Lessons 38–39 · 2 lessons · M. E. Rozhnova, U. T. Yaminova. Russian Language, Grade 8 (textbook for general secondary schools with Uzbek and other languages of instruction), 2nd revised edition. “Uzbekistan” Publishing and Printing Creative House, Tashkent, 2019
38
A. G. Aleksin: life. The story «Актриса»
Textbook: pp. 142–148
GoalLearn about A. G. Aleksin; retell the story «Актриса»; evaluate the images of the grandmother and the grandson.
A. G. Aleksin (real surname Goberman) was a writer and playwright. He was born on 3 August 1924 in Moscow. His father, a teacher at an economics institute, was repressed in 1937; his mother was a housewife. His childhood passed in Moscow and at a dacha in Serebryany Bor, where he met S. Ya. Marshak. At the start of the war the 17-year-old Anatoly was evacuated with his mother to the Urals; during the war he was executive editor of the newspaper «Крепость обороны». In 1950 he entered the Indian department of the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies; at the same time the collection of tales «Тридцать один день» came out. He soon became one of the most widely read authors in the country and his works were published in many countries. He wrote about childhood and youth and the link between children and the world of adults: «Мой брат играет на кларнете», «Действующие лица и исполнители», «Поздний ребёнок» and others. Aleksin died on 1 May 2017 in Luxembourg.
Worked examples
Part I: years later the narrator waits for an actress at the theatre’s stage door and says, “You are a magical actress — today you were my grandmother.” The grandmother had four daughters, only one of whom (the narrator’s mother) lived nearby. Before New Year she hoped her daughters would invite her, but they only sent greeting cards. In the sixth form the narrator was in love with Galya Kozlova and wanted to offer her a spare ticket.
Part II: when the cards from the daughters arrive before New Year, the parents are to go to a party. The narrator suddenly invites his grandmother to the spare ticket. The grandmother, an eye doctor, prepares joyfully. In the interval she praises the actress playing the boy and says that, tonight at least, that boy is him. At the end the narrator thanks the actress for prolonging his grandmother’s life, and the actress leans on his arm.
Class activity
“Grandmother and grandson”. Find three of the grandmother’s remarks and say what they show about her character.
Practice
1
When and where was Aleksin born?
On 3 August 1924 in Moscow.
2
What was the grandmother’s profession?
An eye doctor.
3
Why is the story called «Актриса»?
The hero thanks the actress, who reminded him of his grandmother.
4
Why did the narrator invite his grandmother to the theatre?
He noticed her loneliness and her waiting for her daughters, and acted with affection.