"We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are." This quote by Anais Nin expresses an essential point of view for this discussion about the symbolic meaning of inanimate objects, since it is our personality and our memories, which determine our character and meaning. Our feelings towards certain objects are individual, as everyone associates different things in a different manner. Insofar, "we see them as we are", since they can mirror our past, pains, hopes and our ideals. Thus they become more than just an object, but a symbol for a certain part of someone's feelings and life.
This is also the case in "The Cherry Orchard": objects as the nursery room, the bookcase and the cherry orchard take on their own symbolic life. They all share one thing in common: each one reveals something of the characters' personalities, feelings and ideals. These inanimate objects are a reflection of the characters' inner states of being. The meaning of these inanimate objects are changing analogously with the characters' change of mood, perspective and state of mind. Thus one gets the impression that the objects are more like persons, since it is only the characters' life, which makes and keeps them alive.
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345)"! The way he sees it is reminiscent of a hero, as it has for already hundred years "devoted itself to the highest ideals of goodness and justice" (p. an outstanding person without any implicit significance, but for Lopakhin and Liuba it is a symbol for their childhood, background and past. 348) of the past seems now to have become lighter; "her nerves are better" (p. She doesn't want to let go the cherry orchard, because she doesn't want to let go her 'happy past'. Being constantly and unshakably true to its 'principles', it was a source, from which "several generations of their family"(p. As long as the cherry orchard exists, her childhood feelings seem to continue to still exist for real. "To begin to live in the present, one must first atone for his past and be finished with it" (p. However, the bookcase not being subject to any rules or changes, thus becomes for Gayev a symbol of consistency and security. In as much as the cherry orchard represents a kind of 'Garden Eden' for her, it at the same time also is a "burden" (p.
Approximate Word count =
1266
Approximate Pages =
5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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