To Whom Shall I Tell My Sorrow

To Whom Shall I Tell My Sorrow

By: Anton Chekhov

Author's Background:

was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short fiction in history. His career was a playwright produced four classics, and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics.

Vocabulary:

nag - (noun) an old horse

galosh - a waterproof overshoe, typically made of rubber

epithet - an adjective or phrase expressing a quality or attribute regarded as characteristic of the person or thing mentioned.

Characters:

Iona Potapov -  a frail, poor, cabdriver who just lost his son.

Iona's Nag (Horse): the one who pulls Iona's sleigh

Three drunken young men: Passengers

An Officer: Passenger 

Setting:

The story was set in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1860.

Exposition:

The story started by introducing a man who's very tired, depressed about losing his son earlier in the story. He went another night in his job to have a bit of fare.

Rising Action: 

He got a passenger that night, a military officer, the officer then asked Iona what's wrong. Iona then answered what happened to his son recently. Iona wanted to share or tell the Officer his sorrow but sadly the officer was to busy and in a hurry.

Climax:

Later on in the story,  Iona went to his horse and feeds her. Later on, started mourning and talks about his son. That his son is the one who should be taking care of her (Horse). It's a hard job for Iona.

Falling Action:

This part continued on Iona talking about his passed son, it went to a depressing talk.

Ending:

No one was able to listen to his sorrows, he then got carried away telling it to the horse itself.

Symbolism:

The place in the story shows that it was very dark, snowy. This symbolized the theme of Iona's depression.

Theme: 

A story where Iona wasn't able to share or tell his griefs to anyone. Because in reality, each and everyone has things to do, busy and has their problems.

Lesson:

No man is an Island. There will always be a chance to talk to someone, tell what you are feeling, especially if it's depressing. You can't keep your depression inside you for long, the time will come where you will explode. It's better to tell someone, it's comfortable.