As a man fed two generals - a summary of the story ME. Saltykov-Shchedrin

"The tale of how one man fed the two generals" was written in the middle of the XIX century and has many admirers. She tells the reader how the man fed two generals. The brief content fully shows the stupidity of the respected Petersburg officials and their inability to take care of themselves.

Briefly about the author

The future famous Russian writer was born in 1826. During his studies at the famous Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum he began to study versification and print his works, but later gave up this occupation. Working in the military chancery, he began to create prosaic works. He was sent into exile for showing freethinking. After returning to Moscow, he served in one of the ministries, later was governor of Ryazan, Tver. For some time he headed the publishing house Sovremennik. He died in St. Petersburg in 1889.

Genre features

Among schoolboys the story about how the muzhik has supported two generals is popular. The summary of the work reveals the idea of the author, who wanted to show the stupidity, ignorance of officials and the lack of will of the peasant who was so used to obey that he immediately began to fulfill the demands of the generals. The work is written in the genre of a satirical literary tale and therefore contains many grotesque exaggerations, hyperbole and irony, designed to ridicule the shortcomings of the society of that time. A satirical work about how a man fed two generals (a brief summary is presented below) contains many expressions characteristic of the Russian folk tale. From the oral folk art the author also took the start and a fantastic element.

Summary

"The tale of how one man fed the two generals" tells of the incredible adventures of St. Petersburg officials. Safely retired, they did not know how to do anything. Waking up one fine morning, the heroes found themselves on a desert island. The generals decided to look around: one of them was to go north, the other to the south. However, there was an obstacle that they could not overcome. The heroes did not know how to determine the sides of the world. After long disputes, one official went left, the other to the right.

After inspecting the island, the generals realized that he was rich in food: fruits, fish, game. But the officials could not get it. After a long search for food, one of the generals managed to find the old number of the Moscow Gazette. Sowing under a tree, the heroes began to discuss what was tastier: boots or gloves, but suddenly, because of the severe hunger, they attacked each other. After recovering themselves, the officials decided to talk, but all their conversations were reduced to eating. Then they began to read the newspaper, but again everything was spinning around the food.

And suddenly one official offered to find a man who is everywhere. After a short search, they managed to find a man who was sleeping under a tree. The heroes woke him up, accused him of unwillingness to help, and clung to him in such a way that he could not escape. The peasant fed them with apples, potatoes, hazel grouses. When they had eaten, officials ordered the peasant to weave a rope and tie it to a tree.

After a while, the generals got bored and wanted to return home. They demanded that the man make a ship and take them away. He prepared a man of supplies, built a ship and sent them to Petersburg. The generals were so glad to be back at home, that they gave vodka and a silver coin to their savior with generosity.

Animation

This literary tale was filmed. In 1965, the same short animated film was released. He was filmed at the Soyuzmultfilm studio.

The reader can easily determine the author's attitude to the Russian people after reading a fairy tale about how a man fed two generals. The summary shows the sincere love and admiration of the author by ordinary people, but their slavish behavior could not but cause him regret.