Having made my way in vain for an hour from what a fable. Prose form of Aesop's fable "The Fox and the Grapes"

The Fox and the Grapes is a short fable by Krylov with a witty story about a fox who blames circumstances for all his troubles.

fable fox and grapes read

Hungry godmother Fox climbed into the garden;
In it, the grapes were reddened.
The gossip's eyes and teeth flared up;
And brushes juicy, like yachts, burn;
Only trouble is, they hang high:
Whence and how she comes to them,
Though the eye sees
Yes, the tooth is numb.

Breaking through the whole hour in vain,
She went and said with annoyance: “Well!
Looks like he's good
Yes, green - no ripe berries:
You'll get the hang of it right away."

Moral of the fable Fox and grapes

Not having received the expected benefits, it is natural for a person to blame circumstances for this, and not his own insolvency.

Fable Fox and grapes - analysis

The essence of the fable is that the gossip - the fox decided to feast on delicious grapes. Unfortunately, the bunches hung too high for the cheat to reach them. And so, and so she tried to reach out, but nothing came of it. Then, instead of coming up with something or simply leaving with nothing, the angry fox gave out a whole worldly reasoning. The gossip deceived herself, saying that the grapes were not ripe at all.

What do Socrates and Aesop have in common? Some researchers doubt that such people were in the world. Unfortunately, neither Socrates nor Aesop left any works of authorship. Their writings have come down to us in the retelling of other people. Nevertheless, both have had a significant impact on our culture. However, let's leave aside the first anthropologist who was poisoned by the poison of Cikuta and talk about the fabulist and his heirs: I. A. Krylov and Z. Freud.

Aesop

The ancient Greek poet wrote fables in prose. The work discussed in this article is no exception. The form of Aesop's fable "The Fox and the Grapes" is prosaic.

Recall the plot. The fox got hungry and suddenly saw a ripe bunch of grapes, and when she couldn’t grab it, she told herself that there was nothing to regret, because “the grapes are green” (I. A. Krylov). Aesop's fable itself takes up a little more space than our retelling, and it is written, of course, in a more remarkable language.

Each fable of the ancient Greek contains some very accurate observation about people and human nature in general, packaged in a succinct formulation. What did Aesop want to tell us ("The Grapes and the Fox")? The moral of the work is this: if people do not succeed in life in some business, then they sin on circumstances, but leave their person without due attention.

What is "Aesopian language"?

He was so remembered by all mankind that he still lives in his collective memory. And the full responsibility for this lies not so much in the form of Aesop's fable "The Fox and the Grapes" as in its content. Although, probably, both the form and the content of the work should equally share the laurels for the immortal glory of the fabulist.

However, let's talk about the specifics of the "Aesopian language". In the usual sense, this set expression means allegory. However, not every such formulation can be considered worthy of the name of an ancient fabulist. Only the one that can shine with a huge semantic content on a small size of a printed or oral message is valued.

I. A. Krylov

Among the many admirers of Aesop was the domestic remarkable author I. He met the ancient Greek while reading the Frenchman - La Fontaine. I. liked the plot so much that he decided to compose his own version of what he had read. It seems that Ivan Andreevich, as well as admired the form of Aesop's fable "The Fox and the Grapes", but nevertheless he decided to present the same plot in verse. However, it was not just a banal retelling. In Krylov's version, the character appears in the fox, a picture emerges, the scene comes to life in the imagination, acquiring volume.

Z. Freud

For the father of psychoanalysis, it was not the form of Aesop's fable "The Fox and the Grapes" that was important, but its meaning: a person is inclined to relieve himself of responsibility and blame circumstances for everything. In general, Z. Freud owes much to his ability to sensitively read the meanings of the ancient heritage, projecting them onto modern reality. That is probably why there are so many Greek roots in his psychological theory (“Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles, for example).

What does Aesop teach us in his works? "The Fox and the Grapes" is a fable that can be used as an illustration of one of Freud's psychological discoveries, namely rationalization: we justify ourselves in such a way that our self-esteem does not suffer. Of course, we do this completely unconsciously.

A person cannot afford to buy some thing, for example, an expensive coat, and begins to convince himself that such clothes have many flaws or that they have cheaper counterparts, and indeed, “it didn’t hurt to want to.” Familiar, right? This is exactly what Aesop wanted to show us. "The Fox and the Grapes" is a fable that has become popular and immortal.

People differ from animals in that they are able to think and analyze, but sometimes even the most witty person finds it difficult to convey the disgusting things he does. How is it that some representatives of human civilization become vicious in nature? Much, and sometimes everything, on which a person’s thinking is based, depends on education, because it is in the family that we are taught the main ones that can help or harm in later life.

Krylov I. A. - a connoisseur of human souls

In his fables, Ivan Andreevich Krylov surprisingly reveals the essence of vicious people, comparing them with animals. According to literary critics, this method is inhumane in relation to all people, because each of us has vices. But despite this, the ironic rhymed stories of Ivan Krylov continue to be a success and have been included in the compulsory course for studying literature by younger students for several decades now. "The Fox and the Grapes" is a fable that most accurately conveys the nature of cunning and weak people. Let's analyze this work to make sure of this.

Fable "The Fox and the Grapes": a summary

The story begins with a hungry fox spotting a vineyard. She was ready to feast on them, only the clusters hung very high. The fox climbed the fence and for an hour tried to grab at least one bunch of grapes, but she did not succeed. In the end, the cheat went downstairs and said that there was no sense in this plant at all: you would only set your teeth on edge, because there was not a single ripe berry!

The moral of the fable "The Fox and the Grapes"

Despite its uncomplicated content, the presented work has a deep semantic meaning. "The Fox and the Grapes" is a fable that, without any irony, reveals the essence of a cunning, but at the same time worthless personality. Using the example of such an animal as a fox, Krylov shows that a person who is unable to do something on his own will always find a way to get out, cover up his foul act with some excuse or find a lot of shortcomings in what he does not have the courage to achieve, no strength.

“The Fox and the Grapes” is Krylov’s fable, capable of many people who are distinguished by cunning and inability to do something more valuable. A good analogy with the most quirky inhabitant of the forest - the fox - fits perfectly into the plot compiled by the author, because this animal loves to visit human lands in order to steal small livestock for food. Also, some people, like a fox, can only use what others have created, and if this thing is not affordable for them or they do not know how to handle it, then they can only leave unflattering reviews in their defense.

1. The plot of the fable “The Fox and the Grapes”

2. The main meaning of Krylov's fable "The Fox and the Grapes"

3. Conclusion

Ivan Andreevich Krylov lived and worked at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. He published satirical and educational magazines, published various journalistic essays. But he is more known as a fabulist. His 236 fables were grouped into 9 collections during the life of the writer, which were published between 1809 and 1843. The plot of a number of works of this genre goes back to the fables of La Fontaine, but the writer has many things of a similar nature with an original, own plot. Krylov's fable "The Fox and the Grapes" is a short but very capacious work showing one of the main human vices.

The plot of the fable "The Fox and the Grapes"

A hungry fox came to a garden where beautiful grapes grew - ripe, juicy and very tasty. She wanted to feast on them, but the vine branches grew too high, and the fox, despite all her efforts, could not reach them. She suffered for an hour, trying this way and that to get to the grapes - after all, he beckoned her with his very appearance. However, she did nothing. An hour later, angry and annoyed, she walked out of the garden, saying in the end that the grapes are good, but still green.

The main meaning of Krylov's fable "The Fox and the Grapes"

It often happens that a person is not able to do anything. Psychologically, it is much easier to admit that circumstances are to blame for the fact that it was not possible to complete any action or deed. It is much more difficult to admit your own mistakes - for this you need to be objective, strong and know your strengths and weaknesses. This is far from given to every person, therefore, for the vast majority of people, it is easier to blame external circumstances for not being able to do something than to admit to their own failure.

The plot of the fable “The Fox and the Grapes” very clearly shows this human vice. An annoyed and angry fox, unsuccessfully trying to get at least one berry of grapes, is the personification of a person who is insolvent in his affairs and actions. Grapes play a passive role here. In fact, plums, pears, apples, or any other fruits could have been in place of grapes. From this, the meaning of the fable would not change at all.

Conclusion

The fable “The Fox and the Grapes” is written in a very lively and colloquial language, easy to read. Despite the brevity of the work, the main idea of ​​the fable is fully revealed - ridiculing the fact that it is easier for a person to blame external circumstances for failure than to admit his own guilt. The events taking place in the fable are described in an incredibly colorful language, thanks to which the main idea of ​​the work is perceived sharper and brighter.

Ivan Andreevich Krylov reworked fables already written in antiquity. However, he did it extremely masterly, with a certain sarcasm inherent in fables. So it was with his famous translation of the fable "The Fox and the Grapes" (1808), which is closely related to La Fontaine's original of the same name. Let the fable be short, but the truthful meaning fits in it, and the phrase “Though the eye sees, but the tooth is dumb” has become a real catch phrase.

Once, a hungry Fox (Krylov himself picked up a synonym for "godfather") climbed into someone else's garden, and large and juicy bunches of grapes hung there. The fox would not be a fox if she didn’t immediately want to try the ripe fruit, and she wanted to get at least a berry so much that not only her eyes, but even her teeth “flared up” (In this case, Ivan Andreevich uses an interesting verb that acts in the context as a sign of strong desire). No matter how “yakhonty” the berries were, they hung, as luck would have it, high: the fox will come to them this way and that, but at least he sees the eye, but the tooth is numb.

The gossip beat for an hour, jumped, but was left with nothing. The fox walked away from the garden and decided that the grapes were probably not so ripe. It looks good, but green, you can’t even see ripe berries. And if she still managed to try, she would immediately set her teeth on edge (viscosity in her mouth).

Moral of the fable

As in any other work of this type, there is a moral here, and it is contained not in the proverb “even though the eye sees, but the tooth is dumb”, but in the very last lines that talk about the wrong conclusion of the fox. This means that when we try to achieve something, achieve our goal, we do not always come out of the situation as winners, and after that we complain and get angry not at ourselves, not at our stupidity, laziness and insolvency, but at circumstances or some or other factors. Indeed, Krylov accurately noticed that it is peculiar to everyone, and after unsuccessful attempts, we begin to make excuses, to say that it didn’t hurt, and we wanted to, instead of continuing to fight, changing tactics. The moral of the fable can be reflected in another proverb: "Look in yourself, not in the village."

Thanks to the simple language that the author writes, the reader clearly understands the meaning of this work. It can be said that the fable is based on a certain opposition, that is, at first the fox admired the fruits, and then began to look for minuses in them, to justify her failure.

The meaning of the proverb

Accurate morality, an interesting plot and artistic means of expression are not all that a fable is rich in. “Though the eye sees, but the tooth is dumb” - the expression is not only a proverb, but also the second name of the whole work.

It denotes what seems close, reachable, but it is difficult and sometimes even impossible to get. Such an expression is equivalent to the designation of a goal, a dream.

I.A. Krylov proved that a work does not have to take up several volumes in order to reflect the essence of human character. The proverb “Though the eye sees, but the tooth is dumb” and the moral of the fable convey the whole essence of human psychology.