WARD NO. 6

Ward No. 6

Rich. There is so much in this story I am tempted to read it again before commenting.

I will do my best with what I got from my initial reading.

Philosophy plays a big role in the story. Philosophy can give you insight and also possibly drive you crazy.

Insight -- knowing things from books is different from learning them through experience -- as the doctor sadly finds out. Just like theory is different from practice.

The good doctor was living in a prison of the mind all the time due to his lack of interesting companionship. Reaching out to a lunatic apparently was too much for the town to handle.

Just like Socrates was put to death for corrupting the youth -- the doctor is condemned for fraternizing with the enemy.

What happens if you are sane and all around you people are crazy -- think Winston Smith in Orwell's novel 1984 -- or any other totalitarian system where free speech is seen as dangerous.

But did the doctor ask for it? Were his ideas anti-life -- skewered to such an extent that the only interesting companionship lied in Ward No. 6?

The doctor had a lot of ideas -- when he was a doctor he could feel pity for Ivan Dmitritch -- from his pedestal he could give advice -- but once he went down to the same level as the patient -- then he saw the reality.   Reminds me of the reality show:  Undercover Boss -- where CEO's go undercover and realize the way their companies really operate.

The doctor's ideas -- and maybe this is the point -- that ideas when espoused as just ideas may sound noble and profound -- but when these ideas are really lived and not just thought -- then the consequences may be quite tragic (I'm thinking of the anti-science ideas many politicians espouse -- if as a society we really discount science and put into practice faith over reason -- we'll inherit the result).

Beware what you think may become how you live.

This is a complex story that also deals with mental illness. Who is really crazy and who determines what crazy is -- if you live under tyranny then talking about freedom is crazy. If you live in a society where everyone lies -- then telling the truth is treasonous. If you live in a society where racism is the norm -- then tolerance is a threat ( There are millions of examples). Society has a lot to do with how we perceive sanity and how we think about how we should live. Breaking traditions can be dangerous.

Conforming to the standards of society may make you live longer but not happier. When and how to break free from what is expected is something all of us have to decide at some point in our lives.

Do it wisely.

R.I.P. Andrey Yefimitch.

THE HORSE-STEALERS

The Horse-Stealers

To Catch a Thief.

Out there in the world we all become prisoners. We have jobs -- routines -- laws -- life becomes a rut. Boring.

The thief is free to do what he wants when he wants to.

The hospital assistant meets some thieves and he fights for his stuff -- but in the end he loses his stuff and his position.

He has an awakening. He turns his back on his old life -- the life of routines -- the bourgeois existence -- of work and a little vacation -- a wife -- two kids -- the whole lot which is sold as normality. He gives it all up for a taste of lawlessness. Otherwise, in his eyes known as freedom.

After being robbed -- instead of getting mad at the thieves -- he envies them -- he wants to get rid of all his baggage and live like nature intended -- not worrying about routines -- not getting into ruts -- being free.

He becomes a thief. An outlaw. Is he happier for it? At least he doesn't feel inferior like he did in his old lifestyle -- where as a hospital clerk he knew his lowly position and had to endure the humiliation of that position all the time.

This story is rich with characters and it keeps you on the edge as to what is going to happen. You know Yergunov is going to be robbed but when and how will he react. The twist in the story is also done very cleverly and the end of the story is chilling and shocking when we find out Yergunov's reaction.

This is anarchy. No laws. No rules. In this story Chekhov presents a world where the anarchist dream of a society with no rules is visited -- although there is no denying the freedom of that society we also realize the brutality as well.

What's most interesting is how the story makes us understand why Yergunov would be tempted to throw everything away and become a thief -- at the same time we also realize that the world of the outlaw might be romanticized -- but at the end of the day -- the thief is still a thief -- or a murderer -- or whatever else he wants to be. Just get out of the way!

This story explores what it means to be free but like the West with its outlaws like Billy the Kid -- the reality which Yergunov will sadly find out --  his new life will not be a carefree one -- more a world where he will live like a wild animal with all its grace and savagery.

THE SHOEMAKER AND THE DEVIL

The Shoemaker and the Devil

Be careful what you wish for.

The poor shoemaker makes a bargain with the devil.

He becomes rich and the devil gets his soul.

But quickly the shoemaker realizes that what he wished for might not be what he really wanted.

Being rich has responsibilities and obligations which he doesn't want to deal with.

The grass is always greener on the other side.

Being happy has nothing to do with being rich or poor but with how well you handle your inner self.

Of course, we all want to fantasize about being rich and having all the benefits we imagine comes with wealth. However, if like this story we became rich in an instant -- without truly earning it -- we'd feel just as unsatisfied as the shoemaker.

Studies repeatedly have shown lottery winners who became rich overnight -- their happiness quota doesn't in fact go up in the long run. They'll eventually be just as happy or unhappy as they were before hitting it big.

I think if you do become rich because you worked hard and truly made it with your sweat -- then you'll probably enjoy what you made -- but real happiness depends on love -- friendships -- family -- intangibles that money just can't buy.

Sounds naive and childish to think that money can't buy happiness -- we'd all love to be handed millions -- but the truth is if you want to be happy then work on being happy -- not on envying the rich or anyone else -- develop your inner being -- and then your happiness will be genuine and not measured by how many cars you own and no one will be able to take it away from you.

Still -- if you have a few million to spare -- as long as I don't have to sign anything -- no -- forget it.

That hurts.

There's a side to us that no matter how much we realize that money won't buy happiness -- won't believe it.

And that's why this story hits home.

THE BEAUTIES

The Beauties

Contemplating beauty.

How does beauty affect us? Especially if we are a man too old or too young -- too ugly or too ordinary to get noticed -- when we come face to face with beauty that is undeniable -- we are moved by it -- but we also become sad -- knowing very well we'll never be able to possess it -- beauty makes us reflect on who we are -- brings us to the realization of what life is.

After all, we see this great beauty but we also realize that it will fade like everything else -- the great sadness of time and aging -- we have to live in the moment -- yet we know the moment is forever speeding to the next --

And yes beauty does inspire. Whether it's a beautiful sunset -- a beautiful painting or a beautiful face. Especially a young beautiful girl's face. There you can drown yourself in all that life has to offer -- it is like a magnet that draws everything to it -- you try to pull yourself away but you can't -- you want to fight the pull but you are too weak -- you fall prey to it and you are utterly happy and incredibly sad.

We are as Chekhov highlights in this story prisoners to great beauty -- it makes us all feel alive -- what else is there than those moments when you come into contact with this great beauty? -- whatever you imagine it to be -- you realize that this is nature at her best -- you want to cherish it -- dwell in it -- but you also know how rare that beauty is and that no matter what -- it is a fleeting moment in a life that is mostly harsh and mostly lacking of truly inspiring beauty.

To me, this story is sort of like a journal entry. A meditation of beauty. Not a plot driven -- character driven tale -- but just a thought -- a feeling -- but a great subject -- and it does make you empathize with the idea that life is cruel because it shows you great beauty in short bursts and makes you eventually come to the realization that all you can do is watch the wonder and smile. And then cry.

Then you can take a deep breath and smile again.

THE HEAD-GARDENER'S STORY

The Head-Gardener's Story

Crime.

Faith.

Idealism.

The point of the story makes total sense. If we had total faith in the goodness of people then our world would be a better world. Most people would probably be uplifted by this spirit and would conform to doing good rather than evil.

I'm a believer than many people act out of expectation. If people are treated poorly and are expected to be criminal and violent -- they most likely won't disappoint and behave criminally and violent. The opposite is also true -- if the expectation is that they will behave properly and productively -- they probably will.

Society is actually fashioned in many ways based on these expectations. What's the last time there was a riot at an opera? But look at soccer(football) and hooliganism is a common place occurrence. It's not that the people at an opera are less violent than people at soccer matches but the expectation society has placed on these events are different. 

While I admire the sentiment in the story, I'm well aware that society can't implement a system of justice that doesn't punish anyone. One bad apple and people would want revenge or justice and all good feelings would fly out the window. But living with a benevolent attitude towards each other makes an ideal fantasy. Like Communism.

Communism is where we all live equally and share everything. There are no upper classes or lower classes. But trying to implement this ideal to practice leads to countless problems. Some don't want to be equal but superior. What happens to the lazy person -- is he entitled to the same benefits as the hard-working person?

Idealism always sounds good in theory.

Therefore, the spirit of the story -- that we should all try to love each other and respect each other and try to have faith in our goodness -- sounds in our cynical age as being naive and foolish and frankly . . . refreshing.

Peace!

THE BET

The Bet

What's this story about?

There's a bet. Several men are debating the merits of capital punishment versus life imprisonment. One young lawyer says that he is willing to live in solitary confinement for the two million the banker offers. It's unclear to me why the lawyer ups the stakes to fifteen years when he could have gotten the same money for five years.

There is an agreement and the lawyer goes to live in solitary confinement. By himself, he reads all kinds of books and in the end he becomes a cynic. He decides to leave hours ahead of the agreed time and therefore lose the bet.

Why?

I don't know. I can only guess here.

What's happened to the lawyer in those fifteen years? He's read a lot -- has acquired a lot of knowledge -- his values have changed and he no longer values money like he once did.

He's turned against humanity. Maybe that's what he had to do to survive. He had to renege all association with other people. All he had to help him evaluate existence was books.

What we see here is that all book knowledge is just book knowledge -- what keeps us going -- what keeps us healthy are not ideas or knowledge from books but our interaction with each other. Can you really learn, like the lawyer says he learned, from a book about love?

What makes this existence bearable is that we have each other. Yes, maybe Sartre is right and "Hell is other people" but people are what makes us keep living. Alone -- detached -- we lose our grip -- life ultimately becomes meaningless. So what we need to become truly happy and satisfied is to develop good relationships with other people.

It's also quite reasonable to assume that the lawyer just went insane. And he doesn't even know he's insane. How could he? It's not like he could Skype with Sigmund Freud.

There is one more explanation -- everything the lawyer concludes is true -- we do take lies for truth -- and maybe everything is meaningless -- after all no matter what we think or do the sun will eventually blow up and we will all disappear (unless of course in two billion years we find a hospitable planet in another solar system) -- but looking at life and seeing it for what it really is -- shouldn't make us give up -- or should it?

Samuel Beckett puts it best in the last lines of Waiting For Godot: 

Vladimir: Well? Shall we go?

Estragon: Yes, let's go.
[they do not move]

The other part of the story is what happens to the banker in the fifteen years. He goes on doing what he does -- but he's lost a lot of his fortune -- and finally he considers committing murder. 

So who is wiser? Who has made the most of the fifteen years -- the freed banker or the jailed lawyer?

And who was truly free? The banker who was enslaved to a hedonistic lifestyle or the lawyer who was on a personal journey of discovery?

Who really won the bet?

I just wonder where the lawyer will go.

Ashram, anyone?

PANIC FEARS

Panic Fears

"Everything we don't understand is mysterious."

That seems the point to this story. It's not, I'm afraid, much of story.

Presented are three examples of when the narrator was scared to death -- or felt ill at ease -- and the payoff is that once you understand something then it's no longer mysterious and therefore no longer frightening.

Or as FDR put it:

"Only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

The Twilight Zone seems like an outgrowth of this tale.

But that's being too generous. The Twilight Zone episodes were sometimes quite eerie and mind provoking. The same thing can't be said about this lightweight anecdote.