Cherry orchard themes

temes

1. The Cherry Orchard Themes

2. Presented by Mehak Imtiaz & Ayesha Afzal Presented to Sir Iqbal Butt

3. Cherry orchard The play “The cherry Orchard” is about the growth of middle class in Russia and the fall of the aristocracy. The play describes how an aristocratic family has to sale its famous- cherry orchard; and how a born serf, who had been serving this family for generations, purchases this orchard.

4. Social Change The liberation of Russia’s serfs by Nicholas-ǁ brought about a great social change in Russia. Many aristocrats fell on hard times and many hard working serfs rose high. Mrs. Ranevsky has failed to manage her cherry orchard. Her mortgage is due and she does not have enough funds to cover the payment.

5. Conti… Lopakhin , a former serf of the family, now a sharp business man, makes himself able enough to purchase her estate. There are some characters too who question at the utility of Liberation. They think that the Liberation is not enough to constitute progress.

6. Liberation The Liberation freed millions of people who otherwise would have lived out lives of servitude on Russian estates with no opportunity for freedom. Seemingly then it would seem that everyone in Russia, thirty years after Liberation, would have become accustomed to freedom or liberty with opportunities for mobility and social advancement. Yet, many of Chekhov's characters seem to be frozen or not free at all. In regards to freedom, they fall into two groups: those who are free and positively approach the future and those who are imprisoned in the past.

7. Passivity & inactivity Mrs. Ranevsky , her daughter, Anya and her brother Gayev are very passive. They find themselves unable to change the course of their worse circumstances. Mrs. Ranevsky gives up efforts to save her estate, rather she is wasting her remaining money on useless things.

8. Conti… Gayev , Anya and Varya also become passive and continue to believe that everything will be good. Gayev and mrs. Ranevsky do nothing to avert the auction but remain passive hoping for some miracle to happen.

9. Class Distinctions The social gap between the upper and lower classes is beginning to close in the new Russia. However, the gap is still wide enough to create tension. For example, when Lopakhin broaches the idea of cutting down the cherry orchard to make room for money-making villas, Ranevsky calls the plan a vulgar concept. Class differences surface again when a discussion is under way about how to save the estate and Gayev says, "My aunt's very rich, but she doesn't like us. My sister, in the first place, married an advocate, not a noble. She not only married a man who was not a noble, but she behaved herself in a way which cannot be described as proper" (Act 1).

10. Effects of Change The main theme of the play is how changes in Russian social, economic, and cultural life affect Madame Ranevsky and her family & links on her estate. Madame Ranevsky refuses to accept change, preferring instead to hold onto the past. She even spends as she did when she had money, driving herself deeper and deeper into debt.  Gayev shares his sister's fondness for the aristocratic past, but in the end he yields to the reality of the present and takes a job at a bank. His decision to accept a position that he believes is below his social situation no doubt.

11. Failure to Grasp Reality Madame Ranevsky fails to grasp the seriousness of her financial straits and the fact that the age of nobility and privilege is dying. It is as if she thinks a god will appear, to lead her to a pot of gold and restore her to the happy days of her youth. When she imagines that she sees her mother in the cherry orchard, she reveals her tendency to dwell in the pleasant past and ignore the unsettling reality of the present.

12. THANK YOU