I.A. Bunins Linguistic Worldview in an Extreme Situation (on manipulation potential of the diary «Cursed Days»)

Abstract

The article studies the linguistic worldview of the great Russian writer I.A. Bunin in the context of an extreme situation and measures the manipulation potential of his diary «Cursed Days» written in the period of wars and revolutions in the early 20th century, the time of cardinal changes in all spheres of life. The author shows how the writer’s worldview changed influenced by the political, historic and cultural events of those days. The phenomenon of linguistic manipulation is the object of the research, which is explained by the character of the linguo-cultural and historical situation at the time of the diary’s publishing. The empirical material is helps to study manipulative behavior in an extreme situation, which requires special speaking skillfulness, a high degree of persuasion, and mobilizing all available means and tools. The study focuses on key means of argumentation and manipulation that I.A. Bunin uses to express his personal views on the historic events, as well as on lexical means, stylistic devices and techniques that enable the writer to affect the reader. The author proves that the diary «Cursed Days» contains not only semantic interpretation of the environment, but also a wide range of feelings and emotions, which, thus, makes the diary a synthesis of meanings and emotional states, and therefore, an efficient tool of manipulation.