Anton chekhov's "the cherry orchard" is a captivating, but somewhat confusing tale of an aristocratic household that comes face to face with adversity. His impressionistic portrayal of characters delivers a power packed package of meaning that both appeals to and appalls every human heart. Through a subtle messages and powerful passages chekhov purveys his sentiments about a world that is tainted by a dark cloud of selfishness. Although the play itself is tragic-like the characters are not tragic. They seem to blindly stumble upon the pages of life accomplishing absolutely nothing. Through checkhov's genius they still remain human, with dreams and fears like the rest of us. It is through these characters that chekhov's beliefs are made known.