“The White Poodle” is rightfully considered one of the most touching stories by Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin. The characteristics of the main characters of the work will help the reader understand why people are friends with dogs and how close this relationship is. A short plot will allow you to understand the story of the hardships that befell the circus performers and write an interesting essay on the topic.
Meet the Characters
The barrel organ was perhaps Martyn’s only material wealth. Although the instrument had long fallen into disrepair, and the only two melodies that he was able to somehow reproduce (the dull German waltz of Launer, as well as the gallop from “Travels in China”) were in fashion thirty or forty years ago, Martyn treasured it. The organ grinder tried more than once to return the organ grinder for repairs, but everyone told him that it would be better to hand over such an ancient thing to a museum. However, Seryozhe Martyn often repeats that the barrel organ fed them for more than one year, and will continue to feed them.
Perhaps the only people the organ grinder loved as much as his instrument were his eternal companions, Seryozha and Artaud. The boy appeared in his life unexpectedly: five years before the start of the story, Martyn rented him from a drunkard, a widowed shoemaker, and paid him two rubles a month for it. However, the shoemaker soon died, and the boy remained connected with his grandfather both in soul and in everyday life.
The summary of “The White Poodle” begins on a hot summer day. The troupe travels around Crimea in the hope of earning some money. On the way, Martyn, who has already seen a lot of things in his lifetime, tells Seryozha about unusual phenomena and people. The boy himself listens to the old man with pleasure, and never ceases to admire the rich and diverse Crimean nature.
Images of the main and secondary characters
Written in 1904, the fairy tale story tells the reader about the friendly relationship between a boy and a dog. There are not many main and secondary characters in the work, so you can easily understand the story of the difficult fate of each character. The analysis of Kuprin’s “white poodle” should begin with getting to know all the characters:
- Seryozha is a twelve-year-old boy. He has a good disposition. The brave hero enjoys every moment of life and is not without naivety. He is an acrobat in a circus troupe. Master Artaud.
- Grandfather Martyn Lodyzhkin plays the barrel organ in the circus. The old man always speaks honestly and openly. A good organ grinder is very principled.
- Artaud is a snow-white poodle, Seryozha’s devoted and faithful friend.
- Trilly is a boy of ten years old. He is constantly capricious because he is spoiled by his parents.
- The janitor is a thieving and vile person.
- Trilly's mother is an arrogant woman who feels like an important lady.
The interacting heroes of the fairy tale show by their example that friendship cannot be bought even for the most money. The work teaches readers to remain devoted to loved ones under any circumstances. And this is where the saying “we are responsible for those we have tamed” comes in handy.
Attempts to make money
However, the day did not go well for our heroes: from some places the owners drove them away, and in others servants came out to meet them and said that the owners were absent for the time being. Lodyzhkin, a good-natured and modest man, was happy even when he was paid little. And even if he was persecuted, he did not begin to grumble. But one magnificent, beautiful and seemingly very kind lady still managed to piss off the old man. She listened to the sounds of the barrel organ for a long time, looked at the acrobatic performances that Seryozha showed, asked questions about the life of the troupe, and then asked to wait and retired to the rooms. The lady did not appear for a long time, and the artists had already begun to hope that she would give them some clothes or shoes. But in the end, she simply threw an old ten-kopeck piece, worn out on both sides, and with holes in it, into Seryozha’s hat and immediately left. Lodyzhkin was extremely outraged that he was considered a swindler who could lose such a coin to someone at night. The old man throws with pride and indignation a worthless coin, which falls straight into the road dust.
Already desperate to earn something, the heroes stumble upon the “Friendship” dacha. Martyn is surprised: he has been to these parts more than once, but the house is always empty. However, now the old organ grinder senses that they will be lucky here, and sends Seryozha ahead.
Meeting the inhabitants of the Druzhba dacha
Describing the summary of “The White Poodle”, it is worth mentioning several more characters. The heroes were just getting ready to perform when suddenly a boy in a sailor suit flew out of the house, followed by six adults. There was complete commotion, people were shouting something - it was immediately clear that the cause of the anxiety of the servants and masters was that same boy. All six tried in different ways to persuade the boy to drink the mixture, but neither the reasonable speeches of the gentleman in gold glasses, nor the lamentations of the mother, nor the screams helped the matter.
Martyn told Seryozha not to pay attention to what was happening and to start performing. The false, hoarse notes of an ancient gallop began to echo through the garden near the dacha. The owners and servants rushed to drive away the uninvited guests. However, here the boy in a sailor suit again reminded himself of himself (it turned out that his name was Trilly) and declared that he did not want the beggars to leave. His mother, without stopping to lament, orders her son’s wish to be fulfilled.
The performance took place. Artaud carried Martyn’s hat in his teeth so that the owners would reward the artists. But here the summary of “The White Poodle” again takes an unexpected turn: Trilly begins to demand a dog in a squeaky voice. The adults call Lodyzhkin and try to bargain with him, but the old man proudly declares that the dog is not for sale. The owners continue to insist, Trilly bursts into hysterical screams, but Martyn, in spite of everything, does not give up. As a result, the entire troupe is kicked out of the yard.
Characteristics of heroes
The storyline of the work tells the story of the relationship between man and animal, the manifestation of fidelity and devotion.
The main characters of the story are the old man Lodyzhkin, the boy Seryozha, and the poodle Artaud. The Janitor and Trilly are depicted as minor characters in the work.
Old Man Lodyzhkin is introduced in the story as an elderly organ grinder wandering through towns and villages, earning his living by performing with his small troupe, including Seryozha and a poodle. The author portrays Lodyzhkin as a quiet but proud old man with self-esteem. The boy Serezha ends up with Lodyzhkin because he is sold to an old man by his drunkard father, who subsequently dies, and the child remains with the organ grinder, who loved Serezha as a loved one and was worried about his future fate.
Seryozha is portrayed in the work as a boy who became an acrobat, a child who matured early, distinguished by intelligence and prudence, and showing loyalty and courage. The boy perfectly understands the value of the labor ruble and shows devotion not only to his teacher Lodyzhkin, but also to his colleague in the person of the poodle Artaud, with whom he performs together, earning a living.
The dog is also the main character of the story, since it is because of the poodle that a quarrel breaks out, the main plot of the story.
The poodle is depicted as a full-fledged member of a traveling troupe, a devoted and faithful dog.
All the main characters of the work are presented by the author as positive characters, who are characterized by compassion, sincerity, responsiveness, while the secondary characters act as negative characters, showing arrogance, greed, cruelty and selfishness.
The secondary character is the Janitor, a portly man serving wealthy gentlemen, distinguished by stupidity and meanness, manifested in the scene of the kidnapping of a poodle at the whim of the owners.
Also, a minor character is portrayed by Trilly, who is the master's son, a spoiled, selfish and capricious boy who achieves his goal through tears and hysterics, as well as his mother, a rich lady accustomed to luxury and the fulfillment of her own desires.
The author of the work manages to present each character to readers in a unique and interesting way, depicting the individual character traits of each character.
The lady orders Artaud to be brought
Finally, the heroes reach the sea and enjoy swimming in the cool water, washing away the sweat and road dust. Having reached the shore, they notice that the same janitor from the Druzhba dacha, who just a quarter of an hour ago was chasing them, is approaching them.
It turned out that the lady had sent a janitor to buy Artaud at any price - the boy still wouldn’t let up. Lodyzhkin repeats to him several times that he will never give up his faithful dog. Then the janitor tries to bribe the animal with sausage, but Artaud does not even think about leaving with a stranger. Martyn says that the dog is his friend, and friends are not sold. Despite the fact that the puny and weak old man can barely stand on his feet, he radiates pride and dignity. The heroes collect their modest belongings and leave the shore. The janitor remains standing in the same place and thoughtfully looks after them.
Next, Kuprin’s story “The White Poodle” takes us to a secluded place near a clean stream. Here the heroes stop to have breakfast and get drunk. The summer heat, recent swimming and a meal, albeit modest, wore out the artists and they lay down to sleep right in the open air. Before finally falling asleep, Martyn dreams of how his young friend will eventually become famous and perform in one of the luxurious circuses in some big city - Kyiv, Kharkov or, say, Odessa. In his sleep, the old man managed to hear Artaud growling at someone or something, but then drowsiness finally took over the organ grinder.
When the heroes woke up, the dog was nowhere to be found. The old man and the boy began vying with each other to call their faithful four-legged friend, but Artaud did not respond. Suddenly the old man discovered a half-eaten piece of sausage on the road, and next to it - dog tracks going into the distance. The heroes understand what happened.
Hope is fading
Seryozha is ready to rush into battle and sue so that Artaud can be returned. However, Martyn sighs heavily and says that this is impossible - the owners of the Druzhba dacha have already asked if he has a passport. Martyn lost his a long time ago, and when he realized that it was useless to try to return the document, he took advantage of a friend’s offer and made himself a fake passport. The organ grinder himself is not a tradesman, Martyn Lodyzhkin, but an ordinary peasant, Ivan Dudkin. In addition, the old man fears that a certain Lodyzhkin may turn out to be a criminal - a thief, an escaped convict, or even a murderer. And then a fake passport will bring even more problems.
The artists did not perform again that day. Despite his young age, Seryozha perfectly understood how many problems someone else’s “patchport” could bring (that’s how the old man pronounced the word). That’s why Artaud didn’t mention either turning to the peace officer or searching for him. However, it seemed that the boy was intently thinking about something.
Without saying a word, the heroes once again pass by the ill-fated dacha. But the gates of “Friendship” are tightly closed, and not a sound comes from the yard.
Seryozha takes the situation into his own hands
At night, the heroes stopped in some dirty coffee shop, where, in addition to them, Greeks, Turks and several Russian workers spent the night. When everyone fell asleep, the boy got out of bed and persuaded the owner of the coffee shop, Turkish Ibrahim, to let him out. Under cover of darkness, he left the city, reached “Friendship” and began to climb over the fence. The boy, however, could not resist. He fell and was afraid to move, fearing that there would be a commotion and the janitor would run out. Seryozha wandered around the garden and around the house for a long time. It began to seem to him that not only would he not be able to find the faithful Artoshka, but he himself would never get out of here. When suddenly he heard a quiet muffled squeak. In a whisper, he called his beloved dog, and he answered him with a loud bark. Simultaneously with the joyful greeting, anger, complaint, and a feeling of physical pain were heard in this bark. The dog was struggling to free himself from something that was keeping him in the dark basement. With great difficulty, the friends managed to tear themselves away from the awakened and enraged janitor.
Returning to the coffee shop, Seryozha almost immediately fell into a sound sleep, not even having time to tell the old man about his nightly adventures. But now everything was fine: Kuprin’s work “The White Poodle” ends with the troupe, as at the very beginning, assembled.
Title of the work:
White poodle
Year of writing:
1903
Genre:
story
Main characters:
Arto is a trained dog, Seryozha is a little circus performer, Martyn Lodyzhkin is a former acrobat.
Plot
Traveling circus performers go to rich dachas and perform their simple acts in order to earn some money for their livelihood. The proceeds are very small, and all hope is for the last dacha “Druzhba”. A boy jumps out from there, crying and screaming, who does not want to take the medicine, and the frightened servants circle around him with persuasion. The spoiled boy saw the artists and wanted to watch the performance, then he wanted to be given a smart dog. The boy's mother offered Martyn money, but he refused, and they were simply kicked out of the dacha. At night, the janitor, on the orders of his mistress, stole the dog. The circus performers were very upset, because Artaud was their friend, and without him it would have been very difficult for them to earn their living. And at night Seryozha went to the dacha with the goal of helping Artaud out of trouble, which he succeeded in doing. When Martyn wanted to find out how it all happened, he saw that both the child and the dog were fast asleep, tired from their adventures.
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Conclusion (my opinion)
In a world where money rules, there is and will not be justice. Rich people believe that everything is allowed to them; if a capricious boy wanted to take away their assistant from traveling circus performers, then this can be arranged. And the fact that for poor people a dog is both a way to earn money and a friend, no one cares.
Who are the main characters of the fairy tale White Poodle!!! I urgently need to find out Who are the main characters of the fairy tale White Poodle and got the best answer
Answer from Natalya Zaikina[guru] Baby, this is a story by the Russian writer Alexander Kuprin. By the way, you can read it, it’s not complicated, and it’s already appropriate for your age. And the main characters are this orphan boy Seryozha, his grandfather, with whom Seryozha wanders around the towns of the Crimean coast, and earns his living with simple circus acts, his name is Grandfather Lodyzhkin, and the poodle Argo (if I’m not confused). There are also negative characters, but read that for yourself.
Answer from Arina Petrunchak
[newbie] Sergey is an orphan boy, the dog is poodle Artaud and grandfather is Martyn Lodyzhkin!!! (these are the main characters)!!!
Answer from Yoofia Manukyan
[newcomer] acrobat and gymnast Seryozha, grandfather Martyn Lodyzhkin and poodle Arto (these are the main characters)
Answer from Valery Redkin
[newcomer] Seryozha, grandfather Lodyzhkin, poodle Artaud
Answer from Denis Lisovsky
[active] the poodle himself is Artaud
Answer from Alexander Komarov
[newbie] Arto, Grandfather, Sergei
Answer from Anna Fomina
[newbie] White poodle Artaud, Seryozha and old man Lodyzhkin, read the story if you haven’t read it, it’s very interesting
Answer from Yatyan Stepura
[newcomer] Title: WHITE POODLE Author: Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich Year: 1904 Genre: Prose Language: Russian A very touching story about fidelity and devotion. The main characters are very friendly and make a living performing with a barrel organ, acrobatics and dog tricks.
Answer from Kristina Tomarovskaya
[newbie] yeah
Reply from Deyeneris
[guru] grandfather, boy and actually poodle
Reply from Lyurik
[newcomer] The main characters of A.I. Kuprin’s story “The White Poodle” are grandfather Martyn Lodyzhkin, a eleven-year-old boy Sergei, whom his grandfather borrowed from a widowed shoemaker, but he soon died and the boy remained forever connected with his grandfather, and finally the white poodle Artaud. Better yet, read the story yourself. It's not that complicated.
Answer from Oliya Bogacheva
[newbie] White poodle Arto Grandfather Lodyzhkin Orphan Seryozha there seems to be a capricious boy there was a janitor lady well, then think for yourself the story is interesting and suitable for you
Answer from Natalia Bebyakina
[newbie] firstly, this is not a fairy tale, but a story, secondly, the author is Kuprin, thirdly, the main characters are all Lodyzhkin, Seryozha and the poodle Artaud, the story is interesting, I advise you to read
Answer from Dimitry Privalov
[newbie] Grandfather Lodyzhkin boy Sergey poodle Arto
Seryozha is one of the main characters in A.I. Kuprin’s story “The White Poodle”; a twelve-year-old orphan boy whom Martyn Lodyzhkin took from some drunkard about five years ago; faithful companion of Lodyzhkin and the poodle Artaud. It is no coincidence that the character of Seryozha is shown in this story. The author contrasts him with another boy, who, although younger than him, is already spoiled by all the blessings of life, and therefore does not know how to appreciate what he has. The opposite of the hero is a boy named Trilly, who was caressed by his parents and servants.
Seryozha was deprived of all this since childhood, so he knows the value of a piece of bread and is kind to his friend and benefactor, the organ grinder Lodyzhkin. Seryozha is a kind and brave boy by nature. He doesn’t have good clothes and no shoes at all, but he doesn’t lose heart and continues to roam the Crimean coast with a group of friends, demonstrating acrobatic tricks to people. He only has a worn-out tights, so Lodyzhkin dreams of buying the boy a new suit as soon as he earns more money.
Serezha's most important qualities are revealed when their poodle goes missing. The boy, risking his life, climbs over the high fence of the dacha and saves Artaud from the ruthless Trilli. He decided on this feat not only because he wanted to save the dog, but also because he knew how kindly grandfather Lodyzhkin treated Artaud. This once again proves the nobility of the boy “from the bottom.”
In the work of A. I. Kuprin “White Poodle” the main character of the story named Lodyzhkin Martyn has a similar characteristic. The hunched, exhausted-looking old man has a rather painful appearance. His younger comrades, who became his family - the twelve-year-old boy Seryozha, for whom he replaced his father, and the poodle Artaud - are loyal and help at any moment.
There are two categories of heroes in the story, one of which looks down on Martyn during their acquaintance and speeches, giving him an assessment only based on his social status in society. The second is to treat you with respect, as if you were a family member. But grandpa always remains calm. Without complaining about fate and his condition, he continues to lead his group of acrobats, moving from one settlement to another.
The old man has neither a permanent place of residence nor a penny to his name. Earning his lunch by performing, he rejoices at every coin he receives.
Martin is endowed with only positive qualities. He became a role model for his pupil Seryozha. Thanks to the care and compassion that the grandfather showed, there was respect and cohesion in the group. He demonstrated such true human qualities as determination, honesty, and justice. He proved that life is a great happiness, you need to enjoy every moment, nature, love your loved ones, try to earn an honest living. He is a patriot, a true connoisseur of the landscape, for example, the coast of Crimea, where he takes his friends.
Generosity is one of his main characteristics. He divides his entire daily earnings, but not into equal parts. Grandfather always keeps a smaller part for himself. This also manifests his concern for Seryozha, for whom he wants to buy a new suit and shoes. “Tears flowed down the wrinkles” - this is how his pity for the boy is manifested.
The image of an organ grinder is complemented by fair, firm decisions that make him worthy of respect. He does not recognize the inequality of people, considering everyone to be one. He continues to work resignedly, but does not lose his dignity and devotion even when they want to buy the poodle. The old man proudly leaves this house with the dog.
A connoisseur of true friendships, the selfless worker has absorbed the best qualities characteristic of a wise man who has seen a lot of bitterness, injustice and poverty along his path.
A huge number of pages in literary works are occupied by images of older people. Their portrait sketches, characters, and behavior are varied. However, this age category was not chosen by the authors by chance.
The life of older people is the result of the years they have lived: sad and joyful. But in any case, they are experienced, wise people who have a lot to learn from.
Main characters
Old Man Lodyzhkin | An old organ grinder, he goes around the world, making a living performing with his small troupe: the boy Seryozha and the poodle Artaud. Old man Lodyzhkin rented Seryozha from a drunkard - a shoemaker, but he soon died, and the boy remained with the organ grinder. The old man became attached to the boy, loves him as if he were his own, and worries about his future fate. He tells the boy about a beautiful future, which Seryozha takes for fairy tales. Lodyzhkin is a calm, quiet old man who does not like to swear. Even when they are not paid for the performance, he finds an excuse for the ungrateful audience. A proud old man with a sense of self-esteem. |
Seryozha | Organ grinder's assistant, acrobat boy. Walks with the old man, earning a living by his labor. This is a child who has matured early and knows well how precious a penny is. He is a smart and sensible boy beyond his years, understands life well, correctly assesses current events, actions and behavior of people. He is a brave and loyal friend, risking his life, without hesitation, rushes to the rescue of the dog, which for him and his grandfather is not only a way to earn money, but, above all, a true friend. |
White poodle | The white poodle, the hero who caused all the fuss to flare up, is an equal member of Lodyzhkin’s troupe. He has his own responsibilities, he, like Seryozha, is an artist. Shows performances, walks around the audience with a cap in his mouth, collecting payment for the performance. He yearns and howls in the basement where the janitor has locked him. He is very glad when Seryozha comes to his aid and runs away from the janitor with him. Having run to the shelter, I am glad that I see Lodyzhkin again. |