Delineation of Workers in the Short Stories by Chekhov and Maupassant

Abstract

This research paper entitled ‘Delineation of Workers in the Short Stories by Chekhov and Maupassant’ analyzes the short stories by Anton Chekhov and Guy de Maupassant from Marxist point of view. It centers on the nature of exploitation of the workers, the class struggle between the two opposing classes: masters and workers, and the outcome of the class struggle. The workers, in the stories of Chekhov are directly exploited by their masters whereas Maupassant shows workers being exploited indirectly. They are exploited in the name of religion, friendship, morality and marital relationship. So the workers struggle hard to be free from the exploitation of their masters. Workers succeed in their struggle in the stories of Maupassant whereas their struggle is in vain in case of Chekhov. Thus, representing the grim situation of workers throughout the stories Chekhov does not anticipate any social change. He is against the Marxist perspective of the world. He is an anti-Marxist writer whereas representation of tragic to comic mode of workers in the stories shows that Maupassant anticipates social change. He is in favor of the Marxist perspective of the world. He is a Marxist writer.