The Cherry Orchard

          The Cherry Orchard had beautiful writing, and parts of the play were truly thought-provoking and engaging. With that said, I found it nearly impossible to get through the play. For a short play, there were a ton of characters to keep track of, and in many cases the characters were called different names or nicknames than the original name Chekhov gave in the script. I know that seeing The Cherry Orchard on stage, and having actual human beings represent the characters, would make this a lot less confusing. However, the names and amount of characters made it hard for me to read.
       I find it really interesting that Chekhov intended the play to be a comedy. Reading the play, the tone I picked up on from the writing did not feel like a comedy or farce. Strindberg, the playwright of Miss Julie, spoke about how the interpretation of a play (whether it is a comedy or tragedy) is dependent upon a society and it's social state. He felt that the reader would not interpret something as tragic if they could not personally relate to it. Chekhov's play was surrounded by socio-economic forces that were occurring in Russia (a rising middle class and the sinking of the aristocracy). However, reading the play in the 21st century serves as a different experience. We have all experienced a crashing market and many citizens losing their houses and possessions. I think that this state of the economy can provide an explanation for why the tone of tragedy feels intensified.