During the 19th century, a young boy was born in the Taganrog Seaport. Anton Chekhov was the son of a Grocer and because of that, Anton was subjected to harsh labor and lived a mature life starting at an early age. Anton was the 3rd child out of 6 children, which consequently caused himself and his whole family to live a peasant lifestyle. Anton’s life did not get any easier as he grew older. Anton’s father business went bankrupt which made his father flee to Moscow, leaving Anton alone with his mother and sister. Anton’s mother tried to provide a sufficient life for Anton and his sister but evidently lost the house, causing her to flee to Moscow as well. All of these catastrophic events in Anton’s early life made him form into the intellectual, humble gentleman he was born to be. Anton studied medicine and later became a physician to support his family. Not only did Chekhov use his career as a physician to support his family, he also began writing short stories and plays. These short stories and the characters that portrayed his stories were a vital reflection from Anton’s early life. The characters in Chekhov’s selected short stories are an essential piece in comparing and contrasting the challenges that the characters encountered, the way they reflect positive values from his ‘Holy of Holies’ statement, and how these character’s allowed Chekhov to bring light on awareness/reform in Russian society.
Children: Varka and Vanka During the 19th century, most of the children in Russian society were subjected to harsh labor, often lived in degrading environments, and suffered from malnutrition. Chekhov illustrated two characters from his short stories, Vanka and Varka, which depicted the life of the unlucky children of the 19th century. Vanka and Varka are stated to be no older than 14 years old and both are shown to be staying at their master’s home alone without