Chekhov's Vanka - The Pathos of Vanka
Immediately following Chekhov's death, the Russian philosopher Shestov (1866-1938) wrote an essay entitled "Creation from the Void," in which he stated, "Chekhov was a singer of hopelessness . . . Chekhov did only one thing: In one way or another he smashed human hopes." Anton Chekhov's "Vanka" accomplishes that quite thoroughly. Vanka, the only active character, believes himself beset on all sides by his bleak world and relies on his own innocence and naiveté to shield him. The basic premise of the story centers around the boy, including his futile epistolary plea for release to his questionable grandfather, while the author stresses the dangers of the boy's reliance on his innocence. The author's exploitation of Vanka's innocence and naiveté challenges the sentimentality of Chekhov's "Vanka."
Vanka assumes his grandfather, the lively Konstantin Makaritch, will lovingly bear him from his bleak existence upon receiving the letter, but upon closer inspection his grandfather is an unfit and unlikely savior. There are two separate aspects to "Vanka." The boy either concentrates on the drafting of his letter or loses himself in the memory of his grandfather. However, the boy's fond recollections contain evidence of his grandfather's disturbing character traits. In one instance, Vanka recalls his "laughing face and drunken eyes" (47). This fond remembrance alludes to a perpetual state of alcohol-induced befuddlement. His grandfather, a probable drinker, was also probably a womanizer, as Vanka imagines him "pinching first the housemaid, then the cook" (47). Thus, the author establishes the grandfather as unfit to care for Vanka. To discredit the grandfather further, the author uses rel...
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...easing the pathos of the story, this final joke acts as a heart-hardener, transforming dejected despondency into caustic hilarity.
The degree of exploitation of Vanka's innocence in Chekhov's tale alters the tone of the story. The growing sentimentality for Vanka and his grandfather extinguishes itself, replaced by empty mirth. Though first a tale of mawkish sentimentality, the author utilizes Vanka's naiveté to debunk the grandfather, then ends "Vanka" with an ironic, twisting joke, similar to that of Maupassant's "The Necklace."
Works Cited
Chekhov, Anton. "Vanka" Understanding Fiction. 3rd ed. Eds. Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1979. 46-50
de Maupassant, Guy. "The Necklace" Understanding Fiction. 3rd ed. Eds. Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1979. 66-72
Boris Pasternak creates a tone for a life turned upside down and filled with instability in Doctor Zhivago analogous to the tone felt by Russian people during the revolution. Yuri, a main char...
The so-called Utopia – the quasi-perfect society – flourishes in Margaret Cavendish’s “The Description of a New World, Called a Blazing World” and Sir Thomas More’s Utopia. While the former is a dreamlike account of fantasy rule and the latter a pseudo-realistic travelogue, both works paint a picture of worlds that are not so perfect after all. These imperfections glitter like false gemstones in the paths of these Utopians’ religious beliefs, political systems, and philosophical viewpoints.
Booth, Alison, and Kelly Mays, eds. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th ed. New York: Norton, 2010.
In Utopia Land is bountiful, foes are afar, and the economy is always seemly predictable. This fairy tale of a political philosophy and economic theory is sought after by the idealist and seen as a naive attempt the better society by the realist. This work requires an imagination, an ability to suspend disbelief for interpretation and application. More wrote this work as satire, upset with the current political conditions of Europe and and reviewing these ideals just as so; however, with more realistic applications with the time of conception and tomorrow on distant planets.
One of the various issues that has been an essential part of ethical and legal debate, over the history leaders tried to make Utopia. Every story ends for a reason and death brings an end to an each individual's dreams. Although the short story "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, aims at presenting an evidently best and perfect world, the anxiety of freedom is abandoned. Basically, the point of Utopia is that it's an impression of 'ideal worlds'. What I believe, the right name ‘Utopia’ itself means "No-place" in this world. Even if we have perfect world; there is always one person who feels that there is something is missing. We are human we are born naturally with imperfection. I believe we are imperfect, utopia is non-existed land and author proves in his work. God has made everything for purpose we cannot do what we want because God has given brains to humans, which makes them unique which leads to think different, act and react different.
Kennedy, X J., and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Sixth ed. New York: Harper Collins College Publishers, 1995. Print.
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Literature: an Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. Print.
Each person has their own vision of utopia. Utopia means an ideal state, a paradise, a land of enchantment. It has been a central part of the history of ideas in Western Civilization. Philosophers and writers continue to imagine and conceive plans for an ideal state even today. They use models of ideal government to express their ideas on contemporary issues and political conditions. Man has never of comparing the real and ideal, actuality and dream, and the stark facts of human condition and hypothetical versions of optimum life and government.
Utopia (Latin: no-place) is a society of great planning and capability. A community where individuals compromised their rights for the good of the collective and focused on a communal goal. These ideals of an infinitely capable and cooperative. Utopic society have captured the imagination of the greatest minds throughout the centuries. One may find the origin of Utopian thoughts in the Republic and Law conceived by Plato and in The Nicomachean Ethics and Politics created by Aristotle. The two individuals are the founding fathers of western philosophy, and their works are the basis of the western political science. Despite the thoughts on a planned society that preceded More in the field of Utopic philosophy, the first complete Utopia was credited to More and it became the pinnacle of Renaissance humanist thought. In the book, Utopia, More employed the fictional character Ralpheal Hythloday to bring a practical Utopia to the readers. The travelogue of the Island of Utopia from Hythloday would act as the model of many Eutopias (Latin: happy-place) and dystopias (Latin: opposite-place) created from a variety of interpretations by authors such as Karl Marx, revolutionist, and H.G We...
In the second part of this essay expanding upon my reading of nineteenth century Russian authors, the short stories of Anton Chekhov, “The Lady with the White Dog” and the “Medical Case” will be compared. These two great authors’ whose stylistic qualities often create problems in interpretation for non-Russian speaking readers like me that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed.
de Maupassant, Guy. "The Necklace." Understanding Fiction. 3rd ed. Eds. Clanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hill, 1979. 66-72
While the idea of the word utopia is universal, the actual stories that derive from that idea can be very different in nature. The outcome, or even the basis of the story, relies completely upon the authors, or readers view of a prefect society. This is how progress is made, through ideas and thoughts of revolutionary writers in stories we have come to call "utopian."
"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.
Mays, Kelly J. “The Norton Introduction to Literature.” New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. Book. 592-638. October 27, 2013.
The story “The Darling” by Anton Chekhov, illustrates a woman that is lonely, insecure, and lacking wholeness of oneself without a man in her life. This woman, Olenka, nicknamed “Darling” is compassionate, gentle and sentimental. Olenka is portrayed for being conventional, a woman who is reliant, diligent, and idea less. Although, this story portrays that this woman, known as the Darling needs some sort of male to be emotionally dependant upon, it is as if she is a black widow, she is able to win affection, but without respect. Only able to find happiness through the refection of the beliefs of her lovers, she never evolves within the story.