“Cooling in faith is a consequence of the unwillingness to give up anything in oneself”
How can a person understand himself who, while remaining a member of the Church, feels the fading of faith? What is the internal logic of this process? Is it possible to reverse it? Abbot Nektary (Morozov) is thinking about this today.
Believe by inertia
Sometimes Christian believers have to give, according to the word of the Apostle Peter, an account of their hope (see: 1 Pet. 3, 15), answer a question approximately as follows: “You go to church, you are a Christian. How do you explain that sometimes Christians church people do things that even the pagans do not allow themselves to do?”
First of all, we will probably say that not everyone who attends church and is called a Christian actually is one. A person can be a believer - and the demons believe and tremble(James. 2, 19), a person can be a church member - know the teachings of the Church well, attend divine services; but he becomes a Christian only when he really begins, through pain, through a change of heart, to learn the Christian life. But there are not so many such people - and in the Church you can meet along with them those who are completely alien to the spirit of Christ, but there is no need to judge people whose life choice- to be a disciple of Christ.
And here the interlocutor, especially if he is a practical, business-like person, may ask: “But what then in the Church, where a person is called to learn the Christian life, do a huge number of people who do not study this life? What is the reason not to develop and not to leave?”
And this is a valid question. Moreover, most of us ask ourselves similar questions in everyday life and gives reasonable answers. For example, parents bring their child to art school or sports section. After some time, they will almost certainly ask the teacher or coach about whether there is a prospect, whether there is a result. And if it becomes clear to them that the child, after studying from year to year, draws some kind of doodles or cannot do the splits, they are unlikely to leave him there for no apparent reason, as long as he walks. And at the same time, it may not occur to the same people that their stay in the Church should not be like this either - “for no reason” and “for nothing.” This is a state when a person is still praying, still fasting, still confessing due to the power of spiritual inertia: if it had not existed, he would have long been outside the Church, but he still retained the echo of a certain push that occurred in his spiritual life.
How does this inertia arise, what is destructive about it and what are its properties?
Domino effect
We can probably say that there are several reasons for the emergence of spiritual inertia. This may be a shallow understanding of Christianity, often due to the fact that a person is not accustomed to getting to the essence of things. He received some experiences in the Church, they touched him, inspired him, but the life of the Church remained a closed book for him — and when the period of calling grace has passed and everything is no longer so easy and joyful, he doesn’t even want to open it.
Another reason, very banal and ordinary, is negligence. And there is probably not a single person among us who does not suffer from this illness. But one person constantly strives to overcome himself, and then somehow moves forward, while the other chooses the path of creating an illusion for himself: yes, I don’t do this and I don’t do that, and I haven’t been to church for a long time, but I In principle, everything is fine in the Church and with me. What happens to the soul at this time? The same as with the muscles of the body, if they are not set in motion for a long time: the soul, if it does not work, at some point becomes completely powerless.
And there is one more very serious reason. It is no coincidence that the Lord says that if we follow Him, we will need to deny ourselves (see: Matt. 16, 24). Often a Christian during his first steps in the Church simply does not think about this, or it seems to him that he has already rejected himself. But sooner or later a person stumbles upon something so deep, intimate, and passionate in himself that he would really like to preserve in his life, but with which it is impossible to continue to follow the Lord. Maybe you need to forgive - and not some ordinary mistake, but something serious and difficult. Maybe you need to give up your illegal relationship with a person who is, let’s say, unfree. Yes, there are a lot of this kind of thing... And again, there are two ways: let the Lord take it from us, like matches are taken from a child, or cling to it with all our might and not give it to God, thereby putting a limit to our Christian life. And in the second case, the process of internal degradation begins - not only spiritual, but also intellectual: how many examples can you see of how a person who recently understood, saw, noticed everything in his spiritual state completely loses that spiritual vision and spiritual reasoning that first they helped him to follow Christ. And to see this in a person who has already met Christ in life is bitter - this is a great tragedy.
I think it would not be an exaggeration to say that cooling off in faith is dangerous not only for individual person- it is dangerous for the community in which this person is located, and, by and large, for the life of the Church as a whole. In a sense, there is a domino effect here: we see around us in the temple people who live relaxed, cool, do not strive for anything - and we ourselves give up. And if we are surrounded by people who live collectedly, responsibly, diligently, then we will doubly strive and try. And this is not some kind of “herd feeling” - this is a completely natural thing: good examples inspire, unkind ones corrupt. Just don’t, of course, blame everything on the abundance of bad examples; the main thing is for us not to become a tempting example for our brothers in Christ.
“Do you want to get confused? Ask me how"
It happens that a person who has cooled in faith for any of the reasons described comes to the conclusion: “Christianity doesn’t work for me” - and goes to look for some “more effective method.” personal growth» to all kinds of seminars and trainings. And here, by the way, one may wonder: why are there so many of them in our time? of different nature- from business courses that promise an indispensable business success, to some literally sects? The fact is that a person who does not know how to work within the framework of his choice will endlessly look for something new — and there are many such rushing people in our time, so demand creates supply. Moreover, sometimes you try to understand: what has this or that person achieved, who promises to teach self-development and self-discovery to everyone? And you understand that his only achievement is that he found a certain number of people whom he was able to convince that they needed his services. When they tell me that someone “left Orthodoxy” because he discovered a different spiritual system for himself, I understand that sooner or later he will leave somewhere else, and then somewhere else - and in the end either will return to Christ, or will perish, completely confused, in some unthinkable sect, or will become an inveterate atheist, convinced that spiritual life is entirely a fiction, because “it doesn’t work in any way at all.”
But these people were baptized and, just like others, received the gift of the Holy Spirit. They were filled with spiritual fullness, but reached complete devastation. This always happens when a person does not perceive what is given to him as a gift - gradually it begins to seem to him that he has been given nothing. This is not only about the gift of faith - it is deeper, about the gift of life itself: a person who is not grateful to God for living can come to the conclusion that life is a curse, and turn his stay on earth into hell , as in eternal life he will be separated from God. And of course, such terrible examples should encourage us to cultivate our faith, our ability to live with God, like some kind of fertile land.
Scare yourself
It was not by chance that I used the word “terrible” here. Perfect love casts out fear as the Apostle John the Theologian says (1 John. 4 , 18), and a believer should not be afraid of some paralyzing fear of his Creator, just as he should not be afraid of anything in the world that could make him betray God. But fear itself as a human feeling is an effective incentive, in some cases more effective than encouragement. And a person, in order to motivate himself to correct himself, can use it as a medicine. And sometimes it is even absolutely necessary for us to frighten ourselves: to understand the danger our negligence or our unwillingness to deny ourselves puts us in the face of, and to be afraid of this.
What will happen to us if we lose the gift of faith? The state of a person who has lost faith is despair; this is not always realized, but it is always so. This state is akin to the state of a swimmer who, while fleeing somewhere in stormy waves, has lost his life preserver - and these waves overwhelm him, he cannot swim out and feels that he is dying. And in my opinion, the fear of losing it completely after cooling off in faith is a very strong incentive to hold on to it and do everything so that it does not weaken, so that it becomes hotter.
A person who believes in Christ truly experiences life as a miracle. And isn’t this opportunity to experience life as a miracle and live on the eve of eternity now worth fighting for? There is no need to wait for some serious life shocks, some trials in which our faith will rise and be resurrected - it is much better today to try to fill our lives with all that feeds, strengthens and warms our faith in order to preserve this most important thing. a gift, the greatest treasure.
Photos from open Internet sources
“...Man – that’s the truth! Everything is in man, everything is for man!” (Lesson-seminar based on A.M. Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths”)
Methodological development open
literature lesson
Teacher: Khatkova S.I.
Purpose of the lesson : create problematic situation and encourage students to express their own point of view on the image of Luke and his life position; identify the author's position in relation to the issue of truth.
Lesson objectives: find out the author's techniques for conveying the atmosphere of spiritual separation of people, reveal the problems of imaginary and real overcoming a humiliating situation.
Opening remarks teachers.
The turn of the 19-20s in the development of Russian literature was marked by the emergence of new trends, trends, a non-standard approach to solving the problems posed in the work, and the originality of artistic forms.
And if A.P. became a recognized innovator in drama. Chekhov then developed and improved his innovative principles, such as:subtext, veiling of the main conflict, abundance of plot opinions, organization of stage action according to the principle of “disunity” of characters- another public writer and playwright M. Gorky.
1902 Gorky composes the play “At the Bottom of Life” and shows it to A.P. Chekhov. Tom likes everything about the play except the title. In his opinion, excessive literalism harms the work. This is how a name appears - a symbol denoting a known state human body, consciousness and soul. “At the Depths” is the pinnacle of Gorky’s dramaturgy and one of the most powerful dramatic works of our century, and by the standards of that time, the most advanced.
They said that the play was a success.
What are the reasons for the success of the play?
1. For the first time, the viewer saw an unfamiliar world of the rejected, humiliated and insulted. The viewer was captivated by the amazing power of realism, the sharpness and brightness of the depiction of life. World drama has never known such a harsh truth about the life of the lower social classes, about their hopeless fate.
2. On the eve of the 1905 revolution, the play responded to the mood wide circles democratic spectators.
3. The play was imbued with a protest against the soulless rules of capitalist society and called for a different, fair and free, worthy human life.
Teacher. This is a play about the present and future of the state, in which many contemporaries read a call for the destruction of social instability and the creation of a healthy society.
Where, before the formidable executioner,
The people bow their backs humbly,
And under the yoke and under the whip
He falls helplessly and groans...
There is no, not peace and not love, -
There needs weak blood
Ignite with the fire of indignation,
There needs to be a fighter's hatred
Breathe into sleeping hearts,
And at the hour of fatal retribution
Sound the alarm and call for battle.
Another poet wrote in the same 1902:
I would like to break my sleep,
Destroy the well-fed happiness...
I would like this happiness
Take it with a fight people's power,
To support the weak in spirit,
Humiliate - humiliate,
Those who offend - to offend
Breathe life into the dead again!
Your whole world will be hated!
Turn your entire system upside down!
What does Gorky show in the play?
Maxim Gorky - greatest writer of its time.
In his play “At the Bottom” all the vices are revealed modern society. The author describes the life and everyday life of people who have fallen to the bottom of society. These people, different in social origin, upbringing and education, once stumbled in life or simply went broke and ended up in a shelter where everyone is equal, and there is no hope of getting out of this hole.
About what work we'll talk in class?
Teacher. Continuing the traditions of Chekhov, Gorky built the play not on one, but on several conflicts:love, social, philosophical.
Love triangle(Ashes, Vasilisa, Natasha) and the development of relationships in it are the main intrigue;social conflict - between the owners and the inhabitants of the shelter.However, as Gorky said, “the main question that I wanted to pose isThis – What is better, truth or compassion? Those. The main conflict in the play isphilosophical: The humanism of Luke and the humanism of Satin are contrasted, two points of view on the essence of truth, faith, on the essence of man and the attitude towards him, on the future.
How is the setting of the drama depicted?
The location of the action is described in the author's remarks. In the first act it is a cave-like basement, “heavy stone vaults, smoke-stained, with crumbling plaster.” Thin partitions screen off Ash's room. “Everywhere along the walls of the bunk.” There is dirt everywhere, unpainted and dirty tables, benches, stools, tattered cards, pieces of oilcloth, rags.
Teacher. This means that the subject of the drama is the consciousness of people thrown to the “bottom of life.”
The inhabitants of the shelter? Who are they?
People who have sunk to the bottom of life end up in a shelter. This is the last refuge for tramps, " former people" Here are all the social members of society: the bankrupt nobleman Baron, the hostel owner Kostylev, the policeman Medvedev, the locksmith Kleshch, the gambler Bubnov, the sharpie Satin, the thief Ash, the merchant Kvashnya. All of them are equalized by the status of the dregs of society. Both young and old live here.
Many night shelters do not even have a name, only nicknames remain. The Actor once bore the sonorous surname Sverchkov-Zadunaisky. And now even the memories are gone, “I’ve forgotten everything.”
How do the inhabitants of the shelter perceive their situation before Luke appears?
In the drama, from the very beginning, we see people coming to terms with their humiliating situation. They squabble sluggishly and habitually. This is not life, they are all already dead. They talk about themselves only in the past tense. They all feel like they have been.
Satin: “I was an educated person.”
Bubnov: “I was a furrier.”
Only Tick did not accept his fate. He separates himself from other night shelters: “I am a working man! Do you think I won't get out of here? I'll get out! I’ll tear off my skin, but I’ll get out,” he says.
Which scene sets up the conflict?
The beginning of the conflict is the appearance of Luke. He immediately announces his views on life: “I don’t care! I respect swindlers too, in my opinion, not a single flea is bad: they’re all black, they all jump... that’s it.” Luka finds himself in the center of attention of the guests and the entire development of the plot is concentrated on him.
He quickly finds an approach to the shelters. He does not respond to rudeness, skillfully avoids questions that are unpleasant for him, and is even ready to sweep the floor instead of the shelters.
What do we know about Luke?
He doesn’t say anything about himself except “They crumpled a lot, that’s why he’s soft.”
What does Luke say to each of the inhabitants of the shelter?
In each of the shelters, Luka sees a person, reveals their bright sides, the essence of personality, and this makes a revolution in the lives of the heroes. He reveals the good in every person and instills faith in the best.
What are Luke's consolations based on?
Luke's consolations are based on lies. His comforting lies preach slavish humility. He doesn’t call for a fight, “humble yourself,” he says.
Lies are needed by the weak. Strong-minded and free people have no use for lies. Truth is God free man! One cannot but agree with these words of Satin.
How do the inhabitants of the shelter react to Luke’s words?
At first, the night shelters are incredulous at Luke’s words: “Why are you lying all the time?” Luka does not deny this; he answers the question with a question: “And what do you really need badly... think about it! She really can give you a hard time.” Even to a direct question about God, Luke answers evasively: “If you believe, he is; If you don’t believe it, no... What you believe in is what it is.”
Truth is a formidable weapon. It must be handled with care, it can injure and kill, it can cripple life.
Luke understood this, and this is what he is trying to convey to us.
After all, we often need consolation rather than hard truth. A person needs hope, not lies for the sake of lies, not truth for the sake of truth, but hope.
The author's position is expressed in the development of the plot. After Luke leaves, everything happens completely differently than Luke convinced and as the heroes expected. Vaska Pepel does end up in Siberia, but only to hard labor, for the murder of Kostylev, and not as a free settler. The actor, who has lost faith in himself and in his strength, exactly repeats the fate of the hero of Luke's parable about the righteous land. Luke, having told a parable about a man who hanged himself because he lost faith in the fact that there is no righteous land, believes that a person should not be deprived of dreams, hopes, even imaginary ones.
Gorky, showing the fate of the Actor, assures the reader and viewer that it is false hope that can lead a person to suicide.
Teacher. Gorky repeatedly thought about the ideological and philosophical content of the concept “Human" ; and the author’s assessment of its significance was invariably associated with respect and admiration for the moral and spiritual strength of man.
But this was not enough for Gorky.Free people from compassion - this is the pathos of his work.
The reconstruction of reality, the real liberation of man from the oppression of capitalism, which dooms him to suffering - this is what Gorky saw as true humanism.
The question posed by Gorky “What better truth or compassion" is very important.
This is not a subjective question, but a general philosophical one.
Gorky contrasts not truth and lies, but truth and compassion.
Gorky vs.
How justified is this opposition?
All the heroes agree that Luke gave them false hope. But he didn’t promise to raise them from the bottom of life, he simply showed them their own capabilities, showed that there is a way out, and now everything depends on them.
How true is the self-confidence awakened by Luke?
This faith did not have time to take hold in the minds of the night shelters; it turned out to be fragile and lifeless; with Luka’s departure, hope fades.
What's the reason rapid extinction faith?
I think in the weakness of the heroes themselves, in their inability and unwillingness to do at least something to implement new plans.
They are not happy with reality and have a negative attitude towards it. This is all combined with a complete unwillingness to do anything to change this reality.
What do you think of Luke's character?
1a. The strength of the bow is that it is responsive to the pain and suffering of others. His humanism is concrete.
1b. Luke is not a satin who does nothing to prove his love for a person in practice.
1st century For example, I don’t see anything humane in Luke; with his consolations he drives a person to despair, and then abandons him to his fate.
This cunning old man protects his peace, does not quarrel with anyone and does not give in to others. “Silence”, “calmly”, “patience” - these are his favorite words. He preaches a slave psychology, fearing free and strong people.
1 year Luke's consolations are based on lies. His comforting lies preach slavish humility. He doesn’t call for a fight, “humble yourself,” he says.
1d. In fact, this is so, he preaches a slave psychology, he is afraid of free and strong people. “Silence”, “calmly”, “patience” - these are his favorite words.
Wordactive comes from the wordcase. And we see Luke doing something. He just talks. Can speech really be called action? Did they bring any benefit to any of the inhabitants of the shelter? When it comes down to it, Luka remains on the sidelines.
Here you also approach the interpretation of the image of Lukestraight-linear-simplified.
Only struggling, active philanthropy can be called true humanism.
Compassion and compassion brought to the point of the need to use lies are not the same thing.
Is Luka really responsive to the pain of others and sympathizes with the inhabitants of the shelter? Does he really mean well? Yes, that's true. But does it follow from this that it is in Luke that Gorky expresses his understanding of humanism and embodies active love of humanity? No, you cannot agree with this.
Gorky does not accept passive consciousness, the ideologist of which he considers Luka.
According to the writer, it can only try on a person with outside world, but will not encourage him to change this world.
Mite (about Luke) “I understood, but did not show the way.” Kleshch does not understand that everyone must find the way alone.
He comes to terms with his situation. Humility is its real tragedy. He reassures himself - everyone is equal, everyone is the same in their poverty.
Teacher. The whole point of Luke's philosophy is the conviction that it is impossible to change the world, reality, but it is only possible to changeattitude person to this reality.
And in this case, it turns out that Luke dooms a person to eternal suffering, while sympathizing, he convinces people that it is impossible to get rid of suffering itself.
Gorky does not appear in the playagainst compassion and empathy. The whole play, telling about the tragedy of those thrown to the bottom,awakened in the reader and viewerempathy and compassion.
Mercy - willingness to help someone or forgive someone out of compassion and philanthropy.
Compassion - sympathy, empathy.
Is it true - 1) truth is what corresponds to reality;
2) order based on justice and honor.
What is Satin's role? Whose position in the dialogue does Satin express in the monologue?
Luke’s lies do not suit Satin: “Lies are the religion of slaves and masters! Truth is the god of a free man! Satin’s truth is in man: (read the monologue).
These words, coming from the lips of a sharper and a drunkard, do not sound very limited. Rather, these thoughts belong to the author himself, for whom Man was at the center of the model of the world.
Teacher. This is the main content of Gorky’s attitude towards man. The writer puts above all else respect for people, which can make them stronger.
For Gorky, a person is “above satiety.” And only being “higher” material well-being, he is worthy of respect, respect in truth, the only thing possible for a “free person.”
What do the characters in the play mean by “truth”?
There are two levels of “truth” here. One level is the “private” truth that the heroes defend “for themselves.” Nastya assures everyone, and above all herself, of the existence of extraordinary, bright love. Klesh truthfully calls his situation, hopeless even after the death of his wife: “There is no work... no strength! This is the truth!”
Another worldview level of “truth” is found in Luke’s remarks. Luke’s “truth” and his “lies” are expressed by the formula “What you believe is what you believe.”
Bottom line.
Thus, exists in dramatwo truths: Luke's truth, with her indifferent and kind, Christian humility, with her holy lies, andtrue Satina, somewhat cruel, but proud -it is the truth of the negation of lies.
AND internal conflict these two truths, so great friend History judged from each other's positions.
History has shown that the world can only be remade " by strong means and that words of consolation will not help people become happier.
(example from modern times)
Reality itself rejects Luke's comforting truth.
According to Gorky's work, it is difficult to make a choice between two truths: it is difficult not to say words of consolation to a dying person, on the one hand; and one cannot but agree with Satin, with his understanding of the truth.
This is where Gorky’s genius manifested itself: in the ability to pose a philosophical question and illuminate it from different sides, to show different points vision.
The writer was able to act not as a judge, but as an impartial witness of life.
When it’s still human – it’s great!
Of course, we can agree with Satin that Man is magnificent! But this is only when he is honest, noble, believes in himself, maintains the purity of his soul and, most importantly, remains capable of beautiful, strong, worthy actions.
What is modern about the play?
1. The philosophical debate about truth and lies remains indispensable to this day, and it is very important today.
If we consider this problem now, then the figure of Luke seems very attractive, his desire to alleviate the suffering of people can be explained by his love for people.
It seems to me that these people, who have run out of time, who don’t believe in anything (they are deceived by life), need Luke’s lies, his sympathy, more.
2. Gorky’s play “At the Depths” reflected such social problems, very important and relevant today.
This is the appearance of people who, due to various social problems, a difficult socio-economic situation, unemployment, find themselves “at the bottom of life, without housing, no means of subsistence, no rights, not even documents.
What is modern about the play?
The historical situation of the late 19th - early 20th centuries is in many ways similar to the circumstances of modern life.
Unfortunately, now, in our difficult time of change, qualities such as mercy, kindness, and the desire to help are fading into the background.
Personally, I believe that although it is belied every day by our behavior, there is a place in everyone's soul for love, mercy and compassion.
The revival of the entire society begins with the moral improvement of each of its members.
We are people, not animals, because we can cry, laugh, love, hate, suffer and be happy, we can be merciful. By maintaining these qualities, we remain human and improve.
So who is right:
Satin, with its relentless exposure of illusions and consolation, orLuke, the preacher of these illusions?
Here's how literary critic Gay writes about it:“Both characters suffer defeats in the face of life. But the winner is the author and his concept of humanism. It (the concept) also absorbs the satin"Man is here Truth ... Everything is in man, everything is for man, andstatement Luke that “people live for the best.”
Cards-tasks for consolidation
Card No. 4
Which character in the play “At the Lower Depths” owns the phrase: “Man – that sounds proud!”?
Satin
Luke
To the actor
Card No. 5
Which of the characters in the play “At the Lower Depths” expresses the author’s position?
Bubnov
Satin
Mite
Luke
Card No. 6
Which character in the play “At the Lower Depths” owns the words:
“Noise is not a hindrance to death.”
“When work is a duty, life is slavery.”
“Not a single flea is bad: all are black, all jump.”
“If you don’t like it, don’t listen, and if you lie, don’t interfere.”
“At the bottom” not only and not so much social drama as much as philosophical. The action of the drama as special literary genre, is tied to a conflict, an acute contradiction between the characters, which gives the author the opportunity in a short time to fully reveal his characters and present them to the reader.
Social conflict is present in the play on a superficial level in the form of a confrontation between the owners of the shelter, the Kostylevs, and its inhabitants. In addition, each of the heroes who found themselves at the bottom experienced their own conflict with society in the past. Under one roof live the sharper Bubnov, the thief Ash, the former aristocrat Baron, and the market cook Kvashnya. However, in the shelter, the social differences between them are erased, they all become just people. As Bubnov notes: “...everything faded away, one naked man remained..." What makes a person a person, what helps and prevents him from living, gaining human dignity- the author of the play “At the Bottom” is looking for answers to these questions. Thus, the main subject of depiction in the play is the thoughts and feelings of the night shelters in all their contradictions.
In drama, the main means of depicting the hero’s consciousness, conveying it inner world, as well as expressions author's position monologues and dialogues of the characters become. The inhabitants of the bottom touch on many philosophical issues in their conversations and vividly experience them. The main leitmotif of the play is the problem of faith and unbelief, with which the question of truth and faith is closely intertwined.
The theme of faith and unbelief arises in the play with the arrival of Luke. This character finds himself in the center of attention of the inhabitants of the shelter because he is strikingly different from all of them. To everyone he hooks up with
conversation, the old man knows how to pick up the key, instill hope in a person, faith in the best, console and reassure. Luke is characterized by speech using pet names, proverbs and sayings, and common vocabulary. He, “affectionate, soft,” reminds Anna of her father. On the night shelters, Luke, as Satin puts it, acts “like acid on an old and dirty coin.”
The faith that Luke awakens in people is expressed differently for each of the inhabitants of the bottom. At first, faith is understood narrowly - as Christian faith, when Luke asks the dying Anna to believe that after death she will calm down, the Lord will send her to heaven.
As the plot develops, the word “faith” acquires new meanings. The old man advises the actor, who has lost faith in himself because he “drank his soul away,” to seek treatment for drunkenness and promises to tell him the address of a hospital where drunkards are treated for nothing. Natasha, who does not want to run away from the shelter with Vaska Ashes because she doesn’t trust anyone, Luka asks her not to doubt that Vaska is a good guy and loves her very much. Vaska himself advises him to go to Siberia and start a farm there. Above Nastya, who retells romance novels, passing off their plot as real events, he does not laugh, but believes her that she had true love.
Luke's main motto - “what you believe is what you believe” - can be understood in two ways. On the one hand, it forces people to achieve what they believe in, to strive for what they desire, because their desires exist, are real and can be fulfilled in this life. On the other hand, for most night shelters such a motto is simply “a comforting, reconciling lie.”
The characters in the play “At the Bottom” are divided depending on their attitude to the concepts of “faith” and “truth.” Because Luka promotes white lies, the Baron calls him a charlatan, Vaska Pepel calls him a “crafty old man” who “tells stories.” Bubnov remains deaf to Luka’s words; he admits that he does not know how to lie: “In my opinion, tell the whole truth as it is!” Luka warns that the truth can turn out to be a “butt”, and in a dispute with Bubnov and Baron about what the truth is, he says: “It’s true - it’s not always because of a person’s illness... you can’t always cure a soul with the truth ..." Kleshch, who at first glance is the only character who does not lose faith in himself, strives to escape from the shelter at all costs, puts the most hopeless meaning into the word "truth": "What kind of truth? Where is the truth?.. There is no work... no strength! That’s the truth!.. You can’t live, the devil, you can’t live... that’s the truth!..”
Nevertheless, Luke's words find a warm response in the hearts of most of the heroes, because he explains the failures of their lives external circumstances and does not see the reason for a failed life in themselves. According to Luke, after leaving the shelter, he is going to go “to the crests” to see what kind of new faith people have discovered there. He believes that people will someday find “what is better,” you just need to help them and respect them. Satin also speaks about respect for people.
Satin protects the old man because he understands that if he lies, it is only out of pity for the inhabitants of the shelter. Satin's thoughts do not completely coincide with Luke's ideas. In his opinion, a “comforting” lie, a “reconciling” lie is necessary and supports those who are weak in soul, and at the same time covers up those who “feed on other people’s juices.” Satin contrasts Luke’s motto with his motto: “Truth is the god of a free man!”
The author's position in relation to Luke's consolatory sermon cannot be interpreted unambiguously. On the one hand, it cannot be called a lie that Luke shows Ash and Natasha the path to an honest life, consoles Nastya, and convinces Anna of the existence of an afterlife. There is more humanity in his words than in the despair of the Tick or the vulgarity of the Baron. However, Luke’s words are contradicted by the very development of the plot. After the sudden disappearance of the old man, everything does not happen as the heroes would like to believe. Vaska Pepel will indeed go to Siberia, but not as a free settler, but as a convict convicted of the murder of Kostylev. Natasha, shocked by her sister's betrayal and the murder of her husband, refuses to believe Vaska. The actor accuses the old man of not leaving the address of the treasured hospital.
The faith that Luke awakened in the souls of the heroes of “At the Bottom” turned out to be fragile and quickly faded away. The inhabitants of the shelter are unable to find the strength to oppose their will to reality, to change the reality around them. The main accusation that the author addresses to the heroes of the play is the accusation of passivity. Gorky manages to open one of the characteristic features Russian national character: dissatisfaction with reality, a sharply critical attitude towards it and at the same time a complete unwillingness to do anything to change this reality. Therefore, Luke’s departure turns into a real drama for the inhabitants - the faith that the old man awakened in them is unable to find internal support in their characters.
Luke's philosophical position is most fully expressed in the parable he told to the inhabitants of the shelter. The parable talks about a man who believed in the existence of a righteous land, and this faith helped him live, instilled joy and hope in him. When the visiting scientist convinced him that, according to all his faithful maps and plans, “there is no righteous land anywhere at all,” the man hanged himself. With this parable, Luke expressed the idea that a person cannot be completely deprived of hope, even if it is illusory. In a bizarre way, the plot of the parable is played out in the fourth act of the drama: having lost hope, the Actor hangs himself. The fate of the Actor shows that it is false hope that can lead a person into a loop.
Another interpretation of the question of truth is connected with the image of the Actor, namely the problem of the relationship between truth and fiction. When the Actor tells Natasha about the hospital, he adds a lot to what he heard from Luke: “An excellent hospital... Marble... marble floor! Light... cleanliness, food...” It turns out that for the Actor, faith is an embellished truth, this hero does not separate two concepts, but merges them into one on the border between reality and art. The poem, which the Actor, unexpectedly remembering, quotes, is decisive for the conflict between truth and faith and at the same time contains a possible resolution to this conflict:
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!
The tragic ending of “At the Bottom” shows that the “golden dream” of humanity can sometimes turn into a nightmare. The Actor's suicide is an attempt to change reality, to move away from saving faith to nowhere. For the rest of the inhabitants of the shelter, his attempt seems desperate and absurd, as indicated by Satin’s last remark: “Eh... ruined the song... fool!” On the other hand, the song here can be interpreted as a symbol of the passivity of the characters in the play, their reluctance to change anything during their lives. Then this remark expresses that the death of the Actor completely disrupts the usual course of life of the inhabitants of the shelter, and Satin is the first to feel this. Even earlier, Luke’s words force him to deliver a monologue that answers the question of truth: “What is truth? Man - that’s the truth!” Thus, according to the author’s plan, Luke’s “faith” and Satin’s “truth” merge together, affirming the greatness of man and his ability to withstand life’s circumstances, even at the bottom.
Recently there was a story on television news from Holland about how temples and churches in this country are becoming unclaimed. People stop attending churches. And the need for them disappears by itself. Instead of churches, people visit discos, bars, and nightclubs. Even the monasteries are empty. And immediately there are clever businessmen who decided to sell church real estate for these same clubs, discos and bars.
We were once horrified by what the Bolsheviks did to churches. They didn't blow them all up either. Some of them were used for clubs, cultural centers, dormitories, warehouses, elevators and even prisons.
There was no revolution in the West, and neither were militant atheists. Atheism didn't exist there state religion, but what is happening now in Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Norway and even England very vividly resembles the times of the atheists in the USSR, only with a bourgeois touch.
What happened? In churches and monasteries, on ancient altars, they drink alcohol, and heavy rock rumbles under ancient arches. Climbing competitions are held on the walls of the bell towers. Churches host casinos and nightclubs. There are dormitories for emigrants in the monasteries. Where did this decline in the church come from? Why even the Pope once said that you need to find out the true face of God. Why is it that in the United States not even a single sermon can do without comparing something with dollars, with private property? In sermons they talk about anything, but not about the highest and spiritual. We asked the spirit of Jesus to comment on the situation. What did he say?
Any religion had its decline in the history of the Earth. External reasons this is a lot. This is also the self-interest of people. First of all - clergy, and falsifying any faith to suit their own interests, rewriting the Scriptures in order to do their own deeds with the help of the Scriptures, to justify their sins. This was the case with almost all ancient religions. But all this is not the reason for the decline of faith, but rather a consequence of some deeper reason and simply a sign of the decline of religion. No religion would have its decline if those who corrupt it would effectively here and now receive what they deserve from the society that the followers of religions worship. But this doesn't happen.
In ancient times, when he was alive in physical body Zeus, those who believed in him truly felt their god, but when he was removed by the forces of darkness, no one was punished for lawlessness in the temples of Zeus and Jupiter. There, too, they began to create original clubs, organize feasts, bacchanalia and orgies. The followers of the faith decided that everything is allowed in the world. And if the gods allow fornication and lawlessness even in their temples, then these are not gods. Thus, there is no need to believe in them. Faith and holiness are gone and only cynicism remains. This is how religions die. If a religion dies, it means it is not true. It turns out that not a single religion is true on Earth. And what I brought, too.
I believed in God the Father and spoke His commandments. I thought that he was the real Father and Creator, that the world was designed this way by him, and that one only had to forgive and take pity on the lost, they would change, pray for their enemies, and let it not be they themselves in this ignorant consciousness, their souls who did my Father, everyone will someday understand and come to God. But I was bitterly and terribly mistaken. It turns out that they have no souls at all. And the black demons that sit in them, by their physical nature, will never become angels and light spirits.
I thought that God the Father knows everything, that he leads each soul on his own path, that he specifically gives it the opportunity to suffer in order to purify himself. But the vast majority of souls become embittered from suffering and become black. Or rather, it is not even they who turn black, they simply disintegrate, suppressed and captivated by the artificial essence of the mind and ego and eaten by the black entities of hell. Their place is taken by these entities themselves. The mistake of all religions, including the teaching that I gave 2000 years ago, is that God is the Supreme Deity, the Cosmic Mind, as you say now, the Absolute is itself half black, half white. With one hand he creates, with the other he destroys. He has no great plan for the creation and education of souls. Therefore, he himself creates chaos, in which the well-known natural selection occurs, where the strongest survive.
And translated into your consciousness, the strongest does not mean physically strong. It is also the most resourceful and arrogant. The one who does not hesitate to take from someone who is weaker. The one who thinks only about himself. About how to save your own skin at the expense of others and still make a profit. And they succeed. It turns out to deceive and steal. It turns out to build happiness on someone else's misfortune. It turns out to take other people's souls as your property and at the same time live in abundance, without being denied anything. It turns out that the world was made for them. Where then is that Divine justice?
A person begins to look for her, at least in the next world. About Divine Justice in the afterlife Christianity also speaks. But no one needs the kind of justice that will be there. For centuries and millennia, people hoped and believed in this justice, but nowhere was there confirmation of their faith. The crisis of faith came a long time ago. Almost already then, at the very beginning of its inception. Then, when the church hierarchs allowed themselves to benefit from religion. They allowed themselves to control people in the name of God.
All this means that they were the first to stop believing in what they were talking about. After all, if they believed, they would not dare to accumulate such sin as to profit from religion. And if they didn’t believe, then everything was allowed to them. And religion turned out to be a complete farce and hypocrisy. Your current times have simply exposed the problem even more. Not only those who serve in churches, but also everyone else lost their faith.
An ideology has come to the world that all faith is a bluff, that it is a fairy tale, and the reality is completely different. That this reality is very cruel, that you need to survive in this world as best you can, without even disdaining the holy truths. Pragmatism rules the world. Everything is bought and sold. And benefits are derived from everything. The so-called “teachers” create sects, which, in essence, are a business for them. Isn't that what the church does?
So he rebels human consciousness, even falling into Satanism, mocks shrines and temples - thus expressing a protest against the cynicism of religion. That is, cynicism comes in response to cynicism. The man has already lost faith in everything. After all, justice is nowhere to be found.
What could he be thinking? And the fact that there is no God. Or that he forgot about everyone and everything. But Satan truly rules the world. Or no one controls this world at all and chaos reigns in it. What could this state lead to next? To the complete decline and destruction of civilization.
Unfortunately, all these centuries the world has been supported by the illusion that there is a higher justice. Without this thought a person cannot survive, he is weak. This means that full responsibility and blame for what is happening falls on those who must ensure this justice. That is, on Higher Powers. They are the ones who do not show a person that there is justice, they do not put everything in its place. No retribution is given to those who mock. And the clean ones bright souls continue to suffer.
All of us, teachers, also lived in illusions, because we considered the image of a powerful and just Creator absolutely indisputable. Because they believed that everything in the world was arranged correctly and fairly. And everything that was bad in the world was adjusted to fit this basic dogma. They justified evil and suffering. After all, everything in the world has already been done correctly. We dare not say that this is not so. After all, if we had said this, then no teaching would have been built, people would have fallen into despair, and civilization would have immediately turned into followers of darkness. We and the highest hierarchs needed, before teaching people anything, to remove injustice from the world ourselves, and not justify it by putting on a mask of piety.
First, of course, we had to understand this ourselves. And we ourselves were zombified by the forces of darkness. Your world is just like ours common world, has stepped onto a dangerous edge. And from this point there are only two ways. Either chaos, Satanism and the death of civilization, or salvation, but salvation not through illusions. Some people call me a comforter. But now I think it’s enough to console. Sweet dreams will not help anyone, there is no justice in the world, and it must be created so that he does not die.
All religions and teachings create an illusory world of well-being. And they talk about the temporary nature of your suffering. And, in fact, the atheists were right when they called them opium for the people. But atheism won't lead anywhere either. The very denial of justice will not restore it, but will lead to even greater chaos. Therefore, the world will either perish or change. And he still has a chance to change. When justice begins to triumph, no religion in its current understanding will be needed, no consolation will be needed.
The hierarchs will have to change the foundations of the world so that people can see it. And then the world will be ruled not by blind faith in illusions, but by knowledge. And no one will dare to cheat. New knowledge, new teaching should not become another fairy tale about a bright future and the Gardens of Eden. Otherwise it will again be swallowed up by the crisis. Any belief that is not confirmed in reality will someday have a crisis.
Don't expect my second coming with new tales about the future. Only when the world is corrected will we be able to give you a new, true teaching that will not be just another lie. Strive to do good deeds, correct yourself. And the hierarchs will take care of the laws of the world. New knowledge and teaching will come if the world does not perish...
KOLOSYUK Lyubov Leontievna
TO HOME
Lesson 15 “THREE TRUTHS” IN GORKY’S PLAY “AT THE BOTTOM”
30.03.2013 79379 0Lesson 15
“Three truths” in Gorky’s play “At the Depths”
Goals : consider the characters’ understanding of Gorky’s play “truth”; find out the meaning tragic collision different points of view: the truth of a fact (Bubnov), the truth of a comforting lie (Luke), the truth of faith in a person (Satin); determine the features of Gorky’s humanism.
Lesson progress
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!
I. Introductory conversation.
– Restore event series plays. What events take place on stage, and which ones take place “behind the scenes”? What is role in development dramatic action traditional “conflict polygon” - Kostylev, Vasilisa, Ashes, Natasha?
The relationships between Vasilisa, Kostylev, Ash, and Natasha only externally motivate the stage action. Some of the events that make up the plot outline of the play take place off stage (the fight between Vasilisa and Natasha, Vasilisa’s revenge - overturning a boiling samovar on her sister, Kostylev’s murder takes place around the corner of the flophouse and is almost invisible to the viewer).
All the other characters in the play are not involved in love affair. Compositional and plot disunity characters expressed in the organization of stage space - characters are dispersed in different corners scenes and "closed» in unconnected microspaces.
Teacher . Thus, the play contains two actions in parallel. First, we see on stage (supposed and real). Detective story with conspiracy, escape, murder, suicide. The second is the exposure of “masks” and the identification of the true essence of a person. This happens as if behind the text and requires decoding. For example, here is the dialogue between Baron and Luke.
Baron. We lived better... yes! I... used to... wake up in the morning and, lying in bed, drink coffee... coffee! – with cream... yes!
Luke. And everyone is people! No matter how you pretend, no matter how you wobble, if you were born a man, you will die a man...
But Baron is afraid to be “just a man.” And he does not recognize “just a person.”
Baron. Who are you, old man?.. Where did you come from?
Luke. Me?
Baron. Wanderer?
Luke. We are all wanderers on earth... They say, I heard, that the earth is our wanderer.
The culmination of the second (implicit) action comes when the “truths” of Bubnov, Satin and Luka collide on the “narrow everyday platform”.
II. Work on the problem stated in the topic of the lesson.
1. The philosophy of truth in Gorky’s play.
– What is the main leitmotif of the play? Which character is the first to formulate the main question of the drama “At the Bottom”?
The dispute about truth is the semantic center of the play. The word “truth” will be heard already on the first page of the play, in Kvashnya’s remark: “Ah! You can’t stand the truth!” Truth – lie (“You’re lying!” – Kleshch’s sharp cry, sounded even before the word “truth”), truth – faith – these are the most important semantic poles that define the problematics of “At the Bottom”.
– How do you understand Luke’s words: “What you believe is what you believe”? How are the heroes of “At the Depths” divided depending on their attitude to the concepts of “faith” and “truth”?
In contrast to the “prose of fact,” Luke offers the truth of the ideal—the “poetry of fact.” If Bubnov ( chief ideologist literally understood “truth”), Satin, Baron are far from illusions and do not need an ideal, then Actor, Nastya, Anna, Natasha, Ashes respond to Luke’s remark - for them faith is more important than truth.
Luke’s hesitant story about hospitals for alcoholics sounded like this: “Nowadays they are curing drunkenness, listen! They treat you for free, brother... this is the kind of hospital built for drunkards... They recognized, you see, that a drunkard is also a person...” In the actor’s imagination, the hospital turns into a “marble palace”: “An excellent hospital... Marble.. .marble floor! Light... cleanliness, food... everything for free! And marble floor. Yes!" The actor is a hero of faith, not the truth of fact, and the loss of the ability to believe turns out to be fatal for him.
– What is truth for the heroes of the play? How can their views be compared?(Working with text.)
A) How does Bubnov understand “truth”? How do his views differ from Luke's philosophy of truth?
Bubnov’s truth consists in exposing the seamy side of existence, this is the “truth of fact.” “What kind of truth do you need, Vaska? And why? You know the truth about yourself... and everyone knows it...” he drives Ash into the doom of being a thief when he was trying to figure himself out. “That means I’ve stopped coughing,” he reacted to Anna’s death.
After listening to Luka’s allegorical story about his life at his dacha in Siberia and the harboring (rescue) of escaped convicts, Bubnov admitted: “But I... I don’t know how to lie! For what? In my opinion, tell the whole truth as it is! Why be ashamed?
Bubnov sees only the negative side of life and destroys the remnants of faith and hope in people, while Luka knows that in a kind word the ideal becomes real: “A person can teach goodness... very simply,” he concluded the story about life at the dacha, and in setting out the “story” of the righteous land, he reduced it to the fact that the destruction of faith kills a person. Luka (thoughtfully, to Bubnov): “Here... you say it’s true... It’s true, it’s not always due to a person’s illness... you can’t always cure a soul with the truth...” Luke heals the soul.
Luka’s position is more humane and more effective than Bubnov’s naked truth, because it appeals to the remnants of humanity in the souls of the night shelters. For Luke, a person “no matter what he is, is always worth his price.” “I’m just saying that if someone hasn’t done good to someone, then they’ve done something bad.” "To caress a person– never harmful."
Such a moral credo harmonizes relations between people, abolishes the wolf principle, and ideally leads to the acquisition of internal completeness and self-sufficiency, the confidence that, despite external circumstances, a person has found truths that no one will ever take away from him.
B) What does Satin see as the truth of life?
One of the culminating moments of the play is Satin’s famous monologues from the fourth act about man, truth, and freedom.
A trained student reads Satin's monologue by heart.
It is interesting that Satin supported his reasoning with the authority of Luke, the man in relation to whom we are at the beginning of the play represented Satin as an antipode. Moreover, Satin's references to Luke in Act 4 prove the closeness of both. "Old man? He’s a smart guy!.. He... acted on me like acid on an old and dirty coin... Let’s drink to his health!” “Man – that’s the truth! He understood this... you don’t!”
Actually, the “truth” and “lies” of Satin and Luke almost coincide.
Both believe that “one must respect a person” (emphasis on last word) – not his “mask”; but they differ on how they should communicate their “truth” to people. After all, if you think about it, it is deadly for those who fall into its area.
If everything has faded away and one “naked” person remains, then “what’s next”? For the actor, this thought leads to suicide.
Q) What role does Luke play in addressing the issue of “truth” in the play?
For Luke, the truth is in “comforting lies.”
Luke takes pity on the man and entertains him with a dream. He promises Anna an afterlife, listens to Nastya’s fairy tales, and sends the Actor to a hospital. He lies for the sake of hope, and this is perhaps better than Bubnov’s cynical “truth,” “abomination and lies.”
In the image of Luke there are allusions to the biblical Luke, who was one of the seventy disciples sent by the Lord “to every city and place where He Himself wanted to go.”
Gorky's Luka makes the inhabitants of the bottom think about God and man, about the “better man,” about the highest calling of people.
“Luka” is also light. Luka comes to illuminate the Kostylevo basement with the light of new ideas, forgotten at the bottom of feelings. He talks about how it should be, what should be, and it is not at all necessary to look for in his reasoning practical recommendations or survival instructions.
Evangelist Luke was a doctor. Luke heals in his own way in the play - with his attitude to life, advice, words, sympathy, love.
Luke heals, but not everyone, but selectively, those who need words. His philosophy is revealed in relation to other characters. He sympathizes with the victims of life: Anna, Natasha, Nastya. Teaches by giving practical advice, Ashes, Actor. Understandingly, meaningfully, often without words, he explains with the smart Bubnov. Skillfully avoids unnecessary explanations.
Luke is flexible and soft. “They crumpled a lot, that’s why it’s soft...” he said in the finale of Act 1.
Luke with his “lies” is sympathetic to Satin. “Dubier... keep quiet about the old man!.. The old man is not a charlatan!.. He lied... but it’s out of pity for you, damn you!” And yet Luke’s “lies” do not suit him. “Lies are the religion of slaves and masters! Truth is the god of a free man!”
Thus, while rejecting the “truth” of Bubnov, Gorky does not deny either the “truth” of Satin or the “truth” of Luke. Essentially, he distinguishes two truths: “truth-truth” and “truth-dream”.
2. Features of Gorky’s humanism.
Problem Human in Gorky’s play “At the Depths” (individual message).
Gorky put his truth about man and overcoming the dead end into the mouths of Actor, Luka and Satin.
At the beginning of the play, indulging in theatrical memories, Actor selflessly spoke about the miracle of talent - the game of transforming a person into a hero. Responding to Satin’s words about books read and education, he separated education and talent: “Education is nonsense, the main thing is talent”; “I say talent, that’s what a hero needs. And talent is faith in yourself, in your strength...”
It is known that Gorky admired knowledge, education, and books, but he valued talent even more highly. Through the Actor, he polemically, maximalistically sharpened and polarized two facets of the spirit: education as a sum of knowledge and living knowledge - a “system of thought.”
In monologues Satina the ideas of Gorky's thoughts about man are confirmed.
Man – “he is everything. He even created God"; “man is the receptacle of the living God”; “Faith in the powers of thought... is a person’s faith in himself.” So in Gorky's letters. And so - in the play: “A person can believe and not believe... that’s his business! Man is free... he pays for everything himself... Man is the truth! What is a person... it's you, me, them, the old man, Napoleon, Mohammed... in one... In one - all the beginnings and ends... Everything is in a person, everything is for a person! Only man exists, everything else is the work of his hands and his brain!”
The Actor was the first to speak about talent and self-confidence. Satin summarized everything. What is the role Bows? He carries the ideas of transformation and improvement of life, dear to Gorky, at the cost of human creative efforts.
“And that’s all, I see, smarter people They’re becoming more and more interesting... and even though they live, they’re getting worse, but they want to be better... stubborn!” - the elder confesses in the first act, referring to the common aspirations of everyone for a better life.
Then, in 1902, Gorky shared his observations and moods with V. Veresaev: “The mood for life is growing and expanding, cheerfulness and faith in people are becoming more and more noticeable, and - life is good on earth - by God!” The same words, the same thoughts, even the same intonations in the play and the letter.
In the fourth act Satin remembered and reproduced Luke’s answer to his question “Why do people live?”: “And - for the best, people live... For a hundred years... and maybe more - for better man live!.. That's it, my dear, everyone, as they are, lives for the best! That’s why every person must be respected... We don’t know who he is, why he was born and what he can do...” And he himself, continuing to talk about a person, said, repeating Luke: “We must respect a person! Don’t feel sorry... don’t humiliate him with pity... you have to respect him!” Satin repeated Luke, speaking about respect, did not agree with him, speaking about pity, but something else is more important - the idea of a “better person”.
The statements of the three characters are similar, and, mutually reinforcing, they work on the problem of the triumph of Man.
In one of Gorky’s letters we read: “I am sure that man is capable of endless improvement, and all his activities will also develop with him... from century to century. I believe in the infinity of life...” Again Luka, Satin, Gorky - about one thing.
3. What is the significance of the 4th act of Gorky’s play?
In this act, the situation is the same, but the previously sleepy thoughts of the tramps begin to “ferment.”
It started with Anna's death scene.
Luke pronounces over dying woman: “Much merciful Jesus Christ! Receive the spirit of your newly departed servant Anna in peace...” But Anna’s last words were the words about life: “Well... a little more... I wish I could live... a little more! If there is no flour there... here we can be patient... we can!”
– How should we regard these words of Anna – as a victory for Luke or as his defeat? Gorky does not give a clear answer; this phrase can be commented on in different ways. One thing is clear:
Anna spoke for the first time about life positively thanks to Luke.
In the last act, a strange, completely unconscious rapprochement of the “bitter brethren” takes place. In the 4th act, Kleshch repaired Alyoshka’s harmonica, after testing the frets, the already familiar prison song began to sound. And this ending is perceived in two ways. You can do this: you can’t escape from the bottom - “The sun rises and sets... but it’s dark in my prison!” It can be done differently: at the cost of death, a person ended the song of tragic hopelessness...
Suicide Actor interrupted the song.
What prevents homeless shelters from changing their lives for the better? Natasha’s fatal mistake is in not trusting people, Ash (“I somehow don’t believe... any words”), hoping together to change fate.
“That’s why I’m a thief, because no one ever thought of calling me by another name... Call me... Natasha, well?”
Her answer is convinced, mature: “There’s nowhere to go... I know... I thought... But I don’t trust anyone.”
One word of faith in a person could change the lives of both, but it was not spoken.
The Actor, for whom creativity is the meaning of life, a calling, also did not believe in himself. The news of the Actor’s death came after Satin’s famous monologues, shading them with contrast: he couldn’t cope, he couldn’t play, but he could have, he didn’t believe in himself.
All the characters in the play are in the zone of action of the seemingly abstract Good and Evil, but they become quite concrete when it comes to the fate, worldviews, and relationships with the lives of each of the characters. And they connect people with good and evil through their thoughts, words and deeds. They directly or indirectly affect life. Life is a way of choosing your direction between good and evil. In the play, Gorky examined man and tested his capabilities. The play is devoid of utopian optimism, as well as the other extreme - disbelief in man. But one conclusion is indisputable: “Talent is what a hero needs. And talent is faith in yourself, your strength...”
III. The aphoristic language of Gorky's play.
Teacher . One of the characteristic features Gorky's creativity is aphoristic. It is characteristic of both the author’s speech and the speech of the characters, which is always sharply individual. Many aphorisms of the play “At the Bottom,” like the aphorisms of the “Songs” about the Falcon and the Petrel, became popular. Let's remember some of them.
– Which characters in the play do the following aphorisms, proverbs, and sayings belong to?
a) Noise is not a hindrance to death.
b) Such a life that you get up in the morning and howl.
c) Expect some sense from the wolf.
d) When work is a duty, life is slavery.
e) Not a single flea is bad: all are black, all jump.
e) Where it is warm for an old man, there is his homeland.
g) Everyone wants order, but there is a lack of reason.
h) If you don’t like it, don’t listen, and don’t bother lying.
(Bubnov - a, b, g; Luka - d, f; Satin - g, Baron - h, Ash - c.)
– What is the role of the aphoristic statements of the characters in the speech structure of the play?
Aphoristic judgments receive the greatest significance in the speech of the main “ideologists” of the play - Luka and Bubnov, heroes whose positions are indicated extremely clearly. A philosophical dispute, in which each of the characters in the play takes its own position, is supported by a common folk wisdom expressed in proverbs and sayings.
IV. Creative work.
Write your reasoning, expressing their attitude to the work they read. (Answer to one question of your choice.)
– What is the meaning of the dispute between Luke and Satin?
– Which side do you take in the “truth” debate?
– What problems raised by M. Gorky in the play “At the Lower Depths” did not leave you indifferent?
When preparing your answer, pay attention to the speech of the characters and how it helps to reveal the idea of the work.
Homework.
Select an episode for analysis (oral). This will be the topic of your future essay.
1. Luke’s story about the “righteous land.” (Analysis of an episode from the 3rd act of Gorky’s play.)
2. Dispute among shelters about a person (Analysis of the dialogue at the beginning of the 3rd act of the play “At the Depths.”)
3. What is the meaning of the ending of Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths”?
4. Luka's appearance in the shelter. (Analysis of a scene from the 1st act of the play.)