Conflict-Resolution Analysis on The Cherry Orchard

For your Conflict-Analysis paper, develop the following five areas:
[1] In the first section of your paper, identify the key dramatic moments in your play, as outlined above:
· Identify ONE of your conflicts as the Major Conflict
· The Introductory Incident – when that conflict is introduced
· The Moment of Engagement – when the protagonist commits to achieving his or her goals
· The Climax – when the Major Conflict is resolved
· The Denouement – the moments after the climax, when most everything is resolved
· The Protagonist (the one who drives the conflict) & The Opposing Forces
· The Major Dramatic Question – the question pursued the whole play that is answered in the climax
[2] Then describe any CHANGES in the Characters – any “reversals” or “plot twists” Quote passages to illustrate the change.
[3] Then describe an SYMBOLS or PROPS that help us understand the Characters.
[4] Then in the next section of your paper, note your sense of possible THEMES for the play—and allow multiple themes to arise.
[5] In the last (and probably longest) section of your paper, choose ONE “Key” SCENE, and analyze its distinct conflict & protagonist, noting its “beats” (or changes of momentum) and how it illustrates any important THEMES. Quote passages to illustrate what you notice. [Note that in this scene, the conflict may be slightly different from the main conflict, and the character driving the conflict may not be the protagonist for the whole play.
[6] Finally, in your conclusion, SYNTHESIZE all your ideas about the play’s themes, characters, and conflicts to talk about what the play “means”—what its “point” is, what it is trying to “say”—for its own time, and (generalized) for us today.