What is the meaning of the play "At the bottom"?

The play “At the Bottom” shows the reader the lowest standard of living on which the characters of the work are. People are presented to the reader’s court, who have sank completely, they have nowhere else to fall - they do not have a home, affection, family, and some have even lost their own name - they are called by nicknames. The essay on the play “At the Bottom” must contain an indication of a social problem, which is already outlined in the title of the play.

The acting characters of the drama live in a shelter. They are endowed with neither prosperity nor wealth. The play “At the Bottom” shows how the poor, prostitutes, thieves, actors - individuals who realize the hopelessness of their situation and the impossibility of change for the better, are fighting daily for a piece of bread.

From the conversations of the shelters you can find out their fate. Former aristocrat Debil - the baron who stole and went to prison, who became the pimp of a penny prostitute named Nastya. Sateen is a telegraph operator who killed his sister’s husband and ended up in a shelter after prison. Bubnov had a dyeing shop, “consumed” a lot, and, leaving his whole state to his wife, went away “wherever he looked.” A tick is a ruined locksmith, who brought his spouse to drunkenness and beatings. The actor is an alcoholic who was kicked out of the theater.

An essay based on Gorky’s play “At the Bottom” should reveal the common features of the shelters - bitterness towards the whole world, contempt for life, indifference to one’s present, past and even future.

Everyday life of the shelter flows with friendship, quarrels and hatred between the inhabitants. Neither fatigue, nor hidden despair, nor depression suppresses the general atmosphere.

But not only the social meaning contains the play “At the bottom” - there is also the philosophical significance of the work. The characters of the drama, even in such a hopeless situation, are capable of reflection, they are talking about a person, freedom, and truth. However, everyday reasoning and it all ends.

A measured way of life is interrupted by the arrival of Luke, the wanderer who brought the philosophical idea of faith in God. This fact must certainly be included in the essay on the play “At the Bottom”, since this event provokes the appearance of the main conflict of the work. The usual interests of the shelters remain aloof, and the clash of ideas of philosophical content comes to the forefront of events. The drama was written during the period of loss of faith in religion and the absence of a new ideal (at the beginning of the 20th century), this explains the desire of people to understand the meaning of life.

The play “At the Bottom” shows several points of view on the life and truth of man. Kostylev is an opponent of truth, which excites people and threatens peace. Bubnov recognizes her, but without dreams and embellishment, really reflecting the situation of world events. Luke proves that truth is a faith that comforts people. And Sateen sees the truth as a call for creative work. After the assassination of Kostylev, bedsiders call him "the quack" of the escaped Luke. Indifferent to their own lives, the perpetrators of their misfortunes they see anyone but themselves.

An essay based on Gorky’s play “At the Bottom” should end with a conclusion about the significant title of the work.