“Chelkash” is one of Gorky’s first significant works, which became one of the most significant creations of late romanticism. It combined the features of several directions and anticipated the emergence of a special movement in literature - socialist realism, within the framework of which the author would develop in the future.
The story was written in 1894 Nizhny Novgorod. V.G. was very approving. Korolenko to this work and in 1895 contributed to its publication in the magazine “Russian Wealth”. From that moment on, Gorky was talked about seriously in literary circles as a talented young writer, and in 1898 his stories were published in two volumes.
The plot is easily based on the revelation of one tramp heard by the writer in the hospital. Having experienced many adversities and difficulties in his life, Gorky understood well what his roommate told him about. Inspired by what he heard, he wrote “Chelkasha” in two days.
Genre and direction
Gorky is the founder of a new direction in Russian prose. It was different from the line of Tolstoy and Chekhov, which was characterized by puritan selectivity in favor of good manners and correctness. This applied to both the plot and vocabulary. Peshkov ( real name writer) significantly expanded the possible themes of the works and enriched the vocabulary literary language. The leading tendency of his work was realism, but early period features of romanticism are inherent, which is also evident in “Chelkash”:
- Firstly, the poeticization of the image of a tramp, obvious sympathy for his life principles.
- Secondly, images of nature, the variety of colors of the water element: “the sea was calm, black and thick, like butter.”
Such updates in prose were welcomed by many of Gorky's contemporaries. For example, Leonid Andreev, because the same influence was reflected in his early stories(“Angel”, “Bargamot and Garaska”).
Composition
The story consists of an introduction and 3 chapters.
- The introductory section is an exposition where the scene of the action is described. Here the author gives the reader an idea of the environment of the main characters. The first chapter contains a description of Chelkash, introduces him to his present, to his usual way of life.
- In the second chapter we learn about the past of the main character, his life is revealed even more deeply to the reader. inner world, and the catalyst for this revelation is his partner. This is also the climax of the story. In the finale, another hero shows his character - the peasant Gavrila.
- The story ends with a picture of the sea, which allows us to talk about the ring composition of the work.
Conflict
The space of the story “Chelkash” contains many conflicts, different meaning and scale.
- The conflict between man and scientific progress. This is where the story begins. It would seem that, scientific progress should make life easier, make it more comfortable, but Gorky contrasts the shining and luxurious ships with the poor, exhausted people who serve them.
- Vagrancy and peasantry. The main characters do not come to a final conclusion which is better: the freedom of a tramp or the need of a peasant. These destinies are opposite. Chelkash and Gavrila are representatives of different social groups, but both see in each other people who are dear to them: Chelkash finds a dreamer of freedom in a poor young man, and Gavrila finds a fellow peasant in a tramp.
- Chelkash's internal conflict. Main character feels superior to the world, freed from attachment to a specific home, family and others universal human values. He is outraged that a typical person who has not overcome this system can love or hate the same things as he does.
The main characters and their characteristics
Chelkash is a romanticized tramp, a real romantic hero. He has his own moral principles which he always follows. His ideology looks more stable and formed than life position Gavrila. This is a young peasant who has not yet decided what he wants to achieve. Uncertainty distinguishes him unfavorably from the main character. Gavrila, who without much desire agreed to the “dark business,” looks like a more impartial hero than Chelkash. This inveterate thief even evokes some sympathy from the reader. He has a more complex inner world; behind his smile and lightness one can feel the pain of memories of the past and the severity of the need that haunts him every hour.
The work is built on antithesis and paradox: here an honest thief and a deceitful peasant are opposed to each other. The point of this contrast is to take a fresh look at the positive and negative qualities person as a representative of a certain social group, and on various behavior patterns. A tramp can be principled and moral, but a peasant can be not only a humble and honest worker.
Themes
- Meaning of life. The main characters talk about the meaning of life. Chelkash, one might say, has already passed his life path, but Gavrila is still at the beginning. Thus, we are presented with fundamentally different views: young man, and one who is wise from experience. Gavrila’s thoughts are still subordinated to the generally accepted value system of the peasant: get a house, start a family. This is his goal, the meaning of life. But Chelkash already knows well what it means to be a man in the village. He deliberately chose the path of a tramp, unencumbered by debts, a starving family and other everyday problems.
- Nature. She is presented as an independent, free element. She is eternal, she is certainly stronger than man. She resists people’s attempts to curb her: “The waves of the sea, chained in granite, are suppressed by enormous weights<…>they beat against the sides of ships, against the shores, they beat and murmur, foamed, polluted with various rubbish.” In response, she does not spare people, burning them with the scorching sun and freezing them with the wind. The role of landscape in the work is very large: it embodies the ideal of freedom and creates a colorful atmosphere.
- Freedom. What is freedom: the comfortable life of a family man, burdened with a home, household chores and responsibility, or free vagrancy with a daily search for food? For Chelkash, freedom is independence from money and peace of mind, Gavrila has only a romantic idea of a free life: “Go for walks as you please, just remember God...”
- Greed. The characters have different attitudes towards money, and the problems of the story “Chelkash” are based on this opposition. It would seem that a tramp in constant need should have a greater need for funds than a peasant who has a job and housing. But in reality it turned out to be quite the opposite. Gavrila was possessed by a thirst for money so strong that he was ready to kill a man, and Chelkash was happy to give everything to his partner, leaving himself only part of the proceeds for food and drink.
- Cowardice. The ability to show cold prudence in the right situation is a very important human quality. This speaks of willpower and strong character. This is Chelkash, he knows what money is, and warns the young man: “It’s trouble!” The hero is contrasted with the cowardly Gavrila, trembling for his life. This trait speaks of the character’s weak character, which is revealed more and more as the work progresses.
Problems
Meaning
Since Gorky himself spent half his life in need and poverty, he often touched upon themes of poverty in his works, which the reader did not see, because he was mainly fed stories about the destinies and life of the nobles. So, main idea the story “Chelkash” is to make the audience take a different look at the social stratum, the so-called outcasts. The work conveys the idea that if you are a peasant with some income, then you can be considered a person, “you have a face.” What about the “wobbly ones”? Are they not people? Author's position Gorky - defense of people like Chelkash.
The hermit is painfully hurt by Gavrila’s phrase: “Unnecessary on earth!” Gorky places the heroes in equal conditions, but during the “walk” each manifests itself differently. For Chelkash, this is a common thing; he has nothing to lose, but he doesn’t particularly strive to gain. To eat and drink - that’s his goal. What is happening to Gavrila? The hero, who spoke about how important it is to remember God, loses his moral character and tries to kill the “master”. For the young man, Chelkash is a pathetic tramp that no one will remember, but he calls his accomplice brother! Is it fair to consider Gavrila a full member of society after this, and deprive Chelkash of the right to call himself a human being? This is exactly what Gorky makes us think about, which is why he makes the image of a thief and a tramp arouse sympathy among the reader, and Gavrila is seen as an exclusively negative hero.
Of course, we must not forget that it is Gavrila who falls under the destructive influence of a robber and a drunkard. But it is not his strength that is most terrible, but money. They are evil, according to the author. This is what it's all about the main idea story "Chelkash".
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The story opens with a description of the port. People's voices barely make it through the noise of steamship propellers, the ringing of anchor chains, etc. d.
Grishka Chelkash appears, “an inveterate drunkard and a clever, brave thief.” “Even here, among hundreds of sharp tramp figures just like him, he immediately attracted attention with his resemblance to a steppe hawk, his predatory thinness and this aiming gait, smooth and calm in appearance, but internally excited and vigilant, like years of that bird of prey that he resembled.”
Chelkash is looking for Mishka, with whom he steals together. One of the watchmen tells him that Mishka’s leg was crushed and he was taken to the hospital. In the frantic bustle of the port, Chelkash feels confident. He’s getting ready to “go to work” and regrets that Mishka won’t be able to help him. Chelkash meets young guy, gets to know him, has a heart-to-heart talk, gains his confidence, introduces himself as a fisherman (who, however, does not catch fish). The guy, whose name is Gavrila, says that he needs money, he can’t cope with his household, they don’t marry girls with dowries to him, he can’t earn money. Chelkash offers the guy to make money, Gavrila agrees.
Chelkash invites Gavrila to have lunch, and borrows food, and Gavrila is immediately filled with respect for Chelkash, “who, despite his appearance as a swindler, enjoys such fame and trust.” At dinner, Chelkash drugs Gavrila, and the guy finds himself completely in his power. Chelkash “envied and regretted this young life, laughed at her and was even upset for her, imagining that she could once again fall into hands like his... And all Chelkash’s feelings eventually merged into one thing - something fatherly and economic. I felt sorry for the little one, and the little one was needed.”
At night, Chelkash and Gavrila go “to work” by boat. A description of the sea and sky follows (a psychological landscape: “There was something fatal in this slow movement of soulless masses” - about the clouds). Chelkash does not tell Gavrila the true purpose of their journey, although Gavrila, sitting on the oars, already guesses that they did not go out to sea to fish. Gavrila gets scared and asks Chelkash to let him go. Chelkash is only amused by the guy’s fear. Chelkash takes away Gavrila’s passport so that he doesn’t run away.
They stick to the wall, Chelkash disappears and returns with something “cubic and heavy.” Gavrila turns back, dreaming of one thing: “quickly finish this damned work, go down to earth and run away from this man before he actually kills him or takes him to prison.” Gavrila rows very carefully, and they manage to slip past the guards. However, a searchlight beam searches the water, Gavrila is scared half to death, but they manage to escape again.
Gavrila is already refusing the reward, Chelkash begins to “tempt” the guy: after all, upon returning to native village The old dull, hopeless life awaits him, he reports that in one night today he earned half a thousand. Chelkash says that if Gavrila had worked with him, he would have been the first rich man in the village. Chelkash even became emotional and started talking about peasant life. He remembers his childhood, his village, his parents, his wife, he remembers how he served in the guard, and how his father was proud of him in front of the whole village. Reflections distract Chelkash, and the boat almost passes by the Greek ship on which Chelkash must deliver the goods.
Chelkash and Gavrila spend the night on a Greek ship. Chelkash receives the money and persuades Gavrila to work with him again. Shows Gavrila a mountain of pieces of paper with which the Greeks paid him. With a trembling hand, Gavrila grabs the forty rubles allocated to him by Chelkash. Chelkash notes with displeasure that Gavrila is greedy, but believes that nothing else can be expected from a peasant. Gavrila talks excitedly about how well you can live in the village if you have money.
On the shore, Gavrila attacks Chelkash and asks him to give him all the money. Chelkash gives him the banknotes, “trembling with excitement, acute pity and hatred for this greedy slave.” Gavrila humbly thanks, shudders, hides the money in her bosom. Chelkash feels “that he, a thief, a reveler, cut off from everything dear to him, will never be so greedy, low, and not remembering himself.” Gavrila mutters that he was thinking of killing Chelkash, because no one would find out where he had disappeared to. Chelkash grabs the guy by the throat, takes the money, then turns with contempt and leaves.
Gavrila grabs a heavy stone, throws it at Chelkash’s head, and he falls. Gavrila runs away, but then returns and asks to forgive him and remove the sin from his soul. Chelkash drives him away with contempt: “You’re vile!.. And you don’t know how to fornicate!..” Chelkash gives Gavrila almost all the money, except for one piece of paper. Gavrila says that he will take it only if Chelkash forgives him. It starts to rain, Chelkash turns and leaves, leaving the money lying on the sand. His legs are buckling, and the bandage on his head is increasingly soaked in blood. Gavrila scoops up the money, hides it, and with wide, firm steps walks away in the opposite direction. Rain and splashing waves wash away blood stains and footprints on the sand. "And on deserted shore there was nothing left in the sea to remember the little drama that played out between two people.”
He called the beautiful a dream...
He looked at the world mockingly -
And nothing in all of nature
He didn't want to bless.
A.S. Pushkin
M. Gorky himself spoke about his early work like this: on the one hand, in his childhood and youth he was surrounded by “languorously poor, gray life", which he wanted to decorate, to bring into it the dream of free man; on the other hand, the future writer “at the dawn of his foggy youth” (A.V. Koltsov) had so many difficult impressions that he “could not help but write” the truth about life, that is, he could not avoid a realistic depiction of reality, and such a depiction inevitably led to conviction modern society. This complex worldview was reflected in Gorky’s early stories about tramps - “former people” (“ Former people"(1897) - the title of a story by M. Gorky). It was these heroes that brought the writer great fame at the very beginning of his creative career.
The main character of the story “Chelkash” (1894) is Grishka Chelkash, an avid drunkard and a clever, brave port thief. The image of a tramp who has placed himself outside of society is the theme of this work. By social characteristics(thief) the hero belongs to the “dregs of society.” It seems that in such people neither human dignity, nor convictions, nor conscience can be preserved. But the writer breaks the usual view of the tramp and shows his hero as bright personality with a complex character and his own philosophy of life. This is how the idea of the work is presented.
The story “Chelkash” is an action-packed short story built on a psychological paradox: when in the finale the port thief begins to divide the money, he, contrary to the common view of tramps, unexpectedly displays breadth of character and spiritual sensitivity, and the respectable poor peasant Gavrila demonstrates disgusting greed and philistinism. aggressiveness. Seeing a wad of money in Chelkash’s hands, he instantly forgets all Christian moral commandments and is ready to kill his partner, justifying himself by saying that this tramp is “an unnecessary person on earth” (III) and that no one will punish him for his death.
Gorky portrays Chelkash as romantic hero. At first, the romantic unusualness of the appearance of the port thief is emphasized by his resemblance to a hawk: “Even here, among hundreds of sharp tramp figures just like him, he immediately attracted attention with his resemblance to a steppe hawk, his predatory thinness and this aiming gait, smooth and calm in appearance, but internally excited and vigilant, like the flight of that bird of prey that he resembled” (I).
Chelkash appears before the reader as a mysterious, romantic person. Firstly, the story of his life and the reasons for the transformation of a guy from a rich peasant family, as he sees himself in memories (II), into a port thief are unknown from the story. Secondly, Gorky does not give the “history of the soul” (M.Yu. Lermontov “Hero of Our Time”: Preface to Pechorin’s Journal) of the main character, that is, the evolution of his views and beliefs. The author shows the depth and originality of Chelkash's character, but this character remains static, as it should be for a romantic hero. The way Chelkash enters the story is the way he leaves in the finale along the seashore - a man tragic fate, portable, decisive, courageous.
Chelkash’s love for the sea testifies to his romantic spirit: in the endless sea (exotic landscape), the hero feels the absolute freedom that he himself strives for: “He, a thief, loved the sea. His seething, nervous nature, greedy for impressions, was never satiated by the contemplation of this dark breadth, endless, free and powerful” (II). Maybe that's why the variability seascape he never gets bored. Romantic writers loved to depict the consonance of the hero’s feelings and wildlife, seeing in this the subtle emotional experiences that made romantic heroes unusual among ordinary people.
When drawing his hero, Gorky proceeds from the conviction: personality, of course, is shaped by the environment, but more importantly, “a person is created by his resistance.” environment" Chelkash's resistance to society (the main feature of a romantic hero) was expressed in the denial of generally accepted values and norms of behavior. The hero lives despising all human laws. For example, at the port they know that he is a thief, and they say it to his face. However, the “truth seekers” somehow bashfully keep silent about the fact that everyone steals at the port: customs officials, guards, and loaders. Therefore, Chelkash only grins at offensive words to your address: let them call him whatever they want, because no one can catch him red-handed. For his thieving dexterity, the “old, poisoned wolf” (I), the customs guard Semyonich, both the loaders and the tramps respect him, but they fear him for his sharp tongue.
Chelkash created for himself his own philosophy of life, in which main value is the highest and absolute (that is, romantic) freedom - from land-property, from money, from any human society, from God. This tramp is ready to give up normal living conditions, from all personal attachments, to live from hand to mouth, but to be completely free. What is dearest to her is the feeling of superiority that he experiences when he passes by tired porters at the port (unhappy, forced people, from his point of view) or when he hires Gavrila and takes him to the tavern: “And they walked down the street next to each other, Chelkash - with an important face of the owner, twirling his mustache, the guy - with an expression of complete readiness to obey...” (I). Chelkash remains true to his philosophy to the end, since in the finale he refuses money, which everyone around him worships. The tramp feels like a hero, observing the behavior of a peasant guy who has just received a wad of rainbow bills: “Chelkash listened to his joyful cries, looked at his shining face, distorted with the delight of greed, and felt that he was a thief, a reveler, cut off from everything dear to him - never He will be so greedy, low, and not remembering himself. It will never be like this!” (III).
Throughout the entire story, from the moment of their meeting, there is a philosophical debate and dialogue about freedom between the tramp and the village boy. Gavrila understands freedom this way: “You are your own master, go wherever you want, do whatever you want... Of course! If you manage to keep yourself in order, and there are no stones on your neck, that’s the first thing! Go for walks as you please, just remember God...” (I). Gavrila constantly thinks about his responsibilities to his mother, the household, plans to get married and have children; he does not at all strive for absolute freedom, which Chelkash values so much, running away literally and figuratively from his old life(the motif of escape is often used by romantic writers, just remember M.Yu. Lermontov’s poem “Mtsyri”), Therefore, the tramp contemptuously asks the village guy: “What do you want - freedom? .. Do you love freedom?” (I). The port thief is indignant that the village “sucker” “dare to love freedom, which he does not know the price of and which he does not need” (I). But it is Gavrila who debunks the philosophy of absolute freedom, so dear to Chelkash: the naive guy calls the proud tramp “unnecessary on earth”: “You are lost... There is no way for you...” (III). With these words, the thief feels that “never in his entire life had he been beaten so painfully, and he had never been so angry” (III). It was after these words that Chelkash took away the money from Gavrila, which he himself had generously given a few minutes before.
Why was the tramp so hurt by Gavrila’s words? Perhaps because in his soul he understood their justice: absolute freedom is, in principle, unattainable. However, Chelkash’s last act refutes the “correct”, moderate truth of Gavrila, which makes the story ultra-romantic: the tramp gives almost all the money to Gavrila, experiencing a moment of absolute freedom and proving that a person can be “above satiety” (M. Gorky “At the Depths”, IV ) that the ideal beginning is alive in human soul. Thanks to this, the port thief-tramp becomes an unconditionally positive hero for Gorky.
To summarize, it must be said that the story “Chelkash” is as romantic as “Makar Chudra”, “Old Woman Izergil”, “Song of the Falcon”. In the stories about tramps, Gorky continues the theme of freedom, which he raised already in the images of Loiko and Radda, Larra and Danko, the Snake and the Falcon, but transfers this theme from the legendary fantasy world to modern reality. Therefore, in the story “Chelkash” there is a real background (port, tavern, sea), Gavrila is described quite realistically, and the author emphasizes in his image, along with peasant hard work, the bourgeois, aggressive sense of ownership. The writer soberly (that is, realistically) assesses the character and capabilities of Chelkash: the tramp, even a proud dreamer, is not capable of real deeds and feats and can only be a “knight for an hour” (“Knight for an hour” (1863) - poem by N.A. .Nekrasova). This expression denotes a weak-willed person who experiences momentary noble impulses, but does not have the mental strength to bring them to life.
And yet, in the image of Chelkash, the features of a romantic hero predominate, which is especially noticeable when comparing him with Gavrila. At first glance, this conclusion seems unexpected, since usually romantic heroes were brilliant aristocrats (Childe Harold by J.G. Byron), great fighters against God (Cain by J.G. Byron, Demon by M.Yu. Lermontov), outstanding people(Manfred by J.G. Byron, Ammalat-Beck by A.A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky). And suddenly Gorky discovers the proud human self, opposed to the entire surrounding world, in the ragged tramp Grishka Chelkash. However, the external differences of the heroes of J. G. Byron, M. Yu. Lermontov, A. A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky and M. Gorky do not negate the deep internal commonality of all these images. Contrasting oneself with others, loneliness, a complex spiritual life, and the desire for absolute freedom emphasize the unusualness of the romantic hero, distinguishing him from other characters in the work.
There are many names in Russian literature that can rightfully be called great. Among such names is M. Gorky - a man who lived difficult life, having experienced all the hardships of fate. But, despite all the difficulties that haunted him, he remained true to himself and wrote wonderful works.
From early creativity Gorky is famous for such stories as “Old Woman Izergil”, “Makar Chudra”, “Emelyan Pilyai”. But the work that brought the author wide fame is “Chelkash”.
Chelkash - one of the main characters story of the same name. This is “an old poisoned wolf, well known to the Havana people, an inveterate drunkard and a clever, brave thief.” On this moment he doesn’t have a penny, since the things he stole earlier were long ago drunk and lost at cards, and therefore Chelkash is plotting a new business. He can't do it alone - he needs a partner. And Gavrila becomes this partner. “The guy was broad-shouldered, stocky, fair-haired, with a tanned and weather-beaten face and large blue eyes that looked trusting and good-natured.” Chelkash noticed that he was a childishly stupid, naive boy who came from the provinces to earn money to restore his father’s farm, who loves freedom and wants to escape poverty, but for whom nothing has worked out yet.
Chelkash offers the young man a job: rowing oars while fishing. And the guy agrees. At night, when they had already sailed from the shore, Gavrila noticed that there were no fishing nets in the boat, and realized that they were not going fishing. He experienced a lot during this time: fear of being caught, fear of death, hatred and anger towards Chelkash. Forgetting about the money, he thought of only one thing: to quickly get to the shore and escape from this cruel man. But when the danger passed and Gavrila learned about the amount of money stolen, he changed dramatically. Not remembering himself, he falls at the feet of Chelkash and asks him to give back the loot in an amicable way, thereby humiliating himself. He is capable of meanness, which he does for the sake of money.
In the story "Chelkash" Gorky displays one of the most terrible qualities of a person: greed. He says that a man who has been stealing all his life and drinking away everything he has, is rude and uncouth, behaves more noblely than a young village boy overcome by a fit of greed. And it is precisely because of this vice that many absurd acts are committed.
Gorky in his works masterfully knew how to reveal a person’s character. Putting your heroes in extreme situations, the author shows the human essence, tells the reader that one should not always believe the first impression, it is important to be able to recognize the truth.
Most of M. Gorky's works are written in the style of realism, but his early stories have a romantic spirit. The main characters of these stories live in close connection with nature. The writer identifies nature and man. In his works, he gives preference to people who are free from the laws of society. These heroes have interesting views and behavior. The main character always has an antagonist - a hero who has an opposite view of the world. A conflict arises between these characters, which forms the basis of the work; it reveals the plot of the work.
Like most of Gorky's stories, "Chelkash" tells about human relationships; the work depicts nature and its relationship with state of mind characters.
The events that Gorky talks about in Chelkash took place on the seashore, in a port city. The main characters are Chelkash and Gavrila. These characters are opposed to each other. Chelkash is a rather middle-aged thief and drunkard who does not have his own home. Gavrila is a young peasant who came to these places after a failed attempt to find a job to earn money.
Grishka Chelkash is known to everyone in the port as an avid drunkard and a clever thief. His appearance was similar to other “tramp figures” encountered in the port, but he was surprising in his resemblance to the “steppe hawk”. He was a “long, bony, slightly stooped” man, “with a humpbacked predatory nose and cold gray eyes.”
He had thick and long mustache brown in color, which “shuddered every now and then,” he kept his hands clasped behind his back and constantly rubbed them, nervously twisting his long, crooked and tenacious fingers. At first glance, his gait was calm, but vigilant, like the flight of a bird, which Chelkash’s entire appearance was reminiscent of.
Chelkash lived in the port as a theft, sometimes his deals were successful and then he had money, which he immediately drank away.
Chelkash and Gavrila met when Chelkash was walking along the harbor and thinking about how he could carry out the “task” that lay ahead that night. His partner broke his leg, which greatly complicated the whole matter. Chelkash was very annoyed.
Gavrila was returning home after a failed attempt to earn some money in the Kuban. He also had reason to be upset - after the death of his father, he could only get out of poverty in one way - “to become a son-in-law in good house”, which meant becoming a farm laborer.
Chelkash quite by chance saw a young, strong guy, dressed in a tattered red cap, shod in bast shoes and sitting right next to the sidewalk.
Chelkash touched the guy, got into conversation with him and unexpectedly decided to take him with him to the “case”.
The meeting of the heroes is described by Gorky in detail. We hear the conversation, inner experiences and thoughts of each character. Special attention the author devotes himself to Chelkash, noticing every detail, the slightest change in the behavior of his character. These are reflections about his former life, about the peasant boy Gavril, who, by the will of fate, found himself in his “wolf’s paws.” Either he feels dominance over someone, while feeling proud of himself, then his mood changes, and he wants to scold or hit Gavrila, then suddenly he wants to feel sorry for him. He once had a house, a wife, and parents, but then he turned into a thief and an inveterate drunkard. However, to the reader he does not seem to be a complete person. We see in him a proud and strong nature. Despite the fact that he has an unpresentable appearance, the hero has an extraordinary personality. Chelkash can find an approach to everyone, can come to an agreement with everyone. It has its own special relationship to the sea and nature. Being a thief, Chelkash loves the sea. The author even compares his inner world to the sea: “a seething nervous nature,” he was greedy for impressions, looking at the sea, he experienced a “broad warm feeling” that covered his entire soul and cleansed it of everyday filth. Among the water and air, Chelkash felt the best, there his thoughts about life, and, indeed, life itself lost value and poignancy.
We see Gavrila completely differently. First, we are presented with a “downtrodden”, distrustful village guy, and then a slave, scared to death. After successful completion“things”, when Gavrila saw big money for the first time in his life, he seemed to “burst.” The author describes the feelings overwhelming Gavrila very vividly. Undisguised greed becomes visible to us. Immediately, compassion and pity for the village boy disappeared. When, falling to his knees, Gavrila began to beg Chelkash to give him all the money, the reader saw a completely different person - a “vile slave” who had forgotten about everything, wanting only to beg more money from his master. Feeling acute pity and hatred for this greedy slave, Chelkash throws all the money at him. At this moment he feels like a hero. He is sure that he will never become like that, despite the fact that he is a thief and a drunkard.
However, after Gavrila’s words that he wanted to kill Chelkash and throw him into the sea, he experiences burning rage. Chelkash takes the money, turns his back to Gavrila and leaves.
Gavrila could not survive this; he grabbed a stone and threw it at Chelkash’s head. Seeing what he had done, he again began to beg for forgiveness.
And in this situation Chelkash was superior. He realized that Gavrila had a mean and petty soul, and threw the money right in his face. Gavrila at first looked after Chelkash, who was staggering and holding his head, but then he sighed, as if freed, crossed himself, hid the money and headed in the opposite direction.
