Analysis of Chelkash's story: theme, idea, brief description of the main characters, reader's position (Gorky Maxim). “Chelkash” analysis of the work of M. Gorky M bitter meaning of the work of Chelkash

The first thing that Maxim Gorky’s story “Chelkash” (1895) makes me think about is why the author dedicated his work to a person who is on the lowest rung of the social ladder. Grishka Chelkash is none other than a drunkard, a thief and a tramp. With his whole appearance he resembles a real swindler: his face is “crumpled”, his clothes are dirty, the collar of his shirt is torn, and he doesn’t even have shoes on his feet. The look of the tramp's cunning eyes is predatory, and his gait and manners are similar to the habits of the steppe hawk. What could interest the writer in such a person?

Reading the work further, I understand that the image of Chelkash is much more complex than it might seem at first glance. First of all, this hero has a rich inner world. Despite his rude and cheeky behavior, the thief Grishka has clear moral guidelines. Chelkash is also capable of acutely feeling life and he has his own philosophy.

Grishka deliberately chose the path of a tramp and voluntarily renounced his native land, for which, as his involuntary accomplice Gavrila thinks, the hero suffered “due punishment.” Once upon a time, Chelkash had everything: the respect of his fellow villagers, the love of his parents, service in the guards troops, his beautiful young wife Anfisa...

Remembering this, the proud tramp even briefly loses his composure, and we see how “everything predatory in his figure” disappears. Now Chelkash’s life consists of nothing but hardships. The sad experience of this man, his gloomy silence and short caustic phrases thrown at Gavrila at the moment of a sudden outburst of anger, indicate that the tramp knew the darkest side of human existence and saw something that many people have never had to think about before.

In his work, Gorky paints the image of a new romantic hero, free from prejudices and conventions. But such a hero will never be accepted by society, and therefore he is doomed to eternal loneliness. This thought also inevitably arises when reading a writer’s story.

Despite all the terrible and difficult things that Chelkash had to go through, he did not lose his human face and retained his moral guidelines. The hero remained generous and fair. Therefore, he does not spare money for Gavrila, who helped him commit the theft, and not only gives his accomplice his share, but also shares part of his savings.

When Gavrila begins to humiliate himself in front of Chelkash and ask him to give him all the money, a feeling of “acute pity and hatred for this greedy slave” flares up in the hero. Grishka knows that he would never have fallen so low. He doesn’t understand how he can “torment” himself like this because of some “rainbow pieces of paper.”

Thus, in Gorky’s story, a person who is at the very bottom of society turns out to be morally superior and morally purer than a respectable peasant. Gavrila could not cope with the first test that life had in store for him. The hero did not have the strength to resist the temptation, and greed completely subjugated him. In order to get Chelkash’s share, the guy was even ready to kill his partner.

And, it seems to me, the main thing that the author makes his reader think about is that you can never judge a person only by his social status. Even the most noble and respected person can be full of hidden shortcomings, while behind the appearance of a thief and ragamuffin a strong, noble and generous nature can be hidden.

"Chelkash"

The story opens with a detailed description of the port, in which the author emphasizes the contradiction between the scale of the various works and the ridiculous and pathetic figures of the people living in slave labor. Gorky compares the noise of the port with the sounds of a “passionate hymn to Mercury” and shows how this noise and hard labor suppresses people, not only drying up their souls, but also exhausting their bodies.

We see a detailed portrait of the main character of the work already in the first part. In it, M. Gorky especially clearly emphasizes such features as cold gray eyes and a humpbacked predatory nose. Chelkash takes life lightly, not hiding his thieving trade from people. He caustically ridicules the watchman who does not let him into the harbor and reproaches him for theft. Instead of a sick accomplice, Chelkash invites a random acquaintance to be his assistant - a young, good-natured guy with big blue eyes. Comparing the portraits of two heroes (Chelkash, who looks like a bird of prey, and the gullible Gavrila), the reader initially thinks that the young peasant guy, out of gullibility, became the victim of a treacherous swindler. Gavrila dreams of earning extra money so she can live on her own household, and not go to her father-in-law’s house. From the conversation we learn that the guy believes in God, seems trusting and good-natured, and Chelkash even begins to experience fatherly feelings for him.

A unique indicator of the characters’ attitude to life is their thoughts about the sea. Chelkash loves him, but Gavrila is afraid. For Chelkash, the sea personifies vitality and freedom: “His seething nervous nature, greedy for impressions, was never satiated with the contemplation of this dark breadth, boundless, free and powerful.”

Gavrila understands from the very beginning that the night fishing to which Chelkash invites him may turn out to be a bad thing. Subsequently, convinced of this, the hero trembles with fear, begins to pray, cry and asks to let him go.

After Chelkash commits the theft, Gavrila’s mood changes somewhat. He even vows to serve a prayer service to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, when suddenly he sees in front of him a huge fiery blue sword, a symbol of retribution. Gavrila's experiences reach their climax. However, Chelkash explains to him that this is just a lantern from a customs cruiser.

An important role in the story is played by the landscape, which Gavrila recreates with the help of personification (“... The clouds were motionless and like a dum and some kind of gray, boring thought,” “The sea woke up. It played with small waves, giving birth to them, decorating them with a fringe of foam , pushing each other and breaking into fine dust”, “The foam melted, hissed and sighed”).

The deadening voice of the port is opposed by the life-giving power of the musical noise of the sea elements. And against the backdrop of this life-giving element, a disgusting human drama unfolds. And the cause of this tragedy is Gavrila’s elementary greed.

M. Gorky deliberately informs the reader that the hero planned to earn two hundred rubles in the Kuban. Chelkash gives him forty for one night trip. But this amount seemed too small to him, and he begs on his knees to give him all the money. Chelkash gives them back with disgust, but suddenly finds out that Gavrila, who just a few hours ago was shaking like a leaf during a night trip, wanted to kill him, considering him a worthless person, a useless person. In anger, Chelkash takes the money and brutally beats Gavrila, wanting to teach him a lesson. In retaliation, the Goth throws a stone at him, then, obviously remembering his soul and God, begins to ask for forgiveness. The wounded Chelkash gives him almost all the money and, staggering, leaves. Gavrila hides the money in his bosom and walks in the other direction with wide, firm steps: at the cost of humiliation, and then by force, he finally received the desired freedom that he so dreamed of. The sea has washed away the traces of the bloody fight on the sand, but it will not be able to wash away the dirt that bubbles up in the soul of the God-fearing Gavrila. Selfish desire reveals the insignificance of his nature. It is no coincidence that when Chelkash, before dividing the money, asks if he would commit a crime again for two hundred rubles, Gavrila expresses his readiness to do this, although a little earlier he sincerely repented of agreeing. Thus, M. Gorky the psychologist shows in this story how deceiving the first impression of a person is and how low under certain circumstances human nature can fall, blinded by the thirst for profit.

Year: 1895 Genre: story

Main characters: Chelkash is a smuggler, drunkard and thief, Gavrila is a peasant guy

“Chelkash” is Gorky’s first work, which was published in the magazine “Russian Wealth” in 1895. The work itself was written in August 1894 in Nizhny Novgorod. The main characters are the complete opposite of each other.

The first is Grishka Chelkash - his author classifies him as a tramp, he is a drunkard and a thief, but at the same time there is something that sets this hero apart from the crowd like him, the author often compared him to a hawk, his thinness, special gait and predatory look distinguished him from the rest of the people. This hero lives by theft, his main prey are ships, which he cleans and then sells. Apparently, such a life does not bother Chelkash, he enjoys his power, freedom, he likes risk and the fact that he can do whatever he wants.

The second hero is Gavrila, at first glance it seemed that there would be something similar between them, because they are both from the village and both have the same status, but in fact the difference in these two heroes is present and not small. Gavrila is a young and strong guy who dreams of prosperity in life, but his spirit is weak and pitiful. Together with Grigory, they go to work, and then two different characters immediately appear before us, the weak-willed and cowardly Gavrila and the powerful Chelkash.

The main idea. The main idea of ​​the work is the struggle for freedom and equality; the author is trying to convey that tramps have their own values, thoughts and feelings, and to some extent they are even purer and more reasonable than people of higher status. Chelkash’s problem as a person is the uselessness of the ideas he strove for, and this is what he pays for his freedom.

The story begins in the morning at the port, a description of what is happening around, people are busy with their own business, there is noise, work is in full swing.

All this continues until lunch, as soon as the clock showed twelve everything calmed down. At this time, the main character, Chelkash, appears in the port; the author describes him as a drunkard, a thief, a thin old man, brave and battered by life, often comparing him to a hawk. He came with the goal of finding his friend and partner Misha, but as it turns out, he ended up in the hospital due to a broken leg. This upsets the hero, because a profitable business was planned for today, for which he needs a partner. Now Chelkash’s goal was to find a person who would help him, and he began to look for a suitable person from passers-by. And then his attention was attracted by a guy who looked very naive and simple. Grigory meets the guys, introducing himself as a fisherman.

The guy's name is Gavrila, he returned from Kuban with very little income, and is now looking for a job. Gavrila himself dreams of a free life, but believes that he will not have one, because he himself was left with only his mother, his father died, and a small piece of land remained. Of course, rich people wanted to take him in as a son-in-law, but then he would have to work all his life for his father-in-law. In general, Gavrila dreams of at least 150 rubles, believing that this will help him create a successful life, build a house and get married.

Chelkash, in turn, listened to the guy’s story and offered to make money by fishing, but such a proposal seemed suspicious to Gavrila, because the very appearance of Grigory did not give him a reason to trust him, and therefore Chelkash received a portion of mistrust and contempt from the guy. But the thief is outraged by what this young man thought about him, because what right does he have to judge other people? Ultimately, the love of money in Gavrila’s soul and the offer of easy money made him decide in favor of the thief.

Suspecting nothing and thinking that he is going fishing, the guy goes with Chelkash first to a tavern to “wash” the agreement, this tavern is full of very strange people. The thief feels complete power over the guy, realizing that life now depends on him, because it is he who will either help the guy or ruin everything, but still he is full of desire to help the young man.

After waiting until nightfall, they went to work. Chelkash appreciated and admired the sea, but Gavrila, on the contrary, was afraid of the dark; everything seemed very scary to him.

The guy asked where the gear was, because they came for fishing, but instead of an answer he received shouts in his direction. And then he realized that this would not be fishing at all, fear and uncertainty captured the guy, he tried to ask Chelkash to let him go, but he only threatened in response and ordered him to row further.

Soon they reached the goal, Chelkash took the oars and passport and went to get the goods. Gavrila tried to reassure himself that this would end soon, he needed to endure it and do what the thief said. Then they walked through the “cordons”, Gavrila tried to call for help, but got scared. Chelkash promised to pay him decently and this gave the guy a reason to think about a future luxurious life. Finally they reached the shore and went to bed. In the morning, Chelkash was unrecognizable; he had new clothes and a wad of money, from which he allocated a couple of bills to the guy.

All this time, Gavrila was thinking about how to get all the money for himself, in the end he tried to knock down the thief and take all the money, but nothing worked out for him, and in the end he still asked for forgiveness for his behavior. After this incident, the heroes' paths diverged.

Picture or drawing of Chelkash

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Man - that's the truth!

M. Gorky

“Chelkash” is one of the early romantic stories of M. Gorky. It belongs to a series of works by the writer about ragged tramps and criminals, the images of which in the literature of that time were gloomy and depressingly one-sided. Gorky was the first to try to comprehend the psychology of these “superfluous” people, to understand their morality, to understand the reasons that forced them to sink to the very bottom of life.

Grisha Chelkash is the main character of the story. Despite the fact that he is “an inveterate drunkard and a clever, brave thief,” he attracts our attention with his eccentricity. And the point here is not only in his unusual appearance, which makes Chelkash look like a predatory steppe hawk. Before us is a brave, freedom-loving personality with a developed sense of self-worth.

Chelkash undoubtedly belongs to the criminal environment and is forced to live by its laws; theft for him is a way to survive, get food for himself, and gain authority among tramps like himself. However, many of Chelkash’s human qualities make us respect him.

Having met Gavrila in the port and listened to his story, Chel-kash becomes imbued with sympathy for the guy. Gavrila cannot cope with his household, does not know how to earn money, cannot get married, because girls with a dowry are not given to him. Having learned that Gavrila needs money, Chelkash offers him the opportunity to earn money. Of course, the thief here also has his own interest, since he needs a partner, but Chelkash’s pity for the young, gullible Gavrila is sincere: he “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 Chelka’s feelings eventually merged into one thing - something fatherly and economic.”

Chelkash is close to Gavrila’s dreams of rich farms, because he himself was not always a thief. The memories of this stern man about his childhood, his village, his parents and wife, about peasant life and service in the army, about how his father was proud of him in front of the whole village are filled with touching sadness and tenderness. During this conversation with Gavrila, Chelkash seems vulnerable and defenseless to me, he looks like a snail that hides its delicate body under a durable shell. Material from the site

The further, the more our sympathies Chelkash wins, but the image of Gavrila over time begins to evoke disgust. Gradually, his envious, greedy, ready for meanness and at the same time slavish service out of fear of his little soul is revealed to us. The author repeatedly emphasizes Chelkash’s spiritual superiority, especially when it comes to money. Watching Gavrila’s humiliation, 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.”

Gorky calls his story “a little drama that played out between two people,” but it seems to me that only one of them has the right to bear the proud name of Man.

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The story “Chelkash” belongs to the early romantic works of M. Gorky. It is part of the series of so-called stories about tramps. The writer has always been interested in this “class” of people that formed in Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Gorky considered tramps to be interesting “human material” who seemed to be outside society. In them he saw a kind of embodiment of his human ideals: “I saw that although they live worse than “ordinary people,” they feel and recognize themselves better than them, and this is because they are not greedy, do not strangle each other, and do not hoard money.” .
At the center of the story (1895) are two heroes opposed to each other. One is Grishka Chelkash, “an old poisoned wolf, well known to the Havana people, an inveterate drunkard and a clever, brave thief.” This is already a mature person, a bright and extraordinary nature. Even in a crowd of tramps like him, Chelkash stood out for his predatory strength and integrity. It is not for nothing that Gorky compares him to a hawk: “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, as old as the bird of prey that he resembled.” .
As the plot develops, we learn that Chelkash lives by robbing ships and then selling his loot. Such activities and lifestyle suit this hero quite well. They satisfy his need for a sense of freedom, risk, unity with nature, a sense of his own strength and unlimited possibilities.
Chelkash is a hero from a village. He is the same peasant as the other hero of the story - Gavrila. But how different these people are! Gavrila is young, physically strong, but weak in spirit and pitiful. We see how Chelkash struggles with contempt for this “young heifer”, who dreams of a prosperous and well-fed life in the village, and even advises Gregory how he can “better fit in” in life.
It becomes clear that these completely different people will never find a common language. Although they have the same roots, their nature, their nature, is completely different. Against the background of the cowardly and weak Gavrila, the figure of Chelkash emerges with all his might. This contrast is especially clearly expressed at the moment when the heroes “went to work” - Grigory took Gavrila with him, giving him the opportunity to earn money.
Chelkash loved the sea and was not afraid of it: “At the sea, a wide, warm feeling always rose in him - embracing his entire soul, it slightly cleansed it of everyday filth. He appreciated this and loved to see himself as the best here, among the water and air, where thoughts about life and life itself always lose - the former - their sharpness, the latter - their value.”
This hero was delighted by the sight of the majestic element, “endless and powerful.” The sea and clouds intertwined into one whole, inspiring Chelkash with their beauty, “arousing” high desires in him.
The sea evokes completely different feelings for Gavrila. He sees it as a black heavy mass, hostile, carrying mortal danger. The only feeling that the sea evokes in Gavrila is fear: “It’s just scary in it.”
The behavior of these heroes at sea is also different. In the boat, Chelkash sat upright, calmly and confidently looked at the surface of the water, forward, communicating with this element on an equal footing: “Sitting at the stern, he cut the water with the wheel and looked forward calmly, full of desire to ride long and far along this velvet surface.” Gavrila is crushed by the sea elements, she bends him, makes him feel like an insignificance, a slave: “... grabbed Gavrila’s chest with a strong hug, squeezed him into a timid ball and chained him to the bench of the boat...”
Having overcome many dangers, the heroes return safely to the shore. Chelkash sold the loot and received the money. It is at this moment that the true natures of the heroes appear. It turns out that Chelkash wanted to give Gavrila more than he promised: this guy touched him with his story, stories about the village.
It should be noted that Chelkash’s attitude towards Gavrila was not unambiguous. The “young heifer” irritated Grigory; he felt Gavrila’s “foreignness” and did not accept his philosophy of life, his values. But, nevertheless, grumbling and swearing at this man, Chelkash did not allow himself meanness or baseness towards him.
Gavrila, this gentle, kind and naive person, turned out to be completely different. He admits to Gregory that he wanted to kill him during their trip in order to get all the loot for himself. Later, not deciding on this, Gavrila begs Chelkash to give him all the money - with such wealth he will live happily ever after in the village. For this reason, the hero lies at Chelkash’s feet, humiliates himself, forgetting about his human dignity. For Gregory, such behavior only causes disgust and disgust. And in the end, when the situation changes several times (Chelkash, having learned new details, either gives or does not give Gavrila the money, a serious fight breaks out between the heroes, and so on), Gavrila receives the money. He asks Chelkash for forgiveness, but does not receive it: Gregory’s contempt for this pitiful creature is too great.
It is no coincidence that the positive hero of the story is a thief and a tramp. Thus, Gorky emphasizes that Russian society does not allow rich human potential to be revealed. He is satisfied only with the Gavrils with their slavish psychology and average capabilities. There is no place for extraordinary people who strive for freedom, flight of thought, spirit and soul in such a society. Therefore, they are forced to become tramps, outcasts. The author emphasizes that this is not only a personal tragedy of tramps, but also a tragedy of society, deprived of its rich potential and its best strengths.