| Creatures That Once Were Men | |
| Author: | Maxim Gorky |
| Title Orig: | Бывшие люди |
| Country: | Russian Empire |
| Language: | Russian |
| Pub Date: | 1897 |
"Creatures That Once Were Men" (Russian: Бывшие люди, literally, "former people") is a 1897 novella by the Russian writer Maxim Gorky. It is regarded as a work of social realism, and it depicts the bottom of Russian society (like Gorky's other early works, including his most famous play The Lower Depths)[1] The novella was included in Gorky's collection Sketches and Stories (1899).
The term "former people" developed other meanings, relating to Russian society.
Creatures that Once Were Men is a novella about residents of a doss house who start a conflict with their landlord, which leads to an inhumane outcome.[2]
At the end, there's a notable dialogue between the two main characters:
"What are you? Who are you?" shouted Petunikov."A man . . ." he answered in a hoarse voice.