In his works, Bunin often speaks with cold contempt about the meaninglessness of the world and human dreams, about the illusory and deceitful nature of the goals to which a person strives and to which he devotes his existence. The writer notes with bitterness that life is separated from death by a very weak partition. This is what the story “Mr. from San Francisco” is about.
Bunin does not give his hero a name. This is not necessary. He is the same as thousands of other rich and self-satisfied people. His image is typical. The hero is fifty-eight years old, but he is just beginning to live, because for many years“only existed”, doing only one thing - increasing his own capital. He worked tirelessly, and this was the only meaning of his life. Now he is firmly confident in his right to rest, the right to finally begin to enjoy life, look around, and reward himself for his years of work. Appearance the Atlantis passenger and the environment around him speak eloquently about his social status: tuxedo, starched linen, bottle of wine, glasses made of the finest glass, bouquet of hyacinths. The service staff is ready from morning to evening to anticipate the slightest desires of this respectable, and also generous, gentleman. They “guarded his cleanliness and peace, carried his things, called porters for him, delivered his chests to hotels. It was like this everywhere,” notes the author. When they rushed to the gentleman with an offer of services, he only grinned arrogantly and calmly said through his teeth: “Get out!” On the island of Capri, a wealthy traveler is greeted as a particularly important person. Everyone is fussing around him, everything around him comes to life, is filled with movement and even delight. Glitter and chic - this is the atmosphere surrounding the visitor from San Francisco at this stage of his journey.
But something terrible happens: the hero dies. Like mere mortals, she came to him unexpectedly and suddenly, regardless of his financial condition, prospects for the future, dreams and plans. The author again gives a portrait of his hero. But this is no longer the same person who just recently amazed those around him with his external polish. Bunin provides the reader with a merciless picture of death: “his neck tensed, his eyes bulged, his pince-nez flew off.”nose....the lower jaw fell off....the head fell overover his shoulder and wrapped around him, the chest of his shirt stuck out like a box - and his whole body, writhing, lifting up the carpet with his heels, crawled to the floor... He shook his head, wheezed as if he had been stabbed to death, rolled his eyes like a drunk.”
A. T. Tvardovsky wonderfully revealed the meaning of this episode: “In the face of love and death, according to Bunin, the social, class, and property lines that separate people are erased by themselves—everyone is equal before them... Nameless gentleman from San Francisco dies, having just got ready to have a good lunch in the restaurant of a first-class hotel on the warm sea coast. But death is equally terrible in its inevitability.”
Death is cruel to the hero. What about people? Those who not long ago sought to please the Lord’s every whim? They take his body “to the smallest, worst, dampest and coldest” room and place him on a cheap iron bed. For them, the guest from San Francisco is no longer interesting, his tragic death is not a grief, but a nuisance that they are ready to eliminate by any means for the sake of gentlemen who are just like him recently, capricious and demanding respect. And where did their recent courtesy, with which they looked into the hero’s eyes just a few minutes ago, go? They try to get rid of the body as quickly as possible and at any cost, and instead of a coffin, large long soda boxes are used for it. The gentleman is no longer traveling back as a first-class passenger, but as a burdensome cargo, carelessly thrown in a black hold, into which he ended up only after spending a week “from one barn to another,” “having experienced a lot of humiliation, a lot of human inattention.” During this time, no one thought that someone’s life was cut short, that the person lived for something, loved someone, rejoiced at something, strived for something. The power of the gentleman from San Francisco, as A. T. Tvardovsky argued, turns out to be ephemeral in the face of the same mortal outcome for everyone.
The story "Mr. from San Francisco" was written by I.A. Bunin in 1915. The story is based on the author's general impression of his journey and seems to hint at social collapse throughout the world. Bunin specifically does not name the main character, presenting us with a generalized image. Initially, the title of the story was “Death on Capri,” but in the process of working on the work, Bunin abandoned the title containing the word “death.”
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Despite this, the feeling of imminent death appears from the very first words of the epigraph.
The story tells about last days the life of a wealthy American gentleman who, at the age of 58, decided to start living. Just to start, because he worked all this time, trying to provide himself with a decent old age. He believed that life was about relaxation and pleasure, which he deserved, so he carefully planned the route of the trip, which in turn was stupid obedience to the schedule.
And almost immediately everything goes wrong main character. And besides, there was something artificial about its existence, where not only every movement of the passengers was painted, but also their emotions. This is where the dissonance between the opinions of the main character and the author is clearly shown. Such an existence cannot be called a full life. The hero lives only for a moment, and then fighting death.
The further picture is predictable. If at the beginning the hero himself has fun, talking with people of the highest circle and watching false lovers, then even after the death of the master, this same upper circle continues to waste its life, now without the main character, whose body rests deep under them.
"Mr. from San Francisco" is full of symbolism. The coffin in the hold is a message to those who are having fun, meaning that all people are equal before death, and their money cannot help them in their last painful minutes. Their happiness is in fact not happiness at all; their worldview cannot compare with the vision of the world of ordinary poor mountaineers.
The idea of the work is not just a story about the death of a rich man. The money he accumulated, his rank did not have greater value. That's what's important. Bunin reveals in his story his own vision of the meaning of life, and this meaning clearly does not lie in the acquisition of wealth and fame.
The hero is called a master because this is his essence. At least that’s what he thinks, and that’s why he revels in his position. He represents the society that destroys all living things in humanity, forcing us to invent a schedule for ourselves, blindly follow it and smile coyly in feigned pleasure. There is nothing spiritual in such a society; its goal is to be rich and enjoy this wealth. But this has never made anyone truly happy.
"Atlantis" is a ship carrying this society to new pleasures; The ocean on which the ship sails is an element beyond the control of even the richest people, capable of instantly destroying the plans of a “dead society” and sending it to the bottom. And at the bottom the society will be waiting for a gentleman from San Francisco. "Atlantis", in fact, is going nowhere, carrying with it a blind society of callous people.
The main problem of the story “Mr. from San Francisco” is a dead society that can only boast of its money in front of everyone and live according to a schedule drawn up by an equally insensitive, inanimate person. In his diary, Bunin wrote the following: “I cried while writing the end.”
What was he crying over? Over the sad fate of a gentleman who had just begun to live: Over his family, now left without a breadwinner? After all, now they will have to look for a groom so that the master’s daughter can continue her boring life, as the schedule dictates. I think that the author was saddened by the fate of the “dead” society, their way of life and impartiality to the grief of others; their callousness and insensitivity. That's the problem modern society, just like many years ago.
Updated: 2014-06-04
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Those who have them own everything. They can buy love, loyalty, devotion and friendship. They have the right to enjoy the beauty of Italian nature, ancient monuments, and listen to the serenades of wandering singers. They can do anything. A certain gentleman from San Francisco believed in this for so long, whose problem began in his youth, when the love of money took over his entire being so much that his life was interrupted before it even began. He never knew in what naive delusion he lived for fifty-eight years.
Faceless Mr.
He has neither a name nor appearance. The author does not endow him with any characteristic features in behavior and does not put words into his mouth. The story “Mr. from San Francisco” is a symbolic parable about the frailty of life. It even serves as a symbol main character. This gentleman is nothing more than the personification of money-grubbing and greed.
Little has been said about him. But it is known that he is rich. For many years he worked, earned and saved so that one day he could start living. A gentleman from San Francisco owns everything you need for entertainment, relaxation and long trips. The only problem is that while he was striving for the heights of prosperity, he forgot how to relax and have fun.
The hero of Bunin's novel goes on a long voyage. His plans include visiting Italian cities, all kinds of entertainment and the services of corrupt women. He is not aware of why he needs all this, but he knows exactly how it needs to be done. A rich American will drink expensive wine, dance, eat delicacies, and then enjoy the beauty of the Capriana landscape. All rich Americans do this. And also Germans, French, Italians. In short, everyone who has money.
"Atlantis"
A gentleman from San Francisco sets off on a fabulous journey on a famous comfortable ship. The problem with Atlantis, and the mentioned steamship is named after it, is that it sank. This mythical state was swallowed up by the sea in a matter of hours. And, descending into the hold of the ship, Bunin’s character seems to be descending into the underworld. The name of the ship was not chosen by chance by the author. It symbolizes imminent and sudden death.
Hired actors
There is pretense and hypocrisy all around. The rich gentleman has lived in a world of lies for so long that he has forgotten what the truth looks like. He sincerely believes in the kindness towards him on the part of all those faceless characters who feed him, carry his numerous suitcases and try in every possible way to please. The gentleman from San Francisco cannot help but admire the sight of a happy couple in love on the deck of a ship. The problem with these people is that they are just hired actors trying their best to earn their money and create the right mood. Hardly any of the passengers know how long they have been sailing on this ship, and how tired they are of playing this role. In the story “Mr. from San Francisco,” these characters are included as a symbol of feigned insincere joy, pretense, and props.
Island of Capri
Ivan Bunin puts the emotions of the main character and his thoughts into such a dry and laconic form that the reader has doubts as to whether this American gentleman is a living person. His plans for the upcoming vacation are presented somehow detachedly and more like a clear scheme of actions. So literary device the writer conveys the poor spiritual world of the main character, for whom life has become something unknown, and simple human joys are inaccessible. The landscape is described in a completely different style. It is colorful and bright. The author spares no comparisons and metaphors. After all, the landscape in Bunin’s story is life in all its colors and diversity.
The system of artistic and philosophical symbols is represented by the short story “Mr. from San Francisco”. Its content is a contrast between greed, love of money and the beauty of the world around us, everything that a person can see if he so desires. But none of the characters are associated with beautiful sides human existence. This is evidenced by the events that follow the death of the main character.
Death
It overtakes the hero suddenly. And everything that surrounded him during his life - respect, honor, ingratiation - disappears. In return, irritation, annoyance and even rudeness appear.
Bunin's story "Mr. from San Francisco" is a work of philosophical and symbolic prose. The idea that underlies it was, is and will always be relevant.
I. Bunin is one of the few figures of Russian culture appreciated abroad. In 1933 he was awarded Nobel Prize in literature “For the strict 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 cousin, remembered this name and connected it with an even more distant 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 venerable experts on words and human soul in one row. 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 is the story about?
The main character, who does not have a name (he is just a gentleman from San Francisco), spent his whole 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 service personnel 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 it opens up to the reader main idea the story that in the face of death everyone is equal: neither wealth nor power can 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.
- 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 heavy 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 there was no one to worry about the last tribute to the dead. The body travels through authorities, it is nothing, just another piece of luggage that is thrown into the hold, hidden from “decent society.”
- 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.
- The daughter did her best to portray innocence and at the same time frankness, attracting suitors. This is what interested her most. Meeting the ugly, strange and uninteresting person, but the 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 topics
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 kind words, 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 just as ordinary, 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 material. Although at all times they said that in modern times all eternal values, every time it's not true. Both Bunin and other writers remind us, readers, that life without harmony and inner beauty- 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 person, 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 randomness 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 of which 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. What is a story ( short work in prose, containing a plot, conflict and having one main storyline) is known to most, but how can you characterize the 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 residents, 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, vibrant landscapes are inherent in a creative manner Bunin, the mastery of the word artist 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 during 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.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!"Mr. from San Francisco"
(essay preparation lesson)
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, decay 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 “inner” course 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
Lining up structural elements essays in logical order.
Stage 5. Introduction to the essay.
Define keywords topics.
Meaning– this is a subjective meaning, the attitude of a person (the author) to what he is talking about or 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 under the control of man. 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 for 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? moral qualities does the writer endow 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 under the control of man. 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 heroes of the story live, what moral qualities does the writer endow with them?
Stage 6. Design of the main part.
The gentleman from San Francisco is the personification of a man of bourgeois civilization.
Lack of spirituality.
Bunin's rejection of hostility high society 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.
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.”
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 under the control of man. 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 ship’s passengers 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 an all-world beauty, there was an elegant couple in love...” Their life is monotonous and empty: “they got up early, ... drank coffee, chocolate, cocoa, ... sat in the baths, did gymnastics, stimulating their appetite and good health, performed their daily toilets and went to the first breakfast..." This is the impersonality, the 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 it is given sonorous name, unlike 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 wonderful world, and born from her womb in the cave of Bethlehem..." This is true values 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 man 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 minor characters– Lorenzo, Luigi – endowed with 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 the “eternal themes” of literature.