Considered one of the greatest short story writers of all time, Anton Chekhov heavily influenced the evolution of the modern short story. Most notably, he used a technique that would later be called "stream-of-consciousness," in which he eschewed the traditional story structure and simply wrote as though he was thinking aloud. Written in that same vein, "The Death of a Government Clerk" is one of his best-known short stories. The story is about the fragile Ivan Dmitritch Tchervyakov who blows a small breach of etiquette far out of proportion.

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