For over 100 years, admirers of Russian literature have the opportunity to enjoy reading the humorous and satirical stories of A.P. Chekhov. “Surgery”, “Chameleon”, “Fat and thin”, “Death of an official” and many other works show the writer’s attitude to moral ugliness, loss of humanity in a person. A.P. Chekhov in his stories often ridicules stupidity, ignorance and other negative traits of the character of people. At the same time, the writer skillfully directs the satire sting not only to the protagonist of his work, but also to those people who come into conflict with him, being unable to wisely get out of an unpleasant situation.
Short and informative stories - the main path of A.P. Chekhov
Chekhov's story “Surgery” once again emphasizes the opinion of numerous literary critics that the writer is a master at writing miniatures. A number of phrases used by the writer in his time also speak in favor of this opinion: “The art of writing is the art of abbreviation”, “Brevity is the sister of talent”, “Language should be simple and elegant”, etc. Chekhov, like no one else, was able to briefly talk about global things. With a few strokes, he could give an exhaustive description of any person.
A.P. Chekhov never acquainted readers with the previous biography of the heroes of their stories, their parents or ancestors before they began to perform any of the actions described in the novel. The author always began stories with the very behavior of a person, his words, thoughts and feelings associated with one or another action performed by him. A description of the appearance of the main characters or the situation is the most that can be found in Chekhov's stories. "Surgery" is no exception to this rule. However, these descriptions do not go beyond what anyone can see, that is, the author’s own opinion does not appear in them, so the reader is given the opportunity to form his own opinion about a particular place, hero or situation.
Summary of "Surgery"
Chekhov begins his story “Surgery” by mentioning that the doctor of the Zemstvo hospital left to marry, and his assistant in taking patients took on the assistant paramedic Kuryatin.
The first patient of the paramedic is the clerk Vonmiglasov, who suffers from severe toothache and sincerely relies on the knowledge and skills of the first. Kuryatin, in turn, assures the patient that surgery is a trifle, only knowledge and the right approach are needed.
However, after he saw the patient’s tooth and decided to remove it, his confidence significantly decreased. This fact is emphasized by the description of the paramedic's oscillations regarding which tool to use. He does not know whether to choose tongs, a key or a goat's leg. First, the hero looks at the instruments for a long time, then, taking the goat's leg, he approaches the patient, but after a few seconds he returns and exchanges it for forceps. That is what A.P. Chekhov draws attention to. As a result, surgery is not as simple as it seemed to the paramedic at first glance. Taking the tongs, he fiddled with the clerk's tooth for a long time, however, he could not pull it out. The story ends with the fact that the deacon, having suffered pain and evil, leaves the paramedic, reproaching him.
The image of the paramedic in the story
Kuryatin is one of the main characters of the story "Surgery". Chekhov filled the content of the story with a description of not only the behavior of the hero, but also his appearance. It is worth noting that the paramedic looks far from perfect. The negative image is complemented by a foul-smelling cigarette that Kuryatin holds in his hand.
As for the inner world of the paramedic, here comes to the fore his excessive self-confidence, self-praise and idle talk. In this way, he covers up his inability and ignorance. He boasts to the deacon about his acquaintance with the landowner Alexander Ivanovich of Egypt, who was at his appointment and did not complain (unlike the current patient). As a result, the clerk leaves with severe pain, and the medical assistant does not understand his mistake, and instead of apologizing, he also calls him an ignoramus.
The image of the clerk in "Surgery"
An equally important place is occupied by the clerk Vonmiglasov - the second hero, about whom the story "Surgery" tells. Chekhov emphasizes illiteracy and stupidity Vonmiglasova. After all, the deacon, instead of immediately contacting the doctor, listened to various advice from the same ignoramuses as he did.
The story emphasizes the arrogance of the deacon, who at that time distinguished the lower strata of the population. At first he was baptized, brought prosphora, praised the paramedic - in a word, he behaved very “devoutly”. However, less than half an hour later, as his behavior changed to the opposite, he began to wish Kuryatin the worst and even took the prosphora with him.
Prototypes of the characters of "Surgery"
Chekhov's work “Surgery” has real prototypes. Brother A.P. Chekhov repeatedly spoke about how the writer, during his medical practice at the Resurrection Hospital, observed one case, which formed the basis of the story.
The participants in the real situation were a medical student, a replacement doctor, and a patient who came to the hospital with a toothache. During the intake, an inexperienced student tried to pull out a tooth for a long time , but he could only break the crown. As a result, the angry patient cursed and left.
Analysis of "Surgery"
The story is built on the communication of only two people who met by the will of fate in a rural hospital - paramedic Kuryatin and clerk Vonmiglasova. However, it turned out to be quite enough to emphasize such negative human traits as ignorance and complacency, which A. P. Chekhov did. "Surgery" is a work in which the most striking characteristic of the characters is their speech. Vonmiglasov, trying to show his “piety”, remakes a lot of ordinary words in the church spirit. Paramedic Kuryatin, in turn, emphasizes his own importance, using a huge number of medical terms, of course, not understandable for a simple clerk.
However, as soon as it comes to tooth extraction, it becomes clear that Kuryatin is not at all such an experienced doctor, as he had imagined himself at first. Moreover, it seems that he got to work in a hospital by accident and that he cannot be trusted. Chekhov’s story “Surgery” ends, as one might expect, by harming another person, who, incidentally, also turns out to be not so devout as a result. The ignorance of both heroes is emphasized by their speech at the end of the story, which turned from a mutually respectful tone to accusations and curses.