Bunin shore analysis. "Dark Alleys": analysis of the story by Ivan Bunin
Yulia Yurievna Chernokozova is a literature teacher at Novocherkassk Pedagogical College.
Analysis of the story by I.A. Bunin's "Dark Alleys" at a literature lesson in the senior class
“The scarlet rose hips were blooming all around, there were alleys of dark linden trees...”
In accordance with the program, students are introduced to the works of I.A. Bunin is carried out gradually. In basic school they get an idea of his poetic work, read and analyze epic works - “ Clean Monday", "Sunstroke". In the eleventh grade, when studying a monographic topic on the writer’s work, it is necessary to systematize existing knowledge and help high school students comprehend the peculiarities of the writer’s worldview and skill. It is important to consider each small work chosen for study as part of an integral artistic world containing the unique features of the author’s individuality. Therefore, when starting to work on the story “Dark Alleys,” we set as our goal the creation of conditions not only for students to fully interpret the text, but also for them to comprehend the artistic concept of the entire cycle. Considering that for eleventh-graders, of course, addressing the theme of love is personally significant, we sought, in the process of analyzing Bunin’s work, to arouse in them a desire to deeply comprehend the author’s concept of love and determine their attitude towards it. I. Bunin’s story is harmonious; despite its small volume and condensed plot, it is unusually meaningful, truly “the best words in the best order.” This allows the lesson to successfully solve another problem - to develop students’ skills through consideration of the elements of the form (in in this case- through the relationship between plot and plot) come to empathy with the author.
We choose the words of the writer himself as the epigraph for the dialogue with students: “We live by everything we live only to the extent that we comprehend the price of what we live by. Usually this price is very small: it rises only in moments of delight - the delight of happiness or misfortune, the vivid consciousness of gain or loss; also - in moments of poetic transformation of the past in memory.”
Before working with the text, we recall with our students what works about love they know, analyze the reader’s impressions of the stories I. Bunin read (as homework, we were asked to read not only “Dark Alleys”, but also two or three other stories from this cycle) and note that by the beginning of the 20th century, it seems that everything that could be said about love had already been said. However, I. Bunin speaks about this feeling in his own way. For the heroes of his works, love is a moment of happiness, which is tragic simply because it is irrevocable. The price of this irrevocable moment is realized not at the moment of absorption in the feeling, but later. “Later” can come fifteen minutes after parting with your beloved (“Sunstroke”), and thirty years later (“Dark Alleys”). Bunin's feeling of love is devoid of vulgarity; even purely physical intimacy is exclusively spiritual. These are always “truly magical” minutes.
The story we are interested in relates to the late period of I.A.’s creativity. Bunina. At this time, according to the fair remark of the researcher of the writer L.A. Kolobaeva, in connection with the tendency to expand the epic principle in Bunin’s works, such a genre structure of the story appears, which, as if exceeding its own nature, reaches out to the story and even to the novel, takes on its tasks - through the “moments” of life to view the beginnings and ends , the history of the individual as a whole, her fate, the entire “cup of life”. It is from this point of view that the story “Dark Alleys” is interesting. His analysis should show high school students how “a vulgar, ordinary story” is transformed into “easy breathing” Bunin's story” .
At the beginning analytical conversation Using the text, we find out what this small (only four pages) work by I. Bunin, which gave the name to the whole cycle, is about. Usually the answers are: about love, about a meeting, about the life of two people. What is unusual about the love story of Nikolai Alekseevich and Nadezhda? How does the hero himself respond to her? We conclude that the history of the relationship between two people in itself is no different. Nikolai Alekseevich himself assesses her as “vulgar and ordinary.” However, it was interesting to read, there was no feeling of banality. Why?
Let's try to retell the work, highlighting the main events. It is possible that some student will try to build his retelling in chronological order: love and separation - thirty years of separation - meeting at the post station. If the story corresponds to the plot, you can invite high school students to determine the temporal relationship of events and compare them with how the author narrates them. At the same time, we depict this schematically on the board and in notebooks.
What are the similarities and differences between the schemes?
Which version of the story attracts our attention more? Why?
Together with the students, we note that in both diagrams the episodes that make up the story are highlighted. However, the first scheme is a list of episodes in their chronological sequence, and the second is the same set of episodes, but they are arranged differently, according to the laws of the artistic time of the story: present - past - future. The second option attracts the reader more, since we are interested in the moment of recognition, which motivates attention to the conversation-memory that follows it ex-lovers. This makes us experience wonder, creates a desire to learn about what happened in the past, and encourages empathy.
We update the knowledge of eleventh-graders about the plot and the plot, we propose to correlate these concepts with the diagrams depicted on the board, we help to come to the conclusion that reflection on the features of plot construction in a work helps to better understand the author’s intention, in this case - to show an entire human life through one life situation life.
What events from the lives of the characters did the author choose to tell us the life story of two people? Only meager facts: love that arose thirty years ago, a meeting at the station, the family life of Nikolai Alekseevich, which he told Nadezhda in five sentences.
Were these the only events that happened in the lives of forty-eight-year-old Nadezhda and sixty-year-old Nikolai Alekseevich? Of course not. But why did the writer choose them? They were probably the main ones in the fate of the heroes. Let us find confirmation of this in the text.
Nikolai Alekseevich:“I think that I, too, have lost in you the most precious thing I had in life.” "Yes, sure, best moments. And not the best, but magical!”
Hope:“Everyone’s youth passes, but love is another matter.” “Everything passes, but not everything is forgotten.” “No matter how much time passed, I still lived alone.” There were many events in Nadezhda’s life: “It’s a long story, sir.” But lived she only loves Nikolai Alekseevich.
Why didn’t I. Bunin tell us the story in more detail? family life Nikolai Alekseevich, because this could have turned out exciting novel? (He loved his wife madly. - She left her. - He adored his son. - He grew up to be a scoundrel.) Because in such a small work it was necessary to reveal only the most important thing, which explains everything in the destinies of people. This main thing turned out to be old love. And although the content of the story is “a vulgar, ordinary story,” reading evokes a special lyrical mood: “The scarlet rose hips were blooming all around, there were dark linden alleys…” The atmosphere of the story is as light and harmonious as the iambic tetrameter of these poetic lines. Nikolai Alekseevich’s memory poetically transformed the moments of lost love and showed the real price of this feeling.
For a hero, love is a wonderful moment, but for Nadezhda? We suggest finding words in the text that confirm that Nadezhda retained the feeling for many years. For her, love is her whole life.
In conclusion, we turn to the epigraph, to the words of I. Bunin, revealing “the main creative aspirations of the writer - his pathos, the principles of selection and artistic transformation of life material.” What does the epigraph say? How does it relate to the story analyzed? What moments in a person’s life make it possible to understand the value of what he lives by? Discussion of questions helps to comprehend the story in a lyrical and philosophical vein, when three elements become the main characters: love, time and memory. Love is a state when “the whole world was in the soul” and the person is ideal. Time inexorably drags you away and makes you forget everything. Memory selects and poetically transforms moments of the past - love. The circle, having begun with love, closes with it. I. Bunin proposed in his story “Dark Alleys” exactly such a situation when the memory of an aging hero allows him to realize that forgotten love as the “best”, the only “truly magical” minutes of life.
I. A. Bunin is the first of the Russian writers to receive Nobel Prize, who achieved popularity and fame at the world level, having fans and associates, but... deeply unhappy, because since 1920 he was cut off from his homeland and yearned for it. All stories from the emigration period are imbued with a feeling of melancholy and nostalgia.
Inspired by the lines of the poem " An ordinary story"N. Ogarev: “The scarlet rose hips were blooming all around / There was an alley of dark linden trees,” Ivan Bunin carried out the idea of writing a series of stories about love about subtle human feelings. Love is different, but always this strong feeling, changing the lives of the heroes.
The story “Dark Alleys”: summary
Story " Dark alleys", the same name of the cycle and being the main one, was published on October 20, 1938 in the New York edition " New land». Main character, Nikolai Alekseevich, accidentally meets Nadezhda, whom he seduced and abandoned many years ago. For the hero then it was just an affair with a serf girl, but the heroine seriously fell in love and carried this feeling throughout her life. After the affair, the girl received her freedom, began to earn her own living, and now owns an inn and “gives money on interest.” Nikolai Alekseevich ruined Nadezhda’s life, but was punished: his beloved wife abandoned him as vilely as he himself had once done, and his son grew up to be a scoundrel. The heroes part, now forever, Nikolai Alekseevich understands what kind of love he missed. However, the hero cannot even in his thoughts overcome social conventions and imagine what would have happened if he had not abandoned Nadezhda.
Bunin, “Dark Alleys” - audiobook
Listening to the story “Dark Alleys” is extremely pleasant, because the poetic language of the author is also manifested in prose.
Image and characteristics of the main character (Nikolai)
The image of Nikolai Alekseevich evokes antipathy: this man does not know how to love, he sees only himself and public opinion. He is afraid of himself, of Nadezhda, no matter what happens. But if everything is outwardly decent, you can do as you please, for example, break the heart of a girl for whom no one will stand up. Life punished the hero, but did not change him, did not add strength of spirit. His image personifies habit, the routine of life.
Image and characteristics of the main character (Nadezhda)
Much stronger is Nadezhda, who was able to survive the shame of an affair with the “master” (although she wanted to kill herself, she came out of this state), and also managed to learn to earn money on her own, and in an honest way. Coachman Klim notes the woman’s intelligence and fairness; she “gives money on interest” and “gets rich,” but does not profit from the poor, but is guided by justice. Nadezhda, despite the tragedy of her love, kept it in her heart for many years, forgave her offender, but did not forget. Its image is the soul, the sublimity, which is not in origin, but in personality.
The main idea and main theme of the story “Dark Alleys”
Love in Bunin’s “Dark Alleys” is a tragic, fatal, but no less important and beautiful feeling. It becomes eternal, because it remains forever in the memory of both heroes; it was the most precious and brightest thing in their lives, although it is gone forever. If a person has ever loved like Nadezhda, he has already experienced happiness. Even if this love ended tragically. The life and fate of the heroes of the story “Dark Alleys” would be completely empty and gray without such a bitter and sick, but still amazing and bright feeling, which is a kind of litmus test that tests a human personality for strength of spirit and moral purity. Nadezhda passes this test, but Nikolai does not. This is the idea of the work. You can read more about the theme of love in the work here:
The theme of love in literature found its most complete disclosure in the cycle of stories by A. Bunin “Dark Alleys”. The entire cycle consists of thirty-eight stories. All the stories in the collection are united by the theme of unhappy love. In his stories he shows love openly and boldly. Bunin's love is in a sense criminal, it transgresses norms, goes beyond the boundaries of everyday life. In his work, love is a special synthesis of spirit and flesh.
Spirit is high and beautiful love, which penetrates souls and connects them with each other. And the love of the flesh, in other words, carnal pleasures. Such love gives only physical pleasure. As an example, let's analyze Bunin's story “Dark Alleys”.
The story “Dark Alleys” was written by Bunin in exile, under the influence of the poem “An Ordinary Tale”. The plot is based on the meeting of two elderly people after many years of separation. More precisely, the story talks about thirty years.
Since their time last meeting already passed whole life which they lived separately. In his youth, Nikolai Alexandrovich left Nadezhda, who later received her freedom and became the owner of an inn.
The meeting of the main characters raises a whole storm of feelings, memories and experiences. After a conversation with Nadezhda, Nikolai Alexandrovich understands that the past cannot be returned. Soon he leaves. Leaving, he realizes that if he had not left this maid, he could now have a happy family.
Thus, the composition of the story can be divided into three compositional parts: the hero’s arrival at the inn, the meeting of former lovers, and reflections on the way after the meeting.
The first part of the work is an episode showing the meeting of lovers, how they recognize each other. This episode shows portrait characteristic heroes. Also shown social difference between the heroes.
The second part of the work is the main part. Here we see a description of the feelings, emotions and experiences of the characters. Social restrictions are thrown away. Now the heroes appear to each other not as a hotel owner and a soldier, but as a man and woman in love. This part allows you to get to know the characters better. The author clearly shows us how the heroes feel about this love. Nadezhda was never married; she saved herself for her lover. And Nikolai married another woman and was devoted to her, just as he was betrayed by his son.
The third part of the work is the departure of Nicholas. Important for him social norms which he cannot neglect. But at the same time, he is tormented by the thought that his life could have been much better if he had stayed with her.
All of Bunin's stories are permeated with unhappy love that goes beyond the ordinary. Whether it is sincere love or just passion, she is always unhappy. The heroes of the stories are forced to part for one reason or another. This could be a difference in social strata, age, or simply forced separation. One way or another, according to Bunin, love remains a drama, and sometimes a tragedy.
Updated: 2017-10-29
Attention!
Thank you for your attention.
If you notice an error or typo, highlight the text and click Ctrl+Enter.
By doing so, you will provide invaluable benefit to the project and other readers.
The story “Dark Alleys” gave the name to the entire collection of the same name by I. A. Bunin. It was written in 1938. All the short stories in the cycle are connected by one theme - love. The author reveals the tragic and even catastrophic nature of love. Love is a gift. It is beyond the control of man. It would seem a banal story about a meeting of elderly people in their youth who passionately loved each other. The simple plot of the story is that a rich young handsome landowner seduces and then abandons his maid. But it is Bunin who manages to tell with the help of this simple artistic move about simple things exciting and impressive. Short piece- an instant flash of memory of lost youth and love.
There are only three compositional parts of the story:
- parking at the inn of a gray-haired military man,
- a sudden meeting with a former lover,
- reflections of a military man on the road a few minutes after the meeting.
Pictures of dull everyday life and everyday life appear at the beginning of the story. But in the owner of the inn, Nikolai Alekseevich recognizes the beautiful maid Nadezhda, whom he betrayed thirty years ago: “he quickly straightened up, opened his eyes and blushed”. A whole life has passed since then, and everyone has their own. And it turns out that both main characters are lonely. Nikolai Alekseevich has social weight and well-being, but is unhappy: his wife “cheated on me, abandoned me even more insultingly than I did you”, and the son grew up to be a scoundrel "without heart, without honor, without conscience". Nadezhda turned from a former serf into an owner "private room" at the postal station “Uma ward. And everyone, they say, is getting rich, cool...", but never got married.
And yet, if the hero is tired of life, then he is still beautiful and light, full of his vitality ex-lover. He once gave up love and spent the rest of his life without it, and therefore without happiness. Nadezhda loves him all her life, to whom she gave it “your beauty, your fever” who once “Called Nikolenka”. Love still lives in her heart, but she does not forgive Nikolai Alekseevich. Although he does not stoop to accusations and tears.
/ / / Analysis of Bunin’s collection of stories “Dark Alleys”
The collection of stories by I. Bunin “Dark Alleys” was a real achievement and literary masterpiece author. For the first time, it was published in New York. It included eleven stories, and all of them were devoted to the theme of love. After all, this topic is the most popular and in demand in our society. Many of us miss her so much.
All heroes Bunin's stories encounter different manifestations of love. Some wait for it, others lose it, others betray it, and others keep it for the rest of their lives. After all, love, in all its manifestations, can be called happiness. It evokes bright, real emotions in people’s souls that force us to take action, make compromises and simply enjoy the life around us.
The year 1946 is marked by the publication of the complete collection of stories “Dark Alleys”. It takes place in romantic and mysterious Paris. The collection contains as many as thirty-eight short stories. And in each of them we get acquainted with different, individual female types characters who loved, and also sought their love. These are Fields from the short story “Madrid”, and Ganskaya Galya from story of the same name, and Antigone, and Russia.
Next to these bright images, male characters seem static and little expressive. Quite often, the author does men's images indirect and secondary. They enter into the idea of stories only in order to reveal female characters as clearly as possible.
For example, in the text “Steamboat Saratov” we get acquainted with the story of how an officer in love shot and killed beautiful woman. And what happens! All the same, it is her image that remains and is remembered in the readers’ memory, not his.
In excerpts from the stories there is a mention of both rough and playful love, which is funny described by I. Bunin. But most of the stories in “Dark Alleys” are dedicated to feelings of sincere and true love.
In the collection we get acquainted with both completed stories and those just begun. For example, this is the text of the novel “The Beginning”. The collection also contains unfinished stories. For example, "Caucasus".
I. Bunin considered “Clean Monday” to be one of the most perfect stories. He worked painstakingly on its meaning. Every detail, every line in it matters. Bunin thanked God for giving him the inspiration to write such a masterpiece text. It is in the story “Clean Monday” that the author creates a new type of human relationships and human soul. Russian literature has never seen anything like this.
All the stories in the collection “Dark Alleys” reveal to the reader both light and dark sides love relationship, as well as the cruel and gloomy alleys associated with them. This is what the author himself said and he skillfully transferred his thoughts to paper.
