Chapter 1
The stray dog Sharik gets burns from the canteen cook. This is not the first time that an animal simply looking for food in a garbage heap has encountered the cruelty of this person. The dog complains about his difficult fate - they beat him with a boot, pour boiling water on him, and hit him in the ribs with a brick.
Then Sharik talks about people - about vile janitors, about cooks, and about typists who endure French love for fildepers stockings from their lover.
Sitting in the gateway, the dog sees a certain gentleman. And this gentleman gives Sharik a piece of Krakow sausage. Filled with gratitude, the dog follows the man. Together they come to the house, where Philip Philipovich (that is the name of this kind passer-by) is greeted by the doorman. And, lo and behold, no one drives the animal away from a warm home.
Chapter 2
While they go up to the apartment, Sharik remembers how he learned to read different letters. “M” is from the sign of a butcher shop, “A” and “B” are from Glavryba.
The dog and Philip Philipovich are met by the maid Zina, and, literally from the threshold, they want to take him to the examination room. Sharik doesn't like this idea and tries to escape. He is caught by Zina, F.F., and another gentleman (Dr. Bormental). The animal's wounds are treated and bandaged.
While Sharik comes to his senses, he observes an unusual visitor in this apartment - with green hair and a wrinkled pink face. His legs were also strange - one jumped like a child’s nutcracker, and the other did not bend. He tells Philip Philipovich about his extraordinary success with the ladies and thanks him.
After the man comes a lady who stubbornly hides her age. She receives some kind of miraculous injection and talks about her great passion for one man. F.F. tells the lady that he will insert monkey ovaries into her.
The visitors change one after another, Sharik falls asleep.
Waking up, he sees that four people from the new building management have arrived - Shvonder, Vyazemskaya, Pestrukhin and Zharovkin. They are trying to convince Professor Preobrazhensky (Philip Fillipovich) that seven rooms for him alone is too much, and the house management wants him to give at least two. In response to this, the scientist calls his friend and patient, Pyotr Alexandrovich. After a short conversation with the authorities, the applicants no longer want to take extra rooms.
Finally, they try to sell the professor magazines in favor of children in Germany, but nothing works.
The company, calling the owner a hater of the proletariat, leaves.
Description of characters
The writer touches on the theme of the ideology of Bolshevism, the lack of education of people in power. He says that you cannot forcefully change the order of history. The result of the professor's operation led to unexpected consequences that personify the terrible diseases of society.
Dr. Bormenthal
This man was handsome, strong, had a strong physique, tall stature, a pleasant voice and a calm disposition. He is a fan of his work and approaches everything responsibly. The image of Bormenthal perfectly combines high moral principles, intelligence, tact, and will . He has no envy or vanity. The doctor was balanced, so he calmly perceived the hot-tempered professor, because of this their relationship was quite harmonious. They respected and valued each other. The doctor exalted and praised the professor, even abandoning his personal life for the sake of the experiment.
The author managed to show the clash of two absolutely opposite portraits - the intellectual Bormental and the rude Sharikov. The doctor is very decisive. In an episode when the test subject got out of control, which became dangerous for others, Ivan Arnoldovich decided to kill him. Thus saving the professor. Bormenthal is a kind of guardian angel of Preobrazhensky. The whole process rests on it. He is ready to back up the teacher at any time. The doctor was grateful to the surgeon for his help, so he devoted his whole life to the success of others, and fame and recognition did not touch him.
The actions of Sharikov and Bormental reveal loyalty and betrayal, arrogance and culture, devotion and ingratitude. These characters actually become Preobrazhensky’s sons: the experimental one is artificial, but the doctor is in a moral sense. Comparison of these heroes is often used as a topic for essays and abstracts.
Biography of the professor
Preobrazhensky is a rich and intelligent man. He is engaged in surgery and studies issues of human rejuvenation. He knows the value of his word and always keeps his promises. His favorite pastime is singing, and he especially likes the opera Aida. The professor helps people, regardless of their class. But at the same time he does not like the proletariat.
Philip Philipovich has the following characteristics:
- hard work;
- attentiveness;
- hot temper;
- incontinence;
- law-abiding;
- honesty.
The professor is very kind to others. This is proven by episodes when he sheltered a poor student and gave him a job. But at the same time, Preobrazhensky conducts experiments on people and animals.
After the operation on Sharikov, Professor Preobrazhensky teaches him to speak, explains the concepts of morality and culture of behavior in society. Moreover, with the help of this episode, the author is trying to show why it is impossible to forcibly cultivate a person and make him educated. Society must independently come to the conclusion that it needs to develop.
Bormenthal and the professor argued among themselves which heart the experimental subject had: human or dog. The author left the answer, who is right, undisclosed, at the discretion of the reader .
The surgeon treats representatives of the new government, as well as narrow-minded people, with humor and sarcasm. Philip Philipovich notices that they have Sharikov’s features.
Bormenthal and the professor notice that representatives such as Sharikov quickly adapt to the environment, faster than many educated people, even the professor himself.
Chapter 3
Preobrazhensky and Bormenthal are having lunch. Sharik sits right there and gets a piece of sturgeon and roast beef as lunch.
The sounds of a general meeting can be heard from another floor, and the professor is very upset about this. He recalls that until March 1917 there was a shoe shoe in the house, and not a single pair of shoes was lost from it, but now there is no shoe shoe, and everyone walks up the marble stairs in dirty shoes. He is also upset that the flowers have been removed from the sites, and the electricity now goes out regularly.
Lunch ends, Bormenthal leaves, and Preobrazhensky is going to the Bolshoi Theater to see Aida.
For a second, it seems to the dog that he is in a magical dream, where he is taken care of, fed, and is about to wake up and find himself on the street again.
Chapter 4
But the gateway already seemed like a dream. Sharik gained weight, grew taller and looked at himself in the mirror with interest. Philip Philipovich became his master and God, the dog greeted him joyfully, chewed his jacket and was invariably present at dinners. He was not even punished for chewing his galoshes and only slightly for tearing up a stuffed owl. They bought a collar for Sharik, and he quickly got used to it and was already proudly walking past stray dogs.
At some point, he decided to visit Daria Petrovna’s kingdom - the kitchen. The first couple of times he was chased away, but then he was already lying next to the basket of coals and watching how it worked.
But one day Sharik seemed to be struck with a premonition and was overcome with melancholy. I didn't feel like eating. After the walk with Zina, everything seemed to be going as usual. Exactly until the professor got a call.
Dr. Bormenthal arrived with a foul-smelling suitcase. Sharik was locked in the bathroom and left without lunch. The dog rushed about in the dark and howled. Then he was dragged into the examination room. They put a collar on him, poked him in the nose with cotton wool and his legs suddenly stopped holding Sharik.
The dog lies on the table, with its belly and head trimmed. The professor and the doctor are discussing the upcoming operation. Preobrazhensky admits that it would be a pity to lose the dog, but he is already accustomed to Sharik.
First, the animal's seminal glands were replaced with human ones. And then they opened the skull and replaced one of the parts of the brain - the pituitary gland. The operation is completed, the dog is alive. But the professor is sure that it won’t last long.
Interesting topics
- Analysis of the story Viy
The work “Viy” was included in the legendary collection of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol “Mirgorod”. The name comes from the name of a terrible creature that could kill with one glance. Writes words and notes - Analysis of the story Stationmaster
A.S. Pushkin had financial difficulties at the time of writing the story “The Station Warden”, and therefore he was forced to come to the family estate - Pushkin - Shot
Silvio lives on an estate next to which there is a military settlement. He loves to host regiment officers. Silvio seems gloomy and sarcastic to them. He's a great shot with a pistol. - Fet
Russian genius poet Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet. Now his poems are known throughout Russia. Many of his works were set to music and became romances. For example, “I came to you with a greeting.”
Chapter 5
Bormenthal's diary. He describes the details of the operation and the days after it. First, the dog is in a dying state, with a high fever. A few days later, improvements appear - the pulse and pupil reaction normalize. On December 29, Bormental notes hair loss on the dog’s forehead and sides. Then - the first bark, which looks like moans. The fur continues to fall out, and the dog itself grows by about 30 cm. On December 31, at noon, Sharik clearly pronounces “abyr”, and on January 1 he laughs. In the evening he pronounces the word “abyrvalg”. January 2 – gets up. Then he scolds Preobrazhensky for his mother’s sake and says the word “beer house.” The tail falls off. Sharik’s vocabulary is replenished with the words “cab driver”, “no seats”, “evening newspaper”, “the best gift for children” and swearing.
The fur remained only on the head, chest and chin. The genitals are like those of a developing man.
On January 8, the professor realizes that his theory was wrong: replacing the pituitary gland does not rejuvenate, but humanizes.
Sharik walks around the apartment on his own and swears. The professor asks him to stop, but it has no effect.
He is forced to wear clothes. The patient begins to eat at the table, deliberately swear and carry on a conversation.
The professor is sitting over the medical history of the man from whom Sharik received a pituitary gland transplant. Klim Chugunkin, 25 years old – drunkard, thief. The former dog is finally shaping into a human being – small, poorly built, smoking and independent in everything.
Chapter 6
At the door to the reception area hangs a sheet of paper with notes from all the residents of the apartment. There are bans on sunflower seeds, a “moratorium” on playing musical instruments, and the question of when the glazier will come, and correspondence that Sharik has gone somewhere and Zina should bring him.
Preobrazhensky reads a newspaper article written by Shvonder. He accuses the professor of having an illegitimate son and too many rooms.
Sharik arrives wearing a tie, a torn jacket and patent leather boots. Preobrazhensky scolds him for his appearance and for the fact that Sharik sleeps in the kitchen, disturbing the women.
During the dialogue, it becomes clear what the interlocutor is like - he throws cigarette butts, is careless with the urinal, is rude to women.
Sharik also makes a claim that he did not ask to be turned into a human, and can sue the professor. He also wants to get a passport and other documents. He plans to be named as Poligraf Poligrafovich Sharikov.
Together with Shvonder, Philip Philipovich issues a passport for the new person.
Suddenly a cat appears in the apartment, Sharikov drives it into the bathroom and locks himself there, accidentally twisting a pipe along the way. To get him out of there, an entire rescue operation has to be launched - the doorman Fyodor climbs through the dormer window into the bathroom. Sharikov was saved, the apartment was slightly flooded.
Fyodor says that the residents of Sharikov’s house no longer like him very much - sometimes he threw stones at one, sometimes he hugged someone else’s cook. And Philip Philipovich has to pay for the damage caused.
Main characters
Professor Preobrazhensky , the central image of the story, is the image of a scientist seeking an experimental solution to the problem of healing and rejuvenation. He is a practitioner who trusts only what he sees. Professor Preobrazhensky is of quite a respectable age, wears a bushy mustache and beard, is a deeply intelligent person, and a lover of music. Compliance with the rules of human behavior is a self-evident concept. He does not accept the revolution, and believes that devastation appears immediately in the minds of people, and then in their behavior. After an unexpected manifestation of the experiment, he tries to correct the behavior of his godson and fights for his re-education. When he sees that his efforts are not yielding results, he fights Sharikov’s claims with his own methods.
Doctor Bormental , assistant to Professor Preobrazhensky, an intellectual, a competent young scientist who helps the professor in his experiments. An honest and decent person. His upbringing does not allow him to leave the professor in his struggle to change the behavior of the subject, in his struggle against the willfulness of the new government. Made the reverse transformation of a man into a dog.
The name of Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov is borne by a man who appeared after a transplant of the pituitary gland and testes from the deceased Klim Chugunkin. An ill-mannered slacker, he led an idle life, drank and swore, chased cats, broke dishes and killed innocent animals. For some reason I didn’t perceive the good, but quickly absorbed the bad. He became friends with Shvonder, who even promoted him to a leadership position.
The dog Sharik , on whose behalf the story is told, is homeless and has been living on the street for quite some time, accustomed to all sorts of hardships, but remained affectionate and grateful. The cunning in his behavior is manifested in the correct determination of a person where he will be fed and where he will be driven away. After Sharik's pituitary gland was transplanted, he unexpectedly turned into a human.
Chapter 7
Dinner. Sharikov sits with a napkin behind his collar. But this does not affect his behavior. He drinks vodka, and the professor and Dr. Bormental understand that this is the legacy of his donor, Klim. They are planning the evening. The hero, as always, wants to go to the circus. The scientist invites him to visit the theater, but he refuses, saying that “this is all just counter-revolution.”
Sharikov begins promoting the idea of “dividing everything.” Otherwise, someone lives in seven rooms, and someone rummages through garbage dumps. In response, he is offered to chip in to help eliminate the consequences of the flood. The professor did not accept 39 people, which means that the tenant of the apartment should pay for it. He is indignant. They remember that he killed someone else's cat, grabbed a woman by the breast, and then bit her. They are trying to explain to him the need for education and socialization. But the only book that Sharikov is ready to read is the correspondence between Engels and Kautsky.
After lunch, Bormental goes to the circus with Sharikov. Left alone, Preobrazhensky takes out a jar in which a piece of the dog’s brain floats.
Chapter 10. Epilogue of the story
Ten days have passed since the incident. The criminal police, accompanied by Shvonder, appear at Preobrazhensky’s apartment. They intend to search and arrest the professor. The police believe that Sharikov was killed. Preobrazhensky says that there is no Sharikov, there is an operated dog named Sharik. Yes, he spoke, but that does not mean that the dog was a person.
Visitors see a dog with a scar on its forehead. He turns to a representative of the authorities, who loses consciousness. The visitors leave the apartment.
In the last scene we see Sharik lying in the professor’s office and reflecting on how lucky he was to meet such a person as Philip Philipovich.
Chapter 8
Sharikov received his documents. But Bormental and Preobrazhensky refuse to call him by his first name and patronymic. And the hero, in turn, does not want to be “Mr. Sharikov,” because “the gentlemen are all in Paris.” The professor understands that Shvonder’s influence is becoming stronger. And he invites the victim of the experiment, in this case, to move out of the apartment. In response, he shows papers from Shvonder that Preobrazhensky is obliged to provide him with living space. The situation is becoming increasingly tense.
The tenant behaves more and more cheekily - he steals money, comes drunk and with strange comrades (who steal the professor’s hat, cane and ashtray), accuses Zina of theft. After this story, the professor and the doctor finally understand that it will not be possible to make a worthwhile person out of Sharikov. And there is no point in this whole operation and discovery. Because simple women and evolution can create geniuses, albeit from tons of all kinds of scum. It is the pituitary gland that creates personality, and that is why they got Klim Chugunkin - a thief and a drunkard.
Bormenthal offers to poison the resulting nonentity, but Philip Philipovich refuses.
Daria Petrovna appears with a drunken Sharikov. He climbed into the women's bedroom.
Minor characters
The first in the row is Klim Chugunkin , who started a drunken fight and died in it. He served as a balalaika player in a pub, a swearer and an alcoholic.
Shvonder , chairman of the house committee, elected by the residents of the house. A fan of revolutionary agitation and conducting rehearsals instead of work. The clothes in which Shvonder is dressed make him a prominent representative of that time, a representative of the new revolutionary society.
Zina Bunina , a nurse and part-time maid in the house of Professor Preobrazhensky, a young girl who honestly performs her duties around the house, for which Sharikov called her a “social servant.” He is afraid of dogs and Sharikov.
Daria Petrovna Ivanova , the professor's constant cook, has a calm character; on the professor's orders, she feeds the dog sausage, for which Sharik loves her very much.
Chapter 9
The next morning Sharikov disappears - he is neither in the house nor in the trade union committee. It turns out that he left at dawn along with all his documents. The day before, he took money from the trade union committee and borrowed it from Daria Petrovna. Three days later, the hero appears and reports that he has accepted the position of head of the department for clearing Moscow of stray animals.
A few days later, Sharikov brings the typist Vasnetsova, his fiancee, to the house. The professor opens her eyes to the origins of her fiancé, and she refuses to marry him. In response, he threatens to fire her. Bormenthal takes the matter under personal control and promises to find out every day whether the girl has been fired.
One of his patients comes to the professor and shows Sharikov’s complaints and accusations against Philip Philipovich. When the former dog arrives from work in the evening, the scientist orders him to get out of the apartment. The tenant shows a shish and takes out a revolver. An enraged Bormenthal rushes over and begins to strangle him.
All the doors in the apartment are closed, there is a note at the entrance stating that there is no reception, and the bell wires are cut.
