Ramblings from a Rednecks Diary Not since I was three have I been affected by a book this much. When I was a toddler The Berenstein Bears had the influence to make me cry from sadness and scream from fear. In reality I did not actually scream or cry after reading this book, but I was extremely close. In “Bezhin Lea” I was frightened for Pavlusha when he ran off after the dogs, and I felt real fear when the boys began telling fables of the surrounding areas. In “Meeting” the girl was so tearful that the urge to jump into the book and comfort her almost overcame me, and never had I wanted to see something bad happen to a person as I did to the bailiff in the “Bailiff.” My feelings regarding serfs had never been put on such a personal level. Sketches from a Hunter’s Album changed my perspective about serfs and peasants intensely. I do not think his book would have as much impact if it was not for his intense physical and emotional projections of serfs that Turgenev conveys for the reader. Every time a new character is introduced he stops to completely acquaint the reader with the person as much as he is acquainted with the person. Since I truly learned about serfdom, peasantry, and slavery, it has been common for me to generalize them by the statement, “they suffered,” or “they were stupid.” After reading just a few sketches, I realized that the serfs are actually human. They are not stupid animals to be pushed around and taken advantage of by their “masters“.It was evident in the first sketch, “Khor and Kalinych,” that Khor was an intelligent and industrious man, but yet he was only a serf. He had been smart enough to find a way to make money for himself and to afford a pretty heavy rent imposed by his owner. He had enough money but if he actually bought his freedom he would be a small fish in a big pond, but as long as he was serf and ...
