One of the writers of the 20th century, whose work is of particular interest to researchers today, is Alexander Solzhenitsyn. The works of this author are considered primarily in the socio-political aspect. Analysis of the works of Solzhenitsyn is the topic of this article.
Book themes
Solzhenitsyn’s work is the story of the Gulag Archipelago. The peculiarity of his books is the depiction of the opposition of man to the forces of evil. Alexander Solzhenitsyn is a man who went through the war, and at the end of it was arrested for "betraying the homeland." He dreamed of literary work and sought to study the history of the revolution as deeply as possible, because it was here that he was looking for inspiration. But life threw him other plots. Prisons, camps, exile and terminal illness. Then miraculous healing, worldwide glory. And finally - expulsion from the Soviet Union.
So what did Solzhenitsyn write about? The works of this writer are a long way to self-improvement. And it is given only if there is a huge life experience and a high cultural level. A true writer is always a little above life. It is as if he sees himself and others from the side, somewhat distantly.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn has come a long way. He saw a world in which a person has little chance of surviving physically or spiritually. He survived. Moreover, he was able to reflect this in his work. Thanks to the rich and rare literary gift, the books that Solzhenitsyn created were the property of the Russian people.
Artworks
The list includes the following novels, novels, and short stories:
- "One day of Ivan Denisovich."
- "Matrenin yard".
- "The case at Kochetkova station."
- "Zahar Kalita."
- "Young".
- "Does not matter".
- The Gulag Archipelago.
- "In the first circle."
Before the first publication of his creations, Solzhenitsyn was engaged in literary work for more than twelve years. The works listed above are only part of his creative heritage. But these books should be read by every person for whom the Russian language is native. The themes of Solzhenitsyn's works are not concentrated on the horrors of camp life. This writer, like no other in the 20th century, was able to portray a true Russian character. Character, striking in its persistence, based on some natural and deep ideas about life.
One day in the life of a prisoner
The camp theme has become close to Soviet people. The most monstrous thing in her is that it was forbidden to discuss her. Moreover, even after 1953, fear did not allow talking about the tragedy that occurred in every third family. Solzhenitsyn's work “One Day of Ivan Denisovich” brought to society a certain ethics forged in the camps. In whatever situation a person finds himself, he must not forget about his dignity. Shukhov - the hero of the story of Solzhenitsyn - does not live every camp day, but tries to survive. But the words of the old prisoner, which he heard back in the forty-third year, sunk into his soul: "He who licks the bowls dies."
Solzhenitsyn in this story combines two points of view: the author and the hero. They are not opposite. They have a certain general ideology. The differences in them are the level of generalization and the breadth of the material. Solzhenitsyn manages to distinguish between the hero’s thoughts and the author’s reasoning using stylistic means.
The author of "Ivan Denisovich" returned to the literature a simple Russian peasant. The hero of Solzhenitsyn lives relying on simple folk wisdom, not reflecting more than necessary, and not reflecting.
Readers of the literary magazine "New World" did not remain indifferent to Ivan Denisovich. The publication of the story resonated in society. But before getting to the pages of a periodical, it was necessary to go through a difficult path. And here also the simple Russian character won. The author himself in an autobiographical work claimed that “Ivan Denisovich” was in print, because the editor in chief of the “New World” was none other than a man from the people - Alexander Twardovsky. And the main critic of the country - Nikita Khrushchev - was interested in "camp life through the eyes of a simple peasant."
The Righteous Matrena
Preserve humanity in conditions that are less conducive to understanding, love, selflessness ... This is the problem to which Solzhenitsyn's work Matrenin Dvor is dedicated. The heroine of the story is a lonely woman, not understood by her husband, adopted daughter, neighbors with whom she has been living side by side for half a century. Matrena did not accumulate property, but at the same time works for free on others. She does not conceal anger at anyone and as if she does not see all those vices that overwhelm the souls of her neighbors. It is on such people as Matrena, according to the author, that the village, the city, and our whole land are supported.
Writing history
After the exile, Solzhenitsyn lived for almost a year in a remote village. Worked as a teacher. I rented a room from a local resident, who became the prototype of the heroine of the story “Matrenin Dvor”. The story was published in 1963. The work was highly appreciated by both readers and critics. The editor-in-chief of the “New World” A. Twardowski noted that an illiterate and simple woman named Matrena earned the interest of readers due to her rich emotional world.
In the Soviet Union, only two stories were able to publish Solzhenitsyn. The works “In the First Circle”, “The Gulag Archipelago” were published for the first time in the West.
Art study
In his work, Solzhenitsyn combined the study of reality and the writer's approach. When working on the “Gulag Archipelago,” Solzhenitsyn used evidence from over two hundred people. The works about the camp life and the inhabitants of sharashka are based not only on their own experience. When reading the novel The Gulag Archipelago, sometimes you don’t understand that this is a work of art or a scientific work? But the result of the study can only be statistics. Own experience and stories of friends allowed Solzhenitsyn to summarize all the material he collected.
The peculiarity of the novel
The Gulag Archipelago consists of three volumes. In each of them, the author sets out different periods in the history of the camps. On the example of special cases the technology of arrest and investigation is given. The sophistication with which the employees of the institution worked in the Lubyanka is amazing. In order to accuse the person of what he did not do, the special services officers performed a number of complex manipulations.
The author makes the reader feel like he is a camp occupant. The Gulag Archipelago novel is a mystery that attracts and attracts. Acquaintance with human psychology, disfigured by constant fear and terror, forms among readers a persistent hatred of the totalitarian regime in all its manifestations.
A person turning into a prisoner forgets about moral, political and aesthetic principles. The only goal is to survive. Especially terrible is the turning point in the psyche of a prisoner brought up in idealistic, sublime ideas about his own place in society. In the world of cruelty and unprincipledness, to be a man is almost impossible, and not to be him is to break yourself forever.
In the literary underground
For many years Solzhenitsyn created his works, and then burned. The contents of the destroyed manuscripts were stored only in his memory. The positive aspects of underground activity for the writer, according to Solzhenitsyn, are that the author is freed from the influence of censors and editors. But after twelve years of continuous writing of stories and novels that remained unknown, lonely creativity began to choke him. Leo Tolstoy once said that a writer should not publish his books during his lifetime. Because it is immoral. Solzhenitsyn argued that one can agree with the words of the great classic, but nevertheless, every author needs criticism.