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LOMOV: No, you just think I’m a fool and want to have me on! You call my land yours, and then you want me to talk to you calmly and politely! Good neighbours don’t behave like that, Stepan Stepanovitch! You’re not a neighbour, you’re a grabber!
CHUBUKOV: What’s that? What did you say?
NATALYA: Papa, send the mowers out to the Meadows at once!
CHUBUKOV: What did you say, sir?
NATALYA: Oxen Meadows are ours, and I shan’t give them up, shan’t give them up, shan’t give them up!
LOMOV: We’ll see! I’ll have the matter taken to court, and then I’ll show you!
CHUBUKOV: To court? You can take it to court, and all that! You can! I know you; you’re just on the look-out for a chance to go to court, and all that. You pettifogger! All your people were like that! All of them!
Explanation:
Chubukov attempted to explain to Lomov that he was getting frustrated with how Lomov spoke to him and that because Lomov was twice his age, he ought to be spoken to with respect rather than in a disrespectful tone, but Lomov rejected his explanation.
He replied that his impolite behaviour was a reaction to what Chubukov had been doing, claiming Lomov's land. He called Chubukov a "land grabber".
Chubukov couldn't bear Lomov calling him a "land grabber," as he felt it highly unrespectable. Thus, he angrily asked Lomov to repeat what he had just said. Even Natalya was offended by Lomov's disrespectful behaviour, so she told her father to send mowers to Oxen Meadows. But, Chubukov's mind was fully occupied with Lomov's impolite words, so he asked Lomov to repeat what he said. At that moment, Natalya spoke up again, insisting that the Oxen Meadows belonged to her family and that she couldn't let it fall into the hands of strangers. Lomov threatened to take the case to court to prove his ownership.
Chubukov accused Lomov of merely wanting to appear in court like the rest of his family. Chubukov insisted on pursuing the court proceedings, demonstrating Chubukov's belief in his rights to Oxen Meadows.
Meaning of difficult words:
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S.No
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Words
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Meaning
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1.
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Mower | A machine used for cutting grass |
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2.
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Pettifogger | A lawyer of inferior status who conducts unimportant cases |
Reference:
National Council of Educational Research and Training (2007). The Proposal - Anton Chekov (pp. 142-161). Published at the Publication Division by the Secretary, National Council of Educational Research and Training, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi.
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