ePub Applied Analyses in Geotechnics by Fethi Azizi in Arts-Photography

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Hanami festival in Russiahellip;By John P. Jones IIICherry trees; in particular; of all trees; can touch many a soul. Japan is famous for its ldquo;Hanami festivals;rdquo; that brief period of 10 days or so; each spring; when the cherry trees are in blossom. For many a Japanese; it is de rigueur to picnic under a cherry tree during the festival; and celebrate the return of warmth; longer days; and a renewal of the earthrsquo;s bounty. Many other places also celebrate this period; including Washington; DC. Anton Chekhov commences his play with Lubov Ranevsky; a Russian landowner; returning to her home on the steppe; after numerous years abroad; in May; when her own cherry orchard; is in full bloom. As she says: ldquo;After the dark autumns and the cold winters; yoursquo;re young again; full of happiness; the angels of heaven havenrsquo;t left youhellip;rdquo;Chekhov is one of Russiarsquo;s most famous writers. He was prolific ndash; often due to financial needs. He presented realistic portraits of the spectrum of individuals who composed Russian society in the late 19th Century. His own life was not easyhellip; which can lend empathy to the troubles of others. Parts of ldquo;The Cherry Orchardrdquo; are autobiographical; since his family also experienced economic want; loss of a home; and displacement as a result. He had health problems; contracting tuberculosis in his lsquo;20rsquo;s; and dying from it at 44. Regrettably; it has taken me a long time to finally read this play; since I was first inspired by Linda Christmasrsquo; portrait of Thatcherian England of the lsquo;80rsquo;s; entitled Chopping Down the Cherry Trees: Portrait of Britain in the Eighties.The plays dominant themes concern economic and social transition. Chekhov successfully includes a range of characters who represent Russian society at the time. There are the land-owning aristocrats; failing to adapt to changing economic forces. The emancipation of the serfs; in 1861; is one of the causes of these changes; and resonates throughout the play. It is Lopakhin; a well-to-do merchant; and the son of a former serf; who is at the vanguard of these economic forces. He is the one who wants to chop down those cherry trees; and erect villas on the land; for the expanding population. As he says: ldquo;Up to now in the villages there were only the gentry and the laborers; and now the people who live in the villas have arrived. Another memorable character; Fiers; is a ldquo;footman;rdquo; hard of hearing at age 87; a former serf; who views his own emancipation as a ldquo;misfortune.rdquo; Anticipating todayrsquo;s world of ldquo;perpetual students;rdquo; another character is Trofimov; who in turn anticipates the ldquo;creative destructionrdquo; economic theory of Joseph Schumpeter; and says of Lopakhin: ldquo;Just as the wild beast which eats everything it finds is needed for changes to take place in matter; so you are needed too.rdquo;There are several other characters; including Dunyasha; with her inconsequential yearnings of love; Ivanovna; a ldquo;cheekyrdquo; governess; a couple other landowners; as well as Lubovrsquo;s two daughters; Anya; age 17; and Varya; who is adopted; and is age 27. Some of their interactions provided useful social background; other interactions seemed utterly irrelevant to Chekhovrsquo;s central themes; and did not even serve as a meaningful counterpoint. In addition; the ending seemed overdrawn; and unnecessary. Two to five ldquo;tight linesrdquo; could have captured the essence of the situationhellip; along with the ax in the background; chopping the trees down.The latter is an enduring metaphor; this play is rated as one of the best 100 in some rating systems; I am definitely glad that I finally read it; yet overall; I feel that it is only 4-stars.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Dated but greatBy medfairLubow and her daughter Anya return from their long absence in Paris to her landed gentry ancestral estate. She is penniless after squandering all the money she had; and then a lot she didnt; in addition to having been virtually robbed by her second husband. She gets there just in time for the estate; including the vast; old cherry orchard; about to be auctioned for the ever increasing dept. The impoverished nobility is still served and despised by the children of the slaves that the family owned. Lopakhin; a dubious family friend and an unenthusiastic would-be suitor to Lubows adopted daughter Varya and whose father was once a peasant serf on the estate; is now a rich land developer. He tries to convince Lubow and her brother Leo to sell the orchard for re-division into villa-in-the-country plots in order to get her out of the ever increasing debt. But Lubow is paralyzed. For her the cherry orchard is her tie to her previous life; to her childhood; without which she has no existence. At the end the orchard is bought by Lopathin at the auction and the family leaves and is dispersed while the sounds of axes felling the cherries resonate in the background.As many; if not all of Chekhovs writings; the play is a painful satire on the intellectual vacuum and the existential stupidity of Russian penniless nobility; pathetic intellectuals; and fawning useless servants. The emerging moneyed class is not much better; looking on possession as the only proof of worth. There are more characters in this play and they are all pathetic; ridiculous; avaricious; pompous. Whether Chekhov thought it was a comedy or not; it projects the feeling of despair.In many ways; selling the orchard is like abandoning Tara. But Lopakhin is no Rett Butler. He is successful but has no flair; not even roguish appeal. The play is beautifully written and the characters painted with a fine and sensitive brush. It even does have modern relevance; where the previously respected old money and academic intellect give way to a new generation of fast Wall Street operators; transitory sports; rock; and reality celebrities - a new world of virtual values. But to fully appreciate Chekhovs masterpiece; one has to understand the Russian melancholic "soul"; which permeates the atmosphere of the play. Dated but great!4 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Lost in translationBy MGThis review is for the translation; rather than the original. The original is a classic; which needs no review. Its been relevant for over 100 years and there is no need to discuss it further.The translation is poor. I acquired this book for my child as a school read. She was required to read it in English rather than in Russian by her teacher. As a result; this book was completely lost on her; even though she grew up in a Russian-speaking environment and visited Russia on several occasions. When I asked her to read it in Russian; she realized how many critical things were inaccurately translated and the book started to make sense to her.Most people wont have the luxury to read the Russian original; but this translation should be avoided.