Relevance of images
IN artistic space one of the most famous works Gogol, landowners and people in power are connected. Lies, bribery and the desire for profit characterize each of the images of officials in Dead Souls. It’s amazing with what ease and ease the author draws essentially disgusting portraits, and so masterfully that you don’t doubt for a minute the authenticity of each character. Using the example of officials in the poem “Dead Souls,” the most actual problems Russian Empire mid-19th century. In addition to serfdom, which hampered natural progress, the real problem was the extensive bureaucratic apparatus, for the maintenance of which huge sums were allocated. People in whose hands power was concentrated worked only to accumulate own capital and improve their well-being by stealing from both the treasury and ordinary people. Many writers of that time addressed the topic of exposing officials: Gogol, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Dostoevsky.
Officials in "Dead Souls"
In “Dead Souls” there are no separately described images of civil servants, but nevertheless, the life and characters are shown very accurately. Images of city N officials appear from the first pages of the work. Chichikov, who decided to pay a visit to each of powerful of the world This, gradually introduces the reader to the governor, vice-governor, prosecutor, chairman of the chamber, police chief, postmaster and many others. Chichikov flattered everyone, as a result of which he managed to win over everyone important person, and all this is shown as a matter of course. In the bureaucratic world, pomp reigned, bordering on vulgarity, inappropriate pathos and farce. Thus, during a regular dinner, the governor’s house was lit up as if for a ball, the decoration was blinding, and the ladies were dressed in their best dresses.
Officials in county town There were two types: the first were thin and followed the ladies everywhere, trying to charm them with bad French and greasy compliments. Officials of the second type, according to the author, resembled Chichikov himself: neither fat nor thin, with round pockmarked faces and slicked hair, they looked sideways, trying to find an interesting or profitable business for themselves. At the same time, everyone tried to harm each other, to do some kind of meanness, usually this happened because of the ladies, but no one was going to fight over such trifles. But at dinners they pretended that nothing was happening, they discussed Moscow News, dogs, Karamzin, delicious dishes and gossiped about officials from other departments.
When characterizing the prosecutor, Gogol combines the high and the low: “he was neither fat nor thin, had Anna on his neck, and it was even rumored that he was introduced to a star; however, he was a great good-natured man and sometimes even embroidered tulle himself...” Note that nothing is said here about why this man received the award - the Order of St. Anne is given “ those who love the truth, piety and fidelity", and is also awarded for military merit. But there is no mention at all of any battles or special episodes where piety and loyalty are mentioned. The main thing is that the prosecutor is engaged in needlework, not his own job responsibilities. Sobakevich speaks unflatteringly about the prosecutor: the prosecutor, they say, is an idle person, so he sits at home, and the lawyer, a well-known grabber, works for him. There is nothing to talk about here - what kind of order can there be if a person who does not understand the issue at all is trying to solve it while an authorized person is embroidering on tulle.
A similar technique is used to describe the postmaster, a serious and silent man, short, but witty and philosopher. Only in this case, various qualitative characteristics are combined into one row: “short”, “but a philosopher”. That is, here growth becomes an allegory for mental capacity this man.
The reaction to worries and reforms is also shown very ironically: from new appointments and the number of papers, civil servants are losing weight (“And the chairman lost weight, and the inspector of the medical board lost weight, and the prosecutor lost weight, and some Semyon Ivanovich ... and he lost weight”), but there were and those who courageously kept themselves in their previous form. And meetings, according to Gogol, were only successful when they could go out for a treat or have lunch, but this, of course, is not the fault of the officials, but the mentality of the people.
Gogol in “Dead Souls” depicts officials only at dinners, playing whist or other card games. Only once does the reader see officials at the workplace, when Chichikov came to draw up a bill of sale for the peasants. The department unequivocally hints to Pavel Ivanovich that things will not be done without a bribe, and there is nothing to say about a quick resolution of the issue without a certain amount. This is confirmed by the police chief, who “only has to blink when passing a fish row or a cellar,” and his balyks and good wines. No request is considered without a bribe.
Officials in “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin”
The most cruel story is about Captain Kopeikin. A war invalid in search of truth and help travels from Russian outback to the capital to ask for an audience with the king himself. Kopeikin’s hopes are dashed by a terrible reality: while cities and villages are in poverty and lacking money, the capital is chic. Meetings with the king and high-ranking officials are constantly postponed. Completely desperate, Captain Kopeikin makes his way into the reception room of a high-ranking official, demanding that his question be immediately put forward for consideration, otherwise he, Kopeikin, will not leave the office. The official assures the veteran that now the assistant will take the latter to the emperor himself, and for a second the reader believes in a happy outcome - he rejoices along with Kopeikin, riding in the chaise, hopes and believes in the best. However, the story ends disappointingly: after this incident, no one met Kopeikin again. This episode is actually scary because human life turns out to be an insignificant trifle, the loss of which will not suffer at all to the entire system.
When Chichikov’s scam was revealed, they were in no hurry to arrest Pavel Ivanovich, because they could not understand whether he was the kind of person who needed to be detained, or the kind who would detain everyone and make them guilty. The characteristics of officials in “Dead Souls” can be the words of the author himself that these are people who sit quietly on the sidelines, accumulate capital and arrange their lives at the expense of others. Extravagance, bureaucracy, bribery, nepotism and meanness - this is what characterized the people in power in Russia XIX century.
Work test
IN " Dead souls"The theme of serfdom is intertwined with the theme of bureaucracy, bureaucratic arbitrariness and lawlessness. The guardians of order in the poem are in many ways akin to the landowners. Gogol draws the attention of readers to this already in the first chapter of Dead Souls. Talking about thin and fat gentlemen, the author of the poem comes to the conclusion: “Finally, the fat man, having served God and the sovereign, having earned universal respect, leaves the service.... and becomes a landowner, a glorious Russian gentleman, a hospitable man, and lives and lives well...” This is an evil satire on robber officials and “ hospitable" Russian bar.
Both the owners of the estates and the provincial officials are at the lowest level of culture and education. Manilov, as we remember, has had the same book open on page fourteen for two years now. The officials “were also more or less enlightened people: some read Karamzin, some Moskovskie Vedomosti, some didn’t even read anything at all.”
Landowners and officials do not burden themselves with concerns about state affairs. The concept of civic duty is alien to both. Both of them live idly.
In the notes to the first volume of Dead Souls, Gogol wrote: “The idea of a city. Emptiness that has arisen to the highest degree. Idle talk. Gossip that has gone beyond limits... All this arose from idleness and took on the expression of the most ridiculous...”
When registering the purchase of serfs, witnesses were required. “Send now to the prosecutor,” says Sobakevich, “he is an idle man and, probably, sits at home: the lawyer Zolotukha, the greatest grabber in the world, does everything for him. The inspector of the medical board, he is also an idle man and, probably, at home, if not I went somewhere to play cards..."
In the society of officials, “meanness, completely disinterested, pure meanness” flourishes. The ladies quarrel, and their husbands quarrel: “Of course, there was no duel between them, because they were all civil officials, but one tried to harm the other wherever possible, which, as you know, is sometimes harder than any duel.”
The city's leaders are unanimous only in their desire to live widely at the expense of "the sums of their dearly beloved fatherland." Officials rob both the state and the petitioners. Embezzlement, bribery, robbery of the population are everyday and completely natural phenomena. The police chief “only has to blink when passing a fish row or a cellar” for balychki and excellent wines to appear on his table. No request is considered without a bribe. The chairman of the chamber warns Chichikov: “... don’t give anything to the officials... My friends shouldn’t pay.” The only exception is for friends (but Chichikov still, just in case, did not break the unwritten law and gave a bribe to Ivan Antonovich).
The police keep the city in constant fear. When society began to talk about a possible revolt of Chichikov’s men, the police chief noted that “in the disgust of it (the rebellion) there is the power of the police captain, that the police captain, although he did not go himself, but only sent his own cap to take his place, but one cap will drive the peasants to their very place of residence."
There is no significant difference in the actions and views of officials, in their way of life. Gogol creates, as it were, a group portrait of people connected by mutual responsibility.
When Chichikov’s scam was revealed, the officials were confused, and “suddenly they found ... sins in themselves.” Hence their indecision: is Chichikov 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.” The tragic situation in which the “owners of the city” found themselves was created as a result of their criminal activities. Gogol laughs, laughs evilly and mercilessly. People in power help the fraudster in his dirty, criminal machinations and are afraid of him.
It is not only the authorities who commit arbitrariness and lawlessness provincial town, but also senior officials, the government itself. “With the Tale of Captain Kopeikin” Gogol touched upon this very dangerous topic.
Hero and Disabled Patriotic War In 1812, Captain Kopeikin goes to the capital to ask for help. He is struck by the luxury of St. Petersburg, the splendor of the chambers and the cold indifference of the dignitary to the estate of a disabled person. The captain's persistent, legitimate requests for help were unsuccessful. The angry nobleman expelled him from St. Petersburg.
With the image of a soulless dignitary depicted in The Tale of Captain Kopeikin, Gogol completes his characterization of the world of officials. All of them, starting from Ivan Antonovich “jug snout”, a minor official of a provincial town, and ending with a nobleman, reveal the same pattern: swindlers, soulless people are guarding the rule of law.
The ending of "The Tale..." Captain Kopeikin did not accept cruelty and insult is significant. In the Ryazan forests, “a gang of robbers appeared, and the ataman of this gang, my sir, was none other...”, like Captain Kopeikin.
With “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin,” Gogol reminded dignitaries of the anger of the oppressed people, of the possibility of open action against the authorities.
“Oh,” you say, after reading about the life of the city of NN, “don’t we ourselves know that there is a lot of despicable and stupid things in life! Why does the author show us this in Once again? However, I think Gogol wanted to show this “despicable and stupid” not with the aim of irritating the reader. He wanted to correct a person, make life better. And he believed that only by reflecting, as in a mirror, all social and human vices can one fight them. I believe that the brilliant poem " Dead Souls» - the best for that confirmation.
To the question Generalized characteristics of city officials in Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls” asked by the author Neuropathologist the best answer is Korobochka Nastasya Petrovna is a widow-landowner, the second “saleswoman” of dead souls to Chichikov. Main feature her character is commercial businesslike. For K., every person is only a potential buyer.
Manilov is a sentimental landowner, the first “seller” of dead souls.
Gogol emphasizes the emptiness and insignificance of the hero, covered by the sugary pleasantness of his appearance and the details of the furnishings of his estate. M.'s house is open to all winds, the sparse tops of birch trees are visible everywhere, the pond is completely overgrown with duckweed. But the gazebo in M.’s garden is pompously named “Temple of Solitary Reflection.” M.’s office is covered with “blue paint, sort of grey,” which indicates the lifelessness of the hero, from whom you won’t get a single living word.
Nozdryov is the third landowner from whom Chichikov is trying to buy dead souls. This is a dashing 35-year-old “talker, carouser, reckless driver.” N. lies constantly, bullies everyone indiscriminately; he is very passionate, ready to “take a shit” to the best friend without any purpose. N.’s entire behavior is explained by his dominant quality: “nimbleness and liveliness of character,” that is, unrestrainedness bordering on unconsciousness. N. doesn’t think or plan anything; he simply does not know the limits in anything.
Stepan Plyushkin is the last “seller” of dead souls. This hero personifies complete mortification human soul. In the image of P., the author shows the death of a bright and strong personality, consumed by the passion of stinginess.
The description of P.'s estate (“he does not grow rich according to God”) depicts the desolation and “cluttering” of the hero’s soul. The entrance is dilapidated, there is a special disrepair everywhere, the roofs are like a sieve, the windows are covered with rags. Everything here is lifeless - even the two churches, which should be the soul of the estate
Sobakevich Mikhailo Semenych is a landowner, the fourth “seller” of dead souls. The very name and appearance of this hero (reminiscent of a “medium-sized bear”, his tailcoat is of a “completely bearish” color, he walks at random, his complexion is “red-hot, hot”) indicate the power of his nature.
Chichikov Pavel Ivanovich - main character poems. He, according to the author, has betrayed his true destiny, but is still able to be cleansed and resurrected in soul.
In the “acquirer” of Ch., the author portrayed a new evil for Russia - quiet, average, but enterprising. The average character of the hero is emphasized by his appearance: he is an “average gentleman”, not too fat, not too thin, etc. Ch. is quiet and inconspicuous, round and smooth. Ch.'s soul is like his box - there is a place there only for money (following his father's commandment to “save a penny”). He avoids talking about himself, hiding behind empty book phrases. But Ch.’s insignificance is deceptive. It is he and others like him who begin to rule the world. Gogol speaks of people like Ch.: “terrible and vile force.” She is vile because she cares only about her own benefit and profit, using all means. And it’s scary because it’s very strong. “Acquirers,” according to Gogol, are not capable of reviving the Fatherland. In the poem, Ch. travels around Russia and stops in the city of NN. There he meets everyone important persons, and then goes to the estates of the landowners Manilov and Sobakevich, along the way also getting to Korobochka, Nozdryov and Plyushkin. Ch. sells dead souls to all of them, without explaining the purpose of his purchases. In bargaining, Ch. reveals himself as a great expert on the human soul and as a good psychologist. He finds his own approach to each landowner and almost always achieves his goal. Having bought up the souls, Ch. returns to the city to draw up deeds of sale for them. Here he announces for the first time that he intends to “take out” the purchased souls to new lands, to the Kherson province. Gradually, in the city, the hero’s name begins to become surrounded by rumors, at first very flattering for him, and later destructive (that Ch is a counterfeiter, a fugitive Napoleon and almost the Antichrist). These rumors force the hero to leave the city. Ch. is endowed with the most detailed biography. This speaks of
Who did not become first of all
man, he is a bad citizen.
V.G. Belinsky
In his poem, Gogol mercilessly castigates officials with the light of satire. They are like a collection of strange and unpleasant insects collected by the author. Not a very attractive image, but are the officials themselves pleasant? If we remember that all these “statesmen” are in the service; if we remember that Gogol described the province (where the picture of the state is most typical); If we remember that Gogol was very criticized (which most clearly shows the veracity of the poem, despite all the grotesquery) for his work, it becomes truly scary for Russia, for the form in which it existed. Let's take a closer look at this eerie collection.
Russia has always divided modern critics into two parts: the peasantry, the people, and the landowners and officials. Here it would be necessary to add a third layer, which was still emerging at that time; his representative is Chichikov. He is like a pale toadstool growing on the bodies of landowners collapsing into oblivion. But was the landowner and bureaucratic layer really doomed? After all, the state existed, and it seemed to be good...
What is an urban society? In his description, Gogol used one, but very bright image: officials “... flashed and rushed separately and in heaps here and there, like flies rushed,... and air squadrons..., lifted by light air, take off boldly, like complete masters... not to eat, but just to show oneself...” With one comparison, Gogol immediately shows the great Emptiness, Emptiness with a capital V, reigning in the minds and souls of officials.
What are landowners and officials like individually? Let's start with the “statesmen” who are in service, personifying state power; on which the life of the people depends.
Prosecutor. His “silence” and “seriousness,” taken by everyone as a sign of a great mind, are only evidence that he simply has nothing to say. It is clear that he is the biggest bribe-taker: the news of “dead souls” and the worries associated with it shock him so much that he, unable to withstand the enormous, all-consuming fear... dies.
Here is the chairman of the chamber. He is a “very” reasonable “amiable person”. All! This is where his characterization ends. Nothing is said about this person’s hobbies or inclinations - there’s simply nothing to talk about!
The postmaster is not much better than the rest. Only for a while card game his face depicts a “thinking physiognomy.” The rest of the time he is “talkative.” But nothing is said about the content of the speeches. Obviously, as unnecessary.
One should not think that there are important differences between landowners and officials. Both are endowed with power that brings money.
Chichikov successively visits four landowners in the poem. A visit to Manilov shows highest degree emptiness and worthlessness. Manilov, about whom it can be said that his hobby - dreams - turned into a “profession”, brought his farm to such a state in which everything is collapsing from airy dilapidation and instability. ABOUT future fate You can guess the money and estates: they will be mortgaged if they don’t fall apart first.
Korobochka and Plyushkin. These are two forms of the same phenomenon: senseless and greedy hoarding. This greed is brought to the point of absurdity: Korobochka and Plyushkin differ only in the size of the smallest and most worthless object, dragged into the house, into chests, and generally “inside.” Both Korobochka and Plyushkin have complete isolation and isolation from the world, in one it is expressed in a solid fence and chained dogs, in sitting at home all the time; the other - in misanthropism, hatred of all potential wasters, and, as a consequence, of all people. Plyushkin's farm is already ruined remains; Korobochka’s farm is a “fortress”, ready to become moldy and collapse within itself.
Sobakevich is a strong owner. It seems that it is his farm - strong, although uncouth, made of oak - that will last the longest. The peasants live relatively well... Although we don’t know if this is so - we know about the peasants of Sobakevich only from their dwellings - gray but strong huts. One can guess that Sobakevich keeps his peasants under strict discipline. Who can guarantee that in some bad year the peasants will not rebel and sweep away Sobakevich with his family and estate? The Russian revolt will be all the more senseless and merciless because peasants from Manilovki, Vshivy Spesei and other villages will probably join it.
And so - Chichikov, by position - an official, by intentions - a landowner, by nature - a crafty slave, humiliating himself before the right person. “By adapting, people want to preserve themselves, and at the same time they lose themselves,” said Russian essayist M.I. Prishvin. This is very similar to Chichikov. Looking at the masks under which Chichikov is hiding, you can barely see him true face scoundrel and opportunist. But the failures that haunt him are an inevitable consequence of his machinations directed against people.
As for the environment in which such ugly personal computers appeared, they shaped it, adjusted it to themselves. The environment, musty and dark, produced more and more officials and landowners serving it. Only a revolution could break this vicious circle, which ultimately took place after 1861 and 1905.
So, where is the future of Russia, which will eventually rise and bloom? It is already clear that these are neither landowners nor Chichikov, the latter does not even have his own clear face, he is rather an exception; nor the officials who have subjugated power and law. The people, the Russian people, who will rise up, finally feeling freedom, part of which are both the intelligentsia and part of the truly tenacious, business people, this is Russia, us and our future.
The officials depicted in “Dead Souls” are strong because of their mutual responsibility. They feel a commonality of their interests and the need to defend themselves together when necessary. They have the characteristics of a special class in a class society. They are the third force, the average one, the average majority that actually governs the country. Provincial society is alien to the concept of civil and public duties, for them a position is only a means of personal pleasure and well-being, a source of income. Among them there is bribery, servility to higher officials, and a complete lack of intelligence. The bureaucracy has rallied into a corporation of embezzlers and robbers. Gogol wrote in his diary about provincial society: “The ideal of the city is emptiness. Gossip that has gone beyond limits.” Among officials, “meanness, completely disinterested, pure meanness” flourishes. Officials for the most part are uneducated, empty people who live according to a pattern and who give up in a new everyday situation.
The abuses of officials are most often ridiculous, insignificant and absurd. “You take things inappropriately” - that’s what is considered a sin in this world. But it is the “vulgarity of everything as a whole,” and not the size of the criminal acts that horrifies readers. “A stunning mud of little things,” as Gogol writes in the poem, has swallowed up modern man.
The bureaucracy in “Dead Souls” is not only “flesh of the flesh” of a soulless, ugly society; it is also the foundation on which this society rests. While provincial society considers Chichikov a millionaire and a “Kherson landowner,” the officials treat the newcomer accordingly. Since the governor “gave the go-ahead,” then any official will immediately fill out the necessary papers for Chichikov; Of course, not for free: after all, nothing can erase the initial habit of taking bribes from a Russian official. And Gogol, with short but unusually expressive strokes, painted a portrait of Ivan Antonovich Kuvshinnoye Rylo, who can safely be called a symbol of Russian bureaucracy. He appears in the seventh chapter of the poem and speaks only a few words. Ivan Antonovich is essentially not even a person, but a soulless “cog” of the state machine. And other officials are no better.
What is the value of a prosecutor, who has nothing but thick eyebrows...
When Chichikov’s scam was revealed, the officials were confused and suddenly “found ... sins in themselves.” Gogol laughs angrily at how bureaucrats in positions of power, mired in criminal activity, help the swindler in his dirty machinations, fearing their exposure.
IN to the greatest extent the lack of spirituality of the state machine is shown by Gogol in “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin.” Faced with the bureaucratic mechanism, the war hero turns not even into a speck of dust, he turns into nothing. And in in this case The captain’s fate is unjustly decided not by the provincial semi-literate Ivan Antonovich, but by a metropolitan nobleman of the highest rank, a member of the Tsar himself! But even here, at the highest state level, simple to an honest man, even the hero has nothing to hope for understanding and participation. It is no coincidence that when the poem passed censorship, it was “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” that was mercilessly cut by the censors. Moreover, Gogol was forced to rewrite it almost anew, significantly softening the tone and smoothing out sharp corners. As a result, little remains of “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” that was originally intended by the author.
Gogol's city is symbolic, " prefabricated city all dark side", and bureaucracy is an integral part of it.