Anton Chekhov is one of the most talented dramatists, whose plays are included in the repertoire of theaters all over the world. The depth of the thoughts, expressed in these plays, makes readers and watchers seriously think over world history, relations among people. Chekhov himself once wrote: “We have inherited talent from our father, and soul from mother”. The fact is that their family originated a few artists and writers.
Surely, the most significant factor in his life, as in the life of anyone, was education. His father Pavel wished his children had got serious education and made his children study seriously. The lashings were frequent, however, he also paid for the best tutors (music, languages), insisted, that children studied in the best gymnasium in Taganrog (the city at the Azov sea), so the elder brothers started speaking French rather early. The “lack of childhood” made Anton get to know life early, as he had to work in the store made him get to know human nature. The music classes made him the admirer of high art, and he studied not only playing the violin, but he got to know the thinnest substance, that touched the human soul. Later, he transmitted this feeling in his short stories. Despite the fact, that his early stories were satiric, they reveal human relations to the depth, that most even can not imagine.
Anton Chekhov’s study at the Men’s classical Gymnasium essentially impacted his life views. The Gymnasium formed the disgust to Hypocrisy and falsity. Here, his vision of the world, admiration for books, knowledge, and theater was formed. Here he got his first literary pseudonym “Chekhonte”, which he got from his Scripture tutor Feodor Pokrovsky.
Music and books aroused the strive for creation in young Chekhov, and Taganrog theater left a deep influence on his creativity: the protagonists of his first stories were the theater actors.
Originally, this period appeared to be one of the most fruitful in his life. The Childhood, that he seriously lacked, made him sensitive to the human soul, and this sensitivity accompanied him all over his life. It may be observed not only in his early stories but also in later literary works (“Notes of Young Doctor “Ward Number 6” “The Man in a Case” and others).
Impressive Fact
The most impressive fact of Chekhov’s life is his trip to the Sakhalin peninsula, and his attempt to make the general census of the population. Along with the great historical work, he also got an endless source of creativity and inspiration, as the lives of the simplest people, who even could not read appeared to be the precious source for further human nature study. This period is described in his book “Sakhalin Island”, which he wrote after returning to Moscow in 1890-1892.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is necessary to mention, that the life of this great writer and dramatist may be featured by lots of notable events. However, his childhood, and life in his father’s estate in Taganrog, and then his trip to Sakhalin impacted his life and creativity the most. Childhood shaped his feeling about the world and people, while in Sakhalin he got tuberculosis and the endless source for further literary work.