ARTISTIC INTERPRETATION OF METAPHORICAL IMAGES IN THE WORKS OF THE ENGLISH WRITER SOMERSET MAUME

Multidisciplinary and Multidimensional Journal ISSN: 2775-5118 Vol.4 No.10 (2025) I.F. 9.1 37 ARTISTIC INTERPRETATION OF METAPHORICAL IMAGES IN THE WORKS OF THE ENGLISH WRITER SOMERSET MAUME Ruzmatova Iroda Ruzmatovna, English teacher at the specialized school at the Urgench State University named after Abu-Raykhon Beruniy independent researcher ruzm[email protected] Abstract:This article is devoted to the interpretation of a series of stories, starting with the masterpiece "Zarbulmasal" by Gulkhani, who initiated the genre of parables in Uzbek classical literature. The principles of reflection in the story "The Ant and the Grasshopper" by the English writer S. Maugham were studied. The story, interpreted in a comparative aspect, spoke about the hard work and nobility of man. Абстрактный:Статья посвящена интерпретации серии рассказов, начиная с шедевра Гульхани «Зарбулмасал», положившего начало жанру притчи в узбекской классической литературе. Принципы рефлексии исследовал в повести «Муравей и кузнечик» английский писатель С. Моэм. Рассказ, интерпретированный в сравнительной перспективе, повествует о трудолюбии и благородстве человека. Key words: parable, symbol, metaphor, history, classical literature, interpretation of the times, hard work, compassion, peronage and logic. Ключевые слова: притча, символ, метафора, история, классическая литература, интерпретация времени, упорный труд, сострадание, перонаж, логика. The English writer Somerset Maugham pioneered a major trend in short story writing. His stories are devoid of unnecessary pomp, imagery, or detail. Like A. Chekhov and A. Kahhor, he uses a concise style. When we analyze the writer's story "The Ant Knows the Grasshopper," we can clearly see this. The didactic significance of the story is that no matter who a person is and what position he holds, it is difficult for him to master his life if he does not learn to be hardworking. In Uzbek literature, there are a number of works based on stories and narratives in this regard. For example, Gulkhani's "Zarbulmasal" embodies admonition (in the form of animals). This method of depiction is evident in some stories by the writer Isajon Sultan. A series of stories written from the lives of brothers can be an example of this. The English writer Somerset Maugham is one of the writers who was able to develop the issue of inter-style synthesis in modern Multidisciplinary and Multidimensional Journal ISSN: 2775-5118 Vol.4 No.10 (2025) I.F. 9.1 38 storytelling, and, like A. Kahhor, was able to realize large generalizations in the mode of short descriptions. This method of description can also be found in the poetic research of Sh. Kholmirzaev and U. Umarbekov. S. Maugham's story "The Ant and the Grasshopper" talks about collisions and the creative concept - how the bird of luck and fortune lands on whom. There are people in life who continue to live a royal life without doing any hard work. The true essence of the story is the unity of the modification of the description, calling on young people to be hardworking, honest, patriotic, and to develop noble virtues. Prof. H. Umurov makes the following observations about artistic skill: “Life in a work of art is created through words, and artistic language is a direct figurative expression of real thoughts and feelings. A “micro” image is the life of any word in any context (in connection with other words). It can show its own character, color, smell, tone. The writer uses the most necessary and necessary grammatical, lexical, stylistic forms of meaning of the word in accordance with the context, that is, he chooses words that deeply reveal the essence of the life (episode, image, character) being described. Any chosen word must, of course, carry a certain load in a literary work. We determine its significance and strength depending on the truthfulness and completeness of the event being described, the emotions, moods and experiences of the hero, and how much this load is carried.” 1 . Indeed, the attitude to the word leads to a significant increase in the writer's responsibility. It creates a wide range of conditions for the harmony of the subject, idea, text, and character. The interconnected or independent movement of objects and events in the world is expressed in the individual style of the writer. In particular, although the issue raised by the English writer does not seem to be a very big universal problem, the fact that it is presented in such a concise manner, and the fact that a person's honorable duty to his family and homeland is depicted against the background of actions without wasting it, is a sign of the height and deepening of artistic skill. When we pay attention to the following exposition in the story, we naturally become a vivid witness of this: “Have you heard the story about the ant and the grasshopper? I had to learn it in school as a child. It was a simple story and was supposed to be an example for young students. The story promoted the idea of hard work. According to him, whoever is hardworking can achieve success, and whoever does not work, cannot achieve anything. In the story, the ant works tirelessly all summer. Every day he carries grain home. By the end of the summer, he has enough food for the winter. The grasshopper, on the other hand, does not work at all, but basks in the sun and sings songs. 1 Умуров Ҳ. Бадиий ижод асослари. –Т: “Ўзбекистон”. 2001. –Б.31. Multidisciplinary and Multidimensional Journal ISSN: 2775-5118 Vol.4 No.10 (2025) I.F. 9.1 39 Then winter comes. The grasshopper has no food. He goes to the ant's house and asks for something to eat. “What did you do in the summer?” the ant greets him. “Did I sing a song?” the grasshopper says. “I basked in the sun and sang a song.” “Now you can go and dance again,” the ant says. At that time, I did not like this story. It could not encourage me to be hardworking. It made me think that ants were cruel and that I hated them. Whenever I saw an ant, I would trample it and crush it. “This is your punishment for being so cruel to the grasshopper,” I would say. A few days ago, an incident occurred that reminded me of the story of the ant and the grasshopper. I was having lunch at a restaurant. There I saw my friend George Ramsay. He was sitting alone at the table and looked very sad. 2 . The story begins with these images. The ant's hard work and the grasshopper's day spent playing and dancing, and the ant's restlessness in its search for food when winter comes, remind us of the didactic stories related to the animal world in Gulkhani's "Zarbulmasal". It is no secret that Aesop's fables also have great intrigue and modes of depiction for this. The images in the literature of ancient Greek and Turkic peoples (folklore) are at the same time mobile plots, and the added events prepared the ground for a more significant expression of the story. In particular, the writer could have named the story after the brother and sister. The story is about the real life of two brothers, George and Tom. Because George, with his hard work, leaves a positive impression on people. Tom, on the other hand, appears before our eyes as an image of a lazy, indolent, industrious person who lives as if he has enough money, spending it aimlessly, and spending his life in suffering, luxury, and pleasure. These two characters are two worlds, completely unlike each other. However, George Ramsay, Tom's brother, has always been known for his caring, family-oriented, and hardworking nature. That is why, in the novel, the writer S. Maugham begins his work with the symbolic images of an ant and a grasshopper. Such a figurative expression also serves as the most important key to expressing real reality. The writer H. Dostmuhammad writes about this: “Speaking about our modern national storytelling, we should mention three important aspects. Firstly, the mainspring of modern realistic Uzbek storytelling goes back to the examples of folk oral creativity, as well as to our ancient classical literary heritage, including prose works that occupy a special place in the work of Rabguzi, Amiri, Navoi, Babur, Khoja, Gulkhani, Anbar Atin, which has been especially recognized by specialists. Secondly, we should also emphasize 2 https://ziyouz.uz/jahon-nasri/somerset-moem/somerset-moem-chumoli-bilan-chigirtka/ Multidisciplinary and Multidimensional Journal ISSN: 2775-5118 Vol.4 No.10 (2025) I.F. 9.1 40 that another mainspring of our national storytelling is the direct benefit of the world storytelling school, founded by writers such as Boccaccio, Cervantes and Edgar Allan Poe and continued by storytellers of different nationalities for several centuries. Thirdly, the Uzbek national storytelling, which has a century-old history, has undergone a great deal of formation and development during this period, has created its own image, its own school of skills, and more importantly, Uzbek storytelling has risen to the level of constituting an integral and significant page of world storytelling. Therefore, as the writer Kh. Dostmuhammad specifically emphasized, it is understandable that the history of our national storytelling goes back to very ancient times, grew out of stories in folklore works, and the genre itself continues to develop. The tradition initiated by world wordsmiths is an important foundation and root of modern storytelling. It is natural that the form is one, but the content manifests itself in different guises. Because it becomes clear that it is important for the writer not only to express the problem, reality, but also to skillfully illuminate it in a unique way. The second episode in S. Maugham's story "The Ant and the Grasshopper" is interpreted as follows: “Hello, George,” I said to him. “How are you?” “Not so much,” he replied. “What’s the matter?” I asked, sitting down at the table. “Is it your brother Tom again? Is he the problem again?” “Yes,” he said. “Tom again.” Let me tell you about Tom first. Just as every good family has one bad member, George’s family had that one man—his brother Tom. At first, Tom was doing very well. He had a good business, a wife, and two children. One day, he said that he didn’t want to work anymore. He wanted to relax, to live a comfortable life. He left his family and his job and went to Europe. He had very little money, and he spent it recklessly. He stayed in luxurious hotels, ate in the most expensive restaurants, and went to various parties with beautiful women. In short, he had a great time. When his family heard about this, they shook their heads in regret. “What would he do when his money ran out?” was the question that tormented them. The answer to this question was soon found. Tom was a favorite of all. He was very cheerful and had many friends. When he ran out of money, he would borrow money from his friends. Multidisciplinary and Multidimensional Journal ISSN: 2775-5118 Vol.4 No.10 (2025) I.F. 9.1 41 Since his debts were not very large, his friends usually did not ask for loans. I met him often, I enjoyed talking with him, and I always saw him in a good mood. But every time we met, he borrowed money from me. Tom borrowed money from his friends for his usual expenses, and if he needed more money, he would come to his brother George” 3 . In the above article, let us pay attention to the artistic skill of the writer S. Maugham: the key to revealing the main goal. In the composition of a work of fiction, lyrical digression, the main thing is to advance the creative concept. In it, George's short conversation with his friend serves as a certain basis for revealing his character. Also, in the writer's interpretation, George's instinct to somehow dissuade his brother Tom from this easy life, from laziness and squandering his hardearned money is clearly visible. The conversation between the ant and the grasshopper in the work shows how the human mental state is changing. As a result, the writer's artistic skill and attention to speech units are revealed in dialogues, simple compact images. Thus, the writer does not complicate reality at once. The main point is that a person needs to live in spiritual balance, like a doctor who has experienced any difficulties. The feelings and suffering of the hero of the story, George Ramsay, for his brother, reflect the preservation of love in the family. The writer's method of describing the love of being affectionate and ensuring a happy life for the brothers who came from the same womb arouses a feeling of compassion in the reader. After all, in European nations, after reaching adulthood, any individual has the right to build his own life and be responsible for his actions. It is no secret that the famine during the Second World War brought many hardships to the writer. These experiences - life realities led S. Maugham to mature into a strong and skillful, responsible person. Life experience and humanistic approach paved the way for the writer to grow even more skillful. Research and understanding have changed the boundaries of thinking to an unprecedented extent, calling for the rediscovery of new images. As is known from history, in the "Golden Light", created in the 1st century BC, which is considered an integral part of our national culture, there is such a concept that - humanity should understand suffering throughout its life and take measures to get rid of it. Because, "the work pays special attention to the concept of three precious treasures. The three treasures are highly valued in Buddhism, which is why Buddhists have always taken these three treasures not as a show-off, but as an obligation to themselves, considering them the main supporting qualities of faith. Well, what are these three treasures? Not to do evil. To do good. To purify the mind. These three 3 https://ziyouz.uz/jahon-nasri/somerset-moem/somerset-moem-chumoli-bilan-chigirtka/ Multidisciplinary and Multidimensional Journal ISSN: 2775-5118 Vol.4 No.10 (2025) I.F. 9.1 42 obligations are set against harmful habits and practices known as the "three poisons" or the three kinds of wrongdoing - greed or lust, hatred, and delusion or ignorance. The Buddha's Ten Vows were created as a spiritual force to combat these three kinds of wrongdoing.” 4 . Therefore, it should not be forgotten that the writer's creative concept, at the same time, has a sense of calling various heroes who are inclined to worldly pleasures to reason. It poses the eternal question facing humanity? Well, how does a person achieve happiness and bliss? Wars, subjugation, and illusions are eliminated. He also tries to estimate the importance of the role of fiction with serious observations on the scales of reason. Luxurious buildings, seaside vacations, and the emphasis on domestic life have become the primary needs of people in recent centuries. Somerset Maugham's story "The Ant and the Grasshopper" reveals the same problems with a cry. All this is measured by the writer's ability to rework in his own perception, to depict the painful problems of society in the image of a brother and sister: “I used to think what other mistake Tom had made. Has the police caught him or is he in jail again? “I’ve worked hard all my life, haven’t I?” George began slowly. “I know,” I said. “Tom must spend the rest of his life in poverty and regret for having been idle for the last twenty years, right?” I could not help but agree. George roared with rage. He was so angry that he could not even speak. “A few weeks ago, Tom and an old woman got engaged,” he said finally. “The old woman was old enough to call him his mother. Today she died. And she left Tom all her property. Tom has inherited half a million pounds, his London and country houses,” George said, pounding the table with pain. I couldn’t help laughing at this. I laughed out loud. I had never heard of such a funny story in a long time. The grasshopper had a better chance than the ant. George never forgave me for my laughter that day. He stopped talking to me at all. Tom often invites me to lunch at his house in the most expensive part of London. But he hasn’t changed. He still asks me for a loan when I leave his house.” 5 . Therefore, it should not be forgotten that the writer's creative concept, at the same time, has a sense of calling various heroes who are inclined to worldly pleasures to reason. It poses the 4 Раҳмонов Н. Комиллик манзилига йўл. Озод ватан саодати. –Т: “Адиб” нашриёти. 2013. –Б.270-271. 5 https://ziyouz.uz/jahon-nasri/somerset-moem/somerset-moem-chumoli-bilan-chigirtka Multidisciplinary and Multidimensional Journal ISSN: 2775-5118 Vol.4 No.10 (2025) I.F. 9.1 43 eternal question facing humanity? Well, how does a person achieve happiness and bliss? Wars, subjugation, and illusions are eliminated. He also tries to estimate the importance of the role of fiction with serious observations on the scales of reason. Luxurious buildings, seaside vacations, and the emphasis on domestic life have become the primary needs of people in recent centuries. Somerset Maugham's story "The Ant and the Grasshopper" reveals the same problems with a cry. All this is measured by the writer's ability to rework in his own perception, to depict the painful problems of society in the image of a brother and sister: “I used to think what other mistake Tom had made. Has the police caught him or is he in jail again? “I’ve worked hard all my life, haven’t I?” George began slowly. “I know,” I said. “Tom must spend the rest of his life in poverty and regret for having been idle for the last twenty years, right?” I could not help but agree. George roared with rage. He was so angry that he could not even speak. “A few weeks ago, Tom and an old woman got engaged,” he said finally. “The old woman was old enough to call him his mother. Today she died. And she left Tom all her property. Tom has inherited half a million pounds, his London and country houses,” George said, pounding the table with pain. I couldn’t help laughing at this. I laughed out loud. I had never heard of such a funny story in a long time. The grasshopper had a better chance than the ant. George never forgave me for my laughter that day. He stopped talking to me at all. Tom often invites me to lunch at his house in the most expensive part of London. But he hasn’t changed. He still asks me for a loan when I leave his house” 6 . Indeed, the critic A. Rasulov correctly perceives. The volume has nothing to do with a work of art. If the writer can express the theme and idea skillfully, the speech units will also illuminate by themselves. Somerset Maugham's realistic depiction of the subject is highlighted in the fact that he can honestly express what a person knows only to himself. This aspect is reflected in many of the writer's works. At first glance, if the writer thinks about coping with the artistic burden assigned to him, he lives in reality and does not leave the fate of the heroes out of sight. The unity of the writer - text - reader requires that the inner reality unfolds quickly in the story and is revealed in all its complexity in 6 Расулов А. Бадиийлик – безавол янгилик. –Т: “Шарқ”. 2007. –Б.52. Multidisciplinary and Multidimensional Journal ISSN: 2775-5118 Vol.4 No.10 (2025) I.F. 9.1 44 the epilogue. This principle goes all the way to human pain. The dependence of the reality in the text on the skill in the plot of a story or novella becomes clear. List of used literature: 1. Umurov H. Fundamentals of artistic creativity. –T: “Uzbekistan”. 2001. –P.31. 2. https://ziyouz.uz/jahon-nasri/somerset-moem/somerset-moem-chumoli-bilan-chigirtka/ 3. Dostmuhamad H. National story: research, achievements, aspirations 4. https://ziyouz.uz/jahon-nasri/somerset-moem/somerset-moem-chumoli-bilan-chigirtka/ 5. Rakhmonov N. The way to the destination of perfection. The happiness of the free homeland. –T: “Adib” publishing house. 2013. –P.270-271. 6. https://ziyouz.uz/jahon-nasri/somerset-moem/somerset-moem-chumoli-bilan-chigirtka 7. Rasulov A. Art is a constant novelty. –T: “Sharq”. 2007. –P.52.