Subsequently, the reader learns that the hero’s appearance is unattractive, his hair is coarse, his forehead is low, his face is unshaven.
His jacket and striped trousers are torn and dirty, a poisonous heavenly tie and patent leather boots with white leggings complete the costume. Sharikov is dressed in accordance with his own concepts of chic. Like Klim Chugunkin, whose pituitary gland was transplanted to him, Sharikov plays the balalaika professionally. From Klim he got his love for vodka.
Sharikov chooses his first and patronymic according to the calendar, and takes the “hereditary” surname.
The main character trait of Sharikov is arrogance and ingratitude. He behaves like a savage, and about normal behavior he says: “You torture yourself, like under the tsarist regime.”
Sharikov receives a “proletarian education” from Shvonder. Bormenthal calls Sharikov a man with a dog’s heart, but Preobrazhensky corrects him: Sharikov has a human heart, but the worst possible person.
Sharikov even makes a career in his own sense: he takes the position of head of the department for cleaning Moscow from stray animals and is going to sign with the typist.
Stylistic features
The story is full of aphorisms expressed different heroes: “Don’t read Soviet newspapers before lunch,” “The devastation is not in the closets, but in the heads,” “You can’t hurt anyone! You can influence a person or an animal only by suggestion” (Preobrazhensky), “Happiness is not in galoshes”, “And what is will? So, smoke, mirage, fiction, nonsense of these ill-fated democrats..." (Sharik), "The document is the most important thing in the world" (Shvonder), "I am not a master, the gentlemen are all in Paris" (Sharikov).
For Professor Preobrazhensky there are certain symbols normal life, which in themselves do not provide this life, but testify to it: a shoe rack in the front door, carpets on the stairs, steam heating, electricity.
Subject of the work
At one time, M. Bulgakov’s satirical story caused a lot of talk. In “Heart of a Dog” the heroes of the work are bright and memorable; the plot is fantasy mixed with reality and subtext, in which sharp criticism of the Soviet regime is openly read. Therefore, the work was very popular in the 60s among dissidents, and in the 90s, after its official publication, it was even recognized as prophetic.
The theme of the tragedy of the Russian people is clearly visible in this work; in “Heart of a Dog” the main characters enter into an irreconcilable conflict with each other and will never understand each other. And, although the proletarians won in this confrontation, Bulgakov in the novel reveals to us the whole essence of the revolutionaries and their type of new man in the person of Sharikov, leading us to the idea that they will not create or do anything good.
There are only three main characters in “Heart of a Dog,” and the narrative is mainly told from Bormenthal’s diary and through the dog’s monologue.
Characteristics of the main characters
Sharikov
A character who appeared as a result of an operation from the mongrel Sharik. A transplant of the pituitary gland and gonads of the drunkard and rowdy Klim Chugunkin turned a sweet and friendly dog into Poligraf Poligrafych, a parasite and a hooligan.
Sharikov embodies all the negative traits of the new society: he spits on the floor, throws cigarette butts, does not know how to use the restroom and constantly swears. But this is not even the worst thing - Sharikov quickly learned to write denunciations and found a calling in killing his eternal enemies, cats. And while he deals only with cats, the author makes it clear that he will do the same with people who stand in his way.
Bulgakov saw this base power of the people and a threat to the entire society in the rudeness and narrow-mindedness with which the new revolutionary government resolves issues.
Professor Preobrazhensky
An experimenter who uses innovative developments in solving the problem of rejuvenation through organ transplantation. He is a famous world scientist, a respected surgeon, whose “speaking” surname gives him the right to experiment with nature.
I was used to living in grand style - servants, a house of seven rooms, luxurious dinners. His patients are former nobles and high revolutionary officials who patronize him.
Preobrazhensky is a respectable, successful and self-confident person. The professor, an opponent of any terror and Soviet power, calls them “idlers and idlers.” He considers affection the only way to communicate with living beings and denies the new government precisely for its radical methods and violence. His opinion: if people are accustomed to culture, then the devastation will disappear.
The rejuvenation operation yielded an unexpected result - the dog turned into a human. But the man turned out to be completely useless, uneducable and absorbing the worst. Philip Philipovich concludes that nature is not a field for experiments and he interfered with its laws in vain.
Dr. Bormental
Ivan Arnoldovich is completely and completely devoted to his teacher. At one time Preobrazhensky accepted live participation in the fate of a half-starved student - he enrolled him in the department, and then took him on as an assistant.
The young doctor tried in every possible way to develop Sharikov culturally, and then completely moved in with the professor, as it became more and more difficult to cope with the new person.
The apotheosis was the denunciation that Sharikov wrote against the professor. IN climax When Sharikov took out a revolver and was ready to use it, it was Bromenthal who showed firmness and toughness, while Preobrazhensky hesitated, not daring to kill his creation.
The positive characterization of the heroes of “Heart of a Dog” emphasizes how important honor and self-dignity are for the author. Bulgakov described himself and his doctor-relatives in many of the same traits as both doctors, and in many ways would have acted the same way as them.
Shvonder
The newly elected chairman of the house committee, who hates the professor as a class enemy. This is a schematic hero, without deep reasoning.
Shvonder completely bows to the new revolutionary government and its laws, and in Sharikov he sees not a person, but a new useful unit of society - he can buy textbooks and magazines, participate in meetings.
Sh. can be called Sharikov’s ideological mentor; he tells him about his rights in Preobrazhensky’s apartment and teaches him how to write denunciations. The chairman of the house committee, due to his narrow-mindedness and lack of education, always hesitates and gives in in conversations with the professor, but this makes him hate him even more.
Other heroes
The list of characters in the story would not be complete without two au pairs - Zina and Daria Petrovna. They recognize the superiority of the professor, and, like Bormenthal, are completely devoted to him and agree to commit a crime for the sake of their beloved master. They proved this at the time of the repeated operation to transform Sharikov into a dog, when they were on the side of the doctors and accurately followed all their instructions.
You have become acquainted with the characteristics of the heroes of Bulgakov’s “Heart of a Dog,” a fantastic satire that anticipated the collapse of Soviet power immediately after its emergence - the author, back in 1925, showed the whole essence of those revolutionaries and what they were capable of.
Work test
Mikhail Bulgakov's story “The Heart of a Dog,” written in 1925 in Moscow, is a filigree example of sharp satirical fiction of that time. In it, the author reflected his ideas and beliefs about whether a person needs to interfere with the laws of evolution and what this can lead to. The topic touched upon by Bulgakov remains relevant in modern times. real life and will never cease to disturb the minds of all progressive humanity.
After its publication, the story caused a lot of speculation and controversial judgments, because it was distinguished by the bright and memorable characters of the main characters, an extraordinary plot in which fantasy was closely intertwined with reality, as well as an undisguised, sharp criticism of Soviet power. This work was very popular among dissidents in the 60s, and after its reissue in the 90s it was generally recognized as prophetic. In the story “Heart of a Dog,” the tragedy of the Russian people is clearly visible, which is divided into two warring camps (red and white) and only one must win in this confrontation. In his story, Bulgakov reveals to readers the essence of the new victors - proletarian revolutionaries, and shows that they cannot create anything good and worthy.
History of creation
This story is the final part of a previously written cycle of satirical stories by Mikhail Bulgakov of the 20s, such as “The Diaboliad” and “Fatal Eggs”. Bulgakov began writing the story “Heart of a Dog” in January 1925 and finished it in March of the same year; it was originally intended for publication in the Nedra magazine, but was not censored. And all of its contents were known to Moscow literature lovers, because Bulgakov read it in March 1925 at the Nikitsky Subbotnik ( literary circle), later it was copied by hand (the so-called “samizdat”) and thus distributed to the masses. In the USSR, the story “Heart of a Dog” was first published in 1987 (6th issue of the Znamya magazine).
Analysis of the work
Storyline
The basis for the development of the plot in the story is the story of the unsuccessful experiment of Professor Preobrazhensky, who decided to turn the homeless mongrel Sharik into a human. To do this, he transplants the pituitary gland of an alcoholic, parasite and rowdy Klim Chugunkin, the operation is successful and he is born absolutely " new person» — Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov, who, according to the author’s idea, is collectively new Soviet proletarian. The “new man” is distinguished by a rude, arrogant and deceitful character, a boorish manner of behavior, a very unpleasant, repulsive appearance, and the intelligent and well-mannered professor often has conflicts with him. Sharikov, in order to register in the professor’s apartment (to which he believes he has every right), enlists the support of a like-minded and ideological teacher, the chairman of the Shvonder house committee, and even finds himself a job: he catches stray cats. Driven to the extreme by all the antics of the newly minted Polygraph Sharikov (the last straw was the denunciation of Preobrazhensky himself), the professor decides to return everything as it was and turns Sharikov back into a dog.
Main characters
The main characters of the story “Heart of a Dog” are typical representatives of Moscow society of that time (the thirties of the twentieth century).
One of the main acting characters, at the center of the story, is Professor Preobrazhensky, a famous world-famous scientist, a respected person in society who adheres to democratic views. He deals with the issues of rejuvenating the human body through animal organ transplants, and strives to help people without causing them any harm. The professor is depicted as a respectable and self-confident person, having a certain weight in society and accustomed to living in luxury and prosperity (he big house with servants, among his clients are former nobles and representatives of the highest revolutionary leadership).
Being a cultured person and possessing an independent and critical mind, Preobrazhensky openly opposes Soviet power, calling the Bolsheviks who came to power “idlers” and “idlers”; he is firmly convinced that it is necessary to fight devastation not with terror and violence, but with culture, and believes that the only way to communicate with living beings is through affection.
Having conducted an experiment on the stray dog Sharik and turned him into a human, and even tried to instill in him basic cultural and moral skills, Professor Preobrazhensky undergoes a complete fiasco. He admits that his “new man” turned out to be completely useless, does not lend himself to education and learns only bad things ( main conclusion Sharikov after studying Soviet propaganda literature - everything needs to be divided, and doing this by the method of robbery and violence). The scientist understands that one cannot interfere with the laws of nature, because such experiments do not lead to anything good.
The professor's young assistant, Dr. Bormental, is a very decent and devoted person to his teacher (the professor at one time took part in the fate of a poor and hungry student, and he responded with devotion and gratitude). When Sharikov reached the limit, having written a denunciation of the professor and having stolen a pistol, he wanted to use it, it was Bormental who showed fortitude and toughness of character, deciding to turn him back into a dog, while the professor was still hesitating.
Describing with positive side of these two doctors, old and young, emphasizing their nobility and self-esteem, Bulgakov sees in their descriptions himself and his relatives, doctors, who in many situations would do exactly the same.
The absolute opposites of these two goodies people of new times speak: himself former dog Sharik, who became Polygraph Polygraphovich Sharikov, chairman of the Shvonder house committee and other “tenants”.
Shvonder is a typical example of a member of the new society who fully and completely supports Soviet power. Hating the professor as a class enemy of the revolution and planning to get part of the professor’s living space, he uses Sharikov for this, telling him about the rights to the apartment, giving him documents and pushing him to write a denunciation against Preobrazhensky. Himself, being a narrow-minded and uneducated person, Shvonder gives in and hesitates in conversations with the professor, and this makes him hate him even more and makes every effort to annoy him as much as possible.
Sharikov, whose donor was a bright average representative of the Soviet thirties of the last century, an alcoholic without a specific job, three times convicted lumpen-proletariat Klim Chugunkin, twenty-five years old, is distinguished by his absurd and arrogant character. Like all ordinary people, he wants to become one of the people, but he doesn’t want to learn anything or put any effort into it. He likes to be an ignorant slob, fight, swear, spit on the floor and constantly run into scandals. However, without learning anything good, he absorbs the bad like a sponge: he quickly learns to write denunciations, finds a job he “likes” - killing cats, the eternal enemies of the canine race. Moreover, by showing how mercilessly he deals with stray cats, the author makes it clear that Sharikov will do the same with any person who comes between him and his goal.
The gradually increasing aggression, impudence and impunity of Sharikov are specially shown by the author, so that the reader understands how much this “Sharikovism” emerging in the 20s of the last century is new social phenomenon post-revolutionary time, terrible and dangerous. Such Sharikovs, found quite often in Soviet society, especially those in power, pose a real threat to society, especially to the intelligent, smart and cultured people, whom they hate fiercely and try to destroy them in every possible way. Which, by the way, happened later, when during Stalin’s repressions the flower of the Russian intelligentsia and military elite was destroyed, as Bulgakov predicted.
Features of compositional construction
The story “Heart of a Dog” combines several literary genres at once, in accordance with the plots storyline it can be classified as a fantastic adventure in the image and likeness of H.G. Wells's The Island of Doctor Moreau, which also describes an experiment on breeding a human-animal hybrid. From this side, the story can be attributed to the genre that was actively developing at that time science fiction, whose prominent representatives were Alexei Tolstoy and Alexander Belyaev. However, under the surface layer of science-adventure fiction, in fact, there turns out to be a sharp satirical parody, allegorically showing the monstrosity and failure of that large-scale experiment called “socialism”, which was carried out by the Soviet government on the territory of Russia, trying to use terror and violence to create a “new man”, born from revolutionary explosion and propagation of Marxist ideology. Bulgakov very clearly demonstrated what will come of this in his story.
The composition of the story consists of such traditional parts as the beginning - the professor sees a stray dog and decides to bring him home, the climax (several points can be highlighted here) - the operation, the visit of the house committee members to the professor, Sharikov writing a denunciation against Preobrazhensky, his threats with the use of weapons, the professor's decision to turn Sharikov back into a dog, the denouement - the reverse operation, Shvonder's visit to the professor with the police, the final part - the establishment of peace and tranquility in the professor's apartment: the scientist goes about his business, the dog Sharik is quite happy with his dog's life.
Despite all the fantastic and incredible nature of the events described in the story, the author’s use of various techniques of grotesque and allegory, this work, thanks to the use of descriptions of specific signs of that time (city landscapes, various locales, life and appearance of characters), it is distinguished by its unique verisimilitude.
The events taking place in the story are described on the eve of Christmas and it is not for nothing that the professor is called Preobrazhensky, and his experiment is a real “anti-Christmas”, a kind of “anti-creation”. In a story based on allegory and fantastic fiction, the author wanted to show not only the importance of the scientist’s responsibility for his experiment, but also the inability to see the consequences of his actions, the huge difference between the natural development of evolution and revolutionary intervention in the course of life. The story shows the author's clear vision of the changes that took place in Russia after the revolution and the beginning of the construction of a new socialist system; all these changes for Bulgakov were nothing more than an experiment on people, large-scale, dangerous and having catastrophic consequences.