Resumo de Chameleon - ANTON CHEKHOV

Chameleon ? by Anton Chekhov

The master story teller, Anton Chekhov, was a keen observer of humankind. He knew its beautiful and noble aspects. Precisely because of this, he was acutely aware of the depth of depravity into which humankind has fallen. ?Literature gives me the feeling of being at home in life.? told some philosopher. Anton Chekhov?s short stories will definitely make you feel at home in the world. In the fast paced life of the twenty first century, it is not possible to read big volumes of books for busy people. But they can read short stories of Chekhov. You will get the feeling that you listening to a noble mind. Now to the story at hand- chameleon.

We say that the chameleon changes colour every moment. And it changes the colour of its skin so that it corresponds to the colour of the surroundings. This helps the creature to hoodwink its enemies and protect itself. Otherwise it will become their prey. This is one of the numerous wonders of nature and creation. That is the instinct of self-preservation of life. But when it comes to the human beings, the instinct of self preservation extends beyond a limit and takes bizarre proportions. There is a distinction between the humans and the rest of the animal world. That distinction is in the sphere of the human values, principles, ethics and morality. When man compromises on these for his narrow interests he is compared to chameleon, though it does not do justice to the chameleon. Like all comparisons, this too suffers from a limitation. But it makes us understand the phenomenon. So Anton Chekhov aptly named the story as ?Chameleon.?

A police inspector and a constable are walking through a deserted market place. Suddenly they hear the squealing sound of a puppy and a man coming behind with a dog bitten finger. And a crowd gathers from nowhere. So the ?guardians of law go to enforce order?. The man bit by the dog requests the inspector to get compensation from the owner of the dog who has let it roam freely. The inspector agrees. Meanwhile some one from the crowd says that the dog belongs to General Zhigalov. Immediately the inspector starts rebuking the man bit by the dog and praises the dog and its beauty. Then the constable tells that he has seen the dogs of the General and it can not be his dog. The inspector returns to his old position and exhorts the man to get due compensation. Finally the cook of the General enters the scene and tells it is the dog of the General?s brother. Now the inspector cringes and tells the cook to tell the General?s brother that it was the inspector who saved the dog and handed it over to the cook to safely send it to its owner.

The story is quite a short and simple one. But only Anton Chekhov could have told it in the way it is told. The setting is a market place, open but almost deserted save one police inspector and constable walking along with ?a sieve filled to the brim with confiscated gooseberries?. When Anton Chekhov further says ?There was not a soul in the market place? The open doors of small shops and taverns gaped drearily out at God?s world, like so many hungry jaws.?, we can see corruption as well as a criticism of the ?market place? where all souls have been sold out for money, to the mammon, and the insatiable hunger for profit of the market place. This way every sentence is loaded with meaning. But at the same time, the story is racy and quite readable. You don?t have to be a scholar to enjoy it. It does not matter even if one does not understand the nuances.

SATHYA

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