“The Bridge” by Nicolai Chukovski Short Stories “The Bridge” by Nicolai Chukovski

Russia

THEME: The main idea in a work; the writer’s 2 THEME: The main idea in a work; the writer’s perception about life shared with the reader. Theme is rarely directly stated. SYMBOL: A person, place, or object that stands for something beyond itself.

Literary Terms RITE OF PASSAGE: A story that depicts a life-changing realization.   MOMENT OF INSIGHT: When the “light bulb comes on.” TRIGGER: The event that brings to pass the Moment of Insight.

The Bridge: Theme “It was a woman’s factory where a true man wouldn’t be caught working” (Chukovski 179). “He didn’t dare confess to anybody how frightening was the thought of leaving Gramma” (Chukovski 179).

Symbols The road The girls River The Bridge (life—journey through life) The girls (adulthood) River (life—ocean) The Bridge (himself under construction)

Girl falls of the bridge TRIGGER Girl falls of the bridge Obstacle overcome: “Their bicycles lay side by side on the grass. Kostya had removed them from the bridge by himself” (Chukovski 183).

MOMENT OF INSIGHT “While he answered her questions. Kostya began to see his trip in a new light. He had suddenly made a discovery…” (Chukovski 184) “’I’ll learn,’ he said, thinking of Uncle Vasya. ‘What one man can do another man can, too’” (Chukovski 184).

Faced with an emergency, Kostya is able to act and change his life. 14 The Bridge Participials Faced with an emergency, Kostya is able to act and change his life. Still dealing with the grief of losing his mother, Kostya must now leave the only home he has ever known. Adverb Clauses Even though Kostya was afraid of almost everything at the beginning of the story, he gained confidence by doing something difficult—rescuing the girl and retrieving the bikes. Because Kostya had his moment of insight by rescuing the girl and saving the bikes, he decided he could take on this new adventure—going to Moscow.

Appositives—Compound Element 9 Appositives—Compound Element Once a bright student, Kostya has received poor marks and is now unable to go to college. Kostya, the main character of the story, dreads the thought of going to work for his uncle in Siberia. Series By the author’s description of Kostya at the beginning of the story, by his description of the bicycle race, and by his description of Kostya’s heroism later, Chukovski dramatizes his theme.

9 Set-offs Though Kostya is pleased (even ecstatic) with his rescue of the girl, he returns home saying nothing of it to his grandmother.