Writers of the previous era rarely wrote about peasants, and if they did, they depicted them as a common gray mass. Despite this, Turgenev undertook to note the peculiarities of peasant life, thanks to which the collection “Notes of a Hunter” presented a bright and multifaceted composition of the life of peasants. The stories immediately attracted readers and allowed them to gain special fame.
Features of the stories “Notes of a Hunter”
Each story features one main character, whose name is Pyotr Petrovich. He is a nobleman from the village of Spassky and is actively involved in hunting and hiking. Ivan Turgenev talks about various stories that happened during hunting trips. The main character has acquired such valuable character traits as observation and attention, thanks to which the narrator better understands various life situations and successfully conveys them to the reader.
“Biryuk” is a story included in the collection “Notes of a Hunter.” The work was written in 1848 and corresponds to the general literary composition. The main character again finds himself in an interesting story, which he narrates in the form of a monologue.
The plot of the story "Biryuk"
One evening Pyotr Petrovich was returning from hunting and got caught in a downpour. A further trip turned out to be impossible: we had to wait out the bad weather. Fortunately, Peter saw a forester who invited the master to his house. An important conversation took place in Biryuk’s hut. As it turned out, the forester was nicknamed Biryuk because he has a gloomy and unsociable character. Despite such harsh character traits, Biryuk decided to tell many interesting facts about his life.
After the rain ended, the hospitable owner of the forest hut heard the sound of an ax and decided to catch the intruder. Pyotr Petrovich supported the idea, so the two of them went in search of the intruder. The thief turned out to be a beggar man, dressed in rags and with a disheveled beard. Most likely, the violation was due to a difficult life situation. Pyotr Petrovich took pity on the beggar and asked Biryuk for an important favor, or rather, to let the poor peasant go. However, the forester did not agree and led the man into his hut. The offender was released only after repeated requests for mercy from the master.
Biryuk as a person
Biryuk is an interesting and integral person, but, unfortunately, tragic. The main tragedy lies in the presence of special views on life, which sometimes have to be sacrificed. The story noted that many peasants in the mid-19th century considered theft to be commonplace. This was precisely the main tragedy of Biryuk.
It is important to note that the peasants’ worldview was explained by serious social problems:
Insecurity of the peasant people;
Lack of good education;
Immorality of behavior due to lack of education.
Forester Biryuk was different from ordinary peasants. He is ready to live as a beggar even if such a situation turns out to be difficult. Any life circumstances could not motivate theft.
It is important to note that Biryuk’s poor position was confirmed by the description of his house in the forest:
One room;
Smoky;
Low and empty hut;
No floors or partitions.
You can understand how difficult Biryuk’s life turns out to be. It can be assumed that if a poor man sacrificed his principles, he, being in the forest, could build a beautiful hut for himself.
Biryuk understands that if every peasant steals, the overall situation will only worsen. The forester is confident that he is right, so it is difficult for him to deviate from existing principles. Despite such character traits and the desire to walk firmly through life, sometimes you have to face challenges. The situation described in the story clearly demonstrates the struggle between feelings of pity and compassion with clear principles and the desire to improve the world. The essay shows how difficult it is to hesitate between feelings and existing principles, not to know what to choose.
“Biryuk” is a fascinating story that reveals the characters of each participant in the story. Ivan Turgenev understood the peculiarities of peasant life in the 19th century, and therefore successfully reflected them in his works. The logic of life is a worthy basis, without which it is impossible to change realities.
“Biryuk” is a story that reflected the unfair situation of many serfs. Each reader has the right to independently place emphasis on those feelings that arise when comparing heroes from the same peasant environment, but differing in their life principles and character traits.
The plot of the story is based on a direct conflict between the forester Biryuk, who is considered lonely and gloomy, and the poor peasant. Biryuk honestly fulfills his duties and tries to protect the forest. The peasant finds himself in a difficult life situation, so he steals firewood. The master hunter, Pyotr Petrovich, stopped in a forest hut due to a sudden downpour, so he becomes an accidental witness to a conflict situation. He sees how during bad weather Biryuk decides to go into the forest and tries to catch the unfortunate thief.
Biryuk lives poorly and raises his children himself. His wife went to a passing tradesman, leaving her family. Despite such life circumstances, theft is still the last thing, so Biryuk tries to identify violators and punish them... But you need to understand how fair such behavior turns out to be. Growing up children are hungry and eat bad bread... Biryuk shows distrust and gloominess, says little and behaves insincerely. Biryuk, of course, invites the hunter to his place and is ready to take him home, but still shows a merciless judicial attitude towards the beggar.
Biryuk is ready to justify his actions with the following point: he is a forced laborer, so they can exact a penalty from him... At the same time, during the plaintive explanations of the poor peasant, the forester remains silent. Such moments reflect a serious internal struggle. The forester wants to justify the unfortunate thief, realizing that in bad weather he steals wood from the master to fire the stove and prepare food for a hungry family, but still leaves the offender locked up. The attitude changes only after the unfortunate man at the very end of the story calls Biryuk a “beast,” a “damned murderer.” The violator is ready to accept any punishment, because even death does not frighten him. However, accusing the forester of inhumanity immediately leads to a different effect, because Biryuk lets him go. In an unexpected way, a serious internal conflict was resolved:
Cruelty and duty of service;
Clear life principles;
Sincere sympathy and understanding of the misfortune of a stranger.
At the same time, the master, Pyotr Petrovich, contributed to the successful resolution of the current situation, since he was immediately imbued with the explanations of the unfortunate thief. The situation is better revealed through detailed descriptions of the landscape. Throughout the story, a thunderstorm rages, personifying Biryuk’s state of mind. In addition, many serfs consider the forester a manifestation of a thunderstorm. But nevertheless, Biryuk is freed from the sense of duty, since he commits a human act and goes to meet the unfortunate person. According to the law that was in force at that ominous time, the forester. who did not catch the thief had to reimburse the entire cost of the illegally cut down trees. If this could not be done, there was a risk of a lawsuit with further exile to Siberia, but the fear of punishment loses... Biryuk nevertheless releases the thief and gives him his horse.
The meaning of the story “Biryuk”
Biryuk is a special hero in Ivan Turgenev’s story, because he has unique life principles and is sometimes ready to sacrifice them. Mental struggle allows you to understand how difficult it is sometimes to make the right decision. A detailed description of bad weather and thunderstorms contributes to a better understanding of the life principles and feelings and emotions of a forester. It is important to understand that a person who is in need and cannot find the right path is forced to decide on hopelessness. The oscillation between feelings and principles is the best reflection of humanity.
The story has numerous artistic merits, which have been confirmed by critics:
Real and picturesque descriptions of nature;
A special style of storytelling;
Unusual heroes.
“Biryuk” is a worthy representative of the legendary collection “Notes of a Hunter,” which made it possible to strengthen the position of Ivan Turgenev in Russian literature.
The work was completed by a student of class 7 “B” Balashov Alexander
The main character of the story is I.S. Turgenev's "Biryuk" is the forester Foma. Foma is a very interesting and unusual person. With what admiration and pride the author describes his hero: “He was tall, broad-shouldered and beautifully built. His powerful muscles bulged out from under the wet manner of his shirt.” Biryuk had a “manly face” and “small brown eyes” that “looked boldly from under fused wide eyebrows.”
The author is struck by the wretchedness of the forester’s hut, which consisted of “one room, smoky, low and empty, without floors ...”, everything here speaks of a miserable existence - both “a tattered sheepskin coat on the wall” and “a pile of rags in the corner; two large pots that stood near the stove...” Turgenev himself sums up the description: “I looked around - my heart ached: it’s not fun to enter a peasant’s hut at night.”
The forester's wife ran away with a passing tradesman and abandoned two children; maybe that’s why the forester was so stern and silent. Foma was nicknamed Biryuk, that is, a gloomy and lonely man, by the surrounding men, who feared him like fire. They said that he was “strong and dexterous like a devil...”, “he won’t let you drag fagots of brushwood” out of the forest, “no matter what time it is... he’ll come out of the blue” and don’t expect mercy. Biryuk is a “master of his craft” who cannot be conquered by anything, “neither wine nor money.” However, despite all his sorrows and troubles, Biryuk retained kindness and mercy in his heart. He secretly sympathized with his “wards”, but work is work, and the demand for the stolen goods will first of all be from himself. But this does not prevent him from doing good deeds, releasing the most desperate ones without punishment, but only with a fair amount of intimidation.
Biryuk’s tragedy stemmed from the understanding that it was not the good life that drove peasants to steal forests. Often feelings of pity and compassion prevail over his integrity. So, in the story, Biryuk caught a man chopping down a forest. He was dressed in tattered rags, all wet, with a disheveled beard. The man asked to let him go or at least give him the horse, because there were children at home and there was nothing to feed them. To all the persuasion, the forester kept repeating one thing: “Don’t go stealing.” In the end, Foma Kuzmich grabbed the thief by the collar and pushed him out the door, saying: “Get to hell with your horse.” With these rude words, he seems to cover up his generous act. So the forester constantly oscillates between principles and a sense of compassion. The author wants to show that this gloomy, unsociable person actually has a kind, generous heart.
Describing a forced people, destitute and oppressed, Turgenev especially emphasizes that even in such conditions he was able to preserve his living soul, the ability to empathize and respond with his whole being to kindness and kindness. Even this life does not kill humanity in people - that is what is most important.
The story “Biryuk” by I. S. Turgenev was written in 1847 and was included in the series of works by the writer about the life, traditions and way of life of the Russian people “Notes of a Hunter”. The story belongs to the literary movement of realism. In “Biryuk” the author described his memories of the life of peasants in the Oryol province.
Main characters
Biryuk (Foma Kuzmich)- a forester, a stern-looking man.
Narrator- master, the story is narrated on his behalf.
Other characters
Man- a poor man who was cutting down trees in the forest and was caught by Biryuk.
Julitta- Biryuk’s twelve-year-old daughter.
The narrator was driving alone from hunting in the evening, on treadmills. There were eight miles left to his house, but a strong thunderstorm unexpectedly caught him in the forest. The narrator decides to wait out the bad weather under a wide bush, and soon, with the flash of lightning, he sees a tall figure - as it turned out, it was the local forester. He took the narrator to his house - “a small hut in the middle of a vast yard, surrounded by fences.” The door was opened for them by “a girl of about twelve, in a shirt, belted with a hem” - the daughter of the forester, Ulita.
The forester’s hut “consisted of one room,” a tattered sheepskin coat hung on the wall, a torch was burning on the table, and “in the very middle” of the house there was a cradle hanging.
The forester himself “was tall, broad-shouldered and beautifully built,” with a black curly beard, wide fused eyebrows and brown eyes. His name was Thomas, nicknamed Biryuk. The narrator was surprised to meet the forester, as he had heard from friends that “all the surrounding men were afraid of him like fire.” He regularly guarded the forest goods, not allowing even a bundle of brushwood to be taken out of the forest. It was impossible to bribe Biryuk.
Foma said that his wife ran away with a passing tradesman, leaving the forester alone with two children. Biryuk had nothing to treat his guest with - there was only bread in the house.
When the rain stopped, Biryuk said that he would see the narrator out. Coming out of the house, Foma heard the distant sound of an ax. The forester was afraid that he would miss the thief, so the narrator agreed to walk to the place where the forest was being cut down, although he did not hear anything. At the end of the path, Biryuk asked to wait, and he went on. Through the noise of the wind, the narrator heard Thomas' cry and the sounds of a struggle. The narrator rushed there and saw Biryuk near a fallen tree, who was tying a man with a sash.
The narrator asked to let the thief go, promising to pay for the tree, but Biryuk, without answering, took the man to his hut. It started to rain again, and they had to wait out the bad weather. The narrator decided “to free the poor man at all costs” - by the light of the lantern he could see “his wasted, wrinkled face, drooping yellow eyebrows, restless eyes, thin limbs.”
The man began to ask Biryuk to free him. The forester gloomily objected that in their settlement everything was “a thief upon a thief” and, not paying attention to the thief’s plaintive requests, ordered him to sit quietly. Suddenly the man straightened up, blushed and began to scold Thomas, calling him “an Asian, a bloodsucker, a beast, a murderer.” Biryuk grabbed the man by the shoulder. The narrator already wanted to protect the poor man, but Foma, to his amazement, “with one turn he tore the sash from the man’s elbows, grabbed him by the collar, pulled his hat over his eyes, opened the door and pushed him out,” shouting after him to get the hell out .
The narrator understands that Biryuk is actually a “nice fellow.” Half an hour later they said goodbye at the edge of the forest.
Conclusion
In the story “Biryuk” Turgenev portrayed an ambiguous character - forester Foma Kuzmich, whose personality is fully revealed only towards the end of the work. It is with this hero that the main conflict of the story is connected - the conflict between public duty and humanity, which occurs within Biryuk himself. Despite the outward severity and integrity of Foma Kuzmich, who closely protects the forest entrusted to him, in his soul he is a kind, sympathetic person - a “nice fellow.”
A brief retelling of “Biryuk” will be useful for familiarizing yourself with the plot of the story; for a better understanding of the work, we recommend reading it in its entirety.
Story test
Test your knowledge of the short version of the work:
Retelling rating
Average rating: 4.3. Total ratings received: 2516.
“Notes of a Hunter” appeared in print as separate stories and essays at the turn of the 40-50s of the 19th century. The impetus for starting work on the cycle was a request addressed to Turgenev in the fall of 1846 to provide material for the first issue of the updated Sovremennik magazine.
This is how the first essay “Khor and Kalinich” appeared. I. S. Turgenev wrote almost all subsequent stories and essays in “Notes of a Hunter” abroad: he left in 1847 and stayed there for three and a half years.
Let's remember what a story is.
A story is a short epic work that tells about one or more events in a person’s life.
Prove that Biryuk is a story.
This is a small work. It talks about Biryuk, his life, his meeting with a man. There are few characters in the work...
The story “Biryuk” was created in 1847 and published in 1848.
When creating this work, like the entire “Notes of a Hunter” cycle, Turgenev relied on his own impressions of the life of peasants in the Oryol province. One of the former serfs of I.S. Turgenev, and later the village teacher A.I. Zamyatin, recalled: “My grandmother and mother told me that almost all the persons mentioned in “Notes of a Hunter” were not fictitious, but copied from living people, even their real names: there was Ermolai ... there was Biryuk, who was killed in the forest by his own peasants ... "
— Guys, how many stories did the writer include in the “Notes of a Hunter” series? (The children remember that there are 25 of them.)
— “Notes of a Hunter” is a kind of chronicle of a Russian fortress village. The stories are similar in theme and ideological content. They expose the ugly phenomena of serfdom.
Creating a picture of Russian reality, Turgenev in “Notes of a Hunter” used a unique technique: he introduced a hunter-narrator into the action. Why do you think?
Thanks to this, the reader can, together with a hunter, an observant, intelligent and knowledgeable person, walk through the writer’s native fields, visit villages with him. He appreciates beauty and truth. His presence does not bother anyone and often goes unnoticed. The image of a hunter helps us to better understand reality, understand what is happening, evaluate what he saw, and understand the soul of the people. Pictures of nature prepare the reader's acquaintance with the main character of the story - Biryuk.
Biryuk appears unexpectedly, the author immediately notes his tall figure and sonorous voice. Despite the fact that Biryuk’s first appearance is accompanied by a certain romantic aura (white lightning illuminated the forester from head to toe, “I raised my head and in the light of lightning I saw a small hut ...”). There is nothing in the hero's life that we learn about.
romantic, on the contrary, it is ordinary and even tragic.
Find a description of the forester's hut.
“The forester’s hut consisted of one room, smoky, low and empty, without floors or partitions. A tattered sheepskin coat hung on the wall. A single-barreled gun lay on the bench, and a pile of rags lay in the corner; two large pots stood near the stove. The torch burned on the table, sadly flaring up and going out. In the very middle of the hut hung a cradle, tied to the end of a long pole. The girl turned off the lantern, sat down on a tiny bench and began to rock the cradle with her right hand and straighten the splinter with her left. I looked around - my heart ached: it’s not fun to enter a peasant’s hut at night.”
-What does this description tell you? (The description of the hut’s situation, “smoky, low and empty,” speaks of poverty. But amid this poverty, the life of the hero’s little children glimmers. The joyless picture evokes sincere sympathy in readers for Biryuk.)
- What does Biryuk look like? What does the writer emphasize in his portrait? (Tall, powerful muscles, black curly beard, stern, courageous face, wide eyebrows and small brown eyes.)
- Let's turn to the portrait of Biryuk. “I looked at him. Rarely have I seen such a young man. He was tall, broad-shouldered and beautifully built. His powerful muscles bulged out from under his wet, dirty shirt. A black curly beard covered half of his stern and courageous face; small brown eyes looked boldly from under fused wide eyebrows...”
How does this portrait express the narrator’s attitude towards Biryuk? (It is clear that he likes Biryuk for his build, strength, handsome, courageous face, bold look, strong character, as evidenced by his fused eyebrows. He calls him a good fellow.)
- What do the men say about him? Children give examples from the text: “he won’t let the fagots be dragged away,” “... he’ll come like snow,” he’s strong... and as dexterous as a devil... And nothing can take him: neither wine, nor money; doesn’t take any bait.”
- Why is the hero called Biryuk? Why does he behave this way with men? His name is Biryuk because he is lonely and gloomy.
- Turgenev emphasizes that the forester is formidable and unyielding not because he is a stranger to his brother, the peasant, he is a man of duty and considers himself obligated to take care of the farm entrusted to him: “I am fulfilling my duty... I don’t have to eat the master’s bread for nothing.”
“He was entrusted with the protection of the forest, and he guards the owner’s forest like a soldier on duty.
Find and read the description of Biryuk’s collision with the man. What is the reason for the conflict between the man and Biryuk? What landscape do the events take place against? How do the peasant and Biryuk change in the climax scene? What feelings does the forester evoke in the author and in us, the readers?
The picture of a thunderstorm prepares the central episode of the story: the clash between Biryuk and the man-thief he caught. We read the description of Biryuk’s clash with the men and find out the reasons for the conflict between the man and Biryuk.
— Between which characters is there a conflict? Between Biryuk and the man who stole the forest.
Children must understand that the scene of struggle - first physical, then moral - not only reveals the views, feelings, and aspirations of the heroes, but also deepens their images. Author
emphasizes that physically the man clearly loses to Biryuk during their fight in the forest, but later, in terms of strength of character and inner dignity, they become
equal to each other. Turgenev, creating the image of a peasant, captured the features of an impoverished peasant, exhausted by a half-starved existence.
Let’s read the description of the man: “In the light of the lantern, I could see his wasted, wrinkled face, drooping yellow eyebrows, restless eyes...” But it is precisely this kind of man who moves from pleas to threats.
Reading by role of a man's conversation with Biryuk.
— How does Turgenev show that the external appearance and internal state of the peasant is changing? Let's return to the text.
At first the man is silent, then “in a dull and broken voice,” addressing the forester by his first name and patronymic - Foma Kuzmich, he asks to let him go, but when his patience is full, “the man suddenly straightened up. His eyes lit up and color appeared on his face.” The man's voice became “fierce.” The speech became different: instead of abrupt phrases: “Let go... clerk... ruined, what... let go!” - clear and menacing words sounded: “What do I need? Everything is one - to disappear; Where can I go without a horse? Knock down - one end; Whether it’s from hunger or not, it’s all the same. Get lost."
The story “Biryuk” is one of the few stories in “Notes of a Hunter” that touches on the issue of peasant protest. But due to censorship restrictions, Turgenev could not directly depict the peasants' protest against serfdom. Therefore, the anger of a peasant driven to despair is directed not at the landowner for whom he works, but at his serf servant, who protects the owner’s property. However, this anger, which has become an expression of protest, does not lose its strength and meaning.
For the peasant, the personification of the power of serfdom is not the landowner, but Biryuk, endowed by the landowner with the right to protect the forest from robbery. The image of Biryuk in the climactic scene deepens psychologically; he appears before us as a tragic image: in his soul there is a struggle between feelings and principles. An honest man, for all his rightness, he also feels the rightness of the peasant, whom poverty brought to the master’s forest: “By God, from hunger... the children squeak, you know. It’s cool, as it happens.”
