N. in

Starting work on the poem "Dead Souls", Gogol set himself the goal of "showing at least one side of all Rus'." The poem is built on the basis of a story about the adventures of Chichikov, an official who buys dead Souls". Such a composition allowed the author to talk about different landowners and their villages, which Chichikov visits in order to make his deal. According to Gogol, heroes follow us, “one more vulgar than the other.” We get to know each of the landowners only during the time (as a rule, no more than one day) that Chichikov spends with him. But Gogol chooses such a way of depicting, based on a combination of typical features with individual characteristics, which allows you to get an idea not only about one of the characters, but also about the whole layer of Russian landowners, embodied in this hero. The face of landlord Russia is presented in five chapters, each of which is dedicated to one landowner. In each chapter, Gogol follows approximately the same plan: first goes description estates, then a portrait, then information about family and friends, speech characteristics, lunch. The central place is occupied by the scene of the sale of dead souls. I will use this author's plan to tell about Chichikov's visit to Manilov, the first of the landowners whom he visits.

In accordance with the general principle of characterization that Gogol uses, the chapter on Manilov begins with a description of his estate. The landscape is designed in gray-blue tones: "gray log huts", Pine forest“dull bluish color”, a gazebo with wooden blue columns, even the day is gray. As Gogol writes, playing on the name of the owner of the estate, "the village of Manilov could lure a few." Everything sets us up for a meeting with a very boring - "gray" - person.

Almost immediately after the description of the estate follows the author's description of the landowner: after all, together with Chichikov, we spend so little time with each of the landowners that we get a complete picture of his individual characteristics, much less about the type it represents, is very difficult. IN author's description Manilov, he is classified as a special type of people, which is defined by Gogol with the help of phraseological units and sayings: “He was a man so-so, neither this nor that; neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan. A number of phraseological units are used here, as if strung on top of each other, which all together allow us to conclude how empty Manilov's inner world is in reality, devoid, as the author says, of some kind of internal "enthusiasm". Gogol is a magnificent master of the word, for him every semantic shade selected to create an image is important. Thus, the word "ardor", which characterizes Manilov, did not appear immediately. In draft manuscripts, there are other options: "passion", "horse", etc. But it was the word "ardor" that turned out to be the most accurate, since in this series it expresses not an exalted desire, but simply a "bullying subject."

It is also very important for understanding the image of the landowner portrait characteristic. “He smiled temptingly, was blond, with blue eyes” - such a description of Manilov's appearance can cause a certain circle of associations in the reader, which the author clearly counts on. Let's remember: "Eyes like the sky, blue, smile, flaxen curls ..." This is a portrait of Pushkin's Olga from "Eugene Onegin", a sweet girl, but completely ordinary, a dummy person. That is exactly what Manilov is.

Manilov at first seems like the most pleasant person: kind, hospitable and moderately disinterested. But the author notices not in vain that Manilov's "pleasantness" was "too much transferred to sugar; in his manners and turns there was something ingratiating himself with location and acquaintance. Such sweetness slips into his family relationships. After eight years of marriage, he and his wife still brought each other "a piece of an apple, or candy, or a nut" and said: "Open your mouth, darling, I'll put this piece for you."

In general, food in Gogol's characterization of the landowners is one of the most important means, it is not for nothing that Chichikov is treated to each of them. Manilov's table does not shine with a variety and abundance of dishes, but treats are served as something special: "Schi, but from a pure heart."

In the same way, his own children are “served”: Manilov has two of them, and both of them are quite ordinary. But their father constantly admires their rather meager talents, and the names "partly Greek" - Themistoclus and Alkid - clearly betray their father's claim and his constant desire to "work for the viewer."

The same is true for everything else. In fact, Manilov's pleasant treatment of people is the only occupation of this landowner, both in the "material" and in the "spiritual" sense, which is why the impression he makes on the reader is gradually changing.

He is very courteous and polite, but it turns out that this quality, which should facilitate and make it pleasant to communicate with people, develops into its opposite in Manilov. What is the scene when Chichikov is forced to stand in front of the doors to the living room for several minutes, as the owner seeks to outdo him in polite manner, letting him go ahead, and as a result, they both "entered the door sideways and squeezed each other a little." So, in a particular case, the author’s remark is realized that in the first minute one can only say about Manilov: “What a pleasant and kind person!” - and move away if you don’t move away, you will feel mortal boredom.”

But Manilov himself considers himself a cultured and educated person - this is exactly what they said about him in the regiment where he served. And in the village, he diligently tries to maintain this impression of himself and his home. But among the gallery of Gogol's philistine heroes, ordinary and mediocre people, all sorts of cultural interests and demands turn into a parody. Often the writer shows this with the "significant detail" technique. So, Manilov's claim to elegance and enlightenment and its complete failure are shown through the details of the interior of his room. There is beautiful furniture here - and right there are two unfinished chairs covered with matting; a dandy candlestick - and next to it "some just a copper invalid, lame, curled up on the side and all in lard." All readers of Dead Souls, of course, also remember the book in Manilov's office, "marked on the fourteenth page, which he had been reading for two years."

What is this landlord doing? The details of the interior again help to give an idea of ​​this: on the windows in the office “there were slides of ash knocked out of a pipe, placed, not without diligence, in very beautiful rows. It was noticeable that this sometimes gave the owner a pastime. After all, the main thing, and, in fact, his only occupation is empty, idle dreams. After Chichikov’s departure, he indulges in his favorite business: thinking about “the well-being of a friendly life,” about how “it would be nice to live with a friend on the banks of some river, then a bridge began to be built across this river,” and everything goes on and on. further carried away by dreams, he already imagines that the sovereign, having learned about their friendship with Chichikov, “granted them generals, and then, finally, God knows what it is, which he himself could not make out in any way.”

Manilov presents relationships between people in the spirit of idyllic pastorals, since, in his opinion, the only form of human connection is sensitive, tender friendship and cordial affection. Touching upon the city officials in a conversation with Chichikov, he calls them all beautiful, "nice", "most amiable" people, not at all caring whether this corresponds to the truth. After all, life in his perception is a complete, perfect harmony. Manilov lives in an illusory world, and the very process of fantasizing gives him real pleasure. Hence his love for beautiful phrase and in general to any kind of posing. He is a sentimental dreamer, completely incapable of action. No wonder his surname became common noun expressing the corresponding concept - "Manilovism". Idleness and idleness entered the flesh and blood of this hero and became an integral part of his nature. He is deprived of a living thought, a living aspiration, and the culture that he is so proud of is just a farce, behind which emptiness and meaninglessness opens up. Therefore, Manilov, like all other landowners, can be classified according to the Gogol system as "dead souls."

Although the sentimental and idyllic ideas about the world, the dreams in which he is immersed most of his time, on the one hand, make Manilov somewhat more attractive than other landowners who are not at all dreamy, on the other hand, they lead to the fact that his economy is going on. somehow by itself, ”without much participation on his part, and gradually falls apart. In addition, Manilov's dreaminess and sentimentality determine his tendency to abstract conversations and his absolute inability to talk about practical things, which is also associated with his complete inability and unwillingness to manage the household. This is confirmed by a conversation with Chichikov about dead souls: “Manilov was completely at a loss. He felt that he needed to do something, to propose a question, and what question, the devil knows.” In the end, he remains “in his repertoire”: “Won’t this negotiation be inconsistent with civil decrees and further views of Russia?” he asks, showing an ostentatious interest in affairs of state.

However, it must be said that he is generally the only one of the landowners who, in a conversation with Chichikov about "dead souls", recalls the law and the interests of the country. True, in his mouth, these arguments take on an absurd character, especially since, having heard Chichikov’s answer: “Oh! pardon, not at all, ”Manilov completely calms down and is even ready to give Chichikov the “object” of interest to him.

But one comparison in this apparently comical scene is by no means hilarious. Gogol compares Manilov with an overly intelligent minister. And here the author's irony invades the forbidden sphere - the highest echelons of power. This could only mean that a different minister - the personification of the highest state power - is not so different from Manilov and that "Manilovism" is a typical property of this world.

Thus, in the person of Manilov, we see a parody of an enlightened Russian landowner, in whose mind the phenomena of culture and universal values ​​are vulgarized. Some of his external attractiveness in comparison with other landowners is only an appearance, a mirage. In his heart he is as dead as they are. No wonder Gogol, a man of deep and sincere faith, puts into Manilov's mouth the blasphemous phrase that "dead souls are in some way perfect rubbish." “Very much not rubbish,” Chichikov vividly retorts, not at all embarrassed by the fact that he is going to cash in on the death of people, human misfortunes and suffering.

But what does this immoral deal mean in a world where there are landlords like Manilov who are happy to serve any scoundrel with good manners, so as not to lose their external gloss, their status as enlightened and educated person! And if only in those times far from us there were such people! Unfortunately, they are not rare even today, and the word "Manilovism" does not go out of speech. modern man. That is why the book, in which the writer "through visible to the world laughter and invisible, unknown to him tears "decided to "strong force of the inexorable chisel" to expose "convexly and brightly in the eyes of the people" "vulgarity vulgar person».

punctuation marks in complex sentence

1.

The most popular option for a house in Arkhangelsk is a pine log house (1) interior decoration(2) which (3) is made of aspen or birch.

2. Which answer option correctly indicates all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentence?

From the early age(1) absorbed love and respect for the land, hard work on it and blacksmithing cause (2) the master (3) of which (4) was his father.

3. In which answer option are all the numbers correctly indicated, in place which commas should be in a sentence?

In "Dead Souls" (1) Gogol followed the principles of that critical direction (2) which he characterized (3) in one of the chapters of the poem.

4. Which answer option correctly indicates all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentence?

The works of Kuindzhi, Polenov, Savrasov, Levitan (1) each (2) of which (3) aroused great interest of the audience (4) represented different directions within the unified framework of the Russian realistic landscape.

1)1,3 2)1,3,4 3)2,3,4 4)1,4

5. Which answer option correctly indicates all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentence?

Sometimes (1) experiments use tasks (2) whose logical structure (3) (4) has no analogues in real life.

6. Which answer option correctly indicates all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentence?

School (1) on the ground floor (2) which (3) housed the exhibition competitive works(4) was on the outskirts of the city.

1)1,4 2)2,4 3)3,4 4)1,3

7. Which answer option correctly indicates all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentence?

We have long forgotten (1) that the words "second" and "minute" (2) are of Western European origin (3) and consider them Russian.

8. Which answer option correctly indicates all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentence?

It was necessary to establish (1) how many types of a particular wheat variety (2) and find out (3) whether their number changes (4) if climatic conditions change

1)1,3 2)2,3 3)1,2,3,4 4)2,3,4

9. Which answer option correctly indicates all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentence?

At night, timber was brought to the river (1) and (2) when the white fog wrapped the banks (3) all eight companies laid boards (4) on the wreckage of bridges.

1)1,3,4 2)1,4 3)2,3 4)1,2,3

10. Which answer option correctly indicates all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentence?

It turned out (1) that the manuscript had not yet been finally edited (2) and that (3) until additional work was done (4) it was impossible to submit it to the printing house.

3 3)1,3,4 4)1,2,3,4

11. Which answer option correctly indicates all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentence?

To avoid trouble on the road (1) check the electrical equipment of the car (2) and (3) if a malfunction is found (4) immediately eliminate it.

1)1,4 2)2,4 3)3,4 4)1,3,4

12. Which answer option correctly indicates all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentence?

Where (1) where the air is dry (2) and there is no wind (3), frosts are more easily tolerated.

1)1,3 2)1,2,3 ,3

13. Which answer option correctly indicates all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentence?

The sister did not answer (1) and (2) to distract herself from an unpleasant conversation (3) she went to the bird cage and began to absently pour grain into the feeders (4) although they were already full.

1)1,2,4 2)1,2,3,4 3)1,3 4)2,3

14. Which answer option correctly indicates all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentence?

In the parental home, everything was as before (1) and (2) if Volodya seemed to have narrowed the home space (3) it was only because (4) that during the years of absence he had matured and grown a lot.

1)1,2,3,4 2)1,3 3)1,3,4 4)2,3,4

15. Which answer option correctly indicates all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentence?

According to the calendar, we arrived in Boldino at the same time as the priest (1) but (2) if we take into account the difference between the new and the old style (3), then ten days earlier (4) and in nature the green color still hovered everywhere.

1)1,2,3 2)1,2,3,4 3)1,3,4 4)1,4

16. Which answer option correctly indicates all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentence?

The prince was not expected at the estate (1) since no one knew (2) whether he would arrive (3) and (4) so ​​his appearance came as a surprise to everyone.

1)1,4 2)1,2,3 3)1,2,3,4 4)2,3,4

17. Which answer option correctly indicates all the numbers that should be replaced by commas in the sentence?

The gray sky hung low overhead (1) and (2) because the clouds almost touched the tops of the birches (3) it was quiet and dark on the ground.

The conditional plan either objectifies the compared phenomenon, or translates it into a series of animals, insects, etc. - that is, in both cases it performs the function of a grotesque style.

The first case is a description of the faces of officials: “Others had faces like badly baked bread: the cheek was swollen in one direction, the chin was squinted in the other, the upper oak was lifted up with a bubble, which, in addition, also cracked ...” The second case - description of black tailcoats: “Black tailcoats flickered and were worn apart and in heaps here and there, like flies rush on a white shining refined sugar during the hot July summer, when the old klyupshitska cuts and divides it into sparkling fragments ... "etc. on the other hand, if the human moves to a lower, “animal” row, then the latter “rise” to the human: let us recall the comparisons of pouring dogs with a choir of singers.

In all cases, the rapprochement of the human with the inanimate or animal occurs in Gogol's subtle and ambiguous way.

But, of course, it is not Chichikov who embodies "that daring, full of strength nationality" about which Herzen wrote and which should resist "dead souls." The depiction of this force, passing by the "second plan", is nevertheless very important precisely for its stylistic contrast of grotesque immobility and mortification.

It is believed that the first volume of "Dead Souls" is built on the same principle. A. Bely formulated this principle as follows: each subsequent landowner, with whom fate confronted Chichikov, "is more dead than the previous one." Is Korobochka really "more dead" than Manilov, Nozdryov "more dead" than Ma-Eilov and Korobochka, Sobakevich deader than Manilov, Korobochka and Nozdryov?...

Let us recall what Gogol says about Manilov: “You will not expect any lively or even arrogant words from him, which you can hear from almost anyone if you touch on a subject that provokes him. Everyone has his own enthusiasm: one has turned his enthusiasm to greyhounds; it seems to another that he is a strong lover of music ... in a word, everyone has his own, but Manilov had nothing. If by “mortality” we mean the social harm brought by this or that landowner, then even here one can still argue who is more harmful: the economic Sobakevich, in whom “the huts of the peasants ... were wonderfully cut down,” or Manilov, in whom “ the economy went on somehow by itself, ”and the peasants were given into the power of a cunning clerk. But Sobakevich follows after Manilov.

In a word, existing point view of the composition. "Dead Souls" is quite vulnerable.

Speaking of the splendor of Plyushkin's garden, Gogol, among other things, remarks: “... Everything was somehow deserted, good, how not to invent either nature or art, but as it happens only when they are united together, when, according to heaps, often to no avail, nature’s work will be its final chisel, lighten the heavy masses, destroy coarse correctness and beggarly gaps through which an unhidden, naked plan peeps through, and give wonderful warmth to everything that has been created in the coldness of measured cleanliness and tidiness.

It is useless to look for one, “single principle” in the works of genius.

Why, for example, does Gogol open the gallery of landowners to the Manilovs?

In the first place, it is understandable that Chichikov decided to start a detour of the landowners from Manilov, who, even in the city, charmed him with his courtesy and courtesy, and from whom (as Chichikov might have thought) dead souls would be acquired without difficulty. Features of the characters, the circumstances of the case - all this motivates the deployment of the composition, giving it such a quality as naturalness, lightness.

However, this quality is immediately superimposed on many others. Important, for example, is the way the case itself is revealed, Chichikov's "negotiation". In the first chapter, we don't know anything about her yet. "The strange property of the guest and the enterprise" opens for the first time in Chichikov's communication with Manilov. Chichikov's extraordinary enterprise appears against the backdrop of Manilov's dreamy, "blue" ideality, gaping with its dazzling contrast.

But even this does not exhaust the compositional significance of the chapter on Manilov. Gogol first of all introduces us to a person who does not yet evoke too strong negative or dramatic emotions. It does not evoke just due to its lifelessness, the lack of "enthusiasm". Gogol deliberately begins with a person who has no sharp qualities, that is, with "nothing." The general emotional tone around the image of Manilov is still serene, and the light spectrum, which has already been mentioned, comes in handy for him. In the future, the light spectrum changes; dark, gloomy tones begin to predominate in it - as in the development of the entire poem. This happens not because each subsequent hero is deader than the previous one, but because each brings his share of “vulgarity” into the overall picture, and the general measure of vulgarity, “vulgarity of everything together” becomes unbearable. But the first chapter is deliberately instructed so as not to anticipate a gloomy depressing impression, to make possible its gradual increase.

At first, the arrangement of the chapters seems to coincide with the plan of Chichikov's visits. Chichikov decides to start with Manilov - and here comes the chapter on Manilov. But after visiting Manilov, unexpected complications arise. Chichikov intended to visit Sobakevich, but lost his way, the cart overturned, etc.

So, instead of the expected meeting with Sobakevich, a meeting with Korobochka followed. Until now, neither Chichikov nor the readers knew anything about Korobochka. The motive of such surprise, novelty is reinforced by the question. Chichikova: Has the old woman even heard of Sobakevich and Manilov? No, I didn't. What kind of landowners live around? - “Bobrov, Svinin, Kanapatiev, Harpakin, Trepakin, Pleshakov” - that is, the selection of deliberately unfamiliar names follows. Chichikov's plan begins to falter. He is even more upset because in the stupid old woman, with whom Chichikov was not very shy and on ceremony, he suddenly met with unexpected resistance ...

In the next chapter, in Chichikov's conversation with the old woman in the tavern, Sobakevich's name pops up again ("the old woman knows not only Sobakevich, but also Manilov ..."), and the action seemed to enter the intended track. And again, a complication: Chichikov meets with Nozdrev, whom he met in the city, but whom he was not going to visit.

Chichikov nevertheless ends up with Sobakevich. Moreover, not every unexpected meeting promises trouble for Chichikov: a visit to Plyushkin (whom Chichikov learned about only from Sobakevich) brings him the "acquisition" of more than two hundred souls and, as it were, happily crowns the entire voyage. Chichikov did not even imagine what complications awaited him in the city ...

Although everything unusual in "Dead Souls" (for example, the appearance in the city of Korobochka, which had the most sad consequences for Chichikov) is just as strictly motivated by the circumstances and characters of the characters as usual, but the game itself and the interaction of "right" and "wrong" logical and illogical, casts an alarming, flickering light on the action of the poem. It reinforces the impression of that, in the words of the writer, "turmoil, hustle, confusion" of life, which is reflected in the main structural principles of the poem.

When we approach Plyushkin in the gallery of images of the poem, we clearly hear new, "hitherto not abusive strings" in his outline. In the sixth chapter, the tone of the narration changes dramatically - the motives of sadness and sadness increase. Is it because Plyushkin is "deader" than all previous characters? Let's see. For now, let's note common property all Gogol's images.

LESSON 37 “I want to show at least one side of all Rus'” A word about Gogol. The concept of "Dead Souls"

In the first lesson, you need to give general idea about the writer's personality creative way, dwelling in particular on Gogol's choice of his life path, his future activities. At the same time, it is necessary to rely on the previously studied and repeat with schoolchildren information about the collections “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”, “Mirgorod”, “Petersburg Tales”, about the comedy “Inspector General”.

Already from the earliest years in Gogol's correspondence, remarks about his future career flicker: “I will become a famous person” tries to enter the theater; “A spacious circle of actions awaits me” service in the State Department of Appanages; “I will even do something for the common good” lecturing on world history at St. Petersburg University; “The appointment of a person to serve, and all life is a service” “but as soon as I felt that in the field of a writer I could also serve the state service, I left everything: my previous positions, and St. Petersburg, and the society of people close to me, and Russia itself , then, far away and in solitude from everyone, to discuss how to do this, how to produce my creation in such a way that it would show that I was also a citizen of my land and wanted to serve it.

At the second stage of the lesson, there should be a story about the history of the creation of Dead Souls. The chronology of the work on the poem can be clearly seen in Gogol's correspondence:

1835 October“I started writing Dead Souls I want to show at least one side of all Rus' in this novel.”

1836 November“I redid everything I started again, thought over the whole plan more and now I am leading it calmly like a chronicle What a huge, what an original plot! All Rus' will appear in it!”

1837 April“I must continue the great work I started, which took me to write the word Pushkin and which has since become a sacred testament for me.”

1840 October"The plot, which lately I have lazily kept in my head, not daring even to take on it, unfolded before me in such majesty that everything in me felt a sweet thrill."

1842 May"Dead souls the vestibule is a little pale great poem which is being built in me and will finally solve the riddle of my existence.

Determine how the writer's intent has changed. How did he feel about his work?

Thus, your great work Gogol dedicates to Russia, to the Motherland, and hence that assertive pathos, the ardent lyrical feeling that pervades the entire narrative: “Isn’t it you, Rus, that a lively, unbeatable troika is rushing about? .. And, looking askance, other nations step aside and give it way and the state."

Let us pay attention to Gogol's playful remark in the 11th chapter of Dead Souls, where he does not want to quarrel with his hero, for “they still have a lot of way and road to go together hand in hand; two big parts ahead it's not a trifle."

"Two Big Pieces Ahead" What is it about? The fact is that Gogol conceived a work consisting of three volumes. Over the second part of the novel, the writer fought to the point of exhaustion, to despair, but in 1845 the already written second volume was burned. In 1848, work began again on the second volume of Dead Souls, and again it was burned. What happened? Why? Gogol decided that the prophetic word of truth did not work out, that he could give nothing more to Russia, and he refused not only to continue the poem, he also refused to live. He rejected medicine and food and died on March 4, 1852. “The second volume of Dead Souls became for Gogol an ascetic cell, where he fought and suffered until they carried him lifeless out of it,” said one of Gogol’s closest friends, P. V. Annenkov.

The writer saw his work on a par with Dante's "Divine Comedy", consisting of three parts: "Hell", "Purgatory", "Paradise". It was this road (1st volume hell, 2nd volume purgatory, 3rd volume paradise) Gogol decided to lead his hero, because he believed in the spiritual rebirth of everyone, this path is open to everyone, and even Plyushkin, " if they want." The teacher will have to at least briefly tell the students about the composition and the ideological content " Divine Comedy» Dante and include information about the inhabitants of different circles of hell in the lesson. It can be brief messages specially trained students.

LESSONS 3839 . "Those little people." Images of landowners in "Dead Souls"

Traditionally, Gogol's "Dead Souls" are considered at school from the standpoint of V. G. Belinsky as a satirical and socially accusatory work. At the lessons, the characteristics of Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Sobakevich, Plyushkin are compiled according to the plan: a description of the house, village, owner, dinner, deal, since chapters 26 are distinguished by the generality of the composition. The general conclusions boil down to the fact that in the images of landowners Gogol showed the history of the impoverishment of the human soul. Freak landlords emerge: “a head of sugar, not a man” Manilov; "Cudgel-headed" Box; "historical man" and squanderer Nozdrev; a parody of the hero, "all of the tree cut down" Sobakevich; "a hole in humanity" Plyushkin.

Such a way of studying under certain conditions may be appropriate and expedient. But, looking at the poem from the standpoint modern literary criticism, we will try to comprehend with schoolchildren its innermost meaning in a different way, adding new interpretations for the school to the traditional way. Following Gogol's idea and his characters go the way "hell purgatory paradise", let's try to look at the world that was before him.

Considering myself a prophet. Gogol sincerely believed that it was he who should point out to mankind its sins and help get rid of them.

So what sins entangled our heroes? What evil are they preaching? To answer these questions, you can conduct a lesson "These worthless people", using the group form of work.

The class is divided into five groups (according to the number of chapters devoted to the description of the landlords) and, as part of an educational study, looks for parallels between the heroes of Gogol and Dante's Divine Comedy. The book by E. A. Smirnova "Gogol's Poem Dead Souls" will help to complete these tasks. L., 1987.

1st group. Manilow (chapter 2)

According to E. A. Smirnova, the landscape of the Manilov estate fully corresponds to the description of the first circle of hell Limba. At Dante: a green hill with a castle and Manilov's house on a hill; twilight illumination of Limbo and Gogol’s “day is neither clear nor gloomy, but of some kind light gray»; the pagans living in Limba and the bizarre Greco-Roman names of Manilov's children.

Students may notice that there is a lot of smoke in Manilov's house, as the owner constantly smokes a pipe, and in the description of his office there are mounds of ash. And smoke and ash are associated with devilry. This means that the devil has already moved into the soul of the hero and it requires purification.

When Chichikov leaves, Manilov draws his attention to the clouds, trying to distract the guest from completing his planned trip. But after all, even as you plunge into the underworld, the darkness grows! However, already in the scene of sale and purchase, in the words of Chichikov, the author’s hope for the resurrection of even the most lost and “cheesy” soul sounds. Manilov claims that the dead souls are an insignificant commodity, while Chichikov objects and defends the dead, speaking of them: “Not very rubbish!”

2nd group. Box (chapter 3)

There is an assumption that Chichikov's visit to Korobochka's house is a visit to the second circle of hell. Dante describes it this way: “Moaning, the circle of Shadows rushed, driven by an undefended blizzard.” Gogol "the darkness was such that you could even gouge out your eye." And Korobochka confirms: "Such a turmoil and a blizzard."

Where does the blizzard come from during a thunderstorm? Everything is possible in the underworld, and Dante's third circle of hell was generally a circle of rain. Korobochka's dwelling resembles the Witch's cave: mirrors, a deck of cards, paintings with birds. These objects are difficult to see, since the room is in twilight, and Chichikov's eyes are stuck together. In the buying and selling scene, Korobochka does not scold her dead peasants, as Manilov did, but expresses the hope that the dead "will somehow be needed on the farm somehow." Thus, Gogol's innermost thought begins to take on more distinct contours. The idea of ​​resurrection is also embedded in Korobochka's name Anastasia "resurrected".

3rd group. Nozdrev (chapter 4)

The third circle of hell is gluttony (gluttony). Therefore, it is no accident that Chichikov ends up in a tavern from Korobochka. In this case, the analysis of the episode "In the tavern" is appropriate. "The Fat Old Woman" continues the theme of the Box.

The whole story with Nozdryov corresponds to the fourth circle of hell, where stingy and wasteful souls are tormented. And Nozdryov, the reckless reveler, stupidly squandering his fortune, is the spendthrift. His passion for playing checkers emphasizes his gambling, he invites the guest to play. Barking dogs important detail episodes of the chapter about Nozdryov. The dogs of Nozdryov are associated with the hellish dog Cerberus, who is on his mission.

The transaction scene can be interpreted in this way. If in the previous chapters the ways of saving the soul are depicted allegorically, then the Nozdrev method is a dishonest deal, swindle, deceit, an attempt to get into the Kingdom of Heaven undeservedly, like a king.

4th group. Sobakevich (chapter 5)

Antibogatyr Sobakevich is also ready for the resurrection. In the scene of sale and purchase, he, as it were, resurrects his dead peasants with praise. The “method of revival” here is not fraud, like Nozdryov’s, and not digging out of the ground, like Korobochka’s, but the pursuit of virtue and valor. An analysis of the episode will lead to the conclusion that the salvation of the soul comes at a cost—it is bought by a life full of work and selflessness. Therefore, the owner “writes out” everyone “with the meaning of commendable qualities.”

Next comes the “heroic” parallel. The exploits of Russian heroes and the "exploits" of Sobakevich. Sobakevich is a hero at the table. When analyzing the episode "Dinner at Sobakevich's" one can pay attention to the denunciation of such a human vice as gluttony. Again this sin rises in the poem close-up: Gogol considered it especially difficult.

5th group. Plushkin (chapter 6)

Plyushkin is the last, fifth in the gallery of images of landowners. We know that Gogol wanted to make Plyushkin, like Chichikov, a character in the second volume, to bring him to a moral rebirth. That is why the author tells us in detail about the past of Stepan Plyushkin, drawing the story of the impoverishment of the human soul.

What method of saving the soul is "offered" to Plyushkin? He found it immediately, but did not understand. Stepan Plyushkin saves things, lifting everything in his path, but you have to lift souls, save them. After all, the main idea of ​​"Dead Souls" is the idea of ​​the spiritual rebirth of a fallen person, "resurrection", the revival of his soul. Plyushkin says goodbye to Chichikov: “God bless you!” Plyushkin is ready for revival, he only needs to remember that it is not things that need to be raised, but the soul.

After the presentations of the groups, the following questions can be discussed:

1. All landowners, as we have seen, are not alike, each of them is an individuality. What brings them together?
2. Why does Chichikov begin his journey with a visit to Manilov and end it with a visit to Plyushkin?
3. Chapter 4 contains Gogol's reflections on Nozdryov. For what purpose are they introduced by the writer? What worries him?
4. Why does the chapter on Plyushkin begin with a lyrical digression?
5. Plyushkin is not deader, but more alive than others, is that so?

Manilov lives among flowering lilac bushes, therefore, in May. The box at this time harvests, which means in September. At Plyushkin it is summer, the heat is unbearable all around (only it is cold in the house), and in the provincial town it is winter. Why is that? Chichikov comes to Korobochka when there is a blizzard in the yard, and the pig is eating watermelon peels in the yard. Is it by chance?

Each landowner lives, as it were, in his own closed world. Fences, fences, gates, "thick wooden bars", the boundaries of the estate, the barrier - everything closes the life of the heroes, cuts it off from the outside world. It blows its own wind, its own sky, the sun, peace and comfort reign, here there is some kind of drowsiness, immobility. Everything is dead here. Everything stopped. Everyone has their own time of year. This means that there is no reality of time inside these worlds-circles. Thus, the heroes of the poem live, adapting time to themselves. Heroes are static, i.e. dead. But each of them can save his soul if he wants to.

LESSON 40. "Dead life". The image of the city in the poem "Dead Souls"

At the lesson devoted to the image of the bureaucratic world in the poem, you can conduct a "correspondence tour" of the provincial city N (ch. 1, 710) . We will carefully consider the streets of the city, signs on houses, public places. Having "visited" the governor's house, the tavern where Chichikov stayed, we come to the conclusion that the city N is a symbol of "urban idleness", emptiness and vulgarity.

Why did Gogol strive in the first volume to recreate the terrible, hopeless, ugly pictures of modern Russia, to reveal with all ruthlessness "the vulgarity of a vulgar person"?

To answer this question, let's recall the wise fairy tale by Yevgeny Schwartz "The Dragon". We reread the dialogue between the Dragon and the errant knight Lancelot, who challenged the monster to battle:

Schwartz we are talking about "invisible" souls. Gogol made them visible. To people got scared to wake up from a deadly sleep and try to escape, to regain living human souls. This is the main task of the first volume of the poem.

Further, it is necessary to dwell in detail on the episode of Chichikov's visit to the civil chamber, the "temple of Themis". Before us is a "temple" of bribery, lies and embezzlement. If in the description of the general atmosphere of the city everything has become ossified, settled, deadened to such an extent that it is even difficult to imagine the possibility of any movement, then life is in full swing in the ward.

In the description of the "temple of Themis", the comic refraction of the images of the "Divine Comedy" plays the most important role. In this supposedly temple, in this citadel of depravity, the image of Hell is being revived albeit vulgarized, comical, but truly Russian Hell. The most terrible and most tragic thing is that the “petty demon” the ward official honors the chairman with the Sun, his cabinet Paradise, and the guests holy angels.

In contrast to the quiet, measured life of the landowners, where time seems to be frozen, the life of the city outwardly boils, bubbles. But this life is illusory, it is not activity, but empty vanity. What stirred up the city? Gossip about Chichikov! City officials and their wives took everything so close to their hearts that they dared not talk about anything else, and this made the prosecutor think for the first time in his life and die from unusual tension. In the lesson, it is necessary to analyze the episode "Death of the Prosecutor". It is here that Gogol emphasizes that those around him guessed that "the deceased had, for sure, a soul" only when he died and became "only a lifeless body."

Questions and tasks for discussion in the lesson

1. How do you see city N from the first pages of the poem?
   Why does Gogol describe in detail the colors and "architecture" of the city?
2. How does the city see through the eyes of Chichikov and what through the eyes of the author?
3. Why does Gogol bring the reader to the governor's ball?
4. Why, with rumors about Chichikov's purchases, revival and panic swept the city?
5. Why does Chichikov's journey end with The Tale of Captain Kopeikin?
6. Compare provincial and metropolitan life in a poem.

Thus, the contrast between external bustle and internal ossification is striking. The life of the city is dead and meaningless, like the whole life of this crazy modern world. In a strong class, one can compare the image of the city N in Dead Souls with the image of the city in The Government Inspector. These cities are very similar. But in "Dead Souls" the scale is enlarged. Instead of a town lost in the wilderness, from where “if you ride for three years, you won’t reach any state”, a provincial, central city, “not far from both capitals”, is shown. Instead of a "small fry" mayor governor. And life is the same empty, meaningless, “dead life”.

The inactivity and emptiness of life, according to Gogol, is not only a feature of the heroes of Dead Souls. This is a universal state in which "all of humanity in the mass" is located. Because of this, people cannot find the right way.

LESSON 41. “And how wonderful she herself is, this road!” The image of the road in Dead Souls. Chichikov the central hero of the poem

In a conversation about Chichikov, it is appropriate to recall the story of V. M. Shukshin “Stalled”. The teacher will inform the class that the hero of the story, listening to his son cramming the passage about the trio bird from Dead Souls assigned to home, involuntarily thinks about the question:

“And who are they taking? Horses? This Chichikov? Roman even got up in amazement. Walked up the mountain. Exactly, Chichikov is being taken. This bastard is being transported, who bought up dead souls, traveled around the edge. Elka's mother! .. so C grade!

Valerk, he called. And who is riding a troika?

Selifan.

Selifan something, Selifan! The same coachman. And who is he carrying, Selifan?

Chichikov.

So Well? And here Rus-troika Huh?

Well. And what?

Like what? Like what? Rus' is a troika, everything rumbles, everything is flooded, and in the troika swindler, sharpie "

To answer the question of Shukshin's story, who is Chichikov and why is Rus-troika carrying him, let's trace his path from the first to the last chapter. To do this, the class is divided into groups, each receives a task card in advance, the completion of which is reported in the lesson.

Card 1

Tell the story of Chichikov's life. Why does the author give a description of the history of his soul only in the last chapter and the narrative itself is built as a biography? Why does Gogol endow only Chichikov and Plyushkin with a “biography”? How does the innermost thought of the author correlate with the image of the main character?

Card 2

Chichikov and Molchalin. What makes them similar and what makes them different? What is the purpose of Chichikov's life? Why is he scary? What new phenomenon of Russian life does it represent? “So, let's harness the scoundrel,” says the author about his hero. What is the meaning of these words? Can it be argued that Chichikov is a "hero of his time"?

Card 3

Why Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov becomes the "soul of society"? Give examples from the poem that prove Chichikov's ability to "find himself in everything somehow." How does Chichikov's speech change depending on who he speaks to? Chichikov's box. What is the semantic and compositional meaning of this detail in the poem? Chichikov alive soul or dead?

Card 4

Why does Chichikov's journey follow in the poem "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin"? How does it establish links between provincial and metropolitan officials? What is the meaning of this story? Why was it censored? Why was she dear to the writer?

Card 5

Remember when and where in the text of the poem it is said about the road, how do these fragments clarify the author's position? Why does Gogol make Chichikov get lost? In which chapters does the image of the road have the following features:

“What a strange and alluring and bearing and wonderful in the word: road! and how wonderful this road itself is!

"Our earthly, sometimes boring road."

“Take with you all human movements, do not leave them on the road; don't pick it up later!"

“But for all that, his path was difficult.”

“And for a long time yet it was determined for me by a wonderful power to go hand in hand with my strange heroes.”

“What twisted, deaf, narrow, impassable, drifting roads mankind has chosen in its striving to reach eternal truth!”

“And, squinting, step aside and give her way to other peoples and states.”

What different connotations does the word "road" have in each quote? How does the road motif develop from the first to the last chapter of the poem? What is the meaning of this image?

General conclusions. Thus, speaking about Chichikov's road, it is important to pay attention not only to what the hero "left on the road", but also to what he managed to save, a manifestation of a living human feeling. Indeed, according to Gogol's plan, his hero passes into subsequent volumes, that is, he is reborn. And if you take in attention then that the Apostle Paul was at first one of the persecutors of Christ, and then became an ardent distributor of Christianity throughout the world, then his namesake, Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, will be reborn, and he has the makings for this. The image of the road in the poem also convinces us of this. The road time travel Chichikov's worldly path the creative path of the author the spiritual revival of the heroes of all mankind the author himself, i.e. this is the road Up, the road-salvation, the road-hope, the road the future of Russia.

LESSON 42. “There can be no dead soul” The meaning of the title of the poem. "Living souls" in Gogol's poem

At the beginning of the lesson, you can consider with schoolchildren the title page of the poem, depicted by Gogol himself. The word "poem" is inscribed over large print, which is much larger than the main title. It seems that the author wanted to emphasize the significance of the colossal work, conceived in the spirit of the ancient epic. The skulls and skeletons around the letters speak of the theme of the poem, the journey to the realm of the dead. Team of horses, street, dishes, glasses, fish on a platter features of life provincial city and landlord estates, i.e. Russia.

The very name "Dead Souls" combined incompatible concepts. This feature was noticed by the chairman of the Moscow censorship committee and was outraged by such an unusual name: “No, I will never allow this: the soul is immortal; there can be no dead soul; the author arms himself against immortality. Is it so?

The researcher of the Divine Comedy A. A. Asoyan, relying on Dante's words about the four meanings of this poem, writes: . There is an opinion that Gogol, following Dante, knew about this interpretation of "comedy" and also put four meanings into his poem.

Consider how Dante's thought is transformed in Gogol's poem.

Dead souls is a product that Chichikov buys, the souls of dead peasants. It's literal the meaning of the poem associated with the story. Dead souls are landlords, and officials, mired in sins, and Chichikov himself: they have no soul, it is dead. This is the allegorical, metaphorical meaning of the poem. Moral there cannot be a person without a soul, this should not happen. But there is in the title of the book a deep spiritual meaning. It was revealed by Gogol in his suicide note: “Be not dead, but living souls. There is no other door than that indicated by Jesus Christ, and anyone who crawls through otherwise is a thief and a robber. Dead souls are spiritually dead souls. But Gogol believes in the spiritual resurrection of fallen man. If life, the image of God, is hidden in the soul of a person, then a person has hope for rebirth. Spiritual rebirth is one of the highest abilities bestowed on a person, and, according to Gogol, this path is open to everyone, even Plyushkin, "if they want to."

The lesson should also talk about the living soul:

Are there living souls in the poem?

What is the life of the people's soul?

What does Gogol appreciate and what does he not accept in the Russian people?

How does peasant Rus enter into Gogol's poem?

Who leads the lost Chichikov to the right path to Korobochki's estate? What is the meaning of this?

What characteristics does Sobakevich give to his dead peasants? Prove that they sound pride in the Russian people.

What qualities of a Russian person are inherent in Captain Kopeikin? What feelings does his story evoke?

Why does Gogol write so often in the poem about "a sad, soul-grabbing song"? What's in it, in this song?

After discussing these issues, it is easy to draw the main conclusion that in Gogol's poem, in the words of A. I. Herzen, "behind the dead souls are the living souls." Talented souls, not suffering from the "delusion" of the mind, freedom-loving, generous and "sincere" souls, that is, alive. Evidence for these assertions and illustrative material the lesson will be 5, 7 and 11 chapters of the poem.

As a result, in notebooks you can depict reference diagram:

LESSON 43. "Rus! what do you want from me?" Features of the poetics of "Dead Souls". The image of the author in the poem

The lesson can be conducted using a group form of work. Students will start working with task cards at home, and report their observations in class.

problematic lesson. Why does Gogol still call his prose work, imbued with satirical pathos, a poem?

Tasks for independent educational research:

Card 1

“Comic lies everywhere,” said N. V. Gogol. Living among him, we do not see him; but if the artist transfers it to art, to the stage, then we ourselves will wallow with laughter.”

What does Gogol laugh at and what artistic means comic effects are created?

What is the essence of the principle of artistic convention in literature?

Show the role of portrait, landscape, detail, interior, dialogue in revealing the author's intention.

Card 2

An essential element of the poetics of "Dead Souls" is associated with traditions folk culture, with folklore.

Find the proverbs and sayings used by Gogol in the poem, determine their semantic and compositional role.

Explain the meaning of the proverb "A Russian man is strong in hindsight" in relation to Gogol's poem "Dead Souls".

What is the role of the parable about Kifa Mokiyevich and Mokiy Kifovich? Is she random in the work?

Card 3

An important role in the poetics of "Dead Souls" is played by the lyrical element, the emotional author's principle.

What is compositional role lyrical digressions in Gogol's poem? What topics does Gogol discuss in lyrical digressions? How do they relate to the content of the poem?

Match language digression"Rus! Rus! I see you” and the author’s language in the description of the city (ch. 1). What is characteristic of the language of lyrical digression?

Compare the lyrical digression in the 10th chapter of the poem with the "Duma" by M. Yu. Lermontov. What gives Gogol reason to believe in the future of Russia, in her spiritual rebirth?

Final question of the lesson. How is the unity of satirical and lyrical beginnings achieved in the poem?

Conclusions. In "Dead Souls" the author's voice is manifested in the lyrical beginning that permeates the entire poem. The author is constantly present next to his characters, constantly turns to readers with his thoughts, talks about his feelings. He is a live interlocutor of the reader and carries on a conversation with him, primarily about the fate of Russia. He speaks of a crazy world that has forgotten about the soul, he speaks so that the reader can see and understand that lack of spirituality is the true and only reason for the decay of souls and is disastrous for the country. Only with an understanding of this reason can the revival of Rus', the revival of lost ideals, spirituality, the resurrection of the soul begin.

The ideal world is the world of spirituality, the spiritual world of man. The ideal world is the world of immortal human souls. He is perfect in every sense of the word. And therefore this world cannot be recreated epic. Spiritual world describes a different kind of literature lyrics. That is why Gogol defines the genre of the work as lyrical epic, calling "Dead Souls" a poem. The immortality of the soul is the only thing that instills in the author faith in the obligatory rebirth of his heroes and all life, therefore, all of Rus'.

The lesson, like the whole study of the poem, can be ended with an expressive reading of the lyrical digression that concludes the first volume of the poem.

LESSON 44. "A case taken from the soul." Lesson of extracurricular reading. "Selected places from correspondence with friends" and their significance in the creative path of N. V. Gogol

The lesson can be organized in the form of a lecture with elements of a conversation.

Opening questions. (Students will find answers to them in the textbook.)

What prompted Gogol to take up work on Selected Places?

What was the writer's intention?

"Rus! what do you want from me? what incomprehensible bond lurks between us? How to understand these words of Gogol?

The writer’s intention is clarified by his own statements: “the soul occupied me all”, “the poet has the right to enlightenment”, “to lighten a person in all his powers”, “to carry all his nature through the purifying fire”.

What unusual thing did you notice about the chapter titles?

What issues did the writer address in his book?

“There was no such cell of Russian life that he would not touch. Everything from the administration of the state to the management of relations between husband and wife became the object of his revision, his indifferent interest, his undisguised interference” (I. Zolotussky).

Thus, main topic books Russia theme, and the main attention of the writer is directed to the spiritual principles of the national character.

How was the book received in Russia? “Everyone in the world got angry with me. Russia Eastern, the Western were all upset.”

What in the reaction to this work was unexpected for the writer? "For me, Belinsky's reproach was harder than all reproaches."

Students receive cards in advance with the responses of Gogol's contemporaries to "Selected Places" S. T. Aksakov, P. A. Pletnev, N. F. Pavlov, V. G. Belinsky, A. I. Herzen and others.

Why did Gogol react so painfully to Belinsky's criticism and entered into a dispute-correspondence?

Why Gogol and Belinsky can be called central figures in the literature of the 40s, and their dispute historical?

What is the essence of their disagreement?

In notebooks, under the guidance of a teacher, a comparative table can be compiled, which compares the main provisions of Gogol's Selected passages from correspondence with friends and V. G. Belinsky's Letter to Gogol.

Final questions. Whose side are you on in the debate and why? What can you say about the genre of "Selected Places from Correspondence with Friends" the combination of journalistic passion with high artistry?

Conclusion.“My heart says that my book is needed and that it can be useful” (N.V. Gogol).

LESSONS 4546 . Cool essay based on Gogol's poem "Dead Souls"