- Summary
- Bunin
- Antonov apples
The narrator remembers the place of his childhood once upon a time in the past. After all, when he was little, he lived in a village, which was then considered even a very rich village, because it was there that a lot of things grew and were sold.
The village was called Vyselki. The houses, oddly enough for a village, were made of brick, and this was the first sign at that time that the village was rich. And people lived there for a long time, especially old people and grandmothers. This also showed that the village was very wealthy. By the way, the provision of all the people who lived in this village, oddly enough, was similar. Even those who should have been poor by social level were, in fact, quite wealthy, almost like the richest people in the village.
Also, he remembered Aunt Anna Gerasimovna. And especially her estate. Her estate, which was not too large, but beautiful, and also durable, and also her habitat seemed so ancient, and therefore very unusual.
Also, what the children really remembered and liked was that around her house there had been century-old trees for a long time, which was very beautiful and natural. Also, she had a garden in which there were many apple trees, because this is what she was famous for in the first place. Even nightingales and turtle doves were there, because the birds also liked the garden.
The roof was thatched and very thick, and therefore everyone admired this roof. And what smells were there in Aunt Anna’s house? After all, in the house, first of all, the smell of old furniture, as well as apples, ripe, juicy and tasty.
Even the narrator remembered his brother-in-law. After all, this was a man who loved to hunt. And, besides, a lot of people, friends and their acquaintances always gathered in his house. It was always noisy there, or almost always, everyone was having fun at the dinner parties that he gave as a landowner.
Also, he always had a lot of dogs, as he needed them for hunting. The narrator remembers himself at such a dinner party, as he was with everyone after a hearty meal - on a black horse that rushes too fast, as it seems. Everything around flashes - trees, people on horses, and the path ahead is barely visible.
The dogs are barking, everyone is rushing, there is no stopping. Then, when it gets very dark, all the hunters, with nowhere to go, tired, burst into the house of some hunter near the forest, and stay there overnight. It happens that they live there for several days.
A work of warm childhood memories.
You can use this text for a reader's diary
Bunin. All works
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Summary of the story “Antonov Apples”
I.
The author recalls early autumn, completely saturated with the smell of Antonov apples. He describes his impressions of this wonderful time. An unusual early morning, autumn freshness, the voices of blackbirds and a man chewing a delicious juicy apple. There is a hut in the garden, next to which excellent kulesh, seasoned with lard, is being cooked. A fair is organized here on holiday. Here is the young wife of the headman, looking like a cow because of the heavy braids laid on her head. The tradesman looks at the young woman with delight and speaks about her with warmth.
At night, when everything in the village is asleep, the author wants to run through the garden. Nikolai will call out to him - he is on duty and has a gun. The narrator wants to shoot and now a crimson fire will flare up in the darkness of the night. Okay, and the author returns through the dewy grass to the house.
II.
There is a belief that if Antonov apples are born, then this year there will be not only a lot of bread, but also fun. The narrator remembers just such a year. Early, as soon as dawn lights up the sky, he runs to wash himself in the pond.
In autumn there are many church holidays and the people are neat and tidy. Vyselki, their village, has been famous for its wealth since ancient times. The longevity of the villagers is the main indicator of a successful life. Old Pankrat does not remember his age. He also knew old gentlemen, which is why we can conclude that he is more than 100 years old. The old people of Vyselok are pleasant to look at, and their yards are brick and well-groomed. Prosperous men are engaged in beekeeping and are proud of their horses.
The author goes to visit his aunt on the estate. Anna Gerasimovna lives not far from Vyselki. The author writes that he did not have to observe manifestations of serfdom, he did not encounter it, but in his aunt’s estate serfdom was still felt. The old men and women of the courtyard, the cook - everyone bows, the old coachman takes off his hat. Anna Gerasimovna's garden is neglected, nightingales sing in it. And most importantly, the smell of Antonov apples can be heard from everywhere.
III.
Recently, the spirit of the landowners has been encouraged by a passion for hunting. The luxurious life on the estates gradually faded away. Troikas no longer travel around, they don’t keep greyhounds, you won’t meet courtyard servants, and most importantly, the landowner himself is no longer there. There is no landowner like Arseny Semenovich, the author's brother-in-law.
The author recalls the autumn garden after a gusty wind. And the garden soon becomes deserted, covered with fallen leaves. And the rain is knocking on the leaves. The narrator remembers Arseny Semenovich in a sunny room, smoked from pipes. Suddenly he impulsively jumps up and stuns those present with a shot. He laughs and regrets that he made a mistake.
Then the author, with the entire band of hunters and Arseny Semenovich at the head, goes hunting, accompanied by a pack of dogs. Now the whole crowd of hunters has wandered to visit a hospitable neighbor, with whom they will stay for several days.
IV.
The narrator sums up past impressions. He says that Arseny Semenovich shot himself and his aunt died. And the smell of Antonov apples disappears from the estates. The author visits the village in late autumn. In the morning he sits in the saddle, with a gun and, accompanied only by one dog, rides into a cloudy bluish day. Sometimes a neighbor from small landowners will drop by and take the narrator away to stay with him. The author likes the life of a small landowner.
Chapter II
If the apples grow well, then the bread will rise excellently. You wake up at dawn, can’t resist and immediately order your horse to be saddled - to go hunting. When you wash yourself in the pond, all your fatigue and laziness immediately goes away. Have breakfast with black bread and potatoes and hit the road.
Autumn is a festive time. At this time of year the village looks special. People live here for a long time, you can often hear ironic lamentations: “And when will you die, Pankrat?” The houses in the village were also stately and perennial, bees were bred in the courtyards, there were iron doors in the barns, and crosses were burned on the gates.
I didn’t experience serfdom, but I felt it with Aunt Anna Gerasimovna. Her estate was small, but very strong, with tall birch trees growing around it. Elderly men and women looked out from the servants' room; the cook looked somewhat like Don Quixote. Each of them, just seeing me, bowed low. Anna Gerasimovna's garden was famous for its nightingales and apples. It’s a wonderful feeling to be there under the autumn sky.
The house is cool, and there is always a treat on the table. The aunt herself comes out, with a shawl thrown over her shoulders. The windows are open, freshness blows from the garden.
Chapter I
In my memories there is an early warm autumn. It all starts in August, when warm rain covers the sown fields. In September, at the height of Indian summer, all the fields are covered with cobwebs. In the morning you can smell the freshly fallen leaves, a feeling of fresh coolness envelops the new day. It smells like honey and, of course, Antonov apples. The air is clean, the whole garden is covered with autumn gold.
A hum can be heard from afar: the gardeners are preparing apples to be sent to the city. And you definitely need to do this at night, so you can lie on the cart and contemplate the beautiful starry canvas in the sky. The gardeners do not spare their harvest: the hired worker eats the apples one after another, and the master only urges him: “Eat your fill, there is nothing to do!”
From the garden you can see a long path that leads to a high hut. There the townspeople set up their farms. Here the smell of Antonov apples is felt especially strongly. During the holidays, a fair is organized near the house. A lot of people gather: single-family girls in sundresses, boys in white shirts. Everyone is dressed up and cheerful, and songs and dances continue at the hut until the evening.
Dusk is approaching and it is getting frosty. You’re tired, wandering to dinner, and voices are heard throughout the village. There is a smell of fire in the garden, a fire is burning near the hut. In the darkness, barely visible silhouettes can be seen. Someone calls from the darkness: “Is that you, barchuk?” The earth is shaking - it’s a passenger train passing by.
The stars are shining in the black sky. You will already feel very tired and will quickly go home. Cold, dew - how good it is to live!
A short retelling of “Antonov Apples” by Bunin
The author-narrator recalls the recent past. He remembers the early fine autumn, the whole golden, dried up and thinning garden, the subtle aroma of fallen leaves and the smell of Antonov apples: gardeners are pouring apples onto carts to send them to the city. Late at night, running out into the garden and talking with the guards guarding the garden, he looks into the dark blue depths of the sky, crowded with constellations, looks for a long, long time until the earth floats under his feet, feeling how good it is to live in the world!
The narrator recalls his Vyselki, which since the time of his grandfather had been known in the area as a rich village. Old men and women lived there for a long time - the first sign of prosperity. The houses in Vyselki were brick and strong. The average noble life had much in common with the rich peasant life.
He remembers his aunt Anna Gerasimovna, her estate - small but strong, old, surrounded by hundred-year-old trees. My aunt’s garden was famous for its apple trees, nightingales and turtle doves, and the house for its roof: its thatched roof was unusually thick and high, blackened and hardened by time. In the house, first of all, the smell of apples was felt, and then other smells: old mahogany furniture, dried linden blossom.
The narrator remembers his late brother-in-law Arseny Semenych, a landowner-hunter, in whose large house many people gathered, everyone had a hearty dinner, and then went hunting. A horn blows in the yard, dogs howl in different voices, the owner’s favorite, a black greyhound, climbs onto the table and devours the remains of a hare with sauce from the dish. The author remembers himself riding an angry, strong and squat “Kyrgyz”: trees flash before his eyes, the screams of hunters and the barking of dogs are heard in the distance.
From the ravines there is a smell of mushroom dampness and wet tree bark. It gets dark, the whole gang of hunters pours into the estate of some almost unknown bachelor hunter and, it happens, lives with him for several days. After a whole day spent hunting, the warmth of a crowded house is especially pleasant. When I happened to oversleep the hunt the next morning, I could spend the whole day in the master's library, leafing through old magazines and books, looking at the notes in their margins. Family portraits look from the walls, an old dreamy life appears before your eyes, your grandmother is sadly remembered...
But the old people in Vyselki died, Anna Gerasimovna died, Arseny Semenych shot himself. The kingdom of small landed nobles, impoverished to the point of beggary, is coming. But this small-scale life is also good! The narrator happened to visit a neighbor. He gets up early, orders the samovar to be put on, and, putting on his boots, goes out onto the porch, where he is surrounded by hounds. It will be a nice day for hunting!
Only they don’t hunt along the black trail with hounds, oh, if only they were greyhounds! But he doesn’t have greyhounds... However, with the onset of winter, again, as in the old days, the small estates come together, drink with their last money, and disappear for whole days in the snowy fields. And in the evening, on some remote farm, the outbuilding windows glow far away in the darkness: candles are burning there, clouds of smoke are floating, they are playing the guitar, singing...
This is interesting: The story “Dreams of Chang” by Bunin was written in 1916. The peculiarity of this work is that it is written on behalf of a dog, whose dreams and memories reflect the dramatic life story of its owner.
Summary by chapter
The essay consists of 4 chapters. In each of them, the author is nostalgic about the old days. He liked the lifestyle of a landowner. A brief retelling takes the reader into the narrator's memories.
Chapter 1 In the content, the narrator recalls the warm early autumn. The main feature of the year was the rich harvest of apples. They were collected by peasants, and the fruity aroma filled the village for several days. He remembers joyful evenings with fun in the garden and loud music. The main character felt all the charm of his life, he wanted it to always be like this.
Antonov apples
Chapter 2 The author recalls how they had fun in the villages before. In years when the apple harvest was especially rich, the residents seemed to become different. It seemed that it was during the harvest seasons that they were provided for.
There were old people in the village who couldn’t even remember their age. It seemed as if no one here died of old age, except perhaps due to accidents.
Each resident had a large yard and a rich household. The author drew attention to the arrogant peasant and his beautiful wife, envying them. If we compare the life of landowners and peasants, there were practically no differences.
The main character thinks about the changes associated with his aunt, Anna Gerasimovna. When he visited her, he felt as if he was in another time. The old nobles, Anna Gerasimovna’s constant stories about her former life, old times - all this aroused nostalgia in the hero. There were always a lot of delicious dishes on the table in my aunt’s house, which also reminded me of the past.
Chapter 3 Hunting was a common hobby for landowners, but now it has become a rare occurrence. The narrator recalled Arseny Semenych, who loved to hunt so much. Many guests always gathered in his house. There seemed to be so many of them that they couldn't fit in his mansion, and some had to stand outside. Arseny Semenych used to shoot in the house for fun, laughingly annoyed that he missed.
The author also remembered the smell of dampness in the forest, the cold evening, and the loud conversations of the hunters. Gradually the screams gave way to silence, but soon the barking of dogs and the sound of horns could be heard. The landowner's company went to spend the night in the house of a bachelor whom they did not know. At dawn everyone returned to the forest again, continuing to hunt and drink.
After the hunt, the landowners told each other about their impressions. In the center of the room lay the body of a killed wolf, stained with blood.
The narrator also mentioned that he himself was often late for hunting. Then he had to spend the whole day in an empty house, reading books and looking at family portraits.
Chapter 4 Gradually, the smell of apples disappears along with the joy of the landowners. Many of them are no longer in the world. The main character arrives in the village in the fall. He sees how the girls work. He still enjoys the small-space lifestyle. In winter, he is going hunting again, but now it will not be as loud as before.
