Fiction Archive. Interesting facts about the film "Amphibian Man" Plot: Amphibian Man Belyaev

On a hot night, the schooner Medusa was anchored off the coast of Argentina. Pearl divers were resting on its deck. The night watch was carried by Balthazar, an Indian from the Araucanian tribe, the first mate of the captain and owner of the schooner Pedro Zurita. In his youth, Balthazar was a famous pearl diver. Having grown old, he opened a shop of marine curiosities and began working for Zurita.

Balthazar had already begun to doze off when he heard the musical sound of a trumpet, accompanied by a cheerful and young voice. Fishermen and pearl divers were alarmed - it was a sea devil. This unknown creature has long terrorized the coast, helping some and harming others. He cut nets, threw fish into the boats of the poor, and amused himself by making fun of the fishermen. Scientists could not classify this creature because no one had seen it. Zurita still didn’t believe in the sea devil at all.

In the morning it was discovered that the ropes of the boats tied to the schooner had been cut with a sharp knife. A little later, one of the divers saw the devil himself - a creature with scaly skin, huge eyes and frog legs. The devil saved a diver from a shark. Zurita again did not believe it, but soon he himself saw a strange creature sitting astride a dolphin and blowing into a large shell.

Convinced of the existence of the sea devil, Zurita decided to catch him and force him to work for himself. Balthazar began to help him. The devil appeared again only three weeks later. Having followed him, Balthazar discovered an underwater cave in which the creature was hiding. Strong nets were placed around the cave, but the devil caught in them managed to cut the ropes.

Zurita did not give up. He filled the bay with traps and nets, but the devil did not appear again. Finally, Zurita bought two diving suits and he and Balthazar went down into the cave of the sea devil. The cave turned out to be half filled with air, and in its depths a strong grate with a cunning lock was discovered. After searching around, Zurita came across a stone wall, behind which was the house of Doctor Salvator.

In Buenos Aires, Zurita learned that the doctor was famous for his daring operations. “During the imperialist war he was on the French front, where he was engaged almost exclusively in cranial operations.” After the war, Salvator returned to Argentina and took up science. He treated only Indians, who considered the doctor a god. Zurita realized that Salvator was somehow connected with the sea devil.

One day, the old Indian Cristo (Christopher) came to Salvator with his sick granddaughter. The doctor cured the girl. Out of gratitude, Cristo wanted to dedicate the rest of his life to the doctor. Salvator “reluctantly and cautiously took on new servants,” but there was a lot of work, and Cristo ended up in the doctor’s house. At first the Indian worked in the outer garden, enclosed by two high walls. Many strange animals lived there: two-headed snakes and rats, sparrows with the head of a parrot, llamas with horse tails and talking monkeys. This garden was maintained by very silent blacks.

Soon Salvator went to the Andes to find new animals for experiments, and planned to take Cristo with him. He asked to see his family, but actually went to his brother Balthazar. Zurita's assistant sent his brother to the doctor's house to find out about the sea devil. Having learned about the expedition to the Andes, the brothers made a plan: Salvator would be captured by “bandits”, and Cristo would save him, after which he would become the doctor’s confidant.

The plan was a success. Returning home, Salvator led Cristo into the inner garden. The doctor drained the pool dug in the middle of a small garden and went down the hatch. A long passage led them to a room with a huge aquarium that went straight to the seabed. A “humanoid creature with large bulging eyes and frog-like legs” emerged from the aquarium through a special chamber. The body of the unknown sparkled with bluish-silver scales.” The eyes turned out to be glasses, the paws turned out to be gloves, and the scales turned out to be a special heavy-duty suit. Beneath all this was a handsome young man named Ichthyander.

The young man called the doctor father, but he did not look like a white man. With regular facial features and dark skin, he resembled an Araucana Indian. Ichthyander could live underwater - Salvator implanted the gills of a young shark into his body. It was he who the fishermen considered the sea devil.

Ichthyander spent almost all his time in the ocean with his friend, the dolphin Liding. One day he saved a beautiful girl. She was unconscious and adrift in the ocean, tied to a board. Ichthyander carried the girl ashore. Seeing that she was coming to her senses, the amphibian man disappeared - he did not want to scare her. Soon, “a dark man with a mustache and a goatee, wearing a wide-brimmed hat on his head” appeared next to the girl and passed himself off as her savior. Ichthyander was amazed and outraged by such a blatant lie.

Christo became the servant of Ichthyander. The young man could spend little time in the air: when the gills dried out, the young man began to suffocate. Christo's duties included making sure that Ichthyander slept in a regular bed rather than in water several nights a week. Ichthyander received a good, but too one-sided education. He was well acquainted with the natural sciences, but knew practically nothing about life on land. In matters of everyday life, the young man understood worse than a five-year-old child.

Meanwhile, Salvator went to the mountains again. Ichthyander could not forget the girl he saved, and Christo managed to lure him into the city, promising to look for the beautiful stranger. Ichthyander did not like the hot and dusty city. Cristo led him to Balthazar's shop. While the brothers were talking, Balthazar's adopted daughter, Gutierre, entered the room. The girl was famous for her beauty and inaccessibility. Seeing her, the young man jumped up and ran away - he recognized her.

Some time later, Ichthyander himself came to Balthazar's shop. On the shore he saw Gutierrez handing over a pearl necklace to a tall, broad-shouldered man named Olsen. Suddenly the necklace slipped from the girl’s fingers and fell into the ocean. The place there was deep, and the necklace would have been lost, but Ichthyander got it. This is how the young man met Guttiere. Now they met almost every evening. Balthazar did not suspect that his daughter’s new beau was the sea devil.

One day Ichthyander returned home wounded - he was saving Liding from hunters. While bandaging the wound, Christo saw a large dark mole of an unusual shape on the young man’s shoulder. Despite the wound, Ichthyander came on a date with Gutierra. Suddenly a horseman rode up to them, whom the young man recognized: it was a man who pretended to be the girl’s savior. The rider, who turned out to be Zurita, said that the bride should not walk around with another on the eve of the wedding. Having learned that Gutierre was someone's bride, Ichthyandr began to choke and threw himself off a cliff into the ocean. Gutierre decided that the young man she liked so much had drowned. Balthazar again tried to persuade his daughter to marry Zurita, but the answer was again “no”.

After spending several days at sea, Ichthyander became sad. He found Olsen's boat in the sea. He told the young man that he was not Gutierre’s fiancé at all, and that quite recently the girl became Zurita’s wife - he took her away by force. Gutierrez and Olson were planning to escape to North America, but did not have time. From Olsen, Ichthyander learned that Zurita had taken the girl to his hacienda “Dolores”, and decided to go after her.

Ichthyander traveled half the way to the hacienda along the river. Then we had to go on foot. The young man was unlucky: on the way he met a policeman who found Ichthyander’s crumpled suit suspicious. There was a murder on a neighboring farm, and the policeman decided to blame it on a suspicious young man. He handcuffed Ichthyander and took him to the nearest village. Finding himself on a bridge across a pond, Ichthyander jumped into the water and pretended to drown. While the police were looking for the “drowned man,” Ichthyander reached the hacienda.

Once there, the young man tried to find Guttiere, but came across Zurita. He hit Ichthyander on the head and threw him into the pond. Gutierre heard a commotion in the garden, went out to the pond and saw a man whom she thought was dead coming out of the water. Ichthyander admitted that he is considered the sea devil. Zurita kept a watchful eye on his young wife and managed to overhear this conversation. He realized that the sea devil was finally in his hands. He saw that Ichthyander was handcuffed and threatened to hand him over to the police. Gutierre began to beg her husband to spare Ichthyander, and he pretended that he could not resist his wife’s pleas. He promised to transport Ichthyander onto his schooner and release him into the open ocean. However, once on the schooner, Zurita locked Ichthyander in the hold, and Guttiere in the cabin.

Meanwhile, an important conversation took place between the brothers Cristo and Balthazar. Balthazar's wife died during childbirth while Cristo was transporting her across the mountains. Then he told his brother that the child had also died. In fact, Cristo took the boy to Dr. Salvator, who reported that he could not save the child. Based on the birthmark, Christo recognized Ichthyander as his nephew. The news that his son was alive and had become a sea devil struck Balthazar.

The next day Salvator returned from the expedition. Christo told him that Ichthyander had been kidnapped. The doctor rushed to save the young man in a submarine hidden in a cave under the house.

In the morning, Zurita ordered Ichthyander to be brought onto the deck. The young man felt unwell. He could not live without clean water, but he had to bathe in a corned beef barrel. Having stunned the “sea devil,” Zurita chained him in a metal belt on a long chain and sent him to look for pearls, promising to release him after that. Ichthyander's catch amazed Zurita. He wanted more, but was afraid to release the amphibious man into the ocean without a chain. Zurita decided that he could keep the young man with the help of Gutierre, but she refused to help him.

Meanwhile, the crew of the schooner learned that there was a sea devil on board and rebelled. The sailors decided to kill Zurita. To escape, he climbed onto the mast and saw the doctor’s submarine approaching the ship. The frightened sailors jumped into the water. Zurita also left the ship, capturing the reluctant Gutierre. Ichthyander was not on the abandoned schooner. Salvator did not know that the young man was under water. Not far from this place a rich passenger steamer sank. Zurita forced Ichthyander to go down there and collect all the jewelry, showing him a fake note from Gutierre. The naive young man followed the scoundrel’s order and was already swimming to the shore when the girl managed to shout for him to save himself. Ichthyander decided to swim away from people.

Balthazar, meanwhile, found no peace. He wanted to snatch his son from the clutches of Dr. Salvator, who seemed to him a monster. He found a rogue lawyer who, on behalf of Balthazar, sued the doctor. He filed a lawsuit against Salvator and Zurit - he wanted to take possession of Ichthyander forever, becoming his guardian. The trial turned out to be loud, since the prosecutor and the bishop were against the doctor. After examining Salvator’s house and seeing the results of his experiments, scientists considered the doctor a brilliant madman. The doctor was calm for himself. He was only worried about Ichthyander, who was also kept in prison. At his trial, Salvatore stated that he wanted to create people of the future who could live in the ocean and use its inexhaustible resources.

In prison, Ichthyander had to live in a stinking iron barrel and eat raw fish. Such a life led to the fact that the young man could practically no longer breathe air. "The amphibian man turned into a fish man." Fortunately, the head of the prison owed a lot to Salvator - the doctor saved his wife and child. He learned that they wanted to kill Ichthyander as a “godless creature” and decided to save him. Olsen took the amphibian man out of prison. Once in the ocean, the young man swam to the Tuamotu Islands, where Dr. Salvator’s friend lived. The doctor himself hoped to be released from prison in a few years and reunite with his adopted son.

Gutierre saw Ichthyander swim into the ocean. She did not dare to appear before his eyes, fearing that the young man would refuse to swim away. The girl ran away from her abusive husband, moved to New York and married Olsen. Cristo remained to serve with Salvator, who had been released from prison and was preparing for a long journey. Only Balthazar, who was considered crazy in the city, remembered the sea devil.

Which won the recognition of many people, showing how surprising the twists of fate are sometimes. We will consider this work from the point of view of reader interest and indicate what is so special about it.

Genre

Genre affiliation is quite easy to identify. All novels, like this book, are written in the genre of science fiction, which Alexander Romanovich Belyaev loves very much. "Amphibian Man" is the peak work that is born of this famous author. Unlike his other “children,” this novel shows his favorite genre with full force.

"Amphibian Man". Thematic focus

Like many of Alexander Belyaev’s works, this one is imbued with a maritime theme. The title of the novel fully demonstrates this. The author talks with particular colorfulness about the depths of the sea, where the main character is, and does not skimp on either epithets or other tropes that can describe his favorite element in all colors.

Main characters

In the book "Amphibian Man" the main characters are described quite vividly, and the author does not skimp on reviving the image of each of them. The main characters are:

• Ichthyander is an amphibian man.
• Balthasar, who is one of the pearl fishermen and the father of Ichthyander.
• Zurita is the captain of the ship and the chief pearl fisher.
• Gutierre is Balthasar's adopted daughter and the most beautiful girl in the area.
• Salvator is a mad genius and the guardian of an amphibian man.

All the characters presented play an important role in this work. Compared to other novels, where there are usually one or two of them, in Belyaev's work "Amphibian Man" the main characters are all characters who are actively involved. Each of them played a role in this epic romance.

Having noted the overall value of the characters, let's look at each individually.

Characteristics of heroes

The first to note is Ichthyander. The hero is presented as smart and kind, he helps the poor. Belyaev sees his hero as the Robin Hood of the sea, who, according to legend, robs the rich and gives to the poor. A similar legend is present in this work, where, according to the narrative line, the sea devil, as local fishermen call Ichthyander, cuts the nets of wealthy fishermen and gives the catch to the poor.

The described behavior generated a flurry of positive emotions and received numerous good reviews. The Amphibian Man has become a darling of both the book and film industries.

The young man is presented as honest and, unfortunately, naive. This manifests itself in sincere faith in people who are unfamiliar and are looking to take advantage of the opportunities of another. The description provided fits Zurita perfectly. In addition to the listed positive qualities of the most important hero of the book, it is worth noting one more, which played a decisive role in the entire novel - self-sacrifice and love. “The Sea Devil,” according to the plot, saves the girl not only from death, but also from dishonor and violence from her fans, ultimately getting into trouble and losing faith in people. At the end of the novel, Ichthyander decides to sail to a friend of his adoptive father to seek help there.

Zurita is the next hero who deserves our attention. The character presented is negative. In his book, Belyaev does not deviate from existing traditions, which imply the presence of something positive in the plot of the work. It is this “villain” that Zurita, the captain of the team of pearl collectors, becomes. The main feature of the hero is greed, which extends not only to his activities, but also to personal interests. The main indicator of this characteristic is the desire to acquire as many pearls as possible, using the fantastic abilities of the amphibian man. The second object of the character’s greed is the girl Gutierre, who captivates him with her beauty and whom he kidnaps from her home.

Gutierre is the next heroine of Belyaev. The girl is presented by the author as beautiful and young, honest, and most importantly, able to sympathize and worry. Gutierre is also considered a positive heroine who became a victim of her own beauty. However, despite the vicissitudes of her fate, at the end of the novel she becomes happy.

Salvator is the next character worth mentioning.

The author presented this hero of the book “Amphibian Man” as the instigator of all subsequent events. Thanks to his activities, a creature appeared about whom legends began to circulate, and he became a legend of Russian and even foreign classics. However, despite such an important role, he cannot be imagined as an evil genius whose deeds turned out to be good. It was Salvator who gave life to a dying child and helped him gain abilities that are worth dreaming of. The essence of this character is to save another and care for the purpose of protection throughout life.

Balthazar is the last hero worth mentioning. However, he played an important role in this work. The reality for this character is simple. He is the father of the most beautiful girl (this is his adopted daughter) in the area and a young man whom he once considered dead. His kindness and love for his daughter help protect the girl, at least for a short time, from the attacks of Zurita’s annoying admirer. It is Balthazar who helps the amphibian man survive and regain his previously lost freedom.

So, having noted the main characters of the novel described, we would like to say that in the book “Amphibian Man” the author is trying to show how strong the attachment between a parent and his child can be. That there is mutual assistance for the sake of the life of another or simply for the sake of a clear conscience, and also that, as in any fairy tale, there is good and evil, where the first side defeats the second after a long and sometimes dangerous struggle.

Plot

"Amphibian Man" is a book that fascinates with its plot and indicates that in our world, or rather in the world of science, all kinds of miracles are possible, which are the result of an experiment conducted by a good genius.

When we talk about science and experiments, we mean Salvator, who, in order to save a child, implanted gills into him so that he could live under water. Ichthyander received true pleasure from underwater life, but he also had to be on land in order to understand at least a little the human essence and, if necessary, find help among people.

In the book "Amphibian Man" the theme of love and sympathy between two creatures that are different in nature runs like a red thread. The book is imbued with love, compassion, greed and repentance that comes too late.

It was the plot of the book that influenced numerous reviews. "Amphibian Man" has become one of society's favorite novels.

Interesting facts about the book "Amphibian Man"

According to one source, not all the names indicated by the author in the work are the fruit of his fantasies.

For example, the name of Salvator, the mad scientist who created Ichthyander, is taken from reality. Salvator was the name of a professor who conducted experiments on children after receiving written consent from their parents. The further fate of the real scientist gave impetus to the creation of a fictional character in the famous book.

The second interesting fact concerns the birth of Ichthyander itself. In Russia there lived a scientist Myshkin, who implanted foreign organs into animals and children. One of the wards was a young man who underwent the operation well, but ultimately died due to the incompatibility of existing internal organs. The real young man became the prototype of the fictional Ichthyander, who began to live in the world-famous work of Belyaev.

Reviews. "Amphibian Man" - best-selling book

Many who read at least one of Alexander Romanovich Belyaev’s novels were delighted with his work. People say that the novel "Amphibian Man" simply cannot leave anyone indifferent. Each response shows how exciting the lines are from the Russian classic. According to numerous reviews, the book grabs you from the first pages and doesn’t let go until the end. I am glad that the younger generation also finds this work interesting and relevant for themselves. After all, the theme of love is eternal, so to speak reviews. "Amphibian Man" is a novel that is read in other countries, and also with great pleasure.

Summary

In the presented article we examined the work written by Alexander Belyaev. "Amphibian Man" is a book designed for any age, and captivates the imagination of every reader. It inspires me to read other works by Belyaev, who is very fond of marine themes. Their names indicate this: “Island of Lost Ships”, “Above the Abyss”.

Despite the fact that all the works presented received excellent reviews, the novel described in the article was most loved by the people, not only in the form of a book, but also in the form of films.

In conclusion, we would like to give advice: read only good and high-quality literature, because any forgotten book is an abandoned close friend.

In ancient myths and legends there are numerous descriptions of creatures that have become a symbiosis of man and fish. Humanity’s dreams of being able to move on land and exist just as deftly under water have given rise to fantastic stories. The underwater world, which attracted attention with its mystery and unknown, became a place where fictional creatures lived.

Among the heroes of fables and fairy tales were Slavic mermaids, Arabic “dwellers of the sea,” ancient Greek newts and sirens, and Celtic selkies (seal people). Ichthyander is a figment of the imagination, wanting to present to the world a creature that can easily conquer the waters.

History and image

The book "Amphibian Man" was written in 1927. The talented writer was bedridden due to spondylitis of the spinal column. The diagnosis did not allow the writer to lead a normal life and forced him to do what he loved in a supine position.

Belyaev wrote many works, including novels, novellas and short stories. Science fiction as a genre became an outlet for the writer, and the ideas he proposed in the stories were later used in scientific research. Belyaev died in 1942, leaving a rich legacy.

The novel "Amphibian Man" gained popularity during the author's lifetime. It told about the adventures of the unusual creature Ichthyander and his beloved, whose union was broken by a combination of circumstances and life's vicissitudes. The book is included for study in the school curriculum, as it promotes high moral principles. The action takes place in Buenos Aires.

The plot is built around a young man who could have died due to a terrible disease, but was saved by Professor Salvatore. The scientist decided that the operation would save the young man’s life, and transplanted shark gills into the patient. Ichthyander could breathe underwater, made friends with underwater inhabitants and enjoyed spending time in the depths of the ocean.

Over time, fishermen who noticed strange incidents (missing catch, unusual sounds) decided that a “sea devil” lived in the bay. This nickname stuck with the young man. The only person who was not afraid of the superbeing was Pedro Zurita, the captain of the Medusa. He, together with the Indian Balthazar, decided to catch Ichthyander and force him to extract pearls from the seabed.

The men's efforts came to nothing. But one day the hero saved a drowning girl, who turned out to be Balthazar's daughter. Gutierra was destined for marriage with the captain of the ship. Her father, having learned that feelings have arisen between the girl and Ichthyander, facilitates her departure. Ichthyander's beloved marries the captain of the Medusa.

Salvatore and Ichthyander are brought to justice. The young man is caught and imprisoned, and the professor is condemned for an attempt on divine powers, since by creating an unusual creature, he brought himself closer to the Almighty. The condemnation of others leads to the fact that Ichthyander was almost poisoned with potassium cyanide.

He was accidentally saved, but the young man’s body underwent irreparable changes. Now being on land was deadly. The hero sails to Professor Salvatore's friend on the island of Tuamotu, where he gains freedom.

The main conflict of the novel lies in the denouement. The secret of Ichthyander's origin is revealed: it becomes clear that he is the son of Balthasar. The young man's mother died in childbirth, and the baby was thrown to Salvatore in the hope of salvation. The professor kept the boy with him, assuring everyone that the treatment did not help. Having learned the truth, old Balthazar goes crazy and calls in vain to the waves of the Pacific Ocean.

Ichthyander is the main character of the novel, a kind and intelligent young man who helps those in need. The writer presented the hero in the image of a peculiar man who robbed the rich to satisfy the needs of the poor. Ichthyander breaks the nets of successful fishermen, distributing their catch to poor conquerors of sea waters. This is a romantic character capable of heroic deeds.

A brave, strong-willed and sincere young man experiences ardent feelings, not overshadowed by the hardships of existence. He trusts people. Naivety and purity, bordering on infantility, make Ichthyander an ideal character for cinema. He runs from the hatred and anger of the world around him to where he can find freedom. Rejected by the world in which he was born, the young man finds refuge in the sea waters.

Film adaptations

The novel "Amphibian Man" was first filmed in 1961. Directors Vladimir Chebotarev and Gennady Kazansky retained the leitmotif of the literary basis, but presented their own interpretation. The film describes the existence of a half-man, half-fish in the coastal waters of a Latin American country.

The key scene is the quarrel between the schooner captain Pedro Zurita and Gutierrez's fiancée. The girl, in a fit of emotion, rushed into the water and came face to face with a shark. She was saved from a dangerous predator by the “sea devil” - Ichthyander. The young man brought Guttiere ashore, and Zurita took credit for his merits.

The story of Ichthyander becomes public due to an article by a journalist whom Professor Salvatore trusted. A young man walking around the city, in whose existence Zurita did not believe, was caught. The fishermen who cursed him demanded reprisals. The film story has the same ending as the book.

The main role was played by an actor whose sky blue eyes attracted thousands of spectators to the screen. She performed as Guriette. The kiss of the young people is considered the most romantic episode of the film. The seventeen-year-old actress was the first woman in the Soviet Union to appear almost naked on camera. Her body was covered by a translucent swimsuit, which looked too erotic for conservative Soviet cinema.

The screen image of Ichthyander was carefully thought out. In the film, the hero's costume is decorated with small film scales, and the basis is fabric for thick ladies' stockings. A total of 4 suits were made, which took 10,000 scales. The details were manually sewn onto the character's clothing.

In 2004, a second film of the same name was shot. The idea of ​​eternal loneliness on the silver screen was embodied by director Alexander Atanesyan. Said Dashuk-Nigmatulin starred in the title role. The film failed to surpass the success of the first film; it is extremely rarely broadcast on television.

• Alexander Belyaev is not the first writer to turn to the idea of ​​a creature living in the depths of the sea. The author adopted the plot from Jean de la Hire, who wrote the work “The Man Who Can Live in Water.” In the summer of 1909, it was published by a city Parisian newspaper.

• The main character is a boy with shark gills, he bore the name Iktaner. The creator of the superbeing was called Fulbert. Destroying a squadron of ships, the boy obeyed his “father,” who sought to conquer the world. The plans were disrupted by love for the lovely Moisette. Unlike Ichthyander, Iktaner underwent surgery to remove the gills. After her, he settled in Tahiti with Moisette.
• In the fall of 1909, a Russian journalist wrote a feuilleton about the work. It was published by the Zemshchina newspaper. The satirical work, like Belyaev’s novel, did not demonstrate serious plot changes.

A. Belyaev’s relatives recalled that one day he came across a newspaper article about a trial in Buenos Aires of a doctor who carried out “sacrilegious” experiments on animals and people. The doctor, allegedly with the consent of the parents, performed operations on Indian children - for example, making the joints of their arms and legs more mobile. This fact was supplemented by the book of the French writer Jean de la Hire, “Iktaner and Moisette,” read by Belyaev. The book told the story of a shark man who became a tool in the hands of people who dream of enslaving the world. From these real facts the idea of ​​the novel “Amphibian Man” was born.

About freedom and those who encroach on it

It all started when the pearl divers heard a strange voice in the sea that frightened them. This secret, which made everyone wary, opens the line of Ichthyander in the novel. Parallel to it goes the line of Zurita - the owner of the schooner and the owner of the pearl divers. When Ichthyander revealed himself to people, their lines crossed and a conflict was determined. It will become the main one in the novel.

Ichthyander and Zurita are presented by the author as two antipodes. Ichthyander initially evokes a feeling of favor among readers. And this feeling intensifies in the further narrative. Another thing is Zurita. He caused antipathy at the first moment of his appearance. Subsequently it turned out that it was completely justified.

What is the essence of their conflict? The fact is that two concepts collided: “freedom” (Ichthyander) and “prison” (Zurita). In the novel, the image of prison will become not symbolic, but real.

Why did the conflict arise? Because Zurita, as soon as he saw Ichthyander, set himself the goal of catching him and forcing him to get pearls from the seabed. The conflict is quite real, but one of its participants is not real - Ichthyander - the only fantastic image in the novel. His presence allowed the author to show important problems.

The main one is the problem of freedom. Zurita encroached on Ichthyander's freedom, but he was not the first here. The first to allow himself to do this, but more subtly and skillfully, was the so-called “father” of Ichthyander, the surgeon Salvator. He did this under the pretext of improving human nature. “Man is imperfect,” he said. Then, when Salvator transplanted shark gills into Ichthyander, he would take care of him, protect him, and maybe even love him. But before, he simply took away his freedom. Salvator does not cause such unequivocal rejection as Zurita. But if you think about it, he is no less dangerous than the straightforward Zurita.

Having become, by the will of the surgeon, a fish man - not like everyone else, Ichthyander finds himself in a whirlpool of dramatic events. A hunt began for him, ending with the loss of his freedom.

Pearls as the meaning of life

The difference between Ichtnandra and Zurita is not only that one of them chose the other as his victim, but also that they live in a world of different values. This is especially evident in their attitude towards pearls. For Ichthyander, pearls are of no value, but for Zurita they are the whole meaning of life. And not only for him alone.

Let us remember the scene in prison, when the jailers were ready to open any door for pearls. But it didn’t even occur to Salvator to use Ichthyander as a pearl miner. He was, after all, a scientist first and foremost.

The truth of science and the truth of morality

Ichthyander is the child of the scientific experiments of the surgeon Salvator. The result is Shark Man. But was this operation a benefit for Ichthyander? At first we see him, if not absolutely happy, then satisfied with his life. Salvator gave Ichthyander the sea. True, he immediately limited his stay on earth.

In the end, Ichthyander's habitat was limited to a barrel of water. Perhaps the author deliberately resorts to exaggerating the situation in order to show the possible consequences of human experiments. And after escaping from prison, Ichthyander moves to the sea for a long time, and perhaps forever. In essence, there was a migration of man from land to sea, and without his consent. How to evaluate this from a moral point of view? Are all the good deeds of Salvator, which everyone talks about with admiration, able to compensate for the violence that was carried out against Ichthyander? He was sacrificed to science. Is she justified? The question remains open.

Salvator and his experiments were condemned by the church (ordinary people were only surprised and horrified).

Thus, the fantastic element allowed the author to define the problem and make obvious the truth of two truths. Science has its own truth and morality has its own. Until they came together.

Does a Pisces man need love?

Before meeting Gutierrez, Ichthyander was quite happy with life. He made friends with dolphins and had fun with an albatross. Everything changed after he met Gutierre, or rather, when he saved her. To see her, he was ready to endure people and their stuffy city. It was love that showed that Ichthyander is first and foremost a man.

Thanks to love, the generally obvious became clear: all the new possibilities of the amphibian man mean very little in comparison with the lost right to love. And again the question: “Are all the achievements of science worth denying a person what constitutes the main meaning of his life?”

What's in the finale?

Almost all the characters remained the same. Salvator, having served his sentence, again took up scientific work. Zurita is still fishing for pearls - now on a new schooner. Gutierre married a good man - Olsen.

And only Balthazar, feeling himself to be the real father of Ichthyander, yearns for him. His pain is so strong that from a more or less prosperous person he turned into a “half-crazed Indian”, the father of the “sea devil”.

Well, what about Ichthyander? He managed to escape from captivity at sea. But is he happy? And will he be happy in the future? Hardly. Salvator sent him across the seas and oceans to a friend - also a scientist. There he will find protection. But what will Ichthyander’s life be reduced to? To serve science - already in the person of another scientist. “You will be an indispensable assistant to him in his scientific work on oceanography,” “You will serve science and thereby all of humanity,” Salvator says goodbye. His pathetic speech excludes the personal in the life of Ichthyander. All that remains for him is friendship with the dolphin and loneliness.

It turns out that science, having snatched a person from his native element and endowed him with greater opportunities, did not make him happier.

Unexpected plot twists, a series of secrets, adventures and fantasy in the novel “Amphibian Man,” which we analyzed, reveal not only the problems of science, but also the problems of man. Belyaev is convincing when he says that science is not only a huge opportunity, but also a huge responsibility for a person.

Main features of the novel “Amphibian Man”:

• genre: science fiction novel;
• a sharp plot with unexpected twists;
• mystery as one of the main components of the plot;
• a reverse depiction of the situation from the legend about a fisherman who fell in love with a mermaid;
• division into positive and negative heroes;
• the main positive character is a fantastic image;
• stereotypical characterization of a negative hero;
• the scientist Salvator as a hero-symbol;
• option to answer the question about the right of science to decide human destinies;
• availability of educational material about sea life.

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The science fiction novel “Amphibian Man” by Belyaev, written in 1927, immediately gained great popularity. The love drama of the main characters, extraordinary characters, betrayal and nobility, incredible adventures - all this allowed the book to rightfully become one of the most beloved and read in the twentieth century.

Main characters

Ichthyander- a handsome twenty-year-old young man, kind and naive, a fish man.

Doctor Salvator- a great scientist, surgeon, who became Ichthyander’s father and mentor.

Guttiere- a beautiful girl with whom Ichthyander fell in love.

Pedro Zurita- the owner of the schooner "Medusa", a treacherous and mercantile middle-aged man.

Other characters

Balthazar- an old Indian, the right hand of Pedro Zurita.

Christo- Balthazar's older brother.

Olsen- factory worker, friend of Guttiere.

Part one

"Sea Devil"

On a hot Argentine night, the schooner Medusa, owned by Pedro Zurita, was anchored. The pearl divers, “tired of work and the hot sun,” lay on the deck. They were awakened by the “musical sound of a trumpet,” which foreshadowed the appearance of the sea devil. This strange creature “caused harm to some people, but unexpectedly helped others.” Scientists have tried to solve the mystery of the sea devil, but no one has yet been able to see it with their own eyes.

Zurita's Failure

Zurita realized that he could "get rich in one year, if only he could catch the 'sea devil'." He shared his plans with his faithful assistant Balthazar, and three weeks later they managed to discover a cave in which an unusual creature had hidden. Strong nets with bells were placed around the cave, but the trapped sea devil easily cut the ropes and disappeared.

Doctor Salvator

Stubborn Zurita did not give up. He bought two diving suits and, together with Balthazar, dived to the seabed to explore the sea devil's cave. Imagine their surprise when they came across “a thick iron grate blocking the way.” After examining the area on land, Zurita discovered the house of Doctor Salvator, surrounded by a high wall.

Sick granddaughter

Zurita learned that the doctor became famous for his daring operations. One day, Salvator saved the life of a girl who was brought to his house by the old Indian Cristo. “There was a huge tumor visible on the child’s neck,” of which not a trace remained after treatment by the doctor. In gratitude, Cristo wanted to devote “the rest of his life” to this kind magician, and Salvtor agreed.

Wonderful garden

Christo began working in the outer garden, enclosed by two high walls. Amazing creatures lived here: sheep and rats joined together at the sides, sparrows with the head of a parrot, six-legged lizards and many other unusual creatures. Silent blacks looked after them.

Third wall

Having earned the doctor's trust, Cristo found himself behind the third wall, where he saw Salvtor's little patients - children of "various Indian tribes." Completely hairless talking monkeys also frolicked here.

Salvator warned the Indian that he would take him to the mountains to replenish his supply of animals. Christo asked him to leave to see his granddaughter in front of him.

Attack

It turned out that Christo was Balthazar's brother, whom he specially sent to the doctor to find out about the sea devil. Having learned that a trip to the mountains was ahead, the accomplices made a plan - Salvator would end up in the hands of disguised robbers, and the Indian would save him, and “then there would be no secret left for Cristo in Salvator’s house.”

Amphibian Man

The plan was a success, and Christo became the doctor's confidant, who revealed to him the secret of the fourth wall. Behind it was “a huge square pool, densely lined with trees.” Salvator drained the pool and suggested going down the hatch. In the dungeon, Christo saw a “glass house at the bottom of the sea.” A sea devil emerged from the water, who, having taken off his gloves, glasses and a special suit, turned out to be a handsome young man named Ichthyander.

Ichthyander's Day

Half-man, half-fish, Ichthyander was the creation of Salvator, who implanted the gills of a young shark into the body of a sick boy. Having matured, Ichthyander began to explore the sea: he became acquainted with sea inhabitants, learned to use currents and cope with waves.

Girl and dark man

One day, after a storm, Ichthyander noticed a girl tied to a board on the surface of the sea. He saved the beauty, but was forced to hide so as not to frighten her. Soon a “dark man with a mustache and a goatee, wearing a wide-brimmed hat on his head” appeared on the shore, who assured the girl that he was her savior.

Servant of Ichthyander

Ichthyander began to be served by Christo, whose duties included ensuring that the young man spent time not only under water, but also on land. From the ingenuous Ichthyander the Indian learned that there was a side underwater tunnel through which the young man swam out to sea. Christo also found out that his new owner did not understand life at all and was as naive as a child.

In the city

Having learned the story with the girl whom Ichthyander could not forget, Christo persuaded him to go to the city in search of her. “The traffic of the big city, the dust, the stuffiness, the bustle completely stunned” the young man. Christo brought Ichthyander to Balthazar's shop. While he was conferring with his brother, Balthasar’s adopted daughter, the beautiful Gutierre, entered the shop. Seeing her, Ichthyander rushed out into the street - he recognized the girl he had saved.

Back at sea

Ichthyander rushed into the sea, and, calling his faithful dolphin friend Liding, set off “towards the wind and waves.” He returned home only three days later.

Little revenge

The meeting with the stranger deeply impressed Ichthyander, who dreamed of seeing her again. He found her on the rocky shore, where Gutierrez had a date planned with a tall, broad-shouldered man named Olsen. The girl wanted to give him her pearl necklace, but accidentally dropped it into the sea. Ichthyander could not “remain indifferent to her grief” - he immediately rushed into the sea and took out the necklace. This is how he met Gutierre, whom he began to meet almost every evening.

Zurita's impatience

One day Ichthyander witnessed a dolphin hunt, during which his friend Liding was injured. While rescuing the dolphin, the young man himself was wounded - “the knife hit Ichthyander on the neck, which was not covered by scales.” While bandaging the wound, Christo noticed an unusually shaped birthmark on the young man’s shoulder.

The old Indian went to his brother to tell him important news, but at that moment Zurita appeared, who decided to take possession of Ichthyander as soon as possible.

Unpleasant meeting

Despite the wound and poor health, Ichthyander went on a date with Gutierra. Soon Zurita drove up to them and called the girl his bride. In despair, Ichthyander threw himself into the sea. Balthazar admitted to his daughter that the only salvation from ruin would be her marriage to Zurita, to which Gutierre said a decisive “no.”

Fight with octopuses

Ichthyander needed to take his mind off sad thoughts, and he decided to “put the grotto in order.” But first of all, it was necessary to evict “numerous families of octopuses” from there. Having gotten rid of them, Ichthyander furnished “his underwater dwelling with furniture.”

New friend

A few days later, Ichthyander found Olsen's boat at sea to find out about the fate of Gutierrez. Having found out that the girl had recently been forcibly married to Zurita and taken to his hacienda “Dolores”, Ichthyander immediately went after her.

Part two

On my way

Ichthyander swam part of the way to the Hacienda along the river, and the rest by land. The young man's crumpled suit aroused the policeman's suspicion, and he handcuffed him. Unknown to Ichthyander, "a murder and robbery had been committed on a neighboring farm last night" and the police were looking for the perpetrators. Finding himself next to the pond, the young man threw himself into the water and pretended to be drowned. While they were looking for his “body,” he safely reached the hacienda, where Zurita caught him and transported him to his schooner.

Full speed ahead

Cristo admitted to his brother that twenty years ago, when his wife died in childbirth in the mountains, the boy survived, and Cristo took his nephew to Salvator, but the doctor was unable to save him. By his birthmark, Christo recognized Ichthyander as the son of Balthazar.

The brothers went to Salvator to claim their rights to Ichthyander. Having learned that the young man had become Zurita's prisoner, they went to save him.

The Extraordinary Captive

Zurita locked Guttiere in the captain's cabin, and placed Ichthyander in a barrel of corned beef. Afterwards, he chained the young man in a metal hoop on a long chain - Zurita “wanted to test Ichthyander as a pearl fisher as soon as possible.” Promising freedom in exchange for pearls, he released the chained Ichthyander into the sea. Seeing the rich catch, he decided to keep the young man with the help of Gutierre, but she refused to be an accomplice in this vile matter.

Meanwhile, Dr. Salvator's submarine sailed up to the Medusa. The frightened crew left the schooner, but Ichthyander was nowhere to be found.

Wreck

Before the appearance of Doctor Salvtore, the ship's crew, having learned about the sea devil, decided to rebel and kill Zurita. They were interrupted by the appearance of a submarine, and they chose to hide. Meanwhile, Ichthyander, on the orders of Zurita, searched the sunken ship in search of treasures.

Part three

New father

Having learned that Ichthyander managed to get home, Balthazar decided to immediately go to the doctor and pick up his son. When this idea failed, the Indian turned to a lawyer he knew, and he promised to arrange his case - to sue Salvator and make as much noise as possible around the process.

Legal incident

Pedro Zurita, who dreamed of becoming Ichthyander’s guardian, also filed a lawsuit against the doctor. The case turned out to be very loud. A search was carried out at Salvator's house, where a "real factory of monster animals" was discovered.

Brilliant madman

“Doctor Salvator was not broken by the trial” - he was only worried about the fate of Ichthyander, who was kept in prison in a cramped barrel of dirty water. After reviewing the doctor's work, the judge considered him a brilliant madman.

The defendant's word

At the trial, the doctor explained how and for what purpose he transplanted shark gills into Ichthyander. He stated that he dreamed of creating a new human race capable of harnessing the inexhaustible resources of the ocean.

In prison

The prison keeper, who owed Salvator the salvation of his wife and child, warned the doctor that “they decided to kill Ichthyander.” He offered to help organize the escape, and Salvtor explained to the pupil that he must get to a safe place “in the Great Ocean, on one of the Tuamotu islands.” The doctor himself hoped to be free in a few years and join Ichthyander.

The escape

Olsen informed Gutierre, who had escaped from her husband, about Ichthyander's impending escape. The girl learned that her friend was doomed to live in the water, and between them “an insurmountable barrier lay - the ocean.” Gutierre did not dare to show herself to Ichthyander, so as not to cause him severe mental pain. She watched from afar as he dived into the sea to leave these lands forever.

After his imprisonment, Salvtor returned home and began to prepare “for some long journey.” Gutierre divorced Pedro and married Olsen, after which the couple moved to America. Pedro Zurita was still engaged in pearl fishing. The sea devil was quickly forgotten, with the exception of old Balthazar, whom everyone considered crazy...

Conclusion

After reading the brief retelling of “Amphibian Man,” we recommend reading Belyaev’s novel in its full version.

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