Analysis of the fairy tale in the captain's daughter. What is the meaning of the Kalmyk fairy tale told by Pugachev to Grinev

Roman by A.S. Pushkin “The Captain's Daughter”
excerpt from chapter 11 “Rebel Settlement”
"KALMYK TALE"

(Pugachev) I’ll tell you a fairy tale that an old Kalmyk woman told me as a child. One day an eagle asked a raven: tell me, raven bird, why have you lived in this world for three hundred years, and I am only thirty-three years old? “Because, father,” the raven answered him, “you drink living blood, and I feed on carrion.” The eagle thought: let's try and eat the same thing. Fine. The eagle and the raven flew away. They saw a dead horse; came down and sat down. The raven began to peck and praise. The eagle pecked once, pecked again, waved its wing and said to the raven: no, brother raven; Instead of eating carrion for three hundred years, it’s better to drink living blood once, and then God willing! - What is a Kalmyk fairy tale?

(Grinev) “Intricate,” I answered him. - But to live by murder and robbery means, for me, to peck at carrion.

Pugachev looked at me in surprise and did not answer. We both fell silent, each immersed in our own thoughts. The Tatar began to sing a sad song...

1. Translate the text of this parable from figurative language into clear, simple language.
2. Which of the heroes of the parable does Pugachev relate himself to? Imagine yourself in Pugachev’s place, pick up idioms, describing Pugachev’s position and arguments in defense of his position.
3. Imagine yourself in Grinev's place. What meaning does Grinev put into his answer to Pugachev? Choose catchphrases that describe Grinev’s position and arguments defending his position.
4. If you came across this parable by itself (in life, not in a novel), how would you explain it? Find illustrative examples of the eagle and raven positions by referring to literary works, biographies of famous people, feature films and so on.

the meaning of the Kalmyk fairy tale in the captain's daughter and received the best answer

Answer from Yuri Didyk[guru]
You probably remember what fairy tale Pugachev told Grinev in A. S. Pushkin’s story “The Captain’s Daughter”?
“Listen,” said Pugachev with some wild inspiration. “I’ll tell you a fairy tale that an old Kalmyk woman told me when I was a child.” One day an eagle asked a raven: “Tell me, raven bird, why have you lived in this world for 300 years, and I am only 33 years old? - “Because, father,” the raven answered him, “that you drink living blood, and I feed on carrion.” The eagle thought: “Let’s try and eat the same.” Fine. The eagle and the raven flew away. They saw a dead horse, they went down and sat down. The raven began to peck and praise. The eagle pecked once, pecked again, waved its wing and said to the raven: “No, brother raven: rather than eat carrion for 300 years, it’s better to drink living blood, and then what God will give!” » – What is a Kalmyk fairy tale?
“Intricate,” I answered him. But to live by murder and robbery means, for me, to peck at carrion.
Pugachev looked at me in surprise and did not answer anything.”
It’s strange, but researchers hardly mention this episode: either in passing or not at all.
The teacher at school explained its meaning to us this way: Grinev, they say, with his noble limitations, cannot understand Pugachev’s broad nature, his answer is out of tune and out of place, and Pugachev remained silent, realizing the gulf between them.
It turned out (however, it was suspected before) that the teacher did not come up with this herself. In a manual for teachers, published in stagnant times, we read: “Pugachev takes desperate risks... His broad nature is alien to compromise solutions... Grinev’s abstract humanism looked at least naive; Pugachev could have easily refuted his objections. But, wanting to show the magnitude of Pugachev’s personality, Pushkin... seems to make it clear to the reader that the leader of the uprising knew how to listen to judgments that ran counter to his own ideas.”
Thus, according to the laws of class Soviet morality, it turned out that Pugachev’s desperate risk, that is, imposture and the crimes that followed, was the correct line of behavior. He called himself a king - so he was a true king of the people.
The opinion that Pugachev is in the structure Pushkin's work performs the function of a tsar, that he is the real tsar, and Empress Catherine is petty and insignificant against his background, Marina Tsvetaeva expressed more conviction and fervor than all Soviet literary critics combined (although many of them have similar conclusions). Here are a few excerpts from her article “Pushkin and Pugachev”.
"Pushkin is enchanted by Pugachev".
“In The Captain’s Daughter, Pushkin fell under Pugachev’s spell and did not get out from under it until the last line... Charm in his black eyes and black beard, charm in his grin, charm in his dangerous tenderness, charm in his feigned importance.”
“After The Captain's Daughter, I could never fall in love with Catherine II. I’ll say more: I didn’t like her.”
“Against the fiery background of Pugachev - fires, robberies, blizzards, tents, feasts - this one, in a cap and a shower jacket, on a bench, between all sorts of bridges and leaves, seemed to me like a huge white fish, a whitefish. And even unsalted... Let's compare Pugachev and Catherine in real life:
“Come out, beautiful maiden, I give you freedom. I am the sovereign." (Pugachev leading Marya Ivanovna out of prison).
“Excuse me,” she said in an even more affectionate voice, “if I interfere in your affairs, but I am at court...”
How much more regal in his gesture is a man who calls himself a sovereign than an empress who presents herself as a hanger-on.”
Did Marina Ivanovna realize how much water and with what pressure she poured into the mill of Soviet propaganda? No, i guess. Yes, and I lived abroad in those years, so this was not written for the Soviet reader. Well, God be her judge... It is well known that “The Captain’s Daughter” is not the only work of Pushkin dedicated to the Pugachev uprising. Two years before the release of the story, the research work “The History of Pugachev” was published, where the author, with all possible scrupulousness, recreates the true events from the appearance of

What is the meaning of the Kalmyk fairy tale told by Pugachev to Grinev. In the novel Captain's daughter? and got the best answer

Answer from Maria Yankina[guru]
In the fairy tale, a raven feeds on carrion and lives for 300 years, and an eagle feeds on living blood and lives for 33 years. For Pugachev, to live like a raven - like serfs lived, in eternal submission. It’s better for the people to try, like an eagle, even if it’s short and bloody, but to be free. The eagle was unable to feed on carrion, although it wanted to live long. And people will not be able to live according to other people's laws, being someone else's property.
For Grinev, the meaning of the fairy tale is different; he answers Pugachev that for him killing is the same as eating carrion. That is, Grinev does not support the attempt to win freedom in such a bloody, terrible way.

Answer from Liudmila Sharukhia[guru]
The episode with the fairy tale is the culmination in revealing the image of Pugachev. It has many meanings, and therefore it cannot be reduced (as is often done) to extracting a moral from a fairy tale, declaring that it allegorically glorifies the brave short life. The tale reveals the depth of Pugachev's spiritual renewal. The lively, large, sparkling eyes, which Grinev remembered so much and enchanted him, predicted Pugachev’s ability to have high feelings, “to wild inspiration.” The whole scene is constructed in such a way that the fairy tale poetically and directly conveys secret meaning real life Pugacheva: everything known about him convinces us that this man of eagle nature cannot live according to the laws of the raven, he does not see the point in a long life if he needs to eat carrion. There is another life - albeit short, but free: “... It’s better to get drunk with living blood once, and then what God will give!”

Answer from Daria Vanina[newbie]
The meaning of the fairy tale is that it is better to live a short life, but bright life than long and boring

the meaning of the Kalmyk fairy tale in the captain's daughter and received the best answer

Answer from Yuri Didyk[guru]
You probably remember what fairy tale Pugachev told Grinev in A. S. Pushkin’s story “The Captain’s Daughter”?
“Listen,” said Pugachev with some wild inspiration. “I’ll tell you a fairy tale that an old Kalmyk woman told me when I was a child.” One day an eagle asked a raven: “Tell me, raven bird, why have you lived in this world for 300 years, and I am only 33 years old? - “Because, father,” the raven answered him, “that you drink living blood, and I feed on carrion.” The eagle thought: “Let’s try and eat the same.” Fine. The eagle and the raven flew away. They saw a dead horse, they went down and sat down. The raven began to peck and praise. The eagle pecked once, pecked again, waved its wing and said to the raven: “No, brother raven: rather than eat carrion for 300 years, it’s better to drink living blood, and then what God will give!” » – What is a Kalmyk fairy tale?
“Intricate,” I answered him. But to live by murder and robbery means, for me, to peck at carrion.
Pugachev looked at me in surprise and did not answer anything.”
It’s strange, but researchers hardly mention this episode: either in passing or not at all.
The teacher at school explained its meaning to us this way: Grinev, they say, with his noble limitations, cannot understand Pugachev’s broad nature, his answer is out of tune and out of place, and Pugachev remained silent, realizing the gulf between them.
It turned out (however, it was suspected before) that the teacher did not come up with this herself. In a manual for teachers, published in stagnant times, we read: “Pugachev takes desperate risks... His broad nature is alien to compromise solutions... Grinev’s abstract humanism looked at least naive; Pugachev could have easily refuted his objections. But, wanting to show the magnitude of Pugachev’s personality, Pushkin... seems to make it clear to the reader that the leader of the uprising knew how to listen to judgments that ran counter to his own ideas.”
Thus, according to the laws of class Soviet morality, it turned out that Pugachev’s desperate risk, that is, imposture and the crimes that followed, was the correct line of behavior. He called himself a king - so he was a true king of the people.
The opinion that Pugachev, in the structure of Pushkin’s work, performs the function of a tsar, that he is the real tsar, and Empress Catherine is petty and insignificant against his background, was expressed more convincingly and passionately than all Soviet literary scholars combined (although many of them have similar conclusions) Marina Tsvetaeva. Here are a few excerpts from her article “Pushkin and Pugachev”.
"Pushkin is enchanted by Pugachev".
“In The Captain’s Daughter, Pushkin fell under Pugachev’s spell and did not get out from under it until the last line... Charm in his black eyes and black beard, charm in his grin, charm in his dangerous tenderness, charm in his feigned importance.”
“After The Captain's Daughter, I could never fall in love with Catherine II. I’ll say more: I didn’t like her.”
“Against the fiery background of Pugachev - fires, robberies, blizzards, tents, feasts - this one, in a cap and a shower jacket, on a bench, between all sorts of bridges and leaves, seemed to me like a huge white fish, a whitefish. And even unsalted... Let's compare Pugachev and Catherine in real life:
“Come out, beautiful maiden, I give you freedom. I am the sovereign." (Pugachev leading Marya Ivanovna out of prison).
“Excuse me,” she said in an even more affectionate voice, “if I interfere in your affairs, but I am at court...”
How much more regal in his gesture is a man who calls himself a sovereign than an empress who presents herself as a hanger-on.”
Did Marina Ivanovna realize how much water and with what pressure she poured into the mill of Soviet propaganda? No, i guess. Yes, and I lived abroad in those years, so this was not written for the Soviet reader. Well, God be her judge... It is well known that “The Captain’s Daughter” is not the only work of Pushkin dedicated to the Pugachev uprising. Two years before the release of the story, the research work “The History of Pugachev” was published, where the author, with all possible scrupulousness, recreates the true events from the appearance of

Circumstances brought the main character of the novel “The Captain's Daughter” Grinev together with the robber Pugachev. Together they went to the Belogorsk fortress to free an orphan who was languishing there, and on the way they spoke openly. What is the meaning of the Kalmyk fairy tale, told by Pugachev in response to Grinev’s proposal to surrender to the mercy of the empress, will remain a mystery to those unfamiliar with Russian history.

Who is Pugachev, described by Pushkin in “The Captain's Daughter”

The sinister and mysterious character Emelyan Pugachev is real historical figure. This Don Cossack became the leader of the Peasant War in the 70s of the 18th century. He declared himself Peter III and, with the support of the Cossacks, dissatisfied with the existing government, raised an uprising. Some cities received the rebels with bread and salt, others defended themselves from last bit of strength from the invasion of rioters. Thus, the city of Orenburg survived a grueling siege that lasted six months.

What is the meaning of Pugachev’s Kalmyk fairy tale is clear to those who know about the Pugachev rebellion

In October 1773, Pugachev's army, joined by Tatars, Bashkirs and Kalmyks, approached Orenburg. The action of chapter 11 of the story “The Captain's Daughter,” which describes Guryev’s conversation with Pugachev, takes place during that terrible winter of the Orenburg siege.

What is said in the fairy tale told by Pugachev

In a tent on the winter road leading to the Belogorsk fortress, a conversation takes place in which the future fate and true thoughts of the leader of the Peasant War are revealed. When asked by Grinev about the meaning and purpose of the uprising, Pugachev admits that it is doomed to defeat. He does not believe in the loyalty of his people, he knows that they will betray him at the right moment to save their lives.

On the offer to surrender to the authorities, a robber, for sure to a small child, tells Grinev a fairy tale about a raven and an eagle. Its meaning is that the eagle, wanting to live 300 years, asks the raven for advice. The raven invites the eagle not to kill, but to eat carrion, as he does.