Many of us remember the famous play by M. Gorky, in which there are two heroes: Luka and Satin. Each of them defends their point of view, and only the audience can decide which of them is right.
Let's look at the dispute between these characters in more detail.
The plot and main characters of Gorky's play
This was not surprising, because the young playwright was able to create not only a touching plot, but also brilliant images of the main characters.
The plot was the life of the inhabitants of a poor shelter, people who have nothing: no money, no status, no social status, and not even simple bread. Their fate is tragic, they do not see the meaning of their existence, their future is only death and poverty.
Among the heroes, two antipodes stood out - Luke and Satin, who conveyed to the audience the main meaning of the play.
Luke's position
Luke, an old wanderer of about 60 years old, does not appear in the play right away. He comes to the shelter and in his own way tries to console the inhabitants there.
He promises Anna, dying of illness, heavenly bliss for the torment she endured on earth, the robber Vaska - the opportunity to start a new life in distant and cold Siberia, the alcoholic - a hospital in which he will be cured, the prostitute - the opportunity to find true love, etc.
Some residents of this institution begin to believe the kind old man, but some of them reject his stories, considering (and rightly considering) them a lie.
Luke's philosophy
In fact, Luke offers his listeners a Christian philosophy of life that he understands primitively: a person must endure everything, because he is sinful, he bears a well-deserved punishment on earth, and after death he will be rewarded according to his deeds.
This philosophy essentially justifies evil on earth, turns God into a powerful and fierce ruler of people who gives everyone what they deserve.
That’s why Luka strives to deceive the unfortunate people who find themselves in a shelter, believing that such deception will help them cope with life’s difficulties. Luke is ready to accept social injustice as a given, considering it a consequence of the imperfection of human nature.
Satin's position
Satin is the only character in the shelter who tries to maintain his human dignity in inhuman conditions of extreme poverty.
Once he was a more significant person (although he was a sharper and a gambler), but he lost his status after he stood up for his sister’s honor and was sentenced to imprisonment for 5 years.
Luka and Satin are very different. What differentiates them is not so much their age as their beliefs.
Satin is a humanist, in difficult conditions he did not lose faith in people, he does not want to believe the sweet speeches of Luke, believing that every person is “the smith of his own happiness.”
Philosophy of Satin
The dispute between Luke and Satin begins when the latter begins to contradict the words of the old man. No, Satin does not need consolation, he is looking for active activity. His truth is not Christian philosophy. Satin is closer to the position of atheism, which believes that everything is in the hands of the person himself, and does not depend on the action of higher powers. Satin does not believe in the immortality of the human soul, he does not need God, he believes that he found himself “at the bottom” not because this was his fate, but because he acted nobly and honestly and was punished unfairly.
“Truth is the god of a free man!” exclaims Satin. He strives to build a new socially just society of free people who could live in harmony with themselves.
The characterization of Satin and Luke shows us that these two people demonstrate by their example two completely different positions, two different attitudes to life and understanding of a person’s place in this world.
Luke's position is compassionate, but passive, Satin's position is active, transformative, active. In the play, Satin actually won the argument, because it was Luka who left the shelter.
The dispute between Luke and Satin: the reaction of contemporaries
Gorky's play was a huge success among the audience also because the author was able to feel and convey in it the spirit of his time.
Society was hungry for change. Luke's philosophy did not suit young people seeking to transform society according to new patterns. They were opposed by the more conservative part of the older generation, who wanted to preserve the state and social system.
Luke and Satin were precisely expressing the social split. They demonstrated these two irreconcilable positions and life philosophies.
By the way, the author of the play himself certainly belonged to the latter; he shared Satin’s position; for him, this hero embodied what he himself was thinking about. All his life Gorky fought against those who tried to preach tolerance and forgiveness; his values were struggle and faith in the great future of his country.
In fact, Gorky himself could be called a “revolutionary in Russian literature,” who in his works vividly and vividly conveyed the atmosphere of expectation of a new life among some progressive-minded youth.
People wanted to abandon the monarchical system, they wanted to abandon the power of capitalists, they believed that they themselves could build a new and more just state.
As a result, the truth of Luke and Satin turned out to be unequal. A revolution took place in the country, power was seized by the Bolsheviks, who, like Satin, decided to abandon religion as an extra social link.
So Gorky’s play truly turned out to be prophetic. And this is the genius of this work of Russian literature.
Essay “Satin’s Truth in the Play “At the Bottom””
What is this world based on? Why, in the most bitter, seemingly hopeless moments of our lives, suddenly a person appears who resurrects us, giving us new hope and love? But there are cases when someone else’s pity, someone else’s compassion humiliate proud, independent people; these issues are illuminated by M. Gorky in his play “At the Bottom.” He, like an ancient Greek philosopher, believes that truth is born in a dispute, in the comparison of two opposing points of view, therefore the positions of Luke and Satin as bearers of basic ideas are especially important and interesting. Luke’s position is the idea of compassion for people, for their misfortunes, the idea of active good, which consoles a person, arousing in him a faith that can lead him further, the idea of an “uplifting deception” that will allow a person to withstand the burden of the truth of life.
On the threshold of the shelter, Luka appears with a stick and a knapsack. We know very little about him. Only that he is a wanderer of about sixty. Luka does not hide his attitude towards the night shelters. He clearly has a negative attitude towards the “gentlemen”, the masters of the situation - Kostylev, Vasilisa, and partly Medvedev. He calls Vasilisa “an evil beast” and a “poisonous viper”, Medvedev ironically calls “. the appearance is most heroic,” he declares to Kostylev: “If God himself says to you: “Mikhail! Be human. “All the same, it won’t make any sense. »
Luka surrounds Anna, Nastya, Natasha, Actor and Ashes with care, love and affection. He displays an attitude that, regardless of the results, demonstrates his sincere desire to do good. He believes that he can give a person support in life by “invoking the golden dream” of dreams. The truth pulls out this support from under a person, which can be any idea if it is capable of comforting a person, protecting him, giving him joy. Turning to Ashes, Luke says: “I. what do you really need badly? think about it! She really might be a bitch for you. It’s true, it’s not always due to a person’s illness. You can’t always heal your soul with truth.” Weak people are unconsciously drawn to Luke's “truth.” So, he instills in the dying Anna the belief in a better life after death, helps her go into another world without heavy thoughts. He gives the actor and Ash the hope of “starting life over again.”
Satin and Luke agree that “everything is in man, everything is for man,” and they differ in their understanding of what paths lead to the triumph of this truth.
We learn about Satin himself that he is a card sharper, a former telegraph operator, and an educated person in his own way. He is in many ways unusual compared to the other inhabitants of the shelter. This is indicated by his first remarks, in which he uses rare and interesting words: “sycambre”, “macrobiotics”, “transcendental” and many others. Then we will find out how he sank to the “bottom of life.” This is what he says to Luka: “Prison, grandfather! I served four years and seven months in prison. killed the scoundrel in passion and irritation. because of my own sister. In prison I also learned to play cards. “Realizing that he will not be able to get out of this whirlpool, he sees an advantage in this situation too - this is freedom. Satin is against lies. Declaring that “lies are the religion of slaves and masters” and that “truth is the god of a free man,” he is not looking for a comforting deception: “Man is the truth.”
Luke’s love for a person is fueled by pity for him, and pity is nothing more than a recognition of a person’s weakness in the fight against unfavorable circumstances. Satin believes that a person does not need to be consoled by lies generated by pity. To feel sorry for a person means to humiliate him with distrust of his abilities.
The truth, according to Satin, opens up enormous opportunities for a person to really assess his strength and try to find a way out. Luke's preaching can lead to a dead end. A striking example is the fate of the Actor. Luke did not tell a lie, did not lie about the existence of a hospital for alcoholics. But the Actor himself would not have found the strength to look for this hospital. When the time came to wake up from the “dream” inspired by Luka, the Actor crashed into harsh reality, falling from the heights of his dreams.
The first act of the play shows the world of “humiliated and insulted” people, but who have not lost faith in a better life. At the end of the play we see the same people, but they have already lost at least some hope of salvation. The “truth” of Satin is visible here. Illusions only temporarily calmed and lulled people to sleep. This is the logic of the play itself, which proves the inconsistency of Luke’s views.
The success of the play “At the Bottom” lies in its relevance. Even today it makes the reader or viewer stop and think. And each person draws certain conclusions for himself. This work did not leave me indifferent, like many others. Agreeing largely with Satin’s position, I believe that one cannot give up both compassion and empathy. It is necessary to help people believe in themselves and their strengths.
Makar Chudra is a skeptic who is disappointed in people. Having lived and seen a lot, he values only freedom. This is the only criterion by which Makar measures a human personality. It is not even an absolute value for Chudra if the will is lost. Radda and Loiko Zobar, the heroes of the legend told by Chudra, also put freedom above life and love. Sacrificing life and happiness, the heroes do not know why they need freedom. Will is a given, but the heroes don’t think about how to use it. Larra from the story “Old Woman Izergil” is ultimately burdened by the priceless gift of freedom and immortality. The author argues that individualism and loneliness cannot bring happiness. Larra perceives his freedom from human laws as a punishment, since he has no one to share his boundless will with. Gradually, the author leads readers to the idea that loneliness burdens a person, becomes his cross, from which there is no salvation. Gorky debunks the romantic individualist.
And only Bubnov and Satin understand that there is no way out “from the bottom” - this is the lot of only the strong. Weak people need self-deception. They console themselves with the thought that sooner or later they will become full-fledged members of society. This hope in the shelters is actively supported by Luke, a wanderer who unexpectedly appeared among them. The old man finds the right tone with everyone: he consoles Anna with heavenly happiness after death. He persuades her that in the afterlife she will find peace that she has not felt before. Luka persuades Vaska Pepel to leave for Siberia. There is a place for strong and purposeful people. He calms Nastya down, believing in her stories about unearthly love. The actor is promised recovery from alcoholism in a special clinic. The most amazing thing about all this is that Luke lies disinterestedly. He takes pity on people, tries to give them hope as an incentive to live. But the old man's consolations lead to the opposite results. Anna dies, the Actor dies, Vaska Ashes goes to prison. It seems that through the mouth of Satin the author condemns Luke and refutes the conciliatory philosophy of the wanderer. “There are comforting lies, reconciling lies. Who is weak at heart. and those who live on strange juices need lies. Some she supports, others __ hide behind her. And who is his own boss. who is independent and does not eat other people's things - why does he need lies? Lies are the religion of slaves and masters. Truth is the god of a free man!”
But Gorky is not so simple and straightforward; it allows readers and viewers to decide for themselves: are Luke needed in real life or are they evil? Another striking thing is that society’s attitude towards this character has changed over the years. If during the creation of the play “At the Bottom” Luka was almost a negative hero, with his boundless compassion for people, then over time the attitude towards him changed. In our cruel times, when a person feels lonely and useless to others, Luka received a “second life” and became almost a positive hero. He feels sorry for the people living nearby, even if mechanically, without wasting his mental strength on it, but he finds time to listen to the suffering, instills hope in them, and this is already a lot. The play “At the Bottom” is one of those few works that do not age over time, and each generation reveals in them thoughts that are in tune with their time, views, and life situations. This is the great power of the playwright’s talent, his ability to look into the future.
Who is right in a dispute about truth - Luke or Satin? (based on M. Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths”)
Man - that's the truth!
M. Gorky. At the bottom
The play “At the Lower Depths” was written by M. Gorky in 1902, on the eve of the first Russian revolution. It gives a vivid idea not only of class antagonism and social ills of the old society, but also of those complex processes of mental fermentation that engulfed even the most backward, restless sections of the people.
The main philosophers of the flophouse in the play are Satin and Luka. Satin's philosophy is cheerful cynicism, the perception of life as a game, since he himself is a sharper. And although Satin is a man with quirks and surprises, his thoughts are able to break out of the framework of the usual way of life of tramps.
In the image of Luke we see a common folk wandering philosopher, in whom the searches and wanderings of a significant part of the social lower classes, the desire for truth, high morality, and “order” are embodied. Luke is a representative of a Christian-colored, original system of views, in which there is a childish faith, and a desire to console and encourage, and a share of sensitivity, its own ethics and its own irony: “Listen, don’t interfere! Here a woman dies. Her lips were already covered with earth. don’t interfere!” But, preaching faith in man and respect for him, this wanderer pities people more than respects them.
Luke traveled a lot during an unusual period of history, when the spiritual life of the people took on an increasingly intense character. The old man treats government officials with coolness. To Medvedev’s question: “Who is he?” It's like I don't know you. “,” Luka answers sharply and even a little contemptuously: “And do you know all the other people?”
Luka is a very attentive and observant person, he is interested in knowing how everything will work out in the future, what life will be like, at this time full of evil and injustice. He has a wealth of life experience, he knows many true stories and draws his own, very interesting conclusions: “Siberia can’t teach a person anything, but a person. he can teach you a lot. and very quickly."
But the weak point in Luke’s worldview is the lack of objective truths: “what you believe is what you believe.” It turns out that under the guise of consolation and faith, he sows disbelief and despair among the inhabitants of the shelter. Preaching faith in man, he gives the heroes of the play hope only for a short time, after which bitter disappointment sets in. This happens because the elder is secretly convinced that the real situation of a person cannot be changed.
As a result of Luke’s activities, people continue to live in a false world of their own invention. And one of the most terrible consequences of this is the suicide of the Actor, who was encouraged by the old man and eventually realized that it was all a lie.
It turns out that Luke often prefers illusions and lies to truth, although “lies for the good”: “What do you really need the truth for? She really might be too much for you.”
Satin in M. Gorky's play “At the Depths” is Luke’s ideological opponent. Although it was the old man who led him to think, Satin adheres to other principles and raises the thought of the value of man to an unattainable height: “Man is free!” If Luke puts forward the theory that people are valuable not in themselves, but as material for something better, Satin was able to go further in his reasoning: “Everything is in a person, everything is for a person! Human! It's great! It sounds. proudly. We must respect the person! Don't regret it. Don't humiliate him with pity. must be respected!”
And even though Satin is more a man of words than deeds, his speech, his understanding testify that faith in life, the spark of life itself did not go out “at the bottom.” In one of his aphorisms, Satin acts as a fierce opponent of Luke: “Lies are the religion of slaves and masters. Truth is the god of a free man."
Both of these characters are very valuable to me: their views, their worldview. With the appearance of Luka, the inhabitants of the shelter began to think, search, they wanted a brighter life, although they themselves probably understood this vaguely.
If you don't push the wheel, it won't turn. It was from Luke’s suggestion that Satin, in his reflections, came to the conclusion about the importance of man. He went further than Luke because he chose a more direct and honest path. It was Satin who managed to believe in man and reject Luke’s false humanism: “Man is the truth!” But, having come to the right conclusions, Satin remained the individualist he was before.
A person cannot change immediately; it takes time. So in life there are periods when Luke is needed with his consolation, encouragement, attention to others, but there are also moments when only Satin’s decisive word will carry the truth to the human heart.
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Essay “Luke and Satin”
The first problem of the play is a philosophical debate about truth. Second - what is better for the inhabitants of the shelter? 1) Luke's white lie. 2) Truth Satin. The third is an anchor lie that keeps people at the “bottom”. In the play "At the Bottom". Gorky shows people broken by life, doomed to death. Heroes, their inner world is revealed not from actions, but from conversations.
Each hero carries his own philosophy, his own idea. The main philosophical problem of the play is the dispute about truth. These disputes take place between the inhabitants of the shelter throughout the play and, above all, between Luka and Satin. Luke’s philosophy is faith in man: “Man must be respected!” Faith can replace the real truth, as it helps a person escape from the terrible reality into the world of beautiful illusions.
With Luka's arrival, the atmosphere in the shelter became more humane. Luke strives to give perishing people at least some hope: “Everyone thinks that he lives for himself, but he comes out for the better,” brings relief to the inhabitants of the “bottom,” consoles them, awakens the Man in everyone. The Baron, having escaped from the world of things, exclaims: “But for some reason I was born.”
He calms Anna down with conversations about blissful silence after death, Ash seduces with pictures of a free life in Siberia, Natasha with possible love, he tells the Actor about a hospital for alcoholism, and he believes: “I worked today, swept the street, but I didn’t drink vodka!” Luke sows words of comfort and hope, but all his promises are false. By telling the parable of the righteous land, Luke shows how sometimes a lie is saving for people and how dangerous the truth is. But at the most important moment for the inhabitants of the shelter, when many began to believe in something better, Luka disappears. People awakened by Luka come into conflict with the outside world and cannot change their deplorable situation: the Actor hanged himself, Ashes is in prison, Natasha is missing, Anna is dead.
With this tragic ending, Gorky shows that Luka was wrong. Throughout the play, Luke lies, supposedly for the benefit of other people, although in fact this lie only destroys them. Why is he lying? Perhaps in order to further confirm his belief in what he says. Luke’s philosophy is rejected by Satin: “Lies are the religion of slaves and masters. Truth is the god of a free man!” From the philosophy of Luke, Satin takes faith in man: “Man is the truth!”, but without pity. Satin is a philosopher, talks about the meaning of man: “Only man exists, everything else is the work of his hands and brain.” Sometimes he can be cynical and it is this cynicism that reveals the dirt with which Satin himself and all the others live side by side residents. Satin, a card sharper, is not afraid of either life or death. He has lost his name, his job, but he is independent of circumstances, values freedom: “It’s good to feel like a person!”
But Satin is not suitable for the present case. Satin’s words, instilling faith in a person, in his mind, only had a temporary effect on the night shelters, united by a common fate, expressed in the prison song: “I want to be free, but I can’t break the chain.”
The tragedy of unrealistic hopes, the futility of words, is reflected in every hero. The burden of general powerlessness drags all of Gorky's characters to the bottom.
Two truths (images of Luke and Satin in M. Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths”)
“At the Bottom” is a complex, contradictory work. And, like any truly great creation, the play does not tolerate a one-line, unambiguous interpretation. Gorky gives in it two completely different approaches to human life, without clearly showing his personal attitude towards any of them.
The main characters of this work are Luka and Satin. They express two truths, two points of view on human destiny. As much as these two truths differ from each other, the images of their bearers differ just as much.
Luke is a wanderer who has come from nowhere and is heading to nowhere. He is soft both in speech and in movements, affectionate and kind to everyone, and does not have and does not want to have enemies. The only words coming out of his mouth are words of comfort. And the hero finds such words for almost every inhabitant of the shelter. Luka tells thief Vaska Pepl about the happy life that a free person can lead in Siberia. To the chronic drunk Actor - about a wonderful clinic that provides free treatment for alcoholism. For poor Anna, dying of consumption, the old man finds other words: “So, you will die, and you will be at peace. nothing else will be needed, and there is nothing to be afraid of. Death - it calms everything. If you die, you will rest. “But these consolations did not help anyone, since the hero did not strengthen a person’s faith in his own strength, did not prepare him for life’s struggle. For example, before her death, Anna, despite Luke’s assurances about a happy afterlife, dreams of living at least a little. Ash will have to go to hard labor for the murder of Kostylev. After the old man left, the actor lost the faith he had found and hanged himself. The wanderer's weakness is obvious. But we must not forget about his positive role in the play. It was he, the “old yeast,” as Satin called him, who “fermented” the inhabitants of the shelter, aroused in them all the good things that lay dormantly, and above all, a sense of human dignity. But does Luke himself believe his own words? No, he does not believe, and does not believe in the possibility of a decisive restructuring of life, because he believes that a person is weak from the very beginning. Based on this worldview, the hero strives not to change social foundations, but to lighten the cross that ordinary people bear. His truth is a comforting lie.
A completely different human type, a completely different life position is shown in the image of the tramp Satin. Satin is a fighter for truth. He went to prison only because he stood up for the honor of his sister. Human injustice and years of terrible need did not embitter the hero. And he remembers this easily, with love for the girl: “Nice, brother, I had a little human sister!” He sympathizes with people no less than Luke, but does not see a way out - alleviation of suffering - in the simple consolation of people. And although it cannot be said that this hero acts as a supporter of more radical aspirations, it is in his mouth that the writer puts a monologue in defense of man and human rights: “Man is free, he pays for everything himself.” The image of Satin leaves an ambiguous feeling, a feeling of contrast between high thoughts, noble aspirations and the general passive existence of the character. Satin likes to drink and play cards. He is superior to everyone in intelligence and strength of character, but still feels comfortable in the Kostylevo shelter. What is his truth? Satin does not have any positive program, but, in contrast to Luke’s position, the hero resolutely and irrevocably denies lies, calling it “the religion of slaves and masters.”
Thus, two truths coexist in the drama: the truth of Luke, with its impersonal kindness, Christian humility, with its “holy lie,” and the truth of Satin, somewhat cruel, but proud - the truth of the denial of lies. And the internal conflict of these two positions, so different from each other, was resolved by history. History has shown that the world can only be remade by strong means and that words of consolation will not help people become happier. But, it seems to me, this does not mean that Satin’s path is the best, this is simply the structure of our ruthless world, where even goodness “must be with fists.”
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Dosshouses' dispute about a person (analysis of the dialogue at the beginning of Act 3 of M. Gorky's play "At the Lower Depths")
The truth about Gorky’s man includes the truth of Luke and the truth of Satin (based on M. Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths”)
Thoughts about Man in M. Gorky’s play “At the Bottom.”
Disputes about man in Gorky's play “At the Depths”
/ Works / Gorky M. / At the Lower Depths / Two truths (images of Luke and Satin in M. Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths”)
See also the work “At the Bottom”:
Dispute about truth in the play “At the Depths” by M. Gorky
The genre of Maxim Gorky's play “At the Lower Depths” can be defined as a philosophical drama. In this work, the writer managed to raise many problematic questions about man and the meaning of his existence. However, the dispute about the truth in the play “At the Bottom” became key.
History of creation
The play was written in 1902. This time was characterized by a serious economic crisis, as a result of which, due to the closure of factories, workers were out of work, and peasants were forced to beg and beg. All these people, and with them the state, found themselves at the very bottom of their lives. To reflect the full extent of the decline, Maxim Gorky made his heroes representatives of all segments of the population. This is a Baron who became an adventurer, a former Actor, a prostitute, a locksmith, a thief, a shoemaker, a merchant, a rooming house owner, and a policeman.
And it is in the midst of this decline and poverty that the key eternal questions of life are asked. And the conflict was based on a dispute about the truth in the play “At the Bottom.” This philosophical problem has long become insoluble for Russian literature; Pushkin, Lermontov, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov and many others took on it. However, Gorky was not at all frightened by this state of affairs, and he created a work devoid of didacticism and moralizing. The viewer has the right to make his own choice after listening to the different points of view expressed by the characters.
Dispute about the truth
In the play “At the Lower Depths,” as mentioned above, Gorky not only depicted a terrible reality, the main thing for the writer was the answers to the most important philosophical questions. And in the end, he manages to create an innovative work that has no equal in the history of literature. At first glance, the narrative seems scattered, plotless and fragmented, but gradually all the pieces of the mosaic come together, and a clash of heroes unfolds before the viewer, each of whom is the bearer of his own truth.
A topic such as the dispute about truth in the play “At the Bottom” is multifaceted, ambiguous and inexhaustible. A table that could be compiled to better understand it would include three characters: Bubnov, Luka and Satin. It is these characters who lead heated discussions about the need for truth. Realizing the impossibility of answering this question, Gorky puts different opinions into the mouths of these heroes, which are of equal value and equally attractive to the viewer. It is impossible to determine the position of the author himself, therefore these three images of criticism are interpreted differently, and there is still no consensus as to whose point of view on the truth is correct.
Entering into a dispute about truth in the play “At the Bottom,” Bubnov is of the opinion that facts are the key to everything. He does not believe in higher powers and the high destiny of man. A person is born and lives only to die: “Everything is like this: they are born, they live, they die. And I will die... and you... Why regret it..." This character is hopelessly despairing of life and does not see anything joyful in the future. The truth for him is that man cannot resist the circumstances and cruelty of the world.
For Bubnov, lying is unacceptable and incomprehensible; he believes that only the truth should be told: “And why do people like to lie?”; “In my opinion, leave the whole truth as it is!” He openly, without hesitation, expresses his opinion, without looking at others. Bubnov’s philosophy is truthful and merciless to man; he sees no point in helping his neighbor and caring for him.
For Luke, the main thing is not truth, but consolation. Trying to bring at least some meaning to the hopelessness of the daily lives of the inhabitants of the shelter, he gives them false hope. His help lies in lies. Luka understands people well and knows what everyone needs, based on this he makes promises. So, he tells the dying Anna that peace awaits her after death, inspires the Actor with hope for a cure for alcoholism, and promises Ash a better life in Siberia.
Luka appears as one of the key figures in such a problem as the dispute about truth in the play “At the Bottom.” His remarks are full of sympathy and reassurance, but there is not a word of truth in them. This image is one of the most controversial in the drama. For a long time, literary scholars assessed him only from the negative side, but today many see positive aspects in Luke’s actions. His lies console the weak, unable to resist the cruelty of the surrounding reality. The philosophy of this character is kindness: “A person can teach goodness. While a person believed, he lived, but he lost faith and hanged himself.” Indicative in this regard is the story of how the elder saved two thieves when he treated them kindly. Luke’s truth is in pity for the person and the desire to give him hope, albeit illusory, for the possibility of something better, which would help him live.
Satin is considered Luke's main opponent. It is these two characters who are leading the main debate about the truth in the play “At the Bottom.” Satin’s quotes sharply contrast with Luke’s statements: “Lies are the religion of slaves,” “Truth is the god of a free man!”
For Satin, lies are unacceptable, since in a person he sees strength, resilience and the ability to change everything. Pity and compassion are meaningless; people do not need them. It is this character who pronounces the famous monologue about the man-god: “Only man exists, everything else is the work of his hands and his brain! It's great! It sounds proud!”
Unlike Bubnov, who also recognizes only the truth and denies lies, Satin respects people and believes in them.
Thus, the dispute about truth in the play “At the Bottom” is plot-forming. Gorky does not give a clear resolution to this conflict; each viewer must determine who is right for himself. However, it should be noted that Satin’s final monologue is heard both as a hymn to man and as a call to action aimed at changing the terrifying reality.
Dispute about truth and lies in the play At Gorky's Day, essay
In his play “At the Bottom,” the writer writes that a person must choose for himself what is more important in life for him is the truth, which is sometimes murderous, and a lie, which is so pleasant to listen to, like a song. In the work there are two main characters, Luke and Satina, who represent these two truths. There are three types of lies: a lie for salvation, a lie in order to achieve one’s goals, and simply a lie that is not the truth.
Luke's position is one of compassion for people and to their misfortune, he tries to help people survive the cruel truth of life. Luka tries to give everyone hope and comfort, so he talks to Anna about the afterlife as a vacation, believes Nastya that she was truly in love and tells the Actor that his drunkenness can be cured for free. He gives people a golden dream of dreams to give them the support in this life that they so lacked. Talking to Ash, he tells him that the truth does not always have a positive effect on a person, sometimes it is better not to know it, because it can kill.
With the appearance of Luka in the shelter, he has a conflict with Satin, who is used to telling everyone the truth and promotes it everywhere. Only in truth does Satina find truth and not indulge herself with useless illusions. When talking with Luke, he, of course, in a conversation with himself, talks about the fact that this is the business of each person, what to believe in and whether it is worth believing in what Luke tells them. Luke makes people believe in a happy, good and carefree life, but Satina in the end turned out to be right when he said that even if it is difficult to accept the words of the truth, it is better to accept it than to entertain yourself with incomprehensible hopes and end up disappointed. Luka did not do anything better for anyone, Anna and the Actor still died, Ash was arrested, and Natasha disappeared, even the tick was disappointed and resigned to his poverty. Luka did not deceive them in everything, they really are being treated for alcohol, it’s just that the Actor did not want to give up his addiction.
At the beginning of his play, Gorky writes that people believe and hope for a good life, and by the end of the play everyone was faced with the harsh truth of life, which killed the last faith in a person. With his play, Gorky wanted to convey to the reader that one should not be deceived, because when the truth is revealed, it will be much more painful to accept it. Maxim Gorky calls for building your relationships between people based on the truth and not misleading anyone; every person has the right to know the truth, whatever it may be.
Essay Dispute about truth and lies in Gorky's play At the Depth
Maxim Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths,” created by the writer in the twentieth century, reflects the difficult life of people of that time and touches on many of the primary questions that every person asks throughout his life. However, I would like to highlight the main issue raised in the work separately - the dispute about truth and lies, in which three heroes of the work were involved - Satin, Bubnov and Luka.
Satin, in the distant past, an active, cheerful and erudite person, who could really be called both well-read and interesting, whiles away his days in a shelter after serving a sentence for a crime committed several years ago - the murder of his own wife. The hero has a negative attitude towards the so-called “white lie” or “white lie”, sincerely believing that a lie is nothing more than an ordinary and primitive lie, and a blatant and unfair lie in relation to a person who initially deserves to know the truth . Satin believes that a person is capable of coping with many difficulties and life trials, therefore it is simply unfair to use lies in order to theoretically help him - this is not help, this is a humiliation of human dignity.
In turn, Bubnov, the second participant in the debate about truth and lies in “At the Depths,” is a person deeply disappointed in life and in people in general. The character is cruel, cynical and uncompromising, and he does not consider human life to be valuable, believing that we are born only to die later, without leaving behind any spiritual heritage. Bubnov does not see the point in lying, since he believes that there is simply not the slightest sense in it - why lie if you can tell the truth? After all, in the end, neither truth nor lies carry any significant meaning in a global sense.
Luke, the third participant in the dispute, is sincerely convinced that lies are an integral part of the life of every person. He tells people only what they want to hear, believing that in this way he will make their lives, initially full of suffering and problems, easier. Luka feels a sense of pity for each individual person and for humanity in general, therefore he simply does not consider it necessary to be sincere in communicating with people.
I believe that it is incredibly difficult to answer definitively who is right and who is wrong in this debate. Each of the participants in the discussion has their own truth, based on difficult life experiences, about the trials they have passed and the suffering they have experienced. Someone is saved by cynicism, someone is fenced off from the world of reality with a veil of lies that are pleasant to the ear, and someone is simply ready to accept life as it is - difficult, ambiguous, but at the same time largely filled with good events.
In my opinion, in the drama “At the Bottom” Maxim Gorky sought to reveal as fully as possible three completely different points of view on the same issue in order to show how relative truth is. For some, Luke is a truly virtuous person, but for others, he is an ordinary liar. And that is why the questions that Gorky poses to readers are so deep and philosophical - there is simply no single correct answer to them.
Dispute about truth and lies in the play At the Depth
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In the play “At the Bottom,” M. Gorky strives not only to depict a terrible reality to draw attention to the plight of disadvantaged people. He created a truly innovative philosophical and journalistic drama. The content of the seemingly disparate episodes is a tragic collision of three truths, three ideas about life.
The first truth is Bubnov's truth, it can be called the truth of fact. Bubnov is convinced that a person is born to die and there is no need to feel sorry for him: “Everything is like this: they are born, they live, they die. And I will die... and you... Why regret it... You are superfluous everywhere... and all the people on earth are superfluous.” As we see, Bubnov completely denies himself and others; his despair is generated by unbelief. For him, the truth is a cruel, murderous oppression of inhumane circumstances.
Luke's truth is the truth of compassion and faith in God. Taking a closer look at the tramps, he finds words of consolation for each. He is sensitive and kind to those who need help, he instills hope in everyone: he tells the Actor about a hospital for alcoholics, advises Ash to go to Siberia, and talks to Anna about happiness in the afterlife. What Luke says is not simply a lie. Rather, it inspires the belief that there is a way out of any hopeless situation. “People are looking for everything, everyone wants what’s best, God give them patience!” - Luke says sincerely and adds: “Whoever seeks will find... You just need to help them...” Luke brings saving faith to people. He thinks that with pity, compassion, mercy, attention to a person, one can heal his soul, so that the lowest thief understands: “You have to live better! You have to live like this... so that you can... respect yourself..."
The third truth is Satin's truth. He believes in man as in God. He believes that a person can believe in himself and rely on his own strength. He sees no point in pity and compassion. “What good will it do you if I take pity on you?” - he asks Kleshch.. And then he pronounces his famous monologue about man: “Only man exists, everything else is the work of his hands and his brain! Human! It's great! It sounds proud!” Satin is not just talking about a strong personality. He talks about a person who is capable of rebuilding the world at his own discretion, creating new laws of the universe - about a man-god.
Three truths in the play tragically collide, which determines exactly the ending of the play. The problem is that in every truth there is a part of a lie and that the very concept of truth is multidimensional. A striking example of this - and at the same time a moment of collision of different truths - is Satin's monologue about a proud man. This monologue is pronounced by a drunken, despondent man. And the question immediately arises: is this drunk, degenerate person the same one who “sounds proud”? A positive answer is doubtful, but if it is negative, then what about the fact that “only man exists? Does this mean that Satin, who is speaking this monologue, does not exist? It turns out that in order to perceive the truth of Satin’s words about a proud man, one must not see Satin, whose appearance is also true.
It is scary that an inhumane society kills and maims human souls. But the main thing in the play is that M. Gorky made his contemporaries feel even more acutely the injustice of the social system, made them think about man and his freedom. He says in his play: we must live without putting up with untruth and injustice, but not destroy our kindness, compassion, and mercy.
The play “At the Lower Depths” was written on June 15, 1902, and premiered on stage on December 31 of the same year. It changed many names during the development process and overcame many obstacles due to censorship in Russian theaters, but remains interesting to this day, because in it you can find the truth about the life of “former people”, that is, the social lower classes of society, hence its name , to which we are so accustomed.
You can talk a lot about why Gorky didn’t give it a title, for example, “Without the Sun” or “Nochlezhka,” but the most interesting thing, in my opinion, is to talk about the conflict of this play.
I want to start with the fact that in the play we can notice three “truths”, each of which is true in its own way, they are the ones that make up the conflict of the work.
The “truth” of the wanderer Luke is that if a person needs a lie in order to live, he needs to lie, for this will be a lie for the greater good. Without it, a person may not be able to withstand the difficult truth and die altogether, since everyone needs consolation to continue the fight against despondency. The hero’s speech is aphoristic, and in it you can see his position in life. For example, the hero believes that: “What you believe in is what it is.”
There is also a second “truth”, which is displayed in the image of Satin, who is a cheater and an alcoholic. In the past, he was a telegraph operator, but he dared to kill a man and went to prison, and so he ended up in a shelter, carrying his “truth” that lying is a religion of slaves and you can’t lie to anyone, anywhere. Satin believes that a person should be respected, and not humiliated with pity. According to Konstantin, a person should not despair, and it is in his monologues that the author’s position is observed: “Truth is the god of a free man!”
The third “truth” is that you need to say everything straight, as it is, and this is Bubnov’s truth. He believes that there is no point in lying, since everyone will die sooner or later anyway.
Each person decides for himself which “truth” is closer to him, but the most difficult thing is to make the right choice, because the life of a person, or even hundreds of people, can depend on it. I believe that the truth proposed by Satin is closer to me, since I think that a person should always be aware of his worth and be respected. Lies will always exist, whether we like it or not, because without evil, as we know, there would be no good. However, it cannot be cultivated and turned into an idea, justifying it with an illusory good. Everyone has their own understanding of “good,” and if we begin to deceive each other in order to achieve a “higher” goal, then we will sow only evil. The dispute over whose truth is more truthful will be resolved by force, and there will no longer be time for respect and value of human life and personality.
Luka leaves, like abstract ideals under the pressure of real life. What can he, a tramp and a beggar, advise people? How can I help you? Only to instill destructive vain hope, which, when it leaves, will break a person into smithereens.
In conclusion, I want to write that an honest person is much stronger and kinder than a liar: he is not indifferent if he tries to find the truth and show it to you, and not hide it or “not notice” out of banal indifference to your fate. A liar irresponsibly and cold-bloodedly takes advantage of gullibility and betrays it, while an honest person has to break through the armor of mistrust and act directly for your good. He doesn't use you or fool you for fun. Luka was also neither calculating nor funny, but he was far from real life and immersed in his own illusions. Satin is a realist; he has seen more in his time. This kind of prodigal son learned from his own experience how a person needs respect and truth, which, who knows, could have warned him in due time from a fatal mistake.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!Man - that's the truth!
M. Gorky. At the bottom
The play "At the Lower Depths" was written by M. Gorky in 1902, on the eve of the first Russian revolution. It gives a vivid idea not only of class antagonism and social ills of the old society, but also of those complex processes of mental fermentation that engulfed even the most backward, restless sections of the people.
The main philosophers of the flophouse in the play are Satin and Luka. Satin's philosophy is cheerful cynicism, the perception of life as a game, since he himself is a sharper. And although Satin is a man with quirks and surprises, his thoughts are able to break out of the framework of the usual way of life of tramps.
In the image of Luke we see a common folk wandering philosopher, in whom the searches and wanderings of a significant part of the social lower classes, the desire for truth, high morality, and “order” are embodied. Luke is a representative of a Christian-colored, original system of views, in which there is a childish faith, and a desire to console and encourage, and a share of sensitivity, its own ethics and its own irony: “Listen, don’t bother! Here - a woman is dying... her lips are already covered with earth... don’t interfere!” But, preaching faith in man and respect for him, this wanderer pities people more than respects them.
Luke traveled a lot during an unusual period of history, when the spiritual life of the people took on an increasingly intense character. The old man treats government officials with coolness. To Medvedev’s question: “Who are you? As if I don’t know you...”, Luka answers sharply and even a little contemptuously: “And do you know all the other people?”
Luka is a very attentive and observant person, he is interested in knowing how everything will work out in the future, what life will be like, at this time full of evil and injustice. He has a wealth of life experience, he knows many true stories and draws his own, very interesting conclusions: “Siberia can’t teach a person anything, but a person... he can teach a lot... and very quickly.”
But the weak point in Luke’s worldview is the lack of objective truths: “what you believe is what you believe.” It turns out that under the guise of consolation and faith, he sows disbelief and despair among the inhabitants of the shelter. Preaching faith in man, he gives the heroes of the play hope only for a short time, after which bitter disappointment sets in. This happens because the elder is secretly convinced that the real situation of a person cannot be changed.
As a result of Luke’s activities, people continue to live in a false world of their own invention. And one of the most terrible consequences of this is the suicide of the Actor, who was encouraged by the old man and eventually realized that it was all a lie.
It turns out that Luke often prefers illusions and lies to truth, although “lies for the greater good”: “Why do you really need it badly... She really may be a bitch for you.”
Satin in M. Gorky's play "At the Lower Depths" is Luke's ideological opponent. Although it was the old man who led him to think, Satin adheres to other principles and raises the thought of the value of man to an unattainable height: “Man is free!” If Luke puts forward the theory that people are valuable not in themselves, but as material for something better, Satin was able to go further in his reasoning: “Everything is in a person, everything is for a person! A person! This is great! It sounds. .. proudly!.. We must respect a person! Don’t feel sorry... don’t humiliate him with pity... we must respect him! "
And even though Satin is more a man of words than deeds, his speech, his understanding testify that faith in life, the spark of life itself did not go out “at the bottom.” In one of his aphorisms, Satin acts as a fierce opponent of Luke: “Lies are the religion of slaves and masters. Truth is the god of a free man.”
Both of these characters are very valuable to me: their views, their worldview. With the appearance of Luka, the inhabitants of the shelter began to think, search, they wanted a brighter life, although they themselves probably understood this vaguely.
If you don't push the wheel, it won't turn. It was from Luke’s suggestion that Satin, in his reflections, came to the conclusion about the importance of man. He went further than Luke because he chose a more direct and honest path. It was Satin who managed to believe in man and reject Luke’s false humanism: “Man is the truth!” But, having come to the right conclusions, Satin remained the individualist he was before.
A person cannot change immediately; it takes time. So in life there are periods when Luke is needed with his consolation, encouragement, attention to others, but there are also moments when only Satin’s decisive word will carry the truth to the human heart.
