Conflicts in the play are on the bottom of the table. What is the social conflict?

The works of M. Gorky occupy a very special place in the history of Russian drama. The writer turned to the theater at the very beginning of the 20th century and became a true continuer of the traditions of Russian drama XIX century. Gorky believed that the main purpose of drama is to depict “man and people”, to reflect the influence of fate on the development and formation human personality. In addition, Gorky’s works contain features characteristic of the genre philosophical drama. They were most vividly reflected in the play “At the Bottom,” which was written in 1902.

It was in this work that Gorky managed to combine the real destinies of people and abstract philosophical concepts.

Behind the external conflict of the work, an internal conflict is clearly visible, which becomes the main one and helps the most in the best possible way reveal the characters' characters, and, in addition, contributes to the deepest perception of the main meaning of the play. External conflict shown through love triangle(Natasha – Ashes – Kostylevs). But this intrigue is only a backdrop for the development of action based on an internal philosophical conflict (Luke - roommates - Satin). It is the internal conflict that becomes the basis of dramatic action. This conflict is based on the philosophical reasoning of the inhabitants of the shelter about Man and his capabilities.

The writer was very deeply concerned with the idea of ​​what it should be like real man who he is on this planet.

Once in his letter to Chekhov, Gorky noted that it is very difficult to love, help and feel sorry for the “trashy midges with guts” that all people are. But at the same time, Gorky had an unshakable faith in Man, as well as in his strength of spirit. The writer called Man the best, most complex and most interesting creature on Earth. Author's reflections on the essence of Man, his morality and spiritual world became the basis internal conflict plays.

The work captures the awakening human soul, albeit partial, completely timid. Speaking in a harsh manner, Bubnov speaks about himself and about other night shelters, expressing their common feature: once at the “bottom”, people are deprived of all the attributes of civilized life, leaving “one naked man”, such as he is. Maybe that's why tramps are drawn to some general principles and concepts. The author calls them “reluctant philosophers”; these unfortunate people are still capable of dreaming of a brighter future. Kleshch wants to achieve success through hard work, Nastya dreams of love as salvation, Natasha is waiting for a hero, Anna prays to God. In the simple and naive judgments of tramps, the answers to the most complex questions about the nature and fate of man are hidden.

There is another type of character in the play. Satin, Baron and Bubnov have come to terms with their own position as cheaters and do not seek to change anything in their fate. They talk deeply about the meaning of life, yearn for truth and freedom. These heroes are naturally endowed with a lively mind, but do not strive for action.

At the end of the second act of the play, Elder Luke appears. It's smart and extraordinary person, who has vast experience and a keen interest in people. He strives to understand every person, sees not only the mistakes of other people, but is able to discern their bright qualities. Luka doesn’t just feel sorry for people, he believes in them and sincerely wants to help everyone.

However, Luke's position is such that he is ready to accept any life situation and adapt to it. Luke passively waits for good, without trying to correct the specific state of affairs. He offers the homeless shelters his help, which simply helps them adapt to need and misfortune. Luke gives people the illusory hope that everything will work out on its own. When these illusions collapse, the old man quietly disappears.

In the last act of the play, all the consequences of the experience are revealed. Gorky is especially interested in the fermentation of the lazy thoughts of the night shelters, so the question of Man is raised with particular force in the last act. Of course, the characters in the play did not become different at one moment, the author simply showed their painful thoughts, which, meanwhile, will not change anything in their lives. However, this does not diminish the meaning of their words, because they have been accumulating in people’s souls for so long.

Satin’s words about Man resonate in a special way. This is a kind of hymn to human capabilities and dignity. Despite the fact that Satin is usually indifferent to people and their misfortunes, he is firmly convinced that Man is a strong and wise creature worthy of respect. Satin opposes the saving lie that Luke used. He believes that truth is the only God of a free person. At the same time, Satin understands that his words do not apply to the specific inhabitants of the shelter, because these people are not able to fight for their honor and dignity. For Satin, Man is absolutely all the people on the planet.

1. Realism of the play “At the Bottom”.
2. Heroes of the work.
3. The author’s attitude towards the inhabitants of the “bottom”.

M. Gorky's play “At the Lower Depths” - shining example realistic work. The writer is already abandoning the romantic tendencies that were characteristic of his work. The realistic principle attracts the writer; he pays a lot of attention to socio-philosophical conflicts. Gorky himself can be called one of the most talented writers of its time. He brilliantly portrayed human characters; we have not the slightest reason to doubt their veracity. No less vividly Gorky depicted the everyday life against which the events unfold. Life in Gorky is not just a collection of various details in the description of the situation. No, everyday life takes on special significance and grows to global proportions. It is no coincidence that life and existence are words of the same root. The living conditions in which a person happens to live necessarily influence his character and worldview.

The play “At the Bottom” is very interesting primarily for its characters. These are typical inhabitants of the “bottom”, as the name itself says. The life of all the inhabitants of the shelter was far from the best. They have nothing good, bright, or joyful. These people occupy the lowest rung of the social ladder. They have no illusions about their life; on the contrary, they are aware of the hopelessness of their existence. The peculiarity of the play “At the Lower Depths” is that it has no beginning or ending, which, in essence, contradicts this genre. There is no main plot conflict in the play. But there is a socio-philosophical conflict. And it is revealed not in actions, but in conversations. There is much more talk in the play than action. You could even say that there are practically no actions as such.

We understand well the philosophy of all the inhabitants of the “bottom”. They do not hide their beliefs. The limitations, wretchedness, and insignificance of their characters are obvious. The inhabitants of the “bottom” are cruel to each other. We see neither sympathy, nor respect, nor even friendly affections from them. A phrase such as “you’re a fool, Nastya...” seems to them something self-evident and quite normal. Normal human compassion alien to the heroes of the play. Kleshch's wife is dying, but no one is trying to tell her she's unhappy kind word. All the heroes of the work are cruel both to themselves and to others. And unhappy in this cruelty. Each hero has his own truth, or, conversely, the lack thereof.

The tick says: “What a truth! Where is the truth? That's the truth! No work... no power! That's the truth! Shelter... there is no shelter! You have to breathe... here it is, the truth! Devil! Why... what do I need it for - really? Let me breathe... let me breathe! Why am I to blame?.. Why do I need the truth? Living is the devil - you can’t live... this is the truth!.. Speak here - the truth! You, old man, console everyone... I'll tell you... I hate everyone! And this truth... damn it, damn it! Understood? Understand! Damn her! Social contradictions give rise to such an attitude towards life. Kleshch has nothing - no work, no shelter, no future. He doesn't need the truth, he doesn't see the meaning in his life. The bearer of a different philosophical principle is Luke. He does not try to seek the truth; faith in God is enough for him. This worldview allows the old man to put up with the hardships of life.

The play “At the Bottom” can be interpreted in two ways. On the one hand, the work can be interpreted as a harbinger of revolution. This is precisely the perception that was traditional quite recently. The play was viewed through the lens of social change. Unhappy disadvantaged people were considered carriers revolutionary ideas. After all, their life was very bad, and the revolution could bring something good. The revolution would entail social changes, which would have a beneficial effect on the inhabitants of the “bottom”.

Now this interpretation of the work no longer seems unambiguous. After all, Gorky does not use direct calls for revolution. It only shows the unfortunate disadvantaged people. They have neither the strength nor the desire to change anything in life. Even if attempts are made, as for example by the Actor, they still turn out to be useless. The inhabitants of the “bottom” have no moral values. They are closed in on themselves, they are not interested in the people around them. They mockingly laugh at each other, as if they do not understand that by doing so they are humiliating themselves. Society has rejected all the inhabitants of the “bottom”; they have no moral principle that could become a support for further revival. Outcasts from society are not able to be reborn; their destiny is further degradation. The debates about life waged by the characters in the play are speculative and abstract. They do not know real life because she walked past them. They do not know the beautiful, the sublime, the pure and the bright. Gorky calls the characters in the play “former people.” And he says that the work was the result of his “almost twenty years of observation of the world” former people" The author has no empathy or sympathy for his characters. And they don’t have high aspirations. And any attempts to save your inner world V best case scenario can be a departure into the world of dreams and illusions. Nastya is reading romance novels so as not to notice the wretchedness real life. The absence of high aspirations reveals the wretchedness and degradation of the tramps, the inhabitants of the bottom. Using their example, Gorky shows that lack of ideas and lack of will can never bring positive results. The life of the inhabitants of the “bottom” is meaningless, and they have no future.

Literature lesson in 11th grade

Features of genre and conflict in M. Gorky’s play “At the Depths”

Lesson objectives: show Gorky's innovation; identify the components of genre and conflict in a play; prepare students for the Unified State Exam.

Methodical techniques: analytical conversation.

During the classes

I. Conversation on the content of the play “At the Depths”

Some of Nietzsche's philosophical and aesthetic ideas were reflected in Gorky's early romantic works. The central image of early Gorky is a proud and strong personality, embodying the idea of ​​freedom. Therefore, Danko, who sacrifices himself for the sake of people, is on a par with the drunkard and thief Chelkash, who does not perform any feats for the sake of anyone. “Strength is virtue,” Nietzsche asserted, and for Gorky, the beauty of a person lies in strength and deeds, even aimless ones: strong man has the right to be “beyond good and evil”, to be outside of ethical principles, like Chelkash, and a feat, from this point of view, is resistance to the general flow of life.

After the series romantic works In the 90s, full of rebellious ideas, Gorky created a play that became, perhaps, the most important link in the entire philosophical and artistic system of the writer - the drama “At the Lower Depths” (1902). Let's see what heroes inhabit the “bottom” and how they live.

How is the scene depicted?

(The location of the action is described in the author’s notes. In the first act it is “a cave-like basement”, “heavy, stone vaults, smoked, 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 night shelters from the basement window, as if looking for people among the basement inhabitants. Thin partitions fence off Ash's room. "Everywhere along the walls there are bunks." Apart from Kvashnya, Baron and Nastya, who live in the kitchen, no one has their own corner whom. Everything is on display in front of each other, a secluded place is only on the stove and behind the chintz canopy separating the dying Anna’s bed from the others (by this she is already, as it were, separated from life). There is dirt everywhere: “dirty chintz canopy,” unpainted and dirty tables and benches , stool, tattered cardboard, pieces of oilcloth, rags.

The third act takes place in an early spring evening in a vacant lot, “littered with various rubbish and a yard overgrown with weeds.” Let's pay attention to the coloring of this place: the dark wall of a “barn or stable”, the “gray wall of a shelter covered with the remains of plaster”, the red wall of a brick firewall covering the sky, the reddish light of the setting sun, black elderberry branches without buds.

In the setting fourth act Significant changes are taking place: the partitions of Ash’s former room are broken, the Tick’s anvil has disappeared. The action takes place at night, and the light is from outside world no longer breaks into the basement - the scene is illuminated by a lamp standing in the middle of the table. However, the last “act” of the drama takes place in a vacant lot - there the Actor hanged himself.)

What kind of people live in the shelter?(People who have sunk to the bottom of life end up in a shelter. This is the last refuge for tramps, marginalized people, “former people”. All social strata of society are here: the bankrupt nobleman Baron, the owner of the shelter Kostylev, the policeman Medvedev, the mechanic Kleshch, the cap maker Bubnov, the merchant Kvashnya , the sharper Satin, the prostitute Nastya, the thief Ash. Everyone is equalized by the position of the dregs of society. Here live very young (shoemaker Alyoshka is 20 years old) and not yet old people (the oldest, Bubnov, is 45 years old). However, their life is almost over. The dying Anna is presented to us as an old woman , and she turns out to be 30 years old.

Many night shelters do not even have names, only nicknames remain, expressively describing their bearers. The appearance of the dumpling seller Kvashnya, the character of Kleshch, and the Baron’s ambition are clear. The actor once wore sonorous surname Sverchkov-Zadunaisky, and now there are almost no memories left - “I forgot everything.”)

What is the subject of the play? What is the conflict of the drama?

Reference: Sharp conflict situation, playing out in front of the audience, is the most important feature of drama as a type of literature.

(The subject of the drama “At the Bottom” is the consciousness of people thrown out as a result of deep social processes, to the “bottom” of life. Social conflict has several levels in the play. The social poles are clearly marked: on one, the owner of the shelter, Kostylev, and the policeman Medvedev, who supports his power, on the other, the essentially powerless roomies. Thus, the conflict between the authorities and the disenfranchised people is obvious. This conflict hardly develops, because the Kostylevs and Medvedevs are not so far from the inhabitants of the shelter.

^ Each of the night shelters experienced his own social conflict in the past, as a result of which he found himself in a humiliating position.)

What brought its inhabitants to the shelter - Satin, Baron,Klesch, Bubnov, Actor, Nastya, Ash? What is the backstory of these characters?

(Satin fell “to the bottom” after serving time in prison for murder: “He killed a scoundrel in passion and irritation... because sister"; The Baron went bankrupt; Kleshch lost his job: “I” am a working man... I have been working since an early age”; Bubnov left home “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 heavy drunkard, “would have drunk away the workshop”; the Actor became an alcoholic, “drank away his soul..., died”; Ash’s fate was predetermined already at his birth: “I have been a thief since I was a child... everyone always told me: Vaska is a thief, a thief’s son Vaska!" The Baron talks about the stages of his fall in more detail than others (act four): "It seems to me that all my life I was just changing clothes... why? I don’t understand! I studied - I wore the uniform of a noble institute... but what did I study? I remember... I got married, put on a tailcoat, then a robe... and took a nasty wife and - For what? I don’t understand... I lived through everything I had - I wore some kind of gray jacket and red trousers... and how did I go broke? I didn’t notice... He served in the government chamber. .. uniform, cap with a cockade... squandered government money - they put a prisoner's robe on me... then - put on this... And everything... like in a dream... huh? That's funny?" Each stage of the thirty-three-year-old Baron’s life seems to be marked by a certain costume. These changes symbolize the gradual decline social status, and nothing stands behind these “dressing up”; life passed “like in a dream.”)

What is the peculiarity of the social conflict of each inhabitant of the shelter?

How social conflict interconnected with dramaturgical?(These social conflicts are taken off stage, pushed into the past; they do not become the basis of a dramatic conflict. We observe only the result of off-stage conflicts.)

What kind of conflicts, other than social ones, are highlighted in the play?

(There is a traditional love conflict in the play. It is determined by the relationship between Vaska Pepla, Vasilisa, the wife of the owner of the shelter, Kostylev and Natasha, Vasilisa’s sister. The exposition of this conflict - a conversation between the shelters, from which it is clear that Kostshev is looking for his wife Vasilisa in the shelter, who is cheating on him with Vaska Pepl. The origin of this conflict - the appearance of Natasha in the rooming house, for whose sake Ashes leaves Vasilisa. During development love conflict 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 off stage: at the end of the third act, we learn from Kvashnya’s words that “they boiled the girl’s legs with boiling water.” - Vasilisa knocked over the samovar and scalded Natasha’s feet. The murder of Kostylev by Vaska Ash turns out to be tragic ending love conflict. Natasha stops believing Ash: “They are at the same time! Damn you! You both...")

What is unique about a love conflict?

(A love conflict becomes a facet of a social conflict. It shows that anti-human conditions cripple a person, and even love does not save a person, but leads to tragedy: death, injury, murder, hard labor. As a result, Vasilisa alone achieves all her goals: takes revenge ex-lover Ash and her rival sister Natasha, gets rid of her unloved and disgusted husband and becomes the sole mistress of the shelter. There is nothing human left in Vasilisa, and this shows the monstrosity of the social conditions that disfigured both the inhabitants of the shelter and its owners. The night shelters are not directly involved in this conflict, they are only third-party spectators.)

^ P. The teacher's word

The conflict in which all the heroes participate is of a different kind. Gorky depicts the consciousness of people at the “bottom”. The plot unfolds not so much in external action - in everyday life, how many characters there are in the dialogues. It is the conversations of the night shelters that determine the development of the dramatic conflict. The action is transferred to a non-event series. This is typical for the genre of philosophical drama.

So, the genre of the play can be defined as a socio-philosophical drama.

^III Test yourself

Read the fragment below from M, Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths” and complete tasks A11 -A15; AT 9 - AT 12.

Actor(stops, without closing the door, on the threshold and, holding the doorframes with his hands, shouts) - Old man, hey! Where are you? I remembered... listen.

(Staggering, he takes two steps forward and, assuming a pose, reads.)

Gentlemen! If the truth is holy

The world doesn't know how to find a way -

Honor the madman who inspires

A golden dream for humanity!

^ Natasha appears behind the Actor at the door.-

Actor. Old man!..

If tomorrow our land were the way

Our sun forgot to illuminate

Tomorrow I would illuminate the whole world

The thought of some madman...

Natasha (laughs) Scarecrow! Got drunk...

Actor(turning to her) Ah, is that you? Where's the old man?… dear old man? Apparently, there is no one here... Natasha, goodbye! Goodbye... - Yes!

Natasha(entering). You didn't say hello, but you said goodbye...

Actor(blocks her way). I'm leaving, I'm leaving. Spring will come - and I will no longer be...

Natasha. Let me go... where are you going?

Actor. Look for a city... get treatment... You, too, leave... Ophelia go to the monastery..- You see - there is a hospital for organisms for drunkards... An excellent hospital... Marble... marble floor! Light... cleanliness, food... everything for free! And marble floor, yes! I will find her, I will be cured and... I will be again...I on the way to rebirth... as said... King... Lear! Natasha... on stage my name is Sverchkov-Zavolzhsky... no one knows this, no one! I don't have them here. “Do you understand!” How offensive is it to lose your name? Even the dogs have nicknames...

^ Natasha carefully walks around the Actor, stops at Anna’s bed, and looks.

Actor. Without a name there is no person...

When completing tasks All-A15, in answer form No. 1, under the number of the task you are performing, put the sign “ X "in the box whose number corresponds to the number of the answer you chose.

A11 . What is the genre of M. Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths”?

political satire


comedy of manners


socio-philosophical drama
4)vaudeville

A12. This scene takes place

after Luka told the Actor about the hospital


just before Luka leaves the shelter


after Satin’s monologue “Man sounds... proud”


after the murder of Kostylev

A13. What influenced the change in the Actor?

threats from Kostylev and Vasilisa


"naked truth" Bubnova


Luke's stories about a better life


Satin's journalistic speeches

A14 . In this scene the main problem is

rich and poor


human dignity


the role of art in human life


present and past of Russia

A15 . The main means of creating characters' characters is?

portraits of heroes


speech of heroes


internal monologues

When completing tasks B9-B12, write down your answer in answer form No. 1 to the right of the number of the corresponding task, starting from the first cell. The answer must be given in the form of a word, phrase or numbers. Write each word or number legibly in a separate box. Write the words without spaces, punctuation marks or quotation marks, and place a comma between numbers in a separate box.

AT 9. The Actor's speech is a detailed statement. What is this type of utterance called in a dramatic work?

AT 10 O'CLOCK. The development of action in this scene is accompanied by the author's comments. Indicate the term used to denote author's comments in a dramatic work.

AT 11. The actor utters a bright, succinct, laconic phrase:« Without a name there is no person.” What is this type of saying called?

AT 12. In the Actor’s speech there are many hidden quotes from classical tragedies (a fragment from the words “Look for a city...”). Indicate the name of the great playwright whose works the Actor recalls.

IVHomework

Identify Luke's role in the play. Write down his statements about people, about life, about truth, about faith

The creative concept of the play “At the Lower Depths” dates back to the very beginning of 1900. M. Gorky was going to create a “cycle of dramas” of four plays, each of which was dedicated to depicting a certain layer of Russian society. About the last of them he writes in mid-1901 to K.P. Pyatnitsky: “Another one: tramps. Tatar, Jew, actor, hostess of a rooming house, thieves, detective, prostitutes. It will be scary. I already ready plans, I see faces, figures, hear voices, speeches, motives for actions - are clear, everything is clear!..” Conceiving the play as a description of the life of the poorest population of Russian cities, Gorky first of all defined it as a socio-philosophical drama in which the main thing is conflict people who find themselves at the bottom of their lives with the outside world. In one of the handwritten editions the play was called: “At the Bottom of Life.” But at the same time, these people are also at the bottom of feelings and thoughts, each of them has to fight the decline in themselves. These conflicts develop in parallel throughout the play.

At the beginning of the play we see the inhabitants of the flophouse, dissatisfied with life, ourselves, each other. Many of them used to live better, but ended up here because of some misfortune. So, Baron and Satin ended up here after prison, Bubnov left his wife, leaving her his workshop, the Actor became an alcoholic. Some, for example Nastya, have never seen another life. Some have already come to terms with this situation and understand that it is impossible to rise from the bottom, while others hope that all this is happening to them temporarily. So, Kleshch thinks that after his wife’s death he will work hard and be able to provide himself with a better existence. He believes that if you live “honorably,” you can achieve anything. The actor, on the contrary, tries to find peace in alcohol, thereby further aggravating his plight. He no longer expects to leave this shelter and remembers his former life with bitterness. And now, among these oppressed people, an outsider appears - Luka, a wandering old man without a passport. Full of compassion for all people, he brings hope to many of the shelter's inhabitants. Anna, Kleshch's wife, lies dying and experiences terrible suffering. And this old man makes it easier for her last hours. Expecting the same torment after death, she hopefully hears his words: “Nothing will happen! Nothing! Believe it! Calm down and nothing more!..” He tells the actor about the existence of a free hospital for alcoholics, and he even abstained from drinking for one day and worked sweeping the street. Luke advises Ash to go with Natasha to Siberia and start a new life there. The inhabitants of the shelter begin to feel confident that they can break free from the captivity of a hard life. And here the author raises deeply philosophical question: “Do these people need lies?” After all most of Luke's words are a lie spoken out of pity, with the goal of comforting and helping. He also supports Nastya in her stories about “ true love”, although it is quite obvious that nothing like this happened to her, that all this was read from books. The answer to this question can be found in the words of Satin: “Whoever is weak at heart... and who lives on other people’s juices - those who need lies... some are supported by it, others hide behind it... And who is their own master... who is independent and doesn’t eat someone else’s food - why would he lie? Lies are the religion of slaves and masters... Truth is the god of a free man!” The response is the entire development of the action. We see the collapse of all hopes: Anna dies, and Kleshch’s instruments are sold out for her funeral - he is left without a livelihood; Vaska Pepel kills Kostylev in a fight, which, apparently, will lead him to prison; The Tatar crushed his hand and lost his job. It seems that Luke brought only worse changes into their lives, since after his departure the situation in the shelter becomes even more deplorable than at the beginning of the play. These tramps sank even deeper to the “bottom”, they lost another clash with their fate, and finally lost faith in their strength. All this is emphasized at the end of the play. The actor, deprived of Luka's support and constantly convinced by Satin that all the talk about a free hospital for alcoholics is a lie, commits suicide. And, as an illustration of the hopelessness of the situation of the night shelters, Satin’s ordinary words sound: “Eh... ruined the song... stupid cancer!”

Taking as the basis of his play the conflict between the lower classes of society and their difficult life, Gorky managed to fulfill main task- show all the facets of the existence of these people who remain “at the bottom” for a long time or forever, all possible manifestations of their characters. We see the practical impossibility of any positive changes in their lives, despite all their efforts and hopes, since they are not free people. A free person, according to Gorky, must boldly face the truth, and not find consolation in beautiful lies, being content with his position. And only when a person becomes free will he be able to overcome difficulties and escape from the abyss of the shelter. Only then can hopes for better life not only for one person, but for the whole society.

Topic: Features of genre and conflict in M. Gorky’s play “At the Depths”

Goals:

Educational:

1) study the history of the creation of the play;

2) identify the genre nature of the play;

3) identify the features of the conflict.

Educational:

• improve the skills of systematically complex analysis of a dramatic work;
• develop skills in independently searching for information on this topic;

Educational

• to cultivate a culture of mental work among students based on such mental operations as analysis, synthesis, grouping, and comparison.

Lesson type: lesson-lecture with elements of conversation on the plot and genre originality plays.

Equipment:

• computer (presentation in Microsoft program Power Point 2007-2010);
• video projector, screen.

During the classes

Organizing time.

1. Introduction.

Today you got acquainted with M. Gorky’s novel “Mother,” which became, perhaps, the main work of Gorky the novelist. Now we will get acquainted with the dramatic works of M. Gorky. Your homework was to read the play “At the Bottom.” Let's turn to her.

1. A word about the creation of the play.

In 1900, when artists from the Art Theater traveled to Crimea to show Chekhov his plays “The Seagull” and “Uncle Vanya,” they met Gorky. The head of the theater, Nemirovich-Danchenko, told them that the theater had the task of not only “captivating Chekhov with its art, but also infecting Gorky with the desire to write a play.”

The following year, Gorky donated his play “The Bourgeois” to the Art Theater. First performance of Gorky's play Art Theater took place on March 26, 1902, in St. Petersburg, where the theater went on a spring tour. Appeared on stage for the first time new hero: revolutionary worker, machinist Nile, a man aware of his strength, confident of victory. And although the censorship erased all the “dangerous” passages from the play, and also erased Neil’s words: “The master is the one who works!”, “rights are not given, rights are taken,” nevertheless, the play as a whole sounded like a call for freedom, struggle .

The government feared that the performance had turned into a revolutionary demonstration. During the dress rehearsal of the play, the theater was surrounded by police, and policemen in disguise were stationed in the theater; Mounted gendarmes were riding around in the square in front of the theater.

Almost simultaneously with the play "The Bourgeois" Gorky was working on a second play, "At the Depths." In August 1902, Gorky handed over the play to Nemirovich-Danchenko. Rehearsals began, and Gorky now often had to visit Moscow. The actors and the director worked with enthusiasm, went to the Khitrov market, to the shelters where tramps lived, and Gorky talked a lot about the lives of his heroes, helping to better understand their lives and habits.

O. L. Knipper-Chekhova recalled how at one of the rehearsals Gorky said:“I read “At the Lower Depths” in the rooming house, to the real Baron, the real Nastya. You understand! They cried in the rooming house, shouting: “We are worse!”... They kissed me, hugged me...”On December 18, 1902, the play premiered. They endlessly called actors, directors, and the author. The performance turned into a stormy celebration of A. M. Gorky; he went on stage excited, confused - he did not expect such success. Large, slightly stooped, he frowned and, out of embarrassment, forgot to throw away the cigarette he was holding in his teeth, forgot that he had to bow.

1. Conversation on the content of the play (orally):

Questions for the class:

1. What is it built on? story line works?
2. Who are the inhabitants of the shelter? Name them.
3. Who is Klesh? What is known about him?
4. Who is Luka? Satin?

Luke

An elderly man (60 years old), a traveling preacher who consoles everyone, promises everyone deliverance from suffering, says to everyone: “You hope!”, “You believe!” Luka is an extraordinary personality, he has a great life experience and a keen interest in people. He doesn’t believe in anything, but he feels sorry for suffering people, so he tells them various comforting words. His whole philosophy is contained in the saying: “What you believe is what you believe.”

Satin

Unemployed man (40 years old). He loves incomprehensible, rare words, because... I used to serve in the telegraph office, read a lot and was educated person. The hero expresses author's position, he is far from the philosophy of Christian patience, for him there is one proudly sounding word - a person who “pays for everything himself: for faith, for unbelief, for love, for intelligence - a person pays for everything himself, and therefore he is free.” He understands social injustice more clearly than others. He claims that a person needs the truth, whatever it may be!

Kostylev and Vasilisa

The figure of the hostel owner Kostylev (54), one of the “masters of life”, who is ready to squeeze the last penny even from his unfortunate and disadvantaged guests, is disgusting. His wife Vasilisa (26 years old) is just as disgusting with her immorality, she “has no soul,” she is “greedy for money.”

Vaska Ash

A young man (28 years old) is a hereditary thief, thirsty right life, he wants to become an honest and decent person, because... for a living, Ash earns his living through dishonest labor, he wants to fix all this. Vaska dreams of a free life in Siberia. And he thinks that by marrying Natasha, he will get what he wants. But in the end, having killed Kostylev, he goes to prison.

Natasha

Natasha – 20 years old, Vasilisa’s sister. Quiet, kind girl. She is full of passionate dreams about the future. Natasha wants to leave the shelter, to get out of this “bottom of life,” but she cannot. They want to marry Natasha to Ash, but the girl understands that nothing good will come of this. After all, Vaska treated her sister badly, which means he can do the same to her. She never got married, because... After beating his sister, he ends up in the hospital, and from there he leaves in an unknown direction.

Baron and Nastya

Nastya is a young girl (20 years old) who passionately desires big, true love. True, her dreams cause malicious ridicule among those around her. Even her partner Baron makes fun of her. Nastya suffers from her hopelessness and still wants to go to the ends of the world.

Baron (33) is the only person who has no illusions about liberation. But he has a thread: “It’s all in the past!” If there is nothing ahead, then at least there is something behind. The Baron often recalled his origins ( old surname, houses in Moscow and St. Petersburg, carriages with coats of arms, etc.). But Nastya mocks him and says that none of this happened. “I understand what a person is like when they don’t believe him?”

Klesh and Anna

Andrey Mitrich (40 years old) is a mechanic, dreams of honest work. He hopes more than anyone to escape from this hole (“I’ll get out... I’ll rip off my skin, but I’ll get out!”), that this is not the end, but a temporary fall. Klesh thinks that after his wife's death, his life will become easier. He awaits her death as liberation!

Anna (30 years old) – his wife, seriously ill, near death. She considers herself the most unhappy woman. She is crushed by life, full of suffering and useless to anyone.

Actor

In the past he was a famous actor, but soon he fell into disrepair, became an alcoholic and even forgot his name! He is often absorbed in memories of his past glory. His only dream is to find the city that Luke talked about, where there is a free hospital for alcoholics. After all, he still hopes to return to the stage. But having learned that there is no “ righteous land” and there is no hospital, the actor commits suicide, because... cannot bear the collapse of his last hope.

1. Have you noticed the similarities between Gorky’s “people of the bottom” and the “little man”? What is it? How are they different?

(There are similarities. Both “little people” and people of the “bottom” - “humiliated and insulted” by life social types. However, the situation of the heroes of Gorky's play is much worse. The “little people” had hope (remember Gogol’s Bashmachkin or the hero-ideologists F.M. Dostoevsky), the “people of the bottom” have no such hope. There is nowhere to fall further).

1. What is the similarity between “people of the bottom” and the heroes of “vagrant stories”, for example, the story “Chelkash”, with which you are familiar?

(The heroes of the play are also tramps. But there is no romance here anymore. Chelkash is a romantic image, he is a strong, strong-willed character. For him, the main thing is the sea and freedom. In the play, there is no romanticization of reality. The people of the “flopshouse” argue about the truth, but he they don’t know what it means.)

1. Who really argues with Luke: Satin or the author himself?

1. Is the play “At the Bottom” an innovative work?
2. How would you define genre? Which dramatic genres You know?

Comedy, drama, tragedy, vaudeville, melodrama. “At the Bottom” is a drama. In the tragedy d.b. heroes and ideologists. Their conflict with society must become ideological. Remember, for example, the conflict between Katerina Kabanova and “ dark kingdom(Ostrovsky’s “The Thunderstorm”) or Larisa Ogudalova’s conflict with the world of predatory merchants (“Dowry” by Ostrovsky). There is no such thing here. The actor shot himself - despair and lack of faith in his own strength. Luke leaves.)

1. What do you think is the salvation of people who have fallen “to the bottom” of life?

(Either go into the world of illusions, or fight for social injustice. Their salvation is social changes in Russia, this is what Gorky was leading the viewer to. 1917 will soon come. The proletariat will appear on the stage of history).

1. Lecture part:

In this new play The protest against capitalist society sounded even more sharply and boldly. Gorky showed in it a new, unfamiliar world - the world of tramps who have sunk to the very bottom of life.Gorky's play “At the Lower Depths” was written in 1902 for the troupe of the Moscow Art Public Theater. The name itself already has a huge meaning. People who have fallen to the bottom will never rise to the light, to a new life. The theme of the humiliated and insulted is not new in Russian literature. Here Gorky acts as a continuer of the traditions of Pushkin, Gogol, Nekrasov, Dostoevsky. However, the situation of Gorky’s “people of the bottom”, in contrast to the “little people,” is more depressing.

In the play, Gorky outlined the need for socio-historical changes that the revolution would bring.The play is based on an acute social conflict: the contradiction between a person’s actual position in society and his high purpose; the contradiction between the masses and the autocratic orders of landowner Russia, which reduce people to the tragic fate of vagabonds.

M. Gorky's play is innovative literary work. In its center - not only human destinies, so much a clash of ideas, a dispute about man, about the meaning of life.

Social conflict is expressed at several levels:

1. Conflict between the owners of the shelter, the Kostylev spouses, and the inhabitants of this shelter
2. Each of their heroes experienced their own social situation in the past. conflict. But everyone's backstory remains in the past. Gorky leaves her behind the scenes. Their life dramas do not become the basis of a dramatic conflict.
3. The love line in the play is connected with the social one. Kostylev is looking for Vasilisa, who cheats on him with Vaska Ash. The beginning of a love conflict is Natasha’s arrival at the shelter. Vaska Pepel's love for Natasha revives him to life. Gorky shows that the anti-human conditions of the “bottom” cripple a person. Vasilisa takes revenge on her lover. Social inequality wins.

In terms of genre, the play is a drama.There are no ideological conflicts with society. Philosophical reflections the inhabitants of the shelter are not led anywhere, they do not become a rebellion against social. inequalities. The actor shot himself - despair and lack of faith in his own strength. Luka leaves.

The heroes of the play “At the Bottom” turned out to be generalized, collective images, although typical. Under the arches of the Kostylevo doss house there were people of very different characters and social status. They are all social. types. All heroes have nicknames instead of names.

M. Gorky offers readers two possible answers to the question of saving the night shelters:

1) go into the world of illusions and deceive yourself (but lies can only worsen the situation of rejected people.

2) fight social injustice (but there are no capable fighters “at the bottom”. The most they are capable of is cutting out the truth – the truth about a person!)

Two main problems in the play:

philosophical issues are reflected in the heroes’ disputes about man, goodness and truth, which raise the problem of humanism:

• human problem;
• the problem of truth

Conclusion.

The play “At the Bottom” is imbued with an ardent and passionate appeal to love a person, to make this name truly sound proud. The play had a huge political resonance, calling for the reconstruction of society, which was throwing people “to the bottom.”

Homework:

1. write out quotation characteristics heroes