In the beginning of “The Bear,” by Anton Checkov, the
readers are introduced to two characters—Luka and Popova. All of the information (possible
choices/responses) for this question is presented. Readers do find out that Popova’s husband was
unfair to her. Readers do find out that
Popova’s husband has died. Readers do
find out that Luka has lost his wife.
And, readers do find out that Smirnov asks for his money back. However, the fact that Smirnov asks for his
money back does not immediately occur in the play, and readers find this
information out only after the play establishes itself. As such, this bit of information does not
occur during the exposition (beginning/background information) of the play.
