Thick and thin description of thin. Chekhov “Thick and Thin” - analysis of the story

In 1883, a short story “Thick and Thin” by A. Chekhov appeared in the magazine “Oskolki”. Short and succinct in content, it is filled with deep meaning. The author addresses in it the problem of servility and veneration of rank, which has more than once become an object of criticism in Russian literature.

Composition and content (brief)

Fat and thin, former classmates at the gymnasium, met by chance at the station. The mention of the Nikolaev railway in the first sentence (this is a condensed exposition) suggests that the heroes of the story are officials. A. Chekhov does not give a detailed description of them, but accurate ones immediately bring clarity to what is happening. For example, the mention that the fat man smelled of “sherry and fleur-d’orange” is a sign of wealth, and the thin man smelled of “ham and coffee grounds,” helps to determine at what level of the social ladder each of the heroes was. In addition, the latter was hung with boxes and suitcases - he probably did not have extra funds or was sparing money on a porter.

The fat one noticed his former friend first. His joyful cry addressed to Porfiry becomes the beginning of the action. They have not seen each other since childhood, and it is quite natural that a conversation begins between them. Short, but sufficient for the reader to get a complete picture of the life position of each of the friends.

The culmination is the moment when the thin one learns what heights his comrade has reached in life. Misha immediately turns into “Your Excellency,” and Porfiry himself unnecessarily becomes an obsequious and fawning little man, as further analysis will show.

Thick and thin during dialogue

Porfiry, seeing his childhood friend, was simply stunned. The former friends hugged and “kissed” three times - the author deliberately uses sublime language here to give the whole scene a mocking character.

Thin was extremely talkative and began to talk boastfully about his life. He introduced his wife and son, while Nathanael thought first and only then took off his hat. He said that over the years of service in the office he reached the rank of collegiate assessor. He also makes and sells cigars - additional income to his salary. However, his joy and delight from the meeting disappeared the very moment he learned that his friend was “probably already a civilian?” - rose to the rank of Privy Councilor. The thin one at first turned pale and seemed petrified, after which he put on a wide smile on his face, probably best suited for a conversation with an important person. He immediately seemed to shrink, trying not to attract too much attention to himself. The same thing happened with his family and numerous bundles and cardboard boxes: they all suddenly shrank and wrinkled. Reverence for rank, in any situation and before everyone who was at least a little more significant, became the norm of life for a minor official - Porfiry’s behavior and his analysis lead to this conclusion.

The fat and thin parted in a completely different way from how they met. The Privy Councilor, taciturn and self-confident, but showing cordiality, wanted to object something, and then simply turned away, offering his hand in farewell. He was sickened by such a change in his comrade.

And the whole family froze in “pleasant stupor.”

During childhood

The characters and memories of Porfiry will be assessed by analysis. Tolsty and Thin spent several years together at the gymnasium. Even then, the superiority of the first, nicknamed Herostratus, was obvious - in ancient times, a Greek with that name destroyed one of the wonders of the world with fire. Misha burned through his government book with a cigarette - he clearly wanted to gain authority among his classmates.

The thin one was called Ephialtes, since he often told lies. And this name - a traitor to the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae - has been preserved in history. Years passed, and one remained handsome, “darling” and a dandy, living sedately and in abundance. Another, “thanks to” his ability to please and many years of work, managed to rise to a low rank, which still gave him the title of nobility. And now this difference between former friends was exposed even more, and the constant fear of his superiors made Porfiry tremble in front of someone who a few minutes ago was only a “childhood friend.”

and the role of the detail

The main technique that Chekhov uses in the story “The Thick and the Thin” is antithesis. The contrast between the characters is found in everything, including the title: from the mention of what each had for lunch, to the manner of behavior and speech. Subtle is indicative in this regard. If at the beginning of the meeting we hear from him: “you”, “my dear”, “childhood friend”, then subsequently his tone changes to reverent and respectful. To the meaningful “your excellency”, “such nobles”, “have mercy”, “hee-hee-hee”, etc. pauses are added, as if it suddenly became difficult for him to speak.

In the second part of the story, an important role in revealing the image of the collegiate assessor is played by metaphor (“he was petrified”), comparison (“it seemed... sparks were falling from his face and eyes”), and personification (the boxes, the nodes “shrank, winced”). Thus, in the story “The Thick and the Thin,” Chekhov ridicules the hero’s servility, cowardice, and opportunism. Moreover, Thin does this unconsciously, out of habit, in response to the words of his former comrade: “Well, that’s enough... And why this tone?”

Moral meaning of the work

The content of the story and its analysis evokes sad thoughts in the reader. “Thick and Thin” is an example of the lengths to which a person can go to self-abasement in an effort to curry favor and please. And the great writer and expert on the human soul, A.P. Chekhov, for a century and a half now, has been urging us to look at ourselves and those around us so that society can finally get rid of the vices that interfere with the establishment of healthy and sincere relationships between people.

The main characters of “Fat and Thin” are childhood friends; they once studied together, played pranks together, and both retained many warm memories of that carefree period. The description of the appearance of the characters is the main antithesis in the work. The author does not immediately introduce the names of the characters into the story; at first he calls them “thick and thin.” This emphasizes not only the external, but also the internal characteristics of the characters, setting the reader up to the fact that people have met, between whom misunderstanding is inevitable. In Chekhov's story “The Thick and the Thin”, servility and the habit of groveling before higher ranks are ridiculed. The instant metamorphosis that happened to the “thin” man and his entire family is so disgusting and irreversible that the “fat” man strives to leave his old friend, he “vomits”.

Characteristics of the characters “Thick and Thin”

Main characters

Minor characters

In the work “The Thick and the Thin,” the characters meet by chance at the station; the “second” acquaintance occurs at the moment when Mikhail informs his friend about the post he holds. At this moment, the image of Porfiry undergoes such tremendous changes that a new person appears before us. The transformation so strikingly reveals the character of the “subtle” and his family that further dialogue between friends turns out to be impossible. The situation positively characterizes the well-fed and wealthy Mikhail, who turns out to be more humane and simpler than Porfiry, who complains about life. The author calls for maintaining your own dignity, self-respect, and not judging a person by their status in society.

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Work test

the best traditions of Russian classical literature. Chekhov's soul, like the soul of the heroes of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, was in constant, persistent, hard work. “We need to train ourselves,” Chekhov declared, and in a letter to his wife, O. L. Knipper, noted with satisfaction the beneficial results of working on himself: “I must tell you that by nature I have a harsh character... but I’m used to restraining myself, for it is not proper for a decent person to let himself go.” The penetrating gaze of the great Russian artist I. E. Repin, at the first meeting with Chekhov, noticed precisely this feature of his nature: “Subtle, inexorable, purely Russian analysis prevailed in his eyes over his entire facial expression. An enemy of sentiment and pompous hobbies, he seemed to hold himself in the mouthpiece of cold irony and with pleasure felt the chain mail of courage on himself.” The desire for freedom and the energy of self-education associated with it were the hereditary qualities of Chekhov's character. “What the noble writers took from nature for nothing, the commoners buy at the price of youth,” Chekhov said to one of the Russian writers. “Write a story about how a young man, the son of a serf, a former shopkeeper, a singer, a high school student and a student, brought up in respect for rank, ...squeezes a slave out of himself drop by drop, and how he, waking up one fine morning, feels that it is no longer slave blood that flows in his veins, but real human blood...” In this advice from Chekhov, autobiographical intonations clearly slip through, the severity of moral judgment, so characteristic of the best part of the Russian democratic intelligentsia. Let us remember Bazarov: “Every person must educate himself - well, at least like me, for example... And as for time - why will I depend on it? It’s better to let it depend on me.”

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born on January 17 (29), 1860 in Taganrog into a poor merchant family. His father and grandfather were serfs in the village of Olkhovatka, Voronezh province. They belonged to the landowner Chertkov, the father of V. G. Chertkov, L. N. Tolstoy’s closest friend and follower. The first Chekhov to settle in these parts was (*163) a native of the northern Russian provinces. In the old days, among the masters of foundry, cannon and bell making, the peasant craftsmen Chokhovs stood out, whose surname was included in Russian chronicles. It is possible that the Chekhov family grew out of this root, since their family often used this pronunciation of the surname - Chokhov. Moreover, this was an artistically gifted family. The young Chekhovs believed that they owed their talent to their father, and their soul to their mother. The meaning of life of their father and grandfather was the ineradicable peasant desire for freedom. Chekhov's grandfather Yegor Mikhailovich, at the cost of hard work, saved three and a half thousand rubles and by 1841 bought the entire family out of serfdom. And the father, Pavel Egorovich, being already a free man, became a popular man and started his own trading business in Taganrog. The family of the writer’s mother, Evgenia Yakovlevna, also came from serf men, and his fate unfolded in the same way. Evgenia Yakovlevna’s grandfather and Chekhov’s great-grandfather Gerasim Nikitich Morozov, obsessed with a desire for personal independence and endowed with peasant energy and enterprise, managed to buy the entire family free back in 1817.

PLEASE SHORTEN THE TEXT SELECT THE MOST IMPORTANT =) PLEASE STORY FOR 3 - 4 MINUTES

I Literature of the 19th century.
1. Name the literary trends of the 19th century.
2. What events in world and Russian history created the preconditions
for the emergence of romanticism in Russia?
3. Name the founders of Russian romanticism.
4. Who stood at the origins of Russian realism?
5. Name the main literary movement of the second half of the 19th century
century.
6. What task did A.N. Ostrovsky set for himself in the play “The Thunderstorm”?
7. Express the philosophy of the writer A.N. Ostrovsky as an example
plays "The Thunderstorm".
8. What task did I.S. set for himself? Turgenev in the novel “Fathers and
children"?
9. Why is the novel by I.S. Critics called Turgenev's "Fathers and Sons"
anti-noble?
10.Express the main ideas of the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and
punishment".
11.Formulate the basic principles of F.M.’s philosophy. Dostoevsky and
the main character of the novel, Rodion Raskolnikov.
12. Why, in your opinion, was the novel “War and Peace” criticized?
called “an encyclopedia of Russian life”?
13.What distinguishes the positive heroes of L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and
world"?
14.Name the stages of spiritual evolution of one of the characters in the novel: Andrei
Bolkonsky, Pierre Bezukhov, Natasha Rostova.
15.What do the destinies of Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov have in common?
II Literature of the 20th century.
1. What phenomena of social life in Russia influenced the development
literature of the 20th century?
2. What name did the literature of the turn of the 19th – beginning of the 20th centuries receive?
3. What are the main literary movements of this time?
4. What is the philosophy of I. Bunin’s story “Cold Autumn”?
5. What unites the stories of I. Bunin “Cold Autumn” and A.
Kuprin “Garnet Bracelet”?
6. “What you believe in, that is.” Which hero of M. Gorky's work
do these words belong? Explain his philosophy.
7. What is Satin’s role in the play “At the Bottom”?
8. The image of the civil war in M. Sholokhov’s stories “Birthmark”
and "Food Commissioner".
9. What are the features of the Russian character in the story by M. Sholokhov
"The Fate of Man"?
10.What kind of village did you see in A.I.’s story? Solzhenitsyn "Matryonin"
yard"?
11.What philosophical and moral problems does the author raise in
story?
12.Which plot episode is the climax in the story “Matryonin”
yard"?
13. What unites the characters of Andrei Sokolov (“The Fate of a Man”) and
Matryona Vasilievna (“Matryonin’s Dvor”)?
14. Which Russian writer was awarded the Nobel Prize for his contribution to
world literature?

literary trends took place
be in the 1900s?
2) What
introduced something fundamentally new into dramaturgy
"The Cherry Orchard" by Chekhov? (I’ll give you a hint
features of a “new drama” are needed)
3)For
that Tolstoy was excommunicated from the Church (betrayed
anathema)?
4)Name
the names of the three decadents and explain that
what do you think this was like?
direction in literature (or not according to you
– copy from the lecture)
5)What
is acmeism? (write word for word
from the Internet - I won’t count), name
several acmeist authors
6)Who
became our main new peasant
a poet? What literary movement
did he try to create it later? Was
is it viable (on whom
held)?
7)After
revolution of 1917 Russian literature
was involuntarily divided into... and...
8) From
this avant-garde school came out like this
a poet like Mayakovsky. What kind of creativity
great artist of the 20th century inspired
poets of this school? Why?
9)B
1920s literary group emerged
"Serapion Brothers", what kind of group is this,
what goals did she set for herself?
which famous writer was part of this
group?
10)Name
the most important book of Isaac Babel. ABOUT
what is she? (in a few words, convey
plot)
11)Name
2-3 works by Bulgakov
12)What
we can attribute Sholokhov's work
to social realism? (This work
corresponded to the official Soviet ideology,
so it was enthusiastically received)
13) Sholokhov
in the language of "Quiet Don" uses a lot
words from local...
14)What
wrote the most important work
Boris Pasternak? What were the main names?
heroes? What period of time
covers the work? And what is the main thing
the event is at the center of the novel
15)Tell me
what happened to literature in the 1930s
years

The story “Thick and Thin,” written in 1883, belongs to the group of early humorous works by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. Despite this, it touches on serious issues that are relevant even now. In this article we provide a brief analysis of the story “Thick and Thin,” thanks to which we will better get to know the main characters and understand what goals Chekhov pursued when writing it.

The main characters of the story “Thick and Thin” - analysis of images

The situation described in the work is extremely simple. At the railway station, two classmates accidentally met: fat Mikhail and thin Porfiry. Initially, the unexpected meeting brings joy to both, they exchange warm greetings, ask each other about life, family, and career. Both remember with affection their childhood years in the gymnasium, playful nicknames and pranks. Thin says that he has the rank of collegiate assessor. Tolstoy good-naturedly reports that he is already a Privy Councilor. Here the climax suddenly comes, and analysis of the story “Thick and Thin” allows us to understand its essence.

Chekhov, as a subtle master, in a few sentences ironically describes the metamorphosis that occurred with Thin, his wife and even his son Nathanael. Not only did Thin “turn pale, become petrified,” “shrink, hunched,” and seemed to become smaller compared to such an important person as his former friend. And then his face “twisted” into a “broadest smile.” It is significant that the face “twisted” with a smile, and did not “sparkle”, “play”, etc. The word shows us the insincerity, tension and forcedness of this smile. The wife's chin stretched out even more, and the son buttoned up his uniform with all the buttons. It’s interesting that even Thin’s boxes and suitcases “shrank” and “wrinkled.”

Let us continue the analysis of the story “Thick and Thin”. From this moment on, the behavior of Thin and his family completely changes. In his speech, characteristic “-s” appear after the words: “what are you-s”, “hi-hi-hi-s”. They show their humiliation before Tolstoy. Porfiry addresses his former classmate “Your Excellency.” There can be no talk of any friendly communication.

Fat is shown as an obese, good-natured person. He is sincerely glad to see his friend from the gymnasium. In his speech, as in Tonky’s remarks, at first there are addresses: “darling”, “darling”. The phrases of both consist of interrogative and exclamatory sentences, demonstrating cheerful excitement. It is characteristic that after the news of Tolstoy’s high rank, only Tonkoy’s attitude towards his friend changes. Tolstoy himself continues the conversation in the same spirit. Even seeing how his friend is trying to fawn, Mikhail wants to return the previous tone to the conversation, saying that there is no need for veneration. He even “winced” at Thin’s behavior. Don't miss this point, especially if you are analyzing the story "Thick and Thin."

But the author notes that the reverence that was clearly visible on the face of a lower-ranking official, the “sweetness” and “respectful acidity” were so obvious that Tolstoy had no choice but to say goodbye. It is noteworthy that for the first time a person with a higher position does not seek to emphasize his superiority. He is respectful and friendly. And a person of lower rank humiliates himself. This sounds like a new exploration of the theme of the “little man” in literature.

The theme of the “little man” in Chekhov’s story “Thick and Thin”

The image of the “little man” has been characteristic of Russian literature since the time of Alexander Pushkin. In the story “The Station Agent” we see the author’s sympathy for a powerless low-class official. Nikolai Gogol in his work “The Overcoat” emphasizes compassion for the plight of a petty official doomed to eternal vegetation.

Chekhov at the very end of the 19th century showed a different perspective on the problem. Often the person himself puts himself in a humiliating position. Slavish habits are very difficult for a person to overcome. The writer demonstrates the appearance of this social and psychological disease.

We hope that the analysis of the story “Thick and Thin”, which was written by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, was useful for you. You will find more materials on our literary blog, where we post articles on a variety of topics. Also read

- an excellent writer who, with the help of his works, could subtly point out the shortcomings of society, including how easy it is to lose friendship. This is evidenced by one of his stories, Thick and Thin, whose summary for the reader's diary we offer below. A brief summary of the story Thick and Thin will help readers get to know its main characters and main idea.

Chekhov: Thick and thin summary

The action takes place at the station. It was there that we met old friends and true friends who had known each other since our student days. One of them was thick and the other was thin. The thin one, whose name was Porfiry, had a family, a wife and a child. He just got off the train, loaded with packages and suitcases. Here I ran into my fat friend Mikhail. The joy was sincere, the friends even shed tears. The thinner one began to be praised by his wife and son. He told me about his position and his small salary, and that he had to earn extra money by making cigarette cases. He told his friend about how his wife gives private lessons and how his son is in third grade. The conversation was sincere and friendly until Misha began to talk about himself. As it turned out, he managed to rise to the rank of Privy Councilor. This is where it all begins. His friend Porfiry, like his wife, changed his facial expression, a certain envy appeared, and his tone immediately changed. He stops communicating with Misha as a friend, and begins to talk with him as a person whose rank is higher than him. This was disgusting to Misha, and even sickening from his friend’s servility, although the fat man himself behaved simply and did not betray his rank in any way, did not put himself above his friend, but was simply glad to meet him. The fat one is in a hurry to say goodbye to the thin one. He shook his fingers and bowed, his wife smiled, and Porfiry’s son dropped his headdress. They remained standing at the station, stunned that their childhood friend could achieve such success.

the main idea

A.P. Chekhov in the story Thick and Thin raises such problems as hypocrisy and veneration of rank, and does not veiledly show the awe of a low-ranking person before a senior in rank. In the work Thick and Thin the main idea is revealed, which lies in the changes taking place in a person. We see how destructive hypocrisy can be, which can instantly destroy strong and long-standing friendships. As they say, know how to differentiate between friendship and business connections, don’t be hypocrites, and maybe there will also be a holiday on your street. So, for example, Tolstoy himself could help his friend in the future, but the latter’s servility made him disgusted, and therefore the desire to help such people disappears. I just want to run away from them.