“The Beggar” is a short story written by Anton Chekhov. It revolves around a destitute beggar named Lushkoff. Struggling to find employment, Lushkoff resorts to begging on the streets due to his dire circumstances. However, his life takes a turn when he encounters an advocate named Sergei while begging. Read More English Summaries.
The Beggar Summary
The Beggar by Anton Chekhov Introduction
The Beggar is a story about a man who was turned out of the Russianchoir for drunkenness. He took to tying and begging but suddenly the man changed his life completely.
The Beggar Summary in English
The story begins with the narrator’s exposition about how he met a strange beggar. One day a beggar approached him and asked for help. The beggar said that he was a schoolmaster and needed some help as he had no money for his journey. He said that he was out of service for a year and now he had been offered a post in the Kaluga province, but he had no fare to travel.
The narrator, Skvortsov, a lawyer by profession at Peterburg was filled with doubt because he had seen that man somewhere before. So, he scolded him for begging in the name of a schoolmaster and threatened him to hand him over to the police. Then the beggar exposed himself and said that once he was a musician in the Russian choir but he was turned out for drunkenness. Now he was workless.
The narrator offered him help if he agreed to work. The beggar agreed. The narrator assigned him the job of wood-chopping. He asked his maid Olga to take work from him. Olga was a lady of cross behaviour. She offered an axe to the beggar. As the beggar was not behaving properly because of his drunken stage, Olga was irritated. She got annoyed with the man and abused him but extended her hand and the wood was chopped. After an hour she said to the lawyer that the work was finished. The lawyer asked her to give him half a rouble and also asked her to ask him to come the next day if he wished for wood-chopping. The beggar came next day and again did the same thing and got half a rouble for it. Olga was deputed to watch over his work.
The Beggar Summary class 12
Later, Skvortsov was impressed with his sober behaviour. He liked him for his inclination to work. He offered him one rouble. Then he sent him to one of his friends for some good official job. Lushkov, as his name was, then went away. Two years passed. One day, Skvortsov saw a man at a ticket office of a theatre paying for his ticket. He recognised him. It was Lushkov. He was happy to know that Lushkov was now in a good position in a Notary’s office and earned thirty-five roubles.
Skvortsov was delighted that it was his effort that turned a beggar to such a good position. But Lushkov said that it was all due to Olga who did that. He said that Olga never let him chop wood. She did it herself but everyday all the time, she used to muse for him. She used to say to him, “You unlucky fellow! you have no gladness in this world, and in the next you will burn in hell, poor drunkard! You poor sorrowful creature!” This all changed Lushkov’s Life and he was so affected that he left drinking and changed himself. He was highly obliged to her because whatever she did, it was all for his better future. Then, Lushkov went away as the bell had rung.