Character Portrayal of Byelikov - Assignment Example

To describe the character of Byelikov, the phrase out of the box would not be compatible but to call him a man in the box would be the most befitting phrase to describe his personality. In the story, Burkin narrates the tragic life and character of Byelikov to his colleague, Ivan Ivanovitch.

And it is through his eyes that we get a gaze of the boxed man in the story, Byelikov. By nature, Byelikov was solitary in temperament and was unsocial to a great extent. He was so irritating that his colleagues used to call him a spider and Burkin compared him to a hermit crab or snail and even to our pre-historic ancestors, who were contended being inside their respective dens (Chekhov, 2004, p. 299). His physical appearance was also symbolic that he always preferred to hide himself and his emotions from the outside world.

Many people are introverts but Byelikov’s nature was extraordinarily evident even through his body appearance (Chekhov, 2004, p. 300). Byelikov always put on galoshes and a warm waded coat. He always carried an umbrella. His umbrella was always kept inside a case. He also kept his watch inside a case that was made of grey chamois leather. His fascinations for cases were unique of their kind. Even his pen-knife was kept in the case and his face also seemed to be in a case as he always hid it inside his turned-up collar.

He wore dark spectacles and flannel vests and made it a mandatory point to stuff up his ears with cotton wool. Whenever Byelikov used to ride in a cab, he directed the driver to put up the hood. He displayed an inordinate love for covering himself or to be precise, hiding from all sorts of external influences or displaying his justification of being too timid and unsocial. He was always found praising the past or anything that has never existed. Byelikov only believed in his galoshes and umbrella which he used to take refuge from all external forces real (Chekhov, 2004, p. 300). A true perfectionist, Byelikov believed and always remained very pungently on the right side of the law.

For him, there was no place for any criticism or second thought in life. Once a circular is given out by the authority, it used to become his self-assigned responsibility to follow and ensure that the rest of the world follows it. The only sweet thing in his life was the classical language, Greek which he taught: “Oh, how sonorous, how beautiful is the Greek language!' he would say, with a sugary expression; and as though to prove his words he would screw up his eyes and, raising his finger, would pronounce 'Anthropos!

” (Chekhov, 2004, p. 300). He was always hated for his favorite words which he muttered often at the notice of the slightest irregularities, “Oh, how I hope it doesn't reach the ears of the authorities”. Even his room was almost like a box with a bed and curtains on doors and windows and very weirdly, he had curtains even over his bed. The room was quite suffocating and he always had a fear of being murdered by thieves or by Afanasy and so he always covered his head while sleeping even if the wind outside was hot and battered on his closed doors (Chekhov, 2004, p. 302). Byelikov encountered a very tragic and depressing death in solitude after being abused publicly by one of his colleagues Kovalenko with whose sister Varinka his marriage was fixed.

At his funeral, Burkin noticed his expression to be cheerful and a shadow of some sort of peace eclipsed his face, making him fearless as if he is lying in the coffin, protected forever. It is the most desirable place for Byelikov in his life as he will never be disturbed or exposed to the outer world anymore (Chekhov, 2004, p. 309). Thus, from this brief character portrayal of Byelikov through the narration of Burkin, one can conclude that Byelikov was a typical unsocial, irritating, and lonely man who captivated and constructed a unique world of his own with his bizarre inhibitions. His world has no room for any external light or sound. In his self-created solitary confinement, the man wandered lonely as a cloud and met with his tragic end (Chekhov, 2004, p. 310).