Works of Gorky: complete list. Maxim Gorky: early romantic works. Early romantic work of M. Gorky

03.04.2019

In his “walks around Rus',” M. Gorky peered into the dark corners of life and spent a lot of writing energy on showing what kind of hard labor their everyday work life could become for people. He tirelessly searched at the “bottom” of life for something bright, kind, human that could be contrasted with the everyday, soulless world. But Gorky had little to say about how badly people live. Gorky began to look for those who were capable of heroic deeds. He dreamed of strong, strong-willed natures, of people who were fighters, but did not find them in reality. The writer contrasted the gray existence of people with the bright, rich world of the heroes of his stories.
The main topic romantic stories Gorky's theme was love and freedom. Already in one of his first stories - “Makar Chudra” - Gorky expresses his own point of view: freedom for a person is the most important thing in the world. The story of the young gypsies Loiko Zobar and Radd sounds like a hymn to freedom and love. Their love burned with a bright flame and could not get along with the world of ordinary, dimly living people. In the gray life that people created, lovers would have to “submit to the tightness that squeezed them.” But Radda and Loiko chose death. The heroes do not want to sacrifice their will even for each other. For them, freedom and will are the main thing in life. “I’ve never loved anyone, Loiko, but I love you. And I also love freedom. Please, I love Loiko more than you.” Even love turned out to be powerless in the face of man's desire for freedom, which is achieved at the cost of life.
In another story by Gorky - “The Old Woman Izergil” - the writer combines the legend of Larra, the story of Izergil’s life and the legend of Danko. The main idea repeated in all three parts - the dream of people ready for heroism - makes the story a single whole. A special place in the story is occupied by the image of Izergil, who carried a sense of self-esteem throughout her life. Her life story is the personification of freedom, beauty, moral values person. And a reproach to the wingless, boring life of people, a reproach to many generations that have disappeared without a trace from the face of the earth: “In life, you know, there is always a place for exploits... everyone would want to leave behind their shadow in it. And then life would not devour people without a trace.” She knew what a feat was, but she could not live her life with dignity. The heroine can only rely on her mistakes to point out to people Right way.
Old woman Izergil is frightened by Larra’s fate, which casts a shadow on her own life. Strength of character, pride and love of freedom in Larra turn into their opposite, because he despises people and treats them cruelly. In an impulse for freedom, he took the path of crime, for which people punish him, dooming him to eternal loneliness. Protesting against the everyday life, Larra forgot about moral laws. Thus, Gorky says that living alone for the sake of freedom loses its meaning. The writer condemns Larra's selfishness and cruelty, his pride and contempt for people.
According to Izergil, distinctive feature Danko was his beauty, and “the beautiful are always brave.” Danko was motivated only by love and compassion for people, and despite all their evil thoughts, his heart “flashed with the desire to save” them. He takes it upon himself to lead people out of the dark forest. By saving people, the hero gives away the most precious thing he has - his heart. Gorky calls for self-sacrifice in the name of people. But Danko’s act was not appreciated: “People. They didn’t notice his death and didn’t see what was still burning. his brave heart. Only one careful man. fearing something, I stepped on my proud heart.” By this, Gorky says that the time for such heroes has not yet come.
Thus, in Gorky’s romantic works, the author clearly expresses his protest against meager life, obedience, humility, contempt, selfishness, and slave psychology. The heroes of the works destroy the usual course of life, strive for love, light, freedom. They refuse the pitiful fate of serving things and money, their life has meaning, the main thing is their will. Glorifying the beauty and greatness of the feat in the name of people, they confront people who have lost their ideals. Bright, passionate, freedom-loving - they glorify activity, the need to act. “The madness of the brave is the wisdom of life.”

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Romantic works of M. Gorky

Composition

For me, Gorky is all of Russia. I can't imagine

I can imagine Russia without the Volga, so I can’t think that Gorky is not in it.

K. Paustovsky

Gorky occupies a large place in the life of each of us. He is a representative of the infinitely talented Russian people. He loved and knew Russia well, the language of his people. Constant communication with people different professions and worldviews developed in him a deep understanding of the problems and quests of the Russian people. There was nothing left that the writer neglected and that he did not notice in his own way, in Gorky’s way. In his works, Gorky reflected the era in which he lived.

Young Gorky is interested in early romantic works, where the writer acts as the author and original storyteller.

In the stories “Makar Chudra”, “Old Woman Izergil”, “Song of the Petrel”, songs and legends about courage, fortitude, freedom are presented by the stories of a wise life experience the old gypsy Makar Chudra, the Moldavian Izergil, the Crimean shepherd Nadyr-Rahim-ogly. And next to them we see the image of another hero - a “passer”, a listener on whose behalf the story is told. Let's call him a conditionally autobiographical hero, since his fate has much in common with the fate of the Nizhny Novgorod workshop Alexei Peshkov. This hero does not occupy much space in the stories, but for understanding author's position, design and creative method its significance is great.

The autobiographical hero is a native of the lower classes who has touched book wisdom. He is a dreamer, a romantic, who feels the beauty of the world around him. Having merged with her, the narrator knows how to amaze us with the beauty of the ordinary. His vision of the world brings a romantic element to his stories, joy, bold audacity, and an abundance of colors in the description of nature: “A damp, cold wind blew from the sea, carrying across the steppe the thoughtful melody of the splash of a wave running onto the shore and the rustling of coastal bushes; ...the darkness of the autumn night that surrounded us trembled and, timidly moving away, revealed for a moment a boundless steppe on the left, an endless sea on the right...”

The autobiographical hero’s attitude to life is revealed in conversations with Makar Chudra and the old woman Izergil, in how he reacts to the legends and songs he hears. The narrator wants to understand the true meaning of life by talking with these wise people, because the main thing for him is “to learn and teach.” Makar Chudra understands this well when talking with his young interlocutor. The old woman Izergil reproaches the young and strong guy in premature aging of the soul. “Everyone is gloomy, like demons... our girls are afraid of you.”

The hero’s mood is never directly stated anywhere. The tension of the narrative, the unusualness of the description, enthusiasm and musicality comes from a certain “passing” hero. Makar and Izergil cannot convey their feelings to such melodic literary language. Yes, they have experience, knowledge of life, fairy tales and legends, but the “passing” hero has literary talent, natural flair and endless love for his language. Pieces of the sky are “dark blue”, the disk of the moon is “blood red”. The eyes of girls and women are “dark blue”. Such epithets and comparisons give speech a special colorfulness and emotionality.

The manner of narration, the choice of landscapes, and their description give the reader an idea of the narrator - a man who is delighted and excited by the richness and beauty of nature, the rebelliousness of the soul and the love of freedom of the people he meets, and the generosity of folk imagination.

The autobiographical hero is a romantic who follows his own path of life. On the way he meets interesting people, learns life from them, tests his ideals, and sometimes gets disappointed. His interested gaze brings figures from the people into the center of the story - this is Makar Chudra, this is the old woman Izergil, this is Nadyr-Rahim-ogly.

Legends, songs, characters' reflections on life, stories about themselves and their ideals help in revealing their images: the legend of Danko, Rada and Zobar. These are images of beautiful, courageous and free people. For such heroes, their beliefs are important, for which they are willing to die.

In the songs, images of a different type are given - symbolic and allegorical. The falcon is a symbol of a fearless fighter: “We sing glory to the madness of the brave.” And the symbol of a cautious and sensible man in the street is represented by allegorical images of cowardly loons, penguins and seagulls, who frantically rush about, trying to hide from reality and life changes.

Legends and songs are significant in themselves, but Gorky needs them to reveal his ideals real person. These people view the world as a correlation of two categories: the sublime and the base. They protect what they consider beautiful.

The inner closeness of the autobiographical hero and the narrators is evidenced by the coincidence of their views and the related manner of narration.

The author's narrative, romantic in itself, becomes even brighter when it comes into contact with the heroic images of legends and songs. Early romantic stories Gorky is discovered not only as a lyricist, but also as sublime heroes striving for a high goal.

Maxim Gorky (Alexei Maksimovich Peshkov, 1868-1936) is one of the most significant figures in world culture of our century and at the same time one of the most complex and controversial. IN last decade Attempts were made to “throw Gorky’s work off the steamship of modernity.” However, let’s not forget that at the beginning of the century they tried to do the same thing with Pushkin and Tolstoy...

Perhaps only Gorky managed to reflect in his work the history, life and culture of Russia in the first third of the twentieth century on a truly epic scale.

Early work of A.M. Gorky is marked by the influence of romanticism. There may be some things you like about any writer’s legacy and some things you don’t like. One will leave you indifferent, while the other will delight you. And this is even more true for the huge and varied creativity of A.M. Gorky. His early works - romantic songs and legends - leave the impression of contact with real talent. The heroes of these stories are beautiful. And not only externally - they refuse the pitiful fate of serving things and money, their life has a high meaning. Heroes of the early works of A.M. Gorky are courageous and selfless (“Song of the Falcon”, the legend of Danko), they glorify activity, the ability to act (images of the Falcon, Petrel, Danko). One of the most striking early works of A.M. Gorky's story "The Old Woman Izergil" (1894). The story was written using the writer’s favorite form of framing: the legend of Larra, the story of the life of Izergil, the legend of Danko. What makes the three parts of the story a single whole is the main idea - the desire to reveal true value human personality.

In 1895, Gorky wrote his “Song about the Falcon.” In the contrasting images of the Snake and the Falcon, two forms of life are embodied: rotting and burning. To more clearly show the courage of the fighter, the author contrasts the Falcon with the adaptable Snake, whose soul is rotting in petty-bourgeois complacency. Gorky pronounces a merciless verdict on philistine prosperity: “He who is born to crawl cannot fly.” In this work, Gorky sings a song to the “madness of the brave,” claiming it as the “wisdom of life.”

Gorky believed that with the organization of a “healthy working people - democracy,” a special spiritual culture would be established, in which “life would become joy, music; labor is pleasure." That is why at the beginning of the 20th century the writer’s confessions about the happiness of “living on earth” were very frequent, where “ new life in the new century."

This romanticized feeling of the era was expressed by “Song of the Petrel” (1901). In this work, a personality was revealed through romantic means, overthrowing a stagnant world. The image of the “proud bird” contains all the manifestations of feelings dear to the author: courage, strength, fiery passion, confidence in victory over a meager and boring life. The petrel combines truly unprecedented abilities: to soar high, to “pierce” the darkness, to summon a storm and enjoy it, to see the sun behind the clouds. And the storm itself is their realization.

Everywhere and always A.M. Gorky strove for the revival by nature of the given foundations of human existence. Gorky's early romantic works contained and captured the awakening human soul- the most beautiful thing that the writer has always worshiped.

Born March 28, 1868 in Nizhny Novgorod. At the age of 11 he became an orphan and until 1888 he lived with relatives in Kazan. He tried many professions: he was a boatman on a ship, worked in an icon-painting workshop, and was a foreman. In 1888 he left Kazan for the village of Krasnovidovo, where he was engaged in the propaganda of revolutionary ideas. Maxim Gorky's first story, "Makar Chudra", was published in 1892 in the newspaper "Caucasus". In 1898, the collection “Essays and Stories” was published, and a year later his first novel “Foma Gordeev” was published. In 1901, Gorky was expelled from Nizhny Novgorod to Arzamas A.N. Durnov. Gorky, whom we do not know. // Literary newspaper, 1993, March 10 (No. 10). .

A little later, the writer’s collaboration with the Moscow Art Theater began. The plays “At the Lower Depths” (1902), “The Bourgeois” (1901) and others were staged at the theater. The poem “Man” (1903), the plays “Summer Residents” (1904), “Children of the Sun” (1905), “Two Barbarians” (1905) belong to the same period. Gorky becomes an active member of the “Moscow Literary Environment” and takes part in the creation of collections of the “Knowledge” society. In 1905, Gorky was arrested and immediately after his release he went abroad. From 1906 to 1913, Gorky lived in Capri. In 1907, the novel “Mother” by R.M. Mironov was published in America. Maksim Gorky. His personality and works. - M., 2003..

The plays “The Last” (1908), “Vassa Zheleznova” (1910), the stories “Summer” (1909) and “The Town of Okurov” (1909), and the novel “The Life of Matvey Kozhemyakin” (1911) were created in Capri. In 1913, Gorky returned to Russia, and in 1915 he began publishing the journal Letopis. After the revolution, he worked at the publishing house “World Literature”.

In 1921, Gorky again went abroad. In the early 20s, he finished the trilogy “Childhood”, “In People” and “My Universities”, wrote the novel “The Artamonov Case”, and began work on the novel “The Life of Klim Samgin”. In 1931, Gorky returned to the USSR. He died on June 18, 1936 in the village of Gorki.

At the end of the 90s, the reader was amazed by the appearance of three volumes of “Essays and Stories” by a new writer - M. Gorky. “Great and original talent,” was the general judgment about the new writer and his books G.D. Veselov.

Growing dissatisfaction in society and the expectation of decisive changes caused increased romantic tendencies in literature. These trends were reflected especially clearly in the work of young Gorky, in such stories as “Chelkash”, “Old Woman Izergil”, “Makar Chudra”, and in revolutionary songs. The heroes of these stories are people “with the sun in their blood”, strong, proud, beautiful. These heroes are Gorky's dream. Such a hero was supposed to “strengthen a person’s will to live, arouse in him a rebellion against reality, against all its oppression.”

The central image of Gorky's early romantic works is the image of a hero, ready to perform a feat for the good of the people. The story “Old Woman Izergil,” written in 1895, is of great importance in revealing this image. In the image of Danko, Gorky put a humanistic idea of a man who devotes all his strength to serving the people.

Gorky's work on initial stage bears a strong imprint of the new literary movement- the so-called revolutionary romanticism. The philosophical ideas of the aspiring talented writer, the passion and emotionality of his prose, the new approach to man were sharply different from naturalistic prose, which had gone into petty everyday realism and chosen hopeless boredom as its theme. human existence, and from the aesthetic approach to literature and life, which saw value only in “refined” emotions, heroes and words.

For youth there are two most important components of life, two vectors of existence. This is love and freedom. In Gorky's stories "Makar Chudra" and "Old Woman Izergil" love and freedom become the theme of the stories told by the main characters. Gorky's plot discovery - that old age tells about youth and love - allows us to give a perspective, the point of view of a young man who lives by love and sacrifices everything for it, and a man who has lived his life, seen a lot and is able to understand what is really important, what stays at the end long journey.

This is a fairly simple symbol: only a pure heart, full of love and altruism, can become a beacon and only selfless sacrifice will help free the people. The tragedy of the parable is that people forget about those who sacrificed themselves for them. They are ungrateful, but perfectly aware of this, Danko does not think about the meaning of his dedication, does not expect recognition or reward. Gorky argues with the official church concept of merit, in which a person does good deeds, knowing in advance that he will be rewarded. The writer gives an opposite example: the reward for a feat is the feat itself and the happiness of the people for whose sake it was accomplished.

Larra is cunning and knows how to talk, but this is a deception. He loses sight of the fact that a person always pays for the possession of money, labor, time, but ultimately a life lived in one way and not another. Therefore, Larra’s so-called truth becomes the reason for his rejection. The tribe expels the apostate, saying: you despise us, you are superior - well, live alone if we are unworthy of you. But loneliness becomes endless torture. Larra understands that his whole philosophy was just a pose, that even in order to consider himself superior to others and be proud of himself, others are still needed. You can’t admire yourself alone, and we all depend on evaluation and recognition from society.

The romanticism of Gorky’s early stories, his heroic ideals are always close and understandable to youth; they will be loved and will inspire more and more generations of readers to search for truth and heroism.

Composition

In his early romantic works, Maxim Gorky resorted to the proven method of “story within a story.” The author listens to the wise Nadyr-Rahim-Ogly, an old Crimean shepherd, telling him legends and fairy tales, singing strange songs, and then beautiful language conveys to readers what he heard. This allows the author to achieve the authenticity that he needs. We unconditionally believe in the existence of the Snake and the Falcon, in their conversation. The author does not need to convince the reader of the authenticity of events. Yes, it doesn’t matter whether this is a fairy tale or a true story.

The author shows two philosophies, two ways of life. Already contrasts “the madness of the brave” with “low truths”; he even hides behind ostentatious patriotism: “Let those who cannot love the earth live in deception. I know the truth. And I won’t believe their calls. Creation of the earth, I live by the earth.” The author seems to agree with this bourgeois philosophy. But this is only an external impression. Gorky invites the reader to make a choice himself, and does not decide everything for him. The author seems to be saying: “Yes, there is life, there is truth, but it is not eternal. The development of life gives birth to new truths.”
Gorky is a master of the short story. With short but vivid phrases, he is able to say much more than is sometimes hidden behind long philosophical arguments. Gorky's skill and artistic talent were revealed already in his early work. “Across the dark blue sky, with a golden pattern of stars, something solemn is written, enchanting the soul, confusing the mind with the sweet expectation of some kind of revelation.” This is confirmed by the “Song of the Falcon”

“Makar Chudra” is the first printed work of A. M. Peshkov. It appeared in the Tiflis newspaper "Caucasus" in 1892 and was signed by the pseudonym that was destined to soon become known throughout the world - Maxim Gorky. The publication of the first story was preceded by years of wanderings of the author throughout Rus', to which he was driven by an insatiable desire to get to know Russia, to unravel the mystery of a huge destitute country, to understand the cause of the suffering of its people. The future writer’s knapsack did not always contain a loaf of bread, but there was always a thick notebook with notes about interesting events and the people he met along the way. Later, these notes turned into poems and stories, many of which have not reached us.

In his early works, including Makar Chudra, Gorky appears to us as a romantic writer. Main character- old gypsy Makar Chudra. For him, the most important thing in life is personal freedom, which he would never trade for anything. He believes that the peasant is a slave who was born only to pick the earth and die without even having time to dig his own grave. His maximalist desire for freedom is also embodied by the heroes of the legend he tells. A young, beautiful gypsy couple - Loiko Zobar and Rad-da - love each other. But both of them have such a strong desire for personal freedom that they even look at their love as a chain that fetters their independence. Each of them, declaring their love, sets their own conditions, trying to dominate. This leads to a tense conflict that ends with the death of the heroes. Loiko gives in to Radda, kneels before her in front of everyone, which among the gypsies is considered a terrible humiliation, and at the same moment kills her. And he himself dies at the hands of her father.

The peculiarity of the composition of this story, as already mentioned, is that the author puts a romantic legend into the mouth of the main character. She helps us understand him more deeply inner world and a value system. For Makar Chudra, Loiko and Rudd are ideals of love of freedom. He is sure that two beautiful feelings, pride and love, brought to their highest expression, cannot be reconciled. A person worthy of emulation, in his understanding, must preserve his personal freedom at the cost own life. Another feature of the composition of this work is the presence of the image of the narrator. It is almost invisible, but we can easily recognize the author himself in it. He doesn't quite agree with his hero. We do not hear any direct objections to Makar Chudra. But at the end of the story, where the narrator, looking into the darkness of the steppe, sees how Loiko Zobar and Radda “were spinning in the darkness of the night smoothly and silently, and the handsome Loiko could not catch up with the proud Radda,” his position is revealed. The independence and pride of these people, of course, admire and attract, but these same traits doom them to loneliness and the impossibility of happiness. They are slaves to their freedom, they are not able to sacrifice even for the people they love.

To express the feelings of the characters and his own, the author widely uses the technique landscape sketches. Seascape is a kind of frame for the whole storyline story. The sea is closely connected with state of mind heroes: at first it is calm, only the “damp, cold wind” carries “across the steppe the pensive melody of the splash of a wave running onto the shore and the rustling of coastal bushes.” But then it began to rain, the wind became stronger, and the sea rumbled dully and angrily and sang a gloomy and solemn hymn to the proud couple of handsome gypsies. At all characteristic feature This story is its musicality. Music accompanies the entire story about the fate of the lovers. “You can’t say anything about her, this Radda, in words. Perhaps its beauty could be played on a violin, and even then to someone who knows this violin like his own soul.”

At the initial stage, Gorky's work bears a strong imprint of a new literary movement - the so-called revolutionary romanticism. Philosophical ideas of an aspiring talented writer, passion, emotionality of his prose, new

The approach to man differed sharply from both naturalistic prose, which retreated into petty everyday realism and chose the hopeless boredom of human existence as its theme, and from the aesthetic approach to literature and life, which saw value only in “refined” emotions, heroes and words.

The heroes of the two parables told by the old woman Izergil are complete opposites. Danko is an example of love-self-sacrifice, love-giving. He cannot live, separating himself from his tribe, people, he feels unhappy and unfree if the people are unfree and unhappy. Pure sacrificial love and the desire for heroism were characteristic of romantic revolutionaries who dreamed of dying for universal human ideals, could not imagine life without sacrifice, did not hope and did not want to live to old age. Danko gives his heart, illuminating the path for people. This is a fairly simple symbol: only a pure heart, full of love and altruism, can become a beacon, and only a selfless sacrifice will help free the people. The tragedy of the parable is that people forget about those who sacrificed themselves for them. They are ungrateful, but perfectly aware of this, Danko does not think about the meaning of his dedication, does not expect recognition or reward. Gorky argues with the official church concept of merit, in which a person does good deeds, knowing in advance that he will be rewarded. The writer gives an opposite example: the reward for a feat is the feat itself and the happiness of the people for whose sake it was accomplished.

The son of an eagle is the complete opposite of Danko. Larra is a loner. He is proud and narcissistic, he sincerely considers himself higher, better than other people. He evokes disgust, but also pity. After all, Larra does not deceive anyone, he does not pretend that he is capable of love. Unfortunately, there are many such people, although their essence is not so clearly manifested in real life. For them, love and interest come down only to possession. If you cannot possess it, you must destroy it. Having killed the girl, Larra says with cynical frankness that he did it because he could not own her. And he adds that, in his opinion, people only prioritize that they love and observe moral standards. After all, nature gave them only their body as their property, and they own both animals and things. Larra is cunning and knows how to talk, but this is a deception. He loses sight of the fact that a person always pays for the possession of money, labor, time, but ultimately a life lived in one way and not another. Therefore, Larra’s so-called truth becomes the reason for his rejection. The tribe expels the apostate, saying: you despise us, you are superior - well, live alone if we are unworthy of you. But loneliness becomes endless torture. Larra understands that his whole philosophy was just a pose, that even in order to consider himself superior to others and be proud of himself, others are still needed. You can’t admire yourself alone, and we all depend on evaluation and recognition from society.

Freedom and love are the theme of the parable of Radda and Loiko. There is no love in slavery, there are no true feelings in self-deception. The heroes love each other, but freedom is above all for them. For Gorky, freedom is not a lawless freedom, but an opportunity to preserve one’s essence, one’s “I,” that is, one’s humanity, without which there can be neither love nor life.

The great Russian writer Maxim Gorky (Peshkov Alexey Maksimovich) was born on March 16, 1868 in Nizhny Novgorod - died on June 18, 1936 in Gorki. IN early age“went public,” in his own words. He lived hard, spent the night in the slums among all sorts of rabble, wandered, subsisting on an occasional piece of bread. He covered vast territories, visited the Don, Ukraine, the Volga region, Southern Bessarabia, the Caucasus and Crimea.

Start

He was actively involved in social and political activities, for which he was arrested more than once. In 1906 he went abroad, where he began to successfully write his works. By 1910, Gorky had gained fame, his work aroused great interest. Earlier, in 1904, they began to publish critical articles, and then the book “About Gorky”. Gorky's works interested politicians and public figures. Some of them believed that the writer interpreted events taking place in the country too freely. Everything that Maxim Gorky wrote, works for the theater or journalistic essays, short stories or multi-page stories, caused a resonance and was often accompanied by anti-government protests. During the First World War, the writer took an openly anti-militarist position. greeted him enthusiastically, and turned his apartment in Petrograd into a meeting place for political figures. Often Maxim Gorky, whose works became more and more topical, gave reviews of his own work in order to avoid misinterpretation.

Abroad

In 1921, the writer went abroad to undergo treatment. For three years, Maxim Gorky lived in Helsinki, Prague and Berlin, then moved to Italy and settled in the city of Sorrento. There he began publishing his memoirs about Lenin. In 1925 he wrote the novel “The Artamonov Case”. All of Gorky's works of that time were politicized.

Return to Russia

The year 1928 became a turning point for Gorky. At Stalin's invitation, he returns to Russia and for a month moves from city to city, meets people, gets acquainted with achievements in industry, and observes how socialist construction develops. Then Maxim Gorky leaves for Italy. However, the next year (1929) the writer came to Russia again and this time visited the Solovetsky special-purpose camps. The reviews are the most positive. Alexander Solzhenitsyn mentioned this trip of Gorky in his novel

The writer's final return to Soviet Union happened in October 1932. Since that time, Gorky has lived in his former dacha in Spiridonovka in Gorki, and goes to Crimea on vacation.

First Writers' Congress

After some time, the writer receives a political order from Stalin, who entrusts him with preparing the 1st Congress Soviet writers. In light of this order, Maxim Gorky creates several new newspapers and magazines, publishes book series on the history of Soviet plants and factories, civil war and some other events of the Soviet era. At the same time he wrote plays: “Egor Bulychev and others”, “Dostigaev and others”. Some of Gorky's works, written earlier, were also used by him in preparing the first congress of writers, which took place in August 1934. At the congress it was mainly decided organizational matters, the leadership of the future Union of Writers of the USSR was elected, writing sections were created by genre. Gorky's works were also ignored at the 1st Congress of Writers, but he was elected chairman of the board. Overall, the event was considered successful, and Stalin personally thanked Maxim Gorky for his fruitful work.

Popularity

M. Gorky, whose works for many years caused fierce controversy among the intelligentsia, tried to take part in the discussion of his books and especially theatrical plays. From time to time, the writer visited theaters, where he could see with his own eyes that people were not indifferent to his work. And indeed, for many, the writer M. Gorky, whose works were understandable to the common man, became a guide to a new life. Theater audiences went to the performance several times, read and re-read books.

Gorky's early romantic works

The writer's work can be divided into several categories. Gorky's early works are romantic and even sentimental. They do not yet feel the harshness of political sentiments that permeate the writer’s later stories and tales.

The writer's first story "Makar Chudra" is about gypsy fleeting love. Not because it was fleeting, because “love came and went,” but because it lasted only one night, without a single touch. Love lived in the soul without touching the body. And then the death of the girl at the hands of her beloved, the proud gypsy Rada passed away, and after her Loiko Zobar himself - they floated across the sky, hand in hand.

Amazing plot, incredible storytelling power. The story "Makar Chudra" became long years business card Maxim Gorky, firmly taking first place in the list " early works Gorky".

The writer worked a lot and fruitfully in his youth. Early romantic works Gorky is a cycle of stories whose heroes are Danko, Sokol, Chelkash and others.

A short story about spiritual excellence makes you think. "Chelkash" - a story about common man, carrying high aesthetic feelings. Fleeing from home, vagrancy, meeting of two - one is doing his usual thing, the other is brought by chance. Gavrila's envy, mistrust, readiness for submissive servility, fear and servility are contrasted with Chelkash's courage, self-confidence, and love of freedom. However, Chelkash is not needed by society, unlike Gavrila. Romantic pathos is intertwined with tragic. The description of nature in the story is also shrouded in a flair of romance.

In the stories "Makar Chudra", "Old Woman Izergil" and, finally, in "Song of the Falcon" the motivation for the "madness of the brave" can be traced. The writer places the characters in difficult conditions and then, beyond any logic, leads them to the finale. What makes the work of the great writer interesting is that the narrative is unpredictable.

Gorky's work "Old Woman Izergil" consists of several parts. The character of her first story, the son of an eagle and a woman, the sharp-eyed Larra, is presented as an egoist, incapable of high feelings. When he heard the maxim that one inevitably has to pay for what one takes, he expressed disbelief, declaring that “I would like to remain unharmed.” People rejected him, condemning him to loneliness. Larra's pride turned out to be destructive for himself.

Danko is no less proud, but he treats people with love. Therefore, he obtains the freedom necessary for his fellow tribesmen who trusted him. Despite the threats of those who doubt that he is capable of leading the tribe out, the young leader continues on his way, taking people along with him. And when everyone’s strength was running out, and the forest still did not end, Danko tore open his chest, took out his burning heart and with its flame illuminated the path that led them to the clearing. The ungrateful tribesmen, having broken free, did not even look in Danko’s direction when he fell and died. People ran away, trampled on the flaming heart as they ran, and it scattered into blue sparks.

Gorky's romantic works leave an indelible mark on the soul. Readers empathize with the characters, the unpredictability of the plot keeps them in suspense, and the ending is often unexpected. In addition, Gorky’s romantic works are distinguished by deep morality, which is unobtrusive, but makes you think.

The theme of individual freedom dominates early work writer. The heroes of Gorky's works are freedom-loving and are ready to even give their lives for the right to choose their own destiny.

Poem "The Girl and Death" - shining example self-sacrifice in the name of love. Young, full of life a girl makes a deal with death for one night of love. She is ready to die in the morning without regret, just to meet her beloved again.

The king, who considers himself omnipotent, dooms the girl to death only because, returning from the war, he was in a bad mood and did not like her happy laughter. Death spared Love, the girl remained alive and the “bony one with a scythe” no longer had power over her.

Romance is also present in “Song of the Storm Petrel”. The proud bird is free, it is like black lightning, rushing between the gray plain of the sea and the clouds hanging over the waves. Let the storm blow stronger, the brave bird is ready to fight. But it is important for the penguin to hide his fat body in the rocks; he has a different attitude towards the storm - no matter how he soaks his feathers.

Man in Gorky's works

The special, sophisticated psychologism of Maxim Gorky is present in all his stories, while the individual is always given the main role. Even the homeless tramps, the characters of the shelter, are presented by the writer as respected citizens, despite their plight. In Gorky’s works, man is placed at the forefront, everything else is secondary - the events described, the political situation, even actions government agencies are in the background.

Gorky's story "Childhood"

The writer tells the life story of the boy Alyosha Peshkov, as if on his own behalf. The story is sad, it begins with the death of the father and ends with the death of the mother. Left an orphan, the boy heard from his grandfather, the day after his mother’s funeral: “You are not a medal, you shouldn’t hang around my neck... Go join the people...”. And he kicked me out.

This is how Gorky's work "Childhood" ends. And in the middle there were several years of living in the house of my grandfather, a lean little old man who used to flog everyone who was weaker than him on Saturdays. And the only people inferior to his grandfather in strength were his grandchildren living in the house, and he beat them backhand, placing them on the bench.

Alexey grew up, supported by his mother, and hung in the house thick fog enmity of everyone with everyone. The uncles fought among themselves, threatened the grandfather that they would kill him too, the cousins got drunk, and their wives did not have time to give birth. Alyosha tried to make friends with the neighboring boys, but their parents and other relatives were in such complicated relationships with his grandfather, grandmother and mother that the children could only communicate through a hole in the fence.

"At the bottom"

In 1902, Gorky turned to philosophical topic. He created a play about people who, by the will of fate, sank to the very bottom Russian society. The writer depicted several characters, the inhabitants of the shelter, with frightening authenticity. At the center of the story are homeless people on the verge of despair. Some are thinking about suicide, others are hoping for the best. M. Gorky's work "At the Lower Depths" is a vivid picture of social and everyday disorder in society, which often turns into tragedy.

The owner of the shelter, Mikhail Ivanovich Kostylev, lives and does not know that his life is constantly under threat. His wife Vasilisa persuades one of the guests, Vaska Pepel, to kill her husband. This is how it ends: the thief Vaska kills Kostylev and goes to prison. The remaining inhabitants of the shelter continue to live in an atmosphere of drunken revelry and bloody fights.

After some time, a certain Luka appears, a projector and a blabbermouth. He “fills up” for no reason, conducts lengthy conversations, promises everyone indiscriminately a happy future and complete prosperity. Then Luke disappears, and the unfortunate people whom he encouraged are at a loss. There was severe disappointment. A forty-year-old homeless man, nicknamed Actor, commits suicide. The rest are not far from this either.

Nochlezhka as a symbol of the dead end of Russian society late XIX century, an undisguised ulcer of the social structure.

The works of Maxim Gorky

"Makar Chudra" - 1892. A story of love and tragedy.
"Grandfather Arkhip and Lenka" - 1893. A poor, sick old man and with him his grandson Lenka, a teenager. First, the grandfather cannot withstand adversity and dies, then the grandson dies. Good people The unfortunates were buried along the road.
"Old Woman Izergil" - 1895. Some stories from an old woman about selfishness and selflessness.
"Chelkash" - 1895. A story about "an inveterate drunkard and a clever, brave thief."
"The Orlov Spouses" - 1897. A story about a childless couple who decided to help sick people.
"Konovalov" - 1898. The story of how Alexander Ivanovich Konovalov, arrested for vagrancy, hanged himself in a prison cell.
"Foma Gordeev" - 1899. A story about the events of the late 19th century that took place in the Volga city. About a boy named Thomas, who considered his father a fabulous robber.
"Bourgeois" - 1901. A story about bourgeois roots and the new spirit of the times.
"At the Bottom" - 1902. A poignant, topical play about homeless people who have lost all hope.
"Mother" - 1906. A novel on the theme of revolutionary sentiments in society, about events taking place within a manufacturing factory, with the participation of members of the same family.
"Vassa Zheleznova" - 1910. The play is about a youthful 42-year-old woman, the owner of a shipping company, strong and powerful.
"Childhood" - 1913. A story about a simple boy and his far from simple life.
"Tales of Italy" - 1913. Cycle short stories on the topic of life in Italian cities.
"Passion-face" - 1913. Short story about a deeply unhappy family.
"In People" - 1914. A story about an errand boy in a fashionable shoe store.
"My Universities" - 1923. The story of Kazan University and students.
"Blue Life" - 1924. A story about dreams and fantasies.
"The Artamonov Case" - 1925. A story about the events taking place at a woven fabric factory.
"The Life of Klim Samgin" - 1936. Events of the beginning of the 20th century - St. Petersburg, Moscow, barricades.

Every story, novel or novel you read leaves an impression of high literary skill. The characters carry a number of unique characteristics and characteristics. The analysis of Gorky's works involves comprehensive characteristics of the characters followed by a summary. The depth of the narrative is organically combined with complex but understandable literary devices. All works of the great Russian writer Maxim Gorky were included in the Golden Fund of Russian Culture.