The question of how the men of the nearest villages related to Biryuk allows us to better understand the character of the protagonist of the famous Turgenev story. This composition stands out among the rest of his books with a rather dramatic plot.
If most of the author’s writings about the hunter are distinguished by the even and unhurried pace of narration, then the story in question attracts the reader with a sharp plot and an unexpected ending. That is why the story is included in the school curriculum, as it reveals the writer's talent on the other hand. Turgenev is no longer limited to a beautiful description of nature, but creates a strong and outstanding character of a simple Russian peasant living in a provincial outback.
Introduction
The work begins with a description of the landscape. The narrator, on behalf of whom the narrative is being conducted, gets into a thunderstorm on the way home. In the forest, he meets the main character, whose appearance seems to explain how the men of the nearest villages treated Biryuk. He was a tall man of good build, with a stern face, half-hidden beard. His eyes looked straight and stern. He was wearing simple peasant clothes, which, however, did not protect him from the weather.
The appearance of the hero against the backdrop of the unleashed night elements is no coincidence. The author thereby emphasizes that this harsh forester was a real thunderstorm for all the inhabitants of the village. The narrator has already heard from his people about his new acquaintance. According to them, he was a strict, implacable and merciless man who did not give anyone a descent. And although he himself was poor and barely making ends meet, he did not allow anyone to cut the lord's forest, although he understood that the peasants were pushing for it.
Tie
Turgenev built his story in such a way that the characters of the characters are revealed as the narrative develops. In the described night, the hunter witnessed how the main character caught one man in search of firewood for himself and his hungry family. He took him to his hut and took away the horse - the only property of the captive. And in this episode, the theme most clearly reveals how the men of the nearest villages related to Biryuk.
At first, the ill-fated lumberjack looked rather pathetic, so the narrator decided at all costs to achieve his release, but the forester was adamant. The hunter with his own eyes was convinced that his counselor really inspired fear throughout the district with his severity and enormous physical strength. No wonder he was told that local residents made plans many times to get rid of the inexorable forester, but no one dared to raise a hand against him, because he was powerful, agile and agile.
Climax
The strongest scene in the story is the episode that played out in the hut after the capture of the lumberjack. At first, the latter timidly and pitifully asked the protagonist to let him go, motivating his act with poverty and hunger, but he was adamant. The silence and apparent cruelty of the forester acted on the captive in the most unexpected way: he suddenly perked up and in desperation called him a murderer. These words of the peasant fully expressed the attitude of the peasants of the nearest villages to Biryuk.
They sounded pain and despair from hopelessness and the realization that he had lost everything that he still owned - an ax and a horse, as well as his freedom. This statement had a strange effect on the protagonist: he quite unexpectedly released his unfortunate victim and returned to him his miserable property.
Idea
The main theme of Turgenev's early work was the denunciation of serfdom vices. However, in this story, the writer shifted emphasis from social issues to a deep psychological analysis of his characters. During the short story, the state of mind of the actors changes.
A simple peasant, captured in the forest, at first was scared and could hardly speak, but at a critical moment he sharply began to denounce the forester in cruelty. But the most amazing change has occurred with the main character. The description of how the peasants of the nearest villages related to Biryuk, why Biryuk released his victim, became the main idea of the work. Under the guise of severe adherence, the forester hid his best qualities - understanding other people's grief and sympathy for the misfortune of such ordinary people as he was.