The inserted elements in the composition of the poem are the author's digressions, biographies of Plyushkin and Chichikov, the parable about Kif Mokievich and Mokiya Kifovich, the story about Captain Kopeikin. They can serve as a kind of commentary on the events of the plot, create a social background, slow down the narrative at an interesting point, which helps keep the reader in suspense; they set up a complex system of associations, which is important for understanding the deep content of the characters and plot. The poem is constructed like a bizarre pattern or mosaic, “a collection of motley chapters.” Some compositional similarity is revealed with Pushkin’s novel “Eugene Onegin” (there similar role inserts and “texts within text”). This is also due to the special genre nature of both works (a novel in verse and a poem in prose).
Author's digressions. They can be grouped based on different criteria. On the one hand, they stand out as satirical, actually lyrical (in the first person, “about the author”) and rhetorical-pathetic (about Russia, about the crooked road of humanity, etc.). On the other hand, among them there are those directly related to the plot and those not related to it. Sometimes digressions contrast with their “surroundings” in the text, and this contrast is emphasized (see the beginning of the 7th chapter, after the inspired lyrical digression about the fate of the poet - “let's see what Chichikov is doing”). In the first half of the work, satirical digressions predominate, in the second - elegiac and pathetic (they already partially create the mood that should have been present in the second and third volumes; they are often written in rhythmic prose, replete with syntactic repetitions and parallels, thanks to which they come even closer together in style with poetic speech). The last few digressions are lyrical meditations on the theme of Russia, the final image is the troika, the symbol of Russia.
The role of the hero's biography. Of all the heroes, only Chichikov and Plyushkin have a biography: this is a sign of greater authorial “trust”; these characters should have “moved on” to the next two volumes (evidence of this has been preserved in Gogol’s draft notes and letters). They “have a past” in the poem and, therefore, have a future. Their images are more voluminous, more “human” than the others. In general, the presence of a biography is a sign of the main character or special authorial attention.
It is necessary to retell the biography, highlighting the main motives, and also show how the author’s voice comments on all this (a didactic appeal to the young man after the story of Plyushkin, an appeal to the readers before and after the story of Chichikov).
A special place in Chichikov’s biography.
1. Pay attention to its place in the composition. It is given only at the end of the poem, as a conclusion, generalization, clarification of the psychological and social roots of Chichikovism. What should have been at the beginning of the poem is here at the end, as in Pushkin’s novel “Eugene Onegin” the “introduction” (“I sing to my young friend...”) is given only at the end of the penultimate chapter. In both cases, there is some kind of unusualness, the irrationality of this compositional technique. In principle, none of the researchers explained why it is located at the end. In this one can also see Gogol’s parody technique - parodying the composition of a romantic work in which the hero is a “mysterious stranger”, and only at the end the veil of secrecy over his past is lifted: sometimes it is a terrible secret, a fatal curse, etc.; sometimes even after this the reader does not really learn anything, the feeling of mystery remains. In principle, this is how the composition of the novel is structured. Hero of our time". Gogol may have an element of parody of this kind, especially since immediately before this biography there is another compositional digression - about why the writer chose a “scoundrel” as his hero. This digression is clearly polemical in nature: the author ironically notes that the hero familiar to the reader must certainly please the ladies, and Chichikov’s “plumpness and middle age” will “do a lot of harm” to him in the eyes of the ladies.
2. The author addresses the reader, talking about the need to part with the hero for a while - “a virtuous man” and “hide the scoundrel.” After a detailed biography of Chichikov (in the guise of a rogue and immoral “scoundrel”), there follows a rhetorical didactic discussion about whether “there is some part of Chichikov in us too” and how important it is to think about it.
3. What kind moral lesson presented? In the biography of Chichikov, the motif of money, important for Russian literature, is easily revealed. The father’s will “take care of the penny above all else” (makes one recall Molchalin’s famous monologue “My father bequeathed to me...”), an analogy can be drawn between these characters;
in criticism, the perception of Chichikov as the literary “son” of Molchalin is known). But in Molchalin the motif of ranks is more actualized, and here higher value have money. Gogol notices a new social symptom that distinguishes the capitalist era from the feudal one: “He (Chichikov) was not interested in ranks...”;
“Acquisition is the fault of everything...”
The life story of Chichikov, his “exploits” and “miracles” - all this is, as it were, “anti-life,” “ false mirror hagiographic genre." It is significant that Chichikov fails in all his large enterprises, this is emphasized. The feeling of the futility of his attempts intensifies, but at the same time this gives Chichikov a chance to later become a positive hero. But for now, with each new collapse, it hardens even more, its “scope” becomes even more cynical, and its “scope” becomes steeper.
4. The “penny” motif in Chichikov’s biography refers to the name Kopeikin. It turns out that Chichikov is not noble robber, like Kopeikin, a “scoundrel”, a man of “penny”, the embodiment of a concrete everyday and social evil, and not abstract, bookish-romantic, poeticized in the romantic tradition. But the evil of Chichikovism can be overcome by repentance; the hero will have to cleanse himself. The images of these two heroes are compositionally mirrored: the plot of “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” is the transformation of an honest citizen and patriot into a robber; The plot with the participation of Chichikov, conceived by Gogol, is a solution to the question of how to “hide the scoundrel”, force him to cleanse himself, become an honest person, with whom, perhaps, the revival of Russia will even be connected (and through it, fateful changes on the scale of all humanity).
5. B final scene Chichikov, riding in a troika, gradually loses his own “Chichikovsky” outlines and, as it were, “dissolves” in the image of a “troika bird”: this is no longer Chichikov, but a generalized symbolic image of a Russian, to which in the following volumes the generalized symbolic image of the Russian himself was supposed to correspond Russia.
When considering this topic, re-read “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” especially carefully. You can find a very detailed and constructive analysis of it (against a broad literary, historical and cultural background) in the collection of articles by Yu. M. Lotman “In the School of the Poetic Word”, section “Gogol”.
Poem " Dead Souls"(1842) is a deeply original, nationally original work. This is a work about the contrast and uncertainty of Russian reality, and the title of the poem is no coincidence. To Gogol's contemporaries such a name seemed surprising; they believed that such a name would be suitable for some fantasy book. This perception is not accidental. The human soul was considered immortal, so the combination “dead souls” even seemed somewhat blasphemous. The first mention of this title of the poem appears in N.V. Gogol’s letter to A.S. Pushkin, in which he reports that he “began writing “Dead Souls.”
What meaning does the author put into the title of his work? Firstly, this is the name of deceased peasants who still continue to be listed in the “revision tales,” that is, in special lists according to which the landowner had to pay taxes to the state.
Secondly, Gogol means by “ dead souls"landowners. Then the main idea of the work becomes clear - to show the emptiness and soullessness of people who can use other people's work and control other people's destinies and lives.
What was strange to Gogol’s contemporaries was not only the title of the work, but also the way the author designated its genre. Gogol called his work a “poem,” but it was written in prose. This is no coincidence. In the “Training Book of Literature for Russian Youth,” Gogol dwells on the characteristics of the main character of the work of the genre in which “Dead Souls” was written. The hero may even be “an invisible person, but he must be significant and arouse interest for those who would like to observe the human soul. Required condition there should also be participation of the hero in various adventures. But the most important thing is that after reading such a work, the reader should learn “living lessons” for himself.
You can find another feature of the narrative, which also gives the author the right to call his work a poem.
Many lyrical and authorial digressions also bring the nature of the narrative closer to poetic.
The poem is full of lyrical and pathetic interpolated elements. The general pathos of the work is revealing and satirical. Therefore, it may be more accurate in defining the genre of the work to call “Dead Souls” a socio-ethical and satirical poem-novel.
“Dead Souls” was compared to the epic, called the “Russian Odyssey”, “Russian Illiad”. Gogol himself explained genre originality“Dead Souls” in the project “Training Book of Literature for Russian Youth” and spoke about “lesser kinds of epic.” The small epic, according to Gogol, includes the features of the epic and the novel.
According to availability characteristic elements“Dead Souls” can also be defined as a novel: a beginning associated with the image of the main character, a traditional love affair, a gossip motive, and the inclusion of a biography of the hero. Perhaps even clarification. “Dead Souls” is a picaresque novel: main character– antihero, the plot is built on a logical basis related episodes, the hero does not change under the influence of circumstances, the satirical orientation in the work is clearly expressed. But although all these features are evident, the problems of “Dead Souls” are much broader than those “intended” for the genre of picaresque novel.
“Dead Souls” does not fit into the genre framework of either a poem or a novel. Perhaps this is still a work of an intermediate genre. The content and form of the poem are characterized by genre-species duality.
The plot and composition of “Dead Souls” are determined by the subject of the image - Gogol’s desire to comprehend Russian life, the character of Russian people, the fate of Russia. We are talking about a fundamental change in the subject of the image compared to the literature of the 1820-1830s: the artist’s attention is transferred from the image of an individual to a portrait of society.
The introduction of this motif provides the author with the opportunity to depict life in a broad way.
This motif takes on a completely different meaning in the famous digression of the 11th chapter: the road with a rushing chaise turns into the path along which Rus' flies.
The plot of the journey gives Gogol the opportunity to create a gallery of landowners. At the same time, the composition looks very rational: the exposition of the plot of the journey is given in the 1st chapter (Chichikov meets officials and some landowners, receives invitations from them), followed by five chapters in which the landowners “sit”, and Chichikov travels from chapter to chapter, buying up dead souls. The composition of the work can be defined as either circular or main character in the 1st chapter he comes to the provincial town, and in the last chapter he leaves it. Five portrait chapters are dedicated to a separate landowner and, taken together, are intended to give a generalized portrait of the Russian landowner class of the Gogol era. The compositional features of the poem include the author’s digressions, as well as “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin,” included by the author in the 10th chapter and presented in the form of a postmaster’s story.
Gogol said about the landowners: “My heroes follow, one more vulgar than the other.” The level of vulgarity in Chapter 6 becomes unbearable. It is with this image that the lyrical digression in Chapter 6 is connected about the fiery young man who “would recoil in horror if they showed him his own portrait in old age.” Therefore, the 6th chapter can be called the culmination of the poem: presenting the tragic theme of change for the worse for Gogol, it completes the plot of the journey, because Plyushkin is the last of the landowners whom Chichikov visited.
The ideological and compositional role of Chichikov’s image is predetermined primarily by the fact that he owns the idea of the scam; to carry it out, he is given the right to freely move around artistic space poem, the author almost never parts with it. Without Chichikov, there would have been neither the plot of the journey nor the poem itself.
But such a plot was devoid of internal dynamics. Meanwhile, Gogol valued the artist’s ability to connect events into “one big knot.”
Compositional structure the works are very clear. There are two main settings in the poem: the first is the city of NN, the second is the surrounding estates. Approximately the same number of chapters gravitate towards these two settings. Chapters about Chichikov's stay in provincial town“torn” by Chichikov’s trip. But the events of the final city chapters, as if in a mirror, reflect the events of the first chapter. If at the beginning of the poem it is said that Chichikov’s arrival “did not make any noise in the city,” then at the end Chichikov becomes the cause of extraordinary turmoil in the city and leaves on the day of the funeral of the prosecutor who fell victim to him. Chichikov's good reputation, won by him already at the beginning of his stay in the city, grows as rapidly as the scandalous gossip about him then grows rapidly. In other words, the city chapters “ring” the work and are built on the basis of a plot of error, which in turn gives the work integrity.
The image of the author is created with the help of lyrical digressions, detailed comparisons, direct commentary on certain actions, thoughts, events in the lives of the characters, and small remarks scattered throughout the text of the poem. Gogol creates a monologue art world, the author's voice dominates it. This made it possible to directly express author's position in relation to the characters, saturating the author’s speech with irony, alogisms that characterize the characters, “vague words,” that is, everything that characterizes Gogol’s narrative style.
Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" is full of extra-plot elements. This work contains many lyrical digressions and, in addition, there are inserted short stories. They are concentrated at the end of “Dead Souls” and help to reveal the ideological and artistic design author.
“The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” is located in the tenth chapter of the work. She talks about fate common man, brought to a desperate situation by the indifference of the authorities, on the verge of life and death. This “work within a work” develops the theme “ little man”, also embodied in the story “The Overcoat”.
The hero of the story, Captain Kopeikin, participated in the military campaign of 1812. He courageously and bravely fought for his homeland and received many awards. But during the war, Kopeikin lost his leg and arm and became disabled. He could not exist in his village because he could not work. How else can you live in the village? Using his last chance, Kopeikin decides to go to St. Petersburg and ask the sovereign for “royal mercy.”
Gogol shows how the common man is consumed and suppressed Big city. He pulls everything out vitality, all the energy, and then throws it away as unnecessary. At first, Kopeikin was bewitched by St. Petersburg - luxury, bright lights and colors were everywhere: “a certain field of life, a fabulous Scheherazade.” Everywhere there is a “smell” of wealth, thousands and millions. Against this background, the plight of the “little man” Kopeikin is even more clearly visible. The hero has several tens of rubles in reserve. You need to live on them while your pension is earned.
Kopeikin immediately gets down to business. He is trying to get an appointment with the general-in-chief, who is authorized to decide issues about pensions. But it was not there. Kopeikin can’t even get an appointment with this to a high official. Gogol writes: “One doorman already looks like a generalissimo...” What can we say about the rest of the employees and officials! The author shows that “higher-ups” are absolutely indifferent to fate ordinary people. These are some kind of idols, gods who live their own, “unearthly” life: “... statesman! In the face, so to speak... well, in accordance with the rank, you know... with a high rank... that’s the expression, you know.”
What does this nobleman care about the existence of mere mortals! It is interesting that such indifference in “significant persons” is supported by everyone else, those who depend on these “gods”. The writer shows that all the petitioners bowed down before the general-in-chief, trembled, as if they saw not only the emperor, but the Lord God himself.
The nobleman gave Kopeikin hope. Inspired, the hero believed that life was beautiful and that justice existed. But it was not there! No real action followed. The official forgot about the hero as soon as he took his eyes off him. His last phrase was: “I can’t do anything for you; For now, try to help yourself, look for the means yourself.”
Desperate and disillusioned with everything holy, Kopeikin finally decides to take fate into his own hands. The postmaster, who told this whole story about Kopeikin, hints in the finale that Kopeikin became a robber. Now he thinks about his own life, without relying on anyone.
“The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” carries a large ideological and artistic load in “Dead Souls”. It is no coincidence that this inserted short story is located in the tenth chapter of the work. It is known that in last chapters poems (from seventh to tenth) characterize bureaucratic Russia. Officials are shown by Gogol as the same “dead souls” as the landowners. These are some robots the walking Dead who have nothing sacred left in their souls. But the death of bureaucracy occurs, according to Gogol, not because all this bad people. The system itself, which depersonalizes everyone who falls into it, is dead. This is precisely why bureaucratic Rus' is terrible. The highest expression of the consequences of social evil is, it seems to me, the fate of Captain Kopeikin.
This short story expresses Gogol's warning Russian authorities. The writer shows that if there are no radical reforms from above, they will begin from below. The fact that Kopeikin goes into the forests and becomes a robber is a symbol of the fact that the people can “take their destiny into their own hands” and raise uprisings, and perhaps a revolution.
It is interesting that the names of Kopeikin and Chichikov come closer together in the poem. The postmaster believed that Chichikov was probably the captain himself. It seems to me that such parallels are not accidental. According to Gogol, Chichikov is a robber, an evil that threatens Russia. But how do people turn into Chichikovs? How do they become soulless money-grubbers who do not notice anything other than their own goals? Maybe the writer shows that people do not become Chichikovs because of a good life? Just as Kopeikin was left alone with his pressing problems, so Chichikov was abandoned to the mercy of fate by his parents, who did not give him spiritual guidance, but set him up only for material things. It turns out that Gogol is trying to understand his hero, the essence of his nature, the reasons that formed this nature.
“The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” is one of the most important links in the poem “Dead Souls”. It contains the resolution of many issues, characterizes many images, reveals the essence of many phenomena and the author’s thoughts.
A significant place in the poem “Dead Souls” is occupied by lyrical digressions and inserted episodes, which is typical for the poem as literary genre. In them, Gogol touches on the most pressing Russian social issues. The author's thoughts about the high purpose of man, about the fate of the Motherland and the people are here contrasted with gloomy pictures of Russian life.
Why did Gogol call his work a poem? The definition of the genre became clear to the writer only in last moment, since, while still working on the poem, Gogol calls it either a poem or a novel. To understand the features of the genre of the poem “Dead Souls,” you can compare this work with the “Divine Comedy” of Dante, a poet of the Renaissance. Its influence is felt in Gogol's poem. The Divine Comedy consists of three parts. In the first part, the shadow of the ancient Roman poet Virgil appears to the lyrical hero, which accompanies him to hell. They go all circles, before their eyes - making a gallery of sinners. The fantastic nature of the plot does not prevent Dante from revealing the theme of his homeland - Italy, and its fate. In fact, Gogol planned to show the same circles of hell, but hell in Russia. It is not for nothing that the title of the poem “Dead Souls” ideologically echoes the title of the first part of Dante’s poem “The Divine Comedy,” which is called “Hell.”
Gogol, along with satirical negation, introduces a glorifying, creative element - the image of Russia. Associated with this image is the “high lyrical movement”, which in the poem at times replaces the comic narrative.
So, let's go for the hero of the poem "Dead Souls" Chichikov to NN. From the very first pages of the work, we feel the fascination of the plot, since the reader cannot assume that after Chichikov’s meeting with Manilov there will be meetings with Sobakevich and Nozdrev. The reader cannot guess the end of the poem, because all its characters are drawn according to the principle of gradation - one is worse than the other. For example, Manilov, if considered as a separate image, cannot be perceived as positive hero(on his table there is a book open on the same page, and his politeness is feigned: “Let me not allow you to do this”), but compared to Plyushkin, Manilov even wins in many ways. However, Gogol put the image of Korobochka in the center of attention, since she is a kind of unified beginning of all the characters. According to Gogol, this is a symbol of the “box man”, which contains the idea of an insatiable thirst for hoarding.
The theme of exposing officialdom runs through all of Gogol’s work: it stands out both in the collection “Mirgorod” and in the comedy “The Inspector General”. In the poem “Dead Souls” this theme is intertwined with the theme of serfdom.
“The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” occupies a special place in the poem. It is plot-related to the poem, but has great importance for disclosure ideological content works. The form of the tale gives the story a vital character - it denounces the government. To the world " dead souls"in the poem is opposed lyrical image people's Russia, about which Gogol writes with love and admiration.
Behind scary world of landowner and bureaucratic Russia, Gogol felt the soul of the Russian people, which he expressed in the image of a quickly rushing forward troika, embodying the forces of Russia: “Isn’t it so for you, Rus', that a brisk, unstoppable troika rushes along? “So, we settled on what Gogol depicts in his work. He depicts the social disease of society, but it should also be said about how Gogol manages to do this.
Firstly, Gogol uses social typification techniques. In depicting the gallery of landowners, he skillfully combines the general and the individual. Almost all of his characters are static, they do not develop (except for Plyushkin and Chichikov), and are captured by the author as a result. This technique emphasizes once again that all these Manilovs, Korobochki, Sobakevichs, Plyushkins are dead souls. To characterize his characters, Gogol also uses his favorite technique - characterizing the character through detail. Gogol can be called a “genius of detail”, so accurately sometimes details reflect the character and inner world character. What is it worth, for example, the description of Manilov’s estate and house! When Chichikov drove into Manilov's estate, he drew attention to the overgrown English pond, to the rickety gazebo, to the dirt and desolation, to the wallpaper in Manilov's room - either gray or blue, to two chairs covered with matting, which were never reached. the owner's hands. All these and many other details bring us to main characteristic, made by the author himself: “Neither this nor that, but the devil knows what it is!” Let us remember Plyushkin, this “hole in humanity,” who even lost his gender.
He comes out to Chichikov in a greasy robe, some kind of incredible scarf on his head, desolation, dirt, disrepair everywhere. Plyushkin is an extreme degree of degradation. And all this is conveyed through detail, through those little things in life that A. S. Pushkin admired so much: “Not a single writer has yet had this gift to expose the vulgarity of life so clearly, to be able to outline in such force the vulgarity of a vulgar person, so that all that trifle , which escapes the eye, would flash large in the eyes of everyone.”
The main theme of the poem is the fate of Russia: its past, present and future. In the first volume, Gogol revealed the theme of the past of the Motherland. The second and third volumes he conceived were supposed to tell about the present and future of Russia. This idea can be compared with the second and third parts " Divine Comedy» Dante: “Purgatory” and “Paradise”. However, these plans were not destined to come true: the second volume was unsuccessful in concept, and the third was never written. Therefore, Chichikov’s trip remained a trip into the unknown. Gogol was at a loss, thinking about the future of Russia: “Rus, where are you rushing? Give an answer! Doesn't give an answer."
COMPOSITION
The role of the episode in the poem by N.V. Gogol
"Dead Souls"
"Chichikov at Nozdryov's"
History of creation :
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol worked on the poem “Dead Souls” abroad. The first volume was published in 1841. The writer planned to write the poem in three parts. His task in this work was to show Rossi with negative side, as he himself said, “on one side.”
This poem shows a separate landowner Chichikov, Russian society, Russian people, economy (economy of landowners).
The title “Dead Souls”, I think, has a double meaning. On the one hand, N.V. Gogol included in the title the souls of the dead peasants, about whom so much is said in the poem. On the other hand, these are the “Dead Souls” of landowners. The writer showed here all the callousness, the emptiness of the soul, the idleness of life, all the ignorance of the landowners.
The story about Captain Kopeikin shows the attitude of officials towards to the common people, the fact that the state does not respect people who gave their health, and in many cases, their lives for it; that the state for which they fought in the War of 1812 does not fulfill its promises, does not care about these people.
There are many episodes in this poem. I think they can even be divided into groups. One group is the episodes of Chichikov’s visits to landowners. I think this group is the most important in the poem. I want to describe, perhaps even comment on, one episode from this group - this is the episode when Chichikov visits the landowner Nozdryov. The action took place in the fourth chapter.
After visiting Korobochka, Chichikov stopped at the tavern for lunch and to give the horses a rest. He asked the owner of the tavern about the landowners, and, as was his custom, Chichikov began asking the owner about her family and life. While he was talking and eating, he heard the sound of the wheels of an approaching carriage. Nozdryov and his companion, son-in-law Mezhuev, got out of the chaise.
Then we went to the office. There they had a disagreement due to our hero’s reluctance to play cards. Before the quarrel, Chichikov offered to buy “dead souls” from Nozdryov. Nozdryov began to set his own conditions, but Chichikov did not accept any of them.
After the conversation, Chichikov was left alone with himself.
The next day they began to play checkers on the condition: if our hero wins, then his soul; if he loses, then “there is no trial.” The author characterizes Nozdryov as follows: “He was of average height, a very well-built fellow, with full pleasant cheeks, teeth white as snow and jet-black sideburns. It was fresh, like blood and salt; health seemed to be dripping from his face.”
Nodryov joined our hero, told about the fair, that he was blown to smithereens there. Then Chichikov, Nozdryov and Mezhuev’s son-in-law went to Nozdryov’s. After dinner, Mezhuev’s son-in-law left. Chichikov and Nozdryov, as usual, began to “cheat.” Chichikov noticed this and became indignant, after which a quarrel ensued and they began waving their hands at each other. Nozdryov called his servants Pavlusha and Porfiry and began shouting to them: “Beat him, beat him!” Chichikov turned pale, his soul “sank to his feet.” And if it weren’t for the police captain, who entered the room to announce to Nozdryov that he was in custody for inflicting a personal insult with rods while drunk on the landowner Maximov; be our hero severely crippled. While the captain was announcing the notice to Nozdryov, Chichikov quickly took his hat, went downstairs, got into the chaise and ordered Selifan to drive the horses at full speed.
I think the theme of this episode was to show, to characterize the person who played not last role in the life of our hero. In my opinion,
N.V. Gogol also wanted to show with this episode all the “recklessness” of the young landowners, including Nozdryov. Here the writer showed how young landowners like Nozdryov, and in principle like all landowners, do nothing more than “hang around” at balls and fairs, play cards, drink “ungodly,” think only about themselves and how to be mean to others.
Episode Role :
This episode played a big role in the poem; Nozdryov, annoyed with Chichikov when he visited him, betrayed him at the governor’s ball. But Chichikov was saved by the fact that everyone knew Nozdryov as a liar, a hypocrite, a bully, so his words were perceived as “the ravings of a madman,” as a joke, as a lie, whatever, but not as the truth.
While reading this episode, my impressions varied from beginning to end. At the beginning of the episode, the actions were not very interesting for me: this is when Chichikov met Nozdryov, how they were driving to his house. Then I gradually began to be indignant at Nozdryov’s boorish behavior - this is when, after dinner, Chichikov offered to buy “dead souls” from him, and Nozdryov began to wonder why he needed this. All of Chichikov’s attempts to pull the wool over Nozdryov’s ears were thwarted by him. Nozdryov said that Chichikov was a big swindler and that if he were his boss, he would have hanged him from the first tree. While reading, I was outraged by Nozdryov’s behavior towards Chichikov; after all, Chichikov is his guest.
There were a lot of things that happened in this episode, but those were the actions that stayed with me.
Artistic details :
First, let's see how the author describes the tavern: “A darkened wooden, narrow, hospitable canopy on carved wooden posts, similar to ancient church candlesticks; the tavern was something like a Russian hut, several in large size, carved patterned cornices made of fresh wood around the windows and under the roof sharply and vividly dazzled its dark walls; there were jugs of flowers painted on the shutters; narrow wooden staircase, wide entryway. The interior of the tavern: a frost-covered samovar, scraped walls, a three-coal cabinet with teapots and cups in the corner, gilded porcelain eggs in front of images hanging on blue and red ribbons, a recently fallen cat, a mirror showing four eyes instead of two, and some kind of face instead flatbread; finally, bunches of fragrant herbs and carnations were stuck near the images, dried to such an extent that those who wanted to smell them only sneezed, and nothing more.”
Let's move on to the description of Nozdryov's household: in the house there were wooden trestles in the middle of the dining room. In the stable there were two mares, one dappled gray, the other a brown stallion, empty stalls; a pond, a water mill, where there was not enough flutter; forge. Nozdryov’s office: “There were no visible traces of books or paper in it, only sabers and two guns hung.” This suggests that Nozdryov was not interested in anything, did not take care of his farm, everything was neglected.
The hero's inner world in this episode:
Let's pay attention to the inner world of our hero in this episode. Here Chichikov at some points did not know what to answer Nozdryov to his annoying questions. It was in moments like this when Nozdryov asked him: “Why do you need them (dead souls)?”
In this episode, Chichikov, I think, felt awkward because of Nozdryov’s boorish behavior: he is offended by him, since our hero’s pride was affected. After Chichikov quarreled with Nozdryov after dinner because he did not play cards with him, he remained in the most unfavorable mood. The author describes his thoughts and feelings this way: “He was internally annoyed with himself for visiting them and wasting his time. But he scolded himself even more for talking to Nozdryov about the matter, acting carelessly, like a child, like a fool: for the matter was not at all of the kind that should be entrusted to Nozdryov. Nozdryov is a rubbish person, Nozdryov can lie, add, spread rumors and the devil knows what kind of gossip, it’s not good, it’s not good. “I’m just a fool,” he said to himself.”
I think that in this episode Chichikov behaved tolerantly and restrained, despite Nozdryov’s boorish behavior. But this is understandable, because our hero wants to achieve his goal at any cost.
In my opinion, the author wanted to show with this episode that not everything in life is as simple as one would like. That if everything turned out fine with Korobochka, then with Nozdryov everything went very abnormally - in life there are both white and black stripes.
I also think that this episode teaches us that we need to know a person very well, study him carefully before trusting him. After all, what happened with Chichikov: he trusted Nozdryov about the “dead souls,” and Nozdryov betrayed him by telling everyone about this matter.
But I repeat, Chichikov was saved by the fact that everyone considered Nozdryov a liar, no one believed him. Such luck may not happen in life.