The death of an official - analysis of the work. Can the general be blamed for the death of Chervyakov? Death of an Official Trend in Literature

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.

"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 rest of the characters.

The little man in this story is both comic and pathetic. Laughter is caused by Chervyakov’s absurd persistence, 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 changes 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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One of the early stories by A.P. Chekhov's “The Death of an Official” was published in 1883, when a little-known writer under the pseudonym “Antosha Chekhonte” was published in humorous magazines, publishing dozens of short funny stories that enjoyed constant success among readers.

The background of the story is as follows. Once, a good friend of Anton Pavlovich’s family, writer and manager of Moscow theaters, Vladimir Petrovich Begichev, told a funny story about how one person sneezed on another in the theater during a performance. Moreover, this fact excited him so much that the next day he came to ask for forgiveness for yesterday’s embarrassment. They laughed at the story and forgot about it. But not Anton Pavlovich. Even then, in his imagination, the image of Ivan Dmitrievich Chervyakov in a tightly closed uniform and General Brizzhalov was born. The result of the story told was the short story “The Death of an Official” that appeared on the pages of the magazine “Oskolki” with the subtitle “Case”.

Story Analysis

The work was written in the spirit of realism, which became widespread in Russia in the second half of the 19th century. The story was included in the collection “Motley Stories”. The writer combined realism with convention here. This is clearly visible at the beginning of the work and at its end, when mockery of death is inappropriate.

The ideological content of the story is the theme of the little man, a protest against self-suppression and self-abasement of the individual. Ivan Dmitrievich Chervyakov is the younger brother of the “Station Warden” Samson Vyrin. Always humiliated and confused for no particular reason. In his story, Chekhov literally knocks on the reader’s mind, urging him to squeeze out of himself “a slave drop by drop.”

Plot

The plot of the plot might seem completely devoid of any significance, if not for its further development and a completely unexpected ending. While in the theater, official Ivan Dmitrievich Chervyakov sneezed on the bald head of the general sitting in front and, as it seemed to him, displeased him.

Having apologized once, he was not satisfied with this and began to literally persecute the general with his apologies. It seemed to him that he was not satisfied with his apology. The general, at first, quite calmly and favorably accepted the official’s apology. But, endlessly pursued by Chervyakov, he finally explodes and screams at him. After which Ivan Dmitrievich came home, lay down on the bed and died.

Heroes

There are only two main characters here: a petty official with a telling surname, Ivan Dmitrievich Chervyakov, and civil general Brizzhalov. The main character is, of course, Chervyakov. Chekhov shows how pathetic and absurd a person can be, to what a slavish state he can reduce himself. Every time he apologizes to the general, he voluntarily renounces human dignity. It would seem that it would be easier to apologize to the person who graciously accepted your apology and that should all end there. No, you have to force yourself to go and apologize again.

For him, this is not just an unpleasant embarrassment. No! This is an attack on the bureaucratic hierarchy. In this case, General Brizzhalov evokes more sympathy. After all, at first he responded quite decently to Chervyakov’s apology. But he had the principle in his head that respect for persons is sacred, almost the foundation of social existence; in his mind, the general should, apparently, hold a ceremony to accept his apology. And he is even indignant that the general is so inattentive to his apologies. The general himself seems to us to be a completely well-bred man. The fact that he shouted at Chervyakov at the end of the story is quite understandable. Probably not everyone could withstand such persecution.

The story is called "The Death of an Official." There is a deep meaning here that it was not a person who died, but an official for whom veneration of rank is the basis of life. His death does not evoke much sympathy or tragedy. If this official had grown to certain heights, then everywhere along his path he would have promoted the idea of ​​veneration of rank, raising his own kind. That is why Chekhov mercilessly kills him. In his presentation, Chervyakov did not die from fright or from unbearable humiliation. No. It is unbearable for him to realize that his desire to serve, to offer his lowest apologies, is not accepted in a dignified manner. And he dies. By killing him, Chekhov thus pronounces a sentence on everything that Chervyakov personifies.

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, 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 waiting room. After interviewing several visitors, the general saw Chervyakov, who again began with his ridiculous apologies for 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.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov repeatedly lifted the veil of history over the clerical world of the Tsar's clerks and clerks, which had sunk into oblivion. However, those masterfully described types of people generated by the bureaucratic system remained unchanged. Downtrodden, narrow-minded, hypocritical and driven crazy by their hierarchical dependence, the victims of work will still make their sane acquaintances laugh, and the master of words more than a hundred years ago gave them such an apt description that is still relevant. She is especially interesting in the story “The Death of an Official.”

Chekhov shows true and false values: true value is internal freedom from patterns of behavior and the authorities of superiors, and false value is the desire to please the masters in everything and elevate them to grotesque proportions. It is not for nothing that he chose the “humorous story” genre for his work “The Death of an Official.” This is to ridicule the false values ​​formed by society. The writer ridicules such vices as sycophancy, veneration for rank and the desire to get used to the situation, opportunism, in other words.

What is the work about?

The story tells how the executor Chervyakov was watching the play “The Bells of Corneville” and accidentally sneezed on the bald head of the civil general Brizzhalov, an employee of the Department of Railways, who was sitting in front of him: “I sprayed him!” - he thought. - Not my boss, a stranger, but still awkward. I need to apologize." He leaned over and apologized; a spectator in the front row said, “It’s no big deal.” However, it seemed to the official that His Excellency was being disingenuous and would not forgive the insult. Although it was not his direct superior, a representative of another department, the troublemaker was very alarmed and approached during intermission, but the dignitary again said that there was nothing to worry about.

At home, he complained to his wife, but his wife did not pay due attention to the incident. The next day, Chervyakov again failed to ask for forgiveness and heard that what happened was a trifle. Then he thought: “He doesn’t want to talk! - he thought, turning pale. “He’s angry, that means... No, you can’t leave it like that... I’ll explain it to him...” and decided to ask for forgiveness again the next day, but the general kicked him out with anger. “Something came loose in his 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.” The essence of Chekhov's work “The Death of an Official” is to show what insane veneration of rank can bring a person to.

The main characters and their characteristics

To enhance the expressiveness of the text, the author uses speaking surnames. Bryuzzhalov - from the word “grumble”, that is, to grumble. Chervyakov - from the word “worm”, that is, the surname originates from an insignificant and blind animal. This means that the hero is meant by the author as a pitiful, helpless insect.

Ivan Dmitrievich Chervyakov– executor. The character's inner world is as narrow as a worm: it is limited to service. What worries him most is the opinion of society about him, and he respects the opinion of his superiors like the law. When he accidentally sneezed, he perceived it as a terrible disaster. He was so excited by the general’s reaction that he simply made it up, painting it in the most eerie colors. This means that his life is so empty that, apart from service, he doesn’t care about anything. He reached the point of complete self-denial in the name of “serving” the higher ranks. In fact, his inner world is a projection of the outer: his form, his position, his status in society. He has nothing personal, he has completely adapted to external circumstances, burying his individuality. Standing out for him is a grave sin. He doesn’t want to express himself, but to express someone else’s interests. The image of the main character in Chekhov's story “The Death of an Official” opens the theme of the little man, widespread in Russian literature. The character is humiliated by society, overwhelmed by his eternally subordinate position. He is completely dependent on the will of the boss and his readiness to give permission for anything. Gradually, he learned to serve rather than serve, in order to somehow provide stability for himself and his family. He got so accustomed to this role that he stopped seeing obvious things and feeling anything other than humiliation. The evolution of the character, which we can only guess, turns out to be a degradation of personality to the level of an impersonal clerk. There is nothing human left in him, only a list of job descriptions and standards of decency, which he brings to the grotesque. There is not even a description of Ivan Dmitrievich Chervyakov in the text.

Brizzhalov(State General for the Department of Railways) - a venerable and respected official, accustomed to unconditional obedience. However, he is embarrassed to seriously discuss the topic of Chervyakov’s act; he wants to pretend that nothing happened. But the intrusiveness of the culprit of the incident infuriates him. The dignitary, who is already not very kind to his lower-ranking colleague, rudely kicks him out, losing his human appearance. He screams, swears, loses all his coldness and imaginary good manners. His inability to restrain his emotions reveals him to be a typical tyrant, who continually lashes out at his subordinates. Brizzhalov’s characterization is his post. He, too, is devoid of individual traits and appears before us as just another bearer of the signs of a particular position.

Themes

1. The penetration of public life into private life, the replacement of reality with its absurd parody.
2. In addition, Chekhov touches on his favorite theme of internal slavery and impoverishment of the spirit. He skillfully mixes the funny and the sad, revealing the absurdity of government existence, focused only on service.
3. The theme of melancholy stands out in the text. The author portrays a hero who is burdened by his position, and the reader understands what is, why. "The Death of an Official" reveals the tragedy of a humiliated individual.
4. The culture of admiration for superiors is a problem of society, its incorrect structure, where inequality is caused by a religious message. If the king is God’s anointed, and the nobles are his associates, then their imaginary superiority is from God. That is, from childhood, people are implanted with the myth that someone is better than them by birthright. This is the problem of the tsarist regime, which gave birth to such Chervyakovs.
5. The theme of the little man also makes itself felt; the author embodies it through the image of the main character. Such an insignificant and defenseless person is doomed to vegetate in a big and cruel world.

Issues

This work reflects many both eternal and pressing problems.

1. The problem of honor. In his story “The Death of Officials,” Chekhov raises the problem of an incorrect change of guidelines: the executor is more important than the opinion of the general, and not the fate of the family, for example. A person changes his personal values ​​to corporate ones. This threatens a dangerous transformation from an individual into an official.
2. Arbitrariness. Another problem is that superiors actually pose a threat to subordinates. Any professional can be fired absolutely without reason; no one controls the activities of managers.
3. The author also did not ignore indifference in the family: the official’s wife did not provide him with adequate support.
4. Inequality. It doesn’t even occur to the characters that the relationship between them should not be hierarchical, each of them does not recognize himself as equal to the other, and in this state of affairs social contradictions cannot be avoided.

This is what this story makes you think about: how not to become just a mechanism of the state machine and not kill the soul before the body? Thus, the problems of the story are very rich, despite the small form of the work.

the main idea

Unfortunately, the realities of Russia at that time were such that the tyranny of a boss could make any of his subordinates a beggar. All kinds of government services enslaved souls, which were forever frozen in captivity and awe before a superior person. The main idea of ​​the story is to show how a person loses his dignity while trying not to lose his position. Chekhov draws the reader's attention to how society destroys natural patterns and forces the average person to behave unnaturally: fear the boss to death, for example.

Even the title of the work already speaks of the writer’s intention. The idea of ​​the story “The Death of an Official” is to show how a person loses his face and becomes just an official, who is killed by his own desire to serve his masters in everything. He is so insignificant that his life is limited to service, and his dignity is limited to “decent behavior in public,” as Chervyakov’s wife aptly put it, who is more concerned about what people will say than about her husband’s well-being.

Indeed, the book talks about the fact that it was not a person who died, but an official. The reason for his death is blatant veneration, since the hero lost his nerves due to the fact that he did not please his superiors. It was not the real tragedy that was the basis for this, but the illusory reality of uniforms, in which the subordinate forgets about his own dignity and becomes a slave to the state system of coercion. The meaning of the story is that instead of life, he has the illusion of life, where values ​​are replaced by fictitious ranks and regalia, and virtues supplant vices: hypocrisy and sycophancy.

What does the story teach?

The author seriously describes an essentially curious situation: the character drove himself to death because of such a trifle. It’s quite funny to watch how the hero cannot understand simple things, which simply bores the general with his nonsense. He, like a clown, slips again and again on a banana peel and falls theatrically, bruising his forehead, but he does not understand what is happening. He perceives the ordinary words of His Excellency as sophisticated hints and slyness, attributes cunning and hypocrisy to him, although, in fact, the incident is over, and the person has forgotten to think about it. Chekhov dispassionately and seriously talks about what is funny, because we ourselves make fun of such ridiculous and pathetic clerks. The moral in the story “The Death of an Official” is not to ridicule, but to feel sorry for such people; they are deeply unhappy, but they are not the only ones to blame for this inferiority. The entire unjust social order is to blame for this. This is the conclusion to which the writer leads his thoughts. It is not the abstract Chervyakov who needs to change, but the entire society.

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