Anti-Utopia in Children’s Literature: Fyodor F. Knorre’s ‘Captain Krokus’ (1967)

Abstract

Maria Akhmetova's article analyzes the fantasy tale, “Captain Krokus” (1967) by F. F. Knorre as a text, written in the anti-utopian genre. The author first identifies motifs and themes which are typical of this genre; then, allusions and quotes from concrete works (Fahrenheit 451 by R. Bradbury); and finally, reminiscences related to certain topics (conditional “Western”, national-socialist, and Soviet). Special attention is allotted to the reflection of the struggle against the fairy tale in the early Soviet educational practices. Knorre’s narrative appears to be the text aimed at the dual audience because of subtexts targeting an adult reader.   Keywords: anti-utopia, Knorre, Bradbury, Chukovskii, Kogan, literary allusions, children’s literature, struggle against the fairy tale, dual audience