Anton Chekhov is a Russian play writer who wrote the cherry orchard as his last play. He describes his play as a comedy since it employs a significant number of farce elements though others treat the play as a tragedy. The play is regarded as a classic of the 20th century because it has been translated into various language across the world. The cherry orchard is about a Russian landowner who eventually comes back to his family since the land was about to be auctioned to pay the mortgage. Chiefly, the play defines the Russians living in the wake of the freedom of the serfs which took place within the course of a maximum of six months. Anton Chekhov is considered as among the best story writer of short fictions in the history. Notably, critics and the writers hold his works in high esteem since his career as a play writer has led to the production of a significant number of classics in his history. The writer has employed the use of symbolism as a style of writing the play.
Moreover, the theater is not only used for enjoyment to the audience and the readers, but also it is used as a political statement which is a way to unite the differences in social class. Chiefly, it is also used as a medium for the society to retell the historical happenings of the past. Significantly, the Cherry Orchard is not an exception of these traits on the said statement. Although the play is a presentation of the inability of the aristocratic class in the maintenance of their power as well as their stature it is also used in demonstration and explanation of the free class driven struggle which defined the Russian empire for an extended period.
Notably, symbolism incorporates the use symbols signifying the discussed ideas and their quality through giving the used ideas a figurative meaning which is diverse from the real logic. In addition, symbolism takes various forms where an object represents another object to give a different meaning which is more significant as compared to both. Symbols change their meaning to match the context they have been used and also the place of use as well as the nature of its usage. Chiefly, the use of metaphors, allegory, and allusion helps in the development of the symbolism in the play The Cherry Orchard. Notably, the writer uses symbolism to represent ideas and things which seem to be unimportant in the text. The play has various symbols which are aimed at intensifying what the writer is trying to convey in meaning in the play. The play is a miniature which it is its duty to represent the entire Russian community symbolically, and each tree represents the soul of a serf (Suzman 67).
Primarily, The Cherry Orchard has been interpreted by various characters and also interacts with it in different ways which are a symbol of how these interpreters feel about the play as well as what the play represents. Mainly, the orchard according to Ranevskaya is a personal symbol which presents the peaceful childhood. On the other hand, Trofimov in the play believes that Orchard represents the memory of the suffering they have gone through because he sees the Orchard as the face of serfs who were living in Ranevskayas estate where he also died as a slave. Again, for Lopakhin, Orchard is closely tied to his memories of a brutal childhood where it was also a symbol of an obstacle in the prosperity of him and his friend Ranevskays.
Moreover, in the play, the writer has used various symbolisms. Primarily, Orchard In the play title is a symbol of something which belongs to the past. It is the symbol of the mobility, feudal society and sublime but it ends with a great change in the society. It is used to represent the past which is pleased by the advancement of the new. In the play, the characters traits of the Trofimov describe one who has the strongest ideas of the orchard as being a remembrance of the cruel past. Moreover, at some point, the writer says that from each cherry tree the people are peering out to you ( long 55).
The writer in his view sees Russian of the past was corrupt and filling coffers through shedding the blood of serfs. The only solution to the corruption practice was through shunning the past and embracing the change where Trofimov said that what is not attainable will once be attainable and thus serfs saw Orchard as a representation of their oppression which is something of the past. In addition, the cherry orchard is sold, and the owner leaves where the farm is destroyed and sold as firewood.
The author in this play demonstrates and mainly helps in the description of the noble struggle which is evidenced and also central in the game. Notably, within the play which is entitled the cherry orchard is the primary and the large object at the core point of the play. Chiefly, it is here where the characters are drawn to the farm, and their presence is of great significance since they drive the actions in the plot leading to plot development. However, it is eventually discovered that the cherry orchard which used to produce excellent crops annually were no longer giving any profit. Thus, a cherry orchard in a more metaphorical way is used to represent the past and the memories associated with the history (Juan 35).
Moreover, these memories are unique, but they vary under individual personalities which each memory is associated with. Notably, this variance is embarked on the age and the class. Concerning the age, the older generation of Firs and Ranevksy were genuinely thinking of Cherry Orchard with a sense of nostalgia where they associated Orchard with a glorified past the only thing which was obvious and never challenged is the class line. On the other hand, the young people of the Trofimov misunderstood the idea of Orchard to that of repression as well as abuses toward the peasantry class. Notably, in viewing the Cherry Orchard, there is a difference. For example, Lopakhin who is of the middle class in the play is relating the Orchard with the harsh life where he is growing up as a peasant. Centrally to those living in high class like Ranevksy is referring orchard with their fond childhood memories (Koprince 87).
In addition, Cherry Orchard represents the whole society which represents the Ranevskaya fortune where like the cherries she had over-ripened and undergone decaying process just as cherries decay. In the text, the decay also replicates the history of the orchard. Notably, the decay of the farm is a direct representation of the decay of Madame Ranevskaya, and she is the group representative of the entire class, and the decay symbolizes the whole social group in Russia. Through these symbols, the cherry, Paris, and the Orchard conveys the willful neglect and subsequent decay (Koprince 87).
As the play opens, a sound of breaking a string is heard and also at the end of the play the same sound is repeated after Fiers lies down which is an auditory symbol of forgetting. Gayev gave a soliloquy on the eternity of nature and immediately the sound was heard for the first time. Moreover, the sound has been handled differently because there are various production styles of the noise. The breaking string sound symbolizes the termination of the memory. However, the sound has been used in political production where it is featured as a reminder of how family significantly depended on slavery.
Chiefly, the sale of a cherry orchard in the play is a symbol that the old has to give way to the new. Chiefly, Trofimov is a student in the play who is logically supporting the slave trade in their region. In the play, Trifimov is a symbol of the utopian world where the Lopakhin represents the aristocrats which are the past and the bourgeois which stands in the gap of the trends in the society.
Moreover, the theme of setting sun, tombstone and the sad sound of the guitar which is heard in the beginning and at the end of the play is of great significant and also symbolic in supporting the discussed idea. It symbolizes the rate of corruption of the aristocracy and the change to the class system of the Russian. Notably, in the first act, as the play opens, the furnished room changes into an empty room whereby the room did not have any curtains on the walls and windows as well as there are no paintings later in act four. In addition, there is also cutting of cherry orchard in the last act where it is a symbol of decline in of the aristocracy (Juan 35).
The play The Cherry Orchard has a symbolic ending where the entire family leaves the country for Paris. In the beginning, there is an eighty-four-year-old man who is lying on the sofa seat. Notably, his quiescent state as he sleeps is a symbol which represents the death of aristocracy. Chiefly, at the same time, the stage is empty, and the sound of locking a door is heard from the behind. Moreover, there is also a sound overhead of cutting of trees and the crying of snap strings which are mournfully dying. Mainly, all of the incidents mentioned above are symbolically representing the phasing out of aristocracy (Juan 35).
Modernity in the cherry orchard play has been used to signify westernization since its nobility because it has adopted materialism and secularism as its value. Notably, the conflict which emerges between Gayev and Lopakhin is a resemblance of the disputes which are arising between the old-fashioned and westernization. Chiefly, Trofimov is the character in the play that makes the conflict more explicit through the way he views Russia’s legacy in the history of oppression (Suzman 67).
The character a stranger is a symbol of an invasive of new ideologies as well as social movements which aided in the transgression of the aristocracy peace in Russia. Moreover, in act three of the play stationmaster together with the postmaster though are involved in playing a minor role, they are the symbol of the criticism of aristocracy. As a result, Firs says that they once had barons and lords, but eventually they have postmaster and stationmaster who eventually turned out to be polite.
Notably, Gayev brother to Ranevskaya is a comic and talkative weird character who is seriously addicted to billiards which in return is a symbol of the aristocracy leisure life full of corruption. As a result, it reduces them to being impotent in the face of change. Though Gayev is willing to save his family and estate, he finds it hard because he lacks the drive. Chiefly, Firs reflects the freedom of the Russian surf as a disaster and talks ill on the past days when everybody admired their masters. The Firs senility is an excellent source of Play’s tragedy which symbolizes the decay of the old into mumbling madness.
A cherry tree frequently expresses the sadness and regret due to passing away of a situation or time in overall. Like the cherries, Ranevskaya’s fortunes had overripe and subjected to decay just as the fruits decompose. The decay is a reflection of the Orchard as well because the knowledge which was used I preservation of cherries in the plantation has been forgotten and no one is aware of the recipe. Through this, it is an evidence of instant decay observed through neglection of the Orchard. The decay of Orchard is a symbolic representation of the decay of Madame Ranevskaya. Madame is a presentation of the entire class thus the decay of a particular group of people represents the complete unraveling of the social fabric (Juan 35).
To sum up, in the play The Cherry Orchard, by Anton Chekhov, there are various symbols where the cherry orchard is all-encompassing and truly drives the action of the play. It serves as a source of nostalgia, whether that is right or wrong, and depends on the individual nature of the character. The employs symbol reflects what is happening in the society. Moreover, the applied meaning in the text is always hidden for the reader to think deeply in deriving the meaning. Notably, this play is set to be a comedy since he describes his play as one and it employs a significant number of farce element though the readers treat the play as a tragedy.
The play defines the Russians living in the wake of the freedom of the serfs which took place within the course of a maximum of six months. Anton Chekhov is considered as among the best story writer of short fictions in the history. Notably, critics and the writers hold his works in high esteem which made his career as a play writer has led to the production of a significant number of classics in his history. The writer has employed the use of symbolism as a style of writing the play.
Through the fact that Madame Ranevskaya has returned from more Cherry Orchard symbolism, the City of Romance, Paris symbolically indicates that she puts her own personal and sexual pleasure first as a priority instead of maintaining in most rudimentary fashion the very economic engine that makes her possible.
Works Cited
Suzman, Janet. The Free State: A South African Response to Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. Oberon Books, 2012.
Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos, Andreas. “‘… The Sound of a Breaking String’-Critical Environmental Law and Ontological Vulnerability.” (2010).
Juan, Z. H. A. O. “A Comparison of Tennessee Williams and Anton Chekhov.” Studies in Literature and Language 1.3 (2010): 35.
Long, Lynn Edwards, and Clive Kaiser. Sweet cherry rootstocks for the Pacific Northwest. [Corvallis, Or.]: Oregon State University, Extension Service [Pullman, Wash.]: Washington State University Extension;[Moscow, Idaho]: University of Idaho Cooperative Extension System, 2010.
Juan, Z. H. A. O. “A Comparison of Tennessee Williams and Anton Chekhov.” Studies in Literature and Language 1.3 (2010): 35.
Koprince, Susan. “Inge and the Empty Stage.” William Inge: Essays and Reminiscences on the Plays and the Man (2014): 127-36.