Past, present and future in the play "The Cherry Orchard". Chekhov. The Cherry Orchard - past, present and future How do the characters in the play The Cherry Orchard see the future?
Each of us wishes for ourselves and our loved ones a better life, a bright future without worries and worries. In A.P. Chekhov’s play “The Cherry Orchard,” the title itself sets the reader up for positive emotions that involuntarily arise when contemplating the beauty of a blooming garden. The comedy takes place around an ancient noble estate and its inhabitants, reflecting their characters and shaping their destinies. Watching the behavior of the characters, you involuntarily begin to think about more global things, not just about the future of a particular family, but about the future of the entire state. But thoughts about the future are inseparably linked with the analysis of the past and present. We observe a landowner's estate, which reflects the past bitterness of the serf slaves, who, according to Petya Trofimov, look out from every leaf of this beautiful blooming garden. We also involuntarily imagine the carefree life of noble families, which for many generations existed due to the labor of disenfranchised people.
Thanks to a life devoid of worries, the nobles allow themselves to spend their free time on poetry and art, forming a layer of highly educated, intellectual and cultured people in society. However, such an existence makes them weak-willed, spineless people, unable to adapt to the realities of life, incapable of showing sensitivity, compassion and attention to others.
These qualities in the play are possessed by Ranevskaya and Gaev, who, being on the verge of ruin, are forced to sell their own family estate, with which they have all the brightest and most touching memories of their lives. There is a crisis in the nobility, which has lost not only its economic but also its social position, as it is unable to influence the future development of the country. These sweet and honest people understand their own inadequacy in life, so they themselves give the cherry orchard to the new owner.
Even high education, culture, and erudition cannot become a lifeline for the nobility, which is losing its own spiritual heritage. After all, they cannot boast of a proper attitude to life, willpower, hard work, or resilience. Chekhov embodies these qualities in Ermolai Lopakhin, who becomes the new owner of a beautiful garden. Lopakhin becomes the social force that is called upon to replace the nobility, that is, he personifies the emerging bourgeoisie. He achieved everything on his own, with the help of hard work and perseverance he made his way from poverty to material well-being, and learned to withstand life’s troubles. However, it is worth noting that the past life of a serf did not give Lopakhin the opportunity to develop mental abilities, therefore the young man lacks such an important quality as culture.
People like Lopakhin, spending their own energy on the economic development of the country, are unlikely to be able to eradicate such vices of Russian life as poverty, lack of culture, and injustice. After all, their interests of profit are always in the foreground, and their thoughts are focused on practical and economic spheres of activity. It is for this reason that Lopakhin’s ideas are not attractive to the young heroes of the play, who see their future a little differently.
The ideal future for the country is based on the monologues of the “eternal student” Petya Trofimov, who believes in a new life in which there will be a place for justice, humane laws and creative work. The bourgeoisie, in his opinion, is capable of becoming an impetus for the economic development of the state, but it is not capable of creating and creating a new life. Petya Trofimov does not believe that the Lopakhins will be able to radically change their lives, building it on reasonable and fair principles.
As for Anya, connecting the future with a young seventeen-year-old girl, in my opinion, is also not very correct, because everything she knows is gleaned from books. She is pure, naive and spontaneous; in her life she has never encountered the realities of life. Therefore, it is not clear whether she has enough spiritual strength, stamina and courage to change something in this world.
On the threshold of the twentieth century, A.P. Chekhov looked to the future with hope, but a century later we continue to dream about our cherry orchard and about those who will be able to grow it. However, it is worth remembering that trees do not grow without roots, that is, without past and present. In order for our dreams to come true, it is necessary that such qualities as culture, education, will, perseverance, hard work, all the best that we can find in Chekhov’s heroes, coexist in people.
The play “The Cherry Orchard,” the last dramatic work of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, can be considered a kind of testament of the writer, which reflected Chekhov’s cherished thoughts, his thoughts about the past, present and future of Russia.
The plot of the play is based on the history of a noble estate. As a result of the changes taking place in Russian society, the former owners of the estate are forced to give way to new ones. This plot outline is very symbolic; it reflects important stages in the socio-historical development of Russia. The destinies of Chekhov's characters turn out to be connected with the cherry orchard, in the image of which the past, present and future intersect. The characters remember the past of the estate, about those times when the cherry orchard, cultivated by serfs, still generated income. This period coincided with the childhood and youth of Ranevskaya and Gaev, and they remember these happy, carefree years with involuntary nostalgia. But serfdom was abolished long ago, the estate is gradually falling into disrepair, and the cherry orchard is no longer profitable. The time of telegraphs and railways, the era of business people and entrepreneurs is coming.
The representative of this new formation in Chekhov's play is Lopakhin, who comes from the Ranevskaya family of former serfs. His memories of the past are of a completely different nature; his ancestors were slaves on the very estate of which he now becomes the owner.
Conversations, memories, disputes, conflicts - all the external action of Chekhov's play is centered around the fate of the estate and the cherry orchard. Immediately after Ranevskaya’s arrival, conversations begin about how the mortgaged and remortgaged estate can be saved from auction. As the play progresses, this problem will become increasingly acute.
But, as is most often the case with Chekhov, there is no real struggle, no real clash between the former and future owners of the cherry orchard in the play. Just the opposite. Lopakhin does everything possible to help Ranevskaya save the estate from sale, but a complete lack of business skills prevents the hapless owners of the estate from taking advantage of useful advice; they are enough only for complaints and empty rantings. It is not the struggle between the emerging bourgeoisie and the nobility that is giving way to it that interests Chekhov; the fate of specific people, the fate of all of Russia, is much more important to him.
Ranevskaya and Gaev are doomed to lose the estate that is so dear to them and with which it is connected
so many memories, and the reason for this lies not only in their inability to heed Lopakhin’s practical advice. The time is coming to pay old bills, but the debt of their ancestors, the debt of their family, the historical guilt of their entire class has not yet been atoned for. The present stems from the past, their connection is obvious, it’s not for nothing that Lyubov Andreevna dreams of her late mother in a white dress in a blooming garden. This reminds us of the past itself. It is very symbolic that Ranevskaya and Gaev, whose fathers and grandfathers did not allow those at whose expense they fed and lived, even into the kitchen, are now entirely dependent on Lopakhin, who has become rich. In this Chekhov sees retribution and shows that the lordly way of life, although it is shrouded in a poetic haze of beauty, corrupts people, destroys the souls of those who are involved in it. This is, for example, Firs. For him, the abolition of serfdom is a terrible misfortune, as a result of which he, useless and forgotten by everyone, will be left alone in an empty house... The same lordly way of life gave birth to the footman Yasha. He no longer has the devotion to masters that distinguishes old Firs, but without a twinge of conscience he enjoys all the benefits and conveniences that he can derive from his life under the wing of the kindest Ranevskaya.
Lopakhin is a man of a different type and a different formation. He is businesslike, has a strong grip and firmly knows what and how to do today. It is he who gives specific advice on how to save the estate. However, being a businesslike and practical person, and differing favorably from Ranevskaya and Gaev, Lopakhin is completely devoid of spirituality and the ability to perceive beauty. The magnificent cherry orchard is interesting to him only as an investment, it is remarkable only because it is “very large”; and based on purely practical considerations, Lopakhin proposes to cut it down in order to rent out the land for summer cottages - this is more profitable. Disregarding the feelings of Ranevskaya and Gaev (not out of malice, no, but simply because of a lack of spiritual subtlety), he orders the garden to begin to be cut down, without waiting for the former owners to leave.
It is noteworthy that there is not a single happy person in Chekhov's play. Ranevskaya, who came from Paris to repent of her sins and find peace in the family estate, is forced to return back with old sins and problems, since the estate is being auctioned off and the garden is being cut down. The faithful servant Firs is buried alive in a boarded-up house, where he served all his life. Charlotte's future is unknown; years pass without bringing joy, and dreams of love and motherhood are never realized. Varya, who did not wait for Lopakhin’s offer, is hired by some Ragulins. Perhaps Gaev's fate turns out a little better - he gets a place in the bank, but it is unlikely that he will become a successful financier.
The cherry orchard, in which past and present intersect so intricately, is also associated with thoughts about the future.
Tomorrow, which, according to Chekhov, should be better than today, is personified in the play by Anya and Petya Trofimov. True, Petya, this thirty-year-old “eternal student”, is hardly capable of real deeds and actions; he only knows how to talk a lot and beautifully. Another thing is Anya. Realizing the beauty of the cherry orchard, she at the same time understands that the garden is doomed, just as her past slave life is doomed, just as the present, full of unspiritual practicality, is doomed. But in the future, Anya is sure, there must be a triumph of justice and beauty. In her words: “We will plant a new garden, more luxurious than this,” there is not only a desire to console her mother, but also an attempt to imagine a new, future life. Inheriting Ranevskaya’s spiritual sensitivity and sensitivity to beauty, Anya is at the same time full of a sincere desire to change and remake life. She is focused on the future, ready to work and even sacrifice in its name; she dreams of a time when the whole way of life will change, when it will turn into a blooming garden, giving people joy and happiness.
How to arrange such a life? Chekhov does not give recipes for this. Yes, they cannot exist, because it is important that every person, having experienced dissatisfaction with what is, is fired up with a dream of beauty, so that he himself seeks the path to a new life.
“All of Russia is our garden” - these significant words are heard repeatedly in the play, turning the story of the ruin of the estate and the death of the garden into a capacious symbol. The play is full of thoughts about life, its values, real and imaginary, about the responsibility of each person for the world in which he lives and in which his descendants will live.
Past, present and future in the play by A.P. Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard"
I. Introduction
“The Cherry Orchard” was written in 1903, in an era that was in many ways a turning point for Russia, when the crisis of the old order had already become apparent, and the future had not yet been determined.
II. main part
1. The past is represented in the play by characters of the older generation: Gaev, Ranevskaya, Firs, but other characters in the play also talk about the past. It is associated primarily with the nobility, which by the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century was experiencing a clear decline. The past is ambiguous. On the one hand, it was a time of serfdom, social injustice, etc., which, for example, Lopakhin and Petya Trofimov talk about. On the other hand, the past seems to be a happy time not only for Ranevskaya and Gaev, but also, in particular, for Firs, who perceives “will” as misfortune. There was a lot of good things in the past: goodness, order, and most importantly - beauty, personified in the image of a cherry orchard.
2. The present in Russia is vague, transitional, and unstable. This is how it appears in Chekhov’s play. The main exponent of the present is Lopakhin, but we should not forget about other heroes (Epikhodov, lackey Yasha, Varya). The image of Lopakhin is very contradictory. On the one hand, he, a merchant who emerged from the former serfs, is the master of the present; It is no coincidence that he gets the cherry orchard. This constitutes his pride: “the beaten, illiterate Ermolai /.../ bought an estate, the most beautiful of which there is nothing in the world /.../ bought an estate where his father and grandfather were slaves.” But, on the other hand, Lopakhin is unhappy. He is a subtle person by nature, he understands that he is ruining beauty, but he cannot live otherwise. The feeling of his own inferiority is especially evident in his monologue at the end of the third act: “Oh, if only all this would pass, if only our awkward, unhappy life would somehow change.”
3. The future in the play is completely vague and uncertain. It would seem that it belongs to the younger generation - Trofimov and Anya. It is they, especially Trofimov, who speak passionately about the future, which seems to them, of course, wonderful. But Anya is still just a girl, and how her life will turn out, what her future will be, is completely unclear. There are serious doubts that Trofimov will be able to build the happy future he talks about. First of all, because he does absolutely nothing, but only talks. When it is necessary to demonstrate the ability to perform at least minimal practical action (comfort Ranevskaya, take care of Firs), he turns out to be incompetent. But the main thing is the attitude towards the key image of the play, the cherry orchard. Petya is indifferent to its beauty, he urges Anya not to regret the cherry orchard, to forget about the past altogether. “We will plant a new garden,” says Trofimov, and that means let this one die. This attitude towards the past does not allow us to seriously hope for the future.
III. Conclusion
Chekhov himself believed that the future of his country would be better than its past and present. But in what ways this future will be achieved, who will build it and at what cost - the writer did not give specific answers to these questions.
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- past present and future in Chekhov's play The Cherry Orchard essay
The end of the nineteenth - the beginning of the twentieth - a time of change. At the turn of the century, people live on the eve. On the eve of what, few people understand. People of a new generation are already appearing, while people of the past continue to exist. A generational conflict arises. Turgenev already depicted something similar in his novel “Fathers and Sons.” For him, this is a vivid conflict, often resolved by disputes. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov took a different look at the problem. He has no external conflicts, but the reader feels a deep inner tragedy. Connections between generations are being broken, and, worst of all, they are being broken routinely. For the new generation, which Anya and Petya represent in the play, those values no longer exist without which the life of the elder, that is, Ranevskaya, Gaev, makes no sense.
These values in the play are personified by the cherry orchard. He is a symbol of the past, over which the ax has already been raised. The life of Lyubov Andreevna and her brother cannot exist separately from the cherry orchard, but at the same time they cannot do anything to preserve it. Ranevskaya is simply running away from her problems. After the death of her son, she leaves everything for Paris. After breaking up with her lover, she returns to Russia again, but, having discovered insoluble problems in her homeland, she again wants to flee to France. Gaev is strong only in words. He talks about a rich aunt, about many other things, but in reality he understands that many recipes are offered only for incurable illnesses. Their time has already passed, and the time has come for those for whom beauty lies only in usefulness.
This was Lopakhin. They talk about him in different ways: sometimes he is a “predator”, sometimes he is a “subtle and gentle soul”. It combines the incompatible. A person who loves Lyubov Andreevna, sympathizes with her with all his soul, does not understand the charm of the cherry orchard. He offers to rent out the estate, divide it into dachas,
not realizing that this would be the end not only of the cherry orchard, but also of its owners. Two opposites fought in this man, but in the end the rationalistic grain won. He cannot contain his joy that he, a former slave, becomes the owner of a cherry orchard. He begins to knock him out without any regret. Lopakhin overcame his love for Ranevskaya; he did not have the courage to marry Vara.
Varya, Ranevskaya's adopted daughter, was essentially the mistress of the cherry orchard during her mother's long absences. She has the keys to the estate. But she, who in principle could become a mistress, does not want to live in this world. She dreams of monasticism and wanderings.
Anya could be considered the actual heir of Lyubov Andreevna and Gaev. But, unfortunately, she is not. Anya and Petya personify the future. He is an “eternal student”, reminiscent of Gaev with his philosophical speeches; she is an educated girl, his bride. Anya is greatly influenced by Petya’s speeches. He tells her that the cherry orchard is in the blood, that it should be hated, not loved. She agrees with Petya in everything and admires his intelligence. And what a terrible result sounds like Anya’s question: “Why don’t I love the cherry orchard anymore?” Anya, Lyubov Andreevna, Gaev - all of them, in essence, betray their garden, a garden that they have tamed, but for which they are not able to stand up. The tragedy of the older generation is its inability to protect its past. The tragedy of the present and future generations lies in the inability to appreciate and understand the values of the past. After all, it’s impossible for an ax to become a symbol of an entire generation. In the play, Chekhov described three generations and revealed to the reader the tragedy of each of them. These problems are also relevant in our time. And at the turn of the 20th-21st centuries, Chekhov’s work acquires the connotation of a certain warning.
Here is an essay on the work of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, or rather on his play “The Cherry Orchard,” written at the beginning of the 20th century shortly before the death of the great writer. The essay is intended for 10th grade or 11th grade students.
THE FUTURE IN D.P.'S PLAY CHEKHOV'S "THE CHERRY ORCHARD"
The play “The Cherry Orchard” was written by Chekhov in 1904 - in the last year of the writer’s life. It was perceived by the reader as the creative testament of a talented satirist and playwright. One of the main themes of this play is the theme of the future of Russia. This theme is revealed through the images of Petya Trofimov and Anya, Ranevskaya’s daughter. While covering this topic, Chekhov simultaneously raises in the play a number of other problems that are characteristic of all Russian literature as a whole. These are the problems of fathers and children, the human doer, love and suffering. All these problems are intertwined in the content of The Cherry Orchard, the leitmotif of which is the farewell of the new, young Russia to its past, its aspiration to a brighter day tomorrow.
The image of Russia is embodied in the very title of the play “The Cherry Orchard.” " All Russia is our garden ,” says Chekhov through the lips of his hero. And, indeed, the cherry orchard for Ranevskaya and her brother Gaev is a family nest, a symbol of youth, prosperity and a former graceful life. The owners of the garden love it, although they do not know how to preserve or save it. Ranevskaya speaks with tears and tenderness about her estate:
“...I love this house, I don’t understand my life without the cherry orchard, and if you really need to sell, then sell me along with the orchard...”
But for Ranevskaya and Gaev, the cherry orchard is a symbol of the past. Another hero, the active Lopakhin, looks at the garden only from the practical side. He sees in it an opportunity to get a big income, and he does not stand on ceremony with his methods. Ermolai Lopakhin, the new merchant-industrialist, symbolizes the present of Russia, its transition to the capitalist path of development.
Chekhov connects the future prosperity of Russia with the younger generation, represented in the play by Petya Trofimov and Anya. It is they who will have to build a new Russia, plant new cherry orchards. Petya Trofimov is the son of a pharmacist, a commoner, who makes his way in life through oral labor. He is poor and familiar with the hard life of the people. Petya believes that only through continuous work can you change the oppressed situation of the people and achieve a bright future for your country. Trofimov is smart, proud and honest in his thoughts. He lives with faith in the wonderful future of Russia and enthusiastically shares this faith with those around him: “ Forward! Don't lag behind, friends! “His speech is bright, convincing, full of patriotism. Sometimes, of course, Trofimov is wrong or overly categorical, as is typical of youth. One day he declares to Ranevskaya: “ We are above love! "Such accidents in his behavior allow the older generation to consider him a klutz or "shabby gentleman" as Varya called him. But his bright and sincere faith in the happy future of his Motherland, his energy and willingness to act evoke sympathy among readers and trust in Anya, Ranevskaya’s daughter.
Anya is a young, educated girl. Her soul is distinguished by spontaneity and beauty of feelings. She can enjoy an entertaining hot air balloon flight like a child, and at the same time, unlike her mother, she shows interest and concern for the household affairs of the estate.
She considers exploitation immoral, she wants to work to provide for herself and her mother and through work to become useful to society. Her plans are simple: pass the exam for a gymnasium course, then study and work. Here is her naive idea of happiness:
Such ardent movements of the soul and noble impulses bring these two images closer together. They symbolize hope for a better future. It is with their lives that Chekhov connects the future of Russia, it is in their mouths that he puts his own thoughts, despite the fact that the estate has been sold, and axes are already knocking in the garden, the author believes that new people will come and plant new gardens, “ there is nothing more beautiful in the world «.
“The Cherry Orchard” is the great creation of Chekhov, who put comedy on a par with drama and tragedy, raising it to unattainable heights.
I hope you liked the proposed essay on the topic THE FUTURE IN D.P.’S PLAY. CHEKHOV'S "THE CHERRY ORCHARD"
