The stories and heroes of Vasilii M. Shukshin
Creators: name: Polowy, Teresa Lynn
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2010

description: Vasilii Makarovich Shukshin was a well-known Soviet artistic figure, for he was a very popular actor and film director as well as a favorite author. My thesis is a study of the artistic genre in which Shukshin was most prolific -the story (rasskaz), but much of what is suggested is applicable to his work in other literary forms as well as to his work in the cinema arts. Shukshin's personal artistic versatility greatly determined his distinctive prose which borders between literature and cinema. His stories are immediate; one senses the gestures and hears the speech of the characters. The 'cinematic' quality is an essential element of his style and story structure with its great concentration upon dialogue and other direct speech forms. It is his hero that is Shukshin's biggest contribution to Soviet literature and it is the revelation of the Shukshin hero to the reader which is the essential reason for the story to exist. During the years of development and maturation as a writer, Shukshin proved that he was an expert of the social and psychological processes taking place within rural dwellers who are subjected to the constant influence of urban culture. Such heroes are restless people, dissatisfied with the banality of daily life. They speak of the spirit, of truth, and of the meaning of life, but because they do not conform to the accepted social norms, they are regarded as 'chudiki', eccentrics. In all of his artistic endeavors, Shukshin successfully creates his own characteristic and unique world which is an accurate and honest reality. The effective employment of dialogue, monologue and other speech forms enhances the impression of the reality of the world of the hero-eccentric. As well, these speech forms serve as vehicles for the gentle humour which is an important element in Shukshin's stories. This humour is skillfully blended with a tragic quality which results from the meeting of the imagined and concrete realities with which the hero must cope. As Shukshin's hero-eccentric evolves, the moral position taken by the author becomes more clearly defined. Through his heroes Shukshin condemns and exposes those social phenomena which corrupt and cripple the human soul. The stories bear strong moral overtones, and the last ones, written before Shukshin's death in 1974, are quite obviously social satires which employ more biting irony and sarcasm than Shukshin had ever used in his literary work. My thesis is comprised of an introduction, two main chapters, and a conclusion. In the INTRODUCTION, a brief biography of Shukshin's work in cinema and literature is presented with attention paid to his critical reception within the Soviet Union. CHAPTER ONE deals with two inseparable facets of Shukshin's art - his style and structure and their role in the manifestation of his unique hero. CHAPTER TWO treats Shukshin's artistic means of expression as well as his refined use of four distinct forms of direct speech in the revelation of the hero - his ultimate objective. The CONCLUSION summarizes the discussion of the previous chapters in the consideration of the special pathos which exists in Shukshin's stories. It suggests as well, Shukshin's importance as a contemporary Soviet author whose ideas have the potential for a broad, more universal application.