Introduction
Most of the literary works present a reflection of what happens in the society. Authors normally voice their opinions about issues affecting the people through various themes. These themes are disclosed through analysis of a character’s actions. In the contemporary society, introduction of literature research has extensively increased the volume of literature in every topic of interest, especially in use of expression tools such as metaphors to present a symbolic view of character.
The play, “The Cherry Orchard”, is captivating and written in prose to understand vocabulary. The play is about enjoying the humor, feeling the narrator’s words in action, imagining, and placing oneself in the author’s shoes. Thus, this analytical treatise presents a comprehensive response to the play, “The Cherry Orchard” by Anton Chekhov.
Critical Response
I found it quite challenging to comprehend the thoughts in the play, “The Cherry Orchard”. It was an uphill task to focus on each character as the scenes and themes changed across the play. The most interesting character in my view was the old man servant called Firs. I felt sorry for this character since he was the center of ridicule and was belittled besides having to face cruelty when interacting with the other characters.
For instance, Yasha was very insensitive to Firs’ feelings and quickly declared him boring when he was in the process of narrating ‘the old days’ story. Yasha stated that the character Firs “is getting boring” (Chekhov, 2004, p. 300) and it was necessary for the old man “to crawl off and die” (Chekhov, 2004, p. 300). The other characters ignored the views of Firs and no one seemed bothered by how he felt. They only began to care for him when he fell ill.
Reflectively, Firs’ character is easy to relate to the primary theme of the play, “The Cherry Orchard”. Same as the orchard idea, Firs was not noticed when things were bad or good, he simply continued to exist. When there was a proposal to sell the orchard, the other characters were worried of what would become of it, and silently prayed that there would be a good turnout of the upcoming events.
In the same way, Firs was ignored and ridiculed across the play. However, when he became sick, those who looked down upon him changed their attitude for the better. The characters begun treating Firs with respect and even took turns in taking care of him (Chekhov, 2004).
The key aspect of “The Cherry Orchard” captures the learners’ interest with elements of comedy and twist of fate. Firs, as one of the main characters depicts various stages of the play’s development, his fate is associated with the fate of the orchard and the attitude of people to his is almost the same as to the orchard.
For instance, the character Yasha was arrogant in retorting to Firs to shut up without letting him finish expressing his thoughts. Moreover, the key considerable notion of the play was fate and respect that demonstrated how mankind had become unappreciative of others, and needed to acknowledge the importance of mutual coexistence (Chekhov, 2004).
The main theme presented by this play is personal identity as a component of realism. A literary writing often attempts to portray a certain piece of thoughts of characters not explicitly expressed. Recognizing the theme of personal identity, Yasha and the other characters sarcastically ridiculed the personality and beliefs of Firs without taking time to know him. The main character Firs had to live with rejection. However, things turned different when he fell ill (Chekhov, 2004).
The audience may be moved by the character of Firs and imaginative exploration of memory and how unfortunate events can attract respect and attention among humanity. On the other hand, the author tried to blend the high concept vision of humanity with his own stylized and highly dramatized language in reflecting on the lives of Firs, Yasha, and other characters.
He created a human comedy that combined stories of self-discovery and love. Chekhov succeeded in convincingly mingling the ‘futuristic’ and the ‘realistic’ imaginations to create a play of exotic revelation on how mankind is influenced by perceptions.
Interestingly, the play presented unending conflict between perception and total freedom, which exists to present time. The other characters lacked the gentle aspect and displayed arrogance and oozing pride towards the old man-servant called Firs (Chekhov, 2004). The author painted a picture of a servant who lived being rejected by the other characters with attitude of unthinking conformity, as is prevalent in the contemporary society.
Conclusion
Conclusively, literary works are normally composed in an indirect and a tricky manner in order for readers to think deeply for implied meanings. This play is critical towards understanding the position of the society, as dynamics of existence shifts from friendlier parameters to harsher realities. In my opinion, the play would have been more interesting if the orchard was cleared and the character Firs dead. This would have taught the other characters the importance of appreciating others.
Reference
Chekhov, A. (2004). The cherry orchard. Moscow, Russia: Digireads.com Publishing.