Genre of the work at the bottom of the bitter. M
Answers
"Old Isergil"
"Makar Chudra"
"Chelkash"
2. Determine the genre of M. Gorky's play "At the Bottom"
a) everyday drama; b) socio-philosophical drama; c) tragedy; d) melodrama.
3. What is the main subject of the image in M. Gorky's play "At the Bottom"?
a) life circumstances that brought people to the "bottom";
b) the consciousness of people thrown to the "bottom" as a result of social processes,
taking place in Russian society at the turn of the century;
c) the life of the people of the "bottom";
d) the relationship between the "masters of life" and people dependent on them.
4. Which scene is the beginning of the main conflict in the play?
a) Kostylev’s conversation with the overnight stays in act 1 about Vasilisa;
b) the appearance of Natasha;
c) the appearance of Luka in the rooming house;
d) Luke's story-parable about the righteous land.
5. Which of the characters in the play, under the guise of serving God, robs people? "... And I'll throw half a ruble on you - I'll buy oil in a lamp ... and my sacrifice will burn in front of the holy icon ..."
a) Baron b) Satin c) Luka d) Kostylev.
6. Indicate the hero of the play to whom the words belong: “My hands were so yellow from paint: I tinted the furs ... I already thought I wouldn’t wash it until my death ... And now my hands are ... just dirty .. . Yes!"
a) Bubnov b) Satin c) Kleshch d) Baron
7. Which of the characters in the play claimed: "Lie is the religion of slaves and masters... Truth is the god of a free man!"?
a) Luka b) Tick c) Satin d) Bubnov
8. What was the name of the place on the globe where “people help each other in every way, just help”?
holy Land
righteous land
promised land
New Earth
9. Without what, according to the Actor, "there is no man"?
professions
refused to participate in the cleaning of the premises;
bitterly stated that he "drank away his soul";
suffering from a severe form of sclerosis due to alcoholism, he could not remember “a word” from his once beloved poem.
Test on the work of M. Gorky. Grade 11.
Option 2
1. Romanticism presupposes the assertion of an exceptional personality. Which of the works of M. Gorky does not correspond to this statement?
"Chelkash"
"Old Isergil"
"Makar Chudra"
2. Release date of the play "At the bottom":
3. Name the genre of the play.
love drama
socio-philosophical drama
domestic drama
tragedy
4. Which scene is the beginning of the main conflict of the play?
actor's death
Anna's illness
appearance of Luke
sateen's monologue
5. "Which of the characters does not want to come to terms with life on the" bottom "and declares:" I am a working person ... and from an early age I have been working ... I will get out ... I will tear off my skin, but I will get out "?
6. Which of the heroes pronounces the phrase: "Every flea is not bad, all are black, everyone is jumping"?
Kostylev
7. Which of the characters in the play pronounces the words: "In my opinion, tell the whole truth as it is! Why be ashamed?"
Kostylev
8. What “immaterial” concept did the hero mean when they said: “In a woman - ... should be” (Ashes); “In the beloved - all ...” (Luke)?
"highlight"
9. "The God of a free man", according to Satin, -
10. Recognize the hero by the characteristic:
boasted that he, like all Yaroslavl, “you can’t take with your bare hands”;
he was ready to accept death at the hands of his beloved in front of everyone;
"Since childhood" was nicknamed "thief ... son of thieves."
The key to the test on the work of M. Gorky. Grade 11.
1 option
Option 2
What works of M. Gorky are romantic?
a. "Foma Gordeev"
b. "Makar Chudra"
in. "Children of the Sun"
"Old Woman Izergil"
2. In line with what artistic trends did the work of M. Gorky develop?
a. critical realism
b. socialist realism
in. Sentimentalism
g. Romanticism
3. To whom is the Petrel opposed in Gorky's "Song of the Petrel"?
b. seagulls
Mr. Penguin
v. Gagaram
Which of the heroes of M. Gorky refers to "breaking out of their class"?
a. Foma Gordeev
b. Egor Bulychev
What is the main problem of M. Gorky's play "At the Bottom"?
a. What is the meaning of life
b. Which is better - truth or compassion
in. Is it worth sacrificing your life for an idea?
How can one define the genre of M. Gorky's drama "At the Bottom"?
a. Social
b. Socio-philosophical
in. Socio-political
d. Socio-psychological
7. What works of M. Gorky belong to the cycle "Literary portraits"?
a. "Foma Gordeev"
b. "Lev Tolstoy"
in. "Dostigaev and others"
V.G. Korolenko"
What artistic direction does M. Gorky's novel "Mother" belong to?
a. critical realism
b. socialist realism
in. Romanticism Material from the site http://iEssay.ru
How can you define the genre of "The Life of Klim Samgin" by M. Gorky?
a. Historical novel
b. Tale
in. epic
d. Biographical novel
Right answers:
Writer's real name:
a) Maxim Maksimovich Peshkin;
b) Alexei Maksimovich Peshkin;
c) Alexei Maksimovich Gorky;
d) Alexei Maksimovich Peshkov.
2. Gorky wrote the first part of his autobiography:
a) in 1913;
b) in 1923;
c) in 1933;
d) in 1943.
3. The story that ends the author's biography is called:
a) "My institutions";
b) "My Universities";
c) "My Academies";
d) My technical schools.
4. The story "Childhood" can be attributed to:
a) to autobiographical prose;
b) to adventure prose;
c) fantasy
d) to the romantic direction in literature.
5. “... But she appeared, woke me up, brought me to the light, tied everything around me into a continuous thread ... immediately became a friend for life ...” - these lines are written:
a) about mother
b) about a gypsy;
c) about Akulina Ivanovna;
d) about his wife.
6. Akulina Ivanovna was the main character:
a) mom
b) grandmother;
c) aunt
d) niece.
7. The name of the protagonist of the story "Childhood":
a) a gypsy
b) Nikolenka;
c) Alyosha;
d) Mitya.
8. Choose a sentence that has an inversion:
a) “She spoke somehow especially singing the words ...”;
b) “Disinterested love for the world enriches”;
c) “She smiled very beautifully”;
d) I am warm.
9. The expressions “like flowers”, “dark as cherries, pupils” are:
a) comparison;
b) antithesis;
c) metaphor;
d) hyperbole.
a) comparisons;
b) opposition;
c) synecdoche;
d) epithets.
11. The difference from other autobiographical works is:
a) in romantic chanting of childhood;
b) in the community of the fate of the child with the people;
c) in the detachment of the narrative from reality;
d) in a misunderstanding of the purpose of man on earth.
M. Gorky "Childhood"
Test Grade 7
Goals:
- To acquaint students with the stage fate of the play "At the Bottom".
- Introduce the heroes of the play into the setting and world.
- Determine the main conflict of the work - a clash of views and life positions of the inhabitants of the bottom.
- Show the tense atmosphere of the Kostylevo rooming house with its endless disputes and quarrels; find out the reasons for the disunity of the people of the "bottom".
- Help students understand the meaning of the author's remarks.
During the classes
I. Opening speech of the teacher.
The largest writers of the 19th century (A.S. Pushkin, N.V. Gogol, L.N. Tolstoy) acted as prose writers, playwrights, publicists. Creativity M. Gorky is also characterized by multi-genre. He entered literature with romantic and realistic stories. In the late 90s. published the novel "Foma Gordeev", in which he reproduced a broad picture of Russian life, showing representatives of various social strata. In the early 900s, he turned to drama and acted as a playwright for several years.
"A play, a drama, a comedy is the most difficult form of literature," said M. Gorky.
At that time, the Moscow Art Theater enjoyed great popularity, opening a new page in the history of Russian theatrical art with innovative productions of Chekhov's plays. In the winter of 1900, Gorky visited this theater for the first time; in the spring of the same year, while visiting Chekhov in Yalta, Gorky met artists who captivated him with the idea of creating a play for them. The result of this acquaintance was the play "Petty Bourgeois" (1901) and the following plays: "At the Bottom" (1902), "Summer Residents" (1904), "Children of the Sun" and "Barbarians" (1905)
Let us recall what is the originality of drama as a kind of literature (student's speech, accompanied by a computer presentation).
1) Drama is for stage performances.
3) The text consists of monologues and dialogues actors.
4) The play is divided into actions (acts) and pictures (scenes).
5) In the interval between actions, a certain time may pass (a day, two, a month, half a year :), the place of action may change.
6) The whole life process is not depicted in the drama, it goes as if behind the scenes; the author, on the other hand, snatches the most significant, from his point of view, moments from the stream of time, and focuses the attention of the audience on them.
7) A special load in the play falls on conflict- a sharp clash between the characters on a very significant occasion. At the same time, there can be no (superfluous) heroes in the drama - all heroes must be included in the conflict.
8) A dramatic work is preceded by poster- list of actors.
The very first plays by Gorky showed that an innovative playwright had come to literature.
The content and problems of the plays were unusual, and their heroes are a revolutionary-minded proletarian, inhabitants of a rooming house, and a conflict. Gorky acted as the creator of a new type of drama.
From the cycle of dramatic works by Gorky, the play "At the Bottom" stands out with its depth of thought and perfection of construction. "It was the result of my almost 20 years of observation of the world of "former people", among which I include not only wanderers, inhabitants of rooming houses and the "lumpen-proletariat" in general, but also some of the intellectuals - "demagnetized", disappointed, offended and humiliated by failures in life. I realized very early that these people are incurable, "Gorky wrote. He talked a lot and willingly about the tramps, their lives, people who served as prototypes for this or that character.
Over the play "At the bottom" Gorky worked hard and purposefully. Even the list of titles that he consistently gave to the play shows both the intensity of his search, and even partly his direction:
- "No Sun"
- "Bunkhouse"
- "In the hostel"
- "Bottom"
- "Day of Life"
- "At the bottom"
Why "Down"? (The author singled out not the place of action - "bedroom", not the nature of the conditions - "without the sun", "the bottom", not even the social position - "at the bottom of life." The final name combines all these names with the new one. Not where how, a what's happening at the bottom" (what?): souls. Unlike the original names, which emphasize the tragic situation of the tramps, the last name is more capacious and ambiguous.)
The play received its final name on the theater poster of the Moscow Art Theater, on the stage of which the premiere of the play took place.
Already after the first reading of the play by Gorky himself at the apartment of the writer L. Andreev, it was clear that it would become an event. Censorship for a long time did not allow the play to be presented. She blacked out the text, crippled it, but still, yielding to public pressure, she allowed to play exclusively in Moscow and only one Art Theater. The authorities considered the play boring and were sure of the failure of the performance, where instead of a "beautiful life" there were dirt, darkness and poor, embittered people (charmers, tramps, prostitutes) on the stage. The production, carried out by directors Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko, was a tremendous success. The author has been called over 20 times!
Playbill of the play "At the bottom".
So, December 1902. Moscow Art Theatre. First performance of the play.
There are many prominent writers, artists, artists, public figures, famous critics in the public. The most beloved, most prominent artists of the Moscow Art Theater are in the cast: Stanislavsky (Satin), Moskvin (Luka), Kachalov (Baron), Knipper-Chekhova (Nastya), Luzhsky (Bubnov). The curtain opens...
II. Dramatization of the beginning of the play, prepared by the students of the class.
III. Conversation.
Where did the viewer go? When and where does the play take place? (In a rooming house in early spring, in the morning.)
How is the scene of action depicted in the stage direction for act 1, which depicts the furnishings of a rooming house? (A basement that looks like a cave. Everywhere there is dirt, soot, rags...)
- How are the characters on the stage?(Bunk beds are everywhere along the walls. Thin bulkheads fence off Ash's room. Except for Kvashnya, Baron, Nastya, who live in the kitchen, no one has their own corner. the other is the bed of the dying Anna (by this she is, as it were, separated from life.)
- How is the stage lit?(The light reaches the bedchambers from the basement window, as if looking for people among the basement inhabitants.)
- Why does the author describe the rooming house in such detail in the remark preceding Act 1? Why is the remark so lengthy?(The playwright emphasizes the extreme poverty of the present existence of the "former", the wretchedness of the human shelter.)
- The tragedy of the existence of bunkhouses, the depth of human fall help to feel the remarks that give an idea of the sounds of the bunkhouse. What does the viewer hear?
Moaning Anna
tinkering and hysterically coughs Actor
Loud growls satin
fiercely tinkling keys and creaks Filed Mite
The Baron champs, chewing black bread:
- What is the atmosphere of the hostel?(Noise, swearing. Endless disputes, quarrels. Hell, anger:)
- Why are there so many fights?(Everyone lives in this basement as he wants. Everyone is preoccupied with their own problems. The heroes seem not to hear each other. Words sound from different angles. Everyone present speaks at once, without waiting for an answer, weakly reacting to other people's comments, but everyone, almost not listening to others, he speaks about his own.Complete separation of people who find themselves under the same roof.)
- Stability, the limit of mutual alienation is conveyed in the form polylogue. What remarks emphasize the continuity of such "communication", the feeling of the flow of time in a vicious circle, without beginning or end?
The curtain opens and the viewer hears the voice of the Baron: "Farther!". This is the first replica of the play! It "creates a feeling of the inevitable flow of time, flowing in a vicious circle without beginning or end. ". (B.A. Bialik. Gorky the playwright.)
Growls, not frightening anyone, Satin, overslept after next intoxication.
Kvashnya continues a conversation started behind the scenes with Klesch, constantly fencing off his terminally ill wife.
Baron habitually mocks Nastya, absorbing another shocker.
Actor boring repeats the same thing: "My body is poisoned by alcohol: It's harmful for me: to breathe dust:
Anna begs to stop what lasts "Every single day:".
Bubnov interrupts Satina: "I heard: a hundred times!"
Satin, as it were, sums up: ": all our words are tired! I heard each of them: probably thousand times:"
- In a stream of fragmentary replicas and squabbles, words that have a symbolic sound are heard.
Bubnov: "But the threads are rotten:" - twice, doing furrier business.
He is about the position of Nastya: "You are superfluous everywhere: yes, and all people on earth are superfluous:"
What do these seemingly random remarks reveal?
(The phrases spoken on a specific occasion reveal the imaginary connections of the people gathered in the rooming house, the "superfluity" of the unfortunate).
IV. Teacher's word.
Already the first readers of the play "At the Bottom" drew attention not only to the novelty of its content, but also to the novelty of its form. Chekhov commented on the play as follows: "It is new and undoubtedly good."
Why is the form of the play "At the Bottom" unusual? In what way does Gorky deviate from the rules for creating dramatic works known to us from plays that we read earlier?
2.No traditional plot: it unfolds not so much in "external" events as in dialogues (disputes), polylogues- they determine the development of the conflict.
3. In a play no main or secondary characters- all are important.
Let's look at the list of actors - poster.
V. Work with the playbill.
Why are the characters presented in different ways: some - by name and patronymic, others - by nickname, by surname?
Why are Kostylev and Kleshch represented differently? (The list presents a certain hierarchy of the "bottom". Here, too, there are "masters of life", however, they are not so different from the inhabitants of the rooming house).
People in society are valued differently. At the "bottom" of life can be a representative of any class, gender and age. What unites them? (They are all renegades. All "former".)
VI. Mini quiz.
Remember which of the heroes of the play before the rooming house was
- an official in the treasury?
- caretaker at the dacha?
- telegrapher?
- locksmith?
- a furrier?
- artist?
VII. Conversation.
How did these people get here? What brought them to the rooming house? What is the backstory of each of the characters?
Satin hit the "bottom" after he served time in prison for murder (act 1).
The Baron is ruined. Served in the state chamber, squandered money; for embezzlement of state money he went to prison, then ended up in a rooming house (act 4).
Kleshch lost his job, although he was an "honest worker", "worked from an early age" (act 1).
The actor once had a sonorous surname - Sverchkov-Zavolzhsky, but was not in the first roles (he says that he played a gravedigger in Hamlet), lived in need; began to drink, not seeing a way out - he drank himself, "drank away his soul" (act 2). Weak at heart. The tick resists - the result is the same.
Fate Ashes predetermined already at birth: "I am from childhood: a thief." "Thieves son". There is no other way (act 2).
Which hero tells more about his fall than others? (Baron. Each stage of his life is marked by a certain costume. These dressings symbolize a gradual decline in social status.)
What causes people to "bottom"? (People are brought to the “bottom” both by subjective (laziness, meanness, dishonesty, weak character) and objective, social causes (poisoned, perverted life of society).
What are the sleepers talking about? (About what any person thinks about.)
Honor and conscience Faith in one's strength, in one's talent
The people of the "bottom" are not villains, not monsters, not scoundrels. They are the same people as we are, only they live in different conditions. This amazed the first audience of the play and shocks new readers.
The characters talk and argue a lot. Their conversations are the subject of the image in the play. The clash of ideas, life views, the struggle of worldviews determine the main conflict of the play. It's typical of the genre. philosophical drama .
VIII. Homework.
Answer the following questions in writing:
- One of the characters in the play, Satin, in the remark that ends the second act, will liken the overnight stays the dead: "The dead - do not hear! The dead do not feel: Shout: roar: the dead do not hear! .."
- Can it be said that the first act is conversations in "kingdom of the dead" (G.D. Gachev)?
- Or the researcher is right, who believed that "Luke, having descended into the basement, did not come to the desert, but to people" (I.K. Kuzmichev), and before the arrival of Luke retained to some extent living human features?
The turn of the 19th-20th centuries in the development of Russian literature was marked by the emergence of new trends, trends, a non-standard approach to solving the problems posed in the work, and the originality of artistic forms. And if A.P. Chekhov became a recognized innovator in dramaturgy, he developed and improved his innovative principles, such as: subtext, veiled main conflict, an abundance of storylines, organization of stage
action on the principle of "disunity" of characters - another Russian writer and playwright Maxim Gorky. He created a number of bright and serious plays, among which the play "At the Bottom" occupies a special place, rich and diverse not only in ideological content, but also in artistic embodiment, which has become a literary monument to the author's dramatic skill.
The play became a kind of completion of the cycle of Gorky's works about tramps and represents its own excerpt from the life of the inhabitants of the rooming house. The author himself defined the genre of the play as "pictures", that is, sketches, scenes; however, the conventionality, generalization of images, allegoricalness, subtext speak of a deeper, philosophical content of the play, which is a complex combination of dramatic, tragic and even comic elements. The fate of almost all the heroes who have sunk to the "bottom" of life is dramatic; tragic is the irresolvable conflict in the soul of some of them (Actor), as well as death (Anna, Actor). There are also comic episodes, for example, the scene of the joint life of Kvashnya and Medvedev. Genre originality also lies in the fact that excerpts from various genres are introduced into the fabric of the play: parables (Luke's monologues about the "righteous land" and detained thieves), a love story retold by Nastya as part of her biography; poems by Beranger, folk songs, reminiscences from Dante, Shakespeare. Nevertheless, all these, so different, passages are skillfully, organically connected by M. Gorky and form a single artistic whole.
Continuing the traditions of Chekhov, Gorky built the play on not one but several conflicts: love, social, philosophical. The love triangle (Ash, Vasilisa, Natasha) and the development of relationships in it are the main intrigue; social conflict - between the owners and the inhabitants of the rooming house. However, as Gorky said, “the main question that I wanted to pose is what is better, truth or compassion?”, That is, the main conflict in the play is philosophical: the humanism of Luke and the humanism of Satin are opposed, two points of view on the essence of truth, faith, on a person and attitude towards him, on the future. In this conflict, the author's position is most pronounced: Gorky clearly thinks like Satin, in other words. Satin is the author's reasoner. In general, drama is a kind of literature in which it is very difficult for the author to express his point of view; For this, Gorky uses Sateen's monologues and the very course of events, the development of the action; it is no coincidence that in the finale all those who believed Luke die or tragically leave the stage (Natasha disappears, Ash is sent to hard labor), and the supporters of Sateen's theory, having adapted to the terrible living conditions, continue to go with the flow. Actually the plot strikes with an abundance of various lines; each hero tells his backstory, there are many comments of simultaneous action (stories about Ash and Natasha in the finale, before that - about the connection between Vasilisa and Ash). Off-stage action and characters significantly expand the scope of the depicted time, and also have another important meaning: the whole play appears as an excerpt torn from the monotonous life of the rooming-houses. This is also played by the peculiarity of the composition: all acts begin with everyday tasks.
drawings of everyday life, this gives the play a mood of hopelessness, the hopelessness of the situation, the impossibility for the tramps to escape from this world. Three of the four acts (II, III, IV) end in death (of Anna, Kostylev and Actor, respectively); the tragedy of these scenes makes a heavy and overwhelming impression on the viewer.
Gorky really subtly thought out the stage organization, the staging of the play, this is evidenced by the detailed remarks, detailed descriptions of the scene and the type of characters. The poster lists the exact age of the characters, with an average of 30 years; at this age, people are usually at the peak of their careers, and the heroes of the play "At the bottom", on the contrary, find themselves at the "bottom" of society, life; the symbolism of the name is subtly thought out by the author. The stage details are also symbolic, such as: a window in the first and fourth act, which disappears like the heroes' hope for a better life; the partition that separated Ash's room at the beginning, disappearing at the end. Unlike Chekhov, Gorky leads the heroes to spiritual unity at the end: disunity is replaced by mutual understanding. In general, the principles of building a system of characters are also Chekhov's tradition: the characters are divided into groups, firstly, into the owners and inhabitants of the rooming house; the inhabitants of the rooming house, in turn, against the supporters of Luke and the supporters of Satine.
The images created by Gorky are embossed and multifaceted; that is why, due to the difference in interpretations, there are still several points of view on the possible reading of the play. Characters are created in the play primarily through a poster giving name and age; secondly, the images are inextricably linked with the interior: in the “cave-like basement”, people growl, grunt, hiss and make other animal sounds. Next, each tells his biography. Also, the impression of the hero is formed due to the stylistic coloring of his speech: Luka has a lot of proverbs, Bubnov has “thieves' aphorisms (for example, the people “were honest, but the spring before last...”). Actors often characterize each other, complementing the images; so, almost everyone describes Luka after his disappearance. The images are revealed, for example, through the parallelism of the parable of the "righteous land" and the tragedy of the Actor; in general, Gorky endows his heroes with the gift of foresight, prediction: Natasha near the bedside of the dead Anna prophesies the same end for herself (“in the basement, downtrodden ...”), Ash is predicted that Natasha “through him” will disappear. With the help of these artistic means, Gorky intensifies a painful atmosphere, enhances the feeling of hopelessness, creates clearer and more scenic images, and intrigues the viewer.
According to documents, the audience who came to the premiere of the play "At the Bottom" at the Moscow Art Theater in 1903, sobbed. The reaction to the play of different literary schools was varied, they discussed the problems and the author's position, but no one could refute the perfection of the artistic form chosen by Gorky, which most fully reflected his idea, made the play bright, multifaceted, deep, exciting.
History of creation. At the beginning of the 20th century, Gorky turned to dramaturgy. He writes his first plays almost simultaneously. “At the Bottom” was conceived earlier than “Petty Bourgeois”, the idea of “Summer Residents” was outlined even before the first premiere of “At the Bottom”. Work on the play began in 1900. In January of the following year, Gorky wrote to Stanislavsky: “I started another play. Bosyatskaya. There are twenty people involved. Very curious what will come out!” The play "At the Bottom" was written in 1902 for the troupe of the Moscow Public Art Theater. According to Gorky, the play appeared as a result of twenty years of observation of the world of "former people", to which he attributed "... not only wanderers, inhabitants of rooming houses and in general" lumpen-proletarians ", but also some of the intellectuals, insulted and humiliated by failures in life" . As the writer himself pointed out, he observed the prototypes of his heroes in Nizhny Novgorod: the artist Kolosovsky-Sokolovsky served as the prototype of the Actor: Bubnov Gorky wrote not only from his tramp acquaintance, but also from one intellectual, his teacher; the image of Nastya is largely borrowed from the stories of Claudia Gross. The staging of Gorky's plays was banned. In order to stage "At the Bottom", a petition from the theatrical society or the local governor was necessary. “I had to go to St. Petersburg, defend almost every phrase, make concessions with a grating heart, and, in the end, get permission for only one Art Theater,” V. N. Nemirovich-Danchenko later recalled about the production of “At the Bottom”. From conversations with the then head of the Main Directorate for Press Affairs, Professor Zverev, he was left with the impression that "At the Bottom" was allowed only because the authorities were counting on the resounding failure of the play. On December 18, four and a half months after its creation, the first performance of the play took place; it was published only a month and a half later. The play was a huge success. Proof of this is a lot of newspaper publications.
It is known that the image of the bottom was interpreted as a metaphor for the spiritual atmosphere. However, there is every reason to believe that the tragic state of the heroes is given a grotesque character. The author's assessment of the inability of the heroes to physical or spiritual salvation is rather ironic, even the Actor is sometimes perceived as a jester of the bottom, in the eyes of Satin, he is the bearer of a stupid beginning ("Eh ... ruined the song ... fool!"). In general, the tragedy described in the play is devoid of catharsis. The genre essence of Gorky's dramas is ambiguous. So, even I. Annensky pointed out the presence of irony in the tragic situations of "At the Bottom". The tragic ironic pathos of Gorky's play is obvious primarily due to its language. The replicas of the characters sometimes bring a farcical beginning to the emotional world of the drama. Due to rhymes, including internal ones, in fact, tragic heroes allow themselves to speak in a buffoonish language. The phonetic possibilities of the Russian language are conducive to sound parallels, identities, which were widely used by poets, this property of Russian speech was also claimed by Gorky the playwright. Following Gogol, Gorky introduces into the text a clownish language like Satin “Many get money easily, but few easily part with it ...” Due to phonetic identities, Gorky creates a grotesque, anomalous atmosphere of laughter and spiritual death, fun and horror. Apparently, believing that the ugliness of life is not only outside a person, in society, but also inside a person, he makes his characters speak in "laughable" phrases. Phonetically, Nastya's remarks are colored with internal rhyming; for example: “Give ... give! Well ... do not indulge! Almost all the characters in the play resort to sound repetitions: “Christ took pity on everyone and ordered us ...” (Luke), “I play again, I don’t play anymore ...” and “We know what kind you are ...” (Tatarin ), “Such a life that you got up in the morning, and for a howl ...” (Bubnov), “More interesting than you ... Andrey! Your wife is in our kitchen…” (Natasha). The sound becomes a means of creating the character of a man of the bottom. It is not difficult to notice Sateen's "phonetic preferences". Quite often, words based on “r” sound in his dictionary (labor, good, slavery, etc.). As you know, Satin is tired of "all human words", he loves "incomprehensible, rare words", and in their phonetic pattern - the same dominant sound: "Gibraltarr", "Sardanapal". A penchant for alliteration is noticeable in phrases like “Work? Make the work pleasant for me - maybe I will work ... yes! Satin's speech resembles an animal growl. It is no coincidence that in the very first remark it is indicated: "Satin growls."
The text, like the instructions in the remarks, emphasizing the farce of what is happening, contains information about the animal, inhuman nature of the inhabitants of the bottom. If Satin growls, then Bubnov remarks about this: “Why are you grunting?” Turning to the text of "Dead Souls", the researchers pointed to such means of creating a portrait of a dead soul, such as the presence of animal traits in the appearance of the hero, or characteristics of inanimate nature, which initiates the grotesque. In Gorky's text, in addition to the zoological "speech", the presence of an inorganic nature in the heroes is also indicated; so, Kostylev asks Klesch: “Do you creak?”
Thus, the analysis of the vocabulary of the play "At the Bottom" confirms the version of its tragic farcical, tragic-ironic basis.
Atmosphere of spiritual separation of people. The role of the polylogue. characteristic of all literature of the early 20th century. the painful reaction to the fragmented, elemental world in Gorky's drama acquired a rare scale and persuasiveness of embodiment. The author conveyed the stability and limit of mutual alienation of Kostylev's guests in the original form of "polylogue". In Act I, all the characters speak, but each, almost not listening to the others, talks about his own. The author emphasizes the continuity of such "communication". Kvashnya (the play begins with her remark) continues the dispute with Klesch that began behind the scenes. Anna asks to stop what lasts "every God's day." Bubnov interrupts Satina: "I heard it a hundred times."
In a stream of fragmentary remarks and squabbles, words that have a symbolic sound are highlighted. Bubnov repeats twice (while doing furrier work): “And the threads are rotten ...” Nastya characterizes the relationship between Vasilisa and Kostylev: “Tie every living person to such a husband ...” Bubnov notices about the situation of Nastya herself: “You are superfluous everywhere” . The phrases spoken on a specific occasion reveal the “subtextual” meaning: the imaginary connections, the superfluity of the unfortunate.
The originality of the internal development of the play. The situation changes with the appearance of Luke. It is with its help that illusory dreams and hopes come to life in the recesses of the souls of the shelters. Acts II and III of the drama make it possible to see in the "naked man" an attraction to another life. But, based on false ideas, it ends only in misfortunes.
Luke's role in this outcome is very significant. A smart, knowledgeable old man indifferently looks at his real surroundings, believes that "people live for a better ... For a hundred years, and maybe more - they live for a better person." Therefore, the delusions of Ash, Natasha, Nastya, the Actor do not touch him. Nevertheless, Gorky did not at all limit what was happening to the influence of Luke.
Man is the truth!
M. Gorky
The multifaceted talent of M. Gorky was clearly manifested in dramaturgy. In the play "At the Bottom" Alexei Maksimovich revealed to readers and viewers a hitherto unknown layer of Russian life: the aspirations, suffering, joys and hopes of the "former people", the inhabitants of the rooming house. The author did this quite severely and truthfully.
The drama "At the Bottom" poses and solves philosophical questions: what is truth? do people need it? Is it possible to find happiness and peace in real life? Thrown out of active life, the inhabitants of the “bottom”, meanwhile, do not refuse to solve complex philosophical questions, life situations that reality puts before them. They try on various situations for themselves, trying to "surface" to the surface. Each of them wants to return to the world of "real people".
Heroes are full of illusions about the temporality of their position. And only Bubnov and Satin understand that there is no way out "from the bottom" - this is the lot of only the strong. Weak people need self-deception. They console themselves with the thought that sooner or later they will become full-fledged members of society. This hope in the shelters is actively supported by Luke, a wanderer who unexpectedly appeared among them. The old man finds the right tone with everyone: he consoles Anna with heavenly happiness after death. Persuades her that in the afterlife she will find peace, which she has not felt until now. Luka persuades Vaska Pepla to leave for Siberia. There is the place for strong and purposeful people. He calms Nastya, believing in her stories about unearthly love. The actor is promised a cure for alcoholism in a special clinic. The most striking thing about all this is that Luke lies unselfishly. He pities people, tries to give them hope as a stimulus to life. But the old man's consolations backfire. Anna dies, the Actor dies, Vaska Pepel ends up in prison. It seems that through the mouth of Satin, the author condemns Luke, refutes the compromising philosophy of the wanderer. “There is a comforting lie, a reconciling lie... Those who are weak in soul... and who live on other people's juices need a lie... some support it, others hide behind it... And who is his own master... who is independent and does not eat someone else's - why should he lie? Lies are the religion of slaves and masters... Truth is the god of a free man!”
But Gorky is not so simple and straightforward; it allows readers and viewers to decide for themselves: are Lucas needed in real life or are they evil? It is also striking that over the years the attitude of society towards this character has changed. If at the time of the creation of the play "At the Bottom" Luka was almost a negative hero, with his boundless pity for people, then over time the attitude towards him changed.
In our cruel time, when a person feels his loneliness and uselessness to others, Luka received a “second life”, he became almost a positive hero. He pities the people living nearby, albeit mechanically, without wasting his spiritual strength on this, but he finds time to listen to the suffering, instills hope in them, and this is already a lot.
The play "At the Bottom" is one of those few works that do not age over time, and each generation discovers in them thoughts that are consonant with their time, views, and life situations. This is the great power of the playwright's talent, his ability to look into the future.
In the play "At the Bottom" one of the peculiar genres of Gorky's dramaturgy crystallized - the genre of a socio-philosophical play.
Most of the critics of the pre-revolutionary period considered "At the Bottom" as a static play, as a series of sketches of everyday life, internally unrelated scenes, as a naturalistic play, devoid of action, development, and dramatic conflicts.
In "At the Bottom" Gorky develops, sharpens, and makes especially clear the principle characteristic of Chekhov's dramaturgy...
When ... Gorky wrote: "A play is done like a symphony: there is a main leitmotif and various variations, changes to it" (Letter to the LAPP Theater / Literary Gazette. 1931. N 53), then he could mean his own dramatic experience . There are several “themes” in the play, ideological and thematic complexes that “absorb” well-known ideas and moods, character traits of the characters, their aspirations, ideals and actions, their relationships and destinies, their individual collisions. No fate, no conflict can be traced holistically from beginning to end; they are outlined, as it were, by a dotted line, discontinuously, episodically, since they must enter a certain thematic complex, participating in the development of a “theme”, in solving a socio-philosophical problem.<...>
The exposition presents all the main problems that will be solved in the play; all its main themes appear in embryonic form. How to relate to the inhuman life of the destitute, the oppressed? Bear your cross patiently?
Soften the pain of others with compassion? Surrender to comforting illusions? Protest? Looking for an active way out for everyone, say, in work? Various answers to these questions separate and somehow bring together the heroes of the play, who are, as it were, in a state of expectation. The appearance of Luke sets everything in motion. He removes some, supports others, directs them, gives justification for their aspirations. A practical test of various life attitudes begins.
6. Dramaturgical conflict of the play "At the Bottom"
Most critics considered "At the Bottom" as a static play, as a series of sketches of everyday life, internally unrelated scenes, as a naturalistic play, devoid of action, the development of dramatic conflicts. In fact, in the play "At the Bottom" there is a deep internal dynamics, development ... The linkage of replicas, actions, scenes of the play is determined not by everyday or plot motivations, but by the deployment of socio-philosophical problems, the movement of topics, their struggle. That subtext, that undercurrent, which V. Nemirovich-Danchenko and K. Stanislavsky discovered in Chekhov's plays, acquires decisive significance in Gorky's "At the Bottom". “Gorky portrays the consciousness of the people of the “bottom”. The plot unfolds not so much in external action as in the dialogues of the characters. It is the conversations of the overnight stays that determine the development of the dramatic conflict.
It's amazing: the more the bed-seekers want to hide the real state of affairs from themselves, the more they take pleasure in convicting others of lies. They take particular pleasure in torturing their comrades in misfortune, trying to take away from them the last thing they have - an illusion
What do we see? It turns out there is no single truth. And there are at least two truths - the truth of the "bottom" and the truth of the best in man. What truth wins in Gorky's play? At first glance - the truth of the "bottom". There is no way out of this “dead end of life” for any of the overnight stays. None of the characters in the play gets better - only worse. Anna dies, Kleshch finally “falls” and gives up hope of escaping from the rooming house, Tatar loses his arm, which means he also becomes unemployed, Natasha dies morally, and maybe physically, Vaska Pepel goes to prison, even the bailiff Medvedev becomes one of the roomers . The nochlezhka accepts everyone and does not let anyone out, except for one person - the wanderer Luke, who entertained the unfortunate tales and disappeared. The culmination of general disappointment is the death of the Actor, whom it was Luka who inspired in vain hope for recovery and a normal life.
“The comforters of this series are the most intelligent, knowledgeable and eloquent. That is why they are the most harmful. Luka should be just such a comforter in the play "The Lower Depths," but apparently I failed to make him so. “At the Bottom” is an outdated play and, perhaps, even harmful in our days” (Gorky, 1930s).
7. Images of Satin, Baron, Bubnov in the play "At the bottom"
Gorky's play "At the Bottom" was written in 1902 for the troupe of the Moscow Public Art Theater. Gorky for a long time could not find the exact title of the play. Initially, it was called "Nochlezhka", then "Without the Sun" and, finally, "At the Bottom". The name itself has a lot of meaning. People who have fallen to the bottom will never rise to the light, to a new life. The theme of the humiliated and offended is not new in Russian literature. Let us recall the heroes of Dostoevsky, who also "have nowhere else to go." Many similar features can be found in the heroes of Dostoevsky and Gorky: this is the same world of drunkards, thieves, prostitutes and pimps. Only he is shown even more terribly and realistically by Gorky. In Gorky's play, the audience saw for the first time the unfamiliar world of the outcasts. Such a harsh, merciless truth about the life of the social lower classes, about their hopeless fate, the world dramaturgy has not yet known. Under the vaults of the Kostylevo rooming house there were people of the most diverse character and social status. Each of them has its own individual features. Here is the worker Kleshch, who dreams of honest work, and Ash, longing for the right life, and the Actor, all absorbed in memories of his former glory, and Nastya, passionately yearning for great, true love. All of them deserve a better fate. The more tragic their situation now. The people who live in this cave-like basement are tragic victims of an ugly and cruel order in which a person ceases to be a person and is doomed to drag out a miserable existence. Gorky does not give a detailed account of the biographies of the heroes of the play, but even the few features that he reproduces perfectly reveal the author's intention. In a few words, the tragedy of Anna's life fate is drawn. "I don’t remember when I was full," she says. all my miserable life..." Worker Kleshch speaks of his hopeless lot: "There is no work... there is no strength... That's the truth! The inhabitants of the "bottom" are thrown out of life due to the conditions prevailing in society. Man is left to himself. If he stumbles, gets out of the rut, he is threatened with the "bottom", inevitable moral, and often physical death. Anna dies, the Actor commits suicide, and the rest are exhausted, disfigured by life to the last degree. And even here, in this terrible world of outcasts, the wolf laws of the “bottom” continue to operate. The figure of the owner of the rooming house Kostylev, one of the "masters of life", who is ready even to squeeze the last penny out of his unfortunate and disadvantaged guests, is disgusting. Just as disgusting is his wife Vasilisa with her immorality. The terrible fate of the inhabitants of the rooming house becomes especially obvious if we compare it with what a person is called to. Under the dark and gloomy vaults of the doss house, among the miserable and crippled, unfortunate and homeless vagrants, the words about man, about his vocation, about his strength and his beauty sound like a solemn hymn: “Man is the truth! Everything is in a person, everything is for a person! There is only man, everything else is the work of his hands and his brain! Man! This is magnificent! It sounds proud!" Proud words about what a person should be and what a person can be, even more sharply set off the picture of the real situation of a person that the writer paints. And this contrast takes on a special meaning... Sateen's fiery monologue about a man sounds somewhat unnatural in an atmosphere of impenetrable darkness, especially after Luka left, the Actor hanged himself, and Vaska Pepel was imprisoned. The writer himself felt this and explained this by the fact that the play should have a reasoner (expressor of the author's thoughts), but the characters portrayed by Gorky can hardly be called spokesmen for anyone's ideas in general. Therefore, Gorky puts his thoughts into the mouth of Satin, the most freedom-loving and fair character.
The author began writing the play in Nizhny Novgorod, where, according to the observation of Gorky's contemporary, Rozov, there was the best and most convenient place for all kinds of rabble of people to gather ... (I always believed that Gorky took the prototypes of heroes in Nizhny Novgorod, because he lived in this city and knew all their future heroes personally). This explains the realism of the characters, their complete resemblance to the originals.
Alexei Maksimovich Gorky explores the soul and characters of tramps from different positions, in different life situations, trying to understand who they are, what brought such different people to the bottom of life. The author is trying to prove that overnight stays are ordinary people, they dream of happiness, they know how to love, compassion, and most importantly, they think.
By genre, the play At the Bottom can be classified as philosophical, because from the lips of the characters we hear interesting conclusions, sometimes entire social theories. For example, the Baron consoles himself with the fact that there is nothing to expect... I do not expect anything! Everything already ... was! It's over! .. Or Bubnov So I drank and I'm glad!
But the true talent for philosophizing is manifested in Satin, a former telegraph employee. He talks about good and evil, about conscience, about the destiny of man. Sometimes we feel that he is the mouthpiece of the author, there is no one else in the play who can say it so smoothly and smartly. His phrase Man it sounds proud! became winged.
But Satin justifies his position with these arguments. He is a kind of ideologist of the bottom, justifying its existence. Satin preaches contempt for moral values And where are they honor, conscience On your feet, instead of boots, you can’t put on either honor or conscience ... The audience is amazed by the gambler and cheater who talks about the truth, about justice, the imperfection of the world, in which he himself is an outcast.
But all these philosophical searches of the hero are just a verbal duel with his antipode in terms of worldview, with Luke. The sober, sometimes cruel realism of Sateen collides with the soft and accommodating speeches of the wanderer. Luke fills the rooming houses with dreams, calls them to patience. In this regard, he is a truly Russian person, ready for compassion and humility. This type is deeply loved by Gorky himself. Luke does not receive any benefit from what gives people hope, there is no self-interest in this. This is the need of his soul. The researcher of Maxim Gorky's work, I. Novich, spoke about Luke this way ... he consoles not from love for this life and belief that it is good, but from capitulation to evil, reconciliation with it. For example, Luke assures Anna that a woman must endure her husband's beatings. Be patient some more! All, dear, endure.
Having suddenly appeared, just as suddenly, Luka disappears, revealing his possibilities in every inhabitant of the rooming house. The heroes thought about life, injustice, their hopeless fate.
Only Bubnov and Satin reconciled themselves to their position as overnight stays. Bubnov differs from Sateen in that he considers a person to be a worthless creature, and therefore worthy of a dirty life. People all live ... like chips floating down the river ... building a house ... chips away ...
Gorky shows that in an embittered and cruel world, only people who stand firmly on their feet, who are aware of their position, and who do not disdain anything, can survive. The defenseless rooming houses Baron, who lives in the past, Nastya, who replaces life with fantasies, perish in this world. Anna dies, the Actor lays hands on himself. He suddenly realizes the unfulfillment of his dream, the unreality of its implementation. Vaska Pepel, dreaming of a bright life, goes to prison.
Luka, regardless of his will, becomes the culprit in the death of these not at all bad people; the inhabitants of the rooming house do not need promises, but. specific actions that Luke is not capable of. He disappears, rather flees, thus proving the inconsistency of his theory, the victory of reason over the dream. Taco, sinners disappear from the face of the righteous!
But Satin, like Luke, is no less responsible for the death of the Actor. After all, breaking the dream of a hospital for alcoholics, Satin tears the last threads of hope of the Actor, connecting him with life.
Gorky wants to show that, relying only on his own strength, a person can get out of the bottom. A person can do anything ... if only he wants to. But there are no such strong characters striving for freedom in the play.
In the work we see the tragedy of individuals, their physical and spiritual death. At the bottom, people lose their human dignity along with their surnames and given names. Many rooming houses have nicknames Krivoy Zob, Tatar, Actor.
How does Gorky the humanist approach the main problem of the work? Does he really recognize the insignificance of man, the baseness of his interests? No, the author believes in people not only strong, but also honest, hardworking, diligent. Such a person in the play is the locksmith Kleshch. He is the only inhabitant of the bottom who has a real chance of rebirth. Proud of his work rank, Kleshch despises the rest of the roomers. But gradually, under the influence of Sateen's speeches about the worthlessness of labor, he loses self-confidence, lowering his hands before fate. In this case, it was no longer the crafty Luke, but Satin the tempter who suppressed hope in a person. It turns out that, having different views on life positions, Satin and Luka are equally pushing people to death.
Creating realistic characters, Gorky emphasizes everyday details, acting as a brilliant artist. A gloomy, rude and primitive existence fills the play with something ominous, oppressive, reinforcing the sense of unreality of what is happening. The noss house, located below ground level, devoid of sunlight, somehow reminds the viewer of a hell in which people die.
Horror is caused by the scene when the dying Anna is talking to Luka. This last conversation of hers is, as it were, a confession. But the conversation is interrupted by the screams of drunken gamblers, a gloomy prison song. It becomes strange to realize the frailty of human life, neglect it, because even at the hour of death, Anna is not given peace.
The author's remarks help us to more fully imagine the heroes of the play. Brief and clear, they contain a description of the characters, help us to reveal some aspects of their characters. In addition, a new, hidden meaning is guessed in the prison song introduced into the canvas of the narrative. The lines I want to be free, yes, eh! .. I can’t break the chain ... they show that the bottom tenaciously holds its inhabitants, and the shelters cannot escape from its embrace, no matter how hard they try.
The play is over, but Gorky does not give an unambiguous answer to the main questions: what is the truth of life and what should a person strive for, leaving it to us to decide. Satin's final phrase Eh... spoiled the song... the fool is ambiguous and makes you think. Who is the foolThe Hanged Actor or the Baron who brought the news about it Time passes, people change, but, unfortunately, the theme of the bottom remains relevant today. Due to economic and political upheavals, more and more people are leaving the bottom of life. Every day their ranks are replenished. Don't think they are losers. No, many smart, decent, honest people go to the bottom. They strive to quickly leave this kingdom of darkness, to act in order to live a full life again. But poverty dictates its conditions to them. And gradually a person loses all his best moral qualities, preferring to surrender to chance.
Gorky wanted to prove with the play At the Bottom that the essence of life is only in struggle. When a person loses hope, stops dreaming, he loses faith in the future.
