Matthew La Grange
Mrs.Ruffell
English 102-2nd Hour
21 April 2014
Anton Chekhov, Death and Disease
Anton Chekhov was a very skilled and sometimes very humourous writer. He wrote many different types of literature such as short stories, novels, and even plays. Anton Chekhov writings explore the entire range of human spirit. Chekhov, a Russian, is considered to some to be the “father of the modern short story.” Chekhov is the third child and was born on January 29, 1860, in Taganrog, Russia, which is near the Black Sea. His father, Pavel, was considered a tyrant who repeatedly terrorized him and his two older brothers, whose names were Alexander and Nicolai. Chekhov’s mother, Yevgeniya was a great storyteller and Chekhov credits her for his narritive and he also learned how to read and write from her. Chekhov was sent off to grammar school when he was eight where he proved to be an average pupil in the class, and was the class clown that plays pranks and makes up secret nicknames for the teachers. This could explain why he wrote very humourous writings. During this time in grammar school, he also wrote his first play titled “Fatherless”, which was a very long and serious play, but he destroyed it when he got older (Contemperary Authors).
One of the first major incidents in young Chekhov’s life was in 1875, when his father’s business failed and his father was threatened to be jailed because of his unsettled debt. So his father and his two older brothers went to Moscow to find work while he stayed with his younger siblings and his mother at their home. It so happens that a local family friend, a beaurocrat, turned out to not be such a friend, and took their house from the Chekhovs. To Anton Chekhov, that was a theme that c...
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...n legends, so she just goes back to the house. Kovrin gets an urge to walk along the river and there he sees the black monk himself. The monk is like a “whirlwind” and runs past Kovrin, looks back and smiles at Kovrin slyly, and then just runs off into the distance. He returns to the house and Yegor and Tanya notice a radiant glow from Kovrin. He decides not to the tell them about the black monk for fear of them thinking that he is mentally insane.
That same night Yegor comes into the room that Kovrin is already in, and tells Kovrin that he does not want his daughter, Tanya to marry any guy, unless it is him. He encourages Kovrin to marry Tanya, and Kovrin already liked her so that just encouraged him to pursue Tanya even more. The next day Tanya and Yegor have this huge fight, and Kovrin is the mediator and makes it all well. He also sees the black monk again and
He considers his wife "of limited intelligence, narrow-minded, dowdy" (Chekhov 166). He went to school to study literature, but because his wife did not find it admirable, he now works at a bank (Callow 313). He is downcast because of his shortcomings and forced circumstances, and therefore feels shoved into looking for other options. Consequently, he cheats on his wife, a practice he began long ago, having affairs partly because his wife "loved without sincerity, with too many words" (Chekhov 168). Because of his wife, he refers to all women as the "inferior race" (Chekhov 166).
Chekhov, Anton. Letters of Anton Chekhov to His Family and Friends with Biographical Sketch, translated by Constance Garnett, Macmillan, 1920. 16 February 2007.
On September 9, 1828, their fourth son, Count Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, was born on the family’s estate of Yasnaya Polyana. The estate (also spelled as Iasnaia Poliana) was located in the province Tula, approximately one hundred miles south of the Russian capital, Moscow. At the age of two, the Tolstoy home had transformed after the death of his mother, and his father asked his distant cousin Tatyana Ergolsky to take charge of the children and act as a governess. When his father’s death eventually came at the age of nine, the legal guardianship of the five children were given to their aunt, Alexandra Osten-Saken. She was described to be a woman of great religious fervor from which the radical beliefs of Tolstoy’s wer...
Chekhov is part of a non-typical category of artists, because he did not believed in his genius, on the contrary, there are evidence that he believed that his work will not conquer time and posterity. Spectacular, just like Russia at the border between the 19th and 20th century, Chekhov was born the son of serfs in 1860 (Tsar Alexander will abolish serfdom in 1861) only to become a landlord 32 years later, and a neighbor of Prince Shakovskoi. He bought the Melikhovo estate (unconsciously imitating Tolstoy, the patriarch of Iasnaia Polyana), not far from Moscow, with 13 thousand rubles of which he has paid an advance of five thousand.
Chekhov was born in Taganrog, Russia in 1860 to a woman named Yevgeniya and a man named Pavel. His father, who shares the name of the bishop, is described as being “severe” and sometimes went as far as to chastise Chekhov and his siblings (Letters
Chekhov reminds the readers that Anna is young compared to Gurov. Chekhov’s novel states, “As he went to bed he reminded himself that only a short time ago she had been a schoolgirl, like his own daughter” (3). The images of Anna being a schoolgirl not too long ago, when Gurov has a daughter of similar age, brings the sense of abnormality between the relationship of Gurov and Anna. It’s hard to imagine such a huge difference in lovers especially in the strict culture of Russia in the late 19th century where these occasions were unthought-of. The uncomforting thought of the difference in age goes back to differ the meanings of love and romance in the novel because against all odds and differences, Anna and Gurov hide away from these obvious facts. The thought of love in this culture is between a man and woman of similar age. According to Chekhov’s novel, “He was sick of his children, sick of the bank, felt not the slightest desire to go anywhere or talk about anything” (9). Chekhov’s description of sickness reveals that Gurov has a huge moment of denial, denial of family and denial of age. This denial of age, helps Gurov cope with the oddities of their relationship, the oddities of the love they had with the characteristics of a romance. Gurov was trying to change the definition of their relationship on his own mental terms. While Gurov was trying to bring out a spontaneous, younger
In addition, Chekhov also utilizes allegory, imagery and symbolism. The Geisha, for example, serves as an a...
Tolstoy establishes his satire instantly after the death of Ivan through the cruel and selfish reactions of his friends. The death of a friend would normally conjure feelings of grief and compassion, yet for Ivan’s close associates, thoughts of their futures drowned out any thoughts of death. “So on receiving the news of Ivan Ilych's death the first thought of each of the gentlemen in ...
In every rags to riches story, the protagonist eventually must decide whether it is better to continue to associate with impoverished loved ones from the past, or whether he or she should instead abandon former relationships and enjoy all that the life of fame and fortune has to offer. Anton Chekhov gives his readers a snapshot of a young woman in such a scenario in his short story Anna Round the Neck. While this story certainly gives a glimpse of the social climate in Russia during the nineteenth century, its primary focus is the transformation of Anyuta (Anna) Leontyich from a meek, formerly impoverished newlywed into a free-spirited, self-confident noblewoman. Throughout the story, the reader is drawn to pity Anna’s situation, but at the
Fulford, Robert.“Surprised by love: Chekhov and ‘The Lady with the Dog’.” Queen’s Quarterly. n.d. Web. 17 November 2013.
Fulford, Robert.“Surprised by love: Chekhov and ‘The Lady with the Dog’.” Queen’s Quarterly. n.d. Web. 17 November 2013.
First, the characters understand that their relationship is based on future aspirations and second, they have historical relationship disappointments. This third insight into the psychology of love supports the fact that many relationships and marriages often fail because of unrealistic expectations. Psychology research SHOWS that individual expectations for relationships actually sows the seeds of discontent. People are expected to provide not only provide safety, security and support, but also facilitate personal growth and freedom. Even though they come from an older period in history, Anna and Dmitri are stereotypical people who have unhappy pasts and hopeful futures. They are thrown into an intense relationship with limited mutual understanding. Chekhov’s limited dialogue and straightforward narrative leaves plenty of cognitive room for readers to ruminate about their own experiences and how they relate to the
The plot structure in The Cherry Orchard is not as meaningful as the impact of events on the inner sensibilities of the characters. Chekhov divides his characters in The Cherry Orchard in a variety of ways so that the orchard and its sale take on different meaning for each of them. It is necessary then to examine the loss of the cherry through some of the major character; Yermolai Alexeyitch Lopakhin, Peter Trophimot, and Madame Ranevsky. When writing TCO he us...
"The Bear," which is a classic one-act play written 1900, is one of the great works of Anton Chekhov, which is very much about a widowed woman. The Bear can be regarded as a comedy since it is to give the audience entertainment and amusement. This comedy reveals the fine line between anger and passion. The theme is about a strange beginning of love between Mrs. Popov and Smirnov. It demonstrated that love changes all things it touches. Dialogue of the characters, the action of the characters, and the characters themselves shape the theme. Unbelievable actions and change in mood on the part of the characters show that love can sometimes come from an odd turn of events.
Matlaw, Ralph E. Anton Chekhov¡¦s Short Stories: Texts of the Stories Bachgrounds Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 1979.