Features of the genre and composition of Gogol's poem dead souls. Dead souls - plot

Each of the heroes of the poem - Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Sobakevich, Plyushkin, Chichikov - in itself does not represent anything of value. But Gogol managed to give them a generalized character and at the same time create a general picture of contemporary Russia. The title of the poem is symbolic and ambiguous. Dead souls are not only those who ended their earthly existence, not only the peasants who were bought by Chichikov, but also the landowners and provincial officials themselves, whom the reader meets on the pages of the poem. The words "dead souls" are used in the narrative in many shades and meanings. The prosperously living Sobakevich has a more dead soul than the serfs whom he sells to Chichikov and who exist only in memory and on paper, and Chichikov himself is a new type of hero, an entrepreneur in whom the features of the emerging bourgeoisie are embodied.

The chosen plot gave Gogol "complete freedom to travel all over Russia with the hero and bring out a multitude of the most diverse characters." The poem has a huge number of characters, all social strata of serf Russia are represented: the acquirer Chichikov, officials of the provincial city and the capital, representatives of the highest nobility, landowners and serfs. A significant place in the ideological and compositional structure of the work is occupied by lyrical digressions, in which the author touches on the most pressing social issues, and insert episodes, which is typical for the poem as a literary genre.

The composition of "Dead Souls" serves to reveal each of the characters, displayed in the overall picture. The author found an original and surprisingly simple compositional structure, which gave him the widest possibilities both for depicting life phenomena, and for connecting the narrative and lyrical principles, and for poetizing Russia.

The ratio of parts in "Dead Souls" is strictly thought out and subject to creative design. The first chapter of the poem can be defined as a kind of introduction. The action has not yet begun, and the author only outlines his characters in general terms. In the first chapter, the author introduces us to the peculiarities of the life of the provincial city, with city officials, landowners Manilov, Nozdrev and Sobakevich, as well as with the central character of the work - Chichikov, who begins to make profitable acquaintances and prepares for active actions, and his faithful companions - Petrushka and Selifan. In the same chapter, two peasants are described talking about the wheel of Chichikov's chaise, a young man dressed in a suit "with attempts on fashion", a fidgety tavern servant and other "petty people". And although the action has not yet begun, the reader begins to guess that Chichikov came to the provincial town with some secret intentions, which are revealed later.

The meaning of Chichikov's enterprise was as follows. Once every 10-15 years, the treasury conducted a census of the serf population. Between the censuses (“revision tales”), the landlords had a fixed number of serf (revision) souls (only men were indicated in the census). Naturally, the peasants died, but according to the documents, officially, they were considered alive until the next census. For serfs, the landowners paid tax annually, including for the dead. “Listen, mother,” Chichikov explains to Korobochka, “yes, you only judge well: after all, you are ruined. Pay for him (the deceased) as if he were alive.” Chichikov acquires dead peasants in order to pawn them, as if alive, in the Board of Trustees and receive a decent amount of money.

A few days after arriving in the provincial town, Chichikov goes on a journey: he visits the estates of Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Sobakevich, Plyushkin and acquires "dead souls" from them. Showing the criminal combinations of Chichikov, the author creates unforgettable images of the landowners: the empty dreamer Manilov, the stingy Korobochka, the incorrigible liar Nozdrev, the greedy Sobakevich and the degraded Plyushkin. The action takes an unexpected turn when, on his way to Sobakevich, Chichikov gets to Korobochka.

The sequence of events makes a lot of sense and is dictated by the development of the plot: the writer sought to reveal in his heroes an increasing loss of human qualities, the death of their souls. As Gogol himself said: "My heroes follow one after the other, one more vulgar than the other." So, in Manilov, beginning a series of landowner characters, the human principle has not yet completely died, as evidenced by his "outbursts" for spiritual life, but his aspirations are gradually dying down. The thrifty Korobochka no longer has even a hint of a spiritual life, everything is subordinated to her desire to sell the products of her natural economy at a profit. Nozdrev completely lacks any moral and moral principles. There is very little human left in Sobakevich, and everything animal and cruel is clearly manifested. Plyushkin completes a series of expressive images of landlords - a person on the verge of mental decay. The images of landlords created by Gogol are typical people for their time and environment. They could have become decent individuals, but the fact that they are the owners of serf souls has deprived them of their humanity. For them, serfs are not people, but things.

The image of landlord Russia replaces the image of the provincial city. The author introduces us to the world of officials involved in public administration. In the chapters devoted to the city, the picture of noble Russia expands and the impression of its deadness deepens. Depicting the world of officials, Gogol first shows their funny sides, and then makes the reader think about the laws that reign in this world. All officials passing before the reader's mind turn out to be people without the slightest idea of ​​honor and duty, they are bound by mutual patronage and mutual responsibility. Their life, like the life of the landowners, is meaningless.

The return of Chichikov to the city and the design of the bill of sale fortress is the culmination of the plot. Officials congratulate him on the acquisition of serfs. But Nozdryov and Korobochka reveal the tricks of the "most respectable Pavel Ivanovich", and general merriment gives way to confusion. The denouement is coming: Chichikov hurriedly leaves the city. The picture of Chichikov's exposure is drawn with humor, acquiring a pronounced revealing character. The author, with unconcealed irony, tells about the gossip and rumors that arose in the provincial town in connection with the exposure of the “millionaire”. Overwhelmed by anxiety and panic, officials unwittingly discover their dark illegal deeds.

A special place in the novel is occupied by The Tale of Captain Kopeikin. It is plot-related to the poem and is of great importance for revealing the ideological and artistic meaning of the work. “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” gave Gogol the opportunity to take the reader to Petersburg, create an image of the city, introduce the theme of 1812 into the narrative and tell the story of the fate of the war hero, Captain Kopeikin, while exposing the bureaucratic arbitrariness and arbitrariness of the authorities, the injustice of the existing system. In The Tale of Captain Kopeikin, the author raises the question that luxury turns a person away from morality.

The place of the “Tale…” is determined by the development of the plot. When ridiculous rumors about Chichikov began to spread around the city, officials, alarmed by the appointment of a new governor and the possibility of their exposure, gathered together to clarify the situation and protect themselves from the inevitable "scolds". The story about Captain Kopeikin is not accidentally conducted on behalf of the postmaster. As the head of the postal department, he probably read newspapers and magazines, and could draw a lot of information about the life of the capital. He liked to "show off" in front of the audience, to throw dust in the eyes of his education. The postmaster tells the story of Captain Kopeikin at the moment of the greatest commotion that engulfed the provincial town. "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" is another confirmation that the feudal system is in decline, and new forces, albeit spontaneously, are already preparing to embark on the path of combating social evil and injustice. The story of Kopeikin, as it were, completes the picture of statehood and shows that arbitrariness reigns not only among officials, but also in the upper strata, up to the minister and the tsar.

In the eleventh chapter, which completes the work, the author shows how Chichikov's enterprise ended, talks about his origin, tells how his character was formed, views on life were developed. Penetrating into the spiritual recesses of his hero, Gogol presents to the reader everything that “eludes and hides from the light”, reveals “hidden thoughts that a person does not entrust to anyone”, and we are faced with a scoundrel who is rarely visited by human feelings.

On the first pages of the poem, the author himself describes him somehow vaguely: "...not handsome, but not bad-looking, neither too fat nor too thin." Provincial officials and landlords, whose characters are revealed in the following chapters of the poem, characterize Chichikov as "well-intentioned", "efficient", "scientist", "the most amiable and courteous person." Based on this, one gets the impression that we are faced with the personification of the "ideal of a decent person."

The whole plot of the poem is built as an exposure of Chichikov, since the scam with the sale and purchase of "dead souls" is at the center of the story. In the system of images of the poem, Chichikov stands somewhat apart. He plays the role of a landowner, traveling according to his needs, and by origin he is, but he has very little connection with the lord's local life. Each time he appears before us in a new guise and always achieves his goal. In the world of such people, friendship and love are not valued. They are characterized by extraordinary perseverance, will, energy, perseverance, practical calculation and tireless activity, they hide a vile and terrible power.

Understanding the danger posed by people like Chichikov, Gogol openly ridicules his hero, reveals his insignificance. Gogol's satire becomes a kind of weapon with which the writer exposes Chichikov's "dead soul"; says that such people, despite their tenacious mind and adaptability, are doomed to death. And Gogol's laughter, which helps him expose the world of self-interest, evil and deceit, was suggested to him by the people. It was in the soul of the people that hatred for the oppressors, for the "masters of life" grew and strengthened over the course of many years. And only laughter helped him to survive in a monstrous world, not to lose optimism and love of life.

Gogol N.V.

An essay on a work on the topic: Features of the plot and composition of Gogol's poem "Dead Souls"

Starting work on the poem "Dead Souls", Gogol wrote that he wanted to "show at least one side of all Russia" in this direction. So the writer defined his main task and the ideological concept of the poem. To implement such a grandiose theme, he needed to create a work that was original in form and content.

The poem has a ring "composition", which is distinguished by its originality and does not repeat a similar composition, say, M. Yu. Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time" or Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General". It is framed by the action of the first and eleventh chapters: Chichikov enters the city and leaves it.

The exposition, traditionally located at the beginning, in "Dead Souls" was moved to its end. Thus, the eleventh chapter is, as it were, the informal beginning of the poem and its formal end. The poem begins with the development of the action: Chichikov begins his path to "acquisition".

The genre of the work, which the author himself defines as an epic poem, also looks somewhat unusual. Highly appreciating the ideological and artistic merits of "Dead Souls", V. G. Belinsky, for example, wondered why Gogol called this work a poem: "This novel, for some reason called a poem by the author, is a work as national as highly artistic".

The construction of "Dead Souls" is distinguished by logic and consistency. Each chapter is completed thematically, it has its own task and its own subject matter. In addition, some of them have a similar composition, such as chapters on the characteristics of landowners. They begin with a description of the landscape, the estate, the house and life, the appearance of the hero, then a dinner is shown, where the hero is already acting. And the completion of this action is the attitude of the landowner to the sale of dead souls. Such a construction of chapters made it possible for Gogol to show how different types of landlords developed on the basis of serfdom and how serfdom in the second quarter of the 19th century, in connection with the growth of capitalist forces, led the landlord class to economic and moral decline.

In contrast to the author's inclination towards logic, in "Dead Souls" absurdity and alogism strikes the eye everywhere. According to the principle of alogism, many images of the poem are built, the actions and deeds of the heroes are absurd. The desire to explain facts and phenomena at every step collides with an inexplicable and uncontrollable mind. Gogol shows his Russia, and this Russia is absurd. Madness here replaces common sense and sober calculation, nothing can be fully explained, and absurdity and absurdity govern life.

In the context of the whole work, in understanding its intention, in the composition and development of the plot, lyrical digressions and inserted short stories are of great importance. The Tale of Captain Kopeikin plays a very important role. Not connected in its content with the main plot, it continues and deepens the main theme of the poem - the theme of the death of the soul, the kingdom of dead souls. In other lyrical digressions, a citizen writer appears before us, deeply understanding and feeling the full force of his responsibility, passionately loving his Motherland, and suffering from the ugliness and unrest that surround him and that are happening everywhere in his beloved and long-suffering Motherland.

The macro-composition of the poem "Dead Souls", that is, the composition of the entire conceived work, was suggested to Gogol by Dante's immortal "Divine Comedy": the first volume is the hell of feudal reality, the realm of dead souls; the second is purgatory; the third is heaven. This idea remained unfulfilled. Having written the first volume, Gogol did not put an end to it, she remained beyond the horizon of an unfinished work. The writer could not lead his hero through purgatory and show the Russian reader the coming paradise, which he had dreamed of all his life.

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Features of the plot and composition of Gogol's poem "Dead Souls"
Starting work on the poem "Dead Souls", Gogol wrote that he wanted to "show at least one side of all Russia" in this direction. So the writer defined his main task and the ideological concept of the poem. To implement such a grandiose theme, he needed to create an original work in form and content.

The poem has a ring "composition", which is distinguished by its originality and does not repeat a similar composition, say, the novel by M. Yu. Lermontov "The Hero of Our Time" or Gogol's comedy "The Government Inspector". It is framed by the action of the first and eleventh chapters: Chichikov enters the city and leaves it.

The exposition, traditionally located at the beginning of the work, in "Dead Souls" was moved to its end. Thus, the eleventh chapter is, as it were, the informal beginning of the poem and its formal end. The poem begins with the development of action: Chichikov begins his journey to "acquisition".

The genre of the work, which the author himself defines as an epic poem, also looks somewhat unusual. Highly appreciating the ideological and artistic merits of "Dead Souls", V. G. Belinsky, for example, wondered why Gogol called this work a poem: "This novel, for some reason called a poem by the author, is a work as national as it is highly artistic."

The construction of "Dead Souls" is distinguished by logic and consistency. Each chapter is completed thematically, it has its own task and its own subject matter. In addition, some of them have a similar composition, for example, chapters on the characteristics of landowners. They begin with a description of the landscape, the estate, the house and life, the appearance of the hero, then a dinner is shown, where the hero is already acting. And the completion of this action is the attitude of the landowner to the sale of dead souls. Such a construction of chapters made it possible for Gogol to show how different types of landlords developed on the basis of serfdom and how serfdom in the second quarter of the 19th century, in connection with the growth of capitalist forces, led the landlord class to economic and moral decline.

In contrast to the author's inclination towards logic, Dead Souls is full of absurdity and alogism everywhere. According to the principle of alogism, many images of the poem are built, the actions and actions of the heroes are absurd. The desire to explain facts and phenomena at every step collides with an inexplicable and uncontrollable mind. Gogol shows his Russia, and this Russia is absurd. Madness here replaces common sense and sober calculation, nothing can be fully explained, and absurd absurdity rules life.

In the context of the whole work, in understanding its intention, in the composition and development of the plot, lyrical digressions and inserted short stories are of great importance. The Tale of Captain Kopeikin plays a very important role. Not connected in its content with the main plot, it continues and deepens the main theme of the poem - the theme of the necrosis of the soul, the kingdom of dead souls. riots that surround him and that are happening everywhere in his beloved and long-suffering Motherland.

The macro-composition of the poem "Dead Souls", that is, the composition of the entire conceived work, was suggested by Dante's Gogo-loving "Divine Comedy": the first volume is the hell of feudal reality, the realm of dead souls; the second is purgatory; the third is heaven. This idea remained unfulfilled. Having written the first volume, Gogol did not put an end to it, she remained beyond the horizon of an unfinished work. The writer could not lead his hero through purgatory and show the Russian reader the coming paradise, which he had dreamed of all his life.

Features of the plot and composition of Gogol's poem "Dead Souls"
Starting work on the poem "Dead Souls", Gogol wrote that he wanted to "show at least one side of all Russia" in this direction. So the writer defined his main task and the ideological concept of the poem. To implement such a grandiose theme, he needed to create a work that was original in form and content.

The poem has a ring "composition", which is distinguished by its originality and does not repeat a similar composition, say, M. Yu. Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time" or Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General". It is framed by the action of the first and eleventh chapters: Chichikov enters the city and leaves it.

The exposition, which is traditionally located at the beginning of the work, in "Dead Souls" is moved to its end. Thus, the eleventh chapter is, as it were, the informal beginning of the poem and its formal end. The poem begins with the development of the action: Chichikov begins his path to "acquisition".

The genre of the work, which the author himself defines as an epic poem, also looks somewhat unusual. Highly appreciating the ideological and artistic merits of "Dead Souls", V. G. Belinsky, for example, wondered why Gogol called this work a poem: "This novel, for some reason called a poem by the author, is a work as national as highly artistic".

The construction of "Dead Souls" is distinguished by logic and consistency. Each chapter is completed thematically, it has its own task and its own subject matter. In addition, some of them have a similar composition, such as chapters on the characteristics of landowners. They begin with a description of the landscape, the estate, the house and life, the appearance of the hero, then a dinner is shown, where the hero is already acting. And the completion of this action is the attitude of the landowner to the sale of dead souls. Such a construction of chapters made it possible for Gogol to show how different types of landlords developed on the basis of serfdom and how serfdom in the second quarter of the 19th century, in connection with the growth of capitalist forces, led the landlord class to economic and moral decline.

In contrast to the author's inclination towards logic, in "Dead Souls" absurdity and alogism strikes the eye everywhere. According to the principle of alogism, many images of the poem are built, the actions and deeds of the heroes are absurd. The desire to explain facts and phenomena at every step collides with an inexplicable and uncontrollable mind. Gogol shows his Russia, and this Russia is absurd. Madness here replaces common sense and sober calculation, nothing can be fully explained, and life is controlled