Čelovek pered licom zla : mir geroev romana Aleksandra Solženicyna V kruge pervom

Abstract

The study is concerned with the worlds of heroes in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's novel The First Circle. The main methodological principle is tracing and analysing the point of view of the hero and the ways in which it is narrated (>close reading=). The work consists of two parts, titled Power and Man and the System. Approaches vary from socio-critical and historical ones to psychological and philosophical enquiries. On the basis of such multi-faceted criticism, the poetical canvas of the novel is constructed. The analysis proceeds along the lines of the plot of the novel.One of the most important aspects of this particular novel, and of the author's whole artistic work, is its grounding in facts. The novel is structured as a kind of collage of elements of reality, where the relations between the parts play a central role.On the ethical measure, the main problem of the novel is the problem of evil and it's relation to the individual, on the other hand, and to society as a whole on the other. The context is Russian history, one of its darkest times of Soviet power, the late Stalinism. What kind of people then lived in Russia, what did they do, how did they feel and think? The purpose of this work is to constitute the universality of the concept of man in the context of this particular novel. The characters in it are the >same= as humans anywhere and anytime, but they are subjected to incredibly harder conditions than people usually are. Thus Solzhenitsyn's novel is like a laboratory of human ethics, where the motivation behind people=s actions is divided between the spirit and the pleasure, and the many combinations they form.The novel is also considered in relation to the great tradition of Russian literature and thought.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsynin kirjallista tuotantoa ei voida sivuuttaa tutkittaessa 20. vuosisadan Venäjän historiaa. Useissa teoksissaan, muun muassa "Ensimmäinen Piiri", "Syöpäosasto" ja "Ivan Denisovitshin päivä", hän on kyennyt mestarillisella tavalla vangitsemaan ajan ilmapiirin ja siihen kuuluvat ihmiset salaisine tunteineen ja ajatuksineen. Pelkästään laatimalla sanaston Solzhenitsynin teoksissa esiintyvistä länsimaiselle ihmiselle oudoista käsitteistä voitaisiin tuota aikaa ymmärtää paremmin kuin ulkopuolisten tutkijain tekemistä pitkistä historiikeista. Neuvostoelämää elettiin monikertaisten naamioiden ja salausjärjestelmien takana, jotka peittivät todellisuuden paitsi ulkopuolisilta, myös suurelta osalta maan omista kansalaisista. Eksaktin tieteen koulutus yhdistyneenä elämän kokemuksen kehittämään taiteilijan intuitioon antavat Solzhenitsynille mahdollisuuden ymmärtää muita paremmin ajan ihmisten käytöstä ja sielunelämää.