At the bottom is a bitter analysis of the play. Characteristics of the main characters of the work At the bottom, Gorky

In the play "At the bottom", written by A.M. Gorky in 1902, the essential features of Gorky's dramaturgy manifested themselves with particular clarity. He approved in dramaturgy new type social and political drama. His innovation manifested itself both in the choice of dramatic conflict and in the method 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 the 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 is in Gorky social character. It lies in the clash of ideas, in the struggle of worldviews, social principles. Important role plays the composition of the play. In a small exposition of the first act, the viewer gets acquainted with the situation of Kostylev's rooming house, with the characters living in this rooming house, their past. The plot is the appearance of the wanderer Luke in the rooming house, his struggle for the souls of dying people. The development of the action is the awareness by the rooming houses of the whole horror of their situation, the emergence of hope for a change in life for the better under the influence of Luke's "good" speeches, the culmination is the increase in the tension of the action, culminating in the murder of old Kostylev and the beating of Natasha. And, finally, the denouement is a complete collapse of the heroes' hopes for a renewal of life: Anna dies, the Actor tragically commits suicide, Pepel is arrested.

Act IV plays an important role in the composition of the play. The author's remark emphasizes the changes on the stage that have taken place since the first act: “The atmosphere of the first act. But Cinder's rooms are not, the bulkheads are broken. And in the place where the Tick was sitting, there is no anvil ... The Actor is fumbling and coughing on the stove. Night. The scene is illuminated by a lamp standing in the middle of the table. Outside is the wind." At the beginning of the action, Kleshch, Nastya, Satin, Baron and Tatarin participate in the dialogue. They remember Luka, and everyone tries to express their attitude towards him: “He was a good old man! .. And you ... are not people ... you are rust!” (Nastya), “A curious old man… yes! And in general ... for many it was ... like a crumb for the toothless ... "(Satin), "He ... was compassionate ... you have ... no pity" (Tick), "Like a plaster for abscesses" (Baron), "The old man was good ... the law had a soul! Whoever has the law of the soul is good! Whoever lost the law is gone” (Tatarin). Satin sums up the result: “Yes, it was he, the old yeast, who fermented our roommates ...” The word “fermented” perfectly reflects the essence of the situation in the rooming house after the old man left. Fermentation began, all the difficulties, conflicts escalated, most importantly, there appeared, albeit weak, but hope: to escape from the “cave-like basement” and live a normal life. human life. Klesh understands this well. He says: “He beckoned them somewhere ... but he didn’t say the way ...” Klesch’s words that the old man did not like the truth cause Satine’s indignation, and he utters a monologue about truth and lies: “Lie is the religion of slaves and masters ... Truth - God free man!" Satin explains to the roomers why the old man lied: "He lied ... but - it's out of pity for you, damn you!" But Satin himself does not support this lie and says why: “There is a comforting lie, a reconciling lie ... a lie justifies the heaviness that crushed the worker’s hand ... and blames those who are dying of hunger ...” No, Sateen does not need such a lie, because he is a free man: "And who is his own master ... who is independent and does not eat someone else's - why should he lie?" The words of Sateen, recalling the old man's statement: "Everyone thinks that he lives for himself, but it turns out that for the best!" - make the overnight stays listen carefully. “Nastya stubbornly looks into the face of Satin. The tick stops working on harmony and also listens. The baron, bowing his head low, softly beats his fingers on the table. The actor, leaning out of the stove, wants to carefully climb down onto the bunk.

Reflecting on Luke's words, the Baron recalls his past life: a house in Moscow, a house in St. Petersburg, carriages with coats of arms, “high post ... wealth ... hundreds of serfs ... horses ... cooks ...” Nastya responds to every replica of the Baron with the words: “It didn’t happen!”, Which drives the Baron into a frenzy. Satin thoughtfully remarks: “In the carriage of the past, you won’t go anywhere ...”

The ongoing skirmish between Nastya and the Baron ends with an explosion of hatred from Nastya: “I wish you all ... would go to hard labor ... sweep you away like rubbish ... somewhere in a pit! .. Wolves! For you to breathe! Wolves! And at this moment, Satine turns his attention to himself, delivering 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 the mind - a person for everything he pays himself, and therefore he is free!.. The man is the truth!” The maturity of Sateen's judgments has always amazed. However, for the first time he rises to the realization of the need to improve the world, although he cannot go beyond these reasonings: “What is a person? .. Do you understand? This is huge! In this - all beginnings and ends ... Everything is in a person, everything is for a person! Only man exists, everything else is the work of his hands and his brain! Human! It's great! It sounds… proud! Human! You have to respect the person! Do not pity ... do not humiliate him with pity ... you must respect! .. Let's drink for a man, Baron! So says the sharper and the anarchist, the slacker and drunkard. It is strange to hear these words from him. Gorky himself understood how much these speeches did not correspond to Satin. He wrote: “... Sateen's speech about the man-truth is pale. However - except for Sateen - there is no one to say it to, and it is better, more vividly to say - he cannot ... "

Bubnov and Medvedev appear in the rooming house. Both tipsy. Bubnov treats the inhabitants of the rooming house and gives all his money to Satin, as he feels goodwill towards him. The shelters sing their favorite song "The Sun Rises and Sets." The rooming house is still dark and dirty. But in it, however, some new sense of universal interconnectedness settles. The arrival of Bubnov reinforces this impression: “Where are the people? Why are there no people here? Hey, get out ... I ... treat! External cause- “take your soul away” (he got money). The inner state of this person, who came to "sing ... all night," is full of old, old bitterness: "I will sing ... I will cry!" In the song: “... I want to be free, but I can’t break the chain ...” - they all want to suffer their unfortunate 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 has another meaning: the departure of the Actor is the result of the death of his illusions, again the step of a person who has failed to realize the true truth. Each of the last three acts of "At the Bottom" ends in death: Anna, Kostylev, Actor. Philosophical overtones The play is revealed at the end of the second act, when Satin shouts: “The dead do not hear! Dead people don't feel... Shout... roar... Dead people don't hear! The tramps who live here are as deaf and blind as the dead. Only in act IV complex processes take place in mental life heroes, and people begin to hear, feel, understand something. The "acid" of gloomy thoughts is cleared, like an "old, dirty coin", the thought of Satin. This is where the main meaning of the finale of the play lies.

] Central way early Gorky is proud and strong personality embodying the idea of ​​freedom . Therefore, Danko, who sacrifices himself for the sake of people, is on a par with the drunkard and thief Chelkash, who does not perform any feats for the sake of anyone. “Power is virtue,” said Nietzsche, and for Gorky, the beauty of a person lies in strength and feat, even aimless: a strong person has the right to be "on the other side of good and evil", to be outside ethical principles, like Chelkash, and a feat, from this point of view, is resistance general flow life.
After the series romantic works In the 90s, full of rebellious ideas, Gorky creates a play that has become, perhaps, the most important link in the entire philosophical and artistic system of the writer - the drama "At the Bottom" (1902). Let's see what heroes inhabit the "bottom" and how they live.

II. Conversation on the content of the play "At the bottom"
How is the scene depicted in the play?
(The scene is described in the author's remarks. In the first act, this “cave-like basement”, “heavy, stone vaults, sooty, with crumbling plaster”. It is important that the writer gives instructions on how the scene is lit: "from the viewer and from top to bottom" the light reaches the bedchambers from the basement window, as if looking for people among the basement inhabitants. Thin partitions fence off Ash's room.
"Everywhere on the walls - bunks". Except for Kvashnya, Baron and Nastya, who live in the kitchen, no one has their own corner. All showing off to each other discreet place only on the stove and behind the cotton canopy separating the bed from the others dying Anna(by this she is already, as it were, separated from life). Dirt everywhere. "dirty cotton canopy", unpainted and dirty table, benches, stool, tattered cardboard, pieces of oilcloth, rags.
Third act takes place in the early spring in the evening on a wasteland, “littered with various rubbish and a yard overgrown with weeds”. Let's pay attention to the color of this place: the dark wall of a barn or stable "gray, covered with remnants of plaster" the wall of the rooming house, the red wall of the brick firewall blocking the sky, the reddish light of the setting sun, the black boughs of elderberry without buds.
In the setting fourth act significant changes are taking place former room Ashes are broken, Tick's anvil is gone. The action takes place at night, and the light from the outside world no longer breaks into the basement - the stage is lit by a lamp standing in the middle of the table. However, the last "act" of the drama takes place in a wasteland - the Actor strangled himself there.)

- What kind of people are the inhabitants of the rooming house?
(People who have sunk to the bottom of life end up in a rooming house. This is the last refuge for tramps, outcasts, “ former people". Here are all the social strata of society: the ruined nobleman Baron, the owner of the bunkhouse Kostylev, the policeman Medvedev, the locksmith Kleshch, the card maker Bubnov, the merchant Kvashnya, the card sharper Satin, the prostitute Nastya, the thief Pepel. Everyone is equalized by the position of the dregs of society. Very young people live here (the shoemaker Alyoshka is 20 years old) and still not old people (the oldest, Bubnov, is 45 years old). However, their lives are almost over. Dying Anna appears to us as an old woman, but it turns out she is 30 years old.
Many shelters do not even have names, only nicknames remain, expressively describing their carriers. The appearance of the dumplings merchant Kvashnya, the character of the Mite, the ambition of the Baron are clear. The actor once wore sonorous surname Sverchkov-Zadunaisky, and now even the memories are almost gone - "I forgot everything").

What is the subject matter of the play?
(The subject of the image in the drama "At the Bottom" is the consciousness of people thrown out as a result of deep social processes, to the "bottom" of life).

- What is the conflict of the drama?
(social conflict has several levels in the play. The social poles are clearly marked: on one, the owner of the bunkhouse, Kostylev, and the policeman Medvedev, who supports his power, on the other, the bunkhouses, essentially without rights. So it's obvious conflict between power and disenfranchised people. This conflict hardly develops, because Kostylev and Medvedev are not so far from the inhabitants of the rooming house.
Each of the hostels has experienced in the past your social conflict , resulting in a humiliating position.)
Reference:
sharp conflict situation, which is played out in front of the audience, is the most important feature of drama as a kind of literature.

- What brought its inhabitants to the rooming house - Satin, Baron, Klesch, Bubnov, Actor, Nastya, Pepel? What is the backstory of these characters?
(satin got "to the bottom" after he served time in prison for murder: "He killed a scoundrel in his temper and irritation ... because of his own sister"; Baron went bankrupt; Mite lost his job: “I am a working person ... I have been working since I was young”; Bubnov he left the house away from sin so as not to kill his wife and her lover, although he himself admits that he is “lazy” and even a drunkard, “would drink the workshop away”; Actor drank himself, "drank away his soul ... died"; fate Ashes was predetermined already at his birth: “I am a thief from childhood ... everyone always told me: thief Vaska, thieves son Vaska!”
The Baron tells in more detail about the stages of his fall (act four): “It seems to me that all my life I have only changed clothes ... but why? I don't understand! He studied - he wore the uniform of a noble institute ... but what did he study? I don't remember... He got married - put on a tailcoat, then - a dressing gown... but he took a bad wife and - why? I don't understand... He lived everything he had - he wore some kind of gray jacket and red trousers... but how did he get mad? I didn't notice... I served in the Treasury Chamber... a uniform, a cap with a cockade... I squandered government money, - they put on me a prisoner's robe... then - I put on this... And that's it... like in a dream. .. A? That's funny? Each stage of the life of the thirty-three-year-old Baron seems to be marked by a certain costume. These disguises symbolize the gradual decline social status, moreover, there is nothing behind these “dressing up”, life passed “like in a dream”.)

- How is the social conflict interconnected with the dramatic one?
(Social conflict is taken off stage, relegated to the past, it does not become the basis dramatic conflict. We observe only the result of off-stage conflicts.)

- What kind of conflicts, besides the social one, are highlighted in the play?
(The play has traditional love conflict . It is determined by the relationship between Vaska Pepel, Vasilisa, the wife of the owner of the hostel, Kostylev and Natasha, Vasilisa's sister.
Exposure of this conflict- the conversation of the roomers, from which it is clear that Kostylev is looking for his wife Vasilisa in the rooming house, who is cheating on him with Vaska Pepel.
The origin of this conflict- the appearance of Natasha in the rooming house, for the sake of which Pepel leaves Vasilisa.
During development love conflict it becomes clear that the relationship with Natasha revives Ash, he wants to leave with her and start a new life.
Conflict climax taken off stage: at the end of the third act, we learn from the words of Kvashnya that “they boiled the girl’s legs with boiling water” - Vasilisa knocked over the samovar and scalded Natasha’s legs.
The murder of Kostylev by Vaska Ashes turns out to be tragic ending of a love conflict. Natasha ceases to believe Ash: “She is at the same time! Damn you! You both…")

- What is the peculiarity of the love conflict?
(Love conflict becomes edge social conflict . He shows that anti-human conditions cripple a person, and even love does not save a person, but leads to tragedy: to death, mutilation, murder, hard labor. As a result, Vasilisa alone achieves all her goals: she takes revenge former lover Ashes and her rival sister Natasha, gets rid of her unloved and disgusted husband and becomes the sole owner of the rooming house. There is nothing human left in Vasilisa, and this shows the enormity social conditions, which disfigured both the inhabitants of the rooming house and its owners. The roomers are not directly involved in this conflict, they are only bystanders.)

III. Final word teachers
The conflict in which all the characters are involved is of a different kind. Gorky depicts the consciousness of the people of the “bottom”. The plot unfolds not so much in external action - in everyday life how many characters are in the dialogues. Exactly the conversations of the sleepers determine development of dramatic conflict . The action is transferred to the non-event series. It's typical of the genre. philosophical drama .
So, the genre of the play can be defined as a socio-philosophical drama .

Additional material for the teacher
To record at the beginning of the lesson, you can suggest the following analysis plan dramatic work:
1. Time of creation and publication of the play.
2. The place occupied in the work of the playwright.
3. The theme of the play and the reflection of certain life material in it.
4. Characters and their grouping.
5. The conflict of a dramatic work, its originality, the degree of novelty and sharpness, its deepening.
6. Development dramatic action and its phases. Exposition, plot, ups and downs, climax, denouement.
7. Composition of the play. The role and significance of each act.
8. Dramatic characters and their connection with action.
9. speech characteristic characters. Relationship between character and word.
10. The role of dialogues and monologues in the play. Word and action.
11. Identification of the author's position. The role of remarks in drama.
12. Genre and specificity plays. Correspondence of the genre to the author's predilections and preferences.
13. Comedy means (if it's a comedy).
14. Tragic flavor (in case of tragedy analysis).
15. Correlation of the play with the aesthetic positions of the author and his views on the theater. The purpose of the play for a particular scene.
16. Theatrical interpretation of the drama at the time of its creation and beyond. The best acting ensembles, outstanding directorial decisions, memorable incarnations of individual roles.
17. The play and its dramatic traditions.

Homework
Identify the role of Luke in the play. Write out his statements about people, about life, about truth, about faith.

Lesson 2 The role of Luke in the drama "At the Bottom"
The purpose of the lesson: create problem situation and encourage students to express their own point of view on the image of Luke and his position in life.
Methodical methods: discussion, analytical conversation.

During the classes
I. Analytical conversation
Let us turn to the extra-event series of the drama and see how the conflict develops here.

- How do the inhabitants of the rooming house perceive their situation before the appearance of Luka?
(IN exposure we see people, in essence, resigned to their humiliating position. The roommates languidly, habitually quarrel, and the Actor says to Sateen: “One day they will completely kill you ... to death ...” “And you are a blockhead,” Satine snaps. "Why?" - the Actor is surprised. "Because you can't kill twice."
These words of Sateen show his attitude towards the existence that they all lead in a rooming house. This is not life, they are all already dead. Everything seems to be clear.
But the Actor's retort is interesting: “I don’t understand ... Why not?” Perhaps it is the Actor, who has died more than once on the stage, who understands the horror of the situation more deeply than others. He is the one who commits suicide at the end of the play.)

- What is the meaning of using past tense in the self-characteristics of the characters?
(People feel "former":
"Satin. I was an educated person” (the paradox is that the past tense is impossible in this case).
"Bubnov. I'm a furrier was ».
Bubnov pronounces a philosophical maxim: “It turns out - don’t paint yourself outside, everything will be erased... everything will be erased, Yes!")

- Which of the characters opposes himself to the rest?
(Only one The tick has not reconciled yet with your fate. He separates himself from the rest of the roomers: “What kind of people are they? Roar, golden company... people! I'm a working man... I'm ashamed to look at them... I've been working since I was little... Do you think I won't get out of here? I’ll get out... I’ll rip off my skin, and I’ll get out... Just wait... my wife will die...”
The dream of another life is associated with Kleshch with the liberation that the death of his wife will bring him. He does not feel the enormity of his statement. Yes, and the dream will be imaginary.)

What scene is the beginning of the conflict?
(The beginning of the conflict is the appearance of Luke. He immediately announces his views on life: “I don’t care! I respect crooks too, in my opinion, not a single flea is bad: everyone is black, everyone jumps ... that's it. And one more thing: “To the old man - where it is warm, there is the homeland ...”
Luke turns out in the center of guests' attention: “What an interesting old man you brought, Natasha ...” - and all the development of the plot is concentrated on him.)

- How does Luka behave with each of the inhabitants of the rooming house?
(Luke quickly finds an approach to the overnight stays: "I'll look at you, brothers - your life - oh-oh! .."
He takes pity on Alyoshka: "Oh, boy, you're confused ...".
He does not respond to rudeness, skillfully bypasses questions that are unpleasant for him, and is ready to sweep the floor instead of the bedchambers.
Luka becomes necessary for Anna, pities her: “How can you leave a person like that?”.
Luka skillfully flatters Medvedev, calling him "under", and he immediately falls for this bait.)

- What do we know about Luke?
(Luka says almost nothing about himself, we only learn: “They crumpled a lot, that’s why he is soft ...”)

- How does Luke affect the overnight stays?
(In each of the lodging-houses, Luka sees a man, reveals their bright sides, the essence of personality , and this produces revolution in life heroes.
It turns out that the prostitute Nastya dreams of beautiful and bright love;
the drunken Actor receives hope for a cure for alcoholism - Luke tells him: “A person can do anything, if only he wants to ...”;
thief Vaska Pepel plans to leave for Siberia and start a new life there with Natasha, to become a strong master.
Anna Luca gives consolation: “Nothing, dear! You - hope ... That means you will die, and you will be calm ... you will not need anything else, and there is nothing to be afraid of! Quiet, calm - lie to yourself!
Luke reveals the good in every person and inspires faith in the best.)

- Did Luka lie to the rooming-houses?
(There may be different opinions on this.
Luke selflessly tries to help people, to instill in them faith in themselves, to awaken the best sides nature.
He sincerely wants the best shows real ways achieving a new a better life . After all, there really are hospitals for alcoholics, indeed Siberia is the “golden side”, and not just a place of exile and hard labor.
About afterlife with which he beckons Anna, the question is more complicated; it is a matter of faith and religious beliefs.
What did he lie about? When Luka convinces Nastya that he believes in her feelings, in her love: “If you believe, you had true love ... then it was! Was!" - he only helps her find the strength in herself for life, for real, not fictional love.)

- How do the inhabitants of the rooming house relate to the words of Luke?
(The overnight stayers are at first distrustful of Luka’s words: “Why are you lying all the time? Luka does not deny this, he answers the question with a question: “And ... why do you really need it painfully ... think about it! She, really, can , butt for you ... "
Even to a direct question about God, Luke answers evasively: “If you believe, there is; if you don’t believe it, no ... What you believe in is what it is ...”)

What groups can the characters of the play be divided into?
(The heroes of the play can be divided into "believers" and "non-believers" .
Anna believes in God, Tatar - in Allah, Nastya - in "fatal" love, Baron - in her past, perhaps invented. Tick ​​no longer believes in anything, and Bubnov never believed in anything.)

- in what sacred meaning the name "Luke"?
(At the name "Luka" dual meaning: this name is reminiscent of Evangelist Luke, means "light", and at the same time associated with the word "sly"(euphemism for the word "crap").)

- What is the author's position in relation to Luke?
(The author's position is expressed in the development of the plot.
After Luke left everything happens not at all as Luke convinced and as the heroes expected .
Vaska Pepel really ends up in Siberia, but only to hard labor, for the murder of Kostylev, and not as a free settler.
The actor, who has lost faith in himself, in his strength, exactly repeats the fate of the hero of Luke's parable about the righteous land. Luke, telling a parable about a man who, having lost faith in the existence of a righteous land, strangled himself, believes that a person should not be deprived of dreams, hopes, even imaginary ones. Gorky, showing the fate of the Actor, assures the reader and viewer that it is false hope that can lead a person to commit suicide .)
Gorky himself wrote about his plan: The main question I wanted to ask is what is better, truth or compassion. What is needed. Is it necessary to bring compassion to the point of using lies, like Luke? This is not a subjective question, but a general philosophical one.

- Gorky contrasts not truth and falsehood, but truth and compassion. How justified is this opposition?
(Discussion.)

- What is the significance of Luke's influence on the overnight stays?
(All characters agree that Luke instilled in them false hope . But after all, they didn’t promise to lift them from the bottom of life, he simply showed their own capabilities, showed that there is a way out, and now everything depends on them.)

- How strong is the faith in yourself awakened by Luke?
(This belief did not have time to gain a foothold in the minds of the roommates, it turned out to be fragile and lifeless, with the disappearance of Luke, hope goes out)

- What is the reason fast fading faith?
(Maybe the thing in the weakness of the heroes themselves , in their inability and unwillingness to do at least something to implement new plans. Dissatisfaction with reality, a sharply negative attitude towards it, are combined with a complete unwillingness to do anything to change this reality.)

- How does Luke explain the failures of the overnight stay life?
(Luke explains the failures of the life of overnight shelters by external circumstances , does not blame the heroes themselves for a failed life. Therefore, she reached out to him so much and was so disappointed, having lost external support with the departure of Luke.)

II. Final word of the teacher
Gorky does not accept passive consciousness, whose ideologist he considers Luke.
According to the writer, it can only reconcile a person with the outside world, but this world will not move him to change.
Although Gorky does not accept Luka's position, this image seems to be getting out of the author's control.
According to the memoirs of I. M. Moskvin, in the production of 1902, Luka appeared as a noble comforter, almost the savior of many desperate inhabitants of the rooming house. Some critics saw in Luka "Danko, who was given only real features", "the spokesman of the highest truth", found elements of Luka's exaltation in Beranger's verses, which the Actor shouts out:
Lord! If the truth is holy
The world can't find the way,
Honor to the madman who will inspire
Mankind has a golden dream!
K. S. Stanislavsky, one of the directors of the play, planned path "decrease" hero.“Luke is cunning”, “looking slyly”, “slyly smiling”, “insinuatingly, softly”, “it is clear that he is lying”.
Luke is a living image precisely because he is contradictory and ambiguous.

Homework
Find out how the question of truth is resolved in the play. Find sayings different heroes about the truth.

Lesson 3
The purpose of the lesson: to reveal the positions of the heroes of the play and the author's position in relation to the question of truth.
Methodical methods: analytical conversation, discussion.

During the classes
I. Teacher's word
A philosophical question posed by Gorky himself: Which is better, truth or compassion? The question of truth is multifaceted. Each person understands the truth in his own way, having in mind some final, higher truth. Let's see how the truth and lies correlate in the drama "At the Bottom".

II. Dictionary work
- What do the heroes of the play mean by "truth"?
(Discussion. This word has many meanings. We advise you to look into Dictionary and discover the meaning of the word "truth".

Teacher comment:
Can be distinguished two levels of "truth".
One is " private truth , which the hero defends, assures everyone, and above all himself, of the existence of an extraordinary, bright love. Baron - in the existence of his prosperous past. Kleshch calls his situation true, which turned out to be hopeless even after the death of his wife: “There is no work ... there is no strength! Here is the truth! Shelter... there is no shelter! You need to breathe ... here it is, really! For Vasilisa, the “truth” is that she is “tired” of Vaska Pepl, that she mocks her sister: “I’m not boasting - I’m telling the truth.” Such a "private" truth is at the level of a fact: it was - it was not.
Another level of "truth" "worldview"- in Luke's remarks. Luke's "truth" and his "falsehood" are expressed by the formula: "What you believe is what you are."

III. Conversation
- Do you really need the truth?
(Discussion.)

- The position of which character opposed to Luke's position?
(Positions of Luke, compromising, comforting, opposes the position of Bubnov .
This is the darkest figure in the play. Bubnov enters into an argument implicitly, like talking to myself , supporting the polyphony (polylogue) of the play.
First act, scene at the bedside of the dying Anna:
Natasha (to Tick). Would you, tea, treat her more kindly now .., after all, not for long ...
Mite. I know...
Natasha. You know... It's not enough to know, you understand. It's scary to die...
Ash. And I'm not afraid...
Natasha. How! .. Courage ...
Bubnov (whistling). And the threads are rotten ...
This phrase is repeated several times throughout the play, as if

Human! It's great!
M. Gorky
The drama "At the Bottom" arose as a result of broad life observations and philosophical searches of the writer.
The first three acts of the play are Luke's struggle for the souls of those thrown to the bottom. Luke captivates people with the illusion of future joy, the mirage of achievable happiness. The murder of Kostylev at the end of the third act and the subsequent events of the fourth act mark a turning point in the development of the play: the denouement begins. Life has tested the validity of the theory of saving lies. Hard labor, hunger, homelessness, drunkenness, incurable diseases- all this, leading to oppressive hopelessness, violent anger and suicide - the natural result of a dispelled mirage.
The fourth act reveals the serious consequences of the experience, because, in the words of Satin, "the old man fermented our roommates." Tramps think: "How, what to live with?". Baron expresses general state, confessing that he had previously “never understood anything”, “lived as in a dream”, he remarks in thought: “... for some reason I was born ...” The same bewilderment binds everyone. There is a completely different atmosphere of communication from the previous one. People listen to each other. Philosophy of comforting lies and petty humiliating "truth" the playwright opposes the idea of ​​harsh, big truth. Satin expresses it. Protecting Luke at first, denying that he is a conscious deceiver, a charlatan, Satin then goes on the offensive - an attack on the old man's false philosophy. Satin says: “He lied... but - this is out of pity for you... There is a comforting lie, a reconciling lie... I know the lie! Those who are weak in soul ... and who live on other people's juices - those need a lie ... it supports some, others hide behind it ... And who is his own master ... who is independent and does not eat someone else's - why does he need a lie? Lies are the religion of slaves and masters… Truth is the god of a free man!” Satin concludes: “Everything is in a person, everything is for a person! Only man exists, everything else is the work of his hands and his brain!
For the first time in a rooming house, a serious speech is heard, pain is felt due to lost life. The arrival of Bubnov reinforces this impression. “Where are the people? - he exclaims and offers ... to sing ... all night, to sob his inglorious fate. That is why Satin responds to the news of the actor's suicide with harsh words: "Eh, ... ruined the song ... you fool!"
A peculiar feature in the development of the action of the play is that the dramatic nature, through careful hints, makes it possible to predict the further course of events in the life of the characters. The writer does not strive for spectacular situations. The relationships between the inhabitants of the rooming house, for all their tension, inevitably follow from the living conditions of the "bottom", there is nothing unusual in them.
In the fourth act tragic end The actor is already guessed even before the Baron announces what happened in the wasteland. The death of the Actor, caused primarily by his longing for a past life, to which - he understands - there is no return, was hastened by a flash of dubious hope. The idea that the Actor will die is prompted by the poetic quotes he utters, and suicide note asking you to pray for him.
Events in the life of many of the heroes of the play are outlined in the work. Take, for example, Tick, and trace his fate from the first to the fourth act. In the first act, he still strives to rise from the “bottom”, where unemployment has thrown him: “I’ll get out, ... I’ll tear off my skin, and I’ll get out.” In the second act, the tick is in a state of confusion: there is no money for his wife's funeral, and in general "he does not know what to do now." In the fourth act, he already comes to terms with the inevitability: the struggle is impossible, the future fate is clear.
In the fourth act, the storylines of the relationship between the characters develop further. And some of them are finished. So, for example, the line of the locksmith Kleshch who lost his job and sank "to the bottom" comes to a logical end.
The culmination of the fourth act is Sateen's monologue, his impassioned appeal to "respect the person." “Do not pity, do not humiliate him… with pity…” This monologue is the author's declaration. There are quite a few Gorky thoughts about life here.
There are practically no dialogues in the final act, everyone takes part in the conversation. We can say that this is a polyphonic dialogue.
The fourth act is replete with aphorisms, some of which literally turn into slogans: "Man is the truth!" person."
The name "At the bottom" evokes a feeling of some understatement. So I want to put an ellipsis. "At the bottom" of what? Is it only life? Maybe souls? Yes, this is the meaning that is of paramount importance.
Summing up the analysis of the fourth act of M. Gorky's play "At the Bottom", we can say that the author showed by all the development of events that false consolation and even sympathy do not change life. The finale of the existence of people who believed the soothing lie clearly speaks of this: the suicide of the Actor, the death of Ash, the disappearance of Natasha, the hopelessness of Nastya were the answer to the stories about the “promised land” that was “destined for them”.

Chekhov's tradition in Gorky's dramaturgy. Gorky originally said about the innovation of Chekhov, who "killed the realism" (of the traditional drama), raising the images to a "spiritualized symbol." This is how the departure of the author of The Seagull from the sharp clash of characters, from the tense plot was determined. Following Chekhov, Gorky sought to convey the unhurried pace of everyday, "eventless" life and highlight in it the "undercurrent" of the characters' inner motives. Only the meaning of this "current" Gorky understood, of course, in his own way. Chekhov has plays of refined moods and experiences. Gorky has a clash of heterogeneous worldviews, the very “fermentation” of thought that Gorky observed in reality. One after another, his dramas appear, many of them are illustratively called "scenes": "The Philistines" (1901), "At the Bottom" (1902), "Summer Residents" (1904), "Children of the Sun" (1905), "Barbarians" ( 1905).

"At the Bottom" as a socio-philosophical drama. From the cycle of these works, “At the Bottom” stands out with the depth of thought and the perfection of construction. Delivered Art Theater, which was a rare success, the play struck with "non-stage material" - from the life of tramps, cheaters, prostitutes - and its, despite this, philosophical richness. A special author's approach to the inhabitants of a dark, dirty rooming house helped to "overcome" the gloomy coloring, the frightening way of life.

The final title of the play was theater poster, after Gorky went through others: "Without the Sun", "Nochlezhka", "Bottom", "At the Bottom of Life". Unlike the original ones, which set off the tragic position of the tramps, the latter clearly had ambiguity, was perceived widely: “at the bottom” not only of life, but first of all of the human soul.

Bubnov says about himself and his cohabitants: “... everything has faded, one naked man remained". Because of the "fading", the loss of their former position, the heroes of the drama really bypass the particulars and gravitate towards some universal concepts. In this variant, it visibly appears internal state personality. " dark kingdom» made it possible to highlight the inconspicuous normal conditions the bitter meaning of existence.

Atmosphere of spiritual separation of people. The role of the polylogue. characteristic of all literature of the early 20th century. the painful reaction to the fragmented, elemental world in Gorky's drama acquired a rare scale and persuasiveness of embodiment. The author conveyed the stability and limit of mutual alienation of Kostylev's guests in original form"polylogue". In Act I, all the characters speak, but each, almost not listening to the others, talks about his own. The author emphasizes the continuity of such "communication". Kvashnya (the play begins with her remark) continues the dispute with Klesch that began behind the scenes. Anna asks to stop what lasts "every God's day." Bubnov interrupts Satina: "I heard it a hundred times."

In a stream of fragmentary remarks and squabbles, words that have a symbolic sound are highlighted. Bubnov repeats twice (while doing furrier work): “And the threads are rotten ...” Nastya characterizes the relationship between Vasilisa and Kostylev: “Tie every living person to such a husband ...” Bubnov notices about the situation of Nastya herself: “You are superfluous everywhere” . The phrases spoken on a specific occasion reveal the “subtextual” meaning: the imaginary connections, the superfluity of the unfortunate.

originality internal development plays. The situation changes with the appearance of Luke. It is with its help that illusory dreams and hopes come to life in the recesses of the souls of the shelters. II and III acts dramas make it possible to see in the "naked man" an attraction to a different life. But based on misconceptions, it is crowned only with misfortunes.

Luke's role in this outcome is very significant. Smart, knowledgeable old man looks indifferently at his real surroundings, believes that “people live for the best ... For a hundred years, and maybe more - for the best person live." Therefore, the delusions of Ash, Natasha, Nastya, the Actor do not touch him. Nevertheless, Gorky did not at all limit what was happening to the influence of Luke.

The writer, no less than human disunity, does not accept the naive belief in a miracle. It is the miraculous that Ash and Natasha imagine in a certain “righteous land” of Siberia; an actor - in a marble clinic; Tick ​​- in honest work; Paste - in love happiness. Luke's speeches had an effect because they fell on the fertile soil of secretly cherished illusions.

The atmosphere of Acts II and III is different compared to Act I. There is a pervasive motif of the escape of the inhabitants of the rooming house to some unknown world, a mood of exciting expectation, impatience. Luke advises Ash: “... from here - a march at a pace! - leave! Go away ... "The actor says to Natasha:" I'm leaving, I'm leaving ...<...>You, too, leave ... "Ashes persuades Natasha:" ... we must go to Siberia of our own free will ... Let's go there, well? But then other, bitter words of hopelessness sound. Natasha: "There's nowhere to go." Bubnov once "caught up in time" - he left the crime and forever remained in the circle of drunkards and cheaters. Satin, recalling his past, sternly asserts: "After prison there is no way." And Kleshch painfully admits: "There is no shelter ... there is nothing." In these replicas of the inhabitants of the rooming house, there is a deceptive liberation from circumstances. The Gorky tramps, by virtue of their rejection, are experiencing this eternal drama for a person with rare nudity.

The circle of existence seems to have closed: from indifference - to an unattainable dream, from it - to real shocks or death. Meanwhile, it is in this state of the heroes that the playwright finds the source of their spiritual fracture.

The meaning of act IV. In the IV act - the former situation. And yet, something completely new is happening - the fermentation of the previously sleepy thoughts of the tramps begins. Nastya and the Actor for the first time angrily denounce their stupid classmates. The Tatar expresses a conviction previously alien to him: the soul must be given a "new law." Tick ​​suddenly calmly tries to recognize the truth. But the main thing is expressed by those who have long believed in nothing and no one.

The baron, confessing that he "never understood anything," thoughtfully remarks: "... after all, for some reason I was born ..." This bewilderment binds everyone. And it strengthens the question “Why was he born?” Satin. Clever, impudent, he correctly regards tramps: "stupid as bricks", "cattle", who know nothing and do not want to know. Therefore, Satin (he is “kind when drunk”) tries to protect the dignity of people, open their possibilities: “Everything is in a person, everything is for a person.” Satin's reasoning is unlikely to be repeated, the life of the unfortunate will not change (the author is far from any embellishment). But the flight of Sateen's thought captivates listeners. For the first time they suddenly feel small particle big world. The actor therefore does not withstand his doom, cutting off his life.

The strange, not fully realized rapprochement of the “bitter brethren” takes on a new shade with the advent of Bubnov. "Where are the people?" - he shouts and offers to "sing ... all night", "burrow" his fate. That is why Satin responds sharply to the news of the Actor's suicide: "Eh ... ruined the song ... fool."

Philosophical subtext of the play. Gorky's play of the socio-philosophical genre, and with its life specificity, was undoubtedly directed towards universal concepts: alienation and possible contacts of people, imaginary and real overcoming of a humiliating situation, illusions and active thought, sleep and awakening of the soul. The characters of "At the Bottom" only intuitively touched the truth, without getting rid of the feeling of hopelessness. Such a psychological collision enlarged the philosophical sound of the drama, revealing the general significance (even for the outcasts) and the elusiveness of genuine spiritual values. The combination of eternal and instantaneous, stability and at the same time the precariousness of habitual ideas, small stage space(dirty rooming house) and thinking about big world humanity allowed the writer to embody complex life problems in a domestic situation.

The drama "At the Bottom" is a landmark work in creative biography Gorky. The description of the heroes will be presented in this article.

This work was written at a critical time for the country. In Russia in the 90s years XIX century, a serious outbreak broke out Masses of impoverished, ruined peasants after each crop failure left the villages in search of work. Plants and factories were closed. Thousands of people found themselves without livelihood and shelter. This led to the appearance big number"tramps" who have sunk to the bottom of life.

Who lived in hostels?

Enterprising slum owners, taking advantage of the fact that people were in a hopeless situation, found how to make use of the stinking basements. They turned them into bunkhouses, where the poor, the unemployed, thieves, vagabonds and other representatives of the "bottom" lived. This work was written in 1902. The heroes of the play "At the Bottom" are just such people.

Maxim Gorky throughout creative way interested in personality, man, his secrets Feelings and thoughts, dreams and hopes, weakness and strength - all this is reflected in the work. The heroes of the play "At the Bottom" are people who lived at the beginning of the 20th century, when old world, and arose new life. However, they differ from the rest in that they are rejected by society. These are people of the "bottom", outcasts. The place where Vaska Pepel, Bubnov, Actor, Satin and others live is unattractive and scary. According to Gorky's description, this is a basement that looks like a cave. Its ceiling is stone vaults with crumbling plaster, sooty. Why did the inhabitants of the rooming house find themselves "at the bottom" of life, what brought them here?

Heroes of the play "At the bottom": table

What ruined the lives of these people?

Addiction to alcohol killed the Actor. According to him own confession He used to have a good memory. Now the Actor believes that everything is over for him. Vaska Pepel is a representative of the "thieves' dynasty". This hero had no choice but to continue his father's work. He says that even when he was little, even then he was called a thief. The former furrier Bubnov left the workshop because of his wife's infidelity, and also out of fear of his wife's lover. He went bankrupt, after which he went to serve in one "state chamber", in which he committed embezzlement. One of the most colorful figures in the work is Satin. He was a telegraph operator in the past, and went to prison for the murder of a man who insulted his sister.

Whom do the inhabitants of the rooming house blame?

Almost all the heroes of the play "At the Bottom" tend to blame the current situation not on themselves, but on life circumstances. Perhaps, if they had developed differently, nothing would have changed significantly, and all the same, the overnight stays would have suffered the same fate. The phrase that Bubnov uttered confirms this. He admitted that he actually drank the workshop away.

Apparently, the reason for the fall of all these people is their lack of moral core which constitutes a person's personality. You can cite the words of the Actor as an example: "Why did he die? I had no faith ..."

Was there a chance to live another life?

Creating images of the heroes of the play "At the Bottom", the author gave each of them the opportunity to live a different life. That is, they had a choice. However, for everyone, the first test ended in the collapse of life. The baron, for example, could improve his affairs not by stealing state funds, but by investing in profitable business that he had.

Satin could teach the offender a lesson in another way. As for Vaska Pepel, would there really be few places on earth where no one would know anything about him and his past? The same can be said about many of the inhabitants of the rooming house. They have no future, but in the past they had a chance not to get here. However, the heroes of the play "At the Bottom" did not use it.

How do heroes comfort themselves?

Now they can only live with unrealizable hopes and illusions. Baron, Bubnov and Actor live Dreams of true love the prostitute Nastya amuses herself. At the same time, the characterization of the heroes of the play "At the Bottom" is supplemented by the fact that these people, rejected by society, humiliated, are endlessly arguing about moral and spiritual problems. Although it would be more logical to talk about because they live from hand to mouth. Author's characteristic the heroes of the play "At the Bottom" says that they are occupied with such issues as freedom, truth, equality, labor, love, happiness, law, talent, honesty, pride, compassion, conscience, pity, patience, death, peace and much more other. They are also concerned about an even more important problem. They talk about what a person is, why he is born, what is the true meaning of being. Philosophers of the rooming house can be called Luka, Satina, Bubnov.

With the exception of Bubnov, all the heroes of the work reject the "bedroom" way of life. They hope for a successful turn of fortune, which will bring them from the "bottom" to the surface. A tick, for example, says that he has been working since an early age (this hero is a locksmith), so he will certainly get out of here. "Here, wait... the wife will die..." he says. The actor, this chronic drunkard, hopes to find a luxurious hospital in which health, strength, talent, memory and applause of the audience will miraculously return to him. Anna, the unfortunate sufferer, dreams of bliss and peace in which she will finally be rewarded for her torment and patience. Vaska Pepel, this desperate hero, kills Kostylev, the owner of the rooming house, because he considers the latter to be the embodiment of evil. His dream is to go to Siberia, where he and his girlfriend will start a new life.

The role of Luke in the work

Luke, the wanderer, supports these illusions. He has the skill of a comforter and a preacher. Maxim Gorky depicts this hero as a doctor who considers all people to be terminally ill and sees his vocation in alleviating their pain and hiding it from them. However, at every step, life refutes the position this hero. Anna, to whom he promises a divine reward in heaven, suddenly wants to "live a little more ...". Believing at first in a cure for alcoholism, the Actor takes his own life at the end of the play. Vaska Pepel defines true value to all these consolations of Luke. He claims that he "tells fairy tales" pleasantly, because there is so little good in the world.

Satin's opinion

Luka is full of sincere pity for the inhabitants of the rooming house, but he cannot change anything, help people live a different life. In his monologue, Satin rejects this attitude, because he considers it humiliating, suggesting the failure and wretchedness of those to whom this pity is directed. The main characters of the play "At the bottom" Satin and Luka express opposing opinions. Satin says that it is necessary to respect a person and not humiliate him with pity. These words probably express the position of the author: "Man!.. That sounds... proud!"

The further fate of the heroes

What will happen to all these people in the future, will the heroes of Gorky's play "At the Bottom" be able to change something? It's easy to imagine them further fate. For example, Klesh. He tries to get out of the "bottom" at the beginning of the work. He thinks that when his wife dies, everything will change. magically for the better. However, after the death of his wife, Kleshch is left without tools and money and gloomily sings along with others: "I won't run away anyway." In fact, he will not run away, like the other inhabitants of the rooming house.

What is salvation?

Are there any ways of salvation from the "bottom", and what are they? A decisive way out of this difficult situation is perhaps outlined in Sateen's speech when he speaks of the truth. He believes that the appointment strong man- to eradicate evil, and not to comfort the suffering, like Luke. This is one of the most firm convictions Maxim Gorky himself. "From the bottom" people can rise only by learning to respect themselves, gaining a sense of dignity. Then they will be able to bear the proud title of Human. It still needs to be earned, according to Gorky.

Declaring his faith in the creative forces, abilities and mind of a free person, Maxim Gorky affirmed the ideas of humanism. The author understood that in the mouth of Satin, a drunken tramp, the words about free and proud man sound artificial. However, they should have sounded in the play, expressing the ideals of the writer himself. There was no one to say this speech to, except for Sateen.

Gorky in the work refuted the main principles of idealism. These are the ideas of humility, forgiveness, non-resistance. He made it clear what beliefs are the future. This is proved by the fate of the heroes of the play "At the bottom". The entire work is permeated with faith in man.