The Death of a Government Clerk

There are elements in the story that can be interpreted multiple ways because of their ambiguity. As a writer, Chekhov is well known for this technique, often posing questions to the reader by holding back on certain details. In “The Death of a Government Clerk,” the main idea of the story is ambiguous. The reader cannot fully know if General Brizzhalov is upset by the sneeze and intends to damage Chervyakov’s reputation. The clerk appears to overreact, particularly in response to the general’s understated dialogue and demeanor, but these scenes are also vague. Chervyakov’s paranoia is proof, on some level, that government careers in 19th-century Russia can be destroyed by the smallest incident.

The clerk’s death at the end presents the ultimate mystery for the reader to unravel. On the one hand, the scene appears to validate Chervyakov’s anxiety. On the other hand, it only adds to the absurd nature of the story by presenting a ludicrous consequence for a trivial event. This uncertainty places the readers on shaky ground and prompts them to confront a confusing world on their own terms.

One of the ways that Chekhov introduces ambiguity is through his effective application of laconic storytelling. This technique depends on a minimum use of words. Chekhov is famous for this style of writing. In fact, it is usually so concise that the reader is called to fill in the details and draw their own conclusions.

Nowhere is this laconic technique more evident than at the end of the story, when Chervyakov endures his final rejection from the general: “Finding his way home mechanically, without taking off his uniform, he lay down on the sofa and…died” (Paragraph 29). Chekhov’s approach is poetic, as each word serves a specific purpose. The mention of the clerk’s uniform, for example, is intentionally there to remind the reader that Chervyakov dies in the unending service to his country. His demise is therefore like a soldier’s death on the battlefield. The reader is left to marvel at Chervyakov’s self-sacrifice while lamenting the government system that reduced him to a senseless casualty. This imagery is present in the reader’s mind but not explicitly stated in the story. Just the mere mention of the word “uniform” evokes the appropriate emotional response.

Of course, Chekhov also withholds information in this last sentence. The use of the word “died” is both shocking and confusing. With no attempt to qualify this statement, the author refuses to take a position. The reader must decide how to interpret Chervyakov’s death, with the decision process itself taking them on a journey of enlightenment. This happens in place of the writer’s own moralizing in the text. By leaving the work open-ended, Chekhov invites his audience to think and consider the issues more closely, even after the story is over.