The story "Heart of a Dog": history of creation and fate. “Heart of a Dog” characteristics of the characters What organ was transplanted into the dog’s heart in the story

The great Russian writer is widely known for his brilliant and, at the same time, humorous works. His books have long been dismantled into quotes, witty and apt. And even if not everyone knows who wrote “Heart of a Dog,” many have seen the magnificent movie based on this story.

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Plot Summary

How many chapters are in “Heart of a Dog” - including the epilogue 10. The action of the work takes place in Moscow at the beginning of winter 1924.

1. First, the dog's monologue is described, in which the dog appears smart, observant, lonely and grateful to the one who fed it.
2. The dog feels how its beaten body hurts, remembers how the windshield wipers beat it and poured boiling water on it. The dog feels sorry for all these poor people, but more for himself. How compassionate women and passers-by fed me.
3. A passing gentleman (Professor Preobrazhensky) treats her to Krakow-quality boiled sausage and invites her to follow him. The dog walks obediently.
4. The following tells how the dog Sharik acquired his abilities. And the dog knows a lot - colors, some letters. In the apartment, Preobrazhensky calls Dr. Bormental's assistant, and the dog feels that he has again fallen into a trap.
5. All attempts to fight back do not yield results and darkness sets in. Nevertheless, the animal woke up, albeit bandaged. Sharik hears the professor teaching him to treat him kindly and carefully, to feed him well.

The dog woke up

Preobrazhensky takes the well-fed and well-fed dog with him to the reception. Then Sharik sees patients: an old man with green hair who feels like a young man again, an old woman in love with a sharper and asking to have monkey ovaries transplanted into her, and many, many others. Unexpectedly, four visitors from the management of the house arrived, all in leather jackets, boots and dissatisfied with how many rooms there were in the professor’s apartment. After calling and talking with the unknown person, they leave embarrassedly.

Further events:

1. The lunch of Professor Preobrazhensky and the doctor is described. While eating, the scientist talks about how he brought only destruction and deprivation. Galoshes are stolen, apartments are not heated, rooms are taken away. The dog is happy because he is well-fed, warm, and nothing hurts. Unexpectedly, in the morning after the call, the dog was again taken to the examination room and euthanized.
2. An operation is described to transplant the seminal glands and pituitary gland into Sharik from a criminal and brawler killed during arrest.
3. The following are excerpts from the diary kept by Ivan Arnoldovich Bormental. The doctor describes how the dog gradually becomes a human: it stands on its hind legs, then its legs, begins to read and speak.
4. The situation in the apartment is changing. People walk around depressed, there are signs of disorder everywhere. Balayka is playing. A former ball has settled in the apartment - a short, rude, aggressive little man who demands a passport and comes up with a name for himself - Poligraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. He is not embarrassed by the past and does not care about anyone. Most of all, Polygraph hates cats.
5. Lunch is described again. Sharikov changed everything - the professor swears and refuses to accept patients. The polygraph was quickly adopted by the communists and taught their ideals, which turned out to be close to him.
6. Sharikov demands to be recognized as the heir, to allocate a part in Professor Preobrazhensky’s apartment and to obtain registration. Then he tries to rape the professor's cook.
7. Sharikov gets a job catching stray animals. According to him, the cats will be made into “polts”. He blackmails the typist into living with him, but the doctor saves her. The professor wants to kick Sharikov out, but we threaten him with a pistol. They twist him and there is silence.
8. The commission that came to rescue Sharikov finds a half-dog, half-man. Soon Sharik is again sleeping at the professor’s table and rejoicing at his luck.

Main characters

The symbol of science in this story becomes the luminary of medicine - the professor, the name of Preobrazhensky from the story “The Heart of a Dog,” Philip Philipovich. The scientist is looking for ways to rejuvenate the body, and finds - this is the transplantation of the seminal glands of animals. Old people become men, women hope to lose ten years. The transplantation of the pituitary gland and testes, and the heart that was transplanted into the dog in “Heart of a Dog” from a murdered criminal is just another experiment of the famous scientist.

His assistant, Doctor Bormenthal, a young representative of miraculously preserved noble norms and decency, was the best student and remained a faithful follower.

The former dog - Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov - is a victim of the experiment. Those who just watched the movie especially remembered what the hero from “Heart of a Dog” played. Obscene couplets and jumping on a stool became the author's find of the screenwriters. In the story, Sharikov simply strummed without interruption, which terribly annoyed Professor Preobrazhensky, who appreciated classical music.

So, for the sake of this image of a driven, stupid, rude and ungrateful man, the story was written. Sharikov just wants to live beautifully and eat deliciously, does not understand beauty, the norms of relationships between people, lives by instincts. But Professor Preobrazhensky believes that the former dog is not dangerous for him; Sharikov will do much more harm to Shvonder and the other communists who look after and teach him. After all, this created man carries within himself all the lowest and worst that is inherent in man, and does not have any moral guidelines.

The criminal and organ donor Klim Chugunkin seems to be only mentioned in “Heart of a Dog,” but it was his negative qualities that were passed on to the kind and smart dog.

Theory of the origin of images

Already in the last years of the existence of the USSR, they began to say that the prototype of Professor Preobrazhensky was Lenin, and Sharikov’s was Stalin. Their historical relationship is similar to the story with the dog.

Lenin brought the wild criminal Dzhugashvili closer, believing in his ideological content. This man was a useful and desperate communist, he prayed for their ideals and did not spare his life and health.

True, in recent years, as some close associates believed, the leader of the proletariat realized the true essence of Joseph Dzhugashvili and even wanted to remove him from his circle. But animal cunning and rage helped Stalin not only hold out, but also take a leadership position. And this is indirectly confirmed by the fact that, despite the year “Heart of a Dog” was written - 1925, the story was published in the 80s.

Important! This idea is supported by several allusions. For example, Preobrazhensky loves the opera “Aida”, and Lenin’s mistress Inessa Armand. The typist Vasnetsova, who repeatedly appears in close connection with the characters, also has a prototype - the typist Bokshanskaya, also associated with two historical figures. Bokshanskaya became Bulgakov’s friend.

Problems posed by the author

Bulgakov, confirming his status as a great Russian writer, in a relatively short story was able to pose a number of extremely pressing problems that are still relevant today.

First

The problem of the consequences of scientific experiments and the moral right of scientists to interfere with the natural course of development. Preobrazhensky first wants to slow down the passage of time, rejuvenating old people for money and dreaming of finding a way to restore youth to everyone.

The scientist is not afraid to use risky methods when transplanting animal ovaries. But when the result is a human, the professor first tries to educate him, and then generally returns him to the appearance of a dog. And from the moment Sharik realizes that he is a human, that same scientific dilemma begins: who is considered a human, and whether the scientist’s action will be considered murder.

Second

The problem of relations, or more precisely, the confrontation between the rebel proletariat and the surviving nobility, was painful and bloody. The impudence and aggressiveness of Shvonder and those who came with them is not an exaggeration, but rather a frightening reality of those years.

Sailors, soldiers, workers and people from the bottom filled the cities and estates quickly and brutally. The country was flooded with blood, former rich people were starving, gave their last for a loaf of bread and hastily went abroad. A few were able not only to survive, but also to maintain their standard of living. They still hated them, although they were afraid of them.

Third

The problem of general devastation and the error of the chosen path has arisen more than once in Bulgakov’s works. The writer mourned the old order, culture and the smartest people dying under the pressure of the crowd.

Bulgakov - prophet

And yet, what did the author want to say in “Heart of a Dog”. Many readers and fans of his work feel such a prophetic motive. It was as if Bulgakov was showing the communists what kind of man of the future, a homunculus, they were growing in their red test tubes.

Born as a result of an experiment by a scientist working for the needs of the people and protected by a supreme projection, Sharikov threatens not only the aging Preobrazhensky, this creature hates absolutely everyone.

An expected discovery, a breakthrough in science, a new word in the social order turns out to be just a stupid, cruel, criminal, strumming a balayka, strangling unfortunate animals, those from among whom he himself came. Sharikov’s goal is to take away the room and steal money from “daddy.”

“Heart of a Dog” by M. A. Bulgakov - Summary

Dog's heart. Michael Bulgakov

Conclusion

The only way out for Professor Preobrazhensky from “Heart of a Dog” is to pull himself together and admit the failure of the experiment. The scientist finds the strength to admit his own mistake and correct it. Will others be able to do this...

The artistic originality of Bulgakov's story "Heart of a Dog"

The story “The Heart of a Dog” (1925) caused a flurry of attacks on the writer from official authorities and criticism. In March 1926, the Moscow Art Theater signed an agreement with Bulgakov for the staging of “The Heart of a Dog,” but due to the interference of party and state censorship in the affairs of the theater, the agreement was terminated in April 1972. At the end of 1927, a verbatim report of the May party meeting on theater issues
Agitprop of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) “Ways of development of the theater.” A copy of this book with numerous notes from the author has been preserved in Bulgakov’s archive. P. I. Lebedev-
Polyansky, then head of Glavlit, sharply criticized the Moscow Art Theater for
“conservative” repertoire line and argued that “if the Soviet government, represented by party representatives and censorship bodies, had not intervened in the repertoire of 26-27, then this repertoire of the Art Theater and other theaters would have been filled with Bulgakovism, Smenovekhovism, and philistinism.”

During this period, another event occurred in Bulgakov’s life - during a search in the spring of 1926, his diaries and the manuscript of “The Heart of a Dog” were taken away. At the end of the 60s, V.M. Molotov told one of his visitors A.M.
Ushakov: “Bulgakov’s diaries were read by the entire Politburo. Your Bulgakov is an anti-Soviet!”

Thus, “Heart of a Dog,” having come under censorship pressure, could neither be published nor staged at the time.

The impossibility of publishing the story during the author’s lifetime once again confirmed the correctness of Bulgakov’s guesses: in the Soviet state, freedom of speech, personal freedom are destroyed, all dissent is persecuted, which indicates the formation of a system of violence in the country.

The critical position brought Bulgakov closer to Zamyatin; he was well acquainted with his novel “We”. In the 20-30s, the artist maintained close contacts with writers who emigrated from the Soviet Union. protested against government interference in the activities of literary groups and associations. If we try to determine Bulgakov’s place in the literary process of the Soviet period, then he was together with those writers who stood in opposition to the revolution and the totalitarian state. Moreover, if, say, 3. Gippius, A. Averchenko, D. Merezhkovsky. did not immediately accept the revolutionary transformations of society, then Bulgakov, like Platonov, and
Yesenin, and Pasternak, and many others, go from being carried away by the utopian dream of socialism to disappointment in it; The artist’s hopes for building a just society turn out to be their downfall, and the writer painfully searches for a way out of the created impasse.

Unlike literature, imbued with the ideas of revolution, developing within the framework of socialist realism, voluntarily or forcibly serving a totalitarian state, or from democratic literature, which was neutral towards the revolution, giving priority to universal human values, writers of the opposition movement actively protested against the state of violence. This protest was expressed in a variety of forms. Some defended freedom of creativity and thereby did not agree with the party’s policy, which subordinated literature to its ideological goals (“Serapion’s Brothers”, “The Pass”). Others idealized Rus', the countryside, and primordial national traditions; they resisted the disruption of the people’s way of life
(new peasant poets). Still others criticized the so-called socialist construction and questioned the methods of building a socialist society. These include primarily Zamyatin, Bulgakov and Platonov. The dystopian genre in their work becomes a unique form of struggle against the absurd state structure, lack of human rights, and totalitarianism.

The story “Heart of a Dog,” like other works of the writer, is complex and multi-valued in its ideological and artistic meaning. Since it was published recently in Russia, critical works specifically devoted to
“The Heart of a Dog,” as well as Bulgakov’s satire in general, has very little.
There are also no major studies in the West, but the main approaches to studying the story have already been outlined. Thus, Christina Rydel in the article “Bulgakov and
Uyals" indicates that this work of Bulgakov is largely based on
“The Island of Doctor Moreau” by the English science fiction writer, while at the same time being in relation to this work by Wells “an extraordinary literary imitation, often reminiscent of a parody.” Helen Goscill in "Point of View in
Bulgakov’s “Heart of a Dog” discusses the narrative technique of the story and discovers four “narrative voices” in it; Ball-dogs, doctors
Bormental, professor Preobrazhensky and “dispassionate” commentator.”
The works of Sigrid McLaughlin and Menachem Pern are also devoted to Bulgakov's narrative technique.

Political interpretations of “Heart of a Dog” are quite common in the West. So, Gorbov and Glenny see Lenin in the characters of the story,
Dzerzhinsky, Trotsky, Zinoviev and others. Diana Burgin in her work “Bulgakov’s Early Tragedy of the Scientist-Creator: Interpretation of the “Heart of a Dog”” writes the following: “The terrible name and patronymic of Sharikov (Poligraf Polygrafovich) ... as an emblem of the essence of this creation, also ironic, because “Detector Lasig, son
Lie Detector" is a metaphysical lie." The preface by E. Proffer to the 3rd volume of Bulgakov's collected works in the Ardx publishing house summarizes the research of his predecessors. Currently, there is a need for a holistic understanding of the work. At the same time, it is important to go beyond the limits of sociological interpretation, to identify the ideological and aesthetic content of the story
“Heart of a Dog”, as well as define new genre features such as dystopia.

M. Bulgakov in “Heart of a Dog” constructs the narrative in an original way. The writer does not go from the general to the specific, but vice versa: from a private story, a separate episode - to a large-scale artistic generalization. At the center of the work is an incredible case of the transformation of a dog into a human. The fantastic plot is based on the depiction of the experiment of the brilliant medical scientist Preobrazhensky. Having transplanted the seminal glands and pituitary gland of the brain of the thief and drunkard Klim Chugunkin into the dog, Preobrazhensky, to everyone’s amazement, gets a man out of the dog, the homeless Shariv turns into Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. However, he still has the dog habits and bad habits of Klim Chugunnin, and the professor, together with Dr. Bormenthal, is trying to educate him. He makes every effort
.in vain. Therefore, the professor returns the dog to its original state. A fantastic case ends idyllically: Preobrazhensky,
.is very busy with his direct business, and the subdued dog lies on the carpet and indulges in sweet thoughts.

Bulgakov expands the biography of Sharikov to the level of social generalization. The writer gives a picture of modern reality, revealing its imperfect structure.

Bulgakov's fiction is limited to the description of a scientific experiment with
Sharikov. But this fictional case is also quite rationally motivated from the point of view of science and common sense, which brings it closer to reality; the entire narrative in “Heart of a Dog” is built in close connection with the reality of the 20s and social issues. Fiction in the work does not play the main role, but an auxiliary one. An absurd, from the point of view of nature, experiment helps to expose the absurdity in a society in which, as a result of a historical experiment, everything abnormal becomes normal: Sharikov, who was turned out of a dog with the help of the organs of a criminal, is absolutely suitable for the new Soviet state, he is accepted and even encouraged by it - he is appointed to a position, and not an ordinary one, but the head of a subdepartment for cleaning the city of Moscow from stray animals.

In the “new society,” illogical laws apply: eight rooms in a scientist’s apartment are considered an attack on freedom; in the house committee, instead of doing practical things, they sing choral songs; poverty and devastation are perceived as the beginning of a “new era.” It is characteristic that the manuscript, preserved in the archives of N. S. Ansarsty, is entitled “Dog Happiness. A monstrous story." E. Proffer suggests that Bulgakov
"changed the name when someone told him it had already been used
Kuprin in a story about dogs, which is a transparent allegory.”
Probably the original name ironically paraphrased the name of the cheap sausage “Dog's Joy”. This motive is repeatedly played out in the story - the satisfaction of minimal needs. A homeless dog is happy about the smallest bone. For a piece of sausage he is ready to lick Philip Philipovich’s feet. And once in a warm house, where he is constantly fed, he “reflects” on the fact that he pulled out “the most important, happiest dog ticket.” This animal contentment with little, ordinary “happiness” is associated in the story not only with Sharikov, but also with the life of people in the early 20s, who began to get used to living in unheated apartments, eating rotten corned beef in the Councils of Normal Nutrition, receiving pennies and not being surprised lack of electricity. Professor Preobrazhensky categorically denies such a system: “If, instead of operating, I start singing in chorus every evening in my apartment, I will be in ruins... You cannot serve two gods! It’s impossible to sweep tram tracks and arrange the fate of some Spanish ragamuffins at the same time!”

The new system destroys the personal, individual principle in a person.
The principle of equality comes down to the slogan: “Share everything.” There is not even an external difference felt between the members of the house committee - they all look the same to such an extent that Preobrazhensky is forced to ask one of them the question: “Are you a man or a woman?”, to which they answer: “What’s the difference, comrade?”

The chairman of the house committee, Shvonder, is fighting for revolutionary order and justice. Residents of the house must enjoy the same benefits. No matter how brilliant a scientist Professor Preobrazhensky is, he has no business occupying seven rooms. He can have dinner in the bedroom, perform operations in the examination room, where he cuts up rabbits. Shvonder would like to equate him with Sharikov, a completely proletarian-looking man.

The new system strives to create a new one, a person, from the old “human material”. The image of Sharikov is a parody of the new man.
An important place in the story is occupied by the motif of bodily transformation: the good dog Sharik turns into the bad man Sharikov. The technique of verbal transformation helps to show the transition of a living being from one state to another.

In the narrative structure of the story “Heart of a Dog,” the image of the narrator is inconsistent. The narration is conducted on behalf of Ball the dog
(before the operation), then Dr. Bormental (entries in the diary, observations of changes in Sharik’s condition after the operation), then Professor Preobrazhensky, then Shvonder, then Sharikov the man. The author tries to take a position
an “impartial” commentator on events, his voice sometimes merges with the voice of Preobrazhensky, Bormental and even with the voice of Ball the Dog, since at the beginning of the story it is not so much the dog’s narrative that is given, but as if under the guise of a dog.

Let's consider how the images of Sharik and Sharikov are revealed. Before Bulgakov, animals appeared as storytellers in many works of world literature - from Aristophanes and Apuleius to Hoffmann and Kafka. This method of detachment was used by F. Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy,
N. Leskov, A. Kuprin and other Russian writers. However, Bulgakov, perhaps for the first time, seems to blur the line between the life of a dog and the life of a person in Soviet Russia in the 20s. This “equalization” is felt from the first pages of the story: “What they do there in a normal diet,” Sharik reflects, “is incomprehensible to a dog’s mind! They, the bastards, cook cabbage soup from stinking corned beef, and those poor fellows don’t know anything. They run, eat, lap. Some typist gets four and a half chervonets for the ninth grade... She doesn’t even have enough for cinema... She trembles, winces, and bursts... I feel sorry for her, I feel sorry for myself. But I feel even more sorry for myself (6). As we can see, the voice of Sharikov the dog is quite “reasonable” and normal. His statements are “humanly” rational, they have a certain logic: “A citizen showed up. It is a citizen, not a comrade, and even - most likely - a master. - Closer - clearer - sir. Do you think I judge by my coat? Nonsense. Nowadays, many proletarians wear coats. But by the eyes, you can’t confuse them both up close and from afar...
You can see everything - who has a great dryness in their soul, who can never poke the toe of a boot into their ribs, and who is afraid of everyone.”

When Sharik becomes human, his first phrases are incoherent obscenities, snatches of conversation. The first word is noteworthy
Sharikov - “Abyr-valg”, that is, the name “Glavryba”, inverted.
Sharikov's consciousness also represents an inverted perception of the world. It is no coincidence that Bulgakov accompanies the description of the operation with the phrase: “The whole world has turned upside down.”

Despite the fact that Sharik has turned into a man, his speech is more reminiscent of the barking of a dog. Gradually his voice becomes more and more human-like. But since the organs of the typical proletarian Klim Chugunkin were transplanted into the dog, Sharikov’s speech after the operation is replete with vulgarisms and slang words. The professor is trying to educate
Sharikov, and has a categorically negative attitude towards any violence:
“Terror cannot do anything with an animal, no matter what stage of development it may be at.” However, all attempts to instill basic cultural habits in Sharikov meet resistance on his part. Shvonder intervenes in the educational process, who does not burden Sharikov with any cultural programs, with the exception of the revolutionary one - whoever was nothing will become everything.
Sharikov learns this very quickly. In his speech, Soviet cliches, political vocabulary, and slogans appeared: “I am not a master, the gentlemen are all in Paris”; “And then they write and write... the Congress, some Germans... my head is swelling. Take everything and divide it”; “Engelsa ordered his social servant Zinaida Prokofyevna
Burn Bunina in the stove, like an obvious Menshevik.” The culmination of the story is Sharikov’s receipt of registration, a position, and then his denunciation of Professor Preobrazhensky. The tragic pathos of the story is concentrated in the words of Preobrazhensky: “The whole horror is that he no longer has a dog’s heart, but a human heart. And the lousiest of all that exist in nature." The title of the story "Heart of a Dog" reflects the writer's desire to look into the depths of the human soul, to reveal the spiritual metamorphoses of personality in the conditions of modern times.

The technique of verbal transformation helps to reveal the main theme of the work - the image of the moral and social transformation of man and society. This topic would not have received such a wide social resonance if Sharikov had not had numerous doubles. Shvonder, “comrades from the blast furnace” are, as it were, a real reflection of Sharikov.

“The Dog Monologue” is contaminated with the voice of an omniscient author speaking in the third person. And therefore, it is no coincidence that Sharik’s narrative is permeated with information that can only be known to a “third party” - the name and patronymic of Preobrazhensky, the fact that he is a figure of world significance, etc.
Sharikov's voice, in turn, connects with Shvonder's voice. In his statements, Preobrazhensky and Bormenthal easily recognize the “education” of the chairman of the house committee. Sharikov actually does not express his own thoughts; in an exaggerated form, he conveys to his listeners Shvonder’s understanding of revolution and socialism. The narrative positions of Preobrazhensky and Bormental are contrasted with Sharikov and Shvonder.

The storyteller ball is a step lower than Professor Preobrazhensky and
Bormental, but he certainly turns out to be higher “in terms of development”
Shvonder and Sharikov. This intermediate position of the Dog Ball in the narrative structure of the work emphasizes the dramatic position of the “mass” person in society, who was faced with a choice - either to follow the laws of natural social and spiritual evolution, or to follow the path of moral degradation. Sharikov, the hero of the work, may not have had such a choice: after all, he is a creature artificially created and 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.

In the biography of M. Bulgakov, written by E. Proffer in 1984, “Heart of a Dog” is viewed as “an allegory of the revolutionary transformation of Soviet society, a warning story about the dangers of interfering in the affairs of nature.”

This is the story not only of Sharikov’s transformations, but above all, the history of society. developing according to absurd, irrational laws. If the fantastic plan of the story is completed in plot, then the moral and philosophical one remains open: the Sharikovs continue to breed, multiply and establish themselves in life, which means that the “monstrous history” of society continues.
Bulgakov's tragic forecasts, unfortunately, came true, which was confirmed in the 30-50s, during the formation of Stalinism, and later.

The problem of the “new man” and the structure of the “new society” was one of the central problems of literature of the 20s. M. Gorky wrote: “The hero of our days is a person from the “mass”, a laborer of culture, an ordinary party member, a workers’ correspondent, a military doctor, a promoter, a rural teacher, a young doctor and agronomist, an experienced peasant working in the village and an activist, a worker-inventor, in general - a man of the masses! The main attention should be paid to the masses, to the education of such heroes.”

The main feature of the literature of the 20s was that it was dominated by the idea of ​​the collective.

The ideas of collectivism were substantiated in the aesthetic programs of the futurists, Proletkult, constructivism, and RAPP.

The image of Shcharikov can be perceived as a polemic with theorists who substantiate the idea of ​​a “new man” of Soviet society. "This is your
"new person". - Bulgakov seemed to say in his story. And the writer in his work, on the one hand, reveals the psychology of the mass hero (Sharikov) and the psychology of the masses (the house headed by Shvonder). On the other hand, they are opposed by a hero-person (Professor Preobrazhensky).
The driving force of the conflict in the story is the constant clash of the reasonable ideas about society of Professor Preobrazhensky and the irrationality of the views of the masses, the absurdity of the structure of society itself.

The story “Heart of a Dog” is perceived as a dystopia that came true in reality. There is a traditional image of the state system here, as well as a contrast with the individual principle. Preobrazhensky is presented as a man of high culture, independent mind, and possessing global knowledge in the field of science. K. M. Simonov wrote that Bulgakov in the story
“Heart of a Dog” most forcefully “defended his view of the intelligentsia, its rights, its responsibilities, and the fact that the intelligentsia is the flower of society. For me, Professor Bulgakova... is a positive figure, a Pavlovian-type figure. Such a person can come to socialism and will come if he sees that socialism provides scope for work in science. Then for him the problem of eight or two rooms will not matter. He defends his eight rooms because he views the attack on them not as an attack on his life, but as an attack on his rights in society."

Philip Philipovich Preobrazhensky is critical of everything that has been happening in the country since 1917. He rejects revolutionary theory and practice. He had the opportunity to test this during his medical experiment. The experiment of creating a “new man” was unsuccessful. Remake nature
Sharikov is impossible, just as it is impossible to change the inclinations of the Chugunkins, Shvonders and the like. Dr. Bormental asks the professor what would have happened if Spinoza’s brain had been transplanted into Sharikov. But Preobrazhensky was already convinced of the futility of interfering in the evolution of nature: “Here, doctor, what happens when a researcher, instead of groping and in parallel with nature, forces the question and lifts the veil! Here you go, get it
Sharikova... Please explain to me why it is necessary to artificially fabricate
Spinoza, when any woman can give birth to him at any time” (10). This conclusion is also important for understanding the social subtext of the story: one cannot artificially interfere not only with natural, but also with social evolution.
Violation of the moral balance in society can lead to dire consequences.

One cannot blame Professor Preobrazhensky for creating
Sharikov, who did a lot of outrages in the story. Who is to blame for what happened in Russia? Bulgakov leads the reader to the idea that the whole point is in a person, in the choice he makes, in his moral essence, in the kind of heart he has. Professor Preobrazhensky states: “The devastation is not in the closets, but in the heads. So, when these baritones shout: “Beat the destruction!” - I laugh... This means that each of them should hit himself in the back of the head!
And so, when he hatches all sorts of hallucinations from himself and starts cleaning the barns - his direct business, the devastation will disappear by itself.”

Thus, the central problem of the story “Heart of a Dog” becomes the depiction of the state of man and the world in a difficult transitional era.

Literature

1. Bulgakov M.A. Selected works: In 2 volumes - K.: Dnipro, 1989 - volume 1

2. Bushmin A. Prose of the 20s // Russian Soviet literature: Collection. articles - M.: Nauka, 1979.

3. Fusso S. “Heart of a Dog” 0 failure of transformation // Literary Review - 1991 No. 5.

4. Shargorodsky S. Heart of a Dog, or a Monstrous Story

//Literary review. - 1991. No. 5.

5. Chudakova M. Biography of Mikhail Bulgakov - M.: Book, 1988.

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90 years ago, in January 1925, Mikhail BULGAKOV began work on the satirical story “Dog Happiness. A monstrous story." In March, the manuscript, which became “Heart of a Dog” in the process, was completed. However, it never came out. The story outraged LENIN's comrade-in-arms, Politburo member Lev KAMENEV: “This is a sharp pamphlet on modernity. Under no circumstances should you print it!” “Heart of a Dog” was first published in 1968 abroad - in Germany and Great Britain. And only in 1987 it appeared in the USSR.

The manuscript of the seditious “Heart of a Dog” was confiscated from the writer during a search in 1926. It was possible to return her with great difficulty - Gorky intervened. The censors were frightened by strange allusions - they saw counter-revolutionary motives in the story of the transformation of a dog into a man. There were stories that the author had masterfully encrypted a bunch of iconic names in the characters of the story. Behind the powerful figure of the surgeon Preobrazhensky they saw the image of Lenin, in Klim Chugunkin-Sharikov they suspected Stalin, Shvonder in someone’s heated minds became Kamenev-Rosenfeld, the housekeeper Zina Bunina became Zinoviev, Daria became Dzerzhinsky, etc. It was dangerous to put something like this into circulation.

Meanwhile, the appearance of a story about the transformation of a dog into a human could make a lot of noise not only in political circles. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, the ideas of transplanting animal organs to people excited the scientific world. Doctors and biologists are overwhelmed by the idea of ​​universal rejuvenation.
Bottles of extract. The French doctor Charles Edouard Brown-Séquard experienced the effects of a wonderful elixir, which he created from tissue taken from the testicles of young dogs and guinea pigs. On June 1, 1889, Brown-Séquard reported to his colleagues about an increase in muscle mass, improvement in the functioning of the rectum and genitourinary system, and brain activity. Colleagues gave the scientist a standing ovation.
Aging rich people bought the extract in bottles for injection. But soon the professor was horrified to discover that he was failing again. It turned out that the substance extracted by Brown-Séquard from the testicles of animals did not affect the hormonal activity of the human body. And the fantastic transformation that happened to the doctor and some of his patients is just a placebo effect.

Testicles of eunuchs. Brown-Séquard's work was continued by our compatriot who lived in France, surgeon Sergei Voronov. For four years he worked as the personal physician to the Vice-Sultan of Egypt. Communicating with eunuchs, Voronov was interested in changes in their bodies after castration. In Paris, a scientist began transplanting sections from the glands of chimpanzees to patients with a diseased thyroid gland. He conducted experiments on rejuvenation on animals - sheep, goats and bulls: sections from the testicles of young individuals were introduced into the scrotum of old animals - and they acquired the energy and agility of the young. Reached monkeys and people. They say that he performed the first transplants for millionaires - testicles for experiments were taken from executed criminals. The first officially recorded operation to transplant glands from a monkey to a human took place on June 12, 1920. The doctor warned about vigorous sexual activity after the operation. Unfortunately, this effect was short-lived.
Two-headed dog. Doctor Demikhov's experiments amazed his contemporaries with their courage. In 1937, Vladimir Petrovich manufactured a device that today would be called an artificial heart. The physiologist tested the development on a dog that lived with such a heart for about two hours.

In 1951, Demikhov transplanted a donor heart along with lungs to a dog named Damka. On the second day after the operation, the dog stood up, walked around the room, drank water, and ate. She died on the seventh day, but this was the first time in the history of science that a dog with someone else’s heart and lungs lived for so long.
In 1954, the doctor developed a method of transplanting the head along with the forelimbs from a puppy to the neck of an adult dog. Later, he began to graft half of one dog onto the whole, intact body of another - he wanted to find out whether it would be possible to temporarily “connect” him to the circulatory system of a healthy person to save the patient.
More than half a century ago, Demikhov advocated the creation of a world bank of human organs. He proposed storing them in thermostat cases connected to the blood vessels of animals. In the early 60s of the last century, a professor kept alive the heart of a deceased person for several hours, connected to the femoral vessels of a pig.

Underdeveloped Bobikov

Even before the story “Heart of a Dog” was allowed for publication in the USSR, its first film adaptation, directed by Albert Lattuda, was released in Italy in 1976. It was called “Why is Mr. Bobikov barking?”

62-year-old Albert Lattuda saw in “Heart of a Dog” the emergence of European fascism - in his youth he himself was an adherent of the left wing of the fascist party. According to the director, Professor Preobrazhensky (played by Swedish actor Max von Sydow) is the creator of the super idea from which the German Nazis grew, who dreamed of improving the “breed” of people.

The film was shot in Belgrade. In one of the episodes you can see the porn star Cicciolina - the evil proletarians did not allow Sharikov-Bobikov to have sex with her busty heroine - the girl Natasha.
Comparing the Italian film version of the story and the famous film directed by Vladimir Bortko, it is difficult to find something in common. Familiar heroes are like shapeshifters of themselves. Judge for yourself.

Symbolically
Judging by the entries in the observation diary kept by Dr. Bormental in Bulgakov’s story, Sharik’s operation is performed on the evening of December 23. From December 24 to January 7, during the period from Catholic to Orthodox Christmas Eve, the dog is transformed, and on Christmas Day its final transformation takes place. Sharikov's death, again according to Bormental's diary, occurred
on the third week of Great Lent, on the day of remembrance of the dead.

Think about it!
In the English translation of “Heart of a Dog”, Sharikov’s phrase about the fate of poor cats: “They will go to the polta. We will make them into protein for workers’ credit” - it looks like this: “Make them into protein for the workers” - “We will make them into protein for the workers.” The translator did not understand the word “polta” and decided that it was about food.

Professorial staff
None of the researchers of the writer’s work can say for sure who became the prototype of Professor Preobrazhensky. Perhaps it was the writer’s uncle, mother’s brother, Nikolai Mikhailovich Pokrovsky, a gynecologist.
* The founder of the school-clinic of internal diseases, Maxim Petrovich Konchalovsky, could also very well become the one from whom the literary professor is based. His great-grandson Pyotr Konchalovsky, who worked as a doctor in France for many years, has no doubt about this. In an interview with Express Gazeta, he said that among his great-grandfather’s patients were Gorky, Papanin, and Bulgakov himself. Maxim Petrovich died in 1942, a little before Stalin’s “Doctors’ Plot,” and miraculously escaped the camps, although his suitcase was always at the ready. Nikita Mikhalkov and Andrei Konchalovsky are the great-nephews of Dr. Konchalovsky.
* Scientist Bekhterev and physiologist Pavlov are called as prototypes of Professor Preobrazhensky.

Quotes for all times
* Go and eat something. Well, they're in the swamp.
*Where will I eat?
* Well, I wish everyone!
* Here we have everything, as if at a parade... “excuse me” and “mercy”, but in a way that’s real, it’s not...
* Will you beat me, dad?!
* Get in line, you sons of bitches, get in line!
* They themselves have revolvers...
* But you can’t do that... With the first person you meet... Only because of your official position...
* Do not read Soviet newspapers before lunch.
* Everything will go like clockwork: first - in the evenings - singing, then the pipes in the toilets will burst...
* A collar is like a briefcase...
* Gentlemen, everyone is in Paris!
* The one who is in no hurry everywhere succeeds.
* And Engels' correspondence... with this... what's his name... Into the oven!

The story “Heart of a Dog” was written by Bulgakov in 1925, but due to censorship it was not published during the writer’s lifetime. Although, she was known in literary circles of that time. Bulgakov read “The Heart of a Dog” for the first time at the Nikitsky Subbotniks in the same 1925. The reading took 2 evenings, and the work immediately received admiring reviews from those present.

They noted the courage of the author, the artistry and humor of the story. An agreement has already been concluded with the Moscow Art Theater to stage “Heart of a Dog” on stage. However, after the story was assessed by an OGPU agent who was secretly present at the meetings, it was banned from publication. The general public was able to read “Heart of a Dog” only in 1968. The story was first published in London and only in 1987 became available to residents of the USSR.

Historical background for writing the story

Why was “Heart of a Dog” so harshly criticized by the censors? The story describes the time immediately after the 1917 revolution. This is a sharply satirical work, ridiculing the class of “new people” that emerged after the overthrow of tsarism. The bad manners, rudeness, and narrow-mindedness of the ruling class, the proletariat, became the object of the writer’s denunciation and ridicule.

Bulgakov, like many enlightened people of that time, believed that creating a personality by force was a path to nowhere.

A summary of the chapters will help you better understand “Heart of a Dog.” Conventionally, the story can be divided into two parts: the first talks about the dog Sharik, and the second talks about Sharikov, a man created from a dog.

Chapter 1. Introduction

The Moscow life of the stray dog ​​Sharik is described. Let's give a brief summary. “The Heart of a Dog” begins with the dog talking about how his side was scalded with boiling water near the dining room: the cook poured hot water and it fell on the dog (the reader’s name is not yet revealed).

The animal reflects on its fate and says that although it experiences unbearable pain, its spirit is not broken.

Desperate, the dog decided to stay in the gateway to die, he was crying. And then he sees the “master,” the dog paid special attention to the stranger’s eyes. And then, just by appearance, he gives a very accurate portrait of this man: confident, “he won’t kick, but he himself is not afraid of anyone,” a man of mental work. In addition, the stranger smells of hospital and cigar.

The dog smelled the sausage in the man’s pocket and “crawled” after him. Oddly enough, the dog gets a treat and gets a name: Sharik. This is exactly how the stranger began to address him. The dog follows his new friend, who calls him. Finally, they reach the house of Philip Philipovich (we learn the stranger's name from the mouth of the doorman). Sharik's new acquaintance is very polite to the gatekeeper. The dog and Philip Philipovich enter the mezzanine.

Chapter 2. First day in a new apartment

In the second and third chapters, the action of the first part of the story “Heart of a Dog” develops.

The second chapter begins with Sharik's memories of his childhood, how he learned to read and distinguish colors by the names of stores. I remember his first unsuccessful experience, when instead of meat, having mixed it up, the then young dog tasted insulated wire.

The dog and his new acquaintance enter the apartment: Sharik immediately notices the wealth of Philip Philipovich’s house. They are met by a young lady who helps the gentleman take off his outerwear. Then Philip Philipovich notices Sharik’s wound and urgently asks the girl Zina to prepare the operating room. Sharik is against treatment, he dodges, tries to escape, commits a pogrom in the apartment. Zina and Philip Philipovich cannot cope, then another “male personality” comes to their aid. With the help of a “sickening liquid” the dog is pacified - he thinks he is dead.

After some time, Sharik comes to his senses. His sore side was treated and bandaged. The dog hears a conversation between two doctors, where Philip Philipovich knows that only with affection it is possible to change a living being, but in no case with terror, he emphasizes that this applies to animals and people (“red” and “white”) .

Philip Philipovich orders Zina to feed the dog Krakow sausage, and he himself goes to receive visitors, from whose conversations it becomes clear that Philip Philipovich is a professor of medicine. He treats delicate problems of wealthy people who are afraid of publicity.

Sharik dozed off. He woke up only when four young men, all modestly dressed, entered the apartment. It is clear that the professor is not happy with them. It turns out that the young people are the new house management: Shvonder (chairman), Vyazemskaya, Pestrukhin and Sharovkin. They came to notify Philip Philipovich about the possible “densification” of his seven-room apartment. The professor makes a phone call to Pyotr Alexandrovich. From the conversation it follows that this is his very influential patient. Preobrazhensky says that due to the possible reduction of rooms, he will have nowhere to operate. Pyotr Aleksandrovich talks with Shvonder, after which the company of young people, disgraced, leaves.

Chapter 3. The professor’s well-fed life

Let's continue with the summary. “Heart of a Dog” - Chapter 3. It all starts with a rich dinner served to Philip Philipovich and Dr. Bormenthal, his assistant. Something falls from the table to Sharik.

During the afternoon rest, “mournful singing” is heard - a meeting of Bolshevik tenants has begun. Preobrazhensky says that, most likely, the new government will lead this beautiful house into desolation: theft is already evident. Shvonder wears Preobrazhensky's missing galoshes. During a conversation with Bormenthal, the professor utters one of the key phrases that reveals to the reader the story “Heart of a Dog” what the work is about: “Devastation is not in closets, but in heads.” Next, Philip Philipovich reflects on how the uneducated proletariat can accomplish the great things for which it positions itself. He says that nothing will change for the better as long as there is such a dominant class in society, engaged only in choral singing.

Sharik has been living in Preobrazhensky’s apartment for a week now: he eats plenty, the owner pampers him, feeding him during dinners, he is forgiven for his pranks (the torn owl in the professor’s office).

Sharik's favorite place in the house is the kitchen, the kingdom of Daria Petrovna, the cook. The dog considers Preobrazhensky a deity. The only thing that is unpleasant for him to watch is how Philip Philipovich delves into human brains in the evenings.

On that ill-fated day, Sharik was not himself. It happened on Tuesday, when the professor usually does not have an appointment. Philip Philipovich receives a strange phone call, and commotion begins in the house. The professor behaves unnaturally, he is clearly nervous. Gives instructions to close the door and not let anyone in. Sharik is locked in the bathroom - there he is tormented by bad premonitions.

A few hours later the dog is brought into a very bright room, where he recognizes the face of the “priest” as Philip Philipovich. The dog pays attention to the eyes of Bormental and Zina: false, filled with something bad. Sharik is given anesthesia and placed on the operating table.

Chapter 4. Operation

In the fourth chapter, M. Bulgakov puts the climax of the first part. “Heart of a Dog” here undergoes the first of its two semantic peaks - Sharik’s operation.

The dog lies on the operating table, Dr. Bormenthal trims the hair on his belly, and at this time the professor gives recommendations that all manipulations with the internal organs should take place instantly. Preobrazhensky sincerely feels sorry for the animal, but, according to the professor, he has no chance of survival.

After the head and belly of the “ill-fated dog” are shaved, the operation begins: after ripping open the belly, they exchange Sharik’s seminal glands for “some other ones.” Afterwards, the dog almost dies, but a faint life still glimmers in it. Philip Philipovich, penetrating into the depths of the brain, changed the “white lump”. Surprisingly, the dog showed a thread-like pulse. Tired Preobrazhensky does not believe that Sharik will survive.

Chapter 5. Bormenthal's Diary

The summary of the story “Heart of a Dog,” the fifth chapter, is a prologue to the second part of the story. From Dr. Bormenthal's diary we learn that the operation took place on December 23 (Christmas Eve). The gist of it is that Sharik was transplanted with the ovaries and pituitary gland of a 28-year-old man. The purpose of the operation: to trace the effect of the pituitary gland on the human body. Until December 28, periods of improvement alternate with critical moments.

The condition stabilizes on December 29, “suddenly.” Hair loss is noted, further changes occur every day:

• 12/30 barking changes, limbs stretch, and weight gains.
• 31.12 the syllables (“abyr”) are pronounced.
• 01.01 says “Abyrvalg”.
• 02.01 stands on his hind legs, swears.
• 06.01 the tail disappears, says “beer house”.
• 01/07 takes on a strange appearance, becoming like a man. Rumors begin to spread around the city.
• 01/08 they stated that replacing the pituitary gland did not lead to rejuvenation, but to humanization. Sharik is a short man, rude, swearing, calling everyone “bourgeois.” Preobrazhensky is furious.
• 12.01 Bormental assumes that the replacement of the pituitary gland has led to the revitalization of the brain, so Sharik whistles, speaks, swears and reads. The reader also learns that the person from whom the pituitary gland was taken is Klim Chugunkin, an asocial element, convicted three times.
• January 17 marked the complete humanization of Sharik.

Chapter 6. Polygraph Polygraphovich Sharikov

In the 6th chapter, the reader first gets acquainted in absentia with the person who turned out after Preobrazhensky’s experiment - this is how Bulgakov introduces us to the story. “The Heart of a Dog,” a summary of which is presented in our article, in the sixth chapter experiences the development of the second part of the narrative.

It all starts with the rules that are written on paper by doctors. They say about maintaining good manners when in the house.

Finally, the created man appears before Philip Philipovich: he is “short in stature and unattractive in appearance,” dressed unkemptly, even comically. Their conversation turns into a quarrel. The man behaves arrogantly, speaks unflatteringly about the servants, refuses to observe the rules of decency, and notes of Bolshevism creep into his conversation.

The man asks Philip Philipovich to register him in the apartment, chooses his first name and patronymic (takes it from the calendar). From now on he is Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. It is obvious to Preobrazhensky that the new manager of the house has a great influence on this person.

Shvonder in the professor's office. Sharikov is registered in the apartment (the ID is written by the professor under the dictation of the house committee). Shvonder considers himself a winner; he calls on Sharikov to register for military service. The polygraph refuses.

Left alone with Bormenthal afterwards, Preobrazhensky admits that he is very tired of this situation. They are interrupted by noise in the apartment. It turned out that a cat had run in, and Sharikov was still hunting for them. Having locked himself with the hated creature in the bathroom, he causes a flood in the apartment by breaking the tap. Because of this, the professor has to cancel appointments with patients.

After eliminating the flood, Preobrazhensky learns that he still needs to pay for the glass Sharikov broke. Polygraph's impudence reaches its limit: not only does he not apologize to the professor for the complete mess, but he also behaves impudently after learning that Preobrazhensky paid money for the glass.

Chapter 7. Attempts at education

Let's continue with the summary. “The Heart of a Dog” in the 7th chapter tells about the attempts of Doctor Bormental and the professor to instill decent manners in Sharikov.

The chapter begins with lunch. Sharikov is taught proper table manners and is denied drinks. However, he still drinks a glass of vodka. Philip Philipovich comes to the conclusion that Klim Chugunkin is visible more and more clearly.

Sharikov is offered to attend an evening performance at the theater. He refuses under the pretext that this is “one counter-revolution.” Sharikov chooses to go to the circus.

It's about reading. The polygraph admits that he is reading the correspondence between Engels and Kautsky, which Shvonder gave him. Sharikov even tries to reflect on what he read. He says that everything should be divided, including Preobrazhensky’s apartment. To this, the professor asks to pay his penalty for the flood caused the day before. After all, 39 patients were refused.

Philip Philipovich calls on Sharikov, instead of “giving advice on a cosmic scale and cosmic stupidity,” to listen and heed what people with a university education teach him.

After lunch, Ivan Arnoldovich and Sharikov leave for the circus, having first made sure that there are no cats in the program.

Left alone, Preobrazhensky reflects on his experiment. He almost decided to return Sharikov to his dog form by replacing the dog’s pituitary gland.

Chapter 8. “The New Man”

For six days after the flood incident, life went on as usual. However, after delivering the documents to Sharikov, he demands that Preobrazhensky give him a room. The professor notes that this is “Shvonder’s work.” In contrast to Sharikov’s words, Philip Philipovich says that he will leave him without food. This pacified Polygraph.

Late in the evening, after a clash with Sharikov, Preobrazhensky and Bormenthal talk for a long time in the office. We are talking about the latest antics of the man they created: how he showed up at the house with two drunken friends and accused Zina of theft.

Ivan Arnoldovich proposes to do the terrible thing: eliminate Sharikov. Preobrazhensky is strongly against it. He may get out of such a story due to his fame, but Bormental will definitely be arrested.

Further, Preobrazhensky admits that in his opinion the experiment was a failure, and not because they got a “new man” - Sharikov. Yes, he agrees that in terms of theory, experiment has no equal, but there is no practical value. And they ended up with a creature with a human heart “the lousiest of all.”

The conversation is interrupted by Daria Petrovna, she brought Sharikov to the doctors. He pestered Zina. Bormental tries to kill him, Philip Philipovich stops the attempt.

Chapter 9. Climax and denouement

Chapter 9 is the culmination and denouement of the story. Let's continue with the summary. "Heart of a Dog" is coming to an end - this is the last chapter.

Everyone is concerned about Sharikov's disappearance. He left home, taking the documents. On the third day the Polygraph appears.

It turns out that, under the patronage of Shvonder, Sharikov received the position of head of the “food department for cleaning the city from stray animals.” Bormenthal forces Polygraph to apologize to Zina and Daria Petrovna.

Two days later, Sharikov brings a woman home, declaring that she will live with him and the wedding will soon take place. After a conversation with Preobrazhensky, she leaves, saying that Polygraph is a scoundrel. He threatens to fire the woman (she works as a typist in his department), but Bormenthal threatens, and Sharikov refuses his plans.

A few days later, Preobrazhensky learns from his patient that Sharikov had filed a denunciation against him.

Upon returning home, Polygraph is invited to the professor's procedural room. Preobrazhensky tells Sharikov to take his personal belongings and move out. Polygraph does not agree, he takes out a revolver. Bormenthal disarms Sharikov, strangles him and puts him on the couch. Having locked the doors and cut the lock, he returns to the operating room.

Chapter 10. Epilogue of the story

Ten days have passed since the incident. The criminal police, accompanied by Shvonder, appear at Preobrazhensky’s apartment. They intend to search and arrest the professor. The police believe that Sharikov was killed. Preobrazhensky says that there is no Sharikov, there is an operated dog named Sharik. Yes, he spoke, but that does not mean that the dog was a person.

Visitors see a dog with a scar on its forehead. He turns to a representative of the authorities, who loses consciousness. The visitors leave the apartment.

In the last scene we see Sharik lying in the professor’s office and reflecting on how lucky he was to meet such a person as Philip Philipovich.

Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov is a character in Mikhail Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog,” as well as the film of the same name, which was released in 1988. Sharikov is a former homeless dog who was transplanted with a human pituitary gland and seminal glands as part of an experiment. As a result, after the operation, the former Sharik turned into Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov, who considers himself a “man of proletarian origin.” In the film, the role of Sharikov was brilliantly played by Vladimir Tolokonnikov, and later the actor said: “Sharikov is my first and, probably, last bright role.” By the way, both Nikolai Karachentsov and Vladimir Nosik auditioned for the role.

The homeless dog Sharik appeared in the story “Heart of a Dog” from the first lines. The unfortunate dog suffered greatly - from a side scalded by the cook from the canteen, from hunger and cold, besides, his stomach hurt unbearably, and the weather just made him want to howl. Out of despair, Sharik simply decided to die in one of the Moscow gateways - he no longer had the strength to fight the cruel, “dog” life. And it was at this moment, when the dog had already come to terms with the inevitable defeat and gave up, that Sharik was noticed by a certain gentleman of clearly aristocratic origin. That day ended unexpectedly for the homeless dog - he received a portion of delicious sausage, and then a roof over his head.

In general, Sharik was a very smart dog, although not of “blue blood”; Thus, from a very early age he learned to distinguish colors and unmistakably knew which shop was selling what, and where he could get food.

Once in the professor’s house, Sharik perked up: “Wow, I understand that,” thought the dog. Finally, after long wanderings through the frozen streets, after hunger and constant struggle for life, he was lucky - now he had a real home, with real owners and hearty food.

However, Sharik had very little time left to live in the form of a dog. It was not by chance that the ball ended up in the house of Professor Preobrazhensky, the same gentleman who picked him up from the street, and soon, in exchange for shelter and excellent food, he became part of an experiment to transplant a human pituitary gland and seminal glands into a dog.

After a successful operation, Sharik began his transformation into a human. His hair fell out, his limbs elongated, his appearance acquired a human appearance, and soon his speech was formed - a little “barking”, abrupt, but still human. So, from the homeless dog Sharik, Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov emerged, who began to very quickly adapt to his new society. Sharikov turned out to be a good test subject - soon Preobrazhensky himself gasped at how quickly and confidently Sharik found his place in the human pack - he instantly understood Soviet realities and learned to improve his rights. Very soon he already straightened out his documents, registered in the professor’s apartment, got a job (and not just anywhere, but as the head of the department for clearing Moscow of stray animals).

Sharikov’s essence turned out to be proletarian to the core - he learned to drink and began to get drunk, rowdy, harass servants, hang out with proletarians like him, but most importantly, he began to make Preobrazhensky’s life very difficult. Sharikov wrote denunciations against the professor, and once even began threatening him with a weapon.

This was enough, and in the epilogue Preobrazhensky performed the reverse operation, which put an end to the dangerous experiment - Sharikov again turned into Sharik, becoming a dog. At the end of the story, a dog runs out to the investigators from the criminal police, who came to the professor’s house to find out, when Preobrazhensky whistles. He looks somewhat strange - without hair in places, with a purple scar on his forehead. He still had some human manners (Sharik still stood up on two legs, spoke a little in a human voice and sat in a chair), but it was still, without any doubt, a dog.

Best of the day

In the film, directed by Vladimir Bortko, Professor Preobrazhensky was played by Evgeny Evstigneev, and Sharik himself was played by Vladimir Tolokonnikov, and this role became the most striking role of his acting career. Later, the actor admitted that sometimes he felt offended that he was firmly and forever remembered for only one role, the role of Sharikov. On the other hand, Vladimir once said: “... It’s nice, proud to realize that I did something significant in cinema. What role after Sharikov could be brighter? None... This is probably why the rest of my works are not remembered very well ".

In the film, Tolokonnikov-Sharikov uttered many bright, now catchphrases, such as “Are you going to beat me, dad?” or “I’m not a master, all gentlemen are in Paris,” and also “Get in line, you sons of bitches, get in line!”

In general, the name Sharikov has long become a household name - it is “sharikov” that is used to call ignorant, poorly educated people who, for one reason or another, find themselves in power.