1. The Cherry Orchard as the scene of action and the basis of the plot of the play.
2. The meaning of the cherry orchard in the present, past and future of the characters in the play.
3. Comparison of the cherry orchard with Russia.
The title of A.P. Chekhov’s play “The Cherry Orchard” seems quite logical. The action takes place on an old noble estate. The house is surrounded by a large cherry orchard. Moreover, the development of the plot of the play is connected with this image - the estate is being sold for debts. However, the moment the estate passes to a new owner is preceded by a period of senseless trampling in the place of the previous owners, who do not want to manage their property in a businesslike manner, who do not even really understand why this is necessary, how to do it, despite detailed explanations Lopakhin, a successful representative of the emerging bourgeois class.
But the cherry orchard in the play also has symbolic meaning. Thanks to the way the characters in the play relate to the garden, their sense of time, their perception of life is revealed. For Lyubov Ranevskaya, the garden is her past, happy childhood and the bitter memory of her drowned son, whose death she perceives as punishment for her reckless passion. All thoughts and feelings of Rane-| everything is connected with the past. She just can’t understand that she needs to change her habits, since the circumstances are different now. She is not a rich lady, a landowner, but a bankrupt extravagant who will soon have nothing family nest, nor the cherry orchard, if she does not take any decisive action.
For Lopakhin, a garden is, first of all, land, that is, an object that can be put into circulation. In other words, Lopakhin argues from the point of view of the priorities of the present time. A descendant of serfs, who has become a public figure, thinks sensibly and logically. The need to make his own way in life taught this man to appreciate the practical usefulness of things: “Your estate is located only twenty miles from the city, near the Railway, and if the cherry orchard and the land along the river are divided into summer cottages and then rent it out for dachas, then you will have at least twenty-five thousand a year in income.” Ranevskaya and Gaev's sentimental arguments about the vulgarity of dachas and the fact that the cherry orchard is a landmark of the province irritate Lopakhin. In fact, everything they say has no meaning practical value in the present, does not play a role in solving a specific problem - if no action is taken, the garden will be sold, Ranevskaya and Gaev will lose all rights to their family estate, and other owners will manage it. Of course, Lopakhin’s past is also connected with the cherry orchard. But what kind of past is this? Here his “grandfather and father were slaves,” here he himself, “beaten, illiterate,” “ran barefoot in the winter.” A successful business man has not very bright memories associated with the cherry orchard! Maybe that’s why Lopakhin is so jubilant after becoming the owner of the estate, and that’s why he speaks with such joy about how he “will hit the cherry orchard with an ax”? Yes, in the past, in which he was a nobody, did not mean anything in his own eyes and in the opinions of those around him, probably any person would be happy to take an ax like that...
“...I don’t like the cherry orchard anymore,” says Anya, Ranevskaya’s daughter. But for Anya, as well as for her mother, childhood memories are connected with the garden. Anya loved the cherry orchard, despite the fact that her childhood impressions were far from being as cloudless as Ranevskaya’s. Anya was eleven years old when her father died, her mother became interested in another man, and soon her little brother Grisha drowned, after which Ranevskaya went abroad. Where did Anya live at this time? Ranevskaya says that she was drawn to her daughter. From the conversation between Anya and Varya, it becomes clear that Anya only went to her mother in France at the age of seventeen, from where both returned to Russia together. It can be assumed that Anya lived on her native estate, with Varya. Despite the fact that Anya’s entire past is connected with the cherry orchard, she parts with it without much melancholy or regret. Anya’s dreams are aimed at the future: “We will plant new garden, more luxurious than this..."
But in Chekhov’s play one can find another semantic parallel: the cherry orchard - Russia. “All of Russia is our garden,” Petya Trofimov declares optimistically. Outdated noble life and tenacity business people- after all, these two poles of worldview are not just a special case. This is truly a feature of Russia at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. In the society of that time, there were many projects on how to equip the country: some recalled the past with a sigh, others briskly and busily proposed to “clean up, clean up,” that is, to carry out reforms that would put Russia on a par with the leading powers peace. But, as in the story of the cherry orchard, at the turn of the era in Russia there was no real force capable of positively influencing the fate of the country. However, the old cherry orchard was already doomed...
- New!
A.P. Chekhov wrote his last play, “The Cherry Orchard,” shortly before his death, in 1904. In this work, A.P. Chekhov tried to express his attitude towards the upcoming changes. It is difficult to find a person who does not know A. P. Chekhov’s play “Cherry...
The validity of the statement that Chekhov laid the foundations new drama, created a “theater of mood”, now no one doubts it. However, at the beginning of the century this position was not controversial. Each new play Chekhov evoked conflicting assessments. Not...
"The Cherry Orchard" - last piece A.P. Chekhov. The writer was terminally ill when he wrote this play. He realized that he would soon pass away, and this is probably why the whole play is filled with some kind of quiet sadness and tenderness. This is the farewell of a great writer...
IN Once again Having re-read the play “The Cherry Orchard” by Anton Pavlovich, I was finally convinced, on the one hand, of all its genius and depth, and on the other hand, of its simplicity and lightness. A certain nerve, psychologism, tension in the merger...
1. The Cherry Orchard as the scene of action and the basis of the plot of the play.
2. The meaning of the cherry orchard in the present, past and future of the characters in the play.
3. Comparison of the cherry orchard with Russia.
The title of A.P. Chekhov’s play “The Cherry Orchard” seems quite logical. The action takes place on an old noble estate. The house is surrounded by a large cherry orchard. Moreover, the development of the plot of the play is connected with this image - the estate is being sold for debts. However, the moment of transfer of the estate to a new owner is preceded by a period of confused trampling in the place of the previous owners, who do not want to manage their property in a businesslike manner, who do not even really understand why this is necessary, how to do it, despite the detailed explanations of Lopakhin, a successful representative of the emerging bourgeois class.
But the cherry orchard in the play also has a symbolic meaning. Thanks to the way the characters in the play relate to the garden, their sense of time, their perception of life is revealed. For Lyubov Ranevskaya, the garden is her past, a happy childhood and a bitter memory of her drowned son, whose death she perceives as punishment for her reckless passion. All thoughts and feelings of Rane-| everything is connected with the past. She just can’t understand that she needs to change her habits, since the circumstances are different now. She is not a rich lady, a landowner, but a bankrupt extravagant who will soon have neither a family nest nor a cherry orchard if she does not take any decisive action.
For Lopakhin, a garden is, first of all, land, that is, an object that can be put into circulation. In other words, Lopakhin argues from the point of view of the priorities of the present time. A descendant of serfs, who has become a public figure, thinks sensibly and logically. The need to make his own way in life taught this man to appreciate the practical usefulness of things: “Your estate is located only twenty miles from the city, there is a railway nearby, and if the cherry orchard and the land along the river are divided into dacha plots and then rented out for dachas , then you will have at least twenty-five thousand a year in income.” Ranevskaya and Gaev's sentimental arguments about the vulgarity of dachas and the fact that the cherry orchard is a landmark of the province irritate Lopakhin. In fact, everything they say has no practical value in the present, does not play a role in solving a specific problem - if no action is taken, the garden will be sold, Ranevskaya and Gaev will lose all rights to their family estate, and dispose of there will be other owners. Of course, Lopakhin’s past is also connected with the cherry orchard. But what kind of past is this? Here his “grandfather and father were slaves,” here he himself, “beaten, illiterate,” “ran barefoot in the winter.” A successful business man has not very bright memories associated with the cherry orchard! Maybe that’s why Lopakhin is so jubilant after becoming the owner of the estate, and that’s why he speaks with such joy about how he “will hit the cherry orchard with an ax”? Yes, in the past, in which he was a nobody, did not mean anything in his own eyes and in the opinions of those around him, probably any person would be happy to take an ax like that...
“...I don’t like the cherry orchard anymore,” says Anya, Ranevskaya’s daughter. But for Anya, as well as for her mother, childhood memories are connected with the garden. Anya loved the cherry orchard, despite the fact that her childhood impressions were far from being as cloudless as Ranevskaya’s. Anya was eleven years old when her father died, her mother became interested in another man, and soon her little brother Grisha drowned, after which Ranevskaya went abroad. Where did Anya live at this time? Ranevskaya says that she was drawn to her daughter. From the conversation between Anya and Varya, it becomes clear that Anya only went to her mother in France at the age of seventeen, from where both returned to Russia together. It can be assumed that Anya lived on her native estate, with Varya. Despite the fact that Anya’s entire past is connected with the cherry orchard, she parts with it without much melancholy or regret. Anya’s dreams are directed to the future: “We will plant a new garden, more luxurious than this one...”.
But in Chekhov’s play one can find another semantic parallel: the cherry orchard - Russia. “All of Russia is our garden,” Petya Trofimov declares optimistically. The outdated noble life and the tenacity of business people - after all, these two poles of worldview are not just a special case. This is truly a feature of Russia at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. In the society of that time, there were many projects on how to equip the country: some recalled the past with a sigh, others briskly and busily proposed to “clean up, clean up,” that is, to carry out reforms that would put Russia on a par with the leading powers peace. But, as in the story of the cherry orchard, at the turn of the era in Russia there was no real force capable of positively influencing the fate of the country. However, the old cherry orchard was already doomed...
“The Cherry Orchard” by Chekhov is a combination of comedy - “even a farce in places,” as the author himself wrote, with gentle and subtle intrigue. The combination of these two principles allows Chekhov to ambiguously assess what is happening, to give an ambivalent, tragic characterization to the heroes. While ridiculing their weaknesses and vices, the author simultaneously sympathizes with them. Among the heroes of “The Cherry Orchard” there is not a single purely comic character. Thus, the aged child Gaev at other moments of his stage life evokes pity and compassion. Epikhodov is not only funny with his endless failures, he is actually unhappy! Everything is inappropriate for him, his love is rejected, his pride constantly suffers. Chekhov does not divide the characters of “The Cherry Orchard” into positive and negative; they are all equally unhappy, equally dissatisfied with their lives.
Chekhov sees the drama of his heroes precisely in their Everyday life, therefore, he pays main attention to depicting everyday life, and events are relegated to the background. The plot and composition in the play are purely external, organizing in nature. The event of selling the cherry orchard itself is inevitable. There is no conflict between Ranevskaya, Gaev and Lopakhin. Ranevskaya and Gaev almost voluntarily give up the cherry orchard and even feel some relief after selling it.
“Indeed, everything is fine now,” says Gaev. “Before the sale of the cherry orchard, we were all worried, suffering, and then, when the issue was finally and irrevocably resolved, everyone calmed down and even became cheerful.” The estate seems to float into Lopakhin’s hands. Petya Trofimov and Anya don’t even try to prevent this. They see their “cherry orchard” only in their dreams. Thus, Chekhov depicts all events in their natural development; these events themselves do not contain conflict. The main conflict develops in the souls of the heroes. It lies not in the struggle for the cherry orchard, but in dissatisfaction with one’s life, the inability to combine dreams and reality. Therefore, after buying the cherry orchard, Lopakhin does not become happier; he, like the rest of the characters in the play, dreams that “our awkward, unhappy life will somehow change.”
The peculiarities of the conflict led to changes in the depiction of dramatic characters. The heroes of the play reveal themselves not in actions aimed at achieving a goal, but in experiencing the contradictions of existence. Therefore, the play lacks intense action, it is replaced by lyrical reflection. The heroes of “The Cherry Orchard” do not realize themselves not only in action, but also in words. Every spoken phrase has a hidden subtext. A so-called “undercurrent” arises, which is unusual classical drama. An example of this is the following dialogue between the characters:
“Lyubov Andreevna (thoughtfully). Epikhodov is coming...
Anya (thoughtfully). Epikhodov is coming...
Gaev. The sun has set, gentlemen.
Trofimov. Yes".
In this case, words mean much less than the feeling of unsettled life, hiding behind scraps of phrases.
Thus, it is in the lyrical subtext that the complex, contradictory spiritual life of the heroes is reflected. In the play “The Cherry Orchard,” Chekhov creates a special lyrical atmosphere. The author does not give sharp individual speech characteristics to the characters; rather, their speech merges into one melody. Using this effect, the author creates a feeling of harmony. And, despite the fact that Chekhov destroys the cross-cutting action that was the organizing principle in classical drama, his play does not lose its internal unity. It is also important that general construction plays are also the mood of each character. Therefore, all the characters are internally very close to each other. On this general mood responds in the drama with some kind of tragic sound: “... everyone is sitting, lost in thought, silence, you can only hear Firs quietly muttering, suddenly a distant sound is heard, as if from the sky, the sound of a broken string, fading and sad.” In the finale, another sound is added to this sound, even more desolate: “You can hear how far in the garden an ax is knocking on a tree.”
The innovation of Chekhov the playwright lies in the fact that he departs from the principles of classical drama and reflects not only problems by dramatic means, but also shows the psychological experiences of the characters.
In general, symbolism and subtext play a huge role in Chekhov’s plays. In this way, Chekhov's works are close to such an art direction as modernism. It is the symbolism and subtext that express the author’s position, “predict” the development of the plot, and create a certain atmosphere. Thus, throughout the entire play, the sound of an ax can be heard behind the stage, symbolizing the inevitable death of old Russia. In addition, the impossibility of returning the past is indicated by the fact that at the end of the play, old man Firs is forgotten in a boarded-up house, who dies there. It is symbolic that the cherry orchard is sold at auction, under the hammer. This speaks to the author's contradictory attitude towards modern times.
Chekhov's play" The Cherry Orchard"is the moral testament of the dying writer to his descendants. This is exactly how (as shown in the play) the author saw Russia. Its past, present and future. And in this image of Russian reality one can see a deep symbolic meaning. We are presented with the Russia of the past (Ranevskaya and Gaev), Present Russia (Lopakhin) and Future Russia (Anya and Petya Trofimov) In this play, the author depicts the ordinary life of ordinary people. There are no bright events in it (except for the sale cherry orchard), and all the conversations are centered around the fate of the garden Usual life and normal way of life noble estate- this is a passing nature. The heroes - the nobles - live more with memories of a bygone happy time, when the garden gave a huge amount of cherries, they were sold, stocked, and boiled. It’s not the same now. Bare are trying to live as before - throw a ball, give the last money, carousing and idleness. But the old way of life is cracking and collapsing under the influence of new life. Main character plays are a cherry orchard. And this is also a symbol. A symbol of beauty, grandeur, tranquility and former greatness and prosperity. And the main conflict of the work is connected with the attitude of the heroes to the cherry orchard. The orchard is an allegory, a dream, and regret... Chekhov himself loved gardens, and he planted a lot of them during his short life. For him, a garden is a whole living world. It’s interesting that in the play there is no big external conflict between the characters, It is replaced by the drama of the experiences of the characters in the play. (This is one of the writer’s techniques) He wanted life to go on as it was going. In life, we rarely arrange big conflicts and scandals. It’s the same here. The whole conflict lies in how the heroes relate to the fate of the cherry orchard. And here the interests of the outgoing noble way of life and the emerging new - bourgeois way of life are implicitly arguing among themselves (conflicting). The nobles are Ranevskaya and her brother Gaev. She squandered her entire fortune on the maintenance of her Parisian lover , and Gaev, as they say, ate his fortune on candy. Their behavior speaks of worthlessness, frivolity and carelessness. And words are at odds with deeds. They talk about saving the garden, oh how well they lived among this beauty. But they do not accept Lopakhin’s sincere advice on actually saving the garden, which is so dear to them. False arrogance does not allow them to rent out the garden to summer residents. It’s better to let it disappear. The money sent by the grandmother to pay interest ( Anya), Ranevskaya cynically appropriates and again strives for Paris, to the man who robbed and deceived her. Another participant in the hidden conflict - Ermolai Lopakhin, having failed to convince the handsome and dear owners of the garden, unexpectedly buys the garden at auction. It seemed like a conflict resolved. But Lopakhin is the temporary owner of the garden. He is kind, generous, but uncouth and poorly educated. His internal conflict (which, by the way, every hero has) is in external well-being and internal low self-esteem. And yet the conflict is resolved - the bourgeoisie triumphs .Although in the play there is an indication that there are other contenders for the garden. It is Anya and Petya Trofimov (the younger generation), according to Chekhov, who are capable of turning Russia into a garden (So they say: “All Russia is our garden) But the heroes these are lifeless and weak. Petya is a reasoner (he is only able to give out slogans) He does not serve anywhere, although he is proud and arrogant... A symbol of meaninglessness " eternal student" are the galoshes that he is looking for at the end of the play. They are also unnecessary, just like he is. Chekhov does not claim this. But, having honestly shown this “revolutionary”, he debunks him. You involuntarily recall the formula of revolutions: “Revolutions are planned by romantics, carried out by fans ( here's Petya), and scoundrels who use its fruits By the way, he is also in the play. The brilliant Chekhov guessed him. This is Yasha's servant, who did not deign to see his mother. In him are the future Sharikovs and Shvonders... Thus, we can conclude that the author in the play "V.S" created symbolic picture Russia and its representatives at the beginning of 20 century, terrible century and unfair. The playwright felt, guessed and predicted in symbolic form upcoming fatal events in the history of their homeland.
Throughout the entire play A.P. Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" we watch how the main characters lose their family estate. Ranevskaya and Gaev have memories of their whole lives connected with the house, “shrouded” in a cherry orchard - happy childhood, youth, first love, first joy and first tears.
These people lived as their origin and upbringing told them to: carefree and thoughtless, surrounded by " higher spheres” and not “sinking to the ground.” And now, like a bolt from the blue, the news comes - the estate is being sold, because there is nothing else to pay for it. The heroes cannot do anything because they are simply not capable of it. They are sorry to lose their home, which they associate with life itself and their homeland, but they have come to terms with it.
In the final episode of the play, when Ranevskaya, her children, Gaev are finally convinced of the loss of the estate (it was bought by Lopakhin), they are preparing to leave. It is in this episode that it becomes clear how the future fate of all the heroes will develop.
Varya's marriage eldest daughter Ranevskaya never got a job - Lopakhin, despite his businesslike and tenacious nature, was unable to propose to the girl. Therefore, her fate is decided - she will work as a housekeeper for the Ragulin landowners. Having served as a housekeeper all my life own home, this heroine doesn’t know where else to apply herself, what to do. She can only manage the household of those who have so far managed to preserve their estate.
Last phrase Petit - “Hello, new life!” - speaks of his hopes and dreams. But we understand that in many ways they are illusory. The playwright emphasizes this with subtle details, in particular, with the description of Petit’s galoshes: “And how dirty and old they are…”
These characteristics reduce the appearance of the hero, turning him from a hero into just a pathetic “eternal student” who has set his sights on a role that is beyond his strength.
Gradually, the heroes, one by one, leave the room. It is interesting to observe how Lopakhin behaves. This person is essentially a winner. He got the cherry orchard, and now he is the absolute owner here.
Lopakhin behaves like this: with dignity, without pretensions, but it is he who manages the house, without feeling any guilt towards its former owners: “Is everyone here? Is there anyone there? (Locks the side door to the left.) Things are stacked here, they need to be locked. Let's go!..”
Ermolai Alekseevich leaves this house until spring, leaving his manager, Epikhodov, to look after it. We must give this hero his due - he has the proper tact to leave Gaev and Ranevskaya alone with their house. Or maybe he doesn't care about this? Anyway, former owners only after everyone had left were they able to give vent to their feelings and express their true attitude to the lost cherry orchard.
Gaev in the final scene, it would seem, behaves as usual - he does not interfere in anything. And only at the very beginning does this hero try to show how painful it is for him to lose the cherry orchard. However, even this, sincere, feeling is clothed in him in pompous and pitiful words: “Leaving this house forever, can I remain silent, can I resist, so as not to express at parting those feelings that now fill my entire being...”
In those around him, such outpourings of Gaev only cause sharp rejection: “Anya (pleadingly). Uncle!
Varya. Uncle, no need!”
And then the hero again hides in his “buffoon case”: “With a doublet of yellow in the middle... I’m silent...”
When Ranevskaya and Gaev are left alone, the hero seeks support from his sister. He repeats several times: “My sister! My sister!" Ranevskaya, on the other hand, is all in her grief, somewhat pompous and ostentatious, like everything else in this heroine. She says goodbye to her beloved garden, to her whole life, because in a few moments she will leave Russia, now forever.
These heroes do not ask themselves why everything happened this way, what they could have done to return the garden. These questions do not seem to concern them. They feel like victims of fate, cruel fate, and behave accordingly.
It would seem that the play is over. All the heroes leave. Behind the stage there is a symbolic sound of an ax, reminiscent of inevitable death noble Russia.
But another hero appears on the stage, who, probably more than all the others, personifies this outgoing Russia. It turns out that in the flow of their feelings and worries, all the heroes forgot about old man Firs. Sick and weak, he was left alone in a boarded-up house. We understand that he will die here.
Firs’s words that “he has no strength left” once again speak of the death of the country and the way of life that this hero personifies. Leaves old Russia, the people who lived in it also leave, the whole old way of life and way of thinking goes away.
At the very end of the play this is emphasized once again. symbolic details- the sound of a broken string (“quiet, sad”) and the sound of an ax chopping a tree.
Thus, the final scene of “The Cherry Orchard” gives final characteristics to the main characters of the play, outlines them future fate. It is here that all the leitmotifs of this work are manifested and its main idea is affirmed - old Russia is fading into oblivion, and is being replaced by a completely new way of life.
