Intertextual strategies in S. Dovlatov's early short story "Save Our Ears!"

The aim of the research is to identify intertextual strategies used by S. Dovlatov in his early literary and journalistic work. From these positions, the article examines the short story "Save Our Ears!", highlighting literary associations of the story with the satirical traditions of previous writers at the level of form and content. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that this is the first time that Dovlatov's early short story is considered in the aspect of intertextuality. As a result, it was established that intertextual strategies serve to organize different levels of the work: the title (the author's contamination of a set expression); the narrative manner (satirical stylization from the first person using colloquial vocabulary and syntax); the motif-image system (the motif of false politeness, the motif of misunderstanding, the motif of a humble intellectual), supported by direct quotation, which creates a comic effect; key words-meanings ("ears", "get a haircut", "hairdresser" as an allusion to the poem by V. Mayakovsky "They Understand Nothing"). The significant influence of the traditions of satirical writers – A. Averchenko and M. Zoshchenko – on the idiostyle of the early S. Dovlatov is also demonstrated.