Cherry Orchard

The Cherry Orchard by Chekhov

A play written in 4 parts

Much of "The Cherry Orchard's" adaptations would be written as tragedies but really it is a funny play. Ya people die at the end and they lose everything but the small moments are what counts. If you do have the right humor you can see where a guy who works his way to riches, but comes from a slavery background, buys the home out from under the owners of his family is funny. Extra points if the girl your taking it from was super sweet to you and you loved her for that. Extra, extra points from him coming home to a dead body on his porch. The rest of the stories humor come from its slapstick presentation. Humor aside what is "The Cherry Orchard" about?

In "The Cherry Orchard" even happy memory's took on an anxiety and disconnect. The characters longed for the old days in an unhealthy way. They made themselves sick on it. Their very ideas are altered out of reality by the way the characters think things should be. Music shows the flow of memory within the play. The first sounds of music is a loan piper in the early hours of the morning. This reflects well on the winding down conversation into a time of sleep. Yepikhodov's playing seem to come most strongly during times of serious or sad topics, such as the history of slavery in Russia's history. The waltz played by the orchestra allows for more one on one interaction between the characters. Later they would stop playing to highlight the need for attention to be placed on Lopakhin's news about the cherry orchard. The soft music they start to play after fits with Liubov's pain.

Liubov's personality is reflected in Dunyasha. She works herself up and gets very emotional. She wants to get married but isn't sure she even wants to marry Yepikhodov. Liubov would have all her troubles come from a man. Dunyasha, in her attempt to act like an upper class individual, fails to see how that life really works. Liubov isn't happy and does not know how to do anything for herself. She is stunted. Lopakhin, who knows what it is like to come from slavery, fails to provide kindness, something he was shown by Liubov, when he gained his fortune. Even if the cherry orchard was cut down he could have offered to keep the house for Liubov. There is also Firs to consider. He really got stiffed.

The string breaking to me means a break in the tension. The subjects are too much and need a change. However these changes are a time of confusion, no one knows what to do. This would be why the characters mistake the sound for others. The moment is being seen differently and their actions do not reflect their needs. The moment is all about ideals rather than what they can do. That is partly why it is a sad sound they are missing part of the moment. The other reason it is a sad sound is because their is a parting in that moment of change.