# The Cormorants explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Vladimir Korolenko.

## What happens

The narrator travels by post-horse troika to a ferry, where he encounters a group of men known as 'cormorants'—thieves and vagabonds led by Kostiúshka. His driver warns him of their dangerous reputation and suggests they may be targeting the narrator, who is carrying a large sum of money from a recent lawsuit.

## Themes in this chapter

### Social Injustice and Class Division

The cormorants, landless and desperate, resort to theft, reflecting the harsh social divisions and economic struggles of the time.

## Character check-ins

### Kostiúshka

Leader of the cormorants, a notorious thief with a torn nostril, known for preying on travelers.

### Ivan

The narrator's driver, who is wary of the cormorants and warns the narrator about the danger.

## Key lines

> Cormorants! ... Those men are like cormorants. They have neither home nor property, for I have heard that they have sold even the land they owned, and now they are scouring the country like wolves.

The driver compares the men to cormorants, describing them as homeless and landless wanderers who roam the countryside like predators.

_The driver explains the men's lawless nature and their reputation as thieves._

> Take my advice, sir; be on your guard … do not travel by night. They may be following you, for all you know, those wretches!

The driver warns the narrator to be cautious and avoid traveling at night, as the cormorants might be stalking him.

_The driver expresses concern that the narrator is a target due to the money he carries._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/i-the-cormorants
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_54_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters