Overdoing It...a relateable tale of mistrust...
Setting:
Overdoing It is set in a small town in Russia formally called Gnilushki,now called Galushki. This is during the late 19th century. At this time there still were not very many centralized roads in Russia or large trains in the smaller towns. This area from the story would have been very isolated.
Main Characters:
Gleyb Gavrilovitch Smirnov: Gleyb is a land surveyor by profession and is in Gnilushki for a short period trying to get to a different estate. He is a very paranoid man who believes he will be robbed and murdered, although he has been given no reason to think that he will. As a defensive strategy, he lies about how tough he is an how many men he has beaten up and killed for trying to rob him. "It certainly is a big forest," thought the surveyor. "I was frightened! But it wont do to betray my feelings...He has noticed already that I am in a funk. Why is it he has taken to looking round at me so often? He is plotting something for certain...At first he drove like a snail and now he is dashing along!"
Klim(Klimushka): He is a very large, strong man who doesn't say much but he is driving Gleyb far out to an estate. He's a quiet man who just wants to get his job done, and he doesn't understand why his passenger keeps telling him how tough he is and how he once killed a man his size just by punching him. He also becomes paranoid, only his paranoia is that Gleyb is going to shoot him with one of his many revolvers, unbeknownst to him that those revolvers don't even exist. "Help!" he roared. "Help! Take the horse and the cart, you devil, only don't take my life. Help!"
Summary:
Exposition: We are told that Glyeb Smirnov is a land surveyor who is looking for a horse and buggy driver to get to an estate that is far away. He looks and looks until he finds one man and his skinny horse and rickety carriage who is willing to take him. The man's name is Klim.
Rising Action: As they are driving into the middle of nowhere, he becomes more and more paranoid that there are robbers in the woods that are out to get him, and slowly he starts to believe Klim is in on it. He begins to start lying about how many pistols he has and how tough he is, sounding more and more shady and less believable. His thoughts begin racing and it becomes difficult as a reader to keep up.
Climax: As Glyeb pretends to reach for his revolver to show Klim, Klim suddenly jumps from the carriage and runs off, screaming for help. Klim believes that Glyeb is trying to kill him because of his very shady behavior before. Glyeb is stuck waiting alone by the horse and carriage as it gets colder and darker.
Falling Action: Glyeb calls and calls for Klim and finally after hours, they reunite and reassure each other that they will not kill each other. Glyeb claims to have only been joking about having those revolvers and being able to take out a large man like Klim.
Resolution: The two men then set out again on the road, Klim shaken, Glyeb feeling better, no longer fearful of the road or Klim. The story then ends there.
("Anton Chekhov - The Literature Network.")
Theme:
The theme of Overdoing It seems to basically be not to judge others on first impressions and to stay calm and rational. Glyeb only let his paranoia and his fear of the unknown in the forest take hold of him and he began to manifest his fear onto Klim. Klim was just an innocent driver in all of this who was made to think that the man he was driving into the secluded forest was dangerous and about to kill him. Both Klim and Glyeb feared each other with no real reason other than their anxieties and judgement of one another.
Symbols:
The symbols in Overdoing It consisted mainly of the revolvers, which in this short story, really symbolize trust. The two men pretend to trust each other but like a gun, it is unstable and that trust is so thin, that at any moment it could go off. Also, like the revolvers, the trust and faith in one another is non existent. The revolvers were never real, they were just a fake feeling of security. ("Online Symbolism Dictionary.")
Overdoing It is set in a small town in Russia formally called Gnilushki,now called Galushki. This is during the late 19th century. At this time there still were not very many centralized roads in Russia or large trains in the smaller towns. This area from the story would have been very isolated.
Main Characters:
Gleyb Gavrilovitch Smirnov: Gleyb is a land surveyor by profession and is in Gnilushki for a short period trying to get to a different estate. He is a very paranoid man who believes he will be robbed and murdered, although he has been given no reason to think that he will. As a defensive strategy, he lies about how tough he is an how many men he has beaten up and killed for trying to rob him. "It certainly is a big forest," thought the surveyor. "I was frightened! But it wont do to betray my feelings...He has noticed already that I am in a funk. Why is it he has taken to looking round at me so often? He is plotting something for certain...At first he drove like a snail and now he is dashing along!"
Klim(Klimushka): He is a very large, strong man who doesn't say much but he is driving Gleyb far out to an estate. He's a quiet man who just wants to get his job done, and he doesn't understand why his passenger keeps telling him how tough he is and how he once killed a man his size just by punching him. He also becomes paranoid, only his paranoia is that Gleyb is going to shoot him with one of his many revolvers, unbeknownst to him that those revolvers don't even exist. "Help!" he roared. "Help! Take the horse and the cart, you devil, only don't take my life. Help!"
Summary:
Exposition: We are told that Glyeb Smirnov is a land surveyor who is looking for a horse and buggy driver to get to an estate that is far away. He looks and looks until he finds one man and his skinny horse and rickety carriage who is willing to take him. The man's name is Klim.
Rising Action: As they are driving into the middle of nowhere, he becomes more and more paranoid that there are robbers in the woods that are out to get him, and slowly he starts to believe Klim is in on it. He begins to start lying about how many pistols he has and how tough he is, sounding more and more shady and less believable. His thoughts begin racing and it becomes difficult as a reader to keep up.
Climax: As Glyeb pretends to reach for his revolver to show Klim, Klim suddenly jumps from the carriage and runs off, screaming for help. Klim believes that Glyeb is trying to kill him because of his very shady behavior before. Glyeb is stuck waiting alone by the horse and carriage as it gets colder and darker.
Falling Action: Glyeb calls and calls for Klim and finally after hours, they reunite and reassure each other that they will not kill each other. Glyeb claims to have only been joking about having those revolvers and being able to take out a large man like Klim.
Resolution: The two men then set out again on the road, Klim shaken, Glyeb feeling better, no longer fearful of the road or Klim. The story then ends there.
("Anton Chekhov - The Literature Network.")
Theme:
The theme of Overdoing It seems to basically be not to judge others on first impressions and to stay calm and rational. Glyeb only let his paranoia and his fear of the unknown in the forest take hold of him and he began to manifest his fear onto Klim. Klim was just an innocent driver in all of this who was made to think that the man he was driving into the secluded forest was dangerous and about to kill him. Both Klim and Glyeb feared each other with no real reason other than their anxieties and judgement of one another.
Symbols:
The symbols in Overdoing It consisted mainly of the revolvers, which in this short story, really symbolize trust. The two men pretend to trust each other but like a gun, it is unstable and that trust is so thin, that at any moment it could go off. Also, like the revolvers, the trust and faith in one another is non existent. The revolvers were never real, they were just a fake feeling of security. ("Online Symbolism Dictionary.")