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Gooseberries (Story)

1. Mention some of the advantages of country life.

Country life has many advantages. One can eat out in the open air, sleep in the sun and sit for hours
together on a seat by the gate and gaze at the fields and the forest. One can sit on the veranda drinking
tea and watch the ducklings swim in the pond and everything smells good. There is fresh air in the
countryside and there is less dust, smoke and traffic noise. Country life is definitely healthier than city
life.
2. ‘Fixed goals help us achieve success in life.’ What is your opinion?
I fully agree with the statement that fixed goals help us achieve success in life. It is so because goals
give a sense of direction to our work. Once we have the sense of direction and goals are fixed our work
becomes goal-oriented and we can succeed in life.

3. What are the sacrifices Nicholai made to achieve his goal?

To achieve his goal, Nicholai lived meagerly. He never had enough to eat or drink. He dressed almost
like a beggar. He always saved the money and put it into the bank. He was terribly stingy. Ivan used to
feel hurt seeing his brother like this and he used to give him money to go away for a holiday. But he
would put that money also in the bank.

4. The gooseberries were unripe and sour, but Nicholai found them delicious. Why?

The gooseberries were unripe and sour, but Nicholai found them delicious because they were his own
gooseberries. Even the ugliest child would look most beautiful to its mother.

5. How can happiness be achieved in life?

Happiness can be achieved in life by getting your dreams realized. Gooseberries may be hard and sour
for Ivan but they were delicious for Nicholai. Happiness differs from person to person. One man’s meat
is another man’s poison and one man’s religion is another man’s madness. There are no common criteria
for happiness. Prayer, sacrifice, fasting and abstinence may make some people happy. But others feel
happy when they are rich and successful.

Activity – I (Read and Respond)

6. What lesson does Ivan seek to learn from his brother’s life?
The lesson Ivan seeks to learn from his brother’s life is to know how the hard and sour gooseberries
become delicious to him.

7. Compare Aliokhin’s first appearance in the story with that of Nicholai.

When he sees him first Aliokhin was standing at the threshold. He was about 40, tall and stout. He had
long hair. He looked more like a professor or a painter than a farmer. He was wearing a grimy white short
and rope belt, and pants instead of trousers. His boots were covered with mud and straw. His nose and
eyes were black with dust. Nicholai was 2 years younger to his brother Ivan. Nicholai was at the Exchequer
Court when he was 19. He was not happy at the Exchequer. For years he was sitting in the same place,
writing the same documents. He was thinking of only one thing – how to get back to the country and buy
a small farm near the bank of a river or lake.
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8. Why do you think the story is titled Gooseberries?

The story is titled ‘Gooseberries’ because life is very much like gooseberries. Gooseberries are sour and
sweet. Similarly life too is sour (bitter) and sweet. Nicholai lives all his life like a miser and even marries
an ugly widow to get money to buy the estate with a gooseberry bush. The state he bought does not have
a gooseberry bush and so he plants some. Later he eats the gooseberries from the plants he had planted
and looks pleased when he eats them. Gooseberries may be sweet for one, but sour for another. Life is like
that. One man’s food is another man’s poison and one man’s religion is another man’s madness.

9. Analyze Ivan’s argument against happiness (‘There is nothing sadder than the sight of a happy man’).

Ivan argument against happiness stems from the fact that he has no family. He says that nothing is more
dreadful to see than the sight of a happy family, sitting round table, having tea. Everybody has his idea of
happiness. But Ivan’s idea of happiness seems to be peculiarly his own. I don’t agree with him.

Activity – II (Review)

Attempt a review of Chekhov’s ‘Gooseberries’ bearing in mind the following hints:

Read and recall what you have read and formulate your own observations.

• Theme/content
• Writing style/presentation
• Characters
• Depiction of landscape
• Symbolic relevance
Chekhov’s story ‘Gooseberries’ is essentially a satire on man’s search for happiness. Here we see two
brothers – Ivan and Nicholai – seeking to be happy. Ivan is a veterinary doctor and Nicholai is an official
at the Exchequer. Nicholai is fed up with his job – sitting in the same place and writing out the same
documents. His dreams were centred round a farmhouse with a garden, an orchard, a fishpond and above
all a gooseberry fish. He lives like a miser to get his ideal place. He even marries an old ugly widow to
fulfil his dream. In the end he buys an estate with a farmhouse but it had no orchard, no duck-pond and
no gooseberry bush. He plants some gooseberry bushes in his new estate. His joy in life is going on eating
the gooseberries his gooseberry bushes produce.

Checkhov has presented the story in a fine way, as a story inside another story. We are curious to know
what happens to Nicholai after all his sacrifices. The characterization by Chekhov has been excellent.
There are only 4 main characters in the story Ivan, Nicholai, Bourkin and Aliokhin. We are also told about
Tchimsha Himalaysky, the father of Ivan and Nicholai. The characterization of Nicholai and Aliokhin
stand out as superb.

Chekhov has presented the landscape in exquisite beauty. We see the endless farms and the windmills.
We can see the dreamland of Nicholai – an estate with a farmhouse, a river nearby, garden, mill, pond,
garden-walls, flowers, fruits, nests, and ducklings in the pond. It is country side at its best. Chekhov is a
master in the use of symbol. The rain, gooseberries, six feet of land, , the red-haired dog, soda & castor
oil curing all diseases and the family sitting round a table having coffee, are all symbols. They make a
powerful impact on the readers.
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Activity – III (Write-up)

❖ According to Chekhov, ‘money, like vodka, plays queer tricks with man ’. How far is this statement
relevant in the present-day world? Prepare a write-up on the topic.

In the present day world, the statement by Chekhov that money, like vodka, plays queer tricks with
man’ is highly relevant. When a person drinks vodka he feels that he can do anything, Alcohol
gives even weak man courage to speak out his mind. We often suppress our feelings because of
fear. But once some vodka gets into us, our tongues become loose and we can say anything without
any fear. The same is the case with money. Once people have money they think they can do
anything and speak anything. In the present day world, there is a lot of corruption and so people
with money can get away from punishment by bribing the authorities. Money, like vodka,
intoxicates a person and gives him courage to do things he would not normally do. It is called
Dutch courage.

Activity – IV (Debate)

Read the following lines from the story. ‘Freedom is a boon as essential as the air we breathe.’

How far is this statement true in the case of an individual?

Is freedom essential for an individual? Debate the topic. (Study the tips given on page 141 of the text.)

Arguments in favour of freedom:

1. Freedom is a natural thing.

2. Only with freedom we can develop to our full potential.
3. Freedom forces us to be independent.
4. With freedom we choose what we want and do what we want.
5. Freedom enables us to be what we want to be, and not what others want us to be.
6. All living creatures love freedom. You may make a golden cage fora bird, keep it in an air-
conditioned room and give it the best and costliest food. But it won’t be happy to be confined to the
cage. It would fly away the moment you open the cage, because it prefers its freedom to food and
comfort.
Arguments against freedom:

1. Absolute freedom is impossible and undesirable.

2. Your freedom might cause problems to others.
3. If everybody doe^ what he wants, there will be chaos in the society?
4. Imagine the situation if you drive freely on our roads.
5. Regulations are necessary for a peaceful and enjoyable life.
6. Even Nature follows a discipline – the sun rises and sets in time, seasons come and go.
Activity – V (Seminar)
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In the story, ‘Gooseberries’ represent whatever is indigenous, whatever should be preserved to retain the
culture of the countryside. Do you think that it is our responsibility to preserve our indigenous culture?

Conduct a seminar on this topic. Present you paper in the class. You may take note of the following
guidelines:

• Introduction
• Objective
• Theoretical background- what others say on the topic
• Research – connect theoretical background
• Conclusion – your references and findings – reflect on what you have been able to prove.
Our seminar today discusses the question “Is it our responsibility to preserve our indigenous culture?” I
would start by saying it is our duty to do so. Every nation and every tribe has a culture. India is a nation
of mixed cultures. That is why Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru talked about university in diversity. Although we
have different cultures and traditions, ultimately we are all Indians, the children of Bharat Mata.

Culture can be defined as the patterns of behavior and thinking that people living in social groups learn,
create, and share. Culture distinguishes one human group from others. It also distinguishes humans from
other animals. A people’s culture includes their beliefs, rules of behaviour, language, rituals, art,
technology, styles of dress, ways of producing and cooking food, religion, and political and economic
systems. Anthropologists commonly use the term culture to refer to a society or group in which many or
all people live and think in the same ways. Likewise, any group of people who share a common culture
and in particular, common rules of behaviour and a basic form of social organization constitutes a society.
Thus, the terms culture and society are often interchangeable.

The objective of preserving culture is to bring about unity. For survival unity is essential. Unity is strength;
united we stand, divided we fall. So we ought to preserve our culture. But at the same time we should not
be rigid. We should never become jingoistic about our culture.

The world has seen may wars fought in the name of culture as one group tries to impose its culture on
another group. We hear about tribal wars and ethnic cleansing. These are caused by extremists who feel
that their culture is the best. I would say that even as we preserve our culture, we should respect the culture
of others. The principle should ‘Live and let others live.’