Short Fiction · Chapter
The Bears explained
The chapter depicts the final days of a gipsy encampment as they are forced to kill their performing bears by government order.
What happens
The chapter depicts the final days of a gipsy encampment as they are forced to kill their performing bears by government order. The old gipsy Ivan must shoot his beloved bear Potap, who has been his family's provider for years. After a heart-wrenching farewell, Ivan cannot bring himself to pull the trigger, and his grandson finishes the deed. A young bear breaks loose, causing a panic through the town before being hunted down and killed. The chapter reflects on the end of a way of life and the bond between humans and animals.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Redemption
Ivan's agonizing farewell to Potap and his collapse highlight the suffering inherent in the forced killing, while the bear's patient acceptance suggests a form of redemption through loyalty.
Death and Mortality
The chapter is dominated by the impending death of the bears, the old bear's dignified end, and the chaotic, violent death of the young bear, underscoring mortality's inevitability.
Social Marginalization and Compassion
The gipsies are a marginalized community forced to comply with state orders that destroy their livelihood; the old man's compassion for his bear contrasts with the authorities' callousness.
Characters to notice
- Ivan Nikitin
The old gipsy who is forced to shoot his beloved bear Potap; he delivers a poignant farewell speech and collapses in grief.
- Thomas Thomasovich
The fat ispravnik (police chief) who oversees the bear killings and participates in the hunt for the escaped bear.
- Leonid
One of the urchins who flees in panic when the bear breaks loose and later runs alongside the droshky during the hunt.
- Constantine
One of the urchins who flees in panic and later joins the chase alongside the droshky.
- Olga Pavlona
A young lady who almost faints but flees in terror when the bear breaks loose, disregarding her costume.
Key passages
“With my own hand I must kill him, my provider and benefactor. Loose him; let him be free. He will not go away; he, as with us old men, will not flee from death.”
I have to kill him myself, the one who has supported me. Set him free; he won't run away—like us old men, he won't try to escape death.
Ivan's resigned acceptance of his duty to kill the bear he loves, emphasizing the bear's loyalty and the inevitability of death.
“Thou hast been kind and quiet and clever, and hast learnt all. Never have I seen a beast kinder, more clever than thou. What would I have been without thee? My whole family have lived by thy labour.”
You have been gentle, calm, and intelligent, and you learned everything. I have never known a kinder or smarter animal. What would I have done without you? My entire family has depended on your work.
Ivan's tribute to Potap, acknowledging the bear's role as the family's breadwinner and his deep emotional bond with the animal.
“One has got loose—broken loose! resounded through the crowd, and, like a flock of frightened sheep, all rushed helter-skelter.”
Someone shouted that a bear had escaped, and the crowd scattered in panic like a flock of sheep.
The chaos and fear that erupt when the young bear breaks free, highlighting the crowd's terror and the breakdown of order.
“They killed him late that evening, having smoked him out of his shelter by setting fire to the bushes. Everyone who had a rifle thought it his bounden duty to plant a bullet into the dying beast, so that when they skinned it the skin was useless.”
They finally killed him that evening after smoking him out by burning the bushes. Everyone with a rifle felt obliged to shoot the dying animal, ruining its skin in the process.
The brutal and wasteful end of the young bear, reflecting the senseless violence and lack of mercy shown by the hunters.
