2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
The works of Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, as well as the life and work of this outstanding Russian prose writer, are of interest to many readers. He was born in 1870 on the twenty-sixth of August in the city of Narovchat.
His father almost immediately after his birth died of cholera. After some time, Kuprin's mother arrives in Moscow. He arranges his daughters there in state institutions, and also takes care of the fate of his son. The role of mother in the upbringing and education of Alexander Ivanovich cannot be overstated.
Education of the future prose writer
In 1880, Alexander Kuprin enters a military gymnasium, which was later transformed into a cadet corps. Eight years later, he graduated from this institution and continues to develop his career in the military. He had no other option, since it was this one that allowed him to study at public expense.
And two years later he graduated from the Alexander Military School and received the rank of second lieutenant. This is a pretty serious officer rank. And there comes a timeindependent service. In general, the Russian army was the main career path for many Russian writers. Recall at least Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov or Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet.
Military career of famous writer Alexander Kuprin
Those processes that took place at the turn of the century in the army later became the subject of many works by Alexander Ivanovich. In 1893, Kuprin makes an unsuccessful attempt to enter the General Staff Academy. There is a clear parallel here with his famous story "The Duel", which will be mentioned a little later.
And a year later, Alexander Ivanovich retires, without losing touch with the army and without losing that array of life impressions that gave rise to many of his prose creations. He, while still an officer, tries to write and from some time begins to publish.
First attempts at creativity, or a few days in a punishment cell
The first published story of Alexander Ivanovich is called "The Last Debut". And for this creation of his, Kuprin spent two days in a punishment cell, because officers were not supposed to speak in print.
The writer has been living an unsettled life for a long time. He seems to have no destiny. He constantly wanders, for many years Alexander Ivanovich lives in the south, Ukraine or Little Russia, as they said then. He visits a huge number of cities.
Kuprin publishes a lot, gradually journalism becomes his permanent occupation. He knewthe Russian south, like few other writers. At the same time, Alexander Ivanovich began to publish his essays, which immediately attracted the attention of readers. The writer tried himself in many genres.
Becoming famous in reading circles
Of course, there are many creations that Kuprin created, works that even an ordinary schoolboy knows the list of. But the very first story that made Alexander Ivanovich famous is "Moloch". It was published in 1896.
This work is based on real events. Kuprin visited Donbass as a correspondent and got acquainted with the work of the Russian-Belgian joint-stock company. Industrialization and the rise of production, everything that many public figures aspired to, turned into inhuman working conditions. This is precisely the main idea of the story "Moloch".
Alexander Kuprin. Works, the list of which is known to a wide range of readers
After some time, works are published that are known today to almost every Russian reader. These are "Garnet Bracelet", "Elephant", "Duel" and, of course, the story "Olesya". This work was published in 1892 in the newspaper "Kievlyanin". In it, Alexander Ivanovich very dramatically changes the subject of the image.
No longer factories and technical aesthetics, but Volyn forests, folk legends, pictures of nature and the customs of the local villagers. Exactlythis is what the author puts into the work "Olesya". Kuprin wrote another work that has no equal.
The image of a girl from the forest, able to understand the language of nature
The main character is a girl, a forest dweller. She seems to be a sorceress who can command the forces of the surrounding nature. And the girl's ability to hear and feel her language is in conflict with church and religious ideology. Olesya is condemned, blamed for many troubles that befall neighbors.
And in this clash between a girl from the forest and peasants who are in the bosom of social life, which describes the work "Olesya", Kuprin used a kind of metaphor. It contains a very important opposition between natural life and modern civilization. And for Alexander Ivanovich this compilation is very typical.
Another work by Kuprin that has become popular
Kuprin's work "Duel" has become one of the author's most famous creations. The action of the story is connected with the events of 1894, when fights, or duels, as they were called in the past, were restored in the Russian army.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, with all the complexity of the attitude of the authorities and people to duels, there was still some kind of knightly meaning, a guarantee of observance of the norms of noble honor. And even then, many fights had a tragic and monstrous outcome. In the endnineteenth century, this decision looked like an anachronism. The Russian army was already completely different.
And there is one more circumstance that must be mentioned when speaking about the story "Duel". It was published in 1905, when the Russian army suffered one defeat after another during the Russo-Japanese War.
It had a demoralizing effect on society. And in this context, the work "Duel" caused a furious controversy in the press. Almost all of Kuprin's works caused a flurry of responses from both readers and critics. For example, the story "The Pit", referring to a later period of the author's work. She not only became famous, but also shocked many of Alexander Ivanovich's contemporaries.
Later works of the popular prose writer
Kuprin's "Garnet Bracelet" is a bright story about pure love. About how a simple employee named Zheltkov loved Princess Vera Nikolaevna, who was completely unattainable for him. He could not claim marriage or any other relationship with her.
However, suddenly after his death, Vera realizes that a real, genuine feeling passed by her, which did not disappear in debauchery and did not dissolve in those terrible faults that separate people from each other, in social obstacles that do not allow different circles of society communicate with each other and marry. This bright story and many other works of Kuprin are still being read today.with unflagging attention.
The work of a prose writer dedicated to children
Alexander Ivanovich writes a lot of stories for children. And these works of Kuprin are another side of the author's talent, and they also need to be mentioned. He devoted most of his stories to animals. For example, "Emerald", "White Poodle" or the famous work of Kuprin "Elephant". Alexander Ivanovich's children's stories are a wonderful, important part of his legacy.
And today we can say with confidence that the great Russian prose writer Alexander Kuprin took his rightful place in the history of Russian literature. His creations are not just studied and read, they are loved by many readers and cause great delight and reverence.
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