The history of bows at the bottom. The image and characteristics of Luke in the play at the bottom of the bitter essay

Luka is a character from Maxim Gorky's play "At the Lower Depths".

Luke is sixty years old in the play. He was bald and walked with a kettle at his belt, leaning on a stick. Like all the inhabitants of the shelter, he did not have his own home. This old man was a wanderer.

The name Luke has two meanings: the first - as “evil one”, and the second - as the Gospel apostle Luke. This name is closely related to the character's character. There is still debate about his significance in the play: some believe that Luka is a negative character, while others say he is positive. The author himself claimed that the old man turned out to be more positive and wiser than he had planned.

Luka served as a watchman near Tomsk for an engineer. One can guess that he appeared in the shelter after he escaped from Siberia from hard labor, where he ended up for some crime. He loved to sing and thought that he sang well, but that was not the case. Luke was a gentle person, because, according to him, he experienced a lot in this life. He believed that he became bald because of women, because of difficulties in relationships with them. He had more women than hairs on his head. But he was a very smart man. Luke did not always tell the truth, because he believed that the truth destroys a person and takes away faith in himself.

Natasha brought him to Kostylev’s shelter. The old man immediately began to be considered kind, sweet and compassionate. Luke believed that all people should be pitied and supported with a kind word, as Christ himself commanded. He began to console everyone in the shelter, even if it was not true. I thought that a person should have faith in something that will help him live on and achieve something better for himself. So he told the actor that there is a clinic that treats alcoholics for free. The actor then stopped drinking and began saving money to go to this clinic. Luke told the dying Anna that after death she would be free from all pain and torment. He advised Vaska Peplu to go to Siberia and said that he would find liberation there together with Natasha.

Luka sincerely tried to help everyone, but he did not expect that this, on the contrary, could take someone’s life. For example, an actor committed suicide after the unexpected departure of an old man. Ash, trying to take Natasha and go to Siberia, lost everything.

After the murder of Pepel, the owner of Kostylev’s flophouse, Luka went to Ukraine. His departure had a mixed effect on the inhabitants. They tried to condemn the old man, but Satin began to stand up for him, who spoke in the words of Gorky himself, and who was at first skeptical of Luke.

These people have no future. The old man knew this very well. But he wanted them to have at least some hope, so that they could move on with something warm in their souls.

Essay about Luke

Maxim Gorky's play "At the Lower Depths" touches on important issues, for example, philosophical or social ones. This play features a variety of characters, but undoubtedly the most important of them is Luke. His views on the world cause constant controversy and questions. Luke talks about the truth, whether it is necessary to tell it if a person becomes ill after learning it, or whether it is better to show compassion, which will make a person’s life a little easier.

Luke is a preacher, he wanders around the country, he does not have his own home. He is trying to spread his views, his worldview. His appearance in the shelter has a strong influence on its inhabitants. The people gathered in the shelter are very different, some love life and enjoy every moment, others, on the contrary, want to die, because life does not bring them pleasure.

Luke appears in the play at the most important moment, when Anna dies. After her death, the residents of the shelter argue about conscience and honor. Many, being in the shelter, completely forgot about them. Luka helps everyone survive grief, he consoles, instills faith in good things, and tries to inspire that all problems can be solved. Thanks to the fact that Luka can find a common language with every person, he understands at a glance what a person is silent about.

Luke believes that life is about dreams and hope. Before Anna's death, Luke talks with her, helping her accept her fate. Luka helps the Actor realize what is happening, Luka assures him that he will be able to overcome his alcohol addiction, thanks to the hospital.

The author is trying to show Luke in the image of a righteous man; he brings wisdom and truth to people. This is proven by the situation that happened to him - thieves broke into the house, but the main character feeds the quiet people, responding to evil with good.

As soon as Luka appears in the shelter, one can note his positive qualities - responsiveness, desire to help others without demanding something in return, the ability not only to listen, but also to hear others.

Although Luka lies to other heroes, he does this to console, to restore hope and the desire to live. But the most important thing is that after Luka leaves, no one condemns or reproaches him; on the contrary, they are grateful to him, and the author himself calls Luka a swindler, a negative hero of his work.

Option 3

The play “At the Bottom” was published in 1902. It tells about those who could not stay afloat and, having crossed the line, found themselves at the very bottom. Their familiar world collapsed, they lost faith in the future, the callousness of harsh everyday life overwhelmed them. The play takes place in a rooming house.

The elderly wanderer Luke is one of the main characters in the work. He is as poor as the rest of the inhabitants of the shelter, but has not lost his humanity. With kind words and advice he helps everyone who needs it. Ingenuously, with intelligible words, he finds an approach to the other inhabitants of the rooming house. For everyone, there is compassion and mercy in his heart. His words confirm that by nature he is very good-natured and sympathetic.

The old man’s attentive attitude towards people, his ability to listen and support the dream of his interlocutor gives them hope for a bright future. Luke’s ability to find an individual approach to everyone makes his “neighbors in misfortune” listen to his words. Only the Baron does not lose his cynicism and hatred of people, he makes an attempt to expose the wanderer. But Luke’s recent opponent Satin unexpectedly stands up for the old man.

To Anna, who is on her deathbed, Luke describes a heavenly life without earthly torment. He tells an actor who likes to drink about a non-existent clinic where they can help get rid of alcohol addiction. Recommendations to the thief Vaska to start a new life increase the self-esteem of the shelters. Most of them begin to believe that not everything is lost, and it is still possible to improve everything in life. Some even make an attempt to gain human dignity. Luke managed to warm their souls with his sympathetic attitude. His main intention to awaken hope in people has been achieved.

Luke's eloquence divides the residents of the shelter into 2 camps: dreamers and skeptics. His speeches excite some and embitter others. At the end of the story, the inhabitants of the lodging house attempt to judge Luka. The actions they take after listening to him do not always lead to the expected result. In most cases, the outcome is sad, for example, the death of an Actor. Of course, the night shelters themselves are to blame for this, but the consequences of Luke’s speeches become fatal.

Critics have long assessed Luke's image as negative. They blamed the old wanderer for lying and for showing indifference to the deceived inhabitants of the shelter. His disappearance is not interpreted in his favor either, but more criticism concerns his position towards people. He brings empathy and compassion to the masses, which at that time was regarded as something suspicious and unnecessary.

Maxim Gorky's play "At the Depths", written in 1902 and then staged at the Moscow Art Theater, was a phenomenal success. For the first time, real tramps appeared on stage (one of them was, in the recent past, the famous author of the play), in contrast to the romanticized tramps of Gorky’s early romantic stories about “former people.” However, keen interest in the play was caused not only by the topicality of problems about society’s responsibility for the lives of the disadvantaged, but also by the relevance of the philosophical questions posed by Gorky, the main one of which is what is truth, does a person need it, what is a person and in the name of what he lives.

The dramaturgical plot of the play rests on a dispute about the truth, and not on a traditional love affair. All elements of the play's cross-cutting action are connected with the image of Luke, with his philosophy and behavior in life, reflecting his views: the plot of the action is the appearance of Luke in the rooming house, who immediately becomes the center of attention of the rooming houses; The development of the action is determined by the influence that Luke’s personality, behavior and statements have on the lives of the inhabitants of the shelter. Luke awakens the feelings and consciousness of tramps, revealing their true essence. The climax is the attempt of the heroes of the play to change their lives, to fulfill the dream awakened by Luka, who made him believe in the possibility of its fulfillment (“You believe,” he inspires). The denouement - the collapse of all illusions - is connected with the disappearance of Luka and the ongoing dispute about his personality and the role he played in the lives of the inhabitants of the shelter and, more broadly, about the truth that people need.

Luka is an old wanderer, the only one of the inhabitants of the shelter about whose past we know almost nothing. Where he leaves the shelter in the fourth act is also unknown. But his stay in the shelter left a deep mark on the souls of the tramps.

Together with Luka, kindness and affection enter the shelter. He resembles Tolstoy’s Platon Karataev, as “something kind, Russian, round”: the same melodious speech, gentle words of greeting (“Good health, honest people”), from which the inhabitants of the “cave-like basement” have long been unaccustomed where from morning to night you can hear screams, curses, fights and even murders (“One day they will kill you,” says the Actor to Satin. “You fool, you can’t kill twice,” exclaims Satin calmly, that is, habitually); proverbs and sayings, which abound in Luke’s speech, are organically woven into the speech of the wise old man and reflect the people’s view of life (“For an old man, where it’s warm, there’s a homeland,” “not a single flea is bad: they’re all black, they all jump”). It exudes coziness and homeliness, something homeless people have long lost the habit of. No wonder Natasha immediately responds to his affection and lovingly calls him grandfather (“Go there, grandfather.”) Luka immediately wins people over because his words are wise and his sympathy is not offensive: “Ehe-he! I’ll look at you, brothers, - your life - oh!”

Compassionate for others, he never seeks to arouse sympathy for himself; Having experienced a lot in his long-suffering life (“They suffered a lot, that’s why he is soft,” he will say only once), he did not harden, did not become angry, but became softer, kinder, more humane, and this is a sign of a great soul and nobility.

Luka knows how to maintain dignity and stand up for himself (which is very much valued by people humiliated by life) not with shouting and abuse, but with the calm wisdom of a person who has lived and experienced a lot. When the Baron, out of preserved lordly habit, begins to interrogate him (“You have a passport!”), Luka immediately puts him in his place:

The confused Baron replies:

Well, what's there? I'm... kidding, old man! Brother, I don’t have any papers myself... That is, I have papers... but they are no good.

And Luke tactfully helps him get out of an awkward situation:

They, the pieces of paper, are all like that... they are all no good.

Luka knows how to understand every person at first sight, react kindly to a conflict situation, settle a quarrel, and prevent a fight. So, all morning the night shelters were quarreling because no one wanted to sweep the floor: the Baron forces the Actor, the Actor forces Nastya, Kvashnya forces the Actor again, and the Actor’s “body is poisoned with alcohol”, it is harmful for him to “breathe dust”; as a result, the owner Vasilisa threatens to “kick everyone out of the shelter.”

Luka (“Well, at least I’ll sweep the broom here. Where’s your broom?”) swept the floor, brought the sick Anna into the room, helped her get to the bed (“... is it really possible to abandon a person like that? He, whatever he is, is always worth the price." Luka caressed the terminally ill Anna - and her soul felt lighter: “I look at you... you look like my father... like my father... just as affectionate... soft.” Deprived of love and compassion, both Anna and Natasha recognized Luke as a loved one - “grandfather”, “father”.

Luka has the talent to listen to every person with sympathy and understanding, to feel sorry for and console: “Oh, you girl! Tired? Nothing! Be patient a little longer,” he addresses the terminally ill Anna.

His kindness is active, active: he prevents the owner of the shelter Kostylev from fighting with Ash, although he does this not without slyness (Luka - slyness): he slowly climbs onto the stove and at the right moment reveals himself.

The inhabitants of the shelter open their souls to the kind old man: Satin, Baron, Nastya - they all confess to him - their need for sympathy and compassion is so great, because they have lost faith in themselves, in the ability to change their lives for the better. (“Actor: no talent,... no self-confidence...).

Throughout the entire play, Luke repeats that only love or pity can save people (in the popular understanding, “to love” and “to pity” are synonyms): “To love - you must love the living ... the living”; “We don’t feel sorry for the living... we can’t feel sorry for ourselves... where is this” “Girl, someone needs to be kind... we need to feel sorry for people! Christ had compassion on everyone and commanded us to do so.” Only love and kindness can save people from anger and violence. To prove that he is right, Luke cites an incident from his life.

At night, thieves broke into the dacha he was guarding. Instead of fighting and murder (thieves with an ax, a watchman with a gun), Luke punished them in a fatherly way, forcing each other to flog each other, and then fed the escaped convicts and left them until spring. “Good men! If I didn’t feel sorry for them, they might have killed me... or something else..." “And then - a trial, and a prison, and Siberia... what’s the point? Prison will not teach you goodness, but a person will teach you... yes, a person can teach you goodness... very simply!” Luke convinces us that man is good by nature (the exception is people like the Kostylevs, whom Luke compares to “disadvantage,” that is, to the soil on which nothing will be born), but the circumstances of life make people evil. Luke’s rightness is also confirmed by the fact that, having got to the bottom of the matter, he revealed the bright core of every person. It turns out that Nastya dreams of pure, selfless love, and life forces her to sell her body; Ash would like to work honestly, but it is written in his blood to be a thief (“Vaska is a thief, a thief’s son”). The actor would like to return to the stage - but there are no hospitals for alcoholics. However, life, unfortunately, makes one doubt Luka’s unconditional rightness , which claims that love and mercy will eradicate evil.

Having learned everyone's deepest desires, Luka tries to convince his interlocutors of the possibility of their dreams coming true. He inspired Ash and Natasha with the idea of ​​​​the possibility of starting a new, working, honest life in Siberia; supported Nastya’s faith in her “fatal love”; comforting the Actor, he makes him believe in the existence of a hospital for alcoholics. Luke resorts to deception to instill in people hope that their lives will change for the better, offering everyone an option that is possible for them. And even to the dying Anna he promises a heavenly life in the afterlife: “You die with joy, without anxiety...”

People believed Luke, believed in themselves, perked up - and they began to have faith and hope. The actor stopped drinking, started working and collecting money for the trip to the hospital with “marble stairs”; dreams of becoming an actor again, remembers his sonorous surname - Sverchkov-Zavolzhsky, long-forgotten lines from plays and poems come to mind. Ash begins to gather for Siberia, persistently persuades Natasha to run away with him, convincing her of his love. Nastya lives with the joyful faith that, although in the past, she had love. However, the fate of the people who believed Luka turned out to be tragic: Nastya was about to leave the shelter (“Oh, everything disgusted me…”); Ashes ended up in prison, Natasha was crippled by Vasilisa. And the Actor puts the final point in the drama of people who have lost faith: “In a vacant lot... there... The Actor... hanged himself!”

All the heroes agree that Luke is to blame for the death of the Actor, who gave people false hope. Luke, on the other hand, considers his position to be the only correct one, and in support of this he tells a parable about the righteous land, with which he tries to convince the night shelters of the need for “white lies,” contrasting his point of view with the wingless truth of Bubnov and Baron, “which falls like a stone on the wings.” Luke talks about an old man who lived with faith in the existence of a “righteous land” - and was happy. When the scientist proved to him that the “righteous land” does not exist, he hanged himself. According to Luke, the scientist is to blame for destroying the old man’s faith. But another interpretation of this parable is also possible. After all, living in a world of illusions, a person sooner or later discovers self-deception, which often leads to tragic consequences.

Satin’s last remark in the play to the Actor who committed suicide suggests the same thoughts:

Eh... ruined the song... fool

Was he a “fool” because he believed Luke, or because he turned out to be weak after learning the truth? Or maybe Satin is also to blame, convincing him that Luka is deceiving him, seducing him into drinking, undermining his weak strength?

Is it possible to lie out of love for people, why do people so easily succumb to self-deception, and what tragic consequences does this belief in the non-existent lead to - a question that humanity has been trying to resolve for thousands of years. The actor recites Bérenger’s poems about “madmen”, who armed humanity with the radiant dream of socialism, which was called utopian, i.e. unrealistic:

Gentlemen, if the holy world cannot find the way to truth,
Honor to the madman who will bring a golden dream to Humanity.

The fourth act of the play is an ongoing dispute about the truth after the disappearance of the undocumented tramp Luka from the flophouse. (“Disappeared from the police”). Luke's position is justified by some, condemned by others. Kleshch says: “He didn’t like the truth, old man... that’s how it should be!” And without her we can’t breathe.”

Satin, while defending the old man (“he lied... but it was out of pity for you”), at the same time condemns lies out of compassion, out of pity for people: “Pity humiliates a person.” What did Satin really want to say? What humiliates a person - pity or lies? Maybe it's a lie after all? Lies are needed by hopelessly ill people, and therefore by very weak people who do not find the strength to overcome life’s circumstances. And about whether it is necessary to feel sorry for a person, to love him, to be merciful to him, the night shelters themselves said best of all, remembering Luka with a kind word:

“He was a good old man!” (Nastya);
“He was compassionate...” (Mite);
“The old man was good... he had law in his soul!..”;
“Do not offend a person - that is the law” (Tatar).

Satin noticed Luke’s words about the need for self-respect and respect for people, consonant with his thoughts about a proud man: “The old man lives from himself... He looks at everything with his own eyes. One day I asked him: “Grandfather, why do people live!” - And - people live for the best, dear! Because every person must be respected... Especially children must be respected... children!

Gorky himself had an ambivalent attitude towards the image of Luka he created, since he endowed him with his own traits that were characteristic of him both as a person and as a writer. He put his thoughts on the problem of which is better - the ruthless truth of a fact or a “white lie” in the fairy tale-parable “About the Siskin Who Lied, and About the Woodpecker, a Lover of Truth.” He was tormented by the question whether his call in romantic works to heroism in the name of freedom and happiness was not a deception.

The artists who embodied the image of Luke on stage most often emphasized the best human traits of Luke, his kindness, mercy, and desire to actively help people believe in themselves. And if kindness and mercy do not triumph in life, then aren’t people themselves to blame for this because they have not found the strength to resist life’s circumstances? But if even such a strong person as Satin has lost hope of getting out of the “bottom,” then, obviously, the main culprit remains the state, the inhumane social system.

Russian writers have always shown interest in philosophical problems, that is, in the problems of human existence and the meaning of life. The work of M. Gorky was no exception, and the play “At the Lower Depths” is rightfully considered the first Russian socio-philosophical drama. One of the most complex in the play is the image of Luke. It is with this that the main philosophical question is connected: “What is better: truth or compassion?”

Luke is a traveling preacher. He appears in the shelter in the midst of disputes between its inhabitants about conscience and honor. Do people at the very bottom of their lives need them?

Luke's mission as a comforter falls to his lot. He calms everyone down and promises everyone relief from suffering. Moreover, Luka doesn’t invent anything. Knowing how to feel surprisingly subtly the dreams and desires of people, he only convinces them of what they themselves hope for deep down in their souls. The basis of Luke’s life position is the phrase he himself expressed: “What you believe in is what it is.” He advises the dying Anna not to be afraid of death, because death will free her from pain and torment. He talks to the actor about the possibility of recovery from alcohol in a special hospital. After Luka’s words, Ash begins to believe that he will find his happiness with Natasha on the “golden side” of Siberia.

The inhabitants of the shelter have different attitudes towards the old man. So, Nastya, for example, after Luka left, says: “He was a good old man!” The tick especially emphasizes that Luka is compassionate. And even Luke’s antagonist Satin notes that Luke “was like crumbs for the toothless,” that he affected him “like acid on a rusty coin.” But the Baron calls him a charlatan, and the same Kleshch says that the old man did not like the truth. And again, oddly enough, Satin rushes to Luka’s defense. He interrupts the Baron with the words: “Be silent!.. be silent about the old man!” How should we evaluate Luka?

A number of researchers associate the name of Luke with the evil one, with the tempter. But still this is not entirely true. He does not seduce or tempt anyone. However, his name is apparently connected with the word “crafty” in the meaning of “cunning”. Luka is not as simple as it seems at first glance: he is an extraordinary person with extensive life experience. He quickly navigates the situation and finds an approach to almost everyone. In addition, the hero’s name is also associated with the Evangelical Apostle Luke. Before us is a certain bearer of wisdom, an exponent of his truth, connected in a significant way with the Christian commandments. Luke’s story about how he took pity on two robbers who were plotting murder and fed them (that is, responded to evil with good), precisely confirms this.

Still, with all the complexity and ambiguity, Luke deserves respect. This person is above all kind and sympathetic. He is sincere in his attitude towards people at the bottom. In addition, he does not force his views on anyone. And most importantly, he himself has no personal benefit from this lie. According to Luke, a person lives “for what is best.” This means that his dreams, hopes, and self-esteem should be strengthened, which he does, driven by pity and mercy.

The question of the author's attitude towards Luke is very complex. It is known that the writer more than once called him a swindler, a saint and a scoundrel. Yes, indeed, Luke expresses his compassion in a unique form - in the form of a lie, a beautiful fairy tale. But his lies are not everyday, they can sometimes even be called lofty. This is a type of Christian white lie. He believes that the truth is too scary for people, and therefore wants to embellish their existence by introducing a “golden dream” into it.

No matter how Gorky opposed his hero, nevertheless, the writer turned out to be better, wiser and kinder than he originally intended. When, at the end of the play, the night shelters try to “judge” Luka, the author refuses them to do so: Satin immediately and irrevocably stops all conversations.

Thus, in the play “At the Lower Depths” M. Gorky creates a very interesting and contradictory image. On the one hand, Luke is kind and helps people not to lose heart. On the other hand, his lies lead to the fact that the weakest people in spirit cannot stand it, and their return from the land of dreams to the horror of everyday life is too difficult for them to bear. So, for example, loss of faith leads the Actor to suicide.

Gorky, of course, stands in the position of Satin and condemns Luke. However, there is no such direct condemnation in the play. The reader and viewer will have to decide for themselves what is better: Satin’s truth or a lie to save Luke. Or maybe the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

So, Luke takes part in the destinies of people thrown to the bottom of life. In his speeches and actions, he tries to distract people from their joyless life, although he knows the sad outcome of each of the shelters. Luke's humanity is necessary for people, because he awakens in people empathy, compassion, those main values ​​without which one cannot be called a human being. But, of course, pity itself is not able to save people from suffering. Drastic changes to reality are needed. Therefore, Luka and Satin are not antagonists, but rather allies. Luka, like a doctor, patiently and wearily treats tormented souls, and Satin is a dreamer, endowed with the gift of bold creative thought, able to see far and vigilantly. But, unlike Luke, Satin is not a worker in the field of human suffering, but a contemplator. People themselves do not interest him. He is far from their suffering. He is only interested in his own thoughts, which escape far beyond the walls of the shelter.

Introduction

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

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

Luke's image

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

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

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

righteous man

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

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

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

Author's attitude

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

Gorky's play “At the Lower Depths” made a huge impression on the public at the beginning of the 20th century. The world of people who had sunk to the last degree of squalor at the very “bottom” of life was exposed without embellishment, into a world of cheaters, prostitutes and killers of thieves of various stripes. Maxim Gorky imbued the play “At the Lower Depths” with a protest against the social foundations of capitalist society and a call for a calm, equal and fair life.

Getting to the topic “Luka: Characteristics” (“At the Bottom”), it should be noted that people living in the cheapest shelter, reminiscent of a dark and dirty basement, became ugly victims of the cruel and unfair orders of society, when a person, thrown out of normal life, begins to live in wolf laws and turns into a powerless and pitiful creature.

Luke: characteristics

“At the Bottom” is a play that brings together several different characters. One of the residents of the shelter is old man Luka, who became the most ambiguous and contradictory hero of the play. It is with him that the main philosophical question of this work is connected: “What is better - compassion and “sublime and comforting lies” or truth?” Is it necessary to be so imbued with compassion that you then use lies as a saving tool?

"People" and "people"

Delving deeper into the topic of “Luka: Characteristics” (“At the Bottom”), it can be noted that it is this hero who becomes the only person who truly sympathizes with the inhabitants of the shelter. He notes that there are “people” and there are “humans”. “People” are by nature very weak and weak-willed, they constantly need the support and strength of another, and for them faith and hope can serve as a powerful incentive. “People” are, on the contrary, strong-willed people. These are those who do not need pity, compassion, or soothing lies. This is exactly what Hero Satin is, who believes that a person, first of all, must be respected, and pity only humiliates him, although Satin himself is a big cheater who deliberately lives by lies and deception.

The play "At the Bottom". Luke

Luke tells Tick's dying wife Anna that she should not be afraid of death, and that she will soon be happy in Heaven with God. He gives the actor hope for a city where alcoholics are treated for free, although he forgot the name of the city, but promised to remember.

In the play “At the Bottom”, Luke is affectionate, kind and merciful to everyone. He doesn’t say much about himself, he only jokes that he “was crushed a lot, that’s why he’s soft.” He has no bad or good people, he finds something good and bright in everyone, and he consoles and instructs everyone. He tells the prostitute Nastya that if you believe that you had true love, then you had it.

In the play “At the Bottom,” Luka advises the thief Ash and Natasha to go to Siberia for a free life, where it will be much easier for them to start all over again.

The unfortunate residents of the shelter had no choice but to believe his words, which, although they sounded implausible, gave faith, like rays of sunshine in pitch darkness.

A white lie or a bitter one, but really?

Luke in the play “At the Bottom” with his philosophy in some way calls for Christian humility, patience and sensitivity to others. He says to one of the heroes: “What is the truth to you?” After all, it can become like a blow to your head.

The goodness that this hero carries within himself awakens in a sheltered person, even a doomed one, the desire to live and be better. But when the old man disappears, the whole life of many people in this damned place will collapse.

In conclusion to the topic “Luke: Characteristics” (“At the Bottom”), it should be noted that there is no definite answer to this eternal question, but Gorky himself believes that truth is better than compassion. The author himself expresses complete confidence that only truth and a correct understanding of the significance of human compassion will help save humanity.