Images and symbols in the play The Cherry Orchard. Chekhov the playwright play The Cherry Orchard symbolism of the names of the Czechs. Lopakhin's attitude to the cherry orchard

One of the secrets... "The Cherry Orchard"
was that it was necessary to look at what was happening
through the eyes... of the garden itself.
L. V. Karasev

In dramatic works written “before Chekhov,” as a rule, there was a center - an event or character around which the action developed. In Chekhov's play such a center does not exist. In its place is the central image-symbol - the cherry orchard. This image combines both the concrete and the eternal, the absolute - this is a garden, “more beautiful than which there is nothing in the world”; this is beauty, past culture, all of Russia.

Three scenic hours in The Cherry Orchard cover five months (May - October) of the characters’ lives and almost an entire century: from the pre-reform era to the end of the 19th century. The name "The Cherry Orchard" is associated with the fates of several generations of heroes - past, present and future. The destinies of the characters are correlated with the destinies of the country.

According to the memoirs of K. S. Stanislavsky, Chekhov once told him that he had found a wonderful title for the play - “The Cherry Orchard”: “From this I only understood that it was about something beautiful, dearly loved: the charm of the title was not conveyed in words , but in the very intonation of Anton Pavlovich’s voice.” A few days later, Chekhov announced to Stanislavsky: “Listen, not Cherry, but the Cherry Orchard.” “Anton Pavlovich continued to savor the title of the play, emphasizing the gentle sound “e” in the word Cherry, as if trying with its help to caress the former beautiful, but now unnecessary life, which he destroyed with tears in his play. This time I understood the subtlety: The Cherry Orchard is a business, commercial orchard that generates income. Such a garden is still needed now. But “The Cherry Orchard” does not bring in any income; it preserves within itself and in its blooming whiteness the poetry of the former lordly life. Such a garden grows and blooms for whim, for the eyes of spoiled aesthetes. It’s a pity to destroy it, but it is necessary, since the process of economic development of the country requires it.”

At the same time, the garden in Chekhov’s works is significant not only as a symbol, but also as an independent natural, extremely poetic image. I. Sukhikh rightly asserts: Chekhov’s nature is not only a “landscape”, or a psychological parallel to the experiences of the characters, but also the original harmony of the “unspoiled” person of J. J. Rousseau (“back to nature”). “For Chekhov, nature is a kind of independent element, existing according to its own special laws of beauty, harmony, freedom... It... is ultimately fair, contains within itself the stamp of regularity, supreme expediency, naturalness and simplicity, which is often absent in human relationships. One must not “return” to it, but rise, join, comprehending its laws.” The words of the playwright himself from his letters are consistent with this statement: “Looking at spring, I really want there to be paradise in the next world.”

It is the garden that is the ontological basis of the plot of Chekhov’s play: “the history of the garden as a living being represents the first link... in the chain of transformations” of the play. “This is a kind of subsoil of the text, the foundation from which the whole world of its ideology and stylistics grows... The garden is doomed not because its enemies are strong - merchants, industrialists, summer residents, but because the time has really come for it to die "

The play is dominated by the motifs of “breaking,” rupture, and separation. Thus, the billiard cue broken by Epikhodov in the third act remains declared “unclaimed” at the plot level, as Yasha talks about with a laugh.

This motif continues in the final remark of the play: “A distant sound is heard, as if from the sky, the sound of a broken string, fading, sad. There is silence, and you can only hear how far away in the garden an ax is being knocked on a tree.” The clarification “just from heaven” indicates that the main conflict of the play is located outside the stage framework, to some force from the outside, before which the characters in the play find themselves powerless and weak-willed. The sound of a breaking string and an ax remains the sound impression that Chekhov spoke about the necessity of in any work (let me remind you, he believed that a literary work “should give not only a thought, but also a sound, a certain sound impression”). “What does a broken string have in common with the death of a garden? The fact that both events coincide or, in any case, overlap in their “form”: rupture is almost the same as cutting. It is no coincidence that at the end of the play the sound of a breaking string merges with the blows of an ax.”

The ending of “The Cherry Orchard” leaves a truly dual, unclear impression: both sadness, but also some bright, albeit vague, hope. “The resolution of the conflict is in accordance with all the specifics of its content. The finale is colored with a double sound: it is both sad and bright... The arrival of the best depends not on the elimination of particular obstacles, but on the change in all forms of existence. And as long as there is no such change, each individual is powerless before the common fate.” In Russia, according to Chekhov, a premonition of a revolution was brewing, but it was unclear and vague. The writer recorded the state of Russian society when there was only one step left from general disunity, listening only to ourselves, to general hostility.

In accordance with literary tradition, Chekhov’s work belongs to the literature of the 19th century, although the writer’s life and career ended in the 20th century. His literary legacy became, in the full sense of the word, a link between the literary classics of the 19th century and the literature of the 20th century. Chekhov was the last great writer of the outgoing century; he did what, for various reasons, was not done by his brilliant predecessors: he gave new life to the short story genre; he discovered a new hero - a salaried official, an engineer, a teacher, a doctor; created a new type of drama - Chekhov's theater.

The play “The Cherry Orchard” was written by Chekhov shortly before his death. It is impossible to imagine a person who would not know this play. In this touching work, Chekhov seems to say goodbye to a world that could be more merciful and humane.
Studying Chekhov’s work “The Cherry Orchard,” I would like to note one feature of his heroes: they are all ordinary people, and not one of them can be called a hero of their time, although almost each of them is a symbol of the time. The landowner Ranevskaya and her brother Gaev, Simeonov-Pishchik and Firs can be called a symbol of the past. They are burdened by the legacy of serfdom, under which they grew up and were raised, these are the types of the outgoing Russia. They cannot imagine any other life for themselves, just like Firs, who cannot imagine life without masters. Firs considers the liberation of the peasants a misfortune - “the men are with the gentlemen, the gentlemen are with the peasants, and now everything is in pieces, you won’t understand anything.” The symbol of the present is associated with the image of Lopakhin, in which two principles are fighting. On the one hand, he is a man of action, his ideal is to make the earth rich and happy. On the other hand, there is no spiritual principle in him and in the end the thirst for profit takes over. The symbol of the future was Anya - the daughter of Ranevskaya and the eternal student Trofimov. They are young and they are the future. They are obsessed with the idea of ​​creative work and liberation from slavery. Petya calls on you to give up everything and be free like the wind.
So who is the future? For Petya? For Anya? For Lopakhin? This question could have been rhetorical if history had not provided Russia with a second attempt to resolve it. The end of the play is very symbolic - the old owners leave and forget the dying Firs. So, the logical ending: inactive consumers in the social sense, a servant - a lackey who served them all his life, and a cherry orchard - all this is irrevocably a thing of the past, to which there is no way back. History cannot be returned.
I would like to note the cherry orchard as the main symbol in the play. Trofimov’s monologue reveals the symbolism of the garden in the play: “All of Russia is our garden. The land of the giant is beautiful, there are many wonderful places on it. Think, Anya: your grandfather, great-grandfather and all your ancestors were serf owners who owned living souls, and don’t human beings look at you from every cherry tree in the garden, from every leaf, from every trunk, don’t you really hear voices... Own living souls, because this has reborn all of you who lived before and are now living, so that your mother, you, and uncle no longer notice that you are living in debt at someone else’s expense, at the expense of those people whom you do not allow beyond the front hall.. “All the action takes place around the garden; its problems highlight the characters’ characters and their destinies. It is also symbolic that the ax raised over the garden caused a conflict between the heroes and in the souls of most of the heroes the conflict is never resolved, just as the problem is not resolved after cutting down the garden.
“The Cherry Orchard” lasts about three hours on stage. The characters live during this time for five months. And the action of the play covers a more significant period of time, which includes the past, present and future of Russia.

State budgetary professional educational institution

"Kizelovsky Polytechnic College"

METHODOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

open lesson on academic discipline

Russian language and literature

Characters in comedy

A.P. Chekhov. "The Cherry Orchard"

Developer:

Zueva N.A.

teacher

Russian language and literature

2016

Content:

Explanatory note.

This lesson is a study on the topic “Symbols in the play by A.P. Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard” is advisable to carry out at the final stage of studying A.P. Chekhov’s play “The Cherry Orchard”.

Classical literature is, at first glance, the most studied branch of literary criticism. However, a number of works, including “The Cherry Orchard” by A.P. Chekhov, remain unsolved and relevant to this day. Despite the many literary works that reveal different points of view on this play, unresolved questions remain, in particular, there is no clear classification of the symbols of The Cherry Orchard. Therefore, the advantage of the presented lesson is the students’ meticulous identification of the dominant groups of symbols, their classification and a table compiled at the end of the lesson, which gives a clear interpretation of each symbol found in the work.

In this lesson, students are actively involved in research activities, which makes it possible to most effectively and consistently make a turn from the traditional approach to teaching to a new one, aimed at developing such universal learning activities as:

Ability for self-development;

Development of orientation skills in information flows;

Development of skills to pose and solve problems.

This allows you to develop the intellectual potential of the individual: from the accumulation of knowledge and skills to self-expression in creativity and science.

Technological lesson map

Subject. Symbols in A.P.’s comedy Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard"

Chapter.Russian literature of the second half of the 19th century

Discipline. Russian language and literature.

Group.TPP-16

Well. First

Educational: get acquainted with the concept of symbol, comedy; make a table of symbols based on the play “The Cherry Orchard”

Developmental: improving the skills of analysis and interpretation of a literary work;

Educational: create conditions for students’ research activities.

Predicted result.

Formed universal educational actions:

Personal: readiness and ability for education, including self-education, throughout life; a conscious attitude towards lifelong education as a condition for successful professional and social activities;

Meta-subject: mastery of cognitive, educational and research skills, ability and readiness to independently search for methods for solving practical problems, and use various methods of cognition.

Subject:

development of skills in various types of analysis of literary works;

possession of the ability to analyze a text from the point of view of the presence in it of explicit and hidden, primary and secondary information;

the ability to identify images, themes and problems in literary texts and express one’s attitude towards them in detailed, reasoned oral and written statements;

possession of the skills of analyzing works of art, taking into account their genre and generic specifics.

Lesson type: combined.

Methods of organizing educational activities: informational, research.

Forms of organizing educational activities: frontal, paired, individual.

Methodological teaching aids:text of the play, video lecture by Dmitry Bykov, excerpt from the television play “The Cherry Orchard” 1976, presentation, dictionaries, student worksheet.

Interdisciplinary connections:history, social studies.

Internet resources:

Teleplay “The Cherry Orchard”. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsigUjw68CA)

One hundred lectures with Dmitry Bykov. The Cherry Orchard ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ4YQg71txk)

During the classes

Annex 1.

Cards with text:

Appendix 2.

Student worksheet

The symbol is ________________________________________________________________________________________________

Comedy is ________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Table

Appendix 3.

Symbol in a work of art.

A symbol is a multi-valued allegorical image based on the similarity, resemblance or commonality of objects and phenomena of life. A symbol can express a system of correspondences between different aspects of reality (the natural world and human life, society and personality, real and unreal, earthly and heavenly, external and internal). In a symbol, identity or similarity with another object or phenomenon is not obvious, nor is it verbally or syntactically stated.

The image-symbol has many meanings. He admits that the reader may have a wide variety of associations. In addition, the meaning of a symbol most often does not coincide with the meaning of the word - metaphor. The understanding and interpretation of a symbol is always broader than the similes or metaphorical allegories from which it is composed.

Correct interpretation of symbols contributes to a deep and correct reading of literary texts. Symbols always expand the semantic perspective of a work and allow the reader, based on the author’s clues, to build a chain of associations connecting various phenomena of life. Writers use symbolization in order to destroy the illusion of life-likeness that often arises among readers, to emphasize the ambiguity and greater semantic depth of the images they create.

In addition, the symbols in the work create more accurate, capacious characteristics and descriptions; make the text deeper and more multifaceted; allow you to raise important issues without advertising it; evoke individual associations in each reader.

The role of the symbol in a literary text is difficult to overestimate.

MEEEE

1 group. Real symbols .

Real symbols include everyday details that, when repeated many times, acquire the character of symbols.

In the play “The Cherry Orchard” it is a symbol of keys. So, in the first act, the author points out a seemingly insignificant detail in the image of Varya: “Varya enters, she has a bunch of keys on her belt.” In the above remark, Chekhov emphasizes the role of housekeeper, housekeeper, and mistress of the house, chosen by Varya. She feels accountable for everything that happens on the estate.

It is no coincidence that Petya Trofimov, calling Anya to action, tells her to throw away the keys: “If you have the keys to the farm, then throw them into the well and leave. Be free like the wind" (action two).

Chekhov skillfully uses the symbolism of keys in the third act, when Varya, having heard about the sale of the estate, throws the keys on the floor. Lopakhin explains this gesture of hers: “She threw away the keys, she wants to show that she is no longer the mistress here...” According to T. G. Ivleva, Lopakhin, who bought the estate, took it away from the housekeeper.

There is another material symbol of the owner in The Cherry Orchard. Throughout the play, the author mentions Ranevskaya’s purse, for example, “Looking in the purse” (second act). Seeing that there is little money left, she accidentally drops it and scatters the gold. In the last act, Ranevskaya gives her wallet to the men: “Gaev. You gave them your wallet, Lyuba! You can not do it this way! Lyubov Andreevna. I could not! I could not!" In the same action, the wallet appears in Lopakhin’s hands, although the reader knows from the very beginning of the play that he does not need money.

In the artistic world of Chekhov's drama, one can identify a number of images-symbols that are inextricably linked with the idea of ​​home; these symbols begin to perform not the function of unification, but of separation, disintegration, break with family, with home.

Real symbols.

In the play “The Cherry Orchard”, real symbolism is also widely used to increase ideological and semantic significance, artistic persuasiveness and emotional and psychological tension. It is hidden both in the title and in the setting. The blooming garden of the first act is not only the poetry of noble nests, but also the beauty of all life. In the second act, there is a chapel surrounded by large stones that were apparently once gravestones and the distant outlines of a large city, which “visible only in very good, clear weather"symbolize the past and future respectively. The ball on the day of the auction (third act) indicates the frivolity and impracticality of the garden owners. The circumstances of the departure, the desolation of the house, the remains of furniture, which was “folded in one corner, as if for sale,” suitcases and bundles of the former owners characterize the liquidation of the noble nest, the final death of the outdated noble-serf system.

2nd group. Word symbols.

Revealing the socio-psychological essence of the characters, showing their internal relationships, Chekhov often turns to the means of indirect meaning of the word, to its ambiguity and ambiguity. Honing his deeply realistic images into symbols, the writer often uses methods of verbal symbolism.

For example, in the first act, Anya and Varya are talking about selling the estate, and at this time Lopakhin looks in the door and moos(“me-e-e”)and right thereleaves. This appearance of Lopakhin and his playful, mocking and mocking moo is clearly significant. It, in fact, anticipates Lopakhin’s entire future behavior: after all, it was he who bought the cherry orchard, became its absolute owner and rudely refused Varya, who was patiently waiting for his offer. Somewhat later, Ranevskaya, having taken telegrams from Paris from Varya, tears them up without reading them and says: “Paris is over...” With these words, Lyubov Andreevna says that she decided to end her nomadic life outside her native land, and that she irrevocably broke with his “kept”. These words are a kind of summary of Anya’s story about her mother’s bohemian lifestyle in Paris. They demonstrate the joy with which Ranevskaya returns home. The same Lopakhin, after Gaev’s speech addressed to the closet, says only “Yes...” But in this word there is surprise at Gaev’s naive childishness, and contemptuous condemnation of his frivolity and stupidity.

In the second act, Anya and her mother thoughtfully repeat one phrase: “Epikhodov is traveling,” but each puts into it a completely different, meaningful meaning associated with their understanding of life and thoughts about it. Trofimov’s words are clearly significant and truly symbolic: “Yes, the moon is rising.(Pausea.) Here it is, happiness, here it comes, coming closer and closer, I can already hear its steps.” Trofimov here does not mean his personal happiness, but the approaching happiness of the entire people; he expresses faith in the imminent triumph of truth. But it is the appearance of the changeable moon, which has always been a symbol of deception, that prompts him to think about the nation’s well-being. This shows that the student’s hopes are unrealistic. Words such as “bright star” and “duty” also have a real-symbolic meaning in his mouth. Trofimov puts a particularly deep meaning in his statement: “All of Russia is our garden” (second act). These words revealed his fiery love for the Motherland, his admiration for everything that is great and beautiful in it, the desire to change it for the better and devotion to it.

Trofimov’s statement clearly echoes Anya’s words in the third act: “We will plant a new garden, more luxurious than this.” With these words, the heroine speaks about creating life on a completely new basis, where there will be no selfish struggle for one’s personal interests, where all people will be equal and happy, enjoying a common garden, blooming and bearing fruit for the joy of every person.

Sound symbols.

In the works of A.P. Chekhov, not only things, objects and phenomena of the surrounding world acquire symbolic subtext, but also audio and visuals. Through sound and color symbols, the writer achieves the most complete understanding of his works by the reader.

Thus, the cry of an owl in the second act carries a real threat. This can be illustrated by the words of the old footman Firs: “Before the misfortune, the same thing happened: the owl was screaming, and the samovar was humming incessantly.”

The sounds of music occupy a large place in Chekhov's dramaturgy. This is, for example, the sound that ends the first act: “Far beyond the garden, a shepherd is playing the pipe. Trofimov walks across the stage and, seeing Varya and Anya, stops.<…>Trofimov (in emotion). My sun! My spring! The high, clear and gentle sound of the pipe is here, first of all, the background design of the tender feelings experienced by the character.

T. G. Ivleva notes that “the semantic significance of the sound stage directions in Chekhov’s last comedy becomes, perhaps, the highest.” Drama is filled with sounds. A pipe, a guitar, a Jewish orchestra, the sound of an axe, and the sound of a broken string accompany almost every significant event or character image.

In the second act, the heroes are alarmed by an unexpected sound - “as if from the sky, the sound of a broken string.” Each of the characters tries in their own way to determine its source. Lopakhin believes that a bucket fell far away in the mines. Gaev thinks that this is

the cry of a heron, Trofimov - an eagle owl. Ranevskaya felt unpleasant, and this sound reminded Firs of the times “before the misfortune.”

But the strange sound is mentioned a second time in the final stage directions to the play. It obscures the sound of the ax, symbolizing the death of old Russia.

Thus, the sound of a breaking string and the sound of an ax serve as the embodiment of impending disaster and the inevitability of death and play an important role in Chekhov’s play. With the help of sounds, those facets of stage action that cannot be conveyed verbally are revealed.

3rd group. Color symbols.

Of all the variety of colors in the play “The Cherry Orchard,” Chekhov uses only one - white, using it in different ways throughout the first act.

“Gaev (opens another window). The garden is all white."

At the same time, the garden in the play is only named, shown only outside the windows, as the potential possibility of its destruction is outlined, but not specified. White color is a premonition of a visual image. The heroes of the work repeatedly talk about him: “Lyubov Andreevna. All, all white! O my garden! To the right, at the turn to the gazebo, a white tree bent over, looking like a woman... What an amazing garden! White masses of flowers."

Despite the fact that the garden itself is practically hidden from us, its white color appears throughout the entire first act in the form of color spots - details of the costumes of the characters who are directly connected with it and whose fate completely depends on the fate of the garden: “Lopakhin. My father, it’s true, was a man, but here I am in a white vest”; “Firs enters; he’s wearing a jacket and a white vest”; “Firs puts on white gloves”; “Charlotte Ivanovna in a white dress, very thin, tight, with a lorgnette on her belt, walks across the stage.”

T.G. Ivlev, referring to letters from the writer K.S. Stanislavsky, comes to the conclusion that “This feature of the stage implementation of the image of the garden - the color game - was probably suggested by Chekhov himself.” Through color spots, the heroes’ unity with the garden and dependence on it is shown.

Title symbolism.

The title of the work itself is symbolic. Initially, Chekhov wanted to call the play “InAnd shnevy garden,” but then changed the emphasis. K. S. Stanislavsky, recalling this episode, told how Chekhov, having announced to him the change of title, savored it, “pushing on the gentle sound e in the word “cherry,” as if trying to use it to caress the former beautiful, but now unnecessary life, which he tearfully destroyed in his play. This time I understood the subtlety: “InAnd "shnevy garden" is a business, commercial garden that generates income. Such a garden is still needed now. But “The Cherry Orchard” does not bring in any income; it preserves within itself and in its blooming whiteness the poetry of the former lordly life. Such a garden grows and blooms for whim, for the eyes of spoiled aesthetes.”

But why is the symbol of the departing, obsolete - the cherry orchard - the personification of poetry and beauty? Why is the new generation called upon to destroy rather than use the beauty of the past? Why is this beauty associated with “klutzes” - Ranevskaya, Gaev, Simeonov-Pishchik? The title “The Cherry Orchard” denotes the useless beauty of the obsolete, as well as the narrowly possessive, selfish aspirations of its owners. The garden, which previously brought in enormous income, has degenerated. Anya overcomes this selfishness in herself: “I no longer love the cherry orchard as before.” But the future also takes the form of a garden, only more luxurious, capable of bringing joy to all people, and not just a select few. The title contains both specific and generalized poetic content. The Cherry Orchard is not only a characteristic feature of a noble estate, but also the personification of the Motherland, Russia, its wealth, beauty, and poetry. The motif of the death of the orchard is the leitmotif of the play: “Your cherry orchard is being sold for debts” (first act), “On August 22 the cherry orchard will be sold” (second act), “The cherry orchard is sold”, “Come everyone to watch Ermolai Lopakhin grab an ax the cherry orchard" (third act). The garden is always in the spotlight; most of the images in the play are revealed through the attitude towards it. For old Firs, it symbolizes lordly freedom and wealth. In his fragmentary memories of the time when the cherry orchard provided income (“There was money”) (first act), when they knew how to pickle, dry, and cook cherries, there is a slavish regret about the loss of the lord’s well-being. For Ranevskaya and Gaev, the garden is also the personification of the past, as well as a subject of noble pride (and this garden is mentioned in the “encyclopedic dictionary”) (the first act), contemplative admiration, a reminder of lost youth, lost carefree happiness. For Lopakhin, the garden is “wonderful... the only thing is that it is very large” and “in capable hands” it can generate a huge income. The Cherry Orchard also evokes memories of the past for this hero: here his grandfather and father were slaves. But Lopakhin also has plans for the future connected with it: to divide the garden into plots and rent it out as dachas. The garden now becomes for Lopakhin, as before for the nobles, a source of pride, the personification of his strength, his dominance. The nobility is being supplanted by the bourgeoisie, it is being replaced by democrats (Anya and Trofimov), this is the movement of life. For a student, the cherry orchard is a symbol of the serf-dominated way of life. The hero does not allow himself to admire the beauty of the garden, parts with it without regret and inspires the same feelings in young Anya. His words “All of Russia is our garden” (second act) speak of the hero’s concern for the fate of his country, of Trofimov’s attitude to its history. The Cherry Orchard is to some extent symbolic for each of the heroes, and this is an important point of characterization.

The final chord of a bygone era

The symbol of the garden in the play “The Cherry Orchard” occupies one of the central places. This work drew a line under the entire work of A.P. Chekhov. It is with a garden that the author compares Russia, putting this comparison into the mouth of Petya Trofimov: “All of Russia is our garden.” But why is it a cherry orchard, and not an apple orchard, for example? It is noteworthy that Chekhov placed special emphasis on the pronunciation of the name of the garden precisely through the letter “E”, and for Stanislavsky, with whom this play was discussed, the difference between the “cherry” and “cherry” orchard did not immediately become clear. And the difference, according to him, was that the cherry tree is an orchard capable of making a profit, and it is always needed, and the cherry tree is the keeper of the passing lordly life, blooming and growing to delight the aesthetic tastes of its owners.

Chekhov's dramaturgy tends to involve not only the characters in the action, but also the environment around them: he believed that only through the description of daily life and routine affairs is it possible to fully reveal the characters' characters. It was in Chekhov's plays that “undercurrents” appeared that gave movement to everything that happened. Another feature of Chekhov's plays was the use of symbols. Moreover, these symbols had two directions - one side was real and had a very objective outline, and the second side was elusive, it can only be felt at the subconscious level. This happened in The Cherry Orchard.

The symbolism of the play lies in the garden, and in the sounds heard behind the stage, and even in Epikhodov’s broken billiard cue, and in Petya Trofimov’s fall from the stairs. But symbols of nature, which include manifestations of the surrounding world, are of particular importance in Chekhov’s dramaturgy.

The semantics of the play and the attitude of the characters to the garden

The meaning of the cherry orchard symbol in the play is by no means accidental. For many peoples, flowering cherry trees symbolize purity and youth. For example, in China, spring blossoms, in addition to the listed meanings, are associated with courage and feminine beauty, and the tree itself is a symbol of good luck and spring. In Japan, the cherry blossom is the emblem of the country and the samurai, and means prosperity and wealth. And for Ukraine, cherry is the second symbol after viburnum, denoting the feminine principle. Cherry is associated with a beautiful young girl, and the cherry orchard in songwriting is a favorite place for walks. The symbolism of the cherry orchard near a house in Ukraine is enormous; it is it that drives away evil forces from the house, acting as a talisman. There was even a belief: if there is no garden near the hut, then devils gather around it. During the move, the garden remained untouched, as a reminder of the origins of its family. For Ukraine, cherry is a divine tree. But at the end of the play, the beautiful cherry orchard goes under the ax. Isn't this a warning that great trials await not only the heroes, but the entire Russian Empire?

It’s not for nothing that Russia is compared to this garden.

For each character, the symbol of the garden in the comedy “The Cherry Orchard” has its own meaning. The action of the play begins in May, when the cherry orchard, the fate of which is to be decided by the owners, blooms, and ends in late autumn, when all nature freezes. The flowering reminds Ranevskaya and Gaev of their childhood and youth; this garden has been next to them all their lives, and they simply cannot imagine how it could disappear. They love it, they admire it and are proud of it, telling them that their garden is included in the book of landmarks of the area. They understand that they are capable of losing their estate, but they cannot wrap their heads around how it is possible to cut down a beautiful garden and build some kind of dachas in its place. And Lopakhin sees the profit that he can bring, but this is only a superficial attitude towards the garden. After all, having bought it for a huge amount of money, leaving no chance for competitors at the auction to take possession of it, he admits that this cherry orchard is the best he has ever seen. The triumph of the purchase is connected, first of all, with his pride, because the illiterate man that Lopakhin considered himself to be became the master where his grandfather and father “were slaves.”

Petya Trofimov is most indifferent to the garden. He admits that the garden is beautiful, it pleases the eye, gives some importance to the life of its owners, but every twig and leaf tells him about hundreds of serfs who worked to make the garden flourish and that this garden is a relic of serfdom that must be ended . He tries to convey this to Anya, who loves the garden, but not as much as her parent, who is ready to hold onto it to the last. And Anya understands that it is impossible to start a new life while preserving this garden. It is she who calls on her mother to leave in order to start a new garden, implying that it is necessary to start a different life that will allow her to fit into the realities of the time.

Firs, who served there all his life, is closely connected with the fate of the estate and garden. He is too old to start something anew, and he had such an opportunity when serfdom was abolished and they wanted to marry him, but gaining freedom would be a misfortune for him, and he speaks about it directly. He is deeply attached to the garden, to the house, to the owners. He is not even offended when he discovers that he has been forgotten in an empty house, either because he no longer has the strength and is indifferent to him, or because he understands: the old existence is over, and there is nothing for him in the future. And how symbolic the death of Firs looks to the sounds of the garden being cut down, this is due to the fact that in the final scene the role of symbols is intertwined - the sound of a breaking string drowns in the sounds of ax blows, showing that the past is irretrievably gone.

The future of Russia: a contemporary view

Throughout the entire play, it is clear that the characters are connected with the cherry orchard, some more, some less, but it is through their relationship to it that the author tried to reveal their meaning in the time space of the past, present and future. The symbol of the cherry orchard in Chekhov's play is a symbol of Russia, which is at a crossroads in its development, when ideologies, social strata are mixed and many people simply cannot imagine what will happen next. But this is shown so unobtrusively in the play that even M. Gorky, who did not highly appreciate the production, admitted that it awakened in him a deep and inexplicable melancholy.

The analysis of symbolism, description of the role and meaning of the main symbol of the play, which were carried out in this article, will help 10th grade students when writing an essay on the topic “The symbol of the garden in the comedy “The Cherry Orchard”.”

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