Anton Chekhov was born in Taganrog on January 29, 1860. He was born the son of a merchant(Mack 2080). After his father encountered financial difficulties in 1876, his family moved away and left him to complete school on his own. Chekhov graduated in 1879 and went on to the University of Moscow("Chekov" 62). In Moscow, Chekhov studied medicine and began his career in writing. Chekhov's first attempts at writing were geared towards the political cartoons that frequented the various papers and magazines in Moscow (Farrow 1232). Though Chekhov was not particularly motivated by politics, he did have some success at his endeavors and succeeded in making some money for his family. The short, precise nature of these early writing would greatly influence Chekhov's writing later in his career(Lyman 897). .
Chekhov's career got more serious in the mid-1880's. He released a collection of stories and was becoming well known in St. Petersburg(Lyman 899). Chekhov continued releasing successful plays and short stories into the 1900's. His last play, The Cherry Orchard, is one of his most well known and controversial works(Farrow 1235).
The Cherry Orchard is about a Russian family that passively watches as its estate and cherry orchard are taken away due to financial problems. The play has been dubbed a tragedy by many of its latter producers. However, Chekhov called his own play a farce, or more of a comedy. Although the play has the very tragic element of a family losing a very loved estate, the characters and their situations suggest a light-hearted tone, even though they struggle against the upcoming loss of the orchard. Apathy and passivity plague the characters and often contribute to the lighter side of things. Another humorous theme of The Cherry Orchard is the failure of the family to distinguish the thin line between reality and outer appearance. This confusion, however, is also seen as a tragic flaw of the characters contributing to the downfall of the estate and its orchard.