2026. 02. 18. · Facebook · 3 min read
On 18 February 2025, we commemorated the 201st anniversary of Jókai's birth and closed the memorial year with a group literary competition organised at the Bod Péter Pedagogical High School. The idea for the competition came from Csüdör Áda Katalin, a staff member of the Bod Péter County Library.
The chosen work is Mór Jókai's novel The Gypsy Baron, published in 1885. What is this short novel, less known to the wider reading public, about? It is about the trials of man tossed amid political strife, the capricious fortune of roles, the unmasking of the dreams of man longing for magic, the wrong path of manipulation, the value of perseverance and the reward of our perseverance. This anecdotal and ironic world can be read as a sibling of Mikszáth's ambiguous works. An important question: do we inherit our identity or shape it, does one live at an advantage or disadvantage depending on nationality?
The competition announcement was published with a set of tasks recommending the portfolio method. From the ten task blocks of ten tasks each, participants could choose, narrowing down to two tasks for the entry submission. Even studying the tasks opened a broad interpretative framework. The aim of the competition was also to discover, through Jókai's prose, that the classic novel is not merely a literary work but a complex world-explaining text which: conveys historical, geographical, art historical, social, ethnographic, gastronomic and scientific knowledge; is suitable in the 21st century for research-based, project-based, inter-artistic, interdisciplinary learning; develops interpretive reading, critical and creative thinking, communication competencies; raises awareness that reading is not merely knowledge acquisition but an active, game-inviting interpretative activity: it simultaneously offers serious world explanation and playful narrative gestures, prompting the reader to compassion, doubt, laughter, moral consideration, argumentation, and reflection.
The portfolio of one hundred tasks and the competition script consisting of eleven tasks were compiled by Hungarian teacher Deák Magdolna.
Ten teams entered the competition, consisting of students from grades IX–XI. Seven teams from the Bod Péter Pedagogical High School and three from the Nagy Mózes High School. A total of thirty-eight students participated in teams of three or four.
We highlight a few tasks: team name evoking the novel's atmosphere, outlining the novel based on a given five-line rule, quick answer to quick questions, highlighting three decisive turning points in the novel, how women in the novel shape the male protagonist's decisions, a humorous seduction speech in the name of a female character, word interpretation, finding and interpreting a humorous quote, editing the protagonist's Instagram page, performing a scene, a message to today's reader in Jókai's name through this novel.
Winners:
1st prize – Silver Mystery, Bod Péter Pedagogical High School: Baróthi Borbála, Bartók Kriszta and Olosz Dorka (coordinating teacher dr. Deák Ferenc)
2nd prize – Bod Péter Pedagogical High School, Cafrinkáék: Pătrânjel Viktória, Kádár Ágnes, Tóth Brigitta and Szász Tímea (coordinating teacher Fejér Piroska)
3rd prize – Nagy Mózes High School, Treasure: Boldizsár Henrietta, Kovács Kristóf, Soós Zoltán and Neagoie János-Szabolcs (coordinating teachers Ruszka Mária Magdolna, Szabó Tünde)
Commendation I – Bod Péter Pedagogical High School, The Refined: Gál Bíborka, Kádár Brigitta and Szakács Barbara (coordinating teacher dr. Deák Ferenc)
Commendation II – Bod Péter Pedagogical High School, Swamp Secrets: Csiki Alpár, Kiss Réka, Tamás Krisztina and Páll Barbara (coordinating teacher Deák Magdolna)
Portfolio winners:
Baronal Heirs, Nagy Mózes High School: Gligor Kincső, Kocsis Dórka, Szőcs Noémi, Varga Anna
Mysterious Treasure, Bod Péter Pedagogical High School: Biró Beáta, Szőcs Helga, Géza Tímea and Zsigmond Szófia
The jury consisted of Csüdör Áda Katalin, staff member of the Bod Péter County Library, Lung László Zsolt, actor at the Udvartér Theatre and director of the Vigadó Cultural Centre, and Keresztes–Bíró Emese, librarian of the Bod Péter Pedagogical High School. Portfolios were evaluated and the competition was conducted by dr. Deák Ferenc, Hungarian teacher.
The competition was attended by 23 students from the Nagy Sándor József High School in Budakeszi, as well as Nádas Anna, visual culture teacher, who gave a lecture titled "Jókai Could Have Seen in Budakeszi."
