Goose Berry English Papers

In many ways it does but in this story the true ending is that even with hard work there is a sense of nothing. When Ivan Ivanich grew up with his brother it was all about dreams of what they could become and the life they would lead. The reality is his brother did achieve it but how he got there and ended up was not a happy place. The way he treated his wife the widow of a well to do post office worker was in direct contrast to selfishness and greed. He only wanted to make himself wealthy at the cost of others. He was terribly uncaring and let his wife live a life as a person with nothing to only achieve personal gain. When Ivan visited his brother later in life it struck him on what an unhappy person he really had become. Even though he appeared to be joyful by gorging on gooseberries the reality is he had become a fat unhappy man that Ivan had no respect for.

How does Chekhov feel about this? Is there something in the soul that we give up if we are too miserly? Is there an attribute we never acquire if we are too idle?

I believe there is something in the soul that we give up if we are so miserable. The pursuit of happiness is critical in all human beings. When it is lost and your treat others so miserable it is a clear sign you have become a miserable selfish person. You will do anything to achieve personal gain. The results in this story are obvious. The way Chekhov treated his wife was a prime example of this trait. He drove her to death by being selfish and absolutely cruel. He also treated others including the peasants like slaves and trash. The end result is that he became what he wanted to become a fat old man with no real inner happiness with an outward appearance of misery.