Characteristics and description of the main characters of M. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog” with quotes
The story of M.A. Bulgakov “ dog's heart» is rich in colorful and interesting characters. The heroes of the work can be divided into two groups. The first consists of Professor Preobrazhensky and his entourage. They are characterized by intelligence, honesty and decency. The second group includes Sharikov, Shvonder and other members of the house committee. They are aggressive and cruel, have very vague concepts of morality and justice, although they advocate in every possible way for its restoration.
Characteristics of Professor Preobrazhensky with quotes
Professor Preobrazhensky- one of the main characters of the story. Philip Philipovich is a brilliant doctor, a talented scientist, a “European luminary” of medicine. He lives secludedly in a Moscow apartment and is engaged in rejuvenation operations for rich and “powerful” clients. He is a representative of the old Moscow intelligentsia, a champion of high morality and humanism. He strongly opposed the use of brute force and coercion:
>“Tenderness, sir.” The only way that is possible in dealing with a living being. Terror cannot do anything with an animal, no matter what stage of development it is at. This is what I have asserted, am asserting, and will continue to assert. They are in vain to think that terror will help them. No, no, no, it won’t help, no matter what it is: white, red and even brown! Terror completely paralyzes the nervous system.”
“You can’t fight anyone!...You can only act on humans and animals by suggestion.”
Professor Preobrazhensky personifies the passing pre-revolutionary era and its culture. He often criticizes the new government and the order that has come with it:
“...until March 1917 there was not a single case... - that at least one pair of galoshes would disappear from our front door downstairs. ... In March of 1917, all the galoshes disappeared, including two pairs of mine, three sticks, a coat, and the doorman’s samovar.”
“At first there’s singing every evening, then the pipes in the toilets will freeze, then the steam heating boiler will burst, and so on.”
He is entirely on the side of the old times, when “there was order” and he lived "comfortable and good." He believes that it is necessary to teach people basic culture and the devastation will disappear by itself. However, the professor's philosophy collapses when he encounters Sharikov. All his attempts to train and educate his creation lead to nothing but increasing aggression and mistrust.
Preobrazhensky repents of his failed experiment: “I ran into this operation like a third-year student.” He sees before him not a new human being, but a “resurrected” repeat offender thief Klim Chugunkin. Over time, the professor begins to understand the horror of the current situation and feels responsible for its consequences:
“I wanted to do a little experiment after I received an extract of the sex hormone from the pituitary gland two years ago. And instead, what happened, my God! These hormones in the pituitary gland, oh my God... Doctor, there is a dull hopelessness in front of me, I swear, I’m lost.”
By carrying out the “reverse” operation, the professor not only wants to protect himself from Sharikov.
“Shvonder is the biggest fool. He does not understand that Sharikov is an even more formidable danger for him than for me. Well, now he’s trying in every possible way to set him against me, not realizing that if someone, in turn, sets Sharikov against Shvonder himself, then all that will be left of him is his horns and legs!”
Characteristics of Bormenthal with quotes
Bormental Ivan Arnoldovich- one of the main characters stories by M.A. Bulgakov "Heart of a Dog". Dr. Bormenthal is an assistant, assistant and friend of Professor Preobrazhensky. He is young, handsome, tall and has a fairly strong physique: “The handsome man - he was already without a robe, in a decent black suit - shrugged his broad shoulders.”
Ivan Arnoldovich is smart and well educated. He has high moral qualities, is fundamentally honest and noble. He is a worthy student of Professor Preobrazhensky, treats him with great respect and admires his genius. Through the image of Doctor Bormenthal, a representative of the new generation of intelligentsia is shown.
After the experiment, he enthusiastically watches the transformation of the dog into a human. However, over time, he begins to notice in Sharikov the rapidly developing traits of Klim Chugunkin. Bormenthal, for his part, tries to reason with the insolent man and defend the professor:
“Don’t worry, Philip Philipovich. Me myself. You, Sharikov, are talking nonsense, and the most outrageous thing is that you say it categorically and confidently. Of course, I don’t feel sorry for the vodka, especially since it’s not mine, but Philip Philipovich’s. It's just harmful. This is the first time, but the second is that you behave indecently even without vodka.”
By nature, the doctor is quite quick-tempered, decisive and, if necessary, able to use force. He reacts more sharply to boorish and aggressive behavior Sharikova.
“...Be quieter than water, lower than the grass. Otherwise, you will have to deal with me for every ugly prank. It's clear?"
Bormenthal is devoted to his teacher and is ready to help in the most risky situation, regardless of the consequences.
“Then that’s it, dear teacher, if you don’t want to, I myself, at my own risk, will feed him arsenic. To hell with him, that dad is a forensic investigator. After all, it is your own experimental being, after all.”
Characteristics of Shvonder with quotes
Shvonder- one of the heroes of the story by M.A. Bulgakov's "Heart of a Dog"; representative of the proletariat, chairman of the house committee. The author describes the hero with undisguised irony and sarcasm. He and his comrades are shown as bright representatives of the “devastation” that Professor Preobrazhensky so criticizes. Little is said about Shvonder’s appearance; only modest clothing and “a quarter arshin head of thick curly black hair.”
The chairman of the house committee clearly feels hatred for the class enemies represented by Preobrazhensky and Bormental. He and his comrades want to expropriate one room from the apartment; they clearly disapprove of the professor and his way of life.
“...the general meeting, having considered your question, came to the conclusion that, in general, you occupy excessive space. Completely excessive. You live alone in seven rooms."
Shvonder is a great supporter of bureaucracy. For him, having the appropriate document is vital.
“It’s quite strange, professor,” Shvonder was offended, “how do you call the documents idiotic? I cannot allow an undocumented tenant to stay in the house, and not yet registered with the police. What if there is a war with imperialist predators?
The conflict between Shvonder and Professor Preobrazhensky is a conflict between the intelligentsia and the lumpen proletarians. Shvonder and others like him stand up for the rights and freedoms of the working class, but in reality they only sow lack of culture, destruction and blind adherence to meaningless laws. They pretend to be hard workers, but in reality they are just slackers. Consider the “evening singing” that so outraged the professor.
Sharikov is interested in Shvonder from a practical point of view; for him, he is just another tenant. Shvonder is closely involved in his “education” - he instills in him the idea of a proletarian origin, the need for documents and registration, finds him a job according to his vocation, gives him the idea of writing a denunciation against the professor.
Characteristics of Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov with quotes
Sharikov Poligraf Poligrafovich- one of the main characters of the story by M.A. Bulgakov "Heart of a Dog". At the beginning of the story, Sharikov is just a good-natured yard dog, whom Professor Preobrazhensky picks up. He treats the dog's wound and treats him well. Sharik is happy with life.
“They care about me,” the dog thought, “very good man. I know who it is. He is a wizard, magician and magician from a dog’s fairy tale...”
As a result of an experiment on pituitary gland transplantation, Sharikov is born. At first, the professor thought that he had managed to create a human being, but it soon becomes clear that, in fact, he managed to “resurrect” the criminal Klim Chugunkin.
“You stand at the lowest stage of development,” shouted Philip Philipovich, “you are still just forming, weak in mentally creature, all your actions are purely bestial..."
Sharikov is immoral and stupid, he has neither honor nor conscience. He is deprived of even the rudiments of morality and nobility. My new life he starts playing the balalaika, drinking and swearing. He harasses women, damages furniture, and causes a flood in the apartment. From the dog Sharik it turned out “Such scum that it makes your hair stand on end.” Sharikov receives the support of the authorities in the person of Shvonder, who sees him as a proletarian and a full-fledged member of society. Sharikov probably only had a dislike for cats left from the dog. Shvonder finds him a job he likes - now he runs the cat catching department. But even here Sharikov shows cruelty, which is not characteristic of either animals or people.
Professor Preobrazhensky steadfastly endures the tricks of his ward and at first harbors hope for his re-education. But the dog-man's behavior is getting worse every day. Sharikov crosses all boundaries when he writes a denunciation against the professor and threatens to kill him.
“But who is he? Klim, Klim!....Here’s the thing: two convictions, alcoholism, “divide everything,” a hat and two chervonets are gone…..A boor and a pig...”
Preobrazhensky performs a “reverse” operation and the kind, affectionate dog Sharik returns to the world again. With the words of Professor Preobrazhensky, the author draws a line, a conclusion: “Science does not yet know a way to turn animals into people.” And the real beast was not the dog Sharik, but the soulless and cruel Klim Chugunkin.
Bulgakov's creativity is the pinnacle phenomenon of Russian artistic culture XX century. The fate of the Master, deprived of the opportunity to be published and heard, is tragic. From 1927 to 1940, Bulgakov did not see a single line of his own in print. Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov came to literature already during the years of Soviet power. He experienced all the difficulties and contradictions of Soviet reality in the thirties. His childhood and youth were connected with Kiev, and the subsequent years of his life - with Moscow. It was during the Moscow period of Bulgakov’s life that the story “Heart of a Dog” was written. It reveals with brilliant skill and talent the theme of disharmony, brought to the point of absurdity thanks to human intervention in the eternal laws of nature.
In this work, the writer rises to the top of satirical fiction. If satire states, then satirical fiction warns society about impending dangers and cataclysms. Bulgakov embodies his conviction in the preference of normal evolution over the violent method of invading life; he speaks of the terrible destructive power of complacent aggressive innovation. These themes are eternal, and they have not lost their significance even now.
The story “Heart of a Dog” is distinguished by an extremely clear author’s idea: the revolution that took place in Russia was not the result of the natural spiritual development of society, but an irresponsible and premature experiment. Therefore, the country must be returned to its previous state, without allowing the irreversible consequences of such an experiment.
So, let's look at the main characters of “Heart of a Dog”. Professor Preobrazhensky is a democrat by origin and convictions, a typical Moscow intellectual. He sacredly serves science, helps people, and will never harm him. Proud and majestic, Professor Preobrazhensky spouts ancient aphorisms. Being a luminary of Moscow genetics, the brilliant surgeon is engaged in profitable operations to rejuvenate aging women.
But the professor plans to improve nature itself, he decides to compete with life itself, create a new person by transplanting part of the human brain. This is how Sharikov is born, embodying the new Soviet man. What are its development prospects? Nothing impressive: the heart of a stray dog and the brain of a man with three convictions and a pronounced passion for alcohol. This is what should develop from new person, new society.
Sharikov wants to become one of the people at all costs, to become no worse than others. But he cannot understand that for this it is necessary to go through a long path of spiritual development; it requires work to develop the intellect, horizons, and mastery of knowledge. Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov (as the creature is now called) puts on patent leather shoes and a poisonous-colored tie, but otherwise his suit is dirty, unkempt, and tasteless.
A person with a doglike disposition, the basis of which was the lumpen, feels like the master of life, he is arrogant, arrogant, and aggressive. The conflict between Professor Preobrazhensky and the humanoid lumpen is absolutely inevitable. The life of the professor and the inhabitants of his apartment becomes a living hell. Here is one of their everyday scenes:
“-...Don’t throw cigarette butts on the floor, I ask you for the hundredth time. So that I no longer hear a single swear word in the apartment! Don't give a damn! “There’s a spittoon,” the professor is indignant.
“Somehow, dad, you’re painfully oppressing me,” the man suddenly said tearfully.”
Despite the dissatisfaction of the owner of the house, Sharikov lives in his own way: during the day he sleeps in the kitchen, messes around, creates all sorts of outrages, confident that “nowadays everyone has their own right.” And he is not alone in this. Polygraph Poligrafovich finds an ally in Shvonder, the local chairman of the house committee. He bears the same responsibility as the professor for the humanoid monster. Shvonder supported social status Sharikov, armed him with an ideological phrase, he is his ideologist, his “spiritual shepherd.” Shvonder supplies Sharikov with “scientific” literature and gives him Engels’s correspondence with Kautsky to “study”. The beast-like creature does not approve of any author: “Otherwise they write, write... Congress, some Germans...” He draws one conclusion: “Everything must be divided.” This is how Sharikov’s psychology developed. He instinctively sensed the main credo of the new masters of life: plunder, steal, take away everything created. Main principle socialist society - universal leveling, called equality. We all know what this led to.
The finest hour for Poligraf Poligrafovich was his “service”. Having disappeared from home, he appears before the astonished professor as such a fine fellow, full of dignity and self-respect, “in leather jacket from someone else’s shoulder, in worn leather pants and high English boots.” The incredible smell of cats immediately spread throughout the entire hallway. He presents the stunned professor with a paper stating that Comrade Sharikov is the head of the department for cleaning the city from stray animals. Shvonder placed him there.
So, Bulgakov’s Sharik made a dizzying leap: from a stray dog, he turned into an orderly to cleanse the city of stray dogs and cats. Well, pursuing your own - characteristic all ball ones. They destroy their own, as if covering up traces of their own origin...
The last chord of Sharikov’s activity is the denunciation of Professor Preobrazhensky. It should be noted that it was in the thirties that denunciation became one of the foundations of a socialist society, which would be more correctly called totalitarian. Only such a regime can be based on denunciation.
Sharikov is alien to shame, conscience, and morality. He has no human qualities, there is only meanness, hatred, malice.
However, Professor Preobrazhensky still does not abandon the idea of making Sharikov a man. He hopes for evolution, gradual development. But there is no development and there will not be if the person himself does not strive for it. Good intentions Preobrazhensky turn into tragedy. He comes to the conclusion that violent intervention in the nature of man and society leads to catastrophic results. In the story, the professor corrects his mistake by turning Sharikov back into a dog. But in life such experiments are irreversible. Bulgakov managed to warn about this at the very beginning of the destructive transformations that began in our country in 1917.
After the revolution, all conditions were created for the emergence huge amount balls with dog hearts. The totalitarian system greatly contributes to this. Due to the fact that these monsters have penetrated into all areas of life, Russia is now experiencing Hard times.
Outwardly, the Sharikovs are no different from people, but they are always among us. Their non-human essence manifests itself all the time. The judge convicts an innocent man to fulfill a plan to solve crimes; the doctor turns away from the patient; a mother abandons her child; officials, for whom bribes have become the order of the day, are ready to betray their own. All that is most lofty and sacred turns into its opposite, since an inhuman has awakened within them and tramples them into the dirt. When a non-human comes to power, he tries to dehumanize everyone around him, since non-humans are easier to control. For them, all human feelings are replaced by the instinct of self-preservation.
The heart of a dog in alliance with the human mind is the main threat of our time. That is why the story, written at the beginning of the century, remains relevant today and serves as a warning to future generations. Today is so close to yesterday... At first glance, it seems that everything has changed, that the country has become different. But consciousness and stereotypes remained the same. It will take more than one generation before the Sharikovs disappear
One of the significant works in the work of M. Bulgakov is the story “The Heart of a Dog”. It was completed in 1925, but became available to the reader only in 1987.
The author based the plot on a semi-fantastic story of the transformation of a dog into a human. An eminent scientist, a world-famous luminary, Professor Preobrazhensky spent his whole life working on the problems of rejuvenating the body. The final result of the experiment was to be the creation of a new, perfect person. Together with Dr. Bormental, Philip Philipovich performs a unique operation - he replaces the brain of a dog with the pituitary gland of a deceased man.
After an operation, the eternally hungry, homeless dog Sharik takes on a human form and becomes Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. But this experiment cannot be called successful. This was not the result the professor wanted to see at all.
And here the social and moral issues of the story come to the fore. Revolutionary reality destroys the “human,” the humane, in man. Sharikov inherited all the worst qualities from the dog: he snaps, catches fleas, bites, runs after cats. The person still has the same inclinations.
What kind of person was this? “Klim Grigorievich Chugunkin, 25 years old, single. Non-partisan, sympathetic... Tried three times and acquitted... Thefts. Profession: playing the balalaika in taverns...” That is, Sharikov passed on the genes of a rowdy, a criminal and a drunkard.
This is only one side of the problem. The second, more serious, is the environment in which Sharikov was formed, the revolutionary reality of those years. Preobrazhensky tried to educate the “new man” in the spirit of the intelligentsia, to instill in him his way of life. But more participation in the “formation” of Sharikov’s personality belongs to the chairman of the house committee, Shvonder. Preobrazhensky was just thinking about inviting his ward to read “Robinson Crusoe,” when he was already ahead of him by “a red agitator who suggested “this... What's her name... correspondence between Engels and this... what's his word - the devil - with Kautsky.”
By these words of Sharikov one can already judge his narrow mind. The response was extraordinary: “Bormenthal stopped his fork halfway with a piece of white meat, and Philip Philipovich spilled the wine. At this time Sharikov contrived and swallowed vodka.” The amazement of the heroes is understandable: an underdeveloped person is talking about such a serious political document as “Correspondence between Engels and Kautsky.” What Preobrazhensky could not achieve as a teacher, Shvonder, who occupies the same level with Sharikov, was easily able to do. Therefore, the “newborn” is more familiar with short commanding slogans and quotes from Engels.
Sharikov is a narrow-minded, rude, selfish creature. He's disgusting to normal people not only externally, but also internally. Instead of gratitude to his “parent”, he claims living space, rudely insults and reports to the relevant authorities.
Sharikov cannot be called completely stupid and narrow-minded. He perfectly feels the benefits of living with Preobrazhensky, since here he can “grab” for free. And when they tried to kick Sharikov out of the apartment, he showed “three papers”: green, yellow and white, issued by the housing association, confirming the right to live in apartment number five. It turns out that Sharikov arranged everything in advance, which speaks of his acumen in life.
Polygraph Poligrafovich is not as simple as it might seem at first. He never misses a beat. Sharikov got a job not as a simple worker, but as the head of a department for clearing the city of stray cats. Interesting his opinion about military service: “I’m not going anywhere to fight!.. I’ll register, but fighting is a breeze.” It’s amazing how quickly he found the reason for his refusal to serve in the army: “I was seriously wounded during an operation,” Sharikov howled gloomily, “see how they got me off,” and he pointed to his head. A very fresh surgical scar stretched across his forehead.” Elsewhere, the hero explains the reason for the appearance of the scar in a different way, like a wound received over the years civil war on the “Kolchak fronts”.
Every day the subject becomes more and more impudent. Scientists have no choice but to return it to its former appearance.
The story “Heart of a Dog” is tragicomic. It intertwines fantasy, reality and satire. Sharikov's appearance reflects the shortcomings of the new social order, which M. Bulgakov did not accept.
In the story “Heart of a Dog” by M.A. Bulgakov does not just describe the unnatural experiment of Professor Preobrazhensky. The writer shows new type a person who arose not in the laboratory of a talented scientist, but in the new, Soviet reality of the first post-revolutionary years. The basis of the plot of the story is the relationship between a major Russian scientist and Sharik, Sharikov, a dog and an artificially created man. The first part of the story is based mainly on the internal monologue of the half-starved street dog. He evaluates in his own way the life of the street, life, customs, characters of Moscow during the NEP, with its numerous shops, teahouses, taverns on Myasnitskaya “with sawdust on the floor, evil clerks who hate dogs.” Sharik knows how to sympathize, appreciate kindness and affection and, oddly enough, perfectly understands the social structure new Russia: he condemns the new masters of life (“I am now the chairman, and no matter how much I steal, it’s all on a woman’s body, on cancerous necks, on Abrau-Durso”), and about the old Moscow intellectual Preobrazhensky he knows that “this one will not kick.”
In Sharik’s life, in his opinion, a happy accident occurs - he finds himself in a luxurious professor’s apartment, which, despite the widespread devastation, has everything and even “extra rooms.” But the professor doesn’t need the dog for fun. A fantastic experiment is planned on him: by transplanting part of the human brain, the dog should turn into a human. But if Professor Preobrazhensky becomes the Faust who creates man in a test tube, then the second father - the man who gives the dog his pituitary gland - is Klim Petrovich Chugunkin, whose description is given extremely briefly: “Profession - playing the balalaika in taverns. Vertically challenged, poorly built. The liver is dilated (alcohol). The cause of death was a stab in the heart in a pub.” And the creature that emerged as a result of the operation completely inherited the proletarian essence of its ancestor. He is arrogant, swaggering, aggressive.
He is completely devoid of ideas about human culture, about the rules of relationships with other people, he is absolutely immoral. Gradually, an inevitable conflict is brewing between the creator and the creation, Preobrazhensky and Sharik, or rather, Polygraph Polygraphovich Sharikov, as the “homunculus” calls himself. And the tragedy is that a “man” who has barely learned to walk finds reliable allies in life who underline all his actions with revolutionary theoretical basis. From Shvonder, Sharikov learns about what privileges he, a proletarian, has in comparison with a professor, and, moreover, begins to realize that the scientist who gave him human life, is a class enemy. Sharikov clearly understands the main credo of the new masters of life: rob, steal, take away everything that was created by other people, and most importantly, strive for universal equalization. And the dog, once grateful to the professor, can no longer come to terms with the fact that he “settled alone in seven rooms,” and brings a paper according to which he is entitled to an area of 16 meters in the apartment. Sharikov is alien to conscience, shame, and morality. He has no human qualities, except for meanness, hatred, malice... Every day he becomes more and more unruly. He steals, drinks, acts outrageously in Preobrazhensky’s apartment, and molests women.
But finest hour for Sharikov it becomes his new job. Sharik makes a dizzying leap: from a stray dog he turns into the head of a department for cleaning the city from stray animals.
And this choice of profession is not surprising: the Sharikovs always strive to destroy their own. But Sharikov doesn't stop on what has been achieved. After some time, he appears in an apartment on Prechistenka with a young girl and declares: “I’m signing with her, this is our typist. Bormental will have to be evicted...” Of course, it turns out that Sharikov deceived the girl and made up many stories about himself. And the last chord of Sharikov’s activity is the denunciation of Professor Preobrazhensky. In the story, the sorcerer-professor manages to reverse the transformation monster man into an animal, into a dog. It’s good that the professor understood that nature does not tolerate violence against itself. But, alas, in real life the Sharikovs turned out to be much more tenacious. Self-confident, arrogant, no doubters in their sacred rights to everything, the semi-literate lumpen brought our country to the deepest crisis, for violence against the course of history, disregard for the laws of its development, could only give birth to the Sharikovs. In the story, Sharikov again turned into a dog, but in life he walked a long and, as it seemed to him, and it was suggested to others, a glorious path, and in the thirties and fifties he poisoned people, as he once did in the line of duty to stray cats and dogs. Throughout his life he carried the dog's anger and suspicion replacing with them the dog's loyalty that had become unnecessary. Having entered rational life, he remained at the level of instincts and was ready to change the entire country, the entire world, the entire universe so that these animal instincts would be easier to satisfy.
He is proud of his low origins. He is proud of his low education. In general, he is proud of everything low, because only this raises him high above those who are high in spirit and mind. People like Preobrazhensky must be trampled into the dirt so that Sharikov can rise above them. Outwardly, the Sharikovs are no different from people, but their non-human essence is just waiting for the moment to manifest itself. And then they turn into monsters, who, at the first opportunity to grab a tasty morsel, throw off the mask and show their true essence. They are ready to betray their own. Everything that is highest and holy turns into its opposite as soon as they touch it. And the worst thing is that the Sharikovs managed to achieve enormous power, and when coming to power, the non-human tries to dehumanize everyone around him, because non-humans are easier to control, all human feelings are replaced by the instinct of self-preservation. In our country, after the revolution, all conditions were created for the appearance of a huge number of balls with dog hearts. The totalitarian system greatly contributes to this. Probably due to the fact that these monsters have penetrated into all areas of life, that they are still among us, Russia is now going through difficult times. It’s scary that the aggressive Sharikovs, with their truly dog-like vitality, can survive no matter what. The heart of a dog in alliance with the human mind is the main threat of our time. That is why the story, written at the beginning of the century, remains relevant today and serves as a warning to future generations. Sometimes it seems that our country has become different. But the consciousness, stereotypes, and way of thinking of people will not change in ten or twenty years - more than one generation will change before the Sharikovs disappear from our lives, before people become different, before the vices described by M.A. disappear. Bulgakov in his immortal work. How I want to believe that this time will come!..
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.
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