In literature in general, and in Russian literature in particular, the problem of the relationship between man and the world around him occupies a significant place. Personality and environment, individual and society - many Russians thought about this writers XIX century. The fruits of these reflections were reflected in many stable formulations, for example in the well-known phrase “Wednesday has eaten.” There has been a noticeable increase in interest in this topic in late XIX- the beginning of the 20th century, in a turning point era for Russia. In the spirit of humanistic traditions inherited from the past, Alexander Kuprin considers this issue, using all the artistic means that have become an achievement of the turn of the century.
The work of this writer was for a long time, as it were, in the shadows, overshadowed by bright representatives of his contemporaries. Today, the works of A. Kuprin are of great interest. They attract the reader with their simplicity, humanity, and democracy in the noblest sense of the word. The world of A. Kuprin’s heroes is motley and diverse. He himself lived a bright life, filled with diverse impressions - he was a military man, a clerk, a land surveyor, and an actor in a traveling circus troupe. A. Kuprin said many times that he does not understand writers who do not find anything more interesting than themselves in nature and people. The writer is very interested in human destinies, while the heroes of his works are most often not successful, successful people, satisfied with themselves and life, but rather the opposite. But A. Kuprin treats his outwardly unsightly and unlucky heroes with the warmth and humanity that has always distinguished Russian writers. In the characters of the stories " White poodle", "Taper", "Gambrinus", as well as many others, the features of " little man“However, the writer does not simply reproduce this type, but reinterprets it anew.
Let's reveal very famous story Kupri-na "Garnet Bracelet", written in 1911. Its plot is based on a real event - the love of telegraph official P. P. Zheltkov for the wife of an important official, member of the State Council Lyubimov. This story is mentioned by Lyubimov’s son, the author of famous memoirs Lev Lyubimov. In life, everything ended differently than in A. Kuprin’s story -. the official accepted the bracelet and stopped writing letters; nothing more was known about him. The Lyubimov family remembered this incident as strange and curious. Under the pen of the writer, the story turned into a sad and tragic story about the life of a little man who was elevated and destroyed by love. This is conveyed through the composition of the work. It gives an extensive, leisurely introduction, which introduces us to the exposition of the Sheyny house. The very story of extraordinary love, the story garnet bracelet told in such a way that we see through her eyes different people: Prince Vasily, who tells it as an anecdotal incident, brother Nikolai, for whom everything in this story seems offensive and suspicious, Vera Nikolaevna herself and, finally, General Anosov, who was the first to suggest that here , perhaps, lies true love, “which women dream about and which men are no longer capable of.” The circle to which Vera Nikolaevna belongs cannot admit that this is a real feeling, not so much because of the strangeness of Zheltkov’s behavior, but because of the prejudices that control them. Kuprin, wanting to convince us, the readers, of the authenticity of Zheltkov’s love, resorts to the most irrefutable argument - the hero’s suicide. In this way, the little man’s right to happiness is affirmed, and the motive of his moral superiority over the people who so cruelly insulted him, who failed to understand the strength of the feeling that was the whole meaning of his life, arises.
Kuprin's story is both sad and bright. It permeates him musical beginning- indicated as an epigraph musical composition, - and the story ends with a scene when the heroine listens to music at a tragic moment of moral insight for her. The text of the work includes the theme of the inevitability of the death of the main character - it is conveyed through the symbolism of light: at the moment of receiving the bracelet, Vera Nikolaevna sees red stones in it and thinks with alarm that they look like blood. Finally, the theme of the clash of different cultural traditions arises in the story: the theme of the east - the Mongolian blood of the father of Vera and Anna, the Tatar prince, introduces into the story the theme of love-passion, recklessness; the mention that the sisters’ mother is English introduces the theme of rationality, dispassion in the sphere of feelings, and the power of the mind over the heart. In the final part of the story, a third line appears: it is no coincidence that the landlady turns out to be a Catholic. This introduces into the work the theme of love-admiration, which is surrounded by Catholicism. mother of God, love-self-sacrifice.
A. Kuprin’s hero, a little man, faces the world of misunderstanding around him, the world of people for whom love is a kind of madness, and, faced with it, dies.
In the wonderful story "Olesya" we see poetic image a girl who grew up in the hut of an old “witch”, outside the usual norms of a peasant family. Olesya’s love for the intellectual Ivan Timofeevich, who accidentally visited a remote forest village, is a free, simple and strong feeling, without looking back or obligations, among tall pines, painted with the crimson glow of the dying dawn. The girl's story ends tragically. Olesya’s free life is invaded by the selfish calculations of village officials and the superstitions of ignorant peasants. Beaten and molested, Olesya and Manuilikha are forced to flee from the forest nest.
In Kuprin's works, many heroes have similar traits - spiritual purity, dreaminess, ardent imagination, combined with impracticality and lack of will. And they reveal themselves most clearly in love. All heroes treat women with filial purity and reverence. Willingness to give in for the sake of a beloved woman, romantic worship, knightly service to her - and at the same time underestimating oneself, disbelief in one’s own strength. Men in Kuprin's stories seem to change places with women. These are the energetic, strong-willed “Polessia sorceress” Olesya and the “kind, but only weak” Ivan Timofeevich, the smart, calculating Shurochka Nikolaevna and the “pure, sweet, but weak and pitiful” second lieutenant Romashov. All these are Kuprin’s heroes with a fragile soul, caught in a cruel world.
Kuprin’s excellent story “Gambrinus,” created in the troubled year of 1907, breathes the atmosphere of revolutionary days. The theme of all-conquering art is intertwined here with the idea of democracy, the bold protest of the “little man” against the black forces of arbitrariness and reaction. Meek and cheerful Sashka, with his extraordinary talent as a violinist and sincerity, attracts a diverse crowd of longshoremen, fishermen, and smugglers to the Odessa tavern. They greet with delight the melodies, which seem to be the background, as if reflecting public moods and events - from Russo-Japanese War to the rebellious days of the revolution, when Sashka’s violin sounds with the cheerful rhythms of “Marseilles”. In the days of the onset of terror, Sashka challenges the disguised detectives and the black-hundred “scoundrels in a fur hat,” refusing to play the monarchist anthem at their request, openly denouncing them of murders and pogroms.
Crippled by the tsarist secret police, he returns to his port friends to play for them on the outskirts the tunes of the deafeningly cheerful “Shepherd.” Free creativity, power folk spirit, according to Kuprin, are invincible.
Returning to the question posed at the beginning - “man and the world around him” - we note that in Russian prose of the early 20th century a wide range of answers to it is presented. We have considered only one of the options - the tragic collision of a person with the world around him, his insight and death, but not a senseless death, but containing an element of purification and high meaning.
One of the most controversial issues is the connection between man and nature. Despite the fact that human society has become quite separated from the wild environment, man and nature are still indivisible concepts. Connection with nature has a beneficial effect on a person: one who lives in harmony with the world around him cannot but possess inner beauty.
The true connection between the human world and the natural world is perfectly described by A.
I. Kuprin in his story “Olesya”. Herself main character works - an image of a morally pure, innocent soul, associated, first of all, with forest nature. She feels subtly the world, which endowed her with naturalness and originality. But one of the key roles in the story goes to landscapes. Let's turn to the plot of the work. The arrival of Ivan Timofeevich is accompanied by very calm, windless and cold weather. Winter landscapes seem to show the cold nature of Ivan Timofeevich, which Olesya also noted. Another landscape is a blooming and cheerful spring, which has become the personification of the emergence of the protagonist’s warm feelings for Olesya. “And this whole night merged into some kind of magical, enchanting fairy tale. The moon has risen, and its radiance is fancifully colorful and mysteriously blossomed the forest” - this is how the hero sees nature on a moonlit summer night, when a feeling of love covered him like a wave. Thanks to colorful descriptions of nature, the author managed to convey the inner experiences of the characters, their feelings and emotions at certain moments, therefore it is nature that plays the most important role in this work.
In addition to Kuprin, he is close to nature great writer I. A. Bunin. As A. A. Blok said: “Few people know how to love nature as Bunin can. Bunin's world is a world of visual and sound impressions. It is impossible not to agree with the words of A. A. Blok. Bunin pays great attention visual perception surrounding nature, as well as the sense of smell. This is clearly visible in the work “Antonov Apples”, in which Bunin skillfully conveys not only the figurative splendor of nature, but also the colorfulness of smells. It's the smell Antonov apples makes him mentally return to his childhood. In addition, the author is especially close to the theme of nature native land and its influence on humans. Bunin loves Russian nature very much, eagerly observes it and conveys its beauty to readers in great detail. Therefore, I believe that it is quite difficult to imagine a writer who knows more colors of life than Bunin and fills his works with a bright palette. Perhaps this was Bunin’s innovation in Russian literature.
Thus, nature in the works of Russian writers, namely A.I. Kuprin, is a mirror of the soul of the main characters, helping the reader to realize the strong relationship between man and nature.
In the 90s XIX century appeared in Russian literature whole line new writers, in whose work a tendency towards realism was clearly visible. Aware of all the shortcomings and vices of society, these writers objectively illuminated them in their works, exposed the very foundations public relations. Expressing a strong protest against social evil and violence, writers and poets sought to find high ideals and tried to artistically explore and rethink the era. One of the brightest representatives of this trend is Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin. He went down in the history of Russian literature as a singer of the brightest and healthiest human feelings. The reality that Kuprin described in his works determined in most cases tragic motives. But with all this, in his stories and stories one can feel a kind of cheerful, optimistic worldview. Optimism and faith in life human soul, which, in my opinion, were most clearly manifested in the story “Olesya”, prompted him to search for the ideal of a certain “natural man”.
In this work, Kuprin delves into the sphere folk life, showing, as always, unique skill psychological analysis. The author had deep sympathy for the ordinary Russian person, seeing in him the origins of the spiritual revival of the entire Russian people. That’s why he recreates with such light and rainbow colors, with such tenderness and love psychological picture main character.
A large role in understanding this image is played by her portrait, which fully reflects the external and internal characteristics of Olesya, in their unity and direct connection. Before us is “a tall brunette of about twenty to twenty-five years old” who “carried easily and slenderly.” “The original beauty of her face, once seen, could not be forgotten, but it was difficult, even having gotten used to it, to describe it. Its charm lay in those large, shiny, dark eyes, to which the thin eyebrows, broken in the middle, gave an elusive shade of slyness and authority and naivety; in the dark-pink tone of the skin, in the peculiar curve of the lips, of which the lower one, somewhat fuller, protruded forward with a decisive and capricious appearance." This portrait alone distinguishes the heroine from all other residents of the village, contrasting her with the local “girls”, “whose faces, under ugly bandages covering the forehead on top, and the mouth and chin below, wear such a monotonous, frightened expression.” With the skill of a real psychologist, the writer also depicts Olesya’s inner world, which is so different from the inner world of other heroes.
Carefully analyzing the relationships between people, the author shows the different states of thoughts and feelings of the characters. The heroes of the story, with all the differences in characters and feelings, are similar in one thing - it’s as if there is a stamp on them general ill-being, and as a result - spiritual emptiness. And all these people, united by a common stinginess of feelings, emptiness of soul, joylessness of life, cannot and do not want to understand and accept the “forest witch” Olesya, calling her a “witch”, “devil”, blaming her and her grandmother for all imaginable and inconceivable misfortunes , although the residents themselves (and no one else!) are to blame for all their troubles. And Olesya is a pure and bright girl, endowed with a sensitive soul, capable of truly empathizing, loving, rejoicing and being sad. She can even sacrifice herself if her nature, her heart, her feelings and beliefs require it. Only she deserves real happiness, which, unfortunately, real life cannot last forever for her.
According to Kuprin’s firm conviction, only a natural life in the lap of nature, such as Olesya led, close communication with her harmonious world can preserve and educate the human soul unclouded, unspoiled, sincere and beautiful. The desire to fully reveal spiritual world Everything in Kuprin's story is subordinated to the daughter of the forests Olesya.
The author assigns a special role to the description of the rich, beautiful, untouched natural world of Polesie. The surrounding nature lives its full, rich, constantly changing life. And the main thing in this world is absolute harmony, brightness and fullness of feelings. It is the feelings of the heroes that are designed to emphasize all natural phenomena. And nature itself comes to life under the writer’s pen: “foaming angrily,” streams run, “quickly spinning chips and goose down", deep puddles reflect the boundless blue sky with “round, as if spinning, white clouds,” “ringing drops” pour from the roofs, filling everything around with a magical sound, and the sparrows scream “so loudly and excitedly that nothing can be heard ... behind their cry.” Everywhere in the natural world one can feel the “joyful, hasty anxiety of life.”
It is nature and the attitude towards it that appears in the story as a kind of criterion of human feelings. Only the man with the rich inner world Capable of sincere, real feelings, he can see the beauty of the world around him and feel like an integral part of it. Kuprin’s hero also has such a rich inner world, a pure and bright soul. Therefore, along with the spring air, he inhales “spring sadness, sweet and tender, full of restless expectations and vague forebodings.” And along with this air, the image of the beautiful Olesya appears in his mind’s eye.
Against the backdrop of nature, which sees everything, understands everything and keeps all human secrets, major events stories. It is nature that illuminates the most beautiful moments in the lives of the heroes. The night that the young people spend together, when they forget about everything, enjoying their happiness, merges “into some kind of magical, enchanting fairy tale.” “The moon has risen, and its radiance, intricately variegated and mysteriously colored the forest, lay in the midst of the darkness in uneven, bluish-pale spots on gnarled trunks, on curved branches, on moss soft like a plush carpet.
The thin trunks of the birches turned white sharply and distinctly, and their sparse foliage seemed to be covered with silvery, transparent, gaseous covers. In some places the light did not penetrate at all under the thick canopy of pine branches... And we walked, hugging, among this smiling living legend, without a single word, suppressed by our happiness and the eerie silence of the forest.”
And yet, with all the immensity of their happiness, the love of the heroes is doomed. It simply cannot be otherwise in a world where people’s feelings die, where hearts are hardened under the influence of external circumstances.
The tragedy of their love is that they risked remaining themselves in this world, keeping their souls intact and pure. And the world, which at one time rejected Olesya and her grandmother, dooms both the heroine and her love to death. The author also depicts the tragedy of the heroes and the death of their happiness against the backdrop of a raging natural disaster. Nature senses imminent grief and bursts into thunderstorms: “Lightning flashed almost continuously, and the peals of thunder shook and rattled the glass in the windows of my room.” And as if to confirm the irreparable disaster that had happened, “a huge piece of ice suddenly hit one of the glasses with such force that it broke, and its fragments scattered with a ringing sound across the floor of the room.” It would seem that the angry “hulk” is winning. But in reality she doesn't have the strength to overcome real feelings, true love. Because a crowd of soulless, empty people cannot defeat nature itself.
A unique artist of words, A. I. Kuprin fascinates with the accuracy, clarity and noble simplicity of transformation psychological life of people. He has a simple and surprisingly wise magic of words. A master of language, a master of plot and composition, a master in depicting nature and human feelings, the writer left us a legacy that, in artistic terms, is a worthy example of Russian classics.
The theme of love is one of the most popular among writers and poets. Many stories, novels, poems have been written about love, staged great amount plays. I especially liked the work by A.I. Kuprin called “Olesya”.
Love is a feeling to which any person is subject, regardless of whether he is a gentleman or a peasant, whether he is rich or poor, old or young. Love can arise immediately or over time. It makes people suffer without each other, makes them unhappy when they are far away from each other. In the work "Olesya" Kuprin shows how strong love can be. The story tells how master Ivan Timofeevich falls in love with a girl: the daughter of a sorceress, a witch. Their feelings are mutual. It would seem that the master and the girl, who is much lower than him in social status, has no education, lives in the forest, far from people. How could a noble, intelligent, educated person fall in love with Olesya?. But love does not choose, it is very brings people together, regardless of their position in society, changes them in better side.When lovers are together, there is no limit to happiness, they try to do something pleasant for each other, but when they part, a feeling of melancholy and boredom sets in. In the text, the author Special attention devotes specifically to the description of how the meetings between Ivan Timofeevich and Olesya took place, how good they were together. They met in the forest, away from other people. Trofimov liked the fact that Olesya was different from other girls, she was not like the others. she had something to argue about, to speculate about, although she had no education, did not even know how to read. And what she liked about Ivan Timofeevich was that he was very well-read and smart. This is how love is born. Lovers begin to mistake even shortcomings for advantages. Moreover but their fears disappeared. After a month, their love only strengthened. Both Panych and Olesya could not be without each other for a long time. The girl knew that their happiness would not last long and would end in shame for her, but the feelings were stronger. She did not stop Olesya and the fear of people, and the curse imposed, in her opinion, on their family. The girl, therefore, wanted to do something nice to her loved one, to make him happy. As often happens, fate separates truly loving people, and this is what happened in story "Olesya". The girl's trip to church ended unsuccessfully. People beat her, and she, in turn, "prophesied" trouble for them out of spite. Therefore, any troubles that happened in the villages would be associated with this prophecy and would not allow Olesya to live in peace and her grandmother. That’s why they had to leave. Ivan Timofeevich’s business trip was also coming to an end. Perhaps they will meet again someday and be happy. In memory of their love, Olesya left Trofimov beautiful red beads, a symbol of eternal love.
Love is the most powerful feeling. Thanks to the existence of love, a person changes into the best side his old fears disappear, he is able to accomplish a feat. The world rests on love, love makes us all better.
Sincerely, Alexander!
(356 words)
What is an individual person in the endless network of social relations? This is the main element of society that constantly interacts with it. From childhood we socialize, adapt and live according to the rules that society dictates to us. It is no coincidence that the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle called man a “social animal.” But society does not always have a beneficial effect on the individual; sometimes, under its influence, he loses his individuality and more.
Thus, in Kuprin’s story “Olesya,” the heroine becomes a victim of social prejudice. The peasants believe that she is a witch because she lives in the forest and collects medicinal herbs. People hate the poor girl just because she is different from them. In an attempt to get closer to the team for the sake of her lover, she leaves the secluded region and goes to church. Then the crowd attacked her and almost killed her. This is how an attempt to enter the system of social relations almost ended in tragedy for the heroine, and such treatment often forces a person to submit to pressure and become the same as everyone else. Flight saved Olesya from such a fate, but not everyone can use this radical method.
The inhabitants of the shelter, the heroes of Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths,” have nowhere to run. If we consider each of them separately, then we have before us a good person, and nothing in his life foreshadowed such a fate. But all together the people of the bottom formed a cesspool from which none of them could escape. For example, Satin was a successful and prosperous person until he punished his sister’s offender, resulting in a prison sentence. Even there, the man retained his dignity, served his sentence, but when he was free, he discovered that he was no longer considered a human being, and society normal people turned away from him. In order not to die of hunger, he could only continue to walk along the crooked path. Yes, alone social group she ruined him with her indifference, and the other pulled him into her vicious net, not allowing him to cleanse himself. Satin is a victim of a society that thinks in prejudices and stereotypes.
So, situations often arise when a person is not able to live normally in the existing system of social relations. Sometimes he struggles with the point of view and behavior of the majority, but most often he forgets about personal opinion and broadcasts collective attitudes. However, of course, people should strive to change society for the better, without being afraid of reproaches and censures from it. Only then can progress be made.
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