The Goal: Read. Reflect. Respond. Over two hundred Chekhov stories. Constance Garnett translations.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
THE CATTLE-DEALERS
An old man and his son riding on a train with their cattle.
To get his cattle to market the old man has to bribe numerous officials.
The old man considers himself Willy Loman in his heyday. Teaching his son how it's done.
His son seems to have been beaten down by his father -- his life -- and nothing matters.
In fact, the only ones truly suffering here are the poor cattle.
They are not fed and have no water for days and when they finally stagger to their destination -- they are marched to the slaughterhouse.
You feel for them.
What is all their suffering for? So that the old man has a few more rubles to buy presents nobody needs.
Do the cattle represent the oppressed class -- suffering so the rich can get richer?
Maybe not. But I'm certainly not eating hamburger tonight.
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I had the same reaction about not eating hamburger. Chekhov feels sorry for the poor animals and makes you feel sorry for them. The father is only frustrated and worried about the profit he's losing from the delays.
ReplyDeleteHave not eaten beef since reading Fast Food Nation. Can't say I miss it either.
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