Gooseberries

Gooseberries

by Anton Chekhov

Rating: 7/10

“Gooseberries” is one of Anton Checkhov’s renown stories.  It has a interesting structure: frame story. A concise prose format allows author to express his thoughts in the most concise way, resulting in attracting the reader’s attention and reaching the mind. Veterinarian Ivanovich Chimsha-Himalayan and Burkin Gymnasium teachers stopped by the field with the rain. They’re waiting for bad weather on the property of Ivan Ivanovich's friend Alekhine. The doctor then tells the story of the prisoner and his fate. They’ve learned simple truth. You have to pay for pleasure. They came from poor families and tried to provide themselves. Nikolai Ivanovich, one of his youngest brothers, worked for enrichment. His all dream was the mansion and garden where ripe, fragrant gooseberries grew up. 

Chimsha-Himalayan ruined his wife. He saved everything. Eventually, he was still able to get a coveted plot. On the one hand, the protagonist is happy, he eats Guinness Berry with pleasure, making himself a harsh but fair master... But on the other hand, the current situation in Nikolai Ivanovich doesn’t please his staying brother. Ivan Ivanovich knows that something worth much more than pleasure is his gooseberry. The conflict between matter and spirit has reached its peak. (200 words)