The Winter Oak Analysis

THE WINTER OAK:

This story has two settings – the school and the forest – and covers one working day in the life of Anna Vasilevna. The main events of her day are: the teaching of parts of speech, Savushkin’s late arrival to class, her encounters with Savushkin both in the classroom and the staffroom, her journey through the woods (to Savushkin’s house) and her encounters with nature therein and finally the point where she reaches some kind of understanding of Savushkin.

The story focuses around Anna and Savushkin. Anna is clearly a hard-working, dedicated teacher, however, she is inexperienced and doesn’t really know her pupils nor understand the lives they lead. She jumps to conclusions about her students (especially Savushkin) and fails to see that the subjects she teaches do not touch the lives of her pupils. It is perhaps ironic that she corrects their language but doesn’t always listen to what her students are saying. In the school section she comes across as efficient, but narrow-minded. However, by the end of the story she has developed into a more understanding (and likeable) character.

Password

Confirm Password

I agree to the terms of service and privacy policy

The school section appears to be based on the conflict between a dedicated teacher and a difficult pupil, building up to a showdown with the boy’s mother. However, the plot changes direction in the forest section. When Savushkin notices that Anna is interested in the tracks in the snow and says: ‘An elk has been here’ there bebins a shifting in their relationship – that leads to him becoming the teacher, and ultimately Anna’s carer: ‘He was guarding his teacher from afar.’

The journey is an education for Anna in two ways – firstly it pens her eyes to natural ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

The journey is an education for Anna in two ways – firstly it pens her eyes to natural beauty but it also allows her to see Savushkin in a different and positive light: ‘the most amazing thing in the forest was not the winter oak, but the small human being in the worn felt boots.’

This is clearly a story where the teacher learns the lessons and her lessons could be many:

It is important not to judge people until you get to know them by sharing their experiences
Learning through experience is more effective and enjoyable than classroom study
It is important to admit your mistakes and learn from them
You should time out to appreciate the beauty of the natural world
It is possible to be poor in material terms but rich in your appreciation of the world around you

Although we see most of the story from Anna’s point of view the writer (Nagibin) suggests to us that this view is often mistaken e.g. there is irony in lines 14-16 because it is in fact her that does not understand the students. Also in lines 117-118 her dismay at Savushkin’s ‘lies’ is misplaced – because he is actually telling the truth.

Between lines 79-93 Nagibin introduces the oak tree – it’s mention interrupts a dull lesson on nouns. He shows its importance to Savushkin through his description of how Savushkin says the words – as if they were ‘torn out of his soul.’ Anna’s failure to understand is highlighted by her irritation and her focus on parts of speech: ‘ ‘Oak’ is a noun.’ She seems to understand parts of speech but not the beauty of what language represents (until she visits the forest). It is interesting to note that when she first sees the tree in the forest Nagibin holds back the word ‘oak’ until the end of the sentence (lines 207-208). The personification of the oak here and elsewhere brings it to life. Nagibin gives the impression in this story that the forest and the oak are part of a magical world, which keeps its secrets covered up and only gradually reveals them e.g. lines 165-167 … Perhaps his intention in doing this is to show that the world and the people in it cannot be reduced to parts of speech – they are more complex and more wonderful than that. This is echoed in the penultimate sentence:

‘a mysterious and wonderful future citizen.’