Chekhov stories

Chekhov stories from the late 1880s when he begins to think in broader terms and scale perhaps already scoping out some of his great dramas are much more imbued by poverty suffering and despair. One very sad example is Gusev set aboard a hospital ship transporting the gravely ill from far east back to Europe. Gusev longing for his Russian homeland - dreaming of the cold while in stifling heat and horrible conditions. One remarkable aspect of story is final sequence when g does and they sew him into a canvas bag along w some iron bars and send his body overboard and the narrative focus goes down to the deep w his body as sharks rip open the bag in the cold dark depths of the ocean - an amazing perspective and completely different from every other moment in the story. Makes burial at sea both peaceful and frightening.

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