About the " Mr. from San Francisco " Bunin, readers today leave less reviews than about fashionable popular novels. However, many bestsellers , two to three years after publication, are forgotten. The work of the classic, which will be discussed in today's article, has not lost interest among readers for more than a hundred years.
The story " Mr. from San Francisco " reviews earned positive in Europe and America. Ivan Bunin raised questions that are always and everywhere topical.
about the author
In 1915, in Russia, many already knew the name of the author of the story " The San Francisco Mister. " Reviews of critics about his work met, as a rule, laudatory, as evidenced by two Pushkin Prizes. The first Bunin received in 1903. The second - in 1909.
Four years before the outbreak of World War I, the writer traveled a lot. He has been to Egypt, and Turkey, and Italy. New impressions had a beneficial effect on creativity. In 1915, the story "The Lord of San Francisco " was published. Both critics and readers left positive reviews, nevertheless, the prose writer’s mood was overcast, as his diary entries indicate. In 1916, Ivan Bunin wrote: " mental and mental dullness, literary infertility continue. "
Abroad
After the revolution, many Russian writers had to emigrate. Among them was the author of "The Master of San Francisco. " Reviews of his work at home were increasingly condemning. In the Soviet Union, his stories for many years were not exactly forbidden, but not recommended for reading. The prose writer who had left his homeland in the 1920s could not have thought that his book, "The Master from San Francisco, " would someday enter the school curriculum.
The reviews of Russian and Soviet writers about Bunin 's work are rather contradictory. He was connected with Gorky for many years. But then there was a break. Bunin’s relationship with Nabokov was even more complicated. Some critics regard them as a " poetic rivalry " , while others see in the works of these authors many similarities. By the way, in 1920, Bunin, while still a stranger to Nabokov, sent him his present book , The Master from San Francisco, by mail as a gift. Finally, it is worth talking about this work. Why does it resonate with readers even today, in the 21st century?
The main character
Bunin began work on this story in the summer of 1915. Initially, he planned to name the new work " Death on Capri " . But he changed his mind as soon as he composed the first sentence. The story begins with the words: " Mr. of San Francisco. " Then, in the very first paragraph, the author explains: no one remembered the name of the American billionaire who went on a trip on a steamer.
Bunin did not endow his hero with a name intentionally. The American has no individual traits. He is a representative of the upper world, belongs to the elite, to the richest people in his country. The gentleman from San Francisco worked all his life and was very successful. He probably owns several enterprises - the author mentions hired Chinese, whom he writes to his thousands. The American is 58 years old, but he has not yet begun to live. He had goals and worthy examples. Finally, he achieved everything he had once dreamed of. And he went on a long journey on a ship under the symbolic name.
"Atlantis"
On a luxury steamboat lies lies and hypocrisy. The American went on a trip not alone, but with his wife and daughter. He gives a generous tip, imposingly walks around the deck, dreams of an upcoming vacation in Naples. His every day is scheduled. He even rests according to a strictly established plan. Other Atlantis passengers do the same . Evenings, for example, are usually spent in the bar: drinking liquors , smoking Havana cigars, discussing politics.
There are no random passengers on Atlantis - only the best and most famous. Attention is drawn to a couple in love : he dances only with her, real happiness shines in her eyes. True, in reality these are hired actors who for good money portray love.
The description of the society that has gathered on the ship, Bunin pays much attention. The author does this in order to emphasize the facelessness, uniformity of representatives of the higher world. The gentleman from San Francisco, like the other rich people on Atlantis, worked all his life and achieved his goal. But what was his purpose?
In naples
All his life he spent in the delusion that money can buy everything. Not only expensive things and a ticket to a trip around the world, but also power, love, health, confidence in the future. He had been thinking about profit for so long that he forgot how to enjoy life. The hero of the story of Bunin is not able to appreciate the beauty of nature, which is revealed to him in Naples. He is in anticipation of love, though by no means the disinterested that he will receive from young Neapolitans.
In the Italian city, he admires not rare sights, but himself . After all, he is so omnipotent, rich that he can afford a luxurious vacation among people of "the very first grade " . Probably every representative of this variety thinks the same way. Only a few days pass and Naples tires the American. Italians, who smell of garlic, irritate him, cloudy weather depresses. In fact, he did not need a trip. He went to the Old World only because all the people of his circle who made a good fortune do so.
On capri
The weather on the island is better than in Naples. A family from San Francisco arrives at the most expensive hotel, where they are allocated the most beautiful maid, the most helpful footman. The American has all the best. But suddenly his heart stops. He dies and within a few minutes from a rich and respected gentleman turns into an onerous body.
The gentleman from San Francisco is immediately taken to the farthest and cheapest room. The innkeeper with the widow and daughter of the deceased does not stand on ceremony , realizing that he will not receive a lot of money from them. The other guests seemed offended: they paid a lot of money for the rest, and suddenly they were so tactlessly reminded of death. The evening is ruined. None of the representatives of the upper world, whose belonging the hero was so proud of, felt pity for him or his family.
The story of Bunin in Soviet times
The work was included in the school curriculum even before the collapse of the USSR. The main character is an American, capitalist. For many years he exploited, robbed the working people. The absurd sudden death that did not cause pity among others is a just punishment. Today it is not customary for capitalists to have contempt for our country. But the story, as before, resonates with readers. What is the universality of this work?
Reviews of modern readers
Bunin's story is not a criticism of bourgeois society. A story that happened to a gentleman from San Francisco can happen to every person, regardless of social and material status. After all, this story is not about the richer, but about a man who is in a spiritually lying world.
Hero Bunin is surrounded by vulgarity, hypocrisy. But he does not notice all this, because he admires his own person - he is rich and everything is permissible for him. This can be reasoned by a person with an average material income, but, for example, who has made a good career. Gentlemen from San Francisco live not only in the USA, but also in Russia. Not only at the beginning of the 20th century, but today.