The Cherry Orchard - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

The Cherry Orchard

(Comedy, 1903) by Anton Chekhov

Kristen Brannon

Josie

Follick

Tommy KnightSlide2

Family Relationships

(Drawing credit to Josie Follick)Slide3

Plot- Act 1

Madame Ranevsky

arrives from her five-year visit to Paris back to her Orchard home in Russia along with Anya, her

biological daughter

, Anya’s governess Charlotte, and

Yasha

,

her manservant. She is discovered to be very poor as opposed to before she departed to Paris. The three arrive at their orchard home to find

Yermolai

Lopakhin

, a used-to-be-peasant,

Ranevsky’s

brother, Leonid

Gayev

, a co-owner of the orchard,

Ranevsky’s

adopted daughter,

Varya

, Firs, a very old servant, and two other servants,

Yephikodov

, and

Dunyasha

.

Varya

then says that because the family can no longer afford the Cherry Orchard, it is going to be sold on the 22

nd

of August. This creates mixed opinions in all of the characters.

Lopakhin

then suggests

Ranevsky

rent out parcels of the land to build villas upon. She is taken aback. Peter

Trofimov

,

Grisha’s

former

tutor (

Ranevsky’s

deceased son) arrives and brings up bad memories

.Slide4

Plot- Act 2

At the beginning of the second act, the three servants

Dunyasha

,

Yasha

, and

Yephikodov

reveal their affections for one another.

Yephikodov

loves

Dunyasha

and

Dunyasha

loves

Yasha

.

Yasha

, unfortunately has no affinity for anyone but himself. After that is revealed,

Lopakhin

and the rest of the crew come back and argue over the orchard more. This leaves

Ranevsky

saddened by the thought of her orchard being gone and upset at

Lopakhin

.Slide5

Plot- Act 3

In the Third Act, Ranevsky

hosts a party for the sale of the orchard. People from all walks of life are invited from lower middle to upper class. During the party,

Lopakhin

is absent and this fact worries

Ranevsky

to the point where she fights with her brother.

Gayev

and

Ranevsky

are fuming as

Lopakhin

arrives stating he has bought the orchard and intends to “ruin” it in

Ranevsky’s

eyes. She is devastated.Slide6

Plot- Act 4

The fourth act is essentially the resolution and falling action. Everyone goes their own separate ways and finds new things to involve themselves with. In the hustle and bustle, Firs, the old

manservant,

is left

behind,

locked out of the little orchard home. He has taken ill and

the the play implies that

he dies

there

.Slide7

Inciting Incident

Varya: “The property will be sold in August,”Slide8

Climax

Ranevsky: “Was the Cherry Orchard sold?”

Lopakhin

: “Yes.”

Ranevsky

: “Who bought it?”

Lopakhin

: “I did.”Slide9

Major Issues

Money is important yet futile.All things beloved eventually pass.

Memory is the cornerstone of emotion.Slide10

Theme

Social class does not define how one acts or responds to situations, nor does it define one’s life-worth. Slide11

Two most important characters

The protagonist, Madame

Lyuba

Andreyevna

Ranevsky

and the antagonist,

Yermolai

Alexeyitch

Lopakhin

are the two most important characters in the play because without them, the plot could not progress.

Lopakhin

once was a peasant and through the kindness of others rose his way through the social hierarchy and is now a wealthy businessman. Madame

Ranevsky

once reveled in the wealth of the cherry orchard but has worked her way down to a lower middle class social status due to her frivolous ways in Paris. Because of their respective ages,

Lopakhin

lives in the now and does all he can to be as successful as he can.

Ranevsky

lives life with a finger on the past; appreciating all the past has given her and is all together a very nostalgic character. Slide12

Protagonist

Madame Ranevsky is the protagonist. She represents the will of the masses; not selling the cherry orchard. She has too much emotional attachment to let it go and we as readers or viewers sympathize with her. Slide13

Antagonist

The antagonist is Yermolai

Lopakhin

. He is the stereotypical cold-hearted, yet light-hearted businessman. We as readers or viewers don’t like him because he has no regard for any emotional attachment the other characters might have to the orchard. He is only seeking self-interest

.Slide14

Setting

The play is set in Imperial Russia in the very late 19

th

Century. The action takes place entirely on the estate of

Lyuba

Ranevsky

. The plot begins in May and continues to early September. During this time in history, Russia is still ruled by Tsars. Serfdom was only just abolished in 1861. The aristocratic life that was once found on the estate is changing. The aristocrats, the former serfs, and the new generations that are taking their places are all witnessing this transformation.

(

Some suggest the Ukraine as a more specific setting for this drama. Chekhov lived there for much of his life.)Slide15

Possible monologues and scenes for competition and audition

purposes

Act I (scene) from Anya’s exit to

Gaev’s

line ”

What gibberish” pg. 7-9

Act I (scene) from Anya’s reentering to the end of the act.

Pg. 14-16

Act I (monologue, m.)

Lopakhin

“I want to say something very pleasant…

” pg. 16

Act I (monologue, f.)

Varya

“It’s time to go to sleep…

” pg. 15

Act I (monologue, m.)

Gaev

“Yes…It’s the real thing.” (cupboard)

pg. 16

Act I (monologue, f.)

Lyuba

“Oh, my childhood…

” pg. 11 Slide16

(cont’d…)

Act II (monologue, f.) Charlotta “I haven’t a real passport…

” pg. 17

Act II (monologue, f.)

Lyubov

“Oh,

the

sins…

” pg. 21

Act II (monologue, m.)

Trofimov

“Mankind marches forward…” pg. 24

Act II (scene)

Trofimov

and Anya at the end of the Act

. Pg. 26-27Slide17

(cont’d…)

Act III (scene) Lyubov and

Trofimov

from “don’t tease her, Peter…” to “Peter, wait…

” pg. 31-33

Act III (monologue, m.)

Lopakhin

“I bought it…

” pg. 38

Act III (monologue, f.) Anya “Mother…

” pg. 39

Act IV (monologue, m.)

Firs

- Last lines of play

. pg. 49Slide18

Vocabulary

Kvass – homemade beerVilla – summer vacation home

Mentone – City on the French Mediterranean

Billiards – A game involving hitting balls on a felted table-top with cue sticks

Patchouli – a perfume

Dessiatin

– area equivalent to 2.7 acres

Shrine – a chapel

Passport – referring specifically to the identification papers needed to travel within Russia.

Creches

– public nurseries

Serf – servant or slave that’s bound to the land by the aristocracy to work it

Freeholders – small farmers

Ruble – the basic unit of currency in Russia; equal to 100

kopeksSlide19

References- Act 1

“Little man” – Lopakhin

says this several times in quoting how

Lyuba

addresses him; with inferiority as though still a serf

.

“

Encyclopaedic

Dictionary” –

Gaev

claims that the Orchard is so well known that it is in this book. Possibly Chekov alludes to the 86-volume publication by

Brockhaus

and

Efron

.

“I’m a man of the eighties” –

Gaev

says this about himself, implying that he witnessed the anti-reform and anti-liberal actions of then Tsar Alexander III, and that he’s enlightened and knows how to treat serfs well.Slide20

References- Act 2

Epikhdov asks

Dunyasha

if she is familiar with the materialist and freethinker Henry Buckle. He demonstrates his education

.

“My brother, my suffering brother…” by

Nadson

, and “Come out on the Volga” by

Nekrason

are both quoted by the tramp. Both of these poets were born of wealth and wrote about the slaves and laborers. The tramp is wretched and represents a by-product of the “good life”

.

“Oh, feel me, get thee to a nunnery,” and “Oh, nymph, remember me in

thine

orisons” are both allusions to Hamlet. Hamlet says both of these lines to Ophelia. In this play,

Lopakhin

says them to

Lyuba

and

Gaev

. As Hamlet accuses Ophelia of immodesty, so too does

Lopakhin

towards the aristocrats. Slide21

Would we recommend this to a friend?

The Cherry Orchard is a very complex drama with innumerable themes. Its uniqueness was quite fascinating. The action is written with no stops during acts and it moves very quickly. The

characters’

names being Russian as well as there being many variations of the names complicates the play and makes it even harder to read. However, the difficulty of the play, though discouraging, makes the play more appealing to some. We would recommend this play to a friend.