The Analys of Russian Fairytale "Turnip"

Analysis of Russian fairytale "Turnip"

January,12,2013

Analysis of Russian fairytale "Turnip"

The meaning of fairytales I believe plays a fundamental role in the development of personality, especially when they are introduced during childhood. In this paper I will touch on the impact of Russian folklore using the example of a short and seemingly simple fairytale called “Turnip” that appears to be timeless. This story was introduced to many generations of little Russian children, including mine. Sometimes Russian fairytales seem to be a bit simple, at times even primitive. But each one contains not only a visible plot, but underlying morals that make up their meaning and significance. Such a pattern is displayed in the fairytale “Turnip” that I will be discussing in this paper.

The fairytale starts with the old man planting a turnip. Imagine a hard working farmer which is a typical image of a common Russian male who sweats and toils harvesting his land. He is bound to hard work hoping to get a good harvest at the end of season. It is remarkable that this story is about an old man, since historically in Russia, being old and still strong and able enough to feed your family has always been an important factor of life in Russia. So it is in this story, our old man successfully manages his duties and now the “Maker” grants him a plentiful harvest. The turnip grows to a huge size! The old man goes to pick it up and pulls, and pulls, but cannot pull it out of the ground. He is puzzled and does not understand. It seems that the thing he planted, his own harvest does not obey him. At this point in the story, we see a lesson develop, “at times you need to humble yourself and ask for help.”

So he calls his wife to help him and she holds on to her old man, he holds on to the turnip. They pull and pull, but again, no luck. Because of their age, this work is too hard for them to accomplish and they realize they need to call someone younger from a...