“The Death of an Official,” analysis of Chekhov’s story, essay. "Death of an Official" main characters Why did the worms die
"The Death of an Official" is one of the early stories by the famous Russian writer Anton Chekhov. In 1886, the work was included in the collection “Motley Stories.” "Death of an Official" was written in the spirit realism, this direction spread in Russia in the second half of the 19th – 20th centuries.
Chekhov managed to combine “strict realism” with increased conventionality. At the beginning of the story we can clearly trace the features of this direction, but at the end of the work Chekhov goes beyond the scope of realism, for which mockery of death is unacceptable.
In this work, Chekhov raises the theme of the “little” man. In his work, Chekhov tries to protest the suppression of the human personality, and in the work “The Death of an Official” he clearly shows the consequences of such treatment: the subject of ridicule is a petty official who, for no particular reason, is in constant confusion.
There are only three characters in the story: an official with a telling surname Ivan Dmitrievich Chervyakov, Chervyakov’s wife and General Brizzhalov. Chekhov pays the most attention to the official, because he is the main character, the object of ridicule. The author is not interested in the other characters.
The little man in this story is both comic and pathetic. Laughter is caused by Chervyakov’s absurd insistence, and pity is generated by his zealous humiliation of himself. Once again, apologizing to the general, the official renounced his human dignity.
At the beginning of the story, the author compares two sides: a minor official and a general. From this moment on, a conflict is generated, traditional for Chekhov’s works. Because the general shouted at the visitor, Chervyakov dies - a seemingly familiar plot pattern. But there are significant shifts in the story: the general shouted at his subordinate only when the latter brought him to aggression.
Such an unexpected and comic turn of events lies precisely in the special worldview of the protagonist. And Chervyakov died not from fright at all, but from the fact that a man of high rank violated his sacred principles.
The master of the small genre could not change his style this time either. Chekhov's brevity is simply amazing. His short works often contain deep meaning, and it can only be understood through artistic details that are designed to convey the main idea to the reader. In this story, the presence of the author is not felt; Chekhov distances himself from the heroes. This technique helps describe actions even more objectively.
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A.P. Chekhov’s story “The Death of an Official” is one of the writer’s early works, which was included in the collection “Motley Stories” in 1886. It was written in the spirit of artistic realism. This trend in literature in Russia developed in the second half of the 19th century. At the end of the work, the writer goes beyond its scope, since he considered ridicule of death unacceptable.
Chekhov, “The Death of an Official”: summary, analysis
The theme of the “little” person - the official, who is often in constant uncertainty and confusion for no reason, is brought to the fore here. This is exactly how the author protests against any suppression of the individual. The summary of Chekhov's story “The Death of an Official” very clearly reflects all the consequences of such treatment.
Heroes
There are only three characters in the story. This is a low-ranking official, Ivan Dmitrievich Chervyakov, his wife and General Brizzhalov. The main focus of the work is on the official who has become the object of ridicule. But the character of the remaining characters is left undisclosed by A.P. Chekhov. “The Death of an Official” (summary) describes Chervyakov as a small, pitiful and comical person. His stupid and absurd persistence evokes genuine laughter, and his humiliation generates pity. In his persistent apologies to the general, he goes beyond all limits and renounces his human dignity.
Opposition
Analyzing the topic “Chekhov, “Death of an Official”: summary, analysis,” it should be noted that the author contrasts two personalities in the plot. This is the boss and the subordinate.
It is with the conflict that A.P. Chekhov begins his story “The Death of an Official.” The summary shows its traditional development: General Brizzhalov eventually shouted at his subordinate, because of this Chervyakov dies of cardiac arrest. It would seem like a familiar plot pattern. However, the work contains the presence of certain innovative techniques, because the general shouted at his subordinate only after he himself brought him down with his annoying apologies.
A comic and somewhat unexpected turn of events lies in the worldview of the official Chervyakov, who died not at all because of fear, but because the general, as a man of high rank, violated his “sacred principles.”
Chekhov has not changed his style; his brevity is amazing. His works always contain a deep meaning, which can only be understood through artistic details.
Summary of the story “The Death of an Official”, Chekhov
Now, in fact, we can proceed to the plot of the work itself. Petty official Ivan Dmitrievich Chervyakov, acting as the caretaker of the institution, sits in the second row, looks through binoculars and enjoys the operetta of the French composer Plunkett “The Bells of Corneville”. Then his face wrinkled, his eyes rolled up, his breath caught, he bent over and sneezed. Chervyakov was a very polite man, he wiped himself with a handkerchief and looked around to see if he had hurt anyone with his sneeze. And suddenly I discovered that the old man sitting in front was wiping his bald spot with a handkerchief and muttering something. Taking a closer look, Ivan Dmitrievich saw that it was none other than State General Brizzhalov. This makes him feel sick. He awkwardly pulled himself up to him and began to whisper words of apology in his ear.
Trifles
Chekhov continues “The Death of an Official” (we present a summary of the work in the review) with the fact that the general replied that, in general, nothing terrible happened. But he continued to apologize further, then the general asked to let him calmly listen to the rest of the operetta. But the official did not let up and even during the intermission approached the general and began to ask for forgiveness, to which he replied that he had long forgotten about it.
But now it seemed to Chervyakov that the general was being sarcastic and probably thought that he wanted to spit at him. The official came home and told his wife about what had happened; she was frightened and said that her husband had taken this too lightly, that she needed to go to a reception with the general and ask for forgiveness again.
The next day, dressed in a new uniform, he goes to the general. Which turned out to have a lot of visitors in the reception area. After interviewing several visitors, the general saw Chervyakov, who again began with his ridiculous apologies for what happened yesterday. Brizzhalov answered with dignity: “Yes, that’s enough! What nonsense!
Apologies
But Chervyakov did not stop and even suggested writing an explanatory letter. And then the general could not stand it and shouted at him, believing that he was simply mocking him. However, Chervyakov muttered in bewilderment that he was not laughing at all.
In general, when he came home, he thought about it and decided to go to the general again tomorrow. The next day, Brizzhalov simply could not stand it and yelled at him: “Get out!”
This is how Chekhov ends “The Death of an Official.” The summary at the end tells that Chervyakov felt ill, he backed towards the door and mechanically trudged home. Returning to the apartment, he lay down on the sofa in his uniform and died.
The history of the creation of Chekhov's work "The Death of an Official"
“...An amazing mind flashed and disappeared in Russian literature, because only very smart people can invent and tell a good absurdity, a good joke, those whose mind “shimmers through all the veins,” IA Bunin wrote about Chekhov’s talent. L.N. Tolstoy said about him: “Chekhov is Pushkin in prose.” These words meant the strongest artistic impression left by Chekhov’s prose, which was surprising in its brevity and simplicity.
According to Chekhov’s memoirs, the plot of the story “Death of an Official” was told to Anton Pavlovich by Begichev. It was simple: some man, who carelessly sneezed in the theater, came to a stranger the next day and began to apologize for causing him trouble in the theater. Funny anecdotal incident.
“The Death of an Official” refers to the so-called early stories of the writer. Published in 1883 with the subtitle “The Case.” “The Death of an Official,” like other stories of the writer, were included by the author in the 1886 collection “Motley Stories.” All these works reveal the theme of the “little man”.
Type, genre, creative method of the analyzed work
Before A.P. came to Russian literature. Chekhov believed that the small epic form is a “splinter” of the large (novel) form: “a chapter torn from a novel,” as V.G. Belinsky about the story. The differences between a novel and a story (as the story was called) were determined only by the number of pages. Chekhov, according to L.N. Tolstoy, “created new, completely new... forms of writing for the whole world...”.
The story “The Death of an Official” is written in the “sketch” genre. This is a short humorous story, a painting from life, the comedy of which consists in conveying the conversation of the characters. Chekhov raised the skit to the level of great literature. The main thing in the scene is the speech of the characters, which is believably everyday and funny at the same time. The title and the telling names of the characters play an important role.
Thus, the problem of the story “The Death of an Official” is stated in the title itself, which represents a combination of opposing concepts. An official is an official, wearing a uniform buttoned up with all the buttons (this also applies to his feelings); he is, as it were, deprived of the living movements of the soul, and suddenly - death, although sad, is still a purely human property, which is contraindicated for an official, such is the image he has about him. Chekhov's work, one can assume in advance, is a story not about the disappearance of human individuality, but about the cessation of the functioning of an official, a kind of soulless mechanism. In the story, it is not so much the person who dies, but his outer shell.
The story as a whole is written within the framework of critical realism. However, in the second half of the story, Chervyakov’s behavior goes beyond the limits of everyday plausibility: he is too cowardly, too annoying, this does not happen in life. In the end, Chekhov is completely sharp and open. With this “death” he takes the story beyond the scope of everyday realism. Therefore, this story is felt as quite humorous: death is perceived as frivolity, a convention, a revelation of a technique, a move. The writer laughs, plays, and does not take the word “death” seriously. In the clash of laughter and death, laughter triumphs. It determines the overall tone of the work. So Chekhov’s funny turns into accusatory.
Subjects
Rethinking the traditional theme of the “little man”, coming from Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev and early Dostoevsky, Chekhov at the same time continues and develops the humanistic pathos of this direction in new conditions. Like Pushkin’s “The Station Agent,” Gogol’s “The Overcoat,” and Dostoevsky’s “Poor People,” Chekhov’s works are full of protest against the suppression and distortion of the human personality, which in new historical conditions is even more merciless and sophisticated. At the same time, the story portrays the subject of ridicule as a petty official who acts meanly and grovels when no one forces him.
The idea of the analyzed work
In Chekhov's story, the center of a story is usually not a character or an idea, but a situation—an unusual incident, an anecdote. Moreover, the case is far from accidental - it highlights certain patterns of life, the essence of character. Chekhov had a genius gift for noticing in reality such situations in which characters would be revealed not just to the maximum, but with exhaustive completeness, both as social and ethical types, and as people with a psychology and manner of behavior peculiar only to them.
In the story “The Death of an Official,” the writer showed how a petty official, Chervyakov, being in a humiliated position, not only does not strive to get out of it, but he himself proclaims slavish behavior, which became the subject of ridicule in the story. Chekhov stood up for high moral ideals.
Main characters
Analysis of the work shows that there are two main characters in the story. One of them is a general who plays a secondary role and only reacts to the actions of the hero. The general is deprived of a name and patronymic, and this is natural, because we see him through the eyes of Chervyakov, and he sees only the uniform (this word is often repeated in the text) of an important person. We don’t learn anything significant about the general, but it is obvious that he, also in violation of tradition, is more humane than the “humiliated and insulted” Chervyakov. One thing is clear: the characters in the story speak different languages, they have different logic and understanding - dialogue between them is impossible.
The second character, the official Chervyakov, is the object of ridicule in the story. Traditionally in Russian literature it was a “small”, poor, “humiliated and insulted” person who evoked sympathy from the reader. Chekhov, with his ineradicable sense of freedom, sought to overcome this cliche. He wrote to his brother Alexander in 1885 (after the creation of the story “The Death of an Official”) about “little” people: “Give me your oppressed collegiate registrars! Can’t you just smell that this topic has already become obsolete and is making you yawn? And where in Asia do you find the torment that the chinoshi experience in your stories? Truly I tell you, it’s scary to even read! It is now more realistic to portray collegiate registrars who do not allow their excellencies to live.” The little man Chervyakov here is both funny and pitiful at the same time: ridiculous because of his absurd persistence, pathetic because he humiliates himself, renouncing his own human personality, human dignity.
Plot and composition of the work
In Chekhov's story, one of the participants in the events turns out to be a minor official, the other - a general. The official's surname - Chervyakov - speaks for itself, emphasizing the humiliation of the executor Ivan Dmitrievich (the official in charge of economic affairs and supervision of external order in the office). This initial situation gives rise to traditional conflict. The general barked at the small, defenseless, dependent man - and killed him. In Chekhov, the general actually shouted at the official, as a result of which: “Something came off in Chervyakov’s stomach. Seeing nothing, hearing nothing, he backed away to the door, went out into the street and trudged... Arriving automatically home, without taking off his uniform, he lay down on the sofa and... died.”
Thus, a seemingly familiar plot scheme appears. However, significant changes are also taking place. To begin with, the general barked at his visitor only when he drove him with more and more visits, more and more new explanations, and all on the same topic, to the point of complete exhaustion, and then to frenzy.
He doesn’t look like a pathetic, dependent person or official. After all, he bothers the general with his apologies not because he depends on him. Not at all. He apologizes, so to speak, for reasons of principle, believing that respect for persons is the sacred basis of social existence, and he is deeply discouraged that his apology is not accepted. When the general once again waved him off, remarking: “You’re just laughing, sir!..” - Chervyakov became seriously angry. “What kind of ridicule is there? - thought Chervyakov. - There is no ridicule here at all! General, he can’t understand!” Thus, Chervyakov is fundamentally different from his previous literary colleagues. Chervyakov’s worldview contains an unexpected, comic twist on the traditional theme and plot scheme. It turns out that Chervyakov does not die from fright at all. The drama of man is that he could not stand the trampling of principles that were sacred to him, and not by anyone, but by an illustrious person, a general. Chervyakov could not bear this. Thus, under Chekhov’s pen, a harmless anecdote develops into a satire on prevailing morals and customs.
Artistic originality of the analyzed work
In the history of Russian literature A.P. Chekhov entered as a master of the small genre. The name of the writer is associated with the formation of a satirical story, the defining features of which were laconicism and aphorism.
The title itself, “The Death of an Official,” contains the main idea of the work: the opposition of rank and man, the unity of the comic and the tragic. The content of the story makes a strong artistic impression due to its brevity and simplicity. It is known that Chekhov adhered to the idea: “to write with talent, that is, briefly.” The small volume of the work and its extreme brevity determine the special dynamism of the story. This special dynamism is contained in verbs and their forms. It is through verbal vocabulary that the plot develops, and the characteristics of the characters are also given; although, of course, the writer also uses other artistic techniques.
In the story, the characters have telling surnames: Chervyakov and Brizzhalov. The official Chervyakov serves as an executor. The meaning of this word is discussed above. The second meaning of this word (it is marked in dictionaries as obsolete) is the following: executor - the one who carried out the execution, that is, punishment, or supervised it. Today this meaning is perceived as the main one, since the previous one (junior official in the office) has already been forgotten. The phrase executor Chervyakov was also chosen on the principle of comic contrast, characteristic of Chekhov: executor (that is, carrying out punishment) and suddenly a funny surname... Chervyakov.
According to the writer, a literary work “should give not only a thought, but also a sound... a sound impression.” In the story, this is literally a sound impression - “But suddenly his face wrinkled, his eyes rolled up, his breathing stopped... he took the binoculars away from his eyes, bent down and... apchhi!!! He sneezed, as you can see” - causes a comic effect.
In a short story, lengthy descriptions and internal monologues are impossible, which is why artistic detail comes to the fore. It is the details that carry a huge semantic load in Chekhov. Literally one phrase can say everything about a person. In the last sentence of the story “The Death of an Official,” the author practically explains everything: the official, “coming home mechanically, without taking off his uniform, he lay down on the sofa and... died.” The uniform, this official uniform, seemed to have grown on him. Fear of a higher rank killed a man.
In the story “Death of an Official,” the author’s position is not clearly expressed. One gets the impression of Chekhov's objectivity and indifference to what is happening. The narrator does not evaluate the hero's actions. He ridicules them, leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions.
Meaning of the work
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is one of the greatest Russian classical writers. He is known as a master of realistic storytelling. The writer himself said this: “Fiction is called fiction because it depicts life as it really is.” The truth of life attracted him above all. The main theme of Chekhov's work (like Tolstoy and Dostoevsky) was the inner world of man. But the artistic methods and artistic techniques that writers used in their work are different. Chekhov is rightfully considered a master of the short story and miniature novella. Over many years of work in humorous magazines, Chekhov honed his skill as a storyteller, and learned to fit maximum content into a small volume.
After the story “The Death of an Official” appeared, many critics said that Chekhov had composed some kind of absurd story that had nothing to do with life. The situation, indeed, is brought to the point of absurdity by the writer, but this is precisely what allows us to better see the absurdities of life itself, in which servility, veneration, deification of superiors and panic fear of them reign. According to M.P. Chekhov, the writer's brother, an actual incident similar to the one described occurred at the Bolshoi Theater, but it is unclear whether it was known to Chekhov. Another thing is known: in January 1882, Chekhov received a letter from his Taganrog acquaintance A.V. Petrov, which said: “On the eve of Christmas... our postmaster (a famous monster and pedant) threatened one official (senior sorter KD. Shchetinsky) to put him on trial, it seems, for violation of discipline, in a word, for personal insult; and he foolishly, after trying to ask for forgiveness, left the office and in the city garden... a few hours before Matins and hanged himself...” In other words, Chekhov managed to recreate a typical, albeit absurd, situation.
“Russian critics wrote that neither Chekhov’s style, nor his choice of words, nor anything else testifies to the special literary care with which Gogol, Flaubert or Henry James were obsessed. His vocabulary is poor, his combinations of words are banal; a juicy verb, a hothouse adjective, a mint-creamy epithet, brought on a silver tray - all this is alien to him. He was not a verbal virtuoso like Gogol; his Muse was dressed in casual dress. Therefore, it is good to cite Chekhov as an example of the fact that one can be an impeccable artist without the exceptional brilliance of verbal technique, without exceptional concern for the graceful curves of sentences. When Turgenev begins to talk about the landscape, one can see how concerned he is with smoothing the trouser folds of his phrase; crossing his legs, he sneaks a glance at the color of his socks. Chekhov doesn’t care about this - not because these details don’t matter, for writers of a certain type they are natural and very important - but Chekhov doesn’t care because by his nature he was alien to any kind of verbal ingenuity. Even a slight grammatical error or a newspaper stamp did not bother him at all. The magic of his art is that, despite his tolerance for mistakes that a brilliant beginner could easily avoid, despite his readiness to be content with the first word he came across, Chekhov was able to convey a sense of beauty completely inaccessible to many writers who believed that they knew for certain what such luxurious, lush prose. He achieves this by illuminating all the words with the same dim light, giving them the same gray tint - midway between the color of a dilapidated hedge and an overhanging cloud. The variety of intonations, the flickering of charming irony, the truly artistic sparingness of characteristics, the colorfulness of details, the fading of human life - all these purely Chekhovian features are flooded and surrounded by a rainbow-vague verbal haze” (V.V. Nabokov).
This is interesting
It is difficult to find in the works of A.P. Chekhov's work, which would not have been filmed or staged on the theater stage. The filmography of Chekhov's books begins its report from the times of silent films. The name of the famous director Yakov Protazanov (1881-1945) is associated with the production of the first feature films based on Chekhov's stories. It was the so-called Chekhov film almanac. The release of the Chekhov film almanac was timed to coincide with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the death of the great artist of words.
A.P. Chekhov was one of the director’s favorite writers, and Protazanov willingly took on the film adaptation of his stories. We settled on three small short stories: “Chameleon”, “Death of an Official” and “Anna on the Neck”, built on acute plot situations and, despite all genre differences, united by the unity of ideological and thematic content: a protest against the moral ugliness generated by veneration, sycophancy, sycophancy. This content prompted the name of the almanac - “Ranks and People” (1929).
While working on film scripts, Protazanov and O. Leonidov were aware that in silent films it was impossible to achieve an adequate translation of the figurative structure and intonation of Chekhov’s works into the language of the screen. Therefore, in some places they had to make changes to the fabric of the stories: some of the dialogue was replaced by action; the genre nature of “The Death of an Official” underwent transformation (from a humorous short story turning into a tragicomic grotesque); The emphasis in the plot “Anna on the Neck” has been moved. But Chekhov’s inner truth and the main images and characters of the stories being filmed were preserved.
For the main roles, Protazanov attracted first-class actors, just like him, who were in love with Chekhov’s work: I. Moskvina (Chervyakov in “The Death of an Official” and Ochumelov in “Chameleon”), M. Tarkhanov (Modest Alekseevich in “Anna on the Neck”) , V. Popov (Khryukin - in “Chameleon”), N. Stanitsyn and A. Petrovsky (Artynov and the governor in “Anna on the Neck”).
Wonderful literary material and an excellent cast made it possible for Protazanov to create an interesting, unusual film work that recreated the imaginative world of Chekhov's masterpieces.
(Based on the book by N. Lebedev “Essays on the history of cinema of the USSR. Silent cinema”)
Kuleshov V.I. Life and work of A.P. Chekhov. - M., 1982.
Lebedev ON Essays on the history of cinema of the USSR. Silent movie. - M.: Art, 196 5.
Nabokov V.V. Lectures on Russian literature. - M.: Publishing House Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 1998.
Sukhikh I.N. Problems of poetics A.P. Chekhov. - L.: Leningrad State University Publishing House, 1987.
Chudakov AL. A.P. Chekhov: a book for students. - M.: Education, 1987.
Chudakov AL. Chekhov's poetics. - M.: Nauka, 1971.
In Russian literature, Chekhov is considered “Pushkin in prose”, thanks to his scale and unsurpassed artistic style. In Chekhov's story “The Death of an Official” the theme of the “little man” is revealed, but not in the same way as in Gogol or Pushkin. In the work “Death of an Official”, the analysis provides an introduction to the history of creation, issues, features of the genre and composition - all this is in our article. It will be useful for 9th grade students when studying Chekhov’s work in literature lessons.
Brief Analysis
Subject– the theme of the little man, self-abasement and ceremonial worship.
Composition- clear, characteristic of the genre of the story. The personality of the narrator is visible, bringing assessment and emotional coloring to what is happening.
Genre- story. Chekhov's story is similar to the form of a “sketch,” which is why his works are especially good when staged in theaters and filmed.
Direction- realism characteristic of the second half of the 19th century.
History of creation
There are several versions of the creation of the story “Death of an Official”. One of them says that the story happened in reality, at the Bolshoi Theater, which the author learned about from the manager of the imperial theaters.
According to another version, the source of inspiration for Chekhov was Alexey Zhemchuzhnikov, a famous humorist and lover of practical jokes. There were rumors that the joker deliberately stepped on the foot of one high-ranking official, and then harassed him with apologies and courtesy calls.
The third version of the appearance of Chekhov’s plot: an incident that occurred in Taganrog (the writer’s homeland) in 1882. A certain postal worker tried to apologize after a conflict with his superiors, but he was not accepted or understood. In despair, the employee committed suicide. Be that as it may, Chekhov’s artistically rethought plot was embodied in a brilliant story, written in less than two days. The work was first published in 1883 in the magazine “Oskolki” under the pseudonym A. Chekhonte.
Subject
In Chekhov's story “The Death of an Official”, subject a small person, a servile consciousness, a derogatory attitude towards oneself in the face of higher ranks.
Story idea is to see in oneself a symptom of veneration of rank and destroy it in the bud - it is for this that Chekhov exaggerates many important details in the narrative and uses irony with the grotesque. The problems of society contemporary to the author came to light, acutely and topically, in a short story genre.
The conflict between Chervyakov and General Brizzhalov is character's conflict with himself. The meaning of his actions is unclear and inexplicable for a morally “healthy” person. Problems of the story is caused by a disease of society - the habit of groveling before those who occupy a higher position in society, which is quite relevant in our time.
Chervyakov and Brizzhalov - opposite heroes: it was the general who was supposed to become a negative character, but in Chekhov they swapped roles. The general is an extremely positive, adequate character, and the junior rank is cowardly, unsure of himself, annoying, inconsistent and, to say the least, strange in his actions and aspirations. The main idea of the work is the loss of moral foundations, the ideals on which a “healthy” personality rests.
Composition
The comic and tragic merged into one, thanks to the skillfully selected artistic means in Chekhov's story. Analysis of the work allows us to conclude that its composition is traditional for the small genre. This is indicated by the narrator’s monologue, which adds its own note to the perception of what is happening.
The personality of the narrator sometimes emerges quite clearly with comments and an emotional assessment of events. In the structure of the story, it is easy to highlight the plot, climax and other components of the plot. It is dynamic and bright, thanks to Chekhov's laconicism and precision. Every word (characters' surnames, description of appearance), every sound, every phrase is precise and verified - they serve a single purpose in Chekhov's work. A master of situational sketches, he skillfully presents content within the framework of a traditional composition. Perhaps this is why almost all of Chekhov’s works have been filmed, staged in theaters and have great success with audiences.
Main characters
Genre
Chekhov reached unprecedented heights in the short story genre. A peculiarity of his story can be considered its similarity to a sketch. The author gives an original picture of the event, as if observing what was happening from the outside. The short story genre before Chekhov was a nondescript small-scale epic form, which was considered a fragment of a novel or story. It was thanks to Anton Pavlovich that this genre gained popularity, fame and full embodiment in literature.
Work test
Rating Analysis
Average rating: 4.1. Total ratings received: 183.
In 1883, a story by the unforgettable writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, “The Death of an Official,” was published in a well-known magazine called “Oskolki,” which made a proper impression on readers. The work was released under the pseudonym A. Chekhonte.
The surprising thing is that the plot was suggested to Chekhov by his comrade Anton Begichev, thanks to whom the writer managed to write an amazing story that touches the soul.
The work has its own genre: “sketch”, where the main character is a certain official, whose name is Ivan Chervyakov, who accidentally sprayed General Brizzhalov by sneezing in his direction. The hero, after everything that happened, torments himself for what he did, cannot find a place for himself, cannot calm down, he constantly apologizes to the general in the hope that he will have mercy and forgive, but he does not care about this. He forgot Chervyakov a long time ago, and he is still tormented in his soul, he is not at ease. As a result, Anton Pavlovich in his story raises an important problem: the “little man” facing society.
Chekhov clearly shows readers that he is protesting against a person losing his dignity and suppressing his personality. This is not acceptable for a writer. And Chervyakov is just such a hero who kills himself with his absurd persistence. It evokes both laughter and pity. Every time, apologizing to Brizzhalov, the character does nothing but lower his level. And what? Ivan Chervyakov dies at the end of the work not because of fright, when the general, whose nerves lost his nerve, shouted at him, no, he died from the general’s violation of the hero’s principles. This is a very tragic work that makes you think about your life and learn the necessary lessons.
The story is filled with many important details that play their role. The work is centered on an unusual incident, not a character or an idea. As a result, Chekhov depicts this or that circumstance, thanks to which the character of the hero is revealed.
Thus, the title of Chekhov’s story contains a deep problem: the confrontation between man and rank. Many questions arise after reading the work, because it is Anton Pavlovich who amazes with his talent: the mysterious writing of short stories. The main theme of the work is, undoubtedly, the inner world of man. The writer attaches very special importance to this. Chekhov is a master of his craft. Its brevity is unusual, unpredictable. So his stories are relevant and popular not only among the older generation, but also among the younger generation. Therefore, it is worth turning to the writer’s work in order to understand life itself, and its laws.
More details
Characters
The main character is Chervyakov. His surname is telling, it shows his insignificance, his wretched position. He works as an executor, that is, he carries out various types of punishments for people, and is a minor official. As small as a worm.
The second character is old man Bruzzhalov. He is a general, a respected person, and occupies an honorable place in society.
Developments
During a performance in the theater, Chervyakov sneezed and sprayed the general sitting in front of him. Now he is trying to beg for forgiveness, despite the fact that Bryuzzhalov has repeatedly tried to get rid of him: “Nothing, nothing...”, “Oh, completeness... I already forgot, but you’re still talking about the same thing!”
Reasons for Chervyakov’s behavior
This story clearly shows the slavish essence of a man who made himself a slave. He bound himself with chains. Chervyakov needs to humiliate himself, needs to beg and beg. He does not at all understand such simple words from Bryuzzhalov; it seems to him that he must suffer, must endure, must suffer. It doesn’t occur to Chervyakov that there is no need to beg for forgiveness. The general and the official seem to speak different languages, and this is partly true, because Chervyakov is a typical slave.
What makes him be like this? Lack of independence. People with a slave psychology cannot live without someone's protection, since their happiness depends on other people. Moreover, they invent this dependence for themselves; no one holds them or forces them to behave this way.
Chekhov's attitude
The reader may notice that despite the title of the story, “The Death of an Official,” Chekhov devotes only one word to the death itself at the very end of the work. By this, the author emphasizes the comical nature of what is happening. How absurdly Chervyakov behaves, trying to defend his worthless position in society.
Message and main idea
Chekhov wants to show that under no circumstances should one behave in this way, and that every effort must be made to get rid of the “slave psychology.” You always need to have your own opinion, soberly assess the situation, and most importantly, be able to hear and realize your mistakes.
Analysis 3
The work in an exaggerated form shows the morals of Russian officials during Chekhov’s life. The image of the main character also shows one of the timeless human shortcomings - servility to the powerful, mixed with cowardice.
Executor Chervyakov (a mid-level official) accidentally sneezed on civil general Brizzhalov in the theater. This incident caused horror to the lower official. He began to apologize, preventing the general from watching the performance, then continued to do so in the foyer. Afterwards he bothered Brizzhalov with this in his service.
The author's satire is not aimed at criticizing the Russian autocracy, the order that gives superiors absolute power over those who are lower. Chekhov shows the civil general as an ordinary sane, polite and even patient person. From the very beginning he forgave and was ready to forget this minor incident. Brizzhalov abruptly kicked out the annoying, servile penitent only after he had really pissed him off, like any other person who did not have angelic humility.
In addition, it is emphasized that the civil general was not Chervyakov’s immediate superior, since he even served in another department. This moment is also skillfully used by the author in the episode when Chervyakov’s wife, who at first was also very frightened for her husband’s career, upon learning of this fact, calms down. Here we show another version of veneration. Chekhov reminds readers that even sane people can suffer from servility.
It is also significant that the main character does not imagine in detail the consequences of what happened. He does not begin to analyze, does not begin to look for workarounds, for possible other duty stations, if it does come to dismissal. Chervyakov, seeing the failure of his attempts to obtain forgiveness (although the general told him about this), wants to write a letter, but again does not take even such a simple step.
His fear is irrational. He is afraid of his superiors not only because he had to work with people who have power over him. In the end, the army, the civil service, and even business are always built on a hierarchical principle. However, not all people who find themselves in these areas have become cowardly slaves.
The cause of the official's death, which came from strong emotions after he was kicked out by a civil general, was his own spiritual qualities. His natural cowardice found a breeding ground in the order of the Russian bureaucracy.
