The tales of A. S. Pushkin are an example of how a common plot can become a masterpiece of high literary language. The poet managed to poetic form convey not only the characters of the heroes, but also a prerequisite for any such narrative - teaching, that is, what the fairy tale teaches. “About a Fisherman and a Fish” is a story about human greed. The fairy tale “About Tsar Saltan” is about how evil and deceit are punishable, but good always wins. So in the plots of all fairy tales written by the poet.
When teachers explain to schoolchildren what “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish” (2nd grade) teaches, they rely on the plot of the work. This is correct, since children must understand what basic categories drive people's actions: good and evil, generosity and greed, betrayal and forgiveness, and many others. Fairy tales help children understand them and make right choice in favor of good.
In the fairy tale about the Golden Fish, the plot begins with the fact that on the shore of the blue sea there lived an old man and an old woman. He fished and she spun yarn, but their shack was old and even the trough was broken.
The old man was lucky to catch a Goldfish, who begged him to return it to the sea and even offered a ransom for himself.
The kind fisherman let her go, but the old woman did not like his noble deed, so she demanded that he return to the sea and ask the fish for at least a trough. The old man did just that. The fish gave what the old woman wanted, but she wanted more - a new hut, then to be a pillar noblewoman, then a free queen, until she decided to become the Lady, who has the fish herself on her errands.
The wise fish fulfilled the old woman's requests until she demanded the impossible. So the old woman was left again with nothing.
Children, reading about the old man’s story, understand what Pushkin’s “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish” teaches. Power and wealth changed the old woman every time, making her angrier. Schoolchildren make the correct conclusion that greed is punishable, and they can again be left with nothing.
Fairy tale of the Brothers Grimm
If we take as a basis the philosophical categories of what “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish” teaches, the analysis should begin with It was with their story about a greedy old woman who, starting with little desires, went so far as to want to become the Pope of Rome, that the poet was familiar with .
It seems that the plot of the instructive story is about ordinary human greed, but if you pay attention to the symbolism embedded in it, what “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish” teaches takes on a completely different meaning. As it turned out, the Brothers Grimm, and after them Pushkin, were far from the first to use this theme.
Vedic wisdom
In the treatise Matsya Purana it is presented in the form of an allegory. For example, the old man in it is the real “I” of a person, his soul, which is in a state of peace (nirvana). In Pushkin’s fairy tale, the fisherman appears exactly like this to the readers. He has lived with an old woman in a shack for 33 years, fishes and is happy with everything. Isn't this a sign of enlightenment?
This is what “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish” teaches: the true purpose of man is to be in harmony with his soul and the surrounding reality. The old man coped well with the huge and full of temptations of the material world, which symbolizes the blue sea.
He throws a net with his desires into it and gets what he needs for his daily day. Another thing is the old woman.
Old woman
She personifies human egoism, which is never completely satisfied, and therefore does not know what happiness is. Egoism wants to consume as much material wealth as possible. That is why, starting with the trough, the old woman soon wanted to dominate the fish itself.
If in the ancient treatise her image is a symbol of a person’s renunciation of his spiritual nature in favor of false consciousness and the material world, then in Pushkin it is an evil egoistic principle that forces the old man (a pure soul) to indulge her whims.
The Russian poet very well describes the submission of the soul to egoism. Every time the old man goes to bow to the Goldfish with a new demand from the old woman. It is symbolic that the sea, which is the prototype of the vast material world, becomes more and more formidable every time. By this, Pushkin showed how great the separation of a pure soul from its purpose is, when each time it sinks deeper and deeper into the abyss of material wealth.
Fish
In Vedic culture, the fish represents God. It is no less powerful in Pushkin’s work. If you think about what “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish” teaches, the answers will be obvious: a false egoistic shell cannot give a person happiness. For this, he does not need material wealth, but the unity of the soul with God, which manifests itself in a harmonious state of peace and receiving joy from being.
The fish comes to the old man three times to fulfill his egoistic desires, but, as it turns out, even the sea sorceress cannot fill the false shell.
The struggle between spiritual and egoistic principles
Many philosophical, religious, artistic and psychological books have been written about this struggle. Both principles - the pure soul (in Pushkin's fairy tale, the old man) and egoism (the old woman) are fighting among themselves. The poet showed very well what humility and indulgence in selfish desires lead to.
His main character He didn’t even try to resist the old woman, but each time he obediently went to bow to the fish with a new demand from her. Alexander Sergeevich just showed what such connivance with one’s own egoism leads to, and how his false, insatiable needs end.
Today, the phrase “being left with nothing” is used at the everyday level when talking about human greed.
In philosophy its meaning is much broader. It is not material goods that make people happy. The old woman's behavior speaks to this. As soon as she became a pillar noblewoman, she wished to be a queen, and then - more. She did not radiate happiness and contentment with the advent of new types of power and wealth.
This is what “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish” teaches: to remember the soul, that it is primary, and the material world is secondary and insidious. Today a person can be in power, but tomorrow he will become poor and unknown, like the old woman at that ill-fated trough.
Thus, the Russian poet’s children’s fairy tale conveys the depth of the eternal confrontation between the ego and the soul, which people knew about in ancient times.
An old man and an old woman live in an old shack by the blue sea. The old man earns his living by fishing, and his wife spins yarn all day. One day, returning from an unsuccessful fishing trip, the old man talks about a wonderful fish who asked to be released into the wild, promising to fulfill any wishes in return. Out of surprise, or out of pity, the old man does not ask for anything, and releases the fish into the sea for nothing.
In “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish,” what the wise fish teaches children is that wealth cannot give happiness.
Having heard her husband's amazing story, the old woman begins to scold him, demanding that he return to the sea, call the fish and ask her for a new trough. The old man obediently goes to the sea to fulfill his wife’s request.
But the miraculous appearance of a new trough in the old hut only provokes the old woman. She begins to ask for more and more, not wanting to stop - a new beautiful house, a noble title, a royal throne in the underwater kingdom. When she demands that the fish be on her parcels, she shows the old woman its place - in an old shack near a broken trough.
What is the essence of the fairy tale?
Each person interprets the essence of a fairy tale in his own way. Someone tries it on with Eastern philosophy, seeing human egoism in the image of a greedy old woman, and in the old man a pure soul, content with life and submissive to an evil will.
Some people imagine the England of Pushkin’s times, and Russia is turning into a Goldfish, leaving the British with nothing. Still others who admire Pushkin’s work see in the fairy tale a clear example of unsuccessful marital relations. They suggest looking at the old woman to understand how a good wife should not behave.
From a psychological point of view, a fairy tale is a unique work that subtly characterizes human nature, its gluttony, greed, submission to evil, irresponsibility, and poverty.
You will learn what “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish” teaches by remembering it.
What does “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish” teach?
The tale of the fisherman and the fish teaches that one should not be greedy. Grandma wanted first a trough, then a house, and she wanted more and more! But in the end, she returned to having her old trough again. Greed destroyed her, that’s what this fairy tale teaches.
Pushkin taught a great lesson about how easy it is to lose everything by succumbing to stupidity and greed.
- In the tale, the Old Man's compassion towards the fish is rewarded and, on the other hand, his wife's greed is rightly punished.
Alexander Sergeevich wanted to show that people punish themselves for greed and ignorance of this line. On the one hand, the old woman can be understood. Poor woman, she was tired of living in poverty, and then the opportunity to live well presented itself. She completely lost her head from the opportunities and wealth that she had. In this tale, the old woman is considered the personification of evil. She is characterized by envy, anger, and stinginess. In all fairy tales, good triumphs over evil. In this tale, good teaches and punishes evil. Good does not destroy evil, but teaches - the fish laughed at the old woman. A.S. Pushkin wanted to show that people have not yet understood that happiness does not come from wealth. He showed how ridiculous people look in pursuit of wealth.
Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was born into a noble family. He began writing poetry as a child (at the Lyceum). A. S. Pushkin is one of the most outstanding poets of the 19th century. Alexander Sergeevich was not only an outstanding lyric poet, but also a writer. His works: “Blizzard”, “Dubrovsky”, “The Peasant Young Lady”, “Shot” and many others, as well as poems, fairy tales and novels in verse are known not only in Russia, but throughout the world. His novel in verse “Eugene Onegin” has been and is being read for many generations. Many children grew up reading his tales. The simplest in content, but deep in meaning, is “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish” (1833). “There lived an old man with his old woman...” They were very poor and lived on what the old man caught in the sea. One day, an old man caught a goldfish, and it promised him in exchange for freedom to fulfill his wishes. First, the old man asked for a new trough for the old woman, but the trough was not enough for the old woman, the old man went to ask for a hut, but the hut was not enough either. After the old woman received a hut, she wanted to receive the title of “pillar noblewoman.” Even this seemed not enough to the old woman; she wanted to be a queen, but she soon got bored with this too, and she decided to become the “Mistress of the Sea”... The fish didn't say anything. She just splashed her tail on the water and went into the deep sea... The old man did not wait for the fish and went home, and when he arrived home, he saw that everything was as before and his old woman was sitting near a broken trough.
This fairy tale shows the essence and character of a person very well. Man is selfish by nature. He will always desire and strive for something more than he has and can have. Rarely does anyone know the extent and limits of their capabilities. Alexander Sergeevich wanted to show that people punish themselves for greed and ignorance of this line. On the one hand, the old woman can be understood. Poor woman, she was tired of living in poverty, and then the opportunity to live well presented itself. She completely lost her head from the opportunities and wealth that she had. In this tale, the old woman is considered the personification of evil. She is characterized by envy, anger, and stinginess. In all fairy tales, good triumphs over evil. In this tale, good teaches and punishes evil. Good does not destroy evil, but teaches - the fish laughed at the old woman. A.S. Pushkin wanted to show that people have not yet understood that happiness does not come from wealth. He showed how ridiculous people look in pursuit of wealth. The fish in this fairy tale acts as goodness; it personifies goodness. The fish was ready to fulfill any wishes of the old woman, but did not want to serve as a weapon with which the old woman wanted to achieve greatness. The old man acts as a mediator. He doesn’t need anything in particular; he knows how to be content with what he has. Here there is a comparison between an old man, spineless, selfless, and an old woman, a cruel, grumpy, greedy woman. Having set a goal, you need to achieve it, and having achieved it, be content with it. I believe that if a person has achieved a lot, then he can, of course, want more for himself, but he must do this in such a way that it is not to the detriment of himself and others.
