Lachlan Ellison

Morgan

Anton Chekhov 1.
e failure of people's ideals is a common theme in many of Chekhov's works, and also a great interest of Chekhov's. Considering that he battled with tuberculosis for most of his life (indeed, this was the disease that killed him), he blends these themes of disillusionment with his own experiences. In his short story, e Grasshopper,Osip develops an illness a er learning of his wife's indelity. e tragedy of his ignorance lends itself to such an ailment. is sort of personication between body and mind is indicative not only of the philosophical climate but also the literary one. Indeed, mind-body dualism was revitalised at the turn of the 20th century around when Chekhov wrote - by the likes of Karl Popper and John Eccles. Moreover, other Eastern European writers, namely Franz Ka a, were writing short stories with similar connections between the state of a person's a airs and their physical being - most notably, Metamorphosis. In a similar way, e Black Monkconcludes with the death of the main character,Andrei Kovrin. e black monk whispered to him that he was a genius, and that he was dying only because his frail human body had lost its balance and could no longer serve as the mortal garb of genius. Chekhov o en uses pathetic fallacy in his short stories, using nature to create parallels with the experiences of his characters. is is one of Chekhov's most common literary techniques. In this way, Chekhov has great control of the mood of his stories. is has the e ect of a closer understanding by the readers to both the story's setting and characters. One example of this is Chekhov's manipulation of nature to create tension within the story, in his short story Overseasoned. ey le the station at dusk. To the right stretched a cold, dark plain so boundless and vast that if you crossed it no doubt you would come to the Other End of Nowhere e air was still, but frosty and cold. Another common technique of Chekhov's, vivid characterisation is used to provide readers with a contextual backdrop in which to set his stories. He does this by embodying said characters through dialogue. O entimes, such dialogue comes in the form of rst-person narration. is is shown in one of Chekhov's last yet most popular stories,Lady with Lapdogor, as more prolically translated, e Lady with the Dog. e writer illustrates the somewhat perverse yet irresistibly curious nature of his protagonist, Dmitri Dmitrich Gurov. As he went to bed he reminded himself that only a very short time ago she had been a schoolgirl, like his own daughter, learning her lessons, he remembered how much there was of shyness and constraint in her laughter, in her way of conversing with a stranger--it was probably the rst time in her life that she found herself alone, and in a situation in which men could follow her and watch her, and speak to her, all the time with a secret aim she could not fail to divine. He recalled her slender, delicate neck, her ne gray eyes.

Lachlan Ellison

Morgan

As shown in short stories such as e Grasshopper, Overseasoned, e Black Monk, and e Lady with the Dog, Anton Chekhov shows patterns in his writing (most likely a result of his prolic folio of short stories, comprising more than 200 works). Specically, these are his interest of disease, and its relation to the social and emotional wellbeing of people. is theme permeates many of his stories, depicting people who are disillusioned and, many times, have their ideals taken away from them. Intrinsic to this poor fate of his characters is a sort of divine intervention, many times shown with cosmic irony. Suitably, then, some of Chekhov's common techniques include pathetic fallacy (another example of a sort of control that Chekhov employs over the worlds of his stories) as well as characterisation through dialogue.

2.
e Lady with the Dogis a classic short story from Anton Chekhov, and certainly one of his most famous. It follows the story of Dmitri Dmitrich Gurov, a man staying in Yalta temporary. His wife remains home. e rst lines open with a new woman moving into town. Dmitri gains an interest in the girl, Anna Sergeyevna, and pursues his insatiable desire to court her (and is eventually successful). He realises that she too has a spouse at home, and reluctantly agrees to part from her. e story concludes with one of many reunions, of which they enjoy once every few months, and the tragic realisation that their a air has developed into love, from which they must, for their own good, restrain themselves. One of the story's strongest and, indeed, most loved merits is its subtle yet ultimately signicant transformation of the protagonist, Dmitri. His emotional journey is that which comes closest to being the plot of the peculiar story, atypically divided into four parts: the rst deals with his initial attraction to Anna, the second their relationship in Yalta, the third their necessary separation, and the fourth: his reunion with her, a er being inescapably haunted by her memory. Dmitri is, in the rst section, portrayed as something of a womaniser, but this is largely due to his dissatisfaction with male companionship rather than any distinct misogyny. Chekhov describes him as "himself attracted to them [women] by some invisible force". In this way, the third-person narration is largely based on the perspective of the main character. However, Dmitri is also acutely aware of the dangers of said attraction. Every intimacy, which at rst so agreeably diversies life and appears a light and charming adventure, inevitably grows into a regular problem of extreme intricacy, and in the long run the situation become unbearable Dmitri, throughout the story, goes from something of a chauvinist (indeed, he describes Anna as having "something pathetic about her, anyway") to a man facing the consequences of his actions, and the ethical ultimatum he is faced alongside this. Chekhov presents a character who is haunted by his own decisions, and depicts this through the typically verbose narrative voice. Anna Sergeyevna did not visit him in his dreams, but followed him about everywhere like a shadow. is choice provides the tipping point for a man who is betrayed by himself - by engaging in a sexual relationship with the woman, he is inevitably led to an obsession with her. e time taken

Lachlan Ellison

Morgan

for Chekhov to justify that that this man has 'descended from hunter to hunted' is remarkably short - he provides readers with a poignant and truthful journey that can be read in one sitting. Although the ow of the story is marginally hindered by English translations that leave Chekhov's writing somewhat repetitive andonly a semblance of its Russian self, the short story e Lady with the Dogremains a compelling narration of the life of Dmitri Dmitrich Gurov. rough Chekhov's model use of a characterised narrative perspective, he builds a world for readers in which the inner workings of Dmitri's mind are fully understood. is, then, is highly suitable for the plot that follows: a fall from womaniser to a man who is haunted by his past, and forced to deny his principles - ones of self-restraint and secrecy - and pursue Anna Sergeyevna, the girl he has fallen in love with. As naturalist Jean Jullien, French playwright, said, "a play is a slice of life." is, in many ways, applies too to short stories. Like Jullien, Chekhov was a naturalist and such realism reects strongly in the story. e Lady with the Dogis a highly enjoyable and believable story, one that maintains its relevance today.