Here I am talking to you, I'm all worked up, and still I can't forget for a minute that I've got a story to finish. I see a cloud, like that one, shaped like a piano. I smell the heliotrope, I make a mental note: a sickly-sweet smell, a widow's color, use it to describe a summer's evening.

Nina's interest in Trigorin excites him, but even in his state of elation and expectation, he cannot fully appreciate the moment. Through his language, we become convinced of Trigorin's talents. Writing comes more naturally to him than to Treplev. Trigorin's conflict lies between passivity and activity. Trigorin borrows the details from his life for his stories, but here he realizes that he has trouble living life as it happens, in the moment because he feels more comfortable as an observer. Nina forces Trigorin into the role of an active participant in his own life. Her desire for him and his for her pressures Trigorin into making a decision. But even in the heat of his realization of his desire for Nina, Trigorin's attention to detail and specific sensations of the world around him disperses his emotions. Instead of throwing himself into his feelings for Nina, he takes the time to notice, clouds, flowers, smells and to plan phrases of sentences for the future when he will document the moment in writing. Trigorin could be described as self-conscious and hyper-conscious of his environment. His thoughts reveal an imaginative, creative mind with a propensity for accuracy and precision. His rush of joy is due in part to his change from standing by and taking notes to making decisions and taking risks.

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