Chichikov in the poem dead souls. Essay on the topic “The image of Chichikov in the poem “Dead Souls”

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We often say that happiness is not found in money, but at the same time we always note that a person with money is in more advantageous position, can afford more than a poor person. Many works of art on the topic of a wedding with an unloved, but rich person, or the injustice that has arisen associated with bribery, brings to mind another well-known phrase: money rules the world. This is probably why a person with small capital often strives to improve his financial situation at any cost. These methods and methods are not always legal; they often contradict the principles of morality. N. Gogol talks about one of these actions in the poem “ Dead souls».

Who is Chichikov and why does he come to town N

Main character narration by retired official Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. He is “not handsome, but not bad-looking either, neither too fat nor too thin; I can’t say that I’m old, but I can’t say that I’m too young.” He considers himself a person of pleasant appearance, he especially liked his face “which he loved sincerely and in which, it seems, he found the chin most attractive, for he very often boasted of it to one of his friends.”

This man travels through the villages of Russia, but his goal is by no means as noble as one might think at first glance. Pavel Ivanovich buys “dead souls”, that is, documents for the ownership of people who have died but have not yet been included in the lists of the dead. The census of peasants was carried out every few years, so these same “dead souls” hovered and were considered alive in documents. They represented a lot of trouble and waste, since it was necessary to make payments for them before the next census (revision tales).

Chichikov's proposal to sell these people to the landowners sounds more than tempting. Many people find the item they are buying very strange, it sounds suspicious, but they want to get rid of it faster.” dead souls“takes its toll - one by one the landowners agree to the sale (the only exception was Nozdryov). But why does Chichikov need “dead souls”? He himself talks about it this way: “Yes, if I bought all these people who died out before they submitted new revision tales, buy them, let’s say, a thousand, yes, let’s say, the guardianship council will give two hundred rubles per head: that’s two hundred thousand for the capital " In other words, Pavel Ivanovich plans to resell his “dead souls”, passing them off as living people. Of course, it is impossible to sell serfs without land, but he finds a way out here too - buying land in a remote place, “for pennies.” Naturally, such a plan was not dictated good conditions life and financial situation, but, whatever one may say, this dishonest act.

Last name meaning

It is difficult to judge unambiguously about the etymology of Pavel Ivanovich’s surname. It is not as prosaic as the surnames of other characters in the poem, but the very fact that the surnames of other characters are their characteristics (they draw attention to moral or physical flaws) suggests that there must be a similar situation with Chichikov.

And so, it is likely that this surname came from the word “chichik”. In Western Ukrainian dialects, this is the name given to a small songbird. N. Gogol was associated with Ukraine, so we can assume that he had in mind precisely this meaning of the word - Chichikov, like a bird, sings beautiful songs to everyone. There are no other meanings recorded in dictionaries. The author himself does not explain anywhere why the choice fell on this particular word and what he wanted to say by awarding Pavel Ivanovich such a surname. That's why this information should be perceived at the level of a hypothesis, it should be argued that this absolutely correct explanation is impossible due to the small amount of information on this matter.

Personality and character

Arriving in the city of N, Pavel Ivanovich meets the local landowners and the governor. He makes a good impression on them. This beginning of a trusting relationship contributed to Chichikov’s further purchases - they spoke of him as a man of high morals and excellent upbringing - such a person cannot be a swindler and a deceiver. But, as it turned out, this was just a tactical move that allowed him to cleverly deceive the landowners.

The first thing that surprises you about Chichikov is his attitude to hygiene. For many of his new acquaintances, this became a sign of a man from high society. Pavel Ivanovich “waking up very early in the morning, washed himself, wiped himself from head to toe with a wet sponge, which was done only according to Sundays" He “rubbed both cheeks with soap for an extremely long time,” when he washed himself, “plucked out two hairs that had come out of his nose.” As a result, those around him decided that “the visitor showed such attentiveness to the toilet that has not even been seen everywhere.”

Chichikov is a suck-up. “In conversations with these rulers, he very skillfully knew how to flatter everyone.” At the same time, he tried not to say anything specific about himself, using general phrases; those present thought that he was doing this out of modesty.

In addition, the phrases “he is an insignificant worm of this world and is not worthy of being cared for much, that he has experienced a lot in his life, endured in the service for the truth, had many enemies who attempted even on his life, and that now, wanting to calm down, looking to finally choose a place to live” evoked a certain feeling of pity for Chichikov among those around him.

Soon, all his new acquaintances began to speak flatteringly about him and tried to please “such a pleasant, educated guest.”

Manilov, characterizing Chichikov, asserted that “he is ready to vouch, as for himself, that he would sacrifice all his estate in order to have a hundredth share of Pavel Ivanovich’s qualities.”

“The governor explained about him that he is a well-intentioned person; the prosecutor - that he is a sensible person; the gendarme colonel said that he learned man; the chairman of the chamber - that he is a knowledgeable and respectable person; the police chief - that he is a respectable and kind person; the police chief’s wife - that he is the most kind and courteous person.”

As we see, Pavel Ivanovich managed to gain the trust of the landowners and the governor in the best possible way.

He managed to keep a fine line and not go too far with flattery and praise towards the landowners - his lies and sycophancy were sweet, but not so much that the lies were noticeable. Pavel Ivanovich not only knows how to present himself in society, but also has the talent to convince people. Not all landowners agreed to say goodbye to their “ dead souls" Many, like Korobochka, had great doubts about the legality of such a sale. Pavel Ivanovich manages to achieve his goal and convince him that such a sale is nothing unusual.

It should be noted that Chichikov has developed intellectual abilities. This is manifested not only when thinking about a plan to get rich from “dead souls”, but also in the manner of conducting a conversation - he knows how to maintain a conversation at the proper level, without having sufficient knowledge in a particular issue, it is unrealistic to look smart in the eyes of others and no flattery and fawning unable to save the situation.

In addition, he is very friendly with arithmetic and knows how to quickly carry out mathematical operations in his mind: “Seventy-eight, seventy-eight, thirty kopecks per head, that will be...” here our hero thought for one second, no more, and suddenly said: it will be twenty-four rubles ninety-six kopecks.”

Pavel Ivanovich knows how to adapt to new conditions: “he felt that the words “virtue” and “rare properties of the soul” could be successfully replaced with the words “economy” and “order”,” although he cannot always quickly figure out what to say: “Already Plyushkin stood for several minutes without saying a word, and Chichikov still could not start a conversation, entertained both by the appearance of the owner himself and by everything that was in his room.”

Having acquired serfs, Pavel Ivanovich feels awkward and anxious, but these are not pangs of conscience - he wants to get the matter over with as quickly as possible and is afraid that something might go wrong “still the thought came to me: that souls are not entirely real and that in similar cases Such a burden always needs to be lifted off one’s shoulders as quickly as possible.”

However, his deception was revealed - Chichikov in an instant turns from an object of worship and a desired guest into an object of ridicule and rumors; he is not allowed into the governor’s house. “It’s just that you alone are not ordered to be allowed in, but all others are allowed,” the doorman tells him.

The others are also not happy to see him - they mumble something incomprehensible. This confuses Chichikov - he cannot understand what happened. Rumors about his scam reach Chichikov himself. As a result, he leaves home. IN last chapter, we learn that Pavel Ivanovich is of humble origin, his parents tried to provide him better life, so sending it to independent life, gave him such advice that, as his parents thought, would allow him to occupy good place in life: “Pavlusha, study... please your teachers and bosses most of all. Don’t hang out with your comrades, they won’t teach you any good; and if it comes to that, hang out with those who are richer, so that on occasion they can be useful to you. Don’t treat or treat anyone, but behave better so that you will be treated, and most of all, take care and save a penny... You will do everything and lose everything in the world with a penny.”

Thus, Pavel Ivanovich, guided by the advice of his parents, lived in such a way as not to spend money anywhere and save money, but to earn significant capital in an honest way turned out to be unrealistic, even with strict savings and acquaintance with the rich. The plan to buy “dead souls” was supposed to provide Chichikov with fortune and money, but in practice this turned out not to be the case. The stigma of a swindler and a dishonest person firmly stuck to him. Whether the hero himself learned a lesson from their current situation is a rhetorical question; it is likely that the second volume should have revealed the secret, but, unfortunately, Nikolai Vasilyevich destroyed him, so the reader can only guess what happened next and whether Chichikov should be blamed for such an act or it is necessary to mitigate his guilt by referring to the principles to which society is subject.

Chichikov in the story by N.V. Gogol’s “Dead Souls”: analysis of the hero, image and characteristics

Chichikov is the main character in the poem “Dead Souls”. From childhood, he listened to his father and showed all the baseness of his soul. He tried in any way to earn a pretty penny, which he put in a special bag. When the bag was full, he sewed it up and began filling a new one. Already, as a child, he used any means to earn money.

Having become older and having taken the place of an official, Chichikov realizes that this position opens up new prospects for him. He committed one scam after another, and when he was exposed, he skillfully covered his tracks and went into hiding. All his endeavors failed, but he did not lose heart and took on the next “business.” This suggests that a person has neither conscience nor honor.

Nothing significant can be said about his appearance. His appearance was somehow blurry. Gogol says about Chichikov that he was neither handsome nor ugly, neither old nor young, neither fat nor thin. But he was an excellent psychologist, and skillfully noticed the weak and strengths person. He knew how to please everyone and adapted to each interlocutor. That's why everyone trusted him.

Having learned about financial condition Chichikov, officials and their wives immediately began to respect the hero and bow to him. They believed that such a person should be friends and maintain contact. Chichikov is happy to try, he has achieved everyone’s favor with him. Like the devil, he changes his appearance and gains trust. Chichikov is a vile and immoral person, before whom everyone grovels. And society itself is to blame for the appearance of such people.

The story “Dead Souls,” which Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol prudently called a poem, really contains the “poetic” aspirations of the main character Chichikov in solving his quite prosaic life problems. From childhood he was left to his own devices, received an insufficient education, and even spent his youth in some hardships. Chichikov’s characterization is not much different from others. However, the young man was naturally smart and resourceful, difficult situations in my life I overcame it on my own, sometimes quite successfully. Growing up and gaining experience, Chichikov learned to use numerous social Russian shortcomings to his own advantage, so that he would benefit and not be held accountable by law.

From time to time, Chichikov, while serving in some “grain place,” through negligence or out of greed, miscalculated, received a scolding from his superiors, but on the whole he was in good standing and took bribes deftly, quietly, and even artistically. And Chichikov’s characterization was an example for all other officials. A petitioner who came to Chichikov would sometimes give the amount into his hands, but he would not take it. What do you mean, we don’t take it, sir...! And he assured the man that everything would be brought to his house today necessary documents, without any “greasing”. The petitioner went home, inspired, almost happy, and waited for the courier. I waited a day, then another, one week and then another. The bribe that the visitor then brought as a result of this simple combination invented by Chichikov was three times larger than the original one.

And then one day Chichikov was struck by a certain brilliant idea that promised quick and sure enrichment. “I’m looking for mittens everywhere, but they’re in my belt,” said Chichikov and set about developing his future operation to acquire dead souls. In landowner Russia there was a market at that time. In other words, it was possible to buy peasants, sell them and give them as gifts. The transaction was formalized legally, the buyer and seller drew up a serf bill of sale. The peasants were expensive, one hundred rubles and two hundred. But if you buy dead serfs from landowners, then you can do it cheaper, Chichikov thought and got down to business.

The whole point of his enterprise was to count on receiving the so-called raising money, issued by guardianship councils throughout Russia, when relocating landowners' farms to other lands or simply acquiring serfs. Two hundred rubles per peasant, alive and healthy of course. Who will be there to check whether he is alive or dead, Chichikov rightly believed and slowly got ready to set off on the road. Our hero arrived in the city of NN, looked around and immediately paid visits to all city officials. After a short conversation with Chichikov, the officials in him were so able to flatter and butter him up. Chichikov’s characterization was impeccable, he was welcomed everywhere and everyone was happy to see him.

Then Chichikov chose landowners who had serfs and began to visit them one by one. He made the same offer to everyone. I’ll buy, they say, dead serfs, I need them for business, but I’ll give them inexpensively, I’m not rich at the moment. The first landowner, Manilov, was a sort of refined dandy, had a wife and children. He was surprised by Chichikov’s request, but behaved intelligently and gave away his dead peasants for nothing. After Manilov, Chichikov ended up with the landowner Korobochka. The old woman listened, pondered and at first refused. Chichikov literally began to sweat, persuading her, citing all the obvious benefits of the deal for the landowner. And Korobochka, you know, is murmuring, I’ll find out the prices first, I’ll make inquiries, then we’ll talk.

After Korobochka, Chichikov came to Nozdryov. turned out to be a rare scoundrel, a reveler and a gambler. Chichikov got tired of it too. He offered him horses and a barrel organ instead. I wanted to play cards for dead souls or checkers. And he lowered the price, he asked for more than the living ones. Chichikov barely carried his feet away from Nozdryov. And he came to the next landowner Sobakevich. The enormous landowner Sobakevich, a fellow of small intelligence but cunning, first of all stepped on Chichikov’s foot with all his weight. Chichikov hissed in pain and jumped on one leg. Satisfied, Sobakevich invited him to dinner. And when Chichikov started a business conversation, the landowner set a price even higher than Nozdryov. After bargaining, they agreed on two rubles and a half. Brief description Chichikova must be complemented by his ability to bargain.

The last one was the landowner Plyushkin. He had more than a thousand serfs. And there were one hundred and twenty dead, and about a hundred escaped. Chichikov bought them all. And as the conversations started in the city after his trips and shopping, Chichikov almost became a hero. But at the same time, Chichikov’s characterization was lame; many of his former friends refused to give him a home. It's just a pity that it was all in vain. Chichikov’s impeccable characterization will not help either, dead souls - they won’t become alive, they won’t be given money.

Speaking surname Chichikova

The surname "Chichikov" is telling. According to one version, it is similar to the chirping of a sparrow and reflects such qualities of the hero as dexterity and the ability to adapt. And his name - Paul - correlates with this in a known way in Christianity, as the image of the Apostle Paul, who first persecuted Christ and then himself converted to Christianity.

This suggests that Gogol probably also planned changes in Chichikov’s soul in better side, his moral revival, cleansing from those unclean, base deeds that he was engaged in throughout the first volume.

Chichikov's appearance

Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov is the main character of N.V. Gogol's poem "Dead Souls", a collegiate adviser. Chichikov’s appearance can already tell a lot about him, a dexterous and cunning man who is liked by literally everyone: he is a plump, middle-aged man, not a real handsome man, but pleasant to look at, with a friendly voice, and smells good because he wears cologne.

Character, image, origin of Chichikov

Chichikov comes from a family of poor nobles, but despite this, he is well educated. Chichikov's character is as follows: he is a reasonable, polite person, but very cunning, deceitful, hypocritical, who manages numbers and money well, and saves a lot. He is cold-blooded and purposeful, always going towards his goal, using the dirtiest methods to achieve this. For him, the end always justifies the means. But Chichikov knows how to hide all his shortcomings in order to achieve his goal; he easily charms those around him and misleads them with his external courtesy and pleasantness. Chichikov is smart and calculating, well versed in human psychology and can find an approach to almost anyone. The main goal of his life is to get as much as possible more money, and for this he is ready to do anything.

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Updated: 2018-03-03

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We often say that happiness cannot be found in money, but at the same time we always note that a person with money is in a more advantageous position and can afford more than a poor person. Many works of art on the theme of a wedding with an unloved, but rich, or the resulting injustice associated with bribery, lead to another well-known phrase: money rules the world. This is probably why a person with small capital often strives to improve his financial situation at any cost. These methods and methods are not always legal; they often contradict the principles of morality. N. Gogol talks about one of these actions in the poem “Dead Souls”.

Who is Chichikov and why does he come to town N

The main character of the story is a retired official Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. He “is not handsome, but not bad-looking, neither too fat nor too thin; I can’t say that I’m old, but I can’t say that I’m too young.” He considers himself a person of pleasant appearance, he especially liked his face “which he loved sincerely and in which, it seems, he found the chin most attractive, for he very often boasted of it to one of his friends.”

This man travels through the villages of Russia, but his goal is by no means as noble as one might think at first glance. Pavel Ivanovich buys “dead souls”, that is, documents for the ownership of people who have died but have not yet been included in the lists of the dead. The census of peasants was carried out every few years, so these same “dead souls” hovered and were considered alive in documents. They represented a lot of trouble and waste, since it was necessary to make payments for them before the next census (revision tales).

Chichikov's proposal to sell these people to the landowners sounds more than tempting. Many find the item to be purchased very strange, it sounds suspicious, but the desire to quickly get rid of the “dead souls” takes its toll - one by one the landowners agree to sell (the only exception was Nozdryov). But why does Chichikov need “dead souls”? He himself talks about it this way: “Yes, if I bought all these people who died out before they submitted new revision tales, buy them, let’s say, a thousand, yes, let’s say, the guardianship council will give two hundred rubles per head: that’s two hundred thousand for the capital " In other words, Pavel Ivanovich plans to resell his “dead souls”, passing them off as living people. Of course, it is impossible to sell serfs without land, but he finds a way out here too - buying land in a remote place, “for pennies.” Naturally, such a plan is not dictated by good living conditions and financial situation, but, whatever one may say, this is a dishonorable act.

Last name meaning

It is difficult to judge unambiguously about the etymology of Pavel Ivanovich’s surname. It is not as prosaic as the surnames of other characters in the poem, but the very fact that the surnames of other characters are their characteristics (they draw attention to moral or physical flaws) suggests that there must be a similar situation with Chichikov.

And so, it is likely that this surname came from the word “chichik”. In Western Ukrainian dialects, this is the name given to a small songbird. N. Gogol was associated with Ukraine, so we can assume that he had in mind precisely this meaning of the word - Chichikov, like a bird, sings beautiful songs to everyone. There are no other meanings recorded in dictionaries. The author himself does not explain anywhere why the choice fell on this particular word and what he wanted to say by awarding Pavel Ivanovich such a surname. Therefore, this information should be perceived at the level of a hypothesis, and it should be argued that this absolutely correct explanation is impossible due to the small amount of information on this matter.

Personality and character

Arriving in the city of N, Pavel Ivanovich meets the local landowners and the governor. He makes a good impression on them. This beginning of a trusting relationship contributed to Chichikov’s further purchases - they spoke of him as a man of high morals and excellent upbringing - such a person cannot be a swindler and a deceiver. But, as it turned out, this was just a tactical move that allowed him to cleverly deceive the landowners.

The first thing that surprises you about Chichikov is his attitude to hygiene. For many of his new acquaintances, this became a sign of a person from high society. Pavel Ivanovich “waked up very early in the morning, washed himself, wiped himself from head to toe with a wet sponge, which was done only on Sundays.” He “rubbed both cheeks with soap for an extremely long time,” when he washed himself, “plucked out two hairs that had come out of his nose.” As a result, those around him decided that “the visitor showed such attentiveness to the toilet that has not even been seen everywhere.”

Chichikov is a suck-up. “In conversations with these rulers, he very skillfully knew how to flatter everyone.” At the same time, he tried not to say anything specific about himself, using general phrases; those present thought that he was doing this out of modesty.

In addition, the phrases “he is an insignificant worm of this world and is not worthy of being cared for much, that he has experienced a lot in his life, endured in the service for the truth, had many enemies who attempted even on his life, and that now, wanting to calm down, looking to finally choose a place to live” evoked a certain feeling of pity for Chichikov among those around him.

Soon, all his new acquaintances began to speak flatteringly about him and tried to please “such a pleasant, educated guest.”

Manilov, characterizing Chichikov, asserted that “he is ready to vouch, as for himself, that he would sacrifice all his estate in order to have a hundredth share of Pavel Ivanovich’s qualities.”

“The governor explained about him that he is a well-intentioned person; the prosecutor - that he is a sensible person; the gendarme colonel said that he was a learned man; the chairman of the chamber - that he is a knowledgeable and respectable person; the police chief - that he is a respectable and kind person; the police chief’s wife - that he is the most kind and courteous person.”

As we can see, Pavel Ivanovich managed to gain the trust of the landowners and the governor in the best possible way.

He managed to keep a fine line and not go too far with flattery and praise towards the landowners - his lies and sycophancy were sweet, but not so much that the lies were noticeable. Pavel Ivanovich not only knows how to present himself in society, but also has the talent to convince people. Not all landowners agreed to say goodbye to their “dead souls” without question. Many, like Korobochka, had great doubts about the legality of such a sale. Pavel Ivanovich manages to achieve his goal and convince him that such a sale is nothing unusual.

It should be noted that Chichikov has developed intellectual abilities. This is manifested not only when thinking about a plan to get rich from “dead souls”, but also in the manner of conducting a conversation - he knows how to maintain a conversation at the proper level, without having sufficient knowledge in a particular issue, it is unrealistic to look smart in the eyes of others and no flattery and fawning unable to save the situation.

In addition, he is very friendly with arithmetic and knows how to quickly carry out mathematical operations in his mind: “Seventy-eight, seventy-eight, thirty kopecks per head, that will be...” here our hero thought for one second, no more, and suddenly said: it will be twenty-four rubles ninety-six kopecks.”

Pavel Ivanovich knows how to adapt to new conditions: “he felt that the words “virtue” and “rare properties of the soul” could be successfully replaced with the words “economy” and “order”,” although he cannot always quickly figure out what to say: “Already Plyushkin stood for several minutes without saying a word, and Chichikov still could not start a conversation, entertained both by the appearance of the owner himself and by everything that was in his room.”

Having acquired serfs, Pavel Ivanovich feels awkward and anxious, but these are not pangs of conscience - he wants to get the matter over with as quickly as possible and is afraid that something might go wrong “still the thought came to me: that souls are not entirely real and that in such cases Such a burden always needs to be lifted off one’s shoulders as quickly as possible.”

However, his deception was revealed - Chichikov in an instant turns from an object of worship and a desired guest into an object of ridicule and rumors; he is not allowed into the governor’s house. “It’s just that you alone are not ordered to be allowed in, but all others are allowed,” the doorman tells him.

The others are also not happy to see him - they mumble something incomprehensible. This confuses Chichikov - he cannot understand what happened. Rumors about his scam reach Chichikov himself. As a result, he leaves home. In the last chapter, we learn that Pavel Ivanovich is of humble origin, his parents tried to provide him with a better life, therefore, sending him into an independent life, they gave him such advice that, as his parents thought, would allow him to take a good place in life: “ Pavlusha, study... please your teachers and bosses most of all. Don’t hang out with your comrades, they won’t teach you any good; and if it comes to that, hang out with those who are richer, so that on occasion they can be useful to you. Don’t treat or treat anyone, but behave better so that you will be treated, and most of all, take care and save a penny... You will do everything and lose everything in the world with a penny.”

Thus, Pavel Ivanovich, guided by the advice of his parents, lived in such a way as not to spend money anywhere and save money, but to earn significant capital in an honest way turned out to be unrealistic, even with strict savings and acquaintance with the rich. The plan to buy “dead souls” was supposed to provide Chichikov with fortune and money, but in practice this turned out not to be the case. The stigma of a swindler and a dishonest person firmly stuck to him. Whether the hero himself learned a lesson from their current situation is a rhetorical question; it is likely that the second volume should have revealed the secret, but, unfortunately, Nikolai Vasilyevich destroyed him, so the reader can only guess what happened next and whether Chichikov should be blamed for such an act or it is necessary to mitigate his guilt by referring to the principles to which society is subject.

Chichikov in the story by N.V. Gogol’s “Dead Souls”: analysis of the hero, image and characteristics