“Analysis of I. Bunin’s story “Chapel” (From the cycle “Dark Alleys”)

Eternal themes in Bunin’s story “Chapel”

...Love and death are inextricably linked.

1. Identifying Features Bunin’s understanding of love, the author’s position, and the writer’s artistic manner.

How old was Bunin who wrote the story?

Emigrated in 1920, January 25

History is part of his life. The process is thin. creativity for Bunin is the process of poetic transformation of reality in memories and thoughts about the past. This is how the story brilliantly combines French old age and Russian childhood - two spaces and two times. In one memory, in one small episode - a moment and an eternity.

74 years old, that is, in adulthood, and you know that Bunin did not return to Russia, to his homeland, unlike other writers, which means he saw this estate before the revolution, as a child (late 1870-early 1880).

The best works are those that turned out to be fruits of memory. In a foreign land, memory remained the only creative force. “The former world, to which I was once involved, is not for me the world of the dead, it is resurrecting for me more and more. It becomes the only and increasingly joyful abode of my soul, no longer accessible to anyone.”

Let's remember where Bunin spent his childhood?

In Yelets, for 19 years he lived continuously in the village of Butyrki. His life enriched and nourished him - the origins and prototypes of his stories. There, in the deepest silence of the field, in the summer among the grain that approached the very thresholds, and in the winter among the snowdrifts, his childhood passed - full of poetry, sad and peculiar.

The ancient city cemetery is described by Ivan Bunin in a number of works (such as “Easy Breathing”); in reality, this is where his acquaintances, friends, high school students are buried..) - LOCAL HISTORY

Analysis of the story composition. Let's remember the elements of composition.

What is the beginning of the story? (working with text)

Landscape sketch, exposition.

· Research work. What did they see? (written)

Reflection. Do you agree with the statement at the epigraph to our lesson, “Love and death are inextricably linked.”

Lesson summary. The flame of love flares up, burns and burns out in “The Life of Arsenyev”, then it takes over again in “Dark Alleys”, where the tragedy of love is shown and the fact that human life is entirely under the power of love, and love is great happiness, even if it is not divided and ends death. Death and life are an old collision, but in Bunin’s work this collision has its own path and its own resolution. His theme of death is as central as the theme of the Motherland and love; it is like a black frame for what is “too creepy in this world” without it.

Compiling a syncwine. Cinquain is a kind of miniature poem of 5 lines, which has a certain structure:

Rules for compiling syncwine.

right line - one word, usually a noun, reflecting the main idea;

second line – two words, adjectives describing the main idea;

third line - three words, verbs describing actions within the topic;

the fourth line is a phrase of several words showing the attitude to the topic;

fifth line – words related to the first, reflecting the essence of the topic.

Bunin was a singer of the great feeling of love, the most powerful force that binds people. No matter what everyday accidents and troubles this feeling arises from, no matter what tragic endings it leads to, “there is no unhappy love,” this feeling is sacred, “love is then a great happiness when it remains unrequited.” The understanding of love as a passion that captures all thoughts, all spiritual and physical potentials of a person was characteristic of Bunin. So that love does not exhaust itself, does not fizzle out, it is necessary either to part, or to die. If the heroes themselves do not do this, then fate intervenes, fate, one might say, kills one of the beloved to save feelings. The proximity of love and death, their conjugation, was an obvious fact for Bunin, never subject to regret. “Love is beautiful” and “love is doomed” - these concepts finally came together, coincided, carrying in the depths, in the grain of each story, including in “Chapel,” the personal grief of Bunin the emigrant.

“Dark Alleys” - the hero is glad that he left Nadya in time, before the love passed.

“Caucasus” - a husband shot himself from unrequited love.

“Styopa” - the hero escapes to Kislovodsk.

“Rusya” - the mother forbade the love of a student and her daughter.

“Antigone” - the aunt separated the milliner and her nephew.

“Business cards” - fleeting love.

“Zoyka and Valeria” is a tragic end from unrequited love.

“Tanya”, 1917, the revolution destroyed love.

“Galya Ganskaya” - suicide - poisoned.

“Henry” - the writer killed a journalist who had fallen out of love with him.

“Natalie” was separated by absurdity, and then by death during childbirth.

"Dubki" - killed his wife for treason.

Steamship "Saratov" - husband killed me.

“Raven” - a father separates his son from his beloved.

“Clean Monday” - she became a nun.

Bunin's conclusions are gloomy: love is a wonderful, but fleeting guest on our land. Let it last a little longer - the prose and vulgarity will eat it up, and a rapid devaluation of feelings will occur.

Composition

I. A. Bunin’s story “The Chapel” is part of the famous “Dark Alleys” cycle. All the stories in this series are devoted to one theme - they describe various manifestations of love between a man and a woman. It was in “Dark Alleys” that Bunin expressed his attitude to this feeling and outlined his “philosophy of love.” To some extent, Bunin’s view is already reflected by the name of the cycle. The “dark alleys” of love are what are deeply hidden inside every person, these are his instincts and desires, his emotions, which he sometimes does not understand and cannot control, but which largely determine his life.

The story “Chapel,” dated July 2, 1944, is one of the shortest in the cycle. But, at the same time, one of the most philosophical and deep, in my opinion. Just a few lines, but there are so many author’s thoughts behind it, the thoughts of a mature person... The writer’s thoughts here are not only and not so much about love, but about the essence of human existence, about the meaning of life, about the laws of the universe.

“The Chapel” is a memoir story. Although the story is told in the present tense, we understand that the narrator is recalling an incident from his childhood. It is interesting that it is important for Bunin to convey precisely the “childish” perception of everything described. Perhaps this is explained by the fact that children feel more acutely and subtly, their minds and souls are not yet as blinkered and blind as those of adults?

The children's eyes in the story reveal a strange, but very bright contrast. On the one hand, they see the triumph of life. The narrator remembers a sunny summer day, full of light, colors, warmth and light. On the other hand, children are interested in something else - they are attracted by an abandoned cemetery and the windows of a dilapidated chapel.

From the very first lines of the work, Bunin shows that life is a combination of contrasts, opposites, a compromise between light and darkness, good and evil. And it is impossible to say unambiguously where one ends and the other begins.

So, the entire cemetery is overgrown with flowers and herbs: “mounds of tall flowers and herbs.” Against this background of the triumph of life, the dilapidated chapel looks even more lonely. Children, like a magnet, are attracted to it, or rather to what is inside, behind the narrow broken window. The narrator says that he and his friends cannot see anything, they only feel a cold breath - the touch of another world. Children cannot yet rationally explain their curiosity, but at the level of feelings they understand that they are touching something very important, otherworldly, hidden - some great secret: “Everywhere is light and hot, but there it is dark and cold...”

Their reverent interest is enhanced by the fact that inside the chapel are the bodies of long-dead people. Perhaps at this moment the children first touched upon one of the most important issues of humanity - the issue of death. Of course, they still do not understand all its depth and tragedy, but something makes them continue to peer deep into the chapel, where “cold boxes lie” with bodies.

And again we are faced with a contrast - approaching death, children learn to experience life, its very basis - love: “...we have the sun, flowers, grass, flies, bumblebees, butterflies, we can play, run, we are scared, but also It's fun to squat, and they always lie there in the dark..."

The author emphasizes that among the coffins with “grandparents” there was a coffin with a young uncle, “who shot himself.” Why did he do this? The narrator conveys a brief dialogue that apparently took place between the children. One of them explains that this man was very much in love, and “when you are very much in love, you always shoot yourself...” Just a few words, childishly naive and simple, and no more explanations or comments. But nothing more is needed - behind these words lies a huge life of the soul, a deep human tragedy, a very strong and vivid feeling.

These words, in essence, can explain Bunin’s understanding of love. This feeling, the writer believes, is always associated with tragedy, with the dark and unconscious, it is built on contrasts, just like life itself. Contrast, the combination of the incongruous - this is the universal law of human existence in general and in all its particulars, Bunin the philosopher and writer tells us. This is confirmed by the final lines of the work: “And the hotter and more joyfully the sun bakes, the colder it blows from the darkness, from the window.”

The title of the story, “Chapel,” is, of course, no coincidence. This dilapidated building stands as if on the verge of two worlds, life and death, light and darkness. The chapel is designed to remind you of the eternal, the lofty, the secret - the most important thing in life. The author also tells us about this, urging the reader to stop, think, reflect...

List of used literature:

1. All Russian literature: Textbook / Author-compiler I. L. Kopylov. - Minsk: Modern writer, 2003. - P. 404−412.

2. Literature: Textbook for applicants to universities / Under the general editorship of V. E. Krasovsky. - M.: Eksmo, 2005. - P. 430 -435.

3. Russian literature. 20th century: Reference materials / comp. L. A. Smirnova. - M.: Education, 1995. - P. 16 - 40.

Other works on this work

Sections: Literature

Goals: identifying the peculiarities of Bunin’s understanding of love, the author’s position, and the writer’s artistic style; intensification of students' research activities, development of creative reading skills, deepening understanding and experience of the events of the story.

Equipment: PC, m/m projector, interactive whiteboard.

Writing on the board: “The mental structure of a true poet is expressed in everything, even down to punctuation marks.” A.A.Blok

During the classes

1. Organizational moment.

2. Teacher's opening speech: Today in class we will do a holistic analysis of the text of a work of art. This is the story of I.A. Bunin from his famous cycle “Dark Alleys”. All the stories in this series are devoted to one theme - they describe various manifestations of love between a man and a woman. It was in “Dark Alleys” that Bunin expressed his attitude to this feeling and outlined his “philosophy of love.” To some extent, Bunin’s view is already reflected by the name of the cycle.

The “dark alleys” of love are what are deeply hidden inside every person, these are his instincts and desires, his emotions, which he sometimes does not understand and cannot control, but which largely determine his life.

The story is dated July 2, 1944, and is one of the shortest in the series. But, at the same time, one of the most philosophical and deep. Just a few lines, but there are so many author’s thoughts behind it, the thoughts of a mature person... The writer’s thoughts here are not only and not so much about love, but about the essence of human existence, about the meaning of life, about the laws of the universe.

3. Reading a story (read by a prepared student, each student has the text on his desk)

4. Analysis of the story by questions:

Determine the artistic time and artistic space of the story.

Let's recreate the picture painted by Bunin.

On the board, a sheet of Whatman paper is divided into two halves, blue and green. We glue pre-prepared layouts onto whatman paper (chapel, clouds, sun, flowers, crosses, children, chapel window).

The scene is an abandoned cemetery. Why is the cemetery abandoned?

The cemetery is family, most likely belonged to the gentlemen from the estate: either everyone died or went abroad)

Along with the word “abandoned,” the story includes the theme of oblivion. Everything froze. Like in a movie - a still frame. How does the author use syntactic means to show that time has stopped? Let's look at the first sentence of the text. Describe him.

The sentence has four subjects (day, field, cemetery, chapel), the sentence is one-part, nominative.

Why is there no predicate?

There is no movement, time has stopped.

Through children's perception, children came to the cemetery.

This story is a story-memory. Although the story is told in the present tense, we understand that the narrator is recalling an incident from his childhood. Why do you think?

It is interesting that it is important for Bunin to convey precisely the “childish” perception of everything described. Perhaps this is explained by the fact that children feel more acutely and subtly. The child's gaze is not clouded, natural. Children feel more acutely and subtly, their minds and souls are not yet as blind as those of adults. Adults have an unnatural, stereotypical view of life; they do not see the severity of existence.

What does the children see? To answer this question, you need to carefully re-read the text and divide it into two parts, because children see two pictures.

Contrast, antithesis.

What is antithesis?

The children's eyes in the story reveal a strange, but very bright contrast. On the one hand, they see the triumph of life. The narrator remembers a sunny summer day, full of light, colors, warmth and light. On the other hand - an abandoned cemetery, darkness, uncertainty, mystery.

Let's continue filling out the table.

What lies between these two worlds?

A chapel, or rather a broken window at ground level, which divides the children’s space into “theirs” and “theirs,” which is always fraught with some kind of danger. The window is the border between two worlds.

And by the window, the cemetery is also a border connecting the present and the past.

When enemies came, people first of all guarded the cemetery, because this is the memory of family, ancestors, because the cemetery is the history of a whole family.

V. Kataev, a famous Soviet writer, said: “Who am I? A grain of sand on the face of the Universe.” And, indeed, a person is just a small grain of sand in a huge accumulation of people inhabiting the Universe.

How do children evaluate what they see in the window?

Creepy and fun

What indicates that children are interested?

They look with CLEAR eyes, i.e. peering.

ZORKY –

1) good vision of distant and small objects;

2) close, insightful.

Which of the two meanings corresponds to the word from the given text? (2)

What attracts children? Why are they creepy, fun, interesting and surprising at the same time?

Creepy, p.ch. The word death scares me, but in all of this there is some kind of mystery, an unknown that I want to solve. The interest is enhanced by the fact that inside the chapel there are bodies of long-dead people. Of course, they still do not understand all its depth and tragedy, but something makes them continue to peer deep into the chapel, where “cold boxes lie” with bodies.

What do children discover there, in the unknown world outside the window, in the depths of the chapel?

1. Death is next to life (according to Bunin, the first step to death is a cry at birth).

2. Not only old people die, but also young people.

3. You can die from love.

Approaching death, children learn to understand life, its basis is love. The author emphasizes that among the coffins with “grandparents” there was a coffin with a young uncle, “who shot himself.”

Why did he do this?

One of the children explains that this man was very much in love, and “when you are very much in love, you always shoot yourself...”. Just a few words, childishly naive and simple, and no more explanations or comments. Behind these words lies a huge life of the soul, a deep human tragedy, a very strong and vivid feeling.

They can also explain Bunin’s understanding of love. This feeling, the writer believes, is always associated with tragedy, with the dark and unconscious, it is built on contrasts, just like life itself. Contrast is the universal law of human existence in general and in all its particulars.

What connects life and death? What images connect artistic time and space in this story? Analyze everything we talked about today and give the story a title. Be prepared to justify your opinion.

A chapel is a house of prayer, a temple without an altar, where prayers can be read.

The chapel connects two spaces: temporary and eternal – life and death. Coming to the cemetery, relatives remember those who have passed away in the chapel, read prayers, and light candles.

The collapsing chapel suggests that earthly existence is not eternal. Death is terrible, but you need to value life and what it gives. Cherish every hour of your life and live with dignity.

5. Homework: Write an essay - an argument based on the statement of D. Granin: “Compare the hour of earth with the hour of death”

Story by I.A. Bunin’s “Chapel” is part of the famous “Dark Alleys” cycle. All the stories in this series are devoted to one theme - they describe various manifestations of love between a man and a woman. It was in “Dark Alleys” that Bunin expressed his attitude to this feeling and outlined his “philosophy of love.” To some extent, Bunin’s view is already reflected by the name of the cycle. The “dark alleys” of love are what are deeply hidden inside every person, these are his instincts and desires, his emotions, which he sometimes does not understand and cannot control, but which largely determine his life.
The story “Chapel,” dated July 2, 1944, is one of the shortest in the cycle. But, at the same time, one of the most philosophical and deep, in my opinion. Just a few lines, but there are so many author’s thoughts behind it, the thoughts of a mature person... The writer’s thoughts here are not only and not so much about love, but about the essence of human existence, about the meaning of life, about the laws of the universe.
“Chapel” is a story-memory. Although the story is told in the present tense, we understand that the narrator is recalling an incident from his childhood. It is interesting that it is important for Bunin to convey precisely the “childish” perception of everything described. Perhaps this is explained by the fact that children feel more acutely and subtly, their minds and souls are not yet as blinkered and blind as those of adults?
The children's eyes in the story reveal a strange, but very bright contrast. On the one hand, they see the triumph of life. The narrator remembers a sunny summer day, full of light, colors, warmth and light. On the other hand, children are interested in something else - they are attracted by an abandoned cemetery and the windows of a dilapidated chapel.
From the very first lines of the work, Bunin shows that life is a combination of contrasts, opposites, a compromise between light and darkness, good and evil. And it is impossible to say unambiguously where one ends and the other begins.
So, the entire cemetery is overgrown with flowers and herbs: “mounds of tall flowers and herbs.” Against this background of the triumph of life, the dilapidated chapel looks even more lonely. Children, like a magnet, are attracted to it, or rather to what is inside, behind the narrow broken window. The narrator says that he and his friends cannot see anything, they only feel a cold breath - the touch of another world. Children cannot yet rationally explain their curiosity, but at the level of feelings they understand that they are touching something very important, otherworldly, hidden - some great secret: “Everywhere is light and hot, but there it is dark and cold...”
Their reverent interest is enhanced by the fact that inside the chapel are the bodies of long-dead people. Perhaps at this moment the children first touched upon one of the most important issues of humanity - the issue of death. Of course, they still do not understand all its depth and tragedy, but something makes them continue to peer deep into the chapel, where “cold boxes lie” with bodies.
And again we are faced with a contrast - approaching death, children learn to experience life, its very basis - love: “...we have the sun, flowers, grass, flies, bumblebees, butterflies, we can play, run, we are scared, but also It's fun to squat, and they always lie there in the dark..."
The author emphasizes that among the coffins with “grandparents” there was a coffin with a young uncle, “who shot himself.” Why did he do this? The narrator conveys a brief dialogue that apparently took place between the children. One of them explains that this man was very much in love, and “when you are very much in love, you always shoot yourself...” Just a few words, childishly naive and simple, and no more explanations or comments. But nothing more is needed - behind these words lies a huge life of the soul, a deep human tragedy, a very strong and vivid feeling.
These words, in essence, can explain Bunin’s understanding of love. This feeling, the writer believes, is always associated with tragedy, with the dark and unconscious, it is built on contrasts, just like life itself. Contrast, the combination of the incongruous - this is the universal law of human existence in general and in all its particulars, Bunin the philosopher and writer tells us. This is confirmed by the final lines of the work: “And the hotter and more joyfully the sun bakes, the colder it blows from the darkness, from the window.”
The title of the story - “Chapel” - is, of course, no coincidence. This dilapidated building stands as if on the verge of two worlds, life and death, light and darkness. The chapel is designed to remind you of the eternal, the lofty, the secret - the most important thing in life. The author also tells us about this, urging the reader to stop, think, reflect...

List of used literature:
1. All Russian literature: Textbook / Author-compiler I.L. Kopylov. – Minsk: Modern writer, 2003. – P. 404-412.
2. Literature: Textbook for applicants to universities / Under the general editorship of V.E. Krasovsky. – M.: Eksmo, 2005. – P. 430 -435.
3. Russian literature. 20th century: Reference materials / comp. L.A. Smirnova. – M.: Education, 1995. – P. 16 – 40.