Fairy tales come to us from the depths of folk life. They were passed down from generation to generation, from father to son, slightly changing, but retaining their basic meaning. Fairy tales are the result of many years of observation. In them, the comic is intertwined with the tragic, the grotesque, hyperbole (an artistic device of exaggeration) and the amazing art of Aesopian language are widely used. Aesop's language is an allegorical, allegorical way of expressing artistic thought. This language is deliberately obscure, full of omissions. It is usually used by writers who are unable to speak directly.
The folk tale form has been used by many writers. Literary tales in verse or prose recreated the world of folk ideas, and sometimes contained satirical elements, for example, the tales of A. S. Pushkin. Saltykov-Shchedrin also created sharply satirical tales in 1869, as well as in the 1880-1886s. Among the vast legacy of Shchedrin, they are perhaps the most popular.
In fairy tales, we will meet heroes typical of Shchedrin: here are the stupid, ferocious, ignorant rulers of the people (“The Bear in the Voivodeship”, “The Eagle-Maecenas”), here is the people, powerful, hardworking, talented, but at the same time submissive to their exploiters ( “The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals”, “Konyaga”).
He masterfully uses the vernacular. Turning to oral folk art, the writer enriched the folk plots of folklore works with revolutionary content. He created his images based on folk tales about animals: a cowardly hare, a cunning fox, a greedy wolf, a stupid and evil bear.
A master of Aesopian speeches, in fairy tales written mainly during the years of cruel censorship, he makes extensive use of allegory. Under the guise of animals and birds, he depicts representatives of various social classes and groups. Allegory allows the satirist not only to encrypt, hide the true meaning of his satire, but also to exaggerate the most characteristic in his characters. The images of the forest Toptygins, committing “petty, shameful” atrocities or “major bloodshed” in the forest slum, most accurately reproduced the very essence of the despotic system. The activity of Toptygin, who smashed the printing house, dumped the works of the human mind into a waste pit, ends with the fact that he was “respected by the peasants”, “putting him on a horn”. His activities turned out to be meaningless, unnecessary. Even the Donkey says: “The main thing in our craft is: laissez passer, laissez faire (to allow, not to interfere). And Toptygin himself asks: “I don’t even understand why the governor is sent!”
"The Wild Landowner" is a work directed against the social system, which is not based on the exploitation of the peasant. At first glance, this is just a funny story of a stupid landowner who hated the peasants, but, left without Senka and his other breadwinners, he completely ran wild, and his economy fell into decay. Even the mouse is not afraid of him.
"swarm" of industrious bees living an unconscious herd life. "... They raised a chaff whirlwind, and a swarm of peasants swept away from the estate."
"Wise minnow". Before us appears the image of a frightened inhabitant to death, "a dumbass who does not eat, does not drink, does not see anyone, does not lead bread and salt with anyone, but only protects his hateful life." Shchedrin explores in this tale the question of the meaning and purpose of human life.
The layman-"minnow" considers the main meaning of life the slogan: "Survive and the pike will not get into hailo." It always seemed to him that he lives correctly, according to the order of his father: "If you want to live life, then look at both." But then came death. His whole life flashed before him in an instant. What were his joys? who did he comfort? who gave good advice? to whom did he say a kind word? who sheltered, warmed, protected? who heard about it? who remembers its existence? He had to answer all these questions: no one, no one. "He lived and trembled - that's all." The meaning of Shchedrin's allegory, depicting, of course, not a fish, but a miserable, cowardly person, lies in the words: “Those who think that only those minnows can be considered worthy citizens who, mad with fear, sit in holes and tremble, believe incorrectly. No, these are not citizens, but at least useless minnows. Thus, "minnow" is a definition of a person, an artistic metaphor that aptly characterizes the townsfolk.
So, we can say that both the ideological content and the artistic features of the satirical tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin are aimed at fostering respect for the people and civic feelings in Russian people. They have not lost their bright vitality in our time. The Tales of Shchedrin still remain an extremely useful and fascinating book for millions of readers.
meaning, denouncing evil and injustice. This happens when the evils of society cannot be spoken openly.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF PRIMORSKY KRAI
Regional State Budgetary Vocational Educational Institution Spassky Polytechnic College, Spassk-Dalny, Primorsky Territory
Developed by a teacher
Russian language and literature Shusterova L.M.
2015
Topic: "Problematics and poetics of fairy tales
M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin.
Goals:
To expand students' knowledge about the life and work of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, to reveal the features of his artistic world as a satirical writer.
Arouse interest in the writer's work, develop lecture note-taking skills, deepen and expand ideas about satire and the grotesque.
Show on the example of fairy tales the interweaving of "images of human and animal".
Tasks:
check the literary and everyday levels of assimilation of the writer's works;
develop linguistic skills: build a coherent statement, give a logical and consistent answer;
improve the ability to prove, refute, compare, draw conclusions;
develop intellectual abilities;
to instill a sense of civic responsibility and patriotism in students.
Equipment: multimedia presentation, books by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin.
Lesson form: presentation.
Student organization form: individual, collective.
Lesson type: explanation of new material
During the classes .
Organizational moment. Lesson topic. Goal setting. Slides.
Introductory speech of the teacher. Every Russian person has his own Motherland, his own Russia, in which lives a mystery that has not been completely solved by the great minds of the world. And this secret disturbs the progressive, creative intelligentsia.
At one time, she worried about the satirical writer, publicist, critic, editor, continuer of the satirical direction in the literature of the 19th century M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. He had an individual, original look at Russian reality, at the relationship of people, at the human essence. He was painfully spiritually concerned about the fate of Russia, was determined in his difficult time to make the world a better place.
Reading the epigraph from the board and working with it: "I love Russia to the pain of my heart and I can't even imagine myself anywhere but Russia." (M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin). Rationale for the choice of epigraph. Write it down in a notebook.
What do we remember from the biography of the writer? (Student answers).
Activation of previously studied material. Fairy tale quiz.Name the fairy tales studied in high school. Slide.List the heroes of fairy tales (question-auction) : bear, hare, dog, horse, eagle, crucian carp, gudgeon, vobla.Which fairy tale concludes: "... eagles are harmful for education"? ("Eagle-philanthropist").What happened to the "wild landowner" who expelled all the peasants from his estate? (He began to walk on all fours and stopped making articulate sounds.)Who is satisfied that the gentlemen eat him: "So, I'm good, if they love me!"? (Kissel from the fairy tale of the same name).Whose life philosophy boils down to the formula: "Ears do not grow above the forehead"? (Dried roach.)Which fairy tale is the Russian version of "Robinsonade"? (“The story of how one man fed two generals.”) What is the rationale for the choice of artistic realities of fairy tales? (Answers of students.)
Biography of the writer. Students make notes in their notebooks. Slides.
We will now try to understand the biography and creative heritage of Saltykov-Shchedrin in a more complete way.
We offer abstract student. The teacher comments on the slides in more detail.
1826, January 15 (27) - in the village of Spas-Ugol, Kalyazinsky district, Tver province, the sixth child, Mikhail Saltykov, was born in a large family.
1838-1844 - Studying at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum.
1844 - enrollment in the staff of the office of the military department.
1845-47 - participation in a revolutionary circle (ideas of utopian idealism), the beginning of cooperation with the journals Sovremennik and Otechestvennye Zapiski.
1848 - the story "A Tangled Case". In both stories, the idea was carried out of the need to transform the social system, for which Saltykov-Shchedrin was exiled to Vyatka.
1848-55 - life in Vyatka.
1856-1857 - upon his return from Vyatka, he published "Provincial Essays", which brought him fame, under the pseudonym N. Shchedrin.
1858-1862 - M. B. Saltykov-Shchedrin was vice-governor in Ryazan and Tver.
1862 - retired, joined the editorial board of the Sovremennik magazine.
1864 - returned to public service.
1866 - assumes the position of manager of the Tula Treasury Chamber.
1867 - moves to Ryazan, serves as the manager of the Treasury.
1868 - resigned and became one of the editors, and after
Nekrasov's death - executive editor of "Notes of the Fatherland" (until the magazine was closed in 1884).
1869-70 - "History of a City", "Pompadours and Pompadourses" and other works.
1880 - "Lord Golovlev", "Modern Idyll" and other works.
1882-1886 - 32 tales, using "Aesopian language".
1889, April 28 (May 10) - M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin died in St. Petersburg. He was buried at the Volkovsky cemetery.
In a farewell letter to his son before his death, Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote: “Most of all, love your native literature and prefer the title of a writer to anyone else.”
5. The problems and poetics of fairy tales. Individual message from the first student. Slides.
Notes in notebooks.
"Fairy tales" - this is a kind of result of the writer's artistic activity: they were created at the final stage of his life and creative path. Of the 32 fairy tales, 28 were created within four years, from 1882 to 1886.
Comparative analysis: common features (with examples from the text).
Zachin
Fairy story
folklore expressions
Folk vocabulary
Fairy tale characters
ending
Tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin
Satire.
Sarcasm.
Mixing categories of good and evil.
There is no positive character.
Likening a person to an animal.
Tales of the Russian people
Humor.
Hyperbola.
Victory of good over evil.
Positive hero.
Humanization of animals.
The problem of fairy tales.
Autocracy and the oppressed people ("Bear in the Voivodeship", "Eagle-philanthropist")
The relationship between a man and a master ("The Wild Landowner", "The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals")
The state of the people ("Konyaga", "Kissel")
The meanness of the bourgeoisie ("Liberal", "Karas-idealist")
Cowardice of the layman ("The wise scribbler")
Seeking Truth ("The Fool", "Christ's Night")
Poetics. Artistic features of fairy tales (with examples from the text).
Folklore motifs (fairytale plot, folk vocabulary)
Grotesque (weaving fantasy and reality)
Aesopian language (allegory and metaphorical)
Social satire (sarcasm and real fantasy)
Conviction through denial (showing wildness and lack of spirituality)
hyperbole
ARTISTIC TECHNIQUES. Individual report of the second student. Slides. Notes in notebooks.
satirical tricks.
irony - ridicule that has a double meaning,
where the true is not a direct statement, but the opposite;
sarcasm is a caustic and poisonous irony that sharply exposes phenomena that are especially dangerous for a person and society;
grotesque - an extremely sharp exaggeration, a combination of the real and the fantastic, a violation of the boundaries of plausibility;
allegory, allegory - a different meaning, hidden behind the external form. Aesopian language - artistic speech based on forced allegory;
hyperbole - excessive exaggeration
VOCABULARY WORK: critical realism (slide).
6. Written independent work (on leaflets).
Questions.
1. What educational institution, in which he himself studied, did Saltykov-Shchedrin later call the "hotbed of ministers"?
2. What socialist circle was young Saltykov a member of?
3. How did he manage to avoid hard labor, unlike Dostoevsky?
4. What period of his life path did Saltykov-Shchedrin consider "the great school of life"? 5. The history of which fictional city was written by Saltykov-Shchedrin, indicating the exact dates of its existence?
6. What magazines did Saltykov-Shchedrin edit together with Nekrasov?
7. What neologism did Shchedrin call corrupt writers and, in general, loafers who appropriate for themselves what was created by others?
8. If Gogol's "laughter through tears", then how can Shchedrin's laughter be defined?
9. In a farewell letter to his son before his death, Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote: “Most of all, love your family ... and prefer the title ... to anyone else.” What words are missing?
10. How many fairy tales did M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin write?
ANSWERS.
1. Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum.
2. Mug of M. V. Petrashevsky.
3. He was arrested for the stories "Contradictions" and "A Tangled Case" in 1848 before the defeat of the circle and exiled to Vyatka.
4. "Vyatka captivity" - almost 8 years (1848-1855).
5. "History of one city" - Glupova, from 1731 to 1826
6. Sovremennik and Domestic Notes.
7. Foam skimmers.
8. Laughter through indignation.
9. "... literature", "... writer".
10. 32 fairy tales.
MUTUAL CHECK. Estimates. Filling in the gaps made in independent work.
7. Summing up. Conclusions.
Reflection. Final word from the teacher.
8. Homework.
Learn a lecture. Prepare for the test work "Satirical techniques."
Write in a notebook 5 questions on the content of the story for classmates.
References
M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. The history of one city: Analysis of the text. Main content. Works. Aut.-stat. E.Yu. Lipin. - 4th ed., M. Bustard, 2002.
Literary quizzes. L.L. Belskaya. M., Education, 2007.
Russian literature of the 19th century. 10 cells profile level. At 2 o'clock, ed. G.A. Obernikhina, M., Bustard, 2006.
Lyssy Yu.I. Literature. Grade 10. Textbook for educational institutions (basic level). At 2 pm M., Mnemosyne, 2011.
The main themes and problems of fairy tales by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin
Fairy tales come to us from the depths of folk life. They were passed down from generation to generation, from father to son, slightly changing, but retaining their basic meaning. Fairy tales are the result of many years of observation. In them, the comic is intertwined with the tragic, the grotesque, hyperbole (an artistic device of exaggeration) and the amazing art of Aesopian language are widely used. Aesop's language is an allegorical, allegorical way of expressing artistic thought. This language is deliberately obscure, full of omissions. It is usually used by writers who are unable to speak directly.
The folk tale form has been used by many writers. Literary tales in verse or prose recreated the world of folk ideas, and sometimes contained satirical elements, for example, the tales of A. S. Pushkin. Saltykov-Shchedrin also created sharply satirical tales in 1869, as well as in the 1880-1886s. Among the vast legacy of Shchedrin, they are perhaps the most popular.
In fairy tales, we will meet heroes typical of Shchedrin: here are the stupid, ferocious, ignorant rulers of the people (“The Bear in the Voivodeship”, “The Eagle-Maecenas”), here is the people, powerful, hardworking, talented, but at the same time submissive to their exploiters ( “The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals”, “Konyaga”).
Shchedrin's tales are distinguished by true nationality. Covering the most pressing issues of Russian life, the satirist acts as a defender of the people's interests, a spokesman for the people's ideals, the advanced ideas of his time. He masterfully uses the vernacular. Turning to oral folk art, the writer enriched the folk plots of folklore works with revolutionary content. He created his images based on folk tales about animals: a cowardly hare, a cunning fox, a greedy wolf, a stupid and evil bear.
A master of Aesopian speeches, in fairy tales written mainly during the years of cruel censorship, he makes extensive use of allegory. Under the guise of animals and birds, he depicts representatives of various social classes and groups. Allegory allows the satirist not only to encrypt, hide the true meaning of his satire, but also to exaggerate the most characteristic in his characters. The images of the forest Toptygins, committing “petty, shameful” atrocities or “major bloodshed” in the forest slum, most accurately reproduced the very essence of the despotic system. The activities of Toptygin, who destroyed the printing house, dumped the works of the human mind into a waste pit, ends with the fact that he was “respected by the peasants”, “putting him on a horn”. His activities turned out to be meaningless, unnecessary. Even the Donkey says: “The main thing in our craft is: laissez passer, laisses faire (to allow, not to interfere). And Toptygin himself asks: “I don’t even understand why the governor is sent! ” The fairy tale “The Wild Landowner” is a work directed against the social system, which is not based on the exploitation of the peasant. At first glance, this is just a funny story of a stupid landowner who hated the peasants, but, left without Senka and his other breadwinners, he completely ran wild, and his economy fell into decay. Even the mouse is not afraid of him.
Depicting the people, Saltykov-Shchedrin sympathizes with them and at the same time condemns them for their long-suffering and resignation. He likens it to a "swarm" of industrious bees living an unconscious herd life. “... They raised a chaff whirlwind, and a swarm of peasants swept away from the estate.”
A somewhat different social group of the population of Russia is drawn by a satirist in the fairy tale “The Wise Piskar”. Before us appears the image of a frightened inhabitant to death, “a dumbass who does not eat, does not drink, does not see anyone, does not lead bread and salt with anyone, but only protects his hateful life.” Shchedrin explores in this tale the question of the meaning and purpose of human life.
The layman-"piskar" considers the main meaning of life the slogan: "Survive and the pike will not get into hailo." It always seemed to him that he lives correctly, according to the order of his father: "If you want to live life, then look at both." But then came death. His whole life flashed before him in an instant. “What were his joys? who did he comfort? who gave good advice? to whom did he say a kind word? who sheltered, warmed, protected? who heard about it? who will remember its existence?” He had to answer all these questions: no one, no one. "He lived and trembled - that's all." The meaning of Shchedrin's allegory, depicting, of course, not a fish, but a miserable, cowardly man, lies in the words: “Those who think that only those scribblers can be considered worthy citizens who, mad with fear, sit in holes and tremble, believe incorrectly. No, these are not citizens, but at least useless scribblers.” Thus, “piskar” is a definition of a person, an artistic metaphor that aptly characterizes the townsfolk.
So, we can say that both the ideological content and the artistic features of the satirical tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin are aimed at fostering respect for the people and civic feelings in Russian people. They have not lost their bright vitality in our time. The Tales of Shchedrin still remain an extremely useful and fascinating book for millions of readers.
Aesopian language helps to reveal the vices of society. And now it is used not only in fairy tales and fables, but also in the press, in television programs. From TV screens you can hear phrases that have a double meaning, exposing evil and injustice. “This happens when the vices of society cannot be spoken openly.
Bibliography
For the preparation of this work, materials from the site http://www.coolsoch.ru/ were used.
The book of Saltykov-Shchedrin "Tales" includes thirty-two works. Fairy tales are usually defined as the result of his satirical work.
Saltykov-Shchedrin touched upon many social, political, ideological and moral problems in these small works. He broadly presented and deeply illuminated the life of Russian society in the second half of the 19th century, reproduced its entire social anatomy, touched on all the main classes and groups.
The works of Shchedrin's fairy tale cycle are united by some common ideas and themes. These common ideas and themes, penetrating each other, give a certain unity to the entire cycle and allow us to consider it as a holistic work, covered by a common ideological and artistic concept.
The most general meaning in the problems of "Fairy Tales" lies in the development of the idea of the irreconcilability of class interests in society, in the desire to understand the self-consciousness of the oppressed, in the promotion of socialist ideals and the need for a nationwide struggle.
The idea of the irreconcilability of classes and the struggle against social inequality is especially pronounced in the fairy tales "The Bear in the Voivodeship", "The Eagle-Maecenas", "Karas-Idealist", "Poor Wolf", etc. The satirist, on the one hand, paints a picture of class contradictions, arbitrariness authorities and the suffering of the oppressed, on the other hand, it exposes and stigmatizes the inconsistency and harm of any recipes for the peaceful settlement of class interests.
In the artistic mirror of "Fairy Tales" are presented: 1) satire on the top government autocracy and exploiters; 2) satire on the behavior of different sections of the intelligentsia; 3) the position of the masses; 4) moral problems and problems of revolutionary outlook.
With words and images full of anger and sarcasm, Shchedrin exposes in fairy tales the principles of an exploitative society, the ideology and politics of the nobility and the bourgeoisie. Three tales are distinguished by the sharpness of satire against the tops of the autocracy: "The Bear in the Voivodeship", "The Eagle-Maecenas" and "The Bogatyr". In the fairy tale "The Bear in the Voivodship" the tsar, ministers, governors are mockingly ridiculed, signs of a pamphlet on the government of Alexander III are noticeable. The main meaning of this tale is to expose the cruel ignorant rulers of the era and the monarchy as an anti-people despotic state system.
The punishing laughter of the satirist does not leave alone the representatives of mass predation - the nobility and the bourgeoisie. They appear in fairy tales either in the usual social appearance of a landowner ("Wild Landowner"), a general ("The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals"), a merchant ("Faithful Trezor"), a fist ("Neighbours"), then - and this is more often - in the images of wolves, foxes, pikes, hawks, etc.
In the story about the wild landowner, the peasant was not found ... And the landowner became wild, overgrown with hair from head to toe, "walked more and more on all fours", "lost even the ability to utter articulate sounds."
Shchedrin ridicules the hypocrisy of predatory parasites and various fine-hearted apologists for robbery. The wolf promised to pardon the hare ("Selfless Hare"), another wolf once let go of the lamb ("Poor Hare"), the eagle forgave the mouse ("Eagle Patron"), the kind lady gave alms to the victims of the fire, and the priest promised them a happy afterlife ("Village fire") - others write about it with admiration ... Saltykov subverts all these panegyrics that lull the vigilance of the victims. Exposing the lie about the generosity and beauty of the "eagles", he says that "eagles are eagles and that's all. They are predatory, carnivorous... they do not engage in hospitality, but they rob, and in their free time (from robbery) they doze."
Even more attention than the tops, the satirist paid in his fairy tales to the depiction of life, psychology, the behavior of "variegated people", the heterogeneous masses, and the exposure of the philistine fear of life. In The Wise Scribbler, the satirist exposed to public disgrace the cowardice of that section of the intelligentsia which, during the years of reaction, succumbed to shameful panic. Piskar, in order not to be eaten by predatory fish, hid in a deep hole, lies and "everyone thinks: it seems that I'm alive? Ah, something will happen tomorrow?" He didn't have any family or friends. "He lived and trembled - that's all."
Shchedrin in the tale "The Selfless Hare" ironically, on the one hand, over the arrogant wolf habits of the enslavers, and on the other, over the blind obedience of their victims.
In the fairy tale "Karas the Idealist" we are talking about those ideological errors, utopian illusions that were inherent in a part of the advanced intelligentsia that belonged to the camp of democracy and socialism. It sounds like a motif of naive truth-seeking and criticism of utopian illusions about the possibility of achieving social harmony through the moral re-education of the exploiters.
A mournful thought about the state of the people, about their fate, about their needs, love for them and concern for their happiness run through all of Shchedrin's work. The image of the people is presented in many fairy tales, and, above all, in such as "The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals", "The Wild Landowner", "Idle Talk", "Konyaga", "Kissel", etc. In them the writer embodied his many years of observation of the life of the enslaved Russian peasantry, bitter reflections on the fate of the oppressed people and his bright hopes for the strength of the people.
A special place in Shchedrin's work is occupied by fairy tales about truth-seekers ("Christ's Night", "A Christmas Tale", "On the Road"). They reveal the difficulty of the struggle for truth and yet its necessity.
To bring consciousness into the masses, to inspire them to fight for their rights, to awaken in them an understanding of their historical significance - this is the main ideological meaning of Shchedrin's Tales, and he calls his contemporaries to this.
“The tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it ...”, a hint at acute problems, important, burning questions. This is a lesson that the wise man is sure to take advantage of.
Shchedrin's tales are a special, vivid and significant phenomenon in literature. It is a synthesis of the comic and the tragic, a celebration of the grotesque and allegory, a celebration of hyperbole, a skillful example of the use of Aesopian language. What does the author direct his efforts to, using all these artistic techniques? To cover all those aspects of contemporary reality to which he remained irreconcilable until his death.
In Shchedrin's tales, stupid, ferocious, ignorant rulers of the people coexist with simple men, resourceful, strong, industrious, talented, and at the same time slavishly submissive to their masters and servilely devoted to them. We find an example of this in "The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals", "Konyage", "Wild Landowner". In these works, the writer acts not only as a defender of popular interests. He tries to instill in the simple man faith in his uniqueness, significance, inspire him to protect his own dignity and rebuke him for patience.
The hero of The Wild Landowner is a fool who hated the people and, unexpectedly for himself, went wild without him. The landowner lived for a long time at the expense of other people's labor, did not live “his body, white, loose, crumbly”, could not stand the “servant spirit”. It's a pity to look at him at the end of the tale. “... It will cling to its prey, tear it apart ... with its nails, and so with all the insides, even with the skin, and eat it,” the author writes about him. There is no life for masters without the people: it is the people who are the waterer and breadwinner, the creator of values, and not only material, but also spiritual.
In Shchedrin's tales, the heroes of folk tales about animals also come to life: here the reader will find a cunning fox, a clumsy bear, a cowardly hare, and an evil wolf. Allegorical images help the satirist to speak allegorically about the many vices of society. Indicative in this regard is the tale "The Bear in the Voivodeship". The Toptygins commit “petty, shameful” atrocities and even “major bloodshed” in their forest, and their regime is no less cruel than the despotic system that existed in Russia at that time.
The fairy tale "The Wise Scribbler" draws "a dumbass who does not eat, does not drink, does not see anyone, does not lead bread-and-ba-salt with anyone, but only protects his hateful life." Shchedrin ruthlessly castigates such an inhabitant. What were his joys? whom did he comfort? who gave good advice? to whom did he say a kind word? who sheltered, warmed, protected? who heard about him? who remembers its existence? the author asks. But Shchedrin emphasizes not only this. The satirist makes the reader think about his civic position. “Those who think that only those scribblers can be considered worthy citizens who, mad with fear, sit in holes and tremble, believe incorrectly. No, these are not citizens, but at least useless scribblers,” he writes.
The tales of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin have not ceased to be necessary and useful even today. From them one can still learn lessons of wisdom, justice, respect for the people, kindness, morality, citizenship.
