In the autobiographical story "The Childhood of the Theme" N. G. Garin-Mikhailovsky narrates from the third person, as if distancing himself from his hero and showing him from the outside. "It would be a mistake to see Kartashev as the alter ego of the writer himself, and even more so to make Kartashev the bearer of Garin's views and attitudes on the sole ground that the material underlying the tetralogy is to some extent autobiographical. The writer sought not to reproduce his personal biography in artistic form, but to convey through the particular the general that is characteristic not only of the fate of an entire generation, but also of the formation of a child in general" (Borisova V. A. N. G. Garin-Mikhailovsky. Вступ. article / / Garin-Mikhailovsky N. G. Sobr. soch.: In 5 vols. Vol. 1. Moscow, 1957. p. 21).

Garin-Mikhailovsky seeks to penetrate the secrets of the inner" I " of his hero. Pulling the dog out of an abandoned well, the boy loses strength, " fear takes hold of him. He stops in confusion, not knowing what to do: shout, cry, call for his mother? Feelings of loneliness, powerlessness, and the consciousness of death creep into his soul" (Quoted in: Garin-Mikhailovsky N. G. Collected Works: In 5 volumes, Moscow, 1957, pp. 93-94; yes-

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lei - page only). The author's commentary fixes attention on the child's experiences and, as it were, prepares the boy's monologue, with the help of which the Topic tries to cheer itself up: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid! he says, his voice shaking with terror. "It's a shame to be afraid! Cowards are only afraid! Anyone who does something bad is afraid, but I don't do anything bad, I pull out the Bug, and both mom and dad will praise me for it. Dad was in the war, it's scary there, but isn't it scary here? It's not a bit scary here. I'll rest and go on climbing, then I'll rest again and go on climbing, then I'll get out, then I'll pull out the Bug. The bug will be happy, everyone will wonder how I got it out " (p. 94).

The boy says this to himself in a moment of deadly danger: at any moment he may fall into the depths of the well. The horror that gripped the child's soul is emphasized by the metonymic image of "a shiny, stinking bottom, indifferently waiting for its exhausted victim." The crisis nature of the situation is reflected in the style of the monologue, which belongs to the category of irrational. However, this does not mean that the boy's speech is devoid of logical meaning. Despite all the external "jumpiness", the meditative spell "do not be afraid" is supported by a system of direct evidence. First, only cowards are afraid, and all the behavior of the Subject shows that he is not a coward; secondly, it is shameful to be afraid, especially for him, the son of a combat general; thirdly, those who do bad things should be afraid, he also saves a living creature, for this they can only praise.

Of course, the child's attempt to pull the Bug out of the well is dictated not only by a feeling of pity for the kind and intelligent dog, but also by the Child's desire to rehabilitate himself. After the cruel punishment in the soul of the hero of the story, sympathy for the creature who was suffering as deeply as he was became especially acute, and a desire appeared with his noble act to erase the impression that his unseemly behavior had made on those around him. Gradually, a sense of rightness in relation to the actions performed becomes stronger in the consciousness of the Topic, which is reflected in the author's gesture commentary: if the child says the first words "in a voice trembling with horror", then "his voice gets stronger, sounds more energetic, firmer", in the end, he smiles, remembering how funny he shouted at himself (the italics are mine. - L . With .).

However, after this act, due to the incredible tension of the nervous system, the boy falls ill. The subject is tossing around in the heat with an ice pack on his head, the connection of objects is lost in his mind. My thoughts are confused: "Why is my mother crying? Why does he want to cry, too? What does his mother tell him? Why did he feel so good all of a sudden? But why does his mother leave him, why does everyone leave and leave him alone? Why was it so dark? How terrible it suddenly became! What is it coming out of-

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under the beds?! This is Dad... dear dad!! Oh, no, no,.. it's not Dad, it's something scary coming up. Go, go, go to yourself! - Tema shouts with wild fear ,... and his cry turns into a kind of low, full of horror and anguish roar " (p. 95).

On the verge of delirium, irrationally breaks through what the boy tried to hide even from himself, not finding an explanation for the disparate impressions, but which is understandable to the author. The fear of loneliness and breaking ties with family and friends is the most terrible punishment for the Topic. Having experienced remorse and received the forgiveness of his mother, he instinctively fears a repetition of the past, which pops up in his sick mind. The subject has conflicting feelings for his father, emphasized with an oxymoron: the boy associates" cute " dad with something scary. By the way, Kartashev Sr. is sometimes perceived by readers only as a tyrant who tortures his son, but in Garin's work there are pages devoted to the touching love of father and son, which was especially aggravated on the eve of the old general's death.

Garin-Mikhailovsky's internal monologue does not take up much space, this is primarily due to the peculiarities of the author's way of depicting the characters of the story. Since the world of the Theme is a world of emotions, movements of the " heart "that have a direct external expression in the form of actions themselves, the writer seeks to show how the dynamics of the development of the inner" I " of the hero finds expression in his actions.

Logical and irrational monologues in the story are usually spoken by different people. If emotional natures (Subject, his mother) If they are also emotional in their speech, then the representative of the state education system - the director of the gymnasium - is logical and accurate in expressing his point of view. He speaks "dryly and with restraint", and to Aglaida Vasilyevna's fervent confessions, outraged by the fact that her beloved son was kicked out of high school on the first day, the director responds with a purely rational philippics: "Every mother brings up her children as she thinks best, considers, of course, her system ideal and resolutely forgets only one thing"he completely forgets about the further social upbringing of his child, and completely forgets about the leader whose duty it is to unite all this disparate mass into something that, speaking of the practical side of the matter, he should have coped with" (p.124). In the speech of the director, who sets out his pedagogical credo, there are completely no feelings, so it is no coincidence that the mother of the Topic "explodes" with an unexpected question addressed to this double of Chekhov Belikov: "Does your wife have children?". And to the positive answer of the puzzled director, in a voice trembling with pain and indignation, he asks to pass on

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his wife and children wish never to experience what she and her son experienced today.

Aglaida Vasilyevna and her son share a tender friendship. General Kartashev's wife has her own" method " of upbringing: the mother respects the child's personality, she tries to influence his imagination, choosing the right words to ignite the boy's heart. Like no one else, she skillfully influences the Topic, forms its soul. After the execution of her son, the woman can not find a place, she accuses herself of allowing the boy to be punished in such a cruel form. Aglaida Vasilyevna's ardent fervor is embodied in her monologue: "Thoughts swarm around in her head. Let the subject lie like this, let him come to his senses, we must leave him completely to himself... at least change his underwear... Oh, my God, my God, what a terrible mistake, how could she have made it! What vile filth! Just like a child, a conscious scoundrel! How not to understand that if he does stupid things, pranks, he does it only because he does not see the bad side of this prank. To show him this bad side, not from his own, of course, adult point of view, from his child's, not to convince himself, but to convince him, to hurt his ego, again his childish ego, his weak side, to be able to achieve this-this is the task of proper education" (p.78).

The monologue of the heroine of the story, which begins irrationally, gradually acquires a logical harmony. The last, logical part of it can equally belong to both Aglaida Vasilyevna and the author himself, who shares the pedagogical and moral positions of the mother of the Topic.

Garin-Mikhailovsky does not always separate the inner speech of the characters from the author's narrative using punctuation marks or graphic divisions of the text. The writer often uses the technique of improper-direct speech, gradually turning into a monologue of the hero. This technique brings together the spheres of consciousness of the author and the character with whom the writer identifies. It is enough to recall the beginning of the story, built according to the scheme: the author's narration - improper-direct speech - internal monologue of the Topic.

The world of little Kartashev, and, consequently, his speech sphere is open to accepting "someone else's word". As an educational experiment, the parents allowed their son to play in the hired yard. This forbidden space has long attracted the boy, there was a completely different life, and the main asset of this world was freedom from the rules and decencies of good taste cultivated in the manor house. The Topic's attention is drawn to the terrible stories of Geraska, the ataman of a childish band, about the dead buried without a funeral service, about an old Pulchikha who committed suicide. Ge-

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raska does not spare colors: "The face is terrible, si-i-i-nyaya, swollen, teeth lapping, and the eyes and toss and turn... She's still hanging around every night, the bastard, and until they put an aspen stake in her belly, she'll just keep climbing " (p. 100).

Scary bullheads with their rough vernacular and bright expressive coloring seem to the boy an integral feature of the new world that is so attractive to him. I would like to show the unique charm of this world to my loved ones in order to convince them of the attractiveness of the hired yard.

Geraska's story is for a child the most powerful and unforgettable impression of the hired yard, the images of which "crowd" before the imagination of a boy sitting at home at evening tea. The topic becomes animated only when the tenant's complaint reaches his ear that Pulchikha's room is still free. Trying to explain the reason why the old woman's shack will never be occupied, the boy tries to imitate Geraska. the child's story "takes in" someone else's tone of speech, he "savors" with pleasure the words that are so unusual to the ear of his family members sitting at the table: "- As someone hires, she, vile, climbs to the window, her muzzle si-i-nyaya, her teeth lick, she is bloated, vile... But if you put an aspen stake in her belly, the bastard will stop walking " (p. 101).

The mother, shocked by what she has heard, comes to the conclusion that this story indicates the depravity of the child. The next day, the Topic is not allowed to enter the hired yard and the whole day is devoted to" cleaning " the boy from moral garbage.

Parents are not always able to understand the impressionable soul of their son, they see and hear only what is on its surface. Neither the Subject's enthusiasm for visiting the hired yard, nor his desire to become a part of this new world, taking over the speech of its inhabitants as much as possible, are incomprehensible to adults. The author sneers at the mother's desire to protect her son from the corrupting influence of new friends: "a thorough investigation, however, does not reveal any special litter." The search for approaches to this Topic is likened to a criminal investigation, a "thorough investigation".

The boy is trying to learn new roles. He is going to become a student and, bragging to his friends from the hired yard about his involvement in an unknown world, "sings" from someone else's voice, telling about the rules in the gymnasium. "If someone is naughty, and the teacher comes and asks who was naughty, and the other one says-he is a sneak. As soon as the teacher leaves, they will take him to the hall, cover him with greatcoats, and beat him" (p.112). This impression will become an iconic attribute of the gymnasium for Tema: it is not for nothing that he will remember it when he first appears in class. Before the exercise, General Kartashev, speaking about comradeship, parted words to his son:-

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he will also mention how in his time the snitchers were persecuted - covered with greatcoats and beaten.

However, real life will be much more prosaic and thus more terrible than this code of honor. The treachery so despised by the Subject will, in a bitter twist of fate, become applicable to him as well. The culmination of the story of Garin-Mikhailovsky is the ninth chapter, called "Tattletale". Vakhnov, one of the students of the class where Tema was studying, decided to take revenge on the French teacher and stuck a needle in the chair intended for the ill-fated teacher. After sharing his invention with Tema and his friend Ivanov, Vakhnov demands silence. The boys ' faces reflect the whole gamut of feelings: Garin prefers a detailed author's narrative to a sparse reproduction of the children's replicas and their reactions to what is happening. An internal monologue is clearly out of place here due to the rapidly developing action. First, a gesture comment follows: Vakhnov sees horror on the faces of Ivanov and Tema instead of the expected approval. Ivanov promises to remain silent with dignity, but not because they are afraid of the Topic, but because the rules of the partnership oblige them to do so. However, Ivanov still gives his assessment of Vakhnov's actions, calling them vile filth. Kartashev only responds with a glance to his own thoughts expressed so clearly by his friend. The appearance of the director causes the Topic to panic. He gives himself away by shouting:

"It's not me! Tema screamed, pinned down on the bench.

"Who?" the director could only croak, grabbing him by the arm.

"I don't know!" - answered with a high-pitched screech Theme " (p. 160). The phraseological unit "grab by the hand" in the sense of "reveal a secret, catch, catch" is paired here with a direct gesture of the director towards the boy. The scene continues to unfold in a non-verbal aspect, we observe only the actions-gestures of the director, who, " pulling the Subject by the arm, pulled him into the aisle with one movement and dragged him along." A boy who has experienced an emotional shock, stupidly perceives the surrounding reality. Moving from the classroom to the scary world of the director's office is accompanied by a torn perception of space: Tema listlessly watches the rows of hangers, greatcoats, and a dirty galosha lying in the middle of the corridor. The boy's hearing is startled by the "ominous click of the lock on the locked door." The space of the director's office is closed, it resembles an old well, in which a Bug howled mad with fear and loneliness. Now the Theme suffers in this world. But no one will come to the rescue.

Garin-Mikhailovsky is not at all inclined to justify the betrayal of his hero, but by all available means he tries to trace the betrayal of the hero.-

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to identify and explain its origins. The author elaborates on the story, describing every gesture and word of the participants in this episode, moreover, showing the process of betrayal with a striking insight into the depths of the boy's subconscious. A significant element of the story is a kind of "dialogue of the eyes" of the angry director and his little victim: "The black burning eyes that were fixed on him never let go of the wide-open eyes of the Subject for a moment. It was as if something, in spite of itself, was pushing his eyes apart and entering through them imperiously and forcefully, with excruciating pain, deep into the Subject, there... somewhere far away, in that depth, which only the cold touch of something foreign for the first time felt in himself numb boy. ...Dazed, dejected, Tema felt like he was sinking somewhere... And then, like a plaintive whistle in a storm, next to a wild howl, his incoherent, fading words for mercy rang out in his ears, words of pleading, pleading, and again pleading for mercy, and still more terrible, terrible words that fell unconsciously from his dead lips... Ah! more terrible than the cemetery, than my father's rods, than the headmaster himself, than anything else in the world. What's the stench of the well?! There, when he opened his mouth, he could no longer feel it. ...From the stench of the soul that engulfed the Topic, he madly rushed...

- No! No! I don't want to! With a mad cry of infinite anguish, Tema rushed to the director who had snatched the confession from him.

"Shut up! - the satisfied director said with calm, cold contempt " (p. 161).

Garin does not frame the boy's confession as a direct speech, because, in fact, it will not reveal anything to the reader who knows the true culprit of what happened; it is much more important to follow how the inner well-being of the little hero changes, how fear grows in the soul of the Hero, which is replaced by despair and self-contempt. Silence, which is one of the most significant forms of nonverbal speech behavior, sometimes affects the reader's imagination much more strongly than the characters ' lengthy monologues.

The test, which turned out to be too much for the Topic, is passed with honor by his friend Ivanov. "I can't, I can't... Ivanov's rapid, trembling voice came to the Subject's ears, as if from some infinite height. "Do what you want with me, I'll take all the blame, but I can't give it away...

There was a deathly silence.

"You are being expelled from the gymnasium," the headmaster said coldly and calmly. "You can go home now. Individuals with this direction cannot be tolerated.

"What should I do?" - Ivanov answered irritably,-throw me out, but you still won't force me to do something mean.

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"Out!!

Tema didn't feel anything anymore. Everything was somehow numb in him (p. 162) (my italics. - L. S.).

Let's note how the tone of the conversation changes: at first, Ivanov is afraid, he is in a hurry to indicate his position ("I can't give it away"), in order to end this painful ordeal once and for all. During the" deathly silence", the parties sensibly assess their positions. The director understands that in the case of Ivanov, shouting is not the best means of influence. The boy comes to his senses, the fear in his soul is replaced by irritation, which is heard in despair at the impossibility of changing something: the child is powerless to explain to the education official that in addition to legal laws, there is also a code of honor and rules of partnership. The last" cry " of the director is the recognition of his defeat in this moral duel.

Compared to the magazine version, the writer reduced naturalistic details, rhetorical phrases, and extended descriptions of the child's experiences in the interrogation scene. In the final text, he did not include a moral maxim summarizing the moral torture of a small person: "A person who corrupts the body of an adult is called a criminal and refers to hard labor. A man who corrupts the soul of a child ...a soul that before it goes to that unknown world where we finally recognize it and give it divine honors... A living, suffering soul here with us...". This conclusion follows from the essence of the episode itself, and therefore the author apparently considered the comment superfluous.

It is symbolic that in the most difficult moments for Kartashev - a high school student and Kartashev-a student, the Topic will mentally return to the story of the Bug: as an adult, he will relate his life baggage to the time of childhood, when everyone loved him, and when he was ready to love the whole world.

Observations of the speech of the author and his characters in N. G. Garin-Mikhailovsky's autobiographical story "The Childhood of the Theme" help to understand the essence of the characters ' characters, follow the process of formation of their inner world, and also contribute to penetration into the ideological and artistic world of the work.

Volgograd

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