In the story "Heart of a Dog" M. Bulgakov raises important moral and social questions, one of which is whether a person with a dog's heart can live in society?
At the beginning of the story, we see Sharik, a homeless, always hungry and cold dog, wandering through the doorways in search of food. Through his eyes, the reader imagines not the front, but the gray, dank, uncomfortable Moscow of the twenties. We are imbued with sincere sympathy for the poor fellow, who has never known affection and warmth.
Sharik's confession is sad: “Didn't they beat you with a boot? Billy. Did you get a brick in the ribs? It's enough to eat. I have experienced everything, I am reconciled with my fate, and if I cry now, it is only from physical pain and from hunger, because my spirit has not yet died away. It was an intelligent, noble, benevolent, harmless animal. Sharik felt sorry for the secretary like a dog, who found herself in the cold in thin stockings, knowing about her "penny" life. He loved and respected Professor Preobrazhensky not only for warm, comfortable accommodation and delicious food. The dog observed how Philipp Philippovich looked, how he worked, how other people treated him. I understood that this was a wealthy gentleman, a respected person. Besides, he is kind.
It is no coincidence that the author includes a brief description of this character in the narrative. In Bormenthal's diary we read: “Klim Grigoryevich Chugunkin, 25 years old, single. Nonpartisan, sympathetic. Tried three times and acquitted: the first time due to lack of evidence, the second time the origin saved, the third time - conditionally hard labor for 15 years. Theft. Profession - playing the balalaika in taverns.
Sharikov's speech after the operation is replete with vulgar expressions ("In line, sons of bitches, in line", "scoundrel"). Outwardly, he is just as unpleasant: “A man of small stature and unshaven appearance ... with cloudy eyes”, “A poisonous sky-colored tie with a fake ruby pin was tied around his neck.”
All attempts to instill in Sharikov at least the primary skills of cultural behavior and communication give a negative result. On the other hand, the influence of Shvonder's house committee, which does not burden the "new man" with any cultural programs other than the revolutionary one - whoever was nothing will become everything - is very effective. It is in his words that Sharikov says: “Where is it! We did not study at universities, we did not live in apartments of fifteen rooms with bathtubs. Only now it's time to leave it ... Everyone has his own right.
Sharikov realized that he was a "hard worker" because he was not a Nepman or a professor who lived in seven rooms and had forty pairs of trousers. "Worker" because he has no property. He quickly learned to demand without feeling any shame or embarrassment in front of Preobrazhensky.
Sharikov sensed that one could put pressure on the professor, claim the right to a name, documents, living space. And on what basis? On the basis of a new ideology that proclaimed the supremacy of the proletariat - mostly narrow-minded people who do not know what to do with the power they have received. Sharikov is an exaggerated, disfigured reflection of the "labor element".
The situation looks paradoxical when Sharikov proudly defended his civil right to have a name and documents, and a moment later, having caused a flood in the apartment because of a cat, he was frightened like a miserable animal.
Shvonder fights for Sharikov’s soul, instilling in him impudence, arrogance towards culture: “I want to crush flowers - and I will, I want to urinate past the toilet - my right, I want to make a political career in the state of Shvonders - I will squeeze someone out and do it.” These are the fruits of the revolutionary "civilization" of the masses. Bulgakov is in solidarity with Bormenthal: “Here, doctor, what happens when the researcher, instead of going in parallel with nature, forces the question and lifts the veil: here, get Sharikov and eat him with porridge.”
Fantastic arrogance grows every day in Sharikovo. He disrespectfully treats the professor, familiarly calling him "dad". For him, there is no such thing as self-esteem. This person believes that the professor is obliged to provide for him. In the end, Sharikov became life-threatening. Preobrazhensky decides to correct his mistake: Sharikov again becomes a kind, harmless dog Sharik. His monologue ends the work: "I registered here ...".
The ball-narrator, of course, is at a lower level than Professor Preobrazhensky and Bormental, but his level of development is much higher than Shvonder and Sharikov. Such an intermediate position of the Ball-dog in the work emphasizes the dramatic position of a person who is faced with a choice - either to follow the laws of natural social and spiritual evolution, or to follow the path of moral degradation. Sharikov may not have had such a choice. He is an "artificial" man, having the heredity of a dog and a proletarian. But the whole society had such a choice, and it depended only on the person which path he would choose.
In the story “Heart of a Dog” M.A. Bulgakov does not just describe the unnatural experiment of Professor Preobrazhensky. The writer shows a new type of person who arose not in the laboratory of a talented scientist, but in the new, Soviet reality of the first post-revolutionary years. The basis of the plot of the story is the relationship between a prominent Russian scientist and Sharik, Sharikov, a dog and an artificially created person. The first part of the story is built mainly on the internal monologue of a half-starved street dog. He evaluates the life of the street in his own way, life, customs, characters of Moscow during the NEP, from her numerous shops, tea houses, taverns on Myasnitskaya "with sawdust on the floor, evil clerks who hate dogs." Sharik knows how to sympathize, appreciate kindness and kindness, and, oddly enough, he perfectly understands the social structure of the new Russia: he condemns the new masters of life (“I am now the chairman, and no matter how much I steal, everything goes to the female body, to cancer necks, on Abrau-Durso”), but about the old Moscow intellectual Preobrazhensky he knows that "this one will not kick with his foot."
In Sharik's life, in his opinion, a happy accident happens - he finds himself in a luxurious professorial apartment, in which, despite the widespread devastation, there is everything and even "extra rooms". But the professor doesn't need the dog for fun. A fantastic experiment is conceived over him: by transplanting a part of the human brain, a dog should turn into a man. But if Professor Preobrazhensky becomes the Faust who creates a man in a test tube, then the second father - the man who gives the dog his pituitary gland - is Klim Petrovich Chugunkin, whose characterization is given extremely briefly: “Profession - playing the balalaika in taverns. Small in stature, poorly built. The liver is enlarged (alcohol). The cause of death was a stab to the heart in a pub.” And the creature that appeared as a result of the operation completely inherited the proletarian essence of its ancestor. He is arrogant, arrogant, aggressive.
He is completely devoid of ideas about human culture, about the rules of relationships with other people, he is absolutely immoral. Gradually, an inevitable conflict is brewing between the creator and creation, Preobrazhensky and Sharik, more precisely, Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov, as the “homunculus” calls himself. And the tragedy is that a “man” who has barely learned to walk finds reliable allies in life who bring a revolutionary theoretical basis to all his actions. From Shvonder, Sharikov learns what privileges he, a proletarian, has in comparison with a professor, and, moreover, begins to realize that the scientist who gave him human life is a class enemy. Sharikov is clearly aware of the main credo of the new masters of life: rob, steal, take away everything created by other people, and most importantly - strive for universal leveling. And the dog, once grateful to the professor, can no longer come to terms with the fact that he “settled alone in seven rooms,” and brings paper, according to which he is entitled to an area of 16 meters in the apartment. Sharikov is alien to conscience, shame, morality. He lacks human qualities, except for meanness, hatred, malice ... Every day he loosens his belt more and more. He steals, drinks, commits excesses in Preobrazhensky's apartment, molests women.
But the finest hour for Sharikov is his new work. The ball makes a dizzying leap: from a stray dog, he turns into the head of the subdepartment for cleaning the city from stray animals.
And it is precisely this choice of profession that is not surprising: the Sharkovs always strive to destroy their own. But Sharikov does not stop on what has been achieved. After some time, he appears in an apartment on Prechistenka with a young girl and declares: “I sign with her, this is our typist. Bormental will have to be evicted…” Of course, it turns out that Sharikov deceived the girl and made up many stories about himself. And the last chord of Sharikov's activity is the denunciation of Professor Preobrazhensky. In the story, the sorcerer-professor succeeds in the reverse transformation monster man into an animal, into a dog. It is good that the professor understood that nature does not tolerate violence against itself. But, alas, in real life, balls turned out to be much more tenacious. Self-confident, arrogant, no doubters in their sacred rights to everything, semi-literate lumpen brought our country to the deepest crisis, because violence against the course of history, neglect of the laws of its development could only give rise to Sharikovs. In the story, Sharikov again turned into a dog, but in life he went a long and, as it seemed to him, and others were inspired, a glorious path, and in the thirties and fifties he poisoned people, as he once did stray cats and dogs in the line of duty. Through all his life he carried dog anger and suspicion replacing them with dog loyalty that has become unnecessary. Entering into rational life, he remained at the level of instincts and was ready to change the whole country, the whole world, the whole universe so that these bestial instincts could be more easily satisfied.
He is proud of his low origin. He prides himself on his low education. In general, he is proud of everything low, because only this raises him high above those who are high in spirit, mind. People like Preobrazhensky must be trampled into the mud so that Sharikov can rise above them. Outwardly, the balls are no different from people, but their non-human essence is just waiting for the moment to manifest itself. And then they turn into monsters, which, at the first opportunity to grab a tidbit, drop the mask and show their true essence. They are ready to betray their own. Everything that is highest and most holy turns into its opposite as soon as they touch it. And the worst thing is that the ball managed to achieve tremendous power, and when coming to power, the non-human tries to dehumanize everyone around, because it is easier to control non-humans, they have all human feelings replaced by the instinct of self-preservation. In our country, after the revolution, all the conditions were created for the appearance of a huge number of balloons with dog hearts. The totalitarian system is very conducive to this. Probably due to the fact that these monsters have penetrated into all areas of life, that they are still among us, Russia is going through hard times now. It is terrible that aggressive balls with their truly canine vitality, in spite of everything, can survive. The dog's heart in union with the human mind is the main threat of our time. That is why the story, written at the beginning of the century, remains relevant today, serving as a warning to future generations. Sometimes it seems that our country has become different. But the consciousness, stereotypes, way of thinking of people will not change either in ten or twenty years - more than one generation will change before the balls disappear from our lives, before people become different, before the vices described by M.A. Bulgakov in his immortal work. How I want to believe that this time will come! ..
Dog's heart. The Heart of a Dog is one interesting story about Professor Preobrazhensky's complex operation to transplant a human brain into a dog. Its result was the emergence of a new person Sharikov, whose image and characteristics we will consider in ours.
Revealing the theme of Sharikov and dwelling on the image of a new person, I would like to first remember what Sharikov was before his transformation. In this we will be helped by a comparative description of the dog Sharik and the image of the man Sharikov obtained from him.
So who was and who did the dog turn into?
At the beginning of Bulgakov's story, a homeless dog appears before us. He is kind and does not pose a danger to others. Like any animal, Sharik has ordinary desires. The dog wants affection, warmth, food and a secluded place where he could lick his wounds. And now Professor Preobrazhensky appears in the fate of a stray dog, who gave him a completely new life by performing an experimental operation to transplant the pituitary gland taken from a deceased thief, alcoholic and recidivist. And the reader sees in front of him the image of a new person who was given the name and surname Poligraf Poligrafovich Sharikov.
The laboratory creature turns into citizen Sharikov. Sharikov was short, with coarse hair, a small head, a sardonic grin, and small feet. Sharikov's voice was muffled, and his gait was sprawling. Despite his appearance and inability to dress, Sharikov was pleased with himself, and at the same time hated his creator, who constantly strove to teach manners to a rootless dog. In general, his character was bad, as evidenced by the characterization and image of Sharikov's character.
Ball- the main character of the fantastic story "Heart of a Dog" by M. A. Bulgakov, a homeless dog who was picked up and sheltered by Professor Preobrazhensky. This is an eternally hungry, frozen, homeless dog that wanders in doorways in search of food. At the beginning of the story, we learn that a cruel cook scalded his side, and now he is afraid to ask someone for food, lies against a cold wall and waits for the end. But suddenly the smell of sausage comes from somewhere and he, unable to stand it, follows her. A mysterious gentleman walked along the sidewalk, who not only treated him to sausage, but also invited him to his house. Since then, Sharik began a completely different life.
The professor took good care of him, cured his sore side, brought him into proper shape and fed him several times a day. Soon Sharik began to turn away even from roast beef. The rest of the inhabitants of the professor's large apartment also treated Sharik well. In response, he was ready to faithfully serve his master and savior. Sharik himself was a smart dog. He knew how to distinguish letters on street signs, he knew exactly where the Glavryba store in Moscow was, where the meat counters were. Soon something strange happened to him. Professor Preobrazhensky decided to conduct an amazing experiment on transplanting human organs on it.
The experiment was a success, but after that Sharik began to gradually take on a human form and behave like the former owner of the transplanted organs - the thief and recidivist Klim Grigoryevich Chugunkin who died in a fight. So Sharik turned from a kind and smart dog into an ill-mannered boor, an alcoholic and a brawler named Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov.
Preobrazhensky Philip Philipovich- the central character of the fantastic story "Heart of a Dog" by M. A. Bulgakov, the luminary of medicine of world importance, an experimental surgeon who has achieved remarkable results in the field of rejuvenation. The professor lives and works in Moscow on Prechistenka. He has a seven-room apartment, where he conducts his experiments. Housekeepers Zina, Daria Petrovna and temporarily his assistant Bormental live with him. It was Philip Philipovich who decided to conduct a unique experiment on a stray dog to transplant the human pituitary gland and testicles.
As a test subject, he used a stray dog Sharik. The results of his experiment exceeded expectations, as Sharik began to take on a human form. However, as a result of this physical and psychological humanization, Sharik turned into a terrible rude, drunkard and violator of law and order. The professor connected this with the fact that he transplanted the organs of Klim Chugunkin, a brawler, a recidivist thief, an alcoholic and a bully, to the dog. Over time, rumors about a dog that turned into a man leaked out and the creation of Preobrazhensky was issued an official document in the name of Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. Moreover, the chairman of the house committee, Shvonder, forced Philip Fillipovich to register Sharikov in the apartment as a full-fledged inhabitant.
Sharikov is the complete antipode of the professor, which leads to an insoluble conflict. When Preobrazhensky asked him to leave the apartment, the matter ended with threats with a revolver. Without a moment's hesitation, the professor decided to correct his mistake and, having put Sharikov to sleep, performed a second operation, which returned the dog's good heart and former appearance.
Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov- the main negative character of the story "Heart of a Dog", the man into whom the dog Sharik turned after the operation of Professor Preobrazhensky. At the beginning of the story, it was a kind and harmless dog, who was picked up by the professor. After an experimental operation to implant human organs, he gradually assumed a human form and acted like a person, albeit immoral. His moral qualities left much to be desired, since the transplanted organs belonged to the deceased recidivist thief Klim Chugunkin. Soon, the newly converted dog was given the name Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov and presented with a passport.
Sharikov became a real problem for the professor. He was rowdy, pestered neighbors, molested servants, used foul language, got into fights, stole and drank heavily. As a result, it became clear that he inherited all these habits from the former owner of the transplanted pituitary gland. Immediately after receiving a passport, he got a job as the head of the subdepartment for cleaning Moscow from stray animals. Sharikov's cynicism and heartlessness forced the professor to perform another operation to turn him back into a dog. Fortunately, Sharik's pituitary gland was preserved in him, so at the end of the story Sharikov again became a kind and affectionate dog, without boorish habits.
Bormental Ivan Arnoldovich- one of the main characters of the story "Heart of a Dog" by M. A. Bulgakov, assistant and assistant to Professor Preobrazhensky. This young doctor is fundamentally honest and noble by nature. He is completely devoted to his teacher and is always ready to help. He cannot be called weak-willed, because at the right time he knows how to show firmness of character. Preobrazhensky accepted Bormental as an assistant when he was still a student at the department. Immediately after graduation, a capable student became an assistant professor.
In a conflict situation that arose between Sharikov and Preobrazhensky, he takes the side of the professor and tries his best to protect him and other characters. Sharikov was once just a stray dog that was picked up and adopted by a professor. For the purposes of the experiment, the human pituitary gland and testicles were transplanted to him. Over time, the dog not only became human, but also began to behave like a person, like the previous owner of the transplanted organs - thief and recidivist Klim Chugunkin. When the rumor about the new resident reached the house committee, Sharik was given documents in the name of Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov and was registered in the professor's apartment.
Bormental carefully monitored the behavior of this impudent and ill-mannered creature, not shunning even physical violence. He had to move in with the professor for a while to help deal with Sharikov, whom he almost strangled in a rage. Then the professor had to perform a second operation to turn Sharikov back into a dog.
Shvonder- a minor character in the story "Heart of a Dog", a proletarian, the new head of the house committee. He played an important role in introducing Sharikov into society. Despite this, the author does not give him a detailed description. This is not a person, but a public person, a generalized image of the proletariat. All that is known about his appearance is that a thick mop of curly hair towered on his head. He does not like class enemies, to which he refers Professor Prebrazhensky and demonstrates this in every possible way.
For Schwonder, the most important thing in the world is a "document", that is, a piece of paper. Having learned that an unregistered person lives in Philip Philipovich's apartment, he immediately obliges him to register him and issue a passport in the name of Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. He does not care where this man came from and the fact that Sharikov is just a dog transformed as a result of the experiment. Shvonder bows before the authorities, believes in the power of laws, regulations and documents. He does not even care that the professor has made a real revolution in science and medicine. For him, Sharikov is just another unit of society, a tenant of an apartment who needs to be registered.
At one time, the satirical story of M. Bulgakov caused a lot of talk. In "Heart of a Dog" the heroes of the work are bright and memorable; the plot is fantasy mixed with reality and a subtext in which sharp criticism of Soviet power is openly read. Therefore, the work was very popular among dissidents in the 60s, and in the 90s, after its official publication, it was completely recognized as prophetic.
The theme of the tragedy of the Russian people is clearly visible in this work, in the "Heart of a Dog" the main characters enter into an irreconcilable conflict among themselves and will never understand each other. And, although the proletarians won in this confrontation, Bulgakov in the novel reveals to us the whole essence of the revolutionaries and their type of new person in the person of Sharikov, leading to the idea that they will not create or do anything good.
There are only three main characters in Heart of a Dog, and the narration is mainly conducted from Bormental's diary and through the dog's monologue.
The character that appeared as a result of the operation from the mongrel Sharik. The transplantation of the pituitary and gonads of the drunkard and rowdy Klim Chugunkin turned a sweet and friendly dog into Polygraph Polygraphych, a parasite and a hooligan.
Sharikov embodies all the negative features of the new society: he spits on the floor, throws cigarette butts, does not know how to use the restroom and constantly swears. But even this is not the worst - Sharikov quickly learned to write denunciations and found a calling in the murder of his eternal enemies, cats. And while he deals only with cats, the author makes it clear that he will do the same with people who stand in his way.
This is the low power of the people and Bulgakov saw a threat to the whole society in the rudeness and narrow-mindedness with which the new revolutionary government solves issues.
An experimenter who uses innovative developments in solving the problem of rejuvenation through organ transplants. He is a well-known world scientist, a surgeon respected by all, whose "speaking" surname gives him the right to experiment with nature.
Used to live in a big way - servants, a house of seven rooms, chic dinners. His patients are former nobles and the highest revolutionary officials who patronize him.
Preobrazhensky is a solid, successful and self-confident person. The professor - an opponent of any terror and Soviet power, calls them "blathers and idlers." He considers affection the only way to communicate with living beings and denies the new government precisely for radical methods and violence. His opinion: if people are accustomed to culture, then devastation will disappear.
The rejuvenation operation gave an unexpected result - the dog turned into a man. But the man came out completely useless, not amenable to education and absorbing the worst. Philipp Philippovich concludes that nature is not a field for experiments, and he interfered in its laws in vain.
Ivan Arnoldovich is completely devoted to his teacher. At one time, Preobrazhensky took an active part in the fate of a half-starved student - he enrolled in the department, and then took him on as an assistant.
The young doctor tried in every possible way to culturally develop Sharikov, and then moved to the professor altogether, as it became more and more difficult to cope with a new person.
The apotheosis was the denunciation that Sharikov wrote against the professor. At the climax, when Sharikov took out a revolver and was ready to use it, it was Bromenthal who showed firmness and rigidity, while Preobrazhensky hesitated, not daring to kill his creation.
The positive characterization of the heroes of "Heart of a Dog" emphasizes how important honor and dignity are for the author. Bulgakov described himself and his relatives in many of the features of both doctors, and in many respects would have acted the same way as they did.
The newly elected chairman of the house committee, who hates the professor as a class enemy. This is a schematic hero, without deep reasoning.
Shvonder completely bows to the new revolutionary government and its laws, and sees in Sharikov not a person, but a new useful unit of society - he can buy textbooks and magazines, participate in meetings.
Sh. can be called Sharikov's ideological mentor, he tells him about the rights in Preobrazhensky's apartment and teaches him to write denunciations. The chairman of the house committee, because of his narrow-mindedness and lack of education, always hesitates and passes in conversations with the professor, but this makes him hate him even more.
The list of characters in the story would not be complete without two au pairs - Zina and Daria Petrovna. They recognize the superiority of the professor, and, like Bormental, are completely devoted to him and agree to commit a crime for the sake of their beloved master. They proved this at the time of the second operation to turn Sharikov into a dog, when they were on the side of the doctors and exactly followed all their instructions.
You got acquainted with the characterization of the heroes of Bulgakov's "Heart of a Dog", a fantastic satire that anticipated the collapse of Soviet power immediately after its appearance - the author, back in 1925, showed the whole essence of those revolutionaries and what they are capable of.
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