". This is how it always turns out: a person thinks to himself – I’m doing a good job! Grab - and people are unhappy" (Luke)
***
". People are becoming smarter, more and more interesting, and even though they live, they get worse and worse, but they want to get better and better, stubborn. "
***
". It is, perhaps, lordship - like smallpox, a person will recover, but the signs remain. "
***
". Children especially need to be respected! Children need space! Don’t interfere with the children’s lives. Respect the children. "(Satin reports Luke's words)
***
". Human! It's great! It sounds proud! Human! We must respect the person! It is necessary not to feel sorry, not to humiliate him with pity. "(Satin about a person)
***
". It turns out: no matter how you paint yourself on the outside, everything will be erased, everything will be erased, yes. "(Bubnov)
***
". In a woman there must be a soul. We are animals, we need to be taught. "(Vaska Ash)
***
". Work if you like, so what is there to be proud of? If you value people at work, then a horse carries you better than any person and remains silent. "
***
". Education is nonsense, the main thing is talent. And talent is faith in yourself, in your strength” (Actor)
***
". Crooks - I know all the smart ones! They are crazy - impossible. A good person, even a stupid person, is good, but a bad person must have intelligence. "(Medvedev)
Aphorisms of Luke
“...This is how it always turns out: a person thinks to himself – I’m doing well! Grab - and people are unhappy..."
“... people are becoming smarter, more and more interesting... and even though they live, everything is worse, but they want everything to be better... stubborn!..” “... It is, perhaps, lordship - like smallpox... and a person will recover, but the signs remain... »
“...How many different people on earth are in charge... and they frighten each other with all sorts of fears, but there is still no order in life... and there is no purity...”
“...if someone has not done good to someone, he has done something bad...”
“...Man lives in every way... as his heart is adjusted, so he lives... today he is good, tomorrow he is evil...”
“...Why should we love them?.. To love – we must love the living... the living...” (Luke about the dead)
“...You – beware of the living... that’s what I’ll say...” (Luke about the dead and the living)
“...it’s not the word that matters, but why the word is said? - that's the problem!.."
“...If you believe that you had true love... that means you had it! Was!.."
“...It’s never harmful to caress a person...”
“...Girl, someone needs to be kind...you need to feel sorry for people! <...> it’s time to feel sorry for a person... it happens well!..”
“...Prison will not teach you goodness, and Siberia will not teach you... but man will teach you... yes! A person can teach goodness... very simply!..”
“... It’s true, it’s not always because of a person’s illness... you can’t always cure a soul with the truth...”
“...Whoever seeks will find... Whoever wants hard will find!..”
“...There are people, and there are others – people...”
“...That’s why every person must be respected...we don’t know who he is, why he was born and what he can do...maybe he was born for our happiness...for our great benefit?..”
“...We especially need to respect children... children! Children need space! Don’t interfere with the children’s lives... Respect the children!..”
“I respect swindlers too, in my opinion, not a single flea is bad: all are black, all jump... that’s it”
“...where it’s warm, there’s the Motherland...”
“We are all wanderers on earth...”
“Barbarity is like smallpox... and a person will recover, but the signs remain”
“Even a pimple won’t pop up without a reason.”
“He [a person] - no matter what he is - is always worth his price...”
“Everyone (...) endures... everyone endures life in their own way...”
“What good is it if you forgot what you love? The beloved has all the soul.”
“A person can do anything... if only he wants to...”
“Death - it calms everything down... it is gentle for us...”
“...if someone has not done good to someone, he has done something bad...”
“And...what do you really need badly...think about it! She really might be a bitch for you..."
“Ashes: ...is there a God? Luke: If you believe, it is; If you don’t believe it, no...What you believe in is what it is..."
“Look - what am I? Bald...Why? From these very different women... "
“A person lives differently... as his heart is adjusted, so he lives... today he is good, tomorrow he is evil...”
“To love is to love the living... the living...”
"…I will say ? go for him, girl, go! He ? the guy is okay, good! Just remind him more often that he is a good guy, so that he doesn’t forget about it! Is he for you? he will believe... Just tell him: “Vasya, are you? good man... don’t forget!”
“Girl, someone needs to be kind...you need to feel sorry for people!”
“Christ felt sorry for everyone and told us so...”
“I only say that if someone has not done good to someone, he has done something bad...”
“You... don’t know what applause is... it’s like... vodka! I remember! Favorite poem... is that bad, old man? What good is it if you forgot what you love? In your favorite? my whole soul... I drank my soul, old man... I, brother, died... Why? died? I didn’t have faith... I’m finished..."
"Who is looking ? will find... Who really wants it? will find it!”
“... every person must be respected... we don’t know who he is, why he was born and what he can do... maybe he was born for our happiness... for our great benefit?.. We especially need to respect children... children! For the kids? space is needed! Don’t interfere with the children’s lives... Respect the children!”
The old man lives from himself... he looks at everything with his own eyes. One day I asked him: “Grandfather! Why do people live?..” <…> “But people live for the best, dear! <…> So are all the others... mechanics, there... shoemakers and other working people... and all the peasants... and even gentlemen? they live for the best! Everyone thinks that they live for themselves, but it turns out that they live for the best! A hundred years... or maybe more? they live for a better person!”
“- There are people, and there are others and people... - You... don’t be wise! Don’t ask riddles... I’m no more stupid than you... What are people and people? - Where is the mystery here? I speak ? there is land that is inconvenient for sowing... and there is productive land... whatever you sow on it will give birth... So that’s it...”
“Prison will not teach you goodness, and Siberia will not teach you... but man will teach you... yes! A person can teach goodness... very simply!”
“Cuddle a person? never harmful..."
“A person lives differently... as his heart is adjusted, so he lives... today he is good, tomorrow he is evil...”
- Grandfather! Talk to me, honey... I feel sick... - It's nothing! This ? before death... dove. Nothing, honey! You hope... That means you’ll die, and you’ll be at peace... you won’t need anything else, and there’s nothing to be afraid of! Silence, calm... lie down! Death, it calms everything down... it is gentle for us... If you die, you will rest, they say... that’s true, dear! Because where can a person rest here?
“A person can do anything... if only he wants to...”
“You... get treatment! Nowadays there is a cure for drunkenness, hear! They treat them for free, brother... this is the kind of hospital built for drunkards... so that, therefore, they can be treated for nothing... They recognized, you see, that a drunkard is also a person..."
“This is how it always turns out: a person thinks to himself - I’m doing a good job! Grab it, but people are unhappy..."
“Perhaps, lordship is like smallpox... and a person will recover, but the signs remain...”
“...I have papers... but they are no good... They, the papers, are all like that... they are all no good.
“We are all wanderers on earth... They say, I heard, that our earth is also a wanderer in the sky.”
“We lived better... yes! I... used to... wake up in the morning and, lying in bed, drink coffee... coffee with cream... yes!
“That’s it, people! No matter how you pretend, no matter how you wobble, but you were born a man, you will die a man... And still, I see, people are becoming smarter, more and more entertaining... and although they live worse and worse, they want everything better... stubborn!
“Ehehe! I’ll look at you, brothers, your life is oh! Such a life that just as you got up in the morning, you started howling..."
- I’ll leave tonight... - This is better. It's always better to leave on time...
“In the middle of the night... I can't see the road... "
“They crushed it a lot, that’s why it’s soft...”
“And the good side is Siberia!”
“...like a cucumber in a greenhouse!”
"What you believe in is what you believe..."
“This Vasilisa is worse than Cheremis”
Characters
M. Gorky has many works in which he touches on burning topics that are close to every person. But a particularly outstanding creation is the play “At the Bottom,” which intrigues the reader. The play takes place in a flophouse owned by the Kostylev couple. People who found themselves at the very bottom of society found refuge here. Each character has their own life story, which subsequently brought them together under one roof.
Residents of the shelter:
- Anna,
- Vaska Ash,
- Actor,
- Satin,
- Nastya,
- Baron,
- Mite,
- Bubnov,
- Luke, etc.
The image of Luke in Gorky's play At the Depth
Until Luka appeared in the house, all the inhabitants coexisted next to each other in squabbles and swearing. A wandering old man, finding himself in a shelter, shows a keen interest in its inhabitants.
Residents of the Kostylevo house have developed hostile relationships. Callousness and cruelty are manifested in the bullying of Nastya, who, by selling her body, believes in future true love. The inhabitants of the shelter do not allow Anna, who is seriously ill, to die in peace. They laugh at her husband Kleshch’s desire to get out of poverty, considering it vain and unrealizable. The hard life and surrounding society made these characters callous and evil. With the appearance of Luka in the shelter, a lot changes.
This is interesting! Creativity and biography of Fyodor Dostoevsky: briefly the most important things
Aphorisms of Bubnov
“I’ve heard it... a hundred times!
Well, I was... what importance!.. I was a furrier... I had my own establishment... My hands were so yellow - from the paint: I tinted the furs - so, brother, my hands were yellow - up to the elbows! I thought that I wouldn’t wash it until the day I die... so I’ll die with dirty hands... And now here they are, my hands... just dirty... yes! “What is conscience for? I'm not rich..."
“And whoever is drunk and smart is two mute lands...”
“What was was, but all that remains is nothingness... There are no gentlemen here... everything has faded away, only one naked man remains...”
“You are superfluous everywhere... and all the people on earth are superfluous...”
“Mm-yes!.. But I... I don’t know how to lie! For what? In my opinion, tell the whole truth as it is! Why be ashamed?
“People all live... like wood chips floating down a river... building a house... and the wood chips go away...”
- My head is buzzing... eh! And why do people hit each other on the head? - They are not only on the head, but throughout the rest of the body
- After all... it’s good that she died... but it’s a pity... Lord!.. Why did the person live? - It’s all like this: they are born, they live, they die. And I will die... and you... Why regret?
“Noise is not a hindrance to death...”
“So... just for consideration... It turns out: no matter how you paint yourself on the outside, everything will be erased... everything will be erased, yes!”
“Color, crow, feathers... go ahead”
Lie or truth?
At one time, the work caused a resonance of opinion in society based on the image of Luke in Gorky’s play. What's better, the bitter truth or the sweet lie? There is still no answer to this age-old question. The residents of the shelter also disagreed. The strong character Satin preferred the harsh truth.
This is interesting! Alexander Griboedov: an interesting short biography
He did not need false promises, but unfortunate Anna was afraid to die without them. Luke turned out to be a perceptive old man who could feel the needs of his neighbor and predict his innermost desires. He walked through life with his faith, which put dreams and fantasies first. He advised the alcoholic Actor to quit his addiction and go to a hospital that would cure his addiction forever.
Realizing how important it was for Nastya to deceive herself that one student was deeply in love with her, the wanderer began to calm the girl down when others began to mock and question her words.
Wanderer Character
The character is interesting to all guests. Most are called positive character traits:
Humanity
: Luke paid attention to everyone. He believes that everyone is worth their price, you can’t abandon people.
Mind
. The Wanderer knows a lot, remembers the fates of those he met. He doesn't just tell, but makes you think.
Insight
. Luke notices what others don't see. He looks ahead to the situation and helps some of the characters. The scene of the quarrel between Ash and Kostylev - he moved on the stove in time, the fight did not turn into murder.
Kindness
. Luka supports the guests with kind attitude and words.
Religiosity
. The elder, like Christ, has pity on everyone. He fulfills God's commandment - to help everyone. A person should be pitied in time.
Conclusion
The image of Luke is close to Tolstoy’s Platon Karataev with his tireless desire to improve the world around him. The Wanderer believes that anyone can be corrected through mutual assistance, understanding and support. This is exactly what he does when robbers broke into the dacha he was guarding, and thereby saved someone’s life. Man, according to Luke, lives for the best. The most humiliated and downtrodden is capable of serving the future, therefore, everyone is worthy of respect. People should look to the future with hope and keep in their souls an ideal to strive for. Luke helps people who have lost themselves find faith in their strengths and in the possibility of happiness. And it’s not his fault that in reality this happiness is not always achievable.
Characterizing the image of Luke can be useful when writing essays and for preparing literature lessons.
Appearance description
The wanderer Luke is an old man of 60 years old. He appears in an image familiar to people wandering around the country:
- Stick in hand (instead of a staff);
- Knapsack on my shoulders;
- The pot and kettle are attached to the belt.
There are few details that characterize the appearance:
- Bald.
- Low.
The old man went bald because of women. He had more of them than hairs on his head. This means that the man was attractive in his youth.
Guests immediately perceive the wanderer differently. For some, he is just another rogue, for others - a passer-by, a passing, wandering, amusing old man, a curious old man.
Apostle and tempter
Luke, with his philosophy, teaches Christian obedience, sensitivity to others and patience. In the Kostylevs' house, some completely believed in Luka's stories, others were skeptical. Nastya and Kleshch noted the old man’s pity. Even Satin said that the tramp lied only out of compassion for them.
After the play's release, critics' opinions were also divided. Luke was compared to the tempter and the gospel apostle. Is he a wise old man telling biblical commandments, or an evil demon pouring lies into the ears of unfortunate people?
By lying to save himself, the righteous person violates the commandment - do not lie. But that doesn't matter to him. Its main goal is to do no harm.
It is on Luka, as a kind of core, that the marginal collective rests. He doesn't tell the hard truth and everyone likes him. The residents listen to him and do not conflict with each other. He gives them a sweet dream.
After the murder of the owner of the flophouse, the traveling preacher goes for a new life, perhaps to Ukraine. With his departure, everything fell apart for the unfortunate residents. The actor started drinking again and committed suicide when he realized that there were no free hospitals for alcoholics. Natasha, beaten by her sister, and Vaska Pepel, who dreamed of Siberia, ended up with a life even worse than what they had.
Luke gave the guests hope and broke their usual indifference to their own fate. People who realized the hopelessness of their situation experienced terrible disappointment.
Author's attitude
It is impossible to unequivocally answer the question of how to relate to the character. Even Maxim Gorky, who justifies Luka’s compassion, calls him a rogue. Of course, the writer is closer to Satin’s position that truth is better than compassion. At the end of the work, even the residents of the shelter do not judge the strange hero.
The author leaves Luke to the judgment of readers, who must determine what is better: a white lie or the cruel truth. Or maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle.
useful links
Check out what else we have:
- for the most rational - Summary of “At the Bottom”
- for the most impatient - A very brief summary of “At the Bottom”
- for the most curious - Analysis of “At the Bottom” by Gorky
- for the coolest - Read “At the Bottom” in full
Work test
- Question 1 of 15
