When I first got told we had to read this story I was sad, I did not want to read “Master and Man” because I thought it would be a boring book.
When I started reading it, I realized Vasili was not a good person and started to hate him a bit. He was selfish, and dishonest, and did not think about others at all. For me, his kind of behavior are frustrating and boring, and I don’t like this kind of person.
On the other hand, Nikita was very empathic, honest, and respectful. Most of the time I felt bad for him because he did a lot of things to help Vasili, even if those things didn’t benefit him at all, and Vasili did nothing but lie to him. I also understood how Nikita was feeling because at some points if my life I was like him, I gave everything to someone who did not contribute anything good to me.
I was surprised reading the book because I expected it to be boring but was not. Some parts of the books were hard to read because it goes by very slowly and becomes boring. For me, as it is written in a formal language, numerous words were difficult to understand.
While reading the book I was intrigued by what was going to happen next. I really liked the suspense that was going on throughout most of the story.
The story somehow felt realistic, but some details seemed to be less likely to happen than others, yet they could happen in real life. For example, when Vasili decided to go in the night instead of staying the night, was less likely to happen, he probably would have stayed the night in real life.
I think the story focuses too much on when they were lost in the snow; the main point is that they were lost in the snow in the middle of the night, but it still felt tiring reading a bunch of pages explaining how they were lost. I personally would have liked the story better if that part would have been shorter and less detailed.
When Vasili died, I felt bad, not only for him but also because of his family; even if he was not the best person, he tried to get what made him happy and, in the end, that is the point of living. I felt even worse for Mukhorty because he did not deserve to die, he only was there because Vasili brought him there, he always did what he was asked to, and still, he died.
Even if I feel bad for Vasili dying, I feel happy that he gave his life for Nikita.
I was surprised by the plot when Vasili drastically changes and gives his own life to save Nikita. I never would have expected it and I think that is the most important part of the book.
This story could be considered both realistic and something more like a parable. Even if it is considered a realistic story, it has a teaching behind it. It teaches us that good people are put under difficult circumstances but in the worst times they are helped.