Are sons and daughters obligated to take care of their parents? Or do they give this debt to their children? Lyudmila Kulikova answered these questions in her small work. “We met,” the summary of which is presented in this article, is a touching story about the fate of a mother who experienced such unbearable mental pain that it became easier for her to believe in the death of her son than in his betrayal.
Sons of ingratitude
The writer Lyudmila Kulikova revealed an extremely complex topic in a work of little prose. “See you” is a brief summary of a deep topic devoted to the ingratitude of children, which Pushkin touched on in his novel “Station Warden” and Dostoevsky in the novel “Humiliated and Offended”. Young people, often fluttering out of their parental nest, fly away into a new life rapidly, without looking back. They are driven by an irresistible desire not to repeat the fate of unfortunate mothers and fathers, a dull and bleak picture of why at home and ordinary human egoism. Ahead is a different existence. It has its own joys and difficulties. And behind is a disgusting house, in which everything is in gray tones, and time seemed to stop. Its inhabitants have no future. So why confuse the past with the present, if you can just forget, erase from memory the image of a person who is somewhere far away, perhaps languishing and suffering in painful expectation? And it’s even easier to convince yourself that no one is waiting and that everything is forgotten.
The image of abandoned parents in Russian literature
In terms of volume, the work created by L. Kulikov is rather small. “See you,” which is summarized below, is, nevertheless, a story of a lifetime. Comparing the story of a modern author with the works of representatives of Russian classical literature, one can find that little has changed in the last two hundred years. There are still ungrateful children. And so do the elderly, in whom life after the loss of a beloved son or daughter cannot continue.
The story in question in this article is part of the school curriculum today. This makes it possible for modern adolescents to understand the deep problems of fathers and children against the background of today's realities. The face of a person and what surrounds him changes over time. Human feelings and vices remain unchanged. And therefore, we can safely say that the problem of ingratitude of children is best disclosed in the following works:
- A. S. Pushkin "Station Warden".
- F. M. Dostoevsky "Humiliated and Offended."
- L. N. Kulikova "See you."
Summary and character image
The main character of the story is Tolik. Surname - Titov. The author does not give him a more complete name, possibly because this person does not have the mature worldview characteristic of his age. And perhaps the fact is that he was and remains Tolik, whom a loving mother is waiting for somewhere far away.
Actions in the story begin to unfold in the new cozy apartment of the protagonist. Tolik became the owner of a separate housing, which means that his dream came true. After all, he strove for this all his conscious life. And now, on the occasion of housewarming, the wife baked a cake, and the whole family gathered at the festive table.
It should be said that the hero Kulikova is a character with valuable positive qualities. He is an ideal family man, a man who lives for his wife and children. For twenty-four years he has been working tirelessly. The new spacious apartment is the result of his many years of hard work. The story “See you” is a short fragment from the life of a hardworking person, the father of the family. But this hero is a controversial person. How could he not remember the woman who gave him life for such a long period? But only during a family dinner in a new spacious apartment, he suddenly remembers his mother. The family happiness that prevails in the Titov’s house is unexpectedly overshadowed by the comparison: “Like in my mother’s childhood.” But it is precisely this thought that prompts the hero, after many years, to finally visit his home.
Memories
Suddenly, Tolik begins to recall his mother's letters, which he received back in the army and tore at once into small pieces. He thinks that he has not seen her for almost a quarter of a century, and has not written for more than ten years. Tolik goes to his native village to see the woman who gave birth to him. But when they meet, she does not dare to call her mother, and she refuses to believe that he is her son. Mother lived too long in expectation. Over the years, she was tired of crying and resigned to the fact that her son was no more. It turned out that for a mother’s heart, son's betrayal is unbearably.
Tolik did not understand anything. After visiting his mother, he left his home forever, "cutting off a wide chunk of life bread and throwing it on the road." These events are portrayed in his story “See” by Kulikov. An analysis of the work, however, suggests that the story is unfinished. Tolik's real torment of conscience is yet to come. It is possible to reveal the spiritual world of the protagonist and the reason for his so heartless attitude towards his mother by examining the artistic techniques that Kulikov uses in the story “We met”.
Analysis of the image of the Titovs house
In Tolik's new apartment, everything is a pleasure. And the smell in it is pleasant, and a certain confidence in the future is in the air. He was so tired of wandering around in rented apartments that even the many days of tedious preparation for moving could not overshadow the happiness of acquiring his own housing. And now he feels so firm confidence in tomorrow that he seems to be almost immortal. It is not in vain that he worked so hard all these years. He still managed to "stake out a place on the globe."
Lyudmila Kulikova created the image of a cheerful and malicious person in this work. “See you” is a story that begins with a description of the picture of ideal family happiness. But only at first glance may the memories of the mother appear random. Tolik, perhaps, all these years hid thoughts of her far away, at the very bottom of his soul. He had too many worries and other worries in his life. He had to make his own nest, secure the future for his sons, take care of his beloved wife. But only the goal was achieved - and, like a worm in a perfect apple, thoughts of a mother awoke. The events, which cover only a few days, were reflected in this work by Lyudmila Kulikova. “See you” is a short stretch of a life-long story. A sad story about the expectation of a mother who was forgotten by her son due to domestic problems, the desire to "postpone the extra penny." The sharp contrast to the new home creates the image of a neglected hut, which draws Kulikov.
"See you": the theme of the house
The village where the mother lives is depicted in gray joyless colors. The houses were dilapidated and rooted in the ground. Despair and desolation reigns around. The hut itself is not covered, the atmosphere in it is rather unsightly. The story “See you” is built on the antithesis. On the one hand - a life-affirming picture of the Titov family life. On the other - a lifeless atmosphere reigning in a hut. This opposition is based on the idea that was laid in the work of Lyudmila Kulikova. “We met,” whose characters are described extremely sparingly, is a work of art in which they “speak” at home and the atmosphere in them. It is the image of the hut that reveals the inner world of her mistress.
The image of Olga Gerasimovna
Mother did not recognize him. But in the last phrase, which concludes the story “We met” by Kulikova, it becomes clear that the heroine of this work did not forget anything. Long years of waiting killed her. She no longer waited for her son, and to see him alive and well meant to be convinced of his betrayal. Although “see” is a word that does not apply to her, since she lost her sight.
The image of his mother seemed completely alien to Tolik: a short old woman with unseeing eyes and charred fingers. Is it really that woman whose letters he so often received in the army and whose messages always ended with the plain saying “To son Tolya from mother Olya”?
Letters from mother
They annoyed him extremely. He did not care about the extended letters from his loving mother, and he tore them up immediately after reading them. It was much more pleasant to read messages from young girls. The topic, at all times relevant, raised in the story "See you" Kulikova. The problematic of this work lies in the complex relationship between parents and children. However, difficulties can be of a different nature. There is often disagreement between the mother and son regarding a particular issue. Children are often tired of excessive care, which one of the modern Russian authors once called the "terror of love." But the hero Kulikova did not experience excessive custody and did not suffer from the opinion imposed by her mother. He was simply ashamed of her. The reason for this low feeling may reveal a further analysis of the work.
Fatherlessness
In one of the letters, the mother tells Tolik about the death of her father. He does not remember this man at all. Tolik grew fatherless. When, having visited his mother, he tries to convince her that he is her beloved son, Tolya, he recalls one of his friends, who was supposedly also the son of a single mother. The mention of a childhood friend who was equally fatherless is one of the few that come to mind the prodigal son. And this is no coincidence.
Growing up without a father is not easy. And it’s especially difficult when life goes on in a small village where everyone knows everything about each other. The absence of a father for a boy does not pass without a trace. Some teens in single-parent families mature earlier than their peers, taking care of their mother. Others, on the contrary, seek to forget at all costs the offensive word "fatherlessness", to run away from it, to hide. To somewhere far away to create a full-fledged correct family. That was Tolik. He so wanted to have his own home and to know the true joy of family happiness, that, without hesitation, he erased from memory everything that was connected with childhood, and above all, his mother.
Blindness
What is the meaning of the name of the story Kulikova? We met ... The heroine of this work speaks this word more than once. She talks about the desire to "see" her son in a letter to him. And she says the phrase “See you later” after he leaves her for the last time.
She wanted to see her son. But since this desire was unattainable for her, she lost her sight. The blindness of the mother in the story has a symbolic meaning. As soon as Olga Gerasimovna’s hope of “meeting” her son died out, she also lost the need to see. Her vision was no longer needed.
Failed repentance
On the night that Tolik spent in his mother’s house, he did not sleep a wink. He remembered all the years past. About how difficult it was to earn money for a fur coat to his wife, trips to the sea, a new apartment. Tolik also wanted to tell Olga Gerasimovna about this in order to justify herself in her eyes. But could not. She stubbornly did not recognize him as a son. But even if he had told her about the difficulties that had been overcome all these years, she would hardly have understood him. There is no excuse for a man who has not found time to see his mother for most of his life.
Other heroes
Quite a bit, the author spoke about other characters. They are the wife and four sons of Tolik. There is nothing to say about them, since they are part of a happy sunny picture of family happiness. The hero of the story lived and worked exclusively for the last twenty-four years, for which he was sincerely convinced. In reality, he betrayed his mother because of his own selfishness and weakness.
Back to a new life
Tolik left his mother again. Her face in the last moment seemed sad to him. The main character of this story leaves, throwing aside everything that connects him with his native home. He will never see his mother, but will remember her more than once. Over the years, everyday vanity will become more insignificant. And the pain in the heart about the forgotten mother, meanwhile, will all be heating up. However, to "meet" him, alas, will no longer be with anyone.
In the style of psychological prose, she created the story “We met” by Kulikov. This genre involves the study and analysis of the human soul on the example of one or two heroes. In this work you can read the fate of all abandoned mothers and the mental torment of the sons who betrayed them.