The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories · Chapter
Búlka’s and Milton’s End explained
The narrator recounts the simultaneous deaths of his two dogs.
What happens
The narrator recounts the simultaneous deaths of his two dogs. Milton, a hunting dog, is killed by a wild boar while on a hunt with an inexperienced Cossack. Búlka, after being bitten by a wolf weeks earlier, begins to show signs of rabies—licking objects and people compulsively before snapping at them—and then disappears, presumed to have gone into the forest to die.
Themes in this chapter
Rural Life and the Landowner
The chapter depicts the relationship between a landowner and his hunting dogs, and the rustic dangers of the hunt and wildlife.
Fate, Injustice, and Suffering
The senseless, painful deaths of two loyal animals—one by violence, the other by a slow, maddening disease—highlight themes of suffering and cruel fate.
Characters to notice
- Búlka
Succumbs to rabies after being bitten by a wolf; exhibits classic symptoms before disappearing into the forest.
- Milton
Killed by a wild boar while on an ill-advised hunt with an old Cossack who did not understand his proper use for bird hunting.
- The Cossacks
An old Cossack mishandles Milton, taking him to hunt wild boar instead of birds, leading to the dog's death.
Key passages
“He licked my hands, but not as formerly when he fawned. He licked for a long time, and pressed his tongue against me, and then began to snap.”
Búlka's affectionate licking turned into a compulsive, pained action followed by attempts to bite, signaling his illness.
Shows the change in behavior indicating the onset of rabies.
“He could not have been stolen or run away from me. This happened six weeks after the wolf had bitten him. Evidently the wolf had been mad.”
The narrator connects Búlka's disappearance and symptoms directly to the wolf bite weeks earlier, concluding the wolf was rabid.
Establishes the cause-and-effect of the tragedy.
“If he had been running about and biting, as mad dogs do, I should have heard of him. No doubt he ran somewhere into a thicket and there died by himself.”
The narrator reasons that Búlka, being an intelligent dog, secluded himself to die alone rather than spreading his madness.
Reflects on the perceived nobility and instinct of a dying animal.