Throughout history authors have always been an eminent part of society whether through their formal pieces or ones written for leisure. In current day there are multiple influential authors recognized internationally due to their prominence. Author Anton Chekhov has shown an extensive talent and proven his place among these influential authors through his works as a playwright and his short stories. Born in 1860 and living until 1904, the Russian author focused on writing stories which seemed monotonous and unfulfilling to unveil his character’s desires and characteristics. In order for a reader to fully understand the story and the characters, Chekhov used a technique modernly referred as Chekhov’s gun to emphasize the details of the story
…show more content…
The inability for the characters to change leads to the idea of zero endings. Chekhov’s zero endings can be categorized into anti-epilogues focusing on life after the events, reverse epilogues focusing on past events hinting to the future, and external climaxes focusing on “dead ends” and the characters realization after the events of the story have taken place. In his stories both “The Lottery Ticket” and “The Darling” illustrates Chekhov’s gun as well the zero endings truly relevant to Chekhov’s style. While many authors would produce a story where aspects of their protagonist are developed after winning a lottery or something mystical, Chekhov defies this plot and focuses on the people who do not win the lottery. In the short story “The Lottery Ticket,” a man named Ivan Dmitritch and his wife ponder over the prospect of winning the lottery after believing themselves to have the winning ticket. As the story goes on, the two characters fantasize about their separate lives if they had won the money. By the end, the couple is deeply invested in their dreams only realize they didn’t win. At this point that the story ends and the readers are …show more content…
Since rain was mentioned, according to Chekhov’s gun the detail must have been stated for a reason. Later in Olenka’s mourning period, after her third husband has “abandoned” her, she mentions how “she kn[ows] of nothing to talk about...For instance... you see that it is raining...you cannot tell...what the sense of them all is,” (“The Darling”, 8). From this passage, a reader can infer that Olenka does not hold her love for long since she can not connect the rain to her first “love” and finds that there is no sense in it. All the minor details that are shown by Chekhov’s gun prove how it was effectively and importantly considered while Chekhov was writing. All of these facts continue to contribute to the reverse epilogue of “The Darling,” which reveals that the character in question will never change their ways by showing how they have always followed the same pattern. The reverse ending is shown when Olenka is terrified at the prospect of losing Sasha after a telegram announces that he is leaving only to become completely calm as soon as she hears that the veterinarian is coming. The evidence leads to the idea that Olenka is most likely going to continue her pattern of dependency.
In both “The Lottery Ticket” and “The Darling,” Anton Chekhov’s writing style can effectively be seen through the use
The inability for the characters to change leads to the idea of zero endings. Chekhov’s zero endings can be categorized into anti-epilogues focusing on life after the events, reverse epilogues focusing on past events hinting to the future, and external climaxes focusing on “dead ends” and the characters realization after the events of the story have taken place. In his stories both “The Lottery Ticket” and “The Darling” illustrates Chekhov’s gun as well the zero endings truly relevant to Chekhov’s style. While many authors would produce a story where aspects of their protagonist are developed after winning a lottery or something mystical, Chekhov defies this plot and focuses on the people who do not win the lottery. In the short story “The Lottery Ticket,” a man named Ivan Dmitritch and his wife ponder over the prospect of winning the lottery after believing themselves to have the winning ticket. As the story goes on, the two characters fantasize about their separate lives if they had won the money. By the end, the couple is deeply invested in their dreams only realize they didn’t win. At this point that the story ends and the readers are …show more content…
Since rain was mentioned, according to Chekhov’s gun the detail must have been stated for a reason. Later in Olenka’s mourning period, after her third husband has “abandoned” her, she mentions how “she kn[ows] of nothing to talk about...For instance... you see that it is raining...you cannot tell...what the sense of them all is,” (“The Darling”, 8). From this passage, a reader can infer that Olenka does not hold her love for long since she can not connect the rain to her first “love” and finds that there is no sense in it. All the minor details that are shown by Chekhov’s gun prove how it was effectively and importantly considered while Chekhov was writing. All of these facts continue to contribute to the reverse epilogue of “The Darling,” which reveals that the character in question will never change their ways by showing how they have always followed the same pattern. The reverse ending is shown when Olenka is terrified at the prospect of losing Sasha after a telegram announces that he is leaving only to become completely calm as soon as she hears that the veterinarian is coming. The evidence leads to the idea that Olenka is most likely going to continue her pattern of dependency.
In both “The Lottery Ticket” and “The Darling,” Anton Chekhov’s writing style can effectively be seen through the use