Intro to fiction (Midterm Test)

1.  Summary

a. Title                         :  The Slanderer

b. Author                     :  Anton Chekov

c. Theme                      :  If a person is too conceited, they can be their own downfall

d. Settings                   :  Place : At the wedding feast of middle class of social environment

Time : at midnight.

e. Characters                            :  - Serge Kapitonich Akhineyev (main character)

- Marfa

- Vankin

f. Point of view           :  Third person point of view.

g. Story plot                :  Forward plot

2.  Plot Analysis / description

a. Introduction : Serge Kapitonich Akhineyev gave his daughter Natalya in marriage to the teacher history and geography named Ivan Petrovich Loshadinikh

b. Kick off : Serge Kapitonich Akhineyev is got into the kitchen with Marfa, the cooker, to check the sturgeon.

c. Rising Action : Serge Kapitonich Akhineyev is amazed by the delicious smell and he smacked his lips emitting the sound of an ungreased wheel. He heard a voice on the next room; it was Vankin, wrongly interpreting the noise he just heard and making up a story about Akhineyev kissing Marfa.

d. Climax : He got out of the kitchen with the anxiety of what is people going to say and started telling everyone what has happened. Soon, other people knew the event, but as a wrong explained gossip. Even the headmaster talked to him about the rumor, and what is worse, Ahineev’s wife got mad because of the gossip. He cared too much about the opinion that society had about him. This can be seen when he said “the beats will go and talk scandal. He’ll disgrace me to the entire of the town, the brute.” He immediately freaked out and started telling everyone what had happened, and started to call Vankin a “queer fish.”

e. Falling down action : Serge Kapitonich Akhineyev felt so much appeased that he drank, slept in his own room.

f. Close : After heard the statement from the director, Serge Kapitonich Akhineyev went dinner with his wife to dinner and have a little problem. After that he went to Vankin and blamed Vankin as the slanderer, but Vankin said that he didn’t salndered anything, and Akhineyev get confused.

3. Characterization:

  1. Serge Kapitonich Akhineyev (main character): Flat, negative thinking, rude.

  2. Marfa: Flat

  3. Vankin: Honest

  4. Assistant school instructor: Wise

  5. Akhineyev wifes: jealous

4. Evaluation:

This story is intersting and entertain. I wondered if I were Akhineyev I will get embarassed everytime I meet people who know my story because I slandered my ownself.

The Slanderer  is a short story that reflects the behavior of society concerning on the public image. In the story, Serge Kapitonich Akhineyev is an important writer gathering with other important people. He got into the kitchen with Marfa, the cooker, to check the sturgeon, and amazed by the delicious smell he smacked his lips emitting the sound of an ungreased wheel. Suddenly, he heard a voice on the next room; it was Vankin, wrongly interpreting the noise he just heard and making up a story about Akhineyev kissing Marfa. He got out of the kitchen with the anxiety of what is people going to say and started telling everyone what has happened. Soon, other people knew the event, but as a wrong explained gossip. Even the headmaster talked to him about the rumor, and what is worse, Akhineyev’s wife got mad because of the gossip. This story shows how Akhineyev, and the rest of the people, is dependent on people’s opinion.