"Children": a summary. "Detvora", Chekhov: the main characters

It is difficult to write a short summary of the story "Children". Chekhov was a skilful master of short stories. This belongs to him the phrase that the brevity is a sister talent. The greatest domestic writer, possessing an amazing sense of humor, he could in two words convey the genre scene that revived before his eyes.

A peculiar summary

Compete with the genius in brevity is impossible. As it is impossible to accommodate the beauty of his language in a summary. "Detvora" (Chekhov) is a small but incredibly bright work. In the author's stories you enjoy every word. And yet you can try to convey the main idea in the form of a synopsis: "Late evening. Parents went to the christening to a friend of the officer. The four younger children and the cook's son play lotto. In the next room the oldest son, the schoolboy, misses, in the kitchen the nurse teaches the cook how to cut it. They play for money. While the four are looking for a penned kopeck, the beautiful Sonia falls asleep. She is referred to my mother's bed, on which all other players instantly fall asleep peacefully. "

Beloved from the first publication

Here is a brief summary. "Detvora" (Chekhov) is a brilliant story, published during the author's lifetime 19 times. For the first time it was published on pages 19 of the "Petersburg newspaper" dated January 20, 1886. He fell in love with the readers at once, was greeted with good cheer by criticism. Anton Pavlovich made the title of the story on the cover of the collection of works for children.

The book was published in 1899, and in 1903 Chekhov published the story of "Children" with drawings by D. Kardovsky, a famous teacher and a talented illustrator (for example, he owns illustrations for the book "Woe from Wit" by Griboedov) of Russian classical literature. Everything speaks of the popularity of the story - otherwise it could not be. A brilliant sketch that showed a short period of time in the life of children of one family. Clever, kind, beautiful story written. What is called good Russian classical prose.

Joyful atmosphere of the story

In some articles the work of "Detvor" (Chekhov) is referred to the genre of the "Christmas story". This is not quite true. Chekhov does not even have a hint of a time period. Late evening - that's all. The only thing that connects the story with the genre is the kindness with which it is permeated, and the interior - a lighted table with multicolored glass on it, lies a shell of nuts and pieces of paper, obviously candy wrappers. That is, the atmosphere is festive. But is not it a holiday, when you can sit around the whole company late, give each other cuffs, make up, sweets all over, and all this without the adults shouting because they are not around.

Prototypes of heroes

Parents and aunt Nadya went to the christening, the nurse in the kitchen teaches the cook to cut, in the dining room one of the children - this is in a nutshell a brief summary ("Detvora", Chekhov AP). It is hardly possible to briefly describe the main actors - their charm will be lost, and perhaps the charm of the whole story. An ingenious writer in his work in several phrases created specific images with characters. Brief to retell them is difficult.

Grisha, the eldest and the chief at the table, runs his brown eyes, he himself turns with excitement all the time. He is overcome by fear, greed and "financial considerations". In the story, each word is worth its weight in gold, and it is impossible to transfer short concise works of a unique author in a condensed form - all the charm and magic of sketching are lost. Chekhov described the family of Colonel B. Mayevsky, with whom he was friendly and closely communicated, living in 1883-1884 in Voskresensk. He had the opportunity to watch the children, whose names he kept in the story - two girls, Ani and Sonya, and the baby Alyosha.

Just a brilliant sketch

A thin and intelligent observer, a man who sincerely loves and understands children, completely devoid of "lisping" towards them, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov wrote wonderful stories about little people. Many great writers noted his ability to create images very touching, but without a gram, as V. Nabokov said, sentimentality. The story of Chekhov's "Children" is written by an adult man for adults. It should be noted that the work is completely devoid of edification and morals - no "abandoned children", no conflict of generations and a misunderstanding of the children's world by adults. On the contrary, when reading, it seems that we are talking about a very friendly family of good people.

A nice family of Russian intellectuals

Kukharkin's son Andrei played with them on an equal footing, punched Alyosha's karapuza back, about which the author said that he was "still a beast" in his soul, and fell asleep on the edge of the master's bed in a heap with everyone. And they listened to his "horror stories" about the night, the cemetery and the robbers respectfully, without ridicule. This speaks volumes. Obviously, the views of the family were quite democratic, lived in harmony, without hysteria. The freedom of servants in the family is also evidenced by the fact that the nurse Agafya Ivanovna went to the kitchen not for 5 minutes, and probably the main characters of Chekhov's story "Detvor" asked her.

Cause of mode violation

The children wanted, like adults, to play lotto for money, and most importantly, to wait for parents and Aunt Nadia to find out in detail how the christenings went, what they gave to dinner, and what the baby looked like. Obviously, it happened before. And we can assume that a young, beautiful and beloved aunt was talking about a party at a party, very funny. All this, of course, assumptions, but this is the author's talent - he pronounces a capacious, short phrase, and she expresses so much that one can talk about and talk about it. So, behind the lighted table sat four master children and a cook-son, very enthusiastic about the game.

Portraits of children

Everyone is devoted to a few words, and everyone can imagine clearly. Moreover, one can imagine what this child is like in life. Charming coquette - six-year-old Sonya, an immediate good-natured girl with the complexion of an expensive doll, as A. Chekhov wrote. The children loved her, and, asleep, everyone went to see her off. Three words - a complexion of bonbonniere - and you see a snow-white porcelain face with a gentle blush. The older sister Anya - smart and self-interested, gambling, capable of winning the truth for the sake of winning.

What else can be included in the summary? "Detvora" (Chekhov) is the elegance and at the same time the simplicity of the narrative. One phrase describes the appearance of the elder at the table - Grisha. And try to describe - it turns half a page. The game seized the children, everyone needed a victory for various reasons, needed a penny (bet in the game), which then, falling asleep, they scattered throughout the floor, as they lost their value and significance. A very bored older brother is a schoolboy who visited children during the game. He learned the image of an all-knowing adult, a little Byron, a little Pechorin, looking at everything from the side and condemning the mores of modern people - children play for money! He is indignant and mentally grumbles. It is appropriate to such a proverb to Chekhov's story "Children": "The money game will not bring to the good!". So he thought, playing the bored adult, but, as the author writes, "the children played so deliciously" that Vasya's brother, a pupil of V class at the gymnasium, began to ask for companions and even "lost his temper."

Features of the "Russian lotto"

The children did play contagiously. Imitating adults, they shouted the jokes that were laid when playing the Russian lotto. One of them is this: "One, two - the mountain fell. Three, four - hooked. Five, six - hit the hair. Seven, eight - hay mow. Nine, ten - money weigh, "and so on.This tradition has survived and now, where there are lotto, there are certain names for some numbers, for example, 11 drum sticks, 90 grandfathers.This is the" charm "of the popular family game Anton Pavlovich accurately, accurately, laconically conveyed the atmosphere of the evening, the whole house, the characters of the children.

A perfect example of great Russian literature

After reading, there is a feeling of joy. And do not want to think about what could become with all these lovely people, as with the middle class, after some 15-20 years. On what countries they could be scattered. Probably, in France did not put numbers on cards for playing in a lotto with multi-colored glass. AP Chekhov did not like "literature for children," a vivid representative of which was Lydia Charskaya. But all that he wrote about the kids is wonderful and wonderful. Stories "Grisha", "Vanka", "Kashtanka" and several others - unfortunately, there are not so many of them - masterpieces. They need to pass at school in order to understand and love Russian literature.