It is mainly devoted to military topics, but in this article we will turn to a work that describes the village way of life. The depiction of the harsh realities of life on the verge of censorship - that's what Astafiev has always distinguished. “King Fish” (a summary and analysis will be the main topics of the article) is the key story of the collection of the same name, therefore its consideration will help to understand the meaning of the whole work and the author’s intention.

About the book

Viktor Astafiev was no stranger to rural themes. "King-Fish" is a collection of stories, consisting of twelve works. The main theme of the entire collection is the unity of nature and man. In addition, there are philosophical, social, moral issues, special attention is paid to environmental issues.

Nature and man are inextricably linked, and in this connection there is their immortality: nothing disappears without a trace, Astafyev believes. "King-fish" (a brief summary will confirm this) is the central story of the entire collection, it concentrates the main thoughts of the author. Without reading and analyzing it, it is impossible to understand the full depth of the author's intention.

V. Astafiev, "Tsar Fish": a summary

The protagonist of the story is Ignatich. He works as a machine tool adjuster, likes to delve into technology and is passionate about fishing. This is a good person, ready to disinterestedly help even a stranger, but he is somewhat condescending towards others.

Ignatich was an unsurpassed fisherman. He had no equal in this matter, and therefore he never asked for anyone's help and coped on his own. And he also took all the booty for himself.

Brother

A good knowledge of human relationships is shown in his work by Astafiev ("King-Fish"). The summary tells about the most terrible envious of Ignatich - his younger brother, also an avid fisherman. Often he managed to push Ignatich to fishless places, but even there he managed to catch the best fish. The commander was angry with our hero and for the fact that he succeeded in everything, and every business went well with him.

One day the brothers met on the river. The younger began to threaten the older with a gun. The commander was furious, he hated and envied his brother. But Ignatich managed to get away from him. The village learned about this case, and the Commander had to go to apologize to his older brother.

king fish

Victor Astafiev begins to describe the usual fishing trip of his hero. "Tsar Fish" is a work of ecological orientation, so the author does not miss the opportunity to note that Ignatich is engaged in poaching. That is why the character is in constant tension, afraid of the appearance of fish supervision. Any boat passing by becomes a cause for panic.

Ignatich checks the pre-set traps. Many fish are found in them, among which the fisherman notices a very large one. It turned out to be a sturgeon, which is so tired of breaking out of the net that now it just pulls to the bottom. Ignatich looked closer, and something in the shape of a fish seemed to him primitive. Horror seizes the fisherman, he tries to cheer himself up with jokes and sticks new hooks into the prey.

Astafiev continues to develop the actions of the novel "Tsar Fish". The chapter-by-chapter content tells that Ignatich begins to be overcome by doubts. Inner instinct tells him - you alone can not cope with the fish, you need to call your brother. But the thought of having to share the booty immediately drives away other arguments.

Greed takes possession of Ignatich. He thinks that he himself is no better than the rest of the grabbers. But then he begins to cheer himself up, greed is perceived as excitement. Then the thought comes to his mind that a king-fish has been caught in his net. Such happiness falls only once in a lifetime, so you can’t miss it. Although my grandfather once said that if the king-fish comes across, it must be released. But Ignatitch cannot allow even the thought of it.

The fisherman tries to drag the fish into the boat, but falls overboard with it and gets tangled in the nets. Miraculously, he manages to swim out and grab onto the boat. Ignatich begins to pray for salvation, repenting that he dared to catch the king-fish.

The fisherman and his prey huddled together, entangled in the net, and weakened. Ignatich begins to think that their fates are intertwined with the king-fish, and inevitable death awaits them ahead.

Beast and Man

Astafiev's work "Tsar-fish" tells about the inseparable connection between man and nature. So, Ignatich begins to think that the fate of nature and people is the same.

Suddenly, the hero is imbued with hatred for the fish, begins to beat her, persuades her to come to terms with death. But all in vain, the fisherman only wears himself out. In a moment of despair, Ignatich calls his brother, but there is no one around except the fish.

It gets dark, the fisherman realizes that he is dying. It seems to him that the fish clings to him like a woman, and that the fish is a werewolf. Ignatich begins to recall his life. A childhood occupied with thoughts of fishing, not with studies or games... The death of Taika's niece... Grandfather with his advice that you shouldn't catch king fish if you have sins in your soul...

Ignatich ponders why he is so severely punished and understands that everything is because of Glashka. Once he was jealous of her, which greatly offended the bride. The girl never forgave him, and retribution overtook the fisherman now.

There is the sound of a boat engine. The slave comes to life, begins to beat and, having got out of the net, swims away. Ignatich also received freedom. And not only physically, but spiritually.

V. Astafiev, "Tsar-fish": analysis

The story "Tsar-fish" is both symbolic and dramatic. It depicts both the struggle and the unity of man with nature. The whole work is permeated with pathos, which is accusatory. The author condemns poaching, understanding it in the broadest sense - poaching not only in nature, but also in society. The desire to affirm moral ideals covers the entire narrative.

It is no coincidence that the hero and Astafiev himself constantly turn to the past. "Tsar-fish" (an analysis of the episodes confirms this) makes it clear that it is at the moment of closeness to death that the comprehension of Ignatich's life experience takes place. The formation of the character of the hero is directly dependent on social and economic factors. And even despite his natural kindness and courage, Ignatich is unable to resist them.

Thus, Astafiev emphasizes the enormous power of society, which has an impact not only on man, but also on nature as a whole.