At the bottom is the bitter main idea. The ideological originality of M. Gorky’s play “At the Bottom”

M. Gorky began his creative activity in a difficult, turning-point period: values ​​changed, a person became a “slave of things”, became depersonalized. At the beginning of his creative path Gorky wrote romantic works. His heroes were free, brave, strong. But these heroes are fictional.
In the play “At the Bottom”, Gorky is interested in a completely different type of people - people of the “bottom”, broken by life, doomed to death. The play “At the Bottom” is a work that, in essence, is devoid of action; it has no plot, central conflict or denouement. It's like a set of actions different people, gathered in the shelter. Heroes, their inner world are revealed not from actions, but from conversations. Each character represents a certain philosophy, idea.
So, the heroes of the play are characterized primarily by their speech. And the first thing to note is that they are rude to each other. This happens, perhaps, because people do not want and cannot accept their insignificance and, with their deliberate rudeness, seem to protect themselves from external changes (“You are a fool, Nastya...”). People seem to have gone wild; they can no longer speak normal, living language. So, Kleshch cannot say a kind word even to his dying wife. It is believed that keyword in the play - “truth”. This word is a leitmotif. But the truth of the heroes is ambiguous. It is as if in two dimensions. On the one hand, this is the truth of their everyday life Everyday life, the “bottom” truth, and on the other hand, the truth that they would like to see. This is true “fictional”. And from the very beginning we already see the conflict of these two truths.
The reality is this: in a damp basement, “like a cave,” in terrible dirt and stench, people are huddled, thrown out of life. Gorky does not provide biographies of the characters in the play, but from individual remarks we can judge how bleak their existence is. Consumptive Anna says that “all her life she shook over every piece of bread... she suffered... All her life she walked around in rags.” Everything has been taken away from these unfortunate inhabitants of the “bottom”: honor, human dignity, the possibility of love and motherhood, creating a family - all hope, everything human is destroyed, trampled into the dirt.
And even here, in this strange world outcasts, where people worthy of compassion are buried alive, the wolf laws of the capitalist world continue to operate. Almost all the inhabitants of the Kostylevo shelter are driven to despair, reaching out to some kind of ghosts and illusions. Kleshch dreams of getting out of here, believing that honest work will help him become a man: “I’ll rip off my skin, and I’ll get out.” Wants to start a new one healthy life Vaska Pepel, sincerely believes in pure love Nastya. Everyone is trying to straighten up, to become full-fledged people.
None of the heroes wants to admit even to themselves that they are at the very “bottom”, that is, to realize the real situation. The conflict between real and fictional truth reaches its climax in the third act in the dispute about the truth of Bubnov, Kleshch and Luka. The tick reveals the real truth: “What a truth! Where is the truth? That's the truth! No work... no power! That's the truth! Shelter... there is no shelter! You have to breathe... here it is, the truth! Devil! Why... what do I need it for - really? Let me breathe... let me breathe! What is my fault?.. Why do I need the truth? Living is the devil - you can’t live... here it is, the truth!.. Speak here - the truth! You, old man, console everyone... I'll tell you... I hate everyone! And this truth... damn it, damn it! Understood? Understand! Damn her!
The theme of truth in the play echoes the theme of faith. The bearer of the philosophy of faith is Luke. For him, the truth of a person is the one in which he believes: “Let's go, honey! Nothing... don't be angry! I know... I believe! Your truth, not theirs... If you believe, you had real love... that means it was her! Was!" The essence of Luke's philosophy is that faith can replace reality, as it helps a person escape from terrible truth into a world of beautiful illusions. Thus, the two philosophical views in the play are interconnected.
The idea of ​​a free man is expressed by Satin. He exposes the comforting lies of Elder Luke, who, seeing the torment of the disadvantaged, selflessly tries to help them, alleviate their suffering, and pacify them. He inspires the drunken Actor with hope of recovery in a free hospital; the dying Anna advises not to be afraid of death: it brings peace; Ash advises the thief to leave for rich, happy Siberia. The deceiver Luke is humane in his own way, but his humanism is passively compassionate. It is based on the fact that Luke does not believe in human capabilities: for him, all people are insignificant, weak, petty, they only need compassion and consolation. "I don't care! I respect swindlers too; in my opinion, not a single flea is bad,” he says. Secretly, he is confident that a person’s real situation cannot be changed, which is why he approaches everyone with a comforting lie.
Satin speaks out against this comforting lie and the philosophy of slavish humility and patience: “Whoever is weak in soul... and who lives on other people’s juices, needs a lie... Some people are supported by it, others hide behind it... Lies are the religion of slaves and masters. Truth is the god of a free man." In Satin's monologue full voice there is a demand for freedom and a humane attitude towards people: “We must respect people! Don’t feel sorry... don’t humiliate him with pity... you have to respect him!” He is convinced that one should not reconcile a person with reality, but make reality itself serve a person. “Man is free. Man - that's the truth. Everything is in man, everything is for man. Only man exists; everything else is the work of his hands, his brain. Human! It sounds proud!” - this is the main idea of ​​the play.

His work tells us about the night shelter where the heroes of the work gathered and at first the author called his masterpiece “Nochlezhka”. But this name would take us only to a specific place, namely to the place of lodging that Kostylev owned and where the heroes of the play gathered. It was a basement with a heavy ceiling, where there were no normal chairs, and instead of beds there were bunks. A small square window only occasionally let in light. In a word, the name Nochlezhka could not fully convey the meaning of the play. But Gorky wanted the work to be broader and deeper. It revealed more of the essence. The author was thinking about giving another name to his play. For example, the title Without the Sun would have been profound, but it didn't quite fit the theme. Although the heroes had little joy and warmth in their lives, sunlight they could see.

The meaning of the title of the play At the Bottom

What is the meaning of the title of the play At the Bottom?
When Gorky renamed his work, the meaning of the name began to play with different colors, and we will try to speculate a little about the meaning of the title of the play At the Lower Depths in ours.

Reading Gorky's work, we will get acquainted with the heroes of the shelter - embittered, weak-willed, sick people. From their stories and conversations, we conclude that they have already lost faith in life, have lost meaning and hope in it. These lost people They no longer expect anything from life, and they don’t want to change anything in their existence. All this directly suggests that they are already at the very bottom of the social ladder. Heroes cannot live without drunkenness, scandals, and lies. They constantly scold, but still we see that people at the bottom are still capable of talking about truth and freedom. But each of them has its own truth. The title At the Bottom fully reveals the essence of the play. Thanks to a well-chosen title, the author showed that we're talking about not only about the place where you spend the night, which looks like a cave and it seems as if you are at the very bottom. But I was also able to convey the atmosphere that hovered in this shelter. The moral and ethical ugliness of the people who gathered there. Subsequently, Gorky’s “at the bottom” became symbolic and revealed not only the essence of the play, but also the lifestyle of some people in our society.

Falling to the bottom of society is as easy as passing two bytes. To do this, you do not need to have special knowledge or skills. Just remain human, think not only about everyday things, but also speak out philosophical themes- not everyone can do this. After all, a person who is at the bottom has only three options: slide into the abyss, turn into a philosopher, or rise from the ashes.

The legacy of Maxim Gorky

Alexey Maksimovich Peshkov cherished the dream that the world would be inhabited by “new people.” People who are impeccable in terms of intellectual and physical development, manners and principles. These new people are distinguished by fearlessness and thirst for freedom, they don’t care about any obstacles, they can achieve anything they want. And even if their goals are beyond the realm of possibility, they can do it.

During this time, he managed to write 5 novels, 10 novellas, 18 stories and essays, 16 plays and published 3 cycles of journalistic articles. The writer, novelist and playwright was nominated 5 times for Nobel Prize in the field of literature. He became known as one of the most famous Russian thinkers and writers. He left behind a rich legacy, and one of the pearls of his collection is the play “At the Bottom.”

"At the bottom"

The play “At the Bottom” saw the world in 1902. Before publishing the material, the author for a long time I couldn't choose which title to go with. He had a choice among several options: “The Bottom”, “Nochlezhka”, “At the Bottom of Life”, “Without the Sun”. Ultimately, the play received the short and laconic title “At the Bottom.” Two years after its release, in 1904, the play was awarded the Griboyedov Prize.

The first performance based on the work was staged on December 18, 1902 at the Moscow Art Theater. IN Soviet time The production delighted the audience 9 times. Last time it could be seen in 1956. But this did not detract from her success. More than once the play was staged abroad in cities such as Berlin, Krakow, Helsinki, Paris, Tokyo, New York, London, Tunisia. From 1996 to the present, more than 20 productions have been staged in different countries peace. The play was filmed 10 times not only by domestic cinema, but also in Hungary, Japan and France.

What attracted the public so much to this play: the problem moral choice; the awareness that each person has his own truth; or the very image of the bottom in the play “At the Bottom” touched the strings human soul? Let's try to figure it out.

M. Gorky, “At the Lower Depths”: summary

The events of the work take place in a place like a flophouse. The lodging house is the property of M.I. Kostylev. People live here who have long sunk to the bottom of society. Some of them still believe that they can get out of this hell and change their destiny for the better, while others have long given up and slipped into the farthest channels of the “bottom.”

Between the residents of the shelter difficult relationships. They have different destinies, different views on life, so it’s difficult for them to find mutual language, because of which quarrels constantly arise. The owner's wife, Vasilisa, loves Vaska Pepla, who earns his living by stealing. She persuades the thief to kill her husband so that they will be free and no one will bother them. Only Vaska does not reciprocate Vasilisa’s feelings, since he has long been in love with her younger sister Natalya. Vasilisa notices this and mercilessly beats Natalya, which is why she ends up in the hospital. After being discharged, she no longer returns to the shelter.

What next does the work that M. Gorky created (“At the Depths”) tell about? Summary even in the second part it is tragic. Appears among the guests new person Luke, who inspires everyone that life will get better. But when a conflict arises between Kostylev and Vaska, as a result of which Vaska accidentally kills Kostylev and the thief is arrested, Luka miraculously disappears. The actor, who had become attached to Luka and believed him, is upset by his disappearance and hangs himself in the yard. The reader is struck by the final phrase of the work, uttered by Satin after he learned of the death of the Actor: “What a fool, he just ruined the song.”

People of the bottom

The people of the bottom in Gorky's play "At the Depth" are the most ordinary. They got into a difficult situation life situation. The main characters of the work:

• Mikhail Kostylev is in charge of the shelter.
• Vasilisa is Kostylev’s wife, loves the thief Ash.
• Natalya, Vasilisa’s sister, suffers beatings from her older sister and disappears after leaving the hospital.
• Luke is a wanderer who suddenly appears and disappears, skillfully comforting everyone with lies.
• Vaska Pepel is a thief who wants to change his destiny.
• Mite is an ordinary hard worker who wants to return to his past life.
• The Baron is an impoverished aristocrat, confident that the best moments of his life are in the past.
• Satin is a sharper, he is sure that the main thing for a person is spiritual freedom
• Actor - once actually performed on big stage, currently a drunkard who couldn't think of anything better to do than commit suicide.

Play Analysis

Why did Gorky write “At the Lower Depths”? Analysis of this work shows that among the moral dirt of outcasts of society there is a small smoldering ember that unobtrusively hisses: “Man is proud, man is good!” This is especially clearly visible when guests face a small problem.

Truth or lie?

The problem of moral choice in Gorky's play “At the Lower Depths” is very acute. What should people believe? A sweet lie or a bitter truth, with which Gorky spiced up his play “At the Depths”? The analysis shows that the wanderer Luke is the master of sweet lies in the work; he is sure that people need to be told what they want to hear. He reassures all the inhabitants of the shelter. Gives you faith that there is a chance to change your life if you do this or that. But when he suddenly disappears, everyone becomes uneasy. The guests feel abandoned, and the Actor, who believed Luke’s words more than anyone else, commits suicide.

The truth in Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths” is personified by its hero, Satin. This man is not best representative human race- he is dishonest, likes to drink, gets into fights, and looks to the future with pessimism. But there is a little more knowledge and understanding of what is happening. It is from him that the simple truth comes: “You need to be proud of being a human being.” Satin is not a charismatic personality who can lead a crowd, he is not a revolutionary, not a psychologist or a politician - he simply pointed out the obvious, which lit a special spark in the eyes of every inhabitant who had not yet completely despaired. And it will not fade away when Satin disappears, as happened with Luke’s beautiful lie.

The image of the bottom in the play “At the Bottom”

What else can be said about this creation of a classic of Russian literature? Why is it so captivating even to our contemporaries? Maybe because the topic raised by Alexey Maksimovich is relevant at all times?

The play written by M. Gorky (“At the Depths”) can rightfully be called social and philosophical. Here social life and philosophical reflections do not intersect, but complement each other perfectly, making the play full-fledged, lively and real work. The image of the bottom in the play “At the Bottom” represents the harsh reality of the lower strata of society. There are no fictitious facts here, but only real life, such as it is. The fate of the outcasts, those who no longer have a chance to rise. For the first time in world drama, the hopeless fate of “ former people" In the sticky darkness of the musty basement, crippled people, disfigured by fate, gathered. Every day they desperately fight for their existence. Some people have enough strength to survive, while others surrender to the embrace of death. The only ray of hope in this pitchless darkness was brought by Luke, who reassured people and then disappeared. It is difficult not to give up in such a situation, but Satin’s words instill in people faith not in the future, but in their own human dignity. The image of the bottom in the play “At the Bottom” is a torture chamber, where His Majesty disappointment acts as the executioner. It mercilessly beats people who have long been covered in dirt.

The image of the bottom in the play “At the Bottom” is something dark and hopeless, but with a person inside. And where there is a person, there will always be a little hope, because a person is wonderful.

The truth is always recognizable

The public reacted ambiguously to the play written by M. Gorky (“At the Depths”). People have always been alien to the suffering of the lower class of society. But the truthfulness of his story, the characters and fates of his heroes became recognizable not only in the Soviet Union, but throughout the world - from America to Japan.

Ideological and artistic originality of the play “At the Lower Depths”

The ideological and artistic originality of the play “at the bottom” found expression in the connection of the work with the era. The drama reflected the contradictions of Russian life on the eve of the first Russian revolution, the contradictions of the capitalist world and Gorky’s attitude to contemporary philosophical movements: his polemic with the idealistic philosophy of Solovyov.

Also, the ideological and artistic features of M. Gorky’s play were reflected in social issues. Depicting the “bottom”, Gorky shows society in miniature. All the inhabitants of the shelter are former “formers”. The actor, Ash, Nastya, Natasha, Kleshch strive to break free from the bottom of life, but they feel completely powerless before the constipation of this prison, which gives rise to a feeling of hopelessness in the heroes. In a love affair they are realized social contradictions. The play “at the bottom” continues the traditions of A.P. Chekhov:

• a) many storylines;
• b) lyrical subtext, “undercurrents”
• c) speech characteristics.

Philosophical issues of the play

Amazing how Gorky managed to immerse the reader into the life of the Kostylevo flophouse, to make one think about the problems that concern him, the playwright, and some of his characters. And what was also fascinating was that among the dirt, rags, drunken screams, card games, cheating, money calculations, people who are capable of rising to philosophical heights in understanding the complex and difficult issues of life live and do not dissolve in that way of life.

First of all, Luka, who appeared in the Kostylevo shelter in the middle of the first act, attracts attention. The name of this hero is noteworthy. On the one hand, it clearly comes from the word “evil one,” which has a double meaning. He is a cunning, clever, secretive deceiver - and at the same time a good-natured, playful, humorous person. Both of these semantic poles are contained in the word “evil” and in the character of this character. On the other hand, this name recalls one of the apostles, the creator of the “Gospel” of Luke. This means that before us is a certain bearer of wisdom, bringing people some new, its own Gospel - a certain truth. It’s not for nothing that he is a wanderer. This concept is often associated with the concept of “truth seeker.”

What is the truth and wisdom of Luke? This hero is convinced that one must be able to feel sorry for a person, especially when it is difficult for him, that one must show him compassion. This position is close to us in its own way today, when we think a lot about mercy, about helping disadvantaged people; but this compassion takes on a unique form in Luke. He believes that people are more afraid of the real truth of life, because it is too harsh, “a pain in the ass for people.” To make their situation easier, you need to embellish their life, bring into it a fairy tale, a beautiful deception, a rose-colored dream, a “golden dream.” It is curious that after Luke’s reasoning, the Actor, who listens attentively to him, unexpectedly recalls poems on this topic:

Gentlemen, if the truth is holy

The world won't be able to find its way,

Honor the madman who inspires

Humanity has a golden dream. Volkov A.V. Art world M. Gorky. M., 1977, p. 141

These verses French poet Bérangers, of course, are addressed to Luke or others like him. It is Luka who plays the role of the madman who evokes a golden dream for each of the night shelters. That is why he is so affectionate with people, calling them “darling”, “dove”, “baby”; so he tells Anna about afterlife, Ash - about the golden country of Siberia, and Actor - about a hospital with marble floors. All these are varieties of the same “golden dream”. To Ash’s question: “Why are you lying all the time?” Luka replies: “And what you really need badly, think about it! She really might be too much for you.”

A completely different point of view is held in the shelter by its two other inhabitants: Baron and Bubnov. Once a rich aristocrat who had sunk to the position of a pimp, the Baron has left hundreds of serfs, carriages with coats of arms, coffee with cream in bed in the morning far in the past and understands perfectly well that all this cannot be returned. And Satin aptly remarks to him: “You can’t go far in the carriage of the past.” And now the Baron, completely devastated, does not believe in anything, does not dream of anything. And this became his position, his philosophy. He utters, for example, his cherished phrase: “I don’t expect anything. Everything has already... happened! It's over... it's over! That’s why he doesn’t console anyone, he insists on bare facts from which you can’t escape.

Bubnov adheres to related positions. Once upon a time, this man suffered a lot. He failed as the owner of a furrier's establishment, went completely bankrupt, and experienced a great personal failure: his wife cheated on him, and he went on a drinking binge. Life has made him an indifferent cynic, a person who does not believe in anything. Bubnov only admits what exists. For him, Luka’s stories and Nastya’s naive fantasy are absurd, and he states the harsh truth life: “But I don’t know how to lie! For what? In my opinion, tell the whole truth as it is! Why be ashamed? And Bubnov is not shy. He speaks his truths like a caw. And it’s no coincidence that Ash calls him exactly that: “Raven.” Here Anna begs the night shelters not to make noise, to let her die in peace, and Bubnov states: “The noise of death is not a hindrance.” Here Ash tells Natasha about his love, promises to make her happy. And Bubnov says: “But the threads are rotten.” He seems to be talking about his own things, because he sews a cap using rotten threads, but this phrase receives an additional, deep meaning. Everything Ash talks about is sewn with rotten threads. Nastya, who has decided to leave the basement, exclaims: “I’m superfluous here!”, to which Bubnov reacts like this: “You’re superfluous everywhere.” They report Anna’s death, and Bubnov utters the following words: “That means she’s stopped coughing.” Bubnov declares all people’s dreams unnecessary and false: “Color, crow, feathers... go ahead!” - he says to Nastya in response to her dreams of a student’s love. Bubnov is deeply convinced that he does not need such “coloring”, and for the edification of others he tells that he, Bubnov, once repainted dogs into raccoons in a dyeing workshop, which is why his hands were constantly red, but now they are just dirty. So “no matter how you paint yourself, everything will be erased, one naked man will remain." It is not difficult to see in these arguments the philosophy of naked fact that Bubnov professes. He says: “People all live... like chips floating down a river.” Bubnov's truth is a very cruel, wingless truth Gorky M. Complete. collection cit.: Artist. prod: In 25 volumes. M., 1968, p. 348.

The third philosophical position in the play is expressed and defended by Satin. This is a former telegraph operator who once read a lot and performed on stage. While reading, he did not blindly trust what was written, but analyzed and tested what he had learned with his extraordinary critical mind. Satin rejects lies, all kinds of illusions, golden dreams, fairy tales about life. According to him, “lie is the religion of slaves and masters.” The Kostylevs need lies to deceive people like night shelters. And the latter need it to justify their humiliated and powerless position or to console themselves with pitiful and vain hopes. Therefore, Satin says quite frankly that Luke lied and misled everyone.

At the same time, Satin also speaks out against the inhuman “truth” of Bubnov and Baron. According to Satin, one must live in the present, soberly assessing reality? but at the same time a dream about the future, breaking away from real life. And this is the real Truth. Such truth, which is based on deep faith in man, in his infinite possibilities, in his exceptional potential powers, is the “God of free man.” Satin reflects not on a specific person, now oppressed by need and oppression, but on man in general. This is exactly philosophical view for life. And here I remember the wonderful satinic monologue: “What is a person? It's not you, not me, not them, no - it's you, me, them, the old man, Napoleon, Mohammed... in one. This is huge! This is where everything begins and ends.” This means that there will be no lonely, isolated, alienated person. The time will come when people will be united and united common affairs and ideas. People will be valued most of all in this society. He will become free, full-fledged, harmoniously developed, beautiful and majestic. Everything will be in man and everything will be for man. This is why, Satin argues, one must respect a person; not to feel sorry, not to humiliate him with pity, but to respect him. This will be the basis of the morality of the society of the future, so the name of Man will sound proudly.

Perhaps Satin is in vain to deny compassion, pity, and mercy. These feelings, it seems to me, can coexist perfectly with respect for a person. But Satin values ​​that - attention to human personality, the sensitivity to her that Luke showed. This is why Satin declares: “The old man is not a charlatan... he affected me like acid on an old and dirty coin”; in other words, Luke gave Gorky's hero an impulse for reflection and for his broad generalizations, which absorbed the high philosophical truth of life. Gorky here entrusted Satin with his own innermost thoughts.

It is this clash of three main positions in Gorky’s play that strikes amazing sparks. They give food to the mind. They deeply concern me and do not leave me indifferent. After all, even today, ninety-five years after the play was written, we are thinking about what is the truth and meaning of life, is it necessary to constantly talk in newspapers, on radio and television, in everyday life about its difficulties, without hiding the truth from people, or, Perhaps we need to trust optimistic forecasts, prophecies of psychics, political scientists, and fortune tellers. And today we reflect on compassion for a person whose life is especially difficult these days. And Gorky’s play, its deep philosophical wisdom, helps to understand all this. Kaplan I.E. Analysis of works of Russian classics. School course: a book for teachers and applicants. M., 1997, p. 88.

1. The history of the appearance of M. Gorky’s play “At the Depths”.
2. Innovation of the play.
3. general characteristics residents of the shelter.
4. Luke's position.
5. Contrasting the ideas of two heroes - Luke and Satin.

Man is free... he pays for everything himself: for faith, for disbelief, for love, for intelligence. A person pays for everything himself and therefore he is free!..
M. Gorky

The play “At the Lower Depths” by M. Gorky is one of the most striking and dramatic works writer. The play was first shown on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater in 1902. The play was a major success in theatrical life that time. Over time, it was staged in other theaters in Russia and Western Europe. The main problems of M. Gorky’s creativity in the early 1900s are shown in the play “At the Depths”. Here the writer again, as in early works, addresses the world of the outcasts, although it views them a little differently.

What is the innovation of M. Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths”? The theme of the human “bottom” itself is not new in literature, and the novelty of this play lies not in the theme itself, but in its new solution. M. Gorky, depicting the suffering of people at the bottom, denounces the bourgeois-property world and shows the whole society in miniature. The writer’s position towards tramps has also changed; he is already trying to look into their destinies and understand the essence of existence, to reveal social psychology. Describing scary pictures the lives of the inhabitants of the shelter, M. Gorky at the same time shows the powerful strength of these people, which is capable of resisting the social conditions that influence a person and disfigure him. The heroes of the play “At the Bottom” are trying to figure it out and understand what the reasons and meaning of the fate that is prescribed for them are. They argue about the truth, about simple human happiness and, most importantly, about the individual himself, about his place in this world. Each character in the play has his own opinion and his own answer to these questions.

People living in the shelter with absolutely different characters, of different origins and ages, but they are all brought together by one fate. And they perceive their position just as differently. Mortally ill Anna and Tatar came to terms with their situation. The only thing the Baron can do is useless ridicule of the people of the “bottom” like him. Nastya is angry, the thief Vaska Pepel is rebelling, Luka is trying to console all the inhabitants of the shelter, and Satin philosophizes a lot, but does absolutely nothing to somehow realize his ideals in life. Tick ​​is more worried about his fate than anyone else; he constantly dreams of one day breaking out of the captivity of the shelter and starting to live by honest work.

But one of the most important disputes in the play “At the Lower Depths” is between two residents of the shelter - between Luka and Satin.

For Luke himself, all people are selfish, pathetic, worthless, and they only need consolation in their lives. Luke's role is precisely that of a comforter for all the inhabitants of the shelter. For Luke himself, there are a huge number of truths, as many as there are people in the world. He tells the residents of the shelter various stories: about extraordinary love, about the righteous land “in that, they say, land - special people inhabit... good people! They respect each other... - they help,” he talks to Anna about have a wonderful life in the next world “... and you will be at peace... you will no longer need to be afraid of anything! Silence...". The elder informs the actor about a free hospital where alcoholics are cured: “... nowadays they are treating for drunkenness,... Free, brother, they are treating... this is the kind of hospital that is set up... so that, therefore, they can be treated for nothing...”. But such lies from Luke did not help the residents of the shelter, but on the contrary, only harmed them. Thus, the Actor, who for a moment believed in Luke’s fairy tale about an extraordinary hospital, very soon realized what his fictitious stories were worth. And it’s not for nothing that the Actor quotes P. J. Beranger:

Gentlemen! If the truth is holy
The world doesn't know how to find a way,
Honor the madman who inspires
A golden dream for humanity!

These poems by Beranger from the lips of the Actor sound like a mockery of illusions. He does not want to live in a fictional world and as a result commits suicide. As a result, it turns out that all of Luke’s sermons do not improve a person’s life, but, on the contrary, only push him to the edge. Gradually, life itself and harsh reality expose all of Luke’s comforting lies. In M. Gorky's play, Luke's position is contrasted with Satin's monologue. He calls for every person to open their eyes to life problems and saw the real reality, and not the fictitious one that Luke offers. According to Satin, “Lies are the religion of slaves and masters... Truth is the god of a free man!” But all the heroes of this play are absolutely not like free people. These people are losers, they are stupid, they are those “who are weak in soul... and who live on other people’s juices - those who need lies... some are supported by it, others hide behind it... And who is their own master... . who is independent and does not eat someone else’s, why does he need lies?..” But it gradually becomes clear that there is no one in the play who could become his own master.

Satin speaks out against Luke, against his sermons - patience and consolation: “I can’t get it out of my head... this old man!.. Don’t offend a person! And if I was offended once and for the rest of my life at once! What should I do? Forgive? Nothing. No one..." Satin argues that you should not humiliate a person with pity for him, you just need to respect him. For Satin, a person “is not you, not me, not them... no! It's you, me, them, the old man, Napoleon, Mohammed... in one! This one is huge!... A man!... It sounds... proud! We must respect the person! Don’t feel sorry... don’t humiliate him with pity... you must respect him!”

In the play “At the Lower Depths” M. Gorky tried to show how different social conditions life, the incompatible contradictions of reality can push every person “to the bottom.” M. Gorky sees a way out of this situation only in a decisive and merciless struggle against all these living conditions.