Who are the case people? They surround us everywhere, but few people realize that they can be characterized by such an interesting term. Because not everyone has read the famous story by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, which was called “The Man in a Case.” It was this Russian prose writer-playwright who first in history proposed this type of personality. However, first things first.
Visual image
Anyone who is familiar with Chekhov's work knows how rich the world of his works is on human types. Who doesn’t appear in his stories! And conscientious individuals, not satisfied with social laws and with themselves, and narrow-minded ordinary people, and noble dreamers, and opportunistic officials. And images of “case” people also appear. In particular, in the story mentioned above.
V is a gymnasium teacher named Belikov. Teaching Greek has long ceased to be needed by anyone. He's very strange. Even if it’s sunny outside, he puts on galoshes, a warm cotton coat with a high collar and takes an umbrella. A mandatory “accessory” is dark glasses. He always stuffs his ears with cotton. He drives a cab, with the top always up. Belikov also keeps everything in cases - an umbrella, a watch, and even a penknife.
But this is just an image. It would seem that the description only says that the person is neat and prudent, maybe even a little pedantic. But it is not without reason that they say that the external manifestation reflects the internal state of a person. And indeed it is.
Main characters
- The main character of the story is Belikov
, a Greek teacher at the gymnasium. He sets certain rules in his life, and most of all he is afraid that something will not go as planned. Belikov, even in the clearest and warmest weather, is dressed in galoshes and a warm coat with a raised collar; he hides his face behind dark glasses and a hat in order to protect himself as best as possible from the influence of the environment: not only natural, but also social. He is frightened by modern reality and irritated by everything that happens around him, which is why the teacher puts on a kind of case both externally and internally. - Mikhail Kovalenko
is a new history and geography teacher who comes to work at the gymnasium with his sister. Mikhail is a young, sociable and cheerful man of tall stature, a great lover of laughing and even laughing heartily. - His sister Varenka
is a 30-year-old woman, very cheerful and happy, loves to have fun, sing and dance. The heroine shows interest in Belikov, who, in turn, devotes time to her and agrees to go for walks in order to discuss the fact that marriage is too serious a thing. The woman still does not lose hope of stirring up her gentleman, which reveals in her such qualities as perseverance and determination.
Personal characteristics
Examples of “case” people encountered in life are reflected in Belikov. He is a mixture of sociopath, paranoid and introvert. He is afraid of all living things. His life motto is: “No matter what happens.” He treats everything that surrounds him with caution and fear. Belikov is not able to think freely, since each of his ideas is in a “case”.
And it would be fine if he were like that in society. But even at home he behaves the same way! He dresses in a long robe and cap, closes the shutters on the windows tightly, snapping the latches. His bed has a canopy, and when Belikov lies down in it, he covers his head with a blanket.
Naturally, he observes all fasts and does not have female servants - fearing that others will suspect him of having relationships with them. Belikov is a real hermit. Who, in the literal sense of the word, is afraid to live.
Essay 2
It happens that a person creates his own little world in which he hides from everyone, closing himself in it, like some thing packed in a case. He doesn’t care about any events happening around him, he doesn’t pay attention to the people around him, the person has simply isolated himself from everyone. Of course, this way to get away from problems is much easier than the decision to get out of your “case” and somehow change the situation.
The story “The Man in a Case” by A.P. Chekhov tells about just such a person. Its main character Belikov is a Greek teacher. Real life simply irritates him, he is afraid of it and avoids communication with the outside world in every possible way. Belikov even prefers clothes that look like a case, in black and gloomy colors. With its help, he safely hides from sunlight and clean air.
Being a teacher of foreign languages, reading many books and articles, Belikov lives in the past, praising it and hating the present. And everything would have been fine if he had not transferred this shell-like way of life to other people, like an infectious disease. He lives according to the rules, the word “impossible” is like a song for him, and he forces others to live by these rules. Residents of the city are afraid of him and try to stay away.
But even in a person like Belikov, some small, but still, feelings awaken inside. They arise in relation to the sister of the new history and geography teacher Varya Kovalenko. He thinks for a long time and compares all the pros and cons. You will still have to get married sooner or later, this is in accordance with the rules, and it is necessary to follow the rules. What if something goes wrong? Will it be possible to change the situation, because he tends to let everything take its course, maybe everything will be resolved by itself? Such thoughts tormented Belikov and caused him inconvenience.
After his death, Belikov even began to look different: his face expressed peace and even some cheerfulness, it seemed that he was glad that he was finally in the case for real. And it was as if he lived only to achieve this goal.
How many more people like this are there in the world, each living in their own package? And what do they live for if in old age there is not a single person who could give them a mug of water, because all their lives they have ignored the whole world.
Consequences
Naturally, such a lifestyle that Belikov leads cannot but affect anything. Who are the case people? These are real hermits who believe that they live quite normally, unlike others. This is also manifested in Chekhov's hero.
At one point he meets Varenka, a girl who is the sister of a new geography and history teacher. She shows an unexpected interest in Belikov. Whom society begins to persuade to marry her. He agrees, despite the fact that thoughts of marriage depress and worry him. Belikov loses weight, turns pale, becomes even more nervous and fearful. And the first thing that worries him the most is the lifestyle of the “bride”.
Who are the case people? Those who cannot understand others due to their detachment. Varenka loves to ride a bike with her brother. And Belikov is sure that this quite common hobby is not normal! Because it is not appropriate for someone who teaches history to young people to ride a bicycle. And the woman on this vehicle looks completely indecent. Belikov did not hesitate to express his thoughts to Varenka’s brother, who cannot stand him. And he threatened to report his hobby to the director of the gymnasium. In response, Varenka’s brother pulled Belikov down the stairs. What's the result? Belikov falls ill - from stress, he is haunted by the thought that someone will find out about his shame. And a month later he dies. This is the end.
Man in a Case Characteristics of Belikov's Image
MAN IN A CASE
(Story, 1898)
Belikov is the main character, a high school teacher of the Greek language. A teacher at the Burkin gymnasium tells veterinarian Ivan Ivanovich Chimshe-Gimalaysky about him. At the beginning of the story, he gives a complete description of V.: “He was remarkable in that he always, even in very good weather, went out in galoshes and with an umbrella, and certainly in a warm coat with cotton wool. And he had an umbrella in a case, and a watch in a gray suede case, and when he took out a penknife to sharpen a pencil, his knife was also in a case; and his face, it seemed, was also in a cover, since he kept hiding it in his raised collar. He wore dark glasses, a sweatshirt, stuffed his ears with cotton wool, and when he got on the cab, he ordered the top to be raised. In a word, this man had a constant and irresistible desire to surround himself with a shell, to create for himself, so to speak, a case that would seclude him and protect him from external influences. Reality irritated him, frightened him, kept him in constant anxiety, and, perhaps, in order to justify this timidity of his, his aversion to the present, he always praised the past and what never happened; and the ancient languages that he taught were for him, in essence, the same galoshes and umbrella where he hid from real life.”
B.’s main fear is “that something might not work out.” Any deviation from the accepted rules makes him despondent and anxious. His fear is not only existential, but also social in nature - he is afraid that it will not reach his superiors. Despite his inconspicuousness and dullness, B., according to Burkin, “held in his hands” not only the gymnasium, but the entire city, where, under his influence, “they began to fear everything.” The metaphor of the case, acquiring more and more new details of Belikov’s fear of life, unfolds throughout the entire narrative.
With the appearance in the city of a new history and geography teacher, Mikhail Savvich Kovalenko, and his sister Varenka, who unexpectedly shows affection for B., society decides to marry the hero to her. They convince him that marriage is a serious step, that he must definitely get married, and B.
agrees, but thoughts of marriage plunge him into debilitating anxiety, so that he loses weight, turns pale and retreats even deeper into his case. He is confused primarily by the “strange way of thinking” of his possible bride and her brother. He walks a lot with Varenka and often comes to visit them, but he hesitates to propose. One day B. sees her and her brother riding bicycles, and this makes him dumbfounded. He goes to Kovalenko, who hates him, and “like an older comrade,” he warns: such fun as riding a bicycle is “completely indecent for a teacher of youth.” In addition, he warns his colleague that he will have to report the conversation to the director of the gymnasium. In response, Kovalenko declares that he does not like fiscals and lowers B. down the stairs. After everything that happened, the hero falls ill and dies a month later. Burkin summarizes: “Now, when he lay in the coffin, his expression was meek, pleasant, even cheerful, as if he was glad that he had finally been put in a case from which he would never come out.”
The image of B. - “a man in a case”, a comic figure, almost a caricature, but also expressing the tragedy of life, became a household name during Chekhov’s lifetime.
Main thought
Well, who the case people are can be understood using Belikov’s example. And, in principle, Chekhov wanted to convey a simple idea. The prose writer tried to convey to readers that a life “closed” from society only cripples the human soul. You can't be outside the rest. We are all members of one society. Everything that a person has messed up for himself, set up, only fences him off from life. From a reality filled with colors. And indeed it is. Spiritual wretchedness only limits human existence. This is what Chekhov is thinking about in this story.
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Modernity
A person of the 21st century who has read Chekhov knows what kind of people are called case people. And he is able to recognize them among the rest. Nowadays they are called introverts. These are people whose mental makeup is characterized by contemplation, isolation and concentration on their own inner world. They are not inclined to communicate with other people - it is difficult for them to establish contact with anyone.
However, to understand the essence of this term, it is enough to turn to etymology. “Introvert” is a word derived from the German introvertiert. Which literally translates as “turned inward.”
Essay Dream and reality (Man in a case)
The work of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov stands out sharply among Russian classics due to the author’s ability to accurately and briefly, and most importantly, in an ironic form, demonstrate to the reader all sorts of vices inherent in society during the years of the writer’s life and to this day. The title of the story, “The Man in the Case,” speaks for itself. It tells the story of the fate of a teacher of Latin and Greek, Belikov, who was afraid to live a full life and seemed to exist “in a case.”
The hero of the work can hardly be called a dreamer, but he did not recognize the reality around him for fear of “what would happen.” Chekhov repeatedly notes that fear forces Belikov to refuse entertainment, to hide behind clothes as if they could save him from an unknown ill-wisher.
The teacher manages to gain at least some confidence in his own abilities when, thanks to his colleagues, he finds love, Varenka. The author describes this girl as cheerful and cheerful. She enjoys singing, laughing and having fun. At first, this attracts the main character to her, but after a while, her actions begin to seem frivolous to him, because in the world that he created in his own head, there is no place for entertainment and fun in his “case”.
Unfortunately or fortunately, reality does not coincide with the ideals created in Belikov’s head. The people around the teacher allow themselves much more free and independent behavior than he is capable of allowing himself. Having sincerely fallen in love with Varenka and having decided to marry her, Belikov begins to consider himself the right to control her behavior. Chekhov illustrates this in an episode where a girl rides a bicycle. To the teacher, such an act seems completely unacceptable. Faced with the discrepancy between the real state of affairs and the images in his head, Belikov becomes upset, withdraws into himself and finds himself on the verge of disappointment in his beloved. When Varenka’s brother once again destroys the protagonist’s illusions by disagreeing with his opinion about his sister’s behavior and sending Belikov down the stairs, he cannot stand such humiliation and shame and soon dies.
Thus, we understand that A.P. Chekhov is trying to convey to us how important it is not to go too far in our own dreams and not to give up reality, not to neglect the opinions of other people, because getting out of the “case” does not always end tragically. Most often, it is courage and an open outlook on the world that makes a person truly happy.
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