Chekhov - Champagne

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“Champagne” by Anton Chekhov Short stories give audiences glimpses into other worlds that seem more exciting and vivid than the ones real people lead. Many stories seem unrealistic, or the characters are too clever, or the dialogue is too witty. Anton Chekhov uses people and situations that every man and woman can relate to, and the situations are as plausible as can be found in literature. What Chekhov does best is to show the audience that significance can be found in every day situations, with every choice that people must make. “Champagne” is a short story by Anton Chekhov that tells the tale of a man plagued by disappointments that allows his unhappiness to spoil the good things in his life. Stuck in a railroad station fifteen miles from the nearest tavern, Nikolay felt as though his youth was being wasted in the middle of nowhere with only his wife for company. By the end, however, the audience sees that Nikolay did indeed have more to lose than he thought. Through Chekhov’s masterful writing the audience experiences a setting as cold and open as Nikolay’s thoughts, and learns that a pessimist’s negative frame of mind and habits will lead him down a dark path. The title of this piece also holds significance to the story being told by Nikolay. On this particular New Year’s Eve Nikolay has decided to drink the champagne that he had won in a bet while drinking at christening with another station master. This is the only time in the story Nikolay mentions being in any other setting, and of course it includes him drinking alcohol. As Nikolay describes, the champagne wasn’t necessarily a particularly exceptional treat, but because it was out of the ordinary he regarded it with much excitement. As midnight approaches, he drops the first bottle while opening it because he has already had five glasses of the “drugged vodka,” (Ford 33)
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