At the bottom is a philosophical drama. 

"At the Bottom" by M. Gorky as a socio-philosophical drama. Gorky's play "At the Bottom" not only has not left the stages of domestic theaters for about a hundred years, but also bypassed major theaters peace. Until today, it excites the minds and hearts of readers and viewers, there are more and more new interpretations

images (especially Luke). All this suggests that M. Gorky managed not only to look at the tramps with a fresh, truthful look - people who have sunk into the very dirt, “to the bottom” of life, crossed out from active life society " former people”, rogue. But at the same time, the playwright sharply poses and tries to solve serious questions that have worried and will worry every new generation, all thinking humanity: what is a person? what is truth and in what form do people need it? Is there an objective world or “what you believe is what it is”? and, most importantly, what is this world like and can it be changed?
In the play, we come across people who are useless outcasts in society, but it is they who are interested in questions about the place of man in the world around him. The heroes of the play do not resemble each other either in their looks, or thoughts, or life principles nor the way of life itself. The only thing that unites them is that they are superfluous. And at the same time, almost every one of the inhabitants of the rooming house is the bearer of a certain philosophical concept, on which they try to build their lives.
Bubnov believes that the world is vile and dirty, there is no good people, everyone just pretends, paints themselves, but "outside, no matter how you paint yourself, everything will be erased."
Kleshch is embittered at people, cruel to his wife Anna, but believes that hard, exhausting, but honest work can bring him back to “real” life: “I am a working person ... I am ashamed to look at them ... I have been working since childhood … You think I won't break out of here? I’ll get out… I’ll tear off my skin, and I’ll get out.”
Drunk and lost his name, the Actor hopes that his gift will return to him: "... the main thing is talent ... And talent is faith in oneself, in one's strength."
Nastya, a woman who sells her body, dreams of genuine, sublime love, which in real life unattainable.
Satin, a cheater-philosopher, has an opinion opposite to the principles of Klesch: “Work? For what? To be full?” It seems meaningless to him to spin in a wheel all his life: food is work. Satin owns the final monologue in the play, elevating a person: “Man is free ... he pays for everything himself: for faith, for unbelief, for love, for the mind ... Man is the truth!”
The inhabitants of the rooming house, brought together in a cramped room, are indifferent to each other at the beginning of the play, they hear only themselves, even if they are all talking together. But major changes in internal state heroes begin with the appearance of Luke, an old wanderer who managed to wake up this sleepy kingdom, console and encourage many, inspire or support hope, but at the same time, who was the cause of many tragedies. The main desire of Luke: "I want to understand human affairs." And he, indeed, very soon understands all the inhabitants of the rooming house. On the one hand, endlessly believing in a person, Luka believes that it is very difficult to change life, therefore it is easier to change yourself, to adapt. But the principle “what you believe is what you are” makes a person put up with poverty, ignorance, injustice, and not fight for a better life.
The questions raised by M. Gorky in the play “At the Bottom” are timeless, they arise in people of different eras, ages, and religions. That is why the play arouses great interest among our contemporaries, helping them to understand themselves and the problems of their time.

/ / / The play "At the Bottom" as a socio-philosophical drama

IN creative work M. Gorky "" a rather topical question was raised, which is often asked even today. The author reflects on what is the vocation of a person, what is the manifestation of the freedom of the individual? And in his play, M. Gorky tries to find an answer to it.

He was quite familiar with the lower stratum of society, he saw how the poor live, how there are those people who have long been forgotten. Therefore, it is precisely such heroes with lost destinies that are presented to the reader in the play "At the Bottom". It can only be defined for one literary genre- to drama. In the text of the play, we are introduced to tragic destinies people who lived a joyless and gloomy life.

The social problem that triumphed in society at that time permeated all the work, from beginning to end. Only the name "At the Bottom" suggests that we will talk about those people who have fallen deep into a hole from which it is quite difficult to get out.

The description of buildings, houses, the rooming house in which the heroes live is terrifying, and goosebumps run through the body. Everything is crumbling, dirt and cobwebs filled the rooms. The inhabitants of the rooming house are poorly dressed, in most cases they are hungry and sick. Of course, each of them has their own bright dream, but it is very far from it, it is practically not real. The social status, poverty and poverty make it clear that the heroes are in terrible conditions, they have practically resigned themselves to their fate and can only think about the good.

In the text of the play, we get acquainted with two philosophical thoughts. The Wanderer Luke preaches joyful ideas that should bring a person back to life, and Satin says that you can’t feel sorry for a person, because this will humiliate his dignity.

Of course, almost all the inhabitants of the rooming house are drawn to the sweet words of Luke. After all, their life consists of continuous horror. But, reality and fictional illusions are not comparable. Indeed, after believing in a lie, the lives of many characters break down. M. Gorky reveals to us a picture of the terrible everyday life of the lower stratum of the population. Luke's Philosophical Instructions Don't Save Them social status. Because of their weak character, the heroes of the play commit suicide, go to hard labor in Siberia. After all, they have no power to revive.

The author in his creative work tries to compare different opinions, different worldviews of the characters and realize the reality that surrounds them. Therefore, the play "At the Bottom" can be safely attributed to the category of social and philosophical drama, which raises the problems that have boiled up to the top, for everyone to see.

Essay text:

All in man, all for man! Only man exists, everything else is the work of his hands and his brain!
M. Gorky. At the bottom
Gorky's play "At the Bottom" not only has not left the stages of domestic theaters for about a hundred years, but also bypassed the largest theaters in the world. Until today, it excites the minds and hearts of readers and viewers, more and more new interpretations of images (especially Luke) arise. All this suggests that M. Gorky managed not only to look with a fresh, truthful look at the tramps of people who have sunk into the very dirt, "to the bottom" of life, expelled from the active life of the society of "former people", outcasts. But at the same time, the playwright sharply poses and tries to solve serious questions that have worried and will worry every new generation, all thinking humanity: what is a person? what is truth and in what form do people need it? Is there an objective world, or "what you believe is what it is"? and, most importantly, what~is this world and can it be changed?
In the play we come across people who are useless outcasts in society, but it is they who are interested in questions about the place of man in the world around him. The heroes of the play are not similar to each other neither in their views, nor in their thoughts, nor in their life principles, nor in the very way of life. The only thing they have in common is that they are redundant. And at the same time, almost every one of the inhabitants of the rooming house is the bearer of a certain philosophical concept, on which they try to build their lives.
Bubnov believes that the world is vile and dirty, there are no good people here, everything is just pretending, painting myself, but "outside, no matter how you paint yourself, everything will be erased."
Kleshch is embittered at people, cruel to his wife Anna, but he believes that hard, exhausting, but honest work can bring him back to "real" life: "I'm a working person ... I'm ashamed to look at them ... I I've been working since I was little... Do you think I won't get out of here?
Drunk and lost his name, the Actor hopes that his gift will return to him: "... the main thing is talent ... And talent is faith in oneself, in one's strength."
Nastya, a woman who sells her body, dreams of genuine, sublime love, which is unattainable in real life.
Satin's cheater-philosopher has an opinion that is opposite to the principles of Klesch: "To work? For what? To be fed?" It seems pointless to him to spin in a wheel all his life: food is work. Satin owns the final monologue in the play, elevating man: "Man is free... he pays for everything himself: for faith, for disbelief, for love, for intelligence... Man is the truth!"
The inhabitants of the rooming house, brought together in a cramped room, are indifferent to each other at the beginning of the play, they hear only themselves, even if I am talking all together. But serious changes in the internal state of the heroes begin with the appearance of Luke the old wanderer, who managed to wake up this sleepy kingdom, console and encourage many, inspire or support hope, but at the same time, was the cause of many tragedies. The main desire of Luke: "I want to understand human affairs." And he, indeed, very soon understands all the inhabitants of the rooming house. On the one hand, endlessly believing in a person, Luka believes that it is very difficult to change life, it is easier for a lyricist to change himself, to adapt. But the principle "what you believe is what you are" makes a person put up with poverty, ignorance, injustice, and not fight for a better life.
The questions raised by M. Gorky in the play "At the Bottom" are timeless, they arise among people of different eras, ages, and religions. It is to the lyric poet that the play arouses keen interest among our contemporaries, helping them to understand themselves and the problems of their time.

The rights to the essay "At the Bottom" by M. Gorky as a socio-philosophical drama belong to its author. When citing material, it is necessary to indicate a hyperlink to

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: portrait and photographs of A.M. Gorky different years, illustrations "At the bottom".

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During the classes.

1. 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 is 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 achievement: strong man has the right to be “on the other side of good and evil”, to be outside ethical principles, like Chelkash, and a feat, from this point of view, 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 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 last resort for tramps, outcasts, "former people". Here are all the social strata of society: the ruined nobleman Baron, the owner of the bunkhouse 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 wore 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: sharp conflict situation, acting 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 the one side, the owner of the bunkhouse, Kostylev, and the policeman Medvedev, who supports his power, on the other, the bunkhouses, which are essentially powerless. 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 dressings symbolize a gradual decline in social status, and there is nothing behind these dressings, life passed like a dream.

What is the feature social conflict 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. As the love conflict develops, it becomes clear that the relationship with Natasha revives Ash, he wants to leave with her and start new life. The culmination 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.

1. 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- V everyday life how many characters are in the dialogues. It is the conversations of the roommates that determine the development of the dramatic conflict. The action is transferred outside event row. 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.