So, today's topic of our conversation is the analysis “Mr. from San Francisco”. Bunin, the author of this story, almost from the first pages presents the reader with a harsh reality: money rules the world. People treat them not only as a means of subsistence, but also sacrifice material wealth their whole lives, and even the feelings of other people, throw all the strength of their body and soul into an endless pursuit of wealth.
The image of the protagonist
This is how the main character of creation appears to us - that same gentleman from San Francisco. This is a man who made money a goal, and not just a means to realize some of his hopes, ideas. Wealth is the essence of his life. It is no coincidence that the description of his rather long life (58 years!) Fits only half a page. And this is the first feature that you need to pay attention to when analyzing "Mr. from San Francisco." Bunin shows the reader a man who has never had a full happy life.
However, the hero himself notices this, and therefore decides to go on a trip. His wanderings continue for two whole years. But this person never managed to learn how to enjoy simple little things, to experience various sensations and feel the life boiling around him - he is deprived of all this. The rich man does not receive the desired pleasure and relaxation during the rest. For many years, confident that everything can be bought for money, he eats gourmet dishes, stops in the best rooms, but very quickly notices that even all his savings, taken together, cannot give him what he really needs - happiness.
Biblical associations in the work of I. Bunin
What is so interesting about the “Mr. from San Francisco” analysis? Bunin, working on this work, repeatedly turns to biblical associations. In particular, for a long time the story was accompanied by the epigraph “Woe to you, Babylon, a mighty city” - the writer removed meaningful words from the Apocalypse only in the latest edition. However, the name of the ship “Atlantis”, as if symbolizing the self-imposed doom of the existence of that person who lives for the sake of momentary pleasures, he retains.
The world in which the gentleman from San Francisco lives
The work “The Master from San Francisco” is a kind of mini-novel, which takes place in a world where there is no place for anything surprising, beautiful, where there are no dreams and fantasies. This is a world that oppresses a person’s individuality, “drives” it to common standards and criteria. Fashionable styles of clothes, expensive dinners, empty small talk ... It is easy to notice that the text contains practically no descriptions of other passengers of the Atlantis, the names of the main character, his daughter and wife are never mentioned. The life of rich gentlemen goes the same way, according to the same schedule, they practically do not differ from each other.
The gentleman from San Francisco is a man who has long chosen a model for himself, which, in his opinion, was worth following. Long years of “hard work” allowed him to achieve what he wanted. He is rich. He knows that people of his circle often go to rest in the Old World - he goes there too. The hero surrounds himself with bright scenery and protects himself from everything that he does not want to see. However, the truth is that life - real, sincere - remains just behind these decorations of his artificial world, soaked through through falsehood.
The death of the protagonist as the climax of the story
Continuing the analysis, "Mr. of San Francisco." Bunin made the climax of the death of the protagonist. And there is a certain amount of irony in it: constantly putting life off for later, he still does not have time to enjoy it, because no one is given to know how much time he has left.
The opposite of the gentleman from San Francisco can be considered Lorenzo - a boatman, "a carefree handsome man and a reveler" who does not feel the thrill of money and strives to live "to the fullest."
Love bought with money is an integral part of the protagonist’s world
It is no accident that the theme of love arises in the story. Bunin emphasizes that in a world where money rules everything, even this great feeling is vulgarized, becomes artificial. The gentleman’s daughter from San Francisco meets with a rich and noble eastern prince on the ship and, as the captain of the ship subtly noted, once again “love plays for money”.
To summarize
Ironically, the hero returns to his native places on the same Atlantis. However, his death does not change anything in the whole world - people continue to portray happiness, indulge in their second impulses. A gentleman from San Francisco will never be able to see and appreciate the beauty of the sea, mountains, endless plains. And the whole drama is that he could not have done this in life - the passion for wealth atrophied in him a sense of beauty.
Thus ends the “Mr. from San Francisco”, the meaning of which, admittedly, remains extremely relevant in our 21st century.