Gutta-percha boy theme and plot. Comparative analysis of the stories of A.P.

Behind the scenes of the circus, artists are crowding, the people are cheerful and careless. Among them stands out a not too young bald man, whose face is heavily painted in white and red. This is Edwards the Clown, entering a "period of longing" followed by a period of heavy drinking. Edwards is the main decoration of the circus, his bait, but the clown's behavior is unreliable, on any day he can break loose and drink.

The director asks Edwards to hold out for at least two more days, until the end of Shrove Tuesday, and then the circus will close for the duration of Lent.

The clown gets off with meaningless words and looks into the dressing room of the acrobat Becker, a rough muscular giant.

Edwards is not interested in Becker, but in his pet, the "gutta-percha boy", an acrobat's assistant. The clown asks for permission to take a walk with him, proving to Becker that after rest and entertainment, the little artist will work better. Always annoyed by something, Becker does not want to hear about it. And without that, a quiet and mute boy, he threatens with a whip.

The story of the "gutta-percha boy" was simple and sad. He lost his mother, an eccentric and overly loving cook, in the fifth year of his life. And with his mother, sometimes he had to starve and freeze, but he still did not feel lonely.

After the death of her mother, her compatriot, the washerwoman Varvara, arranged the fate of the orphan, identifying him as an apprentice to Becker. At the first meeting with Petya, Karl Bogdanovich roughly and painfully felt the boy stripped naked, frozen in pain and horror. No matter how much he cried, no matter how he clung to the hem of the laundress, Varvara gave him full possession of the acrobat.

Petya's first impressions of the circus, with its diversity and noise, were so strong that he cried out all night and woke up several times.

The teaching of acrobatic tricks was not easy for the frail boy. He fell, hurt himself, and not once did the stern giant encourage Petya, did not caress him, and yet the child was only eight years old. Only Edwards showed him how to perform this or that exercise, and Petya was drawn to him with all his heart.

Once a clown gave Petya a puppy, but the boy's happiness was short-lived. Becker grabbed the dog against the wall, and she immediately expired. At the same time, Petya also earned a slap in the face. In a word, Petya was "not so much a gutta-percha as an unhappy boy."

And in the children's rooms of Count Listomirov, a completely different atmosphere reigns. Everything here is adapted for the convenience and fun of children, whose health and mood are carefully monitored by a governess.

On one of the last days of Shrovetide, the count's children were especially lively. Still would! Aunt Sonya, their mother's sister, promised to take them to the circus on Friday.

Eight-year-old Verochka, six-year-old Zina, and a five-year-old chubby booty nicknamed Paf are doing their best to earn the promised entertainment by exemplary behavior, but they cannot think of anything other than the circus. Gramoteika Verochka reads a circus poster to her sister and brother, in which they are especially intrigued by the gutta-percha boy. Time goes by very slowly for children.

Finally, the long-awaited Friday arrives. And now all the worries and fears are behind us. Children take their seats long before the show starts. They are all interested. With genuine delight, children look at the rider, the juggler and the clowns, looking forward to meeting the gutta-percha boy.

The second section of the program begins with the release of Becker and Petit. The acrobat attaches a heavy gilded pole to his belt with a small crossbar at the top. The end of the pole rushes under the very dome. The pole oscillates, the audience sees with what difficulty the giant Becker holds it.

Petya climbs up the pole, now he is almost invisible. The audience applauds and starts yelling that the dangerous number should be stopped. But the boy must still cling to the crossbar with his feet and hang upside down.

He performs this part of the trick, when suddenly "something flashed and spun at the same second a dull sound was heard of something falling into the arena."

Ministers and artists pick up a small body and quickly carry it away. The orchestra plays a cheerful motive, clowns run out, tumbling...

The frustrated audience begins to crowd to the exits. Vera hysterically screams and sobs: “Ay, boy! boy!"

At home, children can hardly be calmed and put to bed. At night, Aunt Sonya looks in on Verochka and sees that her sleep is restless, and a tear has dried on her cheek.

And in a dark deserted circus on a mattress lies a child tied with rags with broken ribs and a broken chest.

From time to time, Edwards emerges from the darkness and leans over the little acrobat. It is felt that the clown has already entered a period of hard drinking, not without reason that an almost empty decanter is seen on the table.

Everything around is plunged into darkness and silence. The next morning, the number of the “gutta-percha boy” was not indicated on the poster - he was no longer in the world.

retold

1) Dmitry Vasilyevich Grigorovich

2) "Gutta-percha boy"

4) Genre: story

5) The work was created in 1883. The writers Franz Kafka and Yaroslav Hasek were born this year; the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa erupted; solemn consecration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior took place in Moscow.

6) The time of the story is the end of the 19th century.

7) Main characters:

the eight-year-old boy Petya (nicknamed “gutta-percha” for his flexibility), after the death of his mother, he was sent to study with the acrobat Becker; acrobat Karl Becker - narcissistic and cruel, he treated Petya like a personal thing, he did not care about either the feelings of the child or his fate; the clown Edwards - he is a talented, but a man who drinks himself from doom, tries to take care of Petya, but, faced with Becker's resistance, retreats; the girl Vera, the eldest daughter of Count Listomirov, was sincerely worried about Petya when he fell down after performing a trick.

8) The plot of the work:

the boy Petya was left an orphan early, lost his mother when he was five years old.

After the death of his mother, her compatriot, the washerwoman Varvara, gave Petya for "training" in the circus to the acrobat Karl Becker, who, teaching the boy acrobatic tricks, mercilessly beat and scolded him, he never said a kind word to him, nor caressed him. The only person who felt sorry for Petya was the clown Edwards, who secretly showed him how to do this or that exercise.

The end of the story is sad - during one of the performances, Petya, performing a difficult trick at a height, fell off and fell down ... “The next morning, the circus poster did not announce the exercises of the “gutta-percha boy” ... he was no longer in the world.

the author encourages us to think about how vulnerable and defenseless children can be. It is difficult for them to live in the world of adults, so you should try to help them. The story teaches us to show feelings of love and compassion for children.

Updated: 2018-08-07

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Introduction.

“To become ... a writer seemed to be something poetic, sublime, a goal that was only worth dreaming about,” wrote Dmitry Vasilyevich Grigorovich (1822-1899). His dreams came true, and he rightfully occupies one of the leading places in the literature of the 40-50s of the 19th century. A number of works created by him entered the golden fund of the classics. His work was highly valued by V. G. Belinsky and L. N. Tolstoy.

One of these works is the story "The Gutta-Percha Boy", written in 1883. This story by D.V. Grigorovich was called a “little masterpiece”, because

was able to paint a true picture of the difficult life and death of the little acrobat. D.V. Grigorovich studied the “nature” about which he would write for a long time and carefully;

The scene is a circus. This concept is associated with the idea of ​​\u200b\u200ba holiday, fun, but the author introduces the reader to the circus through the wings and shows the other side of circus life;

in the center of the work is a fragile "unfortunate boy" - a typical image of those children who were left homeless due to the death of their parents;

the emotional structure of the story makes the hearts of the readers tremble, and the ending is so tragic that the feeling of sadness and sadness remains with the reader for a long time;

D.V. Grigorovich with extraordinary accuracy managed to show the life of a child who “had no childhood in childhood.”

I.S. Turgenev, giving an assessment to this work, said: “I will tell you briefly that this thing is very characteristic: all the characters are set correctly.”

An object research - the story of D.V. Grigorovich "Gutta-percha boy", written in 1883.

Thing research - reception of antithesis.

Target research - to determine what role the reception of antithesis plays in the story.

Hypothesis- the use of contrast technique helps to reveal the ideological concept of the work.

Tasks:

Define antithesis.

Highlight the cases of using the antithesis technique.

Make a classification of the use of antithesis reception.

Determine the role of contrast in the story "Gutta-percha Boy".

methods, used in the creation of research work:

Reading the story "Gutta-percha boy";

analysis of means of artistic expression;

comparison of antithesis reception at different levels;

making a classification.

Main part.

1. Antithesis.

Antithesis is a stylistic figure of contrast in a work of art, consisting in a sharp opposition of concepts, positions, images, states, interconnected by a common structure or internal meaning.

D.V. Grigorovich uses the antithesis method at the following levels:

composition of the story;

scene;

time of action;

landscape sketches;

images;

2. Contrasting the title of the story with the statements in the very content of the story.

The title of the story "The Gutta-Percha Boy" contradicts the author's statements about the boy's abilities.

gutta-percha – 1. related to gutta-percha, made from gutta-percha, rubber; 2.trans. flexible, elastic, stretchable.

Giving such a name to the work, D.V. Grigorovich points to Petya's extraordinary flexibility, his ability to easily do extraordinary exercises and tricks. But behind these exercises lay a huge amount of work, associated with bruises and falls, with Becker's beatings, with pain in the joints of the shoulders and constrictions in the chest.

And in chapters 2 and 3, the author utters phrases that are completely opposite to the title of the work. “The pupil of the acrobat Becker was called the “gutta-percha boy” only in posters; his real name was Petya; rather, however. It would be to call him an unfortunate boy." “Despite his lightness and flexibility, Petya was not so much a gutta-percha as an unhappy boy.”

3. The use of antithesis in the composition of the story.

Firstly, in the composition of the story, D.V. Grigorovich distinguishes 7 parts. The last chapter is opposed to the first six chapters both in terms of volume and content. The first six parts are about life, the last part, which is so small in volume, is about death.

Secondly, in the composition of the story, it is conditionally possible to distinguish two parts that are opposed to each other:

The life and death of a boy.

The life of the family of Count Listomirov.

Petya's life in the circus, where rudeness, cruelty, heartlessness reigns, is opposed to the life of children in the Listomirovs' house. Nothing overshadows the happy life of children in the count's house, they are surrounded by care and love.

Petya's life is also shown in a contrasting form: the hard, unbearable life in the circus is contrasted with his life on the Black River West with his mother ("this time was, undoubtedly, the best in the boy's life").

4. Acceptance of antithesis when describing the scene.

D.V. Grigorovich uses the antithesis technique when describing the scene, opposing the circus premises to the house of Count Listomirov.

BUT . Circus.

The main setting is the circus. The image of the circus contains a contrast. Firstly, the empty circus and the circus during the performance. The empty circus plunges into darkness, gloom, “foggy darkness”, “dusk”, silence reigns here. When the audience “in bright clothes” begins to pass into the brightly lit hall, the thunder of the orchestra, “squeak and laughter” is heard. Secondly, the arena under a high dome, flooded with light, is contrasted with Becker's dressing room ("tiny low room"). From there, a "tearing children's squeal and screams" are heard, accompanying the training of the boy Petya.

AT . House of Count Listomirov.

The children's rooms in the count's house are also beautifully lit ("the rays of the sun from morning to sunset passed through the windows"), but this light is natural, soft, warming. Shouts and cries are heard in the house, but these are cries of joy of fun. The decoration of children's rooms differs sharply from the dressing room of a gutta-percha boy, where there are "neither toys, nor books, nor pictures, nor a cardboard troika of horses" - the attributes of any children's room.

5. Acceptance of antithesis when describing the time of action.

DV Grigorovich divided Petya's life into two time periods, life before meeting Becker and life with Becker, and contrasted them with each other. In the past, Petya also lacked bright colors, but his mother, an old woman, and the washerwoman Varvara took care of him. He felt their care and love. The very first meeting with Becker gives rise to horror in the boy's heart, which takes root in his soul for the rest of the time.

6. Acceptance of antithesis in landscape sketches.

In landscape sketches, the author uses the technique of antithesis. The story opens with exclamations: “A blizzard! Blizzard! How unexpected!!! A cloud swooped in, the wind rose, and the snow fell with such density that ... it was impossible to make out anything on the street. And before that, the weather was great: “it was a little cold”, “the sun was dazzlingly sparkling”. This landscape sketch is emotional: it expresses surprise, bewilderment, irritation.

The same change in the weather is given through the eyes of Aunt Sonya: “the sun was leaning towards the roofs”, and then “the sky was obscured by a large gray cloud”, “fluffy snow flakes flew”, a blizzard went all over the garden.” There is already a completely different emotional background: joy, jubilation, admiration and, at the same time, fear.

Such a change in the weather is a kind of prediction about the tragic changes in the fate of the protagonist.

7. Reception of antithesis when creating images.

A. Social position.

The images are contrasting in their social status, which is emphasized by the clothes of the characters. During the funeral of his mother, a gutta-percha boy is dressed in randomly selected clothes (“the boots in which his legs dangled were accidental”, “the caftanishko was accidental”, “the hat begged from the janitor was accidental”). In Becker's dressing room we find him without any clothes at all ("naked, blond boy", "leotards on his knees"). In addition to the concert costume, Petya had two shirts, from which "only rags remained", there were also boots, "which asked for porridge."

In contrast, the children of the count are dressed. Vera is dressed in a “blue quilted hat”, “blue mantilla”. Zizi was dressed just like her sister.

C. Portrait characteristic.

Becker is characterized by physical strength, "thick bandaging of bones", "short neck", "small round head". The author depicts the acrobat as heavy, as if "cut out of rough material."

In contrast to him, Petya is depicted, "a thin boy of about eight", "thin limbs", "a hollow in the middle of the chest."

To strengthen the antithesis of these images, the author uses a metaphor: "a frail fledgling chicken" and "a huge fat boar."

C. Inner world.

The image of the clown Edwards is opposed to such circus workers as the director and acrobat Becker in terms of life principles, emotional state, and inner content. Edwards differs from them in that

does not boast of his fame (“there was no circus from Paris to Constantinople, from Copenhagen to Palermo, wherever he was not clapped”);

does not observe degrees and differences, behaves with everyone on an equal footing;

friendly attitude towards everyone;

attached to animals, children;

he is torn apart by internal contradictions (“longing was born in him, because he understood the futility of the struggle”).

Edwards has the opposite position to Becker on the education of Petya's pupil. The clown believes that the result will be much better if Petya is cheerful and cheerful (“gaiety gives strength and vigor”, “you can’t take anything with fear and beatings”). And Becker achieved results from his pupil with a scream and fists, from which the boy squealed and screamed heart-rendingly, and an overwhelming fear was born in his soul.

The images are also contrasting in relation to the death of Petya. Next to his pupil there is no teacher Becker, to whom he brought income and fame. But there is a good-natured clown Edwards. Only his steps break the dead silence of the circus.

8. The death of the boy Petya is depicted using contrast.

D.V. Grigorovich depicted the last minutes of the boy’s life using the antithesis technique. The performance of the gutta-percha boy is accompanied by shouts and applause. The fall itself (“the dull sound of something falling into the arena”) causes a noise in the hall, screams and a female squeal. And the boy's body lies in complete silence (the author uses this word 3 times).

A boy lies with "broken ribs and a broken chest in the dark, and only a nightlight illuminates his body from head to toe."

Contrasting images "sounds - silence", "darkness - light" emphasize the main opposition of life and death.

9. The role of antithesis in D.V. Grigorovich's story "The Gutta-Percha Boy".

Contrasting the title of the story with the statements in the content itself, the author emphasizes that the pupil of the acrobat Becker is called a gutta-percha boy only on the poster, in fact he is an “unfortunate boy”, whose life was tragic;

The use of antithesis in compositional terms allows the reader to experience different feelings. Pity and compassion for Petya, a boy who had no childhood in his childhood. Joy for the children of Count Listomirov, who have a real childhood;

The antithesis helps to reveal the contradictory attitude towards the circus: on the one hand, it gives joy and fun, and on the other hand, bruises, fractures and death (“human life was constantly hanging by a thread here, and they played with it like a ball”).

Using the technique of antithesis, the writer emphasizes the characters' belonging to a certain social class. But belonging to the rich class does not determine the characters of people. The family of Count Listomirov is capable of experiencing, sympathizing; and Becker does not stay with his pupil after his fall;

The reception of contrast helps to emphasize the feeling of hopelessness that is born in the soul of Petya and the clown Edwards and the inner emptiness, rudeness, heartlessness, love of money of the director, Becker;

The contrast in landscape sketches enhances the sense of impending tragedy;

The use of antithesis at different levels helps to reveal the main idea of ​​the work. L.N. Tolstoy said: “Happy, happy, irretrievable time of childhood!” But such a happy time, unfortunately, is not prepared for all children. D.V. Grigorovich wanted to show the destitute childhood of the boy Petya, who was left an orphan, and the unmerciful attitude towards him on the part of adults. The author proclaims that childhood must be happy.

Conclusion

After analyzing the use of antithesis in D.V. Grigorovich’s story “The Gutta-Percha Boy”, we came to the following conclusions:

The story "The Gutta-Percha Boy" is built on the reception of contrast.

D.V. Grigorovich uses the antithesis technique at different levels:

the title of the story is opposed to the statements in the very content of the story;

composition of the story;

scene;

time of action;

landscape sketches;

images;

the death of the boy (climax).

3. Purpose of using antithesis in a story:

the reception of the antithesis helps to imbue with sympathy for Petya, for Edwards, to empathize with them;

using the technique of antithesis, the writer emphasizes the characters' belonging to a certain social class;

antithesis helps to reveal the inner experiences of the characters;

antithesis helps to reveal the true qualities of people;

antithesis works to reveal the main idea of ​​the work.

Thus, the use of antithesis in D.V. Grigorovich’s story “The Gutta-Percha Boy” is aimed at creating human characters, at revealing the main idea of ​​the work.

Explanatory Dictionary Ozhegov S.I. Dictionary of the Russian language Ok.57000 words / Ed. corresponding member USSR Academy of Sciences N.Yu. Shvedova. - 18th ed., Sr. - M.: Rus.yaz., 1986.- p.797

Introduction

Dmitry Vasilyevich Grigorovich is a Russian writer, a prominent representative of the noble literature of the 40s of the nineteenth century. His work was highly appreciated by V.G. Belinsky and L.N. Tolstoy. With such sincere participation and with such sorrow Grigorovich described the bitter fate of the peasantry and the urban poor that contemporaries wept over his stories "Anton the Goremyka" and "The Gutta-Percha Boy". In detail and with love, Grigorovich shows the peasant life, of considerable interest in the writer's work is rich ethnographic material: folk rituals, customs and superstitions.

The purpose of this test is to analyze the work of D.V. Grigorovich "Gutta-percha boy".

Tasks of control work:

1. Determine the genre of the work "Gutta-percha boy";
2. Identify the problem of the story and the specifics of composition, writing;
3. Describe the characters of the work and the way of narration;
4. Identify the main idea of ​​the work and the way the story is written.

1. Genre of the work "Gutta-percha boy"

In the 1860s, Grigorovich, who had already become widely known as a writer, suddenly almost left the literary field and returned to his youthful hobby - painting. Only twenty years later, he again attracted the attention of the reading public with extraordinary force: Grigorovich would write and publish his Gutta-Percha Boy. Immediately after the publication, the story will become one of the most read in Russia for many years. Moreover, it will soon be included in all teenage anthologies and books for reading. But, of course, not only schoolchildren read it.

The Gutta-Percha Boy tells the story of a little orphan, Petya, who was taken to study with a circus performer. Acrobat Becker does not speak Russian well and knows no other incentive in training, except for corporal punishment. But the fear of the teacher is a bad helper, "he inspires timidity, and timidity is the gymnast's first enemy." Peter is simply doomed to death. But the meaning of the story does not end there. It awakens in the reader a lot of experiences and thoughts. Here are reflections about the incomprehensible Providence of God, which arranges human destinies in such a different way, and reflections about parental sin, which entails immeasurable suffering for children, and disturbing thoughts about narcissistic pride that mortifies the soul.

What does gutta-percha mean? The answer can be found in the text itself, when Sonya and Vera are talking: "...Probably, he was called that because he is very flexible ...".

This work belongs to the lyrical epic work, the story. The work is large in volume and has two storylines: the life of children in the family of Count Listomirov and the poor life of the orphan Petya. These two storylines are closely intertwined in the work. The genre in which the story is written is filled with deep psychologism and tragic coloring, this is what makes it interesting, close to the reader, making the reader sincerely worry about the hero. Thanks to this, the reader plunges headlong into the work.

2. The problems of the story and the specifics of the composition

The problematic of the story is socio-cultural, since it deals with stable social relations, reveals the layers of society of the rich and the poor, the conditions and ways of their life. Through the image of Petya, we see the state of a certain stratum of society, in a certain historical era. This is a work about human and inhumanity, about pity and ruthlessness, about the main pressing problems of society of that time, which is still relevant today.

Indifference, ruthlessness, empathy can destroy, trample into the dirt, humiliate a person. This is a very exciting and interesting story based on a real life basis. Accidents resulting in the death of circus performers, especially children and youth, were extremely frequent at that time. Dmitry Vasilyevich used real cases in his story and filled them with content.