In January 1886, the work “Tosca” (Chekhov) was published in the Petersburg newspaper. A summary of the story is given in this article. Connoisseurs of the literary work of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, "Tosca" is recognized as his best work in the initial period of the writer's work. By this time, the author was already familiar to the general public with his humorous stories.
This is the creation of a completely different warehouse. It talks about the indifference and callousness of people who are not able to penetrate someone else's grief, about the loneliness and defenselessness of a poor elderly man. It is difficult to say what exactly prompted the young satirist to write such a work. It is possible that the incentive for this was his trip to St. Petersburg in 1885, where he plunged into a completely new life. So, the story “Tosca” (Chekhov): a summary of the author’s creation.
Jonah's attempt to tell the military about trouble
The protagonist of the story - the poor cab driver Ion Potapov - buried his son a week ago. His soul is in dismay and longing. He wants to talk with someone about his grief. Winter is in the yard. The cab driver is sitting on the goats, hunched over. He and the horse are falling asleep with snow. At this time, a military man hails Jonah and orders him to be taken to Vyborg Street. This passenger is the first to whom Jonah is trying to tell about the death of her son. Twice in the dark, the protagonist’s wagon nearly collided with someone. This is very angry military, who is in a hurry about his business. He absolutely does not care about someone else's grief. Arriving at the place, the passenger leaves his cab. Jonah sits back hunched over and awaits new riders. Here is a summary. “Tosca” (Chekhov) is a story that must be read in full. After all, the problems of human indifference that he raises are relevant in our days.
Jonah and funny young people
Soon three cheerful, tipsy young people hail him. For a small fee, they persuade the cabman to deliver them to their place. Jonah agrees, he doesn’t care whom to bring and how much. If only there were interlocutors. He also tries to tell these people about his grief. One of the riders briefly replies to him: "We will all die." And the second one asks if he has a wife. To this question, Jonah answers that his wife is a grave. The main character wants to hear words of comfort from people. But young people are busy with their own affairs. The riders curse and tell Jonah to go faster. Arriving at the place, they leave the cab. The story “Tosca” (Chekhov), a brief summary of which is given here, is the author’s cry about the need for sympathy and empathy from those around him for the person who needs it.
Jonah's only listener
Once again, the hero is left alone. His heart tightens with longing. Despite a small income on this day, he goes home, where the same cabmen live. There, Jonah tries to speak with a companion. But he turns to the wall and soon falls asleep. After that, the driver goes to the stable to feed the horse with hay. Here he talks about his grief. The horse is silent, it does not look with clever eyes. The animal seems to understand him. The story "Tosca" (Chekhov), a brief summary of which is given in this article, ends with Jonah's confession to his horse. It seems monstrous that there was not a single person who could listen and feel sorry for him. All the attempts of the cabman to tell about the death of his son ran into a wall of misunderstanding and indifference.
The work “Tosca” (Chekhov) tells of human egoism and callousness. The summary of the story is unlikely to convey the entire depth of the experiences of the protagonist. I advise you to read it in full.