The Winter Oak - Yuri Nagibin
Uploaded by ashad729 on May 01, 2006
What are the major themes of ‘The Winter Oak’ and how does the author use the characters of Anna and Savushkin to develop these themes?
There are four major themes in ‘The Winter Oak’. There is one obvious, very important theme, which is the huge contrast between both the settings and environments of the classroom and forest, and the ways the two main characters, Anna Vasilevna and Savushkin, behave in these places. Also, there is the theme of education, and how it continues from the classroom into the forest yet changes its ways. There is a less obvious political side to the story, where the classroom atmosphere and events stand for communism in Russia, the forests qualities point to freedom, and the winter oak is seen as a royal, godly protector and single ruler (this idea is very anti-communist). The final theme is one of the more important themes in the story, the role reversal of teacher Anna Vasilevna and pupil Savushkin, and the way Savushkin becomes more of a teacher in the forest.
One of several contrasting factors in the story is the way Anna feels towards Savushkin, and how it changes. When Savushkin arrived late to that mornings English lesson, Anna questions Savushkin’s lateness, clearly not for the first time, only this time ‘her question sounded plaintive’, as if she felt saddened by his repeated lateness, and at how her efforts at changing him were failing. Later, Anna fails to understand Savushkin’s excitement when he calls out ‘Winter oak’, and she finds herself hiding her ‘irritation’ with difficulty. This suggests she is finding Savushkin’s behaviour annoying, and she soon snaps and tells him to see her at break. To herself, she thinks him to be ‘a difficult boy’. Her attitude towards Savushkin soon changes in the forest. The first sign of Anna appreciating him is that upon being corrected by Savushkin about the current in the stream, she simply ‘bit her tongue’, instead of being annoyed at what she might earlier have interpreted as answering back. Her attitude towards Savushkin changes so significantly throughout the events in the forest that as she leaves, she is looking on him as the ‘most amazing thing’ in all of the forest, a ‘mysterious and wonderful future citizen’. The great contrast between this point and the start of the story is there to emphasise the power the forest has on people.
Another contrast...