At the bottom is the characterization of the baron quotes. Satin and the Baron - former intelligent people (based on the play by M. Gorky "at the bottom")

The drama "At the Bottom" is a landmark work in creative biography Gorky. A description of the heroes of the play "At the Bottom" 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 economic crisis broke out. The masses of impoverished, ruined peasants, after each crop failure, left the villages in search of earnings. 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 fact that people were in hopeless situation, found how to benefit from stinking cellars. 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.

Maxim Gorky throughout creative path interested in a person, a person, his secrets inner peace... 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 old world 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

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What ruined the lives of these people?

Addiction to alcohol killed the Actor. By his own admission, he used to have 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. The 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 flop dwellers 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 the 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 in the collapse of their lives. The baron, for example, could improve his affairs not by stealing state 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 console themselves?

Now they can only live with unrealizable hopes and illusions. The Baron, Bubnov and the Actor live on memories of the past. Dreams of true love the prostitute Nastya is amused. 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 their daily bread, since 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 true meaning 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, which 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 ... the wife will die ..." - he says. The actor, this chronic drunkard, hopes to find a luxury hospital in which miraculously health, strength, talent, memory and applause from the audience will return to him. Anna, an unhappy sufferer, dreams of bliss and peace afterlife, in which she will be rewarded, finally, 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 turn, life refutes the position 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 Ash defines true value 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's not hard to imagine them further destiny... 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", 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 appointment strong man- 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 your faith in creative forces, the ability and mind of a free person, Maxim Gorky asserted 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.

In the section on the question Characteristics of the Baron from the play "At the Bottom" by M. Gorky given by the author Ўliya Paderina the best answer is The Baron (33 years old) is a former nobleman who squandered his entire fortune and is now one of the most pitiful people in the hostel. Once a wealthy aristocrat who had sunk to the position of a pimp, the Baron left hundreds of serfs, carriages with coats of arms, coffee with cream far in the past. ...
This is what he himself says: "I was born in a" golden cradle "Since childhood, I did not feel the need for anything .... I was the only child in the family, and all the attention was paid only to me. There were constantly servants around, and I was not used to My parents died, and I got the whole inheritance. I can manage the household myself ... There are as many servants around, I eat all the same expensive dishes in the same expensive restaurants, I also play in gambling houses and salons. I squandered my fortune "
He understands very well that all this cannot be returned. In the play, the Baron is presented completely devastated, he does not believe in anything ...

The Baron is one of the most pitiful inhabitants of the flophouse in M. Gorky's play At the Bottom, 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. He tells about himself that he was born in a “golden cradle”, never needed anything, was the only child in the family, so all attention was paid only to him. He did not do anything himself, since the servants did everything for him. After the death of his parents, the Baron inherited the entire fortune. However, not knowing how to properly manage money, he wasted everything on expensive dishes in expensive restaurants, gambling houses and salons. He believed that he could manage the household himself, but he miscalculated.

Now he lives in a squalid shelter, does not believe in anything, is completely devastated, both materially and morally. Despite the fact that the Baron perfectly understands that the past cannot be returned, he loves to remember that life and talk about it, ignoring the ridicule of other inhabitants.

Other works on this topic:

1. Actor Actor - one of the characters in the play by M. Gorky "At the Bottom", an inhabitant of a flophouse. He does not give his real name, since he himself forgot it for a reason ...
2. Miserly Knight (Scenes from Chenston's tragicomedy “The covetous Knight”, 1830) Baron is the father of the young knight Albert; brought up by the old era, when to belong to chivalry meant before ...
3. Maxim Gorky had to think about the title for his social play... Initially, he had several options: "Little house", "Without sun", "Bottom", "At the bottom of life" and that's it ...
4. Vasilisa Vasilisa - a character in Gorky's play At the Bottom; the wife of the owner of the shelter Kostylev and the mistress of Vaska Pepla. Vasilisa is a cruel and domineering woman. She is younger than her husband ...
5. Luca Luca is one of the main actors in Maxim Gorky's play "At the Bottom", an ambiguous character, an elderly wanderer who unexpectedly appeared in a shelter. He has a rich ...

Young people tend to build "castles in the air", to dream about something. Few people in their youth come up with the idea that he will never achieve anything in life, will drag out a miserable existence or even sink to the very "bottom" of life. More often than not, people dream of eternal love, glory, comfortable life, service to the people and about simple human happiness. The play "At the Bottom" by M. Gorky is about such people, people who found themselves "at the bottom".

Initially, the play had another no less telling title "Without the Sun". Then this name was transformed into "Nochlezhka". But this option was also rejected by the author. After much thought, it is approved new variant- "At the bottom of my life." Just before the release of the play, in 1902, the title was reduced by one word. In the final version, the title turned out to be the most suitable of all previously announced. The play reflects many of the contradictions of the early twentieth century. It reflects both social and philosophical conflict. There is a place and love drama... The play is set in the Kostylevs' shelter, where "everything is unpainted and dirty", "stone vaults ... with fallen off plaster." The inhabitants of the "bottom" - the inhabitants of the Kostylevo shelter - were thrown out of their ranks by society. "Bottom" threatens stumbling, weak, unsettled people with moral or physical death. There were people with different characters, destinies and different social origin: worker and thief, bankrupt baron and drunken actor, woman prostitute and a righteous woman. At the first meeting with the inhabitants of the shelter, it is clear that suffering and very lonely people appear before us. Gorky deliberately does not give full biography heroes. We can build it only according to individual replicas. So what can we say about each hero?

In general, all the inhabitants of the shelter can be divided into three groups. The first are those who have come to terms with the status quo. Having found a saving dream, deceitful and unrealizable in their essence, they found an excuse for themselves in refusing an active life position... The second are those people who would like to start a new life, get out of the "bottom". And third, last way is Satin, taken apart from others. Let us now consider each group separately.

Representatives of the first group are Bubnov, Nastya, Baron, Actor and Anna. We learn about Bubnov from his stories: once he was the owner of a dye shop. His wife soon became friends with the master, and Bubnov, fearing for his life, chose to simply leave. According to his theory, the very environment in which a person is placed forms the latter, puts him in complete dependence in front of himself. Bubnov's truth is the truth of external circumstances, in which a person is denied personal initiative. Here we see a true adherent of fatalism. The environment that surrounds him is mean and dirty. There is no kind people, and therefore there is nothing to "paint" yourself.

Nastya is a girl of easy virtue. Despite all the cruelty, humiliation and insults, she did not despair, did not become cruel and soulless. On the contrary, she sincerely dreams of great and bright love. But in the reality surrounding her, there is no place for pure love, except for its nominal value on pieces of paper. Not wanting to take a sober look at reality, she created a past for herself, in which a great and pure love allegedly "lived". She presents her created world as the real one.

Baron - just like Nastya lives in the past, but unlike her, it really took place. From time to time, remembering his former state, his famous genus, The Baron is unable to deal with the difficult reality. He finds salvation from memories and bitterness of loss at the bottom of the glass. Copyright relationship to such a hero is expressed by the following phrase: "You cannot go far in the carriage of the past." So it is: the "carriage" of the Baron is standing in place, and he himself does not take any steps to change his life.

The actor is another inhabitant of the flophouse. The real name of the hero is not known. In the past, he is a representative of the creative intelligentsia, but now he is just a person "without a name." Remembering former glory, each time he paints her in brighter colors than she really was. Escapes from the bitter "truth of life" as well as previous hero- drunkenness.

The most pathetic and tragic character, in my opinion, is Anna. She is the hardest of all: she is sick and fading away every day. Gorkovskaya Anna is a collective image of an ordinary woman of the early twentieth century. She describes her life as follows: “I don’t remember when I was full ... I was shaking over every piece of bread ... All my life I trembled ... I was tormented ... as if I could not eat more than others ... All my life I walked in rags ... all my unhappy life.” Most likely she was born in an ordinary poor family. Then she got married, rather not so much out of love as out of necessity. The image of Anna is rather neutral, characterizing the general mass gray people: not doing evil in life, but not being themselves light image... She completely resigned herself to the surrounding reality, hoping only for happiness in the afterlife.

All these people, having sunk to the very bottom after many hardships, have become ruthless both to themselves and to others. In response to their complaints, they only receive laughter and bullying from others. The Baron, who lives at the expense of Nastya, amused by her fantasies and tears. Everyone is locked in his own grief and leads an endless story about him, not listening to those who may also need help.

The only one who believes in the ability to escape, to escape from the "bottom" is the Tick, a representative of the second group. Yes, he is angry with people, sometimes cruel to Anna - his wife. But the only one who sees salvation in exhausting, hard, but honest work: "I am a working person ... I am ashamed to look at them ... I have been working since I was young ... Do you think I will not get out of here? I'll get out ... I'll rip off my skin, but I'll get out. "

And finally the third, last group... Its only representative is Konstantin Satin. Why does he stand out among others? He is the bearer of the philosophy of the truth of life in a dispute with Luke. In his opinion, one should not give up, it is necessary to look openly at troubles and try to solve them. All we know about him is that in the present he is a card sharper. Previously, he worked as a telegraph operator, but after the crime he committed, he ended up at the bottom. In many ways, he stands out against the background of the general mass of "gray" bed-lodgers: with his remarks, education and intelligence. In a dispute with Luka, they are united by the fact that both stand on positions of respect for a person. But only everyone sees it in their own way. Satin, in his fiery monologue, claims that "lies are the religion of slaves and masters. Truth is the God of a free man." He is also against any compassion for a person: "We must respect a person! Do not regret ... do not humiliate him with pity." And therefore, apparently, he opens everyone's eyes to Luka's deception: the Actor assures that there are no free hospitals for alcoholics, Vaska Pepla jokingly pushes to a crime. And what did this truth lead to in the end? To the death of the Actor and the exile of Ashes to Siberia. That's the whole truth of Konstantin Satin.
The night shelters appear to us poor and wretched. None of them could get out of the "bottom", could not change anything in themselves. So they all remained to live out their short life "at the bottom".

Bubnov's image

Capsule, one of the inhabitants of the shelter. We learn that in the past he was the owner of a dye shop. But circumstances changed, his wife got along with the master, and he had to leave to stay alive. Now this man has sunk to the very bottom. B.'s position is skepticism, fatalism; he always belittles a person. He is cruel, does not want to retain any good qualities in himself. There is not a drop of compassion in him. To the dying Anna's request to behave more quietly, he replies: "noise is not a hindrance to death ...". He believes that "all people on earth are superfluous ...". From the point of view of B., it is at the absolute day of life that the true essence of a person is exposed, a layer of civilized cultural life: "... everything faded away, one naked man remained." Apparently, by this he wants to say about the animal essence of man. B. sees in him only low, selfish, unwilling to take into account the development of social, cultural life. In this case, such a phrase can be considered significant: "It turns out - outside, no matter how you paint yourself, everything will be erased ... everything will be erased, yes!" Having sunk to the very bottom of life, B. no longer believes in a person, he takes a passive not only external, but also internal position.

The image of Nastya

Nastya is one of the residents of the flophouse in the play At the Bottom, a fallen woman who dreams of romantic love. Despite being a prostitute, she dreams of pure and devoted love. However, it is surrounded by poverty, despair and humiliation.

In order to somehow forget and escape from reality, she came up with a fictional character, whom she calls either Raoul or Gaston. Most of her dreams come from the tabloid novels she reads all the time. She comes up with stories about her supposedly existing lover and tells other guests. They only laugh and mock her. The only people who believe her are Luka and Natasha.

Despite all the insults and humiliations addressed to her, Nastya managed to maintain the sensitivity of her soul. She is naive, touching and helpless by nature. She does not despair and continues to believe in the existence of her "prince".

The image of the Baron

The dweller of the shelter. Previously, he was a baron, had a fairly large social position. Over time, he sank to the very bottom of life, where he still recalls the delights of his past position. He is often laughed at and scoffed at by the rest of the lodgers.

Luke's image

A very controversial character in the play. This is an elderly wanderer who appears in the shelter for a while. L. consoles people. But how can you comfort these people who have been thrown out of life and have sunk to the bottom of it? L. resorts to lies. But this is a lie for salvation. The dying Anna, who has nothing to remember in her life, is good, L. says that in the next world she will be very good. Prostitute Nastya tells everyone that there was great love in her life. Everyone laughs in response. But Luca says that if she believes, then she really had this love. Thief Vaska Pepla L. persuades to go to Siberia, because there he can work honestly. To an alcoholic Actor L. talks about a free hospital, where they are treated for drunkenness. He persuades him to prepare for treatment, to pull himself together. Justifying that it is necessary to feel sorry for a person, L. tells how he once felt sorry for the robbers, than he saved them. Otherwise they would have killed him and perished in hard labor. Also L. tells the parable of the "righteous land." One poor man believed in the existence of such a land. But the scientist did not have it on the map. The man was disappointed in everything and hanged himself. So L. wants to show the need for pity and hope for every person. L. disappears unexpectedly, during the ensuing fight, when Ash kills Kostylev. This disappearance is perceived ambiguously. In the last act, the lodgers remember L., expressing different points of view on the comforting lie.

Actor's image

The actor is one of the inhabitants of the flophouse. The real name of the hero is unknown; in one scene he laments that he has "lost his name." A.'s stage name in the past was Sverchkov-Zavolzhsky. A. is a drunkard who constantly recalls his acting past and quotes various literary works. Appeared in the shelter, Luke A. tries to read the poems, but cannot remember them and repents that he "drank his soul on drink." A. believes Luke's story about the alleged free clinic for alcoholics. He recalls and recites an excerpt from a poem by Beranger, which is directly related to the problem of "consoling lies" posed in the play. A. tries to refrain from drunkenness, begins to work and save money for the road in order to recover and start life anew. After Luka's disappearance, A. realizes that there is no real hope of salvation, and commits suicide - he is hanged. A.'s fate is clearly associated with the fate of the hero "the parable of righteous land", Which Luke tells the lodgers.

Natasha's image

Natasha – the sister of the owner's wife, a kind and kind-hearted girl. She had a hard fate - poverty and constant bullying by her sister and her husband. And yet she managed to maintain spiritual purity and innocence. It is because of this that the thief Vaska Ashes falls in love with her. He calls her to go with him to Siberia. But she honestly admits that she does not love him so much, does not believe his intentions. Vasilisa, having learned that Ash wants to leave her and leave with Natasha, begins to brutally beat her sister and pours boiling water over her. Natasha is rescued in time, but Kostylev dies at the same time. In a terrible hysterics, Natasha accuses Ash and her sister of the murder of the owner of the shelter. Later it becomes known that Natasha was hospitalized. Then she disappears in an unknown direction, just not to return to the shelter.

Ashes Form

Inhabitant of a flop, hereditary thief. P. is the lover of the wife of the owner of the hostel, Vasilisa. This is very cruel woman, which constantly pushes him to steal. But P. was tired of such a life. He wants to become an honest person. He falls in love with Vasilisa's sister Natasha, good girl, a sacrifice of the masters of life. P. confesses his love to the girl and calls her to leave together. Luka encourages P. to go to work in Siberia. There P. wants to become decent and honest. Vasilisa is jealous of P., locks the houses and beats Natasha. Later, in a fight that ensued, P. kills Kostylev. We understand that now he has a direct path to prison or hard labor.

Satin's image

Konstantin Satin is one of the inhabitants of the shelter, a former telegraph operator. This is a man with his own philosophy of life. From the very beginning of the play such words as "macrobiotics", "Sardanapalus", etc. sound from his lips. This hero differs from the rest of the inhabitants of the "bottom". About himself he says: "I am tired of human words, brother ... all our words are boring! I have heard each of them ... probably a thousand times ...", "I was an educated person ...", " I've read a lot of books ... ". Then S. was imprisoned for almost five years for the murder of a man who offended his sister. After prison, he ended up in a shelter and began to deliberately ruin his life. S. is a skeptic. He is apathetic, passive in life. His protest is a call to "do nothing". “I’ll give you one piece of advice: don’t do anything! Just burden the earth! ..”. S. was not just dumped to the bottom. He himself went there and settled there. It's more comfortable for him. And so he lives in the basement and drinks and loses his opportunities. It is this hero who argues with Luke and his position of "comforting" lies. He speaks of a free Man with a capital letter. S. considers humiliating compassionate humanism of Luke. "We must respect a person! Do not regret ... do not humiliate him with pity ..." S. condemns the comforting lie: "Lies are the religion of slaves and masters ..." "Truth is the god of a free man!" "man - that's the truth!" "There is only man, all the rest is the work of his hands and brain! Man! This is great! It sounds ... proud!" But what is a man for S.? "What is a man? .. It's not you, not me, not they ... no! - it's you, me, they, the old man, Napoleon, Mohammed ... in one!"

Author in polyphonic piece, according to the definition of M. M. Bakhtin, does not subscribe to any of the points of view expressed: the solution of the philosophical questions posed belongs to more than one hero, but is the result of a search for all participants in the action. The author, as a conductor, organizes a polyphonic choir of heroes "singing" the same theme in different voices.

Still, there is no final solution to the question of truth - freedom - in Gorky's drama. However, this is how it should be in a play that poses "eternal" philosophical questions. Open final works makes the reader himself think about them.