Neznaika

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"Neznaika and his Friends" book cover
"Neznaika and his Friends" book cover

Neznaika (Russian: Незнайка, from "не знаю", or "I don't know") is the famous anti-hero created by the Soviet children's writer Nikolai Nosov. In English, Neznaika's name has been translated as "Dunno" and "Know-Nothing".

Neznaika, recognized by his bright blue hat, canary-yellow trousers, orange shirt, and green tie, is the title character of Nosov's world-famous trilogy, The Adventures of Neznaika and his Friends (Приключения Незнайки и его друзей) (1954), Neznaika in Sun City (Незнайка в Солнечном городе) (1958), and Neznaika on the Moon (Незнайка на Луне) (1966). The three fairy tale novels follow the adventures of the little fictional children-like people living in "Flower City" (Цветочный город). They are described to be sized like "medium cucumbers", a quality that has earned them the name "shorties" or "mites" (коротышки). In Nosov's universe, each shorty occupies his/her own niche in the community and is named accordingly. The "three apple tall" Smurfs of the Belgian illustrator Peyo are based on a similar concept. However, unlike in the world that Peyo had created, anything unrealistic in Nosov's universe, save his characters' small size, owes itself to science-fiction rather than fantasy or magic.

Another important characteristic of the Neznaika trilogy is its heavily didactic nature. Nosov describes this as an effort to teach "honesty, bravery, comradery, willpower, and persistence" and discourage "jealousy, cowardice, mendacity, arrogance, and effrontery." Strong political undertones are also present. In addition to general egalitarianism and feminism, communist tendencies dominate the works. The first book takes the reader into a typical Soviet-like town, the second into a communist utopia, and the third into a capitalistic satire . Nosov's captivating and humorous literary style has made his ideologies accessible to children and adults alike.

Contents

[edit] Plot Summaries

[edit] The Adventures of Neznaika and his Friends

In Flower City, Neznaika gets into heaps of trouble. First, he becomes convinced that the sun was falling and manages to scare half the town before Znaika clears everything up. Then he proceeds to try music, art, and poetry, but his unorthodox endeavors only irritate his friends, and he is forced to quit. Next, ignoring the warnings of Vintik and Shpuntik, Neznaika crashes their car into the Cucumber River and ends up in the hospital. He then gets into a fight with his best friend Gun'ka for not ending his friendships with the girl-shorties Muskha and Knopochka.

Znaika proposes to build a hot air balloon and go on an adventure. He and his friends begin extracting rubber, weaving the basket, and making emergency parachutes out of dandy lions. A large rubber balloon is then blown up, fastened to the basket, and filled with hot air. The parachutes and other supplies are loaded, and sixteen seats are accommodated for. Everyone helps with preparations except for Neznaika, who is too busy bossing everyone around and providing useless advice. The day of the departure comes, and Znaika, Neznaika, and fourteen other shorties come on board. Pul'ka takes with him his dog, Bul'ka. By this time, half the town still does not believe the balloon would be able to fly, but the balloon successfully rises off the ground, and all the shorties of Flower Town cheer. Gun'ka waves to Neznaika from the ground but Neznaika shuns him.

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[edit] Neznaika in Sun City

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[edit] Neznaika on the Moon

The Moon is depicted as a typical capitalist state where people like Neznaika have to starve or to turn into sheep on the Fool Island. Neznaika's friend, Ponchik, is luckier: for a certain time, he becomes a millionaire, but quickly loses all his wealth and has to work as a wage laborer. Later Neznaika's friends come to Moon with giant seeds, which results in elimination of poverty and establishment of a socialist-like economical system.

[edit] Characters

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[edit] Flower City Dwellers

Named for its abundance of flowers, all streets are named after flowers as well. The Flower City is located by the Cucumber River, on the shore of which many cucumbers grow. Here boy-shorties and girl-shorties live together, but often have trouble getting along.

  • Neznaika (Незнайка, from Russian "I don't know") - the title character of the trilogy and the most infamous personality in Flower City. As an anti-hero, this boy-shorty is both ignorant, lazy, rude, and conceited and at the same time curious, kind, enterprising, and unbelievably lucky. He is highly reminiscent of the popular Russian folk hero Ivan the Fool, a flawed young man who always manages to come out on top.
  • Gun'ka (Гунька) - a boy-shorty, Neznaika's best friend
  • Znaika (Знайка, from "I know") - a boy-shorty scientist, the smartest of the boy-shorties, often adopts the leadership role
  • Vintik (Винтик, from "little bolt") and Shpuntik (from "little peg") - boy-shorty mechanics
  • Guslya (Гусля, from "gusli") - a boy-shorty musician
  • Tyubik (Тюбик, from "tube") - a boy-shorty painter
  • Knopochka (Кнопочка, from "little button") - a girl-shorty who becomes best friends with Neznaika
  • Romashka (Ромашка, from "camomile") - a girl-shorty
  • Toropyzhka (Торопыжка, from "to hurry") - a boy-shorty who is always in a hurry
  • Rasteryayka (Растеряйка, from "to lose") - a boy-shorty who always loses and forgets things
  • Doctor Pilyulkin (Доктор Пилюлькин, from "pill") - a boy-shorty physician
  • Ponchik (Пончик, from "doughnut") - a very chubby boy-shorty who likes to eat sweets
  • Siropchik (Сиропчик, from "little syrup") - a very chubby boy-shorty who likes to drink carbonated water with syrup
  • Pul'ka (Пулька, from "bullet") - a boy-shorty hunter
  • Bul'ka (Булька) - Pul'ka's dog
  • Tsvetik (Цветик, from "bloomer") - a boy-shorty poet
  • Pachkulya Pyostrenky (Пачкуля Пёстренький, from "dirty and garishly spotted") - a boy-shorty who is always dirty and never surprised at anything
  • Vorchyun (Ворчун, from "to grumble") - a boy-shorty who always grumbles and complains
  • Molchyun (Молчун, from "to be silent") - a boy-shorty who is always quiet
  • Mushka (Мушка, from "fly" [insect]) - a girl-shorty
  • Steklyashkin (Стекляшкин, from "piece of glass") - a boy-shorty astronomer
  • Kapel'ka (Капелька, from "litte drop") - a girl-shorty who cries when it rains

[edit] Green City Dwellers

Named for its abundance of trees, only girl-shorties live here.

  • Medunitsa (Медуница, from "lungwort") - a girl-shorty doctor, head of the Green City hospital
  • Sineglazka (Синеглазка, from "blue eyes") - a pretty blue-eyed girl-shorty
  • Snezhinka (Снежинка, from "snowflake") - a pretty fair-skinned girl-shorty
  • Samotsvetik (Самоцветик, from "self-bloomer") - a girl-shorty poet
  • Zain'ka (Заинька, from "little hare") and Belochka (from "little squirrel") - girl-shorties with animals embroidered on their dresses
  • Galochka (Галочка, from "little jackdaw") - a girl-shorty with long black hair
  • Kubyshka (Кубышка, a kind of jar & water lily Nymphaea lutea) - a chubby girl-shorty
  • Kison'ka (Кисонька, from "kitten") - a girl-shorty
  • Solomka (Соломка, from "a stick of straw") - a smart girl-shorty who bred watermelons as well as other fruit

[edit] Kite City Dwellers

Named for its abundance of decorative kites, only boy-shorties live here.

  • Gvozdik (Гвоздик, from "little nail" [the metal kind]) - a boy-shorty who makes a lot of trouble
  • Bublik (Бублик, from "bagel") - a boy-shorty who drives a car
  • Shurupchik (Шурупчик, from "little screw") - a boy-shorty inventor
  • Smekaylo (Смекайло, from "smart, fast grasping") - a pretentious boy-shorty writer

[edit] Sun City Dwellers

Named for its perpetually sunny weather, it is a shorty utopia noted for its incredible technological advances.

  • Kalachik (Калачик, from sort of a larger bagel) - a boy-shorty farming equipment operator
  • Listik (Листик, from "little sheet of paper") - a boy-shorty who loves to read and whom Neznaika magically turned into a donkey
  • Bukovka (Буковка, from "little letter" [of the alphabet]) - a girl-shorty who loves to read, Listik's best friend
  • Lilia (Лилия, from "lily") - a girl-shorty, director of hotel Malvazia
  • Pegasik (Пегасик, from "Pegasus"), Brykun (Брыкин, from "to kick"), and Kaligula (Калигула, from "Caligula") - two donkeys and a mule whom Neznaika magically turned into boy-shorties
  • Chubchik (Чубчик, from "forelock")- a boy-shorty gardener
  • Yorshik (Ёршик, from "little ruff") - a boy-shorty, leader of the mass of passerby that Pegasik and Neznaika sprayed with water
  • Svistul'kin (Свистулькин, from "to whistle") and Karaul'kin (Караулькин, from "to be on watch") - boy-shorty policemen

[edit] Moon Dwellers

Names of Moon dwellers and Moon cities resemble English, German, Italian and Spanish words amalgamated with Russian roots, e.g. Davilon (from давить - to suppress and Вавилон - Babylon), Grabenberg (from грабить - to rob and ...enberg - a typical German-like toponym), etc.

Millionaires:

  • Sproots (from спрут - a giant octopus)
  • Scooperfield (Скуперфильд, an amalgamated word from скупой - greedy and the English surname Copperfield)

Police and justice:

  • Wrigl (Вригль, an amalgamated word from врать - to lie and the English surname Wrigley) - a judge

Thieves:

  • Miga (Мига, from миг - a little moment)
  • Zhulio (Жулио, an amalgamated word from жулик - a swindler, cheater, and a name Julio)

Other citizens:

  • Kozlik (Козлик - a little goat) - a naive jobless Moon dweller who quickly becomes Neznaika's friend

[edit] Others

  • Tsirkul (Циркуль, from "compass") - a lanky and very renowned traveling bicyclist from the city of Katigoroshkin (Катигорошкин)
  • Wizard (Bолшебник) - gave Neznaika a magic wand

[edit] External links

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