Satire and humor of Saltykov-Shchedrin in fairy tales, works, creativity

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• Satire and humor of Saltykov-Shchedrin

The works of Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin are varied in their style, but the works of the satirical genre brought him real recognition. It was the satirical orientation of his works that put him on a par with world-famous writers - Aesop, Mark Twain, Francois Rabelais, Jonathan Swift.

The main direction of his satirical works is a sharp criticism of general social problems in Russia at that time. In their works, Saltykov-Shchedrin satirically ridiculed all the vices of the autocratic serfdom regime of the 19th century. The object of ridicule was the way of life and wild customs of society, the moral and physical “decay” of landowners, the vegetation of ordinary people, the development of culture and much more. But to a greater extent, the writer’s satire was aimed at two vectors of society - the ruling autocracy and the common people, criticizing both the oppressors for their tyranny and cruelty, and the oppressed for their meekness and fear.

The satire of Saltykov and Shchedrin is imbued with revolutionary sentiments and liberation theories. He actively intervenes in the events described, imbuing his works with a journalistic focus.

As a continuer of Gogol's traditions, Mikhail Evgrafovich tries to portray the monstrous reality of what is happening in an extremely critical light. The author skillfully finds his own style of satire - fantastic grotesque. This gives him the opportunity to give the images a symbolic and absurd character. The characters acquire implausible qualities that help to perfectly reveal the essence of the situation being described.

A great creative success is the writer’s ability to express his critical attitude towards life in the country through fairy tales. By choosing this form of storytelling, Saltykov-Shchedrin skillfully adds a new, brighter meaning to the ancient form of folk art. The writer is excellent at expressing himself in allegorical Aesopian language to depict the complete meaninglessness of what is happening. His tales are a formidable and instructive satire for all the troubles and sorrows that happen around.

The tales of Saltykov and Shchedrin “for children of a fair age” are a protest of the patriotic author against the surrounding outrage, a unique way of combating it. In his tales, as expected, there is edification for the reader. The main characters are animals, but in a strange way they resemble people! They live the same ordinary life as people, doing simple everyday things: reading the press, working in departments, getting an education in cadet corps and paying taxes. This one adds a special whimsicality to Satykov’s “Fairy Tales” - Shchedrin. The writer depicts the life of animals in the smallest detail, giving the reader the opportunity to realize that he is conveying the current problems of Russia at the end of the 19th century.

In his works, the writer very actively uses the technique of “speaking surnames”. His characters are truly alive, not just made up. He copied many images and characters from close and dear people - his mother and brothers.

Saltykov-Shchedrin's ability to express his thoughts with the help of allegory allowed him to bypass the strict court of censors in a roundabout way. He could express his revolutionary thoughts without hiding. The phrases and ideas were so disguised that not everyone could recognize the true theme of the work. This is especially true for fairy tales. Since fairy tales are, as a rule, reading material for children, few people will look for the truth in them, simply enjoying reading them.

It is very difficult to classify works into any genre. Saltykov-Shchedrin masterfully wields all styles, intertwining them into one of his own, special narrative systems, opening up new spaces for imagination for the readership. This is what impresses and inspires readers. The works of Saltykov and Shchedrin are still quite popular and relevant today.

Option 2

Saltykov-Shchedrin is best known as a satirical writer. In his works, he ridiculed the very vices of his contemporary society, from which it has not yet gotten rid of. But I am sure that his work was not in vain, and his satirical tales are still relevant today.

Everyone knows his wise minnow and idealistic crucian carp or philanthropic eagle, for example. Also in animals, birds and fish, which acted like people in his stories, he showed human vices. But sometimes even the vices themselves became characters. In the fairy tale “Virtues and Vices” there live Flattery, Honesty, Adultery... They have their own old people who, for example, believe that vices should proudly carry their banner, and there are also young people who think that they can pretend to be virtuous in order to enter a good home. These almost abstract, but such living characters have communication, relationships, and their own habits. Virtues are humiliated, they try to throw away the “trick” in order to live in gold - no worse than vices. Saltykov-Shchedrin's tales are precisely aimed at, on the one hand, surprising the reader, and on the other, showing him familiar situations.

Writers and ordinary people act less often in stories. For example, his deceiving newspaperman, in the story of the same name, complains that the truth has fallen in price. And the gullible reader, through the fault of the deceiver, ends up in prison, where within a day he catches an illness from which he immediately dies. And the newspaperman lives happily ever after!

In the story “Liberal” the hero is greeted with joy and allowed to carry out reforms, but only with “permission”. Not all at once! And the liberal abandons his principles step by step.

Saltykov-Shchedrin criticized society, state institutions - in fact, officials. All this is allegorical, but accessible. The author uses various literary devices, for example, hyperbole.

Satire permeated the entire work of Saltykov-Shchedrin, his name is completely associated with it in Russian literature. I personally like this author’s fairy tales, but it’s difficult to read too many of them at once. At least for me.

Humor in the works of Saltykov-Shchedrin

M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin is a great Russian writer. His creativity is diverse. From the pen of the author, poetic and prose works were published. Even in his youth, Mikhail Evgrafovich began to compose satirical poems. Through them he expressed his disapproval of this or a phenomenon. In order to avoid censorship, the writer uses the technique of allegory.

Fairy tales occupy a special place in the series of works of Saltykov-Shchedrin. It is fairy tales that are the satirical pinnacle of the author’s creativity. By creating fairy-tale images, the writer gives his characters a satirical meaning. Thus, through satire and allegory, Saltykov-Shchedrin tries to convey to the reader the depth of social phenomena. Animal images have long been used in fables and fairy tales. The author used this well-known technique. Through images of animals endowed with the most disgusting, base and ridiculous qualities, human vices are ridiculed.

Using Aesopian language, the writer ridicules stupidity, greed, cruelty, and laziness. Without the use of allegory, it would be impossible to show the existing social system and established orders. Only with the help of animal “masks” and allegory techniques can Saltykov-Shchedrin ridicule the tsarist officials and give a full assessment of the existing government.

Internal contradictions tearing apart society provide food for plots and the creation of caricatured images. Each hero of the work is endowed with character and actions inherent only to people. But at the same time, each image retains the characteristic qualities and characteristics of a particular animal. These images are not just funny. They carry an instructive message.

The topics addressed in Shchedrin's works are varied. Thus, in “The Tale of How One Man Fed Two Generals,” images of parasites are shown. Finding themselves on an island rich in natural resources, the two generals were unable to improve their lives. Without the man nearby, they would simply die of hunger. Drawing a parallel, one can ask a logical question: what benefit do these parasitic creatures bring to society? What good is the state if they are worthless even in everyday life?

Laughter and satire became formidable weapons in the hands of the writer. With their help, he exposes and ridicules everything that is base and unworthy in man and society. Parody is the meaning of the satirical works of Saltykov-Shchedrin.

• Author: M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin
• Work: Tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin
• This essay has been copied 42,509 times

The name of Saltykov-Shchedrin is on a par with such world-famous satirists as Mark Twain, Francois Rabelais, Jonathan Swift and Aesop. Satire has always been considered an “ungrateful” genre - the state regime has never accepted caustic criticism from writers. They tried to protect the people from the creativity of such figures in a variety of ways: they banned books from publication, exiled writers. But it was all in vain. These people were known, their works were read and respected for their courage. Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin was no exception.

The word “satire” itself means “a work of art that sharply and mercilessly exposes the negative phenomena of reality.” In order for satire to emerge in a country’s literature, a certain level of maturity in understanding current events is required. In addition, a writer must have strong ideals and a colossal reserve of love of life and patriotism.

Mikhail Evgrafovich could not help but notice the contradictions of the social system. Having received an excellent education for those times, Saltykov-Shchedrin began working in the office of the military department, which also could not but affect the feeling of injustice reigning in society. Sincerely worried about the future fate of his homeland, the young author began to loudly express his opinion. Despite the fact that the writer’s perception of reality was extremely tragic, he entered literature as a satirist.

Among the most famous works of Saltykov-Shchedrin, O, “Lord Golovlevs” and fairy tales are especially worth mentioning. Aesop’s language – allegorical language – plays a special role in his work. His writing style is striking in its unusualness. In addition to Aesopian language, this includes a combination of the fantastic and the real, the everyday and the fabulous. This is what ultimately creates Saltykov’s grotesque.

The three books reflect the different satirical orientation of the writer. For example, “The History of a City” exposes the political imperfection of Russia, the illiteracy of its statesmen and the obedience and irrationality of the people themselves. “The Golovlevs” became a “social” novel, where the author shows the spiritual fall of the heroes, occurring against the backdrop of material well-being. Here, not only is the depravity of the social system visible, but the very spirit of people needs serious rethinking. It seems to me that this novel is much more terrible than “The Story of a City,” because the relationships between the closest people turn out to be rotten, with some kind of catch, self-interest. Thus, Judas, the most beloved son, ultimately easily betrays his mother. The writer gradually begins to come to the realization that all vices come from the depths of human nature. The author wants to show that external circumstances are only a kind of catalyst for a person. Under favorable conditions, anger and vice flourish.

Saltykov-Shchedrin’s “Fairy Tales” were a unique result of the author’s creativity. Here the writer showed both the shortcomings of society and the shortcomings of the people themselves, and their relationship. Another feature of “Fairy Tales” is the seemingly two-sided nature of a person’s character traits. Thus, honesty turns into stupidity (“The Selfless Hare”), and at the same time it turns out that the wolf is cruel by nature and cannot do anything about it.

Despite the fact that Saltykov-Shchedrin is considered a satirist, his books, in my opinion, carry true tragedy. Here the writer is not just making fun of features of society that he doesn’t like, but is sincerely concerned about the extent of the nonsense that prevents people from living in their native country. In this way, the author is trying to help solve pressing problems, to show people how ridiculous and ridiculous vices look (and most of all a person is afraid of looking funny and ridiculous). Satire has always been a very effective tool in the hands of a skilled writer.

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