Inside the Tiny Shoes What would you do if you were inside the tiny shoes of a seven year old boy getting scolded by the man you looked up to the most? The short story “Home” by Anton Chekhov gives the audience the glimpse of both sides to the story. Yevgeny Petrovitch, a prosecutor and father to Seryozha, comes to realize that his son has been stealing his cigarettes and smoking them at a very young age. Disappointed and confused as what to say, he sits down and tries to talk to the boy, but is constantly reminded of his son’s age. Reading “Home” through a psychoanalytic lens reveals the frail boy named Seryozha to be a childish character, shown by his defense mechanism, psychosexual stage of development, and because of symbols shown.
Seryozha is clear to show from his defense mechanisms that he can be somewhat childlike. In the story, on page three, his father, Yeugeny is giving him a lesson on the dangers of smoking. Instead of acknowledging his father’s words, he instead changes the subject by saying, “Papa, what is gum made out of?” This shows that instead of recognizing what is going on in the present, he is using repression to move that current information to his unconscious mind. While pushing that out, some ideas resting in his id came forward, which happens to be the wonder of gum. This could also show signs of denial, for he does not want to come to terms with the truth that is brought upon him. His changing of the subject from being in trouble for smoking to