(end) The contrast between fussy external activity and internal ossification is striking. The life of the city is dead and meaningless, like the whole life of this madman modern world. The illogical features in the image of the city are taken to the limit: the story begins with them. Let us remember the dull, meaningless conversation between the men about whether the wheel will roll to Moscow or to Kazan; the comical idiocy of the signs “And here is the establishment”, “Foreigner Ivan Fedorov”... Do you think Gogol composed this?

Nothing like this! In the wonderful collection of essays on the everyday life of the writer E. Ivanov, “Apt Moscow Word,” an entire chapter is devoted to the texts of signs. The following are given: “Kebab master from young Karachay lamb with Kakhetian wine.

Solomon", "Professor of chansonnet art Andrei Zakharovich Serpoletti". But here are completely "Gogolian": "Hairdresser Monsieur Joris-Pankratov", "Parisian hairdresser Pierre Musatov from London. Haircut, breeches and perms." Where does poor "Foreigner Ivan Fedorov" care?

But E. Ivanov collected curiosities at the beginning of the 20th century - that is, more than 50 years have passed since the creation of “Dead Souls”!

Both the "Parisian hairdresser from London" and "Monsieur Zhoris Pankratov" are the spiritual heirs of Gogol's heroes. In many ways, the image of the provincial city in " Dead souls"reminiscent of the image of the city in "The Inspector General". But - pay attention! - the scale is enlarged. Instead of a small town lost in the wilderness, from where "even if you drive for three years, you will not reach any state", the central city is "not far from both capitals." Instead the small fry of the mayor is the governor. And life is the same - empty, meaningless, illogical - “dead life”.

The artistic space of the poem consists of two worlds, which can be conventionally designated as the “real” world and the “ideal” world. The author builds the “real” world by recreating contemporary reality Russian life. In this world live Plyushkin, Nozdrev, Sobakevich, the prosecutor, the police chief and other heroes, who are original caricatures of Gogol’s contemporaries. D. S. Likhachev emphasized that “all the types created by Gogol were strictly localized in the social space of Russia. With all the universal human traits of Sobakevich or Korobochka, they are all still at the same time representatives of certain groups of the Russian population of the first half of the 19th century century."

According to the laws of the epic, Gogol recreates a picture of life in the poem, striving for maximum breadth of coverage. It is no coincidence that he himself admitted that he wanted to show “at least from one side, but all of Russia.” Having painted a picture of the modern world, creating caricatured masks of his contemporaries, in which the weaknesses, shortcomings and vices characteristic of the era are exaggerated, brought to the point of absurdity - and therefore at the same time disgusting and funny - Gogol achieves the desired effect: the reader saw how immoral his world is. And only then does the author reveal the mechanism of this distortion of life. The chapter “The Knight of the Penny,” placed at the end of the first volume, compositionally becomes an “inserted short story.” Why don't people see how vile their lives are?

But how can they understand this if the only and main instruction the boy received from his father, the spiritual covenant, is expressed in two words: “save a penny?” “The comic is hidden everywhere,” said N.V. Gogol.

Living among it, we do not see it: but if the artist transfers it into art, onto the stage, then we will laugh at ourselves." This principle artistic creativity he embodied in "Dead Souls". After letting readers see how scary and comical their lives are, the author explains, why people They don’t feel it themselves; at best, they don’t feel it acutely enough. The author’s epic abstraction from what is happening in the “real” world is due to the scale of the task facing him to “show all of Rus'”, to let the reader see for himself, without the author’s instructions, what the world around him is like. The “ideal” world is built in strict accordance with true spiritual values, with that high ideal to which the human soul strives.

The author himself sees the “real” world so comprehensively precisely because he exists in a “different coordinate system”, lives according to the laws of the “ideal” world, judges himself and life according to higher criteria - by aspiration towards the Ideal, by proximity to it. The title of the poem contains the deepest philosophical meaning. Dead Souls- nonsense, a combination of incongruous things - an oxymoron, for the soul is immortal. For the “ideal” world, the soul is immortal, for it is the embodiment of the Divine principle in man.

And in the “real” world there may well be a “dead soul”, because in this world the soul is only what distinguishes a living person from a dead person. In the episode of the prosecutor’s death, those around him realized that he “had a real soul” only when he became “only a soulless body.” This world is crazy - it has forgotten about the soul, and lack of spirituality is the cause of decay, the true and only one. Only with an understanding of this reason can the revival of Rus' begin, the return of lost ideals, spirituality, the soul in its true, highest meaning. The “ideal” world is the world of spirituality, the spiritual world of man.

There is no Plyushkin and Sobakevich in it, there cannot be Nozdryov and Korobochka. It contains souls - immortal human souls. It is ideal in every sense of the word, and therefore this world cannot be recreated epically. Spiritual world describes a different kind of literature - lyrics. That is why Gogol defines the genre of the work as lyric-epic, calling “Dead Souls” a poem Let us remember that the poem begins with a meaningless conversation between two men: will the wheel reach Moscow; with a description of the dusty, gray, endlessly dreary streets of the provincial city; from all sorts of manifestations of human stupidity and vulgarity. The first volume of the poem ends with the image of Chichikov’s chaise, ideally transformed in the last lyrical digression into a symbol of the ever-living soul of the Russian people - the wonderful “bird-three”. The immortality of the soul is the only thing that instills in the author faith in the obligatory revival of his heroes - and of all life, therefore, of all Rus'.

Based on materials: Monakhova O. P.

Malkhazova M. V. Russian literature XIX century.

>Essays on the work Dead Souls

Image of the city

The work of N.V. Gogol is an amazing book glorifying Rus' and its folk foundations. This is partly a satirical poem exposing reality. Main character poem, Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, wanders through the cities of Russia with the aim of ransoming the “dead souls” of peasants. In depicting the city, the author used the technique of typification. Chichikov arrives in the ordinary provincial town of NN, which serves as a collective image. It is the same as all other cities. Thus, it is easy to reproduce a picture of the morals of the entire country.

In the first chapter, the hero, walking through the streets, notices that there are typical houses with a mezzanine, the usual signs washed out by the rain, and only the sign “Pub House” is found more often than usual. At first glance, this city seems to Chichikov to be a little more lively than others. Balls, receptions, joint dinners, trips to public places, etc. are often held here. But upon closer examination, it becomes clear that here there is still the same sleepy, frozen spirit of landowner life, and the representatives of the elite are faceless and spiritually dead. They eke out an aimless existence from day to day and are “non-smokers”.

The author devotes Special attention description of officials, the so-called arbiters of the destinies of city residents. These people are so useless and faceless that he gives them very brief characteristics. So, for example, the governor was neither fat nor thin, but kind-hearted. The prosecutor had very black thick eyebrows. The postmaster was short, but witty and philosophical. It is noteworthy that all the officials in the city of NN were poorly educated. Gogol specifically emphasizes that one read Karamzin, another Moskovskie Vedomosti, and many did not read anything at all. Not a single case was considered without bribes. All people with administrative power necessarily robbed the population, engaged in embezzlement and bribery.

Describing the life of the provincial city, the author pays special attention to the female half, that is, the wives of officials. Despite the fact that they put on luxurious dresses and all kinds of ribbons, at heart they are empty and worthless. Gogol pays tribute to their taste, noting that the ladies of the city are in no way inferior to the capital and even Paris. However, he immediately notes their imitative details like peacock feathers and unprecedented caps. By nature, the ladies of the city are active. They not only spread gossip with lightning speed, but also exert strong influence at their husbands. They make them believe incredible rumors and even turn them against each other. The author notes that all provincial residents have certain ideals associated with metropolitan life. Perhaps for this reason, St. Petersburg is mentioned in almost every chapter.

THE IMAGE OF THE CITY IN N.V. GOGOL'S POEM. Compositionally, the poem “Dead Souls” consists of three externally closed, but internally interconnected circles - landowners, the city, Chichikov’s biography, united by the image of the road, plot-related by the main character’s scam.

But the middle link - the life of the city - itself consists, as it were, of narrowing circles gravitating towards the center; this is a graphic representation of the provincial hierarchy. It is interesting that in this hierarchical pyramid the governor, embroidering on tulle, looks like a puppet figure. True life is in full swing in the civil chamber, in the “temple of Themis.” And this is natural for administrative-bureaucratic Russia. Therefore, the episode of Chichikov’s visit to the chamber becomes central, the most significant in the theme of the city.

The description of presence is the apotheosis of Gogol's irony. The author recreates the true sanctuary Russian Empire in all its funny, ugly form, reveals all the power and at the same time the weakness of the bureaucratic machine. Gogol’s mockery is merciless: before us is a temple of bribery, his only “living nerve.”

In this supposed temple, in this citadel of depravity, the image of Hell is being revived - albeit vulgarized, comical - but truly Russian Hell. A peculiar Virgil also appears - he turns out to be a “petty demon” - a chamber official who “served our friend, as Virgil once served Dante, and led them into the presence room, where there were only wide armchairs and in them in front of the table, behind a mirror and two The chairman sat alone, like the sun, with thick books. In this place Virgil felt such reverence that he did not dare to put his foot there...” How brilliant is Gogol’s irony! How incomparable is the chairman - the “sun” of the civil chamber! How inimitably comical is this wretched Paradise, before which the college registrar is seized with sacred awe! And the funniest thing is as well as the most tragic and terrible! - that the newly-minted Virgil truly honors the chairman as the sun, his office as Paradise, his guests as holy Angels...

How diminished, how exhausted souls are in such a world! How pitiful and insignificant are their ideas about the concepts fundamental to a Christian - Heaven, Hell, soul!

What is considered a soul is best shown in the episode of the death of the prosecutor: after all, those around him guessed that “the dead man definitely had a soul” only when he died and became “only a soulless body.” For them, the soul is a physiological concept! And this is a spiritual catastrophe.

In contrast to the quiet, measured life of a landowner, where time seems to stand still, the life of the city is in full swing and bubbling. But this life is illusory, it is not activity, but empty vanity. What stirred up the city, made everything in it move? Gossip about Chichikov. All this is funny and terrible at the same time. Idle talk that develops into spiritual emptiness is the main idea of ​​Gogol's city.

The contrast between bustling external activity and internal ossification is striking. The life of the city is dead and meaningless, like all the life of this crazy world. The illogical features in the image of the city are taken to the limit: the story begins with them. Remember the stupid, meaningless conversation of the men, the wheel will roll to Moscow or Kazan; the comical idiocy of the signs “And here is the establishment”, “Foreigner Ivan Fedorov”...

In many ways, the image of the provincial town in Dead Souls is reminiscent of the image of the city in The Government Inspector. But the scale has been enlarged: instead of a town lost in the wilderness, from where “even if you drive for three years, you won’t reach any state,” the central city is “not far from both capitals.” Instead of the small fry of the mayor, there is a governor. But life - empty, illogical, meaningless - is the same: “dead life”.

The image of the city NN in N. V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”

N.V. Gogol’s work “Dead Souls,” according to Herzen, is “an amazing book, a bitter reproach to modern Rus', but not hopeless.” Being a poem, it was intended to glorify Rus' in its deep folk foundations. But it is still dominated by satirical accusatory pictures of the author’s contemporary reality.

As in the comedy “The Inspector General,” in “Dead Souls” Gogol uses the technique of typification. The action of the poem takes place in the provincial town of NN. which is a collective image. The author notes that “it was in no way inferior to other provincial cities.” This makes it possible to reproduce a complete picture of the morals of the entire country. The main character of the poem, Chichikov, draws attention to the typical “houses of one, two and one and a half floors, with an eternal mezzanine,” to “signs almost washed away by the rain,” to the inscription “Drinking House” that appears most often.

At first glance, it seems that the atmosphere of city life is somewhat different from the sleepy, serene and frozen spirit of landowner life. Constant balls, dinners, breakfasts, snacks and even trips to public places create an image full of energy and passion, vanity and trouble. But a closer look reveals that all this is illusory, meaningless, unnecessary, that the representatives of the top of urban society are faceless, spiritually dead, and their existence is aimless. “ Business card” of the city, the vulgar dandy who met Chichikov at the entrance to the city becomes: “... I 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." This random character personifies the tastes of provincial society.

The life of the city depends entirely on numerous officials. The author paints an expressive portrait of administrative power in Russia. As if emphasizing the uselessness and facelessness of city officials, he gives them very brief characteristics. It is said about the governor that he “was neither fat nor thin, had Anna around his neck...; however, he was a great good-natured man and even embroidered on tulle himself.” It is known about the prosecutor that he had “very black thick eyebrows and a somewhat winking left eye.” It was noted about the postmaster that he was a “short” man, but “a wit and a philosopher.”

All officials have a low level of education. Gogol ironically calls them “more or less enlightened people,” because “some have read Karamzin, some have read Moskovskie Vedomosti, some have not even read anything at all...” Such are the provincial landowners. Both are almost related to each other. The author shows in his reflection on “thick and thin” how gradually statesmen, “having earned universal respect, they leave the service... and become glorious landowners, glorious Russian bars, hospitable people, and live and live well.” This digression is an evil satire on robber officials and on the “hospitable” Russian bar, leading an idle existence, aimlessly smoking the sky.

Officials are a kind of arbiters of the destinies of the inhabitants of the provincial city. The solution to any, even small, issue depends on them. Not a single case was considered without bribes. Bribery, embezzlement and robbery of the population are constant and widespread phenomena. The police chief had only to blink, passing by the fish row, as “beluga, sturgeon, salmon, pressed caviar, freshly salted caviar, herrings, stellate sturgeon, cheeses, smoked tongues and balyks appeared on his table - this was all from the side of the fish row.”

“Servants of the People” are truly unanimous in their desire to live widely at the expense of the sums of “their dearly beloved Fatherland.” They are equally irresponsible in their direct responsibilities. This is especially clearly shown when Chichikov executed deeds of sale for serfs. Sobakevich proposes to invite as witnesses the prosecutor, who “is probably sitting at home, since the lawyer Zolotukha, the greatest grabber in the world, does everything for him,” and the inspector of the medical board, as well as Trukhachevsky and Belushkin. According to Sobakevich’s apt remark, “they are all burdening the earth for nothing!” In addition, the author’s remark is characteristic that the chairman, at Chichikov’s request, “could extend and shorten ... his presence, like the ancient Zeus.”

The central place in the characterization of the bureaucratic world is occupied by the episode of the death of the prosecutor. In just a few lines, Gogol managed to express the entire emptiness of the lives of these people. No one knows why the prosecutor lived and why he died, since he does not understand why he himself lives, what his purpose is.

When describing the life of the provincial city, the author pays special attention to the women's party. First of all, these are the wives of officials. They are just as impersonal as their husbands. Chichikov notices not people at the ball, but a huge number of luxurious dresses, ribbons, and feathers. The author pays tribute to the taste of the provincial ladies: “This is not a province, this is the capital, this is Paris itself!”, but at the same time he exposes their imitative essence, noticing in places “a cap never seen on earth” or “almost a peacock feather.” “But it’s impossible without this, this is the property of a provincial city: somewhere it will certainly end.” A noble feature of provincial ladies is their ability to express themselves with “extraordinary caution and decency.” Their speech is elegant and ornate. As Gogol notes, “in order to further refine the Russian language, almost half of the words were completely thrown out of the conversation.”

The life of bureaucratic wives is idle, but they themselves are active, so gossip throughout the city spreads with amazing speed and takes on a terrifying appearance. Because of the ladies' gossip, Chichikov was recognized as a millionaire. But as soon as he stopped paying attention to the female society, absorbed in the sight of the governor’s daughter, the hero was credited with the idea of ​​stealing the object of contemplation and many other terrible crimes.

The ladies of the city have enormous influence on their official husbands and not only make them believe incredible gossip, but are also able to turn them against each other. “Duels, of course, did not occur between them, because they were all civil officials, but one tried to harm the other wherever possible...”

All Gogol's heroes dream of achieving a certain ideal of life, which for most representatives of provincial society is seen in the image of the capital, brilliant St. Petersburg. Creating collective image Russian city of the 30-40s of the 19th century, the author combines the features of the province and characteristics metropolitan life. Thus, mention of St. Petersburg occurs in every chapter of the poem. This image was outlined very clearly, without embellishment, in “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin.” Gogol notes with amazing frankness that it is absolutely impossible to live in this city, sober, prim, and drowning in luxury. little man, such as Captain Kopeikin. The writer speaks in “The Tale...” about the cold indifference of the powers that be to the troubles of an unfortunate disabled person, a participant Patriotic War 1812. This is how the theme of contrasting state interests and the interests of the common man arises in the poem.

Gogol is sincerely indignant against the social injustice reigning in Russia, putting his indignation into satirical forms. In the poem he uses a “situation of delusion.” This helps him reveal certain aspects of the life of the provincial city. The author confronts all officials with one fact and reveals all the “sins” and crimes of each: arbitrariness in the service, lawlessness of the police, idle pastime and much more. All this is organically woven into general characteristics city ​​NN. and also emphasizes his collectivity. After all, all these vices were characteristic of modern Gogol's Russia. In “Dead Souls” the writer recreated real picture Russian life of the 30-40s of the 19th century, and this is his greatest merit.

The city plays a significant role in N.V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”. He is one of the main characters of the work, as well as the landowners and Chichikov. So what is the image of the city in the poem “Dead Souls”.

The image of the city in the poem

Gogol does not reveal the name of the city in which the events take place of this work. Is this place fictional or real? literary critics and readers have been guessing for many years. It is known that this is a typical provincial town not far from Moscow and St. Petersburg. It has no attractions or features. The hotel here is full of cockroaches, the houses are unremarkable, and the main pastime of the townspeople is visiting drinking establishments. people live here, die, and everything happens slowly, sedately and peacefully. People here don’t have names, because the main thing is not the name, but the position. At the top of this hierarchy are officials - faceless and useless people for society. Lawlessness is happening in power, senior officials are not fulfilling their duties, simple people suffer from theft and embezzlement. The lives of uneducated and even harmful officials are wasted. Why do the country and state need them?

Nobody can answer this question. Their wives are as faceless and uninteresting as the officials themselves. They spend all their time gossiping, spreading rumors and going to balls. These people have no soul; it has long since died.

The city of NN in the work is a collective image that draws the features of any cities in Rus', similar to each other like twins.

Why doesn't the city have a name?

From the first lines of the poem, an image of a city appears in which many events take place. However, Gogol does not give it a name, giving it simply the designation “city of NN”. Why doesn’t the author consider it necessary to clarify in which city the plot is developing? Without naming the area, the author emphasizes that the name of the city does not matter, it is completely typical, like many other cities, and is also devoid of individuality. There are hotels, drinking establishments, hairdressers, but they are all so unremarkable that if they were in other cities, no one would notice the difference.

In the poem, not only the city, but its inhabitants look faceless. A huge number of officials are opposed to oppressed and poor people. The Manilovs, Nozdryovs, Sobakevichs and Plyushkins are typical representatives not only of this place, but also of any other in Rus'.

What city are we talking about?

After the book was published, readers and critics immediately became interested in which place served as the prototype for the city of NN. Many theories have emerged about the reality of this provincial town. Following the plot, where it is reported that the city is located near two capitals, Moscow and St. Petersburg, many assumed that the city of the story was Tver. The poem also mentioned that this place is far from Kazan, and that the Volga River flows through the city. Analysis of these components allows us to conclude that this could indeed be Tver.

The occupation of the peasants also helps determine the location of the main character and the main characters. many were engaged in breeding turkey, which is a heat-loving bird and lives in the central or southern regions. The city is located on fertile land, the fields are sown with grain (mountains of grain are rotting near Plyushkin), the most common professions among the peasants are plowmen, blacksmiths, and carpenters.

This article will help schoolchildren write an essay on the topic “The image of the city in the poem “Dead Souls.” It touches on such important questions as why the city does not have a name, and what, in fact, is the description of the city in “Dead Souls”.

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