Souls dead and alive in the poem “Dead Souls. “Dead Souls”, analysis of Gogol’s work

FIPI commentary on “Goals and Means”:
"Concepts this direction are interconnected and allow you to think about a person’s life aspirations, the importance of meaningful goal setting, the ability to correctly correlate the goal and the means of achieving it, as well as the ethical assessment of human actions. Many literary works feature characters who deliberately or mistakenly choose unsuitable means to realize their plans. And it often turns out that a good goal only serves as a cover for true (base) plans. Such characters are contrasted with heroes for whom the means of achieving a high goal are inseparable from the requirements of morality."

Recommendations for students:
The table presents works that reflect any concept related to the “Goals and Means” direction. You DO NOT need to read all of the works listed. You may have already read a lot. Your task is to revise your reading knowledge and, if you discover a lack of arguments within a particular direction, fill in the existing gaps. In this case you will need this information. Think of it as a landmark in a huge world literary works. Please note: the table shows only a portion of the works that contain the problems we need. This does not mean at all that you cannot make completely different arguments in your work. For convenience, each work is accompanied by small explanations (third column of the table), which will help you navigate exactly how, through which characters, you will need to rely on literary material(the second mandatory criterion when assessing a final essay)

An approximate list of literary works and carriers of problems in the direction of "Goals and Means"

“Goals and means” is one of the topics of the final essay on literature offered to graduates of 2019 by the developer of knowledge control materials, the FIPI Institute. What can you write about in such a work?

First, you need to explain what a goal is. For example, it can be seen as a fundamental part of human life. Write how important it is to have a goal, to strive for heights, to achieve something, to realize self-realization. You can mention great discoveries, scientific or geographical - this will make the essay more interesting and give you a chance to get a higher grade. Secondly, we can give a brief classification of goals, because they can be different - true and false, great and selfish. Another version of the work topic is “Does the end justify the means?” Consider whether a great goal achieved in an unjust way can be justified, write about an ethical assessment of the means to achieve the goal. Albert Einstein once said: “No goal is so high that it justifies unworthy means to achieve it.” Goethe also agreed with him: “High goals, even if unfulfilled, are more valuable than low goals, even if achieved.” You can agree with them or not, but in the second case you will have to try and present your convincing arguments. Write examples from literary works in which characters mistakenly or deliberately choose “bad” means to achieve a goal. You can also mention cases from life or history when a goal that is good at first glance actually serves only as a cover for base true plans. Be sure to contrast such characters with heroes who do not separate the means of achieving the goal from the requirements of morality.

This story, in his eyes, explains a lot about the hero’s character and makes him treat many things more leniently. That is why he talks in detail about. This childhood was hopeless, desolate: poverty, lack of love and affection, the immorality of a callous, unloving father, external and internal dirt - this was the environment in which he grew up, loved by no one, needed by no one. But fate endowed Chichikov with iron energy and the desire to arrange his life “more decently” than his loser father, unclean both in the moral and physical sense. This “dissatisfaction with reality” inspired the energy of little Chichikov. From his early encounters with poverty and hunger, from his father’s complaints about lack of money, from his instructions to “save money,” since you can only rely on one “money” in life, the boy gained the conviction that money is the basis of earthly happiness. That is why the hero of “Dead Souls” began to see the well-being of life as something that could be obtained with money - a well-fed, luxurious life, comfort... And so Chichikov began to “invent” and “acquire”: penny by penny he saved money, dodging in every possible way in the company of his comrades , revealing extraordinary persistence. While still at school, he began to “make a career” by imitating the teacher’s tastes. While still at school, he developed the talent to peer into human weaknesses, skillfully play on them, slowly and persistently. The ability to adapt to a person helped the main character of “Dead Souls” in the service, but it also developed in Chichikov the desire to sort out the “necessary” people from the “unnecessary”. That's why he reacted coldly to the sad fate of his former teacher, that’s why he didn’t have any feelings of gratitude towards the old tax farmer who helped him get a job. The feeling of gratitude is unprofitable - it requires giving up “something”, giving up “something”, and this was not part of the calculations of the “acquirer” Chichikov. Money, as the only and main goal of life, is an unclean goal, and the paths to it are unclean, and Chichikov went to this goal along the road of fraud and deception, without losing heart, struggling with failures... Meanwhile, having entered the wide expanse of life, he expanded and deepened his ideal. The picture of a well-fed, luxurious life gave way to another - he began to dream of a calm, clean family life, in the company of his wife and children. He felt warm and comfortable when he surrendered to this dream. The hero of “Dead Souls” pictured in his mind a house where complete contentment reigns, where he is an exemplary husband, a respected father and a respectable citizen native land. It seemed to Chichikov that when his dreams came true, he would forget the whole past - his dirty, joyless and hungry childhood and the thorny road marked by fraud and trickery. It seemed to him that he would then give up cheating, “correct himself” and leave “ good name" to my children. If earlier, when cheating, he justified himself with the knowledge that “everyone does it,” now a new justification has been added: “the end justifies the means.”

Chichikov's ideals became broader, but the path to them remained dirty, and he became more and more dirty. And, in the end, he himself had to admit that “cunning” had become his habit, his second nature. “No more disgust from vice! - he complains to Murazov in the second part of “Dead Souls”. - The nature has become coarser; there is no love for good, there is no such desire to strive for good as there is for obtaining property! Several times Chichikov managed to erect the shaky edifice of his well-being on fraudulent tricks of all kinds; Several times he was close to realizing his ideals, and every time everything collapsed, he had to build everything all over again.

Chichikov - the main character of Gogol's "Dead Souls"

Chichikov's willpower and intelligence

The main character of Dead Souls is distinguished by considerable willpower. “Your purpose is to be a great man,” Murazov tells him, reproaching him for great power his soul, his energy, was always directed towards an unclean goal. Chichikov speaks about energy more than once in “ Dead souls"And Gogol, at least, telling his difficult "odyssey", when he had to arrange his life again. In addition to willpower, Chichikov is endowed great mind, not only practical - with intelligence, ingenuity, cunning and resourcefulness, but also with that contemplative, “philosophical” mind that puts him above all other heroes of the poem. It is not for nothing that Gogol puts deep thoughts into his head about the fate of the Russian man (reading the list of bought men). In addition, Chichikov talks sensibly about the vulgarity of the life of a prosecutor, about the upbringing that spoils a girl in Russia. It is not for nothing that he understands not only human weaknesses, but also virtues, and it is not without reason that when faced with honest people(Governor General, Murazov), he turns out to be capable, precisely at the moment of his humiliation, of rising morally. In their society, he is portrayed not only as a resourceful and crafty rogue, but as a fallen man who understands the depth and shame of his fall. “He never respected a single person for their intelligence,” says Gogol, until fate brought him together with Kostanzhoglo, Murazov and others. He did not respect him because he himself was smarter than everyone he had met before.

In the practical rogue hero of Dead Souls, Gogol noted another characteristic feature- a penchant for poetry, for daydreaming. Chichikov's momentary infatuation with a young lady he met on the way, his pure infatuation with the governor's daughter, his mood in the Platonovs' house, the pleasure of the evening at the Rooster's estate, in the spring - in the village of Tentetnikov, his very dreams of quiet, beautiful family happiness are full of real poetry...

At the same time, Chichikov has a very high opinion of himself: he respects himself for his energy, for his intelligence, for his ability to live. He loves himself for his “pure dreams,” which he zealously serves; he loves himself for his good looks, for his smart suit, for his noble manners - in a word, for the fact that, having come out of a dirty hole, from the dirty company of his father, he managed to become, in his opinion, a “decent man.”

Chichikov in society

Gogol's image of Chichikov immediately becomes vulgar when he finds himself in a society of vulgar people. This happens because he always adapts to the people with whom he deals: he even speaks and behaves differently in the company of Manilov, Sobakevich and Korobochka. With the first, Chichikov becomes sentimental, dreams, rubs into his sensitive heart; with the second he is businesslike, and responds to the owner’s distrust with the same distrust (scene with money and receipt); He shouts at the harmless, stupid Korobochka, promising her “damn.” When Chichikov finds himself in “society”, he imitates the “tone” of this society, adopts those manners that are considered “decent” here - and therefore for the crowd he will always be “decent”, “well-intentioned”, “pleasant”... He will not go, like Chatsky in Griboyedov’s “Woe from Wit,” against the whole of Moscow—Molchalin’s policy is more convenient and easier for him.

Chichikov understands people and knows how to make a favorable impression - in the second part of “Dead Souls” he charms even the smart Kostanzhoglo, and wins the distrustful brother Platonov in his favor. In addition, he is careful - even when tipsy, he knows how to keep his tongue from being too talkative: life, obviously, has taught him caution. However, sometimes Chichikov makes mistakes: he made a mistake in Nozdryov, and he made a mistake with Korobochka. But this mistake is explained by the fact that these two characters in “Dead Souls” also have such unique characters that even Chichikov did not immediately comprehend.

The complexity and contradictory nature of Chichikov

The passion for “acquisition” has left a certain stamp of “pettiness” on the protagonist of “Dead Souls” - he even collects old posters in his box - a trait worthy of Plyushkin. The structure of his box, with drawers and secret compartments, resembles Korobochka's chest of drawers, with its bags for ten-kopeck, two-kopeck coins. At school, Chichikov saved money using the Korobochka method. Chichikov’s pettiness is also expressed in his curiosity: he always questions the sex workers, servants, collects all kinds of information “just in case,” just as Plyushkin collected various objects in his office.

Not without irony, Gogol casually notes in “Dead Souls” another feature of Chichikov - his “compassion” - he always gave pennies to the poor. But this compassion is “penny” - it is far from the ability of self-sacrifice, renunciation of some benefits in favor of one’s neighbor. Chichikov has no love for his neighbor at all. He did not rise beyond the ideals of family love, which were essentially selfish.

If Gogol really wanted to show in Chichikov the revival of a vicious person for good, then we must admit that he made a successful choice of the hero of Dead Souls. Chichikov's complex nature is rich in a wide variety of qualities. His amazing energy was combined with intelligence, common sense, cunning, great flexibility and tirelessness.

But, besides all this, Gogol noted in him a “man-inventor”, capable of inventing something “new”, telling a society mired in inertia his new, albeit criminal, word. Chichikov has no inertia - his mind is free and his imagination is winged. But all these qualities are, so to speak, “neutral” - they can be equally aimed at evil and good. But Gogol emphasized the presence of consciousness in the soul of this hero of “Dead Souls” - Chichikov knows that he is doing evil, but consoles himself with the thought that “doing evil” in his life is only a “transitional moment.” In this ability to distinguish between “good” and “evil” lies the source of Chichikov’s revival. It is all the easier for him because, in essence, his life ideals (“pure family happiness”) were, if not particularly high, then, nevertheless, impeccable. Moreover, in his soul there are soft elements of poetry and dreaminess. Probably on all of these positive qualities Gogol wished for Chichikov further development action of "Dead Souls" build its revival.

The story of Plyushkin, Tentetnikov in the second part of “Dead Souls”, the life story of Russian peasants (see Chichikov’s reading of the list of names of the peasants he bought). He puts into Murazov’s mouth an explanation of why a person’s history is interesting. Murazov says to the stern Governor-General: “...If you don’t take into account a person’s previous life, if you don’t ask about everything in cold blood, but shout the first time, you’ll only scare him, and you won’t even achieve real recognition; and if you ask him with his participation, like a brother of a brother, he will express everything himself... The human situation is difficult, your Excellency, very, very difficult. It happens that it seems that a person is to blame all around... but when you come in, it’s not even him... Gogol recommends such a humane attitude towards each person in a letter to “who occupies an important place” (“Selected passages from correspondence with friends”). He condemned the lack of this humane attention in “) they were finishing reading old novels - obviously very pleasant. More educated people, Tentetnikov, Platonov, were only amazed by it. However, in a conversation with Murazov, Chichikov does not resort to this “poetic” style, which so favored Manilov and the provincial ladies.

“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 journey into 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 into 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

1. 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 "".
2. 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.
3. The box is “club-headed”. A vulgar, stupid, stingy and tight-fisted nature. She cut herself off from everything around her, shutting herself up in her estate - the “box”. She turned into a stupid and greedy woman. Limited, stubborn and unspiritual.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. we described in the essay of the same name. .

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.

Names of those bought for next to nothing dead peasants 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 for the better, 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

1. 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.
2. 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: the nobles, like officials, think only about their own interests, the homeland for them is an empty weightless word. High society doesn't care about common people, simply uses it for his own purposes.
3. 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.
4. The author’s humanism is manifested in his attention to “ little man", critical exposure of vices government system. Political problems Gogol didn’t even try to get around. He described a bureaucracy that functioned only on the basis of bribery, nepotism, embezzlement and hypocrisy.
5. Gogol's characters are characterized by 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.

What is unique about the work?

Adventurism, realistic reality, a sense of the presence of the irrational, philosophical reasoning about earthly good - all this is closely intertwined, creating an “encyclopedic” picture of the first half of the 19th century centuries.

Gogol achieves this using various techniques of satire, humor, visual arts, numerous details, richness vocabulary, features of the composition.

• 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.
• Philosophical reflections on the frailty of existence, lost youth and impending old age evoke sadness. 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 system a speech that sounds solemn, excited and sincere, without a hint of irony. When describing landowners' estates and their owners use vocabulary characteristic of everyday speech. The image of the bureaucratic world is saturated with the vocabulary of the depicted environment.
• we described in the essay of the same name.

The solemnity of comparisons, high style, combined with original speech, create a sublimely ironic manner of narration, serving to debunk the base, vulgar world of the owners.

Interesting? Save it on your wall! The poem “Dead Souls” is one of central works

the world-famous writer Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, which upended the literary world that had developed at that time and became an object of veneration and sometimes condemnation by critics. Many people reproached Gogol for his pessimistic attitude towards society; in many of his works there is not a single positive character , which could become “a ray of light in the dark kingdom.” Every Gogol hero either has inflated self-esteem, or, on the contrary, dislikes himself so much that sometimes he rushes to extremes. It is worth recalling, for example, the same comedy “The Inspector General,” about which Nikolai Vasilyevich himself said that the only positive hero

Then sadness arises from the fact that everything written in the poem is the pure truth: very often you can find corruption and bribery, speculation and other things that exist in our lives.

Initially, Gogol conceived three volumes of the poem “Dead Souls,” but only one reached readers. According to legend, Nikolai Vasilyevich burned the second volume, and the third remained only in his plans. Literary world I saw this work back in 1842, however, despite the fact that this work was written more than a hundred years ago, unfortunately, in modern world practically nothing has changed.

It is interesting that the idea of ​​​​creating “souls” was suggested to Gogol by an authority in Russian literature- Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin.

This happened long before the poem was written: Pushkin was told a story that supposedly took place, so the modern reader can judge that Gogol literally described the reality that took place on the territory of the Russian Empire.

The story that Pushkin told said that in the city of Bandera, by a strange coincidence, no one died except military personnel. This strange fact was explained by the fact that the names of the dead were given to runaway peasants who did not have documents. Alexander Sergeevich told this story to Gogol, of course, transforming it literary, but Nikolai Vasilyevich caught the essence of the problem and took it as a basis in “Dead Souls”.

In his work, Gogol no longer describes cunning speculation among landowners, but character types of people that have developed in our society a long time ago and have not yet eradicated themselves.

In modern psychology there is even “Plyushkin syndrome,” which involves compulsive personality disorder and the desire to accumulate unnecessary things.

Nikolai Vasilyevich was such a subtle psychologist who simply scrupulously understood people! Let's look at the characters who participate in this poem, because it is these portraits that carry main meaning works.

Chichikov- one of the main characters of the poem, who travels throughout Russia in search of his plans. During the course of the story, he talks with each of the landowners. He is a pathetic and narcissistic young man who, through deception and his pretense, is trying to extract from other landowners the benefit he needs, namely “dead souls,” for his personal documentation.

He accepted the behavior of his interlocutor and adapted to him, like a chameleon. Characterized by arrogance, duplicity and hypocrisy.

Nozdryov- a young landowner, a kind of lover of excitement and reckless driver. He only cares about himself: in any situation, Nozdryov is ready to shift all the blame onto his friend. The landowner is full of energy, but he does not direct it in a useful direction.

Manilov- at first, this landowner, because of his courtesy, evokes sympathy, but, thanks to the scrupulous description of details, Gogol almost completely discourages the desire to respect this man. He is very lazy: “there was always some book with a bookmark on page fourteen, which he had been constantly reading for two years.” Dreamy Manilov seems to live in his “sugar world”, in real life exists as an amoeba and does not provide any benefit to society.

Box- the widow of a landowner, in whose world everything is frozen: despite the fact that she has a strong house, flies fly in it, about which Korobochka has nothing to do. This lady is very greedy and in every interlocutor she sees a way to make money. It is distinguished by its terrible stupidity: it was Korobochka who accidentally “turned in” Chichikov’s scam.

Sobakevich- the only one who is not so doomed in this poem. The appearance of this forty-year-old man is repulsive: he looks like a bear, and his manners leave much to be desired.

Plyushkin- a man doomed to a low existence, whose will has broken. Due to his stinginess, which occurred as a result of the death of his wife, Plyushkin broke down and cluttered his soul. There is chaos in his life everywhere, from home and appearance and ending with the soul. His image, unlike previous heroes, not so typical: with the help of Plyushkin, Gogol wanted to show a man who had fallen below the plinth.