Chekhov's Gun is the literary technique whereby an element is introduced early in the story, but whose significance does not become clear until later on. For example, a character may find a mysterious object that eventually becomes crucial to the plot, but at the time of finding the object does not seem to be important. In all cases, the introduced element is so conspicuous that it raises unanswered questions for the reader or audience. These questions are then answered as the story continues. A literary technique or literary device may be used in works of literature in order to produce a specific effect on the reader. ...

The history of devices supplied to the Hero in a classic quest, by beings who seem to have some foreknowledge of what will be needed in the quest, is very old. For example, when Perseus sets out to kill Medusa, Athena and Hermes first supply him with winged sandals, a cap of invisibility, a sickle for removing heads, and a mirrored shield. He needs them all. Heroine (female hero) redirects here. ... Perseus with the head of Medusa, by Antonio Canova, completed 1801 (Vatican Museums) Perseus, Perseos, or Perseas (Greek: Περσεύς, Περσέως, Περσέας), the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits helped establish the hegemony of Zeus and the Twelve... Medusa, by Arnold Böcklin (1878) In Greek mythology, Medusa (Greek: Μέδουσα, Médousa, guardian, protectress[1]), was a monstrous chthonic female character, essentially an extension of an apotropaic mask, gazing upon whom could turn onlookers to stone. ... Helmeted Athena, of the Velletri type. ... Hermes bearing the infant Dionysus, by Praxiteles, found at the Heraion, Olympia, 1877 Hermes (Greek, , IPA: ), in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures...

An excellent dramatic example can be found in the twin pistols of the title character in Henrik Ibsen's play Hedda Gabler, which make an appearance in the first act, but are not used to important effect until the last act. Ibsen redirects here. ... Actress Cate Blanchett in the title role of Hedda Gabler Hedda Gabler is both a play and a fictional character created by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. ...

Statements of Chekhov's principle of drama

See also: Three Uses of the Knife

The name, Chekhov's gun, comes from Anton Chekhov himself, who stated that any object introduced in a story must be used later on, else it ought not to feature in the first place: This article needs to be wikified. ... Anton Pavlovich Chekhov Was an incredibly annoying horrible Russian who noboby liked and everyone ditched all the time. ...

• "One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it." Anton Chekhov, letter to Aleksandr Semenovich Lazarev (pseudonym of A. S. Gruzinsky), 1 November 1889.
• "If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there." From Gurlyand's Reminiscences of A. P. Chekhov, in Teatr i iskusstvo 1904, No 28, 11 July, p. 521.’^[1]
• "If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there." From S. Shchukin, Memoirs (1911)

An example in which Chekhov himself makes use of this principle is Uncle Vanya, in which a pistol is introduced early on as a seemingly irrelevant prop, and towards the end of the play becomes much more important as Uncle Vanya, in a rage, grabs it and tries to commit homicide. A rifle is a firearm with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the barrel walls. ... Anton Pavlovich Chekhov Was an incredibly annoying horrible Russian who noboby liked and everyone ditched all the time. ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... Year 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (Анто́н Па́влович Че́хов) (born January 29, 1860 (Jan. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... July 11 is the 192nd day (193rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 173 days remaining. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... Anton Chekhov (left) and Maxim Gorky in Yalta. ...

Usage in modern literature

• In many of our modern classical tales of the hero, the same plot device is used. As an example from the mid-20th century, in The Lord of the Rings stories, when Bilbo gives Frodo his mithril chainmail shirt, and Galadriel gives him a magic phial, we know both of them will be needed eventually to complete the story, in this case to save his life.
• In the Harry Potter series, several objects and characters play such a role. Many small-time referenced characters have been mentioned in earlier books of the series only to be fully materialized in the later volumes. Such characters include Sirius Black, Arabella Figg and Mundungus Fletcher. Other Chekovian guns include Harry's eyes, which result in a key character divulging important information late in the series because they remind people of Harry's mother. Within books, Rowling uses Chekhov's guns frequently. In Sorceror's Stone, Hagrid's love of dragons, Harry's flying skills, Ron's chess playing and Hermione's book-worm all are very important in the end. In Chamber of Secrets, a fight between Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy, Fawkes the Phoenix, Ron's broken wand and the flying car all are important in the end.
• Author Lemony Snicket foreshadows a quite literal use of Chekhov's gun in The Penultimate Peril, the twelfth book in A Series of Unfortunate Events.
• Dan Brown's novel Angels and Demons includes a Chekhov's gun such that the main character learns that "one square yard of drag will slow a falling body almost twenty percent" - information that later saves his life. Conversely, the immediate mention within the text that this information will save his life is a glaring example of foreshadowing.

The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by the British academic J. R. R. Tolkien. ... Bilbo Baggins (2890 Third Age - ? Fourth Age) is an important character in J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium. ... Frodo Baggins is one of the most significant characters in J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium. ... Mithril is a fictional metal from J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth universe. ... David rejects the unaccustomed armour (detail of fol. ... Galadriel is a fictional character created by J. R. R. Tolkien, appearing in The Lord of the Rings. ... This article is about the Harry Potter series of novels. ... Sirius Black is a fictional character in J. K. Rowlings Harry Potter series of novels. ... Arabella Doreen Figg (more often Mrs Figg) is a Harry Potter character who surreptitiously watches over Harry Potter while hes home with the Dursleys. ... Mundungus Dung Fletcher is a fictional character in the Harry Potter books. ... Lemony Snicket is a pseudonym used by author Daniel Handler in his book series A Series of Unfortunate Events, as well as a character in that series. ... Foreshadowing is a literary device in which an author drops subtle hints about plot developments to come later in the story. ... The Penultimate Peril is the twelfth novel in the book series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. ... A Series of Unfortunate Events is a childrens book series, written by Daniel Handler under the pseudonym of Lemony Snicket, and illustrated by Brett Helquist. ... Dan Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author of thriller fiction, best known for the controversial 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. ... Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Angels and Demons Angels and Demons (Angels & Demons) is a bestselling mystery novel by Dan Brown. ... Foreshadowing is a literary device in which an author drops subtle hints about plot developments to come later in the story. ...

Usage in comics

• Other example is found in Starslip Crisis: when Mr. Jinx first stated that Cirbozoids are incapable of understanding art, it appeared to be a minor tidbit used for a one-time gag. When the Spine of The Cosmos was introduced, this fact suddenly became a key part of the comic's storyline, since it makes Cirbozoids capable of finding the Spine's "context" and being immune to its effects. In another strip, when Vanderbeam discovers that the Sai Kan is apparently better than the Fuseli in every way, one of the Sai Kan's characteristics is it having three (later two) Cirbozoids aboard. While this first appeared to have been used purely for comedic effect, it was eventually hinted that it was these Cirbozoids that supplied Katarakis with the Spine's context under the direction of President Ishizaki.
• The Japanese manga One Piece uses the technique of Chekhov's Gun several times, often in combination with plot twists. A recent example is the character Laboon, who up until recently it seemed had already served its purpose, until 358 chapters later, it was revealed that Brook was on the crew that seemingly abandoned Laboon.

This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump Monthly Shonen Jump Carlsen-Verlag Original run August 4, 1997 – (ongoing) No. ... A Plot twist is a change (twist) in the direction or expected outcome of the plot of a film or novel. ... The following is a list of minor characters in the manga and anime series One Piece: // The elderly gatekeeper of Skypiea. ... The following is a list of minor characters in the manga and anime series One Piece: // The elderly gatekeeper of Skypiea. ...

Usage in cinema and television

A now-famous example of this narrative device is the obligatory scene in the James Bond film series, which has refined it in purer form from the books. In most of the films, Q, Bond's gadget maker, presents in detail the various special equipment the spy will be using for his mission. Thus introduced, each item typically proves a lifesaver for Bond in the field. This effectively links the Bond tales with the classic style of Hero narrative. For other uses, see Casino Royale (2006 film). ... Q is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. ... An Apple iPod, a popular gadget A True Utility LockLite, a gadget invention to turn a key into a flashlight. ...

Similarly, early in the first season of The West Wing, President Jed Bartlet tells his daughter his worst nightmare: her being kidnapped. His description of her being gagged while in the bathroom and whisked away before anyone realises she is gone, in addition to her Secret Service bodyguards being shot in the head, describes exactly what does happen to her at the end of the fourth season. “The West Wing” redirects here. ... ... Because of both the secrecy of secret services and the controversial nature of the issues involved, there is some difficulty in separating the definitions of secret service, secret police, intelligence agency etc. ...

The Gremlins series contains some Chekov's Gun items, like a set of ceremonial swords, which act as a weapon later, and Murray Futterman's snowplow, which is used to attack him later, in the first film, and Gremlins 2, where the Electric Gremlin is trapped in the phone system, only to be later used in the climax. Gremlins is an American horror-comedy film directed by Joe Dante and released in 1984. ... Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a 1990 movie directed by Joe Dante and is a sequel to the original, Gremlins. ...

In the 1986 movie Aliens, Sigourney Weaver's character has to use a powered exoskeleton to load the dropship. Later in the film it becomes an important element in her battle with the alien queen. Aliens is a 1986 science fiction movie directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Carrie Henn, Bill Paxton and Paul Reiser. ... U.S. Army conceptual mockup of an exoskeleton-equipped soldier. ...

In the movie Paycheck, the protagonist is a reverse engineer who, according to the terms of his non disclosure contracts, has his memory of the job erased when it ends. One of his projects is to help a government scientist complete his work on a future viewing machine. The protagonist must use the machine to predict which everyday items he needs to leave the secure corporate campus with after he leaves the project without his memory. He needs these items in order to survive, infiltrate the building, and destroy the machine. (The plot of the short story on which the movie was based is similar.) Paycheck is a 2003 film adaptation of the short story Paycheck by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. ... Paycheck is a short story by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, written on July 31, 1952 and first published in Imagination in July 1953. ...

In the 1985 movie Back to the Future, the protagonist, Marty McFly, is handed a sheet of paper that asks support to save the town's clock tower which was damaged from a lightning strike in 1955. When he's stuck in 1955, McFly and Doc use the strike to generate the necessary wattage (1.21 gigawatts) to travel back to 1985 This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In the 1984 comedy Ghostbusters, the first sequence showing the Ghostbusters using their proton packs yields the famous speech from Egon Spengler saying not to "cross the streams." It sets up crossing the streams as both 'bad' and something that will be used later in the film. In the climax, all four Ghostbusters cross the streams to create a nuclear explosion thus closing the dimensional gate in the final showdown with Gozer. Ghostbusters is a 1984 sci-fi comedy film about three eccentric New York City parapsychologists. ... The Proton Pack is a fictional piece of nuclear accelerative machinery created by the Ghostbusters that serves as their primary tool in the 1984 film of the same name for the purpose of busting ghosts. ... Egon in The Real Ghostbusters Egon Spengler, Ph. ... Ghostbusters (sometimes written Ghost Busters) is a 1984 sci-fi comedy film about three parapsychologists who are fired from a New York City University, and start up their own business investigating and eliminating ghosts. ...

Wayne's World parodied this device by deliberately noting when future information important for the plot "seem[s] extraneous at the time". Wayne (left) and Garth (right) displaying a list of the Top Ten Babes of All Time. Waynes World was one of the most popular recurring sketches to come from the NBC television series, Saturday Night Live. ...

The short comedy "Checkhov's Gun", written and directed by Matt Nix, features self-aware characters who realize they are in a drama. When a gun suddenly appears on a table, they realize that at least one of them will be shot before the story ends.

In the television series Beavis and Butt-head, Butt-head expresses his own version of Chekhov's Gun as follows: Any time you see a cake and a baseball bat in the same video, the cake's gonna get its ass kicked. Beavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. ...

The 1997 thriller Funny Games eschews many popular narrative devices, including Chekov's Gun. An early scene clearly shows a knife being dropped into a boat by one of the main characters, Georg. Later in the film, another character ends up bound and gagged on the same boat. Expectedly, this character tries to use the knife to cut the bonds but is prevented from doing so by the antagonist. In this way, the filmmakers throw the audience off-balance by introducing a Chekov's Gun device, only to render it unimportant at a crucial juncture. Funny Games is a 1997 home invasion thriller film directed by the Austrian Michael Haneke. ...

The 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl introduces a single-shot flintlock pistol given to Jack Sparrow prior to the events of the film, which is used in the climax to kill the central villain, Hector Barbossa. Sparrow's compass also becomes more important as the film, and the series, progresses. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a movie of adventure and romance set in the Caribbean during the seventeenth century. ... Flintlock of an 18th Century hunting rifle, with piece of flint missing. ... Jack Sparrow is a fictional character in the Pirates of the Caribbean universe. ... Hector Barbossa, more widely known as Captain Barbossa, is a captain in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, being the primary antagonist in the first film of the series Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. ...

In the film Deep Rising, when the luxury liner first encoutners difficulties during it's voyage, a speed boat breaks loose and drops into the ocean. Seemingly unimportant and unnessisary, this boat later damages another vessel, and provides a futile means of escape for one of the antogonists at teh climax of the film. Deep Rising is a 1998 motion picture written and directed by Stephen Sommers. ...

Usage in Popular Music

The song "Frankenstein" by singer Aimee Mann contains the line, "I won't find it fantastic or think it absurd / When the gun in the first act goes off in the third." This article is about the 1818 novel. ... Aimee Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American rock guitarist, bassist, singer, and noted songwriter. ...

Usage in Video Games

In Tales of Symphonia, the Unicorn says that it exists to cure Martel's sickness. This is briefly pondered, but no conclusive meaning is found. Later in the game, however, Kratos tells the party to remember what the Unicorn told them, saying that it will help them cure Colette. The party then realizes that the extremely rare ailment Colette is suffering from is the same one that Martel, one of Mithos the hero's companions, had, allowing them to find a cure for it. Tales of Symphonia ) is a video game first released for the Nintendo GameCube and later for the PlayStation 2. ...

In the original Final Fantasy, the character obtains the seemingly useless "Lute" item at the beginning of the game. It remains unused until the end of the game, where the party must use it to find the final boss, Chaos. For the first installment in the series, see Final Fantasy (video game). ...

In Final Fantasy V, the player finds two halves of a sealed book in the Ancient Library and Surgate Castle, in Bartz's and Galuf's worlds, respectively. When the worlds are united, the two halves of the book are as well, allowing the player to find the 12 sealed weapons wielded by the legendary heroes. Numerous other Chekhov's guns that become relevant after the worlds are reunited are introduced, such as one crystal shard that is out of the player's reach when the crystal first breaks and can be accessed by submarine in the reunited world. Final Fantasy V ) is a console role-playing game developed and published by Square Co. ...

In Final Fantasy VII, Aerith says she has a seemingly useless piece of Materia. That piece is presumably the Holy Materia that is revealed later in the game as the only way to counteract Meteor. Final Fantasy VII ) is a console and computer role-playing game developed and published by Square Co. ... Aerith Gainsborough ), known as Aeris Gainsborough in the English version of Final Fantasy VII, is a fictional player character in the role playing game Final Fantasy VII. She has vivid green eyes and long brown hair tied in a braid with pink ribbons. ...

In Illusion of Gaia Will's aunt teaches him a song that has no immediate use. Will sings the song when the bounty hunter known as the Jackal takes Kara hostage in the Pyramid, triggering a trap that kills the hunter and saves Kara. Illusion of Gaia ) is an action-RPG video game that was released on January 1, 1994 for the Super NES (SNES). ...

Many games in The Legend of Zelda series feature a long trading quest, in which Link acquires a seemingly useless item, trades it with an apparently unimportant non-playable character for another seemingly useless item, and so on. At the end of each trading quest, Link ends up with an extraordinarily powerful item. Although it is rarely required that trading quests are completed, each individual item in the quest can be seen as a Chekov's gun. The official sword and shield logo of The Legend of Zelda introduced during the release of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. ... Link ) is the fictional protagonist of Nintendos The Legend of Zelda video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto. ...

The MegaMan Battle Network series often requires Lan Hikari to obtain an item for an obvious use. The same item, having stayed in Lan's inventory for a while, will occasionally be used again for a completely unforseen purpose. One notable instance occurrs in MegaMan Battle Network 3. Lan's terminal breaks, so his father gives him a replacement that is reportedly so hard that an elephant could not break it. In a hostage crisis later, Lan ends up throwing the hard device at his foe, temporarily knocking him out. In MegaMan Battle Network 2, shortly before Lan embarks on a trip overseas, Mayl gives him a wireless transmitter, claiming his horoscope says it's his "lucky item". Later on, he uses it twice to escape some deathtraps where he can't reach the jack-in port to disable them. North American box art of the first game. ... Lan Hikari, known in Japan as Netto Hikari ) is a fictional character and the human protagonist of the MegaMan Battle Network series of video games and the MegaMan NT Warrior (Rockman EXE) anime and manga. ... MegaMan Battle Network 3 is the third game in the MegaMan Battle Network series. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... A horoscope calculated for January 1, 2000 at 12:01:00 A.M. Eastern Standard Time in New York City, New York, USA (Longitude: 074W0023 - Latitude: 40N4251). In astrology, a horoscope is a chart or diagram representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets, the astrological aspects...

Most adventure games such as the Lucasarts SCUMM games like Maniac Mansion, or the Sierra Adventure games such as Kings Quest, Space Quest or Police Quest all involve piecing together innocuous items together to solve the puzzles that will reveal the plot of the game. This is an article about a game company. ... SCUMM stands for Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion and is a scripting language developed at LucasArts (known at the time as Lucasfilm Games) to ease development of the graphical adventure game Maniac Mansion. ... Kings Quest IV (Screenshot) Kings Quest is an adventure game series made by the American computer game company Sierra Entertainment (formerly Sierra On-Line). ... Space Quest is a series of six science fiction computer games that follow the adventures of a hapless janitor named Roger Wilco, as he campaigns through the galaxy for truth, justice and really clean floors. ... Police Quest is a series of computer games produced and published by Sierra On-Line between 1987 and 1993. ...

See also

• MacGuffin
• Plot coupon
• Twist ending
• Foreshadowing

This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... In narratology, a plot coupon is an object whose possession or use is necessary in order to resolve the conflict upon which the plot hangs. ... A twist ending or surprise ending is an unexpected conclusion or climax to a work of fiction, which may contain an irony, or cause the audience to reevaluate the rest of the story. ... Foreshadowing is a literary device in which an author drops subtle hints about plot developments to come later in the story. ...

References

1. ^ In 1889, twenty-four-year old Ilia Gurliand noted these words down from Chekhov's conversation: "If in Act I you have a pistol hanging on the wall, then it must fire in the last act". Donald Rayfield, Anton Chekhov: A Life, New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1997, ISBN 0-8050-5747-1, 203. Ernest.J.Simmons says that Chekhov repeated the point later (which may account for the variations). Ernest.J.Simmons, Chekhov: A Biography, Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1962, ISBN 0-226-75805-2, 190.

External links

• More detail from The Isaiah Berlin Virtual Library