As the wind howls, on a freezing cold
night in a Russian village, a Cossack lieutenant dares a timid little man
called Ivan to face his worst fear: crossing the cemetery. He gives Ivan his
sabre to stab it into the ground in the very centre of the graveyard, to prove
that he has completed the dare. After a few glasses of vodka, with the
encouragement of the reward of five gold rubles, Ivan accepts the challenge. In
the cemetery as Ivan drives the sabre into the ground, he doesn't notices that
he pins his own jacket down. When he tries to get up, no matter how hard he
pulls, he cannot get up. Without thinking the situation through, he becomes the
victim of his own fear. He is found the next morning in the centre of the
cemetery lying dead. Not frozen to death, but literally scared to death. He had
let his imagination get the better of him. But who is to be blamed for this
rather strange death? Is it the lieutenant for challenging Ivan, or was Ivan
himself responsible for accepting, and letting his imagination get the better
of him.
"You are a pigeon, Ivan. A rabbit. A coward. You'll walk all around the cemetery in this dreadful cold to get home, but you dare not cross the cemetery." From this sentence, one will get the idea that the lieutenant is a terrible person, a bully, and consequently Ivan's "murderer". Of course, that was my opinion to... until I read between the lines. As we already know, the lieutenant is a leader, he is a Cossack who are known to be strong, proud, freedom loving people who were born soldiers in the Imperial Russia ruled by the Tsar. Because of this, one is under the impression that he allows himself to boss others around, and wants to seem more important than anyone else. However, when daring a weakling like Ivan only to make himself seem braver, stronger, and nobler, the lieutenant comes across rather as a bully or rascal then any of the above.
Ivan on the other hand, lives all alone, and far away from everyone else in the village. From this we know that Ivan is a poor and lonely man. Every night he goes to the village saloon and gets a drink before walking to his lonesome shack. The other villagers tease and mock him about his shyness and cowardliness. When the lieutenant challenges Ivan, he shows that he is very timid. When the lieutenant tells Ivan that his reward is five gold rubles, Ivan is motivated to accept. Possibly because to a meagre man as he is, a reward of five gold coins seems like a fortune and even because to a poor, lonely soul like Ivan is an acceptance of his neighbours means tremendously.
When I first read The Cemetery Path instantly another dare that could have ended fatally came to my mind: ""Then I dare you to do it," said Josie defiantly. "I dare you to climb up there and walk the ridgepole of Mr. Barry's kitchen roof." "Don't you do it, Anne," entreated Diana. "You'll fall off and be killed. Never mind Josie Pye. It isn't fair to dare anybody to do anything so dangerous." "I must do it. My honour is at stake," said Anne solemnly. "I shall walk that ridgepole, Diana, or perish in the attempt. " In Anne of Green Gables, Anne did not die, and she accepted the dare for an entirely different reason, yet this is a very similar situation to Ivan's. Both Anne and Ivan were challenged to do something they really did not want to do, and although for different reasons, they accepted the dare.
In conclusion: although the arrogant lieutenant is the one who starts the dare only to bully Ivan, and gain even more popularity among the villagers who are even more fuelled to mock the weakling, I believe that Ivan is responsible for his own death. It is Ivan’s imagination that gets the better of him. If he were to have taken a deep breath and to look at where he has stabbed the sabre he probably would not scare himself to death. There are many dares that we all accept for one reason or another, some like Anne's dare are very foolish, while others may have meaning like Ivan's.
"You are a pigeon, Ivan. A rabbit. A coward. You'll walk all around the cemetery in this dreadful cold to get home, but you dare not cross the cemetery." From this sentence, one will get the idea that the lieutenant is a terrible person, a bully, and consequently Ivan's "murderer". Of course, that was my opinion to... until I read between the lines. As we already know, the lieutenant is a leader, he is a Cossack who are known to be strong, proud, freedom loving people who were born soldiers in the Imperial Russia ruled by the Tsar. Because of this, one is under the impression that he allows himself to boss others around, and wants to seem more important than anyone else. However, when daring a weakling like Ivan only to make himself seem braver, stronger, and nobler, the lieutenant comes across rather as a bully or rascal then any of the above.
Ivan on the other hand, lives all alone, and far away from everyone else in the village. From this we know that Ivan is a poor and lonely man. Every night he goes to the village saloon and gets a drink before walking to his lonesome shack. The other villagers tease and mock him about his shyness and cowardliness. When the lieutenant challenges Ivan, he shows that he is very timid. When the lieutenant tells Ivan that his reward is five gold rubles, Ivan is motivated to accept. Possibly because to a meagre man as he is, a reward of five gold coins seems like a fortune and even because to a poor, lonely soul like Ivan is an acceptance of his neighbours means tremendously.
When I first read The Cemetery Path instantly another dare that could have ended fatally came to my mind: ""Then I dare you to do it," said Josie defiantly. "I dare you to climb up there and walk the ridgepole of Mr. Barry's kitchen roof." "Don't you do it, Anne," entreated Diana. "You'll fall off and be killed. Never mind Josie Pye. It isn't fair to dare anybody to do anything so dangerous." "I must do it. My honour is at stake," said Anne solemnly. "I shall walk that ridgepole, Diana, or perish in the attempt. " In Anne of Green Gables, Anne did not die, and she accepted the dare for an entirely different reason, yet this is a very similar situation to Ivan's. Both Anne and Ivan were challenged to do something they really did not want to do, and although for different reasons, they accepted the dare.
In conclusion: although the arrogant lieutenant is the one who starts the dare only to bully Ivan, and gain even more popularity among the villagers who are even more fuelled to mock the weakling, I believe that Ivan is responsible for his own death. It is Ivan’s imagination that gets the better of him. If he were to have taken a deep breath and to look at where he has stabbed the sabre he probably would not scare himself to death. There are many dares that we all accept for one reason or another, some like Anne's dare are very foolish, while others may have meaning like Ivan's.
"It's not because things are difficult
that we dare not venture. It's because we dare not venture that they are
difficult.”
~ Seneca the Younger
Roman Philosopher who lived from
4BC - 65AD
This was a fantastically well written piece of work Maja, but you don't really answer the question. I shouldn't have to read the conclusion to find out what your position is on the topic.
ReplyDelete15/20