History of creation

“... In Russian literature, an amazing mind flashed and disappeared, because after all, only very smart people can invent and say a good absurdity, a good joke, those whose mind “overflows through all the veins,” I.A. wrote about Chekhov’s talent . Bunin. L.N. Tolstoy said of him: "Chekhov is Pushkin in prose." These words meant the strongest artistic impression that Chekhov's prose left, surprising with its brevity and simplicity.

According to Chekhov, the plot of the story "The Death of an Official" was told to Anton Pavlovich by Begichev. It was simple: a man who carelessly sneezed in the theatre, the next day came to a stranger and began to apologize for causing him trouble in the theater. Funny anecdotal case.

"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, are included by the author in the 1886 collection "Motley Stories". All these works reveal the theme of the little man.

Genus, genre, creative method

Before joining Russian literature, A.P. Chekhov, it was believed that the small epic form is a “splinter” of the large (novel) form: “a chapter torn from the novel,” as V.G. Belinsky about the story. The differences between the novel and the story (as the story was called) were determined only by the number of pages. Chekhov, according to L.H. Tolstoy, "created new, completely new ... forms of writing for the whole world ...".

The story "Death of an official" is written in the genre of "sketch". This is a short humorous story, a picture from life, the comedy of which consists in conveying the conversation of the characters. Chekhov raised the scene to the level of great literature. The main thing in the scene is the speech of the characters, believable everyday and funny at the same time. Important role plays the title and speaking surnames of the characters.

Thus, the problem of the story "The Death of an Official" is stated in the title itself, which is a combination of opposite concepts. An official is an official, in a uniform buttoned up with all buttons (this also applies to his feelings); he is, as it were, deprived of the living movements of the soul, and suddenly - death, although a sad, but still a purely human property, that an official, such an idea has developed about him, is contraindicated. Chekhov's work, it can be assumed in advance, is not a story 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 importunate, this does not happen in life. In the end, Chekhov is quite sharp, open. With this “died”, he takes the story beyond the framework of everyday realism. Therefore, this story is felt as quite humorous: death is perceived as frivolity, conventionality, exposure of a technique, a move. The writer laughs, plays, the very word "death" does not take seriously. In the clash of laughter and death, laughter triumphs. It defines the overall tone of the piece. So the funny in Chekhov turns into accusatory.

Subject

While rethinking the traditional theme of the "little man" dating back to Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev and early Dostoevsky, Chekhov at the same time continues and develops the humanistic pathos of this direction in the new conditions. Like Pushkin's The Stationmaster, Gogol's Overcoat, Dostoevsky's Poor People, Chekhov's works are filled with protest against the suppression and distortion of the human personality, which in the new historical conditions is even more merciless and sophisticated. At the same time, in the story, the subject of ridicule is a petty official who is mean and groveling when no one forces him.

Idea

In Chekhov, usually the center of the story is not a character or an idea, but a situation - an unusual case, an anecdote. Moreover, the case is far from accidental - it highlights certain patterns of life, the essence of character. Chekhov possessed a genius gift for actually noticing such situations in which the characters would be revealed not only with maximum, but with exhaustive completeness, both as social and ethical types, and as people with a psychology peculiar to them, a manner of behavior.

In the story "The Death of an Official", the writer showed how the petty official Chervyakov, being in a humiliated position, not only does not seek to get out of it, but himself proclaims slavish behavior. Which became the subject of ridicule in the story. Chekhov advocated high moral ideals.

Main heroes

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 his 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 do not 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 - a dialogue between them is impossible.

The second character - the official Chervyakov - is the object of ridicule in the story. Traditionally, in Russian literature, this was a "small", poor, "humiliated and insulted" person, arousing sympathy from the reader. Chekhov, with his indestructible sense of freedom, sought to overcome this cliché. He wrote to his brother Alexander in 1885 (already after the creation of the story “The Death of an Official”) about “little” people: “Give up, do me a favor, your oppressed collegiate registrars! Can't you smell with your nose that this topic has already become obsolete and makes you yawn? And where do you find those torments in your Asia that the Chino-shi experience in your stories? Truly I tell you, even to read is terrible! It is more realistic now to portray collegiate registrars who do not allow their excellencies to live. The little man Chervyakov here is both ridiculous and pathetic at the same time: ridiculous in his absurd persistence, pathetic because he humiliates himself, renouncing his own human personality, human dignity.

Plot and composition

In Chekhov's story, one of the participants in the events turns out to be a petty official, the other a general. The surname of the official - Chervyakov - speaks for itself, emphasizing the humiliation of the executor1 Ivan Dmitrievich. This initial situation gives rise to the traditional conflict. The general barked at a small, defenseless, dependent man - and killed him. At Chekhov, the general really 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 along... Arriving home mechanically, without taking off his uniform, he lay down on the sofa and... died.

Thus, it appears as if the usual plot scheme. However, there are also significant shifts. To begin with, the general barked at his visitor only when he brought him with more and more new visits, more and more explanations, and all on the same topic, to complete exhaustion, and then to frenzy.

He does not look like a pathetic, dependent person and 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 foundation of social life, and he is deeply discouraged that his apologies are not accepted. When the general once again waved him off, remarking: "Yes, you're just laughing, sir! .." - Chervyakov was seriously angry. "What kind of jokes are there? thought Chervyakov. - There are no jokes here! General, but cannot understand!” Thus, Chervyakov is fundamentally different from his previous literary counterparts. It is in Chervyakov's worldview that an unexpected, comic turn of the traditional theme and plot scheme lies. It turns out that Chervyakov does not die of fright at all. The drama of a man lies in the fact that he could not endure the violation of the principles that are sacred to him, and not by anyone else, but by a radiant person, a general. Chervyakov could not bear this. So a harmless anecdote develops under Chekhov's pen into a satire on the prevailing mores and customs.

Artistic originality

In the history of Russian literature A.P. Chekhov entered as a master of the small genre. The formation of a satirical story is associated with the name of the writer, the defining features of which were laconicism and aphorism.

The very title "The Death of an Official" contains the main idea of ​​the work: the opposition of the rank and the person, 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, its extreme brevity determine the special dynamism of the story. This special dynamism is contained in verbs and their forms. It is through the verbal vocabulary that the plot develops, and the characterization of the characters is also given; although, of course, the writer uses other artistic techniques.

In the story, the characters have speaking surnames: Chervyakov and Brizzhalov. The official Chervyakov serves as an executor. The meaning of this word has been 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, the punishment or led him. Today, this meaning is perceived as the main one, since the former one (a junior official in the office) has already been forgotten. The phrase executor Chervyakov was also chosen according to the principle of comic contrast characteristic of Chekhov: an executor (that is, one who carries 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 frowned, his eyes rolled up, his breathing stopped ... he took the binoculars away from his eyes, bent down and ... apchhi !!! I sneezed, as you can see, ”causes a comic effect.

In a short story, lengthy descriptions and internal monologues are impossible, which is why the 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 phrase of the story “Death of an official”, the author gives a practical explanation for everything: the official, “having mechanically come home, without taking off his uniform, he lay down on the sofa and ... died.” The uniform, this bureaucratic uniform, as if rooted to him. Fear of a higher rank killed a man.

In the story "The Death of an Official", the author's position is not clearly expressed. One gets the impression of Chekhov's objectivity, indifference to what is happening. The narrator does not evaluate the actions of the hero. He ridicules them, leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions.

The 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 paints 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, artistic techniques that the writers used in their work are different. Chekhov is rightfully considered a master short story, short stories-miniatures. Over many years of work in humorous magazines, Chekhov honed the skill of a storyteller, learned to contain maximum content in a small volume.

After the appearance of the story "The Death of an Official", 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 makes it possible to better see the absurdities of life itself, in which servility, servility, deification of the authorities and panic fear of him reign. According to M.P. Chekhov, the brother of the writer, a real incident occurred at the Bolshoi Theater, close to the one described, but it is not clear whether it was known to Chekhov. Something else 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 (the most famous monster and pedant) threatened one official (senior sorter K.D. 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 succeeded in recreating a typical, albeit absurd, situation.

“Russian critics have written that neither Chekhov's style, nor the choice of words, nor anything else testifies to the particular thoroughness of writing that Gogol, Flaubert, or Henry James were obsessed with. His vocabulary is poor, word combinations are banal; a juicy verb, a hothouse adjective, a mint-and-cream epithet entered on a silver tray - all this is alien to him. He was not a verbal virtuoso, like Gogol; his Muse was dressed in an everyday dress. Therefore, it is good to cite Chekhov as an example of the fact that one can be an impeccable artist without exceptional brilliance of verbal technique, without exceptional concern for the graceful curves of sentences. When Turgenev starts talking about the landscape, one can see how preoccupied he is with the ironing of the trouser folds of his phrase; Crossing his legs, he stealthily glances at the color of his socks. Chekhov is indifferent to this - not because these details do not matter, for writers of a certain type they are natural and very important - but Chekhov does not care because, by his nature, he was alien to any verbal ingenuity. Even a slight grammatical error or a newspaper stamp did not bother him at all. The magic of his art lies in the fact that, despite his tolerance for mistakes that a brilliant beginner would easily avoid, despite his readiness to be content with the first word he met, Chekhov was able to convey a sense of beauty that was completely inaccessible to many writers who thought they knew for certain that such a luxurious, magnificent prose. He achieves this by illuminating all the words with the same dim light, giving them the same gray tint - the middle one between the "color of a dilapidated hedge and an overhanging cloud. A variety of intonations, a flicker of charming irony, a truly artistic stinginess of characteristics, colorful details, fading human life- all this purely Chekhovian features are flooded and surrounded by a rainbow-vague verbal haze ”(V.V. Nabokov).

In 1883, in a well-known magazine called “Shards”, the story of the unforgettable writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, “The Death of an Official,” was published, which made a proper impression on readers. The work was released under the pseudonym A. Chekhonte.

Surprisingly, the plot was suggested to Chekhov by his comrade Anton Begichev, thanks to whom the writer managed to write an amazing story that touches to the depths of the soul.

The work has its own genre: a "sketch", where the main character is a certain official, whose name is Ivan Chervyakov, who accidentally splashed General Brizzhalov, sneezing in his direction. The hero, after everything that happened, torments himself for what he has done, cannot find a place for himself, calm down, he constantly apologizes to the general in the hope that he will have mercy and forgive, but that does not matter. He has long forgotten Chervyakov, but 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” in front of society.

Chekhov clearly shows readers that he protests against the fact that a person loses his dignity, suppresses his personality. This is not acceptable for a writer. And Chervyakov is just such a hero who kills himself with his absurd persistence. It causes both laughter and pity. Each time, apologizing to Brizzhalov, the character does nothing but lower his level. And what? Ivan Chervyakov dies in the finale of the work, not because of fright, when a general who lost his nerve shouted at him, no, he died from a violation by the general of the principles of the hero. 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 a role. In the center of the work is an unusual case, not a character or idea. As a result, Chekhov depicts this or that circumstance, thanks to which the character of the hero is revealed.

So, in the title of Chekhov's story lies a deep problem: the confrontation between man and rank. Many questions arise after reading the work, because this is Anton Pavlovich, who amazes with his talent: the mysterious writing of short stories. The main theme of the work is, of course, the inner world of man. The writer pays special attention 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 young. Therefore, it is worth referring to the writer's work in order to understand life itself, and its laws.

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Characters

The main character is Chervyakov. His surname is telling, points to his insignificance, to his miserable position. He works as an executor, that is, carries out various kinds of punishments for people, and is a petty official. As small as a worm.

The second character is the old man Bryuzzhalov. He is a general, a respected person, takes a place of honor in society.

Development of events

During a performance at the theater, Chervyakov sneezed and splashed the general sitting in front of him. Now he is trying to beg for forgiveness, despite the fact that Bryuzzhalov repeatedly tried to get rid of him: "Nothing, nothing ...", "Oh, completeness ... I already forgot, but you are still talking about the same!".

Reasons for Chervyakov's behavior

This story clearly shows the slavish essence of a man who made himself a slave. He bound himself in chains. Chervyakov needs to humiliate himself, he needs to beg and beg. He doesn't understand at all simple words Bryuzzhalov, it seems to him that he must suffer, must endure, must suffer. It does not occur to Chervyakov that forgiveness does not need to beg. 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 mentality cannot live without someone's patronage, since their happiness depends on other people. Moreover, they come up with this dependence for themselves, no one holds them and does not force 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 comedy of what is happening. The way Chervyakov behaves absurdly, trying to defend his worthless position in society.

Message and main idea

Chekhov wants to show that in no case should one behave in such a 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 mores of the Russian bureaucracy during the life of Chekhov. The image of the protagonist also shows one of the timeless human shortcomings - servility to the strong, mixed with cowardice.

Executor Chervyakov (middle-ranking official) in the theater accidentally sneezed on the civilian general Brizzhalov. This incident terrified the lower official. He began to apologize, preventing the general from watching the performance, then continued to do so in the foyer. After that, he bothered Brizzhalov in the service.

The author's satire is not aimed at criticizing the Russian autocracy, the orders that give the superiors complete power over those who are below. Chekhov shows the civilian general as an ordinary sane, polite and even patient person. He forgave from the very beginning and was ready to forget this petty incident. Brizzhalov abruptly kicked out the annoying, servile penitent only after he really pissed him off, like any other person who does not have angelic humility.

In addition, it is emphasized that the state 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, calms down when she learns about this fact. Here is another version of the veneration. Chekhov reminds readers that even quite sane people can suffer from servility.

It is also significant that main character does not present in detail the consequences of what happened. He does not begin to analyze, does not begin to look for workarounds, possible other places of work, if it does come to a dismissal. Chervyakov, seeing the failure of his attempts to get forgiveness (although the general told him about it), wants to write a letter, but again he does not even take such a simple step.

His fear is irrational. He is afraid of the authorities, not only because he had to work with people who have power over him. After all, the army, the civil service, and even business are always built on a hierarchical basis. However, not all people who find themselves in these areas have become cowardly serfs.

The reason for the death of an official, which came from strong feelings after he was expelled by a state general, was his own spiritual qualities. His natural cowardice found a fertile environment in the orders of the Russian bureaucracy.

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Time and history of creation

The story "The Death of an Official" was first published in the journal "Shards" in 1883 with the subtitle "The Case". Included in the collection "Colorful Stories".

The petty clerk Ivan Dmitritch Chervyakov was watching the play The Bells of Corneville and sneezed. He apologized, but, to his horror, he saw that the civilian general sitting in front of him was wiping his bald head and neck with a glove, since Chervyakov had accidentally splashed him. Chervyakov is numb with horror. He once again apologizes to the general during the intermission, who irritably accepts the apology.

But this incident haunts Chervyakov. He comes to the general's duty station to apologize again. Again, he receives indifference in response and decides to write a letter to the general. But he changes his mind and again goes with an apology to the general. He, enraged by his obsession, shouts at him and orders him to get out. Chervyakov could not endure such a general's "scoldling", he came home, lay down on the sofa without taking off his uniform, and died.

Poetics, composition, idea

The genre of the work is a story. The work is very small in volume, has a clearly marked composition, each part of which carries an important semantic load.

The first two sentences are the exposition of the story: “One fine evening, an equally fine executor, Ivan Dmitritch Chervyakov, was sitting in the second row of chairs and looking through binoculars at the Corneville Bells. He looked and felt himself at the height of bliss.

This snippet has important information: the hero of the story is a small man, a petty official. The author's irony is heard both in the twice repeated word "beautiful" and in the word "on top of bliss", clearly exaggeratedly mockingly conveying the state of the executor.

After this injection of “beauty”, we are waiting for an unexpected turn, and then follows: “suddenly” - the official’s sneeze: “His face frowned, his eyes rolled up, his breathing stopped ... he took the binoculars away from his eyes, bent down and ... apchhi !!! »

This episode is the beginning of the conflict. The comical nature of the situation is reinforced by the author's comment: "Everyone is sneezing."

Then an “internal conflict” unfolds: Chervyakov understands that he “disturbed” not just a person, but a general. From that moment on, he not only ceases to be “at the height of bliss”, but with each subsequent episode he slides into the abyss of awareness of his human insignificance. The “electricity of the rank” irresistibly affects him. It is this fear of a higher rank and the realization of his insignificance as a result that leads him to death.

Chervyakov will now go to "explain" his offense, because the general "impatiently moved his lower lip", and "Chervyakov saw malice in his eyes."

His actions are now driven by fear. The further behavior of the official is absurd.

The absurdity of the situation is growing: “The next day, Chervyakov put on a new uniform, cut his hair and went to Brizzhalov to explain ...”

These details of the preparation for a conversation with the general, emphasized by Chekhov, give a vivid description of the state of his hero: for him this is a solemn moment of deciding his future fate.

With each subsequent apology from Chervyakov, the general's increasingly irritated reaction makes an explanation more and more impossible. Chervyakov, with manic persistence, wants to “explain himself”, because only after “true” forgiveness will he be able to restore his peace of mind.

Chervyakov's "rebellion" looks comical when the general once again exposes him, suspecting a mockery of the official's sincere servility: “What kind of ridicule is there? thought Chervyakov. - There are no jokes here! General, but can not understand! When so, I will no longer apologize to this fanfaron! Damn him! I'll write him a letter, but I won't go! By God, I won't!"

But he could not invent letters - the intellectual abilities of an official are mortally stricken by fear of a high rank.

The culmination of the story is Chervyakov's last trip to the general with apologies for the involuntary sneeze. The cry of an angry general is seen by the official as a terrible shock, a blatant injustice that his humiliated consciousness cannot bear. The denouement comes - the death of an official.

The outcome of this insignificant situation is also ridiculous and absurd: a person does not die from such trifles (unsuccessfully sneezed, did not apologize convincingly enough, found himself in an awkward situation with a superior person, etc.). But already in the title “Death (not a man!) Of an official,” Chekhov emphasizes that this is possible precisely in the case of an official who has lost other life orientations and values, except for bureaucrats.

Chekhov's work is not a story about the disappearance of a unique human individuality, but about the cessation of the functioning of a cog in some soulless mechanism.

The writer exaggerates the situation, the character of the hero, emphasizes his "reptile" nature with a speaking surname.

The story contains the comic, turning into accusatory: the destruction of the human in man, the absence of the life of the spirit, the substitution of life by "functioning" as a cog in the state mechanism - this is subjected to sharp condemnation by the writer. This is the idea of ​​the story "The Death of an Official".

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov repeatedly lifted the veil of history over the office world of the royal clerks and clerks, which had sunk into oblivion. However, those masterfully described types of people, generated by the bureaucratic system, remained unchanged. Downtrodden, limited, hypocritical and maddened by their hierarchical dependence, the victims of work will still make their sane acquaintances laugh, and the master of the word more than a hundred years ago gave them such an apt characterization that is still relevant today. She is especially interesting in the story "The Death of an Official".

Chekhov shows true and false values: the true value is inner freedom from the patterns of behavior and the authorities of the authorities, and the false one is the desire to please the masters in everything and elevate them to grotesque proportions. Not without reason for his work "The Death of an Official" he chose the genre of "humorous story". This is necessary in order to ridicule the false values ​​formed by society. The writer ridicules such vices as sycophancy, servility 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 watched the play “Corneville Bells” and accidentally sneezed on the bald head of the state general Brizzhalov, who served in the department of communications, who was sitting in front of him: “I sprayed him! he thought. - Not my boss, someone else's, but still embarrassing. You have to apologize." He leaned over and apologized, the spectator in the front row said "it's okay." However, it seemed to the official that His Excellency was disingenuous and would not forgive the offense. Although it was not his direct superior, a representative of another department, the violator of the order was very alarmed and approached during the intermission, but the dignitary again said that it was nothing to worry about.

At home, he complained to his wife, but the wife did not pay due attention to the incident. The next day, Chervyakov again failed with a request for forgiveness, he heard that what had happened was a trifle. Then he thought: “He doesn’t want to talk! he thought, turning pale. - Angry, then ... No, you can’t leave it like that ... I’ll explain to him ... ”- and decided to ask for forgiveness again the next day, but the general kicked him out with anger. “Something ruptured in his stomach. Seeing nothing, hearing nothing, he backed away to the door, went out into the street and trudged along ... Arriving home mechanically, 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 crazy servility leads a person to.

Main characters and their characteristics

To enhance the expressiveness of the text, the author uses speaking surnames. Bruzzhalov - from the word "grumble", that is, 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 miserable, helpless insect.

Ivan Dmitrievich Chervyakov- executor. The character's inner world is as narrow as a worm: it is limited to service. Most of all, he is worried about the opinion of society about him, and he honors the opinion of his superiors like a law. When he accidentally sneezed, he took it as a terrible disaster. He was so excited by the reaction of the general that he simply invented it, awarding it with the most terrible colors. This means that his life is so empty that, apart from service, he does not 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 no personal, he has completely adapted to external circumstances, burying his individuality. Standing out for him is a grave sin. He wants not to express himself, but to express someone's interests. The image of the protagonist in Chekhov's story "The Death of an Official" opens the theme of a small man, common in Russian literature. The character is humiliated by society, clogged with his eternally subordinate position. He is completely dependent on the will of the boss and his willingness to give permission for anything. Gradually, he learned to serve, and not to serve, in order to somehow ensure stability for himself and his family. He got used to this role so much that he stopped seeing obvious things and feeling something other than humiliation. The evolution of the character, which we only guess, turns out to be the degradation of the personality to the level of an impersonal clerk. There is nothing human left in it, only a list job descriptions and the norms 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 communications) - a respectable 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 importunity of the culprit of the incident infuriates him. And without that, the dignitary, who is not too kind to his subordinate colleague, rudely kicks him out, losing his human appearance. He screams, swears, loses all his coldness and imaginary good breeding. The inability to restrain his emotions betrays in him a typical tyrant, who now and then breaks down on his subordinates. Brizzhalov's characteristic 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 official life, focused only on the service.
3. The theme of melancholy stands apart in the text. The author portrays a hero who is burdened by his position, and the reader understands what is, from what. "The Death of an Official" reveals the tragedy of a humiliated person.
4. The culture of admiration for superiors is a problem of society, its wrong structure, where inequality is due to a religious message. If the king is the anointed of God, and the nobles are his close associates, then their imaginary superiority is from God. That is, the myth that someone is better than them by birthright is imposed on people from childhood. This is problem tsarist regime, which gave birth to such Chervyakovs.
5. The theme of the little man also makes itself felt, its author embodies it through the image of the protagonist. Such an insignificant and defenseless person is doomed to vegetate in a big and cruel world.

Issues

This work reflects a lot of both eternal and urgent problems.

1. The problem of chivalry. Chekhov raises in the story “The Death of Officials” the problem of an incorrect change of orientation: the opinion of the general is more important to the executor, and not the fate of the family, for example. A person changes his personal values ​​to corporate ones. This threatens with a dangerous transformation from a person into an official.
2. Arbitrary Another problem is that the bosses are a real threat to their subordinates. Any professional can be fired absolutely unreasonably, no one controls the activities of managers.
3. The author also did not ignore the indifference in the family: the official's wife did not provide him with adequate support.
4. Inequality. It doesn’t even occur to the heroes 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.

That's 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 are such that the tyranny of the boss could make any of his subordinates a beggar. all sorts of public services enslaved the souls that forever froze in captivity and trembling before a higher person. The main idea of ​​the story is to show how a person loses his dignity, trying not to lose his position. Chekhov draws the reader's attention to how society destroys natural patterns and makes the layman behave unnaturally: to be afraid of 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 the masters in everything. He is so insignificant that his life is limited to service, and his dignity is “decent behavior in public,” as Chervyakov’s wife aptly put it, who cares more about what people say than her husband’s well-being.

Indeed, in the book we are talking that not a person died, but an official. The reason for his death is in blatant servility, as the hero upset his nerves because he did not please his superiors. Not a real tragedy was the basis for this, but the illusory reality of uniforms, in which a subordinate forgets about his own dignity and becomes a slave state system coercion. The meaning of the story is that instead of life, he gets the illusion of life, where values ​​are replaced by fictitious ranks and regalia, and virtues crowd out vices: hypocrisy and sycophancy.

What does the story teach?

The author seriously describes, in fact, a 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, that the general is corny tired of his nonsense. Like a clown, he slips again and again on a banana peel and theatrically falls, bruising his forehead, but point-blank does not understand what is happening. He perceives his Excellency's ordinary words as sophisticated hints and cunning, ascribes cunning and hypocrisy to him, although, in fact, the incident has been exhausted, and the person has forgotten to think about it. Chekhov dispassionately and seriously talks about what is funny, because we ourselves ridicule such ridiculous and miserable clerks ourselves. The moral in the story "The Death of an Official" is not to ridicule, but to pity such people, they are deeply unhappy, but they are not alone to blame for this inferiority. The entire unjust social order is to blame for this. Here is the conclusion to which the writer leads his reflections. It is not the abstract Chervyakov who needs to change, but the entire society.

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