Literary naturalism is not the same as realism. Naturalism strives to depict humans as a part of nature—that is, subject to their environment—in a way that is detached or even clinical. Often the purpose of naturalist writers is to observe a social phenomena closely, like a scientist, in order to suggest a social critique. So it is with Chekhov.

The Seagull is a play about playwrights and actors, so in that sense the "phenomenon" it observes is its own production, or the artistic impulse that gives rise to plays. Chekhov observes his characters acutely. Their petty squabbles and unrequited loves form what amounts to the "action" of the play, but Chekhov's purpose is to show the friction between their personal desires (for artistic fame, or for a particular lover) and the social and class prejudices that make achieving happiness impossible, in the first place, but also how inadequate literary productions (like The Seagull itself) are at articulating that truth. An example of this is when Treplev kills the seagull (Nina's symbol of freedom) and lays it at her feet. Nina accuses Treplev of talking "in symbols," a charge that could just as easily be aimed at Chekhov. The dead bird is a symbol of Nina's lost freedom; she is "caught" by Treplev even though he does not love her; the dead bird is also a symbol of Treplev's inability to truly understand Nina; you can also think of the dead animal as way in which humans pervert nature in an attempt to make it mean what they want. None of these interpretations really speak to the problem these characters have, however, which is that they exist in a society that prevents actual human connection.