Summary of the story “Chameleon” in 2 minutes with details.

A very brief retelling of the story "Chameleon".

Moving around the city square, police warden Ochumelov and policeman Eldyrin observe a picture of a drunken jeweler Khryukin catching up with a small dog, while screaming throughout the entire square.

Curious about what was happening, authorities found out that the dog had bitten Khryukin’s finger. It was difficult to determine whose dog it was.

Several times the version was voiced that the dog belonged to the general - at these moments Ochumelov fiercely defended the animal. At the time when the opinion was expressed that the dog did not belong to the general, the warden spoke.

That the dog needs to be exterminated. In the end, it turned out that the dog belonged to the general’s brother. The animal is taken to the owner, and the warden goes about his business.

Some information about the jeweler

As mentioned earlier, Khryukin is a goldsmith who likes to spend money, not on useful things, but on booze. And also from the story the reader learns other information about the hero:

he is a lover of scandal;
he likes to go out and drink at other people's expense;
lazy man;
the jeweler is not brilliant;
constantly abuses animals;
Drinks preferably during the daytime.

You can meet such a person now, just turn around and look around. A deceitful and hypocritical hero who offends a stray dog becomes the subject of ridicule of those around him, not admitting his guilt in front of the defenseless animal. By presenting himself as the victim, he tries to extract a reward for the bite. But a person who does not have authority and respect in society cannot get what he wants.

After reading the text of the story, you can make the following exact description of Khryukin:

a half-drunk man in a starched cotton shirt and an open vest;
chases a dog, showing everyone he meets a bitten, bloody finger;
a simple resident of a provincial town who has his own jewelry workshop;
a cantankerous man of slight build;
constantly famous for his pranks, which is why he is known among the people, according to police warden Ochumelov;
a dishonest and resourceful person who, suspecting that he will be held accountable, begins to look for excuses;
boasts of his connections, since his brother works as a gendarme;
a cunning hypocrite, sucking up to Ochumelov, telling him about justice and brilliance of mind in order to achieve his goal.

Khryukin really behaves like a true chameleon. He changes behavior based on the circumstances and situation of the interlocutor. Either he appears before the reader as the embodiment of politeness, or he becomes a real boor and rude man.

Main characters and their characteristics:

Ochumelov is a police supervisor, whose main goal is to curry favor with his superiors as much as possible. For this, he sacrifices not only his own opinion, but also his immediate official duties.
Eldyrin is a policeman who works together with Ochumelov. Judging by the fact that he first appears in the story with a bunch of confiscated gooseberries, this man can only professionally engage in extortion. This does not characterize him from the best side - he appears to be an ordinary quitter, moreover, his last name reminds of this word.
Khryukin is a master goldsmith, a jeweler who loves to “grunt.” He can easily make himself a laughing stock, as evidenced by the situation in the work.

The secondary characters include General Zhigalov - a rather respected person, his brother Vladimir Ivanovich and the general's cook Prokhor , who tells everything calmly and without lies.

Main characters

Khryukin	Jeweler, lover of drinking, scandalizing, profiting at other people's expense. He is no different in intelligence or efficiency, since during the daytime he gets drunk and abuses animals. Liar and hypocrite. Given the specifics of his profession, he is trying to get a monetary reward for a dog bite. People in the crowd laugh at him, which means that he has no authority or respect in society. The surname of this character indicates his moral principles and life position.
Ochumelov	The telling surname of this character fully characterizes his image. A completely unprincipled, limited person, very flexible in matters of justice, law, and truth. A cowardly opportunist, uses power for his own purposes, respects status and rank, not the law. He changes his mind about the culprit of the incident, finding out whose dog bit Khryukin. The character’s speech also speaks of his lack of education; it is full of cliches, colloquial, inexpressive, incoherent, and illogical.
Eldyrin	A policeman, faceless and stupid. He serves the policeman, carries his things, silently carries out all of Ochumelov’s orders. At the height of the working day, Eldyrin and a police supervisor cross the city square, carrying confiscated gooseberries in their hands. This fact speaks of the “hard” work of one and the other representative of the government. In the work he plays the role of the servant of the warden Ochumelov, which makes his image funny and pitiful.

A summary of the story “Chameleon” in detail.

Author: Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

XIX century. Police supervisor Ochumelov walks through the city market square together with policeman Eldyrin. Suddenly they see the local jeweler Khryukin, drunk and screaming, chasing after some dog.

A crowd of onlookers gathers around, eager to find out what happened. Khryukin complains that he, a goldsmith, was injured by some pathetic dog.

Initially, Ochumelov is convinced that the dog needs to be exterminated and the owner fined. However, when the warden finds out that the dog belongs to General Zhigalov, he immediately changes his opinion to the opposite.

The situation changes several times - Ochumelov changes his opinion just as many times. Ultimately, the warden orders Eldyrin to deliver the dog to General Zhigalov and note that it was Ochumelov who found it.

Summary

To analyze the meaning of the story “Chameleon”, you need to briefly recall the essence of the story.

The events described occupy a short period of time. The place and time of action are not specified. By this, the author wanted to show that such an incident could have happened in any locality.

Ochumelov, walking around the area entrusted to him with his assistant Eldyrin, hears screams. Then a dog rushes past them, and the drunken Khryukin runs after it.

The half-drunk jeweler manages to grab the puppy by the paws. People begin to come out of the shops in response to the screams and squeals of dogs. Gradually a rather impressive crowd gathers around Khryukin.

The police come closer to understand what is happening. As it turns out, the puppy is accused of biting the jeweler. As proof, Khryukin shows the crowd a bloody finger.

The indignant Ochumelov orders Eldyrin to find out the name of the greyhound’s owner and fine him, and destroy the puppy. This is not enough for Khryukin; he wants to receive money from the puppy’s owner for the damage caused.

Someone from the crowd tries to justify the dog, saying that the drunken master himself provoked the puppy by poking him in the face with a cigarette. But then someone remembers that he saw the same dog with General Zhigalov. Hearing this, the policeman attacks Khryukin with abuse. shifting the blame to the jeweler.

Eldyrin, having examined the puppy, expresses doubts about whether the greyhound belongs to the general. Ochumelov immediately begins to scold the puppy again.

A few minutes later, the general’s cook Prokhor appears on the square. The warden stops him to identify the dog. The cook states that the general's house never kept greyhounds.

The policeman again demands the destruction of the poor puppy. The cook, examining the greyhound, recognizes it as a dog belonging to the general's brother. This message makes Ochumelov emotional. The policeman's opinion of the dog changes dramatically - from a nasty one, it instantly turns into a cute, nimble puppy.

The cook takes the puppy with him. Ochumelov continues on his way, threatening Khryukin with his fist to the laughter of the crowd.

Briefly about the history of the story.

As already mentioned, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov created his work in 1884. It was first published in the magazine “Oskolki” under the well-known pseudonym of the young author “A. Chekhonte."

At that time, Chekhov was just graduating from the Moscow Medical Institute and in his free time he was writing short satirical stories. Like many other stories, “Chameleon” is permeated with Chekhov’s characteristic satire.

And the very title of the work is quite ambiguous - the author calls the police warden Ochumelov a “chameleon”, who considers it his duty not to eliminate injustice, but to serve his superiors.

He clearly shows his servility and cowardice. Moreover, the author practically does not describe the appearance of his heroes, allowing them to show only their not the best moral qualities.

The ordinariness of Khryukin’s image

The author of the story presents Khryukin to the reader in “Chameleon” as a spendthrift and a drunkard . In the first mention, he appears in a state of alcoholic intoxication and a terrible hangover. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov tries to present his heroes as ambiguous people, endowed with all the character traits that can be found in every person. Therefore, one of the main characters can also be called a lizard that changes its color under different circumstances.

The relevance of the image of Khryukin in the story “Chameleon” is timeless. The acute theme of the entire work is written on the topic of the day.

The characterization of the main culprit in how the jewelry maker appears in the story is also ambiguous. The dog, from whose bite the ill-fated drunkard suffered, appears before readers as a vile creature, and sometimes as a wonderful little dog and a gentle beast.

Heroes of the story

The characters in the story are very different people and, due to the fact that with a small volume of the story it is quite difficult to give each character a detailed description, the author uses the technique of “talking names”, which in themselves can characterize the character. For example, police warden Ochumelov in a new overcoat and with a bundle in his hand. The overcoat is a symbol of power, the bundle in the hand is a symbol of bribery. His assistant Eldyrin is a red-haired policeman with a sieve filled with gooseberries. The narrator calls Ochumelov and Eldyrin only by their last names, which emphasizes their official status. “Master of goldsmith Khryukin” is an absurd man with absurd claims. The surname itself already says a lot about its bearer.

The main character, of course, here is Ochumelov. It is his unique ability to change his decisions depending on the situation that is the focus. Moreover, he does it so masterfully that sometimes he even arouses admiration. His low cultural level is evidenced by his rudeness towards Khryukin, although he fawns over the general’s name alone. The title of the story itself reveals the essence of the work.

The word “Chameleon” became a household word after Chekhov’s story. The title of the work is “Chameleon” by A.P. Chekhov, already shows us its essence. In his work, “chameleon” becomes a common noun, denoting a vile person, a traitor who acts not in the interests of society, but in personal ones. So the image of Ochumelov changes colors, like a chameleon in nature.

Plot

The storyline of the story is simple. Walking down the street, policeman Ochumelov and his assistant Eldyrinun come across Master Khryukin, bitten by a small dog. He shows a bloody finger to the crowd surrounding him. During the investigation and finding out who is the owner of the dog, Ochumelov demonstrates the wonders of mimicry. When people say that this is a stray dog, he orders it to be drowned. When it is mentioned that this is the general’s dog, he begins to scold Khryukin himself. And so on until a decision is made in favor of the general’s dog. Ochumelov and his assistant follow further.