The end of the 20th century is a turning point in history and human thoughts. We realized that the whole long period lasting 75 years had a specific meaning. And this meaning was perfectly expressed by the theoreticians of socialism. The “petrel” of that time Maxim Gorky was able to truly convey the turbulent, restless atmosphere of the beginning of the century in his notes entitled “Untimely Thoughts”.
No wonder this work is called a living document of the revolution. The book expresses the author’s position without intermediaries and banknotes in relation to the
October Revolution, its premises, consequences and the advent of the new Bolshevik power. “Untimely Thoughts” was a forbidden work right up to perestroika itself. For the first time, the articles were published by New Life, which was then closed under the pretext of the oppositional nature of the press.
Gorky connected his “Untimely Thoughts” with the revolution, as the embodiment of all the people's high hopes. He considered it a harbinger of a revival of spirituality, a cause for the return of a long-lost sense of homeland, as well as an act by which people could finally take part in their own history on their own.
So it was in the first articles of the cycle (a total of 58). But already after the beginning of the October events, Gorky realized that the revolution was not going at all in the same course as he had expected. He turns to the victorious proletariat with the question of whether this victory will bring changes to the “bestial Russian life”, whether the light will be lit in the darkness of the life of the people. In other words, here already the ideals with which the writer loudly called for revolution begin to be opposed to the reality of turning days, which no one could even predict, even Maxim Gorky.
“Untimely thoughts” express the expressionism of the writer especially vividly, their stylistic qualities give the right to call notes one of his best works. There are many rhetorical questions, clear decisive conclusions, emotional appeals. The final idea of ​​most articles is the fundamental discrepancy between Gorky's views and Bolshevik slogans. And the main reason for this is the opposite points of view on the people and the fundamentally different attitude to them. Gorky notes the passivity and at the same time cruelty of the people, with unlimited power falling into their hands. This writer justifies the conditions of many years of life, in which there was nothing bright: no respect for the individual, no equality, no freedom.
However, the revolution, as “Untimely Thoughts” point out to us, was still needed. Another thing is the combination of her liberation ideas with the bloody bacchanalia that invariably accompanies all coups d'etat. Here "Thoughts" carry out an interesting experience of national self-criticism. Gorky showed us the dual essence of the personality of a Russian person. This person is incapable of daily manifestations of generally accepted
moral standards, but, nevertheless, can perform a feat and even self-sacrifice.
As a result, the cause of the failure, according to Gorky, is not at all what the overwhelming majority sees it. Not “sloths” or counter-revolutionaries are guilty of misfortune - but ordinary Russian stupidity, lack of culture and sensitivity to historical changes. According to the author, the people, with their long hard work, must win the awareness of their own personality, be cleansed of the slavery that has sprouted in it, with the bright fire of culture.