Artistic interpretation of history in the story of Andrei Platonov "The foundation pit (Kotlovan)"

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Belgorod State University

Artistic interpretation of history in the story of Andrei Platonov «The foundation pit (kotlovan)»

Pigunova A.N.

Belgorod, Russia

Abstract

It is known that the historical moment, the events of real life have become the basis of the works of many Russian authors, among whom Andrei Platonov belongs. In his work, openly oppositional views are expressed, and not only in a general way or allegorically, but also in a specific sharp criticism of the provisions of Stalinism. The theory and practice of the transformation of the country seemed cruel and inhumane to Adrei Platonov. This becomes the main idea of the story «The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan)».

Keywords: historical process, chronotope, socialism, collectivization.

Literature, not to a lesser extent, but at crucial moments, even to a greater extent than science, forms ideas about the historical process. The first half of the twentieth century was marked by events that influenced the further development of society and the literary process. The main task of Soviet writers of this time was to depict the country during the revolution and Civil War.

The theme of political and social transformations is reflected in the works of many Soviet writers. The creation of a new world in their works appears as a complex process that requires enormous tension, but at the same time the general atmosphere remains optimistic. Andrei Platonov sees this time differently. Turning to history, the writer creates the story «The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan)» in order to awaken the consciousness of society and warn against the «danger of his time».

The historical context of the story «The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan)» is known: it was written during the construction of a new socialist Russia. The plot is based on the history of the creation of a new all-proletarian house. An important place in the art world of Andrei Platonov is occupied by a man who appears in the images of the main character Voshchev, diggers Chiklin, Safronov, Kozlov, engineer Prushevsky, chairman Pashkin. Bulygin classifies the heroes of Andrei Platonov according to the following principle: «in Platonov's story, the world of heroes -personalities with a name opposes nameless functionaries representing Depersonalizing System». So, names are given only to heroes who can think - seekers of truth and truth. The rest of the characters act as a faceless mass, deprived of their own opinion.

An artel of diggers is working at the construction site - about twenty people, silent, emaciated and "thin as the dead. «The silence of the night in the barracks is symbolic: «there was no sound, no one dreamed or talked with memories - everyone existed without any excess of life. «These people do not live - they exist; tired of physical labor, they are not capable of intellectual work, like Voshchev. Without thinking about the meaning of life and the search for truth, they silently obediently carry out the orders of the authorities. Bulygin characterizes the workers as follows: «Deprived of truth, inscribed in a harsh system, they give their last strength, all their energy to construction, while reaching a state of semi-death».

Researcher Kharitonov notes that the characters of «The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan)» are subordinated to a certain task - «to show Soviet society in all its originality». In the description of the characters, the researcher notices a tendency to generalization, universalization. According to Kharitonov, they «line up in a single system and become - together with the opinions, views, positions expressed by them - facets of one whole, which, first of all, is most strongly and vividly perceived by the reader».

An important role in the story is played by the image of Nastya. The child in the story symbolizes the future of a new society. It is for the sake of the girl's happiness that the diggers give their lives to build a new house. The girl's mother, a bourgeois, is dying, but Nastya calls her mother not a living person, but the revolution itself. In the finale of the story, the girl dies.

The artistic world «The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan)» is significantly different from real events - under the prism of the author's perception, reality undergoes a sharp deformation, reaching the absurd. If we consider in detail the characteristics of each digger, then we can notice one feature: in addition to the fact that they are «thin as the dead», their weak bodies are «exhausted by thought and meaninglessness», the author does not talk about anything else. Andrei Platonov does not give a detailed description of each hero - feelings, assessments, reflections are important to him. Thus, the person in Platonov's story is only the bearer of the idea with which the general idea of the work is realized. The author does not try to detail each hero, he depicts the overall picture of Soviet society.

The spatial-temporal organization of the work is subordinated to the main artistic task of the writer - not the description of a specific historical event, but the philosophical generalization of epochal transformations. The main feature of the artistic time and space of «The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan)» is antinomianism. Time in the art world of Andrei Platonov has uncharacteristic properties for real: it can stop and accelerate. So, for example, dekulakization, expulsion of kulaks and celebration of victory takes one day, but time stretches and is described minute by minute. In the finale of the story, Chiklin digs Nastya's grave for an eternity, but «fifteen hours in a row» are contained in one paragraph of the narrative.

If the time frame of the narrative in «The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan)» is clearly marked, then the space regularly loses certain outlines. Particular attention should be paid to the topographical names that are used in the story. The USSR and Russia are the «smallest» spaces that have names. The city where the general proletarian house is being built and the village where the dispossession is taking place have no names at all - but the Milky Way is mentioned. But at the same time, the main character spends most of his time in a foundation pit - a place that connects a single point that can stretch to the scale of the universe. This detail reflects the hero's hope that in this boundless world you can find the meaning of your existence. But from one closed space the hero comes to another - a foundation pit, which becomes Nastya's grave - an eternal stone that closes the child's body from the whole world. consciousness story artistic writer

At the same time, from «The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan)», space tends to expand to cosmic scales, the plans of the heroes are universal in nature.

It is important to note that every day, the space of «The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan)» becomes wider and deeper - at the beginning of the story it is located in a ravine, but the party administration requires its expansion, the number of diggers increases every day. As a result, the finale of the story is represented by the «pit abyss», which has no boundaries.

Thus, the artistic interpretation of history in Andrei Platonov's novel «The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan)» indicates that this work is exceptional in the way of interaction of historical reality and the peculiarities of its artistic reflection. In the ideological and artistic content, the characteristics of the characters, in the artistic space and time, the writer's vision of history was received.

The study of the historical basis of the story allowed us to assert that the source of artistic reality was the era in which the author himself lives. According to Mikhail Geller, «Platonov gives a symbolic meaning to real events, strictly defined by time and space, which turns «The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan)» into the only adequate depiction of events in literature, the significance of which in the history of the country and the people exceeds the significance of the October Revolution».

References

1. Bulygin A.K. «The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan)» by Andrey Platonov. Problematics and poetics. - St. Petersburg, 2002. - p. 109.

2. Geller M.Ya. Andrey Platonov in search of happiness. - Moscow, 1999. - p. 267.

3. Golovanova N.Yu. The theme of socialist construction in Platonov's story «The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan)» // «The Land of Philosophers» by Andrey Platonov: Problems of creativity. - Moscow, 2000. - No. 13. - p. 5.

4. Kharitonov A.A. Ways of expressing the author's position in Andrey Platonov's story «The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan)»: abstract of the dissertation. ... Candidate of Philology / Institute of Russian Literature. - St. Petersburg, 1993. - P. 22.

5. Platonov A.P. The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan): Selected prose. Moscow, 2000. p. 21.

6. Platonov A.P. The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan): Selected prose. Moscow, 2000. p. 190.

7. Vyugin V.Y. The story «The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan)» in the context of Andrey Platonov's creativity // Andrey Platonov. Pit: Text. Materials of creative history. - St. Petersburg, 2000. - p. 16.

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