« Horse surname"characteristics of the characters in the story will help you understand them inner world and character traits.
“Horse surname” characteristics of heroes
"Horse name" main characters
- Major General Buldeev,
- Buldeev's clerk - Ivan Evseich,
- cook Petka,
- general's wife,
- servants, children
Buldeev, retired major general. The character is at first glance personable and important, but is essentially comic. His comedy is emphasized by his surname, which is not at all a general’s, having a certain consonance with the word “stupid”, and by the very situation in which the general finds himself with a bad tooth (distrust of the doctor, reluctance to remove the tooth, then nevertheless accepting medical help), and behavior with Evseich.
Major General Buldeev is afraid of toothache. He applied turpentine and kerosene to the sore tooth, smeared his cheek with iodine, and rinsed his mouth with cognac and alcohol. Nothing helped him. Buldeev declares that witchcraft is charlatanism, but nevertheless, insists that Ivan Yevseich must remember the name of the witch doctor so that Buldeev can turn to him.
He is an observant, smart person. He has the gift of a storyteller, invents many funny “horse” names, is well versed in horses, but is ignorant, because he firmly believes that teeth can be treated with a spell, and even by telegraph, which is especially absurd, and he advises treating teeth in a similar way from feelings of compassion.
Chekhov ridicules his cowardice in pulling out a bad tooth. He shows how the general is suffering, but does not want to go to a real doctor. When his tooth was finally pulled out, the clerk remembered the doctor's name. And the general shows him two figs. The author shows us a capricious, ignorant general (and this is the title of the highest command staff).
Ivan Evseich- the general’s clerk, a man “without his own character”: at first he cheerfully, if not brazenly, advises Buldeev as a healer, but when he discovers that he has forgotten his last name and risks incurring the general’s wrath, he becomes obsequious and fawning. Subsequently, inspired by the meeting with the doctor, he hurries to the general, hoping that the healer’s name will help regain Buldeev’s favor, but he is hopelessly late. Everything about Ivan Yevseich - his behavior, his illiterate speech, and his attempts to remember the “horse’s name” - points to him as a uniquely comic character.
If we turn to Chekhov's early works, we will see that this is mainly short stories satirical in nature, more like jokes with an unexpected ending. Chekhov's story “The Horse's Name” is such a work.
This famous work, in which the writer, as in many of his other works, ridiculed the negative sides of humanity. Chekhov's work "The Horse's Name" is easy to read, in one breath, and, despite the fact that main character suffers from toothache, the whole comedy of the situation evokes not compassion, but laughter.
Chekhov Horse name summary
The storyline of the work “Horse Surname” and its summary are simple and uncomplicated. It all started when the major general woke up with a severe toothache and, in order to relieve it, he began to try all the familiar remedies, refusing the services of a dentist. Neither vodka, nor cognac, nor others helped folk remedies, so the clerk offered him the last option - to turn to a magician who heals with spells. But, the trouble is, he lives in another city, and in order to send a telegram, you need his last name, which the clerk forgot. There was only one association; it seemed to him that the sorcerer’s surname was similar to a “horse” one.
Horse name of Chekhov's hero
Here the whole family was already trying to guess the last name, and the servants got involved. What options were not offered. “Loshadkin”, “Zherebchikov”, “Konyavsky”, “Loshadevich” and the like, but it was not all that. And while the clerk was remembering the name in order to help the major general, the general decided to use the services of a doctor and pulled out a tooth. Summary The story “The Horse's Name” by Chekhov ends with the funniest thing, the clerk still remembered the name and it is not a horse's name, but can only conditionally be considered such, because the magician had the name Ovsov, but it was too late, there was no tooth, so the general only had to show two fig, shouting “Na-mow!”
Chekhov's short story "The Horse's Name" is characterized by the absence of reasoning and descriptions, everything happens quickly, the work itself is built on dialogue. In the work "The Horse's Name" Chekhov's heroes simple people: retired general, his wife and children, servants and clerk. Already at the beginning of the work we see the comical ways in which the major general tried to relieve the pain; the situation with guessing the last name also looks comical.
Reading Chekhov's story, we see that the author uses the inconsistencies between the essence of man and external manifestations. So, a major general, who has a high rank, is afraid to pull out a tooth, he does not believe in conspiracies, but he agrees to treat the tooth over the phone. The general is capricious and ignorant, although he has the highest rank. We also see speech errors that only enhance the comic nature of the work, among them “use”, “if which”, “scold”.
In general, the work describes and, indeed, life situation. Regardless of position and social status, who hasn’t experienced a situation where you need to remember something very important, but just can’t do it. It’s like the word is on the tip of our tongue, but we can’t pronounce it, we’re just talking about associations that, in the end, were from a completely different area. As we can see, Chekhov not only masterfully described the comical life situation of everyone, but also recreated psychological images.
What does Chekhov's story “The Horse's Name” teach? wrote this story to ridicule cowardice and indecision.
What does the story “The Horse's Name” teach?
The story “The Horse's Name” by Chekhov teaches that you don't have to be cowardly like the general. Such a strong man should not be afraid that a tooth will be pulled out and it will hurt him.
The author describes an incident that occurred in a small town. One day, retired Major General Buldeev had a toothache. He tried to treat them different ways, but all of them either did not help him or made him sick. The doctor prescribed him quinine, but it didn’t help him either. He responded negatively to the proposed option of pulling out the tooth. Everyone around him offered their solution to the problem, and his clerk Ivan Evseevich advised him to undergo treatment with a conspiracy. At first, Buldeev didn’t particularly like this idea. But he soon agreed to try. Still, a little trouble arose: the healer lived in Saratov, and it was necessary to send a telegram there. When the general began to write, Ivan Evseevich could not remember the name of the healer. And I just remembered that the last name was horse. The whole house began to offer options "...Equestrian, Horse..."
The major general even promised to give five rubles to the one who guessed the last name... On the third day, Buldeev ordered to call a doctor. When the doctor arrived and pulled out his tooth, he asked the clerk for oats. The clerk smiled and ran to the general. And he shouted: “Ovsov, Ovsov! I remembered! “The general put two figs up and said: “I don’t need your horse’s name now.
The main idea of the story “The Horse's Name” is that any assistance must be timely. The clerk managed to remember the “horse’s” name, but it was too late - the doctor removed the general’s bad tooth. The story “The Horse's Name” teaches you to consult a doctor in a timely manner if you are seriously unwell. And it is unlikely that the general would have been helped by dental treatment with the help of a conspiracy, and even through a dispatch sent to another city.
In my opinion, Chekhov in his story “The Horse's Name” revealed several problems, or rather, several striking properties of people. I will try to isolate them from a story that undoubtedly brings humor and a smile to even the saddest people.
Firstly, the situation itself occurs with a person who holds the rank of general, a very high rank. Even people who stand above others in society have teeth pain; by this the author shows that any person is mortal, and both the poor and the rich will lie in the coffin.
Secondly, just look at the noise and commotion the heroes made just because the general had a toothache. If an ordinary private had a toothache, then nothing would similar scenes and it couldn’t be, because the attitude towards a subordinate is much worse than towards a general, and the pain of a subordinate is just another news for the conditional residents of the house, while the general’s illness is a universal tragedy.
Thirdly, the author makes fun of our human despair. After all, Buldeev initially refuses to pull out the tooth, as the doctor advises, and he also refuses the clerk’s advice to write to the conspirator of the teeth. What happens next? It’s worth experiencing the pain in your teeth for a while, it’s worth blaming thoughts about a possible, albeit illusory, salvation in your head, and you’re ready to believe in a miracle, to believe in a conspirator. And all this is not happening to some village boy who believes in superstitions and magic, this is happening to a general who has lived his life.
This is how the author conveys to the reader that pain can change a person’s mood, can break a person to such an extent that he falls into despair, in which he believes in what he has denied all his life. As for the main events, we see how the whole house: children, wife, servants are on edge, and everyone is helping the clueless clerk remember his last name. When a whole day passes in pain and torment, then only the main character Buldeev decides to call a doctor and pull out a tooth, which again indicates that pain can break people, be it physical or psychological pain.
I also think that the author makes fun of a trait that is supposedly characteristic of the Russian people; let me put it in the proverb: “A Russian is smart, but with hindsight.” What this proverb means is that a Russian person thinks of something important only when it’s too late, when it’s no longer necessary. This is clearly illustrated in a situation where the clerk runs to the general to inform good news that he remembered the last name, but it was too late - “missing it!”
Analysis 2
One of early works A short story by A.P. Chekhov “The Horse's Name” is considered. The reader is presented with a solution to the problem of how to cure an inflamed tooth for an important landowner?
The story is real, a simple situation. The main character is a senior military official, and the clerk is trying to help him. In the background are the general's wife, servants, and children. An unpleasant incident happened. The main member of the family, the general, felt pain from an inflamed tooth. Going through various ways execution of the intended problem, they reach the point where they need someone first called a “charlatan”, and now very necessary person- Yakov Vasilievich. The author also involved the children in guessing the name of the “magic” doctor.
Let's make a profile for the major general. Since he was brought up in a rich family, he behaves accordingly. He shouts at the servants, at the end of the work he showed two “cookies” to the clerk.
The author constructed the work in such a way that the situation looks comical. Causes laughter when listing names associated with a horse. Although, the “true” surname Ovsov has little relation to the “horse” one.
The beginning of the story draws the reader into solving mysterious surname to cure an important person - a retired general, who is bothered by an inflamed tooth. The picture would have looked different if the pain bothered any of the servants, but here everyone started going through everything possible options"witchcraft", even by "telegraph".
IN this work“illiteracy” in relation to treatment is ridiculed “ high layers", primitiveness in awareness of "witchcraft" and influence at a great distance. Social inequality, ignorance, rude attitude towards servants, abuse of one’s position in society.
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov tries his best short stories show all the absurdity and stupidity in the behavior above standing people who are ready to listen even to “ridiculous” ideas and implement them. The end of the plot is as follows: “The clerk remembers the name, but the general did it too late correct solution and agreed to let the doctor pull out the tooth. As a result, the pain goes away immediately.”
This work with satirical content would not have existed if our main character had immediately allowed his aching molar to be pulled out. Everyone is ready to go through the “earth” to find a cure for an important gentleman and do not spare their health and strength to achieve their goal.
The unique insightful mind of the writer finds and reflects on paper various small situations in life that are relevant to this day, only the landowners have reincarnated into the highest ranks of military service and work supervisors. Unfortunately, to this day there is social inequality between the relations of people and “healers are charlatans” who do not benefit health, but take away large amounts money.
However, in this work A.P. Chekhov wins “ common sense“And the end of the work is positive, when they pulled out the object of pain, the jaw immediately stopped hurting. How often, we do not take easy paths, but create huge problems for ourselves. And the solution may be much easier and very close.
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Chekhov managed to create a story whose title became catchphrase. The phenomenon when a word is on the tip of the tongue but cannot be recalled is called a “horse name.” This speaks of the national significance of the work of this writer, part of which became the object of our analysis.
As you know, A.P. Chekhov had abilities not only in literature, but also in medicine. Doubts about the choice of main activity made the author hesitate, perhaps that’s why he signed his early stories pseudonym Antosha Chekhonte. The story “The Horse's Name” belongs precisely to this period of creativity. The work was published on July 7, 1885 in the Petersburg Newspaper.
The reason for writing was an anecdote the writer heard, where they remembered a bird's surname. It turned out that this was Verbin, and the associative series was explained by the fact that the bird lands on a willow tree.
Genre and direction
The direction of Chekhov's first prose - natural school. IN early work the author continues Gogol's traditions, but in a special author's manner. This manifests itself even at the level of searching for material for a work - an everyday situation, an anecdote. Another common feature is to ridicule the stereotypes of behavior of people of certain positions and positions: officials, clerks, etc.
Genre - humorous story. In addition, Chekhov's interest in the European novella is reflected in the story “The Horse's Name,” as evidenced by the parallel development of the everyday line (a toothache) and the paradoxical fact (the surname of a healer).
The writer makes his story humorous and absurd, mainly through wordplay. For example, a healer “feeds with his teeth”, “speaks with his teeth”.
The story is not without folklore overtones: it is no coincidence that the clerk’s name is Ivan, and his advice - to turn to a healer - can hardly be called wise.
Meaning of the name
The author competently builds his game with the reader. At the beginning, the sad situation of retired Major General Buldeev is presented, then all possible and impossible methods of treatment are listed. And only in the second half of the story does a motif appear that goes back to the title - the horse's surname.
Listing the heroes' guesses is one of the compositional foundations. But the essence of the title lies not only in this.
In fact, the surname refers to the animal only indirectly. Characters mistakenly choose a target, lose the right way– and this is the meaning of the title of the story. How forgotten name there was no horse, so the help needed was not witchcraft, but traditional.
The main characters and their characteristics
- The central character of the story is Buldeev, Major General retired. Chekhov, creating his heroes, also uses the vaudeville tradition, calling them speaking names. The consonance of the surname of a person of such a high rank with a bulldozer works to ridiculously reduce his position. Buldeev is naive, trusting, he is driven to despair by incessant pain. The unpleasant situation reveals another property that discredits the general’s name - cowardice. If he had decided to immediately pull out the tooth, there would not have been this whole story around the healer.
- Clerk simple-minded, he sincerely wants to help. Selflessness can be defined as positive quality, but Ivan Yevseich is stupid, and this is again a ridiculing component in the portrait of the hero.
- The medicine man humorously presents the traditional set of qualities of an official. He has an addiction to vodka Ovsov contains a mistress. And the very transformation of an excise official into a healer speaks volumes.
- Only doctor presented as exclusively positive hero, rationally thinking, doing his job honestly. Perhaps such authorial sympathy for the doctor is not accidental, because this profession is not alien to Chekhov himself.
Topics and issues
- Professionalism. The situation described by Chekhov is absurd. The clerk is stupid, the general is cowardly, and the official becomes a healer. If in Buldeev his fear of pulling out a bad tooth is ridiculed, then in Ovsovo it is the inaction of managers and business executives. Officials often promise only in words - they talk their teeth into their petitioners. This is where the witch doctor literally works, but is this what an excise official should do?
- Superstition. The story contrasts the doctor and the healer. This conflict is not central, but Chekhov shows in “The Horse's Name” the futility of postponing a necessary medical procedure. The author ridicules how Major General, it would seem, man of sense, succumbs to the provocations of the clerk who believes in conspiracies.
- Cowardice. Being afraid of an ordinary medical procedure makes a person look funny and act stupid. How will such a general defend the country if necessary? This problem runs through Chekhov’s work; his heroes are often afraid of trifles, but they don’t see really terrible things.
Meaning
The idea of the story is self-discipline, the ability to pull yourself together in a difficult situation. Otherwise, you will have to suffer in vain and make others suffer. So, the clerk does absolutely unnecessary work - he remembers the name of the healer, and all family members try in vain to help him with this. the main problem the heroes of the story is that they cannot concentrate on the main thing, as a result of which everyone does something wrong. This applies both directly to the events of the story, as well as to what they do in life.
The main idea of the story is obvious: every person must responsibly go about his business, only in this way will order be established. But as long as generals are afraid of doctors, healers talk their mouths as officials, and clerks chatter in the workplace, everything will happen topsy-turvy, as the author shows. The way to get rid of all this vulgar meaninglessness is through honest work.
What does it teach?
The story teaches us not to give up in the face of the inevitable. A person should overcome his fears and temptations in favor of correct, reasonable actions. Chekhov calls not to cut corners, not to resort to quackery, but to do your job conscientiously.
In addition, a person must be in his place: courageous - to be a general, reasonable - to be a clerk, and obliging - to be an official. If personal qualities do not correspond to the profession, then the result is such a funny and awkward situation as in “The Horse's Name”. What would happen if the doctor failed to cope with his duties? Perhaps this story contains the personal quests and doubts of Chekhov himself, who had not yet decided which activity, medical or literary, to choose as his main one.
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