Gorky said: The fastest and slowest, the longest and shortest, the most ordinary and most precious, the most easily ignored and the most regrettable thing in the world is time.

Most of Gorky's early realistic works were based on his experiences and feelings about life at the bottom. The most representative of them is the tramp-themed novel "Cherkash", which depicts an old tramp. Cherkash's noble qualities of being brave, independent and unruly, not succumbing to money and maintaining human dignity show that although these people still have a heavy spiritual burden, they are much nobler than selfish and vulgar small private owners.

In terms of art, "Cherkash" fully demonstrates Gorky's excellent skills in depicting complex characters in his early realist works. In addition to strongly indicting the evils of capitalist society, these works also strive to reveal the inner pain of homeless people and the struggle between old and new consciousness, and capture the characteristics of the times in the lives of working people. Their purpose is still to arouse people's positive attitude towards life. .

Extended information

The influence of Gorky’s creations on American progressive writers cannot be ignored. In particular, the theme of "personal social vitality" (referring to the creativity of individuals to transform themselves, society and nature) and "dead things enslave living people" in his creations, as well as the artistic style of dealing with such themes, are even more important. Aroused their strong interest.

In the depiction of the "stereotypical philistine" in Lewis's "Babbit", we can see striking similarities with Gorky's "The Kingdom of Depression". Gorky's influence can also be seen in many aspects of the creations of Jack London and Dreiser. Gorky's works, full of revolutionary passion and revolutionary optimism, are loved by Chinese readers and educate and inspire our people to eliminate the system of exploitation and build construction.

Gorky’s works have been gradually introduced to China since the beginning of the 20th century. Many novels, plays and treatises have not only been translated into Chinese, but also compiled into single or multi-volume works. "The Collected Works of Gorky" was published. His literary creation and literary theoretical views had an important influence on the development of new literature in China after the May Fourth Movement.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Maxim Gorky