What is the meaning of the name of the story "Dog Heart?" In it you can see the double meaning. The story could be named after the experiment conducted by Professor Preobrazhensky. Its essence was to transplant a human pituitary gland into a dog’s body. What came of this is described further in the work. Also, reflecting on what the meaning of the name of the story “Dog Heart” is, we note that the essence can lie in people themselves, like Schwonder. Consider this option in more detail.
People like Schwonder
They did not have dog hearts transplanted. In such people they are from birth. Shvonder can be called a man without a spiritual world, a boor, a loafer. We can say that he is artificially created, because this hero does not have his own opinion. All his views were imposed on him from without. Schwonder is a pupil of the proletariat, that is, a group of people who sing about a bright future, but do nothing at the same time. They do not know sympathy, grief, pity. These people are stupid and uncivilized. They have dog hearts since birth, although not all dogs have the same hearts. Here is the meaning of the title of the story "Dog Heart" can be seen.
Did the heroes have a choice?
The ball is a step lower than Bormental and Professor Preobrazhensky. However, in terms of development, he is certainly higher than Sharikov and Shvonder. The intermediate position in the narrative structure of this work of the Ball (dog) emphasizes the dramatic position in society of the "mass" person who is faced with a choice: either to follow the path of natural spiritual and social evolution, or to begin to degrade morally. The hero of the work of Sharikov, perhaps, had no such choice. This creature was nevertheless artificially created, and therefore had the heredity of the proletariat and dog. However, the whole society had a choice, and it only depended on the person which way he would choose.
Allegory in "Dog Heart"
In the biography of Mikhail Bulgakov, written in 1984 by E. Proffer, one can find an attempt to answer the question of what is the meaning of the name of the story "Dog Heart". The work is considered by Proffer as an allegory of the transformation of the entire Soviet society during the revolution as a warning about the dangers of human interference in the affairs of nature.
The meaning of the title of the story “Dog’s Heart” lies not only in the history of Sharikov’s transformations, but also in the history of the change in society, which develops according to irrational, absurd laws. If the fantastic plan is completed in the story plot, then the moral and philosophical remains open: the "balls" on the earth continue to multiply and establish themselves in life. Consequently, the "monstrous story" of the contemporary writer of society continues.
Features of fiction of the 1920s
Unfortunately, the tragic forecasts of Mikhail Afanasevich came true. This was confirmed in the 1930-1950s, when Stalinism was formed, as well as at a later time. One of the main problems in the literature of the 1920s was the problem of the structure of the "new society" and the "new man." The main feature of the work of the indicated time was that the idea of the collective prevailed in it. She settled in the aesthetic programs of the RAAP, constructivism, proletariat, futurists.
The polemic of Mikhail Bulgakov
One can perceive the image of Sharikov as a polemic with theorists substantiating the idea of a “new man”. The writer in this story, on the one hand, shows the psychology of the new "massive" hero (in the image of Sharikov) and the whole mass (the house with Schwonder at the head). But, on the other hand, Bulgakov contrasts them with a hero-personality in the image of Professor Preobrazhensky. In the story, the driving force behind the conflict is the clash of Professor Preobrazhensky’s ideas about society, which can be called reasonable, and the irrationality of the views of the masses, the absurdity of the structure of society.
"Dog Heart" - dystopia
So what is the meaning of the title of the story "Dog Heart" in addition to the above? The work can be perceived as a dystopia, which has come true in reality. Present in the story is a traditional image of the entire state system and a contrast to this mechanism of an individual principle.
The image of Professor Preobrazhensky
Professor Preobrazhensky is shown as a person of an independent mind, high culture, possessing global knowledge in the field of science. K.M. Simonov wrote that in the novel "Heart of a Dog" Bulgakov defended with the greatest force his view on the rights and obligations of the intelligentsia, as well as the fact that it is the color of society. The professor is a positive figure of the Pavlovian type. A person like him can ultimately come to socialism. He will come if he can see that socialism opens up scope for scientific work.
For him, then the problem of eight or two rooms will not play a role. He defends his 8 rooms because he considers an encroachment on them as an attempt not on his own life, but on public rights. Filipp Filippovich is critical of everything that has been happening in the country since 1917. Preobrazhensky rejects the practice and theory of revolution. He was able to verify this during his medical experiment, in which the experience of creating the so-called new man was unsuccessful.
Is it possible to redo the nature of Sharikov?
Answering the question of what is the meaning of the name of the story "Dog Heart" by Bulgakov, one should consider the image of Sharikov in more detail. It is impossible to redo the nature of this hero, just as it is impossible to change the inclinations of schwonders, Chugunkins and the like. Bormental asks Preobrazhensky about what would happen if Spinoza’s brain was transplanted to Sharikova. However, the professor was already convinced of the futility of human intervention in natural evolution. He says that he does not see the need to fabricate Spinoza artificially when "any woman can give birth to him at any time." Such a conclusion is even more important for understanding the social subtext of a work: you cannot artificially interfere not only in natural evolution, but also in social. Violation of moral balance in society can lead to dire consequences. This is the meaning of the name of the story "Dog Heart".