Animal characters in Russian folk tales. Project “Characters in Russian folk tales Voices of animals of heroes of Russian folk tales”

Project “Animal Characters in Russian
folk tales"

Target: get acquainted with animal characters in Russian folk tales.

Tasks: learn the features of fairy tales about animals, the history and reasons for the appearance of fairy tales with main animal characters, identify the animals most often found in Russian folk tales.

While working on the project, we came to the conclusion that fairy tales about animals- the oldest group of fairy tales based on unusual heroes. These tales are associated with outdated worlds in which animal characters stood at the origins of the creation of the world. The fairy tale shows that people used to try to explain phenomena occurring in nature and were in awe of animals. This is how animal characters appeared in Russian folk tales. In a fairy tale, as in life there is positive and negative characters. Each hero has his own individual character and unique traits. The characteristics of animals in a fairy tale include several distinct characters who personify weakness, awkwardness, stupidity, cunning, cowardice, anger, and strength. We remember Russian folk tales from early childhood, our parents told us when we were 1.2 years old, they remained in our memory. After reading and remembering Russian folk tales, we came to the conclusion that out of the numerous series of animal characters, six of them are the most common.

Fox.

This is a stable image in which cunning, a tendency to deception and tricks dominate. The fox will do anything to get what she wants - she will pretend to be weak and helpless, and use all her charm and eloquence.

Bear.

The bear in fairy tales represents the embodiment of brute force. Sometimes he is fierce, sometimes he is naive and kind. Being the owner of the forest, he has power over other animals, but, nevertheless, he has a simple character. The presence of physical strength in a given animal character practically excludes intelligence - the bear in fairy tales is stupid and is fooled by weak animals.

The cat in fairy tales openly demonstrates his playful disposition; in many stories he turns out to be a robber or even a thief. But at the same time, the cat is distinguished by justice and a lively resourceful mind. Thanks to his eloquence, he gets out of any difficult situations, helps the offended, and protects his friends.

Hare.

Hare- the hero is weak, but cunning. He often acts as the personification of cowardice, however, thanks to his dexterity and resourcefulness, he easily gets out of difficult situations. He can outsmart even a wolf and save his friends.

Rooster.

Rooster in fairy tales appears before us in two forms. In many fairy tales the rooster is portrayed as frivolous and very self-confident. Sometimes he shows disobedience and violates some prohibition. And sometimes in fairy tales he acts as a wise assistant to his friends. Reveals himself as truly fearless and strong positive character Russian fairy tales.

Wolf.

The wolf in fairy tales traditionally represents greed and malice. He is often portrayed as stupid, so he is often fooled by more cunning characters in fairy tales, such as the Fox. The contrast between these two strong animal characters occurs in many fairy tales, and in almost all of them the wolf, being slow-witted and short-sighted, allows himself to be deceived again and again. However, in ancient cultures the image of a wolf was associated with death, so in fairy tales this animal character often eats or wants to eat someone.

Conclusions:

Some fairy-tale heroes cause us antipathy.

We define such heroes by their negative qualities and actions.

We also find the appearance of such heroes unpleasant.

There is no need to try to be like such heroes.

Fairy tales are passed down from generation to generation.

At their core - moral values, which are relevant at all times: kindness, mercy, compassion, mutual assistance. The epigraph from the fairy tale “The Raven King” reads:

Evil lives not only in fairy tales -

He walks in life without fear.

But goodness is still alive -

The ancient tale is not false.

Therefore, our life is impossible without fairy tales!

For children, a fairy tale is an amazing but fictitious story about magical objects, monsters and heroes. However, if you look deeper, it becomes clear that a fairy tale is a unique encyclopedia that reflects the life and moral principles of any people.

Over the course of several hundred years, people came up with huge amount fairy tales Our ancestors passed them on from mouth to mouth. They changed, disappeared and came back again. Moreover, there can be completely different characters. Most often the heroes are Russian folk tales- animals, and in European literature the main characters are often princesses and children.

Fairy tale and its meaning for the people

A fairy tale is a narrative story about fictional events that did not occur in reality with the participation of fictional heroes and magical characters. Fairy tales composed by the people and which are a creation folklore traditions, exist in every country. Residents of Russia are closer to Russian folk tales about animals, kings and Ivan the Fool, residents of England are closer to leprechauns, gnomes, cats, etc.

Fairy tales have a powerful educational power. A child from the cradle listens to fairy tales, associates himself with the characters, puts himself in their place. Thanks to this, he develops a certain model of behavior. Folk tales about animals teach careful attitude to our smaller brothers.

It is also worth noting that Russian fairy tales of an everyday nature include words such as “master”, “man”. This awakens curiosity in the child. With the help of fairy tales, you can interest your child in history.

Everything that is invested in a child in childhood remains with him forever. A child properly raised on fairy tales will grow up to be a decent and sympathetic person.

Composition

Most fairy tales are written according to one system. It represents the following diagram:

1) Initiation. This describes the place where the events will take place. If it’s about animals, then the description will begin with the forest. Here the reader or listener gets acquainted with the main characters.

2) The beginning. At this stage of the tale, the main intrigue occurs, which turns into the beginning of the plot. Let's say the hero has a problem and he must solve it.

3) Climax. It is also called the pinnacle of a fairy tale. Most often this is the middle of the work. The situation is heating up, the most responsible actions are taking place.

4) Denouement. At this point main character solves his problem. All characters live happily ever after (as a rule, folk tales have a good, kind ending).

Most fairy tales are built according to this scheme. It can also be found in original works, only with significant additions.

Russian folk tales

They are a huge block folklore works. Russian fairy tales are varied. Their plots, actions and characters are somewhat similar, but, nevertheless, each is unique in its own way. Sometimes you come across the same folk tales about animals, but their names are different.

All Russian folk tales can be classified as follows:

1) Folk tales about animals, plants and inanimate nature (“Terem-Teremok”, “Rock-hen”, etc.)

2) Magical (“Self-assembled tablecloth”, “Flying ship”).

3) "Vanya rode on a horse...")

4) (“About the white bull”, “The priest had a dog”).

5) Household (“The Master and the Dog”, “Good Priest”, “Good and Bad”, “Pot”).

There are quite a lot of classifications, but we examined the one proposed by V. Ya. Propp, one of the outstanding researchers of Russian fairy tales.

Animal images

Every person who grew up in Russia can list the main animals that are characters in Russian fairy tales. Bear, wolf, fox, hare - these are the heroes of Russian fairy tales. Animals live in the forest. Each of them has its own image, which in literary criticism is called an allegory. For example, the wolf we meet in Russian fairy tales is always hungry and angry. It is always because of his anger or greed that he often gets into trouble.

The bear is the owner of the forest, the king. He is usually portrayed in fairy tales as a fair and wise ruler.

The fox is an allegory of cunning. If this animal is present in a fairy tale, then one of the other heroes will definitely be deceived. The hare is an image of cowardice. He is usually the eternal victim of the fox and wolf who intend to eat him.

So, these are the heroes that Russian folk tales about animals present to us. Let's see how they behave.

Examples

Let's look at some folk tales about animals. The list is huge, we will try to analyze only a few. For example, let's take the fairy tale "The Fox and the Crane". It tells the story of the Fox, who called the Crane to her place for dinner. She prepared some porridge and spread it on a plate. But Crane is uncomfortable eating, so he didn’t get any porridge. Such was the cunning of the thrifty Fox. The Crane invited the Fox to lunch, made okroshka and offered to eat from a high-necked jug. But Lisa never got to the okroshka. Moral of the story: whatever comes around, unfortunately, comes around.

An interesting tale about Kotofey Ivanovich. One man brought a cat to the forest and left it there. A fox found him and married him. She began to tell all the animals how strong and angry he was. The wolf and the bear decided to come and look at him. The fox warned them that it was better for them to hide. They climbed a tree and laid the meat of a bull under it. A cat and a fox came, the cat pounced on the meat and began saying: “Meow, meow...”. And the wolf and the bear think: “Not enough! Not enough!” They marveled and wanted to take a closer look at Kotofey Ivanovich. The leaves rustled, and the cat thought it was a mouse and grabbed their faces with its claws. The wolf and fox ran away.

These are Russian folk tales about animals. As you can see, the fox is fooling everyone.

Animals in English fairy tales

Positive characters in English fairy tales are a hen and a rooster, a cat and a cat, and a bear. The fox and the wolf are always negative characters. It is noteworthy that, according to research by philologists, a cat has never appeared in English fairy tales. negative character.

Like Russian, English folk tales about animals divide characters into good and evil. Good always triumphs over evil. Also, the works have a didactic purpose, that is, at the end there is always moral conclusions for readers.

Examples of English fairy tales about animals

The work "The Cat King" is interesting. It tells the story of two brothers who lived in the forest with a dog and a black cat. One brother was once delayed while hunting. Upon his return, he began to tell miracles. He says he saw the funeral. Many cats carried a coffin with a depicted crown and scepter. Suddenly the black cat lying at his feet raised his head and screamed: “Old Peter is dead! I am the cat king!” After that he jumped into the fireplace. No one saw him again.

Let's take the comical fairy tale "Willy and the Little Pig" as an example. One owner entrusted his stupid servant to take a pig to his friend. However, Willie's friends persuaded him to go to the tavern, and while he was drinking, they jokingly replaced the pig with a dog. Willie thought it was the devil's joke.

Animals in other genres of literature (fables)

It is worth noting that Russian literature includes not only Russian folk tales about animals. It is also rich in fables. Animals in these works have such human qualities as cowardice, kindness, stupidity, and envy. I. A. Krylov especially liked to use animals as characters. His fables “The Crow and the Fox” and “The Monkey and the Glasses” are known to everyone.

Thus, we can conclude that the use of animals in fairy tales and fables gives literature a special charm and style. Moreover, in English and Russian literature the heroes are the same animals. Only their stories and characteristics are completely different.

Quiz “Animals – heroes of fairy tales”

Quiz on fairy tales for students primary school

List of materials used
1. Russian folk tales: From the collection of A.N. Afanasyev / Intro. article by V. Anikin; ill. N. Kaminsky. - M.: Pravda, 1982.- 576 p.: ill.
2. Russian folk tales / Comp., intro. Art. and note. V.P. Anikina; Drawings by E. Korotkova, N. Kochergin, I. Kuznetsov, K. Kuznetsov, V. Milashevsky, B. Shakhov; Design of B. Shkolnik.- I.: Det. lit., 1986.- 543 p.: ill.
3. My favorite songs (Electronic resource). - 2001, SIMAZ

Animals in fairy tales represent certain human types: a cunning fox, a kind and defenseless hare, a strong but stupid bear. The relationship between such characters is a human relationship, a person as such is “superfluous” in this world, and people, as a rule, do not appear in such fairy tales.

On the other hand, animals that behave like people (speak, make decisions, give advice, etc.) often appear in fairy tales about people. They seem to become intermediaries between two fairy-tale “universes” - the world of animals and the world of people. Most often, either a horse or a wolf acts as such an “intermediary.” In fairy tales entirely devoted to animals, the wolf appears much more often than the horse.

It is noteworthy that the interpretation of the image of the wolf in Russian fairy tales is practically no different from its embodiment in the folklore of other peoples, which indicates the antiquity of the stories associated with it. Therefore, when talking about the image of the wolf in Russian fairy tales, one cannot confine oneself to the confines of Russian folklore itself.

Wolf as a negative character

In fairy tales about animals, the wolf most often appears as an aggressive, dangerous creature - a real robber who should be feared. One of the most famous examples This kind of fairy tale “The Wolf and”, known not only in the Russian tradition. A meeting with such a character does not bode well even for a person. It is no coincidence that in the story of Little Red Riding Hood, also taken by Charles Perrault from European folklore, it is the wolf who becomes the enemy of the main character.

If a wolf can be defeated, it is done not by force, but by cunning. Most often this is done by the fox, which is traditionally attributed this quality. This asserts that it is impossible to defeat force with force, aggression with aggression.

This perception of the wolf is not surprising. Fear of these animals arose long before the advent of cattle breeding, for which they became “enemy No. 1.” There was nothing irrational in this guard: the wolf is a predator, quite capable of killing a person.

The fear was aggravated by the nocturnal lifestyle of wolves. The night has always scared people. In the dark, vision, the main human “supplier of information,” does not work well; a person becomes defenseless. Nocturnal animals, which are well oriented in an alien and dangerous environment for humans, have never inspired people with confidence. This was especially true for dangerous predators, who had an advantage over humans at night.

The demonization of the wolf was aggravated by the binary opposition “friend or foe.” Before the emergence of cattle breeding, any animal was “alien” from a human point of view. But if a deer, for example, was to a certain extent “one of ours” because it could be eaten, then the wolf was not a source of food. Ancient people did not know that they were forest orderlies, and they did not immediately realize that a wolf cub could be tamed, raised and used for hunting. They did not see any practical benefit from wolves, so wolves in their eyes were completely alien human world. Alien means enemy.

But, paradoxically, the wolf does not always appear as a negative character in fairy tales. And even such familiar stories from childhood as “The Wolf and the Little Goats” and “Little Red Riding Hood” are not as straightforward as they might seem.

The duality of the wolf

If in fairy tales about animals the image of a wolf is more or less unambiguous - a cruel but not endowed with intelligence robber, then in fairy tales about people the wolf often acts as a magical assistant. It is this fairy-tale wolf that A.S. Pushkin mentions in the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”:

“In the dungeon there the princess is grieving,
And the brown wolf serves her faithfully.”

In the fairy tale “Tsarevich Ivan and the Gray Wolf,” it is the wolf who comes to the aid of the hero, and here he can no longer be called a negative character.

Duality folklore image The wolf becomes even more obvious if you go beyond the fairy tale itself and look at the image in a broader mythological context.

Notable in this regard is the famous notebook of Novgorod Onfim, which lifted the veil of secrecy over inner world child from medieval Rus'. The drawings in this notebook embody ordinary boyish dreams of exploits and military glory. But one drawing causes bewilderment: a four-legged creature, in which one can guess a wolf, and next to it is the inscription “I am a beast.” If the boy identified himself with the werewolf, it means that this character was not negative in his eyes.

The Tale of Igor’s Campaign mentions Vseslav, Prince of Polotsk, who “prowled like a wolf in the night.” This is hardly a figurative literary expression: the chronicles mention that “his mother gave birth to this prince from sorcery,” and the author of “The Lay ...” could well attribute werewolf to such a person.

A werewolf is a creature that belongs simultaneously to both the human world and the world of wild nature, which for ancient man identified with the other world. The wolf, as already mentioned, due to its special “alienity” to man, is an ideal expression of this world. It is his appearance that must be accepted in order to become involved in the other world. Therefore, werewolfism (originally a type of magical practice) is associated with the wolf form.

So the wolf turns into an intermediary between the human world and the other world. Such an intermediary is necessary for a person going to the “other world” for a rite of passage. Many fairy-tale motifs originate from this ritual, including the motif of “difficult tasks.” In this light, the origin of the fairytale wolf-magical assistant becomes clear.

The plot of a wolf swallowing the heroes of a fairy tale can also go back to the rite of passage. As you know, goat kids swallowed by a wolf eventually return safely to their mother goat. And this is not a fake “happy ending” pasted on to a fairy tale to keep children from crying. Teenagers who went to the “kingdom of the dead” for an initiation rite also, in most cases, happily returned to the village. Among many primitive peoples, ethnographers observed huts where rituals took place, built in the shape of an animal’s head. This animal seemed to “swallow” the initiates. Probably similar customs existed among the Proto-Slavic peoples. A wolf swallowing and then releasing the heroes of a fairy tale is a distant echo of such customs.

The wolf in Russian fairy tales and in Russian folklore in general is a dual character, which cannot be unambiguously called either positive or negative. This duality is associated with the antiquity of the image, dating back to pagan times.

In fairy tales about animals, certain characters can be traced in different time frames. Therefore, one of the most important issues is the problem of differentiating fairy tales about animals and fairy tales of other genres in which animals take part.

The key to solving this problem is given by the definition of fairy tales about animals proposed by V.Ya. Propp: By fairy tales about animals we will mean those tales in which the animal is the main object or subject of the narrative. On this basis, fairy tales about animals can be distinguished from others, where animals play only a supporting role and are not the heroes of the story.

Fairy tales about animals, of course, include fairy tales where only animals act (Fox and Crane, Fox, Hare and Rooster, Fox-Midwife, Fox and Blackbird, Wolf-Fool, etc.). Of the fairy tales about the relationship between humans and animals, this genre should include those in which animals are the main characters, and people are the objects of their action, and in which the narrative is told from the point of view of animals, not humans (Wolf at the Ice-hole, Dog and Wolf, Man , bear and fox, etc.).

Tales about animals bear little resemblance to stories from the lives of animals. Animals in fairy tales act only to some extent in accordance with their nature, and to a much greater extent act as bearers of one or another character and producers of certain actions that should be attributed primarily to humans. Therefore, the world of animals in fairy tales is supplemented by human imagination; it is a form of expression of a person’s thoughts and feelings, his views on life.

Animals that speak, reason and behave like people are just a poetic convention: “The adventures of animals are projected onto human life - and it is their human meaning that makes them interesting.” Hence the main themes of Russian fairy tales about animals - human characters, virtues and vices of people, types of human relationships in everyday life, in society, sometimes these images even look satirical.

Most researchers note the problem of classifying tales about animals due to their diversity. V.Ya. wrote about the complexity of typology of fairy tales about animals. Propp, noting the following varieties: tales about animals that exist in a cumulative form (Teremok, Kolobok, Cockerel and bean seed etc.); tales about animals, close in structure to fairy tales (The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats, the Cat, the Rooster and the Fox, etc.); tales about animals, close in structure to fables (The Wolf and the Fox); animal tales coming to literary works and having the form of a political pamphlet (The Tale of Ersha Ershovich).

Developing a classification of Russian fairy tales about animals based on texts collected by A.N. Afanasyev, V.Ya. Propp identifies the following groups: Tales about wild animals (Beasts in the Pit, Fox and Wolf, Fox the Midwife, Fox and the Crane, Fox the Confessor, etc.); Tales about wild and domestic animals (The Dog and the Wolf, The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats, The Cat, the Fox and the Rooster, etc.); Tales about man and wild animals (The Fox and her tail, The Man and the Bear, The old bread and salt is forgotten, The Bear is a linden leg, The Fox with a rolling pin, etc.); Tales about domestic animals (Whacked Goat, Horse and Dog, etc.); Tales about birds and fish (Crane and Heron, Cockerel and Bean Seed, Ryaba Hen, etc.); Tales about other animals, plants, mushrooms and elements (Fox and Crayfish, Teremok, Kolobok, Sun, Frost and Wind, War of the Mushrooms, etc.).

The characters of Russian folk tales about animals are represented, as a rule, by images of wild and domestic animals. Images of wild animals clearly prevail over images of domestic animals: these are fox, wolf, bear, hare, among birds - crane, heron, thrush, woodpecker, sparrow, raven, etc. Domestic animals are much less common, and they do not appear as independent or leading characters, but only in conjunction with forest birds: this is a dog, a cat, a goat, a ram, a horse, a pig, a bull, and among poultry - a goose, a duck and a rooster. There are no tales only about domestic animals in Russian folklore. Each of the characters is an image of a very specific animal or bird, behind which stands one or another human character, therefore the characteristic characters based on observation of the habits, behavior of the animal, its appearance. The difference in characters is especially clearly and definitely expressed in the images of wild animals: thus, the fox is depicted primarily as a flattering, cunning deceiver, a charming robber; the wolf is like a greedy and slow-witted gray fool, always getting into trouble; the bear is like a stupid ruler, a forest oppressor who uses his power not according to reason; a hare, a frog, a mouse, forest birds - like weak, harmless creatures, always serving on errands. The ambiguity of assessments also persists when describing domestic animals: for example, a dog is portrayed as an intelligent animal, devoted to humans; the cat shows a paradoxical combination of courage and laziness; The rooster is noisy, self-confident and curious.

To understand the meaning of Russian folk tales about animals, it is necessary to work on their plot organization and composition. The plot of animal tales is characterized by clarity, clarity and simplicity: “Tales about animals are built on elementary actions underlying the narrative, representing a more or less expected or unexpected ending, in a known way prepared. These simplest actions are phenomena of a psychological order...” Animalistic tales are distinguished by their small volume, persistence of the plot scheme and laconicism artistic means expressions.

The composition of Russian fairy tales about animals is also distinguished by its simplicity and transparency. They are often one-episode (“The Fox and the Crane”, “The Crane and the Heron”, etc.). In this case, they are characterized by exaggeration of the main properties and traits of the character, which determines the unusualness and fantastic nature of their actions. However, much more often there are fairy tales with plots based on the sequential linking of the same plot links-motives. The events in them are connected by similar in nature actions of cross-cutting characters: for example, in the fairy tale “The Fox and the Wolf” there are three plot motives- “The fox steals fish from the sleigh”, “The wolf at the ice hole”, “The beaten one is lucky.” Multiple episodes, as a rule, do not complicate the composition, since we are usually talking about the same type of actions of characters performed in different plot situations.

In this work, we will conduct a study of two negative heroes of Russian folk tales about animals - the fox and the wolf. This choice is due not only to their popularity, but also to the fact that, using the example of these heroes, one can clearly trace what vices are ridiculed and condemned in fairy tales, thereby influencing the formation national character readers. Both characters meet in different fairy tales separately and in one together. And despite the fact that both the wolf and the fox are negative heroes, and it seems that they have a lot in common: they live in the same forests, attack the same animals, are also afraid of the same opponents, in fairy tales they endowed with different human qualities, which is quite interesting. Also interesting is the fact that one bad guy male and, it turns out, he is endowed with male negative character traits, and the other hero is female, endowed with female traits, respectively, which is why the methods of achieving their goals are different, despite the fact that these goals are the same. Thus, based on analyzes of various Russian folk tales about animals, it is possible to consider these heroes from the same positions: their appearance, features, actions, and determine which of them is smarter, smarter or more cunning, and who is stupid and naive. Comparative analysis the wolf and the fox will also help to identify the main human vices that are ridiculed in society and find out how the presence of these heroes in Russian folk tales influences the formation of national character, which is the goal of this work.