Saltykov-Shchedrin "A wise gudgeon". Summary

This article will consider one of the pagesthe work of the famous Russian writer Mikhail Yefgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin - the story "The Wise Gudgeon." The summary of this work will be considered together with its

historical context.

Saltykov-Shchedrin is a well-known writer and satirist,who created his literary creations in an interesting style - in the form of fairy tales. The exception is not and "Wise minnow", a summary of which can be told by two sentences. However, it raises acute socio-political problems. This story was written in 1883, during the repressions of Emperor Alexander III, directed against the active opponents of the tsarist regime. At that time, many progressive-minded people already understood the depth of the problems of the existing system and tried to convey this to the masses. However, unlike anarchist students who dreamed of a power coup, the advanced intelligentsia tried to find a way out of the situation by peaceful means, with the help of appropriate reforms. Only with the support of the entire public could it be possible to influence the situation and prevent the existing mess, Saltykov-Shchedrin thought. The "wise gudgeon", whose brief content will be given below, sarcastically tells us about a certain part of the Russian intelligentsia, who in every possible way shirks social activity out of fear of punishment for freethinking.

"Wispy minnows": a summary

Once upon a time there was only one gudgeon, but not a simple one, butenlightened, moderately liberal. From his childhood, his father instructed him: "Beware of the dangers that lie in wait for you in the river, there are plenty of enemies around." The minnow decided: "It's true, at any moment you either get hooked

will catch, or pike will eat. And you yourself can not harm anyone. "And he decided to outwit everyone: he built himself a hole where he lived without a habit," lived and trembled, "came to the surface only at noon to catch some midge, which was not always possible But the gudgeon was not upset, the main thing was that he lived all his life, and he had neither family nor friends, and he lived in constant fear for his life, but he was very proud of the fact that he would not die in ear or in the mouth of a fish, and by his death, like his venerable parents. "And here lies a minnow in his burrow, dying of old age, running into his head lazy thoughts, and suddenly, as if someone whispered to him: "But in vain you lived, did nothing useful or harmful ... Only the food translated. You'll die, no one will remember you. Even for some reason nobody calls you, only a fool and a dumb. "And then the minnow knew that he himself had deprived himself of all the joys that his place was not in this artificially dug dark mink, but in the natural environment." But it was already late, he lay and fell asleep. Most likely, died and surfaced, because no one would eat it - the old, and even the "wise."

This is the summary. "Wise minnow" tells us about useless to society people who live their whole lives in fear, avoiding the struggle in every way, arrogantly considering themselves enlightened at the same time. Saltykov-Shchedrin once again cruelly ridicules the miserable life and way of thinking of such people, urging not to hide in a hole, but to bravely fight for a place under the sun for himself and his descendants. Not only respect, but even pity or sympathy in the reader does not evoke a wise gudgeon, whose brief content of existence can be expressed in two words: "he lived and trembled."

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