At the bottom as a socio-philosophical drama. Meaning of the play's title
Why is the play "At the Bottom" a socio-philosophical drama? and got the best answer
Answer from ~Tatyank@~[guru]
The beginning of the twentieth century was marked by the appearance of such plays as “ The Cherry Orchard” by A.P. Chekhov and “At the bottom” by M. Gorky. These two works were so unconventional in their construction and the questions posed that their authors began to rightfully be considered the founders of modern dramaturgy. The plays, of course, differ from each other in many ways, but there are also similarities. Both works seem to be closer to the genre of drama. But Chekhov insisted on such a genre definition as a lyrical comedy, and Gorky called his play a collection of pictures from the life of tramps. Why, then, is it closer to us, the readers, to define the genre of the play “At the Bottom” as a drama? In my opinion, this is due to its socio-philosophical content, the depth of life and human problems posed and solved by the author.
For the first time in Russian dramaturgy, the life of the social lower classes, the "bottom" was shown so realistically and mercilessly. The life of the inhabitants of the Kostylevo rooming house is so terrible and hopeless that it makes readers shudder. A terrible thing happens at the "bottom" - people are dying morally and physically, each of whom deserves a better share. It is impossible to imagine a situation more tragic than that in which the heroes of the play found themselves. All of them are victims of the ugly and cruel orders prevailing in society, victims of social evil. An unfortunate coincidence of life circumstances - and a person is not able to correct his fate, not to rise, and then there is only one road - to the “bottom”.
The heroes of the play got to the rooming house in different ways, but now they have one fate, terrible and inevitable. Their life is not much different from death, it is not for nothing that there are so many deaths in the play, and the clever Satin says: “The dead do not hear! ” These “living dead” are not the worst of people. Many of them dream of goodness, beauty. This is Nastya, Kleshch, Anna. Others have resigned themselves to the existing state of affairs, they are indifferent even to crimes, but they know how to judge everything correctly and unconsciously yearn for the best and worthy. And these humiliated, lonely, deeply unhappy people, completely rejected by society, are endlessly arguing about philosophical categories, such as truth, freedom, work, equality, happiness, pride, honesty, conscience, patience, death. All this interests them in connection with an even more important social and philosophical problem: what is a person, why did he come to earth, what is the true meaning of his being?
Gradually, but inevitably, all the participants in the disputes are faced with the question: what is better - truth or compassion, truth or lies for salvation. The preacher of lies for salvation, the wanderer Luke, performs the role of a comforter in the play. The author exposes the philosophy of Luke. Reality itself, the truth of life, refutes Luke's lie, which not only soothes and comforts, but also justifies and reconciles, which is by no means acceptable for a worthy person. The author thinks so, and therefore Luke leaves in the third act: “Lie is the religion of slaves and masters ... Truth is God free man! ”- this is what Satin, opposed to Luka, says, acting as a reasoner.
Man is strong with truth, whatever it may be. The philosophy of Luke is needed only by the weak, who no longer have the strength to fight for their destiny. The play contains proud words about a man: “A man is the truth! Person! It's great! This sounds... proudly! ". These words contrast sharply with the terrible fate of the inhabitants of the rooming house. And this inevitably gives rise to the most difficult questions: why does it happen that people fall to the “bottom”? What to do so that everyone's life would be worthy of the great title - Man? Such deep socio-philosophical problems are posed by the author in his play.
Leonid Andreev wrote that Gorky, as a philosopher, persistently and painfully searches for the meaning of life. “He piled up a mountain of the most severe suffering, threw dozens of diverse faces into one heap - he united everything with a burning desire for truth and justice.”
The play ends tragically, because its heroes, who have fallen to the "bottom", can no longer rise to the light, can not be reborn to a worthy life. But the spiritual awakening of the inhabitants of the "bottom" is near, their desire for the best is growing.
M. Gorky's play "At the Bottom" is rightfully one of the best dramatic works writer. This is evidenced by her incredible success for a long time in Russia and abroad. The play caused and still causes conflicting interpretations about the characters depicted and its philosophical basis. Gorky acted as an innovator in dramaturgy, raising an important philosophical question about a person, about his place, role in life, about what is important to him. “Which is better: truth or compassion? What is more needed? ”- these are the words of M. Gorky himself. The incredible success and recognition of the play "At the Bottom" was also facilitated by its successful staging on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater in 1902. V. N. Nemirovich-Danchenko wrote to M. Gorky: “The appearance of The Bottom at one blow paved the way for theatrical culture ... Having an example of a truly folk play in The Bottom, we consider this performance the pride of the theater.”
M. Gorky acted as the creator of a new type of social drama. He correctly, truthfully depicted the environment of the inhabitants of the rooming house. This is a special category of people with their own destinies and tragedies.
Already in the first author's remark we come across a description of the rooming house. It is a “cave-like basement”. Poor environment, dirt, light coming from top to bottom. This further emphasizes that we are talking about the very “day” of society. At first, the play was called “At the bottom of life”, but then Gorky changed the name - “At the bottom”. It more fully reflects the idea of the work. A cheater, a thief, a prostitute are representatives of the society depicted in the play. The owners of the rooming house are also at the “bottom” of moral rules, they have no moral values, are destructive. Everything in the rooming house takes place far from the general course of life, events in the world. The “bottom of life” does not capture this course of life.
The characters of the play previously belonged to different strata of society, but now they all have one thing in common - their present, hopelessness, inability to change their fate, and some unwillingness to do so, a passive attitude to life. At first, the Tick is different from them, but after the death of Anna, he becomes the same - he loses hope of escaping from here.
Different origin determines the behavior, speech of the characters. The Actor's speech contains quotations from literary works. The speech of the former intellectual Satin is saturated with foreign words. Luke speaks quietly, slowly, soothingly.
There are many conflicts in the play. storylines. These are the relations of Ash, Vasilisa, Natasha and Kostylev; Baron and Nastya; Tick and Anna. We see tragic fates Bubnov, Actor, Satin, Alyoshka. But all these lines seem to run in parallel, there is no common, core conflict between the characters. In the play, we can observe a conflict in the minds of people, a conflict with circumstances - this was unusual for a Russian audience.
The author does not tell in detail the history of each rooming house, and yet we have enough information about each of them. The life of some, their past, for example, Satin, Bubnov, Actor, is dramatic, worthy of a separate work in itself. Circumstances forced them to sink to the “bottom”. Others, such as Pepel, Nastya, knew the life of this society from birth. There are no main characters in the play, they all occupy approximately the same position. In the long term, they do not have any improvement in life, which depresses with its monotony. Everyone is used to the fact that Vasilisa beats Natasha, everyone knows about the relationship between Vasilisa and Vaska Pepel, everyone is tired of the suffering of the dying Anna. Nobody pays attention to how others live; there are no connections between people; no one is able to listen, sympathize, help. No wonder Bubnov repeats that “threads are rotten”.
People no longer want anything, they do not strive for anything, they believe that everyone on earth is superfluous, that their life has already passed. They despise each other, each considers himself superior, better than others. Everyone is aware of the insignificance of their position, but they do not try to get out, stop dragging out a miserable existence and start living. And the reason for this is that they are accustomed and resigned.
But not only social and everyday problems are raised in the play, the characters also argue about the meaning human life about its values. The play "At the Bottom" is a deep philosophical drama. People thrown out of life, sank to the “bottom”, argue about philosophical problems being.
M. Gorky raised in his work the question that more useful to a person: real life truth or comforting lie. This question has caused so much controversy. The preacher of the idea of compassion, lies is Luke, who consoles everyone, speaks kind words to everyone. He respects *^ every person (“not a single flea is bad, all black ones”), sees a good beginning in everyone, believes that a person can do anything if he wants. It naively tries to awaken in people faith in themselves, in their strengths and capabilities, in better life.
Luke knows how important this faith is for a person, this hope for the possibility and reality of a better one. Even just a kind, affectionate word, a word that supports this faith, can give a person support in life, solid ground under his feet. Belief in your ability to change, improve own life reconciles a person with the world, as he plunges into his fictional world and lives there, hiding from the real world that frightens him, in which a person cannot find himself. And in reality, this person is inactive.
But this applies only to a weak person who has lost faith in himself.
Therefore, such people are drawn to Luke, listen to him and believe him, because his words are a miraculous balm for their tormented souls.
Anna listens to him because he alone sympathized with her, did not forget about her, said a kind word to her, which she, perhaps, had never heard. Luke gave her hope that in another life she would not suffer.
Nastya also listens to Luka, because he does not deprive her of illusions, from which she draws her vitality.
He gives Ashes hope that he will be able to start life anew where no one knows either Vaska or his past.
Luka tells the actor about a free hospital for alcoholics, in which he can recover and return to the stage again.
Luke is not just a comforter, he philosophically substantiates his position. One of the ideological centers of the play is the wanderer's story about how he saved two runaway convicts. the main idea Gorky's character here is that it is not violence, not prison, but only goodness that can save a person and teach goodness: “A person can teach goodness ...”
Other inhabitants of the rooming house do not need the philosophy of Luke, the support of non-existent ideals, because these are stronger people. They understand that Luke is lying, but he is lying out of compassion, love for people. They have questions about the necessity of this lie. Everyone argues, and everyone has their own position. All the roomers are involved in an argument about truth and lies, but they don't take each other very seriously.
In contrast to the philosophy of the wanderer Luka, Gorky presented the philosophy of Sateen and his judgments about man. “Lie is the religion of slaves and masters... Truth is the god of a free man!” Speaking monologues, Satin does not expect to convince others of anything. This is his confession, the result of his long reflections, a cry of despair and a thirst for action, a challenge to the world of the well-fed and a dream of the future. He speaks with admiration about the power of man, about the fact that man was created for the best: “man - it sounds proud!”, “man is above satiety”, “do not regret ..., do not humiliate him with pity ... you must respect.” This monologue, uttered among the ragged, downtrodden inhabitants of the rooming house, shows that faith in genuine humanism, in truth, does not fade away.
M. Gorky's play "At the Bottom" is a sharp socio-philosophical drama. Social, as it presents the drama caused by the objective conditions of society. The philosophical aspect of the drama is rethought by each generation in a new way. The image of Luke for a long time was evaluated unambiguously negatively. Today, due to the historical events of the last decade, the image of Luke is read in many ways differently, he has become much closer to the reader. I believe that there is no single answer to the author's question. It all depends on the specific situation and historical era.
In 1902, the great Russian writer M. Gorky wrote the play "At the bottom". In it, the author raised a question that remains relevant to this day - this is the question of freedom and the appointment of a person. M. Gorky was well acquainted with the life of the lower strata of society, and the sight of suffering, injustice evoked in him a feeling of acute rejection of reality.
All his life he was looking for the image of the ideal Man, the image of the Hero. He tried to find answers to his questions in literature, philosophy, history, in life. Gorky said that he was looking for a hero where there are usually no people. In the play “At the Bottom”, the author showed the way of life and thinking of precisely those people who are already considered lost, useless for society. The author changed the name of the play many times: “The Bottom”, “Without the Sun”, “The Nochlezhka”. All of them are bleak, sad.
Although it is impossible in another way: the content of the play requires gloomy colors. In 1901, the writer said about his play: “It will be scary...” The play is rather ambiguous in its content, but its main meaning cannot be distorted or misunderstood. According to the literary genre, the play “At the Bottom” is a drama. Drama is characterized by plot and conflict action. In my opinion, two dramatic principles are clearly marked in the work: social and philosophical. Even its title, “At the Bottom”, speaks of the presence of social conflict in the play.
The remark placed at the beginning of the first act creates a dull picture of a rooming house. “A basement that looks like a cave. The ceiling is heavy, stone vaults, sooty, with crumbling plaster...
Everywhere on the walls - bunk beds. The picture is not pleasant - dark, dirty, cold. The following are descriptions of the residents of the rooming house, or rather, descriptions of their occupations.
What are they doing? Nastya is reading, Bubnov and Kleshch are busy with their work. It seems that they work reluctantly, out of boredom, without enthusiasm. They are all beggars, miserable, miserable creatures living in a dirty hole. There is also another type of people in the play: Kostylev, the owner of the rooming house, his wife Vasilisa. In my opinion, the social conflict in the play lies in the fact that the inhabitants of the rooming house feel that they live “at the bottom”, that they are cut off from the world, that they only exist.
They all have a cherished goal (for example, the Actor wants to return to the stage), they have their own dream. They seek the strength within themselves to confront this ugly reality. And for Gorky, the very desire for the best, for the Beautiful, is wonderful. All these people are placed in terrible conditions. They are sick, poorly dressed, often hungry. When they have money, holidays are immediately organized in the rooming house.
So they try to drown out the pain in themselves, to forget, not to remember their beggarly position " former people". It is interesting how the author describes the activities of his characters at the beginning of the play. Kvashnya continues to argue with Kleshch, the Baron habitually taunts Nastya, Anna groans “every goddamn day…”. Everything goes on, all this has been going on for more than a day. And people gradually stop noticing each other. By the way, the lack of a narrative beginning is hallmark drama. If you listen to the statements of these people, it is striking that all of them practically do not react to the comments of others, they all speak at the same time.
They are separated under one roof. The inhabitants of the rooming house, in my opinion, are tired, tired of the reality that surrounds them. It’s not for nothing that Bubnov says: “But the threads are rotten ...”. In such social conditions in which these people are placed, the essence of a person is exposed.
Bubnov remarks: “Outside, no matter how you paint yourself, everything will be erased.” The residents of the doss-house become, as the author believes, "unwittingly philosophers." Life makes them think about the universal concepts of conscience, labor, truth. Two philosophies are most clearly opposed in the play: Luke and Satine.
Satin says: “What is right, yes? .. Man - here! .. Truth is the god of a free man!” For the wanderer Luke, such a “truth” is unacceptable. He believes that a person should hear something from which it will be easier and calmer for him, that for the good of a person it is possible to lie. Interesting points of view and other inhabitants.
For example, Kleshch thinks: “... You can’t live ... Here it is - the truth! .. Damn it!
” Luka and Satin's assessments of reality diverge sharply. Luke brings a new spirit into the life of the rooming house - the spirit of hope. With his appearance, something comes to life - and people begin to talk more often about their dreams and plans. The actor lights up with the idea of finding a hospital and recovering from alcoholism, Vaska Pepel is going to go to Siberia with Natasha. Luke is always ready to console and give hope. The Stranger believed that one should come to terms with reality and look at what is happening around calmly.
Luke preaches the opportunity to “adapt” to life, not to notice its true difficulties and one’s own mistakes: “It’s true that it’s not always a person’s illness ... you can’t always cure the soul with truth ...” Sateen has a completely different philosophy. He is ready to denounce the vices of the surrounding reality.
In his monologue, Satin says: “Man! It's great! It sounds...
proudly! Person! You have to respect the person! Don't feel sorry... Don't humiliate him with pity...
must be respected!” But respect, in my opinion, is necessary for a person who works. And the inhabitants of the rooming house seem to feel that they have no chance to get out of this poverty. Therefore, they are so drawn to the affectionate Luke. The Stranger surprisingly accurately seeks out something hidden in the minds of these people and paints these thoughts and hopes into bright, iridescent currents. Unfortunately, in the conditions in which Satin, Kleshch and other inhabitants of the “bottom” live, such a contrast between illusions and real ty has a sad result.
The question awakens in people: how and what to live on? And at that moment, Luka disappears ... He is not ready, and not willing. answer this question. Comprehension of the truth fascinates the inhabitants of the rooming house.
Satin is distinguished by the greatest maturity of judgments. Not forgiving the “lie out of pity”, Satin for the first time rises to the realization of the need to improve the world. The incompatibility of illusions and reality is very painful for these people.
The Actor ends his life, the Tatar refuses to pray to God... The departure from the life of the Actor is the step of a person who has failed to realize the true truth. In the fourth act, the movement of the drama is determined: life awakens in the sleepy soul of the “dormitory”. People are able to feel, hear each other, empathize. Most likely, the clash of views between Sateen and Luke cannot be called a conflict.
They run in parallel. In my opinion, if we combine the accusatory nature of Sateen and pity for the people of Luka, then we would get the very ideal Person who could revive life in a rooming house. But there is no such person - and life in a rooming house remains the same. Former outwardly.
Some kind of turning point is happening inside - people are starting to think more about the meaning and purpose of life. The play “At the Bottom” as a dramatic work is characterized by conflicts that reflect universal contradictions: contradictions in views on life, in lifestyle. drama like literary genre depicts a person in acutely conflicting, but not hopeless situations. The conflicts of the play are really not hopeless - after all (according to the author's intention) the active principle, the attitude to the world, still wins. M. Gorky, a writer of amazing talent, in the play "At the Bottom" embodied the clash of different views on being and consciousness. Therefore, this play can be called a socio-philosophical drama.
In his works, M. Gorky often revealed not only the everyday life of people, but also the psychological processes taking place in their minds. In the play “At the Bottom”, the writer showed that the neighborhood of people brought to life in poverty with a preacher of patient expectation of a “better person” necessarily leads to a turning point in people's minds. In the rooming houses, M. Gorky captured the first, timid awakening human soul- the most beautiful thing for a writer.
M. Gorky's play "At the Bottom" is rightfully one of the best dramatic works of the writer. This is evidenced by her incredible success for a long time in Russia and abroad. The play caused and still causes conflicting interpretations about the characters depicted and its philosophical basis. Gorky acted as an innovator in dramaturgy, raising an important philosophical question about a person, his place, role in life, about what is important to him. “Which is better: truth or compassion? What is more needed? - These are the words of Gorky himself.
The incredible success and recognition of the play "At the Bottom" was also facilitated by its successful staging on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater in 1902. V.N. Nemirovich-Danchenko wrote to Gorky: “The appearance of The Bottom paved the way for theatrical culture with one blow ... Having an example of a truly folk play in The Bottom, we consider this performance the pride of the theater.”
Gorky acted as the creator of a new type of social drama. He correctly, truthfully depicted the environment of the inhabitants of the rooming house. This is a special category of people with their own destinies and tragedies. Already in the first author's remark we come across a description of the rooming house. It is a "cave-like cellar". Poor environment, dirt, light coming from top to bottom. This further emphasizes that we are talking about the very bottom of society. At first, the play was called "At the bottom of life", but then Gorky changed the name, leaving only "At the bottom". So, according to the author, it more fully reflects the idea of the work.
A cheater, a thief, a prostitute - these are the representatives of the society depicted in the play. The owners of the rooming house are also at the bottom of moral rules, they do not have any moral values in their souls, they carry a destructive beginning. Everything in the rooming house takes place far from the general course of life, events in the world. The bottom of life is a swamp that captures and absorbs.
The characters of the play previously belonged to different strata of society, but now they all have one thing in common - their present, hopelessness, inability to change their fate, and some unwillingness to do so, a passive attitude to life. At first, Tick is different from them, but after the death of Anna, he becomes the same and loses hope of escaping from the rooming house.
Different origin determines the behavior, speech of the characters. The Actor's speech contains quotations from literary works. The speech of the former intellectual Satin is saturated with foreign words. Luke speaks quietly, slowly, soothingly.
There are many different conflicts and storylines in the play. These are the relations of Ash, Vasilisa, Natasha and Kostylev; Baron and Nastya; Tick and Anna. We see the tragic fates of Bubnov, Actor, Satin, Alyoshka. And all these lines seem to run in parallel, there is no common, core conflict between the characters. In the play, we can observe a conflict in the minds of people, a conflict with circumstances - this was unusual for a Russian audience.
The author does not tell in detail the history of each rooming house, and yet we have enough information about each of them. The past of some, for example, Satin, Bubnov, Actor, is dramatic, worthy of a separate work in itself. Circumstances forced them to sink to the bottom. Others, such as Pepel, Nastya, knew the life of this society from birth. There are no main characters in the play, they all occupy approximately the same position. In the long term, they do not have any improvement in life, which depresses with its monotony. Everyone is used to the fact that Vasilisa beats Natasha, everyone knows about the relationship between Vasilisa and Vaska Pepel, everyone is tired of the suffering of the dying Anna. Nobody pays attention to how others live; there are no connections between people; no one is able to listen, sympathize, help. No wonder Bubnov repeats that "the threads are rotten."
People no longer want anything, they do not strive for anything, they believe that they are superfluous on earth, that their life has already passed. At the same time, they despise each other, each considers himself superior, better than others. Everyone is aware of the insignificance of their position, but they do not try to get out, stop dragging out a miserable existence and start living. And the reason for this is that they are accustomed and resigned.
But not only social problems are raised in the play, the characters also argue about the meaning of human life, about its values. The play "At the Bottom" is a deep philosophical drama. People thrown out of life, sunk to the bottom, argue about the philosophical problems of being. M. Gorky raised in his work the question of what is more useful to a person: the truth of real life or a comforting lie. This question has caused so much controversy. Luke serves as a preacher of the idea of compassion, a lie for salvation, who consoles everyone, speaks kind words to everyone. He respects every person (“not a single flea is bad, all black ones”), sees a good beginning in everyone, believes that a person can do anything if he wants. Naively, he tries to awaken in people faith in themselves, in their strengths and capabilities, in a better life.
Luke knows how important this faith is for a person, this hope for the possibility and reality of a better one. Even just a kind, affectionate word, a word that supports this faith, can give a person support in life, solid ground under his feet. Belief in one's ability to change, improve one's own life reconciles a person with the world, as he plunges into his fictional world and lives there, hiding from the real world that frightens him, in which a person cannot find himself. And in reality, this person is inactive.
But this applies only to a weak person who has lost faith in himself. Therefore, such people are drawn to Luke, listen to him and believe him, because his words are a miraculous balm for their tormented souls. Anna listens to him because he alone sympathized with her, did not forget about her, said a kind word to her, which she, perhaps, had never heard. Luke gave her hope that in another life she would not suffer. Nastya also listens to Luka, because he does not deprive her of illusions, from which she draws her vitality. He gives Ashes hope that he will be able to start life anew where no one knows either Vaska or his past. Luka tells the actor about a free hospital for alcoholics, in which he can recover and return to the stage again. Luke is not just a comforter, he philosophically substantiates his position. One of the ideological centers of the play is the wanderer's story about how he saved two runaway convicts. The main idea of Gorky's character here is that it is not violence, not prison, but only goodness that can save a person and teach goodness: "A person can teach goodness ..."
Other inhabitants of the rooming house do not need the philosophy of Luke, the support of non-existent ideals, because these are stronger people. They understand that Luke is lying, but he is lying out of compassion, love for people. They have questions about the necessity of this lie. Everyone argues, and everyone has their own position. All the roomers are involved in an argument about truth and lies, but they don't take each other very seriously.
In contrast to the philosophy of the wanderer Luka, Gorky presented the philosophy of Sateen and his judgments about man. "Lie is the religion of slaves and masters... Truth is the god of a free man!" Speaking monologues. Satin does not expect to convince others of anything. This is his confession, the result of his long reflections, a cry of despair and a thirst for action, a challenge to the world of the well-fed and a dream of the future. He speaks with admiration about the power of man, about the fact that man was created for the best: "Man - it sounds proud!", "Man is above satiety", "Do not regret ... do not humiliate him with pity ... you must respect." This monologue, uttered among the ragged, downtrodden inhabitants of the rooming house, shows that faith in genuine humanism, in truth, does not fade away.
Gorky's play "At the Bottom" is a sharp socio-philosophical drama. Social, as it presents the drama caused by the objective conditions of society. The philosophical aspect of the drama is rethought by each generation in a new way. The image of Luke for a long time was evaluated unambiguously negatively. Today, due to the historical events of the last decade, the image of Luke is read in many ways differently, he has become much closer to the reader. I believe that there is no single answer to the author's question. It all depends on the specific situation and historical era.
The purpose of the lesson: to show Gorky's innovation; identify the elements of genre and conflict in a play.
Methodical techniques: lecture, analytical conversation.
Lesson equipment: a portrait and photographs of A.M. Gorky of different years, illustrations “At the Bottom”.
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Preview:
During the classes.
- Conversation on the content of the play "At the bottom".
In early romantic works Gorky reflected some philosophical and aesthetic works of Nietzsche. Central way early Gorky has a proud and strong personality, embodying the idea of freedom. Therefore, Danko, who sacrifices himself for the sake of people, is on a par with the drunkard and thief Chelkash, who does not perform any feats for the sake of anyone. “Strength is virtue,” Nietzsche argued, and for Gorky, the beauty of a person lies in strength and even aimless feat: a strong person has the right to be “beyond good and evil”, to be outside ethical principles, like Chelkash, but a feat, from this point vision, is resistance to the general flow of life.
In 1902, Gorky created the drama "At the Bottom".
How is the scene depicted?
The place of action is described in the author's remarks. In the first act, it is a cave-like basement, heavy, stone vaults, sooty, with crumbling plaster. It is important that the writer gives instructions on how the scene is illuminated: “from the viewer and from top to bottom”, the light reaches the bed-lodges from the basement window, as if looking for people among the basement inhabitants. Thin partitions fence off Ash's room. "Everywhere along the walls - bunks." Except for Kvashnya, Baron and Nastya, who live in the kitchen, no one has their own corner. Everything is for show in front of each other, a secluded place only on the stove and behind the cotton canopy that separates the bed of the dying Anna from the others (this way she is already, as it were, separated from life). There is dirt everywhere: a dirty cotton canopy, an unpainted and dirty table, benches, a stool, tattered cardboard, pieces of oilcloth, rags.
The third act takes place in early spring in the evening on a wasteland, "littered with various rubbish and overgrown with weeds in the yard." Let's pay attention to the color of this place: the dark wall of the "barn or stable", the "gray wall of the rooming house covered with the remains of plaster", the red wall of the brick firewall that covers the sky, the reddish light of the setting sun, black elderberry branches without buds.
Significant changes take place in the setting of the fourth act: the partitions of Ash's former room are broken, and the Tick's anvil has disappeared. The action takes place at night, and the light from the outside world no longer breaks into the basement - the stage is lit by a lamp standing in the middle of the table. However, the last act of the drama takes place in a wasteland - the Actor strangled himself there.
What kind of people are the inhabitants of the rooming house?
People who have sunk to the bottom of life end up in a rooming house. This is the last refuge for tramps, outcasts, "former people." Here are all the social strata of society: the ruined nobleman Baron, the owner of the rooming house Kostylev, the policeman Medvedev, the locksmith Kleshch, the card maker Bubnov, the merchant Kvashnya, the card sharper Satin, the prostitute Nastya, the thief Pepel. Everyone is equalized by the position of the dregs of society. Very young people live here (the shoemaker Alyoshka is 20 years old) and still not old people (the oldest, Bubnov, is 45 years old). However, their lives are almost over. Dying Anna appears to us as an old woman, and she is 30 years old.
Many shelters do not have names, only nicknames remain, expressively describing their carriers. The appearance of the dumplings merchant Kvashnya, the character of the Mite, the ambition of the Baron are clear. The actor once bore the sonorous surname Sverchkov-Zadunaisky, and now even the memories are almost gone - "I forgot everything."
What is the subject matter of the play? What is the drama's conflict?
Reference: A sharp conflict situation, playing out in front of the audience, is the most important feature of drama as a kind of literature.
The subject of the image in the drama is the consciousness of people thrown out as a result of deep social processes to the bottom of life. Social conflict has several levels in the play. The social poles are clearly marked: on one, the owner of the bunkhouse, Kostylev, and the policeman Medvedev, who supports his power; Thus, the conflict between the authorities and the disenfranchised people is obvious. This conflict hardly develops, because the Kostylevs and Medvedev are not so far from the inhabitants of the rooming house.
Each of the overnight stays experienced their own social conflict in the past, as a result of which they found themselves in a humiliating position.
What brought its inhabitants to the rooming house - Satin, Baron, Klesch, Bubnov, Actor, Nastya, Pepel? What is the backstory of these characters?
Satine hit rock bottom after serving time in prison for murder; The baron went bankrupt; Tick lost his job; Bubnov left the house "out of harm's way" so as not to kill his wife and her lover, although he himself admits that he is lazy, and even a drunkard; The actor was drunk; Ash's fate was predetermined already at his birth: "I - from childhood - a thief ... everyone always told me: thief Vaska, thieves son Vaska!". The Baron tells in more detail about the stages of his fall (4 act). Each stage of the life of the 33rd Baron seems to be marked by a certain costume. These disguises symbolize the gradual decline social status, moreover, nothing is worth behind these disguises, life passed as in a dream.
What is the peculiarity of the social conflict of each inhabitant of the rooming house?
How is the social conflict related to the dramatic one?
These social conflicts are taken off stage, relegated to the past, they do not become the basis dramatic conflict.
What kind of conflicts, besides the social one, are highlighted in the play?
There is a traditional love conflict in the play. It is caused by relationships
Vaska Pepla, Vasilisa, wife of the owner of the hostel, Kostyleva and Natasha, Vasilisa's sister. The exposition of this conflict is the conversation of the roomers, from which it is clear that Kostylev is looking for his wife Vasilisa in the rooming house, who is cheating on him with Ash. The plot of this conflict is the appearance of Natasha in the rooming house, for the sake of which Pepel leaves Vasilisa. In the course of development love conflict it becomes clear that the relationship with Natasha revives Ash, he wants to leave with her and start new life. The climax of the conflict is taken offstage: at the end of the third act, we learn from the words of Kvashnya that “they boiled the girl’s legs with boiling water” - Vasilisa knocked over the samovar and scalded Natasha’s legs. The murder of Kostylev by Ash turns out to be the tragic outcome of a love conflict. Natasha ceases to believe Ash: “They are at the same time! Damn you! You both…"
What is the nature of love conflict?
Love conflict becomes a facet of social conflict. He shows that inhuman conditions cripple a person, and even love does not save a person, but leads to tragedy: to death, injury, murder, hard labor. As a result, Vasilisa alone achieves all her goals: she takes revenge former lover Ashes and her sister - rival Natasha, gets rid of her unloved and disgusted husband and becomes the sole mistress of the rooming house. There is nothing human left in Vasilisa, and this shows the enormity of the social conditions that have disfigured both the inhabitants of the rooming house and its owners. The shelters do not directly participate in this conflict, they are only bystanders.
- Teacher's word.
The conflict in which all the characters are involved is of a different kind. Gorky depicts the consciousness of the people of the bottom. The plot unfolds not so much in external action - in everyday life, but in the dialogues of the characters. It is the conversations of the roommates that determine the development of the dramatic conflict. The action is transferred to the non-event series. This is typical for the genre of philosophical drama.
Outcome. The genre of the play can be defined as a socio-philosophical drama.
D.Z.
Identify the role of Luke in the play. Write out his statements about people, about life, about truth, about faith.
