# Pheasants explained — The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories

> Chapter companion for The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy.

## What happens

A descriptive chapter detailing three methods of hunting pheasants in the Caucasus: with a 'hobby' (a camouflaged screen), by 'scaring up' with a dog that makes the bird fly into a tree, and 'from underdogs' using a setter to track and flush the birds.

## Themes in this chapter

### Rural Life and the Landowner

The chapter focuses entirely on the practical, detailed knowledge of hunting in a rural, wild setting, depicting a specific aspect of life tied to the land and its resources.

## Key lines

> When the Cossacks steal up to the pheasants, they pull their caps over their faces and do not look up, because a pheasant is afraid of a man with his gun, but more still of his eyes.

Hunters avoid eye contact, as pheasants are more frightened by a human's gaze than by the weapon itself.

_Highlights a nuanced, observed behavior in hunting technique, suggesting a deep understanding of the animal's instincts._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/chapters/pheasants
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/chapters