The theme of love is probably the most frequently touched upon in literature, and in art in general. It was love that inspired the greatest creators of all time to create immortal works. In the work of many writers, this topic is a key one, and A.I. Kuprin belongs to their number, whose three main works - Olesya, Shulamith and Pomegranate Bracelet - are dedicated to love, however, presented by the author in different manifestations.

Probably there is no more mysterious, beautiful and all-consuming feeling, familiar to everyone without exception, than love, because from birth a person is already loved by his parents and he himself experiences, albeit unconsciously, reciprocal feelings. However, for everyone, love has its own special meaning, in each of its manifestations it is not the same, it is unique. In these three works, the author portrayed this feeling from the standpoint of various people, and each of them has it. different character, while its essence remains unchanged - it knows no boundaries.

In the story “Olesya”, written in 1898, Kuprin describes a remote village in the Volyn province, on the outskirts of Polissya, where fate has thrown Ivan Timofeevich, a “master”, an urban intellectual. Fate brings him together with the granddaughter of the local sorceress Manuilikha, Olesya, who fascinates him with her extraordinary beauty. This is the beauty of not a secular lady, but a wild fallow deer living in the bosom of nature. However, not only the appearance attracts Ivan Timofeevich in Oles: The young man is delighted with the self-confidence, pride and audacity of the girl. Growing up in the depths of the forests and almost not communicating with people, she is used to treating strangers with great caution, but when she meets Ivan Timofeevich, she gradually falls in love with him. He bribes the girl with his ease, kindness, intelligence, because for Olesya all this is unusual, new. The girl is very happy when a young guest often visits her. On one of these visits, she, guessing by his hand, characterizes the reader of the protagonist as a person “although kind, but only weak”, admits that his kindness is “not cordial”. That his heart is “cold, lazy”, and that he “will love him”, he will bring, albeit unwittingly, “a lot of evil”. Thus, according to the young fortune-teller, Ivan Timofeevich appears before us as an egoist, a person incapable of deep emotional experiences. However, in spite of everything, young people fall in love with each other, completely surrendering to this all-consuming feeling. Falling in love, Olesya shows her sensitive delicacy, innate intelligence, observation and tact, her instinctive knowledge of the secrets of life. Moreover, her love reveals the enormous power of passion and selflessness, reveals in her the great human talent of understanding and generosity. Olesya is ready to do anything for the sake of her love: to go to church, enduring the bullying of the villagers, to find the strength to leave, leaving behind only a string of cheap red beads, which are a symbol of eternal love and devotion. The image of Olesya for Kuprin is the ideal of an open, selfless, deep character. Love elevates her above those around her, giving her joy, but at the same time making her defenseless, leading to inevitable death. Compared to Olesya's great love, even Ivan Timofeevich's feeling for her loses in many ways. His love is more like a fleeting infatuation at times. He understands that the girl will not be able to live outside the nature surrounding her here, but nevertheless, offering her a hand and heart, he implies that she will live with him in the city. At the same time, he does not think about the possibility of abandoning civilization, remaining to live for the sake of Olesya here, in the wilderness.

He resigns himself to the situation, without even making an attempt to change anything, challenging the circumstances. Probably be it real love, Ivan Timofeevich would have found his beloved, having done everything possible for this, but, unfortunately, he did not understand what he had missed.

A. I. Kuprin also revealed the theme of mutual and happy love in the story “Shulamith”, which tells about the boundless love of the richest king Solomon and the poor slave Shulamith working in the vineyards. An unshakably strong and passionate feeling raises them above material differences, erasing the boundaries that separate lovers, once again proving the strength and power of love. However, at the end of the work, the author destroys the well-being of his heroes by killing Shulamith and leaving Solomon alone. According to Kuprin, love is a bright flash that reveals the spiritual value of the human personality, awakening in it all the best that is hidden for the time being in the depths of the soul.

Kuprin depicts a completely different love in the story "Garnet Bracelet". The deep feeling of the protagonist Zheltkov, a petty employee, a “little man” for a secular lady, Princess Vera Nikolaevna Sheina, brings him so much suffering and torment, since his love is unrequited and hopeless, as well as pleasure, because it exalts him, exciting his soul and giving joy. Rather, not even love, but adoration, it is so strong and unconscious that even ridicule does not detract from it. In the end, realizing the unfulfillment of his beautiful dream and having lost hope for reciprocity in his love, and also largely under the pressure of those around him, Zheltkov decides to commit suicide, but even at the last moment all his thoughts are only about his beloved, and even passing away, he continues to idolize Vera Nikolaevna, addressing her as if to a deity: "May the your name". Only after the death of the hero, the one with whom he was so hopelessly in love realizes that "that the love that every woman dreams of has passed her by", it's a pity that it's too late. The work is deeply tragic, the author shows how important it is not only to understand the other, but also, looking into his soul, perhaps find reciprocal feelings there.In "Garnet Bracelet" there are words that "love must be a tragedy"; it seems to me that the author wanted to say that before a person realizes, spiritually reaches the level when love is happiness, pleasure, he must go through all the difficulties and hardships that are somehow associated with it.

True love is pure, sublime, all-consuming love.
Such love is depicted in many works of A. I. Kuprin: "Garnet Bracelet", "Shulamith", "Olesya". All three stories end tragically: "The Garnet Bracelet" and "Shulamith" are resolved by the death of the main characters, in "Oles" the plot action ends with the parting of Olesya and the narrator. According to Kuprin, true love doomed because she has no place in this world - she will always be condemned in a vicious social environment.
In Oles, the obstacles to the love of the characters were their social differences and the prejudices of society. Olesya is a girl who was born and spent her entire youth in the thickets of Polissya, wild, uneducated, aloof from people. The locals considered her a witch, despised her, hated her (the cruel reception given to her at the church fence is indicative). Olesya did not respond to them with mutual hatred, she was simply afraid of them and preferred solitude. However, she was imbued with confidence in the narrator from the first meeting; their mutual attraction grew rapidly and gradually grew into a real feeling.
The narrator (Ivan) was struck by the combination of naturalness, "forest soul", and nobility, "of course, in the best sense of this rather vulgar word." Olesya never studied, she could not even read, but she spoke eloquently and fluently, "no worse than a real young lady." And the main thing that attracted him to the Polissya sorceress was her attraction to folk traditions, her strong, strong-willed character and freedom-loving, sensitive and capable of sincerely loving soul. Olesya did not know how to pretend, so her love could not be a low impulse or a mask. And the hero had such sincere, genuine feelings for her: he found a soul mate in the girl, they understood each other without words. And true love, as you know, is built on mutual understanding.
Olesya loved Ivan selflessly, sacrificially. Fearing that society would condemn him, the girl left him, abandoned her happiness, preferring his happiness. Each of the heroes chose the well-being of the other. But their personal happiness turned out to be impossible without mutual love. This confirms the ending of the story: “Lord! What happened? - Ivan whispered, "entering with a sinking heart into the hallway." This was the apogee of the hero's misfortune.
Love united them forever and separated them forever: only strong feelings prompted Olesya to leave Ivan, and Ivan to allow her to do so. They were not afraid for themselves, but feared for each other. Olesya went to church for the sake of Ivan, realizing that danger awaited her there. But she did not betray her fears to Ivan, so as not to upset him. In their scene last date she also did not want to upset her lover, to disappoint him, therefore she did not turn her face to him until he “took her head from the pillow with tender tenderness.” She called out: “Don’t look at me ... I beg you ... I’m ugly now ...” But Ivan was not embarrassed by the long red bruises that furrowed her forehead, cheeks and neck, turned away from her, wounded, for him she was the most beautiful even then. He loved her unconditionally and did not give up his intention to marry her. But in a cruel society, ossified in prejudices, this was impossible.
Olesya was an outcast of society. People believed that Olesya was inciting trouble, telling fortunes, they despised and feared her, but Ivan believed her. Even when she herself began to assure him that she had witchcraft power, he had no doubt that she was kind and not capable of harming anyone, that the power contained in her was bright, and gossip about her was superstitious fiction. He could not suspect Olesya of anything bad, he trusted her, which means he experienced true love, love based on faith, hope and forgiveness.
Olesya was also ready to forgive Ivan in any situation, to blame herself, but to shield him (although it was because of Ivan that she went to church, she blamed only herself for the misfortune that happened to her). Tears and an inexorable tremor in the reader’s heart are caused by Olesya’s answer to the hero’s request to forgive him: “What are you doing! .. What are you, dear? .. Aren’t you ashamed to even think about it? What is your fault here? I'm all alone, stupid ... Well, why did I really climb? No, honey, you can’t blame yourself ... ”The girl laid all the blame and all the responsibility for what had happened on herself. And for subsequent actions - too. Olesya, who had never been afraid of anything, suddenly became afraid ... for Ivan. Ivan repeatedly offered Olesya to marry him, expressed assurances to her in their future, happy and joint future, but the girl was afraid to put him under the blow of the law and rumors, to cast a shadow on his reputation. And Ivan, in turn, neglected his reputation in the name of love.
Their feeling did not bring them happiness, sacrifices in the name of each other - too. The society had too much pressure on them. But no prejudices could overcome their love. After the disappearance of Olesya, the narrator says: “With a cramped, tearful heart, I was about to leave the hut, when suddenly my attention was attracted by a bright object, apparently deliberately hung at the corner of the window frame. It was a string of cheap red beads, known in Polissya as "corals", - the only thing that remained to me as a memory of Olesya and her tender, generous love. This unforgettable little thing symbolized for Ivan the love of Olesya, which she, even after parting, sought to convey to him.
The concepts of "soul" and "love" for both heroes were inseparable, therefore their love is pure and immaculate, sublime and sincere, like souls - pure, bright. Love for them is a creation of the soul. A feeling devoid of distrust and jealousy: “Were you jealous of me?” - “Never, Olesya! Never!" How could one be jealous of her, pure and bright Olesya ?! Too lofty, strong and strong was their mutual love to admit the selfish instinct - jealousy. By itself, their love excluded everything mundane, vulgar, banal; the heroes did not love for themselves, they did not cherish their love, but gave their souls to each other.
Such love - eternal, but misunderstood by society, sacrificial, but not bringing happiness, can be granted not to many and only once in a lifetime. Because such love is the highest manifestation of Man. And a person is born only once.

as much as you can (please help a lot) this is an internal exam in literature 1. What is the tragic love of Zheltkov, the hero of Kuprin's story "Garnet Bracelet"?
2. Prove that for the hero of Kuprin's story "Garnet Bracelet" love is the highest value of the world.
3. Show wealth spiritual world heroine of Kuprin's story "Olesya".
4. Prove, by giving examples from Kuprin's works, that his favorite hero is a young man, soft, intelligent, conscientious, passionately sympathizing with the "little brother" and at the same time weak-willed, tragically submitting to the force of the environment and circumstances.
5. Why is the era of poets of the early 20th century characterized as “ silver Age» Russian poetry? What are its fundamental differences from the "golden age"?
6. What are the three pieces of advice given to the young poet by the lyrical hero of the poem V.Ya. Bryusov "To the Young Poet" Do you agree with his position? What do you think a true poet should be like? Read the poem by heart.
7. Tell us what you know about Bryusov, the translator. Name its main translations. What languages ​​are they made from?
8. How does Balmont's lyrics show interest in ancient Slavic folklore? What images emerge? Analyze the poems "Evil Spells" and "Firebird".
9. What picture does Balmont draw in the poem "First Love"? Tell us about your perception of this poem.
10. Describe the work of early Mayakovsky. What are its main specific features? Read one poem from this period by heart.
11. “Freedom is the most beautiful thing in life, for the sake of it a person must be ready to sacrifice everything, even life.” Confirm Gorky's words with examples from his stories "Makar Chudra" and "Old Woman Izergil".
12. Prove that even a crazy, but extraordinary step, according to Gorky, will remain in people's memory. Give examples from The Song of the Falcon, The Song of the Petrel, The Legend of Marco.
13. What is the meaning of the title of the play "At the Bottom"? Explain its symbolism.
14. To whom is Blok's cycle of poems "Poems about the Beautiful Lady" dedicated? In connection with what is it written? Analyze 3 poems from this collection. Read one by heart.
15. How is the theme of the House revealed in Bulgakov’s novel “ white guard"? Which symbolic meaning for Bulgakov has the word "house"?
16. What philosophical problems are raised in Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita"?
17. Show the inseparability of the connection between the fate and creativity of Tsvetaeva and Moscow. Analyze the cycle "Poems about Moscow". Read one poem by heart.
18. Describe the image of the lyrical heroine of the poem "Requiem".
19. Describe the Cossack life depicted by Sholokhov. Show the features of the speech of the Cossacks. How they help the writer convey the vitality of the situation. How does the writer draw the life of the village?
20. Describe the family structure of the Melekhovs, Korshunovs, Astakhovs. Compile a comparison.
21. As in the novel " Quiet Don» pictured First World War?
22. Compare Aksinya and Natalya, explain Grigory's feelings for each of them. What is the significance of the characters' names? Why are both dying?
23. What is the meaning of the title of Sholokhov's story "The Fate of Man"?
24. Give detailed description military prose and poetry. Analyze 2 pieces.
25. Give a detailed description of urban prose. Analyze 2 pieces.

In literature in general, and in Russian literature in particular, the problem of the relationship of a person with the world around him occupies a significant place. Personality and environment, individual and society - many Russians thought about this 19th writers century. The fruits of these reflections were reflected in many stable formulations, for example, in the well-known phrase "Wednesday is over." Interest in this topic noticeably intensified at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, in an era that was a turning point for Russia. In the spirit of humanistic traditions inherited from the past, Alexander Kuprin considers this issue, using all the artistic means that became the achievement of the turn of the century.

The work of this writer was for a long time, as it were, in the shade, he was obscured prominent representatives contemporaries. Today, the works of A. Kuprin are of great interest. They attract the reader with their simplicity, humanity, democracy in the noblest sense of the word. The world of A. Kuprin's heroes is colorful and varied. He himself lived a bright life filled with diverse impressions - he was a military man, a clerk, a land surveyor, and a wandering actor. circus troupe. A. Kuprin said many times that he does not understand writers who do not find anything more interesting in nature and people than themselves. The writer is very interested human fates, while the heroes of his works are most often not successful, successful, satisfied with themselves and life people, but rather the opposite. But A. Kuprin treats his outwardly unsightly and unlucky heroes with that warmth and humanity that has always distinguished Russian writers. In the characters of the stories "White Poodle", "Taper", "Gambrinus", as well as many others, the features of " little man”, however, the writer does not simply reproduce this type, but rethinks it.

We will reveal very famous story Kupri-na "Garnet Bracelet", written in 1911. Its plot is based on a real event - the love of telegraph official P.P. Zheltkov for the wife of an important official, a member of the State Council, Lyubimov. This story is mentioned by the son of Lyubimov, the author of famous memoirs, Lev Lyubimov. In life, everything ended differently than in the story of A. Kuprin, -. the official accepted the bracelet and stopped writing letters, nothing more was known about him. In the Lyubimov family, this incident was remembered as strange and curious. Under the writer's pen, the story turned into a sad and tragic story about the life of a little man, who was exalted and destroyed by love. This is transmitted through the composition of the work. It gives an extensive, unhurried introduction, which introduces us to the exposition of the Scheny's house. The very story of extraordinary love, the story of the garnet bracelet, is told in such a way that we see it through the eyes of different people: Prince Vasily, who tells it as an anecdotal incident, brother Nikolai, for whom everything in this story is seen as offensive and suspicious, Vera Nikolaevna herself and, finally, General Anosov, who was the first to suggest that here maybe true love lies, "which women dream of and which men are no longer capable of." The circle to which Vera Nikolaevna belongs cannot admit that this is a real feeling, not so much because of the strange behavior of Zheltkov, but because of the prejudices that rule them. Kuprin, wishing to convince us readers of the authenticity of Zheltkov's love, resorts to the most irrefutable argument - the hero's suicide. Thus, the right of the little man to happiness is affirmed, while the motive of his moral superiority over the people who so cruelly offended him, who failed to understand the strength of the feeling that made up the whole meaning of his life, arises.

Kuprin's story is both sad and bright. It is permeated by a musical beginning - the epigraph indicates musical composition, - and the story ends with a scene when the heroine listens to music at a tragic moment of moral insight for her. The text of the work includes the theme of the inevitability of the death of the protagonist - it is conveyed through the symbolism of light: at the moment of receiving the bracelet, Vera Nikolaevna sees red stones in it and anxiously thinks that they look like blood. Finally, the theme of the collision of various cultural traditions arises in the story: the theme of the east - the Mongolian blood of the father of Vera and Anna, the Tatar prince, introduces the theme of love-passion, recklessness into the story; the mention that the mother of the sisters is an Englishwoman introduces the theme of rationality, impassibility in the sphere of feelings, the power of the mind over the heart. In the final part of the story, a third line appears: it is no coincidence that the landlady turns out to be a Catholic. This introduces into the work the theme of love-worship, which in Catholicism surrounds the Mother of God, love-self-sacrifice.

The hero of A. Kuprin, a small man, faces the world of non-understanding around him, the world of people for whom love is a kind of madness, and, having faced it, dies.

In the wonderful story "Olesya" appears before us poetic image a girl who grew up in the hut of an old "sorceress", outside the usual norms peasant family. Olesya's love for the intellectual Ivan Timofeevich, who accidentally drove into a remote forest village, is a free, simple and strong feeling, without looking back and obligations, among tall pines, painted with a crimson reflection of the dying dawn. The story of the girl ends tragically. Olesya's free life is invaded by the selfish calculations of village officials, and the superstitions of dark peasants. Beaten and os-meyannaya, Olesya is forced to flee with Manuilikha from the forest nest.

In the works of Kuprin, many heroes have similar features - this is spiritual purity, dreaminess, ardent imagination, combined with impracticality and lack of will. And they are most clearly revealed in love. All the heroes treat the woman with her sons pure and reverent. Readiness to fight for the sake of a beloved woman, romantic worship, chivalrous service to her - and at the same time underestimating oneself, disbelief in one's own strengths. Men in Kuprin's stories seem to change places with women. These are the energetic, strong-willed "Polesye witch" Olesya and the "kind, but only weak" Ivan Timofeevich, the smart, prudent Shurochka Nikolaevna and the "pure, sweet, but weak and pathetic" Lieutenant Romashov. All these are Kuprin's heroes with a fragile soul, caught in a cruel world.

The atmosphere of revolutionary days breathes in Kuprin's excellent story "Gambrinus", created in the alarming year 1907. The theme of all-conquering art is woven here with the idea of ​​democracy, the bold protest of the “little man” against the black forces of arbitrariness and reaction. Meek and cheerful Sashka, with his outstanding talent as a violinist and sincerity, attracts a diverse crowd of port loaders, fishermen, and smugglers to the Odessa tavern. They enthusiastically meet the melodies, which, as it were, are a background, as if reflecting public moods and events - from the Russo-Japanese war to the rebellious days of the revolution, when Sasha's violin sounds with the cheerful rhythms of Marseilles. In the days of the onset of terror, Sashka challenges disguised detectives and black-hundred "scoundrels in a hat", refusing to play the monarchist anthem at their request, openly denouncing them for murders and pogroms.

Crippled by the tsarist secret police, he returns to his port friends to play for them on the outskirts of the melody of the deafeningly cheerful "Shepherd". Free creativity, the strength of the national spirit, according to Kuprin, is invincible.

Returning to the question posed at the beginning - "man and the world around him", - we note that in Russian prose of the beginning of the 20th century a wide range of answers to it is presented. We have considered only one of the options - the tragic collision of the individual with the world around him, his insight and death, but the death is not meaningless, but contains an element of purification and high meaning.