The gentleman from San Francisco themes and problematics Philosophical problematics based on the story The gentleman from San Francisco (Bunin I. A.)

Composition

The story “The Gentleman from San Francisco” was written by Bunin in 1915. While traveling around the Mediterranean Sea on a comfortable steamship, Bunin went down to the engine room: “If you cut the steamer vertically, you will see: we are sitting, drinking wine, talking on various topics, and the drivers in the heat, black with coal, working... Is this fair?

The theme of the story is social injustice, a premonition of the collapse of the world, unable to continue to exist with such acute stratification, as well as the opposition of the natural world of existence to the prudent bourgeois structure of life.

It is no coincidence that the gentleman from San Francisco does not have a name. How many of them are there, not young and who decided belatedly to enjoy life, on the ship Atlantis, in various expensive hotels?

Having made a fortune, having lived, “true, very well, but still pinning hopes on the future,” they set off to see the world. And thanks to the route that the gentleman from San Francisco chooses, we see the state of this world. “He thought to hold the carnival in Nice, in Monte Carlo, where at this time the most selective society flocks - the same one on which all the benefits of civilization depend: the style of tuxedos, and the strength of thrones, and the declaration of wars, and the welfare of hotels - where Some enthusiastically indulge in car and sailing races, others in roulette, others in what is commonly called flirting, and still others in shooting pigeons, which soar very beautifully from cages over the emerald lawn, against the backdrop of a sea the color of forget-me-nots, and immediately hit the white lumps about the earth..." - the world is busy with entertainment and the destruction of beauty...

But the name given to the ship is very symbolic. “Atlantis” - a multi-storey hulk with all the amenities (a night bar, oriental baths, its own newspaper), a symbol of the world of masters with their measured life and the world of servants, “a great many” of whom “worked in cooks, sculleries and wine cellars” - is moving towards of his death. “The ocean that walked outside the walls was terrible, but they didn’t think about it” - here it is, the reason for the imminent retribution: masters don’t think about servants, the rich don’t think about beggars... Everything in this world is bought and sold... “I was among in this brilliant crowd there was a certain great rich man, ... there was a famous Spanish writer, there was a world-famous beauty, there was an elegant couple in love, whom everyone watched with curiosity... and only one commander knew that this couple was hired by Lloyd to play at love for good money ..."

The family of a gentleman from San Francisco arrives in Naples. “And to the gentleman from San Francisco, just like everyone else, it seemed that it was for him alone that the march of proud America was thundering, that it was the commander who was greeting him with a safe arrival.” Life again flowed as usual, but nature was doing “something terrible,” and “the receptionists, when they talked to them about the weather, only raised their shoulders guiltily.” Bunin contrasts the well-being of civilization with the forces of the elements, as if outraged by this apparent well-being. Continuing to seek pleasure, the family goes to Capri. On the way, the gentleman from San Francisco feels like an old man, sees the real Italy - “under a rocky cliff, a bunch of such pitiful, completely moldy stone houses, stuck...near the boats, near some rags, tins and brown nets...” - and feels despair... For the first time, human feelings awaken in him, and the words that preceded his death: “Oh, this is terrible!”, which he himself does not try to understand, reflect the state of the world...

The death of the gentleman from San Francisco alarmed everyone in the hotel. Bunin calls the natural course of things a “terrible incident”, “what he did,” emphasizing that “people are still most amazed and do not want to believe death for anything.” Yes, for gentlemen, death is the most terrible enemy, taking away the right to enjoy all the benefits of the civilization they have built. With their indifference they punish those who are involved in death. The hotel owner, “who was not at all interested in the trifles that visitors from San Francisco could now leave in his box office,” refuses to even get a simple coffin, and the dead old man, as he now calls him. Bunin, travels on the same “Atlantis” in a soda box hidden deep in the hold, and above him continues to “feign torment in his blissful torment to the shamelessly sad music” of a couple whose game in love is well paid. What is Bunin telling his reader? Not only about social contradictions. After all, in essence, the writer shows in all its ghostly and indifferent splendor precisely the bourgeois world, where the desire for profit, the calculated structure of life obscures from the “gentlemen from San Francisco” the real world, the ability to feel and empathize with grief and joy. We see only a small glimpse of animation in the daughter of a gentleman from San Francisco: “She admired everyone and was then sweet and beautiful: beautiful were those tender, complex feelings that the meeting with an ugly man awakened in her... because in the end, maybe be and it doesn’t matter what exactly awakens a girl’s soul - whether it’s money, fame, or nobility of the family.” The lines about Lorenzo, the old boatman, who “brought and already sold for next to nothing two lobsters he caught at night” are imbued with a warm feeling (he “could stand calmly even until the evening, looking around with a regal demeanor, showing off with his rags, a clay pipe and red wool beret"), and about two Abruzzese highlanders. Finally we see that Italy - joyful, beautiful, sunny - which never opened up to the gentleman from San Francisco.

Bunin, who noticed the injustice of social stratification and sympathized with those whom the bourgeoisie did not notice, nevertheless did not accept the revolution (the collapse of the old world that he predicted), which set itself the goal of making those “who were nothing” into everything. He remained in the world where the gentleman from San Francisco lived, and this is the drama of his fate - he remained in a dying world, but knew how to see its beauty.

The Devil who appears at the end of the story, watching from the rocks of Gibraltar as Atlantis moves toward destruction, knows everything about humanity that it itself does not know: everything in the world is subject to the natural course of things, and before death comes for you, enjoy the beauty of the world , breathe deeply, love, sing “naive and humbly joyful praises to the sun, the morning... the immaculate intercessor of all those who suffer in this evil and beautiful world and born from her womb in the cave of Bethlehem, in a poor shepherd’s shelter, in the distant land of Judah” .

Other works on this work

Stage 1. Topic analysis.

Understanding each word of the topic

meaning - meaning, essence, essence, inner content, depth.

Name - title, title, title, topic, idea.

problematic – a set of problems, a range of issues.

work - story, short story, narration.

Bunin – remarkable Russian writer of the early twentieth century, author, novelist.

Keyword highlighting

Meaning of the name

problems

I.A.Bunin

"Mr. from San Francisco"

Formulating the topic in other words

The meaning of the title and the range of questions of I. A. Bunin’s story “The Gentleman from San Francisco.”

The depth of the name and the totality of problems in I.A. Bunin’s story “Mr. from San Francisco.”

Stage 2. Search for a task contained in a topic.

What is the meaning of the title and what are the problems of I. A. Bunin’s story “The Gentleman from San Francisco”?

Why did I.A. Bunin call his story “Mr. from San Francisco”?

Is I. A. Bunin’s story “The Gentleman from San Francisco” instructive?

Is man's claim to dominance tenable?

Stage 3. Formulating a thesis.

IN name story I.A.Bunina"Mr. from San Francisco" complete summarized his content. AND "mister", And members his families remain nameless, while minor characters – Lorenzo, Luigi– endowed proper names. Elements living life Bunin contrasts venality bourgeoisie, hostility to natural life, lack of compassion. In the story, hard work and idleness, decency and depravity, sincerity and deceit collide in irreconcilable conflict. Problems addressed author in his story, this is "eternal themes" literature.

Stage 4. Structuring an essay.

Highlighting keywords.

Combining key concepts into semantic “nests”.

I.A.Bunin, “Mr. from San Francisco”, conflict.

The gentleman and his family, nameless, faceless; not life, but existence, business, corruption, idle life, attitude towards nature, natural life, disintegration of human connections, lack of compassion, hostility to natural life, idleness, depravity, deceit.

Minor characters: Lorenzo, Luigi, proper names, the elements of living, natural life, individuality, unique personality, hard work, decency, sincerity.

- “Eternal themes” of literature: close attention to nature, the “internal” course of human life.

Establishing internal connections between “nests” of keywords.

Determining the optimal number of parts of an essay.

I.A.Bunin I

"Mr. from San Francisco"

Mister and his family II

have no name

lifestyle reasons

Tragedy

Proper names of people living natural lives

Problems

"Eternal themes" of literature

Arranging the structural elements of an essay in a logical order.

Stage 5. Introduction to the essay.

• Identify topic keywords.

Meaning– this is a subjective meaning, the attitude of a person (the author) to what he is talking about, arguing about.

Name– the main idea put forward by the author in the title.

Issues- this is what worries the writer, questions that make him think about.

Bunin- a brilliant representative of twentieth-century prose.

• Construct a judgment that reflects the connections between key concepts. I.A.Bunin is a brilliant representative of twentieth-century prose. In his story “Mr. from San Francisco,” the writer talks about man’s place in the world and believes that man is not the center of the Universe, but a grain of sand in a huge world, that the universe is not subject to man’s control. The story is based on the story of a nameless gentleman.

  Construct a judgment about the topic of the essay, including its formulation in other words.

The meaning of the title and the range of questions of I. A. Bunin’s story “The Gentleman from San Francisco.”

• Formulate the task that the topic poses to the writer.

Why did I.A. Bunin call his story “Mr. from San Francisco”? Why didn’t you give a name to your hero, how do the heroes of the work live, what moral qualities does the writer endow with them?

• Construct a judgment showing the connection between the introduction and the main part of the essay.

Let's try to find the answer to this question by understanding how the heroes of the story live.

• Combine these judgments.

I.A.Bunin is a brilliant representative of twentieth-century prose. His work is characterized by an interest in ordinary life and the ability to reveal the tragedy of life. In his story “Mr. from San Francisco,” the writer talks about man’s place in the world and believes that man is not the center of the Universe, but a grain of sand in a huge world, that the universe is not subject to man’s control. The story is based on the story of a nameless gentleman. Why did I.A. Bunin call his story “Mr. from San Francisco”? Why didn't you give your hero a name? Perhaps we will find answers to these questions by understanding how and how the characters in the story live, what moral qualities does the writer endow them with?

Stage 6. Design of the main part.

I.A.Bunin is a brilliant representative of twentieth-century prose.

The problems and meaning of the title of I. A. Bunin’s story “The Gentleman from San Francisco.”

1. The gentleman from San Francisco is the personification of a man of bourgeois civilization.

   Lack of spirituality.

   Bunin's rejection of high society's hostility to nature, to natural life.

   The world of natural people.

   The collapse of human connections and lack of compassion are the worst things for Bunin.

Bunin's appeal to the “eternal themes” of literature.

Stage 7. Writing an essay.

I.A.Bunin is a brilliant representative of twentieth-century prose. His work is characterized by an interest in ordinary life and the ability to reveal the tragedy of life. In his story “Mr. from San Francisco,” the writer talks about man’s place in the world and believes that man is not the center of the Universe, but a grain of sand in a huge world, that the universe is not subject to man’s control. The story is based on the story of a nameless gentleman. Why did I.A. Bunin call his story “Mr. from San Francisco”? Why didn't you give your hero a name? Perhaps we will find answers to these questions by understanding how and how the characters in the story live, and what moral qualities the writer endows them with.

The gentleman from San Francisco is the personification of a man of bourgeois civilization. The hero is simply called “master” because that is his essence. He considers himself a master and revels in his position. He can afford “solely for the sake of entertainment” to go with his family “to the Old World for two whole years”, he can enjoy all the benefits guaranteed by his status, he believes “in the care of all those who fed and watered him, from morning to evening served him, preventing his slightest desire,” can contemptuously throw at the “ragamuffins” through clenched teeth: “Get out!” The gentleman from San Francisco is valuable to others not as a person, but as a master. While he is rich and full of energy, the owner of the hotel “politely and elegantly” bows to his family, and the head waiter makes it clear that “there is and cannot be any doubt about the correctness of the master’s desires.”

Describing the gentleman’s appearance, I.A. Bunin uses epithets that emphasize his wealth and his unnaturalness: “silver mustache”, “golden fillings” of teeth, “strong bald head” is compared to “old ivory”. There is nothing spiritual about the gentleman, his goal is to become rich and reap the fruits of this wealth: “...he has almost become equal to those whom he once took as a model...” The desire came true, but this did not make him any happier. The description of the gentleman from San Francisco is constantly accompanied by the author's irony. The human element begins to appear in the master only at death: “It was no longer the gentleman from San Francisco who was wheezing - he was no longer there - but someone else.” Death makes him human: “his features began to become thinner and brighter...”. And the author now calls his hero “deceased”, “deceased”, “dead”. The attitude of those around him also changes sharply: the corpse must be removed from the hotel so as not to spoil the mood of other guests, they cannot provide a coffin - only a soda box, the servants, who were in awe of the living master, mockingly laughs at the dead, the hotel owner speaks with his wife “without any courtesy”, and places the deceased in the cheapest room, firmly stating the need for urgent removal of the body. The master's attitude towards people is transferred to himself. At the end of the story, the author says that the body of the “dead old man from San Francisco returns “home, to the grave, to the shores of the New World” in a black hold: the power of the “master” turns out to be illusory.

The writer does not give a name not only to the main character. The passengers of the ship represent the nameless “cream” of society, of which the gentleman from San Francisco so wanted to become a member: “Among this brilliant crowd there was a certain great rich man, ... there was a famous Spanish writer, there was a beauty all over the world, there was an elegant couple in love...” Their life is monotonous and empty: “they got up early,...drank coffee, chocolate, cocoa,...sat in baths, did gymnastics, stimulating appetite and good health, performed daily toilets and went to the first breakfast...” This is the impersonality, lack of individuality of those who consider themselves masters of life . This is an artificial paradise, because even the “elegant couple in love” only pretended to be in love: she was “hired by Lloyd to play at love for good money.” Life on a ship is illusory. It is “huge”, but around it there is a “water desert” of the ocean and a “cloudy sky”. And in the “underwater womb of the steamer,” similar to the “gloomy and sultry depths of the underworld,” people worked naked to the waist, “crimson in the flames,” “drenched in acrid, dirty sweat.” The social gap between rich and poor is nothing compared to the abyss that separates man from nature and natural life from non-existence. And, of course, Bunin does not accept the hostility of high society towards nature, towards natural life.

In contrast to “artificial” life, Bunin shows the world of natural people. One of them is Lorenzo - “a tall old boatman, a carefree reveler and a handsome man,” probably the same age as the gentleman from San Francisco. Only a few lines are dedicated to him, but he is given a sonorous name, unlike the title character. Both Lorenzo and the Abruzzese highlanders personify the naturalness and joy of being. They live in harmony, in harmony with the world, with nature: “They walked - and the whole country, joyful, beautiful, sunny, stretched under them: and the rocky humps of the island, which almost all lay at their feet, and that fabulous blue, in which he floated, and the shining morning vapors over the sea to the east, under the dazzling sun...” The goat-skin bagpipes and the wooden foregrip of the highlanders are contrasted with the “beautiful orchestra” of the steamship. With their lively, artless music, the mountaineers give praise to the sun, the morning, “the immaculate intercessor of all those who suffer in this evil and beautiful world, and the one born from her womb in the cave of Bethlehem...” These are the true values ​​of life, in contrast to the brilliant, expensive, but artificial , imaginary values ​​of the “masters”.

Thus, the theme of the end of the existing world order, the inevitability of the death of a soulless and spiritual civilization gradually grows in the story. The writer considers the most terrible thing to be the disintegration of human connections and the lack of compassion. And this is exactly what we see in the story “Mr. from San Francisco.” For Bunin, nature is important, however, in his opinion, the highest judge of a person is human memory. The picturesque poor man, old Lorenzo, will live forever on the canvases of artists, but the rich old man from San Francisco was erased from life and forgotten before he could die. And, therefore, the title of the story was not chosen by chance. It provides an impetus for understanding the meaning and meaning of the story, which makes you think about the eternal problems of life, death, love, beauty.

The title of I.A. Bunin’s story “Mr. from San Francisco” fully summarizes its content. Both the “master” and his family members remain nameless, while the minor characters - Lorenzo, Luigi - are given their own names. Bunin contrasts the elements of living life with the corruption of the bourgeoisie, hostility to natural life, and lack of compassion. In the story, hard work and idleness, decency and depravity, sincerity and deceit collide in irreconcilable conflict. The problems that the author addresses in his story are “eternal themes” of literature.

Bunin’s story “Mr. from San Francisco” tells the story of how everything is devalued before the fact of death. Human life is subject to decay, it is too short to be wasted in vain, and the main idea of ​​this instructive story is to understand the essence of human existence. The meaning of life for the hero of this story lies in his confidence that he can buy everything with his existing wealth, but fate decided otherwise. We offer an analysis of the work “Mr. from San Francisco” according to plan; the material will be useful in preparing for the Unified State Exam in literature in 11th grade.

Brief Analysis

Year of writing– 1915

History of creation– In a store window, Bunin accidentally noticed the cover of Thomas Mann’s book “Death in Venice”, this was the impetus for writing the story.

Subject– The opposites that surround a person everywhere are the main theme of the work - life and death, wealth and poverty, power and insignificance. All this reflects the philosophy of the author himself.

Composition– The problems of “Mr. from San Francisco” contain both a philosophical and socio-political character. The author reflects on the frailty of existence, on man’s attitude to spiritual and material values, from the point of view of various strata of society. The plot of the story begins with the master's journey, the climax is his unexpected death, and in the denouement of the story the author reflects on the future of humanity.

Genre– A story that is a meaningful parable.

Direction– Realism. Bunin's story takes on a deep philosophical meaning.

History of creation

The history of the creation of Bunin's story dates back to 1915, when he saw the cover of a book by Thomas Mann. After that, he was visiting his sister, he remembered the cover, for some reason it evoked an association in him with the death of one of the American vacationers, which happened during a vacation in Capri. Immediately a sudden decision came to him to describe this incident, which he did in the shortest possible time - the story was written in just four days. With the exception of the deceased American, all other facts in the story are completely fictitious.

Subject

In “The Gentleman from San Francisco,” an analysis of the work allows us to highlight the main idea of ​​the story, which consists of the author’s philosophical reflections on the meaning of life, on the essence of being.

Critics were enthusiastic about the work of the Russian writer, interpreting the essence of the philosophical story in their own way. Theme of the story- life and death, poverty and luxury, in the description of this hero, who lived his life in vain, reflects the worldview of the entire society, divided into classes. High society, possessing all material values, having the opportunity to buy everything that is on sale, does not have the most important thing - spiritual values.

On the ship, the dancing couple, depicting sincere happiness, is also fake. These are actors who were bought to play love. There is nothing real, everything is artificial and feigned, everything is purchased. And the people themselves are false and hypocritical, they are faceless, which is what meaning of the name this story.

And the master has no name, his life is aimless and empty, he does not bring any benefit, he only uses the benefits created by representatives of another, lower class. He dreamed of buying everything possible, but he didn’t have time; fate had its own way and took his life. When he dies, no one remembers him; he only causes inconvenience to those around him, including his family.

The point is that he died - and that’s it, he doesn’t need any wealth, luxury, power or honor. He doesn't care where he lies - in a luxurious inlaid coffin, or in a simple soda box. His life was in vain, he did not experience real, sincere human feelings, did not know love and happiness in the worship of the golden calf.

Composition

The narrative of the story is divided into two parts: how a gentleman sails on a ship to the coast of Italy, and the journey of the same gentleman back, on the same ship, only in a coffin.

In the first part, the hero enjoys all the possible benefits that money can buy, he has all the best: a hotel room, gourmet dishes, and all the other delights of life. The gentleman has so much money that he planned a trip for two years, together with his family, his wife and daughter, who also do not deny themselves anything.

But after the climax, when the hero suffers sudden death, everything changes dramatically. The hotel owner does not even allow the gentleman’s corpse to be placed in his room, having allocated the cheapest and most inconspicuous one for this purpose. There is not even a decent coffin in which to place the gentleman, and he is placed in an ordinary box, which is a container for some kind of food. On the ship, where the gentleman was blissfully on deck among high society, his place is only in the dark hold.

Main characters

Genre

“Mr. from San Francisco” can be briefly described as genre story ah, but this story is filled with deep philosophical content, and differs from other Bunin works. Usually, Bunin's stories contain descriptions of nature and natural phenomena that are striking in their liveliness and realism.

In the same work there is a main character around whom the conflict of this story is tied. Its content makes you think about the problems of society, about its degradation, which has turned into a soulless, mercantile being who worships only one idol - money, and has renounced everything spiritual.

The whole story is subordinated philosophical direction, and in plot-wise- This is an instructive parable that gives a lesson to the reader. The injustice of a class society, where the lower part of the population languishes in poverty, and the cream of high society waste their lives senselessly, all this, in the end, leads to a single ending, and in the face of death everyone is equal, both poor and rich, it cannot be bought off by any money.

Bunin's story "Mr. from San Francisco" is rightfully considered one of the most outstanding works in his work.

Work test

Rating Analysis

Average rating: 4.6. Total ratings received: 799.

THE PROBLEM OF HUMAN AND CIVILIZATION IN THE STORY OF I.A. BUNINA “THE MR. FROM SAN FRANCISCO”

poem Bunin prose writer

I. Bunin raises the problem of man and modern human civilization in the story “The Gentleman from San Francisco.” From the very beginning of the story, the writer raised the question of the place of man and humanity in the world. It is human nature to think that this is his world, that he created the world around him with his own hands, but this is not so. After all, there is also the Devil, who looks from the rocks of Gibraltar at the ship Atlantis and controls its fate. And man and all of humanity in the person of this ship becomes nothing more than a toy in his hands. Here are people and their lives: they are busy with life itself, they are having fun, dressing up, solving their small everyday problems. And besides them, there exists the entire surrounding world, the world of nature, of primordial chaos.

The images and characters in the story are deeply symbolic and meaningful. It is no coincidence that I. Bunin introduces this symbolic depth and symbolic subtext into the story; it is important for him to show that the gentleman from San Francisco is not an individual representative of the human nation, he is a Man, a symbol of all humanity, with the whole complex of his feelings and emotions, he is part modern community of people, part of modern civilization. The steamship "Atlantis" is also a symbol, a symbol of the civilization of people that is developing, and its path of development is similar to the journey across the stormy sea, which is described in this story. And the image of the steamer also acquires symbolic content. The entire world created by human hands is doomed to destruction, just as the steamship Atlantis is doomed; it is short-lived in front of another, eternal world. And this is no coincidence, the other world lives according to laws that exclude man and humanity from itself, and therefore is fraught with many mysteries and dangers.

The problem of man and humanity is solved by the author at the level of philosophical and symbolic understanding of the images of the gentleman from San Francisco and the steamship. Let's take a closer look at these images.

In the finale, the mysterious Devil watches from the rocks a ship going to sea and guards it, as he guards all of humanity. And only in the finale it becomes clear how fragile this civilization is, and how short-lived it is. The theme of human civilization is included along with the name of the ship. “Atlantis” was the name of a highly developed culture, similar to the high and progressive modern culture. At the same time, “Atlantis” marks progress; the story repeatedly emphasizes that this is the newest steamship, a steamship that was created in order to conquer the expanses of water and give man a huge advantage over the elements. However, is this so? Let us remember the tragic fate of historical Atlantis. She went under water. So what awaits this modern civilization and humanity, which clings to things created with its own hands, and which are not eternal compared to another, eternal world?

This is exactly how, through the image-symbol of Atlantis, the feeling of doom is conveyed and the theme of the death of humanity is also revealed. “Atlantis” personifies all of humanity as a whole, just as the gentleman from San Francisco personifies Man, busy with his everyday affairs and completely immersed in his material existence.

Along with the images of Atlantis and the Devil, there are images and themes of a “feast during the plague”, a ball in the middle of a blizzard, which acquire a different, universal meaning.

They become the most important not only in the finale, but in the context of the entire story. Apocalyptic images of the blizzard and the Devil intensify and reveal it more fully. The blizzard becomes a kind of mystical element, a devilish force, an attribute of that unreal world that triumphs over the world of people and modern civilization. Everything in it is in spontaneous “harmony”; the breath of the devil is felt in everything: in the roar of the ocean, reminiscent of a funeral mass, in the waves, similar to mournful silver mountains.

All nature around senses the presence of the Devil and warns this blind human civilization of its coming end. It is no coincidence that the sound of the siren is similar to “heavy howls” and “furious squeals”, and the blue lights “flash” on the ship “with trembling and dry crackling”. Everything suggests that the ship with the symbolic name “Atlantis” is approaching the “gate of two worlds” and its wreck. At the level of symbols, the author speaks about the death of all modern civilization and humanity. The story “Mr. from San Francisco” can be called a parable about modern civilization and man, their present and future fate.

I. Bunin is one of the few figures of Russian culture appreciated abroad. In 1933 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature "for the rigorous skill with which he develops the traditions of Russian classical prose." One can have different attitudes towards the personality and views of this writer, but his mastery in the field of fine literature is undeniable, so his works are, at a minimum, worthy of our attention. One of them, “Mr. from San Francisco,” received such a high rating from the jury awarding the most prestigious prize in the world.

An important quality for a writer is observation, because from the most fleeting episodes and impressions you can create a whole work. Bunin accidentally saw the cover of Thomas Mann’s book “Death in Venice” in a store, and a few months later, when he came to visit his cousin, he remembered this title and connected it with an even older memory: the death of an American on the island of Capri, where the author himself was vacationing. This is how one of Bunin’s best stories turned out, and not just a story, but a whole philosophical parable.

This literary work was enthusiastically received by critics, and the writer’s extraordinary talent was compared with the gift of L.N. Tolstoy and A.P. Chekhov. After this, Bunin stood with the venerable experts on words and the human soul on the same level. His work is so symbolic and eternal that it will never lose its philosophical focus and relevance. And in the age of the power of money and market relations, it is doubly useful to remember what a life inspired only by accumulation leads to.

What a story?

The main character, who does not have a name (he is simply a gentleman from San Francisco), has spent his entire life increasing his wealth, and at the age of 58 he decided to devote time to rest (and at the same time to his family). They set off on the ship Atlantis on their entertaining journey. All passengers are immersed in idleness, but the service staff works tirelessly to provide all these breakfasts, lunches, dinners, teas, card games, dances, liqueurs and cognacs. The stay of tourists in Naples is also monotonous, only museums and cathedrals are added to their program. However, the weather is not kind to tourists: December in Naples turned out to be stormy. Therefore, the Master and his family rush to the island of Capri, pleasing with warmth, where they check into the same hotel and are already preparing for routine “entertainment” activities: eating, sleeping, chatting, looking for a groom for their daughter. But suddenly the death of the main character bursts into this “idyll”. He died suddenly while reading a newspaper.

And this is where the main idea of ​​the story is revealed to the reader: that in the face of death everyone is equal: neither wealth nor power will save you from it. This Gentleman, who only recently wasted money, spoke contemptuously to the servants and accepted their respectful bows, is lying in a cramped and cheap room, respect has disappeared somewhere, his family is being kicked out of the hotel, because his wife and daughter will leave “trifles” at the box office. And so his body is taken back to America in a soda box, because even a coffin cannot be found in Capri. But he is already traveling in the hold, hidden from high-ranking passengers. And no one really grieves, because no one can use the dead man’s money.

Meaning of the name

At first, Bunin wanted to call his story “Death on Capri” by analogy with the title that inspired him, “Death in Venice” (the writer read this book later and rated it as “unpleasant”). But after writing the first line, he crossed out this title and named the work by the “name” of the hero.

From the first page, the writer’s attitude towards the Master is clear; for him, he is faceless, colorless and soulless, so he did not even receive a name. He is the master, the top of the social hierarchy. But all this power is fleeting and fragile, the author reminds. The hero, useless to society, who has not done a single good deed in 58 years and thinks only of himself, remains after death only an unknown gentleman, about whom they only know that he is a rich American.

Characteristics of heroes

There are few characters in the story: the gentleman from San Francisco as a symbol of eternal fussy hoarding, his wife, depicting gray respectability, and their daughter, symbolizing the desire for this respectability.

1. The gentleman “worked tirelessly” all his life, but these were the hands of the Chinese, who were hired by the thousands and died just as abundantly in hard service. Other people generally mean little to him, the main thing is profit, wealth, power, savings. It was they who gave him the opportunity to travel, live at the highest level and not care about those around him who were less fortunate in life. However, nothing saved the hero from death; you can’t take the money to the next world. And respect, bought and sold, quickly turns into dust: after his death nothing changed, the celebration of life, money and idleness continued, even the last tribute to the dead had no one to worry about. The body travels through authorities, it is nothing, just another piece of luggage that is thrown into the hold, hidden from “decent society.”
2. The hero's wife lived a monotonous, philistine life, but with chic: without any special problems or difficulties, no worries, just a lazily stretching string of idle days. Nothing impressed her; she was always completely calm, probably having forgotten how to think in the routine of idleness. She is only concerned about the future of her daughter: she needs to find her a respectable and profitable match, so that she too can comfortably float with the flow all her life.
3. The daughter did her best to portray innocence and at the same time frankness, attracting suitors. This is what interested her most. A meeting with an ugly, strange and uninteresting man, but a prince, plunged the girl into excitement. Perhaps this was one of the last strong feelings in her life, and then the future of her mother awaited her. However, some emotions still remained in the girl: she alone foresaw trouble (“her heart was suddenly squeezed by melancholy, a feeling of terrible loneliness on this strange, dark island”) and cried for her father.

Main themes

Life and death, routine and exclusivity, wealth and poverty, beauty and ugliness - these are the main themes of the story. They immediately reflect the philosophical orientation of the author's intention. He encourages readers to think about themselves: are we not chasing something frivolously small, are we getting bogged down in routine, missing out on true beauty? After all, a life in which there is no time to think about oneself, one’s place in the Universe, in which there is no time to look at the surrounding nature, people and notice something good in them, is lived in vain. And you can’t fix a life you’ve lived in vain, and you can’t buy a new one for any money. Death will come anyway, you can’t hide from it and you can’t pay off it, so you need to have time to do something really worthwhile, something so that you will be remembered with a kind word, and not indifferently thrown into the hold. Therefore, it is worth thinking about everyday life, which makes thoughts banal and feelings faded and weak, about wealth that is not worth the effort, about beauty, in the corruption of which lies ugliness.

The wealth of the “masters of life” is contrasted with the poverty of people who live equally ordinary lives, but suffer poverty and humiliation. Servants who secretly imitate their masters, but grovel before them to their faces. Masters who treat their servants as inferior creatures, but grovel before even richer and more noble persons. A couple hired on a steamship to play passionate love. The Master's daughter, feigning passion and trepidation to lure the prince. All this dirty, low pretense, although presented in a luxurious wrapper, is contrasted with the eternal and pure beauty of nature.

Main problems

The main problem of this story is the search for the meaning of life. How should you spend your short earthly vigil not in vain, how to leave behind something important and valuable for others? Everyone sees their purpose in their own way, but no one should forget that a person’s spiritual baggage is more important than his material one. Although at all times they have said that in modern times all eternal values ​​have been lost, every time this is not true. Both Bunin and other writers remind us, readers, that life without harmony and inner beauty is not life, but a miserable existence.

The problem of the transience of life is also raised by the author. After all, the gentleman from San Francisco spent his mental strength, made money and made money, postponing some simple joys, real emotions for later, but this “later” never began. This happens to many people who are mired in everyday life, routine, problems, and affairs. Sometimes you just need to stop, pay attention to loved ones, nature, friends, and feel the beauty in your surroundings. After all, tomorrow may not come.

The meaning of the story

It is not for nothing that the story is called a parable: it has a very instructive message and is intended to give a lesson to the reader. The main idea of ​​the story is the injustice of class society. Most of it survives on bread and water, while the elite waste their lives mindlessly. The writer states the moral squalor of the existing order, because most of the “masters of life” achieved their wealth by dishonest means. Such people bring only evil, just as the Master from San Francisco pays and ensures the death of Chinese workers. The death of the main character emphasizes the author's thoughts. No one is interested in this recently so influential man, because his money no longer gives him power, and he has not committed any respectable and outstanding deeds.

The idleness of these rich people, their effeminacy, perversion, insensitivity to something living and beautiful proves the accident and injustice of their high position. This fact is hidden behind the description of the leisure time of tourists on the ship, their entertainment (the main one is lunch), costumes, relationships with each other (the origin of the prince whom the main character’s daughter met makes her fall in love).

Composition and genre

"The Gentleman from San Francisco" can be seen as a parable story. Most people know what a story (a short piece of prose containing plot, conflict, and one main storyline) is, but how can we characterize a parable? A parable is a small allegorical text that guides the reader on the right path. Therefore, the work in terms of plot and form is a story, and in terms of philosophy and content it is a parable.

Compositionally, the story is divided into two large parts: the journey of the Master from San Francisco from the New World and the stay of the body in the hold on the way back. The culmination of the work is the death of the hero. Before this, describing the steamship Atlantis and tourist places, the author gives the story an anxious mood of anticipation. In this part, a sharply negative attitude towards the Master is striking. But death deprived him of all privileges and equated his remains with luggage, so Bunin softens and even sympathizes with him. It also describes the island of Capri, its nature and local people; these lines are filled with beauty and understanding of the beauty of nature.

Symbols

The work is replete with symbols that confirm Bunin’s thoughts. The first of them is the steamship Atlantis, on which an endless celebration of luxurious life reigns, but there is a storm outside, a storm, even the ship itself is shaking. So at the beginning of the twentieth century, the whole society was seething, experiencing a social crisis, only the indifferent bourgeois continued the feast during the plague.

The island of Capri symbolizes real beauty (that’s why the description of its nature and inhabitants is covered in warm colors): a “joyful, beautiful, sunny” country filled with “fairy blue”, majestic mountains, the beauty of which cannot be conveyed in human language. The existence of our American family and people like them is a pathetic parody of life.

Features of the work

Figurative language and bright landscapes are inherent in Bunin’s creative style; the artist’s mastery of words is reflected in this story. At first he creates an anxious mood, the reader expects that, despite the splendor of the rich environment around the Master, something irreparable will soon happen. Later, the tension is erased by natural sketches written in soft strokes, reflecting love and admiration for beauty.

The second feature is the philosophical and topical content. Bunin castigates the meaninglessness of the existence of the elite of society, its spoiling, disrespect for other people. It was because of this bourgeoisie, cut off from the life of the people and having fun at their expense, that two years later a bloody revolution broke out in the writer’s homeland. Everyone felt that something needed to be changed, but no one did anything, which is why so much blood was shed, so many tragedies happened in those difficult times. And the theme of searching for the meaning of life does not lose relevance, which is why the story still interests the reader 100 years later.

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