Education is a complex and important process which the future not just of only one person but the whole nation depends on, hence, it is an important factor of the progress in modern world

Chapter II. The analysis of translated extract from “The Duel” by A. Kuprin
2.1. About the author and his literature carrier

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin is the famous Russian prosaic writer, considered to be a classic author of Russian literature. The most famous works of his are “The Duel”, “The White Poodle”, “The Garnet Bracelet” and short stories about Russian life style and immigration.

Alexander Kuprin was born in 1870 in the small city of Narovchat of Penza gubernia and grew up in Moscow. His parents were noblemen with a long dynasty, that make possible for author to get perfect education. He studied in Moscow School of Razumovsky till he was 13, and being in the age of 14, he was transferred to The Second Moscow Cadet’s Corps that became the initial stage of his carrier in Russian army. Graduating The Cadet’s School, he entered Military school of Alexandrov and after graduation served as the first lieutenant in Dnepropetrovsk Infantry Regiment. He was serving there till the age of 24, and namely this period gave Kuprin material and experience for his future writings.

Leaving the army, he acquainted with Ivan Bunin, and being inspired by him, he began his carrier as a writer. He worked as a journalist in the magazine “Journal for everybody” and as editor in the magazine “Zemlya” which was for village settlers. Not satisfied with the new regime of Bolsheviks, he leaves for Finland after which he moves to France. But having serious financial problems her returns in Russia in 1937, where he passed away in 1938.

Alexander Kuprin’s story “The Duel” was published in 1905 and depicts the condition of Russian army of this period. The main idea of the work is to describe how army life looks like, how it affects people’s life and how people change under its pressure. The generalized idea of the writhing is contemporary life in the whole Russia and author’s emergent call to change situation as soon as possible, or in other way, people will lose their human face and sensibility.

Kuprin’s style is extremely natural. He picks up the slang and argot that is peculiar to his subject and describes everything with zest and colour and with a goodness of heart that compensates for any shortcomings he may have in originality or intellectual depth²⁷.

His style combined stark realism with romantic and even sentimental ideas. Leo Tolstoy admired Kuprin, and in the years before World War I Kuprin's short stories were nearly as popular as those of Anton Chekhov²⁸.