Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka
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Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka is a collection of short stories by Nikolai Gogol, written from 1831-1832. This was Gogol's groundbreaking work, though not his first, and formed the core of his style, especially his sense of the macabre. It was this collection that proved he was a new power in Russian literature with unique innovation and a carefully arranged mingling of the horrifying and the humorous. Alexander Pushkin had a heavy influence on the writing of the collection, which features references to "Little Russia" (Ukraine), where Gogol spent the early years of his life. The stories are heavily laced with Ukrainian folklore and cultural references, offering a unique perspective into life in the country during Gogol's time period. The work with structure found in this collection became characteristic of Gogol's writing later on, found in works such as Dead Souls. Evenings On A Farm Near Dikanka is separated into two volumes of four stories each. The first volume contains "The Fair at Sorochintsï", "St. John's Eve", "May Night or the Drowned Maiden", and "The Lost Letter: A Tale Told by the Sexton of the N...Church". The second volume contains "Christmas Eve", "A Terrible Vengeance", "Ivan Fedorovic Sponka and His Aunt", and "A Bewitched Place". Each of the segments were based off of Ukrainian folklore and feature comedic elements and a binding narrator, Rudy Panko, who is dictating the stories to the reader. A few other characters are mentioned in terms of the stories they provide, but regardless these segments are still told through the beekeeper Rudy. "Evenings" gained Gogol the fame that would lead him to a prominent placement in the Russian literary circle, as well as opening the doors for future works.
Recently, a video game was created for PC that follows the short stories and is a point-and-click adventure game in the vein of Maniac Mansion.
Preface is the opening to the first volume of Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka by Nikolai Gogol, written in 1831.
This short section introduces the beekeeper Rudy Panko, who begins to introduce his task of informing the reader of a set of wondrous tales he has heard. He speaks very matter-of-factly and personally to the reader, as though they were sitting in front of him at his dinner table or outside in his village. He talks about the pleasant serenity of peasant life and mentions lavish parties. He continues about the storytelling at these nightly parties and then comments that no one can tell stories like Rudy Panko. His name means “red” in Ukrainian and is a nickname, again making it seem informal and personal since the narrator is using a personal name. He eventually gets caught up in talking about mundane events, and stops himself so he can get on with his storytelling. The main stories begin after this section.
