Biography of Boris Zhitkov - children's writer

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Boris Zhitkov is a writer whose biography requires careful study. He became a famous writer at a fairly mature age. But in a short time, this man managed to give us about two hundred wonderful stories for children on an adventure theme.

True friends

In general, a friend of his childhood, Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky, helped Zhitkov get into print. The friendship of these people helped them to endure in difficult years. Even after the death of Boris Zhitkov, Chukovsky and his wife treated the Zhitkov family with warmth. Lydia Chukovskaya subsequently wrote a book about him, in which she not only gave an analysis of his prose, but also expressed simple human admiration for a tall man endowed with courage and talent.

Biography Facts

The biography of Boris Zhitkov contains the information necessary to understand his worldview. The father of the future writer was a simple teacher, and his mother was a pianist. The father, a comprehensively developed person, managed to develop these qualities in his son. It was from the parent that the future writer had excellent knowledge in the field of mathematics and astronomy. The mother discovered musical abilities in her son and formedmusical knowledge. Above all, Boris Zhitkov was interested in ballet and could play the violin.

Zhitkov received two educations. First, he graduated from the Faculty of Natural Sciences in Odessa, and then a few years later - the shipbuilding department at the St. Petersburg Institute. Life has not been easy. Participated in revolutionary events at the beginning of the century, changed many different professions, traveled the world as a ship's navigator. In general, for a more complete understanding of the features of a particular writer or poet, his biography should be studied. Boris Zhitkov, more precisely, his work should also be studied through the prism of his personal life.

First published in 1924. At first, turning to adults, Zhitkov gradually switched completely to children. His stories about animals, such as The Fifth Bridge, were also very popular.

Features of creativity

Features of Boris Zhitkov's work are as follows:

• inclusion of life experience;
• a clear division of goodness and a place of honor in Russian literature;
• rich stories;
• dynamism;
• belief in the triumph of bright beginnings, etc.

Children's writer

By character and mindset, the writer was a romantic and truth-seeker. In the first place both in life and in creativity, this person always put honor and dignity, truth and work. According to relatives, Boris's curiosity knew no bounds. Day-to-day he disappeared either in a locksmith's shop, or in ship ports,where he studied working professions, received new impressions and knowledge. After graduating from university, he was offered a teaching position. However, the Zhitkovs moved to St. Petersburg, where the talented Boris Zhitkov continued his studies. A short biography for children must necessarily be supplemented with information about his travels in India, Madagascar, Egypt, which filled the writer's experience with new events and ideas, skillfully presented by him in his works. In other words, the biography of Boris Zhitkov is rather difficult and interesting.

The work of Boris Zhitkov has rightfully taken pride of place in Russian literature for children. The ability to make subtle observations, to notice the habits of animals and features of nature, simple language caused a deep love of the child reader for the work of Boris Zhitkov. Take, for example, “Tales about animals” and “Boa constrictor”, “Black sail” and “On an ice floe”, in which Boris Zhitkov expressed himself. Biography for the children of any writer should be entertaining and leave a mark on the soul of the little reader.

In his children's and adult stories and stories, the writer always took the side of the weak and disadvantaged. A talented follower of Maxim Gorky, Zhitkov picked up his key to children's consciousness. He said that it is necessary to speak with the child on an equal footing, only in this case it is possible to gain trust from him. Zhitkov's ideas on raising a child were very clearly set out in the encyclopedia "What I saw." And this work was influenced by the biography of Boris Zhitkov. The writer worked on his writings until his death, which occurred in October 1938.