Comic techniques in A. Aleksin’s novella “The story of Alik Detkin. A very scary story” in the context of the culture of the 1960–1970 years
DOI: 10.23951/1609-624X-2025-1-92-102
The analyzed story uses different types of comic, such as irony, parody, humor, in its soft and delicate form. Here is an example of literature addressed to readers who have only just begun to form their literary taste, and representing a kind of encyclopedia of the funny, not using extreme forms (sarcasm, satire), activating the ability to catch subtle, implicit shades of the comic, contributing to the expansion of cultural horizons and the development of logical thinking. The use of the original narration and the “text within the text” technique allow A. Aleksin to create a story literally overflowing with various kinds and techniques of the comic: from puns and incorrect word usage to parody and gentle irony, while the author never humiliates his characters, on the contrary, he makes readers sympathize with the selfless, well-read and inquisitive children, who treat their parents, teachers, and each other with respect and love. Texts of this kind, aimed at attentive readers with a fairly broad historical and literary outlook, encourage reading, activate the reader’s attention, and introduce various literary techniques. The genre of a humorous detective story in a children’s story turned out to be possible due to the fact that A. Aleksin adheres to strict rules characteristic of humorous literature: there is nothing really shocking, terrible and compassionate in his story, thanks to which the element of humor turns out to be justified and is not replaced by pity. At the same time, the plot of the detective story is motivated by the psychology of the young heroes, and their actions and deeds correspond to ideas about morality and ethics.
Keywords: Anatoly Aleksin, “A Very Scary Story”, teenage literature, detective story, comic techniques, humor, irony
References:
1. Bocharov A. Soobshchitel’nost’ ironii [The sociability of irony]. Voprosy literatury, 1980, no. 12, pp. 74–114 (in Russian)
2. Vayl’ P., Genis A. 60-ye. Mir sovetskogo cheloveka [60-s. The world of the Soviet man]. Moscow, Novoye literaturnoye obozreniye Publ., 1998. 368 p. (in Russian).
3. Bakhtin M. M. Tvorchestvo Fransua Rable i narodnaya kul’tura srednevekov’ya i Renessansa [The work of Francois Rabelais and the folk culture of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance]. Moscow, Khudozhestvennaya literatura Publ., 1990. 543 p. (in Russian).
4. Bergson A. Smekh [Laughter]. Moscow, Iskusstvo Publ., 1992. 127 p. (in Russian).
5. Freyd Z. Ostroumiye i yego otnosheniye k bessoznatel’nomu [Wit and its relation to the unconscious]. Saint Petersburg, Aleteya Publ., 1998. 309 p. (in Russian).
6. Tynyanov Yu. N. O parodii [About parody]. Poetika. Istoriya literatury. Kino [Poetics. History of Literature. Cinema]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1977. Pp. 284–309 (in Russian).
7. Pivoyev V. M. Ironiya kak fenomen kul’tury [Irony as a cultural phenomenon]. Petrozavodsk, PetrGU Publ., 2000. 106 p. (in Russian).
8. Dzemidok B. O komicheskom [About the comic]. Moscow, Progress Publ., 1974. 224 p. (in Russian).
9. Loyter S. M. Russkiy detskiy fol’klor i detskaya mifologiya: issledovaniye i teksty [Russian children’s folklore and children’s mythology]. Petrozavodsk, KGPU Publ., 2001. 296 p. (in Russian).
10. Kapitsa F. S., Kolyadich T. M. Russkiy detskiy fol’klor: uchebnoye posobiye dlya studentov vuzov [Russian Children’s Folklore: A Textbook for University Students]. Moscow, Flinta, Nauka Publ., 2002. 320 p. (in Russian).
11. Poleva E. A., Pisarenko A. E. Priyomy psikhologizma v povesti A. Aleksina “Bezumnaya Evdokiya” [Psychologism techniques in A. Aleksin’s story “Mad Evdokia”]. Sibirskaya literatura dlya detey i yunoshestva: tendentsii i kontekst razvitiya (1950–2010) [Siberian literature for children and youth: trends and context of development (1950–2010)]. Tomsk, TsNTI Publ., 2016. Pp. 97-106 (in Russian).
12. Novikova E. V. Sredstva i priyomy psikhologizma v izobrazhenii geroya-podrostka (na primere zrelogo tvorchestva A. G. Aleksina) [Means and techniques of psychologism in the depiction of a teenage hero (based on the mature work of A. G. Aleksin)]. XX Vserossiyskaya studencheskaya nauchno-prakticheskaya konferentsiya Nizhnevartovskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Materialy XX Vserossiyskoy studencheskoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii. Sbornik statey. Otvetstvennyy redaktor A. V. Korichko [XX All-Russian Student Scientific and Practical Conference of Nizhnevartovsk State University: Proceedings of the XX All-Russian Student Scientific and Practical Conference: Collection of Articles. Editor-in-Chief A. V. Korichko]. 2018. Pp. 447–451 (in Russian).
13. Anatoliy Aleksin (in Russian). URL: http://anatolyaleksin.com/aa1.htm (accessed 8 July 2024).
14. Lotman Yu. M. Tekst v tekste [Text in text]. Semiosfera [Semiosphere]. Saint Petersburg, Iskusstvo-SPb Publ., 2000. Pp. 62–73 (in Russian).
15. Aleksin A. G. Povest’ Alika Detkina. Ochen’ strashnaya istoriya [Alik Detkin’s story. A very scary story]. Sobraniye sochineniy v 3 tomakh [Collected Works: in 3 volumes]. Moscow, Detskaya literatura Publ., 1979. Vol. 1. Pp. 106–214 (in Russian).
16. Gasparov M. L., Avtonomova N. S. Sonety Shekspira – perevody Marshaka [Shakespeare’s sonnets in Marshak’s translations]. In: Gasparov M. O russkoy poezii [About Russian poetry]. Saint Petersburg, Azbuka Publ., 2001. Pp. 389–409 (in Russian).
17. Serov V. V. Entsiklopedicheskiy slovar’ krylatykh slov i vyrazheniy [Encyclopedic dictionary of popular words and expressions]. Moscow, Lokid-press Publ., 2005. 677 p. (in Russian).
18. Aleksin A. Biografiya. ProDetLit. Vserossiyskaya entsiklopediya detskoy literatury [Biography. ProDetLit. All-Russian Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature] (in Russian). URL: https://prodetlit.ru/index.php/Aleksin_Anatolij_Georgievich (accessed 10 June 2024).
19. Polovets A. Poka ne pozdno… Razgovory s A. Aleksinym [Before it’s too late… Conversations with A. Aleksin]. LitBuk (in Russian). URL: https://litbook.ru/article/10297/?ysclid=lzz954zv8y651375292 (accessed 10 June 2024).
20. Gasparov M. L. Sonet [Sonnet]. Literaturnyy entsiklopedicheskiy slovar’ [Literary Encyclopedic Dictionary]. Moscow, Sovetskaya entsiklopediya Publ., 1987. 752 p. (in Russian).
21. Shekspir V. Polnoye sobraniye sochineniy: v 8 tomakh. T. 6 [Complete Works: in 8 volumes. Vol. 6]. Moscow, Iskusstvo Publ., 1960. 687 p. (in Russian).
22. Anikst A. Poemy, sonety i stikhotvoreniya V. Shekspira [Poems, sonnets and poems by Shakespeare]. in: Shekspir U. Polnoye sobraniye sochineniy: v 8 tomakh [Complete Works: in 8 volumes]. Moscow, Iskusstvo Publ., 1960. Vol. 8. 742 p. (in Russian).
23. Anikst A. A., Motyleva T. L. Realizm [Realism]. Literaturnyy entsiklopedicheskiy slovar’ [Literary Encyclopedic Dictionary]. Moscow, Sovetskaya entsiklopediya Publ., 1987. Pp. 318–321 (in Russian).
24. Sazonenko M. A. Atributy sovetskogo detstva: istoriya transformatsii (na primere illyustrativnogo materiala detskikh zhurnalov 1920–1990-kh godov) [Attributes of Soviet Childhood: The History of Transformation (Based on Illustrative Material from Children’s Magazines from the 1920s–1990s)]. Vestnik Novosibirskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Istoriya, filologiya – Vestnik NSU. Series: History and Philology, 2021, vol. 20, no. 6, pp. 85–95 (in Russian).
25. Tynyanov Yu. N. Dostoyevskiy i Gogol’: k teorii parodii [Dostoevsky and Gogol. Towards a Theory of Parody]. In: Poetika. Istoriya literatury. Kino [Poetics. History of Literature. Cinema]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1977. Pp. 198–226 (in Russian).
( 418.1 kB ) 
( 412.72 kB )
Issue: 1, 2025
Series of issue: Issue 1
Rubric: RUSSIAN LITERATURE AND INTERCULTURAL LITERARY RELATIONS
Pages: 92 — 102
Downloads: 2