The Cherry Orchard Book Review

Z’kia Campbell 

Mr. Rease 

AP Literature and Composition 

5 April 2020 

The Cherry Orchard: Book Review 

The Cherry Orchard is a drama created by Russian author, Anton Chekhov. The play is a distinct representation of Russian society. It depicts the lives of a group of Russians during the liberation of the serfs, while also, teaching valuable morals and lessons through the tragedies and terrible decisions of Madame Ranevsky and Lophakin, the most essential characters to the plot. The major conflict is revealed shortly after Madame Ranevsky returns from Paris. It is revealed that she has accumulated a large amount of debt and she no longer has the funds to keep the Cherry Orchard estate, her childhood home. In the mist of this Lophakin,  her neighbor and a former serf of her family, has become a wealthy businessman and is constantly trying to give Ranevsky ideas save the estate. Through this all, the readers can see the fall of the social stratification between the characters, Ranevsky who once was of aristocracy statue has become one of low value and Lophakin who once was a servant is now of wealthy statue, which is an prominent  theme in the play. 

I admit it was difficult reading the play independently, however, I really enjoyed reading it. Chekhov’s writing style was amazing to me. He found a way to incorporate humor in a story full of meaningful lessons, which I have never seen before. I would gladly recommend this play to an AP Literature class. I really think the students would enjoy acting out the characters especially Ephikhodof, my favorite character.