What is the meaning of Kuprin's work "Gambrinus". Beer "Gambrinus" from the story of the same name by A.I.

There were no signs at all. Straight from the sidewalk they entered the narrow one, always open door. From it led down the same narrow staircase of twenty stone steps, battered and twisted by many millions of heavy boots. Above the end of the stairs, in the wall, was a high-relief painted image of the glorious patron of the beer business, King Gambrinus, about twice the size of a man. This sculptural work was probably the first work of an aspiring amateur and seemed to be roughly executed from petrified pieces of spongy sponge, but the red camisole, ermine mantle, gold Crown and a high-lifted mug with white foam flowing down left no doubt that the great patron of brewing was in front of the visitor.

The pub consisted of two long but extremely low vaulted halls. FROM stone walls the underground moisture always oozed in fleeting streams and sparkled in the fire of the gas jets, which burned day and night, because there were no windows at all in the pub. On the vaults, however, one could still quite clearly make out traces of entertaining wall painting. In one picture, a large company of German youths was feasting, in hunting green jackets, in hats with grouse feathers, with guns over their shoulders. All of them, turning to face the beer hall, greeted the audience with outstretched mugs, while two of them also hugged the waist of two plump girls, maids at a rural tavern, or maybe the daughters of a kind farmer. On the other wall was a high-society picnic from the first half of XVIII century; Countesses and viscounts in powdered wigs frolic coyly in a green meadow with lambs, and nearby, under spreading willows, is a pond with swans, which are gracefully fed by cavaliers and ladies sitting in some kind of golden shell. The next picture showed the inside of a khokhlatskaya hut and a family of happy Little Russians dancing the hopak with shtofs in their hands. Still farther flaunted a large barrel, and on it, entwined with grapes and hop leaves, two ugly fat cupids with red faces, greasy lips and shamelessly oily eyes clink flat glasses. In the second hall, separated from the first by a semicircular arch, there were pictures of frog life: frogs drink beer in a green swamp, frogs hunt dragonflies among thick reeds, play string Quartet, fight with swords, etc. Obviously, the walls were painted by a foreign master.

Instead of tables, heavy oak barrels were placed on the floor thickly strewn with sawdust; instead of chairs - small barrels. To the right of the entrance was a small stage, and on it stood a piano. Here, every evening, for many years in a row, the musician Sashka played the violin for the pleasure and entertainment of the guests - a Jew - a meek, cheerful, drunken, bald man, with the appearance of a mangy monkey, of indeterminate years. Years passed, lackeys in leather armlets were replaced, suppliers and carriers of beer were replaced, the owners of the pub themselves were replaced, but Sashka invariably every evening by six o’clock was already sitting on his stage with a violin in his hands and with a little white dog on his knees, and by one in the morning he left from Gambrinus, accompanied by the same dog Squirrel, barely standing on his feet from drunk beer.

However, there was another irreplaceable person in Gambrinus - the barmaid Madame Ivanova - a plump, bloodless, old woman who, from her uninterrupted stay in a damp beer dungeon, looked like pale, lazy fish that inhabit the depths of sea grottoes. Like the captain of a ship from the cabin, she silently ordered the servants from the height of her pantry and smoked all the time, holding a cigarette in the right corner of her mouth and screwing up her right eye from the smoke. Her voice was rarely heard by anyone, and she always answered bows with the same colorless smile ...

Pictured: King Gambrinus

Kuprin A.I., Gambrinus.
The main actions of the work of A.I. Kuprin "Gambrinus" take place in a pub with the same name.
The pub was named after King Gambrinus, a certain patron of the beer business. The place itself was in the basement. The walls of the pub were always damp, the floor was thickly strewn with sawdust, and instead of tables there were beer barrels. To the right of the entrance was a stage. The musician Sashka played on it every evening for many years in a row "for the pleasure and entertainment of guests". He was a Jew, his appearance was a kind of shabby monkey, but everyone loved and respected him. Sasha had a small dog, Squirrel, who always and everywhere accompanied him. In addition to Sasha, there was something else in Gambrinus significant person- the barmaid Madam Ivanova, who "like the captain of a ship from the wheelhouse" silently ordered the servants and constantly smoked.
The city's port has always been crowded with ships. English, Japanese, Russian, Polish, French. The Italian ships stood with their sides pressed tightly against each other. Sailors various countries and states were constant visitors to Gambrinus, and they were also Sasha's constant admirers. Everyone ordered him the melody of their country, their region, and Sashka played them with great success. By evening, the musician's pockets were heavy with silver coins, and he himself swayed slightly from the beer that he was treated to. But the next day he always appeared in Gambrinus again, and everything was repeated. With his violin playing, Sashka forced people to forget that there are gray everyday life in the world, melancholy, work, despondency ...
Sasha was deservedly appreciated.
Once Sashka came to Gambrinus earlier than usual. There was bitterness in his eyes; he was taken to war. It didn't hurt that he was Jewish. By evening, all Gambrinus knew about it. Out of sympathy, Sasha was given a dead drink, but his eyes still "looked sadness and horror." Sashka gave the violin to one worker, and the dog Squirrel to the barmaid - Madame Ivanova.
Without Sasha, Gambrinus "was empty and stalled." The owner tried to invite wandering mandolinists, but the audience coming to Gambrinus booed them and threw sausage bits at them. At first, they asked about Sasha almost every evening, wondering if there was a letter or postcard from him. But since time "grinds and washes everything", the mandolin players were replaced and Leshka, the accordion player, firmly established himself, former thief.
A year has passed. No one remembered Sasha, except for Madame Ivanova.
Another year has passed. And then Sasha returned. As it turned out, he was not even injured. On the day Sasha returned, there were so many people in Gambrinus that there was nowhere to sit. The violin was returned to Sasha, and the dog Squirrel was again sitting at his feet. Everything was fine, it seemed that the musician had not changed at all. But Madame Ivanova noticed that longing and horror had not disappeared from his eyes.
Soon "variegated, changeable, stormy times" came. Crowds of people walked through the streets, sometimes there were pogroms. Jews were also beaten. But Sasha was not touched, because everyone knew him. However, not daring to harm him, one day a Squirrel was killed in front of his eyes. After the pogroms, there was an ominous silence in the city. Detectives walked around the city. They also came to Gambrinus. One of the detectives was a baptized Jew nicknamed Gundosy. Something he did not like in Sasha, and he attacked him. But after a few moments, everyone saw that Gundosy was lying on the floor, and Sasha was holding a fragment of his violin in his hands ... Of course, the crowd hid Sasha from the detectives in an instant. But in the evening, when Sashka was leaving the pub, several people attacked him. Sasha could be considered buried.
Three months have passed. One evening Sasha returned. He grew a beard and grew thin. But the worst thing was that left hand Sashki "was turned with her elbow to her side." It was clear that the hand was not unbent. To the questions of the people around him, Sasha answered that "something with the tendon." He could no longer play the violin. The audience was upset. But suddenly Sasha took his healthy hand out of his pocket... harmonica. And the old melodies, long known to everyone, resounded in Gambrinus.
"A person can be crippled, but art will endure everything and win everything"
- with these words, the work of A.I. Kuprin "Gambrinus" ends.

The story of Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin "Gambrinus" tells about a pub. She was named after the king who patronized the beer business, Gambrinus. This pub was located in a southern port city. The guests of this institution were very colorful characters. People visited the pub different nationalities, different faiths and different social status.

Sasha was a Jew by nationality. He was very fond of grimacing and having fun. For the world high art he was an ordinary musician, but for the visitors of the pub and for employees in it, he was a musician with capital letter. Sasha could pick up any tune, sing any song. This was very liked by the visitors of the pub. In principle, because of Sasha, they loved this institution.

In the story "Gambrinus" the writer reveals different images person. Sasha is the most unique and at the same time the most colorful character. At first glance, he is an ordinary beer violinist. But, if you read the work to the end, then Sasha becomes truly close to every reader.

Coming japanese war and Sasha is taken to the service. He says goodbye to a heavy soul and thinks that he will die in one of the battles. But fate is so merciful to him that two years later he returns to Gambrinus, where everyone is bored without him, and everything falls into place again. However, some changes are taking place. Sasha's eyes become much sadder and the expression of sadness in them is so heavy that the reader cannot remain indifferent to him.

Further in the story, the writer tells that people are given complete freedom: freedom of speech, thought. But life doesn't get any better. On the contrary, everything somehow gets worse. Jews are being persecuted. At this point, the reader should be afraid that Sasha will be hit. But he walks the streets freely and calmly. However, Belka, Sasha's dog, is killed.

In my opinion, Sashka, because of resentment and injustice, fights in a pub for which he will later go to prison. From there he comes out with a crippled hand. But still, despite all the persecution, injustice towards him, he continues to play the harmonica.

In my opinion, the author wanted to show the power human spirit. Especially if a person is very passionate about something, as in the case of Sasha. The violinist really liked the music. She walked with him through life and helped him not to break, to stay strong. Therefore, the author ends his work with these words of Sasha: "A person can be maimed, but art will endure everything and win everything."

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1 group: the role of music in the story (why music touches the simplest and rudest hearts of fishermen, sailors, thieves) - find an explanation in the text, find key quotes in the text, Sashka's drawing.

Answer: The purpose of the author is to emphasize spiritual beauty hero, to show that appearance is not the main thing in a person, and most importantly - his soul. Sashka's prototype - the violinist Alexander Pevzner - was known and loved in Odessa, but after the appearance of the story, his fame became the property of all reading Russia.

The funeral of Alexander Pevzner was later described by Konstantin Paustovsky in The Time of Great Expectations, which supported and literary legend and real memory of the Odessa violinist.

Not all musicians of Odessa were honored with such fame, as, however, beer houses, zucchini, restaurants, cafes.

3 group: What fundamental difference Sasha from romantic heroes of the works we studied, from the neo-romantic heroes of M. Gorky? With which of the heroes of N.V. Gogol's "Portrait" can Sasha be compared? Sasha's drawing.

Answer: Heroes of romantic works of XIX centuries were doomed to voluntary or involuntary loneliness. In M. Gorky, individualism, a frantic thirst for will, freedom at any cost leads to the loneliness of heroes. In the story Gambrinus, the author rethinks romantic traditions. His hero Sasha is in the midst of people, pleases them with his art. Sashka's talent is simple, but people need it. It is different as from the sublime, too far from common man, from the point of view of the writer, art goodies“Portrait”, and from Chartkov’s corrupt and obsequious painting of N.V. Gogol’s story “Portrait”.

4 group: What problem does the idea of ​​the plot of the story raise? Sasha's drawing. Answer: The idea of ​​the plot of the work touches upon the eternal problem of immortality and the triumph of art over the manifestation of cruelty, meanness and immorality. AT philosophical thought The brilliant French scientist B. Pascal gave a definition to a person: a person is a reed, but a thinking reed. This was picked up by A. I. Kuprin and transferred to the field of literature. The hero's words that a person can be maimed, but real art will endure and conquer everything, are a kind of transcription here and sound like the apotheosis of stamina and courage. The story "Gambrinus" has just over twenty pages. But each word of the work, permeated with special magic and energy of the author's literary skill, excites the reader, keeps him in suspense, not leaving him indifferent to dramatic events, unfolded in Russian Empire of that period. A wave of Jewish pogroms in a matter of days disrupted the cheerful atmosphere of friendly relations between people, plunging the cheerful streets of the southern seaside city into the poisonous darkness of xenophobia.

5 group: Is it possible to speak of a writer as a journalist? What is his civic position? What is his relationship to the hero? The image of the dog Squirrel. Sasha's drawing.

Answer: Almost journalistic accuracy A. I. Kuprin describes the acts of vandalism of the Black Hundreds: “They broke into private apartments, rummaged in beds and chests of drawers, demanded vodka, money and a hymn, and filled the air with a drunken burp.” Already only in one such line lies the talent of a journalist.

The civic position of the writer is easily guessed from one of the key scenes, when an Odessa bricklayer, in the midst of a pogrom, mercilessly kills Sashka the violinist's beloved dog. In this episode, with the contrasting expressiveness of neorealism, AI Kuprin shows all the fury of the stupid and senseless anger of the people. Deceived and used by various ruling and revolutionary parties for their own political purposes, this people itself becomes a victim of the coming tragic events. The author will express his pain and indignation more than once in such works as “Delirium” and “Resentment”.

6 group: Draw a parallel: Jewish pogroms in pre-revolutionary Russia (historical context and text this work) - determination of connections, Sasha's drawing.

The student gives historical background, the other reads from the text: “Ji-id! Beat the Jew! In krrrr!

“The bricklayer caught the dog by the hind legs, raised it high, hit his head on the pavement and ran. Brain from Squirrel's head splashed onto Sasha's boots, Sasha wiped the stain with a handkerchief.

“Some unbridled people in Manchurian hats, with St. George ribbons in the buttonholes of their jackets, went to restaurants and insistently demanded the national anthem and made sure that everyone got up. They broke into private apartments…”.
Students from each group hang pictures of Sasha on the board.

Group 2 draws a conclusion about the fate of Sasha: he was taken to the soldiers, to the war. Returning home, Sasha again pleased everyone with his violin playing. But he was unexpectedly beaten for no reason, taken to the Boulevard Section for Political.

For a long time, Sashka was considered buried, but after a while they saw a “resurrected musician”, whose “left hand was twisted with an elbow to his side, and his fingers stuck out forever near his chin.” He became a victim of Jewish pogroms.

On the board are drawings depicting Sasha. Each group coped with the task (for the completed drawing - 2 points).

The hero could no longer play: he was crippled, but Sasha's music is eternal, as it leads the world, goodness and light.

In memory of Sasha, music sounds like a hymn to the world, the music played by the hero of the story himself. This is a hymn to the unity of people, unity, spiritual strength, despite different racial differences.

Very briefly, a Jewish violinist playing in a beer garden in a port city experiences the Russo-Japanese War and Jewish pogroms. He is crippled, but the violinist's craving for music is great, and he continues to play the harmonica.

"Gambrinus" - a beer house in the basement of the southern port city. Every evening for many years in a row, the violinist Sashka the Jew plays here, a cheerful, eternally drunk man of indeterminate years, similar to a monkey. Invariably, at six o'clock in the evening, he comes to the pub with a violin and a small dog Belochka. In the same pub, Madame Ivanova works as a barmaid, fat woman, with a colorless face from many years of being in the basement.

AT major port ships from many countries arrive, smugglers hunt at night, there are many coffee houses, dens, and rooming houses near the port. Those who arrived in the city and the inhabitants of these places certainly visit Gambrinus. Sashka plays without interruption the songs of all peoples and regions ordered to him. By evening, his pockets are full of silver coins. Visitors borrow small sums from him and never pay them back.

Begins Russo-Japanese War. Sasha is taken to the soldiers. Visitors to the pub are horrified, one of them even volunteers to go instead of the violinist. Sashka gives his violin to a worker, and leaves his dog to Madame Ivanova. Being an orphan, he sends the money he earns distant relatives. He leaves his last salary to the barmaid, so that she can send it to the violinist's relatives after his departure.

Without Sasha and his violin, Gambrinus is empty. The owner invites various musicians, but they are bombarded with sausages. However, over time, Sasha is forgotten. An accordion player plays in the pub, and only Madame Ivanova and the little dog Squirrel remember the violinist.

Sasha returns a year later. The harmonist is kicked out, despite the contract concluded with him, and "Gambrinus" comes to life again.

Soon a Jewish pogrom begins in the city, but Sashka calmly walks the streets, they do not touch him. One of the rioters, angry that he cannot touch Sasha, kills his dog Squirrel.

Detectives enter Gambrinus, one of whom is Motka Gundosy, a baptized Jew. There is a quarrel between him and Sasha. Sashka breaks the violin on Gundosy, and he wants to take him to the station, but the crowd hides the violinist. They arrest him in the evening on the way from the pub.

Three months later, Sasha returns. His left arm is crooked, "turned with the elbow to the side" and does not unbend, apparently, the tendon is damaged. "Nothing! A person can be crippled, but art will endure everything and win everything,” says Sashka, takes a harmonica with his healthy hand and starts playing the favorite songs of Gambrinus visitors.