Mythical folk hero

Who or what is Vasya Pupkin?

“Vasya Pupkin” is the instance name used as an example ( exemplification ) to designate a person as unknown or anonymous. As a rule, it is used in the characteristics of a certain type of arrogant writer, as well as a self-confident participant in Internet discussions and forums, usually not burdened by intellect. Often, “Vasya Pupkin” is assumed to be the average user of the Runet . Vasily was preceded by such great people as: Nomirek, Mr. N, Marivanna, Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich, Petrov-Sidorov, Petrovich, Vovochka .

The project of the monument "Vasya Pupkin" . Hood P. Sarukhanov . (scale 1: 1)

Specimens are popular, and then they grow quietly, like grass, and quietly take root in the mind. They become “samples of filling in receipts” in which Ivan Ivanovich Ivanov adjoins Maria Ivanovna Ivanova. Army jokes settle in memory. And sometimes - copyright. For example, Petrovich was born by the efforts of Andrei Bilzho .
Is Pupkin man -made? Let's see, all the same, according to the number of mentions on the web, Vasya is on a par with foreign industry demiurges, while in RuNet he occupies almost leadership positions.
In Wiki, the origin of the name is described very vaguely: “ The origin of the name “ Vasya Pupkin "is unknown. There is evidence that Vasily Pupkin was the compiler of a textbook on arithmetic for parochial schools published in the Russian Empire. "
There is also a version that Vasya Pupkin is a character from this textbook, ostensibly in many tasks there was a typical formulation of the problem: " Vasya Pupkin had 5 apples ... "
Alex Exler , who wrote “The Vasi Pupkin Diaries”, says about the origin of his character: “ This is a folk character, a nominal name. It seems from a long-standing film .”

Most likely the use of the name "Vasi Pupkin" in its current sense originates in Fido . Network Pupkin - ambiguous figure. And rather even unsympathetic. For example, any Runet geek will stumble upon a simple home page (three photos: “ I’m hugging my wife ”, “ We’re in Turkey ”, “ We are already three ”; come in, chelas, chat) and immediately brand it: “ Typical page Vasi Pupkin . " If bad design: " Pupkinsky ." If an unsuccessful joke: " What are you, opupel? ". And always call Pupkin overly self-confident discussion participant. On the other hand, Vasya Pupkin is a popular self-name. Every second neophyte, registering on the site or entering the chat, calls himself "Vasya Pupkin" . If the questionnaire is detailed, extended, most often Pupkin responds as follows: " Residence - Honduras (as an option - Muhosransk, etc.). Profession - Bill Gates (options - plumber, firefighter, political strategist). Age - 10 years, 100 years, 99, 666 ". Fascinating humor. According to the statistical service outside the Internet and to “Vasi Pupkin”, Russians most often called themselves if they had to fill out “ visitor questionnaires ” or “ questionnaires ” as follows: Ivanov (as an option, Petrov, Sidorov), Pushkin, Chapaev, Stirlitz , Putin, Che Guevara, Dunka Razdolbaeva, etc.
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In general, it is not so important where this name came from, let's try to sketch a portrait of Pupkin . Let's start small: what is his age, profession, and does he have one? And here often there are disagreements. If the average Runet user imagines himself Pupkin as a youth (most likely from the fact that this notorious “ average user ” himself is quite young :), then the official, looking into the reception room, grumbles self-satisfied: “ Again in the morning Pupkin came running! ” in mind of people and other age, and other interests. By occupation, the network Vasya can most likely be described by the now fashionable phrase - " office plankton ".

Meanwhile, “Vasya Pupkin” is far from a new character, it’s still the same “little man” of the pillars of Russian literature: A.S. Pushkin (“ Stationmaster ”), N.V.Gogolya (“The Overcoat ”), M .Yu.Lermontov (" Hero of Our Time "). The heroes of the works of these writers - Samson Vyrin, Akaky Akakiyevich, Maxim Maksimych - have become common nouns, and the topic has become firmly established in literature, that is, Vasily emerged as a result of the evolution of all kinds of Akakievich Akakiyevichs .
The definition of “little man” was applied to the category of literary heroes of the era of realism, usually occupying a rather low place in the social hierarchy: a petty official, a tradesman or even a poor nobleman. The image of the “little man” turned out to be all the more relevant as the literature became more democratic. The very notion of “little man” was most likely introduced by Belinsky (article 1840 “ Woe from Wit ”). This topic was raised in his works, many writers. It has always been relevant, because its task is to reflect the life of an ordinary person with all her experiences, problems, misfortunes and small joys, and here the image of V.Pupkin with all his “ Hompages ” (which neomery was divorced) like no other goes smoothly into topic. The combination of the simplicity of the name and the stateliness of the family name ( Pupkin as the navel of the earth :) creates a modest comic effect. Before us is a typical “little man” with unfunded ambitions. But Pupkin's ambitions are unsecured because they are quite high. “Vasya Pupkin” is not a Russian Chaplin, not a petitioner, not a poor man. Now Vasily has gotten a little stronger and is not so easy to offend him as in the era of Russian classics. From the pages of works of classical literature, the “little man” by the name of Vasily Pupkin broke into the Internet - the main way of modern alternative self-realization.

He is such a great and yet unknown Vasily Pupkin .