“The Student” Reading Journal: The Strange Mixture of Misery and Joy

Joyce Lee

       While reading the student, I could not help but feel that Chekhov’s use of language evokes much feeling and conveys the emotions of the narrator, Ivan. Chekhov skillfully manages to mix in emotion within his dry, objective, and somewhat journalistic tone. The shift in his descriptions and sentence structure echoes the shift in Ivan’s emotions, which speaks of the main theme of the short story.

       “The Student” starts out with images of desolate bleakness. The description of nature is predominant in the first part of the story. “Something alive droned pitifully with a sound like blowing into an empty bottle,” and “a penetrating wind blew inappropriately from the east,” culminating into a feeling of cheerlessness, remoteness, and loneliness. The language is crude and laconic. The following mentioning of the figures of the past, Ivan the Terrible, Peter, and Rurik arouse the thought that this desolate gloom is a chronic state. It seems to speak of misery as being a integral and perpetual part of human nature. "The same darkness, the same feeling of oppression - all these had existed, did exist and would exist, and the lapse of a thousand years would make life no better." This powerful description of desolation and depression dominates the first part of the story.

       Then, right after this bleak introduction and insight into the misery of humans, Ivan encounters two widows and tells them of the (rather simplified) Biblical narrative of Peter and Jesus. Religion was a dominant factor in 19th century, and it seems that after being depressed after his rather dooming insight, Ivan and his young 22-year-old self wanted to relate and share the suffering of the past with someone. To gather sympathy of the bleakness of life? To garner reverence for his knowledge? Perhaps. But what he gets is an emotional outburst from the two women. This response from the widows ignites joy from Ivan, as powerful as the depression portrayed in the beginning of the story. The rhythm of the language brings out this happiness of the student who learned something new - the response and connection of those suffering in the present to those who suffered in the past. The last paragraph is composed of one thick paragraph, with thoughts flowing freely from the river by the ferry to the chief thing in human life in a single sentence, Ivan excited to share his discovery. There is no evident logic and the last paragraph gives an ambiguous conclusion but it hopes for a happier future.

      Chekhov mingled the past and present by the subtle parallelisms of Peter's betrayal and the setting surrounding the two widows. As he shows, sufferings and misery are indeed constant. However, they also have meaning and significance enough to evoke emotions in the present, which makes suffering have some meaning and significance. This rather strange, somewhat paradoxical theme continues on to the language of the conclusion. The last paragraph juxtaposes the ominous image of the "cold, crimson sunset" and a beacon of hope, the "narrow streak of light." Chekhov said that "The Student" was his favorite "optimistic" work. The final notes of the story focus not on the coldness and dejectedness of the suffering, but resound of enchanment, happiness, and beauty. Apart from whether this story is realism or not, Chekhov's mastery of language to convey a deep message about of suffering and joy itself is simply amazing.