Summary of each chapter of Hunter's Notes

"Hunter's Notes" is a collection of essays by the Russian writer Turgenev, which describes Russian rural life in the mid-19th century through the hunting activities of hunters. It has 25 articles.

The chapter content is summarized as follows:

The first chapter ""Weasel" Hall and Kalinich"

"I" visited Switzerland as a hunter In Zdelin County, I met the small landowner Balutaikin in the wilderness. We first walked to the house of "Weasel" Hall, and his youngest son drove us back to Balutaikin's house to spend the night. The next day, "I" went hunting alone and came to Hall's house in the evening and stayed here. Three days later, Balutaikin sent someone to pick me up. The next day, "I" left Mr. Balutaikin's house.

The second article "Hunter Yermolai and the Millowner's Wife"?

"I" took the hired hunter Yermolai in the woods before sunset in the evening" Hunting”. In order to "hunt" before sunrise the next day, we wanted to spend the night in a nearby mill. The mill owner arranged for us to live in a small shed very close to the mill. The miller also asked his wife to come out and entertain us.

The third article "From Strawberry Spring to the Count's Butler"

On a day in early autumn and August, "I" took my hounds to the banks of the Ista River for hunting. While drinking water from the "Strawberry Fountain", I met two farmers whom "I" had known for a long time: Stobushka and Mihailo Saverifu. From the latter's mouth, readers know the story of the count who was once prosperous but later gradually declined.

Part 4 "The Love Romance of County Doctor"

Except for the first paragraph, the entire text is the self-narration of this "county doctor": he told "me" about his own An unforgettable love story that I personally experienced while treating a girl from a small landowner's family.

The fifth chapter "The Landlord of My Neighboring Village, Rajlov"

The protagonist is a small landowner, Rajlov. He was at most in his fifties, in his prime, generous, and kind to others. He had joined the army, was well-informed, spoke freely, and was introverted. He was once married, but his wife died during childbirth. Now he is eloping with his wife's sister.

The sixth chapter "Kulak Ovsenikov"

The protagonist is the rich farmer Ovsenikov. From his mouth, readers know about various landowning nobles, including "my" grandfather and grandmother. In addition, the novel also writes about Miga, the nephew of the rich farmer Ovsennikov.

Part 7 "Distress in the reed marsh outside Li Guofu Village"

The story of "I" and the hunter Yermolai going to the reed marsh ten miles away from Li Guofu Village to punt and hunt wild ducks. . Along the way we meet hunter Vladimir and fisherman Shuchok. The four of us were hunting in the reed swamps on Shuchok's boat.

Part 8 "Five Children on the River Bend Grassland"

Because I was greedy for hunting and came home late, I got lost on the way home and had to follow the five children. The children spent the night next to the bonfire in the grassland of the river bend. "I" pretended to be asleep and listened to the children's conversations about superstitions and myths about household gods, mermaids, and some local legends.

The ninth chapter "The Dwarf Cassian from the Mechi River"

"I" returned from hunting and encountered a funeral procession on the road. In order to avoid this "ominous omen" ", the driver drove his horse forward, but the axle broke. Accompanied by the dwarf Cassian, I went to the lumberyard to buy axles and shoot birds. From the conversation between "I" and him, I learned about Cassian's life experience and personality. Before returning to the new village, he met Anna, who was suspected to be the old man's illegitimate daughter. When I finally got home, it was already dark.

Part 10 "The Grange Steward"

The protagonist is the young landowner Alkazy Pavlech Benochkin, who is kind and enlightened on the outside but cold on the inside. , conservative characters. His housekeeper is smart and capable, and the landlord likes him and allows him to be the master of the manor, give orders and bully the people.

Chapter 11 "Grange Management Office"

On a drizzling autumn day, "I" returned from hunting and came to Anyevo under the guidance of an old man who was guarding the shack. Mrs. Losnekova's farm management office took shelter from the rain, and the main person in charge of the management office arranged to sleep and rest in the room next door. "I" later saw and heard everything that happened in the management office through the gap in the partition wall. ?

Part 12 "Forest Guard"

When I returned from hunting in the evening, the weather suddenly changed and there was a violent storm. The mare pulling the cart got stuck in the mud. Ke helped "me" out of trouble and pulled "me" to his house.

After the weather cleared, Piluk captured a farmer who was cutting down trees when he was about to send "me" home. With my help, Piluk let the farmer go. Then he saw "me" out of the woods and said goodbye.

Part 13 "Two Landlords"

The protagonists of this film have different origins and experiences from the landlord Rajlov in Part 5. One is a retired general, and the other is a native landowner. This is the unique nature of the two of them, although each has its own characteristics. This film describes the general's life and events; as for this local gentleman, it mainly uses "my" interview records to reveal his warm and gentle appearance, but his cold and cruel hypocrite's words and deeds.

Part 14 "Horse Buying at Lebiejan Market"?

After hunting in Lebiejan, "I" stayed at a local hotel. After returning to the hotel and having lunch, we went to the horse dealer's house to buy a horse, but the transaction was not completed due to the arrival of the Duke. In the end, "I" bought a horse from another store, but when I "got home" I found that I had been deceived: it turned out to be a lame and sick horse.

The fifteenth article "Tatyana Borishavna and her nephew"

This article writes about Tatyana Borishavna's personality and The circumstances surrounding her adoption and upbringing of her nephew. But the nephew failed to learn painting, and her money and efforts were wasted.

Part 16 "Deaths of Russians"

The author has written about the deaths of five Russians, their causes of death, their state of mind when they died, and the reactions of the people around them. , as well as "my" thoughts and emotions.

The seventeenth chapter "Hotel Song Contest"

Describes the specific process of two singers competing in a lonely hotel in Golotovka Village; but the protagonist of the novel except this The two singers - the little contractor and the Turk Yashka, the hotel owner Nikolai Ivan Remore, etc. They are the audience and the referee.

Part 18 "The Love Story of the Little Landlord Kalatayev"

Karatayev fell in love with the maid of a female landowner and wanted to redeem her life, but was attacked The female landowner refused and sent the maid away. Later, Karataev drove Matlyona back to his home, and the two lived a sweet life from then on. They met the female landowner head-on while driving. When the incident was revealed, the female landowner sued them and continued to pester them. In the end, Matliona decided to surrender, and there has been no news since then. Karataev was heavily in debt, sold his property, and went to Moscow to seek work. He was determined not to return to his hometown, but "to die in Moscow."

Part 19 "The Tryst"

It describes the last "tryst" of a young couple before they part ways. The man "is the beloved servant of a wealthy young master." The woman is a "miserable, poor orphan." It seems that there is already a love relationship between the two, but the man's relationship is not deep and he was indifferent before parting, while the woman's relationship is sincere and warm.

Part 20 "Hamlet in Shigre County"? During a hunting trip, "I" was invited by a small landowner in a neighboring village to have a banquet at his house. That night, "I" slept in the same room as him, but neither of us could sleep. So we started talking, and he opened up his heart to me and told me his tragic experience.

Chapter 21 "The Hereditary Noble Chertobukhanov and Lei's Friend Nedopyuskin"

Hunter Yermolai returned from hunting with "me" , met Chertobukhanov and Niedopyushkin successively on the road. After "I" did some research on them, I personally visited Chertobukhanov and participated in their family singing and dancing. Party, "I left Dreamless Village very late."

Part 22 "The Ending of Chertobukhanov"

This article writes about the ending of the protagonist Chertobukhanov and the three misfortunes he experienced. : The departure of his beloved mistress Masha; the death of his best friend Nedopyuskin; the theft of the BMW Malek-Atelei, which is more precious than his lover and best friend. It was these three misfortunes that led to the tragedy of Chertobukhanov's life.

Part 23 "The Death of Lucria"

Lucria used to be a beautiful and lively maid. Now she has been paralyzed in bed for a long time and is as skinny as a stick. Nicknamed "Living Mummy," she is still a smart, kind, gentle, quiet, and devout Christian. The novel mainly writes about her thoughts and feelings during her illness.

Part 24 "The Creaking of Wheels"

The novel starts from the "silliness" of the character Fei Luofei to his wit and intelligence while driving; The dangerous scene of encountering bandits is written to turn danger into safety and turn danger into safety.

While depicting two characters, it also reflects the social security situation in Russia at that time.

The twenty-fifth article "Forests and Grasslands"

The whole article is about the natural scenery of the woods and grasslands that hunters like in the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. This article can be seen as a summary and summary of these scene-writing fragments. It's poetic and beautiful.

1. Creative background

"Hunter's Notes" was published in the late 1840s and early 1950s. This was the period when the Russian liberation movement was transitioning from an aristocratic revolution to a bourgeois-democratic revolution. It was a historical period in which Russian social life was undergoing a great transformation. During this period, the corrupt nature of the Russian autocratic system was more exposed, and the crisis of the serfdom system deepened.

Since the 1920s, Russia's serfdom system has entered a crisis stage, and this crisis is constantly deepening. Capitalism gradually developed in Russia. It violently impacted the serfdom system and gradually disintegrated the serfdom economy. It should be said that the disintegration of the serfdom economy was the fundamental cause of the serfdom crisis.

At the same time, the farmers' struggle against the serfdom system is also constantly intensifying. According to statistics, from 1826 to 1850, there were 576 peasant riots. In addition, at this time, civilian intellectual revolutionaries were gradually replacing aristocratic revolutionaries, and the progressive forces participating in the revolutionary movement expanded. Turgenev created "Hunter's Notes" under the profound influence of the Russian liberation movement.

2. Theme of the work

"Hunter's Notes" is a documentary work that uses hunters' experiences of hunting to expose the vast number of serfs under the Tsarist autocratic system who were brutally enslaved by serf owners and lived in dire straits. It uses living examples to show readers the miserable life of the vast number of serfs under the Russian serfdom.

The value of "Hunter's Notes" is not only that it exposes the darkness and cruelty of serfdom, but also praises the excellent moral character of the working people. The author does not treat the peasants condescendingly like a landlord. Like many writers in the past, he describes the peasants as ignorant, lacking noble moral character, in an animal-like state, and just objects that should be pitied.

The author often appears as a friend in this book, hunting with farmers, talking about farmers' lives on an equal footing, discovering and describing many excellent qualities of these ordinary working people through keen insight, and showing His profound humanitarian and democratic thoughts.

The author pours his feelings into these ordinary working people. He does not have any aristocratic airs, but becomes one with these ordinary rural workers. This is extremely rare among writers of aristocratic origin.

The work not only describes the happy way of life of farmers, but also describes the beautiful temperament of these ordinary people. That is kindness, integrity, and optimism. Human mission is also a manifestation of human nature. Kindness, enthusiasm, integrity, optimism, etc. are all in line with the inherent requirements of life. People show such beautiful humanity in public life and also reflect the ethical values ??of life.

So, this is also an important value measure for life. The novel writes about many ordinary farmers. Their kind and enthusiastic nature in dealing with others, their optimism in their understanding of life, and their altruistic mentality all reflect the beautiful light of life.

In this collection of short stories, Turgenev mainly writes about the activities of characters and the beautiful scenery and spaces of nature from the perspective of life. Each space has a clear element of life, such as the freshness of plants, the movement of animals, the kindness and optimism of farmers, the decline of landlords, etc. These elements are interrelated, and this series of spaces constitutes a display of life. A complete art world of ontology.

Moreover, from the writing of nature to the vivid portrayal of characters. Its spatial transformation is also layered and rhythmic. In addition, the author is also full of changes in artistic techniques.

He writes from both positive and negative aspects. He writes about farmers and the beautiful scenery of nature from the positive side, showing a fresh, flexible and happy sense of life everywhere, pursuing a prime minister's survival model, and In order to reflect the inherent essential requirements of human life, writing about rural landlords writes out the declining life characteristics of landlords from the negative side and reveals the meaning of their declining life.

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3. Characters

Turgenev meticulously describes the various sufferings encountered by the serfs living at the bottom of the poor society, and feels with his heart the ruins of the Russian land. Under the gray birch trees, in the turbid pools, in the desolate and barren wilderness, the small and deep emotions and souls in the low and damp houses. On the one hand, he writes about the selfish, arrogant and cruel characters of serf owners and landlords, either head-on or side-on.

But he also wrote in the same low and melancholy style about the love tragedy caused by death between a doctor and the landowner's daughter ("The County Doctor"), writing that life was incompatible with ideals and could not find love. Ideal belonging, the image of a down-and-out landowner who cannot find peace of mind and is unwilling to join in the slander, writes about the upright, violent, and strong hereditary aristocrat Chertopkhanov who gradually destroys himself in "Chertopkhanov and Nedov" The tragedies of Pyokins" and "The End of Chertopkhanov".

Reference link: Baidu Encyclopedia: Hunter's Notes