Minor characters in A. Chekhov's comedy "The Cherry Orchard"

We are used to completing the study of a large work with an essay, in class or at home, giving our students the opportunity to systematize the knowledge gained, and ourselves - to evaluate the results of our joint activities. Among the traditional final topics on Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" - "The past, present and future of Russia in the" Cherry Orchard "by A.P. Chekhov ”,“ The Innovation of Chekhov's Drama ”,“ Images of Gaev and Ranevskaya (Ermolai Lopakhin, Petit Trofimov) ”. You cannot write about these topics without repeating much of what was said in the lesson; the work of the student's thought in this case is aimed only at logical building a retelling of what was previously heard and concisely recorded. It is quite tedious to do this, although it is useful, especially in humanitarian classes, where you need to prepare graduates for a special exam. But if there is no such need, and the task of maintaining a keen interest in the author and the text comes to the fore, it is more convenient to propose topics of a different kind, partially research ones.

In a few lessons on the last Chekhov's play, we manage to discuss some issues of poetics: the peculiarities of the genre and plot, the main motives, the unusual dialogues, the role of remarks.

You can rely in the conversation on the book of Z. Paerny "Contrary to all the rules ..." and even quote some important fragments, such as these.

• “Chekhov's plays talk about tragic failures, troubles, absurdities in the fate of heroes, about the discord between dreams and everyday life. But all these "discrepancies" are told in the dramatic narrative, where everything is subordinated and proportioned, everything coincides and echoes with each other. The disharmony of reality is opposed by the latent harmony of form, the rhythm and musicality of repetitions, details “rhyming” with each other ”.
• “The mood is not just the spirit of Chekhov's plays. It is created by the interaction of many, many poetic micro-quantities ”.
• “The secondary characters received special significance from Chekhov.<…>Those who, at first glance, are somewhere on the periphery of the plot, acquire a generalized symbolic meaning. The shadow of "lack of understanding" falls on many of the characters in "The Cherry Orchard" and thus imperceptibly, almost imperceptibly, connects everything that happens. "

We talk in the classroom and about the heroes who, with some stretch, can be considered the main ones, that is, about Gaev, Ranevskaya, Lopakhin, Pet Trofimov.

At the same time, we deliberately do not touch (as far as possible) other characters - Epikhodov, Charlotte, Simeonov-Pishchik, Firs. Students will write an essay about one of them. Homework - to prepare for a class essay on the theme "The place of Charlotte (Epikhodov, Simeonov-Pishchik, etc.) in the system of images of the play." To do this, you need to re-read the play, remember all the lines and actions of the character and try to comprehend them in the light of what has already been said and understood.

Before the very beginning of the written work (one hour is allotted for it), we tell the students that a good essay should have answers to at least three questions: how is this character connected with the main motives of the play, what overlaps can be found between him and other characters, how it affects he is on the general mood of the play.

Of course, not every student can do such a task. In some works (on a weak C) there was nothing but a more or less conscientious story about what exactly the hero said and did during the four acts of the play. There were no complete, exhaustive answers to the questions posed in any of the essays (and this could not have been expected), there were exaggerations, or even gross errors in the interpretation of certain remarks. But interesting considerations and rather subtle independent observations were also not uncommon. This can be judged by the works of eleventh graders from Moscow school No. 57 Igor Yastrebov, Svetlana Popova, Evgenia Sechina and Mikhail Meshkov, given below (in abbreviated form, but without editorial revision).

Simeonov-Pischik

At first glance, Boris Borisovich is a hero, about whom we can confidently say that he is a comic. Simeonov-Pischik falls asleep during his remarks, jokes about the fact that his family comes from the horse that Caligula put in the Senate, constantly asks for a loan, even during dances, loses and finds those that he has. Of course, we sympathize with his hopeless financial situation, but comic scenes and incredible stories of acquiring the necessary money, told by Simeonov-Pischik himself, do not allow this feeling to become acute. However, sometimes he does things that do not fit into the big picture. It is he who takes away Lopakhin, intoxicated from his happiness and cognac, from the bitterly crying Lyubov Andreevna after the sale of the cherry orchard; only he communicates with Charlotte, who "wants to talk, but not with anyone." Suddenly Boris Borisovich shows more humanity than one would expect from him.

Each hero of the play "The Cherry Orchard" has its own motive, and Simeonov-Pischik is no exception. He himself constantly travels from one acquaintance to another, wanting to borrow or return, and his motive is movement. In the second act, when everyone is just walking and talking, we do not see him, but he appears when Ranevskaya arrives and leaves the estate, he is present when Gayev and Lopakhin return from the auction. He is always in a hurry somewhere and makes others hurry.

The heroes who can confidently be considered secondary in the play "The Cherry Orchard" often have in common with the heroes who claim to be the main ones. Simeonov-Pischik is always full of worries, trying to raise money up to a certain date, in a hurry somewhere and often does not have time. In this he reminds Lopakhin, who also always keeps track of the time, who always has a lot to do and who is always late for the train. A peep from Nietzsche learned that it was possible to "make false papers", and Lopakhin directly declares that "I read the book and did not understand anything." And let one lend to the other, they have a lot in common.

Thus, Simeonov-Pischik occupies an important place in the general system of characters, and his absence would change our feeling of the play "The Cherry Orchard".

Epikhodov

In the comedy "The Cherry Orchard" there are many minor characters who play an important role in the play, one of them is Epikhodov. He is involved in many comic situations, he even has the nickname "twenty-two misfortunes". Epikhodov stumbles upon a chair, crushes a cardboard box with a hat, putting a suitcase on it, Varya wants to hit him with a stick when he hits Lopakhin.

Like many other heroes of the play, Epikhodov does nothing, he is carried by the stream of life. Epikhodov, like the rest of the characters in the comedy, can be attributed to the word "dumbass". He breaks something all the time and tries to do what he doesn't know how to do: he plays the guitar and sings like a jackal, talks funny and illiterately about books and beliefs, plays billiards and breaks a cue. His actions and words (for example, an unexpected and unnecessary question about Bokle) complement many other events that happened inappropriately (for example, a ball on the day of the auction, Gaev's lofty speeches, an attempt to arrange an explanation between Varya and Lopakhin just before leaving, a senseless waste of Ranevskaya's money).

In the image of Epikhodov, one can see the enhanced comic features of the main characters.

Some incorrect phrases of the poorly educated Lopakhin (for example, “Every disgrace has its own decency”) are similar to the even more illiterate and ridiculous words of Epikhodov, who uses a lot of unnecessary and clutter-up phrases (“But, of course, if you look from the point of view, then you, let me to put it that way, excuse my frankness, they completely brought me into a state of mind ”).

Attempts by Epikhodov, who wants to appear as a “developed person”, to speak with lofty words (for example, the phrase “For a madman who is in love, this is a mandolin,” said when he was playing the guitar) and to sing about high love - a funnier version of Gaev’s empty speeches about “ respected wardrobe ”and“ wondrous nature ”. Both Gaev and Epikhodov inappropriately talk about directions and convictions in which they do not understand anything, and Epikhodov comes out with completely ridiculous words that he “cannot understand in any way whether he should live or shoot himself”, and just in case carries a revolver with him ... Epikhodov calls his small troubles misfortunes, says that “fate treats him without regret, like a storm to a small ship,” and this reminds Gaev, who says that he “got a lot for his convictions in life”.

You can see some similarities between Epikhodov and the scoundrel Yasha. Both heroes think of themselves as educated people and immediately after talking about their education, they express some ridiculous judgment (Epikhodov's phrase about a revolver, Yasha's words “if a girl loves someone, she is immoral”). Yasha and Epikhodov are contemptuous of Russia and believe that "abroad, everything has long been in full complexion." Both he and the other speak cruel words about the sick Firs. Epikhodov has the phrase “A long-term Firs, in my final opinion, is not good for mending, he needs to go to the forefathers,” Yasha says to Firs: “You’re tired, grandfather. If only you would die as soon as possible ”.

So, Epikhodov is an important character involved in creating the mood and general atmosphere of the play, and helps to better understand other characters.

Charlotte

If we single out the main characters of The Cherry Orchard (at least the most important ones), they will be those whose fate and thoughts are connected with the garden. However, remaining in this way on the periphery of the plot, as far as this word is applicable in this case, and at the end of the poster, the characters: Epikhodov, Simeonov-Pishchik, Charlotta Ivanovna - are important for understanding the play, which we will try to show with the last example.

Charlotte's ventriloquism, like Epikhodov's “misfortunes” and Pischik’s eternal worries about money, are one of the most striking farcical details of The Cherry Orchard (in general, all three are superior to the main characters in this respect, at least not inferior to them: there are similar features, for example , and Gaev with his penchant for deeply felt speeches, but in small roles they are much more concentrated).

Not so noticeable, but numerous are her more ordinary actions: she comes and goes in the first act, with a lorgnette on her belt; eating a cucumber; says that her dog "and eats nuts" (Pischik ( surprised). Think about it!); in an old cap, fiddling with a gun ...<…>The comic and everyday life burst into unexpectedly melancholy remarks that are not addressed to anyone: "I have no one to talk to ... All alone, alone, I have no one and ... and who I am, why I am, is unknown ..." And , despite the difference in tonality, the beginning of the longest such monologue: “I don’t have a real passport, I don’t know how old I am, and it still seems to me that I’m young,” - refers to the image of Ranevskaya with her “and now I am like a little ”.

Once emerging, this parallel develops, and Charlotte's actions already cast a light on the entire play. While agonizingly awaiting the results of the auction, Charlotte shows tricks and - ein, zwei, drei - “sells” a blanket behind which Anya and Varya are hiding - this is how the motive for selling the house is refracted; and therefore the hopes and hopes associated with the bargaining are overshadowed by the buffoonery of this scene: they are just as artificial and unjustified in Gaev and Ranevskaya, and in Lopakhin, in the words of Petya Trofimov, they resemble "waving hands." And then the last episode with the participation of Charlotte, where ventriloquism itself, instead of a comic effect, acquires a tinge of the same melancholy: something, especially, it seems, the ease of turning the “child” into a knot, it emphasizes the restlessness, homelessness of Charlotte (“We must leave .. I have nowhere to live in the city ") - makes me remember that the former owners of the estate are now homeless almost as much as she is. Even textual coincidences acquire a symbolic meaning (Ranevskaya, act one: “I want to jump, wave my arms,” - remark in act three: “In the hall, a figure in a gray top hat, in checkered trousers, waves his hands and jumps” to the shouts “bravo, Charlotte Ivanovna!").

So, the image is secondary, the governess Charlotte, in her own way, sets off the whole play, introducing into it not only comic notes.

Firs

About the brother of Firs - the old faithful servant of the Gayevs - occupies a significant place in the system of images of the play. In my opinion, his words and actions reinforce the feeling created by the central characters: Lyubov Andreevna and Leonid Andreevich, people who largely live their past. After all, they are still "lordly children" for Firs. He remembers what kind of clothes he relies on “to leave” and turns to Gayev with the words: “They put on the wrong trousers again,” and closer to night he brings him a coat. At the same time, Firs is the only housekeeping person in this house: “Without me, who will give here, who will give orders? One for the whole house. " Firs appears in this work as “the spirit of the estate”.

Before leaving, everyone worried about him, worried. It was clarified four times whether Firs was sent to the hospital. However, this never happened, and he is left alone in a boarded-up house, in which there will be no one until spring. But even then he does not stop thinking about the Gayevs: “But Leonid Andreich, I suppose, didn’t put on a fur coat, he went in an overcoat ... I didn’t look ... It’s young and green!” Probably, the spirit of the estate was destined to die with it. The “spirit of history” was forgotten, as was the very history in which he lived. Against the background of such a picture, the phrases “Goodbye, old life!” Sound bitter irony! and "Hello, new life!"

The sound of a broken string, which occurs twice in the play, is inextricably linked with Firs. After the first time, he utters a phrase that can probably be called prophetic: “Before the misfortune, too, there was ...” The second time we hear this sound after Firs was left in a locked house. From that moment on, his fate, like the fate of all the time to which he belonged, was a foregone conclusion. Thus, Firs extremely strongly influences our perception of one of the problems posed in the play - the change of time, being itself an image of this time.

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A.P. Chekhov entered Russian literature as a writer who combined French grace and subtlety, the subtlety of the Russian soul, together with its cruel, sharp contradictions. Certainly, the play "The Cherry Orchard" is one of the most famous works of A.P. Chekhov, with which his name is often associated.

Features of the characters of the play

This work belongs to those rare texts in which it is extremely difficult, and sometimes even impossible, to single out the heroes of the first and second plan. Here, no one is in the center, meanwhile, the criterion for distinguishing the characters is not the author's attention to them and not the position in the text, but their social status.

Dear Readers! We bring to your attention which is one of the few, especially loved by the author.

We could characterize all the heroes as the main ones, because even the most insignificant character, as it turns out later, plays a significant role in the plot of the text. Probably, it is obvious here exactly how the phrase “they are greeted by their clothes, escorted by their minds” works: in our perception of other people we are subject to stereotypes, the formation of which is influenced, for example, by the social status, status, social significance of another person.

Considering that this is a play, the character of the heroes is built by the author not through descriptions, but through speech, remarks, which greatly rationalizes the work itself. However, now it is worth taking a closer look at the specifics of the characters we have chosen.

Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya

This heroine is torn between what her heart tells her, and between what her life circumstances push her to. By origin, she is an aristocrat, but fate decreed that after the death of her husband she was left alone, and her company was mainly unpaid debts.

Her very name - Love - hints to us that the woman needed new feelings and impressions. She is passionately looking for them, but the price for such a search is high - she loses not only her husband, but also her little son. After this tragic incident, Ranevskaya is constantly tormented by her conscience, she tries to retire abroad, however, the gigolo lover finds her there, bringing ruin after ruin - both heart and material.

Dear Readers! We suggest that you familiarize yourself with A.P. Chekhov.

Love is looking for peace, but finding it in the hustle and bustle and constant tension from the debt hole does not seem real. She has a choice - she can save her estate and her garden, which she loves so much, but for this Love must become Lopakhin's wife. This means an interruption of the tradition, because the line of inheritance of the estate will be interrupted, since Lopakhin does not match her status. Ranevskaya was captured by her own, possibly imposed by society, cultural codes and stereotypes.

Leonid Andreevich Gaev

The heroine also has a brother - Leonid Andreevich Gaev. He, like his sister, has all the features of aristocrats: he has a fine sense of beauty, Leonid is a generous and sympathetic, well-educated person. But, as often happens, the advantages turn into vices: after all, in fact we are dealing with the same qualities, just, for example, generosity devoid of a middle turns into its extreme manifestation - squandering, and responsiveness and kindness turn into lack of will and excessive softness ...

Ermolai Alekseevich Lopakhin

If the rest of the characters in the play are distinguished by verbosity and only a small fraction of the action, but in the case of Lopakhin, the opposite is true: he is perhaps the only truly acting person.

He does not represent an estate of aristocrats, but of merchants. In it you can see all the features that distinguish the ideal of Protestantism: a person makes himself, and success in business testifies to the support of God.

Flair, perseverance, determination, intelligence and business acumen - these are the traits that allowed the offspring of serfs to become a rich man.

But money in this society is not everything. Lopakhin has many bright and positive qualities, but he does not speak the language that is understood by the people in whose society he seeks. This is the language and code of social status, determined in that era by origin.

Lopakhin, meanwhile, also has a subtle attitude. He is a connoisseur of beauty, which is far from always obvious. So, the hero sees beauty in Ranevskaya's garden, but she, unfortunately, is not able to appreciate it. The blindness of social roles is what the reader sees here.

Peter Trofimov

Perhaps Petya also traces his origin from a noble family. But now he is a poor and "shabby" student, who can only be called a master in jest. Petya does not have a home, he is a bearer of ideas about the common good and happiness, available to all people without exception.

Peter's problem is that he, too, is a man of words, not deeds. Beautifully and captivatingly, he expresses his ideas about the good, however, at the same time, he embodies complete passivity in its implementation.

Peter lives in a world of his own dreams. He is a nomadic man, always traveling and moving from place to place. Such a life distinguishes unhappy people for whom deepening in dreams is a kind of escapism.

Anna

Peter's dreams, meanwhile, inspire and captivate Ranevskaya's daughter, Anna. Anya was brought up by her uncle, to whom she was left by her mother. When Anya was a teenager, she mostly lived her inner world, which led to some of her naivety in her youth. The girl also inherits the best qualities of the aristocrats, but her features - due to her young years - have not yet gone to extremes.

Varya

Ranevskaya also had an adopted daughter, Varya. However, in reality, the girl looked after the estate, she was responsible for the servants, and also took care of the owners of the estate. Varya has no lofty ideas: her life revolves around everyday life, but it is this life that is the basis that frees up time for other characters so that they can rush their thoughts into lofty matters.

Varya dreams of going to a monastery and dedicating her life to God, but her desires and thoughts are of no interest to anyone. Ranevskaya wants Varya to become Lopakhin's wife, but he does not show any feelings for no.

Simeonov-Pischik

This is a landowner equal in status to Ranevskaya. Just like her, he is mired in a lot of debt. Simeonov is an optimist, he easily adapts to changing circumstances, while the characters gathered around the "cherry orchard" live by conservative values ​​and concepts.

Yasha

Despite the fact that Yasha is only a lackey, he is distinguished by a fair amount of arrogance and pride. Yasha feels neither affection nor respect. Status for him is a convention lost in his pride.

Dunyasha

This heroine is an image of frivolity and carelessness. She lives only in the present, like a one-day butterfly, indulging only in romantic dreams.

Epikhodov

An unhappy office worker who embodies not only the chronic failures of life, but also its emptiness, meaninglessness and futility.

Charlotte Ivanovna

Verbose governess. But, in general, her image is very comical.

Firs

This hero is a tragic figure who represents all those serfs who did not know what to do without their masters. Many serfs had an infant consciousness (despite the fact that they could at the same time be quite old) and the master's family for them was like their own family. When serfdom was abolished, all these serfs felt emptiness and helplessness, as if they were left without a father.

Firs is a very symbolic character. He dies in an empty estate, while trees are being cut down on the street - the beautiful cherry orchard is gone - just like the old order is gone.

A.P. Chekhov had a great influence on Russian culture, in particular on literature and theater. His works are filled with irony, symbolism and vitality. One of his best works was the comedy (by definition of the author) "The Cherry Orchard", which he wrote shortly before his death. In it, the author revealed his views on the past, present and future of Russia.

According to many critics, Chekhov is the founder of the "new drama." His play is "plotless", the viewer is shown only the reactions of the characters to what is happening behind the scenes. The course of events is not important for the author; Chekhov gives more importance to the characters of his play, since through their characters, life, views of the world, one can understand about the contemporary author of Russia. In different situations, certain characters think and act differently, which speaks of another feature of Chekhov's play: his characters are not clearly divided into positive and negative (except for Yasha). In addition, the play has a considerable number of secondary characters, which, like the main ones, are important. Their abundance is explained by the fact that through them the reader will be able to better understand the true face of this or that hero.

Lyubov Ranevskaya is the main character of Chekhov's work. At first, her image can arouse sympathy in the reader. Many heroes call her a good person, “easy, simple”. She is not a sharply negative character, so she seems harmless, but in fact she is not. Ranevskaya, like most other heroes, is perceived ambiguously, and this is helped to understand the secondary characters.

In the second act, Lyubov Andreevna and the other characters were sitting on the bench, thinking. It was already evening, they were about to leave, but a Passer-by came up to them. After some pretext, he turns to Vara: "Mademoiselle, let the hungry Russian citizen thirty kopecks ...". She was frightened, Lopakhin considered the passer-by's request to be "disgraceful", but Ranevskaya, despite her plight, still gives it to the Passer-by. She is accustomed to waste money, does not know how to save, although she notices this for herself, but she cannot do anything about it: "I have always wasted money without restraint, like a madman." The episode with this “accidental” character once again confirms that Ranevskaya is a frivolous and non-business woman, but at the same time that she has a soul, her responsiveness and attention to an ordinary “hungry Russian” is manifested.

Throughout the play, Lyubov Ranevskaya was affectionate with the lackey Firs, she called him "my old man." This is an elderly man who sincerely loves his owners. He also served Ranevskaya's father, and remained with the masters after the abolition of serfdom in 1861. Upon his return, Lyubov Andreevna Firs rejoiced with tears in his eyes. When the estate was bought by Lopakhin, Ranevskaya and other heroes were about to leave, no one noticed the presence of Firs, and they closed it in an empty house. Although Ranevskaya is devoted to the memories of the past, she values ​​everything connected with her cherry orchard, childhood, and hence the lackey Firs, in the end she forgets about him. This gives the reader a reason to doubt the strength and depth of her feelings about the past, and this is what is important, in my opinion, the image of Firs.

In the play by A.P. Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" has a lot of minor characters, but they are just as important as the main ones. On the example of Ranevskaya, one can understand that she reveals different sides of her personality through interactions with “random” characters. This is their main "function", which determines their abundance: to show how versatile certain characters are.

Updated: 2018-04-26

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In literature lessons, we read and analyzed the Comedy of A.P. Chekhov The Cherry Orchard. Showing to be a noble estate, the author introduces us to a whole group, in some way connected with it. These, along with the footman Yasha, are the clerk Epikhodov, the landowner Seseonov-Pishchik, the maid Dunyasha, the housekeeper Varya, the governess Charlotte and the footman Firs.

They mainly play the role of reinforcing the tragedies and the comic beginning of the work.

Dunyasha and Yasha are an illustrative example of the discrepancy between the behavior and statements of the heroes and their position. The maid talks about herself

Next: "She became tender, so delicate, noble." She tries to imitate gentle young ladies in everything.

Dunyasha complains about her upset nerves, although she is a healthy and cheerful girl ... Coquettish and cutesy, with an invariable mirror and powder box in her hands, the girl is all at the mercy of love dreams. Firs warns her, not without reason: “You will twist…” If Dunyasha's behavior evokes a good-natured smile, then the image of Yasha makes a repulsive impression. This is a lackey corrupted by idleness and life in Paris.

In restaurants, he demands that only the most expensive dishes be brought to him, despite the fact that his masters have no money at all. He absolutely dislikes his homeland, calling it "an uneducated country." “I saw enough of ignorance - it will be with me,” he declares, asking Ranevskaya to take him to Paris again. And his phrase: "Vive la France!" causes ridicule and contempt.

Yasha, according to Parisian habit, smokes cigars and drinks champagne, but at home, at home, he rudely yells at Firs (although he himself is the same lackey) and does not want to see his peasant mother.

A comical and at the same time sad impression is produced in the play by the image of Epikhodov, the clerk of the cherry orchard. He considers himself a "developed person", reads "various wonderful books," but has difficulty expressing his thoughts. His desire to express himself in bookish phrases leads to the construction of the most confused phrases, consisting of introductory words and devoid of any meaning: “Of course, if you look from the point of view, then you, let me put it this way, excuse my frankness, completely brought me into a state of feeling”.

Dunyasha gives a suitable description of Epikhodov's incoherent language: "Good and sensitive, only incomprehensible." Also, the clerk does everything inappropriately, awkwardly, for which he received the nickname “twenty-two misfortunes”. He constantly complains that he is failing and falls out of hand.

Simeonov-Pischik is a landowner, a hectic man who never deviates from his role. Every time he appears on stage, he invariably asks for money and talks about his daughter Dasha. Pischik is a comic figure without any reservations, even his abbreviated surname is ridiculous.

He is like a clown who, going on stage, must show a new number. In the first act, Pischik for some reason swallows Lyubov Andreevna's pills, seriously stating: “He took all the pills,” in the third, he admires Charlotte, while not bothering himself with exquisite phrases, all his praises are reduced to the words “Think about it!” But he is also delicate (takes Lopakhin away from Ranevskaya after the news of the Sale of the Cherry Orchard), honest (gives the debts to Lopakhin and Ranevskaya), and sensitive (cries when he learns about the family's departure). But still he is a sincere, kind person, on the whole so similar to Gaev, who laughs at Pischik.

A rather interesting role in the play is played by the arrogant Charlotte Ivanovna, a master of twisting everything serious in a comic way. But sorrowful remarks break through from her: “I want to talk so much!”, And not with anyone… ”Here you can feel something of Ranevskaya. Charlotte does not know who she is, how old she is, why she is here: “Who am I, why I am, it is not known ...” There is a feeling of her uselessness.

But it is Charlotte with her tricks, ventriloquism, circus performances that emphasizes the comedic character of the situation. At the time when the fate of the cherry orchard is being decided, she cheerfully demonstrates magic tricks. All this proves once again that A.P. Chekhov did not in vain introduced such a number of secondary characters into the play, because they play an important role with their presence - they enhance the tragedy of the work.

Also important is the creation of their greater comic at the beginning of the work.

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6. Griboyedov's comedy "Woe from Wit" is a kind of "encyclopedia of Russian life" of the first half of the 19th century. Significantly expanding the scope of the narrative due to the multitude of secondary and off-stage characters, Griboyedov outlines in it the magnificent human types of Moscow of his day. As O. Miller notes, almost all minor characters of comedy are reduced to three types: “Famusovs, candidates for [...] ...
7. The author defined the genre of "The Cherry Orchard" as follows: "lyrical comedy". There are many comedic characters and sitcoms in the play, but they all have dramatic overtones. The subtext is based on the contrast between the neutrality of the remarks and the significance of the unspoken, implied. Every word, every detail, every remark plays a role in revealing the author's intention. The lyrical image of the cherry orchard is a symbolic image of Russia. Basic […]...
8. The image of the cherry orchard is the central image in Chekhov's comedy; it is represented by the leitmotif of various time plans, involuntarily connecting the past with the present. But the cherry orchard is not just a background of current events, it is a symbol of life in the estate. The fate of the estate organizes the play by plot. Already in the first act, immediately after the meeting of Ranevskaya, a discussion of the salvation of the mortgaged estate from the auction begins. V […]...
9. When creating the play "The Cherry Orchard" A. P. Chekhov paid great attention to the image of Lopakhin as one of the central images of the comedy. In revealing the author's intention, in resolving the main conflict, it is Lopakhin who plays a very important role. Lopakhin is unusual and strange; he has caused and is causing bewilderment of many literary scholars. Indeed, Chekhov's character does not fit into the framework of the usual scheme: [...] ...
10. The hussar captain Zurin, who at the beginning of the novel (first chapter) teaches young Grinev "to get used to the service" and, taking advantage of his complete inexperience, brutally beats him at billiards, appears again at the end of the novel (the penultimate chapter) to help Grinev in a difficult minute. An even more important, downright decisive role in the fate of Grinev is played by the incident he met in the Orenburg [...] ...
11. The passage of time in the comedy of A. P. Chekhov "The Cherry Orchard" The play "The Cherry Orchard" and today does not leave the stages of Russian and foreign theaters. The problems touched upon in it are topical to this day: it is a person's dissatisfaction with reality and himself, a desire to change life, alienation and loneliness, the loss of family roots. The Cherry Orchard is a timeless comedy. The topic of "time" in [...] ...
12. "The Cherry Orchard" is a capacious and ambiguous name, like this image itself. It is wrong to understand it only as the setting for the play. The sale of the cherry orchard is at the heart of her plot, and we can say that in relation to it all the heroes of the comedy are characterized. But even more important is the meaning of the image of the cherry orchard. It is known that at first Chekhov [...] ...
13. A. P. Chekhov, with his play "The Cherry Orchard", which is considered fairly well-known in Russian literature, has shown an example of an innovative approach to the transmission of old ideas in a new style. The author makes fun of the actions of the heroes of the work. They reveal the true depth of their experiences and sensations. They have become the personification of helplessness in the face of this world. Characters are idiots - they are all heroes without exception [...] ...
14. Disputes about the genre of "The Cherry Orchard" do not subside until now, but they were started by the leaders of the Moscow Art Theater and the author himself. Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko saw in the play "the hard drama of Russian life," and Chekhov asserted: "What came out of me was not a drama, but a comedy, sometimes even a farce." He insisted that there should be no “crying tone” in the performance. Really, […]...
15. 1st competition: "Who says this?" Assignment: Read the passage expressively, identify the hero and give him a characterization. 1. “All Russia is our garden. The earth is great and beautiful, there are many wonderful places on it. (Pause.) Think ... your grandfather, great-grandfather and all your ancestors were serf owners who owned living souls, and really from every cherry in the garden, from every leaf, from [...] ...
16. The drama of A. P. Chekhov "The Cherry Orchard" was originally conceived as a farcical story of the life of a gentleman who was very fond of playing billiards and fishing. But in the process of writing the play, the author had to think about the serious problems of that time, and they could not but be reflected in the work, so the content of the play acquired a deeper meaning. The genre of the work remained the same [...] ...
17. In the play by A. Chekhov "The Cherry Orchard", many characters are somewhat opposed to each other. Therefore, contrasting pairs of heroes with their contrasting beliefs can be distinguished. First, “I am higher than love” by Ranevskaya and “we are higher than love” by Petya Trofimov. For Firs, all the best has irrevocably gone into the past, Anya is recklessly looking into the future. Varya lives for her family, renouncing [...] ...
18. It is well known that the moral ideal of Chekhov is a harmoniously developed person. But even among his beloved heroes there is no one about whom one could say that "everything is fine with him - his face, clothes, soul, and thoughts." Much more often we annoy Chekhov's heroes, because in the most obvious situations they behave at all [...] ...
19. A. N. Ostrovsky, the author of numerous plays about merchants, is rightfully considered the “singer of merchant life” and the father of the Russian national theater. He created about 60 plays, the most famous of which are - "Dowry", "Forest", "Our people - numbered", "Thunderstorm" and many others. The most striking and decisive, according to A. N. Dobrolyubov, was the play "The Thunderstorm". It contains “mutual [...] ...
20. In the play, Chekhov summarizes the theme of the death of the nobility's nests, reveals the doom of the nobility and the arrival of new social forces to replace it. The Russia of the past, the Russia of cherry orchards with their elegiac beauty is represented by the images of Ranevskaya and Gaev. These are the fragments of the local nobility. They are indecisive, not adapted to life, passive. The only thing they can do is make pompous, like Gaev, speeches [...] ...
21. The play "The Cherry Orchard" is Chekhov's last dramatic work, a sad elegy about the passing times of "noble nests". In a letter to NA Leikin, Chekhov confessed: “I love terribly everything that is called an estate in Russia. This word has not yet lost its poetic connotation. " The playwright was dear to everything connected with the estate life, she symbolized the warmth of the family [...] ...
22. The premiere of the play "The Cherry Orchard" took place on January 17, 1904 at the Moscow Art Theater. The play was born long and painfully. There were many reasons for this: a serious illness of the writer himself, a sudden long-term illness of his wife, everyday troubles associated with settling in a Yalta house. But the main thing was in creative torment. Soon after the premiere of Three Sisters, Chekhov writes from Yalta to O. [...] ...
23. The system of creating images of the characters of The Cherry Orchard is characterized by originality. There is more than one hero here. At the same time, the reader immediately notices the lack of division of characters into positive and negative characters. They are all equally far from the true awareness of the essence of life. They are all characterized by helplessness before the passing of time, and they all strive to cast a glance into the future, which is destined to remain [...] ...
24. Let everything on stage be as complicated and at the same time as simple as in life. People dine, only dine, and at this time their happiness is formed and their lives are broken. A. Chekhov The premiere of the play “The Cherry Orchard” took place on January 17, 1904 at the Moscow Art Theater. The play was born long and painfully. The reasons for this [...] ...
25. Even characters who, unlike the main antagonists, have little influence on the development of the plot, receive clear individual characteristics in the play about Richard II. The Duke of York is shown as a subjectively honest man, guided in his behavior, like Gaunt, by the idea of ​​patriotism and at the same time devoted to the throne and the reigning monarch. But unlike Gaunt, York is more [...] ...
26. Perhaps for Ranevskaya, the cherry orchard is the past, these are his pleasant memories, because for her to sell the garden means to change herself, her habits, ideals, life values. And all the past connected with the garden warms the soul and fills Lyubov Andreyevna's heart with happiness. She is a person of the past, completely not adapted to life, but living in the past on her estate [...] ...
27. There is only a moment between the past and the future ... L. Derbenev Indeed, the moment - between the past, which cannot be changed, and the future, for the surprises of which one cannot be prepared in advance - that is what our present is. The time given to us to stop, reflect on our mistakes, decide what to do next, try to influence our future destiny. But are we always [...] ...
28. The comedy of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov "The Cherry Orchard" is the greatest work of the 20th century. There is, perhaps, no artist and director who would not want to play and stage this play. Why is this work so attractive? In the last comedy of A.P. Chekhov, one central image defines the whole life of the heroes. This is a cherry orchard. Ranevskaya has memories of a whole [...] ...
29. One of the characters in the play by A. Chekhov "The Cherry Orchard" is the merchant Yermolai Alekseevich Lopakhin. This person, so eager to help Ranevskaya, in the opinion of the reader, raises some concerns. Why? Because, in fact, this person is a predator. Petya Trofimov explains his life purpose to Lopakhin in the following way: “This is how, in terms of metabolism, a predatory animal is needed, which [...] ...
30. The Thunderstorm is undoubtedly Ostrovsky's most decisive work; the mutual relations of tyranny and speechlessness are brought to the most tragic consequences in it; and for all that, most of those who have read and seen this play agree that it gives a less grievous and sad impression than other plays by Ostrovsky (not to mention, of course, his sketches of a purely comic nature). In the “Thunderstorm” [...] ...
31. Main characters: Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya - landowner. Anya is her daughter, 17 years old. Varya is her adopted daughter, 24 years old. Leonid Andreevich Gaev - Ranevskaya's brother. Ermolai Alekseevich Lopakhin is a merchant. Boris Borisovich Simeonov-Pischik is a landowner. Firs is a footman, 87 years old. Semyon Panteleevich Epikhodov is a clerk. Lopakhin and the maid Dunyasha are waiting in the children's room, [...] ...
32. The theme of the play "The Cherry Orchard" is the playwright's reflection on the fate of Russia, on its past, present and future, and the cherry orchard, "which is nothing more beautiful in the world" (III), personifies the homeland for Chekhov ("All Russia is our garden" (II ), Says Petya Trofimov). The former masters of the country - local noblemen, spiritually helpless and practically bankrupt in economic [...] ...
33. In the play "The Cherry Orchard", A. P. Chekhov raises the most important social theme at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries - the theme of the death of "noble nests". This work clearly shows the farewell of the new, young, tomorrow's Russia with the past, moribund, doomed. The “old” and “new” times in the play are symbolized by the heroes: representatives of old, patriarchal Russia - Ranevskaya, her brother Gaev, Simeonov-Pishchik, a man of modern times - [...] ...
34. Outline of the composition 1. Introduction 2. The image of the cherry orchard in the work: A) What does the cherry orchard symbolize? B) Three generations in the play 3. Problems of the play A) Internal and external conflict 4. My attitude to the work For more than a century on the stages of many theaters, and not only Russian ones, the play "The Cherry Orchard" has been successfully running. The directors are looking for everything in [...] ...
35. The dramatic works of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov are complex and ambiguous. By the author's own admission, those written “contrary to all the rules of dramatic art,” meanwhile, have not left the theaters of the world for many decades. Why is Chekhov's drama so attractive? The author was brilliantly able to see and reflect the time of his day, the changed human relations. Indeed, in Chekhov's plays there is little dynamics. Heroes [...] ...
36. Outline Social statuses of the play's heroes as one of the characteristics Brief characteristics of the main characters Brief characteristics of the secondary characters Social statuses of the play's heroes as one of the characteristics In the final play by A. Chekhov “The Cherry Orchard” there is no division into main and secondary characters. All of them are major, even seemingly episodic roles are of great importance for [...] ...
37. In life, people often do not say what they think. In literary theory, this implicit, hidden meaning, which does not coincide with the direct meaning of the phrase, is called "subtext." In prose works, it is quite easy to convey this semantic effect with the help of an all-knowing author-storyteller. For example, in the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky "What is to be done?" (Ch. 2, VI) lively mother Marya Alekseevna Rozalskaya addresses [...] ...
38. "The Cherry Orchard" Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is a great Russian writer and playwright, whose plays invariably cause admiration among viewers all over the world. The originality of Chekhov's plays lies in the new relationship between external and internal action. The external action of Chekhov's plays is mundane, trivial, filled with trifles of everyday life. However, the meaning of everything that happens on the stage is revealed in depth, in the inner, like [...] ...
39. Comparison "All Russia is our garden!" in Chekhov's play "The Cherry Orchard" is very symbolic, for with that beauty of the cherry orchard, which perishes from the knocking of an ax, the whole of Russia also dies. The image of the garden is the image of the homeland itself. It is the theme of the homeland that is the inner poetic theme of The Cherry Orchard, this deeply patriotic play, permeated from the first to the last line of passionate and [...] ...
40. The image of Firs of the old faithful servant of the Gayevs contains an individual psychological and historical symbolic meaning. The ancient livery and white gloves of Firs are the same memory of the past, as well as the room that is “still called the nursery,” a century-old “respected closet,” a family estate with a house and a cherry orchard. Firs himself - in the literal sense of the word - is a "walking" memory of the old manor [...] ...

The Cherry Orchard is considered to be a lyrical comedy. The title of the work directly underlines this. This orientation (comic in combination with lyric) is associated with the author himself and his image. We can feel his presence throughout the entire play, he is guessed in the directions, in the setting. He is sad and happy with the heroes, sometimes he is too ironic about events, but in any case, he is.

Anton Pavlovich pays special attention not only to the main characters, but also to secondary characters. Of course

They do not affect the development of events in the cortex, but they make it possible to recreate a complete picture. In addition, along with the heroes who appear on the stage, there are a number of heroes, as they say, behind the scenes - this is Pischik's daughter, and the Parisian lover, and the Yaroslavl aunt. They are included in the work for a reason, all the characters set a certain tone.

The main task of the minor characters is to summarize the main thoughts of the heroes, to say what passed by remained unspoken. Through them, at times, key points pass, which are important for understanding and comprehending the play.

Little or nothing is said about the minor characters, but their character can be traced in the remarks that the author so lovingly puts into their mouths.

Take Epikhodov, for example. He considers himself a highly educated person, although, in essence, he is underdeveloped and proud. He has a predilection for a pile of phrases, inappropriate comparisons, the use of foreign words in a place without that. He says it seems to be beautiful and good, but completely, completely incomprehensible.

Another character is Yasha. He is spoiled by Parisian life, this can be clearly seen in his address to Dunyasha: "Cucumber!" Yasha's speech is not filled with any meaning, which gives a feeling of the scarcity of his inner world. He is also cocky, cruel, and vindictive. A striking episode to prove these words is the moment when Yasha was bitten on the finger by Charlotte's dog. Waiting until nightfall, he took the rope, twisted the loop and did some lousy business not just anywhere, but right in front of Charlotte's windows. Poor Charlotte! Yasha is a person who has absolutely no morality. However, it is as simple as five kopecks, and this is its need, and everyone needs them.

There is one more character, which can hardly be called secondary. He plays almost the most important role in the whole play. Despite the fact that he rarely appears on the stage, he is entrusted with the final monologue - this is Firs. He remained an "eternal serf", at one time, abandoning such a desired freedom.

All minor heroes are not at all a background; they, by right, can be considered full-fledged independent heroes. The heroes are not able to argue with the prevailing pattern, but this is not at all a reason for sadness. Their departure from the stage is a whole performance, as bright as a carnival. The bottom line is that the main acting characters cannot overcome their grief, and the secondary ones, as it were, scare him away with their own laughter. It was these details that made The Cherry Orchard a comedy, and in some places a farce, which, in general, emphasizes the drama of the play.