Characteristics of the main characters of the work At the bottom, Gorky. Their images and description

Sometimes a person needs to read a work and be able to retell it. But what to do if there is not enough time for this at all? In this case, you can get acquainted with the summary of the book, which will help you understand the general idea of ​​what was written, introduce you to the characters and the plot.

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In the play by Maxim Gorky "At the bottom" is narrated It's about the inhabitants of the rooming house. A strange old man came to them and conducts a conversation with each of them, learns about dreams, aspirations, past and present. He carefully listens to the storytellers when he needs encouragement, empathy or advice. After talking with everyone, the old man disappears without a trace, taking with him all the secrets he heard.

Information about the work

The play "At the Bottom" was written in 1902, at that time it was considered daring and innovative in its genre. This socio-philosophical drama does not have a traditional plot, all actions develop only in the dialogues of the main characters. Events take place in a cheap rooming house, where people live who have lost everything and found themselves at the very "bottom". The main question of the play is meditation on truth and compassion. What to choose from this? What is better, pity a person or open his eyes to his mistakes?

What is more important anyway? The problematic of this dramatic work is multifaceted. It talks about a person's place in life and about his role, about faith, find out whether lies in the name of consolation have the right to exist. Are thinking about whether a person has the opportunity to change his own life, or everything is already a foregone conclusion.

By getting to know the characters and the summary of The Bottom, you can get an idea of ​​the main conflicts discussed in the play. This work is included in the school literature curriculum, as it makes you think and carries many dilemmas.

Characteristics of the heroes of the play

First of all, it is worth getting to know the characters of the play, since it is their thoughts and dialogues that serve to develop the plot.

main characters

Minor characters

1. Nastya is a girl of easy virtue, Baron's cohabitant. Lives in dreams of true and pure love.
2. Anna is the wife of Klesch, a calm and kind woman of thirty. Very tired of a joyless and poor life. She died in a rooming house from consumption.
3. Abram Medvedom - a fifty-year-old man, serves as a policeman, is the uncle of Natasha and Vasilisa. He believes that a person should live quietly and peacefully.

More heroes:

Let's move on to the summary of Maxim Gorky's play "At the Bottom". For convenience, the retelling will be divided into acts, like the work itself.

Act one

Morning of early spring, basement of a rooming house, similar to a cave.

The tick is trying to pick up the keys to the old locks. Kvashnya "hosts" a large but dirty table. Bubnov settled down on the bunk, about to patch up his cap. Behind the old curtain, Anna is coughing, lying on the bed. The Actor is tossing and turning on the stove.

Kvashnya tells the Baron that she has been married and once was enough for her. The tick teases the woman and says that she will be glad to marry Medvedev. The Baron takes the book away from Nastya, and when he sees its title "Fatal Love", he begins to laugh.

Anna asks everyone to stop swearing and let her go to another world in peace.

Satin, Actor, Kleshch and Bubnov are talking. The owner of the rooming house appears, he is looking for his wife. He knocks on Ash's room to talk, but he sends him away. Kostylev leaves.

The inhabitants of the basement are discussing the romance of Vasilisa and Ashes. Satin asks Ash for money, he does not refuse the request. Satin begins to talk about work and life.

Satin and the Actor exit.

Natasha appears, she brought a new guest - Luka. Ash begins to pester Natasha, but she does not perceive his advances.

Drunk Alyoshka comes, he cannot understand why he is driven from everywhere. Vasilisa appears, kicks him out and swears because of the dirt. She asks the guests if Natasha was with them and if she spoke with Vaska Pepel. After receiving the answer, he leaves.

Screaming is heard in the hallway, Vasilisa is trying to beat Natasha. Kvashnya, Bubnov and Medvedev rush to separate the girls.

Act two

Bubnov plays checkers with Medvedev. Luke settled down next to Anna's bed. Several people are playing cards, Actor and Tick are watching them. Anna complains to Luka about her life. He reassures her, saying that after death she will receive rest.

The actor wants to tell the old man the poems, but forgets them, which makes him very upset. Luka says that all is not lost and persuades the Actor to stop drinking. He claims that there are free hospitals for drunkards.

Pepel comes and asks Medvedev Is Natasha severely beaten? He refuses to answer, to which Vasily threatens to tell the investigator about the theft that Kostylev and his wife incited him to commit.

Luka tries to intervene, but Cinder cuts him off. Vaska asks why the old man lies to everyone. To which he advises not to seek the truth, but to go to Siberia on the “golden side” in order to find his own way.

Vasilisa arrives, Pepel says that she has no soul and he is tired of her. To which Vasilisa offers him her sister as a wife, in exchange for the murder of her husband.

Kostylev enters, quarrels with Ash and a fight breaks out between them, but Luka prevents it. He advises Ash not to mess with Vasilisa. Then the wanderer notices that Anna has died and everyone gathers by her bed.

Act three

The action takes place in the courtyard of the rooming house. Nastya talks about her love, and Bubnov and Baron laugh at her story. Nastya is crying, Luka calms her down.

The lodgers talk about truth and lies.

Ash calls Natasha to leave with him, she is lost in thought, but still agrees. Vasilisa, who heard the conversation, tries to push Mikhail and Vasily, but Luka calms them down in time.

The owners of the rooming house ask the old man to leave.

Satin and the actor enter the basement, they argue about the words of the wanderer. Luka asks Sateen how he ended up in such a place and he talks about his sister, murder and prison.

Klesch comes, he is very upset, because in order to bury his wife he had to sell all the tools.

Natasha's screams are heard from the Kostylevs' apartment. The actor and Satin go out to separate the sisters.

Kvashnya and Nastya help Natasha walk, she is badly beaten, and her legs are scalded with boiling water. Behind them are all the inhabitants of the rooming house. Ashes sees Natasha and hits Kostylev hard, he falls. Vasilisa starts screaming that her husband was killed. Vasily says that she herself tried to persuade him to kill her husband.

Natasha accuses Ash and her sister of conspiracy, then, losing consciousness, asks to be taken to prison.

act four

Night, early spring. Kleshch, Satin, Baron and Nastya are sitting at the table. An Actor lies on the stove. Where there used to be Ash's room, Tatarin settled down.

The inhabitants of the rooming house remember Luka and discuss his philosophy. The baron calls him a charlatan.

Nastya became disgusted with life in such a place, she wants to leave. The Baron offers to take the Actor with him and laughs at his dream of a cure.

Satin orders to be silent about the wanderer, he says that he deceived out of pity.

The inhabitants of the rooming house move on to discussing the murder of Kostylev. They say that Natasha left the hospital and disappeared, Vasilisa, most likely, will get out of the situation, and Pepel will go to prison or hard labor.

Satin talks about that a person needs to be respected, and not humiliated with his pity. The actor descends from the stove and runs away.

Its other inhabitants enter the rooming house, several people sing, and someone is getting ready for bed.

The door swings open, the Baron shouts that the Actor hanged himself in a vacant lot.

Satin sighs: "Oh, ruined the song, fool!".

One of the main characters in the play, an ambiguous character, an elderly wanderer who unexpectedly appeared in a rooming house. He has rich life experience and his mission is to comfort disappointed people.

Guest of a rooming house, a hereditary thief. He was told from childhood that he would grow up to be a thief, like his father. With such parting words, he grew up. Vaska is 28 years old. He is young, cheerful and naturally kind. He does not want to accept such a life and tries in every possible way to find another truth.

The wife of the owner of the rooming house, Kostylev, and the mistress of Vaska Pepel. Vasilisa is a cruel and domineering woman. She is 28 years younger than her husband and does not love him at all, most likely, she lives with him for the sake of money. She dreams of getting rid of him as soon as possible and from time to time persuades the guest Vaska the thief to save her from her husband.

One of the characters in the play, an inhabitant of a rooming house. He does not give his real name, since he himself forgot it due to drunkenness. He remembers only a pseudonym, appears to be Sverchkov-Zavolzhsky. The Actor's memory has become so bad that he tries in vain to remember poetry or recite excerpts from plays.

One of the more miserable inhabitants of the rooming house in the play, a former nobleman who squandered his fortune. He is thirty three years old. He was once a rich aristocrat, and now he has sunk to the very "bottom", to the position of a pimp. In the past, he had hundreds of serfs and carriages with coats of arms.

A consumptive woman living out her last days, the wife of the hard worker Kleshch. She is tired of a life in which she shakes over every piece of bread and walks in rags. At the same time, Anna constantly endures her husband's abuse. Anyone sympathizes with the poor thing, but not her husband.

One of the inhabitants of the rooming house, a kartuznik who lives there on credit. In the past, he was the owner of a dyeing workshop. However, his wife agreed with the master, after which he chose to leave in order to stay alive. Now he has sunk to the very “bottom” and does not want to retain any positive qualities in himself.

The sister of the hostess of the hostel, a kind and soft-hearted girl. Her image is noticeably different from other guests. Natasha combines kindness, purity, dignity and pride. It was with these qualities that she charmed Vaska Ash. The intrigue of the play is whether she will be able to retain these qualities under the influence of a rough and cruel environment.

One of the inhabitants of the rooming house in the play, a former telegraph operator. This man has his own life philosophy. In this he differs from many other guests. He often uses smart words in his speech, such as "macrobiotics", which does not indicate his education.

One of the characters in the play; hostel resident; dumpling vendor. Kvashnya is a kind woman, which can be understood by her attitude towards the sick Anna, whom even her husband does not feel sorry for. She often feeds the sick, takes care of her.

One of the inhabitants of the rooming house in the play, a fallen woman who dreams of romantic love. Despite the fact that she is engaged in prostitution, she dreams of pure and devoted love. However, she is surrounded by poverty, hopelessness and humiliation.

One of the guests of the rooming house, a locksmith by profession, Anna's husband. At the beginning of the play, he idealizes hard work, considering this the only way out. He dreams of returning to a normal life with the help of honest labor. The tick is opposed to other lodgers who prefer to do nothing.

The work that appeared in 1902 was innovative in genre. There is no traditional plot in this socio-philosophical drama, the action develops in the dialogues of the characters. The place of events is a rooming house for "former" people who find themselves "at the bottom" of life.

Maxim Gorky defined the main question of the play as follows: “which is better, truth or compassion? What is more needed? . The problems of the drama are diverse: the place of a person and his role in life, faith in a person, the legitimacy of the existence of a comforting lie, the opportunity to change one's own life.

After reading the summary of "At the Bottom" by actions, you can get an idea of ​​​​the characters and the main conflicts of the play. The play is included in the 11th grade literature curriculum.

main characters

KostylevMichael, 54 years old, owner of a doss house.

Vasilisa- Kostylev's wife, 26 years old, Pepel's lover.

Natasha- Vasilisa's sister, 20 years old. Dreaming of a wonderful future. Because of the beatings of his sister, he ends up in the hospital, after leaving it, disappears.

Luke– wanderer, 60 years old, preaching a comforting lie.

Vaska Pepel- a thief, 28 years old, he awakens the desire to change his life.

Klesch Andrey Mitrich- "working man", a 40-year-old locksmith, hopes to return to his former life.

Bubnov- kartuznik, 45 years old. I am convinced that all people on earth are superfluous.

Baron- a 33-year-old former aristocrat, Nastya's cohabitant, is sure that he has "everything in the past".

satin- a guest, about 40 years old, believes that a person should be spiritually free.

Actor- a drunkard, a former actor, not seeing the possibility of change, commits suicide.

Other characters

Medvedev Abram- A 50-year-old policeman, Vasilisa and Natasha's uncle. I am convinced that “a person should behave calmly”.

Anna- Klesch's wife, 30 years old, kind-hearted and calm, died in a rooming house.

Alyoshka- Shoemaker, 20 years old.

Tatarin, Crooked Zob- movers.

Nastya, a girl of easy virtue, 24 years old, dreams of true love.

Kvashnya- a woman of about 40, sells dumplings.

Act one

The action takes place in the early spring morning in the basement of a rooming house that looks like a cave.

Sitting near one of the walls, Klesch picks up the keys to the old locks. Kvashnya is in the center at a large dirty table, Baron is eating bread, Nastya is reading a tattered book. Anna is coughing behind an unwashed curtain on a bed in the corner. The Actor is tossing and turning on the stove. Having settled down on the bunk, he is going to sew a cap of Bubnov.

Turning to the Baron, Kvashnya claims that, having been married, she will never part with her freedom again. Kleshch teases the woman with the words that she is lying and will be glad to marry Medvedev, who proposed to her. Kvashnya, in response, says that he brought his wife half to death.

The baron, snatching a book from Nastya, and, having read the title - "Fatal Love", - laughs.

Anna asks to stop screaming and quarreling, to let her die in peace.

Satin, Bubnov, Actor and Klesch are having a leisurely conversation. Satin says that he used to be a cultured person. Bubnov recalls that his profession is a furrier and once he had his own establishment. The actor thinks that the main thing in life is not education, but talent.

Kostylev appears, looking for his wife. He knocks on the door of Ash's room (the room is fenced off with thin boards in the corner of the rooming house), intending to talk, but Ash drives him away. Kostylev leaves.

From the further conversation of the inhabitants of the basement, it becomes clear: Ash is having an affair with the wife of the owner of the rooming house, Vasilisa.

Satin asks Ash for money, he gives, and Satin talks about money and work. He believes that life is good when work is pleasure, and if work is a duty, then life turns into slavery.

The Actor and Satine leave.

Natasha appears, with her a new guest, Luka. Ash flirts with Natasha, but she does not accept courtship.

Drunk Alyoshka enters, he cannot understand why he is worse than others, why he is driven everywhere.

Ash, referring to the Tick, says that he "creaks in vain". The tick says that he will break out of here, does not want to live like everyone else here - "without honor and conscience." Pepel, on the other hand, believes that the people in the rooming house are no worse than Tick. Exit Ashes and the Baron.

Vasilisa appears, she kicks out the drunk Alyoshka, scolds the guests for the dirt. Then he asks if Natasha came in and talked to Vasily. Leaves.

Noise and screams are heard in the passage: Vasilisa is beating Natasha. Medvedev, Kvashnya and Bubnov run to separate the sisters.

Act two

The play takes place in the same setting. Several guests are busy playing cards, the Actor and Tick are watching them. Medvedev and Bubnov play checkers. Luka is sitting next to Anna's bed.

While talking with Luka, Anna complains about her life. The elder reassures her, promising paradise and rest after death.

The actor is about to "recite couplets" to Luca, but finds that he has forgotten the verses. He laments that it's all over for him - he "drank away his soul". Luka replies that not everything in the Actor's life is lost: there are free clinics for drunkards, but he does not remember in which city. He persuades the Actor to be patient and refrain from drinking. “A person can do anything… if only he wants to,” Luka believes.

The gloomy Ash enters. He turns to Medvedev, asking if Vasilisa beat her sister badly. He refuses to speak, noticing that this is not his business, the thief. Pepel, in response, threatens to tell the investigator that “Mishka Kostylev and his wife” incited him to steal and bought stolen goods.

Luka tries to intervene in their conversation, but Cinder asks why Luka is lying, telling everyone that everywhere is good. Luke convinces Vasily that instead of searching for the truth, he needs to go to the "golden side", Siberia, that's where he can find his way.

Enter Vasilisa. She speaks with Ash, and he admits that Vasilisa is tired of him - there is “no soul” in her. Vasilisa offers Ashes to marry her sister in exchange for killing her annoying husband.

Kostylev enters, a quarrel breaks out between him and Vasily, but Luka prevents the fight. He advises Ash not to deal with Vasilisa, but to leave the rooming house with the one that the thief likes - with Natasha.

The Stranger, looking behind the canopy where Anna lies, discovers that she has died.

Gradually, all the inhabitants of the rooming house gather at Anna's bed.

Act three

The action takes place in the "vacant lot", a littered and overgrown weed yard of a rooming house.

Nastya tells the audience the story of her love. Bubnov and Baron laugh at her story, not believing, and the girl passionately proves that she experienced true love. She is crying. Luka reassures her, says that since she herself believes, then there was such love, and her roommate laughs, because there was nothing real in his life.

The inhabitants of the "bottom" talk about truth and lies.

Natasha says that she, too, invents and is waiting for someone "special" or something "unprecedented". Although, what to expect - she does not understand, "it's bad for everyone to live."

Bubnov believes that people often deceive in order to “paint their souls”, he himself does not see the point in lying, it’s better for him “to bring down the whole truth as it is! Why be ashamed?

The tick hates people and the truth is useless to him. Having said this, he runs away

Ashes appears, joins the conversation. He asks Luca why he is lying, saying that everywhere is good. Luke replies that “you can’t always cure the soul with the truth,” so a person should be pitied. He says that he will soon leave the rooming house.

Ash calls Natasha to leave with him, declares his love, promises to stop stealing. He feels that life must be changed, "to live in such a way that I can respect myself." Natasha is thoughtful, but still decides to believe him.

Kostylev and his wife approach. Vasilisa (she heard the conversation between Ash and Natasha) tries to push Ash and her husband, but Luka calms Vasily.

Kostylev talks to Luka, says that a person must live by the rules, and all good people have a passport. Luka openly says what he thinks: Kostylev will never change, because he, like land unsuitable for harvest, is good for nothing.

The owners of the rooming house drive Luka away, and he promises to leave at night.

Bubnov tells Luka that "it's always better to leave on time" and tells his story.

Satin and the Actor, arguing about something, go into the basement. Satin says that the Actor will not go anywhere and demands to say what Luca promised the Actor. The Stranger asks how Satin could have ended up in the rooming house. He reluctantly says that he went to prison because of his sister: “he killed a scoundrel in temper and irritation,” and after prison all roads are closed.

A sullen Tick enters - he was forced to sell all the tools in order to bury Anna and does not understand how to live on.

Natasha's cry is heard from the Kostylevs' apartment: “Beat! They're killing!" . The actor and Satine go out to investigate what's going on. Individual voices are heard, it is clear from the remarks that the guests are trying to separate Vasilisa and Natasha.

Kvashnya and Nastya appear, help Natasha walk - she is beaten and her legs are scalded with boiling water. They are followed by Kostylev, Vasilisa, the inhabitants of the rooming house. Appeared Pepel sees Natasha and beats Kostylev with a swing. He falls. Vasilisa screams that her husband was killed, points to Pepel. Vasily says that Kostyleva herself persuaded him to kill her husband.

Natasha, hysterically, accuses her sister and Ash of conspiracy and, almost losing consciousness, asks to be taken to prison herself.

act four

Early spring. Night. The basement of the hostel. At the table Klesch, Nastya, Satin, Baron. On the stove - Actor. In the corner where Ash's room was (now the partitions are broken), lies Tatarin.

The inhabitants of the basement remember Luka, who disappeared during the turmoil around Natasha and Kostylev. Nastya believes that he understood everything and saw everything. He called his interlocutors "rust". The tick agrees - the old man is a good, compassionate one. The Tatar believes that Luka lived according to the law "Do not offend a person."

For Satin, the "old man" is "like a crumb for the toothless", besides, Luke confused the minds of the inhabitants of the rooming house.

The baron calls Luka a charlatan.

Nastya, who has become disgusted with both life and people, wants to go "to the ends of the world". The Baron, offering the girl to take the Actor with her, mocks his dream to be cured.

The tick notices that the wanderer Luka “beckoned somewhere, but he didn’t say the way.” In his opinion, he “revolted very much against the truth. It is true - and without it - there is nothing to breathe.

Sateen, in excitement, orders "to keep quiet about the old man" - he, unlike everyone else, understood that "truth is a man", and deceived out of pity for people. The wanderer influenced his attitude to the world like "acid on an old and dirty coin."

Talk about the murder of Kostylev. Once in the hospital after the bullying of her sister and leaving it, Natasha disappeared. Everyone believes that Vasilisa will get out, and Pepel will end up, if not in hard labor, then in prison - for sure.

Satin argues that a person needs to be respected, and "not to humiliate him with pity." The Baron admits that he lives as if in a dream, not seeing or understanding the meaning of life.

The actor suddenly gets off the stove and runs out of the basement.

Enter Medvedev with Bubnov, followed by other inhabitants of the rooming house. Someone settles down for the night, a few people sing. The door swings open. The Baron shouts from the threshold - the Actor hanged himself in the wasteland.

Satin says: "Oh, ruined the song, fool-cancer!"

Conclusion

Gorky's play "At the Bottom" lives and finds its readers and viewers for more than a century, attracting with the ambiguity of the questions posed, prompting again and again to think about what faith, love are in a person's life and what are the possibilities of a person. Giving only a general idea of ​​the play, a brief retelling of "The Lower Depths" suggests the reader's further work with the full text of the drama.

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

This work was written at a critical time for the country. In Russia in the 90s of the XIX century, a serious economic crisis erupted. The 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 personality, man, the secrets of his inner world. 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

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 work. He says that even when he was little, even then he was called a thief. The former furrier Bubnov left the workshop because of his wife's infidelity, and also out of fear of his wife's lover. He went bankrupt, after which he went to serve in one "state chamber", in which he committed embezzlement. One of the most colorful figures in the work is Satin. He was a telegraph operator in the past, and went to prison for the murder of a man who insulted his sister.

Whom do the inhabitants of the rooming house blame?

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

Apparently, the reason for the fall of all these people is their lack of 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. Baron, Bubnov and the Actor live in memories of the past. The prostitute Nastya amuses herself with dreams of true love. 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 their daily bread, since 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 the bliss and peace of the afterlife, 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.

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”. In the list of actors, seventeen heroes are presented, Only a few of them have a job (locksmith, policeman), and most only age, I want to elaborate 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.