Lesson on Gorky's play "At the Bottom" methodological development in literature (Grade 11) on the topic. The stories of the characters in the play "At the Bottom Maxim Gorky at the Bottom" the main characters characterization

Introductory lesson on Gorky's play "At the bottom".

Getting to know the characters. Conflict and Issues. Analysis of the 1st action.

Lesson Objectives:

educational: to promote the development of cognitive interest in Gorky's work; develop the ability to carefully read the list of characters in a dramatic work; bring up attention to the word; to promote the development of new forms of search, processing and analysis of information; organize the activities of students to identify the predictive power of Gorky's play in comparison with other works;

developing : to promote the formation of communicative competence among high school students; create conditions for the development of creativity in the classroom; use pedagogical techniques to increase motivation with the subsequent development of cognitive activity; consolidate the ability to analyze, explore and evaluate a work of art and its characters;

educational: introduce students to moral values; promote a sense of collective cooperation and civic responsibility.

Equipment:

Projector (presentation for the lesson, slides);

Portrait of M. Gorky;

Illustrations for the novel;

Table: characterization of heroes;

Lesson type : work on a new topic with the complex application of students' knowledge, a lesson-thinking (talk on questions, associative thinking, filling out a table about heroes, extracting quotes-aphorisms).

Vocabulary: drama, play, conflict, polylogue.

Methodical methods:

Study of the poster: (title of the play, meaning of names, professions, ages of heroes; prototypes of heroes);

Comprehension of the title of the work "At the bottom", work with the word;

Filling in the table: quotes about heroes, language features; - expressive reading of the roles of the 1st act.

Textbook: "Russian Literature of the 20th Century" edited by Yu.I. Lyssogo

The main question that

I wanted to put in a play

"At the bottom" - which is better:

Truth or Compassion?

M Gorky

Gorky piled up the mountain

greatest suffering...

and united with a burning desire

to truth and justice.

L. Andreev about the play "At the Bottom"

During the classes

Organizational moment. Lesson topic message: "Studying the philosophical drama about the purpose and capabilities of Man, the essence of the human relationship to Man." Referring to the epigraphs of the lesson, commenting on them.

Repetition . Dramatic works. What is the nature of drama? Why is this the most difficult kind of art to perceive?

Student responses.

Drama (Greek) . - "action") - the most effective kind of literature. It is meant to be staged. Therefore, the playwright, unlike the author of an epic work, cannot directly express his position - the only exceptions are the author's remarks, which are intended for the reader or actor, but which the viewer will not see. The playwright is also limited in the volume of the work (the performance can go on for two or three hours) and in the number of actors (all of them must fit on the stage and have time to realize themselves).

Teacher . Therefore, in the drama, a special burden falls on the conflict - a sharp clash between the characters on a very significant occasion for them. Otherwise, the characters simply will not be able to realize themselves in the limited amount of drama and stage space. The playwright ties such a knot, when unraveling it, a person shows himself from all sides. At the same time, there can be no superfluous heroes in the drama - all heroes must be included in the conflict.

Before you start studying the piece, explain your association with the word "bottom".

Student response options:the bottom is garbage, a pit, the dregs of society, a fall, bankruptcy, hopelessness.

Teacher: What does it mean to be at the "bottom"?

Students: to be powerless, to do nothing, not to work, to become a beggar.

Teacher: Gorky wrote this play at the beginning of the last century. Has anything changed?

Students : Hardly ever. There are rooming houses, the poor, the homeless.

Teacher: thus, the topic that the author identified is still relevant.

And now let's dwell on the poster, get acquainted with the characters. The presence of a conflict is already indicated in the title of the play and the poster.

Projector:

Gorky rejected the original titles of the play - "Without the Sun", "Nochlezhka", "Bottom", "At the Bottom of Life".
The decisive word on the choice of the name "At the bottom" belonged to L. N. Andreev.
. On December 18, 1902, the premiere of Gorky's play "At the Bottom" took place.
For the first time, the audience saw on the stage the terrible world of "former people", tramps.

Teacher adds: the tense silence, interrupted at times by either sobs or angry cries, testified to how shocked the hall was ... , caused such a frantic reaction from the audience that Nemirovich-Danchenko whispered to the actors from behind the scenes to play "easier". He feared that the police would not let the play end.

What could attract the audience to the title of the play?

"Bottom" was called Khitrov market. Every intelligent person should be familiar with this, Gorky believed. Conflict , of course, is already indicated in the title. After all, the very fact of the existence of the "bottom" of life implies the presence of an "upper stream", to which the characters strive.

Question : Why are some actors named only by their last names,

others - by name, others - in full, with an indication of the occupation?

The very name of the play and the list of characters speak of social conflicts, the victims of which were the heroes of the play, who found themselves at the "bottom" of life, in a rooming house.

Hero Prototypes

As Gorky himself pointed out, he observed the prototypes of heroes in Nizhny Novgorod. Almost every hero had their own prototype:
artist Kolosovsky-Sokolovskyserved as the prototype of the Actor;
Bubnova Gorky wrote not only from his tramp acquaintance, but also from one intellectual, his teacher;
In Nizhny Novgorod, and in other places, Gorky saw many wanderers, so that the writer had accumulated a huge amount of material for creating image of Luke.
satin also written from a specific person.
The heroes of the play "At the Bottom" turned out to be generalized, collective images, although they are no doubt typical, they are familiar and close to Gorky.

Let's talk about first names

What associations do you have in connection with the surname LUKA?

One of the evangelists, Gorky, gives him a name that is dear to him. (Newspaper "Moskovskie Vedomosti", December 23, 1902: "This wanderer entered the basement like a ray of bright sun, illuminating everything bad in it ... and ... awakening to life the sprouts of goodness.")

First name Luka comes from the word "evil". This is exactly how Gorky's contemporaries see the old man (D. Merezhkovsky: "The religion of the evil old man is a religion of lies").

A contemporary of M. Gorky, Archbishop Luka (1877-1961) lived in Krasnoyarsk. He was a famous priest and surgeon, a man worthy of respect. Of course, he was known to Gorky. Archbishop Luka of Krasnoyarsk spent twelve years in Stalin's camps. In October 2002, in honor of the 125th anniversary of his birth, a monument was unveiled in Krasnoyarsk. A priest and a surgeon in a padded jacket - this is how the sculptor saw him.

What associations do you have in connection with the surname Satin?

Satin - in this name the sound of the word "Satan". But what test will he come up with? Maybe Satin is testing a person with the possibility of a new faith?

What does the occupation of the characters indicate?

Tick - locksmith,

Kvashnya - a seller of dumplings,

Alyoshka - shoemaker,

Krivoy Goiter and Tatarin are key keeper.

Answers: All these are necessary professions, that is, these people can earn a living. But they don't work. This is also a social conflict. The very title of the play and the list of characters speak about social conflicts the victims of which were the heroes of the play, who found themselves at the "bottom" of life, in a rooming house.

Part of the social conflict islove conflict(it is indicated on the poster by the difference in the age of the Kostylevs, the presence of a girl with the tender name Natasha).

It is clear that here, in the conditions of the "bottom", the most exalted feelings will not bring happiness.

Let's turn to the heroes. What is the age of the overnight stays? What does it say?

Klesch and Kvashnya are 40 years old, Anna is 30, Bubnov is 45. This is the most productive age. And this is also the age at which a person should already develop, have something behind him. But these people are in a rooming house, they have nothing.

Baron is 33 years old. This is the age of Jesus Christ. Why does Gorky (and we know that nothing happens by chance with a great artist) gives the age of Christ to one of the unloved heroes with the nickname Baron? Perhaps, by analyzing the play, revealing the image of the hero, we will answer this question.

Teacher: before Before you start reading on the roles of the 1st act, I will ask you to give a brief information about the characters. (Individual messages) Students fill out a table about the characters, continue to work at home, draw conclusions and pass after studying the work.

Table-study of the fate of the heroes in Gorky's play "At the Bottom".

Getting to know the characters. Mite.

Only six months is in a rooming house.

It is most painful for him, a working man, to realize that he is doomed to live among people who are without work.

The tick lives by one desire to escape to the surface.

In the 1st act - twice the remark "sullenly". This is the darkest figure. He soberly looks at life and gloomily in front of him.

His fate is tragic, because. at the end of the play, he comes to terms with life: “There is no work ... there is no strength! There is no shelter. You need to breathe…”

Actor.

In the past, an intelligent person, an artist. He is kind and responsive.
The poetic nature of the Actor is confronted with the rudeness and vulgarity of the overnight stays.
at this time, a drunkard, constantly remembering his acting past. He is harmless, does no harm to anyone, helps Anna, takes pity on her. His citation of classical works speaks in favor of the hero.
He prefers solitude, the company of himself, or rather, his thoughts, dreams, memories. The remarks to his remarks are characteristic: "after a pause", "suddenly, as if waking up."
He has no name (his name was Sverchkov-Zavolzhsky, but "no one knows this"). Like a drowning man, he clutches at any straw if it creates the illusion of this name, individuality. "My body is poisoned by alcohol." The remark "with pride" explains a lot: here I have something that others do not have.

Bubnov.

He reached the "dead point" of the fall, finally crushed by life.
Rude, cynical. To the request of the dying Anna to stop screaming, the abuse calmly answers: “Noise is not a hindrance to death.”
Indifferent to the fate of his comrades. His indifference is manifested at the moment of Anna's death. “I stopped coughing,” he says.
Once had a workshop ... drunk.
“I'm lazy. I don’t like the passion of working.”
From the first remarks, slow-wittedness and indifference are manifested.

Baron

A descendant of rich and noble nobles, but in the rooming house he sank below everyone. There is not a single bright human quality in this person.
He is still young, he is 33 years old, but he lives at the expense of Nastya, Kvashnya feeds him. Nastya is called “fool”, “whore”, “scum” - and immediately hurries to put up, cynically explaining: “If you don’t make peace, you won’t give me a drink.”
“A lost soul, an empty man,” the tramps say about him.

Vaska Pepel.

A hero in his strength and spiritual generosity;
Full of protest against the "wolf life", out of anger at her, he became a thief;
Stealing not out of greed. To him, a strong man, an idle life is boring;
With all his soul he is drawn to the pure, so he fell in love with the honest Natasha.

Nastya.

In the 1st act appears with the novel "Fatal Love". (Newspapers wrote that such tabloid novels constituted the traditional "culture" of the city prostitute.)
She had already found the "uplifting deceit" before Luke arrived.

Satin.

Appears not with words, but with a growl. His first line is that he is a card cheat and a drunkard.
He once served on the telegraph, was an educated person.
Came here because I killed a villain.
He served 4 years in prison, learned to play cards.
He pronounces words incomprehensible to others. Organon in translation means "tool", "organ of knowledge", "mind". (Perhaps Satin means that it is not the human body that is poisoned, but the very rationality of life.) Sicambre is an ancient Germanic tribe, meaning "dark man." In these words, the superiority of Satin over the rest of the rooming houses is felt.
Gorky's dream of transforming life sounds in his monologue.
Monologue about Man: “Man! It's great. That sounds...proud!”

Luke.

Appears with the words: “Good health, honest people. To Vasilisa’s question: “Who are you? - answers: "Passing ... wandering."
It is known that he had a chance to "try" Siberia.
In the rooming house, he tries to call everyone to a frank conversation, he is ready to give advice.
For everyone he finds an affectionate word, consolation.

But do the inhabitants of the rooming house need it? We will answer this question later.

Reading the 1st action by roles. Text on the projector.

(in a drama, the appearance of heroes, their first lines, is important).

The action of the 1st act is preceded by a detailed description of the basement. The author wanted to introduce the viewer into this cellar. It looks like a cave. But this is the house of the overnight stays, they are tied to their dwelling. From another world breathes cold. “Cold,” says Bubnov, it’s cold for Alyoshka, Klesch.

The task was set before the students: when reading, convey the character of their hero with intonation.

Conclusions after reading.

In the 1st act, we met with all the heroes of the play. These people are mostly indifferent to each other, often do not hear what others say, do not try to understand. In the 1st act, all the characters speak, but each, almost not listening to others, talks about his own.

The author conveys the mutual alienation of the guests of Kostylev's rooming house, the atmosphere of spiritual separation of people in the original form of a polylogue. (A polylogue is a form of speech organization in a drama, a combination of replicas of all the participants in the scene.) The characters are deliberately scattered by Gorky - each speaks about his own. Whatever the hero of the play starts talking about, he will still talk about what hurts. In the speech of the characters there are words, phrases that have a symbolic meaning. (Bubnov: "But the threads are rotten..."; Bubnov - Nastya: "You are superfluous everywhere.") These words reveal the "subtextual meaning": the imaginary connections, the uselessness of these people.

Despite the abundance of replicas, the action of the 1st act is slow, "sleepy". The development of the conflict begins with the appearance of Luke.

The main theme of the play:which is better: truth or compassion? What is more needed?

Teacher: this is homework, answer orally, based on the text, images of Satin and Luke, quoting (fill in the table).

Reflection: compose a syncwine on the topic of the lesson.

Maxim Gorky's play "At the Bottom" is still the most successful drama in his collection of works. She won the favor of the public during the life of the author, the writer himself even described the performances in other books, ironically about his fame. So what is it about this book that has so captivated people?

The play was written in late 1901 - early 1902. This work was not an obsession or a burst of inspiration, as is usually the case with creative people. On the contrary, it was written specifically for the troupe of actors from the Moscow Art Theater, created to enrich the culture of all classes of society. Gorky could not imagine what would come of this, but he realized the desired idea of creating a play about tramps, where about two dozen characters would be present.

The fate of Gorky's play cannot be called the final and irrevocable triumph of his creative genius. Opinions were different. People were delighted or criticized such a controversial creation. She survived the bans and censorship, and until now everyone understands the meaning of the drama in their own way.

The meaning of the name

The meaning of the title of the play "At the Bottom" personifies the social position of all the characters in the work. The name gives an ambiguous first impression, since there is no specific mention of which day it is. The author allows the reader to express his imagination and guess what his work is about.

Today, many literary critics agree that the author meant that his characters are at the bottom of life in a social, financial and moral sense. This is the meaning of the name.

Genre, direction, composition

The play is written in the genre called "social-philosophical drama". The author touches on such topics and problems. His direction can be described as "critical realism", although some researchers insist on the wording "socialist realism", as the writer focused the public's attention on social injustice and the eternal conflict between the poor and the rich. Thus, his work took on an ideological connotation, because at that time the confrontation between the nobility and the common people in Russia was only heating up.

The composition of the work is linear, since all actions are chronologically sequential and form a single thread of the narrative.

The essence of the work

The essence of the play by Maxim Gorky lies in the image of the bottom and its inhabitants. To show the readers in the characters of the plays of marginals, people humiliated by life and fate, rejected by society and severed their connection with it. Despite the smoldering flame of hope - with no future. They live, argue about love, honesty, truth, justice, but their words are just an empty sound for this world and even for their own destinies.

Everything that happens in the play has only one goal: to show the clash of philosophical views and positions, as well as to illustrate the dramas of outcast people to whom no one lends a helping hand.

Main characters and their characteristics

The inhabitants of the bottom are people with different life principles and beliefs, but they all have one condition in common: they are mired in poverty, which gradually deprives them of dignity, hope and self-confidence. She corrupts them, dooming the victims to certain death.

Mite– works as a locksmith, 40 years. Married to Anna (30 years old), suffering from consumption. Relations with the wife are the main characterizing detail. Klesh's complete indifference to her well-being, frequent beatings and humiliation speak of his cruelty and callousness. After Anna's death, the man was forced to sell his work tools in order to bury her. And only the lack of work unsettled him a little. Fate leaves the hero with no chance to get out of the rooming house and no prospects for a further successful life.
Bubnov- a 45-year-old man. Former owner of a fur workshop. Dissatisfied with the current life, but tries to maintain the potential to return to normal society. Lost possession due to divorce, as documents were issued to his wife. Lives in a rooming house and sews hats.
satin- Approximately 40 years old, drinks until he loses his memory and plays cards, where he cheats, than he earns his living. I read many books, which I constantly remind not so much to my neighbors as to myself as a consolation that not everything is lost. He served 5 years in prison for manslaughter during a fight for his sister's honor. Despite his education and an accidental fall, he does not recognize honest ways of existence.
Luke- a wanderer at the age of 60 years. Appeared unexpectedly for the inhabitants of the rooming house. He behaves intelligently, consoles and calms everyone around, but as if he came with a specific purpose. He tries to build relationships with everyone by giving advice, which incites even more controversy. The hero of a neutral character, despite his good tone, always wants to doubt the purity of intentions. According to his stories, it can be assumed that he served time in prison, but escaped from there.
Ash- name is Vasily, 28 years old. He constantly steals, but, despite the dishonest way of earning money, he has his own philosophical point of view, like everyone else. He wants to get out of the rooming house and start a new life. Several times he was in prison. He has a certain position in this society due to a secret relationship with the married Vasilisa, which everyone knows about. At the beginning of the play, the characters part, and Pepel tries to take care of Natasha in order to take her away from the rooming house, but, in a fight, he kills Kostylev and ends up in prison at the end of the play.
Nastya- a young girl, 24 years old. Based on her treatment and conversations, it can be concluded that she works as a call girl. Constantly wants attention to be needed. She has a connection with the Baron, but not the one that she comes up with in her fantasies after reading romance novels. In fact, she tolerates rudeness and disrespect from her boyfriend, while giving him money for alcohol. All her behavior is continuous complaints about life and requests to regret.
Baron- 33 years old, drinks, but due to unfortunate circumstances. He constantly reminds of his noble roots, which once helped him become a wealthy official, but did not have much significance when accused of embezzlement of state funds, because of which the hero went to prison, remaining a beggar. He has a love relationship with Nastya, but takes them for granted, transfers all his duties to the girl, constantly takes money for drinking.
Anna- Klesch's wife, 30 years old, suffers from consumption. At the beginning of the play, he is in a dying state, but does not live to the end. For all the heroes, the rooming house is an unfortunate item of "interior" that makes unnecessary sounds and takes up space. Until her death, she hopes for a manifestation of her husband's love, but dies in a corner from indifference, beatings and humiliation, which may have given rise to the disease.
Actor- a man, about 40 years old. Just like all the residents of the rooming house, he always remembers his past life. A kind and fair person, but overly self-pitying. Wants to stop drinking after learning from Luke about a hospital for alcoholics in some city. He begins to save money, but, not having time to find out the location of the hospital before the wanderer leaves, the hero despairs and ends his life by suicide.
Kostylev- Vasilisa's husband, 54-year-old owner of a rooming house. He perceives people only as walking wallets, likes to remind about debts and assert himself at the expense of the lowlands of his own tenants. He tries to hide his true attitude behind a mask of kindness. He suspects his wife of cheating with Ash, which is why he constantly listens to the sounds outside his door. He believes that he should be grateful for the lodging for the night. Vasilisa and her sister Natasha are treated no better than the drunkards who live at his expense. Buys things that Cinder steals, but hides it. Due to his own stupidity, he dies at the hands of Ash in a fight.
Vasilisa Karpovna - Kostylev's wife, 26 years old. No different from her husband, but hates him with all her heart. She secretly cheats on her husband with Ashes and incites her lover to kill her husband, promising that he will not be sent to prison. And she does not feel any feelings for her sister, except for envy and anger, which is why she gets the most. He is looking for his own benefit in everything.
Natasha- Vasilisa's sister, 20 years old. The most "clean" soul of the rooming house. He suffers bullying from Vasilisa and her husband. He cannot trust Ash with his desire to take her away, knowing all the meanness of people. Although she understands that she will disappear. Helps residents selflessly. He is going to meet Vaska in order to leave, but ends up in the hospital after the death of Kostylev and goes missing.
Kvashnya- A 40-year-old dumpling vendor who experienced the strength of a husband who beat her for 8 years of marriage. Helps the residents of the rooming house, sometimes tries to put the house in order. He argues with everyone and is no longer going to get married, remembering his late tyrant husband. Over the course of the play, their relationship with Medvedev develops. At the very end, Kvashnya marries a policeman, whom she herself begins to beat because of her addiction to alcohol.
Medvedev- uncle of the sisters Vasilisa and Natasha, policeman, 50 years old. Throughout the play, she tries to woo Kvashnya, promising that she will not be like her ex-husband. He knows that his niece is being beaten by his older sister, but does not intervene. He knows about all the machinations of Kostylev, Vasilisa and Pepel. At the end of the play, he marries Kvashnya, begins to drink, for which his wife beats him.
Alyoshka- Shoemaker, 20 years old, drinks. He says that he does not need anything, that he is disappointed in life. He drinks out of desperation and plays the harmonica. Due to riot and drinking, he often ends up in the police station.
Tatar– also lives in a rooming house, works as a housekeeper. He likes to play cards with Satin and Baron, but always resents their dishonest play. An honest person does not understand crooks. Constantly talks about the laws, honors them. At the end of the play, Crooked Goit hits him and breaks his arm.
crooked goiter- another little-known inhabitants of the rooming house, the key keeper. Not as honest as Tatarin. He also likes to pass the time playing cards, calmly treats the cheating of Satin and the Baron, finds excuses for them. He beats Tatarin, breaks his arm, because of which he has a conflict with policeman Medvedev. At the end of the play, he sings a song with the others.

Themes

Despite the seemingly simple plot and the lack of sharp climactic turns, the work is replete with themes that give rise to reflection.

Hope Theme stretches throughout the play until the very denouement. She is in the mood of the work, but not once does anyone mention their intention to get out of the rooming house. Hope is present in every dialogue of the inhabitants, but only indirectly. As once each of them hit the bottom, so someday they dream of getting out of there. In everyone there is a small opportunity to return to a past life again, where everyone was happy, although they did not appreciate it.
Destiny Theme is also very important in the play. It defines the role of evil fate and its meaning for the heroes. Fate can be in the work that driving force that could not be changed, which brought all the inhabitants together. Or that circumstance, always subject to treason, which had to be overcome in order to be able to achieve great success. From the life of the inhabitants, one can understand that they have accepted their fate and are trying to change it only in the opposite direction, believing that they have nowhere to fall below. If one of the tenants tries to make an attempt to change his position and get out of the bottom, he collapses. Perhaps the author wanted to show in this way that they deserved such a fate.
Theme of the meaning of life looks rather superficial in the play, but if you think about it, you can understand the reason for such an attitude towards the life of the heroes of the shack. Everyone considers the current state of affairs to be a bottom from which there is no way out: neither down nor, all the more so, up. Heroes, despite different age categories, are disappointed in life. They lost interest in her, and ceased to see any meaning in their own existence, to say nothing of sympathy for each other. They do not aspire to another fate, because they do not represent it. Only alcohol sometimes gives color to the existence, which is why the roommates like to drink.
Theme of Truth and Lies in the play is the main idea of the author. This topic is a philosophical question in Gorky's work, about which he reflects through the lips of the characters. If we talk about the truth in the dialogues, then its boundaries are erased, because sometimes the characters say absurd things. However, their words hide secrets and mysteries that are revealed to us in the course of the plot of the work. The author raises this topic in the play, as he considers the truth as a way to save the inhabitants. Show the heroes the real state of affairs, opening their eyes to the world and to their own lives, which they lose every day in the hut? Or hide the truth under the masks of lies, pretense, because it is easier for them? Everyone chooses the answer independently, but the author makes it clear that he likes the first option.
Theme of love and feelings affects in the work, because it makes it possible to understand the relationship of the inhabitants. Love in a rooming house, even between spouses, is absolutely absent, and it hardly has the opportunity to appear there. The place itself is filled with hatred. All were united only by a common living space and a sense of the injustice of fate. Indifference is in the air, both for healthy and sick people. Only squabbles, like dogs squabbling, amuse the overnight stays. Along with the interest in life, the colors of emotions and feelings are lost.

Problems

The play is rich in subject matter. Maxim Gorky tried in one work to indicate the moral problems that were relevant at that time, which, however, exist to this day.

The first problem is conflict between the inhabitants of the rooming house, not only with each other, but also with life. From the dialogues between the characters, one can understand their relationship. Constant quarrels, differences of opinion, elementary debts lead to eternal skirmishes, which is a mistake in this case. The overnight stays need to learn to live above the same roof in harmony. Mutual assistance will make life easier, change the general atmosphere. The problem of social conflict is the destruction of any society. The poor are united by a common problem, but instead of solving it, they create new ones by common efforts. The conflict with life lies in the lack of an adequate perception of it. Former people are offended by life, which is why they do not take further steps towards creating a different future and simply go with the flow.
Another issue is the thorny question: Truth or Compassion? The author creates a reason for reflection: to show the heroes the realities of life or to sympathize with such a fate? In the drama, someone suffers from physical or psychological abuse, and someone dies in agony, but receives their share of compassion, and this reduces their suffering. Each person has their own view of the current situation, and we react based on our feelings. The writer in Satin's monologue and the disappearance of the wanderer made it clear which side he is on. Luka acts as an antagonist to Gorky, trying to bring the inhabitants back to life, show the truth and console the suffering.
Also in the play rises problem of humanism. More precisely, its absence. Returning again to the relations between the inhabitants, and their relation to themselves, one can consider this problem from two positions. The lack of humanism on the part of the characters towards each other can be seen in the situation with the dying Anna, to whom no one pays attention. During Vasilisa's mockery of her sister Natasha, Nastya's humiliation. There is an opinion that if people are at the bottom, then they do not need any more help, every man for himself. This cruelty to themselves is determined by their current way of life - constant drinking, fights, carrying disappointment and loss of meaning in life. Existence ceases to be the highest value when there is no goal for it.
The problem of immorality rises in connection with the lifestyle that residents lead based on their social location. Nastya's work as a call girl, playing cards for money, drinking alcohol with the ensuing consequences in the form of fights and drives to the police, theft - all these are the consequences of poverty. The author shows this behavior as a typical phenomenon for people who find themselves at the bottom of society.

The meaning of the play

The idea of Gorky's play is that all people are exactly the same, regardless of their social and financial status. Everyone is made of flesh and blood, the differences are only in upbringing and character, which give us the opportunity to react differently to the current situations and act on them. Whoever you are, life can change in a moment. Any of us, having lost everything that we had in the past, sinking to the bottom, will lose ourselves. It will no longer make sense to keep yourself within the decency of society, to look and behave appropriately. When a person loses the values set by others, he becomes confused and falls out of reality, as happened with the heroes.

The main idea is that life can break any person. To make him indifferent, bitter, having lost any incentive to exist. Of course, indifferent society will be guilty of many of his troubles, which will only push the falling one. However, the broken poor are often to blame for the fact that they cannot rise, because in their laziness, depravity and indifference to everything, it is still difficult to find the guilty ones.

Gorky's author's position is expressed in Satin's monologue, which shattered into aphorisms. "Man - sounds proud!" he exclaims. The writer wants to show how to treat people in order to appeal to their dignity and strength. Endless regret without concrete practical steps will only harm the poor, because he will continue to feel sorry for himself, and not work in order to get out of the vicious circle of poverty. This is the philosophical meaning of drama. In a dispute about true and false humanism in society, the one who speaks directly and honestly, even at the risk of incurring indignation, wins. Gorky in one of Sateen's monologues connects truth and lies with human freedom. Independence is given only at the cost of comprehending and searching for truth.

Conclusion

Each reader will make their own conclusion. The play "At the Bottom" can help a person understand that in life one should always strive for something, because it gives strength to move on without looking back. Don't stop thinking that nothing will work.

On the example of all the heroes, one can see absolute inaction and disinterest in their own destiny. Regardless of age and gender, they are simply mired in their current position, excused by the fact that it is too late to resist and start all over again. A person must himself have a desire to change his future, and in case of any failure, do not blame life, do not be offended by it, but gain experience by experiencing the problem. The inhabitants of the rooming house believe that a miracle should suddenly fall on them, for their suffering in the basement, which will bring them a new life, as it happens - Luka comes to them, wanting to cheer up all the desperate, help with advice to make life better. But, they forgot that the word did not help the fallen, he extended his hand to them, but no one took it. And everyone is just waiting for action from anyone, but not from themselves.

Criticism

It cannot be said that before the birth of his legendary play, Gorky did not have any popularity in society. But, it can be emphasized that interest in him has intensified precisely because of this work.

Gorky managed to show everyday, ordinary things that surround dirty, uneducated people from a new angle. He knew what he was writing about, since he himself had experience in achieving his position in society, because he was from the common people and an orphan. There is no exact explanation why the works of Maxim Gorky were so popular and made such a strong impression on the public, because he was not an innovator of any genre, writing about well-known things. But Gorky's work at that time was fashionable, the society liked to read his works, attend theater performances based on his works. It can be assumed that the degree of social tension in Russia was rising, and many were dissatisfied with the established order in the country. The monarchy had exhausted itself, and the popular actions of subsequent years were severely suppressed, and therefore many people were happy to look for minuses in the existing system, as if reinforcing their own conclusions.

The features of the play lie in the way of presenting and presenting the characters' characters, in the harmonious use of descriptions. One of the issues raised in the work is the individuality of each hero and his struggle for it. Artistic tropes and stylistic figures very accurately depict the living conditions of the characters, because the author saw all these details personally.

The fate of the heroes of the play "At the bottom" by Gorky

In the play "At the bottom" Gorky showed us the life of tramps who have lost: their own names, spiritual values, life guidelines. Only one of the heroes of the play - the owner of the rooming house - has a first name, patronymic and surname. Others have only a name or nickname. Already the poster gives us an idea of what social position the heroes of the play occupied before falling “to the bottom”. The list of characters includes seventeen characters, Only a few of them have a job (locksmith, policeman), and most only age, I want to dwell on the fate of the Actor.

Only once in the play is the real name of the Actor-Sverchkov-Zavolzhsky mentioned. The first part of the surname is something small, inconspicuous, afraid to be seen. Zavolzhsky - something wide, great. His fate can be divided into two parts before and after the loss of his last name. Sverchkov is suitable for the first part, and Zavolzhsky for the second.

From some statements, we can guess about the past of the Actor. He says: "Hamlet is a good thing ... I played the gravedigger in it." This role is the second plan, which does not require a special acting gift. Did the actor have talent? I think he was a talented actor. Apparently, there was a moment when he could not “break through”, and this broke him. The actor says: “Talent is faith in yourself, in your strength.” He did not have enough faith in his own strength, and without this it is impossible to achieve success. The actor had to gather willpower into a fist in order to “rise” after the first failure and again go on the storm of acting heights. Instead of doing this, he began to pour vodka on his failures. Gradually, the Actor loses the good that was in him. Then he loses his own name, which is replaced by a nickname. Among the inhabitants of the rooming house, he considers himself a representative of the creative intelligentsia: dusting is not for him. After Luca told him about a hospital where you can recover from alcoholism, the Actor, it seemed to me, was infected with this idea. Then why didn't he bring it to life? I think that he no longer had the moral strength to get out of the hole he fell into. To do this, he needed more support. But could any of the inhabitants of the rooming house provide it? No. That is why the Actor will soon strangle himself. He just couldn't keep going like this. He had to choose: either to live like a human, or not to live at all. The first he could not bring to life, so he chose the second ...

The tragic fate of the Actor is typical: a person who has failed in his professional activities often breaks down in his personal life, rolls down an inclined plane, becomes an alcoholic and a homeless person. By inertia, he continues to consider himself what he was before the fall: an actor, a poet, an artist, and even a baron. Such people blame the whole wide world for their failures, but not themselves. Continuing to sink lower and lower, they indulge in dreams of returning to a past life without making any effort for this. And only those few for whom the aphorism: "Man - it sounds proud!" becomes a life attitude, they are able to find the strength to get out of the bottom of life.

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

This work was written at a critical time for the country. In Russia in the 90s of the 19th century, a serious outbreak broke out. Masses of impoverished, ruined peasants after each crop failure left the villages in search of work. Plants and factories were closed. Thousands of people found themselves without livelihood and shelter. This led to the fact that a large number of "tramps" appeared, who sank to the bottom of life.

Who lived in hostels?

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

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

Heroes of the play "At the bottom": table

hero	How did you end up at the bottom?	characterization of the hero	dreams
Bubnov	In the past, he owned a dyeing workshop. However, circumstances forced him to leave. Bubnov's wife got along with the master.	He believes that a person is not able to change fate. Therefore, Bubnov only goes with the flow. Often shows skepticism, cruelty, lack of positive qualities.	It is difficult to determine, given the negative attitude towards the whole world of this hero.
Nastya	Life forced this heroine to become a prostitute. And this is the social bottom.	A romantic and dreamy person who lives in love stories.	Dreams for a long time of pure and great love, continuing to practice his profession.
Baron	Was in the past a real baron, but lost his wealth.	He does not perceive the ridicule of the inhabitants of the rooming house, continuing to live in the past.	He wants to return to his former position, once again becoming a wealthy person.
Alyoshka	A cheerful and always drunk shoemaker who never tried to rise from the bottom, where his frivolity led him.	As he says, he wants nothing. About himself he reports that he is "good" and "fun".	Everyone is always satisfied, it is difficult to say about his needs. Dreams, most likely, of a "warm breeze" and "eternal sun".
Vaska Pepel	This is a hereditary thief who has been in prison twice.	A weak, loving person.	He dreams of leaving for Siberia with Natalya and becoming a respectable citizen, starting a new life.
Actor	He sank to the bottom due to drunkenness.	Quotes often	He dreams of finding a job, recovering from alcoholism and getting out of the rooming house.
Luke	This is a mysterious wanderer. Not much is known about him.	Teaches sympathy, kindness, comforts heroes, guides them.	Dreams of helping everyone in need.
satin	He killed a man, as a result of which he ended up in prison for 5 years.	He believes that a person needs not consolation, but respect.	He dreams of conveying his philosophy to people.

What ruined the lives of these people?

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

Whom do the inhabitants of the rooming house blame?

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

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

Was there a chance to live another life?

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

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

How do heroes comfort themselves?

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

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

The role of Luke in the work

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

Satin's opinion

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

The further fate of the heroes

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

What is salvation?

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

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

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