Can Luka be called a sympathetic person? “What you believe in is what it is
Regardless of the literary direction in which the writer works, everyone has at least once paid attention to the philosophical topic of the meaning of life and the problems that people overcome throughout their lives. Gorky's play “At the Lower Depths” fully touches on socio-philosophical themes. Luke's characterization from the play about degenerate people will help you find answers to important questions about the meaning of existence.
He 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.
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.
Luke's influence on the night shelters
The wandering old man found his own approach to each lodging house and chose the words that he wanted to hear. Thus, to Anna, who was dying of consumption and who was very afraid of death, the elder promised a heavenly afterlife without deprivation and pain.
The woman no longer feared the inevitable end of her life. Luka treated the prostitute Nastya without condemnation, who naively believed in the possibility of a sincere love story in her life.
He told Vaska Pepl about the high probability of starting a new life, who suffered bad treatment from Kostylev’s wife. Luke suggested that he go to Siberia and start living there according to a new way of life. The elder sincerely believed that every person deserves, if not a better life, then the kind participation of his neighbor.
Former stage worker Actor Luke assured that in one city, the name of which he does not remember, there is a free clinic for drinkers. Having perked up, the veteran of the creative profession stopped drinking, wanting to save money for a trip to this city.
The preacher forced the inhabitants of the shelter to think about human nature, about truth and lies, justice and the right to dreams and happiness. Everyone began to think about the vicissitudes of their own fate and the possibility of changing it for the better, despite the “evil truth of life.”
People who find themselves on the sidelines of life hear conciliatory, compassionate and sympathetic statements addressed to them from the lips of the wanderer.
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.
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.
The controversial image of Luke
A philosophical debate always arises around how a person should behave and act in the face of everyday difficulties.
The character of the wanderer often evokes conflicting feelings in the reader. On the one hand, the elder, along with parables, was able to instill in people faith in a better future. But the main problem was that in most cases the words were false.
Throughout the entire work, even the author himself changes his attitude towards this bright character. If initially the wanderer is presented in a joyful tone, then closer to the end the reader understands that all his admonitions did not bring the desired result. Not a single hero was ever able to get out of the bottom of society.
Moreover, the Actor, deprived of spiritual support and realizing that he was not destined to be cured of addiction for free, committed suicide. Perhaps, if the preacher’s words had not opened his wounds and given him false hope, the man would not have decided on such a desperate act.
Important! A white lie - this is how one can interpret the intentions of a compassionate wanderer.
The philosophical question of the play is to determine what is better for a person, a comforting lie or the truth.
Despite the fact that Luke was the only person who sincerely showed interest in the inhabitants of the shelter, did he bring any benefit with his unrealizable consolations?
Satin, for example, believed that everyone could be divided into two categories:
- People;
- "people".
People, in his opinion, will always need someone’s support and approval of their actions, and “people” are already endowed with fortitude.
It is not difficult to determine at first glance how Luka affects all the inhabitants of the shelter. With all his appearance and behavior, the elder calls on those around him to Christian humility and participation in his neighbor. When he was asked whether God exists, the wanderer replied that if you believe in him, he exists, and if you don’t believe in him, he does not exist.
The elder has his own individual concept of truth as such. The author of the play does not hide his own attitude towards Luke, does not justify his hero and does not condemn him. Gorky believed that the salvation of humanity lies in the correct understanding of the significance of compassion and truth.
Maxim Gorky, even at the end of the play, does not allow the residents of the poor house to judge Luka’s actions and behavior. He leaves this fate to the reader.
Useful video: the role of Luka in M. Gorky’s drama “At the Lower Depths”
Description of the wanderer Luke
Let us remember the description of Luke given by the author of the play. He is an old man about 60 years old. His whole appearance corresponds to a vagabond lifestyle. He has a knapsack and a stick, and a kettle and a pot are attached to his belt. His head is bald, and his disposition is affectionate and soft. He had the opportunity to wander around the world a lot and gain life experience. He says about himself: “...They crumpled a lot, that’s why he’s soft...”
This quotation form of the work allows you to accurately and accurately characterize the characters.
Based on his other statements, it can be assumed that he once escaped from hard labor or a settlement in Siberia. Hence the confidence that prison cannot improve human nature. Relationships with the female sex did not work out, although I knew a lot of them. He believes that he became bald from a variety of women who met on his way.
It also became known that he once served as a watchman and guarded an engineer’s dacha. It was there that he happened to meet escaped convicts who entered the dacha, wanting to profit from other people's goods, and stayed to live for a while.
Important! The old man did not respect the truth too much. Perhaps because it is too bitter for the common man. So Kleshch put it this way about Luka and his desire to embellish everything: “That’s right - what’s the truth here? And without her, I can’t breathe..."
When a fight broke out in the shelter and the owner Kostylev died, the wanderer found it necessary to disappear. Earlier, Luke spoke about his desire to go “to the crests” to Ukraine to look at the new faith.
A brief summary of the subsequent events that happened to the inhabitants of the shelter can be summarized as follows:
- Ash ends up in prison as a result of the fight and subsequent death of Kostylev;
- Natalya, beaten by her sister Vasilisa, disappears from home;
- The actor, getting drunk again, commits suicide;
- Anna dies of consumption;
- The tick drinks away all the money and has nothing to bury his wife with.
Taking into account all the positive qualities of Luke, his image is ambiguous and complex. Even towards people at the bottom of society, he shows kindness, participation and responsiveness. In his desire to embellish reality there is no desire for material gain. According to the wanderer, man was created for the best, and for this best to happen to him, he must strengthen his faith, hope and allow him to dream.
Although the author himself more than once called Luka a scoundrel and a swindler, the image of the old man cannot be called negative and repulsive. Maxim Gorky expressed his attitude towards the elder through the mouth of Satin, who at the end of the story suppressed all negative reviews about Luke.
The old man's songs, parables and quotes are intended to distract the slum dwellers from their bleak lives. Humanity in the play “At the Bottom” comes first in Luke’s personal qualities; his compassion conveys to the night shelters that they are, first of all, people, and not thieves, alcoholics and prostitutes.
Useful video: Luka’s departure in M. Gorky’s drama “At the Depths”
Conclusion
Luke, like a healer, patiently and compassionately tried to heal the tormented souls of these people. After analyzing the actions of the elder, it is impossible to draw a definite conclusion whether he acted correctly or recklessly. Each person will have his own personal answer to this question, which will depend on his degree of self-sufficiency, success and self-confidence.
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1. “Truth” of Luke.
2. Interpretation of the image of Luke.
3. The role of Luke in the life of the inhabitants of the “bottom”.
The social and philosophical drama “At the Lower Depths” was conceived by Gorky in 1900. The play was first published in Munich in 1902. In Russia, the work was published by the publishing house “Znanie” in 1903. The play shows the life of the inhabitants of the shelter. These are degraded, unhappy, disadvantaged people. There is nothing bright left in their lives.
The image of Luke is rightfully considered the most complex in the play. This man is trying to console those who are suffering. His position directly contradicts the phrase: “Truth is the god of a free man.” Luke does not accept the cruel and evil “truth.” For him, truth is the “truth” that a person believes in.
Luke is very kind to others. He finds for everyone exactly the words that a person needs. Let this consolation have nothing to do with the real truth of life. But on the other hand, if you can make a person at least a little happier, why neglect this opportunity? The play poses a complex philosophical question: is Luke’s compassion better than the naked “truth”, which reveals to the inhabitants of the “bottom” all the wretchedness of their existence... Everyone can answer this question differently. But one cannot help but admit that Luke’s role in the lives of other characters in the play is great.
Luke is not trying to convince anyone of anything: He simply consoles those who need it. He does not impose his point of view, and this shows his wisdom. Luke is sure: “What you believe in is what it is.” One cannot but agree with this. A person’s subjective perception of the surrounding reality may differ greatly from the opinions of others. But the opinion of others does not necessarily have to be considered true. Luke helps the downtrodden find hope. But this is very important for a person.
Critics could not come to clear conclusions regarding the image of Luke. Some believed that Luka is a positive hero, because he helps people find something good in themselves. Others considered Luka a negative character, because after he left the shelter, the inhabitants of the “bottom” had an even harder time, because they were forced to say goodbye to illusions. Gorky's own attitude towards Luka was very contradictory. In 1910, the writer said about the hero of the play: “Luke is a swindler. He doesn't really believe in anything. But he sees how people suffer and rush about. He feels sorry for these people. So he says different words to them - for comfort.”
The inhabitants of the shelter treat Luka as a storyteller. They are not deluded by the old man’s words. For example, Ash says: “You lie well... You tell fairy tales nicely! Lie! Nothing...". This means that Luke’s words still find a response in the souls of tormented people.
Luke consoles Anna with conversations about the peace that will come after death. For a dying woman, these words can mean much more than the reasoning of the “working man”, her husband Kleshch, that after her death he will be able to arrange his life. This means that in this case, Luke’s role is certainly positive. To the actor suffering from drunkenness, Luka talks about special hospitals where alcoholics can be cured. This hope could give strength. And it cannot be blamed on Luke that, having lost hope, the Actor decides to commit suicide. Hope for a better life could make a person stronger if he initially had at least a little more strength and desire to break out of the vicious circle.
Luka tells Vaska Pepl that his life in Siberia will not be so bad. “And the good side is Siberia! Golden side! He who has strength and intelligence is like a cucumber in a greenhouse!” Let the old man's words raise doubts. But on the other hand, an attempt to instill confidence in the future is better than the intention to trample a person into the dirt, to deprive him of his last dream.
It is no coincidence that Luke tells a parable about how a certain man believed that somewhere there was a righteous land. And when faith was destroyed by a scientist who was able to prove that this land does not exist, the man hanged himself. He could not survive the collapse of his hopes. The old man is sure that a lie can bring salvation, but the truth, on the contrary, is dangerous and cruel.
The image of Luke is the personification of humanity and love for mankind. Paradoxically, he himself is just as much an inhabitant of the “bottom” as others. But he has not lost his human qualities; he finds in himself kindness and compassion for those around him. The rest have long ceased to find even a drop of sympathy for those around them. How did Luke manage to maintain kindness within himself? Perhaps the reason for this is that, unlike those around him, he never ceases to love and respect the people around him. Even in cases where there is nothing to love and respect them for. Attempts to console the suffering are not valuable in themselves for Luke. He does not revel in his role as a comforter; he uses lies as a means to awaken something human in the dead souls of the inhabitants of the “bottom”. And it’s not his fault for the lack of results. One can blame Luka for the fact that after his departure, the life of the inhabitants of the shelter became even more difficult. They had to give up illusions, and again they found themselves face to face with the realities of life. But on the other hand, the reproaches against the elder seem unfounded. The trouble with the inhabitants of the “bottom” is that they are inactive, submit to circumstances, and do not try to do anything to change their fate. Luke could become a guiding star for the Actor. But it’s easier for him to believe Satin. It was not Luka, but Satin and the Baron who caused the Actor’s suicide. After all, it was they who convinced the unfortunate man that there were no hospitals for alcoholics. On the other hand, did it really matter in hospitals? Couldn't the Actor believe in his future and try to change something in his life? Luke tried to influence him, he said to Satin: “And why are you confusing him?” The rest are indifferent to the words, both their own and those of others.
Luka leaves the shelter because he cannot change the course of things. It is not in his power to help people leave the “bottom” and become full members of society. Luke understands that his help to the disadvantaged cannot be something material, tangible. The role of a comforter cannot be permanent, otherwise it will become devalued. Attempts to instill hope and encouragement should resemble a flash of light in impenetrable darkness. And then people will decide for themselves whether to do anything or not. The play does not answer whether the life of any of the inhabitants of the bottom will change. And, in my opinion, this is no coincidence; In his work, Gorky posed the most difficult questions, which everyone can answer in their own way.
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.
Mite, 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.
All writers show interest in philosophical themes and problems, which is why reflections on the meaning of life become central to many literary works. One of these works was the play by M. Gorky. “At the Lower Depths” is considered the first drama in Russian literature that touches on social and philosophical problems and issues.
In Gorky's play there are many heroes who are different in character. But still, most of the controversy arises because of the image of Luke and his perception of the world. It is with his appearance in the play that disagreements constantly begin to be heard about what will be best for a person: true, even it will be the most difficult, but it is true and real, or compassion, which can serve as a consolation.
So who is Luke? From the plot of the work, the reader learns that Luke is a preacher, but he does not have a specific place of residence and ministry to God. He wanders the earth and preaches the truths in which he himself believes. One day he appears in a rooming house, where people are devastated and thrown out of everyday life. They rejoice in every day they could live. And some are waiting for their death in order to somehow escape from this life, which has long ceased to bring them joy.
Luka suddenly stops at the shelter when poor Anna dies, and a dispute about conscience and honor arises between the other inhabitants of this basement. After all, being in such a place, many simply forgot about them. Luke becomes a comforter for them. So, first of all, he tries to calm and reconcile everyone. Luke promises everyone deliverance from the suffering that they now have in life and promises that their wishes will come true. He subtly feels people, predicts their desires, so he easily convinces them of what they do not say out loud, but somewhere in the depths of their souls they still hope for it.
Luke has his own position from which he lives and preaches among people. He believes that all fantasies and dreams are life. In the shelter he has a long conversation with Anna, who is dying, but is very afraid of death. Luka consoles her, saying that dying is not painful or scary, because it will help her become free, no longer feel pain, and she will never even suffer again. He also finds comforting words for the Actor, but only by believing Luka will the Actor soon understand that it is impossible to find a hospital to cure alcoholism. After all, he has no money for this at all.
The attitude of all the inhabitants of the basement towards this strange preacher is different for everyone. Someone, for example Nastya, considers him good, that he carries pity and compassion. But there are other opinions about the shelter: someone calls him a deceiver, and someone claims that he simply does not like the truth. Maybe they are right, because it is not for nothing that the author gives such a name to his hero: Luke is the crafty one, that is, cunning. And by his age you can easily determine that he has a lot of experience, because he has already lived most of his life. And if he wanders, then probably there have been many different situations in his life, so he knows how to quickly find a way out of any situation and sees so well the psychology of each inhabitant of this shelter.
But if we consider this image through religion, there was such an apostle in the Gospel. This Gospel Luke is an image in which wisdom and truth are contained. And I remember the story of Gorky’s Luka, how he accidentally met robbers who wanted to kill him, but he was able to persuade them to eat. It’s like in the Bible when it says that any evil must be answered with good.
The image of Luka in the play by Maxim Gorky is a complex hero, to whom it is impossible to relate in any unambiguous way, and, probably, there is no need to. The main qualities of his character are kindness, responsiveness, the ability to listen and sympathize with another person, and not think only about himself. Another advantage of this hero is his sincerity; he knows how to communicate with people without imposing his opinions and views on them.
And if Luke tells a lie, then his lie is comforting, from which he himself has no benefit. He simply tries to lift a person’s spirits, strengthen his spirit, and instill hope. But it’s still impossible to answer unequivocally about how to relate to this character. Even the author himself could not answer this question, who suddenly finds himself on his side, justifying compassion, then suddenly Maxim Gorky himself calls him a swindler and even a scoundrel. At the end of the play, the author does not allow the other inhabitants of the shelter to judge his strange hero. The writer leaves it to the reader to do this so that he can think about Gorky’s controversial character, who has been causing controversy for many years.
The humanity that Luka carries is needed by people, but due to the fact that dreams cannot come true and hopes turn out to be empty, people suffer even more and then not every person can withstand it. For example, the Actor who simply hanged himself at the end of the play. Luke is trying to heal tormented human souls, and the result, due to the reality in which these people find themselves, can be very different. Therefore, there is no point in judging or praising Luke.
During their school years, many probably had the opportunity to become acquainted with the work of the respected Russian writer Maxim Gorky - the play “At the Lower Depths,” which without embellishment describes to all of us the familiar archetypes of people living in Russian realities.
Despite the fact that more than a century has passed since the publication of the drama, the situations that it touches on remain relevant today.
In this article we will analyze in detail the image of the character Luke from this play, get acquainted with his statements and talk about the attitude of other heroes of the work towards him.
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Where did the wanderer come from?
doesn't reveal the secret Luke's origins, only fleetingly speaks of his wandering life. The wanderer has neither a homeland nor any specific place of residence. He himself talks about it this way: "To the old man – Where it’s warm, there’s homeland.”
The residents of the shelter are also not interested in the old man’s past; they are preoccupied with their problems and attempts "go out into the public", and not drag out an existence “at the bottom” for the rest of your life.
Character Characteristics Analysis
Luke appears before us in the form a kind-hearted old man, preaching goodness, love, pity and the will of man to create his life as his heart dictates.
The hero really emanates an aura of peacefulness and understanding, which, of course, endears him to the characters in the play, making them believe that the future is not hopeless and there is a chance to improve their social situation, fulfill their dreams and desires.
To everyone who, willy-nilly, ended up in a shelter, Luka selects the right words, gives everyone hope and encourages them to believe in their dreams, no matter how funny they may seem to themselves and others.
But no matter how sweet and comforting the stranger’s words sounded, they were only empty sounds, distracting homeless people from everyday troubles, and not real support that gives strength to get out of poverty and ignominy.
Nevertheless, Luka is not a liar, he just sincerely feels sorry for those around him and encourages them, even if it is absolutely pointless and useless.
Luke's relationship with other characters in the play "At the Lower Depths"
The characters relate to the old man in two ways:
- alone ( thief Vaska Ash, Actor, Anna, Nastya, Natasha) with relief they tell him about their life, confess and receive in response the necessary pity, sympathy and soothing statements;
- other ( card cap Bubnov, Satin, Baron, Klesch) do not trust a stranger too much and talk to him briefly and skeptically.
One thing is certain - no one remained indifferent to the appearance of such an extraordinary personality in such a dirty and doomed place.
After the sudden disappearance of the wanderer, the fate of some characters changed dramatically. The locksmith Kleshch's wife, Anna, died of tuberculosis, the Actor could not come to terms with the hopelessness of his life and hanged himself, Vaska Ash went to hard labor in Siberia because of an accidental murder, his dreams of an honest life with Natasha came to an end. The remaining heroes continued to while away their time in the shelter, but at the same time started to think about the meaning of one’s existence, one’s actions and the problems of others.
Parable of the Righteous Land
Luke's parable tells us about a man who endured all the hardships and suffering of earthly life, believing that there is a righteous land, where people live in excellent relationships, help each other and never lie. One day he went to a local scientist he knew and asked him to show the righteous land on a geographical map. He tried to find what he was looking for, but could not. Then the man got angry, hit the scientist, and then went home and hanged himself.
This parable seems to have predetermined the fatal fate of several characters - the death of Anna and the Actor, the imprisonment of the thief Vaska. They believed that their own righteous land would be found for them, that it was possible to get out of the bottom, poverty, but this did not happen. Luke soon left, and with him the hope that warmed the characters in the play went away.
Quotes
The play "At the Bottom" is rich thoughtful phrases and the statements of the characters, but, perhaps, the most significant of them are the words of Elder Luke.
Here are a few of his quotes that everyone who has read Gorky’s play “At the Lower Depths” should analyze and reflect on:
“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...”
"I don't care! I respect swindlers too, in my opinion, not a single flea is bad: all are black, all jump..."
“You, girl, don’t be offended... nothing! Where is it, where are we supposed to feel sorry for the dead? Eh, honey! We don’t feel sorry for the living... we can’t feel sorry for ourselves... where is it!”
“So, you’ll die, and you’ll be at peace... you won’t need anything else, and there’s nothing to be afraid of!”
“...it’s not the word that matters, but why the word is said? - that's the problem!"
Bottom line
Maxim Gorky's image of the wanderer Luke turned out to be very multifaceted and reflective main philosophical questions about life, love, principles and priorities of a person.
And not only Luke - all the characters in one way or another reflect those who we meet in real life.
The writer managed to reflect in his work entertaining philosophical and psychological ideas:
All of the above is important for a correct understanding of the work and simply situations happening to people around us, it teaches us to sympathize and correctly set life priorities.
