A chameleon

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Chekhov’s story, A Chameleon, centres on the injustice of the Russian society and the privileges received by the upper class. Chekhov lived in a society where the only peaceful way to bring about a change in conditions was to educate people of the societys shortcomings through the use of satire. Therefore Chekhov’s purpose in writing the story is to draw his reader’s attention to the inequalities in society, in an attempt to bring about reform.

He does this through the literary techniques used to convey his point of view, in particular the humorous nature of the story and its characters.

Chekhov uses caricature, irony, and hyperbole to enhance the comic situation that he depicts.

He also uses descriptive writing, dialogue and irony to communicate his message.




The comical situation that is being relayed in the story immediately draws the attention of the reader. The police superintendent, Otchumyelov, fluctuates in his decision regarding the fate of a dog that has bitten a mans finger, while a crowd of townsfolk watch as Hryukin, who received the bite, makes attempts at revenge on the dog. ‘On his half drunken face is plainly written “I’ll pay you out, you rogue!”’, ‘I must have damages, for I shan’t be able to use this finger for a week, may be.’

The dog is described as ‘the culprit who has caused the sensation’. The reader sees that it is ludicrous to be calling a dog a culprit, and just as ludicrous for Hryukin to expect justice to be carried out on the animal.

The ridiculous situation is intensified when Otchumyelov makes a great effort to find who owns the dog so that it can be brought to justice. ‘Whose dog is it? I won’t let this pass! I’ll teach them to let their dogs run all over the place!... find out whose dog it is and draw up a report!’

Even Hryukin’s attempt to catch the dog is ridiculous, as we are told that Hryukin ‘runs after her, and throwing his body forward falls down and seizes the dog by her hind legs.’ Such an effort to catch a small dog, when the only damage the dog did was to make Hryukin’s finger bleed, is clearly foolishness.

The situation is absurd, and we see that all involved lack a sense of proportion in regards to the importance of events.

Chekhov enhances the humour through the use of caricature. The actions of the characters and the way that they perceive and react to the situation is exaggerated to provide humour, but also to achieve the authors purpose in showing the shortcomings of the society.

Hryukin is described as ‘holding his right hand in the air and displaying a bleeding finger to the crowd... and indeed the very finger has the look of a flag of victory.’

Chekhov builds upon the caricature of Hryukin by juxtaposing the dog and Hryukin, who is described as ‘a great hulking fellow’, while the dog is only ‘a little dog.’

Otchumyelov is also made into a caricature, as he constantly changes his mind based on who he believes the dog belongs to. ‘Whose dog is it? I won’t let this pass! I’ll teach them to let their dogs run all over the place! It’s time these gentry were looked after, if they won’t obey the regulations! When he’s fined, the blackguard, I’ll teach him what it means to keep dogs and such stray cattle! I’ll give him a lesson! ... find out whose dog it is and draw up a report! And the dog must be strangled. Without delay! It’s sure to be mad.’

When it is suggested that General Zhigalov owns the dog, Otchumyelov’s response changes considerably, and he shifts the blame from the dog to Hryukin. ‘You take it to the General’s, and inquire there. Say I found it and sent it. And tell them not to let it out into the street... It may be valuable dog, and if every swine goes sticking a cigar in its mouth, it will soon be ruined.’

This indecisiveness is enhanced by Otchumyelov being first warm, and taking his coat off, ‘help me off with my coat, Yeldrin... it’s frightfully hot!, then changing his mind, deciding it is cold. ‘help me on with my overcoat, Yeldrin my lad... the wind’s getting up... I am cold.’

This portrayal causes the reader to see Otchumyelov as an indecisive and foolish creature, bordering on stupid.



Chekhov makes great use of irony to convey the purpose of the story to his readers.

When Otchumyelov first makes an attempt to find the owner of the dog, he states ‘It’s time these gentry were looked after, if they won’t obey the regulations!’A little further on he states ‘When he’s fined, the blackguard...’ Here Chekhov uses irony on two levels. Firstly, after referring to the owner of the dog as a member of the gentry, or aristocratic class, he then refers to them as a blackguard, or reprobate. In the context of the story it would be unusual to refer to a member of the aristocracy in this way, as they would be treated with respect. It was taken for granted that all ‘blackguards’ generally came from the lower classes of society.

On another level however, this is ironic as Otchumyelov bases his decision regarding the fate of the dog on how wealthy and powerful the person who owns it is. When he discovers that it belongs to the General’s brother, he quickly decides in favour of the powerful General, concluding that Hryukin is in the wrong, and allowing the gentry to disobey the regulations.

Another ironic comment in regards to the message communicated in the story is Hryukin’s comment that ‘We are all equal nowadays.’ As clearly demonstrated in the story, this is not the case.

Chekhov also uses irony when Otchumyelov states that ‘A dog is a delicate animal.’. While he is willing to say this when he believes that the General may own it, when he believes it is owned by a common person he orders it to be strangled.

While the irony employed by Chekhov acts as humour in the story, there is a more serious purpose behind it. By using irony Chekhov’s purpose is to draw his reader’s attention to the faults and injustice in the Russian society.

Chekhov uses hyperbole to achieve his purpose, both to add to the humour in the story, and to cause the reader to observe shortcomings of the society by drawing their attention to the characters and their actions.

The character of Hryukin is exaggerated, with him being described as ‘a great hulking fellow’. Also his actions are exaggerated, such as when he catches the dog, ‘He runs after her, and throwing his body forward falls down and seizes the dog by her hind legs.’ It is not necessary for Hryukin to go to such efforts to catch a dog. When Otchumyelov investigates we see Hryukin ‘holding his right hand in the air and displaying a bleeding finger to the crowd’. Again, this reaction is unnecessary for a simple bleeding finger.

In addition, Chekhov uses hyperbole when describing the market square where the event took place. We are told that ‘The open doors of the shops and taverns look out upon God’s world disconsolately, like hungry mouths; there is not even a beggar near them.’ Following this description, which gives the reader the impression of desertion, we are told that when the disturbance takes place, a crowd ‘seems to have sprung out of the earth’. Clearly Chekhov has exaggerated the arrival of the crowd, however, the fact that a crowd has surrounded the timber yard simply because Hryukin has received a dog bite also demonstrates Chekhov’s use of hyperbole.

When Hryukin exclaims ‘Biting is prohibited nowadays!’, followed by ‘If everyone is going to be bitten, life won’t be worth living...’, Chekhov is using hyperbole to subtly insinuate that in Russian society, there is no freedom and even biting is prohibited. While a person would not be permitted to make this observation openly, by implying in a story that there is a lack of freedom in society, Chekhov could communicate his message without being prevented from doing so.

The story mainly consists of dialogue. This enhances what is said by the characters, and allows Chekhov to demonstrate his purpose through their speech. The use of present tense accentuates this, leading the reader to understand that Chekhov is referring to the society in which he lives.

Through the dialogue spoken by Otchumyelov in particular, we see how power and wealth influence the decision of those appointed to maintain justice.

Finally, Chekhov conveys his purpose through the use of descriptive writing.

The phrase, ‘look out upon God’s world disconsolately’ brings a feeling of despair to the reader. The use of ‘disconsolately’ in particular has negative connotations for the reader, and the senses the hopelessness in Chekhov’s tone.

Chekhov uses excessive detail both to make the story more comical, but also to communicate the purpose of the story through the use of an over-casual tone in the description. The reader sees this tone in the excessive use of detail, and this leads them to understand that Chekhov is subtly referring to the society in which he lives.

We see Chekhov’s excessive description when he includes details such as ‘A red-haired policeman’ who ‘strides after him with a sieve full of confiscated gooseberries in his hands’, ‘The open doors of the shops and taverns look out upon God’s world disconsolately, like hungry mouths; there is not even a beggar near them.’, ‘Otchumyelov makes a half turn to the left and strides towards the crowd.’

In addition to this Chekhov includes unnecessary details in the conversations which take place.

He includes this detail to make the situation seem more commonplace, and something that might occur everyday. It is this that causes the reader to understand that he refers to the Russian society, as they can relate the situation to their everyday activities in their villages. However the use of exaggeration emphasises the faults in the society.

In conclusion, Chekhov achieves his purpose of revealing the shortcomings of the Russian system of justice, through his use of exaggeration, caricature, description, irony, and dialogue.

He provides a comical situation involving humorous characters, however through this his readers see Chekhov’s purpose and his attempt to address the inequalities within the Russian society, hence allowing him to bring about reform through his satire.



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