The Role of Nonverbal Communication in A.P. Chekhov's Story "The Chameleon"

Syui Min' Postgraduate student, Department of Russian Language and Teaching Technique, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya, 6 xumin12171995@gmail.com Other publications by this author

The concept, functions and means of expression of non-verbal communicationBefore considering the concept of nonverbal communication, it is necessary to study what scientists understand by the word "communication" in general. O.Ya. Goikhman and T.M. Nadeina understand communication as communication during which people exchange information ^{[4, p. 7]}.

At the same time, the researchers note that the main, but not the only, means of communication is language.

The social behavior formed in the context of various communicative situations, concrete historical conditions and the social status of a person is conditioned, first of all, by the possibility of people communicating with each other. Language is a means by which communication is carried out, it provides mutual understanding and interaction of communicants. In addition to it, additional means of communication are allocated: gestures, sounds, intonation of voice, etc.

Scientific research of nonverbal means of communication is required in the same way as the study of individual languages, since nonverbal elements and methods are the accompaniments of ordinary communication. Nonverbal communication is a certain type of communication between people who are in fairly close contact with speech.

Various scientists have been engaged in the study of nonverbal communication. Thus, M.S. Andrianov notes that the type of communication under consideration includes everything that "surrounds the text of the message, but is not itself" ^{[2, p. 8]}. He gives the following definition to this concept: "a set of non–verbal communicative means is a system of gestures, signs, symbols, codes used to transmit a message with a high degree of accuracy and playing an important role in the semantic understanding of people of each other" ^{[2, p. 9]}. In the above definition, it is noted that nonverbal communication contributes to a more accurate understanding of the text, and also allows for effective communication.

The main function of nonverbal communication M.S. Andrianov called the message function (encoding and decoding of information). However, the researcher also emphasizes that nonverbal communication performs emotional-affective (helps to express the emotions and feelings of the speaker), factual (allows communicators to establish contact at the beginning of a conversation) and regulatory (has an impact) functions ^{[2, p. 8]}.

The above functions of nonverbal communication are also highlighted by T.V. Vinokur. She defines the advantages of this type of communication as: "better perceptibility, stronger impact on the addressee, the transmission of emotions and feelings" ^{[3, p. 89]}.

Considering the role of nonverbal communication, V.N. Lavrinenko writes that nonverbal means help to reveal the inner world of a person, can express "social and individual psychological characteristics of a person" ^{[9, p. 88]}. The researcher refers to the indicated means of body movements, voice characteristics, tactile effects, space.

The study of nonverbal means was carried out by such scientists as V.A. Labunskaya ^[7], G.M. Andreeva ^[1] and V.G. Krysko ^[6]. They distinguish the following types of means of expressing nonverbal communication:

1) visual or kinetic, which include:

a) facial expressions – the work of facial muscles (for example, a smile is a signal of happiness, joy);

b) physiological reactions (for example, redness of the face when agitated);

c) features of appearance (for example, clothing and accessories may indicate a certain status of a person);

d) gesture ("various kinds of movements of the body, arms or hands" ^{[8, p. 142]}, illustrator gestures are noted, helping to reveal the meaning of the message, modal, expressing the emotions of the speaker, conventional, used when saying goodbye, greeting and insulting);

e) gait – the movement of the body when walking, serves as a means of expressing the social and psychological characteristics of a person, that is, it helps to understand the approximate age of a person or his mood;

f) pose – the position of the body in a sitting or standing state, may reflect the character of a person and his emotional state (for example, the fact that a person feels uncomfortable may express a "closed" pose – crossing his arms on his chest);

f) gaze – presence/absence of visual contact (for example, the absence of visual contact indicates a lack of desire to continue communication);

2) acoustic – prosodics (tempo, timbre, pitch, volume, intonation and other characteristics of the voice) and extralinguistics (the presence of laughter, crying, sighing, etc. sounds);

3) tactile-kinesthetic and thermoreceptive – touching (handshake, kiss, stroking, blows, nudges);

4) olfactory – various odors;

5) proxemic – spatial and temporal organization of communication (for example, the distance between communicators can speak about the relationship between them).

So, nonverbal communication is understood as a set of non-verbal communicative means, which are divided into: visual, acoustic, tactile-kinesthetic, olfactory and proxemic. The main functions of these tools are distinguished by researchers: emotional-affective (express emotions and feelings), factual (help establish contact) and regulatory (have an impact). It should be noted that non-verbal means help to reveal not only the emotions of the character, but also his social characteristics (age, professional affiliation, etc.).

The functions of nonverbal means in A.P. Chekhov's story "The Chameleon"Stable verbal descriptions of nonverbal components play a significant role in a literary text. O.V. Klimasheva writes in her dissertation research that the nonverbal components of communication used by the author in a literary text help the reader to see the big picture through the system and the characteristic features of the characters ^[5].

The use of nonverbal components in a literary text helps the author of the work to draw his own picture of the world with the help of a system of images created by him. In creating the images with which the picture is drawn, the author of the text uses a description of nonverbal communication. One of the unsurpassed masters in the use of nonverbal communication is A.P. Chekhov.

In A.P. Chekhov's story "Chameleon" various nonverbal means are observed: visual, acoustic and tactile-kinesthetic. The work begins with a description of the appearance of the hero, that is, the use of a visual non–verbal means is observed - the image of Ochumelov's clothes: "Through the bazaar square there is a police officer Ochumelov in a new overcoat and with a bundle in his hand" (here and further the text of the story is quoted. by: Chekhov A. P. Chameleon / A. P. Chekhov. Selected essays. In 2 volumes Volume 1. – Moscow: Art. lit., 1979. pp.79 – 82) ^[11]. In the description of the appearance of the hero there is such a detail as a greatcoat, which implements the social and psychological characteristics of the hero – indicates his high rank and awareness of his power.

Also, in order to emphasize the hero's awareness of his power, A.P. Chekhov describes Ochumelov's gait: "Ochumelov asks, crashing into the crowd." In this example, the word "crashing" is used in the following meaning: "peren., into what. To break into something with a swift movement" ^{[10, p. 203]}. So the reader observes how the hero is rapidly heading into the crowd, thereby emphasizing his confidence among people of lower social status.

In the following examples, there is also such a detail as a greatcoat, which participates in the description of the appearance of the hero and implements a psychological characteristic: "Take off my coat, Eldyrin... Horror, how hot it is!"; "Put on my coat, Brother Eldyrin... Something blew by the wind... In this example, removing and putting on a greatcoat, changing the perception of temperature (the hero feels hot, then cold, while the use of contextual antonyms "hot-shivering" is observed) indicate the fear of a policeman in front of a person of the highest rank. Also, these tactile-kinesthetic nonverbal means indicate the excitement of the hero: the perception of temperature has changed under the influence of the fact that Ochumelov learned about the dog's belonging to the general – this also emphasizes such a trait of his as honor.

Ochumelov's reverence and hypocrisy are also revealed by describing his facial expressions and acoustic non-verbal means: "Ochumelov speaks sternly, coughing and moving his eyebrows." In this example, the epithet "strictly" is involved in reflecting the intonation of Ochumelov's voice, which emphasizes the severity of the hero. In turn, the hero's arrogance is indicated by raising his eyebrows.

However, Ochumelov begins to smile when the conversation touches on the general's brother, thereby the character wants to express what positively relates not only to the general, but also to his family members: "Did their brother come? Vladimir Ivanovich? Ochumelov asks, and his whole face is filled with a smile of emotion." At the same time, this relationship is directly related to the rank of the character that is the subject of discussion.

This attitude is revealed not only with the help of facial expressions, but also with the help of acoustic non-verbal means: "Take her... The little dog is not bad... She's so smart... Grab this by the finger! Ha ha ha... Well, why are you trembling? Rrr... Rr... Angry, rascal... Ochumelov's laughter, reflected with the help of an interjection, emphasizes his affection for the dog (however, earlier in the conversation, when he thought that the dog was a stray, he offered to get rid of it), which belongs to the general's brother, thereby his reverence and hypocrisy are reflected again.

Nonverbal means help to reveal the social and psychological characteristics of not only Ochumelov, but also Khryukin, the hero who was bitten by a dog. A.P. Chekhov, to emphasize the sloppiness of the character, describes his appearance and body movements: "She is being chased by a man in a starched cotton shirt and an unbuttoned vest. He runs after her and, leaning his body forward, falls to the ground and grabs the dog by the hind legs." In this example, the reader observes how Khryukin in a starched shirt "falls to the ground", which indicates his lack of thrift in relation to clean things. With the help of tactile-kinesthetic nonverbal means, the hero's dislike, cruel treatment of an animal, which Khryukin unceremoniously "grabs" by the paws, is shown. This is also indicated by such an action of the hero in relation to the dog, as the fact that he poked "a cigar in her face for a laugh."

Despite the fact that the specified trouble (dog bite) happened to Khryukin, he does not feel upset or sad, on the contrary, the following gesture helps to focus attention on the fact that the hero seems to be proud of what happened to him: "Near the very gates of the warehouse, he sees the above-described man standing in an unbuttoned vest and, raising his right hand up, shows the crowd a bloody finger." This indirectly reflects such features of Khryukin as meanness and cunning: perhaps the hero deliberately provoked the dog to get compensation, which is why he proudly shows the finger to the surrounding crowd.

The social and psychological characteristics of Khryukin are realized with the help of a description of facial expressions, which emphasizes the cunning and meanness of the hero : "On his half-drunk face it seems to be written: "I'm going to rip you off, rascal!", and the finger itself has the appearance of a sign of victory." The hero's pride in what happened, A.P. Chekhov means not by an abstract noun, usually used to describe emotions and feelings, but by a whole sentence revealing the thoughts of the hero, which were reflected on his face. The mimicry described in this way helps to emphasize the meanness and malice of Khryukin.

The hero's cunning is indicated not only by visual nonverbal means, but also by acoustic ones: "Khryukin begins, coughing into his fist." So coughing into a fist reflects the fact that the hero is hiding something or not telling, which again emphasizes his cunning, the desire to deceive.

The fact that the image of a dog existed in ancient myths and continues to be embodied in modern literature gives us the right to talk about the "eternity" of the image of a dog ^[12].

And along with the development of social and literary thought, the image of a dog undergoes significant changes: it becomes a subtle multifaceted symbol.

Writers resort to using this image to demonstrate the development of the hero, and I. S. Turgenev became the discoverer on this path, creating the immortal story "Mumu" and the prose poem "Dog". A tiny, seemingly, dog changed the attitude of a big man to people and animals, thereby playing an important role in his life.

In the footsteps of I. S. Turgenev at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, A. P. Chekhov followed, who can rightfully be considered a master of "tales of dog life". According to some estimates, he described over a hundred dogs in his works!

At the same time, the image of a dog in the works of A. P. Chekhov retains a symbolic meaning, and we can see this especially vividly in the work "Chameleon", where the writer accurately and succinctly describes the feelings that the animal can experience.

Revealing the image of the dog, A.P. Chekhov turns to nonverbal means that help to emphasize the emotional state of the dog – the presence of fear. For example, a writer uses acoustic nonverbal means: "A dog screeching is heard." In the dictionary of S.I. Ozhegov, the following definition of the specified word is presented: "A piercing, sharp or squeaky cry" ^{[10, p. 187]}. Thus, attention is focused on the pain of the dog, which caused a piercing and plaintive cry.

The dog's fear is emphasized by such visual nonverbal means as describing its behavior with the help of adverbs with the meaning of gait (it is revealed that it looks back as if afraid of something) and poses (when the dog sat on its paws, it trembled): "from the wood warehouse of merchant Pichugin, jumping on three legs and looking around, a dog runs" (all the same); "In the center of the crowd, spreading his front legs and trembling all over" (all the same). The internal state of the dog A.P. Chekhov reflects with the help of a description of the dog's gaze: "There is an expression of anguish and horror in his tearful eyes." In this example, it is emphasized that the dog's eyes were filled with tears, and also the look expressed feelings such as longing and horror.

This internal state of the dog emphasizes the cruel treatment of her by Hryukin, which is also revealed by comparing the appearance of the hero and the dog: "She's small, and you're such a big guy!". Using the contextual antonyms "small – hefty", the writer focuses on the unequal position between a defenseless dog and a large and malevolent Pig.

So, the image of a dog is one of the key images of Russian literature. Through acquaintance with this image, the reader is more deeply aware of the idea of the work and the author's intention, and can also more accurately follow the development of the characters of the characters. In turn, writers use this image in their works in order to allegorically reflect the surrounding reality and the inner state of the characters.

Thus, A.P. Chekhov in the story "Chameleon" uses such nonverbal means as visual (description of appearance, poses, gestures, gaits), tactile-kinesthetic (for example, Khryukin grabs the dog by the legs) and acoustic (laughter, screaming). They help to realize the social characteristics of the hero (for example, indicate his belonging to an official rank), reveal his character traits and inner state (for example, Ochumelov's arrogance and honor, Khryukin's cunning and meanness, fear of the dog), the characters' relationship to each other (for example, Khryukin's cruel treatment of the dog, Ochumelov's hypocritical attitude to to the general and his family members).

ConclusionSo, in A.P. Chekhov's story "Chameleon" nonverbal means of communication play an important role.

Firstly, they help to reveal the inner state of the hero at the time of speech (for example, acoustic and visual means of non-verbal communication reflect the fear of the dog). Secondly, they emphasize the main character traits of the characters (for example, the change of facial expressions and intonation mark the honor of Ochumelov). Thirdly, they allow the reader to understand the position of the hero in society (for example, the overcoat indicates the high rank of Ochumelov). Fourth, they characterize the relationship between the characters (for example, tactile-kinesthetic nonverbal means note the cruel treatment of Khryukin in relation to the dog). When transmitting nonverbal communication, A.P. Chekhov uses abstract vocabulary (for example, horror and longing in the eyes of a dog), contextual antonyms (for example, the antonyms "hot-shivering" reveal Ochumelov's excitement), adverbs (depict the gait and body movements of the character), interjections (to describe the character's laughter), epithets (participates in the description of facial expressions hero), words in a figurative meaning, etc.

The source of the material for this article was only one story by A.P. Chekhov, however, we note that in many other works of the Russian classic, descriptions of nonverbal behavior of characters play an important role, which confirms the relevance of our research and allows us to continue working in this direction.