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

This work was written at a crucial time for the country. In Russia, in the 90s of the XIX century, a serious erupted. The masses of impoverished, ruined peasants after each crop failure left the villages in search of work. Plants and factories were closed. Thousands of people were left without means of livelihood and shelter. This led to the emergence of a large number of "tramps" who sank to the bottom of life.

Who lived in the shelters?

Enterprising slum owners, taking advantage of the stalemate in their lives, have figured out how to make good use of the stinking basements. They turned them into shelters where beggars, unemployed, thieves, vagabonds and other representatives of the "bottom" lived. This work was written in 1902. The heroes of the play "At the Bottom" are just such people.

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

Heroes of the play "At the Bottom": table

hero	how did you get to the bottom	character characteristic	dreams
Bubnov	In the past he owned a dye shop. However, circumstances forced him to leave. Bubnov's wife got along with the master.	He believes that a person is not able to change fate. Therefore, Bubnov only goes with the flow. Shows often skepticism, cruelty, lack of positive qualities.	It is difficult to determine, given the negative attitude towards the whole world of this hero.
Nastya	Life made this heroine become a prostitute. And this is the social bottom.	A romantic and dreamy person who lives with love stories.	For a long time she has dreamed of pure and great love, continuing to pursue her profession.
Baron	He was a real baron in the past, but he lost his wealth.	He does not perceive the ridicule of the inhabitants of the shelter, continuing to live in the past.	He wants to return to his former position, once again becoming a wealthy person.
Alyoshka	A cheerful and always drunk shoemaker, who never tried to rise from the bottom, where frivolity led him.	As he himself says, he does not want anything. He says about himself that he is "good" and "funny".	I am always happy with everything, it is difficult to say about his needs. Most likely dreams of a "warm breeze" and "eternal sun".
Vaska Ashes	This is a hereditary thief who was imprisoned twice.	A weak character, a man in love.	She dreams of leaving for Siberia with Natalia and becoming a respectable citizen, starting a new life.
Actor	Sank to the bottom due to drunkenness.	Quotes often	She dreams of finding a job, recovering from alcoholism and getting out of the shelter.
Luke	This is a mysterious wanderer. Not much is known about him.	Teaches compassion, kindness, consoles heroes, guides them.	She dreams of helping everyone in need.
Satin	He killed a man, as a result of which he ended up in prison for 5 years.	He believes that a person needs respect, not consolation.	She dreams of conveying her philosophy to people.

What ruined the lives of these people?

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

Whom do the denizens blame?

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

Apparently, the reason for the fall of all these people is their lack of a moral core that makes up a person's personality. You can cite the words of the Actor as an example: "Why did he die? I didn't have faith ..."

Was there a chance to live a different life?

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

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

How do the heroes comfort themselves?

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

With the exception of Bubnov, all the heroes of the work reject the "no-lodging" way of life. They hope for a lucky twist of fortune that will bring them from the bottom to the surface. A tick, for example, says that he has been working from an early age (this hero is a locksmith), so he will certainly get out of here. "Here, wait ... wife dies ..." - he says. The actor, this chronic drunkard, hopes to find a luxurious hospital in which health, strength, talent, memory and applause from the audience will miraculously return to him. Anna, an unhappy sufferer, dreams of bliss and peace in which she will finally be rewarded for torment and patience. Vaska Ashes, this desperate hero, kills Kostylev, the owner of the shelter, because he considers the latter to be the embodiment of evil. His dream is to leave for Siberia, where he will start a new life with his beloved girl.

Luke's role in the work

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

Satin's opinion

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

The further fate of the heroes

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

What is salvation?

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

Declaring his faith in the creative powers, abilities and intelligence of a free person, Maxim Gorky affirmed the ideas of humanism. The author understood that in the mouths of Satin, a drunken tramp, the words about a free and proud person sound artificial. However, they were supposed to sound in the play, expressing the ideals of the writer himself. There was no one to say this speech except Satin.

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

Hero name	How did you get to the bottom?	Features of speech, characteristic replicas	What is dreaming about
Bubnov	In the past, he owned a dye shop. Circumstances forced him to leave in order to survive, while his wife got along with the master. He claims that a person cannot change his fate, therefore he floats with the flow, sinking to the bottom.	Often shows cruelty, skepticism, lack of good qualities. "All people on earth are superfluous."	It is difficult to say that Bubnov is dreaming of something, given his negative attitude towards the world.
Nastya	Life forced her to become a prostitute, which is the social bottom.	A dreamy and romantic person who lives with love stories.	For a long time she dreams of great and pure love, continuing to engage in the most ancient profession
Baron	In the past, he was a real baron, but fate decreed otherwise, and he lost all his wealth.	Continues to live in the past, does not perceive the ridicule of the inhabitants of the hut	The main dream is to return the past position and become a wealthy master again.
Alyoshka	Always a drunken and cheerful shoemaker who never tried to climb the social ladder. His frivolity brought him to the bottom.	“And I - I do not want anything; I do not want anything "," But I am a cheerful boy, but I am good. "	Alyoshka is always happy with everything and it is difficult to say about any needs. Most likely, he dreams of "eternal sun and warm breeze."
Vaska Ashes	Hereditary thief who was imprisoned twice.	A loving, weak-minded thief.	She dreams of leaving with Natalya to Siberia and starting life from a new leaf, becoming a respectable citizen.
Actor	He sank to the bottom due to constant drunkenness.	Often cites literary works.	She dreams of recovering from alcoholism, finding a job and getting out of the social hole.
Luke	A mysterious wanderer about whom little is known.	He comforts the heroes, teaches them to be kind and sympathetic, directs them to the true path.	She dreams of helping many in need.
Satin	Once he killed a man, which is why he was sent to prison for 5 years.	“Brother, I'm tired of human words ... all our words are tired of me! I have heard each of them ... probably a thousand times ... ".	She dreams of creating her own philosophy and presenting it to people.

• What is truth and what is falsehood? Mankind has been asking this question for many hundreds of years. Truth and lies, good and evil always stand side by side, one simply does not exist without the other. The clash of these concepts is the basis of many world famous literary works. Among them is the socio-philosophical play by M. Gorky "At the Bottom". Its essence lies in the clash of life positions and views of different people. The author asks the question, typical of Russian literature, about two types of humanism and its connection with [...]
• The revival of the name of Maxim Gorky after the revision of the place of his work in Russian literature and the renaming of everything that bore the name of this writer must necessarily take place. It seems that the most famous of Gorky's dramatic legacy, The Bottom, will play a significant role in this. The genre of the drama itself presupposes the relevance of the work in a society where there are many unsolved social problems, where people know what a shelter and homelessness are. The play "At the Bottom" by M. Gorky is defined as a socio-philosophical drama. […]
• In an interview about the play At the Bottom in 1903, M. Gorky defined its meaning as follows: “The main question that I wanted to pose was - which is better, truth or compassion? What is more needed? Is it necessary to bring compassion to the point of using lies? " This is not a subjective question, but a general philosophical one. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the dispute about truth and comforting illusions was associated with the practical search for a way out for the disadvantaged, oppressed part of society. In the play, this dispute acquires a special intensity, since it is about the fate of people, [...]
• The drama opens with an exposition in which the main characters are already presented, the main themes are formulated, and many problems are posed. Luka's appearance in the shelter is the beginning of the play. From this moment, the test of various life philosophies and aspirations begins. Luke's stories about the "righteous land" culminate, and the beginning of the denouement is the murder of Kostylev. The composition of the play is strictly subordinated to its ideological and thematic content. The basis of the plot movement is the verification of philosophy by life practice [...]
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• Chekhov's tradition in Gorky's drama. Gorky said in an original way about the innovation of Chekhov, who "killed realism" (traditional drama), raising images to a "spiritualized symbol." This is how the departure of the author of The Seagull from the sharp clash of characters, from the tense plot was determined. Following Chekhov, Gorky strove to convey the unhurried pace of everyday, "eventless" life and to highlight in it the "undercurrent" of the heroes' inner motives. Only the meaning of this "trend" Gorky understood, naturally, in his own way. […]
• The play "At the Bottom", according to Gorky, was the result of "almost twenty years of observation over the world of" former people "". The main philosophical problem of the play is the dispute about the truth. Young Gorky, with his characteristic determination, took up a very complex topic, over which the best minds of mankind are still struggling. Unambiguous answers to the question "What is truth?" have not yet found. In the heated debates waged by the heroes of M. Gorky Luka, Bubnov, Satin, the author's own uncertainty appears, the impossibility of directly responding to [...]
• Larra Danko Character Brave, decisive, strong, proud and too selfish, cruel, arrogant. Not able to love, compassion. Strong, proud, but able to sacrifice his life for the people he loves. Courageous, fearless, merciful. Appearance Nice young man. Young and handsome. Look Cold and proud as the king of beasts. Illuminates with strength and life fire. Family ties Son of an eagle and a woman Representative of an ancient tribe Position in life Does not want to [...]
• Gorky's life was full of adventures and events, sharp turns and changes. He began his literary career with a hymn to the madness of the brave and stories that glorify the man-fighter and his desire for freedom. The writer knew the world of ordinary people well. Indeed, together with them, he walked many miles along the roads of Russia, worked in ports, bakeries, with wealthy owners in the village, spent the night with them in the open air, often falling asleep hungry. Gorky said that his walk in Russia was not caused by [...]
• The story "The Old Woman Izergil" (1894) refers to the masterpieces of M. Gorky's early work. The composition of this work is more complex than the composition of other early stories of the writer. The story of Izergil, who has seen a lot in her life, is divided into three independent parts: the legend of Larra, the story of Izergil about her life, the legend of Danko. At the same time, all three parts are united by a common idea, the author's desire to reveal the value of human life. The legends of Larra and Danko reveal two concepts of life, two [...]
• The life of M. Gorky was unusually bright and seems truly legendary. What made it so, first of all, is the inextricable connection between the writer and the people. The talent of the writer was combined with the talent of a revolutionary fighter. Contemporaries rightly considered the writer the head of the progressive forces of democratic literature. During the Soviet years, Gorky acted as a publicist, playwright and prose writer. In his stories, he reflected a new direction in Russian life. The legends about Larra and Danko show two concepts of life, two ideas about it. One […]
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• In the work of early Gorky, there is a combination of romanticism with realism. The writer criticized the "leaden abominations" of Russian life. In the stories "Chelkash", "The Orlov's Spouses", "Once in the Fall", "Konovalov", "Malva" he created images of "tramps", people broken by the existing system in the state. The writer continued this line in the play At the Bottom. In the story "Chelkash" Gorky shows two heroes, Chelkash and Gavrila, the clash of their views on life. Chelkash is a vagabond and a thief, but at the same time he despises property and [...]
• The beginning of the creative path of M. Gorky fell on a period of crisis in the social and spiritual life of Russia. According to the writer himself, the terrible “poor life”, the lack of hope among people, pushed him to write. Gorky saw the reason for the situation that had arisen primarily in man. Therefore, he decided to offer society a new ideal of a Protestant person, a fighter against slavery and injustice. Gorky knew well the life of the poor, from whom society had turned its backs. In his early youth, he himself was "barefoot." His stories [...]
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• The greatest achievement of civilization is not a wheel or a machine, not a computer or an airplane. The greatest achievement of any civilization, of any human community is language, the way of communication that makes a person human. Not a single animal communicates with its own kind with the help of words, does not pass records on to future generations, does not build a complex non-existent world on paper with such believability that the reader believes in it and considers it real. Any language has endless possibilities for [...]
• Poets and writers of different times and peoples used the description of nature to reveal the inner world of the hero, his character, mood. The landscape is especially important at the climax of the work, when the conflict, the problem of the hero, his inner contradiction are described. Maxim Gorky didn’t do without it in the story “Chelkash”. The story, in fact, begins with artistic sketches. The writer uses dark colors ("the blue southern sky darkened by dust is dull", "the sun looks through a gray veil", [...]
• Gorky's early work (90s of the XIX century) was created under the sign of “collecting” the truly human: “I got to know people very early and, from my youth, began to invent a Man in order to satisfy my thirst for beauty. Wise people ... convinced me that I had a bad idea of ​​consolation for myself. Then I went to the people again and - this is so understandable! - again from them I return to the Man, ”Gorky wrote at this time. Stories from the 1890s can be divided into two groups: some of them are based on fiction - the author uses legends or he himself [...]
• Kirsanov N. P. Kirsanov P. P. Appearance A short man in his forties. After a long-term fracture of the leg, he limps. The facial features are pleasant, the expression is sad. A handsome, well-groomed middle-aged man. He dresses smartly, in the English manner. Ease of movement betrays a sporty person. Marital status Widower for over 10 years, was very happy in marriage. There is a young mistress Fenechka. Two sons: Arkady and six-month-old Mitya. Bachelor. In the past it was popular with women. After […]
• Bazarov E. V. Kirsanov P. P. Appearance Tall young man with long hair. The clothes are poor and unkempt. Doesn't pay attention to his own appearance. Handsome middle-aged man. Aristocratic, "thoroughbred" appearance. She carefully looks after herself, dresses fashionably and expensively. Origin Father - a military doctor, not rich simple family. A nobleman, the son of a general. In his youth, he led a noisy metropolitan life, built a military career. Education A very educated person. […]

Man was created not to drag chains, but to soar above the ground with his wings spread wide.
V. Hugo
It's good when a book you read leaves a mark on your soul. And if it is bright, we think about what meaning this work has for us, what it gave us. Now, when we are again talking about humanism and mercy, when we call on “mercy to the fallen,” M. Gorky’s play “At the Bottom” again acquires great significance. Apparently, his plays are not allowed to die at all. They are destined for a long life. It can be said about his play At the Bottom that it is an encyclopedia of pre-revolutionary Russia, a history captured truthfully and masterfully. And we must not forget that there is a lot of universal humanity in it, suitable not only for the past, but also for the present life.
“Man is great! It sounds ... proud! " These words, spoken at the dawn of the 20th century, determined the writer's creative line. He spoke out with a passionate and ardent protest against everything that belittled man, against all the "leaden abominations" of life.
In the play "At the Bottom" with great strength and unsurpassed artistic skill, Gorky showed those terrible living conditions that push people to the "bottom" of it, into the "pit". And then a person ceases to be a person. And are these the people who appear before us in the disgusting little house of Kostylev? They have lost everything human, have even lost the appearance of a man, turned into miserable, useless beings. Of course, in many ways they themselves are to blame for what happened to them: they did not have enough firmness or the ability to fight fate, the desire to work, to overcome difficulties. But social conditions are also to blame for this. Gorky showed the era of the enrichment of some people at the expense of the impoverishment of others. In every inhabitant of the shelter, in his ruined fate, we see a merged combination of social and personal problems.
But even here, "at the bottom" of life, their own inexorable wolf laws operate. Here are their "kings" and their subjects, exploiters and exploited, masters and workers. The laws of society persecute a person from birth to death. They push people to crimes, callousness, dishonesty. Vaska Ashes stole and steals. From the very birth, his destiny was predetermined. This is how he himself says about it: “My path is indicated to me! My parent spent his whole life in prisons and ordered me the same ... When I was little, I was called a thief, a thief's son at that time ... ”Anna dies in terrible agony. Until the very last moment, she believes in her recovery: "And ... maybe ... maybe I will recover?" But her spirit, her inner faith is undermined by the words of the inhabitants of the shelter: “For what? For flour again? " The Actor finally gets drunk. They can no longer rise! But these are people who once knew and
another life. Now what do they have left? Probably just faith. “We have no name! Even dogs have nicknames, but we don't! " - exclaims the Actor with bitter feeling. And in this exclamation, the intolerable insult of a person thrown overboard life. Everything was taken from them, from these forgotten people, but they could not take away faith, faith in the best. Gorky himself possessed this quality, he endowed his heroes with it.
The wanderer Luka, who appears in the play, managed to plant and ignite a spark of hope and dream in everyone's heart. He lit it in the Actor, which then burst into flame, into the flame of salvation. The actor believed in a hospital where he could recover from alcoholism. Vaska Peplu Luka advises to start a new life - an honest life, without theft. But did Luke's philosophy help anyone? After his departure, the life of the night lodgers became even more difficult. These people are so broken that they can no longer change anything in their destiny. The hope dropped by Luke only further inflamed their wounds. They, in general, have nothing to wait for. The old man lit a ray of hope in their hearts, beckoned, but did not show the way.
Like a nutshell, Tick's dreams of a better time are crushed, and as a result we see him fall extremely low. Never again will he get out of here. And we, the readers, feel uncomfortable with these words.
The play says: you can't live like that!
The author puts many of his thoughts into the mouth of Satin. A remarkable nature, a strong, clear mind perished in Satin. Proud words about a person have become winged, they make you believe that people deserve a better fate.
The play "At the Bottom" is imbued with an ardent, passionate appeal to love a person, to make this name really sound proudly. No, there can be no happiness as long as a person is not free, as long as injustice reigns at every step. Man is worthy of happiness and freedom because he is a Man!
Gorky's play is not only a historical document, not just an outstanding creation of the human mind, it is a work that will again and again turn people's eyes to the eternal problems of kindness, mercy, and social justice.

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

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

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

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

One of the more pitiful denizens in the play, a former nobleman who squandered his fortune. He is thirty-three years old. He was once a wealthy aristocrat, but now he has sunk to the very bottom, to the position of a pimp. In the past, he has hundreds of serfs and carriages with coats of arms.

A woman sick with consumption, living out her last days, the wife of the laborer Tick. She is tired of a life in which she shakes over every piece of bread and walks in rags. At the same time, Anna constantly endures her husband's abuse. Anyone but her husband sympathizes with the poor thing.

One of the inhabitants of the flophouse, a cap, who lives there on credit. In the past, he was the owner of a dye shop. However, his wife got along with the master, after which he chose to leave in order to stay alive. Now he has sunk to the very bottom and does not want to retain any positive qualities in himself.

The hostess's sister, a kind and kind-hearted girl. Her image is markedly different from other guests. Natasha combines kindness, purity, dignity and pride. It was with these qualities that she charmed Vaska Pepla. The intrigue of the play is whether it will be able to preserve these qualities under the influence of a harsh and cruel environment.

One of the inhabitants of the flophouse in the play, a former telegraph operator. This person has his own philosophy of life. This makes it different from many other guests. He often uses buzzwords in speech, such as "macrobiotics", which indicates not his education.

One of the characters in the play; a resident of a flop; ravioli trader. Kvashnya is a kind woman, which can be understood from her attitude in sick Anna, whom even her husband does not regret. She often feeds the patient, takes care of her.

One of the dwellers of the flophouse in the play, a fallen woman dreaming of romantic love. Despite being a prostitute, she dreams of pure and devoted love. However, it is surrounded by poverty, despair and humiliation.

One of the lodgers of the shelter, a locksmith by profession, Anna's husband. At the beginning of the play, he idealizes hard work, considering this the only way out of the situation. He dreams of returning to normal life through honest work. The mite is opposed to other residents of the house, who prefer to do nothing.

The play "At the Bottom" was created by Maxim Gorky especially for the troupe of the Moscow Art Theater, and initially did not look in the eyes of the author as an independent literary work. However, the power of psychological embodiment, acute, to some extent even scandalous, theme of the work, brought the play "At the Bottom" to the rank of the strongest dramatic works.

"At the Bottom" is a kind of continuation of the theme of the humiliated and insulted in Russian literature. The author tells about the thoughts and feelings of people who, by the will of circumstances, found themselves at the very bottom of society. The very title of the work has the deepest meaning, which very accurately reflects the theme of the play.

The main characters and heroes of the play "At the Bottom"

From the first pages of the drama At the Bottom, a dark and unpleasant picture unfolds before us. A dark, dirty basement, which looks more like a primitive cave, is the home of many people who, for various reasons, found themselves at the bottom of social life. Many of them were rich, successful people in the past who broke under the pressure of fate, many continue their miserable existence here.

All of them are bound by the same fetters, which consist in the absence of any spiritual and cultural development. The residents of the shelter are tired of struggling with difficulties and submissively float along the course of life. Gorky vividly depicts people who are lost, who will never be able to rise from the “bottom”.

Thief Vaska Ashes does not try to change his life values, saying that he continues the thieves' path of his parents. The actor, who in fact was one of the most thoughtful inhabitants of the flophouse, unable to apply his philosophical reflections in practice, finally gets drunk.

She died in terrible agony Anna, who nevertheless sacredly believed in recovery until the last moment of her life. But like every society, even at the very bottom there was a man who tried to reassure and ignite the fire of faith in the souls of the disadvantaged.

The priest was such a hero Luke... He tried to instill in people the belief in salvation, pushed them to feel the strength in themselves and get out of the lower ranks of society. However, no one heard him. After the death of the priest, the existence of people became even more unbearable, they lost that weak thin thread of hope, which was still in their souls.

It destroyed dreams Mite about a better life, and he was the first to surrender in his struggle for existence. The hope that at least someone would be able to get out of here was completely trampled. The inhabitants did not have the strength to follow the light that Luke showed them.

The tragedy of society in the play

Using the heroes as an example, the author shows how people cannot live. And this does not in any way concern their fall, since no one in life is immune from this. But once at the bottom, no one has the right to obey circumstances, but on the contrary, this should serve as a powerful impetus for a better life.

“At the Bottom” can be regarded as a kind of historical chronicle. The situation described in the play was quite common at the beginning of the century.