Legacy of N.V. Gogol cannot be imagined without the comedy The Inspector General, in which the great writer committed a public execution by laughing at embezzlers, bribe-takers, and sycophants. As the satirist Gogol gives especially great importance namely comedy. Her strength is laughter, scourging many sides public life. Not a single writer had the gift to expose so vividly the vulgarity of life, the vulgarity of every person. The driving force in The Inspector General is not a love affair, but the state of society. The plot of the comedy is based on a commotion among officials who are waiting for the auditor, and their desire to hide their deeds from him.
The comedy also ridicules the everyday life of the inhabitants of the city: mustiness and vulgarity, the insignificance of interests, hypocrisy and lies, swagger and gossip. Comic is emphasized already by surnames acting heroes: Khlestakov, Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky, Tyapkin-Lyapkin, Ukhovertov, Poshlepkina and others. Perhaps the most comical thing is that one "empty" person is trying to fool others, the same "empty". We are talking about the imaginary auditor - Khlestakov. The image of Khlestakov is written with exceptional artistic power and breadth of typical generalization. According to Gogol's definition, Khlestakov is “one of those people who are called empty in the offices. He speaks and acts without any consideration. Khlestakov himself does not know what he will say the next minute; "it's all a surprise and a surprise" for himself. He is comical in his desire to appear better than he is. To do this, Khlestakov uses a lie: “He lies with feeling; in his eyes is expressed the pleasure he received from this.
But the most basic characteristic Khlestakov - the desire to play a role at least one inch higher than the one assigned to him.
The action in the "Inspector General" refers to the beginning of the 30s of the century before last. Gogol very accurately depicts the life of that time, people and gives them a general diagnosis. The penetrating look of the satirist penetrates everywhere and nowhere he finds anything good. All the images of the play are comical and absurd.
So, the daughter and wife of the mayor look very funny in an attempt to recapture Khlestakov from each other:
Anna Andreevna.<. ..>However, he liked me very much: I noticed that he kept looking at me.
Maria Antonovna. Oh, mother, he was looking at me!
The inseparable couple Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky are comical. Bobchinsky dreams of one thing: “I ask you, most humbly, when you go to St. Petersburg, tell all the different nobles there: senators and admirals, that here, Your Excellency or Excellency, Pyotr Ivanovich Bobchinsky lives in such and such a city. So say: Pyotr Ivanovich Bobchinsky lives. And Dobchinsky about something else - to see the eldest son under his last name: “That is, it is only said that way, and he was born by me so perfectly, as if in marriage, and all this, as it should, I then completed legally - with the bonds of matrimony - with . So, if you please, I want him now to be completely, that is, my legitimate son, sir, and to be called the way I am: Dobchinsky, sir.
The whole essence of the play is that everyone wants something impossible: the mayor sees the future son-in-law in Khlestakov and dreams of living in St. Petersburg; Tyapkin-Lyapkin dreams of judicial cases being resolved on their own; Anna Andreevna dreams of a young lover, etc. All the attempts of the characters to look significant make the reader laugh.
Gogol painted in The Inspector General the world of provincial officials of one of the cities of Russia. In fact, the play revealed the everyday life of provincial Russia. Each image, without losing its individual character, is a typical phenomenon of that time - the beginning of the 19th century. And we still laugh at the heroes of The Inspector General, comparing them with our contemporaries.
1 The plot suggested by A.S. Pushkin.
3 Artistic techniques of satirical comedy.
4 Instructions N.V. Gogol to actors.
5 The reaction of the public to the comedy and the tragedy of the fate of the writer in Russia.
Comic in the work of N.V. Gogol's "Inspector General" is due to the fact that the whole plot was born from a "purely Russian anecdote", at the request of the writer offered to him by A.S.
Pushkin. A funny story about how a visitor is mistaken for an auditor, they try to hide the existing official abuses and appease the authorities, allows you to show all the shortcomings of society in colors and details.
In the article "The Author's Confession" (1847) N.V. Gogol formulated his plan as follows: “In The Government Inspector, I decided to collect in one heap everything that was bad in Russia, which I then knew, all the injustices that are done in those places and in those cases where justice is most required of a person, and laugh at everything at once."
Having laughed during the performance, the viewer was subsequently forced to seriously think about the fact that all the characters in the comedy resemble many real-life officials, landowners, merchants, policemen, and provincial ladies. Among the heroes of The Inspector General there are no notorious villains, scoundrels, irreconcilable enemies.
In general, they are "hospitable and good-natured people." Everyone knows about the “weaknesses” and abuses of others, but no one considers it necessary to fight them. Yes, the mayor constantly demands offerings from merchants, but he closes his eyes to the fact that merchants supply low-quality goods for state needs. The judge considers cases "tap-blunder" and enjoys the benefits that the disputing parties can offer him, and is also in connection with the wife of a local landowner. But no one will interfere in it. The problems of hospitals and educational institutions do not bother anyone, you can teach and treat at random. Everyone knows about the violations, and everyone is silent. “Small” abuses are considered the norm, and those who allow them are considered worthy members of society. The same mayor, "although a bribe-taker, behaves very respectably."
Hence it is clear that the comedy "The Government Inspector" is satirical. Satire creates an image largely conditional, which is achieved through hyperbolization and grotesque.
A striking example of hyperbolization is Khlestakov's monologue in the sixth scene of the third act. As Khlestakov realizes that he can get away with any lie, tasty food and universal reverence, he gives free rein to unbridled fantasy, attributes to himself the authorship of all the works that he has ever heard of, draws pictures of how he managed an entire department, and almost imagined that he should be promoted to field marshals, but he slipped and was sent to rest from breakfast.
The techniques of satirical grotesque allowed N.V. Gogol create bright artistic images. In "Remarks for Messrs. Actors," the author writes that the judge "speaks in a bass voice, with an oblong drawl, wheezing and glanders, like an old clock that first hisses and then strikes." Khlestakov's letter to Tryapichkin says that the mayor is "stupid as gray gelding", and Strawberry - "a perfect pig in a yarmulke."
It is impossible not to mention the “speaking” surnames characteristic of Russian classical comedy: the already mentioned judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin, who performs his duties at random, the doctor Gibner, whose patients “recover like flies”, the policeman Derzhimorda, indiscriminately distributing cuffs to the right and guilty.
As a person familiar with the stage since childhood, N.V. Gogol gave very important instructions for the actors playing in The Government Inspector. “The less an actor thinks about how to laugh and be funny, the more funny the role he has taken will be revealed. The funny will be revealed by itself precisely in the seriousness with which each of the faces depicted in the comedy is busy with its own business.
These recommendations, unfortunately, were not taken into account in the production of the Saratov Youth Theater. Khlestakov, performed by A. Kuzin, almost grunted while eating soup in the hotel, loudly banging his spoon on the plate; in the presence of the mayor and his wife, he was lying around the stage in an embrace with Marya Antonovna, which looked absurd. The audience laughed, but, in my opinion, this is a clear overkill with comic tricks on the verge of clowning, which goes against the way N.V. Gogol.
The idea of the comedy "Inspector General", the purpose of its creation - is not at all for the amusement and entertainment of the public. N.V. Gogol assessed his work as follows: “Through laughter, which had never appeared in me in such strength, the reader heard sadness. I myself felt that my laughter was not what it had been before.
The censorship did not notice anything reprehensible in the comedy, and it was allowed to be staged. However, the audience, who recognized themselves in the heroes of the work, were deeply offended by the author. They came to the conclusion that the "Revizor" undermines the authority of the authorities, insults and defames employees.
The tragedy of the comedy "The Government Inspector" is not only that "moderate disorder" in Russia was and remains a common occurrence, but also that the author, as an accuser of shortcomings, took up arms with the majority of society. N.V. Gogol wrote about the situation of the satirist writer in Russia: “It is sad when you see what a still pitiful state the writer is in. Everything is against him, and there is no side of any equal strength for him.
Nevertheless, the comedy "The Inspector General" from the moment of its first edition in 1836 to the present day has enjoyed continued popularity. It is still relevant today, since the vices of society, which are ridiculed in it, are ineradicable. The audience continues to laugh at themselves, but life goes on as before.
Updated: 2017-12-08
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Please help me write a review about the most comical episode in Gogol's comedy, the auditor, please, as soon as possible, urgently needed! Thank you in advance. Added 1 day ago Very urgently needed! Added 1 day ago P,S, I'm sorry, not to compose, but to find somewhere this review of the most comical episode in the book of the Inspector General.
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16 answers to the question “Literature. Gogol. Comedy "Inspector". the most comical moment in the comedy "The Government Inspector" (review)”
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But how interesting it is to observe his transformation when meeting with the so-called incognito auditor. The mayor begins to stutter and grovel, and may even give a bribe if he goes for it. But servility was in use at that time, however, with the mayor it reaches the highest limit, such panic fear he experiences: “The mayor (trembling). Inexperience, by golly, inexperience. Insufficiency of the state. If you please, judge for yourself: the state salary is not enough even for tea and sugar. If there were any bribes, then just a little: something on the table and for a couple of dresses. As for the non-commissioned officer's widow, engaged in the merchant class, whom I allegedly flogged, this is slander, by God, slander. This was invented by my villains; this is such a people that they are ready to encroach on my life. The mayor is also rude, Gogol also tells us about this. Despite the high position he occupies, he is an uneducated person, there are many bad inclinations and vices in his soul, but he does not try to eradicate them, because he believes that this is how it should be. Stupidity and ignorance - these are the features that dominate the character of the Governor. Even his assurances that he serves honestly and impeccably are sewn through with white thread, and lies scream from every window. He does not even have enough intelligence to come up with something plausible in the face of the formidable Khlestakov, although before that he very deliberately warned his officials about the approaching danger: “There the merchants complained to Your Excellency. I assure you with honor, and half of what they say is not. They themselves deceive and measure the people. The non-commissioned officer lied to you that I whipped her; she's lying, by God, she's lying. She carved herself." Such curiosities are found in the county town. But, of course, just as there are no only good people or only bad people, and book characters cannot be only positive or only negative. Although this can hardly be said about the characters of The Inspector General. But nevertheless, for some reason, we feel sorry for the end of the Governor, who was so cruelly deceived in Khlestakov. In general, it turns out that in comedy there is not a single positive hero, with the exception of Osip, Khlestakov's servant, who, however, is also a drunkard and a rogue. We are sad to see the collapse of the dream of Gorodnichiy, dreaming about blue ribbons and a house in St. Petersburg. Maybe he did not deserve such a fate, maybe his petty sins are not so terrible. But, I think, this punishment is quite fair, because we understand that the Governor will never improve, and it is unlikely that the incident with the auditor will serve as a lesson to him. Yes, and he is upset, first of all, because he did not see a swindler in Khlestakov, he himself is a rogue of rogues. Moreover, it’s a shame that “Look, look, the whole world, all Christianity, everyone, look how foolish the mayor is! Fool him, fool, old scoundrel! (He threatens himself with his fist.) Oh, you thick-nosed one! Icicle, rag mistook for important person! There he is now flooding the whole road with a bell! Spread history around the world. Not only will you go into a laughingstock - there is a clicker, paper maraca, they will insert you into a comedy. That's what's embarrassing! Chin, the title will not spare, and they will all bare their teeth and clap their hands.
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The worst thing is that those who were higher feel themselves higher, and this is pride, which inevitably leads the authors to death. So I absolutely understand where the world is heading. To your own death.
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But there are quite a few simply funny comic situations in the play. For example, the hasty orders of the mayor: “Let everyone take it in their hands along the street ...”, or the remark “Instead of a hat, puts on a paper case,” etc. Khlestakov is absurd and ridiculous, screaming in fear and banging his fist on the table: “Yes, what kind of right? ... I'm going straight to the minister! And how “magnificent” he is in the scene of lies, having done in a few minutes dizzying career from paper scribe to field marshal. All this makes the play lively, authentic and helps the reader and viewer to cleanse their souls with the help of laughter, because, denouncing all the evil, the writer believes in the triumph of justice, which will win.
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people if you write help write correctly and briefly write down five pages this is wrong more like it from wall street to read your messages this is not humanly Yandex understood what you wrote there
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The character of the mayor in Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General" The mayor - Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsy, is written out quite clearly in the comedy. He is one of central figures, and it is around him and Khlestakov that the main action develops. The rest of the characters are half sketches. We only know their surnames and status, otherwise they are people very similar to the mayor, because they are of the same field, live in the same county town, where “even if you ride for three years, you won’t reach any state.” Yes, they are not so important, otherwise they would overshadow all the "splendor" of the figure of the Governor. We meet with Gogol a lot of "talking" surnames. This technique is everywhere in his works. The Governor was no exception. Let's see what his surname tells about the character. According to Dahl's dictionary, a draftsman is "a cunning, sharp-sighted mind, a shrewd person, a rogue, a rogue, an experienced rogue and a creeper." But this is obvious. From the first lines of the work, we learn that the Governor will never miss what floats into his hands, and does not hesitate to take bribes, even with greyhound puppies. His caution also speaks of vigilance or clairvoyance. In society, this is a decent head of the city, who constantly goes to church, has prosperous family and stands up for its inhabitants. But let's not forget that a draftsman is also a swindler, and therefore he also oppresses merchants, and squanders government money, and flogs the people. There is also a second part of the name. Let's open Dal again and read that dmukhan is “pomp, pride, arrogance. arrogance, swagger." And, indeed, arrogance and swagger from Anton Antonovich does not hold. How delighted he was when he learned that his daughter was not marrying anyone, but a minister: “I myself, mother, am a decent person. However, really, what do you think, Anna Andreevna, what birds we have become now! What about Anna Andreevna? Fly high, damn it! Wait a minute, now I will put all these hunters to submit petitions and denunciations to the pepper. Here is our mayor. However, let's see how the author himself describes Anton Antonovich to us in the author's remarks "for the gentlemen of the actors". “The mayor, already aged in the service and a very intelligent person in his own way. Although he is a bribe-taker, he behaves very respectably; quite serious; somewhat even a reasoner; speaks neither loudly nor softly, neither more nor less. His every word is significant. His features are rough and hard, like those of anyone who has begun his service from the lower ranks. The transition from fear to joy, from rudeness to arrogance is quite quick, like a person with a roughly developed inclination of the soul. He is dressed, as usual, in his uniform with buttonholes and boots with spurs. His hair is cropped, with grey." Everything is important in these remarks, they allow us to understand how Gogol himself wanted to portray the hero, as opposed to how we, the readers, see him. Just as his last name can tell us a lot about the mayor, so the appearance can add touches to the portrait. A uniform uniform with buttonholes tells us that this is indeed a respectable person who does not like his orders to be discussed. In his town, he is the king and God, respectively, and he must have a proper appearance.
But how interesting it is to observe his transformation when meeting with the so-called incognito auditor. The mayor begins to stutter and grovel, and may even give a bribe if he goes for it. But the veneration of rank was in use at that time, however, with the mayor it reaches the highest limit, he experiences such panic fear: “The mayor (trembling). Inexperience, by golly, inexperience. Insufficiency of the state. If you please, judge for yourself: the state salary is not enough even for tea and sugar. If there were any bribes, then just a little: something on the table and for a couple of dresses. As for the non-commissioned officer's widow, engaged in the merchant class, whom I allegedly flogged, this is slander, by God, slander. This was invented by my villains; this is such a people that they are ready to encroach on my life. The mayor is also rude, Gogol also tells us about this. Despite the high position he occupies, he is an uneducated person, there are many bad inclinations and vices in his soul, but he does not try to eradicate them, because he believes that this is how it should be. Stupidity and ignorance - these are the features that dominate the character of the Governor. Even his assurances that he serves honestly and impeccably are sewn through with white thread, and lies scream from every window. He does not even have enough intelligence to come up with something plausible in the face of the formidable Khlestakov, although before that he very deliberately warned his officials about the approaching danger: “There the merchants complained to Your Excellency. I assure you with honor, and half of what they say is not. They themselves deceive and measure the people. The non-commissioned officer lied to you that I whipped her; she's lying, by God, she's lying. She carved herself." Such curiosities are found in the county town. But, of course, just as there are no only good or only bad people in the world, so book characters cannot be only positive or only negative. Although this can hardly be said about the characters of The Inspector General. But nevertheless, for some reason, we feel sorry for the end of the Governor, who was so cruelly deceived in Khlestakov. In general, it turns out that in comedy there is not a single positive hero, with the exception of Osip, Khlestakov's servant, who, however, is also a drunkard and a rogue. We are sad to see the collapse of the dream of Gorodnichiy, dreaming about blue ribbons and a house in St. Petersburg. Maybe he did not deserve such a fate, maybe his petty sins are not so terrible. But, I think, this punishment is quite fair, because we understand that the Governor will never improve, and it is unlikely that the incident with the auditor will serve as a lesson to him. Yes, and he is upset, first of all, because he did not see a swindler in Khlestakov, he himself is a rogue of rogues. Moreover, it’s a shame that “look, look, the whole world, all Christianity, everyone is looking like a *** mayor! A fool to him, ***ka, old scoundrel! (He threatens himself with his fist.) Oh, you thick-nosed one! Icicle, rag mistook for an important person! There he is now flooding the whole road with a bell! Spread history around the world. Not only will you go into a laughingstock - there is a clicker, paper maraca, they will insert you into a comedy. That's what's embarrassing! Chin, the title will not spare, and they will all bare their teeth and clap their hands.
What are you laughing at? “You are laughing at yourself!” he pronounces the sacramental at the end. But indeed, the character of the Governor is a collective portrait of all the officials of that time. He absorbed all the shortcomings: servility, servility, envy, swagger, flattery. This list can be continued for a long time. The mayor becomes a kind of "hero of our time", which is why he is written out so clearly, why his character is so clearly manifested, especially in crisis situations, and the whole life of the mayor throughout the "Inspector" is a crisis. And in such crisis situations, Anton Antonovich is not used to, apparently, from a weakness of character. That's why the electric effect at the end. It is doubtful that the mayor will be able to agree with a real official. After all, all his life he deceived the same rogues as himself, and the rules of the game of another world are inaccessible to him. And therefore the arrival of an official from St. Petersburg for Anton Antonovich is like God's punishment. And there is no salvation from this, except to obey. But knowing the nature of the mayor, we can safely say that he will still make an attempt to appease the new auditor, without thinking about the fact that for a bribe “you can go to jail”, he does not see beyond his own nose, and pays for this in the finale: “The mayor in the middle in the form of a pillar, with outstretched arms and a head thrown back. Silent stage Curtain! Bibliography
Therefore, every play in dramatic form, fully expressing and fully exhausting its idea, whole and completed in artistic value, that is, representing a separate and closed world in itself, is either a tragedy or a comedy, depending on the essence of its content, but not at all regardless of its volume and size, even if it does not extend beyond five pages. So, for example, Pushkin's plays: "Mozart and Salieri", " Miserly knight”, “Mermaid”, “Boris Godunov” and “The Stone Guest” are tragedies in the entire sense of the word, both expressing in a dramatic form the idea of the triumph of the moral law and representing, each separately, a completely special and closed world in itself. Now let's see how a comedy can represent a special world closed in itself, for which we take a quick look at a highly artistic work of this kind, Gogol's comedy The Inspector General. The Inspector General is based on the same idea as in Ivan Ivanovich’s Quarrel with Ivan Nikiforovich: in both works, the poet expressed the idea of the denial of life, the idea of ghostliness, which received its objective reality under his artistic chisel.
What I saw from above was just in shock, so much swearing, just horror. Where is the world heading?
1. Realism in the reflection of life, in composition, in the depiction of characters and in the language of comedy.
3. Means of comic in comedy.
4. Gogol's work on the language of comedy.
5. The meaning of comedy (1. From the material below, the teacher can make a selection at his own discretion).
1) Realism in the reflection of life, in composition, in the depiction of characters and in the language of comedy
First of all, the teacher summarizes the students' observations of the picture of life in Russia in the 30s of the 20th century, reflected in the comedy, the composition of the comedy, the characters of its characters, their behavior and speech.
In the picture of life, brilliantly drawn by Gogol in the comedy "The Inspector General" and deployed in a clear composition, the Nikolaev Russia of the 30s of the 20th century was reflected. In this picture, Gogol showed the typical circumstances of the life of those years, and this is one of the convincing proofs of the realism of Gogol's comedy.
Gogol brought a gallery of immortal images into comedy, giving each of them typical features and endowing each of them with a bright individualized speech characteristic. The language of Gogol's comedy is basically the language of its characters, and the language of the characters, organically connected with the internal appearance of this or that character, is the main means of revealing the character, that is, the form in which its internal content is expressed. Not only central characters, but even episodic characters, flashed in only one phenomenon, have a brightly individualized speech.
In the unsurpassed ability to give each image a convex, distinctly individualized speech characteristic and in this very characteristic to include elements of satirical self-revelation lies the skill of Gogol the realist, amazing in its subtlety and aesthetic value.
Revealing the speech of characters belonging to different social circles (officials, landowners, merchants, philistines, policemen, servants, etc.), Gogol skillfully knows how to endow each of them with words and expressions inherent in his social psychology, profession, his life experience. .
In general, the speech of the characters is distinguished by truthfulness, simplicity, naturalness, an abundance of colloquial and colloquial turns and intonations, which gives the whole work the character of genuine realism.
The teacher will recall some examples that have already been analyzed, involving students in this work, and at the same time, he can point out new, additional material that was not covered in previous lessons.
We recommend, as a supplement, to focus on three episodic images taken from various social spheres: Rastakovsky, Derzhimorda and the tavern servant, and show how Gogol skillfully draws them by means of speech individualization.
A) Rastakovskiy- a retired official, an honorary person in the city. He is introduced into the comedy only in Act V (app. 3), when guests gather at the mayor’s to congratulate him on “having an unusual part”: he “approaches the hand” of the mayor’s wife and daughter. His greeting is clothed in a florid, wordy, somewhat inverted form, which gives his whole appearance great solidity, respectability: “Congratulations to Anton Antonovich! May God prolong your life and the new couple, and give you numerous offspring, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
In the future, Rastakovskiy is represented by only one broadcast phrase. When the mayor expresses his desire to be a general, Rastakovskii sagely and eloquently utters: "From man it is impossible, but from God everything is possible." In just a few words, Gogol can draw vivid image an old respected official.
b) In the image Derzhimordy Gogol created a classic image of a policeman, who, according to the mayor, is distinguished by the fact that he gives vent to his fists: “for order, he puts lanterns under everyone’s eyes: both the right and the guilty” (act I, yavl. 5).
The few remarks uttered by Derzhimorda convincingly reveal the main features inherent in the police, on which the government of Nicholas I relied.
Or in one remark, the author expressed the rude treatment of the population by the police. Derzhimorda, holding back petitioners who want to get to Khlestakov, not allowing them, rudely pulls: “Go, go! He does not accept, he sleeps ”(act IV, yavl. 9).
c) In several replicas looms typical image tavern servant. In relation to the traveler (i.e., Khlestakov), he observes a trained deference: “Did you deign to ask?” (act II, phenom. 9), helpfulness: “Perhaps I will tell” (act II, phenom. 4). But in essence, he is only a transmitter of his master’s words: “The master ordered to ask”, “the master said”, etc. Acting at the will of his master, he is forced to express in Khlestakov’s eyes, albeit with restraint, unpleasant, even offensive words: “Yes, it is - that is, perhaps, yes or no”, “They are, and: weight gno: they pay money”, etc. (action 11, phenom. : "bitten salmon" - all these are indicators of the illiteracy of the tavern servant.
2) The language of the author in comedy
When studying the language of the comedy "The Government Inspector", one cannot ignore the language of the author himself. First of all, students should pay attention to the speaking names of Gogol's characters, for example: Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky, Khlestakov, Lyapkin-Tyapkin, Abdulin, Ukhovertov, Derzhimorda, Gibner, etc., and also remind them of "Remarks for gentlemen actors" under the heading "Characters and costumes", where Gogol indicates the elements of the characterization of the characters of the comedy.
In some remarks, Gogol points to the actions of the characters, for example: the mayor “makes a grimace”, Bobchinsky “twirls his hand near his forehead”, the quarterly “runs in a hurry”, Khlestakov “pours soup and eats” and many others; in others, remarks clarifies the psychology of the characters: the mayor says “in fear”, Anna Andreevna - “with disdain-), Khlestakov - “drawing”, the judge - “lost”, Marya Antonovna - “through tears”, etc.
Sometimes Gogol draws the psychological evolution of the characters with several side by side remarks.
For example, the mayor’s reading in act I (fig. 1) of a letter is accompanied by three remarks (“mumbles in an undertone, quickly running through his eyes”, “significantly raises his finger up”, “stopping”), helping to better imagine the state of this character during reading. Gogol sometimes notes in what voice the character pronounces the words. So, with remarks, he points to the shades of Khlestakov’s voice in act II (phenomenon 2): first “he speaks in a loud and decisive voice”, then “in a loud, but not so decisive voice”, finally, “in a voice that is not at all decisive and not loud, very close to the request.
In order to reveal the inner world of the character, Gogol often resorts to the remark “aside” or “to himself”, followed by words that represent the innermost thoughts and feelings of the character and are addressed directly to the audience. The remark "aside" is especially prominent in helping to reveal the internal state of the character when it is in the vicinity of the remark "out loud", behind which there are words addressed directly to the partner.
Sometimes Gogol, for greater expressiveness, inserts well-aimed verbs into the remark. Osip "grabs" from the bed (act II, yavl 1); Khlestakov "shows off" the locksmith (act IV, yavl. 11); the mayor “splashes and dies with laughter” (act V, fig. 1), “cries out, jumping up and down for joy” (act IV, ph. 15).
Finally, one more variety of Gogol's remarks should be emphasized: the inclusion of extended narrative pieces as remarks.
So, at the end of Act II we read “Having written, he gives it to Dobchinsky, who comes to the door, but at that time the door breaks, and Bobchinsky, who was listening from the other side, flies with her to the stage. Everyone makes exclamations. Bobchinsky rises.
Thus, when studying the comedy The Inspector General, it is necessary to pay attention to the language of not only the characters, but also the author himself, who, with his numerous remarks, states the behavior and internal state characters.
3) The means of the comic in the "Inspector"
The main significance of the comedy "The Inspector General" is in the merciless exposure of the structure of life, the rules and abuses of the officials of Nikolaev Russia, which is achieved by subtle and deep ridicule of the characters of the comedy.
Gogol's satirical laughter strikes the officials, urban landowners, merchants, philistines, policemen, and Khlestakov, who came to this provincial city, who are brought out in the comedy. Gogol exposes the deeds, actions and relationships of the characters in his comedy to ridicule. The character of the very speech of the actors of the comedy also contributes to the satirical exposure.
Gogol's laughter is merciless, it is connected with the author's reflections on life and people and pushes the reader to deep and sorrowful reflection. Gogol's laughter finds a variety of means for its expression.
Students need to be introduced to the various means of comic in the "Inspector General" so that they understand the poignancy Gogol's laughter. Consideration of the features of the comic, of course, can be associated with the characteristics of the characters, but at the end of the work on the comedy, summing up the features of the language, it is advisable to give this topic a special place.
If the students are asked the question Elements about what causes laughter in The Inspector General, then, perhaps, the attention of their external comedy will be first of all drawn to the methods of external comedy, which immediately catch the eye and which the students will probably easily point out and themselves. These examples of external comedy are usually indicated by the author's remarks scattered throughout the comedy.
The mayor “makes a grimace”, “takes a case instead of a hat”, Khlestakov “claps his hands and slightly bounces in his chair”, “slips and almost slapped on the floor”; Bobchinsky "flies with her (the door. - P. B.) to the stage", appears "with a band-aid on his nose"; Khristian Ivanovich "makes a sound, partly similar to the letter and and somewhat to e" - these are some examples of external comedy in comedy.
But the main meaning of laughter in The Inspector General is not in the methods of external comedy, but in sharp ridicule of the characters of the characters, their relationships.
A characteristic feature of laughter in The Government Inspector is the gradual transition from comic to serious, even tragic.
The transition from comic to serious, tragic
The nature of Gogol's humor was figuratively defined as serious, shared by Shevyrev ( S. P. Shevyrev is a professor at Moscow University, a reactionary critic and literary historian. He was connected with Gogol by personal friendship.).
“Look at the whirlwind before the start of the storm: it sweeps lightly and low from the right; kicks up dust and all sorts of rubbish from the earth; feathers, leaves, shreds fly up and curl; and soon the whole air is filled with its wayward whirling... It seems light and insignificant at first, but in this whirlwind are hidden tears of nature and a terrible storm. Such is exactly the comic humor of Gogol" ( "Moskvityanin", 1842, No. 8, p. 356.).
At first, the reader laughs at the bewilderment of the mayor and officials invited to inform them " bad news”, over the mayor’s dream, which he conveys as a foreshadowing of the arrival of an unexpected auditor; over Chmykhov's letter, which serves as that "reliable" source, on the basis of which the mayor informs about the arrival of the auditor; over the orders and advice of the mayor; over the flirtatious wife of the mayor, who is interested in the appearance of the capital's guest; over an insignificant St. Petersburg official, sometimes helpless in front of the tavern owner or cowardly in front of the incoming mayor, then putting on importance, carried away by unrestrained lies, dragging recklessly after the wife and daughter of the mayor, etc. But the comedy ends with a scene full of internal drama, when the mayor he is convinced that he blundered, mistaking "an icicle, a rag" for an important person, that many years of practical experience of a hardened cunning and deceiver changed him. The severity of this situation is deepened by the fact that this "unparalleled embarrassment" occurs at the moment of the supreme triumph of the mayor and his wife, anticipating all the sweetness of their upcoming happiness. An intonation full of drama is heard in the frantically pronounced words of the mayor: “Look, look, the whole world, all Christianity, everyone, look how foolish the mayor is!”
Here, in these words, the highest point of exposure of the mayor, it is not for nothing that “the whole world, all Christianity” is involved in the witnesses. In this monologue, the mayor expresses fear of being exposed to the eyes of the people, afraid of falling under the pen of a "bumagomarak", being inserted into a coma during the day, afraid of universal ridicule, that is, what Gogol has already done.
A deep meaning is embedded in the words of the mayor, addressed not only to the public sitting on the other side of the ramp, but also to all those who were representatives of the social system of that time. tsarist Russia and at the moment of the performance he was behind the steppes of the theater: “What are you laughing at? laugh at yourself!"
Laughter in "The Inspector General" is connected with the author's bitter reflection on the depicted life, this is "laughter through tears."
How does Gogol achieve the effect of ridiculing his characters? How is it expressed in their language? The means of the comic are very diverse.
It should be noted that the characters of the comedy. Diverse characters are depicted in different ways, and the laughter that is expressed by their words is not the same, and the characteristic of laughter created by this laughter is different. in the Auditor. for an example, it is enough to recall two monologues from act II: Osip (phenomenon 1) and Khlestakov (phenomenon 5) (they were mentioned above). Heroes, once in an unfavorable situation, experience hunger, resent him and along the way express their opinions. Both characters cause laughter, but readers laugh at the heroes in different ways: if they show some sympathy for Osip, then they laugh at Khlestakov indignantly.
The main character of laughter in The Inspector General, which the characters are exposed to, is revealing, and the author finds various means to express laughter.
The following are examples of the diverse means of the comic from The Inspector General. The teacher may use this material at his own discretion.
One of the most important means of ridiculing characters in a comedy is alogism, that is, the lack of sufficient logic in the speech of the characters in the comedy in their presentation of their thoughts. This technique reveals the intellectual limitations of one or another character and, causing natural laughter, thereby contributes to his exposure.
Such, for example, is the explanation in Chmykhov's letter of the main feature of the mayor (behind him "there are sins") by the fact that he is "an intelligent person."
The judge’s guess about the reason for the visit of the auditor also looks unfounded: “This means this: Russia ... wants to wage war, and the ministry ... sent an official to find out if there was treason anywhere” (act I, fig. 1 ). Even the mayor could not restrain himself from exclaiming: “Oh, where did they get it! Also a smart person! The postmaster has the same guess. There is no logical connection in the juror's explanation of the reason for the wine smell inherent in him: “he says (the judge reports) that his mother hurt him in childhood, and since then he has been reeking of vodka” (act I, yavl. 1). The argument of the mayor in his dispute with the judge about bribes looks illogical. “Well, what if you take bribes with greyhound puppies? On the other hand, you do not believe in God” (Act I, Ph. 1).
The neighborhood of the serious with the small, insignificant
A spectacular comic tool that exposes the bureaucratic bureaucratic world of Russia, revealing the emptiness, the insignificant neighborhood of the serious with the small, insignificant, which reduces the significance of the serious and causes laughter.
Alarming and serious in its essence, the message about the arrival of the auditor is based on a private letter from Chmykhov, who, along with the news about the auditor, gives some “family” details: “sister Anna Kirillovna came to us with her husband; Ivan Kirillovich has grown very fat and is still playing the violin” (Act I, Ph. 1).
Throughout Act I, the excitement of the characters in connection with the visiting auditor is accompanied by small, insignificant details. The story of Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky (fig. 3) abounds in them especially (which was mentioned above).
These everyday details reduce, on the one hand, the image of the "auditor" himself, and on the other hand, they make the narrators themselves petty, vulgar.
The presence of small everyday details contributes to the ridicule of the orders and advice of the mayor. It turns out that the important thing is not how the sick are treated, but the fact that the sick "usually" "walk at home" (in dirty caps) and "smoke such strong tobacco that you always sneeze when you enter." The point is not how to improve the case of justice, but the fact that "there in the front, where petitioners usually go, the watchmen brought domestic geese with small caterpillars that dart under their feet." It is also bad that “all sorts of rubbish is dried in the very presence, and above the cupboard with papers there is a hunting rapnik”, etc.
In this neighborhood of serious and petty, insignificant - the comic meaning of many scenes of the "Inspector General". Here is the end of step 1. The mayor is alarmed by the unexpected arrival of the auditor and goes to the hotel to find out about him, and the flirtatious wife is interested in the details of his appearance.
The same laughter is evoked by Anna Andreevna's remarks in act III, when she questions Dobchinsky, being interested not in the essence of the matter, not in what alarmed the mayor and the same Dobchinsky, but appearance arrived.
The comic effect of the 10th events III actions (scene with Osip). The mayor, assuming an important person in Khlestakov, wants to find out more about him. Anna Andreevna and Marya Antonovna attack Osip in their own way, like real provincial coquettes, with their frivolous remarks only interfering with the mayor and annoying him.
Attributing a random quality to a person
Laughter in comedy is caused by the technique attributing to a person (an image of a person outside the stage) such an external quality, which is in fact accidental, but presented as essential. This comically paints not only the person in question, but also the character who expresses such a characteristic.
Here, for example, is how the mayor characterizes the assessor: “he, of course, is a knowledgeable person, but he smells like he has just left the distillery” (act I, yavl. 1).
And here is what the mayor says about teachers (act I, yavl. 1): they have "very strange actions, naturally inseparable from an academic title." One of them “cannot do without making a grimace when he ascends the pulpit. Like this (makes a grimace). And then he will begin to iron his beard with his hand from under his tie.
And the other, the "learned head", "grabbed the darkness with information, but only explains with such fervor that he does not remember himself": "ran away from the pulpit and, that there is strength, grab the chair on the floor."
But the comic is not limited to highlighting one random, comically coloring feature of a person, the comic is deepened by the fact that the statement of this feature is accompanied by thoughtful reasoning or advice. So, the mayor recommends "to advise (the assessor) to eat onions or garlic, or something else."
Touching on the characteristics of teachers, the mayor cannot do without further reasoning. About the first of them, he says: “Of course, if he makes such a face to a student, then it’s still nothing, maybe it’s there and it needs to be like that ... but you judge for yourself, if he does this to a visitor, it can be very bad” etc. The strange feature of the second teacher, “but the historical part,” makes the mayor also draw a thoughtful conclusion: “Of course, it is Alexander the Macedonian hero, but why break the chairs? from this loss to the treasury. The mayor philosophically summarizes the conversation about teachers: “Yes, such is the inexplicable law of fate: a smart person or a drunkard, or he will make such a face that you can even endure saints.”
The protrusion in a person of one external random feature, thoughtful philosophizing about this and “practical” advice - all this, combined with the circumstances when all this is discussed, undoubtedly creates a comic effect.
Surprise, situations, thoughts
Comedy is created unexpected situations and thoughts, conclusions of actors. Such, in the situation of thoughts, for example, is the statement of strawberries in act I (phenomenon 1) about healing the sick: “As for healing, Christian Ivanovich and I took our own measures: the closer to nature, the better; We do not use expensive drugs. A simple man: if he dies, he will die anyway; If he recovers, then he will recover.”
Khlestakov's opinion about officials after receiving money from them looks unexpected. “However, these officials are good people,” he characterizes them, “it’s on their part good trait that they lent me” (act IV, yavl. 8). This conclusion is unexpected, first of all, because the officials did not show any kindness, and besides, because Khlestakov just called them "what a fool!" In a letter to Tryapichkin, he himself ridicules the officials who helped him out and gave him money, although he does not realize that he himself is ridiculous in his unexpected and essentially incorrect confession.
On the use of the same surprise in the turn of thoughts, which is an indicator of the lack of integrity, two remarks of the postmaster about the arrival of the auditor in act I are built (phenomenon 2). The reception of surprise also underlies two closely related dialogues between the mayor and the postmaster (act I, scene 2 and act V, scene 8). In act I, in a conversation with the postmaster, the mayor himself pushes him to illegal actions: “Couldn’t you, for our common good, every letter that arrives at your post office, incoming and outgoing, you know, print it out a little and read." In act V, when the postmaster appears with Khlestakov's letter, which he intercepted and detained, following the mayor's order, he suddenly pounces on him, reproaching him for an illegal act: "But how dare you print a letter from such an authorized person?" And even threatens him: “I will put you under arrest”, “I will caulk you all the way to Siberia.”
Reception of lies
Causes laughter and comic trick lies, discrepancies between words and deeds. For example, at the beginning of Act II, the viewer sees Osip lying on Khlestakov’s bed. In the first remark, the author indicates: “lies on the master’s bed.” Meanwhile, when Khlestakov appears in the 2nd apparition and pays attention to the “knitted” bed for the first time, asks Osip: “Lying on the bed again?”, he categorically denies: “But why would I be lying around? Did I not see the bed, or what? etc.
The lie of the mayor is of a different nature (act III, yavl. 5), when he “paints” his diligence and concerns about the improvement of the city: “even when you go to bed, you all think: Lord, my God, how can I arrange it so that the authorities see my jealousy and it was enough, ”etc. These words of the mayor evoke a revealing remark of Strawberry
The same is true about playing cards (act III, yavl 5): as soon as Khlestakov touched on this issue, the mayor, realizing that it was more profitable to impersonate a non-player, denies his involvement in playing cards: “I never took cards in my hands I don’t even know how to play these cards,” etc., which, in turn, evokes a remark by Luka Lukic that refutes these words.
Readers, knowing the idleness of the mayor, his carelessness about the city, laugh, indignant at his hypocrisy and sycophancy before the authorities.
Khlestakov's deep self-disclosure lies in the famous siena of his lies (act III, yavl 6). Khlestakov, taking advantage of the impression made on the officials, more and more entering into the role and no longer clearly understanding what his lips are saying, lies without any measure.
The more Khlestakov lies, the more sharply he exposes himself, and the more he exposes, the more he causes laughter from readers who see his emptiness and insignificance.
The manifestation by persons of extreme naivety, excessive gullibility, speaking of gullibility, about the narrow outlook of their thoughts, about their incredible stupidity. Such, for example, are the requests of the Petrov Ivanovichs, with which they turn to Khlestakov (act IV, yavl. 7).
Manifestation actors excessive naivete, gullibility
Extreme credulity, combined with excessive narrow-mindedness, appears in the dreams of the mayor and his wife in act V. These dreams have no basis, except for the empty, frivolous promises of Khlestakov, but the mayor and Anna Andreevna have drifted far: they will live in St. Petersburg, and he will send the city to hell, and will receive the rank of general, and they will hang the “cavalry” over his shoulder ( either red or blue). The comedy of the dreams of the Skvoznik-Dmukhanovskys in this scene is intensified in addition by their low ideal: the mayor dreams of two "fish, vendace and smelt", and Anna Andreevna imagines the first house in the capital "and" in the room such ... ambergris, so that it was impossible to enter ".
Dialogue in two different semantic planes
One of the most brilliant means of comically exposing characters is dialogue in two different semantic planes. This is how the mayor talks with Khlestakov in Act II (app. 8), ridiculing themselves in front of the audience. Although this dialogue is conducted on different semantic planes, both characters behave exclusively naturally and truthfully.
When the mayor enters the hotel to Khlestakov, both stop "in fright." And this fear is prepared: the mayor is afraid of responsibility for his “sins”, and his excitement and fear are already shown in act 1, Khlestakov, who does not pay money, has already been warned by Osip and the tavern servant about the intention of the hotel owner to complain to the mayor, and Osip has just said that "the mayor came, inquired and asked" about him.
Both are afraid of each other and apologize: "It's not my fault." Khlestakov, justifying himself to the mayor, accuses the owner of serving beef so hard, “like a log”, and the mayor, seeing this as a reproach to himself, praises the beef that is sold on the market: “I always have good beef in the market. Kholmogory merchants. Naturally, the worried mayor considered it best to offer the visiting authorities to “move to another apartment”, obviously to him, but Khlestakov understands this differently: it means to prison, because Osip warned him that the owner of the tavern wants to hide him for non-payment of money to prison.
Khlestakov, frightened of prison, assumes importance, swaggers, “How dare you? .. I serve in St. Petersburg,” etc. The mayor, cowardly, suggests a slander of merchants to whom he “saltly fell” The reader laughs when he hears two frightened rogues, speaking as if in two different languages not understanding each other.
It is funny when Khlestakov protests against the prison, which the mayor does not even think about, but it is no less funny when the mayor, completely at a loss, blurts out to the imaginary auditor about bribes, about the non-commissioned officer's widow, about merchants.
Both characters are funny too. The mayor asks the high person to take pity on him, not to destroy him, and as an excuse he points to his wife and small children (although the viewer knows what kind of children he has). Khlestakov perceives this as the reason that he must go to prison. Or: the mayor mentions the flogged non-commissioned officer's widow, but Khlestakov, not understanding this, thinks that they want to flog him. Khlestakov explains that he is sitting in a hotel because he does not have a penny, while the mayor, immediately realizing, picks up Khlestakov’s idea and offers him a loan, which saves the situation. For this, Khlestakov calls the mayor a noble man, not understanding what he gave money to him not out of a sense of nobility, but only out of fear of the visiting boss, in order to win him over.
Without dwelling on all the details of this dialogue, we note another detail: the mayor once again offers Khlestakov to move to another apartment, and he approaches carefully, courteously (“Do I dare to ask you”, “I am unworthy”, “I would dare”) and directly says about a room in his house, to which Khlestakov immediately agrees. When the mayor hinted about inspecting prisons, Khlestakov, fearing to go to prison, refuses this offer: “But why prisons? It would be better if we inspect the charitable establishments.”
Replicas aside
Showing the internal state of the mayor in a dialogue with Khlestakov, his double game, his growing ability to control himself, dexterity and dodge is aggravated by introducing into this dialogue special reception contributing to the satirical ridicule of this character, - replicas "to the side". Putting two replicas of the mayor next to each other, one - “aside”, the other - “out loud”, Gogol sharply contrasts them with each other: “out loud” - the mayor officially, politely addresses Khlestakov, whom he takes for his superiors, “aside”, he expresses innermost thoughts and feelings, and in these remarks one can hear both distrust of the interlocutor, and alertness, and suspicion.
As soon as Khlestakov hinted about money, the mayor says to himself: “Oh, thin thing! Ek where tossed! what a fog! figure out who wants it. You don’t know which side to take, ”etc.
“To the Saratov province! he repeats incredulously to himself when he finds out where the passerby is heading. - A? And it won't blush! Oh, yes, you need to keep an eye on him! How much caustic mockery, mockery is heard in the words of the mayor, pronounced “aside”, which contrast sharply with the words “out loud”, for example: “You have deigned to do a good deed”, “And for a long time, would you like to go?” and etc.
These "aside" remarks are included in the speech of other characters as well. So, for example, Osip is cunning, having understood the benefit of taking advantage of the situation that has arisen. When Anna Andreevna asks him about whether his master has many counts and princes (act III, yavl. 10), he first thinks “aside”: “What can I say, if now they have fed well, it means that after that they will feed even better ”, and then answers “out loud”: “Yes, there are also graphs.”
The remarks “aside” are pronounced by the judge when he introduces himself to Khlestakov. If he speaks aloud several official phrases, then his internal state, which gripped his fear, an appeal to God - all this is expressed by him in remarks “aside”.
Remarks "to the side" of officials: Strawberries, Luka Lukich - in act 111 (phenomenon 5), judges, Strawberries - in act V (phenomenon 7), perfectly reveal the true attitude of officials towards the mayor.
Transmission by a character of direct speech of another character
An extremely interesting comic character, to which Gogol repeatedly resorts to direct speech in a comedy, is reception of transmission by one character of the direct speech of another character, and this is not just a mechanical transmission of other people's words, but the desire to achieve a more convex characterization of a person by some thickening, sharpening of the transmission.
Here, for example, Osip in act 11 (app. 2) conveys to his master the words of the owner of the tavern. Osip at this time is generally indignant at the “Elistratishka” he is patronizing: by his grace, he is now hungry. He still does not dare to express this in Khlestakov’s eyes, but, passing on the words of the tavern owner, consisting of abuse and threats against Khlestakov, he puts his indignation into them: “You are with the master ... scammers, and your master is a rogue” etc.
The same Osip, in order to get the best treat, passes on to the mayor's family a dialogue he invented with his master, in which he tries to emphasize his concern for himself and his intention to pay tribute to the offender (act III, yavl. 10).
Or another example: in order to more strongly denigrate the mayor, the merchants, complaining about him to Khlestakov, turn to the exact transmission of his words. The non-commissioned officer also resorts to the same method, conveying the words of the mayor about her husband.
Neighborhood of solemn official words and vernacular
The comic effect in the "Inspector" is created the neighborhood in the dialogue of characters of solemn official words, on the one hand, and vernacular, on the other.
Neighborhood is solemn on one side, and the expanse of government buildings on the other. words in act III (app. 5) - the mayor: "... here, one can say, there is no other thought, except to earn the attention of the authorities with deanery and vigilance." Khlestakov: "Breakfast" was very good. I'm completely overwhelmed…”
The same comic meaning is in the neighborhood of colloquial words with bookish expressions in the speech of the same character, for example, in Khlestakov's remark: “I love to eat.
After all, you live to pick flowers of pleasure, What was the name of this fish? (act III, yavl. 5).
The use of distorted words and expressions in the speech of characters is also ridiculous, for example, in Osip's monologue (Act II, Ph. 1).
A stream of emotional words
Comedy is achieved and a stream of emotionally colored words and expressions, what, for example, are the numerous exclamations and questions in the words of Anna Andreevna (the end of act I), or the cascade of abuse of the mayor against the merchants (act I, phenom. 2), or the numerous strong epithets released by officials to Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky at the end of the comedy .
Selection of fine artistic means, well-aimed, colloquial words.
Comedy is achieved and skillfully selected fine artistic means- hyperbole: “at seven means, a hundred rubles a watermelon”, “soup in a saucepan came directly from Paris” (Khlestakov), “there is such a rattling in the stomach, as if a whole regiment blew trumpets” (Osip), etc .; comparisons: "Moftoieu is stubborn and stupid, like a log" (Khlestakov), "what kind of clumsy bears knock with their boots" (mayor), etc .; well-aimed colloquial words: “you’re going there” (mayor), “ state council scolds" (the judge), "I would fall asleep to you that you would scratch yourself for four days" (Osip), "now he is sitting and tucked his tail" (Osip), etc.
Familiarization of students with a variety of comic techniques is very important, since this information gives them a concrete idea of what the power of laughter in comedy is, by what method this laughter is achieved. And if the students get acquainted with the words of the teacher and write down at least some of the comic techniques that Gogol mastered so masterfully, they will clearly understand why The Inspector General is called a comedy.
4) Gogol's work on the language of The Inspector General
One of the most interesting and useful links for students in learning the language of The Government Inspector is the analysis of Gogol's work on the language of his comedy. To this end, in the final conversation on comedy, the teacher can include several examples of comparing the final version of the text with the earlier one. The number of examples should not be large, but the quality of the samples should be bright enough.
If the teacher reads at least 2-3 excerpts from the original version and compares them with the familiar comedy text with the corresponding comments, the students will understand in what direction the playwright's work on the language of comedy went. It is much better and more efficient to prepare special posters or use a blackboard, where the displayed texts are arranged in two columns: to the left - the text of the original version, to the right - the text of the final version.
The effect of such observations on the work of the writer is undeniable.
Below are some samples of comparison of the final version with the earlier one. The teacher may use these examples at his own discretion.
Example 1
At the end of the 4th appearance of the first act, the mayor, going to meet the auditor, scolds the quarterly:
Early edition:
“What did you do with the merchant Chernyaev, huh? “What did you do with the merchant Chernyaev, huh? He gave you two arshins of cloth for your uniform, and you pulled off the whole piece. You, fool, don’t take an example from me! Go!”
Final edition:
What did you do with the merchant Chernyavy, huh? he gave you two arshins of cloth, and you pulled off the whole piece, look! you do not take it according to order! go!
In the quotes above, at first the words are repeated literally, but at the end, in a watery phrase, a significant change: instead of self-disclosure, discrediting the city of nothing, there is a famous aphorism that establishes its figurative hierarchism in bribery.
Example 2
The mayor boasts in front of Khlestakov (act III, yavl. 5):
Early edition:
“so that someone else’s head would turn over: but, thank God, everything is going well, and at the age of 10 so much has been done for the good of the public cannot be known. If you had deigned to visit our city before, you would have had the worst idea. Of course, someone else, being in my position, would take bribes and thereby make a fortune for himself, but I have a completely different way of thinking.
Final edition:
"In a word, the smartest person would get into trouble, but thanks to God, everything is going well. A different mayor, of course, would take care of his own benefits."
Comparing the two versions of this text, we notice the following changes:
1) The metaphorical phrase “the head would turn over” was replaced by a much clearer and more specific one: “the smartest person would get into trouble”;
2) the lengthy self-praise of the mayor about how he takes care of the city, and opposing himself to another mayor - a bribe-taker - is replaced by one more brief allusion to the joy of another mayor about his own benefits.
Example 3
Khlestakov's words about Pushkin (act III, yavl. 6). We read in an earlier edition:
“And how strange Pushkin will compose. Imagine: there is rum in a glass in front of him. the most glorious rum, cry rubles a bottle, which is reserved only for one Austrian emperor - and then, as soon as he starts writing, so only a pen: tr. tr. tr. He recently wrote a poet such as Cure or Cholera that just makes the hair stand on end. Our bureaucrat lost his mind when he read it. On the same day a wagon came for him and took him to the hospital.
This whole long tirade, which spoke specifically about Pushkin, and not about Khlestakov, and also discredited Pushkin, and not Khlestakov, was replaced in the final version with words that perfectly characterize Khlestakov’s arrogance and lies: “With Pushkin on a friendly footing,” etc.
Example 4
An excerpt from Khlestakov's dialogue with Anna Andreevna (act III, yavl 6) as an example of sharpening speech characteristics characters by introducing foreign words.
Final edition:
Early edition:
Anna Andreevna: “I think that after the capital your road seemed very boring to you?”
Khlestakov: “Extremely boring, you know, having made the habit of living in the world, using all the amenities, and suddenly after that on some nasty road.”
Early edition:
Anna Andreevna: “I think that after the capital the trip was very unpleasant for you”
Xpestakov: "Extremely unpleasant. Accustomed to live, comprenez-vous, in the world and suddenly find yourself on the road"
In order to ridicule the claims of the speakers to flaunt knowledge foreign languages, so characteristic of both metropolitan bureaucratic circles and provincial city ladies, Gogol introduces into their speech foreign words, and extremely economically, just one word at a time, but the effect is undeniable. Naturally, the teacher can give other examples.
So, the comparison of two editions, early and final, of the same text is a clear and convincing proof of Gogol's fine work as a master realist on the language of comedy.
5) The meaning of the comedy "The Government Inspector"
Gogol was explained by the way the public accepted The Inspector General. He wrote to Lepkin: “Everyone is against me. The officials, aged and respectable, shout that nothing is sacred to me when I dared to talk like that about serving people. The police are against me, the merchants are against me, the writers are against me."
In his assessment, Gogol was not entirely accurate. It was really those who were subjected to merciless scourging in the comedy that rebelled against Gogol; even Nicholas 1 correctly understood Gogol's blow, embodied in his immortal comedy when he said: “Well, little piece! Everyone got it, but I got it the most!” ( "N. V. Gogol on Literature, Goslitizdat, 1952, p. 96).
In The Inspector General, reactionary circles saw a libel on Russia, called the comedy "an empty and stupid farce", demanded its ban and removal from the stage.
L. I. Arnoldi ( L. I. Arnoldi - an official under the Kachu governor, was familiar with Gogol, left his memories of him) in his memoirs about Gogol, he tells how one day at a dinner at the Moscow civil governor, one military senator, looking indignantly at Gogol, who was present here, said about him: “After all, this is a revolutionary,” and continued: “I am surprised, really, how it is let him into decent houses. When I was governor and when his plays were given in the theatre, they believed that with every stupid joke or some kind of vulgarity, a mockery of the authorities, the entire parterre turned to the governor's box. I did not know where to go, finally I could not stand it and forbade giving his plays. In my province, no one dared even think about The Government Inspector and his other writings" ( S. Danilov, Gogol and Theatre, 193, p. 193.).
The famous writer S. T. Aksakov admits in “The History of My Acquaintance with Gogol”: “I myself heard how famous count American Tolstoy ( Giaf Tolstoy-American - an adventurer known for his adventures, a reveler and a player ridiculed by Griboedov in "Woe from Wit") said at a crowded meeting in the house of the Perfilyevs, who were ardent admirers of Gogol, that he was "an enemy of Russia and that he should be sent in shackles to Siberia" ( "Gogol and the Memoirs of Contemporaries", Goslitizdat, 1952, p. 122) , and the reactionary F. Wigel ( F. F. Vigel - Director of the Department of Foreign Confessions, an ardent reactionary) writes to the “protective” writer M. Zagoskin about Gogol like this: “Ego young Russia in all its impudence and cynicism” ( Veresaev, Gogol in Life 1933, p. 166.) .
But the advanced public welcomed Gogol's great comedy, and with it its creator himself.
V. V. Stasov ( V. V. Stasov - an outstanding Russian art critic ), a contemporary of Gogol, wrote about the attitude of progressive youth towards the Inspector General: “Everyone was delighted, like all the youth of that time in general. We then repeated by heart to each other ... whole scenes, long conversations from there. At home or at a party, we often had to enter into heated debates with various elderly ... people who were indignant at the new idol of the youth ... it just kept growing bigger and bigger." Gogol in the memoirs of his contemporaries”, 1952, pp. 399-400.) .
The production of The Inspector General was a success both in St. Petersburg and in Moscow. The famous Shchepkin wrote to the actor Sosnitsky about the Moscow production of The Inspector General: “The audience was amazed at the news, they laughed extremely much, but I expected a much greater reception. The ego amazed me immensely; but one friend funny explained this reason to me: have mercy, he says, how could it be better to accept it, when half of the public is taking and half is giving ”( S. Danilov, Gogol and theatre, 1936, p. 150.) .
This stormy reaction of society to comedy is the best confirmation of its enormous socio-political, artistic and educational significance.
Belinsky perfectly defined this meaning in an article about A. Nikitenko in 1842:
“Isn’t all this noise and all these cries the result of a collision of old principles with new ones, aren’t they a battle of two epochs ?., what is important and great is only what divides the opinions and voices of the fierce, what matures and grows in the struggle, what is affirmed by the living victory over living resistance" ( N. K. Piksanov, Gogol the playwright, 1952, p. 29.) .
The sharp, satirical nature of The Inspector General was emphasized by Herzen: “No one has ever read such a full course pathological anatomy of the Russian bureaucracy" ( A. G. Gukasova, Comedy "The Government Inspector". In book. "Gogol at school", 1954, p. 315.).
"Inspector" Gogol - the greatest dramatic work Russian and world literature. A seemingly insignificant comic case with an imaginary auditor who frightened city officials and landlords, stirred up the stagnant life of the city and threw a ray of some kind of hope to the disenfranchised urban population, was used by Gogol for a generalization unsurpassed in the comedy genre of those abuses that were typical of tsarist Russia. th half of XIX V. The author was interested in those life circumstances that could give rise to such cases, those social characters that could take part in it. The special power of Gogol's genius was reflected in his ability to sharpen and exaggerate social phenomena. At first glance, it seems exaggerated, unusual, anecdotal in itself, that some inconspicuous collegiate registrar was mistaken for an auditor. It also looks exaggerated how the lied "icicle" managed to frighten the hardened officials and no one recognized him, and how he shamelessly robbed them, and it never occurred to them to expose him. He declares his love to both mother and daughter, and this behavior does not seem strange and insincere to anyone.
The anecdotal incident with the “inspector” took place in a remote, provincial town, but the typical phenomena of life were captured by Gogol so truly and accurately that “both viewers and readers of The Inspector General easily ascended to broader generalizations, for life was reflected in a drop of swamp water” Russian pre-reform swamp as a whole" ( "About the Inspector". SGyurnik articles, 1936, p. 115.).
In comedy, all its content seems to be exaggerated, including the silent scene, which in itself represents a moment of the greatest exaggeration. Every detail in the comedy seems implausible, and at the same time, the comedy is full of genuine life truth. In this pointed depiction of life phenomena lies the exceptional strength of Gogol's mastery.
Gogol in The Inspector General exposed typical phenomena and social characters of his era. “The heroes of the Inspector General are not a fabrication of the writer's creative imagination, they are a true snapshot of reality. A critic of the Molva magazine, in an article published in connection with the production in Siena and the first edition of The Government Inspector, wrote: “The names of the characters from The Government Inspector turned the next day into their own names: the Khlestakovs. Anna Andreevna, Marya Antonovna, city dwellers, Strawberry, Tyapkin-Lyapkin went arm in arm with Famusov, Molchalin, Chatsky, Prostakov ... Look: they, these gentlemen and ladies, are walking along Tverskoy Boulevard, in the park, around the city, and everywhere, wherever there are a dozen people, between them there is probably one native of Gogol's comedy. M. B. Khrapchenko, Gogol's Works, 1954, p. 335.).
Gogol created vivid typical generalizations in the heroes of his comedy. Belinsky wrote: “This is precisely the typism of the image: the poet takes the sharpest, most characteristic features of the faces he paints, releasing all the random ones that do not contribute to shading their individuality” ( "IN. G. Belinsky about Gogol, Goslitizdat 1849, p. 138.) .
“The names of Gogol's heroes have become household names. They began to designate social phenomena of a certain content: "Khlestakovism", "tryapichkinism" ( VV Vinogradov, Gogol's language and its significance in the history of the Russian language. In book. "Gogol at school", APN, 1954, p. 107.)
For the exceptional power of Glichepiy's satirical social vices, Gogol was extolled by the revolutionary democrats Belinsky, Chernyshevsky
"Revizor" has prepared a heyday national theater, clearing the way for Ostrovsky" ( A. M. Egolin, N. V. Gogol and the liberation movement in Russia, ibid., pp. 31-32.) .
V. I. Lenin repeatedly used the images of the “Inspector General” (Khlestakov, Gorodnichiy, Derzhimorda, Osip, Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, Tryapichkin) and created “rich and sharp phraseology based on the images of the “Inspector General”: “subject yourself to a non-commissioned officer operation”, “ Khlestakov's assurances", "police bullshit" ( V. V. Vinogradov, Gogol's Language and Its Significance in the History of the Russian Language In the book. "Gogol at school", 1954, p. 108.) .
Gogol was not a revolutionary, he believed in the power of existing state laws, attached great importance to education, thought about educating and correcting people by means of stage exposure. But Gogol's comedy had and still has a tremendous revolutionary significance: the corporation of people brought on the stage was so vicious that it was no longer possible to correct it, and this is because the state system itself was vicious, therefore, objectively, the power of Gogol's comedy is not in a call for correction, but in exposing, and not individual people, but the whole system.
From Gogol, the playwrights of both pre-revolutionary and Soviet literature learned and are learning the skill of depicting life's contradictions and mercilessly scourging social flaws.
We need Gogol's satire: it helps to uproot from our lives the social remnants of the past that still nestle in it: bribery, embezzlement, sycophancy, bureaucracy, ignorance, etc.
In conclusion, the teacher should say at least a few words about the incarnation of the "Inspector" on the stage. The first performance of Gogol's immortal comedy took place on April 19, 1836. on the stage of the Alexandria Theater in St. Petersburg. In the same year, on May 25, The Inspector General was staged for the first time in Moscow, on the stage of the Maly Theatre.
Magnificent performers of the role of the mayor in the very first productions were Sosnitsky - in the Alexandria Theater, Shchepkin - in the Maly. Since then, the victorious march of Gogol's comedy began on the stages both in the capital and in the provinces, both in Russia and abroad, up to the present day.
The teacher can tell the students about one unforgettable performance that took place in St. Petersburg on April 14, 1860. The Inspector General was staged, and the entire collection from the performance was transferred to the literary fund, that is, to the fund of the Society for Assistance to Needy Writers and Scientists. In the performance, the roles were played not by professional actors, but by well-known writers of that time, for example: the mayor - Pisemsky, Shpekin - Dostoevsky, Khlestakov - the poet-translator Weinberg, merchants - Turgenev, Kraevsky, Grigorovich, Maikov, Druzhinin, Kurochkin. All the performers of the performance were a huge success, and the appearance of the merchants on the stage caused such a standing ovation from the public that Weinberg, who played Khlestakov, stepped aside and sat on a chair, waiting for the end of the applause.
It is advisable to accompany the work on the comedy "The Inspector General" with a show either in the classroom or outside of class time of all kinds visual aids: title page and pages of the first edition, drawings for The Inspector General by Boklevsky, Kardovsky, Konstantinovsky, posters for the first performances of the comedy, photographs of major actors in comedy roles, etc.
Students need to name and show outstanding actors in different roles in the comedy "The Government Inspector":
Mayor - performed by Davydov (Aleksandrinsky Theatre), Moskvin (Moscow Artistic theater), S. Kuznetsova, Rybakova, Yakovlev (Maly Theatre);
Khlestakov - performed by Yakovlev (Maly Theater - production in 1909), I. Ilyinsky (Maly Theater, production in 1949);
Osip-Varlamov (Alexandrinsky Theatre), Gribunin (Moscow Art Theatre);
Anna Andreevna - Pashennaya (Maly Theatre);
Marya Antonovna - Savina (Alexandrinsky Theatre).
Poshlepkina - Sadovskaya (Maly Theatre) Korchagina-Aleksandrovskaya (Leningrad Drama Theatre).
In the process of studying the "Inspector General" or at the end of it, students should be reduced to staging a comedy in a theater or a movie, followed by a discussion of them in a class or in a circle class.
If time and working conditions allow, it is very advisable to involve Gogol's "Theatrical tour" in the final lesson or outside the classroom, where great satirist clearly showed the reaction of various sections of the public to his comedy, the misunderstanding of it by many viewers and found out the role of laughter in it. The innermost thoughts of Gogol, who perfectly understood the significance of the theater and genuine realistic comedy who knew how to listen sensitively to the opinions of various sections of the audience about his comedy, are such material that convincingly clarifies the literary place and ideological and artistic significance of the great comedy.
In the class, of course, there is no possibility and need to dwell on " Theatrical junction It is sufficient to introduce students to overall structure of this work and read some of the most characteristic passages from it.
After the performance of the comedy, the audience that was present at the performance departs. She passes by the author of the play, who “escaped as if from a whirlpool”, from the auditorium and remained in the hallway in order to hear the opinions of the audience about the performance they had watched.
The author hears various responses from the passing public. Many criticize the play and find all sorts of flaws in it. In the presented play, “low people” are deduced, “the most flat jokes”, “the most incredible plot”, “all incongruities: no plot, no action, no considerations” are allowed, the language of the play is such that they do not speak in high society, “there is no one true face, all caricatures", the play contains "a disgusting mockery of Russia", this work is unsatisfactory in educational terms: "all the vices and vices ... what an example it sets for the audience", there are no attractive faces in the comedy, "there is not a an honest person, such plays coarsen morals, destroy all respect for people, there is a lot of absurd, incredible in the play: where could such an incident happen? such a cascade of condemnation and scolding falls on the head of the author of the comedy. There are even exclamations: “For such things you need to be whipped ...” And another, perhaps even thinking: “for such a comedy you would be in Nerchinsk ...”
But not all the public holds such opinions. This chorus of reactionary spectators is cut through by fresh, progressive voices belonging to more progressive, developed spectators.
“Yes, if you take the plot in the sense that it is usually accepted, that is, in the sense of a love affair, then it definitely does not exist. But it seems that it is time to stop relying so far on this eternal plot ... Do they now have more electricity, money capital, a profitable marriage than love? ” - says one of the “art lovers”.
This same "art lover" further discusses the educational role of negative characters comedies: “Do not everyone, to the slightest bend of the soul of a mean and dishonest person, already draw the image of an honest person? Doesn’t all this accumulation of baseness, deviations from laws and justice already make it clear what law, duty and justice require of us?
"Very modest dressed man» clearly understands positive value ridiculing social vices: “In it, it seems to me, hypocrisy is most strongly and deeply affected by laughter - a decent mask, under which baseness and meanness appear; a rogue making a face of a well-intentioned person."
Mr. B. positively assesses the open ridicule in the comedy of vices, public wounds. Disagreeing with Mr. P., who proposes the evil “to hide, not show,” Mr. B. develops his thoughts in this way: “In your opinion, it would only be necessary to close, heal somehow outside these, as you call, social wounds, if only for the time being they were not visible, but inside let the disease rage - there is no need for that ... There is no need that it can explode and show up with such symptoms, when everything treatment is late, cold selfishness moves the lips, which also speak, and not holy, pure love for humanity.
“I'm sorry,” he confesses bitterly, “that no one noticed the honest face that was in my play. Yes, there was one honest, noble face that acted in it throughout its entire duration. This honest, noble face was - laughter.
He goes on to explain the nature of this laughter. This is “not the kind of laughter that is generated by temporary irritability, a bilious, morbid disposition of character; not that light laughter, which serves for the idle entertainment and amusement of people, but that laughter that all emanates from the bright nature of man. This "laughter is bright." Only one deeply kind soul can laugh with such "kind, bright laughter."
The author was especially upset that many of the public did not understand this comedy and called such comedies “fables”. Is it possible to call immortal works "fables?" They live, although "ages have passed, cities and peoples have been demolished and disappeared from the face of the earth." The cleansing and revitalizing power of such works is great. “The world would doze off without such fables, life would become shallow, souls would be covered with mold and mud.”
In 1836, the comedy N.V. Gogol's The Inspector General first appeared on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theatre. Russian society was confused, on the face of each spectator after watching the play, bewilderment was reflected: everyone found The Inspector General to be something unexpected, not previously known.
In The Inspector General, Gogol skillfully combines "truth" and "malice", that is, realism and bold, merciless criticism of reality. With the help of laughter, mocking satire, Gogol denounces such vices of Russian reality as servility, corruption, arbitrariness of the authorities, ignorance and poor education. In The Theater Journey, Gogol wrote: “Now the desire to get a profitable place is tying up the drama more strongly ... Do they now have more electricity, money capital, a profitable marriage than love?”
The comedy The Inspector General presents a whole “corporation of various office thieves and robbers” that blissfully exist in the county town N.
When describing the world of bribe takers and embezzlers, Gogol used a number of artistic techniques that enhance the characteristics of the characters.
Gogol gave critical characteristics of each of the main characters. These characteristics help to better understand the essence of each character. Mayor: “Although he is a bribe-taker, he behaves very respectably”; Anna Andreevna: “Half brought up on novels and albums, half on chores in her pantry and girl's room”; Khlestakov: “Without a king in my head. He speaks and acts without any thought”, Osip: “Servant, such as servants of a few older years usually are”; Lyapkin-Tyapkin: “A person who has read five or six books, and therefore is somewhat freethinking”; postmaster: "A simple-minded person to the point of naivety."
Bright portrait characteristics are also given in Khlestakov's letter to his friend in St. Petersburg. So, speaking of Strawberry, Khlestakov calls the trustee of charitable institutions "a perfect pig in a yarmulke."
Main literary device, which is used by N.V. Gogol in the comic depiction of an official, is a hyperbole. Blinded by fear for their future, officials and clutching at Khlestakov like a straw, the city merchants and the townsfolk are not able to appreciate the absurdity of what is happening. Absurdities pile up one on top of the other: here is the non-commissioned officer who “whipped herself”, and Bobchinsky, who asks to bring to his attention imperial majesty that “Pyotr Ivanovich Bobchinsky lives in such and such a city”, etc.
The climax and the denouement immediately following it come abruptly, cruelly. Khlestakov's letter gives such a simple and even banal explanation of everything that happened that at that moment it looks for the mayor, for example, much more implausible than all Khlestakov's fantasies. A few words should be said about the image of the mayor. Apparently, he will have to pay for the sins of his entire entourage. Of course, he himself is not an angel, but the blow is so strong that the mayor has something like an epiphany: “I don’t see anything: I see some kind of pig snouts instead of faces, but nothing else ...”
Further, Gogol uses a technique that has become so popular in our time: the mayor, breaking the principle of the so-called fourth wall, addresses directly into the hall: “What are you laughing at? Laugh at yourself." With this remark, Gogol shows that the action of the comedy actually goes far beyond the theater stage, is transferred from the county town to the vast expanses of Russia. There is even a legend that Nicholas I, after watching the play, said: “Everyone got it, but most of all I!”
A silent scene: the inhabitants of a provincial town, mired in bribes, drunkenness, and gossip, stand as if struck by thunder. But here comes a cleansing thunderstorm that will wash away the dirt, punish vice and reward virtue. In this scene, Gogol reflected his belief in the justice of the highest authority, thereby scourging, in the words of Nekrasov, "little thieves for the pleasure of big ones." I must say that the pathos of the silent scene does not fit with the general spirit of this brilliant comedy.
