The Cherry Orchard Cherry Orchard" was Chekhov's tribute to himself. Many of the characters in the play hearken back to his earlier works and are based on people he knew in his own life. It should also be noted that his boyhood house was bought and torn down by a wealthy man that his mother had considered a friend. The breaking guitar string in acts 2 and 4 hark back to his earliest works. Finally the classic "loaded gun" that appears in many of Chekhov's plays appears here, but this is his only play in which a gun is shown but not fired.
The Makioka Sisters The Makioka Sisters The novel's title, , means lightly falling snow and is also used in classical Japanese poetry. The image suggests falling cherry blossoms in early spring—a number of poets confess to confusing falling cherry blossoms with snow. Falling cherry blossoms are a common symbol of impermanence, a prevalent theme of the novel. The in "Sasameyuki" is the same as the "yuki" in Yukiko's name, suggesting that she is the central character of the novel. These nuances do not translate well into English. The translator, Edward Seidensticker, struggled over the title. Translations like "Fine Snow" and "Snow Flurries" do