Anton Chekhov is one of the greatest masters of modern short stories. His writings are accessible and meaningful to anyone who can read; at the same time, it contains depths as yet unexplored. His characters are passive, filled with the feeling of hopelessness and the fruitlessness of all efforts. The world of absurdity that many of his characters are entrapped in clearly suggests the plethora of meaninglessness surrounding the life of common man. Albert Camus is a prominent theorist who has explored the realm of absurdity and has made notable remarks on the nature of human life. This article attempts to read Chekhov’s short stories “The Death of a Government Clerk” and “Gooseberries” from a the frame work of absurdism as proposed by Camus.

Key words: absurd, meaningless, human life, Sisyphus, experience, existence…