Genre varieties of the story and typology of characters in the works of Nikolai Nosov

Shi Yuitsin PhD in Philology Lecturer at the Institute of Foreign Languages of Nanjing University of Science and Technology (210094. China, Jiangsu Province, Nanjing City, 200 Xiaolingwei Street), fdsyq@outlook.com 210094, Kitai, provintsiya Tszyansu, g. Nankin, ul. Syaolinvei, 200 fdsyq@outlook.com Other publications by this author

A children's humorous story is a special phenomenon in Russian literature. This genre is formed in the 20-30s of the XX century, and its main features are laid in the 40-50s. Among the writers who worked in the genre of a humorous story and developed it, one of the most significant figures is N. N. Nosov (1908-1976).

According to O. S. Oktyabrskaya, N. Nosov "lays the foundations of a children's humorous story" ^{[1, p. 91]}. In addition, "a funny story is Nosov's favorite genre, and he remained faithful to it until the end"^{[2, p. 233]}. The main recipients of Nosov's stories are mostly preschoolers and younger schoolchildren. The writer "comprehended the psychology of that wonderful, strange, sweet human being called a "boy". No longer a child, but not yet a young man. Namely, a boy," V. Kataev notes ^{[3, p. 83]}. In many of Nosov's stories, we see everyday, typical events from the life of a child, for example, spending the night in a pioneer camp, cooking porridge in the country, playing hide-and-seek, calculating stairs, building a skating rink in the yard, etc. The author of the stories is very familiar with the peculiarities of children's speech and children's thinking, which allows him to describe with great accuracy the actions of their heroes, endowing them with authenticity and realism.

Nosov's works became the object of study of such researchers as S. B. Rassadin, E. S. Neduva, S. I. Sivokon, L. V. Dolzhenko, I. N. Arzamastseva, O. A. Moskvicheva, O. S. Oktyabrskaya, etc. Basically, scientists pay attention to Nosov's peculiar humor – benevolent, cheerful, "magnificent, inexhaustible" ^{[4, p. 85]} and touch upon the following issues: the source of humor, comic duets and their characters, didactic and educational effects of humor on the child. However, the problems of the genre specificity of the story and the typology of characters in the writer's work still remain poorly understood.

During the analysis of Nosov 's stories , we identified three main genre types: story-action, story-research and story-reflection. Each type corresponds to a certain activity of the child and a certain type of hero.  

1. Story-action

This is the most common type of story in Nosov's work. He is characterized by great activity, expressiveness, independence of the characters. The activity of the characters in such stories is very diverse and multifaceted. This implies a wide variety of types of heroes.

In action stories, the reader is confronted with three types of hero activity. For example, in the works "Mishkin's porridge", "About a turnip", "Gardeners", "Buddy", "Patch", the characters work, and their work is for them a way of knowing and mastering the world around them. In such stories as "Our skating rink", "Steps", "On the hill", "Putty", "Resourcefulness", "Hide and Seek" in the center of the image are children's games, and in the stories "Car", "Blob", "Cucumbers", "Sasha" Nosov depicts children's pranks.

Table 1. Models of the story-actions in the works of N. Nosov

Source: author's data

In action stories, the main types of characters are the hero- a doer and a hero-thinker. On the one hand, these types are opposed to each other as heroes in "comic duets"^{[5, p. 82]}, one of which is "strict, fit, punctual"^{[5, p. 82]}, and the other is "loose, forgetful, unable to do anything"^{[5, p. 82]}, but they complement and balance each other. As for the type of hero-doer, it can be divided into subtypes: a hero-destructor who destroys everything around him, hero-creator and hero-savior, etc. 

Consider the story "Mishkin's porridge". The image of the main character, Mishka, has several sides: he is an optimist, a destructor, and a braggart. He confidently, with great enthusiasm, takes up cooking porridge, even boasts to a friend: "I'll cook such porridge that you'll lick your fingers" ^{[6, p. 10]}. But then, because of his inexperience and rashness of actions, the Bear turns out to be confused. At first, he puts too much cereal, and the porridge constantly climbs out of the pan. Then he tries to fix the situation, on the advice of a friend, he begins to shift the extra grits into plates, but accidentally drops a bucket with a rope into the well. In the end, Mishka's porridge turns out bitter, unsalted, with the smell of burning. But the hero still does not lose confidence in himself: he is already ready for another occupation - frying minnows, the result of which also turns out to be deplorable:"There is smoke and stench in the room, and only embers remain from the minnows" ^{[6, p. 19]}. The plot is based on such a chain of actions of the Bear: the hero is always trying to fix the situation, but in the end only comes to a new problem. It can be concluded that this is a type of destructive hero, but however, the Bear does not lose optimism and determination, despite failures and defeats. In addition to "Mishkin's porridge", this type of hero can be found in the stories "Telephone", "Sparklers", etc. 

It is the activity and confidence of the Bear that attracts Kolya, who believes him and falls under his influence. Kolya is the complete opposite of his friend: he is more reasonable, calm, tells Mishka about his mistakes and helps to correct them. This is a type of hero-thinker who trusts and is carried away by the ideas of a friend, but at the same time he is careful and can, if necessary, resist the overly destructive actions of a friend. He does not generate ideas, but observes the situation, controls it in some way. We also see this type of hero in the stories "Car", "Buddy", "Gardeners", etc.

But in the story "Gardeners" the activity of the hero-figure is presented somewhat differently. Here Nosov is interested in a hero not with some established type of character, but a hero in his development, able to understand and correct his mistakes and blunders. At the beginning of the story, the hero is depicted as a lazy, deceiver and conman, but gradually he begins to have the features of a hard worker. At the same time, the hero does not cease to be a child, the diligence in the story does not look too artificial and deliberate. Its manifestation is always associated with certain circumstances and has its own explanations. The author also creates a contrast between the character of Mishka and Kolya. For example, when Kolya digs up the ground and works to get a red banner, Mishka is constantly distracted from work by various trifles: then he pulls out the root, measures the ground. He can't concentrate on one thing and finish it. Nosov shows that Mishka does not like work, and this explains the hero's attempts to "rationalize" and "optimize" his activities. Wanting to take possession of the banner, the boy commits a dishonest act. He suggests to Kolya: "... let's, when everyone goes to bed, run off to the vegetable garden and dig up our plot. We will leave a small piece for the morning, tomorrow we will dig it up quickly and get a banner" ^{[7, p. 48]}. Mishka is lazy, but this laziness manifests itself mainly only in monotonous, boring classes. The fact is that the hero's vocation is different – to generate ideas. Nosov shows the Bear constantly in some kind of activity, lively and original, this is a hero-figure. Here he manifests himself not only as an inventor, but also as a cunning man. The Bear's actions cannot be called positive and honest, but his activity is not completely destructive either – he actively digs up the garden, however, only at night, fights for the banner, etc.

Let's turn to the image of Kolya, Mishka's antipode. He understands well that his friend's idea is bad, but he cannot resist him, but on the contrary, supports him. Kolya turns out to be not just a performer of Mishka's idea, but also an active implementer of it. Thus, he acts here not just as an accomplice and an obedient performer, but also as an inventor and observer. In general, Kolya can be described as a performer. The pair of the leader-figure and the performer-figure is also found in other works of Nosov – in the story "Mishkin's porridge", "Car", "Buddy". But at the same time, the type of hero-figure does not remain the same: in each story he is individualized and behaves differently.

In the story "The Car" we see the types of a naughty figure and a savior figure. Mishka is the initiator of two actions at once. He offers to sit on the bumper of the car and take a ride, but then he also offers to write a letter to the policeman and say that the driver is not to blame for anything. Because of the first idea of the Bear, the heroes find themselves in a very dangerous situation: the boys cling to the car and ride it, and then jump off on the move. But in Mishka's second act – to tell the policeman the truth about his offense and thus save the car driver from punishment – the hero's honesty is manifested. Nosov shows not only the playfulness of the boys, but also their courage, desire to overcome their fear and selfishness.

Mishka's friend in this story acts as a performer and savior. He understands the danger of Mishka's idea, but does not try to convince his friend and becomes the executor of his will. But when the boys are in danger, determination wakes up in Kolya. He soberly analyzes the situation. So that the Bear is not carried away by a rushing car or crushed by others, Kolya grabs a friend by the collar and drags him up. Thus, Mishka's friend also acts here as a hero-savior, brave and determined.  

2. Story-research

The second type of story in Nosov's work is a research story. Calling Nosov "a master of popularization of polytechnic knowledge" ^{[8, p. 439]}, I.N. Arzamastseva notes the writer's passion for technical knowledge. Nosov shows such a talent as a "popularizer of knowledge" ^{[5, p. 75]} in research stories. In them, the writer addresses the creative, inventive component of the child's personality. The heroes of the stories solve various problems in an original way, coming up with new ways to use everyday objects. These are the heroes of inventors-researchers and observers-performers. They can be found in the stories "Telephone", "Shurik at grandpa's", "Sparklers".  

Table 2. Models of the story-research in the works of N. Nosov

Source: author's data

Let's turn to the story "Phone". His hero, Mishka, appears in it as an inventor and researcher. The hero is inquisitive, keenly interested in surrounding objects. The Bear has a new toy – a phone, and the boy begins to explore it with curiosity: unscrews the handset, pulls out the battery. But it's not just destruction. The bear is trying to make an electric call or telegraph from the phone, etc. He experiments, engages in cognitive activity, manifesting himself as a hero researcher. Mishka always tries to come up with an original, non-standard way of using things and immediately brings his ideas to life. This type of hero can also be found in the stories "Grandpa's Brother-in-Law" and "Sparklers".

As for Mishka's friend, he manifests himself in a different way. Kolya attentively notices every detail, every action, he subtly feels how his mood and the mood of other people are changing, which makes this hero a good observer and narrator leading the narrative. This is a hero thinker and observer. He watches what the Bear is doing, trying to understand: "Why is the Bear so awkward? Why does he break everything?" ^{[7, p. 31]}. Kolya also learns about the world around him, but he does not have that creative, research impulse to remake things, he always adheres to a certain instruction. Kolya only accepts his friend's ideas, draws conclusions and brings these ideas to full realization. For example, when Mishka disassembles the phone and makes an electric call from it, Kolya does the same. When the Bear disassembles the battery, his friend repeats after him. He also wants to find out where the electricity comes from in the battery, and makes his conclusions. But in his curiosity, in his desire to know the world around him and his phenomena, he does not go his own way, but follows the Bear.

In the story "Sparklers" we also encounter the type of hero of the figure-inventor. Mishka is trying to understand how sparklers are made, and wants to make them himself. By doing this, he also manifests himself as a creative worker: "For whole days he pounded sulfur and sugar in a mortar, made aluminum sawdust and set fire to the mixture on trial" ^{[7, p. 32]}. Mishka approaches the matter with all seriousness, he shows perseverance, does not give up on failures, learns from his mistakes. We learn about all this and about the results of Mishka's work from the story of the hero-narrator, who describes the emotional impact exerted on the audience by flashing sparklers: "... sparklers flashed, sparkled and scattered around with fiery splashes. It was fireworks! No, what kind of fireworks are there – the Northern lights! Volcanic eruption! The whole tree shone and sprinkled silver around. We stood as if spellbound and stared with all our eyes" ^{[7, p. 32]}. The purposefulness and perseverance of the Bear are also visible in the way he is looking for the best Christmas tree, which is why the heroes are forced to wander through the night forest for a long time. Mishka's friend in this situation manifests himself not only as a good storyteller describing what is happening, but also as a decisive figure and a true friend. He does not leave Mishka alone with difficulties, and at the end of the story gives Mishka his only Christmas tree for New Year's Eve, which shows his generosity and loyalty to friendship.

3. Story-reflection

This type of story is another important genre variety in Nosov's work. An integral component of such stories are the fantasies and reflections of the characters (see the stories "Dreamers", "Entertainers", "Tuk–tuk-tuk", "Bobik visiting the Barbosa", "Lollipop", "Three Hunters", "Fedina Task", "Living Hat", etc.) The main characters of these storytellers are dreamers, deceivers and braggarts.

Table 3. Models of the story-reflections in the work of N. Nosov

Source: author's data

In the reflection stories Nosov creates typical situations in which children's fantasy and lies manifest themselves. At the same time, he tries to draw a line between these situations, because the child has the right to fantasies, but at the same time, honesty needs to be brought up in him. 

For example, in the story "Dreamers" the types of the hero-visionary and the hero-deceiver are presented. Mishutka and Stasik are creative personalities. They tell each other different tall tales, competing in their originality and brightness. At the same time, the characters enjoy it and mutually admire the dexterity of fiction. Their fantasies have no boundaries: this is the appearance of a second head after the first one was bitten off by a shark, and dreams of conquering the ocean, of flying into space and to the Moon. This manifests such a feature of children's thinking as dreaminess and rich imagination.

They are opposed by such a type as a hero-a liar and a deceiver, which is Igor. He is characterized by aggressiveness, efficiency and pragmatism. Igor casts criticism on the harmless fantasies of Stasik and Mishutka, but at the same time he lies himself in order to benefit. At the same time, he tries to shift his guilt to his little sister Ira. The contrast between these characters becomes sharper when Stasik and Mishutka give Ira ice cream, for which they resort to noble deception and tell her: "We have already eaten ten servings today" ^{[7, p. 94]}.

We also see the fantasy game in the story "Three Hunters". The title and plot of this work contain a reference to the painting by V. G. Perov "Hunters at a halt". Three dreamers appear before the reader ("Uncle Vanya", "Uncle Fedya" and "Uncle Kuzma"), who tell each other hunting tales. Despite such adult names, the characters are characterized by childishness, naivety and spontaneity. They are given out by the vivid fantastic situations that they describe, and the diminutive forms of words in their stories, the desire to show off their courage and dexterity. For example, "Uncle Fedya" tells how he deftly left the bear. However, the choice of vocabulary, the mention that he was wearing "panties", expose a child in him.

Images of a dreamer, as well as a braggart and a deceiver Nosov embodied in the story "Bobik visiting Barbosa". The yard dog Bobik came to visit the dog Barbosa, who lives in the owner's apartment. Bobik looks around the room with curiosity, trying to understand what certain things are needed for, and Barbos is boring, but not always clearly explains the purpose of each item. In contrast to the confused explanations of Barbosa, Bobik puts forward his original assumptions. For example, he is surprised that the clock goes without legs, compares the comb with a saw and can not believe that that "nasty dog" ^{[7, p.151]} in the mirror is his reflection: "No, you're deceiving me! I put some two dogs there and you think – I believe you" ^{[7, p.151]}. Barbos knows much more than his guest, but he does not have such imagery of thinking, nor such metaphorical language as Bobik. And he tries to compensate for this with bragging and pride: "I'm living well. What I want, I do: I want to comb my hair with a comb, I want to play on TV, eat and drink what I want or lie on the bed"^{[7, p.151]}. He is happy to brag, exaggerates his importance in the house, which makes his fantasies braggadocio and even lies.

Nosov's stories also rethink the types of liar and dreamer: images of a conscientious deceiver, a deceiver-casuist and a permanent deceiver appear ("Karasik", "Lollipop", "About Gena"). For example, Vitalik in the story "Karasik" is a conscientious deceiver. The hero changes the fish for a friend's whistle, but, fearing his mother's punishment, blames all the blame on Murzik's cat. He is afraid and therefore does not admit guilt, but at the same time his conscience torments him: "Vitalik sat sad at lunch and didn't even want to eat anything" ^{[7, p. 114]}. All these emotional experiences of the hero are vividly expressed in the story. A similar type can also be found in the stories "Putty", "Cucumbers", etc. 

In the story "Lollipop" the author deduced the type of deceiver-casuist. The hero really wants to eat the reward promised for good behavior – a delicious lollipop, and it's not easy for him to restrain himself. As a result, he goes for decisive actions. Mishka climbed on the sideboard, took a sugar bowl, opened the lid, pulled out a lollipop, sucked, sucked and ... ate. In all the actions and words of the hero, a subtle psychological conflict is shown, which Nosov conveys very well. So, before each action, the Bear is looking for some excuse for himself. For example, when mom returns home and discovers a broken sugar bowl, Misha deceives her: "It's not me. It is she herself..." ^{[7, p. 121]}. And before the interrogation about the disappearance of the lollipop, he begins to justify himself: "Lollipop… Candy… I ate it. I behaved well, so I ate it. Here..." ^{[7, p. 122]}. Nosov very accurately reproduces the course of the hero's thoughts and the logic of his actions, leading readers to an unexpected denouement.

In the story "About the Gene" the type of permanent deceiver is implemented. Gene likes to lie, he deceives his parents and the teacher in order to shirk his studies or get praise from adults. His lies are easy and natural, they have already become a habit with him, and sometimes he lies unconsciously. But despite the fact that with the help of lies, the hero managed to skip lessons for quite a long time, his deception was eventually revealed, and Gena received serious punishment.

In the story "Tuk-tuk-tuk" the reader meets with the types of the hero-visionary and the hero-coward. Three children spend the night in a pioneer camp, and during this time they have a feeling of fear several times. Mishka is a coward and a braggart. He boasts to the camp guard that they are not afraid of anything and they will spend the night alone in the house. But it turned out to be quite different. Unfamiliar surroundings and the absence of adults cause friends to feel fear. Moreover, they themselves escalate it with their stories and actions. For example, Kolya specifically tells a scary story, and then knocks on the wall, passing off these knocks as diabolical. This is what he wants to scare the Bear, but in the end he succumbs to this fear. Mishka comes up with dangerous situations with robbers: he "hooked the door and tied it with a rope by the handle"^{[7, p. 41]}, asked to let him sleep in the middle, "took an axe in the kitchen and put it under his pillow" ^{[7, p. 42]}. The fantasy of the characters exaggerates the created images, and now it seems to the children that someone is knocking on the door. Nosov describes very accurately the process of the appearance of such fear: "I jumped up in bed from surprise <...> Rushed back to the door <...> We climbed onto the bed and are afraid to breathe <...> We jumped out of bed, closed the door to the next room, from where there was a passage to the attic. A table was pushed up to the door and another table and a bed were propped up <...> I grabbed an axe and ran to the door"^{[7, pp. 43-44]}. But the solution to these sounds turns out to be simple – it's a crow tapping on the porch and roof with its beak.

Thus, in Nosov's stories, three main types of stories can be distinguished – story-action, story-research and story-reflection. The subject of the image in action stories is any activity of the child, in research stories - creative, inventive, full of ideas personalities of children, and in reflection stories – children's fantasies and reflections, the process of the emergence of various emotions, such as fear, and ways to overcome it. Each type of raskazov narration assumes a certain type of hero. In action stories, the types of hero-doer and observer-performer are common. In research stories, you can meet a hero-an inventor, a researcher, an observer, as well as a performer. In the reflection stories, the types of the hero-visionary, deceiver and braggart are presented. All these types embody various features of the comic. In addition, such diversity enriches Nosov's artistic world and helps to solve various moral issues.