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Oh! The Public
"Oh! The Public" by Anton Chekhov is a short story that follows the head ticket collector, Podtyagin, as he performs his duties on a late-night train journey. Despite being sleep-deprived and tempted to drink, he decides to "buck up and work" and begins inspecting the tickets of the passengers. One passenger, an invalid wrapped in a fur coat and rug, moans about being woken and argues with Podtyagin over the requirement for a ticket. The argument escalates and other passengers become indignant at the apparent persecution of the invalid. After the argument, Podtyagin begins to feel uneasy and questions his own actions, despite being in the right according to duty. The story is a commentary on bureaucracy, public service, and the social class structure of the time.
9 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 30, 1885
24 people want to read
About the author
Anton Chekhov
5,893 books9,762 followers
Antón Chéjov
(Spanish)
Dramas, such as The Seagull (1896, revised 1898), and including "A Dreary Story" (1889) of Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, also Chekov, concern the inability of humans to communicate.
Born ( Антон Павлович Чехов ) in the small southern seaport of Taganrog, the son of a grocer. His grandfather, a serf, bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught to read. A cloth merchant fathered Yevgenia Morozova, his mother.
"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloomy to me." Tyranny of his father, religious fanaticism, and long nights in the store, open from five in the morning till midnight, shadowed his early years. He attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog from 1867 to 1868 and then Taganrog grammar school. Bankruptcy of his father compelled the family to move to Moscow. At the age of 16 years in 1876, independent Chekhov for some time alone in his native town supported through private tutoring.
In 1879, Chekhov left grammar school and entered the university medical school at Moscow. In the school, he began to publish hundreds of short comics to support his mother, sisters and brothers. Nicholas Leikin published him at this period and owned Oskolki (splinters), the journal of Saint Petersburg. His subjected silly social situations, marital problems, and farcical encounters among husbands, wives, mistresses, and lust; even after his marriage, Chekhov, the shy author, knew not much of whims of young women.
Nenunzhaya pobeda , first novel of Chekhov, set in 1882 in Hungary, parodied the novels of the popular Mór Jókai. People also mocked ideological optimism of Jókai as a politician.
Chekhov graduated in 1884 and practiced medicine. He worked from 1885 in Peterburskaia gazeta.
In 1886, Chekhov met H.S. Suvorin, who invited him, a regular contributor, to work for Novoe vremya, the daily paper of Saint Petersburg. He gained a wide fame before 1886. He authored The Shooting Party , his second full-length novel, later translated into English. Agatha Christie used its characters and atmosphere in later her mystery novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd . First book of Chekhov in 1886 succeeded, and he gradually committed full time. The refusal of the author to join the ranks of social critics arose the wrath of liberal and radical intelligentsia, who criticized him for dealing with serious social and moral questions but avoiding giving answers. Such leaders as Leo Tolstoy and Nikolai Leskov, however, defended him. "I'm not a liberal, or a conservative, or a gradualist, or a monk, or an indifferentist. I should like to be a free artist and that's all..." Chekhov said in 1888.
The failure of The Wood Demon , play in 1889, and problems with novel made Chekhov to withdraw from literature for a period. In 1890, he traveled across Siberia to Sakhalin, remote prison island. He conducted a detailed census of ten thousand convicts and settlers, condemned to live on that harsh island. Chekhov expected to use the results of his research for his doctoral dissertation. Hard conditions on the island probably also weakened his own physical condition. From this journey came his famous travel book.
Chekhov practiced medicine until 1892. During these years, Chechov developed his concept of the dispassionate, non-judgmental author. He outlined his program in a letter to his brother Aleksandr: "1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of political-social-economic nature; 2. total objectivity; 3. truthful descriptions of persons and objects; 4. extreme brevity; 5. audacity and originality; flee the stereotype; 6. compassion." Because he objected that the paper conducted against [a:Alfred Dreyfu
Dramas, such as The Seagull (1896, revised 1898), and including "A Dreary Story" (1889) of Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, also Chekov, concern the inability of humans to communicate.
Born ( Антон Павлович Чехов ) in the small southern seaport of Taganrog, the son of a grocer. His grandfather, a serf, bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught to read. A cloth merchant fathered Yevgenia Morozova, his mother.
"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloomy to me." Tyranny of his father, religious fanaticism, and long nights in the store, open from five in the morning till midnight, shadowed his early years. He attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog from 1867 to 1868 and then Taganrog grammar school. Bankruptcy of his father compelled the family to move to Moscow. At the age of 16 years in 1876, independent Chekhov for some time alone in his native town supported through private tutoring.
In 1879, Chekhov left grammar school and entered the university medical school at Moscow. In the school, he began to publish hundreds of short comics to support his mother, sisters and brothers. Nicholas Leikin published him at this period and owned Oskolki (splinters), the journal of Saint Petersburg. His subjected silly social situations, marital problems, and farcical encounters among husbands, wives, mistresses, and lust; even after his marriage, Chekhov, the shy author, knew not much of whims of young women.
Nenunzhaya pobeda , first novel of Chekhov, set in 1882 in Hungary, parodied the novels of the popular Mór Jókai. People also mocked ideological optimism of Jókai as a politician.
Chekhov graduated in 1884 and practiced medicine. He worked from 1885 in Peterburskaia gazeta.
In 1886, Chekhov met H.S. Suvorin, who invited him, a regular contributor, to work for Novoe vremya, the daily paper of Saint Petersburg. He gained a wide fame before 1886. He authored The Shooting Party , his second full-length novel, later translated into English. Agatha Christie used its characters and atmosphere in later her mystery novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd . First book of Chekhov in 1886 succeeded, and he gradually committed full time. The refusal of the author to join the ranks of social critics arose the wrath of liberal and radical intelligentsia, who criticized him for dealing with serious social and moral questions but avoiding giving answers. Such leaders as Leo Tolstoy and Nikolai Leskov, however, defended him. "I'm not a liberal, or a conservative, or a gradualist, or a monk, or an indifferentist. I should like to be a free artist and that's all..." Chekhov said in 1888.
The failure of The Wood Demon , play in 1889, and problems with novel made Chekhov to withdraw from literature for a period. In 1890, he traveled across Siberia to Sakhalin, remote prison island. He conducted a detailed census of ten thousand convicts and settlers, condemned to live on that harsh island. Chekhov expected to use the results of his research for his doctoral dissertation. Hard conditions on the island probably also weakened his own physical condition. From this journey came his famous travel book.
Chekhov practiced medicine until 1892. During these years, Chechov developed his concept of the dispassionate, non-judgmental author. He outlined his program in a letter to his brother Aleksandr: "1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of political-social-economic nature; 2. total objectivity; 3. truthful descriptions of persons and objects; 4. extreme brevity; 5. audacity and originality; flee the stereotype; 6. compassion." Because he objected that the paper conducted against [a:Alfred Dreyfu
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 21, 2025
Oh! The Public by Anton Chekhov
It is amazing how Chekhov can pack so much talent in a little display of words. The humor is obvious from the first sentences:
"HERE goes, I've done with drinking! Nothing. . . n-o-thing shall tempt me to it. It's time to take myself in hand; I must buck up and work. . . You're glad to get your salary, so you must do your work honestly, heartily, conscientiously, regardless of sleep and comfort. Chuck taking it easy. You've got into the way of taking a salary for nothing, my boy -- that's not the right thing . . . not the right thing at all. . . ."
The short story is a genre which has got my attention a long time ago, when I have read Chekhov and Maugham, and now I am coming back to both of them, meeting however some new names: Cheever, for example. John Cheever is an author I had already admired greatly for Falconer, but his short stories are new to me. The same goes for Mark Twain, Conan Doyle, and Sherwood Andersen- I knew about their “major works, but was unfamiliar with their short prose.
Oh! The Public has humor, but there is a melancholic undertone and a kind of satire which reminds me of the places I have been to and the public “servants” I met while in my country and some of the neighboring ones. The general attitude gave birth to all kinds of jokes:
“We pretend to work, they pretend to pay us”
“A foreigner- sometimes in the guise of an American president- asks how many people work in a Romanian (it could be another communist -at the time-country) factory and the answer is: << about half>>”
In the Chekhov short story, the truth is more complicated. If the ticket collector at the center of the tale is generally procrastinating, in this plot the trouble is his zeal.
He insists that a man shows up his train ticket and this is where the trouble starts and the public from the title shows another failure of the countries without democracy, strong institutions and clean, uncorrupt civil service. Threats start to fly; I will talk to so and so…
The moral could be funny and with a positive psychology twist: procrastinate, don’t work so hard and enjoy the moment…sometimes “forget about it” in the words of Donnie Brasco, never mind the ticket
It is amazing how Chekhov can pack so much talent in a little display of words. The humor is obvious from the first sentences:
"HERE goes, I've done with drinking! Nothing. . . n-o-thing shall tempt me to it. It's time to take myself in hand; I must buck up and work. . . You're glad to get your salary, so you must do your work honestly, heartily, conscientiously, regardless of sleep and comfort. Chuck taking it easy. You've got into the way of taking a salary for nothing, my boy -- that's not the right thing . . . not the right thing at all. . . ."
The short story is a genre which has got my attention a long time ago, when I have read Chekhov and Maugham, and now I am coming back to both of them, meeting however some new names: Cheever, for example. John Cheever is an author I had already admired greatly for Falconer, but his short stories are new to me. The same goes for Mark Twain, Conan Doyle, and Sherwood Andersen- I knew about their “major works, but was unfamiliar with their short prose.
Oh! The Public has humor, but there is a melancholic undertone and a kind of satire which reminds me of the places I have been to and the public “servants” I met while in my country and some of the neighboring ones. The general attitude gave birth to all kinds of jokes:
“We pretend to work, they pretend to pay us”
“A foreigner- sometimes in the guise of an American president- asks how many people work in a Romanian (it could be another communist -at the time-country) factory and the answer is: << about half>>”
In the Chekhov short story, the truth is more complicated. If the ticket collector at the center of the tale is generally procrastinating, in this plot the trouble is his zeal.
He insists that a man shows up his train ticket and this is where the trouble starts and the public from the title shows another failure of the countries without democracy, strong institutions and clean, uncorrupt civil service. Threats start to fly; I will talk to so and so…
The moral could be funny and with a positive psychology twist: procrastinate, don’t work so hard and enjoy the moment…sometimes “forget about it” in the words of Donnie Brasco, never mind the ticket
June 20, 2023
So amusing! Lol
March 27, 2022
Some of Chekhov's short fiction is like a situation comedy. This story talks about how a leader is unable to live up to what is expected by the public. In a quest to be near perfect, it is NEVER enough.
June 23, 2024
This man who's -apparently- trying to do his job and collect tickets at a train station comes up to a sleeping man (who takes this drug to fall asleep cuz he has this condition that won't let him) and wakes him up to get his ticket and the man gets real angry at him and when they get to the next stop ticket man gets the ~station master~ cuz apparently this is an elementary school fight and they get the ticket! Yayyyy
Yeah it doesn't end there, for some reason an engineer and a fancy air-forces guy play principal and vice principal and ask ticket dude to say sowwy cuz that man has a terrible sleep schedule (don't we all) and now he messed up his (the sleeping man's) only chance at a redemption.
I'm lowkey proud of myself rn, this was four and a quarter pages (in small text, if ur interested to know, prob not but anyway-) in idk how many sentences I'm too lazy to count 🙂
Yeah it doesn't end there, for some reason an engineer and a fancy air-forces guy play principal and vice principal and ask ticket dude to say sowwy cuz that man has a terrible sleep schedule (don't we all) and now he messed up his (the sleeping man's) only chance at a redemption.
I'm lowkey proud of myself rn, this was four and a quarter pages (in small text, if ur interested to know, prob not but anyway-) in idk how many sentences I'm too lazy to count 🙂
August 30, 2023
i read this for my short fiction class and i thought it was pretty funny. if you’ve literally had any kind of job you could probably relate to the main character’s thoughts and frustration. super short fun read!
March 25, 2025
Разказът представя комична ситуация във влак, където главният герой – прекалено важен и надут пътник – изпада в абсурден конфликт с кондуктора. Всичко започва, когато кондукторът, изпълнявайки служебните си задължения, проверява билета на пътника. Въпреки че няма реална причина за обида, пътникът се чувства дълбоко засегнат и приема обикновената проверка за лично оскърбление пред останалите пътници.
През цялото време героят преувеличава ситуацията и се опитва да подчертае своето достойнство, докато кондукторът остава спокоен и невъзмутим. Разказът завършва с подигравателен тон, като Чехов осмива претенциите на онези, които се вземат твърде насериозно.
През цялото време героят преувеличава ситуацията и се опитва да подчертае своето достойнство, докато кондукторът остава спокоен и невъзмутим. Разказът завършва с подигравателен тон, като Чехов осмива претенциите на онези, които се вземат твърде насериозно.
Read
April 7, 2023I listened to most of this audiobook a night I couldn't sleep. Excellent narrator. About this person on the train who sleeps and doesn't understand why he should be woken up for his ticket to be verified, and the escalation from there. It's only a few minutes long, I need to get back to it.
From: In the Ravine and other Stories by Anton Chekhov, Read by Keneth Branagh, Naxos edition
Started and reviewed: 2022-05-09
From: In the Ravine and other Stories by Anton Chekhov, Read by Keneth Branagh, Naxos edition
Started and reviewed: 2022-05-09
December 4, 2018
Это очень приятный рассказ, в котором особенно сильно врезается в память его первые строки, про самые что ни на есть глубокие наставления работнику про всецелое самопожертвивание своей работе :-) И именно после этого тот работник "начинает чувствовать непреодолимое стремление к труду". :-)
Но рассказ не только про это.
Но рассказ не только про это.
January 10, 2022
I have liked the narrative style culminated with fun. Every time the leader asks for the ticket to the particular passenger, I fear the frustration of him along with the Ticket collector. Finally the story ended where it begins, a short read of fun filled loop.
July 8, 2024
Fun read and good read. I love how Chekov, without trying to make a statement or a message, writes a story on a topic then allows his art to ask moral/ethical questions of the reader. The river of the Chekhov story seems to throw the reader off balance and, while moving them downriver, moves them about too. Changing their beliefs and their positions. I read this story outside of any collection so I review it here:
What does it mean to do your job? Or be lazy? When are you, by simply doing your work, infringing of the lives of others? How can you mitigate that? Who must be listened to regardless of time or place and what can they ask? What (if anything) exactly is wrong with what our main character does and how could he have done things differently?
3.5/5
What does it mean to do your job? Or be lazy? When are you, by simply doing your work, infringing of the lives of others? How can you mitigate that? Who must be listened to regardless of time or place and what can they ask? What (if anything) exactly is wrong with what our main character does and how could he have done things differently?
3.5/5
April 14, 2021
A short treat, for when one is in need of a good laugh. A ticket-taker and the unfortunate passenger he repeatedly encounters. Audible edition.
July 19, 2021
It's the public that makes one go postal.
July 13, 2022
Classic Chekhov...misunderstandings galore.
August 4, 2023
A story about a train conductor trying to get the ticket from a passenger then getting booed at and also scolded at.
December 22, 2025
There is no pleasing people sometimes
November 8, 2012
I read this one few times and like it because it shows the awkwardness of situations. This story reflects culture of Russia not only of times of Czar or Communist party, but even still. I am not saying that Russians are drunk and lazy, just some feel that is useless to do anything other than what they are used to. To leave things as they are just because they work and when a progress is shown it is being suppressed.
January 6, 2015
Super! Crisp n critical !!
July 17, 2017
Satirical. Good one.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews