Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is one of the most mysterious writers of the 19th century. His life and work are full of mysticism and secrets. Our article will help you prepare qualitatively for a literature lesson, for the Unified State Exam, test tasks, creative works based on the poem. When analyzing Gogol’s work “Dead Souls” in grade 9, it is important to rely on additional material to get acquainted with the history of creation, issues, understand what artistic media used by the author. In “Dead Souls” the analysis is specific due to its substantive scope and compositional features works.
Brief Analysis
Year of writing– 1835 -1842 The first volume was published in 1842.
History of creation– the idea for the plot was suggested to Gogol by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. The author worked on the poem for about 17 years.
Subject- the morals and life of landowners in Rus' in the 30s of the 19th century, a gallery of human vices.
Composition– 11 chapters of the first volume, united by the image of the main character – Chichikov. Several chapters of the second volume that survived and were found and published.
Direction– realism. The poem also contains romantic traits, but they are secondary.
History of creation
Nikolai Vasilyevich wrote his immortal brainchild for about 17 years. He considered this work the most important mission in his life. The history of the creation of “Dead Souls” is full of gaps and mysteries, as well as mystical coincidences. While working on the work, the author became seriously ill, being on the verge of death, but he was suddenly miraculously healed. Gogol took this fact as a sign from above, which gave him a chance to complete his main work.
The idea of “Dead Souls” and the very fact of their existence as social phenomenon Pushkin suggested to Gogol. It was Alexander Sergeevich, according to the author, who gave him the idea to write a large-scale work capable of revealing the entire essence of the Russian soul. The poem was conceived as a work in three volumes. The first volume (published in 1842) was conceived as a collection of human vices, the second gave the characters the opportunity to realize their mistakes, and in the third volume they change and find the path to the right life.
While in work, the work was edited by the author many times, its main idea, characters, plot changed, but only the essence was preserved: the problems and plan of the work. Gogol finished the second volume of “Dead Souls” shortly before his death, but according to some information, he himself destroyed this book. According to other sources, it was given by the author to Tolstoy or one of his close friends, and then lost. There is an opinion that this manuscript is still kept by the descendants of high society around Gogol and will someday be found. The author did not have time to write the third volume, but there is information about its intended content from reliable sources; the future book, its idea and general characteristics were discussed in literary circles.
Subject
Meaning of the name“Dead Souls” is twofold: this phenomenon itself - the sale of dead serf souls, rewriting them and transferring them to another owner and the image of people like Plyushkin, Manilov, Sobakevich - their souls are dead, the heroes are deeply unspiritual, vulgar and immoral.
Main topic“Dead Souls” - the vices and morals of society, the life of a Russian person in the 1830s of the 19th century. The problems that the author raises in the poem are as old as the world, but they are shown and revealed in the way that is characteristic of a researcher of human characters and souls: subtly and on a large scale.
Main character- Chichikov buys from landowners long-dead, but still registered serfs, whom he needs only on paper. Thus, he plans to get rich by receiving payment for them from the board of guardians. Chichikov’s interaction and collaboration with scammers and charlatans like himself becomes central theme poems. The desire to get rich in every possible way is characteristic not only of Chichikov, but also of many of the heroes of the poem - this is the disease of the century. What Gogol’s poem teaches is between the lines of the book - Russian people are characterized by adventurism and a craving for “easy bread.”
The conclusion is clear: the most correct way is to live according to the laws, in harmony with conscience and heart.
Composition
The poem consists of the complete first volume and several surviving chapters of the second volume. The composition is subordinated to the main goal - to reveal the picture of Russian life, contemporary author, create a gallery of typical characters. The poem consists of 11 chapters, full of lyrical digressions, philosophical discussions and wonderful descriptions of nature.
All this breaks through the main plot from time to time and gives the work a unique lyricism. The work ends with a colorful lyrical reflection on the future of Russia, its strength and power.
The book was originally conceived as a satirical work, this influenced the overall composition. In the first chapter, the author introduces the reader to the residents of the city, to the main character - Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. From the second to the sixth chapters the author gives portrait characteristic landowners, their unique way of life, a kaleidoscope of quirks and morals. The next four chapters describe the life of bureaucrats: bribery, arbitrariness and tyranny, gossip, the way of life of a typical Russian city.
Main characters
Genre
To determine the genre of “Dead Souls”, it is necessary to turn to history. Gogol himself defined it as a “poem,” although the structure and scale of the narrative are close to the story and novel. Prose work called a poem due to its lyricism: a large number of lyrical digressions, remarks and comments by the author. It is also worth considering that Gogol drew a parallel between his brainchild and Pushkin’s poem “Eugene Onegin”: the latter is considered a novel in verse, and “Dead Souls” is, on the contrary, a poem in prose.
The author emphasizes the equivalence of the epic and the lyrical in his work. Criticism has a different opinion about the genre features of the poem. For example, V. G. Belinsky called the work a novel, and this opinion is usually taken into account, since it is completely justified. But according to tradition Gogol's work called a poem.
Work test
Rating analysis
Average rating: 4.7. Total ratings received: 3875.
The idea of the poem “Dead Souls” and its implementation. The meaning of the title of the poem. Subjects
The idea of the poem dates back to 1835. The plot of the work was suggested to Gogol by Pushkin. The first volume of Dead Souls was completed in 1841 year, and published in 1842 year under the title "The Adventures of Chichikov, or Dead Souls."
Gogol conceived a grandiose work in which he planned to reflect all aspects of Russian life. Gogol wrote to V.A. Zhukovsky about the concept of his work: “All of Rus' will appear in it.”
The concept of “Dead Souls” is comparable to the concept of “ Divine Comedy» Dante. The writer intended to write the work in three volumes. In the first volume, Gogol was going to show the negative sides of life in Russia. Chichikov, the central character of the poem, and most of the other characters are depicted in a satirical manner. In the second volume, the writer sought to outline the path to spiritual rebirth for his heroes. In the third volume, Gogol wanted to embody his ideas about the true existence of man.
Associated with the writer's intention is meaning of the title works. The very name “Dead Souls” contains, as is well known, a paradox: the soul is immortal, which means it cannot possibly be dead. The word "dead" is used here in a figurative, metaphorical sense. Firstly, we are talking here about deceased serfs, who are listed as living in revision tales. Secondly, speaking about “dead souls,” Gogol means representatives of the ruling classes - landowners, officials, whose souls “dead”, being in the grip of passions.
Gogol managed to complete only the first volume of Dead Souls. The writer worked on the second volume of the work until the end of his life. Last option Gogol apparently destroyed the manuscripts of the second volume shortly before his death. Only individual chapters of the two original editions of the second volume have survived. Gogol did not start writing the third volume.
In his work Gogol reflected life of Russia first thirds of the XIX century, the life and customs of landowners, provincial city officials, and peasants. In addition, in the author's digressions and other extra-plot elements of the work, topics such as St. Petersburg, the War of 1812, Russian language, youth and old age, the vocation of a writer, nature, the future of Russia and many others.
The main problem and ideological orientation of the work
The main problem of Dead Souls is spiritual death and spiritual rebirth of man.
At the same time, Gogol, a writer with a Christian worldview, does not lose hope for the spiritual awakening of his heroes. Gogol intended to write about the spiritual resurrection of Chichikov and Plyushkin in the second and third volumes of his work, but this plan was not destined to come true.
In "Dead Souls" it prevails satirical pathos: the writer exposes the morals of landowners and officials, the destructive passions, and vices of representatives of the ruling classes.
Affirmative beginning in the poem related to the theme of the people: Gogol admires his heroic strength and lively mind, his apt word, and all kinds of talents. Gogol believes in a better future for Russia and the Russian people.
Genre
Gogol himself subtitle to “Dead Souls” he named his work poem.
In the prospectus of the “Training book of literature for Russian youth” compiled by the writer, there is a section “Lesser genera of the epic”, which characterizes poem How genre intermediate between epic and novel.Hero such a work - "a private and invisible person." The author leads the hero of the poem through chain of adventures to show a picture of “shortcomings, abuses, vices.”
K.S. Aksakov saw in Gogol's work features of an ancient epic. “The ancient epic rises before us,” wrote Aksakov. The critic compared Dead Souls with Homer's Iliad. Aksakov was struck by both the grandeur of Gogol’s plan and the greatness of its implementation already in the first volume of Dead Souls.
In Gogol's poem Aksakov saw a wise, calm, majestic contemplation of the world, characteristic of ancient authors. One can partly agree with this point of view. We find elements of the poem as a glorifying genre primarily in the author’s digressions about Rus', about the three-bird.
At the same time, Aksakov underestimated the satirical pathos of Dead Souls. V.G. Belinsky, entering into polemics with Aksakov, emphasized first of all satirical orientation"Dead Souls". Belinsky saw a remarkable example of satire.
In "Dead Souls" there are also features of an adventure novel. The main storyline of the work is built on the adventure of the protagonist. At the same time, the love affair, so important in most novels, is relegated to the background in Gogol’s work and presented in a comic vein (the story of Chichikov and the governor’s daughter, rumors about her possible abduction by the hero, etc.).
Thus, Gogol’s poem is a complex work in terms of genre. “Dead Souls” combines the features of an ancient epic, adventure novel, and satire.
Composition: general structure of the work
The first volume of Dead Souls is complex artistic whole.
Let's consider plot works. As you know, it was given to Gogol by Pushkin. The plot of the work is based on the adventurous story of Chichikov's acquisition of dead souls peasants who are listed as alive according to documents. Such a plot is consistent with Gogol’s definition of the genre of the poem as “a lesser kind of epic” (see the section on genre). Chichikov turns out plot-shaping character. The role of Chichikov is akin to the role of Khlestakov in the comedy “The Government Inspector”: the hero appears in the city of NN, creates a commotion in it, and hastily leaves the city when the situation becomes dangerous.
Note that the composition of the work is dominated by spatialprinciple of material organization. Here a fundamental difference is revealed between the construction of “Dead Souls” and, say, “Eugene Onegin,” where “time is calculated according to the calendar,” or “A Hero of Our Time,” where chronology, on the contrary, is violated, and the basis of the narrative is the gradual revelation of the inner world main character. In Gogol’s poem, the basis of the composition is not the temporary organization of events and not tasks psychological analysis, and spatial images - provincial cities, landowners' estates, and finally, all of Russia, the vast expanses of which appear before us in digressions about Rus' and the bird-troika.
The first chapter can be seen as exposition the entire action of the poem. Reader meets Chichikov– central character works. The author gives a description of Chichikov's appearance and makes several comments regarding his character and habits. In the first chapter we are introduced to the external appearance of the provincial city of NN, as well as its inhabitants. Gogol gives a short but very capacious a satirical picture of the life of officials.
Chapters two to six the writer presents to the reader gallery of landowners. In the depiction of each landowner, Gogol adheres to a certain compositional principle (description of the landowner’s estate, his portrait, the interior of the house, comic situations, the most important of which are the dinner scene and the scene of the purchase and sale of dead souls).
In the seventh chapter the action is again transferred to the provincial town. The most important episodes of the seventh chapter - scenes in the execution chamber And description of the police chief's breakfast.
Central episode chapter eight - the governor's ball. This is where it gets developed love affair, outlined back in the fifth chapter (the collision of Chichikov’s chaise with a carriage in which two ladies were sitting, one of whom, as it turned out later, was the governor’s daughter). In the ninth chapterrumors and gossip about Chichikov are growing. Their main distributors are ladies. The most persistent rumor about Chichikov is that the hero is going to kidnap the governor's daughter. The love affair goes on Thus from the real sphere to the sphere of rumors and gossip about Chichikov.
In the tenth chapter the central place is occupied scene in the police chief's house. A special place in the tenth chapter and in the work as a whole is occupied by an inserted episode - "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin." The tenth chapter ends with the news of the death of the prosecutor. Prosecutor's funeral scene in the eleventh chapter completes the city theme.
Chichikov's escape from the city of NN in the eleventh chapter ends the main storyline poems.
Characters
Gallery of landowners
The central place in the poem is gallery of landowners. Their characteristics are devoted five chapters first volume - from the second to the sixth. Gogol showed close up five characters. This Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Sobakevich and Plyushkin. All landowners embody the idea of the spiritual impoverishment of man.
When creating images of landowners, Gogol widely uses means of artistic representation, bringing literary creativity closer to painting: these are description of the estate, interior, portrait.
Also important speech characteristics heroes, proverbs, revealing the essence of their nature, comic situations, first of all the dinner scene and the scene of buying and selling dead souls.
A special role in Gogol’s work is played by details– landscape, subject, portrait, details of speech characteristics and others.
Let us briefly characterize each of the landowners.
Manilov- Human outwardly attractive, friendly, disposed to acquaintance, communicative. This is the only character who speaks well of Chichikov to the end. Moreover, he appears to us as good family man, loving wife and caring for children.
And yet main features Manilova is empty daydreaming, projectism, inability to manage a household. The hero dreams of building a house with a belvedere, from where a view of Moscow would open. He also dreams that the sovereign, having learned about their friendship with Chichikov, “will grant them generals.”
The description of the Manilov estate leaves the impression of monotony: “The village of Manilovka could lure few with its location. The master's house stood alone on the jura, that is, on a hill open to all the winds that might blow.” Interesting detail landscape sketch– a gazebo with the inscription “Temple of Solitary Reflection.” This detail characterizes the hero as a sentimental person who loves to indulge in empty dreams.
Now about the interior details of Manilov’s house. His office had beautiful furniture, but two chairs had been covered with matting for several years. There was also some kind of book lying there, always on page fourteen. On both windows there are “mountains of ash knocked out of the pipe.” Some rooms had no furniture at all. A smart candlestick was served on the table and some kind of copper invalid was placed next to it. All this speaks of Manilov’s inability to manage the farm, that he cannot complete the work he has started.
Let's look at Manilov's portrait. The hero's appearance testifies to the sweetness of his character. He was a rather pleasant person in appearance, “but this pleasantness seemed to have too much sugar in it.” The hero had attractive facial features, but his gaze conveyed “sugar.” The hero smiled like a cat that had been tickled behind the ears with a finger.
Manilov's speech is verbose and florid. The hero loves to say beautiful phrases. “May day... the name day of the heart!” - he greets Chichikov.
Gogol characterizes his hero by resorting to the proverb: “Neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan.”
We also note the dinner scene and the scene of buying and selling dead souls. Manilov treats Chichikov, as is customary in the village, with all his heart. Chichikov's request to sell dead souls Manilov is surprised and bombastic: “Will this negotiation be inconsistent with civil regulations and future views of Russia?”
A box distinguishes love of hoarding and at the same time " clubheadedness" This landowner appears before us as a limited woman, with a straightforward character, slow-witted, and thrifty to the point of stinginess.
At the same time, Korobochka lets Chichikov into her house at night, which speaks of her responsiveness And hospitality.
From the description of the Korobochka estate, we see that the landowner cares not so much about the appearance of the estate, but about the successful management of the household and prosperity. Chichikov notices the well-being of peasant households. Box – practical housewife.
Meanwhile, in Korobochka’s house, in the room where Chichikov stayed, “behind every mirror there was either a letter, or an old deck of cards, or a stocking”; All these object details emphasize the landowner’s passion for collecting unnecessary things.
During lunch, all kinds of household supplies and baked goods are placed on the table, which indicates the patriarchal morals and hospitality of the hostess. Meanwhile, Korobochka cautiously accepts offer Chichikova about selling him dead souls and even goes to the city to find out how much dead souls are worth these days. Therefore, Chichikov, using a proverb, characterizes Korobochka as a “mongrel in the manger” who does not eat and does not give to others.
Nozdryov–spendthrift, reveler, swindler,“historical person”, since some kind of history always happens to him. This character is distinguished by constant lies, passion, dishonesty,familiar address with the people around him, boastfulness, a penchant for scandalous stories.
The description of Nozdryov's estate reflects the unique character of its owner. We see that the hero does not do housework. So, on his estate “the field in many places consisted of hummocks.” Only Nozdryov’s kennel is in order, which indicates his passion for hound hunting.
The interior of Nozdryov's house is interesting. In his office hung “Turkish daggers, on one of which was mistakenly carved: “Master Savely Sibiryakov.” Among the interior details, we also note Turkish pipes and a barrel organ - items that reflect the character’s range of interests.
There is a curious portrait detail that speaks of the hero’s penchant for a wild life: one of Nozdryov’s sideburns was somewhat thicker than the other - a consequence of a tavern brawl.
In the story about Nozdrev, Gogol uses hyperbole: the hero says that while he was at the fair, “alone during dinner he drank seventeen bottles of champagne,” which indicates the hero’s penchant for bragging and lying.
At dinner, during which disgustingly prepared dishes were served, Nozdryov tried to get Chichikov to drink cheap wine of dubious quality.
Speaking about the scene of buying and selling dead souls, we note that Nozdryov perceives Chichikov’s proposal as a reason for gambling. As a result, a quarrel arises, which only by chance does not end with Chichikov being beaten.
Sobakevich- This landowner-fist, which runs a strong economy and at the same time is different rudeness And straightforwardness. This landowner appears before us as a man unfriendly,clumsy,speaks poorly of everyone. Meanwhile, he gives unusually accurate, although very rude, characterizations of city officials.
Describing the Sobakevich estate, Gogol notes the following. When building the manor house, “the architect constantly struggled with the taste of the owner,” so the house turned out to be asymmetrical, although very durable.
Let's pay attention to the interior of Sobakevich's house. Portraits of Greek commanders hung on the walls. “All these heroes,” Gogol notes, “were with such thick thighs and unheard-of mustaches that a shiver ran through the body,” which is quite consistent appearance and the character of the owner of the estate. In the room there was “a walnut bureau on the most absurd four legs, a perfect bear... Every object, every chair seemed to say: “And I, too, Sobakevich.”
Gogol’s character also resembles a “medium-sized bear” in appearance, which indicates the rudeness and uncouthness of the landowner. The writer notes that “the tailcoat he was wearing was completely bear-colored, the sleeves were long, the trousers were long, he walked with his feet this way and that, and constantly stepped on other people’s feet.” It is no coincidence that the hero is characterized by the proverb: “It’s not cut well, but it’s sewn tightly.” In the story about Sobakevich, Gogol resorts to the technique hyperboles. Sobakevich’s “heroism” is manifested, in particular, in the fact that his foot is shod “in a boot of such a gigantic size that one can hardly find a corresponding foot anywhere.”
Gogol also uses hyperbole when describing dinner at Sobakevich’s, who was obsessed with a passion for gluttony: a turkey “the size of a calf” was served at the table. In general, dinner at the hero’s house is distinguished by the unpretentiousness of the dishes. “When I have pork, bring the whole pig to the table, lamb – bring the whole lamb, goose – the whole goose! I’d rather eat two dishes, but eat in moderation, as my soul demands,” says Sobakevich.
Discussing with Chichikov the terms of the sale of dead souls, Sobakevich bargains hard, and when Chichikov tries to refuse the purchase, he hints at a possible denunciation.
Plyushkin personifies stinginess taken to the point of absurdity. This is an old, unfriendly, unkempt and inhospitable man.
From the description of Plyushkin’s estate and house, we see that his farm is completely desolate. Greed destroyed both the well-being and the soul of the hero.
The appearance of the owner of the estate is nondescript. “His face was nothing special; it was almost the same as that of many thin old men, one chin only protruded very far forward, so that he had to cover it with a handkerchief every time so as not to spit, writes Gogol. “The small eyes had not yet gone out and ran from under the high eyebrows, like mice.”
Of particular importance when creating the image of Plyushkin is subject detail. On the bureau in the hero’s office, the reader finds a mountain of various little things. There are many objects here: “a pile of finely written pieces of paper covered with a green marble press with an egg on top, some kind of old book bound in leather with a red edge, a lemon, all dried up, no more than a hazelnut tall, a broken armchair handle, a glass with some kind of liquid and three flies, covered with a letter, a piece of sealing wax, a piece of some kind of raised rag, two feathers stained with ink, dried out as if in consumption, a toothpick, completely yellowed, with which the owner, perhaps, picked his teeth even before the invasion of Moscow French." We find the same pile in the corner of Plyushkin’s room. As you know, psychological analysis can take different forms. For example, Lermontov paints a psychological portrait of Pechorin, revealing the hero’s inner world through the details of his appearance. Dostoevsky and Tolstoy resort to extensive internal monologues. Gogol recreates character's state of mind mainly through the objective world. The “mud of little things” surrounding Plyushkin symbolizes his stingy, petty, “dried up” soul, like a forgotten lemon.
For lunch, the hero offers Chichikov crackers (the remains of Easter cake) and old liqueur, from which Plyushkin himself extracted the worms. Having learned about Chichikov's proposal, Plyushkin is sincerely happy, since Chichikov will save him from the need to pay taxes for numerous peasants who died or ran away from a stingy owner who starved them to death.
It is very important to note that Gogol resorts to such a technique as excursion into the hero's past(retrospection): it is important for the author to show what the hero was like before and to what lowness he has now sunk. In the past, Plyushkin was a zealous owner, a happy family man. In the present there is “a hole in humanity,” as the writer puts it.
Gogol in his work satirically depicted various types and characters of Russian landowners. Their names have become household names.
Note also the meaning of the landowners' gallery itself, symbolizing the process of human spiritual degradation. As Gogol wrote, his heroes are “one more vulgar than the other.” If Manilov has some attractive traits, then Plyushkin is an example of extreme impoverishment of the soul.
The image of a provincial town: officials, ladies' society
Along with the gallery of landowners, an important place in the work is occupied by image of the provincial town of NN. City theme opens in the first chapter,resumes in chapter seven the first volume of "Dead Souls" and ends at the beginning of the eleventh chapter.
In the first chapter Gogol gives general characteristics of the city. He draws appearance of the city, describes streets, hotel.
The cityscape is monotonous. Gogol writes: “The yellow paint on the stone houses was very striking and the gray paint on the wooden ones darkened modestly.” Some signs are curious, for example: “Foreigner Vasily Fedorov.”
IN hotel description Gogol uses bright subjectdetails, resorts to artistic comparisons. The writer draws the darkened walls of the “common room”, cockroaches peeking out like prunes from all corners of Chichikov’s room.
The city landscape and the description of the hotel help the author to recreate atmosphere of vulgarity reigning in the provincial city.
Already in the first chapter Gogol names the majority officials cities. These are the governor, vice-governor, prosecutor, police chief, chairman of the chamber, inspector of the medical board, city architect, postmaster, and some other officials.
In the description of the city, provincial officials, their characters and morals, a pronounced satirical orientation. The writer sharply criticizes the Russian bureaucratic system, the vices and abuses of officials. Gogol denounces such phenomena as bureaucracy, bribery, embezzlement, gross arbitrariness, and also idle lifestyle, gluttony, penchant for card game, idle talk, gossip, ignorance, vanity and many other vices.
In Dead Souls, officials are depicted much more more generalized than in The Inspector General. They are not named by last name. Most often, Gogol indicates the position of an official, thereby emphasizing the social role of the character. Sometimes the name and patronymic of the character are indicated. We find out that chairman of the chamber name is Ivan Grigorievich,police chief - Alexey Ivanovich, postmaster - Ivan Andreevich.
Gogol gives some officials brief characteristics. For example, he notices that governor was “neither fat nor thin, had Anna around his neck” and “sometimes embroidered on tulle.” Prosecutor had thick eyebrows and winked with his left eye, as if inviting the visitor to go into another room.
Police chief Alexey Ivanovich, “father and benefactor” in the city, like the mayor from “The Inspector General,” visited the shops and the Gostiny Dvor as if he were visiting his own pantry. At the same time, the police chief knew how to win the favor of the merchants, who said that Alexey Ivanovich “even though he will take you, he will certainly not give you away.” It is clear that the police chief covered up the machinations of the merchants. Chichikov speaks of the police chief as follows: “What a well-read person! We lost to him at whist... until the very late roosters.” Here the writer uses the technique irony.
Gogol gives a vivid description of a petty bribe-taker official Ivan Antonovich “jug snout”, who competently takes “gratitude” from Chichikov for drawing up the deed of sale. Ivan Antonovich had a remarkable appearance: the entire middle of his face “protruded forward and went into his nose,” hence the nickname of this official - the master of bribes.
But postmaster“almost” did not take bribes: firstly, they did not offer him: it was not the right position; secondly, he raised only one son, and the government salary was mostly enough. Ivan Andreevich's character was sociable; according to the author, it was "wit and philosopher."
Regarding chairman of the chamber, then he knew Zhukovsky’s “Lyudmila” by heart. Other officials, as Gogol notes, were also “enlightened people”: some read Karamzin, some Moskovskie Vedomosti, some didn’t even read anything at all. Here Gogol again resorts to the technique irony. For example, about officials playing cards, the author notes that this is “a useful activity.”
According to the writer, there were no duels between officials, because, as Gogol writes, they were all civil officials, but one tried to harm the other wherever possible, which, as we know, is sometimes more difficult than any duel.
At the center of “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin”, told by the postmaster in the tenth chapter, there are two characters: a disabled person from the war of 1812, « little man» Captain Kopeikin And "significant person"- a senior official, a minister who did not want to help the veteran, who showed callousness and indifference towards him.
Persons from the bureaucratic world also appear in the biography of Chichikov in the eleventh chapter: this Chichikov himself, the police officer, whom Chichikov cleverly deceived by not marrying his daughter, commission members for the construction of a government building, colleagues Chichikova at customs, other persons from the bureaucratic world.
Let's look at some episodes poems where the characters of officials and their way of life are most clearly revealed.
The central episode of the first chapter is the scene parties at the governor's. Already here such features of the provincial bureaucracy are revealed as idleness, love of card games, idle talk. Here we find digression on fat and thin officials, where the writer hints at the unjust incomes of the fat and the extravagance of the thin.
In the seventh chapter, Gogol returns to the theme of the city. Writer with irony describes treasury chamber. This is “a stone house, all white as chalk, probably to depict the purity of the souls of the positions located in it.” About the court, the author notes that it is an “incorruptible zemstvo court”; about the judicial officials he says that they have “the incorruptible heads of the priests of Themis.” An apt description of officials is given through the mouth of Sobakevich. “They all burden the earth for nothing,” the hero notes. Close up shown bribe episode: Ivan Antonovich “jug snout” masterfully accepts the “little white one” from Chichikov.
In the scene breakfast at the police chief's reveals such features of officials as gluttony And love of drinking. Here Gogol again resorts to the technique hyperboles: Sobakevich eats a nine-pound sturgeon alone.
Gogol describes with undisguised irony ladies society. The ladies of the city were " presentable", as noted by the author. The female society is especially vividly depicted in the scenes Governor's Ball. The ladies perform in "Dead Souls" as trendsetters and public opinion. This becomes especially obvious in connection with Chichikov’s courtship of the governor’s daughter: the ladies are outraged by Chichikov’s inattention to them.
The topic of ladies' gossip is further developed in ninth chapter, where the author showed in close-up Sofya Ivanovna And Anna Grigorievna - “a simply pleasant lady” And “a lady pleasant in every way.” Thanks to their efforts, a rumor is born that Chichikov is going to kidnap the governor's daughter.
The central episode of the tenth chapter–meeting of officials at the police chief, where the most incredible rumors about who Chichikov is are discussed. This episode is reminiscent of the scene in the mayor's house in the first act of The Inspector General. Officials gathered to find out who Chichikov was. They remember their “sins” and at the same time pronounce the most incredible judgments about Chichikov. Opinions are expressed that this is an auditor, a manufacturer of false banknotes, Napoleon, and finally, Captain Kopeikin, about whom the postmaster tells the audience.
Death of a prosecutor, which is mentioned at the end of the tenth chapter, is a symbolic result of the author of the poem’s thoughts about the meaningless, empty life of the city. Mental impoverishment, according to Gogol, affected not only landowners, but also officials. A curious “discovery” of the inhabitants of the city made in connection with the death of the prosecutor. “Then it was only with condolences that they learned that the deceased definitely had a soul, although due to his modesty he never showed it,” the writer notes with irony. Painting of the prosecutor's funeral in the eleventh chapter the story about the city ends. Chichikov exclaims, watching the funeral procession: “Here, the prosecutor! He lived, lived, and then died! And then they will print in the newspapers that, to the regret of his subordinates and all mankind, he has died, a respectable citizen, a rare father, an exemplary husband... but if you take a good look at the matter, in reality all you had was thick eyebrows.”
Thus, creating the image of a provincial city, Gogol showed the life of Russian officials, their vices and abuses. The images of officials, along with the images of landowners, help the reader understand the meaning of the poem about dead souls distorted by sin.
Theme of St. Petersburg. "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin"
Gogol's attitude towards St. Petersburg has already been considered in the analysis of the comedy "The Inspector General". Let us recall that for the writer St. Petersburg was not only the capital of an autocratic state, the justice of which he had no doubt, but also the focus of the worst manifestations of Western civilization - such as the cult of material values, pseudo-enlightenment, vanity; In addition, St. Petersburg, in Gogol’s view, is a symbol of a soulless bureaucratic system that belittles and suppresses the “little man.”
We find mentions of St. Petersburg and comparisons of provincial life with life in the capital already in the first chapter of Dead Souls, in the description of a party at the governor’s. The author discusses the insignificance of the gastronomic subtleties of St. Petersburg in comparison with the simple and plentiful food of provincial landowners, “middle-class gentlemen” at the beginning of the fourth chapter. Chichikov, thinking about Sobakevich, tries to imagine what Sobakevich would become if he lived in St. Petersburg. Talking about the governor’s ball, the author ironically remarks: “No, this is not a province, this is the capital, this is Paris itself.” Chichikov’s remarks in the eleventh chapter about the ruin of the landowners’ estates are also connected with the theme of Petersburg: “Everyone came to Petersburg to serve; estates are abandoned."
The theme of St. Petersburg is most clearly revealed in "Tales of Captain Kopeikin", which the postmaster tells in the tenth chapter. "The Tale..." is based on folklore traditions. One of her sources–folk song about the robber Kopeikin. Hence the elements tale: Let us note such postmaster expressions as “my sir”, “you know”, “you can imagine”, “in some way”.
The hero of the story, a disabled person from the war of 1812, who went to St. Petersburg to ask for “royal mercy,” “suddenly found himself in a capital, which, so to speak, has nothing like it in the world! Suddenly there is a light in front of him, so to speak: a certain field of life, a fabulous Scheherazade.” This description of St. Petersburg reminds us of hyperbolic images in the scene of Khlestakov’s lies in the comedy “The Inspector General”: the captain sees in luxurious shop windows “cherries - five rubles each”, “a huge watermelon”.
At the center of the “Tale” is confrontation "little man" Captain Kopeikin And “significant person” - minister, which personifies a bureaucratic machine indifferent to the needs of ordinary people. It is interesting to note that Gogol protects the Tsar himself from criticism: at the time of Kopeikin’s arrival in St. Petersburg, the Tsar was still on campaigns abroad and did not have time to make the necessary orders to help the disabled.
It is important that the author denounces the St. Petersburg bureaucracy from the position of a man of the people. The general meaning of the “Tale...” is as follows. If the government does not turn its face to the needs of the people, a rebellion against it is inevitable. It is no coincidence that Captain Kopeikin, having not found the truth in St. Petersburg, became, according to rumors, the chieftain of a gang of robbers.
Chichikov, his ideological and compositional role
Image of Chichikov performs two main functions - independent And compositional. On the one hand, Chichikov is a new type of Russian life, the type of acquirer-adventurer. On the other hand, Chichikov is plot character; his adventures form the basis of the plot of the work.
Let's consider Chichikov's independent role. This, according to Gogol, owner, purchaser.
Chichikov comes from the environment poor and humble nobility. This official, who served the rank of collegiate adviser and accumulated his initial capital by engaging in embezzlement and bribes. At the same time, the hero acts as Kherson landowner who he pretends to be. Chichikov needs the status of a landowner to acquire dead souls.
Gogol believed that spirit of profit came to Russia from the West and acquired ugly forms here. Hence the hero’s criminal path to material prosperity.
Chichikov is distinguished hypocrisy. By committing lawlessness, the hero declares his respect for the law. “The law – I am speechless before the law!” - he declares to Manilov.
It should be noted that Chichikov is attracted not by money itself, but by the opportunity rich and beautiful life. “He imagined a life ahead of him in all comforts, with all prosperity; carriages, a house, perfectly arranged, that’s what was constantly running through his head,” Gogol writes about his hero.
The pursuit of material values has distorted the hero's soul. Chichikov, like landowners and officials, can be classified among the “dead souls.”
Let's now consider compositional the role of Chichikov's image. This central character"Dead Souls". His main role in the work is plot-forming. This role is primarily related to the genre of the work. As already noted, Gogol defines the poem as “a lesser kind of epic.” The hero of such a work is “a private and invisible person.” The author leads him through a chain of adventures and changes to show a picture of modern life, a picture of shortcomings, abuses, vices. In Dead Souls, the adventures of such a hero, Chichikov, become the basis of the plot and allow the author to show the negative sides of contemporary Russian reality, human passions and delusions.
At the same time, the compositional role of Chichikov’s image is not limited to its plot-forming function. Chichikov turns out, paradoxically, "trusted representative" of the author. In his poem, Gogol looks at many phenomena of Russian life through the eyes of Chichikov. A striking example is the hero’s reflections on the souls of the dead and runaway peasants (chapter seven). These thoughts formally belong to Chichikov, although the author’s own view is clearly palpable here. Let's give another example. Chichikov discusses the wastefulness of provincial officials and their wives against the background of national disasters (chapter eight). It is clear that the denunciation of the exorbitant luxury of officials and sympathy for the common people come from the author, but are put into the mouth of the hero. The same can be said about Chichikov's assessment of many characters. Chichikov calls Korobochka “club-headed” and Sobakevich “fist”. It is clear that these judgments reflect the writer’s own view of these characters.
The unusual nature of this role of Chichikov is that "confidant" author becomes a negative character. However, this role is understandable in the light of Gogol’s Christian worldview, his ideas about the sinful state of modern man and the possibility of his spiritual rebirth. At the end of the eleventh chapter, Gogol writes that many people have vices that make them no better than Chichikov. “Isn’t there some part of Chichikov in me too?” - the author of the poem asks both himself and the reader. At the same time, intending to lead the hero to spiritual rebirth in the second and third volumes of his work, the writer thereby expressed hope for the spiritual rebirth of every fallen person.
Let's look at some artistic media creating the image of Chichikov
Chichikov - type averaged. This is emphasized description appearance hero. Gogol writes about Chichikov that he is “not handsome, but not bad-looking, not too fat, but not too thin, one cannot say that he is old, but not that he is too young.” Chichikov wears lingonberry-colored tailcoat with sparkle. This detail of the hero’s appearance emphasizes his desire to look decent and at the same time make a good impression of himself, sometimes even to shine in the light, to show off his eyes.
The most important character trait of Chichikov is ability to adapt to others, a kind of “chameleonism”. This is confirmed speech hero. “No matter what the conversation was about, he always knew how to support it,” writes Gogol. Chichikov knew how to talk about horses and dogs, and about virtue, and about making hot wine. Chichikov speaks differently to each of the five landowners. He talks to Manilov in a florid and pompous manner. Chichikov does not stand on ceremony with Korobochka; at the decisive moment, irritated by her stupidity, he even promises the devil to her. Chichikov is careful with Nozdryov, businesslike with Sobakevich, and taciturn with Plyushkin. Curious Chichikov's monologue in the seventh chapter (the police chief's breakfast scene). The hero reminds us of Khlestakov. Chichikov imagines himself as a Kherson landowner, talks about various improvements, about a three-field farm, about the happiness and bliss of two souls.
In Chichikov's speech there are often proverbs. "Don't have money, have good people for conversion,” he tells Manilov. “I caught it and dragged it, if it fell off, don’t ask,” the hero argues in connection with an unsuccessful scam in the commission for the construction of a government building. “Oh, I’m Akim-simplicity, I’m looking for mittens, and both are in my belt!” - Chichikov exclaims on the occasion of the idea that came to his mind to buy up dead souls.
Chichikov plays a big role in creating the image subject detail. Casket the hero is a kind of mirror of his soul, obsessed with a passion for acquisitions. Britzka Chichikov is also a symbolic image. It is inseparable from the hero’s lifestyle, prone to all sorts of adventures.
Love affair in “Dead Souls”, as in “The Inspector General”, it turns out in the background. At the same time, it is important both for revealing Chichikov’s character and for recreating the atmosphere of rumors and gossip in the provincial city. Conversations that Chichikov allegedly sought to kidnap the governor's daughter open a series of fables that accompany the hero until the moment of his departure from the city.
It turns out that gossip and rumors about the hero is also an important means of creating his image. They characterize him from different sides. According to the inhabitants of the city, Chichikov is both an auditor, and a manufacturer of false banknotes, and even Napoleon. Napoleon's theme in “Dead Souls” is not accidental. Napoleon is a symbol of Western civilization, extreme individualism, the desire to achieve a goal by any means necessary.
Of particular importance in the poem is biography Chichikov, placed in the eleventh chapter. Let's name the main stages and events of Chichikov's life. This joyless childhood, life in poverty, in an atmosphere of family despotism; leaving the parental home and starting school, marked father’s parting words: “Most of all, take care and save a penny!” IN school years the hero was carried away petty speculation, he did not forget about sycophancy in front of the teacher, to whom later, in difficult times, he treated him very callously and soullessly. Chichikov is hypocritical cared for the daughter of an elderly police officer for the purpose of promotion. Then he studied “ennobled” forms of bribery(through subordinates), theft in the commission for the construction of a government building,after exposure – fraud during customs service(the story of Brabant lace). Finally he started scam with dead souls.
Let us remember that almost all the heroes of “Dead Souls” are depicted by the writer statically. Chichikov (like Plyushkin) is an exception. And this is no coincidence. It is important for Gogol to show the origins of his hero’s spiritual impoverishment, which began in his very childhood and early youth, to trace how the passion for a rich and beautiful life gradually destroyed his soul.
The theme of the people
As already noted, the idea of the poem “Dead Souls” was to show “all of Rus'” in it. Gogol paid main attention to representatives of the noble class - landowners and officials. At the same time he touched themes of the people.
The writer showed in “Dead Souls” dark sides life of the peasantry - rudeness, ignorance, drunkenness.
Chichikov's serfs - lackey Parsley and coachman Selifan– unclean, uneducated, narrow-minded in your own mental interests. Parsley reads books without understanding anything in them. Selifan is distinguished by his addiction to drinking. Serf girl Korobochki Pelagia does not know where the right side is, where the left side is. Uncle Mityai and Uncle Minyai they cannot untangle the harness of horses harnessed to two carriages.
At the same time, Gogol notes talent, creativity Russian people, their heroic strength And freedom-loving spirit. These features of the people are reflected especially clearly in the author's digressions (about the apt Russian word, about Rus', about the three-bird), as well as in Sobakevich's reasoning about dead peasant craftsmen(This brickmaker Milushkin, Eremey Sorokoplekhin, who, while engaged in trade, brought in rent of 500 rubles, carriage maker Mikheev, carpenter Stepan Probka, shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov); in Chichikov's thoughts about purchased dead souls, which express the position of the author himself (except for the already named peasants of Sobakevich, the hero mentions the runaway peasants of Plyushkin, in particular Abakuma Fyrova, which probably drifted onto the Volga; he became a barge hauler and gave himself up to the revelry of a free life).
Gogol also notes rebellious spirit people. The writer believes that if the arbitrariness of the authorities is not stopped, if the needs of the people are not met, then a rebellion is possible. This view of the author is evidenced by at least two episodes in the poem. This murder men assessor Drobyazhkin, who, being possessed by a lustful passion, pestered girls and young women, and the story of captain Kopeikin, who probably became a robber.
An important place in the poem is occupied by author's digressions:satirical,journalistic,lyrical,philosophical and others. In their content, some are close to deviations Chichikov's reasoning, conveying the author's position. Such an extra-plot can also be considered as a retreat element, How parable about Kif Mokievich and Mokiya Kifovich in the eleventh chapter.
In addition to the retreats, plays an important role in identifying the author’s position "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" told by the postmaster (tenth chapter).
Let us name the main digressions contained in the first volume of Dead Souls. These are the author's thoughts about fat and thin officials(first chapter, scene of the governor’s party); his judgment about the ability to deal with people(third chapter); witty author's remarks about a healthy stomach for average gentlemen(beginning of chapter four). We also note the digressions about an apt Russian word(end of chapter five), about youth(the beginning of the sixth chapter and the passage “Take it with you on the journey...”). A digression is of fundamental importance for understanding the author’s position. about two writers(beginning of chapter seven).
Retreats can be equated Chichikov's reasoning about the purchased peasant souls Oh(beginning of the seventh chapter, after a digression about two writers), and also reflections hero about the idle life of the powerful this against the background of the misfortunes of the people (end of the eighth chapter).
Let us also note the philosophical digression about the misconceptions of humanity(tenth chapter). The list of digressions is completed by the author’s reflections in the eleventh chapter: about Rus'(“Rus! Rus'!.. I see you...”), about the road, about human passions. We especially note parable about Kif Mokievich and Mokiya Kifovich and retreat about bird three, which concludes the first volume of Dead Souls.
Let's look at some of the deviations in more detail. Author's thoughts about an apt Russian word ends the fifth chapter of the poem. In the strength and accuracy of the Russian word, Gogol sees a manifestation of the intelligence, creative abilities, and talent of the Russian people. Gogol compares the Russian language with the languages of other nations: “The word of a Briton will respond with knowledge of the heart and wise knowledge of life; The short-lived word of a Frenchman will flash and spread like a light dandy; the German will intricately come up with his own, not accessible to everyone, clever and thin word; but there is no word that would be so sweeping, lively, would burst out from under the very heart, would seethe and vibrate so much as something aptly said Russian word" When discussing the Russian language and the languages of other peoples, Gogol resorts to the technique figurative parallelism: the many peoples living on earth are likened to the many churches in Holy Rus'.
At the beginning of the sixth chapter we find a digression about youth. The author, telling the reader about his travel impressions in his youth and adulthood, notes that in his youth a person is characterized by a freshness of worldview, which he subsequently loses. The saddest thing, according to the writer, is that over time a person can lose those moral qualities that were embedded in him in his youth. It is not without reason that Gogol continues the theme of youth in the subsequent narrative, in connection with the story about Plyushkin, about his spiritual degradation. The author addresses youth with reverent words: “Take them with you on the journey, emerging from the soft youthful years into stern, embittering courage, take with you all human movements, do not leave them on the road, you will not pick them up later!”
Retreat about two writers, which opens the seventh chapter, is also built on figurative parallelism. Writers are likened to travelers: a romantic writer to a happy family man, a satirist to a lonely bachelor.
The romantic writer shows only bright sides life; satirical writer depicts "the terrible mud of little things" and exposes her in the “public eyes”.
Gogol says that romantic writer accompanies lifetime fame, satirical writer waiting reproaches and persecution. Gogol writes: “This is not the fate of the writer who dared to bring to light everything that is every minute before our eyes and that indifferent eyes do not see, all the terrible, stunning mud of little things that entangle our lives, all the depth of cold, fragmented, everyday characters.”
In a digression about two writers, Gogol formulates own creative principles, which later received the name realistic. Here Gogol says about the meaning of high laughter- the most valuable gift of a satirical writer. The fate of such a writer is “look around” life “through laughter visible to the world and invisible, unknown to him tears”.
In retreat about the misconceptions of humanity the tenth chapter contains the main idea of "Dead Souls" component the essence of Gogol's Christian worldview. According to the writer, humanity in its history has often deviated from the true path outlined by God. Hence the misconceptions of both past generations and the present. “What crooked, deaf, narrow, impassable roads that lead far to the side have been chosen by humanity, striving to achieve eternal truth, while the straight path was open to them, like the path leading to the magnificent temple assigned to the king’s palace. It is wider and more luxurious than all other paths, illuminated by the sun and illuminated by lights all night, but people flowed past it in the deep darkness,” writes Gogol. The life of Gogol's heroes - landowners, officials, Chichikov - is a vivid example of human delusions, deviation from the right path, and loss of the true meaning of life.
In retreat about Rus'(“Rus! Rus'! I see you, from my wonderful, beautiful distance I see you...”) Gogol contemplates Russia from distant Rome, where, as we remember, he created the first volume of “Dead Souls.”
The author of the poem compares the nature of Russia with the nature of Italy. He is aware that Russian nature, unlike luxurious Italian, not distinguished by external beauty; at the same time the endless Russian expanses cause in the writer's soul deep feeling.
Gogol says about the song, which expresses the Russian character. The writer also thinks O limitless thought And about heroism, characteristic of the Russian people. It is no coincidence that the author concludes his thoughts about Rus' with the words: “Is it here, in you, that a boundless thought will not be born, when you yourself are endless? Shouldn't a hero be here when there is room for him to turn around and walk? And the mighty space envelops me menacingly, with terrible force reflected in my depths; My eyes lit up with unnatural power: oh! what a sparkling, wonderful, unknown distance to the earth! Rus!.."
The Parable of Kifa Mokievich and Mokiia Kifovich both in form and content it resembles an author’s digression. The images of father and son – Kifa Mokievich and Mokiy Kifovich – reflect Gogol’s understanding of Russian national character. Gogol believes that there are two main types of Russian people - philosopher type And type of hero. According to Gogol, the trouble of the Russian people is that both thinkers and heroes in Rus' are degenerating. A philosopher in his modern state is only capable of indulging in empty dreams, and a hero is capable of destroying everything around him.
The first volume of “Dead Souls” ends with a digression about the bird-three. Here Gogol expresses his faith in a better future for Russia, he connects it with the Russian people: it is not for nothing that the craftsman is mentioned here - "Yaroslavl efficient man"- yes daring coachman, dashingly driving the speeding troika.
Questions and tasks
1. Give the full title of “Dead Souls”. Tell us about the history of the poem. What did Gogol write about the concept of his creation to Zhukovsky? Did the writer manage to fully realize his plan? In what year was the first volume of the work completed and published? What do you know about the fate of the second and third volumes?
Comment on the title of the work. What is the paradox here? Why is the phrase “dead souls” interpreted as metaphorical?
Name the main themes of Gogol's poem. Which of these topics are covered in the main narrative, and which in digressions?
2. How can you determine the main problem of the work? How is it connected with Gogol’s Christian worldview?
What pathos prevails in Gogol's poem? What theme is the affirmative beginning associated with?
3. What genre definition did Gogol give to “Dead Souls” in the subtitle to the work? How did the writer himself interpret this genre in the prospectus of the “Training Book of Literature for Russian Youth”? What features of genres did K.S. Aksakov and V.G. Belinsky see in “Dead Souls”? How does Gogol's work resemble an adventure novel?
4. Who gave Gogol the plot of “Dead Souls”? How is the plot of the work related to Gogol’s understanding of the genre of the poem? Which character in the work is central to the plot and why?
What principle of organizing material prevails in Gogol’s work? What spatial images do we find here?
What elements of the first chapter relate to exposition? What place does the landowners' gallery occupy in the work? Name the main episodes of the subsequent chapters that reveal the image of the provincial city. What place does love affair occupy in the composition of the work? What is its uniqueness in the poem?
What place does Chichikov’s biography occupy in Dead Souls? What extra-plot elements of the poem can you name?
5. Briefly describe the landowners' gallery. According to what plan does Gogol tell about each of them? What artistic means does the writer use to create their images? Tell us about each of the landowners depicted by Gogol. Reveal the meaning of the entire gallery.
6. In which chapters of “Dead Souls” is the theme of the city highlighted? Tell us about the exposure of the city's image in the first chapter. What descriptions and characteristics does it include?
List the maximum number of city officials, naming their positions and last and patronymic names, if they are indicated by the author. Give general characteristics officials and each individual. What human passions and vices do they personify?
List the main episodes that reveal the theme of the city, identify the ideological and compositional role of each of them.
7. In which chapters and in which episodes of “Dead Souls” are St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg life mentioned? In which chapter, which of the characters and in what connection tells “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin”? What folklore source does it go back to? What is unique about the narrative in the story about Kopeikin? How is St. Petersburg pictured here? What literary device is the author using here? What is the main conflict in "The Tale..."? What idea did the author want to convey to the reader by including the story with Kopeikin in the main text of Dead Souls?
8. What functions does the image of Chichikov perform in “Dead Souls”? What type of Russian life does he represent? What is the compositional role of Chichikov, what is unusual about this role? Consider the artistic means of creating the image of a hero, give examples of these means; Pay special attention to the biography of the hero.
9. What aspects of people’s lives are revealed in “Dead Souls”? Tell us about Chichikov’s serf servants, about the episodic characters - representatives of the people. Name the peasant craftsmen from among the “dead souls” sold to Chichikov by Sobakevich, briefly describe them. Name the runaway peasant Plyushkin, who loved a free life. Which episodes of Dead Souls contain hints about the people's ability to rebel?
10. List all the author’s digressions and other extra-plot elements of “Dead Souls” that you know of. Consider in detail the digressions about the apt Russian word, about youth, about two writers, about the misconceptions of mankind, about Rus', the parable of Kifa Mokievich and Mokiya Kifovich, as well as the digression about the three-bird. How does the author of the work appear in these digressions?
11. Make a detailed outline and prepare an oral report on the topic: “Artistic means and techniques in the poem “Dead Souls”” (landscape, interior, portrait, comic situations, speech characteristics of heroes, proverbs; figurative parallelism, comparison, hyperbole, irony ).
12. Write an essay on the topic: “Varieties and artistic functions of details in “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol.”
Souls dead and alive in the poem “Dead Souls”.
Goals: deepen students’ understanding of the main conflict of the poem; help clarify the social position of the author of “Dead Souls”; determine the main character traits of Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdryov, Sobakevich, Plyushkin; pay attention to general plan images of landowners; understand why the author made Chichikov the central character of the poem; consider the motives of behavior of city officials; summarize the students’ knowledge about the poem, consider how the people are depicted, what the writer sees as their strength and weakness.
1. The main conflict of the poem “Dead Souls”.
2.Characteristics of various types of landowners. Souls "dead":
Manilov
Sobakevich
Box
Nozdryov
Plyushkin
3. The image of Chichikov.
4. Living souls are the embodiment of the talent of the people.
5. The moral degradation of the people is the result of the moral emptiness of society.
The pinnacle of creativity was the poem “Dead Souls”. When starting to create his grandiose work, he wrote: “All of Rus' will appear in it!”
IN the basis of the poem's conflict Gogol posited the main contradiction of contemporary reality between the gigantic spiritual forces of the people and their enslavement. Gogol addressed the most pressing problems of that time: the state of the landowner economy, the moral character of the local and bureaucratic nobility, the relationship of the peasantry with the authorities, the fate of the peoples of Russia. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls” displays a whole gallery of types that have become household names. Gogol consistently portrays officials, landowners and the main character of Chichikov's poem. Plot-wise, the poem is structured as the story of the adventures of Chichikov, an official who buys up dead souls.
Half of the first volume of the poem is devoted to the characteristics of various types of Russian landowners. Gogol creates five portraits, different from each other, but at the same time in each of them there are typical features Russian landowner. The images of landowners are presented in contrast in the poem, because they carry various vices. One after another, each more spiritually insignificant than the previous one, follow the owners of the estates: Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Sobakevich, Plyushkin. If Manilov is sentimental and sweet to the point of cloying, then Sobakevich is straightforward and rude. Their views on life are polar: for Manilov, everyone around them is beautiful, for Sobakevich they are robbers and swindlers. Manilov does not show real concern for the well-being of the peasants, for the well-being of the family; he entrusts all management to a rogue clerk who ruins both the peasants and the landowner. But Sobakevich is a strong owner, ready to engage in any scam for the sake of profit. Manilov is a careless dreamer, Sobakevich is a cynical fist-burner.
Korobochka's callousness is manifested in petty hoarding. The only thing that worries her is the price of hemp and honey; wouldn't sell it too cheap selling the dead shower. Korobochka resembles Sobakevich in his stinginess and passion for profit, although the stupidity of the “clubhead” takes these qualities to a comical limit.
The “accumulators”, Sobakevich and Korobochka, are opposed to the “spendthrifts” - Nozdryov and Plyushkin. Nozdryov is a desperate spendthrift and debauchee, a devastator and ruiner of the economy. His energy turned into a scandalous bustle, aimless and destructive.
If Nozdryov threw away his entire fortune, then Plyushkin turned his into mere appearance. Gogol shows the last trait to which the death of the soul can lead a person using the example of Plyushkin, whose image completes the gallery of landowners. This hero is terrible and pitiful, since, unlike previous characters, he loses not only his spirituality, but also his human appearance. Chichikov, seeing him, wonders for a long time whether it is a man or a woman, and finally decides that the housekeeper is in front of him. And yet he is a landowner, the owner of more than a thousand souls and huge storerooms. True, in these storerooms bread rots, flour turns into stone, cloth and linens turn into dust. A no less eerie picture appears in the manor’s house, where everything is covered with dust and cobwebs, and in the corner of the room there is piled “a heap of things that are coarser and that are unworthy to lie on the tables. It was difficult to decide what exactly was in this pile, just as it was difficult to figure out what the owner’s robe was made from.
How did it happen that a rich, educated man, a nobleman turned into a “hole in humanity”? To answer this question, Gogol turns to the hero’s past. The writer very accurately traces the degradation of man, and the reader understands that man is not born a monster, but becomes one. This means the soul could live! But Gogol notes that over time, a person submits himself to the prevailing laws in society and betrays the ideals of his youth.
All Gogol's landowners are bright, memorable characters. But their essence is the same: while possessing living souls, they themselves have long ago turned into dead souls. They lack spiritual content, which is why these heroes are funny.
Convincing the reader that his landowners are typical, Gogol names other nobles, even characterizing them by their last names: Svinin, Trepakin, Blokhin, Potseluev, Bespechny, etc.
Gogol shows the reason for the death of the human soul using the example of the formation of the character of the main character - Chichikova. A joyless childhood, deprived parental love and affection, service and example of bribe-taking officials - these factors formed a scoundrel who is like everyone else around him. In the final chapter, which completes Chichikov’s biography, he is finally exposed as a cunning predator, acquirer and entrepreneur of the bourgeois type, a civilized scoundrel, the master of life. But Chichikov, differing from the landowners in his entrepreneurial spirit, is also a “dead” soul. The happiness of a “decent person” is based on money. Calculation crowded out all human feelings from him.
Gogol shows the emergence of a new man in Russian life, who has neither a noble family nor a title, but who, at the cost of his own efforts, thanks to his intelligence and resourcefulness, is trying to make a fortune. His ideal is a penny; marriage is thought of as a profitable deal. Having quickly figured out a person, he knows how to approach everyone in a special way. His inner diversity is also emphasized by his appearance: “There was a gentleman sitting in the chaise, neither too fat nor too thin, one cannot say that he was old, but not that he was too young.” Gogol was able to discern the features of an emerging type in his contemporary society and brought them together in the image of Chichikov.
- City officialsNN even more impersonal than the landowners. Their deadness is shown in the ball scene: no people are visible, muslins, satins, tailcoats, uniforms, shoulders, necks, ribbons are everywhere. The whole interest of life is focused on gossip, gossip, and envy. They differ from each other only in the size of the bribe. These are also “dead” souls.
But behind the dead souls of Chichikov, officials and landowners, Gogol discerned the living souls of the peasants, the strength of national character. According to Gogol's poem, “Behind the dead souls are living souls.” The talent of the people is revealed in the dexterity of the coachman Mikheev, the shoemaker Telyatnikov, and the carpenter Stepan Probka. The strength and sharpness of the people's mind was reflected in the glibness and accuracy of the Russian word, the depth and integrity of Russian feeling - in the sincerity of the Russian song, the breadth and generosity of the soul - in the unbridled joy of folk holidays.
However, feudal deadness destroys the good inclinations in a person and destroys the people. Against the backdrop of the majestic endless expanses of Rus' real pictures Russian life seems especially bitter. Gogol sees how high and good qualities are distorted in the kingdom of “dead” souls, how peasants die, driven to despair, rushing into any risky business, just to get out of serfdom.
Not finding the truth from the supreme authorities, Captain Kopeikin, helping himself, becomes the chieftain of the robbers. “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” reminds the authorities of the threat of revolutionary rebellion in Russia.
Having depicted Russia “from one side” in its negative essence, in stunning “pictures of triumphant evil and suffering hatred” in the poem, Gogol once again convinces that in his time “it is impossible otherwise to direct society or even an entire generation towards the beautiful until you show all the depth of its true abomination."
1.What is the meaning of the title of the poem?
2. Why is the chapter telling about Chichikov’s biography located at the end of the work?
Literature lesson in 9th grade on the topic: “Dead Souls” - the history of creation, plot features, system of images. Chichikov and the landowners"
The article belongs to the section: Teaching literature
Lesson objectives:
2. A more detailed examination of the chapters telling about Chichikov’s visit to the landowners;
3.Training in analytical retelling.
Vocabulary work:
System of images.
Equipment:
Portrait of a writer,
Creative works of students,
Projector,
Illustrations for Gogol's works.
Lesson progress
I. Implementation of homework:
At the beginning of our lesson, I want to give a short quiz, which will be the implementation of your homework and prepare you for the perception of a new topic. I would like to draw your attention to the illustrations presented on the board. Some of them may be a little help in doing your job. So, the quiz questions.
Quiz.
1.Where and when was you born?
2.What kind of education did Gogol receive?
3. What were the names of the gymnasium literary magazines, of which Gogol was an organizer and participant?
4.Which female role played Gogol in a student play?
6.What was the name of the beekeeper, on whose behalf the story is told in “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”?
7. In which theater was Gogol’s play “The Inspector General” first staged?
8. Who owns the words spoken after the first performance of “The Inspector General”: “What a play! Everyone got it, and I got it more than everyone else!”?
9. What proverb did Gogol take as the epigraph to the comedy “The Inspector General”?
10. In what year does the play “The Inspector General” take place?
11. Where is the city in which the events of the play “The Inspector General” take place?
(collection of sheets with student answers)
It was a quiz on Gogol's works that we had studied earlier. You yourself have prepared similar quizzes and tests today.
1st student: test on the story “Terrible Revenge”
2nd student: test on the story “Taras Bulba”
3rd student: test on the comedy “The Inspector General”
Opening remarks teachers.
... Much is known about the work and life of the Russian writer Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, but very little is known about the spiritual life of the writer.
Penetration into the depths of the soul is potentially accessible to many, but only a few rush from external life to the other “side”, more precisely: to the point of intersection of the lines of time and space, beyond the boundaries of the known, studied and supposedly become the law for the direction of thought. Is a deep understanding of Gogol's work possible today?
Today we have an unusual lesson. A new meeting with the great writer and his work will not happen the way it usually happens in the classroom. Today you will hold this meeting yourself and introduce each other to the material that you have selected during your research.
II. Announcement of the topic. Study of material by students.
1st presentation. History of creation. System of images. Chichikov and landowners.
2nd presentation. Genre originality.
3rd presentation. Chichikov and landowners.
III. Teacher's word.
Now I want to draw your attention to how I prepared for this lesson. I, too, like you, wanted to tell you that I conceived my poem thanks to A. S. Pushkin, whom I considered my teacher. He often visited him (imagine a picture of the artist), often reread his manuscripts to him and consulted with the poet. A. Zhukovsky was also a connoisseur of Gogol’s work.
When the manuscript was first read by Gogol to Pushkin and Zhukovsky, one of them exclaimed, “God, how sad our Russia is!”
I would like to supplement the presentations of our students with a definition of the poem.
Poem - lyric epic genre, poetic narrative work with a detailed plot and a pronounced lyrical assessment of what the story is about.
Presentation of the reference diagram by the teacher. Construction of the poem “Dead Souls”. System of images.
Russia... How much it means to many of us! No matter how our life develops in the future, she will always be with us in a corner of our heart, our soul. The feeling of the Motherland, Russia... What does it mean to us? Russia is our home, our mother, the street we grew up on, and our Russian bread and salt. The Russian soul is so broad, direct, and emotional. Remember from Gogol: “Aren’t you, Rus', like a brisk, unstoppable troika, rushing?”? Troika is not only Rus', but also its entire nature, its villages and cities, it is all Russian.
All of Rus' appeared in this work. Together with the adventurer Chichikov, whose goal was to buy dead serfs, “dead souls,” we saw Russia XIX century with its shortcomings, vices, with its acute social problems and contradictions, the landowner and bureaucratic world, the world of “dead souls”, the whole tragedy of the people.
Many pages of the poem are directly devoted to the Motherland, Russia, and its future.
This is the kingdom of officials that we saw during Chichikov’s travels across Russia. It is no coincidence that the author named the city where Gogol’s hero stopped at the beginning of his journey N. This letter N means that in the time of the writer there were many such impersonal cities, they were all similar to each other. The kingdom of officials is in a dead sleep. Interpreting the habits of city residents, Gogol makes a remark that allows the symbolic meaning of the name “Dead Souls” to be attributed to the city: “All those who had long ceased all acquaintances and knew only, as they say, the landowners Zavalishin and Polezhaev (famous terms derived from verbs to lie down and fall over, which are in great use in Rus').”
We see lazy Rus' not only in the image of the landowners, but also in the appearance of the city itself: “He also looked into the city garden, which consisted of thin trees, poorly grown, with supports at the bottom, in the form of triangles, very beautifully painted green oil paint" For city dwellers, green paint replaces the greenery of trees. Gogol mockingly compares the “bad, thin” trees with their luxurious descriptions in newspapers. Yes, servility reigned in Russia and among its sentimental inhabitants.
But what about landowner Russia? Traveling with Chichikov through the pages of the poem, we see that real-life landowners are actually “dead souls.” Manilov's estate is the front façade of Russia. The inside of the house is empty, dirty, the colors are gray, and wasteful idleness coexists nearby.
Nozdryov wastes his life without any purpose of existence. Plyushkin's stinginess turned into wastefulness. Korobochka's life is the personification of hoarding in Russia. It turns out that there are no “living souls” in the city of N and its surroundings? Well, aren’t there any of them in Rus', has it become extinct? What about the peasants? Herzen said that in Gogol’s poem “behind the dead souls - living souls” appear.
The common Russian people are talented, but Chichikov does not notice this throughout his entire journey, because he himself is a “dead soul.” The “astute reader” will definitely notice this. The carriage maker Mikheev, the carpenter Stepan Probka - their talent is revealed in their dexterity, in the breadth and generosity of their souls, in rage and unbridled joy... “The barge crew is having fun, saying goodbye to their mistresses and wives, tall, slender, in monists and ribbons; round dances, songs, the whole square is in full swing...” The living strength of the people is also emphasized by the reluctance of the peasants to endure oppression. Proof of this is the murder of assessor Drobyazhkin, the mass flight from the landowners.
High and good qualities are distorted in the kingdom of “dead souls”, peasants, driven to despair, perish. “Oh, Russian people! doesn’t like to die a natural death!”
The conflict of the poem lies in the contradiction between Gogol’s contemporary reality, the spiritual forces of the people and their enslavement.
Today we have done a lot of search work. I am pleased to see that in your ideas you spoke about the composition of the poem and its genre uniqueness, and asked questions about the meaning of the poem. Much of your research comes from the following lessons. But I want to ask one more question in this lesson.
Why didn't Gogol finish his poem?
Gogol dreamed of creating a harmonious trilogy. In the first part, vice triumphs, in the second it is reborn into virtue, in the third it does good deeds. However, if for the first volume of “Dead Souls” Russian life provided material in abundance, then already in the second volume the writer had to rely solely on the flight of his own imagination. For some reason, swindlers did not want to turn into fighters for justice, landowners did not want to live for the benefit of their serfs, officials did not want to return the bribes they received and publicly repent of committing official crimes. The matter was limited to the partial collapse of Chichikov’s scam with dead souls at the end of the first volume. The ideological task of the writer is to show the attractive sides of Russian reality and the transformation of a bad person into a good one turned out to be in an insoluble contradiction with both the truth of life and creative possibilities Gogol himself. And I want to end this lesson with the words of our contemporary poet Peter Vegin.
Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol,
eternal overcoat - scribble,
looking around our bareness,
sitting in his yard.
Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol...
Who can solve it
like a burn
is his seal on his forehead?
Having started lies with myself,
He put it in the fireplace's mouth,
Like a devoted dog -
"Dead Souls" part two!
But the chimney pipe
handwritten smoke billowing,
satanic round dance
The hero himself and after him -
all others.
That's how it is!
How can this be
If the manuscript is burnt,
Did the hero survive?
Through the distance, through the years
He's thrown into trouble
Chimney catapult
Into the modern environment
Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol,
How long can we sit like this?
at odds with yourself and with God,
look into a clear street?
There stands at a crossroads
near the city gate
among the heroes of our everyday life
dead souls are an ancient family.
And like in a circus in the arena,
in its rooms is not new.
everything is misleading and misleading
Khlyust, khanyga Khlestakov!
Fireproof, even if it cracks,
in this century, as in that...
Apparently, you will have to get up from your chair,
Write a burned volume.
V. Homework
1. Prepare questions - tests to test knowledge of the text.
2. Creative work - the coat of arms of the landowner. (introduce students to similar work, present the creative works of senior comrades)
Methodological development of a literature lesson in the 9th grade on the topic “Who is Chichikov: a scoundrel, an acquirer or ...?”
,
The article belongs to the section: Teaching literature
Objective of the lesson for the teacher:
create conditions conducive to the formation of a holistic assessment of the literary hero.
1) Educational: continue to develop the ability to give a comprehensive assessment of a literary character;
2) Developmental: develop the communicative culture of students;
3) Educating: form value attitude to a literary hero, to cultivate tolerance for the existence of different points of view on the same fact.
Equipment:
portraits of Chichikov and landowners, statements by literary critics about Chichikov, Fogelson’s diagram, the text of the poem “Dead Souls”, “ Dictionary Russian language”, tables: “The author about his hero”, “What brings Chichikov closer to the landowners”, “How does Chichikov differ from the landowners”, “Qualities of Chichikov that contributed to his career growth”.
Lesson Plan
I. Updating basic knowledge (dramatization of an episode of the story “Stalled”) - exposition (introduction to the topic of the lesson).
II. Isolating the problem of the lesson: “Who is Chichikov: “scoundrel”, “acquirer” or...?”
III. Research the problem
3.1. Chichikov in the understanding of critics.
3.2. Chichikov through the eyes of landowners and city officials N N: “a nice person.”
3.3.What brings Chichikov closer to the landowners?
3.4. How does Chichikov differ from landowners?
3.5.What qualities business man contributed to his career growth?
3.7. Can Chichikov be called a “dead soul”? (Analysis of two episodes: the scene of the meeting with the blonde and the scene at the ball).
3.8.Is there hope for the hero’s revival?
3.9. Why is the image of Chichikov so contradictory?
3.10. Place of Chichikov’s image in the gallery of literary heroes. Chichikov and Molchalin.
IV. Lesson summary.
Lesson progress
This character is the most difficult
I. Exposition (introduction to the topic of the lesson).
The lesson begins with a dramatization of an episode of the story “Stalled.”
The plot of the story is quite simple: the hero, listening to his son cramming the passage assigned for homework about the bird-three from “Dead Souls,” involuntarily thinks about the question: “Who are they taking? Horses? This...Chichikov? They are bringing this scumbag, who bought up dead souls, traveled around the region... Rus' is a troika, everything is thundering, everything is flooded, and in the troika there is a scoundrel, a cheater...”
This question tormented the main character of Vasily Shukshin’s story, Roman Zvyagin.
Many generations of readers have asked themselves this question. Interest in Chichikov, the main character of the poem “Dead Souls,” continues unabated even now.
What is the appeal of this image? Why has the controversy around it not subsided since the poem was published?
The answer to this question lies in the statement of the young Chernyshevsky: “This character is the most difficult.”
In the minds of many generations of readers, they collided and argued with each other and had different impressions and opposite feelings.
How can we explain the ambiguity in the readers' assessment of the main character of the poem?
On the one hand, Gogol calls him a scoundrel: “No, it’s time to finally hide the scoundrel too. So, let’s harness the scoundrel!”
And in the same chapter another characteristic is heard: “That he is not a hero, full of perfection and virtue, is clear. Who is he? So, a scoundrel? Why a scoundrel, why be so strict with others?.. It would be fairer to call him: master, acquirer. Acquisition is the fault of everything; Because of him, deeds were carried out, to which the world gives the name of not very pure deeds...”
So who is Chichikov: “a scoundrel, an “acquirer” or...?
II. Isolating the lesson problem. State the topic and purpose of the lesson.
This is exactly the topic of our lesson today.
Today we will look at Chichikov through the eyes of different people: literary scholars, heroes of the poem, through the eyes of a modern reader and, of course, through the eyes of the author himself. Such a multifaceted view will help to comprehend the mystery of the complex character of the main character and deepen the understanding of the ideological and artistic originality of the poem.
III. Research of the problem.
We give the floor to literary scholars.
V. Kozhinov: “Chichikov is a truly strong personality...”.
: “In the epic with “dead souls” the devilish energy and ingenuity of Chichikov, his character as a businessman and inventor of a new formation were most clearly revealed...”
V. Nabokov: “Fool...it was stupid to trade dead souls with the old woman and Nozdryov.”
: “One of Chichikov’s qualities is the ability to mimicry, the contradiction between the desire to appear and the inner essence of character.”
: “One active person is Chichikov, and he is a limited rogue.”
“After all, he cheats, and a cheat cannot help but take risks. The life of a rogue consists of ups and downs - that’s the law. But still, but still...”
: “Chichikov, different from the landowners, is also a “dead soul.” The “brilliant joy of life” is inaccessible to him.
So, Chichikov, in the understanding of critics, is a “rogue”, “synthetic character”, “ordinariness”, “a fool capable of mimicry”, “a businessman”, “an acquirer” - and a completely opposite point of view: “a strong personality”. Literary scholars not only disagree, but also express completely opposite points of view.
. -What will the heroes of the poem say about Chichikov?
Let's listen to those from whom Chichikov bought dead souls.
Word to Manilov!
Manilov:
“Pavel Ivanovich?! ABOUT! He is an extremely pleasant, educated person. He honored me and my darling Lizanka with his visit... It truly brought me such pleasure... May day... my heart's name day... Yes, the occasion brought me happiness, one might say exemplary, to talk with Pavel Ivanovich and enjoy a pleasant conversation. - Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka! What can you say about Chichikov?
Box:
"A! That visitor? Then he bought dead souls from me for 15 rubles. He also buys bird feathers. And he promised to buy a lot of things. And he also puts lard into the treasury, and that’s probably why he’s a cheat.
- Let's listen to what Nozdryov has to say about Chichikov.
Nozdryov:
“Who is Chichikov? Yes, he is a big scammer. If I were his boss, then, by God, I would hang him from the first tree. He also wanted, he’s such a pig, a cattle breeder, to take away the governor’s daughter. I myself undertook to help him in this matter, because we are great friends! Do you want to know who Chichikov is?! Yes, he is a fetish, in a word, a fetish. Now it is clear that he is a two-faced person. Now I know him well, he’s such a rakalia, really. I thought before that he was at least somewhat a decent person, but he doesn’t understand any kind of treatment. You can’t talk to him in any way as if you were a close person. No straightforwardness, no sincerity! Perfect Sobakevich, such a scoundrel!!!”
- Mikhailo Semyonovich Sobakevich! What is your opinion about Chichikov?
Sobakevich:
“Chichikov is a good person.
Word to Stepan Plyushkin! What can you say about Chichikov?
Plyushkin:
“Yes, I must admit, I see little use in this Chichikov: he has started a very indecent custom of going on visits, but there are omissions in the farm... and feed the horses with hay. So we listened to those From whom did Chichikov buy an unusual product - dead souls? And what did we hear?! “The most pleasant, most educated person”, “a rogue”, “such rubbish”, “generous”. Opinions vary, but overall he’s a good person.
- What will the officials of the city of NN say: the governor, the prosecutor, the police chief, the chairman of the chamber?
Governor:
“Chichikov is a well-intentioned person.”
Prosecutor:
“Pavel Ivanovich is a efficient person.”
Chief of Police:
“He is a respectable and kind man.”
Chairman of the Chamber:
“Knowledgeable and respectable man.”
- Let's hear the ladies' opinion about Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov.
Ladies of the city NN:
“Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov?! The most kind and courteous person.
And here the most flattering reviews were heard.
Thus, Chichikov impressed everyone pleasant experience. So Chichikov is a good person!? Yes. But in the minds of whom? In the minds of those whom Alexander Ivanovich Herzen called “dead souls”, and Gogol called “sky-smokers”.
believes that Chichikov is related to dead souls, is their mirror, and therefore makes a pleasant impression on them.
. - So, what brings Chichikov closer to the landowners - “sky-smokers”?
- Chichikov is somewhat similar to each of them. (In the Manilov spirit, he daydreamed at a party with the police chief, imagining himself as a Kherson landowner. Like Korobochka, he saves money in a bag. In collecting all sorts of rubbish, he is not inferior to Plyushkin. Like Sobakevich, Chichikov is greedy and unyielding in money matters. But he is not capable of lying worse than Nozdryov) Chichikov does not care about the public good. (All his activities are selfish and contrary to the high ideals of morality and humanity)
Thus, Chichikov is a “collector” of the negative traits of all landowners.
- How does Chichikov differ from landowners?
- Chichikov has a past. (This is a “sour and unpleasant” childhood, and the first lessons of frugality, and years of study, years of service in the treasury chamber and at customs, until the minute when Chichikov came up with the idea of acquiring dead souls) Chichikov, unlike the landowners, reflects, tries to analyze his actions. (After one of his failures - dismissal from customs for smuggling - he reflects: “Why me? Why did trouble befall me? ... Why do others prosper, and why should I disappear like a worm?”) Chichikov’s character is given in development. (From event to event, the thirst for profit grows in him) Chichikov has energy and will. Chichikov “was not overcome by stinginess and stinginess.” (“He had no attachment to money for the sake of money. No, it was not they that moved him: he imagined a life ahead of him with all the pleasures, with all the prosperity.” Chichikov starts “from scratch” and makes his way through his own efforts.
Thus, Chichikov, unlike the landowners, is endowed with will, energy, he has a goal to which, overcoming obstacles, he tirelessly strives. Patiently and persistently, he overcomes career barriers, gradually climbing the career ladder.
Here is the Vogelson diagram. (see Appendix 1)
It reflects the main milestones of Chichikov’s life, the history of his ups and downs. They inevitably replace each other. But, pay attention, after another crash, Chichikov again reaches the top and makes a career.
.- What qualities of Chichikov contributed to his career growth, and, consequently, his enrichment?
- The ability to do something at the right time, to plan a “business” that brings profit. Practicality, ingenuity. Determination. The ability to conduct “business” (from the category of unclean). Ability to maintain a conversation; breadth of interests. Knows human psychology. (Chichikov easily transforms and easily moves from one manner of behavior to another, without, however, changing himself or his goals in any way.) He knows how to make a pleasant impression. Typical appearance of a successful business person. Mimicry, adaptability. (Finding himself in a new situation, in any environment, he immediately acquires its color, its coloring, everywhere becoming “his”, a close person. Constant adaptability has perfectly polished Chichikov: sharp, sharp features are alien to his appearance, the stamp of some kind of streamlinedness lies on his external portrait) The ability to withstand “the blows of fate.”
So, Chichikov has everything this world needs, everything that contributes to career growth and leads to enrichment.
If you create a portrait of Chichikov according to these characteristics, excluding the author’s view of the main character, you will get a portrait of an interesting business man.
Chichikov is driven by one passion - acquisition. Money is the only goal of his life. Father’s instruction: “And most of all, take care and save a penny: this thing is more reliable than anything in the world,” “sank deep into the soul,” and went to good use. The desire to acquire a penny, which guided Chichikov with early childhood, turned into a passionate thirst for wealth. Maybe wanting money isn't such a bad thing. But the fact is that for Chichikov there are no moral ideals, and he does not disdain, does not disdain any means. Any means to achieve a goal are good.
Thus, the sphere of action for Chichikov is not of particular importance. The result is important to him. Chichikov does not believe in anything except money. He does not give a moral assessment by his action. Maybe there was an attempt to analyze my actions once, after the confiscation of stolen goods at customs: “Why me? Why did trouble befall me..." But this is most likely an attempt to justify oneself.
On the way to his goal, he betrays his old teacher. But this doesn't bother him. For Chichikov, money is more important than the fate of the person who used to love him. So, the absence moral ideals, the passion for profit kills everything human in the main character, corrupts his soul.
“Do not the author look deeper into Chichikov’s soul, do not stir at the bottom of it what is escaping and hiding from the light, do not discover the innermost thoughts that a person does not entrust to anyone else, but show him as he appeared to the whole city, Manilov and other people , and everyone would be happy and take him for interesting person”, writes about his hero.
But thanks to the author’s insightful, searching gaze main character appeared in a different, true light. Having compared Chichikov's lack of spirituality with the beautiful packaging in which it is served, we saw: before us is a scoundrel capable of breaking all moral laws for the sake of enrichment.
-What conditions contributed to the development of the thirst for profit in Chichikov?
(Employment is widespread everywhere: bribes, extortions. Capital becomes the true owner).
-How are those who have capital treated?
(This one word gives rise to a “tender disposition of meanness.” Others are controlled by those who own capital, and capital controls those who control others)
So, we have witnessed how the thirst for enrichment and the lack of moral ideals led to the death of Chichikov’s soul. We observed the process of desouling the immortal soul.
The question arises: “Is Chichikov a dead soul?”
Many researchers of Gogol's work believe that the main character joined the gallery of dead souls. Is this true? Let's turn to the text of the poem.
- Let's remember what Chichikov talks about in chapter 7?
(He talks about purchased peasants).
With Chichikov, according to Gogol, something unusual is happening.
- What exactly?
(“When he then looked at the peasants, who, as if they had once been peasants, some strange feeling, incomprehensible to himself, took possession of him”)
Please note: “Chichikov was overcome by feeling”!
- Can this happen to someone who, according to P. Antokolsky, is a “dead soul”?
The opinions of literary scholars on this issue are divided.
Some believe, among other things, that these thoughts are alien to Chichikov and that they are essentially expressed by the author of the poem, only slightly hiding behind his hero.
Other literary scholars believe that there are some bright principles in Chichikov’s nature, which he, however, does not give way to, but which sometimes cause him to have serious thoughts about life.
So we move on to the next one controversial issue: “Does Gogol endow his main character with living human feelings?”
On this issue, the opinions of critics were divided, so we will now turn again to the text of the poem and, taking the position of the disputing parties, we will try to substantiate their points of view.
The first group, relying on the text of the poem, will prove that human feeling is not alien to Chichikov. The second group, also referring to the text, will prove the opposite. (Two episodes are analyzed: the scene of the meeting with the blonde on the road and the scene at the ball.)
Analysis of these episodes once again emphasizes the duality of the protagonist of the poem. On the one hand, the main character is of a “cautious and chilled character.” On the other hand, these two episodes reveal something unexpected in this character: as if some force tore Chichikov “for a few minutes from the stream of vulgarity and prose with which he was fused with every cell of his being. “And the Chichikovs turn into poets for a few minutes in their lives,” says Gogol and continues, “but the word poet will be too much.” Notice how careful Gogol is, how he constantly clarifies himself: confusion, but “not a feeling of love,” similar to a “poet,” but not a “poet.”
Y. Mann interprets this episode interestingly: “And yet,” writes the critic, “what an unusually high experience for the vulgar Chichikov. And how much stronger it is than his reaction at the first meeting with a stranger! Here Chichikov felt “almost like a hussar.” This, by the way, did not escape the attention of young Chernyshevsky. In his diary, the future critic made a note: “I marveled at Gogol’s deep look at Chichikov, how he sees the poetic or hussar movement of his soul.” “Finally,” continues Yu. Mann, at the first meeting of Chichikov with the blonde, it was emphasized that it was not Chichikov, but another, “who had just begun the field of life,” who would freeze motionless when looking at the beauty. “For a long time he would stand senseless in one place, staring senselessly into the distance.”
- And now?..
Now Chichikov had to experience a similar thing.
- What does this mean?
“Chichikov, of course, is not a poet,” says Gogol. His experience is incomparably weaker and shallower. Moreover, these are rare, exceptional moments of his life. But those minutes were there! And this is important!
Igor Petrovich Zolotussky, our contemporary, gives an interesting assessment of the story with the governor’s daughter at the ball: “Didn’t she finally let him down? Wasn’t it on her that he cut himself off and let go of the happiness that was perhaps already ready to flutter into his hands? If Chichikov had not neglected the attention of the city ladies, everything would have been wonderful... But he became upset, showed his feelings at the ball and was immediately punished.”
Thus, Chichikov, having lost his vigilance and caution, collapses again. And the reason for the next fall was, according to Zolotussky, Chichikov’s ability to lively move the soul.
Is there any hope for the hero's revival?
And these unusual moments in Chichikov’s biography, his ability to respond to female beauty, sparkle in Volume I as distant harbingers of a future revival. I'm talking about the plan to lead Chichikov through the temptation of possessiveness, through life's dirt and abomination to moral rebirth.
Having the past behind him, Chichikov could also have a future. “And perhaps,” writes Gogol, “in this very Chichikov, the passion that attracts him is no longer from him, and in his cold existence lies something that will later drive a person to dust and to his knees before the wisdom of heaven.”
And this faith of Gogol in the ability of Russian people to change, faith in the potential capabilities of his soul predetermined not only the central place of Chichikov in Volume I, but also his supposed life path in subsequent volumes. The main character had to go through hell Russian life, purify and be reborn. This possibility of spiritual rebirth is indicated by the name of the main character - Paul. There is an opinion that: the persecutor of Christians, Saul, is miraculously transformed into Paul, then follows Christ and becomes the holy apostle.
Why is the image of Chichikov so contradictory?
But just as Gogol did not believe in the spiritual rebirth of his hero, his correction in Chapter II was difficult. And, as you know, 9 days before his death he burns the final copy of volume 2.
- Why did this happen?
“Much, too much has been promised,” Belinsky wrote after the release of Volume I, so much that there is nowhere to get what to fulfill the promise, because it does not yet exist in the world.” Life itself was against Gogol, and even his talent, uncompromisingly consistent and faithful to the truth.
Now let's return to the question posed at the beginning of the lesson:
“Who is Chichikov: a scoundrel, an acquirer or..?” Write down the statement of the writer whose point of view is closer to you. Express your opinion and justify it.
So, different points of view were voiced. We see that Chichikov is capable of living human feelings, but deliberately suppresses them, subordinating his entire life to acquisition and enrichment. The passion for profit took over his entire being.
The place of Chichikov's image in the gallery of literary heroes. Chichikov and Molchalin.
- Does Chichikov have a literary predecessor?
(Molchalin)
- How is Chichikov similar to Molchalin?
* Both follow their father's instructions.
* Able to adapt to people.
* Both play the role of a lover in order to make their path to wealth easier.
* After the rise of heroes, a fall inevitably follows.
* Make a pleasant impression on others.
*For visual appeal base, vile characters are hidden.
- “Silent people are blissful in the world!” Can these words be attributed to Chichikov?(Yes. His ideals and the apparent speed of achieving them are always attractive in modern world Same).
IV. Lesson summary (dialogue-conversation).
The Chichikovs are tenacious. Their dedication and patience allow them to be constantly reborn.
- Why do you think this image is eternal?
(1) the goal - enrichment - is attractive 2) the speed of achieving the goal is attractive.)
- Are the Chichikovs scary?(The Chichikovs are scary because, at first glance, everything is fine in appearance, in behavior, and even in goals, if not for their complete lack of spirituality, but their ideals are seductive and human conscience is sold for them at all times and in our too. The Chichikovs free themselves from everything human and are merciless towards those who stand in their way).
V. Homework: writing an essay on the topic of the lesson.
Images of landowners in the poem "Dead Souls"
, teacher of Russian language and literature
The article belongs to the section: Teaching literature
Lesson objectives:
Show skill in describing the characters of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls.” Develop the ability to read, think about the text, find keywords, significant details in a literary text, draw conclusions. Cultivate a love of Russian literature and interest in the study of creativity.
Design:
Portraits of Chichikov and landowners. Text of the poem “Dead Souls”. Presentation “Images of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls”. (Appendix 1) Fragments of the video film “Dead Souls”. (DVD series “Russian Classics”)
PROGRESS OF THE LESSON
I. Organizational moment
(greetings).
Slide 1
Presentation
Reporting the topic of the lesson, goal setting.
II. Teacher's opening speech.
The close-up images of landowners, these “masters of life”, who are responsible for its economic and cultural condition, for the fate of the people, are drawn in close-up in the poem “Dead Souls”.
What are they, the masters of life? A plan is proposed to analyze the images of landowners. Slide 2
III. Analysis of the image of Manilov.
Which landowner does Chichikov visit first? Slide 3
When does Chichikov's first meeting with Manilov take place? View V ideological fragment “Chichikov at Manilov”
Assignment: using the memo plan, tell about Manilov. Performance by the 1st group of students.
What detail in the description of the hero is dominant?
What is hidden behind Manilov’s smiling face? How the author himself characterizes the hero ?
A pleasant Manilov smile for everyone is a sign of deep indifference to everything around him; such people are not capable of experiencing anger, sorrow, joy.
With the help of what details does Gogol give a comic coloring to the images of his characters?
An integral part of Gogol's portrait drawing are poses, clothing, movements, gestures, and facial expressions. With their help, the writer enhances the comic coloring of the images and reveals the true essence of the hero. Manilov's gestures indicate mental impotence, an inability to comprehend what goes beyond the boundaries of his wretched little world.
What is the distinctive feature of Manilov?
His main psychological trait is the desire to please everyone and always.
Manilov is a calm observer of everything that happens; bribe takers, thieves, embezzlers - all the most respected people for him. Manilov is an indefinite person; he has no living human desires. This is a dead soul, a person “so-so, neither this nor that.”
Conclusion. Slide 4
Instead of real feeling, Manilov has a “pleasant smile”, cloying politeness and a sensitive phrase; instead of thought - some kind of incoherent, stupid reflections, instead of activity - either empty dreams, or such results of “labor” as “slides of ash knocked out of a pipe, arranged, not without effort, in very beautiful rows.”
IV. Analysis of the image of the Box.
Slide 5
Briefly describe the contents of Chapter 3.
What can you find out about main feature Character Boxes from direct author's characteristics?
Gogol does not hide the irony regarding her thinking abilities: she thought, opened her mouth, looked almost with fear. “Well, the woman seems to be strong-minded!”
The essence of Korobochka’s character is especially visible through dialogical speech characters. The dialogue between Korobochka and Chichikov is a masterpiece of comedic art. This conversation can be called a dialogue of the deaf.
Watching the video clip “Dialogue between Korobochka and Chichikov”
What character traits of Korobochka were revealed in the bargaining scene?
She was not embarrassed by the trade in dead souls, she is ready to trade in dead souls, but she is afraid of selling herself cheap. She is characterized by tedious slowness and caution. She went to the city to find out how much “dead souls” were being sold these days.
What is the situation of the peasants near Korobochka?
The village is a source of honey, lard, and hemp, which Korobochka sells. She also trades with peasants.
Draw a conclusion about the meaning of the box's thriftiness .
It turns out that landowner thrift can have the same vile, inhuman meaning as mismanagement.
What made Korobochka like this?
Traditions in the conditions of patriarchal life suppressed Korobochka’s personality and stopped her intellectual development at a very low level; all aspects of life not related to hoarding remained inaccessible to her.
Assignment: using the memo plan, tell about the Box. Performance of the 2nd group of students
Conclusion : Slide 6
The “club-headed” box is the embodiment of those traditions that have developed among provincial small landowners leading subsistence farming.
She is a representative of a departing, dying Russia, and there is no life in her, since she is turned not to the future, but to the past.
V. Analysis of Nozdryov’s image.
It consists of separate fragments that tell about the hero’s habits, episodes from his life, manners and behavior in society. Each of these sketches is a condensed story that reveals one or another trait of his character: drunken revelry, a passion for changing everything, an addiction to playing cards, empty vulgar talk, complete lies.
How is Nozdryov’s desire to lie exposed?
In Nozdryov's office, Turkish daggers are shown, on one of which was carved: master Savely Sibiryakov.
What is the hero's speech? ?
Swear words: fetish, pig, scoundrel, rubbish. And this reveals not only a personal, but also a social trait. He is sure that he is allowed to insult and deceive with impunity - after all, he is a landowner, a nobleman, the master of life.
What are life goals Nozdreva ?
Nozdrev cares not for profit: this tavern hero is in no way suitable for the role of an acquirer. He is possessed by a thirst for pleasures - those that are available to his dirty soul. And Nozdryov plays dirty tricks on his neighbor with pleasure, without any malicious intentions, even good-naturedly, since his neighbor is only a means or source of pleasure for him. Pleasure was denied or it did not take place: “fetish”, “scoundrel”, “rubbish”
Assignment: using the memo plan, tell about Nozdryov. Speech by the 3rd group of students
Conclusion. Slide 8
In general, Nozdryov is an unpleasant person, since he completely lacks the concepts of honor, conscience, and human dignity.
Nozdryov’s energy turned into scandalous vanity, aimless and destructive.
VI. Analysis of the image of Sobakevich.
Slide 9
What details - things does Gogol use when characterizing Sobakevich? ?
Description of the manor house: “...a wooden house with a mezzanine could be seen... “...In a word, everything he looked at was stubborn, without swaying, in some kind of strong and awkward order.
The Greek heroes in the pictures in his living room were strong, with thick loungers, unheard of
mustache
Is there a difference in the characterization of Sobakevich in chapters 1 and 5?
In Chapter 1, Sobakevich is characterized as a person “clumsy in appearance.” This quality is emphasized and deepened in Chapter 5: he looks “like a medium-sized bear.” The author persistently plays on the word “bear”: a bear-colored tailcoat, his name was Mikhail Semyonovich.
What is striking about Sobakevich’s portrait?
In the portrait, what is most striking is the complexion: “.. stony, hot, like the one on a copper coin”;
“It is known that there are many such persons in the world, over the finishing of which nature did not hesitate for long, did not use any small tools, such as files, gimlets and other things, but simply chopped with all their might: if you hit it with an ax once, your nose would come out, it would cut another - her lips came out, she picked her eyes with a large drill...”
“Chichikov glanced sideways at him again as they walked into the dining room: bear! A perfect bear!”
Why is Chichikov careful in his conversation with Sobakevich: he did not call the souls dead, but only non-existent?
Sobakevich immediately “smelled” that the proposed deal was fraudulent. But he didn’t even blink an eye.
“Do you need dead souls? - Sobakevich asked very simply, without the slightest surprise, as if we were talking about bread.”
Assignment: using the memo plan, tell about Sobakevich Speech by the 4th group of students
Chichikov is right in thinking that Sobakevich would have remained a kulak even in St. Petersburg, although he was raised according to fashion. Yes, it would have turned out even worse: “if he had tasted the top of some science, he would let me know later, having taken a more prominent place. To all those who actually learned some science.
Sobakevich, like Korobochka, is smart and practical in a business way: they do not ruin men, because it is unprofitable for themselves. They know that in this world everything is bought and sold
VII. Analysis of the image of Plyushkin.
Slide 11
The theme of moral decline, spiritual death of the “masters of life” ends with a chapter dedicated to Plyushkin.
Plyushkin - last portrait in the landowners' gallery. Before us is the complete collapse of the human in man.
How and why a hardworking owner turned into “a hole in humanity” ?
Why does the chapter about Plyushkin begin with a lyrical digression about youth?
Why does Gogol recount the life story of Plyushkin in detail? ?
Gogol turns to the hero’s past, since the moral ugliness is the same as that of other landowners: spiritual possession, which gives rise to soullessness, loss of ideas about the meaning of life, about moral duty, about responsibility for everything that happens around. Plyushkin's tragedy is that he lost contact with people. He sees enemies in everyone, even his own children and grandchildren, ready to plunder good
The image of Plyushkin is the embodiment of extreme dilapidation and moldiness, and in the characteristics of objects associated with him, Gogol reflected these qualities.
Find in the text artistic means with the help of which the author reveals the essence of the image of Plyushkin .
All the buildings were dilapidated, the logs on the huts were dark and old, the roofs were see-through like a sieve, the fence was broken...
Assignment: using the memo plan, tell about Plyushkin. Performance by the 5th group of students
Conclusion. Slide 12
Mold, dust, rot, and death emanate from the Plyushkin estate. Other details also chill the heart: the old man did not give a penny to either his daughter or his son.
So, for what purpose is the image of Plyushkin depicted in the poem? ?
Consistently, from hero to hero, Gogol exposes the worthless life of the landowners.
The images of landowners are given according to their spiritual impoverishment and moral decline.
It is shown how the disintegration of the human personality gradually took place.
Once upon a time, Plyushkin was just a thrifty owner. The thirst for enrichment turned him into a miser and isolated him from society.
His image reveals one of the varieties of spiritual death. Plyushkin's image is typical.
Gogol exclaimed bitterly:
“And a person could condescend to such insignificance, pettiness, and disgustingness! Could have changed so much! And does this seem true? Everything seems to be true, anything can happen to a person.”
VIII. Similarities between Chichikov and landowners.
Slide 13
Landowner, his distinctive feature | How does this trait manifest itself in Chichikov? |
Manilov – sweetness, cloying, uncertainty | All residents of the city recognized Chichikov as a pleasant man in all respects |
Box - petty stinginess | Everything in the box is laid out with the same diligent pedantry as in Nastasya Petrovna’s chest of drawers |
Nozdryov - narcissism | The desire and ability to please everyone |
Sobakevich – rude tight-fistedness and cynicism | There is “...no straightforwardness, no sincerity! Perfect Sobakevich” |
Plyushkin - collecting unnecessary things and carefully storing them | While exploring the city, I tore off the poster, read it, folded it and put it in a small box. |
Slide 14
Chichikov's character is multifaceted, the hero turns out to be a mirror of the landowner he meets, because he has the same qualities that form the basis of the landowners' characters.
IX. Crossword
. Slides 15 to 24
X. Summing up.
XI. Homework.
1. Fill out the table according to plan:
- brief description landowner; description of the landowner's estate; description of a shared meal; how landowners react to Chichikov’s proposal; further actions landowners.
2. Write a miniature essay “Why did Chichikov visit the landowners in such a sequence?”
Prompted by Pushkin plot of "Dead Souls" was attractive to Gogol, as it gave him the opportunity, together with their hero, the future Chichikov, to “travel” throughout Russia and show “all of Rus'.” Social issues“Dead Souls” is integrated with the problem of the spiritual state, or more precisely, the lack of spirituality of the “modern” and, above all, “Russian man”. In his letters, Gogol explains that it is not the province, and not a few ugly landowners, and not what is attributed to them, that is the subject of “Dead Souls”, that the real and only subject of the “art” of their author is “man and the soul of man”, and “modern man” and the “present state” of his “soul”.
Poem "Dead Souls"- a realistic work. The principles of artistic realism were formulated by Gogol in a digression on two types of writers. The writer attributes his work to the critical direction. Its historical limitations are obvious, which is expressed in the fact that for Gogol the “fertile grain” of Russian life was hidden not in the social, democratic trends in the development of “reality,” but in the national specificity of the spiritual “nature” of the Russian person. Gogol wrote during the crisis of serfdom in Russia. Depicting landowners and officials, Gogol used satirical description, social typification, as well as a general critical focus. Much attention The author devotes time to descriptions of nature, the estate, the house, the interior, and the details of the portrait. Through satirical descriptions, the author characterizes the characters, paying attention to details. Various plans are correlated: a lyrical digression about a bird-troika and a description of a trip along bad Russian roads.
The poem goes back to the traditions of the ancient epic, where a holistic existence was recreated in all contradictions. By “poem” the writer meant “a lesser kind of epic... Prospectus for a textbook of literature for Russian youth. The hero of epics is a private and invisible person, but significant in many respects for observing the human soul.” Lyrical digressions, which are elements of the poem, in “Dead Souls” reflect the author’s perception of reality. Gogol himself called the work not only a poem, but also a novel, but for this the work lacks a love affair. The poem contains elements of a picaresque, adventure and social novel.
The plot and composition of the poem
Three compositional links are clearly distinguished: a display of estates (chapters 2-6), a depiction of the life of the provincial city, provincial officials (chapters 7-10), a narration about the life fate of the protagonist of the poem.
The road in all its meanings is the compositional core of the narrative, combining its spatial coordinates (Russian provincial city) with temporal ones (the movement of the chaise) into a symbol of “all Rus'” and its path from serf-dominated deadness to the great future.
Image of Chichikov and its ideological and compositional role influence the plot of the poem. The poem is stylized as a description of a journey; individual fragments of the life of Rus' are combined into a whole. If we consider the role of the image, it lies in the characteristics of the entrepreneur-adventurer. As follows from the hero’s biography, he uses for his own purposes either the position of an official or the mythical position of a landowner. The composition of the poem is built on the principle of “closed spaces”: landowners’ estates, the city.
The self-title of the poem is also symbolic - “Dead Souls”. Its literal meaning, related to the plot, is not only the dead peasants crossed out from the audit lists, called “souls” in the language of official documents. In addition, these are the dead souls of the owners of living and dead peasant souls, concealing the possibility of their awakening.
The theme of the homeland and people in the poem
Gogol says that the peasants for the most part are ignorant, downtrodden and narrow-minded: the yard girl Korobochka has no idea where is right and where is left; Petrushka and Selifan are stupid and lazy; Uncle Mityai and Uncle Minai are only capable of speculating whether Chichikov’s chaise will reach Moscow and Kazan. However, Gogol puts forward the idea that the Russian people have talents and creative abilities: in a lyrical digression about the Russian language, in a digression about the three-bird, in the characterization of the “Yaroslavl efficient man.”
“A Lesson for Tsars” was taught by the author of “Dead Souls” with “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin.” The time of its action is precisely indicated: “six years after the French.” This is the time of the height of the Alexander reaction, the time of Arakcheev and the birth of the Decembrist movement. Captain Kopeikin is one of the participants in the War of 1812, whom the subsequent reaction turned from a defender of the Fatherland into a robber chieftain. “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” reminds us of the threat of a revolutionary “revolt” in Russia. In lyrical digressions about Rus' and the bird-troika, Gogol expresses his attitude to the future of Russia. “Rus, where are you rushing?” This question is addressed not to the “proud horse” - a symbol of Russian statehood, but to the “three bird” - a symbol of the national element of Russian life, its future and world-historical self-determination.
Essay on “Goals and Means”.
This statement given to me is quite contradictory and ambiguous, like any other question that involves long discussions. Does the end always justify the means? And does it justify it at all? Should one correspond to the other, and what should be the goal for all means to be good for it?
On the one hand, a person’s entire life is a movement with some purpose, which in most cases is taken as the “meaning of life.” Home, family, good job, a car, an apartment, a garden with gooseberries, your own small business, world peace - all this can become the meaning of everyone’s existence. Does it make sense to think about the means to achieve your goal? Of course, yes, because in our lives any obsessive thought can be broken by reality and the very fact that a person is constantly changing, growing up and improving. And if today, for example, it seems to me that life in the capital is worth going over my head, then tomorrow, quite possibly, I will kiss the hands of my grandmother in a small village on the very outskirts of our country, strive for something completely different and condemn yourself for what you did earlier. For example, the main character of the novel F.M. For a long time, Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” considered his goal to prove to himself and others that with the help of evil deeds one can come to good. In other words, he believed that criminal means were acceptable in achieving a noble goal. According to Raskolnikov’s theory, there were two types of people: those worthy and those unworthy of life, and the hero believed that by killing the latter, an ideal, kind world could be created. However, having committed the murder of the old woman, the hero realized that his idea was inhumane, and he himself, having taken this step, did not become better than those scoundrels who surrounded him. These included, for example, Svidrigailov, a vile and low personality who did not disdain any means to achieve his dirty goals. Raskolnikov's repentance and Svidrigailov's suicide once again proved that the end does not always justify the means.
Another example is the hero of the novel N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls". Chichikov's goal was high social status and self-enrichment. The hero decided to go far enough desperate step: having bought out many “dead souls” from various landowners, he would have without much difficulty at the same time acquired the status of a large landowner, and, having received a large loan for his peasants, the hero would also have the opportunity to have large capital. To this end, Chichikov began his difficult path and resorted to a variety of means, but the very character of the hero did not allow him to stoop too low and behave, for example, the same way as those landowners to whom he approached with his deal. Of course, the final ending of the novel remained in the second volume, however, it seems to me that the fact that Chichikov, having managed to find an approach to each landowner, nevertheless achieved his goal and collected the required number of dead souls, without having done anything like that, was enough. that he himself might be ashamed. Thus, Chichikov’s goal justified the means attached to it.
In conclusion, I would like to note once again that there is not and cannot be a specific answer to the question posed in the test. The end can justify the means only if the honor and dignity of a person do not suffer.