The story is written in the form of a confession from an adult man to a little boy. Once upon a time the author had a serious disagreement with his nephew Zhenya. In this work, he addresses him specifically, trying to explain to both the boy and himself why he behaved this way at that moment.
Ivan Bunin "Numbers". Summary of chapters 1-2
The author calls the boy a naughty boy who tirelessly screams and runs around all the rooms from morning to night. But all the more touching does he, an adult, see those moments when a child, having calmed down, clings to him, or when he impulsively kisses him after reconciliation. By evening, the boy apologized to his uncle and asked to show him the numbers. In the morning, the baby was eager to buy him a pencil case and subscribe to a children's magazine. But my uncle was not in the mood to go to the city to buy all this. He said that today is royal day, everything is closed. Then the boy asked to at least show the numbers.
Perhaps the baby will not remember when he grows up how he once left the dining room with a very sad face after a quarrel with his uncle.
I. A. Bunin “Numbers”. Summary of chapter 3
In the evening, the restless Zhenya came up with a new game: jump up and scream loudly to the beat. Mom and grandmother tried to stop him, but he did not react. He responded insolently to his uncle’s remark. He could barely restrain himself from losing his temper. But after another jump and scream, the uncle jumped up, yelled at the boy, grabbed his hand, spanked him and pushed him out of the room.
From pain and insult, Zhenya began to scream outside the door. First with pauses, then without stopping and with sobs. Then he began to simply play on feelings, calling. Uncle said that nothing would happen to him, mom tried to be calm. Only the grandmother’s lips began to tremble, she turned away from everyone, but stood firm and did not go to help. Zhenya realized that the adults also decided to stand their ground. He could no longer cry, his voice was hoarse, but he still continued to scream. Uncle already wanted to open the door to the nursery and stop this suffering with one hot word. But this does not agree with the rules of adult behavior. Finally, the boy fell silent.
The uncle could not stand it and looked into the room, pretending to be looking for a cigarette case. Zhenya was playing on the floor with empty matchboxes. He raised his head and told his uncle that he would never love him again. His mother and grandmother also came to him and taught him that it was wrong to behave this way, he had to ask his uncle for forgiveness, otherwise he would leave for Moscow. But Zhenya didn’t care. The adults began to ignore him again.
Brief summary of “Numbers” by I. A. Bunin: chapter 6
It was already dark in the nursery. Zhenya continued to rearrange the boxes on the floor. Grandma began to whisper to him that he was shameless, that his uncle not only wouldn’t buy him gifts, but most importantly, wouldn’t show him the numbers. This stirred up Zhenya. Sparkles appeared in his eyes. He asked to start soon. But my uncle was in no hurry again.
Brief summary of “Numbers” by I. A. Bunin: chapter 7
Zhenya finally apologized to his uncle, said that he loved him just as much, and he relented and ordered pencils and paper to be brought to the table. The boy's eyes shone with joy, but there was also fear in them: what if he changes his mind. With pleasure, under the supervision of his uncle, Zhenya wrote down his first numbers on paper.
In the story “Figures,” Bunin tells how a little boy named Zhenya and his uncle had a quarrel. The story begins with a scene in which the boy says good night and, unable to resist, asks to show him the numbers. He is very worried, because his uncle is once again may refuse him, but seeing the numbers is so important for him.
Zhenya has a lot of educational things. There are colored pencils and picture books, and even a pencil case. In the morning, as soon as he opened his eyes, he called his uncle. The boy really wanted to start studying numbers as soon as possible, to get the treasured books and magazines, as well as pencils.
Uncle, on the contrary, did not want to work with the child, so he came up with a royal day and refused to go to the store. He told Zhenya that everything was closed on the king’s day and that today the boy should find something else to do. He did not agree, but having received a threat that he would not receive anything at all, the boy calmed down and stopped bothering him.
After waiting a little, the boy again pestered his uncle and pointed out that even though all the stores were closed on Tsar’s Day, there was no law prohibiting hiding numbers. The boy's grandmother decided to intervene in the conversation. She said that today the police are especially carefully checking all those who can at least tell something about the numbers.
Uncle did not like this statement, and he honestly admitted to Zhenya that he did not want to pay attention to numbers today. But at the same time, he promised that tomorrow he would definitely set aside time to go and buy everything he needed to practice numbers, work with his nephew and introduce him to numbers.
His wife didn’t like that they didn’t want to work with him, and he didn’t believe that tomorrow something would change. He wanted to see the numbers so badly. The uncle saw the child’s desire to study the numbers today, but he could not give in, since he believed that there was no need for indulgences for the children.
The boy could not find a place for himself all day. He was furious, demolishing tables and chairs, screaming loudly, and he chatted all lunch. He screamed so loudly that the ears of those around him were blocked. It was this behavior that led to a quarrel between the child and his uncle.
In the evening, while drinking tea, Zhenya came up with a new idea. The boy was jumping up and down. He kicked and screamed as loud as possible. The adults who drank tea with him even began to have stuffy ears. Many times they asked the child to stop his fun and calmly drink tea, but he continued to scream even more. After another kick and scream, Uncle Zhenya could not stand it, jumped up from his seat, spanked him and kicked him out of the room. At that moment, the uncle was very angry with the child for his disobedience.
The boy, in turn, was very upset, cried, but no one spoke to him. Even the grandmother and mother did not pay attention to the child’s sobs. Zhenya screamed for a long time, left alone in the room, until his voice became hoarse. After a while he calmed down and found something to do. And after some time, his uncle decided to check on Zhenya, and his heart sank from the picture he saw, because the child was sitting on the floor, and empty matchboxes served as toys for him.
Very gloomy and hoarse, he said that he no longer loved his uncle. No matter how hard my grandmother and mother tried to reconcile their men, nothing worked. In the end, they had to leave the room and leave little Zhenya alone so that he could think about what had happened. The child could not forgive the adults for scolding him and leaving him alone.
Time passed and the boy’s grandmother, a wise woman, figured out how to reconcile the boy with his uncle. She approached the child and asked who, if not his uncle, could show him the numbers? After all, it’s easy to buy a pencil case and even books, but can you really buy numbers? Zhenya was confused and didn’t know what to answer.
Of course, the child agreed to reconcile with his uncle. He asked for forgiveness. The evening passed quietly, in the family circle. Everyone enjoyed the silence, and the boy was glad that he would finally learn everything about the treasured numbers. Zhenya, with particular persistence, drew number after number with a pencil, and each time he did better.
The uncle, in turn, could not stop looking at the child, from whom the smell of a child wafted, his uncle inhaled with special pleasure. For a minute it seemed to him that he himself had become a child. When Zhenya lost count, and he did this every minute, his uncle tirelessly corrected him. And after some time, the boy began to get his first numbers.
In the story “Figures,” Bunin describes a quarrel between the little restless boy Zhenya and his uncle. The story begins with a scene of forgiveness when little boy, dropping by in the evening to see his uncle before going to bed, wishes him Good night and, unable to resist, turns to his uncle with the request that has tormented him for so long. “And please still show me the numbers!” - Zhenya exclaims, full of fear that the strict uncle might refuse again. The uncle hesitates to answer because he is “very, very smart.”
Zhenya is not just a boy, he is the happy owner of wonderful things, picture books, a pencil case, and of course colored pencils. In the morning, as soon as he opened his eyes, little Zhenya called his uncle into his bedroom, bombarding the adult with requests. The boy quickly wanted to start working on numbers, get a children's magazine, books, pencils and paper.
Uncle didn’t want to do any shopping. That’s why he lied about the king’s day to Zhenya. It’s a royal day, everything is locked, he told his nephew. Zhenya did not agree with his uncle, but still gave in, because his uncle threatened that if Zhenya bothered him with requests, he would not receive anything at all.
Although the shops are closed on Tsar's Day, there is no decree prohibiting showing boys numbers on Tsar's days. Here Zhenya’s grandmother intervened in the conversation. She told her grandson not to pester his uncle, otherwise the police would come after them and arrest those who decided to show the numbers on the king’s day. Uncle resolutely rejected such a statement and simply admitted to Zhenya that now he did not want to deal with numbers. In the evening or tomorrow, better tomorrow, he will definitely devote time to his nephew and introduce Zhenya to the numbers.
Zhenya was skeptical about such a promise. After all, who knows how long that long-awaited tomorrow may last. No, the boy decided, he needed the numbers today. The uncle saw how the boy was exhausted on the threshold of a great discovery, waiting for a wise guide ready to show him new world. And the guide, it turns out, is not in the mood to show numbers. Besides, my uncle’s decision was firm, and children are not supposed to be spoiled with concessions.
Zhenya was not himself all day. It was impossible to calm him down. He rushed around the house, overturned chairs, screamed, and dangled his legs during dinner. Joy, mixed with impatience, turned into an evil prank, which caused a quarrel between the boy and his uncle.
Sitting over evening tea, Zhenya came up with a new game. The boy jumped up, kicked the floor and screamed so loudly that the adults sitting at the table “almost burst their eardrums.” Zhenya was repeatedly asked to stop the fun, but would a child listen, all in anticipation of a joyful tomorrow. Therefore, when Zhenya once again shouted and kicked, his uncle jumped up, grabbed the boy, spanked him, spun him around and threw him out the door. At that moment the devil himself showered his uncle with a whole tub of anger.
Zhenya burst into tears. He cried pitifully and for a long time, but no one came to him the whole evening, not his mother, not even his grandmother, although she had the hardest time. The uncle himself looked into his nephew’s room later, and the adult’s heart sank from what he saw. Little Zhenya sat on the floor and played with empty match boxes.
Gloomy and gloomy, in a voice hoarse from shouting, he declared that he did not love his uncle and would even take away the penny he had given him. Attempts at reconciliation made by Zhenya’s mother and grandmother led nowhere. In the end, the adults pretended to forget about the offended child. But now, the wise grandmother found a way out. Who, she asked Zhenya, will show you the numbers. You can buy a pencil case and books, but you can’t buy numbers for any money. Zhenya was broken.
He made peace with his uncle. The evening found a smart adult and restless boy doing a simple task. Zhenya, slobbering on the stub of a pencil, wrote magical mysterious numbers on paper, and his uncle sat, enjoying the boy’s joy, smelling the smell of children’s hair. Zhenya constantly lost count, and the adult tirelessly corrected him and watched as the boy wrote out the number three, “like a big capital E.”
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Year of publication of the story: 1898
The work “Numbers” by Bunin is absolutely short story, which is referred to early creativity writer. The basis of its popularity lies in the presence of a story in school curriculum. In some educational institutions They even write an essay based on Ivan Bunin’s story “Numbers.” Such attention to the work of the famous Russian classic ensured that his works were included in the ratings of our site, and the writer himself received a high place in ours.
The story "Numbers" summary
The main theme of Bunin's story "Numbers" is the quarrel between the narrator and his nephew. The uncle tells the story of this quarrel to his nephew, who forgot about it. It all starts with the events that take place in the evening. After a quarrel, the nephew tries to behave like a well-mannered boy. Usually the argument ended simply. You came up to me, pressed yourself to my shoulder and heard from me kind word You hugged me like a child and rushed to kiss me. But this time the quarrel was too big. The main character of Bunin’s “Numbers” just came up and said: “Good night, uncle,” and shuffled his foot, as the nanny taught. I answered distantly6 “Good night.” But your childish heart couldn’t stand it, and you worriedly blurted out, “Uncle, forgive me... I won’t do it again... And please, still show me the numbers! Please!". I was a very smart uncle, and as much as I didn’t want to fulfill your request right now, I hesitated.
But if we consider the summary of the story “Numbers” by Bunin, then it is worth mentioning how this day began. You woke up thinking about pencils, picture books and wanting to learn how to write, read and draw numbers. Literally right away you dumbfounded me with this request, and I lied a little out of laziness, saying that everything was locked, since today was the king’s day. You began to assure that this was not so and demand that your request be fulfilled right now, but I already showed firmness for educational purposes. After reading “Our Father” with your grandmother, you drank a bottle of milk and rushed off in anticipation of tomorrow, because you were so excited about the idea.
Further in Bunin’s story “Numbers” summary you will find out how you lived all day in anticipation of tomorrow. And in the evening I found great game. You jumped up and screamed loudly and kicked your feet on the floor. First you ignored your grandmother’s remark, then your mother’s, and then mine. I tried to pretend that I didn’t notice you, but it wasn’t easy. Therefore, when once again you shouted loudly, I jumped out of my chair in rage. You seemed not to be afraid, you shouted again, and then I rushed to you, pulled you by the arm, and spanked you. Then he kicked me out of the room. 
Further in Ivan Bunin’s story “Numbers” you can read as if you were struck with a piercing alto from resentment and pain. You started playing the dying man and shouted: “Oh mommies! I'm dying." “Tea, you won’t die,” I answered from the other room. I wanted to run and console you, but for educational purposes I remained calm. My mother and grandmother tried to do the same, although it was difficult for them. You realized that no one would ask for forgiveness or pity you, but for some time you screamed in a hoarse voice without tears. But eventually you became quiet.
Further in the summary of Bunin’s story “Numbers” you can read about how, about half an hour later, I allegedly came to you in search of a cigarette case. You rearranged the empty match boxes. My heart sank, and I really wanted to leave, but you told me that you would never love me now, you wouldn’t buy me anything, and you would even take the Japanese penny that you gave me. I replied that it was your business, but taking gifts is not good. Then your mother and grandmother came to see you. They also pretended that they came in by accident or on business. They tried to persuade you to ask for forgiveness and even threatened that I would leave for Moscow and never come again. To all this you only answered: “Well, good.” In the end, my mother advised me not to pay attention to this feisty girl. Only after a while grandma struck a victorious blow on you. She reminded you that since you don’t love your uncle, he won’t show you numbers or teach you how to write. You were defeated and your pride was broken.
The next day early in the morning main character Bunin's "Numbers" woke up in anticipation. But we had to wait and accept it. And you did it. You came to me and asked for forgiveness. Said you love me. Then I had mercy and offered you to carry pencils and paper. Your eyes sparkled, and you hastily, but trying not to make a mistake, listened to me. You diligently wrote out each number, and I enjoyed the look of you and the number three, which you wrote like the letter “E”.
The story “Numbers” on the Top books website
Ivan Bunin’s story “Numbers” is so popular to read that this is not the first time he has been included in our rating. In addition, while studying a work in the school curriculum, interest in it increases many times over. This happened this time too, thanks to which Bunin’s work “Numbers” is presented in our new 2016 rating. And taking into account all these features, we expect that the story will take its rightful place in our subsequent ratings.
You can read Ivan Bunin’s story “Numbers” online on the Top Books website.
You can download Ivan Bunin’s story “Numbers” for free on the Top Books website.
(321 words) The events in the story “Numbers” begin with the fact that, waking up in the morning, little Zhenya is eager to learn to write and read. He dreams of being quickly given a children's magazine, a pencil case, picture books and colored pencils. The boy asks his uncle about this, but he declares the day “royal”, not wanting to go into the city. Zhenya does not let up and asks to show him the numbers. But uncle is too lazy to do this right now, and he promises to show them tomorrow. The boy is offended, but, having resigned himself, begins to look forward to tomorrow. After breakfast, he makes a noise in the hall - he overturns chairs with shouts, thereby expressing the exciting joy of anticipation.
And in the evening, when his mother, grandmother and uncle are talking at the table, Zhenya finds himself a new entertainment - jumping up with a sharp cry and kicking the floor with all his might. This makes him happy, but adults don’t like this boy’s behavior. In the end, losing patience, the uncle jumps up from his chair, shouts at his nephew, spanks him and pushes him out of the room. The victim cries and calls either his mother or his grandmother for help. The conversation has ended. Uncle is ashamed of his action, and he lights a cigarette without raising his eyes. The mother, returning to knitting, complains that her son is too spoiled. The grandmother turns to the window, banging her spoon on the table, and barely restrains herself from going to the nursery.
Half an hour later, the uncle comes into the nursery, pretending that he came in on business. The boy, breathing intermittently, plays with empty matchboxes. When the uncle goes to the exit, the nephew declares that he will never love him again. Mom and grandmother come in after uncle. They advise Zhenya to ask her uncle for forgiveness, but the boy does not give up. In the end, the grandmother manages to break the child’s pride by reminding him that except for his uncle, no one will teach him numbers.
Zhenya asks for forgiveness from his uncle, says that he loves him very much, and still asks to show the numbers. His uncle tells him to bring a chair to the table, paper and pencils. The child is happy - his dream has come true. Leaning on the table with his chest, he prints numbers and learns to count them correctly. And the uncle is also happy because his nephew is happy.
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