Oysters (Chekhov)
Short summary
Moscow, late 19th century. A young boy stood with his father on a rainy street, feeling faint from hunger. They had been in Moscow for five months while the father unsuccessfully looked for work as a copying-clerk. That day, they resorted to begging.
Outside a restaurant, the boy noticed a white placard with the word "Oysters." When he asked his father what oysters were, his father explained they were sea animals eaten alive from shells. The boy's imagination ran wild, first picturing a delicious seafood dish, then a revolting frog-like creature.
Despite his disgust, the boy's hunger overwhelmed him.
The creature was loathsome, disgusting, terrible, but I ate it, ate it greedily, afraid of distinguishing its taste or smell... I ate everything that caught my eye, because I felt that nothing but eating would take away my illness.
The boy cried out for oysters, attracting the attention of two gentlemen who took him into the restaurant out of curiosity. There, he ate oysters greedily until he tried to eat the shells. Later that night, he lay in bed with heartburn while his father paced, lamenting that he hadn't asked the gentlemen for money.
Detailed summary
Division into sections is editorial.
A strange illness and a fathers desperation
On a rainy autumn evening in Moscow, a young boy stood with his father on a busy street. The boy felt overcome by a strange illness - his legs weakened, words stuck in his throat, and his head drooped to one side. Though he experienced no pain, he felt he might collapse at any moment.
If I had been taken into a hospital at that minute, the doctors would have had to write over my bed: Fames, a disease which is not in the manuals of medicine.
Beside the boy stood his father wearing a shabby summer overcoat and a serge cap with white wadding sticking out. On his feet were heavy goloshes with the tops of old boots drawn up to hide his bare feet. The man had come to Moscow five months earlier seeking work as a copying-clerk but had found none. That day, he had finally brought himself to beg for alms on the street.
Discovery of the mysterious oyster sign
In front of them stood a three-story building with a blue restaurant sign. The boy's head drooped backward, allowing him to see the lighted windows of the establishment. Inside, he could make out an orchestrion, oleographs, and hanging lamps. Looking intently at one window, he noticed a white rectangular placard on the wall but couldn't read what was written on it.
For half an hour, the boy stared at the white placard, hypnotized by it. As his strange illness intensified, his senses became heightened. The rumble of carriages sounded like thunder, and the street smells separated into a thousand distinct odors. The restaurant lights dazzled his eyes like lightning. Finally, with his senses overstrained, he was able to make out the word on the placard: "Oysters."
Imagining the unknown sea creature
The boy had never encountered this word before in his eight years and three months of life. Confused, he asked his father what "oysters" meant. His father, distracted by watching passersby and struggling to ask them for help, eventually answered that it was an animal that lived in the sea.
I instantly pictured to myself this unknown marine animal... I thought it must be something midway between a fish and a crab. As it was from the sea they made of it, of course, a very nice hot fish soup with savoury pepper and laurel leaves...
The boy's imagination ran wild as he envisioned this sea creature being prepared for a meal. He imagined the smell of hot fish soup tickling his palate and nostrils, gradually taking possession of his entire body. The sensation was so powerful that he began to chew and swallow as if he actually had a piece of this marine animal in his mouth. His legs weakened from the blissful feeling, and he clutched his father's wet overcoat for support.
Horror at learning oysters are eaten alive
Curious about whether oysters were permitted during Lent, the boy asked his father. His father replied that oysters were eaten alive and described them as creatures in shells like tortoises, but in two halves. Upon hearing this revelation, the delicious smell that had been affecting the boy instantly vanished, and his pleasant illusion disappeared.
So that's what "oysters" meant! I imagined to myself a creature like a frog. A frog sitting in a shell, peeping out from it with big, glittering eyes, and moving its revolting jaws... The grownups would take it and eat it, eat it alive with its eyes, its teeth, its legs!
The boy was horrified by this new understanding. He imagined a repulsive frog-like creature in a shell with claws, glittering eyes, and slimy skin being brought from the market. He pictured children hiding while the disgusted cook carried the creature into the dining room, where adults would eat it alive while it squeaked and tried to bite their lips. The thought was loathsome and terrifying to him.
Conflict between disgust and desperate hunger
Despite his revulsion, the boy found his teeth moving as though he were munching. Though he found the creatures loathsome and disgusting, he ate them greedily in his imagination, afraid to distinguish their taste or smell. After consuming one in his mind, he saw the glittering eyes of a second, then a third, and devoured those too.
In his hallucination, the boy ate everything in sight - the table napkin, the plate, his father's goloshes, the white placard - because he felt that only eating would cure his illness. Though he shuddered at the thought of the oysters with their terrible eyes, his hunger overwhelmed his disgust. Finally, he cried out, "Oysters! Give me some oysters!" and stretched out his hand.
At that moment, his father called out in a hollow, shaking voice, begging for help from passersby, saying he could bear no more. The boy continued to cry for oysters, pulling at his father's coat.
Being fed oysters in the restaurant
Two gentlemen in top hats approached, laughing and asking if the little boy really ate oysters. They were amused by his enthusiasm for such sophisticated food.
A strong hand dragged the boy into the brightly lit restaurant. Soon, a crowd gathered around him, watching with curiosity and amusement as he sat at a table.
I sat at a table and ate something slimy, salt with a flavour of dampness and mouldiness. I ate greedily without chewing, without looking and trying to discover what I was eating. I fancied that if I opened my eyes I should see glittering eyes, claws...
The boy ate the oysters greedily without looking, fearing he might see the glittering eyes and claws he had imagined. Suddenly, he bit something hard, and there was a crunching sound. The crowd laughed, telling him he was eating the shells and couldn't possibly consume those. After this experience, the boy felt a terrible thirst.
Aftermath and the fathers regret
Later that night, the boy lay in bed unable to sleep due to heartburn and the strange taste in his parched mouth. His father paced the room, muttering that he might have caught cold and complaining of a feeling in his head as though someone were sitting on it.
The father regretted his own hesitation, noting that he had seen the gentlemen pay ten roubles for the oysters. He wondered why he hadn't approached them to ask for a loan, believing they would have given him something. Toward morning, the boy finally fell asleep and dreamt of a frog sitting in a shell, moving its eyes. At midday, he awoke from thirst to find his father still pacing and gesticulating.