Characteristics of the heroes “At the Bottom”. Characteristics of the characters “At the Bottom” What is the internal drama of the characters in the play
Raising social problems, the drama “At the Bottom” simultaneously poses and resolves philosophical questions: what is truth? do people need it? Is it possible to find happiness in real life? Two conflicts can be found in the play. The first is social: between the owners of the shelter and the tramps, the second is philosophical, touching on the basic issues of existence, unfolding between the inhabitants of the shelter. This is the main one.
The world of the flophouse is the world of “former people”. Previously, they belonged to different strata of society: here was a baron, a prostitute, a mechanic, an actor, a cap-maker, a merchant, and a thief. They try on different situations, trying to “surface” to the surface. Each of them wants to return to the world of “real people.” The heroes are full of illusions about the temporary nature of their situation. And only Bubnov and Satin understand that there is no way out “from the bottom” - this is the lot of only the strong. Weak people need self-deception. And yet, in this terrible world of outcasts, these people are searching for truth, trying to solve eternal problems. How to bear the burden of life? What to oppose to the terrible force of circumstances - open rebellion, patience based on sweet lies, or reconcile? These are the three main positions held by the characters in the play.
The darkest thinker in the shelter is Bubnov. He is unpleasant to Gorky because his remarks reflect the cynical truth of the fact. Life in Bubnov’s assessment is devoid of any meaning. It is monotonous and flows according to laws that man cannot change. “Everything is like this: they are born, they live, they die. And I will die, and so will you. What is there to regret?” Dreams for him are a person’s desire to appear better or, as Baron said, “all people have gray souls, everyone wants to brown up.” Bubnov’s philosophy is the philosophy of hopelessness that reigns “at the bottom.”
With the appearance of Luka, the atmosphere in the shelter changes. The wanderer Luke, in my opinion, is the most complex and interesting character in the play. The old man finds the right tone with everyone: he consoles Anna with heavenly happiness after death, interprets that in the afterlife she will find peace, which she has not felt before. Pepel persuades Vaska to leave for Siberia: there is a place there for strong and purposeful people. She calms Nastya down, pretending to believe her stories about unearthly love. The actor is promised recovery from alcoholism in a special clinic. The most amazing thing about all this is that Luke lies disinterestedly. He takes pity on people, tries to give them hope as an incentive to live. Initially, his ideas are based on disbelief in human capabilities: for him, all people are weak, petty, and therefore need compassion and consolation. Luke believes that the truth can be a “butt” for the weak. Sometimes it is better to deceive a person with fiction and instill in him faith in the future. But this is the philosophy of slavish obedience; it is not for nothing that Satin calls lies “the religion of slaves and masters”: “it supports some, others hide behind it.”
The wanderer's advice did not help anyone: Vaska kills Kostylev and goes to prison, the actor commits suicide. Of course, this is not Luke’s direct fault, it’s just that the circumstances turned out to be stronger than the people. But he is indirectly to blame, or rather, not he, but his ideas: they made changes in the lives of the night shelters and in their worldviews, after which those who believed him could no longer continue to live normally. Satin opposes this harmful lie. In his final monologue there is a demand for freedom and a humane attitude towards man: “We must respect man! Don’t feel sorry for him, don’t humiliate him with pity... you must respect him!” The hero is convinced of the following: it is necessary not to reconcile a person with reality, but to make this reality work for a person. “Everything is in man, everything is for man.” The author undoubtedly likes Satin. Unlike most night shelters, he committed a decisive act in the past, for which he paid: he spent four years in prison. But he does not regret it: “Man is free, he pays for everything himself.” Thus, the writer argues that a person is able to change circumstances, and not adapt to them.
It seems that through the mouth of Satin the author condemns Luke and refutes the conciliatory philosophy of the wanderer. But Gorky is not so simple and straightforward; it gives readers and viewers the opportunity to decide for themselves whether such “reconciling” philosophers are needed in real life or whether they are evil. It's amazing how society's attitude towards this character has changed over the years. If during the creation of the play “At the Bottom” Luka, with his boundless pity for people, was almost a negative hero, since he “indulged” their weaknesses, then in our cruel times, when a person feels his loneliness and uselessness to others, the wanderer received a “second life” and perceived as a truly good character. He feels sorry for the people living nearby, even if mechanically, without spending all his mental strength on it, but he finds time to listen to the suffering, instills hope in them, and this is already a lot. The play “At the Bottom” is one of those works that do not age, and each generation discovers in them thoughts that are in tune with their time, views, and life situations. This is the great power of the playwright’s talent, his ability to look into the future.
The characteristics of the heroes of “At the Bottom” help to create a general portrait of people who are at the “bottom of life”: inaction, humility, reluctance and inability to change their own lives.
Kostylevs
The owner of the flophouse, where the main characters of the play “At the Lower Depths” live, and his wife Vasilisa are evil and vicious people. These characters in “At the Bottom” considered themselves “masters of life,” not realizing that morally they were worse than those who were unlucky in life.
Actor
This is a former actor whose body is now “poisoned by alcohol.” M. Gorky does not even give his hero a name to show that he is at the “day of life”, his lack of will and inaction.
Satin
Satin ended up in a shelter after being imprisoned for murdering a man. The hero understood that his life was over, so he did not try to change it. Satin is a kind of philosopher who discusses many eternal questions. M. Gorky pays special attention to the description of this image, since it largely expresses the author’s position.
Nastya
This is a young girl who dreams of sincere love, despite the fact that she herself is a girl of easy virtue.
Vaska Ash
Vaska is a thief who dreams of an honest life in Siberia next to his beloved Natasha. However, Ash's dreams are not destined to come true: wanting to protect Natasha, he kills Kostylev and ends up in prison.
Natasha
This is Vasilisa’s sister, who always endures bullying and even beatings from the Kostylevs.
Luke
This is an elderly wanderer, whose views influence the inhabitants of the shelter. Luka has compassion for the people around him, consoles them, believing that a white lie can motivate a person to take specific actions.
Luke’s role in the lives of the residents of the shelter is great, but the hero’s help is ambiguous, as reflected in the following table:
Mite
Kleshch is a mechanic by profession. He works honestly and hard to get out of the shelter. Gradually, his efforts stop, as he realizes that he is no different from the people next to him, whom he previously despised. The tick is angry at his own fate, having already stopped trying to change his life for the better.
Anna
Kleshch's wife, who is dying. She understands that absolutely no one needs her, not even her own husband, who believes that her death will benefit both of them.
Bubnov
Previously, the hero owned a dyeing workshop, but the environment broke Bubnov when his wife ran away from him to the master. Being at the “day of life”, Bubnov does not strive to improve his life; he actually goes with the flow, without thinking about the future.
Baron
The Baron is a man who does not think about a good future, he lives in the past, which was good for him.
Kvashnya
The heroine of the work is a dumpling seller. This is a strong woman who is used to earning a living by her own labor. Life has not made her embittered; she is used to helping other people.
Medvedev
This is a policeman who visits the shelter to maintain order. Throughout the entire story, he takes care of Kvashnya, and in the end the woman agrees to a relationship with him.
Alyoshka
This is a young shoemaker whose drunkenness led him to the “bottom of life.” He does not strive to correct himself, to become better, he is happy with what he has.
Tatar
The Tatar is a key holder who believed that every person should live an honest life, despite various circumstances.
Crooked Goiter
This is another key holder who justified his dishonest lifestyle by the fact that honest people cannot survive in this world.
This article, which will help you write an essay “Characteristics of the characters “At the Depth”,” will give brief information about the characters in M. Gorky’s play.
Work test
The social and philosophical drama “At the Lower Depths,” written by M. Gorky at the beginning of the twentieth century, touched upon the most important problems of society and showed the life of the lowest strata of the Russian population.
The heroes of the play are desperate people who have become regulars at a cave-like flophouse. This place is a shelter for them and at the same time a prison, since everyone knows that they will never get out of this “bottom”. The guests are aware of the plight, there is an abyss between them and the world, all ties have been severed: family, spiritual, social. Everyone has their own life drama that caused their fall.
The inhabitants of the shelter are not alien to ordinary feelings, they love and hate, they dream, they are disappointed, and most importantly, they think.
They often make interesting conclusions that reflect internal experiences. For example, Baron sees consolation in the fact that “everything has already happened! It’s over!”, he no longer expects anything from life. For the cap-taker Bubnov, the meaning of current existence is contained in the bitter: “So I drank - and I’m glad.” But true philosophical talent belongs to the former telegraph employee Satin, who argues
about the purpose of man. The hero’s phrase “Man – that sounds proud!” became generally known.
The characters live in dreams and memories, but do absolutely nothing to change the situation. The reasons for falling to the “bottom” are different for everyone, but the internal state is similar. The years spent in the shelter left their mark on the characters of the inhabitants: their hearts became hardened, their souls became coarser. They managed to come to terms with the circumstances and became indifferent to their destinies.
The usual life changes with the appearance of the wanderer Luke in the shelter. This character reassures everyone, gives false hope for a better life. However, along with Luka’s disappearance, the positive attitude of the night shelters also disappears.
Thus, the author reveals to the reader a real social tragedy. It shows that people living in the past, who are not ready to show firmness and change, are doomed to vegetate. The absence of an inner core and constant thoughts about the past is the inner drama of the play's disadvantaged heroes.
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- Maxim Gorky's play “At the Depths” is a socio-philosophical drama. “The Bottom” is a prototype of all of Russia, because the characters in the play come from different classes. Bubnov previously owned...
- Maxim Gorky worked on the play “At the Lower Depths” in 1902. The beginning of the twentieth century was a difficult time for Russia: poverty, lawlessness and hopelessness reigned everywhere, human...
- Maxim Gorky had to think about the title for his social play. Initially, he had several options: “Nochlezhka”, “Without the sun”, “Bottom”, “At the bottom of life” and that’s all...
- My attitude towards Luka The social and philosophical work “At the Lower Depths” by Maxim Gorky is one of his best creations. Written in 1901-1902, it brilliantly reflected the transition period...
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To complete the assignment, choose only ONE of the four proposed essay topics (17.1-17.4). Write an essay on this topic in a volume of at least 200 words (if the volume is less than 150 words, the essay is scored 0 points).
Reveal the topic of the essay fully and multifacetedly.
Justify your theses by analyzing the elements of the text of the work (in an essay on lyrics, you need to analyze at least three poems).
Identify the role of artistic means that is important for revealing the topic of the essay.
Think over the composition of your essay.
Avoid factual, logical, and speech errors.
Write your essay clearly and legibly, observing the norms of writing.
C17.2. What place does the image of Platon Karataev occupy in L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”?
C17.3. What is the internal drama of the heroes of M. Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths”?
Explanation.
Comments on essays
C17.1. What is the attitude of the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” to the events he describes?
There are many assumptions about who was the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” He could have been a monk, since at that time the most educated people were monks, or someone close to the prince. The author could have been a brave warrior, because only someone who himself took part in them can describe battles so vividly and accurately. With subtle knowledge of the matter, he describes pictures of battles, vividly draws images of princes and warriors, but with no less strength and sympathy he talks about how, during times of princely civil strife, “retko rataev kikahut”, which is why one cannot fail to note perhaps the most important feature the author of “The Lay” - patriotism, genuine concern for the fate of his homeland. In addition, the author appears before us as a subtle psychologist: he accurately conveys the experiences of a loving wife in Yaroslavna’s crying, and Prince Igor’s doubts before escaping. Only one thing can be stated with confidence: whoever the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” was, a monk or a brave warrior, he was certainly an outstanding person of his time.
C17.2. What place does the image of Platon Karataev occupy in L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”?
In the image of Platon Karataev, Tolstoy depicted a peaceful, kind, spiritual beginning, extremely strengthened, strengthened in him the features of a simple Russian person, made him the personification of everything good, Russian, round. In Platon Karataev we see the harmony of inner life, which is given by boundless faith in the will of God for everything that happens on Earth, the belief that goodness and justice will win in the end, hence his non-resistance to evil through violence and acceptance of everything that happens . It is also important that “his life, as he himself looked at it, had no meaning as a separate life. It made sense only as a part of the whole, which he constantly felt.” Platon Karataev embodies the world law that Tolstoy’s favorite heroes strive to comprehend. Despite the fact that in a huge epic novel this hero occupies relatively little space, his significance is very great. He is important to us in and of himself, and especially because of the role he played in the fate of Pierre Bezukhov. Platon Karataev helped him understand the meaning of life, find harmony and peace with himself and people.
C17.3. What is the internal drama of the heroes of M. Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths”?
In the play “At the Bottom,” Gorky shows people broken by life, doomed to death. The problems of the work are revealed not so much in the action (the world of the flophouse seems to have frozen, not many events happen), but in the conversations of the characters. The main philosophical problem is the dispute about truth. These disputes take place between the inhabitants of the shelter throughout the play and, above all, between Luka and Satin. Luka and Satin do not collide directly, but the entire logic of the plot development collides their worldviews. Luke's philosophy is based on the fact that faith can and often should replace real truth, as it helps a person escape from terrible reality into the world of beautiful illusions. It seems that the truth is on his side, and the problem is solved: rose-colored glasses are better than terrible reality. But at the most important moment for the inhabitants of the shelter, when many began to believe in something better, the old man disappears. People awakened by Luke come into conflict with the outside world and cannot change their deplorable situation: the Actor hanged himself, Ashes is in prison, Anna died.
With this tragic ending, Gorky shows that Luka was wrong. Rose-colored glasses are broken when meeting a terrible reality, and it seems even more terrible because faith disappears. Luke’s philosophy is rejected by Satin: “Lies are the religion of slaves and masters. Truth is the god of a free man!” On one point, Satin agrees with the wanderer: “Man, that’s the truth!” But he does not accept his pity, since it humiliates the individual. Discussing the meaning of a person, the hero argues that fate is the work of everyone’s hands and brain.
The tragedy of unrealistic hopes is reflected in every hero. The burden of general powerlessness drags all Gorky’s characters “to the bottom.” The problem of harsh truth and saving lies in the work is not solved, it is only posed, as is typical for many works of Russian literature, which pose questions and invite readers to look for answers themselves.
C17.4. Morals of bureaucracy on the pages of Russian literature (using the example of two or three works).
In Russian literature of both the 19th and 20th centuries, bureaucrats do not appear in their most favorable colors, showing in their ranks examples of meanness, hypocrisy, and servility.
N.V. Gogol writes about morals in Russia in the early 30s of the last century in the comedy “The Inspector General”. All kinds of abuses of power, embezzlement and bribery, arbitrariness and disdain for the people were characteristic, deep-rooted features of the bureaucracy of that time. This is exactly how Gogol shows the rulers of the county town in his comedy.
All officials are drawn by Gogol as if they were alive, each of them is unique. But at the same time, they all create the overall image of the bureaucracy governing the country, revealing the rottenness of the socio-political system of feudal Russia.
The officials from Gogol's "Dead Souls", the officials from Griboyedov's "Woe from Wit", the "servants of the people" of the Soviet era from M. Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita" are very similar to the officials from The Inspector General.
The officials from the novel “The Master and Margarita” are extremely unscrupulous creatures, mired in proprietary interests. Stepan Likhodeev is a degraded type, he drinks, walks around without thinking, and lets dubious artists into variety shows. “Literary officials,” being the authority for “ordinary” writers, true artists, creators, obey directives from above and with one stroke of the pen prohibit creation, without thinking that by depriving them of the opportunity to write, they are depriving a true master of life.
The internal drama lies in the fact that all the characters are very lonely, desperate people living in a shelter. Her Abodes are aware of their plight, but they still remain ordinary people who can suffer, dream, love, think. Often the characters in the play say phrases that reflect their inner drama. For example, Satin had a true talent for philosophizing. He talked about the purpose of man and his own tragedy, saying that man sounds proud. Bubnov said that he drank and was happy. The Baron found consolation in the fact that he did not expect anything. Luke believed that a person can do anything if he wants. Nastya and the Actor consoled themselves with dreams. The actor said that the hole would be his grave. Mite is a working man. He has only been living in the shelter for six months, but he already feels like he is 6 years old. He says that he is a working man and will be able to earn money. But all the money goes to the funeral. Ash's internal drama is that he wants to break free, but he can't. Ash received the nickname “son of a thief” from childhood. He was in love with Natasha, wanted to go to Siberia with her and start a new life. But during a fight he accidentally killed a man, and he was sent to prison in Siberia. Nastya's fate is also tragic. The girl dreams that someday the same hero she reads about in books will come for her. This is her drama: she cannot escape into another life. The inner drama of the actor is that he wanted to recover and continue his career. Luka told him about the hospital with a marble floor, but did not tell him the address. The actor hanged himself. He had no other purpose in life. It's painful to read about Anna's fate. She told Luka that in her life she was shaking for every piece of bread; it was very difficult for her to live. Luka reassured her that she would die and everything would be fine. But Anna said that since she would feel so good, then let her live a little longer in this cruel world. All the characters in the play became hardened during the time they spent the night in the shelter. They talk rudely to each other and don’t listen to anyone but themselves. They don't need anyone. All this can be seen in Anna’s husband. He doesn't care about his sick wife. Nobody cares about her at all except the Actor. Thus, the author reveals to the reader a real social tragedy. It shows that people living in the past, who are not ready to show firmness and change, are doomed to vegetate. The absence of an inner core and constant thoughts about the past is the inner drama of the play's disadvantaged heroes.
24.1. What is the internal drama of the heroes (Gorky Maxim) The social and philosophical drama “At the Lower Depths,” written by M. Gorky at the beginning of the twentieth century, touched upon the most important problems of society and showed the life of the lowest strata of the Russian population. The heroes of the play are desperate people who have become regulars at a cave-like flophouse. This place is a shelter for them and at the same time a prison, since everyone knows that they will never get out of this “bottom”. The guests are aware of the plight, there is an abyss between them and the world, all ties have been severed: family, spiritual, social. Everyone has their own life drama that caused their fall. The inhabitants of the shelter are not alien to ordinary feelings, they love and hate, they dream, they are disappointed, and most importantly, they think. They often make interesting conclusions that reflect internal experiences. For example, Baron sees consolation in the fact that “everything has already happened! It’s over, it’s over!”, he expects nothing more from life. For the cap-taker Bubnov, the meaning of current existence is contained in the bitter: “So I drank - and I’m glad.” But the true philosophical talent is possessed by the former telegraph employee Satin, who talks about the purpose of man. The hero’s phrase “Man – that sounds proud!” became generally known. The characters live in dreams and memories, but do absolutely nothing to change the situation. The reasons for falling to the “bottom” are different for everyone, but the internal state is similar. The years spent in the shelter left their mark on the characters of the inhabitants: their hearts became hardened, their souls became coarser. They managed to come to terms with the circumstances and became indifferent to their destinies. The usual life changes with the appearance of the wanderer Luke in the shelter. This character reassures everyone, gives false hope for a better life. However, along with Luka’s disappearance, the positive attitude of the night shelters also disappears. Thus, the author reveals to the reader a real social tragedy. It shows that people living in the past, who are not ready to show firmness and change, are doomed to vegetate. The absence of an inner core and constant thoughts about the past is the inner drama of the play's disadvantaged heroes.
