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Motif
Explanation and Analysis—Astrov's Anthropocene:
Toward the end of the first act, Astrov makes a long, impassioned speech in which he uses vivid imagery and pathos to persuade the other characters of the importance of conserving nature. The speech is sparked by Voynitsky's teasing comment that Astrov can't stop him from using wood for fuel and construction. Related to the symbol of forestry, Astrov's reflection on the senseless ecological destruction at the hands of humans becomes a motif in the play:
The forests of Russia are being wiped out by the axe, thousands of millions of trees are dying, the homes of animals and birds are being laid waste, river levels are dropping and drying up, wonderful scenery vanishes for ever, and all because lazy man hasn’t the sense to bend down and pick up fuel from the ground.
Astrov employs pathos to appeal to his listeners' emotions throughout the speech. He personifies the axe as well as the trees and animals, asserting that the latter have no chance against the deforestation caused by the former. Not only are trees dying and the homes of animals being destroyed, but the scenery that humans cherish is disappearing. However, it isn't really the personified axe that is to blame. Astrov eventually brings in the root cause of this widespread devastation: human laziness.
Lamenting the consequences of industrialization, Astrov critiques the idea that humans have the right to treat the earth however they please. Later in his speech, he touches on the irony that "man is endowed with reason and creative power in order to increase what he is given, but hitherto he has not created but destroyed." It is all because of humans that "every day the earth is becoming poorer and uglier."
Towards the end of his speech, Astrov comments on the skeptical facial expressions of the other characters. He defends his perspective with a final boost of pathos.
[...] but when I go past the peasants’ woods, which I saved from destruction, or when I hear the hum of my young trees, which I planted with my own hands, I know the climate is a little in my control and that if in a thousand years man is happy, the responsibility for that will in a small way be mine.
In certain ways, Astrov's pathos-filled speech is surprising. Other moments in the play characterize him as an exhausted, disillusioned doctor with a potential drinking problem. However, unlike Voynitsky and other dejected characters, Astrov has a cause that gives him purpose and hope. Seeking to make the planet livable for future generations, he watches the birches he plants and his "spirit fills with pride." The other characters don't seem to care much, but what is most important to him is that caring for the earth is a straightforward, actionable way to care for other people. Whereas Serebryakov and Voynitsky worry about the legacy of their achievements, Astrov sees his legacy as a way to make the earth more livable for future generations.
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