The essay “Ideological and artistic originality of the play “At the Lower Depths.” All school essays on literature

M. Gorky began his creative activity in difficult times, turning point: values changed, a person became a “slave of things”, became depersonalized. At the beginning of his creative path Gorky wrote romantic works. His heroes were free, brave, strong. But these heroes are fictitious.

In the play “At the Bottom”, Gorky is interested in a completely different type of people - people of the “bottom”, broken by life, doomed to death. The play “At the Bottom” is a work that, in essence, is devoid of action, there is no plot in it, central conflict and junctions. It's like a set of actions different people, gathered in the shelter. Heroes and their inner world are revealed not from actions, but from conversations. Each character represents a certain philosophy, idea.

So, the heroes of the play are characterized primarily by their speech. And the first thing to note is that they are rude to each other. This happens, perhaps, because people do not want and cannot accept their insignificance and, with their deliberate rudeness, seem to protect themselves from external changes(“You’re a fool, Nastya...”). People seem to have gone wild; they can no longer speak in normal, living language. So, the Tick can't say kind words even to his dying wife. It is believed that keyword in the play - “truth”. This word is a leitmotif. But the truth of the heroes is ambiguous. It is as if in two dimensions. On the one hand, this is the truth of their everyday everyday life, the truth of the “bottom”, and on the other hand, this is the truth that they would like to see. This is a “fictional” truth. And from the very beginning we already see the conflict of these two truths.

The reality is this: in a damp basement, “like a cave,” in terrible dirt and stench, people are huddled, thrown out of life. Gorky does not provide biographies of the characters in the play, but from individual remarks we can judge how bleak their existence is. Consumptive Anna says that “all her life she shook over every piece of bread... she suffered... All her life she walked around in rags.” From these unfortunate inhabitants of the “bottom” everything has been taken away: honor, human dignity, the possibility of love and motherhood, creating a family - all hope, everything human has been destroyed, trampled into the dirt.

And even here, in this strange world outcasts, where people worthy of compassion are buried alive, the wolf laws of the capitalist world continue to operate. Almost all the inhabitants of the Kostylevo shelter are driven to despair, reaching for some kind of ghosts and illusions. Kleshch dreams of escaping from here, believing that honest work will help him become a man: “I’ll rip off my skin, but I’ll get out.” Wants to start a new one healthy life Vaska Pepel, sincerely believes in pure love Nastya. Everyone is trying to straighten up, to become full-fledged people. None of the heroes wants to admit even to themselves that they are at the very “bottom”, that is, to realize the real situation. The conflict between real and fictional truth reaches its climax in the third act in the dispute about the truth of Bubnov, Kleshch and Luka. The tick reveals the real truth: “What a truth! Where is the truth? That's the truth! No work... no power! That's the truth! Shelter... there is no shelter! You have to breathe... here it is, really! Devil! Why... what do I need it for - really? Let me breathe... let me breathe! Why am I to blame?.. Why am I to blame for the truth? Living is the devil - you can’t live... here it is, the truth!.. Speak here - the truth! You, old man, console everyone... I'll tell you... I hate everyone! And this truth... damn it, damn it! Understood? Understand! Damn her!

The theme of truth in the play echoes the theme of faith. The bearer of the philosophy of faith is Luke. For him, the truth of a person is the one in which he believes: “Let's go, honey! Nothing... don't be angry! I know. . . I believe! Your truth, not theirs... If you believe, you had true love... that means you had it! Was!" The essence of Luke's philosophy is that faith can replace reality, as it helps a person escape from terrible truth into a world of beautiful illusions. So two philosophical views in the play are interconnected.

The idea of a free man is expressed by Satin. He exposes the comforting lies of Elder Luke, who, seeing the torment of the disadvantaged, selflessly tries to help them, ease their suffering, and pacify them. He inspires the drunken Actor with hope of recovery in a free hospital; dying Anna advises not to be afraid of death: it brings peace; Ash advises the thief to leave for rich, happy Siberia. The deceiver Luke is humane in his own way, but his humanism is passively compassionate. It is based on the fact that Luke does not believe in human capabilities: for him, all people are insignificant, weak, petty, they only need compassion and consolation. "I don't care! I respect swindlers too; in my opinion, not a single flea is bad,” he says. Secretly, he is confident that a person’s real situation cannot be changed, which is why he approaches everyone with a comforting lie.

Satin speaks out against this comforting lie and the philosophy of slavish obedience and patience: “Whoever is weak in soul... and who lives on other people’s juices, needs a lie... Some people are supported by it, others hide behind it... Lies - religion of slaves and masters. Truth is a bot of a free man.” In Satin's monologue full voice there is a demand for freedom and humane treatment to a person: “We must respect a person! Don’t feel sorry... don’t humiliate him with pity... you have to respect him!” He is convinced that one should not reconcile a person with reality, but make reality itself serve a person. “Man is free. Man is the truth. Everything is in man, everything is for man. Only man exists, everything else is the work of his hands, his brain. Human! It sounds proud!” - this is the main idea of the play.

In the history of Russian culture there are many names known throughout the world. Among them, the name of M. Gorky occupies a worthy place. As an artist, he enriched world literature new themes, plots, conflicts and images. Among Gorky’s works, the play “At the Lower Depths” occupies a special place. The writer showed in it the life of outcasts, people who have severed ties with society and are completely rejected by it. In my opinion, it is very interesting that the age-old philosophical debate about man is conducted not by sophisticated representatives of the intelligentsia, but by people from the lowest levels of life, barefoot and undressed, hungry and deprived of all rights. They discuss spiritual, social and ethical problems, which in the play have acquired extreme depth and intensity. The inhabitants of the shelter are not indifferent to the problems of good and evil, freedom, conscience, honor, happiness, life and death. All this interests them in connection with even more important issue: what is a person, why does he appear on earth, what is the meaning of his life? I think that it is in acute collision ideas, one should look for the originality of the play “At the Bottom”.
Disputes, passionate and emotional discussion of issues that concern a person, allow us to make a fairly accurate conclusion about his character, about those traits that are usually hidden. Like alive real people the gloomy fatalist and skeptic Bubnov, the wanderer-comforter Luke, the preacher of truth and the greatness of man Satin and others appear before us. Behind each of them there is a whole system of moral and aesthetic views. Apparently, they did not know or read Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky - real contradictions real life force them to painfully search for an explanation for the situation in which they find themselves.
The play sharply compares the images of the characters, their thoughts, feelings and experiences. Sharp dialogues capture the reader's attention, creating an atmosphere of tension and conflict. Gorky uses bright, succinct words to express the main idea - about the purpose of Man.
The concept of “man” is revealed in the writer’s work different faces, even in those works where, as in the play “At the Bottom,” attention is focused on dark sides life. Characteristic feature The play is that the hymn to Man sounds especially loudly in it, as if in contrast to the terrible living conditions, poverty and hopelessness.
The literature of previous years, depicting “little” people, humiliated and insulted, expressed deep compassion for them. But when people stop being “small,” pity for them is not enough. It seems to me that the image of the wanderer-comforter Luke was introduced partly in order to emphasize this idea. To this day, the image of this “apostle of comforting lies” causes heated debate. Who is he - positive hero or negative, does he pity people or is indifferent to them, strives to heal them with consolations or pursues other goals? I agree with B. Bialik’s point of view that in the very formulation of the question there is an error, “a lack of understanding of the entire complexity and depth of Gorky’s play. The point is not whether Luke pities people (of course he does), and whether he wants to help them with his consolations (of course he does), but how he understands people, how he evaluates a person.”
On the one hand, Luka sees a person in every inhabitant of the shelter. But at the same time, such pity implies powerlessness to change anything in life. Luke's consolations support the illusions that the characters in the play live by, trying to isolate themselves from the surrounding abomination. And the effect of Luke’s “fairy tales” is somewhat reminiscent of drugs: they do not cure an illness, but allow a person to reduce pain for a while and feel better.
Satin feels and understands all this. I think that is why he says: “He (Luke)... acted on me like acid on an old and dirty coin...”. Satin’s famous monologue: “Man! It's great! It sounds... proud! Human! We must respect the person! Don’t feel sorry... don’t humiliate him with pity, you need to respect him!” - is a reaction to Luke’s worldview. Gorky contrasts consoling and reconciling lies with faith in free man who only needs the truth, no matter how harsh it may be.
Thus, the ideological and artistic originality of M. Gorky’s play “At the Depths” is determined by ideological problems. On their basis, the plot is built and the author’s position is expressed. Portraying Russian reality in extremely harsh tones, which breaks people, causing them grief and suffering, Gorky persistently “collected small, rare crumbs of everything that could be called unusual - kind, selfless, beautiful,” and sought to reveal in the soul of the most “destroyed” person the undestroyed inclinations or remnants of humanity. The work of M. Gorky is full of love for man and pain for him, for all his humiliation. And at the same time, the writer expresses faith in a happy future for humanity.

1. Connection with the era.

The drama reflected the contradictions of Russian life on the eve of the first Russian revolution, the contradictions of the capitalist world and Gorky’s attitude to contemporary philosophical movements: his polemic with the idealistic philosophy of Vl. Solovyova.

2. Social and philosophical issues.

Depicting the “bottom,” Gorky shows society in miniature.

All the inhabitants of the shelter are former “formers”. Actor, Ash, Nastya, Natasha, Kleshch strive to break free from the bottom of life, but they feel complete powerlessness before the constipation of this prison, which gives rise to a feeling of hopelessness in the characters (Actor is the death of the soul, Kleshch is trying to achieve the truth only for himself). IN love affair are being implemented social contradictions(Ashes - Kostylev - Vasilisa; Baron - Nastya).

Philosophical issues are reflected in the heroes’ disputes about man, goodness and truth, which raise the problem of humanism.

A) The problem of man is connected in the play with the image of Luke. Ideas

Luke boils down to the thesis: “A person can do anything, if only he wants to.”

Satin continues Luke's ideas, but believes that a person does not need

Feel sorry, but teach how to use freedom.

Satin's correctness is confirmed by the plot of the play. The very course of events refutes Luka’s philosophy: the death of the actor, Vaska Pepel’s exile to Siberia, Anna’s death and general indifference to this event. Luke's departure indicates his defeat. The characters’ ideas do not always correspond to the position they occupy. If Luke’s views are in harmony with his way of life, then Satin’s ideas are in conflict with his existence - this is the specificity philosophical drama. Words about proud man from Satin's monologue actually belong to the author. However, the ideal of man is formulated in the play in an abstract form.

The play “At the Lower Depths” continues the traditions of Chekhov:

A) Many storylines,

B) Lyrical subtext, “undercurrents” (prison

A song reflecting a state of hopelessness; Nastya’s sighs), c) Speech characteristics (Luka - “hagiographic” language, replete with proverbs and sayings; Satin - learned words and expressions, the meaning of which he does not understand; Baron - poor speech, in which foreign words come across - “merci”, “ lady").

Truth and lies... Two opposite poles, connected by an unbreakable thread. What is more necessary for a person? It's strange to ask such a question. After all, from childhood we are instilled with the concept of truth as positive quality, and about lies as negative....

In the recent past, Satin, “a representative of true humanism,” was contrasted with Luke, who was assigned the role of a supporter of “false humanism,” although Lunacharsky in his article “M. Gorky” brought together the sermons of Luke and Satin....

At the heart of Maxim Gorky’s play “At the Depths” (1902) is a dispute about Man and his capabilities. The action of the work takes place in the Kostylevs' shelter - a place located outside the world of people. Almost all the inhabitants of the shelter recognize their situation as abnormal:...

It's good when you read a book or theatrical performance leaves a mark on the soul. And if it, this trace, is bright, we think about what meaning this work has for us, what it gives us. Many years have passed since the creation of Gorky's plays...

The time and circumstances of life that gave rise to the social “bottom” prompted Gorky to turn to a new topic for him. In Kazan, in Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow and St. Petersburg, the writer saw disadvantaged people, outcasts from society, tramps thrown into basements...

The driving force of action in Gorky's drama is the struggle of ideas, and, accordingly, the entire range of ideas used by the author artistic techniques emphasizes this. Both the plot of the play and its composition also work on main line dramas. The play does not have a bright moving plot line. The characters of the play are separated, concentrated in different corners of the stage.

The play “At the Lower Depths” is a cycle of small dramas, in which traditional climaxes happen behind the scenes (Kostylev’s death, Vasilisa’s bullying of Natasha, Actor’s suicide). The author deliberately removes these events from the viewer's field of view, thereby emphasizing that the main thing in the play is conversations. Gorky's drama begins with the appearance of the owner of the shelter, Kostylev. From the conversation between the night shelters, it turns out that he is looking for his wife Vasilisa, who is carried away by Ash. With the appearance of Luke, the beginning of the action occurs (the end of the first act). In the quadruple act the denouement comes. Satin's monologue: “What is truth? Man, that’s the truth!” is highest point the intensity of the action, the climax of the drama.

Researchers of Gorky's work have noted another feature: the playwright uses so-called “rhyming” episodes. Two dialogues between Nastya and Baron are mirrored. At the beginning of the play, the girl defends herself from the Baron's ridicule. After Luka leaves, the heroes seem to change roles: all the Baron’s stories about his former rich life accompanied by the same remark from Nastya: “It didn’t happen!” The exact semantic rhyme in the play is Luke's parable about the righteous land and the episode about the suicide of the Actor. Both fragments coincide verbatim in the final lines: “And then he went home and hanged himself...” and “Hey... you! Go... come here! ...The Actor hanged himself there!” Such fragments, according to the author, are intended to connect parts of the composition.

The heroes of the play “At the Bottom” are not traditionally divided into main and secondary ones. Each character has his own story, his own destiny, and carries his own meaning in the work. In the play they are sharply contrasted. The author refers to the antithesis more than once. In contrast to the terrible living conditions, poverty and hopelessness, the hymn to Man sounds loudly.

Gorky always attached great importance to language. And in the play, it is the dialogues that give the action an atmosphere of tension and conflict. The author puts bright, succinct words into the hero’s mouth to express the main idea - about the purpose of Man: “Only man exists, everything else is the work of his hands and his brain! Human! It's great! It sounds proud!” Fate was reflected in the speech of each character, social background, level of culture. For example, Luke’s speech is unusually aphoristic: “Where it’s warm, there is the homeland,” “There is no order in life, no cleanliness,” “... not a single flea is bad: they’re all black, they all jump.” Material from the site

Thus, artistic originality Gorky's play "At the Lower Depths" is:

formulation of acute philosophical problems;
rejection of a bright moving storyline;
"rhyming" episodes;
lack of division into main and secondary characters;
dynamic dialogues, speech characteristic heroes of the play.

Disputes, passionate and emotional discussion of issues that concern a person, allow us to make a fairly accurate conclusion about his character, about those traits that are usually hidden. The gloomy fatalist and skeptic Bubnov, the wanderer-comforter Luka, the preacher of truth and greatness of man Satin and others appear before us as living, real people. Behind each of them there is a whole system of moral and ethical views. Apparently, they did not know or read Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky - the real contradictions of real life force them to painfully search for an explanation for the situation in which they find themselves.

The play sharply compares the images of the characters, their thoughts, feelings and experiences. Sharp dialogues capture the reader's attention, create an atmosphere of tension and

conflict. Gorky uses bright, succinct words to express the main idea - about the purpose of Man.

The concept of “man” reveals different facets in the writer’s work, even in those works where, as in the play “At the Bottom,” attention is focused on the darker sides of life. A characteristic feature of the play is that the hymn to Man sounds especially loudly in it, as if in contrast to the terrible living conditions, poverty and hopelessness.

The literature of previous years, depicting “little” people, humiliated and insulted, expressed deep compassion for them. But when people stop being “small”, pity for them is not enough. It seems to me that the image of the wanderer-comforter Luke was introduced partly in order to emphasize this idea. To this day, the image of this “apostle of comforting lies” causes heated debate. Who is he - a positive hero or a negative one, does he pity people or is indifferent to them, strives to heal them with consolations or pursues other goals? I agree with B. Bialik’s point of view that in the very formulation of the question there is an error, “a lack of understanding of the entire complexity and depth of Gorky’s play. The point is not whether Luke pities people (of course he does), and whether he wants to help them with his consolations (of course he does), but how he understands people, how he evaluates a person.”

On the one hand, Luka sees a person in every inhabitant of the shelter. But at the same time, such pity implies powerlessness to change anything in life. Luke's consolations support the illusions that the characters in the play live by, trying to isolate themselves from the surrounding abomination. And the effect of Luke’s “fairy tales” is somewhat reminiscent of drugs: they do not cure an illness, but allow a person to reduce pain for a while and feel better.

Satin feels and understands all this. I think that's why he says, "He (Luke)... acted on me like acid on an old and dirty coin." Satin’s famous monologue: “Man! It's great! It sounds... proud! Human! We must respect the person! Don’t feel sorry... don’t humiliate him with pity, you have to respect him!” - is a reaction to Luke’s worldview. Gorky contrasts the consoling and reconciling lie with faith in a free Man, who needs only the truth, no matter how harsh it may be.

Thus, the ideological and artistic originality of M. Gorky’s play “At the Depths” is determined by ideological problems. On their basis, the plot is built and the author’s position is expressed. Portraying Russian reality in extremely harsh tones, which breaks people, causing them grief and suffering, Gorky stubbornly “collected small, rare crumbs of everything that could be called unusual - kind, selfless, beautiful,” and sought to reveal in the soul of the most “destroyed” person the undestroyed inclinations or remnants of humanity. The work of M. Gorky is full of love for man and pain for him, for all his humiliation. And at the same time, the writer expresses faith in a happy future for humanity.