In Russian literature, there are many works depicting the poor strata of society. However, in the prose of the beginning of the 20th century, there were isolated works that affect the lives of laborers and other people.


Maxim Gorky wrote the play "At the bottom", which was published in 1902. Then it was first published. The work demonstrated something that was even afraid to say out loud.


Being a native of a simple family and having slurped a lot of grief, Alexey Peshkov decided to depict the life of ordinary people. And here before readers opens a picture of the social bottom.


There were all sorts of people gathered in the flophouse. There are also married couples (locksmith Tick and his sick wife Anna), and thieves (Vaska Pepel), and even former nobles who squandered their fortune (Baron). The situation is scary not only because people have little or no money, but the other side.


Locksmith Andrew Tick hates his wife, dreaming of her death. She is ill, and her husband does not want to waste time. The wife of the head of the rooming house encourages him Vaska Pepel to kill her husband.


This is the social bottom, because there is nowhere else to fall. In the coffin? So it is a deliverance for many people. The play "at the bottom" touches on the theme of empty conversations. About the beginning of the climax in the work appears Luke-the wanderer. He gives advice that becomes harmful to many guests.


When the riots started, Luca disappeared. Along with it, the hope for a bright future disappeared. This is one of the most malicious characters, although at first glance it seems like a positive hero.


The play "At the bottom" shows hopelessness. None of the characters were able to escape from the captivity of poverty and moral decay.

Саркисян Армен Меружанович