True product of bitter at the bottom. Three truths and their tragic collision (based on the play by M. Gorky "At the Bottom"). IV. Creative work

The fox knows a lot of truths, and 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since the creation of the work, the social conditions that Gorky exposed have changed, but the play has not become outdated to this day. Why? Because it raises an "eternal" philosophical theme that never ceases to excite people. Usually, for a Gorky play, this topic is formulated as follows: a dispute about truth and lies. Such a formulation is clearly insufficient, since truth and falsehood by themselves do not exist - they are always associated with a person. Therefore, it would be more accurate to formulate the philosophical theme "At the Bottom" in a different way: a dispute about true and false humanism. Gorky himself, in the famous monologue of Satin 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 the mind - a person he pays for everything himself, and therefore he is free! Man - that's the truth! " It follows from this 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 worldview categories (“the last questions of mankind,” as FM Dostoevsky called them), Gorky presented in his drama several points of view on the problems posed. The drama became polyphonic (the theory of polyphonism in fiction developed in his book "The Poetics of Dostoevsky" M.M. Bakhtin). In other words, several heroes-ideologists act in the play, each with its 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, as 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 man... not like the others ... If he is truly weird ... knows something ... learned something ... something nobody needs ... maybe he found out the truth there ... well, not all truth is needed ... yes! He - keep it to himself ... and - shut up! If he is really strange ... he is silent! Otherwise he says that no one understands ... And he does not want anything, does not interfere with anything, does not stir up 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 ... so that he works ..." III), but in fact he buys stolen goods from Ashes.

Bubnov always speaks the truth, but this is the "truth of the fact", which only captures the disorder, the 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 - take away the whole truth as it is! Why be ashamed? " (III). But man cannot be satisfied with the hopeless "truth of the fact." Bubnov's truth is opposed by the Tick when he shouts: “What is the truth? Where is the truth? (...) No work ... no strength! Here's the truth! (...) I must die ... here it is, really! (...) What is it to me - the truth? " (III). Another hero also opposes the "truth of fact", the one who believed in the righteous land. This faith, says Luke, helped him live. And when the belief in the possibility of a better life was destroyed, the man hanged himself. There is no righteous land - this is “the truth of the fact”, but to say that it should never exist at all is a lie. That is why Natasha explains the death of the hero of the parable as follows: “I could not bear the deception” (III).

The most interesting ideological hero in the play is, of course, Luke. Critics' assessments of this strange wanderer are very different - from admiration for the old man's generosity to the exposure of his harmful consolation. Obviously, these are extreme estimates, and therefore one-sided. More convincing seems to be an objective, calm assessment of Luka, which belongs to I.M. Moskvin, the first performer of the role of an old man on the stage. The actor played Luka as a kind and intelligent person, in whose consolations there is no self-interest. The same is noted in the play by Tambourines: "Here Luka, approximately, lies a lot ... and without any benefit to himself ... Why would he?" (III).

Reproaches made against 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 you can start 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 investigations by literary scholars (see the article by Vs. Troitsky "Historical realities in the play by M. Gorky" At the bottom "" // Literature at school, 1980 , No. 6). Who can say that Luke is disingenuous in describing the afterlife to Anna? He comforts a dying person. 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 girl not just a lie, like Bubnov, but a poetic dream.

Luka's critics also claim that the harm from the old man's consolations tragically affected the fate of the night lodgers: the old man did not save anyone, did not really help anyone, the death of the Actor was on Luke's conscience. How easy it is to blame one person for everything! He came to the degraded people, to whom no one cares, and consoled them as best he could. Neither the state, nor the officials, nor the lodgers themselves are to blame - Luka is to blame! True, the old man did not save anyone, but he did not destroy anyone either - he did what was in his power: he helped people feel like people, the rest depended on themselves. And the Actor - a drunken drunkard with experience - has absolutely no willpower to stop drinking. Vaska Ashes in a stressful state, learning that Vasilisa crippled Natalia, accidentally kills Kostylev. Thus, the reproaches made against Luke seem unconvincing: Luke never "lies" and is not to blame for the misfortunes that happened to the night lodgers.

Usually, researchers, condemning Luke, agree that Satin, in contrast to the cunning 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 the lie in this way: “Whoever is weak in soul ... and who lives in someone else’s juices - those need lies ... some it supports, others hide behind it ... And who is his own master ... who is independent and does not eat someone else's - why should that lie? " (Iv). If you decipher this statement, you get the following: Kostylev lies because “he lives by someone else’s juices”, and Luka - 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 directly in the eyes, and Luka looks around in search of a consoling 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 a person, in his future, in his creative talent. That is, Satin is the only character in the play who knows the truth.

What is the author's position in the dispute about truth - freedom - a person? Some literary scholars argue that only in the words of Satin the author's position is stated, 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 Luka as ideologists are not opposed, but complement each other.

On the one hand, Satin himself admits that Luke, by his behavior and conversations-consolations, pushed him (in the past, an educated telegraph operator, and now a tramp) to think about Man. On the other hand, Luke and Satin - both talk about good, about faith in the best that always lives in a person's soul. Satin recalls how Luke answered the question: "Why do people live?" The old man said: "For the best!" (Iv). But does not Satin, speaking about 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 ... ”(III). Satin formulates a similar thought: “We must respect a person! Do not regret ... do not humiliate him with pity ... you must respect! " (Iv). The difference between these statements is only in the fact that Luke emphasizes respect for a specific person, and Satin - a Person. Diverging in particulars, they agree on the main thing - in the assertion that man is the highest truth and value of the world. In Satin's monologue, respect and pity are opposed, but one cannot say for sure that this is the final author's position: pity, like love, does not exclude respect. On the third hand, Luke and Satin - outstanding personalities, which in the play never clash in controversy. Luke realizes that Satin does not need his consolations, and Satin, carefully observing the old man in the shelter, never once ridiculed him, did not cut him off.

Summarizing 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 proved by the very construction of Gorky's play: almost all the heroes participate in the discussion of the philosophical problem of man - truth - freedom, while in the everyday storyline only four sort things out (Ash, Natalya, the Kostylev couple). A play showing the hopeless life of the poor in pre-revolutionary Russia, a lot has been written, but it is very difficult to name another play, except for the drama "At the Bottom", 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 Bottom" is created as a result of repulsion from false points of view (Kostyleva and Bubnov) and the complementarity of two other points of view (Luke and Satina). The author in a polyphonic work, according to the definition of M.M. Bakhtin, does not join any of the points of view expressed: the solution of the philosophical questions posed belongs to more than one hero, but is the result of a search for all participants in the action. The author, as a conductor, organizes a polyphonic choir of heroes "singing" in different voices one and the same topic.

Still, there is no final solution to the question of truth - freedom - 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 makes the reader himself think about them.

Goals: to consider the understanding of the heroes of Gorky's play "truth"; find out the meaning of the tragic collision of different points of view: the truth of a fact (Tambourines), the truth of a comforting lie (Luke), the truth of faith in a person (Satin); to determine the features of Gorky's humanism.

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Lesson topic:

"THREE TRUTHS" IN GORKY'S PLAY "AT THE BOTTOM"

Goals: to consider the understanding of the heroes of Gorky's play "truth"; find out the meaning of the tragic collision of different points of view: the truth of a fact (Tambourines), the truth of a comforting lie (Luke), the truth of faith in a person (Satin); to determine the features of Gorky's humanism.

During the classes

Gentlemen! If the truth is saint

The world cannot find a way, -

Honor to the madman who will inspire

A golden dream for mankind!

I. Introductory conversation.

- Restore the event sequence of the play. What events take place on stage, and what are behind the scenes? What is the role in the development of the dramatic action of the traditional "conflict polygon" - Kostylev, Vasilisa, Ash, Natasha?

The relationships of Vasilisa, Kostylev, Ash, Natasha only externally motivate the stage action. Some of the events that make up the plot of the play take place outside the stage (the fight between Vasilisa and Natasha, Vasilisa's revenge - the overturning of a boiling samovar on her sister, the murder of Kostylev take place around the corner of the shelter and are almost invisible to the viewer).

All other characters in the play are not involved in a love affair. Compositional plot dissociation actors it is expressed in the organization of the stage space - the characters are dispersed in different corners of the stage and "closed" in unconnected microspaces.

Teacher. Thus, there are two parallel acts in the play. The first is that we see it on the stage (supposed and real). A detective story with a conspiracy, escape, murder, suicide. The second is the exposure of "masks" and the identification of the true essence of man. This happens, as it were, behind the text and requires decoding. For example, here is a dialogue between the Baron and Luke.

Baron. Lived better ... yes! I ... used to ... wake up in the morning and, lying in bed, I drink coffee ... coffee! - with cream ... yes!

Luke. And all are people! No matter how you pretend, no matter how you wiggle, you were born a man, and you will die a man ...

But the Baron is afraid to be “just a man”. And he does not recognize "just a man".

Baron. Who are you, old man? .. Where did you come from?

Luke. What am I?

Baron. Wanderer?

Luke. We are all wanderers on earth ... They say, - I heard, - that the earth is our wanderer.

The culmination of the second (implicit) action comes when the “truths” of Bubnov, Satin and Luka collide on the “narrow ground of life”.

II. Work on the problem stated in the topic of the lesson.

1. Philosophy of Truth in Gorky's Play.

- What is the main theme of the play? Which of the characters is the first to formulate the main question of the drama "At the Bottom"?

The dispute about the truth is the semantic center of the play. The word "truth" will sound already on the first page of the play, in Kvashnya's remark: "A-ah! You can't stand the truth! " Truth is a lie ("You're lying!" - Tick's sharp cry, which sounded even before the word "truth"), truth - faith - these are the most important semantic poles that determine the problematics of "At the Bottom".

- How do you understand Luke's words: “What you believe is what you believe”? How are At the Bottom's heroes divided depending on their attitude to the concepts of “faith” and “truth”?

In contrast to the "prose of fact" Luke offers the truth of the ideal - "the poetry of the fact." If Bubnov (the main ideologist of the literally understood "truth"), Satin, Baron are far from illusions and do not need an ideal, then the Actor, Nastya, Anna, Natasha, Ash respond to Luka's remark - for them faith is more important than truth.

Luke's uncertain story about asylums for alcoholics sounded like this: “Drunkenness is being treated today, hear! Free, brother, they treat ... such a hospital is arranged for drunkards ... You admit, 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 is for nothing! And the marble floor. Yes!" The actor is the hero of faith, not the truth of fact, and the loss of the ability to believe for him turns out to be fatal.

- What is the truth for the characters of the play? How to correlate their views?(Work with text.)

A) How does Bubnov understand the "truth"? What are the contradictions between his views and Luke's philosophy of truth?

Bubnov's truth consists in exposing the seamy side of being, this is "the truth of the fact." “What kind of truth do you want, Vaska? And why? 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 out himself. “I stopped coughing, so,” he reacted to Anna's death.

After listening to Luka's allegorical story about his life in a dacha in Siberia and harboring (saving) fugitive convicts, Bubnov confessed: “But I ... I don't know how to lie! What for? In my opinion - get 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, Luke knows that in a kind word, the ideal becomes real:"A person can teach goodness ... very simply", -he concluded a story about life in the country, and outlining a "story" about a righteous land, he reduced it to the fact that the destruction of faith kills a person.Luka (thoughtfully, to Bubnov): "Here ... you say it is true ... It is true that it is not always due to an ailment to a person ... you cannot always cure a soul with the truth ..." Luke heals the soul.

Luke's position is more humane and effective than the naked truth of Bubnov, because it appeals to the remnants of the human in the souls of the night shelters. A man for Luke, "whatever he is, he is always worth his price.""I only say that if someone has not done someone well, then he has done badly." "To caress a man– never harmful. "

Such a moral credo harmonizes relations between people, abolishes the wolf principle, and ideally leads to the acquisition of inner completeness and self-sufficiency, the confidence that, despite external circumstances, a person has found truths that no one will ever take away from him.

B) Where does Satin see the truth of life?

One of the climaxes of the play is the famous, from the fourth act, Satin's monologues about man, truth, freedom.

A prepared student reads Satin's monologue by heart.

It is interesting that Satin supported his reasoning with the authority of Luke, a man in relation to whom we at the beginning of the play presented Satin as an antipode. Moreover, Satin's references to Luke in Act 4 prove the closeness of both."Old man? He is a clever girl! .. 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 it ... you - no! "

Actually, the "truth" and "falsehood" of Satin and Luke almost coincide.

Both believe that “a person should be respected” (emphasis on the last word) is not his “mask”; but they disagree on how to tell people their "truth." After all, if you think about it, it is fatal for those who fall into its area.

If everything “faded away” and one “naked” person remained, then “what's next”? For the actor, this thought leads to suicide.

Q) What role does Luke play in revealing the problem of "truth" in the play?

For Luke, the truth is "comforting lies."

Luca takes pity on the person and consoles him with a dream. He promises Anna an afterlife, listens to Nastya's tales, sends the Actor to the hospital. He lies for the sake of hope, and this, perhaps, is better than Bubnov's cynical "truth", "an abomination and a lie."

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 Luka makes the inhabitants of the bottom think about God and man, about "the best man", about the higher vocation of people.

Luke is also light. Luka comes to illuminate the Kostylevsky 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 in his reasoning practical advice or survival instructions.

The Evangelist Luke was a physician. In his own way, Luke heals in the play - his attitude to life, advice, word, sympathy, love.

Luke heals, but not everyone, but selectively, those who need words. His philosophy is revealed in relation to other characters. He has compassion for the victims of life: Anna, Natasha, Nastya. Teaches by giving practical advice, Ashes, Actor. Understanding, polysemous, often without words, he explains with clever Bubnov. Skillfully avoids unnecessary explanations.

The bow is flexible, soft. "They crumpled a lot, that's why they are soft ..." - he said at the end of the 1st act.

Luka with his "lies" is sympathetic to Satin. "Dubier ... keep silent about the old man! .. The old man is not a charlatan! .. He lied ... but - this is out of pity for you, damn you!" And yet Luke's "lie" does not suit him. “Lies are the religion of slaves and masters! Truth is the god of a free man! "

Thus, rejecting Bubnov's "truth", Gorky does not deny either Satin's "truth" or Luke's "truth". In essence, he distinguishes two truths: "truth-truth" and "truth-dream".

2. Features of Gorky's humanism.

Human Problem in Gorky's play "At the Bottom" (individual message).

Gorky put his truth about man and overcoming the impasse into the mouths of the Actor, Luke 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 the words of Satin about the books he read, 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 own strength ... "

It is known that Gorky admired knowledge, education, books, but he valued talent even more. Through the Actor, he polemically, maximalistically sharpened and polarized two facets of the spirit: education as the sum of knowledge and living knowledge - the "system of thought."

In Satin's monologues Gorky's ideas about man are being confirmed.

Man - “he is everything. He even created God ”; “Man is the repository of the living God”; "Faith in the power of thought ... is a person's faith in himself." So in the letters of Gorky. And so - in the play: “A person can believe and not believe ... this is his business! Man is free ... he pays for everything himself ... Man - that's the truth! What is a person ... it is you, me, they, the old man, Napoleon, Mohammed ... in one ... In one - all the beginnings and ends ... Everything is in a person, everything is for a person! There is only man, all the rest 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 role Luke ? It carries dear to Gorky ideas of transforming and improving life at the cost of human creative efforts.

“And that's all, I see, people are getting smarter, more and more entertaining ... and even though they live - they are getting worse, but they want - all the better ... stubborn!” - the elder confesses in the first act, bearing in mind the common aspirations of everyone for a better life.

At the same time in 1902, Gorky shared his observations and moods with V. Veresaev: "Everything is growing and widening, a vital mood, more and more vigor and faith in people are noticeable, and - by God, it is good life on earth!" Some words, some thoughts, even the same intonation in the play and writing.

In the fourth act Satin remembered and reproduced Luke's answer to his question “Why do people live?” better man live! .. Everything, sweetheart, everything as it is, live for the best! That is why every person must be respected ... After all, we do not know who he is, why he was born and what he can do ... ”And he himself, continuing to talk about a person, uttered, repeating to Luke:“ We must respect a person! Do not regret ... do not humiliate him with pity ... you must respect! " Satin repeated Luke, speaking of respect, did not agree with him, speaking of pity, but more importantly something else - the idea of ​​a "better man."

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 a person 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 previous situation, but the "fermentation" of the previously sleepy thought of tramps begins.

It began with the scene of Anna's death.

Luke says over the dying woman: “Jesus Christ, many merciful! The spirit of your newly reposed servant Anna in peace accept ... "But Anna's last words were about life : “Well ... just a little more ... to live ... a little! If there is no flour there ... you can be patient here ... you can! "

- How to interpret these words of Anna - as Luke's victory or as his defeat? Gorky does not give an unambiguous answer; it is possible to comment on this phrase in different ways. One thing is clear:

Anna spoke for the first timeabout life positively thanks to Luca.

In the last act, a strange, completely unconscious rapprochement of the “bitter brethren” takes place. In the 4th act, Kleshch repaired Alyoshka's harmonica, having tried the frets, the already familiar prison song began to sound. And this ending is perceived in two ways. You can do this: you cannot leave the bottom - "The sun rises and sets ... but it is dark in my prison!" It can be done differently: at the cost of death, the man cut off the song of tragic despair ...

The Actor's suicide interrupted the song.

What prevents the lodgers from changing their lives for the better? Natasha's fatal mistake is her disbelief in people, Ash (“I somehow don’t believe ... no words”), hoping to change fate together.

"Because I am a thief, no one ever thought of calling me by another name ... Call me ... Natasha, well?"

Her answer is convinced, well-worn:"There is 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 did not sound.

The Actor also did not believe in himself, for whom creativity is the meaning of life, a vocation. The news of the death of the Actor came after the famous monologues of Satin, contrastingly shading them: here he could not cope, did not play, but he could, did not believe in himself.

All the characters in the play are in the zone of action of seemingly abstract Good and Evil, but becoming quite concrete when it comes to fate, attitudes, relations with the life of each of the characters. And they connect people with good and evil by 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 investigated a person and tested his capabilities. The play is devoid of utopian optimism, as well as the other extreme - lack of faith in man. But one conclusion is indisputable: “Talent is what a hero needs. And talent is faith in yourself, your strength ... "

III. The aphoristic language of Gorky's play.

Teacher. One of characteristic features Gorky's creativity is aphoristic. 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 Bottom", like the aphorisms of "Songs" about the Falcon and the Petrel, became winged. Let's recall some of them.

- What characters of the play belong to the following aphorisms, sayings, sayings?

a) Noise - death is not a hindrance.

b) Such a life that both got up in the morning and howling.

c) Expect a sense from the wolf.

d) When labor is a duty, life is slavery.

e) Not a single flea is bad: everyone is black, everyone is jumping.

f) Where it is warm for an old man, there is a homeland.

g) Everyone wants order, but there is a lack of reason.

h) If you don't like it - don't listen, but don't bother lying.

(Bubnov - a, b, g; Luka - d, e; Satin - g, Baron - z, Ash - c.)

- What is the role of the aphoristic statements of the characters in the speech structure of the play?

Aphoristic judgments are most significant in the speech of the main "ideologues" of the play - Luka and Bubnov, heroes whose positions are indicated very clearly. The philosophical controversy, in which each of the heroes of the play takes his own position, is supported by a common folk wisdom expressed in proverbs and sayings.

IV. Creative work.

Write a reasoning expressing your attitude towards the work you read.(Answer to one optional question.)

- What is the meaning of the dispute between Luke and Satin?

- Whose side do you take in the dispute "about the truth"?

- What problems raised by M. Gorky in the play "At the Bottom" did not leave you indifferent?

When preparing your answer, pay attention to the speech of the characters, how it helps to reveal the idea of ​​the work.

Homework.

Select episode for analysis (oral). This will be the theme of your future essay.

1. Luke's story about the "righteous land." (Analysis of an episode from Act 3 of Gorky's play.)

2. The dispute of the lodgers about the person (Analysis of the dialogue at the beginning of the 3rd act of the play "At the Bottom".)

3. What is the meaning of the finale of Gorky's play At the Bottom?

4. The appearance of Luke in the shelter. (Analysis of a scene from Act 1 of the play.)

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 in the late 19th - early 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. Maxim Gorky was one of these writers.

The writer reveals his ideas about a person already in the first romantic works... Gorky's first story - "Makar Chudra" - was published in 1892, then other stories about "tramps" followed: "Grandfather Arkhip and Lenka" (1894), "Chelkash" (1895), "Konovalov" (1897), "Malva "(1897). The protagonists of these stories are tramps, " former people", but contrary to the literary tradition, they are depicted not as outcasts," humiliated and insulted ", but as people who themselves rejected society with its morality and social laws. These heroes despise the philistine craving for peace and satiety, any restriction of freedom. who are "even hungry, but free."

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 really 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 mind." In addition, Gorky perfectly saw the danger of the boundless willfulness of such people, the tragedy of their loneliness. N. Minsky wrote on this occasion: “Gorky portrays not just tramps, but some super-tramps and super-vagabonds, 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, that he does not know how to stand up for himself. We must admit that in our literature, thoroughly saturated with the doctrine of love and goodness, such a vivid preaching of the right of the strong is rather new and risky. "

The writer continued his search for the truth of life throughout creative path... This search was reflected in the characters of many of his later works. But the most acute dispute about the truth of life sounds in the play "At the Bottom". The peculiarity of this work lies in the fact that all the characters have their own truth. And each of them speaks openly about their truth. Bubnov asserts the truth of the fact, Luke preaches the truth of a comforting lie, Satin defends the truth of faith in Man. Whose truth is it really true?

"Everyone will be born, live and die. And I will die, and you ... What to regret," - these words of Bubnov contain a down-to-earth, philistine ideology, the truth of the Uzh and the Woodpecker, the truth of the Baron and the Tick. Bubnov is unable to understand the truth of people like Satin. Luke's stories about people who believed in a righteous land are not available to him either: "All inventions ... too!" He exclaims. "Ho! Ho! Righteous land! There! Ho-ho-ho!" He reduces "exalting deception" to "low truths." He recognizes only the truth of the facts and the cruel laws of life.

The Baron recognizes only the truth of the past, so he is indifferent to the world, remaining all in the past. The past is his only truth. But what did she give him? "You reason ... - he says to Satin, - ... it must be warming my heart ... I don't have this ... I - I don't know how! .. I, brother, am afraid ... sometimes .. ... I'm corroding ... Because - what next? .. I never understood anything ... It seems to me that all my life I have only changed clothes ... why? I don’t remember! I studied - wore the uniform of a noble institute ... and why I don’t remember ... I got married - I put on a tailcoat, then - a dressing gown ... and I took a nasty wife ... I lived through all that was - I wore some kind of gray jacket and red trousers ... but how did I go broke? ... I served in the treasury chamber ... a uniform, squandered state money - they put a prisoner's robe on me ... And that's it ... as in a dream ... But ... after all, for some reason I was born ... huh? " The Baron doesn't believe in illusion. But the belief in the truth of the facts ultimately does not bring him satisfaction, does not show him the meaning of life. This is his main tragedy.

Like Bubnov and Baron the Tick, He does not want illusions: He voluntarily took on the truth of the real world. "What is it for me - the truth? What am I to blame? .. Why is it true for me? It's impossible to live ... Here it is - the truth! .." ... He hates the owner and with all his soul strives to escape from the shelter. But he will also be disappointed. The death of his wife knocked down Tick, deprived him of faith in the truth, whatever it may be. "There is no work ... no strength! That's the truth! No shelter ... no! I have to die ... here it is, really! .. What do I need it for, right? .."

Luke opposes his truth to 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 that awakens 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, the notes of opportunism and duality are striking, which he closes in the form of the idea of ​​the freedom of human consciousness: to Ash's question whether there is a God, Luke answers: "If you believe, there is; if you do not believe, no ... What do you believe in. , that is ... "

Thus, he does not deceive people, he sincerely believes in them, believes in his own 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. And with all the differences in his views, he admires the old man: "He is a clever guy! .. 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, Satin later said his monologue about a person: "A person is free ... he pays for everything himself, and therefore he is free!"

Satin proves that "a person is above satiety", that a person has high goals, there are higher needs than caring about being full: “I have always despised people who care too much about being full. business! Man is higher! Man is higher than satiety! "

Satin has an independent character. He is not afraid of the landlord. He may sometimes seem cynical: "Give me a nickle," he turns to the Actor, "and I will believe that you are a talent, a hero, a crocodile, a private bailiff." His remark sounds just as cynical in response to the Baron's message about the Actor's death: "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 life of the rest of the inhabitants finished: "You cannot kill twice." But he is actually not alien to compassion, he is a good friend, others treat him with sympathy.

It is Satin's monologues that summarize everything that is happening and formulate the author's ethical position: “Man is the truth! .. does not wait for someone else - why should that lie? Lie is the religion of slaves and masters ... Truth is the god of a free man. " He expresses the author's confidence that "Man ... it sounds proudly! We must respect a man!"

Luke’s truth excited the inhabitants of the house. However, a lie, consolation cannot help anyone, even people of the "bottom," Gorky asserts. Luke's truth, when faced with the realities of the life of the inhabitants of the shelter, with the truth of Bubnov, Baron, Tick, leads to tragic consequences. The Actor hanged himself when he realized that a wonderful hospital for "organisms" was an invention of Luke.

Nastya is experiencing a mental crisis. An outburst 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 Mites, who lost everything, etc.) ... Comprehension of the truth "Everything is in a person, everything is for a person" fascinates Satin and other heroes of the play. The more painful for them is the incompatibility of this discovery with reality ...

Thus, in the play At the Bottom, M. Gorky strove not only to draw attention to the fate of disadvantaged people by portraying the terrible reality. He created a truly innovative philosophical and journalistic drama. The content of the seemingly disparate episodes is masterfully organized by him in the big picture tragic collision of "three truths" about life. This forces us to think and draw certain conclusions. If the position of Baron, Klesh and Bubnov is unacceptable for us, then we can both agree and argue with the positions of Luka and Satin.

The thing is that in the image of Satin with his undoubted truth - the truth of man - the image of a 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 convictions with deeds. And therefore, he is more of a man of the present. Both Luke and Sateen strove to reveal to people the real truth - the truth of the human person. But until the world is ready to understand this truth, humanity will be doomed to death.

Three truths in the play "At the Bottom" by Gorky occupy a special place in the narrative. Tambourines, Luka and Satin have their own idea of ​​what truth is.

Bubnov

Truth for Bubnov is the truth of fact. The character claims that no one should lie, that all people should "blame" only the truth, even if it turns out to be difficult for the person who hears it. The statements of each person, according to Bubnov, should be constructed as an indisputable fact. The hero does not perceive lies in any of its manifestations.

Luke

Luke believes that lying can give a person hope. The hero adheres to the position of a lie to the rescue. To the drunkard Actor Luca talks about a special city in which he will recover from alcoholism and change for the better. Luca tells the dying Anna that she will find real peace after death. For Nastya, who was striving to find love, Luka says that she will definitely achieve what she believes in. The hero, who appeared in the shelter, tries to support everyone who is at the bottom.

Luke's truth lies in mercy and compassion. It is built on love for all of humanity. The hero seeks to give hope to every inhabitant of the shelter better life, and the lie becomes a tool. Luka does not agree with Bubnov's position, he believes that truth alone cannot cure a person's soul.

Satin

Satine disagrees with Luke's position. He is the spokesman for 3 truths. Satin believes that lies are only the religion of slaves and masters. Opposed to her is the truth, it is she who is the "god of a free man." Satin does not support Luka's pity in relation to the inhabitants of the shelter, the hero believes that a lie covered with pity will not help anyone, that a person should not be pitied, but respected.

table

To understand the difference in the understanding of the truth by different heroes, consider the table "Three Truths (" At the Bottom ")", built on quotes.

Essay based on the play by Maxim Gorky "At the Bottom" on the topic:

Three "truths" in M. Gorky's play "At the Bottom"

The title of the play by Maxim Gorky surprisingly accurately reflects its content. The heroes of the work are really at the very bottom of their lives, and not only in terms of their way of existence (they live in a shelter, drink, many do not have a job), but also in the spiritual aspect: people have lost hope and faith.

There are three ideological heroes in the play with clearly expressed positions on the truth. Satin, the first of them, sees the truth in a person, a person as the very truth. He says: “What is the truth? Man - that's the truth! Lies are the religion of slaves and masters ... Truth is the god of a free man! " According to Satin's concept, people live for something better, and the truth is in themselves. A person is free, he is above everything, he must be respected, and not humiliated with pity, despite the fact that he is a thief or a swindler.

The position of the second hero, the wanderer Luke, is in many respects similar to that of Satin. For him, a person is also important, what he believes in. "A person must respect himself, what you believe in is what you are." To say that Luke is lying is perhaps not entirely true. It gives the heroes hope, faith, dream, returns the ability not to give up on the way to their goal. Thanks to Luka's stories, even the Actor, despite the sad ending, stops drinking for some time and embarks on the path of correction. Luke's position is also revealed by the story of “the righteous land,” which he tells in the flophouse. Her moral is that you don't need to look for this righteous land on maps and globes, you need to look for it in yourself, it is in each of us.

The third truth in the play is Bubnov's truth. His position is the truth of the fact, the truth as the absence of lies. In his opinion, “people all live like chips on the river” - they are unable to change anything, all people are born to die. “But I don’t know how to lie. What for? In my opinion, get the truth as it is! Why be ashamed, ”says Bubnov. “No matter how you paint a person, everything will be erased,” a person is incurable and he should not try to change something in himself, he completely depends on the environment from which he cannot get out - the meaning of Bubnov's convictions.

Colliding and interacting with each other, the three truths surprisingly organically show the reader the inner world of the flophouse. This also reveals the position of Gorky himself, who is a sharp opponent of the position of Tolstoy's non-resistance to evil and Dostoevsky's humility. “Man - it sounds proudly,” says Gorky through the lips of Satin. However, the author's position is more complicated than it might seem at first glance. M. Gorky's own worldview is a combination of Luke's comforting truth and the truth of Satin's man.

The play “At the Bottom” is still in the repertoires of many theaters, because it is relevant at all times, its problems are eternal, and Gorky’s view of man as one who “must become God himself if God is dead” attracts the audience with its decisiveness and power.