Summary
Kuprin's "Elephant" tells about a little girl Nadya, who one day became seriously ill. Various doctors were invited to the house, but they could not determine the cause of the illness. One doctor recommended that parents try to make their daughter laugh, to entertain her in some way, because the best medicine is laughter .
Mom tried to captivate the girl with beautiful dolls in chic outfits, treated her to hot chocolate, and offered to go out with her friends, but Nadya still remained indifferent and sad. She lay in her crib and quietly faded away. Father Alexander also did not give up trying to bring her back to life, stroked her head, told her fairy tales, but this did not help.
One morning Nadya woke up unusually cheerful. The girl said that she dreamed of an elephant and asked her parents to buy it. The father was delighted and immediately ran to the toy store to buy a stuffed elephant. The girl refused the gift, because she needed a real one.
Dad understood that it was almost impossible to fulfill his daughter’s wish, but when he saw how sad she was again, he decided to find a solution.
The man went to the zoo, where two large elephants and a small elephant lived. One of them, a pet named Tommy, was even taught to read books, eat dinner and imitate people's movements. Alexander began to ask the owner of the menagerie to give him an animal for a while to cure his sick daughter. The owner initially refused, but then relented and allowed him to take the pet for the night .
At night, Tommy's father brought him into the house and fed him. Then the elephant fell asleep, and in the morning Nadya found a huge sleepy animal in the living room.
She happily began introducing him to her dolls, reading him picture books, showing him coloring books and feeding him sweet bread. There was no trace left of the girl’s illness.
Analysis of the story “Elephant” by Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin
Analysis of the story “Elephant” by Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin.
1.The idea of this story:
This is a story about a little girl Nadya who is sick. Although she is not in pain, “she is losing weight and getting weaker every day. No matter what they do to her, she doesn’t care, and she doesn’t need anything.” Even in her dreams she sees something gray and boring. The doctors decide that the girl is “sick with indifference to life.” Caring parents are ready to do everything to cheer up their daughter, even bring a live elephant into the house.
The story “Elephant” convincingly suggests that people cease to value nature and do not see any salvation in it. But it was precisely communication with a living being just like Nadya herself that, in just one day, was able to cure the girl, whom even the most experienced doctors in their field had already despaired of bringing back to life.
It is necessary to believe, love and do everything in our power so that the people close to you can always feel that you are a reliable, kind and strong person. Each of us has a childhood memory that remains a pipe dream. Nadya was very lucky that her dad, no matter what, arranged for his daughter to meet the elephant, even if they lived on the second floor.
2.Composition:
The storyline of the story is quite dynamic.
The beginning
starts from the very first paragraph. We learn that the girl is sick. Every day she was visited by doctors who carried out a thorough examination and wondered what was the matter.
Main part
falls during a conversation between dad and a German trainer, on whose decision the fate of Nadya and her entire family depends. This is a very exciting moment, because if the German refused, everything could have turned out differently. But this circus man becomes in this story the image of an attentive, sympathetic and kind person. He sympathized with the misfortune of Nadya’s father and, as is clear between the lines, involuntarily imagined himself in his place. After all, the trainer also had a daughter, Lisa, the same age as Nadya.
Climax
falls on the happy moment of a childhood dream coming true - the moment of Nadya’s meeting with a real elephant named Tommy. He made a great impression on her and even turned out to be a little larger than Nadya had imagined. But the girl was not the least bit afraid of such a guest, and happily began to talk to him respectfully, look at books, drink tea and play.
Denouement
This story has a happy one. Thanks to her dad, trainer and Tommy the elephant, the girl recovered, and it’s very nice to think that Nadya and Tommy will continue to visit each other.
3. Characteristics:
The images of the characters in the work “Elephant” are all characterized as positive. The girl Nadya found herself surrounded by people, where everyone was ready to listen, understand and help.
Nadya's image
is an obedient, exemplary and well-mannered girl who does not want to upset her parents. But, unfortunately, she herself cannot figure out what is wrong with her until she has a good dream about an elephant.
Nadine's father
- a loving, persistent, reliable person who believed in his child and decided to make the dream from a dream come true in every possible way. After all, the happiness of young children depends entirely on their parents.
Mother
- the ideal image of a woman who is ready to fulfill all the requests of her child, if only Nadya gets better. And she, like no one else, knows that there is nothing worse than a sick child.
German trainer
showed a sense of compassion and tried to help, no matter how absurd this request may have seemed to him initially.
An elephant named Tommy
- big, clumsy, but good-natured and funny.
Even the neighbors, on whom plaster was crumbling from above from Tommy's squats, did not say a word. It doesn’t matter what they thought, but the most important thing is that they didn’t ruin the holiday. And the policeman does not appear as a stumbling block, but only calmly asks the onlookers to disperse. And let’s not forget about the owner of the bakery, who had pistachio cake and buns ready for such an occasion, even though it was already deep night outside.
4.Speech characteristics:
It should be noted that the author describes in detail and colorfully the characters of the work, and especially the elephant. “The skin on him is rough, in heavy folds. The legs are thick, like pillars. A long tail with something like a broom at the end. The eyes are very tiny, but smart and kind.” Only an observant and animal-loving person could describe the elephant in such detail.
5.
This story teaches us that sometimes positive emotions and the fulfillment of desires give people strength even to recover from a serious illness; it also teaches us that we need to be attentive to each other, love and take care of animals. I believe that children should be introduced to this story at the age of 8-9 years.
Main characters
There are few characters in the work, but they are all bright and memorable. They can be characterized as follows:
- Nadya is a six-year-old girl suffering from an unknown disease. She is constantly sad and refuses food and games. The parents tried to make an entertainment plan, but their daughter refused to participate.
- Maria and Alexander are the parents of a sick girl. Mom and dad are ready to do anything for their daughter’s recovery.
- Tommy is a smart and kind elephant who was taken from the zoo to help Nadya recover.
The owner of the menagerie also appears in the story. This is a kind and understanding person, he puts himself in the position of parents and gives them the animal for one night.
Elephant (abbreviated)Text
The little girl is unwell. Doctor Mikhail Petrovich, whom she has known for a long time, visits her every day...
Saying goodbye, the chief doctor says loudly:
– The main thing is don’t let her get bored. Fulfill all her whims.
- Ah, doctor, but she doesn’t want anything!
- Well, I don’t know... remember what she liked before, before her illness. Toys... some treats...
“Dear Nadya, my dear girl,” says my mother, “would you like anything?”
- No, mom, I don’t want anything.
“If you want, I’ll put all your dolls on your bed.” We will supply an armchair, a sofa, a table and a tea set. The dolls will drink tea and talk about the weather and the health of their children.
- Thank you, mom... I don’t feel like it... I’m bored...
– Would you like me to bring you some chocolate?
But the girl does not answer and looks at the ceiling with motionless, cheerless eyes. She doesn't have any pain and doesn't even have a fever. But she is losing weight and weakening every day. No matter what they do to her, she doesn’t care, and she doesn’t need anything. She lies like that all days and whole nights, quiet, sad. Sometimes she dozes off for half an hour, but even in her dreams she sees something gray, long, boring, like autumn rain...
But one morning the girl wakes up a little more cheerful than usual. She saw something in a dream, but she can’t remember what exactly, and looks long and carefully into her mother’s eyes.
- Do you need something? - asks mom.
But the girl suddenly remembers her dream and says in a whisper, as if in secret:
- Mom... can I have an elephant?.. Just not the one drawn in the picture... Can I?
- Of course, my girl, of course you can.
She goes to the office and tells dad that the girl wants an elephant. Dad immediately puts on his coat and hat and leaves somewhere. Half an hour later he returns with an expensive, beautiful toy... But the girl looks at the toy as indifferently as at the ceiling and walls, and says listlessly:
- No. This is not the same at all. I wanted a real, living elephant, but this one is dead.
“Just look, Nadya,” says dad. “We’ll start him up now, and he’ll be just like alive.”
The elephant is wound with a key, and he, shaking his head and wagging his tail, begins to step with his feet and slowly walks along the table. The girl is not at all interested in this and is even bored, but in order not to upset her father, she whispers meekly:
– I thank you very, very much, dear dad. I think no one has such an interesting toy... Only... remember... you promised for a long time to take me to the menagerie to look at a real elephant... and you never got lucky...
- But listen, my dear girl, understand that this is impossible. The elephant is very big, it reaches the ceiling, it won’t fit in our rooms... And then, where can I get it?
Main thought
The work can easily be confused with a fairy tale, although it is written in the short story genre. Kuprin’s “Elephant” plan looks like this:
- Nadya's illness.
- Disappointing diagnosis.
- A girl's wish.
- Father's trip to the zoo.
- Tommy's arrival.
- Long-awaited recovery.
The main idea of Kuprin's "Elephant" is that the best medicine may be the fulfillment of a dream . Joy and laughter restore health and cure diseases. The author tries to show how important it is to love life, to be able to enjoy every little thing, and to show care for loved ones.
Plot
The little girl Nadya was very sick. Doctors came to her every day and examined her carefully, but found nothing. One doctor advised Nadya’s parents to somehow cheer her up, entertain her, because the best medicine in her case was sincere laughter.
Mom offered her daughter beautiful dolls, hot chocolate, a walk with friends, but Nadya was not interested in anything. She lay motionless in bed and quietly faded away. Sometimes Nadya’s father came to the nursery, stroked her and stood for a long time at the window, furtively wiping away her tears.
One day the girl woke up animated - she remembered her dream and asked her parents for an elephant. The father immediately rushed off and soon returned with a huge toy elephant on which little men were sitting. But Nadya definitely needed a living elephant, even the smallest one. Dad began to get nervous, because bringing a live elephant is the same as getting a star from the sky. Seeing his daughter’s sad smile, he hurriedly left somewhere again.
In the menagerie, the father saw three elephants, and the largest of them could even read books and dine like a person. He began to beg the owner of the menagerie to bring the elephant Tommy to his home, where a sick girl was waiting for him. The owner of the menagerie, remembering his little daughter, softened and agreed to bring the elephant, but only at night, so as not to disturb the city residents. The father was ready to compensate for all losses, negotiate with the police and even expand the doors.
At night, Tommy, accompanied by a policeman, was brought to Nadya's house, where he was fed and fell asleep. Imagine Nadya’s surprise when in the morning she discovered a large elephant in the living room. The girl happily began introducing him to her dolls, showing him books with pictures, and treating him to a loaf of bread. Then Tommy sat down, a tablecloth was tied around him, and everyone began to eat dinner.
The next day Nadya woke up cheerful and cheerful. When she asked about the elephant, she was told that he had gone to his children and asked him to tell her that he was waiting for her to visit as soon as she felt better. Nadya laughed cheerfully and asked him to tell Tommy that she was already healthy.
Reader reviews
We went through the short story “Elephant” for extracurricular reading in 3rd grade. They wrote a retelling, did an analysis, and made a plan. The theme of the work is interesting, because animals for many people are their best friends and faithful helpers. Nature can indeed give strength, energy and bring people back to life.
Angelina Ruzanova, Ryazan
I really like Kuprin’s stories about elephants and birds. His works are always kind and instructive. The author clearly shows that any parent does the most absurd things for the sake of the recovery of their own children. Nadya's dad brought Tommy into the house for the sake of his daughter's smile, fulfilling her deepest wish.
Artem Syzgantsev, Tolyatti
I read Kuprin’s story as a child myself, and recently I read it with my daughter; she really liked the plot.
I believe that animals can lift your spirits. Caring for them teaches responsibility, kindness, caring and empathy. Although the plot is fantastic, it contains a lot of real facts, because parents will really do everything to ensure that their child is healthy and happy. Boris Zhitkov, Stavropol
Kuprin A.I. “Elephant” Reader's diary
Kuprin A.I.
- Title: “Elephant”
- Genre: story
- Theme of the work: about children
- Number of pages: 4
- The main characters and their characteristics
Girl Nadya, 6 years old. Small, timid, sick. She is not interested in anything, she does not want anything. She is slowly fading away.
The girl's father, Alexander. Caring, almost giving up. Enterprising, smart, determined.
The girl's mother, Maria. Loving, gentle, caring.
German. The owner of the menagerie. The man is sympathetic, simple, and also has a daughter.
Tommy the elephant. Smart, kind, understands everything.
- What is the work about (1-2 sentences - the shortest summary)
- To save his sick daughter, her father brings a real elephant into the house, who has lunch with the girl.
- Plot - summary
- The little girl Nadya is very sick and not a single doctor can figure out what’s wrong with her or how to cure her.
- Nadya asks for a real live elephant, and her father decides to fulfill his daughter’s request, which may be the last in her life.
- Nadya's father goes to the menagerie and persuades the German, the owner of the elephant, to bring the elephant to visit the girl, promising to negotiate with the police and widen the doors.
- The elephant is led through the city among a crowd of onlookers, brought into a house and persuaded to go up to the second floor.
- In the morning, Nadya is informed that an elephant is visiting them; the girl meets Tommy, has lunch with him and plays.
- The next day, Nadya wakes up almost healthy, she is cheerful and wants to eat.
- Favorite episode
