« Dead Souls"- the pinnacle of Gogol's work, and at the same time his last word as an artist. Gogol worked on his poem for seventeen years (from 1835 to 1852). Initially conceived, according to contemporaries, as a predominantly comic work, the poem, gradually deepening, turned into a broad accusatory picture of feudal Russia.
Moving with Chichikov from landowner to landowner, the reader seems to sink deeper and deeper into the "amazing mud" of vulgarity, pettiness, and depravity. Negative Traits gradually thicken, and the gallery of landowners, beginning with the comic Manilov, is closed by Plyushkin, who is not so much ridiculous as disgusting.
The main subject of the image for Gogol was nobility of Russia, but in the depths of the picture - in Chichikov's reflections on the list of fugitives and in the author's digressions - folk Rus', full of prowess and courage, with a “smart” word and a “smart” will.
The theme of the people is one of central themes poems. In addressing this topic, Gogol deviates from the traditional approach and identifies two aspects in its comprehension. On the one hand, it is ironic, and sometimes satirical image the life of the people, and the people really existing. Gogol emphasizes the stupidity, ignorance, laziness, drunkenness, characteristic of the Russian peasant. On the other hand, this is an image of the deep foundations of the Russian character. Gogol notes the inexhaustible industriousness of the Russian peasant, intelligence and ingenuity, heroic strength. The Russian man is a master of all trades. And it is no coincidence that Gogol draws attention to the rebellious qualities of serfs - this proves that an irresistible desire for freedom lives in a Russian person. It is also noteworthy that the dead peasants appear before us as living people, because after death their deeds remained.
The images of serfs occupy a significant place in " dead souls Oh". Some of them run through the entire work, while the author mentions others only in connection with individual events and scenes. The lackey Petrushka and the coachman Selifan, uncle Mityai and uncle Minyay, Proshka and the girl Pelageya, who “does not know where the right is, where the left is”, are humorously depicted. narrow spiritual world these downtrodden people. Their actions cause bitter laughter. Drunk Selifan makes long speeches addressed to horses. Petrushka, reading books, watches how some words are obtained from individual letters, not at all interested in the content of what he read: “If he had been given chemistry, he would not have refused it.” Stupid uncle Mityai and uncle Minyay cannot breed horses entangled in traces.
Gogol reveals the great drama of the enslaved people. feudal oppression, unlimited power over the peasants of boxes and plushies cripples the living soul of the people, dooming them to ignorance and poverty.
However, Gogol also shows the bright side. folk life. serfs are industrious, any work is argued in their hands. The crews of the coachman Mikheev were famous throughout the district. The carpenter Stepan Probka "came out of all the provinces with an ax in his belt", and what a hero he was - "three arshins and a verst in height!" To serve such a giant and a strong man only in the guard. Bricklayer Milushkin could put a stove in any house, and shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov sewed such good boots, even if you wear them all your life.
Despite the oppression of serfdom, the peasants did not become slaves by nature. They flee from the estates of the landlords to the outskirts of Russia, where they live more freely. Abakum Fogrov went to the Volga, works and walks with a gang of barge haulers. “A Russian person is capable of everything and gets used to any climate. Send him at least to Kamchatka, but give only warm mittens, he will clap his hands, an ax in his hands, and went to cut himself a new hut. Faithful to the truth of life, Gogol did not pass by popular riots. The peasants of the villages of Vshivaya arrogance and Borovka "demolished the Zemstvo council from the face of the earth in the person of an assessor, some Drobyazhkin."
Deep faith in the Russian people sounds in the lyrical conclusion of the poem - in the poetic comparison of Russia with the "brisk, irresistible troika" irresistibly rushing into the distance, in front of which, "looking sideways", other peoples and states shun.
"Dead Souls" is the pinnacle of Gogol's work, and at the same time his last word as an artist. Gogol worked on his poem for seventeen years (from 1835 to 1852). deepening, turned into a broad accusatory picture of feudal RF.
Moving along with Chichikov from landowner to landowner, the reader seems to sink deeper and deeper into the "amazing mire" of vulgarity, pettiness, and depravity. The negative traits gradually thicken, and the gallery of landowners, beginning with the comic Manilov, ends with Plyushkin, who is not so much ridiculous as disgusting.
The main subject of the image for Gogol was the noble RF, but in the depths of the picture - in Chichikov's reflections on the list of fugitives and in the author's digressions - people's Rus' appeared, full of daring and courage, with a "smart" word and a "smart" will.
The theme of the people is one of the central themes of the poem. In addressing this topic, Gogol deviates from the traditional approach and identifies two aspects in its comprehension. On the one hand, this is an ironic and sometimes satirical depiction of the life of a people, and a real people at that. Gogol emphasizes the stupidity, ignorance, laziness, drunkenness, characteristic of the Russian peasant. On the other hand, this is an image of the deep foundations of the Russian character. Gogol notes the inexhaustible diligence of the Russian peasant, intelligence and ingenuity, heroic strength. The Russian man is a master of all trades. And it is no coincidence that Gogol draws attention to the rebellious qualities of serfs - this proves that an irresistible desire for freedom lives in a Russian person. It is also noteworthy that the dead peasants appear before us as living people, because after death their deeds remained.
The images of serfs occupy a significant place in Dead Souls. Some of them run through the entire work, while the author mentions others only in connection with individual events and scenes. The lackey Petrushka and the coachman Selifan, uncle Mityai and uncle Minyay, Proshka and the girl Pelageya, who "does not know where the right is, where the left" are depicted humorously. The spiritual world of these downtrodden people is narrow. Their actions cause bitter laughter. Drunk Selifan makes long speeches addressed to horses. Petrushka, reading books, watches how some words are obtained from individual letters, not at all interested in the content of what he read: "If he had been given chemistry, he would not have refused it." Stupid uncle Mityai and uncle Minyay cannot breed horses entangled in traces.
Gogol reveals the great drama of the enslaved people. feudal oppression, unlimited power over the peasants of boxes and plushies cripples the living soul of the people, dooming them to ignorance and poverty.
However, Gogol also shows the bright side of people's life. serfs are industrious, any work is argued in their hands. The crews of the coachman Mikheev were famous throughout the district. The carpenter Stepan Cork "came out of all the provinces with an ax in his belt," and what a hero he was - "three arshins and a verst in height!" To serve such a giant and a strong man only in the guard. Bricklayer Milushkin could put a stove in any house, and shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov sewed such good boots, even if you wear them all your life.
Despite the oppression of serfdom, the peasants did not become slaves by nature. They flee from the landowners' estates to the outskirts RF where life is more comfortable. Abakum Fogrov went to the Volga, works and walks with a gang of barge haulers. "A Russian person is capable of everything and gets used to any climate. Send him even to Kamchatka, but give only warm mittens, he will clap his hands, an ax in his hands, and went to cut himself a new hut." Faithful to the truth of life, Gogol did not pass by popular riots. The peasants of the villages Vshivaya arrogance and Borovki "demolished the zemstvo council from the face of the earth in the person of an assessor, some Drobyazhkin."
Deep faith in the Russian people sounds in the lyrical conclusion of the poem - in poetic comparison RF with the "brisk, irresistible troika" rushing irresistibly into the distance, in front of which, "looking sideways", other peoples and states shun.
In the poem "Dead Souls" Gogol managed to portray Rus' in all its greatness, but at the same time with all its vices. Creating a work, the writer sought to comprehend the character of the Russian people, with whom he linked hopes for a better future for Russia. There are many in the poem actors- various types of Russian landowners, idly living in their noble estates, provincial officials, bribe-takers and thieves who concentrated in their hands state power. Following Chichikov in his journey from one landowner's estate to another, the reader opens up bleak pictures of the life of the serfs.
The landowners treat the peasants as if they were their own slaves, they dispose of them as if they were property. Plyushkin's yard boy, thirteen-year-old Proshka, always hungry, who only hears from the master: "stupid as a log", "fool", "thief", "mug", "here I give you a birch broom for a taste." “Perhaps I’ll give you a girl,” Korobochka says to Chichikov, “she knows the way with me, just look! Don’t bring it, the merchants have already brought one from me.” The owners of serf souls saw in the peasants only working cattle, suppressed his living soul, deprived him of the possibility of development. For many centuries of serfdom, such traits as drunkenness, insignificance and darkness were formed in the Russian people. This is evidenced by the images of the stupid Uncle Mitya and Uncle Minya, who can’t breed horses entangled in the traces, the image of the yard girl Pelageya, who does not know where is right and where is left, the conversation of two men, arguing about whether the wheel will reach Moscow or Kazan. This is also evidenced by the image of the coachman Selifan, who drunkenly delivers lengthy speeches addressed to horses. But the author does not blame the peasants, but gently ironically and good-naturedly laughs at them.
Gogol does not idealize the peasants, but makes the reader think about the strength of the people and their darkness. Such characters cause both laughter and sadness at the same time. These are the servants of Chichikov, the girl Korobochka, the men who meet along the way, as well as the "dead souls" bought by Chichikov, which come to life in his imagination. The author's laughter evokes the "noble motivation for enlightenment" of Chichikov's servant Petrushka, who is attracted not by the content of the books, but by the process of reading itself. According to Gogol, it was all the same to him what to read: the adventures of a hero in love, a primer, a prayer book or chemistry.
When Chichikov reflects on the list of peasants he bought, we see a picture of the life and hard work of the people, their patience and courage. Rewriting the acquired "dead souls", Chichikov draws them in his imagination earthly life: “My fathers, how many of you are stuffed here! what have you, my hearts, been doing in your lifetime?” These peasants who have died or been crushed by feudal oppression are industrious and talented. The glory of the wonderful carriage maker Mikheev is alive in the memory of people even after his death. Even Sobakevich, with involuntary respect, says that that glorious master "should only work for the sovereign." Bricklayer Milushkin “could put a stove in any house”, Maxim Telyatnikov sewed beautiful boots. Ingenuity and resourcefulness are emphasized in the image of Yeremey Sorokoplekhin, who "traded in Moscow, brought five hundred rubles each dues."
The author speaks with love and admiration about the industrious Russian people, about talented craftsmen, about the “quick Yaroslavl peasant” who gathered the Russian troika, about the “brisk people”, “brisk Russian mind”, and with pain in his heart tells about their destinies. Shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov, who wanted to get his own house and shop, becomes an inveterate drunkard. Ridiculous and senseless is the death of Gregory Go-don't-go, who, out of anguish, turned into a tavern, and then straight into the hole. Unforgettable is the image of Abakum Fyrov, who fell in love with a free life, sticking to barge haulers. Bitter and humiliating is the fate of Plyushkin's runaway serfs, who are doomed to spend the rest of their lives on the run. “Oh, the Russian people! He does not like to die a natural death! - says Chichikov. But the "dead souls" bought by him appear before the reader more alive than the landowners and officials who live in conditions that mortify human soul in a world of vulgarity and injustice. Against the background of the dead-heartedness of the landlords and officials, the lively and lively Russian mind stands out especially brightly, folk prowess, wide scope of the soul. It is these qualities, according to Gogol, that are the basis of the national Russian character.
Gogol sees the mighty strength of the people, crushed but not killed by serfdom. It manifests itself in his ability not to lose heart under any circumstances, in festivities with songs and round dances, in which the national prowess, the scope of the Russian soul, is manifested in full breadth. It also manifests itself in the talent of Mikheev, Stepan Probka, Milushkin, in the diligence and energy of the Russian people. “A Russian person is capable of everything and gets used to any climate. Send him even to Kamchatka, but give only warm mittens, he will clap his hands, an ax in his hands, and went to cut himself a new hut, ”the officials say, discussing the resettlement of Chichikov’s peasants in the Kherson province.
Depicting pictures of folk life, Gogol makes readers feel that the suppressed and humiliated Russian people are suppressed, but not broken. The protest of the peasantry against the oppressors is expressed both in the revolt of the peasants of the village of Vshivaya-arrogance and the village of Borovka, who razed the zemstvo police in the person of assessor Drobyazhkin, and in a well-aimed Russian word. When Chichikov asked the peasant he met about Plyushkin, he rewarded this gentleman with the surprisingly accurate word "patched." "It expresses itself strongly Russian people!" - Gogol exclaims, saying that there is no word in other languages, "which would be so bold, smart, would break out from under the very heart, so seething and vibrant, like a well-spoken Russian word."
Seeing the heavy full of poverty and the hardships of the lives of the peasants, Gogol could not help but notice the growing indignation of the people and understood that his patience was not unlimited. The writer ardently believed that the life of the people should change, believed that hardworking and talented people deserves better share. He hoped that the future of Russia was not for the landlords and "knights of a penny", but for the great Russian people, who kept in themselves unprecedented opportunities, and that is why he ridiculed the contemporary Russia of "dead souls". No wonder the poem ends symbolically trio birds. It contains the result of many years of Gogol's reflections on the fate of Russia, the present and future of its people. After all, it is the people who oppose the world of officials, landlords, businessmen, as alive soul- dead.
All topics of the book “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol. Summary. features of the poem. Compositions":
Summary poem "Dead Souls": Volume one. Chapter first
Features of the poem "Dead Souls"
Sep 26 2014
Images of peasants in N. V. Gogol's poem "Dead Souls". What is the real world of "Dead Souls"? This is the world typical representatives which are Manilov, Nozdrev, Sobakevich, police officer, prosecutor and many others. Gogol describes them with malicious irony, without sparing or pitying. He shows them funny and ridiculous, but this is laughter through tears. This is something terrible that has always been superfluous for Russia.
The real world of "Dead Souls" is terrible, disgusting, insane. This is a world devoid of spiritual values, a world of immorality, human shortcomings. It is clear that this world is not a place for Gogol's ideal, therefore his ideal in the first volume of "Dead Souls" is only in lyrical digressions and is separated from reality by a huge abyss. Landlords, residents provincial city N, not the only inhabitants real world. Peasants also live in it.
But Gogol in no way distinguishes living peasants from the crowd of immoral Manilovites, Nozdrevists and prosecutors. Living peasants actually appear before the reader as drunkards and ignoramuses. Men arguing whether the wheel will reach Moscow; stupid uncle Mityai and uncle Minyay; serf Manilov, asking for money, and going to get drunk himself, all of them do not arouse sympathy either from readers or from the author: he describes them with the same malicious irony as the landowners.
But there are still exceptions. These are the main representatives of the people in the poem - Selifan and Petrushka. There is no longer any malicious irony in their description. And although there is no high spirituality and morality in Selifan, he is often stupid, lazy, but still he differs from Uncle Mityai and Uncle Minya.
Often Gogol laughs at Selifan, but this is a good laugh, a laugh from the heart. The author's reflections on the soul are connected with the image of Selifan common people trying to understand his psychology. In "Dead Souls" the exponent of the ideal is folk russia described in lyrical digressions.
Gogol presents his ideal, as it were, in two perspectives: as a generalized people in lyrical digressions, as a concretization of this ideal in images of the dead peasants, "dead souls". In the final digression Gogol remarks that such a “troika bird”, flying over vast expanses, “could only be born among a lively people.” Where Chichikov, rewriting the names of the dead peasants he had just bought, draws in his imagination their earthly life, Gogol imagines how they lived, how their fate turned out, how they died. In general, such reasoning is not characteristic of Chichikov. One gets the impression that Gogol himself argues this.
The images of the dead peasants in the poem are ideal. Gogol endows them with such qualities as heroism and strength. Bogatyr-carpenter Stepan Cork. Here is how Sobakevich said about him: “After all, what a force it was!
If he had served in the guards, God knows what they would have given him, three arshins with a verst of growth! And what hardworking skillful people these are shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov, carriage maker Mikheev. It's hard not to notice with what delight he writes about these men!
He pities them, sympathizes with their hard life. Gogol contrasts this dead people, but with a living soul, with the living people of the poem, whose soul is dead. In "Dead Souls" Gogol shows us not only a strange reality Russian life, but at the same time, in digressions, Gogol draws us his ideal future Russia and the Russian people, who are very far from modern life. It is likely that in the second, burned volume, Gogol planned to transfer this perfect image V real life to turn it into reality. After all, Gogol ardently believed that Russia would someday come out of this terrible world that she will be reborn, and that moment will surely come.
CHICHIKOV
Genre originality poems
CHATSKY AND REPETILOV
original name comedy was "Woe to the mind." In the language of Griboyedov, Pushkin, and the Decembrists, “mind is free-thinking, independence of judgment, free-thinking.”
"The fate of smart people, my dear, most spend our lives with fools, and what an abyss of them we have!” - Griboyedov wrote to Begichev. The comedy shows the clash between the “current century” and the “past century”. The comedy reflected not only the life and customs of Moscow and "the times of Ochakov and the conquest of the Crimea", but also the movement of advanced noble thought. In the guise of Chatsky, the idea of an active creative mind and free human feeling is shown. Chatsky's love of freedom was formed in the same conditions as that of the Decembrists. After a long absence, Chatsky returns to Moscow, arrives at Famusov's house. He finds that everything and everyone here has changed. He has changed too. Smart and educated, able to love, witty and eloquent, honest and active. The hero falls into famous society”, where servility, careerism, flattery, stupidity, idle talk, arrogance reign. Chatsky did not want to obey the laws of this society and paid for it. He was declared insane. But Chatsky - strong personality. He is “a man of action, only such a person can become a real winner, even if he is the only “warrior in the field” ... Yes, the Famus society is afraid of Chatsky: after all, he burst into the silence of society like a whirlwind; with stormy joy, with loud and uncontrollable laughter, with ardent indignation, he disturbed their existence. And although now Chatsky is powerless, but it is believed that his time will come. We perceive Chatsky as a hero, despite the fact that he leaves both Famusov's house and Moscow.
The complete opposite of Chatsky is Repetilov. The “soul” of a noble society, a jester, a gossip, a windbag who, in order to keep up with fashion, wormed his way into the circle of some pseudo-liberal talkers. He appears at Famusov's when the ball ends and the guests begin to leave. Repetilov "runs in from the porch, falls as fast as he can and hastily recovers." The meeting with Chatsky made him happy. Repetilov understands that "miserable, ridiculous, ignoramus, fool." However, like many young people, he signed up for a "secret union." But when Chatsky asked what they were doing, Repetilov said: “ We make noise, brother, we make noise». The matter is not yet ripe, but around smartest people. Repetilov creates the appearance of activity, but all of it is meaningless and empty. And although he was the only one who doubted Chatsky's madness, he was afraid in front of everyone, plugged his ears and stepped aside. He is not a hero, he is the appearance of a hero, a parody of a hero. Repetilov wants to be the center of attention, but his words and deeds are worthless. And the proof of this last words: "Where to direct the path now ... Take it somewhere."
Chatsky speaks in the play against the "past century" and its ideas: against the permissiveness of the landowners-serfs, who can separate the children of peasants from their parents at their whim, exchange serfs for greyhounds; against the immorality of the Moscow nobility, which is used to judging people by rank and money. Moreover, Chatsky opposes this numerous camp alone. He is convinced that money and position in society cannot be the measure of human personality. Chatsky believes that honor and dignity should be the main values in noble society. He expresses his views fearlessly, but is ousted from this environment, slandered, called crazy. The time of the Chatskys has not yet come. But he was lonely only in Famusov's house. Outside of it, Chatsky has like-minded people, and the victory of the “current century” will come later, but certainly.
In order to more fully and from all sides reflect the features historical period, presented in the comedy, Griboyedov introduces Repetilov into the play “Woe from Wit”. This hero appears on the scene in the last act, but he significantly expands the reader's already established idea of political environment in Russia at that time. Repetilov is a caricatured double of Chatsky, who is only able to repeat his words, but cannot comprehend them. Repetilov's task is to gain weight in aristocratic society. Chatsky's task is to expose and correct society.
CHICHIKOV
The poem "Dead Souls" occupies a special place in Gogol's work. The writer considered this work the main work of his life, Pushkin's spiritual covenant, which prompted him the basis of the plot. In the poem, the author reflected the way of life and customs different layers society - peasants, landowners, officials. The images in the poem, according to the author, “are not at all portraits with worthless people on the contrary, they contain the traits of those who consider themselves better than others. Close-up landowners, owners of serf souls, "masters" of life are shown in the poem. Gogol consistently, from hero to hero, reveals their characters and shows the insignificance of their existence. Starting with Manilov and ending with Plyushkin, the author intensifies his satire and exposes the underworld of landowner-bureaucratic Russia.
The protagonist of the work, Chichikov, remains a mystery to everyone until the last chapter of the first volume: both for officials of the city of N and for readers. Inner world The author reveals Pavel Ivanovich in the scenes of his meetings with the landowners. Gogol draws attention to the fact that Chichikov is constantly changing and almost copies the behavior of his interlocutors. Talking about Chichikov's meeting with Korobochka, Gogol says that in Russia a person speaks differently with the owners of two hundred, three hundred, five hundred souls: "... even rise up to a million, there are all shades."
Chichikov perfectly studied people, in any situation he knows how to find a benefit, he always says what they would like to hear from him. So, with Manilov, Chichikov is pompous, amiable and flattering. He talks to Korobochka already without any special ceremonies, and his vocabulary is consonant with the style of the hostess. Communication with the arrogant liar Nozdrev is not easy, since Pavel Ivanovich does not tolerate familiar treatment, "... except if the person is of too high rank." However, hoping for a lucrative deal, he does not leave Nozdryov's estate until the last and tries to become like him: he turns to "you", adopts a boorish tone, and behaves familiarly. The image of Sobakevich, personifying the solidity of the landowner's life, immediately prompts Pavel Ivanovich to lead as thorough a conversation as possible about dead souls. Chichikov manages to win over "a hole in the human body”- Plyushkin, who has long lost contact with the outside world and has forgotten the norms of politeness. To do this, it was enough for him to play the role of a “motishka”, ready at a loss to save a casual acquaintance from having to pay taxes for the dead peasants.
It is not difficult for Chichikov to change his appearance, because it has all the qualities that form the basis of the characters of the depicted landowners. This is confirmed by episodes in the poem, where Chichikov is left alone with himself and he does not need to adapt to others. Looking around the city of N, Pavel Ivanovich “teared off the poster nailed to the post, so that when he came home he could read it thoroughly,” and after reading it, “teared it neatly and put it in his chest, where he used to put everything that came across.” This is reminiscent of the habits of Plyushkin, who collected and kept various kinds of rags and toothpicks. The colorlessness and uncertainty accompanying Chichikov to last pages the first volume of the poem, they make him related to Manilov. That is why the officials of the provincial city make ridiculous guesses, trying to establish the true identity of the hero. Chichikov's love to neatly and meticulously lay out everything in his chest brings him closer to Korobochka. Nozdryov notices that Chichikov looks like Sobakevich. All this suggests that the character of the protagonist, as in a mirror, reflected the features of all the landowners: Manilov's love for meaningless conversations and "noble" gestures, and Korobochka's pettiness, and Nozdrev's narcissism, and Sobakevich's rudeness, and Plyushkin's hoarding.
And at the same time, Chichikov differs sharply from the landowners shown in the first chapters of the poem. He has a different psychology than that of Manilov, Sobakevich, Nozdryov and other landowners. He is characterized by extraordinary energy, business acumen, determination, although morally he does not rise above the owners of serf souls. Many years of bureaucratic activity left a noticeable imprint on his manner of behavior and speech. Evidence of this is the cordial welcome given to him in the provincial " high society". Among officials and landowners, he new person, the acquirer who will replace the manilov, nostril, sobakevich and plushkin.
The soul of Chichikov, just like the souls of the landowners and officials, became dead. The "shining joy of life" is inaccessible to him, he is almost completely deprived of human feelings. In order to achieve his practical goals, he pacified his blood, which "played strong."
Gogol sought to understand the psychological nature of Chichikov as a new phenomenon, and for this, in the last chapter of the poem, he talks about his life. Chichikov's biography explains the formation of the character revealed in the poem. The hero's childhood was dull and joyless, without friends and maternal affection, with constant reproaches from his sick father, and could not but affect his future fate. His father left him a legacy of half a copper and a covenant to study diligently, please teachers and bosses, and, most importantly, save a penny. Pavlusha well learned the instructions of his father and directed all his energy to achieve the cherished goal - wealth. He quickly realized that everything lofty concepts only interfere with the achievement of his goal, and began to make his own way. At first, he acted in a childishly straightforward way - he pleased the teacher in every possible way and thanks to this he became his favorite. Growing up, he realized that each person can find a special approach, and began to achieve more significant success. Having promised to marry the daughter of his boss, he got a job as an assistant. While serving at customs, he managed to convince his superiors of his incorruptibility, and later to establish contact with smugglers and amass a huge fortune. All the brilliant victories of Chichikov ended in failure, but no setbacks could break his thirst for profit.
However, the author notes that in Chichikov, unlike Plyushkin, “there was no attachment to money for the sake of money proper, he was not possessed by stinginess and stinginess. No, they did not move him, - he imagined life ahead in all its pleasures, so that finally later, in time, he would certainly taste all this, that's what the penny was saved for. Gogol points out that main character poems - the only character capable of manifesting the movements of the soul. “It is clear that the Chichikovs turn into poets for a few minutes,” says the author, when his hero stops “as if stunned by a blow” in front of the young daughter of the governor. And it was this “human” movement of the soul that led to the failure of his promising undertaking. According to the author, sincerity, sincerity and selflessness are the most dangerous qualities in a world where cynicism, lies and profit reign. The fact that Gogol transferred his hero to the second volume of the poem suggests that he believed in his spiritual rebirth. In the second volume of the poem, the writer planned to spiritually "purify" Chichikov and put him on the path of spiritual resurrection. The resurrection of the "hero of time", according to him, was to be the beginning of the resurrection of the whole society. But, unfortunately, the second volume of "Dead Souls" was burned, and the third was not written, so we can only guess how Chichikov's moral revival took place.
Images of peasants in the poem by N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls"
In the poem "Dead Souls" Gogol managed to portray Rus' in all its greatness, but at the same time with all its vices. Creating a work, the writer sought to comprehend the character of the Russian people, with whom he linked hopes for a better future for Russia. There are many characters in the poem - various types of Russian landowners idly living in their noble estates, provincial officials, bribe-takers and thieves who have concentrated state power in their hands. Following Chichikov in his journey from one landowner's estate to another, the reader opens up bleak pictures of the life of the serfs.
The landowners treat the peasants as if they were their own slaves, they dispose of them as if they were property. Plyushkin's yard boy, thirteen-year-old Proshka, always hungry, who only hears from the master: "stupid as a log", "fool", "thief", "mug", "here I give you a birch broom for a taste." “Perhaps I’ll give you a girl,” Korobochka says to Chichikov, “she knows the way with me, just look! Don’t bring it, the merchants have already brought one from me.” The owners of serf souls saw in the peasants only working cattle, suppressed his living soul, deprived him of the possibility of development. For many centuries of serfdom, such traits as drunkenness, insignificance and darkness were formed in the Russian people. This is evidenced by the images of the stupid Uncle Mitya and Uncle Minya, who can’t breed horses entangled in the traces, the image of the yard girl Pelageya, who does not know where is right and where is left, the conversation of two men, arguing about whether the wheel will reach Moscow or Kazan. This is also evidenced by the image of the coachman Selifan, who drunkenly delivers lengthy speeches addressed to horses. But the author does not blame the peasants, but gently ironically and good-naturedly laughs at them.
Gogol does not idealize the peasants, but makes the reader think about the strength of the people and their darkness. Such characters cause both laughter and sadness at the same time. These are the servants of Chichikov, the girl Korobochka, the men who meet along the way, as well as the "dead souls" bought by Chichikov, which come to life in his imagination. The author's laughter evokes the "noble motivation for enlightenment" of Chichikov's servant Petrushka, who is attracted not by the content of the books, but by the process of reading itself. According to Gogol, it was all the same to him what to read: the adventures of a hero in love, a primer, a prayer book or chemistry.
When Chichikov reflects on the list of peasants he bought, we see a picture of the life and hard work of the people, their patience and courage. Rewriting the acquired “dead souls”, Chichikov draws in his imagination their earthly life: “My fathers, how many of you are stuffed here! what have you, my hearts, been doing in your lifetime?” These peasants who have died or been crushed by feudal oppression are industrious and talented. The glory of the wonderful carriage maker Mikheev is alive in the memory of people even after his death. Even Sobakevich, with involuntary respect, says that that glorious master "should only work for the sovereign." Bricklayer Milushkin “could put a stove in any house”, Maxim Telyatnikov sewed beautiful boots. Ingenuity and resourcefulness are emphasized in the image of Yeremey Sorokoplekhin, who "traded in Moscow, brought five hundred rubles each dues."
The author speaks with love and admiration about the industrious Russian people, about talented craftsmen, about the “quick Yaroslavl peasant” who gathered the Russian troika, about the “brisk people”, “brisk Russian mind”, and with pain in his heart tells about their destinies. Shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov, who wanted to get his own house and shop, becomes an inveterate drunkard. Ridiculous and senseless is the death of Gregory Go-don't-go, who, out of anguish, turned into a tavern, and then straight into the hole. Unforgettable is the image of Abakum Fyrov, who fell in love with a free life, sticking to barge haulers. Bitter and humiliating is the fate of Plyushkin's runaway serfs, who are doomed to spend the rest of their lives on the run. “Oh, the Russian people! He does not like to die a natural death! - says Chichikov. But the "dead souls" bought by him appear before the reader more alive than the landowners and officials who live in conditions that mortify the human soul, in a world of vulgarity and injustice. Against the background of the dead-heartedness of the landowners and officials, the lively and lively Russian mind, the people's prowess, and the wide scope of the soul stand out especially clearly. It is these qualities, according to Gogol, that are the basis of the national Russian character.
Gogol sees the mighty strength of the people, crushed but not killed by serfdom. It manifests itself in his ability not to lose heart under any circumstances, in festivities with songs and round dances, in which the national prowess, the scope of the Russian soul, is manifested in full breadth. It also manifests itself in the talent of Mikheev, Stepan Probka, Milushkin, in the diligence and energy of the Russian people. “A Russian person is capable of everything and gets used to any climate. Send him even to Kamchatka, but give only warm mittens, he will clap his hands, an ax in his hands, and went to cut himself a new hut, ”the officials say, discussing the resettlement of Chichikov’s peasants in the Kherson province.
Depicting pictures of folk life, Gogol makes readers feel that the suppressed and humiliated Russian people are suppressed, but not broken. The protest of the peasantry against the oppressors is expressed both in the revolt of the peasants of the village of Vshivaya-arrogance and the village of Borovka, who razed the zemstvo police in the person of assessor Drobyazhkin, and in a well-aimed Russian word. When Chichikov asked the peasant he met about Plyushkin, he rewarded this gentleman with the surprisingly accurate word "patched." “The Russian people are expressing themselves strongly!” - exclaims Gogol, saying that there is no word in other languages, "which would be so bold, smart, would break out from under the very heart, so seething and vibrant, like a well-spoken Russian word."
Seeing the hard life of the peasants, full of poverty and deprivation, Gogol could not help but notice the growing indignation of the people and understood that his patience was not unlimited. The writer ardently believed that the life of the people should change, believed that a hardworking and talented people deserve a better life. He hoped that the future of Russia was not for the landlords and "knights of a penny", but for the great Russian people, who kept in themselves unprecedented opportunities, and that is why he ridiculed the contemporary Russia of "dead souls". It is no coincidence that the poem ends with the symbolic image of a troika bird. It contains the result of many years of Gogol's reflections on the fate of Russia, the present and future of its people. After all, it is the people who oppose the world of officials, landowners, businessmen, like a living soul - a dead one.
Genre originality of the poem
The idea of the work was extremely complex. It did not fit into the framework of the genres generally accepted in the literature of that time and demanded a rethinking of views on life, on Rus', on people. New ways had to be found artistic expression ideas. The usual framework of genres for the embodiment of the author's thought was tight, because N.V. Gogol was looking for new forms to start the plot and its development.
At the beginning of work on the work, in letters to N.V. Gogol, the word "novel" is often found. In 1836, Gogol writes: “... the thing on which I am sitting and working now, and which I have been thinking about for a long time, and which I will think about for a long time, does not look like a story or a novel, long, long ...” And nevertheless, subsequently the idea of \u200b\u200bhis new work N.V. Gogol decided to embody in the genre of the poem. The writer's contemporaries were perplexed by his decision, since at that time, in the literature of the 19th century, a poem written in poetic form enjoyed great success. The main attention in it was focused on a strong and proud personality, which in the conditions modern society a tragic fate awaited.
Gogol's solution had more deep meaning. Having conceived to create collective image homeland, he was able to highlight the properties inherent different genres, and harmoniously combine them under one definition of "poem". In "Dead Souls" there are features of both a picaresque novel and lyric poem, and a socio-psychological novel, and a story, and satirical work. At first glance, "Dead Souls" is more of a novel. This is evidenced by the system of brightly and in detail outlined characters. But Leo Tolstoy, having familiarized himself with the work, said: “Take Gogol's Dead Souls. What is this? Not a novel, not a short story. Something completely original."
The poem is based on the story of Russian life, the focus is on the personality of Russia, embraced from all sides. Chichikov, the hero of Dead Souls, is an unremarkable person, and just such a person, according to Gogol, was a hero of his time, an acquirer who managed to vulgarize everything, even the very idea of evil. Chichikov's trips around Rus' turned out to be the most convenient form for registration artistic material. This form is original and interesting mainly because not only Chichikov travels in the work, whose adventures are a connecting element of the plot. Together with his hero, the author travels around Russia. He meets with representatives of various social strata and, combining them into one, creates a rich gallery of portraits-characters.
Sketches of road landscapes, travel scenes, various historical, geographical and other information help Gogol to present to the reader complete picture Russian life of those years. Escorting Chichikov along Russian roads, the author shows the reader a huge range of Russian life in all its manifestations: landowners, officials, peasants, estates, taverns, nature and much more. Exploring the particular, Gogol draws conclusions about the whole, draws terrible picture morals of contemporary Russia and, what is especially important, explores the soul of the people.
The life of Russia at that time, the reality familiar to the writer, is depicted in the poem from the “satirical side”, which was new and unusual for the Russian literature XIX century. And therefore, starting with the genre of the traditional adventure novel, N.V. Gogol, following an increasingly expanding plan, goes beyond the framework of the novel, and the traditional story, and the poem, and as a result creates a large-scale lyric epic work. The epic beginning in it is represented by the adventures of Chichikov and is connected with the plot. The lyrical beginning, the presence of which becomes more and more significant as events unfold, is expressed in lyrical author's digressions. In general, "Dead Souls" is a large-scale epic work, which is still for a long time will amaze readers with the depth of analysis of the Russian character and surprisingly accurate prediction the future of Russia.
