Bulgakov Encyclopedia (short) “fatal eggs. Satire-warning in the stories of M
“Fatal Eggs,” written, according to M. Gorky, “witty and deft,” was not simply, as it might seem, a caustic satire on Soviet society of the NEP era. Bulgakov is making an attempt here to make an artistic diagnosis of the consequences of the gigantic experiment that was carried out on the “progressive part of humanity.” In particular, we are talking about the unpredictability of the invasion of reason and science into the endless world of nature and human nature itself. But isn’t that what Bulgakov spoke about a little earlier, in the poem “The Riddle of the Sphinx”
(1922), the sophisticated Valery Bryusov?
The World Wars under microscopes silently tell us about other universes.
But we are between them - elk calves in the forest,
And it’s easier for thoughts to sit under the windows...
There's a guinea pig in the same cage,
The same experience with chickens, with reptiles...
But before Oedipus is the solution to the Sphinx,
Prime numbers are not all solved.
It is the experience “with chickens, with reptiles,” when, under a miraculous red ray accidentally discovered by Professor Persikov, instead of elephant-like broilers, giant reptiles come to life, allows Bulgakov to show where the road paved with the best intentions leads. In fact, the result of Professor Persikov’s discovery is (in the words of Andrei Platonov) only “damage to nature.” However, what kind of discovery is this?
“The red stripe, and then the entire disk, became crowded, and an inevitable struggle began. The newly born furiously attacked each other and tore them to shreds and swallowed them. Among those born lay the corpses of those killed in the struggle for existence. The best and strongest won. And these best ones were terrible. Firstly, they were approximately twice the volume of ordinary amoebas, and secondly, they were distinguished by some special malice and agility.”
The red ray discovered by Persikov is a certain symbol that is repeated many times, say, in the names of Soviet magazines and newspapers (“Red Light”, “Red Pepper”, “Red Magazine”, “Red Searchlight”, “Red Evening Moscow” and even organ of the GPU “Red Raven”), whose employees are eager to glorify the professor’s feat, in the name of the state farm, where the decisive experiment is to be carried out. Bulgakov simultaneously parodies here the teachings of Marxism, which, barely touching something living, immediately evokes in it the boiling of class struggle, “anger and playfulness.” The experiment was doomed from the beginning and burst due to the will of predestination, fate, which in the story was personified in the person of the communist devotee and director of the “Red Ray” state farm, Rokka. The Red Army must enter into mortal combat with the reptiles creeping towards Moscow.
“- Mother... mother...” rolled through the rows. Packs of cigarettes jumped in the illuminated night air, and white teeth bared at the stunned people from their horses. A dull and heart-stirring chant flowed through the rows:
...Neither ace, nor queen, nor jack,
We will beat the bastards without a doubt,
Four on the side - yours are not there...
The buzzing peals of “hurray” floated over all this mess, because a rumor spread that in front of the ranks on a horse, in the same crimson cap as all the riders, was riding the commander of the cavalry who had become legendary 10 years ago, aged and gray-haired.”
How much salt and hidden rage there is in this description, which certainly returns Bulgakov to painful memories of the lost Civil War and its victors! In passing he is an audacity unheard of in those conditions! - venomously mocks the holy of holies - the anthem of the world proletariat, “The International,” with its “No one will give us deliverance, neither God, nor the king, nor the hero...”. This story-pamphlet ends with the blow of a sudden frost in the middle of summer, which kills the reptiles, and the death of Professor Persikov, along with whom the red ray is lost and extinguished forever.
Other works on this topic:
- History of creation The story “Fatal Eggs” was written by Bulgakov in 1924. Already publishing the story in an abbreviated form in four issues of the magazine “Red Panorama”, Bulgakov...
- Chapter 1. Curriculum vitae of Professor Persikov Professor of zoology Vladimir Ipatievich Persikov holds the position of director of the Moscow Zoological Institute. At 58 years old, the scientist is still single....
- These works are united by the theme of the scientist’s moral responsibility for the experiment being conducted; satirical depiction of post-revolutionary reality; the use of fantasy and the grotesque. What is the satire directed against in the stories of M....
- (1924) The story takes place in the summer of 1928 in the USSR. Professor of Zoology IV state university and the director of the Moscow Zoological Institute, Vladimir Ipatievich Persikov, unexpectedly does...
- Bulgakov M. A. The action takes place in the USSR in the summer of 1928. Vladimir Ipatievich Persikov, professor of zoology at the IV State University and director of the Moscow Zoo Institute, was completely unexpected for...
- The action takes place in the USSR in the summer of 1928. Vladimir Ipatievich Persikov, professor of zoology at the IV State University and director of the Moscow Zoo Institute, completely unexpectedly makes a scientific...
M.A. Bulgakov (1891-1940). Life and destiny. Writer's satire. Analysis of satirical works (“ dog's heart", "Fatal eggs").
The whole life of this restless and brilliant writer was, in essence, a merciless battle with stupidity and meanness, a battle for the sake of pure human thoughts, for the sake of what a person should be and does not dare not be reasonable and noble. K. Paustovsky
Andrey Sakharov
Lesson objectives:
show the complexity and tragedy of life and creative path M. A. Bulgakova , arouse interest in the personality and work of the writer;
to reveal the diversity of problems of Bulgakov’s stories, to identify the principles of combining everyday reality and fantasy in the writer’s work,show the relevance of satirical works, develop skills in analyzing a prose work , helpunderstand what Bulgakov’s stories warn us about;
develop the ability of ideological, compositional and stylistic analysis of the text;
continueto develop the ability to choose in the development of action is the main thing , express your thoughts clearly and consistently, give reasons for your statements, prepare a report; develop students’ ability to formulate main ideas into notes.
Lesson objectives:
Educational:
1.Give short review the life and creative path of M.A. Bulgakov; to introduce the peculiarities of the fate of Bulgakov as a writer and a person, to note the diversity of the writer’s creativity, to introduce the author’s techniques for creating satirical works; improve the skill of searching for information about the life and work of a writer; improve monologue speech skills.
2. To introduce the stories “Heart of a Dog” and “Fatal Eggs”, to understand the meaning of the works, to help us understand what Bulgakov’s stories warn us about, to evaluate the topicality of the works; prove that satirical works writers are modern and relevant.
3. In the process of working on works, develop the ability to ideologically, compositionally and stylistically analyze a text, continue to develop the ability to choose the main thing in the development of an action, express your thoughts clearly and consistently, and give reasons for your statements; improve skills in analyzing a literary work
Educational: promote the formationindependent cognitive activity, skill developmentcarry out reflective activities; develop the ability to correctly generalize reflexive activity; develop the ability to correctly summarize data and draw conclusions.
Educational: cultivate love and respect, careful attitude to the national heritage, to promote the formation of patriotic feelings,rejection of hypocrisy, cruelty, arrogance and lack of culture.
Educational Resources: Literary dictation, lecture material, slide films about the life and work of M.A. Bulgakov, stories “Heart of a Dog”, “Fatal Eggs”, tasks for group work. Video by V.V. BortkABOUT "Dog's heart".
I.
Stage 1
1 . Organizing time.
II. Updating knowledge .
Today we are starting to study the work of the Russian writer, playwright, and theater director of the first half. 20th century. Author of novels and short stories, many feuilletons, plays, dramatizations, film scripts, operas libretto (Libretto- verbal text of a theatrical musical and vocal work),
Let's get acquainted with his difficult and tragic fate).
Before we start talking about it, let's first watch a slide movie,and then we will continue the conversation.(No. 1View a slide film about the writer from 00.00 – 0.40)
Goal setting.
So... what associations did you have after what you saw? Who will we be talking about? Look at the blackboard. You see a portrait of a writer. Below is the date -1935. It's practically his last years life. In five years the writer will be gone... He was only49 years old. (see epigraph), + (Cl. board)
So, we will talk about M.A. Bulgakov.
1. And now acquaintance with creativity and life's path M.A. Bulgakov(No. 2 Slide film “Biography of a writer” up to.030; until 1.03; up to 1.36; until 2.09); textbook, p.118
- What biographical facts impressed you? Name the works of the writer you know.
(Famous works of Bulgakov: « Master and Margarita », « %A%D%BE%D%B%D%B%D%87%D%C%D%B_%D%81%D%B%D%80%D%B%D%86%D%B », « %97%D%B%D%BF%D%B%D%81%D%BA%D%B_%D%E%D%BD%D%BE%D%B%D%BE_%D%B %D%80%D%B%D%87%D%B », « %A%D%B%D%B%D%82%D%80%D%B%D%BB%D%C%D%BD%D%B%D%B_%D%80%D%BE %D%BC%D%B%D », « %91%D%B%D%BB%D%B%D%F_%D%B%D%B%D%B%D%80%D%B%D%B%D%F_%28%D %80%D%BE%D%BC%D%B%D », « %98%D%B%D%B%D%BD_%D%92%D%B%D%81%D%B%D%BB%D%C%D%B%D%B%D%B %D%87_%28%D%BF%D%C%D%B%D%81%D%B ", "Notes on the cuffs", "Fatal eggs", "Diaboliad").
Teacher's story (addition) about the life and work of M.A. Bulgakov.
Bulgakov the writer and Bulgakov the man are still in many ways a mystery. It's unclear Political Views, attitude towards religion…. His life consisted of three parts, each of which was remarkable in some way.
- Until 1919 he is a doctor who only occasionally tries his hand at literature.
- In the 20s Bulgakov is already a professional writer and playwright
In the 30s Mikhail Afanasyevich -theater employee.
Hisdidn't print , the plays were not staged, and they were not allowed to work at my beloved Moscow Art Theater.
He had a special relationship with Stalin. The leader criticized many of his works, directly hinting at anti-Soviet agitation in them. But despite this, Mikhail Afanasyevich did not experience what was called the terrible wordGULAG (Main Directorate of Camps and Prisons – division %D%D%B%D%80%D%BE%D%B%D%BD%D%B%D%B_%D%BA%D%BE%D%BC%D%B%D%81 %D%81%D%B%D%80%D%B%D%B%D%82_%D%B%D%BD%D%83%D%82%D%80%D%B%D %BD%D%BD%D%B%D%85_%D%B%D%B%D%BB_%D%A%D%A%D%A%D%A , %C%D%B%D%BD%D%B%D%81%D%82%D%B%D%80%D%81%D%82%D%B%D%BE_%D%B %D%BD%D%83%D%82%D%80%D%B%D%BD%D%BD%D%B%D%85_%D%B%D%B%D%BB_%D %A%D%A%D%A%D%A" who managed places of mass forced confinement and detention in 1930-1956. ). And diednot on the bunk (although in those days they took away for much lesser sins), and in their own bed (fromnephrosclerosis , inherited from the father).(No. 3, see film from 00.51).
Robbed to the bone, excommunicatedE withdrawn from readers and viewers, “sealed” in his apartment with government seals, terminally ill, knowing that his days were numbered, Bulgakov remained himself: he did not lose his sense of humor and sharpness of language. This means that he did not lose his freedom.
This was M. A. Bulgakov . A doctor, journalist, novelist, playwright, director, he was a representative of that part of the intelligentsia who, without leaving the country in difficult years, sought to preserve themselves in changed conditions. He had to go through an addiction to morphine (when he worked as a zemstvo doctor), civil war(which he experienced in its two burning hearths - hometown Kyiv and the North. Caucasus), cruel literary persecution and forced silence, and under these conditions he managed to create masterpieces that are read all over the world.
Anna Akhmatova called Bulgakov succinctly and simply - a genius, and dedicatedin his memory poem(student reads):
Here I am for you, in exchange for grave roses,
Instead of incense incense;
You lived so harshly and brought it to the end
Magnificent contempt.
You drank wine, you joked like no one else
And I was suffocating in the stuffy walls,
And you let in a terrible guest
And he was left alone with her.
And you are not there, and everything around is silent
About sorrowful and high life,
And at your silent funeral service...
2. Blitz survey
“The life and work of M.A. Bulgakov"
When and where was M.A. born? Bulgakov? (15.05.1891 in Kyiv)
III. stage Analytical conversation .
2. Satire writer
Teacher: Today the focus of our attention is on the satirical works of the writer.
Question: Let's Let's remember the theory of literature: what is satire and its types.
Satire - a type of comic.
Subject of the image - vices.
Source – a contradiction between universal human values and the reality of life.
Types of satire:
Humor is a good laugh.
Irony is mockery.
Sarcasm is a caustic, caustic mockery, the highest degree of irony.
Means of satire:
Hyperbolism - exaggeration
Grotesqueness - a combination of the fantastic and the real
Contrast - opposition
Satirical stories by M.A. Bulgakov, written in1925 ., sounded very timely, and became a reflection of the mindset of a number of scientific and cultural figures who felt alarmed in connection with the changes taking place in Russia.
Question: What worried the writer himself? This is what we will look into.
Teacher: The stories are satirical and therefore today we will talk about what ? (ABOUT satirical skill of the writer – successor to the best traditions of Russian satire of the 19th century in the person of N.V. Gogol, M.E. Saltykova - Shchedrin).
- What are the main problems the author poses in his works? (Eternal struggle good and evil , morality and immorality , freedom and unfreedom, the problem of a person's responsibility for his actions - these are all eternal, basic problems human life.)
- What are the names of such works that touch upon universal human problems? (Such works are called philosophical )
- What is the peculiarity of the creative style of the writer Bulgakov? (In his works - combination of real and fantastic , monstrous grotesque and real norm; the speed of the plot; flexibility of lively conversational speech.)
Why exactly at this time did Bulgakov write satirical works? To answer this question, remember how Bulgakov perceivedOctober Revolution.
(Everything that was happening around, which was called the construction of socialism, was perceived by the writer as dangerous and
a huge experiment
. Bulgakov believed that the situation that developed in the first decades after October revolution,
tragic
. People are turned into
gray, homogeneous, featureless mass
. The concepts of
eternal values.
Stupidity, wretchedness, lack of spirituality, and primitiveness prevail. All this causes the writer a feeling of hostility and indignation. Apparently, this contributed to the fact that in the first decades after the October Revolution there appeared
satirical works
.)
So what works will we talk about today?
(
“Fatal Eggs” (1925), “Heart of a Dog” (1925).
In literature, Bulgakov first acted as a newspaperman and wrote feuilletons.
Until mid-20s he is a satirist writer, the author of the stories “Diaboliad” (1923), “Fatal Eggs” (1925), “Heart of a Dog” (1925) complete the cycle of the author’s satirical works.
Teacher: We have already seen more than once that writers react very sensitively to the slightest changes in public life: reflect people’s mentalities, predict the course of social development, try to warn about any alarming consequences of certain events.
Question: What event is 1st half. The 20th century can be considered decisive for the development of Russian art, incl. literature? ( October Revolution of 1917 ) . ( October Revolution (full official name in 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 - Great October Socialist Revolution , other names:"October revolution" %E%D%BA%D%82%D%F%D%B%D%80%D%C%D%81%D%BA%D%B%D%F_%D%80%D%B %D%B%D%BE%D%BB%D%E%D%86%D%B%D%F" ] , "October uprising", "Bolshevik revolution" ) - one of the largest political events of the 20th century, which influenced the further course%92%D%81%D%B%D%BC%D%B%D%80%D%BD%D%B%D%F_%D%B%D%81%D%82%D%BE %D%80%D%B%D% , literature and art.
You can have different attitudes towards this event, but it is impossible to deny that it became fateful not only for Russia, but also for other countries of the world.
After all, M.A. Bulgakov was not the first to address the topic of revolutionary transformations in the country.
A. Blok, S. Yesenin, V. Mayakovsky, A. Fadeev, E. Zamyatin - these are just some of the names of writers who tried to comprehend what was happening, each in their own way. The intonations were different: enthusiastic, cautious, glorifying, and pessimistic...
IV. Analysis of satirical works (“Heart of a Dog”, “Fatal Eggs”).
I could not part with the thought that I was involved in
unrighteous and terrible deeds. I had a terrible feeling of powerlessness.
Andrey Sakharov
Question: Why do you think these words of Academician Sakharov were taken as an epigraph to a lesson about the stories “The Heart of a Dog” and “Fatal Eggs”?
(Andrey Dmitrievich Sakharov - %A%D%A%D%A%D%A %A%D%B%D%B%D%B%D -theorist, academician%90%D%D_%D%A%D%A%D%A%D%A , was one of the creators of the first Soviet%92%D%BE%D%B%D%BE%D%80%D%BE%D%B%D%BD%D%B%D%F_%D%B%D%BE%D%BC %D%B%D%B . Laureate%D%D%BE%D%B%D%B%D%BB%D%B%D%B%D%81%D%BA%D%B%D%F_%D%BF%D%80 %D%B%D%BC%D%B%D%F_%D%BC%D%B%D%80%D%B ). The discovery of weapons of mass destruction forced him, like Bulgakov's professor Preobrazhensky, to think about the responsibility of the scientist and science as a whole to society, to history.
20th century - a time of all kinds of revolutions, a century of world wars and unprecedented changes in the lifestyle and way of thinking of billions of people. The search for truth, the search for truth, has become a fundamental search for the best representatives of the intelligentsia.
IN"Notes on cuffs" M.A. Bulgakov will say with bitter irony:“Truth comes only through suffering... This is true, rest assured! But they don’t pay money for knowing the truth, they don’t give them any rations. Sad but true."
Being in the center of the rapid cycle of events, people and opinions, Bulgakov asks himself and his readers the eternal question of the GospelPontius Pilate : “What is truth?”
Already in the 20s, the difficult years of the 20th century, the writer tried to answer this question with his satirical works, raising in themfollowing problems :
1. Ruthless condemnation of the “pure” science of its priests.
2. The problem of personal responsibility of a person of culture before life.
3.The problem of human self-government.
Let's try to trace how the writer reveals theseProblems.
First, let's remember the content of satirical works (“Heart of a Dog” and “Fatal Eggs”)
The story "Heart of a Dog"
2.What song does Sharikov play on the balalaika? (“The moon is shining”)
3.Whom does he hate the most? main character? (Cats)
4. The first word that Sharikov said? (“Abyr” - “Fish”)
5. For what purposes did Sharikov take 7 rubles from the house committee? (For the purchase of textbooks)
6. How does Sharikov explain to the bride the presence of a scar on his forehead? (Wounded on
on the Kolchak fronts)
The story "Fatal Eggs"
a)Abrikosov
b) Yablochkin
c) Peaches
5. What were the consequences of the unexpected frost?
1. Satirical condemnation of “pure” science and its priests, who imagine themselves as creators of new life.
Teacher:
M. Bulgakov’s stories “Heart of a Dog” and “Fatal Eggs” are about professors of the old school, brilliant scientists who made brilliant discoveries in a new era that was not entirely clear to them. Both of them came to Bulgakov's prose from Prechistenka (now Kropotkinskaya Street in Moscow). Bulgakov knew this area well and loved its inhabitants. Therefore, he probably considered it his duty to “portray the intelligentsia as the best layer in our country”
Question: Why did the classical intellectuals from Prechistenka suddenly become the object of satire? ( But because Bulgakov’s satire is smart and sighted satire. The writer saw that the scientist’s talent, impeccable honesty, combined with loneliness can lead to tragic and unexpected consequences. This happens with Professor Persikov, dear to Bulgakov’s heart, almost the same thing happens with Professor Preobrazhensky).
Question: What discoveries did they make?
So, "Fatal Eggs" (See Presentation “Fatal Eggs”) 1-4 frames.
1 . Student speech with individualh giving“Scientific discovery of Professor Vladimir Ipatievich Persikov” Frame 5
“The red stripe was full of life. Gray amoebas, releasing pseudopods, stretched with all their might into the red stripe and came to life in it (as if magically). Some force breathed the spirit of life into them. They climbed in a flock and fought with each other for a place in the beam. There was a frenzied, no other word for it, multiplication going on inside him. Breaking and overturning all laws... they budded before his eyes with lightning speed. ...The red stripe, and then the entire disk, became crowded, and the inevitable struggle began. The newly born furiously attacked each other and tore them to shreds and swallowed them. Among those born lay the corpses of those killed in the struggle for existence. The best and strongest won. And these best ones were terrible.”
This is the brilliant discovery of Professor Persikov , which would bring him fame, world fame, which, obviously, could somehow be used in the national economy. The professor did not think about this, because he had to carry out a series of experiments and experiments.
Teacher: And now the story"Dog's heart". You came across this story back in 9th grade. The story was filmed in1988 ( 1987 printed ). Film directorVladimir Vladimirovich Bortko ) - Russian film director, screenwriter and producer. The film adaptation of the story brought the director recognition from the world film community - the film was awarded the Grand Prix at the Perugia Film Festival (Italy).
2. Student speech with an individual task"The unique operation of Professor Preobrazhensky in his experience of pituitary gland transplantation."
( Pituitary - a cerebral appendage in the form of a round formation located on the lower surface of the brain in a bony pocket called the sella turcica, produces hormones that affect growth, metabolism and reproductive function )».
Philip Philipovich Preobrazhensky (60 years old) - a luminary in medicine. He produces a unique experience in transplanting the pituitary gland of a deceased person (Klim Chugunkin) to a stray dog Sharik. This operation was performed by ProfessorDecember 22 , AJanuary 2 , written inDoctor Bormental's diary This humanized dog got out of bed, who “... confidently stood on his hind legs for half an hour.” And on the same day, according to the testimony of the assistant professor, Dr. Bormental: “In my and Zina’s presence, the dog (if you can call it a dog, of course) swore at Professor Preobrazhensky’s mother.”
This operation of the professor is truly a scientific discovery: “He looks strange. The fur remained only on the head, chin and chest. He is otherwise bald with loose skin. In the genital area - a developing man. The skull is significantly enlarged. The forehead is sloping and low."
Teacher: It would seem that the scientific discoveries of Persikov and Preobrazhensky should have shocked the world scientific community and brought some benefit to humanity. What's really going on?
- What is it like? same withthe fate of the “red ray” discovered by Professor Persikov?
Someone came to the professorAlexander Semenovich Rokk “with government paper from the Kremlin,” surprisingly reminiscent of Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov: “Little eyes looked at the whole world in amazement and at the same time confidently, there was something cheeky in the short legs with flat feet.”6 frame.
The great discovery of a talented scientist led to disaster.
People flew out of the doors, howling:
Beat him! Kill!..
World villain!
You have unleashed the bastards!
…A short man, on monkey-like crooked legs, in a torn jacket, in a tornshirtfront , who had strayed to the side, ahead of the others, got to Persikov and with a terrible blow of a stick split his head.”
A man who bears a striking resemblance to Sharikov kills a brilliant scientist.8-9 frame.
Conclusion: Yes andHELL. Sakharov saw the consequences of his invention after he proposed using an electric charge inplasma, placed in a magnetic field to produce a controlled thermonuclear reaction. It is unknown into whose hands a scientific discovery will fall and for what purposes it will be used. So, following from the first, the second theme of the satiricalduology M.A. Bulgakova.
2. The theme of the personal responsibility of a person of science, culture before life, before history.
- What happened to the real Sharikov?
The dog Sharik was in his own way, like a dog, smart, observant and not even alien to the gift of satire. The life that he saw from the gateway was indeed accurately captured by him. He knew how to highlight typical details in it.
And so Sharik turns into Sharikov.
What techniques does the author use?
Grotesque. Implementation of a metaphor : He who was nothing will become everything. Takes advantage of a fantastic situation. Helps to understand the absurdity of the idea.
How did Preobrazhensky’s life change with the advent of Sharikov?
The house turns into HELL . The theme of the house runs through Bulgakov. Home is the center of human life. The Bolsheviks destroyed the home as the basis of the family, the basis of human society.
The appearance of Sharikov in the professor’s house is a nightmare...(No. 6 slide film “Who killed Madame Polosukhina’s cat...).
Teacher: When did it come "Finest Hour" Sharikov?
-P entry into service. “Yesterday cats were strangled, strangled” - persecution of one’s own - characteristic all ball ones. They destroy their own, covering up traces of their own origins . He deceived the girl. Shame, conscience, morality are alien. Inherent hatred, malice . He's really dangerous ( №7 . Cm . slide film benefit performance by Sharikov... ); … The cats were strangled, strangled;+ 2min.37.
Teacher : Professor Preobrazhensky, who decided to improve nature, took it upon himself to compete with life, creating an informer, an alcoholic and a demagogue, who sat on his neck. The professor realized his mistake.
Conclusion: So a person, even a genius, who has invaded the laws of nature, imagining himself to be the Creator, suffersfiasco.
In the novel "The Master and Margarita" whom we will meet later, Woland asks a question to two Moscow writers, Berlioz and Ivan Bezdomny, who claim that there is no God: “If there is no God, then, the question arises, who controls human life and all order on earth in general?” To which Ivanushka replies: “The man himself controls!”
This is how Bulgakov poses the most real and acute problem in the 20th century.
3. The problem of human self-government
This is the 3rd most important theme of the story “Heart of a Dog”.
20th century became a time of destruction, the collapse of the previous thousand-year order of human life. This is a time of destruction of previous human connections, previous ways of managing human behavior. The old type of management was based on reverence Christian commandments, on the authority of the king, class morality. Now the leading idea of the era became the words:“No one will give us deliverance: neither god, nor king, nor hero. We will achieve liberation with our own hand.”
This is where Blok's freedom came from"without a cross." Having freed himself from his former dependence, a person fell into a more severe subordination to his uterine, selfish, egoistic interest. Bulgakov leads usto the conclusion : where the natural course of life is spurred on by ignorance and selfishness, nothing good can be expected there.
Question : Can the Sharikovs, Shvonders, and Rokku be trusted to manage life?
The smart professor Preobrazhensky understood this (No. 8 cm . slide film); 35.32-37.17.
But the Shvonders, Sharikovs, and Rockies will never understand this truth.
Sharikovs breed quickly, and no one is going to fight them (unlike naked reptiles). Professor Preobrazhensky talks about this(№9 . Cm . slide film Shvonder is the biggest fool... ); 38.18 – 38.51.
Professor Preobrazhensky’s conversation about devastation is interesting(№10 . Cm . slide film...Devastation...ch.3)+
Bulgakov calls more than onceexperience Professor Preobrazhensky "crime". Thus, the author, developing the theme of Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment,” did not believe that in an instant it is possible to make a person sinless and righteous, and leads the hero to the famous conclusion:(№11 . Cm . slide film... Never commit a crime...). 37.50-38.17
This idea will be the main one in The Master and Margarita.
Conclusion. Perhaps,more crime - under the guise of revolutionary renewal, to commit violence against the entire course of history, over the destinies of people. Professor Preobrazhensky talks about such experiments: “They are in vain to think that terror will help them. Terror completely paralyzes the nervous system.”
Isn't it a brave story? But it was not published during the author’s lifetime. On the faceterror over literature, culture, Bulgakov was right:terror over culture led to paralysis, stagnation and death.
Conclusion:
In everythingtimes of satire served the ideas of humanism, enlightenment and the ideals of beauty, to which the authors of satirical works called, revealing the seamy side of reality through various means of humor and calling for the virtues of morality, spirituality, education, and intellectual development.
Writers - classics of the 19th century, represented byA. S. Griboedova, N.V. Gogol (poem “Dead Souls”) A. S. Pushkina, M. Yu. Lermontov, I. A Krylova in fables , and especially "biting" satire by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin , expressed disgust for tyranny, serfdom, and conventional orders with the help of satire, because satire - this is a fine line of humorous and comic, which boldly reveals the essence in an accessible and understandable form, branding social vices, gives hope and uplifts the spirit even in the most bitter moments of life precisely because it helps to turn the usual picture of the world, turning it from tragic into an incredibly catchy and inspiring joke.
These can rightfully include the satirical works of M.A. Bulgakov, which we talked about in class today.
7. Reflection.
Bulgakov did not change his views due to fashion or profit. But he thought intensely about everything he saw in front of him. And his thought... was inclined towards the analysis of the living, not confused by dogma or bias, and supported by the responsibility of a witness and chronicler of great and tragic events in the life of his homeland. Throughout all the ups and downs of fate, Bulgakov remained faithful to the laws of dignity...
V.Ya. Lakshin
Resource material for the lesson
Literary quiz based on the story “Fatal Eggs”
1. What is the main character's last name?
a)Abrikosov
b) Yablochkin
c) Peaches
2. What scientific discovery does Professor Persikov make?
a) It opens a “ray of life”, under the influence of which bacteria begin to multiply wildly
b) He finds an antidote for cancer
c) He managed to clone a sheep
3. How are the individuals that appeared with the help of the “ray of life” different?
a) They age much more slowly
b) Their endurance increases
c) They become incredibly aggressive and frantically destroy their weaker relatives
4. What is happening in the USSR in the meantime?
a) A general “chicken disease” begins, and all chickens on the territory of the USSR die
b) Some kind of fungus settles on grain crops, and the grains begin to die in huge quantities
c) Cattle begin to die from an unknown disease
5. What happens after Professor Persikov and Rokk release the eggs from abroad?
a) Rokk, with the help of a beam and chicken eggs ordered from abroad, restores the poultry population
b) Snake eggs and chicken eggs they get confused during delivery and Rokk gets snake eggs
c) The eggs prescribed by Rokk are broken
6. What happens after Rokk places the reptile eggs in the chambers?
a) All cameras fail at the same time
b) Birds and frogs move from their place, and dogs howl, anticipating trouble
c) Having examined them carefully, Rokk understands that these are not chicken eggs
7. What happens after reptiles hatch from their eggs?
a) The room in which they are located can be isolated, and the reptiles themselves can be killed
b) Terrible chaos begins in the country, and hordes of reptiles are approaching Moscow
c) An unknown disease begins to kill the hatched monsters
8. What happened on the night of August 19-20?
a) Hordes of monsters attacked Moscow
b) Suddenly an eighteen-degree frost hit
c) Moscow was recaptured from monstrous reptiles
9. What were the consequences of the unexpected frost?
a) Frost destroyed all reptiles and their embryos in eggs
b) He plunged the monsters into suspended animation
c) He weakened the animals, and people partly took them out of the country, partly exterminated them
10. What happens to the magic ray technology after a disaster?
a) It is sold abroad for a lot of money
b) No one else can get the beam
c) The beam is beginning to be used for military purposes
Answers: 1-c; 2-a; 3-in; 4-a; 5 B; 6-in; 7-b; 8-b; 9-a; 10-b.
Literary dictation. “The life and fate of M.A. Bulgakov". The story "Heart of a Dog"
I. “The life and fate of M.A. Bulgakov"
When and where was M.A. Bulgakov born? (15.05.1891 in Kyiv)
Where did you study? (Alexandrovskaya Gymnasium, Faculty of Medicine, Kyiv University).
The most famous works writer (“The Master and Margarita”, “ White Guard", "Running", White Guard.")
What role did women play in life? (They inspired, helped in life’s difficulties, served as his ideal).
Where and when did Bulgakov die? (10.03.1940)
II. The story "Heart of a Dog"
1. In what year was the story written? (1925). Printed? (1987)
2.Remember the lines of Professor Preobrazhensky’s favorite romance.
(“From Seville to Grenada...”, “To the banks of the sacred Nile...”)
3.What song does Sharikov play on the balalaika? (“The moon is shining”)
4.Who does the main character hate most? (Cats)
5. The first word that Sharikov said? (“Abyr” - “Fish”)
6. How old is Professor Preobrazhensky? (60)
7. How much money did Sharikov steal from the professor? (2 chervonets)
8. For what purposes did Sharikov take 7 rubles from the house committee? (For the purchase of textbooks)
9. How does Sharikov explain to the bride the presence of a scar on his forehead? (Wounded on
on the Kolchak fronts)
10. What, according to Sharikov, will the cats he killed go to? (“On Polty”).
Topic: science
Problem: consequences of scientific discoveries
M. “Fatal eggs”
The ray turned out to be a sword
The short story “Fatal Eggs” was written in 1924, but the heroes
This work lives in the near future. What does this author want to say?
Why does he move the events described four years into the future? Let's try to answer
to this difficult question.
So, in Moscow lives a science-obsessed, eccentric, brilliant professor.
Persikov, which specializes mainly in frogs. This walking
an encyclopedia that is not interested in anything in this life except naked bastards:
he has neither family nor friends, he does not read newspapers, he gets by with little in everyday life. And so it is
it turned out that completely by accident (of course, not by chance), Persikov collided
with a beam that appears from electric light through repeated refraction
in mirrors and lenses. Needless to say, not a living ray, not natural! But it was under him
exposure, all tadpoles quickly develop, instantly turn into frogs and
produce offspring unprecedented in number, which exceed their parents in size and
characterized by unprecedented aggressiveness.
The public and authorities become aware of the professor's discovery. Nobody
doesn’t particularly delve into what kind of ray this is, what benefit it could have, everyone gets by
some kind of fairy tales. Persikov receives the desired equipment for enlargement
power of his beam, travels contentedly to clubs and enthusiastically reads lectures about his
opening.
And it had to happen that at one of the lectures there was a man
who in recent years has been fighting for the happiness of the people, restoring the economy, and
Now the party sent him to work in the Smolensk province to head a state farm.
And in the Smolensk region a tragedy happened: an incomprehensible disease destroyed all the chickens. That's
Rokku (that was the name of this valuable employee) came up with a “brilliant” idea. Need to
restore the entire chicken population using Persikov's beam. Frog times instantly
multiply, which means they will also breed miracle chickens that will fly at speed
machine.
The government supported this idea. The authorities temporarily seized the device from Persikov
and handed them over to Rokka, and also brought foreign boxes with some eggs to the state farm.
The result was monstrous. Not only was the unexplored scientific discovery
handed over to ignorant hands, and the supply of eggs was also mixed up: Rokku was brought eggs
all sorts of snakes and crocodiles that were intended for the professor’s experiments.
A few days later, an armada of reptiles destroyed the Smolensk region and
moved towards Moscow. There were many thousands of dead. And it’s unknown how it would have ended
this biological catastrophe, if it hadn’t happened in mid-August almost
twenty degree frost.
The angry crowd beat Persikov to death. But from now on, no one will ever
managed to get this living ray again. But maybe this is for the better.
These are the horrors described in the story. And yet why does the action transfer occur?
to the future? After all, by drawing the image of Persikov before us, he wants to talk about that
responsibility that lies with the professor not so much for his discoveries as
for their popularization. And as a result, the miraculous device ends up in the hands of
semi-literate, but loyal to the party people. We know how it all ended.
It seems that there is also a political aspect in the story, so to speak, a warning against
the current political system. Not long ago the revolution took place, died down
civil war, people without education are entrusted with people's lives, family and
national traditions are uprooted, faith is persecuted, but more and more often
the so-called Ilyich light bulbs light up in the huts, more and more people believe
into communism. They, as if bewitched by this ray of light, become aggressive and
trampled upon moral values Russian person. A spiritual mutation occurs.
This is the catastrophe Mikhail warned us about in “Fatal Eggs,” and then
showed the “birth” of a new person in “Heart of a Dog.”
“Fatal Eggs” (1924) is a story written by M. A. Bulgakov during a special period in the cultural life of the country. Back then, many works were created only to motivate wide circle population to perform tasks necessary for the country's survival in critical conditions. Therefore, many different one-day authors appeared, whose creations did not linger in the memory of readers. Not only art, but also science was put on stream. Then all advanced inventions went to the service of industry and agriculture, increasing their efficiency. But scientific thought on the part of the Soviet government was subject to ideological control, which (among other things) was ridiculed by Bulgakov in “Fatal Eggs.”
The story was created in 1924, and the events in it unfold in 1928. The first publication took place in the magazine “Nedra” (No. 6, 1925). The work had different names - first “Ray of Life”, in addition, there was another one - “Professor Persikov’s Eggs” (the meaning of this name was to preserve the satirical tone of the story), but for ethical reasons this name had to be changed.
The central figure of the story, Professor Persikov, remotely contains some features real prototypes- the Pokrovsky doctor brothers, Bulgakov’s relatives, one of whom lived and worked on Prechistenka.
In addition, the text mentions the Smolensk province, in which the events of “Fatal Eggs” unfold, for a reason: Bulgakov worked there as a doctor and briefly visited the Pokrovskys in their Moscow apartment. The situation of the Soviet country during the period of war communism also comes from real life: then there were food shortages due to the unstable socio-political situation, there were riots in management structures due to unprofessionalism, and the new government had not yet fully managed to control public life .
Bulgakov in “Fatal Eggs” ridicules both the cultural and socio-political situation of the country after the revolutionary coup.
Genre and direction
The genre of the work “Fatal Eggs” is a story. It is characterized by a minimal amount storylines and, as a rule, a relatively small amount of narration (relative to the novel).
Direction - modernism. Although the events outlined by Bulgakov are fantastic, the action takes place in a real place, the characters (not only Professor Persikov, but everyone else) are also quite viable citizens of the new country. And a scientific discovery is not fabulous, it only has fantastic consequences. But on the whole the story is realistic, although some of its elements are colored grotesquely and satirically.
This combination of fantasy, realism and satire is characteristic of modernism, when the author makes bold experiments on literary work, bypassing established classical norms and canons.
The modernist movement itself appeared in special conditions of social and cultural life, when previous genres and trends began to become obsolete, and art required new forms, new ideas and ways of expression. “Fatal Eggs” is just such a work that meets modernist requirements.
About what?
“Fatal Eggs” is a story about the brilliant discovery of a scientist - professor of zoology Persikov, which ended in tears, both for those around him and for the scientist himself. The hero in his laboratory discovers a beam that can only be obtained with a special combination of mirror glass with beams of light. This ray affects living organisms so that they increase in size and begin to multiply at supernatural speed. Professor Persikov and his assistant Ivanov are in no hurry to release their discovery “to the world” and believe that they still need to work on it and conduct additional experiments, since the consequences may be unexpected and even dangerous. However, sensational information about the “ray of life” quickly penetrates the press, recorded by the semi-literate but lively journalist Bronsky, and, filled with false, unverified facts, spreads throughout society.
A discovery becomes known against the will of the scientist. Persikov is pestered by journalists on the streets of Moscow, demanding to tell him about his invention. It becomes impossible to work in the laboratory due to a barrage of press employees; even a spy comes who, for five thousand rubles, tries to find out the secret of the ray from the professor.
After this, Persikov’s house and laboratory are guarded by the NKVD, not allowing journalists in and thus providing the professor with a quiet working environment. But soon an epidemic of chicken infection occurs in the country, because of which people are strictly forbidden to eat chickens, eggs, or trade in live chickens and chicken meat. Even an emergency commission has been created to combat chicken plague. But in circumvention of the law, someone still sells chicken and eggs, and soon an ambulance comes to pick up the buyers of these products.
The country is excited. On the occasion of the epidemic, they are creating topical works, responding to the current mood of the public. When it begins to subside, the head of a demonstration state farm named Rokk comes to Professor Persikov with a special document from the Kremlin, who, with the help of the “ray of life,” intends to resume chicken breeding.
The document from the Kremlin turns out to be an order to advise Rokk on the use of the “life ray”, and immediately a call comes from the Kremlin. Persikov is categorically against using the beam, which has not yet been fully studied, in chicken farming, but he has to give Rokk cameras with which he can achieve the desired effect. The hero takes the cameras to a state farm in the Smolensk province and orders chicken eggs.
Soon, three boxes of unusual-looking, spotted eggs arrive in a foreign package. Rokk places the resulting eggs under the beam and tells the watchman to watch them so that no one steals the hatched chickens. The next day, egg shells are found, but no chicks. The caretaker blames the watchman for everything, although he swears that he carefully watched the process.
In the last chamber, the eggs are still intact, and Rokk hopes that at least chickens will hatch from them. He decided to take a break and goes with his wife Manya to swim in the pond. On the shore of the pond, he notices a strange calm, and then a huge snake rushes at Manya and swallows her right in front of her husband. This causes him to turn gray and almost fall into madness.
Strange news reaches the GPU that something strange is happening in the Smolensk province. Two GPU agents, Shchukin and Polaitis, go to the state farm and find there a distraught Rokk, who cannot really explain anything.
Agents examine the state farm building - the former estate of Sheremetev, and find in the greenhouse cameras with a reddish beam and hordes of huge snakes, reptiles and ostriches. Shchukin and Polaitis die in a fight with monsters.
Newspaper editors receive strange messages from the Smolensk province about strange birds the size of horses, huge reptiles and snakes, and Professor Persikov receives boxes of chicken eggs. At the same time, the scientist and his assistant see a sheet with an emergency message about anacondas in the Smolensk province. It immediately turns out that the orders of Rokka and Persikov were mixed up: the supply manager received snake and ostrich ones, and the inventor received chicken ones.
By that time, Persikov was inventing a special poison for killing toads, which was then useful for fighting huge snakes and ostriches.
Red Army troops, armed with gas, are fighting this scourge, but Moscow is still alarmed, and many are planning to flee the city.
Maddened people break into the institute where the professor works, destroy his laboratory, blaming him for all the troubles and thinking that it was he who released the huge snakes, kill his watchman Pankrat, housekeeper Marya Stepanovna and himself. They then set the institute on fire.
In August 1928, a frost suddenly sets in, killing the last snakes and crocodiles that were not finished off by special forces. After epidemics that were caused by the rotting corpses of snakes and people suffering from the invasion of reptiles, by 1929 a normal spring began.
The beam discovered by the late Persikov can no longer be obtained by anyone, not even by his former assistant Ivanov, now an ordinary professor.
The main characters and their characteristics
- Vladimir Ipatievich Persikov- a brilliant scientist, professor of zoology, who discovered a unique ray. The hero opposes the use of the ray because its discovery has not yet been verified and researched. He is careful, does not like unnecessary fuss and believes that any invention requires many years of testing before the time comes for its operation. Because of interference in his activities, his life's work perishes with him. The image of Persikov symbolizes humanism and the ethics of scientific thinking, which were destined to die under the Soviet dictatorship. A lonely talent is contrasted with an unenlightened and driven crowd that does not have its own opinion, drawing it from newspapers. According to Bulgakov, it is impossible to build a developed and fair state without an intellectual and cultural elite, which was expelled from the USSR by stupid and cruel people who had neither the knowledge nor the talent to build a country on their own.
- Pyotr Stepanovich Ivanov- Assistant to Professor Persikov, who helps him in his experiments and admires his new discovery. However, he is not such a talented scientist, so he fails to receive the “life ray” after the death of the professor. This is the image of an opportunist who is always ready to appropriate achievements that are truly significant person, even if you have to step over his corpse.
- Alfred Arkadievich Bronsky- an omnipresent, fast, dexterous journalist, a semi-literate employee of many Soviet magazines and newspapers. He is the first to enter Persikov’s apartment and learn about his unusual discovery, then spreads this news everywhere against the will of the professor, embellishing and distorting the facts.
- Alexander Semenovich Rokk- a former revolutionary, and now the head of the Red Ray state farm. An uneducated, rude, but cunning person. He attends Professor Persikov’s report, where he talks about the “ray of life” he discovered, and he comes up with the idea of restoring the chicken population after the epidemic using this invention. Rokk, due to illiteracy, does not realize the full danger of such an innovation. This is a symbol of a new type of people, tailored according to the standards of the new government. A dependent, stupid, cowardly, but, as they say, “punchy” citizen who plays only by the rules of the Soviet state: runs through the authorities, seeks permission, tries by hook or by crook to adapt to new requirements.
Themes
- The central theme is the carelessness of people in handling new scientific inventions and lack of understanding of the dangers of the consequences of such handling. People like Rokk are narrow-minded and want to achieve their goals by any means necessary. They don’t care what happens after, they are only interested in the immediate benefit of what could turn into collapse tomorrow.
- The second theme is social: confusion in management structures, due to which any disaster can occur. After all, if the uneducated Rokk had not been allowed to manage the state farm, the disaster would not have happened.
- The third theme is impunity and the enormous influence of the media, irresponsible in the pursuit of sensations.
- The fourth theme is ignorance, which resulted in many people not understanding the cause-and-effect relationship and unwillingness to understand it (they blame Professor Persikov for the disaster, although in fact Rokk and the authorities who assisted him are to blame).
Issues
- The problem of authoritarian power and its destructive influence on all spheres of society. Science should be separated from the state, but this was impossible under Soviet rule: distorted and simplified science, suppressed by ideology, was demonstrated to all people through newspapers, magazines and other media.
- In addition, “Fatal Eggs” discusses a social problem, which lies in the unsuccessful attempt of the Soviet system to combine the scientific intelligentsia and other segments of the population who are far from science in general. It is not for nothing that the story shows how an NKVD employee (in fact, a representative of the authorities), protecting Persikov from journalists and spies, finds a common language with the simple and illiterate watchman Pankrat. The author implies that they are on the same intellectual level with him: the only difference is that one has a special badge under the collar of his jacket, and the other does not. The author hints at how imperfect such power is, where insufficiently educated people try to control what they themselves do not really understand.
- An important problem of the story is the irresponsibility of totalitarian power to society, which is symbolized by Rokk’s careless handling of the “ray of life”, where Rokk himself is power, the “ray of life” is the ways the state influences people (ideology, propaganda, control), and reptiles, reptiles and ostriches hatched from eggs - society itself, whose consciousness is distorted and damaged. A completely different, more reasonable and rational way of managing society is symbolized by Professor Persikov and his scientific experiments, which require caution, taking into account all the subtleties and attentiveness. However, it is precisely this method that is eradicated and disappears altogether, because the crowd is led and does not want to independently understand the intricacies of politics.
Meaning
“Fatal Eggs” is a kind of satire on Soviet power, on its imperfections due to its novelty. The USSR is like one big, untested invention, and therefore dangerous for society, which no one knows how to handle yet, which is why various malfunctions, failures and disasters occur. Society in "Fatal Eggs" is experimental animals in a laboratory, subjected to irresponsible and unscrupulous experiments that clearly serve to harm rather than benefit. Uneducated people are allowed to manage this laboratory, they are entrusted with serious tasks, which they are not able to perform due to their inability to navigate social, scientific and other spheres of life. As a result, experimental citizens may turn into moral monsters, which will lead to irreversible catastrophic consequences for the country. At the same time, the unenlightened crowd mercilessly attacks those who can really help them overcome difficulties, who know how to use an invention on a national scale. The intellectual elite is being exterminated, but there is no one to replace it. It is very symbolic that after Persikov’s death no one can restore the invention lost with him.
Criticism
A. A. Platonov (Klimentov), considered this work as a symbol of the implementation of revolutionary processes. According to Platonov, Persikov is the creator of the revolutionary idea, his assistant Ivanov is the one who implements this idea, and Rokk is the one who decided, for his own benefit, to use the idea of revolution in a distorted form, and not as it should be (for the sake of the general benefit) - as a result, everyone suffered. The characters in “The Fatal Eggs” behave as Otto von Bismarck (1871 - 1898) once described: “The revolution is prepared by geniuses, carried out by fanatics, and the fruits of it are enjoyed by scoundrels.” Some critics believed that “Fatal Eggs” was written by Bulgakov for fun, but members of RAPP (Russian Association of Proletarian Writers) reacted negatively to the book, quickly considering the political background in this work.
Philologist Boris Sokolov (b. 1957) tried to find out what prototypes Professor Persikov had: this could be Soviet biologist Alexander Gurvich, but if we proceed from the political meaning of the story, then this is Vladimir Lenin.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!ABSTRACT
“EXPERIMENT IN M.A. BULGAKOV’S STORIES “FATAL EGGS” AND “HEART OF A DOG”
INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………2
1. Life and time of creation of the stories “Fatal Eggs” and “Heart of a Dog”……. 3
2. Professor Persikov’s experiment in the story “Fatal Eggs”…………. 5
3. Professor Preobrazhensky’s experiment and its consequences in the story “Heart of a Dog”…………………………………………………………………………………. 8
4. Lessons learned from the analysis of the works “Fatal Eggs” and “Heart of a Dog”………………………………………………………………………………………….. 12
CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………… 13
List of sources used………………………………………………………. 14
INTRODUCTION
Bulgakov's work is the pinnacle phenomenon of Russian artistic culture of the twentieth century. Bulgakov's creativity is diverse. But a special place in it is occupied by the theme of scientific experiment, which is raised in the socio-philosophical stories of satirical fiction “Fatal Eggs” and “Heart of a Dog”, which have much in common.
This topic relevant and today, because Bulgakov’s satirical fiction warns society of impending dangers and cataclysms. It's about about the tragic discrepancy between the achievements of science - man’s desire to change the world - and his contradictory, imperfect essence, inability to foresee the future, here he embodies his conviction in the preference of normal evolution over a violent, revolutionary method of invading life, about the responsibility of a scientist and the terrible, destructive power of a smug aggressive ignorance. These themes are eternal and they have not lost their significance even now.
Tasks of this essay are to analyze the plots in M.A. Bulgakov’s stories “Fatal Eggs” and “Heart of a Dog”, the place and influence of the scientific experiments of their main characters on the development of plots in the stories, and also draw conclusions about what the writer warned his contemporaries about in his works , And purpose of this essay to find out what impact it has on our modern life.
This work used materials from critical articles by literary critics of the work of the writer M.A. Bulgakov of the Soviet and modern periods, as well as independent conclusions on this topic.
The novelty of my work lies in proving the significance, relevance and “survivability” of M.A. Bulgakov’s literary heritage today, about the threat of any thoughtless experiment that contradicts human nature and its morality.
1. Life and time of creation of the stories “Fatal Eggs” and “Heart of a Dog”.
The story “Fatal Eggs” was written in 1924, and published in 1925, first in an abbreviated form in the magazine “Red Panorama” No. 19-22, 24, and in No. 19-21 it was called “Ray of Life” and only in No. 22.24 acquired the now well-known name “Fatal Eggs”. In the same year, the story was published in the almanac “Nedra”, in the sixth issue, and was included in Bulgakov’s collection “Diaboliada”, published in two editions in 1925 and 1926, and the publication of the collection in 1926 became Bulgakov’s last lifetime book in his homeland.
The author never saw the story “Heart of a Dog,” written in 1925; it was confiscated from the author along with his diaries by OGPU officers during a search on May 7, 1926. "Heart of a Dog" is Bulgakov's last satirical story. She avoided the fate of her predecessors - she was not ridiculed and trampled upon by false critics of “Soviet literature”, because was published only in 1987 in the magazine “Znamya”.
The action of “Fatal Eggs” is timed to 1928; the realities of Soviet life in the first post-revolutionary years are easily recognized in the story. The most expressive in this regard is the reference to the notorious “housing issue,” which was supposedly resolved in 1926: “Just as amphibians come to life after a long drought, with the first heavy rain, Professor Persikov came to life in 1926, when the united American-Russian The company built, starting from the corner of Gazetny Lane and Tverskaya, in the center of Moscow 15 fifteen-story buildings, and on the outskirts of 300 workers' cottages, each with 8 apartments, once and for all putting an end to that terrible and funny housing crisis that so tormented Muscovites in the years 1919-1925 "
The hero of the story, Professor Preobrazhensky, came to Bulgakov’s story from Prechistenka, where the hereditary Moscow intelligentsia had long settled. A recent Muscovite, Bulgakov knew and loved this area. He settled in Obukhov (Chisty) Lane, where “Fatal Eggs” and “Heart of a Dog” were written. People who were close to him in spirit and culture lived here. The prototype of Professor Philip Filippovich Preobrazhensky is considered to be Bulgakov’s maternal relative, Professor N.M. Pokrovsky. But, in essence, it reflected the type of thinking and the best features of that layer of the Russian intelligentsia, which was called “Prechistinka” in Bulgakov’s circle.
Bulgakov considered it his duty to “stubbornly portray the Russian intelligentsia as the best layer in our country.” He treated his hero-scientist with respect and love; to some extent, Professor Preobrazhensky is the embodiment of the outgoing Russian culture, the culture of the spirit, aristocracy.
Since 1921 M.A. Bulgakov lived in Moscow, which, like the whole country, was transitioning to the era of NEPA - paradoxical, acute, contradictory. The harsh days of war communism were becoming a thing of the past. The era was seething. Bulgakov's pen was in a hurry to capture the rapidly flowing incredible, unique reality. It responded with satirical touches in essays and feuilletons, entire fantastic-satirical works, such as “Fatal Eggs” and “Heart of a Dog.”
2. Professor Persikov's experiment in the story "Fatal Eggs".
Bulgakov’s satirical story “The Fatal Eggs” is imbued with apocalyptic motifs, work on which, as well as on “Diaboliada”, was carried out during the writing of “The White Guard”.
The plot outline of the story “Fatal Eggs” is very simple and echoes the plots of many science fiction novels by H. Wells (which is directly indicated in the story). It amazes with the boldness of the author's imagination and the abundance of very risky private statements and satirical attacks.
At the center of the story is the traditional image of an eccentric scientist, a theorist, completely immersed in his scientific research, far from reality and not understanding it. Professor Vladimir Ignatievich Persikov was 58 years old, “his head is wonderful, bulging, bald, with a tuft of yellowish hair sticking out at the sides.”
The second most important image in the system of characters in the story is the image of A.S. Rokka. The very appearance of Rock is presented in the story as the personification of the era of military communism, a time absolutely alien and hostile to Bulgakov and personifying for him the essence of the proletarian revolution: “He was terribly old-fashioned. In 1919, this man would have been completely out of place on the streets of the capital, he would have been tolerable in 1924, at the beginning of it, but in 1928 he was strange. While the most backward part of the proletariat - the bakers - wore jackets, when the French was a rarity in Moscow - an old-fashioned suit, abandoned completely at the end of 1924, the one who entered was wearing a leather double-breasted jacket, green trousers, windings and boots on his feet, and on his side is a huge old-style Mauser pistol in a yellow broken holster.” It is curious that, according to the narrator, this man would have been tolerable precisely at the beginning of 1924. I think that we have Bulgakov’s unambiguous indication of the time of Lenin’s death, and, therefore, Rock personifies here the Leninist era, which, as it seems to the author, has gone into the irrevocable past.
The main event in the story is the discovery of the scientist Persikov. Outwardly, this event is nothing more than an artist’s joke. While setting up a microscope for work, Persikov accidentally discovered that when the mirror and lens move, some kind of red ray appears, which, as it soon turns out, has an amazing effect on living organisms: they become incredibly active, angry, multiply rapidly and grow to enormous sizes. But Persikov’s brilliant invention in the conditions of Bolshevik Russia leads to confusion and devilry, which is associated with the end of the world.
It all started with a domestic misunderstanding. “Eternal chaos, eternal disgrace, “some kind of indescribable disgrace,” as a result of which the addresses were mixed up with eggs: instead of snake eggs, the professor was brought “these chicken eggs,” and Rokka, instead of a pile of chicken eggs, was brought only three boxes of eggs.
Events are developing rapidly. When Persikov realized the terrible mistake, it was already too late: “something monstrous” was happening in the Smolensk region. Rokk bred snakes instead of chickens, and they produced the same phenomenal clutch as frogs.” The snakes moved towards Moscow. Nothing could stop them. Death threatened the entire state. Moscow became quiet, and then a mad panic began, fires and looting. As a result of the pogrom perpetrated by an angry, uncontrollable crowd, the Institute engaged in the laboratory breeding of “new life” is burned down, the chamber that generated the ill-fated red ray is broken, the experimenter himself, Professor Persikov, is killed and torn to pieces by the crowd, and with him Pankrat and the servant Marya Stepanovna. And only the traditional Russian frost, which miraculously broke out “on the night from August 19 to 20, 1928” (“a frosty god on a car,” Bulgakov ironizes in the title of Chapter XII of the story), saves Russia from a catastrophe of terrible proportions. Giant reptiles, like ancient dinosaurs of the Mesozoic era, froze to death on the approach to Moscow. “Were dead” were countless snake, crocodiles and ostrich eggs that covered the “forests, fields, vast swamps” of Soviet Russia.
The plot of “Fatal Eggs” contains many of the most incredible events and coincidences. This is the chicken pestilence that came out of nowhere, and the accidental discovery of Persikov, and the confusion with the eggs, and the eighteen-degree frost in August, and the fact that neither the chicken plague nor the invasion of reptiles for some reason spread outside the country, and much more. It’s as if the author deliberately stirs up such contingencies, without caring that they are in any way plausible. But behind the allegorical images and paintings, it is not difficult to discern real or at least quite possible events.