What is more important truth or compassion reflections. Which is better: truth or compassion? (According to the drama M

Gorky's play "At the Bottom" was written in 1902, at a time of vigorous political life in Russia. Capitalism and Russian entrepreneurship developed rapidly in the country. Industrial, commercial activity was reflected in literary works,

Sometimes not the best. Nevertheless, literature reflected reality, real events. Often these were the ugliest manifestations of developing capitalism. It was about such a “reverse side of life” that Gorky's play “At the Bottom” was written. Gorky himself noted that the play was the result of his almost twenty years of observation of the world of "former people."

Drawing the inhabitants of the Kostylevskaya rooming house and emphasizing in them human traits worthy of compassion, Gorky at the same time, with all his determination, reveals in the play the impotence of the tramps, their unsuitability for the reorganization of Russia. Each of the bunkhouse

He lives in hopes, but he cannot do anything, change his deplorable situation due to a tragic combination of circumstances. And only declarations remain that “man. sounds proud." But now a new character appears in the play, it is not known where it came from - Luke. Along with it, a new motive appears in the play: the possibility of consolation or exposure.

Gorky himself pointed out what the main problem of the play was: “The main question that I wanted to pose is - which is better, truth or compassion? What is more needed? Is it necessary to bring compassion to the point of using a lie, like Luke?” This phrase of Gorky was placed in the title of the essay. Behind the author's phrase is a deep philosophical thought, more precisely, the question: what is better - the truth or a white lie. Perhaps this question is as complex as life itself. Many generations struggled to resolve it. However, let's try to find an answer to it.

Luke the Wanderer plays the role of a comforter in the play. He calms Anna by talking about the blissful silence after death. He seduces the ashes with pictures of a free and free life in Siberia. He informs the unfortunate drunkard Actor about the construction of special hospitals where alcoholics are treated. Thus he sows words of consolation and hope everywhere. The only pity is that all his promises are based on lies. There is no free life in Siberia, there is no salvation for the Actor from his serious illness. The unfortunate Anna will die, having never seen a real life, tormented by the thought, "how not to eat more than another."

Luke's intentions to help other people seem understandable. He tells a parable about a man who believed in the existence of a righteous land. When a certain scientist proved that there is no such land, the man hanged himself out of grief. With this, Luke wants to confirm once again how saving lies are sometimes for people and how unnecessary and dangerous truth can be for them.

Gorky rejects this philosophy of justifying the saving lie. The lie of Elder Luke, Gorky emphasizes, plays a reactionary role. Instead of calling for a fight against an unrighteous life, he reconciles the oppressed and the disadvantaged with the oppressors and tyrants. This lie, according to the author of the play, is an expression of weakness, historical impotence. This is what the author thinks. What do we think?

The very composition of the play, its inner movement, expose Luke's philosophy. Let us follow the author and his intention. At the beginning of the play, we see how each of the characters is obsessed with his dream, his illusion. The appearance of Luke with his philosophy of consolation and reconciliation strengthens the inhabitants of the rooming house in the correctness of their obscure and illusory hobbies and thoughts. But instead of peace and silence in the Kostylevskaya rooming house, sharp dramatic events are brewing, which culminate in the scene of the murder of old Kostylev.

The very reality, the very harsh truth of life refutes the comforting lie of Luke. In the light of what is happening on the stage, Luke's blissful rantings seem false. Gorky resorts to an unusual compositional technique: long before the finale, in the third act, he removes one of the main characters of the play: Luka quietly disappears and does not appear in the last, fourth act.

The philosophy of Luke is rejected by Satin, who is opposed to him. “Lies are the religion of slaves and masters. Truth is the god of a free man!” he says. It does not follow at all from this that Sateen is a positive hero. The main advantage of Sateen is that he is smart and sees the untruth farthest. But Satin is unsuitable for the present case.

Essays on topics:

1. Gorky's great work, which became known to the whole world, was created in 1902. Many have suffered with thoughts of human existence...

Which is better, truth or compassion? Reflections on the pages of the play "At the bottom" What is truth? Truth (in my understanding) is the absolute truth, that is, the truth that is the same for all cases and for all people. I don't think this can be true. Even the fact, it would seem, is an obvious unambiguous event, different people perceive differently. So, for example, the news of death can be understood as news of another, new life.

Often the truth cannot be absolute, the same for everyone, because the words are ambiguous, because the meaning of the same word is understood differently. Therefore, I would not talk about truth - an unattainable concept - but about the truth, which is designed for the "average" person. The juxtaposition of truth and compassion lends the word "truth" a certain harshness. The truth is the harsh 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 Bottom" are a more or less homogeneous mass of people - impersonal, spineless. Each of the characters feels, dreams, hopes or remembers. More precisely, they carry something precious and secret inside themselves, 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 the dream, which would be at least some proof in the harsh real life, could help weak people - Nastya, Anna, Actor.

They - these weak people - are overwhelmed by the hopelessness of real life. And in order to live, only to 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 pathetic of them, even those who have lost their name, can be cured by pity and compassion and even partly resurrected. If only the people around knew about it! Maybe then, out of self-deception, even a weak person would build for himself a better, acceptable life for him? But those around them do not think about it, they expose the dream, and the person ...

“went home and hung himself!..” Is it worth blaming the old man for lying, who is the only one of the inhabitants of the rooming house who thinks not about himself, not about money, not about drinking, but about people? He tries to caress (“To caress a person is never harmful”), he inspires hope with calmness and pity. It was he, in the end, who changed all the people, all the inhabitants of the rooming house ... Yes, the Actor hanged himself. But not only Luke is guilty of this, but also those who did not regret, but cut to the heart with the truth. There is some stereotype about the truth. It is often assumed that the truth is always good.

Of course, it is valuable if you always live the truth, reality, but then dreams are impossible, and after them - a different vision of the world, poetry in the broadest sense of the word. It is a special view of life that gives birth to the beautiful, serves as the basis of art, which in the end 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 rooming house. Bubnov "mumbles" all the time, stating naked, heavy truths: "no matter how you paint yourself, everything will be erased", he does not need a conscience, he is "not rich" ... Vasilisa Bubnov, without hesitation, calmly calls Vasilisa Bubnov a fierce woman, but in inserts in the middle of the conversation that the threads are rotten. Usually no one specifically talks to Bubnov, but from time to time he inserts his remarks into a variety of dialogues.

And the same Bubnov, Luka's main opponent, dull and cynical, in the final treats everyone with vodka, growls, shouts, offers to "take the soul"! And only the drunken, generous and talkative Bubnov, according to Alyoshka, "looks like a man." It can be seen that Luka also touched Bubnov with kindness, showed him that life is not in the despondency of everyday melancholy, but in something more cheerful, encouraging - in dreams. And Bubnov dreams! The appearance of Luka rallied the "strong" inhabitants of the rooming house (Satin, Klesch, Bubnov in the first place), there was even a solid general conversation. Luka is a man who sympathized, pitied and loved, managed to influence everyone. Even the Actor remembered his favorite poems and his name. Human feelings and dreams, his inner world is dearest 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.

Maxim Gorky is a famous Russian writer and humanist. He went through a long school of life and wrote not for the entertainment of the public, but reflected in his works the truth and love for man. 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 "Which is better - truth or compassion?".

Starting to write

School essay "What is better - truth or compassion?" not easy. If you ask what is better, true or false, the students will no doubt answer - the truth. But the concepts of truth and compassion cannot be made mutually exclusive. This is the complexity 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 fatal. 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 be told the truth, and then offer sincere compassion, not burdened with lies. What does it mean? This is written in the play. It is possible, based on good intentions, to praise Luke and despise the bearer of the truth Sateen, but did the author want to say this?! It's true, he said something completely different.

sound

The whole play by M. Gorky "At the Bottom" is a hymn to the truth about a person. Here, the bearer of the truth is Satin - a gambler and a cheat, who is very far from the ideal of a person, but it is he who sincerely proclaims: “A person is great! It sounds proud! In contrast to him, Luka appears in the rooming house - 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 what is better truth or compassion - this is the author himself.

It is Maxim Gorky who is the bearer of these two characteristics. This can be seen in the play itself and in how enthusiastically it was received by the audience. This work was read in bunkhouses, 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 is worth getting to know the characters of the play and the world in which they have to live. The basement, resembling a cave, where prison twilight reigns, sheltered under its arch people who were mercilessly thrown out by society.

Someone once wrote that "At the Bottom" is not just a play, but a picture of a cemetery where people who are valuable in their makings are buried alive. In this world of poverty, anger and lack of rights 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 he will get out of this stinking place. “I’ll rip off the 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.

Drunk Actor has long forgotten his name. Crushed under the yoke of a hard life, Anna is ill and patiently awaits her death. Nobody needs her, even her husband is waiting for her death as a release. Former telegrapher Satin looks at the world cynically and maliciously. The Baron understands that everything is in his past, so he does not expect anything, and Bubnov is a vivid example of indifference both to himself and to others. For these "former people" what is better: truth or compassion? What is more important for them?

Wanderer

One day the wanderer Luka comes to this gloomy abode. He addresses them, rejected by society, and renounced human morality, politely and affably. Gorky in relation to this character is very unambiguous: "All the words of these people are alms, which they serve with hidden disgust."

At first glance, the appearance of Luka did not bring anything good to the inhabitants of the rooming house. He quietly disappears, and the illusions that he left behind make people's lives even more hopeless. The last flame of hope disappears, and tormented souls plunge into darkness. With the advent of Luka, hope settled in the rooming house, he was sensitive and kind, he found words of comfort for everyone. But he did not do this out of self-interest, Luka was not a swindler or a charlatan, he really was a kind person. But his compassion was built on lies. He firmly believed that the truth can not always cure the soul. And if you 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 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, just like the author, the hero knew a feeling of compassion. Gorky is not against consolations, however, he is also tormented by the question, which is better: truth or compassion? And is it necessary to empathize to such an extent that the words of consolation become a lie?

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, and a person must be pitied. The Stranger believes in the saving power of pity. He perceives the truth as a cruel oppression of inhuman circumstances. Luke's words were unusually life-affirming, and at first the inhabitants of the rooming house did not believe in them. But the wanderer only wanted to breathe faith and hope into them.

Luke carries the saving human faith. He believes that words, compassion and mercy can inspire a person. For Luke, there is no question “Which is better - truth or compassion?”, He believes: the truth is in 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 this 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 precepts. Satin can only talk about high matters, remaining at the bottom. Which is better, truth or compassion? This is a question everyone should answer after the final episode.

The tragedy of the final

The end of the play is tragic. Luke, although he inspired Satine to 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. In particular, Sateen's terrible reaction to the death of the Actor: "Fool, ruined the song!".

An inhuman 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: "Which is better - truth or compassion?". There are many examples in M. Gorky's work "At the Bottom", both for the first and for the second case, you just need to draw your own conclusion.

Truth and Sympathy

It is impossible to give an unequivocal statement on this question. Perhaps it is worth looking at the situation that the person faced. Satan preached the truth. Yes, truth is a good solution in many cases, but it must be active. Realizing the roots of his disasters, a person must accept the truth and do actions that will help him correct the situation. The truth should be the signal for action. This is the real value that makes a person a Human.

On the other hand, you cannot destroy a person in yourself who can be kind, loving, and be able to sympathize. People need comfort more often than they show it, but the chains of lies take away freedom from a person. People need real hope, but not a comforting lie, even if it's for salvation.

Yes, the concepts of truth and compassion are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary, they should complement each other. It's not hard to spice up bitter reality with a pinch of empathy. And it is very prudent to say 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 is the truth! You have to respect the person!
M. Gorky
It is unlikely that anyone will argue that Gorky is a humanist and a 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 a person. And with full right this can be attributed to his play "At the Bottom", written in 1902. She still worries about the questions posed in it 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, opposing one to the other; on the contrary, the whole play is pain for a person, this is the truth about a person. Another thing is that the bearer of the truth is Satin, a gambler, a cheat, himself far from the ideal of a person who he sincerely and with pathos proclaims: "Man! This is great! This sounds ... proud!"
Luke is opposed to him - kind, compassionate and "crafty", deliberately evoking a "golden dream" for the suffering night-beds. And next to Luka and Satin there is another person who also argues about truth and compassion - M. Gorky himself.
It is he who, it seems to me, is the bearer of truth and compassion. This follows from the play itself, from the way it was enthusiastically received by the audience. The play was read in a rooming house, the tramps cried, shouted: "We are worse!" They kissed and hugged Gorky. It sounds modern even 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 ruthlessly thrown out by a criminal society.
Someone very accurately said: “At the bottom” is a stunning picture of a cemetery where people who are valuable in their inclinations are buried alive. 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 tear off my skin, and I'll get out ..." There is a faint hope for another life with Natasha at the thief, the thief's son "Vaska Ash, the prostitute Nastya dreams of pure love, however, her dreams cause malicious ridicule from those around her. The rest resigned themselves, resigned themselves, do not think about the future, lost all hope and finally realized their uselessness. But in fact, all the inhabitants are buried here alive.
Pitiful and tragic Actor, drunk, forgetting his name; crushed by life, patiently suffering Anna, who is near death, is not needed by anyone (her husband is waiting for her death as liberation); smart Satin, a former telegraph operator, is cynical and embittered; insignificant is the Baron, who "does not expect anything", with him "everything is already in the past"; Bubnov is indifferent to himself and others. Ruthlessly and truthfully, Gorky draws his heroes, "former people", writes about them with pain and anger, sympathizes with them, who have fallen into a dead end in life. The tick declares in despair: "There is no work ... there is no strength! That's the truth! Shelter ... there is no refuge! You need to die ... that's the truth! .."
It is to these people, seemingly indifferent to life and to themselves, that the wanderer Luke comes, addressing with a greeting: "Good health, honest people!" This is for them, rejected, renounced all human morality!
Gorky has an unambiguous attitude towards the passportless Luka: "And all the philosophy, all the preaching of such people is alms given by them with hidden disgust, and under this sermon the words are also poor, plaintive."
And yet I want to understand it. Is he so poor, and what drives him when he preaches his comforting lies, does he himself believe in what he calls for, is he a swindler, a charlatan, a swindler, or a person sincerely thirsting for good?
The play is read, and, at first glance, the appearance of Luka brought only harm, evil, misfortune, death to the rooming houses. He disappears, disappears imperceptibly, but the illusions that he planted in the devastated hearts of people make their life even more bleak and terrible, deprive them of hope, plunge their tormented souls into darkness.
Let's look again at what drives Luka when, after carefully looking at the tramps, he finds words of comfort for everyone. He is sensitive, kind to those who need help, and gives them hope. Yes, with his appearance under the arches of a gloomy rooming house, hope settles, previously almost imperceptible against the background of scolding, coughing, growling, groans. And the Actor's hospital for drunkards, and saving Siberia for the Ash thief, and true love for Nastya. "People are looking for everything, everyone wants - the best ... give them, Lord, patience!" - Luka says sincerely and adds: "Whoever seeks will find ... They only need help ..."
No, it is not self-interest that drives Luka, he is not a swindler and he is not a charlatan. Even the cynical Bubnov, who does not trust anyone, understands this: "Here is Luka ... he lies a lot ... and without any benefit to himself ..." Pepel, unaccustomed to sympathy, inquires: "No, you tell me why you are doing all this. .." Natasha asks him: "Why are you so kind?" And Anna simply asks: "Talk to me, dear ... I'm sick."
And it becomes clear that Luka is a kind person who sincerely wants to help, inspire hope. But the whole trouble is that this kindness is built on lies, deceit. Sincerely wishing for good, he resorts to lies, believes that earthly life cannot be different, and therefore leads a person into a world of illusions, into a non-existent righteous land, believing that "it is not always true to cure the soul." And if you can not change life, then you can at least change a person's attitude to life.
Interestingly, what is Gorky's attitude 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 caused him tears, and delight from the audience. Both tears and delight are the result of the merging of the author and the hero in a fit of compassion. And isn't that why. Gorky argued so furiously with Luka that the old man was part of his soul?!
But Gorky is not opposed to consolation in itself: "The main question I wanted to pose is what is better: truth or compassion? Is it necessary to bring compassion to the point of using a lie, like Luke?" That is, truth and compassion are not mutually exclusive concepts.
From the truth that Tick is aware of: "To live - the devil - you can’t live ... here it is - the truth! ..", Luka leads away, saying: "She, really, maybe swelled for you ..." But is it possible heal with a butt? The old man thinks: "... It is necessary to feel sorry for people! .. I will tell them - to feel sorry for a person in time ... it happens well!" And he tells how he regretted and saved the night robbers-robbers. Bubnov, on the other hand, opposes Luke's stubborn, bright faith in man, in the saving power of pity, compassion, kindness: "In my opinion, I will give the whole truth as it is! Why be ashamed?" For him, the truth is a cruel, murderous oppression of inhuman circumstances, and the truth of Luke is so unusually life-affirming that the downtrodden, humiliated roommates do not believe in it, taking it for a lie. But Luke wanted to inspire faith and hope in his listeners: "What you believe is what you are..."
Luke brings people true, saving, human faith, the meaning of which was caught and clothed in the famous words of Satin: "Man - that's the truth!" Luka thinks that words, pity, compassion, mercy, attention to a person can raise his soul, so that the very last thief understands: "You need to live better! You need to live like this ... 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 about Luke, he inspired Satin to a fiery speech about a beautiful and proud man, but the same Satin indifferently throws the Actor at his request to pray for him: "Pray yourself ..." And to him, who is leaving forever, after his passionate monologue about a man shouts: "Hey, you, Sicambre! Where to?". His reaction to the death of the Actor seems terrible: "Eh ... ruined the song ... fool-cancer!"
It is terrible that an inhuman society kills and maims human souls. But the main thing in the play, in my opinion, is that Gorky made his contemporaries even more acutely feel the injustice of the social structure that destroys people, destroys them, made them think about a person, his freedom.
What moral lessons have we learned? One must live without reconciling with untruth, injustice, lies, but not to destroy the person in oneself with his kindness, compassion and mercy. We often need comfort, but without the right to speak the truth, a person cannot be free. "Man - that's the truth!" And he has to choose. A person always needs real hope, not a comforting lie, even if it is for salvation.

Man is the truth!

You have to respect the person!

M. Gorky

It is unlikely that anyone will argue that Gorky is a humanist and a 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 a person. And with full right this can be attributed to his play "At the Bottom", written in 1902. She still worries about the questions posed in it 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, opposing one to the other; on the contrary, the whole play is pain for a person, this is the truth about a person. Another thing is that the bearer of the truth is Satin, a gambler, a cheat, himself far from the ideal of a person who he sincerely and with pathos proclaims: "Man! This is great! This sounds ... proud!" Luke is opposed to him - kind, compassionate and "crafty", deliberately evoking a "golden dream" for the suffering night-beds. And next to Luka and Satin there is another person who also argues about truth and compassion - M. Gorky himself. It is he who, it seems to me, is the bearer of the truth of compassion. This follows from the play itself, from the way it was enthusiastically received by the audience.

The play was read in a rooming house, the tramps cried, shouted: "We are worse!" They kissed and hugged Gorky. It sounds modern even 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 ruthlessly thrown out by a criminal society.

Someone very accurately said: “At the bottom” is a stunning picture of a cemetery where people who are valuable in their inclinations are buried alive. 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 tear off my skin, and I'll get out ..." There is a faint hope for another life with Natasha at the thief, the thief's son "Vaska Pepel, the prostitute Nastya dreams of pure love, however, her dreams cause malicious ridicule from those around her. The rest reconciled, resigned, do not think about the future, lost all hope and finally realized their uselessness.

And in fact, all the inhabitants are buried alive here. Pitiful and tragic Actor, drunk, forgetting his name; crushed by life, patiently suffering Anna, who is near death, is not needed by anyone (her husband is waiting for her death as liberation); smart Satin, a former telegraph operator, is cynical and embittered; insignificant is the Baron, who "does not expect anything", with him "everything is already in the past"; Bubnov is indifferent to himself and others. Ruthlessly and truthfully, Gorky draws his heroes, "former people", writes about them with pain and anger, sympathizes with them, who have fallen into a dead end in life. Tick ​​in despair declares: "There is no work ... there is no strength! That's the truth! Shelter ... there is no refuge! You need to breathe ... that's the truth! .." the wanderer Luka comes, addressing with a greeting: "Good health, honest people!" This is for them, rejected, renounced all human morality! Gorky has an unambiguous attitude towards the passportless Luka: "And all the philosophy, all the preaching of such people is alms given by them with hidden disgust, and under this sermon the words are also poor, plaintive." And yet I want to understand it. Is he so poor, and what drives him when he preaches his comforting lies, does he himself believe in what he calls for, is he a swindler, a charlatan, a swindler, or a person sincerely thirsting for good?

The play is read, and, at first glance, the appearance of Luka brought only harm, evil, misfortune, death to the rooming houses. He disappears, disappears imperceptibly, but the illusions that he planted in the devastated hearts of people make their life even more bleak and terrible, deprive them of hope, plunge their tormented souls into darkness. Let's look again at what drives Luka when, after carefully looking at the tramps, he finds words of comfort for everyone. He is sensitive, kind to those who need help, and gives them hope. Yes, with his appearance under the arches of a gloomy rooming house, hope settles, previously almost imperceptible against the background of scolding, coughing, growling, groans. And the Actor's hospital for drunkards, and saving Siberia for the Ash thief, and true love for Nastya. "People are looking for everything, everyone wants - the best ... give them, Lord, patience!" - Luka sincerely says and adds: "Whoever seeks will find ... They only need help ..." No, it is not self-interest that drives Luka, he is not a swindler and he is not a charlatan. Even the cynical Bubnov, who does not trust anyone, understands this: "Here is Luka ... he lies a lot ... and without any benefit to himself ..." Pepel, unaccustomed to sympathy, inquires: "No, you tell me why you are doing all this. .." Natasha asks him: "Why are you so kind?" And Anna simply asks: "Talk to me, dear ... I'm sick." And it becomes clear that Luka is a kind person who sincerely wants to help, inspire hope.

But the whole trouble is that this kindness is built on lies, deceit. Sincerely wishing for good, he resorts to lies, believes that earthly life cannot be different, and therefore leads a person into a world of illusions, into a non-existent righteous land, believing that "it is not always true to cure the soul." And if you can not change life, then you can at least change a person's attitude to life. Interestingly, what is Gorky's attitude 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 caused him tears, and delight from the audience. Both tears and delight are the result of the merging of the author and the hero in a fit of compassion. And is it not because Gorky argued so furiously with Luka that the old man was part of his soul?! But Gorky is not opposed to consolation in itself: "The main question I wanted to pose is what is better: truth or compassion? Is it necessary to bring compassion to the point of using a lie, like Luke?"

That is, truth and compassion are not mutually exclusive concepts. From the truth that Tick is aware of: "To live - the devil - you can’t live ... here it is - the truth! ..", Luka leads away, saying: "She, really, maybe swelled for you ..." But is it possible heal with a butt? The old man thinks: "... It is necessary to feel sorry for people! .. I will tell them - to feel sorry for a person in time ... it happens well!" And he tells how he regretted and saved the night robbers-robbers. Bubnov, on the other hand, opposes Luke's stubborn, bright faith in man, in the saving power of pity, compassion, kindness: "In my opinion, I will give the whole truth as it is! Why be ashamed?" For him, the truth is a cruel, murderous oppression of inhuman circumstances, and the truth of Luke is so unusually life-affirming that the downtrodden, humiliated roommates do not believe in it, taking it for a lie. But Luke wanted to inspire faith and hope in his listeners: "What you believe is what you are..."

Luke brings people true, saving, human faith, the meaning of which was caught and clothed in the famous words of Satin: "Man - that's the truth!" Luka thinks that words, pity, compassion, mercy, attention to a person can raise his soul, so that the very last thief understands: "You need to live better! You need to live like this ... 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 about Luke, he inspired Satin to a fiery speech about a beautiful and proud man, but the same Satin indifferently throws the Actor at his request to pray for him: "Pray yourself ..." And to him, who is leaving forever, after his passionate monologue about a man shouts: "Hey, you, Sicambre! Where to?". His reaction to the death of the Actor seems terrible: "Eh ... ruined the song ... fool-cancer!" It is terrible that an inhuman society kills and maims human souls.

But the main thing in the play, in my opinion, is that Gorky made his contemporaries even more acutely feel the injustice of the social structure that destroys people, destroys them, made them think about a person, his freedom. What moral lessons have we learned? One must live without reconciling with untruth, injustice, lies, but not to destroy the person in oneself with his kindness, compassion and mercy. We often need comfort, but without the right to speak the truth, a person cannot be free. "Man - that's the truth!" And he has to choose. A person always needs real hope, not a comforting lie, even if it is for salvation.