The Piano Lesson by August Wilson and The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov have similar themes. Both show the themes of family unity, family conflicts, family treasure and family history. The styles used in both plays include symbolism, suspense, a play within a play and history. These styles have aided in highlighting the themes in the plays.
Different works of arts employ different artistic devices in communicating the theme to the reader. Comparing different works of literature is essential as it enables the reader to fully understand the literature works. Literal works by different writers may communicate similar themes. This implies that the writers’ literal works are at some point inclined in the same line of thoughts. Plays may have been written in different times but may be used to bring out the same idea or theme. Play wrights are diverse in compiling their literal works hence being able to convince the audience. Plays do not only concentrate on the playwright but also the actors. Playwrights should select actors who fully bring out the characters in the play. The following is a comparison of two play writers: August Wilson and Anton Chekhov.
The piano Lesson is a play by American playwright August Wilson. The play concerns two main characters a boy named Willie and his sister Maretha. They are African Americans who are affected by the history of slavery that is part of every African American in the United States. The play has many themes such as family ties, slavery, family conflicts amongst others. The play is set in the past American history and highlights the difficult times the African Americans faced while in the United States of America. Slavery is the most visible theme of the play and is well highlighted by the Author.
The Cherry Orchard is a play by Anton Chekhov set in Russia and revolves around a certain Russian family. Madame Ranevskaya's family is a united family which owns an Orchard estate. Lyubov Andreyevna Ranevskaya returns to Russia with her 17 year old daughter Anya and her German governess Charlotta Ivanovna. She finds the estate in good condition under the care of an adopted daughter by the name Varya, Mme. The family is happy to be reunited because it had been separated for a long period of time.
The Piano Lesson by August Wilson highlights a theme of the importance of family. The family in the play is African American which has experienced the difficult life in slavery. The family has suffered separation from their loved ones and this comprises of its sad family history. However, August shows that despite the difficult times the family goes through there is a strong bond between them.
The Cherry Orchad by Anton Chekhov has a similar theme to the piano lesson on family ties. The play is about the family of Ranevskaya. This family is so united and this is evidenced by the fact that the family has some members who are not biologically from the family but adopted. The love in the family is so great that there are minimal conflicts. The theme of family ties has been properly organized in both plays despite being set in completely different racial backgrounds and times.
Both plays have highlighted the theme of family treasure. Every family has a treasure which is highly valued and appreciated. However, different family members will view the family treasures from different angles. The two main protagonists in the play are Willie and Maretha who have a brother-sister relationship. The piano is a valued treasure in the family because Willie’s great grandfather’s wife and son were sold in exchange for the piano during the slave trade days.
The Piano Lesson has brought out the theme of family unity. Family unity is seen as a very important aspect of any family. It tends to show that if there was family unity in the family then the family conflicts would be completely eliminated. The play shows how the family struggles to maintain peace and understanding. The conflict of the piano is the major issue in the play and it is later on resolved as a result of the family’s unity.
The theme of family unity is also highlighted in The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov. This is highlighted by the families’ efforts to save the Orchard from being auctioned. The family directs its efforts to acquiring funds to save the Orchard. The Orchard is a treasure to the family hence the reason why they are so attached to it. The fact that the family combines its efforts to save the Orchard shows the theme of family unity.
The Piano reveals the painful memories hence the reason why the family is so attached to it. Likewise, the family treasure in Anton Chekhov’s play is the Cherry Orchard estate. The family values the estate because it is one of the most important places in the family’s history. The value of the estate to the family is evident from the fact that the family has been away for five years but has ensured that there is someone to take care of the Orchard: adopted daughter Varya Mme. The play’s emphasis on the importance of family treasures because they assist in keeping the families united.
Both plays have highlighted on family conflicts that arise in the families due to disagreements between some of the members of the family. The conflict in the Piano Lesson comes up as a result of the family treasure: The Piano. The young man in the family, Willie wants to sell the family treasure: The Piano. This implies that however much families will some treasures, some of the member’s of the families will not see any significance in the treasure. The conflict arises when Willie’s sister refused upon the idea of selling the piano.
Willie sees no value in the piano whereas her sister is emotionally attached to the piano. The piano has a carving of their grandmother. This implies that the piano is memory serving to the family. The Cherry Orchard has a similar case where the family is on the verge of loosing the estate. Ranevskaya is reminded by Mme that the estate is to be auctioned to cover its mortgage. Plans to save the estate set on because it is the most important treasure belonging to the family. The conflict is seen from the fact that Ranevskaya is heavily in debt hence cannot save the estate.
Just like in the piano in The Piano Lesson, the estate is memory serving as well in The Cherry Orchard; it reminds Ranevskaya of her childhood and youthful life. This gives the conclusion that both treasures in both plays are memory serving. Ranevskaya is in a very bad state because of fear of losing the estate. The memories are important for both families in the plays.
The Piano Lesson shows the idea of being a stranger in a completely foreign land. This is evident from the mentioning of slavery all along the play. Despite having a slave history, the family tries to overcome the unpleasant events in the past by preserving the Piano. A similar situation is indirectly depicted in The Cherry Orchard by the mention of Mme. Mme is an adopted daughter but has however tried to leave beyond this fact. She is treated as a biological member of the family and is therefore comfortable in the family.
The two authors have employed the aspect of history in both plays. In the Piano Lesson, the family’s history revolves around slavery. Willie’s great grandfather suffers under slavery and loses a wife and a son. The same historic style has been employed in the Cherry Orchad. Ranevskaya has unpleasant historic memories of the drowning of her son Grisha. Grisha drowns while Ranevskaya lives in the estate and this is the reason why she flees from home but comes back after five years.
Symbolism has been used by both playwrights in the plays. Symbolism helps in bringing out the themes in the plays. The Piano is symbolic in the Piano Lesson in that it holds some of the family’s memories. The piano tries to create unity in the family and on the contrary it is the cause of the conflict. The Estate in the Cherry Orchard has been used symbolically because it means a lot to the family hence the reason why they don’t want to lose it. Most of the family members in the play are so attached to the Orchard that they never want to lose it.
Suspense is a very important style in plays, books and movies. The style has been employed in The Piano Lesson by August Wilson. Suspense is seen in a variety of scenes and is imperative because it keeps the audience with an urge to know what will happen next. Suspense is depicted when the audience is left wondering why The Piano is so important to the family. The significance of the Piano in the play is shown at a later time in the play. This is when the audience gets to know that The Piano is a symbolical asset to the family.
The same aspect of suspense is employed in The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov. Suspense is applied in most of the scenes in the play. The audience is in a state of suspense when wanting to know why Ranevskaya shifted from his home. This is later on revealed in the play that Ranevskaya had gone away so as to escape the painful memories on his son’s death. The memories are so painful and they are what make her attachment to the Cherry Orchard so strong.
The style of a play within a play has been utilized by both playwrights. This is where as the main play continues, a short play in relation to the main one is highlighted. This style assists in showing important scenes in the play. The style has been used both in the Piano Lesson and The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov. In the Cherry Orchard this style is shown when Ranevskaya has memories of her son who died a long time ago. In the Piano Lesson by August Wilson, the style is used when the family remembers of their great grandmother who was sold as a slave.
Conclusion
Despite having different thoughts, different writers will always have similar themes in their works of literature. Time is also not a hindrance towards depicting a similar theme in different literal works. The Piano Lesson by August Wilson and The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov depict similar themes despite being set in different time frames. The fact the two playwrights come from different social and racial backgrounds does also not hinder their similar ideas in the plays. This shows that playwrights all over the world share some thing in common. The field of playwriting is therefore diverse and goes beyond the boundaries of different nations. The piano Lesson is about an Afro-American Family while the Cherry Orchard is about a Russian family. The characters of these plays are completely a contrast but the theme depicted by the plays lie in the same line.
Work Cited
Wilson A. The Piano Lesson. New York. Plume: 1990.
The Cherry Orchad by Anton Chekhov
The Piano Lesson by August Wilson
The Cherry Orchard Text – enotes.com
AUGUST WILSON: A Companion to Twentieth-Century American Drama. David Krasner, Pages: 318–333, 2007. Published Online : 26 NOV 2007, DOI: 10.1002/9780470996805.ch20
Anton Chekhov and English Nostalgia. Orbis Litterarum: Volume 56, Issue 2, April 2001, Pages: 121–137, Svetlana O. Klimenko Article first published online : 28 JUN 2008, DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0730.2001.d01-38.x
http://qualityacademicpapers.blogspot.com/ is one of the best resources available on the internet to find quality and useful academic papers on different topics.