The genre of Maxim Gorky's play “At the Lower Depths” can be defined as a philosophical drama. In this work, the writer managed to raise many problematic questions about man and the meaning of his existence. However, the dispute about the truth in the play “At the Bottom” became key.
History of creation
The play was written in 1902. This time is characterized by a serious situation in which, due to the closure of factories, workers were out of work, and peasants were forced to beg and beg. All these people, and with them the state, found themselves at the very bottom of their lives. To reflect the full extent of the decline, Maxim Gorky made his heroes representatives of all segments of the population. turned adventurer, former Actor, prostitute, locksmith, thief, shoemaker, merchant, rooming house keepers, policeman.
And it is in the midst of this decline and poverty that the key eternal questions of life are asked. And the conflict was based on a dispute about the truth in the play “At the Bottom.” This philosophical problem has long become insoluble for Russian literature; Pushkin, Lermontov, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov and many others took on it. However, Gorky was not at all frightened by this state of affairs, and he created a work devoid of didacticism and moralizing. The viewer has the right to make his own choice after listening to the different points of view expressed by the characters.
Dispute about truth
In the play “At the Lower Depths,” as mentioned above, Gorky not only depicted a terrible reality, the main thing for the writer was the answers to the most important philosophical questions. And in the end, he manages to create an innovative work that has no equal in the history of literature. At first glance, the narrative seems scattered, plotless and fragmented, but gradually all the pieces of the mosaic come together, and a clash of heroes unfolds before the viewer, each of whom is the bearer of his own truth.
A topic such as the dispute about truth in the play “At the Bottom” is multifaceted, ambiguous and inexhaustible. A table that could be compiled to better understand it would include three characters: Bubnova. It is these characters who lead heated discussions about the need for truth. Realizing the impossibility of answering this question, Gorky puts different opinions into the mouths of these heroes, which are of equal value and equally attractive to the viewer. It is impossible to determine the position of the author himself, therefore these three images of criticism are interpreted differently, and there is still no consensus as to whose point of view on the truth is correct.
Bubnov
Entering into a dispute about truth in the play “At the Bottom,” Bubnov is of the opinion that facts are the key to everything. He does not believe in higher powers and the high destiny of man. A person is born and lives only to die: “Everything is like this: they are born, they live, they die. And I will die... and you... Why regret it..." This character is hopelessly despairing of life and does not see anything joyful in the future. The truth for him is that man cannot resist the circumstances and cruelty of the world.
For Bubnov, lying is unacceptable and incomprehensible; he believes that only the truth should be told: “And why do people like to lie?”; “In my opinion, leave the whole truth as it is!” He openly, without hesitation, expresses his opinion on others. Bubnov’s philosophy is truthful and merciless to man; he sees no point in helping his neighbor and caring for him.
Luke
For Luke, the main thing is not truth, but consolation. In an effort to bring at least some meaning to the hopelessness of the daily lives of the inhabitants of the shelter, he gives them false hope. His help lies in lies. Luke understands people well and knows what everyone needs, based on this he makes promises. So, he tells the dying Anna that peace awaits her after death, inspires the Actor with hope for a cure for alcoholism, and promises Ash a better life in Siberia.
Luka appears as one of the key figures in such a problem as the dispute about truth in the play “At the Bottom.” His remarks are full of sympathy and reassurance, but there is not a word of truth in them. This image is one of the most controversial in the drama. For a long time, literary scholars assessed him only from the negative side, but today many see positive aspects in Luke’s actions. His lies console the weak, unable to resist the cruelty of the surrounding reality. The philosophy of this character is kindness: “A person can teach goodness... As long as a person believed, he lived, but he lost faith and hanged himself.” Indicative in this regard is the story of how the elder saved two thieves when he treated them kindly. Luke’s truth is in pity for the person and the desire to give him hope, albeit illusory, for the possibility of something better, which would help him live.
Satin
Satin is considered Luke's main opponent. It is these two characters who are leading the main debate about the truth in the play “At the Bottom.” Satin's quotes contrast sharply with Luke's statements: “Lies are the religion of slaves,” “Truth is the god of a free man!”
For Satin, lies are unacceptable, since in a person he sees strength, resilience and the ability to change everything. Pity and compassion are meaningless; people do not need them. It is this character who pronounces the famous monologue about the man-god: “Only man exists, everything else is the work of his hands and his brain! It's great! It sounds proud!”
Unlike Bubnov, who also recognizes only the truth and denies lies, Satin respects people and believes in them.
Conclusion
Thus, the dispute about truth in the play “At the Bottom” is plot-forming. Gorky does not give a clear resolution to this conflict; each viewer must determine who is right for himself. However, it should be noted that Satin’s final monologue is heard both as a hymn to man and as a call to action aimed at changing the terrifying reality.
The play “At the Lower Depths” was written on June 15, 1902, and premiered on stage on December 31 of the same year. It changed many names during the development process and overcame many obstacles due to censorship in Russian theaters, but remains interesting to this day, because in it you can find the truth about the life of “former people”, that is, the social lower classes of society, hence its name , to which we are so accustomed.
You can talk a lot about why Gorky didn’t give it a title, for example, “Without the Sun” or “Nochlezhka,” but the most interesting thing, in my opinion, is to talk about the conflict of this play.
I want to start with the fact that in the play we can notice three “truths”, each of which is true in its own way, they are the ones that make up the conflict of the work.
The “truth” of the wanderer Luke is that if a person needs a lie in order to live, he needs to lie, for this will be a lie for the greater good. Without it, a person may not be able to withstand the difficult truth and die altogether, since everyone needs consolation to continue the fight against despondency. The hero’s speech is aphoristic, and in it you can see his position in life. For example, the hero believes that: “What you believe in is what it is.”
There is also a second “truth”, which is displayed in the image of Satin, who is a cheater and an alcoholic. In the past, he was a telegraph operator, but he dared to kill a man and went to prison, and so he ended up in a shelter, carrying his “truth” that lying is a religion of slaves and you can’t lie to anyone, anywhere. Satin believes that a person should be respected, and not humiliated with pity. According to Konstantin, a person should not despair, and it is in his monologues that the author’s position is observed: “Truth is the god of a free man!”
The third “truth” is that you need to say everything straight, as it is, and this is Bubnov’s truth. He believes that there is no point in lying, since everyone will die sooner or later anyway.
Each person decides for himself which “truth” is closer to him, but the most difficult thing is to make the right choice, because the life of a person, or even hundreds of people, can depend on it. I believe that the truth proposed by Satin is closer to me, since I think that a person should always be aware of his worth and be respected. Lies will always exist, whether we like it or not, because without evil, as we know, there would be no good. However, it cannot be cultivated and turned into an idea, justifying it with an illusory good. Everyone has their own understanding of “good,” and if we begin to deceive each other in order to achieve a “higher” goal, then we will sow only evil. The dispute over whose truth is more truthful will be resolved by force, and there will no longer be time for respect and value of human life and personality.
Luka leaves, like abstract ideals under the pressure of real life. What can he, a tramp and a beggar, advise people? How can I help you? Only to instill destructive vain hope, which, when it leaves, will break a person into smithereens.
In conclusion, I want to write that an honest person is much stronger and kinder than a liar: he is not indifferent if he tries to find the truth and show it to you, and not hide it or “not notice” out of banal indifference to your fate. A liar irresponsibly and cold-bloodedly takes advantage of gullibility and betrays it, while an honest person has to break through the armor of mistrust and act directly for your good. He doesn't use you or fool you for fun. Luka was also neither calculating nor funny, but he was far from real life and immersed in his own illusions. Satin is a realist; he has seen more in his time. This kind of prodigal son learned from his own experience how a person needs respect and truth, which, who knows, could have warned him in due time from a fatal mistake.
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“THREE TRUTHS” IN GORKY’S PLAY “AT THE BOTTOM”
Goals : consider the characters’ understanding of Gorky’s play “truth”; find out the meaning of the tragic collision of different points of view: the truth of a fact (Bubnov), the truth of a comforting lie (Luke), the truth of faith in a person (Satin); determine the features of Gorky’s humanism.
During the classes
I. Introductory conversation.
Imagine for a moment that by the will of fate you found yourself in Moscow without money, without friends, without relatives, without cell phones. You have traveled to the beginning of the century. How would you try to improve your life or change the situation you find yourself in? Will you try to improve your life or will you immediately sink to the bottom?
The heroes of the play we are studying stopped resisting; she sank to the “bottom of life.”
The topic of our lesson: “Three truths in M. Gorky’s play “At the Bottom.”
What do you think will be discussed?
What questions will we consider?
(Suggested answers: What is truth? What kind of truth can there be? Why three truths? What thoughts about truth do the heroes express? Which of the heroes thinks about this question?
Teacher's summary: Each hero has his own truth. And we will try to find out the positions of the characters, understand them, understand the essence of the dispute that arose between the characters and decide whose truth is closer to us, modern readers.
Literary warm-up.
You know that you cannot competently defend your point of view without knowledge of a literary work. I offer you a literary workout. I read a line from the play, and you determine which character it belongs to.
What is conscience for? I'm not rich (Bubnov)
We must love the living, the living (Luke)
When work is a duty - life is slavery (Satin)
Lies are the religion of slaves and masters... Truth is the god of a free man! (Satin)
People live... like chips floating down a river... (Bubnov)
All love on earth is superfluous (Bubnov)
Christ had compassion on everyone and commanded us (Luke)
Petting a person is never harmful (Luke)
Human! It's great! It sounds proud! Human! We must respect the person!
Updating knowledge. Call.
You have demonstrated good knowledge of the text. Why do you think you were offered the lines of these particular characters? (Luka, Satin, Bubnov have their own idea of truth).
– What is the main leitmotif of the play? Which character is the first to formulate the main question of the drama “At the Bottom”?
The dispute about truth is the semantic center of the play. The word “truth” will be heard already on the first page of the play, in Kvashnya’s remark: “Ah! You can’t stand the truth!” Truth – lie (“You’re lying!” – Kleshch’s sharp cry, sounded even before the word “truth”), truth – faith – these are the most important semantic poles that define the problematics of “At the Bottom”.
How do you understand the meaning of the word “truth”?
IS IT TRUE, -s,and. 1. What actually exists corresponds to the real state of affairs.Tell the truth. Hear the truth about what happened. The truth hurts my eyes (last). 2. Justice, honesty, just cause.Seek the truth. Stand for the truth. The truth is on your side. Happiness is good, but truth is better (last). 3. Same as(colloquial).Your truth (You are right).God sees the truth, but will not tell you soon (last). 4.introductory sl. The statement of truth is true, in fact.I really didn't know this.
Those. truth can be private, but it can also be ideological
So, let's find out the truth of Luka, Bubnov, Satin.– What is truth for the heroes of the play? How can their views be compared?
II. Work on the problem stated in the topic of the lesson.
The philosophy of truth in Gorky's play.
"Luke's Truth" - In the work of every talented writer, the name of the hero necessarily means something. Let's turn to the origins of the name Luke. What meanings can it have?
1) Ascends on behalf of the Apostle Luke.
2) Associated with the word “Evil,” that is, cunning.
3) “Lukovka”, by the time you get to the middle, you’ll take off a lot of “clothes!”
How does Luke appear in the play? What are the first words he says? (“Good health, honest people,” he immediately announces his position, says that he treats everyone well, “I respect swindlers, too, in my opinion, not a single flea is bad.”
What does Luke say about attitude towards people around you?
Let's consider how Luka behaves with each of the inhabitants of the shelter.
How does he feel about Anna? (She regrets, says that after death she will find peace, consoles, helps, becomes necessary)
What advice does an actor have? (Find a city where they treat alcohol, it’s clean, the floor is marble, they treat you for free, “A person can do anything, if only he wants to.”)
How does he propose to arrange Vaska Pepl’s life? (Go to Siberia with Natasha. Siberia is a rich region, you can earn money there and become a master).
How does he console Nastya? (Nastya dreams of big, bright love, he tells her: “What you believe in is what it is”)
How does he talk to Medvedev? (Calls him “under,” that is, flatters him, and he falls for his bait).
So how does Luka feel about the inhabitants of the shelter? (Okay, he sees a person in everyone, reveals positive character traits, tries to help. He knows how to discover the good in everyone and instill hope).
Read the remarks that reflect Luke’s life position?
How do you understand the words: “What you believe in is what it is?”
In contrast to the “prose of fact,” Luke offers the truth of the ideal—the “poetry of fact.” If Bubnov (the main ideologist of literally understood “truth”), Satin, Baron are far from illusions and do not need an ideal, then Actor, Nastya, Anna, Natasha, Ashes respond to Luke’s remark - for them faith is more important than truth.
Luke’s hesitant story about hospitals for alcoholics sounded like this: “Nowadays they are curing drunkenness, listen! Free, brother, they treat... this is the kind of hospital built for drunkards... They recognized, you see, that a drunkard is also a person...” In the actor’s imagination, the hospital turns into a “marble palace”: “An excellent hospital... Marble.. .marble floor! Light... cleanliness, food... everything for free! And marble floor. Yes!" The actor is a hero of faith, not the truth of fact, and the loss of the ability to believe turns out to be fatal for him.
Which heroes need Luke's support? (Actor, Nastya, Natasha, Anna. What is more important to them is not the truth, but words of consolation. When the Actor stopped believing that he could recover from alcoholism, he hanged himself.
A person can learn goodness... very simply, says Luka. What story does he give as an example? (Incident at the dacha)
How do you understand the “story” of the righteous land?
So, Luke’s truth is comforting, he turns to the remnants of humanity in the souls of the night shelters, gives them hope.
- What is Luke’s truth? (Love and feel sorry for a person)
“Christ had pity on everyone and commanded us to”
“What you believe is what you believe”
“A man can do anything, he just wants to”
“To love – we must love the living, the living”
“If someone has not done good to someone, he has done something bad”
Which of the heroes (Luka, Satin or Bubnov) seemed to you the darkest character?
Which character's position is opposed to Luke's?
"Bubnova's Truth"
Who is it? (Kartuznik, 45 years old)
What does he do? (trying old, torn trousers on blanks for hats, wondering how to cut)
What do we know about him? (I was a furrier, I dyed furs, my hands were yellow from paint, I had my own establishment, but I lost everything)
How is he behaving? (Dissatisfied with everything, treats those around him with contempt, looks sullen, speaks in a sleepy voice, does not believe in anything sacred. This is the gloomiest figure in the text).
Find lines that characterize his worldview.
“Noise is not a hindrance to death”
“What is conscience for? I'm not rich"
“People all live... like wood chips floating down a river... They build a house, but the wood chips go away.”
“Everything is like this: they are born, they live, they die. And I will die... and you."
When Anna dies, he says: “That means she’s stopped coughing.” How would you rate it?
How do these words characterize him?
What is the truth about Bubnov? (Bubnov sees only the negative side of life, destroys the remnants of faith and hope in people. A skeptic, a cynic, he treats life with evil pessimism).
Bubnov’s truth consists in exposing the seamy side of existence, this is the “truth of fact.” “What kind of truth do you need, Vaska? And for what? You know the truth about yourself... and everyone knows it...” he drives Ash into the doom of being a thief when he was trying to figure himself out. “That means I’ve stopped coughing,” he reacted to Anna’s death.
After listening to Luke’s allegorical story about his life at his dacha in Siberia and the harboring (rescue) of escaped convicts, Bubnov admitted: “But I... I don’t know how to lie! For what? In my opinion, tell the whole truth as it is! Why be ashamed?
Bubnov sees only the negative side of life and destroys the remnants of faith and hope in people, while Luka knows that in a kind word the ideal becomes real:“A person can teach goodness... very simply,” he concluded the story about life in the country, and in setting out the “story” of the righteous land, he reduced it to the fact that the destruction of faith kills a person.Luka (thoughtfully, to Bubnov): “Here... you say it’s true... It’s true, it’s not always due to a person’s illness... you can’t always cure a soul with the truth...” Luke heals the soul.
Luka’s position is more humane and more effective than Bubnov’s naked truth, because it appeals to the remnants of humanity in the souls of the night shelters. For Luke, a person “no matter what he is, is always worth his price.”“I’m just saying that if someone hasn’t done good to someone, then they’ve done something bad.” "To caress a person – never harmful."
Such a moral credo harmonizes relationships between people, abolishes the wolf principle, and ideally leads to the acquisition of internal completeness and self-sufficiency, the confidence that, despite external circumstances, a person has found truths that no one will ever take away from him
Satin becomes the spokesman for another life truth. One of the culminating moments of the play is Satin’s famous monologues from the fourth act about man, truth, and freedom.
Reading Satin's monologue.
"The Truth of Satine"
How does this character appear in the play?
What do we understand from his first words?
(Appears with a growl. His first words indicate that he is a card sharper and a drunkard)
What have we learned about this man? (Once he served in a telegraph office, he was an educated man. Satin likes to pronounce incomprehensible words. Which ones?
Organon – translated means “tool”, “organ of vision”, “mind”.
Sicambrus is an ancient Germanic tribe that means “dark man.”
Satin feels superior to other night shelters.
How did he end up in the shelter? (He went to prison because he stood up for his sister’s honor).
How does he feel about work? (“Make the work pleasant for me - maybe I will work... When work is pleasure, life is good! Work is a duty, life is slavery!
What does Satin see as the truth of life? (One of the climaxes of the play is Satin’s famous monologues about man, truth, and freedom.
“Lies are the religion of slaves and masters”
“Man is free, he pays for everything himself: for faith, for disbelief, for love, for intelligence...”
“Truth is the god of a free man.”
How, in his opinion, should a person be treated? (Respect. Do not humiliate with pity. Man - this sounds proud, says Satin).
- According to Satin, pity humiliates a person, respect elevates a person. What's more important?
Satin believes that a person should be respected.
Luke believes that a person should be pitied.
Let's look at the dictionary
Regret
Feel pity, compassion;
Reluctant to spend, spend;
To feel affection for someone, to love
Respect
Treat with respect;
Be in love
What do they have in common? What is the difference?
So, each of the heroes has their own truth.
Luke - the comforting truth
Satin – respect for man, faith in man
Bubnov - the “cynical” truth
It is interesting that Satin supported his reasoning with the authority of Luke, the man in relation to whom we at the beginning of the playrepresented Satin as an antipode. Moreover,Satin's references to Luke in Act 4 prove the closeness of both."Old man? He’s a smart guy!.. He... acted on me like acid on an old and dirty coin... Let’s drink to his health!” “Man – that’s the truth! He understood this... you don’t!”
Actually, the “truth” and “lies” of Satin and Luke almost coincide.
Both believe that “a person must be respected” (emphasis on the last word) is not his “mask”; but they differ on how they should communicate their “truth” to people. After all, if you think about it, it is deadly for those who fall into its area.
If everything has faded away and one “naked” person remains, then “what’s next”? For the actor, this thought leads to suicide.
What role does Luke play in addressing the issue of “truth” in the play?
For Luke, the truth is in “comforting lies.” Luke takes pity on the man and entertains him with a dream. He promises Anna an afterlife, listens to Nastya’s fairy tales, and sends the Actor to a hospital. He lies for the sake of hope, and this is perhaps better than Bubnov’s cynical “truth,” “abomination and lies.” In the image of Luke there are allusions to the biblical Luke, who was one of the seventy disciples sent by the Lord “to every city and place where He Himself wanted to go.” Gorky's Luka makes the inhabitants of the bottom think about God and man, about the “better man,” about the highest calling of people.
“Luka” is also light. Luka comes to illuminate the Kostylevo basement with the light of new ideas, forgotten at the bottom of feelings. He talks about how it should be, what should be, and it is not at all necessary to look for practical recommendations or instructions for survival in his reasoning.
Evangelist Luke was a doctor. Luke heals in his own way in the play - with his attitude to life, advice, words, sympathy, love.
Luke heals, but not everyone, but selectively, those who need words. His philosophy is revealed in relation to other characters. He sympathizes with the victims of life: Anna, Natasha, Nastya. Teaches, giving practical advice, Ashes, Actor. Understandingly, meaningfully, often without words, he explains with the smart Bubnov. Skillfully avoids unnecessary explanations.
Luke is flexible and soft. “They crumpled a lot, that’s why it’s soft...” he said in the finale of Act 1.
Luke with his “lies” is sympathetic to Satin. “Dubier... keep quiet about the old man!.. The old man is not a charlatan!.. He lied... but it’s out of pity for you, damn you!” And yet Luke’s “lies” do not suit him. “Lies are the religion of slaves and masters! Truth is the god of a free man!”
Thus, while rejecting the “truth” of Bubnov, Gorky does not deny either the “truth” of Satin or the “truth” of Luke. Essentially, he identifies two truths: “truth-truth” and “truth-dream”
Features of Gorky's humanism. Problem Human in Gorky's play "At the Depths".
Gorky put his truth about man and overcoming the dead end into the mouths of Actor, Luka and Satin.
At the beginning of the play, indulging in theatrical memories,Actor selflessly spoke about the miracle of talent - the game of transforming a person into a hero. Responding to Satin’s words about books read and education, he divided education and talent: “Education is nonsense, the main thing is talent”; “I say talent, that’s what a hero needs. And talent is faith in yourself, in your strength...”
It is known that Gorky admired knowledge, education, and books, but he valued talent even more highly. Through the Actor, he polemically, maximalistically sharpened and polarized two facets of the spirit: education as a sum of knowledge and living knowledge - a “system of thought.”
In monologuesSatina the ideas of Gorky's thoughts about man are confirmed.
Man – “he is everything. He even created God"; “man is the receptacle of the living God”; “Faith in the powers of thought... is a person’s faith in himself.” So in Gorky’s letters. And so - in the play: “A person can believe and not believe... that’s his business! Man is free... he pays for everything himself... Man - that’s the truth! What is a person... it's you, me, them, the old man, Napoleon, Mohammed... in one... In one - all the 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!”
The Actor was the first to speak about talent and self-confidence. Satin summarized everything. What is the roleBows ? He carries the ideas of transformation and improvement of life, dear to Gorky, at the cost of human creative efforts.
“And yet, I see, people are becoming smarter, more and more interesting... and even though they live, they are getting worse, but they want to be better... they are stubborn!” - the elder confesses in the first act, referring to the common aspirations of everyone for a better life.
Then, in 1902, Gorky shared his observations and moods with V. Veresaev: “The mood for life is growing and expanding, cheerfulness and faith in people are becoming more and more noticeable, and - life is good on earth - by God!” The same words, the same thoughts, even the same intonations in the play and the letter.
In the fourth actSatin remembered and reproduced Luke’s answer to his question “Why do people live?”: “And - people live for the best... For a hundred years... and maybe more - they live for the better person!.. That’s it, dear , everyone, as they are, lives for the best! That’s why every person must be respected... We don’t know who he is, why he was born and what he can do...” And he himself, continuing to talk about a person, said, repeating Luke: “We must respect a person! Don’t feel sorry... don’t humiliate him with pity... you have to respect him!” Satin repeated Luke, speaking about respect, did not agree with him, speaking about pity, but something else is more important - the idea of a “better person”.
The statements of the three characters are similar, and, mutually reinforcing, they work on the problem of the triumph of Man.
In one of Gorky’s letters we read: “I am sure that man is capable of endless improvement, and all his activities will also develop with him... from century to century. I believe in the infinity of life...” Again Luka, Satin, Gorky - about one thing.
3. What is the significance of the 4th act of Gorky’s play?
In this act, the situation is the same, but the previously sleepy thoughts of the tramps begin to “ferment.”
It started with Anna's death scene.
Luke says over the dying woman: “Much merciful Jesus Christ! Receive the spirit of your newly departed servant Anna in peace...” But Anna’s last words were the words about life : “Well... a little more... I wish I could live... a little more! If there is no flour there... here we can be patient... we can!”
– How to evaluate these words of Anna - as a victory for Luke or as his defeat? Gorky does not give a clear answer; this phrase can be commented on in different ways. One thing is clear:
Anna spoke for the first timeabout life positively thanks to Luke.
In the last act, a strange, completely unconscious rapprochement of the “bitter brethren” takes place. In the 4th act, Kleshch repaired Alyoshka’s harmonica, after testing the frets, the already familiar prison song began to sound. And this ending is perceived in two ways. You can do this: you can’t escape from the bottom - “The sun rises and sets... but it’s dark in my prison!” It can be done differently: at the cost of death, a person ended the song of tragic hopelessness...
SuicideActor interrupted the song.
What prevents homeless shelters from changing their lives for the better? Natasha’s fatal mistake is in not trusting people, Ash (“I somehow don’t believe... any words”), hoping together to change fate.
“That’s why I’m a thief, because no one ever thought of calling me by another name... Call me... Natasha, well?”
Her answer is convinced, mature:“There’s nowhere to go... I know... I thought... But I don’t trust anyone.”
One word of faith in a person could change the lives of both, but it was not spoken.
The Actor, for whom creativity is the meaning of life, a calling, also did not believe in himself. The news of the Actor's death came after Satin's famous monologues, shading them with contrast: he couldn't cope, he couldn't play, but he could have, he didn't believe in himself.
All the characters in the play are in the zone of action of the seemingly abstract Good and Evil, but they become quite concrete when it comes to the fate, worldviews, and relationships with the lives of each of the characters. And they connect people with good and evil through their thoughts, words and deeds. They directly or indirectly affect life. Life is a way of choosing your direction between good and evil. In the play, Gorky examined man and tested his capabilities. The play is devoid of utopian optimism, as well as the other extreme - disbelief in man. But one conclusion is indisputable: “Talent is what a hero needs. And talent is faith in yourself, your strength...”
The aphoristic language of Gorky's play.
Teacher. One of the characteristic features of Gorky’s work is aphorism. It is characteristic of both the author’s speech and the speech of the characters, which is always sharply individual. Many aphorisms of the play “At the Depth,” like the aphorisms of the “Songs” about the Falcon and the Petrel, became popular. Let's remember some of them.
– To which characters in the play do the following aphorisms, proverbs, and sayings belong?
a) Noise is not a hindrance to death.
b) Such a life that you get up in the morning and howl.
c) Expect some sense from the wolf.
d) When work is a duty, life is slavery.
e) Not a single flea is bad: all are black, all jump.
e) Where it is warm for an old man, there is his homeland.
g) Everyone wants order, but there is a lack of reason.
h) If you don’t like it, don’t listen, and don’t bother lying.
(Bubnov - a, b, g; Luka - d, f; Satin - g, Baron - h, Ash - c.)
Bottom line. Whose truth is closer to you?
Sinkwine
Express your attitude towards your work in class.
Subject - your name
Appendix 2 – evaluation of your work in class
Verb 3 – describing the actions of the object, i.e. how you worked in the lesson
A 4-word phrase expressing your attitude towards your work in class
Summary – assessment
Today we are convinced that everyone has their own truth. Perhaps you have not yet decided what positions in life you will adhere to in the future. I hope you choose the right path.
IV. Homework. Write your reasoning, expressingyoursattitude towards the work read
– What is the meaning of the dispute between Luke and Satin?
– Which side do you take in the “truth” debate?
– What problems raised by M. Gorky in the play “At the Lower Depths” did not leave you indifferent?
The Fox knows many truths, but the Hedgehog knows one, but a big one.
Archilochus
The play “At the Bottom” is a socio-philosophical drama. More than a hundred years have passed since the creation of the work, the social conditions that Gorky exposed have changed, but the play is still not outdated. Why? Because it raises an “eternal” philosophical topic that will never cease to excite people. Usually for Gorky's play this theme is formulated as follows: a dispute about truth and lies. Such a formulation is clearly insufficient, since truth and lies do not exist by themselves - they are always associated with a person. Therefore, it would be more accurate to formulate the philosophical theme of “At the Bottom” in a different way: a dispute about true and false humanism. Gorky himself, in Satin’s famous monologue from the fourth act, connects truth and lies not only with humanism, but also with human freedom: “Man is free... he pays for everything himself: for faith, for unbelief, for love, for intelligence - man He pays for everything himself, and therefore he is free! Man - that’s the truth!” It follows that the author in the play talks about man - truth - freedom, that is, about the main moral categories of philosophy. Since it is impossible to unambiguously define these ideological categories (“the last questions of humanity,” as F.M. Dostoevsky called them), Gorky presented in his drama several points of view on the problems posed. Drama became polyphonic (the theory of polyphonism in a work of art was developed in his book “The Poetics of Dostoevsky’s Work” by M. M. Bakhtin). In other words, there are several ideologue heroes in the play, each with their own “voice”, that is, with a special point of view on the world and man.
It is generally accepted that Gorky portrayed two ideologists - Satin and Luka, but in fact there are at least four of them: Bubnov and Kostylev should be added to those named. According to Kostylev, the truth is not needed at all, since it threatens the well-being of the “masters of life.” In the third act, Kostylev talks about real wanderers and simultaneously expresses his attitude to the truth: “A strange person... not like others... If he is truly strange... knows something... learned something like that... . no one needs... maybe he learned the truth there... well, not all truth is needed... yes! He - keep it to himself... and - be silent! If he is truly strange... he is silent! Otherwise he says things that no one understands... And he doesn’t want anything, doesn’t interfere with anything, doesn’t bother people in vain...” (III). Indeed, why does Kostylev need the truth? In words he is for honesty and work (“It is necessary that a person be useful... that he work...” III), but in reality he buys stolen goods from Ash.
Bubnov always speaks the truth, but this is the “truth of fact,” which only captures the disorder and injustice of the existing world. Bubnov does not believe that people can live better, more honestly, helping each other, as in a righteous land. Therefore, he calls all dreams of such a life “fairy tales” (III). Bubnov frankly admits: “In my opinion, throw out the whole truth as it is! Why be ashamed? (III). But a person cannot be satisfied with the hopeless “truth of fact.” Kleshch speaks out against Bubnov’s truth when he shouts: “Which truth? Where is the truth? (...) No work... no power! That's the truth! (...) You have to breathe... here it is, the truth! (...) What do I need it for - is it true?” (III). Another hero also speaks out against the “truth of fact,” the same one who believed in the righteous land. This faith, as Luke says, helped him live. And when faith in the possibility of a better life was destroyed, the man hanged himself. There is no righteous land - this is the “truth of fact”, but to say that it should never exist is a lie. That is why Natasha explains the death of the hero of the parable this way: “I could not tolerate deception” (III).
The most interesting hero-ideologist in the play is, of course, Luke. Critics have varied assessments of this strange wanderer - from admiration for the old man’s generosity to exposure of his harmful consolation. Obviously, these are extreme estimates and therefore one-sided. The objective, calm assessment of Luka, which belongs to I.M. Moskvin, the first performer of the role of the old man on the theater stage, seems more convincing. The actor played Luka as a kind and intelligent person, whose consolations are not self-interested. Bubnov notes the same thing in the play: “Luka, for example, lies a lot... and without any benefit to himself... Why would he?” (III).
The reproaches leveled at Luke do not stand up to serious criticism. It should be specially noted that the old man does not “lie” anywhere. He advises Ash to go to Siberia, where he can start a new life. And it is true. His story about a free hospital for alcoholics, which made a strong impression on the Actor, is true, which is confirmed by special research by literary scholars (see the article by Vs. Troitsky “Historical realities in M. Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths”” // Literature at school, 1980 , No. 6). Who can say that in describing Anna’s afterlife, Luke is being disingenuous? He consoles a dying man. Why blame him? He tells Nastya that he believes in her romance with the noble Gaston-Raoul, because he sees in the story of the unfortunate maiden not just a lie, like Bubnov, but a poetic dream.
Luke’s critics also claim that the harm from the old man’s consolations tragically affected the fate of the night shelters: the old man did not save anyone, did not really help anyone, the death of the Actor is on Luke’s conscience. How easy it is to blame one person for everything! He came to degraded people whom no one cared about, and consoled them as best he could. Neither the state, nor the officials, nor the homeless shelters themselves are to blame—Luke is to blame! It’s true, the old man didn’t save anyone, but he didn’t destroy anyone either - he did what was in his power: he helped people feel like people, the rest depended on them. And the Actor, an experienced heavy drinker, has absolutely no willpower to stop drinking. Vaska Pepel, in a stressed state, having learned that Vasilisa crippled Natalya, accidentally kills Kostylev. Thus, the reproaches expressed against Luke seem unconvincing: Luke is not “lying” anywhere and is not to blame for the misfortunes that happened to the night shelters.
Usually, researchers, condemning Luke, agree that Satin, in contrast to the crafty wanderer, formulates the correct ideas about freedom - truth - man: “Lies are the religion of slaves and masters... Truth is the god of a free man!” Satin explains the reasons for lying this way: “Whoever is weak at heart... and who lives on other people’s juices, those need lies... some are supported by it, others hide behind it... And who is his own master... who is independent and does not eat someone else’s - why would he lie?” (IV). If we decipher this statement, we get the following: Kostylev lies because he “lives on other people’s juices,” and Luka lies because he is “weak at heart.” Kostylev’s position, obviously, should be rejected immediately; Luka’s position requires serious analysis. Satin demands to look life straight in the eye, and Luka looks around in search of a comforting deception. Satin's truth differs from Bubnov's truth: Bubnov does not believe that a person can rise above himself; Satin, unlike Bubnov, believes in man, in his future, in his creative talent. That is, Satin is the only hero in the play who knows the truth.
What is the author's position in the debate about truth - freedom - man? Some literary scholars argue that only the words of Satin set out the author’s position, however, it can be assumed that the author’s position combines the ideas of Satin and Luke, but is not completely exhausted even by both of them. In other words, in Gorky Satin and Luke as ideologists are not opposed, but complement each other.
On the one hand, Satin himself admits that Luke, with his behavior and consoling conversations, pushed him (formerly an educated telegraph operator, and now a tramp) to think about Man. On the other hand, Luke and Satin both talk about goodness, about faith in the best that always lives in the human soul. Satin recalls how Luke answered the question: “What do people live for?” The old man said: “For the best!” (IV). But doesn’t Satin, when discussing Man, repeat the same thing? Luke says about people: “People... They will find and invent everything! You just need to help them... you need to respect them...” (III). Satin formulates a similar thought: “We must respect a person! Don’t feel sorry... don’t humiliate him with pity... you have to respect him!” (IV). The only difference between these statements is that Luke focuses on respect for a specific person, and Satin - on the Person. Diverging in particulars, they agree on the main thing - in the statement that man is the highest truth and value of the world. In Satin's monologue, respect and pity are contrasted, but it cannot be said for sure that this is the author's final position: pity, like love, does not exclude respect. On the third hand, Luka and Satin are extraordinary personalities who never clash in an argument in the play. Luka understands that Satin does not need his consolations, and Satin, carefully watching the old man in the shelter, never ridiculed him or cut him off.
To summarize what has been said, it should be noted that in the socio-philosophical drama “At the Bottom” the main and most interesting is the philosophical content. This idea is proven by the very structure of Gorky’s play: almost all the characters participate in the discussion of the philosophical problem of man - truth - freedom, while in the everyday storyline only four sort things out (Ashes, Natalya, the Kostylev couple). Many plays have been written showing the hopeless life of the poor in pre-revolutionary Russia, but it is very difficult to name another play other than the drama “At the Lower Depths”, in which, along with social problems, the “last” philosophical questions would be posed and successfully resolved.
The author's position (the fifth in a row, but perhaps not the last) in the play “At the Lower Depths” is created as a result of repulsion from false points of view (Kostylev and Bubnov) and the complementarity of two other points of view (Luka and Satin). The author in a polyphonic work, according to M.M. Bakhtin’s definition, does not subscribe to any of the points of view expressed: the solution to the posed philosophical questions does not belong to one hero, but is the result of the searches of all participants in the action. The author, like a conductor, organizes a polyphonic choir of characters, “singing” the same theme in different voices.
Still, there is no final solution to the question of truth - freedom - man in Gorky's drama. However, this is how it should be in a play that poses “eternal” philosophical questions. The open ending of the work forces the reader himself to think about them.
One of the most fundamental questions of Russian literature is the question of man, his place in the world and his true value. The problem of humanism becomes especially relevant at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries, when history begins to develop in such a way that the real value of a person is lost. Many writers of that time turned to the topic of man, tried to find the truth, to understand the purpose of human life. One of these writers was Maxim Gorky.
The writer reveals his ideas about man already in his first romantic works. Gorky's first story - "Makar Chudra" - was published in 1892, followed by other stories about "tramps": "Grandfather Arkhip and Lenka" (1894), "Chelkash" (1895), "Konovalov" (1897), "Malva" "(1897). The main characters of these stories are tramps, “former people,” but contrary to literary tradition, they are depicted not as outcasts, “humiliated and insulted,” but as people who themselves rejected society with its morals and social laws. These heroes despise the bourgeois craving for peace and satiety, any restriction of freedom. These are freedom lovers who “even if they’re hungry, they’re free.” “Tramps” are proud, cheerful, they hate suffering, they have no fear of life, but they have a sense of self-esteem. Therefore, the thief Chelkash looks much more attractive than the greedy peasant Gavrila.
At the same time, the author-narrator does not hide the fact that the level of self-awareness of these “tramps” is low. Only a few of them began to truly think about their own destiny and the meaning of human life (“Konovalov”). But "the weight of their thoughts was increased by the blindness of their minds." In addition, Gorky perfectly saw the danger of the boundless self-will of such people, the tragedy of their loneliness. N. Minsky wrote about this: “Gorky portrays not just tramps, but some kind of super-tramps and super-tramps, preachers of some new provincial Nietzscheanism... The strongest turns out to be right, because he demands more from life, and the weak is to blame, because that he does not know how to stand up for himself. It must be admitted that in our literature, thoroughly saturated with the teaching of love and goodness, such a vivid preaching of the rule of the mighty is quite new and risky.”
The writer continued his search for the truth of life throughout his entire creative career. This search was reflected in the images of the heroes of many of his later works. But the most acute debate about the truth of life is heard in the play “At the Bottom.” The peculiarity of this work is that all the characters have their own truth. And each of them speaks openly about their truth. Bubnov affirms the truth of a fact, Luke preaches the truth of a comforting lie, Satin defends the truth of faith in Man. Whose truth is actually true?
“Everyone will be born like this, live and die. And I will die, and you... Why regret it,” - these words of Bubnov contain the down-to-earth, philistine ideology, the truth of the Snake and the Woodpecker, the truth of the Baron and the Tick. Bubnov is not able to understand the truth of people like Satin. Luke’s stories about people who believed in the righteous land are also inaccessible to him: “All fiction... too!” he exclaims. “Ho! Ho! Righteous land! There! Ho-ho-ho!” He reduces "exalting deception" to "low truths." He recognizes only the truth of facts and the cruel laws of life.
The Baron recognizes only the truth of the past, so he is indifferent to the world, remaining entirely in the past. The past is his only truth. But what did she give him? “You’re reasoning...,” he says to Satin, “... this must warm my heart... I don’t have this... I don’t know how!.. I, brother, am afraid... sometimes.. . I’m scared... Because - what’s next?.. I never understood anything... It seems to me that all my life I was just changing clothes... I don’t remember why I studied - I wore the uniform of a noble institute... and why? I studied? I don’t remember... I got married, put on a tailcoat, then a robe... and took a bad wife... I lived through everything I had - I wore some kind of gray jacket and red trousers... but how I went broke Didn’t notice? ... I served in the government chamber... uniform, squandered government money - they put a prisoner's robe on me... And everything... like in a dream... But... for some reason I was born... huh? " The Baron does not believe in illusions. But faith in the truth of facts ultimately does not bring him satisfaction, does not show him the meaning of life. This is his main tragedy.
Like Bubnov and Baron Kleshch, He does not want illusions: he voluntarily took upon himself the truth of the real world. “What do I need the truth for? Why am I to blame?.. Why do I need the truth? I can’t live... Here it is – the truth!..” He is proud of the fact that he is a working man, and therefore treats the inhabitants of the shelter with contempt . He hates the owner and with all his soul strives to escape from the shelter. But he too will be disappointed. The death of his wife crippled Kleshch and deprived him of faith in the truth, whatever it may be. “There’s no work... no strength! That’s the truth! There’s no shelter... I have to breathe... here it is, the truth!.. What do I need it for, really?..”
Luke contrasts his truth with this ideology. He calls on everyone to respect a person: “A person, whatever he is, is always worth his price.” Luke's position is the idea of compassion, the idea of active good, arousing faith in a person, capable of leading him further. He promotes the idea of personal improvement and even sublime deception.
But in Luke’s ideas, one is struck by notes of opportunism and duality, which he puts into the form of the idea of freedom of human consciousness: to Ash’s question whether there is a God, Luke replies: “If you believe, there is; if you don’t believe, there is no... What do you believe in?” , that is..."
Thus, he does not deceive people, he sincerely believes in them, believes in his truth. The only question is that this truth, it turns out, can be different - depending on the person himself. "Man - that's the truth. He understood it!" - this is how Satin interprets the ideology of Luke. And with all the difference in views, he admires the old man: “He’s a smart girl!.. He... acted on me like acid on an old and dirty coin...” It was under the influence of Luke’s views, under the influence of conversations with him, that Satin subsequently said his monologue about man: “Man is free... he pays for everything himself, and therefore he is free!”
Satin proves that “man is above satiety”, that man has higher goals, there are higher needs than caring about being well-fed: “I have always despised people who care too much about being well-fed. business! Man is higher! Man is higher than satiety!
Satin has an independent character. He is not afraid of the owner of the shelter. He may sometimes seem cynical: “Give me a nickel,” he turns to the Actor, “and I will believe that you are a talent, a hero, a crocodile, a private bailiff.” His remark in response to the Baron’s message about the death of the Actor sounds just as cynical: “Eh... ruined the song... fool.” This position is due to the hero’s disappointment in life itself. He no longer believes in anything. He considers his life and the lives of the other inhabitants to be complete: “You can’t kill twice.” But in fact, he is not alien to compassion, he is a good comrade, those around him treat him with sympathy.
It is Satin’s monologues that sum up everything that is happening and formulate the author’s ethical position: “Man is the truth! does not wait for someone else - why does he need lies? Lies are the religion of slaves and masters... Truth is the god of a free man." He expresses the author's confidence that "Man... this sounds proud! We must respect man!"
Luke's truth excited the inhabitants of the shelter. However, lies and consolation cannot help anyone, even people of the “bottom,” Gorky asserts. Luka's truth, when faced with the realities of life of the inhabitants of the shelter, with the truth of Bubnov, Baron, Kleshch, leads to tragic consequences. The Actor hanged himself when he realized that the wonderful hospital for “organisms” was Luke’s invention.
Nastya is going through a mental crisis. A surge of illusions obscures the true state of affairs from the unfortunate inhabitants of the shelter, which ultimately leads to the complete collapse of their hopes, and then a chain reaction of tragedies begins (the beating of Natasha by Vasilisa, the arrest of Ash, who killed Kostylev in a fight, the shock of Kleshch, who lost everything, etc.) . Comprehension of the truth “Everything is in man, everything is for man” fascinates Satin and the other heroes of the play. All the more painful for them is the incompatibility of this discovery with reality...
Thus, in the play “At the Lower Depths,” M. Gorky sought not only to depict the terrible reality to draw attention to the plight of disadvantaged people. He created a truly innovative philosophical and journalistic drama. The content of seemingly disparate episodes is masterfully organized by him into the overall picture of the tragic collision of the “three truths” about life. It forces us to think and draw certain conclusions. If the position of Baron, Kleshch and Bubnov is unacceptable to us, then we can both agree and argue with the positions of Luka and Satin.
The whole point is that in the image of Satin with his undoubted truth - the truth of man - the image of the man of the future appears before us. His lofty ideas are still only declarative in nature. Whereas Luke, despite the duality of ideas, confirms his beliefs with deeds. And therefore he is more of a man of the present. Both Luke and Satin sought to reveal to people the real truth - the truth of the human personality. But until the world is ready to understand this truth, humanity will be doomed to destruction.
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