Philosophical problems of Bunin's works. The meaning of the stories

In Bunin's poetry, philosophical lyrics occupied one of the key places. Looking into the past, the writer sought to grasp the “eternal” laws of the development of science, peoples, and humanity. This was the meaning of his appeal to distant civilizations of the past - Slavic and Eastern.

The basis of Bunin’s philosophy of life is the recognition of earthly existence as only a part of eternal cosmic history, in which the life of man and humanity is dissolved. His lyrics intensify the feeling of the fatal confinement of human life in a narrow time frame, the feeling of man’s loneliness in the world.

The desire for the sublime comes into contact with the imperfections of human experience. Next to the desired Atlantis, the “blue abyss”, and the ocean, images of the “naked soul” and “night sadness” appear. The contradictory experiences of the lyrical hero were most clearly manifested in the deeply philosophical motives of dreams and souls. The “bright dream”, “winged”, “intoxicating”, “enlightened happiness” are sung. However, such a sublime feeling carries a “heavenly secret” and becomes “foreign to the earth.”

In prose, one of Bunin’s most famous philosophical works is the story “The Gentleman from San Francisco.” With hidden irony and sarcasm, Bunin describes the main character - a gentleman from San Francisco, without even honoring him with a name. The Master himself is full of snobbery and self-satisfaction. All his life he strived for wealth, setting himself as an example for the richest people in the world, trying to achieve the same prosperity as them. Finally, it seems to him that the set goal is close and, finally, it’s time to relax, to live for his own pleasure: “Until this moment, he did not live, but existed.” And the gentleman is already fifty-eight years old...

The hero considers himself the “master” of the situation, but life itself refutes him. Money is a powerful force, but it cannot buy happiness, prosperity, respect, love, life. In addition, there is a force in the world that is beyond the control of anything. This is nature, element. All that rich people, like the gentleman from San Francisco, can do is isolate themselves as much as possible from weather conditions they do not want. However, the elements are still stronger. After all, their lives depend on her favor.

The gentleman from San Francisco believed that everything around him was created only to fulfill his desires; the hero firmly believed in the power of the “golden calf”: “He was quite generous on the way and therefore fully believed in the care of all those who fed and watered they served him from morning to evening, preventing his slightest desire.” Yes, the wealth of the American tourist, like a magic key, opened many doors, but not all. It could not prolong his life, it did not protect him even after death. How much servility and admiration this man saw during his life, the same amount of humiliation his mortal body experienced after death.

Bunin shows how illusory the power of money is in this world, and how pathetic is the person who bets on it. Having created idols for himself, he strives to achieve the same well-being. It seems that the goal has been achieved, he is at the top, for which he worked tirelessly for many years. What did he do that he left for his descendants? Nobody even remembered his name.

Among civilization, in the everyday bustle, it is easy for a person to lose himself, it is easy to replace real goals and ideals with imaginary ones. But this cannot be done. It is necessary to take care of your soul in any conditions, to preserve the treasures that are in it. Bunin’s philosophical works call us to this. With this work, Bunin tried to show that a person can lose himself, but under any conditions he must retain something more within himself - and this is an immortal soul.

Conclusion

It seems to me that, being the heir to the deep lyrical traditions in poetry (philosophical, mental), laid down by Pushkin, Baratynsky and Tyutchev, Ivan Bunin, using his honed and refined gift of a Poet, based on the subtlest nuances of observations of nature and the emotional experiences of man, deepened and developed these themes so much that they generally became fundamental in Russian lyrics. Numerous researchers and biographers (O. Mikhailov) see the origins of Bunin’s poetic gift in the unusual “mental organization of the author”, in his artistic ability to use deep, updated memory, which contains huge layers of world culture, including mythical, epic and folklore foundations. In all his work, Bunin tried to show the immortality of the human soul, and he conveyed this meaning to the reader not literally, but using in different ways in his works.

References

1. http://www.litra.ru/

2. www.referat.sta/

3. http://bolshoy-beysug.ru/

Essay on the topic “ Philosophical issues Bunin's works" is often given homework to high school students. His amazing stories really make the soul tremble with delight and discover unknown facets of one’s own being.

The heroes of I. A. Bunin balance at the junction of the past and the present. They cannot completely cross the existing border because they are burdened with resentment, mental pain or tender romantic feelings. Fatal discrepancies are often shown: one character loves, but for another the connection means absolutely nothing. What are the features of the philosophical problematics of Bunin’s works? Let's try to figure it out using examples of specific texts.

"Rusya"

A story that makes you think about a lot and helps you rethink the harsh realities of everyday life. Main character indulges in memories of his first love, and these thoughts significantly affect his mood. He tries to keep tremulous thoughts close to his heart, not hoping that his wife will understand. These feelings mercilessly disturb his soul. Questions raised in the work:

Why do people lose their best dreams as they age? Where does youth go, the ability to look at things with delight, imbued with their selfless integrity?
Why does your heart ache when such memories come up?
Why didn't the main character fight for his love? Was this cowardice on his part?
Perhaps memories of his past love simply refreshed his feelings, awakened sleeping thoughts, excited his blood? And if events had turned out well and the characters had lived together for many years, the magic might have disappeared.

The argumentative essay “Philosophical Problems of Bunin’s Works” may include the following lines: the attractiveness of first love must lie precisely in its unattainability. The irrevocability of a past moment helps to idealize it.

"Dark Alleys"

At the center of the story is the love of a woman, which she carried through thirty years. Meeting years later will only add to her suffering or will it be a release from many years of affection? Although this feeling makes her suffer, the heroine treasures it like a rare treasure. Here the author emphasizes the idea that a person is not free to control his feelings, but has the power to control his own conscience. In addition, after meeting the heroine, a man has a strong feeling that he has missed something truly important in life.

The significance of the experiences is demonstrated at a high level. The philosophical problematics of Bunin’s works, one way or another, are aimed at finding individual truth. Each character has their own truth.

"Sunstroke"

The story tells of an unexpected love that pierced the lieutenant's heart. The drama lies in the fact that the main character was able to realize how much he needed this woman only after breaking up with her. His heartfelt dialogue with himself looks truly painful.

The character cannot accept the loss that has occurred: he does not know her address or name. He tries to find peace in everyday activities, but finds himself unable to concentrate on anything. Just the day before, this relationship had seemed like a fun adventure to him, but now it had become an unbearable torment.

"Mowers"

The philosophical problematics of Bunin's works are not limited to the theme of love. This text reflects the unity of the soul of the entire Russian people, its natural integrity. The main character finds himself in a hayfield and is amazed at how self-sufficient ordinary workers can feel. How amazingly they treat their work and are happy in its performance! A song sounds that unites them all, makes them feel involved in what is happening.

"Clean Monday"

The story shows a man's love for a young girl - a timid, tender feeling. He patiently waits for reciprocity for years, knowing full well that the answer may be a refusal. It seems that the girl is playing with him: she constantly invites him to evenings and theatrical performances. The hero accompanies her everywhere, secretly hoping to earn her favor. In the finale, the true motives of the girl’s behavior are revealed to the reader: she was having fun at the end, trying to be filled with impressions, because she knew that this would never happen again in life, the heroine is going to a monastery. The man's feelings turned out to be unnecessary.

Thus, the philosophical problematics of Bunin’s works touch the most hidden corners of the reader’s soul. His stories evoke ambivalent feelings: they make you regret the past and at the same time help you look into the future with hope. There is no hopelessness in these short stories, since a balance is maintained between feelings and a wise attitude towards the events described. The philosophical problematics of the works of Bunin and Kuprin are in many ways similar and have a common basis - the eternal search for truth and meaning.

Ivan Alekseevich Bunin is a world-famous writer and Nobel laureate. In his works he touches eternal themes: love, nature and death. The theme of death, as is known, touches on the philosophical problems of human existence.

Philosophical problems, which Bunin raises in his works, were most fully revealed in the story “The Gentleman from San Francisco.” In this story, death is presented as one of the important events that determine the true value of an individual. Philosophical problems of the meaning of life, true and imaginary values are the main ones in this work. The writer reflects not only on the fate of an individual person, but also on the fate of humanity, which, in his opinion, stands on the brink of destruction. The story was written in 1915, when the First World War was already underway and there was a crisis of civilization. It is symbolic in the story that the ship on which the main character travels is called “Atlantis”. Atlantis is a legendary sunken island that could not withstand the raging elements and became a symbol of a lost civilization.

Associations also arise with the Titanic, which perished in 1912. “The ocean that walked behind the walls” of the steamship is a symbol of the elements, nature, opposing civilization. But the people sailing on the ship do not notice the hidden threat posed by the elements, they do not hear the howl of the wind, which is drowned out by the music. They firmly believe in their idol - the captain. The ship is a model of Western bourgeois civilization. Its holds and decks are the layers of this society. The upper floors resemble “a huge hotel with all the amenities”; here are people at the top of the social ladder, people who have achieved complete well-being. Bunin draws attention to the regularity of this life, where everything is subject to a strict routine. The author emphasizes that these people, the masters of life, have already lost their individuality. All they do while traveling is have fun and wait for lunch or dinner. From the outside it looks unnatural and unnatural. There is no place for sincere feelings here. Even a couple in love ends up being hired by Lloyd to “play love for good money.” It is an artificial paradise filled with light, warmth and music. But there is also hell. This hell is the “underwater womb” of the ship, which Bunin compares to the underworld. Ordinary people work there, on whom the well-being of those at the top, leading a carefree and serene life, depends.

A prominent representative of bourgeois civilization in the story is the gentleman from San Francisco. The hero is simply called a master, because his essence is in his mouth. At least he considers himself a master and revels in his position. He achieved everything he strived for: wealth, power. Now he can afford to go to the Old World “just for fun” and can enjoy all the benefits of life. Describing the gentleman’s appearance, Bunin uses epithets that emphasize his wealth and unnaturalness: “silver mustache”, “golden fillings” of teeth, a strong bald head is compared to “old ivory”. There is nothing spiritual about the gentleman, his goal - to become rich and reap the fruits of this wealth - was realized, but he did not become happier because of it. ) But then comes the climax of the story, the gentleman from San Francisco dies. It is unlikely that this master of life expected to leave the sinful earth so soon. His death looks “illogical”, out of step with the general orderly order of things, but for it there are no social or material differences.

And the worst thing is that humanity begins to manifest itself in him only before 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.” Death dramatically changes the attitude of those around him: the corpse must be urgently removed from the hotel so as not to spoil the mood of other guests, they cannot even provide a coffin - only a soda box, and the servants, who were in awe of the living, laugh at the dead. Thus, the master’s power turned out to be imaginary, illusory. In pursuit of material values, he forgot about true, spiritual values, and therefore he was forgotten immediately after death. This is what is called retribution according to deserts. The gentleman from San Francisco deserved only oblivion.

An unexpected departure into oblivion is perceived as the highest moment, when everything falls into place, when illusions disappear, and the truth remains, when nature “roughly” proves its omnipotence. But people continue their carefree, thoughtless existence, quickly returning to “peace and quiet.” Their souls cannot be awakened to life by the example of one of them. The problem of the story goes beyond the individual case. Its ending is connected with reflections on the fate of not just one hero, but all people, past and future passengers of the ship under the mythical and tragic name “Atlantis”. People are forced to overcome the “hard” path of “darkness, ocean, blizzard.” Only to the naive, simple, how accessible is the joy of joining “the eternal and blissful abodes”, to the highest spiritual values. The bearers of true values are the Abruzzese highlanders and old Lorenzo. Lorenzo is a boatman, "a carefree reveler and a handsome man." He is probably the same age as the gentleman from San Francisco, only a few lines are dedicated to him, but unlike the gentleman, he has a sonorous name. Lorenzo is famous throughout Italy; he has served as a model for many painters more than once. He looks around with a regal air, rejoicing in life, showing off with his rags. The picturesque poor man Lorenzo remains to live forever on the canvases of artists, but the rich old man from San Francisco was erased from life as soon as he died.

The Abruzzese highlanders, like Lorenzo, personify the naturalness and joy of being. They live in harmony, in harmony with the world, with nature. The mountaineers give praise to the sun, morning, Our Lady and Christ. According to Bunin, these are the true values of life.

The basis of Bunin's philosophy of life is the recognition of earthly existence as only a part of eternal cosmic history, in which the life of man and humanity is dissolved. His lyrics intensify the feeling of the fatal confinement of human life in a narrow time frame, the feeling of man’s loneliness in the world.

The desire for the sublime comes into contact with the imperfections of human experience. Next to the desired Atlantis, the “blue abyss”, and the ocean, images of the “naked soul” and “night sadness” appear. Conflicting Experiences lyrical hero most clearly manifested in the deeply philosophical motives of dreams and souls. The “bright dream”, “winged”, “intoxicating”, “enlightened happiness” are sung. However, such a sublime feeling carries a “heavenly secret” and becomes “foreign to the earth.”

Among civilization, in the everyday bustle, it is easy for a person to lose himself, it is easy to replace real goals and ideals with imaginary ones. But this cannot be done. It is necessary to take care of your soul in any conditions, to preserve the treasures that are in it. This is what we are called to do. philosophical works Bunina. With this work, Bunin tried to show that a person can lose himself, but under any conditions he must retain something more within himself - and this is an immortal soul.

The writer Ivan Alekseevich Bunin is rightfully considered the last Russian classic, and a true discoverer of modern literature. The famous revolutionary writer Maxim Gorky also wrote about this in his notes.

The philosophical issues of Bunin's works include a huge range of topics and questions that were relevant during the writer's lifetime and which remain relevant today.

Philosophical reflections of Bunin

The philosophical problems that the writer touches on in his works were very different. Here are just a few of them:

The decomposition of the world of the peasants and the collapse of the old rural way of life.
The fate of the Russian people.
Love and loneliness.
The meaning of human life.

The first theme about the decomposition of the world of peasants and the collapse of the village and ordinary way of life can be attributed to Bunin’s work “Village”. This story tells how the life of village men changes, changing not only their way of life, but also their moral values and concepts.

One of the philosophical problems that Ivan Alekseevich raises in his work relates to the fate of the Russian people, who were not happy and were not free. He talked about this in his works “Village” and “Antonov Apples”.

Bunin is known throughout the world as the most beautiful and subtle lyricist. For the writer, love was a special feeling that could not last long. He devotes his cycle of stories to this topic “ Dark alleys", which is both sad and lyrical.

Bunin, both as a person and as a writer, was concerned about the morality of our society. He dedicated his work “Mr. from San Francisco” to this, where he shows the callousness and indifference of bourgeois society.

All the works of the great master of words are characterized by philosophical issues.

The collapse of peasant life and the world

One of the works where the writer raises philosophical problems is the burning story “The Village”. It contrasts two heroes: Tikhon and Kuzma. Despite the fact that Tikhon and Kuzma are brothers, these images are opposite. It is no coincidence that the author endowed his characters with different qualities. This is a reflection of reality. Tikhon is a wealthy peasant, a kulak, and Kuzma is a poor peasant who himself learned to write poetry and was good at it.

The plot of the story takes the reader to the beginning of the twentieth century, when in the village people were starving, turning into beggars. But in this village the ideas of revolution suddenly appear and the peasants, ragged and hungry, come to life listening to them. But poor, illiterate people do not have the patience to delve into political nuances; they very soon become indifferent to what is happening.

The writer writes with bitterness in the story that these peasants are incapable of decisive actions. They do not interfere in any way, and do not even make attempts to prevent the devastation of their native land, poor villages, allowing their indifference and inactivity to ruin their native places. Ivan Alekseevich suggests that the reason for this is their lack of independence. This can also be heard from the main character, who admits:

“I can’t think, I’m not educated”

Bunin shows that this deficiency appeared among the peasants due to the fact that serfdom existed in the country for a long time.

The fate of the Russian people

The author of such wonderful works as the story “The Village” and the story “Antonov Apples” talks bitterly about how the Russian people suffer and how difficult their fate is. It is known that Bunin himself never belonged to the peasant world. His parents were nobles. But Ivan Alekseevich, like many nobles of that time, was attracted to the study of the psychology of the common man. The writer tried to understand the origins and foundations national character a simple man.

Studying the peasant and his history, the author tried to find in him not only negative, but also positive traits. Therefore, he does not see a significant difference between a peasant and a landowner, this is especially felt in the plot of the story “Antonov Apples,” which tells how the village lived. The small nobility and peasants worked and celebrated holidays together. This is especially evident during the harvest in the garden, when Antonov apples smell strong and pleasant.

In such times, the author himself loved to wander in the garden, listening to the voices of men, observing changes in nature. The writer also loved fairs, when the fun began, the men played the harmonica, and the women put on beautiful and bright outfits. At such times it was good to wander around the garden and listen to the conversation of the peasants. And although, according to Bunin, nobles are people who carry true high culture, but simple men and peasants also contributed to the formation of Russian culture and spiritual world of your country.

Bunin's love and loneliness

Almost all of Ivan Alekseevich’s works that were written in exile are poetic. For him, love is a small moment that cannot last forever, so the author in his stories shows how it fades away under the influence of life circumstances, or at the will of one of the characters. But the theme leads the reader much deeper - this is loneliness. It can be seen and felt in many works. Far from his homeland, abroad, Bunin missed his native places.

Bunin’s story “In Paris” talks about how love can break out far from the homeland, but it is not real, since two people are completely alone. Nikolai Platanich, the hero of the story “In Paris,” left his homeland long ago, because the white officer could not come to terms with what was happening in his homeland. And here, far from his homeland, he accidentally meets a beautiful woman. They have a lot in common with Olga Alexandrovna. The heroes of the work speak the same language, their views on the world coincide, and they are both alone. Their souls reached out to each other. Far from Russia, from their homeland, they fall in love.

When Nikolai Platanich, the main character, dies suddenly and completely unexpectedly in the subway, Olga Alexandrovna returns to an empty and lonely house, where she experiences incredible sadness, bitterness of loss and emptiness in her soul. This emptiness has now settled in her soul forever, because lost values cannot be replenished far from her native land.

The meaning of human life

The relevance of Bunin's works lies in the fact that he raises questions of morality. This problem of his works concerned not only the society and the time when the writer lived, but also our modern one. This is one of the biggest philosophical problems that will always face human society.

Immorality, according to the great writer, does not appear immediately, and it is impossible to notice it even at the beginning. But then it grows and at some turning point begins to give rise to the most terrible consequences. The immorality growing in society hits the people themselves, making them suffer.

An excellent confirmation of this can be the famous story of Ivan Alekseevich “The Gentleman from San Francisco.” The main character does not think about morality or his spiritual development. He only dreams of this - to get rich. And he subordinates everything to this goal. For many years of his life he works hard without developing as a person. And now, when he is already 50 years old, he achieves the material well-being that he has always dreamed of. The main character does not set himself another, higher goal.

Together with his family, where there is no love and mutual understanding, he goes on a long and distant journey, which he pays in advance. Visiting historical monuments it turns out that neither he nor his family are interested in them. Material values have replaced interest in beauty.

The main character of this story has no name. It is Bunin who deliberately does not give the rich millionaire a name, showing that the entire bourgeois world consists of such soulless members. The story vividly and accurately describes another world that is constantly working. They have no money, and they don’t have as much fun as the rich do, and the basis of their life is work. They die in poverty and in the holds, but the fun on the ship does not stop because of this. The cheerful and carefree life does not stop even when one of them dies. The millionaire without a name is simply moved away so that his body is not in the way.

A society where there is no sympathy, pity, where people do not experience any feelings, where they do not know beautiful moments of love - this is a dead society that cannot have a future, but they also do not have a present. And the whole world, which is built on the power of money, is an inanimate world, it is an artificial way of life. After all, even the wife and daughter do not feel compassion for the death of a rich millionaire, but rather regret about the spoiled trip. These people do not know why they were born into this world, and therefore they simply ruin their lives. The deep meaning of human life is inaccessible to them.

The moral foundations of Ivan Bunin's works will never become outdated, so his works will always be readable. The philosophical problems that Ivan Alekseevich shows in his works were continued by other writers. Among them are A. Kuprin, M. Bulgakov, and B. Pasternak. All of them showed love, loyalty, and honesty in their works. After all, a society without these important moral categories simply cannot exist.