The Beggar

Here’s a summary of “The Beggar” and the answers to your questions, explained with ease and emojis!

Summary of “The Beggar” 💔🚶‍♂️➡️💼

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The chapter “The Beggar” introduces a man named Lushkoff, who is a beggar. He tries to gain sympathy by telling various false stories about his past, such as being a village schoolteacher who lost his place due to intrigues, or an expelled student.

One day, he encounters an advocate named Sergei. Sergei recognizes Lushkoff from a previous encounter where Lushkoff claimed to be an expelled student, exposing his lies. Angry at the dishonesty, Sergei threatens to call the police. Instead, he offers Lushkoff work chopping wood. Lushkoff, though reluctant and physically weak from drinking, agrees due to pride and shame.

Sergei observes Lushkoff and his cook, Olga, from his dining-room window. Lushkoff is clearly unwilling to work, feebly tapping the wood. Olga, however, appears to scold him angrily. An hour later, the wood is chopped. Sergei starts giving Lushkoff work regularly, including shovelling snow, tidying the wood-shed, and beating dust out of rugs. Lushkoff receives small payments and even old trousers.

Later, when Sergei moves house, he hires Lushkoff to help with packing and hauling furniture. During this time, Lushkoff is sober but gloomy and hardly works. After the move, Sergei offers him cleaner employment, asking if he can write, and gives him a letter to a friend for copying work. Lushkoff accepts and disappears from the yard, seemingly on the “right path”.

Two years pass, and Sergei spots Lushkoff at a theatre ticket window. Lushkoff is now well-dressed, paying for a seat in the gallery, and reveals that he is a notary earning thirty-five roubles a month. Lushkoff then confesses to Sergei that he did not chop any wood himself; it was Olga, the cook, who chopped it all. He explains that Olga’s words and noble deeds – her scolding, her tears, and her empathy – brought about a profound change in his heart, making him stop drinking and set him right. Lushkoff expresses his gratitude to Olga, stating he will never forget it, before departing.

Answers to the Questions 🤔

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1. Why do the courtiers call the prince ‘the Happy Prince’? Is he really happy? What does he see all around him? 👑😊🌆

   • (This question refers to “The Happy Prince” chapter, not “The Beggar”. Since your query is about “The Beggar”, I will address the relevant questions for “The Beggar” as provided in source).

2. Why does the Happy Prince send a ruby for the seamstress? What does the swallow do in the seamstress’ house? 💎🧵👶

   • (This question also refers to “The Happy Prince” chapter. Please see my previous response if you’d like answers for that chapter. I will now address question 1 from source for “The Beggar”.)

   Question 1 from Source: Has Lushkoff become a beggar by circumstance or by choice? 🚶‍♂️🤔

   • Lushkoff appears to have become a beggar by choice, or at least by habit and lack of will, rather than solely by unfortunate circumstance. He is shown to be a liar, fabricating stories about his past. When offered work, it’s evident his “strength had been undermined by vodka and that he was unhealthy and did not feel the slightest inclination for toil”. He only agrees to chop wood due to “pride and shame and because he had been trapped by his own words”. This suggests that while he might have had past difficulties, his continued state as a beggar was due to his unwillingness to work and his addiction.

3. For whom does the prince send the sapphires and why? 💙✍️👧

   • (This question refers to “The Happy Prince” chapter. I will now address question 2 from source for “The Beggar”.)

   Question 2 from Source: What reasons does he give to Sergei for his telling lies? 🤥🗣️

   • When Sergei exposes Lushkoff’s lie about being an expelled student, Lushkoff is “taken aback” and mumbles, “N-no, that can’t be so”. He tries to insist he is a village schoolteacher and offers to show papers. The sources don’t explicitly state reasons Lushkoff gives for his specific lies at that moment, but rather show him caught in his deceit, unable to explain. However, the broader context implies he lied to elicit sympathy and avoid honest work.

4. What does the swallow see when it flies over the city? 🌃👀貧富

   • (This question refers to “The Happy Prince” chapter. I will now address question 3 from source for “The Beggar”.)

   Question 3 from Source: Is Lushkoff a willing worker? Why, then, does he agree to chop wood for Sergei? 🪵😩

   • No, Lushkoff is not a willing worker. It was “obvious from his gait that he had not consented to go and chop wood because he was hungry and wanted work, but simply from pride and shame and because he had been trapped by his own words”. He also “did not feel the slightest inclination for toil” due to his strength being undermined by vodka. He agreed to chop wood because he was cornered by Sergei’s offer after his lies were exposed, and he felt pride and shame.

5. Why did the swallow not leave the prince and go to Egypt? 💖❄️

   • (This question refers to “The Happy Prince” chapter. I will now address question 4 from source for “The Beggar”.)

   Question 4 from Source: Sergei says, “I am happy that my words have taken effect.” Why does he say so? Is he right in saying this? 😊🗣️

   • Sergei says, “I am happy that my words have taken effect” because he believes his repeated offers of work and moral admonishments have reformed Lushkoff. He sees Lushkoff sober and willing to take on new employment.
   • However, Sergei is not entirely right in saying this. While his actions provided the opportunity for change, Lushkoff later reveals that it was Olga’s “words and noble deeds” that truly led to his transformation, not Sergei’s direct influence. Lushkoff states, “I did not chop one single stick of wood for you? She did it all. Why this saved me, why I changed, why I stopped drinking at the sight of her I cannot explain. I only know that, owing to her words and noble deeds, a change took place in my heart; she set me right and I shall never forget it”.

6. What are the precious things mentioned in the story? Why are they precious? 🙏💔🐦

   • (This question refers to “The Happy Prince” chapter. I will now address question 5 from source for “The Beggar”.)

   Question 5 from Source: Lushkoff is earning thirty-five roubles a month. How is he obliged to Sergei for this? 💰🙏

   • Lushkoff is obliged to Sergei because Sergei was the one who intervened in his life when he was begging and lying. Sergei then provided him with work chopping wood and other odd jobs. Crucially, Sergei later offered him a “cleaner employment” by giving him a letter to a friend for copying work, which set him on the path to becoming a notary and earning a steady income. So, Sergei gave him the initial opportunity and the push towards a better life.

   Question 6 from Source: During their conversation Lushkoff reveals that Sergei’s cook, Olga, is responsible for the positive change in him. How has Olga saved Lushkoff? 👩‍🍳💖

   • Lushkoff reveals that Olga was responsible for his positive change, saying, “I did not chop one single stick of wood for you? She did it all.”. He explains that while she chopped the wood for him, she would also scold him, shed tears, and express pity for him, calling him a “sot” (drunkard) and a “waif”. It was “owing to her words and noble deeds, a change took place in my heart; she set me right and I shall never forget it”. Her compassion, continuous moral encouragement, and indirect help (by doing the work for him) deeply impacted him, leading him to stop drinking and turn his life around.