M. Gorky's play "At the Depths" is an innovative literary work. As soon as she appeared, she produced a very strong effect. Since then, it has repeatedly caused controversy - and will continue to cause controversy, because the range of problems raised by the author is too wide, acquiring new relevance at different stages of historical development, the author's position is too ambiguous and contradictory, and the everyday life writing is too harsh and overt. Gorky Maxim onion character

Unfortunately, for many years the reading of the play was subordinated to ideological needs. The writer's complex, philosophically ambiguous ideas were artificially simplified and turned into slogans adopted by official propaganda. Words: "Man... that sounds proud!" often became poster inscriptions, almost as common as “Glory to the CPSU!”, and children memorized Satin’s monologue itself, although they first corrected it, throwing out some of the hero’s remarks (“Let’s drink to the man, Baron!”).

And today, a century later, I want to re-read the play again, taking an unbiased look at its characters, carefully thinking about their words and looking closely at their actions.

The center of the play is not so much human destinies as a clash of ideas, a dispute about man, about the meaning of life. The core of this dispute is the problem of truth and lies, the perception of life as it really is, with all its hopelessness and truth for the characters - people of the “bottom”, or life with illusions, no matter how diverse and bizarre forms they appear. This dispute begins long before Luka appears in the shelter and continues after he leaves.

Already at the very beginning of the play, Kvashnya consoles herself with the illusion that she is a free woman, and Nastya with dreams of a great feeling, borrowing it from the book “Fatal Love.” And from the very beginning, the fatal truth bursts into this world of illusions. It is no coincidence that Kvashnya throws out his remark, turning to Kleshch: “You can’t stand the truth!”

From the very beginning of the play, much sounds like an argument between M. Gorky and himself, with his previous idealization of tramps. In the Kostylevo shelter, freedom turns out to be illusory - having sunk to the “bottom”, people have not escaped from life, it overtakes them. And Gorky’s former desire - to see, first of all, the good in tramps, lumpen people, people rejected from normal human life - also recedes into the background.

These people are cruel to each other, life has made them that way. And this cruelty is manifested primarily in the persistence with which they destroy the illusions of other people, for example, Nastya, the dying Anna, Kleshch with his hope of getting out of the shelter, starting a new life, the Baron, whose entire property consists of memories of the past greatness of the family and to whom Nastya throws out exasperated remarks: “You’re lying, this didn’t happen!”

Among these people, embittered by life, the wanderer Luke appears. And with his appearance, the already begun dispute about man, about truth and lies in his life, intensifies. Let's take a closer look at the image of Luke. First of all, we note that it is this character of the play that causes the most heated debate and constitutes its dramaturgical nerve.

Luke consoles people. How can we console these former barons, actors, a working man who has lost his job, a dying woman who has nothing good to remember about her life, a hereditary thief, thrown out of life, who have sunk to the bottom of its life? And Luke resorts to lies as a verbal drug, as a painkiller. He instills illusions in the inhabitants of the shelter, and his life experience is such that he subtly feels people, knows what is most important to each of them. And he unmistakably presses the main lever of the human personality, promising Anna peace and rest in the next world, free hospitals for alcoholics for the Actor, and a free life in Siberia for Vaska Ash.

Why is Luka lying? Readers and critics have asked themselves this question more than once when reflecting on Gorky’s play. For a long time, negative assessments prevailed in interpretations of the image of Luke; he was accused of indifference to people, of self-interest (his very name is consonantly associated with the word “evil”, and one of the meanings of this word is close to the unclean, to the tempter). Luka was also accused of tempting people with his lies, and the main accusation was the death of the Actor. In the image of Gorky's wanderer, they looked primarily for ideological origins; he was associated with sectarians, runners, and the ideas of Tolstoyism. However, if you look closely at what Luke does, listen to his speech, you understand that the mechanism of his consolation is both simpler and more complex. He simply did not harden his soul; one cannot but agree with the assessments that Satin gives to Luke: “He lied... But this is only out of pity for you.”

Luka doesn’t just deceive, throughout the play he does real, active good: he consoles Anna before her death, tries to reassure Vasilisa. It is this wanderer who prevents Vaska Ash from killing Kostylev. By the way, Satin directly pushes Vaska to kill: “... and why don’t you kill him, Vasily?!” - and further: “Then marry Vasilisa... you will be our master...”. And he advises Ash to leave for Siberia as soon as possible, because he foresees that this matter will not end well, and his foresight turns out to be correct. Luka doesn’t just lie to the actor, he persuades him: “Just this: get ready for now! Resist... pull yourself together and be patient...” And the cause of the Actor’s death is not in illusions, but in their collapse, in insight, in the consciousness of the impossibility of abstaining and pull yourself together.

Luke is not just a comforter, he philosophically substantiates his position. One of the ideological centers of the play is the wanderer's story about how he saved two escaped convicts. The main idea of ​​Gorky’s character here is that it is not violence, not prison, but only goodness that can save a person and teach goodness: “A person can teach goodness...” While a person believed, he lived, but he lost faith and hanged himself.

So, in the play, as you can see, the main bearer of good is Luke, he takes pity on people, sympathizes with them and tries to help in word and deed. The author's position in M. Gorky's drama is expressed, in particular, in terms of plot. The last event of the play - the death of the Actor - confirms Luke's words: the man believed, then lost faith and hanged himself.

It is generally accepted that Luke’s main opponent in the dispute about truth is Satin. This seems to be the case, because it is he who utters the aphorism: “Lies are the religion of slaves and masters... Truth is the god of a free man!” However, it is Satin who not only stands up for the old man, forbidding him to speak ill of him, but also pronounces his famous monologue about the man, bringing to life Luke’s ideas. Indeed, what is reasoning if not a verbal drug designed to console everyone around, to instill in everyone the illusion of their own worth, regardless of real human affairs. It is not without reason that it is after Satin’s monologue that a drunken revelry begins in the night shelter, and even the herald of the merciless and evil truth Bubnov declares: “How much does a person need? So I drank and am glad!” And only the news of the Actor’s suicide suddenly interrupts this picture. That’s why the last words of the play, put into Satin’s mouth, sound so meaningful: “Eh... ruined the song... stupid cancer!”

It is not Satin who really argues with Luke, but the author of the play himself. It is Gorky who shows that a saving lie did not save anyone, that it is impossible to live forever in captivity of illusions, and the way out of them and insight is always tragic, and most importantly - that a person living in a world of comforting dreams, lulling deception, comes to terms with his wretched, hopeless reality life. This leads him to agree to endure - this motive is heard more than once in the play, for example, in the words of Anna: “If there is no torment there... here you can be patient... you can!”, or in the parable of the righteous land - a man lived poorly , but endured in the hope of finding a different life someday. M. Gorky does not accept this reconciliation with life.

The writer's dispute with Luke is in many ways a dispute with himself. It was not for nothing that contemporaries recalled that in his human qualities M. Gorky was in many ways close to this wanderer-comforter. It was not for nothing that already in the post-revolutionary period he wrote the film script “On the Way to the Bottom,” where, under the influence of ideological dogmas, he exposed Luka and showed him as a kulak, a criminal and immoral person. But this script turned out to be a creative failure for M. Gorky, and the play “At the Lower Depths” continues to live today, causing numerous disputes and gaining new relevance.

For a long time, the image of Luke was assessed in literary criticism as unequivocally negative. Luka was accused of lying for selfish reasons, that he was indifferent to the people he deceived, and finally, that at the time of the crime he disappeared from the shelter. But the main accusation that was brought against Luke concerned his position, his attitude towards man. He preaches pity and mercy, which in previous years were considered something superfluous, even suspicious, a kind of manifestation of conciliation, a retreat from the position of fighting the class enemy (and they saw an infinite number of enemies around them), mercy was declared “intellectual softness”, which is unacceptable in conditions of a clash between two worlds.

Another thing that was not accepted in Luke’s position was that he did not call people to struggle, to revolutionary action, to a radical change in life. All this in ancient years was considered harmful and alien to the person of the new society, the “fighter for a bright society.” Today, the image of Luke is read in many ways differently, and the reason for this can simply be a careful, unbiased acquaintance with Gorky’s play.

It seems to me that the image of Luke is the image of a person endowed with personal qualities - such as kindness, compassion, sensitivity - but completely asocial. That’s why he doesn’t call for a fight. Luke's very way of life - wandering - suggests that he has no ideas about the order and arrangement of the world. Luke sees only a specific person - and does what he can for him. And even if he can’t do so much, sometimes that’s enough. And in any case, this is better than inaction. Alas, how often people don’t do what they can. In fact, Luke embodies half of the slogan “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!” - that is, he tries as best he can to make this world a better place, to somehow make the lives of the people his path passes by easier.

All writers show interest in philosophical themes and problems, which is why reflections on the meaning of life become central to many literary works. One of these works was the play by M. Gorky. “At the Lower Depths” is considered the first drama in Russian literature that touches on social and philosophical problems and issues.

In Gorky's play there are many heroes who are different in character. But still, most of the controversy arises because of the image of Luke and his perception of the world. It is with his appearance in the play that disagreements constantly begin to be heard about what will be best for a person: true, even it will be the most difficult, but it is true and real, or compassion, which can serve as a consolation.

So who is Luke? From the plot of the work, the reader learns that Luke is a preacher, but he does not have a specific place of residence and ministry to God. He wanders the earth and preaches the truths in which he himself believes. One day he appears in a rooming house, where people are devastated and thrown out of everyday life. They rejoice in every day they could live. And some are waiting for their death in order to somehow escape from this life, which has long ceased to bring them joy.

Luka suddenly stops at the shelter when poor Anna dies, and a dispute about conscience and honor arises between the other inhabitants of this basement. After all, being in such a place, many simply forgot about them. Luke becomes a comforter for them. So, first of all, he tries to calm and reconcile everyone. Luke promises everyone deliverance from the suffering that they now have in life and promises that their wishes will come true. He subtly feels people, predicts their desires, so he easily convinces them of what they do not say out loud, but somewhere in the depths of their souls they still hope for it.

Luke has his own position from which he lives and preaches among people. He believes that all fantasies and dreams are life. In the shelter he has a long conversation with Anna, who is dying, but is very afraid of death. Luka consoles her, saying that dying is not painful or scary, because it will help her become free, no longer feel pain, and she will never even suffer again. He also finds comforting words for the Actor, but only by believing Luka will the Actor soon understand that it is impossible to find a hospital to cure alcoholism. After all, he has no money for this at all.

The attitude of all the inhabitants of the basement towards this strange preacher is different for everyone. Someone, for example Nastya, considers him good, that he carries pity and compassion. But there are other opinions about the shelter: someone calls him a deceiver, and someone claims that he simply does not like the truth. Maybe they are right, because it is not for nothing that the author gives such a name to his hero: Luke is the crafty one, that is, cunning. And by his age you can easily determine that he has a lot of experience, because he has already lived most of his life. And if he wanders, then probably there have been many different situations in his life, so he knows how to quickly find a way out of any situation and sees so well the psychology of each inhabitant of this shelter.

But if we consider this image through religion, there was such an apostle in the Gospel. This Gospel Luke is an image in which wisdom and truth are contained. And I remember the story of Gorky’s Luka, how he accidentally met robbers who wanted to kill him, but he was able to persuade them to eat. It’s like in the Bible when it says that any evil must be answered with good.

The image of Luka in the play by Maxim Gorky is a complex hero, to whom it is impossible to relate in any unambiguous way, and, probably, there is no need to. The main qualities of his character are kindness, responsiveness, the ability to listen and sympathize with another person, and not think only about himself. Another advantage of this hero is his sincerity; he knows how to communicate with people without imposing his opinions and views on them.

And if Luke tells a lie, then his lie is comforting, from which he himself has no benefit. He simply tries to lift a person’s spirits, strengthen his spirit, and instill hope. But it’s still impossible to answer unequivocally about how to relate to this character. Even the author himself could not answer this question, who suddenly finds himself on his side, justifying compassion, then suddenly Maxim Gorky himself calls him a swindler and even a scoundrel. At the end of the play, the author does not allow the other inhabitants of the shelter to judge his strange hero. The writer leaves it to the reader to do this so that he can think about Gorky’s controversial character, who has been causing controversy for many years.

The humanity that Luka carries is needed by people, but due to the fact that dreams cannot come true and hopes turn out to be empty, people suffer even more and then not every person can withstand it. For example, the Actor who simply hanged himself at the end of the play. Luke is trying to heal tormented human souls, and the result, due to the reality in which these people find themselves, can be very different. Therefore, there is no point in judging or praising Luke.

The image of Luke in M. Gorky’s play “At the Depths” is rightfully considered one of the most interesting and controversial.

This work is studied at school, but it is interesting to study and analyze at any age.

Characteristics of Luke in the play “At the Bottom”

The wanderer Luke first appears on the pages of the work when the reader has already become a little acquainted with the main characters who find themselves on the “day of life” and the plot.

The playwright gives a very modest description of the hero, without focusing on his biography.

This is a rather elderly man with a stick in his hand, he had a knapsack over his shoulders, a teapot and a bowler hat on his belt.

The lodgers were rather indifferent to the wanderer, not suspecting what role he would play in their difficult life.

The role of Luka in the drama by Maxim Gorky

M. Gorky made people think about life, about what people turn into under the pressure of life circumstances, and how scary it is to find yourself at the “day of life” from which you can’t get out.

Luke's Philosophy and Truth

Whatever readers consider the image of Luke to be, positive or negative, one thing is clear: this kind man came into the lives of little people who found themselves at the “day of life” for a reason, he had his own position - a certain mission.

Was he lying? Did he tell the truth? Everyone will answer these rhetorical questions differently.

Luke radically changed the atmosphere in the shelter. The heroes began to think and began to dream about something again. The elder was at the same time so gentle and convincing in his speeches that even the greatest skeptics changed their attitude towards the truth, towards man.

Quotes and aphorisms from Luke

Luke's words are sparkling phrases with deep philosophical overtones. Their topics are very diverse:

• value of human life:
• moral and ethical standards of behavior:
• the power of a word:
• the power of faith:
• parenting:

The meaning of the name Luka in the play “At the Depths”

It should be noted that the above name is quite interesting, having a hidden meaning. It is of ancient Greek origin and literally means “farmer.”

But subconsciously the reader’s imagination associates him with the biblical images of the Holy Martyr Luke. Thus, according to many critics, Jesus Christ himself looks at us from the pages of the play and gives his wise advice.

How do the inhabitants of the shelter feel about Luke’s words?

All of Luke's statements had deep meaning. He spoke briefly, but always to the point. Every word he said was thought out, honed by life, and therefore hit the target.

How does Luke affect night shelters?

Over time, the heroes realize that Luke deceived them in most cases, but this no longer matters.

The heroes simply understood perfectly well that the old man was saying something that supported them, helped them exist in this dirty shelter.

His parable about the “righteous land”, which so excited their consciousness, was just words of consolation that gave them hope. But this, in truth, is precisely what they lacked.

They were lonely and no one needed them; no one simply believed in them. And Luke picked up the keys to their devastated hearts and gave them the advice they needed.

Luke's statements about people - what he says to each of the inhabitants of the shelter

They didn’t just listen to the hero, the shelters heard him:

• he managed to find words of consolation for Anna before her death;
• was able to convince the Artist to start fighting alcoholism, despite the setbacks and failures;
• supported the girl of easy virtue Nastya, who firmly believed in love;
• he even tried to reach out to the complex Vasily Pepel and warn him against a fatal mistake - the murder of his mistress’s husband.

Not all the characters in the play needed Luke’s advice; there were also those to whom Luke did not advise anything.

Gorky's attitude towards Luka

The moment of Luke's disappearance was quite intriguing.

He left as quietly and unnoticed as he had appeared in the shelter.

The author’s position is clear, he sympathizes with his hero, convincing the reader that all the wanderer’s actions were from good intentions - to help unhappy, dejected people, give them hope, instill faith in themselves and their strengths, and identify a goal in life.

Positive or negative hero Luke

Over the years, critics and literary scholars have characterized this character rather ambiguously, classifying him either as a hero or as an anti-hero.

This polarity in views was primarily due to historical realities. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Luke was seen as a negative hero who engaged in empty chatter and disturbed the minds of people who could not change anything in their lives.

Later, critics agreed that Luke gave people hope and faith, and they themselves chose their path in life.

Science from Gorky Luk

Soviet postulates in education taught readers that every work necessarily has an instructive overtone. Speaking about M. Gorky’s drama “At the Lower Depths,” it’s hard to argue with this.

The image of the wanderer Luke gives readers the opportunity to think about whether society needs such people, what role they play in our lives, how often they come and teach us goodness and faith in our own strengths.

The image of the wandering elder Luke occupies a special place among the characters. The main conflict of the work is closely related to the unexpected appearance of the hero.

Good wanderer

The mysterious figure of Luke suddenly appears and suddenly disappears. There is no description of the past, the future is unknown. There are several days when Luka lives among the humiliated, destitute inhabitants of the shelter.

It is difficult to give an objective assessment of the character and actions of the wanderer. Some consider him a benefactor, others a criminal.

Luka is a poor, homeless old man who wanders around the dosshouses. Inhabitant of the "bottom". What makes him special is his ability to sympathize, have compassion, and do good. Luke brings comfort to exhausted, despairing people. Dying Anna paints a picture of a calm afterlife. He tells the alcoholic Actor about a free hospital. Even the experienced thief Vaska Ash lends itself to convincing arguments. He is going to leave for Siberia to start a new honest life. Prostitute Nastya finds a grateful listener. Luka listens seriously to stories of great romantic love.

Everyone shares their pain and receives hope in return. A quiet voice, persuasive speech, and attentive attitude inspire confidence. Sweet talk is often deceitful. He believes that it is possible to deceive a person in order to instill hope. Luke is sure: a person needs pity and consolation.

The true face of an old man

The kindness of a wanderer changes the surrounding atmosphere. The pitiful shelter seems to be transformed: filled with light and warmth. The inhabitants of the damp basement are living a dream. When Luka leaves, the tale ends. Faced with reality again, the night shelters are having a hard time experiencing the collapse of their hopes. The tragic death of the actor is proof that lies are not always saving.

Luke's main opponent is Satin. A man believes that pity humiliates, and lies inspire empty hopes. Only it is easier for people to believe fairy tales than to take decisive actions, trying to change their fate.

Which is better: a comforting lie or a bitter truth? It was this question that the writer tried to find an answer to, creating the image of a harmless old man. The choice of the character's name is not accidental. Luke is the holy great martyr, Luke is the crafty deceiver. Christian love and forgiveness remind the reader of the wise covenants of Jesus Christ. The author makes you think and give your assessment of the hero’s actions.

Introduction

M. Gorky's play “At the Lower Depths” is the first socio-philosophical drama in Russian literature, raising questions of human existence, the meaning of life, truth and lies. Written in 1902, the work realistically depicts the life of the marginalized, “people who find themselves at the bottom of life,” who do not believe in themselves or in the future.

Mite, Actor, Ash, Nastya and others are weak people, unable to defend their interests, and who do not see the point in this.

Luke's image

The most controversial hero of the play is considered to be Luke, a traveling preacher who came to the shelter in the midst of disputes about honor and justice. The main question of the work is directly related to the image of the old man - “What is better – truth or compassion?”

Luke is a comforter, trying to calm everyone down and give hope for an end to suffering. It is significant that he knows how to see in everyone the trait that particularly concerns a person. To the dying Anna he promises deliverance from pain and resentment in the next world, to the drinking Actor he tells a fairy tale about hospitals for alcoholism, to Nastya that an unearthly happy love awaits her, to Vaska Peplu he helps to take a fresh look at Siberia.

The night shelters like his unrealistic stories; they believe in them. Luke himself says that what you believe is what it is. In other words, the wanderer is trying to save people, give them the opportunity to believe in themselves and change their attitude towards life, to give them a kind of impetus.

righteous man

The appearance of the righteous man divides the inhabitants of the shelter into two camps - those who believe in Luke’s sermons and those who are prejudiced and skeptical about them. Nastya, after Luka’s disappearance, says that he was a good old man, Kleshch notes his compassion, even Satin, who does not accept a position of compassion, claims that the old man lied solely out of love for people.

The opinions of literary critics were also divided. Some compared him to the tempter. The name Luke is similar in sound to the name of Satan - the Evil One. The old man was accused, first of all, of unwillingness to confront reality. Other researchers correlated his name with the image of the Evangelical Apostle Luke, thereby associating him with wisdom and biblical commandments.

Another interesting fact is that by lying to save Luke, he violates one of the commandments - do not lie. But it seems to me that he simply does not think in these categories; for him it does not matter where the truth is, where the lie is. The main thing for a righteous person is to do good to a person. Probably, the commandment is closer to him - do no harm.

Author's attitude

The author's attitude towards Luke is ambiguous. Sometimes he condemns him, sometimes his image becomes so strong that it goes beyond Gorky’s plan. Readers must decide for themselves whether to accept a lie for salvation, or to share Satin’s statements about the priority of truth. In my opinion, the truth lies somewhere in the middle of their positions.