The desire for big money as a path to loneliness in the story “The Gentleman from San Francisco. The eternal problems of mankind in the story "The Gentleman from San Francisco"
Money. Money rules the world. Money can do everything. If people treated money as a means of subsistence, then the rich would be much happier, because they would think more about others, their life would not belong to money, it could be beautiful. But they devote their lives to making money, and then that money enslaves them.
So does the gentleman from San Francisco from the story of A. Bunin. Money for him is a goal, not a means of realizing his plans and desires. This is what he lives for. The description of his entire life (fifty-eight years) is only half a page. We see that he never had a real, full and happy woman. He is also aware of this and therefore arranges a two-year trip for himself, thinking that he will finally rest, have fun. But he never learned to enjoy the sun, the morning, he did not learn to enjoy pleasant little things, sensations and feelings. He just didn't have them. Therefore, he does not experience joy during rest.
The gentleman from San Francisco has always been convinced that pleasure can be bought, and now that he has a lot of money, there will be a lot of joy. But he was wrong. He bought expensive cigars the best rooms, the company of "high society", expensive food. But he did not buy what he really needs - happiness. He was not used to joys, he kept postponing his life for later, but when this "later" came, he simply could not use it.
He knows exactly what to do: behave like the rest of the rich people, the so-called cream of society. He goes to the theater not because he wants to enjoy the performance, but because others do. He goes to churches not to admire their beauty and pray, but because it is necessary. The church for him is emptiness, monotony, a place where there are no words, and therefore boring. He thinks that if he does things that please others, they will please him too. The gentleman from San Francisco does not understand the joys of other people, does not understand why he is unhappy, and this makes him irritable. It seems to him that he only needs to change the place, and it will be better for him, that the weather, the city, but not himself, are to blame for everything. He never got to feel happy.
A gentleman from San Francisco is contemptuous of people below him in position, because they cannot pay for everything like him. They exist to serve him ("He walked down the corridor, and the servants pressed against the walls, but he did not notice them"). It has no spirituality, no sense of beauty. He does not notice the beautiful scenery from the open window. (“From the darkness, a gentle air blew on him, he imagined the top of an old palm tree, spreading its fronds across the stars, which seemed gigantic, and heard the distant steady sound of the sea”). The gentleman from San Francisco does not see the beauty of nature, and yet only she will remain with him after his death. The window symbolizes the world that is open before him, but which he is not able to enjoy.
The same symbolic gesture is that he closes the window from which
smells like food and flowers. The gentleman from San Francisco lives a measured life, no shocks, no surprises, nothing ever changes in the daily routine. He eats and drinks a lot. But does food give him pleasure? Most likely no. And if so, it doesn't change anything. It's just that his stomach needs food, a lot of food, and the gentleman from San Francisco serves him, indulges him. He is no longer a man, his life flows automatically. No wonder he planned everything ahead for two years. “He hoped to enjoy the sun of southern Italy in December and January, he thought of holding a carnival in Nice, in Monte Carlo, he wanted to dedicate the beginning of March to Florence, to come to Rome to the Passion of the Lord. Venice, and Paris, and bullfighting in Seville, and swimming in the English Isles, and Athens, and Constantinople, and Palestine, and Egypt, and even Japan were included in his plans.
The "love" couple on the ship is very symbolic. They pretend to love each other for money, and they are already terribly tired of it, but, probably, they don’t want to do anything else or don’t know how to do it. (“He danced only with her, and everything came out so subtly, charmingly that only one commander knew that this couple was hired to play love for good money and had been sailing for a long time now on one ship, then on another.”) Then the gentleman from San Francisco, in fact, does the same thing - he pretends to live. And just as this couple may never be able to know love, so the gentleman from San Francisco is not destined to truly live.
In general, the gentleman from San Francisco is a generalized image, because he does not even have a name. He is the symbol of an entire class. The absence of a name also speaks of the absence of individuality. He is just a typical rich man. He died just beginning, in his opinion, to live. Maybe that's why he died? His life has changed, now he does not even have such a goal as making money. The gentleman from San Francisco was not a worthy man, and those who showed him respect during his lifetime despise him after death. Luigi portrays him, laughs at him. The owner of the hotel, seeing that the gentleman from San Francisco is no longer a source of income, refuses to leave his body in a decent room. They do not find a decent coffin for him and they take him home in some kind of wooden box. And when the dead lay in a bad room, only nature, which he rejected, remained with him and did not turn away from him (“Blue stars looked at him from the sky, a cricket sang with sad carelessness on the wall.”) Only she is sad after his death.
The gentleman from San Francisco is just another victim. He died long before physical death. First there was spiritual death. The story ends where it began, on Atlantis. "Atlantis" symbolizes the frailty of everything that exists, reminds us that everything will come to an end. The ring composition says that the history of a person has ended, but there are still many such people who are destined to live or simply exist. People will depend on money until they understand its true meaning.
For the gentleman from San Francisco in Bunin's story, money was an end, not a means of realizing his plans and desires. Money is what he lives for. The description of his entire life, fifty-eight years, is only half a page. We see that he never had a real, complete and happy life. He also sees this and therefore arranges for himself a two-year trip, a vacation. He thinks that he will finally rest, have fun and live for his own pleasure. But throughout his life he did not learn to enjoy life, the sun, the morning, he did not learn to enjoy pleasant little things, sensations and feelings. He simply did not have feelings and sensations. Therefore, he does not experience joy during rest.
The gentleman from San Francisco has always been convinced that pleasure can be bought, and now that he has a lot of money, there will be a lot of pleasure. But he was wrong. He bought expensive cigars, the best rooms, high society company, a lot of expensive food. But he did not buy what he really needs - happiness. He was not used to joys, he kept postponing his life for later, but when it came later, as he thought, he simply could not use it.
He knew exactly what to do: behave like the rest of the rich people, the so-called "cream of society." He went to theaters not because he wanted to enjoy a performance, but because others did. He went to churches not to admire their beauty and pray, but because it was necessary. Churches for him are emptiness, monotony, a place where it is boring. He thought that if he did things that please others, then they would please him too.
The gentleman from San Francisco did not understand the joys of other people, did not understand why he was unhappy, and this made him irritable. It seemed to him that he only needed to change the place, and it would be better for him, that the weather, the city, but not himself, were to blame for everything. He never got to feel happy.
The gentleman from San Francisco was contemptuous of people below him in position, because they could not pay for everything, like him. They exist to serve him ("He walked down the corridor, and the servants pressed against the walls, but he did not notice them").
It did not have a spiritual beginning, there was no sense of beauty. He did not notice the beautiful scenery from the open window. (“From the darkness a gentle air blew on him, he imagined the top of an old palm tree, spreading its leaves that seemed gigantic over the stars, he heard the distant steady sound of the sea ...”) The gentleman from San Francisco did not see the beauty of nature, and after all, only she remained with him after his death. Open window symbolizes the world that is open to him, but which he is not able to enjoy. He casually glances at the German in the reading room, “resembling Ibsen, with silver round glasses and crazy, astonished eyes,” because he does not want to think about what he could be like if he had started living earlier, if he had learned to be surprised at his surroundings. the world. He simply closed himself off from this German, from the window, from the whole world with a newspaper. The same symbolic gesture is that he closed the window, which smells of kitchen and flowers.
The gentleman from San Francisco lived a measured life, without shocks, without surprises, never changing anything in the daily routine. He ate and drank a lot. But did he enjoy food? Most likely no. And if so, it didn't change anything. It was just that his stomach demanded food, a lot of food, and the gentleman from San Francisco served him, pandered to him.
He is no longer a man, his life flowed automatically. No wonder he planned his life ahead for two years. "He hoped to enjoy the sun of southern Italy in December and January, he thought of holding a carnival in Nice, in Monte Carlo, he wanted to dedicate the beginning of March to Florence, to come to Rome to the passions of the Lord. Venice, Paris, and the battle were included in his plans bulls in Seville, and swimming in the Antilles, and Athens, and Constantinople, and Palestine, and Egypt, and even Japan."
The "love" couple on the ship is very symbolic. This couple pretended for money that they loved each other, and they were already terribly tired of it, but, probably, they didn’t want to or didn’t know how to do anything else. (“He danced only with her, and everything came out of them so subtly, charmingly that only one commander knew that this couple was hired to play love for good money and had been sailing on one ship or another for a long time"). This is essentially what the gentleman from San Francisco does - he pretends to live. And just as this couple may never be able to know love, so the gentleman from San Francisco is not destined to truly live.
In general, the gentleman from San Francisco is a symbolic image, because he does not even have a name. He is the symbol of an entire class. The absence of a name also speaks of the absence of individuality. He is just a typical rich man.
He died just beginning, in his opinion, to live. Maybe that's why he died? His life has changed, now he does not even have such a goal as making money.
The gentleman from San Francisco was not a worthy man, and those who showed him respect in life, after death, despise him and laugh at him. Luigi imitates him, laughs at him. The owner of the hotel, seeing that the gentleman from San Francisco is no longer a source of income, refuses to leave his body in a decent room. They do not find a decent coffin for him and they take him home in some kind of wooden box. And when the dead lay in a bad room, only nature, which he rejected, remained with him and did not turn away from him. ("The blue stars looked at him from the sky, the cricket sang with sad carelessness on the wall." One nature experiences sadness after his death.
The story ends where it began, on Atlantis. "Atlantis" symbolizes the frailty of everything that exists, reminds us that everything will come to an end. The ring composition says that the history of a person has ended, but there are still many such people who are destined to live or simply exist. Money. Money rules the world. Money can do everything. If people treated money as a means of subsistence, they would be much happier, their life would be much more fulfilling, it would not belong to money, it could be beautiful.
People will depend on money until they understand its true meaning. The gentleman from San Francisco is just another victim of theirs. He died long before physical death. First there was spiritual death.
“The Gentleman from San Francisco” is one of the most famous stories of the Russian prose writer Ivan Alekseevich Bunin. It was published in 1915 and has long become a textbook, it is held in schools and universities. Behind the seeming simplicity of this work are hidden deep meanings and issues that never lose their relevance.
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History of creation and plot of the story
According to Bunin himself, the inspiration for writing "Mr...." was Thomas Mann's story "Death in Venice". At that time, Ivan Alekseevich did not read the work of his German colleague, but only knew that an American was dying in it on the island of Capri. So “The Gentleman from San Francisco” and “Death in Venice” are not connected in any way, except perhaps by a good idea.
In the story, a certain gentleman from San Francisco, along with his wife and young daughter, set off on a big journey from the New World to the Old World. The gentleman worked all his life and amassed a solid fortune. Now, like all people of his status, he can afford a well-deserved rest. The family sails on a luxurious ship called "Atlantis". The ship is more like a chic mobile hotel, where the eternal holiday lasts and everything works in order to bring pleasure to its obscenely wealthy passengers.
The first tourist point in the route of our travelers is Naples, which meets them unfavorably - the city has disgusting weather. Soon a gentleman from San Francisco leaves the city to go to the shores of sunny Capri. However, there, in a cozy reading room of a fashionable hotel, unexpected death from an attack. The gentleman is hastily transferred to the cheapest room (so as not to spoil the reputation of the hotel) and in a dead box, in the hold of the Atlantis, they are sent home to San Francisco.
Main characters: characterization of images
gentleman from san francisco
We get acquainted with the gentleman from San Francisco from the first pages of the story, because he is central character works. Surprisingly, the author does not honor his hero with a name. Throughout the story, he remains "master" or "mister." Why? In this, the writer honestly admits to his reader - this person is faceless “in his desire to buy charms with the wealth he has. real life”.
Before hanging labels, let's get to know this gentleman better. Suddenly he's not so bad? So, our hero worked hard all his life (“the Chinese, whom he ordered to work for him by the thousands, knew this well”). He is 58 years old and now he has the full material and moral right to arrange for himself (and his family part-time) great vacation.
“Until this time, he did not live, but only existed, though not badly, but still placing all his hopes on the future”
Describing the appearance of his nameless master, Bunin, who was distinguished by his ability to notice individual features in everyone, for some reason does not find anything special in this person. He casually draws a portrait of him - "dry, short, awkwardly cut, but tightly sewn ... a yellowish face with trimmed silver mustaches ... large teeth ... a strong bald head." It seems that behind this rough “ammunition”, which is issued complete with a solid state, it is difficult to consider the thoughts and feelings of a person, and, perhaps, everything sensual simply turns sour in such storage conditions.
With a closer acquaintance with the master, we still learn little about him. We know that he wears elegant, expensive suits with suffocating collars, we know that at dinner at Atlantis he gorges himself, smokes red-hot cigars and gets drunk on liquors, and this brings pleasure, but in fact we don’t know anything else.
It's amazing, but for the whole time great trip on the ship and stay in Naples, not a single enthusiastic exclamation sounded from the lips of the master, he does not admire anything, is not surprised at anything, does not argue about anything. The trip brings him a lot of inconvenience, but he cannot help but go, because all people of his rank do this. So it is necessary - first Italy, then France, Spain, Greece, certainly Egypt and the British Isles, exotic Japan on the way back ...
Exhausted by seasickness, he sails to the island of Capri (an obligatory point on the way of any self-respecting tourist). In a chic room in the best hotel on the island, a gentleman from San Francisco constantly says “Oh, this is terrible!” Without even trying to understand what exactly is terrible. The pricks of cufflinks, the stuffiness of a starched collar, naughty gouty fingers ... I would rather go to the reading room and drink local wine, all respected tourists certainly drink it.
And having reached his “mecca” in the hotel reading room, the gentleman from San Francisco dies, but we do not feel sorry for him. No, no, we do not want a righteous reprisal, we simply do not care, as if a chair were broken. We wouldn't shed tears about a chair.
In pursuit of wealth this deep limited person did not know how to manage the money, and therefore bought what society imposed on him - uncomfortable clothes, unnecessary travel, even the daily routine, according to which all travelers were required to rest. Early rise, first breakfast, walk on the deck or “enjoyment” of the sights of the city, second breakfast, voluntary-compulsory sleep (everyone should be tired at this time!), gatherings and a long-awaited dinner, plentiful, satisfying, drunk. This is what the imaginary “freedom” of a rich man from the New World looks like.
master's wife
The wife of the gentleman from San Francisco, alas, also has no name. The author calls her "Mrs" and characterizes her as "a large, broad and calm woman." She, like a faceless shadow, follows her wealthy spouse, walks along the deck, has breakfast, dinner, “enjoys” the sights. The writer admits that she is not very impressionable, but, like all elderly American women, she is a passionate traveler ... At least she is supposed to be.
The only emotional outburst occurs after the death of a spouse. Mrs. is indignant that the manager of the hotel refuses to place the body of the deceased in expensive rooms and leaves him to “spend the night” in a shabby, damp little room. And not a word about the loss of a spouse, they have lost respect, status - that's what occupies an unfortunate woman.
Master's daughter
This sweet miss does not cause negative emotions. She is not capricious, not swaggering, not talkative, on the contrary, she is very reserved and shy.
“Tall, thin, with magnificent hair, beautifully done up, with aromatic breath from violet cakes and with the most delicate pink pimples near the lips and between the shoulder blades”
At first glance, the author is favorable to this lovely person, but he does not even give a name to his daughter, because again there is nothing individual in her. Remember the episode when she trembles while talking aboard the Atlantis with the Crown Prince, who was traveling incognito. Everyone, of course, knew that this was an oriental prince and knew how fabulously rich he was. The young miss went crazy with excitement when he noticed her, perhaps she even fell in love with him. Meanwhile, the oriental prince was not at all good-looking - small, like a boy, thin face with tight swarthy skin, sparse mustaches, unattractive European attire (he travels incognito!). Falling in love with princes is supposed to be, even if he is a real freak.
Other characters
As a contrast to our cold trinity, the author intersperses descriptions of characters from the people. This is the boatman Lorenzo (“carefree reveler and handsome man”), and two highlanders with bagpipes at the ready, and simple Italians meeting the boat from the shore. All of them are the inhabitants of a joyful, cheerful, beautiful country, they are its masters, its sweat and blood. They do not have untold fortunes, tight collars, and social duties, but in their poverty they are richer than all the San Francisco gentlemen put together, their cold wives and tender daughters.
A gentleman from San Francisco understands this on some subconscious, intuitive level ... and hates all these “men who stink of garlic”, because he cannot just run barefoot along the shore - he has lunch on schedule.
Analysis of the work
The story can be conditionally divided into two unequal parts - before and after the death of a gentleman from San Francisco. We are witnessing a vivid metamorphosis that has taken place literally in everything. How the money and the status of this man, this self-proclaimed ruler of life, instantly depreciated. The manager of the hotel, who just a few hours ago broke into a sweet smile in front of a wealthy guest, now allows himself undisguised familiarity in relation to Mrs., Miss and the deceased gentleman. Now this is not an honored guest who will leave a substantial amount in the cash register, but simply a corpse, which risks casting a shadow on the high-society hotel.
With expressive strokes, Bunin draws the chilling indifference of everyone around to the death of a person, starting from the guests, whose evening is now overshadowed, and ending with his wife and daughter, whose journey is hopelessly ruined. Fierce selfishness and coldness - everyone thinks only about himself.
The generalized allegory of this thoroughly false bourgeois society is the ship "Atlantis". It is also divided into classes by its decks. In luxurious halls, the rich have fun and get drunk with their companions and families, and in the holds, those who are not considered by representatives of the high society and for people work up to a sweat. But the world of money and lack of spirituality is doomed, which is why the author calls his ship-allegory in honor of the sunken mainland "Atlantis".
Problems of the work
In the story “The Gentleman from San Francisco,” Ivan Bunin raises the following questions:
- What is the true meaning of money in life?
- Can you buy joy and happiness?
- Is it worth enduring constant deprivation for the sake of an illusory reward?
- Who is freer: the rich or the poor?
- What is the purpose of man in this world?
The last question is of particular interest. It is certainly not new - many writers have thought about what is the meaning of human existence. Bunin does not go into a complex philosophy, his conclusion is simple - a person must live in such a way as to leave a mark. Whether it will be works of art, reforms in the lives of millions, or a bright memory in the hearts of loved ones, it does not matter. The gentleman from San Francisco left nothing, no one will sincerely mourn him, even his wife and daughter.
Place in literature: Literature of the 20th century → Russian literature of the 20th century → The work of Ivan Bunin → The story “The Gentleman from San Francisco” (1915).
We also recommend that you read the work Pure Monday. Ivan Bunin considered this work to be his best work.
Essay based on a work on the topic: gentleman from San Francisco
Money. Money rules the world. Money can do everything. If people treated money as a means of subsistence, then the rich would be much happier, much more fulfilling, because they would think more about others, their life would not belong to money, it could be beautiful. But they devote their lives to earning money, so that later they can live on this money. So does the gentleman from San Francisco from Bunin's story. Money for him is a goal, not a means of realizing his plans and desires. Money is what he lives for. The description of his entire life, fifty-eight years, is only half a page. We see that he never had a real, full and happy life. He also sees this and therefore arranges for himself a two-year journey dedicated to ???. He thinks that he will finally rest, have fun and live. But throughout his life he did not learn to enjoy life, the sun, the morning, he did not learn to enjoy pleasant little things, sensations and feelings. He simply did not have feelings and sensations. Therefore, he does not experience joy during rest. The gentleman from San Francisco has always been convinced that pleasure can be bought, and now that he has a lot of money, there will be a lot of pleasure. But he was wrong. He bought expensive cigars, the best rooms, high society company, a lot of expensive food. But he did not buy what he really needs - happiness. He was not used to joys, he kept postponing his life for later, but when it came, as he thought, he simply could not use it. He knows exactly what to do: behave like the rest of the rich people, the so-called "cream of society". He goes to the theater not because he wants to enjoy the performance, but because others do. He goes to churches not to admire their beauty and pray, but because it is necessary. Churches for him are emptiness, monotony, a place where there are no words and, therefore, boring. He thinks that if he does things that please others, they will please him too. The gentleman from San Francisco does not understand the joys of other people, he does not understand why he is unhappy, and this makes him irritable. It seems to him that he only needs to change the place, and it will be better for him, that the weather, the city, but not himself, are to blame for everything. He never got to feel happy.
A gentleman from San Francisco is contemptuous of people below him in position, because they cannot pay for everything like him. They exist to serve him ("He walked down the corridor, and the servants pressed against the walls, but he did not notice them").
It has no spirituality, no sense of beauty. He does not notice the beautiful scenery from the open window. (“From the darkness a gentle air blew on him, he imagined the top of an old palm tree, spreading its fronds across the stars, which seemed gigantic, he heard the distant steady sound of the sea ...”) The gentleman from San Francisco does not see the beauty of nature, and after all, only she will remain with him after his death. The open window symbolizes the world that is open before him, but which he is not able to enjoy. He casually glances at the German in the reading room, “who looks like Isben, with round silver glasses and crazy, astonished eyes,” because he doesn’t want to think about what he could be like if he had started living earlier, if he had learned to be surprised at his surroundings. the world. He simply closed himself off from this German, from the window, from the whole world with a newspaper. The same symbolic gesture is that he closes the window, which smells of kitchen and flowers.
The gentleman from San Francisco lives a measured life, no shocks, no surprises, nothing ever changes in the daily routine. He eats and drinks a lot. But does food give him pleasure? Most likely no. And if so, it doesn't change anything. It's just that his stomach needs food, a lot of food, and the gentleman from San Francisco serves him, indulges him. He is no longer a man, his life flows automatically. No wonder he planned his life ahead for two years. "He hoped to enjoy the sun of southern Italy in December and January, he thought of holding a carnival in Nice, in Monte Carlo, he wanted to dedicate the beginning of March to Florence, to come to Rome to the passions of the Lord. Venice, Paris, and the battle were included in his plans bulls in Seville, and bathing in the English Isles, and Athens, and Constantinople, and Palestine, and Egypt, and even Japan." The "love" couple on the ship is very symbolic. This couple pretends to love each other for money, and they are already terribly tired of it, but, probably, they don’t want to or don’t know how to do anything else. (“He danced only with her, and everything came out of them so subtly, charmingly, that only one commander knew that this couple was hired to play love for good money and had been sailing on one ship or another for a long time"). This is essentially what the gentleman from San Francisco does - he pretends to live. And just as this couple may never be able to know love, so the gentleman from San Francisco is not destined to truly live.
In general, the gentleman from San Francisco is a symbolic image, because he does not even have a name. He is the symbol of an entire class. The absence of a name also speaks of the absence of individuality. He is just a typical rich man.
He died just beginning, in his opinion, to live. Maybe that's why he died? His life has changed, now he does not even have such a goal as making money. The gentleman from San Francisco was not a worthy man, and those who showed him respect in life, after death, despise him and laugh at him. Luigi imitates him, laughs at him. The owner of the hotel, seeing that the gentleman from San Francisco is no longer a source of income, refuses to leave his body in a decent room. They do not find a decent coffin for him and they take him home in some kind of wooden box. And when the dead lay in a bad room, only nature, which he rejected, remained with us and did not turn away from him. ("The blue stars looked at him from the sky, the cricket sang with sad carelessness on the wall." One nature experiences sadness after his death.
The story ends where it began, on Atlantis. "Atlantis" symbolizes the frailty of everything that exists, reminds us that everything will come to an end. The ring composition says that the history of a person has ended, but there are still many such people who are destined to live or simply exist. People will depend on money until they understand its true meaning. The gentleman from San Francisco is just another victim of theirs. He died long before physical death. First there was spiritual death.
The gentleman from San Francisco is a typical person, but how are you different from him? Maybe this story will help you understand who you really are and change your life.
Composition
Bunin's story "The Gentleman from San Francisco" has an acute social orientation, but the meaning of these stories is not limited to criticism of capitalism and colonialism. Social problems capitalist society are only a background that allows Bunin to show the aggravation of the "eternal" problems of mankind in the development of civilization. In the 1900s, Bunin traveled around Europe and the East, observing the life and order of capitalist society in Europe and the colonial countries of Asia. Bunin is aware of the whole immorality of the order that prevails in an imperialist society, where everyone works only to enrich the monopolies. Wealthy capitalists are not ashamed of any means to increase their capital.
This story reflects all the features of Bunin's poetics, and at the same time it is unusual for him, its meaning is too prosaic.
The story has almost no plot. People travel, fall in love, earn money, that is, they create the appearance of activity, but the plot can be told in a nutshell: "A man died." Bunin generalizes the image of the gentleman from San Francisco to such an extent that he does not even give him any specific name. We don't know much about his spiritual life. Actually, this life did not exist, it was lost behind the thousands of everyday details that Bunin lists up to the smallest details. Already at the very beginning we see the contrast between cheerful and easy life in the cabins of the ship and the horror that reigns in its depths: “Every minute the siren called out with hellish gloom and squealed with furious anger, but few of the inhabitants heard the siren - it was drowned out by the sounds of a beautiful string orchestra ... "
The description of life on the ship is given in a contrasting image of the upper deck and hold of the ship: “Giant fireboxes rumbled deafly, devouring piles of red-hot coal, with a roar thrown into them by people covered in caustic, dirty sweat and waist-deep naked people, purple from the flame; and here, in the bar, they carelessly threw their legs on the arms of their chairs, smoked,
sipped cognac and liqueurs ... ”By this abrupt transition, Bunin emphasizes that the luxury of the upper decks, that is, the highest capitalist society, is achieved only through the exploitation, enslavement of people who are constantly working in hellish conditions in the hold of the ship. And their pleasure is empty and false, symbolic meaning the story is played by a couple hired by Lloyd to "play love for good money".
On the example of the fate of the gentleman from San Francisco, Bunin writes about the aimlessness, emptiness, worthlessness of life. typical representative capitalist society. The thought of death, repentance, sins, God never came to the gentleman from San Francisco. All his life he strove to compare himself with those "whom he once took as a model." By old age, there was nothing human left in him. He became like expensive thing, made of gold and ivory, one of those that always surrounded him: “his large teeth shone with gold fillings, his strong bald head was old ivory.”
Bunin's idea is clear. He talks about the eternal problems of mankind. About the meaning of life, about the spirituality of life, about the relationship of man to God.
Money. Money rules the world. Money can do everything. If people treated money as a means of subsistence, then the rich would be much happier, much more fulfilling, because they would think more about others, their life would not belong to money, it could be beautiful. But they devote their lives to earning money, so that later they can live on this money. So does the gentleman from San Francisco from Bunin's story. Money for him is a goal, not a means of realizing his plans and desires. Money is what he lives for. The description of his entire life, fifty-eight years, is only half a page. We see that he never had a real, full and happy life. He also sees this and therefore arranges for himself a two-year journey dedicated to ???.
He thinks that he will finally rest, have fun and live. But throughout his life he did not learn to enjoy life, the sun, the morning, he did not learn to enjoy pleasant little things, sensations and feelings. He simply did not have feelings and sensations. Therefore, he does not experience joy during rest. The gentleman from San Francisco has always been convinced that pleasure can be bought, and now that he has a lot of money, there will be a lot of pleasure. But he was wrong. He bought expensive cigars, the best rooms, high society company, a lot of expensive food.
But he did not buy what he really needs - happiness. He was not used to joys, he kept postponing his life for later, but when it came, as he thought, he simply could not use it. He knows exactly what to do: behave like the rest of the rich people, the so-called "cream of society". He goes to the theater not because he wants to enjoy the performance, but because others do. He goes to churches not to admire their beauty and pray, but because it is necessary. Churches for him are emptiness, monotony, a place where there are no words and, therefore, boring. He thinks that if he does things that please others, they will please him too. The gentleman from San Francisco does not understand the joys of other people, he does not understand why he is unhappy, and this makes him irritable. It seems to him that he only needs to change the place, and it will be better for him, that the weather, the city, but not himself, are to blame for everything. He never got to feel happy.
A gentleman from San Francisco is contemptuous of people below him in position, because they cannot pay for everything like him. They exist to serve him ("He walked down the corridor, and the servants pressed against the walls, but he did not notice them").
It has no spirituality, no sense of beauty. He does not notice the beautiful scenery from the open window. (“From the darkness a gentle air blew on him, he imagined the top of an old palm tree, spreading its fronds across the stars, which seemed gigantic, he heard the distant steady sound of the sea ...”) The gentleman from San Francisco does not see the beauty of nature, and after all, only she will remain with him after his death. The open window symbolizes the world that is open before him, but which he is not able to enjoy. He casually glances at the German in the reading room, “who looks like Isben, with round silver glasses and crazy, astonished eyes,” because he doesn’t want to think about what he could be like if he had started living earlier, if he had learned to be surprised at his surroundings. the world. He simply closed himself off from this German, from the window, from the whole world with a newspaper. The same symbolic gesture is that he closes the window, which smells of kitchen and flowers.
The gentleman from San Francisco lives a measured life, no shocks, no surprises, nothing ever changes in the daily routine. He eats and drinks a lot. But does food give him pleasure? Most likely no. And if so, it doesn't change anything. It's just that his stomach needs food, a lot of food, and the gentleman from San Francisco serves him, indulges him. He is no longer a man, his life flows automatically. No wonder he planned his life ahead for two years. "He hoped to enjoy the sun of southern Italy in December and January, he thought of holding a carnival in Nice, in Monte Carlo, he wanted to dedicate the beginning of March to Florence, to come to Rome to the passions of the Lord. Venice, Paris, and the battle were included in his plans bulls in Seville, and bathing in the English Isles, and Athens, and Constantinople, and Palestine, and Egypt, and even Japan." The "love" couple on the ship is very symbolic. This couple pretends to love each other for money, and they are already terribly tired of it, but, probably, they don’t want to or don’t know how to do anything else. (“He danced only with her, and everything came out of them so subtly, charmingly, that only one commander knew that this couple was hired to play love for good money and had been sailing on one ship or another for a long time"). This is essentially what the gentleman from San Francisco does - he pretends to live. And just as this couple may never be able to know love, so the gentleman from San Francisco is not destined to truly live.
In general, the gentleman from San Francisco is a symbolic image, because he does not even have a name. He is the symbol of an entire class. The absence of a name also speaks of the absence of individuality. He is just a typical rich man.
He died just beginning, in his opinion, to live. Maybe that's why he died? His life has changed, now he does not even have such a goal as making money. The gentleman from San Francisco was not a worthy man, and those who showed him respect in life, after death, despise him and laugh at him. Luigi imitates him, laughs at him. The owner of the hotel, seeing that the gentleman from San Francisco is no longer a source of income, refuses to leave his body in a decent room. They do not find a decent coffin for him and they take him home in some kind of wooden box. And when the dead lay in a bad room, only nature, which he rejected, remained with us and did not turn away from him. ("The blue stars looked at him from the sky, the cricket sang with sad carelessness on the wall." One nature experiences sadness after his death.
The story ends where it began, on Atlantis. "Atlantis" symbolizes the frailty of everything that exists, reminds us that everything will come to an end. The ring composition says that the history of a person has ended, but there are still many such people who are destined to live or simply exist. People will depend on money until they understand its true meaning. The gentleman from San Francisco is just another victim of theirs. He died long before physical death. First there was spiritual death.
The gentleman from San Francisco is a typical person, but how are you different from him? Maybe this story will help you understand who you really are and change your life.
