• Landowner Portrait Characteristic Manor Attitude towards housekeeping Lifestyle Outcome Manilov Handsome blond with blue eyes. At the same time, in his appearance "it seemed too sugar was transferred." Too ingratiating look and behavior Too enthusiastic and refined dreamer who does not feel any curiosity about his household or anything earthly (he does not even know if his peasants died after the last revision). At the same time, his daydreaming is absolutely […]
• Compositionally, the poem "Dead Souls" consists of three externally closed, but internally interconnected circles. landowners, the city, Chichikov's biography, united by the image of the road, plot-related by the main character's scam. But the middle link - the life of the city - itself consists, as it were, of narrowing circles, gravitating towards the center; this is a graphic representation of the provincial hierarchy. Interestingly, in this hierarchical pyramid, the governor, embroidering on tulle, looks like a puppet figure. True life boils in civilian […]
• Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol is one of the most brilliant authors of our vast Motherland. In his works, he always spoke about the sore, about what His Rus' lived in His time. And he does it so well! This man really loved Russia, seeing what our country really is - unhappy, deceitful, lost, but at the same time - dear. Nikolai Vasilievich in the poem "Dead Souls" gives a social profile of the then Rus'. Describes landlordism in all colors, reveals all the nuances, characters. Among […]
• The work of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol fell on the dark era of Nicholas I. These were the 30s. XIX century, when in Russia, after the suppression of the uprising of the Decembrists, reaction reigned, all dissidents were persecuted, the best people were persecuted. Describing the reality of his day, N.V. Gogol creates the poem “Dead Souls”, brilliant in depth of reflection of life. The basis of "Dead Souls" is that the book is a reflection not of individual features of reality and characters, but of the reality of Russia as a whole. Myself […]
• In Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" the way of life and customs of the feudal landowners is very correctly noticed and described. Drawing images of the landlords: Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Sobakevich and Plyushkin, the author recreated a generalized picture of the life of serf Russia, where arbitrariness reigned, the economy was in decline, and the personality underwent moral degradation. After writing and publishing the poem, Gogol said: “Dead Souls made a lot of noise, a lot of grumbling, touched the nerves of many with mockery, and truth, and caricature, touched […]
• Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol noted that the main theme of "Dead Souls" was contemporary Russia. The author believed that "it is impossible otherwise to direct society or even the whole generation towards the beautiful, until you show the full depth of its real abomination." That is why the poem presents a satire on the local nobility, bureaucracy and other social groups. The composition of the work is subordinated to this task of the author. The image of Chichikov, traveling around the country in search of the necessary connections and wealth, allows N. V. Gogol […]
• Chichikov, having met the landowners in the city, received an invitation from each of them to visit the estate. The gallery of the owners of "dead souls" is opened by Manilov. The author at the very beginning of the chapter gives a description of this character. His appearance initially made a very pleasant impression, then bewilderment, and in the third minute “... you say:“ The devil knows what it is! and move away…” Sweetness and sentimentality, highlighted in the portrait of Manilov, are the essence of his idle lifestyle. He is constantly talking about […]
• French traveler, author of the famous book "Russia in 1839" Marquis de Questine wrote: “Russia is ruled by a class of officials who occupy administrative positions right from the school bench ... each of these gentlemen becomes a nobleman, having received a cross in his buttonhole ... Upstarts in the circle of those in power, they use their power, as befits upstarts. " The tsar himself admitted with bewilderment that it was not he, the autocrat of all Russia, who governed his empire, but the clerk appointed by him. The provincial city […]
• In his famous address to the "bird-troika", Gogol did not forget the master to whom the troika owes its existence: cheeky man." There is one more hero in the poem about swindlers, parasites, owners of living and dead souls. Gogol's unnamed hero is serf slaves. In "Dead Souls" Gogol composed such a dithyramb to the Russian serfs, with such direct […]
• N.V. Gogol conceived the first part of the poem "Dead Souls" as a work that reveals the social vices of society. In this regard, he was looking for a plot not a simple life fact, but one that would make it possible to expose the hidden phenomena of reality. In this sense, the plot proposed by A. S. Pushkin was the best fit for Gogol. The idea to “travel all over Rus' with the hero” gave the author the opportunity to show the life of the whole country. And since Gogol described it in such a way, “so that all the little things that elude […]
• In the autumn of 1835, Gogol set to work on Dead Souls, the plot of which, like the plot of The Inspector General, was suggested to him by Pushkin. “I want to show in this novel, although from one side, all of Rus',” he writes to Pushkin. Explaining the idea of ​​"Dead Souls", Gogol wrote that the images of the poem are "not at all portraits of insignificant people, on the contrary, they contain the features of those who consider themselves better than others." Explaining the choice of the hero, the author says: "Because it is time, finally, give rest to a poor virtuous man, because […]
• It should be noted that the episode of the collision of the crews is divided into two micro-themes. One of them is the appearance of a crowd of onlookers and "helpers" from a neighboring village, the other is Chichikov's thoughts caused by a meeting with a young stranger. Both of these themes have both an external, superficial layer, directly related to the characters of the poem, and a deep layer, bringing to the scale of the author's thoughts about Russia and its people. So, the collision occurs suddenly, when Chichikov silently sends curses to Nozdryov, thinking that […]
• Chichikov met Nozdryov earlier, at one of the receptions in the city of NN, but the meeting in the tavern is the first serious acquaintance with him for both Chichikov and the reader. We understand what type of people Nozdryov belongs to, first by seeing his behavior in the tavern, his story about the fair, and then by reading the author’s direct description of this “broken fellow”, “historical man”, who has “a passion to spoil his neighbor, sometimes for no reason at all ". We know Chichikov as a completely different person - […]
• Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" is one of the greatest and at the same time mysterious works of the 19th century. The genre definition of "poem", which at that time unambiguously meant a lyric-epic work written in poetic form and predominantly romantic, was perceived by Gogol's contemporaries in different ways. Some found it mocking, while others saw hidden irony in this definition. Shevyrev wrote that “the meaning of the word ‘poem’ seems to us to be twofold… because of the word ‘poem’ a deep, significant […]
• At the lesson of literature, we got acquainted with the work of N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls". This poem has become very popular. The work was repeatedly filmed both in the Soviet Union and in modern Russia. Also, the names of the main characters became symbolic: Plyushkin - a symbol of stinginess and storage of unnecessary things, Sobakevich - an uncouth person, Manilovism - immersion in dreams that have no connection with reality. Some phrases have become catchphrases. The main character of the poem is Chichikov. […]
• What is the image of a literary hero? Chichikov is the hero of a great, classic work created by a genius, a hero who embodied the result of the author's observations and reflections on life, people, and their actions. An image that has absorbed typical features, and therefore has long gone beyond the framework of the work itself. His name has become a household name for people - crafty careerists, sycophants, money-grubbers, outwardly "pretty", "decent and worthy". Moreover, other readers' assessment of Chichikov is not so unambiguous. Comprehension […]
• Gogol was always attracted by everything eternal and unshakable. By analogy with Dante's "Divine Comedy", he decides to create a work in three volumes, where it would be possible to show the past, present and future of Russia. Even the author designates the genre of the work in an unusual way - a poem, since different fragments of life are collected in one artistic whole. The composition of the poem, which is built on the principle of concentric circles, allows Gogol to trace the movement of Chichikov through the provincial town of N, the estates of landowners and all of Russia. Already with […]
• “A rather beautiful spring chaise drove through the gates of the hotel in the provincial city of NN ... In the chaise sat a gentleman, not handsome, but not bad-looking, neither too fat nor too thin; one cannot say that he is old, but it is not so that he is too young either. His entry made absolutely no noise in the city and was not accompanied by anything special. So our hero appears in the city - Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. Let us, following the author, get acquainted with the city. Everything tells us that this is a typical provincial […]
• Plyushkin is an image of a moldy cracker left over from the Easter cake. Only he has a life story, Gogol depicts all the other landowners statically. These heroes, as it were, have no past that would at least somehow differ from their present and explain something in it. Plyushkin's character is much more complicated than the characters of other landowners represented in Dead Souls. Features of manic stinginess are combined in Plyushkin with painful suspicion and distrust of people. Saving the old sole, a clay shard, […]
• The poem "Dead Souls" reflects the social phenomena and conflicts that characterized Russian life in the 30s - early 40s. 19th century It very correctly noticed and described the way of life and customs of that time. Drawing images of the landowners: Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Sobakevich and Plyushkin, the author recreated a generalized picture of the life of serf Russia, where arbitrariness reigned, the economy was in decline, and the personality underwent moral degradation, regardless of whether it was the personality of a slave owner or [... ]

The image of Chichikov "Dead Souls"

Chichikov is outwardly neat, loves cleanliness, dressed in a good fashionable suit, always carefully shaved; he always wears clean underwear and fashionable clothes "brown and reddish shades with a spark" or "the color of Navarino smoke with fire." But Chichikov's outward neatness, cleanliness, strikingly contrasts with the hero's inner dirt and dishonesty. In the image of Chichikov, the author emphasized the typical features of a predator, scoundrel and accumulator. In the eleventh chapter, the author tells in detail about the life path of the hero from birth to the moment when he started acquiring dead souls. How was the character of Chichikov formed? What vital interests, formed under the influence of the external environment, guided his behavior?
Even as a child, his father taught him: “... most of all please teachers and bosses ... communicate with those who are richer so that in some cases they will be useful to you, and most of all take care of a penny, this thing is the most useful in the world ... You will do everything and break through the world a penny." These father's advice formed the basis of Chichikov's relationship with people since his school years. Even at the school, he achieved a good relationship with teachers, successfully accumulated money. Service in various institutions developed his natural abilities - a practical mind, ingenuity, hypocrisy, patience, the ability to "understand the spirit of the boss", find a weak spot in a person's soul and the ability to influence him for selfish reasons. Chichikov directed all his skills to achieve the desired enrichment. He knew how to bewitch both the provincial town and estates. Chichikov knows how to find an approach to someone, clearly calculating his every step and adapting to the character of the landowner. The reader notices the difference in the manner of his communication with each of the landowners.
Gogol satirically exposes his hero "scoundrel", a representative of those predators, of which there were many in the 30s of the XIX century, when the bourgeois-capitalist forces had already begun to develop within the framework of the feudal-serf order.

Image of Manilov

The image of Manilov opens the gallery of landowners. He reminds a little of Chichikov with his "sweet" neatness and refinement of clothes and movements. Her life is empty and worthless. Even the names of his sons Manilov gives exceptional - Themistoclus and Alkid. The landowner spends his life in complete inactivity. He has moved away from any work, he does not even read anything. Manilov decorates his idleness with groundless dreams and "projects" that do not make sense. Instead of a real feeling, Manilov has a “pleasant smile”, sweet courtesy; instead of thought, meaningless judgments; instead of activity, empty dreams.
As for the main purpose of Chichikov's visit, Manilov does not even know how many peasants died in his country, and shows complete indifference to this.

Box Image

Nastasia Petrovna Korobochka appears before us as a parody of a person, the embodiment of the same spiritual emptiness as Manilov. A small landowner (owns 80 souls), she is a housewife, but her worldview is extremely limited. The author emphasizes her stupidity, lack of education, superstition, craving for profit. You can't always trust first impressions. Chichikov is deceived by Korobochka's outward simplicity, naive patriarchal speech, which indicates that she has always lived in the village, among the peasants, has not received any education, and happens in the city for the sole purpose of finding out about the prices of certain goods. Chichikov calls Korobochka a "clubhead," but this landowner is no more stupid than him; like him, she never misses her advantage. She knows very well what is being done in her household, at what price and what products are sold, how many serfs she has, who is called and how many died when.

Image of Nozdrev

The type of "living dead" is Nozdrev. This is the complete opposite of both Manilov and Korobochka. He has "an irrepressible liveliness and militancy of character". He is a reveler, a swindler and a liar. Even without understanding the essence of Chichikov's scam, he recognizes him as a swindler. Nozdryov completely abandoned his farm, only the kennel is well maintained, since he loves hunting.

The image of Sobakevich

Sobakevich is a new step in the moral fall of man. He is an adherent of the old feudal forms of farming, is hostile to the city and education, ardently strives for profit. The thirst for enrichment pushes him to dishonest deeds. This landowner knows how to run a household. Wealth provides him with self-confidence, makes him independent in his judgments. He knows well how the other landowners and top officials in the province have grown rich, and he deeply neglects them. Sobakevich, in addition to the corvée, also applies the monetary system. His serfs die because of the inhuman conditions of existence, as he behaves cruelly with them, despite their talents and abilities. And his peasants are really talented: the skillful carriage-maker Mikheev, the carpenter Stepan Cork, the tsegelnik Milushkin, the shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov and others.
Chichikov's request to sell "dead souls" does not surprise Sobakevich, since he is convinced that money can be made from everything. The author emphasizes the broad generalizing meaning of this image.

Plushkin's image

“A hole in humanity,” Plyushkin is the exact opposite of Sobakevich. He has lost his human likeness so much that Chichikov at first considers him a housekeeper. Undoubtedly, he has income, and considerable: over a thousand souls of serfs, full barns of all kinds of goods. However, his extreme avarice turns the wealth earned for him by the hard work of the serfs into dust and rot. Is there anything dear to him in life? Plyushkin forgot why he lives in the world. His serfs suffer from the stinginess of the owner and "die like flies." According to Sobakevich, he starved all people to death. Everything human died in him; it is in the full understanding of the "dead soul". This landowner has no human qualities, even his father's things are more dear to him than the people whom he considers thieves and swindlers. In the image of Plyushkin, with special force and satirical aggravation, the shameful desire for accumulation at any cost, born of society, is embodied.
It is no coincidence that Gogol completes the gallery of landlords in the image of Plyushkin. The author shows what can happen to each of them. Gogol is offended by the mockery of man as the likeness of God. He says: “And could a person come to such insignificance, pettiness, vileness? Could it have changed! and does it look like it's true? Everything seems to be true, everything can happen to a person ... ".

Presentation on the topic: Characteristics of the heroes in the poem "Dead Souls" by N. V. Gogol

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Presentation on the topic: Characteristics of the heroes in the poem "Dead Souls" by N. V. Gogol

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In the poem "Dead Souls" Gogol created a picture of contemporary Russia of extraordinary scope and breadth, depicting it in all its grandeur, but at the same time with all its vices. He managed to immerse the reader into the depths of the souls of his heroes with such force that the work has not ceased to make an amazing impression on readers for many years. In the center of the narrative of the poem is feudal Rus', a country in which all the land with its riches, its people belonged to the ruling noble class. The nobility occupied a privileged position and was responsible for the economic and cultural development of the state. Representatives of this class are landowners, "masters" of life, owners of serf souls.

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Manilov The gallery of images of landowners is opened by Manilov, whose estate is called the front facade of landlord Russia. At the first meeting, this hero makes a pleasant impression of a cultured, delicate person. But even in this cursory description of the author, one cannot fail to notice the irony. In the appearance of this hero, sugary sweetness clearly appears, as evidenced by the comparison of his eyes with sugar. Further, it becomes clear that an empty soul is hidden under a pleasantly courteous treatment of people. In the image of Manilov, many people are represented, about whom, according to Gogol, one can say: "people are so-so, neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan nor in the village of Selifan." They live in the country, have a penchant for refined, ornate turns of speech, because they want to appear enlightened and highly educated people, look at everything with a calm look, and, smoking a pipe, dream of doing something good, for example, building a stone bridge over a pond and starting benches on it. But all their dreams are meaningless and unrealizable.

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This is also evidenced by the description of the Manilov estate, which is Gogol's most important method of characterizing the landowners: one can judge the character of the owner by the state of the estate. Manilov does not take care of the household: everything with him "went somehow by itself"; and his dreamy inaction is reflected in everything, in the description of the landscape an indefinite, light gray color prevails. Manilov attends social events because other landowners attend them. The same is true in family life and at home. Spouses love to kiss, give toothpick cases, and do not show much concern for landscaping: there is always some drawback in their house, for example, if all the furniture is upholstered in smart fabric, there are sure to be two armchairs covered with canvas.

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The character of Manilov is expressed in his speech and in the way he behaves during the deal with Chichikov. When Chichikov suggested that Manilov sell him dead souls, he was taken aback. But, even realizing that the guest’s proposal was clearly contrary to the law, he could not refuse such a most pleasant person, and only set off to think about “won’t this negotiation be inconsistent with civil decrees and further types of Russia?” The author does not hide the irony: a person who does not know how many peasants have died, who does not know how to organize his own economy, shows concern for politics. The surname Manilov corresponds to his character and was formed by the author from the dialect word "manila" - the one who beckons, promises and deceives, a flattering saint.

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Korobochka A different type of landowner appears before us in the form of Korobochka. Unlike Manilov, she is economic and practical, knows the price of a "penny". The description of her village suggests that she taught everyone to order. The net on the fruit trees and the bonnet on the scarecrow confirm that the mistress's hands reach everything and nothing is wasted in her household. Looking around Korobochka's house, Chichikov notices that the wallpaper in the room is old, the mirrors are old. But with all the individual characteristics, she is distinguished by the same vulgarity and "dead spirit" as Manilov.

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Selling Chichikov an unusual product, she is afraid to sell too cheap. After bargaining with Korobochka, Chichikov "was covered in sweat, like in a river: everything that was on him, from shirt to stockings, was all wet." The hostess killed him with her clubhead, stupidity, stinginess and desire to delay the sale of unusual goods. “Perhaps merchants will come in large numbers, and I will apply to prices,” she says to Chichikov. She looks at dead souls the same way she looks at lard, hemp or honey, thinking that they may also be needed in the household.

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Nozdrev On the high road, in a wooden tavern, I met Chichikov Nozdrev, a “historical man”, whom he met in the city. And it is in the tavern that one can most often meet such people, who, according to the author, are many in Rus'. Speaking about one hero, the author at the same time gives a description of people like him. The irony of the author lies in the fact that in the first part of the phrase he characterizes the nostrils as "good and faithful comrades", and then adds: "... and for all that, they are very painfully beaten." This type of people is known in Rus' under the name of "broken fellow." From the third time they say “you” to a friend, at fairs they buy everything that comes into their heads: collars, smoking candles, a stallion, a dress for a nanny, tobacco, pistols, etc., thoughtlessly and easily spend money on revelry and card games. games, they like to lie and for no reason to "piss off" a person. The source of his income, like that of other landowners, is the serfs.

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Such qualities of Nozdryov as impudent lies, boorish attitude towards people, dishonesty, thoughtlessness, are reflected in his fragmentary, quick speech, in the fact that he constantly jumps from one subject to another, in his insulting, abusive, cynical expressions: ”,“ you are a pig for this ”,“ such rubbish ”. He is constantly looking for adventure and does not do housework at all. This is evidenced by the unfinished repairs in the house, empty stalls, a faulty hurdy-gurdy, a lost chaise and the miserable position of his serfs, from whom he knocks out everything that is possible.

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SobakevichNozdrev gives way to Sobakevich. This hero represents the type of landlords, in whom everything is distinguished by good quality and durability. The character of Sobakevich helps to understand the description of his estate: an awkward house, full-weight and thick logs from which the stable, barn and kitchen are built, dense huts of peasants, portraits in rooms that depict "heroes with thick thighs and unheard-of mustaches", a walnut bureau on ridiculous four legs. In a word, everything looks like its owner, whom the author compares with a "medium-sized bear", emphasizing his animal nature. When describing the image of Sobakevich, the writer widely uses the technique of hyperbolization, it is enough to recall his monstrous appetite.

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Plyushkin Completes the gallery of persons with whom Chichikov makes deals, the landowner Plyushkin is "a hole in humanity." Gogol notes that such a phenomenon is rare in Rus', where everything likes to turn around rather than shrink. Acquaintance with this hero is preceded by a landscape, the details of which reveal the soul of the hero. Dilapidated wooden buildings, dark old logs on the huts, roofs resembling a sieve, windows without glass, stuffed with rags, reveal Plyushkin as a bad owner with a dead soul. But the picture of the garden, although dead and deaf, creates a different impression. When describing it, Gogol used more joyful and lighter tones - trees, “a regular marble sparkling column”, “air”, “cleanliness”, “tidiness” ... And through all this, the life of the owner himself peeps through, whose soul has died away, like nature in the wilderness this garden.

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In Plyushkin's house, too, everything speaks of the spiritual decay of his personality: piled up furniture, a broken chair, a dried lemon, a piece of rag, a toothpick ... And he himself looks like an old housekeeper, only gray eyes, like mice, run from under high eyebrows. Everything dies, rots and collapses around Plyushkin. The story of the transformation of an intelligent person into a “hole in humanity”, which the author introduces us to, leaves an indelible impression. Chichikov quickly finds a common language with Plyushkin. Only one thing worries the "patched" gentleman: how not to incur losses when making a purchase of a fortress.

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However, in the chapter devoted to the disclosure of Plyushkin's character, there are many details that have a positive meaning. The chapter begins with a digression about youth; the author tells the story of the hero's life, light colors predominate in the description of the garden; Plyushkin's eyes had not yet faded. On the wooden face of the hero, one can still see a “glimpsed joy” and a “warm beam”. All this suggests that Plyushkin, unlike other landowners, still has the possibility of a moral rebirth. Plyushkin's soul was once pure, which means it can still be reborn. It is no coincidence that the “patched” gentleman completes the gallery of images of “old-world” landowners.

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The author sought not only to tell about the history of Plyushkin, but also to warn readers that anyone can follow the path of this landowner. Gogol believed in the spiritual rebirth of Plyushkin, just as he believed in the strength of Russia and its people. This is confirmed by numerous lyrical digressions filled with deep lyricism and poetry.

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Gogol himself defined the genre of Dead Souls (1842) as a poem. . There is a direct reference to the Pushkin tradition here, because and the plot itself was suggested by Pushkin shortly before his death.

Therefore, a contrast arises: if Eugene Onegin is a novel in verse, then Dead Souls is, accordingly, a poem in prose. Dead Souls are built according to a similar scheme, the text contains lyrical digressions, although the work itself is epic.

Genre dead souls gogol

Thus, it can be said that Gogol correctly defined the genre: at the fusion of lyrics and epic, a poem is obtained. If there were no lyrical digressions, a novel would have come out based on strong Pushkin traditions.

Dead souls also have features of sentimentalism. This is a travel novel. Although Chichikov's trip does not have any sentimental motives, the fact itself is important. The poem ends symbolically: like Chatsky in Woe from Wit, Chichikov leaves the city on the road, he strives to meet a new life.

Also, the poem can be called, following the European tradition, a picaresque novel: the main character here is a swindler who deceives everyone he meets. His scam is to buy more peasants and thus get free land from the state.

But he is not going to become a full-fledged landowner, so he does not need peasants as laborers. Because of this, he buys the so-called from other landlords. dead souls (according to the poll tax law, each soul was taxed until death was reported. Landowners often did not report the death of their peasants), thus helping themselves and the sellers.

Dead souls: characterization of heroes

As for the heroes of the poem, Gogol set himself the task of portraying the three main Russian classes: landowners, peasants and officials. Particular attention is paid to the landowners from whom Chichikov buys dead souls: Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdryov, Plyushkin and Sobakevich.

The officials in this poem are quite similar to the landowners. A very expressive character is the provincial prosecutor, who dies of shock after learning about Chichikov's scam. So it turns out that he, too, knew how to feel. But in general, according to Gogol, officials are only able to take bribes.

The peasants are episodic characters, there are very few of them in the poem: the serfs of the landowners, random strangers ... The peasants are a mystery. Chichikov thinks for a long time about the Russian people, fantasizes, looking at a long list of dead souls.

And, finally, the main character, Chichikov, does not fully belong to any of the estates. In his image, Gogol creates a fundamentally new type of hero - this is the owner-acquirer, whose main goal is to accumulate more funds.

All the heroes of the poem can be divided into groups: landowners, common people (serfs and servants), officers, city officials. The first two groups are so interdependent, so merged into a kind of dialectical unity, that it is simply impossible to characterize them separately from each other.

Among the surnames of the landowners in "Dead Souls", those surnames that originated from the names of animals primarily attract attention. There are quite a few of them: Sobakevich, Bobrov, Svinin, Blokhin. The author closely acquaints the reader with some landowners, others are only mentioned in passing in the text. The surnames of the landowners are mostly dissonant: Konopatiev, Trepakin, Kharpakin, Pleshakov, Soapy. But there are exceptions: Pochitaev, Cheprakov-Colonel. Such surnames already inspire respect by sound, and there is hope that these are really smart and virtuous people, unlike other half-humans, half-beasts. Naming the landlords, the author uses sound recording. So the hero Sobakevich would not have acquired such heaviness and solidity if he had the surname Sobakin or Psov, although in meaning this is almost the same thing. Another solidity to the character of Sobakevich is added by his attitude towards the peasants, the way they are indicated in his notes given to Chichikov. Let us turn to the text of the work: “He (Chichikov) ran through it (the note) with his eyes and marveled at the accuracy and accuracy: not only was the craft, title, years and family condition spelled out in detail, but even in the margins there were special marks about behavior, sobriety, - in a word , it was a pleasure to look." These serfs - the carriage maker Mikheev, the carpenter Stepan Cork, the brick maker Milushkin, the shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov, Yeremey Sorokoplekhin - and after their death are dear to the owner as good workers and honest people. Sobakevich, despite the fact that "it seemed that this body did not have a soul at all, or he had one, but not at all where it should be, but, like an immortal koshchey, somewhere beyond the mountains and covered with such a thick shell, that everything that tossed and turned at the bottom of it did not produce any kind of shock on the surface, "despite this, Sobakevich is a good host.

Fortress Boxes have nicknames: Pyotr Savelyev Disrespect-Trough, Cow Brick, Wheel Ivan. "The landowner did not keep any notes or lists, but knew almost everyone by heart." She is also a very zealous mistress, but she is not so much interested in serfs as in the amount of hemp, lard and honey that she can sell. Korobochka has a truly speaking surname. She surprisingly suits a woman "older in years, in some kind of sleeping cap, put on hastily, with a flannel around her neck", one of those "mothers, small landowners who cry for crop failures, losses and hold their heads somewhat to one side, and meanwhile gain a little money in multicolored bags placed in the drawers of chests of drawers.

The author characterizes Manilov as a person "without his enthusiasm." His surname consists mainly of sonorous sounds that sound soft without making too much noise. It is also consonant with the word "beckon". Manilov is constantly attracted by some fantastic projectors, and, "deceived" by his fantasies, he does absolutely nothing in life.

Nozdryov, on the contrary, with his last name alone gives the impression of a man in whom there is too much of everything, like too many noisy vowels in his last name. In contrast to Nozdryov, the author portrayed his son-in-law, Mizhuev, who is one of those people who “before you have time to open your mouth, they are already ready to argue and, it seems, will never agree to something that is clearly contrary to their way of thinking, that they will never call a stupid intelligent, and that in particular they will not agree to dance to someone else's tune; but it will always end up with gentleness in their character, that they will agree precisely to what they rejected, they will call the stupid smart and then go to dance as well as possible to someone else's tune, - in a word , they will start with a satin stitch, and end with a reptile. " Without Mizhuev, Nozdryov's character would not play like that with all its facets.

The image of Plyushkin in the poem is one of the most interesting. If the images of other landowners are given without background, they are what they are in their essence, then Plyushkin was once a different person, “a thrifty owner! avarice." But his wife died, one of his daughters died, and the remaining daughter ran away with a passing officer. Plyushkin is not so much a comic hero as a tragic one. And the tragedy of this image is grotesquely emphasized by a funny, absurd surname, in which there is something from that kolach that his daughter Alexandra Stepanovna brought to Plyushkin for Easter along with a new dressing gown, and which he dried into breadcrumbs and served rare guests for many years. Plyushkin's stinginess is brought to the point of absurdity, he is reduced to a "hole in humanity", and it is in this image that Gogol's "laughter through tears" is felt most strongly. Plyushkin deeply despises his serfs. He covenanted his servants Mavr and Proshka, scolds them mercilessly and for the most part just like that, not on business.

The author is deeply sympathetic to ordinary Russian people, servants, serfs. He describes them with good humor, for example, the scene in which Uncle Mityai and Uncle Minyay are trying to make the stubborn horses walk. The author calls them not Mitrofan and Dimitri, but Mityai and Minyai, and before the reader's mind's eye appear "a lean and long uncle Mityai with a red beard" and "Uncle Minyai, a broad-shouldered peasant with a beard black as coal and a belly similar to that gigantic samovar. In which sbiten is brewed for the entire vegetative market." The coachman Chichikov, Selifan, is called by his full name because he claims to have some kind of education, which he pours out completely on the horses entrusted to his care. The lackey Chichikov Petrushka with his special smell, which follows him everywhere, also causes a good-natured smile of the author and reader. There is not a trace of that evil irony that accompanies the descriptions of the landlords.

Full of lyricism are the author's discourses put into Chichikov's mouth about the life and death of the "dead souls" he bought. Chichikov fantasizes and sees how Stepan Probka "perched ... for more profit under the church dome, or maybe he dragged himself to the cross and, slipping, from there, from the crossbar, flopped to the ground, and only some standing near ... Uncle Mikhey, scratching. With his hand in the back of his head, he said: "Oh, Vanya, you have been hurt!" - and he, having tied himself with a rope, climbed "in his place. It is no coincidence that Stepan Cork is called Vanya here. It's just that this name contains all the naivety, generosity, breadth of soul and recklessness of the simple Russian people.

The third group of heroes can be conditionally designated as officers. Basically, these are friends and acquaintances of the landowner Nozdrev. In a sense, Nozdrev himself also belongs to this group. In addition to him, one can name such revelers and bullies as staff captain Kisses, Khvostyrev, lieutenant Kuvshinnikov. These are real Russian surnames, but in this case they ambiguously indicate such features of their owners as a constant desire to drink wine and something stronger, and not in mugs, but preferably in jugs, the ability to tail curl around the first skirt that comes across and distribute kisses right and left . Nozdrev tells about all these exploits with great enthusiasm, who himself is the bearer of all the above qualities. We should also add here the cheating card game. In this light, N.V. Gogol portrays the representatives of the great Russian army, quartered in the provincial city, which to some extent represents the whole of vast Rus'.

And the last group of persons presented in the first volume of the poem can be designated as officials, from the lowest to the governor and his retinue. In the same group we will include the female population of the provincial town of NN, about which a lot is also said in the poem.

The reader learns the names of officials somehow in passing, from their conversations with each other, for them the rank becomes more important than the name and surname, as if it sticks to the skin. Central among them are the governor, the prosecutor, the gendarmerie colonel, the chairman of the chamber, the police chief, the postmaster. These people seem to have no soul at all, even somewhere far away, like Sobakevich's. They live for their own pleasure, under the guise of rank, their life is strictly regulated by the size of the rank and the amount of bribes that they are given for the work that they are obliged to perform by position. The author tests these sleeping officials with the appearance of Chichikov with his "dead souls". And officials, voluntarily or involuntarily, must show who is capable of what. And they turned out to be capable of a lot, especially in the field of conjectures about the personality of Chichikov himself and his strange enterprise. Different rumors of opinion and rumors began to circulate, which, for some unknown reason, had the most effect on the poor prosecutor. he died from the other. Whether he was paralyzed or something else, only he sat and slammed back from his chair ... Then only with condolences did they learn that the deceased had, for sure, a soul, although he, due to his modesty, never showed it. The rest of the officials did not show their soul.

Ladies from the high society of the provincial town of NN helped the officials a lot to raise such a big commotion. Ladies occupy a special place in the anthroponymic system of Dead Souls. The author, as he himself admits, does not dare to write about ladies. “It’s even strange, the pen doesn’t rise at all, as if some kind of lead is sitting in it. So be it: about their characters, apparently, you need to leave it to the one who has livelier colors and more of them on the palette, but we only have to say two words the ladies of the city of HH were what they call presentable... As for how to behave, keep the tone, maintain etiquette, a lot of the most subtle propriety, and especially observe the ode in the very last trifles, then in this they even outstripped the ladies of St. Petersburg and Moscow ... A business card, whether it was written on a deuce of clubs or an ace of diamonds, but the thing was very sacred. The author does not give names to ladies, and at the same time explains the reason as follows: “It is dangerous to call a fictitious surname. on the stomach, but on death ... Call me by rank - God forbid, and that is more dangerous. Now all the ranks and estates are so irritated with us that everything that is in a printed book already seems to them a person: such is the location in Suffice it to say that there is a stupid person in one city, this is already a person; suddenly a gentleman of respectable appearance will jump out and shout: "After all, I am also a person, therefore, I am stupid too" - in a word, he will instantly realize what is the matter ". This is how a lady pleasant in all respects and just a pleasant lady appear in the poem - collective female images delightful in expressiveness. From a conversation between two ladies, the reader will later learn that one of them is called Sofya Ivanovna, and the other Anna Grigorievna. But this does not really matter, because, whatever you call them, they will still remain a lady pleasant in all respects and just a pleasant lady. This introduces an additional element of generalization into the author's characterization of the characters. The lady pleasant in all respects "acquired this name in a legal way, for, as if, she did not regret anything that she became amiable to the last degree, although, of course, what a nimble agility of a female character crept through courtesy! and although sometimes in every pleasant word she stuck out what a pin, and God forbid what was seething in the heart against the one that would have slipped somehow and somehow into the first. But all this was clothed with the most subtle secularism that only happens in a provincial city. "" The other lady ... did not have that versatility and character, and therefore we will call her: just a pleasant lady. "It was these ladies that laid the foundation for a loud scandal about dead souls , Chichikov and the abduction of the governor's daughter. A few words must be said about the latter. She is no more and no less than the governor's daughter. Chichikov says about her: "Glorious grandmother! The good thing is that she has now only, apparently, graduated from some boarding school or institute, that, as they say, there is still nothing womanish about her. That is exactly what they have the most unpleasant. She is now like a child, everything in her is simple, she will say what she pleases, laugh where she wants to laugh. Everything can be done from her, she can be a miracle, or rubbish can come out ... ". The governor's daughter is untouched virgin soil, (tabula rasa), so her name is youth and innocence, and it doesn’t matter at all whether her name is Katya or Masha. After the ball, on in which she aroused the general hatred of the ladies, the author calls her "poor blonde", almost "poor lamb".

When Chichikov goes to the judicial chamber to process the purchase of "dead" souls, he encounters the world of petty officials: Fedosey Fedoseevich, Ivan Grigorievich, Ivan Antonovich the pitcher snout. "Themis just what it is, in a negligee and a dressing gown received guests." "Ivan Antonovich, it seemed, was already well over forty years old, his hair was black, thick; the entire middle of his face protruded forward and went into his nose - in a word, it was that face that is called in the hostel a jug snout." In addition to this detail, there is nothing remarkable about the officials, except that their desire to get a bigger bribe, but this does not surprise anyone in officials.

In the tenth chapter of the first volume, the postmaster tells the story of Captain Kopeikin, calling it a whole poem in some way.

Yu. M. Lotman in his article "Pushkin and the Tale of Captain Kopeikin" finds the prototypes of Captain Kopeikin. This is the hero of folk songs, the thief Kopeikin, the prototype of which was a certain Kopeknikov, an invalid of the Patriotic War of 1812. He was refused help by Arakcheev, after which he became, as they said, a robber. This is Fyodor Orlov - a real person, a man who was disabled in the same war. Lotman believes that "the synthesis and parodic grinding of these images give rise to the" penny hero "Chichikov."

Smirnova-Chikina, in her comments on the poem "Dead Souls", considers Kopeikin as the only positive character conceived by Gogol in the first part of his work. The author writes that Gogol wanted to do this in order to "justify her<поэмы>genre, therefore, the narrator-postmaster prefaces the story with the words that "however, if you tell it, it will turn out to be a whole poem that is entertaining for some writer in some way." In addition, the author pays attention to the role of contrasts considered in my work. Smirnova-Chikina draws attention to how Gogol contrasts the wealth of St. Petersburg, the luxury of its streets with the poverty of Kopeikin.

"The Tale ..." appears in the poem at the moment when the high society of the city N, having gathered together, wonders who Chichikov really is. Many assumptions are made - both a robber, and a counterfeiter, and Napoleon ... Although the postmaster's idea that Chichikov and Kopeikin are the same person was rejected, we can see a parallel between their images. It can be noticed, at least by paying attention to the role played by the word "penny" in the story of Chichikov's life. Even as a child, his father, instructing him, said: "... take care of and save a penny most of all, this thing is most reliable, as it turns out," he was only versed in the advice to save a penny, but he himself saved up a little, "but Chichikovo turned out to be" a great mind from the practical side." Thus, we see that Chichikov and Kopeikin have the same image - a penny.

The name Chichikov cannot be found in any dictionary. And this surname itself does not lend itself to any analysis either from the side of emotional content, or from the side of style or origin. Surname is incomprehensible. It does not carry any hints of solidity or humiliation, it does not mean anything. But that is precisely why N.V. Gogol gives such a surname to the protagonist, who is "not handsome, but not bad-looking, neither too fat nor too thin; one cannot say that he is old, but not so much that he is too young" . Chichikov is neither this nor that, however, this hero cannot be called an empty place either. Here is how the author characterizes his behavior in society: “Whatever the conversation was, he always knew how to support it: whether it was about a horse farm, he spoke about a horse farm; whether they talked about good dogs, and here he reported very sensible remarks ; whether they interpreted regarding the investigation carried out by the Treasury, he showed that he was not unknown to judicial tricks; whether there was an argument about the billiard game - and in the billiard game he did not miss; whether they talked about virtue, and he reasoned about virtue very well, even with tears in his eyes; about the manufacture of hot wine, and in hot wine, he knew the use; about customs overseers and officials, and he judged them as if he himself were both an official and an overseer ... He spoke neither loudly nor quietly, but exactly as it should be." The life story of the protagonist, included in the poem, explains a lot about "dead souls", but the living soul of the hero remains as if hidden behind all his unseemly deeds. His thoughts, which the author reveals, show that Chichikov is not a stupid person and not without a conscience. But still, it is difficult to guess whether he will improve, as he promised, or whether he will continue on his difficult and unrighteous path. The author did not have time to write about it.