The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories · Chapter
Búlka and the Wild Boar explained
The narrator recounts a boar hunt in the Caucasus with his dog Búlka.
What happens
The narrator recounts a boar hunt in the Caucasus with his dog Búlka. Búlka gets separated from the pack but eventually finds and attacks the boar, sustaining a severe injury. The narrator shoots and kills the boar, then tends to Búlka's grievous wound, sewing up his belly. After a long recovery, Búlka survives.
Themes in this chapter
Rural Life and the Landowner
The chapter vividly portrays the practices and dangers of hunting as a part of rural, landowning life in the Caucasus.
Fate, Injustice, and Suffering
Centers on the sudden, violent suffering of the loyal dog Búlka and his brush with death, highlighting the peril and cruelty inherent in nature and the hunt.
Characters to notice
- Búlka
The narrator's hunting dog. He bravely attacks the wild boar but is severely wounded, his belly ripped open. He shows loyalty by licking the narrator's hand while being treated.
- The Master
The narrator of the story. He participates in the hunt, shoots the boar, and performs emergency surgery on Búlka to save his life.
- The Cossacks
Implied as the narrator's hunting companions who arrive later to help sew up Búlka and transport the boar and the injured dog.
Key passages
“The moment the hounds started, Búlka rushed after them, following their sound, and disappeared in the forest.”
Búlka immediately chased after the hunting dogs and was lost in the woods.
Shows Búlka's instinct and the start of his separation from the narrator.
“He had evidently strayed from the hounds in the forest and had lost his way, and now was hearing their barking and making for them, like me, as fast as he could.”
Búlka had gotten lost from the other dogs but was now running toward the sound of their barking.
Illustrates Búlka's determination to rejoin the hunt.
“His belly was ripped open, and a whole piece of his guts was sticking out of his body and dragging on the dry leaves.”
Búlka had a terrible stomach wound with his intestines hanging out.
Graphically describes the severity of Búlka's injury from the boar.
“While we were sewing him up and sticking the needle through his skin, he kept licking my hand.”
Even while being stitched up, Búlka licked his master's hand.
A poignant moment highlighting the dog's loyalty and trust despite his pain.