Volunteer Roman Gek from Nepal: “We dug up ten people. The stormy fate of Skipper Gek It all depends on the people

Huckleberry Finn is a homeless boy, the son of the first Petersburg drunkard, a tramp, living wherever he can. All the mothers of the town hated him, and all the boys were jealous of his freedom and longed for his company.

Huck had more life experience than Tom and was more serious than him (especially, this can be seen in the story of saving the black Jim), however, it was Tom who was always the leader in their joint affairs.

As a result of the well-known story, Huck and Tom Sawyer found a treasure hidden in a cave by Injun Joe. Huck became a rich man by local standards. The widow Douglas, whom he saved from Joe's revenge, was made his guardian, and Judge Thatcher was entrusted with the care of his money. Once in a decent house, Huck began to suffer unbearably. He is unaccustomed to eating with a knife and fork and sleeping in bed. He eventually escaped, but then returned because Tom Sawyer promised to make him a bandit.

Having learned that Huck got the money, his father found him and kidnapped him. He drank constantly and was insane. Huck ran away from him. He met a runaway black man, Jim, and they set off on a journey along the Mississippi River. As a result, after many adventures, he ended up with Tom Sawyer's relatives and it so happened that they mistook Huck for Tom, who was supposed to arrive any day.

Tom arrived and successfully gave himself away to his brother Sid. Together with Huck, he began to play freeing the Negro Jim. As a result, it turned out that Jim was given freedom under Miss Watson's will. Huck also learned that his father had died and would no longer haunt him.

After that, he returned to his native land and lived happily ever after. The further adventures of Tom and Huck are described in Mark Twain's stories "Tom Sawyer the Detective", where the boys find themselves in a detective story, and "Tom Sawyer Abroad", where they travel around the world in a hot air balloon.

Mark Twain personality of Huck Finn:

“All the mothers in the city hated Huckleberry with all their hearts and at the same time were afraid of him, because he was a lazy, ill-mannered, bad boy who did not recognize any mandatory rules. And also because their children - every single one of them - were souls in him they didn’t care, they loved to hang out with him, although this was forbidden, and they wanted to imitate him in everything. Tom, like all the other boys from respectable families, envied the outcast Huckleberry, and he was also strictly forbidden to deal with this ragamuffin. , it was for this reason that Tom did not miss the opportunity to play with him. Huckleberry dressed in cast-offs from the shoulders of adults; his clothes were speckled with multi-colored spots and were so tattered that his rags fluttered in the wind like a huge wreck; down a long piece in the shape of a crescent; on those rare days when Huck put it on himself, it reached almost to his feet, so that the back buttons were located significantly below the tire; were decorated with fringes and would drag in the mud unless Huck tucked them in."

"Huckleberry was a free bird, he wandered wherever he pleased. In good weather he spent the night on the steps of someone else's porch, and in rainy weather - in empty barrels. He did not have to go to school or to church, he did not have to listen to anyone, above him there was no master. He could fish or swim whenever and wherever he wanted, and sit in the water as much as he wanted. No one forbade him to fight. He could stay up until the morning. He was the first of all the boys to walk barefoot. , and in the fall he was the last to put on his shoes. He didn’t need to wash or put on a clean dress, and he could swear amazingly, in a word, he had everything that makes life wonderful. "well-mannered" boys from respectable families."

Film adaptations

The story of Huckleberry Finn has been filmed several times. Two films were shot in our country:

“Completely Lost” - a 1972 film by Georgy Danelia, where Gek is played by Roman Madyanov

“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn” is a 1981 film directed by Stanislav Govorukhin, where the role of Huck was played by Vladislav Galkin.

By the way, the word huckleberry is a small berry similar to a blueberry, common in North America, and in Old English slang it was said when mentioning some insignificant thing, sometimes in a warm, affectionate context.

- Roman, tell us about yourself.

I was born in Vladivostok. This is my favorite city. My family has lived there for five generations. One of the city streets, Skipper Huck, is named after my great-great-great-grandfather. I studied to be an architect at the Far Eastern Technical University, then interned at Harbin Polytechnic University and in Toronto, Ontario.

- Have you ever been to Sochi before the festival?

I've never been to Sochi before. But when it became known that the Olympics would be held here, I became interested in the city from a professional point of view, as an architect. I followed the construction and I can say with confidence that any young architect knows more about the Olympic venues than the average resident of Sochi.

- Roman, what did you know about the festival before arriving in Sochi? What were your expectations?

I came across a mention of VFMS in a 40-year-old book about Soviet education. It mentioned the 1957 festival in Moscow. Until the last moment, I was sure that this was some kind of joke, until I saw with my own eyes how many people, professionals, equipment and technology were involved. Olympic-scale preparations were underway here.

You became one of the heroes of the opening ceremony of the festival, where you told your story about the construction of a school in Nepal. How did this project begin?

I came to Nepal as a tourist. One of the founders of a school in the village asked for help with technology. I had the opportunity to get three used computers. Took two days to get to school. In the end, it turned out that there was not even electricity there, and the children studied computer science by drawing a floppy disk in a notebook. Then the question arose: “Why, exactly, computers?” It turned out that there was still light in this area, but it worked intermittently. The local school building looked like a shack, and there was no education in the sense that we were used to it. After what I saw, the idea came to me to help the local population and build a real school.

- What funds were used and how was the construction carried out?

I invested my own money in the first part of the construction. In equivalent, this is about half the cost of the car. The second part was funded by funds raised on Boomstarter and IndieGoGo. It was important to first show that we did something, and then ask for money. The construction of the building itself took approximately three months, but the foundation and foundation took a year and a half. They did it by hand - there are no excavators in this area of ​​Nepal. And if it had been brought there in some magical way, it would have been impossible to refuel, because gasoline is on coupons.

- Is the school functioning now?

Yes. Moreover, after the earthquake, this was the only school that survived; a road was built to it. Initially there were about 70 students and 5 teachers, including the director. Now there are many more people.

- There are also many places in Russia where there are no schools. Why was this project implemented in Nepal?

Russia has reached a level of education where we can think about its quality, and in Nepal the fact of its presence is still important.

There are many micro-populations in the Nepalese valleys, where expeditions are still sent to find new languages.

(“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, “Tom Sawyer Abroad”, “Tom Sawyer the Detective”, “The Tom Sawyer Conspiracy”). A teenager of 12-14 years old, Tom's friend, involved in numerous common adventures with him, comes from a poor single-parent family. Only in the first novel the story is told from the author's point of view. The remaining texts in the series are narrated by Huckleberry Finn.

History of creation

The hero's name - Huckleberry, which is traditionally translated into Russian as Huckleberry - translated from English means the name of a small berry, like blueberry or blueberry. In a figurative sense, in the time of Mark Twain, the word was used to mean “a person of little importance or influence.”

The character of Huck Finn was copied by Twain from his own childhood friend, whose name was Tom Blankenship. The author writes about this in his autobiography:

“In Huckleberry Finn, I brought Tom Blankenship exactly as he was. Ill-mannered, unwashed and always hungry, but with the kindest heart of anyone I knew. He enjoyed unlimited freedom and was the only truly independent person in our town and, as a result, constantly and serenely happy. We all envied him."

There were many moments in the life of Mark Twain's little friend that frankly coincide with the events of the books. Tom's family was poor, and his older brother actually helped one runaway black man hide. For the return of the escaped blacks there was a monetary reward, which the poor family would, without a doubt, come in handy.

In addition, in the slave-owning American South, harboring blacks was considered a shameful act for people with white skin. But the guy did not give up the runaway slave and helped him. These events, in a slightly modified form, were included in Mark Twain's second novel.

Biography

The characterization of the hero and the ups and downs of the life of a homeless boy will seem dramatic these days. However, Twain's novels tell stories of adventure, and the characters themselves are happy to live the way they do. Papa Finn, Huck's father, is a homeless drunk, and the hero's mother is dead. Huck himself spends the night by the river, in an empty barrel where sugar used to be stored. The hero looks like a ragamuffin and grows like grass, a homeless child. Other teenagers are forbidden to make friends with the “dysfunctional” Huck, who smokes a pipe, loafs, does not go to school and at the same time looks extremely happy with such a life.

Tom Sawyer, however, violates this prohibition, for which he is sometimes punished. Together, the friends go through a series of adventures and even find a treasure. Huck suddenly becomes rich, and the hero's life turns upside down. He has an adoptive mother, the widow Douglas, who takes on Huck's upbringing. The hero is not used to such a life and, most importantly, to the fact that they are trying to educate him, so he runs away from the supervision of the widow. In the company of Jim (a black man who ran away from his owners) and two adventurers known as “Duke” and “King,” Huckleberry Finn travels along the Mississippi River on a raft.

Huck's life before he found the treasure and became rich looked unattractive to adults, but was liked by the hero himself, who valued personal independence much higher than a clean suit and everyday amenities.

“He didn’t have to wash or put on a clean dress, and he could swear amazingly. In short, he had everything that makes life wonderful.”

Before the “adoption” the guy was completely on his own and could do what he wanted. No one forced the hero to go to school, wear uncomfortable clothes and behave in a certain way, as is customary in society.

The widow Douglas thoroughly takes up the task of raising the hero. In the widow's house, Huck is surrounded by servants who treat him as if the hero were a little master - they wash him, comb his hair with a brush and comb, put him to bed on clean sheets, which seem unpleasant to the hero. The widow insists that Huck attend church and eat with a fork and knife.

These conditions seem unbearable to the young man, and he runs away, having endured only three weeks under the tutelage of the widow Douglas. Tom Sawyer tricks his friend into returning, but this does not help for long. The desire to regain independence is the reason why the hero forever leaves the city where he was born and goes on a dangerous journey along the river, having previously faked his own death so that people would no longer look for him.

Film adaptations

Books about the adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn have been filmed several times. In 1981, a three-part Soviet film, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn,” was released, directed by. The young heroes sneak into a cemetery at night in search of adventure and witness Injun Joe committing murder. Later, the heroes encounter him again when they are looking for treasure. The roles of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are played by actors and.

In 1993, a film adaptation of “The Adventures of Huck Finn” was released in the United States, starring him. It plays out the story of a runaway slave and a raft trip on the Mississippi River.

The last film based on the works of Mark Twain was released not so long ago, in 2014. It's called Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. There, the character Huck Finn is played by Jake T. Austin, who previously starred in the comedy series Wizards of Waverly Place.

In 1992, a 12-episode animated series about the adventures of Huckleberry Finn was released in France. In Japan, they also did not ignore this topic and filmed the anime series “Huckleberry no Bouken” in 1976, and in 1991 an animated film of the same name appeared. A couple of years later they decided to restart the series, and a new version was released, with a new director and the name “Huckleberry Finn Monogatari”.

Huck Finn happened to appear on screen in the form of a fox. In 2000, an animated film was released in the United States, where the characters from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer are depicted as animals. Tom himself became a young cat, and Becky Thatcher was turned into a white cat.

Otherwise, the cartoon was filmed close to Mark Twain's novel, with the exception of a slightly changed ending and rearrangement of some events. For example, the episode where Becky and Tom get lost in a cave is moved to the very end in the cartoon, and Huck the Fox makes friends with Tom’s ex-girlfriend (which was not in Twain’s text).

In the US state of Alabama, the works of Mark Twain are being republished with edits, removing anything that could offend African Americans. There were as many as 219 such “offensive” words in the novel about Huckleberry Finn. It’s funny that at one time Mark Twain also suffered because of racial nagging, but then the situation was exactly the opposite.

The writer is an ardent opponent of slavery and the ideology of racism; he did not hide his position and directly voiced it in his books. This is precisely what caused the indignation of his contemporaries. Mark Twain's book about Huckleberry Finn was even removed from a public library in Massachusetts. On this occasion, Twain wrote to the publisher:

"They kicked Huck out of the library as 'slum trash,' and we'll no doubt sell another 25,000 copies of the book because of it."

In the second half of the twentieth century, this book again began to be excluded from the curriculum in some American schools, but this time because of the “racist statements” that were unexpectedly discovered in it.

For the past six months, a school has been built for local children in the village of Japhe in Nepal. The phenomenon is commonplace for us, people spoiled by civilization. And in a village where children used to study in a bamboo shed, this is a major event. Moreover, the school is being built by an architect from Vladivostok, 28-year-old Roman Gek. Komsomolskaya Pravda decided to find out why he decided to promote his “Project of Good” in Nepal, how construction is going and how local education differs from Russian education.

Rescued from the rice field

A year ago, Roman Gek and his friend Olesya Chalikova went hiking in Nepal. On the way, they met a local resident, Krishna Gautam, who works as a guide for tourists. From conversations, the couple learned that he organized a school for local children.

In this country, education is entirely based on English. If the child finishes school and passes the final exams, he will be able to leave Nepal to study further. In the country itself there is higher education, but also in English. And if a child does not know the language, then he is doomed to the rice field, says Roman Gek.

The guide did not ask for help - Roman took the initiative. The Nepalese said that the school really needs computers. In Primorye, Roman called out to his friends - they collected ten old Pentiums. But before sending them, a resident of Vladivostok decided to make sure that he was not being deceived, and he himself went to a Nepalese school.

I went at the height of the rainy season, and it took two days to get to that school. It turned out that they didn’t need computers because there was nowhere to put them - there was just a bamboo shed with a metal roof. I was very surprised, and then sat down to the project. The result was a whole complex with a school, theater, cinema, library and even a football field. The main thing is that people here not only study, but can gather, discuss new ideas, find work,” Roman passionately describes his plans for the future.

Handmade

At the beginning of construction everything went very slowly. It took six months to find people who would help with the project and build a house for volunteers. And no wonder - after all, all the work is done manually, no machines, only simple mechanical devices like a self-assembled lift. And the work is hard - moving and crushing stones, carrying soil in wheelbarrows.

Laying the foundation for the future complex began only in December. Roman financed the entire first stage of construction from his own pocket, fortunately he had some savings.

To date, I have spent almost 170 thousand rubles. The main expense items are construction materials, payments to local hired workers and food for volunteers. In Russia, such a project would cost 7-8 million, but we only need another 300-400 thousand rubles. “I will soon create pages on the Boomstarter and Kickstarter sites to raise funds,” explains the architect.

It all depends on the people

Now construction is in full swing - the foundation of the future complex is already ready. However, it is not known exactly when the building will be ready. Roman notes that everything depends on people, but there are not enough of them yet. About 100 volunteers from different countries have already visited the construction site - there are English, French, but most of all Russian speakers. The village even has several signs with arrows on which are written the names of the cities where volunteers come from and the distance to these distant places. There is Crimea, and St. Petersburg, and Perm...

Everyone is going for different periods of time - some for a month or two, there are a couple of people who decided to wait for the complex to open. Moreover, not only singles go, but also married couples and entire groups.

By the way, it was only with Roman’s arrival that a doctor appeared in Japha. And it turned out that there are very few healthy children in the village - almost everyone has some kind of disability and chronic illness. Simple problems are dealt with locally, but children with more complex illnesses are sent to Kathmandu.

Women want to go to construction

At first, the village was shocked by the large-scale construction. The places here are not touristic; the last time a foreigner was seen was four years ago; according to rumors, he seemed to be German. When the volunteers arrived, the Nepalese people shied away from the strangers. Now they are helping as much as they can.

The locals constantly bring us fruits and vegetables. Recently a group of women came and said that they also wanted to work in construction. I refused them because women shouldn’t carry bags of cement. They were upset, of course, but then they returned. With food,” Roman smiles.

However, he has to listen not only to gratitude from the Nepalese, but also to barbs from his compatriots. The question most often asked is why the school is not being built in Russia. Roman is convinced that such people do not even know where schools are really needed in our country, but there is practically no place for Nepalese children to study.

In our country we can afford to think about the quality of education, but here they still think about its availability. The difference in education levels between us and Nepal is huge. For example, the heating broke down in one of the Russian schools, but it has never been seen in Nepal. In Russia, the Internet is weak, and in Nepal there is no electricity. The Russian toilet is dirty, but the Nepalese one is behind a tree. Do you feel the difference? - says Roman.

", "Tom Sawyer Abroad", "Tom Sawyer - Detective", "The Tom Sawyer Conspiracy"

Huckleberry Finn, or Huck(in the Russian translation tradition; in the language of the original source - Hucklebury English Huckleberry (Huck) Finn) - one of the main characters in Mark Twain’s novels “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, the stories “Tom Sawyer the Detective”, “Tom Sawyer Abroad”, one of the versions of the unfinished story “The Mysterious Stranger”. In all works, with the exception of the first novel, the narrative is told from the perspective of Huck.

In a word huckleberry is a small berry related to blueberries and blueberries, common in North America. Also in Old English slang they said this when mentioning some unimportant thing, sometimes in a warm, affectionate context. Apparently, Mark Twain invented this unique name specifically for his character, because it is difficult to find earlier mentions of this word as a proper name.

The prototype for Huckleberry was Twain's childhood friend Tom Blankenship ( Tom Blankenship). At first, the writer denied that Huck was based on a real person, but then in his “Autobiography” he admitted: “In Huckleberry Finn, I brought Tom Blankenship exactly as he was. Ill-mannered, unwashed and always hungry, but with the kindest heart of anyone I knew. He enjoyed unlimited freedom and was the only truly independent person in our town and, as a result, constantly and serenely happy. We all envied him." Tom's older brother actually helped a runaway black man hide, although such an act in the slaveholding South was considered shameful for a white man, and a monetary reward was offered for the black man, which could be a good help for the poor Blankenship family. Apparently, this story served as one of the motives for the second novel [ source?] .

Characteristics

The son of a homeless drunkard, Huck grows up as a homeless child and a ragamuffin. He spends the night in an empty sugar barrel, smokes a pipe, does not go to school, is idle, and he likes this life. Children are not allowed to be friends with Huck, but Tom Sawyer breaks the ban. After many adventures, Tom and Huck find themselves in possession of the treasure. Unexpected wealth turns Huck's life upside down - he is taken in by the widow Douglas. Tired of his stepmother's educational measures, Huck runs away. His famous journey on a raft along the Mississippi begins in the company of the runaway black man Jim, the adventurers King and Duke. During the second novel, Huck is approximately 13-14 years old.

Quotes

Notes

Categories:

• Mark Twain
• Literary heroes
• Fictional Americans
• Fictional boys
• Fictional orphans
• Fictional travelers

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See what "Huckleberry Finn" is in other dictionaries: TOM SAWYER and HUCKLEBERRY FINN - (eng. Tom Sawyer, Hucklberry Finn) - heroes of Mark Twain's novels “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” (1876) and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” (1884). Twelve-year-old boys, residents of a small provincial American... ...

Literary heroes

Huckleberry Finn is a character in several works by Mark Twain. Films "Huckleberry Finn" (1920 film) American film of 1920. Huckleberry Finn is a 1931 American film. "Huckleberry Finn" American film from 1974... ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Huckleberry Finn (meanings). Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry Finn ... Wikipedia

Finn: Wiktionary has an entry for “Finn” Finn is a member of the Finnish people; Finn name. Finn River ... Wikipedia