theater art class

Name Abdulla Alsuwaidi

I

TA 160

"Uncle Vanya"

“Man has been endowed with reason, with the power to create, so that he can add to what he's been given. But up to now, he hasn't been a creator, only a destroyer. Forests keep disappearing, rivers dry up, wild life's become extinct, the climate's ruined, and the land grows poorer and uglier” The play “Uncle Vanya” written by Anton Chekhov is a pearl of the classics of Russian literature. Anton Chekhov left a great legacy in a form of his plays and short stories for the classics of world literature. Without a shadow of doubt, this masterpiece, written by one of the most prominent the Russian playwrights of his time, should be read with further analysis and discussion. “Uncle Vanya” is a realist play and Chekhov tried to make its scenes as true-to-life as possible. Chekhov spent one year writing “Uncle Vanya” and introduced a number of changes between the years 1896 – 1897. The final version of his play is famous worldwide. The plot of the play narrates a heartbreaking story of how the main hero, Ivan Petrovich Voynitsky or Uncle Vanya that was a rather calm and quiet man undergoes a moral “rebirth” developing a spirit of a rebellion. Uncle Vanya, the main hero of the play, can be characterized as a bitter aging man who spent his life in toil working for his brother-in-law. Chekhov depicted the character of uncle Vanya as a misanthrope who recognized the miserable nature of other characters.

Moreover, Chekhov’s play also involves a number of other important issues that are experienced by the play’s characters. These issues include the feeling of pointless life lacking meaning, missed opportunities, and the most touching feeling of blind admiration. It should be admitted that Chekhov used to create hidden meaning in his plays to make the readers think critically not only of his work but of their lives either. Therefore, in the play, Chekhov made every character individualistic. For instance, the central character in the play, Uncle Vanya, cares about patrimony and the Serebryakov’s family’s property. Throughout the play, uncle Vanya finds himself dismissed and rejected without the right for an opinion. Chekhov also pointed out the suffering of other characters who struggle to change their lives for better. The play consists of a number of personal dramas that are interconnected.

It can be stated that Chekhov included a number of opposite lines in his play such as the choice between obedience or riot, feeling of admiration and disrespect. The following lines from the play demonstrate the feeling of disappointment and understanding the pointlessness of a situation: “”I’m mad — but people who conceal their utter lack of talent, their dullness, their complete heartlessness under the guise of the professor, the purveyor of learned magic — they aren’t mad” (Uncle Vanya). Uncle Vanya is concerned about the wasted years and the thought of how his life could look like in case he used the opportunities he had. Vanya tries to figure out whether he has a chance to break the chains of Serebryakov family bondage. He also blindly admires professor's wife, Yelena. Yelena knows about Vanya’s obsession and believes it has a destructive nature for Vanya’s good character. In the third act of the play, uncle Vanya experiences humiliations, the first as he witnesses Yelena being nearly seduced by Astrov, and the second as he misses foe at point blank range. The frustration of Voynitsky increases after he realizes that Yelena will never be with him. The understanding of this fact leads to an inner feeling of a misery.

Therefore, it can be stated that Chekhov portrayed Ivan Petrovich Voynitsky as rather a pathetically broken person than a tragic hero. In the fourth act, uncle Vanya has nothing falling into a deep depression. In order to distract oneself from the misery he appeared in, Voynitsky decides to turn back to his drudgery. During this period of time, this character in on the threshold of madness keeping dreaming about the life he could have. Uncle Vanya did not find a solace in any person including his old mother, Dr, Astrov, and his niece Sonya.

The main conflict in the play origins from the decision of the head of the family to sell the family property. Since uncle Vanya worked hard for the patrimony, he recognized his inability to change the course of events. All characters in the play have their own problems concerning the issue. All of them are depicted as individuals suffering from seven sins ruining them from the inside. One family meeting that is regularly held became a scandal. Each family member began to understand their inner problems that lead to self-destruction.

Given these points, it can be concluded that Chekhov’s play is based on the suffering of the characters that makes this masterpiece especially interesting. For example, one character is portrayed as a person observing how daily routine influences intelligence and wittiness transforming it into the feeling of arrogance and triviality. The aforementioned statement is reflected in the following words: “One hundred years from now, the people who come after us, for whom our lives are showing the way--will they think of us kindly? Will they remember us with a kind word? I wish to God I could think so” (Uncle Vanya). Chekhov portrayed his characters in the play as persons willing to change their lives; however, the lack aspiration becomes an obstacle on their way. The characters recognize that they should act instead of talking, but fail to go further their empty words creating a drama in the play. Chekhov incorporated simple life issues into his drama. The playwright tried to explain that honesty and hard-working are virtues that suggest about person’s morality. Only such person deserves to be awarded and respected. Furthermore, Chekhov’s play shows that the intelligence and beauty do not make a person virtuous by themselves. Hence, a person should constantly work on self-development revealing own personality that would allow breaking the chains. To conclude, the play “Uncle Vanya” written by Anton Chekhov is a masterpiece of Russian literature offering its audience a world filled with man’s sins. Undeniably, the author succeeds to portray the emotions of each character as they suffer, admire, or thing about their own misery. It can be stated that the play has also an educational nature since after reading this work, a person is likely to think about own life with its achievements, dreams, and values. Anton Chekhov created a play that succeeds to reach the minds of the audience explaining that every decision people make may have a tremendous impact on their lives in future. Once should act so that in future he/she would not regret.