The symbolic meaning of the title of A. Green’s story “Scarlet Sails”
“When the colors of life fade, I take Green. I open it to any page, just like how they wipe the glass in the house in the spring. Everything becomes light, bright, everything again mysteriously excites, as in childhood. Green is one of the few that you should have in your travel first aid kit against fatty heart disease and fatigue. With him you can go to the Arctic and virgin lands, go on a date. He's poetic, he's courageous." This is how writer Daniil Granin expressed the powerful power of Green’s influence on the reader.
When thinking about Alexander Green, we first of all remember his fairy tale “Scarlet Sails”. This fabulous extravaganza became a symbol of his work. She absorbed all the best that is in Green’s other works: a beautiful dream and a true reality, love for a person and faith in his strength, hope for the best and love for beauty.
The title of the story is ambiguous. For a sailing ship to start moving, the wind must fill its sails. And a person’s life must be filled with deep content, then it has meaning. If life is boring and joyless, the dream becomes its content. A dream may remain a beautiful, unrealistic fairy tale. But it may come true.
Green's "Scarlet Sails" is a symbol of a dream that has become a reality. Assol’s dream “came to life” because the girl “knew how to love, as her father taught her, knew how to wait in spite of everything.” And she was able to maintain her faith in beauty, living among people who “couldn’t tell stories or sing songs.”
The purple color of silk, chosen by Gray for the sails of the Secret, became the color of joy and beauty, which was so lacking in Caperna.
A white sailboat under purple sails is a symbol of love and new life for Assol, who has waited for her happiness.
Green's “Scarlet Sails” is also a statement of the correct way to achieve happiness: “doing miracles with your own hands.” This was the opinion of Captain Gray, who made the dream of a girl he did not know come true. Sailor Longren thought so that he once made a toy yacht with purple sails, which brought happiness to his daughter.
Alexander Green is known for several works. But it would not be an exaggeration to say that many associate him with the work “Scarlet Sails”. Almost all the authors’ works can be classified into one genre or another. “Scarlet Sails” is called a story, an extravaganza, a fairy tale, and a story. And rightly so. When I started reading this work, I couldn’t put it down, I was so captivated by its plot. The book describes only a few main characters, but how bright they are in character!
On the one hand, each person is the architect of his own happiness. But on the other hand, much is still predetermined from above. There is a lot of evidence for both points of view, both in literature and in life. The “scarlet sails” that decorate the sailboat accompany the entire storyline.
Already at the very beginning of the extravaganza, the main character, sailor Longren, gave his daughter Assol a small boat with scarlet sails. Unfortunately, this was preceded by many tragic events: the early death of her mother, slander, and the difficult existence of this poor family. The whole village turned against them because he did not help his fellow villager when he found himself on the open sea. Few people were interested in the fact that this was done out of revenge, since he, at one time, did not help his wife.
The title of the story is no coincidence. The author emphasizes that wind is necessary for the movement of sails, just as forces are necessary for life. To achieve your goal or dream you need to put in a lot of effort. For Assol, her dream came true, despite the fact that many in the village considered the girl crazy. The story shows that if you believe in a better future and strive for it with all your might, then it will definitely come. For Assol, red became a symbol of love and joy, and white became the personification of hope and a bright future.
What is the meaning of the work Scarlet Sails by Alexander Greene? and got the best answer
Answer from Portasja[guru]
The point is that everything in life is destined, that dreams sometimes come true, that Cinderellas slip across the Earth once every 100 years, that everyone has a second half, that love at first sight exists, that love exists, that even beggars are people. -)) And to believe in it or not is our own business.
Answer from Girlfriend[guru]
If you believe in something sacred. then this will definitely happen))
Answer from Lera Shakhovtseva[guru]
I don’t remember exactly, but there is something there about believing in a miracle. If you don’t understand, read the criticism and move on from there, I’ve always done this.
Answer from Nata[newbie]
In my opinion, the meaning of this work is that a person should believe in his dream and not give up on it (like Asol). How strong his faith is, the more feasible this dream is. Miracles happen and sometimes they are created by the hands of ordinary people (Gray made Asol’s dream come true and sailed to her on a ship with scarlet sails).
Answer from Imma Ivashkina[guru]
I agree with the previous answer. The fairy tale teaches us to never lose hope and faith in the best and brightest. After all, thought is material. Sooner or later everything comes true
Answer from CHRISTINA.[guru]
NEVER DESPAIR, dream even if you have nothing at all, it is wonderful and helps you live and always remember that life without HOPE is a miserable existence
Greene is a romantic writer, apparently because his own life was terrible and tragic, look for it, you won’t regret it!
at Litra.ru in Guul
MEANING: TO EXTRACT THE DREAM OF HUMAN Happiness FROM TRAGIC REALITY. The fictional cities were called GREENLAND.
Answer from Natalia Medvedeva[guru]
If a person has a dream, even if it is the most unattainable and the whole world laughs at it, but no matter what he believes in it and strives for it, then it will definitely come true. And this weight will not be a fairy tale, but a reality.
Answer from Irina Danilyuk[master]
Green himself believed that we can create miracles with our own hands. and, first of all, it’s just a matter of Gray, not Assol. The point is that if you can do a miracle, then do it!
Answer from Olga Zhigulskaya[newbie]
The main idea of the author of the story is that a person needs to have the most cherished dream in his life, believe and strive for it, and only then will it come true. After all, Alexander Greene wrote this work not at the best times of his life, and, probably, in my opinion, he wanted to create an example of dreams, faith, and hope.
According to one version, the idea for the story “Scarlet Sails” arose during Alexander Green’s walk along the Neva embankment in St. Petersburg. Walking past one of the shops, the writer saw an incredibly beautiful girl. He looked at her for a long time, but did not dare to meet her. The beauty of the stranger so excited the writer that after some time he began writing the story.
A closed, gloomy man named Longren lives a solitary life with his daughter Assol. Longren makes models of sailing ships for sale. For a small family this is the only way to make ends meet. Fellow countrymen hate Longren because of one incident that happened in the distant past.
Longren was once a sailor and went sailing for a long time. Returning from a voyage once again, he learned that his wife was no longer alive. Having given birth to a child, Mary had to spend all the money on medicine for herself: the birth was very difficult, and the woman needed urgent treatment.
Mary did not know when her husband would return and, left without a means of subsistence, went to the innkeeper Menners to borrow money. The innkeeper made an indecent proposal to Mary in exchange for help. The honest woman refused and went to the city to pawn the ring. On the way, the woman caught a cold and subsequently died of pneumonia.
Longren was forced to raise his daughter on his own and could no longer work on the ship. The former sea knew who destroyed his family happiness.
One day he had a chance to take revenge. During a storm, Menners was carried out to sea by boat. The only witness to what happened was Longren. The innkeeper cried out in vain for help. The former sailor stood calmly on the shore and smoked a pipe.
When Menners was already far enough from the shore, Longren reminded him of what he had done to Mary. A few days later the innkeeper was found. Dying, he managed to tell who was “guilty” of his death. Fellow villagers, many of whom did not know what Menners really was, condemned Longren for his inaction. The former sailor and his daughter became outcasts.
When Assol was 8 years old, she accidentally met a collector of fairy tales, Egle, who predicted to the girl that years later she would meet her love. Her lover will arrive on a ship with scarlet sails. At home, the girl told her father about the strange prediction. A beggar overheard their conversation. He retells what Longren’s fellow countrymen heard. Since then, Assol has become an object of ridicule.
The noble origin of the young man
Arthur Gray, unlike Assol, grew up not in a miserable hut, but in a castle and came from a rich and noble family. The boy's future was predetermined: he would live the same prim life as his parents. However, Gray has other plans. He dreams of being a brave sailor. The young man secretly left home and entered the schooner Anselm, where he went through a very harsh school. Captain Gop, noticing good inclinations in the young man, decided to make him a real sailor. At the age of 20, Gray bought the three-masted galliot Secret, which he became captain of.
After 4 years, Gray accidentally finds himself in the vicinity of Liss, a few kilometers from which was Kaperna, where Longren lived with his daughter. By chance, Gray meets Assol, sleeping in the thicket.
The girl’s beauty struck him so much that he took the old ring off his finger and put it on Assol. Then Gray heads to Caperna, where he tries to find out at least something about the unusual girl. The captain wandered into Menners' tavern, where his son was now in charge. Hin Menners told Gray that Assol’s father was a murderer, and the girl herself was crazy. She dreams of a prince who will sail to her on a ship with scarlet sails. The captain doesn't trust Menners too much. His doubts were finally dispelled by a drunken coal miner, who said that Assol was indeed a very unusual girl, but not crazy. Gray decided to make someone else's dream come true.
Meanwhile, old Longren decides to return to his previous occupation. While he is alive, his daughter will not work. Longren set sail for the first time in many years. Assol was left alone. One fine day she notices a ship with scarlet sails on the horizon and realizes that it has sailed for her...
Characteristics
Assol is the main character of the story. In early childhood, the girl is left alone because of the hatred of others towards her father. But loneliness is familiar to Assol, it does not depress or frighten her.
She lives in her own fictional world, where the cruelty and cynicism of the surrounding reality does not penetrate.
At the age of eight, a beautiful legend comes into the world of Assol, in which she believed with all her heart. The life of a little girl takes on new meaning. She begins to wait.
Years go by, but Assol remains the same. Ridicule, offensive nicknames and hatred of fellow villagers towards her family did not embitter the young dreamer. Assol is still naive, open to the world and believes in prophecy.
The only son of noble parents grew up in luxury and prosperity. Arthur Gray is a hereditary aristocrat. However, aristocracy is completely alien to him.
Even as a child, Gray was distinguished by his courage, audacity and desire for absolute independence. He knows that he can truly prove himself only in the fight against the elements.
Arthur is not attracted to high society. Social events and dinner parties are not for him. The painting hanging in the library decides the fate of the young man. He leaves home and, after passing severe trials, becomes the captain of the ship. Boldness and courage, reaching the point of recklessness, do not prevent the young captain from remaining a kind and sympathetic person.
Probably, among the girls of the society in which Gray was born, there would not have been a single one capable of captivating his heart. He doesn’t need prim ladies with refined manners and brilliant education. Gray doesn't look for love, she finds it herself. Assol is a very unusual girl with an unusual dream. Arthur sees before him a beautiful, brave and pure soul, similar to his own soul.
At the end of the story, the reader has a feeling of a miracle accomplished, a dream come true. Despite all the originality of what is happening, the plot of the story is not fantastic. There are no wizards, fairies, or elves in Scarlet Sails. The reader is presented with a completely ordinary, unadorned reality: poor people forced to fight for their existence, injustice and meanness. Nevertheless, it is precisely its realism and lack of fantasy that makes this work so attractive.
The author makes it clear that a person himself creates his dreams, he himself believes in them and he himself makes them come true. There is no point in waiting for the intervention of some otherworldly forces - fairies, wizards, etc. To understand that a dream belongs only to a person and only a person decides how to use it, you need to trace the entire chain of creation and implementation of a dream.
Old Aigle created a beautiful legend, apparently to please the little girl. Assol believed in this legend and cannot even imagine that the prophecy will not come true. Gray, having fallen in love with a beautiful stranger, makes her dream come true. As a result, an absurd fantasy, divorced from life, becomes part of reality. And this fantasy was realized not by creatures endowed with supernatural abilities, but by ordinary people.
Faith in miracles
A dream, according to the author, is the meaning of life. Only she can save a person from the everyday gray routine. But a dream can become a big disappointment for someone who is inactive and for someone who is waiting for the embodiment of their fantasies from the outside, because help “from above” may never arrive.
Gray would never have become a captain if he had remained in his parents' castle. The dream must turn into a goal, and the goal, in turn, into energetic action. Assol did not have the opportunity to take any action to achieve her goal. But she had the most important thing, something that is perhaps more important than action - faith.