Many works by A.P. Chekhov's stories, although they make the reader laugh, still serve to express moral values and important ideas. For example, the story “Surgery” poses to society the pressing question of ignorance in such an industry as protecting the health of citizens. By calling the book the name of an entire medical field, the author generalizes, thereby saying that all medicine in Russia is in a deplorable state, and not just the zemstvo hospital. He knew from experience how the state needed not only health care reforms and appropriate funding, but also a responsible attitude of people to this position. It is the problem of his absence that the writer’s work is devoted to.
Genre of the work
The writer takes as the basis for the plot a real case from medical practice of that time. Being a doctor, he knew that there were a lot of non-professionals working in this field who did not treat, but maimed. Surgery is precisely the area of medicine where mistakes are most painful and obvious. The author exposes a pressing problem in a society where healthcare for low-income people is becoming a lottery, where it is almost impossible to win and where losing is very costly. Therefore, Chekhov’s work can be classified as an acutely social story.
The author focuses on ridiculing vices, that is, he wants to correct the current situation. If people see how ridiculous their behavior is, they will stop behaving that way. Laughter hurts a person, unlike moralizing attacks and teachings. In style, the writer is even closer to the feuilleton. Accurate characteristics of the heroes indicate their shortcomings, revealing the vicious nature hiding behind them. Their external appearance is not as funny as the internal ugliness of the soul. The humor in "Surgery" plays the role of an accuser who is pleasant to listen to, despite his accusations. It even manifests itself in the plot: the doctor left to get married, the paramedic doesn’t know how to do anything, but still gets to work, the sexton either has enough or curses the doctor, because he is unable to love his neighbor and endure earthly torment. Thus, the work can be called a humorous story.
What is the story about?
The action takes place in the zemstvo hospital on a Sunday, where paramedic Kuryatin receives patients because the doctor has left to get married. Vonmiglasov comes there with a toothache. At first, the patient praises the doctor: “That’s what you, benefactors, have been appointed to do, may God grant you health, so that we will be for you day and night, dear fathers... to the grave of our lives...”. Kuryatin himself claims that surgery is nothing... just a piece of cake. But after an unsuccessful attempt to pull out a tooth, both of them change their point of view: the sexton begins to swear, and the failed dentist defends himself by saying that pulling a tooth is not an easy task. During the second attempt, the patient has two protrusions in his mouth in place of the tooth, which completely drives him crazy: “They planted you here, Herods, to our destruction!” The doctor tries to justify himself by saying that he already removed a tooth from a certain Egyptian landowner, but he talks about it so vaguely that you can’t help but wonder: was there a landowner? The sexton goes home, and the paramedic does not even try to correct the situation. Chekhov chose an open ending for the work: the patient leaves the office, and here the story ends abruptly.
Surgery
1884
Zemsky hospital. In the absence of the doctor, who has left to get married, the patients are seen by the paramedic Kuryatin, a fat man of about forty, in a worn Chechunchka jacket and frayed sweatpants. There is an expression of duty and pleasantness on the face. Between the index and middle fingers of the left hand is a cigar, spreading a stench. The sexton Vonmiglasov, a tall, stocky old man in a brown cassock and a wide leather belt, enters the reception room. The right eye has a cataract and is half-closed; there is a wart on the nose, which from a distance looks like a large fly. For a second the sexton looks for the icon with his eyes and, not finding one, crosses himself over a bottle of carbolic solution, then takes out a prosphora from a red handkerchief and places it with a bow in front of the paramedic. - A-a-a... mine for you! - the paramedic yawns. - What did you come with? - Happy Sunday to you, Sergey Kuzmich... To your mercy... Truly and truly the psalter says, excuse me: “Dissolve my drink with crying.” The other day I sat down to drink tea with an old woman and - my God, not a drop, not a blue-powder, even lie down and die... If you take a little sip, my strength is gone! And besides what’s in the tooth itself, but also this whole side... It hurts, it hurts! Excuse me, it feels like it’s in your ear, as if there’s a nail or some other object in it: it just shoots, just like that! I have sinned and been lawless... I have scorched my soul with cold sins and spent my life in laziness... For sins, Sergei Kuzmich, for sin! After the liturgy, Father Priest reproaches: “You are tongue-tied, Efim, and you have become a bastard. Eat, and you won’t understand anything.” And what kind of singing is there, if you can’t open your mouth, you’re all swollen, excuse me, and haven’t slept all night... - Hmmm... Sit down... Open your mouth! Vonmiglasov sits down and opens his mouth. Kuryatin frowns, looks into his mouth and among the teeth yellowed by time and tobacco sees one tooth decorated with a gaping hollow. — Father Deacon told me to use vodka and horseradish, but it didn’t help. Glykeria Anisimovna, God bless them, they gave them a string to wear on their hands from Mount Athos and told them to rinse their teeth with warm milk, but I must admit, I put the string on, but in relation to milk I didn’t observe: I’m afraid of God, fasting... - Prejudice... (pause ). You need to tear him out, Efim Mikheich! - You know better, Sergei Kuzmich. That’s what you are trained for, to understand this matter as it is, what to tear out, and what in drops or other things... That’s what you, benefactors, are assigned to, God grant you health, so that we will be for you day and night, dear fathers... the coffin of life... - Nonsense... - the paramedic is modest, approaching the cabinet and rummaging through the instruments. - Surgery is a trifle... It’s all about habit, firmness of hand... Just a piece of cake... The other day, just like you, the landowner Alexander Ivanovich Egyptian comes to the hospital... Also with a tooth... An educated man, he asks about everything, he goes into everything, how and what . He shakes hands, by name and patronymic... He lived in St. Petersburg for seven years, he sniffed all the professors... We've been here for a long time... He prays to Christ God: tear him out for me, Sergei Kuzmich! Why not pull it out? You can pull it out. Only here you need to understand, you can’t do without a concept... There are different teeth. You tear one with tongs, another with a goat's leg, the third with a key... It depends on you. The paramedic takes the goat leg, looks at it questioningly for a minute, then puts it down and takes the tongs. “Well, open your mouth wider...” he says, approaching the sexton with tongs. - Now we have it... that's it... Just a piece of cake... Just trim the gum... do traction along the vertical axis... and that's it... (cuts the gum) and that's it... - You are our benefactors... We, fools, have no idea, but God has enlightened you... - Don't argue , if your mouth is open... - This one is easy to tear, but it happens that there are only roots... This one is a piece of cake... (puts tongs on). Wait, don’t twitch... Sit still... In the blink of an eye... (does traction). The main thing is to take it deeper (pulls)… so that the crown doesn’t break... - Our fathers... Holy Mother... Vvv... - Not right... not right... what’s his name? Don't grab with your hands! Put your hands down! (pulls). Now... Here, here... This is not an easy matter... - Fathers... guardians... (shouts). Angels! Whoa... Just pull it, pull it! Why are you waiting five years? “It’s just a matter... surgery... It’s impossible right away... Here, here... Vonmiglasov raises his knees to his elbows, moves his fingers, bulges his eyes, breathes intermittently... Sweat appears on his purple face, tears in his eyes. Kuryatin sniffles, stomps in front of the sexton and pulls... The most painful half a minute passes - and the forceps are torn from the tooth. The sexton jumps up and puts his fingers in his mouth. In his mouth he feels the tooth in its old place. - Pulled! - he says in a tearful and at the same time mocking voice. - May you be so drawn to the next world! Thank you very much! If you don’t know how to tear, don’t try it! I don’t see the light of God... - Why are you grabbing with your hands? - the paramedic gets angry. - I’m pulling, and you’re pushing my arm and saying all sorts of stupid words... Stupid! - You yourself are a fool! - Do you think, man, it’s easy to pull a tooth? Take it! It’s not like he climbed up the bell tower and banged on the bells! (teases). “You can’t, you can’t!” Tell me which pointer you found! Look... You tore at Mr. Egyptian, Alexander Ivanovich, and he didn’t say anything, no words... A man cleaner than you, and he didn’t grab him with his hands... Sit down! Sit down, I tell you! - I don’t see the light... Let me catch my breath... Oh! (sits down). Don’t just drag it out too long, just pull it. Don't pull, but pull... Immediately! - Teach a scientist! What, my God, uneducated people! Live with people like that... you'll go crazy! Open your mouth... (applies tongs). Surgery, brother, is not a joke... This is not to read in the choir... (does traction). Don’t twitch... The tooth, it turns out, is old, has taken deep roots... (pulls). Don't move... So... so... Don't move... Well, well... (a crunching sound is heard). I knew it! Vonmiglasov sits motionless for a minute, as if unconscious. He is stunned... His eyes look blankly into space, there is sweat on his pale face. “It would be a goat’s leg for me...” mutters the paramedic. - What an opportunity! Having come to his senses, the sexton puts his fingers into his mouth and finds two protruding protrusions in place of the sore tooth. “Lousy devil...” he says. - They planted you here, Herods, to our destruction! “Swear at me again here...” mutters the paramedic, putting the tongs in the cupboard. - Ignorant... Few of you were treated to birch in the bursa... Mr. Egyptian, Alexander Ivanovich, lived in St. Petersburg for seven years... educated... one suit costs a hundred rubles... and even then he didn’t swear... And what kind of peahen are you? It’s okay for you, you won’t die! The sexton takes his prosphora from the table and, holding his cheek with his hand, goes home...
Main characters
The characters are depicted in the satirical manner characteristic of the writer. He focused on their comic behavior and painted an ironic portrait of an entire class. Their characters are schematic, but at the same time they contain the fruits of the author’s close observation of the changing and pulsating reality. The heroes of the story “Surgery” by Chekhov are presented in the black and white colors of the feuilleton: they are deprived of a full-fledged inner world. The images are built around one vice, which is ridiculed and condemned. The reader does not see their lives, families and circumstances that influenced the formation of their personality. The important thing, and Anton Pavlovich emphasizes this, is that vices develop with the tacit consent of society. We all don't pay attention to what's going on and we don't do anything to fix it.
- Paramedic Kuryatin. A narcissistic, important, ignorant person who loves to talk and show off. He has a remarkable conceit, and even if life itself destroys it, he is always ready to give a bunch of excuses, contradicting himself. He changes his point of view depending on what he needs to sell to his interlocutor. The medical worker does not feel any special responsibility; he simply serves his duty, while trying to maintain a feigned “niceness” and not injure anyone. From a professional point of view, he is an amateur. The author gives him a humorous description:
“A fat man of about forty, wearing a worn chechunchka jacket and frayed jersey trousers. There is an expression of duty and pleasantness on the face. Between the index and middle fingers of the left hand is a cigar, spreading a stench.”
- Deacon Vonmiglasov. Hypocritical, narrow-minded, talkative, rude and impulsive. Changes his mind like gloves, depending on how he feels at the moment. He does not need evidence or reflection to draw a conclusion, just superficial impressions are enough, and the judgment is ready. This hero also went to work not according to his calling: he is too stupid to serve in the church with dignity. The character is frivolous, but at the same time he is distinguished by hypocrisy. Religion for him is simply a convention: “For a second the sexton looks for an icon with his eyes and, not finding one, crosses himself over a bottle of carbolic solution, then takes out a prosphora from a red handkerchief and places it in front of the paramedic with a bow.”
The characterization of heroes is one of the brightest means of creating a comic effect in Chekhov’s works. The book “Surgery” is one of the best of its kind, because it is still relevant. Ignorance harms not only the individual, but also the entire society. It does not develop because it is deaf to progress and lives only for the sake of obtaining petty benefits and a consumer existence devoid of a higher goal. The writer laughs at this, but it is not a cheerful laugh, but a sad smile, because over the years little has changed in Russia.
Analysis of A. P. Chekhov’s story “Surgery”
A.P. Chekhov is the author of wonderful humorous stories, a great artist of words. The writer's debut took place in the humorous magazine "Dragonfly". Published under the pseudonym “Young Elder,” the humoresque announced to the world of literature the emergence of a new, bright and sparkling talent. Chekhov's early stories are humorous, Chekhov's laughter is cheerful and infectious, it is laughter to tears.
Chekhov's stories are short, but behind their small volume and external simplicity lies a very deep meaning. They are a living confirmation of Chekhov’s aphorism: “Brevity is the sister of talent.”
One of the pearls of Chekhov’s early work is the story “Surgery.” A doctor by profession, Chekhov in this work concerns an area that is well known to him - the field of medicine. Drawing a short episode, he demonstrates the full power of his amazing talent.
Important
The heroes of the story are the sexton Vonmiglasov and the paramedic of the zemstvo hospital Kuryatin, who, in the absence of the doctor who has left to get married, receives patients. His portrait speaks eloquently about Kuryatin: “...
a fat man of about forty, wearing a worn cotton jacket and frayed sweatpants. There is an expression of duty and pleasantness on the face. Between the index and middle fingers of the left hand is a cigar that spreads a stench.”
Despite his ignorance of the matter, this luminary of medicine undertakes tooth extraction, which seems to him a trifle. Meanwhile, Kuryatin, who is confident at first, does not succeed, and he changes his opinion about surgery: “It’s not an easy matter...
", "It's not like he climbed up the bell tower and banged on the bells!" Kuryatin does not understand that even if he undertakes this ineptly, nothing will come of it again.
As the case progresses, the relationships between the characters also change. The humble sexton suddenly turns into an aggressive and evil creature, capable of uttering not the most flattering words.
And Kuryatin, who respectfully received the patient, ends up talking to him very unceremoniously. “That’s what you, benefactors, are meant to do, may God grant you health...” mutters the sexton, hoping for the best.
And a few minutes later he is already cursing the incompetent paramedic: “They planted you here, Herods, to our destruction!”
In a small scene, Chekhov managed to perfectly reveal the characters’ characters. Vonmiglasov, not finding an icon at Kuryatin, crosses himself onto a bottle of carbolic solution. In fact, he doesn’t care what to pray for.
Advice
His faith is conditional, and so is the observance of rituals. Moral vices are also hidden behind the lack of true faith. The sexton is greedy.
Having quarreled with the paramedic and despite the terrible pain, he does not forget to grab the prosphora he brought from the table as a token of gratitude.
Kuryatin more than once mentions his authority - Alexander Ivanovich of Egypt, an educated man, whose suit alone costs a hundred rubles. And the last thing is a strong argument about the attitude of the paramedic to people.
The writer also laughs at popular superstitions: Efim Mikheich, in the hope of healing, wears on his hand a thread brought from Mount Athos. The treatment methods he used before contacting a paramedic are also very questionable: vodka with horseradish, warm milk.
Chekhov's stories are still read with interest today. They were written more than a century ago, but do not become outdated, do not lose their freshness and novelty.
In every person, Chekhov strives to instill a desire for self-improvement, to get rid of shortcomings, and to improve culture.
“Everything in a person should be beautiful: face, clothes, soul, and thoughts,” the writer argued and fiercely defended this point of view.
Source: https://5litra.ru/soch/203-analiz-rasskaza-ap-chehova-hirurgiya.html
Themes
- Anton Pavlovich Chekhov raises the topic of blatant unprofessionalism on the part of people who take responsibility for the health and life of the patient. The lack of knowledge and skills necessary for high-quality performance of work destroys specialists, killing their creative impulse to work. They serve their time at work without thinking at all about how to do better. They only think about how to get benefits and deceive the client, and the overall level of trust in the Russian employee falls. Most importantly, for good reason. Domestic medicine is used only by people with low incomes for lack of anything better. Therefore, the field of activity itself is dying, because talented and smart people do not see prospects in it.
- Laziness. The writer in the story “Surgery” ridicules the ignorance and stupidity of the philistines who only want to earn money and not work. The paramedic did not bother to master the necessary skills and knowledge and is quite satisfied with his lack of professionalism, hoping “at random.”
- Hypocrisy. We see another “chameleon” Kuryatin, who treats the sexton with disdain and remembers the landowner with admiration. Insincerity once again falls under the author's radar. In addition, the problem of social inequality can be traced here: medicine is better for the rich than for the poor.
- Hypocrisy. The clerk crosses himself on the bottle; his religious feeling comes down to observance of customs. It is important to him what people think, so ostentatious faith is his constant companion.
Comic and tragic in Chekhov's story “Surgery” - Essay
Comic and tragic in A.P. Chekhov's story “Surgery”
The great Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a doctor by training, so the topic of medicine occupies a special place in his work. Thus, in the story “Surgery,” Chekhov introduces us to a doctor who does not take his work seriously.
In this work we meet two characters - paramedic Kuryatin and sexton Vonmiglasov. Chekhov depicts a common situation: a sexton turned to a paramedic with a request to cure a bad tooth. But in this life story, the writer shows us what the irresponsibility of a doctor leads to.
Kuryatin is very self-confident, he considers himself a good doctor, but in fact he cannot even remove a tooth. In literally every line of the story, Chekhov shows us that this hero cannot be called not only a doctor, but also a well-mannered, cultured person.
note
Already at the beginning of the story, the author says that Kuryatin smokes a lot, even in the hospital. It is probably not by chance that Chekhov gave the hero such a surname - Kuryatin. Describing the paramedic, the writer Fr.
Despite the fact that Kuryatin tells Vonmiglasov about how he treated the Egyptian landowner and himself says that in medicine “you can’t be without a concept,” we see that the paramedic does not have the necessary knowledge.
With a satirical touch, Chekhov describes how Kuryatin tries to pull out a tooth, how he chooses an instrument: “The paramedic takes a goat’s leg, looks at it questioningly for a minute, then puts it down and takes the tongs.”
“Surgery is nothing…” - this is the main phrase that characterizes Kuryatin as a doctor.
But the second hero, Vonmiglasov, cannot be called an educated person. We learn about the funny ways he tried to fix his tooth on his own.
In the relationships between the characters, Chekhov reveals their bad manners. If at the beginning of the story they address each other as “you,” then at the end they address each other as “you.” At first, Vonmiglasov calls Kuryatin a “benefactor”, and at the end - a “lousy devil”, “Herod”. The paramedic also insults his patient, calling him a “man” and “ignorant”. The speech of both heroes is incoherent, it is full of unnecessary words.
Chekhov describes the relationships between the characters with special humor. But one cannot help but notice the tragedy that is present in the story, because people suffer due to the fault of such ignorant doctors.
With his work, Chekhov wanted to show that as long as such doctors exist, similar situations are inevitable. The author put important words into Vonmiglasov’s mouth: “If you don’t know how to tear, then don’t try it!”
Searched here:
- essay on the story of Chekhov's surgery
- essay on the story surgery
- essay argument Chekhov's surgery
Source: https://sochineniye.ru/komicheskoe-i-tragicheskoe-v-rasskaze-chehova-hirurgiya/
the main idea
The work is full of meaning, although it is not large in volume. The main idea of the story "Surgery" is that ignorance and hypocrisy harm the entire society, and not a specific character. After such disservices, people will not go to the doctor; they will remain, like a sexton, with the negative consequences of their untreated illnesses. They will think that this is how all medicine is and will be afraid of treatment, as they will mentally associate it with an incompetent paramedic and an irresponsible doctor. Patients will go to healers or let the disease progress to a disastrous outcome. Thus, each specialist must perform his duties professionally and responsibly, because it is he who makes his contribution to the organization of public order.
Each of us must, to the best of our ability, not succumb to laziness and make ourselves a real professional who will really help and defend the honor of the uniform. It is precisely such people who lead the country to a bright future, and do not drag it into the abyss of crude and vulgar vegetation in a world where everyone only wants profit. The meaning in Chekhov's story has a cleansing effect; it teaches a person to look at himself from the outside without rose-colored glasses. Thus, the healing effect of such literature is based on the doctor’s ability to open an abscess and treat the wound, but not of a person, but of an entire society. The reader laughs because he himself saw this sore and felt the pain, but did not pay attention. However, a doctor is a doctor to honestly tell the patient the whole truth about his condition and prescribe treatment.
What does the story teach?
In many of Chekhov’s works the ending remains open, and here everything ends with an ellipsis: “The sexton takes his prosphora from the table and, holding his cheek with his hand, goes home...”. It would seem that the author does not answer the questions posed. However, this opinion is wrong. An unfinished narrative provides food for imagination. The reader’s thoughts complete the picture: the church minister told the parishioners about what had happened, and they decided on their own that there was no need for treatment. Thus, the unfortunate paramedic has discredited the profession, and now there is no trust not only in him, but in all doctors. That is, each of us thinks about a person’s personal responsibility for all the bad things that happen around us. For example, people can die without timely help from a doctor, but refuse it on principle because they do not believe in its benefits.
The story evokes conflicting feelings and, among other things, teaches us not to draw hasty conclusions. On the one hand, it is not the paramedic’s fault that the doctor left, and the doctor also has the right to his personal life. You can’t indiscriminately blame them for not being able to do everything possible to help. I just feel sorry for them, because working conditions in the provinces have always been difficult. Is there really only one doctor in the hospital? If so, he can’t sit there around the clock. On the other hand, they both treat their work irresponsibly, that is, they leave their post on duty and take on what they do not know how to do. This causes a feeling of irritation and indignation, because their negligence can cost a person’s life. This duality is the value of the work “Surgery”; it provokes us to think. Each situation must be subjected to a comprehensive analysis, and not be content with a narrow and biased view, like a narrow-minded and hypocritical sexton.
Author: Angelika Dyatlenko
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