Lefties are unique people, no one has any doubt about this. They make up 10% of the world's population, but sometimes it seems that they are forgotten: let's remember all the “right-handed” gadgets, not conveniently equipped desktops for everyone, as well as cutlery that is intended for use right hand.

What are the reasons for a person’s “left-handedness”?

Scientists do not give an exact answer to this question, but research indicates a close relationship between genetics and a person’s external environment. There is no exact data on the presence of “left-handed” genes in humans, but there is confirmation of the fact that left-handers usually have more “left-handed” relatives than right-handers. In addition, scientists have found differences in the structure of the cerebral hemispheres of left-handers and right-handers.

No matter what makes people use their left hand predominantly, tireless researchers have discovered a number of qualities that are unique to left-handed people.

We bring to the attention of all left-handers, as well as right-handers with “left-handed” and “equal-handed” habits (or with ambidexterity).

Review of facts and myths about left-handed people

1. Left-handed people are more prone to mental disorders

Lefties make up 10% of the population. However, according to research, this figure is higher in the group of people with mental disorders. Recent studies have shown that 20% of people prone to mental disorders prefer to use their left hand.

Researchers from Yale University (New Haven, Conn.) and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas examined 107 patients in outpatient psychiatric clinics. In the group with mild disorders, such as depression or bipolar affective disorder, 11% were left-handed. However, in the group with severe mental disorders, like schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, the percentage of left-handers reached 40%. Scientists believe that interhemispheric asymmetry is important in this case.

2. Health may depend on a more developed hand

According to a study published in 2010 in the journal Pediatrics, left-handed people are more susceptible to dyslexia (the inability to learn to read and write), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and some other neurological disorders. Researchers cannot explain this phenomenon, but associate it with the interaction of neural connections in the human brain. The human brain consists of two hemispheres: left and right. Most people (both right-handed and left-handed) use the left hemisphere to master speech.

However, about 30% of left-handers either use partially or right hemisphere, or do not have a dominant hemisphere at all. According to scientists, it is important that only one hemisphere is dominant, which is why left-handers can experience such mental disorders.

But lefties were luckier in other respects. According to a study published in the journal Laterality, left-handers are at lower risk of developing arthritis or ulcers.

3. Left-handers perceive speech differently

According to a study from Georgetown University Medical Center, left-handed people perceive rapidly changing sounds more easily than right-handed people.

Researchers have found that the left and right hemispheres respond differently to different sounds. The left hemisphere, which controls the right hand, is responsible for recognizing rapidly alternating sounds, like consonants, while the right hemisphere, which controls the left hand, is responsible for recognizing intonation modulations and slowly alternating sounds, like vowels.

According to researchers, when you wave a flag during a politician's speech, you will perceive his speech differently depending on which hand you hold the flag in.

This study can provide valuable assistance in curing stuttering or speech disorders.

4. And in the primitive age, left-handers were in the minority

“Right-handedness” is not a trend of our time: people used their right hand more confidently than their left more than 500 thousand years ago.

Researchers from the University of Kansas recently determined the “handedness” of an ancient man by his jaw (which sounds pretty strange, doesn’t it?). The study, published in the journal Laterality, found that when our great-great-great-great-grandfathers processed animal skins, they held one edge of the skin with their hand and the other with their teeth. By analyzing the wear of prehistoric jaws, scientists were able to determine which hand our ancestors used most actively. “One tooth is enough to determine whether a person is left-handed or right-handed,” researcher David Freier told LiveScience.

And what is the verdict?

“Prehistoric creatures, like modern humans, used primarily their right hand.”

5. Lefties are more sophisticated and artistic

Left-handed people have proudly claimed for years that they are more creative than right-handed people. But is this true? Does being left-handed really mean being more creative and proactive?

According to a study published in the American Journal of Psychology, left-handed people do have at least one advantage in terms of creative development: They have better divergent thinking - a way of thinking in which different solutions are simultaneously generated in the brain.

To determine how much more successful left-handers are in creativity compared to right-handers, representatives of the Left-Handers Club conducted a survey of more than 2,000 left-handers, right-handers and people with equal use of both hands. The study confirmed that left-handers are indeed more successful in terms of construction. careers in art, music, sports and information technology.

6. Vote for lefties!

It turns out that it doesn’t matter whether our politicians are “right” or “left”: unexpectedly, the highest percentage of US presidents are on the “left” side - not in terms of politics, of course.

The list of left-handed presidents is quite impressive. Let's take as an example the last four of the seven US commanders in chief - these are Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Gerald Ford (and let's remember in addition James Garfield and Harry Truman). There were rumors that Ronald Reagan was born left-handed, but at school strict teachers retrained him to be right-handed. Is it conceivable that right-handed presidents are simply pretending to be left-handed?

The growing number of left-handed presidents is probably just a coincidence. However, a recent study by Dutch scientists suggests that left-handed politicians have a clear advantage in televised debates. Guess why? Usually simple people associate gesturing with the right hand as “correct gestures”, “gestures of kindness”. Since the television broadcast works as a mirror image, gestures with the left hand are displayed in the eyes of the viewer as movements in positive side(towards the good).

7. Lefties win at sports

Golf legend Phil Mickelson, tennis star Rafael Nadal, boxing champion Oscar de la Goya - you have no idea how many of our sports favorites are left-handed!

If you believe the data in Rik Smits’ book “The Diverse World of Left-Handed People,” left-handed people really do have an advantage in combat sports. But only under the condition of one-on-one competition. For right-handers, the “left-handedness” of an opponent often turns out to be a surprise for which they are not prepared: for the most part, this applies to tennis, boxing and baseball.

8. Left-handers are more likely to get scared

According to the British Society of Psychology, left-handed people are more susceptible to fear than right-handed people.

In the study, participants watched an 8-minute episode from the movie “The Silence of the Lambs.” After viewing, left-handers showed more signs of post-traumatic stress disorder than right-handers and made more errors in describing what they saw.

“It turns out that left-handers, after experiencing stress (even if the stressful situation was in a movie), behave the same way as people after post-traumatic stress disorder,” said the head of the researchers, Caroline Choudgerry. She believes that the reasons lie in brain activity. “Obviously, "that the two hemispheres of the brain react differently to stress, and the right hemisphere reacts more to the fear factor. However, more research is required before we can say anything definitively," she adds.

9. Lefties get angrier

If you have disagreements with your right-handed partner (he may be right about many things), the likely cause may be your left-handedness. According to a blitz study in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, left-handed people are more prone to feeling negative emotions, and they also tend to worry longer and delay reconciliation.

10. Lefties are easier to discourage

Lefties are much more prone to self-deprecation. Researchers from the University of Abertay in Scotland examined 46 left-handers and 66 right-handers for signs of impulsivity and self-control. It turned out that left-handers react more painfully to statements like “I am afraid of making a mistake” and “I am affected by criticism or ridicule.” The combination of responses from left-handers has led researchers to believe that left-handers are more vulnerable, shy and lacking in self-confidence compared to right-handers.

“Left-handers are prone to hesitation and hesitation, while right-handers are more decisive and reckless in their decisions and actions,” the service reported BBC News researcher Lynn Wright.

11. Left-handed people are more likely to put it behind their collar.

Next time you're stuck at a bar with a tipsy friend, pay attention to which hand he's holding on to his whiskey glass: it'll probably be his left hand.

It has long been believed that left-handers are more prone to alcoholism. There were no reliable facts or convincing evidence on this matter. And only recently, a study conducted in 12 countries with the participation of 25 thousand people, clarified the situation a little. Left-handers do not make up the majority of alcoholics - but they do drink more and more often than right-handers.

According to Kevin Denny, a researcher who conducted a study of the tendency of left-handed people to alcoholism, the results of which were published in the British Journal of Health Psychology, the main goal of the study was to debunk the myth about the widespread alcoholism of left-handed people. “There is no evidence to suggest that left-handed people are necessarily more likely to drink excessively,” he says in a press release. “And there is no evidence to suggest that excessive cravings for drinking are caused by disharmony in the functioning of the brain hemispheres or stressful situations due to the social status of left-handers as a social minority.”

12. Lefties have their own day

Left-handers all over the world celebrate this day, which light hand The "Left-Handers Club" in Great Britain in 1992 became official holiday in order to draw attention to the peculiarities of the lifestyle of left-handers and their problems.

According to a statement on the initiative group’s website, “this holiday is a day when left-handers are proud of their “left-handedness” and try to convey to other fellow citizens all its advantages and disadvantages.”

How can right-handed people celebrate this day? Create a left-handed area: If you're in a business where a narrow left-handed line is possible, do it, design it, even if it's something small like office desks for left-handed employees or left-handed cutlery.

HISTORY OF CREATION. The idea of ​​the story “Lefty” (The Tale of the Tula oblique Lefty and steel flea)” arose from Leskov, probably by 1878. According to the testimony of his son, A.N. Leskov, my father spent this summer in Sestroretsk, in the house of a gunsmith. Being acquainted with the assistant to the head of the local arms factory, Colonel N.E. Bolonin, Leskov discussed with him the question of the sources of origin of the joke about how “the British made a flea out of steel, and our Tula people shod it and sent it back to them.” Having never learned anything about the origin of this proverb, Leskov in May 1881 wrote the story “Lefty,” the plot of which is based on the “adverb” that attracted his attention.

Initially, the writer intended to combine three “ready-made small essays” under the general title “Historical characters in fabulous tales of a new composition,” which, according to the writer himself, would be “pictures of folk art about the emperors: Nicholas I, Alexander II and Alexandra III(economic)” (from a letter to I.S. Aksakov, May 1881).

However, in October 1881, Leskov published one story in the magazine “Rus” entitled “The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea (guild legend).” The following year, the story was published as a separate edition, to which the writer made some changes. They were aimed at enhancing the satirical sound of the story (for example, in the 7th chapter the writer added that money for the needs of churches is collected “even where there is nothing to take”). In addition, in the text of the 1882 edition, quotation marks were removed from a number of specific words and expressions characteristic of popular speech.

The appearance of “Lefty” almost immediately caused reactions in the press. In October 1881, Leskov, in a letter to Aksakov, emphasized that “even literary writers really noticed “The Flea” here.” However, the critics did not understand the artistic value of the story; Leskov’s genre quests turned out to be alien to them. He was accused of “Slavophile chauvinism”, and of trying to attribute to the people qualities that were not inherent to them, to show how “a Russian man puts a foreigner in his belt,” and of belittling the Russian people.

GENRE ORIGINALITY. Critics, being almost unanimous in their belief that Leskov was just an artistic adaptation of a popular legend, called the story “a simple shorthand”, a “retelling”. This assessment was explained by a too literal understanding of the preface with which Leskov introduced the first editions of the story. Having introduced the subtitle “guild legend” into the title, the writer continued to “deceive” the reader in the preface itself, claiming that he wrote down this legend in Sestroretsk from the words of “an old gunsmith, a native of Tula,” and it “expresses the pride of Russian gunsmiths.”

Leskov probably did not expect that criticism, based on his own assertion of the existence of the legend, would be so sarcastic about his literary abilities. As a result, the writer was forced to “expose” himself and in June 1882, in the newspaper “Novoe Vremya”, publish an article “About the Russian Lefty (Literary Explanation).” In it, Leskov calls this work a story, insists on his authorship, and calls Lefty “a person... made up.” Later, in 1889, when preparing the collected works, the writer removed the preface from the text of the story.

Why does Leskov give “Lefty” the genre definition of “story”? After all, strictly speaking, this work is more like a story. It has a fairly large volume, which is not typical for a story; it is divided into 20 chapters and covers a long period of time (approximately 10-12 years). In addition, it is characterized by a consistent development of action with the introduction of new characters, depiction of the heroes’ wanderings and new impressions (all this is also in to a large extent characteristic of the story). However, the writer calls “Lefty” a “story” for a reason. Firstly, the word “story” itself is largely related to the root word “skaz”, emphasizing the oral nature of the story. Secondly, the main character and main object of the image is Lefty. The description of Alexander I’s stay in England, the conversation between Nicholas I and Platov, the latter’s trip to Tula and even the work of Tula masters only prepares the reader for the story of Lefty’s travels (in a letter to Aksakov in October 1881, Leskov said that “ best part after all, in the end - Lefty in England and his tragic death”).

Thus, in the center of the story is only one stage in the hero’s life - his stay in England, which Lefty sincerely tried to use for the benefit of the Fatherland. Combining the features of a short story and a story in his work, focusing the reader’s attention on several episodes from the life of the hero and at the same time considering them in the context of Russian life and generally correlating the actions common man Lefties and the behavior of the “fathers of the Fatherland”, Leskov expresses his attitude to what is happening. Combining features of different genres helps the author solve certain creative problems (related to the affirmation of one hero and the debunking of others), and becomes one of the forms of identifying author's position.

But “Lefty” also combines features of folklore genres: tales, traditions, legends. Byvalshchina, or reality, is a small oral history about an unusual case that took place in reality, and the main character is often a simple person. Tradition tells about real people and events that took place in the past. But the stories of eyewitnesses in the legend are processed and subsequently modified. In this case, we have a combination of the features of the byvalshchina, which tells about three Tula masters and sets out the story of Lefty (about the reality of whose existence only the narrator knows), and a legend that tells about people who actually existed: Alexander I, Nicholas I, Ataman Platov, etc.

The narrator always strives to emphasize the authenticity of what is happening, citing historical realities and listing the names of historical figures. This creates a feeling of documentary nature of the narrative, and therefore the seriousness of the assessments that the author gives to the actions of the emperors and their entourage. Hyperbolization (description of miracles shown by the British, depiction of the extraordinary work of craftsmen, and then a savvy flea) also reminds us of the genre of legend, which is always based on a miracle, and the strength and intelligence of the main characters are often exaggerated. The depiction of Lefty’s journey and his stay in England are both fundamentally legendary. Thus, the synthesis of elements of history and legend makes it possible to show Lefty not only as a simple person in whose life an extraordinary event occurred, but also as a hero to whom special abilities are attributed.

However, none of the three folklore genres mentioned above involves the expression of the narrator’s personal attitude towards the characters, their actions, or the events themselves. Leskov consciously seeks to express the author’s position and his inherent ironic attitude towards government officials. That is why he also uses the opportunities that the fairy tale provides with its condescending attitude towards kings and nobles. To enhance the effect of unreality and fabulousness of what is happening, Leskov deliberately distorts the chronology, hiding errors in the text that the reader should detect. So, for example, it is known that Alexander I was in London in June 1814, while the Congress of Vienna (in the text of “Lefty” it is called the “Council”) began in August 1814. After the end of the congress, the emperor did not travel around England.

The use of Platov’s image seems even more fantastic. By making him an interlocutor of Nicholas I, who ascended the throne at the end of 1825, Leskov seems to “forget” that Platov died in 1818. Consequently, all of Platov’s further actions are nothing more than fantasy.

The fabulous effect is enhanced by the very nature of the narrative. For example, describing how Alexander hides a flea, the author notes that he “dipped the flea into a nut... and in order not to lose the nut itself, he put it in his golden snuff-box, and ordered the snuff-box to be put in his traveling box.” (Remember the fabulous descriptions of Kashcheyev’s hidden death: a needle in an egg, an egg in a duck, a duck in a chest, etc.) Exactly fairy tale character The narrative allows us to explain the appearance in the imperial palace of “a chemist from the nasty pharmacy from Anichkov Bridge,” who behaves easily and like a neighbor, and Lefty himself. The ironic description of the kings and their entourage, characteristic of the fairy tale, helps Leskov solve a number of artistic problems.

PROBLEM, PLOT AND COMPOSITION. In the story “Lefty” one of the central issues is the problem of the creative talent of the Russian person, which has more than once become the subject of artistic comprehension in Leskov’s works (stories “The Stupid Artist”, “The Imprinted Angel”). Talent, in the writer’s view, cannot exist if it is not supported by the spiritual strength of a person, his moral core. Left-handed - an unprepossessing little man with his hair torn out during his apprenticeship, dressed like a beggar - is not afraid to go to the sovereign, because he is confident in his rightness and in the quality of his work. Once in England, he strives to understand the military tricks of the British and serve the Fatherland.

The image of Lefty continues the gallery of images of the righteous created by Leskov. Lefty, who travels to England without documents, hastily dressed, hungry, in order to demonstrate Russian ingenuity and skill, is for the writer the embodiment of the idea of ​​self-denial in the name of the Cause, self-sacrifice for the glory of the Fatherland. It is no coincidence that the narrator recounts his conversations with the British, who are persistently trying to persuade Lefty to stay in England. The hero's inflexibility earns the respect of the British.

Lefty absorbed many of the qualities inherent in Leskov’s righteous people: patriotism, the presence of clear moral guidelines, perseverance of character, natural talent, keen interest in the surrounding life (“fascination”), the foundations of Christian morality. (Remember what Lefty tells the British about faith and where the Tula masters went before starting work.)

Lefty faces many trials, but even in his dying hour the hero remembers only one thing - a military secret, ignorance of which is disastrous for the Russian army. Leskov shows the tragic paradox of Russian life. The simple Tula master Lefty is more concerned about the problem of Russia's military power than the Minister of War Count Chernyshev or the Emperor himself.

Leskov’s critical attitude towards government officials largely determines the themes of the story. It is in the depiction of Alexander, Nikolai, and Platov that Leskov’s irony becomes most obvious. Platov’s attempt to convince Alexander of the superiority of Russian weapons “upset the emperor,” and the reminder of the special sugar from the Bobrinsky plant completely upset the sovereign (“Please don’t spoil my politics,” he asks Platov).

Platov himself becomes a patriot only outside the Fatherland. In Russia, he behaves like a typical serf owner, rude and cruel. He doesn’t trust the Tula masters and demands that the English work not be spoiled and the diamond not replaced. It was he who was to blame for the fact that Lefty left the country without a “tugament” (later this played a fatal role in his fate). Nikolai, having given the order to send Lefty to England, soon forgets about him. It is no coincidence that the narrator bitterly notes that on the way to the hungry Lefty, “at each station, the belts were tightened by one badge so that the intestines and lungs would not get mixed up.” If Alexander is confident in the superiority of English masters, then Nikolai believes in the capabilities of Russian talents. However, for him this is a matter of personal prestige, and people are only a means of achieving victory in a dispute with another power.

According to criticism, the plot of the story is based on a motif of struggle, a competition between representatives of two nations, characteristic of folk art (it is no coincidence that Tula masters ask for God's blessing). Antithesis is the main compositional device in the story. However, the opposition is not so much between Russian and English craftsmanship, but rather between the masters themselves and the authorities that despise them. Remember that the English “half-skipper”, who tried to “break through” to Count Kleinmichel with reminders about Lefty, was kicked out so that “he would not dare to remember the soul of the little man.”

The reasons for the cultural and economic backwardness of Russia (this problem is also touched upon by Leskov) should, according to the writer, be sought in the lack of education of the Russian people, in the inattention of the authorities to the fate of national talents, which are developing not thanks to, but in spite of its activities. The story compositionally contrasts episodes of Nicholas's conversation with Lefty, to whom the emperor graciously condescends, and the hero's meeting with the British, for whom he is simply a naturally gifted person, a master. The climactic episode of the emperor’s dialogue with Lefty and the description of the gathering that follows predetermine the denouement. Lefty, brought to an English house by the “skipper” and abandoned on the floor in a “common” hospital, is the antithesis that determines the unique attitude towards the individual from the outside. royal power. Leskov sees this as one of the reasons for social disorder in Russia.

ORIGINALITY OF NARRATION. FEATURES OF THE LANGUAGE. Talking about genre originality story, we did not say anything about such a definition of the genre as “skaz”. And this is no coincidence. A tale as a genre of oral prose implies a focus on oral speech, narration on behalf of a participant in the event. In this sense, “Lefty” is not a traditional tale. At the same time, a skaz can also be called a method of narration that involves “separation” of the narration from the participant in the events himself. In “Lefty” exactly this process occurs, especially since the story uses the word “fable” (Chapter 20), suggesting the fairy-tale nature of the narrative. The narrator, being neither a witness nor a participant in the events, actively different forms expresses his attitude to what is happening. At the same time, in the tale itself one can detect the originality of the position of both the narrator and the author.

Throughout the story, the manner of narration changes. If at the beginning of the first chapter the narrator outwardly ingenuously sets out the circumstances of the emperor’s arrival in England, then successively talks about the events taking place, using vernacular, outdated and distorted forms of words, different types neologisms, etc., then already in the sixth chapter (in the story about the Tula masters) the narrative becomes different. It is not completely deprived of its colloquial character, but it is made more neutral; distorted forms of words and neologisms are practically not used. By changing the narrative style, the author wants to show the seriousness of the situation described. It is no coincidence that even high vocabulary is encountered when the narrator characterizes “skillful people on whom the hope of the nation now rested.” The same kind of narrative can be found in the last, 20th chapter, which obviously, to summarize, contains the author's point of view, so its style differs from that of most of the chapters.

Expressively colored words are often introduced into the calm and seemingly dispassionate speech of the narrator (for example, Alexander Pavlovich decided to “travel around Europe”), which becomes one of the forms of expressing the author’s position, deeply hidden in the text.

The narrative itself skillfully emphasizes the intonation features of the characters’ speech (cf., for example, the statements of Alexander I and Platov).

According to I.V. Stolyarova, Leskov “directs the readers’ interest to the events themselves,” which is facilitated by the special logical structure of the text: most of the chapters have an ending, and some have a kind of beginning, which allows one to clearly separate one event from another. This principle creates the effect of a fantastic manner. It can also be noted that in a number of chapters, it is at the end that the narrator expresses the author’s position: “And the courtiers who are standing on the steps all turn away from him, thinking: “Platov got caught and now they’ll drive him out of the palace,” that’s why they couldn’t stand him for bravery” (end of chapter 12).

It is impossible not to note the use of various techniques that characterize the features of not only oral speech, but also folk poetry in general: tautologies (“shoed horseshoes”, etc.), peculiar forms of verbs with a prefix (“admired”, “send”, “clap” etc.), words with diminutive suffixes (“palm”, “little belly”, etc.). It is interesting to pay attention to the sayings introduced into the text (“the morning is wiser than the night”, “from the snow”). Sometimes Leskov can modify them.

The nature of neologisms testifies to the mixture of different narration styles. They can describe in more detail the object and its function (two-seater carriage), the place of action (busters - by combining the words busts and chandeliers, the writer gives more Full description premises), action (whistles - whistles and messengers accompanying Platov), ​​designating foreign wonders (marble coats - camel coats, etc.), the state of the heroes (waiting - waiting and agitation, the annoying couch on which Platov lay for many years , characterizing not only the hero’s inaction, but also his wounded pride). The appearance of neologisms in Leskov is in many cases due to literary play.

“Thus, Leskov’s tale as a type of narration was not only transformed and enriched, but also served to create a new genre variety: the tale. A fairy tale is distinguished by its great depth of coverage of reality, approaching in this sense the novel form. It was Leskov’s fairy tale that contributed to the emergence of a new type of truth-seeker, who can be put on a par with the heroes of Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky” (Mushchenko E.G., Skobelev V.P., Kroichik L.E. S. 115). Artistic originality“Left-handed” is determined by the task of searching for special forms of expressing the author’s position to assert power national character.

Krotov Denis, 7th grade

Lefty absorbed many of the qualities inherent in Leskov’s righteous men: patriotism, the presence of clear moral guidelines, tenacity of character, natural talent, keen interest in the life around him, and the foundations of Christian morality. But the state does not value such people, so Lefty dies, useless to anyone.

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Municipal treasury educational institution Kurtamysh district "Kostylevskaya basic secondary school"

Project

Subject:

"The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea" 1881).

Completed by 7th grade student: Krotov Denis

2017

Project passport

1 . Project name– N.S. Leskov “The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea”

Subject area:Russian literature

2. Full name educational project developers:

7th grade student:

Krotov Denis

Coordinator : teacher of Russian language and literature Korobey Natalya Anatolyevna

3. Name of educational institutionMKOU Kurtamysh district "Kostylevskaya basic secondary school"

4. Year of development of the educational project: 2017

5. Experience of use (extent of distribution):was held twice in grades 6 and 7, a performance in front of classmates.

6. Problem situation - Every a reading person in our country thinks about the Russian national character. There is one classic who, as a rule, is forgotten - Nikolai Semenovich Leskov. His works are saturated with the “Russian spirit”, and they reveal not only the peculiarities of the Russian national character, but also the specifics of all Russian life. In this sense, Leskov’s story “Lefty” stands apart. It reproduces with extraordinary accuracy and depth all the flaws in the structure of domestic life and all the heroism of the Russian people

7. Project problem –studying the work of N.S. Leskov “The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea”

8. Age of students for which the project is designed: 11-13 years old

9. Project type by dominant activity: informational

By subject areainterdisciplinary project (history, literature, fine arts)

By nature of coordinationproject with open, explicit coordination

By number of participantspersonal (individual) - one participant

By execution durationlong-term (December 2016-January 2017)

By design object- existential - design personal development human “I” in the process of building its destiny.

Objective of the project

Studying the work of N.S. Leskov “Lefty”. (According to N.S. Leskov, “The tale of the steel flea is a specifically gunsmith’s legend, and it expresses the pride of Russian gunsmiths.”

Project objectives

• Introduce the work.
• To attract the young reader to read “The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea.”
• Foster a sense of pride in the Russian talented, hardworking people.

Abstract of the work LEFT-HANDED - Leskov Nikolai Semenovich

Title: LEFT-HANDED
Leskov Nikolay Semyonovich
Year: 1881
Genre: tale
Russian language

About the book:

The theme of love for Russia and pain for it runs through all of N.S.’s work. Leskova. But it is most clearly manifested in his tale “Lefty”. A Russian working person is a master and craftsman, talented and savvy, with golden hands and a clear head. The writer is proud of him, but he is also offended for him, hurt and bitter.
“Lefty” is a tale in which sadness and pain are hidden behind irony and a smile. Tula gunsmiths crafted the English miracle flea, which can only be seen through a microscope. But they studied from the Psalter and the Half-Dream Book, and worked without any “small scopes,” by eye.
The British, seeing the work of Tula masters, were amazed. They want to lure Lefty, they seduce him with money and a bride. But Lefty loves Russia, he is eager to go home, especially since he needs to be told a very important “secret” of the British: guns do not need to be cleaned with bricks. How does his homeland greet him? A quarter, because he has no “tugament,” and death. His secret never reached the sovereign.
Leskov's irony and sarcasm reach the limit. He does not understand why Rus', which gives birth to craftsmen, geniuses, poets, deals with them with its own hands. As for guns, this is a non-fictional fact. The guns were cleaned with crushed brick, and the authorities demanded that the barrels sparkle from the inside. And inside there was a carving... So the soldiers destroyed it out of excess zeal.
It hurts Leskov that we are diligently destroying what can save us in hard times.

About the writer

(from Wikipedia)

Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov(February 4 ( February 16 ), village Gorokhovo Oryol district Oryol province , - February 21( 5th of March ) , Saint Petersburg ) - Russian writer.

“Russian people recognize Leskov as the most Russian of Russian writers and who knew the Russian people more deeply and widely as they are,” wroteD. P. Svyatopolk-Mirsky (1926) .

Literary career

Leskov began publishing relatively late - in the twenty-sixth year of his life, publishing several notes in the newspaper "St. Petersburg Gazette "(1859-1860), several articles in the Kyiv publications "Modern Medicine", which publishedA. P. Walter (article “On the working class”, several notes about doctors) and “Economic Index”. Leskov’s articles, which exposed the corruption of police doctors, led to a conflict with his colleagues: as a result of the provocation they organized, Leskov, who conducted an internal investigation, was accused of bribery and was forced to leave the service.

At the beginning of its literary career N. S. Leskov collaborated with many St. Petersburg newspapers and magazines, most of all publishing in “Domestic notes "(where he was patronized by a familiar Oryol publicistS. S. Gromeko ), in “Russian Speech” and “Northern Bee”.IN " Domestic notes"were printed"Essays on the distillery industry (Penza province) », which Leskov himself called his first work,))) considered his first major publication.In the summer of that year, he briefly moved to Moscow, returning to St. Petersburg in December.

"Lefty"

One of the most bright images in the gallery of Leskov’s “righteous people” became Lefty (“The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea”, 1881).

Summary of the tale “Lefty”

When Emperor Alexander I arrived in England, they showed him a small steel flea that could dance. The emperor bought a flea and brought it to the palace. After the death of Alexander I, Nicholas I ascended the throne. Nicholas found this flea among Alexander's old things. Nicholas I was confident in the superiority of the Russians and ordered Platov, Don Cossack, who accompanied Alexander I on a trip to Europe, to find a master who would come up with something that could surpass this flea in design. In Tula, Platov found a craftsman nicknamed “Lefty”. Lefty came up with the idea of ​​shod this flea with tiny horseshoes. For this, Lefty received an order in St. Petersburg from Nicholas I personally and was sent to England to demonstrate this invention. Lefty was offered to stay in Europe, but he decided to return to Russia. On the way home he made a bet with the half-skipper that he would outdrink him. Lefty died of alcohol poisoning in a common hospital. Lefty’s last words were: “Tell the sovereign that the British don’t clean their guns with bricks: let them not clean ours either, otherwise, God bless war, they’re not good for shooting.” Unfortunately, Lefty’s words were never conveyed to Nicholas I.

Historical figures in "The Tale..."

Tsar Alexander I: biography, politics, reforms

Born December 1777, eldest son Paul I, named Alexander , even in infancy he was given up to be raised to my own grandmother- to the empress Catherine II : The relationship between the empress and Alexander's father was tense, and Catherine did not want to leave preparations for the role of heir to the throne to his parents. The empress's goal was to raise her adored grandson to be a perfect ruler for the state in all respects. Russian Alexander Pavlovich received an excellent education of the Western type.

Palace coup on the night of March 11-12, during which he was killed Paul I , not only led to Alexander’s ascension to the throne, but also deeply wounded the feelings of the young ruler: the bitterness of responsibility for the death of his father and the severity of this loss haunted him throughout his life..

Domestic policy Emperor Alexander I was largely aimed at the interests of the nobility, but the emperor was clearly aware of the importance and complexity of the issue of the position of the peasant population. Against the backdrop of a series of decrees granting the nobles more and more privileges, Alexander made a lot of efforts to make life easier for the peasants, endow them with rights and ensure the protection of these rights. Thus, a decree of 1801 was approved, which destroyed the monopolistic right to own land only by nobles and regulated permission for merchants and townspeople to purchase vacant plots of land for the purpose of conducting economic activities using hired labor. The “Decree on Free Plowmen”, adopted in 1803, was the first official document that provided for the possibility of purchasing freedom for a serf from a landowner - subject to an agreement reached by both parties - and provided free peasants with the right to property. Throughout the entire stay Alexandra I in power, the administrative apparatus paid considerable attention to the problem of quality of life peasant people, however, many progressive bills were never implemented.

One of the global reforms Alexandra I was a reform in the field of education: due to the need to educate highly qualified personnel in the Empire. Universities provided personnel and developed educational programs for schools and gymnasiums. Alexander I initiated and supported the development educational institutions: under him five universities, a number of gymnasiums and others were founded educational institutions.

In the field foreign policy activities Alexandra I the most significant event was the Russian-French war. Crushing defeat Russian army in a battle with the French in 1805 led to the signing of a peace agreement in 1806. Despite the military situation between the countries, Napoleon Bonaparte sincerely considered Russia the only worthy ally and between the emperors of the two countries high level There were discussions about options for a military alliance directed against India and Turkey. As part of the conclusion of the alliance, France was ready to recognize Russia's rights to Finland, and Russia - France's rights to Spain. However, this union was never concluded due to the irreconcilable clash of interests of states in the Balkans and in relations with the Duchy of Warsaw, which prevented the organization of profitable trade relations of the Russian Empire. Napoleon wooed Alexander I's sister Anna in 1810, but was refused in response.

The Napoleonic War revealed to the world a galaxy of outstanding military strategists, whose names have remained for centuries: among them Kutuzov, yarmulok, Bagration, Barclay de Tolly, Davydov, and others bright personalities, manifested themselves in the Patriotic War that broke out after the expulsion of Napoleon.

Death from typhoid fever struck Alexandra I in the city of Taganrog and was so sudden that many refused to believe in it: there were many rumors that the ruler did not die, but went on wanderings around his fatherland, and having reached Siberia, settled there under the guise of an old hermit.

In general, the regime of Alexander I was progressive in nature: among the most important results of his reign is the reconstruction of the organization of the mechanism of state power - the introduction of the Constitution and the Council. Alexander I became one of the first monarchs to recognize the importance of solving the problem of imperfection and limitations of the individual form of power. The Emperor made a significant contribution to solving the problem of the quality of life of the peasantry. And, most importantly, led by Alexander I , Russian empire was able to withstand the onslaught of France, which captured almost all of Europe, and maintain its own positions.Patriotic War, which began in 1812, illuminated the extraordinary ability of the Russian people to unite into a single indestructible force under the threat of an external enemy. Maintaining the power of Russia over all its territories, successfully repelling attempts to seize them, is one of the main achievements of the emperor Alexandra

M. I. Platov, ataman.

One of the most interesting figures of the Patriotic War of 1812 is Matvey Platov, the ataman of the Don Cossack army. He was a rather extraordinary and interesting personality. In addition to the Patriotic War, Ataman Platov took part in many other battles. The future ataman Matvey Ivanovich Platov was born in August 1751 in Cherkassk, which at that time was the capital of the Don Army. The future ataman Matvey Platov took part in the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. A year later, he was already entrusted with commanding a regiment of the Don Army. In 1774, Matvey Ivanovich went to the Caucasian Front, where he took part in suppressing the uprising of the highlanders in the Kuban; in 1775, M. Platov took part in suppressing the Pugachev rebellion. In the next Russian-Turkish war (1787-1791), Platov also took the most active work. With his participation, storms of such fortresses as Ochakov (1788), Akkerman (1789), Bendery (1789), Izmail (1790) took place. and in 1793 he received the rank of major general. In 1796, M.I. Platov knew more than just joys. The chieftain was suspected by Emperor Paul of a conspiracy against him and exiled to Kostroma. Platov's disgrace lasted until 1801, when from 1801 Platov was the ataman of the Don Army. This meant that from that moment on he became the head of everything Don Cossacks. In addition, Matvey Ivanovich received the rank of lieutenant general. In 1805, Platov founded the new capital of the Don Cossacks - Novocherkassk. 1812 - war against Napoleon. The greatest mark on Platov’s biography was left by the Patriotic War of 1812 with Napoleon.

Matvey Platov died in January 1818, in a village near Taganrog, on his native Don land, at the age of 66 years. This is how one of the most active personalities in the history of the Don Cossacks passed away. Platov was initially buried in Novocherkassk, but then a series of reburials followed. The chieftain's grave was desecrated by the Bolsheviks. Ultimately, in 1993, the remains of Matvey Platov were buried in the same place.

Personality of Nicholas 1

Nicholas 1 Pavlovich was born in 1796. He ascended to the Russian throne after Emperor Constantine renounced the crown in the early twenties of the nineteenth century. Note that on the same day there was an unsuccessful coup attempt, which was later called the Decembrist uprising. It says a lot about the personality of Nicholas 1 that later in his letters to Constantine he regretted that he was “an emperor who became such at the cost of the blood of his subjects.”

During the reign of Nicholas 1, the country saw the rise of an absolute military-bureaucratic monarchy. In other words, only military officials dominated all the most important government posts and all ministries. Literally all financial resources from the state treasury were also spent on their maintenance.

The year 1830 was marked by the fact that Nicholas 1 issued a law aimed at making life easier for the common people. Over the course of a couple of years, several thousand educational institutions were built in villages and settlements. Twelve years later, a decree was adopted that landowners could give freedom to their peasants after they fulfilled certain conditions. Let us note that this tsar considered the greatest misfortune of Russia to be precisely serfdom, however, canceling it right away was considered a big mistake.

During the reign of Nicholas 1, great attention was paid to the construction of highways - in total, about ten thousand miles were laid. The secret political police strengthened their positions at this time. Literary activity And personal life many talented writers, journalists and historians were limited. Government and best representatives social thought began to alienate from each other.

After the accession of Emperor Nicholas 1 to the throne of Russia, the country declared war on Persia, thanks to the victory over which the Nakhichevan and Erivan regions were obtained. This was followed by the conquest of the Caucasus, the war with Turkey, and the siege of Sevastopol. As is known, Crimean War Russia lost, and therefore it was deprived of the right to keep its fleet here. Nicholas 1, who was distinguished by his stubborn disposition and intolerance, was never able to admit his mistakes. It was they who led the country to the failure of the war and to the collapse of the entire system of state power, which until that moment was considered to be well-established. In February 1855, Nicholas 1 suddenly died. According to historians, he took the poison, which caused his death, deliberately. Despite everything, this emperor went down in history as one of the greatest rulers of our country.

These are the same personalities in the tale “Lefty”

Alexander Pavlovich - Russian Emperor; Alexander Pavlovich is presented in the caricatured role of a fan and admirer of Western (English) civilization and its technical inventions.

Arriving in England with Ataman Platov, Alexander Pavlovich admires the rare, skillfully made things that the British proudly show him; he does not dare to show them the products and achievements of Russian masters. A.P. is a politician, he is afraid of ruining relations with the British, he lacks proper patriotism. Alexander Pavlovich is contrasted with his brother, the “patriot” Nikolai Pavlovich, and the straightforward Platov, who is painfully experiencing the humiliation of the Russians.
The identity of Alexander Pavlovich with the real Emperor Alexander I is conditional.

Cossack ataman Matvey Platov.

It is he who accompanies Emperor Alexander Pavlovich during his trip to England. Unlike the emperor, P. is shown to us as a patriot of his country. He is confident that Russian craftsmen will be able to create something more amazing than a dancing flea. It is he who exposes the English when he unscrews the lock of an English pistol and sees an inscription there with the name of a Russian master. Because of his straightforwardness, P. loses good location Nikolai Pavlovich. It is noteworthy that P. does not recognize the personal dignity of people who depend on him. He considers beatings and threats the best way influence on people. P. turned out to be the only person who tried to help the sick Lefty return to Russia.

Nikolai Pavlovich- Russian emperor; instructs Ataman Platov to find Russian craftsmen who could create a thing worthy of greater surprise than an English steel flea. He sends Lefty, along with his savvy flea, to England to show the art of the Russians. In contrast to his brother Alexander Pavlovich, Nikolai Pavlovich acts as a “patriot”.
The identity of Nikolai Pavlovich with Emperor Nicholas I is conditional.

The image of Lefty in "STAZE..."

In the story “Lefty” one of the central issues is the problem of the creative talent of the Russian person. Left-handed - an unprepossessing little man with his hair torn out during his apprenticeship, dressed like a beggar - is not afraid to go to the sovereign, because he is confident in his rightness and in the quality of his work. Once in England, he strives to understand the military tricks of the British and serve the Fatherland.
The image of Lefty continues the gallery of images of the righteous created by Leskov. A lefty who travels to England without documents, hastily dressed, hungry, to demonstrate Russian ingenuity and skill.
Lefty absorbed many of the qualities inherent in Leskov’s righteous men: patriotism, the presence of clear moral guidelines, tenacity of character, natural talent, keen interest in the life around him, and the foundations of Christian morality.

Tragic and comic in N. S. Leskov’s tale “Lefty”

The most serious problem posed by Leskov in “Lefty” is the problem of the lack of demand for Russian talent. In the final, twentieth chapter, the author notes: “The proper name of a left-hander, like the names of many greatest geniuses, forever lost to posterity."
Many people with quite a lot of power (Platov, Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, etc.) “were very confident in their... people and did not like to give in to any foreigner,” but things did not go beyond words and pride for their people.
Lefty - an unprepossessing little man, with his hair torn out during his apprenticeship, dressed like a beggar - is not afraid to go to the sovereign, because he is confident in his rightness, in the quality of his work. Once in England, he strives to understand the military tricks of the British and serve the Fatherland. The hero's inflexibility earns the respect of the British.

In his work, N. S. Leskov successfully synthesized many tragic and comic features, clearly and accurately expressing in them the sorrows and joys, disadvantages and advantages, character traits and originality of the Russian people.

The very image of Lefty is both comical and tragic at the same time: we laugh at his downtroddenness, but in reality it’s not funny at all. Perhaps this is a feature of the national character - to laugh at oneself. In my opinion, for some, the Russians have always been saved by the ability to evaluate all their troubles from a funny side.
Lefty faces many trials, but even in his dying hour the hero remembers only one thing - a military secret, ignorance of which is disastrous for the Russian army. Leskov shows the tragic paradox of Russian life. The simple Tula master Lefty is more concerned about the problem of Russia's military power than the Minister of War Count Chernyshev or the Emperor himself.
As for the design, in “Lefty” it is in highest degree fits perfectly and organically with the content and the main character. The comedy is achieved through the play of words, the peculiar speech of the characters. Leskov used many distorted words in the speech of the heroes, for example, “merblyuzi” (camel), “studing” (from pudding and jelly), Abolon Polvedersky, Count Kiselvrode.
The English who live near the “Solid Sea” are also comical, dressed “in tunic waistcoats” and shod in “thick boots with iron knobs.” Their joy is unnatural and sad: “When the holiday comes, they will gather in pairs, take a stick in their hands and go for a walk in a decorous and noble manner.”
N. S. Leskov, showing the talent of Lefty and his comrades, bitterly asserts that the Russian government is not able to appreciate it.

Leskov agrees that Lefty is a symbol of the Russian people. Later, Leskov repeats again that his hero is “a spokesman for the Russian people.”

Features of the language

The syntactic constructions used in skaz are characteristic of the conversational style: many incomplete sentences, particles, addresses, interjections, introductory words, lexical repetitions, inversions. All this creates the illusion of the absence of preliminary thinking about the statement, which is characteristic of oral speech.
Means of artistic representation: epithets (annoying couch), comparisons (lying quietly, as if stiff), metaphors, hyperboles - artistic exaggeration (left-handed vision; the time that Ataman Platov spent on the annoying couch, etc.); litotes – understatement (flea); the size of horseshoes and nails made by the hands of Tula craftsmen, etc.; antithesis (opinions of two Russian tsars, Alexander and Nikolai Pavlovich, about the talents of their subjects, gradation - arrangement of words and expressions in increasing or decreasing importance (flea - diamond nut - snuff box - casket);
(but there are few such examples in the tale, since the narrative is similar to orally) .
The author widely uses words created according to the principle of folk etymology in the tale. The essence of this principle is the “revoicing” of incomprehensible words, which is spontaneously carried out among the people, in the spoken language. A simple, uneducated person seems to have a new understanding of a word that is incomprehensible to him (mainly foreign) through the sound similarity of this word with words that are understandable and accessible to him. For example, not a microscope, but a microscope; not a barometer, but a boreometer, a “multiplication chisel,” ceramides, a water eye.
“Lefty” also contains means of artistic representation that are used in folklore, for example, in fairy tales.
Leskov's author's style is manifested in excellent knowledge characteristic features alive spoken language and the wide inclusion of words created on the principle of folk etymology, as one of the means of artistic expression.

Museum of N.S. Leskov

IN In memory of the writers and fellow countrymen Turgenev and Leskov, the residents of Orel call the high bank of the Orlik River “ Noble nest” and “Berezhkom non-lethal Golovan”. Not far from here, in house nine on Oktyabrskaya Street (in the old days - Third Dvoryanskaya), on July 2, 1974, the only literary and memorial museum of Nikolai Semenovich Leskov was opened in the country, and throughout the world. The writer’s son and biographer Andrei Nikolaevich Leskov helped determine the location of his grandfather’s and father’s house.

Illustrations different artists to the tale "Lefty"

Kuzmin Nikolay Vasilievich (1890 – 1987) Russian graphic artist, folk artist RSFSR.
In 1929–31 - one of the leaders of the Thirteen group, which cultivated “tempo painting”, trying to express dynamics modern life.
The mastery of free, elegant stylized drawing (sometimes highlighted with watercolors), a subtle, witty interpretation of the style of the era and the emotional structure of the work, inventive humor and sharp satire - all this is characteristic of the illustrations to “Lefty” by N. S. Leskov (ed. 1955, 1961) and to other works of Russian classics.

Applications

M. I. Platov, ataman: biography.

Nikolay 1

House-Museum of N.S. Leskova in Orel