The great Russian writer, Nobel laureate, poet, publicist, literary critic and prose writer. These words reflect the activity, achievements and creativity of Bunin. The whole life of this writer was multifaceted and interesting, he always chose his own path and did not listen to those who tried to “rebuild” his views on life, he was not a member of any literary society, let alone a political party. It can be attributed to those personalities who were unique in their work.
Earliest childhood
October 10 (old style) in 1870 in the city of Voronezh a little boy Ivan Bunin was born , whose biography and work in the future will leave a bright mark in Russian and world literature.
Despite the fact that Ivan Bunin came from an ancient noble family, his childhood did not pass at all in a big city, but in one of the clan estates (it was a small farm). Parents could afford to hire a home teacher. About the time when Bunin grew up and studied at home, the writer recalled more than once throughout his life. About this "golden" period of his life he spoke only positively. With gratitude and respect, he recalled this student of Moscow University, who, according to the writer, aroused a passion for literature in him, because, despite such a young age, the first books that little Ivan read were Odyssey and English Poets. Even Bunin himself later said that this was the very first impetus to poetry and writing in general. Ivan Bunin showed artistry early enough. The poet’s creativity was expressed in his talent as a reader. He excellently read his own works and interested the most dull listeners.
Studying at the gymnasium
When Vanya was ten years old, his parents decided that he had reached the age when it was already possible to send him to school. So Ivan began to study at the Yelets gymnasium. During this period, he lived away from his parents, with his relatives in Yelets. Admission to the gymnasium and the study itself became a turning point for him, because it was really difficult for a boy who had lived with his parents all his life and had practically no restrictions, to get used to the new city life. New rules, severities and prohibitions entered his life. Later, he lived in rented apartments, but also did not feel comfortable in these houses. Studying at the gymnasium did not last long, because after 4 years he was expelled. The reason was non-payment for tuition and failure to appear from the holidays.
Extern path
After everything experienced, Ivan Bunin settles in the estate of his deceased grandmother in Ozerki. Guided by the instructions of his elder brother Julius, he quickly enough goes through the gymnasium. He taught some subjects more diligently. And even the university’s course took them. Julius, the eldest brother of Ivan Bunin, has always been distinguished for his education. Therefore, it was he who helped the younger brother in his studies. Julia and Ivan had a rather trusting relationship. For this reason, it was he who became the first reader, as well as a critic of the earliest work of Ivan Bunin.
First lines
According to the writer himself, his future talent was formed under the influence of the stories of relatives and friends that he heard in the place where his childhood passed. It was there that he learned the first subtleties and features of his native language, listened to stories and songs, which in the future helped the writer to find unique comparisons in his works. All this in the best way influenced Bunin's talent.
He began to write poetry at a very young age. Bunin’s work was born, it can be said, when the future writer was only seven years old. When all the other children were just learning to read and write, little Ivan had already begun to write poetry. He really wanted to achieve success, mentally comparing himself with Pushkin, Lermontov. He enthusiastically read the works of Maykov, Tolstoy, Fet.
At the very beginning of professional creativity
For the first time, Ivan Bunin appeared in print also at a fairly young age, namely at the age of 16. Bunin’s life and work were always closely intertwined. Well, it all began, of course, with a small one, when two of his poems were published: “Over the Grave of S. Ya. Nadson” and “The Village Pauper”. During the year, ten of his best poems and the first short stories “Two Wanderers” and “Nedfedka” were published. These events became the beginning of the literary and writing activities of the great poet and prose writer. For the first time, the main theme of his writings was identified - man. In Bunin's work, the topic of psychology and the mysteries of the soul will remain key to the last line.
In 1889, young Bunin, under the influence of the revolutionary democratic movement of the intelligentsia - the Narodniks, moved to his brother in Kharkov. But soon he becomes disillusioned with this movement and quickly moves away from it. Instead of collaborating with the Narodniks, he leaves for the city of Oryol and begins his work there in Oryol Bulletin. In 1891, the first collection of his poems was published.
First love
Despite the fact that throughout life the themes of Bunin's work were diverse, almost the entire first poetic collection is saturated with the experiences of young Ivan. Just at that time, the writer had his first love. He lived in a civil marriage with Varvara Pashchenko, who became the author's muse. So for the first time love manifested itself in Bunin's work. Young often quarreled, did not find a common language. Everything that happened in their life together, each time made him disappointed and thought, but is love worth such experiences? Sometimes it seemed that someone from above simply did not want them to be together. At first it was the ban of Father Barbara on the wedding of young people, then, when they still decided to live in a civil marriage, Ivan Bunin unexpectedly finds a lot of minuses in their life together, and then completely disappointed in it. Later, Bunin draws conclusions for himself that they and Barbara are not suitable for each other in character, and soon the young people simply break up. Almost immediately, Varvara Pashchenko marries a friend of Bunin. This brought a lot of emotions to the young writer. He is disappointed in life and love completely.
Productive work
At this time, the life and work of Bunin are no longer so similar. The writer decides to give up his personal happiness, the whole is given to work. During this period, the tragic love in Bunin’s works is becoming ever more brighter.
Almost at the same time, fleeing loneliness, he moved to his brother Yulia in Poltava. In the literary field, there is a rise. His stories are published in leading magazines, and in writing he is gaining popularity. The themes of Bunin's work are mainly devoted to man, the secrets of the Slavic soul, the majestic Russian nature and selfless love.
After Bunin visited St. Petersburg and Moscow in 1895, he gradually began to enter a large literary milieu, in which he fit in very organically. Here he met with Bryusov, Sologub, Kuprin, Chekhov, Balmont, Grigorovich.
Later, Ivan begins to correspond with Chekhov. It was Anton Pavlovich who predicted to Bunin that a "great writer" would come out of him. Later, carried away by Tolstoy’s moral sermons , Ivan makes him his idol and even tries to live according to his advice for a certain time. Bunin asked Tolstoy for an audience and was honored to meet with the great writer personally.
A new step on the creative path
In 1896, Bunin tried himself as a translator of works of art. In the same year he published his translation of Longfellow's song “The Song of Hiawatha”. In this translation, Bunin’s work was seen by everyone from the other side. His contemporaries recognized his talent and appreciated the work of the writer. For this translation, Ivan Bunin received the Pushkin Prize of the first degree, which gave rise to the writer, and now also the translator, to be even more proud of his achievements. To receive such high praise, Bunin carried out literally titanic work. After all, the translation of such works itself requires perseverance and talent, and for this the writer also had to learn English on his own. As the result of the translation showed, he succeeded.
Second attempt to get married
Remaining so much time free, Bunin again decided to marry. This time, his choice fell on the Greek woman, the daughter of a wealthy emigrant A.N. Tsakni. But this marriage, like the past, did not bring joy to the writer. After a year of family life, his wife left him. In marriage they had a son. Little Kolya died very young, at the age of 5, from meningitis. Ivan Bunin was very worried about the loss of his only child. So the subsequent life of the writer was that he had no more children.
Mature years
The first book of short stories entitled “To the End of the World” was published in 1897. Almost all critics rated its content very positively. A year later, another poetic collection "Open Air" is released. It was these works that brought the writer popularity in Russian literature of that time. Bunin's work was briefly, but at the same time capacious, presented to the public, which highly appreciated and accepted the talent of the author.
But the prose of Bunin really gained great popularity in 1900, when the story "Antonov apples" was published. This work was created on the basis of the writer's memories of his village childhood. For the first time vividly depicted nature in the works of Bunin. It was the carefree time of childhood that aroused in him the very best feelings and memories. The reader plunges headlong into that beautiful early autumn, which the prose writer beckons, just during the collection of Antonov apples. For Bunin, these, as he admitted, were the most precious and unforgettable memories. It was joy, real life and carelessness. And the disappearance of the unique smell of apples is like the extinction of all that brought the writer a lot of pleasure.
Reproaches of noble origin
Many ambiguously regarded the significance of the allegory of "the smell of apples" in the work "Antonov apples", since this symbol was very closely intertwined with the symbol of the nobility, which, due to the origin of Bunin, was not at all alien to him. These facts became the reason that many of his contemporaries, for example M. Gorky, criticized Bunin's work, saying that Antonov apples smell good, but they smell not democratic at all. However, the same Gorky noted the grace of literature in the work and Bunin's talent.
It is interesting that for Bunin, reproaches in his noble origin did not mean anything. Arrogance or arrogance was alien to him. A lot of people at that time were looking for subtexts in Bunin's works, wanting to prove that the writer regrets the disappearance of serfdom and the leveling of the nobility as such. But Bunin in his work pursued a completely different idea. He was not sorry for the change of the system, but a pity that all life passed, and that we all once loved with full heart, but that was a thing of the past ... He was sad that he no longer enjoyed the nature of his native land and its beauty.
Wandering writer
Ivan Bunin was a creative person in his soul all his life . Perhaps this was the reason that for a long time he did not stay anywhere, loved to travel to different cities, where he often drew ideas for his works.
Since October 1900, he traveled with Kurovsky to European countries. Visited Germany, Switzerland, France. Literally 3 years later, with his other friend, the playwright Naidenov, he was again in France and visited Italy. In 1904, becoming interested in the nature of the Caucasus, he decided to go there. The trip was not in vain. This trip, many years later, inspired Bunin for a whole series of stories called “The Shadow of the Bird,” which are connected with the Caucasus. The world saw these stories in 1907-1911, and a much later story appeared in 1925, "Many waters", also inspired by the marvelous nature of this region.
At this time, nature is most clearly reflected in the works of Bunin. This was another facet of the writer's talent - travel essays.
"Finding your love, keep it ..."
Life brought Ivan Bunin with many people. Some passed and passed away, others remained for a long time. An example of this was Vera Nikolaevna Muromtseva. Bunin met her in November 1906, in the house of a friend. Clever and educated in many fields, the woman was indeed his best friend, and even after the death of the writer she was preparing to publish his manuscript. She wrote the book “The Life of Bunin”, in which she placed the most important and interesting facts from the life of the writer. He repeatedly told her: “Without you, I would not have written anything. Would be gone! ”
Here, love and creativity in Bunin's life again find each other. Probably, it was at that moment that Bunin realized that he had found the one he had been looking for for many years. He found in this woman his beloved, a man who will always support him in difficult times, a comrade who will not betray. Since Muromtseva became his life partner, the writer with new vigor wanted to create and compose something new, interesting, crazy, this gave him vitality. It was at that moment that the traveler again woke up in it, and since 1907 Bunin traveled half of Asia and Africa.
World recognition
Between 1907 and 1912, Bunin did not stop creating. And in 1909 he was awarded the second Pushkin Prize for his "Poems 1903-1906." It recalls the man in Bunin's work and the essence of human actions, which the writer tried to understand. Many translations were also noted, which he made no less brilliantly than he composed new works.
November 9, 1933, an event occurred that became the pinnacle of the writer's writings. He received a letter informing him that Bunin was awarded the Nobel Prize. Ivan Bunin is the first Russian writer to be honored with this high award. His work reached its peak - he gained world fame. From then on, they began to recognize him as the best of the best in their field. But Bunin did not stop his activities and, like a truly famous writer, worked with renewed vigor.
The theme of nature in the works of Bunin continues to occupy one of the main places. A lot of the writer writes about love. This was an occasion for critics to compare the work of Kuprin and Bunin. Indeed, there are many similarities in their works. They are written in simple and sincere language, full of lyrics, ease and naturalness. The characters' characters are spelled out very subtly (from a psychological point of view.) Here, to the extent of sensuality, there is a lot of humanity and naturalness.
A comparison of the works of Kuprin and Bunin gives reason to highlight such common features of their works as the tragic fate of the protagonist, the assertion that for any happiness there will be retribution, the exaltation of love over all other human feelings. Both writers claim that the meaning of life is love and that a person endowed with the talent for love is worthy of worship.
Conclusion
The life of the great writer was interrupted on November 8 in 1953 in Paris, where he and his wife emigrated after the outbreak of the Red Terror in the USSR. He is buried in the Russian cemetery of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois.
Bunin’s work is simply impossible to describe briefly. He created a lot during his life, and each of his works is worthy of attention.
It is difficult to overestimate his contribution not only to Russian literature, but also to world literature. His works are popular in our time both among young people and among the older generation. This is really the literature that has no age and is always relevant and touching. And now Ivan Bunin is popular. The biography and work of the writer cause many interest and sincere respect.