The idea behind the piece is duck hunting. Problems, main conflict and system of images in A. V. Vampilov’s play “Duck Hunt. Galina goes to her relatives

The play, created in 1967, " Duck hunting", which we will analyze, turned out to be the most mysterious of all Vampilov’s works, her stage fate turned out to be, unlike other plays that were staged a lot and brought success to directors and actors, also unusual: first staged only in 1975, it still has not received adequate dramatic material stage embodiment, and the overall excellent film by V. Melnikov “Vacation in September” with the brilliant Oleg Dahl is still not quite Vampilov...

Victor Zilov, main character“Duck Hunt” embodied the character traits of both an entire generation and an entire era, which would later be called the “era of stagnation.” This thirty-year-old, physically strong, man who has everything in life - a job, an apartment, a wife, friends, women who love him - lives, floating with the flow, he is not interested in anything, he lives as if in a dream. Outwardly it seems that he is active and active, but in fact he simply exists, without “living with his soul” everything that happens to him. Therefore, he brings misfortune to his wife and Irina, a young girl in love with him, so he constantly drinks and makes scandals - he is tired of living like this, but he is not able to change his life.

The worst thing in the analyzed play is that Zilov lives among people who do not notice the emptiness and meaninglessness of their existence, on the contrary, they are happy with everything, it seems to them that everything is fine with them, and they do not understand what, in fact, Zilov lacks . The relationships of people who “don’t give a damn”, who “don’t give a damn” about everything, cannot satisfy Zilov; he suffers from the fact that his life has turned out this way, but he has an outlet in his soul - duck hunting. All year he lives in anticipation of the time when he can give up everything and go to a place where he can be himself, where a person’s soul finds peace: “Oh! It’s like in a church and even cleaner than in a church...”. Only he’s not a good shooter, because he can’t indifferently see flying ducks: “But they’re not in the picture. They’re still alive.” “They are alive for the one who hits. And whoever hits, they are already dead,” his “friend” Dima, who is a “giant” on the hunt, tells Zilov - and Zilov frivolously agrees with him.

The ending of Vampilov’s play “Duck Hunt” does not answer the question about the further fate of the hero, who, after attempting suicide and either crying or laughing (“Whether he cried or laughed, we won’t be able to tell from his face”) calls the same Dima and says “Yes, everything has passed... I’m completely calm... Yes, I want to go hunting... I’m ready...”. If Zilov calmed down, became “like everyone else,” then this means that he finally came to terms with the vulgarity and lack of spirituality of existence, which everyone around him had long ago come to terms with. If not?.. But he is “completely calm”, and now he has moved into the category of those “who fall”...

Alexander Vampilov is known in Russian drama as the author of four large plays and three one-act plays. He died tragically at the age of 35. Innovative plays Vampilov revolutionized Russian drama and theater. The writer created the image of a hero of his time, young, self-confident, educated person, experiencing the collapse of his romantic hopes and ideals. The author dared, under conditions of strict ideological restrictions, to show the youth of the 1960s as a deceived generation. The writer puts his heroes in critical situations when they are required to live on, but they don’t see the point in this. The author brilliantly depicted the stuffy stagnation Soviet era, when any initiative was punished, there was no freedom, it was impossible for youth full of strength to express themselves.

The originality of Vampilov's plays lies in the fact that they are based not on dramatic, but on lyrical conflict. These are confessional plays, the characters of which never do anything; there is no tragic or dramatic beginning in the plays. Before the viewer is a hero who is trying to understand himself and the absurdity of the world around him. The main thing in the plays is the process of a person’s lyrical self-awareness. Vampilov tried to show on stage what could not be played, and he succeeded.

The play “Duck Hunt” (1971) is the most striking and mature work of A. Vampilov. It expresses the main, in the author’s opinion, conflict of his era - the devaluation of spiritual values.

The main character of the play is Viktor Zilov. It is through the prism of his memories that we observe the events of the play. A month and a half in Zilov’s life is a time during which many events take place, the climax of which is a funeral wreath from friends to the very living “hero of his time,” “Victor Aleksandrovich Zilov, who was untimely burned out at work.”

The author's position is expressed through stage directions, which is traditional for drama. In Vampilov’s work they are quite common; in them, as, for example, in the case of Irina, a qualitative emphasis is placed: in the heroine main feature- sincerity. Vampilov's stage directions point the director to an unambiguous interpretation of this or that character, leaving no freedom in stage production. The author's attitude towards the characters can also be seen in the dialogues. Here Zilov gives the most evaluative characteristics to others. He, a cynic and generally frivolous, unpredictable citizen, is allowed a lot, as jesters have been allowed in all centuries. It’s not for nothing that even his closest friends laugh and joke at Zilov, sometimes very angrily. By the way, Zilov’s entourage has any feelings towards him, just not friendly ones. Envy, hatred, jealousy. And Victor deserved them exactly as much as any person can deserve them.

When guests ask Zilov what he loves most, Victor does not find what to answer. But friends (as well as society, the party, the state) know better than our hero - most of all he loves hunting. The tragicomic nature of the situation emphasizes artistic detail(the whole play is replete with similar details) - Zilov does not take off his hunting accessories like a mask until the end of his memories. This is not the first time that the leitmotif of a mask appears in the author’s work. In earlier plays we see a similar technique (“The Eldest Son”, “The Story with the Master Page”). The heroes not only wear masks, but also put them on: “Can I call you Alik?” Vampilov’s characters happily resort to labels, the application of which frees them from thoughts and decision-making: Vera is exactly who she says she is, and Irina is a “saint.”

Duck hunting for Victor is the embodiment of dreams and freedom: “Oh! It’s like being in a church and even cleaner than a church... And what about the night? My God! Do you know how quiet this is? You're not there, do you understand? You haven’t been born yet...” More than a month before the cherished day, he is already prepared and is waiting for the hunt as deliverance, as the beginning of a new life, as a period of respite, after which everything will become clear. Material from the site

“Duck Hunt” is a play about the values ​​of the “thaw” generation, or, more precisely, about their collapse. The tragicomic existence of Vampilov's heroes - Gali, Sayapins, Kuzakov, Kushak and Vera - reflects their self-doubt and fragility, seemingly forever defined by the society of the surrounding reality. There are no positive or negative characters in the Duck Hunt character system. There is self-confident Dima, Zilov suffering from the injustice of existence, defiant Vera and Kushak, who is in constant fear. There are unhappy people whose lives did not work out and, it seems, could not work out.

Vampilov is a recognized master open finals. “Duck Hunt” also ends ambiguously. Whether Zilov laughs or cries in the last scene, we will never know.

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"Duck Hunt"


Play by A.V. Vampilov’s “Duck Hunt,” written in 1970, embodied the fate of the generation of the “era of stagnation.” Already in the remarks it is emphasized typical character depicted events: a typical city apartment, ordinary furniture, household disorder, indicating disorder in mental life Victor Zilov, the main character of the work.

Quite young and physically healthy person(in the story he is about thirty years old) feels deeply tired of life. There are no values ​​for him. From Zilov’s first conversation with a friend, it turns out that yesterday he caused some kind of scandal, the essence of which he no longer remembers. It turns out he offended someone. But he doesn't really care. “They’ll survive, right?” - he says to his friend Dima.

Suddenly, Zilov is brought a funeral wreath with a ribbon on which touching memorial words are written: “To the unforgettable Viktor Alexandrovich Zilov, who was untimely burned out at work, from inconsolable friends.”

Initially, this event seems like a bad joke, but in the process of further development of events, the reader understands that Zilov really buried himself alive: he drinks, makes scandals and does everything to disgust people to whom he was close and dear until recently.

The interior of Zilov’s room has one important artistic detail - a large plush cat with a bow around its neck, a gift from Vera. This is a kind of symbol of unrealized hopes. After all, Zilov and Galina could have a happy family with children and a cozy, well-established life. It is no coincidence that after the housewarming, Galina invites Zilov to have a child, although she understands that he does not need one.

The basic principle of relationships with people for Zilov is unbridled lies, the purpose of which is the desire to whitewash oneself and denigrate others. So, for example, inviting his boss Kushak to a housewarming party, who at first does not want to go on a visit without his wife, Zilov informs Galina that Vera, with whom he is supposedly in love, has been invited for him. In fact, Vera is the mistress of Zilov himself. In turn, Victor pushes Kushak to court Vera: “Nonsense. Act boldly, don't stand on ceremony. This is all done on the fly. Grab the bull by the horns."

Expressive in the play is the image of Sayapin's wife Valeria, whose ideal is bourgeois happiness. Family ties she identifies with material goods. “Tolechka, if in six months we don’t move into such an apartment, I will run away from you, I swear to you,” she declares to her husband at the Zilovs’ housewarming party.

Aptly depicted by A.V. Vampilov and other expressive female image the play is the image of Vera, who is also, in essence, unhappy. She has long lost faith in the possibility of finding a reliable life partner and calls all men the same (Alikami). At the housewarming party, Verochka constantly shocks everyone with her tactlessness and attempt to dance on Zilov’s table. A woman tries to seem ruder and more cheeky than she really is. Obviously, this helps her drown out her longing for real human happiness. Kuzakov understands this best of all, who tells Zilov: “Yes, Vitya, it seems to me that she is not at all who she claims to be.”

The housewarming scene uses an important compositional move. All the guests give the Zilovs gifts. Valeria torments the owner of the house for a long time before giving a gift, and asks what he loves most. This scene plays a big role in revealing the image of Zilov. Galina confesses that she has not felt her husband’s love for a long time. He has a consumer attitude towards her.

Vera, asking about her mistress with a grin, also understands that Victor is indifferent to her and her visit does not give him much pleasure. During the conversation, it turns out that Zilov does not like his job as an engineer, although he can still improve his business reputation. This is evidenced by Kushak’s remark: “He lacks a business spirit, that’s true, but he’s a capable guy...”. The Sayapins give Zilov the hunting equipment that the hero dreams of. The image of duck hunting in the work is undoubtedly symbolic in nature. It can be seen as a dream of worthwhile cause, which Zilov turns out to be incapable of. It is no coincidence that Galina, who knows his character more deeply than others, notices that the main thing for him is getting ready and talking.

A peculiar test for Zilov is a letter from his father, who asks him to come to see him. It turns out that Victor has not been with his parents for a long time and is very cynical about the tearful letters of his old father: “He sends out such letters to all ends and lies there, like a dog, waiting. Relatives, fools, come over, oh, oh, and he’s happy. He lays down and lies down, then, lo and behold, he gets up - he’s alive, healthy and drinking vodka.” At the same time, the son does not even know exactly how old his father is (he remembers that he is over seventy). Zilov has a choice: go on vacation to his father in September or realize his old dream of duck hunting. He chooses the second. As a result, the unfortunate old man will die without seeing his son.

Before our eyes, Zilov destroys Galina’s last hopes for personal happiness. He is indifferent to her pregnancy, and the woman, seeing this, gets rid of the child. Tired of endless lies, she leaves her husband for her childhood friend, who still loves her.

Troubles are brewing at work: Zilov handed over an article with false information to his boss, and also forced his friend Sayapin to sign it. The hero is facing dismissal. But he doesn’t really worry about it.

In a cafe with the sentimental name “Forget-Me-Not,” Zilov often appears with new women. It is there that he invites young Irina, who sincerely falls in love with him. His wife finds him and his girlfriend in a cafe.

Having learned about Galina’s desire to leave him, Zilov tries to keep her and even promises to take her hunting with him, but when he sees that Irina has come to him, he quickly switches. However, other women whom he once attracted to him with false promises eventually leave him. Vera is going to marry Kuzakov, who takes her seriously. It is no coincidence that she begins to call him by name, and not Alik, like other men.

Only at the end of the play does the viewer learn what kind of scandal Zilov created in Forget-Me-Not: he gathered his friends there, invited Irina and began to insult everyone in turn, grossly violating the rules of decency.

In the end, he also offends the innocent Irina. And when the waiter Dima, with whom the hero is going on the long-awaited duck hunt, stands up for the girl, he insults him too, calling him a lackey.

After this whole disgusting story, Zilov is actually trying to commit suicide. He is saved by Kuzakov and Sayapin. The economical Sayapin, dreaming of his own apartment, is trying to distract Zilov with something. He says it's time to refinish the floors. Victor responds by giving him the keys to the apartment. The waiter Dima, despite being offended, invites him to go duck hunting. He allows him to take the boat. Then he drives away people who are somehow trying to fight for his life. At the end of the play, Zilov throws himself on the bed and either cries or laughs. And most likely he cries and laughs at himself. Then he finally calms down and calls Dima, agreeing to go hunting with him.

What is it further fate hero? It is quite obvious that he needs to rethink his attitude towards life in general, towards the people with whom he communicates. Perhaps Zilov will still be able to overcome his mental crisis and return to normal life. But most likely the hero is doomed to quickly find his death, since he cannot overcome his own selfishness and does not see a goal for which it is worth continuing life. Loss of spiritual and moral pillars- a typical feature of the generation of the period of stagnation. For centuries, people's lives have been subject to the norms of religious morality. At the beginning of the 20th century social thought was driven by the idea of ​​creating a bright future, a socially just government system. During the Great Patriotic War the main task was to protect native land from the invaders, then - post-war construction. In the sixties and seventies there were no socio-political problems of this magnitude. Perhaps this is why a generation of people has formed who are characterized by loss family ties and the meaning of friendships. The influence of the church on the spiritual life of man by this time had been lost. Norms of religious morality were not observed. And few people believed in the idea of ​​building a bright future. The reason for Zilov’s spiritual crisis is the awareness of the worthlessness of his life, the lack real goal, since the so-called duck hunt, which he constantly dreams of, is rather an attempt to escape from life problems, ’than a real cause for which you can sacrifice everything else.

Play by A.B. Vampilov’s “Duck Hunt,” written in 1970, embodied the fate of the generation of the “era of stagnation.” Already in the stage directions, the typical nature of the events depicted is emphasized: a typical city apartment, ordinary furniture, household disorder, indicating disorder in the mental life of Viktor Zilov, the main character of the work.

A fairly young and physically healthy man (in the story he is about thirty years old) feels deeply tired of life. There are no values ​​for him. From Zilov’s first conversation with a friend, it turns out that yesterday he caused some kind of scandal, the essence of which he no longer remembers. It turns out he offended someone. But he doesn't really care. “They’ll survive, right?” - he says to his friend Dima.

Suddenly, Zilov is brought a funeral wreath with a ribbon on which touching memorial words are written: “To the unforgettable Viktor Alexandrovich Zilov, who was untimely burned out at work, from inconsolable friends.”

Initially, this event seems like a bad joke, but in the process of further development of events, the reader understands that Zilov really buried himself alive: he drinks, makes scandals and does everything to disgust people to whom he was close and dear until recently.

The interior of Zilov's room has one important artistic detail - a large plush cat with a bow around its neck, a gift from Vera. This is a kind of symbol of unrealized hopes. After all, Zilov and Galina could have a happy family with children and a cozy, well-established life. It is no coincidence that after the housewarming, Galina invites Zilov to have a child, although she understands that he does not need one.

The basic principle of relationships with people for Zilov is unbridled lies, the purpose of which is the desire to whitewash oneself and denigrate others. So, for example, inviting his boss Kushak to a housewarming party, who at first does not want to go on a visit without his wife, Zilov informs Galina that Vera, with whom he is supposedly in love, has been invited for him. In fact, Vera is the mistress of Zilov himself. In turn, Victor pushes Kushak to court Vera: “Nonsense. Act boldly, don't stand on ceremony. This is all done on the fly. Grab the bull by the horns."

Expressive in the play is the image of Sayapin’s wife Valeria, whose ideal is bourgeois happiness. She equates family ties with material wealth. “Tolechka, if in six months we don’t move into such an apartment, I will run away from you, I swear to you,” she declares to her husband at the Zilovs’ housewarming party.

Aptly depicted by A.B. Vampilov and another expressive female character in the play - the image of Vera, who is also, in essence, unhappy. She has long lost faith in the possibility of finding a reliable life partner and calls all men the same (Alikami). At the housewarming party, Verochka constantly shocks everyone with her tactlessness and attempt to dance on Zilov’s table. A woman tries to seem ruder and more cheeky than she really is. Obviously, this helps her drown out her longing for real human happiness. Kuzakov understands this best of all, who tells Zilov: “Yes, Vitya, it seems to me that she is not at all who she claims to be.”

The housewarming scene uses an important compositional move. All the guests give the Zilovs gifts. Valeria torments the owner of the house for a long time before giving a gift, and asks what he loves most. This scene plays a big role in revealing the image of Zilov. Galina confesses that she has not felt her husband’s love for a long time. He has a consumer attitude towards her.

Vera, asking about her mistress with a grin, also understands that Victor is indifferent to her and her visit does not give him much pleasure. During the conversation, it turns out that Zilov does not like his job as an engineer, although he can still improve his business reputation. This is evidenced by Kushak’s remark: “He lacks a business spirit, that’s true, but he’s a capable guy...”. The Sayapins give Zilov the hunting equipment that the hero dreams of. The image of duck hunting in the work is undoubtedly symbolic in nature. It can be seen as a dream of a worthwhile task, which Zilov turns out to be incapable of. It is no coincidence that Galina, who knows his character more deeply than others, notices that the main thing for him is getting together and talking.

A peculiar test for Zilov is a letter from his father, who asks him to come to see him. It turns out that Victor has not been with his parents for a long time and is very cynical about the tearful letters of his old father: “He sends out such letters to all ends and lies there, like a dog, waiting. Relatives, fools, come over, oh, oh, and he’s happy. He lays down and lies down, then, lo and behold, he gets up - he’s alive, healthy and drinking vodka.” At the same time, the son does not even know exactly how old his father is (he remembers that he is over seventy). Zilov has a choice: go on vacation to his father in September or realize his old dream of duck hunting. He chooses the second. As a result, the unfortunate old man will die without seeing his son.

Before our eyes, Zilov destroys Galina’s last hopes for personal happiness. He is indifferent to her pregnancy, and the woman, seeing this, gets rid of the child. Tired of endless lies, she leaves her husband for her childhood friend, who still loves her.

Troubles are brewing at work: Zilov handed over an article with false information to his boss, and also forced his friend Sayapin to sign it. The hero is facing dismissal. But he doesn’t really worry about it.

In a cafe with the sentimental name “Forget-Me-Not,” Zilov often appears with new women. It is there that he invites young Irina, who sincerely falls in love with him. His wife finds him and his girlfriend in a cafe.

Having learned about Galina’s desire to leave him, Zilov tries to keep her and even promises to take her hunting with him, but when he sees that Irina has come to him, he quickly switches. However, other women whom he once attracted to him with false promises eventually leave him. Vera is going to marry Kuzakov, who takes her seriously. It is no coincidence that she begins to call him by name, and not Alik, like other men.

Only at the end of the play does the viewer learn what kind of scandal Zilov created in Forget-Me-Not: he gathered his friends there, invited Irina and began to insult everyone in turn, grossly violating the rules of decency.

In the end, he also offends the innocent Irina. And when the waiter Dima, with whom the hero is going on the long-awaited duck hunt, stands up for the girl, he insults him too, calling him a lackey.

After this whole disgusting story, Zilov is actually trying to commit suicide. He is saved by Kuzakov and Sayapin. The economical Sayapin, dreaming of his own apartment, is trying to distract Zilov with something. He says it's time to refinish the floors. Victor responds by giving him the keys to the apartment. The waiter Dima, despite being offended, invites him to go duck hunting. He allows him to take the boat. Then he drives away people who are somehow trying to fight for his life. At the end of the play, Zilov throws himself on the bed and either cries or laughs. And most likely he cries and laughs at himself. Then he finally calms down and calls Dima, agreeing to go hunting with him.

What is the further fate of the hero? It is quite obvious that he needs to rethink his attitude towards life in general, towards the people with whom he communicates. Perhaps Zilov will still be able to overcome his mental crisis and return to normal life. But most likely the hero is doomed to quickly find his death, since he cannot overcome his own selfishness and does not see a goal for which it is worth continuing life. The loss of spiritual and moral support is a typical feature of the generation of the period of stagnation. For centuries, people's lives have been subject to the norms of religious morality. At the beginning of the 20th century, public thought was driven by the idea of ​​​​creating a bright future, a socially just government system. During the Great Patriotic War, the main task was to protect the native land from invaders, then - post-war construction. In the sixties and seventies there were no socio-political problems of this magnitude. Perhaps this is why a generation of people has formed who are characterized by the loss of family ties and the meaning of friendships. The influence of the church on the spiritual life of man by this time had been lost. Norms of religious morality were not observed. And few people believed in the idea of ​​building a bright future. The reason for Zilov’s spiritual crisis is the awareness of the worthlessness of his life, the lack of a real goal, since the so-called duck hunt, which he constantly dreams of, is more of an attempt to escape from life’s problems than a real thing for which he can sacrifice everything else

"Duck Hunt": a brief analysis

"Duck Hunt" (Vampilov A.V.) was created between 1965 and 1967. This time was extremely important, turning point, eventful and bright in the life of the playwright. This was his birth as an artist. At this time, Vampilov fully felt his own poetic power (“Duck Hunt”). The analysis summarized in this article will help you better understand this difficult play.

Three layers in the work

The work is complex, original, and its structure is sophisticated. This is a play in memory. The technique of using them as a special form of dramatic storytelling was very common in the 60s. As analysis shows, “Duck Hunt” (Vampilov) consists of three layers: the layer of the present, memories and the intermediate, borderline layer of visions. What plants should not be kept in the house? 11 quotes from Buddha that will ease your soul 6 coincidences in history that seem incredible There are some pretty tense memories in the layer of memories storylines. The main character starts an affair with a girl who falls in love with him. Having discovered the betrayal, the wife leaves. When, it seems, nothing prevents Zilov from reuniting with his young lover, he suddenly gets heavily drunk and makes a scandal, insulting the girl and his friends. At the same time, another plot is developing. Zilov receives new apartment . He sets up his boss with his ex-girlfriend. At the same time, this girl begins an affair with another friend of Zilov. The main character is in trouble at work - he slipped a fake report to his superiors. He was betrayed by a friend and colleague, evading responsibility for what he had done. As you can see, this layer is full of events. Nevertheless, it does not carry much drama. Why is it not advisable to shower every day? 10 habits of chronically unhappy people How a python “dined” with a porcupine and how it ended The plot of the memoirs is unusually varied in everyday details. The hero’s father, whom he had not seen for a long time, dies; Zilov’s wife ends up having an affair with her former classmate. Finally, the main character dreams of duck hunting. Another layer of action is the layer of visions of the hero, who is wondering how his colleagues, friends, and girlfriends will react to the news of his death. At first he imagines it, and then it seems inevitable to him. This layer consists of 2 interludes. Their text, except for two or three phrases, is almost completely identical verbally. Nevertheless, in terms of emotional sign they are completely opposite. In the first case, the death scene that the hero imagines is of a comic nature, and in the second, there is not a shadow of a smile in its tone or mood. The drama thus develops between a half-joking plan to commit suicide, which was inspired by the “original” gift from Kuzakov and Sayapin, and an attempt to carry out this plan seriously. The confessional nature of the play Let us continue the analysis. “Duck Hunt” (Vampilov) is a work that has a confessional character. The work is structured as a confession that lasts throughout the entire play. It presents the hero's life in retrospective sequence - starting from the events of two months ago and ending with the present day. The conflict in the work is not external, but internal - moral, lyrical. The tragedy intensifies as the hero's memories and awareness of them in the present get closer in time. Find out about 5 plants that should be in your home. What women's habits are unpleasant for men? 35 of the wisest Jewish sayings Zilov’s memories form a complete, comprehensive, integral picture. They lack a cause-and-effect relationship, despite their coherence. They are motivated by external impulses. Main character The main character is Viktor Zilov in the play "Duck Hunt" (Vampilov). The analysis of the work is largely based on the worldview of this hero. We observe the events of the play precisely through the prism of Zilov’s memories. A lot of them happen in 1.5 months of his life. Their apogee is the funeral wreath, which was presented by friends to the “hero of his time”, who “burned out untimely” at work. The meaning of remarks The author's position in the work is expressed through remarks. This is traditional for dramaturgy. Vampilov’s remarks are quite common. They place a qualitative emphasis, as, for example, in the case of Irina: the main feature in the heroine is sincerity. Directions indicate to the director how to interpret a particular character. The role of dialogues in expression author's position An analysis of A. V. Vampilov’s play “Duck Hunt” would be incomplete if we did not note the significance of the dialogues. They also show the author's attitude towards the characters. The assessment characteristics here are mainly given by Zilov. This cynic and unpredictable frivolous citizen is allowed a lot, just as jesters were allowed at all times. It’s not for nothing that even his closest friends joke and laugh at Zilov, sometimes very angrily. Those around him have various feelings for this hero, but not friendly ones. This is jealousy, hatred, envy. And Victor deserved them exactly as much as any person can deserve. Zilov's mask When guests ask Zilov what he loves most, he does not know what to answer. However, friends (as well as the state, party, society) know better than him - most of all, Zilov loves hunting. One artistic detail emphasizes the tragicomic nature of the situation (the entire play is replete with such details). Until the end of the memoirs, Zilov does not take off his hunting accessories, like a mask. This is not the first time that the leitmotif of a mask appears in the work of this author in “Duck Hunt.” We see a similar technique in earlier plays ("The Story with the Master Page", "The Eldest Son"). Vampilian characters often resort to labels, since labeling them frees them from thoughts and the need to make decisions. World's first surviving septuplets turn 18 Daughters of the stars: look what they've become! Top 20 things that should not be in the house Duck hunting in the life of the main character For Victor, duck hunting is the embodiment of freedom and dreams. It is collected already a month before the cherished day and awaits the hunt as the beginning of a new life, deliverance, a period of respite. On the one hand, this is an introduction to nature, which is so valuable for modern man. At the same time, hunting is one of the most monstrous symbols of murder, which culture does not take into account. This is a murder legalized by civilization, which has been elevated to the rank of entertainment, and respectable one at that. The double essence of hunting is communion with the pure, eternal natural principle, purification through it, and murder is realized in the play. The theme of death permeates the entire action. For Zilov, hunting is the only moment in the life of the spirit. This is an opportunity to break away from everyday life, everyday life, vanity, laziness, lies, which he cannot overcome on his own. This is the world of an ideal dream, high and not compromised anywhere. In this world, his poor, nasty, lied to soul feels good, it straightens up and comes to life, uniting in a bright and united harmony with all living things. Vampilov builds the action of the play in such a way that Zilov’s guide, his constant companion into this world, is the Waiter. His figure deprives Zilov’s utopia of meaning, high poetry, and purity. “Heroes of their time” The work that interests us tells about the values ​​of the “Thaw” generation, or rather, about their collapse.

Let's analyze Vampilov's play "Duck Hunt" from the point of view of the characters. The tragicomic existence of the heroes of the work - the Sayapins, Gali, Kushak, Kuzakov, Vera - speaks of their lack of self-confidence and the fragility of the surrounding reality, seemingly determined by society forever. In the character system there is no division into positive and negative. There is Dima, self-confident, Zilov, suffering from the injustice of life, defiant Vera and Sash, in eternal fear. There are unhappy people whose lives for some reason did not work out. When analyzing the play “Duck Hunt” by Vampilov, one should take into account the personality of the author. Vampilov is the last romantic of Russian drama of the Soviet period. He developed as a personality in the second half of the 50s. At this time, the goals, slogans, ideals, aspirations of society, quite humane in themselves, seemed to be about to begin to connect with real life, to acquire meaning and weight in it. Vampilov worked when the processes of demarcation of values ​​proclaimed everywhere began in society, and real life. The terrible thing was not that the meaning of ideals was destroyed in this way, but that the meaning of morality as such was destroyed. Vampilov was the son of the time that gave birth to him. He longed to know where a person should go, how he lives, how he should live. He needed to give answers to these questions to himself, and he was the first of the playwrights to see that life had come to a last line. And behind it, these questions no longer have the usual answer. Vampilov is a master of open endings. An analysis of Vampilov's play "Duck Hunt" shows that this work also ends ambiguously. We never know whether the main character is laughing or crying in the last scene. Truth of the times We are accustomed to using the expression “truth of character,” meaning by it that the writer did not falsify anything, did not hide anything, portrayed a certain social type, which has developed in reality. Reading the play created by Alexander Vampilov (“Duck Hunt”), analyzing it, you can feel pity for the person whose “truth” turned out to be too defenseless. As a rule, conversations about morality are boring. The author of the work did not know how to be boring. All his plays, including Duck Hunt, are characterized by tension inner world main character. The work makes us think about life itself, and not just about art and literature. The author wanted to understand the basic laws called the truth of time. Let us note one more thought to complete the analysis. “Duck Hunt” (Vampilov) is a work that gave birth to the rhythm of time. He lives inside, and not outside, each of us, so the appearance of “heroes of their time” is natural. This concludes the analysis of Vampilov’s play “Duck Hunt”. Short piece- and so much meaning! We can talk about this play for quite a long time, discovering more and more of its features.

The behavior of Zilov and his entourage would seem to exclude the possibility of any introspection, any self-control, but nevertheless the playwright forces this hero to look closely at his life and think about it. The gap between the seriousness of Zilov’s drama and that obvious moral defectiveness of the layer of life itself, from which the hero raised his face to us, bathed in “incomprehensible” tears (“whether he cried or laughed, we will never understand from his face”), was too great and for a specific historical experience era, and for the artistic historical and literary experience of drama.

This is a strange and complex play in which the main drama comes from something that, in essence, is impossible to play - the process of comprehending what is happening, the process of self-awareness, and ordinary dramaturgy is reduced to a minimum. The age of the characters in the play was about thirty years old, it was comparable to or slightly higher than that generally accepted for young science fanatics of the mid-sixties. A significant place in the play is occupied by the official activities of the characters, and although in Vampilov all the efforts of the characters are aimed mainly at avoiding work, some of the pressing production tasks facing them are brought to the stage.

U central character two friends, one of whom is mean, and the other is naive and straightforward. Required for this situation love triangle of the usual style: the hero has a strict, tired, silent wife, whom he deceives, and a young beloved, on whom his thoughts are concentrated. The usual secondary figures loom on the periphery of the plot: the foolish boss, the punchy wife of one of his friends, the hero’s long-time girlfriend, a familiar waiter from a nearby cafe, a neighbor’s boy. But even this boy is not equal to himself, he came as a reminder of the drama of those years when the teenager was the personification and bearer of truth." But the fact is that, based on plot clichés familiar to the sixties, Vampilov sets himself completely different goals and tasks.

The play presents not the “drama” of the hero, “but a way of life in which dramas occur not from the active collision of the hero with reality (as was the case in Rozov’s early plays, for example), but, on the contrary, from non-collision and the transformation of life into some kind of everyday ritual , where half-love, half-friendship, occupation (...) line up in one tiresome row.” And therefore, “Duck Hunt” is based not on the pillars of external conflict, but on figurative, almost symbolic pillars. And one of them is duck hunting.

Vampilov’s play is extremely everyday, it is literally buried in everyday realities, and at the same time it is free from everyday life: “not a single playwright carries with him as much convention as this, at first glance, “everyday” writer. And if we forget this, we begin to look in him only for a storyteller and a writer of everyday life, or even “a prosecutor of provincial life and boredom, we will achieve nothing.” However, the life of “Duck Hunt” is organized in a very special way.

In the play there is not even a pleasure in words, that unbridled element of words, jokes, which is usually characteristic of Vampilov’s plays. And how cleverly and subtly Zilov’s contemporaries—the heroes of the sixties—reflected, what depths of spirit and moral paradoxes were revealed in their arrogant self-irony and subtle causticism. There is nothing of this in the play, although Zilov is quite ironic and intellectual, and is placed in the position of a reflective hero, and the author, as time will show, has not lost his desire and taste for theatrical colorfulness.

Zilov and Galina moved to a new apartment, the first in their lives, but the premises are in no hurry to become their home. The theme of the apartment in the play is - so to speak - cardboard and plaster. There is no house, and housing does not try to take on its features. The garden bench brought to the housewarming party by Kuzakov is just as appropriate and welcome here as in the park. The lack of furniture is just an inconvenience: there is nothing for guests to sit on, but not even a hair's breadth away from the absence of a face at home. Entering an empty, unfurnished apartment, Sayapin easily recreates in his imagination everything that should be here: “There will be a TV here, a sofa here, a refrigerator next to it. There's beer and stuff in the fridge. Everything for friends." Everything is known, down to the ins and outs of the refrigerator. But this knowledge is generated not by the character’s imagination, but by absolute impersonality, the standardization of housing.

Some distorted, ugly reminder of customs enters with Vera. Instead of a live cat - a symbol of the hearth, which is usually allowed into the house ahead of the owners, she brings a toy cat, making this plush abomination the personification not of home (although something like that, perhaps unconsciously, lies in the gift), but of male bestiality: She calls the cat Alik.

The laws of the most basic behavior are forgotten not only by the guests, but also by the owners, not only by Zilov, but also by Galina, who cannot resist the onslaught of her husband, who does not know the slightest rule or limitation of momentary desires. This is especially interesting and important to note in comparison with the fact that Zilov, who does not know how to restrain his desires, does not knowledgeable of the rules and prohibitions, does not even think of opening the hunting season an hour earlier.

The flat, emasculated world of everyday life, or, more precisely, everyday life, is contrasted in the play with another world - the world of hunting." Hunting, the theme of hunting appears here as a kind of moral pole, opposite to everyday life. This theme is not only directly stated in the title, it is not only revealed in the word, but also invisibly dissolved in the entire poetics of the drama.

In the stage directions of the play and in the plastic organization of the text, two realities are persistently repeated - the window and the rain outside the window (or the blue sky that replaces it). The window is a drawing on the backdrop, a dead, airless, painted space, the rain is light and onomatopoeia or the play of actors. Moreover, compliance with these stage directions requires considerable tricks from the director and artist.

In all tense situations, the hero’s face (sometimes this remark accompanies Galina’s behavior) is turned to the window. If the viewer should see what is happening outside the window: rain, cloudy, clear - then Zilov, turning to the window, should stand with his back to the auditorium, but if the turn to the window coincides with the turn to the proscenium, then the “biography” of the weather for the same spectators disappear.

The border between everyday and extra-domestic life in the play is the window, to which Zilova is drawn like a magnet, especially in moments of intense mental work: all transitions from momentary reality to memories are accompanied by the hero’s approach to the window. The window is, so to speak, his favorite habitat, his chair, table, armchair; Only an ottoman can resist the window (which is also an important feature of the play, especially if we remember Oblomov’s sofa). Of all the characters in “Duck Hunt,” only Galina has this unmotivated, unconscious gesture—turning to the window at a moment of emotional stress. The window is like a sign of another reality, not present on the stage, but given in the play, the reality of the Hunt. Hunting is an ambivalent image.

On the one hand, hunting is an introduction to nature, so precious for modern man; it is the essence of nature, an existential category, opposed to the everyday world. And at the same time, this is an artistically and literaryly mediated category. On the other hand, hunting is one of the most monstrous symbols of murder. This is a murder, the essence of which culture does not take into account. This murder, legalized by civilization, elevated to the rank of respectable entertainment, occupies a certain place in the hierarchy of prestigious values ​​of life. It is this double essence of hunting - purification, familiarization with the eternal, pure natural principle of life and murder - that is fully realized in the play. The theme of death permeates the entire action.

The image of Zilov is constructed in such a way that the epigraph to his analysis can be taken last remark plays: “We see his calm face. Whether he cried or laughed, we won’t be able to tell from his face.” One should not think that Vampilov himself does not know whether his hero is crying or laughing; the author makes this antithesis and duality the subject of research.

Drama, much more than lyricism and epic, is characterized by plot schematics. And she has something different here than in others. literary births, meaning. A dramatic collision - that is, the circle of situations chosen by the author - already in itself carries a certain problematic. The sense of collision is a very rare quality, sometimes poorly developed even in the most brilliant playwrights. This quality is very valuable, but not exhaustive in the same way as absolute pitch does not exhaust the composer's abilities. Vampilov has an absolute sense of conflict; perhaps it is precisely this that gives his poetics both such a striking attractiveness and a somewhat emphasized traditionalism. It is in the handling of dramatic conflict that Vampilov’s innovation is especially clearly visible.

Zilov is undoubtedly taller than all the characters around him. The level is set both by the position of the hero in the dramatic conflict of the play (Zilov is the bearer of reflective consciousness), and by the personality of the hero himself. Zilov is more significant not because the freedom of his desires, the irresponsibility of his actions, his laziness, his lies and drunkenness are good, but because the other characters have everything the same, only worse. Their interest in life may be cynically carnivorous, like Kushak’s, or ideally sublime, like Kuzakov’s, but not one of them will accept joint guilt, fall in love, or bewitch a girl, nor, indeed, will they think about their lives . They lack human charm that would brighten up their shortcomings.

The waiter is already described in the stage directions as a person extremely similar to Zilov. Zilov “is about thirty years old, he is quite tall, strongly built, in his gait, gestures, and manner of speaking there is a lot of freedom, which comes from confidence in his physical usefulness.” The waiter is “the same age as Zilov, tall, athletic in appearance, he is always in an even business mood, cheerful, self-confident and carries himself with exaggerated dignity.” The waiter is the only character in the play, in whose description the author seems to be starting from the appearance of the main character of the play (the same age as Zilov), and in their appearance, it would seem that absolutely everything coincides; the nature that creates the similarity does not coincide, so to speak.

He knows and can do everything, except for one thing. He does not know that the world around him is alive, that love exists in it, and not lust, that hunting is not physical exercise with shooting at a target, that life is not only the existence of protein bodies, that there is a spiritual principle in it. The waiter is absolutely impeccable and also absolutely inhuman.

What is he doing here, in this play about a not very good life? good people, this calculating cold bastard? Why is it that every time he appears in “Duck Hunt” a painful, alarming, unclear and piercing note arises, like the sound of a broken string - after all, he seems to have nothing to do with the spiritual sphere of life? And yet, in the ideological structure of the play, his role is cardinal, and not only because the theme of death is connected with him - the measure of Zilov’s drama.

For Zilov, there is only one moment in the life of his spirit - hunting. Hunting is an opportunity to break away from everyday life, everyday life, vanity, lies, laziness, which he himself is no longer able to overcome. This is a world of dreams, ideal, uncompromised and lofty. In this world, his lying, nasty and poor soul is fine, there it comes to life and straightens out, uniting with all living things into a single and bright harmony. Vampilov builds the action of the play in such a way that the Waiter becomes Zilov’s constant companion and guide into this world, and this terrible figure deprives Zilov’s utopia of meaning, purity, and its lofty poetry.

In “Duck Hunt,” dramaturgy came close to a person, opened a person, so to speak, from within the personality, it tried to penetrate under the shell of the body, behind the frontal bone, to make the process of choice, decision, and thinking dramatic. Eighties dramaturgy with joy; picked up this internal cerebellar attention, but not yet very well aware of what to do with this attention. However, Vampilov also found himself in a kind of confusion before his own discovery.

Vampilov was the last romantic of Soviet drama. He was formed as a personality in the second half of the fifties, at a time when the ideals, aspirations, slogans and goals of society, quite humane in themselves, seemed to be about to begin to connect with real life, were about to gain weight and meaning in it (and sometimes it seemed like they were already gaining). He worked as an artist when the irreversible processes of demarcation between proclaimed values ​​and real life began. The terrible thing was not that in this way the meaning of ideals was destroyed, but that the meaning of morality in general was destroyed. Vampilov was a son, and a wonderful son, of the time that gave birth to him: he needed to know how a person lives, where he should go, how to live, he needed to answer these questions for himself, and he was the first, at least the first of the playwrights , discovered that life had come to that final point, beyond which these questions no longer have the usual answer.

Conclusion

The drama of the 20th century also strives to free itself from the shackles of the usual dramatic categories, not only from the dictates of the unity of time, place, action, but also from such mandatory conditions of old drama as the unidirectionality of time, the indivisibility of the human personality. In the sixties, the freedom and looseness of the dramatic form was inspired by the new, after a very long temporary break, flowering of the art of directing, the search for literature, acquaintance with foreign drama, the influence of cinema, which was experiencing its best years, his freedom in dealing with place and time, “reality” and “dreams”, with the ease with which he objectifies dreams, memories, dreams on the screen. For the sixties, the latter was one of the favorite methods of storytelling: the dying visions of Boris Borozdin (“The Cranes Are Flying”), the hero’s meeting with his dead father (“I’m Twenty Years Old”), the time-disruption of the film “Nine Days of One Year,” the episodes of which were accompanied by voiceover voice-commentary, also created a feeling of visions-memories. (It is interesting that such an important substantive and rhythmic key to the picture, according to A. Batalov, was found already in the editing room and was not determined by direct plot needs.)

And in general, all types of “losing” the classical structure of the play were held in high esteem during that period. “No open journalism, no intellectual debates, no internal monologues, no shifting time plans, no documentary inserts, no junction of genres - in a word, no “innovations”,” M. Stroeva stated with amazement, examining new play in 1967. The critic very fully listed the things without which it was not customary for a decent playwright to appear in public.

But of course, this was not just a fashion moment. Literature of the 20th century in general is highly inclined to overcome, so to speak, formal characteristics literary heroes and genres. Poetry breaks up with the presumption of rhyme, stanza, metric, prose in an effort to explore the depths of the human personality and vast expanses folk life willingly sacrifices the literary norm of the language, syntax, spelling, and logical coherence.

Playing with time and stage space, journalistic addresses to the audience, the most diverse types of dramatic detachment, the simultaneous coexistence on stage of various age and personal-emotional hypostases of the hero (“Listen!” and “Comrade, believe!” - performances of the Taganka Theater ), an attempt to “replay” life and fate before the eyes of the viewer (“The Choice” by A. Arbuzov, a production of Brecht’s “Life of Galileo” with two finales at the Taganka Theater), and finally, an attempt to make the author’s “I” one of the heroes of the play (“ Pathetic Sonata" by M. Kulish, written in the thirties, but which came into theatrical use during the Thaw period; "The Colonel's Widow, or Doctors Know Nothing" by Y. Edlis, "Public Opinion" by A. Barangi) - all this turned out to be familiar, commonplace techniques of dramaturgy. During these years, it was believed that the further development of drama would be associated precisely with the “losing” of the generic boundaries of drama, a radical change in its structure.

"Duck Hunt"


Play by A.V. Vampilov’s “Duck Hunt,” written in 1970, embodied the fate of the generation of the “era of stagnation.” Already in the stage directions, the typical nature of the events depicted is emphasized: a typical city apartment, ordinary furniture, household disorder, indicating disorder in the mental life of Viktor Zilov, the main character of the work.

A fairly young and physically healthy man (in the story he is about thirty years old) feels deeply tired of life. There are no values ​​for him. From Zilov’s first conversation with a friend, it turns out that yesterday he caused some kind of scandal, the essence of which he no longer remembers. It turns out he offended someone. But he doesn't really care. “They’ll survive, right?” - he says to his friend Dima.

Suddenly, Zilov is brought a funeral wreath with a ribbon on which touching memorial words are written: “To the unforgettable Viktor Alexandrovich Zilov, who was untimely burned out at work, from inconsolable friends.”

Initially, this event seems like a bad joke, but in the process of further development of events, the reader understands that Zilov really buried himself alive: he drinks, makes scandals and does everything to disgust people to whom he was close and dear until recently.

The interior of Zilov’s room has one important artistic detail - a large plush cat with a bow around its neck, a gift from Vera. This is a kind of symbol of unrealized hopes. After all, Zilov and Galina could have a happy family with children and a cozy, well-established life. It is no coincidence that after the housewarming, Galina invites Zilov to have a child, although she understands that he does not need one.

The basic principle of relationships with people for Zilov is unbridled lies, the purpose of which is the desire to whitewash oneself and denigrate others. So, for example, inviting his boss Kushak to a housewarming party, who at first does not want to go on a visit without his wife, Zilov informs Galina that Vera, with whom he is supposedly in love, has been invited for him. In fact, Vera is the mistress of Zilov himself. In turn, Victor pushes Kushak to court Vera: “Nonsense. Act boldly, don't stand on ceremony. This is all done on the fly. Grab the bull by the horns."

Expressive in the play is the image of Sayapin's wife Valeria, whose ideal is bourgeois happiness. She equates family ties with material wealth. “Tolechka, if in six months we don’t move into such an apartment, I will run away from you, I swear to you,” she declares to her husband at the Zilovs’ housewarming party.

Aptly depicted by A.V. Vampilov and another expressive female character in the play - the image of Vera, who is also, in essence, unhappy. She has long lost faith in the possibility of finding a reliable life partner and calls all men the same (Alikami). At the housewarming party, Verochka constantly shocks everyone with her tactlessness and attempt to dance on Zilov’s table. A woman tries to seem ruder and more cheeky than she really is. Obviously, this helps her drown out her longing for real human happiness. Kuzakov understands this best of all, who tells Zilov: “Yes, Vitya, it seems to me that she is not at all who she claims to be.”

The housewarming scene uses an important compositional move. All the guests give the Zilovs gifts. Valeria torments the owner of the house for a long time before giving a gift, and asks what he loves most. This scene plays a big role in revealing the image of Zilov. Galina confesses that she has not felt her husband’s love for a long time. He has a consumer attitude towards her.

Vera, asking about her mistress with a grin, also understands that Victor is indifferent to her and her visit does not give him much pleasure. During the conversation, it turns out that Zilov does not like his job as an engineer, although he can still improve his business reputation. This is evidenced by Kushak’s remark: “He lacks a business spirit, that’s true, but he’s a capable guy...”. The Sayapins give Zilov the hunting equipment that the hero dreams of. The image of duck hunting in the work is undoubtedly symbolic in nature. It can be seen as a dream of a worthwhile task, which Zilov turns out to be incapable of. It is no coincidence that Galina, who knows his character more deeply than others, notices that the main thing for him is getting ready and talking.

A peculiar test for Zilov is a letter from his father, who asks him to come to see him. It turns out that Victor has not been with his parents for a long time and is very cynical about the tearful letters of his old father: “He sends out such letters to all ends and lies there, like a dog, waiting. Relatives, fools, come over, oh, oh, and he’s happy. He lays down and lies down, then, lo and behold, he gets up - he’s alive, healthy and drinking vodka.” At the same time, the son does not even know exactly how old his father is (he remembers that he is over seventy). Zilov has a choice: go on vacation to his father in September or realize his old dream of duck hunting. He chooses the second. As a result, the unfortunate old man will die without seeing his son.

Before our eyes, Zilov destroys Galina’s last hopes for personal happiness. He is indifferent to her pregnancy, and the woman, seeing this, gets rid of the child. Tired of endless lies, she leaves her husband for her childhood friend, who still loves her.

Troubles are brewing at work: Zilov handed over an article with false information to his boss, and also forced his friend Sayapin to sign it. The hero is facing dismissal. But he doesn’t really worry about it.

In a cafe with the sentimental name “Forget-Me-Not,” Zilov often appears with new women. It is there that he invites young Irina, who sincerely falls in love with him. His wife finds him and his girlfriend in a cafe.

Having learned about Galina’s desire to leave him, Zilov tries to keep her and even promises to take her hunting with him, but when he sees that Irina has come to him, he quickly switches. However, other women whom he once attracted to him with false promises eventually leave him. Vera is going to marry Kuzakov, who takes her seriously. It is no coincidence that she begins to call him by name, and not Alik, like other men.

Only at the end of the play does the viewer learn what kind of scandal Zilov created in Forget-Me-Not: he gathered his friends there, invited Irina and began to insult everyone in turn, grossly violating the rules of decency.

In the end, he also offends the innocent Irina. And when the waiter Dima, with whom the hero is going on the long-awaited duck hunt, stands up for the girl, he insults him too, calling him a lackey.

After this whole disgusting story, Zilov is actually trying to commit suicide. He is saved by Kuzakov and Sayapin. The economical Sayapin, dreaming of his own apartment, is trying to distract Zilov with something. He says it's time to refinish the floors. Victor responds by giving him the keys to the apartment. The waiter Dima, despite being offended, invites him to go duck hunting. He allows him to take the boat. Then he drives away people who are somehow trying to fight for his life. At the end of the play, Zilov throws himself on the bed and either cries or laughs. And most likely he cries and laughs at himself. Then he finally calms down and calls Dima, agreeing to go hunting with him.

What is the further fate of the hero? It is quite obvious that he needs to rethink his attitude towards life in general, towards the people with whom he communicates. Perhaps Zilov will still be able to overcome his mental crisis and return to normal life. But most likely the hero is doomed to quickly find his death, since he cannot overcome his own selfishness and does not see a goal for which it is worth continuing life. The loss of spiritual and moral supports is a typical feature of the generation of the period of stagnation. For centuries, people's lives have been subject to the norms of religious morality. At the beginning of the 20th century, public thought was driven by the idea of ​​​​creating a bright future, a socially just government system. During the Great Patriotic War, the main task was to protect the native land from invaders, then - post-war construction. In the sixties and seventies there were no socio-political problems of this magnitude. Perhaps this is why a generation of people has formed who are characterized by the loss of family ties and the meaning of friendships. The influence of the church on the spiritual life of man by this time had been lost. Norms of religious morality were not observed. And few people believed in the idea of ​​building a bright future. The reason for Zilov’s spiritual crisis is the awareness of the worthlessness of his life, the lack of a real goal, since the so-called duck hunt, which he constantly dreams of, is more of an attempt to escape from life’s problems than a real cause for which he can sacrifice everything else.