Gogol's riddles: “Dead souls. "Dead Souls". Analysis of the poem by N.V. Gogol Oge questions on Gogol dead souls
Option No. 31885
Unified State Examination in Literature 06/13/2013. Main wave. Ural. Option 2.
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b) Principles of realism in the poem: Historicism Gogol wrote about his modernity - approximately the late 20s - early 30s, during the period of the crisis of serfdom in Russia. Typical characters in typical circumstances. The main trends in the depiction of landowners and officials are satirical description, social typification and a general critical orientation.
“Dead Souls” is a work of everyday life. Special attention devoted to a description of nature, the estate and interior, and details of the portrait. Most of the characters are shown statically. Much attention is paid to details, the so-called “mud of little things” (Plyushkin’s character). Gogol correlates different plans: universal scales (a lyrical digression about a three-bird bird) and the smallest details (a description of a trip along extremely bad Russian roads).
Means of satirical typification:
a) Author's characteristics of the characters,
b) Comic situations (for example, Chichikov cannot part ways at the door),
c) Appeal to the past of the heroes (Chichikov, Plyushkin),
d) Hyperbole (unexpected death of the prosecutor, Sobakevich’s extraordinary gluttony),
e) Proverbs (“Neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan”),
f) Comparisons (Sobakevich is compared to a medium-sized bear. Korobochka is compared to a mongrel in the manger).
Genre originality:
Calling his work a “poem,” Gogol meant: “a lesser kind of epic... Prospectus for a textbook of literature for Russian youth. The hero of epics is a private and invisible person, but significant in many respects for observing the human soul.” The poem is a genre that goes back to the traditions of the ancient epic, in which integral existence was recreated in all its contradictions. On this characteristic " Dead souls“The Slavophiles insisted, appealing to the fact that elements of the poem, as a glorifying genre, are also present in “Dead Souls” (lyrical digressions). Gogol, in letters to friends, called “Dead Souls” not only a poem, but also a novel. In "Dead Souls" there are features of adventure, picaresque, and also social novel. However, it is customary not to call “Dead Souls” a novel, since there is practically no love intrigue in the work.Features of the plot and composition:
Features of the plot of “Dead Souls” are associated primarily with the image of Chichikov and his ideological and compositional role. Gogol: “The author leads his life through a chain of adventures and changes, in order to present at the same time a true picture of everything significant in the traits and morals of the time he took... a picture of shortcomings, abuses, vices.” In a letter to V. Zhukovsky, Gogol mentions that he wanted to show “all of Rus'” in the poem. The poem is written in the form of a journey, disparate fragments of Russian life are combined into a single whole. This is the main compositional role Chichikova. The independent role of the image comes down to describing a new type of Russian life, an entrepreneur-adventurer. In Chapter 11, the author gives a biography of Chichikov, from which it follows that the hero uses either the position of an official or the mythical position of a landowner to achieve his goals.The composition is built on the principle of “concentric circles” or “closed spaces” (city, estates of landowners, all of Russia).
Theme of homeland and people:
Gogol wrote about his work: “All of Rus' will appear in it.” The life of the ruling class and the common people is given without idealization. Peasants are characterized by ignorance, narrow-mindedness, and downtroddenness (the images of Petrushka and Selifan, the yard girl Korobochka, who does not know where is right and where is left, Uncle Mityai and Uncle Minyai, who are discussing whether Chichikov’s chaise will reach Moscow and Kazan). Nevertheless, the author warmly describes talent and other Creative skills people (lyrical digression about the Russian language, characterization of the Yaroslavl peasant in a digression about the bird-troika, Sobakevich’s register of peasants).Much attention is paid to the popular revolt (the story of Captain Kopeikin). The theme of the future of Russia is reflected in Gogol’s poetic attitude towards his homeland (lyrical digressions about Rus' and the three-bird).
About the second volume of “Dead Souls”:
Gogol, in the image of the landowner Kostanzhoglo, tried to show a positive ideal. It embodied Gogol's ideas about the harmonious structure of life: reasonable management, responsible attitude to the work of all those involved in the organization of the estate, the use of the fruits of science. Under the influence of Kostanzhoglo, Chichikov had to reconsider his attitude to reality and “correct.” Feeling the “untruth of life” in his work, Gogol burned the second volume of Dead Souls.1. The originality of the genre of N.V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”.
2. The meaning of the title of the poem.
3. The plot and composition of the poem.
4.Principles of creating characters in a poem.
5. The image of Chichikov as a “hero of the time” of the initial accumulation of capital.
6. The role and theme of lyrical digressions.
7.The image of the author and his ideals.
8. The essence of the comic in the poem.
9.Image of the provincial city and St. Petersburg.
The poem “Dead Souls” is the pinnacle of Gogol’s creativity. He worked on it from mid-1835 until last days life. He envisioned a large-scale epic work consisting of 3 volumes. But the second volume reached us in drafts and sketches, and Gogol never started the 3rd. However, the first part, which, after its publication in May 1942, seemed to Gogol only an introduction to what was to follow, “only a porch to a palace that was planned to be built on a colossal scale,” as he reported in a letter to Zhukovsky, in fact, it turned out to be a completely finished, moreover, perfect work in plot-compositional, aesthetic and moral terms.
The plot of “Dead Souls,” as we know, was suggested to Gogol by Pushkin, which Gogol spoke about in “The Author’s Confession.” Pushkin told Gogol the story of the adventures of one adventurer, who decided to buy from the landowners the peasants who died after the last census, who were listed as alive according to the so-called “revision tale,” and mortgage them to the newly created Guardian Council for a loan. The idea of creating Guardian Councils on a state scale was intended to activate the owner, to help landowners adapt to new living conditions in the conditions of the advancing capitalization of Russia. But what looked quite reasonable on paper, in reality immediately revealed its senselessness and illogicality. The story that actually happened, under the pen of Gogol, turned, on the one hand, into a phantasmagoria in which “dead souls” with “cold, fragmented, everyday characters” act, and on the other hand, presented to the reader a complex, polyphonic, incomprehensible Rus', which rushes into the unknown distance, “like a lively,” unstoppable bird-three.”
The plot, donated by Pushkin, was significantly transformed, overgrown with details and details of Russian life, the most colorful figures of landowners and officials, each of which is a true masterpiece of Gogol’s talent, inserted short stories and stories, author’s digressions and reasoning, embodied in a work of a unique genre form that is being thought about and many generations of readers, researchers, critics argue.
Gogol himself thought long and painfully about the genre nature of his brainchild. Initially, he was inclined to call it a novel, but later he was inclined to think that his new work was a poem, but not in the traditional, but in some special meaning of the word. Gogol set himself the task of not just an accusatory, but also a philosophical one: to see behind the petty and fragmented life of insignificant people who deserve only the name “dead souls”, the future of Russia, its creative forces, its “living soul.” Therefore, the genre forms of the novel in the form in which they then existed were cramped for the writer.
But the poem in its traditional form that existed at that time does not suit Gogol. Gogol creates his new work, without constraining himself by the framework of the then existing genre forms, boldly combining an objective-epic narrative and the lyrical, from-the-heart voice of the author, pathos and drama, humor and satire, sharp, accusatory grotesque and subtle, refined irony.
The plot of the poem is based on the movement of a “changing” character who knows how to adapt to circumstances, in general, mimicking, through a whole series of “fixed” characters - landowners. Moreover, this movement is far from random in nature, even if the meeting of the characters occurred by chance (Chichikov got to Korobochka after getting lost among the endless Russian roads, and met Nozdryov in a tavern). From chapter to chapter, the monstrous nature of the heroes intensifies, manifested in their portrait, clothing, attitude towards the guest and towards their serfs, in the manner of conducting a conversation and bargaining - i.e. in all the details depicting their life and customs. In the guise of Manilov - “excess sugar”, Korobochka - “club-headedness”, Nozdryov - open rudeness and fraud, Sobakevich - “kulaks”, Plyushkin - senseless hoarding, destroying both the economy and the soul. But the intensification of the grotesque when characterizing landowners is not straightforward. And where the destruction of the individual, it would seem, has already reached its limit, something suddenly appears indicating that, perhaps, everything is not so hopeless. Sobakevich’s farm has been firmly put together; his serfs, released on quitrent (let us remember that this action itself testified to the progressiveness of the landowner, for example, “he replaced the yoke of corvee with an old quitrent, ”as a result of which the neighboring landowners began to consider him a most dangerous eccentric), become, due to their skill and hard work, famous not only in the province, but also in Moscow: the carriage maker Mikheev, the carpenter Stepan Probka, the shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov, the merchant Eremey Sorokaplekhin, who lived in Moscow with his home and brought in one quitrent for five hundred rubles. For comparison, it is appropriate to remember that the official Akaki Akakievich received a salary of only four hundred rubles or so per year. “The old rogue and beast,” Sobakevich was the only one who was able to resist the pressure of the rogue of Chichikov’s new formation.
The image of Plyushkin is even more complex. Either a woman or a man, in general, “a hole in humanity,” he was the only landowner who was included in normal human relations, albeit in a distorted form. He had a family, children, and currently grandchildren, whom he even rocked on his knees when they came to visit him; there was a friend, in his words, a “one-tender”, at the mention of whom his eyes sparkled with a lively sparkle and he, separated by his stinginess from all humanity, even from his own children, wished to convey greetings to him through Chichikov. But his degradation is irreversible: “Plyushkin’s face, following the feeling that instantly slid across it, became even more insensitive and even more vulgar.” But even this warm ray of life that appeared for a moment in this insensitive world helps Gogol overcome the hopelessness of what is depicted and call readers to a new, better, have a wonderful life: “Take it with you on your journey, leaving the soft teenage years into stern, embittering courage, take with you all human movements, do not leave them on the road, you will not pick them up later!” Lyrical digressions and author’s comments on epic paintings and sketches permeate the entire narrative. The author’s voice is ironic when he describes his “cold and fragmented” heroes, sad when he talks about the difficult path of a satirical writer called upon to “look at the whole enormously rushing life ... through laughter visible to the world and invisible tears unknown to him,” sublime, when his thought concerns the destinies of Russia, he is inspired, when it comes to the creative, constructive forces of the people, about national treasure him - a burning Russian word. The vulgar, insignificant characters about whom the writer narrates do not notice the endless expanses of Russia, the forces of the people's spirit, the very energy of the eternal movement, which is formed by a system of lyrical digressions and gives birth, in turn, to the image of Rus'-troika: “Is it here, in you, that the boundless will not be born? thoughts when you are on your own endlessly? Shouldn’t a hero be here when there is a place for him to turn around and walk?” But there is no such hero and there is nowhere to get one. This is how the internal, tragic conflict of the poem is revealed to the reader: “Rus, where are you rushing to? Give an answer. Doesn't give an answer."
The “hero of time” in the poem turns out to be not a hero, but a rogue. In the preface to the second edition of Dead Souls, Gogol said about Chichikov: “He was taken more to show the shortcomings and vices of the Russian man, and not his virtues and virtues.” We see in these words much in common with how Lermontov characterizes his hero: “a portrait made up of the vices and shortcomings of an entire generation in their full development.” Chichikov is faceless and multifaceted, which allows him to easily adapt to those whom he wants to please: with Manilov he is cloyingly amiable, with Korobochka he is petty-persistent and rude, with Nozdryov he is cynical and cowardly, with Sobakevich he is firm and cunning, with Plyushkin – hypocritical in his imaginary “magnanimity”. It is easy for Chichikov to turn out to be a “mirror” of any of these heroes, because he himself contains the empty dreaminess of Manilov, when he imagines himself as a Kherson landowner, forgetting that he is the owner of serfs only on paper, and Nozdryov’s narcissism, and Sobakevich’s cynicism, and the hoarding behavior of Korobochka and Plyushkin, materialized in his little chest, where he puts unnecessary trifles, like Plyushkin, but with the thorough neatness of Korobochka. Despite the fact that he is constantly obsessed with all kinds of activities, primarily aimed at improving his financial situation, despite the fact that he is able to be reborn after the next setbacks and failures of his scams, he is also a “dead soul”, because it is not available to him “the brilliant joy of life” even when he rushes in the “bird-three.” Chichikov, striving to enrich himself at any cost, frees himself from everything human in himself and is merciless towards people who stand in his way. In passing judgment on his hero, Gogol understands that the type of bourgeois businessman is very viable, and therefore intended to take Chichikov through all three volumes of his epic poem. The theme of the provincial city, as it were, frames the narrative of Chichikov’s journey to the landowners. The image of the City has independent meaning, giving completeness to the story of modern Russia. In one of the rough sketches for Dead Souls, Gogol wrote: “The idea of the city. Emptiness that has arisen to the highest degree. Idle talk. Gossip that went beyond limits, how everything arose from idleness and took on the expression of the most ridiculous.” The provincial town, located not far from two capitals, is a caricatured reflection of the morals that reign everywhere: bribery, embezzlement, the illusion of activity and, ultimately, the illusion of life instead of life itself. It is no coincidence that when describing the inhabitants of the city and its morals, comparisons from the inanimate, lifeless world are so often used. At the governor’s ball, “black tailcoats flashed and rushed apart and in heaps here and there, like flies rush on white refined sugar during the hot July summer, when the old housekeeper chops and divides it into sparkling fragments in front of open window“, the officials were enlightened people: “some read Karamzin, some Moskovskie Vedomosti, some even read nothing at all” - for the “dead souls” everything is the same. In a solitary environment, wives, wanting to caress their betrothed, also do not go beyond the boundaries of the objective, non-spiritual world; calling them “little pods, fat ones, pot-bellies, nigellas, kiki, juju, etc.” The official Ivan Antonovich resembled a “jug’s snout”, and in his presence they worked on papers “tailcoats, frock coats of the provincial cut and even just some kind of light gray jacket, which, turning its head to the side and placing it almost on the very paper, wrote out in a smart and sweeping manner what -protocol." Although Gogol does not paint officials in as much detail and detail as landowners, highlighting only one characteristic detail of their appearance and behavior, in general, the ominous and expressive portrait of the City takes its rightful place in the poem.
The theme of St. Petersburg is also connected with the description of the officials of the provincial city, which turns out to be cross-cutting in Gogol’s work, starting with “The Night Before Christmas”. In almost every chapter, Gogol recalls St. Petersburg in one way or another, and always with irony and condemnation of its deadening morals. Just look at his reasoning that even among respectable statesmen there are people as stupid, club-headed as Korobochka. The theme of St. Petersburg occupies an important place in the insert short story “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin,” which is not directly related to the plot. Nevertheless, Gogol was very sensitive to the censor’s desire to shorten or completely remove this story from Dead Souls. In the history of a disabled person Patriotic War, left with his misfortune to the mercy of fate, many themes of “Dead Souls” are focused: the theme of the lack of rights of the people, the theme of bureaucratic arbitrariness, but most importantly, the theme of future retribution for sins, relevant for Gogol’s work as a whole, acquires here quite definite social features. Kopeikin, humiliated to the limit, straightens up and gains a sense of self-esteem: “If the general tells me to look for the means to help myself, fine, I’ll find the means!” The hero of the Patriotic War becomes the chieftain of robbers. If in previous chapters the indifference of officials to the needs of ordinary petitioners who are unable to give a bribe is described ironically, then in “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” the contrast between the unfortunate Kopeikin and high-ranking St. Petersburg officials is grotesque in nature and reveals its connection with the story “The Overcoat”, which appears in protection of the “little man”.
With the advent of “The Inspector General” and “Dead Souls,” the satirical line of Russian literature gained new strength, expanded the methods of expression, and introduced new principles of typification. The experience of Gogol's satire turned out to be fruitful in the second half of the 19th century, being realized in Nekrasov's satirical poem "Contemporaries", novels and fairy tales by Saltykov-Shchedrin, and Chekhov's short stories.
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is a writer who laid the foundations of modern prose. Gogol's traditions and his motifs can be found in almost all great Russian writers up to the present day. It’s difficult to read “Dead Souls” in 9th grade; you don’t immediately understand all the charm of the work, so let’s figure out together what he wanted to talk to us, the readers. great writer. Let's start with the concept of the poem.
The idea of the poem, the problems, the meaning of the title.
Gogol was well acquainted with the Italian literature of the Renaissance, in particular Dante's The Divine Comedy. He planned to create a majestic epic in three parts, similar to the structure of the Divine Comedy, which consists of three parts: Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. You know the story about the second part of Dead Souls, right? He burned it, as he did with all works that he did not like or seemed to be failures. All we have left is “Hell.”
The meaning, or one of the meanings of the three components of Dante's poem, is the life of the human soul. In “Hell” - those who sold their souls and destroyed them, in “Purgatory” - for whom hope is not lost, and in heaven there are sinless souls.
Gogol based his work on the concept “soul” is the substance of the highest, immaterial principle in man. Hence the meaning of the name: “Dead souls” as opposed to the living soul, which we cannot find in “Hell”. And if we continue the logical chain, it will be clear that those who are at a crossroads will go to purgatory. Do you remember how the poem ends? That's right, in the image of a “bird-three”. But Chichikov is sitting in the top three! The second meaning of the title is in intrigue: Chichikov buys the dead souls of peasants.
"Dead souls" in the poem
I'll say a few words about the plot. Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, whose origins are “dark,” comes to the city of N, where he quickly wins the sympathy of the local elite. From the city, he consistently goes to the landowners with a business proposal to buy from them the souls of dead peasants who have not yet been included in the “revision tale” (from the word “revision”), the state register of property. For what? We understand this at the end of the work: Chichikov wants to become a landowner, for this he needs starting capital, souls. But he is exposed (by accident, I note), and leaves the city without achieving his goal.
Yes, the plot fits into a few sentences. So what is important for Gogol to show?
“Dead souls”, of course, we’re still in hell, haven’t you forgotten?
Images of landowners in the poem
They are depicted according to the same scheme:
- scenery;
- interior;
- portrait;
- deal.
That's where we'll go. Gogol is very detailed, attentive to details, and it is very difficult for me not to get carried away and briefly outline everything - it’s better to read it yourself, I will only give the brightest, most “flashy” ones. But how he describes them! This is the same song!
Manilov
- Scenery. The landowner's house is located "on the Jurassic", accessible to all winds, it is uncomfortable and cold there. The village is kind of “gray”, there are no men in sight, and the women are fishing in nonsense (whose occupation is it, anyway?). In front of the estate there is a gazebo with the inscription “Temple of Solitary Reflection” (already funny!).
- Interior. There are two candelabra in the house, one wonderful, and the other a copper invalid, along with beautiful armchairs in the living room there are two, covered with matting (I wonder how old?), in the owner’s office there is a book, open to page 14, already yellowed, and on the windowsill - Heaps of ashes from the pipe are arranged in even rows. So, he stood, looked out the window, and for months, if not years, knocked out these ashes on the windowsill. What are you doing?
- Portrait. “His appearance was...transmitted to sugar,” is the main detail. Polite to the point of obnoxiousness. When Chichikov and Manilov collide at the door, they can’t decide who should go through first. As a result, both squeezed through at the same time. The children, by the way, are called Themistoclus and Alcides, one bites his brother’s ear, the second chews a leg of lamb, smeared with fat. Wonderful children!
- Deal. Everything is fine: at first he was surprised that he was being offered something illegal, but after receiving assurances of the trustworthiness of the deal, he easily gives in to the peasants for nothing. I am also sure that I rendered dear Pavel Ivanovich an invaluable service.
Idea: Manilov is a “dead soul” because he is an empty dreamer, a slacker, not connected with reality, with other people. But it is worth noting that he is the most selfless.
Box
- Scenery. The village is located away from major roads. Chichikov got lost altogether, which is why he ended up visiting the landowner. In the morning, waking up, the hero sees a poultry yard where chickens and chickens are walking, among them... pigs, which, no, no, will eat a couple of chickens with watermelon rinds. Well, who puts pigs together with poultry?! Someone who, Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka, of course.
- Interior. The room is “hung” with striped wallpaper, which has lost its color in some places, there are mirrors on the walls, behind the mirrors there is an open envelope, one sock, an incomplete deck of cards - in short, all sorts of rubbish. By the way, when I tidy up a piece of string, a stub of a pencil, several sheets of blank paper (in case it comes in handy), I say to myself: “A box!” and getting rid of junk. Do you have this?
- Portrait. “One of those mothers who cry about crop failures, losses,... and meanwhile they collect money in colorful bags...” The bags are stuffed into the chest of drawers between the torn cloak and skeins of thread. Can you imagine what kind of junk is in her head? Another expressive detail: Nastasya Petrovna has up to 10 dishes on her table at the same time! Mayakovsky called these “stomachs in Panama hats.”
- The deal concerns Korobochka only from the point of view of benefits. At first she can’t understand what Chichikov wants from her, and then she’s afraid of selling herself short.
Idea: you can’t say it better than Gogol: club-headed. What kind of soul is there? No, there wasn't. She is so far removed from everyone else that she doesn’t even know what’s going on in the world.
Nozdryov
- A nice guy in every way. The landscape in his village is not amazing, but it is worth noting that the field is all covered in hummocks, according to Nozdryov,” simply excellent land! In the stable there is an unsightly stallion, according to Nozdryov, worth 10,000, a fortune in those days. There is also a goat in the stable, and in the kennel Nozdryov is like a father among his offspring!
- Interior. In the living room there was a trestle for repairs, apparently a long time ago, on the wall there was a collection of weapons, including “real” Turkish daggers by the master Savely Serebryakov.
- Portrait (rather, character). Nozdryov was a “historical man”; he found himself in history everywhere. He plays cards, but he is very dishonest, for which he constantly gets punished both morally and physically. He cannot sit at home, he is in perpetual motion, but the movement is empty, running in place, vanity. Even with loved ones, “it starts as a smooth surface and ends as a nasty one.” In the novel “The Master and Margarita” by Bulgakov, there is the same type - Annushka, nicknamed Plague.
- Deal. He agrees to give up the souls, but at the same time tries to sell Chichikov a horse, a dog, a barrel organ... Finally, he offers to play checkers, of course, he cheats, in the end it all ends in a quarrel and almost a fight.
Idea: Nozdryov’s activity, in essence, is just vanity of vanities and all sorts of vanity. He is not just stupid, he is also aggressive, the people around for this hero are just a reason to start a quarrel.
Sobakevich
That's who makes a positive impression! But this is only an appearance. Let's get to know this character better.
- Scenery. The village has strong houses, wells, and buildings. But a detail: some of the ship's pines were stacked (especially strong and tall pines, from which ship masts were made, an expensive tree). A well made of oak (also very unreasonable). The manor's house stands strong, but one of its wings is boarded up, and there are three columns on the facade (note that according to the canons of architecture since ancient times there should be even number columns). But why does Sobakevich need four? Three will do for him.
- Interior. In the rooms, every chair, every chest of drawers, in general every piece of furniture said: “And I, too, Sobakevich!” On the walls “all well done, all Greek commanders,” mustachioed and fat, and among this honest company is small and thin Bagration. And why these pictures? Yes, because the paintings were placed in the landowner’s house, and that’s where they hang. Sobakevich’s table deserves special mention: a cheesecake the size of a plate, a whole side of lamb... He lives to eat.
- Portrait. “Sobakevich looked like a medium-sized bear.” That's it, no comments.
- Deal. He bargains for a long time for every penny (by the way, he remembers all the peasants and recognizes their hard work and skill). But nevertheless, he doesn’t see anything strange in the deal. For him, everyone without exception is a swindler, so he doesn’t believe Chichikov. As a result, through long conversations, the deal is completed.
Plyushkin
“A hole in the body of humanity,” the most terrible of all.
- Scenery. The village is completely desolate, and the peasants are dying like flies.
- Interior. There are cobwebs everywhere in the house, a dead fly in a glass, a bunch of junk on the table, dust in the cupboards. In the barn there are grain deposits covered with vegetation, flour that needs to be chopped with an ax. On the table for dinner are stale crackers and sour liqueur.
- Portrait. Either a woman or a man, she has a scarf on her head, her robe is torn and dirty.
- Life story. Yes, Gogol gives Plyushkin something that others don’t have. He tells how a person could reach an almost bestial state. He had a wife, children, his wife died, he quarreled with the children and was left absolutely alone. Probably, the writer himself does not understand how one can reach such a bestial existence, so he explains to us why Plyushkin is like this.
- The transaction is completed quite legally to everyone's satisfaction, not without bargaining.
Idea: Plyushkin ceased to be a man. He is absolutely alone, cut off even from his family. His soul died, and hoarding for the sake of hoarding became the meaning of existence. His stinginess does not even have a purpose, although every person knows why he saves money. Even Pushkin’s stingy knight does this for love, for money, really. And Plyushkin just like that.
Let's summarize: landowners have one thing in common: they all live for material things in one form or another. Their connections with other people are almost severed: Manilov is in the clouds, Korobochka is out of society, Nozdryov quarrels with everyone, Sobakevich hates everyone, Plyushkin is absolutely alone, losing his human appearance even outwardly. All the heroes are not even social types, as one might think (Gogol does not write about serfdom, for example), but universal types: an empty dreamer, a fool, an aggressive slacker, a misanthrope, a miser, and so these images become eternal. So, according to Gogol, alive soul- this is a soul outside the material and philistine principles, connected with people, with all of humanity and, therefore, a moral soul.
And before us are the souls of hell.
Attention, Unified State Examination! Argumentation according to Gogol can be used in essays on texts with the problem of the relationship between the material and spiritual in a person or moral choice. The meaning of the argument boils down to the following: as soon as a person allows himself to make a choice in favor of self-preservation, hoarding, and his own well-being, he retreats from the moral principles in himself.
What about Chichikov?
From these positions, let's look at Chichikov. Is he a living soul or a dead one? His story is told at the very end. Probably Gogol, who conceived 3 volumes, did not say goodbye to his hero.
- His father bequeathed to him to “save a penny.” It was a force that could break through anything. As a child, Chichikov did not make friends with his comrades, then he served at customs, was caught in a scam, wanted to marry the boss’s daughter, but after the latter was removed from his post, he completely became acquainted with them.
- Now we have before us a man “pleasant in all respects.” Kind, sweet, significant in moderation, simple in moderation. And only out of the corner of our eye do we notice how Chichikov always chooses the right people among the crowd, knows how and what to talk to a person about, and give a bribe. Not a bad psychologist.
- But suddenly, in the middle of the road, he meets a sweet and gentle girl, and, not wanting to admit that he admires her, he thinks about what she will be like in marriage. And he himself wants to get married and have children.
- He needs souls in order to become a landowner and buy an estate in the Kherson province. Yes, he has a very clear goal, which he is able to achieve on his own.
Everything seems to indicate that he is a living soul, and besides, it is Chichikov who is riding in the bird-troika...
But! Yet his goal is hoarding, his means is fraud, the size of which is growing and growing, and the methods are becoming riskier and riskier. And if Chichikov at the beginning of the novel still communicates with someone, then at the end he is rejected by society. Yes, this society is not the best. But Chichikov is still lonely.
Attention, Unified State Examination! The image of Chichikov is an illustration of the problem of selfishness, money-grubbing and hoarding. Conclusion: selfishness leads to the spiritual death of a person.
Probably, Chichikov should have changed in the second volume, and corrected himself in the third, but it’s a pity that we will never know...
The material was prepared by Karelina Larisa Vladislavovna, teacher of the Russian language of the highest category, honorary worker general education RF
The internal monologue shows that Chichikov knows how to understand people.For example, he noticed that the girl was probably “a graduate of some boarding school or institute...”Another trait of the hero is prudence. When meeting a young stranger, Pavel Ivanovich is more concerned about the condition of her father.He looks at a girl as a means by which he can get rich, and only then as an object of love, tenderness, and respect.
Thus, from the monologue it is clearly seen that Chichikov is an observant and calculating person.
Read the fragment of the work below and complete tasks 1.1.1.-1.1.2.
N.V. Gogol. "Dead Souls"
- 1.1.2. For what purpose does the author mention a twenty-year-old boy in his thoughts?
N.V. Gogol talks about a twenty-year-old youth in order to contrast him with Chichikov.
The young man, unlike the main character, is capable of sincere feelings. Chichikov talks dryly; he is more concerned about the condition of the stranger’s father.Thus, the technique of antithesis gives an even more vivid and accurate idea of the main character of the novel, for whom enrichment is more important than feelings.
- 1.1.1. Why does the city Chichikov comes to have no name?
The poem “Dead Souls” depicts an ordinary provincial town with its dark power. Its officials take bribes and rob the state treasury. Similar things happen in other Russian cities. That is why he does not have a name in the work, since he is a model of any Russian city.
2. 1.1.2. How does the portrait presented in the fragment characterize the hero?
“In the chaise sat a gentleman, not handsome, but not bad-looking either, neither too fat nor too thin; one cannot say that he is old, but not that he is too young,” - this is how Gogol describes his hero. The author in the portrait does not give an accurate description of Pavel Ivanovich. From it we can say that this is a cunning and secretive person.
- 1.1.3. Compare fragments of the poem by N.V. Gogol's "Dead Souls" and the comedy of D.I. Fonvizin "Undergrowth". In what ways is Skotinin similar to Chichikov, who thought about the “young stranger”?
Chichikov is a calculating person. The main meaning of his life was money. Therefore, he evaluates any event from the point of view of profit. Pavel Ivanovich is not capable of romance, of purity of feelings. He is not ready to perceive others as they are. In this, Skotinin is similar to him. He also thinks about profit. He is attracted to Sofya only by “the fact that it is found in the villages and what my mortal desire is.”
Read the fragment of the work below and complete task 1.1.3.
Skotinin. Why can't I see my bride? Where is she? There will be an agreement in the evening, so isn’t it time to tell her that they are marrying her off?
Mrs. Prostakova. We'll make it, brother. If we tell her this ahead of time, she may still think that we are reporting to her. Although by marriage, however, I am related to her; and I love that strangers listen to me.
Prostakov (to Skotinin). To tell the truth, we treated Sophia as if she were an orphan. After her father she remained a baby. About six months ago, her mother, and my in-law, had a stroke...
Mrs. Prostakova (shows as if she is baptizing her heart). The power of the god is with us.
Prostakov. From which she went to the next world. Her uncle, Mr. Starodum, went to Siberia; and since there has been no rumor or news of him for several years now, we consider him dead. We, seeing that she was left alone, took her to our village and look after her estate as if it were our own.
Mrs. Prostakova. Why are you so spoiled today, my father? My brother might also think that we took her in for fun.
Mrs. Prostakova. If only you could teach us, brother father; but we just can’t do it. Since we took away everything the peasants had, we can’t take anything back. Such a disaster!
Prostakov. So next door to her village?
Skotinin. And not the villages, but the fact that it is found in the villages and what my mortal desire is. Mrs. Prostakova. Until what, brother?
D. I. Fonvizin. "Undergrown"
Chichikov looked very carefully at the young stranger. He tried to talk to her several times, but somehow he didn’t have to. Meanwhile, the ladies left, the pretty head with delicate features and a thin figure disappeared, like something similar to a vision, and again what was left was the road, the chaise, the three horses familiar to the reader, Selifan, Chichikov, the smooth surface and emptiness of the surrounding fields. Wherever in life, whether among the stale, rough-and-poor and unkempt and moldy low-lying ranks of it, or among the monotonously cold and boringly neat upper classes, everywhere at least once a person will encounter on his way a phenomenon that is not similar to all that what he had seen before, which at least once would awaken in him a feeling different from those that he was destined to feel all his life. Everywhere, across whatever sorrows from which our lives are weaved, shining joy will rush merrily, as sometimes a brilliant carriage with golden harness, picturesque horses and the sparkling shine of glass will suddenly suddenly rush past some stalled poor village, which has seen nothing but a rural cart, and the men stood there for a long time, yawning, with their mouths open, without putting on their hats, although the marvelous carriage had long since sped away and disappeared from sight. So the blonde, too, suddenly appeared in our story in a completely unexpected way and disappeared in the same way. If at that time, instead of Chichikov, some twenty-year-old youth had come across, whether he was a hussar, a student, or just someone who had just begun the field of life - and God! no matter what wakes up, moves, speaks in him! For a long time he would stand senselessly in one place, with his eyes senselessly gazing into the distance, forgetting the road, and all the reprimands awaiting ahead, and scoldings for delay, forgetting himself, and the service, and the world, and everything that is in the world.
But our hero was already middle-aged and of a cautiously cool character. He, too, became thoughtful and thought, but his thoughts were more positive, not so unaccountable, and even partly very grounded. “Nice grandma! - he said, opening the snuffbox and sniffing the tobacco. - But what, most importantly, is good about it? The good thing is that she has just now, apparently, been released from some boarding school or institute, that, as they say, there is nothing feminine about her yet, that is, exactly what they have that is most unpleasant. She is now like a child, everything about her is simple, she will say whatever she wants, laugh wherever she wants to laugh. You can make anything out of it, it can be a miracle, or it can turn out to be rubbish, and it will turn out to be rubbish! Now let the mothers and aunties take care of her. One year she will be so filled with all kinds of women that her own father himself will not recognize it. Where does the pout and stiffness come from, he will begin to toss and turn according to the established instructions, he will begin to rack his brains and figure out with whom, and how, and how much to speak, how to look at whom, he will be afraid at every moment, so as not to say more than necessary, he will get confused finally herself, and will end up lying all her life, and what will come out is just God knows what!” Here he was silent for a while and then added: “Wouldn’t it be interesting to know whose it is? what, how is her father? Is he a rich landowner of respectable character or simply a well-meaning person with capital acquired in the service? After all, if, let’s say, this girl was given a dowry of two thousand thousand, she could make a very, very tasty morsel. This could constitute, so to speak, the happiness of a decent person.” Two hundred thousand rubles began to appear so attractively in his head that he inwardly began to be annoyed with himself, why, while continuing to fuss around the carriages, he did not find out from the postilion or coachman who the travelers were. Soon, however, the appearance of Sobakevich's village dispelled his thoughts and forced them to turn to their constant subject.
N.V. Gogol. "Dead Souls"
- 1.1.1. What “passions” possess Nozdryov?
Nozdryov - This is the third landowner to whom Chichikov approached with an offer to purchase dead souls. This hero is a liar and a braggart. For no particular reason, Nozdryov can annoy his best friend. He is very passionate. However, he is not playing fair. Thus, the landowner has a passion for cards, fraud and sabotage.
Read the fragment of the work below and complete tasks 1.1.1-1.1.2.
Nozdryov’s face is probably already somewhat familiar to the reader. Everyone has met many such people. They are called broken fellows, they are reputed even in childhood and at school for being good comrades, and for all that they can be beaten very painfully. In their faces you can always see something open, direct, and daring. They soon get to know each other, and before you know it, they’re already saying “you.” They will make friends, it seems, forever: but it almost always happens that the person who has become friends will fight with them that same evening at a friendly party. They are always talkers, carousers, reckless people, prominent people. Nozdryov at thirty-five was exactly the same as he was at eighteen and twenty: a lover of a walk. Marriage did not change him at all, especially since his wife soon departed for the next world, leaving behind two children who he absolutely did not need. However, the children were looked after by a pretty nanny. He could not sit at home for more than a day. His sensitive nose could hear him several dozen miles away, where there was a fair with all sorts of conventions and balls; in the blink of an eye he was there, arguing and causing chaos at the green table, for, like all of them, he had a passion for cards. At cards, as we have already seen from the first chapter, he did not play completely sinlessly and purely, knowing many different overexposures and other subtleties, and therefore the game very often ended in another game: either they beat him with boots, or they gave him overexposure to a thick and very good sideburns, so that he sometimes returned home with only one sideburn, and then a rather runny one. But his health and full cheeks were so well created and contained so much plant power that his sideburns soon grew back, even better than before. And what is strangest of all, which can only happen in Rus' alone, is that after some time he already met again with those friends who were pestering him, and he met as if nothing had happened, and he, as they say, was nothing, and they were nothing.
Nozdryov was in some respects a historical person. Not a single meeting he attended was complete without a story. Some kind of story would certainly happen: either the gendarmes would lead him out of the hall by the arm, or his own friends would be forced to push him out. If this doesn’t happen, then something will happen that won’t happen to anyone else: either he will cut himself at the buffet in such a way that he only laughs, or he will lie in the most cruel way, so that he himself will finally become ashamed. And he will lie completely without any need: he will suddenly tell that he had a horse with some kind of blue or pink wool, and similar nonsense, so that those listening finally all leave, saying: “Well, brother, it seems you have already begun to pour bullets.” " There are people who have a passion to spoil their neighbor, sometimes for no reason at all.<...>Nozdryov had the same strange passion. The closer someone got with him, the more likely he was to annoy everyone: he spread a tall tale, the stupidest of which is difficult to invent, upset a wedding, a trade deal, and did not at all consider himself your enemy; on the contrary, if chance brought him to meet you again, he would treat you again in a friendly manner and even say: “You’re such a scoundrel, you’ll never come to see me.”
N.V. Gogol “Dead Souls”
- 1.1.3. Compare the given fragment from the story by A. S. Pushkin “ Captain's daughter"with an excerpt from N.V. Gogol's poem "Dead Souls". What conclusions did your comparison of two parental orders to their sons lead you to?
The instructions that fathers give to their sons in the story “The Captain's Daughter” and in the poem “Dead Souls” are directly opposite. For example, Petrusha Grinev’s father wants to see his son as a decent, worthy, honest person. That’s why he advises his son to take care of his honor from a young age. And Pavlush Chichikov’s father teaches him to be vile, not to think about honor and nobility. The main thing for him is that Pavel Ivanovich strives for profit. Thus, my reflections convince me that parental orders differ from each other in their content.
3. 1.1.3. How does the description of Lensky’s possible “ordinary” fate compare with the author’s reflection from chapter 6 of N.V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls” (see below)?
In the above passage, Pushkin makes it clear that Lensky can be drawn into philistine life, and he will become the same provincial landowner that he meets in the Larins’ house. There are prerequisites for this: the hero has already settled in the village, has become a landowner, and is going to marry Olga Larina, a narrow-minded young lady, devoid of high ideals, an empty coquette. Gogol reflects on human degradation using the example of Plyushkin. Warns how terrible this fall can become. Calls for preserving the Human within. XXXVI My friends, you feel sorry for the poet: In the color of joyful hopes, Having not yet completed them for the light, Almost out of baby clothes, Withered! Where is the hot excitement? Where is the noble aspiration And the feelings and thoughts of young people, Tall, gentle, daring? Where are the stormy desires of love, And the thirst for knowledge and work, And fear of vice and shame, And you, cherished dreams, You, ghost of unearthly life, You, holy dreams of poetry! XXXVII Perhaps he is for the good of the world Or at least he was born for glory; His silent lyre Loud, continuous ringing In centuries I could lift it. Poet, Perhaps on the steps of light A high stage awaited. His suffering shadow Perhaps she took it with her Holy secret, and for us The life-giving voice has died, And beyond the grave line The anthem of the times will not reach her, Blessing of the Tribes. XXXVIII.XXXIX Or maybe even that: a poet The ordinary one was waiting for his destiny. The youthful summers would have passed: The ardor of his soul would cool. He would change in many ways I would part with the muses, get married, In the village, happy and horny, I would wear a quilted robe; I would really know life I would have gout at the age of forty, I drank, ate, got bored, got fat, grew weaker And finally in my bed I would die among children, Whining women and doctors. |
A. S. Pushkin “Eugene Onegin”
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Mavra left, and Plyushkin, sitting down in an armchair and taking the pen in his hand, spent a long time turning the four in all directions, wondering if it was possible to separate another eight from it, but finally became convinced that it was impossible; stuck the pen into an inkwell with some kind of moldy liquid and a lot of flies at the bottom and began to write, making letters that looked like musical notes, constantly holding his agility hand, which was scattered all over the paper, sparingly molding line after line and not without regret thinking that there will still be a lot of blank space left.
And a person could stoop to such insignificance, pettiness, and disgustingness! could have changed so much! And does this seem true? Everything seems to be true, anything can happen to a person. Today's fiery young man would recoil in horror if they showed him his own portrait in old age. Take with you on the journey, emerging from the soft youthful years into stern, embittering courage, take with you all human movements, do not leave them on the road, you will not pick them up later! The old age coming ahead is terrible, terrible, and nothing gives back and back! The grave is more merciful than her; on the grave it will be written: “A man is buried here!” - but you can’t read anything in the cold, unfeeling features of inhuman old age.
N.V. Gogol “Dead Souls”
- 1.1.2. Which human vices Gogol denounces in the above scene?
In the above scene, the hero’s greed, stinginess and pettiness are exposed. Gogol emphasizes that Plyushkin is a slave to his things. We see that his life is filled with emptiness.
3. 1.1.3. Compare the fragment in question from N. V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls” with the scene below from D. I. Fonvizin’s comedy “The Minor.” What conclusions did this comparison lead you to?
Chichikov looked very carefully at the young stranger. He tried to talk to her several times, but somehow he didn’t have to. Meanwhile, the ladies left, the pretty head with delicate features and a thin figure disappeared, like something similar to a vision, and again what was left was the road, the chaise, the three horses familiar to the reader, Selifan, Chichikov, the smooth surface and emptiness of the surrounding fields. Wherever in life, whether among the callous, rough-and-poor and unkempt and moldy low-lying ranks of it, or among the monotonously cold and boringly neat upper classes, everywhere at least once a person will encounter a phenomenon on his way that is not similar to all that what he had seen before, which at least once would awaken in him a feeling different from those that he was destined to feel all his life. Everywhere, across whatever sorrows from which our lives are weaved, shining joy will rush merrily, as sometimes a brilliant carriage with golden harness, picture horses and the sparkling shine of glass will suddenly suddenly rush past some stalled poor village that has seen nothing but a rural cart, and the men stood there for a long time, yawning, with their mouths open, without putting on their hats, although the marvelous carriage had long since sped away and disappeared from sight. So the blonde, too, suddenly appeared in our story in a completely unexpected way and disappeared in the same way. If at that time, instead of Chichikov, some twenty-year-old youth had come across, whether he was a hussar, a student, or simply someone who had just begun a career in life, and God! whatever would wake up, move, speak within him! For a long time he would stand senseless in one place, mindlessly gazing into the distance, forgetting the road, and all the reprimands awaiting ahead, and scoldings for delay, forgetting himself, and the service, and the world, and everything that is in the world.
But our hero was already middle-aged and of a cautiously cool character. He also became thoughtful and thought, but his thoughts were more positive, not so unaccountable, and even partly very grounded. “Nice grandma!” he said, opening the snuffbox and sniffing the tobacco, “But what, most importantly, is good in it? The good thing is that she has just now, apparently, been released from some boarding school or institute; that, as they say, there is nothing feminine about her yet, that is, exactly what they have that is most unpleasant. She is now like a child, everything about her is simple: she will say whatever she wants, laugh wherever she wants to laugh. Anything can be made of it, it can be a miracle, or it can turn out to be rubbish, and it will turn out to be rubbish! Just let the mothers and aunties take care of her now. One year she will be so filled with all sorts of womanly things that her own father himself will not recognize it. Where does the pout and stiffness come from? will begin to toss and turn according to the established instructions, will begin to rack his brains and figure out with whom, and how, and how much to speak, how to look at whom; he will be afraid at every moment, so as not to say more than necessary; she will finally get confused herself, and will end up lying all her life, and what will come out is simply God knows what!” Here he was silent for a while and then added: “Wouldn’t it be interesting to know whose it is? what, how is her father? Is he a rich landowner of respectable character or simply a well-meaning person with capital acquired in the service? After all, if, let’s say, this girl was given a dowry of two thousand thousand, she could make a very, very tasty morsel. This could constitute, so to speak, the happiness of a decent person.” Two hundred thousand rubles began to appear so attractively in his head that he inwardly began to be annoyed with himself, why, while continuing to fuss around the carriages, he did not find out from the postilion or coachman who the travelers were. Soon, however, the appearance of Sobakevich's village dispelled his thoughts and forced them to turn to their constant subject.
N. V. Gogol “Dead Souls”
Skotinin. Why can't I see my bride? Where is she? There will be an agreement in the evening, so isn’t it time to tell her that they are marrying her off?
Mrs. Prostakova. We'll make it, brother. If we tell her this ahead of time, she may still think that we are reporting to her. Although by marriage, however, I am related to her; and I love that strangers listen to me.
Prostakov (to Skotinin ). To tell the truth, we treated Sophia as if she were an orphan. After her father she remained a baby. About six months ago, her mother, and my in-law, had a stroke...
Ms. Prostakova ( shows as if he is baptizing the heart). The power of the god is with us.
Prostakov. From which she went to the next world. Her uncle, Mr. Starodum, went to Siberia; and since there has been no rumor or news of him for several years now, we consider him dead. We, seeing that she was left alone, took her to our village and look after her estate as if it were our own.
Mrs. Prostakova. Why are you so spoiled today, my father? My brother might also think that we took her in for fun.
Prostakov. Well, mother, how should he think about this? After all, we can’t move Sofyushkino’s real estate estate to ourselves.
Skotinin. And although the movable has been put forward, I am not a petitioner. I don’t like to bother, and I’m afraid. No matter how much my neighbors offended me, no matter how much loss they caused, I did not attack anyone, and any loss, rather than going after it, I would rip off from my own peasants, and the ends would go to waste.
Prostakov. It’s true, brother: the whole neighborhood says that you are a master at collecting rent.
Mrs. Prostakova. If only you could teach us, brother father; but we just can’t do it. Since we took away everything the peasants had, we can’t take anything back. Such a disaster!
Skotinin. Please, sister, I will teach you, I will teach you, just marry me to Sophia.
Mrs. Prostakova. Did you really like this girl that much?
Skotinin. No, it's not the girl I like.
Prostakov. So next door to her village?
Skotinin. And not the villages, but the fact that it is found in the villages and what my mortal desire is.
Mrs. Prostakova. Until what, brother?
Skotinin. I love pigs, sister, and in our neighborhood there are such large pigs that there is not a single one of them that, standing on its hind legs, would not be taller than each of us by a whole head.
D. I. Fonvizin “Minor”
The description of the provincial town in The Inspector General is similar to the description of the city N in Dead Souls. Both fragments pose problems that raise questions public life Russia. For example, the news of the arrival of the auditor shows what kind of arbitrariness reigns in the city of the mayor. We see the same disorder, the same bribery in the city of N, where Chichikov comes. His officials are also concerned about the appointment of a new governor general.
Ammos Fedorovich. Here you go!
(stopping)
(Sighing.)
N. V. Gogol “The Inspector General”
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N. V. Gogol “Dead Souls”
3. 1.1.3. Compare a fragment of the comedy “The Inspector General” with the fragment below from N. V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”. What conclusions did this comparison lead you to?
1.2.3. Compare the ballads of V. A. Zhukovsky “Revenge” and “Three Songs”. What conclusions did this comparison lead you to?
Read the fragments of the works below and complete task 1.1.3.
Mayor. I invited you, gentlemen, in order to tell you some very unpleasant news: an auditor is coming to visit us.
Ammos Fedorovich. How's the auditor?
Artemy Filippovich. How's the auditor?
Gordnichiy. Inspector from St. Petersburg, incognito. And with a secret order.
Ammos Fedorovich. Here you go!
Artemy Filippovich. There was no concern, so give it up!
Luka Lukic. Lord God! also with a secret prescription!
Mayor. It was as if I had a presentiment: today I dreamed all night about two extraordinary rats. Really, I’ve never seen anything like this: black, of unnatural size! They came, they smelled it, and they left. Here I will read to you a letter that I received from Andrei Ivanovich Chmykhov, whom you, Artemy Filippovich, know. This is what he writes: “Dear friend, godfather and benefactor(mutters in a low voice, quickly running his eyes)... and notify you." A! Here it is: “I hasten, by the way, to notify you that an official has arrived with orders to inspect the entire province and especially our district(thumbs up significantly). I learned this from the most reliable people, although he represents himself as a private person. Since I know that you, like everyone else, have sins, because you are a smart person and you don’t like to miss what’s in your hands...(stopping) , well, there are people here... “then I advise you to take precautions, because he can arrive at any hour, unless he has already arrived and lives somewhere incognito... Yesterday I...” Well, let’s go now family matters: “...sister Anna Kirillovna came to us with her husband; Ivan Kirillovich has gained a lot of weight and keeps playing the violin...” - and so on and so forth. So this is the circumstance!
Ammos Fedorovich. Yes, this circumstance is... extraordinary, simply extraordinary. Something for nothing.
Luka Lukic. Why, Anton Antonovich, why is this? Why do we need an auditor?
Mayor. Why! So, apparently, it’s fate!(Sighing.) Until now, thank God, we have been approaching other cities; Now it's our turn.
Ammos Fedorovich. I think, Anton Antonovich, that there is a subtle and more political reason here. This means this: Russia... yes... wants to wage war, and the ministry, you see, sent an official to find out if there is any treason.
Mayor. Eh, where have you had enough! Still a smart man! There is treason in the county town! What is he, borderline, or what? Yes, from here, even if you ride for three years, you won’t reach any state.
Ammos Fedorovich. No, I’ll tell you, you’re not that... you’re not... The authorities have subtle views: even though they are far away, they are shaking their heads.
Mayor. It shakes or doesn’t shake, but I, gentlemen, warned you. Look, I have made some arrangements for my part, I advise you. Especially you, Artemy Filippovich! Without a doubt, a passing official will want, first of all, to inspect the charitable institutions under your jurisdiction - and therefore you should make sure that everything is decent: the caps would be clean, and the sick would not look like blacksmiths, as they usually do at home.
Artemy Filippovich. Well, that's nothing yet. The caps, perhaps, can be put on clean.
N. V. Gogol “The Inspector General”
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All the searches carried out by the officials revealed to them only that they probably do not know what Chichikov is, but that, however, there must certainly be something like Chichikov. They finally decided to have a final talk about this subject and decide at least what and how they should do, and what measures to take, and what exactly he is: is he the kind of person who needs to be detained and captured as ill-intentioned, or is he the kind of person who can himself seize and detain them all as ill-intentioned. For all this, it was proposed to gather deliberately with the police chief, already known to readers as the father and benefactor of the city.
Having gathered with the police chief, the father and benefactor of the city already known to readers, the officials had the opportunity to notice to each other that they had even lost weight from these worries and anxieties. In fact, the appointment of a new governor-general, and these papers received with such a serious content, and these God knows what rumors, all this left noticeable marks on their faces, and the tailcoats on many became noticeably more spacious. Everything changed: the chairman lost weight, and the inspector of the medical board lost weight, and the prosecutor lost weight, and some Semyon Ivanovich, who was never identified by his last name, wore a ring on his index finger that he let the ladies look at, even he lost weight. Of course, there were, as happens everywhere, a few timid people who did not lose their presence of mind, but there were very few of them: there was only one postmaster. He alone did not change in his constantly even character and always in such cases had the habit of saying: “We know you, governors general! Maybe three or four of you will change, but I’ve been sitting in one place for thirty years, my sir.” Other officials usually remarked to this: “It’s good for you, sprechen zi deych Ivan Andreich; You have a postal matter: to receive and send an expedition; Unless you cheat by locking the presence half an hour earlier, charge a late merchant for accepting a letter at an unspecified time, or send another parcel that should not be sent, here, of course, everyone will be a saint. But let the devil get into the habit of turning up at your hand every day, so that you don’t want to take it, but he sticks it in himself. You, of course, are in a lot of trouble: you have one son; and here, brother, God endowed Praskovya Fedorovna with such grace - whatever the year brings: either Praskushka or Petrusha; here, brother, you’ll sing something else.”
N. V. Gogol “Dead Souls”
- 1.1.3. Compare the above fragment with an episode from A.P. Chekhov’s story “Chameleon”. How are the images of the county town in these texts similar?
Both passages depict county towns Russia XIX centuries. AND life in them
is the same There is chaos, drunk people are walking around. The attitude towards people in them is determined by the class they belong to. Thus, in “Dead Souls” Chichikov is assessed from the point of view of belonging to any class. In “Chameleon,” it is also important for Ochumelov who the dog belongs to. And depending on this, he decides what to do with her.
A rather beautiful small spring chaise, in which bachelors travel: retired lieutenant colonels, staff captains, landowners with about a hundred peasant souls - in a word, all those who are called middle-class gentlemen, drove into the gates of the hotel in the provincial town of NN. In the chaise sat a gentleman, not handsome, but not bad-looking either, neither too fat nor too thin; One cannot say that he is old, but not that he is too young. His entry made absolutely no noise in the city and was not accompanied by anything special; only two Russian peasants, standing at the door of the tavern opposite the hotel, made some comments, which, however, related more to the carriage than to those sitting in it. “Look,” one said to the other, “what a wheel! What do you think, would that wheel, if it happened, get to Moscow or not?” “It will get there,” answered the other. “But I don’t think he’ll get to Kazan?” “He won’t make it to Kazan,” answered another. That was the end of the conversation. Moreover, when the chaise pulled up to the hotel, he met a young man in white rosin trousers, very narrow and short, in a tailcoat with attempts at fashion, from under which a shirtfront was visible, fastened with a Tula pin with a bronze pistol. The young man turned back, looked at the carriage, held his cap with his hand, which was almost blown off by the wind, and went his way.
When the carriage entered the yard, the gentleman was greeted by the tavern servant, or sex worker, as they are called in Russian taverns, lively and fidgety to such an extent that it was impossible to even see what kind of face he had. He ran out quickly, with a napkin in his hand, all long and in a long jean coat with the back almost at the very back of his head, shook his hair and quickly led the gentleman up the entire wooden gallery to show the peace bestowed upon him by God. The peace was of a certain kind, for the hotel was also of a certain kind, that is, exactly the same as there are hotels in provincial towns, where for two rubles a day travelers get a quiet room with cockroaches peeking out like prunes from all corners, and a door to the next a room always filled with a chest of drawers, where a neighbor settles down, a silent and calm person, but extremely curious, interested in knowing about all the details of the person passing by. The outer facade of the hotel corresponded to its interior: it was very long, two floors; the lower one was not plastered and remained in dark red bricks, even darker from the wild weather changes and dirty in themselves; the top one was painted with eternal yellow paint; below there were benches with clamps, ropes and steering wheels. In the corner of these shops, or, better yet, in the window, there was a whipper with a samovar made of red copper and a face as red as the samovar, so that from a distance one would think that there were two samovars standing on the window, if one samovar was not with pitch black beard.
While the visiting gentleman was looking around his room, his belongings were brought in: first of all, a suitcase made of white leather, somewhat worn out, showing that he was not on the road for the first time. The suitcase was brought in by the coachman Selifan, a short man in a sheepskin coat, and the footman Petrushka, a fellow of about thirty, in a spacious second-hand frock coat, as seen from the master's shoulder, a little stern in appearance, with very large lips and nose. Following the suitcase was a small mahogany casket with individual displays made of Karelian birch, shoe lasts and a fried chicken wrapped in blue paper. When all this was brought in, the coachman Selifan went to the stable to tinker with the horses, and the footman Petrushka began to settle down in the small front, very dark kennel, where he had already managed to drag his overcoat and with it some kind of his own smell, which was communicated to the one brought followed by a bag of various servants' toiletries. In this kennel he attached a narrow three-legged bed to the wall, covering it with a small semblance of a mattress, dead and flat as a pancake, and perhaps as oily as the pancake that he managed to demand from the innkeeper.
N. V. Gogol “Dead Souls”
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Police warden Ochumelov walks through the market square in new overcoat and with a bundle in his hand. A red-haired policeman walks behind him with a sieve filled to the brim with confiscated gooseberries. Silence all around... Not a soul in the square... Open doors shops and taverns look at the light of God sadly, like hungry mouths; There are not even beggars around them.
So do you bite, you damned one? - Ochumelov suddenly hears. - Guys, don't let her in! Today it is forbidden to bite! Hold it! Ah...ah!
A dog squeal is heard. Ochumelov looks to the side and sees: a dog is running from the wood warehouse of the merchant Pichugin, jumping on three legs and looking around. A man in a starched cotton shirt and an unbuttoned vest is chasing after her. He runs after her and, leaning his body forward, falls to the ground and grabs the dog by the hind legs. A second dog squeal and cry is heard: “Don’t let me in!” Sleepy faces poke out of the shops, and soon a crowd gathers near the woodshed, as if growing out of the ground.
It’s not a mess, your honor!.. - says the policeman.
Ochumelov makes a half turn to the left and walks towards the gathering. Near the very gates of the warehouse, he sees the above-described man standing in an unbuttoned vest and, raising his right hand, shows the crowd a bloody finger. It was as if it was written on his half-drunk face: “I’ll rip you off, you scoundrel!” and the finger itself looks like a sign of victory. In this man, Ochumelov recognizes the goldsmith Khryukin. In the center of the crowd, with his front legs spread out and his whole body trembling, the culprit of the scandal himself is sitting on the ground - a white greyhound puppy with a sharp muzzle and a yellow spot on his back. There is an expression of melancholy and horror in his teary eyes.
What is the occasion here? - asks Ochumelov, crashing into the crowd. - Why here? Why are you using your finger?.. Who screamed?
I’m going, your honor, not bothering anyone... - Khryukin begins, coughing into his fist. - About the firewood with Mitriy Mitrich, - and suddenly this vile one, for no reason, for no reason at all, for the finger... Excuse me, I am a person who works... My job is small. Let them pay me, because maybe I won’t lift this finger for a week... This, your honor, is not in the law to endure from the creature... If everyone bites, then it’s better not to live in the world...
Hm!.. Okay... - says Ochumelov sternly, coughing and wiggling his eyebrows. - Okay... Whose dog? I won't leave it like this. I'll show you how to loosen dogs! It's time to pay attention to such gentlemen who do not want to obey the regulations! When they fine him, the bastard, he will learn from me what a dog and other stray cattle mean! I’ll show him Kuzka’s mother!.. Eldyrin,” the warden turns to the policeman, “find out whose dog this is and draw up a report!” But the dog must be exterminated. Immediately! She must be mad... Whose dog is this, I ask?
This seems to be General Zhigalov! - says someone from the crowd.
General Zhigalov? Hm!.. Take off my coat, Eldyrin... It’s terribly hot! Probably before the rain... There’s only one thing I don’t understand: how could she bite you? - Ochumelov addresses Khryukin. - Will she reach her finger? She's small, but you look so healthy! You must have picked your finger with a nail, and then the idea came to your head to rip it off. You are... famous people! I know you, devils!
“Dead Souls” is a poem for the ages. The plasticity of the depicted reality, the comic nature of situations and the artistic skill of N.V. Gogol paints an image of Russia not only of the past, but also of the future. Grotesque satirical reality in harmony with patriotic notes create an unforgettable melody of life that sounds through the centuries.
Collegiate adviser Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov goes to distant provinces to buy serfs. However, he is not interested in people, but only in the names of the dead. This is necessary to submit the list to the board of trustees, which “promises” a lot of money. For a nobleman with so many peasants, all doors were open. To implement his plans, he pays visits to landowners and officials of the city of NN. They all reveal their selfish nature, so the hero manages to get what he wants. He is also planning a profitable marriage. However, the result is disastrous: the hero is forced to flee, as his plans become publicly known thanks to the landowner Korobochka.
History of creation
N.V. Gogol believed A.S. Pushkin as his teacher, who “gave” the grateful student a story about Chichikov’s adventures. The poet was sure that only Nikolai Vasilyevich, who has a unique talent from God, could realize this “idea”.
The writer loved Italy and Rome. In the land of the great Dante, he began work on a book suggesting a three-part composition in 1835. The poem should have been like " Divine Comedy"Dante, depict the hero's descent into hell, his wanderings in purgatory and the resurrection of his soul in paradise.
The creative process continued for six years. The idea of a grandiose painting, depicting not only “all Rus'” present, but also the future, revealed “the untold riches of the Russian spirit.” In February 1837, Pushkin died, whose “sacred testament” for Gogol became “Dead Souls”: “Not a single line was written without me imagining him before me.” The first volume was completed in the summer of 1841, but did not immediately find its reader. The censorship was outraged by “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin”, and the title led to bewilderment. I had to make concessions by starting the title with the intriguing phrase “The Adventures of Chichikov.” Therefore, the book was published only in 1842.
After some time, Gogol writes the second volume, but, dissatisfied with the result, burns it.
Meaning of the name
The title of the work causes conflicting interpretations. The oxymoron technique used gives rise to numerous questions to which you want to get answers as quickly as possible. The title is symbolic and ambiguous, so the “secret” is not revealed to everyone.
In the literal sense, “dead souls” are representatives of the common people who have passed on to another world, but are still listed as their masters. The concept is gradually being rethought. The “form” seems to “come to life”: real serfs, with their habits and shortcomings, appear before the reader’s gaze.
Characteristics of the main characters
- Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov is a “mediocre gentleman.” Somewhat cloying manners in dealing with people are not without sophistication. Well-mannered, neat and delicate. “Not handsome, but not bad-looking, not... fat, nor.... thin..." Calculating and careful. He collects unnecessary trinkets in his little chest: maybe it will come in handy! Seeks profit in everything. The generation of the worst sides of an enterprising and energetic person of a new type, opposed to landowners and officials. We wrote about him in more detail in the essay "".
- Manilov - “knight of the void”. A blond "sweet" talker with "blue eyes." He covers up the poverty of thought and avoidance of real difficulties with a beautiful phrase. He lacks living aspirations and any interests. His faithful companions are fruitless fantasy and thoughtless chatter.
- The box is “club-headed”. A vulgar, stupid, stingy and tight-fisted nature. She fenced herself off from everything around her, withdrawing into her estate - the “box”. She turned into a stupid and greedy woman. Limited, stubborn and unspiritual.
- Nozdryov is a “historical person”. He can easily lie whatever he wants and deceive anyone. Empty, absurd. He thinks of himself as broad-minded. However, his actions expose a careless, chaotic, weak-willed and at the same time arrogant, shameless “tyrant.” Record holder for getting into tricky and ridiculous situations.
- Sobakevich is “a patriot of the Russian stomach.” Outwardly it resembles a bear: clumsy and irrepressible. Completely incapable of understanding the most basic things. A special type of “storage device” that can quickly adapt to the new requirements of our time. He is not interested in anything except running a household.
- we described in the essay of the same name. .
- Thorns on the path of development of the Motherland are the main problem in the poem “Dead Souls” that the author was worried about. These include bribery and embezzlement of officials, infantilism and inactivity of the nobility, ignorance and poverty of the peasants. The writer sought to make his contribution to the prosperity of Russia, condemning and ridiculing vices, educating new generations of people. For example, Gogol despised doxology as a cover for the emptiness and idleness of existence. The life of a citizen should be useful to society, but most of the characters in the poem are downright harmful.
- Moral problems. He views the lack of moral standards among representatives of the ruling class as the result of their ugly passion for hoarding. The landowners are ready to shake the soul out of the peasant for the sake of profit. Also, the problem of selfishness comes to the fore: nobles, like officials, think only about their own interests, the homeland for them is an empty, weightless word. High society does not care about the common people, they simply use them for their own purposes.
- The crisis of humanism. People are sold like animals, lost at cards like things, pawned like jewelry. Slavery is legal and is not considered immoral or unnatural. Gogol illuminated the problem of serfdom in Russia globally, showing both sides of the coin: the slave mentality inherent in the serf, and the tyranny of the owner, confident in his superiority. All these are the consequences of tyranny that permeates relationships in all levels of society. It corrupts people and ruins the country.
- The author’s humanism is manifested in his attention to “ little man”, a critical exposure of the evils of the state system. Gogol did not even try to avoid political problems. He described a bureaucracy that functioned only on the basis of bribery, nepotism, embezzlement and hypocrisy.
- Gogol's characters are inherent in the problem of ignorance and moral blindness. Because of it, they do not see their moral squalor and are not able to independently get out of the quagmire of vulgarity that drags them down.
Plyushkin - “a hole in humanity.” A creature of unknown gender. A striking example of moral decline, which has completely lost its natural appearance. The only character (except Chichikov) who has a biography that “reflects” the gradual process of personality degradation. A complete nonentity. Plyushkin’s manic hoarding “pours out” into “cosmic” proportions. And the more this passion takes possession of him, the less of a person remains in him. We analyzed his image in detail in the essay
Initially, the work began as an adventurous picaresque novel. But the breadth of the events described and the historical truthfulness, as if “compressed” together, gave rise to “talking” about the realistic method. Making precise remarks, inserting philosophical arguments, addressing different generations, Gogol imbued “his brainchild” with lyrical digressions. One cannot but agree with the opinion that Nikolai Vasilyevich’s creation is a comedy, since it actively uses the techniques of irony, humor and satire, which most fully reflect the absurdity and arbitrariness of the “squadron of flies that dominates Rus'.”
The composition is circular: the chaise, which entered the city of NN at the beginning of the story, leaves it after all the vicissitudes that happened to the hero. Episodes are woven into this “ring”, without which the integrity of the poem is violated. The first chapter provides a description of the provincial city of NN and local officials. From the second to the sixth chapters, the author introduces readers to the landowner estates of Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdryov, Sobakevich and Plyushkin. Chapters seven - ten - satirical image officials, registration of completed transactions. The string of events listed above ends with a ball, where Nozdryov “narrates” about Chichikov’s scam. The reaction of society to his statement is unambiguous - gossip, which, like a snowball, is overgrown with fables that have found refraction, including in the short story (“The Tale of Captain Kopeikin”) and the parable (about Kif Mokievich and Mokiya Kifovich). The introduction of these episodes allows us to emphasize that the fate of the fatherland directly depends on the people living in it. You cannot look indifferently at the disgrace happening around you. Certain forms of protest are maturing in the country. The eleventh chapter is a biography of the hero who forms the plot, explaining what motivated him when committing this or that act.
The connecting compositional thread is the image of the road (you can learn more about this by reading the essay “ » ), symbolizing the path that the state takes in its development “under the modest name of Rus'.”
Why does Chichikov need dead souls?
Chichikov is not just cunning, but also pragmatic. His sophisticated mind is ready to “make candy” out of nothing. Not having sufficient capital, he, being a good psychologist, having gone through a good life school, mastering the art of “flattering everyone” and fulfilling his father’s behest to “save a penny,” starts a great speculation. It consists of a simple deception of “those in power” in order to “warm up their hands”, in other words, to gain a huge amount of money, thereby providing for themselves and their future family, which Pavel Ivanovich dreamed of.
The names of dead peasants bought for next to nothing were entered into a document that Chichikov could take to the treasury chamber under the guise of collateral in order to obtain a loan. He would have pawned the serfs like a brooch in a pawnshop, and could have re-mortgaged them all his life, since none of the officials checked the physical condition of the people. For this money, the businessman would have bought real workers and an estate, and would have lived in grand style, enjoying the favor of the nobles, because the nobles measured the wealth of the landowner in the number of souls (peasants were then called “souls” in noble slang). In addition, Gogol's hero hoped to gain trust in society and profitably marry a rich heiress.
main idea
Hymn to the homeland and people, distinguishing feature whose hard work sounds on the pages of the poem. The masters of golden hands became famous for their inventions and their creativity. The Russian man is always “rich in invention.” But there are also those citizens who hinder the development of the country. These are vicious officials, ignorant and inactive landowners and swindlers like Chichikov. For their own good, the good of Russia and the world, they must take the path of correction, realizing the ugliness of their inner world. To do this, Gogol mercilessly ridicules them throughout the entire first volume, but in subsequent parts of the work the author intended to show the resurrection of the spirit of these people using the example of the main character. Perhaps he felt the falseness of the subsequent chapters, lost faith that his dream was feasible, so he burned it along with the second part of “Dead Souls.”
However, the author showed that the main wealth of the country is the broad soul of the people. It is no coincidence that this word is included in the title. The writer believed that the revival of Russia would begin with the revival human souls, pure, untainted by any sins, selfless. Not just those who believe in the free future of the country, but those who make a lot of effort on this fast road to happiness. “Rus, where are you going?” This question runs like a refrain throughout the book and emphasizes the main thing: the country must live in constant movement towards the best, advanced, progressive. Only on this path “do other peoples and states give her the way.” We wrote a separate essay about Russia’s path: ?
Why did Gogol burn the second volume of Dead Souls?
At some point, the thought of the messiah begins to dominate in the writer’s mind, allowing him to “foresee” the revival of Chichikov and even Plyushkin. Gogol hopes to reverse the progressive “transformation” of a person into a “dead man.” But, faced with reality, the author experiences deep disappointment: the heroes and their destinies emerge from the pen as far-fetched and lifeless. Did not work out. The impending crisis in worldview was the reason for the destruction of the second book.
In the surviving excerpts from the second volume, it is clearly visible that the writer portrays Chichikov not in the process of repentance, but in flight towards the abyss. He still succeeds in adventures, dresses in a devilish red tailcoat and breaks the law. His revelation does not bode well, because in his reaction the reader will not see a sudden insight or a hint of shame. He doesn’t even believe in the possibility of such fragments ever existing. Gogol did not want to sacrifice artistic truth even for the sake of realizing his own plan.
Issues
What is unique about the work?
Adventurism, realistic reality, a sense of the presence of the irrational, philosophical discussions about earthly good - all this is closely intertwined, creating an “encyclopedic” picture of the first half of the 19th century.
Gogol achieves this by using various techniques of satire, humor, visual means, numerous details, a wealth of vocabulary, and compositional features.
- Symbolism plays an important role. Falling into the mud “predicts” the future exposure of the main character. The spider weaves its webs to capture its next victim. Like an “unpleasant” insect, Chichikov skillfully runs his “business,” “entwining” landowners and officials with noble lies. “sounds” like the pathos of Rus'’s forward movement and affirms human self-improvement.
- We observe the heroes through the prism of “comic” situations, apt author’s expressions and characteristics given by other characters, sometimes built on the antithesis: “he was a prominent man” - but only “at first glance.”
- The vices of the heroes of Dead Souls become a continuation of the positive character traits. For example, Plyushkin’s monstrous stinginess is a distortion of his former thrift and thriftiness.
- In small lyrical “inserts” there are the writer’s thoughts, difficult thoughts, and an anxious “I.” In them we feel the highest creative message: to help humanity change for the better.
- The fate of people who create works for the people or not to please “those in power” does not leave Gogol indifferent, because in literature he saw a force capable of “re-educating” society and promoting its civilized development. Social strata of society, their position in relation to everything national: culture, language, traditions - occupy a serious place in the author’s digressions. When it comes to Rus' and its future, through the centuries we hear the confident voice of the “prophet”, predicting the difficult, but aimed at a bright dream, future of the Fatherland.
- Makes me sad philosophical reflections about the frailty of existence, about lost youth and impending old age. Therefore, it is so natural for a tender “fatherly” appeal to youth, on whose energy, hard work and education depends on which “path” the development of Russia will take.
- The language is truly folk. The forms of colloquial, literary and written business speech are harmoniously woven into the fabric of the poem. Rhetorical questions and exclamations, the rhythmic construction of individual phrases, the use of Slavicisms, archaisms, sonorous epithets create a certain structure of speech that sounds solemn, excited and sincere, without a shadow of irony. When describing landowners' estates and their owners, vocabulary characteristic of everyday speech is used. The image of the bureaucratic world is saturated with the vocabulary of the depicted environment.
- we described in the essay of the same name.
Dracaena
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