About the book: “Dandelion Wine” by Ray Bradbury. “Dandelion Wine” book by Ray Bradbury Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury summary
A favorite writer of children and adults all over the world - this can be said about R. Bradbury. “Dandelion Wine” (chapter summaries are offered below) tells about the extraordinary adventures of Douglas and Tom Spalding, as well as their friends.
Immersion in childhood
Like most of the writer's other books, Dandelion Wine usually evokes words of gratitude from readers. Most often, in reviews of the story, readers write that they really liked the work, since they, like the heroes, also had to spend the summer months at the dacha or in the village. Most people are familiar with both this delight from the taste of ripe strawberries and the feeling of fear next to a wild ravine. For some, other memories are important. Some note that while reading, it’s as if you are immersed in the time of your childhood and again feel the joy of being involved in everything that happens around you. Many people made bright yellow wreaths from dandelion flowers, and photographs capturing this moment served in winter as much a reminder of summer as a glass of a wonderful drink for heroes.
Let's try to figure out what the power of this work with such a simple name is.
Summer begins
Twelve-year-old Doug woke up on the fourth floor of his grandfather's tower early one June morning. His first thoughts were that there were countless summer days ahead, filled with adventures and secrets. This is how the story “Dandelion Wine” begins.
The summary further describes the magic that the main character performs. Douglas blew with all his might and the street lights went out. The stars gradually disappeared, and the light began to come on in the windows. Then the boy’s order came: “Everyone get up!” And immediately the house came to life and was filled with the smell of pancakes and the noise of numerous relatives who had come to stay. And acquaintances appeared on the street, busy with their daily affairs. Finally the sun rose, and Douglas began to smile, like a real wizard. The summer of 1928 began in such an unusual way. “It will be great!” - thought the boy.
In the forest
The Spalding family had several traditions. The first of them is to collect wild grapes. Here's how Ray Bradbury talks about it.
“Dandelion Wine,” a summary of the chapters of which you are reading, is an example of how majestic and unique the nature of the Earth is. The boys and their father walked forward in search of grapes and strawberries. The man continually pointed out to his sons some feature in the world around him, for example, the lacy foliage of trees with their tops reaching into the sky. But Douglas still felt as if something mysterious was happening around him. But when he put his hands into the vineyard bush, the spell was broken. And then the boy kept waiting for this something huge and unusual to appear again.
Over breakfast, which seemed unusually delicious in nature, Tom discovered a secret: he had been writing down everything that happened to him for a long time. Up to, for example, how many apples he ate in his life. The father just laughed. Doug will remember this when he decides to keep his diary, as Bradbury’s story “Dandelion Wine”, a summary of which is given in the article, will further tell.
Alive!
While picking grapes, Tom told his brother about a snowflake that he had been keeping in the freezer since winter. And suddenly he noticed that Douglas seemed to freeze. With a war cry, Tom attacked him, and a fight ensued between them. However, she only spurred the furious wave that captured Doug. At that moment the boy realized that he was alive! And now it will stay with him forever. This is how the author of the story “Dandelion Wine,” Ray Bradbury, describes Doug’s wonderful condition. The summary of the episode is this: his fingers trembled, turned pink, and when the boy extended his hand to the sun, it reminded him of a bright red flag. The ears were filled with sighs of the wind, and the world around began to shimmer with multi-colored colors. Douglas felt as if he was inhaling ice and exhaling fire. Every part of the body felt the beating of the heart pounding in the chest. And the hero shouted several times with his inner voice: “I’m alive! I existed for twelve years and only now I realized it!” After that, he enjoyed carrying full buckets home, and the feeling of fatigue brought him only pleasure. For another thirty minutes, Douglas felt with his whole being the world around him, which seemed to be imprinted on his body, Bradbury notes.
Dandelion wine
In the morning, grandfather went out onto the porch and looked around. Then he gave the command to his grandchildren to collect the golden balls and carry them to the press. The boys immediately got to work, as it was time to make real dandelion wine. The summary of this scene continues the theme of magic. When the fragrant juice ran into clay jugs, Douglas thought that they would first let it ferment, then bottle it. And then, on a cold January day, this piece of sun and summer will perform a real miracle. The healing balm will cure any disease. The snow will suddenly melt and green grass will appear in its place. And butterflies flutter above her. Even the sky will become blue. All the charm of summer will fit into one glass with a clear and fragrant drink. This is what Ray Bradbury emphasizes - dandelion wine.
Two summer rituals have been completed. Next up is the next one. And now Douglas, as if enchanted, stands alone. He saw canvas tennis shoes in a store window. Light and as alive as himself. The boy almost realized how quickly they were carrying him forward. But you can’t explain to your father that old shoes, although still good-looking, have long ago lost this ability. And so Doug decides. A brief summary will tell you what exactly it is about.
“Dandelion Wine” (you can judge from the chapters how resourceful and decisive the main character was) continues with a description of the boy’s meeting with the owner of a shoe store. Douglas brought him a few coppers and nickels - all that had been saved - and told him a wonderful story about how much happiness the tennis shoes sold in his store could bring to a person. After listening to the guest, Mr. Sanderson was amazed: how could he not know this himself! And while Douglas was waiting for a list of errands (so he had to work off the cost of a new thing), the magic tennis shoes already seemed to be carrying him forward.
Tradition four: swing
Every summer there is a time and place for every activity, as R. Bradbury writes in his work. “Dandelion Wine” (the summary, unfortunately, allows us to introduce the reader only to the most important episodes) includes a description of the tradition of hanging swings on the veranda. First, grandfather comes out here and carefully examines the rings. Then he makes sure that the weather is already warm enough and it will be possible to spend the evenings here. And so, when the swing is strengthened, Douglas and grandfather sit on it and begin to swing. Finally, the grandmother comes out with a bucket of water and washes the veranda. Then rocking chairs and light chairs appear, and gradually the whole family gathers. It will be like this all summer. Unhurried conversations accompanied by the crackling of grasshoppers, visits from neighbors and the screams of children playing in the twilight near the veranda.
Happiness machine
Leo Aufman is a hero who receives a lot of attention in the work “Dandelion Wine” by Ray Bradbury. A brief summary of his story is as follows. With his grandfather's advice, Aufman decided to invent a happiness machine. He devoted all his time to her, and his acquaintances closely monitored the progress of the work. When Leo, grown up, tired (he hadn’t left the garage for two weeks), but pleased with himself, finally appeared on the threshold of his own house late in the evening, Lina’s wife, instead of congratulating him, began to reproach him for his inattention. But the real trouble came later. The next night the man woke up to find his son sobbing. It turned out that the boy decided to watch the machine of happiness. But instead of the expected joy, I experienced mental pain. The same thing happened with Lina: her husband convinced her to get into the car before she and her children left this house forever - this is exactly the decision the desperate woman came to. At first Aufman heard her laughter and words of delight. But soon they were replaced by crying. The effect of the happiness machine was not at all what its creator expected. At first, the person was truly transported into the world of his dreams. But then the realization came that real life cannot be changed so easily. And sooner or later you will have to get out of this box. This story is very instructive.
“Dandelion Wine,” a summary of which you are reading, shows that a person experiences true happiness only next to close and beloved people, in the circle of his family. The realization of this came to the hero when his car burned down, and he suddenly saw his wife and children through the window. They were doing ordinary things, but everything about them was real and alive.
Mrs Bentley
The author introduces several short stories into the story. One of them is the story of an old woman who has lived alone for a long time. One day she went outside and saw two girls and a boy lying on freshly cut grass. It was Tom and Lina Aufman's two daughters. Mrs. Bentley treated the children to ice cream, and a conversation began between them. A seventy-two-year-old woman said that she was once a little girl. This caused indignation in Jane, who took it all as a mockery. Old people could never be small - the girl was sure of this and therefore accused Mrs. Bentley of lying.
The poor woman couldn't sleep all night. And in the morning she called the children again and showed them the comb, the ring and the photograph - in it she was still a child. But this did not convince Jane, who thanked the old woman for the gifts and left. And Mrs. Bentley was still trying to comprehend what had happened. She finally came to the conclusion that her dead husband was right. He believed that time moves forward and the past cannot be returned. Therefore, you cannot keep his signs all your life. You need to let go of the past as if it no longer belongs to you. And the next day Mrs. Bentley and her children burned the trash accumulated over many years. And then they ate ice cream again, and the old lady already agreed that she could never be little. And that she was always seventy-two years old. So the heroine of Bradbury’s story “Dandelion Wine” (the summary proves this) accepted life as it is. Now she and the children have become good friends.
Time Machine
That's what the boys called old Colonel Freeley, who was confined to a wheelchair. When Douglas, Tom and Charlie visited him, the old man was transported into the distant past and talked about his experiences. He no longer remembered much. Something came to mind in fragments. But despite this, the boys listened to him without moving. They felt as if they were being transported back to the time of the North-South War or watching what was happening on the stage of a Boston variety show. This immersion in the past turned into a real adventure for them.
Later, the colonel's children will forbid allowing children to see him, and Freeley will be left alone. His friend was far away, and the old man called him every day to talk. He died like that - with a pipe in his hands. For the boys, this death was a huge loss. It seemed as if an entire era had passed from their lives along with the colonel.
The last tram
One afternoon, Mr. Tridden stopped his car in the middle of the block and called out to the guys. He informed them that today the tram was making its last trip as it was being replaced by a bus. And he invited the children to ride with him.
A trip on a tram was considered by the residents of the town to be the same integral tradition as anything else, notes the author of the work “Dandelion Wine.” The summary of this country walk is as follows.
Mr. Tridden drove the car toward the valley. The tram moved along its own path, and the children enjoyed the surrounding view and the leisurely ride. We had a small picnic outside the city, during which we munched on delicious sandwiches and listened to stories from the counselor. They also felt the unique smell of the tram and thought about the future. And already in the city, each of the guys stood on the bandwagon for a long time before leaving it for good. Thus, a sign of the times that had existed for decades disappeared from the lives of the heroes.
Farewell to a friend
John Hough was the same age as Douglas. They had been friends for a long time and spent a lot of time playing together and thinking about life for a long time. And suddenly John announced: in the evening he was leaving forever, since his father had found a job in another city. Doug was taken aback by the news. How is this possible? After all, they have so much to do ahead! They talked about all sorts of nonsense that seemed most important at that moment. And Douglas tried to stop time by moving the hands on the clock. But life has its own ways, and this day is over. This is how the story “Dandelion Wine” continues.
The summary of the last meeting of friends makes a somewhat painful impression. In the evening the children gathered to play with statues. And suddenly Douglas himself volunteered to drive. According to the rules, he could make a wish, which the player was obliged to fulfill. After waiting the allotted time, the boy went to his frozen friend and gave the order: stand like this for three hours. But soon it was necessary to go to the station, and John could not wait that long. He said goodbye quickly. He simply walked up to Douglas from behind, touched him on the shoulder, and said, “Bye!” - and then disappeared. It seemed to the hero that for several minutes he heard the sound of John’s steps behind him. But in reality it was his own heartbeat. He still couldn’t calm down, and when he went up onto the porch, he suddenly shouted into the darkness: “John, you are my enemy! Never come again." And already in the house he turned to Tom: “Promise that you will never disappear from my life.” The first separation from a loved one was such a strong shock for the hero.
Illness
Something bad happened to Douglas that summer: he became seriously ill. It seemed to him that he was melting and melting. And ghosts swirled around, generated by the boy’s experiences and inflamed imagination. And again Tom experienced great fear for his brother, as when Douglas played in the ravine until late and he and his mother went to look for him. Oddly enough, it was not the doctor who helped the boy, but the rag-picker Mr. Jonas. He brought two bottles filled with a mixture of miraculous substances. But the main thing was that Mr. Jonas collected them especially for a friend. Inhaling the vapors immediately helped Douglas overcome the illness, probably caused by the intense heat and the knowledge that August was ending. So the author makes it clear that often the love and care of others can be more effective than any medicine.
Summer is over
The day Douglas and Tom saw pencils for sale, they realized: school was coming soon. Which means summer is almost over. Together with grandfather, who had picked the last yellow flowers, they went down to the basement. There was dandelion wine on the shelves. A brief summary of three summer months flashed before their eyes. Each bottle was associated with some event. Here you can purchase tennis shoes. This is a happiness machine. And there is a tram and the stories of the old colonel. There was also a story with a lawnmower and a green car, a witch and a Murderer, “Madame Tarot” and “Bandits and Detectives”... “I will always remember this summer,” said Tom.
And in the evening, like three months ago, all three stood on the veranda again. It was cool here now, and Grandma had been thinking about hot coffee rather than ice tea in recent days. And at night, Douglas spent the night for the last time this year on the fourth floor of his grandfather’s tower. Before going to bed, he went to the window and extended his hands forward. But the commands were now completely different: everyone undress, brush their teeth, turn off the lights...
It's all over. But the past will remain in memory. And if you forget something, just go down to the basement. There is a date written on each bottle, and the bright yellow drink will instantly transport you to any day of the summer of 1928.
This is how the story “Dandelion Wine” ends. The summary (reader reviews confirm this) makes it clear that this work by R. Brabury is one of the brightest and most cheerful in the writer’s work.
One of the cult books of America, along with the works of Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Dreiser and “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. Bradbury reached his peak as a writer several years before 1957, when he wrote Dandelion Wine.
A summary of almost all of the author’s works makes it clear to the reader that the focus of his attention is on the emotions and dreams inherent in every person. Thus, exploring the struggle between the impulses of destruction and creation, which is waged in the soul of everyone living on Earth, the writer created the novel “Fahrenheit 451”, surrounding the arena in which the drama of the heroes is played out with fantastic scenery.
Wanting to shock his reader, to evoke in him memories of childhood and the time when the most naive dreams seemed reality, Ray Bradbury wrote “Dandelion Wine.” A brief summary of the story will allow you to prepare for the perception of its philosophical overtones and the deep symbolism with which it is permeated.
Old and young
Almost all the heroes of Bradbury's story are children or it is the filigree selection of characters that makes the work understandable and accessible to readers of any age: from a teenager to a very old man. After all, words are put into the mouths of the characters that reflect human feelings that are common to all of us at any stage. The master of words was able to convey their actions so believably that no thought of pretense arises.
The plot tells about a short period of time that the four main characters spend together - one summer from their childhood. Two brothers (Tom and Douglas) get into trouble, learn to understand death, and slowly discover the unknown world of adults. Every summer, the boys' grandfather, according to tradition, makes dandelion wine. A summary of the story would be incomplete without mentioning that the name of this drink is not included in the title by chance. Summer itself, full of discoveries and unique events, is embodied in this wine, which is lovingly prepared by an elderly man from flowers that are the harbingers of this warm season. It’s as if it becomes a magical artifact, allowing you to touch memories, past joyful moments and loved ones who are no longer alive.
Dandelion wine. Summary
Bradbury's work is multifaceted. The main character, Douglas, keeps a diary of the summer of 1928, which he spends surrounded by his friends, family and residents of the town of Greentown - a small, green and quiet place. The story is told from the perspective of an adult who is trying, through childhood memories, to organize his views on age, life, death, affection, and even such unusual things as witchcraft.
Fantastic motifs are constantly found in the story. For example, Tom constantly makes imaginary journeys to a mysterious land covered in fog and full of mysteries. The boys' friend, Leo, is building a “happiness machine” that should change the future of humanity. But at the same time, he is trying to be an exemplary husband and not anger his wife Lina, who has an extremely realistic view of the world.
One day, the whole group of children goes to the fortune teller’s house, which is looked after by the mysterious Mr. Dark. They discover that the witch has now been replaced by a machine that offers fortune tickets in exchange for pennies.
The guys will have to check the serviceability of the magic unit and even give it a second life. The fortune telling machine is replaced by a time machine, which materializes in the minds of the boys from the stories of the old colonel. Such simple childhood joys form the outline of the story “Dandelion Wine.”
Ray Bradbury created a truly magical world. And it doesn’t matter that in the background of the story, the inevitable deaths of elderly family members invade the children’s lives. After all, it is magic and purity of soul that will help them overcome their first grief. The lack of a linear plot and the whimsical sequence of events added charm to the fantastic story “Dandelion Wine.” A summary cannot fully convey the atmosphere of the work, but it will prepare you for reading and help highlight the main thing.
Dandelion Wine Summary and Got the Best Answer
Reply from Vera *******[guru]
Dandelion Wine is a story by Ray Bradbury, first published in 1957.
The story is largely autobiographical.
The action takes place in an indefinite fairy-tale-fantastic time.
The plot centers on four boys, brothers Tom and Douglas, and their friends John and Charlie. In the story, we can roughly distinguish small stories in which four boys participate or observe.
A garden full of dandelions. They are collected and made into excellent wine... Tom and Douglas' grandfather makes dandelion wine every summer.
Douglas often reflects on the fact that this wine should preserve the current time, the events that happened when the wine was made: “Dandelion wine.
These very words are like summer on the tongue.
Dandelion wine - summer caught and bottled."
A brilliant inventor creates a machine of happiness... The experienced colonel, with his stories, transports the boys to a world unknown to them, or he himself travels in the time machine of his memory... Three summer months and three stories, transferred to the screen with amazing accuracy and tact from the magical world of the great science fiction writer Ray Bradbury.
easy to read, with extraordinary interest and - quickly
there is also a continuation of the Tale "Summer, Farewell. (2006)
Answer from Dragash Zlatibor[guru]
The question is not very clear.
Do you want to talk about a book, or do you need a recipe..? -))
I don’t want to talk about the book-)) Keep the recipe. .
Dandelion wine ---3 kg of flowers, a handful of raisins, 1.25 kg of sugar, orange, lemon, wine yeast, 3 liters of spring water. Separate the flowers from the receptacle (whole flowers can also be used) and brew them with boiling water (about 1 liter). Leave for 2-3 days, no more, so as not to sour. Drain off the dark brown infusion by squeezing out the flowers. Add the heated remaining water, having previously dissolved sugar in it and added orange and lemon juice, raisins and yeast. Wine yeast can be completely replaced with ordinary yeast (3-5 g), but not dry yeast from a bag. By the way, you can also do without orange and lemon. Cover the dishes with gauze and leave to ferment for another two days. Then, using a straw (to prevent sediment from getting in), pour the wine into a large bottle, without adding about a quarter of the volume to the brim, and close with a fermentation stopper (cotton wool wrapped in gauze, or a thin rubber glove). After fermentation is complete, carefully pour the wine into bottles and age for 3-6 months. The wine yields about 3 liters.
Answer from Vladimir Kazaryan[newbie]
Dragash, it turned out cool
The book tells the story of a twelve-year-old boy, Douglas, his family and friends. Every day of his young life he makes amazing discoveries. The reader lives with Douglas the whole summer, which is filled with events: joyful and sad.
The main idea of the novel is that a person’s happiness often does not depend on external reasons, but is found within himself. It is woven from the little joys of life and you just need to be able to see them. This is best achieved in childhood, when a person is open to the world and believes in miracles.
Read a summary of Ray Bradbury's story Dandelion Wine
Douglas Spalding, a twelve-year-old boy, wakes up in a tower one summer morning. It's only June and the whole summer lies ahead. Together with his father and younger brother Tom, Douglas goes into the forest to collect wild grapes and strawberries. In the forest, Douglas makes the stunning discovery that he is a living being with a soul.
The children, at the request of their grandfather, collect dandelions to later make wine from them and drink it on winter evenings. Douglas and his boy friends John Hough and Chralie Woodman explore the outskirts of the city and a mysterious ravine.
Douglas notices new tennis shoes in the window of a shoe store and begins to dream about them. He agrees with the seller, old Mr. Sanderos, that he will work off part of the money that he did not have enough to buy shoes.
Every summer, the boy’s family performs familiar rituals that seem mysterious and enigmatic to him: they prepare lemonade, dandelion wine, and hang a swing on the veranda.
Men living in the town gather in the evening to discuss politics. Douglas's grandfather advises them to talk about something positive, and jeweler Leo Aufman decides to come up with a Happiness Machine for people.
On a late summer evening, Douglas's mother waits for her son and her husband to come home. She sends her youngest son, Tom, to Mrs. Singer's shop for ice cream. Afterwards, they go together to look for Douglas, and he sees how his mother is worried about him.
Gardener Bill Forester wants to plant a new kind of grass on Douglas's grandfather's lawn that doesn't require mowing. But it turns out that for grandpa, mowing the grass is one of the main joys of summer.
Leo Aufman builds a Happiness Machine, but it causes a quarrel in his own family. The car burns down along with the garage and the world is restored.
The children meet the elderly Mrs. Bentley. They don't believe her stories that she was once little. Mrs. Bentley decides to part with the cute little things that remind her of her past.
Old ladies Miss Roberta and Miss Fern, while riding in an electric car - the Green Car, accidentally hit Mr. Quartermain and hide in the attic, fearing that the police will come to them.
The tram line in the town is closed, and the tram driver, Mr. Tridden, invites the children on the last trip. They go on a picnic out of town and listen to Mr. Tridden talk about the past.
Douglas has a tragedy - his friend, John Hough, leaves to live in another city. His father found a job there. The boys separate for a long time, if not forever.
Elmira Brown, the wife of the local postman, learns that her neighbor and chairman of the Honeysuckle Women's Club, Clara Goodwater, is ordering books on witchcraft. Elmira believes that she can become the new chairman of the club if she destroys the witch's witchcraft. She brews a potion and drinks it, but Clara still defeats her at the meeting. Elmira falls down the stairs and Clara finally repents.
Old Colonel Freeley lives out his days locked alone in his bedroom. The only joy in his life is his phone - sometimes he calls his friend Jorge in Mexico City, listens to the noise of the streets and remembers his youth. On the day the nurse threatens to take away the phone, the colonel dies.
Reporter Bill becomes a friend of old Miss Loomis. They sit in her garden for a long time and, with the help of their imagination, travel to different countries. Miss Loomis dies, leaving Bill a letter.
In the town, everyone is afraid of the Murderer, a maniac who keeps the entire neighborhood in fear. Several murders of women have already occurred until Miss Lavinia stabs him with scissors.
Douglas's great-grandmother, who supported the whole house, dies. Before her death, she consoles the boy, saying that she will live in her grandchildren. Douglas reflects on what death is.
In the store, the boy finds a broken fortune-telling machine with a sad wax figure. He decides to save her by stealing her from her owner.
The van of a junk dealer, Mr. Jonas, rolls through the streets. He collects various things and gives them to people for free. Douglas falls ill, and the rag man comes to his aid, bringing a healing tincture. This is how summer ends.
Picture or drawing Dandelion wine
Dandelion wine
So, I disappeared for almost two weeks and didn’t post anything. And do you know who is to blame? Ray Bradbury's book “Dandelion Wine”. Perhaps this is one of the most unusual and profound books that I have read, compared to which the same “Dark Alleys”, or “Tanya” by I.A. Bunina is simply graphomaniac trash.
My first acquaintance with the book did not work out. I once found an audiobook on my friend’s page, but I didn’t like something - either the voice acting was wrong, or I didn’t like the beginning.
But recently, during that same trip to the bookstore, I came across this work, and it charmed me with its small size and beautiful cover. Buy a toad strangled, and I think it’s wrong to buy a classic, but, fortunately, I found a copy in the library. Being sure that I would read the book in three days, write a review in my group and forget, I also took “Game of Thrones” - a sequel to this book and a new season of the series will be released this year, so it won’t hurt to repeat the plot (and the story, what I write has a similar genre - it will be useful to read for inspiration).
And what do you think? I read “dandelion wine” for almost two weeks, forgetting about my favorite PLIO, and not at all because the book was bad or written somehow wrong. But more on that below.
The beginning of the piece is actually a little boring. Paranoid Douglas, his autistic brother Thomas, his father, also not of this world, wander through some meadows, trying to escape something. Then Douglas realizes that he is “alive” and begins to see the world differently. They collect some dandelions, make something like wine out of them, attach too much importance to all sorts of nonsense, and are generally wonderful.
But as you read further and further, you become delighted with how deep this seemingly children's story is. At its core, “Dandelion Wine” is a series of short stories that happened to the Spaulding family, their neighbors and acquaintances over the course of the summer. And each of these stories ends with Doug and his ten-year-old brother Tom summing up the results and drawing conclusions, writing them down in a notebook.
The book cannot be read quickly. After each such story, you put the book down and think: “Well, no, this is definitely not true,” and after a while you hit your forehead with your palm, “Damn, that’s right!” How did I not come to this myself?”
1) “We are alive.” It would seem that this is also a discovery for me! But, if you think about it, then really, just realize this - we are alive! We can explore this world, communicate with other people, experience pain, fear, joy, resentment and happiness. This is the first idea that was revealed to the main character of the book. We are used to seeing our life as a kind of work, an eternal desire for something, a continuous process, but in fact we are part of the huge world around us. Without us, he would not be the same as we know him, and we would not be who we are without him.
Life, no matter what troubles await us in it, is the most amazing and beautiful thing in the world. We do not value it, we do not attach importance to the air that we take in with our chest. The wonderful food we eat. To the beautiful flowers that grow in the field. Realize, like Douglas Spalding, your life and think - is this how you spend it? Do you realize that you are alive?
2) “All people will die, including me” - also, it would seem, an obvious thought to everyone. In our society, we have long perceived death as commonplace, but just imagine what a tragedy it is. After all, man is a whole world that is unlike any of the seven billion sapiens living on Earth. His death is not only the death of himself, but also of that part of the whole world that he represented. This is the end of all the stories that were associated with him, the end of all thoughts and memories.
Douglas Spaulding, as soon as he realized that he was alive, could not watch a movie about cowboys where someone was killed. Because only by realizing the value of life can one understand what death is.
When the time machine died - that’s what the children called the Civil War veteran, Colonel Freeley, the children realized that not just a person died - someone’s grandfather or father, but an entire era, an entire library of invaluable knowledge, which is now inaccessible to humanity!
It’s terrible when a simple person dies, it’s more terrible when someone close to you dies, but it’s even more terrible when you yourself die. This thought is truly frightening, but still, Douglas comes to the conclusion that none of us dies until the end. Our body will rot, and our soul will fly to heaven, but everything that we have created will remain on Earth - our children and grandchildren, our sweet home, warm memories of our descendants. Therefore, there is no point in thinking about death. You need to live, work and be happy.
3) “Times are changing” - the life of a person, and of society as a whole, is not linear and not static. What was true today will become a lie tomorrow and vice versa. There is no need to try to cling to the past. Otherwise, if your hand stuck out the window of a moving train catches on a pole, you can fly out of the train and end up on the side of the road with broken bones.
Your friends, with whom you are close, may one day leave you and move to a new place. Your young and beautiful body will grow old, leaving no trace of its former beauty. And one day your brand new sneakers will completely wear out and become unsuitable for walking.
But, losing in one thing, you inevitably gain something new for yourself, because this is how the universe works. Yes, this new thing is not always pleasant and equivalent to the old, but nevertheless it gives its advantages that can bring you joy.
For example, there lived an old woman, Mrs. Bentley. She once told the children that she was once little and, like them, played in the yard. The children called her a liar. Then the old woman, another time, showed the children a photograph of herself at their age and her children's toys and dresses, which she treasured very much. The children laughed at her, stole her toys and photographs, saying that these were not her things, and that she had stolen them from some girl to deceive them.
Miss Bentley was very worried about this until she realized that the children were right. She was never a little girl, never beautiful or young. These things that she had kept for so many years had really been stolen, in order to deceive the children, from the young Helen Bentley who she once was and who is long gone.
Having understood this truth, that it doesn't matter who you once were, what matters is who you have become, Mrs. Bentley was able to make friends with the children, and together they burned all the trash that she had stored. Freed from the wonderful past, Helen was able to build a wonderful present.
4) “Human happiness lies in simple things.” Ray Bradbury is trying to prove to us that a person’s happiness does not lie in work, travel or wealth. It cannot be explained by science, it cannot be produced artificially. Happiness is our everyday life. Our friends, our home, people and things dear to us, nature around us.
When in the book, a certain inventor Aufman tried to create a “machine of happiness” at Douglas’s suggestion, he, in the end, almost lost his family. This cunning device worked and actually lifted a person's spirits, giving him the illusion of everything he dreamed of, only to plunge him further into misery. “Happiness machine” is a metaphor that can be understood as alcohol, video games, and other things that can bring us joy for a while, but do not make us happy.
Another story tells us about an old woman who lived to be 95 years old, who managed to try everything in her life. She was once a young, flighty girl who drove all the local men crazy. Having matured, she began to travel a lot, traveling almost the whole world far and wide. She knew famous people, opened charitable foundations, and was engaged in self-knowledge and self-education. And, in the end, having tasted all the delights of life, she still remained unhappy. It doesn’t matter where you are – in Greentown, or in Cairo. It doesn’t matter what you saw, what you ate, what you read or watched if there is no loved one nearby with whom you experience all this.
Only at the age of 95 did she finally meet a person close to her soul, but what is the use of this now when she has nothing left to live?
5) “Life is irrational.” Everything in it, even what we cannot explain, or what seems wrong to us, is natural. Any attempt to impose rules on her destroys her, makes life gray and boring.
I especially like this point, because lately I’ve been fed up with my mother’s managers and businessmen who live according to a strict schedule - “I get up at 6 o’clock, go to work at 7 o’clock, work from 8.30 to 17.00, yoga classes at 18.00, at 19.00 dinner, at 19.30 listen to lectures on “how to become successful”, and at 21.00 go to a gay club with people like me.”
Cynics, materialists who strive to vulgarize, ridicule, and downgrade every beautiful thing to the level of simple biochemical processes, deserve that they, like Aunt Rose, will one day simply be thrown out with their things and a one-way ticket out.
Even the same at first glance “Dandelion Wine” is a meaningless greenish drink that cannot be drunk. But how much emotion he brings to the Spaulding family! How cool it is when every day of summer can be preserved in the form of a bottle of this wine!
I have given you only the most basic theses from the story “Dandelion Wine,” but there are a lot of them. When you read a book, you involuntarily remember your childhood and how you saw this world, how you came to know it. Now we, the generation of the nineties, living in the concrete jungle, wearing jeans and a tuxedo, have a hard time remembering those cheerful children who once lived, who we once were.
I liked one of the comments to this book - wine, a drink that you need to drink little by little. Therefore, read this book thoughtfully, without rushing. Use your imagination and childhood memories. Throw away all your false adult thoughts and beliefs and just enjoy these amazing revelations. This is the only way to experience this work. Yes, the work is not easy to master. There is no single interesting plot in it, although, I admit, some stories, especially about the Strangler, were very tense. There is even a lot of humor in the work, but still the book makes you think that not everyone will like it.
I advise you to read “dandelion wine” in the summer, preferably before bed, since it is under these conditions that you better perceive the ideas of old Ray Bradbury. I give the book a well-deserved 9/10 and add it, along with Brave New World, to my virtual bookshelf. I recommend everyone to read it!
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I am attaching a film to your post for those who don’t have time to read. I haven't watched it myself, but they say it's good
And I will be glad to all thinking people in my den https://vk.com/scriptorcreativity
When you are a twelve-year-old boy, summer fills you with strength and makes you a wizard. You can do anything - extinguish the stars, command the sun to rise, and command people to wake up. And everything comes true. And everything changes. You feel some kind of menacing wave rolling in from behind the forest. Just a little more and it will fall on you from a clear sky and shake your world, change it forever, giving you an understanding of something very important - the realization that you are alive! You wait, you are open to something new and you don’t notice how, softly stepping on the dandelions shining like a thousand suns, another important thing is leaving - your childhood. You are growing up. You begin to understand life. Or believe that you understand. Appreciate nature. That wild and beautiful one that man constantly struggles with and cannot defeat. You are fascinated by its beauty, richness and harmony. You spend whole days on the street - in the forest or near the river. You begin to understand that you walk on earth to see and experience the world. And it’s the summer of 1928. And in Greentown they hold the first ritual of the hottest and most fertile season
They plucked golden flowers, flowers that flood the whole world, spill from lawns onto cobbled streets, quietly knock on the transparent windows of cellars, do not know calm or control, and fill everything around with the blinding sparkle of the molten sun.
Wine is then made from the harvested crop. Dandelion wine. Bottled summer. It will flicker gently in cellars, through dusty glass, on long winter evenings. Its light will warm and thaw the soul frozen by everyday life and failures, fluttering in your fingers the wings of hundreds of butterflies.
In the meantime, you can get some new canvas tennis shoes. Because you believe with all your heart that they are the ones who fill a person with strength and give the legs unprecedented speed and lightness. Little do you know that it’s the other way around - it’s not your shoes, but your youth and excess energy that allow you to jump over ravines and streams. Fly over the meadows, taking a good running start on the hillside. And you need a lot of strength. In the summer there is so much to do - hang a swing on the veranda, take part in the carpet beating ritual, enjoy ice cream. This is done every year, but there are also things that happen for the first time. And then you are filled with discoveries and insights. For example, that adults don’t know everything. This is so strange, akin to the discovery of America - very important and hard to believe. Or that old people were never children. What
Adults and children are two different peoples, which is why they always fight among themselves.
Or face, even in the middle of summer, thoughts of death. Walk up to your sister’s high chair and realize that she will never sit here and laugh again. You may suddenly realize that there is nowhere to hide from loneliness. Even as an adult. Always
Everyone faces their own, only their own task, and everyone must solve it themselves. You are all alone, understand this once and for all.
How can you not think about the machine of happiness at such moments? Only this car is the wrong way. Happiness comes from fleeting moments when you manage to catch them. And because of their short duration and elusiveness, unpredictability, such moments are especially valuable. Although sometimes I want to say: “Stop, just a moment. You are wonderful!”, this is strictly not recommended. What gave happiness can disappear, becoming familiar.
Still, an interesting place is Greentown. Here dandelions are more valuable than orchids, and gardening helps to philosophize. And how much charm there is in a tram ride - a slow one, allowing you to enjoy a fine summer day, notice the passage of time and the diversity of life. Have time to look at everything, enjoy everything. Notice the smallest beauty. You can even meet a witch here. This fragment of the book is simply a celebration of the lack of common sense in the minds of some! Relevant at any time. I have personally met such types (not witches, but those who believe in them). And we already know about windows. And about the fact that
When a person is seventeen, he knows everything. If he is twenty-seven and still knows everything, then he is still seventeen.
And what a wonderful chapter about the swan turned out to be. Surprisingly, Bradbury makes equally interesting stories about a 12-year-old boy and a 95-year-old grandmother. There is such an unusually light sadness in the description of old people. In recognition
being alone in Paris is no better than being alone in Greentown, Illinois
I haven’t seen so much kindness and light in books for a long time. There is so much joy from simple things. From work. From friendship. From the opportunity to come to the rescue. There is so much beauty and poetry in Bradbury's words. And they have such piercing power that there is no way to defend against them. Yes, to be honest, I don’t want to defend myself. The soul willingly opens up to the world. And summer, sealed on the pages of a book along with Dandelion Wine!
