Which phrase is the key for Belikov. "Man in a Case" main characters

The theme of the “case man” can rightfully be considered a cross-cutting theme in Chekhov’s work. The writer takes the first step in revealing this topic in his early work“Literature Teacher,” but in 1898 three stories appeared, the so-called “Little Trilogy,” which can be combined into a cycle based on their common themes.
The author gives the most grotesque picture of “case” life in the first story of the trilogy, where the theme is already stated in the title. Chekhov draws a clearly exaggerated image, which is an artistic generalization social phenomenon that time. So, Belikov appears before us - a man with a very interesting and even “wonderful” character and habits: “in very good weather” he “went out in galoshes and with an umbrella and certainly in a warm coat with cotton wool. And he had an umbrella in a case, and a watch in a gray suede case, and when he took out a penknife to sharpen a pencil, his knife was also in a case; and his face, it seemed, was also in a case, since he kept hiding it in the raised collar.” It is no coincidence that the author devotes Special attention portrait of a hero. He strives to reveal his soul with the help of characteristics of everyday life, Belikov’s costume, inner world, show his true colors.
So, already from the portrait description we see that the teacher Greek language completely fenced himself off from living life, tightly locked himself in his “case” little world, which seemed to him better than the real thing. The case “envelops” the brain, controls the hero’s thoughts, suppressing positive principles. Thus, he is deprived of everything human, living, and turns into a mechanical machine of rules and circulars.
But the worst thing is that he imposes these rules and prejudices on the entire world around him, in which all goals are set and achieved only out of necessity. Oppressing everyone with his caution, Belikov puts pressure on people, makes them afraid: “Our teachers are all-thinking people, deeply decent, brought up on Turgenev and Shchedrin, but this little man, who always walked in galoshes and with an umbrella, held the entire gymnasium in his hands for fifteen years. years! What about high school? The whole city!" Developing Chekhov's thought, we understand that the “case” is a generalized image of all of Russia with its state regime. The image of Mavra brings a new twist to the understanding of the problem. The darkness and ignorance of people among the people is also a “case” that covers all major aspects of life.
But the trends of a new time are penetrating the city. Independent, free individuals appear (Kovalenko, his sister), revealing with merciless force the “suffocating atmosphere” of such a life. They find the key to solving the problem, which is contained in main phrase works: “No, it’s impossible to live like this anymore!” Indeed, with the arrival of such people, Belikov’s dominance ends. He is dying. But one gets the impression that this is exactly what the hero lived for; he finally achieved his ideal: “Now, when he was lying in the coffin, his expression was meek, pleasant, even cheerful, as if he was glad that he was finally put in a case , from which he will never come out.” Yes, Belikov died, but “how many more such people are left in the case, how many more will there be!” During the funeral, the weather was rainy and all the teachers at the gymnasium “were wearing galoshes and umbrellas,” as if continuing the traditions of the deceased.
What awaits people who lead a “case” lifestyle? Of course, inevitable loneliness, worse than which there is nothing in the world.
But what helped the author create such an original grotesque image that the reader remembers for a long time? Of course, these are various artistic means of expression.
Taking an interest in the hero's everyday life and costume, the writer gives a complete, detailed description of his nature, and draws an accurate portrait of his soul. For such a description, Chekhov uses complex syntactic constructions with a large number of homogeneous members, expanding the panorama of reality.
The phonetic composition of the work is striking in its diversity. But we note that the sound “o” (assonance) is often found, which also conveys the isolation of the hero’s life, going in a circle, his distance from the world.
Many Belikov household items are symbolic in nature. Thus, a case, glasses, galoshes and an umbrella are indispensable attributes of a “case” human existence. It is no coincidence that the story begins and ends with their mention.
The lexical composition of the story also surprises us with its richness. It contains both commonly used and outdated words(“cabman”, “sweatshirt”, “batman”, etc.), which convey the atmosphere of the era.
I would like to note that, most importantly, key phrase The work contains an inversion: “It’s impossible to live like this anymore.” It seems to attract the reader’s attention to these words, making them think about their deep meaning.
Chekhov's language is particularly lively, emotional and at the same time simple, which makes his stories accessible and understandable.
The subtleties of the author's craftsmanship amaze us even at the first reading of the story; the true intention of his works is revealed to us.
It seems to me that the problem that Chekhov touches on in the story “The Man in a Case” will always remain relevant. The writer warns about the dangers of philistinism and everyday vulgarity. Unbeknownst to yourself, everyone can fall into the “case” of their own prejudices, ceasing to think and reflect, search and doubt. And this is really scary, as it leads to spiritual devastation and personality degradation.

Tasks and tests on the topic "The symbolic meaning of the image of Belyakov in A. P. Chekhov's story "The Man in a Case""

• Morphological norm - Important Topics to repeat the Unified State Exam in Russian

  Lessons: 1 Tasks: 8

• SPP with adverbial adverbs (adverbial comparisons, manner of action, measure and degree) - Complex sentence 9th grade

To the question: Why did Belikov die? given by the author Ilya Zhelnov the best answer is “Man in a Case.” The Greek teacher Belikov appears to the reader as a surprisingly unpleasant type. He is disgusting both in himself and in all his manifestations. It turns out that “this little man, who always wore galoshes and carried an umbrella, controlled the entire gymnasium for fifteen years.” Respect for others, love, and compassion are absolutely alien to Belikov. He lives in his own closed little world among circulars and rules written by no one knows who. Belikov is completely unspiritual, despite the fact that, as a gymnasium teacher, he can be considered educated person. The man in the case doesn’t even feel sorry for himself. He places many restrictions in his own life.
The author talks about it as follows: “And at home it’s the same story: robe, cap, shutters, latches, whole line all sorts of prohibitions, restrictions, and - oh, no matter what happens! It is harmful to eat fast food, but it is impossible to eat fast food, because, perhaps, they will say that Belikov does not fast, and he ate pike perch in cow butter - the food is not fast, but it cannot be said that it is fast.”
Even such little things paint a very colorful image of a person in a case. He is completely unnatural, he drives deep into himself all the natural manifestations of his soul. He is merciless towards others if their behavior does not comply with certain established rules and circulars. He is low, capable of meanness and evokes neither pity nor sympathy.
The relationship between Belikov and Varenka is interesting. At first glance, it seems as if at least some human weaknesses and feelings. But it was not there. The episode when Belikov saw Varenka riding a bicycle showed the true nature of the man in the case. He is not able to forgive any non-compliance with the rules to everyone around him, and Varenka is no exception. Naturally, Belikov is outraged that the girl is riding a bicycle. Although if you think about it, there is absolutely nothing reprehensible in this. Every person is free to dispose own life and do what he considers necessary, and such a trifle as riding a bicycle does not deserve such close attention and serious resonance.
True, Belikov has a different opinion about this “incident”. He strives to subordinate everything around him to established rules, and any discrepancy plunges him into shock. WHY DID BELIKOV DIED? He died of shock, because he had to face something out of the ordinary. Belikov found himself humiliated, trampled, and then ridiculed. Belikov's death caused deep relief among those around him. They felt freer, although not for long.
At the end of the story, the reader is offered the author’s idea about how common the notorious “case” is in surrounding life: “Isn’t the fact that we live in a city in a stuffy, cramped environment, writing unnecessary papers, playing vint, a case in point? And the fact that we spend our whole lives among idle people, quarrelsome people, stupid, idle women, talking and listening to all sorts of nonsense - isn’t this a case? "
We have to admit that it is very difficult for a person to influence the boundaries of this very “case”. And life turns out to be unreal, miserable, turns into a gray and worthless vegetation. Chekhov's story “The Man in a Case” shows how strong vulgarity can be, preventing a person from thinking and acting as his soul desires. But nevertheless, such an event in the story as the death of Belikov indicates that vulgarity can still be dealt with. All it takes is a small effort from a person to turn everything around. For example, in this story, in order to cope with Belikov, it was enough to laugh at him, without being afraid to show true feelings

"Man in a Case." A Greek teacher, a lonely elderly man, closed from the outside world, cowardly and timid.

History of creation

Anton Chekhov wrote the story “The Man in a Case” in 1898, and in the same year the text was published in the literary and political magazine “Russian Thought”. The story became the first part of the “Little Trilogy” series, which also included Chekhov’s texts “Gooseberry” and “About Love”.

The author conceived the series in the spring and summer of 1898, when he lived in the village of Melikhovo, Moscow region. Chekhov wrote his first story in a month, and at the beginning of June it was already being prepared for publication. Chekhov did not intend to close the series with the story “About Love”, but he fell ill with tuberculosis, creative activity the writer fell, and the series was never continued.

It is not known whether Belikov had a prototype, but some of Chekhov’s contemporaries believed that the prototype of the hero was a certain Alexander Dyakonov, an inspector at a Taganrog gymnasium. According to another version, in the image of Belikov, Chekhov described the then famous conservative publicist Mikhail Menshikov. However, researchers note that the similarities between Belikov and Menshikov are exclusively external. Most likely, Belikov is a collective image.

In 1939, the Belarusfilm studio released the film “The Man in a Case,” directed by Isidor Annensky. The role of Belikov was played by actor Nikolai Khmelev.

The story "The Man in the Case"

Belikov is an elderly Greek teacher whose full name unknown. The hero is well over forty, he has a pale small face, similar to the muzzle of a ferret. Belikov wears dark glasses and hides his face behind a raised collar, and plugs his ears with cotton wool. At times, a faint crooked smile appears on the hero’s face, and Belikov’s figure looks crooked and small, as if he was “pulled out with pincers” from somewhere. Even in warm and clear weather, the hero wears a coat with cotton wool, galoshes and an umbrella and strives to dress warmly even in summer.

The hero prefers loneliness and strives to isolate himself from the world around him, to create a protective shell around himself, a kind of “case”, inside which the hero will be protected from external influences. The writer also calls Belikov’s thoughts “case-like” - narrow. The hero’s “case considerations” make a depressing impression on those around him.

Things belonging to Belikov are also stored in cases. The hero keeps everything in a case - an umbrella, a watch, which is kept in a gray suede case, and the hero even takes out a penknife for sharpening pencils from its case.

Belikov has a suspicious character. What is happening around causes anxiety in the hero, frightens and irritates him. Belikov's favorite phrase; “No matter what happens,” sounds in the hero’s speech on any occasion. To take a break from the disgusting and disturbing reality, the hero studies ancient languages, loves to remember the past and praise morals and customs that never really existed.

According to Belikov, “something can come of it” from any innocent undertaking. The hero is upset when a new drama club or teahouse opens in the city, because any innovation can end badly. Belikov was disheartened by deviations from the rules, even if what was happening was not directly related to him. The hero began to worry when he heard about the mischief of schoolchildren or the love affairs of an outside class lady.

Belikov worked at the gymnasium for fifteen years, and all this time he oppressed those around him with his own presence. The hero creates an atmosphere of increased anxiety at teachers' meetings, worrying that information that, for example, students are making noise in the classrooms will not reach the authorities. Belikov treats his superiors with great respect and demands the same from those around him. Belikov is feared and listened to by his colleagues and even the director of the gymnasium. A suffocating atmosphere is formed around the hero, “like in a police box.” Some colleagues consider Belikov an informer.

Outside of work, Belikov behaves no better. The hero goes out into society and visits acquaintances, but these visits are difficult for him and Belikov makes them only for the sake of decency. In the city they are afraid of Belikov, ladies are afraid to organize home performances on Saturdays, people are afraid to even send letters or raise their voices. And the hero himself is afraid public opinion and therefore he does not keep female servants at home and even in food he is guided not by his own tastes, but by what people will think if they see him at a meal.

Belikov is constantly afraid of everything and even in his own apartment cannot sleep peacefully: he fears for own destiny, because he thinks that either the servant will stab him in his sleep, or thieves will break into the house. The hero's apartment itself looks like a box. Small bedroom, four-poster bed, latches and shutters everywhere. The hero is afraid of people to such an extent that it is difficult for him to walk next to someone, and the crowded gymnasium where Belikov works also causes fear in him.

One day Belikov happened to fall in love. This happened after meeting Varya, the sister of one of Belikov’s young colleagues. However, this relationship ends in nothing. The hero is afraid to get married because “something might not happen,” and the girl’s brother one day kicks Belikov out of the apartment and lowers him down the stairs. This humiliating scene takes place in front of Varya. The humiliated Belikov returns home, goes to bed and never gets up, and a month later he dies, thus completing his sad biography. According to modern experts, Chekhov's Belikov is a classic psychasthenic.

Quotes

“It is a great pleasure to bury people like Belikov.”

“It’s all wonderful, but no matter what happens.”

“You get married, and then what good will you end up in some kind of story.”

“The Little Russian language, with its tenderness and pleasant sonority, is reminiscent of ancient Greek.”

The main character of Chekhov's story "The Man in a Case" is the Greek teacher Belikov. Colleague Burkin talks about him throughout the entire story.

Belikov appears in the story as a complex person, full of incomprehensible prejudices. In any weather, he goes out in galoshes, a coat and an umbrella. All his items were in a case: a pencil sharpening knife, an umbrella and even a watch. This citizen walked with his collar constantly raised, and this made it seem as if he was also hiding his face in a cover. When he got into a cab, he always asked to raise the top. Belikov constantly had a desire to close himself off, to place himself in a certain case and thereby protect himself from any external influences. The present reality instilled in him fear and horror of everything new. As if justifying his lack of understanding of the present, he always talked about the past. In combination with all his behavior, the teaching of ancient languages ​​indicated a certain detachment from reality.

The main life slogan for Belikov is “no matter what happens.” Any slightest deviation from long-established rules can throw him off balance. But despite his complexes, according to Burkin, Belikov managed to keep the entire city in suspense.

Soon a new history teacher, Mikhail Kovalenko, and his sister Varya move to the city. Belikov's colleagues are trying in every possible way to bring him together with her. However, he cannot decide to take such a responsible step and is afraid of everything. And when he happened to see Kovalenko and his sister riding bicycles, Belikov generally fell into bewilderment. He couldn't imagine the teacher riding a bicycle.

What then is left for the children to do?

Just stand on their heads, he reasoned, trying to reason with Kovalenko.

That day, Belikov’s conversation with Kovalenko led to a quarrel and Belikov ended up being thrown down the stairs, where Varya saw him when she entered the entrance. The hero could not survive such a shame. He closes himself off from the world in his room and dies sick.

Concluding the story, Burkin says that Belikov looked very cheerful in the coffin. Apparently, he was glad that he was finally in a case in which no one would disturb him.

Option 2

In his stories, Chekhov sometimes draws strange images of people who are even difficult to imagine. Nevertheless, such people really exist, although Belikov is in many ways a grotesque figure. We see some strange metamorphosis of the human personality, which turns into something strange and even scary.

Belikov has been working as a Greek language teacher in a gymnasium for about 15 years and is influential in this gymnasium. Throughout a significant part of the story, no one can contradict Belikov; they obey him. Therefore, if this hero does not like something, then he can, for example, kick out a high school student, although such decisions are clearly determined by his inertia and excessive conservatism.

Belikov - imprisoned in a case. Through this image of the case, Chekhov represents his entire personality, he even describes the thoughts of the hero in the case, he has every object in the case, and besides this, he is figuratively entirely enclosed in the case. This is how his closedness from the world and ossification are manifested; perhaps, in some ways, this is how ignorance is manifested, which resists everything new and some kind of change.

This hero is clearly afraid of some kind of update, he is always afraid of any incidents, and such fears are manifested in all the details of his everyday life, from ordering cab drivers to raise their tops to wearing a thick coat even in warm weather. Belikov is a completely ridiculous character, but his beginning is also described as something negative and negative, he is not just ridiculous, but to a certain extent he is an opponent of this world, humanity, the positive and progressive. Therefore, Belikov’s death becomes possible only after he is ridiculed; ridicule seems to destroy the established world of this hero, subjecting him to a kind of censure that devalues ​​the absurdity to which this hero has always clung with complete seriousness.

Also, in fact, we see how Belikova is destroyed by love. Of course, we can consider the hero’s illness and sadness as an outcome after rudeness from Varenka’s brother, but in fact, his behavior is only part of his relationship with Varenka. Belikov actually can’t even imagine how much he loved this girl, he can’t imagine his marriage, in fact, this case man unsuitable for love, which is something greater than his limited nature, therefore love, as it were, cleanses the world of Belikov himself.

Essay by Belikov (Man in a Case)

More than ten years separates the story of A.P. Chekhov, “The Man in a Case” from the initial humor, but one of the author’s most famous creations is prose; it has many contacts with the work of his youth as a writer. Firstly, it is a combination of one particular social satire, that particular historical era With philosophical motive, with everything constantly known problems and solutions. And the title of the story and the pseudonym of its main character were simultaneously perceived as a broad abstraction.

Belikov, as a fashionable critic of those times told us, was one of the majority of people who, like Oblomov or Chichikov, expressed with all their essence a huge social environment, or the direction of that time. “ Case people”, “Belikovs” - these social indicators that flashed in the title, on the pages of scandalous articles, passed into the way of life, becoming formulas understandable to everyone. Six years earlier, Leskov said that, having analyzed another work of Chekhov: “Everywhere - ward No. 6. This is Russia...” The feelings left in the soul between these stories were similar in many ways: “All of Russia seemed to me in a case,” - A reader who followed his work once wrote to Chekhov.

Belikov’s image goes from the biological, characteristically psychological, to the social stratum, to a demonstration of the natural beginning of people in society. And this is not at all surprising: Chekhov is a physician by profession, who has a natural scientific view of everything that happens, convinced that a clear understanding of medicine and poetry have never conflicted against each other.

A.P. Chekhov, as an artist-musician, often uses techniques from music to express his thoughts, such as repetition, carries out motives through many voices of various instruments, telling us about the inexplicable fear of limitations, everyday vulgarity.

The problem that Chekhov touches on in this narrative will always remain pressing for most people. Without noticing to himself, any person can withdraw into himself or close himself in the “case” of his own delusions, ceasing to reflect, seek out and hesitate in his decisions. And this is the worst thing that leads to the regression of a person as a person, as an entity. A person notices absolutely nothing except his prejudices and fears; he cannot adequately think, invent, and finalize his plans. Some painful fear for own existence constantly raged in Belikov’s soul - outstanding character Chekhov's story, “The Man in a Case,” which was published in 1898.

Belikov is the same “man in a case”, a senseless, pitiful creature who thought of one day bringing fear to the whole city. Even the teachers were wary of him. Why, the teachers, absolutely the entire city, from small to large, shied away from him.

A man in a case... It seemed like such a strange expression, but how exactly it personifies human soul. The idea of ​​this work lies in showing society the essence of fear: “Under the influence of people like Belikov, over the last 10 - 15 years in our city people have become afraid of everything. They were afraid to speak out loudly, send letters, make new acquaintances, read books, they were afraid to help the poor, teach people to read and write.” Yes, and everything that we have set up for ourselves, come up with, what we have fenced ourselves off from the world, all of this needs to be destroyed, we need to step over all of this, discover something new, interesting for ourselves, look at everything with an adequate view and not complicate our lives with what some imaginary accidents.

This presentation combines a combination of very interesting compositions, which, no matter what, do not prevent our writer A.P. Chekhov from sending us an inseparable assessment of the perception of human existence, an affirmation of his perfections and worldview.

Helps us expose Belikov's appearance compositional technique, which Chekhov often uses in his works, is a story within a story. In our case, these are hunters who decided to spend the night in the shed of the elder Prokofy, they told each other various incidents, stories, fables. One of the storytellers was Burkin, who decided to keep up with everyone, to tell the story of one living in his city, a teacher of foreign Greek, Belikov, and his friend, a famous veterinarian, Ivan Ivanovich. What was this teacher famous for? But the fact that, despite the wonderful sunny, warm weather, he always came out of the house in galoshes, with an umbrella in his hands and always in a warm wadded coat. But he had an umbrella in a case, a watch in a case made of gray suede fabric, and even when necessary, taking out a penknife in order to sharpen a pencil, to everyone’s surprise, he kept his knife in the same case. The expression of his appearance to anyone he met, at first glance, seemed that it, too, was dressed in a cover, a face that was constantly hidden behind the raised collar of a warm cotton coat. According to the narrator Burkin, Belikov walked around all the time in black glasses, a sweatshirt, plugged his ears with cotton wool, and when he sat down on the cab, he ordered the top to be raised, as if he was afraid of something. Whether it was a whim or some invented way of life for our hero, our narrator does not explain to us. But he notes that of this hero there was an endless greedy desire to “surround himself with a shell, to create for himself, so to speak, a case,” in order to hide himself and protect himself from words, actions and all the dirt of the world around him.

The features that Chekhov constructs become symbolic in Belikov’s appearance. The surprising thing is that for such an unattractive and narrow-minded person, with such a boring lifestyle, a person who does not sleep at night, he intimidated not only himself with all his thoughts, but he also managed to intimidate with his entire appearance all those people who surrounded him, and the entire city. At first, Chekhov found it funny and quite harmless to describe the place where Belikov lived, because it was similar to some kind of den. Compare the hero of the story with a hermit crab or a snail, which will not harm anyone and, moreover, is always afraid of everything.

Several interesting essays

• Characteristics and image of Erast in the story Poor Liza Karamzina essay

  One of the main characters of the work is Erast, presented in the image of a young, attractive and rich nobleman.

• Analysis of Shukshin's story Alyosha Beskonvoiny

  Probably every person knows Vasily Shukshin, who wrote great amount different works. Most of the works are written on the theme of the village, as well as the life of the people in this village.

• Essay on the painting Baba Yaga by Bilibina, grade 5

  Today I was able to get acquainted with the painting of the magnificent master illustrator Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin “Baba Yaga”, created for famous fairy tale"Vasilisa the Beautiful"

I am very glad that I speak Russian. The Russian language is very rich. Thanks to native word I can express all my feelings

• The image and characteristics of the Mistress of the Copper Mountain, an essay based on a story by Bazhov

  Mistress Copper Mountain- This main character children's fairy tale of the same name “The Mistress of the Copper Mountain” by Pavel Bazhov. Everyone, in childhood, either saw a cartoon or listened to a fairy tale from their parents. The writer told us exactly about this mythological creature

MAN IN A CASE

(Story, 1898)

Belikov - main character, high school teacher of Greek. A teacher at the Burkin gymnasium tells veterinarian Ivan Ivanovich Chimshe-Gimalaysky about him. At the beginning of the story he gives full description V.: “He was remarkable in that he always, even in very good weather, went out in galoshes and with an umbrella and certainly in a warm coat with cotton wool. And he had an umbrella in a case, and a watch in a gray suede case, and when he took out a penknife to sharpen a pencil, his knife was also in a case; and his face, it seemed, was also in a cover, since he kept hiding it in his raised collar. He wore dark glasses, a sweatshirt, stuffed his ears with cotton wool, and when he got on the cab, he ordered the top to be raised. In a word, this man had a constant and irresistible desire to surround himself with a shell, to create for himself, so to speak, a case that would seclude him and protect him from external influences. Reality irritated him, frightened him, kept him in constant anxiety, and, perhaps, in order to justify this timidity of his, his aversion to the present, he always praised the past and what never happened; and the ancient languages ​​that he taught were for him, in essence, the same galoshes and umbrella where he hid from real life.”

B.’s main fear is “that something might not work out.” Any deviation from the accepted rules makes him despondent and anxious. His fear is not only existential, but also social in nature - he is afraid that it will not reach his superiors. Despite his inconspicuousness and dullness, B., according to Burkin, “held in his hands” not only the gymnasium, but the entire city, where, under his influence, “they began to fear everything.” The metaphor of the case, acquiring more and more new details of Belikov’s fear of life, unfolds throughout the entire narrative.

With the appearance in the city of a new history and geography teacher, Mikhail Savvich Kovalenko, and his sister Varenka, who unexpectedly shows affection for B., society decides to marry the hero to her. They convince him that marriage is a serious step, that he must definitely get married, and B.

agrees, but thoughts of marriage plunge him into debilitating anxiety, so that he loses weight, turns pale and retreats even deeper into his case. He is confused primarily by the “strange way of thinking” of his possible bride and her brother. He walks a lot with Varenka and often comes to visit them, but he hesitates to propose. One day B. sees her and her brother riding bicycles, and this makes him dumbfounded. He goes to Kovalenko, who hates him, and “like an older comrade,” he warns: such fun as riding a bicycle is “completely indecent for a teacher of youth.” In addition, he warns his colleague that he will have to report the conversation to the director of the gymnasium. In response, Kovalenko declares that he does not like fiscals and lowers B. down the stairs. After everything that happened, the hero falls ill and dies a month later. Burkin summarizes: “Now, when he lay in the coffin, his expression was meek, pleasant, even cheerful, as if he was glad that he had finally been put in a case from which he would never come out.”

The image of B. - “a man in a case”, a comic figure, almost a caricature, but also expressing the tragedy of life, became a household name during Chekhov’s lifetime.