The story "Chelkash", the analysis of which is presented in the article, was written in 1894. It is one of those works of art where not only the heroes of the work conflict (internal, artistic conflict), but where in the assessments discrepancies between the writer and the reader are inevitable, and between the readers themselves too. "Chelkash" is one of Gorky's most controversial, debatable stories.

From an artistic point of view, it is exemplary traditional. All compositional elements are present: the exposition is the sea, harbor, port; it is the background against which the action takes place; three parts, inside which the plot is the meeting of Chelkash and Gavrila; development of the action - preparation for a night thieves' raid and the division of money; the climax is Gavrila's blow in the back to Chelkash; denouement - Chelkash gives money to Gavrila; epilogue - sea waves washing away the traces of Chelkash and Gavrila, leaving in different directions.

The storyline, as in many of the writer's stories, is not complicated. Thief Chelkash accidentally meets a poor peasant guy Gavrila, whose main dream is not so much to get rich as to get money for a decent peasant life. Chelkash involves Gavrila in his nocturnal thieving business, for which, according to Gavrila's ideas, he receives fabulous money - five hundred and forty rubles. His “income” exceeds all expectations: Chelkash gives away almost everything, leaving himself only a little money, and in a fit of gratitude, the peasant repents to the thief that he wanted to kill him because of the money. In anger, Chelkash beats Gavrila and takes the money, but then, relenting, gives it back. That, in fact, is all. "Easy" in the storyline, but not at all easy in bringing out the artistic idea.

Who is Chelkash? A thief, confident in his impunity and permissiveness? The basis for such an assumption is given by Gorky at the beginning of the first chapter: “<...>Grishka Chelkash, an old poisoned wolf, well known to the people of Havana, an inveterate drunkard and a clever, bold thief. The portrait of the hero does not evoke sympathy for him - he looks too much like a predator.

Quite a bit of time will pass, and this hostile attitude towards Chelkash will no longer be so categorical. The reason for softening is that the peasant Gavrila, whom he met, will begin to awaken in Grigory almost gone, forgotten, half-decayed memories of his former peasant life.

The story is interspersed with a story about the dobosyatsky life of Chelkash, and there is no reason in his story for Grigory to leave for another life. The fact that the father has become “bent by work” or the mother “settled to the ground” has grown old cannot serve as an excuse for going “to the bottom”. But Gorky is not talking about the justification of Chelkash through the mouth of the narrator, but about the gradual disclosure of the character of the hero. The impossible for him could happen with Grigory Chelkash - some kind of spiritual connection with Gavrila would be established. The very idea of ​​rapprochement is unacceptable for Chelkash. Even at the beginning of the story, Gregory "boils" from internal envy for Gavrila and even more from a hint of the kinship of thoughts with him.

The image of Gavrila is clearer and simpler. A peasant boy, cut off from the village, dreams of making money by some miracle. The enterprise proposed by Chelkash is unnatural for him, but, on the other hand, peasant ingenuity tells him that perhaps this is the only chance that he did not even dream of - a chance to quickly get the coveted money.

The enterprise was successful, he receives his forty rubles, then he receives more - in a fit of sentimental concern for the peasant, Chelkash gives almost everything. And either talkativeness or grateful sincerity let Gavril down, and he talks about his black plan. Further - the loss of money, Chelkash hit with a stone from behind, repentance, return of money, departure ... In different directions with Chelkash.

Chelkash's path is clear - he became a thief and will die a thief. He hardly thinks of anything else. This reader will think: why does Gorky poeticize the thief, endowing him with romantic qualities, forcing him to do noble and almost fantastic deeds for himself. Either from following tradition, continuing the stories about the noble Robin Hood, the defender of the disadvantaged, but in new social conditions. Whether in order to emphasize: a thief, a man of the “bottom”, a tramp has such qualities that are unlikely to be inherent in rich and powerful masters of life. This interpretation of the story has been around for a long time. Whether the story is being conducted so that the reader thinks: “No, dear man, you gave it easily, because you got it easily and simply.” After all, such a turn in the perception of what happened is also possible. The way of life and behavior of Chelkash can cause sympathy in some, surprise in others, and contempt in others.

It seems that the path of Gavrila is clear - to the village, to the house, to the sons-in-law. What if he is seduced by the idea of ​​making money easily? After all, such a turn in the fate of the character is quite likely. Many of Gorky's heroes ended up at the bottom, "at the bottom." But after all, everyone came there in their own way.

The stories of M. Gorky touched a nerve, helped many people to know themselves, make the right decision, try to change their lives and destiny.

The story "Chelkash" was written by M. Gorky in the summer of 1894 and published in No. 6 of the magazine "Russian Wealth" for 1895. The work was based on a story told to the writer by a neighbor in a hospital ward in the city of Nikolaev.

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

We see a detailed portrait of the protagonist of the work already in the first part. In it, M. Gorky especially clearly emphasizes such features as cold gray eyes and a hooked predatory nose. Chelkash treats life easily, 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 as his assistant - a young good-natured guy with big blue eyes. Comparing the portraits of the two heroes (Chelkash, who looks like a bird of prey, and the gullible Gavrila), the reader initially thinks that the young peasant guy became, out of gullibility, the victim of a treacherous swindler. Gavrila dreams of earning some money to live on her own farm, 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 have paternal feelings for him.

A kind of 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 fed up with the contemplation of this dark latitude, boundless, free and powerful."

Gavrila understands from the very beginning that the night fishing, to which Chelkash invites him, may turn out to be an unkind deed. Subsequently, being convinced of this, the hero trembles with fear, begins to pray, cry and asks to be released.

After the theft by Chelkash, Gavrila's mood changes somewhat. He even gives a vow to serve a prayer service to Nicholas the Wonderworker, when he suddenly sees in front of him a huge fiery blue sword, a symbol of retribution. Gavrila's experiences reach a climax. However, Chelkash explains to him that this is just a lantern of 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 seemed to be thinking some gray, boring thought”, “The sea woke up. It played with small waves, giving birth to them, decorating with a fringe of foam, pushing with each other and breaking into fine dust", "Foam, melting. hissed and sighed"),

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

M. Gorky deliberately informs the reader that. 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 away in disgust, but suddenly finds out that Gavrila, who a few hours ago was shaking like an aspen leaf during a night trip, wanted to kill him, considering him a worthless, useless person. In anger, Chelkash takes away the money and severely beats Gavrila, wanting to teach him a lesson. In revenge, he throws a stone at him, then, obviously, remembering the soul and God, he begins to ask for forgiveness. The wounded Chelkash gives him almost all the money and staggers away. Gavrila, on the other hand, hides the money in her 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 washed away the traces of a bloody fight on the sand, but it cannot wash away the dirt that bubbles in the soul of God-fearing Gavrila. Selfish striving reveals all the insignificance of his nature. It is no coincidence that when Chelkash, before sharing the money, asks if he would go to the crime again for two hundred rubles, Gavrila expresses his readiness to do this, although a little earlier he sincerely repented that he had agreed. Thus, M. Gorky, the psychologist, shows in this story how deceptive the first impression of a person is and how low, under certain circumstances, human nature can fall, blinded by greed.

"Chelkash" is one of the first significant works of Gorky, which became one of the most significant creations of late romanticism. It combined the features of several trends and anticipated the emergence of a special trend in literature - socialist realism, within which the author would develop in the future.

The story was written in 1894 in Nizhny Novgorod. V.G. reacted very favorably. Korolenko to this essay and in 1895 contributed to its publication in the journal "Russian Wealth". From that moment on, Gorky was seriously talked about in literary circles as a talented young writer, and in 1898 his stories were published in two volumes.

The plot is based on the revelation of one tramp, heard by the writer in the hospital. Knowing a lot of hardships and difficulties in his life, Gorky understood well what his neighbor in the ward told him about. Inspired by what he heard, he wrote Chelkash in two days.

Genre and direction

Gorky is the founder of a new trend in Russian prose. It was different from the line of Tolstoy and Chekhov, which was characterized by puritanical selectivity in favor of good manners and correctness. This applied both to the plot and to the vocabulary. Peshkov (the real name of the writer) significantly expanded the possible themes of the works and enriched the vocabulary of the literary language. The leading trend in his work was realism, but the early period had features of romanticism, which also manifested itself in Chelkash:

1. Firstly, the poetization of the image of a tramp, a clear sympathy for his life principles.
2. Secondly, images of nature, a variety of colors of the water element: "the sea was calm, black and thick as butter."

Such updates in prose were welcomed by many of Gorky's contemporaries. For example, Leonid Andreev, because the same influence was reflected in his early stories ("Angel", "Bargamot and Garaska").

Composition

The story consists of an introduction and 3 chapters.

1. The introductory section is an exposition that describes the scene. Here the author gives the reader an idea of ​​the environment of the protagonists. The first chapter contains a description of Chelkash, introduces him to the present, to his usual way of life.
2. In the second chapter, we learn about the past of the protagonist, his inner world is revealed to the reader even more deeply, and his partner becomes the catalyst for this revelation. Here is the climax of the story. In the finale, another hero shows his character - the peasant Gavrila.
3. The story ends with a picture of the sea, which allows us to talk about the ring composition of the work.

Conflict

The space of the story "Chelkash" contains many conflicts of various meanings and scales.

• The conflict of man and scientific progress. This is where the story begins. It would seem that scientific progress should make life easier, make it more comfortable, but Gorky contrasts the shining and luxurious courts of the poor, emaciated people who serve them.
• Vagrancy and peasantry. The main characters do not come to the final conclusion which is better: the expanse of a tramp or the need of a peasant. These destinies are opposite. Chelkash and Gavrila are representatives of different social groups, but both see each other as relatives for themselves: Chelkash finds a dreamer of freedom in a poor young man, and Gavrila finds the same peasant in a tramp.
• The internal conflict of Chelkash. The protagonist feels his superiority over the world, freed from attachment to a particular home, family and other universal values. He is outraged that a typical person who has not overcome this system can love or hate the same thing as him.

Main characters and their characteristics

Chelkash is a romanticized tramp, a real romantic hero. He has his own moral principles, which he always follows. His ideology looks more stable and formed than the life position of Gavrila. This is a young peasant who has not yet decided what he wants to achieve. Uncertainty unfavorably distinguishes him from the protagonist. Gavrila, who agreed to the "dark deed" without much desire, looks like a more impartial hero than Chelkash. This inveterate thief causes even some sympathy in the reader. He has a more complex inner world, behind his smile and lightness one can feel the pain of memories of the past and the severity of the need that haunts him hourly.

The work is built on antithesis and paradox: here an honest thief and a deceitful peasant are opposed to each other. The meaning of this opposition is to take a fresh look at the positive and negative qualities of a person, as a representative of a certain social group, and at various models of behavior. A tramp can be principled and moral, and a peasant can be not only a humble and honest hard worker.

Themes

• Meaning of life. The main characters talk about the meaning of life. Chelkash, one might say, has already passed his life path, but Gavrila is still at the beginning. Thus, we are presented with fundamentally different views: a young man, and one who is wiser by experience. Gavrila's thoughts are still subject to the generally accepted value system of a peasant: to get a house, to start a family. This is his purpose, the meaning of life. But Chelkash already knows well what it means to be a peasant in the countryside. He deliberately chose the path of a tramp, not burdened with debts, a starving family and other everyday problems.
• Nature. It is presented as an independent, free element. She is eternal, she is certainly stronger than a person. She resists the attempts of people to curb her: “The waves of the sea, clad in granite, are crushed by enormous weights.<…>they beat against the sides of ships, against the shores, they beat and grumble, foamed, polluted with various rubbish. In response, she does not spare people, burning with the scorching sun and chilling with the wind. The role of the landscape in the work is very great: it embodies the ideal of freedom and creates a colorful atmosphere.
• Freedom. What is freedom: the comfortable life of a family man, burdened with a house, household and responsibility, or free vagrancy with a daily search for funds for food? For Chelkash, freedom means independence from money and peace of mind, while Gavrila has only a romantic idea of ​​a free life: “Walk, know how you like, just remember God ...”

Problems

• Greed. The heroes have different attitudes towards money, and the problems of the story "Chelkash" are tied to this opposition. It would seem that a tramp who is in constant need should have a greater need for funds than a peasant who has work and housing. But in reality it turned out to be quite the opposite. Gavrila was seized by the thirst for money so much that he was ready to kill a man, and Chelkash was glad to give everything to his partner, leaving himself only a part of the proceeds for food and drink.
• Cowardice. The ability to show cold judgment in the right situation is a very important quality of a person. This speaks of willpower and a strong character. Such is Chelkash, he knows what money is, and warns the youth: "The trouble is from them!". The hero is opposed to the cowardly Gavrila, trembling for his life. This feature speaks of the weakness of the character, which is revealed more and more in the course of the work.

Meaning

Since Gorky himself spent half his life in need and poverty, he often touched on the topics of poverty in his works, which the reader did not see, because he was mostly stuffed with stories about the fate and life of the nobles. So, the main idea of ​​the story "Chelkash" is to force the public to take a different look at the social stratum, the so-called outcasts. The work sounds the idea that if you are a peasant with some income, then you can be considered a person, "you have a face." And what about "staggering"? Are they not human? Gorky's author's position is the defense of people like Chelkash.

The hermit is hurt by the phrase thrown by Gavrila: “Unnecessary on earth!”. Gorky puts the heroes on equal terms, but during the "walker" each one manifests himself in different ways. For Chelkash, this is a common thing, he has nothing to lose, but he does not particularly seek to gain. To eat and drink - that's his goal. What happens to Gabriela? The hero, who spoke about how important it is to remember God, loses his moral character and tries to kill the "owner". For a young man, Chelkash is a miserable tramp, whom no one will remember, and yet he calls his accomplice a brother! Is it fair after that to consider Gavrila a full member of society, and deprive Chelkash of the right to call himself a man? It is precisely this that makes Gorky think, which is why he makes the image of a thief and a vagabond sympathetic to the reader, and Gavrila is seen as an exclusively negative hero.

Of course, we must not forget that it is Gavrila who falls under the destructive influence of a robber and a drunkard. But not his strength is the most terrible, but money. They are evil, according to the author. This is the main idea of ​​the story "Chelkash".

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The story "Chelkash" opens with a picture of a dirty, disgusting port, symbolizing a generalized image of a world that is hostile to man: the bulk of the port suppresses a person with noise, roar, dirt and stench, and "dusty figures of people" fill the deep holds of steamships with "the products of their slave labor."

The main character of the story is Grishka Chelkash, an inveterate drunkard and a clever, brave thief. The author gives a close-up portrait of him, which combines both romantic and realistic features: a romantic halo is given to him by proud,
independent appearance, the ability to behave with self-respect, courage, outward resemblance to a bird of prey. He was barefoot, in old, worn-out plush trousers, without a hat, in a torn shirt. This description emphasizes the vitality of this character and his belonging to a certain social stratum.

The plot of the conflict is the meeting of Chelkash, who is looking for a replacement for his assistant, a rower (an old and experienced comrade Mishka broke his leg), with a village boy Gavrila. The portrait of Gavrila contrasts with the portrait of Chelkash: he has “tanned and
weather-beaten face, big blue eyes, trusting and naive look”, It seems that this particular hero will be the bearer of the moral principle. But Gorky shows his complete inconsistency. First, during the description of the theft, when Gavrila
mortally frightened, the author emphasizes his cowardice, inability to control himself, cowardice (“he quietly sobbed, cried, blew his nose, fidgeted on the bench”). Gavrila dreams of only one thing: to get to the shore as soon as possible. But recovering from fear, realizing that
the deed is done, Gavrila immediately forgets about everything when she sees the money, and greed lights up in his eyes. ("Gavrila saw the colorful papers, and everything in his eyes took on bright, iridescent hues"). Money would give him everything he dreamed of. And in order to achieve his petty, selfish dream, Gavrila tries to kill Chelkash (climax). Horrified by what he had done, Gavrila nevertheless asks for forgiveness from his accomplice, and the heroes part forever (denouement).

Thus, the bearer of the moral principle is not a good-natured village guy, but the thief Grishka Chelkash, who ultimately acted nobly and generously (in the end he gave the money to his partner and forgave him for his misdeed). It should be noted that all the events described in the story are shown against the backdrop of a romantic seascape. And the landscape here performs not just a background, decorative function, but is also a means of depicting the psychology and worldview of the characters. (Let's recall how the characters relate to the sea element - Chelkash loves the sea, feeling an inner kinship with it, and Gavrila is terribly afraid of the element unknown to him). The landscape also acts as the third hero, accomplice and witness to the crime. It is not for nothing that the writer often resorts here to the method of personification: “the sea slept in a healthy, sound sleep of a worker ...”, “the sea woke up, the sea howled, threw large, heavy waves onto the coastal sand ...”. Despite the author's obvious sympathy for the tramp hero, the writer shows. ambiguity, inconsistency of this image: on the one hand, such qualities as love of freedom, self-esteem, generosity, even nobility are manifested in his character, on the other hand, cruelty, unpredictability, the desire to rule over the person who trusted him, contempt for people.