Misery and Peasant are stories written by a 19th century Russian author named Anton Chekhov. In his literary genius, he makes use of various stylistic devices in order to convey the theme of suffering. Indeed, imagery plays an important role in the understanding of the themes as the author uses it to make a vivid description of the character’s environment. Therefore this adds depth to the main themes of poverty and isolation surrounding Russia at that time period. Thus, through the short stories Peasants and Misery, it will be shown how Chekhov uses imagery to explore the theme of suffering through isolation and poverty experienced by the main characters.
The setting, which is one key component of the imagery, represents a crucial factor in
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The latter enables readers to see the metamorphoses of Olga. Indeed, at the beginning she was described as being in a quite healthy shape. However as she keeps living as a peasant, her physical state undergoes decadence. This shows the precarious living conditions of the lower class here represented by the peasants. Indeed, this passage gives a physical depiction of Nikolay’s wife. It is seen that, she is not portrayed as a beautiful woman but as an old wretched creature. Through it, Anton Chekhov uses Olga as a way to describe the peasants. Indeed, at that time peasants were tired poor and sick people. Due to the enormous workload they had to endure and pay interest to the land owner, they relentlessly worked but were poorly remunerated for their work. Thus, Due to the hardships they went through, although once being joyful people, the peasants grew to become bitter people with “something blank and irresponsive”. The author uses this imagery as a means to describe the suffering the lower Russian class
Imagery: The author uses imagery to describe the Russian prisoners’ lives in the camps. This imagery makes them look pathetic and frail, causing the reader to feel empathetic and sorry for them. Also we see the same idea of imagery within the hospitals and what happens in them. The description of gore and fear emphasizes the theme of death
Aleksander Nikitenko is notable for an extraordinarily detailed dairy kept from a very early age that provides an intimate view of Russian culture during the early 1800s. Aleksander’s written account, Up from Serfdom, offers a first-hand account of Russian history, making a rather insightful contribution to slave literature. This book is among one of the very few autobiographies ever written by a pre-existing serf. Despite being a bright child, Nikitenko was nevertheless one of the three hundred thousand serfs that were the personal property of the Sheremetiv family in Voronezh Province, whom possessed legal authority to dispose of the serfs as they wished. Nonetheless, through a remarkable turn of events, Aleksander, unlike other serfs
The setting plays a significant role in symbolism because it gives the reader a little background
Bigger but not better. The latter half of Bridget Moran’s autobiographical novel, A Little Rebellion, provides examples of how the social work industry has grown through the decades without effecting much change around fundamental issues such as poverty. Moran (1992) examines how privatization and the contracting out of social programming created a “shadow ministry” or “para-ministry” that broadened the scope of services provided (pp. 141-142) while the number of people requiring services didn’t diminish (Moran, 1992, p. 140). As of 1991, nearly one third of the population of British Columbia accessed welfare in the form of income assistance, foster care, and services for people living below the poverty line (Moran,
Anton Chekhov hardly restrained from writing the dreary aspects of life during his writing career. Noted as one of Russia’s most prominent realist writers of the late 19th century, Chekhov’s work ranged from critical issues concerning the mental health system in “Ward No.6” to illustrating the tiresome cycle occurring for ordinary people sensing they are incomplete with their dull, normal life in “The Lady with the Dog.” “The Lady with the Dog,” in particular portrays characters of Chekhov’s facing an unreachable desire; Gurov and Anna. This desire emulates two contrasting forces represented by the double-lives the couple lives, one being that of realism and boredom, and the other of strict passion and romanticism. Gurov and “the lady with
Tolstoy's emphasizes deeply with the Chechen people as he details their suffering at the hands of
Chekhov explores this concept of conflict through Anna and Gurov’s relationship in ‘The Lady with the Dog’ as he reveals a need to defy social restraints in order to escape their marriages as this restricts them from fully embracing their desires. The image of the “long grey fence adorned with nails” (Chekhov 1998, p. 371), symbolises the confines of marriage keeping them apart, unable to be free from social restraint. Creating an air of seclusion and limitations, this depiction appears to be fending off Gurov, producing a feeling of entrapment and isolation as it separates their love. The image of an old woman, a beggar and a dog walking in and out of the fence freely further emphasises this lack of freedom they have in their lives; the portrayal of a beggar being the most illuminating aspect of this passage. Even what is considered as the lowest form of humanity, appears to show more freedom then what they can as they cannot pass this
Moreover, Chekhov’s overall goal of “Anna on the Neck” is not aimed at a concluding idea of what it means to hold power or wealth, but rather to portray what it means to be human by presenting the shift in moral values of Anna. In addition, Chekhov uses distinct images and motifs to establish Anna’s initial position in the beginning of the story as being submissive, powerless, and weak and shift’s this image of Anna to be one of strength, authority, power, and pride, after she became aware of her influence. By Anna not helping her family like she wanted to in the beginning of the story, she now holds a false sense of values since she became the high class superficial woman who did not achieve the goals she wished to accomplish through
The stories of Anton Chekhov mark a focal moment in European fiction. This is the point where 19th realist caucus of the short stories started their transformation into modern form. As such, his work straddles two traditions. The first is that of the anti-romantic realism which has a sharp observation of external social detail. It has human behavior conveyed within tight plot. The second is the modern psychological realism in which the action in typically internal and expressed in associative narrative that is built on epiphanic moments. In consideration of the two sides, Chekhov developed powerful personal styles that presage modernism without losing traditional frills of the form. This essay will discuss the Chekhov's portrayal of women.
In 19th century Russian literature there was often a gender inequality depicted between the male and female characters. Women were expected to get married, start a family, and obey their husbands. Women often made sacrifices and married men they weren’t fond of in order to support their families. Anton Chekhov’s writing questions these gender relationships. The female characters have a strong presence within Chekhov’s works, and they transcend typical gender roles.
However, in Oates’ version, she utilizes the female character, Anna, to develop the story. In Chekhov’s story, the reader is more aware of the masculinity present in the story. Gurov is manipulative of women, and he uses them as a device to remove himself from his marriage. In the story, he speaks of women by saying, “It seemed to him that he had been sufficiently tutored by bitter experience to call them what he pleased…” (Chekhov 2014). He believes that all women are the same and are the inferior race compared to men. Anna’s actions in the Oates’ story contrast greatly compared to Gurov’s. Anna displays the feminine side of the relationship between the couple. Anna is not accustomed to being involved in several affairs, which can be seen through the emotional toll that it takes on her. Following the stereotypical female
When using imagery, we can imagine what is going on, what the unknown characters did, and how it’s affecting an individual and the entire community. This
The Russian attitude toward love during Chekhov’s time is very patriarchal and is considered normal to marry for practical reasons, parental pressures or other considerations rather than for love. The feelings that accompany love, such as passion and spirituality, are not a societal consideration and this institutional attitude toward human emotion is the catalyst for Chekhov’s story. When a person is deprived of love, he or she builds up a futility of life which consumes the human soul. In Anton Chekhov’s “The Lady with the Dog”, the readers are placed in a setting where the main character Gurov, and his love interest Anna, are given the emotional freedom to feel love toward one another. This freedom is the driving force in the story
Dmitri, before he loved Anna, was a dog, one who looked down on women and only thought of the pleasures and benefits he could receive from them. Stuck in an unhappy marriage with his wife to the point that he, “did not like to be at home” (Chekhov, 62). Dmitri, though enjoys the company of women, he acknowledged that “he could not get on for two days together without ‘the lower race’” (Chekhov, 62), the “lower race” referencing women. Consequently, this disgust of his own wife and desire for women causes Dmitri to cheat, “He had begun being unfaithful to her long ago -- had been unfaithful to her often” (Chekhov, 62). Dmitri liked to keep all his affairs simple and amusing, whenever one would begin to be too much work and/or unbearable, he would drop it and proceed to the next one. Though Dmitri is quite an observant person he would focus on the
One of the themes of Tolstoy’s story of The Death of Ivan Ilych is detachment from life, considering that all material things can substitute the true meaning of life: compassion and care for others. “Everywhere in the novel, Tolstoy speaks of Iván Ilych's desire for propriety, decorous living, and pleasantness all while making this his first and most important priority. This motivation is a poor