Mandarin Oranges by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. Short summary

5 seconds

A country girl, leaving for work, threw many bright, beautiful tangerines to her brothers from the train window. And it really impressed the passenger on the train.

1 minute

A tired 2nd class passenger is riding alone on the train. A country girl walks in, rude, ugly, in dirty clothes. He is annoyed by everything around him and in her. He is especially uncomfortable with the fact that she entered the wrong carriage, as she is holding a cheaper ticket.

He tries to ignore her and reads the newspaper. But even in it all the notes are gray and dull. Outside the window are lopsided villages and miserable landscapes. For him, the girl becomes the embodiment of the reality of life — boring human life.

Before the tunnel, the child opens the window and suffocating smoke rushes into the carriage. The passenger wants to make a rude remark to her, but suddenly sees three village boys outside the window. They shout greetings, and the girl tosses them from a bundle of bright, beautiful tangerines.

And this vivid moment seems to awaken the author from his despondency. He looks with different eyes at the teenager, who, going far away, did not forget to please his brothers.