The piece on the bottom is what it gave me. Analysis of the play "at the bottom"

Falling to the bottom of society is as easy as passing two bytes. To do this, you do not need to have special knowledge or skills. Just remain human, think not only about everyday things, but also speak out philosophical topics- not everyone can do this. After all, a person who is at the bottom has only three options: slide into the abyss, turn into a philosopher, or rise from the ashes.

The legacy of Maxim Gorky

Alexey Maksimovich Peshkov cherished the dream that the world would be inhabited by “new people.” People who are impeccable in terms of intellectual and physical development, manners and principles. These new people are distinguished by their fearlessness and thirst for freedom, they don’t care about any obstacles, they can achieve anything they want. And even if their goals are beyond the realm of possibility, they can do it.

During this time, he managed to write 5 novels, 10 novellas, 18 stories and essays, 16 plays and published 3 cycles of journalistic articles. The writer, novelist and playwright was nominated 5 times for Nobel Prize in the field of literature. He became known as one of the most famous Russian thinkers and writers. He left behind a rich legacy, and one of the pearls of his collection is the play “At the Bottom.”

"At the bottom"

The play “At the Bottom” saw the world in 1902. Before publishing the material, the author for a long time I couldn't choose which title to go with. He had a choice among several options: “The Bottom”, “Nochlezhka”, “At the Bottom of Life”, “Without the Sun”. Ultimately, the play received the short and laconic title “At the Bottom.” Two years after its release, in 1904, the play was awarded the Griboyedov Prize.

The first performance based on the work was staged on December 18, 1902 at the Moscow Art Theater. IN Soviet time The production delighted the audience 9 times. Last time it could be seen in 1956. But this did not detract from her success. More than once the play was staged abroad in cities such as Berlin, Krakow, Helsinki, Paris, Tokyo, New York, London, Tunisia. From 1996 to the present, more than 20 productions have been staged in different countries peace. The play was filmed 10 times not only domestic cinema, but also in Hungary, Japan and France.

What attracted the public so much to this play: the problem moral choice; the realization that each person has his own truth; or the very image of the bottom in the play “At the Bottom” touched the strings human soul? Let's try to figure it out.

M. Gorky, “At the Bottom”: summary

The events of the work take place in a place like a flophouse. The lodging house is the property of M.I. Kostylev. People live here who have long sunk to the bottom of society. Some of them still believe that they can get out of this hell and change their destiny for the better, while others have long given up and slipped into the farthest channels of the “bottom.”

Between the residents of the shelter difficult relationships. They have different destinies, different views on life, so it’s difficult for them to find mutual language, because of which quarrels constantly arise. The owner's wife, Vasilisa, loves Vaska Pepla, who earns his living by stealing. She persuades the thief to kill her husband so that they will be free and no one will bother them. Only Vaska does not reciprocate Vasilisa’s feelings, since he has long been in love with her younger sister Natalya. Vasilisa notices this and mercilessly beats Natalya, which is why she ends up in the hospital. After being discharged, she no longer returns to the shelter.

What next does the work that M. Gorky created (“At the Depths”) tell about? Summary even in the second part it is tragic. Appears among the guests new person Luke, who inspires everyone that life will get better. But when a conflict arises between Kostylev and Vaska, as a result of which Vaska accidentally kills Kostylev and the thief is arrested, Luka miraculously disappears. The actor, who had become attached to Luka and believed him, is upset by his disappearance and hangs himself in the yard. Amazes the reader final phrase works spoken by Satin after he learned of the death of the Actor: “What a fool, he just ruined the song.”

People of the bottom

The people of the bottom in Gorky's play "At the Depth" are the most ordinary. They got into a difficult situation life situation. The main characters of the work:

• Mikhail Kostylev is in charge of the shelter.
• Vasilisa is Kostylev’s wife, loves the thief Ash.
• Natalya, Vasilisa’s sister, suffers beatings from her older sister and disappears after leaving the hospital.
• Luke is a wanderer who suddenly appears and disappears, skillfully comforting everyone with lies.
• Vaska Pepel is a thief who wants to change his destiny.
• Mite is an ordinary hard worker who wants to return to his past life.
• The Baron is an impoverished aristocrat, confident that best moments his life is a thing of the past.
• Satin is a sharper, he is sure that the main thing for a person is spiritual freedom
• An actor who once really performed on the big stage, is currently a drunkard who has not come up with anything better than to commit suicide.

Play Analysis

Why did Gorky write “At the Lower Depths”? Analysis of this work shows that among the moral dirt of outcasts of society there is a small smoldering ember that unobtrusively hisses: “Man is proud, man is good!” This is especially clearly visible when guests face a small problem.

Truth or lie?

The problem of moral choice in Gorky's play “At the Lower Depths” is very acute. What should people believe? A sweet lie or a bitter truth, which is what Gorky flavored his play “At the Depths” with? The analysis shows that the wanderer Luke is the master of sweet lies in the work; he is sure that people need to be told what they want to hear. He reassures all the inhabitants of the shelter. Gives you faith that there is a chance to change your life if you do this or that. But when he suddenly disappears, everyone becomes uneasy. The guests feel abandoned, and the Actor, who believed Luke’s words more than anyone else, commits suicide.

The truth in Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths” is personified by its hero, Satin. This man is not the best representative human race- he is dishonest, likes to drink, gets into fights, and looks to the future with pessimism. But there is a little more knowledge and understanding of what is happening. It is from him that the simple truth comes: “You need to be proud of being a human being.” Satin is not a charismatic personality who can lead a crowd, he is not a revolutionary, not a psychologist or a politician - he simply pointed out the obvious, which lit a special spark in the eyes of every inhabitant who had not yet completely despaired. And it will not fade away when Satin disappears, as happened with Luke’s beautiful lie.

The image of the bottom in the play “At the Bottom”

What else can be said about this creation of a classic of Russian literature? Why is it so captivating even to our contemporaries? Maybe because the topic raised by Alexey Maksimovich is relevant at all times?

The play written by M. Gorky (“At the Depths”) can rightfully be called social and philosophical. Here social life And philosophical reflections do not intersect, but complement each other perfectly, making the play complete, lively and real work. The image of the bottom in the play “At the Bottom” represents harsh reality lower strata of society. There are no fictitious facts here, but only real life, such as she is. The fate of the outcasts, those who no longer have a chance to rise. For the first time in world drama, the hopeless fate of “ former people" In the sticky darkness of the musty basement, crippled people, disfigured by fate, gathered. Every day they desperately fight for their existence. Some people have enough strength to survive, while others surrender to the embrace of death. The only ray of hope in this pitchless darkness was brought by Luke, who reassured people and then disappeared. It is difficult not to give up in such a situation, but Satin’s words instill in people faith not in the future, but in their own human dignity. The image of the bottom in the play “At the Bottom” is a torture chamber, where His Majesty disappointment acts as the executioner. It mercilessly beats people who have long been covered in dirt.

The image of the bottom in the play “At the Bottom” is something dark and hopeless, but with a person inside. And where there is a person, there will always be a little hope, because a person is wonderful.

The truth is always recognizable

The public reacted ambiguously to the play written by M. Gorky (“At the Depths”). People have always been alien to the suffering of the lower class of society. But the truthfulness of his story, the characters and fates of his heroes became recognizable not only in the Soviet Union, but throughout the world - from America to Japan.

Gorky's play "At the Lower Depths" is complex and very interesting. In this work, the author managed to combine everyday concreteness and symbols, real human characters and abstract philosophy. Throughout the play, problems of various sizes appear and develop before our eyes: from universal to personal. At the end of the work, the author reveals to us his position through the fates of the characters in the play.

The image of the wanderer Luke played a huge role in the development of the plot. After his appearance in the shelter, a lot changed. Yes, Luke gives people pity, sweet lies... But what did all this lead to?... It seems to me that a comforting lie was really only needed dying Anna. She suffered all her life and saw nothing good. And then, at thirty, she dies, tortured, “hackneyed.” And she cannot even do this in peace. Many inhabitants of the shelter adhere to the position that “noise is not a hindrance to death,” and no longer look at her as a living person. Naturally, in such conditions, Luka’s basic sympathy was important to her.

The fate of another inhabitant of the shelter, the Actor, is no less tragic. This is a man who was once a servant of Melpomene. After leaving the theater, he began to drink and sink lower and lower. This person has no willpower, he lacks even basic strength to quit harmful drunkenness. He prefers to take the path of least resistance and forget about his thirst for the stage, rather than try to bring everything back. He has nothing else to be proud of, except for the phrase that his “body is poisoned by alcohol.” Due to the weakness of his nature, having fallen to the bottom of life, it is easier for him to continue to destroy himself than to fight with life's difficulties. When Luka gives him hope by talking about a free clinic for alcoholics, the Actor stops drinking: “Today I worked, swept the street... but I didn’t drink vodka! What's it like? Here they are - two five-altyn, and I’m sober! Having learned of the futility of his hopes, the actor hangs himself, not realizing that he did not need the clinic, he just needed to believe in himself. The fate of the Actor clearly echoes the parable about the search for a righteous land. In this parable we're talking about that the scientist, who destroyed the faith in the righteous land of one of its seekers, killed this man: he hanged himself after his illusion dissipated. Luke understood this in such a way that a person needs faith in something in order to have the strength to live in any conditions, a person must believe in the best... Yes, this is true, but for this it is not necessary to give illusory hopes. This is a very passive philosophy that is not capable of changing life for the better. Of course, everyone in a difficult situation wants to hear words of consolation, but these same words should also inspire a person to change, to take action, and not reassure him that all this is not so bad. A person needs to believe in himself, and for this Luke chose the wrong position. We can see this through the fate of the Actor. Yes, the wanderer inspired him to quit drinking, but he did not help the Actor to believe in himself. And so, having learned about the unreality of his fantasies, the hero commits suicide. In principle, we can say that Luke simply accelerated logical conclusion this person's life. Gorky tells us that it is false hope that can lead a person to a noose.

Luka tells Vaska Ash wonderful tales about Siberia, encourages him to go there and start new life with Natasha. Vaska is inspired and wants to put an end to his thieves' past. Yes, at the end of the play he ends up in Siberia, but only as a convict. And it is unlikely that if he returns alive, he will be able to lead a righteous and honest life. And he will certainly never see Natasha again in his life...

Having pushed Vaska Pepel to kill her husband, Vasilisa emerges as the only winner. She achieves all her goals at once in one fell swoop: she takes revenge ex-lover Ash and his rival Natasha, gets rid of unloved husband and becomes the sole mistress of the shelter. There is nothing human left in Vasilisa, and her moral impoverishment shows monstrosity social conditions, in which both the inhabitants of the shelter and its owners are immersed. And we guess that when this woman is in power, the already hellish life of the night shelters will become completely unbearable.

The transformation of Satin at the end of the work is very interesting. Satin is a skeptic. He is apathetic and passive in life. His protest is a call to “do nothing.” “I’ll give you one piece of advice: don’t do anything! Just - burden the earth!..” Satin was not just thrown to the “bottom”. He himself came there and settled there. It's more convenient for him. And so he lives in the basement and drinks and loses his abilities. By nature, Satin is endowed with a lively mind and the ability to think. But Luke was able to miraculously reveal the potential hidden in this hero: “Yes, it was he, the old yeast, who fermented our roommates... Old man? He is smart!.. The old man is not a charlatan! What is truth? Man - that's the truth! He understood this... you don’t!.. He... acted on me like acid on an old and dirty coin...” Satin also condemns comforting lies: “Lies are the religion of slaves and masters...”; "Truth is God" free man!"; “man is the truth!”; “Only man exists, everything else is the work of his hands and brain! Human! It's great! That sounds… proud!” But what is a person for Satin? “What is a person?.. It’s not you, not me, not them... no! - it’s you, me, them, the old man, Napoleon, Mohammed... in one!” But romantic dream Satine about the proud, free, strong man the reality of his life, his character, are opposed. What will a meeting with Luka change in the life of this hero? I'm afraid nothing. Yes, in words he takes a more active life position, but that’s where all the changes end.

Thus, in the finale, Gorky wants to show us his rejection of a passive life position, when a person prefers to drown his suffering with wine rather than solve problems real actions. The author also wants to show us the danger of “gentle lies,” which can drive a person into a noose even faster than awareness of harsh reality. I share Gorky’s thoughts, I am close to his life position. I believe that I can get out of any difficult situation It’s only possible when you don’t give up.

Wanderer Luke - central image Gorky's play "At the Depths". It is with his appearance that the action begins. He is a kind of “catalyst” for those internal spiritual processes that occur in the least hopeless inhabitants of the shelter. The old man “leavened his roommates” and acted on them “like acid on an old and dirty coin.”

IN climax, when Vaska Pepel kills the owner of the shelter, Kostylev, in a random fight, Luka disappears.

At the end of the play, the most important thing is the argument about the old man. Each of the inhabitants of the shelter puts forward his own understanding of the wanderer and accuses everyone of absolute misunderstanding. Nastya contrasts Luka with all the other night shelters: “He was a good old man... And you... are not people... you are rust...” Kleshch is also inclined to contrast: “He was compassionate... You have... no pity...” For a Tatar, the most valuable thing about an old man is that that he “had a law for his soul!” The Baron has a negative attitude towards Luka, calling him a charlatan. Unexpectedly, Satin, who is considered to be the antipode of Luke, stands up for the wanderer. The Luke controversy is related to central problem plays - the problem of man and truth.

In Satin’s monologue, man and truth merge into a single whole: “Man is the truth!” He explains to his comrades that Luke lied “out of pity for his neighbor.”

According to Satin, “lie is the religion of slaves and masters.” Lies are necessary for those who are weak in soul, and for those “who live on other people’s juices.” The speech of this reasoner is aphoristic: “Truth is the god of a free man.” Satin’s man is huge, all-encompassing: “It’s not you, not me, not them... No, it’s you, me, them, the old man, Napoleon, Mohammed... in one!” Satin speaks about man in general, about all of humanity, in which the proud, beautiful and grandiose are united. He offers love to those who are far away, not noticing at all that those close to him are suffering: the Actor was left without spiritual support, Nastya became more aggressive and furious, not finding sympathy from anyone. Luke spoke about sympathy and compassion for a specific person, for his neighbor. Love for all humanity does not oblige you to anything, to any good deeds doesn't lead. Love for one's neighbor is always aimed at a specific person and requires action.

Luke and Satin are not opposed to each other. Gorky's “truth” about man includes both the truth of Luke and the truth of Satin.

The important thing is that Luke changed the atmosphere in the shelter. People became less irritable, the moral climate warmed, and human connections began to improve.

In the finale, we see how Tick shows kindness and generosity to people for the first time. The Baron begins to think about life. For the first time, Nastya vents her soul in the pleasure of revenge, mocking the Baron’s story about the past. The formerly cynical skeptic Bubnov comes, kind and generous, and treats all the overnight shelters. Former policeman Medvedev and the pedantic Tatar are softening. People are united by song; they understand the commonality of their destinies. Indeed, “the sun rises and sets” for everyone. Indeed, the situation of the “former people” is hopeless and bleak:

Oh, it’s dark in my prison!

This general animation during singing unites the night shelters, makes them kinder and softer. In the song they find that mutual understanding that they could not find in an argument, in mental reasoning.

In the finale, the last act of free will of the awakened personality is performed. It was the Actor's suicide that "ruined" the song. The meaning of this phrase is that the actor, by his suicide, destroyed the newly established harmony in relationships between people.

The life of the heroes remains tragic, the “path to the sun” is almost unattainable, but the heroes of the play begin to understand that they “live for the best,” and the drama “At the Bottom” itself evokes goodness in the soul, love for people, and faith in man.

Updated: 2017-11-15

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In the play “At the Bottom,” written by A.M. Gorky in 1902, the essential features of Gorky’s dramaturgy were revealed with particular vividness. He established himself in dramaturgy new type socio-political drama. His innovation was also evident in his choice dramatic conflict, and in the methodology of depicting reality. The conflict in Gorky's plays is always expressed not externally, but in the internal movement of the play. Main conflict, which is the basis of the play “At the Bottom,” is a contradiction between the people of the “bottom” and the orders that reduce a person to the tragic fate of a homeless tramp. The severity of the conflict in Gorky is of a social nature. It lies in the clash of ideas, in the struggle of worldviews, social principles. Important role the composition of the play plays.

Act IV, especially its final part, plays an important role in the composition of the play. Fermentation began in the shelter after Luka left, all the difficulties, conflicts escalated, the most important thing was that hope, albeit weak, appeared: to escape from the “cave-like basement” and live a normal human life.

Comprehending Luke's words, the Baron remembers his past life.

The ongoing skirmish between Nastya and the Baron ends with an explosion of hatred on Nastya’s part: “All of you... in hard labor... would be swept away like rubbish... into a hole somewhere!.. Wolves! May you breathe out! Wolves! And at this moment Satin turns attention to himself, pronouncing his famous monologue about man. According to Satin, a person is free in his choice of attitude to faith, and to life, to its structure, its order: “A person is free... he pays for everything himself: for faith, for unbelief, for love, for intelligence - a person for He pays everything himself, and therefore he is free!.. Man - that’s the truth!” The maturity of Satin’s judgment was always amazing. However, for the first time he rises to the realization of the need to improve the world, although he cannot go further than these reasonings: “What is a person?.. Do you understand? This is huge! This is where all the beginnings and ends are... Everything is in man, everything is for man! Only man exists, everything else is the work of his hands and his brain! Human! It's great! It sounds... proud! Human! We must respect the person! Don’t feel sorry... don’t humiliate him with pity... we must respect him!.. Let’s drink to the man, Baron!” So says the sharper and the anarchist, the slacker and the drunkard. It's strange to hear these words from him. Gorky himself understood how these speeches did not correspond to Satin. He wrote: “... Satin’s speech about the man of truth is pale. However - except Satin - there is no one to tell it to, and it is better, more clearly to say - he cannot ... "

Bubnov and Medvedev appear at the shelter. Both are tipsy. Bubnov treats the inhabitants of the shelter and gives all his money to Satin, as he feels good towards him. The night shelters sing their favorite song “The Sun Rises and Sets.” The shelter is still dark and dirty. But, however, some new feeling of universal interconnectedness settles in her. Bubnov’s arrival reinforces this impression: “Where are the people? Why are there no people here? Hey, come out... I... am giving you a treat!” External reason- “to take his soul away” (he got money). Internal state This man, who came “the way... all night,” is full of old, old bitterness: “I’ll start drinking... I’ll cry!” In the song: “...I want to be free, but I can’t break the chain...” - they all want to suffer their unhappy fate. That is why Satin responds to the unexpected news of the Actor’s suicide with the words concluding the drama: “Eh... ruined the song... fool!” Such a sharp response to the tragedy of the unfortunate man also has another meaning: the departure of the Actor is the result of the death of his illusions, again the step of a man who failed to realize the real truth. Each of the last three acts of “At the Lower Depths” ends in death: Anna, Kostylev, Actor. The philosophical subtext of the play is revealed at the end of the second act, when Satin shouts: “Dead men do not hear! Dead people don’t feel... Scream... roar... Dead people don’t hear!..” Vegetation in a shelter is not much different from death. The tramps who live here are as deaf and blind as the dead. Only in Act IV do complex processes take place in the mental life of the characters, and people begin to hear, feel, and understand something. With the “acid” of sad thoughts, Satin’s thought is cleansed like an “old, dirty coin.” This is where main meaning the finale of the play.

Brief Retelling!!
In the midst of drinking and scandals, the wanderer Luke appears in the shelter, feeling sorry for the people. He promises many an unrealistic bright future. He predicts happiness after death for Anna. The actor talks about a free hospital for alcoholics. He advises Vaska and Natasha to leave home, etc. But at the most tense moment, Luka actually runs away, leaving behind hopeful people. This drives the actor to suicide. In the finale, the night shelters sing a song, and when Satin hears about the death of the Actor, he says with annoyance and bitterness: “Eh... You ruined the song... you fool!” Internal plan. In the play, two philosophical “truths” collide: Luke and Satine. The nochlezhka is a kind of symbol of humanity that finds itself in a dead end, which by the beginning of the 20th century. has lost faith in God, but has not yet gained faith in itself. Hence the general feeling of hopelessness, lack of perspective, which, in particular, is expressed by Actor and Bubnov (a pessimistic reasoner) in the words: “What’s next” and “And the threads are rotten...” The world has become dilapidated, weakened, and is coming to an end . Satin prefers to accept this bitter truth and not lie to himself or people. He suggests to Mite that he stop working. If everyone stops working, what will happen? “They will die of hunger...” answers Kleshch, but in doing so he only reveals the meaningless essence of labor, which is aimed only at maintaining life, and not at bringing any meaning into it. Satin is a kind of radical existentialist, a person who accepts the absurdity of the universe in which “God died” (Nietzsche) and the Emptiness, Nothingness, was exposed. Luke has a different view of the world. He believes that it is precisely the terrible meaninglessness of life that should evoke special pity for a person. If a person needs a lie to continue living, then you need to lie to him and console him. Otherwise, the person will not be able to stand the “truth” and will die. So Luke tells a parable about a seeker of a righteous land and a scientist who, using a map, showed him that there is no righteous land. Offended man left and hanged himself (a parallel with the future death of the Actor). Luke is not just an ordinary wanderer, a comforter, but also a philosopher. In his opinion, a person is obliged to live despite the meaninglessness of life, because he does not know his future, he is only a wanderer in the universe, and even our earth is a wanderer in space. Luka and Satin are arguing. But Satin somewhat accepts Luke’s “truth.” In any case, it is the appearance of Luke that provokes Satin into his monologue about Man, which he pronounces, imitating the voice of his opponent (a fundamental remark in the play). Satin does not want to pity and console a person, but, by telling him the whole truth about the meaninglessness of life, to encourage him to self-respect and rebellion against the universe. A person, having realized the tragedy of his existence, should not despair, but, on the contrary, feel his worth. The whole meaning of the universe is in it alone. There is no other meaning (for example, Christian). “Man - that sounds proud!” “Everything is in man, everything is for man.”