The story "Fatal Eggs" was written in 1924. Its publication in 1925 caused a wide resonance in criticism and writers' circles - from enthusiasm to political accusations against the writer. Here is how A. Voronsky wrote about it: Bulgakov's "Fatal Eggs" - an unusually talented and sharp thing - caused a number of fierce attacks. Bulgakov was dubbed a counter-revolutionary, White Guard, etc., and dubbed, in our opinion, in vain ... The writer wrote a pamphlet about how disgusting nonsense turns out of a good idea when this idea gets into the head of a brave but ignorant person.
The story "Fatal Eggs" tells how the professor of zoology Persikov discovered the "ray of life", which helps to accelerate the maturation and reproduction of living beings. At the same time, a chicken pestilence began in the country, threatening the population with starvation. And, of course, salvation is seen in the discovery of Professor Persikov. To use this discovery in practice, a certain Alexander Semenovich Rokk, a man in a leather double-breasted jacket and with a huge old design pistol in a yellow holster on his side, is taken. Rokk introduced himself to the professor as the head of the Krasny Luch demonstration state farm, which intends to make experiments with chicken eggs using the discovery. Despite the protests of Persikov, who refers to the unverified experience, the unpredictability of the consequences, Rocca, with the help of paper from the Kremlin, manages to take away his discovery. To which Persikov could only say: “I wash my hands” (later Pilate will behave in a similar way when deciding the fate of Yeshua in The Master and Margarita.) Here the question arises of the moral responsibility of a scientist.
Bulgakov in understanding this problem is close to Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky believed that a person is responsible not only for his actions, but even for his thoughts and their consequences. The most famous and condensed version of this idea is in The Brothers Karamazov. In the third meeting with Ivan Fyodorovich Karamazov, Smerdyakov says: “... You are to blame for everything, sir, because you knew about the murder, sir, but they instructed me, sir, and you yourself, knowing everyone, left. That’s why I want to prove it to your face tonight that the main killer in everything here is you, sir, and I’m just not the main one, even though I killed it ... ”The meaning of the conversation is that although Ivan Fedorovich himself did not commit a crime , but it was he who gave Smerdyakov the philosophical idea: "If there is no God, then everything is allowed." Therefore, the blame for the murder lies with Ivan Karamazov.
Searched here:
- fatal balls analysis
- fatal eggs problems
- fatal problem eggs
By the mid-20s, after the publication of the stories "Notes on Ma nzhetah", "Devil's Game", the novel "The White Guard, the writer has already developed as a brilliant artist of the word with a sharply honed satirical pen. Thus, he approaches the creation of the stories "Fatal Eggs" and "Heart of a Dog" with rich literary baggage. It can be safely asserted that the publication of these stories testified that Bulgakov successfully worked in the genre of a satirical science fiction story, which was a new phenomenon in literature in those years. It was a fantasy, not divorced from life, it combined strict realism with the fantasy of a scientist. The satire itself, which became the constant companion of Bulgakov the artist, in the stories "Fatal Eggs" and "The Heart of a Dog" acquired a deep and socio-philosophical meaning.
Attention is drawn to Bulgakov's characteristic method of asking questions to himself. In this regard, the author of "Fatal Eggs" and "Heart of a Dog" is one of the most "questioning" Russian writers of the first half of the 20th century. The search for answers to questions about the essence of truth, truth, about the meaning of human existence, essentially permeated almost all of Bulgakov's works.
The writer posed the most acute problems of his time, partly not lost their relevance in our days. They are filled with thoughts of a humanist artist about the laws of nature, about the biological and social nature of a person as a person.
"Fatal Eggs" and "Heart of a Dog" are original warning stories, the author of which warns of the danger of any scientific experiment associated with a violent attempt to change human nature, its biological appearance.
The protagonists of "Fatal Eggs" and "Heart of a Dog" are talented representatives of the scientific intelligentsia, scientists-inventors who tried to penetrate the "holy of holies" of human physiology with their scientific discoveries. The fates of professors Persikov, the hero of the "Fatal Eggs" and Preobrazhensky, the hero of "Heart of a Dog", develop differently. Their reaction to the results of experiments during which they encounter representatives of various social strata is inadequate. At the same time, they have a lot in common. First of all, they are honest scientists who bring their strength to the altar of science.
Bulgakov was one of the first writers who could truthfully show how unacceptable it is to use the latest achievements of science to enslave the human spirit. This idea runs like a red thread in "Fatal Eggs", where the author warns his contemporaries about a terrible experiment.
Bulgakov turned the theme of the scientist's responsibility to life in a new way in Heart of a Dog. The author warns that power should not be given to illiterate ball-bearers, who can lead it to complete degradation.
To realize the idea in both stories, Bulgakov chose a science fiction plot, where an important role is assigned to inventors. By their pathos, the stories are satirical, but at the same time they are openly accusatory. Humor was replaced by biting satire.
In the story "The Heart of a Dog" the disgusting creation of a human genius is trying to break into people by all means. An evil being does not understand that for this it is necessary to go through a long path of spiritual development. Sharikov tries to compensate for his worthlessness, illiteracy and ineptitude with natural methods. In particular, he updates his wardrobe, puts on patent leather shoes and a poisonous tie, but otherwise his suit is dirty, tasteless. The whole appearance of clothing is not able to change. It's not about his appearance, it's about his inner being. He is a man with a canine temperament and animal habits.
In the professor's house, he feels himself the master of life. There is an inevitable conflict with all the inhabitants of the apartment. Life becomes a living hell.
In Soviet times, many officials, favored by the authorities of their superiors, believed that "they have their legal right to everything."
Thus, the humanoid creature created by the professor not only takes root under the new government, but makes a dizzying leap: from a yard dog it turns into an orderly to clean up the city from stray animals.
An analysis of the stories "Fatal Eggs" and "Heart of a Dog" gives us reason to evaluate them rather than as a parody of the society of the future in Russia, but as a kind of warning of what could happen with the further development of the totalitarian regime, with the reckless development of technical progress that is not based on moral values.
Conclusion
Mikhail Bulgakov - one of the outstanding satirists of the 20th century, passed away, leaving behind a wonderful legacy in the form of numerous feuilletons, stories, novels, novels, plays. His satirical novels "Diaboliad", "Fatal Eggs", "Heart of a Dog" sound with particular relevance today.
Already at the very beginning of the 1920s, he prophetically looked into the future of the totalitarian system, with its anti-humanistic attitudes.
Bulgakov's work as a satirist is reflected in a variety of genres: a feuilleton and a short story, a story with a sharp plot and a wide use of fantasy elements. Light humor and harmless laughter, subtle irony and sharp satire were available to him.
Successfully continuing, developing and deepening Gogol's traditions in dealing with the theme of the "little man", but in different historical conditions, the author truthfully showed this new Bashmachkin, crushed by the bureaucratic machine of a totalitarian society. The theme of the "little man", which dominated the satirical stories of the early Bulgakov, is replaced by the problem of the Russian intelligentsia.
The novel "The White Guard" and the play "Days of the Turbins" show the tragedy of an old Russian intellectual who lost his home, realizing the inevitability of the death of the past. The stories "Fatal Eggs" and "Heart of a Dog" thundered in Russia as a formidable warning. "Fatal Eggs" - the first mature satirical work, was received with hostility by many contemporary critics of Bulgakov, and "Heart of a Dog" was banned from publication.
Bulgakov was an ardent champion of universal human values, a singer of genuine art that cannot be banned or destroyed.
Introduction.
Satire is a way of manifesting the comic in art, consisting in a devastating ridicule of phenomena that seem to the author to be vicious.
We have chosen a topic related to satire, because we really like satirical works that ridicule various phenomena and events.
The strength of satire depends on the effectiveness of satirical methods - sarcasm, irony, hyperbole, grotesque, allegory, parody, etc. The whole work, and individual images, situations, episodes can be satirical.
Having chosen this topic of work, we set the following tasks:
Systematize your knowledge about the satire of M.A. Bulgakov and about his life;
Consider the features of M.A. Bulgakov’s satire on the example of three stories: “Heart of a Dog”, “Diaboliad”, “Fatal Eggs”;
Draw conclusions on three stories and in general on the abstract.
We write work using critical literature.
With the help of "Russian literature of the XX century. Christomatia” by A.V. Baranikov, we chose information about Bulgakov. We will take information about Bulgakov, about his life and work in the “Schoolchildren's Handbook”. We will read the stories and analyze them according to the book by M.A. Bulgakov “Collected Works in 5 Volumes”.
II
. Satire in the work of M.A. Bulgakov
1. M.A. Bulgakov - prose writer, playwright
Bulgakov M.A. (1891-1940) graduated from the First Alexander Gymnasium, where children of the Russian intelligentsia of Kyiv studied. The level of teaching was high, classes were sometimes taught even by university professors.
In 1909, Bulgakov entered the medical faculty of Kiev University. In 1914, the First World War broke out, which destroyed the hopes of him and millions of his peers for a peaceful and prosperous future. After graduating from university, Bulgakov worked in a field hospital.
In September 1916, Bulgakov was recalled from the front and sent to head the Zemstvo Nikolsk rural hospital in the Smolensk province, and in 1917 he was transferred to Vyazma.
The February revolution disrupted the usual life. After the October Revolution, he was released from military service, and he returned to Kyiv, which was soon occupied by German troops. So the future writer plunged into the maelstrom of the civil war. Bulgakov was a good doctor, and the belligerents needed his services.
In Vladikavkaz, at the end of 1919 and at the beginning of 1920, Bulgakov left the ranks of Denikin's army and began to contribute to local newspapers, giving up medicine forever. His first literary text "Tribute of Admiration" was published.
Classes in literary creativity was provoked by unwillingness to participate in the war.
Shortly before the retreat of the Whites from Vladikavkaz, Bulgakov fell ill with relapsing fever. When he recovered in the spring of 1920, the city was already occupied by units of the Red Army. Bulgakov began to cooperate in the sub-department of arts of the Revolutionary Committee. Vladikavkaz impressions served as material for the story Notes on the Cuffs.
In satirical feuilletons and essays, the object of Bulgakov's satire is not only the "scum of the NEP" - the nouveau riche Nepmen, but also that part of the population whose low cultural level the writer observed: the inhabitants of Moscow communal apartments, bazaar sales, etc. But Bulgakov also sees the sprouts of the new, signs return of life to normal.
Bulgakov made a discovery in his satirical works, which entered the system of Russian national values and rightfully earned the title of Russian national writer.
Let's consider the satirical trends in some of the stories of M.A. Bulgakov.
2. The story "Deviliad".
In 1923-1925, Bulgakov wrote three satirical novels one after the other: "The Diaboliad", "Fatal Eggs" and "Heart of a Dog". Bulgakov creates things that are practically not separated from modernity in the most direct, narrow sense of the word. The Diaboliad tells about the time of the just past, but perfectly memorable war communism; with a description of the same meager, hungry and cold years, "Fatal Eggs" was begun; the background of the “Heart of a Dog” is an acutely topical sign of the NEP.
The first story that came out to the reader in March 1924 was "The Diaboliad", the very name of which, according to Bulgakov's contemporaries, quickly entered the oral speech, turning into a common noun.
In this work, Bulgakov depicts the bureaucracy of Soviet institutions. I.M.Nusinov, in his report on Bulgakov's work, stated: "A petty official who got lost in the Soviet state machine - the symbol of the Diaboliad." The new state organism is the “Diavoliad”, the new way of life is such a “muck,<…>»
2.1. Brief summary of the story.
This story speaks of the "little man" Korotkov. An inconspicuous employee of Spimat confuses the signature of the new boss, who bears the unusual surname Kalsoner, in an urgent business paper. His meeting with Longjohn, the manager’s striking appearance (a head sparkling with lights, electric lights flashing on the crown of the head, a voice like “at a copper basin”), as well as his ability to instantly move in space and striking transformations, completely knocks Korotkov out of the rut and deprives the ability to think rationally. The "double" of the shaved Long Johner, his brother with an "Assyrian beard and thin voice," and Long Johner - the first one who in turn catch Korotkov's eyes - these, it seems, are the culprits of the hero's madness.
But in fact, Korotkov is driven to madness and death not so much by the underpants - doubles, that is, random absurdities of what is happening that he is not able to explain, but by a general feeling of precariousness, uncertainty and unreality of life.
A salary given out in matches and church wine; the unprecedentedly theatrical image of a formidable boss - all these particulars, not terrible each separately, merging into one terrible whole, expose Korotkov's defenselessness, his timid loneliness in the world. The fear of madness is the thought of a healthy mind, and it is this that insures the hero. In the "Diaboliad" reality is delirious, and it is easier for a person "to yield to it, having found guilty of breaking, deforming the reality of oneself." One of the constant leitmotifs of the writer's works is declared in the "Diaboliad": the mystical role of paper, clerical escheat life. If at first Bulgakov was joking, then the development of the plot is by no means a joke, because if there is no document that confirms your identity, then you are nobody.
The causal relationship is broken - what does the presence (or absence) of paper have to do with the brewing love episode, when a brunette throws herself on Korotkov's neck and asks him to marry her. Korotkov cannot do this because he does not have documents with his real name. It turns out that a piece of paper is not only able to determine human relationships, the document authorizes actions and, finally, constitutes a person. The intonation of the distraught Korotkov is grotesque: “Shoot me on the spot, but straighten out any document for me ...”. The hero is already ready to exchange life itself for the “correctness” and formality of its course. Depriving the "place" and stealing the papers - it turns out to be enough to push the hero out of life into a crazy jump, death.
2.2. Analysis of the main episodes.
In The Diaboliad, which describes an institution seemingly not at all connected with writing, Bulgakov introduces, albeit briefly, the theme of literature of literary life. Let us recall the scene when Korotkov, entangled in the labyrinths of the Alpine Rose, gets stuck in a mysterious and frightening conversation with Jan Sobiessky: “What will you please us with? Feuilleton? Essays?<…>You can't imagine how much we need them."
The episode, apparently, refers to the same Leto, in which Bulgakov served as secretary, or to the time of his work in Gudok. The autobiographical subtext from time to time, with short, bright flashes, as if “illuminating” the plot of the Diaboliad, imparts a new quality to the literary material.
The whole story is “made” of dynamic, short scenes, instant dialogues, energetic verbs, as if urging on the action, which by the end is already rushing at full speed, increasing and whirling the already frantic pace. Movement, speed, speed (“rushed”, “rushed”, “struck”, “collapsed”, “failed”, etc.)
On the last pages of the Diaboliad, the hitherto quiet Korotkov suddenly has an “eagle eye”, “battle cry”, and “the courage of death”, which gives strength to the hero. And he dies, - with a phrase that instantly brought to the surface what was hidden in the depths of the consciousness of the "shy" clerk. In the final exclamation, there is a sudden surge of a previously hidden sense of dignity. Having fully expressed himself in it, Korotkov perishes, uttering his "main" thought: "Better death than disgrace." 2
Here is devilry, diabolical phantasmagoria (which, at the same time, has a domestic motivation in quite possible circumstances), here is an addiction to comic effects (in the phrase: “The starling hissed with a snake”, or “comrade de Rooney”, etc.).
2.3. Conclusion about the ideological content.
Here, for the first time, we read that same “weaved out of thin air”, verbal signs appear scattered, hinting at evil spirits: “witchcraft”, “brownie”, a black cat, in which Korotkov suspects a werewolf, will smell of sulfur. And even when the usual cabin of the institutional elevator rises, it pulls eeriely from the mine with “wind and dampness”.
The first Bulgakov story showed not only the stability of poetics, but also the certainty of Bulgakov's position, influenced the things written nearby in the same and a little later years.
"Diaboliad", despite the locality of the theme and the alleged "accident" of the death of the protagonist, Korotkov, who failed to return to his consciousness the lost value of the world, which crumbled into fragments before his eyes, - said the motive that will develop throughout the entire work of the writer: the motive reality that is delusional.
3. The story "Fatal eggs".
Following the "Diaboliad" appeared "Fatal Eggs". This work was published in February 1925, and in May the magazine "Red Panorama" published a magazine, abridged version of the story, up to No. 22 under the title "Ray of Life".
Unlike The Diaboliad, Bulgakov's second story was met with great attention, it was discussed both in "closed", private letters of professional writers, and on the pages of the general press. At the same time, it is curious to note that the writers rated the story very highly, while in the press the voices of critics were divided: who exclusively liked the whole story, who the end of the story was written poorly, and who considered this story funny.
The acute social nature of Bulgakov's story led to critical battles unfolding around the "Fatal Eggs". Reviews, bright, sometimes giving surprisingly deep interpretations of the writer's work, testify to the accuracy of the "hit" of Bulgakov's new work in the painful problems of the literary and social process of the mid-1920s.
The author himself, according to the testimony of the memoirist, evaluated the story modestly, despite the fact that even five years later, in 1930, "Fatal Eggs" was still a success, along with Fedin's "Cities and Years" were among the most requested books.
The story clearly traces at least three semantic layers, closely related to each other. Of course, this is a fantastic story, a utopian story, a satire story. But no less noticeable are the connections of the "Fatal Eggs" with the adventure novel, an adventure genre that is difficult to rethink.
3.1. The plot of the story
The protagonist of the work, the brilliant zoologist Persikov, who thoroughly owns his subject knowledge, opens the “red ray”, which gives an unprecedented effect of instant maturation, reproduction and increase in the size of amoebas. Before us is evolution, passing at lightning speed. Simultaneously with the opening of Professor Persikov, a chicken pestilence begins, destroying all the chickens in the country. The zoologist is called for help. Social and ideological motivations come into play, born decades ago, but firmly rooted in our days.
Here a character appears with the eloquent surname Rokk, in his hands is a paper from the Kremlin. There is a conversation between them: “I,” Persikov says, “I can’t understand this: why is such haste and a secret needed?
- ... you know that the chickens are all dead to a single one.
Well, so what of this, - yelled Persikov, - well, you want to resurrect them instantly, or what? …
I'm telling you that we need to resume production at home, because all sorts of nasty things are being written about us abroad. Yes.
Well, you know, - Rocky answered mysteriously and shook his head.
Decisiveness, personified by Doom, produces a disastrous result. Let us note that Rok himself, the culprit of countless disasters and human grief, is saved by the former, pre-revolutionary profession, which he, unlike the new one - the director of the state farm, owns.
Persikov will not be able to intervene in the experiment started by Rock, although he assumes its devastating consequences.
“You know what,” said Persikov, “you are not a zoologist? Not? It's a pity ... you would have made a very brave experimenter ... Yes ... ".
"A very brave experimenter", but not a zoologist, this speaks of Rock's ignorance of elementary things, such as how to distinguish eggs. Rokk was unable to distinguish the eggs of snakes, crocodiles and ostriches from chicken. The illiteracy of one person, who took possession of the discovery, became the cause of the catastrophe that broke out over the whole country, and the cause of the death of a brilliant scientist.
Instead of chickens, monsters hatched from eggs that ate all living things around. The snakes were about fifteen arshins and as thick as a man. There were a huge number of them. They crawled out of windows, from doors, from under the roof of the building.
Crocodiles are creatures on twisted legs, brown-green in color, with a huge sharp muzzle, with a combed tail, similar to a terrible lizard.
And ostriches are scary giant legged birds.
There was a mass destruction of all living things. It was impossible to stop these gigantic monsters. People lost their heads and, not understanding what was happening, killed the professor.
3.2. The semantic layers of the story.
But the death of a scientist also means the death of the “ray of life” he found. “No matter how simple the combination of glass with mirror beams of light was, it was not combined a second time, despite the efforts of Ivanov. Obviously, something special was needed for this, besides knowledge, which only one person in the world possessed - the late Professor Vladimir Ignatievich Persikov. Bulgakov said that there are irreplaceable people long before this idea, as already newly discovered, finally began to take root in the minds of a society that had been convinced of the opposite for a long time.
And, finally, another important semantic layer of the story: Bulgakov, with his commitment to describing contemporary events in their indispensable correlation with the “big” history, in a reduced, parodic version, seems to repeat the path (final) of the Napoleonic campaign in it. The snakes advance in the "Fatal Eggs" along the roads along which the French once went to Moscow.
The Doom experiment takes place in early August (“mature August” is in the Smolensk province), events unfold with incredible speed, in mid-August “all of Smolensk is on fire”, “artillery shells the Mozhaisk forest”, “airplane squadron near Vyazma” acted “very successfully” and, a little later: Smolensk "caught fire in all the places where they threw burning stoves and began a hopeless mass exodus."
In each story, besides the motives and themes that are steadily repeating, obviously, the most important for the writer, attention is drawn to a kind of "clamps", signals that seem to connect, fuse the created worlds of various works - into a holistic and unified artistic cosmos.
4. The story "Dog's heart".
Bulgakov's third story "Heart of a Dog" was written in January-March 1925. On March 7, Bulgakov reads the first part of The Heart of a Dog at Nikitinsky Subbotnik. March 21 - the second part of the story was read there.
The story “Heart of a Dog” came to the domestic reader more than sixty years after its creation, in the 6th book of the Znamya magazine in 1987.
The Moscow topography of the work is curious, again testifying to a certain autobiographical nature of it.
4.1. Summary of the story and analysis of episodes.
The path that Sharik follows his newly acquired divine master is drawn by Bulgakov with his characteristic accuracy: from the cooperative of the Centrokhoz to the fire brigade of Prechistina ... past Dead Lane ... to Obukhov Lane, to the mezzanine.
N.M. Pokrovsky, the brother of M.A. Bulgakov’s mother, a gynecologist and former assistant of the famous Moscow professor of gynecology V.F. Snegirev, lived on Prechistenki Street and Obukhov Lane in the mezzanine. This N.M. Pokrovsky was the prototype of the main character of the story "Heart of a Dog", Philip Filippovich Preobrazhensky.
The Faustian theme of the homunculus is taken by Bulgakov from an unexpected angle. A laboratory creature that was born as a result of an experiment - "the world's first operation on Professor Preobrazhensky."
There is an episode in the story that is worth the lengthy reasoning of the "general plan", which conveys and explains the skill of Preobrazhensky. This is a description of the operation, the climactic scene of the first part of "Heart of a Dog".
Preobrazhensky’s “teeth ... clenched, eyes acquired a sharp, prickly shine ... both became agitated, like murderers who are in a hurry ... Philip Philipovich’s face became terrible ... hissing escaped from his nose, his teeth opened to the gums”, he “looked around brutally ... growled ... roared angrily ... his face ... became like that of an inspired robber ... fell off completely, like a well-fed vampire. ... tore off one glove, throwing a cloud of sweaty powder out of it, tore the other, threw it on the floor and called ... ". Sweat, "predatory eye", tempo, passion, courage, virtuosity, risk and tension, which can be compared with the tension of a violinist or conductor - such is Philipp Philippovich in the "case", where both human essence and the highest professionalism are merged.
The newly minted "labor element" is struck by dinners with wine and "forty pairs of trousers", his ideological mentor Shvonder - "seven rooms that everyone knows how to occupy"; years of research work of the owner of these goods, hundreds of operations and daily intellectual training are not visible to him.
Members of the house committee come to the professor, who have gone headlong into the round-the-clock utterance of correct and revolutionary speeches, replacing them with practical and everyday work. And these, according to the professor's sarcastic definition, "singers" come forward ... demanding "labor discipline" from a person who, unlike them, does not leave work for a single day - no matter what happens around.
Under the banner of social demagogy, which settles much faster and easier than the skills of creative activity, Sharikov becomes. He begins not with a problem book and grammar, but with Engels' correspondence with Kautsky, instantly "going out" to the most burning problem of "social justice" for him, understood as the task of "dividing" for all.
Decades ago, a shock was caused by Lenin's thought, sharpened in the formula about every cook who must learn to run the state. At first it was heard that "every cook" should do it. And only over time, attention moved to another part of the phrase: "must learn." But in order to start learning, it was necessary to realize the need to do it. Sharikov-Chugunkin, “standing at the lowest stage of development”, unable to even minimally appreciate the complexity of the subject under discussion (“Congress, the Germans ... the head swells ...”), enters into a debate with people who have spent years and years thinking about the problem , on an equal footing, without a shadow of a doubt.
The professor foresees a simple course of Sharikov's reasoning.
“- Let me know what you can say about what you read?
Sharikov shrugged.
Yes, I do not agree.
With whom? With Engels or with Kautsky?
With both, - answered Sharikov.
and further on Sharikov formulates the vulgar idea of sharing equally among all, that is, he sets forth the very misunderstood idea of social justice, which takes possession of the minds only at the seductive stage of division, and by no means of creation, the accumulation of what will become possible to share only much later. The professor makes an attempt, however, in vain, to clearly explain this to Sharikov.
Obviously, a sharp degradation of intellect, taking place before our eyes: no doubt, the stray mongrel is at an immeasurably higher level of development than Klim Chugunkin, who “has taken root” in her body.
In the second part - before us is no longer Sharik, but Klim Chugunkin, whose very first phrases speak of social aggression, immorality, uncleanliness and complete ignorance. It is no coincidence that the attention with which the writer fixes Sharikov's plasticity, his manner of behavior. He stands “leaning against the lintel” and “crossing his legs”, his gait is “sprawling”, when he sat down on a chair, then “at the same time, lowering his hands, hung his hands along the lapels of his jacket”, etc. According to Bulgakov, in posture, gesture, facial expressions, intonations, a person's attitude can be read no less clearly than heard in speeches and manifested in deeds. That “high bearing of spirit”, which does not allow the professor and his colleague to “poke” even a creature that does not enjoy any respect on their part, is polar opposite to Sharikov’s derogatory-familiar forms, in which it is common to clothe their relations with others. “An ordinary servant, but forsu, like a commissar” - about Zina; “Another one and a half rubles to pay for such a scoundrel. Yes, he himself ... ”- about a neighbor in the Kalabukhov house; "daddy" - in the address of Philip Philipovich and so on.
“That’s all we have, like in a parade,” Sharikov accuses his owners, “excuse me” and “merci”, but in order to really, it’s not ...”. That is, the norms of communication that are natural for the professor and his colleague, painful and burdensome for Sharikov, he considers "fake", painful for everyone.
4.2. What is the purpose of the writer's satire in the story.
“Really living” for Sharikov means nibbling sunflower seeds and spitting on the floor, swearing obscenely and molesting women, wallowing on the wards and getting drunk at dinner. Apparently, he is sincere when he declares to his educators that they "torture themselves, as under the tsarist regime." The idea of the naturalness and "normality" of this, and not any other way of life does not come, and cannot come to Sharikov's head.
And in this he closes in, finds a common language with the members of the Komsomol, who are also quite sincerely convinced that a person has nothing to "live in seven rooms", have "40 pairs of pants", dine in the dining room, etc. Not necessary to one's own way of life - seems unnecessary to anyone else. From here, the threads from Bulgakov's story stretch to today's disputes about "normal needs", starting from an implicit conviction in the "sameness, similarity of human natures" and in the possibility of determining "scientifically" rational "norms of consumption". That is, in other words, it's all about the same indestructible "equalization", from which everything rising above the average level always suffers.
III
. Conclusion.
Bulgakov, in the best traditions of Russian and world literature, was characterized by pain for a person, whether he was an outstanding master or an unnoticed clerk.
The writer did not accept the literature that depicted the suffering of abstract, unreal heroes, passing by life at the same time. For Bulgakov, humanism was the ideological core of literature. And the true humanism of the master's works is especially close to us today.
Concluding the conversation about Bulgakov's satirical and fantastic works, let's make one assumption: all three stories, read as a single connected text, addressed to the same reality - Moscow in the 1920s, - in fact, "replaced" the writer's second novel. Bulgakov, talking about the polar forces acting in modern times, as if deploying a holistic human anthropology in these stories, asks the question - what is a person.
As if one and the same image passes from story to story, a human type hostile to the author, threatening social danger: “a low man on crooked legs” kills Persikov; Korotkov is driven mad by a petty tyrant Pantser with “twisted legs” and “small, like pinhead eyes”, the culprit of the country’s great grief Rokk looks at the world with “small eyes”, amazed and at the same time confidently, he has “something cheeky ” is “in short legs with flat feet”, a portrait of Sharikov is given in a similar way.
The described almost degenerative type is opposed by the hero who is finding more and more ground under his feet, looking for creative forces in himself in order to survive (and even win in the story "Heart of a Dog").
Let's add the emerging "marks" of the undisguised unity of Bulgakov's artistic world, which has already been discussed. All this, taken together, turns the three stories into a kind of "summary" of the novel, which grows out of modernity, assessed by a creative person.
The satire of M.A. Bulgakov is very closely connected with modernity. Now, in our world, you can meet the same cruel and callous people as Sharikov, the same stupid Rocca, the same Pantser, who will turn a person's head and mislead him. And at the moment there are a lot of such people. No matter how hard you try to make a human out of an animal, it will still remain the same small and vile person.
Having written a work on the satire of M.A. Bulgakov, we completed the tasks assigned to us, drew conclusions for each story, and in general, on the topic of the work, we expanded and systematized our knowledge of the work of M.A. Bulgakov.
At the end of The Excavations of Herculaneum, I began to search in the novel The Master and Margarita for a character under whose mask Lenin could be hidden. When searching, I did not consider it necessary to compare drafts and sketches with the canonical text of the novel, although such an analysis sometimes helps to unravel the author's allusions. Most of Bulgakov's hints in his political satires were correctly understood by the censors of that time and without familiarization with the "draft versions and sketches", as a result of which these satires were repeatedly considered at meetings of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks - and were not allowed to be published or staged.
In my searches, I analyzed the texts of The Grand Chancellor and The Master and Margarita - and nothing more.
After such an introduction, I turn to the continuation of the story about my work with my favorite novel. I titled the next part of the story as follows:
MASSOLIT - NEW WORD M.A. BULGAKOV
Not prone to didacticism, I still repeat:
The novel "The Master and Margarita" was written during the years of cruel political terror, when the state diligently controlled not only the actions, but the thoughts and feelings of its citizens. The terminally ill Bulgakov knew the danger of storing the manuscripts of his last novel, and he subjected all the manuscripts of the novel to thorough self-censorship, destroyed places with extremely sharp content in them, and skillfully obscured all hints of a political nature and all his heretical thoughts, or encrypted, as we speak today.
Bulgakov mastered the language of the Menippean satire, and it is unlikely that he used the colossal power of his talent in the "sunset" novel for ridicule-shooting at small targets - most likely, he aimed at the biggest, most important culprits of the tragic events in Russia. How to find these large but carefully veiled targets? - that is the question.
In an attempt to answer this question, I undertook an independent decoding of the word coined by Bulgakov - MASSOLIT.
MASSOLIT is the abbreviated name of one of the largest Moscow literary associations. The author of "The Master and Margarita" nowhere gave the full name of the association he invented, which allows the researchers of the novel to ambiguously decipher this word - MASSOLIT.
Usually, researchers proceed from the fact that since we are talking about the Literary Association, the ending ... LIT should be related either to LITEratura or LITERATORS - and such decodings of MASSOLIT appear:
- Moscow Association of LITERATORS;
- MASS SOCIALIST LITERATURE;
- MASS LITERATURE;
- MASTER OF SOVIET LITERATURE;
- MASTER OF SOCIALIST LITERATURE, etc.
But the ending "...LIT" can also be the final component of complex words, meaning either related to stone, similar to stone (for example, monolith, paleolith), or a product of decomposition, dissolution (for example, electrolyte). In this case, the abbreviated name "MASSOLIT" can be deciphered regardless of literature and writers - for example, like this: "Mass like a stone", or like this: "Product of decomposition of masses" ...
Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below
Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.
Posted on http://www.allbest.ru/
Posted on http://www.allbest.ru/
Reflections of M. Bulgakov in the story "Fatal Eggs"
To be human, to have such a high status means to feel responsible for your actions and not let go of thoughts about the consequences. Mikhail Bulgakov created the dystopia "Fatal Eggs" in order to warn people against mistakes. The writer deftly alternates satire, irony and philosophical conclusions in a fantastic work.
From the lines of the story it becomes clear that M. Bulgakov defines responsibility as the main theme. Persikov, an intellectual, an educated person, discovers the "red ray", which contributes to the active reproduction of organisms, and their sizes reach gigantic. At the same time, the country is suffering a chicken pestilence that has destroyed all the chickens. The government finds a solution to the problem in a zoologist's experiment and asks him for help. Bulgakov draws our attention to the fact that Persikov's drugs end up in the hands of ignorant and short-sighted people, which entails catastrophic consequences. From this we can draw the following conclusions: one should not take up a matter thoughtlessly, and even more so interfere with human nature. Human nature is a substance that cannot be invaded. bulgakov dystopia satire philosophical
Such an invasion leads to death. The inexplicable phenomena in the story, mainly eighteen degrees of frost in mid-August, make it clear to us that nature is much stronger than us, and neither the Red Army nor other troops will save humanity from its networks. The very composition of the work is saturated with a paradoxical phenomenon. The heroes, following good intentions, wanted to do the best - breed chickens and provide food for the whole country, but it turned out the other way around. Rokk, in whose hands the professor's preparations fell, is only a bold experimenter.
He does not have the necessary knowledge that would serve to achieve positive results, but this does not stop him. The haste of the experiment and negative reviews from foreign countries are stronger, and the hero goes against nature. Because of his ignorance, monsters appear from eggs that destroy everything around. Failure to install them leads to the murder of a scientist. There is another story line in the story. Bulgakov parodies the path of the Napoleonic invasion. The snakes represent the French, who once advanced on Moscow. The author in "Fatal Eggs" managed to display both time, and tones, and pictures that were printed on the pages of history after the Napoleonic battles.
Bulgakov wants to draw our attention to the impossibility of changing the course of evolution. It shows that when planning the future, we have to live only in the present. People are building a “new ideal life”, being sure that it will be much better, but, unfortunately, they forget that there can be no bright future in the absence of sound thinking and meaningfulness of all consequences. Nature will not allow someone to decide the fate of people without having the right to do so.
I want to sum up with the words, accurately said by Silovan Ramishvili: “People make the biggest mistake when they imagine the desired reality.” This statement perfectly reflects the essence of the story "Fatal Eggs", because a person is endowed with a mind that should warn against such tragedies.
Hosted on Allbest.ru
Similar Documents
Satire and humor, their general concept. The satirical art of M. Bulgakov in the works "Fatal Eggs", "Heart of a Dog". Analysis of the artistic originality of M. Zoshchenko's work. Interest in Bulgakov's work in our time and his fate as a writer.
abstract, added 08/19/2011
Akhmatova as "the voice of a hundred million people" in the years of total silence. Pathetics and deep tragedy of her works. Bulgakov's fantastic stories as "an evil satire on the Soviet country, an open mockery of it, direct hostility."
abstract, added 11/10/2009
Problem-thematic analysis of Bulgakov's story "Heart of a Dog", a study of critical literature on this topic. The theme of the tragedy of the Russian people in the work of the author. Display and meaning of the theme of the experiment in the work "Heart of a Dog".
term paper, added 06/06/2011
Basic concepts of linguosocionics. Linguo-socionic portraits of the heroes of the story by M.A. Bulgakov: professors Preobrazhensky, Sharik-Sharikov. Speech and author's characteristics, description of personality types of characters. Intertype relationships of the characters in the story.
abstract, added 07/27/2010
Social "metaphors" of the story: revolution and evolution. Reflection of time in the artistic outline of the story. Bulgakov's social skepticism: "dialogue" with Mayakovsky. The nihilism of the revolution: "transfiguration" by destruction. Creation of the "new man": Homo Sovieticus.
thesis, added 06/24/2015
The story "Heart of a Dog" among the satirical works of M. A. Bulgakov. Stubborn image of the Russian intelligentsia as the best layer in our country. The experiment of Professor Preobrazhensky and the social experiment of the beginning of the 20th century in this story.
abstract, added 01/13/2011
The artistic world of the story "Heart of a Dog" by M.A. Bulgakov: analysis of critical literature. The theme of food as a reflection of the life and customs of the inhabitants of Moscow in the 20s of the last century in the story "Heart of a Dog". Dictionary of the names of dishes used at the beginning of the 20th century.
abstract, added 11/27/2014
The study of epic works in school. epic specifics. Features of the study of the story. Introductory lesson and reading of the work. Analysis of the story "Heart of a Dog". Work with literary concepts: humor, satire, pamphlet, fantasy.
term paper, added 11/21/2006
Similarities and differences between humor and satire in fiction. The influence of satirical creativity N.V. Gogol on the satire of M.A. Bulgakov. Bulgakov's satire of the 1920s: feuilleton 1922-1924, early satirical prose, specifics of warning satire.
test, added 01/20/2010
Disclosure of the theme of disharmony, brought to the point of absurdity due to human intervention in the eternal laws of nature in Bulgakov's story "Heart of a Dog". Acquaintance with the philosophy of Preobrazhensky. Evaluation of the influence of Shvonder's upbringing on the formation of Sharik's personality.
ESSAY
"EXPERIMENT IN M.A. BULGAKOV'S STORIES "FATAL EGGS" AND "DOG'S HEART"
INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………… 2
1. Life and time of creation of the stories “Fatal Eggs” and “Heart of a Dog”……. 3
2. Professor Persikov's experiment in the story "Fatal Eggs"…………. five
3. The experiment of Professor Preobrazhensky and its consequences in the story “Heart of a Dog”…………………………………………………………………. 8
4. Lessons learned from the analysis of the works “Fatal Eggs” and “Heart of a Dog”…………………………………………………………………………….. 12
CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………… 13
List of sources used…………………………………………. fourteen
INTRODUCTION
Bulgakov's work is the pinnacle of Russian artistic culture of the twentieth century. Bulgakov's work is diverse. But a special place in it is occupied by the theme of a scientific experiment, which rises in the socio-philosophical stories of satirical fiction "Fatal Eggs" and "Heart of a Dog", in which there is much in common.
This topic relevant and today, because Bulgakov's satirical fantasy warns society of impending dangers and cataclysms. We are talking about the tragic discrepancy between the achievements of science - the desire of man to change the world - and his contradictory, imperfect essence, inability to foresee the future, here he embodies his conviction that normal evolution is preferable to a violent, revolutionary method of invading life, about the responsibility of a scientist and a terrible, destructive force smug aggressive ignorance. These themes are eternal and they have not lost their significance even now.
tasks of this essay are to analyze the plots in M.A. Bulgakov's stories "Fatal Eggs" and "Heart of a Dog", the place and influence of the scientific experiments of their main characters on the development of plots in the stories, and also to draw conclusions about which the writer warned his contemporaries in his works , And goal this essay to find out what impact it has on our modern life.
In this work, materials from critical articles by literary critics of the writer M.A. Bulgakov of the Soviet and modern periods, as well as independent conclusions on this topic, were used.
The novelty of my work lies in proving the significance, relevance and "survivability" of the literary heritage of M.A. Bulgakov today, about the threat of any thoughtless experiment that is in conflict with human nature and its morality.
1. Life and time of creation of the stories "Fatal Eggs" and "Heart of a Dog".
The story "Fatal Eggs" was written in 1924, and published in 1925, at first in an abridged form in the magazine "Red Panorama" No. 19-22, 24, and in No. 19-21 it was called "Ray of Life" and only in No. 22,24 acquired the now well-known name "Fatal Eggs". In the same year, the story was published in the almanac "Nedra", in the sixth edition, and was included in Bulgakov's collection "The Diaboliad", published in two editions in 1925 and 1926, and the edition of the collection in 1926 was Bulgakov's last lifetime book in his homeland.
The story "Heart of a Dog", written in 1925, the author never saw printed, it was confiscated from the author along with his diaries by the OGPU during a search on May 7, 1926. "Heart of a Dog" is Bulgakov's last satirical story. She escaped the fate of her predecessors - she was not ridiculed and trampled on by false critics from "Soviet literature", because. was published only in 1987 in the Znamya magazine.
The action of the "Fatal Eggs" is timed to 1928, the realities of Soviet life in the first post-revolutionary years are easily recognized in the story. The most expressive in this regard is the reference to the notorious "housing problem", which was allegedly resolved in 1926: "Just as amphibians come to life after a long drought, with the first heavy rain, Professor Persikov the company built, starting from the corner of Gazetny Lane and Tverskaya, in the center of Moscow 15 fifteen-story houses, and on the outskirts of 300 workers' cottages, each with 8 apartments, once and for all ending that terrible and ridiculous housing crisis that so tormented Muscovites in the years 1919-1925 ".
The hero of the story, Professor Preobrazhensky, came to Bulgakov's story from Prechistenka, where the hereditary Moscow intelligentsia had long settled. A recent Muscovite, Bulgakov knew and loved this area. He settled in Obukhov (Chisty) Lane, where "Fatal Eggs" and "Heart of a Dog" were written. Here lived people who were close to him in spirit and culture. Professor N.M. Pokrovsky. But, in essence, it reflected the type of thinking and the best features of that layer of the Russian intelligentsia, which, in Bulgakov's circle, was called "Prechistinka".
Bulgakov considered it his duty to "stubbornly portray the Russian intelligentsia as the best stratum in our country." He respectfully and lovingly treated his hero-scientist, to some extent Professor Preobrazhensky is the embodiment of the outgoing Russian culture, the culture of the spirit, aristocracy.
Since 1921 M.A. Bulgakov lived in Moscow, which, like the whole country, was passing to the era of the NEP - paradoxical, acute, contradictory. The harsh time of war communism was fading into the past. The era blew up. Bulgakov's pen was in a hurry to capture the rapidly flowing incredible, unique reality. It responded with satirical touches in essays and feuilleton, whole fantastic-satirical works, such as "Fatal Eggs" and "Heart of a Dog".
2. Professor Persikov's experiment in the story "Fatal Eggs".
Apocalyptic motives are permeated with Bulgakov's satirical story - "Fatal Eggs", - work on which, like on the "Diaboliad", was carried out at the time of writing the "White Guard".
The plot outline of the story "Fatal Eggs" is very simple and echoes the plots of many science fiction novels by G. Wells (which is directly indicated in the story). It strikes with the boldness of the author's imagination and the abundance of very risky private statements and satirical attacks.
In the center of the story is the traditional image of an eccentric scientist, a theoretician, completely immersed in his scientific research, far from reality and not understanding it. Professor Vladimir Ignatievich Persikov was 58 years old, "a wonderful head, pusher, bald, with a bunch of yellowish hair sticking out on the sides."
The image of A.S. Rocca becomes the second most important image in the system of characters in the story. The very appearance of Rocca is presented in the story as the personification of the era of military communism, a time absolutely alien and hostile to Bulgakov and personifying the essence of the proletarian revolution for him: “He was terribly old-fashioned. In 1919, this man would have been perfectly appropriate on the streets of the capital, he would have been tolerant in 1924, at the beginning of it, but in 1928 he was strange. While even the most backward part of the proletariat - the baker - went in jackets, when in Moscow a jacket was a rarity - an old-fashioned suit, finally abandoned at the end of 1924, the one who entered was wearing a leather double-breasted jacket, green trousers, windings and boots on his legs, and on the side is a huge old design Mauser pistol in a yellow battered holster. It is curious that, according to the narrator, this man would have been tolerant precisely at the beginning of 1924. I think that we have Bulgakov's unequivocal indication of the time of Lenin's death, and, consequently, Rokk personifies the Lenin era here, which, as the author seems to have gone, into the irrevocable past.
The main event in the story is the discovery of the scientist Persikov. Outwardly, this event is nothing more than a joke of the artist. Setting up the microscope for work, Persikov accidentally discovered that when the mirror and lens move, some kind of red beam appears, which, as it soon turns out, has an amazing effect on living organisms: they become incredibly active, angry, multiply rapidly and grow to enormous sizes. But the brilliant invention of Persikov in the conditions of Bolshevik Russia leads to confusion and devilry, which is associated with the end of the world.
It all started with a domestic misunderstanding. “Eternal mess, eternal disgrace, “some indescribable disgrace”, as a result of which addresses were confused with eggs: instead of snake piles, “these chicken eggs” were brought to the professor, and instead of piles of chicken, Rokk was brought only three boxes of eggs.
Events are developing rapidly. When Persikov guessed about the terrible mistake, it was already too late: "something monstrous" was going on in the Smolensk region. Rokk bred snakes instead of chickens, and they gave the same phenomenal clutch as frogs. The snakes moved to Moscow. Nothing could stop them. Death threatened the entire state. Moscow fell silent, and then a crazy panic began, fires, looting. As a result of the pogrom perpetrated by an angry, uncontrollable crowd, the Institute engaged in the laboratory derivation of the “new life” burned down, the chamber that gave rise to the ill-fated red beam was broken, the experimenter himself, Professor Persikov, was killed and torn to pieces by the crowd, and with him Pankrat and the servant Marya Stepanovna. And only the traditional Russian frost, which miraculously erupted “on the night of August 19-20, 1928” (“frosty god on the car” - Bulgakov ironically in the title of the XII chapter of the story), saves Russia from a catastrophe of a terrible scale. Giant reptiles, like the ancient dinosaurs of the Mesozoic era, froze to death on the way to Moscow. "Were dead" countless snake, crocodiles and ostrich eggs that covered the "forests, fields, boundless swamps" of Soviet Russia.
In the plot of "Fatal Eggs" there are a lot of the most incredible events and random coincidences. This is the chicken plague that came from nowhere, and the accidental discovery of Persikov, and the confusion with eggs, and the eighteen-degree frost in August, and the fact that neither the chicken plague, nor the invasion of reptiles for some reason spread beyond the country, and much more. The author, as if on purpose, inflates such accidents, not caring that they are any plausible. But behind the allegorical images and pictures, it is not difficult to see real events, or at least quite possible ones.
"Fatal Eggs" (1924) - a story written by M. A. Bulgakov in a special period of the cultural life of the country. At that time, many works were created only to motivate a wide range of the population to perform the tasks necessary for the survival of the country in critical conditions. Therefore, many different one-day authors appeared, whose creations did not linger in the memory of readers. Not only art, but also science was put on stream. Then all the advanced inventions went to the service of industry and agriculture, increasing their efficiency. But scientific thought on the part of the Soviet authorities was subjected to ideological control, which (among other things) ridicules Bulgakov in Fatal Eggs.
The story was created in 1924, and the events in it unfold in 1928. The first publication took place in the Nedra magazine (No. 6, 1925). The work had different names - at first "Ray of Life", in addition, there was another one - "Professor Persikov's Eggs" (the meaning of this name was to preserve the satirical tone of the story), but for ethical reasons this name had to be changed.
The central figure of the story - Professor Persikov, remotely contains some features of real prototypes - the brothers-doctors Pokrovsky, Bulgakov's relatives, one of whom lived and worked on Prechistenka.
In addition, the text does not just mention the Smolensk province, in which the events of the "Fatal Eggs" unfold: Bulgakov worked there as a doctor and briefly came to the Pokrovskys in a Moscow apartment. The situation of the Soviet country during the period of war communism also comes from real life: then there were food shortages due to the unstable socio-political situation, unrest occurred in the administrative structures due to unprofessionalism, and the new government still could not fully cope with control over public life .
Bulgakov in "Fatal Eggs" ridicules both the cultural and socio-political situation of the country after the revolutionary upheaval.
Genre and direction
The genre of the work "Fatal Eggs" is a story. It is characterized by a minimum number of storylines and, as a rule, a relatively small amount of narrative (relative to the novel).
Direction - modernism. Although the events described by Bulgakov are fantastic, the action takes place in a real place, the characters (not only Professor Persikov, but everyone else) are also quite viable citizens of the new country. And the scientific discovery is not fabulous, it has only fantastic consequences. But in general, the story is realistic, although some of its elements are painted grotesquely, satirically.
This combination of fantasy, realism and satire is typical for modernism, when the author makes bold experiments on a literary work, bypassing the established classical norms and canons.
In itself, the modernist direction appeared in the special conditions of social and cultural life, when the old genres and trends began to become obsolete, and art required new forms, new ideas and ways of expression. "Fatal Eggs" is just such a work that met modernist requirements.
About what?
"Fatal Eggs" is a story about the brilliant discovery of a scientist - professor of zoology Persikov, which ended in failure, both for those around him and for the scientist himself. The hero opens a beam in his laboratory, which can only be obtained with a special combination of mirror glasses with beams of light. This ray affects living organisms so that they increase and begin to multiply at a supernatural rate. Professor Persikov and his assistant Ivanov are in no hurry to release their discovery "to the public" and believe that they still need to work on it and conduct additional experiments, since the consequences can be unexpected and even dangerous. However, sensational information about the "ray of life" quickly penetrates the press, recorded by the semi-literate but lively journalist Bronsky, and, filled with false, unverified facts, is distributed in society.
The discovery against the will of the scientist becomes known. Persikov is harassed by journalists on the streets of Moscow, demanding to talk about the invention. It becomes impossible to work in the laboratory due to a flurry of press staff, even a spy comes in who, for five thousand rubles, tries to find out the secret of the beam from the professor.
After that, Persikov's house and laboratory are guarded by the NKVD, not letting journalists in and thus providing the professor with a calm working environment. But soon an epidemic of chicken infection occurs in the country, because of which people are strictly forbidden to eat chickens, eggs, trade live chickens and chicken meat. Even an emergency commission to combat chicken plague has been created. But bypassing the law, someone still sells chicken and eggs, and soon an ambulance arrives for the buyers of these products.
The country is excited. On the occasion of the epidemic, topical works are created that meet the momentary moods of the public. When it begins to subside, Professor Persikov with a special document from the Kremlin is the head of a demonstrative state farm named Rokk, who, with the help of the “ray of life”, intends to resume chicken breeding.
The document from the Kremlin turns out to be an order to advise Rocca on the use of the "ray of life", and immediately a call is heard from the Kremlin. Persikov is categorically opposed to using the beam, which has not yet been fully studied, in chicken breeding, but he has to give Rocca cameras with which to get the desired effect. The hero takes the cameras to a state farm in the Smolensk province and orders chicken eggs.
Soon, three boxes of eggs, unusual in appearance, spotted, arrive in foreign packaging. Rokk puts the resulting eggs under the beam and tells the watchman to keep an eye on them so that no one steals the hatched chickens. The next day, egg shells are found, but no chicks. The supply manager blames the watchman for everything, although he swears that he carefully watched the process.
In the last chamber, the eggs are still intact, and Rokk hopes that at least chickens will hatch from them. He decided to take a break and goes with his wife Manya to swim in the pond. On the bank of the pond, he notices a strange lull, and then a huge snake rushes at Manya and absorbs it right in front of her husband. From this he turns gray and almost falls into madness.
Strange news reaches the GPU that something strange is going on in the Smolensk province. Two agents of the GPU - Shchukin and Politis go to the state farm and find there a distraught Rocca, who cannot really explain anything.
Agents inspect the state farm building - the former Sheremetev's estate, and find cameras with a reddish beam and hordes of huge snakes, reptiles and ostriches in the greenhouse. Shchukin and Polaitis die in a fight with monsters.
Newspaper editors receive strange reports from the Smolensk province about incomprehensible birds the size of a horse, huge reptiles and snakes, and Professor Persikov receives boxes of chicken eggs. At the same time, the scientist and his assistant see a sheet with an emergency message about anacondas in the Smolensk province. It immediately turns out that the orders of Rocca and Persikov were mixed up: the supply manager received snake and ostrich, and the inventor got chicken.
By that time, Persikov had invented a special poison for killing toads, which later came in handy for fighting huge snakes and ostriches.
Red Army units armed with gas are fighting this scourge, but Moscow is still alarmed and many are about to flee the city.
Crazed people break into the institute where the professor works, destroy his laboratory, blaming him for all the troubles and thinking that he released huge snakes, kill his watchman Pankrat, the housekeeper Marya Stepanovna and himself. They then set fire to the institute.
In August 1928, frost suddenly sets in, which destroys the last snakes and crocodiles not finished off by special detachments. After the epidemics that were caused by the rotting corpses of snakes and people affected by the invasion of reptiles, by 1929 the usual spring comes.
The beam discovered by the late Persikov is no longer possible for anyone, even his former assistant Ivanov, now an ordinary professor.
Main characters and their characteristics
- Vladimir Ipatievich Persikov- a brilliant scientist, professor of zoology, who discovered a unique beam. The hero opposes the use of the beam because his discovery has not yet been tested and investigated. He is cautious, does not like excessive fuss and believes that any invention requires many years of testing before the time comes for its operation. Through interference with his work, his life's work perishes with him. The image of Persikov symbolizes the humanism and ethics of scientific thinking, which are destined to perish under the conditions of the Soviet dictatorship. A lonely talent is opposed to an unenlightened and driven crowd that does not have its own opinion, scooping it from newspapers. According to Bulgakov, it is impossible to build a developed and just state without an intellectual and cultural elite, which was expelled from the USSR by stupid and cruel people who have neither the knowledge nor talent to build a country on their own.
- Pyotr Stepanovich Ivanov- Professor Persikov's assistant, who helps him in his experiments and admires his new discovery. However, he is not such a talented scientist, so he fails to get the "ray of life" after the death of the professor. This is an image of an opportunist who is always ready to appropriate the achievements of a truly significant person, even if you have to step over his corpse.
- Alfred Arkadyevich Bronsky- the ubiquitous, fast, dexterous journalist, a semi-literate employee of many Soviet magazines and newspapers. He is the first to enter Persikov's apartment and learn about his unusual discovery, then spreads this news everywhere against the will of the professor, embellishing and distorting the facts.
- Alexander Semyonovich Rokk- a former revolutionary, and now the head of the Krasny Luch state farm. Uneducated, rude, but cunning person. He attends a report by Professor Persikov, where he talks about the “ray of life” he discovered, and he comes up with the idea to restore the chicken population after the epidemic using this invention. Rokk, due to illiteracy, does not realize the full danger of such an innovation. This is a symbol of a new type of people, tailored according to the standards of the new government. A dependent, stupid, cowardly, but, as they say, "punch" citizen, who plays only according to the rules of the Soviet state: runs around the authorities, seeks permission, tries by hook or by crook to adapt to new requirements.
Themes
- The central theme is the carelessness of people in dealing with new scientific inventions and the lack of understanding of the danger of the consequences of such treatment. People like Rocca are narrow minded and want to get things done by any means necessary. They do not care what happens after, they are only interested in the momentary benefit from what may turn into a crash tomorrow.
- The second theme is social: confusion in the administrative structures, due to which any disaster can occur. After all, if the uneducated Rokk had not been allowed to manage the state farm, the catastrophe would not have happened.
- The third theme is impunity and the huge influence of the media, irresponsible in the pursuit of sensationalism.
- The fourth theme is ignorance, which resulted in a lack of understanding by many people of the causal relationship and unwillingness to understand it (they blame Professor Persikov for the disaster, although Rokk and the authorities who assisted him are actually to blame).
Issues
- The problem of authoritarian power and its destructive influence on all spheres of society. Science should be separated from the state, but this was impossible under the Soviet regime: distorted and simplified science, suppressed by ideology, was demonstrated to all people with the help of newspapers, magazines and other media.
- In addition, the “Fatal Eggs” discusses the social problem, which is the unsuccessful attempt of the Soviet system to combine the scientific intelligentsia and the rest of the population, far from science in general. It is not for nothing that the story shows how an NKVD officer (actually a representative of the authorities), protecting Persikov from journalists and spies, finds a common language with a simple and illiterate watchman Pankrat. The author implies that they are on the same intellectual level with him: the only difference is that one has a special badge under the jacket collar, while the other does not. The author hints at how imperfect such power is, where insufficiently educated people try to control what they themselves do not really understand.
- An important problem of the story is the irresponsibility of the totalitarian government to society, which is symbolized by Rocca’s careless handling of the “ray of life”, where Rocca himself is power, the “ray of life” is the ways the state influences people (ideology, propaganda, control), and reptiles, reptiles and ostriches hatched from eggs - society itself, the consciousness of which is distorted and damaged. A completely different, more reasonable and rational way of managing society is symbolized by Professor Persikov and his scientific experiments, which require caution, taking into account all the subtleties and attentiveness. However, it is this method that is eradicated and disappears altogether, because the crowd is aware and does not want to independently understand the intricacies of politics.
Meaning
"Fatal Eggs" is a kind of satire on Soviet power, on its imperfection due to its novelty. The USSR is like one big, untested, and therefore dangerous invention for society, which no one knows how to handle yet, which causes various malfunctions, failures and disasters. The society in Fatal Eggs is experimental animals in the laboratory, subjected to irresponsible and unscrupulous experiments that serve clearly not for good, but for harm. Uneducated people are allowed to manage this laboratory, they are entrusted with serious tasks, which they are unable to perform due to their inability to navigate the social, scientific and other spheres of life. As a result, moral monsters can turn out from experimental citizens, which will lead to irreversible catastrophic consequences for the country. At the same time, the unenlightened crowd mercilessly falls upon those who can really help it overcome difficulties, who know how to use an invention of a national scale. The intellectual elite is being exterminated, but there is no one to replace it. It is very symbolic that after the death of Persikov, no one can restore the invention lost with him.
Criticism
A. A. Platonov (Klimentov), considered this work as a symbol of the implementation of revolutionary processes. According to Platonov, Persikov is the creator of the revolutionary idea, his assistant Ivanov is the one who implements this idea, and Rokk is the one who decided for his own benefit to use the idea of revolution in a distorted form, and not as it should be (for the common good) - as a result, everyone suffered. The characters of the "Fatal Eggs" behave as Otto von Bismarck (1871 - 1898) once described: "The revolution is prepared by geniuses, carried out by fanatics, and crooks use its fruits." Some critics believed that "Fatal Eggs" was written by Bulgakov for fun, but members of the RAPP (Russian Association of Proletarian Writers) reacted negatively to the book, quickly considering the political overtones in this work.
Philologist Boris Sokolov (b. 1957) tried to find out what prototypes Professor Persikov had: it could be the Soviet biologist Alexander Gurvich, but if we proceed from the political meaning of the story, then this is Vladimir Lenin.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!
