Composition Chekhov A.P. An essay on the spiritual degradation of Startsev (according to Chekhov's story "Ionych") The path of spiritual impoverishment of a person in the story of Ionych

(according to the story of A.P. Chekhov "Ionych")
The temple is still doing a little work.
But the hands fell
And a flock, obliquely
Smells and sounds go away.
B. Akhmadulina

Chekhov tends to show the heroes as already formed people, without saying anything about their past - about the ways and difficulties of formation and development. But just as one can judge its age and living conditions from a cut of an adult tree, so one can see its past in a person.

Dr. Startsev is hardworking, smart, full of hope. It means that in the past he thought a lot, worked, communicated with smart and kind people, graduated from the course of some higher educational institution, where a lot of thoughts and ideas hovered. The beginning of his work as a zemstvo doctor is promising: he is passionate about his work, he works hard and willingly, he is healthy mentally and physically, he is happy with the consciousness of this health. But he's young. And this energy is the fruit of youth. Which of the people was not happy in his youth even for a moment, who did not laugh, falling asleep! This is not merit or dignity - this is a pattern. The new age is always a reassessment of values. Unfortunately, only a few are given to preserve its gifts with the departure of youth. And the most priceless of them is the interest in life. And those people who are able to live fully until the end of their days are divided, in my opinion, into two categories.

Some are those in whom a certain unquenchable torch is lit. They in any conditions - whether in society, in solitude - will always steadily strive for something, look for something. Others need to constantly draw strength from someone, in loneliness their supply is depleted, the fire goes out. Startsev belongs to the latter. He still lives, still acts, but subconsciously feels the depletion of his supply. That's why he's looking for support. Chekhov subtly shows the unconsciousness of this attraction. Startsev " somehow came by itself ... the invitation came to mind". Later, he considers Kotik's proposal to visit the cemetery at night to be stupid, unconditionally decides not to go. And in the evening he "suddenly picked up and went to the cemetery." This apparent suddenness is prepared internally. A visit to the cemetery is Startsev's last impulse for another person, the last flash of his soul. If Kotik had come, Startsev's reserve would have been replenished for a while, but she is not there - "they lowered the curtain", the fire went out, "suddenly everything went dark around." One phrase explains the whole instant upheaval in Startsev's soul. He will live for a long time, but here, at the gates of the cemetery, is the beginning of the agony.

And the next day, out of inertia, Startsev goes to make an offer, sees the same Turkins, hears the same “goodbye, please,” but he himself is no longer the same - and the scenery changed (“When we change, the world changes”).

He knows that any disease can be treated in the initial stage, otherwise you can be late. Therefore, he so carefully describes everything that aggravates the disease: both the constant stupidity of the Turkins (one "alienity" of the surname is worth something), and the theatrical refusal of Ekaterina Ivanovna.

Diagnosis: "Startsev's heart stopped beating restlessly." This is the next stage of the necrosis of the soul. Chekhov chose for his hero the most painful death - gradual, slow and inevitable. Here comes Kitty. It would seem that salvation is possible. But too late, the disease progresses, and medicine is already powerless. What could be more terrible than the fate of the patient, who knows that he is doomed? And Startsev knows: “How are we doing here? No way,” he says to Kitty. True, Kotik revives him for a moment. “He remembered everything that happened. There was a fire in my soul." But this is the “recovery” of a consumptive patient before death. Immediately he remembered the symptoms of the disease - "about the papers that he took out of his pockets in the evenings with such pleasure, and the light in his soul went out."

The great Russian realist writer, denouncer of the world of vulgarity, philistinism and philistinism, A.P. Chekhov said his new word in dramaturgy and raised the short story genre to an unattainable height. The writer always considered the main enemies of man to be lies, hypocrisy, arbitrariness, the thirst for enrichment. Therefore, he devoted all his work to the decisive struggle against these vices.

The story "Ionych", like many of his other works, became a response to the most pressing and acute issues of our time. In the story "Ionych" we see a typical picture of the philistine life of a provincial town, in which all visitors were oppressed by boredom and the monotony of existence. However, those who were dissatisfied were assured that it was good in the city, that there were many pleasant, intelligent people. And the Turkins have always been cited as an example of an interesting and educated family. However, peering into the lifestyle, inner world and customs of these characters, we see that in fact they are small, limited, insignificant and vulgar people. Under their pernicious influence, Startsev falls, gradually turning from an intelligent and talented doctor into a layman and money-grubber. At the beginning of the story, Dmitry Ionych Startsev appears before us as a sweet and pleasant young man looking for an interesting company.

He reached out to the Turkin family, because you can talk with them about art, about freedom, about the role of labor in human life. And outwardly, everything in this family looked attractive and original: the hostess read her novel, Turkin repeated his favorite jokes and told jokes, and their daughter played the piano. But all this is good, new and original for the first time, but in fact, the Turkins do not go beyond this monotonous and meaningless pastime.

As the plot develops, we are more and more immersed in the philistine vulgarity of the society into which the Chekhov hero finds himself. The author, step by step, reveals to us the life story of a young talented doctor who chose the wrong path of material enrichment. This choice was the beginning of his spiritual impoverishment.

The main object of the writer's critical analysis is not only the deadly force of vulgarity and philistinism, under the influence of which Dr. Startsev turns into a disgusting Ionych, but also the hero himself. The inner evolution of the hero is clearly revealed in his love for Ekaterina Ivanovna Turkina. Startsev really fell in love with Ekaterina Ivanovna. However, in his feeling there is no life, no soul. The romance of love, its poetry, are completely alien to him. “And does it suit him, a zemstvo doctor, an intelligent, respectable person, to sigh, to receive notes ...”, he reflects.

And we see how his heart hardened, how he spiritually and physically grew old. The hero's attitude to work is also indicative. We hear good and correct speeches from his lips “about the need to work, that it is impossible to live without work…”. And Ionych himself works constantly, every day. However, his work is not inspired by the "general idea", he has only one goal - "in the evenings to take out of his pockets pieces of paper obtained by practice" and periodically take them to the bank.

Chekhov clearly makes it clear that the spiritual development of the hero stopped and went in the opposite direction. Ionych has a past, a present, but no future. He travels a lot, but along the same route, gradually returning him to the original Point. His whole existence is now determined only by the thirst for enrichment and hoarding.

He fences off both from space and from people. And this leads him to moral destruction. In just a few years, the hero was completely defeated by the philistine vulgarity that he so hated and despised at the beginning. In fact, Startsev does not even resist these disastrous circumstances. He does not fight, does not suffer, does not worry, but simply concedes easily. Losing his human appearance, soul, Ionych ceases to be a good specialist.

So, gradually a person, personality, talent perishes in Startsevo. At the end of the story, even the Turkins, whose mediocrity and limitations the author makes fun of all the time, turn out to be spiritually superior to Ionych. In them, despite all the vulgarity and pettiness of their interests, there is still something human left, they at least evoke pity. There is absolutely nothing positive left in Startsevo.

“It seems that it is not a man who is riding, but a pagan god,” the author says about him, summing up his complete moral degradation. A.P. Chekhov is an excellent writer of the late second half of the 19th century. He made a huge contribution to the great Russian literature with his wonderful stories and plays. All Chekhov's works are aimed at describing the everyday life of people.

The writer tells us not about specific characters, but about all together, showing their everyday problems, boring existence. Anton Pavlovich in his trilogies and plays ridicules the vulgarity of people and philistinism as a social disease.

In the story "Ionych", the author shows us an active person, Dr. Startsev, who came to the provincial town to work. But, with his getting used to the routine of everyday life, he degrades as a person. At first, Startsev liked to go to the Turkins’ house, the most educated family in the city, where Vera Iosifovna talks “about what never happens in life”, and Kotik with his “talent” as a pianist, and Ivan Petrovich with his “non-state” and, hello please ”, - all this attracted and liked Startsev at first. After some time, he falls in love with Kitty, but is refused. Startsev quickly calmed down and it was then that he embarked on the path of a complete spiritual fall. He has thoughts about a large dowry, and thoughts like: “Does it suit him, a zemstvo doctor, an intelligent, respectable person, to sigh, receive notes, drag around cemeteries? ..

» In general, Startsev more and more immersed himself in the vulgar, monotonous life of the provincial town. To more vividly show the fall of the hero, Chekhov portrays Startsev four years later, focusing on his appearance: “He gained weight, grew fat and was reluctant to walk, as he suffered from shortness of breath.” By that time, the hero was no longer interested in those around him, he condescended to them only to play cards.

His favorite pastime was sorting out the money received during the day. Even in the city they noticed that Startsev had not changed for the better. It can be concluded that existence in such a warm environment can drag out any smart, active person, make him an ordinary, spiritually devastated creature, and this is exactly what the hero of the story "Ionych" became.

Another, no less attractive and truthful work is The Cherry Orchard. In which the author shows the narrow-minded life of people. The play combines good humor and tragedy. Chekhov speaks of the extinction of the nobility, depicting Ranevskaya throwing money around and her brother Gaev, who ate his entire fortune on candy. But, in general, Chekhov pays great attention to time in the play, it is central in comedy.

Ranevskaya, Gaev, Firs - they all live in memories of the old days, about how good it was for them then. Accustomed to doing nothing, they cannot even accept Lopakhin's correct proposal regarding their estate, namely, the fate of the cherry orchard depends on them.

In this play, Chekhov also very clearly shows the degradation of individual heroes, saying that their century has passed and the time has come for a new generation, with progressive thoughts, smart and active people. A feature of A.

P. Chekhov is that he was one of the few who could so accurately, vividly portray the everyday existence of people of his time. During his life, the writer wrote many wonderful works that made a huge contribution to Russian literature.

Essay on the topic: Spiritual degradation of the personality in the story of A. P. Chekhov "Ionych"

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The great Russian realist writer, denouncer of the world of vulgarity, philistinism and philistinism, A.P. Chekhov said his new word in dramaturgy and raised the short story genre to an unattainable height. The writer always considered the main enemies of man to be lies, hypocrisy, arbitrariness, the thirst for enrichment. Therefore, he devoted all his work to the decisive struggle against these vices. The story "Ionych", like many of his other works, became a response to the most pressing and acute issues of our time.

In the story "Ionych" we see a typical picture of the philistine life of a provincial town, in which all visitors were oppressed by boredom and the monotony of existence. However, those who were dissatisfied were assured that it was good in the city, that there were many pleasant, intelligent people. And the Turkins have always been cited as an example of an interesting and educated family. However, peering into the lifestyle, inner world and customs of these characters, we see that in fact they are small, limited, insignificant and vulgar people. Under their pernicious influence, Startsev falls, gradually turning from an intelligent and talented doctor into a layman and money-grubber.

At the beginning of the story, Dmitry Ionych Startsev appears before us as a sweet and pleasant young man looking for an interesting company. He reached out to the Turkin family, because you can talk with them about art, about freedom, about the role of labor in human life. And outwardly, everything in this family looked attractive and original: the hostess read her novel, Turkin repeated his favorite jokes and told jokes, and their daughter played the piano. But all this is good, new and original for the first time, but in fact, the Turkins do not go beyond this monotonous and meaningless pastime.

As the plot develops, we are more and more immersed in the philistine vulgarity of the society into which the Chekhov hero finds himself. The author, step by step, reveals to us the life story of a young talented doctor who chose the wrong path of material enrichment. This choice was the beginning of his spiritual impoverishment. The main object of the writer's critical analysis is not only the deadly force of vulgarity and philistinism, under the influence of which Dr. Startsev turns into a disgusting Ionych, but also the hero himself.

The inner evolution of the hero is clearly revealed in his love for Ekaterina Ivanovna Turkina. Startsev really fell in love with Ekaterina Ivanovna. However, in his feeling there is no life, no soul. The romance of love, its poetry, are completely alien to him. “And does it suit him, a zemstvo doctor, an intelligent, respectable person, to sigh, to receive notes ...”, he reflects. And we see how his heart hardened, how he spiritually and physically grew old.

The hero's attitude to work is also indicative. We hear from his lips good and correct speeches “about the need to work, that it is impossible to live without work ...”. And Ionych himself works constantly, every day. However, his work is not inspired by the “general idea”, he has only one goal - “in the evenings, take out the pieces of paper obtained by practice from his pockets” and periodically take them to the bank.

practiced” and periodically take them to the bank.

Chekhov clearly makes it clear that the spiritual development of the hero stopped and went in the opposite direction. Ionych has a past, a present, but no future. He travels a lot, but on the same route, gradually returning him to his original

Point. His whole existence is now determined only by the thirst for enrichment and hoarding. He fences off both from space and from people. And this leads him to moral destruction. In just a few years, the hero was completely defeated by the philistine vulgarity that he so hated and despised at the beginning. In fact, Startsev does not even resist these disastrous circumstances. He does not fight, does not suffer, does not worry, but simply concedes easily. Losing his human appearance, soul, Ionych ceases to be a good specialist.

So, gradually a person, personality, talent perishes in Startsevo. At the end of the story, even the Turkins, whose mediocrity and limitations the author makes fun of all the time, turn out to be spiritually superior to Ionych. In them, despite all the vulgarity and pettiness of their interests, there is still something human left, they at least evoke pity. There is absolutely nothing positive left in Startsevo. “It seems that it is not a man who is riding, but a pagan god,” the author says about him, summing up his complete moral degradation.

1. The history of the degradation of the hero.
2. The life of Dr. Startsev.
3. Transformation into Ionych.

The power of the life case is outlined here by the artist strongly, concisely and beautifully...
A. S. Glinka

A.P. Chekhov's story "Ionych" is a story of personality degradation. The author describes the disease of society on the example of a young doctor Startsev. Tracing the influence of the environment on a person, the writer shows the gradual transformation of Dr. Startsev into Ionych, a promising young doctor, into a layman. “Chekhov managed without loss to condense the grandiose volume of all human life, in all its tragicomic plenitude, on eighteen pages of text,” write P. Weil and A. Genis, calling this work a micro-novel. The skill and virtuosity of the author, slowly leading the story, made it possible to give the story a novel form. According to these critics, "Ionych" is an unwritten novel about the hero's life that did not happen.

The author shows us how the environment, society, affects the inner world of the hero. At the beginning of the story, we see Dmitry Ionych Startsev when he has just been appointed zemstvo doctor. For visitors, life in the provincial town of S. is boring and monotonous, but for local residents it seems very busy: “there is a library, a theater, a club, there are balls, which, finally, there are smart, interesting, pleasant families with whom you can make acquaintances” . One of the most “educated and talented” is the Turkin family: the head of the family, Ivan Petrovich, knows a lot about jokes, his wife Vera Iosifovna writes stories, and her daughter Ekaterina Ivanovna plays the piano. Of course, Startsev is advised to definitely visit this hospitable, welcoming, idyllic setting. In fact, this is a typical philistine family.

The first visit does not disappoint the doctor, on the contrary, a nice homely atmosphere, reading aloud novels about what can never be, orchestral music, carefree pastime - all this is pleasant for the guest. Everything at a party was new to him, he liked Ekaterina Ivanovna's acting, the theatrical remark of Pava's footman "die, unhappy!" provoked laughter.

Having devoted himself to work, the doctor was not in this family for a year, until he was invited with a request to relieve Vera Iosifovna's migraines. His visits became more frequent - Startsev fell in love with the owner's daughter. He longs for an explanation, but Kitty is either dry and cold, or hands him a note, making an appointment at the cemetery. Deception does not teach the doctor anything - he goes to propose to Kotik, but it turns out to be inopportune: Ekaterina Ivanovna is being combed by a hairdresser, she is going to a club. In an absent-minded and stunned state, Startsev thinks about the dowry - such a character trait as prudence is already manifesting in him. In a romantic impulse, he is ready to change his life, and Kotik laughs at him. In response to a marriage proposal, he is refused: “Most of all in my life I love art, I love madly, I adore music, I devoted my whole life to it. I want to be an artist, I want fame, success, freedom, and you want me to continue to live in this city, to continue this empty, useless life, which has become unbearable for me. Ekaterina Ivanovna perceives marriage as restrictive conventions. She is moving towards a brilliant goal, and does not strive to get married.

Wounded pride and shame - that's what leaves the club of the Elders. The author aptly notes that everything that happened is like a small amateur play with a stupid end. Soon the doctor healed again as before.

He had a large practice in the city - the result of four years of work, fullness from unwillingness to walk and irritation with the townsfolk. He did not talk to anyone and did not get close, shied away from all entertainment except the game of vint, and opened a bank account. This is all that interests Startsev, and these changes are irreversible - the environment sucks the once promising talented doctor deeper and deeper. Now everything is the opposite: a visit to the Turkins causes other thoughts in him - he rejoices that he did not marry Kotika, he is annoyed by another work of the hostess, the owner's repeated jokes. Ekaterina Ivanovna says that she is a pianist, like a writer from her mother. She idealizes the doctor. Startsev thinks only about money. His favorite profession has long become for him only a source of income. He leaves with the thought: "If the most talented people in the whole city are so mediocre, then what should the city be like ...". He leaves and never visits the Turkins again. From now on, the Turkins for him are “those that my daughter plays the pianos.” After a few more years, this is no longer Dmitry Startsev, but Ionych, "not a man, but a pagan god", greedy, irritable, apathetic, lonely egoist, living for profit. The vulgar philistine environment has done its job. Ionych is only concerned about satiety and wealth, and not at all about people who need a doctor. Now the patients irritate him more, and the former irritation with the townsfolk is forgotten, because he himself has become like that. His achievements over the years are a troika with bells, several houses and a bank account. Startsev has degraded and leads an inactive empty life. Both his life work and love could change him for the better, but he consciously succumbed to the influence of the environment, like Ekaterina Ivanovna, who, returning to her parents' house, gradually becomes a copy of her mother.

I option

In 1898, Chekhov wrote a story, the essence of which is outlined in his notebooks. Two motives are recorded in the notes: the immobility of provincial life and the coarsening of a person who was “overcome by greed”. The spiritual impoverishment of the personality, its degradation, according to the author, lies in the fact that a person loses all his highly moral ideals and merges with the gray mass of society. The meaning of life is lost.

In the city of S., the atmosphere is conducive to a monotonous and hopeless life. In search of at least some entertainment, visitors come to the home of the “educated and talented” Turkin family. Of course, after the moral fog that reigns in the streets of the city of S., this family will seem like just the last center of culture. But their life is surprisingly still monotonous and monotonous. Mom is a graphomaniac, daughter is mediocrity, and dad works out his jokes in front of the mirror even before the guests arrive.

Chekhov gradually refutes the general opinion expressed at the beginning about the Turkin family, which is considered “the most educated and talented” in the city of S. The young doctor who arrived in S. has his own high ideals, strives for beauty, and has kind and tender feelings for Kotik. But the first stage of the destructive influence of vulgarity on Startsev begins. It is noteworthy that Startsev does not resist all this. He is a conformist. He understands everything perfectly, but does nothing. This, according to Chekhov, is the main fault of the zemstvo doctor. With spiritual degradation, the appearance of the hero changes: he becomes more and more fat, shortness of breath appears. At first he went to the sick on foot, then he rode a pair of horses, and then a troika with bells. And now, Startsev, suppressing contempt for the townsfolk, brushing aside disgust, folds the papers obtained by medical practice, “which smelled of perfume, and vinegar, and incense,” to be taken to the bank. Startsev himself knows that he is “getting older, getting fatter, falling”, but he has neither the desire nor the will to fight the philistine. The doctor's name is now simply Ionych. Life path completed.

It is difficult for an extraordinary person to survive in this gray world. Chekhov strictly evaluates his heroes, acutely sees the danger of delusions, but rejoices at the ability to preserve the remnant of feelings in his soul, even if for a moment he rises to a poetic view of the world.

II option

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov wrote about “what he saw and how he saw ... The dignity of his work is that it is understandable and akin not only to every Russian, but to every person in general” (L.N. Tolstoy). In the foreground in his works is a person, his inner and outer world, his individuality, because "then a person will become better when you show what he is."

Gray everyday life, filled with endless patients, at first does not irritate the young zemstvo doctor Dmitry Startsev, who settled in the city of S. He, like any local intellectual, considers it his duty to get acquainted with the Turkin family, according to the city inhabitants, the most talented and unusual in S. With small strokes, the author draws this "talent". The flat witticisms of the head of the family, Ivan Petrovich, the mediocre game of Katerina's daughter and the far-fetched novels of her mother are understandable to Startsev, but after all, after the hospital, dirty peasants, it was pleasant and calm to sit in easy chairs and not think about anything. In the end, Startsev discovers that he is in love with the daughter of the Turkins, who is called Kotik in the family circle.

Upon closer examination, it turns out that Dmitry Startsev's love for Katenka seems strange, half-hearted, not quite "real". She did not come suddenly, but as a matter of course, and it is not entirely clear why Catherine is special for our hero. This love seems to be devoid of individualization. One gets the impression that Startsev simply felt the need to love. to love someone. His own thoughts can serve as proof of this: "... He wanted to scream that he wants, that he is waiting for love at all costs." So, at a time when a “normal” lover will go crazy, completely abstract thoughts swirl in Dmitry’s head: “Oh, you shouldn’t get fat!” or “And they will give a dowry, it must be a lot.” All this speaks, if not about his initial spiritual callousness, then about its prerequisites for further development. In the end, Ionych appears before the reader as an egoist, incapable of love at all. So, when he, "an ardent lover", found out that the object of his adoration had left the city, he "calmed down and lived in peace."

Now he no longer sympathizes with his neighbor, as before, and allows himself to shout at the sick, and knocks with a stick. In the city, he is already called Ionych at home, thereby accepting him into his environment. The process of spiritual dying of Startsev is all the more painful because he is fully aware of what a vile swamp he is plunging into, but does not try to fight. Complaining about the environment, he puts up with it. Even memories of love cannot awaken Startsev's half-asleep soul. He does not at all regret what he has lost and even partly rejoices that everything turned out exactly like this: “It’s good that I didn’t get married then.” He does not feel sorry for youth, unfulfilled hopes. Physical laziness eventually turned with Startsev into laziness of feelings, into laziness of sensations and aspirations for some kind of change. It was not in vain that Chekhov gave his character the surname Startsev: this person had innate signs of old age - laziness, indifference, apathy. There is work, food, karst, some kind of respect for others. What else does? Love? What for? She has so much extra trouble.