(217 words) The title of the work informs the reader in advance of its content and topic. This story by Chekhov is called "The Joke." This word is diminutive. Perhaps the author thereby wanted to emphasize the innocence of the hero's actions, the absence of cruel irony in them. But is this really so? To understand this, you need to pay attention not only to the joke itself, but also to the attitude of the heroes towards it, its significance.
The story is conducted on behalf of the protagonist - a young man who made fun of a girl. It’s hard to understand if the phrase “I love you, Nadya!” Was the first time said seriously or in mockery. It is only clear that the hero liked Nadia’s reaction to these words, and after that he decided to maintain the girl’s intrigue and habit to this phrase, which in its strength is compared with the addiction “to wine or morphine”. It gave him pleasure. And what about Nadya? She was simply intoxicated by the thought that someone loved her. For her, the fact of who actually pronounced these words did not make a significant difference: a hero or a wind. She wanted to understand this out of curiosity. At the same time, she was tormented and attracted by the intrigue and incomprehensibility of the situation.
Years later, the girl remembered this moment as an adventure, and the hero of feelings about this story left only perplexity from his youthful joke. For him, this remained a carefree game, and for her it became a bright and warm moment in life.
