Chekhovs Vanka - The Pathos of Vanka Essay -- Vanka Essays

Chekhovs Vanka - The Pathos of Vanka flat following Chekhovs death, the Russian philosopher Shestov (1866-1938) wrote an essay entitled Creation from the Void, in which he stated, Chekhov was a singer of hopelessness . . . Chekhov did only one thing In one way or another he smashed charitable hopes. Anton Chekhovs Vanka accomplishes that quite thoroughly. Vanka, the only active character, believes himself beset on all sides by his bleak world and relies on his own ingenuousness and naivet to shield him. The sanctioned premise of the story centers around the boy, including his futile epistolary plea for spillway to his questionable grandfather, while the author stresses the dangers of the boys reliance on his innocence. The authors exploitation of Vankas innocence and naivet challenges the sentimentality of Chekhovs Vanka. Vanka assumes his grandfather, the lively Konstantin Makaritch, will lovingly bear him from his bleak populace upon receiving the letter, but upon closer ins pection his grandfather is an unfit and unlikely savior. in that respect are two separate aspects to Vanka. The boy either concentrates on the indite of his letter or loses himself in the memory of his grandfather. However, the boys fond recollections contain demonstrate of his grandfathers disturbing character traits. In one instance, Vanka recalls his laughing face and sottish eyes (47). This fond remembrance alludes to a perpetual state of alcohol-induced befuddlement. His grandfather, a probable drinker, was also probably a womanizer, as Vanka imagines him pinching first the housemaid, hence the cook (47). Thus, the author establishes the grandfather as unfit to care for Vanka. To discredit the grandfather further, the author uses rel... ...easing the pathos of the story, this final joke acts as a heart-hardener, transforming dejected despondency into caustic hilarity. The degree of exploitation of Vankas innocence in Chekhovs tale alters the tone of the story. The growi ng sentimentality for Vanka and his grandfather extinguishes itself, replaced by leisure mirth. Though first a tale of mawkish sentimentality, the author utilizes Vankas naivet to disclose the grandfather, then ends Vanka with an ironic, twisting joke, similar to that of Maupassants The Necklace. Works Cited Chekhov, Anton. Vanka Understanding Fiction. 3rd ed. Eds. Cleanth permit and Robert Penn Warren, Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice-Hall, 1979. 46-50 de Maupassant, Guy. The Necklace Understanding Fiction. 3rd ed. Eds. Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren, Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice-Hall, 1979. 66-72