A.P. Chekhov "The Death of an Official": description, characters, analysis of the story

In the work “The Death of an Official”, the characters become unwitting participants in a trifling situation: Ivan Dmitrievich, sitting in the theater, sneezed and splashed General Brizzhalov’s bald head. Chervyakov exaggerated the meaning of this “incident” so much that his life turned into a nightmare. The surname of the hero betrays his slavish nature, even his petty position corresponds to it. In the characterization of the hero, an important place is occupied by the internal monologue of the hero, he is so worried about what a person with a high position in society will think of him, that as a result his life is cut short.

Characteristics of the heroes “Death of an official”

main characters

Chervyakov Ivan Dmitrievich

One day, being at a performance and experiencing real bliss, the main character sneezes and notices that the old man sitting in front of him is wiping his bald head. This fact deprives the moment of bliss, Chervyakov immediately apologizes to this man (having recognized the general in him). During the intermission, the hero repeatedly apologizes to the “victim”, although he has already forgotten about this trifle. Anxiety grows and Chervyakov decides to visit the general at home to clarify the situation. A man accustomed to bow before people of higher rank, Ivan Dmitrievich becomes not himself, pursues the general with obsessive explanations.

General Brizzhalov

State general, an elderly man. He is respected, his house is always full of guests. Not attaching any significance to the incident, he immediately forgets about what happened. Like any decent educated person, he makes it clear that the trifle is forgotten and there is no need to return to its discussion. Patiently listens to apologies several times. At the last meeting, unable to bear the obsession and stupidity of Chervyakov, Brizzhalov shouted: "Get out."

Minor characters

In the story, Chekhov is ironic to the extreme: his character, scolded by the general, unable to cope with his nature as a slave, returns home, lies down and dies. The main characters of “Death of an Official” are so different spiritually and morally that they speak different languages. In every gesture and look of General Chervyakov sees a hidden meaning, resentment, subtext. The habit of being dependent, the rejection of healthy thinking plays a decisive role in the fate of the hero. Tragic and ironic are combined very harmoniously in Chekhov's works. His stories are vital, deep, make you think, understand the laws on which society is based. The theme of the “little man” in the story is combined with narrow-mindedness, downtroddenness, servility, which is very typical for the period that the author describes. A complex, intricate hierarchy turned people into subordinates, depriving them of the opportunity to be a person. Chekhov's narrative sounds very sharp and relevant in our time.

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 him, only a list of job descriptions and 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 the problem of the 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.

    6. 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 kinds of public services enslaved the souls, which forever froze in captivity and trembling in front of 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 about the fact 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 to the state system of 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. He, like a clown, again and again slips 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.

    Interesting? Save it on your wall!

One of the early stories of 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, giving out dozens of short funny stories that were always a hit with readers.

The prehistory of the story is this. 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 so excited him 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 pulled up 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 Shards magazine with the subtitle “The 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 here realism with conventionality. This is clearly seen at the beginning of the work and at its end, when a mockery of death is inappropriate.

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

Plot

The outset 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, the official Ivan Dmitrievich Chervyakov sneezed on the bald head of the general sitting in front and, as it seemed to him, aroused discontent in him.

After apologizing once, he was not satisfied with this and began to literally pursue 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 that, Ivan Dmitrievich came home, lay down on the bed and died.

Heroes

There are only two main characters here: a petty official with a speaking surname Chervyakov Ivan Dmitrievich and a state general Brizzhalov. The main character is, of course, Chervyakov. Chekhov shows how miserable, absurd a person can be, to what a slavish state he can bring himself. Each time, apologizing to the general, he voluntarily renounces human dignity. It would seem, what is easier, apologized to the person who favorably accepted your apology and this should all end. No, you have to force yourself to go again and apologize again.

For him, this is not just an unpleasant embarrassment. Not! This is an attack on the bureaucratic hierarchy. In this case, General Brizzhalov evokes more sympathy. After all, at first he quite decently answered Chervyakov's apologies. But the principle stuck in his head that respect for persons is sacred, almost the foundation of social life, in his view, the general should, apparently, hold the ceremony of accepting his apologies. And he is even indignant that the general is so inattentive to his apologies. The general himself seems to us to be a well-bred man. The fact that he shouted at Chervyakov at the end of the story is quite understandable. Probably not everyone would have withstood such persecution.

The story is called "The Death of an Official". There is a deep meaning here, that not a person died, but an official, for whom servility is the basis of life. His death does not cause much sympathy and tragedy. If this official had grown to certain heights, then he would have promoted the idea of ​​servility everywhere along his path, educating his own kind. That is why Chekhov ruthlessly kills him. In his submission, Chervyakov did not die of fright or 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 worthy manner. And he dies. By killing him, Chekhov thus passes judgment on everything that Chervyakov personifies.

Recognize your insignificance, you know where?


Before God, perhaps, before mind, beauty, nature, but not before people. Among people, one must be aware of one's dignity.


A.P. Chekhov. From a letter to brother Michael
farther...

The story has been read. The students expressed their first impressions. The plot is simple, clear, many saw the anecdote, the absurdity of the situation. Let us now turn to the text of the story itself.

EXPOSURE

The exposition of the story - the first two sentences (they are text theme) is very informative: « One fine evening, a no less 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 on top of bliss". All you need to know about Chervyakov is that he is an executor at the height of bliss. At the first reading, no less beautiful than a beautiful evening, an executor looking from the second row through binoculars and even “feeling at the top of bliss”, at first looks only ridiculous .The question is what caused this bliss.

STRING

The plot of the conflict - sneeze - is also still within the limits of the ridiculous: the traditional "but suddenly" only enhances the comicality of the situation, and the author's digression about "What everyone is sneezing" at first does not contradict the intonation of a humorous story.

However, the very description of the process of sneezing is given as not characteristic of the official Chervyakov, an impersonal event, which then led to death: "life is so full of surprises". It is noteworthy that first Chekhov describes what happened to his face, eyes and breath, and only then what Chervyakov himself did (he just turned away the binoculars and bent down, apparently continuing to feel at the height of bliss). And only at the very end of the description is the interjection "apchi!!!" brings back to the joke: his face frowned, his eyes rolled up, his breathing stopped... he took the binoculars away from his eyes, bent down and... apchi!!!

DEVELOPMENTS

vicissitudes. The first reaction of the hero looks quite human so far:« Chervyakov was not in the least embarrassed, wiped himself with a handkerchief and, like a polite man, looked around him: had he disturbed anyone with his sneezing? However, the circumstance "like a polite person" obviously redundant: diligence, confidence in the bureaucratic impeccability of Chervyakov is emphasized by this. Bliss and confidence in one's own infallibility is also emphasized by the adverb "not at all", i.e. not a bit, not one iota, and an oxymoron combination "wiped himself with a handkerchief"(the rude “wiped himself” and the affectionate “handkerchief.” Satisfied with himself, Chervyakov even “He looked around him: did he disturb anyone with his sneezing?”

INTERNAL CONFLICT

Actually, the real, so to speak, “internal conflict” begins precisely here: “But then I had to be embarrassed. He saw that the old man, who was sitting in front of him, in the first row of seats, was diligently wiping his bald head and neck with a glove and muttering something. No one will ever know whether Chervyakov really "splashed" general or that “wiped his bald head and neck with a glove and mumbled something” for reasons other than "ignorance" unfortunate officer. But Chervyakov "had seen" and made my "executive" conclusions

And at first Chervyakov recognized the general in the old man, and then he thought that he had sneezed on him! Further, human insignificance and bureaucratic groveling, "the electricity of the rank" with each new word and gesture of the hero inevitably lead him to death.

FIRST APOLOGY

“Not my boss, a stranger, but still embarrassing. I need to apologize" - i.e. At first, the hero seemed to calm down, since he was a “stranger”, but, fearing to seem impolite, he decided to apologize: Chervyakov coughed, leaned his body forward and whispered in the general's ear:

- Excuse me, yours, I splashed you ... I accidentally ...

"Nothing, nothing..."

Of course, as soon as Chervyakov has distracted himself from his “bliss” and entered the sphere of human relations, his essence is visible to the reader: this is also an obsequious "your-ness", and his timidity, and his conviction of the right to grovel. But, perhaps, precisely because the fall from the heights of bureaucratic bliss was so sudden "but suddenly", Chervyakov and cannot hear the general:

- For God's sake, I'm sorry. I... I didn't want to!

- Oh, sit down, please! Let's listen!

Apology at Intermission

Since Chervyakov no longer feels blissful, but only embarrassed and stupidly smiling, he makes a new attempt to apologize, already in the intermission:

- I splashed you, your-stvo. I'm sorry... I'm... not exactly...

- Oh, completeness ... I already forgot, and you are all about the same! - said the general and impatiently moved his lower lip.

NEW PHASE OF CONFLICT

Here the conflict enters a new phase: in fact, there will be no more apologies, Chervyakov will walk "explain", because the general "impatiently moved his lower lip", but "Chervyakov, looking suspiciously at the general," had seen "slyness in the eyes" and decided that the general did not want to talk to him. Now Chervyakov will not apologize, but will explain that “didn’t want at all ... that this was the law of nature”! Need to explain “otherwise he will think that I wanted to spit. He won’t think now, he will think so later! .. " Chervyakov thinks so. Why did our hero decide that the general must certainly think so, especially "after"? Apparently, because the general! Who will disassemble their generals!

TALK WITH WIFE

A conversation with his wife is already a new stage of the conflict:

“Arriving home, Chernyakov told his wife about his ignorance His wife, it seemed to him, reacted too lightly to what had happened; she only got frightened, and then, when she found out that Brizzhalov was a "stranger", she calmed down.

Chekhov writes frivolously," because for Chervyakov the conflict outgrew " ability to behave in society. Chervyakov believes that he acted irreproachably correctly: firstly, "not embarrassed at all", Secondly, "wiped himself with a handkerchief", thirdly, “looked around him: did he disturb anyone with his sneezing?” In the end, he even apologized "like a polite person" And "beautiful executor", although he could not apologize, because the boss "stranger"! What else?!

“Anyway, go ahead and apologize,” she said. - He will think that you do not know how to keep yourself in public!

Chervyakov has already apologized, and repeated. However, the anxiety does not disappear, not knowing what to blame himself for, Chervyakov blames the general:

- That's what it is! I apologized, but he was somehow strange ... He didn’t say a single word worthwhile. And there was no time to talk.

Chekhov plays on Chervyakov's dissatisfied bewilderment: General of Communications "He didn't say a single good word." "Yes, and there was no time to talk."

FIRST EXPLANATION THE NEXT DAY

“The next day, Chervyakov put on a new uniform, cut his hair and went to Brizzhalov to explain ...” Chervyakov is convinced that it is necessary to explain, because he is only an executor, and Brizzhalov is a general: all of a sudden, someone who does not speak good words will think that the executor wanted to spit at the general !!! But, “having entered the general’s waiting room, he saw many petitioners there, and among the petitioners the general himself”, Chervyakov can no longer “explain”, in the general’s waiting room he is no longer a man:

The executor began to report, and finished, already with an apology, a man:

- I sneezed, sir, and ... accidentally splashed ... Izv ...

And once again received human forgiveness from the general. But with each subsequent Chervyakov's apology, Brizzhalov's non-bureaucratic (in Chervyakov's view - "dissolute" human) reaction makes their final explanation more and more impossible. At the same time, the desire to explain is getting stronger...

"Angry, so... No, you can't leave it like that... I'll explain it to him..."

SECOND EXPLANATION

And more and more absurd, developing into a mockery of the general and his own humiliation:

- Your-stvo! If I dare to disturb you, it is precisely out of a feeling, I might say, of repentance!... Not on purpose, if you please know yourself!

This penultimate explanation with the general is another turn in the development of the story's conflict. Chervyakov is sincerely indignant that the general saw in Chervyakov's executor's devotion to officialdom a mockery. In the end, Ivan Dmitritch even calls the general a fanfare to himself and in his heart decides not to apologize to the general anymore, who "can't understand" what is clear to the executor!

“What kind of ridicule is there?” thought Chervyakov. “There is absolutely no ridicule here! General, but he cannot understand!

However, immediately, for some reason, Chervyakov thinks:

Damn him! I'll write him a letter, but I won't go! By God, I won't!"

Chekhov does not explain why Chervyakov did not write the letter, each reader can think for himself:

So Chervyakov thought as he went home. He did not write a letter to the general. Thought and thought, and did not invent this letter. I had to go explain myself the next day.

CULMINATION

Chervyakov's last explanation is the climax of the story. And here behind this "explain" - all the upheavals of Ivan Dmitritch, overthrowing him from Bliss into "Arcadia" into the abyss of human arbitrariness, bureaucratic fear, horror of "laugh-laugh" and all the same Chervyakov's former bewilderment-misunderstanding, because of which he undertook a series of these apologies-executions:

I came yesterday to disturb you,” he muttered, when the general looked up at him with inquiring eyes, “not to laugh, as you deigned to say. I apologized for the fact that, sneezing, I splashed, sir ... but I did not even think of laughing. Do I dare to laugh? If we laugh, then there will be no respect for persons ... there will be ...

- Go away!!! barked the general, suddenly blue and shaking.

- What? Chervyakov asked in a whisper, trembling with horror.

- Go away!! repeated the general, stamping his feet.

DENOUNCING

The denouement of the conflict is now clear: the official Chervyakov could not endure the fall from the heights of his bureaucratic "Arcadia". Belief in one's own bureaucratic infallibility, inability to real human feelings made further existence impossible: Chekhov actually describes only the "death of an official", and not the death of a person. As soon as Ivan Dmitritch put on a new uniform and went to explain, he completely ceased to be a man, the man in him (as he should be according to Chekhov) had died a long time ago. Chervyakov died from the fact that "in the stomach

“The world of a “little” person in a short story by A.P. Chekhov's Death of an Official. The right to grovel.

Plot, genre, chronotope.

Target: development of reader culture and understanding of the author's position.

The results of the study of the subject:

Personal results:
- Encourage students to think about human dignity.
Metasubject results:
- the ability to listen, reason, comment, draw conclusions;

Work with the text, find the necessary information in it, process it; own speech (monologic, dialogical);
subject results:
in the field of knowledge- the ability to analyze the story, characterize Chervyakov, understand and formulate the theme, idea;
in the value-oriented sphere- evaluate the author's ideas, express their opinion;
in the field of communication- perceive the reading of the story by ear, answer questions on the text, build a monologue text;
in the aesthetic field– understand the role played by an artistic detail in creating an image.

    visual material.

Multimedia presentation, portrait of Chekhov.

    Handout.

The text of the story "Death of an official".

Annex 1. Work card of the student (for each).

Appendix 2. Additional material (per desk).

Board decoration

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

"Death of an Official"

The world of the "little man" in Chekhov's short story ??????? The right to grovel

illustrations for the story.

??????? Why did Ivan Dmitritch Chervyakov die?

Plot, genre, chronotope. Epigraph to the lesson.

Recognize your insignificance, you know where? Before God

perhaps before the mind, beauty, nature, but not before

people. Among people you need to be aware of your own

dignity.

A. Chekhov - brother Mikhail

During the classes

    goal setting

Today we continue our conversation about the wonderful writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. We remembered his biography, analyzed the story “Tosca”, were on an excursion in the A.P. Chekhov. Thus, at least for a little, but plunged into the world of the writer. You have already seen, I hope that it is not for nothing that they talk about the beauty of Chekhov's work, where words are crowded, and thoughts spacious, where each word is significant and capacious, like a deep vessel with a narrow neck: you look into it, but you won’t see the bottom ... But you definitely need to see: for this you need to get used to it - then your eyes will begin to distinguish a lot that you won’t see right away, from a bright light ...

Let us turn to his story "The Death of an Official".

Written on the board TWO LESSON TOPICS. Unusual... I would like you to determine for yourself at the end of the lesson which topic turned out to be more important for you.

Today we will analyze Chekhov's story "Death of an official".

??? What would you suggest for consideration in the lesson?(student answers)

GOALS: In today's lesson

    we will analyze the story, talk about its plot, genre, chronotope;

    give a description of the main character;

    let's track how the theme of the "little man" develops in Chekhov's work;

    Let's answer the question: Why did Ivan Dmitritch Chervyakov die?

As you work in the lesson, you fill in the cards that are in front of you.

Today we need a dictionary for the story and additional material.

    What is the history of the creation of the story "The Death of an Official"?

(students talk using additional material)

History of creation:

According to Chekhov, the plot of the story "The Death of an Official" was told to Anton Pavlovich Begichev(former director of Moscow theaters). 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 in the magazine "Shards" subtitled - "Happening"."The Death of an Official", like other stories of the writer, are included by the author in collection of 1886 "Motley stories".

    Motivation for cognitive activity

    Before reading. Forecast.

??? What is this piece about? The title is "Death of an Official". Your prediction: what will be discussed?

    Introduction to the text.

    Your impressions...

    Formation of skills and abilities

    Analysis of the epigraph for the lesson.

(Teacher reads lines)

Recognize your insignificance, you know where? Before God, perhaps, before mind, beauty, nature, but not before people. People should be aware of their dignity.

????This is how Anton Pavlovich wrote to his brother Mikhail. How do you understand this idea? What does this quote have to do with "Death of an Official"?

    We proceed directly to the analysis of the work. Plot.

??? What is a plot?

The course of events in a literary text.

??? What are the plot elements?

Exposition, plot, development of action, climax, fall of action, epilogue.

Task: Find and write down plot elements in the story(entry in work cards)

1. Exposure. Ivan Chervyakov in the theater.
2. Tie. The official sneezed and splashed the general.
3. Development of action. Chervyakov goes to apologize to the general.
4. Climax. The general screamed and stamped his feet.
5.Decoupling. The official is dead.

Task: Compose a quote story (entry in work cards)

    "... Ivan Dmitritch Chervyakov was sitting in the second row of seats and ... felt at the height of bliss."
    2. "...bent down and...apchi!!!"
    3. "... the old man ... diligently wiped his bald head ..."
    4. "I need to apologize."
    5. “I apologized, but he is somehow strange ...”
    6. "What nonsense ..."
    7. "General, but can't understand!"
    8. "Get out!!!"
    9. "... he lay down on the sofa and ... died."

OUTPUT: What gives us this alignment of events? As always, Chekhov has a deep meaning behind the simplicity of the plot. And you can know it only thanks to the artistic details that are designed to convey the main idea to the reader.

3. Next step: Chronotope.

??? What is a chronotope?

Chronotope - time and space in a work of art.

The task(group work)

Let's analyze the time and space of "The Death of an Official" together.

Time

Space

One fine evening

Theater "Arcadia"

the same evening

Houses

Next day

Reception General

same day

Houses

Next day

Reception General

same day

Houses

??? What features of the chronotope did you notice?

Only three days, alternation of places of stay of an official.

OUTPUT: What gave us the analysis of time and space in the work???

    It's like a plot twist.

    We see the so-called suffering of the hero.

    You can define the genre of the work.

4. Genre "Death of an official"

??? What is the genre of the work? Define a story.

The short story is an epic genre of small volume, requiring at least two events and a shock ending. The story is characterized by economy mode.

??? Prove it's a story(student answers)

In the story "The Death of an Official" there is a very small volume, three , a minimum of events, an economical narration, an unexpected ending.

Philologists say that Chekhov's story is a fusion of an anecdote and a parable.

Chekhov's story is rooted in the tradition of anecdote and parable. Chekhov's stories are a fusion of anecdote and parable.
(Joke(Greek) - a short entertaining story about an unexpected event with an unpredictable ending.
Parable- a short story in an edifying form, claiming to be a universal generalization)

5. Very often, writers use the so-called Speaking Names in their works.

??? What is this reception?

??? Why do writers use speaking names in their works?

??? Remember the speaking names in the works of Russian literature?

??? Why does Chervyakov have a first name, patronymic, last name, while the general only has a last name? (for Chekhov, the general is a secondary figure. Chervyakov is important to him. The general is deprived of his first and middle name, 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)

Look at the meanings of the names.

Ivan(other Heb.) - God gave, the mercy of God.
Dmitry(dr. Greek) - dedicated to Demeter, the goddess of fertility and agriculture.
Chervyakov- a worm, a worm, a ringed, legless animal that crawls, crawls
Brizzhalov- squeal - strum, ring with trembling, chat; to squeal - to shout in a harsh voice, to grumble

??? Why such a choice?

Ivan. God gave life to the hero.

Dmitry. Connection with the ground on which it crawls.

Worm. An animal that crawls on the ground crawls.

OUTPUT: God himself gave the hero the life of a man, and he turned it into the life of an animal.

6. Keywords

The task. Write down the key words (verbs) that create the image of an official.

Looked - 5 times. Sneezed - 6 times. Confused - 3 times.
Sprayed - 5 times. Apologize - 7 times. Explain - 5 times.
Mumbled - 3 times. Sorry - 1 time. Understand - 1 time

??? How do they characterize Chervyakov?

As we work on the image of Chervyakov, we write down the characteristic on the board.

Image of Chervyakov:

    humble official, "little man"

    an official not by occupation, but by nature

    voluntarily grovels

    constantly humiliated

    renounced his human dignity, and so on.

7. Creative task. Imagine that the general found out about Chervyakov's death. Compose a general's monologue after the official's death.

8. Interpretation of the story. "Little Man" Chekhov

A.P. Chekhov addresses the traditional theme of the "little man"

??? Which heroes in Russian literature are “little people”? Give examples.


1. They all occupy one of lowest places in the social hierarchy.
2. humiliation combined with a sense of injustice, wounded by pride.
3. "Little Man" often performs in opposition to "significant person", and the development of the plot is built mainly as a story of resentment, insult.

??? Chervyakov - "little man"?

Chervyakov could be classified as a type of “little man” traditional in Russian literature.

Chekhov presents us with the theme of the “little man” in a completely different way.

??? TO then he can say: in what way did Chekhov's innovation manifest itself?

Behind the anecdotal situation in Chekhov's humorous stories, psychological paradox. Paradox- unexpected, unusual, contrary to common sense.

??? What psychological paradox is discussed in the story "The Death of an Official"?

The traditional in Russian prose about the “little man” pair of a formidable general and a timid official turned upside down in Chekhov’s story: a modest official turned into an oppressor (executioner), and Excellency into an oppressed victim. Brizzhalov's high bureaucratic rank did not prevent him from remaining a normal person. Chervyakov, on the contrary, is not a person even with his low rank.
He wrote to his brother Alexander in 1885 (already after the creation of the story "The Death of an Official") about "little" people: “Give it 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.

??? Do you agree with this thought of M. Rybnikova: “ This is a story about FEAR. The general was a major official, and Chervyakov was a petty official. Such was the order of life, such was the system, that the younger ones were terribly afraid of the older ones. He apologized ten times, he yelled at him, Chervyakov got scared and died" (student answers)

It's not about fear. Chervyakov does not understand why the general did not scold him. After all, that's the way it is. And Chervyakov died not at all from fright, but from the fact that a person of high rank violated the sacred principles for him.

??? Why is Chervyakov pursuing the general?

There are many characters in Chekhov's work with stereotyped thinking, who live according to the program. Chervyakov believes that the general must humiliate and punish a petty official for any oversight. Shown here program crash: Chervyakov does not understand why the general does not listen to his apologies. seems to be doing everything right, but achieves the opposite effect.

??? Why did Chervyakov die?

If Chervyakov is humiliated in his human dignity, then by no means by General Brizzhalov. Chervyakov humiliates his human dignity, while very persistently, only myself. So, Chekhov's Chervyakov is an official not by type of service or position, but by nature. This type exists in any environment and in any nation. He, alas, is eternal, immortal. Hero of "Death of an Official" died because he was not understood and satisfied in the RIGHT TO SEND.

??? Why did Chervyakov die without taking off his uniform?

Violation of logic in actions people in Chekhov's works is a reflection of alogism, the absurdity of reality itself. The title precedes, in which a hint is made of the incompatibility of some concepts: death is not a person, but a bureaucrat, a slave. The author constantly draws attention to the discrepancy, the contrast of cause and effect (the official sneezed - the official "died"). Harmless Chervyakov turns out to be a kind tyrant despot. Chervyakov scary because on it, on it voluntary groveling, keeps the whole system cringing, humiliation, humiliation And self-humiliation.

??? How does Chekhov feel about his hero?

In the creative development of Chekhov, his early stories play a very important role. In particular, the attitude of the writer towards the downtrodden and humiliated person, who became so through his own fault, changes dramatically. Instead of the pity traditional for previous literature, one feels contempt to such people. And an excellent illustration of this is the story "The Death of an Official". There is no hopelessness in Chervyakov's situation, and his suffering is far-fetched. He himself voluntarily drives into spiritual slavery by constantly humiliating himself, annoying the general with his apologies. Therefore, it is unlikely that Chekhov's sympathies can be on the side of such a character. Rather, it is the "anti-ideal" of the author.

Reflection.

???What topic will you write down on your worksheet? Why?

??? What does this story make us think about?

The fact that a person must always remain a person, never lose his dignity anywhere and value others primarily by their human qualities, and not by their positions. And the writer convinced us of this, laughing at the ridiculous death of the official Chervyakov, who forgot about his human dignity and became like a worm.

??? What to do in order not to become like the official Chervyakov?

Estimates. Outcome.

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