Vanka | Vanka

At a glance:

Author: Anton Chekhov
First Published: 1886
Type of Plot: Social realism
Time of Work: The late nineteenth century
Setting: Moscow
Principal Characters: Ivan “Vanka” Zhukov, Konstantin Makarich
Genres: Social realism, Short fiction
Subjects: Children, Nineteenth century, Europe or Europeans, Grandparents or grandchildren, Orphans or orphanages, Boys, Old age or elderly people, Russia or Russian people, Moscow, Christmas
Locales: Moscow, Russia

Ivan Zhukov, known by the diminutive “Vanka,” is an unhappy orphan who has been apprenticed for three months to the shoemaker Alyakhin in Moscow. On Christmas Eve, while his master and mistress and the senior apprentices are all at church, Vanka sits down to write a pleading letter to “Grandad” Konstantin Makarich in the nearby village where Vanka lived before being sent to the city. Vanka's mother, Pelageya, had been in service at a country estate, where his life had been idyllic as he roamed freely with Grandad, “one-eyed Yegor,” and other servants....

Vanka | Vanka

At a glance:

The Story

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