Character Sketches - The Beggar Notes | Study English Class 9 - Class 9

Character Sketches

1. Lushkoff

• Lushkoff is a beggar who is also a drunkard. He was thrown out of a choir because of his drunken behaviour. He was roaming on the streets, begging for money. 
• Sergei takes pity on him and gives him a job. Because of Olga’s affection for him, he manages to get rid of his drinking habit and starts working for a living. 
• If Olga had not shown him love and affection, he might have remained a beggar. 
• He might not have benefitted with the help of Sergei alone. He managed to make use of the offer Sergei offered him and came back to mainstream life.

2. Sergei 

• Sergei is an advocate. 
• He comes across Lushkoff on the streets begging for money. Lushkoff asks for money by telling lies and Sergei speaks sternly to him. Still, he is ready to give work to the beggar so that the beggar can live a respectful life.
• We also note that Sergei asks a person who cannot even stand properly, to cut firewood. If Olga had not helped Lushkoff, he might have gone back to the streets to continue begging.
• Later Sergei provides a better job to Lushkoff. So, we find that he has a very helpful nature. After a few years, he again meets Lushkoff and feels happy for him as Lushkoff is now in a good position in life.

3. Olga, the maid

• Olga is the maid of Sergei. Sergei asks Olga to provide work to the beggar Lushkoff. 
• She is very kind and affectionate to the beggar. Seeing that the beggar is not strong enough to cut wood, she herself cuts the wood for him. 
• She helps Lushkoff to get paid for it. Though she helps is outwardly rude to the beggar, she has much kindness and affection for him. 
• She plays an important role in bringing back Lushkoff to mainstream life. She is a very good person.

Main Characters of the Story

1. Lushkoff

• Lushkoff is a beggar who tells blatant lies about his plight to arouse the sympathy of others and get alms in return. 
• His clothes are torn and untidy and his eyes are dull and drunken. He lacks both physical and emotional strength because alcohol has made him weak. 
• He compromises his dignity and integrity just to satiate his urge to drink. This depraved habit cost him his job as a singer in a Russian choir. 
• However, he does have some positive values like keeping his word for the sake of shame and pride. He quietly takes all the scolding and curses from Olga because he knows that he is wrong. 
• He accepts the humiliating jeering from other carters for the same reason. His willpower to reform seems to have been lost to his addiction but his latent desire to modify himself is finally fuelled by the kindness of Olga.
• This character reminds the readers that hope should not be lost because even the most depraved recover if they get appropriate and selfless support.

2. Sergei

• Sergei is an accomplished and prosperous advocate. 
• He has a keen eye – he recalls having met Lushkoff earlier. 
• He is a stem, straightforward man who hates lies. He is short-tempered and reprimands Lushkoff mercilessly for swindling. 
• He believes in hard work and refuses to give Lushkoff any money unless the latter works for him. He is assertive and makes Lushkoff undertake the hard task of chopping wood. 
• He does not leave anything to itself and hence watches Lushkoff cutting wood to make sure that the drunkard reforms through hard work. 
• He supports the poor beggar and gives him work every time the latter comes asking for it. He is also kind because he begins to consider Lushkoff as his godson. He is genuinely happy to see a reformed Lushkoff.
• Sergei displays just one weak trait and that is his tendency to self-eulogize. He emphasizes his own contribution to reforming Lushkoff without giving any thought to the possibility of other factors have helped the man.
• Overall, Sergei is a character who is somewhat vain about the good that he does.

3. Olga

• Olga is Sergei’s cook. 
• She appears to be ill-tempered but her heart is full of kindness. 
• She shoves Lushkoff aside with her elbow while unlocking the shed and angrily bangs the door. She also flings the axe at his feet and spats angrily. 
• She scolds him, curses him but also sheds tears for him and suffers misery for his sake. 
• She obeys her master and takes the drunkard, scarecrow of a beggar that Lushkoff appeared to be, to the wood-shed without any complaints. Outwardly she expresses disgust for Lushkoff but helps him to reform himself. She is inwardly a gentle and caring person. 
• She shows human kindness and affection to the beggar. She does not just pity him but actually cares for him. Her compassion is evident when she chops wood for Lushkoff, so that he could earn some money to feed himself and stay alive. 
• Indeed, it is Olga’s efforts that finally give Lushkoff a lease of life. Lushkoff too remembered her with gratitude for her words and her noble deeds and is eternally grateful to her.

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