The summary of the Chelkash story, which you will read further, will not be able to convey in detail the full intensity of feelings and experiences of two very dissimilar people whom fate brought together for a short time in the port and made it go side by side.
The story begins with a vivid description of the bustling southern port, full of peculiar grandeur, but those who created this whole “anthem to Mercury” are miserable and insignificant. Fussy and dusty, like ants, they were captured by their own
offspring.
In this port, among the ragged people, the predatory one, similar to the steppe hawk, the drunkard and the clever thief, Grishka Chelkash, stands out especially. He is looking for his partner Bear, with whom he steals. But it turns out that his leg was crushed, and he was taken to the hospital.
Leaving the port, the thief reflects on his “case”, which is further described in the story “Chelkash” by Gorky. The summary will go right to his meeting with the village guy Gavrilo.
Chelkash offered a nightly job to a guy in dire need of money. And, looking at him, he was imbued with Gavril’s complex feelings, in which something "fatherly and economic" merged.
Only in a boat, in the night sea, which cannot be summarized, does Chelkash show his dexterity and love for this unbridled element. He is at home here. And Gavrila admits that he is afraid of the sea, in addition, he finally guesses about the purpose of their trip, and this causes a real panic in him. Chelkash, so that his partner does not run away, takes his passport from him, and Gavrila is forced to obey.
A guy dying of fear waits in the thief’s boat until he leaves for prey, and then, trying not to fall into the rays of the spotlight of the customs cruiser, cheered up by Chelkash’s kicks, he passes obstacles.
On the way to the buyers of stolen goods, the thief draws Gavril into a conversation about rural life, farming and recalls his village family. Experiencing the most controversial feelings that a brief summary cannot describe, Chelkash became interested in the discussion of what freedom is for the peasant. The tramp believed that a piece of land makes a man his own master. And right away it is cut off because of Gavrila’s remark that the said is true, because Chelkash has taken off the ground and this is what he has become!
Painfully wounded by the man’s words, Chelkash offers him to board the barge where they will take the stolen from them and, having promised that by the morning there will be money, goes to bed with him.
In the morning, Gavril already called Chelkash a gentleman, because he saw him transfigured, dressed in shabby leather pants and a shirt. And having found five rainbow-colored pieces of paper in the hands of a laughing thief, the village peasant loses his head. Having received his share, he catches up with Grishka and, pulling his legs, brings down to the ground. The tramp was expecting a fight, but he heard only a whisper, with a prayer to give all the money, because Chelkash is missing, he has no way.
A brief squeamish feeling experienced by the thief to the peasant, will not tell
content. Chelkash tossed Gavrila the whole pack, wondering how you can humiliate yourself for the sake of money. And the man, collecting money, explained that he was going to kill his partner, all the same, after all, they would not look for him. This thief could not stand. Taking everything back, he went away. But a stone, thrown by Gavrila, flew into his head from the back. Chelkash fell. And he woke up from the fact that he was hampered by a frightened man and asked for forgiveness.
Having again given Gavril money, Chelkash this time went to his side, and the man who pleaded forgiveness, crossed himself into his own.
The drama between two people, which cannot be fully conveyed by the summary, Chelkash reveals brightly and unforgettably. And it makes you think about what a man is and what he is capable of.