Nicholas returns to his regiment. His men are so hungry they are eating a toxic wild weed even though ordered not to.
Summary:
Being back with the regiment feels to Nicholas like a homecoming. He realizes how close is the bond that unites him to Denísov and the whole regiment. He feels as supported there as when living with his parents. And in many ways military life, with its well-defined rules and roles, is simple an carefree compared to civilian life. He wants to be a better soldier to make up for his gambling spree. He has formed a plan to repay his parents over the next five years. As previously, Nicholas bunks with Denísov, and Denísov’s failed proposal to Natásha seems only to have made Denísov and Nicholas better friends. However, the regiment had a huge problem. They were not receiving provisions and the men were starving. They could not even confiscate food, as the local people had no food either. Driven by hunger, the soldiers began eating a toxic weed that made them very sick. They are ordered not to eat this weed, but the soldiers are so hungry they go on eating it.
quote from the chapter:
Despite this destitution, the soldiers and officers went on living just as usual. Despite their pale swollen faces and tattered uniforms, the hussars formed line for roll call, kept things in order, groomed their horses, polished their arms, brought in straw from the thatched roofs in place of fodder, and sat down to dine round the caldrons from which they rose up hungry, joking about their nasty food and their hunger. As usual, in their spare time, they lit bonfires, steamed themselves before them naked; smoked, picked out and baked sprouting rotten potatoes, told and listened to stories of Potëmkin’s and Suvórov’s campaigns, or to legends of Alësha the Sly, or the priest’s laborer Mikólka.
Book 5, Chapter 15
Nicholas returns to his regiment. His men are so hungry they are eating a toxic wild weed even though ordered not to.
Summary:
Being back with the regiment feels to Nicholas like a homecoming. He realizes how close is the bond that unites him to Denísov and the whole regiment. He feels as supported there as when living with his parents. And in many ways military life, with its well-defined rules and roles, is simple an carefree compared to civilian life. He wants to be a better soldier to make up for his gambling spree. He has formed a plan to repay his parents over the next five years. As previously, Nicholas bunks with Denísov, and Denísov’s failed proposal to Natásha seems only to have made Denísov and Nicholas better friends. However, the regiment had a huge problem. They were not receiving provisions and the men were starving. They could not even confiscate food, as the local people had no food either. Driven by hunger, the soldiers began eating a toxic weed that made them very sick. They are ordered not to eat this weed, but the soldiers are so hungry they go on eating it.
quote from the chapter:
Despite this destitution, the soldiers and officers went on living just as usual. Despite their pale swollen faces and tattered uniforms, the hussars formed line for roll call, kept things in order, groomed their horses, polished their arms, brought in straw from the thatched roofs in place of fodder, and sat down to dine round the caldrons from which they rose up hungry, joking about their nasty food and their hunger. As usual, in their spare time, they lit bonfires, steamed themselves before them naked; smoked, picked out and baked sprouting rotten potatoes, told and listened to stories of Potëmkin’s and Suvórov’s campaigns, or to legends of Alësha the Sly, or the priest’s laborer Mikólka.
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