the beggar
The story 'The Beggar' by Anton Chekhov is about how Lushkoff, a drunk, poor beggar works his way through being a rich and well-to-do man. When he was still a drunk, Lushkoff came to an advocate, Skvortsoff for some money, saying he had an offer to work in another province as a schoolteacher but had no money to get there. Skvortsoff noticed the man with his drunken eyes and ragged fawn-coloured overcoat. Suddenly he remembered meeting the same beggar just the previous day on the road. At that time, when he asked who he was, the beggar replied he was a student who had been expelled. Lushkoff became nervous and stammered that he was a schoolteacher and not a student,"N-no...I am a village schoolteacher, and if you like I can show you my papers."Skvortsoff, in a rage, started to shout at Lushkoff for lying, saying that regardless of how poor and hungry he might have been, lying would get him nowhere. Clearly he was disgusted. The advocate lost his temper and began to rebuke the poor man mercilessly. What Skvortsoff got upset over was the man was taking advantage of his most prized character- "...his kindness, his tender heart, his compassion for all unhappy beings."
At this, Skvortsoff is very pleased with himself for having changed the once-beggar inot what he is now,"I gave you a push along the right path you know. It struck Skvortsoff that the man was actually Lushkoff and learns that he now earns 35 roubles a month and is a notary. Suddenly the advocates anger vanished and began to feel guilty for having allowed a weak, drunk and spoilt man to chop wood in the cold. The man paid for his ticket with copper coins. Skvortsoff saw the beggar sit on a log while the woman flung an axe at his feet and began to scold him. He saw Olga glare at the beggar, shove his aside and unlock the shed door and angrily bang it open. Lushkoff was dressed like a ragged scarecrow and wasn't consented to go along with Olga to chop wood, not because he hungry and wanted work, but because "his pride and shame had been trapped my his own words. As soon as the beggar and Olga left, Skvortsoff hurried to his dining room from where he could see the wood-shed and everything that went on in the yard. He barely touched the furniture and didn't even bother making himself seem busy. The once-beggar was sober, gloomy and silent. After two years, Skvortsoff was standing at the ticket counter of a theatre when he saw a small with a coat collar made of fur and a sealskin cap. Perplexed, Skvortsoff heard that Olga used to shout and severely chide Lushkoff whenever he came to chop wood because he wasn't in the physical position to do so,"There's nothing for you buy ruin. " Lushkoff too acknowledged Skvortsoff's efforts with gratitude.
Common topics in this essay:
Olga Lushkoff,
Chekhov Lushkoff,
Perplexed Skvortsoff,
Finally Lushkoff,
chop wood,
Anton Chekhov,
day month,
anton chekhov,
half rouble,
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Acceptance Essays
