Appreciation of fat and thin people

The plot of the novel "Fat Man and Thin Man" is very simple: a pair of childhood friends-fat man and thin man meet at the railway station, and they are both very happy after a long separation. However, when the thin man learned that the fat man's official position was much higher than his own, the thin man grovelled in a conditioned way, so a friend got together happily, and the result was the fat man's "nausea" and the thin man's "surprise".

The novel presents two pictures: one is the thin man, with his thin wife and a son with narrow eyes, who meets his old friend, Fat Man, at the railway station. Hug and kiss each other warmly. The thin man took pains to introduce his family and personal situation. The atmosphere in the whole picture is cordial, warm and harmonious, and the colors are clear, beautiful and charming.

In another picture, the fat man said that he had been a third-class civil servant and had two stars. This surprised and embarrassed the thin man who had just become the section chief. After being very ashamed, I admired him, and flattered the fat man, but I couldn't protest several times.

I had to twist my head and reach out to say goodbye and leave under the respectful gaze of my thin family. The atmosphere of the whole picture is tense, stiff and cold, which makes people feel gloomy, turbid and sultry.

Through these two pictures with different atmosphere, different tone and different colors, the author shows people a vivid secular picture of Russian society at the end of the 19th century, and writes the ugly soul and despicable psychology of specific characters in a specific environment.

The thin man is a whipping figure, and his works are to be criticized. In order to achieve the purpose of criticizing and lashing, the author does not directly tell readers what his attitude is, but puts such a character in a prominent position in the whole picture, and describes and depicts it by means of before and after comparison, cartoon exaggeration and mutual contrast, so as to achieve the objective effect that the author does not speak his mind but the readers can understand it.

Chekhov's pen is concise, and a few words describe the different identities and life situations of fat people and thin people. Fat man's "two shiny lips are like ripe cherries, smelling of white wine and orange blossom", which looks elegant;

The thin man "carried several boxes, several big bags and several paper boxes", but he looked hard and embarrassed. In addition, the smell of "ham and coffee grounds" on his body shows that he is not in the same class as that fat man.

The most wonderful thing about this novel lies in its portrayal of the thin man's psychology. Before I knew the rank of the fat man, the thin man was eloquent and vivid, and the fat man could hardly enter the mouth; But after that, the thin man's words became dry, stuttering and even a little nervous. He repeated what he had said twice before, "My Lord, this is my son Nafa Naeer ... his wife Louise, a Lutheran".

When the thin man talked about his son and wife, the first two times reflected his excitement and joy, and the last time he explained that he had nothing to say except flatter the fat man. When saying goodbye, the fat man shook hands with the thin man, who only shook the fat man's three fingers, vividly showing the thin man's inferiority complex again. The completely different changes in the thin man's psychology make this novel very dramatic.

Extended data:

Creative background:

/kloc-in the 0/9th century, Russia was hierarchical, and the concept of hierarchy penetrated into the bone marrow of every citizen. It is this concept that dominates people to bow their heads in front of people who are taller than themselves. In the novel, not only the thin man, but also his wife and son have an instinctive respectful and flattering attitude towards the fat man (or his rank).

In other words, no matter adults or children, no matter men or women, there is a kind of abnormal psychology caused by social system. The novel Fat Man and Thin Man can be said to be a microcosm of the mentality of most Russian citizens at that time. Although the plot is full of comedy, it makes people feel sad and heavy to read.

Chekhov was a famous Russian novelist and playwright in the 19th century. His novels are mainly short stories and he is good at portraying small people. For example, The Chameleon, The Trapped, The Death of a Small Civil Servant and Wanka are well-known short stories.

In the short story Fat Man and Thin Man, Chekhov successfully created the image of a thin man, an arrogant and obedient clerk, alluding to the distortion of human nature by Russian bureaucrats.

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