It happens that a person thinks: “Lord, what I'm doing is the monkey work ...” We will analyze the meaning of phraseology today.
Origin
When people are interested in expressions, they primarily want to know their story. There is no mystery here. Many of the phrases that became winged were presented to us by the outstanding Russian fabulist Ivan Andreevich Krylov.
The plot of the fable "Monkey" (1811)
He, as always, is both entertaining and instructive. One peasant, just a little the sun rose, went to work. The man worked selflessly and passionately, he worked the land for many hours and every person passing by the field praised him for his zeal. From the main character of the fable, I. A. Krylov, sweat poured hail. In other words, he completely devoted himself to work.
When the monkey heard how the man was praised, she also decided to try her luck and get her share of fame. She found some kind of log (heavy, all honor to honor) and began to drag it back and forth. External signs are still the same as those of the peasant: sweat, fatigue and work. But the trouble is: a man is praised, but she is not. Why? The answer is simple: the hard worker plows the earth, and the monkey only grimaces. It is from this source that the expression “monkey labor” came to us. The meaning of phraseology will be clear further when we turn to the morality of the fable.
Morality
The moral message of the work correctly correctly orients not only the youth, but also the person as a whole. It can be formulated as follows: one must work only for the fact that useful activity ennobles both the external and spiritual appearance of a person. If there is no public or personal benefit in the work, then it is stupid and short-sighted to claim fame and gratitude. True, in fairness it must be said that at the moment in the interpretation of the phrase “monkey labor” (the meaning of phraseological unit follows below) there is a certain share of subjectivity. For example, one person considers the work of his neighbor as a waste of time, which does not bring either money or honor, but at the same time, for the worker himself, the work can be filled with sacred meaning. The images of the peasant and monkey are sculptured and not involving objection. In the real world, it is difficult to understand who is the “peasant” doing something important, and who is the “monkey” wasting his life. One way or another, “monkey labor” (the meaning of phraseologism) can be briefly described as performing useless, meaningless work.
The myth of Sisyphus
Europe has its own image, conveying the same meaning as Russian phraseology. And for its clarification, we turn to Greek mythology. Here we will not retell the entire plot of history in detail (whoever wants to, can easily find it himself), we will only say that Sisyphus was a noble family, he was the son of one of the gods, his mind did not know peers by cunning. According to legend, he is the only mortal who managed to lead first the god of death - Tanat, and then the ruler of the underground Kingdom of the dead - Hades.
But the ancient Greek gods were quite touchy, so they brutally punished Sisyphus, not appreciating the jokes. In the underworld, the rogue is engaged in heavy and meaningless work: he rolls a huge boulder on a high mountain. The fate of the stone and Sisyphus are the same - they are not destined to reach the top. By the way, the image of the hero of Greek mythology is even more recognizable both in Europe and in Russia than the character of Krylov. And when a person says: “Sisyphean labor,” he means meaningless and useless work. Exactly the same meaning of the expression "monkey labor". The meaning of Russian phraseology coincides in content with the winged phrase from legends.
I.A. Krylov and Sisyphus
The Russian writer, as an educated man, probably knew the myth of the offspring of the gods. And, as he instituted with him, he decided to adapt Western fiction in accordance with Russian realities. As an experiment, we invite the reader to present an image when the measure of the meaninglessness of what is happening goes beyond all known limits.
Sisyphus pushes his stone on a mountain, and a monkey mimics it. Of course, for the greatest absurdity, everything happens in the kingdom of Hades. We hope that the reader is no longer a mysterious meaning of the phraseological phrase “monkey labor”. This expression is used when the observer sees, from his point of view, meaningless activity.
The benefits of meaningless labor
But not everything is so bad for those who love heartless work. It is known that in the schools of the Pythagoreans or Buddhists the absurdity was used as a filter for selecting people suitable for training. If a person stood the test of meaningless activity, he became a faithful adherent of the school. And for Buddhists, the experience of the absurd is the road to enlightenment. Even understanding the definition and meaning of phraseology “monkey labor”, it is difficult to apply it to the practice of religious schools, since it contains a sacred meaning.
It is also known that it is better to relax, not lying on the couch, but certainly doing something. Switching activities is much more useful than idleness, even if the first, in the opinion of an outside observer, is very similar to the second. It does not matter. Who knows what anyone is wondering.
There is also an argument in favor of meaningless labor. A person cannot evaluate what he is doing as something that is knowingly empty. There is a personal sense even in the most bad habits, however, this does not at all put them out on the favorable side.
The main thing is to avoid the paws of chemical dependencies, but otherwise the person is free to dispose of his time as he sees fit, of course, in his spare time from work.
We examined the phraseological phrase “monkey labor” (the origin and meaning of expression) in sufficient detail. We hope that the reader will no longer have problems with his interpretation.