Every Aspect Of His Life And Chekhov example essay topic

Anton Chekhov denied that any of his stories were autobiographical fiction, yet much of his work clearly grew out of his own experiences. From "An Attack of Nerves" to "Three Years", different aspects of his life were incorporated throughout his stories. Each stage of Chekhov's life made an impact in the tales he told. Chekhov's childhood was documented in great detail when he penned the story "Three Years". The main character Laptev could have been Anton or any one of his brothers. In the tale, Chekhov had Laptev telling his wife: He [his father] used to thrash me with a birch, pull my ears, and hit me on the head...

We had to go to morning service and to early mass... at home we had to sing hymns... and when I pass a church I remember my childhood, and am overcome with horror (Ward No. 6 and Other Stories, xiv). When he was a child Anton endured daily beatings by his father, was forced to attend church, and sing in the choir his father directed. Egov ruled every aspect of his life and Chekhov stated to friends "I had no childhood" (Ward No. 6 and Other Stories, xv). In "Vanka", Chekhov told of an orphan who wrote to his grandfather to save him from his master and the beatings that were forced upon him.

Vanka looked to him as a savior; someone who would be able to "Take [him] away from [there]" (The Portable Chekhov, pg 38). His memories of his beloved grandfather provided him with joy and hope during his dreary days. Just as his character Vanka did, Chekhov held his grandfather Pavlovich in the highest of regards. Pavlovich used what little money he had saved to buy his family freedom from a life of slavery.

Had the sacrifice not been made, Anton would have been forced into slavery himself. If he had lived his life as a serf, Chekhov may never have written a single story or have become a doctor. As a young medical student, Anton frequented the red light districts. He once wrote to a friend "I love people who go there, although, I go as rarely as you do" (Ward No. 6 and Other Stories, xix). During one of his visits he realized how the women were being degraded and began writing letters to his editor, Suv orin; also the editor of the local newspaper. In one he noted "Why do they write nothing about prostitution in your paper?

It is the most fearful evil, you know. Our Sobolev Street is a regular slave-market" (Ward No. 6 and Other Stories, xix). His rendezvous' down Sobolev Street inspired the story "An Attack of Nerves". It is the account of a law student, Vasily ev, who visits such a street and is driven to a breakdown with the thought of the way the women are treated. When trying to leave his friends at one of the houses he states "They [the women] are all like animals than human beings, but of course they are human beings all the same, they have souls" (The Portable Chekhov, pg 234).

Chekhov and the character he created in his own image were both "Fully aware of social evils and [they each] had a strong sense of civic responsibility" (The Portable Chekhov, pg 10). After medical school, Chekhov's writing became influenced by his skills as a physician. He once noted to a friend "Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my mistress. When I get fed up with one, I spend the night with the other one" (The Portable Chekhov, pg 5). Anton was able to write medical literature that surpassed his fellow Russian novelists. With his knowledge he was capable of delving deep into the psychological aspects of the human mind for his work.

At times he thought that his training restricted him, yet he decided that his "Medical training helped... [it gave] him a more perceptive and penetrating knowledge of men and women, guarding him against the pitfalls of subjectivity" (The Portable Chekhov, pg 5). When Chekhov was not writing stories he gave his time to treating patients for free. Many were mentally ill patients with schizophrenia, depression, and other illnesses. Some of his patients were likely the inspiration when he developed Belikov in "Man in a Shell".

Belikov was a man afflicted with antisocial disorder and OCD. "His face was always hidden in a turned up collar... the man showed a constant and irrepressible inclination to keep a covering about himself; to create for himself a membrane... which would isolate him from outside influences" (The Portable Chekhov, pg 355). Although Anton was able to cure some of his patients he left Belikov to wallow in his misery until death. In his late thirties, Chekhov knew his own death was imminent. He had long been suffering from tuberculosis and knew that a cure wouldn't be available during his lifetime.

For years he had suffered hemorrhaging from his lungs as he slowly waited to die. No matter how much he denied it the doctor in him knew the truth about his mortality. As he grew closer to his own demise, he had written some darker tales. "On Official Business" is shrouded under a black cloud of death. An insurance agent named Lesnitzky committed suicide in the village headquarters, and the entire town of Syr nya was left to deal with the catastrophe. The policeman explained it best, "Folks are all upset... the children are crying... the women won't go near the barn... some of the men [are] scared" (The Portable Chekhov, pg 442).

With Lesnitzky's body in the council building, his family and acquaintances were left to ponder over his motivations and what drew him to suicide. Along with Chekhov, many of the characters including Lyzhin were left to do their own soul searching on the matter of life and death. Five years after writing this tale Anton passed away at the age of forty-four. While glancing into his life, one is able to realize that Chekhov was able to analyze his reality and become a master at writing autobiographical fiction. He had "observant eyes for the telling of detail of appearance or behavior... his stories [had] an atmosphere as distinct as an odor" (The Portable Chekhov, pg 23).

Anton succeeded his goal in writing as he told his friend Pleshcheyev he had intended to "kill two birds with one stone: to paint life in its true aspects, and to show how far this life falls short of the ideal life" (Ward No. 6 and Other Stories, xx). Chekhov was able to complete such a task since he sought ideas for his work in every aspect of his life, and that is evident in every story he wrote. From his family and friends to his fellow doctors and patients, each person that surrounded him was a source of inspiration.

Bibliography

Andrew, Joe. Introduction. Selected Stories. By Anton Chekhov. Wordsworth Editions Ltd. Great Britain, 2002, V-XVII Chekhov, Anton.
The Portable Chekhov. Ed. Avraham Yarmolinsky. Viking Penguin, Inc. New York, 1947 Chekhov, Anton.
Ward No. 6 and Other Stories. Trans. Constance Garnett. Barnes and Noble Classics. New York, 2003 Plante, David.
Introduction. By Anton Chekhov. New York, 2003, X -XXV.