Dunno

"Neznaika and his Friends" book cover

Neznaika (Template:Lang-ru, from "не знаю", or "I don't know") is the famous anti-hero created by the Soviet children's writer Nikolai Nosov. In English, Neznaika's name has been been translated as "Dunno" and "Know-Nothing".

Neznaika, recognized by his bright blue hat, canary-yellow trousers, orange shirt, and green tie, is the title character of Nosov's world-famous trilogy, The Adventures of Neznaika and his Friends (Приключения Незнайки и его друзей) (1954), Neznaika in Sun City (Незнайка в Солнечном городе) (1958), and Neznaika on the Moon (Незнайка на Луне) (1966). The three fairy tale novels follow the adventures of the little fictional children-like people living in "Flower City" (Цветочный город). They are described to be sized like "medium cucumbers", a quality that has earned them the name "shorties" or "mites" (коротышки). In Nosov's universe, each shorty occupies his/her own niche in the community and is named accordingly. The "three apple tall" Smurfs of the Belgian illustrator Peyo are based on a similar concept. However, unlike in the world that Peyo had created, anything unrealistic in Nosov's universe, save his characters' small size, owes itself to science-fiction rather than fantasy or magic.

Another important characteristic of the Neznaika trilogy is its heavily didactic nature. Nosov describes this as an effort to teach "honesty, bravery, comradery, willpower, and persistence" and discourage "jealousy, cowardice, mendacity, arrogance, and effrontery." Strong political undertones are also present. In addition to general egalitarianism and feminism, communist tendencies dominate the works. The first book takes the reader into a typical Soviet-like town, the second into a communist utopia, and the third into a capitalistic satire . Nosov's captivating and humorous literary style has made his ideologies accessible to children and adults alike.

Plot Summaries

The Adventures of Neznaika and his Friends

In Flower City, Neznaika gets into heaps of trouble. First, he becomes convinced that the sun was falling and manages to scare half the town before Znaika clears everything up. Then he proceeds to try music, art, and poetry, but his unorthodox endeavors only irritate his friends, and he is forced to quit. Next, ignoring the warnings of Vintik and Shpuntik, Neznaika crashes their car into the Cucumber River and ends up in the hospital. He then gets into a fight with his best friend Gun'ka for not ending his friendships with the girl-shorties Muskha and Knopochka.

Znaika proposes to build a hot air balloon and go on an adventure. He and his friends begin extracting rubber, weaving the basket, and making emergency parachutes out of dandy lions. A large rubber balloon is then blown up, fastened to the basket, and filled with hot air. The parachutes and other supplies are loaded, and sixteen seats are accomodated for. Everyone helps with preparations except for Neznaika, who is too busy bossing everyone around and providing useless advice. The day of the departure comes, and Znaika, Neznaika, and fourteen other shorties come on board. Pul'ka takes with him his dog, Bul'ka. By this time, half the town still does not believe the balloon would be able to fly, but the balloon successfully rises off the ground, and all the shorties of Flower Town cheer. Gun'ka waves to Neznaika from the ground but Neznaika shuns him.

Characters

Flower City Dwellers

Named for its abundance of flowers, all streets are named after flowers as well. The Flower City is located by the Cucumber River, on the shore of which many cucumbers grow. Here boy-shorties and girl-shorties live together, but often have trouble getting along.

• Neznaika (from Russian "I don't know") - the title character of the trilogy and the most infamous personality in Flower City. As an anti-hero, this boy-shorty is both ignorant, lazy, rude, and conceited and at the same time curious, kind, enterprising, and unbelievably lucky. He is highly reminiscent of the popular Russian folk hero Ivan the Fool, a flawed young man who always manages to come out on top.
• Gun'ka - a boy-shorty, Neznaika's best friend
• Znaika (from "I know") - the smartest of the boy-shorties, often adopts the leadership role
• Vintik (from "little bolt") and Shpuntik (from "little peg") - boy-shorty mechanics
• Guslya (from "lire") - a boy-shorty musician
• Tyubik (from "tube") - a boy-shorty painter
• Knopochka (from "little button") - a girl-shorty who becomes best friends with Neznaika
• Romashka (from "camomile") - a girl-shorty
• Toropyzhka (from "to hurry") - a boy-shorty who is always in a hurry
• Rasteryayka (from "to lose") - a boy-shorty who always loses and forgets things
• Doctor Pilyulkin (from "pill") - a boy-shorty physician
• Ponchik (from "doughnut") - a very chubby boy-shorty who likes to eat sweets
• Siropchik (from "little syrup") - a very chubby boy-shorty who likes to drink carbonated water with syrup
• Pul'ka (from "bullet") - a boy-shorty hunter
• Bul'ka - Pul'ka's dog
• Tsvetik (from "bloomer") - a boy-shorty poet
• Pachkulya Pyostrenky (from "dirty and garishly spotted") - a boy-shirty who is always dirty and never suprised at anything
• Vorchyun (from "to grumble") - a boy-shorty who always grumbles and complains
• Molchyun (from "to be silent") - a boy-shorty who is always quiet
• Mushka (from "fly" [insect]) - a girl-shorty
• Steklyashkin (from "piece of glass") - an boy-shorty astronomer
• Kapil'ka (from "litte drop") - a girl-shorty who cries when it rains

Green City Dwellers

Named for its abundance of trees, only girl-shorties live here.

• Medunitsa (from "lungwort) - a girl-shorty doctor, head of the Green City hospital
• Sineglazka (from "blue eyes") - a pretty blue-eyed girl-shorty
• Snezhinka (from "snowflake") - a pretty fair-skinned girl-shorty
• Samotsvetik (from "self-bloomer") - a girl-shorty poet
• Zain'ka (from "little rabbit") and Belochka (from "little squirrel") - girl-shorties with animals embroidered on their dresses
• Galochka (from "little bird") - a girl-shorty with long black hair
• Kubyshka (from "grain container") - a chubby girl-shorty
• Kisin'ka (from "kitten") - a girl-shorty
• Salomka (from "straw") - a smart girl-shorty who cross-bred watermelons and other fruit

Kite City Dwellers

Named for its abundance of decorative kites, only boy-shorties live here.

• Gvozdik (from "little nail" [the metal kind]) - a boy-shorty troublemaker
• Bublik (from "bagel") - a boy-shorty automobile driver
• Shurupchik (from "little screw") - a boy-shorty inventor
• Smekaylo (from "resourceful") - a pretentious boy-shorty writer

Sun City Dwellers

Named for its perpetually sunny weather, it is a shorty utopia noted for its incredible technological advances.

• Kalachik - a boy-shorty farming equipment operator
• Listik (from "little sheet of paper") - a boy-shorty who loves to read and whom Neznaika magically turned into a donkey
• Bukovka (from "little letter" [of the alphabet]) - a girl-shorty who loves to read, Listik's best friend
• Lilia (from "lily") - a girl-shorty, director of hotel Malvazia
• Pegasik, Brykun (from "to kick"), and Kaligula (from "Caligula") - two donkeys and a mule whom Neznaika magically turned into boy-shorties
• Chubchik - a boy-shorty gardener
• Yorshik - a boy-shorty, leader of the mass of passerby that Pegasik and Neznaika sprayed with water
• Svistul'kin (from "to whistle") and Karaul'kin (from "to be on watch") - boy-shorty policemen

Others

• Tsirkul (from "compass") - a lanky and very renouned traveling bicyclist from the city of Katigoroshkin (Катигорошкин)
• Wizard - gave Neznaika a magic wand

External links

• Nikolai Nosov THE ADVENTURES OF DUNNO AND HIS FRIENDS (FULL ENGLISH TEXT - translated by Margaret Wettlin)
• A 1996 article In memoriam: Nikolay Nosov (1908-1976)
• Nikolai Nosov Forever, Russian Journal