The work "The Gentleman from San Francisco", the analysis of which we will now do, is a story in its genre. Written by Ivan Bunin. The cruel plan literally excited Bunin's critics and contemporaries. This story differs significantly from his earlier works. The story was published in the Slovo magazine in 1915.

Genre originality and composition of the story

Speaking about the genre of the work, and this is very important to understand when analyzing "The Gentleman from San Francisco", let's clarify that this is not just a story, but a socio-philosophical story. That is, the author's idea is much deeper than just to please the reader. interesting plot and beautiful storytelling. Important questions are raised, the answers to which can be seen by peering into the author's point of view, or thought out independently, based on an analysis of events. The composition of the story is interesting in that the story can be divided into two parts:

1. Boat trip from San Francisco

2. Travel to the USA in the hold

Thus, when creating the story, a circular composition was used. those. The way the story started, the way it ended.

Ivan Alekseevich Bunin, a recognized master of the short story, invented the main character of his famous and brilliant story "The Gentleman from San Francisco" on the estate of his cousin, which was located in the Yelets district of the Oryol province.

Bunin was called the successor of Chekhov's witty realism at the very beginning of his work, and the originality of his works is justified by the fact that his follower decorates Chekhov's characteristic realism with his lyrical, skillful style and narration rich in details. He has an inherent desire to reveal the tragedy and fatality of human existence as realistically and fully as possible, to realize his interest in a simple, philistine life, and thereby emphasize that the meaning of such a life is no different from the life of the intelligentsia and the upper strata of society.

Image of a gentleman from San Francisco

Significant symbolism can be called the fact that Bunin does not even name the name of the protagonist, the story constantly sounds “gentleman from San Francisco”, and this is due to the fact that no one remembered him. He is a capitalist, an American millionaire who has spent his entire existence making more and more profits. He goes on a trip with full confidence that there he will get a lot of fun and a lot of entertainment for the money that he has.

Main character is a passenger of the large ship "Atlantis", the ocean in this case is shown as a symbol of life, changeable and fluid, and the story indicates that "he was terrible, but they did not think about him." The ship itself represents an island of chic life, with all the amenities and luxury, on which a siren was constantly heard, but it was drowned out by the sounds of melodious music. Siren and music are also symbolism skillfully used by the writer, in this case, the siren is world chaos, and music is harmony and peace.

The purpose and meaning of the story

The main idea of ​​the story is revealed when a gentleman from San Francisco, together with his family, leaves the ship in Naples and goes to Capri, and it is there that Bunin's deep and philosophical idea becomes clear. In a hotel in Capri, before going out to dinner, at which he was supposed to spend a chic evening in the company of a beauty, he suddenly dies. And the most paradoxical thing is that a wealthy and powerful gentleman from San Francisco is placed in the most disgusting room after death, and his body is sent back to the steamer in a worn soda box, without telling the other wealthy guests of the hotel.

In his subtle and at the same time witty and tragic story "The Gentleman from San Francisco" I.A. Bunin uses symbolic contrast in the description of representatives of the bourgeois classes and ordinary people. The images of ordinary workers are alive and real, and thus, the writer emphasizes that the external well-being of the upper and rich strata of society means nothing in the ocean of our life, that their wealth and luxury are not protection from the current of the present, real life that such people are initially doomed to moral baseness and a dead life.

Bunin's story "The Gentleman from San Francisco" tells that everything depreciates before the fact of death. Human life subject to decay, it is too short to waste it in vain, and the main idea of ​​this instructive story is to comprehend the essence of human existence. The meaning of the life of the hero of this story lies in his belief that everything can be bought with the available wealth, but fate decided otherwise. We offer an analysis of the work "The Gentleman from San Francisco" according to the plan, the material will be useful in preparing for the exam in literature in grade 11.

Brief analysis

Year of writing– 1915

History of creation- In a shop window, Bunin accidentally drew attention to the cover of Thomas Mann's book "Death in Venice", this was the impetus for writing the story.

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

Composition– The problematics of “The Gentleman from San Francisco” includes both philosophical and socio-political character. The author reflects on the frailty of life, on the attitude of a person to spiritual and material values, from the point of view of various strata of society. The plot of the story begins with the journey of the master, the climax is his unexpected death, and in the denouement of the story the author reflects on the future of mankind.

genre- A story that is a meaningful parable.

Direction- Realism. In the story of Bunin, it acquires a deep philosophical meaning.

History of creation

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

Topic

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

Critics enthusiastically reacted to the creation of the Russian writer, interpreting the essence of the philosophical story in their own way. Theme of the story- life and death, poverty and luxury, in the description of this hero, who lived his life in vain, reflects the worldview of the whole society, divided into classes. High society, possessing all material values, having the opportunity to buy everything that is only for sale, do not have the most important thing - spiritual values.

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

And the master has no name, his life is aimless and empty, he does not bring any benefit, he only enjoys the benefits created by representatives of another, lower class. He dreamed of buying everything that was possible, but did not have time, fate decreed in its own way, and took his life from him. When he dies, no one remembers him, he only causes inconvenience to others, including his family.

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

Composition

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

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

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

main characters

genre

"The Gentleman from San Francisco" can be summed up as genre story a, but this story is filled with deep philosophical content, and differs from other Bunin's works. Usually, Bunin's stories contain a description of nature and natural phenomena, striking in their liveliness and realism.

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

The whole story is subject philosophical direction, and in plot plan is an instructive parable that gives a lesson to the reader. The injustice of a class society, where the lower part of the population vegetates in poverty, and the cream of high society senselessly burns life, all this, in the end, leads to a single finale, and in the face of death everyone is equal, both poor and rich, no one can buy it off money.

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

Artwork test

Analysis Rating

Average rating: 4.6. Total ratings received: 769.

The theme of criticism of bourgeois reality was reflected in Bunin's work. One of the best works On this topic, one can rightly call the story "The Gentleman from San Francisco", which was highly appreciated by V. Korolenko. The idea to write this story came to Bunin while working on the story "The Brothers", when he learned about the death of a millionaire who had come to rest on the island of Capri. At first, the writer called the story that way - "Death on Capri", but later renamed it. It is the gentleman from San Francisco with his millions who is in the center of the writer's attention.
Describing the crazy luxury of the life of the rich, he takes into account every little thing. And he does not even give the master himself a name, no one remembers this man, he has no face and soul, he is only a bag of money. The writer creates a collective image of a bourgeois businessman, whose whole life is the accumulation of money. Having lived to the age of 58, he finally decided to get all the pleasures that can be bought: “... he thought of holding a carnival in Nice, in Monte Carlo, where at that time the most selective society flocks, where some enthusiastically indulge in car and sailing races , others to roulette, third to what is commonly called flirting, fourth to shooting pigeons. All his life this gentleman saved up money, never rested, became "decrepit", unhealthy and devastated. It seems to him that he "has just begun to live."
In Bunin's prose there is no moralizing or denunciation, but the author treats this hero of his with sarcasm and causticity. He describes it appearance, habits, but there is no psychological portrait, because the hero has no soul. Money took his soul. The author notes that for many years the master has learned to suppress any, even weak, manifestations of the soul. Having decided to have fun, the rich man cannot imagine that his life could end at any moment. Money replaced his common sense. He is sure that while they are there, he has nothing to fear.
Bunin, using the technique of contrast, depicts the external solidity of a person and his inner emptiness and primitiveness. In describing the rich man, the writer uses comparisons with inanimate objects: a bald head like ivory, a doll, a robot, etc. The hero does not speak, but utters several lines in a hoarse voice. The society of wealthy gentlemen, in which the hero rotates, is just as mechanical and soulless. They live by their own laws, trying not to notice ordinary people treated with scornful contempt. The meaning of their existence comes down to eating, drinking, smoking, enjoying and talking about them. Following the travel program, the rich man visits museums, inspects monuments with the same indifference. The values ​​of culture and art are empty words for him, but he paid for the excursions.
The steamer Atlantis, on which the millionaire is sailing, is depicted by the writer as a scheme of society. It has three tiers: on top - the captain, on the middle - the rich, in the lower - workers and attendants. Bunin compares the lower tier with hell, where tired workers in terrible heat day and night throw coal into red-hot fireboxes. A terrible ocean rages around the ship, but people trusted their life of the dead car. All of them consider themselves masters of nature and are sure that if they paid, then the ship and the captain are obliged to deliver them to their destination. Bunin shows the thoughtless self-confidence of people living in the illusion of wealth. The name of the ship is symbolic. The writer makes it clear that the world of the rich, in which there is no purpose and meaning, will one day disappear from the face of the earth, like Atlantis.
The writer emphasizes that everyone is equal in the face of death. The rich man, who decides to get all the pleasures at once, suddenly dies. His death causes not sympathy, but a terrible commotion. The innkeeper apologizes and promises to settle everything quickly. Society is outraged that someone dared to ruin their vacation, to remind them of death. To a recent companion and his wife, they experience disgust and disgust. The corpse in a rough box is quickly sent to the hold of the steamer.
Bunin draws attention to a sharp change in attitude towards the dead rich man and his wife. The obsequious owner of the hotel becomes arrogant and callous, and the servants become inattentive and rude. The rich man, who considered himself important and significant, turned into a dead body, is not needed by anyone. The writer ends the story with a symbolic picture. The steamer, in the hold of which the former millionaire lies in a coffin, sails through the darkness and blizzard in the ocean, and from the rocks of Gibraltar the Devil, “huge as a cliff”, watches him. It was he who got the soul of the gentleman from San Francisco, it is he who owns the souls of the rich.
The writer raises philosophical questions about the meaning of life, about the mystery of death, about the punishment for the sin of pride and complacency. He predicts a terrible end to a world where money rules and there are no laws of conscience.

The Silver Age of Russian literature is always associated by most people with poetry. However, it is impossible not to notice that the beginning of the twentieth century gave us a great many very talented prose writers.

One of these talents was Ivan Bunin. His short stories really sink into the soul of the reader, raise important philosophical questions before us. One of Bunin's most striking prose works is the story "The Gentleman from San Francisco", an analysis of which was prepared by the Wise Litrecon.

The creative history of the story "The Gentleman from San Francisco" began in an exotic land - on the island of Capri. The work is based on Bunin's memories of his vacation. In the hotel where he then lived, a wealthy American died. This incident was clearly imprinted in the memory of the writer, because one small tragedy did not change the festive mood of the vacationers.

Contemporaries were aware Interesting Facts about writing the story "The Gentleman from San Francisco". Already in 1915, Bunin wrote in his diary about how he saw Thomas Mann's story "Death in Venice" in the window of a Moscow bookstore. It was then that he decided to write his story, which was based on the incident in Capri. This is how one insignificant circumstance inspired the author to bring his long-standing idea of ​​the story to reality.

“For some reason, I remembered this book and the sudden death of an American who arrived in Capri, at the Quisisana Hotel, where we lived that year, and immediately decided to write Death on Capri, which I did in four days - slowly, calmly, in tune with the autumn calm of the gray and already rather short and fresh days and the silence in the estate ... Of course, I crossed out the title "Death on Capri" immediately, as soon as I wrote the first line: "The gentleman from San Francisco ..." And San Francisco, and everything else (except that some American really died after dinner at the Quisisan) I made up ...

Direction and genre

This story can be attributed to the literary direction of realism. The writer strives for a reliable depiction of reality. His characters are typical and authentic. There are names of real places. At the same time, modernism, which dominated the culture of that time, was reflected in Bunin's prose. So, in his story there are many images-symbols that reveal the metaphorical meaning of the text.

The genre of "The Gentleman from San Francisco" is a short story. This is a short prose work with a small amount of actors and one storyline. There is no specifics, the reader understands that the situation described in the story could happen to anyone and at any time.

Composition and conflict

Ideologically, the composition of the work is divided into two parts: the arrival of the American rich man at the hotel and the return of his lifeless body to the USA. This construction of the plot is intended to emphasize the main idea of ​​the story, to show the contrast between who a person is during life, and who (or what) he becomes after death.

At the heart of the main conflict in The Gentleman from San Francisco lies the confrontation between worldly things, such as wealth, pleasure and entertainment, and the eternal beginning, represented in the story by death itself.

Meaning of title and ending

In the title of the story, Bunin did not invent an elegant formula that reflects hidden meanings, nor designate the main idea. Avoiding any specifics both in the narrative and in the title, Bunin once again emphasized the everydayness and insignificance of the life of his hero, occupied only with worldly affairs.

Before us is not a person, but a set of clichés and stereotypes about an inhabitant of the American middle class. He is the master, that is, the master of life, a rich man whose money other people worship and envy. But how ironic the word "master" is when applied to a corpse! This means that a person cannot be the master of anything, because life and death are not subject to him, he has not comprehended their nature. The hero's title is the author's mockery of the self-satisfied rich people who think they own the world, although they cannot even predict their own fate.

Why did the gentleman from San Francisco die? But because a certain period was measured out to him, and the higher powers did not take into account his plans for life. All the time the hero put off the fulfillment of his cherished desires until later, and when he found time for them, fate laughed at him and reset the counter.

essence

A wealthy American travels with his daughter and wife to Europe, where he plans to spend two years indulging in recreation and entertainment. At first, a pleasant trip is spoiled by disgusting weather. A gentleman from San Francisco, along with his family, goes to Capri, where, while reading a newspaper, he is suddenly overtaken by death.

On the same day, the wife of the deceased is required to immediately remove her husband's body from the hotel. Due to the lack of a hump, the deceased was placed in a soda box and taken to the port at night. The story ends with the body of a gentleman from San Francisco, tucked away in a dark ship's hold, returning to America.

Main characters and their characteristics

The heroes of the story "The Gentleman from San Francisco" are listed by the Wise Litrecon in the table:

Themes

The theme of the story "The Gentleman from San Francisco" is diverse, despite the small volume of the work.

1. Life values- the main theme of the work. The protagonist put money and success in the first place in his life, while his family, homeland, creativity, the world as a whole remained "overboard" of his ship. When he decided to catch up, it was too late, and in the end his whole life was in vain, and the pursuit of material goods never ended in triumph.
2. Family- Bunin describes the family of a wealthy American with obvious hostility. Family relations between the gentleman from San Francisco and his relatives are kept, as a rule, on the financial aspect. As long as everything around is going perfectly, they can be mistaken for good people, but as soon as trouble interferes with the trip, family squabbles and mutual alienation immediately surface. Bunin shows that in a society obsessed with money, there is no place for real family values.
3. Happiness- a gentleman from San Francisco believed all his life that real happiness lies in money and the ability to spend it for your own pleasure. It is this approach to life that Bunin condemns, showing the emptiness and insignificance of an existence tied only to money.
4. Dream- the writer draws us a portrait of a thoroughly rotten person, in whose soul nothing high remains. All that an elderly American can dream of is to luxuriate in European hotels for his own pleasure. It is very important, according to Bunin, to be able to dream high, and not just about worldly joys.
5. Love- in the consumer society depicted in the story, there is no place true love. Everything about him is fake and false. Envy and indifference are hidden behind the masks of cordiality and helpfulness.
6. Fate- Bunin is very ironic with his hero. Showing at the beginning a living and respected rich man on a cruise ship, in the finale on the same ship, a forgotten dead old man sails back along the same route as he arrived. Bitter irony is intended to show the futility of being, which means nothing before fate.

Problems

The problematics of the story "The Gentleman from San Francisco" is very rich:

• Indifference is the main issue raised in the story. Bunin outlined the alienation in the society that he saw around him. People do not want to delve into the problems of others, they do not want to face real grief. They are indifferent to the misfortune of others and want to quickly get rid of any manifestations of instability and sadness. So, after the death of the master, when he could no longer tip, the staff, other guests, and even his family, did not show any regret and respect for the deceased.
• selfishness- almost every character in the story thinks only of himself. Both the gentleman from San Francisco himself, and the people around him, never once thought about the fate or feelings of another person. Everyone only cares about themselves.
• Life and death- Bunin excellently portrayed that no matter how rich and influential a person is during his lifetime, when he dies, he becomes just a corpse, and his past no longer affects anything. Death equalizes people, it is incorruptible. Therefore, human power is ephemeral.
• lack of spirituality- the atmosphere of moral decline and decay oozes through the lines of the story. Indifference, selfishness, cruelty and greed from the outside seem unbearable and terrible. No wonder the author called the ship on which the gentleman sailed Atlantis. It is a symbol bourgeois society doomed to collapse.
• Cruelty- despite the ostentatious imposingness and cordiality, the society depicted by Bunin is impossibly cruel. It lives by one cold calculation, measures a person only by money and shamelessly throws it away when the money runs out.
• Society- the main villain of the story is the capitalist society, whose laws depersonalize people and kill their souls.
• Social problems- the story raises such problems as social inequality. Using the example of the poor Italians and the Chinese exploited by their master San Francisco, Bunin shows us that in a capitalist society the prosperity of the minority is achieved by the sweat and blood of the majority.

Main idea

The meaning of the story "The Gentleman from San Francisco" is to expose the deceitful capitalist society. He reveals to us his inhuman rigidity and deep depravity, hidden behind ostentatious gloss and outward benevolence.

At the same time, Bunin also raises philosophical questions, talking about the futility and transience of being and the gloomy grandeur of death, which in the end will equalize all people among themselves and laugh at every achievement. The main idea of ​​the story "The Gentleman from San Francisco" is the need to humble human pride. We are not the masters of our destiny, so we need to be able to enjoy every moment that is given to us from above, because at any moment the thread of life can break forever, and our plans can remain plans. This is the author's position.

What does it teach?

The moral lessons in the story "The Gentleman from San Francisco" are, first of all, the need not to cling to material values, not to prioritize accrued wealth, but to value the human soul in oneself. After all, after death, the soul is all that remains with a person, and the memory of it is all that remains on earth. Such is Bunin's morality.

Artistic details

The story is quite rich in various details that complement the narrative and emphasize the main idea. Of particular interest is the concept of peace in the story "The Gentleman from San Francisco":

• In the first part of the story, various luxury items catch our eye: gold glasses, silver chains and other luxurious things that once again emphasize how this world is tied to material values.
• In the second half of the story, all these beautiful trinkets instantly disappear. All that remains is darkness, a cart carrying an impromptu coffin to the port, and a damp hold. The empty, insignificant life ended and the mysterious Eternity began.

The expression of this Eternity is the calm and quiet sea, which indifferently carries the master from San Francisco, first to Europe, and then back to America. The image of the ocean reflects the very life of the hero: he went with the flow, enjoyed comfort and security, but it was this current that led him to death on the island of Capri. And without having time to rest and live for himself, he died, bringing his sacrifice to the altar of success. The flow of life is inexorable: if we ourselves do not turn back, making efforts to change direction, it takes us not at all where we would like to be. The flow itself is inert and indifferent.

Also interesting are the symbols in the story "The Gentleman from San Francisco":

• The name of the ship "Atlantis" indicates the imminent collapse of the capitalist world, obsessed with money and mired in vices.
• The soda box is a bright detail that points to the essence of the master himself. He, as a product of his era, is very symbolically buried in the waste of this very era of consumption. He was tossed to the sidelines of life like garbage when he served his purpose and could no longer pay his bills.

Criticism

Despite the war going on in those days, Bunin's story not only did not get lost against its background, but also attracted the attention of many great writers and critics. The success was universally acknowledged:

“... the story“ The Gentleman from San Francisco ”at its first appearance ... was unanimously noted by critics as a new major“ achievement ”of a talented artist and, in general, one of the most outstanding works modern literature." (A. Gisetti, "Monthly Journal", 1917, No. 1)

One of the most famous writers of the era, Maxim Gorky, in a personal letter, undividedly admired Bunin, separately noting the awe that he experienced while reading The Gentleman from San Francisco.

Critic Abram Derman wrote in the Russian Thought magazine of 1916: “More than ten years separate us from the end of Chekhov’s work, and during this period, if we exclude what was made public after the death of L. N. Tolstoy, did not appear in Russian artwork, equal in strength and significance to the story "The Gentleman from San Francisco" ... How did the artist evolve? On the scale of his feelings ... With some kind of solemn and righteous sadness, the artist painted a large image of enormous evil - an image of sin in which the life of a modern city man with an old heart goes on, and the reader feels here not only the legality, but also the justice and beauty of the author's own coldness to his hero ... "

Another reviewer from the Russian Wealth magazine of 1917 also praised Bunin's work, but noted that his idea was too narrow, and the whole work could be expressed in one line:

“The story is good, but it lacks its merit, as the French say. The contrast between the superficial brilliance of our modern culture and its insignificance in the face of death is expressed in the story with gripping force, but it exhausts it to the very bottom ...

The English writer Thomas Mann, who partly inspired Bunin to write the story, believed that the story could be put on a par with the works of such great writers as Tolstoy and Pushkin. But not only Thomas Mann noticed the story of a Russian colleague in writing. In France, Bunin's prose was also known and enthusiastically received:

"Mr. Bunin ... added another name, little known in France, to ... the greatest Russian writers." (review in the French magazine Revue de l'Epoque (Review of the Epoch), 1921)

Even after several decades, Bunin's work was highly appreciated by critics. In Soviet times, little attention was paid to him as a political emigrant, but during Perestroika, Bunin's prose experienced another period of recognition and popularity among the masses.

He did not tolerate verbosity, freed himself from unnecessary epithets, created his prose dense, compressed, which at one time allowed Chekhov to compare it with too “thick broth” ... And he absolutely could not stand verbal clichés. When in The Gentleman from San Francisco he wrote: “December ‘turned out’ not entirely successful,” he ironically put the word “turned out” in quotation marks, as he borrowed it from a lexicon alien to him: from the lexicon of rich and faceless gentlemen who operate in his story. Hearing for falsehood, the grayness of his tongue was the most acute in him. (A. A. Saakyants, afterword article and comments on Bunin's Collected Works in Six Volumes, Volume 4, 1988)