"Sir from San Francisco"
(composition preparation lesson)
Stage 1. Topic analysis.
Making sense of each word of the topic
meaning - meaning, essence, essence, inner content, depth.
Name - title, title, title, topic, idea.
problems - set of problems, range of questions.
work - story, short story, narration.
Bunin - wonderful Russian writer of the early twentieth century, author, writer.
Keyword highlighting
The meaning of the name
problems
I.A. Bunin
"Sir from San Francisco"
Phrasing the topic in other words
The meaning of the title and the range of questions of the story by I.A. Bunin "The Gentleman from San Francisco".
The depth of the name and the totality of the problems I.A. Bunin's story "The Gentleman 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 “The Gentleman from San Francisco”?
Is the story of I.A. Bunin "The Gentleman from San Francisco" instructive?
Is the human claim to dominance valid?
Stage 3. Formulation of the thesis.
IN name story I.A. Bunina"The Gentleman from San Francisco" summarized his content. AND "mister", And members his families remain nameless, while minor characters - Lorenzo, Luigi- endowed proper names. elements living life Bunin opposes venality bourgeoisie hostility to natural life, lack of compassion. In the story, hard work and idleness, decency and depravity, sincerity and deceit collide in an irreconcilable conflict. Problems to which it refers author in his story, "eternal themes" literature.
Stage 4. Structuring the essay.
Highlighting keywords.
Combining key concepts into semantic "nests".
I.A. Bunin, “The Gentleman from San Francisco”, conflict.
The master and his family, nameless, faceless; not life, but existence, profiteering, venality, idle life, attitude towards nature, natural life, disintegration of human ties, lack of compassion, hostility to natural life, idleness, depravity, deceit.
Secondary characters: Lorenzo, Luigi, proper names, elements of living, natural life, individuality, uniqueness of personality, diligence, decency, sincerity.
- "Eternal themes" of literature: close attention to nature, the "inner" course of human life.
Establishing internal links between "nests" of keywords.
Determination of the optimal number of parts of the essay.
I.A. Bunin I
"Sir from San Francisco"
Mr and his family II
don't have a name
lifestyle reasons
Tragedy
Proper names of people living natural life
Problems
"Eternal themes" of literature
Arranging the structural elements of the composition in a logical order.
Stage 5 Introduction to essay.
Define topic keywords.
Meaning- this is a subjective meaning, the attitude of a person (author) to what he is talking about, reasoning.
Name- the main idea put forward by the author in the title.
Issues- this is what worries the writer, questions that make you think.
Bunin- a brilliant representative of the prose of the twentieth century.
Build a judgment that reflects the relationships between key concepts. I.A. Bunin is a brilliant representative of the prose of the twentieth century. In his story “The Gentleman from San Francisco,” the writer discusses the place of man in the world and believes that man is not the center of the universe, but a grain of sand in a vast world, that the universe is not subject to man. The story is based on the story of a nameless gentleman.
Build 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 the story by I.A. Bunin "The Gentleman from San Francisco".
Formulate the task that the topic poses to the writer.
Why did I.A. Bunin call his story “The Gentleman from San Francisco”? Why didn’t he give a name to his hero, how do the heroes of the work live, what moral qualities does the writer endow them with?
Build 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 characters of the story live.
Connect these sentences.
I.A. Bunin is a brilliant representative of the prose of the twentieth century. His work is characterized by an interest in ordinary life, the ability to reveal the tragedy of life. In his story “The Gentleman from San Francisco,” the writer discusses the place of man in the world and believes that man is not the center of the universe, but a grain of sand in a vast world, that the universe is not subject to man. The story is based on the story of a nameless gentleman. Why did I.A. Bunin call his story “The Gentleman from San Francisco”? Why didn't you name your hero? Perhaps we will find answers to these questions, having understood how and how the characters of the story live, what moral qualities the writer endows them with?
Stage 6 Main part design.
The gentleman from San Francisco is the personification of a man of bourgeois civilization.
Lack of spirituality.
Bunin's rejection of the hostility of high society to nature, to natural life.
The world of natural people.
The collapse of human ties, the lack of compassion is the worst thing for Bunin.
I.A. Bunin is a brilliant representative of the prose of the twentieth century.
The problems and meaning of the title of the story by I.A. Bunin “The Gentleman from San Francisco”.
Bunin's appeal to the "eternal themes" of literature.
Stage 7. Essay writing.
I.A. Bunin is a brilliant representative of the prose of the twentieth century. His work is characterized by an interest in ordinary life, the ability to reveal the tragedy of life. In his story “The Gentleman from San Francisco,” the writer discusses the place of man in the world and believes that man is not the center of the universe, but a grain of sand in a vast world, that the universe is not subject to man. The story is based on the story of a nameless gentleman. Why did I.A. Bunin call his story “The Gentleman from San Francisco”? Why didn't you name your hero? Perhaps we will find the answers to these questions by understanding how and how the characters of the story live, 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 called simply "master" because that is his essence. He himself considers himself a master and revels in his position. He can afford "only for the sake of entertainment"" to go with his family "to the Old World for two whole years", can enjoy all the benefits guaranteed by his status, believes "in the caring of all those who fed and watered him, served from morning to evening him, warning his slightest desire, ”may contemptuously throw the“ ragamuffins ”through his teeth: “Get out!” The gentleman from San Francisco is valuable to others not as a person, but as a master. While he is rich, 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 appearance of the gentleman, I.A. Bunin uses epithets that emphasize his wealth and his unnaturalness: “silver mustache”, “golden fillings” of teeth, “strong bald head” is compared with “old ivory”. There is nothing spiritual in the master, his goal is to become rich and reap the fruits of this wealth: “... he almost equaled those whom he once took as a model ...” The desire came true, but he did not become happier from this. The description of the gentleman from San Francisco is constantly accompanied by the author's irony. The human begins to manifest itself in the master only at death: “It was no longer the gentleman from San Francisco who was wheezing, he was no more, but someone else.” Death makes him a man: "his features began to thin, brighten ...". And the author calls his hero now "dead", "deceased", "dead". The attitude of those around him also changes dramatically: 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 servant, who trembled before the living master, mockingly laughs at the dead, the hotel owner speaks with his wife “already without any courtesy”, and puts the deceased in the cheapest room, firmly stating the need for urgent removal of the body. The attitude of the master towards people is transferred to him. At the end of the story, the author says that the body of "a 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: “There was a certain great rich man among this brilliant crowd, ... there was a famous Spanish writer, there was a universal beauty, there was an elegant couple in love ...” Their life is monotonous and empty: "get up early, ... drink coffee, chocolate, cocoa, ... sit in the bath, do gymnastics, stimulating the appetite and feel good, make daily toilets and go 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 "graceful couple in love" only pretended to be in love: she was "hired by Lloyd to play love for good money." Life on a ship is illusory. It is “huge”, but around it is the “water desert” of the ocean and the “cloudy sky”. And in the "underwater womb of the steamer", similar to the "gloomy and sultry bowels of the underworld", people were working naked to the waist, "crimson in flames", "drenched in caustic, dirty sweat." The social gap between the rich and the 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 to nature, to natural life.
In contrast to "artificial" life, Bunin shows the world of natural people. One of them - 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 devoted to him, but a sonorous name is given, in contrast to the title character. Both Lorenzo and the Abruzzi highlanders personify the naturalness and joy of being. They live in harmony, in harmony with the world, with nature: “They walked - and a whole country, joyful, beautiful, sunny, stretched under them: and the stony humps of the island, which almost all lay at their feet, and that fabulous blue, in which he swam, and the radiant morning vapors over the sea to the east, under the dazzling sun ... ”The goat-fur bagpipes and the mountaineers’ wooden toe are contrasted with the“ beautiful orchestra ”of the steamer. The highlanders give their lively, artless music 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 ...” These are the true values of life, in contrast to the brilliant, expensive, but artificial , imaginary values of "masters".
Thus, the theme of the end of the existing world order, the inevitability of the death of a soulless and soulless civilization gradually grows in the story. The writer considers the most terrible thing is the disintegration of human ties, the lack of compassion. And this is exactly what we see in the story "The Gentleman 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, and the rich old man from San Francisco was deleted from life and forgotten before he died. And, therefore, the title of the story was not chosen by chance. It is an impetus to understanding the meaning, 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 “The Gentleman from San Francisco” fully summarizes its content. Both the "master" and the members of his family remain nameless, while the minor characters - Lorenzo, Luigi - are endowed with their own names. Bunin contrasts the elements of living life with the venality of the bourgeoisie, hostility to natural life, lack of compassion. In the story, hard work and idleness, decency and depravity, sincerity and deceit collide in an irreconcilable conflict. The problems that the author addresses in his story are the "eternal themes" of literature.
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 relate differently to the personality and views of this writer, but his skill in the field of belles-lettres is undeniable, therefore his works are at least worthy of our attention. One of them, namely "The Gentleman from San Francisco", received such a high rating from the jury that awards 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 the store, and a few months later, having come to visit his cousin, he remembered this name and connected it with an even older memory: the death of an American on the island of Capri, where the author himself was resting. And so one of the best Bunin stories turned out, and not just a story, but a whole philosophical parable.
This literary work was enthusiastically received by critics, and the outstanding talent of the writer was compared with the gift of L.N. Tolstoy and A.P. Chekhov. After that, Bunin stood with venerable connoisseurs of the word and the human soul in the same 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 life leads to, inspired only by hoarding.
What a story?
The main character, who has no name (he's 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 family). They go on the steamer "Atlantis" on their entertaining journey. All passengers are immersed in idleness, but the attendants work 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 does not favor tourists: the Naples December turned out to be rainy. Therefore, the Lord and his family rush to the island of Capri, which pleases 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 protagonist breaks into this "idyll". He died suddenly while reading a newspaper.
And here the main idea of the story is revealed to the reader that in the face of death everyone is equal: neither wealth nor power can save from it. This Gentleman, who only recently wasted money, contemptuously spoke to the servants and accepted their respectful bows, lies in a cramped and cheap room, respect has disappeared somewhere, the family is being kicked out of the hotel, because his wife and daughter will leave “trifles” at the cash desk. And now his body is being transported back to America in a soda box, because even a coffin is not to be found in Capri. But he is already riding in the hold, hidden from high-ranking passengers. And no one is particularly grieving, because no one will be able to use the dead man's money.
The meaning of the name
At first, Bunin wanted to name his story "Death on Capri" by analogy with the title "Death in Venice" that inspired him (the writer read this book later and rated it as "unpleasant"). But already after writing the first line, he crossed out this title and called the work by the “name” of the hero.
From the first page, the attitude of the writer to the Lord is clear, for him he is faceless, colorless and soulless, therefore he did not even receive a name. He is the master, the top of the social hierarchy. But all this power is fleeting and unsteady, the author recalls. A hero useless for society, who has not done a single good deed for 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 plentifully 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 do not give a damn about others who were less fortunate in life. However, nothing saved the hero from death, you can’t take money to the next world. Yes, and respect, bought and sold, quickly turns into dust: nothing has changed after his death, the celebration of life, money and idleness continued, even there is no one to worry about the last tribute to the dead. The body travels through the authorities, this is nothing, just another piece of luggage that is thrown into the hold, hiding from "decent society".
- The hero's wife lived monotonously, in a philistine way, but with chic: without any problems and 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 a respectable and profitable match for her, so that she, too, will comfortably go with the flow all her life.
- The daughter did her best to portray innocence and at the same time frankness, attracting suitors. That was what interested her the most. 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 had a premonition of trouble (“her heart was suddenly squeezed by melancholy, a feeling of terrible loneliness on this alien, dark island”) and wept for her father.
Main themes
Life and death, everyday life 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 chasing something frivolously small, are we mired in routine, missing out on true beauty? After all, a life in which there is no time to think about yourself, your 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 amount of money. Death will come anyway, you can’t hide from it and pay off, so you need to have time to do something really worthwhile, something to 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 venality of which ugliness lies.
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 mimic their masters, but grovel before their eyes. Gentlemen who treat servants like inferior beings, but who grovel before even richer and nobler people. A couple hired on a steamboat to play passionate love. Daughter of the Lord, depicting passion and trepidation to lure the prince. All this dirty, base pretense, although presented in a luxurious wrapper, is opposed by the eternal and pure beauty of nature.
Main problems
The main problem of this story is the search for the meaning of life. How to spend your short earthly vigil not in vain, how to leave behind something important and valuable for others? Everyone sees his destiny in his own way, but no one should forget that a person’s spiritual baggage is more important than material. Although it has been said at all times that all eternal values have been lost in modern times, 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 transience of life is also raised by the author. After all, the Gentleman from San Francisco spent his spiritual strength, made money, made money, postponing some simple joys, real emotions for later, but this "later" did not begin. This happens with 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, feel the beauty in the environment. After all, tomorrow may never 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 is interrupted from bread to water, and the elite mindlessly burns life. The writer states the moral squalor of the existing order, because most of the "masters of life" achieved their wealth in a dishonest way. Such people bring only evil, as the Master from San Francisco pays and ensures the death of Chinese workers. The death of the protagonist emphasizes the thoughts of the author. Nobody 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 prove the accidental and injustice of their high position. This fact is hidden behind the description of tourists' leisure time on the steamer, their entertainment (the main of which is lunch), costumes, relationships with each other (the origin of the prince, whom the protagonist's daughter met, makes her fall in love).
Composition and genre
"The Gentleman from San Francisco" can be seen as a story-parable. What is a story (a short work in prose containing a plot, conflict and having one main storyline) is known to most, but how can a parable be characterized? 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 philosophical, meaningful terms - a parable.
Compositionally, the story is divided into two large parts: the journey of the Lord from San Francisco from the New World and the stay of the body in the hold on the way back. The climax of the work is the death of the hero. Prior to this, describing the ship "Atlantis", tourist places, the author gives the story an anxious mood of expectation. 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 confirming 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, a storm, even the ship itself is trembling overboard. So at the beginning of the twentieth century, the whole society was seething, experiencing a social crisis, only the indifferent bourgeois continued to feast during the plague.
The island of Capri symbolizes real beauty (therefore, the description of its nature and inhabitants is fanned with warm colors): a “joyful, beautiful, sunny” country filled with “fabulous blue”, majestic mountains, the charm of which cannot be conveyed by human language. The existence of our American family and people like them is a pathetic parody of life.
Features of the work
Figurative language, vivid landscapes are inherent in Bunin's creative manner, the skill of the artist of the word was reflected in this story. At first, he creates an unsettling mood, the reader expecting that, despite the splendor of the rich environment around the Master, something irreparable will soon happen. Later, the tension is erased by natural sketches, painted with soft strokes, reflecting love and admiration for beauty.
The second feature is the philosophical and topical content. Bunin castigates the senselessness of the existence of the top of society, its spoiledness, disrespect for other people. It was precisely because of this bourgeoisie, cut off from the life of the people, having fun at its 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 topic of searching for the meaning of life does not lose its relevance, which is why the story is still of interest to the reader even after 100 years.
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The work of Ivan Bunin is characterized by small, but poignant short stories on the most "big" philosophical topics. One of his little masterpieces is the story "The Gentleman from San Francisco", which raises such issues as death, the meaning of life, love.
Like most of Bunin's works, "The Man from San Francisco" is a protest cry about the "wrongness" of this world. A person in a capitalist society lives almost like a robot, endlessly earning money and not paying attention to all other aspects of life. And so, when the hero of the short story finally earned a lot of money and was finally exhausted, he goes to travel and relax. And suddenly, absolutely unpredictably, without any prerequisites and apparent reasons, he suddenly dies.
The shrillness of the story is achieved by such a special technique as the depersonalization of the main characters. The main character has no name, appearing in the image of some unremarkable gentleman from San Francisco; even his wife and daughter did not receive names in Bunin's literary work. This, as it were, manifests the indifference not only of the entire surrounding world, but also of the author himself to the personalities of the drawn characters. Against such a background, even the smallest employees of the Italian hotel where the tragic event takes place receive specific names from Bunin, thereby emphasizing the insignificance of the American guests. The impression is enhanced by the contrast between the subservience of servants to the personality of a wealthy American before his death and cynical ridicule against him after.
Missing from the story is a description of the reaction of the wife and daughter of a gentleman from San Francisco to his death. One gets the feeling that they remained generally indifferent to what happened. Thus, the whole world, including the close people of the deceased, perceives his death only as some kind of unfortunate and very untimely incident.
The question involuntarily arises: why did this person live? Who was dear to him and who was dear to him? Did he truly love anyone? What did he leave behind besides money? And the author unequivocally answers all these questions in a negative way, summing up the harsh result of the life of a man from San Francisco - his life was meaningless. In the text, we find many small indications of the pitiful, if not miserable, aspirations of the main character: constant gluttony, excessive passion for cigars and alcohol, dreams of buying the venal love of young Italian beauties, etc. And all this against the background of the absence of any live communication with his wife and daughter.
What conclusion should the reader of The Gentleman from San Francisco draw?
In my opinion, Bunin hints to us that the meaning of life does not exist in itself, it is acquired by each individual person independently in the process of his life. Everyone must determine for himself what the meaning of life is for him; one cannot exist thoughtlessly and turn into a faceless cog in the capitalist mechanism. Therefore, the story “The Gentleman from San Francisco” itself serves as a constant reminder of these eternal truths, a call not to repeat the miserable life path of the protagonist of the work.
Way... This word has many meanings. This is travel, and the distance between destinations, and the direction of any activity, and the most important path in a person's life. What is the significance of the choice of life path in the existence of people? And is it so important to consciously approach this problem? From time immemorial, writers and poets have been concerned about the question of the true choice of the spiritual and moral path. They raised this problem more than once in their work. Ivan Alekseevich Bunin was no exception. He talks about this in The Gentleman from San Francisco.
So what path is his hero without a name? Even in his youth, he sets himself as an example of a successful person who has achieved everything that people usually want. Exhausted, the master, sacrificing everything, goes to his goal, dreaming of living luxuriously at least in old age. We see a person who places spiritual and moral development lower than his material condition. In the whole society that surrounds it, there are no values other than money. They have neither their own opinion nor personal views, seeking to indulge only society. In the pursuit of wealth, they lose themselves, losing all those features that could make them real people, and not puppets controlled by the state. This society does not even notice the work of others, for the sake of their entertainment. People who are lower in prosperity, as if they do not exist at all in their world. In a carefree life, in revelry, they try to find themselves, hiding behind false masks. Once you get into such a society, you become one yourself. The gentleman from San Francisco was no exception. But what is the life of people who are long dead inside worth? Nothing. After the departure of the master, people either feel disgust, or, just as before, continue to have fun. He did not leave a noticeable trace in the souls of others. Such people cannot do it.
I. A. Bunin wants to show us that human life is too fragile and perishable; without true feelings and true values, it is disgusting. I think the author is absolutely right about this. Indeed, looking at another hero of this work - Lorenzo, we immediately see how colossally different people who live in order to enjoy every day and who live for the sake of making their own fortune, postponing everything for later. The boatman lives in harmony with the environment, feels himself a part of the whole world, admires the beauties of nature with rapture. He gives in to the measured course of life, not trying to subjugate it to himself. And this is his happiness. People from Atlantis are not able to understand this. They have one desire: to be the power over everything. With such people, life can play a very cruel joke, forever obliterate all their, as they think, great achievements.
It is also worth paying attention to the fact that almost all the characters do not have names. Why does Bunin come to such a peculiarity of writing? No one is in a hurry to remember such rotten people inside, to leave them in their souls. In the company of a gentleman from San Francisco, only social status matters. Otherwise, people are not attractive in any way. Moreover, they are the same, both morally and spiritually.
Could there be a different fate for the master? Certainly. After all, everyone is the creator of their own life. If someone could open this man's eyes, give parting words, I'm sure he would make a choice that would give him a bright name.
Thus, the path of life is the most important path that every person has to go through. Each of us now also stands on the threshold, it seems to me, of the very first significant choice. The main thing now is to do it right, to earn a name for yourself with your good deeds, to be worthy of memory.
Composition
The story “The Gentleman from San Francisco” was written by Bunin in 1915. Traveling around the Mediterranean on a comfortable steamer, Bunin went down to the engine room: “If we cut the steamer vertically, we will see: we are sitting, drinking wine, talking on various topics, and the drivers in hell, black with coal, they work ... Is it fair?
The theme of the story is social injustice, a premonition of the collapse of the world, unable to continue to exist with such an acute stratification, as well as the opposition of the natural world of being 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, middle-aged and belatedly decided to enjoy life, on the steamer Atlantis, in various expensive hotels?
Having made a fortune, having existed, “it is true, not badly, but still placing hopes on the future,” they go to see the world. And thanks to the route that the gentleman from San Francisco chooses, we see what state this world is in. “He thought of holding the carnival in Nice, in Monte Carlo, where at that time the most selective society flocks - the very one on which all the benefits of civilization depended: the style of tuxedos, and the strength of thrones, and the declaration of wars, and the well-being of hotels, - where some enthusiastically indulge in car and sailing races, others in roulette, others in what is commonly called flirting, and fourth in shooting pigeons, which soar very beautifully from the cages over the emerald lawn, against the backdrop of a sea of \u200b\u200bthe color of forget-me-nots, and immediately knock white lumps on the ground ... "- the world is busy with entertainment and the destruction of beauty ...
But the name of the ship is very symbolic. "Atlantis" - a multi-storey hulk with all amenities (night bar, oriental baths, 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', scullery and wine cellars" - is moving towards his death. “The ocean that walked outside the walls was terrible, but they didn’t think about it” - here it is, the reason for imminent retribution: gentlemen do not think about servants, the rich - about the poor ... Everything in this world is sold and bought ... “I was among this brilliant crowd, there was a certain great rich man, ... there was a famous Spanish writer, there was a world-wide beauty, there was an elegant couple in love, which everyone watched with curiosity ... and only one commander knew that this couple was hired by Lloyd to play love for good money ..."
The family of a gentleman from San Francisco arrives in Naples. “And to the gentleman from San Francisco, as well as to everyone else, it seemed that it was for him alone that the march of proud America was thundering, that it was the commander who greeted him with a safe arrival.” Life again flowed according to routine, but nature is doing “something terrible”, and “the receptionists, when they talked about the weather, only raised their shoulders guiltily.” Bunin contrasts the well-being of civilization with the forces of the elements, as if indignant at this seeming 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 true Italy - “under a rocky sheer, a bunch of such miserable, 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 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 still marvel even more than anything and do not want to believe in death for anything." Yes, for masters, 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 owner of the hotel, “who was not at all interested in those trifles that visitors from San Francisco could now leave in his box office,” refuses even to 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 it continues to "pretend to suffer their blissful torment to shamelessly sad music" a couple whose game of love is well paid. What does Bunin say to his reader? Not only about social contradictions. After all, in essence, the writer shows in all its ghostly and indifferent brilliance precisely the bourgeois world, where the desire for profit, the prudent arrangement of life obscure the real world, the ability to feel and empathize with grief and joy from the “gentlemen from San Francisco”. We see only a small glimmer of revival in the daughter of a gentleman from San Francisco: “I admired everything and was then sweet and beautiful: those tender, complex feelings were beautiful that the meeting with an ugly person awakened in her ... because after all, maybe it doesn’t matter what exactly awakens the 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 a pittance two lobsters caught by him at night” are imbued with a warm feeling (he “could calmly stand even until evening, glancing around with regal habit, showing off with his rags, a clay pipe and red wool beret"), and about two Abruzzo mountaineers. Finally, we see that Italy - joyful, beautiful, sunny - which has not opened before the gentleman from San Francisco.
Bunin, who noticed the injustice of social stratification, sympathized with those whom the bourgeoisie does not notice, nevertheless did not accept the revolution (the collapse of the old world he predicted), which set itself the goal of making those "who were nothing" - 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 he knew how to see its beauty.
The Devil, appearing at the end of the story, watching from the rocks of Gibraltar the “Atlantis” moving towards death, knows everything about humanity that it does not know itself: everything in the world is subject to the natural course of things, and until death comes for you, enjoy the beauty of the world , breathe deeply, love, sing "naive and humbly joyful praises to the sun, 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" .
