What is better - truth or compassion? Reflections on the pages of the play "At the Bottom" What is truth? Truth (in my understanding) is absolute truth, that is, the truth that is the same for all cases and for all people. I think that such truth cannot be. Even a fact, a seemingly obvious unambiguous event, different people are perceived differently. So, for example, news of death can be understood as news of another, new life.

Often the truth cannot be absolute, the same for everyone, because words are ambiguous, because the meaning of the same word is understood differently. Therefore, I would begin to talk not about truth - an unattainable concept - but about truth, which is designed for the “average” person. The juxtaposition of truth and compassion gives the word “truth” a certain connotation of harshness. Truth is the hard and cruel truth. Souls are wounded by the truth and therefore need compassion. It cannot be said that the heroes of the play “At the Lower Depths” represent a more or less homogeneous mass of people - impersonal, characterless. Each of the characters feels, dreams, hopes or remembers. More precisely, they carry something precious and sacred inside them, but since the world in which they live is heartless and cruel, they are forced to hide all their dreams as far as possible. Although a dream for which there would be at least some proof in the harsh real life, could help weak people - Nastya, Anna, Actor.

They are these weak people– depressed by the hopelessness of real life. And in order to live, just live, they need a saving and wise lie about the “righteous land.” As long as people believe and strive for the best, they will find the strength and desire to live. Even the most pitiful of them, even those who have lost their name, can be cured and even partially resurrected with pity and compassion. If only the people around him knew about it! Maybe then, out of self-deception, even a weak person would build a better life for himself, one that would be acceptable to him? But those around them don’t think about it, they expose the dream, but the person...

“I went home and hanged myself!..” Is it worth accusing an old man of lying, who is the only one of the inhabitants of the shelter who thinks not about himself, not about money, not about drink, but about people? He tries to caress ("It is never harmful to caress a person"), he inspires hope with calmness and pity. It was he who, in the end, changed all the people, all the inhabitants of the shelter... Yes, the Actor hanged himself. But not only Luke is guilty of this, but also those who did not spare, but cut the heart with the truth. There is some stereotype regarding the truth. It is often believed that the truth is always good.

Of course, it is valuable if you always live in truth, in reality, but then dreams are impossible, and after them - a different vision of the world, poetry in the broad sense of the word. It is a special view of life that gives birth to beauty and serves as the basis for art, which ultimately also becomes a part of life. How do stronger people perceive compassion? Here is Bubnov, for example. Bubnov, in my opinion, is the toughest and most cynical of all the inhabitants of the shelter. Bubnov “mumbles” all the time, stating the bare, heavy truths: “no matter how you paint yourself, everything will be erased,” he doesn’t need a conscience, he is “not rich”... Bubnov, without hesitation, calmly calls Vasilisa a fierce woman, and in In the middle of the conversation he says that the threads are rotten. Usually no one specifically talks to Bubnov, but from time to time he inserts his comments into a variety of dialogues.

And the same Bubnov, Luka’s main opponent, sad and cynical, in the finale treats everyone to vodka, growls, screams, and offers to “take your soul away”! And only the drunken, generous and talkative Bubnov, according to Alyosha, “looks like a person.” Apparently, Luka also touched Bubnov with kindness, showed him that life is not in the despondency of everyday melancholy, but in something more cheerful, hopeful - in dreams. And Bubnov dreams! The appearance of Luka rallied the “strong” inhabitants of the shelter (Satin, Klesch, Bubnov in the first place), and even a whole general conversation arose. Luke is a man who had compassion, pity and love, and managed to influence everyone. Even the Actor remembered his favorite poems and his name. Human feelings and dreams, his inner world more expensive than anything and most valuable, because a dream does not limit, a dream develops.

The truth does not give hope, the truth does not believe in God, and without faith in God, without hope, there is no future.

Just in case there is a fireman))) Under the sea there are two pages of printed text, as for me - delusional nonsense, in the opinion of a literature teacher - good essay))

Which is better: truth or compassion? What is more needed?
(Essay based on M. Gorky's play "At the Lower Depths")

Showing the life of the inhabitants of the flophouse - people who have sunk to the very bottom of life, M. Gorky throughout the play tries to find the answer to the question: what is better, what people need it more: truth or compassion?
According to the author himself, compassion and pity give rise to “comforting lies” and only cause harm. And Gorky expresses his thoughts through Satin’s monologue: “Lies are the religion of slaves and masters. ... Truth is the god of a free man!” And Luke, as the antagonist character of Satin, was introduced into the play precisely in order to show the futility and meaninglessness of compassion, because in the end, after the old man left, everything became not only no better, but even worse! But, despite the author’s intention, it is impossible to say unequivocally who is right - Satin or Luke, and what will be better for a person - the cruel truth or a comforting lie.
When the reader first meets the inhabitants of the shelter, he sees dejected, desperate people, thrown to the margins of life. Nobody cares about anyone, even the neighbors are busy exclusively with their own problems. However, these people also have their own dreams, desires, some, like Baron, have memories of past life- and it is impossible to understand whether they are true or fictitious, as " true love"Nastya. And Luka, appearing for the first time in this dark and inhospitable place, finds for almost everyone kind word. So, he tells the Actor about the hospital, Anna - that she will be fine in the next world, in words he believes Nastya’s stories. And it’s as if a ray of sunshine penetrates the shelter - people are inspired by hope, they believe - or, like Vaska Ash, want to believe - Luka, because his words coincide with their own dreams. Luka is crafty - he is not like Bubnov, who believes that “throw away the whole truth as it is,” Luka tells people exactly what they want to hear, even if it goes against the true state of affairs. He is no stranger to compassion, and he is ready to feel sorry for the people gathered in the shelter. He had seen a lot in his life, and came to the conclusion that “you can’t always cure your soul with the truth.” A striking example of this can be the story told by Luke about a man who believed in a righteous land: he lived, worked and endured hardships and hardships because he believed that there was such a land! But, having learned the truth, he lost all meaning in life: “...I went home and hanged myself!..” The truth did not bring anything good to this man, it only deprived him of the hope by which he lived. And so does Luke - he supports the inhabitants of the shelter, encourages them and gives them hope, even if it is false. And under his influence, seemingly completely desperate people begin to dream, even make plans. They change for the better and draw strength from the new hope to fight for their dreams. Vaska Pepel is ready to leave for Siberia and start life there from scratch, he says words that a completely degenerate thief would not say: “I have to live like this... so that I can respect myself.” The actor goes to work, saves money for a hospital and even remembers his stage name. It would seem that everything is going well, because now people have hope, there is a purpose in life - and this lifts them above their previous situation.
But what - as soon as Luka disappears, the haze of rosy hopes dissipates, the heroes are faced with the cruel truth of life, which, however, does not last role Satin plays with his sarcastic, contemptuous and accusatory remarks. And, having lost the hope they had found, the heroes return to their previous state, only now it is even more difficult for them to overcome adversity in their life. life path, their spiritual strength is already running out, and for someone, like the Actor, this manifests itself to an extreme degree, like that person from the story of the righteous land. And this is also Luke’s fault. As Kleshch correctly put it: “he beckoned them somewhere... but he didn’t tell them the way...” Once again faced with the cruel truth, the heroes become disillusioned with life. And the stronger their disappointment, the stronger their hope for the best. And here again we can turn to the story of the righteous land. After all, the inhabitants of the shelter do not understand her at all the way Luka wants to present it: “I couldn’t stand the deception,” says Natasha. Who and why told this man that the righteous land exists? Why give him false hope if, in the end, the disappointment in life turned out to be so great that suicide turned out to be the best way out for the hero? After all, in essence, this story is practically no different from the events unfolding in the play. And Luke’s compassion, his comforting lie, told absolutely not for selfish purposes, but to encourage - all this only went to the detriment of the heroes.
But at the same time, in this tragic ending there is also the fault of the characters themselves. After all, the old man’s words were not an absolute lie: Vaska Ash could start his life from scratch in Siberia, and Actor, even if he didn’t find a hospital, could rise from the bottom of his life. Luke only gave them the initial impetus, giving them hope and faith that the fulfillment of their dreams is possible. Another thing is that, having lost external support and encouragement with the departure of Luke, they could not find within themselves that inner core that would allow them to continue to pursue their intended goal. Weak in spirit, they would need constant support from outside - but in the shelter there was only one person who was ready for this - Luka. But he left, and Satin remained, to whom such things are alien: “What good will it do you if I regret it?” - he asks Kleshch. And oddly enough, it is Satin who best understands Luka and his motives: “The old man is not a charlatan!”<…>I understand the old man... yes! He lied... but it was out of pity for you."
And after all, Luka did not give advice to everyone in the shelter or try to encourage them. Satin, Bubnov, Kleshch - Luka didn’t even approach them with consolations, because they didn’t need it. The tick clearly distinguishes between truth and lies, even if he himself doesn’t need the truth: “True - what kind of truth is there? And without it, there’s nothing to breathe...” he says. Bubnov does not dream, he is indifferent to those around him and stands for “telling the whole truth as it is.” Satin is a sharper, a gambler - why does he need Luke’s pity? After all, he himself does not accept pity, considering himself a “free man”: “We must respect a person! Don’t feel sorry... don’t humiliate him with pity... you need to respect him!” - he says. Of course, words about respect spoken by someone like Satin do not sound particularly truthful, but here the author himself speaks in the words of Satin, and this is the author’s position.
So which is better - truth or compassion? Strong people do not need either compassion or pity - in case of failure, when faced with the true state of affairs, they will be able to survive it and move on with new strength, if, of course, they themselves need it. The situation is different with people like the Actor: on the one hand, compassion and “white lies” can support hope in them, can give them the strength to endure and move on; on the other hand, when faced with the cruel truth, the loss of hope can completely deprive them of the strength and desire to fight further. Thus, each person must decide for himself what is better for him: truth or compassion. In the end, as the same Luke said: “What you believe is what you believe.”

What is truth? Truth (in my understanding) is absolute truth, that is, the truth that is the same for all cases and for all people. I think that such truth cannot be. Even a fact, a seemingly obvious unambiguous event, is perceived differently by different people. So, for example, news of death can be understood as news of another, new life. Often the truth cannot be absolute, the same for everyone, because words are ambiguous, because the meaning of the same word is understood differently. Therefore, I would begin to talk not about truth - an unattainable concept - but about truth, which is designed for the “average” person.

The juxtaposition of truth and compassion gives the word “truth” a certain connotation of harshness. Truth is the hard and cruel truth. Souls are wounded by the truth and therefore need compassion.

It cannot be said that the heroes of the play “At the Lower Depths” represent a more or less homogeneous mass of people - impersonal, characterless. Each of the characters feels, dreams, hopes or remembers. More precisely, they carry something precious and sacred inside them, but since the world in which they live is heartless and cruel, they are forced to hide all their dreams as far as possible. Although a dream, which would have at least some proof in harsh real life, could help weak people - Nastya, Anna, Actor. They - these weak people - are depressed by the hopelessness of real life. And in order to live, just live, they need a saving and wise lie about the “righteous land.” As long as people believe and strive for the best, they will find the strength and desire to live. Even the most pitiful of them, even those who have lost their name, can be cured and even partially resurrected with pity and compassion. If only the people around him knew about it! Maybe then, out of self-deception, even a weak person would build a better life for himself, one that would be acceptable to him? But those around him don’t think about it, they expose the dream, and the man... “went home and hanged himself!..”

Is it worth accusing an old man of lying, who is the only one of the inhabitants of the shelter who thinks not about himself, not about money, not about drink, but about people? He tries to caress (“It is never harmful to caress a person”), he inspires hope with calmness and pity. It was he who, in the end, changed all the people, all the inhabitants of the shelter... Yes, the Actor hanged himself. But not only Luke is guilty of this, but also those who did not spare, but cut the heart with the truth.

There is some stereotype regarding the truth. It is often believed that the truth is always good. Of course, it is valuable if you always live in truth, in reality, but then dreams are impossible, and after them - a different vision of the world, poetry in the broad sense of the word. It is a special view of life that gives birth to beauty and serves as the basis for art, which ultimately also becomes a part of life.

How do stronger people perceive compassion? Here is Bubnov, for example. Bubnov, in my opinion, is the toughest and most cynical of all the inhabitants of the shelter. Bubnov “mumbles” all the time, stating the bare, heavy truths: “no matter how you paint yourself, everything will be erased,” he doesn’t need a conscience, he is “not rich”... Bubnov, without hesitation, calmly calls Vasilisa a fierce woman, and in In the middle of the conversation he says that the threads are rotten. Usually no one specifically talks to Bubnov, but from time to time he inserts his comments into a variety of dialogues. And the same Bubnov, Luka’s main opponent, sad and cynical, in the finale treats everyone to vodka, growls, screams, and offers to “take your soul away”! And only the drunken, generous and talkative Bubnov, according to Alyosha, “looks like a person.” Apparently, Luka also touched Bubnov with kindness, showed him that life is not in the despondency of everyday melancholy, but in something more cheerful, hopeful - in dreams. And Bubnov dreams!

The appearance of Luka rallied the “strong” inhabitants of the shelter (Satin, Kleshch, Bubnov in the first place), and even a solid general conversation arose. Luke is a man who had compassion, pity and love, and managed to influence everyone. Even the Actor remembered his favorite poems and his name.

Human feelings and dreams, his inner world are the most precious and valuable of all, because a dream does not limit, a dream develops. The truth does not give hope, the truth does not believe in God, and without faith in God, without hope, there is no future.

The play begins with a description of the gloomy life of the Kostylev flophouse, which is depicted by Gorky as the embodiment of social evil. The author describes this shelter for the poor and orphaned. A cave-like basement. The ceiling is heavy, stone vaults, smoked, with crumbling plaster. Different people have gathered here: men and women, old and young, healthy and sick. These people have a terrible present and no future. And of all these overnight stayers, Gorky singles out two: Satin and the wanderer Luke - these are two opposing philosophies.

With the appearance of Luka in the shelter, a lot has changed. To Anna’s admiration for his kindness, the wanderer spoke about himself: they crushed him a lot, that’s why he’s soft. His heavy life experience and homeless wanderings determined the main features of his psychology. Among them is a keen interest and compassion for people. I want to understand human affairs,” Luka defines his main desire. He understands all the inhabitants of the shelter and each one individually. Attentive to the troubles and suffering of overnight shelters. Is it any wonder that the inhabitants of Kostylev’s basement are drawn to the wanderer! Luke seems to them the only protector of the unfortunate. He believes that a person is worthy of pity, that people do not need the truth. Luka calms you down and inspires hope with his tales of better things. The lie in this shelter is connected with the name of Luka. Desperate people are drawn to the old man for a warm word, and he offers them an illusory way out. Almost every homeless person receives false hope of salvation. A surge of illusions obscures the true state of affairs from the unfortunate. Luka manages to talk to almost everyone everywhere. Only three - Satin, Bubnov, Baron evade the old man's advice. The beating of Natasha by Vasilisa, the arrest of Ash, who killed Kostylev in a fight, the suicide of the Actor. It is difficult to imagine another, equally strong outcome of Luke’s dangerous activities.

The complete opposite of the wanderer was Satin. He correctly assessed the effectiveness of Luke’s beliefs and made far-reaching conclusions: Everything is in man, everything is for man! Only man exists, everything else is the work of his hands and his brain.

Maturity of judgment has always distinguished Satin; he believed that you need to face the truth, believe in yourself and change the world for the better. Satin did not forgive lies out of pity for dependent people. He brought the night shelters into contact with the truth. And reality is destructive for them, for example, an Actor ends his own life. And his departure from life is the result of the death of his illusions (hopes for a cure for alcoholism) - this is the step of a person who failed to realize the real truth: It seems to me that the truth should not be hidden from people, no matter what, and the death of the Actor is not because because Satin opened his eyes, but because of his weakness and gullibility. A person cannot act on the basis of his consciousness; he must be pushed to do so. And it’s better to do this without hiding the truth from him. And the actions he takes will completely depend on him. Man is the creator of his own destiny and there is no need to blame the truth.

Maxim Gorky is a famous Russian writer and humanist. He went through a long school of life and wrote not to entertain the public, but reflected truth and love for man in his works. Even in the play “At the Bottom,” so tragic and sad, this love can be traced. If this were not so, then the playwright would hardly have asked himself the question “What is better - truth or compassion?”

Starting your essay

School essay “Which is better - truth or compassion?” not easy. If you ask which is better, truth or lie, students will undoubtedly answer - truth. But the concepts of truth and compassion cannot be made mutually exclusive. This is the difficulty of the essay “Which is better - truth or compassion?”

For people who find themselves at the very bottom of society in Gorky's play, both compassion and truth can become destructive. The false hope given by Luke, on the one hand, and the reality saturated with hopeless pain, on the other, cannot coexist with each other. Therefore, when starting to write an essay, it is worth understanding that first a person needs to tell the truth, and then offer sincere compassion, not burdened with lies. How to understand this? This is written about in the play. One can, based on good intentions, praise Luke and despise the bearer of truth Satin, but is this what the author wanted to say?! That's right, he said something completely different.

Sound

M. Gorky's entire play “At the Depths” is a hymn to the truth about man. Here the bearer of truth is Satin, a gambler and sharper, who is very far from the ideal of a person, but it is he who sincerely proclaims: “Man is magnificent! It sounds proud! In contrast to him, Luka appears in the shelter - a kind, compassionate liar, which deliberately inspires a “golden dream” for the sufferers. But next to them there is another person who wants to understand that better truth or compassion is the author himself.

It is Maxim Gorky who bears these two characteristics. This is evident in the play itself and in how enthusiastically it was received by the audience. This work was read in flophouses; people who had sunk to the very bottom of society shouted: “We are worse!” and praised the playwright of his time. This play even now sounds modern, because in our time people began to speak the bitter truth, but forgot about mercy and compassion.

Heroes and hopes

Before writing the essay “What is more important - truth or compassion?” It’s worth getting to know the characters in the play and the world in which they live. The cave-like basement, where prison twilight reigns, sheltered under its arch people who were mercilessly thrown out by society.

Someone once wrote that “At the Lower Depths” is not just a play, but a picture of a cemetery in which people valuable for their inclinations are buried alive. In this world of poverty, anger and lawlessness live people who have lost their past. Rather, they do not live, but exist. But some of them still have a faint glimmer of hope. The tick firmly believes that it will get out of this stinking place. “I’ll rip off my skin and get out of here,” he says. The thief hopes that he will have a different life with Natasha. Prostitute Nastya dreams of true love. The rest have long lost hope and realized their uselessness.

The Drunken Actor has long forgotten his name. Crushed under the yoke of a hard life, Anna is sick and patiently awaits her death. Nobody needs her, even her husband awaits her death as liberation. Former telegraph operator Satin looks at the world cynically and maliciously. The Baron understands that everything is in the past, so he expects nothing, and Bubnov is a shining example of indifference both to himself and to others. For these " former people“Which is better: truth or compassion? What is more important for them?

Wanderer

One day the wanderer Luke comes to this gloomy abode. He addresses them, rejected by society and renounced human morality, politely and affably. Gorky’s attitude towards this character is very clear: “All the words of these people are alms, which they give with hidden disgust.”

At first glance, Luka's appearance did not bring anything good to the inhabitants of the shelter. He disappears unnoticed, and the illusions that he left behind make people’s lives even more hopeless. The last spark of hope disappears, and tormented souls plunge into darkness. With the appearance of Luka, hope settled in the shelter; he was sensitive and kind, finding words of consolation for everyone. But he didn’t do this out of self-interest, Luka was not a swindler or a charlatan, he really was kind person. But his compassion was built on lies. He firmly believed that the truth cannot always cure the soul. And if you really can’t change your life, you can at least change your attitude towards it.

So which is better - truth or compassion? There are many arguments that can be drawn from the story, and this was one of them.

From the author

The author's contemporaries say that he was best able to describe the scene at the bedside of the dying Anna, where Luke spoke. This old man was part of Gorky’s soul, and like the author, the hero knew the feeling of compassion. Gorky is not against consolations, however, he is also tormented by the question of what is better: truth or compassion? And is it necessary to empathize to such an extent that words of consolation become lies?

Your own truth

Kleshch had his own truth: “You can’t live - that’s the truth,” he said. To which Luke replied that this truth cannot be healed, but the person must be pitied. The Wanderer believes in the saving power of pity. He perceives the truth as the cruel oppression of inhumane circumstances. Luke’s words were unusually life-affirming, and at first the residents of the shelter did not believe in them. But the wanderer just wanted to inspire faith and hope in them.

Luke carries within himself saving human faith. He believes that through words, compassion and mercy, people can be inspired. For Luke there is no question “Which is better - truth or compassion?” He believes: the truth is what is humane.

Satin also believes that everything that is done should be for the sake of man. But this hero does not understand Luke’s lies. Satin is sure that this is a sign of a weak person and that it is wrong. Every person should have the courage to face the truth and not hide behind illusions. It is the truth that makes a person strong and capable of doing things. Although he does not fulfill his own covenants. Satin can only talk about high matters, remaining at the bottom. What is better - truth or compassion? This is a question everyone should answer after the final episode.

The tragedy of the ending

The end of the play is tragic. Luke, although he inspired Satin to make a fiery speech about human dignity, but due to his character, this hero only knew how to control words. He remains the same indifferent to himself and his surroundings. Especially Satin’s creepy reaction to the death of the Actor: “Fool, you ruined the song!”

An inhumane society tends to kill and maim souls. And this play allows you to feel the injustice of the social structure, which leads people to death. And yet the question remains open: “What is better - truth or compassion?” There are many examples in M. Gorky’s work “At the Bottom” for both the first and second cases, you just need to draw your own conclusion.

Truth and Compassion

It is impossible to give an unambiguous statement on this question. It’s probably worth looking at the situation the person is facing. Satin preached the truth. Yes, the truth is good decision in many cases, it just has to be active. Having realized the roots of his misfortunes, a person must accept the truth and do actions that will help him correct the situation. The truth should be a signal to action. This is the real value that makes a person a Human.

On the other hand, you cannot destroy your personality, which can be kind, loving, and able to sympathize. People more often need consolation than they show it, but the chains of lies take away a person’s freedom. People need real hope, but not comforting lies, even if it is for salvation.

Yes, the concepts of truth and compassion are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary, they should complement each other. It is not at all difficult to season the bitter reality with a pinch of empathy. And it is very prudent to speak words of support that are based on the real state of affairs. As Aristotle said: “There must be a golden mean in everything; it is this that is good.” And in a specific case, the words of the ancient philosopher are the very truth based on compassion.

Man - that's the truth!

We must respect the person!

M. Gorky

It is unlikely that anyone will argue that Gorky is a humanist and great writer, who has gone through a great school of life. His works were not written to please the reading public - they reflect the truth of life, attention and love for people. And this can rightfully be attributed to his play “At the Bottom,” written in 1902. It still disturbs the questions posed by the playwright.

Indeed, what is better - truth or compassion? If the question had been formulated a little differently - true or false, I would have answered unequivocally: true. But truth and compassion cannot be made mutually exclusive concepts by opposing one to the other; on the contrary, the whole play is pain for a person, it is the truth about a person. Another thing is that the bearer of truth is Satin, a gambler, a sharpie, himself far from the ideal of a person, which he sincerely and with pathos proclaims: “Man! This is great! It sounds... proudly!” He is contrasted with Luke - kind, compassionate and “evil”, deliberately invoking a “golden dream” to the suffering shelters. And next to Luka and Satin there is another person who also argues about truth and compassion - M. Gorky himself. It is he, it seems to me, who is the bearer of the truth of compassion. This follows from the play itself, from how enthusiastically it was received by the audience.

The play was read in the shelter, the tramps cried, shouted: “We are worse!” They kissed and hugged Gorky. It still sounds modern now, when they began to tell the truth, but forgot what mercy and compassion are. So, the action takes place in the Kostylevs’ rooming house, which is a “cave-like basement” under “heavy stone vaults”, where prison twilight reigns. Here tramps eke out a miserable existence, having fallen “to the bottom of life”, where they were mercilessly thrown out by criminal society.

Someone very accurately said: “At the Bottom” is a stunning picture of a cemetery where people valuable in their inclinations are buried alive.” It is impossible to see the world of poverty and lawlessness drawn by the playwright, the world of anger, disunity, the world of alienation and loneliness, to hear without an internal shudder. screams, threats, ridicule. The heroes of the play have lost their past, they have no present, only Kleshch believes that he will break out of here: “I’ll get out... I’ll rip off my skin, but I’ll get out...” The thief has a faint hope for another life with Natasha, “ thief's son" Vaska Pepla, dreams of pure love prostitute Nastya, however, her dreams evoke malicious ridicule from those around her. The rest have resigned themselves, submitted, do not think about the future, have lost all hope and have finally realized their uselessness.

But in fact, all the inhabitants are buried here alive. The actor who drank himself to death and forgot his name is pitiful and tragic; crushed by life, patiently suffering Anna, who is near death, is not needed by anyone (her husband awaits her death as liberation); smart Satin, a former telegraph operator, is cynical and embittered; the Baron is insignificant, who “expects nothing”, “everything is already in the past” for him; Bubnov is indifferent to himself and others. Gorky mercilessly and truthfully depicts his heroes, “former people”, writes about them with pain and anger, sympathizes with them, who have found themselves in a dead end in life. The tick declares in despair: “There is no work... there is no strength! This is the truth! Shelter... there is no refuge! We must die... this is the truth!..” These people, it seems, are indifferent to life and themselves the wanderer Luke arrives, greeting him: “Good health, honest people!” This is for them, the rejected ones, those who have renounced all human morality! Gorky’s attitude towards the passportless Luka is unambiguous: “And the whole philosophy, the whole preaching of such people is alms, given by them with hidden disgust, and under this preaching the words also sound beggarly, pitiful.” And yet I still want to understand it. Is he so poor, and what motivates him when he preaches his comforting lies, does he himself believe in what he calls for, is he a swindler, a charlatan, a scoundrel, or a sincerely thirsty person for good?

The play was read, and, at first glance, the appearance of Luke brought only harm, evil, misfortune, and death to the shelters. He disappears, disappears unnoticed, but the illusions that he planted in the devastated hearts of people make their lives even more bleak and terrible, deprive them of hope, plunge their tormented souls into darkness. Let's once again see what motivates Luka when he, looking closely at the tramps, finds words of consolation for everyone. He is empathetic, kind to those who need help, and gives them hope. Yes, with his appearance under the arches of the gloomy shelter, hope settles in, previously almost imperceptible against the background of swearing, coughing, growling, groans. And a hospital for drunkards for Actor, and saving Siberia for the thief Ash, and true love for Nastya. “People are looking for everything, everyone wants what’s best... give them, Lord, patience!” - Luka says sincerely and adds: “Whoever seeks will find... You just need to help them...” No, it is not self-interest that drives Luka, he is not a swindler or a charlatan. Even the cynical Bubnov, who doesn’t trust anyone, understands this: “Luka... he lies a lot... and without any benefit for himself...” Ash, unaccustomed to sympathy, asks: “No, tell me - why are you doing all this. ..” Natasha asks him: “Why are you so kind?” And Anna simply asks: “Talk to me, honey... I feel sick.” And it becomes clear that Luka is a kind person who sincerely wants to help and instill hope.

But the trouble is that this good is built on lies and deception. Sincerely wanting good, he resorts to lies, believes that earthly life cannot be different, and therefore takes a person into the world of illusions, into a non-existent righteous land, believing that “it is not always possible to cure a soul with the truth.” And if it is impossible to change life, then you can at least change a person’s attitude towards life. I wonder what Gorky’s attitude is towards his hero in the play? Contemporaries recall that the writer was best able to read the role of Luke, and the scene at the bedside of the dying Anna brought tears to his eyes and delight from his listeners. Both tears and delight are the result of the merger of the author and the hero in a fit of compassion. And wasn’t it because Gorky argued so fiercely with Luka because the old man was part of his soul?! But Gorky is not against consolation in itself: “The main question that I wanted to pose is: what is better: truth or compassion? Is it necessary to bring compassion to the point of using lies, like Luke?”

That is, truth and compassion are concepts that are not mutually exclusive. Luka leads away from the truth that Kleshch realizes: “To live is a devil - you can’t live... here it is - the truth! heal with a butt? The old man thinks: “...You need to feel sorry for people!.. I’ll tell you - it’s time to feel sorry for a person... it can be good!” And he tells how he pitied and saved the night robbers. Bubnov opposes Luke’s stubborn, bright faith in man, in the saving power of pity, compassion, kindness: “In my opinion, I’ll give the whole truth as it is! Why be ashamed?” For him, the truth is a cruel, murderous oppression of inhumane circumstances, and Luke’s truth is so unusually life-affirming that the downtrodden, humiliated night shelters do not believe in it, mistaking it for a lie. But Luke wanted to inspire faith and hope in his listeners: “What you believe in is what it is...”

Luke brings people the true, saving, human faith, the meaning of which was captured and expressed in the famous words of Satin: “Man is the truth!” Luke thinks that with words, pity, compassion, mercy, attention to a person, you can raise his soul, so that the lowest thief understands: “You have to live better! You have to live like that... so that you can... respect yourself...” Thus, for Luke there is no question: “Which is better - truth or compassion?” For him, what is human is true. Then why is the ending of the play so hopelessly tragic? Although we hear what is said about Luke, he inspired Satin to make a fiery speech about beauty and proud man, but the same Satin indifferently says to the Actor in response to his request to pray for him: “Pray yourself...” And to him, who is leaving forever, after his passionate monologue about a person, he shouts: “Hey, you, sicambre! Where to?” His reaction to the death of the Actor seems creepy: “Eh... ruined the song... stupid cancer!” It is scary that an inhumane society kills and maims human souls.

But the main thing in the play, in my opinion, is that Gorky made his contemporaries feel even more acutely the injustice of the social system, which destroys people, ruins them, and made them think about man and his freedom. And what moral lessons did we extract? We must live without putting up with untruth, injustice, lies, but not destroy the person within us with his kindness, compassion and mercy. We often need consolation, but without the right to speak the truth, a person cannot be free. "Man - that's the truth!" And he gets to choose. A person always needs real hope, not a comforting lie, even if it is for salvation.