What qualities of the ball disappeared after the operation. The image and characteristics of Sharikov, Bulgakov’s heart of a dog, essay

Subject of the work

At one time, M. Bulgakov’s satirical story 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 subtext, in which sharp criticism of the Soviet regime is openly read. Therefore, the work was very popular in the 60s among dissidents, and in the 90s, after its official publication, it was even recognized as prophetic.

The theme of the tragedy of the Russian people is clearly visible in this work; in “Heart of a Dog” the main characters enter into an irreconcilable conflict with each other 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 man in the person of Sharikov, leading us 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 narrative is mainly told from Bormenthal’s diary and through the dog’s monologue.

Characteristics of the main characters

Sharikov

A character who appeared as a result of an operation from the mongrel Sharik. A transplant of the pituitary gland and gonads of the drunkard and rowdy Klim Chugunkin turned a sweet and friendly dog ​​into Poligraf Poligrafych, a parasite and a hooligan.
Sharikov embodies all the negative traits of the new society: he spits on the floor, throws cigarette butts, does not know how to use the restroom and constantly swears. But this is not even the worst thing - Sharikov quickly learned to write denunciations and found a calling in killing 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.

Bulgakov saw this base power of the people and a threat to the entire society in the rudeness and narrow-mindedness with which the new revolutionary government resolves issues.

Professor Preobrazhensky

An experimenter who uses innovative developments in solving the problem of rejuvenation through organ transplantation. He is a famous world scientist, a respected surgeon, whose “speaking” surname gives him the right to experiment with nature.

I was used to living in grand style - servants, a house of seven rooms, luxurious dinners. His patients are former nobles and high revolutionary officials who patronize him.

Preobrazhensky is a respectable, successful and self-confident person. The professor, an opponent of any terror and Soviet power, calls them “idlers and idlers.” He considers affection the only way to communicate with living beings and denies the new government precisely for its radical methods and violence. His opinion: if people are accustomed to culture, then the devastation will disappear.

The rejuvenation operation yielded an unexpected result - the dog turned into a human. But the man turned out to be completely useless, uneducable and absorbing the worst. Philip Philipovich concludes that nature is not a field for experiments and he interfered with its laws in vain.

Dr. Bormental

Ivan Arnoldovich is completely and completely devoted to his teacher. At one time, Preobrazhensky took an active part in the fate of a half-starved student - he enrolled him in the department, and then took him on as an assistant.

The young doctor tried in every possible way to develop Sharikov culturally, and then completely moved in with the professor, as it became more and more difficult to cope with the 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 toughness, 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 self-dignity are for the author. Bulgakov described himself and his doctor-relatives in many of the same traits as both doctors, and in many ways would have acted the same way as them.

Shvonder

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 in Sharikov he sees 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 his rights in Preobrazhensky’s apartment and teaches him how to write denunciations. The chairman of the house committee, due to his narrow-mindedness and lack of education, always hesitates and gives in in conversations with the professor, but this makes him hate him even more.

Other heroes

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 Bormenthal, 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 repeated operation to transform Sharikov into a dog, when they were on the side of the doctors and accurately followed all their instructions.

You have become acquainted with the characteristics of the heroes of Bulgakov’s “Heart of a Dog,” a fantastic satire that anticipated the collapse of Soviet power immediately after its emergence - the author, back in 1925, showed the whole essence of those revolutionaries and what they were capable of.

Work test

Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov is a clearly negative character in Mikhail Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog,” which combines three genres at once: fantasy, satire and dystopia.

Previously, he was an ordinary stray dog ​​Sharik, but after a bold experiment conducted by the talented surgeon Professor Preobrazhensky and his assistant Dr. Bormental, he becomes human. Having come up with a new name for himself and even acquired a passport, Sharikov begins a new life and fans the fire of class struggle with his creator, laying claim to his living space and “upgrading” his rights in every possible way.

Characteristics of the main character

Poligraf Poligrafovich is an unusual and unique creature that appeared as a result of a transplant of the pituitary gland and seminal glands from a human donor to a dog. The random donor was balalaika player, repeat offender and parasite Klim Chugunkin. On the eve of the operation, he is killed with a knife in the heart in a drunken fight and a professor conducting research in the field of rejuvenation of the human body uses his organs for scientific purposes. However, a pituitary gland transplant does not provide a rejuvenation effect, but leads to the humanization of the former dog and its transformation into Sharikov in just a few weeks.

(Vladimir Tolokonnikov as Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov, film "Heart of a Dog", USSR 1988)

The appearance of the new “man” turned out to be quite unpleasant and one might say repulsive: short stature, hair that was coarse and growing like bushes in an uprooted field, a face almost completely covered with down, a low forehead, thick eyebrows. From the former Sharik, who was the most ordinary yard dog, battered by life and people, ready to do anything for a tasty-smelling piece of sausage, but with a loyal and kind heart of a dog, the new Sharikov has only an innate hatred of cats, which influenced his choice of future profession - head of the department for cleaning the city of Moscow from stray animals (including cats). But Klim Chugunkin’s heredity was fully manifested: here you have unbridled drunkenness, arrogance, rudeness, blatant savagery and immorality, and finally an accurate and sure “sniff” for the class enemy, who turned out to be his creator, Professor Preobrazhensky.

Sharikov brazenly declares to everyone that he is a simple worker and proletariat, fights for his rights and demands to be treated with respect. He comes up with a name for himself, decides to get a passport in order to finally legitimize his identity in society, gets a job as a stray cat catcher and even decides to get married. Having become, as he thinks, a full-fledged member of society, he considers himself entitled to tyranny over his class enemies Bormental and Preobrazhensky, brazenly lays claim to part of the living space in order to arrange his personal life, with the help of Shvonder concocts a false denunciation against the professor and threatens him with a revolver. An outstanding surgeon and world-famous luminary, having suffered a complete fiasco in his experiment and failure in raising the resulting humanoid monster Sharikov, commits a deliberate crime - he puts him to sleep and, with the help of another operation, turns him back into a dog.

The image of the hero in the work

The image of Sharikov was created by Bulgakov as a reaction to the events taking place at that time (20-30s of the 20th century), the Bolsheviks coming to power and his attitude towards the proletariat as builders of a new life. Sharikov's impressive portrayal gives readers a clear description of a very dangerous social phenomenon that arose in post-revolutionary Russia. Very often, such terrible people as Sharikov gained power into their own hands, which led to terrifying consequences, destruction and destruction of all the best that had been created over the centuries.

What normal intelligent people (such as Bormental and Preobrazhensky) considered savagery and immorality was considered the norm in the society of that time: living at the expense of others, informing on everyone and everything, treating smart and intelligent people with contempt, etc. It’s not for nothing that the professor is still trying to remake and educate the “rare scum” Sharikov, while the new government accepts him as he is, supports him in every possible way and considers him a full-fledged member of society. That is, for them he is a completely normal person, not at all outside the scope of normal behavior.

In the story, Preobrazhensky, having realized his mistake in interfering in the affairs of nature, manages to correct everything and destroy his terrible creation. However, in life everything is much more complicated and confusing, it is impossible to make society better and cleaner with the help of revolutionary violent methods, such an attempt is doomed to failure in advance, and history itself proves this.

In the story “The 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 gateways in search of food. Through his eyes, the reader imagines not the front door, but grey, dank, uncomfortable Moscow of the twenties. We are filled with sincere sympathy for the poor fellow, who has never known affection and warmth.
Sharik’s confession is sad: “Didn’t they hit you with a boot? They beat me. Did you get hit in the ribs with a brick? There is enough food. I have experienced everything, I am at peace with my fate, and if I cry now, it is only from physical pain and hunger, because my spirit has not yet faded.” It was an intelligent, noble, friendly, harmless animal. Sharik, like a dog, felt sorry for the secretary who found herself in the cold in thin stockings, knowing about her “penny” life. He loved and respected Professor Preobrazhensky not only for his warm, cozy accommodation and delicious food. The dog watched what Philip Philipovich looked like, 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 story. In Bormental’s diary we read: “Klim Grigoryevich Chugunkin, 25 years old, single. Non-partisan, sympathetic. He was tried three times and acquitted: the first time due to a lack of evidence, the second time his origin saved him, the third time he was given a conditional sentence of 15 years of hard labor. Theft. Profession: playing the balalaika in taverns.”
Sharikov’s speech after the operation is replete with vulgar expressions (“Get in line, sons of bitches, get in line”, “scoundrel”). Outwardly, he is just as unpleasant: “A man of small stature and unshaven appearance... with dull 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. But the influence of the house committee of Shvonder, who does not burden the “new man” with any cultural programs other than the revolutionary one - those who were nothing will become everything - is very effective. It is in his words that Sharikov says: “Where is it!” We didn’t study at universities, we didn’t live in fifteen-room apartments with baths. Only now it’s time to leave it... Everyone has their right.”
Sharikov realized that he was a “hard worker” because he was neither a nepoman nor a professor who lived in seven rooms and had forty pairs of pants. "Worker" because he has no property. He quickly learned to demand without feeling any shame or embarrassment in front of Preobrazhensky.
Sharikov sensed that he could put pressure on the professor, claim the right to his name, documents, and living space. And on what basis? Based on a new ideology that proclaimed the supremacy of the proletariat - mostly narrow-minded people who did not know what to do with the power they received. Sharikov is a hyperbolized, disfigured reflection of the “labor element.”
The situation looks paradoxical: 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 scared like a pitiful animal.
Shvonder fights for Sharikov’s soul, instilling in him impudence and 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 Shvonder state - I’ll push someone aside and I’ll do it.” These are the fruits of the revolutionary “cultivation” of the masses. Bulgakov agrees with Bormenthal: “Here, doctor, is what happens when a researcher, instead of going parallel with nature, forces the question and lifts the curtain: here, get Sharikov and eat him with porridge.”
In Sharikov, fantastic impudence is growing every day. He treats the professor disrespectfully, familiarly calling him “daddy.” 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 the kind, harmless dog Sharik. The work ends with his monologue: “I registered here...”.
Sharik the narrator, of course, stands at a lower level than Professor Preobrazhensky and Bormental, but his level of development is much higher than Shvonder and Sharikov. This intermediate position of the Dog Ball in the work emphasizes the dramatic position of a person facing 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 this choice, and it depended only on the individual which path he would choose.

Ball- the main character of M. A. Bulgakov’s fantastic story “The Heart of a Dog”, a stray dog ​​who was picked up and sheltered by Professor Preobrazhensky. This is an eternally hungry, frozen, homeless dog that wanders in the gateways 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 anyone for food, lies against the cold wall and waits for the end. But suddenly the smell of sausage comes from somewhere and he, unable to bear it, follows her. A mysterious gentleman walked along the sidewalk, who not only treated him to sausage, but also invited him to his home. 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 the roast beef. The rest of the residents of the professor's large apartment also treated Sharik well. In return, 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, knew exactly where the Glavryba store was in Moscow, where the meat counters were. Soon something strange happened to him. Professor Preobrazhensky decided to conduct an amazing experiment on human organ transplantation.

The experiment was a success, but after that Sharik gradually began to take on a human form and behave like the previous owner of the transplanted organs - the thief and repeat offender Klim Grigorievich Chugunkin, who died in a fight. So Sharik turned from a kind and smart dog into an ill-mannered boor, an alcoholic and a rowdy named Poligraph Poligrafovich Sharikov.

“Heart of a Dog” characteristic of Preobrazhensky

Preobrazhensky Philip Philipovich- the central character of M. A. Bulgakov’s fantastic story “The Heart of a Dog”, a luminary of medicine of world significance, 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 a human pituitary gland and testes.

He used the stray dog ​​Sharik as a test subject. The results of his experiment exceeded expectations, as Sharik began to take on a human appearance. However, as a result of this physical and psychological humanization, Sharik turned into a terrible rude man, a drunkard and a lawbreaker. The professor connected this with the fact that he transplanted the organs of Klim Chugunkin, a rowdy, repeat offender, alcoholic and hooligan, into the dog. Over time, rumors about a dog that turned into a man leaked to the light and an official document was issued to Preobrazhensky’s creation 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 acts as the complete opposite 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 hesitating a moment longer, the professor decided to correct his mistake and, having put Sharikov to sleep, performed a second operation, which returned the dog’s kind heart and former appearance.

“Heart of a Dog” characteristic of Sharikov

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 that the professor picked up. After an experimental operation to implant human organs, he gradually took on a human form and behaved like a human, albeit an immoral one. His moral qualities left much to be desired, since the transplanted organs belonged to the deceased repeat offender Klim Chugunkin. Soon the newly converted dog was given the name Poligraf Poligrafovich Sharikov and given a passport.

Sharikov became a real problem for the professor. He was rowdy, harassed neighbors, pestered servants, used foul language, got into fights, stole and drank a lot. As a result, it became clear that he inherited all these habits from the previous owner of the transplanted pituitary gland. Immediately after receiving his passport, he got a job as the head of the department for clearing Moscow of stray animals. Sharikov's cynicism and callousness forced the professor to carry out another operation to turn him back into a dog. Fortunately, he still had Sharikov’s pituitary gland, so at the end of the story Sharikov again became a kind and affectionate dog, without boorish habits.

“Heart of a Dog” characteristic of Bormenthal

Bormental Ivan Arnoldovich- one of the main characters of M. A. Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog”, 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, since at the right moment he knows how to show strength of character. Preobrazhensky accepted Bormental as an assistant when he was still a student at the department. Immediately after graduation, the capable student became an assistant professor.

In a conflict situation that arose between Sharikov and Preobrazhensky, he takes the professor’s side and tries in every possible way to protect him and other characters. Sharikov was once just a stray dog ​​that was picked up and sheltered by a professor. For experimental purposes, the human pituitary gland and testes were transplanted into him. Over time, the dog not only became more human, but also began to behave like a person, like the previous owner of the transplanted organs - the thief and repeat offender Klim Chugunkin. When rumors 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.

Bormenthal carefully monitored the behavior of this impudent and ill-mannered creature, not even disdaining physical violence. He had to temporarily move in with the professor to help deal with Sharikov, whom he almost strangled in his rage. Then the professor had to perform a second operation to turn Sharikov back into a dog.

“Heart of a Dog” characteristic Shvonder

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 face, a generalized image of the proletariat. All that is known about his appearance is that he had a thick head of curly hair. He does not like class enemies, to which he classifies Professor Prebrazhensky and demonstrates this in every possible way.

For Shvonder, the most important thing in the world is a “document,” that is, a piece of paper. Having learned that Philip Philipovich has an unregistered person living in his apartment, he immediately obliges him to register him and issue a passport in the name of Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. He doesn’t care where this man came from and the fact that Sharikov is just a dog transformed as a result of an experiment. Shvonder bows to power and believes in the power of laws, regulations and documents. He doesn’t even care that the professor has made a real revolution in science and medicine. For him, Sharikov is just another unit of society, an apartment tenant who must be registered.

From an ordinary mongrel dog, the ignorant and dangerous boor Sharikov is formed, inheriting from Klim Chugunkin (donor) not only the pituitary gland, but also an unattractive appearance, bad habits and a tendency to alcoholism. The author shows how gradually, “processed” by the chairman of the house committee Shvonder, Poligraf Poligrafovich (that is the name he chose for himself) makes more and more demands on Professor Preobrazhevsky and becomes a threat to the entire house.

The first words that the dog-man utters are vulgar swearing and tavern vocabulary. Having become a man, he follows the habits and tastes of Klim Chugunkin, a thrice-convicted beer regular, plays the balalaika, dresses in blatant bad taste (a “poisonous-sky-colored” tie, patent leather boots with white leggings). Perhaps Sharikov would have remained within the framework of bad habits, not presenting any particular danger, if not for Shvonder. Supported by the chairman of the house committee, Poligraf Poligrafevich begins to make exorbitant demands. In response to fair comments, he snaps: “Somehow, dad, you’re painfully oppressing me.” Sharikov considers himself to be a labor element. Theater for him is “counter-revolution alone.” The escalation of outrages committed by Sharikov is growing. He already demands to be called by name and patronymic, brings papers from the housing association to a living space of sixteen arshins, to this living space he brings suspicious individuals who turn out to be thieves, and then the bride. The patience of Preobrazhensky and Bormental is running out, but as soon as Sharikov feels threatened, he becomes dangerous. After disappearing for several days, he appears in a new form. “He was wearing a leather jacket from someone else’s shoulder,” In paper; which Sharikov presented to the professor, it was stated that he “is the head of the subdepartment for cleaning the city of Moscow from stray animals (cats, etc.) in the MKH department.” By putting on a leather jacket, Sharikov finds himself “in his specialty,” he felt power and uses it roughly. Inspired by Shvonder, he writes a denunciation against the professor and his assistant, acquires a revolver and ultimately points it at Bormenthal, signing his own death warrant. Having undergone a reverse operation, the dog, of course, does not remember anything and is quite happy with his fate.

The experiment was a failure; the professor himself understands that he has gone too far in his scientific quest. Scientific interest does not justify the monstrous results obtained in the competition with the Creator. The scene of the operation itself is noteworthy: Bulgakov enhances the naturalism and physiology of the description, evoking a feeling of disgust at what is happening. In excitement and excitement, the “creators” of the new human unit themselves lose their human qualities.

It is clear why Bulgakov was then concerned about the problem of such scientific creations: before his eyes, a social experiment, more monstrous in its scale and results, was being carried out, conceived and carried out by political adventurers - the revolution and its consequences. A new type of person was being created - homo soviticus, in whom the satirical writer saw primarily Sharikov.